Comments

Lt. Sulu's story was pretty sad and I'm sure there's tons of history that we can't know from his postings that color his perspective. It's too bad that they're separated by oceans and by their parents' deaths, as it's unlikely that they'll ever truly reconcile.

Hi Jon. If feel so bad for Lt. Sulu. It sounds like he is really hurt because of his brother. I think it is good for him to talk to people here. Maybe you can give him some perspective as a dad. I think because of his brother he has a stereotyped view of gay people. People were hammering him to be more accepting of his brother but this stuff happened when he was a kid and I think it was very hard to deal with. I think having his brother engage in rough, loud sex rather openly really was traumatic for them. Perhaps you could help him and give him perspective on this. It seems that he is in need of compassion. What do you think? Peace - Mark

Hi Jon! Thanks for the birthday wishes! Take Care. :)

Memorial Day was fairly uneventful for us. The four of us went to see the new "Indiana Jones" movie. It was the first time I've seen one from start to finish The tornados have missed us this year. Our home was nearly taken out by a tornado a couple years ago. It cut a chunk out of my city, but fortunately pulled up about a quarter of a mile from our home so we had no damage. Parts of the town are still recovering from that storm.

Good comments Jon. Yes, if the owners paid a better wage they wouldn't be so rich? They need to clean up all the violations and treat the workers with respect. I think that all immigrants working in the US should be registered. The government doesn't want to address this issue. I hope that you are doing well and that you were spared the tornados and bad weather. It has been a horrible year for the midwest with all these storms. Stay safe. We had a nice warm day here today. I went to a special Mass and then my wife and I took a nice ride and went out to lunch and then went over to my parents. My son went to his friend's for a barbecue. It is back to work for me tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the day and God bless. Warmest wishes to your Mark, Les and Dan too. Peace& Love - Mark Peace & Love

Hey Mark! Just read your comments. I'm of mixed opinions on the Postville raid. There were some pretty nasty work violations going on there (which triggered the illegal immigrant raid in the first place). It upsets me that the plant owners move on with seeminly litte punishment while all of the workers and their families find their lives disrupted. On the other hand, if these types of plants actually paid a living wage for workers to support families, maybe there wouldn't be as much a draw for illegals. Our system is so screwed up. We pay substandard wages so few who can legally work here will do it, but we complain when others break the law to get here to work for the wages we do pay. I heard an interesting story on NPR about one plant that's busing over people from Chicago and surrounding communities to settle here in Iowa nnd work in the processing plants. That seems like a much more positive action, IMHO.

Hi again Jon. I don't know if I told you that I changed my voter registration to Democratic so I could vote for Obama in our primary here. This is a change for me because I am a pro-life Catholic. (I just took the religion quiz and got an 80 which makes me a very traditional Catholic.) I have never voted for a Democrat for President so this is a first for me. I just think we really need a change in our country. I hope that you are having a good Sunday. Peace to you always. - Mark

Hi Jon. I just read an article on the internet about an immigration raid in Postville, Iowa. They have a big Kosher meat plant there with many workers from Mexico, Guatemala and Ukraine. Many people were arrested and hundreds fled to the local Catholic Church where they are holed up in fear of the authorities. The school superintendent said the sudden incarceration of more than 10% of the town's population "is like a natural disaster - only this one is man-made." Half of the school systems 600 students wre absent Tuesday because their parents have been arrested or are in hiding. Wow! What a mess there. I wonder how many of the rich people that make money off of all these workers are in jail. Oh, that's right, in this country some people are more equal than others. Rich people don't go to jail. (For the most part.) Excuse me for being too cynical here. I just found this interesting and wondered what your take was on it. Peace & Love - Mark

Hi Jon. Did you hear of the passing of Mildred Loving? Have you ever heard of her? She and her husband were arrested for being married and forced to leave Virginia. She was black and her husband was white and interracial marriage was a crime in Virginia. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. I wrote about this in my journal if you want to check it out. Peace - Mark

Hey Jon - Thanks for the birthday wishes. Hope you're having a fantastic week! - Dustin