Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said. A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.Great work to all the activist bloggers and campaigns like BastaDobbs.com and DropDobbs.com for pointing out the violence that has been given shelter by media hacks like him.
NYTimes' Media Decoder Blog
The Department of Justice needs to get off its ass and finish up their investigation so this domestic terrorism can end.During her second night behind bars, the bleeding started. On the morning of October 14, she felt contractions. Her hands and feet shackled, she was in labor and ushered into a paramedic's van by a detention officer who restrained her to the stretcher.
"That's not necessary," the paramedic told the officer.
"It's my job," the officer responded. The guard was a Latina.
She thought she would be released from the shackles once she arrived at the hospital, but she wasn't.
The officer chained her ankle to one leg of the hospital bed.
A nurse requested that she be freed to get a urine sample. But the officer suggested instead that her bed be dragged over to the bathroom.
Later she was changed from her jail uniform into a hospital gown.
"The officer chained me by the feet and the hands to the bed," she said. "And that's how my daughter was born."
"I don't need maternity care," Kyl said. "So requiring that on my insurance policy is something that I don't need and will make the policy more expensive."
Stabenow interrupted: "I think your mom probably did."
September 10, 2009So what does this mean?
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund FY 2010 Distribution
The recently passed state budget (3rd Special Session Chapter 11 section 14) requires the Arizona Department of Education to reduce basic state aid payments by $472.1 million and replace those funds with federal State Fiscal Stabilization funds (SFSF) as provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) “as soon as possible.” This procedure is consistent with Title XIV of ARRA and follows guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education regarding the distribution and use of the funds. This distribution will also provide the added benefit of improving the State’s cash flow requirements.
Impact on September 15 Basic State Aid payment
Based on the above law, the Arizona Department of Education will not be distributing any funds on September 15, 2009. In lieu of this payment, each LEA will be awarded SFSF funds in the same amount that they would have received in the apportionment payment.
Application Process
Federal law requires each LEA to complete an application to receive federal funds. The application can be accessed through the Department of Education’s Grants Management System. If you have questions about accessing this system, please contact Richard Valdivia at Richard.Valdivia@azed.gov. Applications will be available as soon as school finance can calculate the September basic state aid payment, which we anticipate will be no later than Monday, September 14 2009.
The application is basically identical to the application LEAs submitted last summer. LEAs will have to identify how they intend to use the funds by object code with a brief description. To complete the application, LEAs will have to make certain federally required assurances that the funds will be expended as required by ARRA and the required accounting and reporting requirements will be met. Applications are due by September 16, 2009.
FAILURE TO APPLY FOR ARRA FUNDS MEANS YOUR DISTRICT WILL NOT RECEIVE FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF YOUR SEPTEMBER BASIC STATE AID PAYMENT.
When completing the application, please make sure that the application amount matches the award amount. Also, please ensure that all requested projects have a completion date within the current fiscal year.
Cash Distributions
Cash will be distributed through the Department of Education’s Grants Management System. As with all other federal grants, cash will be distributed on the first of each month. Therefore, the earliest LEAs can receive funds is October 1, 2009. LEAs that submit applications after September 16 will receive funds on November 1, 2009.
Available Uses
Funds can be used for any activity authorized by the following:Funds cannot be used for
- ESEA (includes Impact Aid)
- IDEA
- AEFLA
- Perkins Act
While funds can be used for capital improvement projects on schools, any capital project involving an outside vendor is subject to Davis Bacon wage requirements. Further, federal rules require any transactions involving outside vendors to be reported.
- Facility maintenance costs
- Capital costs for stadiums
- Vehicles
- Capital costs for district office space
- Cannot fund aquariums, zoos, golf courses, swimming pools.
Cash Management
Federal cash management laws apply to these funds. Each LEA is responsible for meeting these laws. LEAs may want to use the funds to reimburse prior expenditures if that will help simplify cash management requirements.
Accounting for the Funds
The Auditor General’s Office will be providing guidance outlining how these funds will be accounted for.
For Profit Charter Schools
For profit charter schools are not eligible to receive SFSF dollars and were exempted from the basic state aid reduction. Therefore, for profit charter schools will receive their September 15 basic state aid payment as normal.
Questions
For general questions, please contact John Arnold at jarnold@azsfb.gov.
For questions regarding the application process or the Grants Management System, contact Richard Valdivia at Richard.valdivia@azed.gov.
For questions regarding accounting contact Laura Miller at lmiller@azauditor.gov .
Inspiring story of a Mexican-American astronaut scheduled to launch with the Discovery crew this week. He'll be tweeting bilingually at @Astro_JoseIf you want to get the latest developments about the launch of the space shuttle Discovery and the adventures of its crew, specifically Jose Hernandez, the California-born son of Mexican immigrants and now a national hero here in Mexico, you can sign up to follow Hernandez's Twitter feed.Hernandez is already posting updates on the micro-blogging site about his preparations for take-off and developments concerning the delayed launch of the space shuttle in both English and Spanish.
