Friday, July 31, 2009

Loser Limbaugh Jealous of the President's and Congress's Successes!

Poor Loser Limbaugh. Poor Loser Dobbs. Though they dreamed of Failure for our President and for our Country, their dreams are shattering. The economy is improving. The nation's gross domestic product declined 1% in the second quarter, less than expected and better than the first quarter's drop. The S&P 500 Index has risen 12 percent during earnings season. Many aspects of our President's Stimulus package are extremely popular.

Of course the republican faux news sites are either changing the subject or attempting to spin the good news negatively. They do not fool the every day American public.


I saw an interesting poll today. Our President Obama's popularity numbers are rising in the North, in the East and in the West. Over 90% believe he is a citizen and think the Birther's are nutcases. His numbers are rising among young people and educated people.

There is only one group where the numbers are declining and the Birthers range between 40 and 50%:
1. Republican Base
2. Southern Red States
How embarrassing for the Republican Party. They are becoming totally irrelevant!

Every Day Americans LOVE the President's Stimulus Package!

True, every day Americans are grateful to our President and the Democratic party for many aspects of the Stimulus package.

The popular "cash for clunkers" program will continue said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "This program is a success for car buyers, car dealers, car companies and taxpayers," Gibbs said. It has the added value of helping the environment by getting less fuel-efficient cars off the roads, he added. Gibbs said that the program has been "extremely popular" and that an estimated 20,000 certificates for vehicle swaps are waiting to be processed.

What Americans are saying about the program:
. "I love this program and thank the President and Congress for putting together a program that makes sense for us everyday Americans, for our economy, for car companies and for our environment. Good Job President Obama!"

. "I bought a car because I needed a vehicle for work that I could drive long distances to perform work at various customers' facilities; a '94 Jeep Wrangler doesn't fit that bill."
."With current available incentives I felt it was a great opportunity to buy new, which I think everyone can agree consequently plays a small part in helping automakers stay afloat and pull the economy out of the current recession."

Police Say Minuteman Murderer Gunny Bush, Partner to Shawna Forde, is Chief Suspect in 4th Murder

Seattle Weekly reports:
Minuteman Suspected of 4th Slaying
The accusations continue to pile up against Jason Bush (left), the Wenatchee white supremacist accused of accompanying Everett Minutemen leader Shawna Forde in the Arizona desert robbery and shootout that left a Mexican man and his 9-year-old daughter dead last month. Authorities now count four people as Bush homicide victims over a 12-year period. Beside the two June murders, Bush is suspected in the 1997 slaying of Hector Manuel Lopez Partida, 29, a homeless Wenatchee man stabbed seven times while sleeping. This week, at a press conference, Chelan County authorities said they now suspect Bush, a onetime Aryan Nations soldier, of another 1997 murder, that of Jonathan Bumstead, 18, of East Wenatchee, who was shot in the back and head. The Wenatchee World, quoting a detective, reports that an informant (who said he was at both of the Chelan murders) recalled Bush saying Bumstead was killed "because he was a traitor to the race." While the three other victims were Mexican, Bumstead was white. The indication was that he and Bush, who were acquaintances, had a falling out before the shooting. Charges are pending while, in Arizona, prosecutors are still considering seeking the death penalty against Bush, Forde and a third accomplice.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Extreme Right Wing Racists Like Beck, Dobbs and Others Are Having Difficulty Controlling Their Core Racist Beliefs!

Extreme Right Wing Racists in America are having a difficult time controlling their racism. This fact has become abundantly clear since the election of our President Barack Obama who is black, and particularly since the Racial Profiling incident of Harvard Professor Gates. If anyone doubted that racism was alive and well need only study the following examples:

Racist Crybaby Glenn Beck called our great President Obama a racist. Beck, who has a long history of racist and stupid comments should NEVER call anyone else a racist. However the worst part of this is our terrorist enemies are rejoicing in people like Beck calling our President a racist. Beck is the terrorists' dream come true. Fox News DOES NOT support Beck in his racist rants against our President. Bill Shine, SVP of Programming said, "During Fox & Friends, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel." Racist Tom Tancredo defended Beck citing his first ammendment rights to LIE and call our esteemed President a racist. Tancredo, as I have frequently reported, has a history of racist remarks. He has called Miami a 3rd world country. He told residents of El Paso if they didn't like a fence cutting through their land then they should move their homes to the Mexico side of the fence. In defining "assimilation" he said minorities and new immigrants need to adopt the speaking and cultural characteristics of white, northern Europeans. Tancredo - King of the Racists!
Racist Lou Dobbs, king of false accusations (e.g. made up leprosy scare and his relentless attacks against the Hispanic Caucus and Hispanics in general) rants on and on about his support of the Obama Haters, the Birthers. Even though the lunatic fringe birthers' theories have been debunked, good ole Lou continues to support them. Now the American Public has decided to boycott good ole Lou, writing to the CNN President asking why CNN is supporting the lunatic right wing paranoid conspiracy theories.

The Boston Globe reports a Boston police officer Justin Barrett was suspended Wednesday for sending a broadcast email from his work email calling Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. a "jungle monkey." He sent this racist broadcast email to fellow officers and to the Boston Globe from his work computer. The e-mail was in response to a Globe article about Gates' arrest. In the e-mail, Barrett wrote, "(Gates') first priority should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance." Barrett used the "jungle monkey" phrase four times.

Meanwhile, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer accepted the resignation of Lee Landor, his deputy press secretary, after she called Gates a racist and referred to President Barack Obama as “O-dumb-a.”
=============
I agree with our President Obama. It is time we sat down and talked about Race in America. The first step to redemption is acknowledging we have a problem, particularly in the ranks of the right wing extremists. Will the extreme right ever understand that we are evolving to a beautiful, multi cultural, multi racial society and we ALL need to accept each other and treat each other as EQUALS, just as our forefathers planned?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ethnocentric Republicans and ANTIs becoming Totally Irrelevant

If Anyone is ethnocentric, it is the ANTI Immigration Reformers. Consider their spokesmen, Limbaugh, Dobbs and Beck. They are ugly old Northern European white males (good ole boys) and they prefer their own kind. Look at all the people they admire and who they have chosen to lead their own groups. All ugly old good ole boys. How ethnocentric! They have no people of color, no minorities in Leadership positions. You cannot say Michael Steele is a leader. He is a mere token, often ridiculed by his own party. The women in any type of Republican/ANTI leadership positions are barbie dolls.

Look at all of the ANTI Immigration Reform leaders: Chris Simcox, Jim Gilchrist, Willie Gheen, Glenn Spencer, Roy Beck, John Tanton -- all good ole boys. All of these folks are set on the Bleaching of America. Limbaugh wants our President Obama to FAIL. Glenn Beck said today our President is a Racist. Lou Dobbs wants to see our President's birth certificate, supporting the Birther movement even though factcheck.org, the Republican Governor of Hawaii and countless others have provided and verified the birth certificate.

At a time when we should be united, the Republicans and ANTIs are desperate to cause dissention and grief not only for our President but for our country. They are becoming a living joke, constantly making illogical and unpatriotic rants against our President and against all minorities. The American Public is catching on to their antics. Soon, Republicans and ANTIs will become totally irrelevant.

Monday, July 27, 2009

House Bill Honors Hawaii as 50th State and President Barack Obama's Birthplace! (Giving the Nutty Birthers the Raspberry!)

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawaii), has introduced a resolution "Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State" and includes the following line: "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii."
Magnificent!
HR 592:
Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State.
Whereas August 21, 2009, marks the 50th Anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's signing of Proclamation 3309, which admitted Hawaii into the Union in compliance with the Hawaii Admission Act, enacted by the United States Congress on March 18, 1959;
Whereas Hawaii is `a place like no other, with a people like no other' and bridges the mainland United States to the Asia-Pacific region;

Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii;
Whereas Haw
aii has contributed to the diversity of Congress in electing the first Native Hawaiian member of Congress...
=========
This incredible bill celebrates a Great State and our Great President! It is time for the idiotic "Birthers" to shut up and stop already with their ridiculous, lying claims. It is time for Peace in America, Equality for All, and a time to honor our Great State of Hawaii and our Great President Obama!

