I have been doing a few interviews as of late and by that I mean who could forget my incredible tête-à-têtes with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Michael Musto, Tim Dax and Lisa M?
Now comes the greatest interview of all: An interview with me!
Don't worry, I am not as infatuated with myself to have conducted the interview. It was just happy happenstance that my friend Enrique TorreMolina was gracious enough to reach out and ask a few pressing questions. Some excerpts:
Me on immigration: There is no reason why the wealthiest nation in the world cannot provide
opportunities for immigrants to develop their full potential regardless
of economic or educational background.
Me on blogging: Not every blog writer posts a daily entry or multiple daily posts. I’m
sure most people don’t even realize how much perseverance, dedication,
personal sacrifice and time it takes a blogger to keep up that sort of
blogging rhythm but it’s almost a Herculean task.
Me on gossip: For a while I tried to be snarky and gossipy because I felt readers
would enjoy it, but ultimately it wasn’t my style. I ended up erasing a
few posts where I felt I had dished out at a couple of celebrities. It
just made me feel dirty. Others do gossip much better than I do.
Me on Latino LGBT priorities: Sometimes the question about community “priorities” bothers me –and I
know you didn’t mean it that way– because it’s usually code speak for
‘your priority is not important, my priority is’.
Me on my which other blogs you should be following: It might be an eclectic list but...
Heck, I'll let you read the whole interview, and check out some of the blogs I gave props to, here: Blabbeando with Andrés Duque.
If I may say so, it's probably the most important interview you will read in your life.
Thanks, Enrique, for having the great taste to interview me! You rock.
Possible 2012 conservative presidential Republican candidate Newt Gingrich might have winked at the Tea Party recently when he gave his unqualified support to a crazy-ass cover-page Forbes Magazine article on President Barack Obama, but he's also setting himself up to be as the John McCain candidate of old (you know, the John McCain who used to be a lead semi-conservative voice for immigration rights before he turned into a cranky asshole).
If he runs, it's a safe bet that most of his rivals on the right will hem the xenophobic Tea Party mantra on immigration - and that he will position himself as the kinder, gentler conservative on the issue of immigration.
If you actually saw the proceedings, you'll realize The Americano is playing it both ways: The Republican Senate leadership actually argued they didn't vote in favor of the DREAM Act because they wanted a straight up and down vote on a Senate defense bill. In other words, they alleged they would have passed the bill if only the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal AND the DREAM Act bill hadn't been included. In fact, the rank and file of the Republican senate leadership used the DREAM Act to argue that the Obama presidency was "seeking amnesty for illegal immigrants".
Cue in a photo of angry Dan Choi on The Americano's entry page and an article with no byline saying that Republicans would have passed the DREAM Act if it wasn't for teh gayz pushing an end to "Don't Ask Don't Tell"
Pluhezzz The Americano, have more respect for the intellect of Latinos.
PHOTO: Immigration rights activists meet Lady Gaga Saturday night in her dressing room before showtime. She is wearing a "Pass the DREAM Act" t-shirt courtesy of DREAMACTIVIST. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARIZONA DREAM ACT COALITION AND USED BY PERMISSION).
Saturday night the behemoth that is Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball Tour" hit Phoenix, Arizona. As you might have heard, Arizona has been in the cross-hairs of the national immigration rights debate since it passed a draconian immigration law - SB1070 - which was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewing on April 23rd.
Some of the worst provisions of the bill - including giving police the authority to stop anyone and ask for immigration status just based on the policeman's perception of who might look documented and who might not - have since been placed on hold on appeal, but the spirit of the law continues to embolden xenophobic advocates who envision similar measures being adopted across the United States.
With that in mind, a couple of immigration rights advocates who happen to be queer and Latino launched an online petition to ask Lady Gaga to cancel the Arizona dates of her tour and to boycott the state in opposition of SB1070.
It's not the first time artists have been asked to boycott the state over SB1070: Zack de La Rocha of Rage Against the Machine currently leads an effort to enlist other performers through the online site Sound Strike and has so far enlisted acts such as Nine Inch Nails, DJ Spooky, Hall & Oates, Ry Cooder, Chris Rock and reaggeton star Pitbull.
And while those asking Lady Gaga to boycott Arizona might not have had the same decibel ratings as Zack de la Rocha, they certainly were out there making noise ("The gays urge Lady Gaga to cancel Arizona show" - L.A. Weekly).
