"BOYCOTT ARIZONA 2010" DIAMOND BACKS: HUGE AZ's GOP CONTRIBUTORS

Arizona: THE WORLD IS WATCHING...
... and the people are ready to take action.
if Arizona State Governor Jane Brewer does not veto this discriminatory Legislation passed by the Arizona state legislative, we will boycott anything Arizona and this includes the Diamond Backs who are one the biggest contributors to The Republican Political Machine in Arizona.

Obama calls for federal action on immigration

www.msnbc.msn.com

April 23: In response to pending controversial immigration legislation in Arizona, the president says the "failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility."

Friends, please forward this CALL TO ACTION

In addition, distribute widely - this is un-American. DOES THIS REPRESENTS THE COUNTRY YOU WANT TO LIVE IN?

If Racial Profiling, Discrimination, Racism, Xenophobia, et al, it is not your '"Cup of Tea", FYI and consideration: Here is what we are doing and are letting you know in the event that you would also want to do something about it.
Please sign the online petition to Governor Brewer http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BoycottArizona2010/

Tell your family and friends that I if Arizona State Governor Jane Brewer does not veto this discriminatory Legislation passed by the Arizona state legislative, we will boycott anything Arizona and this includes the Diamond Backs who are one the biggest contributors to The Republican Political Machine in Arizona.

Whatever city you live in, when the Diamond Backs come to town, go on action mode and ask anybody within your reach to not attend the games, call the office of your local Baseball Team and tell them why you are not attending these games.
This has to be done in each and all cities in the 2010 Diamond Backs Schedule.

Also,Call AZ's Gov. Brewer 602-542-4331, a real person will answer and say: "I am calling to ask the Governor to VETO SB 1070" (say thank you and then hang up, if you hear msg. that switchboard is busy due to high volume of calls, do not hang up, it will continue to call repeatedly, hang in there until you get through)

Also, Call President Obama 202-456-1111, after a short message a real person will answer and say:
"My message to the President is that - if SB-1070 passes in Arizona, his Administration is going to go down in History as the Administration that turned Arizona into Apartheid Arizona" (say thank you and then hang up)

And Visit Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Arizona-2010/115210035168488?ref=mf

The World is watching, from The Guardian UK: Arizona anti-immigration measures are misguided, warns Barack Obama

guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 April 2010 19.03 BST

President orders scrutiny of civil rights implications as Latinos organize protest rallies in Phoenix

The Man Behind Arizona's Toughest Immigrant Laws
If Arizona State Rep. Russell Pearce has his way, citizenship would no longer be automatic for everyone born on U.S. soil. Pearce is the man behind some of the toughest state immigration laws in recent years. So far he's pushed through a dozen or so pieces of legislation and he's prepared to keep fighting.

Thank you.

Aurora Grajeda

"Tolerance is the presumption of superiority, acceptance is a manifestation of love"
-- Aurora

http://elrinconcitodeaurora.blogspot.com/
http://hladc-sf.blogspot.com/

---

Subject: BOYCOTT DIAMOND BACKS: HUGE AZ's GOP CONTRIBUTORS

Sign the petition below, and boycott all Diamond Backs games

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Day <mday700@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 9:22 AM
Subject: Fw: [isn] BOYCOTT ARIZONA - BOYCOTT DIAMOND BACKS: SHUT 'EM DOWN!

Folks,

It's time for the Gandhi approach. They pass

the dragonian laws. We shut them down.

Nosotros venceremos!

Mark

BOYCOTT ARIZONA. BOYCOTT ARIZONA DIAMOND BACKS BASEBALL TEAM.

---

"GRAN PARO ARIZONA 2010"

(http://nuevaraza.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/take-action-sign-petition-and-boycott-arizona-diamondbacks/)

Call to Boycott the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball Team

Arizona Diamondbacks:
Chase Field, 401 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, dbacks.com, Tel: (602) 462-6500

National Press Contacts:
Arizona [Phoenix] Contact, Tony Herrera, 602.920.3784
Arizona [Tucson] Contact, Isabel Garcia, 520.770.1373
California Contact, Gloria Saucedo, 818.919.4718
Indiana Contact, Felipe Vargas, 210.844.0005
Illinois Contact, Carlos Perez, 773.567.5567
Texas Contact, Jesse Díaz, Jr., 213.725.1714

