While Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy's Archie Bunker-styled politics have made him wildly popular among white working class voters, a small but growing number of Long Islanders believe we can reach higher.
One such individual is Amy Hagedorn, a life-long area resident and philanthropist. She has funded Long Island Wins, a campaign making the case--economically and culturally--for the island's immigrants.
As part of this unprecedented campaign, Long Island Wins has begun airing pro-immigrant commercials on local television. The first commercial "Salida Del Sol" makes the case that America is enriched as a result of immigrants and their pursuit of the American Dream.
The second commercial "Pupusas" uses lighthearted humor to celebrate the economic and cultural contributions of Long Island's Latino immigrants.
6.14.2007
Suffolk's Leader Wins a Following
In Suffolk’s Leader Wins a Following (NYTimes - 6.13.07), Paul Vitello writes that Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has won a national following by targeting undocumented immigrant workers.However, Latinos and immigrant leaders on Long Island and beyond are less impressed. Instead, immigrants advocates accuse him of bigotry; one spokesman for local day laborers, the Rev. Allan Ramirez, has accused him of “ethnic cleansing.”
Fellow Democrat Vivian Viloria-Fisher, a Suffolk County legislator who was born in the Dominican Republic complains that Levy conveniently ignores "the global economic rules that force people to come here to earn a living.”
Nonetheless, the largest daily on Long Island calls him arguably the most formidable elected official in Long Island history. Levy's views so strongly resonate with the absurdly overtaxed residents that none of the major (or minor) political parties is willing to field a challenger in this year's county executive race.
Photo: NYTimes
What We Owe Illegal Immigrants
What We Owe Illegal Immigrants (by Barbara Ehrenreich, The Nation - 6.12.07)Rush Limbaugh has been expecting liberals to start "whining" about the $5,000 fine undocumented immigrants will have to pay to gain citizenship under the new immigration bill. But most liberals have been too busy chortling about the immigration-induced split in the GOP to make their own case against the bill. So let a mighty whine rise over the land: Undocumented workers shouldn't be fined; they should get a hefty bonus!
When our debt to America's undocumented workers is eventually tallied, I'm confident that it will be well in excess of the $5,000 fine the immigration bill proposes.All right, they committed a "crime" — the international equivalent of breaking and entry. But breaking and entry is usually a prelude to a much worse crime, like robbery or rape. What have the immigrants been doing once they get into the U.S.? Taking up time on the elliptical trainers in our health clubs? Getting ahead of us on the wait-lists for elite private nursery schools?
In case you don't know what immigrants do in this country, the Latinos have a word for it — trabajo. They've been mowing the lawns, cleaning the offices, hammering the nails and picking the tomatoes, not to mention all that dish-washing, diaper-changing, meat-packing and poultry-plucking.
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Faced with the tragedy of Iraq, the US must rethink its whole foreign policy
Faced with the tragedy of Iraq, the US must rethink its whole foreign policy (by Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian - 6.14.07)
To arm Sunni gangs smacks of desperation. America seems not yet to have learned that it will never win by arms alone
You think you've reached bottom, then you hear knocking from underneath. As I follow the news from Iraq, and the American debate about it, I fear that the worst is still to come. Here's the latest twist. In desperation, and since the surge is not having the desired effect, the US military is now arming and funding Sunni gangs to help them fight other Sunni gangs linked to al-Qaida. The enemy of my enemy is my friend - even if, until only yesterday, he was the enemy I had claimed to be defeating. But how will the US military know they are not supporting killers who have the blood of American soldiers on their hands? Ah, because they will use biometric tests - retina scans and fingerprinting - on those they are arming. How reassuring.
In the short term, this modern version of a 19th century British colonial technique may actually serve to beat back the al-Qaida-related bands, as it reportedly has in Anbar province. But in the medium term, it can only fuel the civil war that most observers expect to erupt with full fury as American and British forces pull back. And that's in addition to arming the largely Shia forces of the Iraqi army. One way or another, Americans are giving Iraqis more weapons with which they can kill each other. After yesterday's attack on the al-Askari mosque in Samara, another round of Sunni-Shia violence must be expected.
