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Is Navarette a closet Republican?

December 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

First, let me say that usually I think Ruben Navarette has things pretty well thought out, and it is rare that I disagree with him as fervently as I do now. This is a good thing, really. I would hate to think I might be a clone of someone else and not a free thinking American.

This is the second time Ruben Navarette has taken an uncharacteristic anti DREAM Act stance in the past few months. Today’s article titled, “DREAMers are pushing their luck  just had me fuming. I wonder how many social causes were hobbled by this kind of sentiment. In his column for CNN he wrote:

I know just what a lot of those so-called DREAMers deserve to get for Christmas: a scolding. There are good and bad actors in every movement, and the bad ones — if not kept in check — can drag the good ones down with them.

 

The bad actors he claims are the ones who protest, stand up against injustice, get arrested, and the like. Sorry for bringing the others down, but from where are they being dragged down from? Oh, yeah, from being discriminated against because they were brought here as babies and now learn they have no rights, no job or educational futures and could get sent back to a country they know very little about. Yep, shame on them.

The thing that really galvanized my position about his article and led me to write this one, was when I put today’s article  in perspective of other freedom fighters.

“Don’t speak up too loud, you’ll get us all into trouble.”

I’m sure Martin Luther King heard that on more than one occasion, and from well-meaning members of the cause he was defending. But he stood up against injustice anyway. He led marches, peaceful protests, and let’s not forget, he was arrested too. Should he have listened to those fearful of losing what little they already had? Should he have toned down his rhetoric and fade into the scenery, leaving the civil rights movement to others like Malcolm X? Should he have delivered a speech called, “I have a little question I’d like to ask, if that’s alright with you?”

Ruben, I mean no disrespect when I say that I think you may need a vacation. Your earlier articles surrounding the DREAM act  lit the way for discussion toward real social justice. Lately, I think you may be, well. . . who cares what I think. I’m nobody. But you are someone Mr Navarette. Your voice is heard by millions of people and the Latino community is looking for their MLK. I can appreciate it if you’re not up for that role. Few people are.

Rep. Louis V. Gutierrez is probably going to be the Latino MLK, that is, if one of the brave young members of  the “United We Dream,” organization you disparaged in your article doesn’t beat you to it.

To me, DREAM Act advocates speak of the future that Americans want to see. They are willing to sacrifice to get their cause NOTICED and not forgotten. Blending in to the background is not what this movement, nor any other movement needs. There will always be some other issue more important than immigration to focus on. Immigration seems like a topic that is destined to forever be pushed aside and given to future leaders to fix.

I say it’s time we stop pussy-footing around this issue. It’s time to man-up and lead the way, or hang up your keyboard and go fishing.

Filed Under: DREAM Act

Republican Party Defeat Stage 2- Anger

December 20, 2012 by 1 Comment

Conservative Republicans have reached the anger stage in their grief process over their defeat after the November elections. That much power lost would make anyone crazy. Thinking that having that power was theirs to begin with was the first step in the long journey they have been taking.

The fiscal cliff is the latest salvo between the Boehner led conservative Republican party, and Obama, most Democrats, some Republicans, women, immigrants, immigrant students. . . Okay, everyone else.

According to CNN,

Conservative Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, promised the newly re-elected Obama “one hell of a fight” next year if the president forces through his plan for high-income earners to pay more taxes without agreeing to substantive steps to reduce the nation’s chronic federal deficits and debt.

This, I’m afraid, is symbolic of the attitude the conservative Republican party has taken on just about every issue that’s been floating through congress. It’s always a fight. Im all for sticking up for what you truly believe in, and occasionally having to resort to fighting to save someone from harm, when you go about your daily work routine fighting with someone, you have to ask yourself (or at least you should) am I right on all of these issues? Am I right about EVERYTHING?

There is a saying, “if you drive down the street and you see someone driving like an idiot, you saw an idiot. Later, if you see another one, okay, you saw two idiots. If, yet again,  you see someone else driving like an idiot, then it’s definite; you are the idiot.”

Ultra-conservative Republicans- it’s time to face the fact that it is YOU who are the problem, not the president, nor the democrats, nor gays, nor women, nor immigrants, nor any number of other people. Defeat is often humbling, but only for those who really need it.

Come on. Admit it. You aren’t fooling very many people–they already know it.

Filed Under: Five stages of Grief, Politics

Republican party defeat- Stage 1: Denial

November 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

After the shattering defeat of the Republican party, the process of grieving has begun. The press is hounding party leaders for their reaction to what they believed was a slam-dunk presidential and congressional race, based on strict, conservative ideals, epitomized by the Tea Party activists.

