New Obama Will.i.am Video Released Today

Featuring several Latino and Latina celebs; much to the disdain of Adelfa Callejo, I’m sure.

 

Corbett Trial: Day 2

This is ongoing information-sharing about the murder trial of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett. On the first day of testimony, the brother of Javier Dominguez-Rivera recounted the events of January 12, 2007. Day two gave defense attorneys the opportunity for cross examination.

One of the key contradictions Chapman raised was a statement that the brother gave to Cochise County investigators last year, in which he told investigators he saw Corbett strike his brother Francisco Javier Domínguez Rivera in the head with the butt of his gun.

But there were no bruises on Francisco Javier Domínguez Rivera’s head, neck or shoulders, and the brother said he wasn’t sure if he was struck specifically with the gun.

“I don’t know if he hit him with the butt, this part of the gun, or the hand,” the brother said through an interpreter.

Chapman also sought to show that the Mexican Consulate had attempted to influence testimony.

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The defense is also trying to claim that the family is lying about their testimony in order to gain citizenship to the U.S.

Finally, Chapman raised a class-action lawsuit Jorge is part of that is pursuing visa and citizenship rights. But prosecutor Grant Woods, a former state attorney general who has been hired by the Cochise County attorney to handle the case, told the jury the class action lawsuit was filed by Catholic Charities and was specifically for illegal entrants who assisted law enforcement with criminal investigations.

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Motives are being questioned by the defense while hard facts look to be on the side of the prosecution. The brothers’ testimonies align with the video of the shooting that was aired in the courtroom as well as the medical examiner’s report. Contradictions are already being exposed in Corbett’s accounting of the shooting, with the location of the incident being one of them.

Ritchie also said that she was led to believe — again based on reports of Corbett’s initial story to other agents — that the shooting happened behind his vehicle at a distance of about 5 feet.

Forensics evidence has shown the shooting happened at the back right corner of the vehicle at a distance between 3 inches and a foot.

Here are some notes from Derechos Humanos on the day’s deliberations:

Interestingly, according to Rene after the shooting but before the arrival of the other agent, Corbett went to his car and began smoking, walking back to where they were with a cigarette in hand. Rene denied anyone, including Francisco Javier, threatening the agent in any form. He further denied talking about what their story would be, stating that the only thing they talked about was what they would tell their parents. He also denied that Francisco Javier ever had a rock in his hand. He stated emphatically that they were all surrendering to Corbett when it happened.

The defense attorney then began his cross-examination. He did not shake Rene, though he tried to highlight that they kept walking as Corbett was driving, that they did not just stop and surrender. He made Rene state several times that it was Francisco Javier who had made arrangements with the coyote, and that since he was the only one who had been to the US, they did not know much about how they would be picked up. (During the testimony of Det. Ritchie it was established that the airline tickets for all four of them were found in the backpacks.) The attorney made it a point to make him admit that they crossed illegally, and that they wanted to go back to México and come to cross illegally again. Cross-examination to continue tomorrow.

 

This Blog Rated E for Excelente

I’d like to send a hearty ¡Ahooooahh! (the Mexican version, not the military one) over to my blog amigos at Drinking Liberally in New Milford and The Sirens Chronicles for tagging this humble blog as a recipient for the ‘E for Excellent’ Award.

This is not something I do full-time. It’s just a hobby, albeit an important one to me. The energy levels ebb and flow with each day, but I’ve always considered it worth it to create a space that can channel my thoughts. Little by little the traffic has risen around here, and it’s in part due to building relationships with other bloggers who share solidarity with the things that fill these posts each day.

I’m happy to have had the opportunity to network and dialog with people all across this country as a result of being infected by the blogging virus, and looking forward to doing more of that very soon. We have to restore balance to the narrative of how we treat one another, and it won’t happen through silence – so here are some people that I am happy to pass on the ¡Premio Excelente! over to:

• Craig at Random Musings – for keeping us up to speed on the antics of the dwellers in the Valle del Sol. He is a blogger who is both activist and journalist with a healthy sense of humor, my favorite type.
• Jan at happening-here? – her blog embodies human rights, and she just had a blogiversary, so go say hi!
• Tedski at Rum, Romanism and Rebellion – R Cubed is my favorite Grand Canyon State blog. Reading any post there will show you why. Plus, he has ¡Free Baja Arizona! stickers
• Jen at You Would Think – a blogging friend who’s on the short list of Must Meet Someday. She makes me laugh, think and grow every time she creates a new post.
• field at the field negro – tells it like it is, we need more of that. plus, the sidebar pictures and commentary usually have me howling in laughter at my desk.
• NL at Smartypants – she’s turned her blog into a forum for asking the deep, and often difficult, questions of why we treat one another a certain way and how to move forward on a more humane path.
• XicanoPwr at ¡Para Justicia y Libertad! – I can never say enough great things about him and the work he’s done over the years to re-frame the immigration debate online in a perspective that speaks to those of us who find ourselves targeted by the rhetoric of hate.
• boran2 at Survivor Left Blogistan – not only is he a painter, he has been covering the ongoing assault on our national parks and environment for the couple of years I’ve been reading him. He’s also a loyal commenter all over the neighborhood and a great person to meet in person (can’t wait to return to the red rocks!)
• olivia at parvum opus – her breathtaking photos are a reminder that there is still beauty in this world, all it takes is a little patience to stop and find it. A macro lens helps, too. jejeje
• nezua at The Unapologetic Mexican – hilarious, witty and versed on the art of slaying ignorance. His writing pushes me to do refine my voice in this medium and that of the outside world.

