Posts filed under ‘Immigration’
How Bad is the Republican Latino Problem in California? Super Bad
Heads up Republicans: As California goes, so goes the nation (this is stunning):
In three of the last four non-presidential elections, Republicans actually nominated Latinos for statewide office: Ruben Barrales for controller in 1998, Gary Mendoza for insurance commissioner in 2002 and Maldonado for lieutenant governor in 2010. All three were attractive, articulate candidates with compelling personal stories.
But all three went down in flames, receiving an average of only 37.9% of the vote. And there is no indication in postelection analyses that they received any meaningfully higher share of the Latino vote than a white male GOP candidate would have gotten.
In fact, the last Republican Latino statewide officeholder was elected 142 years ago, when Romualdo Pacheco won the lieutenant governorship in 1871, then served several months as governor in 1875.
Holy cow.
9News Denver Drops the Use of the Term “Illegal Immigrant”
Good news:
I’m watching the local news on my NBC affiliate, 9NewsDenver and they just announced that 9News will, like the Associated Press, stop using the term “illegal immigrant” when referring to people who are in the United States illegally. Instead they’ll say, “People who are here illegally.”
Bravo but ah, what took not only the AP but 9News so long?
AP Stylebook Drops Use of “Illegal Immigrant”
It’s at a glacial pace but slowly and surely we’re evolving:
Associated Press Rethinks ‘Illegal Immigrant’
The Associated Press announced this Stylebook change on Tuesday afternoon:
“Illegal immigrant” No More
The AP Stylebook today is making some changes in how we describe people living in a country illegally.
Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll explains the thinking behind the decision:
The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term “illegal immigrant” or the use of “illegal” to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that “illegal” should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.
What? A human being can’t be illegal? Only an action? Hallelujah! It’s about time.
Wondering how many years it’ll take Faux to follow.
Wetbacks? Really?
More on Republican “outreach” and “rebranding” their party:
(Image via Wikipedia)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK), in an interview with KRBD, referred to Latinos by using the derogatory term “wetbacks.”
Said Young: “My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 or 60 wetbacks and — to pick tomatoes. You know, it takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”
According to the Washington Post, Young later released a statement: “I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California. I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect.”
Notice he didn’t say he was sorry. And notice that, despite having been around “wetbacks” as a kid, he apparently didn’t develop a lick of empathy for the backbreaking work they did.
We’ve all heard the term “wetbacks” but it takes a real, through-and-through racist to have that word on the tip of their tongue when speaking about Latinos.
John Cornyn (R-TX) Gets His “Facts” on Illegal Immigration From “a Guy”
(Image via Wikipedia)
During an appearance on a local radio station Thursday morning, Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) claimed that people from all over the world are now entering the country illegally through Texas and insisted that any Congressional effort to reform the immigration system must invest in border security.
“You gotta stop the flow of people coming across and my friends and your friends Edd who have places in South Texas tell me, as a matter a fact a guy told me last night, he said we’ve got people coming across our place speaking Chinese, French and basically all of the languages in the world, coming through and across our southern border,” Cornyn said during an interview on KSEV.
Given all the resources available to a United States senator, one would think someone like Cornyn would utilize those resources instead of getting his information from “a guy.”
Female Undocumented Workers: “Perfect Victims” for Sexual Abusers
(Image via CSMonitor.com)
This is horrible:
Like millions of Mexicans, Carolina Martínez dreamed of coming to the United States to work. Her plan was to put in a few years in the fields, save up enough money to return to her hometown, and build a house there for her family. Her husband was already working on a farm outside of Albion, New York, so she knew there was money to be made, certainly more than the few dollars per day she typically made selling food on the street.
In 2004, at the age of 21, she took her 1-year-old child and traveled some 1,200 miles by bus to the U.S. border, where she handed off her son to a friend and found a coyote (smuggler) who would guide her and 10 others across for $2,000 each. It took a full week of hard and dangerous walking to get through the desert. She ran out of food and water, and at one point twisted her ankle, but she didn’t dare stop. “We passed people who were dead,” she recalls. But she made it out of the desert alive, reunited with her infant son—whom her friend had driven across the border—and eventually made her way to a small town outside of Rochester, New York, where she joined her husband. Martínez quickly found work packing potatoes and onions.
