Arizona! A New era of humiliating legislations

I love Bill Maher. Now you know of course I am a liberal who enjoys satirical political humor. Recently, while watching some of "Real Time with Bill Maher" footage on youtube I hear him say "We no longer have political left. In recent years Democrats have moved to center and Republicans have moved to mental institution" (I am not sure if these are the exact word but along the same lines). Recent health care legislation has proved this point to some extent but the recent outrageous legislations in Arizona have proved it to be exactly right. I love my friends in Arizona, but it is the legislature I can not stand. It looks that as soon as Janet Napolitano left for serving Federal government, the state has been completely taken over by complete morons. The recent legislations about buying weapons without permits was the beginning and the most recent about letting police officers checking the legal immigration is the epitome of humiliating, ridiculous legislation in the state's history. I read someone saying that "after not recognizing MLK day as a state holiday, this signing new immigration law is second black day in the state'e entire legislative history".

I completely agree with the issue of illegal immigration in Arizona. With border fencing in CA and NM, AZ has become the channel for illegal immigrants to walk through. No one is in denial of that. But as far as I know, immigration is the Federal issue. The recent legislation in AZ challenges the Federal authority saying that if Feds won't do it, we will. This is might a good calling for Feds to intervene and push a comprehensive immigration reform which is much needed. However, the point is not that. The point is is the police force eligible to understand the issue of immigration? The state is saying that the police will be trained to understand this issue. I have few points for them.
1. Isn't the police force already burdened with the duty of maintaining law and order and looking for extremely serious offenses such as robbery, homicides, sex crimes, property crimes?
2. Isn't there a department called Homeland Security and Border Safety who works on immigrations issues?
3. How is the training going to help the police to understand the immigration? First of all there are tons of documents and procedures that are involved in the immigration process. If someone is on work permit or student visa and is in process of obtaining new visa or extension or permanent residency, getting new documentation can take months. So if police catches someone who is in between in statuses, will they be able to comprehend the situation?
4. Another problem is the notion of "reasonable doubt". How do you define that? How does an illegal immigrant look? It means that the police is going to look for certain races and ethnicities even thought governor denies it. There are Caucasians who are not citizens and non Caucasians who are citizens and any one can easily understand who will be asked for papers.
5. This is going to increase mistrust of police department. For the safety of any city the harmonious relations between police force and residents is much needed. If one can not trust police then who can they trust?
6. Arizona has many vehicle thefts. Now, if someone keeps the immigrations documents in the car and it is stolen, will the police take the responsibility of getting new documentation to the person?
7. With the new gun law it is easy to get guns in this state now. So I am afraid there might be increase violence against police force.

All and all this is a completely ridiculous piece of legislations which I hope will not stand in the court. There will be lot of petitions and I really hope the constitutional test will prove the illegitimacy of this law. Hoe funny is that the Constitution is violated by the ones who always cite the holiness of it.

Given the current situation in the state I am very happy that I will be in blue state soon. Those of who don't understand the importance of being in a blue state just know this, in a blue state legislature not in an asylum!

Ode to Tempe!

What makes a house a home? The people who live in it make it a home. And same is true for a city I call my second home after Pune, my love, Tempe. It's a little hard to believe that this city where I moved only to be with V has become so close to my heart that I am all emotional of the the thought of moving to MI. In last four years, Tempe has become a home where I have met all the loved ones. What started as a convenience , soon became the most valued love affair with the hep city of Tempe.
I met the most amazing people, made most caring friends, went to most amazing graduate school and lived in the most amazing city.

The sun never sets in Tempe. Almost 320 days of beautiful bright sunlight make it the destination for those who enjoy being in the sun. With the youthful crowd of ASU students the city never stops being "young at heart". Tempe is a place where I found best of both worlds. All the perks on being in Phoenix metro area and still a close community feeling. The parks and the roads and the transportation just made it a place I somehow feel, I always knew.

