I don't know hard numbers, but my gut feeling is that this country could not survive without illegal immigrant labor. Not without a dramatic shift in how we pay people and what we are willing to pay for things, and a million other aspects of our society. And what happened in Georgia backs me up [link]

Anthony Bourdain says there wouldn't be restaurants without those people.

zuisa, the Science Fiction Museum is in Seattle. Amongst other things and quite a few Buffistas, of course.

The Underground Tour was very interesting.

The Underground Tour and Pike's Place Market are the two "touristy" things in Seattle I will do over and over as a native.

The 17th, you said? Hmmm. I am going to be vending at a big steampunk/alternative rummage sale up on Capitol Hill that day, otherwise I'd try to meet up with you.

point to Georgia, their whole agriculture industry went up in flames this summer because their new laws made many people leave the state. I think they had vegetables and fruit dying in the farms unpicked.

Here is one article about the labor impact. It may make you crazy:

"We've had comments, some comments, that some restaurateurs are just now, they're uncomfortable now at this point hiring anybody who has a Hispanic surname or an Asian surname," Bremer told a state Senate hearing organized by Democrats last month.

[link]

Dominic West and Clarke Peters play Othello. Great interview.

My new riposte to arguments against the Dream Act (that would let good students who were brought illegally to this country as children normalize their immigration status) is that in most cases, our country/state/county/city has put twelve or more years of educational money into these kids.

By deporting them, we're throwing away all that sunk cost.

It's arguably better in the long run we keep these kids (who are A students) around so we can collect money back in the form of income taxes, et cetera.

I love the 21st century, where I can post to Buffistas from top of a mountain... I am sitting on a huge pile of granite, looking down at Donner Lake, and it's quite lovely here.

It's arguably better in the long run we keep these kids (who are A students) around so we can collect money back in the form of income taxes, et cetera.

Oooh, good one.

Hellooooo up there, Consuela!!!

I didn't get around to the yardwork. Or pickling the cukes (though truth be told, I might in a bit.) Nor the manicure.

But that's because I turned this: [link] (I'd flaked off most of the loose paint long prior to today.) into this: [link] I've got to wait a few hours before I can put the shelves back in. I don't think I lost too many brain cells to fumes. And thank god I do my own nails so had a big jug of acetone to clean up the tiles where "the cloud" deposited paint.

Of course, I do this on the muggiest day in a while, so ventilating meant inviting in mugginess. But it is purty now.

....and maybe I should eat something today...