The work was hard. During planting and harvest seasons she might work 10 hours a day, six or seven days a week. But she had expected that. What she hadn’t expected was the near-constant sexual harassment on the job. The crew leader would, she says, “touch women in a sexual way … touch women on their asses.” When Martínez threatened to report him, he’d warn, “They’ll get rid of you. And if you do go to the boss, I’ll call Immigration.”
[...]
That’s what happened at one farm where Carolina Martínez worked. She says the manager, a Mexican immigrant himself, routinely approached women for sex. (He didn’t bother her, probably because she lived with her husband.) “He told [women] if they did not have sex with him, they were going to lose their jobs,” she says. Many women complied. Finally, one woman spoke up about the abuse to the farm owner. But, says Martínez, the owner didn’t believe her. In fact, he may not have understood her at all, because the woman spoke only Spanish and the owner, like most, spoke only English—while the supervisor spoke both. The handful of bilingual workers who could have translated were afraid to get involved. Not willing to lose his manager, the owner instead fired the woman who complained—which sent a strong message to the other women.
Where Are the English-Only Screamers?
OMG, this is hilarious:
The junior senator from Florida is Latino [well, close enough -- he's of Cuban decent], young, articulate, and photogenic – and on Tuesday night, he will deliver the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. [Not that he has any special expertise. It's just that he's "Latino."]
In a first, he will give the speech in both English and Spanish.
I’m not kidding. The pandering we’re going to witness tonight is going to be over the top. Until ah, today I guess, Republicans were the English-only party. But — giant sucking sound — not anymore! Kissy kissy.
(Image via GlutenFreeGigi.com)
Sergio Romo: “I Just Look Illegal”
(Image via ColorLines.org)
San Francisco Giant Sergio Romo, who threw the series-winning last out in the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, strode through the city during the team’s celebratory victory parade today wearing a t-shirt with the words: “I just look illegal.”
Romo comes from Brawley, Calif. a small, remote farming town about 20 miles north of the Mexican border. Romo was raised in a baseball-loving family, and is the grandson of migrant workers.
Sergio Romo making a little noise, doing a little personalized acting up. Love it.
Voter Fraud Found in Florida!
After conjuring up the notion that there was massive voter fraud in the state and spending who knows how much time and money pulling a drag-net through the voting rolls, Florida Republicans have in fact unearthed voter fraud, as in one measly 52-year-old guy…from Canada:
(Image via HispanicallySpeakingNews.com)
For months, Florida Republicans have been trying to clamp down on illegal aliens improperly included on on voting lists.
It’s part of a massive – and politically controversial – Republican effort to impose tough voter-identification measures. Democrats regard them as thinly disguised efforts to disproportionately disenfranchise the poor, African-Americans and Hispanics. Other Republican-controlled states are conducting similar culls.
But after months of searching, only one alien falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen has been caught, charged and convicted in Florida. It turns out he is a Canadian, a man who registered and voted in at least two presidential elections while masquerading as a citizen so he could also buy and “bear arms,” that other right cherished by many Americans.
[...]
Under pressure from the governor, the state’s electoral officials had initially flagged more than 180,000 names (many of them Hispanic-sounding) for checking. All but 2,600 of those initially flagged – some of whom turned out to be not only citizens, but military veterans with service in Afghanistan and Iraq – were quickly determined to be bonafide citizens and restored to the voter rolls.
After further investigation, only one name – Mr. Sever’s – was sent to law-enforcement authorities last spring. Six other “suspect” cases, in a state with more than 10 million names on the voters’ list, are still being investigated.
Geezus. The fraud going on here is the Republican claim that this is a huge, widespread problem and barriers have to be put in place to prevent it.
Inching Toward Slave-Free Tomatoes
In this day and age, this takes guts of steel. It’s a wonder Gargiulo Inc. didn’t tell these workers to go to hell and fire them. Maybe they learned something based on what happened in Alabama.
