Arizona Daily Star Blatantly Supports Illegals

I received an interesting article in my email today, courtesy of my morning radio talk show host Jon Justice (104.1 The Truth, M-F, 6-9 a.m.) The writer of the article didn't have the courage to supply his name to the article. It's in the Arizona Daily Star and can be accessed here.

It seems Lou Dobbs is under attack from some fly by night group calling themselves "The Hispanic Institute" and based in Washington, DC has decided to boycott CNN and Lou Dobbs because he has the courage to state the obvious: Illegals are ruining and draining the economy through entitlement programs, crime, prison populations, etc. So, The Hispanic Institute wants to shut him up and they're using a Media Matters report (here).

Let's begin dissecting the article in question (all pictures, emphasis and inserted comments mine):

Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers
Our view: Hispanic Institute's boycott of CNN over Lou Dobbs puts networks on notice public won't tolerate hateful lies (who wrote this? No courage to sign the byline???)
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.08.2008

The Hispanic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, last week launched a national boycott of CNN, the cable news channel, to highlight unrelenting and erroneous attacks against Latino immigrants (notice how they do not distinguish between LEGAL IMMIGRANTS and ILLEGAL CRIMINALS) by talk-show host Lou Dobbs. While we aren't sure such an effort will be effective and while by its nature, it impugns other good programs on CNN, we agree with the spirit of the boycott (this is a DAILY newspaper finally showing its obscene racist and left slant, boys and girls).

We applaud the institute for taking a stand on behalf of the immigrant community (once again failing to distinguish between LEGAL IMMIGRANTS and ILLEGAL CRIMINALS) and calling on a network to take responsibility for the content of its programs. We encourage other groups — whether they represent minorities or not — to let CNN and other news outlets know that unwarranted attacks that demonize a particular group of people will not be tolerated.

If the Hispanic community flexes its viewership muscles and the boycott succeeds in reducing CNN's ratings, particularly for Lou Dobbs' nightly show, officials with the network might be inclined to get rid of such inflammatory and dishonest programming (how is reporting FACTS inflammatory and dishonest?).

Similarly, we believe local groups could put pressure on Tucson radio station 104.1-FM, which airs "The Jon Justice Show," a morning program that repeats many of the claims made by Lou Dobbs and other anti-immigrant media personalities (Jon ROCKS in bringing us FACTS and the groups such as AZTLAN, MeCha, La Raza, etc. want to censor him because he speaks REAL truth to power--only their voices are allowed to be heard and in their minds, only THEY are allowed the luxury of free speech).

Lou Dobbs, along with fellow CNN host Glenn Beck and Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, has been behind much of the anti-immigrant sentiment (actually the racist groups themselves have been behind the growing groundswell and the taxpayers are fed up with what their money is paying for) that is gripping the country. Dobbs and others regularly make outlandish and erroneous claims. Among them: that illegal immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, that they drain communities of cash by illegally using social services and that they intend to take over the Southwestern United States (visit the LaRaza/AZTLAN sites--they do indeed intend to take over the SW United States, claiming it is Mexico land; they have even made such statements as these: "Hello we have been here before 1492 then when this land was stolen in 1848"; "We call things racism just to get attention. We reduce complicated problems to racism, not because it is racism, but because it works.--- Alfredo Gutierrez, political consultant, as quoted by Richard de Uriarte, The Phoenix Gazette, March 14, 1992 (quoted in The ProEnglish Advocate, 1st quarter, 2002) http://www.theamericanresistance.com/race_industry/true_agenda_audio.html" and "Our duty is to take back what is rightfully ours, even if it means carrying-out total genocide--Hector Carreon- Nation of Aztlan--NOTE: While I cannot find the actual page this quote was on, visit this site to see what kind of whacked out loons Carreon and his followers are; pictured how these hate /racist groups would like to see the flags placed here in America):



While there are some slivers of truth in what Dobbs and the others say — for example, children of illegal immigrants do cost states money when they attend public schools (and what about the medical costs, the welfare fraud, the special classes, the accomodations in bilingual signs/paperwork--those things cost the taxpayers and exorbitant amount) — their claims were largely discredited in a recent report by the Media Matters Action Network, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Media Matters for America.

In a May 21 report, "Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News," researchers systematically debunked the major anti-immigrant statements made by Dobbs and others. (They consider "Media Matters" LEGITIMATE? Where's the balance to this fringe group?)

For example, the report cited Census data and university studies that concluded recent immigrants are less likely — not more — to be involved in crimes than native-born citizens. In fact, the report said, neighborhoods with higher immigrant populations had lower rates of crime. (Let's take a walk over to the Pima County Sheriff's Department Most Wanted page here: Nine of the ten are Mexicans, although their citizenship status is not listed; the crimes range from killing a child in a DUI to a combined 12 counts of murder/homicide. Here's a few more statistics from the Arizona Department of Corrections as of April, 2008 here: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Ethnic Distribution by Unit April 2008--TOTAL 38,594; CAUCASIAN 40.7%; AFRICAN 12.9%; AMERICAN NATIVE 5.3%; AMERICAN MEXICAN 26.3%; MEXICAN NATIONAL 13.2%)

"When it comes to this issue, cable news overflows not just with vitriol, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers' resentment and fears, seemingly geared toward creating anti-immigrant hysteria," the report said.

