The Arizonafication of America

This week, perhaps more than ever, the majority sector of the Arizona legislature looks like a veritable madhouse.

This wild gang is of course led by Russell Pearce, the president of the state senate. He has renewed his attack on immigrants with his latest concoction, a 30-page hodge-podge of poison aimed at education at all levels, public services, licenses for drivers and vehicles -- and on and on he goes.

This is the same guy who wants legislators to be able to bring their guns to work.

It is hard to pick the most repulsive part of the never-ending barrage coming out of Phoenix, but I would say it is the attempt to make immigration officers out of hospital workers. That and the attack on birthright citizenship.

The madness of course does not stop with Arizona. Copy this URL from the Southern Poverty Law Center and read how the plague is spreading:

The Arizonification of America http://bit.ly/gKhDy6

Obama' s 2009 Cairo speech

On June 4, 2009, President Obama gave a powerful speech in Cairo. Many believe it was a major inspiration for the young people of Egypt who have nonviolently brought down the Mubarak presidency. Here are some quotes from the speech:

* I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

* In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."

* The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.

* Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.

* Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.

* It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

* The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called (children) of God."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.
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If you would like to read the whole text, paste this short URL into your browser:

http://tinyurl.com/6a8auox

Vigilante Barnett pays again

(I am sorry to have been away from Blogger for the past two weeks. Time was so limited that I did not even get to Twitter for five days. But I've been back to daily tweets since February 1, and now here goes with my blog.)

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With the ceaseless flow of terrible news about these borderlands (and the much-less-mentioned constant deportations that tear families apart), great news has come from the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision of a February 2009 federal jury was upheld by the court. Notorious "Minuteman" vigilante Roger Barnett will now have to pay $87,000 in damages for assaulting a group of 16 undocumented migrants -- five women and 11 men -- in 2004. He held the group captive and threatened them with his gun and his dog, telling them he would shoot anybody who tried to get away.

Barnett claimed he acted in self defense but even he said that nobody had threatened or attacked him.

This is the second conviction for Barnett. In 2008, the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld a November 2006 conviction for false imprisonment of a Hispanic family from Douglas (who happened to be US citizens.) He attacked them -- a family that included two little girls of 9 and 11 -- with racist language and threats that he would kill them with his gun. That court decision meant that Barnett had to pay $100,000 in damages.

The presiding judge in the 2009 trial was Judge John Roll, who was killed in the January 8 Safeway massacre that took the lives of six Tucsonans and wounded 13. A conservative judge highly respected for his fairness and patience, Roll was hounded with death threats during the case and had to have 24-hour police protection -- one more illustration for the rest of our country and the world of what is going on here in Arizona.




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