Imaging doing this eight hours a day in sweltering heat. (Image via Kids-Britannica.com)
More than 250 workers employed at Gargiulo Inc., a Florida-based fresh tomato company with operations in the Central Valley, voted today [July 11, 2012] to join the United Farm Workers of America.
On Monday, Gargiulo workers at a field in Firebaugh, located in Fresno County, walked out on strike protesting unfair labor practices by the company. A large majority of workers joined the concerted activity asking the company, which grows and harvests fresh tomatoes, for fairness.
The workers filed a petition for a union election Monday and cast their vote Wednesday morning supporting the union by a 186 to 40 vote.
“This is a historic win. The workers, through their vote, sent a clear message to the company that they want to be represented by the UFW. We call on Gargiulo’s management to respect the will of the workers and immediately engage in good faith bargaining negotiations, so workers can have a union contract,” said UFW Vice President Armando Elenes.
Last month, some 800 employees at Pacific Triple E, one of the largest fresh tomato companies in the United States, signed their first union contract, making them the best paid fresh tomato workers in the country.
To learn more about the push for slave-free tomatoes, go here.
Fox Propagandizes, Even in Its Chyrons
Check out this photo of screenshots of MSNBC, CNN and Fox immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision on Arizona’s immigration law was announced today. As you probably know, SCOTUS struck down three of the four main provisions in that law, hardly a win for Arizona. But, as always, Fox is forever trying to save face on behalf of conservatives:
(Via.)
Fact is, the Supreme Court upheld a part, not parts, plural, of the Arizona law.
This is yet another example of how watching Fox will actually make you dumber than if you didn’t watch any news at all.
Romney’s Non-Position on Immigration
UPDATED.
Romney’s running for wuss in chief:
Heads up Latinos. This means you wouldn’t like what Romney has to say on the issue.
UPDATED: Turns out Romney didn’t avoid the issue. He said “I will replace and supersede” Obama’s immigration order. As usual, no details.
Gutless Romney Ventures Outside the Fox Bubble and Bombs
Mitt Romney appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” with Bob Schieffer today. Though Schieffer treated him with kid gloves, Romney essentially refused to answer some big questions.
Here are two articles about that:
PoliticusUSA: Shades of Sarah Palin as Mitt Romney Bombs On Face The Nation
At times Romney’s babbles and dodges reminded one of another Republican candidate who avoided the mainstream media at all costs, but unlike Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin actually had more broadcast interviews early in her campaign than Mitt Romney has. By design, Romney has been more sheltered from the mainstream press than Sarah Palin was in the early fall of 2008.
One look at Romney on Face The Nation was all it took to explain why. Romney doesn’t possess Palin’s happy ignorance, but he shares with her an inability to give a straight answer and a genuine lack of substance.
Obama put a bullet in Bin Laden’s brain. Romney can’t tell us if he will repeal the new immigration policy, or what tax deductions he will eliminate without talking to Congress first.
Politico: Mitt Romney Dodges Immigration Questions, Calls W.H. Move ‘Political’
Mitt Romney criticized how President Barack Obama changed immigration policy — but not the policy itself — in a rare non-Fox News national TV interview broadcast Sunday.
[...]Romney declined five times to tell Schieffer whether he would conduct the same policy Obama announced Friday that the Department of Homeland Security will pursue.Several states key to the president’s reelection effort — Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia and Iowa — have large and growing Hispanic populations. And that’s not even counting Florida.
Obama to Stop Deporting Younger Illegal Immigrants
This happened this morning:
The Obama administration will stop deporting and begin giving work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives. The election-year initiative addresses a top priority of a growing Latino electorate that has opposed administration deportation policies.
The administration’s decision will affect as many as 800,000 immigrants. Two senior administration officials described the plan to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of its expected announcement Friday.
Illegal immigrants will avoid deportation and be eligible for work permits if they arrived in the U.S. before age 16, are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military.
Good.
Imagine being an 18-year-old high school student who has lived in the United States since you were oh, say, three, being picked up and deported back to your “homeland” where you don’t know a single soul.
That’s cruel.
This is the right thing to do.