AMERICA, there is no doubt about it; the Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the top contributors to the Republican machine in Arizona that have unanimously voted for the draconian Arizona State Proposition SB1070. This bill will encourage the open racial profiling of "brown people" in a state that has already been racially profiling immigrants for years beginning in the early 2000s when Sheriff Dever and his wife allowed and oftentimes encouraged Arizonan ranchers to "hunt down" border crossers in Cochise County. Sheriff Arpaio the most dastardly and venomous law enforcer that state has perhaps ever employed has done nothing short than terrorize the Latino community across Maricopa County, with the support of former governor, Janet Napolitano, who worked alongside him during her tenure. She was, according to the testimony of Sheriff Dever, contemplating calling in the National Guard early last year, months into her new position.¹ She has, under the leadership of President Obama, expanded the 287G Program that has been used as another instrument of terror on our community.

SB1070, voted into law on Monday, April 19^th, 2010, has yet to be signed into effect by Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, but everyone around the country is clear that she will. The law will not only allow for law enforcement officers to randomly stop "brown people," it will also give them the authority to fine undocumented immigrants $500, and if a citizen witnesses any officer fail to stop, harass, probe, or approach anyone that does look "undocumented," that person could sue the police officer for failing to carry out his or her duty per the law. And, according to others, there will be an Arizona identification card which, if you look like an immigrant, you better be able to produce one and if unable, you will be in jeopardy of being imprisoned until you can prove you are a US citizen. So, outsiders beware!

According to some researchers, finding meaningful solutions to immigration issues is not easy; there are some efforts that may unintentionally have a negative impact on public safety. Such is the case with SB 1070. Under SB 1070, all local police officers would be required to investigate the immigration status of anyone with whom they make "legitimate contact" and have a "reasonable suspicion" that they may be present in the country unlawfully. Under such a policy, victims of crimes and witnesses are much less likely to report crimes because of a legitimate fear that they will be deported. Other areas of concern with SB 1070 include language that may compel law enforcement agencies to ignore more pressing criminal matters in favor of doing a much larger amount of immigration enforcement. Local police are facing potential budget cuts and need discretion as to how to best focus their efforts in protecting the public. Finally, it is worth noting that SB 1070 creates a crime of trespass for all undocumented immigrants. A second trespass offense is then elevated to a felony...

...Since the Monday vote, 9 students from around the state have been arrested at the state capitol in protest. Organizers from around the state have mobilized in solidarity of the immigrant community in Arizona, some from as far as New Jersey. Clearly, there will be immigrant rights organizers from around the country mobilizing to AZ in the coming days to monitor the targeted discrimination and further repression of the immigrant community there once the bill is signed...

...In a press conference on April 20^th, 2010, Representative Raul Grijalva called for a national boycott against the state: "Do not vacation and or retire there." Many of us rarely vacation, and will probably retire where we reside, but we do go to major league baseball games, or know friends or family that do.

Therefore, we call on the Latino and immigrant communities to support a targeted boycott on corporations that have funded the campaign to further repress our community; that is a boycott that will target known contributors to the Republicans that passed this law. A targeted boycott should be launched immediately to show the economic power of our community, and we can participate right in our own communities. Boycott the Arizona Diamondbacks NOW! Our power is economic, Labor and Consumption.

We can support the boycott when the Diamondbacks come to play in our cities across the country, namely where there is a heavy concentration of Latinos and immigrants, namely Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and New York. For those of you who attend Dodger games, the audience is always roughly 80% folks of color, and we're sure it is the same elsewhere, so this would have huge ramifications for sales of tickets and merchandise if supported by our communities. You can view when they are coming to a town near you at http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=ari&m=4&y=2010. We have compiled the donations from this family to the Republican machine in Arizona, outlined next.

In 2010, the National Republican Senatorial Committee's 3^rd highest Contributor was the Arizona Diamondbacks, who gave $121,600; furthermore, they also contributed $129,500, which ranked as the 18^th highest contribution to the Republican Party Committee; and, they gave the 20^th highest contribution to Senator McCain—$9,400.³ In USA Today, Ken Kendrick, managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, said he doesn't expect anything for his donations to Arizona Senator John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, stating "I hope to get a good leader for our country."⁴ Well, he has to be held accountable for giving to a machine that has targeted immigrants in Arizona, and now the immigrant community in Arizona, and beyond must act to target them in a national boycott against their team. Senator McCain openly supported the bill on Tuesday, obviously because he is slipping in the polls to JD Hayworth, a reactionary Republican that has supported the antiimmigrant legislation since its inception- they are now neck in neck in the fight for the Arizona senate seat.

