I just made my flight and hotel reservations for Hawaii, and I just finished editing the paper that I'm going to present. I even signed myself up for a historic Oahu tour. Excited I am, yes! If anyone wants to meet me there, I'll be there June 27 - July 2. It should definitely be a great time, and I get to do some academic work to mix in with the social time. I always have to possess some really productive time. It's just the way I am.

Having said that, I need to speak on the immigration issue. It has been brought to our doorstep today because of elitism, 9/11 and homeland security, and the economy. A major argument is that immigrants take jobs and resources from Americans. Note that I didn't distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants, simply because the rhetoric has typically included anyone that can be singled out as different. An intellectual conversation would consistently distinguish the illegal from legal, but that distinction is rarely made. The ultra-conservative want to close off the borders completely, which would be completely different from what is going on right now, with the lack of border control going on. In reality, American immigration policy is jacked up and inconsistent. This creates an issue with perceived security. That's a no-no in post 9/11 America.

Elitism. All through history, America has perceived its people more civilized than the civilizations than they replaced, and sought to "enhance" them. The American Indians, the Mexicans, the Cubans, the Filipinos, the Vietnamese, etc. The strange thing is that first contact leads to lasting contact, and immigration. When immigrants are needed, things are dandy. As soon as outside circumstances take a turn for the worse, then immigrants are attacked. Immigrants are easily uidentified and labeled as expendable and pushed aside. The real issue, however, is power, be that monetary, social, political, etc. Immigrants have always been attacked to make mainstream America feel better that the government is doing something to keep them "safe."

Politicians play a dangerous game. They cater to their constituents for votes and they cater to big business for resources. Consituents don't like immigrants providing cheap labor and big business likes cheap labor. Democracy is supposed to be rule by the people. Who has the upper-hand here? I'd say capital. Globalization and the existence of capitalism have created impoverished situations in other countries so that they can be exploited of their natural resources, particularly their people, for cheap labor.

Immigrants are willing to work jobs for less pay and business knows this. They've created it. They can get away with using cheap labor and outsourcing jobs to countries where there is an abundance of cheap labor. Go to a restaurant in the Philippines and you may see 15-20 people bussing tables. I didn't have to throw away my own trash because a worker was already next to me to do that. There was practically one for each table.

It is so economically deprived in these countries that pennies are better than the underdevelopment that they get at home. There is this sociological term phrase - "The development of underdevelopment." Basically, the powerful countries develop the less powerful countries to be dependent. So conditions are bad and people leave to the more affluent country. Immigration. America has practically brought it upon itself. But it wasn't a decision made by democracy. It was a decision made by capital.

Business has gotten so powerful and so into itself that it doesn't matter if immigrants and Americans don't want to do their work. The work will get outsourced. Auntie Sorcy asked last year if the time would come that more people would leave America than come in. It's an intriguing question. People go where work is. When students are about to graduate many of them say, "I'll go where work takes me." Theoretically then, Americans, as well as the citizens of other countries, will flock to where businesses take their work. Drive out the immigrants, drive out the businesses, and being an outflow of immigration. This immigration issue? It's not about the people. It's about the businesses. Multi-national conglomerate businesses.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed to commemorate people who have died in military service to the United States. I would like to personally highlight those Filipino World War II Veterans, both organized and guerilla units that fought under the United States flag as a part of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East. It is true that our freedom is not free. Many people have made the ultimate sacrifice for it. This includes the Filipino World War II Veterans. I wrote to my representatives, Doris Matsui, Barbara Boxer, and Dianne Feinstein, to take one small step towards making sure that they are forgotten no further by the government that they served. It's only from me, but it's at least one. Maybe you can write one too.

Learn more about the issue at http://www.fullequitynow.com

If you want to know who to write to and where to write to them, go to these websites -

For your House of Representatives Congressperson - http://www.house.gov

For your Senator - http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

I hope everyone had a good holiday.

There is so much tragedy in the world. This earthquake in Indonesia is quite a heart breaker. It really puts a lot of our own minor worries in perspective. Suddenly one can realize how much we take for granted in this spoiled life that we lead here in America. We think of so many items as rights, when in so many parts of the world, people see these same things as privileges. Here, we need to work on seeing that these privileges are ensured in other, less fortunate parts of the world. We have that best opportunity to work for the benefit of others. So why do we think so much of ourselves? It's an ironic matter, as we consider ourselves a compassionate people.

