Taking a Break From a Macaca Moment

Some of you know I've been wanting to learn Spanish for years and have never taken the dive.

Within the past week, I made a trip up to the corner store, Buddy's on Hwy. 290, to purchase a product to feed my severe nicotine addiction, and while I was buying, this dude comes in and addresses the clerk in Spanish (which is odd because I thought she was Indian since there was sitar music in the background), and she immediately and instinctively replied back.

Now, she was dealing with me in English, and her brain switched immediately.

What's really funny is that so did mine.

I heard their quick conversation in Spanish and my brain converted it to English in the wink of an eye, despite that I was also conducting a business transaction in English.

This incident was so profound to me, and so beautiful, and so global. I just don't understand why we can't all speak the same language while communicating, and praying, and worshiping, and politicking, in that other language.

When I lived in LA, my ear was trained for dialects, accents, and people who just struggled with English. You adapted.

That's how you PROGRESS. You ADAPT.

Oiu

Beware of the Homeland

As we inch closer (is inch a verb?) to a new administration, I'd just like to say I am getting increasingly distressed with certain federal laws which have been hastily implemented since 2001. The names alone cause my ears to ring and large veins begin to appear in strange places on my body.

The Real ID Act (Papieren, bitte) of 2005 is but one of them.

Maine, the last holdout against a federal identification law that was intended to deter terrorism but has been attacked on grounds of privacy and cost, has until Wednesday to agree to comply by tightening the way it issues driver’s licenses, the government said late Monday.

If it does not, its licenses will no longer be accepted as identification at airports and federal buildings, effective May 11. Maine residents would then have to present passports to board planes or be subject to additional screening.

Another thorn in my ass crack is the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

In a sweeping use of its authority, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would bypass environmental reviews to speed construction of fencing along the Mexican border.

Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, issued two waivers covering 470 miles of the border from California to Texas well as a separate 22-mile stretch in Hidalgo County, Tex., where the department plans to build fencing up to 18 feet high into a flood-control levee in a wildlife refuge.

And in other news, I count my blessing daily that I have not faced any natural disasters requiring me to seek housing assistant from the government in the form of FEMA trailers. If the disasters don't get you, the formaldehyde just might.

Some of the thousands of mobile homes stored for possible use by disaster victims have formaldehyde levels rivaling those of housing already deemed unsafe for victims of 2005 hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, test results show.

Speaking of disasters, keep a close eye on events when you see a bunch of old white guys in the senate from both sides of the aisle coming to an agreement, and being excited about it.

I know, I shouldn't be so hard on them; they're only trying to help us.

Casting aside partisan differences, Senate Democratic and Republican leaders said on Tuesday that they would work urgently on a package of legislation to help millions of homeowners at risk of foreclosure, with the hope of bringing a bill to the floor as early as Wednesday afternoon.

[...]

Both the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee have been working on bills that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure $300 billion to $400 billion in additional mortgages, with an upfront cost of $10 billion. The Bush administration has been developing a similar plan of its own that would expand an existing refinance program called F.H.A. Secure.

We certainly do like to use that word "secure" a lot. I know it sure as hell makes me feel like everything is going to be just fine. Just put your trust in Washington.

Arizona Running For Least-Hospitable State

Arizona Republicans are considering yet another ballot proposal in November to turn back the single greatest threat to our civilization (aside from terrorists): gay marriage.

Republican lawmakers on Monday proposed asking voters in November to amend the Arizona Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the state, which was the first to turn down such a measure.

The proposal was backed by 16 of 30 state senators, and an identical proposal was introduced in the House. Both chambers would have to approve the measure in a vote for it to be included on the ballot.

It's always amusing to wonder how conditions in Arizona, or any state, are such that lawmakers have nothing better to do with their time than push discriminatory laws onto a minority group, particularly after the apparent success in creating an environment of hostility toward those folks whose origins lie south of the border.

While it is too early to know for certain, a consensus is developing among economists, business people and immigration groups that the weakening economy coupled with recent curbs on illegal immigration are steering Hispanic immigrants out of the state.

The Arizona economy, heavily dependent on growth and a Latino work force, has been slowing for months. Meanwhile, the state has enacted one of the country’s toughest laws to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, and the county sheriff here in Phoenix has been enforcing federal immigration laws by rounding up people living here illegally.