Programs like "Lou Dobbs Tonight" are harmful and potentially dangerous because they give license (FACTS PERHAPS?) to xenophobes and racists to spew their hate on immigrants.

If such people see men in suits on TV railing against immigrants, it emboldens them to also show hate for someone who doesn't fit their ideal of an "American." To make matters worse, perpetrators of hate crimes often can't tell if a Hispanic person is an illegal immigrant, a legal immigrant or a U.S. citizen.

The FBI reported last year that of all the hate crimes in 2006 motivated by a bias against someone's ethnicity or national origin, 62.8 percent of victims were targeted because of an anti-Hispanic bias. In three years, the number of Hispanic victims of hate crimes jumped 38 percent, from 595 victims in 2003 to 819 in 2006 (How about the three college students executed in New Jersey by illegals here or the ten year old raped by an illegal who recently gave birth here?).

Not all this violence can be attributed to talk-show hosts like Dobbs, of course. But such programs foment anger and obviously don't promote civil discourse on the problem of illegal immigration.

What's surprising about the CNN boycott is that it didn't occur sooner.

We're taking this step after years of CNN management's failure to rein in Mr. Dobbs' irresponsible assertions about immigrants and their impact on our country and its institutions," Gus West, The Hispanic Institute's board chairman, said when the boycott was announced Tuesday.

"The lack of any meaningful response from CNN's management, or any abatement of Mr. Dobbs' offensive tirades, makes it clear to us that the company supports his misleading and often inaccurate positions." (In short, this group wants to silence all those who present the facts of illegal immigration while attempting to muddy with waters with leftist talking points, ignorance of realities and lumping LEGAL IMMIGRANTS with ILLEGAL CRIMINALS)

According to the Nielsen Company, which monitors television viewers, there are 12.1 million Hispanic television households in the United States. (Again, how many are LEGAL IMMIGRANTS versus ILLEGAL CRIMINALS?)

Here's hoping they and their allies can help improve the quality of cable television and the standard of living for illegal immigrants. Just because people are in this country illegally — but helping the nation in countless ways — doesn't mean they can't be treated with dignity and respect. (Why should anybody help improve the quality of life for ILLEGAL CRIMINALS? What Part of ILLEGAL is so difficult to understand? They don't DESERVE dignity and respect, they have EARNED a jail cell and deportation. PERIOD.)

So, as you can see from this blathering nonsense, the Arizona Daily Star, while too cowardly to print a byline to this drivel, fully supports the continuing ILLEGAL INVASION we are infested with every day. They have decided to show their true, racist, hate America agenda by calling for censorship of those brave enough to stand up and tell the truth. They try to hide the facts behind misleading statements designed to tug at emotions. They will not publish the true facts. Nor will they publish the fact the Legal Workers/Employer's Sanction law in Arizona is working and working TOO WELL--it's being challenged (and has been challenged repeatedly) in the 9th Circuit District Court because it "violates the rights of illegals".


Um, newsflash--ILLEGAL CRIMINALS DON'T HAVE RIGHTS. Rights apply to LEGAL, TAXPAYING CITIZENS, not illegal INVADERS. Of course our Governor--currently angling for a VP position with BHO--has supported the rights of the ILLEGALS over the rights of her constituency by trying to take the teeth out of the law as well. I personally wrote on this particular issue here. Refer to the picture above.

LEGAL, TAXPAYING CITIZENS are rising up and their voices are being heard--so much so, the hate mongering, racist groups who haven't been properly challenged before are peddling this soft porn and calling it journalism.

LEGAL CITIZENS AND TAXPAYERS, KEEP THE VOICES RAISED. NEVER let them shut you up. The more they push, PUSH BACK (legally, of course). Legal immigrants will ALWAYS be welcome here and with open arms.

ILLEGAL INVADERS ARE NOT WELCOME. GO HOME. NOW. Get out of our SCHOOLS with your RAZA Studies (pictured TUSD Board Member Adelita Grijalva, daughter of former TUSD board member and current US Congressman Raul Grijalva):

(teaching disrespect for law enforcement, among other things) with your hate programs, get out of our CITY BUDGET with your non-essential services and special programs (programs which are funded while our necessary programs such as police and firefighters are NOT, leading to tragedies such as the death of Officer Erik Hite), get out of our FEDERAL BUDGET (pictured US Congressman and former TUSD board member Raul Grijalva, father of current TUSD board member and "pusher" of RAZA studies Adelita Grijalva):

with your entitlement mentality, get out of our HOSPITALS with your so-called emergencies you don't pay for and GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY.

Other articles by Miss Beth on illegal immigration here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Sphere: Related Content

TUSD "Raza" Unit Update

A little more than two weeks ago, I brought you an article wherein a teacher with Tucson Unified School District exposed the dirty underbelly of the "RAZA" unit ethnic studies within the school district. The teacher, John A. Ward, has subsequently been interviewed by the morning radio talk show host who first brought Mr. Ward's op-ed letter to my attention (I don't normally buy newspapers--don't have the time to read them and they just stack up).

