Celebrity Exile: The liberation from stupidity

You can't avoid them. They peer at you from the grocery store check out line. They self pontificate on TV. They are ubiquitous. And you wonder how the heck they ever got the attention and how the heck can we rid ourselves of them. They are the lot of celebrity leeches that do not seem to have any real skills other then an uncanny knack for finding a camera. You don't mind hearing about Brad Pitt, Bono, or Obama on TV....they have actual talent. But these guys? I'd like to wrap these people up in a big ball and drop them off on the farthest reaches of Sakha or somewhere equally remote.

Here are the first people I'd like to wad up....

• That Montag couple- The only time that I ever hear about these two is when TMZ is on, not a good sign. So, evidently they are celebrities because they live in the right place, look pretty, and are willing to debase themselves as long as it's on film. They embody the vacuous celebrity culture that is so many people love to gawk at.
  
• Octomom/Plus 8 Jon and Kate- Unlike the Montags, at least these guys have something worth parading in front of the TV...their kids. Any parent who depends on their children for their livelihood or sense of self worth is no parent indeed. I don't think they mind that we are laughing at them so long as our laughter and attention leads to their checking account.
  
• Al Sharpton- I'm sure that many years ago this man was a great crusader for the oppressed now the only thing he seems to be crusading for is another interview with anyone with a camera. The great irony is that he has probably done more to strain race relations then anyone of the last couple of decades.
  
• Keith Olbherman/Sean Hannity- We are a very divided country at the moment and a big reason for the divide are the demagogues of hate like the two mentioned above. Hey guys, I'm more interested in solutions then in for reasons why the other guys are stupid.
• Nancy Pelosi- Here is someone clearly blinded by the shine of power. She and her leadership have taken an already unpopular congress and put it in the basement of American opinion. I think she is more enamored with her own personal airtime than actually trying to forge a workable solution for the Union.
  

US Soccer: Still not ready for primetime?

Coming off the heels of the stunning win over Spain and the Confederations Cup, US Soccer looked poise to grab the attention of the average American fan. You see our sports hours are already spread pretty thin between the major sports such as Football, Basketball, Baseball, and even Hockey. The victory marked one of the rare occasions that Soccer trumped these sports in the headlines.

Granted the tournament was played when basketball and football are on break and baseball is in the middle of the summer swoon but irregardless it was the number one news story. The average Joe was captivated by the play and his allegiance was ready for the taking. His attention was ripe for US Soccer to pick and to add to their small but growing fan base. The Gold Cup was the next event but that would feature the B Team as little was at stake. All eyes were drawn to the big match up with hated rival Mexico down in Mexico City on August 12th. Sports radio and even ESPN took notice of the import of this game and we prepared to do battle with an increased and attentive audience.

And then the predictable happened....

Just when it seemed that US Soccer was poised to turn the corner it was discovered that the game would not be televised on any of the major television stations. The new and growing audience will have no where decent to turn to watch this game. The US Soccer team could win the game but it will do so without the support of the millions of tepid fans that were beginning to warm up to the program. We will have the option of watching it online or on one of the Spanish language stations but how many casual fans will go to the effort?

So instead of gathering the friends together for pizza and intense soccer we will probably watch preseason football or catch up on a pennant race. The game might be great but it will probably only be watched by the same meager crowd that has staunchly supported this team despite of general apathy nationwide. A huge opportunity squandered by whoever is supposed to be bring US Soccer to the mainstream.

Maybe we still aren't ready for the nationwide debut. The performance today against Mexico might prove so. We are in the final in New York and our bleached blond squad got manhandled by the Tri. Our stadium was dominated by Red, White, and Green not Red, White, and Blue. Just further evidence that soccer has a long ways to go before we can really capture the imagination and attention of the US.

Change isn't going to happen over night. Eventually we will warm up to this sport. But US Soccer squandered a big opportunity to turn up the heat by not insuring that the big US-Mexico match was in easy reach of a huge audience that was prepared to give it a closer look. Until they get more assertive with their promotion of the sport it will continue to languish along the fringes with the likes of bowling, curling, and fencing. Badminton, anyone?

Goldman Sucks?

The news and our neighborhoods continue to be littered with stories of unemployment, foreclosure, and uncertainty. So it came came as complete surprise when I recently read about Goldman Sachs having an incredible quarter and being poised to pay its employees $18 billion in bonuses and other compensation. Wait???? Weren't banks and speculators primary players in the recent crash? What???? Weren't these same banks and speculators the same people who were reeling and receiving government TARP funds just a few short months ago?