Unfortunately, it's driving away many legal residents as well. Many legals have a spouse, other relatives or friends whose illegal status makes life difficult and nightmarish. When coupled with the harsh attitudes and increasingly inhospitable laws they are often leaving the state together as a group.

In the fourth quarter of 2007 the apartment-vacancy rate in metropolitan Phoenix rose to 11.2 percent from 9 percent in the same quarter of 2006, with much higher rates of 15 percent or more in heavily Latino neighborhoods.

[...]

Juan Jose Araujo, 44, is here legally. His wife, however, is not and is pressing for the family to return to Mexico because of the difficulty in finding a job and what the family considers a growing anti-immigrant climate.

[...]

“We don’t have family or anything in Mexico,” said Mr. Araujo, who has lived in the United States for 24 years. “I wouldn’t have anywhere to go there, but we have to consider it.”

Yes, the politicians and citizens responsible for this are the ones who are so concerned about families and marriage. Right.

Perhaps if they could all turn away from the bigotry and contempt they have for certain humans, they might see there really are greater issues of concern on the horizon which need to be addressed. Things like Lake Mead going dry for starters.

Lake Mead, the vast reservoir for the Colorado River water that sustains the fast-growing cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas, could lose water faster than previously thought and run dry within 13 years, according to a new study by scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The lake, located in Nevada and Arizona, has a 50 percent chance of becoming unusable by 2021, the scientists say, if the demand for water remains unchanged and if human-induced climate change follows climate scientists’ moderate forecasts, resulting in a reduction in average river flows.

But I'm not here to tell Arizona lawmakers how to conduct affairs in the land of John McCain. It's quite enough for me to sit here and observe their much-deserved karma from afar.

Hispanic Business Owners Unfairly Targeted in Northwest Arkansas

Northwest Arkansas has always been a Republican stronghold while the rest of the state usually swings the opposite direction. Not surprisingly, aside from some diversity in the Fayetteville area, thanks to the University of Arkansas, the area has always been overwhelmingly white and bland -- particularly Benton County just north of Fayetteville, home base of Wal-Mart.

For the past decade or so, population growth in the region has been staggering. More people, more jobs, and with that, an influx of people bringing much-needed change to the area. Sadly, multi-cultural acceptance doesn't seem to be one of the changes.

One Hispanic family establishing a chain of Mexican restaurants in the area are experiencing some rather unpleasant harassment. From the Morning News:

“To lose one’s home and/or livelihood and to be unfairly characterized as criminals for mistakes in accounting practices is not only unfair, it is entirely irresponsible,” according to a news release handed out Thursday morning before a hearing involving Arturo Reyes Jr. and Silvia Reyes.

[...]

Jim Miranda, a self-described minority rights activist, said the recently implemented 287(g) program was sold to the people of Northwest Arkansas as a tool to help law enforcement tackle serious, violent crime such as human trafficking, drug dealing and gang activity. But, so far, officials have used it to unfairly target Hispanic-owned businesses, he said.

[...]

Miranda was particularly critical of the government’s use of informants, which he said pits neighbor against neighbor and creates a climate of fear and suspicion in the community. He also criticized the conduct of task force officers, accusing an unnamed officer of going through an old woman’s purse and taking the few dollars it contained.

Miranda also said families have been terrorized and seniors have had their doors busted in, their assets seized and their homes threatened with forfeiture.

Immigration officials had no comment on the allegations or the Acambaro case Thursday.

Are Mexican restaurants welcome in the area, but only if their owners are white Americans? Seriously, this reeks of an official government effort to drive non-whites from the region.

And if you seek additional disgust with people's attitudes, read the comments at the end of the article. Here's a taste, but I'm not about to read them all. I'm disgusted enough already.

Reyes and his family were breaking laws in the very country they decided to take advantage of. And they got busted as a result. Good for the police.

The amount of hate in this country, and especially those who fan its flames, are what threatens our very foundation, and it would be refreshing to see all the presidential candidates -- Democrats and Republicans -- address it as a serious issue. Not likely to happen. It's way more fun to blame the ills of our crumbling society on gays and lesbians trying to legally marry.