It's hard to keep up with everything that goes on, both personally and professionally. Just as with everything, nothing worth it comes easy. I am trying to do a better job of keeping up, being more sociable and personable. Taking a page from my boss as well as from some of my contemporaries in the brotherhood, it should only serve to make me more well-rounded. In a manner of speaking, it's networking at its finest.

The fallout from the recent California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Supreme Court vote is overwhelming. For better or for worse, I have to bear the brunt of the comments and opinions. I try to read the articles in papers across the nation to see what the print media is saying and conveying. Yes, I do mean nation. Other states are looking at what is going on in California because it sets a huge precedent. It's amazing the type of spin each writer and each paper put on the situation. Did unbiased reporting ever exist? To make matters worse, these media outlets have such a stranglehold on their circulation areas that any other paper would struggle to co-exist, let alone compete.

Of course, these news sources are in direct competition against personal testimonies and anecdotes, which can be and have been emotionally powerful. Stories of students that have worked hard and have faced much hardship in their lives and have completed their classes are strong. Most of these stories are told by or on behalf of students that haven't passed the CAHSEE and want to receive their high school diploma this semester.

Yet I got a story today that was strong in the opposite direction. A father and his son spoke to me, saying that although his son hadn't passed the English portion of the CAHSEE, his English had dramatically improved, because of the extra classes and work that he had put towards passing the exam. I think that's great. An article in May 25, 2006 edition of The Sacramento Bee interviewed a student who said, "If I don't pass, I'll have to fight back my tears, leave it behind and do whatever it takes to move forward. I think that passing the exam will mean more than the graduation ceremony. It will signify that I overcame one more obstacle in my way."

The great thing is that the California Department of Education is supporting these students by getting them the extra support, tutoring, and resources to get them to passing levels. The state even kicked $7.7 million towards this goal in the May revision of the budget.

The CAHSEE isn't the perfect solution, but I do think that it's a huge tool to get us to that goal.

I just finished watching X-Men 3: The Last Stand at the Chi Rho Omicron Epsilon chapter brotherhood event. Basically, the brothers reserved a screen for us to watch it in advance. I won't spoil it for anyone by posting details of it here, but I do recommend that people watch it. Then we can compare notes. Have your people call my people.

Philippine Airlines wouldn't allow lola board her flight because of her physical condition. Apparently, when asked if she was able to make the trip, she responded with "No." So she was granted a ticket waiver so that we can try this trip at a later time. So the emotional roller coaster continues. Of course, I find this out as I'm heading towards my brother's funeral. Not the best of timing, to say the least. So once again, my plan for lola to come home was thwarted by circumstance. It's frustrating, but, and you can imagine what is coming next, I can't quit.

A person can be as great as they want to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive; and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.

So I believe that I can do it. I just have to refocus.

For some reason, the idea popped into my head to adopt a child. Isn't that just an absurd idea? Bobby G. Roy, who never had a father figure, and always uncomfortable with my abilities to ever parent a child, was consciously looking and researching local adoption agencies and the adoption process. What in the the world?!

Yet, I believe I can do it. I would like to do it. I have a lot of love to give, and nobody I've met so far wants to take it. So I'm looking for an alternative I guess. It's a tremendous job. There is a lot of pressure. The dynamic would be different because I wouldn't be the biological parent. All the literature I've come across talks about it. This is major, so I'm going to take some time to really research the possibilities. Maybe the county will frown upon me trying to be a single parent. I just have to prepare.

Taking the 5 North to the CA 12 West to the 160 South takes you past some very amazing sights. It's mostly levee roads, and I guess I haven't appreciated the natural scenes in Sacramento County lately.

It gave me a lot of time to think. Already I'd like to work on my autobiography which will record my life-journey in detail, together with the innumerable side trips which have carried me around, into homes both lowly and luxurious, and even to places to confer with heroes and heroines.

