HispanicVista Columnists - June 6, 2005

By Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com

June 6, 2005

  “We are angry! We are seething with anger and boiling with rage. And we are motivated and determined to fight back. This is our land. This is our fight. And we are willing to bleed to defend it.”  And if you think they’re kidding or it’s just one more of those excusable didn’t mean to say that; didn’t really mean to cause violence; just exercising freedom of speech; you’d have better wake up to the evil that is bent on creating a killing field – the Save Our State malevolent bunch from Ventura County.

Supposedly the SOS band of violent malcontents came together to “defend” the country against illegal immigration. In their search for trouble they found a twelve-year old monument located in the city of Baldwin Park…

By Mike Davis

"The local people whipped themselves into a mold of cruelty. Then they formed units, squads, and armed them -- armed them with clubs, with gas, with guns. We own the country. We can't let these Okies get out of hand." -- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
The vigilantes are back. In the 1850s, they lynched Irishmen; in the 1870s, they terrorized the Chinese; in the first decade of the twentieth century, they murdered striking Wobblies; in the 1920s, they organized "Bash a Jap" campaigns; and in the 1930s, they welcomed the Joads and other Dust Bowl refugees with tear gas and buckshot.
Vigilantes have always been to the American West what the Ku Klux Klan was to the South: vicious and cowardly bigotry organized into a self-righteous mob.

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD/HispanicVista.com

June 6, 2005

Notas por La Casa Politica

 

  For the last few weeks we here in California have been listening to the Gubernator cry and moan about how the California Legislature takes in a buck and spends a buck ten.  All the while he has spent millions of good Republican dollars to convince voters why there should be a special election here in California this fall.  The reality is that the ad campaign has nothing to do with the budget but has a lot to do with his reelection. 

 

If he calls for a special election in the next two weeks, he gets an additional year of campaigning for the job of governor. 

 

Here in California we have the line item veto.  The blue pencil is what it is called.   You remember it - the foundation of the Republican mantra many years ago…

By Roger Mahony

(Cardinal Roger Mahony is the archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles)

 

It appears fashionable these days, and almost politically correct, to blame hard-working immigrants, especially those from Mexico and Central America, for the social and economic ills of our state and nation. Anti-immigrant fervor on TV and radio talk shows, citizens attempting to enforce immigration laws and the enactment of restrictive laws, such as the Real ID Act, are evidence of this trend. Some of our elected officials are joining the parade, going so far as to call for the closing of our southern border.

 

This growing hysteria is nothing new: Similar scapegoating has occurred at other troubled times in our nation's history, most prominently against Asian and European immigrants during the late 19th century and during the two world wars of the 20th century.

By Raoul Lowery Contreras/HispanicVista.com

June 6, 2005

  As this article is written, one or more Mexicans will die in the desert between the United States and Mexico while attempting to cross into the United States looking for work. As this article is written, American cowards are waving charges around that remind one of the drunken Senator Joseph McCarthy and his waving a "list" of known Communists in the United States Department of State.

Bodies of twelve Mexicans were discovered in the Arizona desert this week. At the same time, Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado announced that he had proof that the head of the Arizona Border Patrol Sector had ordered his agents to ignore and not arrest illegals. Tancredo alleges this occurred during the time the "Minutemen" gang was "border patrolling" a tiny sector of the Arizona Mexican border.

From Hugo W. Merida

You are the first Hispanic mayor since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872 was mayor of Los Angeles when the city was with a population of no more than 6.000 souls.  Los Angeles, with its 4 million habitants, saw your obtaining the mayor post   by a bulky electoral margin of 59% against 41% obtained by your rival one. 

You gave an example of political height ness by sending away rumors that labeled you the "Hispanic candidate" by proclaiming you to be the candidate of all the Angelino electorate, expressing “we all are Angelinos, it does not matter where we come from".  This fact enlarges your triumph especially when we recall the sad days lived in Los Angeles more than a decade ago in the most alarming racial disturbances in the history of our country. 

June 6, 2005

 

Steps 1-3

The immigration reform debate in the U.S. has become so discombobulating I had to check into a treatment center. I hope you might find the following useful, should you decide that you too may be a problem thinker, suffering from the disease of immigrationism.