The bodies of six illegal immigrants have been found in the past three days along Arizona's stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, continuing a deadly summer in the desert.Law enforcement officials recovered two bodies each on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as the scorching summer heat continued. Temperatures have reached 100 degrees or higher in Southern Arizona each of the past 13 days, said National Weather Service meteorologist Gary Zell.From Oct. 1 through July 31, Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector had recovered the bodies of 161 illegal immigrants, an 18 percent increase from the 137 bodies found during the same time last year, said Mike Lee, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. The sector stretches from New Mexico to Yuma County.
Arizona Daily Star (emphasis mine)
Even as this shell game continued, Ed McCullough and several other No More Deaths volunteers were invited to meet with Jane Lyder, assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. The message they toted back to Washington, D.C., was simple, says McCullough, a retired dean of the UA College of Science, and the group's official cartographer: "We told them there were people dying in the desert, and the primary cause of death was heat-related problems related to the lack of water. And we told them that we wanted to put water out.
"Secretary Salazar came in about 15 minutes after the meeting started and talked about his concern with what's happening to the migrants in the desert," McCullough recalls. "He said he's had a general concern about immigration problems for a very long time. He also said there were laws among the various government agencies, and anyone proposing what we're proposing would have to work within the law."
McCullough says he and the other volunteers left the meeting with a sense "that they wanted to work something out with the humanitarian groups."
If that's the case, it does signal a mood for compromise. But this is precisely where the rubber hits the road.
Hawkes was out of town and unavailable for comment. But in a recent interview with the Tucson Weekly, he made his position clear. When asked whether No More Deaths will be allowed to put out water, he replied: "Not the way they want to do it. But they can drive around the refuge and hand out cups of water all they want."
Tucson Weekly (emphasis mine)
Unfortunately, that is the situation we face as long as Washington does nothing to end the funnel of death along la frontera and the economic instability that keeps currency in Latin América dependent upon the whims of the greenback.
It's not Headline News that Lou Dobbs has a credibility problem as a journalist. He's long used his show on CNN as a platform to advance conspiracy theories. This particular gem is just one example:
“The invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans,” Mr. Dobbs said on his April 14, 2005, program. From there, he introduced his original report that mentioned leprosy, the flesh-destroying disease — technically known as Hansen’s disease — that has inspired fear for centuries.According to a woman CNN identified as a medical lawyer named Dr. Madeleine Cosman, leprosy was on the march. As Ms. Romans, the CNN correspondent, relayed: “There were about 900 cases of leprosy for 40 years. There have been 7,000 in the past three years.”
“Incredible,” Mr. Dobbs replied.
Even more incredible is CNN's President, Jonathan Klein, endorsing Lou Dobbs this week after he jumped head first into the Birther Movement swamp, going so far as to label Rachel Maddow a "tea-bagging queen" today after she called out his insanity:
In response to CNN's continued support of conspiracy theorists like Dobbs, Media Matters released the following statement:
"It appears that Jon Klein stands alone as Lou Dobbs' sole defender in the birther battle. Even Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter have jumped ship," said Eric Burns, president of Media Matters. "How long will CNN allow Dobbs to devote airtime to a laughable conspiracy theory that even the most right-wing of media figures think is irresponsible?"
There's a petition that has gathered over 15,000 signatures calling for CNN to restore some form of credibility over their programs (I know, I know...). It can be found at DobbsConspiracy.com and offers this video roundup of Birthers being given traditional media attention:
As I tweeted yesterday, it'll be highly ironic if Lou Dobbs' career gets a signed death certificate as a result of questioning President Obama's birth certificate. Stay tuned.
[Crossposted from Booman Tribune, where I'm guest-posting this week]
Pobre John McCain. With Sarah Palin back in the headlines, he's getting all nostalgic about what might have been. Rather than blame his failed warmongering ideology and erratic behavior for the drudging he received on Election Day, though, he's whining about brown folk being mean to him!
RAMOS: Are Republicans concerned about upsetting their base if they vote to legalize undocumented immigrants?
MCCAIN: I don’t know…uh…I can’t speak for all Republicans…I know I was out there twice — on the floor of the Senate with Senator Kennedy — trying to pass comprehensive immigration with a path to legalization on it and I was attacked during the campaign for being anti-immigrant. Life isn’t fair.
RAMOS: Talking specifically about that — the last time we spoke was during the campaign. And you know and I know that you only got 31% of the Hispanic vote. Are you disappointed? What went wrong?
MCCAIN: Obviously I’m very disappointed. Millions of dollars of attack ads on your network and across the country in Spanish-language stations attacked me for being anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic, and anti-immigration reform. They succeeded.