There has been quite a bit of response from the culprits wasting our tax dollars teaching these seditious and subversive hate classes as well. Let us not forget US Congressman Raul Grijalva was the instigator behind these classes and his daughter, Adelita, sits on the TUSD Board of Supervisors. On a side note, I didn't think anyone was further left than Grijalva--scary to think BHO is considered the most liberal representative there is in Congress. This is Adelita's response to the controversy:

TUSD's budget crisis is putting the kibosh on any new money for this coming school year, but Governing Board member Adelita Grijalva says she's committed to seeing the program grow the following year.

The district has 30,118 Hispanic students. This program only serves 500. Those 500 are in high school and the district wants to extend this hate class to elementary students. The director of this program, is blatantly racist--all the more ironic since it was THIS country who gave him the opportunities he wouldn't have had in any other country. And he's completely unapologetic in his rhetoric.

The Superintendent of Schools, Tom Horne, is not happy with these studies either.

Here is the full text of the follow up piece in the Arizona Daily Star (any emphasis mine):

TUSD's Raza unit survives under fire

Ethnic studies dept. could grow, reach younger kids

By Rhonda Bodfield
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.25.2008

Calls are heating up to kill the Tucson Unified School District's ethnic studies program — at the same time it becomes more likely that the district's most controversial department could expand to reach more, and younger, students.

Critics, from the state's schools chief to lawmakers to conservative talk-show hosts and columnists, have singled out Mexican-American/Raza Studies in particular, saying it's divisive and turns students into angry revolutionaries.

But supporters say the program's reach is too limited, given that it boosts student achievement by providing relevant and rigorous work to students all too often overlooked.

In a ruling last month that conditionally lifted the district's decades-old racial balance order, a federal judge noted that "it is unimaginable that the eight-staff Mexican American/Raza Studies department would be capable of serving the (district's) 30,118 Hispanic students."

TUSD's budget crisis is putting the kibosh on any new money for this coming school year, but Governing Board member Adelita Grijalva says she's committed to seeing the program grow the following year.

For now, she's asking for a discussion about equity within the ethnic studies' $2.3 million budget, given that African-American Studies gets more funding and staff in a district overwhelmingly Latino.

Raza Studies serves about 500 high school students, who take a four-course block of history, social justice and two Chicano literature classes.

The program should reach younger students, a 2006 outside audit said. Auditors recommended a feeder pipeline starting in the elementary schools.

Although they criticized the African-American, Pan-Asian and Native American departments for too few accountability measures, they lauded Raza Studies as the program's "flagship."

Inside the classroom

It's the end of the school year and Raza Studies students at Tucson High Magnet School are presenting research findings to their principal.

Their PowerPoint presentation is critical of policies toward English learners; some concerns hinge on whether students are funneled to vocational tracks, and some focus on inferior equipment.

Then comes an exploration of classroom décor, with photos of classroom items students consider culturally insensitive.

First up is a baseball poster, which they say should be soccer or rugby to validate other cultures. Next up flashes the Pledge of Allegiance and a patriotic poster featuring the Statue of Liberty, the American flag and an eagle.

"Most of the kids are from a different country, and this is showing them that this is the country that's the greatest and yours doesn't matter," a student maintains.

Principal Abel Morado tells the students he disagrees with their perspective. An initial role of public education was to mold a citizenry united under one democratic blanket, he says.

"It's in our DNA in public schools to be sure we're teaching you about being citizens of this nation," Morado says.

Morado says he considers the dialogue valuable because it's important to reflect that America does not have just one culture or value system.

Tom Horne, the state's superintendent of public instruction, considers the program's very premise grounds to publicly rail against it, and, if necessary, to ban it through legislation.
"One of the most basic American values is that we judge people as individuals based on what they know and what they can do and what their character is like — and not based on what ethnic group they happen to have been born into," Horne says. "I think it's profoundly wrong to divide students up by ethnicity."

The director

Augustine Romero took over as head of ethnic studies two years ago, after running Raza Studies for four years. In his view, the system already divides students by ethnicity.

When he was a senior at Tucson High, his father asked school counselors to make military recruiters stop calling. His counselor couldn't believe Romero planned to go to college.

He proved the counselor wrong, and the 41-year-old just finished his doctorate. "Yes, there are examples of people who have made it, but we've made it by having to work harder than most people because we've had to endure the inequities of the system," he says.

Romero summons the work of Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire to explain the premise of the program, hauling out a dog-eared and extensively highlighted copy of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." He points to a passage: "This, then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well."

If people don't like being called oppressors, Romero offers no apology. "We have to be able to be honest. If we have cancer, should we not name the cancer and overcome it? If oppression and subordination are our cancers, should we not name them?"

Anglos often don't see racism, he says, so it needs to be pointed out, even though it has led to accusations that he propagates reverse racism. "When you name racism, people think you're playing the race card and then they say, 'You don't like me because I'm white.' No, I don't like what was said. Because I'm one who names these things, some have the perception that I'm a racist and that I only care about children of color."

Those children clearly need advocates, Romero says. There are glaring performance disparities between white and minority students — even in this district, where whites are only 30 percent of the student body. The recent court ruling noted test scores for black and Hispanic students lagged 10 percent to 15 percent behind those of their white counterparts, and up to 21 percent for Native Americans.

A person can take two views on this, Romero says.

The first: Blame the students and say their ethnic heritage in some way is deficient.

The second: Acknowledge that the educational system perpetuates white privilege and is stacked against minorities. These students are not at-risk, he says. "The system created risk for them."