God Bless America!
God Bless our President Barack Obama!

911 Call - About "Gates - Break In" Describes Perps as "Hispanic"


There certainly are discrepancies between the 911 call and Officer Crowley's version of events he wrote in the Police Report. In the police report he said, "2 black males with backpacks." Yet the 911 does not reference Black Males. Instead, they referenced Hispanics! Hispanics! Yikes! Hispanics!

As President Obama said, both Blacks and Latinos are frequently Racially Profiled and from the 911 call and the police report, this proves to be true!

I am also curious why the 911 operator was so quick to dismiss the suitcases. All he focused on was "Hispanics" in the neighborhood. More Racial Profiling!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

SPLC President Calls on CNN to Remove Lou Dobbs from Air for Spreading Birther Lies Against our President Obama!

The SPLC has it right. CNN should take Dobbs off the air for peddling so many racist lies, particularly the Birther lies against our President. He should be taken off the air immediately!
SPLC Reports:
The following is a letter from SPLC President Richard Cohen to CNN President Jonathan Klein.
July 24, 2009
Jonathan Klein
President
CNN/U.S.
1 Time Warner Center
New York, N.Y. 10019-6038

Dear Mr. Klein,

As an important and respected news organization, CNN has a special responsibility to ensure the accuracy of its reporting. We have written to you before about our concern that Lou Dobbs repeatedly fails to live up to this standard in his reporting on immigration. Now, Mr. Dobbs is again trading in falsehoods and racist conspiracy theories, questioning President Obama's American citizenship.

On the July 15 edition of "Lou Dobbs Tonight," Mr. Dobbs questioned the official certificate provided by the president and the State of Hawaii and complained that President Obama has not made public the "original document." On his radio program, Mr. Dobbs has repeatedly questioned the president's fitness for office, demanding he "show the documents" and, at one point, jokingly suggesting President Obama may be "undocumented."

The truth about the president's birth is not in dispute. It has been verified by Factcheck.org, among many other serious news organizations, and his official birth documents have been made public. CNN itself has repeatedly reported on the falsity of the claims of the "birthers," and the network's esteemed legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, recently called those claims "a joke." As you know, even Mr. Dobbs' frequent fill-in anchor, Kitty Pilgrim, debunked the birthers on the July 17 edition of Mr. Dobbs' own CNN show. The fact that Mr. Dobbs suggests otherwise on CNN — while real CNN reporters tell the truth — is both deplorable and an embarrassment to all serious journalists.

As he has in several other instances, Mr. Dobbs, in taking up the birthers' claims, is adopting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that originated on the radical racist right. As Gawker.com has reported, this particular conspiracy theory was first developed by an open anti-Semite and circulated by right-wing extremists who cannot accept the fact that a black man has been elected president of the United States. Among its adherents was neo-Nazi James von Brunn, the alleged murderer of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., this June. Von Brunn had helped spread the birthers' claims on the Internet and attacked the "dishonest & conspiratorial Media" for not taking them up.

This is not the first time Mr. Dobbs has pushed racist conspiracy theories or defamatory falsehoods about immigrants. We wrote you in 2007 to bring to your attention his utterly false claim that 7,000 new cases of leprosy had appeared in the United States in a recent three-year period, due at least in part to immigrants. (The real number, according to official statistics, was about 400. Mr. Dobbs took his spurious information from the late right-wing extremist, Madeleine Cosman.) In addition, Mr. Dobbs has reported as fact the so-called Aztlan conspiracy, which claims that undocumented Mexican immigrants are part of a plot to "reconquer" the American Southwest. He has suggested there is something to a related conspiracy theory that claims the governments of Mexico, the United States and Canada are secretly planning to merge into the "North American Union." He has falsely claimed that "illegal aliens" fill one third of American prison and jail cells. And Mr. Dobbs has routinely disparaged, on CNN's air, those who have had the integrity to point out the falsity of these and similar claims.

Respectable news organizations should not employ reporters willing to peddle racist conspiracy theories and false propaganda. It's time for CNN to remove Mr. Dobbs from the airwaves.

Sincerely,
J. Richard Cohen
President

Friday, July 24, 2009

Update: Mexican Police and FBI Arrest Human Traffickers for Shooting Latino Border Agent Rosas

Breaking News: Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was Fatally Shot very close to Minuteman Camp Vigilance. Latino BP Agent Rosas was following a group that had crossed the border, then, when he went off into the darkness near Camp Vigilance he was fatally shot -- murdered. Camp Vigilance is the Minuteman Camp where murderer/minuteman Shawna Forde was trained.
There currently is an investigation underway to find the perpetrators of this crime.
My condolences to the Rosas Family and to all who are suffering while we await Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
UPDATE: The Mexican Police and the FBI have arrested six suspects in the death of Border Agent Rosas. The trained Border Patrol Agents are heroes in the War against Drugs and Human Trafficking.
From Obama.com:
Tragically, Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas was fatally shot yesterday while working on the U.S.-Mexico border. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano offered her condolences:
I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of one of our own. Agent Robert Rosas was gunned down while protecting our nation’s Southwest border. This act of violence will not stand—nor will any act of violence against the Border Patrol. I have directed that the full resources of the Department assist in the investigation to find and bring to justice those responsible for this inexcusable crime.
My thoughts and condolences are with Agent Rosas’ family and his fellow agents at this difficult time. I want to commend those in the law enforcement and first responder community in Southern California for so quickly responding to the scene and attempting to save Agent Rosas’ life. His death is a vivid reminder that we are engaged in a serious effort to secure our border and that thousands of Border Patrol agents and other DHS employees risk their lives every single day to protect and defend our nation.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Racist Republicans and TeaBaggers Continue RACIST Attacks Against President Obama's Healthcare Plans

Right Wing Extremists - Republicans & Teabaggers HATE our President Obama. They are seething with Racism, Hate and Contempt for him, wishing and hoping his policies and our Country will FAIL during his term as President. They are so filled with contempt that they continue to send Racist, Evil and Contemptible emails and pictures to each other demonizing our President.

The latest racist culprit is Dr. David McKalip. On Sunday night, McKalip forwarded to fellow members of a Google listserv affiliated with the TEA PARTY movement this image (left). Above it, he wrote: "Funny stuff."

McKalip is very prominent in the Republican party and a Tea Bagger Leader. He is a Florida neurosurgeon, who serves as a member of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. He's also an energetic conservative opponent against President Obama's plans for health-care reform. McKalip founded the ANTI-reform group Doctors For Patient Freedom, as well as what seems to be a now defunct group called Cut Taxes Now. Last month he joined Republican congressmen Tom Price and Phil Gingrey, among others, for a virtual town hall to warn about the coming "government takeover of medicine."


When asked about the email, the racist McKalip (right) had no apologies. Instead, he said he believes that by depicting the president as an African witch doctor, the "artist" who created the image "was expressing concerns that the health-care proposals [made by President Obama] would make the quality of medical care worse in our country."
But pressed on what was funny about an image that plays on racist stereotypes about Africans, McKalip declined to say, instead offering to talk about why he opposes Obama's health-care proposals. "I have a busy day," he said eventually, before ending the call.

Reference:
Conservative Activist's Racist email

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

President Obama on Health Insurance Reform, Passing the Bill This Year!

Polls show that most Americans believe there is a need to improve our Healthcare system. Today, our Healthcare system is among the costliest and least effective in the world. Premiums have doubled over the last 10 years. More and more families are losing their health care; it is taking a bigger bite out of their salaries and there are more costs to employees. Though most Americans agree reform is needed, Republicans are utilizing their usual scare tactics to attempt to frighten the American people.