Think Progress
Republicans don't want to talk about why their party is becoming whiter and more male dominated. To them, the onus remains on those people to cross the bridge to them, paying no attention to land mines put in the path. This strategery is already failing and will continue to do so if the numbers continue to reflect a more diverse voting population:
According to census data, 66 percent of whites voted in November, down 1 percentage point from 2004. Blacks increased their turnout by 5 points to 65 percent. Hispanics improved turnout by 3 points, and Asians by 3.5 points, each reaching a turnout of nearly 50 percent. In all, minorities made up nearly 1 in 4 voters in 2008, the most diverse electorate ever.
Philly Enquirer
Democrats shouldn't rest easy, however, because a mistake both party establishments make is assuming that communities of color can be pandered to by talk with no walk, or treated like unthinking masses altogether.
The latter is the fatal mistake made by the GOP. They assume that if 95% of black voters and 67% of latino voters pulled the lever for Obama, then it must be because we were showing solidarity for another darkie by default! John McCain blames spanish attack ads for losing the latino vote, which proves (again) that he is out of touch with us:
U.S. online Hispanics are heavier Internet users than the general market. In May 2009 (according to comScore Media Metrix), 68% of U.S, online Hispanics could be found online on the average day, compared to 62% of the general market. Online Hispanics consumed 8% more Page Views, 10% more minutes, and made 18% more visits online than their general market counterparts.Online Hispanics are younger. One driver of the heaviness of Hispanic Internet usage in the U.S. is the relative age of the population. The median age of the U.S. online Hispanic population was 29.6 in May, compared with 34 for the general market. This is not surprising given the younger skew of the Hispanic population in general; according to census data, fully 61% of Hispanics are under the age of 35, compared to 45% of the non-Hispanic population. Online Hispanics are slightly younger than Hispanics overall, and significantly younger than online users overall. But notably for advertisers, they are younger than the Hispanic audiences generally delivered by offline media.
This post is not really about John McCain, is it? It's about a political establishment that is consumed by maintaining a thick level of insulation from voters' needs. The look of shock on their faces when they see that minorities share many of the same concerns as the wider population is amusing to watch unfold; and you could knock them over with a slight breeze if you told them that they could reach latinos using English-language media.
With a Census looming next year, and data that will undoubtedly show more representation of Latinos, African Americans, and Asians as part of the larger population, life will continue to be unfair to any elected official who supports policies that affect our communities detrimentally; or treat us as uppity when we demand an equal voice at the table.
Just ask Tom Tancredo
...as we'll see in the coming days, she is an "intellectual lightweight" despite having a long and stellar career on the bench. She will be attacked as a person of color who has the audacity to uphold affirmative action laws not because they're the law, but because she's looking out for her people. The media's whiteness will show in all its unholy glory.What I should've wrote was, "the GOP's whiteness will show in all its unholy glory". Witness their party leader, Rush Limbaugh, during today's broadcast as the Sotomayor hearing commenced on the Hill:
An example of this mindset can be found during today's broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition. Ed Whalen, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, wasted no time on getting that talking point out into the mix right at the onset. There will be no holds barred with this nomination process.
The conservative movement's success at derailing Sotomayor's placement on the Supreme Court is hinged on causing white backlash against her identity and making her out to be a token latina/affirmative action candidate instead of the qualified, capable judge that she has proven to be over the years.
As a blunt blogger friend of mine likes to say, "Bet on it."
LIMBAUGH: That is one of the most, oh, tear-jerking, let's play the Stradivarius and get the tears going for poor Sonia Sotomayor; she was denied access to the classics. My guess is she'd have found racism in all the classics. She'd have found bigotry in all the classics. If she read the classics, she'd wonder why the hell are these classic. This is Western civilization, white-dominated culture -- the hell with this.It's almost comical that the GOP decided that the best way to attack an accomplished Latina judge was to claim she's racist. Projection, much?
Media Matters
Jeff Sessions began his statement by saying he hoped the confirmation hearings would be "the best we've ever had," before launching into a laundry list of terms being used by conservative activists to discredit Sonia Sotomayor: "bias," "prejudice," racial quotas. Sessions touched on every right-wing bugaboo from the court, from the influence of foreign law and the court "created a right for terrorists captured on a foreign battlefield to sue the United States in our own country" to property rights. Sessions fretted that the court would be "corrupted" by Obama's view that "the depth and breath of one's empathy" is an important quality for a judge.In response to the idiotic blatherings of the GOP and their defacto leader, Rush Limbaugh, Presente.org and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee have launched the following spanish-language ad to build political opposition to the Right's irresponsibility.
via Tapped
Sample Script:I'm pleased to endorse this ad campaign and hope that the GOP understands that they do lasting harm to not only communities of color by fanning racial divisions, but also their political future.
In Spanish:
"Sonia Sotomayor is set to be the first Latina, and the first Puerto Rican, to serve on the US Supreme Court. It is a proud moment for our community. Yet Republican leaders insist on attacking her:"
In English:
"She doesn't have any intellectual depth. She's got a -- she's an angry woman, she's a bigot. She's a racist."
In Spanish:
That's Republican leader Rush Limbaugh calling Judge Sotomayor a racist and a bigot.