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To arm Sunni gangs smacks of desperation. America seems not yet to have learned that it will never win by arms alone
You think you've reached bottom, then you hear knocking from underneath. As I follow the news from Iraq, and the American debate about it, I fear that the worst is still to come. Here's the latest twist. In desperation, and since the surge is not having the desired effect, the US military is now arming and funding Sunni gangs to help them fight other Sunni gangs linked to al-Qaida. The enemy of my enemy is my friend - even if, until only yesterday, he was the enemy I had claimed to be defeating. But how will the US military know they are not supporting killers who have the blood of American soldiers on their hands? Ah, because they will use biometric tests - retina scans and fingerprinting - on those they are arming. How reassuring.
In the short term, this modern version of a 19th century British colonial technique may actually serve to beat back the al-Qaida-related bands, as it reportedly has in Anbar province. But in the medium term, it can only fuel the civil war that most observers expect to erupt with full fury as American and British forces pull back. And that's in addition to arming the largely Shia forces of the Iraqi army. One way or another, Americans are giving Iraqis more weapons with which they can kill each other. After yesterday's attack on the al-Askari mosque in Samara, another round of Sunni-Shia violence must be expected.
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6.13.2007
Maryland to be Majority-Minority
Maryland to be Majority-Minority (by James Wright, Washington Afro American - 6.13.07)
By 2025, Maryland will be among a host of states and the District of Columbia in which racial and ethnic minorities will outnumber Whites. That is the conclusion of a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate in May.
The report stated that the nation's minority population had reached 100.7 million in 2006, which means that one in every three Americans is a person of color. The country's population is 302,010,697 as of May 31.
Maryland is 42 percent minority according to the 2006 estimate, with 29 percent Black, 5 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian and 3 percent Native-American and other. The report states that by 2020, Maryland will have passed the threshold of 50.5 percent minority.
Maryland would be the first state on the East Coast to have the distinction of being majority-minority. The District of Columbia has had a majority-minority population since the 1950s, and the report said that it will remain that way through 2025.
At present, Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas have majority-minorities. In 2025, Maryland will be joined by Arizona, Nevada, Georgia,[New Jersey] and Florida.
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By 2025, Maryland will be among a host of states and the District of Columbia in which racial and ethnic minorities will outnumber Whites. That is the conclusion of a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate in May.
The report stated that the nation's minority population had reached 100.7 million in 2006, which means that one in every three Americans is a person of color. The country's population is 302,010,697 as of May 31.
Maryland is 42 percent minority according to the 2006 estimate, with 29 percent Black, 5 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian and 3 percent Native-American and other. The report states that by 2020, Maryland will have passed the threshold of 50.5 percent minority.
Maryland would be the first state on the East Coast to have the distinction of being majority-minority. The District of Columbia has had a majority-minority population since the 1950s, and the report said that it will remain that way through 2025.
At present, Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas have majority-minorities. In 2025, Maryland will be joined by Arizona, Nevada, Georgia,[New Jersey] and Florida.
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Pro-Immigrant Commercials Air on Long Island
Long Island WINS To Air Pro-Immigrant Commercials (by Tara Powers, LongIslandPress - 6.13.07)
Starting on Wednesday, Long Island cable stations will air two new commercials as part of the Long Island WINS campaign, a program designed to emphasize the common goals of residents in both immigrant and established communities.
“Salida del Sol” is an ad that addresses the economic benefits immigrant communities have on Long Island, putting a new spin on Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” ad. “Pupusas” focuses more on the cultural contributions of immigrants.
“Right now there’s not a strong dialogue between the middle class and the immigrant community,” says Brian Stedge, program director for the Long Island WINS campaign. “People don’t realize that they have a lot in common, that they share the same values. We want to remind people that immigrants are just like your neighbors, and that they are contributing positively to the local economy.”
Starting on Wednesday, Long Island cable stations will air two new commercials as part of the Long Island WINS campaign, a program designed to emphasize the common goals of residents in both immigrant and established communities.
“Salida del Sol” is an ad that addresses the economic benefits immigrant communities have on Long Island, putting a new spin on Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” ad. “Pupusas” focuses more on the cultural contributions of immigrants.
“Right now there’s not a strong dialogue between the middle class and the immigrant community,” says Brian Stedge, program director for the Long Island WINS campaign. “People don’t realize that they have a lot in common, that they share the same values. We want to remind people that immigrants are just like your neighbors, and that they are contributing positively to the local economy.”
