Join the call for the resignation of a bigoted Sherriff in North Carolina

kesquivel@nclr.org — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:16:28 GMT

In a recent article in Raleigh's The News & Observer, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell was quoted accusing Latinos of "breeding like rabbits," calling Mexicans "trashy," and stating, "When people think about illegal Mexicans, you know the first thing they think of? Driving drunk and shooting."

These are just some of the inflammatory things that Steve Bizzell had to say about Latinos. As a result, a coalition of progressive groups in North Carolina has asked that the Johnston County commissioners push for Bizzell's resignation.
Not only is Sheriff Bizzell still on the job, he can even be seen featured in a campaign ad supporting Senator Elizabeth Dole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Help us make the case that bigotry has no place in the sheriff's office or on the campaign trail. If you live in North Carolina, write to North Carolina's congressional delegation to ask them to support the call for Sherriff Bizzell's resignation. If you don't live in North Carolina, you can still write to your own state representatives. Stand up to hate by forwarding this message to five of your friends and encouraging them to sign up for We Can Stop The Hate alerts. Together, we can make a difference.

Sincerely,
The National Council of La Raza

The youth development of Arnold Schwarzenegger , or why our governor is so damn stupid

UndergroundMatias — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:44:47 GMT

Arnold, once again, refuses to stand for equal access to education and vetoes the California Dream Act (SB1301). And, with this, hundreds of activists across the state are left wondering, what could we have done differently?
The groundwork was done: newspaper editorials gave them support, chambers of commerce and school boards pushed resolutions in their favor, and even a few conservatives were willing to speak out in favor of this bill.

And still there was a veto.

It seems the booby-grabbing, cigar-smoking walking plastic surgery with orange hair that we have for a governor cannot be counted to think rationally about an issue that involves a combination of a moral call to action with outside-the-box thinking on behalf of economic development.

Why? In part, it's because he doesn't know what is it to be a poor college student, let alone an undocumented one. At the Power and Unity Coalition rally two weeks ago, one could witness eager action combined with fresh intellectualism. Hundreds of mostly Latino college students chanted, gave speeches, recited poetry, laughed, and cried over their society's current ills. Could the governor, as an immigrant, see through the foggy politics of nativism and decide in favor of these students? Could he share the vision expressed on their blue signs, those that expressed their future professions and the dreams they hoped to achieve? The answer is no. He doesn't know because these high-achieving students do not seem familiar to him. After all, when he was young, he wasn't trying to get himself ahead and change the world, he was learning how to say "ass" in Portuguese:

Arnold the politician is not far removed from Arnold the young stud: a lucky guy who got to see the world because of his profession, yet spent his time playing a game and abusing his power, rather than seeing the opportunity his position provided him.

Now, I appreciate bodybuilding as a skill and as a profession - one time, I even spent a whole summer building a perfect beer belly. But I do not think that is a youth profession that prepares you for a position of leadership, and this was demonstrated last night. At the last hour of the legislative year, Arnold struck out a common sense bill with a nonsensical veto message. But the message of the students, as they left the capitol was level-headed and clear, in the type of one-liner that the governor can both deliver and understand: We'll be back.

The Sanctuary - Recommended Diaries

Join the call for the resignation of a bigoted Sherriff in North Carolina

The youth development of Arnold Schwarzenegger , or why our governor is so damn stupid