President Obama spoke to Americans tonight. He said, "I realize that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, 'What's in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?'" Specifically, he promised Americans will benefit from a system that provides "more security and more stability." He pledged insurance market changes that will enable Americans to obtain coverage and suggested that everyone would be guaranteed preventive care, such as checkups and mammograms.

Meaningful reform must tackle the twin challenges of covering the uninsured and containing skyrocketing medical costs. "I think that it's important to do both," he said. "I think it's important for us to make sure that 46 million people who don't have health insurance get it. And I think it's important for us to bend the cost curve, separate and apart from coverage issues."

President Obama suggested the legislation will reduce overall health costs by eliminating expensive and unnecessary duplication and arming doctors and patients with information "about what works and what doesn't." He said that with these savings, two thirds of the costs for his plan will be covered and Congress is currently working on how the other third will be covered. He pledged this third WILL NOT come from middle class tax increases. He said he would not sign a bill like that. His recommendation is that only those with million dollar plus annual incomes will see increased tax rates.

Obama has pressed for quick action on legislation that extends health insurance to the vast majority of Americans, raises the quality of care nationwide and clamps down on cost increases that he has described as "unsustainable." He has demanded votes on the House and Senate floor before the August recess.

Regardless of the Republican View, Racism Against Minorities is still Thriving in America!

Harvard Professor Henry Gates Jr. had just returned to his home in an upper class suburb from a trip to China when a police officer responded to a call about a potential break-in at his home that was phoned in by a white woman.

Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.

Why did the White Woman call the police? Because she saw a Black Man attempting to enter his own home.

When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer, Sgt. Crowley, why he was there. Crowley indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. Crowley then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. Crowley followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to Crowley. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.

Professor Gates then asked Crowley if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. Crowley did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates’ request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer’s name and badge number, Crowley then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates’ home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates. As Professor Gates followed Crowley to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, Crowley who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then Crowley placed Professor Gates under arrest. Professor Gates was handcuffed on his own front porch. The professor was taken to the station, printed and was not released for four hours.


There was no need for an arrest. Crowley was merely showing his power over the Professor. If the Professor were not black, the neighbor would not have called and Crowley would not have approached the Professor so pompously nor exerted his power by arresting him.

The Professor was racially profiled and harassed due to his race.
Fortunately, the Prosecutor agreed and dropped the charges.
I think Sgt. Crowley needs Anger Management and Diversity Training.

ANTI's Advocate the BLEACHING OF AMERICA!!

The ANTI Immigration Reform Groups are advocating the BLEACHING OF AMERICA. The truth is they are advocating legislation which would vastly reduce the number of non-whites in America and restrict future Immigration to allow primarily educated northern Europeans to enter.

Consider the agenda of the ANTI Immigration Reformers:
1. Mass Deportation of the 12M here: A Wall on the Southern Border, enforcement of current broken immigration laws, ICE Raids promoted to ensure the 12M here are deported.
2. Official English: Although Congress ruled English as the National Language, extremists advocate Official English laws thereby permitting the printing of all government documents, particularly voting documents, in English only. This includes stopping any government agency from providing Translators. Some local/state legislation has produced restrictions on Spanish in the workplace, even between co-workers.
3. Change the 14th Ammendment: Change Birthright citizenship laws to citizenship based on parental status. (Jus Soli vs Jus Sanguine)
4. Reduced/Regulated Future Immigration: Many ANTI Immigration Reform websites advocate regulating future immigration to only educated Northern Europeans.

When I have studied these groups' websites they also oppose our President, Barack Obama, often promoting conspiracy theories about his birth certificate. Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, strong Anti Immigration Reform zealots are also strong opponents of the President, wishing for him to FAIL.

They also oppose the candidacy of the honorable Judge Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice. They also demonize reputable Latino Humanitarian organizations including NCLR (who they negatively refer to as "La Raza"), MALDEF, PRLDEF.

If you also consider the fact they are opposed to Immigration from the Middle East, Africa and those they term "3rd World Countries", ALL COUNTRIES OF COLOR, you begin to understand their overall motivation. Many of their closet members are members of Hate Groups, including the KKK, Stormfront, NSMs, White Nationalists, Skinheads and more.

When you study all of these issues and their perspectives, it is clear. The majority of ANTI Immigration Reformers are advocating "The Bleaching of America!"

Monday, July 20, 2009

Piekarsky and Donchak Go To Jail for Murdering Luis Ramirez

Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17, and Derrick M. Donchak, 20 turned themselves in to the Schuylkill County Prison Sunday (yesterday) morning for their roles in murdering Luis Ramirez.Donchak also was convicted of corrupting minors and furnishing liquor to minors. Both also were convicted of underage drinking. Donchak was sentenced to seven to 23 months in the prison, while Piekarsky was sentenced to six to 23 months.

It is my hope they will learn from their incarceration. I hope they learn they cannot commit Hate Crimes. I hope they learn they should never kill anyone. I hope they learn that what they did is WRONG!!!! I hope they stop their racist ways! I hope they learn to accept all people of all colors. I hope they learn to accept ALL people as their brothers. I hope they learn Christian Values. (Love one another as I have loved you!)

I have a smidgeon of hope after reading this article. A White Nationalist wrote to the family, in Shenandoah Heights, in support, and spoke by telephone to family members, but, after two conversations, Piekarsky hung up on her. Has Piekarsky learned his lesson? Has he learned to distance himself from White Nationalists and all perpetrators of HATE? I hope so, not only for himself, but for his eternal soul!

It is my hope that ALL Racists and ALL perpetrators of Hate Crimes do learn their lessons and learn to NEVER commit Hate Crimes again!
References:
Teens Convicted in Shenandoah

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Judge Sotomayor and my Lesson from Eighth Grade

When I was in Junior High School I had an experience I do not like to dwell upon. I am reminded of that experience today, through the Sotomayor hearings. Some Republicans and Right wing Shock Jocks have attempted to label Judge Sotomayor a reverse racist. In reality, she is not. Instead, she is a strict advocate of the law. Her enemies, for various political reasons, are mischaracterizing her actions.
Additionally, some right wingers seem to suggest racism against minorities does not exist in our country and all things are equal. These right wingers are wrong.

My Junior High School experience helped me learn a very important lesson in life. As many of my long time readers know, I grew up in Michigan. Since my Dad worked in an auto factory, we were one of the very few Latino families that lived in Michigan all year long. Growing up, most of my friends were white. There were very few Latinos or Blacks living in Lansing at the time. In eighth grade, my friend Allie and I walked home from school. We often took short cuts because we lived miles away from school.

When Allie and I walked home, we cut across some railroad tracks. On one particular day, we saw a purse on the tracks. Allie picked it up. She looked inside and saw a wallet. It had the name of a student with our school ID in it. We both decided she would take it to the principal's office the next day so the owner could pick it up.

The next afternoon, just before the end of the school day, I was called into the vice principal's office. She started badgering me with numerous questions. "Did you take it?" "Why did you take it?" I was startled by her attack. I explained that Allie and I found the purse and we both agreed she would bring it into the office. The Vice Principal kept badgering me. Being only 12 years old, I finally started crying. The Vice Principal said my tears proved I was lying and I may as well admit I stole it. I said no. I did not. I asked her to bring Allie in the room. She said No. She was not going to do that to her. She told me to go home and think about it and come back with a confession the next day.

Since it was after the school day ended, I walked home alone, crying the whole way. My mom and dad were waiting for me when I arrived. I was late. They saw me crying. They wanted to know what was wrong.

I explained what happened.

Mom and Dad were both quiet. They both sat beside me and let me cry. I said, "Why would they think that? Why? I have always been a good student. Why would they think that?"

They hugged me. Then Dad said, "This is your first experience with true racism. This is not the last time this will happen. Expect it to happen many more times. In situations like this, some people will just assume you are guilty simply because you are Mexican."

