Introduction to Third Season -

Generally speaking! This episode illustrates, if nothing else, the fact that we immigrants have normal conversations that sometimes revolve around nothing but 'campfire' talk. You're really eavesdropping here; see what you might find and let us know your thoughts.

Modern Americans are not known for voting and putting in place a government that works for everyone. This is evident in all things 'American'; from individuals we vote into office, place on the Supreme Court, to those we coddle in big business. We are simply not interested in anything that does not cater to our selfishness. In this episode, as always, we jump around and basically talk about this and other things related to how we feel about our countrymen and the place we call home. If you're of the opinion that we should move out, or go someplace where things are different, our answer to that is: Wait! We'll fix this mess (for you!) just like immigrants have done so for generations. We don't run from problems. We fix it! Immigrants like us are what will make America great (again). 

Since we really didn't get to finish our conversation with our mystery man in the last episode, we decided to have him back with us. Jerry is being a bit pesky and I wonder if any guest would join us due to his ramblings and insulting questions, but at least this guest came back. Let's see what happens! We're glad to have your with us and please let us know what you think. You can drop us a note by visiting our website www.twoimmigrants.com 

We are excited to have our first guest on the show, so much so that we forgot to stick to a specific topic. Well, maybe we did to a small extend. But overall we wanted our guest to speak and talk about his immigration story, what he imagined America to be, and now that he has lived here for nearly thirty years, was it worth coming here. Does he find America to be what he hoped she would be? So we're free forming this episode and talking around a few issues. But isn't that what we normally do anyway? 

We might be reaching here in this episode, but hey, it's just our opinion. We believe that our collective efforts to maximize profits for industry has lead to bad food, bad-for-you drinks, and overall minimization of quality for maximization of profits. Who pays the price for this greediness? It's the poor! The poor in this country tend to buy the cheapest food/drinks simply because it's what the pocketbook can afford. Along with this comes all the health problems associated with eating unhealthy foods, full of chemicals and little to no real nutrition. Compound this with the lack of proper/affordable healthcare in America, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster...for poor people. I don't we're stretching the truth here. What do you think? 

The Trump organization was recently convicted of crimes. In this episode we talk about this and other crimes that seem to be commonplace for those in power. Even though we have explored the American justice system and how it can be for sale, and best serves the rich and famous, there is always room to continue to talk about these inequities ailing the poor in this country. These ailments, regrettably, are not noticed by the very people who vote to put the same politicians in power, year after year. We seem to have drunk the proverbial cool aid and often are distracted by feel-good issues that play on our emotions and/or religious beliefs (such as abortion for one). Through little fault of our own, we're distracted by media hype of inconsequential issues, where behind our backs the real wealth of the American people are being stolen and squandered. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight! 

In this episode we explore road rage and how Jerry and I as youngster did some things that we're probably not very proud of; but road rage is not unique to us. In fact it could be deadly and it has serious consequences. If you suffer from this "anger"...because lets face it, that what it is...then please seek some help and deal with the anger issue. I wish I had that opportunity and that advice when I was in my early twenties. 

As Americans we tend to think of common courtesies that might be normal to people in other countries, uncommon for us. The only person that should open a car door for you is the valet. We don't always like to shake hands. We have huggers and non huggers, weak hand shakes, and non verbal ques that we give each other that are often unfriendly to say the least and sometimes the opposite of courteous. We don't understand why people bow, kiss a hand or a cheek, and should not call their elders by their first names. It is what it is! What do you consider courteous and what do you teach your children? 

Believe or not some immigrants, like us, agree with some of your ideas. SOME, not all of it. For example, we too believe that there are some immigrants who not only take advantage of the systems built into our government (such as Medicaid perhaps), but also take advantage of other immigrants. A good example of that is probably your average office cleaning crew. There may be one immigrant who may be bilingual, that gathers a 'crew of cleaners', most of whom do not speak English, and create a "company" that offers cleaning services, and then take a cut of the paychecks as the go-between for "owning" the company. While there are certainly legitimate such companies who pay fair wages, but often there are less reputable ones who take advantage of other immigrants and their lack of language skills, work permits, visa, and other such shortcomings. To say our immigration system is broken is a gross understatement. The span of its brokenness is wide and not as simple as politicians make it out to be. 

Christmas traditions around the world vary. Here in the United States we've lost touch with what the season really means. Did you know that the average dollar spent is $1000USD per person, in this country? I don't know who these 'average Americans' are, but if I had to spend $1000 per person for my family of 6, and get in debt for $6000 during Christmas, that would be the last time I buy presents for anyone.  This is a major reason why Americans are in debt (aside from college and medical expenses). This debt, you could even argue, is worse than medical and college expanses because it is usually credit card debt; charged to high interest bearing bank cards. The kind of debt that takes these same 'average Americans' forever to pay back. This episode does not explore the expense but rather is a hodgepodge of our opinions surrounding holidays in general. Merry Christmas! 

