blog 14

Sometimes it is interesting to see what different news sources list on their websites as headline news.  For example, today the New York Times and the LA Times feature news stories about BP’s response to the oil spill.  Fox News, on the other hand, has a collection of stories about the “real” dangers of immigration from the Mexican border.  In one of these stories, a Somali terrorist is apparently going to raid the Texas border with a bunch of Brazilians.  Even though a political science professor in the article says that, “It’s something that certainly has to be watched, but I don’t think it’s an imminent threat,” the way the article is displayed on the website makes it look as though Texas is about to be under a terrorist attack.  Other immigration stories include Obama’s decision to send the National Guard to the border, although Senator John McCain says that at least 5,000 more troops will be needed.  Arizona Democrats believe that increasing the Border Patrol would be more effective than placing the National Guard down there.  Two more articles discuss the Latin American response to the new Arizona law, but focus on nations that most Republicans dislike, such as Cuba and Venezuela.  All of these articles justify the importance of the anti-immigration legislation and use fear to scare the reader into thinking that Mexico is a terrifying enemy.

blog 13

In a recent New York Times article, the article shows that Republicans are divided about the new Arizona immigration law.  Jim Gibbons and Robert F. McDonnell, two conservative Republican governors, are against the law.  However, neither governor is up for reelection.  With national polls showing that the majority of the nation support the law, Republican governors and members of congress who are up for reelection are saying they support the law in order to get back into office.  For example, Florida’s state attorney general Bill McCollum was opposed to the law, but now that there is public support for the law, he has changed his opinion in order to be elected as governor in the fall.  Here in California, Republican candidate for governor Meg Whitman has lost support, and many believe this is because she opposes the law.

People within the Republican Party are worried that they will be alienating Latino voters, many of whom are Republicans.  Even Karl Rove has warned about the effects of the Arizona law in creating a more divided country.  It is pathetic that the Republicans who thought the law was unfair are now changing their minds in order to stay in office.  If they did not seem racist at first, the fact that they are willing to change their minds so quickly shows the power of fear can create racism.

Blog 12

President Barack Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.  If confirmed, she would be the fourth woman in history to serve on the high court.  It would also be the highest number of women ever to be on the court, three out of nine.  Some political analysts observe that this may affect rulings since female judges often rule differently than men.

The Republican Party has two major problems with Kagan.  Firstly, she has no experience as a judge, with the majority of her experience being Dean of Harvard Law School.  She is currently the Solicitor General.  The second objection comes from her time at Harvard.  She and other schools banned military recruiters to come to campus because she felt that the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was discriminating against homosexuals.  The Supreme Court ruled that she had to allow the recruiters, so she did.  Republicans are afraid that she is anti-military, but Republican Scott Brown has confirmed that she is supportive.  There is also speculation that Kagan herself is gay since she is not married and her private life is kept under wraps.

I think that Kagan has dedicated her life to law and would make a good Supreme Court Justice.

Blog 11

Public response to the anti-immigration law in Arizona continues to expand.  In a recent Gallop Poll, four out of ten Americans supported the law and three out of ten opposed it.  Even with this support, a boycott on the state is starting.  Critics are pressuring Major League Baseball to not host the 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona.  The Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association reported that three conferences have been canceled.  Other cities, including Boston, Oakland, and St. Paul have voted to boycott the state.  City councils in Tucson and Flagstaff have also filed lawsuits against the anti-immigration law, citing the financial consequences of not only the increase in enforcement costs but also the decrease in tourism revenue.

This issue is clearly dividing the nation as well as the state of Arizona.  The majority of Americans want some kind of immigration reform, but it is unclear whether or not these people want reform simply because they do not like Hispanics.  If enough people protest by boycotting the state, perhaps Arizona will revoke the law.  Even if they do, however, it will not change any racism that might be going on out there.  People have to change that themselves.

Blog 10

In the aftermath of the passing  of Arizona’s immigration law, the media has found people from Arizona with Mexican heritage who support the law.  One of these women, Sue Schwartz, says that the immigrants are taking away all of the jobs.  She says that her 15 year-old granddaughter cannot work at Hometown Buffet without speaking Spanish.  She also says that hard labor jobs like picking lettuce are no longer the only jobs the illegal immigrants are taking.  Schwartz also has a problem with what she feels is the disrespectfulness of the immigrants.  She dislikes the way the immigrants turn their neighborhoods into “mini-Mexicos.”  She cites the increase in trash and loud music.

On the other hand, Diane Feinstein of California does not believe that the illegal immigrants are taking away jobs that American citizens are willing to do.  Most work in agriculture, picking fruits and vegetables all day long.  It is hard manual labor that the agricultural industry relies on, and we expect our produce to be fresh and cheap.  Without the illegal immigrants, our agricultural industry would collapse.  Already, much of our produce comes from Mexico because farms in America can no longer afford to stay open.  So, from Feinstein’s point of view, no one will want to pick lettuce if we send all the illegal immigrants back home.