The reaction from around the country shows a dazed Republican party trying to understand what happened. The few who already see the writing on the wall, are expressing a need to reinvent themselves as more moderate in their vision of what’s best for America, or face similar defeats in the future.

While everyone else in the nation is witnessing a more moderate America exerting it’s influence on their elected officials, the extremely conservative Republicans are wallowing in denial.

The five stages of grief have begun.

The GOP strategist, Lenny McCallister, began his political double-speak by stating that the the way conservatives want to handle the economy, education and immigration, they have a lot to offer Latino’s and African Americans.

According to CNN today, House Speaker John Boehner, the leader of the still Republican dominated House of Representatives, states it more clearly,

“It’s clear that as a political party we’ve got some work to do,” Boehner told reporters, adding that “the principles of our party are sound” but the question is “how we talk about who we are as a party.”

So basically what he’s saying is that their extremist principals are okay, it’s just the way they talk about them that needs changing.

I guess we can expect more political double-speak as the Republicans struggle for a way to talk to America without offending them, while clinging to the ideals that handed them the defeats in the first place.

The Republicans who still have jobs, or still want them in the future, are placing the blame on everything except their beliefs, such as: Superstorm Sandy; “the moderate Mitt Romney”; failure to place abortion more predominantly on the party’s platform; a couple of poor comments by Mourdock and Akin; and ignoring the positions of more minorities. If they can find anything else to blame but themselves, we’re sure to hear about it soon.

Listening to all the positioning and blaming going on, it’s obvious to the outsider that the Republican party is going through the first of five states of grief—denial.

I wonder what the next stage, anger, will look like?

 

Filed Under: Five stages of Grief, Politics Tagged With: , , ,

Part 2 of The Dishwasher’s Son is now available

October 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Part 2 of  The Dishwasher’s Son

is now available to read.

Get it now for free right here!

And you’ll be notified when Part 3 is finished.

Time is running out. The book will cost a few dollars once the early readers have downloaded it for free.

Filed Under: The Dishwasher's Son

The Dishwasher’s Son Part 1 now available

October 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Dishwasher’s Son Part 1 is now ready for download.

The Dishwasher's Son Book coverCurrently the new novel is in pdf format, so you can download it and read it wherever and whenever you like. You can even forward it to friends and family. There is also an HTML format of the first 10 chapters, for those people who want to read the novel on your computer, tablet or phone right now. Just click the link above and start reading. There is no obligation to buy anything and this is absolutely free. 100 pages of a great story surrounding one of the most controversial and adversarial subjects of our time.

Filed Under: The Dishwasher's Son Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Dishwasher’s Son is looking for 1000 beta readers

August 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Dishwasher’s Son is looking for 1000 people who like to read to sign up for a Beta Reader program and help edit and market the book.

THE DISHWASHER’S SON, follows the odyssey of a teenage militant border guard volunteer, whose accidental deportation to Mexico is just the beginning of his problems. After searching for his deadbeat dad, who ran out on him and his mother, shortly after he was born, he finds an Uncle, and together they discover the truth about his father’s disappearance.

After meeting his father’s family, and coming to grips with the Mexican heritage he has spent his whole life denying, he must sneak across the border using all of the various different methods the people he used to help catch have used. With each attempted border crossing and subsequent apprehension, the charges against him increase, culminating in a desperate decision: cross the desert, and face possible death or prison; or live life as an illegal American in Mexico.

Caught between the two cultures of living an angry and hateful white American life, and his true Mexican roots.

Inspired by the author’s real life challenges to get citizenship for his immigrant wife and daughter, and his 25 years of managing immigrant employees.

Filed Under: The Dishwasher's Son

The DREAM Act and our Military

July 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

The United States has had a long history of foreigners fighting with us in our conflicts both at home and abroad. There also has been a fair share of problems with this relationship. Instituting the DREAM Act is one thing we could do to prevent spies and saboteurs from infiltrating our ranks is to offer them citizenship. This is a highly valued prize in many nations around the globe, and could be more than others are willing to pay for their allegiance.

If someone is willing to put their life on the line to defend this country, then not offering them citizenship and not allowing them to be a part of the democratic process for which they made that sacrifice is a crime of the highest magnitude. Their sacrifice is a demonstration of their commitment to us, and our good faith return of appreciation for this should demonstrate the respect of a grateful nation. No one who has served in the armed services of the United States of America should be denied any of the benefits and responsibilities of this country. Ask any veteran.

