Arizona Immigration

  

Now, after passing the nation’s toughest immigration law, one that gives the police broad power to stop people on suspicion of being here illegally, Arizona state finds itself in perhaps the harshest spotlight in a decade.

         
Joseph M. Arpaio, Sheriff in Arizona.    

"Joseph M. Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, is a hero to those who campaign against illegal immigration and a pariah to immigration advocates. A publicity magnet and television darling, Mr Arpaio calls himself  ''the toughest sheriff in America.''...

"...In February 2009, members of Congress asked the Justice and of Department Homeland Security to investigate accusations that the sheriff has engaged in a pattern of racial profiling and other abuses against Latino residents...."

  
"...As sheriff, Mr. Arpaio first gained national attention in the 1990s for forcing inmates to wear pink underwear, housing them in tents and feeding them food of a green hue, and provoked an outcry when he marched 200 illegal immigrant inmates in the streets from one jail to another.

Though he has at times been at war with various municipalities in his jurisdiction, Mr. Arpaio has been re-elected four times, by a double-digit margin, since taking office in 1993."  Oct. 7, 2009. 
 

  In Phoenix, immigrants and advocates for the illegal marched Friday April 23, 2010, outside the State Capitol.

                                  
                                               In  Phoenix,  Maria Luis fears losing her sons Lambert (l.) and Jose

Luis family fears approval of Arizona's immigration law will break them apart.  BY EDGAR SANDOVAL  DAILY NEWS. 
 ....The family is divided by their birthplaces: Jose Luis and his mother are from Mexico; his two siblings were born in Arizona. The legislation, the toughest in the nation, gives cops the power to arrest anyone who can't prove he lives in the U.S. legally. The state's estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants include Jose Luis and his mom, who launched a new life in Arizona when she was 19 and her baby boy just 1.                           "I never thought the law would get this far. Now I'm afraid to lose some of my children," said his mom, Maria, 39 years old...

Demonstrators protest Arizona's new immigration enforcement law outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building in Phoenix.

Union Square New York City.

A Cowboy sings in French Creole .

A  documentary by "The Music Voyager" about the Cajun & Zydeco music with Cedric Wastson (nominee for 52nd GRAMMYs 2010).  Here is a taste of the Cedric's story...

                        Cedric and the Bijou Creole band are playing a song called 'La Vieille Chanson de Mardi Gras'. 

 
Here’s Cedric Watson on the fiddle jamming with accordion player, Corey Ledet.  Love that washboard.  I remember two trips I made with my friends (Mat and Manu) in the Bayou...

 
Live at the Blue Moon Saloon, the rare duo jamming it out Creole and Zydeco.

 Cedric:"I'm one of the few to sing in creole French but there are others doing the same as me like Geoffrey Broussard and the Creole Cowboys and Geno Delafose." 

His skill singing in creole is amazing when you consider that coming from San Felipe, Texas, he did not grow up in a French-speaking community. "I took some language courses on the Louisiana French Emergence programs run in Lafayette," he said. 

"So now I can speak creole."  He says the interest in creole French is coming back to the music.



Watson's second album is "L'Esprit Creole". 

Cedric Wastson's Link:  http://www.cedricwatson.com/

Health Care, teabaggers.

Tea Party protester threatens interviewer in front of the  U.S. Capitol  March 2010, in Washington D.C.  

Angry Teabaggers against a counterprotester,  in Washington D.C.

A year ago, a new political movement, the Tea Party,  appeared. Begun as local protests over taxes and federal government spending, the self-styled Tea Party movement was aggressively promoted by Fox News.  

The Tea Party movement is a far-flung coalition of conservative groups angered by Washington and Obama's government. The 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than 45, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll released in April 2010. They are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public.

In front of the  U.S. Capitol  April 15 2010, in Washington D.C. 

 Tea Partiers hold more conservative views on a range of issues than Republicans generally. They are also more likely to describe themselves as "very conservative" and Obama as "very liberal." And while most Republicans say they are "dissatisfied" with Washington, Tea Party supporters are more likely to classify themselves as "angry."

It takes its name from the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when colonists dumped tea off English ships to protest what they considered unfair taxation by the British crown.    
Today, the tea partiers spend most of their energy fighting a health-care reform bill. They call  President Obama as  a socialist, a Nazi, a communist, a dictator. 

An extract of the  article "The Rage Is Not About Health Care". Published: March 27, 2010 By Frank Rich in the New York Times.
".....If Obama’s first legislative priority had been immigration or financial reform or climate change, we would have seen the same trajectory. The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play.....When you hear demonstrators chant the slogan “Take our country back!,” these are the people they want to take the country back from. They can’t........" 


An extract of the article "With No Jobs, Plenty of Time for Tea Party".  Published: March 27, 2010 By Kate Zernike in The New York Times. 
".... (Tea Party's) activists  often tell a similar story in interviews: they had lost their jobs, or perhaps watched their homes plummet in value, and they found common cause in the Tea Party’s fight for lower taxes and smaller government... The Tea Party vehemently wants less  (government involvement)— though a number of its members acknowledge that they are relying on government programs for help..."



Ohio, Tea Partiers Mock And Scorn A Parkinson's Victim, Bob.
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio, on March 17th 2010,  teabaggers mocked and scorned a man, Bob,  who had a sign stating that he had Parkinson's. They told him "he's in the wrong end of town to ask for handouts", called him a communist and threw dollar bills at him to "pay for his health care". 



Bob, the man with Parkinson's who was targeted by the Tea Partiers, sat down with Progress Ohio for an interview. He is 60 years old and was first diagnosed with Parkinsons 15 years ago. He has two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer.  Bob was able to have a $150,000 surgery that greatly increased his quality of life. He attended the event in Columbus because he believes in giving back and thinks everyone should have access to affordable health insurance and quality health care. 

A week in Mexico City.

 

Enjoying the sport in Mexico City

"Lucha Libre" (free fighting). Mistico vs Volador.

Thursday 11 February 2010. In the "Arena México", finally the time arrived for the big finale, the defending champion Mistico vs Volador. Mistico throughout the whole match was clearly winning. He spent most of the time preening to the audience as his opponent lay on the floor. However, in the last minute Volador came through and won the match. We have no idea how!!!! Mistico though was not a gracious loser. He punched out the ref, floored Volador and then pulled off his trousers before stealing the belt and running off. Now really who is the champion??!! It was so funny, that we could not stop laughing. A genius night!!!

After the game, around "La Arena de México" in the street.

Video with my friend, Eric, before the game.

"Estadio Azteca", AMERICA 2, CRUZ AZUL 0.

                             "Estadio Azteca", is the only stadium ever to host two FIFA World Cup final matches, in 1970 and in 1986. With a capacity of 105,000, it is the largest stadium in Latin America and fifth largest in the world. Sunday February 15, 2010, I was in the stadium to see a game in the MEXICAN LEAGUE, AMERICA 2, CRUZ AZUL 0. Fantastico!!!

Eating in Mexico City.

"Tostadas de pulpo" or "tostadas de ceviche", fish cooked with lemon.

                    
                                 "Quesadillas",  "Huitlacoche": fingus of the corn or "Flor de calavasa".

 

              "El  camotero".  He sells sweet potatoes with honey, in the street.  This mobile man moves all the time with his amazing oven.

In Coyocan, "Las tostadas". In a street, "Las quesadillas".
"El camotero".