Sometimes I ask myself if I have any other legacy to leave. Truly, my worldly possessions are few. Yet, my experiences have been rich. From them, I have distilled principles and policies in which I believe firmly, for they represent the meaning of my life's work. They are the products of much sweat and sorrow. Perhaps in them there is something of value. So, as my life continues, I will pass them on to people everywhere in the hope that a random philosophy may give them inspiration. Here, then is my legacy.

Love builds. It is positive and helpful. It is more beneficial than hate. Injuries quickly forgotten quickly pass away. Personally and racially, our enemies must be forgiven. Our aim must be to create a world of fellowship and justice where no man's skin, color or religion, is held against him. "Love thy neighbor" is a precept which could transform the world if it were universally practiced. It connotes brotherhood and, to me, brotherhood among people is the noblest concept in all human relations. Loving your neighbor means being interracial, interreligious and international.

Knowledge is the prime need of the hour. More and more, people are taking full advantage of hard-won opportunities for learning, and we must continue along that path. We are making greater use of the privileges inherent in living in a democracy. If we continue in this trend, we will be able to rear increasing numbers of strong, purposeful men and women, equipped with vision, mental clarity, health and education.

We live in a world which respects power above all things. Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force. It has always been my first concern that this power should be placed on the side of human justice.

Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible. Faith in God is the greatest power, but great, too, is faith in oneself.

The world around us really belongs to youth for youth will take over its future management. Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world. They must not be discouraged from aspiring toward greatness, for they are to be the leaders of tomorrow. Nor must they forget that the masses of our people are still underprivileged, ill-housed, impoverished and victimized by discrimination. We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.

Faith, courage, brotherhood, dignity, ambition, responsibility - these are needed today as never before.

If I have a legacy to leave people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. As I face tomorrow, I am content, for I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of peace, progress, and love.

People ask me all the time why I'm in a "frat." I tell them it's not just a frat, nor a fraternity. It's a brotherhood. Then I try to explain what brotherhood is. Brotherhood is the ties that bind the members of a fraternity together in common beliefs and ideals that make the fraternity what it is. Brotherhood also encompasses everything that happens, from recruitment to service activities to parties.

To be a brother of a fraternity can mean a lot of things depending on which fraternity you're in. In almost all fraternities it includes hanging out and partying together. In Chi Rho Omicron (XPO), brotherhood means a lot more than that. In XPO, brotherhood means helping each other with common and not so common problems, forming life long freindships with the brothers, and working together to improve the brotherhood and the community.

It means becoming a better person while helping to improve the quality of life for others. It means forming deep and lasting friendships that transcend the boundaries of race, religion and culture, as well as those of geography.

But most of all, being a brother means the kind of deep satisfaction that comes only from selfless giving, from doing for other with asking, or expecting anything in return.

Like many of the most important things in life, it cannot be readily measured, quantified, or even accurately described in words. Yet, it is just as real as the sound of a ringing bell or the light of our student's lamp. You know it when you feel it.

One of the ways you can see brotherhood, though, is through its results. When brotherhood is really felt, when it is 'really there' among a group of men, it enables them to do and experience moments which would otherwise be impossible. Armed with the recognition of the ties that bind them togehter, values like loyalty, commitment, responsiblity, and even love become possible.

Brotherhood encompasses loyalty and service. Brotherhood means generosity. Brotherhood means sharing your time and talent. For some, brotherhood means postponing their careers or graduate school in order to serve their fraternity. For others, brotherhood is simply keeping in touch. Least we forget, we must recognize what brotherhood  is not - a misplaced sense of loyalty to our members. Brotherhood is not protecting a brother at all costs. It is not perpetuating the pervasive problem of alcohol abuse on caollege campuses and among our student members. Rather, brotherhood is holding a brother accountable and expecting him to live up to the ideals and standards of Chi Rho Omicron.

Brotherhood means more than wearing Greek letters, attending meetings, and going to parties. It is a feeling and sense of belonging. It is a feeling of being yourself and liking who you are and what you have become. It means that you have found a place of your own, which you can call a home away from home. More importantly, brotherhood is the making of friendships that will last a lifetime. It is the feeling of knowing you can count on your brothers in good times and in bad. Brotherhood means joining a group of men in love and friendship, and a striving for similar goals that draw brothers together as one strong unit. They become brothers by chance, friends by choice. Brotherhood means remembering a fallen brother and supporting his family even beyond the hard times.