Arizona Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick (AKA Earl G. Kendrick, Jr.) and his family members, EG Kendrick, Sr., and Randy Kendrick have made significant and considerable contributions to further the Republican agenda totaling $1,023,527. Their total contributions in 2009 and 2010 have been substantial and are as follows: Earl G Kendrick, Jr. (Ken Kendrick), Diamondbacks Managing General Partner contributed $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2009 and $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2010; Mrs. Randy P. Kendrick contributed $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2009 and $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2010⁵.

The Kendrick family owned business, Datatel Inc, which is affiliated with the Political Action Committee (PAC), AZ Free Enterprise Club (Formerly Freedom Club PAC), Committee #200602784, has also been a source of political contributions to the Republic agenda, such as a $25,000 contribution to Senator and Republican Whip, John L. Kyl⁶...

...we will keep a watch on these businesses when the list of funders to push SB1070 is released: They include Wake Up Arizona! Pro-Business Organizations $802,634, Western Growers Association Farm Organizations or Cooperatives $35,000, AdCorp Inc. Restaurants & Drinking Establishments $10,000, Arizona Cattlemen's Association Livestock $10,000, and Pepsi-Cola of Tucson Non-Alcoholic Beverages $10,000; TOTAL $867,634⁷

Let's Keep a Close Eye on Who Funded the SB1070 Legislative Attack!

Also Sign our Petition at http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BoycottArizona2010/

And Visit Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Arizona-2010/115210035168488?ref=mf

---

**NEW Activist Tools from Immigrant Solidarity Network!**

http://www.ActivistVideo.org
An Activist-Run Video Sharing Page!

===================================================================
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!

webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
e-mail: info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
New York: (212)330-8172
Los Angeles: (213)403-0131
Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990


Please consider making a donation to the important work of National Immigrant Solidarity Network

Send check pay to:
National Immigrant Solidarity Network/AFGJ

and mail to:
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
P.O. Box 751
South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751
(All donations are tax deductible)


*to join the immigrant Solidarity Network daily news litserv, send e-mail to: isn-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or visit: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn

*a monthly ISN monthly Action Alert! listserv, go to webpage http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn-digest


**Please join our following listservs:

Asian American Labor Activism Alert!
send-e-mail to: api-la-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or visit: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/api-la

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania areas immigrant workers information and alerts
send e-mail to: nyc-immigrantalert-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or visit: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/nyc-immigrantalert

US-Mexico Border Information: No Militarization of Borders! Support Immigrant Rights!
send e-mail to: Border01-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Border01/

Virginia state-wide immigrant organizing E-mail list,
send- e-mail to: va-immigrantrights-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or visit: https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/va-immigrantrights

Immigrant Deportation and Detention Alert!
send e-mail to: isn-deportees-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Harsh Words, No Action

From: Chrisy58’s Weblog

My Journal of Thoughts

« Ring of Fire Radio/Interview of Mark Bowen Democracy Now, 11/10/2008 »

Harsh Words, No Action

I wanted to post this here because I thought it was very interesting and I think that many people have forgotten our history. What is the best way to fight those who hate people, but to expose their lies with the truth.

David Duke and his White Nationalist like to blame most of our problems on the Jews, Blacks, and other non whites. Just the 30 minutes I listened to his Euro Conference this weekend was about the Jews and how they hate white people and don’t consider us human beings. I think his story was if a Jewish person needed a liver that he wouldn’t hestiate to grab a Non Jew off the street and take his liver. I know they won’t consider that hate speech or anything wrong with implying that we have to be afraid of the Jews in our midst, but I do find it very hateful and spreading lies as truth.

That is exactly what the Hitler and this Third Reich did in Germany. They poisoned the minds of the German people by telling them all these terrible lies as truth. I still have nightmares just thinking of the movie the Eternal Jew which is promoted as the truth in White Nationalist circles and families. The scene where the baby calfs were tortured and the movie said that is the way Jewish people butcher their cows for beef really got me angry. I love animals and I thought how could anyone be so cruel to animals. It was the German people love animals and are good and the Jews are terrible and are out to get the German Aryan race. The movie is presented as the truth. I see that same brainwashing going on in this country today.