Immigration Anonymous ( IA ) is a fellowship of U.S. residents who share their experience, strength and hope with one another that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from immigrationism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop stinking thinking. There are no dues or fees for IA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. IA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to think soberly about

By Robert Miranda

According to Ben Bagdikian, author of the book, The Media Monopoly, about 50 corporations controlled this nation’s vast news media outlets in 1983. In 1992, Bagdikian published his 4th edition where he wrote "in the U.S., fewer than two dozen of these extraordinary creatures own and operate 90% of the mass media". Bagdikian predicted that in time our mass media networks will be controlled by less than a half dozen corporations. 

Of course, he was ridiculed for making such assertions, but nonetheless,  Bagdikian stuck to his guns and predicted we would soon see our media industry controlled (monopolized) by one super-giant corporation. In 2000, Bagdikian published his 6th edition of The Media Monopoly and reported that six corporations now controlled our nation’s media news service and the mergers continue today.

By Richard N. Baldwin T. /HispanicVista.com

June 6, 2005

 

It might be a little early to classify the Fox administration as in its twilight but in fact, it has been fading away for some time. We should be seeing some of the cabinet members resigning shortly to make their runs for the next presidential election in 2006. Remember that if you are holding an office here and want to run for another, you resign your present office first. Not like in the US. In fact, the mayor of México City (López Obrador) will resign his office at the end of July to make his run for the presidency. The polls show him to be the big leader among all probable candidates for the next president of México even after the Fox administration tried their best to politically exterminate him.

But back to Fox. The latest flap is his statement that "Mexicans are doing jobs in the US that even the blacks won't do."…

By Chris Echegaray 

They say they're the face of a new civil rights movement - one prompted by workplace

discrimination, anti-immigration legislation and educational barriers.

This time, Latinos must speak out against laws to keep driver's licenses from undocumented workers, barriers that keep Latinos out of boardrooms and attempts to suppress the language, said Gabriela Lemus of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

``There are issues of diversity, issues of under representation,'' said Lemus, LULAC's director of policy and legislation. ``This has to be more than just awareness. We are here to level the playing field. There has to be a push so people listen.''

By John P. Schmal/HispanicVista.com

June 6, 2005

In California, the Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Cahuenga, signed on January 13, 1847. A year later, on February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo forced Mexico to hand over to the United States 525,000 square miles of landing, including all of present-day California.

Of the treaty’s twenty-three articles, four defined the rights of Mexican citizens and Indian people in the territories. Californians were given the freedom to live in ceded territories as either American or Mexican citizens. The new American citizens would be entitled to “the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States according to the principles of the constitutions.”

By Rudy “Tejano” Pena

That is the question.  How many times have we identified our selves being Mexican only to turn around and explain we were not from México?  After graciously and politely explaining in perfect English, actually we are Mexican-American it’s very frustrating to hear, “when did you become a United States citizen?”  It is a good question that applies to Mexican citizens, who gained United States citizenship not United States born Tejanos. 

Tejas (Texas) was settled and ruled by the Spanish for more than three hundred years (1500-1821).  Settlements of Spanish speaking communities flourished during those early Tejas days along with the development of a very unique group of people called Los Tejanos.  Today in the United States Tejanos and Tejanas continue being part of the original Texas fabric. 

Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin relationships and business deals.

The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95 making it possible to download the manual to save on your hard drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while reaping considerable savings over printed copies.

COMMENTARY & NEWS, June 6, 2005

Tensions rise in U.S.-Mexico border region

'Minutemen' and pro-immigration activists converge as politicians make a political meal of illegal crossings

By Steve Geissinger,

 

Forecasts for the California-Mexico border this summer have risen to somewhere between sizzling and explosive, with Minutemen Project volunteers and pro-immigration activists poised to clash amid re-emerging political rhetoric and public tension.

After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's calls for better federal border controls and praise of Minutemen patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border to report illegal immigrants, the group expects to begin similar efforts in California — a move pro-immigration demonstrators plan to counter.

Report: Border Patrol overlooked managers in kickback scheme

By Daniel Pulliam
 

Agency investigations of a hotel room kickback scheme by Border Patrol agents in Arizona ignored information indicating that senior managers may have known about the situation, the Office of Special Counsel has reported.

Allegations by two whistleblowers that management officials knew of the fraud were ignored by agency investigators and contradictory statements by managers were not resolved, according to OSC, an independent agency that investigates and prosecutes whistleblower complaints.

