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As an elementary teacher, my students called me Miss Giggles more than they did my actual name. And I loved it. It was a nickname given to me by my students my first year teaching, and I decided to keep it. There are worse names students can come up with.
I love to read. My books are some of my greatest possessions. I dream some day of having a whole wall of bookcases full of books. And it would be even better if I had read all of them. A good library is a must for me.
Because people know I love to read, they are constantly suggesting new books for me to read, or asking me what books I would suggest for them.
This blog is a place for me to keep a record of all the books I have read and what I thought of them. I have been keeping track of the books Ive read since 2003 on another website. Those reviews will slowly be moved here. I hope that by putting the reviews on a blog it will be more usable, that people will be able to search the reviews for subjects or authors more easily. And if they have read the book, perhaps make a comment as well.
But remember, this is my library. And as such, I have complete control over the content.
Update: July 11, 2008. Expect this site to change a lot over the next several weeks as I figure out the best way to organize as much information as I have.
Update: As of August 4, 2008, all of my past reviews since 2003 are up and available. You can look up a book in the search, browse the title or author pages, or use the tags to find all the books in a series. Enjoy!
Update: On September 7, 2008 (Read a Book Day) I added new page (Wish List) with a partial list of books I would like in my library some day.

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La Prensa San Diego
For a generation, Mexican intellectuals have pondered the possibility of a “Greater Mexico” – the idea that Mexican immigration to the United States was so persistent and sustainable, that Mexican culture could “re-settle” lands lost to the United States at the conclusion of the Mexican American War. Americans, clinging to the belief of a “melting pot,” dismissed that notion, arguing that Mexican immigrants would follow historical norms and assimilate into mainstream American life, as previous generations of newcomers did before them.
A new study by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME), part of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, offers insight that answers this lingering question. As Carlos González y Gutiérrez, IME’s director, told Notimex, “To our surprise and unease, we realize that Greater Mexico isn’t on the other side of the moon, but that more and more it looks like us, and that has many consequences. The principle one is that this new situation reflects, to a good degree, our divisions of class, background, language, ethnicity and educational attainment.”
In other words, there is a “perfect storm” in which middle class ambition, immigration and higher birth rates among Hispanics, is changing the face of Mexicans in the United States. Whereas in the past the bulk of Mexicans entering the United States has come from the economically marginalized – rural farmers, urban poor, under-educated and unemployed – as part of NAFTA’s unintended consequences, Mexican middle class professionals are now establishing themselves on both sides of the border. Hundreds of thousands of non-indigenous Mexicans, meaning Mexicans who are Caucasian and of European descent, are migrating to the United States; the idea of a “Greater Mexico” is becoming a reality.
Who are these middle class Mexicans with lives and families across the border?
They are people like the Caceres brothers, whose company designs and manufactures crystal chandeliers. Some are based in Merida; others are in Los Angeles. They see themselves as Mexicans who live in cities that accommodate minorities – Maya speakers in Merida and English speakers in Los Angeles.
Others are like Enrique Norten, a well-known Mexican architect based in New York, whose firm, TEN Arquitectos, has offices in both countries. “I’m from Mexico City, but I live in New York,” Norten told the Cornell Daily Sun. “My life is about architecture, not borders.”
These Mexicans, with businesses and families on both sides of the border, give currency to the notion of an emerging “Greater Mexico” – where the idea of a “Brain Drain” depleting Mexico of its entrepreneurial spirit and sense of innovation is turned on its head. “Will there be a border in the future?” Jose Luis Caceres, one of the Caceres adult children, rhetorically asked. “For me, it doesn’t matter, since I can go wherever I want.”
That reality – and attitude – has caught Mexican officials by surprise. IME Director Carlos González y Gutiérrez calls these white middle class Mexicans in the United States “Mexico’s transforming agents,” adding that, “although they send many things that benefit us, they also send other things that harm us. But we are tied to each other.

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CAR ACCESSORIES YOU MAYBE DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED

With many states enacting bans on hand-held cell phones, the Bluetooth has become the new favorite gadget among drivers. Some cars have built-in hands-free devices, but quirky technology is nothing new:

Automatic Lit Cigarette Dispenser -- As a "safety" item, this was an aftermarket accessory designed to eliminate the distractions of lighting a cigarette while motoring down the road. This option was unveiled in the late 1940s and in one application was attached to a steering wheel.