A program like Raza Studies can even the odds, he says. Raza students outperform peers on AIMS tests. Scores from the 2006 senior class show 95 percent of the students passed reading, 97 percent passed writing and 77 percent passed math. Five out of six on a recent survey said the program kept them in school.

Tucson High's Morado visits the classes and doesn't believe they're divisive. "They offer a sense of identity for students who have historically not found that within these walls."

One recent Raza Studies research project highlighted the fact that minorities take too few Advanced Placement courses and too many remedial classes — something the administration has been trying to address.

"What those kids are talking about is the new civil rights movement of the 21st century," Morado says.

The critics

The program's critics range from elected state officials to high school students.

The campus Republicans at Tucson High circulated a petition in April to rein in the class after seeing a banner in a class window asking, "Who's the illegal alien, pilgrim?"

The petition, signed by 50 of the school's 2,900 students, was forwarded to a handful of state legislators, along with a note that maintained the department "is creating a hostile environment for non-Hispanic students and students who oppose creating a racially charged school environment."

John Ward taught in the department in the 2002-03 school year. Of Latino heritage despite his Anglo-sounding name, Ward was all for more thoroughly integrating the contributions of Mexican-Americans into U.S. history. But once he started teaching, he became concerned about the program's focus on victimization.

"They really wanted to identify the victimizer, which was the dominant group — in this case white America — and they wanted students to have a revolution against upper-class white America," says Ward, who now works as a state auditor.

"They had a clear message that political departments in the U.S. are arms of the dominant culture designed to keep minorities in the ghetto and to keep them downtrodden. They're teaching on the taxpayers' dime that police officers and teachers are trying to keep them down. What a perverse message to teach these kids."

Such messages, he says, won't be found in the program's textbooks, such as "Occupied America."

"The department doesn't look bad on paper. It's what happens verbally that moves the debate from benign to pernicious," Ward says.

The tone worried him: "The students had become very angry by the end of the year. I saw a marked change in them."

That anger was evident in a presentation director Romero gave at a social justice symposium at the University of Arizona in April. Exploring ways schools create racially hostile environments, the presentation flashed quotes from former Raza Studies students.

Nate Camacho complained that teachers actually encouraged students to fight each other.

Vanessa Aragón said students see violence differently from what school officials see. "For us, it is violence we face from our teachers, administrators and TPD (the Tucson Police Department) every single day," she said.

Kim Dominguez maintained she didn't feel valued because nothing in class reflected her life. "We don't really have a chance," she said.

Romero says anger is essential for transformation, but insists teachers work to transform that anger into something positive. "For me, there's a real fine line between anger and awareness," he says.

He chalks up the dispute with Ward to politics, saying Ward didn't fit in because he was a conservative while he and the teachers in the department are liberal.

The students

Kristin Grijalva, 17, counts this last year as the most transformative of her school career. She was so shy as a young student that her teachers assumed she spoke only Spanish and put her in an English-learners class.

"Now I've gained so much confidence," says Grijalva, who plans to attend the University of Arizona to study medicine, with a minor in theater. "I have learned so much about myself that now I can talk and use my voice to inform people."

Raza Studies teachers push students hard, she says, but are so supportive that they share cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses and encourage students to text or call anytime.

Grijalva says that when she learned more about Christopher Columbus, she became angry that he remains a celebrated figure. But she was taught to use her anger to be a warrior, not a soldier. Soldiers do what they're told, she says. Warriors fight with their minds.

Grijalva acted like a warrior when a student asked her to sign the "pilgrim" petition. Before, she would have ripped up the paper, she says. Instead, she explained to the student that pilgrims from Europe seeking freedom weren't all that different from Mexicans coming here.

Her fellow students would be just as angry to hear a white person called a "cracker" as a Mexican person called a "beaner," Grijalva says.

"We realize it's not only Euro-Americans who are against our class. There are our own Chicanos and African-Americans against our class," she says. "It's what we call 'internal oppression.' When you hate your own race, you're basically hating yourself, but they're going with what they hear instead of what they see."

In class, students are encouraged to think critically and to defend their positions.

One day in early May, students analyzed a political cartoon to determine if the artist was liberal or conservative. With the newspaper required reading, they discussed the Democratic presidential nomination.

During a recent presentation, a student noted, "Even a game of chess can reflect the inequalities of our society. From way back, white always goes first."

Teacher Jose Gonzalez nodded approvingly. "That's deep. That's powerful."

Amy Rusk, Tucson High's chief librarian who taught Chicano literature in the department for three years, says that as a white woman, she finds white privilege is "very much embedded in the system and that's why we have to talk about it."

Kids need to read literature where the grandmother switches back and forth between English and Spanish, just like they hear at home, she says.

They need to name 10 important Hispanic and 10 important black figures in U.S. history.

And they need to know the system was set up to block minority achievement, she says.

"I think to pretend everything is fine is very unfair to the kids," Rusk says.

She says she's heard students say they can't do some academic work because they aren't white and they aren't smart. But not Raza Studies students; they come to her library more than their peers, and are more able to do independent research.

"This program has much more to do with figuring out ways to help kids succeed who have not had academic identities before," Rusk says. "And this system has let them not have those academic identities."

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at 573-4118 or rbodfield@azstarnet.com.