Personally, I wasn't sure if calling for a boycott was the right way to protest SB1070, but as the Phoenix tour date neared I was surprised that as vocal as Lady Gaga has been on other issues and, in particular, LGBT rights, her camp was mum on this one issue. Well, mum no longer...
About halfway through her concert at US Airways Center, Lady Gaga told the crowd, "I got a phone call from a couple really big rock and rollers, big pop stars, big rap artists, and they said, 'We'd like you to boycott Arizona . . . because of SB 1070."
"I said, 'Do you really think that us dumb (expletive) pop stars are going to collapse the economy of Arizona?"
She added, "We have to be active. We have to protest. . . . I will yell and I will scream louder. I will hold you, and we will hold each other, and we will peaceably protest this state."
For those of us on Twitter, the news came via the video posted above. And, initially, the clip rubbed me off the wrong way, even if I was ambivalent about the call for a boycott. Targeted boycotts do work with coordination and local buy-in and I felt Lady Gaga's quick dismissal of artist-led boycotts was more than a bit self-serving, particularly in light of the fact that she stayed mum until the night of the show.
I forgot, though, this IS Lady Gaga. Two days later on Google news search? Lo and behold.
My friend, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano, saw thge whole thing with a less jaundiced eye than my own. Over at Change.org, he wrote a great piece on last night's outburst. An excerpt from "Lady Gaga Gets What the LGBT Movement Doesn't Yet Realize":
As I've blogged here at Change.org before, LGBT people of color still struggle to make the LGBT movement more accepting of an agenda that's inclusive of issues faced by people of color. It's true that some LGBT groups — like GetEqual — have been vocal about SB 1070. Yet artists who are seen as allies to the LGBT community have mostly focused on issues like marriage equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Gaga broke that mold.
By using the hyper-queer space that is her Monster Ball tour, Lady Gaga made no distinction between LGBT rights and immigrant rights. Those of us sitting at the intersections of identities have long insisted that issues affecting people of color (such as immigration, poverty and prisons) are also LGBT issues. And by speaking out against Arizona's harmful legislation, Gaga is breaking new ground and defining what it means to be a pro-LGBT, pro-immigrant and pro-LGBT people of color artist.
The best thing yet? That photo at the top of this post taken at Lady Gaga's dressing room before last night's concert? My friend Emmanuel Garcia of Chicago's Homofrecuencia has the scoop over at the Windy City Times. An excerpt:
If you had 10 minutes with Lady Gaga what would you say? Victor Medina and Amelec Diaz had that opportunity July 31 when Lady Gaga performed at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Ariz., as part of her Monster Ball tour.
Both gay activists, working around immigration rights, wrote a petition asking Lady Gaga to join artists like Rage Against the Machine and Kanye West in honoring a boycott that's in place due to the controversial immigration law SB1070.
However, Gaga did not cancel her show; instead, her management invited both men to a meet-and-greet with the singer.
They met Gaga backstage while she was getting her hair done. She invited them to sit in a meeting that Medina said lasted 20 minutes. In that meeting Diaz shared his personal story about his house being raided and his brother being deported over a traffic violation. The young men said the meeting was emotional, describing the singer as "very nice, open and expressive." Medina said that prior to their meeting, Gaga said that she was not aware of the immigration law and asked that they scribble SB1070 on her arm so she could remember.
It was that moment that led Gaga to address her audience during her show. She told the crowd of more than 20,000 fans that she received calls from artists personally asking her to cancel the show, but said, she would not cancel, explaining, "And I said, you really think that us [ expletive ] pop stars are going to collapse the economy of Arizona? We have to actively protest and the nature of the Monster Ball is to actively protest prejudice and injustice."
Yup, the guys who launched the original Lady Gaga boycott effort were actually invited backstage to meet with Lady Gaga for twenty minutes which led to her comments Saturday night. She even posed with them wearing a 'Pass the DREAM Act" T-shirt from DREAMACTIVIST.
In the L.A. Weekly article I quoted above, someone calling himself one of the organizers of the Lady Gaga Arizona boycott call said "I made it in hopes that I can get Lagy Gaga to meet with the community and learn first hand the struggles we are going through. I am NOT asking that she cancel her concert but to denounce sb1070, spread awareness at the show, and bring attention/following to the issues of the LGBTQ migrant community."
