Fearing Fear Itself

In America’s darkest hour, Franklin Delano Roosevelt urged the nation not to succumb to “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.” But that was then.

Lopez's post-World Cup goal: NCAA title for Portland

Lopez's post-World Cup goal: NCAA title for Portland (by Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY)

Stephanie Lopez's whirlwind year hasn't ended yet, but it has returned her to a place where she can catch her breath and begin to sort out the experiences of the last 12 months.

Lopez is back at her familiar spot on defense for the seventh-ranked University of Portland women's soccer team, transforming a very good club into one with a shot at the national championship.

She returns after competing on this year's U.S. World Cup team that finished third in China in September. She was the national team's youngest member and its first player of Hispanic origin.

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Giving License to Minutemen: The GOP In the Driver's Seat by Michael O'Neill

The following is a letter of hope for those fighting the good fight during this ugly period of American nativism. Its author is Michael O'Neill of Long Island's Sag Harbor and a champion of immigrant rights. It is respectfully presented here with his permission.

License to Minutemen: The GOP In the Driver's Seat

In the noisome living room of the nativist hard right, for the GOP Militant today, there is only a cesspool darkness of the future of our nation. A darkness threatening to overtake the U.S. by a demographic ascendancy and territorial conquest; this darkness has replaced that traditional vanquished enemy, godless communism, by a far more subversive danger spreading over America's interior, throughout its breath and width. There is no longer any lip service to "Morning in America" given the future framed by a permanent Midnight in America where darkness descends upon our culture as a dark people of color rise to become the democratic majority.

The GOP is now mainstreaming extremists into the body politic of the U.S. to drown out the fearful, the timid, the intimidated with the effluence of their wedge politics. With our country in the middle of a catastrophic military and diplomatic defeat of unforeseeable consequence; with the drums of war again reverberating through our land, in a seeming effort to plunge the world deeper in the mire of blood as a Hail Mary desperation pass to pull victory out of defeat. The economic prospect of the middle class looks even grimmer as a war with Iran will cost a staggering amount.

It has not been so difficult for the GOP to maneuver extremists into channeling anger into blaming terrorists—the swarthy invaders. If it was simple enough to convince the majority that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, there should not be any obstacle to faulting illegal immigrants for all our economic and social problems. There is little doubt the GOP now see very well how they can muster and use angry racist mobs to further enflame a citizenry, as we saw today in Albany, primed to blame and scapegoat the "illegal immigrant," the brown invader, for outsourcing jobs, falling wages, record foreclosures, rising homelessness, unaffordable health care and a bleaker future, with no retirement, working till you are dropped in a hospital to expire...

The GOP at every level of government, national, state and regional, has been flushed into this seemingly fixed midnight of darkness where shades of reality are masked by their blinding affiliation with white supremacist, anti-immigrant, neo-con hard right organizations. Fueled by enormous wealth coming out of the Bush Administration protection racket for the likes of Ari Fleischer, Richard Mellon Scaife, the Coors family's tax-free billions, the Eric Prince (head of Blackwater, the mercenary group that has put in a bid to patrol the Mexican border) extended family, Cheney, Rove, Limbaugh, Coulter, Roger Ailes, and all their other glum warriors who repeat clichés to each other that privilege must be controlled, just as the cream rises to the top. Just as they, themselves are rewarded, praise the Lord.

They astutely see the threat to Christian white Western Civilization by the non-white hordes from the south, the invaders who corrupt even our language, refusing to speak English, which the right claims with a straight face unites us as a people, as if they so highly value unity with those outside their own identity. This is the trajectory mapped by Samuel Huntington, who understood that the Roman Catholic Latino is culturally incapable of understanding the true nature of democracy, because their tradition of being ruled by an all powerful caudillo, an elite, a hierarchy of papists. This anti-Catholicism has been a significant, popular belief in the U.S. since colonial times when U.S. was surrounded by Catholic enemies, their economic rivals to the North and the South, with their French and Spanish rulers.