On the surface this seems downright evil.....evil in a greedy villain from a James Bond movie sort of way. And after reading this extraordinary piece by Matt Taibbi in the Rolling Stone my populist impulses were directing me to the nearest hardware store for a pitchfork and torch. Now I normally don't buy into this leftist crap and I normally don't buy into conspiracy theories involving uber powerful greedy, global cabals but the article was so detailed and researched.

These accusations were so incredible that you would think that, if true, they would strike a powerful chord within the American mainstream and that we could demand real change. I started with the Goldman Annual report from 2008 in search of answers. I see wild swings in profitability and cash and it all looks odd. I read more pieces from the New York Times and CNN and my blood really starts to boil. I delve deeper by reading the blog of a man who is trying to shed some public light on their deeds and who Goldman is trying to shut down. I read some counter pieces that defend Goldman from being behind the creation of the bubbles (Tech, Mortgage, Commodities, and soon- Environmental caps) but don't do much in making a defense against the claim that they deliberately profited from the expansion and destruction of those bubbles.

This is going to take a few days to really get my head around. Is this evidence of unbridled greed that needs to be reigned in for the sake of the better overall good? Is this evidence that capitalism is working again? Is it both? I plan to read arguments on both sides.

In the meantime here is what I don't understand. These bankers don't necessarily create value, they throw money behind the people who do. They're not building sky scrapers, they're not creating new innovative products, they are not growing the crops that feed our families. They just seem to gain insane profits by profiting from those who do. These investment banks don't do anything other then control the flow of vast amounts of capital and the levers on which money moves. They create fancy derivatives and securities that profit off of the comings and goings of real tangible value.

And they create incredible wealth and power for themselves. I remember at BYU when it came time for the Career Fair. The biggest lines were always for the investment banks and consulting firms. Like the pied piper they would lure away throngs of smart and ambitious grads with stories of untold wealth. There was a mention of 80 hour work weeks and the fact that you would sacrifice your first 5 or 8 years for the benefit of your career. But once you paid your dues you would have enough money to buy a golden chariot for you and your family....given that your family was still in tact after 8 years of spending every waking hour with the bank and not many moments with them.

Do I seem pretty biased at the moment? Yes. Can that change? Yes. I'm all for free markets and capitalism. But right now my gut is telling me that what some of these banks have been doing these past several years doesn't jibe with the brand of capitalism that made America the force that it once was. My head is telling me that the environment that they fostered did more to destroy value within our economy then to create it.

Time and research will tell. But in the meantime this has the makings of an incredible conspiracy theory.

California and Karma

We just returned from another great weekend visiting Jodi's family in San Diego and the OC. It got me thinking that these folks and their fancy beaches and great weather have it too easy. But then I remembered the horrible malaise that this state is in and I felt a little better. Karma has its own special way of sorting things out and making things equal.

California is a great big giant stew that mixes in the best and worst of humanity. The cost of living is insane and the government has become insane in the way that it has run the state and its budget. But then the Beach Boys music starts to play and you are whisked away in visions of California Cuisine ocean side and served at dusk. This strange duality has inspired me to create a top 5/ low 5 list of the best and worst of the Golden State.

Top 5

1. Ground zero for the great and entertaining struggle between the salacious hordes of paparazzi and the privacy of the idiots that we have anointed as our celebrities.
2. Incredible coastline that spans the whole state and features some of the most mild and attractive weather this side of Kolob. (I'm assuming that Kolob has pretty sweet weather)
3. A veritable potpourri of sites, sounds, and attractions for every taste.
4. Its great history of being a breeding ground for some of the great innovations, cultural and otherwise, of the "American Century".
5. Disneyland.
   

Low 5

1. See #1 in "Top 5"
2. The absolute demolition of the middle class at the hands of special interests, excessively high cost of living, and declining public education.
3. Something needs to be said about a populace that elects Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, and Arnold. You guys want competent people running your government, right? This place is a great place for shouting idealogues.
   
4. Its sordid history of being a breeding ground for some of the worst innovations, cultural and otherwise, of the "American Century" and the present.
   
5. Its ridicously superficial relationship with the Lakers.
   

My beef with US Soccer

It's becoming a ritual that takes place every 3-4 years. They tempt us. They show brief moments of brilliance. They show just enough skin to grab our attention. And then once they have it, like the elusive belly dancer, they wriggle away leaving us unfulfilled. That's how I feel about US Soccer.

Here is what I am sick of when it comes to our relationship with our soccer team.