Highway Hi-Fi (basically a turntable) -- This option was developed in 1955 and was offered as an option on 1956 Chrysler models. The drawback was in the performance of the record player while encountering the smallest of bumps, slamming on the brakes or taking a fast corner!

Destroilet -- An optional "Destroilet" gas incinerator-type toilet was available for early 1960s Dodge motor homes, which was meant to simplify waste disposal. After use, when the top lid was closed, a small, thick metal lid would also close over the well at the bottom. A jet of burning gas would incinerate the solid waste and vaporize the liquid. A chimney to the outdoors carried the vapors away.

Electric Shaver -- An electric shaver that was powered by a vehicle's electrical system was developed by aftermarket automotive suppliers in the 1940s, and was an available factory option for a 1957 Chevrolet.

Steam Pressure Cooker -- This accessory mounted to the rear bumper to cook food while motoring down the road. It routed exhaust gases through the inner chambers of the cooker to provide the heat to cook the food.

Steering Wheel Watch -- In 1958 a steering wheel mounted watch for was available on DeSotos.

Trafficators -- Back in the days before flashing turn signals, a driver would flip a switch on the dash and a lit semaphore arm would swing out of a panel on the appropriate side of the car and signal the driver's intention to turn.

Swivel Seats -- These seats, available on a 1959 Chrysler, would automatically swivel out as the door opened to make it easier for the passenger to exit the automobile.

Talking Car -- In the early 1980s, the Chrysler LeBaron literally talked. It would say phrases such as "Your door is ajar," "All monitored systems functioning," and if you listened to the command of "Please fasten your seatbelt," it would promptly reply with "Thank you!" The cars with a taped voice were produced for only three years before Chrysler discovered that consumers didn't care for a car talking back to them.

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Guest Passes let you share your photos that aren't public.

Anyone can see your public photos anytime, whether they're a Flickr member or not. But! If you want to share photos marked as friends, family or private, use a Guest Pass.

If you're sharing photos from a set, you can create a Guest Pass that includes any of your photos marked as friends, family, or private. If you're sharing your entire photostream, you can create a Guest Pass that includes photos marked as friends or family (but not your private photos).

Learn more about Guest Passes![.

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DOBBS: As we reported on the broadcast last night, President Bush has signed an executive order cracking down on the employment of illegal aliens by government and the president signing that order, the same week that Senator Grassley introduced legislation to reauthorize and to improve the e-verify program. A federal program that verifies work eligibility of new employees, their legal status. Senator Grassley joins me now from Capitol Hill. Good to have you with us.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY, (R) IA: Lou, Im always glad to be with you.
DOBBS: Senator, do you have the feeling that youre going to be able to succeed in reauthorizing the e-verify program?
GRASSLEY: Well, I would hope that even people that maybe dont want it to be as sweeping as my legislation would require it to be, because we apply it to everybody, they surely would think that we need to have the e-verify program as limited as it is in use, at least continue the extent of what it is if for no other reason than to give employers who are overly concerned about whether a person is legally or illegally in the country an opportunity to use it. We shouldnt take away the choice of people that want to use it.
DOBBS: Well, 69,000 employers using it now. Its considered by the Department of Homeland Security to be 99, as you know, 99.5 percent reliable. The ACLU is attacking President Bush for signing an order that requires contractors to use the e-verify system to make sure that their employees are legal when doing business with the federal government. I mean you couldnt get this more screwed up and upside down in this country when it comes to national values if you tried, could you?
GRASSLEY: You know, I had an opportunity today, probably an annual meeting with constituents who are ACLU leaders from my state, we had this very discussion. But let me tell you, the reason why its so important that the president do that, and I would have had it in my legislation if he hadnt done it, so its a victory to get it done by executive order, isnt it silly to require every federal agency that a federal employee be e-verified but so much work of the federal governments done by private contractors that it doesnt include the contractors because weve had instances in which people from terrorist organizations have been employed on Army bases as an example.
DOBBS: Well, and the examples go on, as you know. I mean, your legislation would require that e-verify be made permanent rather than expire and I believe, what, it expires in November without your legislation? It requires federal contractors to use e-verify, allows employers to verify stat us of all employees, requires employ to re- verify the stat us of temporary workers. It does everything but require every employer to use it. Why not require every employer to use it?
GRASSLEY: Well, I I obviously favor that, because that would have been a part of an immigration bill that, for the most part, I liked except for the amnesty that was in it. But I guess to get that accomplished were going to have to have a more comprehensive immigration bill. And
DOBBS: Well, why is that, senator? Because I mean, you know, the big problem here, Ive said all along, I dont know whether you agree with me, but Ive said all along the only rational actor in this entire illegal immigration mess is the illegal alien. We understand what is motivating that man or woman. But what we dont understand is why illegal employers of those illegal aliens, theyre the ones driving illegal immigration. If we could put e-verify out there and require that business to be responsible for the verifying the status of their employees, they had go a long way to solving our problems, wouldnt it?
GRASSLEY: Well, of course it would. And Id like to give you an answer that I agree with you 100 percent, and I agree with you 100 percent, but in this business that Im in and it frustrates people like you and our constituents when we answer this way, but its what can you get done right now and this is what I think I can get done right now.
DOBBS: Yeah. Well, I think I understand that. And as you suggest, like your constituents, I dont like the answer. I would like to see something better. But at least its progress. And for that, I commend you, Senator Grassley. We appreciate you being with us.
GRASSLEY: Thank you very much. Call me back when you need me.
DOBBS: You got a deal. Thank you very much, senator.