"But why Dad? Why? I am a good girl."
He nodded. "Yes mija. I know you are a good girl. But we Mexicans are always suspect in some people's eyes. We have to know the rules and abide by them. We have to work twice as hard just to be considered equal. You will see others bend the rules or break them, but you can never do so. And the crimes of one Mexican are layed on the shoulders of all of us."


I blinked back my tears and listened to every word he was saying. "But Dad. Is that fair?"

"It doesn't matter if it is fair or not. It is just the way it is."
I started to cry again. "Dad. I don't want to go back to school if that is how it is going to be."


"No mijita. No. You must go back to school. If you do not go back to school you will do exactly what they want you to do. They want you to give up. You cannot do that. You are an American. This is our country too. You were born here. I was born here. My Dad was born here. This is our country just as much as it is their country. We are ALL Americans. You must go back. You must complete your education. You must achieve your dreams."

I stopped crying and I nodded.

He added, "Tomorrow, I want you to go back to your friend and ask her what she told the principal. If she is your friend and she is honest, she will tell you the truth. Then the both of you can go back to the principal and tell the truth."

I nodded. My parents both hugged me.

Though I didn't want to go back the next day, I did as my father suggested. I went back to Allie and asked her what she said to the principal. She told me she went to the Vice Principal, turned in the purse and told her we found it. I told her what the Vice Principal said. It was Allie's turn to become angry. We both went back to the Vice Principal's office. Allie repeated the truth about what happened and asked the Vice Principal why she made accusations against me. The VP became quiet and shrugged. She said "Fine" and guided us to leave her office. Though she looked embarrassed, she never apologized to me, but at least she left me alone.

I thought about my eighth grade experience as I heard Republican Senators rehash over and over again Judge Sotomayor's out of context comments or their misinterpretation of the Ricci case. I admire Judge Sotomayor's civility and poise throughout the hearing and as she proved her diligence to the Constitution and the Rule of Law her entire career. She believed in hard work and Education in order to achieve the American Dream, just like my Dad coached me.

Mr. Ricci and soon to be Justice Sonia Sotomayor

I read Mr. Ricci's testimony during the Sotomayor hearings today. You have to respect a man who has worked so hard to overcome his disabilities. He is dyslexic and studied very hard to pass the unsanctioned multiple choice test his local Fire Dept. presented. He practiced and did well on the test. I commend him for his hard work. I also commend him for NOT speaking negatively about the honorable Judge Sotomayor (regardless of what the pundits say). He has not said a negative word about her.

In fact, during today's testimony, the 2nd firefighter, Vargas, congratulated Judge Sotomayor for working so hard and for potentially being the first hispanic on the Supreme Court.
I can understand their perspective and I can understand the fact they are focused on their own personal perspectives vs the rule of law. Both believe they passed a valid test and that was the complete process. Both (and all of the firemen who passed the test) believe they deserve promotion based on the test results. I've seen this behavior a thousand times during management/union review hearings. The defendant always thinks from their own perspective
However, from a judicial perspective, one has to remove themselves from the defendant or plaintiff's perspective. The judge takes a step back and reviews both perspectives and the overall process. That is exactly what the District court did when they made their ruling in this case, siding for the City, the Defendants. The facts are, the test was new. The test was out of the Fire Dept.'s standard operating procedures. And this is what the District Court ruled. And this is ruling the 3 judge panel which Judge Sotomayor sat agreed with.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court set new precedence, which is totally different and outside of the realm of which Justice Sotomayor and her other 2 peers on the panel could decide.
All the Senators agreed. Ricci agreed. The Hispanic Firefighter agreed.
The only people NOT agreeing are the right wing extremist shock jocks who continue to belabor this issue and talk so negatively about the honorable Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Even the Republican Senators agree. Judge Sonia Sotomayor will become our next Supreme Court Justice. That is the will of the Senate. That is the will of the majority of people in the United States.

God Bless America.
God Bless our next Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Racist Sen. Coburn Shamefully Mimics Ricky Ricardo when he Responds to Judge Sotomayor during the Hearings: "Loooocy, You Have Lotsa 'Splainin To do!

What is going on with Republicans at the hearing. On Monday and Tuesday, Jeff Sessions (R) went on a rampage against Sotomayor, spitting and fuming, as Sotomayor remained calm and thorough. Today, Sen. Coburn (R) shamefully responded to the honorable Judge Sotomayor and said Looocy "You've got plenty of 'splainin to do!"
What is WRONG with the GOP! Are they taking crudity lessons from Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck?

It is totally shameful, especially for a Capital Hill hearing! Shame on them!!
My guess is they are trying so hard to get Sotomayor off balance, however she has remained the essence of cool, calm, collected while responding with clear points of laws to their idiotic and lame accusationt. Now the Republicans are so desperate to make a point they are making themselves look like racist idiots!
I guess they are only reverting to their true selves. Shameful!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Sotomayor Ruling: Understanding the Ricci v. DeStefano Case

By Professor Sherrilyn Ifill, Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law
Ricci vs DeStefano

It seems like a simple case. The New Haven Fire Department conducted an examination for applicants seeking promotion to captain and lieutenant. No black test takers made the cut, so the city, fearing it would run afoul of employment antidiscrimination laws, scuttled the test. To many, this just sounds fundamentally unfair.

But the Ricci case is not that simple. And that’s the problem with conversations about affirmative action. You say “affirmative action,” and people think they know what you’re talking about. They threw out the test? That’s unfair to the white applicants. Why couldn’t the black applicants just pass the test? Who wants a firefighter in a command position who can’t pass the test? Won’t this just stigmatize black firefighters?

First, the issue before the Supreme Court is whether New Haven officials violated the constitutional rights of Frank Ricci, a white firefighter who took and passed the promotion exam, when the city’s Civil Service Board failed to certify the exam. Why did the board refuse to certify it? Questions about the test were raised in part because the company that created the test failed to follow several practices regarded as “standard” among experts providing tests to fire departments. One of those is the submission of the test to a process that determines a relevant cutoff for a passing score. The test developer simply skipped this step. Nor was the test submitted to fire experts in New Haven to ensure its relevance to the particular conditions and realities for firefighters there. Thus, when the racially disparate results from the test differed substantially from the results of previous tests conducted by the New Haven Fire Department, alarm bells went off. The matter was submitted to the Civil Service Board. After hearing from the public and outside experts at five hearings, the board split 2-2 on whether to certify the test (the board’s fifth member, an African American, did not participate in any of the decisions).
Second, this case cannot be examined outside the very powerful historical context of race in urban fire departments in the United States and in this particular fire department in New Haven. As the NAACP Legal Defense Fund argued in its amicus brief to the court, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended in 1972 to include state and municipal governments precisely because of widespread discrimination in public sector employment. Fire departments have been among the most resistant municipal enclaves to integrate. It has been surmised that because firefighters essentially live together in the same space, whites have been especially resistant to integrating this workspace. Unfortunately, fire departments have been the sites of some of the most odious incidents of racial discrimination. As documented by the LDF, even in supposedly desegregated firehouses in Washington, D.C., in the late 1960s and early ’70s, the beds, dishes and eating utensils of black firefighters in some firehouses were marked “C” for “Colored.” Segregated firehouses were maintained in jurisdictions from San Francisco to Memphis through the 1970s. And this is not just a relic of our past. The effort to address discrimination in fire departments is part of the ongoing work of civil rights organizations and the Department of Justice. In one compelling account, Legal Defense Fund lawyers revealed that in the Cleveland Fire Department, black firefighters were assigned to a battalion that was known as “Monkey Island.” In 2004.
Getting employed at all as a firefighter has been a challenge for black applicants. After the application of Title VII to municipal employers in 1972, blacks were kept from employment as firefighters and promotion to officer positions through changes in prerequisites for employment designed to disproportionately affect blacks; the use of quotas as a bar to black promotion; and, of course, the use of tightly held information about job openings and promotion opportunities.
New Haven has a particular history of discrimination in its fire department. Black firefighters and applicants have successfully sued the department for racial discrimination in hiring or promotion numerous times, most recently in 2004. Although New Haven has made strides in the hiring of black firefighters, the promotion of black officers continues to be a problem. In 2007, although a little over 30 percent of entry-level positions in the department were filled by blacks, African Americans held only 15 percent of supervisory positions.

