StoryCorps in Sacramento

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Obama on Immigration

The GOP-Trump Strategy - Whites Yes, Latinos No

The GOP-Trump Strategy: Blue Collar Whites Yes, Latinos No!

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Jimmy Franco Sr.

The hysterical agitation and intolerance uttered by Republican Trump to his so-called ‘silent white majority’ is urging them to action and this combined with his demand that 11 million immigrants be deported is part of his racial message and solution to “make America great again”.

Donald Trump’s popularity among Republican voters has dramatically risen in the polls as he now has a double digit lead over runner-up Jeb Bush. His fear mongering political message has found a very receptive base within our society among xenophobic and angry conservative sectors. His campaign promises to make America great again by deporting over eleven million hard-working immigrants, miraculously organizing the country to work right and winning decisive victories in the numerous wars that the US is involved in have found a receptive target audience. Trump’s national chauvinist message is not a new one as it was once used by various fascist groups in Europe during the 1930’s to gloss over mass

Trump’s immigrant bashing & scapegoating also calls for a form of massive ethnic removal.

unemployment and other social problems by scapegoating minority groups and demanding their removal, promising immediate fixes to problems and vowing to achieve military victories abroad to “make their countries great again”. He has merely given it a contemporary American form. Meanwhile, Trump has remained unapologetic about his derogatory comments he previously made about millions of Mexican immigrants whom he labeled as being criminals, rapists and drug dealers while admitting in a condescending manner that a few of them were all right. The other Republican candidates have also fallen in line and echoed his call to get tough on immigration as they are all attempting to win over the same angry nativist Republican base. Despite the racial demagoguery and untrue assertions made by Trump and others that huge numbers of immigrants are pouring into the country, recent research and facts show that immigration along the Mexican border is actually at an all-time low due to increased enforcement and a lack of jobs due to the recession.

The Trump and Republican election strategy of divide and conquer

Judge Orders Release of Migrant Children in Texas

SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge in California has ordered the government to release immigrant children from family detention centers “without unnecessary delay,” and with their mothers when possible, according to court papers.

In a filing late Friday, California U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee refused the government’s request to reconsider her ruling in late July that children held in family detention centers after crossing the US-Mexico border illegally must be released rapidly.

Calling the government’s latest arguments “repackaged and reheated,” she found the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in breach of a longstanding legal agreement stipulating that immigrant children cannot be held in unlicensed secured facilities, and gave agency officials until October 23 to comply.

Why We Cannot Speak of Economic Injustice Alone | Bill Fletcher

Why We Cannot Speak of Economic Injustice Alone | Opinion | teleSUR English

Bill Fletcher Jr.
Our ally Bill Fletcher says it well.

One can delude one’s self into believing that race can be avoided; but at the most awkward moments, it rears its ugly head and tears movements apart.

The campaign of Bernie Sanders for President of the United States of America has surfaced as a critically important issue that has faced progressives in the USA since the 19th century: can the question of economic injustice stand alone as the platform for a progressive movement? In fact, it is the #BlackLivesMatter movement that has elevated this question to a national discussion point.

There is an important segment of the progressive movement (including but not limited to white progressives) who strongly believe that economic injustice and (a relatively narrowly defined version of) class can and must serve as the unifying feature of a progressive movement in the USA. They hold that other issues are a distraction or are, particularly in the case of race and gender, divisive. In order to address the question of divisiveness, we are instructed to believe that hammering away at matters of economic injustice (including inequality, unemployment, etc.), will bring us together.

Mr. Trump, This is Racism

Let us be clear.  The attack on Mexican American children by Donald Trump is impossible to implement.  They are US Citizens.  Yes, US citizen children were deported in the 1930’s in the program euphemistically known as “repatriation.”

There is no such thing as an anchor baby.  They are US citizens.

There is no such thing as “birth right citizenship”, they are US citizens. 

It is offensive in the extreme that Trump and seven of the other Republican candidates for President would introduce these arguments.  They are seeking to create categories  of " Others"- Someone the US could deport.

This is Dog Whistle Politics, as described well in Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked the Middle Class. (2014) by Ian Henry Lopez.

It is remarkable and disturbing that the US press is treating these racist claims as legitimate political discourse. See posts below. 

These are examples  of strategic racism, that is a system of racial oppression created and enforced because it benefits the over class- in this the many billionaire funders of the Republican Party.    Strategic racism as described by Ian Haney López is the development and implementation of practices because they benefit a group or a class. 

