Here we come!!!

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:54 pm

aww im all emo now..

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:36 am

So what's the scoop with the change in the school districting? My Dad called tonite (from Arizona), asking if I knew that the schools will be divided upon racial lines. Huh? What's going on?

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:03 am

http://www.eomaha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=44678#44678

Read that thread.

-Big E

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 7:22 pm

Thanks, BigE. I read the entire thread and, altho' I'm still a little confused, I only have one question: If Omaha's public schools are all so great (which I've heard they are), why was anyone trying to tinker with them? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", right? So, is there anything wrong with OPS, and, if so, what?

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 7:48 pm

There was nothing wrong with OPS. Still isn't. However, OPS saw the tax base (money) moving west, panicked, and realized their expansion was choked off by Millard and Elkhorn. The school district tried to annex like the city did, and it seems to have turned into a wee mess.

-Big E

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:52 pm

The OPS break up will never survive the courts ... the bi-county 'learning community' will remain (which is essentially what OPS wanted in the first place... a piece of suburban property tax revenue).

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 12:57 pm

if they can get that tax money but not have take in the schools then they should be very and leave it alone

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:18 pm

oohhhhhhhh, now I get it. Thanx for explaining it so simply. I'll pass it on to my Dad--he was afraid I was moving to some crazy racist place. Anyway, new (completely unrelated) question: is there a place where day laborers congregate, hoping to be picked up for a days work? When our stuff arrives, my husband will need a few guys to help him unload (I'll be on child duty, watching our 3 and 1 yr olds)?

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:38 pm

I've personally never heard of Omaha having any day laborers. If there are, which I'm kind of doubting, the area known as South Omaha would be the place to look.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:44 pm

My parents' next door neighbor picks up day laborers. He sometimes drive all the way to Texas to pick them to do roofing and siding. I could talk to him sometime when I'm in town next time. When do you need to know?

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:28 am

Day laborers definitely aren't as common in Omaha as they are in California.

The main section of Little Mexico is on 24th street between L and Q streets (which is in South Omaha), but that doesn't mean you'll find any day laborers there.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:56 am

Not that any of you in west Omaha or San Francisco would know, but there are definantly day laborers in Omaha. South Omaha would be the place to go (I've never heard it called Little Mexico before).

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:09 pm

^ or DC

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:00 pm

DTO Luv wrote:Not that any of you in west Omaha or San Francisco would know, but there are definantly day laborers in Omaha. South Omaha would be the place to go (I've never heard it called Little Mexico before).

Really? South 24th street use to be called "the Magic City" when it was German and Czech immigrants in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. But since it is now the center of hispanic business in Omaha, most people call it "Little Mexico".

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:23 pm

Anymore it's "Actual Mexico".

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:52 pm

So you think if my husband goes to 24th street, he might find some guys/ What would be a good crossroad (we don't know what constitutes "south" Omaha)? Thanx!

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:54 pm

Oh, duh! I see now that you've already told me: between L and Q. Cool. Speaking of all things Mexican, where is the best Mexican food in the city? Cosita was lamenting an apparent lack of quality, authentic Mexican restaurants.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:57 pm

^ taco bell

but why do you want to hire illegals?

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:37 pm

I would recommend any place in south Omaha. It's made by actual Mexican's so it's bound to be good. If you see them, catch the street vendors with the push carts and buy whatever it is they're selling. It's good.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:53 pm

There is a 24 hour Mexican burrito place (run by actual mexicans) somewhere in northwest omaha, but I've never actually been there.

it use to be an after hours meeting place for my friends, but that was before I met all of them.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:57 pm

Just because "actual Mexicans" make the food doesn't automatically make it authentic. If that were the case, than MTO is right, Taco Bell would be authentic.

There are plenty of "authentic" Mexican restaurants w/ no Mexicans preparing the food.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:00 pm

do you have any examples?

I wasn't trying to sound insensitive in my pervious post, my point was more that Taco Bell barely qualifies as mexican food.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:07 pm

Swift wrote:do you have any examples?

I wasn't trying to sound insensitive in my pervious post, my point was more that Taco Bell barely qualifies as mexican food.

Haha, I may lose all my credability, but I actually can't think of any off the top of my head. I do know they exist, it's all in the prep and ingredients. You or I could make an authentic mexican dish if we wanted to.

El Bee's is pretty good, don't know how authentic they are though.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:09 pm

The Taco Bell thing was a joke. Good grief.

The 24 hour Mexican place you are talking about it Alvarado's. The one in Council Bluffs is better because you can go in and eat at 3 in the morning unlike the one in on 90th in Omaha.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:09 pm

ROJA is pretty damn good mexican food. All the waiters are West-O whities, but I know the kitchen is stocked with authentic hispanic chefs.

There's a place on 19th and Vinton that's pretty good, but I can't remember what it is called right now.