But we are clearly moving in the same direction as so many other less stable nations which are afflicted with chaos, with various ethnic groups pitted against one another. We are lost and speeding down the wrong road. There's still time to correct this, but we don't seem very inclined to make the effort.

I know for a fact my accounting practices with my old business were far from accurate and I could not afford a professional accountant. And I will not face harassment or the risk of having my home or assets seized as a result. It helps to be white. You get cut a lot of slack.

Why Not Pass a Law Banning Customers

Last week, the town of Riverside, NJ rescinded an ordinance that penalized anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant.

And surprise! It was because businesses suffered after the ordinance was passed.

Within months, hundreds, if not thousands, of recent immigrants from Brazil and other Latin American countries had fled. The noise, crowding and traffic that had accompanied their arrival over the past decade abated.

The law had worked. Perhaps, some said, too well.

With the departure of so many people, the local economy suffered. Hair salons, restaurants and corner shops that catered to the immigrants saw business plummet; several closed. Once-boarded-up storefronts downtown were boarded up again.

[...]

“I don’t think people knew there would be such an economic burden,” said Mayor George Conard, who voted for the original ordinance. “A lot of people did not look three years out.”

I think if you can't look 3 years out as well as expecting the obvious outcome from passing an ordinance such as this, perhaps you don't deserve to be mayor.

One Nation Under Madness

I'm not sure what happened on 9/11/01 but it was far more than an attack from terrorists. As we approach the 6th anniversary of this horrific nightmare, I've watched America further deteriorate into something I barely recognize.

We seem to have lost any ability to get along with others, celebrate diversity, or even to tolerate diversity. We seem to crave an enemy, a threat, in order to preserve our perception of the American way of life.

There is a evil undercurrent fast at work driving wedges between groups and pitting neighbor against neighbor, and it's ugly. This vile force has large numbers of Americans wrongly believing that our culture faces extinction, that God has somehow been expelled from our nation by liberals (oh, if only we had that kind of power), that the English language is in danger, and of course, that gays, lesbians, and especially the transgendered threaten the very foundation of our society.

What the fuck is wrong with us?

The Republicans debated in Des Moines this weekend. You know something good is coming out of that.

Say It, Even If It Ain't So
Because we're so dumb we'll probably believe it if we hear it repeated enough.

As in past encounters, the Republicans largely agreed on the need to continue the Iraq war, saying that leaving the country too quickly would disrupt the fight against terrorism.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), whose front-runner status has slipped away in a wave of fundraising and staff woes, stuck to his guns on the war, saying there will be catastrophic consequences if America abandons Iraq.

"We are winning. We must win. And we will not set a date for surrender, as the Democrats want us to do," McCain said.

Define "winning."

And while we're on this road, define incompetence.
How the hell can we win a war if we can't even keep track of our own weapons?

"They really have no idea where they are," said Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information who has studied small-arms trade and received Pentagon briefings on the issue. "It likely means that the United States is unintentionally providing weapons to bad actors."

Meanwhile, have a look at success:

Jihad Wali, 35, victim of a roadside bomb that killed nine civilians and wounded eight.

How many hundreds of thousands of times has this scene played out in Iraq?

Bush is a great multitasker. While wreaking havoc overseas, he can simultaneously do it at home.

"We must remember that our work is not done," Bush said upon signing the [eavesdropping] bill...

Most Americans will pay little or no attention to this because we're all a little too concerned about another dangerous threat: illegal immigrants seeking hard work and a better life for them and their families. God knows, I sure can't sleep at night with so many brown-skinned people coming here to work, sleep, pay rent, eat strange food and speak some inferior language which I can't understand.

Spurred by rising resentment in the country over illegal immigration and by the collapse of a broad immigration bill in the Senate in June, state legislators nationwide adopted measures to curb employment of unauthorized immigrants and to make it more difficult for them to obtain state identification documents like driver’s licenses.

[...]

State lawmakers have introduced about two and half times more immigration bills this year than in 2006, and the number that have become law is more than double the 84 bills enacted last year, according to the conference, a nonpartisan organization that includes all the state legislatures.

Big Brother is on the march in Louisiana:

The toughest law was adopted in Louisiana, which now requires applicants’ names to be checked against a federal immigration database as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s terrorism watch list.

