And A Partridge In A Pear Tree

So, since I know most of us have not experienced a Puerto Rican Christmas, I have decided to shed a little light on how my family celebrates our the holiday. First off, I need to give some background. My mother is one of sixteen children, and no that is not a typo. There are ten girls and six boys. Through the years, they have produced thirty-five children, ranging in ages 36 to one year old. If you can do the math, this makes for one hell of a big family, and I would have it no other way. While my family resides in Illinois, the majority of the extended family lives in northwest Indiana, namely Gary. Now, most people shudder when I mention my roots in Gary, but I have a lot of great memories that originate in Gary, so please refrain from making any snide comments. While Gary may not be Beverly Hills, it is the backdrop of my family's history, and has made a lot of strides since it's troubles from the late 80's.

Anyways, as a tradition, my family always congregates at my grandparents home in Gary on Christmas Eve. This includes aunts, uncles and cousins of several different generations. Everyone gathers to enjoy the finest of Puerto Rican cuisine and open gifts at midnight with the arrival of Santos Claus. The food is always second to none, and everyone looks forward to feasting on special items that are only made for major holidays or events. No other food is more cherished than the delicacy of pasteles. This item is very hard to describe, but I will do my best. I would compare it to a sort of Puerto Rican tamale. The filling is primarily pork and potatoes, encased in a batter that uses plantains for the base. Pasteles are very labor intensive, but well worth the effort, and this year's batch was especially excellent. The spread is always enticing and I love every minute that I get to stuff myself with special holiday eats.

Now, most of the present opening is reserved for the younger kids, but it is still quite the spectacle.I mentioned the fact that I have over thirty cousins, and I am number nine in the pecking order. The wide range of ages between cousins has definitely kept things fresh and led to groupings by age. Since I am from an earlier generation, I don't really participate in the ritual midnight opening of the presents, which is fine by me. This year, it was really great seeing all of my younger cousins wriggle with anticipation, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. The sheer madness that ensued was fun to watch and reminded of some great memories of from my youth. There is nothing like seeing the joy on the kids faces when they finally open the gift that they have been waiting for. I all of my 27 years, I have only missed on Christmas Eve, and that was last year for the Bears/Lions game. Even though the game was a great time, I truly missed being around my family on that special night.

Overall, this is an event that I look forward to every year. I know this post went up a little late, but I hope that everyone gets to enjoy a Christmas experience like mine, because it is truly special. Bah Humbug.

Please Hester Don't Hurt 'Em

It is now time to sing the praises of one Devin Hester. I don't know if I can use enough superlatives to describe the man, but I will try to pay him the respect that he deserves. Us Bears fans knew we had something special after last year, but who knew that he would continue this unbelievable streak that he is on. The NFL has never, I repeat never seen a return talent the likes of Mr. Hester. He is rewriting the record book for returns right in front of our eyes while special teams coaches around the league are scrambling to come up with ways to stop him.

For the perfect example of this, let's look back to the game against Denver from Week 11. Some might argue that Mike Shanahan had no business kicking to Hester, but the Broncos bristled at this idea. I can't say I don't completely disagree with Shanahan, but of course, I want every team to kick to Hester. NFL players are paid professionals whose job is to play a game for a living at the highest possible level. Since the Broncos actually kicked to Hester, he was able to hurt them, positioning the Bears for their improbable win. We should also give credit to Bears special teams coach Dave Toub for dropping four men back into coverage during one particular punt, which forced Denver to take a timeout. Toub threw in an exotic look that confused the opposing coaches, and took advantage of the automatic threat that Hester poses. The game was fun to watch for every Bears fan out there and will be one that I remember for a long time.

Considering that this has been a lost season for the Bears, the highlight reel that Hester has provided us lowly fans has been greatly appreciated. Whoever can catch the pop culture reference in the title of this posting will receive gold star*.

*No gold star will actually be awarded.

Another Blow To Privacy Rights

Unfortunately this is another case of the erosion of civil rights that has hastened during the last several years. Beginning with the Patriot Act, rights to privacy have diminished while unlawful searches seem to be on the rise. This is particularly the case with the Project 100% Law that is enforced in San Diego.

Project 100% is a law that allows for the searching of welfare recipients homes in San Diego County without their permission. If the recipient denies the search of their homes, their welfare rights will be rescinded. This law has been enforced in San Diego for the last ten years and is working under the guise that it will help thwart fraud in welfare cases. Here are a couple of articles on the court proceedings. One is from the Associated Press and the other is from North County Times of Northern California.

I find this law to be wholly unacceptable for the rights of private citizens. Welfare fraud is a problem that needs to be eliminated, but conducting searches without permission is a direct slap in the face to to the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Bureaucrats in defense of this law claim that it does not qualify as an illegal search because it is voluntary and the person still has the right to refuse the search, even though they will still lose their welfare rights.

The Supreme Court has chosen not to hear this case, which in essence, secures it's power in the eyes of the law. The last ruling that upheld this law occurred in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which services the West Coast, much to the chagrin of the judges in the minority of the decision. While some people do nothing but bemoan the status of the welfare system, there is no doubt that it serves a specific function in our society. Welfare fraud is a problem, illegal searching is not the answer.

This op-ed piece from the NY Times does a nice job of explaining what I could not and also reinforces my opinion. While some may consider this to be only to be a problem for the poor, it sets a dangerous precedent for future laws that may blur the line between what is considered to be a voluntary or involuntary search. The Supreme Court is making a dire mistake by refusing the hear this case and I can only hope that there will be another way to attack this law from being enforced.

Please Issue Restraint When Responding

I am all about free speech, but this does not give us the right to be offensive. This blog is about the right to express opinions, lord knows I do, but please try not to make sweeping references to people that may be strictly offensive in nature. References to hate groups and things of that nature will not be tolerated and the comments will be deleted if I deem them to be resentful or mean spirited. Once again, this is a forum for expressing opinions, but please do so in a respectful nature.