It's insulting to all Latinos and Americans.
We asked Republican Congressman Adam Putnam if he would denounce Limbaugh's words. He refused to reply. Let's put a stop to the hate. Call Congressman Putnam today at 863-534-353 and tell him to condemn this language.
This ad was paid for by Presente Action
July 1st came and went and it wasn't until a few minutes ago that I realized, "OH crap! The site's anniversary!"I started this site to get my voice down on "paper". I don't really care if I get five or 500 hits in a day. I'm doing this because I care about my country. I yearn for the days when we can again proudly live up to this inscription that can be found on the Statue of Liberty:"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
July 1, 2005In the near future, this place will have a new voice added to the mezcla. She's Xicana, una feminista, una amiga mía and more importantly, completely unknown to all the blogging crowds and circles I've known over the past several years. Knowing her in real life is never boring so this should be quite the paranda. ¡Cuidado! haters. Lou will whup your ass.
That wasn't the only thing the train collided into, however; add the familia Fernandez to the mix. The hate has flowed heavily in their direction after the matriarch of their family died in the accident:
HYATTSVILLE, Md. - As people's hearts continue to go out to the family of victims killed in Monday's tragic Metro crash, some grieving family members say they're being harassed.Forty-year-old Ana Fernandez, an immigrant from El Salvador, was on her way to her cleaning job when she was killed in Monday's Metro collision. On Wednesday, her family and friends gathered outside their home where her daughter said they need help but are upset with prank phone calls they have received.
"And I'm serious if you're going to call and leave messages like that, don't call at all," Evelyn Fernandez, the victim's daughter
The immigration system is one thing that needs to be overhauled, the other is the country's corazón. There's too much hate, and too much ignoring of it by our political leaders.
Crossposted from The Sanctuary
What: Vigils in four Arizona towns to call on Arizona Senator John McCain and other participants of the White House Immigration Reform meeting to push for immigration reform this year.
When: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 from 6:00-7:30pm
Where:
Tucson -Senator McCain's office at 407 W. Congress St.
Douglas -Corner of 5th St and Pan American Highway (Co-sponsored by Humanitarian Border Solutions, Episcopal Border Ministries and Frontera de Cristo)
Sierra Vista -St. Andrew Apostle Church, 800 Taylor Dr.
Nogales - La Casa del Viejo at 665 Morley Ave.
Who: Border Action Network and its Human Rights Committees throughout southern Arizona.
Why: On Thursday, June 25 at 2:00pm EST, key members of Congress will join the President at the White House for a meeting that is expected to create a roadmap for legislative action on comprehensive immigration reform in 2009. The evening before this important meeting, members of Border Action Network in Tucson, Douglas, Nogales and Sierra Vista, Arizona are gathering to hold a "Now is the Time" vigil for Arizona Senator McCain and other meeting participants.
Utilizing media contacts and his blog Political Salsa, Tim was responsible for getting the story of Juana de la Paz' torture out into the public eye. You'll recall that she was shackled during the birth of her child and then prevented from breastfeeding by ICE agents. His empassioned corazón was howling for justice at the time, which was my first interaction with his work. Tim, you'll be missed.Tim Chavez, former columnist for the Tennessean, died last night at 6:15 p.m after a long bout with leukemia. He wrote about finding out that his illness returned in a blog posting on May 10th:
I never believed my leukemia would be over. The only lesson God wanted me to learn was to appreciate the moments of extra living he gave me, along with the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the 24/7 dedication of my heroic wife. She fought everyone from insurance companies to doctors for me. But I forgot too much of her heroics, which is to my great shame.
With my leukemia back, the moments become more precious. What book would one write at this stage of such a story? What should the world know? What feelings should rise to the surface to make the reader remember the moral?
Tell your State Senator to vote no on anti-immigrant legislation and focus on Arizona's real challenges
For Arizona and America to be a land of opportunity for everyone who lives here, our policies must recognize that we’re all in it together, with common human rights and responsibilities.
Right now, anti-immigrant extremists are trying to distract us from addressing Arizona’s real challenges like the budget shortfall, education, health care and employment and scape goat immigrants.
Tell your State Senator that anti-immigrant legislation has go to go!
If one group can be exploited, underpaid and prevented from becoming part of our society, none of us will enjoy the opportunity and rights that Arizona and America stands for.
Tell your Arizona State Senator to vote NO on Anti-Immigrant Bills SB 1162
The climate in Arizona has become increasingly hostile to those of us who have brown skin. I don't have any charts or graphs to back it up, it's something that I live everyday. And I've had enough of it. Anti-migrant legislation becomes anti-latino when officials like Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who give winks and nods to white supremacist groups, get their hands on it.