But respect and gratitude is not all there is to this subject. If we are not willing to follow through with our commitment to them, what would prevent them from reneging on their commitment to us? A half-committed soldier is not the person anyone would want to be out on patrol with. Our men and women need to trust 100% that the person next to them is going to be there when the stuff hits the fan.

Having non-citizens in our military at all seems like a direct conflict of interest with our national security. Which country will that person side with if we should go to war in their home country? We have only to look toward Iraq and Afghanistan to see current examples of how our military is attacked while working with soldiers of “friendly” countries.

Will they be effective in their mission knowing that soon they will be sent home as civilians and have to face their neighbors for the actions they performed while their allegiances were given to a foreign country?

Will they be able to kill if needed, knowing they might be related to, or grew up with the person in the vehicle they just blew up?

Will they be able to go back home and forget all the things we made them do to their fellow countrymen?

Will their friends and neighbors understand and forgive them?

It is because of these possible conflicts of interest, and more, that all military personnel should be citizens on the day they graduate basic training. Anything less does neither the US, nor our citizen soldiers any good. It does even less for the immigrant.

The DREAM Act, if designed better than our Republican politicians would like, could help us correct this problem, and ensure a stronger, more secure military defense.

Filed Under: DREAM Act, Immigration's effects on citizens, Military Tagged With: , , ,

The DREAM Act and Students

July 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The DREAM Act has a lot to offer students who were brought to the United States as children. It has even more to offer the US.

The United States’ college and university system attracts some of the best students from all over the world. A college diploma from a US private college or state university is built on cutting edge information, making it extremely valuable.

Aside from the education they receive, students will often intern at companies within their fields of study, gaining practical experience in their industry. This marriage of education and experience makes them exceptional candidates for the workforce and creates some of the most sought after graduates on the planet.

If that weren’t enough of an incentive to come to the United States to study, we also have a vibrant community of investors who are always looking for the next big thing. Large complexes of specialized industries are often set up near colleges and universities that are known for excellence in a specific field.

Combine all these elements into one localized and easy to access area, and we have created a very nurturing environment for product and company creation. This also enables young startups to hire talented people and speed their product to market.

Silicon Valley is just one example of such an environment. When you combine Stanford University with Hewlitt-Packard, Apple Computer, Google, Facebook, Oracle, Intel and Sand Hill Road, you can see how such an ecosystem functions with amazing speed and strength. It’s no wonder that other parts of the nation have created industrial ecosystems surrounding their educational institutions as well.

So, it is with good reason many people come here from around the world to study and increase their chances for a good life. If we make it a priority to send these educated and talented people back home when their student visas expire, investors will be reluctant to pump money into a future product or company, knowing all of their investment in time and money will be going back home with them. The venture capitol community will not want to see their dollars exported to other countries with little hope of recouping their investments. This means less money will be put into work in our country to produce products and jobs, and our many micro economies scattered across our nation will feel this effect. Add to this misery the creation of a highly competent competitor in another nation, and the recipe for our economic success is dubious.

Since we are the ones who trained the student and gave them access to our considerable knowledge-base and investment resources, shouldn’t we be the ones who benefit from this ecosystem as well? Could you imagine what our national impact on technology would be like if we deported Sergey Brin of Google? Andy Grove of Intel? Andreas von Bechtolsheim and Vinod Khosla, co-founders of Sun Microsystems? Just those four (and there are many, many more) would have changed the face of our nation incredibly. Four people. That’s all it would take to create monstrous competitors in other countries, and if some people were to have their way, it would become policy to send these kids home when their studies were completed.

Throughout American history we have taken in immigrants, making it one of our national heritages. College graduates could easily be considered some of the best human capitol other countries are producing. How could we not want them?

When a company has a highly prized product or commodity, they are usually quick to take advantage of all the benefits it can bring them. Our educational system is one of our nations most prized institutions. We should be capitalizing on this resource and exploiting it’s potential for generating wealth and jobs inside our country. This is not a zero-sum gain. We need all the help we can get to stay competitive and financially strong. Are we so afraid of internal competition that we will purposely reduce our talent pool at the expense of raising our competitor’s? If we would we be so willing to export one of our greatest national resources to other nations, we might as well raise a flag of surrender right now and crown some other country as the new “Alpha” dog, and watch their strength and influence grow. They will obviously want it more than we do.