Texas — You’re Petty, Hateful and Ungrateful
I live in Colorado. The men you see here tarring roofs in 98º weather, breaking their backs while pulling rocks out of the ground to install sprinkler systems and holding “Slow” signs on sweltering days in a road construction area are all Mexicans.
Three or four years ago we had our backyard re-sodded because two puppies running around all winter with their friends meant we were looking at a mud pit. The boss was a white guy who barked orders to his Mexican workers. I feel awful about it to this day.
So excuse me Texas. I know your reality is the same as mine. It’s what’s happening all over the west.
So could you cut the people who make your life a whole lot easier a bit slack as in letting them ORDER THEIR PIZZAS IN SPANISH?
Image via fhwa.dot.gov.)
OMG. Really?
Never in the history of modern civilization have people been so divided over pizza. Until now, that is. A chain of take-out pizza joints is the center of controversy over plans to hand out free pies next month when orders are placed in Spanish.
The Dallas, Texas-based Pizza Patrón chain will offer free pies on June 5 at all 104 of their nation-wide outlets. Yes, there is a catch, and while it might not seem all that strange to some, angry Americans are boycotting the eatery over the promotion.
Pizza Patrón plans to give away 80,000 pies during the three hour window of the promotion, extending freebies to anyone that orders in Spanish.
“People (just) need to ask for the pizza in Spanish,” Jose Miguel Dominguez, the owner of four Houston, TX locations, tells local KHOU 11 News. “Pizza is universal in every language so all you really need to learn is ‘por favor.’”
“If they come and order in Spanish, ‘Pizza por favor’ or ‘Quiero pizza,’ we’re giving it away free,” Pizza Patrón Franchisee Randy Schmidt adds to Denver, Colorado’s CW 2.
No matter which way you slice it, though, many outspoken customers of the chain aren’t all that enthused.
“It seems to punish people who can’t speak Spanish, and I resent that,” Peter Thomas, chairman of the Conservative Caucus, tells USA Today. “In public areas, people should be speaking English, and that includes pizza parlors.”
No words.
Romney “Still Deciding” His Position on Immigration?
Mitt Romney was the Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Since 2007 he has been running for president but he’s “still deciding” what his position is on immigration? Really?
The Republican National Committee attempted to walk back a potentially bruising botched response Tuesday after an official said Mitt Romney is still making up his mind on immigration.
“As a candidate, to my understanding, he’s still deciding what his position on immigration is,” said Bettina Inclan, the RNC’s director of Hispanic outreach.
Inclan was speaking at an RNC event unveiling six new regional staffers who will direct Hispanic outreach in swing states. But asked how the RNC will speak with Hispanic voters about immigration, Inclan said she couldn’t speak about what policies GOP candidates would put forth.
[...]
Within minutes, as Inclan’s comments started spreading on Twitter, RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski stepped in and said Inclan’s comments had been misconstrued.
“We never said the governor is still deciding on immigration,” said Kukowski. “I want to make sure we are exponentially clear.”
Kukowski said the RNC only started the transition to joint operations with Romney’s campaign within the past few weeks, and that the RNC’s task is to peform voter outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts, not to talk specific policy.
“We are going to be able to talk about Mitt Romney’s position. Right now what we are here to talk about is what our outreach effort is going to be,” she said. “I would ask that you give us a little time.”
The incident was also risky for Romney because it played into a narrative pushed by Romney’s opponents that he alters his positions to please the electorate.
Ah, yeah. If a guy who has been running for president since 2007 doesn’t have a firm position on immigration, you’re damn right he looks like he “alters his position to please the electorate.”
Mayor Who Mocked Latinos Gets Buried in Tacos
What an asshat. And yes, he’s a Republican:
East Haven, CT Mayor, Joseph Maturo, Jr. (R) /Jessica Hill, AP
The office of East Haven’s [CT] mayor was blasted with prank phone calls and a delivery of hundreds of tacos Thursday after his now-famous quip that he would address accusations of anti-Latino bias by eating tacos, a remark that left emotions raw in the town’s large Hispanic community.
Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. has apologized several times but resisted calls for his resignation over remarks he made to a television reporter following Tuesday’s arrests of four town police officers, men described by one FBI official as “bullies with badges.”