Secure Communities relies on police in jails like the one where Martinez was processed to enter fingerprints into a joint Department of Homeland Security and FBI database monitored by ICE. Federal officials then decide whether to take "appropriate action" and issue a detainer on an immigrant before he or she is released. The program began in Texas in late 2008, is now in place in 48 counties in seven states, and is set to reach full implementation nationwide by 2012. It receives a 30 percent funding boost in Obama's proposed 2010 budget and has support from key Democrats such as Rep. David Price of North Carolina, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and pushed for much of the new funding. "One thing liberals and conservatives and everyone in between can agree on is that truly dangerous people should be at the top of the list for deportation," Price says.
Programs like this sound good on paper, but those of us who happen to be brown know that we are in for unequal application of these types of laws. The country needs to stop pretending that immigration enforcement is about whether or not a person has their papers. People of color will always be targeted unfairly and beyond that, this is a central part of a long effort to eradicate migrant cultures.
Obama's budget also maintains funding for the 287(g) program, though at a decreased level. Civil-rights advocates note the bulk of counties that signed up to participate in the program are in Southern states with rapidly growing Latino populations. "The program gets mediated by a history of racism and nativist hostility," says Deborah Weissman, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who co-authored a study on the politics of local immigration enforcement. The study recounts how Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson told the Raleigh News & Observer that he applied to participate in the 287(g) program because Mexican "values are a lot different -- their morals -- than what we have here." He linked the county's growing Latino population with a rise in crime rates. Never mind that Latinos make up 10 percent of the population in Alamance County and account for about 12 percent of its criminal cases. About 70 percent of immigrants detained in Alamance County through 287(g) were guilty only of traffic offenses. (emphasis mine)
I would argue, of course, that "Mexican values" are indigenous to the United States, but when you're dealing with a law enforcement officer who comes right out and states boldly that they are targeting people for being Other, why bother? The bigotry shines more strongly than the glean off the gold badge on his uniform.
With incarceration rates for Latinos and African Americans off the charts, media and political forked tongues that reinforce a false message that we are more criminally prone, and the gravy train of funding to the privatized prison industry continuing unabated, President Obama's promise of change has yet to arrive with respect to migrant detention and deportations.
The abuses will continue unless we force D.C. to act. This week there is a huge gathering of immigration organizations in the nation's capitol, will this diseased part of the immigration system go unchallenged?
Let's hope not.
"Co-locating this office in the LEAF building would impact some of our day-to-day public safety operations. If victims and witnesses of crimes are not coming to the LEAF building because they know ICE offices in the building, this is a problem. If they are not reporting the crimes to the Flagstaff Police Department because they think we are one-and-the-same due to a co-located office, this impacts our public safety," Burke wrote.It's clear from the article that human rights advocates were successful in putting pressure on the city. Immigration is a federal issue, yet over the past several years D.C. politicos have sat on meaningful reform, causing local and state agencies to be creative in targeting migrant workers. Abuse runs rampant, families are separated because of trigger-happy Deport-Them-All officials, so it's a good feeling to see families and migrant advocates win a battle.
Both Police Chief Brent Cooper and Burke said last week during a presentation by ICE officials at city council meeting that immigration status is not relevant when reporting a crime.
Arizona Daily Sun
President Obama has announced his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as the candidate to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court that will open after the retirement of Justice David Souter. Sotomayor, a self-described ""Newyorkrican", grew up in the Bronx and worked her ass off to get to Yale Law School where she graduated summa cum laude and served as editor of the Yale Law Review.Glenn Beck Twitter twit: "Does the nominee still have Diabetes? Could the Messiah heal her, or does she just not want to ask?"
"Hey, Hispanic chick lady! You'reemphaticempathetic! you're in!"
Our Vision:The precarious reality of our borderlands calls us to walk. We walk together on a journey of peace to remember people, friends and family who have died, others who have crossed, and people who continue to come. We walk to bear witness to the tragedy of death and of the inhumanity in our midst. Lastly, we walk as a community, in defiance of the borders that attempt to divide us, committed to working together for the human dignity of all peoples.
In 1994, the U.S. government under the direction of President Bill Clinton, instituted Operation Gatekeeper that provided funds and personnel to militarize the border between Baja California and California. The campaign was specifically designed to divert the wave of humanity inland:
The purpose of the new plan was to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico into the United States and to shift the remaining traffic eastward, where the Border Patrol believed it enjoyed a strategic advantage over would-be crossers. This new approach to patrolling the border was named "Operation Gatekeeper." Since the plan's launch in 1994 at Imperial Beach, the same operational concepts have been implemented at the remaining stations in the San Diego Sector, beginning with Chula Vista - the station immediately east of Imperial Beach - and continuing in an easterly progression station by station to the San Diego Sector's eastern border.USDOJ.gov (emphasis mine)
Eastward.
Triple-digit heat. Non-existent sources of water. Desolation. Death.
"Strategic advantage" indeed.
The above graph comes from a 2007 policy brief and study, authored by Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, M. Melissa McCormick, Daniel Martinez, and Inez Magdalena Duarte, through the University of Arizona's Binational Migration Institute. It shows the explosion of death wrought in the Tucson Sector - part of that "eastward" mentioned by the Department of Justice - in the aftermath of Operation Gatekeeper.