Every Republican Is Racing to Change the Constitution. This Is Why that’s a Bad Idea. - NationofChange

Every Republican Is Racing to Change the Constitution. This Is Why that’s a Bad Idea. - NationofChange

Texas Already Denying US Citizen Children Their Birthright

Undocumented families sue state for rejecting Mexican ID, allege violation of 14th Amendment

August 19, 2015 5:15PM ET

by Marisa Taylor   @marisahtaylor & Heidi Zhou-Castro   @HeidiZhouCastro

Juana, a 33-year-old mother of three, works as a kale picker on the U.S.-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas, where she shares a one-bedroom trailer with her children. She was born in Mexico, and her uncle helped her to cross into Texas when she was 14 years old.

“I’ve been here practically half my life,” said Juana, who did not want to reveal her last name because she is undocumented. “I pay taxes. I’ve never depended on the government.”

Her children, born the Texas side of the border, are U.S. citizens. But when she went to the local vital statistics office earlier this year to get a copy of her youngest daughter’s birth certificate, she was turned away for lack of proper identification. Her child, who was born in November 2013, still does not have a birth certificate.

Like Trump: Seven Republican Candidates Want to Repeal the 14th. Amendment

A Good Chunk Of GOP Field Wants To Repeal The 14th Amendment

Seven candidates now support re-examining birthright citizenship.

Sam Stein

Senior Politics Editor, The Huffington Post

Amanda Terkel

Senior Political Reporter, The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- In the fall of 2010, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), one of the most hawkish anti-immigrant voices in Congress, launched a legislative campaign to end the scourge of "anchor babies," as he called them.

The target was the 14th Amendment, which grants everyone born in the United States of America the right of citizenship. The Iowa Republican saw something more nefarious: a scheme by those outside the country (Hispanics, specifically) to get a foothold in the country by coming here and having a child. And so he debuted a bill to end birthright citizenship, which he has continued to introduce in subsequent sessions.

It was highly controversial then and remains so. The latest version, introduced in the 114th Congress, has just 27 co-sponsors.

But the push does have support in the high ranks of the Republican Party. And if this week is any indication, it may be on the path toward becoming a part of the GOP's immigration platform.

On Sunday, business mogul Donald Trump came out in support of ending birthright citizenship -- and on Monday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker joined him.

Trump's Immigration Proposal is Economic Nonsense ( ie. Stupid)

David Bier

Donald Trump dropped his long-awaited immigration position paper this week. To no one’s surprise, it is a long list of restrictionist clichés about immigrants taking jobs, abusing welfare, and lowering wages for Americans. Here are the five biggest inaccuracies:

Inaccuracy #1: America is experiencing “record immigration levels.”

This claim is not remotely true. As I showed in a recent Niskanen report, today’s immigration rate—new permanent residents as a percentage of the U.S. population—is half the historical average and a quarter of its record highs in the early 20th century. While the immigrant population already here is growing as a share of the population, this is not due to unprecedented immigration, but to Americans’ unprecedented low birthrates.

Saying Goodbye to Julian Bond

http://billfletcherjr.com/2015/saying-good-bye-and-thank-you-to-julian-bond/

I did not expect to awaken this morning to news that renowned social justice activist Julian Bond had passed away.  I had not known that he had been ill.  The reference in the announcement was that there had been a “brief illness.”

Bill Fletcher Jr. 

When I first met Julian Bond , sometime within the last fifteen years, I still had in my mind’s eye the picture of a young, audacious electoral activist from the 1960s.  Although he was still very good looking and very sharp, he had by that point reached the stage of an “elder” in the movement.  Yet being an elder did not mean disappearing or retiring from the movement for Julian.  Whether through teaching, writing or serving as the chairman of the NAACP’s Board of Directors during crucial moments in that organization’s life, Julian Bond was far from a disappearing figure.

Chicago Police Torture Black Inmate

Listen to this moving and infuriating story--

In Episode 55 of Talkin' Socialism, Bill Barclay interviews Darrell Cannon, a survivor of Chicago Commander Jon Burge's torture and frame-up, about how the case against him was reversed, how the campaign for reparations for survivors of Chicago Police torture got started and was won, and what it means for policing in Chicago:

https://talkinsocialism.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/episode-55-burge-torture-and-reparations/

"Lady Law never stands so tall as when she stands on someone's hand."

For background on Burge:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge

StoryCorps Comes to Sacramento - "Hispanic" Heritage Month

The Chicano/Mexican American Digital History Project is a Community Partner of the
StoryCorps visit 

Bernie Sanders on Race and Racism

Bernie Sanders.