• Moral Victories
• Inconsistent Play
• Talking about being on the cusp of legitimacy and then getting spanked by Trinidad and Tobago.

I like soccer. I root for the US. But I've rooted for the US long enough not to be fooled by brief moments of greatness like the victory over Spain last week. In 1994 we grabbed the attention of the world by beating Colombia in our World Cup. That was followed up by in fighting and a horrible 98' showing. We then beat Brazil and start to make a major push for the 2002 cup. We beat Portugal and slap around our Mexican neighbors. We announce that we are now fixtures on the world scene. And then we disappear again. In 2006 we get manhandled in Europe. Up through last week we struggle through lesser competition and get shellacked by Italy and Brazil. And then comes Spain and our heroic first half in the finals in the Brazilian rematch. The interest from the casual fan has been rekindled again leading into the 2010 World Cup. Will we be burned again?

This is my beef with US Soccer. It is a roller coaster that goes up and down. Every sporadic and great outing is followed up by mediocrity and under performance. We will never be taken seriously until we can consistently show up against the big boys. That doesn't mean well orchestrated first halves in which we surprise a sleepy Brazilian squad. It means going toe to toe with the world class squads on their fields, on their terms, and on a consistent basis. We can't rely on surprising teams because they are now aware that we can be dangerous. We are now being called out into the open.

Like me, there are legions of potential fans who are waiting for a consistent showing. Our time is limited and in order for you to convince us to turn attention away from Football, BBQ's and Golf to soccer you need to prove to us that you are more then an occasional mirage. We've been burned too many times but we are willing to support a team that has guts, heart, effort, and talent. You proved that you have it against Spain. You demonstrated those same qualities for a half against Brazil. Now go out there and harness this momentum into South Africa next year. Get us past the first round next year and you should be able to win us over and keep us on your side.

We have talent. We have a pretty good coach. We are have a budding reputation. We have some young building blocks. It's time to take these pieces and build something that this great nation can be proud of. We will be there for you...but only when you can consistently prove that you will be there for us.

The simple and tasty joys of gardening

As one ages he seeks out simple pleasures. This spring I sought this bliss in the form of a garden. To date we have harvested tomatoes, basil, cilantro, onion, beans, and eggplant. I have derived the greatest joy from discovering the exotic possibilities that can be unleashed with the great purple eggplant. I even got a nice purple shirt to commemorate my new love affair with this ancient, oriental vegetable.


Here's to pastoral living.

Michael Jackson: The last of the superstars?

It was a surreal day indeed. I was still loopy from the nitrous oxide and was leaving the dentist. Groggily I checked my twitter and was greeted with news, or rather rumors, that Jackson had passed away. It would be close to an hour before the news would move from the rumor of a gossip sites to fact confirmed by the major news outlets. It was truly on of those universal "where were you when this happened" moments that was shared by us all.

With the death of Michael Jackson comes the potential end of the mega star; the type of celebrity that crossed all barriers and held universal acclaim. We live in an age of niches and it is most likely impossible for someone to have huge mass appeal. It's just too hard to control all of the various media channels that things like the internet and cable TV have spawned. For example, MJ has been mourned by everyone from Hugo Chavez to the entire nation of Korea. Does any other living human being have the power to generate that kind of global response?

His passing begs the question as to whether or not there are any true superstars remaining and, if so, who they are. The list of likely candidates is short indeed. I can only think of a worthy few who are able to dominate every headline and be recognized by everyone from my mom to the kid in rural Kenya.

• Tiger Woods- He's just a golfer right? Well because of him the rest of the non-golf world is now acquainted with and is paying attention to this sport. Not only that but his celebrity spans beyond golf into the wider popular culture through video games and his army of endorsement deals.
  
• Michael Jordan- The first and preeminent global sports superstar. Besides MJ he might be the only living African American who is universally recognized throughout the globe. His persona paved the way for someone like Woods and his reach also covered movies, the Air Jordan brand, and music.
  
• Obama- President Obama is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. His position as leader of the free world has granted him incredible access to the world and his polished persona hopeful demeanor has endeared him to a lot of them. While it is unlikely that a politican is able to obtain superstar status he's got a certain media driven sex appeal that can put him in the argument.
  
• Madonna- Michael's only true counterweight during the last great mass media decade, the 1980's. She was the other artist who capitalized on MTV and other media to cement her place in our collective conscience. Like MJ her career has had its share of accolades, controversy, and eccentricities.
  