Those of us who call la frontera home have not remained silent in the face of this humanitarian crisis. Grassroots organizations have mobilized to build coalitions of neighborhoods, church congregations, elected officials, student groups, and others to raise awareness of the disastrous end many of these economic refugees suffer in the desert.
From May 25-31st the 6th Annual Migrant Trail will bear witness to the humanitarian crisis that marches unimpeded, even under a new President. This 75-mile trek spans the distance between the communities of Sasabe, Sonora, México and Tucson, Arizona. Details on how to support this endeavor below the fold.
Monday, May 25th, 2:00pm:
Sásabe, Sonora:
Join us for the sending forth ceremony and the 4.8 mile walk to our first campsite on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife RefugeSunday, May 31, 11:30am:
Tucson, Arizona:
Join us for the welcoming celebration as participants complete the 75-mile journey, bearing witness to the gauntlet of death that has claimed more than 5,000 men, women and children on the U.S.-México border.For more information, please contact: migrant_trail@yahoo.com or call 520.770.1373
The Migrant Trail is sponsored by the following groups: Migrant Trail Walk Committee, Coalición de Derechos Humanos, BorderLinks, Mennonite Central Committee US, Catholic Relief Services - Mexico Program, No More Deaths - Phoenix and Tucson, 8th Day Center for Justice, Coloradans for Immigrants Rights, Frontera de Cristo, Humane Borders, American Friends Service Committee, JPIC Office of the St. Barbara Province Franciscans, Shalom Mennonite Fellowship, Casa Maria, and Church of the Good Shepherd.
"The Migrant Trail is an important spiritual witness to the challenging reality of our borderlands today," says Brother David Buer, a Franciscan brother serving in Tucson. "It is a moral imperative that we embrace our desperate migrant brothers and sisters with more humane policies and action."
Amen.
The Luis Ramirez Murder: A Logical Step in the Process of Establishing a Subhuman Class
by The Editors
The police arrived shortly after the attack but rather than jump into hot pursuit of the white criminals, they chose instead to search Latino eyewitnesses for weapons, claiming that following the guilty parties simply wasn't their "priority." Ramirez's attackers weren't arrested for another two weeks, even though eyewitnesses at the scene knew who they were without a doubt. The second stomach-churner is the jury's decision to exonerate Ramirez's killers from the charges of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and ethnic intimidation, leaving to stand only the reduced charge of simple assault. This, despite the testimony of Eileen Burke, a retired police officer at the scene. Burke testified that at the end, the murderers yelled to Ramirez' girlfriend "You effin bitch, tell your effin Mexican friends get the eff out of Shenandoah or you're gonna be laying effin next to him." This, despite two of the accused men themselves admitting to yelling "go home you Mexican [expletive]" at the scene of the crime.
Yet somehow, in the face of these facts, the all-white jury ruled there was no evidence of "ethnic intimidation." According to a CNN report, town residents were quick to explain and downplay the actions of this violent group of "star students and football players" as "just an alcohol-fueled confrontation among kids." They furthered their argument by reciting "a litany of attacks allegedly perpetrated by Latinos against Anglos." Perhaps they could have saved time and breath by saying The spics had it coming.
continue reading at The Sanctuary
The Department of Justice has dropped its case against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a war resister who refused Iraq deployment in June 2006 and denounced President George W. Bush’s decision to invade as illegal and immoral.In Feb. 2007, military judge Lieutenant Colonel John Head halted Watada’s case following possible inconsistencies concerning a “stipulation of fact” agreed before the hearing. The decision led to a mistrial, ending Watada’s court martial. The Army appealed, but a judge said Watada could not be tried again on the same charges, as it would violate his right to be free of double jeopardy.
The Justice Department is dropping its appeal of that judge’s decision.
“Because there are no longer any criminal charges pending against Lt. Watada, and because (his) military service has been extended far beyond his normal release date, he anticipates that he will soon be released from active duty,” Watada’s attorney, James Lobsenz, said in a media advisory published Wednesday. “He plans to return to civilian life and to attend law school.”
Here are descriptions of two previously unpublished accounts of U.S.-born Mexican-American teenagers who had their birth certificates ripped up by Customs and Border Patrol Agents. I have information on other similar cases, but only time to write up the details of these two, along with summaries and links to two other recent cases published elsewhere.I am working to independently verify the information presented by Jacqueline. These are very serious allegations, and if proven, should be fully investigated by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. If anyone has more information, please email me at the link to the left or drop the info in the comments to aid with compilation of data.
Just to be clear, a national identity card doesn't solve these problems: in many cases of U.S. citizens deported ICE or Customs and Border Patrol doesn't even check the digital files that have evidence matching the identity cards presented by the individual with the information in their databases-- as was the case at several points for Mark Lyttle. If no one bothers to check that a passport (or national identity card) matches the information in a law enforcement database-- as should happen when a U.S. citizen objects to having his proper identity disregarded by an agent or an immigration judge -- then having a national card does nothing and is no improvement over our current system.
