After Fatal Beating, Racial Tension, and Police Corruption, Shenandoah Inches toward Justice

by: kesquivel@nclr.org

Wed Dec 15, 2010 at 23:00:00 PM EST

Three federal indictments that include commission of a hate crime, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, official misconduct, and extortion have been recently handed down by a federal grand jury in the case of the fatal beating of Luis Ramirez.  On July 12, 2008, Ramirez was beaten to death when his alleged assailants attacked him in the street on their way home from a town festival, kicking and hitting him while members of the group yelled racial slurs.  Ramirez died from the injuries he sustained in that hateful attack, leaving behind his partner and their two children, whose interests the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) represented in court soon thereafter.  

In spite of the horrific details of the crime, damning evidence, and a number of serious criminal charges, the state trial released the defendants with little more than a slap on the wrist.  This was not a trial for a petty infraction mind you, but rather a case whose outcome should have found justice for a man's death and for his surviving family.  Therefore, MALDEF called upon the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the fatal beating and the accounts of police misconduct that were brought forth in testimony at the trial.

The indictments, just unsealed yesterday after being returned on December 10, 2009, allege that Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky--the primary defendants in the murder trial--and others, including some members of the Shenandoah Police Department, conspired to obstruct the investigation of Ramirez's murder.  An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt, so justice still has yet to be served.  

Words Do Matter Mr. Obama

by: Duke Reed

Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 02:06:12 AM EDT

I received one of those letters a few days ago.  It was from our beloved friend and colleague, Ted Kennedy.  He had written it back in May, shortly after he was told that his illness was terminal.  He asked that it be delivered upon his death.

In it, he spoke about what a happy time his last months were, thanks to the love and support of family and friends, his wife, Vicki, his amazing children, who are all here tonight.  And he expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform -- "that great unfinished business of our society," he called it -- would finally pass.  He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that "it concerns more than material things."  "What we face," he wrote, "is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country."

I've thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days -- the character of our country.  One of the unique and wonderful things about America has always been our self-reliance, our rugged individualism, our fierce defense of freedom and our healthy skepticism of government.  And figuring out the appropriate size and role of government has always been a source of rigorous and, yes, sometimes angry debate.  That's our history.  

For some of Ted Kennedy's critics, his brand of liberalism represented an affront to American liberty.  In their minds, his passion for universal health care was nothing more than a passion for big government.

But those of us who knew Teddy and worked with him here -- people of both parties -- know that what drove him was something more.  His friend Orrin Hatch -- he knows that.  They worked together to provide children with health insurance.  His friend John McCain knows that.  They worked together on a Patient's Bill of Rights.  His friend Chuck Grassley knows that.  They worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities.

On issues like these, Ted Kennedy's passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience.  It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer.  He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick.  And he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance, what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better, but I just can't afford it.

That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling.  It's not a Republican or a Democratic feeling.  It, too, is part of the American character -- our ability to stand in other people's shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.

This has always been the history of our progress.  In 1935, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism, but the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it.  In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- did not back down.  They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind.  

You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem.  They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom.  But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited.  And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter -- that at that point we don't merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges.  We lose something essential about ourselves.

whitehouse.gov

On Thursday, Rachel Maddow replayed that section of the President's speech and asked a rhetorical question as to whether Obama's soaring rhetoric about Kennedy was merely an homage to another man's liberalism or the first revelation of his own

But Maddow needed only to rewind the tape back a few minutes, and listen carefully to the words the President chose, to get the answer to that question.

When will the injustice triggered by hate, end for Denis Calderon & Julio Maldonado?

by: Maria

Mon Sep 07, 2009 at 11:02:24 AM EDT

I still remember how I first heard of the incident. I was with family and was just arriving Virginia Beach (wee hours of the morning) when I decided to turn on the radio to hear the day's forecast when suddenly I heard... "Denis Calderon and Julio Maldonado have been arrested for aggravated assault... ". I then turned to my hubby and said "WOW, check that out... there are two Latinos in VB with the same name as my cousins..." because "NO way, NO how", would I have ever imagined that my cousins who are loving, non-violent good guys would ever do such a thing, besides Julio lives in NY and Denis in Philly and I was in VB... so I thought, nah... just a coincidence.

Boy was I wrong... as I learned the next morning when after calling my sister to check in (yeah, we're a very close family), she told me that Denis and Julio had been attacked the night before and that they were "OK, although Denis had been stabbed, it didn't seem to be deep cuts..." and that the police were just holding them until further investigation. Well, since my family has never dealt with any criminal legal issues in the past, they just trusted everything was going to be alright, since it was an attack that they survived.