Do we really want our tax dollars being used to teach this nonsense? Is it really necessary to enrage the students with this propaganda? Rather than putting the blame for under achievement right where it belongs--squarely on the student and parents for not making their education a priority and STUDYING for what they want--they blame the white man.

This is the liberal agenda. Divide and conquer, allow the ruination of this nation with illegals who think they're ENTITLED to our bounty.

It's time for ALL ethnic studies courses to be banned from all schools. When you are in America, you are an AMERICAN, not a hyphenated entity. If you want to learn more about your background, do some extra credit work. Break away from the hip-hop/gansta attitude, turn off your tv and Xbox and pick up a book. Don't expect my tax dollars to pay for it.

Arizona House of Representatives Legislator Russell Pearce has introduced SB 1108 to stop this kind of tax payer waste and subsidized hate propaganda. Click on the site and read the text of the measure.

Teaching this nonsense is akin to a white class forcing students to participate in classes on the KKK (which we know was started by the democrats after losing the civil war--the same party that advocates slavery in one way or another to this day). We'd certainly hear an outcry over that, wouldn't we? So why the silence in this instance? It's time to let your voices be heard, loud and clear, you will no longer tolerate this being forced down your child's throat and you will no longer support it through your taxes. Contact information for the TUSD governing board and other essential interested parties follows:

TUSD Governing Board Phone - (520) 225-6070
FAX - (520) 798-8767
Email Contact: governingboard@tusd1.org
Email TUSD Governing Board
Arizona Superintendant of Schools Tom Horne 602-542-5393

CONTACT TUSD OFFICIALS AND DEMAND AN EXPLANATION WHY THIS ALLOWED!
Email Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer
Email Deputy Superintendent Patricia Lopez

CONTACT LOCAL MEDIA ASK THEM TO INVESTIGATE
EMAIL KGUN 9
EMAIL KVOA
EMAIL FOX11AZ
News 13 Hotline Phone: (520) 744-6397

Contact them. Let your voice be heard. And remember what Teddy Roosevelt said:

There can be no fifty-fifty Americanism in this country. There is room here for only 100% Americanism, only for those who are Americans and nothing else.

Isn't it time Teddy was listened to--again?

Sphere: Related Content

Tucson Teacher Exposes "Raza" Studies In TUSD

While getting ready for work this morning and listening to my morning talk, I noticed my commentator was reading a letter that had appeared in our local newspaper as a guest opinion. He was rather animated about it so I "tuned in" a little more to get the full story.

As anyone with a pulse in the past year or so knows, Tucson is ground zero for the illegal immigration battle. We not only fight it on the border, we fight it in our schools (which have decided to become sanctuary schools and have told the police, ICE and Border Patrol they aren't allowed on school properties even in an emergency) through the "Ethnic Studies" programs.

We have long suspected what was taught with our tax dollars, whether we like it or not. Our suspicions were confirmed by this guest opinion. Much like Ben Stein's movie "Expelled" (which shuts up and black lists those who disagree with the globull warming hysteria), the "Ethnic Studies" here are churning out kids who have no respect for authority and who buy the lie the American Southwest is actually Aztec land under the memories of Aztlan--of course with no historical reference to the fact the Aztecs forcibly invaded and controlled the lands themselves. Whites are interlopers.

The author of this guest opinion is a former teacher of these studies. However, he is a teacher with conscience and refused to teach this drivel as history. Below is his guest opinion as published by the Tucson Citizen May 21, 2008:

All emphasis mine.

Guest opinion: Raza studies gives rise to racial hostility

JOHN A. WARD

As a former teacher in Tucson Unified School District's hotly debated ethnic studies department, I submit my perspective for the public's consideration.

During the 2002-2003 school year, I taught a U.S. history course with a Mexican-American perspective. The course was part of the Raza/Chicano studies department.

Within one week of the course beginning, I was told that I was a "teacher of record," meaning that I was expected only to assign grades. The Raza studies department staff would teach the class.

I was assigned to be a "teacher of record" because some members of the Raza studies staff lacked teaching certificates. It was a convenient way of circumventing the rules.

I stated that I expected to do more than assign grades. I expected to be involved in teaching the class. The department was less than enthusiastic but agreed.

Immediately it was clear that the class was not a U.S. history course, which the state of Arizona requires for graduation. The class was similar to a sociology course one expects to see at a university.

Where history was missing from the course, it was filled by controversial and biased curriculum.

The basic theme of the curriculum was that Mexican-Americans were and continue to be victims of a racist American society driven by the interests of middle and upper-class whites.

In this narrative, whites are able to maintain their influence only if minorities are held down. Thus, social, political and economic events in America must be understood through this lens.

This biased and sole paradigm justified teaching that our community police officers are an extension of the white power structure and that they are the strongmen used "to keep minorities in their ghettos."

It justified telling the class that there are fewer Mexican-Americans in Tucson Magnet High School's advanced placement courses because their "white teachers" do not believe they are capable and do not want them to get ahead.

It justified teaching that the Southwestern United States was taken from Mexicans because of the insatiable greed of the Yankee who acquired his values from the corrupted ethos of Western civilization.

It was taught that the Southwest is "Atzlan," the ancient homeland of the Aztecs, and still rightfully belongs to their descendants - to all people of indigenous Mexican heritage.