In fact, the requirement of high school diploma was imposed in some jurisdictions only after the passage of Title VII, precisely to keep black applicants out. But access to these jobs are critical for working-class black people and their families. To the extent that there are sizable numbers of blacks in these jobs in many of our cites today is due, in large measure, to successful affirmative action lawsuits or voluntary affirmative action measures.
Some simply see this case as being about Frank Ricci and his right to a fair and transparent process for promotion. It’s wort
h pointing out that even had the test been certified, it’s not certain by any means that Ricci would have received a promotion. The names of those who pass the test are placed on a list that is submitted to the Board of Fire Commissioners. Lieutenants and captains are selected from among the names on the list.

Given all of the departures from standard practices in the creation of the test, and the fact that its results showed racial differentials that were inexplicably more pronounced than in prior years, New Haven’s Civil Service Board was justified in its split decision on certification.

For whatever else it is, Ricci isn’t a referendum about affirmative action. This case is about a particular city, a particular fire department and a particular test.

In fact, in light of its particular history, the New Haven Fire Department should strive to adopt a test that is valid and objectively sound and that provides an evaluation of the relevant qualifications for candidates seeking important supervisory jobs. This new test should not be one that tips the scales in favor of minorities, but one that is consistent with standard testing practices and can withstand scrutiny by industry testing experts. That’s something that even Chris Matthews could agree with.

LIVE BLOG 7/13/09: Sonia Sotomayor Hearings Begin Today

President Barack Obama's pick to fill his first U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, Sonia Sotomayor, goes before a Senate hearing today. Most people believe she already has enough votes to win the confirmation. If selected, Sotomayor will be the first Latino justice on Supreme Court. Senator Patrick Leahy said, "Hers is a success story that all Americans can take pride in."

However, the hearings will be interesting to watch. What I will be watching for is the Republicans' approach to the hearings. The sharpest comments about her so far came Sunday from Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama, the senior Republican on the committee. Jeff Sessions, by the way, was nominated for Federal Judgeship in 1986 but was refused. Why? Due to his "gross insensitivity" on racial issues. Some of Session's comments: 1) said KKK was not so bad until he found out some of them smoked marijuana. 2) Said NAACP & ACLU were "un-American" and "Communist-inspired" because they "forced civil rights down the throats of people." Later, Sessions said he made these comments "in jest."

I will be LIVE BLOGGING the hearings today and periodically throughout the week(s) of the hearing. I will be updating this blog throughout the day.
Capitol Hill - Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings:
10:00 am Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) Chairman of the Panel welcomes Sonia Sotomayor. Invites Sotomayor to introduce her family. Leahy provides introductory remarks and cites Sotomayor's many significant accomplishments (education, community, as a Prosecutor and Judge).
10:15 am Sen Jeff Sessions (R) critiques Soniamayor. He cites her "Wise Latina" comments and the Firefighter case, entering them into the record.
Sessions reveals himself when he said: "Empathy for one is prejudice against another." (A clue into Republicans' desire to end Affirmative Action)
Then goes into Gun Control and Pharmaceuticals. Asks American People to follow the hearings.
(We can see what we can expect from Sessions. Pundits are saying Sessions came out early and hit her with both barrels -- what we can expect to see from the Republicans who bash her.)
10:30 am Sen Orrin Hatch (R) discusses method for hearings. References then Sen. Obama's critique of nominee Brown, Justices Alito and Roberts.
Sessions said "extreme left" bashed a plaintiff from a previous Sotomayor case and will that plaintiff "Frank Ricci" will be speaking at the hearings as a Republican witness. Sessions said this was wrong. (I will be posting a blog about this case so you will be aware of this issue before Thursday's hearings.)
Hatch closed with positive comments about Sotomayor.
(during break, someone made some type of outburst and they were escorted out of the room - no outbursts allowed -- Male: "What About the Unborn.")
10:40 am Dianne Feinstein (D) Sotomayor a warm and intelligent woman. Strengthen Supreme Court.
10:47 am Senator Charles Grassley (R) Abide the law and the Constitution, not judging based on empathy.
11:00 am Russ Feingold (D) Sotomayor - wisdom, judgement, understanding of impact; deeper appreciation of democracy. Be wary of judicial activism words being said at the hearings. Glad Sotomayor will be able to answer unsubstantiated comments bias. Sotomayor is cautious and careful approach to judging. Out of context words in a speech do not apply to her fine record. Impartial justice - Fine Qualities - living proof this country is moving in the right direction. Judge's nomination example -American Dream. She will serve with distinction.
11:07 am Sen Jon Kyl (R) Serve on merits, not ethnicity. "Wise Latina Woman" remarks. Biases, prejudices. Can you control it. Judge the case fairly. Critiques Obama - oppose Roberts. Judges should not be empathetic (no heart).
11:16 am Sen Chuck Schumer (D) Record shows she is in mainstream. Strongly supports Rule of Law. Sotomayor delves thoroughly into the facts of each case. I challenge every Republican to examine random samplings. She learns facts and comes to a decision irrespective of personal experience. She supports rule of law and the constitution.
11:22 am Sen Lindsey Graham (R) Unless you have a complete meltdown, you will be confirmed and I don't think you will have a meltdown. Your courtcases are fine. But when it comes to speeches, if I said anything like that, my career would be over. You need to understand that. You are not racist. When you take the robes off and say the words "better" that is a problem. If I applied then Sen. Obama's standards, you couldn't stand up. You are a strong advocate and you will speak your mind. You have good character and have had a full and fruitful life. You are passionate. You stood out and we want you to speak your mind.
11:33 am Sen Cardin (D)
12:05 pm Sen John Cornyn (R) More focus on "Wise Latina" comment. Are you the kinda judge that veers from the Constitution. (yada yada - bloviating)
12:10 pm Sen. Whitehouse (D) Proud to be here with you today. Great attributes. Appreciate your years as prosecutor. Looking forward to hearing more. Republican words used are code words seeking particular judge with particular set of outcomes.
12:20 pm Sen Tom Coburn (R) Concerned with some of your statements. Rule of law binds us together. We want it to be predictable in fairness. Worried Constitution to be seen evolving. Your oath - follow Constitition and our laws and not be swayed by personal biases or your political preferences. Applaud your accomplishments.
12:30 pm Sen Richard Durbin (D) Wisdom comes from life not just lawbooks. Roberts said he calls balls and strikes, but hard to call fair balls and strikes when you are out in right field. Sotomayor has many outstanding accomplishments. Hard Work. Dedication.
(another outburst by some guy in a red shirt)

2:00 pm (D) Senator from MN - Kudos to Sotomayor
2:12 pm Sen Kaufman (D) Impressive Nominee. Incredible experience. Great Record. No biases.
2:19 pm Sen Arlen Specter (D) Cases
2:30 pm Sen Franken (D) Welcome. Most experienced nominee in 100 years. Outstanding jurist. Exceptional individual.
(another protester removed)
What happens Rest of Week:
. Monday close: Sotomayor given oath by Chairman Leahy and makes remarkable and moving opening statement.
. Tuesday: Hearings resume. Each Senator gets 30 minutes Q&A with Sotomayor.
. Wednesday: Hearings resume. Q&A continues. Expected to last until noon. 2nd round of Q&A begins.
. Thursday: Hearings resume. 2nd round of Q&As continue. Then they hear from outside witnesses.
NOTE: Outside Witnesses
* Democrats have put New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Major League Baseball pitcher David Cone and former FBI Director Louis Freeh along with legal scholars and experts on their witness list.
* The Republican witness list includes conservative author and commentator Linda Chavez, a former president of the National Rifle Association and Frank Ricci, who was a plaintiff in a landmark race bias case in which Sotomayor was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
* After the hearing concludes, committee members are typically given a week to submit written questions. After Sotomayor answers them, the committee will vote whether to recommend her for confirmation by the full Senate.
* Regardless of the recommendation, a Supreme Court nomination traditionally goes to the full Senate for consideration. After at least a few days of debate, the Democratic-led Senate will vote on Sotomayor.
* If confirmed by a majority of the Senate, Sotomayor will likely go straight to the White House to be sworn in, probably by Chief Justice John Roberts. If he is unavailable, another justice will do the honors.
* The court officially starts its new term in October but has scheduled a special session in September to hear a challenge to the federal campaign finance law.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Broken Immigration System: Courts Backlogged, Immigration Judges Severely Understaffed