I had never heard of the book the The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zionism until I was living with Jeff. It was one of the books on the required reading material. Again that book is passed off as the truth. It is a lie, but like the movie the eternal jew people who are being recruited into White Nationalism are told that is the truth and come to think that they must fear the Jew who they are told is out to destroy them. It was just another book to me that I couldn’t get through because it make me sick to my stomach, but just told Jeff I read it.

Kristallnach did happen, though I know White Nationalists either deny it or blame the Jews and look at it as Germans just defending themselves or some delusion that they hold as the truth.

http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Holocaust/YNetNews_11092008.htm

Harsh Words, No Action
By Abraham H. Foxman
ADL National Director
This article originally appeared in Hebrew in Yedioth Ahronoth and in English on Y-Net News.com on November 9, 2008

For those of us engaged in the fight against anti-Semitism, the commemoration of Kristallnacht which took place 70 years ago on November 9-10, has special meaning. Of course, Kristallnacht is important to remember because it was the moment when it became clear that Nazi hatred of Jews was beyond anything seen before. It is important to remember because there are yet those among us who lived through, witnessed it, and survived it. And it is important to remember because after Kristallnacht, the world no longer had any excuses for not acting against the barbarism of Nazi anti-Semitism.

Most of all, however, Kristallnacht teaches us the most basic lesson about how to view anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred. One could ask the question: if we observe Yom HaShoah every spring, why do we need to have a second commemoration every year on the anniversary of Kristallnacht? The answer, I believe, lies in the different focus. Yom HaShoah speaks to the horror of the murder of six million. It remembers and calls attention to the ultimate brutality that humans are capable of and that the history of anti-Semitism eventually produced. It is about remembering the millions of people whose lives were snuffed out because of hatred. And it reminds us that “Never Again” must be a guiding principle of our lives as Jews.

Kristallnacht, on the other hand, is not about the end product of hate but the process. It represents the reality that a Holocaust does not just happen; it has to be prepared, cultivated, acted upon first in small steps, then bigger ones, and finally the biggest. In this sense, Kristallnacht commemoration is not only about remembering the over 90 Jews who were killed, the 30,000 male Jews who were arrested and sent to concentration camps, the over 1,000 synagogues which were torched along with their Torah scrolls and prayer books, and the 7,000 Jewish shops and business that were looted and destroyed.

It is also about how the Holocaust came to pass. It reminds us that the Holocaust couldn’t have happened had there not been 2,000 years of demonization of Jews throughout Europe, as reflected in the Decide charge and in the scapegoating of Jews as an evil and powerful force. It couldn’t have happened had there not been cynical anti-Semites who produced the infamous forgery The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zionism which gave credibility to the notion of worldwide Jewish satanic power.

Harsh words, no action

Hatred in its most extreme form, like the Holocaust, evolves over time. The challenge is not to wait to stand up until the final stage when it is too late. The time to stand up is during its evolution, indeed as early as possible. Kristallnacht was the moment when the world had to stand up. It didn’t.

There was no doubt from that point on that the Nazis were no longer content to simply strip Jews of their legal rights. Many newspapers and government officials around the world decried the violence and barbarity of Kristallnacht, but few governments were prepared to act.

Franklin Roosevelt condemned the outrages and recalled the US Ambassador from Germany for “consultations,” but any liberalization of America’s tight immigration quotas was, he said, “not in contemplation.” The British cabinet allowed 10,000 Jewish children into Britain from December 1938 to September 1939 in the course of the famous Kindertransport, but refused to allow 21,000 more into Palestine.

Kristallnacht proved the point. The world responded with harsh words and no action. Soon enough, the words themselves echoed empty and hollow. Silence followed. Kristallnacht was the first nail in the coffin of European Jewry.

Kristallnacht commemorations are important for many reasons, including the need to show the world that we must stop hate in its tracks before it leads to the ultimate - a final solution.