Today in the rotunda of the State Legislature in Albany, bands of Minimen, American Border Patrol, their gun-obsessed buddies, pious acolytes of Lou Dobbs, Tank-credo & his grotesque clone Tedisco, bonded in the happy glue of despising Latino illegals, screamed in a tantrum of mob fury for the head of Spitzer, for the passage of a meaningless gesture that will reinforce their certainty they are riding the powerful steed of the headless horseman, to wreak terror in the hearts of legislators who ignore their Halloween cartoon of what our democracy means and what it looks like when we ship them back to Africa, Haiti, Mexico...

Yes, I know there are also Dems, like Levy, and there are a few progressive Republicans, like Chafee, Bloomberg, but they are anomalous, the exception. The grand ole party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, LaGuardia, Lindsay, Rockefeller, even Reagan, and Bush pere have been widened to include and welcome those in the resurfacings of this amalgam of anti-government and violent squads of posses militati, NRA John Birchers, Christian Identity, states' militias, neo-Nazi minutemen rallying around the red, white & blue of anti-immigrant patriotism. While they open wide their tent to this flotsam of lunatics, they demand we close entry to hard working immigrants. The lunatic fringe appears to be in the driver's seat, on their way to becoming the mainstream of Republicanism.

Don't be demoralized by their appearance of power that seems to leave so many Dems cowering, as in our Suffolk County legislature. Remember that the Know Nothing Party was the largest 3rd party in the history of American politics, holding a majority in several state legislatures, including Mass. & Penn. and a powerful force in others, with several senators elected to Congress and dozens in the House of Representatives. Yet, they were completely defeated in just 10 years by a nation undergoing unprecedented economic boom, finding pursuit of business, innovation and wealth to be more rewarding.

This nativism flares up periodically throughout our history in times of national stress; but has always been finally defeated by progressive forces building coalition, usually with a resulting expansion of a more inclusive definition of our democracy.

If nativists appear to be in the Republican driver's seat, you can be certain that with the putting of our shoulders to the wheel, the coming together as we speak, of progressive forces building a grassroots coalition, we will win out. We have history as our peloton* at our backs and the future in our reach. These minimen losers of GOP reaction are running on fumes. They are in the driver's seat for but a very short trip.

Michael O'Neill

Peloton is a fancy word, but useful. The peloton travels as an integrated unit, like geese flying in formation of a V, each rider making slight adjustments in response to the riders around them (particularly the one in front of each). When developed, riders at the front are exposed to higher loads, and will tend to slip off the front in order to rejoin the pack further back where there will be less aerodynamic resistance, thus able to conserve energy as they move, in turn up to the front. In some cases, with sufficient room to maneuver, this will develop into a fluid situation where the center of the peloton appears to be pushing through its own leading edge, exactly like the UFW tactic of the boycott.

It's Bobby Jindal!!!! Son of Indian Immigrants Wins Louisiana Governorship

Awesome!

Proving that America's future truly is being shaped in its Southern tier, voters in Louisiana elected Bobby Jindal as the state's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction.

Representing the almost forgotten promise of America to today's immigrants, Jindal is the Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants.

My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana.

At 36 years of age, Jindal is also the youngest serving governor of an American state.

Jindal's election is also a dramatic break from Louisiana's past of corrupt, incompetent and single party rule--a legacy fully on displayed for the nation and the world in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Congratulations to Bobby Jindal and the Jindal family. But more importantly, congratulations to the courageous people of Louisiana who voted for change, and in so doing put down a clear marker in the emergence of the New America.

Related:

Indian immigrants' son new La. governor
Go, Bobby, Go! II
Go, Bobby, Go!
Latinos & African Americans Gain in the New America
Obama Rises: Is A New America Close Behind?

Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriquez Takes Fight for Historical Accuracy to PBS and Ken Burns

University of Texas professor, Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, is pressing PBS to produce historically accurate programs--beginning with Ken Burns' The War.

Unbelievably, it's been uphill fight.

Dr. Rivas-Rodriquez has been given lip service by Ken Burns and the empty suits at PBS regarding the inclusion of the Latino experience and contributions in The War, but little action.

Shameful!