[...]
A federal indictment accuses the four police officers of assaulting people while they were handcuffed, unlawfully searching Latino businesses, and harassing and intimidating people, including advocates, witnesses and other officers who tried to investigate or report misconduct or abuse.
The taco flap came after a reporter for New York’s WPIX-TV asked Maturo on Tuesday, “What are you doing for the Latino community today?”
Maturo’s response: “I might have tacos when I go home; I’m not quite sure yet.”
[...]
Many residents were still angry Thursday in East Haven, where 38-year-old Jose Tapia, a cook originally from Ecuador, joked, “We’ve got tacos!” as he left a bakery with a bag of bread.
“I took it as a joke, but deep inside, it’s the true version of racist, that comment,” he said.
Wow. Maturo is the ultimate in insensitive. He’s going to do something for the Latino community by eating a taco? I can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. I’m leaning toward cry. Unreal.
But hooray to the folks who sent all those tacos!
The Cop Who Stopped LA Arsonist Is a Volunteer, From Iran (Yikes!)
So, all those “illegals” are killing people, raping our women and wrecking our country huh?
Get a load of this:
The reserve sheriff’s deputy who captured a man suspected of being the city’s most dangerous arsonist is a volunteer who earns $1 a year and only recently qualified to patrol alone, authorities said Tuesday.
Shervin Lalezary,
a 30-year-old Beverly Hills real estate attorney, was patrolling at 3 a.m. Monday — three hours after the official end of his 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift — when he pulled over a Dodge van in Hollywood.
[...]
“He believes in the community service aspects of the reserve deputy,” Whitmore said. “This is part of the job for him and he doesn’t want to talk about himself because he believes he’s part and parcel of a larger effort.”
Lalezary was born in Tehran and moved with his family to America about 25 years ago.
[...]
“This is one of the most significant arrests anyone can make — regular or reserve,” the sheriff said Monday. “And this will follow him for the rest of his life.”
So, “they” say we should bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran but woohah, they have real people there.
Now what?
Fox Cleans Up Its Language for FoxNews / Latino
Check out this headline that is up at Fox News Latino this morning:
(Read the article here.)
“Undocumented immigrants?” How quaint. Watch Fox and you hear “undocumented immigrants” referred to almost solely as “illegals.” Major bootlicking going on here.
Judge Orders Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Follow the Constitution
Back in the day when I monitored Fox for Outfoxed and the Newshounds, Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio was a frequent guest on Your World w/Neil Cavuto (what he had to do with “business news” is something I never figured out), and he was touted one tough, God-and-country kind of dude. Yes siree, he was a flag wavin’ Amerrrican:
The rule of law and how Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio runs his office are often mutually exclusive.
Arpaio, whose jurisdiction includes the sprawling Phoenix metropolitan area, has been labeled by supporters as “America’s toughest sheriff.” Unfortunately, he achieved that moniker by routinely violating the human rights of jail inmates and ignoring the constitutional protections of those he swore to protect.
[...]
Now, enough may finally be enough. Last Friday, the U.S. District Court in Phoenix issued an injunction to stop Arpaio’s office from detaining or arresting people based only on suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally without any evidence of criminal activity. The court also certified the four-year-old civil rights lawsuit, for which the ACLU is co-counsel, as a class action. This allows any Latino who has been stopped or detained by the sheriff’s office since 2007 (or anyone who might be in the future) to enforce the court order.
The suit seeks to change how Arpaio enforces immigration laws and does not ask for monetary damages.
“The district court ruled that the sheriff’s policy of detaining people merely based on a suspicion that they are in the U.S. unlawfully violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure,” said Cecillia Wang, director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project.
If you stop someone because you think they might be in the U.S. unlawfully, you’re a hero on Fox. The Constitution? That’s for sissies.
“Illegal Immigrant” Now Head of the Brain Tumor Program at Johns Hopkins
Wow, not exactly the picture most people think of when it comes to “illegals:”
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa / Photo: Keith Weller
Immigration continues to spark intense and emotional political debates between people who favor expansive immigration policies and those who want more restrictions.