I worked, I played and I made a life in this city. The mill avenue, Tempe Center for the Arts, my favorite place - Tempe public library and Tempe town lake are the jewels of this vibrant city. The food, the weather, the NBA games and partying with friends, it all comes to me when I think of the time I spent it Tempe.

Many of my friends who are not from Arizona look at the state as a desert full of cacti. But what they don't know is that in this desert the cacti bloom with beautiful flowers in Spring and in winter one can still walk around the lake with just a nice jacket on. Ohhh!! Tempe! I will miss you.

When I moved to Arizona, I never knew that the state will keep its mark on me! But it did. Sometimes one has to live it to know it. Grand Canyon is the wonder of the state but another wonder is the people who make this state. My friends and colleagues and the public servants who are an integral part of my experience in Tempe are another wonder of Arizona whom I will miss because they are my family.

I love this city and the life it offers. I know I will come over and visit and it doesn't matter how far I will be since I will read AZ Republic just to be in touch with my family :)

Being in Tempe has been fulfilling and amazing. Tempe, no way this is a "good-bye" but just a "thank you" for making my stay most memorable. I love you and will always think of you as my home in US!

Hans Christian Andersen!

Today is hand Christian Andersen's 205th birthday. For his fans it is surely a reason to celebrate. I don't remember at what age I was introduced to his works but I got so much mesmerized by the stories that I still can not get over them. Who can ever forget "Thumbelina", "Princess and the Pea", "Little Mermaid" and all those other captivating beautiful stories? When I first read his works I read the Marathi translations. As I grew up I read them in English. Unfortunately, I do not read Danish but it would be treat to learn the language just to read Andersen.

In winter 2009, when we drove up in California we visited a small Danish village "Solvang". On the central street they have Hans Christian Andersen's bust. I was so excited to see it that I almost shouted his name out :) Solvang has a very small museum that is dedicated to Andersen. It contains some of his famous works in original Danish print. Many of books are there those got published in different countries. It was a wonderful moment to be in that small place and read about his life and think about his work.

Andersen is alive forever, like all the other great creators are. I love him and I now own a big fat book that collects all his stories. Whenever I feel a little lonely or upset I just open any page of Andersen's story book and start reading. It makes me smile and enjoy every single moment of it. He has such a power over me and millions others who have been reading his books since they were toddlers!

I love you, Hans Christian Andersen and I am sure all of us will keep reading your books and enjoying knowing how Thumeblina finally married the prince!

Thank God!

Day before yesterday night, V was out playing his favorite game and I was at home reading. So I decided to watch the movie I had not watched but really wanted to "Bruce Almighty". It's never to late to catch a Jim Carry film. And of course I loved the movie. Everyone has done a great job and Morgan Freeman as God is very convincing. The man is born philosopher :) But what I enjoyed the most about the ,movie is the thought of answering the prayers. There are millions of people including me who ask God every day perhaps many times a day to fulfill certain wish they have. Give me a job, a house, a car, a promotion or help to get over the health problem and so on and so forth. Like in the movie, if God answers all the prayers then every one will win a lottery but every one will just receive $17. What's the point in winning a lottery then?

The movie made me think about all the things we ask God to do for us or get for us. How funny is that we think if we ask he is grant the wish as if he is "Make a wish foundation". Prayer is powerful and it is important that only after testing the will and integrity of the person praying it gets answered. I am so glad God did not grant each of my wish or else I would think I don't need one. I am glad that God makes it hard for us to achieve our goals or mission or whatever we wish in our lives or else no one would remain humble and understand and think about what he/she really wants in life. One of my teachers once said that, "it's good that God makes you wait to get anything in life and he does not answer all you wishes or else he will be working round the clock as if he was servant not God".

So I am happy that God makes it hard of us to reach the destination but I am more happy that he gives the strength to stay on the right path.