• Bono- He has a certain ubiquitous presence that is felt far beyond the stage. His work as an activist, writer, and businessman has put him in some elite and powerful company that is typically beyond the reach of your bread and butter celebrity. But in this rarefied air he might be a little out of his league.
  
• Paul McCartney- He's a Beatle, what more needs to be said. Since then he has been able to keep a presence in the public eye. His death would probably be the only one capable of generating a kind of response that would rival Jackson's.

I can't think of many more people that have that kind of global presence. There are plenty of television and movie stars but I don't know that any of the living stars could carry this kind of global audience. The ones with the true mass appeal have all passed on. It's just too hard these days to harness every nook and cranny of the public's attention.

Beyond Cool

Three legends, three very distinct sounds, one heck of a documentary.

For the love of Pizza

Ever since I laid my eyes on that first Little Caesars pizza as a youth I've held a unique fascination with the ubiquitous pie. It has come in many shapes, styles, and interpretations and I'd like to think I've tried most of them. As I've matured my tastes and pizza access have evolved. I've reached a point in my life where I feel like I've explored most of the major centers of pizza excellence and I now will take a moment to document the places that have brought me the most bliss.

So, in no particular order, are my favorite 10 pizza spots. Feel free to add in a few of your own.

1. Pizzeria Da Baffeto (Rome, Italy)- The gold standard. It has the history, the location, and the perfect pie. Old Man Baffeto (pictured right) has been personally serving pizza to local and foreign patrons since the early 1960's.
   
2. Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix)- This local spot earned love from Oprah and was touted by NY Times as the best pizza in America. It's a great place but I must wonder if it is truly worth all of the accolades that are thrown upon it. Be prepared to wait and take advantage of the nearby Bar Bianco for drinks and good company. For me the dinner begins and ends with the wise guy. It is a hearty and smoky treat featuring the best fennel sausage I've ever tried.
   
3. Tomassos (San Francisco)- The place has a long and storied history and claims to have the first wood fired pizza oven on the east coast. Evidently this was a favorite of Francis Ford Coppolla as he was writing the screenplay to the Godfather. The place is small and cramped and very crowded. Deal with it and enjoy the ease at which the seasoned staff handles the throngs of pizza loving pilgrims. As expected the pizza is top notch and the salads are bounteous and flavorful.
   
4. Setebello (Salt Lake City)- A much needed boost to the dearth of quality pizza in Salt Lake. Only around for a couple of years the place has quickly established itself as the standard for quality in the area. Read the website and be impressed with the lengths that ownership goes to ensure that your pizza is as close to the Naples original as possible. The result is an incredibly smoky and light crust that is complemented by some incredibly fresh and vibrant toppings.
   
5. Great Lake (Chicago)- To be honest I don't have much history with Chicago pizza. I've only been a few times and I'm typically not a big fan of the deep dish. This is the best I've tried to date. The Mortadella is the standout. It's not the type of pizza that makes Chicago famous but it is fresh and very tasty.
   
6. Frank Pepe (New Haven)- This one is sure to be on the top of most lists. My exposure to this place was a brief stopover on as part of a business trip. It was good but I don't remember much more then that. It is one this list primarily for reputation.
   
7. Target (Rome)- This restaurant was a stones throw from our hotel and was our first exposure to good Roman cuisine. While the place was pricey and trendy it's food was able to exceed our expectations. We got a standard Margherita along with several other dishes. It was simple but every ingredient sang in perfect harmony. It is absolutely amazing to witness the beauty that involves getting an excellent flavor out of a few fresh ingredients.
   
8. Cassanova Brothers(Gilbert)- While this place might be out of it's league when paired next to Baffeto or Piazzeria Bianco it provides a great pie in the style that we grew up with. It is loaded with cheese and goodness. The ownership really makes this place standout. They are NY natives and they do a superb job of bringing the bronx to Gilbert. You will go there for their great White Pizza and you will leave like you are part of the family. A great local place that merits your patronage.
   
9. Sauce (Phoenix)- The lone chain of the bunch. This place is the gastronomic brain child of the prolific Fox Restaurant Group. They've succeed in creating a pizza that is cheap, light, and tasty. A great pizza that doesn't leave you weighted down. A great option for those of us stuck in the land of Chili's and Suburbia.
   
10. La Grande Orange (Phoenix)- This is part of the overly trendy grocery store that is located in the overly trendy part of town, Arcadia. Nonetheless the pizza lives up to the hype and crowd. The roasted corn option is incredibly unique and their take on pizza is a combination of old world technique with contemporary innovation. One more thing that the place has going for it is the fact that it is located next door to the best Gelato in town, Archellino.
    