__________

Abraham H. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, is National Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Odio antiinmigrante en la radio

Por La Opinion Digital

EFE | 2008-10-16 | La Opinión

O'Connor analiza el contenido de los programas de los principales locutores radiales que critican a la comunidad inmigrante. (FOTO: EFE/Gary Williams)

• Cónsules se unen por la salud de inmigrantes
• Peligra derecho de inmigrantes

TUCSON, Arizona (EFE).- Los programas de radio de locutores conservadores que se pronuncian contra la inmigración tienen un impacto muy negativo sobre la sociedad y dejan una profunda huella contra los inmigrantes.

Tales programas de radio son un fenómeno mediático de gran audiencia y llegan a crear estados de opinión muy negativos contra la inmigración, según el escritor Rory O'Connor.

En su más reciente libro titulado "Shock Jocks. Hate Speech & Talk Radio", O'Connor analiza el contenido de los programas de los principales locutores radiales que critican a la comunidad inmigrante.

"Los programas de radio donde el locutor combina las noticias, con su propia opinión y el entretenimiento, son una mezcla tóxica, donde los radio escuchas no saben diferenciar que es verdad y que no lo es", aseguró O'Connor.

Rory O'Connor se encuentra actualmente promocionado su libro en el que repasa el impacto de los personajes mas controvertidos en programas conservadores de radio como Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh y Don Imus, entre otros.

Estos programas de radio, que cuentan con millones de radioescuchas a nivel nacional, han sido criticados por los duros comentarios que emiten en sus programas en temas que van desde la violencia doméstica hasta la inmigración ilegal.

Diversas organizaciones de defensa de los inmigrantes han acusado a ese tipo de programas de radio de promover el odio y la intolerancia entre la sociedad.

"Muchos de ellos no solo tienen programas de radio, sino también de televisión y columnas en periódicos, por lo que su mensaje se amplifica mucho mas", dijo O'Connor en entrevista con Efe.

Agregó que muchos de esos programas tienden a enfocarse en minorías en los Estados Unidos, como las mujeres, los afroamericanos, los inmigrantes, los homosexuales y los más vulnerables.

"Estos programas hacen menos humanos a las personas, burlándose de sus creencias, de sus características físicas, del acento con el que hablan", señaló O'Connor.

Señaló que cuando son criticados, los presentadores difícilmente toleran los comentarios en su contra, por lo que optan por cortar las llamadas de las personas que se atreven a contradecir su punto de vista.

"Yo traté de comunicarme directamente con cada uno de los locutores radiales que cito en mi libro, pero parece que cada uno de ellos estaba muy ocupado hablando", añadió.

En su opinión actualmente no hay muchas opciones ya que el 90 por ciento de los programas de discusión en la radio son de tendencia conservadora.

"Cuando algunos de ellos es confrontado sobre alguna información que dieron al aire, o algún comentario, se defienden diciendo que solo bromeaban o que solo se trata de entretenimiento", dijo el escritor.

Destacó que muchos de estos programas aseguran "ser la voz" de aquellos que han sido olvidados por los "medios liberales", la mayoría de ellos pertenecientes a la clase trabajadora y personas de avanzada edad.

Muchos de los locutores de esos programas conservadores aseguran solamente estar practicando su derecho "a la libre expresión", aunque ellos tienden a evitar las opiniones que no les satisfacen.

Resulta complicado, según el escritor, medir el impacto que este tipo de programas pueden llegar a tener en pequeñas comunidades como Tucson o en las grandes ciudades como Los Angeles o Nueva York, pero no cabe duda de que dejan una profunda huella.

Citó, en este sentido como ejemplo, el caso de un hombre en el estado de Tennessee que disparó el pasado mes de julio en contra de una congregación en una iglesia matando a dos personas e hiriendo otras seis.

"Este hombre disparó solamente porque la iglesia apoyaba a grupos como los homosexuales", dijo O'Connor.EFE

ml/esc

TUCSON, Arizona (EFE).- Los programas de radio de locutores conservadores que se pronuncian contra la inmigración tienen un impacto muy negativo sobre la sociedad y dejan una profunda huella contra los inmigrantes.

Tales programas de radio son un fenómeno mediático de gran audiencia y llegan a crear estados de opinión muy negativos contra la inmigración, según el escritor Rory O'Connor.

En su más reciente libro titulado "Shock Jocks. Hate Speech & Talk Radio", O'Connor analiza el contenido de los programas de los principales locutores radiales que critican a la comunidad inmigrante.

