|
|
 |
|
|
The Death of the DREAMfrom the Santa Barbara Independent Monday, December 27, 2010 Latinos are both disappointed and frustrated by the failure of the DREAM Act in Congress. The main problem was not that Republicans wanted to derail it– everyone knew that - but that Democrats didn’t have their act together, and some joined the Republicans and voted against it. With those five Democrat votes against, the DREAM Act fell five votes short of passing. If those five Democrat votes would’ve been pro-DREAM, the bill would have reached the Senate floor, and could have passed by a simple majority. Unfortunately, this shows the reality of the Democratic Party. It is disjointed, and unable to organize in order to vote as one. This leaves Latinos out in the cold, and with no clear option as to which political party to turn to. Maybe now is the time for an independent candidate to come forward for 2012, uniting the Latino vote and taking it away from both parties. It feels even worse that the DREAM Act failure comes on the heels of the passing of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy reversal, which allows for gays in the military to be as openly gay as they may. The country is focusing in celebrating this great success, of course; however, very little has been said in the media about the irrational vote on the DREAM Act. Why irrational? Because who can possibly think that for youth - who didn’t come to this country willfully, but were brought at a young age by their parents - to become well-educated adults, paying their taxes, and their Social Security, and spending on consumer products, is not something that our country will benefit from? We’re talking about 1.2 million immigrant youth in this group, according experts. Republicans, frankly, are blindly obsessed with fighting anything that could look like amnesty. Whether it’s beneficial or not, they don’t care. As upsetting as the failure of the DREAM Act is, it is not surprising to those who have been paying attention to the writing on the wall. When the Democrats had the majority in both houses, the Democratic leadership wasn’t able to cash in on that political power. Now things have changed, the fight for the presidential race in 2012 is on, and Republicans will for sure obstruct anything that Obama wants to do. Although Republicans say that they are interested in passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill, it is not expected that they will act on it until “our borders are secured,” as they have expressed. But, curiously enough, they keep opposing the bills that fund border security. It seems that the “status quo” is working fine for them. In the meantime, we can expect more abuse of power, and inhumane treatment for those who are undocumented. Santana scolds Georgia for new immigration law By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer Charles
Odum, Ap Sports Writer – Mon May 16,
3:42 am ET ATLANTA – Carlos Santana on Sunday used baseball's annual Civil Rights Game as a platform to admonish Georgia and Arizona for their new immigration laws. Santana received the Beacon of Change Award before the Braves-Phillies game. The Grammy-winning musician said he was representing immigrants before adding: "The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves." Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday signed a bill that cracks down on illegal immigration in the state. The bill requires many employers to check the immigration status of new hires and authorizes law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of some suspects. Georgia's new law shares some similarities to one enacted last year in Arizona. "This law is not correct. It's a cruel law, actually," Santana said in an impromptu news conference after the ceremony. "This is about fear. Stop shucking and jiving. People are afraid we're going to steal your job. No we aren't. You're not going to change sheets and clean toilets." Added Santana: "This is the United States. This is the land of the free. If people want the immigration laws to keep passing, then everybody should get out and leave the American Indians here." Rev. Jesse Jackson presented the Beacon of Life Award to Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. "I haven't done anything to earn it, but I appreciate it," Banks said. Former Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe presented the Beacon of Hope Award to actor Morgan Freeman, who wore a Braves jacket and a Negro Leagues Atlanta Black Crackers cap. Al Roker, co-host of NBC's The Today Show, was the moderator for the ceremony and introduced a video tribute to Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who received a standing ovation from his hometown fans. The Braves and Phillies wore throwback uniforms from the 1974 season, the year Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record. Two leaders of the civil rights movement in Atlanta, former Mayor Andrew Young and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, went to the mound for the ceremonial first pitches, thrown to two African-American stars — Phillies slugger Ryan Howard and Atlanta's Jason Heyward. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig attended the ceremony. This is baseball's fifth Civil Rights Game. The first event was in Memphis in 2007. "Anytime you can honor the people that changed the game, it's a good thing," said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro. The game also will return to Atlanta in 2012. "I think it's the perfect city to host this," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Did Cicero Town President Larry Dominick slur Hispanics?Last Modified: Jul 5, 2011 02:24AM Cicero Town President Larry Dominick is accused of referring to Hispanics as “spics,” “wetbacks” and “illegal f------ immigrants,” according to court filings in a federal lawsuit set to begin trial today. Dominick and the town government are being accused of improperly firing a handyman in 2006 because he is Hispanic and his in-laws ran a Spanish newspaper in town that ran articles blasting Dominick. Dominick, whose suburb is more than 70 percent Latino or Hispanic, could be put in the hot seat this week as he is called as a witness and potentially grilled on a host of topics. Dominick’s attorneys have filed motions to prevent former town employee Merced Rojas’ attorneys from questioning Dominick on such topics as the extensive number of Dominick family members on the Town of Cicero payroll; about other lawsuits against Dominick, including sexual harassment claims; about allegations Dominick falsified his application when he applied to be a town police officer years ago, and other potentially sensitive topics. “It’s an effort to throw mud and obscure the central issue,” countered Dominick’s well-known attorney, Craig Tobin. Dominick denies making the slurs against Hispanics. Tobin argued no credible witness will say Dominick made such statements and noted that Dominick’s wife is Hispanic. U.S. District Chief Judge James Holderman has declined to bar Dana Kurtz, the attorney for Rojas, 43, from questioning Dominick on many of the issues. The judge will decide whether to allow each topic on a case-by-case basis. Holderman did rule that Dominick and other town officials could not be questioned about any ties to organized crime. In a 2005 Sun-Times story, Dominick acknowledged knowing or being friendly with several reputed Cicero mob figures, as well as lobbying for the crooked former police chief of Cicero, Emil Schullo, to keep his police pension. In the lawsuit, Rojas, 43, is seeking an unspecified amount of money for financial losses, emotional distress and punitive damages. The town claims Rojas was fired because he did a private job for pay on town time. “The town’s position is he got caught,” Tobin said. Rojas’ attorney declined to comment, but in court papers Rojas has said he did the work on his own time and that a witness against him was threatened to lie about him. Copyright © 2011 — Sun-Times Media, LLC |