Blog 9

A new immigration law that may be signed this weekend is causing a lot of controversy.  The law will require immigrants to carry their immigration documents on them at all times and will also require police officers to question anyone who they suspect is illegal. The law will also target companies who hire illegal immigrants.  President Obama is opposing the bill and hoping for his own immigration reform.

The biggest problem with this bill is that it allows police officers to racially profile others.  Anyone who has brown skin can be questioned by the police as a suspected illegal immigrant.  It is against the constitution to invade people’s privacy based on the color of that person’s skin.  The passage of this law could start a civil liberties nightmare in the courts.  It is definitely not a step in the right direction of immigration reform.

blog 8

This is a summary of a CNN article called “Gov. Mcdonall apologizes for omitting slavery in Confederacy proclamation.

In response to a request by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Virginia governor Bob McDonell declared April Confederate History Month in Virginia.  Unfortunately in his proclamation the governor omitted any reference to slavery.  On Wednesday April 8, 2010 the governor held a press conference to apologize.  He said that not mentioning slavery was a “major omission. ”  He also said he would add language about slavery to the Proclamation.  Governor McDonell noted that Virginia was the capital of the Confederate States of America.  He wanted Virginians to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate Leaders, soldiers, and citizens during the Civil War period.  He also hoped that celebrating a month of Confederate History would bring more tourists to the state since it was home to many Civil War battles.

McDonnel amended his proclamation by apologizing that slavery was a “even, vicious, and inhumane practice.”  He also said that slavery divided the nation and led to the Civil War.  Both democrats and Civil Rights Leaders objected to McDonell’s Confederate History Month Proclamation.  Two previous democratic governors had refused to issue a Proclamation with regard to confederate history.  The institution of slavery and the racism that followed the Civil War in Virginia was terrible and Virginians needed to move forward and not backward to the nostalgia of the confederacy.

Governor McDonell needed to think before he wrote his proclamation.  Excluding the role of slavery in the forming of the Confederate States of America was either extremely insensitive to the descendents of the slaves or he was extremely ignorant of the history of the state.  Just as it is impossible for German citizens to ignore the Holocaust it should be impossible for any southerner to ignore the issue of slavery as a direct cause of the Civil War.  The governor might be trying to revise the history of the state by pointing out all the wonderful sacrifices the white Virginians made to protect their state’s rights, especially the right to own slaves.  It is very dangerous to ignore the evils of the past.  We as the people must always learn from our mistakes.

Blog 6

The Catholic Church has come under another media attack involving pedophile priests who were moved to new parishes instead of being dismissed.  The new angle focuses on Pope Benedict XVI, who was archbishop of Munich and the leader of a powerful Vatican congregation during two of these cases.  The Vatican has stated that the memos about the cases were never read by the Pope.  Many wonder if other people in the Catholic Church are covering up information that the Pope knew.

On Good Friday at the Vatican, a Franciscan priest gave a sermon about persecution.  He read a letter from a Jewish friend who took the side of the Catholic Church during this media coverage.  The priest compared the persecution of the Jews to the present attack on the Catholic Church.  He later downplayed the comparison.  While I do not believe that all Catholics should be persecuted for this scandal, I do believe that the Church has a long way to go in bringing out the truth.  Making it sound like the Church is a poor victim like the persecuted Jews is not a step in the right direction.

blog 5

The passage of the health care bill has caused a lot of discussion about whether or not the bill represents the will of the majority.  Some members of congress have believed that the minority voice is important.  Senator Graham joined the Gang of 14 during the Bush Administration.  It was a bipartisan group that worked to preserve minority rights.  Now that the Democrats have a majority in congress, the Republicans do not feel that minority voice is being heard, especially with the health care bill.  Others believe that a lot of compromises were made to appeal to the minority.

Watching the media coverage of the health care bill is very confusing.  There are the voices of the extremely angry citizens on the right who get a lot of media attention for their racial slurs.  This makes it look like a substantial portion of the nation is angry about the bill.  What is not as exciting to cover is the opinion of people who are happy about the bill.  Since there is little coverage on the public’s approval, it looks as though congress is not representing the will of the majority.

Blog 4

Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel where he was told that 1600 new Jewish housing units would be built in East Jerusalem.  This has provoked the Palestinians and delayed peace talks between Palestine and Israel.  The Israelis are claiming that these housing projects are not new, but Washington seems to understand that this may not be the truth.  The Palestinians, who do not have a state, have hoped to make East Jerusalem their capital.  However, Israel wants to keep Jerusalem a unified Jewish city.  The housing projects are a way of taking control of East Jerusalem and preventing the Palestinians from gaining more power.

I tired of The United States being the world’s police.  Our country has many problems, including the economy and healthcare reform.  The conflict between Israel and Palestine could go on forever, so instead of trying to create peace, I think that we should spend our resources on helping out other Americans.  The media is very interested in what happens to Israel.  Since the story they cover never seems to change, I think it is time to shift the focus back to out own problems.