We wanted to kick off our second season after Christmas. But given that some of the content of what we want to talk about is already dated, and will be more so after Christmas, it was best to release at least this episode before the World Cup finals. So here it is...our jaw-flapping about Soccer and the word origins among other things. We hope to start dropping episodes again right after Christmas and might even consider some video episodes. Let us know if you would be interested in 'seeing' us in our limited space home office world-headquarters :) 

Not unlike many of our episodes, we jump from topic to topic. We discuss spanking a child, a bit religion, and a lot of politics in this episode. Immigrants like us come from varied backgrounds (as you know already) and often times we view the world from different lenses. Much like the rest of the population our diversity of thought is what makes us who we are; after all that's the whole point of our podcast: to show you we're not much different than you. Please take the time to drop us a line or leave us a message on what you think. We always love to hear from you.

Here's another episode where Jerry and I start talking about random movies and then somehow tie it to life lessons, American history, and the general misconceptions Americans have about their own fate, their own history, and likely repercussions of repeating it. Jerry and I often spend time talking about 'nothing' in particular and often inevitably it turns into serious conversations. I'm fascinated by others' opinions on a variety of topics, that includes people with whom I don't often agree. I want to know what makes people tick. As such, I'm inviting you to write to us, call us, and get in touch with us via our web site. Please go to www.twoimmigrants.com and let us know what you think. 

Ed gets a little testy in this episode; a little mad, and maybe even a little absurd. But he has a valid point!

The conversation got started fine, but ended up with a testy segment about why should anyone, immigrant or not, be proud of today's America? There's little left to be proud of, and there seems to be little hope in sight that we would ever right this ship we call America. Our politicians got all bent out of shape when the Taliban kicked our asses and took over Afghanistan and immediately moved to take women's rights away. But when the American Taliban, i.e. The Supreme Court of the United States, did the same thing to American women, it was celebrated as an achievement of American conservatism. Really America? I hope you're proud of yourselves for putting the Taliban in charge of American affairs.

Here's another example of how we can't stick to one subject. We probably have ourselves in trouble with our wives and with women in general, jumping to other topics from Putin to Cuban Missile Crisis, and back and forth talking general nonsense that only makes sense if you've had a couple of beers. I keep telling Jerry that no one is going to listen to us if we keep doing this, but here you are. I hope you forgive us, and realize that these talks are nothing more than our own dribble. In a way, it's not much different from your dribble...if you were drunk.

Jerry and I debate the merits of going to war as a mercenary, to fight for "freedom" of Ukraine. Is this wise? Are the consequences of such an action thought about and reasoned enough to justify the move? In most cases, we think not! In some cases money might be the motivation, in others, simple pride. But in almost all cases the possibility of getting killed or captured in the process seems to be grossly underestimated or even ignored. What happens when/if you're captured? Do you believe just because you're an "American", that you will be treated differently or maybe even freed? Not a chance! Your passport does not guarantee your safety in this case, nor should it. You do not represent America, and you're not fighting on behalf of this country nor its government or people. So don't be shocked when you're not part of any future prisoner exchanges; you may even get to be on Putin's list of people he will execute in public. And there's almost nothing we (as a country) can do to save you. So good luck rolling the dice!

Jerry used to work in a restaurant that sold (and substituted) cheaper cuts of meat for Ribeye steaks and no one was apparently the wiser; no one complained, and the scheme worked for years. Can you tell the difference between different cuts of meats? And if so, would you complain about it to the restaurant management, or wait until you get home and write all about it on your Facebook page? In this episode we get a bit side tracked, I must admit. We fully intended to talk about guns and gun control, but as it usually happens with Jerry and I, we get side tracked. We hope you enjoy this 'side tracked' conversation as much we did recording it. 

Jerry feels that some people that he may have known for many years, perhaps even for a decade or more, are treating him differently now that they know he came to this country illegally. Despite having respect for him as a person, admiring his hard work, ethics, religious beliefs etc., they still seem to have been taken by surprise that he came to the U.S. illegally. They might be treating him stand-offish or not really know how to act around him due to their stand against illegal immigration. Are they really treating him differently, or is it only his imagination? 

We also want to apologize in advance as this conversation may be disjoined due to our editing. We're straying from one subject to another, resulting in some confusion. We promise to clear up those confusing moments and topics in future episodes. 

Voting in the Primaries is pointless to a large extent. You have to choose between people within the same party, who just got through telling you (by numerous, annoying TV and radio ads) how bad each of the others are...and why NOT to vote for the 'other' guy. Keep in mind these donkeys run in the same race, under the same ticket. So you're supposed to pick between bad, worse, and worst! That's been sold to the American people as a "choice". Ah, yeah, would you like to eat dung, horse shit, or human feces? You have to eat one; take your pick! 

In this episode we sort of go off topic a lot and touch on a variety of things, but then again, we promised that you'd be eavesdropping on two armatures and that's what you're getting here. Please take the time to drop us a note: contact@twoimmigrants.com