Grijalva's Offices Targeted Again By Haters
U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s congressional office is closed this afternoon as police respond to a suspicious piece of mail.
An envelope arrived with swastikas drawn on the outside and a white powdery substance on the inside, said Adam Sarvana, Grijalva’s spokesman.
The office is on lockdown as police investigate. Those outside the office are not allowed in, and the workers and constituents inside are not allowed to leave until police clear the scene, Sarvana said.
At about 1:45 p.m. there were several police and two fire vehicles outside the office.
It’s not the first time his office has been the target of threats.
Grijalva received death threats in April, shortly after SB1070 was signed into law and he called for a boycott in response. He closed his Tucson and Yuma offices as a result.
In July, after he called off the boycott, staffers found a bullet and a shattered window inside his Yuma office
Labels: hate crimes, Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07)
Billboard Terrorism
[UPDATE] The Pinal County Sheriff's Office says they are not responsible for it and don't know who commissioned it. Still looking into it...
Labels: Arizona, race and racism
Una Identidad Sin Fronteras: Verdolaga Dreams
September 1st is a day that, for the past 15 years, has given me pause because it is the anniversary of my Tata Manuel's death. He was, and is, my hero.
He was taken from us far too soon in 1995 by pancreatic cancer that wilted a heavy-ish burro of a man into a frail calavera in less than a year's time. Watching him deteriorate was the saddest yet most profound eras of my life because he suffered with dignity and faith in God that had the power to unite my family in his memory through the present day.
When he was still in his strength, Manuel III would spend hours upon hours cleaning the graves of our family's ancestors and friends - making sure weeds were pulled, the tierra around the plot was raked, any trees/shrubs watered, and the forms painted a gleaming white. I recall that a great tia's grave had a water jug tied to the fence that surrounded her resting place.
"What's that, Tata?"
"Well, mijo, it's in case your tia or anyone nearby gets thirsty and needs some water."
"Oh."
It made sense to me. This is Arizona, after all.
Ever since my tata's passing, my dad became the caretaker of all the graves with that endless cycle that promised that his dad's plot would be another added to the rounds. In speaking to my Nana earlier, she told me that my dad spent the evening scraping and painting the cemento around my Tata's grave for the anniversary - this was not a surprise because it's what we do.
I'm only a hundred miles from home, but it's relatively far considering that seven generations of my paternal line is buried within a ten minute drive of where my parents and last living grandmother live today. Each remaining generation taking care of the resting place of the previous. It's who we are...
...which means that pulling weeds is pretty much stamped into every speck of habanero in my veins.
So there I've been all week after work in the tierra that I arrogantly call: Mine. Pulling weeds, raking, pruning, watering - in anticipation for my 30th Birthday Carne Asada which is doubling as a CasitaWarming Party (a year later = Mexican Standard Time) - and on the 1st of September, I couldn't help but think of all the same work that's been done for generations in my family and the respect & love that fuels it; not knowing that 100 miles north my dad was fulfilling his responsibility to my Tata and all the Nanas and Tatas and Tios and Tias that preceded him.
Only I was having trouble.
The weedeater was not working on these weeds - they were too juicy and remained in place, mocking the 21st Century: "you wanna get rid of us, then bend that lazy spine and pick us with your hands!" A memory stirred, but not until I had lit a candle to remember my Tata that night, said a few prayers and went to sleep.
I was walking through rows of grapevines in Florence, Arizona, amazed that they could grow in the desert. Large clumps of succulent goodness in all sizes and hues. My Tata pointed to an older vine to the left and explained that the dried ones were raisins.
"Ohhhhhhh!" said my youthful self upon making the connection: that's where raisins come from.
Nana Mary had fallen behind as my Tata and I continued looking for grapes along the row to pick and take home to enjoy. She was poking around in the dirt at the base of the vines, looking at...something.
"Nana, what are you doing?"
And I woke up.
The thought process got rolling without the added benefit of café: "Could it be? Nah, that's too weird. Yeah, but it's been nearly 20 years since you've seen them raw, so it's possible. Thank God for Google."
Vergoladas.
Verdoladas.
Verdolagas!
The same weed that my Nana was hunting for all those years ago in the dirt of a vineyard just a stone's throw away from the dry Gila River has made itself quite comfortable in the rear portion of my yard. No wonder the weedeater was nearly smited earlier this week, that carpet of nutritious goodness was waiting patiently for me to remember.
Thanks for the reminder, Tata.
And Nana: it doesn't gross me out anymore that they're weeds because tan deliciocas con ajo, cebolla, cilantro y tomate - something that I'll never forget again thanks to Verdolaga Dreams.
Labels: Una Identidad Sin Fronteras
Randy Parraz for U.S. Senate
Tuesday, August 24th - is Primary Election Day in the State of Arizona. I voted early a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share some thoughts as to why I voted for Randy Parraz as the Democratic candidate who will face McCain in the General Election.Let me begin by saying that I believe John McCain can be forcefully retired in November. He was beaten handily in 2008 after a series of misjudgments (e.g. Sarah Palin) and misstatements (e.g. "That One") because President Obama was able to clearly share his vision for the country, one that is in direct contrast to the smoke & mirrors offered by the modern conservative movement. A conservatism that deregulated Wall Street causing our economy to nose-dive, drowned New Orleans in Grover Norquist's bathtub, and trumpeted up the case to send our military might into a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.
Additionally, during the Presidential Debates it was evident that the Very-Senior Senator considered himself Obama's superior. The condescension and crankiness of an old white man verses the younger bienthic scholar laid it clear to 21st Century Voters that the country had an opportunity to take a chance and move forward in a real way.