The link between Prop. 8 and Arizona's anti-immigrant law
by Dan Torres
The Arizona legislature recently passed and revised SB 1070, the so-called “papers please” anti-immigrant bill many believe will result in racial profiling. As a gay Latino man who comes from an immigrant family, I see a clear link between this measure and anti-gay marriage laws such as Proposition 8. Both laws make their victims feel marginalized and send a message that they do not deserve to be treated equally under the law. Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) people know what it’s like to be on the wrong side of laws like SB 1070 or Proposition 8.
Many of us, who fit into one or more minority communities, know all too well how it feels to be stripped of our legal protections and fundamental rights. Last year, Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer, the same one who signed into law SB 1070, repealed benefits for LGBT domestic partners, further undermining the economic and emotional security of LGBT families. The LGBT community understands the threat when our leaders tell us that our families do not count. We know the pain caused by the government refusing to treat us equally. Accordingly, we should stand against SB 1070.
Arizona’s SB 1070 and California’s Proposition 8 are personal attacks because they deny our common humanity. SB 1070, which was passed ostensibly to allow the state police to more easily enforce federal immigration law, in reality it is a law that encourages racial profiling of Latinos. Even though the state made revisions to the law late last week restricting the use of race or ethnicity as a basis to question people, it nonetheless added provisions that allow the police to ask people about immigration status for violations of local ordinances. The original language of SB 1070 and subsequent revisions make clear that the law gives local police pretext or “cover” to engage in racial profiling. This is further made clear by the fact that the revision occurred only a week after Arizona lawmakers were publicly criticized for passing such a blatantly racist law. No one should be fooled by the recent cosmetic attempt to hide the clear intent of SB 1070, which is to target immigrants, many of whom are Latino and many of whom are LGBT.
The common denominator in SB 1070 and Proposition 8 is bigotry. These laws strip human beings of dignity. The indignity my husband and I feel when our marriage is not recognized by the federal government is no less painful than when my family gets harassed or pulled over for “driving while brown.” These are not minor inconveniences but rather a systematic erosion of our human rights and liberties. More and more lately we see government’s successful attempts to chip away at our fundamental right to be treated equally. With other states now wanting to follow Arizona’s lead, we cannot afford to ignore what is happening.
Immigration is an LGBT issue in that our broken immigration system affects hundreds of thousands of LGBT newcomers who have no path to citizenship and must live in the indignity and shame of the shadows. As gay people, we understand the harm of forced invisibility on our community. SB 1070 and Proposition 8 are attempts to push already marginalized people back into the closet and slam the door shut! Arizona’s law was passed in the absence of sane, effective and fair comprehensive immigration reform. Washington must act now to fix this country’s immigration system and stop the divisiveness that is driving a wedge between communities. America needs immigration reform that moves our country forward together and upholds our nation’s values of opportunity, fairness and justice, values every LGBT person holds dear. It is time to stand up, support the legal and political challenges to SB 1070 and condemn efforts to emulate it.
In a similar vein, we must remain vigilant and unified in our responses to the various and heinous attacks on our human rights. For an attack on the Latino immigrant community is no different from an attack on the LGBT community, or people of color, or people of faith, or who ever is next on the “hit list.” It is time we recognize our common struggles and work together to defend everyone from laws or policies rooted in bigotry.
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Dan Torres is a staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and works at the intersection of LGBT and immigration advocacy to facilitate dialogue and mutual support between the traditional LGBT movement and immigrant communities. This work has synergistic impact of furthering the rights of both LGBT and immigrant communities and, particularly, LGBT immigrants. ILRC provides technical support to advocates working with LGBT clients who have fled persecution abroad, have been victims of crimes or are LGBT immigrant youth placed in foster care in the United States. Through the ILRC’s civic engagement efforts, Dan worked with LGBT immigrants to be counted in Census 2010, coordinated dialogues with local and state public officials on education discrimination issues impacting LGBT students, and continues to organize around marriage equality.
Before joining the ILRC, Dan represented clients as a staff attorney at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation in Sacramento, and served as a staff attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He worked as a clinical instructor at the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic, and was a member of both the La Raza and Lambda Law Student Associations. He is the son of Mexican immigrants, a fluent Spanish speaker, and a resident of Alameda with his husband.
Disturbing news from KTVU in San Francisco this week:
One of the managers of what is described as the only Latino owned and operated gay bar in the Mission District of the city woke up Friday morning to see a number of swastikas spray-painted on the club's facade.