Our American can-do attitude got us where we are today: the world’s greatest innovator and financial powerhouse. If we are to stop our decline and stay ahead of increasing global competition, we will need to dig deep into our national strengths and step-up our competitive game, not export our resources and step-it-down.

For more information on how the DREAM Act will benefit our nation, read my new book, “America Needs A DREAM.”

Filed Under: DREAM Act, Education Tagged With: ,

Where is the DREAM today?

July 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There are rumors of a new DREAM Act being developed by Senator Marco Rubio. He hasn’t provided any details yet, but his new DREAM Act will have one thing that the other three versions didn’t: a Republican author.

But what about the Democrats? Why would this version of the DREAM Act pass through Congress when theirs didn’t? Perhaps having a resentful Democratic veto is exactly what the Republicans are hoping for. Then they will be able to blame the Democrats for this stalemate, conveniently forgetting all of their own previous acts of sabotage.

No matter who you think is to blame for our constant inability to push immigration legislation through the Senate, one thing is for certain: any version of the DREAM Act conjured up by the Republicans will undoubtedly leave the immigrant as far from legal citizenship as possible.

The Republicans know they have done a great job of enflaming the Latino population. They cannot provide a path for undocumented immigrants to receive citizenship, even ten years from now, for fear the Latino voters will long remember the hardship they had to endure because of their shameful conservative attitudes and harsh anit-immigrant positions. New Latino voters will become a large and powerful anti-Republican force.

The DREAM Act as it stands right now has been crafted by both Democrats and Republicans. If that won’t help it pass through Congress, it stands to reason nothing will. Evidence of this position is clear from recent comments of some Republicans who are still labeling the latest, most stripped down version of the DREAM Act as “back door amnesty.”

I urge you to read the article below on the DREAM Act and what it really says about the bill, in its latest iteration. How could any sane person see this as a gift that will be used by masses of undeserving people? It is so restrictive and sets the bar so high for those to qualify and still doesn’t guarantee anyone citizenship– just the opportunity to apply for it. These will be smart, ambitious, strong, sacrificing people of high moral character who show a high probability for positive social and economical growth. Who wouldn’t want these fine young people to be a part of their nation?

DREAM Act text http://www.dreamactivist.org/text-of-dream-act-legislation/

Filed Under: DREAM Act, Laws Tagged With: , , ,

History of the DREAM Act in two minutes

June 29, 2012 by 7 Comments

The Dream Act has been circulating in Congress for over a decade. It began on April 25, 2001 by Representative Luis Gutiérrez and was called the “Immigrant Children’s Educational Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001. It was a compromise to all the comprehensive immigration reform bills that failed to get through Congress in the decade and a half since Reagan’s landmark immigration reform bill in 1986. What President Reagan was able to pass through Congress was itself a small part of the comprehensive immigration reforms being batted around Congress during the previous two decades.

We have a long history in ignoring legislation for one of our largest economic engines.

In 2008, after failing several times to get the backing of Congress, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, announced she would work with the authors of the DREAM Act to add some language that would make it more palatable for Republicans to vote for.

This DREAM Act (v2.0) was then reintroduced to Congress, trimmed again by Republican lawmakers, making it more restrictive for who is eligible and excluding some of the benefits they would receive. The DREAM Act v2.0 still failed to pass a vote in 2009, even with a Republican co-author.

Back to the drawing board it went and Republicans got to water it down some more and make it even more exclusive by adding background checks, biometric data, specifying specific crimes that would make some candidates ineligible, and more. Surely this Dream Act (v3.0) would sail through Congress.

Wrong again. The Republicans, who were in the minority used filibusters twice, to overcome the majority Democratic vote. This means that no matter if the Republicans were the majority or the minority, they could effectively control the Senate.

The backers of the DREAM Act refused to let it die, and as the bill went through its most recent changes in 2011, it had been stripped of many of the benefits that had been designed to encourage the best and brightest of our undocumented citizens to stay and participate in making this country better and safer.

We all know this latest version of the DREAM Act (v 4.0) is still too generous for the Republicans to sign off on. It appears Conservative Republicans are proving to be the greatest obstacle to getting any bill through Congress that will legalize our currently undocumented citizens, and have been for half a century.

It should be noted that in 1798 the Republican party was among the first class of people to be purposely excluded in our first immigration laws. Apparently politics has a very short memory. The Republicans are trying to put the blame on President Obama for not having passed the DREAM Act when the Democrats were in the majority of the Senate. They would like you to forget all about their filibusters. It appears they already have.

Filed Under: DREAM Act, Education, immigrants, Laws, Politics Tagged With:
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