New Immigration Study: Broken Immigration System illustrates the need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform this year!
Immigration Judges Found Under Strain
Surging caseloads and a chronic lack of resources to handle them are taking a toll on judges in the nation’s immigration courts, leaving them frustrated and demoralized, a new study has found. The study, published in a Georgetown University law journal, applied a psychological scale for testing professional stress and exhaustion to 96 immigration court judges who agreed to participate, just under half of all judges hearing immigration cases. The survey found that the strain on them was similar to that on prison wardens and hospital physicians, groups shown in comparable studies to experience exceptionally high stress.

Surprising the researchers, 59 immigration judges wrote comments on the survey questionnaire elaborating on why they felt discouraged. In the comments, which were reported anonymously, the judges spoke of an overwhelming volume of cases with insufficient time for careful review, a shortage of law clerks and language interpreters, and failing computers and equipment for recording hearings.

“We judges have to grovel like mangy street dogs” to win exemptions from unrealistic goals to complete cases, one judge commented. Another wrote of the “drip-drip-drip of Chinese water torture” from court administrators demanding more and faster decisions. A third judge cited “the persistent lack of sufficient time to be really prepared for the cases,” while still another said simply, “There is not enough time to think.”

Unlike federal courts generally, immigration courts are not part of the judicial branch but are run by an agency of the Justice Department, the Executive Office for Immigration Review. In 2006, Alberto R. Gonzales, then attorney general, reported serious problems with overload and flawed rulings in the immigration courts. He outlined 22 measures the department should take to improve the courts, including hiring more immigration judges. The department recently hired four new judges and announced plans to hire a total of 28 this year. But a report this month by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research group at Syracuse University that analyzes government data, found that the department had failed to meet its most important goals for training judges and giving them more assistance.

Many of the cases immigration judges hear are from people seeking asylum in the United States, claiming they would face life-threatening persecution if they returned home. But the troubling, complex facts of the asylum cases do not affect the judges as much as the pressure to dispatch them quickly, said Dr. Stuart L. Lustig, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study, published in The Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. One judge said, “This job is supposed to be about doing justice, but the conditions under which we work make it more and more challenging to ensure that justice is done.”

Bernard Wolfsdorf, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the immigration bar, said: “If you go into these courts and see the workload, you ask, Is this a real American court? It appears that this broken system is wearing down many of the good judges.”

Minuteman Shawna Forde's partner Gunny Bush - Murderer, Liar, Thief!

Eugene Gunny Bush, the minuteman who Brisenia's mother said pulled the trigger murdering her daughter and her husband, left a paper trail of deception behind, according to residents of the small Arizona town of Meadview, where he lived for about a year until his arrest last month.

Bush, who admitted to the May 30 murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores during a home invasion, presented counterfeit money orders and fake military papers around town and lied to get work, said residents of Meadview. “He was a huge con artist,” said Tracy Van Wormer, owner of Meadview Market, a local convenience store. “I’m sitting on about $2,000 worth of counterfeit money orders from him.” She said Bush, who claimed he was a veteran, told her that he was re-enlisting and cashed two money orders for $1,000 each in early May that he said were advances on his re-enlistment bonus. When she sent them to the bank, they were returned. The bank told her they were old money orders that had been washed and rewritten, Van Wormer said. “I pressed charges against him and they issued a warrant, but I’ll never see my two grand,” she said.

Pentagon officials told the Everett (Wash.) Herald that there is no record that Bush served in the military. Bush told the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office that he had been duped in an Internet scam and that’s how he came by the checks, Van Wormer said. Bush also presented forged military papers to become a member of the local VFW post, said the post’s senior vice commander, Lavern Allsman. “He said he was in Vietnam,” said Allsman of the 34-year-old Bush. “It looked good on paper.” The VFW requires proof of at least six months served overseas, but Bush was voted in as a member without verifying the documents, he said. He added that Bush likely joined to take advantage of the cheap liquor. “There’s only two bars in Meadview: The VFW and the Crow’s Nest, and it’s cheaper to drink at the VFW,” Allsman said. “The next meeting (today), I have to challenge his eligibility and as soon as it comes out that he was never in the military, his VFW card will be destroyed.”

Bush told friends that he was a decorated Special Forces veteran who had survived combat in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush even has military tattoos, including “special forces,” “recon-viper” and “7th artillery group La Grande, OR,” according to a warrant issued by the Pima County Justice Court. And when Bush show up in Meadview early June with a bullet wound in his leg, he told people he had just been injured in Iraq, Van Wormer said. “I should have known he was lying,” she said. “They don’t send soldiers home with bullet holes in their leg.” Bush was treated in a Kingman hospital after his arrest for a gunshot wound to the leg.

Bush confessed June 11, shortly after he was arrested in Meadview, Pima County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael O’Connor said. Bush implicated Shawna Forde, 41, originally from Washington state but who was living in Tucson, and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42, of Arivaca, as his accomplices. Bush named several other people in the murders but O’Connor said he couldn’t reveal how many, their names or how they are related to the suspects for fear of compromising the investigation. No other arrests have been made. The three have been charged with 8 felony counts, including first-degree murder, burglary in the first degree, aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Bush spent much of his teens and 20s in and out of jail. Court records show that he served prison time in Idaho, Kansas and Washington, including nearly five years for several charges, including auto theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm. But he lied about his criminal record when applying for a job as an engineer at the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the glass structure suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River at the edge of the Grand Canyon. He was fired in March “due to events surrounding unresolved issues found in his background investigation that he could not or would not resolve,” Daniel Kay, general manager of Grand Canyon Skywalk Development, said in an e-mailed statement. He declined to comment further.

Bush has also been charged in the 1997 murder of a man in Wenatchee, Wash, according to court papers, and the state prosecuting attorney is seeking extradition for that crime and other theft charges. He’s a suspect, along with Forde, in the Redding, Calif., robbery of Forde’s half-brother, the Herald has reported.

Reference:
Arivaca suspect made enemies in small town

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Navarette Goes After Minutemen's Jugular Over Minuteman Shawna Forde!

Bravo Ruben Navarette! The Minutemen ARE responsible. As you said, "Forde and Bush were marinated in the vile and racist juices of an anti-illegal immigration movement that often seeks to dehumanize people it considers "illegal alien invaders."
MercuryNews.com
Navarrette: No laughing matter
I can usually count on amusement from a band of border vigilantes and their Minuteman-tics. In April 2006, when Sen. John McCain dared unemployed union members to pick lettuce to disprove his contention that Americans won't do the jobs that immigrants do, an outraged group of Minutemen demonstrated outside McCain's office in Phoenix holding heads of lettuce — to show that they could pick lettuce if they had to. The produce was wrapped in cellophane and stamped with a bar code. The protesters picked lettuce all right — in a supermarket.

In October 2006, I wrote a commentary in which I lampooned the Minutemen for prowling "the U.S.-Mexico border chasing Mexicans — admittedly, not an easy thing to do when you're carrying a lawn chair and a cooler of beer." In response, Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project, wrote a rebuttal insisting that his volunteers "do not drink on duty." When I tell that story to cops, they usually chuckle at the phrase "on duty."