Mexican-Americans with Birth Certificates Border Patrol Destroys or Ignores
1. Mario, 17, was born in a Colorado hospital in the late 1980s and I've seen his birth certificate and hospital records.
Mario's mother is a U.S. citizen and his father Mexican. When Mario was a toddler his father and mother separated and Mario's father brought him to Mexico. His father's plan was to raise Mario, and then he would return to the United States. When Mario was 17 he decided it was time to "go back to the United States and claim his destiny," according to an individual familiar with this case. Mario had uncles in Tucson who visited Mario frequently in Mexico. He was especially interested in finding his mother. A birth certificate is a valid form of identification for entering the United States, and Mario thought he was all set. (Mario couldn't obtain a U.S. passport from Mexico because if you're 17 or under, that requires the presence of both legal parents.)
In early 2007, when Mario tried to return through Nogales, Arizona the Customs and Border Patrol agent, the attorney said, "tore it up on the spot. They told him, 'It's not real. Go away, kid, this is fraud.' There goes your Colorado birth certificate. Go away, have a nice day." Mario was upset and insisted he was a U.S. citizen. "They told him that if he says he's Mexican he can leave, but if he keeps saying he's a citizen he'll be detained at the Nogales border patrol station and arrested." He signed and returned to Mexico.
Read the full post here
Sheriff Dupnik -- Due to your long history of involvement and commitment to the entire community, we were surprised by your comments in the print media. Children attending schools, regardless of their immigration status, are not the cause of our problems, nor should we publicly target them. We have an obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It is our responsibility to ensure that our children are always safe and secure. All children are vulnerable and we must protect them like they were our own.I applaud them all for calling out the sheriff. He is an elected official, and hopefully will be held accountable in the end by voters during the next election.
It is wrong to force teachers and school administrators to become immigration officers. We remind you to uphold the law that was established by the Supreme Court ruling, Plyer v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982). This case established that children, though not citizens of the United States, are considered a “person” and therefore, protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
An additional cause of grave concern were your unsubstantiated charges that 40% of students in the Sunnyside School District are “illegal” and linking the Southside as the primary source of all crime in Pima County. These false charges are inflammatory and prejudicial. Your comments only further divide our community and debase a large part of the population.
The Pima County electorate trusted you to protect and serve our community, not to humiliate and instill fear. Every child is entitled to an education regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation and status.
We urge you to apologize for your ill-advised comments and join us in a rational and honest discussion about solving our problems together.
Sincerely,
Raúl M. Grijalva, U.S. Congressman, Arizona Congressional District 7
Richard Elias, Chairman, Pima County Board of Supervisors
Regina Romero, Vice-Mayor, City of Tucson
Adelita Grijalva, Tucson Unified School District Governing Board
Eva Dong, Sunnyside School District Governing Board
Daniel Patterson, State Representative-LD29, Arizona State Legislature
Matt Heinz, M.D., State Representative-LD29, Arizona State Legislature
Linda Lopez, Senate Minority Whip-LD29, Arizona State Legislature
Jorge Luis Garcia, Senate Minority Leader-LD27, Arizona State Legislature
Olivia Cajero Bedford, State Representative-LD27, Arizona State Legislature
Phil Lopes, State Representative-LD27, Arizona State Legislature
Arizona
City: Phoenix
- Time: 8:30 am
- Location: March from Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum to State Capitol
City: Tucson
- Time: 8:00 am
- Location: Rally at the South Gate Shopping Center
The interview will be held at 8PM Eastern tomorrow - April 29th>> What kinds of writing does she enjoy the most and what has she learned from the different kinds of writing she’s done?
La Mala is a member of SPEAK! Radical Women of Color Media Collective, that recently put out a CD and accompanying ‘zine and curriculum on women of color issues and activism.
La Mamita Mala is also a poet and spoken word artist, spitting her malaventuras as a radical ‘Rican living in the mami’hood in the Latino Cultural Festival and El Encuentro de Poetas en NY.
>> I’ll be asking Maegan about her poetry, and maybe she’ll even share some of her spoken word with us!
PowerfulLatinas.com
He pointed specifically to the Sunnyside School District where he said as much as 40 percent of the students are illegal immigrants while citing unnamed sources.
Failing schools, high dropout rates and gang affiliation seem to be high in those areas, Dupnik said.
"Sunnyside is I think the area where the problem is most acute," he said.
I'm sick of gringo politicians denigrating the "Mexican" areas of my city. Negative associations slip off the tongue without hesitation because the cultura of barrios are different than some pseudo-preferred, assimilated neighborhood that charges their residents monthly fees to make sure that uniformity and conformity are maintained. Or else.
Sunnyside may have high drop out rates, and yes, there are gangs that operate there, but what makes it an easy target to get support for ridiculous policies like school-based checks of citizenship is the prevalence of latinos living there. Nevermind that drop outs, crime and gang activity are widespread everywhere.
