For a show that is coming into its final episode next week, The Sopranos certainly seems like it’s in mid-season form right now. With the war between the New York and New Jersey families kicking into high gear, it’s hard to imagine that there are only 50 minutes or so of television time left for TV’s most loved mob story.

This week was a good episode, but I think a lot of the long-time Sopranos fans will be unhappy with Bobby dead and Sil pretty much brain dead. Killing one of those guys might have been a necessary evil given the fact that people have been waiting for the end of this series just to see what happens. Ok, so if Bobby, Sil, or Paulie had to go for that reason, then I can understand the need to satisfy the viewers’ thirsts and give them some blood.

However, if I was the writer (and I’m not), I would stay FAR away from killing Tony now. Not only has the man already endured a near-death experience (as we endured a completely ridiculous purgatory storyline), but with Bobby and Sil already out of the picture, killing Tony would be about the worst way possible to end this series. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those guys who says that Tony is the end-all-be-all of the series and absolutely must stay in it to give it legitimacy (even until its final episode). I’m not like that at all.

What I DO believe in is that Tony, Sil, Bobby, Paulie, Christopher, Carlo, and – to some degree – Vito and Big Pussy represent the New Jersey “family” in The Sopranos. With all of them gone besides Walnuts and Tony, killing off the leader of the family in the final episode would be akin to the writers saying, “Hey – you just spent the last eight years watching this show and getting to know Tony Soprano for nothing! Ha!”

I am a little concerned because sometimes writers feel the need to go for the big one and essentially kill what they’ve created. Here’s hoping that the writers of The Sopranos give the fans what they want – Tony alive at the end of the series, Anthony Jr. somehow not alive (I know that’s rough, but the kid is a bitch), Phil Leotardo taken down off of his high horse, Sil back and functional (not likely), and Meadow naked (sorry, had to throw it in).

And everywhere. High adventure that’s beyond compare. They are the Gummi Bears!

For those of you that travel to Alaska for hunting or fishing, be careful of the Gummi Bears! In case you haven’t heard, wildlife officials will be capturing “problem bears” and dying their fur different colors in some parts. This is to alert tourists, hunters, and fishers of which bears to stay away from.

I guess this is a good idea. I mean hey, it put the Gummi Bears theme song in my head for a few minutes and that’s always enjoyable!

There may not be a better solution to the problem. No one wants to kill these animals and displacing them would be wrong. Maybe dying their asses green and blue is the best way to handle the problem.

This has to be one of the greatest stories in the last week. A Florida man won half a million dollars on a scratch-off card, but he’s NOT getting the money. Apparently the card didn’t scan through the lottery machine as a “winner” and the officials down in Florida are saying that this is because the card was a misprint.

Ha ha ha ha!!!

Oh what a bitch! Imagine scratching off a lottery ticket, thinking that you hit the big money, and then being told that the card was a misprint. Now I think it’s obvious that the guy will get some money out of this deal – I mean the card DID identify him as a winner. But oh, what a punch in the mouth.

This past Monday the immigrant community held their newly annual “May Day” protest march in favor of immigration. Not only is this march a gigantic waste of time, but it will never work. Why, you ask? Well, let me explain.

The biggest reason is that the majority of Americans (both Republicans and Democrats) are completely turned off by these rallies when they look at the footage and see tons of Mexican flags being waved in place of American flags. Sure, you see American flags and in some rallies you see American flags all over the place – but when you have mass gatherings of foreign born folks gathering in American streets waving any flag other than the American one, you will turn the massive majority of Americans off. And as opposed to what some extremists might try to say, that’s the God’s Honest truth.

Further, the majority of these rallies are polluted by completely ridiculous anti-traditionalist and anti-Republican slogans. There has been no American President in recent history that is more pro-immigration (and pro-amnesty) than George W. Bush. Yet there are extremists sprinkled among the good-hearted immigrant population who are waving “No War on Iraq, No War on Immigrants” banners. Huh? What the fuck does that mean? Does NO ONE listen to the completely pro-immigration policy that the President puts forward? And how the hell does Iraq factor into any of this?!?

However, the problem that will continue to derail the protesters’ each and every year is the core message that they are advocating for with the rallies. You see, when one common American is sitting in a room with friends or family watching these rallies, it’s rare that they actually hear what the news commentators say. Why is this? Because inevitably one of the people in the room says, “What’s this all about?” And they get their answer from someone else in the room, which pretty much rips apart the rallies. And that answer is the no bullshit truth…

That these rallies are being held so that the millions of illegal immigrants that are already in American are given a blanket amnesty to stay – yet earn – their citizenship. And quite frankly, that’s breaking the law. If you are here illegally, you broke the law. Leave and come back legally and American will welcome you. The common American hears this and says, “What? I can’t break the law – why can they?” Boom! Immediately there is zero support for these protesters.

And as if their core purpose for protesting wasn’t enough, these protesters claim that we are a nation of immigrants. Well, not only does the common American not like it when the laws of his land are broken by a group of defiant protesters, he HATES it when you tell him that he’s not American. And this is something that needs to be spoken in the public dialogue more. We are NOT a nation of immigrants. We are a nation FOUNDED by immigrants. I was born in America, as were my brothers, my cousins, my parents, and one set of my grandparents. I have college friends who can trace their lineage back to the Mayflower. Are THEY immigrants? Absolutely not!

So the May Day rallies will never work because of the common, apolitical American that does not like it when his country’s laws are broken just as much as he doesn’t like being told that he’s not an American. The pro-illegal immigration groups need to find a new way to push their cause…because rallies bring about the truth and the truth is that they are not pushing a popular agenda.