There are many others that are deserving of wider recognition. I hope you’ll take the time to step away from the bigger sites and find out what intrepid work is being done out here in the boonies. A good start are the blogrolls to your right ——->

paz
y namaste

 

Murder Trial Begins for Border Patrol Agent

This incident has been covered extensively at this blog. Now, the trial is underway with opening remarks showing the stark difference of interpretation of what happened on January 12, 2007. It’s the word of the family of Javier Dominguez-Rivera against the Department of Homeland Security.

Sean Chapman told jurors that his client [Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett] was justified when he fired the fatal shot because Dominguez was threatening to “crush his head with a rock,” and that Corbett had made a split-second decision to act in self-defense, as he had been trained to do.

Earlier, special prosecutor Grant Woods said in his opening remarks that 22-year-old Francisco Dominguez “was surrendering, going down on his knees, was hit from behind, yanked and shot through the heart.”

Woods said that forensic and medical evidence, from ballistics information to the autopsy results, along with the witnesses’ testimony and a Border Patrol video would prove that the killing was not justifiable.

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The only reason this is being tried is because there is a videotape of the shooting. Otherwise, we would be seeing a repeat of the injustice surrounding the killing of Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez two years ago in southern California.

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Department of Justice has cleared a Border Patrol agent of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a suspected smuggler whose death two years ago focused attention on increasing violence at the California-Mexico border.

The 18-year-old who died, Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez, was allegedly throwing rocks at the agent, who shot him in the upper back on a dangerous stretch of the San Diego-Tijuana border in December 2005.

Prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, who investigated whether the shooting constituted an excessive use of force, said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

[snip]

Federal prosecutors did not disclose details of their investigation. But agents said the fact that Martinez was shot in the back didn’t necessarily mean he was running away. He could have just finished throwing the rock, or he could have been reaching for another, they said.

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Will update information as it becomes available over the course of the proceedings.

[UPDATE] Here is a write-up by Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos. The very mention of her name makes nativist heads asplode, but she is a true champion of human rights. Hmm, perhaps that’s why they can’t stand her?

 

It’s All Fun and Games Until…

…you stab your cuñado.

Maybe the Democratic debates should come with an R rating.

Things turned violent in a Montgomery County home during a televised debate between candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It ended with Obama supporter Sean Shurelds being taken to Hahnemann Hospital with stab wounds that were allegedly inflicted by his brother-in-law, Clinton backer Jose Ortiz.

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The chingasos happened last Thursday during the debate in Tejas. I seriously doubt that last night’s snooze-fest in Ohio could inflame such idiocy. Unless, of course, you found your temper boiling at the lack of pillows on the stage.

SEN. CLINTON: Well, can I just point out that in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time. And I don’t mind. I — you know, I’ll be happy to field them, but I do find it curious, and if anybody saw “Saturday Night Live,” you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow. (Laughter, boos.) I just find it kind of curious that I keep getting the first question on all of these issues. But I’m happy to answer it.

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To be fair, I think both Democratic candidates need to put the brakes on petty side-skirmishes like this. It’s coming from both directions, while things like this hit the headlines of communities:

The U.S. Supreme Court may shed light on a festering legal issue when it rules on a Tucson case involving a warrantless search of a suspect’s car, but the decision likely won’t affect a lot of people, lawyers say.

“It’s an interesting legal problem,” said University of Arizona law professor Gabriel J. “Jack” Chin. “But it’s probably not going to be a landmark.”

The justices announced Monday they will hear arguments in a case involving Rodney Joseph Gant to decide whether officers must demonstrate a threat to their safety or the need to preserve evidence to justify a warrantless search.

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‘Cuz warrantless searches are all the rage in this day and age.

 

Tejas Latinos United Against Border Wall

Poll results courtesy of a survey sponsored by Texas A&M/Latino Decisions (a nonpartisan group)

Texas’ Latino voters do not support a border fence.

Despite the conventional wisdom among many commentators, the data couldn’t be clearer. Our poll finds that 73 percent of Texas Latinos think a wall along the Texas-Mexico border is an ineffective policy idea that will not decrease illegal immigration into the United States.