You might think that the list is heavily weighted towards Phoenix. It is. Regardless, Phoenix has proven itself as a great place to get some pizza. There is so much good pizza down here that you'd think we shared a border with Italy not Mexico.

Vintage Comedy: Entry #1

Man, I still miss Phil Hartman. Truth be told I kinda miss ole' Bill Clinton and his antics as well.

San Francisco Style

We decided to take advantage of some buddy passes and visit the city by the Bay. We haven't been in awhile and we really wanted to compare SF to San Diego in terms of coolness, livability, and access to things we value. We enjoyed our time there but we unanimously agreed that San Diego is a better fit for our "should we ever live in California" temperament. A few impressions from the getaway.

• It's always cool when you can get a deal on a great place. It's even cooler when that hotel is steeped in great American history. The Westin St. Francis fit the bill to perfection. It is located in the heart of Union Sqaure which puts it smack dab in the middle of shopping nirvana. But the history......Al Jolson died here, an assasination attempt on Gerald Ford was made here, and there are several other great stories to note. The design is classic and the walls are littered with photos of history and people that we all remember.
• As expected the dining was both incredible and expensive. The options are endless. One of the highlights was eating at Tommaso's in the Little Italy area of North Beach. Like the hotel it is steeped in history and, according to lore, was the first wood stove pizza place on the West Coast. Francis Ford Coppola supposedly frequented the place while he was writing the script to the God Father. Among the other places that stood out was the House of Nanking in Chinatown. You sit down and the owner tells you what you will eat. We trusted in his judgment and were rewarded with some cuisine that was both adventurous and tasty.
• Transportation was pretty spotty. Forget about renting a car and don't put much faith in the consistency of public transportation. The Cable Cars, while charming are complete crap shoot. They take on the personality and habits of the person driving them. One car our trip was slowed down so the driver could stop and pick up dinner as well as get some dry cleaning. The peninsula is big but you can cover a lot of ground and kill a lot of calories by walking.
  
• We didn't see the sun the entire long weekend we were there. That's gotta weigh on the residents.
• I got the feeling that the city tries too hard to be liberated and cosmopolitan.
  

Publish Post

Being destructive....but in a good way

There is a theory that I remember reading about several years ago...a theory that seems to make more sense given my experiences of the last several years. This one comes from an Austrian named Joseph Schumpeter and is called Creative Destruction.

In essence it states that as economies evolve older and staid technologies and companies will be destroyed in favor of the newer ones that are more able to respond to the current circumstances. Think of it as "natural selection" but seen through the lens of business school. The theory also reminds me of the great CS Lewis story that everyone loves to tell at church....the one that talks about how God turns our little comfortable cottage into a mansion.

The theory is painful for those getting pushed out but no one can argue that the newer results aren't better then the originals. Some examples:

• Polaroid cameras were cool but today's digital cameras can do so much more. Polaroid was late in seeing this and as a result suffered.
• I can imagine that manufacturers of the early horse carriages must have been pretty ticked off when Henry Ford and others gave us those darn automobiles. They died but life became better.
• Newspapers have diminished in importance and have given way to blogs, cable TV, and the internet. People get their news in different ways and the print media has to evolve or die.

I have seen this trend in the realm of marketing. Companies can't afford to keep large marketing teams but they still need specific marketing work. As a result they turn to trusted partners that are experts in their specific realm. This trend will only increase with time and I am trying to ensure that I am in front of the trend.

The moral of the story? Change is good if you are willing to adjust. While there are a few things that remain as solid as stone, think values, remember that most everything else is in a constant state of flux. Adapt to the change or become a doodoo. (Quite literally)

Style that howls....literally

Who needs to look to the New York runway to get the latest in fashion? All you need to do is find a gas station gift shop on a lonely stretch of road to find the look that might just give a second life back to the mullet.

The vastness that is the Grand Canyon

I went up to St. George to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Norm Wahlstrom. Since I was driving alone I decided to make the most of it and visit the lonely North Rim on the way up and the South Rim on the way back. (Interesting Trivia: Did you know that the N. Rim is at 8,500 feet and gets only 400k annual visitors while the S. Rim is at 7,000 feet and gets 4.4 million annual visitors.)

The view was spectacular but it is really difficult to capture the vastness that is the Grand Canyon without a super cool wide angle lens. My attempt to stitch together several pictures to make a panorama created a shot that looked more like a patch work blanket then a seamless view of the park.