Thankfully, Dr. Rivas-Rodriquez has worked diligently since 1999 to collect the stories of the nation's quickly diminishing WWII veterans. She's captured and preserved their stories in A Legacy Greater Than Words: Stories of U.S. Latinos and Latinas of the WWII Generation. (See the write-up below)

Dr. Rivas-Rodriquez will NOT allow Latino veterans to be written out of the historical record of WWII.

Dr. Rivas-Rodriquez has taken her cause national. She founded Defend The Honor, an online campaign to get the word out about the disgraceful actions of Ken Burns and PBS. And this week, in the nation's capitol, Dr. Rivas-Rodriquez convened a meeting of leaders concerned about the disrespectful actions of PBS and Ken Burns towards Latinos and Latino WWII veterans. The group committed to a number of actions which will unfold over the next months and years.

Stay tuned.

In the interim, sign this petition letting PBS and its affiliates know that you support the Defend The Honor campaign to include the rich history of Latino service during WWII in Ken Burn’s documentary, The War.

A Legacy Greater Than Words: Stories of U.S. Latinos and Latinas of the WWII Generation(by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, University of Texas Austin - May 1, 2006)

Since 1999, the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project at the University of Texas at Austin has captured the untold stories of this WWII generation. Altogether, the project videotaped more than five hundred interviews throughout the country and in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

This volume features summaries of the interviews and photographs of the individuals. Among the people included are Mexican American civil rights leaders such as Pete Tijerina and Albert Armendariz of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and Virgilio Roel of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Others are community leaders such as Pete and Elena Gallego of Alpine, Texas, and military leaders such as Colonel Hank Cervantes and flying ace Richard Candelaria. Women who served in the military are also included. There are academic trailblazers, too, such as Frank Bonilla, who became a major figure in Puerto Rican studies. And there are a few Latinos who describe serving in segregated "colored" units during the war, as their physical features placed them in African American communities.

Overall, the vast majority of the men and women interviewed in A Legacy Greater Than Words led private lives, and their stories chronicle the everyday existence of Latinos in the 1930s and 1940s—stories that generally have been omitted from historical accounts of either the Great Depression or World War II.

Related:

Fight for inclusion gets Latinos in 'The War'
Hacen justicia con libro a veteranos
Defend the Honor: A National Latino Town Hall Meeting
Salute Latinos for defending America
The Final Say: Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

Commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez: Iraq War is a nightmare with no end in sight

Retired Iraq War Commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo , spoke out for the first time since leaving the military in 2006.

Speaking to a group of war reporters, the general said that the U.S. mission in Iraq is a "nightmare with no end in sight" because of political misjudgments after the fall of Saddam Hussein that continue today.

Additionally, Sanchez criticized national leaders for “[c]ontinued manipulations and adjustments to our military strategy [which] will not achieve victory. The best we can do", he says, "with this flawed approach is stave off defeat.”

Related:

Former Top General in Iraq Faults Bush Administration
Ex-general: Iraq `nightmare' for US

Notre Dame Forum on Immigration: Barletta is still wrong

I just watched the full 110 minute forum on immigration sponsored by the University of Notre Dame. Finally, a constructive discussion of this most important yet contentious national issue.

Moderated by PBS's Rey Suarez, the panel included Senator Mel Martinez, Cardinal Michael Mahony of Los Angeles, Arizona Governor Janet A. Napolitano and Hazelton, PA mayor, Louis J. Barletta. While framed by the imperatives of Catholic social justice teachings, it was not a one sided open-borders forum. Barletta and three white male students from the audience represented the anti-immigrant side, while really only the Cardinal argued a strong pro-undocumented immigrant line. Martinez and Napolitano represented the more nuanced middle ground.

I highly recommend watching the forum. Why? Because the immigration issue is not going away soon, and given what has transpired thus far in the debate, it'll take a much better educated citizenry before sensible solutions will be politically doable.

I did, however, find it interesting watching and listening to Barletta who tried very hard to sound reasonable and even compassionate. But while he struck an earnest and even soft tone, his tactic was the same: Blame "illegals" for every horrific crime that's occurred in Hazelton, while obscuring his ineffectiveness as a community leader and mayor.