Mexican Migrants Are Revitalizing NYC Neighborhoods
Mexicans make their place in NYC (by Rolando Pujol, amNewyork - 6.12.07)When Geraldo Sanchez left Mexico 12 years ago, he said farewell to his parents and siblings -- and his graphic-designer aspirations -- to begin an arduous life in the United States, all to keep his struggling relatives afloat back home.
Beat up during a stint in Texas, he soon found himself in New York, walking from LaGuardia Airport until he found a room to stay in the city.
Today, the 29-year-old lives with many of his countrymen in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn where he works at a music shop, but his bones bear the scars of his dangerous resume -- a knee and arm broken doing construction work.
"When one doesn't have papers, it is very difficult, it's unjust," Sanchez said. "We take jobs other people won't dare take."
Peek into any bustling restaurant kitchen or scan any of the city's construction sites and you will find Mexican immigrants. Hundreds of thousands have navigated a treacherous path to the city in the past 15 years, quietly reshaping neighborhoods and changing the economics of industries.
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Also see Voices of El Barrio, an audio and photo slide show on EL Barrio's Mexican community.
Click here for a photo essay of NYC's Mexican residents.
Click here for photos of a NYC Mexican cultural dancers.
6.11.2007
25% of Oklahoma's Children will be Latino by 2020
Hispanic population changing Oklahoma (by Leigh Bell, TulsaWorld - 6.11.07)
By 2020, at least one in four children in the state will be Hispanic, figures suggest.
The face of Oklahoma's children is changing.
The makeup of the state's young population is changing from mostly white to frequently Hispanic, and if the pace continues, at least a quarter of Oklahoma children by the year 2020 will be Hispanic.
The number of Hispanic youths in Oklahoma has increased by more than 32 percent since 2000, while the population of non-Hispanic youths decreased by 2.6 percent, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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By 2020, at least one in four children in the state will be Hispanic, figures suggest.
The face of Oklahoma's children is changing.
The makeup of the state's young population is changing from mostly white to frequently Hispanic, and if the pace continues, at least a quarter of Oklahoma children by the year 2020 will be Hispanic.
The number of Hispanic youths in Oklahoma has increased by more than 32 percent since 2000, while the population of non-Hispanic youths decreased by 2.6 percent, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Linda Chavez' The Company You Keep: In Search of anti-Hispanic hostility
A few weeks ago, Linda Chavez' column, In Latino Fear and Loathing, stripped off the political correctness veneer of the anti-immigrant crusade and exposed the truth: That important elements of the movement are animated by plain and simple racism.I commended her then for her powerful truth-telling.
I did, however, wonder what's the proper political home for Linda as a conservative Latina? After all, she was accusing (rightly) some members of her conservative movement as being racist thugs with very little concern for fairness and the truth.
I wrote that "[i]t's one thing to have conservative views--many Latinos do, but it's quite another to keep the company of people who really hate your kind--even if they make an exception for you."
Well, it seems that Linda heard me and she's responded with The Company You Keep: In Search of anti-Hispanic hostility (National Review - 6.11.07). It's a powerfully written indictment of the views and writings of a very vocal, influential and, yes, racist element of the conservative wing of the anti-immigrant movement. (And yes, there's also a liberal wing of the anti-immigrant movement.)
It's lengthy, but The Company You Keep is must reading for any American who cares about the truth and fairness in regards to the immigration debate.
Linda, Thank you for your courage.
New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade: A World Celebration
Thousands celebrate at Puerto Rican Day parade (by Marlene Naanes, amNewYork - 6.11.07)NEW YORK -- A sea of red, white and blue Sunday washed over Fifth Avenue to a soundtrack of whistles, reggaeton and screams of "Viva Puerto Rico."
Click here for amNew York's photo slide series of the parade.One of the loudest chants came over a megaphone from Kenny Agosto, 37, a Puerto Rican Day Parade veteran who has attended the event every year since his birth. Agosto marched and riled tens of thousands who happily responded in cheers and song at the 50th anniversary of the celebration of Puerto Rican pride.
"Today everyone is Puerto Rican," he said.
Louder than Agosto's chants were screams of "Ricky! Ricky!" for the parade's first king, pop star Ricky Martin. He sported a blonde fauxhawk and danced on top of a float dedicated to his children's foundation.
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