Swamp Angel

I had a close friend that I first met when I was in 6th grade in 1979. His name was Amir Zafranchi, and his family had fled Iran to escape the Ayatollah and the rapidly rising regime that was replacing the Shah. Amir spoke absolutely NO English when they arrived, but one of the girls in our class spent most of the day talking to him and teaching him English while she neglected her own studies. Amir learned English pretty quickly and of course we all wanted to learn a bit of Persian (you know - the good cuss words and such) so he was one of the students all through middle school and high school that everyone knew.

I guess it was in our junior and senior years of high school that I actually became interested in what was going on over there. Amir's parents were quite open about how Iran had been very "western" in its culture and government up until the uprising and ousting of the Shah in 1979. Photos they had of their home, family, and friends through the 50s, 60s, and 70s didn't really look any different from what you would see in photos of the US in the same time period. But all that had changed overnight with Islamic law being enforced by the Ayatollah and his followers and the nation has regressed socially and politically while nearly maintaining a modern pace of technological advancement. His family believed that such of combination of social regression and technological growth would lead to some troubling times and dire circumstances for Iran and the nations in close proximity.

Amir and his family pretty much confirmed what we have been told about Iran by our government and media since the early 1980s, so I have no concern that we have been misled by our government or media regarding that nation.

I actually might prefer a king to a congress that has become an HOA on steroids.

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All that construction you deal with, y'all don't
have any illegals? Just curious

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I probably just sit here and remain silent on this one, but I can't.

In all honesty, the reason construction is relatively inexpensive is because of our labor pool. Truly skilled trades like electricians and plumbers don't have too many illegals on their crews in commercial construction, but those of us in drywall and metal framing, or concrete, have crews that are almost 100% Hispanic, and I have a sneaking suspicion that most of them don't have a valid green card or work permit. E-verify is pretty much a joke since damned near everyone who wants to can exploit any one of the innumerable loop-holes that exist.

I would dearly love to know without any doubt that every single individual on any crew that my company dispatches to a job is legal and in full compliance, but that's simply not the case. Even better would be to field a crew that consists of good ole American boys rather than the Hispanics, but in all honesty, there aren't a whole hell of a lot of red-blooded gringos lining up to take these positions. Our starting wage is $22.50/hr for framers and hangers and it goes up to $25.00 within six months if the employee is competent. Lead men are making $30.00/hr and foremen are at $35.00/hr. (That's not exactly peanuts for someone who cuts and places metal studs, hangs sheetrock, or installs acoustic ceilings. It doesn't require a whole hell of a lot of super-high intellect to perform but it's demanding enough that we can't hire trained monkeys.)

The truth of the matter is that the only time we see a majority of white or black applicants for an opening is when we advertise an opening for a foreman, superintendent, or project manager. There simply are not enough gringos to actually perform the work at the current rate of new projects being bid and contracts awarded, and the first company to raise prices to accommodate the payroll required to entice American citizens into this trade will be without work for a decent amount of time because the bids will be tossed out at first glance by the owners and GCs because they look ludicrously high.

We're quietly putting out the word that we are specifically looking for employees who have bona fide legal credentials to try to get ahead of the curve and avoid the abyss that is certainly going to appear for a lot of subcontractors. Undoubtedly those employees that can meet all the legal qualifications to hold a work permit (and of course those who are US citizens) will be able to command a higher wage. I don't have a problem with that at all, but the increase in the cost of construction will undoubtedly have an effect that will cause a substantial percentage of construction projects that are currently scheduled or are in the bid stages to be postponed until things even out or even canceled entirely.

In time, I believe this will all work out, but there are going to be some long and painful situations to overcome first.

I hear what you're saying. Obviously the riots are pretty bad. What I don't get is why, if the media is telling us that the protests are mostly peaceful, are they not showing us footage of these peaceful protests rather than the burning of a city?

Best response in the comment on X:

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They cut the video before the wig fell back to Earth

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It's no different from the welfare kings and queens we have residing in our own nation. They become accustomed to being fed and coddled and they begin to think it's their right.

I have no problem with this happening in LA. Trump sent in the NG to quell it but Newsome and his buddies want the NG withdrawn. And - I'm okay with that. Trump made the legitimate effort to save LA from being burnt down and the folks there have essentially stated that they WANT to destroy everything in their town.

Good for them. Let them destroy their homes, businesses, and infrastructure. When they come begging for federal funds to repair the damage, tell them, "No."

His ability to speak English is pretty lacking, but it didn't sound like a muslim prayer to Allah. Granted, the timbre and intonation were a bit odd, but before I condemn it I'd like to know from what foundation he was presenting his supplications. If based upon a foundation in Christ, I'm good with it despite his intonation. If based upon Islamist beliefs, then not so much.

There's simply not enough in the video to determine whether it was Christian or Muslim. All that can be ascertained is that he was addressing a singular God or god.

If ABC is so concerned about this, then maybe they ought to include Uganda in this year's list of scheduled contributions from their own company coffers rather than force the rest of us to pay for it through taxation.

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31,843' deep 27,900 formation PSI well in the GoM right now.

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:bow: