I live in Arizona, Tempe to be exact.  I work in Phoenix, and right in between these two cities is a town called Guadalupe.  To my knowledge, it’s the only town in the metro area without an exit off of the I-10.

Some days on my way home for lunch or after work, I will choose a route that takes me right through Guadalupe.  When you pull through this small town, you may notice that there are more dirt lots, more aging buildings, and plenty of store fronts with Spanish language signs.  But what you are most likely to notice are the groups of men hanging out under the shade trees, waiting for someone to come and offer some work for the day.

As I drive through “Little Mexico”, as I’ve heard it called, in my air-conditioned car, to my comfortable 4/2/2 in our ‘established’ neighborhood, I try to imagine what life would be like if I was one of those guys under the shade tree.  Of course, my first thought is “I wonder if they are here legally?”  Because, like most Americans these days, and especially like most Arizonans, I am constantly aware that there are people in this country illegally.  My next thought is then, “If I was an immigrant though, I would do it right, I would abide by the laws and become a legal, tax-paying, citizen.”

It’s this last thought that got me wondering, “What does it take for an immigrant from Mexico to become a U.S. Citizen?”  I mean, people are coming here in droves and we talk about fences and troops and border security, but don’t we have a system that is supposed to embrace immigrants?  Aren’t we, after all, a nation of immigrants (my own family on my mom’s side immigrated from Germany to the Maria-Stein area of Ohio in the 1800’s)  The phrase “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty for crying out loud.

So, how hard can it be really?  I mean, if so many of our societal ills are related to illegal immigration, why don’t these folks just do it the right way?  Just make life easier for everyone and become a legal citizen!

After checking this out on Wikipedia, I found there are three ways to obtain legal residency/citizenship in the US - 1) Family Sponsored Visas 2) Work based Visas and 3)  the Green Card Lottery.

1. Family Sponsored Visa.  This is by far the most popular visa granted to immigrants.  In essence, if you have an immediate relative (spouse, minor or parent) who is a U.S. citizen you are immediately issued a visa (green card) and then required to apply for permanent residency.
2. Employment Based Visa.  Only a certain number of visas are issued each year - due to these things called quotas.  But that’s okay, because the U.S. issues a bunch of visas each year, although any given country can only consume 7% of the total, but that must still be plenty right?  How does a little more than 25,000 per country sound?  Then again, if you aren’t seen as a ‘priority worker’ (those with  “extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics”) or a professional holding an advanced degree, then you are relegated to the level of EB3 (Employment Base 3) for which there are only about 3,000 visas available per country/per year.  Not a problem though, they’ll just put you on a waiting list (be patient though, there is a 7-9 year backlog). 
3. Green Card Lottery.  About 50k visas are granted to immigrants each year, but believe me, none of them are going to folks from Mexico, these are reserved for people from places with low number of immigrants in the U.S.

So, since it seems nearly impossible for anyone from Mexico to get a visa on the merits of either 2 or 3, lets talk about the first option.  Estimates from analysis done on U.S. Census data suggests about 1.5 million immigrants come to the U.S. each year, legal and illegal.  About 1/3 of those are here because they have an immediate family member who is a U.S. Citizen, and another 250k or so are here legally based on the capped quota system which doles out visas to all countries around the globe. 

That leaves the other 750k or so who are coming here illegally, a large majority of whom are coming from south of the border.  Unfortunately for them, there are no other options for becoming a U.S. citizen.  They are stuck as citizens of a country that they no longer want to live in.  For whatever reason they want to live here, and yet we do not have a system that will allow them to do so.  So they have children here, yes many of them do so knowing that such an attachment will gain them legal permanent residency here as well.  It provides a first step on a path to citizenship, one that will allow them to pay taxes and be counted.

So, the answer to my question?  Unless you are ‘someone’ or are related to ‘someone’, if you are from Mexico, you simply cannot become a U.S. citizen.

Notice I have not commented on whether its right or wrong to allow more people to gain permanent residency here, or whether or not the current level of illegal immigration is or is not a strain on our economy/society, or what a Christian response to immigrants ought to be.  I have all of those thoughts bottled up for subsequent posts, for now I’m just curious to know what you think?

I’m a Machead, I’ll admit it.  I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro and have bought my wife a MacBook as well.  Earlier this year, I became chief IT guy at our small office and successfully moved our office staff of seven over to an all out “Mactopia” - replete with a 1TB Mac Mini as server, four MacBooks, three iMac’s, an Airport Extreme base station, and a partridge in a pear tree.  Thank heavens for Apple’s business leasing program! 

Three years ago was a different story, I thought the Mac hype was just that.  A bunch of anti-establishment folks who like to think that they are cooler but really they just don’t get the need for solid productivity tools, the type that can only be supplied in a Microsoft environment.  It took a move by my boss to his MacBook for me to begin to realize just how much hype I was already buying into with my anti-Mac mentality.  It was like I finally took the red pill and now I knew the truth.  The proof is in the pudding, three years with this same MacBook and not one virus (and no anti-virus software), only one service call and it was because the video card needed replacing, which they did at no charge and had my computer back to  me in one day.

So my next purchase is easily the iPad, right?  Wrong.  Honestly, I was super excited about this new device (even began dropping little hints to my boss).  I still believe it will change the way people manage their lives (work, school and play).  Yes, I wanted one, until I played with one.  This experience helped me to realize that the iPad was not built with the business executive in mind. 

For those already using laptops every day, all day, we are used to having a portable device.  Our complaints about laptops have primarily been about their weight and battery life.  Two issues which were certainly solved by the iPad, but also two issues which have squarely been addressed with the newest breed of MacBook.  Really, there is no existing problem I have right now that the iPad solves (see Mike Hyatt’s blog on this very topic).  I do believe there are many, many people whose jobs are not tethered to a computer who will find the iPad a perfect solution, an easy way to manage their lives, but I am not one of them, nope, my sights are now set squarely on a new MacBook Pro (and hopefully the new iPhone 4G too:-)

OK - lets get something straight - books are NOT music.

Publishing industry pundits continue to try and divine how books (and publishing by extension) will survive the coming exponential shift in how readers consume them.  And because we have had the opportunity to sit on the sidelines and watch the digital music revolution take over that industry it has been assumed that we now have a blueprint for book publishing going forward.  That assumption could not be further from the truth!

Look, recorded music has always needed a device for the consumer/listener to enjoy an artist’ work.  That fact has spawned a mega-industry like no other.  Digital music players, most notably the iPod as well as stereos (home and mobile), headphones and speaker systems are incredibly popular consumable goods and they run the gamut in price and quality.

So what did the book industry do?  Create devices.  After all, devices are what drives the music industry, without a device for playback, we would all be limited to hearing music only in its live form.  And, devices can enhance the listening experience.  With the use of equalizers, playlists, and functions like shuffle, we can literally customize how and what we listen to on an individual level.  Long gone are the days of trying to catch and record our favorite song on the radio!

On the other hand, books have been bound and printed the same way for hundreds of years.  The book IS the delivery mechanism.  However, with the use of content creation tools such as Microsoft Word by authors and editors the end of the creative process has now meant a book that no longer is bound by one format - paper and ink.  Instead, a publisher can now easily convert a book to digital form.  And so that means we must right?  Take that book and slap it on a device.  However, doing so doesn’t do for the book, what the iPod does for music.  It doesn’t enhance the reading experience.  Sure, it might make it more convenient, but it doesn’t make it better.

Thus the title of this post, it’s the content stupid!  If you want to sell more digital content (read: books) then take the book out of the book and enhance it!  Add in author video and audio.  Create an audio track using the author’s voice so the reader can choose to close their eyes and listen if they want to hear the author read it instead of doing so themselves.  Include interactive enhancements that give the reader a peak into the author’s research and back story.  Add “Easter eggs” for superfans to find.  The sky is the limit, and so will the price tag be.

Selling (and reading) a book in digital form is boring and adds no value (or profit).  Digital content creation and delivery will allow publishers to think outside the book, to add more value to their content and to eventually allow the reader to customize their experience.  And that is something that people will pay for!

Awesome mash”Up!”

Over the last two weeks we have witnessed the decimation of an American icon.  There are so many conversations swirling regarding the personal failings of Tiger Woods.

• Is Tiger guilty of all the infidelity he’s been accused of?
• Is Tiger addicted to pain killers and/or sleep meds?
• Should Tiger’s wife leave him?
• Should Tiger be given complete privacy to work out his issues?
• Is Tiger’s career as a golfer over?

But I have been thinking about a different conversation, it’s the one I think we should all be thinking about.  What conversation would Jesus have with Tiger, or with any of us for that matter.

In the scriptures we can see three primary groups of people that Jesus addressed.

1. The Disciples - these were the devoted, though often confused and misdirected, followers of Christ.  They did not represent the wealthy, the religious or the political elite.  Jesus words to this group were mostlyinstructional and preparatory.  Often with the tone of a father, Jesus wouldcorrect this bunch of their misperceptions and wrong-headed thinking.  In the end, most of these guys died for believing in and following Jesus.
2. The Hard-Hearted - usually represented by the religious, political and cultural “elite”.  Jesus heart broke for this group, his words to them were stern and extremely pointed.  He exposed their self-righteous hypocrisy through parables that pinned them as the antagonist.  Jesus rhetorical genius could cut straight to their hearts with surgical accuracy.  Oftentimes though, the pride that enveloped their hearts like a thick crust would prohibit them from acknowledging and turning from their narcissistic and self-serving ways.  Occasionally however, there would be one who would break, whose heart would turn, and in response they would pour their life out as an offering to the King.
3. The Sinner - certainly a group that in the broadest since of the term includes all people.  But these folks, the ones referred to officially as “sinners”.  These are represented by people who have been “caught” in the act.  Adulterers, prostitutes and thieves.  A woman about to be killed for sleeping with a married man, a woman who had been with multiple men and had a mixed up view of God, a “sinful” woman who wept and washed Jesus feet as an act of worship.  In Jesus’ culture, the sick and the poor were also viewed as sinful, it was their sin after all, that got them into their situation.  And what were Jesus’ words to this group?
   • “her sins, which are many, are forgiven - for she loved much.  But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
   • “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
   • “Today salvation has come to this house.”

You see, when Jesus meets the “sinner” in each of us, he speaks healing and restoration.  Each of the people labeled as sinners in the bible came to recognize their need for healing and forgiveness.

Honestly, I don’t know which of these categories Tiger Woods would fall into today. What I do know is that the progression God wishes for all of us is to move from being hard-hearted to a “sinner” who recognizes our sin and need for mercy, to a disciple who points people to the mercy and love of God.

So, which group are you in today?  What would Jesus’ words to you be today?