Edgar López, manager of the gay bar Esta Noche, said that there had been other times when he'd awoken to find spray-painting on the bar's walls but never something implying hateful sentiment.
Nevertheless, instead of calling the police to report it as a possible hate crime, López decided to quickly paint over the swastikas in an apparent attempt not to raise too much attention and to avoid a police visit.
“It's a lot of problems with police," López said to the KTVU reporter, "they have many paperwork and everything".
Armando Hernandez, of the Instituto Familiar de La Raza, indicated another reason why the manager might have thought twice about drawing police attention to the bar in these days of increasing xenophobic sentiment in this country. "That it happened in a place that attracts Latino immigrants, gay identified individuals, transgender individuals should be a big concern," he said.
The article doesn't mention how KTVU got wind of the graffiti so I assume a viewer called it in. Facing the media attention, the two co-owners of the bar say that they might file a report after all after sitting down with the manager and discussing the incident. They also say they will definitely report any follow-up incidents if they happen.
Police tell the channel that the incident should have been reported but that there might be a problem investigating the case since the actual offensive symbols were painted over.
At the beginning of March, I found myself in the same room with some leading Latino LGBT rights advocates and allies who met on the issue of the state of the Latino LGBT community in the United States.
During a break, I walked over the table where Oscar De La O was sitting (he is the Executive Director of the largest Latino HIV service agency in the country, Bienestar, which is based in California) and found him having an angry discussion with others. He wasn't angry with those at the table, mind you, but he was discussing comments made earlier that week by popular Mexican ranchera music singer Paquita la del Barrio on the topic of adoption rights for gays in Mexico.
The singer, known for her outrageous lyrics and for taking strong positions against Mexican sexist male culture, had appeared on "Al Punto" on Univision on February 21st and had the following exchange with anchor Jorge Ramos (if you click on the link, jump to the 4:30 mark):
Jorge Ramos: On March 4th, in Mexico City, gay marriages will be allowed. Mexico City is taking the leading role in this... well, in this angle, and many times, in Latin America, what do you think of this? Paquita la del Barrio: Very wrong. JR: Why? PLDB: Because, no, eh... OK, I'm still in agreement with a couple getting married but, in what, eh, is... adopting a creature. No, I am not in agreement. JR: Hold on, let's go by parts. You are in agreement with allowing a man and a man to get married, that a woman and a woman can get married. On that you are in agreement. PLDB: That, more or less, is how it is. But, as I said, adopting a creature for those people, no, no, that is not honest. JR: Hold on, when you denounce violence against women, you are denouncing discrimination. PLDB: Of course. JR: Gay people, homosexuals, would then say that not allowing them to lead an equal life to a man and a woman would also be one type of discrimination. PLDB: No, no, no, no. That's very wrong because I will nothing more than... will make one thing clear. You, let's say, are gay. You marry another gay. You adopt a creature. And when that creature grows up, he will say 'OK, whom will I call dad and whom will I call mom.' [I'll bring] nothing more than that argument for you... JR: But, but, I have colleagues who are gay and are two mothers or two fathers... PLDB: Two mothers and two fathers? JR: Uhum... PLDB: Well, I don't know. It's wrong! It's very wrong! The creature will end up crazy. JR: So this that has been happening in the city of Mexico, you wouldn't like it to happen throughout the Mexican Republic or that it spreads. PLDB: Nowhere in the world. To finish making my point. JR: But, perhaps, and let me insist on this, you don't believe that this is a form of discrimination. PLDB: No, it's not discrimi... no, no, no, no. No. They are human beings that, as a matter of fact, personally I care for them a lot, I have many friends, but that doesn't set things up for that; that they adopt a creature.
I had seen the interview after it aired but wasn't necessarily as incensed as Oscar. Instead I was struck by the dichotomy of someone who would claim to love her gay friends and support their right to marry, on the one hand, but also state that children might be driven insane if they were adopted by a gay couple. I might be in the minority out there, but I actually think she was being sincere in both respects.
It all comes down to this: The argument that adults should be allowed to do whatever they want to do in the privacy of their home has been mostly won in Latin America. It explains, in part, the increasing support for civil unions or marriage rights for gay couples throughout the region. But, on the specific issue of adoption, the old stereotypes still prevail. Gays are out there to recruit children and turn them gay. Homosexuality is a learned behavior and children can pick it up almost by osmosis. Whatever gay adults do in their own home might be OK if you don't think about it but it's certainly grosser than whatever straight adults do at home (I mean, we don't sit around scratching our bellies as we watch football, do we?).