And it's not just the dirty Mexicans getting our white wrath.
Indian immigrants are getting the cracking whip.

ISELIN, N.J., Aug. 3 — With the workweek behind him, Deepu Dass focused on a pesky bald spot in his front lawn here. As he sprayed the patch with water, urging the grass toward the perfection achieved by several neighbors, he said confidently: “I planted seeds.”

I'm happy I don't live in a neighborhood where the neighbors complain about something like a patch of imperfect grass.

There have been up to six men sharing the house, whose owners include Suresh Kumar, president of NexAge Technologies USA, a nearby software company where the tenants work. But the unusual arrangement — and the unsightly lawn — caught the attention of local housing inspectors, and in May Woodbridge Township cited Mr. Kumar for several violations, including an unauthorized boarding house and an illegal multifamily dwelling. He has until Aug. 16 to resolve the situation, which may mean kicking his workers out.

Hey, I'm all for cleaning up hazardous living conditions such as the 10 people living in a basement, and the unlicensed day care center which was set up in another house, but to clamp down on otherwise hard-working middle-class people because their culture encourages extended families living together, or because someone wants to help out co-workers by allowing five others to live with him in his home, is unnecessarily aggressive.

Sharmila Rudrappa, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of “Ethnic Routes to Becoming American: Indian Immigrants and the Cultures of Citizenship,” said it was common for Indian families to live in joint households both in their homeland and in the United States.

“My father’s brother is married to my mother’s sister,” she said. “The two families had five kids between them. We lived together for a few years, and it was kind of a wonderful way to grow up.”

The joint family arrangements have become harder to maintain in crowded Indian cities, but in American homes the practice is alive and well.

“It’s a way to ease immigration,” Professor Rudrappa said. “You help family out. Family members coming from India might not know how to drive, and grocery stores can be unnerving.”

American attitudes can be unnerving as well. I like this man's rationale:

Rakesh Patel, 34, a technology worker at a New York investment bank, said he had his three-bedroom, two-story house built here seven years ago “for family and friends.” He and his wife, two children and his parents moved from a cramped apartment in Edison. Mr. Patel’s cousin’s sister has joined the household, and Mr. Patel’s sister and three family members may soon come to stay for a while. Other relatives often visit for months at a time.

“Why not?” asked Mr. Patel, noting that he also stayed with his uncle when he first came to the United States from India in 1996. “I pay $9,000 a year in taxes.”

It's Monday. Welcome to another day in the "greatest nation on earth."


Crossposted at B3

Ted Nugent Denies Racism

What took him so long?

(AP Photo/LM Otero, file)

"In total defiance to the vicious lies and hateful allegations of `racism' leveled at me by irresponsible, unprofessional and downright goofy media punks, I never said a word about immigration or language, specifically not the alleged slam against `illegal immigrants' or `non-English-speaking' anyone," the outspoken 58-year-old rocker wrote.

OK, maybe he doesn't hate anyone based on race, but he sure has a problem with people who don't speak English, at least if they're on our shores.

Nugent clarified:

"I will intensify my fight for a united America by demanding all Americans speak English," he wrote.

Oh, HE demands we all speak English. Well, that makes all the difference in the world. I wondered why we were all so divided in this country. I had no idea it boiled down to which language we're all comfortable speaking.

Ted, Sie sind ein Scheißekopf! Get over it. We live in a free country. People can speak whatever language they damn well please, and we sure as shit don't need your permission to do it.

A Solution to the Military Draft Issue

Not Your Mama left this link in a comment thread here today.

The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the ranks -- including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations overseas and putting more immigrants on a faster track to US citizenship if they volunteer -- according to Pentagon officials.

Foreign citizens serving in the US military is a highly charged issue, which could expose the Pentagon to criticism that it is essentially using mercenaries to defend the country. Other analysts voice concern that a large contingent of noncitizens under arms could jeopardize national security or reflect badly on Americans' willingness to serve in uniform.

The last thing we need is more exploitation of those already at a disadvantage to put their lives on the line in exchange for a fast track to citizenship -- provided they survive. But what a grand idea for avoiding a draft and the resulting pesky street protests.