A pro - choice thought

The current debate in the health care reform about making provisions for "abortion" got me thinking about the issue of abortion. I had no idea in a progressive country like United States, a huge majority gives more importance to fetus who is yet to be born than to the life and choices of the woman who bears it for nine months and then perhaps for the rest of her life. I am definitely a pro choice person. I never remember having this conversation with anyone when I was in India. But after coming over to the US, I had this discussion with many of my friends. Quite surprisingly many of them think it's something "devilish" to go for an abortion. I know many girls who got pregnant because of failure of a contraceptive option. When some of them mentioned that, I asked them if they knew about morning after pill or getting rid of it before the medically possible time line and they looked at me as if I was committing a blasphemy. Well, many of these girls are smart and educated young women. But somehow when it comes to sex and abortion they wish to be traditional.
I of course all for individual liberty. But how can you have a child when you are not mentally and emotionally prepared for it? Being a parent is a wonderful thing and it brings huge responsibility "for life". So the decision should be taken with lot of thinking. Girls spend hours and even days to find a suitable outfit for wedding. Then why not use similar time to think about parenthood.
I strongly believe that whether to be parent or not is woman's right. Of course for a married woman it does include partner's choice too. But since it is the woman who is physically carrying the child, she should know what's out there when it comes to child birth and good child development. There has been evidence that unwanted pregnancy may not lead to healthy children, both mentally and physically. I am not suggesting that abortion is a good contraceptive measure. Of course not. But if there is no other option perhaps it is the last resort. Every woman knows whether she really is capable of having a child and it should be her decision to have an abortion or not. I believe that life is precious. Life of the children who are in foster care or just thrown on the streets is very much precious. Instead of giving births to these children who would end up in such facilities, if possible the option of abortion seems to be much more suitable. Only a healthy and happy mother can raise a healthy and happy child. So for me keeping the decision of abortion with the woman is the most sensible thing to do!

Language..No Barrier

Today, I had an interesting experience. It was the first time I went with my friend P to the gym. It was my first day so I was looking around and trying to figure out how to use treadmill. I was looking around when two ladies entered the room. Apparently, they were there for the first time as they were not sure exactly what to do and how to use the machines. So I tried to help. However, they were from Somalia and did not know English. But somehow through few words and many hand gestures, I was able to explain how to run on treadmill. So it worked and after our workouts we started chatting with them. At that time we found that they were from Somalia. They asked us where we came from. When P said we are from India, one of the women said she loves Bollywood movies and loves Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Amir Khan. We were extremely surprised. I had no idea that Bollywood movies were so famous in Somalia. She told us that , they dub movies in Somali language. How interesting is that! Out of nowhere we meet this girl from Somalia and have a great interaction with her without speaking English and she tells that she loves Indian movies. Guess, when it comes to communication, language need not be the barrier.

Julie and Julia!

I finished reading Julie and Julia. I have already seen the movie, twice and had to keep the hold on the book for almost 2 months before I got it. It took me 3 days to read the book page to page, literally! I loved, loved, loved it. The book is not only about how Julie Powell followed the recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, but also is about a thirty year old girl's attempt to change her life and find a meaning to her existence.

I particularly liked that aspect of "finding meaning". When you are approaching thirty and suddenly you find you are still struggling to get to the point where you feel "worth of something", it can be very hard. However, Julie took her frustrations and failures at everything new she tried and changed it into a new meaning of learning French cooking. She had to go through many many days and nights of exertion to complete her mission. Too many failures before she could complete her project to go through Julia's book. But with each failure she got back on the track to finish the goal and in the mean time she found herself back, with the help from Julia :)

I had no idea who Julia Child was until I saw the movie. Movie made me read the book and now I am borrowing Julia Child's biography right away. Julia too learned her life's mission at the age of 37. How wonderful the thought is. One doesn't have to be successful at the age of 25. In this crazy world, when everyone want you be rich and successful before 30, Julie and Julia show how one can find success at a later stage and it is OK to be successful at a later stage of your life.

Of course, I have decided to learn French cooking as soon as I can afford the classes. Being the enthusiastic cook I am, the book made me curious about the French cooking and perhaps about the cooking in general. Thanks Julie and Julia, you gave me a great comfort when I need it the most.