Then came this: On March 12th, gossip show "Escandalo TV", also on Univision, caught up with Paquita during a promotional stop in Los Angeles and interviewed her again. THAT interview was picked up by the gossip show "NX" on Televisa and posted on YouTube that same day. I picked up on it and did a rushed translation and posted this version on March 13th...
It's only now ghat I've realized that the clip on "NX" has been edited so here is the translation of the full comments from the original Escandalo TV clip with bold typeface indicating the segments that were missing (not that it ads a lot to it but it starts at the 1:45 mark):
PLDB: What I said was that it was not... that it's not in my taste that a poor creature should be adopted by them. They can do whatever they want with their lives. Angel De Los Santos (Reporter):I read a commentary when the controversy began, which said 'What would Paquita prefer: That a child dies of hunger in the street and lonely, or that two human beings give him love, give him food, give him a roof...' PLDB: That he die... Reporter: You prefer that he die... PLDB: It's better for the child to die and not that life for the creatures. Reporter: OK... PLDB: Yes, because if I had a son, I would never be at peace if he was with them... Yes? Reporter: Why, Paquita... PLDB: ...my respect to them, I care for them a lot, but you have to give a place to he who is owed.. he who deserves it.
Now, it's one thing to have a personal conviction that gays shouldn't adopt, as homophobic as that conviction may be, but quite another to say that homeless children should die rather than be adopted by gays.
The response was quick and visceral. Blogger Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God. fame noticed that I had uploaded the video on my YouTube account and asked me for some background. I asked him to hold while I wrote about it but before I could do it blogger Andy Towle also picked up on the clip and posted it on Towleroad on March 15th - and kept it on his top news header for almost a week.
Stateside, aside from Univision and Telemundo, People en Español was among the first non-blog media to pick up on the controversy in an online article posted on March 12th - the same day that the original clip aired.
On March 16th, Monica Trasandes, Director of Spanish Language Media at GLAAD joined Oscar De La O and Bienestar in Los Angeles to publicly call for Paquita to apologize.
A local NBC affiliate picked up on the press conference on March 17th. A 14th minute clip features Oscar talking about the controversy as well as Victor Cordero, an on-air personality for the local Telemundo affiliate. Cordero, who says he knows the singer, vouchers for the enduring appeal of Paquita La Del Barrio in Mexico and among the Mexican and Mecican-American community in the United States and her strong support for women's rights. Here's an excerpt (starts at the 9:17 mark):
I personally know her, and I think - first of all, this is my opinion - I don't think she really meant to say that, number one; number two, I think she has - being Mexican, being with all those roots, if you will - she probably doesn't agree with the gay community, although it's very important to mention she has a lot of gay community followers, a lot of, ah - when she comes over to Los Angeles and she does the parade for the gay community she's very loved and, unfortunately, this, what she said, I'm gonna say she didn't meant to say it. One thing led to another, it's one of those situations where you mis-express yourself. And, again, this is just what I think by knowing her. And, of course, the media has been trying to make a living out of this and we're gonna wait and see if she gives another interview and see if she can rephrase this.
Cordero also says that her possible lack of education growing up and her ignorance on the topic of homosexuality might have made her trip up when she was posed the question.
On March 17th, Los Angeles Times blogger Daniel Hernandez, who is based in Mexico City, picked up on the scandal.
Online responses were also quick and harsh. A man in California created a Facebook Group called "Boycott Paquita La Del Barrio" which has drawn 1,200 members. Another Facebook group, created in Mexico, is titled "I prefer if Paquita La Del Barrio dies rather than she be adopted by a gay couple" and has 1,500 members. Twitter has the inevitable #PaquitaLaDelBarrio hashtag, which has been winding down from all the activity that it saw last week. Some on Twitter joked that Paquita La Del Barrio finally was getting what she always wanted: Cross-over success, since the Times and NBC Los Angeles were featuring her.
On March 2nd, days after the first interview aired on Univision but before the follow-up interview occurred on Escandalo TV, Paquita was among the many Latino stars who taped a 2010 Spanish-language version of "We Are The World" called "Somos El Mundo" to benefit victims of the earthquake in Hati. I won't post the video since it's so embarrassingly awful but you can check it out here.