A Battle Against Illegal Workers, With an Unlikely Driving Force
By Timothy Egan
 To hear people who call into Idaho's leading conservative talk radio station, Robert Vasquez is a hero: one of the few politicians to tell it straight.
Mr. Vasquez, 55, a Republican county commissioner and Mexican-American in a region where Latinos are ascendant, has been on a crusade against illegal immigration, what he calls "an imminent invasion" from south of the border.
Mr. Vasquez has tried to have Canyon County declared a disaster area because of the strain from illegal immigrants. He has also sent a bill to the Mexican government for

A Letter from San Jose to LA: Wait and See About the Latino Mayor

By Elizabeth Gonzalez
Dear L.A.,
Congratulations on the recent election. I know what you are feeling.
The joy and high hopes of electing a Latino mayor is still fresh in the memories of many San Jose residents, who elected Ron Gonzales to the position of mayor of San Jose in 1998.
I remember that was the first election I could vote in, and I was so excited about finally getting the chance to cast my ballot. I backed Ron Gonzales in his first race, believing that he would offer our communities desperately needed improvements.

CALIFORNIA
License bill goes to Assembly
By Lynda Gledhill

 

A bill that would allow illegal immigrants to receive a license that is valid only for driving on California roads was approved Thursday by the state Senate.

Sen. Gil Cedillo's measure attempts to help the state comply with recently approved federal legislation and would create a two-tiered licensing system.

"Twenty-two million motorists take to California highways every day, and they have a right to know we are doing all we can to make those highways safe, " said Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who has worked for years to overturn a California law denying…

Civilian patrol group that monitors U.S.-Mexico border not so welcome in Texas

 The controversial civilian patrol group that helped capture hundreds of illegal immigrants along the Mexico-Arizona border and won praise from California's governor is getting a pre-emptive cold shoulder in Texas.
Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox warned that if Congress didn't buttress the U.S. Border Patrol with National Guard or other military troops this summer, the patrol would deploy to California in August and Texas in October.

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ & PATRISIA GONZALES

 They're Taking Our Jobs
By Roberto Rodriguez
After presenting on the new language of exclusion during a recent Black Issues in Higher Education conference, the first question posed is: "Many Blacks feel that illegal aliens are taking jobs from African Americans. Can you comment?"
The question is tension-laden and comes on the heels of Mexican President Vicente Fox's fumbling statement about "Mexicans taking jobs that even Blacks won't do."

New Hampshire Leader

Editorials

 Immigration insanity: Mexicans protest, U.S. just sits there

WHAT IS WRONG with this picture? The Mexican government sends representatives to Hudson to defend Mexican nationals who have admitedly entered the United States illegally, while the United States government turns a blind eye to immigration enforcement.

The Hudson case is not the first where local New Hampshire law enforcement has picked up the ball dropped by our federal government. New Ipswich police also have received a "we're too busy" response from Immigration Control and Enforcement officials.

Fox got it wrong, but then, so did Jackson.

By George W. Grayson

 

President Vicente Fox and Jesse Jackson share striking misconceptions about the relationship of illegal immigrants to African-Americans.

Although Fox speaks English well, he really doesn't understand the United States. While not a racist, he holds stereotypic views of American Blacks and did not think twice about the negative reaction sparked by his insensitive remark.

Opinion

Minorities support 'racist' tests

By Jonathan Zimmerman

Last week, a group called the New York Collective of Radical Educators staged a protest against standardized testing.

Responding to recent reports about substantial gains for fourth-graders on citywide reading and writing examinations, the group argued that the improved scores reflect "drill-and-kill" test-preparation activities rather than real learning.

Penn and Teller trash Mother Teresa
By Brent Bozell

A year ago, I attended the Viacom shareholders meeting in New York. When an investor questioned the propriety of this media behemoth launching a gay cable television network, Chairman Sumner Redstone virtually leapt at the opportunity to defend Viacom's commitment to tolerance and diversity.
 But not for Catholics. Viacom has no problem whatever insulting Catholics.

 The Catholic League's William Donohue is America's leading watchdog of all things anti-Catholic in the media and the culture. In 12 years at the helm he's seen a lot of bashing and trashing and believes there's been nothing as outrageous as the May 23…

Cracking down on employers who ignore wage laws

State officials crack down on a wider array of businesses - especially those in service sector.

 

By Alexandra Marks

This week Ansoumana Faty, a former grocery deliveryman in New York City, will pick up a paycheck for $7,000. Meanwhile, in upstate New York, the waiters and waitresses at the New Delhi Diamond's Restaurant in Ithaca will share a cash payout of $10,000.

They are among hundreds of people in New York who are getting reimbursed back wages and unpaid overtime as a result of recent legal settlements. Many of the employees were paid as little as $2 an hour, in jobs they worked for 10 to 12 hours a day.