"Los programas de radio donde el locutor combina las noticias, con su propia opinión y el entretenimiento, son una mezcla tóxica, donde los radio escuchas no saben diferenciar que es verdad y que no lo es", aseguró O'Connor.

Rory O'Connor se encuentra actualmente promocionado su libro en el que repasa el impacto de los personajes mas controvertidos en programas conservadores de radio como Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh y Don Imus, entre otros.

Estos programas de radio, que cuentan con millones de radioescuchas a nivel nacional, han sido criticados por los duros comentarios que emiten en sus programas en temas que van desde la violencia doméstica hasta la inmigración ilegal.

Diversas organizaciones de defensa de los inmigrantes han acusado a ese tipo de programas de radio de promover el odio y la intolerancia entre la sociedad.

"Muchos de ellos no solo tienen programas de radio, sino también de televisión y columnas en periódicos, por lo que su mensaje se amplifica mucho mas", dijo O'Connor en entrevista con Efe.

Agregó que muchos de esos programas tienden a enfocarse en minorías en los Estados Unidos, como las mujeres, los afroamericanos, los inmigrantes, los homosexuales y los más vulnerables.

Pagina Dos:

"Estos programas hacen menos humanos a las personas, burlándose de sus creencias, de sus características físicas, del acento con el que hablan", señaló O'Connor.

Señaló que cuando son criticados, los presentadores difícilmente toleran los comentarios en su contra, por lo que optan por cortar las llamadas de las personas que se atreven a contradecir su punto de vista.

"Yo traté de comunicarme directamente con cada uno de los locutores radiales que cito en mi libro, pero parece que cada uno de ellos estaba muy ocupado hablando", añadió.

En su opinión actualmente no hay muchas opciones ya que el 90 por ciento de los programas de discusión en la radio son de tendencia conservadora.

"Cuando algunos de ellos es confrontado sobre alguna información que dieron al aire, o algún comentario, se defienden diciendo que solo bromeaban o que solo se trata de entretenimiento", dijo el escritor.

Destacó que muchos de estos programas aseguran "ser la voz" de aquellos que han sido olvidados por los "medios liberales", la mayoría de ellos pertenecientes a la clase trabajadora y personas de avanzada edad.

Muchos de los locutores de esos programas conservadores aseguran solamente estar practicando su derecho "a la libre expresión", aunque ellos tienden a evitar las opiniones que no les satisfacen.

Resulta complicado, según el escritor, medir el impacto que este tipo de programas pueden llegar a tener en pequeñas comunidades como Tucson o en las grandes ciudades como Los Angeles o Nueva York, pero no cabe duda de que dejan una profunda huella.

Citó, en este sentido como ejemplo, el caso de un hombre en el estado de Tennessee que disparó el pasado mes de julio en contra de una congregación en una iglesia matando a dos personas e hiriendo otras seis.

"Este hombre disparó solamente porque la iglesia apoyaba a grupos como los homosexuales", dijo O'Connor.

EFE

ml/esc

Denogean: Anti-Hispanic rhetoric growing

From The Tucson Citizen
IMMIGRATION & BORDER
Published: 10.14.2008

ANNE T. DENOGEAN
Tucson Citizen

The vitriolic illegal immigration debate of the last few years has left Latinos feeling hurt and angry, according to a recent poll of both citizen and non-citizen Hispanics.

The finding isn't too surprising. It's what happens when one class of people becomes a scapegoat for a nation.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, which polled 2,015 Hispanic adults this past summer and released the results in September:

• Half of those surveyed said the situation for Hispanics is worse than it was a year earlier. Only 13 percent said it was better (the remainder said it was the same).

• Eight percent of native-born U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their immigration status.

• One in 7 Hispanics said they had trouble finding or keeping a job because of their ethnicity. One in 10 reported that their ethnicity made it difficult to find or keep housing.

• More than two-thirds of those polled said they worry that they or someone close to them may be deported.

Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C., said the results reflect "the sad story of our times, where the understandable frustration about the breakdown in immigration policy has really spilled out and over into our communities."

You can't tell by looking at someone whether they are an immigrant or native-born. Unfortunately, that reality has put the entire Hispanic population, numbering about 46 million nationwide, "in the cross hairs of ugly vitriol," Kelley said.