Boy were we wrong... evident by the fact that Denis and Julio are now facing deportation as a result of the miscarriage of justice that occurred during their trial and all the injustices they have faced since then.

Oh yes, there is a lot in between and too many details to include on this post, but this is my first and it will not be my last... meanwhile

PLEASE VISIT  http://www.DenisAndJulioAndFai... to read the issues that impacted these Latinos and how they were victims of hate and
SIGN OUR PETITION at http://www.change.org/actions/... to HELP END THE INJUSTICE FOR DENIS and JULIO

A Long Look in the Mirror

by: Duke Reed

Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 17:14:34 PM EDT

As he approached the intersection of Division and West Avenues, three white teens hanging out in a nearby parking lot called out to him. Seconds later he was struck in the face, knocked to the ground, and as the teens shouted racial slurs, robbed of cash and other personal items.  .... Just another case of "beaner hopping" in Long Island's Suffolk County.

Nine months earlier, within a stones throw of last Friday's incident, Marcelo Lucero was walking with a friend, minding his own business, when seven teens decided he would be their next, and final, victim in a long night of  physical harassment of Latino neighbors played out as sport by the gang of marauding racist youths.

Within moments, Lucero lay on the ground bleeding to death from stab wounds....wounds inflicted as part of a sick, racist, game.

Despite international outrage, investigations by Justice Department, changes in police personnel, and various other attempts to stem the tide of anti-Latino violence in an area so notorious for its racist attacks that the Mexican government has long warned travelers to avoid it, the attacks obviously continue.

But, should we really be surprised.

What has really changed since that night back in early November when Marcelo Lucero's life oozed out onto the cold Long Island pavement?

What You Hath Wrought and With Vitriol Sought

by: nezua

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 14:49:22 PM EDT

Something needs to change, when US citizens already suffering from a terrible loss are attacked by other citizens en masse, and for what? For having Spanish names! Wow. I feel like the past has reared up, the days of Civil Rights era struggle, the days of anti-Greaser hate, the days of Los Vatos Locos and the dangerous fabled Pachuco. We are still fighting. La Lucha Sigue.

Flores por Brisenia

by: nezua

Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 16:59:29 PM EDT

HATECRIME:Punched Face for Speaking Spanish!Why "Official English" Laws will Increase Hate Crimes!

by: dee321

Tue Jan 27, 2009 at 17:16:59 PM EST

A 53-year-old San Jose man was having a personal conversation on his cell phone, speaking in Spanish, minding his own business, when he was suddenly attacked, punched in the face, as the white suspect, Scott Pontzious, 28, of San Jose, screamed "Speak English!!"

Imagine, walking down the street, having a private conversation with your friend on a cell phone, then, out of the blue, some young maniac comes up to you and punches you in the face and runs away!

Of course this is not surprising news, given the rhetoric going on daily on any ANTI Immigration Reform website or newspaper comment section discussing "Official English."  

Marcelo Lucero's Murder - A Reflection One Month Later

by: LMVT

Tue Dec 09, 2008 at 14:26:42 PM EST

It's hard to believe that it has been a month since the tragic murder of Marcelo Lucero. I have found myself the last four weeks being asked where I was when I heard about his death, much like the conversation so many New Yorkers have had about September 11th.

The truth is that I spend so much of my work week reading the news, that I try to avoid the news at all costs on the weekends....usually unsuccessfully. However, the weekend of November 8th, I had spent quality time with my husband and away from my computer and the tv. Late that Sunday night, I heard my cell phone ringing after 10pm, which was unusual for a Sunday night. When I answered it was my fellow-blogger Pat...poor guy didn't realize I didn't know yet and he was the bearer of very sad news.

My stomach sank. I threw-up, my worst fear being realized. An innocent man was murdered by a group of teens because of the color of his skin....in a community I love and have lived in....in an area I have walked dozens of times late at night and never felt unsafe. And then I felt sick again as I realized that my safety was ensured mostly because my skin color matched most of the young men who committed this dispicable crime.

That night and for two weeks after, my sleep was restless from endless nightmares.

Hate doesn't happen in a vacuum

by: Duke Reed

Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 21:57:55 PM EST

Under the leadership of its County Executive, the county has enacted some of the toughest anti-immigrant laws in the nation, making its chief executive, Steve Levy, a national spokesman for the restrictionist cause. .... and his county a hotbed of anti-immigrant hate.

They told police they wanted to beat up someone who looked Hispanic.