Randomizer Volume V Series II

Because the thoughts keep coming and they are more then likely random. Plus I needed a breather from the immigration talk.

• Here's an excerpt from "The Eight Pillars of Greek Wisdom" regarding modern distractions and how the absence of them helped make Greece great. "The absence of artificial distractions permitted the mind to focus, and the scarcity of complexity let the most essential issues stand out....life was lived on a more human scale....Entertainment did not, as it does today, constantly saturate the consciousness r assault the eye with hyper stimulation....ours is a society deprived of the chance for deep thought. Unlike the problem faced by the prisoner in Plato's cave, our problem today is not too little light, but too much, a light so glaring that we cannot see what is real." Can I get an amen?
• U2 is now officially at the "Steven Spielberg" phase of their career. What do I mean? I mean that the supreme nature of their past work has granted their contemporary work a certain immunity from criticism. They once pushed the envelope and created a new paradigm. Now their work is fairly formulaic and the torch for ground breaking innovation has been passed on to another generation. We still love you but we've come to stop expecting a new Achtung Baby.
• We've been watching Mad Men on Netflix. It has singlehandedly taken the golden and some naive sheen that I had of pre-Vietnam America. Evidently AMC has set out to make the "American Dream" look as self absorbed, empty, and decrepit as possible.
  
• A few photos from the Mogollon Rim that were taken on a recent camping trip. Not many people realize this but there is some incredible country that is just an hour or so outside of Phoenix.

Mexican Immigration Post #1: Addendum: Required Reading

The following are several books that help shed some light on the Mexican culture, border culture, and Mexican politics. There are several others worth noting but I've found these to be the most accessible and descriptive.

1. Labyrinth of Solitude, Octavio Paz: This is a classic piece of literature from the Nobel Laureate that really delves into the psyche of the Mexican people. If you can understand this you can really get a better understanding of the hopes and fears of the nation.
   
2. True Tales from Another Mexico, Sam Quinones: A great read that helps illustrate the different subcultures within Mexico through crisp chapters depicting such subject matter as Chalino Sanchez, Jesus Malverde, and mob justice.
   
3. Bordering on Chaos, Andres Oppenheimer: Though slightly dated it reads very well and allows you to look at Mexico from a more macro lens. It covers the major events that have shaped Mexican politics and culture over the last 100 years. Some of the insights into things like the Mexican Peso crisis of 1994 read as fast as anything put out by Grisham.
   
4. Distant Neighbors, Alan Riding: A slightly drier book in the same vein as "True Tales." Each chapter explains an event, culture, or mentality that is absolutely critical to understanding Mexico.
   
5. Batos, Bolillos, Pochos and Pelados, Chad Richardson: Written by a professor and former Stake President in my South Texas mission this book takes a more academic look at the impact that immigrants have had on border communities, particularly the Texas Mexico border. It is a great sociological read that helps elucidate the fascinating mosaic of people that make up border communities.
   

Immigration Post #1: The Mexican Perspective

They brave an arduous journey across a treacherous desert with only a few possessions and the blind faith in the prospects for a better life. In their ignorance they give their meager earnings to a man, called "El Coyote", who promises to take them safely across the desert and into a community with a job and stability. In reality they become hostages to a treacherous underworld that is exacerbated by a criminal element and allowed to operate by an inept domestic legal system.

These people will live in a drop house and share a room with 5 or 6 other anonymous Mexicans who are also searching for the same stability. They are virtual hostages to the Coyotes who control the trade of human smuggling. Their families are threatened back home if they act out of line. Their conditions are deplorable. Their rights are minimal. The houses in which they live are a blight upon communities throughout the U.S. And they are more then willing to put up with all of this so that they can make $10 a day trimming the bushes in your backyard.

Who are these people?
What are their motivations?
Why do they risk so much to get so little in return?

The following numbers taken from the Pew Hispanic Center are a staggering reminder that we are literally sitting on top of a powder keg. If we are unable to answer and address those questions above we will have little luck in dealing with an issue that is becoming larger by the minute.

• There are 12.7 million Mexican immigrants in the U.S. as of 2008. They are 32% of all immigrants. The next largest group, Filipinos, trails at a distant 5%.
• About 11% of everyone born in Mexico is in the U.S.
  
• 59% of all illegal immigrants are Mexican nationals. 76% of all illegal immigrants are of Hispanic descent.
  
• The graph below visually depicts the astounding growth of this group over the recent years. No fancy regression analysis is needed to determine where that line will be in several years given current patterns.

