25 years ago today: Reagan was shot

It was 25 years ago today the President Reagan was shot. Wow! A quarter of a century since that watershed event. He was the only president to be shot during my lifetime. He did live, but it was a something of a tumultuous time. Our economy was in the Carter-induced death swirl and the Iranian hostages had just been released after our painful introduction to Radical Islamism. We were a country that was hurting and we needed something good to happen. Then John Hinckley, a deranged Jodie Foster stalker, shot the newly-elected president that we were pinning our country's hopes on. It was a kick in our country's collective gut.

I'll never forget where I was when I found out about it. It was a school day and I was a sixth-grade student in Fitzgerald, Georgia. It was the end of the day and we were all waiting in our classroom to get picked up from school. A student left with his mother when she arrived. Then, after a minute or two, this student rushed back into the classroom and shouted, "The president's been shot!". We were all horrified. Yes, we were 11 or 12 at the time, but we knew how serious this was.

It was a scary and sad day.

The good news: Reagan, although seriously wounded, faced this event with courage and humor. His health rebounded. And our economy rebounded. And our country rebounded.

He did our country a great service that day -- by surviving. And for that, I am grateful.

Is anyone even left in Mexico?

Seriously. I think that the entire population of Mexico is already in the US -- especially after witnessing the mass protests this weekend. The sheer numbers of protesters who took to the streets to "assert their rights" were staggering. This included 500,000+ in LA, 50,000+ in Denver, 20,000 in Phoenix and 10,000+ in Milwaukee. And this doesn't mention the other towns and cities where marches were held, including Charlotte and Atlanta. Nor does it take into consideration the multitudes who are in the US but were not brazen enough to go out and protest.

As I mentioned, LA saw 500,000+ folks (many of them being illegals) take to the streets to talk about how they're being mistreated. Are you kidding me? This is like someone crawling into the window of your house, sleeping in your basement, and then complaining about the living conditions as if they were listed on the mortgage and had been paying rent.

Here are some of the comments from the MSNBC article:

“I think it’s just inhumane. ... Everybody deserves the right to a better life,” said Elger Aloy of Riverside, a 26-year-old premed student who was pushing his 8-month-old son in a stroller at the Los Angeles march.

Elger, mi amigo, if you are an illegal, you may very well HAVE the right to a better life. In your own country! This is not your country. You see, the rights afforded to Americans are spelled out in the constitution and are reserved for citizens and not for lawbreakers or squatters. We have rules. You have broken them. The rights we reserve for lawbreakers are called Miranda Rights.

“Enough is enough of the xenophobic movement,” said Norman Martinez, 63, who immigrated from Honduras as a child.

Norman, I don't know you, and I know that you don't know me. I have no problem with immigrants. AS LONG AS THEY ARE LEGAL. There is a process by which immigrants apply to become citizens. Millions of people have gone through this process. They ABIDE BY and RESPECT our rules. When they attain citizenship via this established process, I wish them well. They are to be applauded. However, I AM NOT a xenophobe if I object to people disrespecting our laws and trying to jump to the front of the line. Get a clue, Norman.

“My mom came from Mexico, she had to cross the river, and thank God she did,” said David Gonzalez, 22, who held a sign saying, “I’m in my homeland.”

David, your mom is a criminal. She became a criminal when she broke our laws and decided to ignore the LEGAL immigration process. If you were born here, you are a citizen. Congratulations. Your mother found a loophole and you were rewarded in spite of her blatant disregard for our nation and its laws. If that makes you proud, then shame on you.

Our spineless politicians now have a chance to do something responsible for a change and establish an immigration policy that works. Personally, I don't think we would've ever had these problems if they'd only had the guts to enforce the laws that have always been on the books. However, because most politicans are bought and paid for by the big business lobby, they have created the mess that we have now. I can only hope that they fix this once and for all. If that means that we have to make some slight adjustments to our existing legal process, then sobeit. But this needs to be fixed...and now...while law-abiding citizens are still the majority in the country.

How to make the sport of boxing better

Hasim Rahman and James Toney fought on Saturday. There was some decent action and I thought that Toney was getting solidly whipped. I don't have any particular affinity for Rahman, but Toney is mouthy and a hot dog and it's always good to see people like that receive their just desserts. The announcers seemed to think (as did I) that Rahman was the clear winner. However, the decision was a majority draw. I shouldn't be surprised. There are more wrong decisions in boxing than right decisions. I don't know if it is incompetence on the part of the judges or if it's corruption (bribes, fixing, etc.). I'm pretty sure it's both, though. Personally, I don't like investing two hours of my time only to arrive at a wrong or manipulated decision. And a draw is the worst decision of all.

Therefore, I have a proposal for the boxing organizations. Get rid of the judges. No more decisions. All fights must end in a knockout. I don't care if it takes 2 rounds or 200 rounds. I want them to fight until one of the fighters can't stand up on his feet anymore. Only then will we know that we have a true winner. No more namby-pamby judges. No more Arum- or Duva- or King-influenced scorecards. Just winners and losers. One man standing -- One man on the canvas.

And no TKO's. If both guys are still standing, the fight goes on.

In fact, the only thing that should stop the fight is a dangerous cut - one that could cause permanent damage. And only the doctor should make this call. I trust the average doctor more than I trust the average referee. And if it stops because of a cut, there is no "going to the scorecard" because there is no scorecard. The guy with the dangerous cut loses.

Boxing needs a substantial credibility boost. My suggestion wouldn't solve all its problems, but it would be a good start.