"It's very tricky to talk about it because there are legitimate questions that need to be debated, discussed and disagreed on related to immigration policy. Absolutely," Kelley said.

"So, it's not as if you are a racist because you are raising questions about undocumented workers and whether they affect American wages. Those are legitimate questions."

But what has happened, she said "is that some folks are taking advantage of the frustration that the public feels and stoking hate and fears."

Hate groups and hate crimes targeting Hispanics and immigrants are on the rise, she said, an assertion backed up by the research of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League and FBI hate crime statistics.

The Immigration Policy Center has taken note of the spread of anti-Hispanic rhetoric from hard-core white supremacists and border state extremists to supposedly mainstream anti-immigration activists, media pundits and politicians.

Among its examples is a North Carolina sheriff who accused illegal immigrants of being "trashy," "breeding like rabbits" and spreading a culture of drunkenness and violence.

In Arizona, immigrants get blamed for everything from destroying the public school system to causing traffic congestion on the streets.

Some of the ugliest rhetoric I've seen anywhere comes straight off the Tucson Citizen's online comment line.

In January, when a 5-year-old Mexican girl was rescued by the Border Patrol after being abandoned by a smuggler in freezing mountain terrain, a commenter described the girl as a future breeder of "anchor babies."

I'm not easily shocked but that one caused my jaw to drop.

In Friday's column, I wrote that I wished the presidential candidates would discuss their plans for immigration reform. Such discussion is necessary, even if it rattles the cages of the extremists.

Kelley is hopeful that a renewed debate on the issue can be held at a civilized level.

What's been missing, she said, is a president "who's willing to take the issue on, call it out for what it is, be respectful of the policy components of it . . . but also denounce the heat and the opportunism by these groups that are sowing the seeds of anger."

There is good news on that front, no matter who wins the election, Kelley said.

"I see in both of these candidates a strong potential for a leader that can teach us all how to talk about this issue, how to think about people who come from diverse backgrounds, of different immigration status, to really begin believing in ourselves as one nation again. . . .

"I think, quite frankly, either John McCain or Barack Obama can do it. Either because of their background in the issue or their own heritage, they've shown an understanding of it," she said.

Anne T. Denogean can be reached at 573-4582 and adenogean@tucsoncitizen.com Address letters to P.O. Box 26767, Tucson, AZ 85726-6767. Her columns run Tuesdays and Fridays.

Rage rising on the McCain campaign trail

CNNPolitics.Com

From Ed Henry and Ed Hornick
CNN

(CNN) -- With recent polls showing Sen. Barack Obama's lead increasing nationwide and in several GOP-leaning states, some Republicans attending John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign rallies are showing a new emotion: rage.

At a rally in Minnesota on Friday, a woman told McCain: "I don't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab."

McCain shook his head and said, "No ma'am, no ma'am. He's a decent family man...[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about."

One man at the rally said he was "scared of an Obama presidency." McCain later told the man he should not fear Obama.

"I want to be president of the United States, and I don't want Obama to be," he said. "But I have to tell you, I have to tell you, he is a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared as President of the United States."

McCain's response was met with boos from the crowd.

When asked about these outbursts, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said that he didn't know who those people were and if they were there as supporters or to disrupt the rallies.

A day earlier, the same type of hostility toward Obama was evident at McCain-Palin rallies.

"When you have an Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and the rest of the hooligans up there going to run this country, we have got to have our head examined. It's time that you two are representing us, and we are mad. So, go get them," one man told McCain at a town hall meeting in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Another man was more pointed.

"And we're all wondering why that Obama is where he's at, how he got here. I mean, everybody in this room is stunned that we're in this position," another man said at Thursday's rally.

"I'm mad. I'm really mad. And what's going to surprise you, it's not the economy. It's the socialists taking over our country," one said. Watch more of the anger at the rallies »

Don't Miss

• McCain to voters: 'Who is the real Sen. Obama?'
• Second debate comes amid nasty campaigning
• Election Center 2008

More of the story....

McCain urged his supporters to be respectful of Obama.

"We want to fight and I will fight. But we will be respectful," he said. "I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments. I will respect him and I want everyone to be respectful, and let's make sure we are." Watch McCain address attacks on Obama »

CNN contributor David Gergen, who has advised Democratic and Republican presidential administrations, said Thursday that the negative tone of these rallies is "incendiary" and could lead to violence.