In February 2007, Gilchrist found himself in what turned into a long and bitter feud with directors of his own organization after they fired him over allegations of fraud, failure to secure nonprofit status, mismanagement and falsifying documents. Gilchrist sued the board, which retained control of the Minuteman name, and the board countersued. Gilchrist later launched a new group, Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project.

But there's nothing amusing about what occurred May 30 in the border town of Arivaca, Ariz., about 50 miles south of Tucson. Nine-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father, Raul, were shot and killed by intruders dressed in camouflage and impersonating law enforcement officers. Brisenia's mother, Gina, was also shot but survived.

Officials have charged Shawna Forde, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola in the shootings. Forde, a native of Everett, Wash., is the founder of a border-watch group called Minutemen American Defense. Bush is also a member of the group. The Arizona Daily Star, citing a Pima County investigator and court filings, reported last week that Bush had made a "full confession" to the killings and named Forde, Gaxiola and other individuals — still being investigated — as involved in the attack.

While the murders were certainly hateful acts — the girl was reportedly killed to eliminate witnesses — this isn't just a random hate crime. Authorities say it was part of a plot hatched by Forde and the others to rob suspected drug dealers and use the proceeds to fund Minutemen-style activities. The assailants purportedly believed that Raul Flores had a stash of drugs and money in the house, but authorities found no evidence of drug trafficking.

Since the killings, factions of the Minutemen organization have been desperately trying to dissociate themselves from Forde and Bush, attempting to portray them as rogue members who went off the deep end.

Not so fast. The Minutemen shouldn't be allowed to disown Forde, Bush and any other border vigilantes incriminated in the investigation. Far from being outlanders, Forde and Bush were marinated in the vile and racist juices of an anti-illegal immigration movement that often seeks to dehumanize people it considers "illegal alien invaders." (I have been saying the same thing!) And, from media reports, it seems that various factions of the organization welcomed Forde into their ranks over the years.

In fact, according to an alternative newspaper in Everett, a couple of years ago, Forde ran for the city council there unsuccessfully on an anti-illegal immigration platform. In June 2007, Forde co-sponsored an event dubbed the Illegal Immigration Summit where, according to the newspaper, she warned the audience that illegal immigrants would soon "outnumber real Americans" and that one would have to speak Spanish to get a job. The keynote speaker chimed in, warning that a "tsunami" of Mexican immigrants threatened the national identity, that "soft immigration laws" were destroying the country, and that Spanish would be the national language of the United States by 2030.

The speaker at Forde's event? Jim Gilchrist.

Minuteman X Sends Me MORE emails from the Minutemen! They are Infighting and Discussing Shawna Forde!

Minuteman X has forwarded me more emails from the Minutemen/ANTIs. These emails provide an inside look at the infighting between various minuteman and ANTI groups including arguments between Jeff Schwilk/William Gheen vs those minutemen who support Jim Gilchrist. The only conclusion I come to after reading them is, keep them ALL away from the border. They all need mental health care! Perhaps our President will be able to help them get help once Universal Healthcare passes.
Interesting Reading:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject:
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:12:25 -0700
From: Jeff Schwilk

Um, Jeff, you are on Naui's video from '07 saying you head the MMP student group at CSULB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV4yNlJgF7c
You are the Latino guy with glasses holding the yellow sign, no? Did Jason replace you at CSULB? What group do you lead now?

Actually the crime scene was near Tucson, AZ, many hundreds of miles from all of SoCal.

You should go to the MMP website more often. Shawna's face and words were all over it for 18 months up until after her arrest. Pima Sheriffs have all the screen shots of the many articles about her and Jason Bush. Rumor has it that Chuck Stonex will be the next MMP Border Director. Good luck with that!

A fellow Latino named Jeff. I'm part Hispanic too. Pretty cool. Careful though, Gilly doesn't care and will still call you "racist" if you dare get in his way from saving the world with his radical activism. He gets his talking points from NCLR and SPLC.

Gilchrist emailed Chelene a couple hours ago and congratulated her on her candidacy for Governor. That was mighty big of him. He promised her he would take down her hate forum and other hate forums on his website, but so far they are still there. But will his hatemongering minions stop blogging their garbage? We'll see....

Nice to see some of you starting to act civil. Lets see how long it lasts.

BTW, a la raza goon blogger named Dee (Perez-Scott might be her last name) is bragging that one of you is her secret inside source for MM stuff. There is definitely a mole on this list above who forwards all these emails. Tony, you had a girlfriend named Dee, right? Does Jim and Steve know about you? Hate to burst your bubble, but you were suspected of being a la raza mole 2 years ago when you were kicked out of the other groups.

Whoever forwards this email to Dee, tell her I said Hi. I enjoy reading all her "secrets" at www.ImmigrationClearinghouse.com Its like the National Inquirer for goons and alien activists! LMAO. MMP always provides tons of laughs and drama! I'll bet your ears were ringing all day Saturday from our 450 Patriots at our Boulevard Party. I never realized how widely you guys are all hated in Southern California! Gilly and his MMP inner circle are hated even more than La Raza by EVERYONE! Its a good thing Gilly didn't show up - they would have used him as a piñata for all the kids. The Nacho Ramos boys would have probably busted him to pieces in seconds!

Ciao boys and girls.

Jeff Schwilk, Founder
www.SanDiegoMinutemen.com
STOP Anchor baby births in June 2010!

----- Original Message -----
From: okam118@yahoo.com
To: Jeff Schwilk ; Debbie Britt ; Tim Bueler ; Cheryl Burns ; Steve Eichler ; William Gheen
Cc: Brian Gilmore ; Ted Hayes ; Ray Herrera ; Jerry Hodge ; Robin Hvidston ; Shannon McGauley ; Chelene Nightingales ; Richard; Chris Simcox; Chuck Stonex ; Ed Williams
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 2:36 PM
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present

you might be talking about jason aula. you should google his name. there's your answer

and who is this shawna forde? i don't think me or any Minuteman members ever heard of her. all i know is that the crime scene was closer to SD county than OC or LA county

--- On Fri, 7/10/09, Jeff Schwilk wrote:
From: Jeff Schwilk
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
To: okam118@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, July 10, 2009, 9:28 PM

"The only thing that all Americans can find in the media is the Minuteman Project."

You are right Jeff! Unfortunately when you google Minuteman Project and read recent media articles, Gilchrist's close ties with child killer Shawna Forde come up. That's one way to get attention for your group, but its better to actually work WITH law enforcement to get our laws and our border enforced! Working with murderers is never good for business or donations.

Are you still leading a MM group at Cal State Long Beach? How is that going? The youth here in San Diego is waking up big time! The commies no longer have the "bullhorn" on illegal immigration.

Jeff Schwilk, Founder
www.SanDiegoMinutemen.com
STOP Anchor baby births in June 2010! www.TaxpayerRevolution.org

----- Original Message -----
From: okam118@yahoo.com
To:
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 12:13 PM
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present

Hey Gheen, you said that all Tim cares about is shaking hands and sucking dick to the right people? Well check out this youtube video of you trying to suck Duncan Hunter's cock in order to attempt to boost your damaged reputation. Read the title too. It's hilarious..It says "Some UNKNOWN person Interviewing Duncan Hunter." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg_KQbEq06Q

Your group accomplished a lot for the past 5 years? What might that be? Stealing from donors? I think 98% of Americans can't think of one thing your group has done. When people talk about border watch groups, all they know is the Minutemen. Even La Raza only talks about the Minuteman group. They never heard of piece of shit ALIPAC. Americans usually never heard of sorry ass groups like CCIR, SOS, ALIPAC, etc. The only thing that all Americans can find in the media is the Minuteman Project.

--- On Fri, 7/10/09, William Gheen wrote:
From: William Gheen
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
To:
Date: Friday, July 10, 2009, 1:32 AM

Tim,

You poor little idiot. ALIPAC formed long before Minuteman 1. We were formed in September of 2004 before anyone had ever heard of Jim Gilchrist or MMP.