As an educator, I refused to be complicit in a curriculum that engendered racial hostility, irresponsibly demeaned America's civil institutions, undermined our public servants, discounted any virtues in Western civilization and taught disdain for American sovereignty.

When I raised these concerns, I was told that I was a "racist," despite being Hispanic. Acknowledging my heritage, the Raza studies staff also informed me that I was a vendido, the Spanish term for "sellout."

The culmination of my challenge to the department's curriculum was my removal from that particular class. The Raza studies department and its district-level allies pressured the Tucson High administration to silence my concerns through reassignment to another class during that one period.

The Raza studies department used the "racist" card, which is probably the most worn-out and desperate maneuver used to silence competing perspectives.

It is fundamentally anti-intellectual because it immediately stops debate by threatening to destroy the reputation of those who would provide counter arguments.

Unfortunately, I am not the only one to have been intimidated by the Raza studies department in this way.

The diplomatic and flattering language that the department and its proponents use to describe the Raza studies program is an attempt to avoid public scrutiny. When necessary, the department invokes terms such as "witch hunt" and "McCarthyism" to diminish the validity of whatever public scrutiny it does get.

The proponents of this program may conceal its reality to the public. But as a former teacher in the program, I am witness to its ugly underbelly.

Arizona taxpayers should ask themselves whether they should pay for the messages engendered in these classrooms with their hard-earned tax dollars.

The Raza studies department has powerful allies in TUSD, on its governing board and in the U.S. House of Representatives (sidenote: one of the board members is Adelita Grijalva, daughter of US Congressman Raul Grijalva who got his start on the Tucson Unified School District board himself and was the initiator of these studies) and thus operates with much impunity.

Occasionally there are minor irritations from the state superintendent of public instruction and the Legislature.

Ultimately, Arizona taxpayers own TUSD and have the right to change it. The change will have to come from replacing the board if its members refuse to make the Raza studies department respect the public trust.

John A. Ward is a former teacher at Tucson High Magnet School.

Now, quite some time ago I wrote about a protest at another TUSD school, Catalina High Magnet School, wherein an illegal was suspected to have drugs on campus, it was found he was illegal, ICE removed him and his brother from a junior high and deported the family. Read about that here, here and here.

Ladies and gentleman, this is not an issue exclusive to Tucson. Check into your own school district's curriculums. We have four schools on the chopping block due to budget deficits. The school district wants to close schools and continue to teach this hate rather than give up these special interest studies, cut their pork (Adelita's learning well from her father, isn't she?) and teach a proper curriculum. Your school district may be doing the same thing.

The writer makes an excellent point. Ultimately, the school districts are owned by the taxpayers. The legal residents who pay the taxes, not the illegal alien front groups who wish to continue educating illegals at your expense. Therefore, it is up to the taxpayers, the legal citizens, to do something (and NO I am NOT advocating violence) about this. The easiest thing to do is VOTE THEM OUT and put in supervisors who will teach instead of preach.

What are YOU going to do about your own school district? Contact information for TUSD can be found here, on the 104.1 The Truth morning show blog. Make your voice, your opinion and your vote heard.

Sphere: Related Content

Protest Update

TUSD Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer

********************

Recap from last week here, here and here:

A 17 year old, illegal freshman at Catalina Magnet High School was arrested by Tucson Police Department after being found to be in possession of illegal substances (marijuana) while on school property. He also appeared to be under the influence of narcotics at the time. Upon discovering the freshman was illegal, TPD called Border Patrol. The boy, his brother and mother were subsequently deported and the father held for formal deportation proceedings. They had been in the country illegally for six years. (Who employed this man for six years? That employer needs to be investigated and sanctioned!)

After the family was deported, approximately 100 students from Catalina Magnet High School protested the presence of TPD and Border Patrol on school property, stating they did not feel safe if Border Patrol could come onto campus at any time. (They don't have to worry if they're legal--Border Patrol and ICE have no interest in those here legally; likewise the police--if the kids aren't doing anything illegal, what do they have to be afraid of?)

The student protest was followed by TUSD Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer meeting with TPD officials. TUSD then dictated TPD could no longer contact Border Patrol on school campuses or on church grounds. (Again, since when does a school district have the power to dictate who goes on church property?)

TPD officials caved and allowed TUSD dictate police policy. Keep in mind TUSD receives federal funding for each body in the schools, approximately 60,000 at this time, legal or not. The only requirement to enroll in a TUSD school is a birth certificate. Issuing country is irrelevant.

Also keep in mind that Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva :

began his political career in 1974 on TUSD's board; the legacy is being continued by his daughter, Adelita Grijalva.

Both are pretty much bought and paid for by the pro-illegal unions, Isabel Garcia leading the way (Tucson attorney):

Friday, November 9, 2007, saw a moderate sized protest by legal citizens, taxpayers of Tucson, lawfully protesting TPD caving into TUSD and petitioned TPD rescind the new policy.

TPD refused.

Are you all up to speed?

Good, because it gets better.

Tonight marked the inaugural meeting of the new city council (all Democrat, except for the Mayor--the sole Republican). The taxpayers were notified of this city council meeting. The agenda didn't want to deal with the protests or the concerns of the taxpaying, legal residents. It was more important to talk about leash laws.