Anti-Immigrant Fury Continues in Pahrump

Pahrump is becoming quite the media whore. Back in November I posted this and today the fast-growing community about 60 miles west of Las Vegas has made the New York Times again.

This all began when Michael Miraglia proposed an ordinance declaring English the official language of Pahrump, and also denied unspecified town benefits to “undocumented foreign nationals.” The ordinance also included the ridiculously xenophobic regulation against the flying of any foreign flag without an accompanying American flag.

Mr. Miraglia said that the English Language and Patriot Reaffirmation Ordinance, as he called it, was intended to bring the community together under a common language and custom. But its adoption on Nov. 14, by a vote of 3 to 2, has had the opposite effect.

“It has stirred up anger toward the immigrants,” said Arturo A. Reyes, 40, who came to the United States from El Salvador two decades ago and became a citizen. Mr. Reyes, who owns El Cancún Mexican Restaurant on Highway 160, also known as Main Street, added, “The whole thing is just bad; it’s just stupid.”

I love the irony of an immigrant from El Salvador correctly telling Americans who were born and raised here what is stupid. It's obsessively stupid.

Some Hispanic residents have said that since Mr. Miraglia’s proposals were introduced, people in passing cars have yelled racial slurs at them.

Lee Rowland, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said students had been harassed by school officials for speaking Spanish in private conversations.

And eggs have been thrown at the home of Robert and Liese Tamburrino, a white couple who protested the ordinance by flying Italian and Polish flags, representing the heritage of Mr. Tamburrino’s parents. They also received a hate letter calling them “thimble-brained, knuckle-dragging cretins.”

The level of hateful intolerance is mind-boggling. One man who owns two Mexican restaurants in Pahrump believes the motivation for the ordinance was "cut-and-dried racism." One of his restaurants had anti-Mexican slurs painted on it after closing on May 1 for the “Day Without An Immigrant” protests.

One of the regular commenters here is the author of a blog called Coyote Angry and happens to live in Pahrump. You can find more "ranting at assmonkeys from the Mojave desert" over there.

Hopefully, for the sake of our future as a nation, this nitwit fanaticism will die down soon before the "assmonkeys" do irreparable damage to America's reputation... or worse. This is not a healthy society.

Tell Me This Isn't Racism

If I lived in Pahrump I'd be flying any flag of any nation I damn well pleased. It's my right to celebrate my heritage. Or to just fly a flag I happen to like.

The town council of Pahrump, which lies in the Mojave Desert west of Las Vegas, voted 3-2 on Tuesday to make flying any foreign flag above the U.S. flag or alone an offense punishable by a $50 fine and 30 hours' community service.

Blow me. We'll see how long it takes for this asinine restriction to be thrown out by courts.

Oh, needless to say it was accompanied by the equally ridiculous "English only" regulation, another meaningless piece of racist bullcrap, similar to the one passed recently in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch.

People who live in towns with an "English only" restriction should start driving on the English side of the road as well.

Bloody buggery bollocks! What a cock up! Don't mind me, I'm just taking the piss out of the wankers.

Swedish Muslim Chided as "Islamophobe" for Opposing Veil

Some interesting political news from Sweden via the TimesOnline:

The latest media darling of Scandinavian politics is not only black, beautiful and Muslim; she is also firmly against the wearing of the veil.

Nyamko Sabuni, 37, has caused a storm as Sweden’s new integration and equality minister by arguing that all girls should be checked for evidence of female circumcision; arranged marriages should be criminalised; religious schools should receive no state funding; and immigrants should learn Swedish and find a job.

Supporters of the centre-right government that came to power last month believe that her bold rejection of cultural diversity may make her a force for change across Europe. Her critics are calling her a hardliner and even an Islamophobe.

“I am neither,” she said in an interview. “My aim is to integrate immigrants. One is to ensure they grow up just as any other child in Sweden would.”

Sabuni also clearly has an interest in becoming Sweden's prime minister and may have that opportunity should the current government fall.

Anders Jonsson, a political commentator on the liberal newspaper Expressen, says there is no doubt Sabuni is one to watch. “She is a tough cookie and incredibly ambitious,” he said. “But I think it’s good that a black woman is raising these issues and she has proved that she is prepared to take tough decisions in order to get things done.”

Crossposted at B3