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I found this on Jeff Rense, but I think this is a good article. I think most people can identify with this article.
Im Going To Be
A Happy Idiot
By Gary Jacobucci
6-2-8
After several years of not watching TV, Ive decided to throw in the towel and go back to being programmed. Awakening to the fact that we live in a pretend world created by a criminally insane, global mafia takes too much of my time and no one wants to know about it anyway.
I want to be able to watch coliseum sports with my fellow Americans and find some meaning in who won and lost. I want to watch the Olympics this summer and not remember that it was started by the warring Greek Empire to show their superiority over weaker nations.
When another in my community is diagnosed with cancer, I want to feel sadness that they are the hapless victim of such an insidious disease. I want to appreciate the mutilating, poisoning and burning of cancer patients as modern medicine. I want to feel the hope that there are billions of dollars and brilliant minds working on a cure that is surely right around the corner. I want to purge from my mind that the Eskimos, the Hopis and the Navahos have no incidence of cancer when eating their indigenous diets, as do many other cultures around the world, yet are equally or more susceptible to cancer when eating a traditional American diet and submitting to the modern vaccination program. I want to feel with my fellow citizens that there is nothing I can do about it anyway, and if the big C takes me, thats just the way it is.
I want to believe that our monetary system is too complicated to understand and that there are people far smarter than I looking out for our best interest. I want to believe that recessions and depressions are just inevitable business cycles and ignore that the Federal Reserve is a multi-national privately owned corporation. I want to forget Barry Goldwaters statement; Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States
I want to believe that America was attacked on 9/11 by Islamists and that Israel is our friend. I want to forget the PNAC documents saying that a global war on terrorism would be a tough sell to the American public without a catalyzing and catastrophic event, like a new Pearl Harbor.
I want to believe with my fellow citizens that the Middle East is a hotbed of terrorism and that they want nuclear technology only to develop weapons of mass destruction ­ and ignore that the countries identified as being the Axis of Evil are the countries that have resisted being under the thumb of the IMF and World Bank. I want to be able to relate to the thought of bombing them back to the Stone Age without being bothered by the thought that these bombs are falling on mothers and children.
I want to embrace the self-loathing of the human race; that there are too many people; that we are running out of oil, food and water; that the carbon footprint of man is causing global warming - and ignore the think tank documents calling for these ideas as strategies for controlling the global population thirty years ago.
I want to ignore that the media darling being presented to us for president has the names of Hussein and Obama, when the New World Order poster boys for the war on terrorism were Hussein and Osama.
Ive want to just be an everyman and embrace the lyrics of Jackson Brown; m going to be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender.
The only problem Im having is how to put the damn genie back in the bottle.