However, since Friday, Pfeuffer decided that under no circumstances would TPD be called to any school campus. Let that sink in a moment. Under. No. Circumstances. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. No cops on any school campus for any reason whatsoever.

TUSD has also declared the same for Border Patrol.

Tucson citizens, the legal ones, are HOWLING pissed! We could have a Columbine incident on one of our campuses and the police would not be called.

Rather than enforce the laws, rather than listen to the people who pay their salaries through our taxes, a bunch of snot nosed brats have gotten their way. The pro-illegal movement appears to have won.

Not quite. Parents, who understand the school district gets federal funds for each student enrolled, decided today to start yanking their children out of TUSD schools. Those children are staying home until their parents find charter schools with space for them--charter schools NOT under the direction of TUSD. In the meantime, citizens are starting to take down license plates of vehicles from out of the country. Particularly on TUSD campuses, driven by students.

Now, why would we do that? Well, if a student is driving an out of country vehicle, it's obvious the car has not been emissioned, taxed and paid for in Arizona. Those are Arizona tax dollars not being gathered. If TUSD won't allow the police to be called BY THE SCHOOLS (because TPD would then call Border Patrol), there is NOTHING stopping the citizens from calling Border Patrol and ICE. It's only the police whose hands have been tied, not the citizens.

We've even found out TPD has been ordered NOT to stop out of country cars for traffic violations. It leads to "profiling" accusations.

But it doesn't stop the citizens. In doing a quick cruise through my children's charter school parking lot this morning, I counted 3 out of country license plates--in the student parking lot. This school is not under the direction of TUSD. I'm not a police officer. I'm not a Border Patrol or ICE agent. I AM a taxpaying citizen.

And I do have ICE, Border Patrol and TPD on my cell phone speed dial (don't worry, I use a hands-free device--drive safely!). I also have a pad and pen in my car to jot down license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. It appears the Tucson sector is about to get very busy indeed.

I am a taxpaying, legal citizen. And I've had enough.

I've had enough of subsidizing the illegals in my community through the legal system after their wrecks and dui's and assaults. I've had enough of my taxes paying for their education and medical care. I've had enough of the hospital emergency room overcrowding because of the abuse of the medical system here. I've had enough of the accomodations given to the illegals (did you catch the kid's age and grade? 17 and a FRESHMAN?). I've had enough of wondering how I'll pay for my children's college while they get grants, loans and in-state tuition.

I've had enough. Guess it's time I start demanding my officials start enforcing the laws on the books. If the police will let a bunch of snot nosed kids dictate policy, if TUSD has decided it's an island that doesn't need the police, I and many other citizens here have decided to let our fingers do the walking.

We've had enough.

Sphere: Related Content

Since When do Students Dictate Police Policy? Or a School District Determine Who Can Go On Church Property?

If you've been anywhere near Southern Arizona this past week, you'll understand that's just what happened at a local high school. If you listen to or watch O'Reilly, you'll have heard the story. Free Republic and Lone Star Diary have the story as well.

What you see above is the school this took place at--Catalina Magnet High School, in Tucson Unified School District, Tucson, AZ.

It all started November 1, 2007 when a student was caught in possession of illegal drugs. He also appeared to be under the influence of narcotic drugs. The police were called to the school to make the arrest. It was determined during questioning the student was also an illegal. His family had been here for six years, illegally. Tucson Police Department ("TPD") called Border Patrol. The student, his brother (a junior high student) and his mother were deported. His father is being held for formal deportation proceedings.

On November 6, 2007, approximately 100 of his fellow students protested, showing up on school grounds ready to protest instead of attend classes. The protest led 5 miles to the police department headquarters downtown.

Their complaint? The presence of the police and border patrol on a school campus and the deportation of the family.

NOT the fact the juvenile allegedly had illegal drugs on his person. NOT the fact the juvenile appeared to be under the influence of a narcotic substance. NOT EVEN THE FACT THE JUVENILE WAS 17 YEARS OLD AND A FRESHMAN (how's that accommodation working out for you?).

No, they were upset because they don't feel safe in school when Border Patrol and the Police come on campus.

Now, were these little truants locked up? Of course not. Most of them had parent permission slips "excusing" their absences that day. MY parents would have beat my ass and I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a month.

So what happened? The Superintendent of Tucson Unified School District ("TUSD"), Roger Pfeuffer, "met with the students" to "talk over" their concerns and then met with the higher ups at TPD.

From the Tucson Citizen:

In Arizona, public school districts are forbidden by law to deny an education to any school-age child living here, Tucson Unified School District officials said.

The district's stance on the issue was clear: "We don't want immigration laws enforced on our campuses," said TUSD Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer. [Emphasis mine]

[...]

Pfeuffer said Villaseñor came out to speak with students after their meeting and pointed out that police never would have called the Border Patrol if police hadn't been called to the school for criminal activity. [Empnasis mine]

Villaseñor said police have to ask the question of citizenship when they are taking someone into custody.

Community activist Isabel Garcia questioned that action. And, she added, "You should not have called Border Patrol onto campus."

Villaseñor said Tuesday afternoon that TPD would no longer call the Border Patrol to churches or schools, although it will cooperate with the Border Patrol. [Emphasis mine]

My question? What on earth did a school protest have to do with TPD changing its policy to include CHURCHES? No one is touching that question.