Those numbers highlight a monumental seismic shift that is taking place in regards to the demographics of the United States. It doesn't take a high priced study to tell us this when all we need to do is drive over to the nearest home center. The Hispanic, particularly, Mexican neighborhoods are becoming an increasingly bigger part of the community. Depending on your perspective this number represents the demise of the American way of life or the fruition of the grand American dream.

That is a debate for another entry. Right now I want to focus on the Mexicans who are willing to sacrifice everything to come here and take a job that most Americans find demeaning. We are taught that to fully understand an issue we must understand the perspective of the other side. Here is the point of view from that other side.

The numbers for Mexico are more difficult to nail down. Any quoted numbers will come from the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (INEGI) of Mexico. This is the Mexican equivalent of our US Census Bureau. Their numbers are widely considered unreliable. I will primarily use anecdotal information and observations to color my depiction. I will use numbers, where possible, to back up observations and assertions.

Now lets move on to those questions regarding who they are and what motivates them.

To the typical US citizen "these people" are just another group of Mexicans. It is a lot easier to lump them together into one uniform group. But beneath the surface Mexico, like any other large nation, has a complex cultural and demographic milieu that should be understood. Mexico is a nation of over 106 million people, why are over 11% of their population fleeing their nation. Are they fleeing? Let's look at a few things.

Mexico is a nation of huge economic disparity. The wealthiest 10% of the nation controls around 50% of the wealth. Did you know that the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, is Mexican? This is the land of the "Mordida" where corruption is not only rampant but an openly accepted cost of doing business. Those who are politically connected make all of the money. Those who aren't suffer and their only solace is the occasional bone thrown at them by the party in power, most notably PRI, to placate them and prevent another revolution. Credit doesn't really exist. A middle class doesn't really exist. As a Mexican you are either born into wealth, exercise corruption for a living, or you accept your lowly station in life. While there are a notable exceptions to this rule there is little infrastructure in place for the typical industrious Mexican to get a head.

Mexico is also a nation of huge racial disparity. Race and wealth go hand in hand in Mexico. The lighter your skin the better off you are. The indigenous or indian populations are among the poorest in the world. The largest concentrations of these populations are in Southern Mexico in states such as Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Chiapas. As expected these are the poorest states in Mexico. Despite superficial attempts made by the government towards greater equality these groups still languish in poverty. They are poorly educated because most children, out of necessity, are forced to work in substandard conditions in order to help sustain the essential needs of their families.

Mexico is also a nation of strong families and strong national pride. Their Catholic roots and lower economic conditions help explain the larger families. Their pride in a strange way stems from their long history with Spain and other invaders. They have long been a nation that has been exploited. Research the word "chingar" and you will have great insights into the Mexican psyche. The fact that they nationalized their oil away from US foreign corporations in the 1940's and that PEMEX is still state run in spite of economic common sense is directly attributed to their national pride and their defiance towards those foreign interests who once meddled in and sought to control their affairs.

These three characteristics go a long ways in helping us understand the circumstances behind their decision to live in these conditions on foreign soil. So a few observations that will generally be right regarding most Mexican immigrants.

1. They most likely are from the poorest communities in Mexico. As such there is a greater likelihood for illiteracy and low education.
2. They are most likely from the darker, mestizo, populations that are more predominant in Central and Southern Mexico.
3. A majority of the immigrants do not consider their status in the U.S. permanent. They are Mexican first and trying to work to send money home to their families. The US is a means to their financial ends.
   

What does the rest of Mexico think about this trend? I would venture a guess and say that they are somewhat relieved by massive emigration. Fewer mouths to feed, fewer jobs to fill, and fewer votes to buy. Since the vast majority of Mexican immigrants are poorer and uneducated there is no real concern for "brain drain". They typically aren't losing their engineers and doctors to America. They are losing a workforce for whom there is no work. Also if immigration is greatly reduced they potentially lose their 3rd largest source of income in the form of foreign remittances sent from the US to families in Mexico.

While this is a general brush stroke that barely scratches the surface of a more complex situation it does help provide a better picture to the immigration situation. Given the circumstances in Mexico I do not fault the actions of many to find work in the US. I am confident that many of us, if given a similar lot, would take a similar course. I hope to delve more into the Mexican perspective in a couple of more subsequent posts. There is still more to cover from this angle including the elusive question- Mexico has always been at an economic disadvantage to the U.S. so why have we seen such a drastic increase in Mexican immigration over the past few decades?