The Unity Mayor

By Antonio Villaraigosa

 

I come today as someone who believes that this is a great and beautiful country.  I was asked earlier today what was the significance of my victory and I said, we live in a country where we had a civil rights act and a voting rights act that opened up the country to someone like me.  We live in a country where people fought to ensure that America was all that it held itself out to be.  And in many ways that’s what our charge is here as we talk about taking back and reclaiming America.

Diversity fuels student enrollment boom
By Kavan Peterson,

Fueled by rising immigration and the baby boom echo, U.S. public school enrollment has surpassed the previous all-time high set in 1970 and is expected to increase steadily to a peak of 50 million students in 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Education reported June 1.

The number of students in public elementary and high schools swelled to 49.5 million in 2003...

Does governor lack Latino links?

Strained relations with Mexico affect state politics too, some say.

By Gary Delsohn

 

Since January, Mexican President Vicente Fox has hosted meetings with dignitaries from all over the world.

The vice president of China and officials from at least a dozen other nations have come by. So have the presidents of Lions Club International and Harvard University.

Even Wisconsin Gov. James E. Doyle visited Fox in March to discuss immigration, trade and other issues important to Doyle's state.

Conspicuously absent from Fox's calendar: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, which does more business with Mexico than with any other nation.

Lawmakers unveil enforcement provisions of immigration plan

By Emily Heil

 

Immigration legislation expected soon from leading conservatives in the Senate would beef up border security and enforcement with more than $1 billion in new technology and facilities, as well as provide new authority to detail and deport illegal immigrants.

Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Thursday announced the enforcement provisions of the legislation they are developing, saying any overhaul of the nation's immigration laws will have to include tough border controls and other enforcements.

Mexico jobs may deter migration

By Jerry Seper

The governor of Sonora, Mexico, through which more than half of the migrants crossing illegally each year into America pass, says his country and the United States must "work together" to create more jobs in Mexico to curtail illegal immigration.
Gov. Eduardo Bours Castelo, in an interview yesterday with The Washington Times, also said Mexico and the United States need to better coordinate the flow of information from federal authorities to state and local officials in both countries and warned that civilians attempting to fill the immigration enforcement void was "just not a good idea."

Paisanos ready to help undocumented migrants

By Louie Gilot

 

As temperatures creep up in the Southwest desert, El Paso pilots will again help undocumented migrants in distress by parachuting bottles of water to them.

Paisanos al Rescate, or Countrymen to the Rescue, a group of pilots and volunteers backed by local businesses, begin their second year this week.

They fly a Cessna C172 along the U.S.-Mexico border on the weekends, the only such program in the United States.

Last summer, they dropped 80 to 100 bottles from ...

Expansive Bipartisan Bill Introduced on the Heels of REAL ID Passage

By Jennifer Yau

 

Bipartisan Group Introduces "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act"
A bipartisan group of congressmen led by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced one of the most sweeping immigration reform bills of the past two decades.
The "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" would open a new channel to the US for low-skilled temporary workers while giving those already in the US an opportunity to gain legal status if they do not already have it. It would also provide a path to permanent residency for these two groups.

Program Pairs Mexican Teachers with Newly Arrived Students

By Luz Peña

 

When Símon Pérez talks about math, his eyes light up.
Pérez believes math should be taught in a way that engages students. The Roosevelt High School teacher's classroom is covered with bright pink, yellow and orange poster board with math equations and terms written in Spanish. He uses other tools like beads, building blocks and a website to help students master math in their own language, Spanish.

Pérez began working at Roosevelt -- where the student population is 70 percent Mexican and Mexican-American -- in 1996 as part of the Binational Program, a program designed…

USA: Response to President Bush
Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International

President Bush again failed to address longstanding concerns regarding US detention policies and practices in the context of the "war on terror", Amnesty International said in response to his comments today.
At Guantánamo, the US has operated an isolated prison camp in which people are confined arbitrarily, held virtually incommunicado, without charge, trial or access to due process….

Status of US citizens influences economic aid to Mexico/Asia

 

A new study publishing in the latest issue of American Journal of Political Science looks at the voting history of the Congress to find that members are significantly more likely to favor financial rescues to Mexico and several Asian economies if they have a higher proportion of high-skilled workers in their district. Conversely, a higher number of low-skilled workers led to members opposing monetary help. The author, J. Lawrence Broz, finds that the politics of rescue are in character with the politics of economic