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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
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In a seeming response to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, the State of New York announced last year a crackdown on illegal immigrants who hold New York driver’s license.
It was estimated that up to 300,000 immigrants were affected. Eventually, the program reportedly led to the Department of Motor Vehicles’ suspending about 7,000 licenses, causing protests from immigrant advocacy groups.
The advocates declared that illegal immigrants need a driver’s license to get to and from work and to do important chores. That objection resulted in a court case, which challenged the legality of DMV’s action.
On Feb. 17, Justice Karen Black, a Manhattan State Supreme Court judge, ruled that the DMV does not have the authority to enforce federal immigration law; nor can it arbitrarily change the rules of acquiring a driver’s license.
New York is one of a dozen states across the nation that does not specify whether a person must be a legal resident in order to obtain a driver’s license. Hence, Justice Black is correct to say that it’s not the place of the DMV to uphold U.S. immigration laws.
We consider this development a temporary victory for illegal immigrants who come here to struggle to make a living. And ultimately, in order to align itself to the realities of post 9/11, the state legislature and the governor of New York, would act to address this problem.
They would either change the law to reflect post 9/11 reality or maintain the status quo. There is, however, one idea that may be considered as a compromise. That is Assemblyman John Lavelle’s proposal of a two-tiered driver’s license system: One for legal citizens and legal non-resident aliens, and one for others who simply want to drive while they are in the U.S. stipulating that it is not a form of identification but a license, which allows them to drive.
That would be a good starting point to pave this rocky road for illegal immigrants to get a driver’s license.
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NEW YORK --- It is an unusual situation to be confined at home with nothing to do but to read, write, listen, watch, eat and sleep. Everyday, I seem to relive Bill Murray’s character in the movie Ground Hog Day.
For almost two weeks now, my active life has been cut off temporarily after undergoing a laparoscopic cholesystectomy, a surgical procedure which removed my gall bladder. Thanks to modern science and technology, the surgery wasn’t that invasive as it used to be. The wait at the hospital was longer than the surgery itself, which took only 45 minutes to pull off.
I wanted to save my bladder but after a sonogram test, the procedure was inevitable. This was November last year but I managed to keep it on hold for a little while until shooting pains became persistent.
Now that I’m almost back to normal, I thought I should have had it removed earlier. No guts no pain, I remind myself. I recall the days I kept dreading whether to go through it or not. Maybe it was the fear of going through a medical procedure?
But these ten days of recuperation was for naught. Although it prevented me from driving in the streets of New York and New Jersey or running upstairs to get to my study room and bedroom as fast as I could, it was bliss to enjoy the quietness of every moment.
And if I needed something, at an arm’s length, everything was within reach: books, TV and radio remote controls, telephone, iPod, laptop and a bunch of fruits and juices. If I was hungry, I would just take a few steps down and the fridge was ready to be raided. As I said earlier, the experience was like reliving Murray’s character.
I’ve watched all Blockbuster’s recent DVD movie releases as well as old movies from TV, read books, which I didn’t have the time to read last summer, and wrote the outline of a project I am working on.
Of all the movies that I watched in these ten days, I was inspired by the Princess Diaries, which I thought was meant only for the young adults. What particularly caught my attention was the statement: “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. From now on, you’ll be travelling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.”
I thought that says a lot about our choices in life. Many times we find it difficult which road to take; we get stuck with indecision that may eventually affect our choice of action. I myself have been in this predicament many times before and I’ve always managed to make it through.
And interestingly, out of the three books I’ve read, New York Times best-selling author John Maxwell of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” reminded me why some people need to have attitude adjustment. I thought about our community leaders.
In his “Attitude 101 What Every Leader Needs To Know,” Maxwell writes that attitude has a profound impact on the life of a leader. “As a leader, a person cannot ignore the attitudes of people he or she is leading and expect to achieve success. A person’s attitude impacts their relationships, colors their view of failure, and defines their approach to success. Attitude can make or break you.”