That was the motive, police said, that a mob of seven young men had in mind when they attacked a Patchogue man, who ended up being stabbed to death minutes before midnight Saturday, Suffolk police said.

"These individuals told detectives that they were looking to beat someone of Latino heritage," said Det. Lt Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the homicide squad, adding that the victim, Marcello Lucero, 37, is of Ecuadorian descent.

Fitzpatrick said the seven suspects drove around Patchogue searching for victims and found Lucero and another Ecuadorian man.

Cops: Fatal stabbing of Patchogue man a hate crime - Newsday

Hate Group complains about new campaign exposing them

by: Duke Reed

Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 19:31:19 PM EDT

Today the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), America's Voice, Center for New Community, and the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) launched a print ad denouncing known hate group, FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform), for poisoning the immigration debate with bigoted, xenophobic hate speech.  In support of the ad, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina issued the following statement:

"It's time that everyone learns who FAIR's founders, leaders and followers truly are. They are not reformers, but a group of extremists whose leaders are fostering a bigoted, anti-immigrant, anti-American agenda that we must stop."
SEIU

Veiw ad here

Needless to say FAIR fired back with a tersely worded response claiming that the ad did not accurately represent the group, its leaders, or members, claiming that the ad used "stock photos of individuals who have no association with FAIR to incite hatred against anyone who has the audacity to oppose their views on immigration policy."

Having been unable to convince the American public that a mass illegal alien amnesty was justified or served any public interest, advocates for amnesty have launched an orchestrated and well-financed campaign to smear the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and others involved in defeating last year's immigration bill. Using full-page ads in today's editions of The Politico and Roll Call, this coalition of special interest groups uses inflammatory language and stock photos of individuals who have no association with FAIR to incite hatred against anyone who has the audacity to oppose their views on immigration policy. The tone and content of these ads demonstrates that their strategy to silence proponents of immigration reform has resulted in the ugliest and most negative public relations campaign in the history of American politics.

...Does this ugly ad campaign reflect the tone of change we are to expect from the new wave of political operatives we can expect to descend on Washington at the end of this year? After all, isn't a change from the nasty, divisive rhetoric of Washington what the American public is demanding? If it is, the state of public discourse in the U.S. truly is at a new low. FAIR stands by its record and we call upon all Americans to reject the blatant attempt on the part of a small coalition of radical organizations to halt meaningful debate about one of the most important public policy issues of our time.

FAIR

So in the spirit of fair play ....what follows are quotes and photos of FAIR's former Western Regional Representative Joe Turner at some rallies he organized with his first anti-immigrant group, Save Our State.

REFORMER CORNER
FAIR's New Western Region Representative Joe Turner  

Although I had been passionately interested in the subject of illegal immigration since 1994, it wasn't until a few high profile raids in Southern California and pointed criticism of the complacent political establishment by the Los Angeles-based "John & Ken Show" talk radio program during the summer of 2004, that I decided to become an activist and founded Save Our State, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Save Our State was the first organization to highlight The Home Depot's partnering with local governments to establish day laborer centers. Combined with our filming and monitoring of employers at these day labor centers, we helped bring national attention to this phenomenon. Our protests and refusal to "turn the other cheek" in hostile areas like Maywood and Baldwin Park, California, drew the attention of hundreds of police officers in riot gear, SWAT teams and hundreds of radical supporters of open borders. As a result, Save Our State became one of the most widely recognized local immigration reform groups.

I am the author of the original Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which is the first attempted use of the direct initiative process in San Bernardino, California, to mitigate the harmful effects of illegal immigration at the local level. It was my hope that this would serve as a template and empower other cities with the political will and desire to tackle the illegal immigration issue. Since this groundbreaking measure, cities across the nation work to emulate this model in local ordinances thanks to the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

My nuts and bolts, boots on the ground perspective and experiences will allow me to guide others and help them avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes that can hinder growth. It is my ultimate goal to empower activists and organizations by providing them access to the vast resources and tools available through FAIR.

FAIR

Mr Turner presents a very profession picture of his early career as an "organizer" in his FAIR bio ...what he neglected to include in his little autobiography were some of his more incendiary remarks like:

"I am sick and tired of all the white bashing that goes on through the use of political correctness as an indoctrinating tool,"

or,  "I am sick and tired of multiculturalism, meaning, let's celebrate every culture as long as it isn't a European/white culture."

or, "just because one believes in white separatism that does not make them a racist."

...and of course then there's those pictures of him leading an anti-day laborer rally in Laguna Beach CA in 2005.  