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When they observe any of these signals, it is time to stop petting you immediately and allow you to sit quietly or go your own way. Any physical punishment almost always makes the problem worse, as it makes you more likely to bite either because you are fearful or because petting becomes even more unpleasant if it is associated with punishment.
Dear Frisco,
My owners love me very much and let me do whatever I want, but every time my Aunt Cinde comes over, she complains about my liking to roam on the kitchen countertops. Frankly, I dont see why every inch of this house doesnt belong to me, after all, I AM a cat. However, my mom thinks it might be unsanitary and wants to know if theres anything she can do.
Signed,
Counter Climbing Calico
Dear Climbing,
Yes! Heres a method your mom can use to prevent you from future counter adventures. A common solution is to cover the countertops with sheets of aluminum foil. Most cats dislike the feel of this on their feet and it is often enough to deter them. You may need to continue with this long-term but the foil will stack up out of the way fairly easily so it should not be a problem. It may also help to get your cat something that he is allowed to climb, like a climbing tree, and encourage his use of it with praise and by hiding treats around the tree.
PS Climbing sorry, but it IS unsanitary for you to walk on a surface where human food is placed or handled. Remember that litter box you just left?
Frisco McNelis is co-owner of Connies Elite Pet Care, Inc. a Professional Pet Sitting Company located in Margate, NJ. You can find out more at www.ConniesElitePetCare.

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Tancredo plans to keep fighting illegal migrants
Denver Post : April 7, 2008 by Anne C. Mulkern
Tom Tancredo plans to take his battle against illegal immigration all over the country when he leaves Congress at the end of this year.
The Littleton Republican, who ran for president on the issue of illegal immigration, wants to start an organization to work with state and local leaders to pass immigration-related laws.
And hes dreaming big.
Tancredo would seek laws like one in Arizona that yanks business licenses from employers caught hiring undocumented workers. He likes one in Oklahoma that requires proof of citizenship for government benefits and makes it a felony to knowingly house or transport illegal immigrants.
And he favors ordinances like one in a northern Virginia county that allows police officers to question the legal status of anyone stopped for any reason.
When I look at Arizona and Oklahoma, I see movement, Tancredo said. I see that we have momentum on our side, and I want to keep it going.
Since 2006, when Colorado passed several immigration laws, including one toughening identification requirements to get state aid, numerous state and local governments have followed suit. Nine states that year introduced legislation aimed at restricting services to illegal immigrants or their ability to get jobs.
Tancredo said he believes theres still great hunger for these types of ordinances and concern that the next president wont toughen immigration laws. Others arent as sure.
States and counties arent eager to pass laws that increase law enforcements workload or clog courts, said Tanis Salant, a University of Arizona professor of public administration.
After the Oklahoma law passed last May and the Arizona law passed in December, everyone was expecting that lots of states would start to copy, said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. In fact, very few have copied.
Virginia, for example, started its legislative year with more than 100 proposed immigration laws, she said. It passed only a few minor ones.
Laws like those in Arizona and Oklahoma force businesses to close or discourage them from opening in a state, Jacoby said.
She recently started ImmigrationWorks USA, a nonprofit working with business groups in 20 states to prevent laws like those in Arizona and Oklahoma.
Tom Tancredo is a worthy adversary, Jacoby said, but hes not likely to persuade too many.
Bay Buchanan, who chaired Tancredos presidential campaign and is likely to work with him on the new effort, disputes Jacobys views.
Where the whole states not ready, youll see it happening in parts of the state, Buchanan said, citing ordinances in Prince William County, Va.
Where theres a desire for change, she and Tancredo could let them know how its done, what to do, what not to do, what holds up in the courts.
Prince William County acted because of the impact of illegal immigration on schools, hospitals and communities, said Corey A. Stewart, Board of Supervisors chairman.
A July ordinance requiring the county jail to check the legal status of inmates has led to 468 deportations with another 280 pending, Stewart said.
Every locality is going to do whats best for it, he said. The localities can be seen as a laboratory to see what works best.
Passing local ordinances and state laws keeps the pressure on at the federal level, Tancredo said.
Tancredo is known for making shocking statements, and that could hurt his ability to work with local governments, said former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, a Democrat who agrees with Tancredo that illegal immigration needs to stop.
Tom would have a little bit of difficulty putting together the various coalitions that generally exist on a local level, he said.
Tancredo said he knows he is accused of hate-mongering but that such views are just a way to avoid dealing with the issue.
He could start his organization within a month after leaving office, Tancredo said.
Hes not sure what form it would take and whether it would resist political advocacy. If it did, contributions to it would be tax-deductible. If the group backed candidates or prospective laws, contributions would not be tax-deductible.
Buchanan said there may be room for both.
Whenever the federal government abandons an issue, people at the local level start to do it, Tancredo said. I would like to help them.

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