Students reactions were typical:

Araceli Sanchez (14, 9th grader): "... conceded the arrested 17-year-old student and his family were in the United States illegally, "but, he was just another student."

Jorge Guerrero (18, senior): "How can we learn if we've scared the Border Patrol is going to come for us."

Mario Portillo (16, junior; identified by students as co-organizer of protest): "No matter if you're an illegal alien, you have the right to an education."

Notice anything about those kids? Not one white surname among them. Not one. A concession the snowball started with the possession of illegal substances, but it was turned around into a sob story for illegals. A police department changing policy, now stating publicly they will NOT DO THE JOB THEY ARE PAID TO DO BY THE LEGAL TAXPAYERS OF TUCSON so the "kids will feel safe". The school district tying the hands of the police and border patrol from doing their jobs--much like congress ties the hands of our military in combat. And the school district now somehow dictating policy regarding churches.

A local radio station in Tucson has organized a counter protest as stated above. Tucson is a powder keg because of this and the taxpaying citizens are saying ENOUGH to the activists. YOUR VOICES HAVE BEEN HEARD AND IT'S OUR TURN. AND WE'VE HAD IT.

This was the blurb from O'Reilly:

After marijuana was found in his backpack, a 17-year-old Tucson student was reported to police, who discovered that the young man and his family were here illegally. The family was deported to Mexico, setting off a protest by other students and school officials. The Factor welcomed Arizona Republic columnist Joe Garcia, who accused immigration officials of overzealousness. "Does the punishment fit the crime? In this case, I don't think it does. Even his brother was yanked out of middle school and deported. There has to be some compassion and humanity and logic." But The Factor endorsed the deportation. "Any illegal immigrant who commits a crime has to go, which is why I have no sympathy for the boy and his family. They shouldn't be here in the first place."

This has nothing to do with being a "hater" or a "bigot" or a "racist". This has everything to do with enforcing the laws on the books. This has to do with the minority, an illegal minority at that, dictating police policy. This has to do with a bunch of snot nosed kids telling the police what they can and can't do. This has to do with a power hungry school district refusing to cooperate with authorities. And the people have said--ENOUGH.

Jon Justice is the radio personality bringing this story to the public's attention. Go to the website at 104.1 The Truth for more details. You can email Jon from the site and you can go to the lower left hand corner of the site to view the newscasts. Only one local news station, ABC affiliate KGUN9, covered the story.

This is from Jon's page:

Friday Morning 11/09 9am

A Rally to Support Enforcement of Illegal Immigration Laws.

Military Plaza 6th Ave S. in Downtown Tucson

The people of Tucson who oppose the addition of a policy that states TPD cannot call immigration authorities to schools or churches (TUSD Policy 2119) are getting together Friday morning to show support that they want this policy removed. They also want confirmation that TPD will call immigration authorities whenever an arrest is made of an illegal immigrant, regardless of location. During the rally they will march to TPD.

If you cannot make the rally or want to join the caravan to Military Plaza, listeners to 104.1 The Truth are welcome to come to the radio station 3438 N. Country Club Rd. Tucson, AZ 85716 starting at 6am to sign a petition that will be given to TPD. This petition asks that the policy above put in place Tuesday Nov 6th by TUSD and TPD be removed.TPD needs to be allowed to enforce immigration laws and contact immigration officials in any circumstance.

BREAKING NEWS: TPD responded to a call from Rincon High School Wednesday morning over a student caught with Marijuana. The student is an ILLEGAL ALIEN. In accordance with the new policy change immigration authorities WERE NOT CALLED. He was booked into juvenile detention. Proof that our laws are not being enforced and TUSD has tied the hands of TPD.

More numbers and e-mail addresses - let your voice be heard!

Chief of Police, TPD: 791-4441

Superintendent of Schools, Roger Pfeuffer: 225-6060
E-mail: roger.pfeuffer@tusd1.org

Mayor Bob Walkup
(520) 791-4201
Email: email_mayor@tucsonaz.gov


UPDATE II: Here are more numbers to call at Catalina Magnet and Rincon:

Catalina: 232-8400
Rincon High School:232-5600


Janet Napolitano
Governor of Arizona
Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381
Tucson District Office

Gabrielle Giffords
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone: (520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490


Gabrielle Giffords
U.S. House of Representatives
Phone: (202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378

Tom Horne-Arizona School Superintendent (602)542-5057

Terry Goddard-Arizona Attorney General, Phoenix (602)542-5025, Tucson (520)628-6530

UPDATE: It's pretty simple: if the police aren't going to enforce the law... if the schools aren't going to enforce the law... if fear of upsetting a bunch of snot-nosed teenagers is going to prevent us from enforcing immigration laws, then it's up to us. Here are the hotline numbers we talked about on the show:ICE: 1-800-973-2867


BORDER PATROL: 1-877-USBPHELP (877-872-7435)

I heard later in the day representative Raul Grijalva (Arizona District 7) was also involving himself in this. SURPRISE! He started at TUSD--and his daughter is now a board member of TUSD. Rather convenient, don't you think?

This is happening in Tucson. It could just as easily be happening in your town.

More updates as they come in.

**This was a production of The Coalition
Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to
participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards,
email brianbonner90-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you
would like to participate.

Sphere: Related Content