We must pursue policies that transform this country into a nation that affirms the value of its people of color. That starts with addressing the four central types of violence waged against black and brown Americans: physical, political, legal and economic.
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
PERPETRATED BY THE STATE

Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Samuel DuBose. We know their names. Each of them died unarmed at the hands of police officers or in police custody. The chants are growing louder. People are angry and they have a right to be angry. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that this violence only affects those whose names have appeared on TV or in the newspaper. African Americans are twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police.
PERPETRATED BY EXTREMISTS

We are far from eradicating racism in this country. In June, nine of our fellow Americans were murdered while praying in a historic church because of the color of their skin. This violence fills us with outrage, disgust, and a deep, deep sadness. Today in America, if you are black, you can be killed for getting a pack of Skittles during a basketball game. These hateful acts of violence amount to acts of terror. They are perpetrated by extremists who want to intimidate and terrorize black and brown people in this country.
ADDRESSING PHYSICAL VIOLENCE

It is an outrage that in these early years of the 21st century we are seeing intolerable acts of violence being perpetuated by police, and racist terrorism by white supremacists.

A growing number of communities do not trust the police and law enforcement officers have become disconnected from the communities they are sworn to protect. Violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of the police sworn to protect and serve our communities, is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. We need a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter, and racism cannot be accepted in a civilized country.
We must demilitarize our police forces so they don’t look and act like invading armies.
We must invest in community policing. Only when we get officers into the communities, working within neighborhoods before trouble arises, do we develop the relationships necessary to make our communities safer together. Among other things, that means increasing civilian oversight of police departments.

Mexico is Getting Poorer

Emilio Godoy
August 5, 2015
Inter Press Service

While most of Latin America has been reducing poverty, Mexico is moving in the other direction: new official figures reflect an increase in the number of poor in the last two years. The negative impact of the 2014 fiscal austerity program, poorly-designed and mismanaged public policies, sluggish economic growth, and frozen family incomes are all factors underlying the rise in the number of people living in poverty in the region’s second-most populous country.



A mother eats lunch with her children in a rural Mexican school, part of the Crusade Against Hunger. , Government of Mexico,


While most of Latin America has been reducing poverty, Mexico is moving in the other direction: new official figures reflect an increase in the number of poor in the last two years, despite the billions of dollars channeled into a broad range of programmes aimed at combating the problem.

The negative impact of the 2014 fiscal reform, poorly-designed and mismanaged public policies, sluggish economic growth, and family incomes that have been frozen are all factors underlying the rise in the number of people living in poverty in the region’s second-most populous country, according to experts consulted by IPS.

“We have some well-designed social programmes, but many others have got off track,” said Edna Jaime, the head of México Evalúa, a think tank on public policies. “They claim to fight poverty and foment employment, but they have no effect. Many are captive; they serve political clientele instead of the public,” she told IPS.

The REAL Marco Rubio • BRAVE NEW FILMS ACTION FUND

The Puerto Rico debt crisis and American colonialism - Progreso Weekly

The Puerto Rico debt crisis and American colonialism - Progreso Weekly

Billionaire hedge fund managers have called on Puerto Rico to lay off teachers and close schools so that the island can pay them back the billions it owes.

The hedge funds called for Puerto Rico to avoid financial default – and repay its debts – by collecting more taxes, selling $4bn worth of public buildings and drastically cutting public spending, particularly on education.

The group of 34 hedge funds hired former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economists to come up with a solution to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis after the island’s governor declared its $72bn debt “unpayable” – paving the way for bankruptcy.

The funds are “distressed debt” specialists, also known as vulture funds, and several have also sought to make money out of crises in Greece and Argentina, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the near collapse of Co-op Bank in the UK.

The report, entitled For Puerto Rico, There is a Better Way, said Puerto Rico could save itself from default if it improves tax collection and drastically cuts back on public spending.

- See more at: http://portside.org/2015-08-01/distressed-debt-specialists-vultures-hovering-over-puerto-rico#sthash.lR8s3h3q.dpuf

For Profit Colleges rip off students

Going to the San Antonio campus of ITT Tech—one of the largest for-profit colleges in the country—was the worst choice I've ever made in my life. I try not to blame myself, because ITT Tech recruiters and staff used high-pressure tactics to get me to enroll. But my associate degree in computer and graphic design cost $55,000, and I make less with ITT Tech on my resume than I did with just a high school diploma. Even worse, ITT Tech's career services pressured me to lie and report that I was making three times as much, so their programs could appear successful. My family and I had to move 500 miles so I could get work that would support us. If you think it's important that students like me don't continue to fall victim to for-profit colleges, urge the moderators of the Aug. 6 Republican presidential debate to ask the candidates why they continue to advocate for profits, not for students. For-profit colleges enroll 11 percent of Americans pursuing college degrees. But former for-profit students like me hold 22 percent of all educational loan debt and default three times more often than average. So we're asking the Republican presidential candidates why, instead of protecting students, they've helped the for-profit industry grow.