In fact, according to Tucson Police Department's 2007 Crime Density Report, the Oracle Road corridor between Prince and Grant had the highest rate of incidents. Here is the .pdf version overlaying a map of the city. The southside doesn't stand out in any way, you'll notice.
Sheriff Dupnik should apologize to the Sunnyside Unified School District and the residents of southside neighborhoods. As a law enforcement leader in the community, his job is to build the trust of the people so that we can all work collectively as a society to bring about safer schools and barrios, not to snicker down at "them", especially when the facts don't back up his absurd remarks about the safety of certain neighborhoods.
It's all institutionalized bigotry and I'm sick of it. Even worse, suggesting that citizenship sweeps be conducted at our schools is definitely one of those things that would completely unwravel that trust system and erode any political support Sheriff Dupnik once received from southside communities. Unacceptable.
2009 Entertainment ScheduleEntrance is only $5.00. Lots of food, crafts and, of course, Mariachi!
10:30 Ballet Folklórico Davis Bilingual School
11:00 Mariachi Davis Bilingual School
11:30 Mariachi Anacatlan
12:00 Mariachi Pumas
12:30 Mariachi Mixteco
1:00 Mariachi Nueva Melodia
1:30 Mariachi Los Charritos
2:00 Mariachi Tesoro de Tucson
2:30 Mariachi Imperial de San Diego
3:00 Mariachi Los Tigres
3:30 Mariachi Los Vaqueros
4:00 Mariachi Brillante
4:30 Mariachi Los Potrillos de Cholla High
5:00 Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos
5:45 Mariachi Los Mineros
6:30 Mariachi Master Apprentice
7:15 Mariachi Sonido
8:00 Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High
8:45 Mariachi Los Arrieros
Join the discussion at the New York Times' Room for Debate blog with The Sanctuary's Associate Editor Prerna. There are five featured web-panelists, and as you'll note, some of them have no problem with mass-deportation and racial profiling.
Prerna's bio is powerful because it allows the voice of someone directly affected by political foot-dragging to speak out. This perspective gives the human dimension center-stage to a discussion that is often conducted by either the brain that discounts the familial and cultural toll of inaction, or the rectum that brings tons of defiling b.s. that keeps forward movement at bay.
Link to NYTimes.com discussion
Well, one of the laid-off reporters, Paul Giblin, snagged the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize yesterday along with still-employed Ryan Gabrielson for their work on the series Reasonable Doubt that chronicled the abuses of Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Executive editor Chris Coppola, who was managing editor at the time the series was produced, said:"This series by Ryan and Paul was the result of an exhaustive examination of public records and interviews with numerous sources, including many within the sheriff's office, to shed more light on an issue of growing importance both nationally and right here in our communities. It's gratifying that the Pulitzer judges recognized that effort with this honor.
"I know many of our readers appreciated what this series brought to light, while others were critical of our reporting, but in the end, the Tribune helped engage more people within our community on the topic,'' Coppola said.
The five-part series was a welcomed addition to the conversation about Arpaio's controversial and ongoing abuse of power that has leveraged the Maricopa County Sheriff Office to target migrant workers and latinos by extension. Reasonable Doubt chronicles the effects of MCSO's expenses and personnel assignments, showing very clearly that Sheriff Arpaio fails at his job to maintain safety in the jurisdiction.
The father of four says he exercised his consecution [sic] right not to be searched without a warrant. He says that's when he claims agents broke out his passenger and driver side windows.More coverage:
"Both windows shattered in the same instant," says Anderson.
In excoriating pain, the pastor claims an agents smashed his head into the door and then another threw him on the ground, stepped on his head and tased him once again.
"I felt like his full body weight was just driving my face into more broken glass and asphalt," Anderson explains.
It took 11 stitches to close the cuts on the pastor's face.
CBS 13
If any bloggers or other journalists in the area would like more information on credentialing, shoot me an email (man.eegee at gmail) so I can connect you with organizers of the event.Coverage You Can Afford
Comprehensive Benefits You Can Count On
- Health coverage that is affordable for every person, family, and business.
- Coverage with premiums and out-of-pocket costs based on your ability to pay.
- Government acts as an advocate, setting and enforcing rules so private insurance companies can’t deny coverage or raise rates based on health history, age, or gender.
Choice of Private or Public Health Insurance Plan
- Standard, comprehensive health care benefits that meet your needs from preventive to chronic care.
- Low out-of-pocket costs (like co-pays) so you can afford to get medical care when you need it.
- Choice of doctors and hospitals.
- Keep your current private insurance plan or join a new public health insurance plan.
- The choice of a new public health insurance plan is a guaranteed backup that will always be there to ensure quality, affordable health care coverage no matter what.
Equal Access to Quality Care
- Equity in health care access, treatment, research, and resources to people and communities of color and stronger health services in low-income communities.
Time: Thursday, April 16 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Pima Community College District Office (Tucson, AZ)
