...Tigers

Roar goes the tiger. Three tigers in El Paso, Texas are in the news for murder. Three-year-old Malayan tiger Seri killed 6-year-old Wzui in a rare attack that came after months of simmering jealousy in a feline love triangle. It seems as if the male tiger was getting too close and friendly with another female tiger and that did not sit well with the other female tiger, so she killed him. I laughed when I read this, I giggle as I write this. Malayan tigers are a critically endangered species, with just 500 or so of the animals remaining in the wilds of Thailand and Malaysia, I guess we see why. Both Seri and Wzui were on loan from other zoos as part of the American Zoo Association's Species Survival Plan to aid in their conservation through captive breeding. Zoo keepers had not observed any signs of aggression leading up to the attack, and that the two cats had been seen playing affectionately at the exhibit earlier in the day, or sot hey thought... I guess humans and animals are not so different. I am glad that this happened in Texas because there you can call what she did a crime of passion and receive a lesser sentence, no death penalty for her, though she already was sentenced to life behind bars. HA! I am giving this news a Digit Up just from the odd humor I found in it.

...DREAM Act

Have you heard of the DREAM Act? It has been around since 2001, but now it is back in the hands of Congress. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is meant to would give certain undocumented students a pathway to citizenship through college attendance or military service. The President made a speech yesterday in El Paso, Texas on his immigration reform and whatnot. Today this bills is back in the House of Representatives going through the motions again. While this all sounds nice on the surface, what does it really mean? There are an estimated 12 million illegal/undocumented immigrants in America. If this bill wee to pass about 1.2 million would automatically be granted the path towards citizenship. Obviously the President made his speech in part to blame the Republicans when the bills does not pass...again. But this should not be an issue. Along with pretty much all of the Republicans even some Democrats agree that this bill seems like it would grant amnesty to illegals. Some even think it would encourage more illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. That may be so, but hopefully we will not have to see if that is true. People think that if you do not agree with a bill like this then you are probably a racist. While I o not agree with this bill I am not a racist. You do not know my race, so do not assume I am an overweight middle aged Texas mom of 3 with a few handguns, a loud sports loving husband and a street full of women just like me. I am an American who understand that illegal immigrants should be deported. Why? Mainly because it is, and this is the kicker, THE LAW! Sadly we are way too sensitive and political. If you really want something, fight for it, do not let someone hand you something for "free". If you want to become a citizen, take the test! It really is not that hard. Marry an American, most likely you will anyway. Yes I understand that Hispanics/Latinos will become a major majority that politicians are large corporations are trying to tap into, but the law is the law. Senator Harry Reid said he would support mandatory E-Verify, a program that requires employers check the legality of potential workers, to garner Republican support for the DREAM Act. I think that should be 2 different issues, but since we are attaching things onto the bill why not add this, why not make English the official language of America? Other countries have done it, but we have not. If we did you would have merit when you asked someone to speak English or say it in English. At this moment they are just words, words that legally illegal immigrants do not have to abide by. I am giving the DREAM Act a Digit Down. It is just not the time to try to make political gains with poor bills like this.

...Texas

Texas has always been a little different as a state. It was once its own nation, which they like to remind us from time to time. It was one of the few states that did not feel the recession as badly or at all as the rest of the nation did. It has given us a few Presidents and some fun pop culture additives. Now Texas is doing something that some will love and some will hate, like most things from Texas, an 85MPH sped limit. As a guy who loves to drive fat I am loving this. I think more states should do this, though they will not. The speed limit will only be on some highways, due to federal laws and whatnot, but this is still better than nothing. Some think that this will cause more fatalities, but honestly who knows. I am giving Texas a Digit Up for this. I guess this further proves that everything, including the speed limit, is bigger in Texas.

...Black People

It seems that black Americans are ditching the North and moving back to the South. Although many African Americans still live in the South, a lot moved North and West for better jobs and a better way of life, and of course to ditch the racial tensions and small minded ways of the old and somewhat new South. Over the last decade the nation's black population grew by 1.7 million, 75% of which was in the South in areas like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Charlotte, N.C. It seems that any are moving back for the many of the reasons they left, better jobs and a better way of life. Texas was one of the few states that seemed untouched by the recession as it actually grew in population, jobs and their home values went up, unlike California who is virtually bankrupt. While New York City still holds the largest number of black people at roughly 3.7 million, the South hold 57% of the total population, which is the highest it has been since the 1960's. Texas will become a majority-minority state for the first time based on official 2010 results; its switch occurred in 2005, according to census estimates. It joins Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. Eight states, led by Arizona, Maryland, Nevada and Georgia, have shares of non-Hispanic whites nearing the tipping point of 50 percent. I do not see this change as being permanent, although with many old school racist dying and a new breed of Southern men and women are coming into their own this could be a good permanent. I am not totally sure how I feel about this. The South is an okay place to live, but it still seems a little behind culturally. The presence of positive blacks could go a long way in re-shaping the image of the South for the better and it could compete as an equally great place to live for forward thinkers. I still feel that this is just going to backfire somehow, but until then I will give this news a Digit Up.