According to Maxwell, there are five truths about attitudes that affect teamwork and a leader’s team:
First, attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team. Maxwell quoted Denis Waitley, author of the “Winner’s Edge, who stated “The real leaders in business, in the professional community, in education, in government, and in the home also seem to draw upon special cutting edge that separates them from the rest of society. The winner’s edge is not in a gifted birth, in a high IQ, or in talent. The winner’s edge is in the attitude, not aptitude.”
Second, an attitude compounds when exposed to others. Maxwell says “that several things on a team are not contagious: talent, experience, and willingness to practice. But you can be sure of one thing: attitude is catching People become inspired by their peers. People have a tendency to adopt the attitudes of those they spend time with – to pick up on their mind-sets, beliefs and approaches to challenges.”
Third, bad attitudes compound faster than good ones. “There’s only one thing more contagious than good attitude – bad attitude. A negative attitude hurts rather than helps the person who has it. And it also hurts the people around him.”
Fourth, attitudes are subjective, so identifying a wrong one can be difficult. “People always project on the outside how they feel on the inside. Attitude is really about how a person is. That overflows on how he acts.”
And finally, rotten attitudes, left alone ruin everything. “Bad attitudes must be addressed. You can be sure that they will always cause dissention, resentment, combativeness, and division on a team. They will not go away on their own if they are left unaddressed. They will simply fester and ruin a team – along with chances of reaching its potential.”
See, even at a time when I’m supposed to be at rest, something positive could be shared. And like in the movie Ground Hog Day, we can change the results of our day by changing our outlook in life. “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com
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One of the happy surprises that greeted me upon moving to South Jersey was the sight of dairy cows at a farm. I had never seen black and white, milk-producing bovine before. “Moo” cows I called them. For in the Philippines, we had oxen and water buffalo that went “Ungaaa” and not moo – and fresh cow’s milk as part of the daily diet was virtually unheard of. Growing up, it was such a treat for my family when we had those glass bottles of Magnolia or Selecta Real Fresh Milk — because they were expensive. Of course, there was always Chocolait. We bought Bear Brand pasteurized milk in cans which tastes nothing like milk, more like half-and-half. And when we were younger we had powdered milk, like Klim, dissolved in hot water and sugar (of course!) I always wondered if the celebrities on GMA Supershow actually drank their huge cans of Birch Tree (which Kuya Germs’ pronounced as Barch Tree) – After all, it was “Ebribadi’s Milk.” And don’t get me started on evaporada or condensada.
Maybe Filipinos are lactose-intolerant.
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I have milk on my mind right now after reading Marianne Villanueva’s new book “Mayor of the Roses” (published by Miami University Press), in which she keenly observes life in the Philippines and other Pinoy nuances through finely crafted fiction. One such story is called “American Milk” which is not really about milk but about a day in the life of a Filipina in America, and her feelings of isolation and insecurity. I can relate to this slice of life because it could very well be a slice of mine – as the main character takes her son to school and she talks about what’s going on in her head. This is Marianne’s gift – getting into her character’s thoughts – she does it so well that you start to wonder if the stories are based on her own life.
The book opens with the story “Mayor of the Roses” which is most certainly not a memoir, but memories of an actual event – which even I remember in all its shocking glory – about the Laguna mayor with the Trump-like come-over who raped a beauty queen. The rest of the stories are not as dreadful although they are as haunting.
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Lately I’ve been drinking lots of milk. Cold, hot, iced. On our next visit to the Philippines, I’m sure my son will be begging his Lolo for milk again. The last time we were there, Lolo had to search high and low for packs of Magnolia Fresh Milk(it’s not like you could run to the sari-sari store down the corner to get some), and the little boxes were never enough. Perhaps it is time to get a taste of some carabao or goat’s milk. Time for a trip to Laguna.
For comments, e-mail manilagirl01@hotmail.com
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