Understanding Immigration

Immigration and our relationship with our neighbors to the South (That's Mexico for those who are geographically challenged) are, in my opinion, among the most important issues that this nation faces and will continue to face in the coming years. Forget about terrorism abroad, the economy, health care, or our horrible cultural divide. While very important in their own right they get enough attention already. Also, our immigration situation and resulting policies permeate significantly in all of those issues.

I have lived in Mexico and have great empathy and understanding for their people and issues. I have also lived in several areas (Arizona and Texas specifically) that have been negatively affected by illegal immigration so I definitely understand the concerns of long standing citizens. I also am 100% confident that our current policies and attitudes towards this issue are completely inadequate.

I am in no way an expert on immigration policy, one could argue that there are very few, but I do feel like I have a practical knowledge of the key issues that shape both sides of the issues. I will attempt to write a series of entries that attempt to frame these key perspectives and hopefully make some recommendations that could help us out of the current immigration morass that we are currently mired in. This issue is just going to grow so I figure we really need to understand it and deal with it.

Over the next couple of months I will be writing entries. Since 32% of all immigrants are Mexican and 76% of all illegal immigrants are Mexican I want to focus my efforts exclusively on the Mexican-US dilemma when it comes to immigration. Here is a rough outline of what will be covered.

1. A profile of the typical Mexican immigrant and their US motivations.
2. A profile of the typical US resident and their concerns about immigration policy.
3. An outline of the current immigration policies and their strengths and weaknesses.
4. An outline of workable solutions that could improve our current immigration situation.

This is a dicey issue to navigate. Hopefully I can bring something constructive to the subject and hopefully immigration policy can be turned from a huge weakness to a national strength.

Saturday at the White Tanks

The most recent Washington Street activity had us visiting the White Tank Mountain Park about 25 miles west of Phoenix. Overall a pretty bland stretch of geography littered with granite mountains, saguaros, and assorted desert vegetation. What made the visit interesting was its history.

This area used to be one of the central settlements for the Hohokam Indian tribes that lived and thrived in the greater valley sometime between 300 and 1500 AD. Our hike passed through numerous petroglyphs depicting various facets of their culture. Evidently some of them are purportedly 10,000 years old. This lost civilization continues to play a role in Phoenix development today. Last week I attended a meeting that outlined how any new developments in the valley need to be screened for archaeological material. If anything of significance, burial ground for example, is discovered then the developer needs to pay for a team of archaeologists to work the site and to return certain materials and remains to the local native Americans.

What can Dusty Bottoms teach us about Faith?

Three Amigos! is one of those movies that is a veritable treasure trove of memorable quotes and wisdom. Perhaps in 200 years it will be studied by students of literature and philosophy alike. As I was preparing for the upcoming LDS General Conference I found myself leaning once again on this venerable work. This time the subject was faith.

Let me set the scene..........

We are at the mid point of the movie and our dashing Amigos have hit a serious road block. The "INFAMOUS" El Guapo has sacked the village of Santa Poco and has made off with the fair maiden. With the stirring words of Lucky Day spurring them on they have resolved to confront the "INFAMOUS" El Guapo and defend the rights and honor of this small village. They do, however, have one huge problem. They do not know where the lair of El Guapo is and their only direction will be supplied by the "Invisible Swordsman"



A series of steps needed to be precisely followed in order to summon the swordsman and ultimately to receive the directions. While the other two faithfully recite their required lines Dusty incredulously believes this is insane. He complains and half heartedly executes (no pun intended) his requirements. We all know what the end result was. The horseman is killed because Dusty was going through the motions and not following the steps precisely. Those darn Amigos had to find another route to El Guapo.

What does this have to do with General Conference and Faith you ask?

How many of us have been given the standard "read the scriptures, obey the commandments, and pray" response when confronted with a matter of faith? I've lived my life long enough and have had my share of issues; this always seems to be the standard prescription. Sometimes this has worked and other times it has failed miserably? The big difference why? Faith my friends. I must truly believe that my actions will result in the outcome that I am righteously hoping for. Otherwise, like Dusty's assassination of the swordsman, our actions won't yield their desired fruit.

This idea is especially pertinent to me right now. Faith is something that I've been struggling with. It was under these circumstances that I prepared for Conference. And the result was fruitful. Jodi and I were both rewarded with a bevvy of talks that we feel address some of the concerns, issues, and hopes that we have right now.

I feel much better about faith right now and I offer my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Dusty Bottoms for elucidating a key aspect of it to me through the gift of Cinema. Yet another reason to love this movie.