His rap didn't sit well with me, nor apparently with many others, including student Michael McKenna who wrote the following as part of a larger reaction to the forum posted online:

Mayor Barletta painted a fairly pristine picture of life in his town pre-immigrant, while glossing over the fact that Northeastern Pennsylvania has been declining economically for decades, arguably since the decline of coal mining after World War II. To ascribe all subsequent problems to immigrants is a classic case of scapegoating. The crimes he described were indeed horrific, but to suggest that they were committed by undocumented people on a scale disproportionate to their makeup in the population is difficult to believe. Also, a large percentage of the Latinos in Hazleton are Puerto Rican, who are by law U.S. citizens. But by creating a political climate of fear, very likely these U.S. citizens will suffer the social consequences as well.

McKenna makes an important point: Barletta props up his case against undocumented immigrants with distortions and myths about life in Hazelton. And a new study by Zogby International provides the evidence. The study found that on all of the negative conditions attributed to the city's undocumented immigrants--crowded schools, higher unemployment, higher crime levels, etc.,--none are true.

Congratulations to Notre Dame U. for the terrific forum. Now, if only we can get the folks on television, radio and the U.S. Congress to follow suit.

Latinas Having Babies: Thalía, JLo, et al

People En Espanol reports that Mexican-born Thalía Sodi, 35, gave birth Sunday to a little girl who will be called Sabrina Sakaë.

Mama y bebé are resting on their ranch in Colorado.

Today, Us Magazine reports that Jennifer Lopez is expecting twins--although the Lopez-Anthony camp has yet to make it official. However, the Nuyorican couple is busy preparing their Long Island estate for the arrival of their matching bundles of joy.

Congratulations to all--and welcome to the family, Sabrina.

While these growing families may be OK with the likes of Nancy MacDonald, Pat Buchanan, and other rightwingers, they are still part of the larger Latino population surge they so despise.

That is, aside from their wealth and visibility, Thalía, JLo and Marc are reflective of the nation's young and fertile Latino population. While it seems a mystery to MacDonald and Buchanan, Latinos are building families because that's what young people in their prime do.

It's a human thing.

It's also a primary contributor to the U.S. Latino population surge which is giving so many old-timers and racists seizures.

The bottomline? It may be a harsh biological and demographic fact, but Thalía, JLo and Marc are members of a people in their prime; while MacDonald and Buchanan are literally and figuratively members of a quickly fading lot.

BTW: You can't turn back the clock.

Related:
The Right's Attack On Latino Parents
Jenny Responds to Heather Mac Donald's Screech Against Latinas

Antidote to Anti-Constitutional Interventionism

Ron Paul's antidote to "anti-Constitutional interventionism" is as follows:

A Paul administration would see Americans engaged overseas like never before, in business and cultural activities. But a Paul administration would never attempt to export democracy or other values at the barrel of a gun, as we have seen over and over again that this is a counterproductive approach that actually leads the United States to be resented and more isolated in the world.

On this essential issue, Paul makes no sense to W, most in Congress (Republicans and Democrats), most in MSM, all of rightwing radio/cable, but he does to me.

Related:

I advocate the same foreign policy the Founding Fathers by Ron Paul, Manchester Union Leader - 10.8, 2007

America's Rigged Democracy?

American young people are taught to believe that the United States is a democracy--a government by and for the people, but few of us ever experience such empowerment.

As adults, most of us come to know--even if only in our gut--that there's a huge disconnect between what we were taught in civics and how things really work in America.

We register, we listen to the candidates and we vote, but it still feels like a sham.

We can't quite put on finger on it, but we all sort of know that our will--the people's will--is not what decides the selection of candidates nor how we're governed.

Simple politics dictates that he who buys/selects the candidates wins the spoils of victory. In others words, the American public is screwed--politically speaking, that is.

But how can that be in a democracy such as ours? Can it be that the world's "leading democracy" is not as much of a democracy as we've been led to believe? Yes!

In The presidential primary scam, Salon's Michael Scherer cuts through the fog to expose "Why the game is rigged, and why true democracy is only a secondary factor in the nation's rush to nominate the next president".

(FYI: University of Virginia's Sabato, who proposes changing the constitution to fix the problem in his new book, "A More Perfect Constitution.")

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