Along with Paquita, a who's who of Latino stars took part in the performance, including Ricky Martin, Juanes, Shakira, José Feliciano, Vicente Fernandez, Pitbull, Andy Garcia, El Puma, Chayanne, Jon Secada, Juan Luis Guerra, Aleks Syntec, Gloria Estefan, Olga Tañon, Paulina Rubio, Daddy Yankee, Aventura, and, ehm, David Archuetta of American Idol fame.
Not that they have been individually reached to comment or need to do so but I think it's telling that of all those present at that taping, only two have spoken up against Paquita's words. Thalia, wife of music impresario Tommy Mottola, whose "Arrasando" is a staple at many Latino gay bars and recently covered the Alaska y Dinarama gay anthem "A Quien Le Importa", told Es Masthe following:
I believe that it's a commentary that is out of place, because they have fought for their dreams, them as a community, and they are seeing doors that have just begun to open, that they have legalization of their marriages and have additional rights in the society in which they live.
I have many friends, such as Rosie O'Donnell, who has her children and I have seen the passion, the love, the adoration she has with her children.
The second "We Are The World 2010" is Christian Chávez, one of the few commercially successful openly gay Latino singer in the world, who told People en Españolthe following:
I think it’s really sad especially being in moments in which, for example, in Mexico gay marriages are accepted, which is a big step forward, especially for the Mexican culture and a great example for all Latin America. It’s very sad to see someone who many people admire and who has been an icon for the gay community to say something like this… I was recently at an orphanage and saw many kids that are in need of caring, they need sneakers, shoes, a good education. I invite people to see things for what they really are before making prejudices. Mexico is one of the countries with the most domestic violence and child abuse. What is more normal, for kids to see their parents beating each other, being molested sexually, having their mothers beaten, in which many times they look to escape and abandon their kids? Is that normal?… Gay people aren’t perfect, but neither are heterosexuals. There are well-educated homosexuals that are responsible enough to be great parents and there are heterosexuals that shouldn’t be able to adopt kids. I don’t understand why we have to cut off an opportunity for a child, prefer to see them die than to get a proper education, a roof over their heads, a home. I think it’s absurd and very sad [translation c/o Latino Gossip].
With all the increasing public outrage, there has been pressure on Paquita to apologize and this week she did. Daniel Hernandez at Los Angeles Times reports that Paquita extended apologies for her comments, blaming her upbringing - if not exactly changing her mind on her opposition to adoption by gay couples - and said that she would make public amends to the gay community tomorrow in Mexico by performing at a gay bar in Mexico City. Late word tonight is also that a popular gossip show on Univision called "El Gordo y La Flaca" ran an advance clip from n interview that they will air tomorrow in which she breaks down and cries:
What she says in the clip:
Paquita la del Barrio: [The reporter] asked like this, rapidly, it didn't even give me a chance to think what to answer. I ask for a thousand apologies. I am sorry. Understand. But no. I don't know. Morally, I feel really bad. At one point I thought about killing myself, I am telling you this, but I have the moral force of my children. They are not at fault. I already lived my life. It's that a person should not be hurt... should not be hurt like that..
As I said, one of the first US-based media venues to jump on the story was People en Español. They have also posted up follow-up stories on the scandal. The main reason they have devoted so much space to Paquita's statement? Most probably it's the fact that it hit a personal nerve with People en Español editor Armando Correa.
Armando is, perhaps, one of the most powerful gay Latino men in Spanish-language media in the United States. He is also the author of "In Search of Emma", a personal account of the search for his first adopted child with the help of his partner of 24 years, Gonzalo Hernández. Today, they are the proud parents of three children (Carole Joseph, Senior Writer at People in Español, posted the picture on the right on her Twitpic account with the legend of "Armando Correa with his babies. I took this photo specially for Paquita").
On Friday, March 19th, AOL Latino's Celestrellas published an interview with Armando Correa. I personally think it's the best response out there to what Paquita la del Barrio said. Mind you, this is before today's "El Gordo y La Flaca" clip for tomorrow's show was aired. And it's no small measure that it's the editor of People in Español speaking. Here is my translation (I hope I haven't bored you enough by all that preceded this and that you will read this)...