Since you are so obviously delusional about the most basic facts, I doubt seriously that your lack of knowledge of our yearly accomplishments that have been widely circulated and promoted for almost five years will help you be able to spell the word "tired".

So put a cork in it you little butt boy fanatic. I've dealt with your types all my life... constantly looking for the biggest political hand you can shake and the biggest dick you can suck in politics.

It is entirely inappropriate for someone of your age to so fanatically and blindly support a jerk like Jim Gilchrist. Your just a little punk Tim, just a little punk.

If you are going to write me, please try harder not to sound so much like Jim's little bitch ok? Your words to me say more about yourself than me. You constantly worship in the shadow of greater men because you yourself will never amount to anything. You are just a little follower and you know it, but hey you got MMP to pay you 60k per year for awhile there congrats. Don't tell me how to spend my money when they wasted that much of the patriot communities dough on a kid in his early 20's that's nothing but a talentless suckup.

William

-------------------------------
media@timbueler.com wrote:
Hey William shut your mouth! I am tiered of the hijackers of this movement criticizing the very person who first helped bring national awareness to immigration issue. His idea's are the reason you have an organization and despite the fact that I haven't seen you appear on national radio or TV in God knows how long YOU keep talking shit. If you spent your money on candidates instead of food then maybe we would haveput more conservative men and women in Congress because you're soimportant and influential. You have a face for radio and you sound like you have a third grade education. If you were smart you would publicly support MMP and go on your way BUT that assumes a lot on your part.
Basically what I am trying to say is that you're a detail, a nobody,history will not remember you. Jim Gilchrist is reason we all becameinvolved, he has served his country with honor and has been a thorn inthe side of politicians for years. And as Mr. Gilchrist goes on his 4,000 show today I would like William to send us a list of accomplishments he has achieved for the movement.

Tim Bueler
Media Consultant

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
From: steve@stepheneichler.com
Date: Thu, July 09, 2009 5:52 pm
To:

3 types of people.
People who make things happen, People who watch things happen and People who wonder "What Happened?"

We have too many watchers and wonders!
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
From: "okam118@yahoo.com"
Date: Thu, July 09, 2009 1:55 pm
To:

That's great to know. Everyone should learn from that sector.But be careful because you are boring Chelene Nightinggale and Bill "the scheme" Gheen. They don't care about any of that securing the border stuff or patroling stuff. All they care about is sitting at the desk of their homes and asking for bribes. Those 2 groups are the biggest scam artists. These naive donors don't even realize that only 2% of their money are going to politicians while over 50% is going to Gheen's savings account. They should be donating to poltiicians directly not through Gheen. He is nothing but a checkpoint to politicians. At least the Minutemen take action on the border.

--- On *Thu, 7/9/09, Shannon (N5KOU) McGauley
From: Shannon (N5KOU) McGauley
Subject: Re: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
To:
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 7:04 PM

The El Paso Sector (El Paso to Fort Hancock) is the most secure in Texas, maybe in all the south. We only had to hold 11 border watches to get it done!

----- Original Message -----
From:* Chuck Stonex
To:*
Sent:* Wednesday, July 08, 2009 7:31 AM
Subject:* RE: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present

Good story. Thanks for sharing. New Mexico's big leak is west of Columbus in the "boot heal" area. I spent a weekend in Columbus wiht Radar from PBA scouting over300 miles of desert road around Columbus the first week of May and never found a single track, trail, water bottle, sign, or marker. That is the story to the east.
If you go west from Columbus, it is completely opposite. We had a tenative plan to scout that area with Shawna and a few others. Those have since feel thrugh which is another victory for the illegal invaders and those that support them or who work against the minuteman operations.
LEBTF
Chuck
“What do Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden have in common?
They both have friends who bombed the Pentagon.” —Rush Limbaugh
*“Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”*
a Nehemiah 4:14 NIV b
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Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 01:34:11 -0700
From: okam118@yahoo.com
Subject: Duncan Hunter delivers anti-illegal immigrant groups a present
Well here's a story of retired Congressman Duncan Hunter at a "ribbon cutting ceremony at the border" at a newly contructed fence on Smuggler's Gulch, which used to be a major smuggling route for illegal aliens, drug lords,rapists, and murderers. Thanks to the pressure of Hunter, Tancredo, and Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project, the Bush administration waived environmental laws to complete the final piece of this 3 mile double fence from Smuggler's Gulch to the Pacific Ocean, while groups like ALIPAC and SOS were sitting on their asses collecting donations and just discussing about illegal immigration. While they were talking yapping about it, Gilchrist's Minutemen and women were taking action at the border. I don't think Gheen even knows what the fence looks like because he doesn't care about the double fence. He wants illegals to come here so that he can make more money. CA now has completed the double layer fence. AZ, NM, and TX still have holes in it where there isn't a fence. We should pressure the next Congress for a new fence bill, preferably Duncan Hunter Jr. The bill won't pass in this wackjob liberal Congress.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Breaking News: Janet Napolitano Revises 287(g) Program! Will Arpaio be Reigned In?

Breaking News:
Joe Arpaio Reined In? Homeland Security Revises 287(g) Agreements Nationally
Janet Napolitano's Department of Homeland Security has just issued a press release announcing new, standardized 287(g) agreements that all law enforcement agencies participating in the program will have to sign, including Sheriff Joe's MCSO, which boasts a massive 160-man 287(g)-trained force, the largest in the nation. "DHS and ICE will begin working with their current 287(g) partner agencies to re-sign the standardized agreements," reads the press release. "Ultimately, only those agencies with newly signed agreements will be permitted to continue enforcing immigration law."

Furthermore, there will be provisions that might put a crimp in Arpaio's future anti-immigrant dragnets in Maricopa County. "The new MOA aligns 287(g) local operations with major ICE enforcement priorities," states the announcement, "specifically, the identification and removal of criminal aliens."

Speaking to me via phone from DC, DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said by "criminal aliens," DHS means "people who present a public safety threat." That is, persons suspected of "major crimes," such as rape, murder, drug running, etc. Not car washers, landscapers, or folks running water slides. Indeed, a side by side comparison provided by Chandler of the key aspects of the old agreements versus the new agreements details ICE's three levels of prioritization regarding criminal aliens. Currently, the MCSO does not make any such prioritization during its raids and sweeps.

Chandler also indicated that if Arpaio wanted to use his 287(g) authority in a sweep or worksite raid, an "ICE supervisor" would have to approve "a copy of the operation plan" for the action. He told me DHS was asking for these new agreements to be signed within 90 days by the respective LEAs involved.

The press release also makes clear that Arpaio cannot arrest someone on a bogus charge just so they can end up being turned over to ICE. "To address concerns that that individuals may be arrested from minor offenses as a guise to initiate removal proceedings," says the release, "the new agreement explains that participating local law enforcement agencies are required to pursue all criminal charges that originally caused the offender to be taken into custody." Chandler clarified that no matter what charge an individual is originally arrested for, the law enforcement agency will have to "see it through to the end," if 287(g) authority is used during the arrest.

The bad news with announcement is that Arpaio will be able to keep his 287(g) agreement with ICE, if he accepts the new dictates. This, despite being under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department over civil rights violations that are a direct result of the use of his 287(g) authority. Should Arpaio accept these new rules, he could still conduct sweeps and raids using his state authority, but using his federal authority in these situations would be problematic, and, subject to administrative approval by ICE and DHS. These new rules are not only for Arpaio. ICE has 66 agreements with law enforcement agencies across the country, all of which will have to be redone. Eleven new agreements under the new language were announced today as well.

Will Arpaio accept this curtailment of his 287(g) power with a shrug? Or will he denounce the new rules, thumbing his bulbous nose once more at federal authority? Something tells me we won't have to wait long to find out.

Sheriff vows to continue immigration enforcement
PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he'll keep up his immigration enforcement efforts even if he decides to opt out of a deal giving 160 of his officers the power to enforce federal immigration law.

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