But what is often left out of the conversation is the experience of being in the middle space – between being legal and illegal. All this week Tell Me More will focus on those in that position (or who is related to someone who is) in a series titled “In Limbo.”
“In Limbo” begins with the story of Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa. His life is like a classic rags-to-riches tale scripted for a Hollywood film. He grew up in the small village of Palaco, Mexico. As a bright young man, he wanted to become a teacher. But he had to overcome many obstacles first, including hunger.
“I am not talking about hungry for success; I was literally hungry for food. My stomach was empty,” he says.
Quiñones- Hinojosa was determined to put food on the table for his family, so he did the only thing he could possibly think of: literally jumped over a fence between his native Mexico and the United States and became a farm worker in southern California.
He started by picking tomatoes, corn and broccoli. Later, he operated dangerous machinery in the fields. But things changed for him after a conversation with his cousin.
Fast forward:
His journey then took him to University of California, Berkeley, and later Harvard Medical School. After 10 years, since first jumping over that fence into America, he became a U.S. citizen.
Now, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones- Hinojosa is a respected brain surgeon who directs the Brain Tumor Program at John Hopkins Bayview Hospital. He says more needs to be done to help those who can follow in his footsteps.
Fox News Latino — Sex and Porn
This is one of the five “news” stories Fox News Latino has up “above the fold” on its website tonight:
That site is such a farce. On the one hand Fox bashes Latinos every chance it gets (they’re “illegals!). On the other, Fox’s owner, Rupert Murdoch maintains “Fox News Latino” to make money off of the very people he claims to hate.
Oh, and despite its Christian fundamentalist veil, Fox thrives on sex. Check out Fox News Porn.
Really sick.
Architect of Arizona’s Immigration Law Defeated Yesterday
One of the races I was particularly interested in following yesterday was the potential recall of Russell Pearce, the Arizona state senator who drafted Arizona’s draconian immigration law. One could view Pearce’s recall as a rejection of the immigration law itself and, in fact, fyi, Pearce was recalled:
State Sen. Russell Pearce, the controversial architect of Arizona’s immigration law, was voted out of office on Tuesday evening in a special recall election. He was defeated by Jerry Lewis, a fellow Republican who does not support the immigration crackdown and has vowed to reject gifts from special interest groups and work to ban gifts for legislators.
Cool.
Alabama Deli Owner Who Defended Latinos Gets Huge Outpouring of Support
Hey, here’s some more good news:
Last week HuffPost told the story of Steve Dubrinsky, a Birmingham deli owner who was pilloried by strangers for defending his Latino workforce in an interview with the Birmingham News. Dubrinsky had told the paper that even documented Latinos were scared of Alabama’s sweeping new immigration enforcement law, and that many legal workers would end up leaving the state because they no longer felt comfortable there.
Outraged by Dubrinsky’s support of immigrants, strangers flooded his inbox with threats to boycott his restaurant, Max’s Delicatessen. Typical of the missives Dubrinsky received: “I hope your unamerican establishment closes down!!!!” His restaurant suddenly received dozens of negative one-star reviews on Google, mostly from anonymous first-time posters.
But since late last week, Dubrinsky has witnessed an outpouring of support from a different set of strangers. After reading of Dubrinsky’s plight, opponents of the new law have rallied around his deli, leading to one the busiest stretches at the restaurant that Dubrinsky can recall. He tells HuffPost that new diners have been driving from up to forty miles outside the city just to try his reuben and thank him for standing up for Latino workers.
“I’ve shaken more hands in the last two days than in the previous two years. It’s been amazing,” Dubrinsky said. “The restaurant has been pretty darn busy.”
[...]
Another reader from Georgia told HuffPost that she and a group of friends were putting together a caravan to travel to Max’s from Atlanta just for lunch.
The corporate media won’t cover this, of course, but I’ve got to say, it’s so nice to see the other side pushing back. The anti-Latino crowd has gotten too much attention for too long. Far as the media would have us believe, the anti-Latino crowd is the only crowd there is.
Cash Warfare
Rachel Maddow said it all just now as to what the 2012 election is going to be about. Forget the 99ers. Forget jobs. Forget education. Forget healthcare. Forget infrastructure.