On this issue, the survey finds agreement across party lines. Among Republicans, 70 percent are opposed to the border fence, as are 72 percent of independents and 74 percent of Democrats.

Step one is to put an immediate stop to the theft of land along the line. Step two is to get a government that actually listens to residents that live here. Step three is to communicate to the rest of the country that we are not at war with Latin America and that it’s offensive to treat the situation down here as if it’s the Korean DMZ.

 

Miscellany

Apparently the primary silly season is entering the crescendo phase. I’m just glad that I (mostly) adhere to my absolutely-no-blogging-on-the-weekends rule. It’s important for me to not stay plugged in to the constant bickering and UserX-centric world that can be found no matter which site currently enjoys my browser’s attention. I think it’s hilarious that we think we can know with certainty that a person views a situation in the exact way we interpret their writing, when it’s highly probably that there is much more going on with a person’s head space than is presented.

Not really thinking of anything specific here, just some anecdotal words that I felt like writing after skimming my RSS feeds. Perhaps it’s due to my head space on this final Monday of February in 2008. In the past 72 hours I’ve traveled over 300 miles, helped run a horseshoe tournament, and heard that an ex-girlfriend’s younger brother was killed in a car accident.

It’s bizarre how one can be transported back nearly fifteen years without skipping a beat, yet that’s how long it had been since I’d seen him. No family should have to deal with the tragedy that they are experiencing. I don’t even know that I’ll get the chance to share condolences with her, but I have sent word via a mutual friend that I was praying for them all. We’ve managed to salvage some type of friendship over the years despite plenty of drama, most of which was created by outside players, but I maintain distance out of respect for her husband. Still, my heart is sick today.

 

Corazón de Justicia Awards Dinner

A true celebration of progressive activism.

Corazón de Justicia Awards Dinner
Sunday, March 2, 2008
6:30pm

Dunbar Cultural Center (click for map)
325 W. 2nd Street
Tucson, Arizona 85705

This year, the Corazón de Justicia Awards will have the privilege of Gerald Lenoir, Coordinator of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration as our keynote speaker. BAJI has done an incredible amount of work to engage African Americans and other communities in a dialogue that leads to actions that challenge U.S. immigration policy and the underlying issues of race, racism and economic inequity that frame it.

Please join us on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 6:30pm at the Dunbar Cultural Center (325 W. 2nd Street) as we honor the strength and courage of these inspiring community members in the struggle for justice and human rights in our community.

RSVP Information and Award Recipients listed here

 

More Signs That Utah Gets It

A welcomed piece from the Salt Lake Tribune.

The 47th Congress was a busy bunch of bigots. In March of 1882, they passed the Edmunds Act, a notorious anti-Mormon law that barred polygamists from voting, serving on juries or holding office. This law (along with related statutes) sent hundreds of Mormon men into federal prison and shattered families across Mormon country.

Barely a month later, that same Congress passed another odious law. Called the Chinese Exclusion Act, it was the first major federal immigration law, and it was explicitly designed to keep out the despised Asian immigrants. It set the framework for the draconian approach to immigration that continues to this day.

Both the hateful immigration laws and hateful anti-Mormon laws were challenged in court. The racist Supreme Court of the era upheld both laws in close succession, with telling language that compared Mormons to Asians. Apparently, that was reason enough to allow persecution of both groups.

This tainted history is just one reason why some Latter-day Saints like me are troubled by current immigration laws and proposals. Today’s harsh laws and harsher proposals are a direct legacy of the most hateful anti-Mormon legislators of the late 19th century.

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Little by little, a more expansive coalition of people are uniting to fight back against the modern day haters. The country is bound to repeat the shameful mistakes of the past as long as groups who were targets in the past, forget that they or their ancestors once wore the shoes of those slated for exploitation and ridicule. Very promising that more public factions of the LDS community are speaking out against the xenophobes.

 

Renzi Indicted

There’s a special place in hell for lawmakers who gamble away the rights of their constituencies without ever bothering to visit that particular area in their jurisdiction. The land swap that has finally put Rick Renzi (AZ-01) under indictment involves an area near my ancestral hometown that has never seen their so-called Congressional Representative engage them directly on the theft of land he has proposed. No wonder – it’s all been used as a rouse to fill his wallet with kickbacks.

Renzi is charged with using the power of his office, and in particular his spot on the House Natural Resources Committee, to push through a land sale that he personally benefited from in 2005. Renzi also is accused of funneling more than $100,000 from a longtime business associate into his 2002 campaign for Congress. Renzi was elected to the district that takes in most of northern Arizona, as well as parts of eastern Pinal County.

Other charges in the indictment allege Renzi conspired to embezzle money from a Virginia insurance company he owed by misappropriating more than $400,000 in premiums. He used most of that money to help finance his 2002 campaign, according to the charges.

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More local coverage:

• Arizona Republic
• Associated Press via Arizona Daily Star with images of the indictment and announcement
• KTAR.com