It's spanish for "the eagle", I believe.

edit:

El Aguila.

http://www.magicyellow.com/category/Mex ... ha_NE.html

Asten · Post by **Asten** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:20 pm

Twilight wrote:Oh, duh! I see now that you've already told me: between L and Q. Cool. Speaking of all things Mexican, where is the best Mexican food in the city? Cosita was lamenting an apparent lack of quality, authentic Mexican restaurants.

I grew up on, and still love Howards, which was originally in South O, but has since relocated to 13th Street, south of Rosenblatt and north of Missouri Avenue (basically L street).

ModestMouse · Post by **ModestMouse** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:34 pm

...Still wouldn't hire day laborers.

Just doesn't go with my beliefs.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:37 pm

which are?

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:02 pm

thread destruct in 10 posts

ModestMouse · Post by **ModestMouse** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:12 pm

do you really want to know?

I used to think illegals deserved a chance.

Until I went to the protests...and saw the mexican flags.

Maybe people would take them more seriously if they would of held up american flags, and the people are BOYCOTTING american buisnesses, the very same businesses that are sponsoring for them to come!

As of right now swift.

i'm between philospophys.

I used to be a hardcore anarchist. than I was a libertarian.

Now, the more I see it the more I see politics and everything is wrong.

Like libertarianism is too idealistic. as is communism. Personally, though, I believe there has to be politics with ethics.

plus, deep down, I'm a bleeding heart humanitarian.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:15 pm

well first of all "day laborer" and "illegal immigrant" are far from synonymous.

the reason they were boycotting was to show how important they actually are to the economy. it's easy to blame things on illegal immigrants (especially in an election year) because they can't vote. they are the "mysterious and scary other". as a politician you could bash illegal immigrants all you want with very little fear of reprisal. there is a reason these sorts of legislation come up in an election year and it's because they are wedge issues (think the gay marriage ban amendment push by Bush in 2004). so the boycott wasn't about punishing american businesses in response to the bills in DC, it was only a sign of economic importance that immigrants play in America.

It's like in the simpsons when the people of springfield want a bear patrol (to protect the city from bears) but they don't want to pay the bear tax. So Mayor Quimby comes out and says "the reason you have high taxes is because of illegal immigrants!"

America as we know it today would not be possible without immigration. But don't let that fool you into thinking that immigrants were ever popular. The history of immigration in America is a long, violent and filled with bigotry.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:18 pm

Until I went to the protests...and saw the mexican flags

Oh brother, my friend's 2nd generation Italian parents still fly an Italian flag alongside their American flag. I know another guy who jumped at the chance to have the British flag on the roof of his Mini Cooper. You don't have to relinquish your ancestral pride to love America. Maybe we should close down the German-American Society's Hall over there on South 120th while we're at it.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:10 am

This thread has certainly mutated into something weird..

That's for sure..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Twilight · Post by **Twilight** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:30 am

I actually get a kick out of the way this thread mutates. As for why I'd hire day laborers, well, if you were brand-new to a city, knew no one (except Cosita, who's laden down w/2 kids and who's husband's at work), how would YOU find a few guys to help unload a moving van? Hire movers? Uh, I've heard too many scary stories (see movingscam.com). Plus, that'd be yet ANOTHER thing I'd have to research/locate/arrange, etc., and I'm up to my eyeballs with enough of that jazz already. As for illegal immigrants, why, I love 'em so much I married one! Yep, my husband crossed thru the desert from Mexico about 14 years ago, running thru the night with the coyote , a couple of other strangers, and a young mother clutching her baby. My husband's legal now, by the way, and this country is lucky to get him (as am I). He's the most polite, gentlemanly, loyal, honest person you could know, and he came here to live a better life w/more opportunity, just like your ancestors did. Oh, look, you got me all riled up!

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:00 am

Nice!

Maybe you could convince some of our eomaha compatriots to help move you in! (He said from 1,600 miles away

)

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:27 am

jhuston wrote:
Until I went to the protests...and saw the mexican flags
Oh brother, my friend's 2nd generation Italian parents still fly an Italian flag alongside their American flag. I know another guy who jumped at the chance to have the British flag on the roof of his Mini Cooper. You don't have to relinquish your ancestral pride to love America. Maybe we should close down the German-American Society's Hall over there on South 120th while we're at it.

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1919

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:44 am

The USA does not have an official language. Period.

-Big E

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:09 am

yes it does

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:43 am

MTO wrote:yes it does

No amount of cute little yellow eyeballs will change the fact that the United States of America DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.

These people would sure feel pretty silly setting up an organization to lobby for something that already exists: http://www.us-english.org

Google "official american language" or "united states official language" or any combination of those for more.

-Big E

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:46 am

i was told it did by an OPS school does that make me more credible?