Thanks to Bush’s Supreme Court and Citizens United, 2012 is all about:
CASHWARFARE.
I’ll put video up as soon as it’s available but ain’t that the truth?
I don’t know about you but I can’t afford to buy my representative. But Bank of America can!
About Them “Illegals”
I don’t care how much you hate “illegals,” we’re talking little kids here:
Many of the 223 Hispanic students at Foley Elementary [in Foley, Alabama] came to school Thursday crying and afraid, said Principal Bill Lawrence.
Nineteen of them withdrew, and another 39 were absent, Lawrence said, the day after a federal judge upheld much of Alabama’s strict new immigration law, which authorizes law enforcement to detain people suspected of not being U.S. citizens and requires schools to ask new enrollees for a copy of their birth certificate.
[...]
“It’s been a challenging day, an emotional day. My children have been in tears today. They’re afraid,” he said. “We have been in crisis-management mode, trying to help our children get over this.”
[...]
On Thursday, Lawrence said he wanted to get a message across to his students that they are safe at Foley Elementary.
Lawrence said that parents are afraid that they’ll get arrested and detained, and be cut off from their children.
What a horrible situation.
Memo to Alabama Lawmakers: Think First
Lawmakers in Alabama — succumbing to Tea Party crazies — passed a very strict anti-immigration law earlier this year. I’ve read a few snippets over the last few months about how the agriculture industry was finding it hard to find workers but now it looks like the problem is full-blown:
An Alabama law to tackle illegal immigration is coming under fire from some business leaders in the state, who say the measure is undermining Alabama’s economy even before it takes effect.
Representatives of agribusiness, the state’s biggest industry, and sectors such as construction, which is charged with rebuilding the tornado-hit city of Tuscaloosa, are reporting worker shortages because of immigrants already fleeing the state. The state agriculture commission says squash, tomatoes and other produce are rotting in the fields.
Hahahahahahahaha.
This is what happens when “our leaders” go off half-cocked, powered by hate, and they don’t think through what they’re doing.
Good luck Alabama. Ya’ll deserve everything you get, or don’t get, as the case may be.
Remember the 2010 Election and “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs?”
Remember how waaaaaay back in November — nine months ago folks — when Republicans were screaming about jobs, jobs, jobs? That was their #1 priority and WHY THE HELL WASN’T PRESIDENT OBAMA CREATING THEM?
This would be Republicans today:
Gingrich claims ‘there is no Supreme Court’ in the U.S. Constitution
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made the surprising and completely false assertion this week that the Constitution doesn’t mention the Supreme Court.
“There is no Supreme Court in the American Constitution,” Gingrich told an audience in Pella, Iowa. “There’s the court which is the Supreme of the judicial branch, but it’s not supreme over the legislative and executive branch. We now have this entire national elite that wants us to believe that any five lawyers are a Constitutional convention. That is profoundly un-American and profoundly wrong.”
Lookie over there. No. Over there. No. There. Don’t look to us to create jobs. Forget we said that. It’s about the Constitution. No it isn’t. It’s about the gays. The immigrants. Planned Parenthood. Acorn.
Geezus.
Whatever Happened to Boycotting Arizona?
So, the MLB All-Star Game is tonight in Arizona:
The 2011 MLB All-Star Game gets underway on Tuesday night as some of baseball’s best and brightest, as well as a boatload of replacements for those best and brightest, take the field at Chase Field in Arizona.
What a difference a year makes. Remember this?
– Arizona Immigration Debate Zeros in on Baseball
– Daily Kos: Major League Baseball Should Boycott Arizona All-Star Game
– Will Immigration Law Cost Arizona All-Star Game?
– Arizona immigration law foes urge MLB All-Star boycott
No, you probably don’t remember. The outrage du jour isn’t what happened in Arizona last year or what the banksters did or how the corporations are oppressing us. The outrage du jour is Casey Anthony being found not guilty of murder.
Talk about diverting attention from the stuff that really matters and having us — We the People — turn on each other.
Way to go America. They think we’re idiots and we’re acting like we are.
