Page 6 November 27, 2014 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion The Wounded Animal Executive Order on Immigration Issue By Gerald Chong Will Not Solve the Problem The wounded predator glowered from his lair, arrow wounds everywhere. Angry and cornered, he licked at himself and plotted his revenge against all who challenged him, punishing the country in the process. Without a doubt, a wounded president is the most dangerous predator in the political jungle, capable of wreaking vengeance with fury and extreme prejudice. One arrow came from the Gallup poll showing the lowest ever rating for Obamacare: only 37% approve the law while 56% oppose. Correspondingly, the coming enrollment, originally projected to be 13 million people, will fall to only 9.1 million, nearly a 30% failure. A second arrow came from Jonathan Gruber, one of the architects of Obamacare, who had been paid $400,000 by the President to structure the program to obfuscate the tax impacts of the program. But now Gruber says the American public is stupid and had been conned into supporting the law. Predictably, Obama claims he never knew the man. A third arrow came from the Legatum Institute of London, which compared 141 nations’ quality of life (opportunity, education, civil liberty, freedom of choice) and found the U.S. had fallen to 21st. In 2009 we had been ranked 9th, so under Obama we have fallen 12 places. Our freedom ranking fell 17%, and the combination ranking of civil liberty + free choice fell 22%. The study objectively validates the feelings we have all shared. A fourth and most serious wounding came when the public rejected Obama’s policies, and Finance Three Simple Ways To Kick The Stress Out Of Holiday Shopping (BPT) - Traveling, cooking large meals, planning and surviving holiday office parties, and managing relatives - the holidays are stressful. Add in the time and money demands of holiday shopping, and you may be tempted to keep a therapist on speed dial. While you may not be able to avoid difficult relatives or the annual end-of-year trip to a client you’d rather not see, it is possible to reduce holiday shopping stress. “In my opinion, the best deals are post- Black Friday,” says Peggy Blum, a former retail trends forecaster, past Seventeen Magazine editor, and current lead instructor for the Fashion Retail & Management program at The Art Institute of Austin, a branch of The Art Institute of Houston. “Black Friday will have some deals, but it won’t be the end-all of sales through the season.” With that in mind, here are three holiday shopping tips that are sure to help. You have no idea where to start or what to buy: Kate Campbell, a former buyer for Dillard’s, suggests starting with a search of hot lists or top-pick lists. Campbell currently serves as the director of the Fashion Marketing & Management program at The Art Institute of Tampa, a branch of Miami International University of Art & Design. Whether it is toys, apparel or electronics, major retailers and brand-specific websites are publishing “hot holiday lists” and top picks for almost anything. “I’ve seen top picks by Amazon, Toys R Us, and PC Magazine for electronics,” says Campbell. “There are even top pick lists for cosmetics and best buys for kitchen ware.” Blum adds that novelty gifts are also a great way to make an impact and a good place to start. She challenges shoppers to step away from the large retail stores and buy from privately owned businesses like local boutiques and mom and pop stores. “People really respond to unique gifts, and it puts the magic back into gift-giving,” she says. “Think outside the box, anything from craft beers, to personalized yoga mats, to craft jewelry could all make great gifts.” Looking to save time and money: If you’re constantly on the go and prefer to rely on some preliminary shopping via your cellphone or mobile tablet, many apps can make shopping a bit more organized and convenient. “There are apps for apparel such as Wanelo and Wish, and major retailers or brands also have their own apps such as Pink Nation for Victoria’s Secret,” Campbell says. Need to keep track of all your online purchases? There’s an app for that! The larger shipping services like UPS and FedEx have their own apps, but you can also try the Slice app or the Posted app depending on your needs. Campbell warns that shoppers should plan for extra time on their delivery schedule when purchasing online or via an app. “Online and app shopping will save you the hassle and time, but you need to plan for shipping delays,” she says. “Some of your items could easily be coming from China and take a whole month to arrive.” Blum recommends surfing products online for a cost difference from store prices. If you print out the shopping cart you intended to purchase, and bring it in store, the retailer will often honor the price savings. Knowing and shopping the promotions before you go to the store is a different way of couponing. Want additional savings? Blum recommends the Amazon app for your smartphone. Just scan the in-store item’s barcode and the app will tell you if Amazon has the same item for less. She cautions that the Amazon app doesn’t work with generic brand items. Complete your shopping in one place or in one day: Pick and choose where you think you