"There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence. I think we're not far from that," he said. "I think it's really imperative that the candidates try to calm people down."

On Friday, Obama said the "barrage of nasty insinuations and attacks" was a result of the Republican nominee's failed economic ideas.

"They can run misleading ads, they can pursue the politics of anything goes. It will not work. Not this time. I think that folks are looking for something different this time. It's easy to rile up a crowd, nothing's easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious," Obama said at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Recently, McCain's campaign launched a string of ads that question Obama's judgment and character.

The McCain campaign calls Obama "too risky for America" in a new Web ad that focuses on his political relationship with Bill Ayers, a founding member of the radical Weather Underground.

"Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Friends. They've worked together for years. But Obama tries to hide it," the announcer said in the 90-second ad.

The now-defunct Weather Underground was involved in bombings in the early 1970s, including attacks on the Pentagon and the Capitol. Obama was a young child at the time of the bombings.

Obama and Ayers, now a university professor, met in 1995, when both worked with a nonprofit group trying to raise funds for a school improvement project and a charitable foundation. CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which the two men were involved. CNN Fact Check: Is Obama 'palling around with terrorists'?

Obama, in an April debate during the primaries, called Ayers "somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8."

At a rally Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida, Sarah Palin said Obama was being "less than truthful" about his ties to Ayers. "His own top adviser said they were 'certainly friendly.' ... I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America -- as the greatest source for good in this world," she said.

Palin told the crowd that she sees "a pattern in how our opponent has talked about one of his most troubling associations." Watch more of Palin's comments »

One member of the Palin audience in Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday shouted out "treason." And at another rally in the state Monday, Palin's mention of the Obama-Ayers tie caused one member to yell out: "kill him" -- though it was unclear if it was targeted at Obama or Ayers.

At several recent rallies, Palin has stirred up crowds by mentioning the "liberal media." Routinely, there are boos at every mention of The New York Times and the "mainstream media," both of which are staples of Palin's stump speech.

Some audience members are openly hostile to members of the traveling press covering Palin; one crowd member hurled a racial epithet at an African-American member of the press in Clearwater, Florida, on Monday.

And at a McCain rally in New Mexico on Monday, one supporter yelled out "terrorist" when McCain asked, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain didn't respond. Watch as McCain ramps up his criticism of Obama »

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, on Friday told voters that the McCain-Palin campaign "would want you to be afraid of Barack Obama."

Some Republicans have also been critical of the McCain campaign.

Former Michigan Gov. William Milliken, a Republican, told the Grand Rapids Press he was "disappointed in the tenor and the personal attacks on the part of the McCain campaign."

"He is not the McCain I endorsed," Milliken said Thursday.

Some anger found at McCain-Palin rallies is directed at McCain for a different reason. Watch analysts weigh in on the recent attacks »

"I am begging you, sir, I am begging you, take it to him," another supporter said to the Arizona senator at the Wisconsin rally.

McCain, however, seems torn. On one hand, he is going negative on the Ayers controversy.

"The point is, Sen. Obama said he was just a guy in the neighborhood. We know that's not true," he said at the rally in Wisconsin. "We need to know the full extent of the relationship because of whether Sen. Obama is telling the truth to the American people or not."

On the other hand, McCain is trying to focus on the economic downturn plaguing the country.

"But I also, my friends, want to address the greatest financial challenge of our lifetime with a positive plan for action," he added.

Also, the McCains said months ago they didn't want their son Jimmy -- a Marine serving in Iraq -- dragged into the campaign.

But on Thursday, Cindy McCain brought up her son.

She criticized the Illinois senator for voting against a bill to fund troops in Iraq, a regular line of attack from her husband's campaign.

"The day that Sen. Obama cast a vote not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body, let me tell you," she told a Pennsylvania crowd before introducing her husband and his No. 2.

The vote Cindy McCain is referencing came in May 2007, when Obama was one of 14 senators who voted against a war-spending plan that would have provided emergency funds for American troops overseas.

A CNN fact check deemed the charge that Obama voted against troop funding "misleading." Obama supported a different version of the troop-funding plan -- one that McCain spoke against. Fact Check: Did Obama vote to cut funds for the troops?