I think gente deserve more credit than what infotainment news outlets like Fox News give them - if one treats voters like adults, they will show respect in return. If one goes further and points out the fact that a political opponent thrives on keeping voters ignorant, an election is won.
I believe Randy Parraz has what it takes to clearly draw that type of contrast with McCain in November.
Arizona is the poster child for what happens when the Tea Party gets its anti-government tentacles in all levels of government: the school system derails, infrastructure crumbles, and job creation stagnates due to lack of imagination. Parraz is a candidate who can remind the public how government can work effectively.
Why is Arizona not leading the rest of the country in solar energy? It's embarrassing that we're not. Parraz can make that type of case that discredits what we've all been sold by the GOP, especially the AZGOP that knows no limit to its extremism.
I could go on and on, but the litany of grievances I would list share one common thing: all are in need of a passionate, articulate response.
While I considered Rodney Glassman for many months, in the end, it came down to the fact that I don't think he has what it takes to energize the coalition of voters that will be needed to beat McCain. He makes the right noises for a Democrat on the stump (usually); but as an avowed cynic, my B.S. Meter does somersaults telling me that I'm hearing a salesman pitch from a lackey in search of a promotion instead of a believer in the product. [All that said, I'll still fill in the oval next to Glassman's name come November if he manages to win tomorrow, but it will be a vote against John McCain, not for Rodney Glassman.]
I think there's going to be a surprise tomorrow, however, and I'll be happy to spend the fall season working to elect Randy Parraz as the next Senator from Arizona.
More info:
Labels: John McCain, Randy Parraz
The Political Complexity of Immigration
The telephone poll of 800 heads of households across the six-county Chicago region July 8-14 found that 57 percent of the respondents did not want police to seek illegal immigrants for deportation.Almost half of those polled, 48 percent, said they believed that illegal immigrants snatched jobs and resources, taking away from society and the economy.
Nearly all of those who responded, 87 percent, believed that some sort of legal status should be offered to the nearly 11 million people in the country illegally, provided that the immigrants aren't dangerous felons, that they learn English and that they pay fines and back taxes.
I've been blogging immigration for over five years now. Earned blisters from marches, protests and vigils close to home and across the country. Voted and advocated for promigrant/prohumanity candidates. Networked to help relief find the random email from a scared brother or sister without documents.
To be honest, it feels unsettling to talk about immigration as a political issue, because it has been used a weapon to destroy the lives of migrant workers, youth, and the communities that give our neighborhoods the vibrant sense of home that we love and cherish.
On the national level, both parties have bought into the notion that there is such a thing as having enough border security - the mirage of satiating the bloodlust of nativists who would rather see a fence hundreds of miles along a desert homeland that has experienced the migration of human beings for as long as the species walked the earth.
We have to be willing to change the way we think about immigration.
We must have the courage to look in the mirror for the reasons that the Summer of 2010 will go down as the deadliest in Arizona. 214 as of July 31st.
We should challenge politicians who are trying to save their careers by offering soundbites that are reckless and unconstitutional.
We must - because it will be the only thing that slows down this march to extremism by the United States. We must remember who we are as human beings.
We must.
Which is why The Sanctuary is back.
Labels: border policy, citizenship, immigration
Bullet Closes Grijalva's Yuma Office
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., has closed his Yuma district office for the day after staff discovered that a bullet had shattered a window earlier Thursday.
A news release from Adam Sarvana, Grijalva's spokesman, says police are investigating the vandalism and have not released details about a possible motive. Grijalva will re-open the office as soon as possible, his office said.
Recall that when SB1070 was signed by Jan Brewer a couple of months ago, Justin Haynes was arrested for calling Grijalva's offices and threatening to "blow the brains out" of the Congressman and his staff.
The AZGOP have created these violent monsters, it's their responsibility to denounce them and prevent further violence.
Labels: Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), SB1070
Jan Brewer's Stimulus Hypocrisy
Jan Brewer is a socialist. Who knew?
Federal Judge Blocks Portions of SB1070
Portion of Section 2 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 11-1051(B): requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to
determine the immigration status of a person stopped,
detained or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that
the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and
requiring verification of the immigration status of any
person arrested prior to releasing that person
Section 3 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-1509: creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien
registration papers
Portion of Section 5 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-2928(C): creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply
for, or perform work
Section 6 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-3883(A)(5): authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there
is probable cause to believe the person has committed a
public offense that makes the person removable from the
United States
.pdf of full ruling here
Labels: SB1070
Gov. Brewer Runs From Media Scrutiny
Watch Arizona Governor Jan Brewer burn rubber after getting asked about her staff's ties to the private prison industry and whether it had anything to do with her signing of SB1070:
Labels: immigration prisons, SB1070
Why I Stopped Blogging Regularly
SB1070 and HB2281 fucked with my very being, my very identity - to put it bluntly.
The salt in the wound is watching poll after poll show sizeable majorities of the populace agree that brown-skinned gente should bend over and take the violation of our civil and human rights with a smile on our faces. We should "do our part" by accepting racial profiling, the oppression of our culture, and the militarization of our ancestral homeland all in the name of a false sense of security.
A rage has been building inside of me that I recognize as unhealthy, so I remain silent on this page in deference to speaking out in real life through everyday conversation and community organizing (Socialist!!!). Scanning headlines and reading commentary used to be soothing, but with such potent hate gathering around those of us targeted in Arizona, I find it depressing and paralyzing.
What's worse is that it will only get worse before it gets better. I think that's why I find myself unable to watch the downward spiral from the front row.
I'd rather sit on the stone bench in the corner of my mountainview yard, close my eyes, and listen to the wind. It gives me the strength to keep fighting for what I know with every habanero flake in my veins - history will not judge the actions of the current era in Arizona very kindly.