may spend the majority of your holiday budget, and join the loyalty programs for coupons and reductions. “Be choosy and make sure you register with the loyalty programs that will really deliver savings and unique purchases as opposed to spam mail,” Campbell says. The key to holiday shopping is to avoid impulse buying. Make a list, and start early. Go online or ask your loved ones and friends about their hobbies. Stress relief and savings are the result of doing the homework. If you don’t, the worst will happen - you’ll force yourself to buy out of desperation. • By Cristian Vasquez President Obama’s proposal to address the current immigration crisis through an executive order is a horrible idea. To start, there are too many details to address in order to solve this problem through an executive order. From border security, to streamlining the process to handle the petitions of people attempting to enter the country legally and even to determining how to properly deal with undocumented immigrants detained in the country. Realistically an executive order can address each and every issue that I just listed; however, a one-sided approach will result in several shortcomings and future complications. It goes without saying that in the past eight years nothing has been done by either party in order too address the immigration issue. Both sides have claimed to be open to developing policies that would best benefit immigrants and the country. However, they have been so far apart that conversations have stalled at every moment. The best the Democrats and President Obama could offer was the Dream Act, which was nowhere near being agreed upon by both parties. Republican Senators such as Marco Rubio from Florida and Ted Cruz from Texas have been vocal about their approach to solving the immigration crisis, which involves continued efforts by the federal government to deport people, as well as voluntary deportations. This of course goes against the approach by the Democrats who would rather create the famous/infamous path to citizenship. So here we are on the brink of an executive order that will anger both sides of the political aisle, fail to fix the issue of undocumented immigrants which will more likely than not allow the continued entry and overstaying of immigrants to the country. The reason we keep having people sneak in or over stay their welcome is because the businesses that hire this labor source continue to get away with their crime. As a society we are fast to point the finger and place blame on a person or group at the first sign of trouble. With the immigration issue the focus has always been on the source of labor; we can go as far back as we want in our nation’s history and the undocumented workers have always been the target of deportations while business owners receive a slap on the wrist at best. Now, I’ll be clear. The businesses that have gotten away with the slap on the wrist are big businesses; corporations. A small business owner would be likely to lose it all if caught breaking such a law. However, corporations like Wal-Mart, who in March of 2009 paid $11 million in a civil immigration case to avoid prosecution, get away with using undocumented workers. Forcing a multi-billion dollar corporation $11 million in civil fines in order for anyone to avoid jail time is a mockery of our laws. It is hypocritical and absurd to criminalize the source of labor but not the source that employs and profits from said illegal source of labor. An Executive Order by President Obama will not fix the immigration problem and based on Congress’ record, they won’t do it either. • elected a Republican Congress. ‘Nuff said. Lashing out, he proposes legalizing and issuing work permits to five million people who had illegally entered the country, adding to the 92 million already unemployed. Polling indicates 74% of Americans oppose this Presidential mandate, which the President himself, speaking as a senator, had previously declared as being illegal. Setting aside the emotional content of the proposal, his own previous position validates creation of an America outside the rule of law and public opinion. Inexplicably, he entered an agreement with China in which by 2030, we would reduce carbon emissions by 26%-28% from 2005 levels. By contrast, China agreed to peak its emissions by that same date. For the U.S. to reach that reduction, the economy would have to be virtually dismantled, but China can continue business as usual for the next 15 years. The wounded predator has insisted on turning the internet over to the government for control, so it can be run like the Post Office, the IRS, and the VA -- and of course, be taxed. Even as he promised “No boots on the ground in the Middle East,” 1,500 more boots arrived in Iraq, bringing the total count to 3,000. What’s more, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says American boots may join Iraqi troops in the field. Victor Ponta, the recently defeated candidate for the presidency of Romania, in his concession speech, said, “We are a democratic country. The people are always right.” It is unfortunate the wounded predator does not share the same view of the democratic process. • Follow Us on Twitter @heraldpub Like Us on Facebook
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