Feel better now Dan Stein? ....  no more "stock photos"

John Tanton and Peter Brimelow Publish Racist Tract Together

by: ragemail

Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 14:34:00 PM EDT

P.S. All this racist crap is paid for by you, the taxpayer. VDare is a so-called "non-profit" corporation.

Nativism: A Global Problem

by: yave begnet

Wed May 21, 2008 at 22:22:39 PM EDT

Huckabee's New Strategy - Embrace Hatred

by: Duke Reed

Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 00:04:31 AM EST

Today, two important events demonstrated just how far to the right the Republican Presidential candidates are shifting on the immigration issue. The first was the endorsement of Iowa front runner, Mike Huckabee, by Minutemen founder, Jim Gilchrist ... not so much for the fact that Gilchrist is once again trying to thrust his agenda center stage ... but rather Huckabee's willingness to embrace it.

On stage at an event in Council Bluffs with Gilchrist ,Huckabee characterized the anti-immigrant vigilante as  "a person who just got fed up with what he saw as a breakdown of his own government....Since October of 2004 he's been one of the leading voices in this country trying to bring sanity to an issue that's spiraled.." adding:

"Frankly, Jim I've got to tell you there were times in the early days of the Minutemen I thought what are these guys doing, what are they about," Huckabee said. "I confess I owe you an apology." He said of Gilchrist, "nobody can question his commitment to his country."

Washington Post

The second event was an announcement by the leading civil rights watchdog group, The Southern Poverty Law Center, that the parent organization of the Washington think tank that's been credited with formulating Huckabee's new tough nine-point plan on immigration has been officially placed on their list of Hate Groups operating in the US.

Boom…you're dead

by: Duke Reed

Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 00:00:00 AM EST

18 seconds into the 911 call reporting a burglary at his neighbor's home, 61 year old Pasadena Texas resident, Joe Horn, said to the dispatcher, "I've got a shotgun, uh, do you want me to stop 'em"...after seven minutes of trying to convince Horn to remain in his home and wait for police, Horn finally told the dispatcher, "Well, here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going." ...His next words were "boom, you're, dead"...and with that three shots were fired, and two men lay dead outside of Horn's home.

Killed in the incident in the 7400 block of Timberline were Miguel Antonio DeJesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, both of Houston.

Each had a minor previous brush with the law. Records show DeJesus was charged with failure to identify himself to a police officer in July 2004. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. Ortiz was charged with possession of marijuana in July 2005, but it was later dismissed.

Houston Chronicle

"Illegal" Is Never a Noun

by: Duke Reed

Sun Jan 20, 2008 at 00:00:00 AM EST

On the issue of immigration, politicians and much of the mainstream media are playing with our minds. By repeating the phrase "illegal immigrants," they're creating a misleading stereotype. It's inaccurate. And, it's distracting us from the real issue -- economic exploitation of all low-wage workers in the United States.

The Republicans did it in their YouTube debate on CNN. In the first 30 minutes, the Republicans repeatedly used the term "illegal immigrant" and spent the time sparring over which of them could treat them more harshly. Were the painters who worked on Romney's house and the low-wage workers in Giuliani's New York City really such a grave threat to America

CNN's John King used the term, too. And so did CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Campbell Brown in the most recent Democratic debate in Las Vegas. And, some of the Democratic candidates also used it, though Kucinich specifically refused ("There are no illegal human beings"). But he's in the minority. The term is everywhere in the press. You can find it in the Washington Post and in the New York Times, as well as the doubly derogatory term "illegal alien" in the Washington Times. They've all got "illegal" on the brain.

Branding people with the Scarlet "I" creates a fearful stigma. The vast majority of immigrants, whatever their legal status, are law-abiding members of society. Yet, the "illegal" description is so pervasive that it has us thinking about punishment and revenge, instead of solutions to the real problem -- the economic exploitation of people, both immigrant and native-born.

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The focus of this week's Republican debate on immigration makes one thing clear: We have entered the age of selective humanity. In other words, some humans are more human than others. Nowhere in the debate talk of "illegal aliens" and "sanctuary mansions" or who or what is "American" was there any notion that the undocumented were humans.

As a result, much of the "debate" around immigration has been and continues to be defined by the rage of the anti-immigrant right, a right that champions and humanizes those that shoot and jail migrants instead of focusing on the migrants themselves - who are stripped of anything beyond the parasitic, criminal image that makes for "fiery" television head-butting. Such a climate does not look at the violence and abuse suffered by migrants. It does not ascribe humanity to them.

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