AOL: Armando, how do you feel about the declarations from Paquita la del Barrio? AC: When she said, with Jorge Ramos, that she thought a gay couple should not adopt, I accepted it. We all havethe liberty to think whatever we want, she is not part of a minority but, instead, a majority who thin that gay couples should not adopt, she expressed her point of view and said it with a great deal of decency. But when she gave the other interview, sitting down, and said that she preferred that a child die instead of being adopted by a gay couple, that in itself promotes hate and intolerance. When you are a public figure you have to think a lot about what you say because you could hurt many communities that are your public and you could be promoting hate and intolerance, and, in this society, the least that is needed is that, we have to learn to respect. We are all equal, we are human beings, but at the same time we are very different. In the measure that we accept the existence of black, white, Asian people, that gays exist, disabled people, when we accept our differences the world will be different. As a public figure one has to think what one says, We are fighting for immigration reform, there are still many phobias in this century, hate against immigrants, for example, we have to promote tolerance and love. What Paquita has provoked is a lesson for the whole world. AOL: Why do you say it's a lesson? AC: I'll give an example that has nothing to do with whether or not she hurt the gay community. If you talk to a Hollywood actor who thinks the borders should be shut down, throw out illegal immigrants, how would we feel? How would Paquita herself feel as a minority in this country? What would happen with these kind of statements with the hate that exists against Mexicans in California? We have to romote tolerance, whether or not she referred to the gay world. AOL: Many of Paquita's followers are poor with few educational opportunities, in what way do you think her thoughts can influence what her followers believe? AC: All of a sudden I hear a person I like and admire say that they prefer that a child die instead of being adopted by a gay couple, people may believe that she is reasonable and I believe that is the greatest danger, when a public figure says those kind of phrases that promote hate. We are talking about a majority in this country who think a gay couple should not adopt, we are not talking about a minority, we have to educate the public, it's not an issue of going to vote, this is a social problem. It's as if in the 60's we asked the government if Afro-Americans could marry whites or is a black person had the same rights as someone who is white. That is not something you would put up for a vote but, instead, it's a social transformation, you have to educate the public, the society. If in the 60's you'd ask Southerners if they believed blacks should have the same rights as whites they would have said 'no', but you can't put that up for a vote because they are human rights, rights that we all have. AOL: After those declarations Paquita, she gave some apologies. Do you think she was sincere? AC: Of course not. I think she should have expressed being sorry about saying it, but not about thinking about it. That entails a public relation campaign to be able to save an image, everyone who works with her know that it can affect her concert earnings. The other day Raúl de Molina [ed. - the lead host of "El Gordo y La Flaca", who will air his interview tomorrow and has his own shady history of homophobic statements on the show] said that half of her concert-goers were supporters from the gay community. I believe there is a lot of fear that it might have an effect on her earnings. I am not promoting we should not listen to her, nor to buy her album or attend her concerts. She is an artist, her music is there and her presence will be there, what I say - and it's a message not only for her but for all public figures - we have to promote love and tolerance. AOL: Paquita said that as a way of apologizing she would give a concert at a gay disco and, perhaps, a [gay bar] tour, do you think she might be using this now as promotion and for publicity? AC: That would be a sad answer and it would be in bad taste to amend what she did in that manner, she is commercializing it, she is not giving free concerts for the gay community in California or wherever it is. She is doing her job and seeking an economic gain, but on some ways it is part of the business and part of the solution. I believe the public has reacted to her comments, with only a few exceptions of those who have shown themselves favorable to Paquita's comments, but people are hurt with the second declaration. The other day we were talking to Raúl Molina that she doesn't need to as forgiveness from the gay community but, instead, from those children she preferred to see dead instead of being adopted by a gay couple. AOL: Would you like to interview her? ¿Te gustaría entrevistarla? AC: A difficult question... She is also a human being and I'd like to know how she feels after making those statements. No one bathes themselves in a miraculous river and thinks one thing one day and another the next day. She is firm in her convictions that it's what is best for a child and my job is not t convince her, but she is an artist in this medium and if I have her before me I will greet her and if I have to interview her I will interview her. AOL: What would you say if you had her in front of you? AC: I would tell her that she should be careful when expressing what she feels when she is a public figure because, even without wanting to, she is promoting hate and intolerance; and not to think about it only when referring to one community, and it's the gays, but that she thinks about it whenever someone can do such a thing against immigrants and the millions of Hispanics who live in the United States and that suffer discrimination in some regions.
sino que lo piense cuando alguien puede hacer eso contra los inmigrantes y los millones de hispanos que viven en Estados Unidos y que en algunas partes sufren la discriminación".
The U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association had recently been in the news for leading a successful protest against a morning talk radio show on KLBJ-AM in which a co-host had repeatedly referred to Latino immigrants as "wetbacks". On Monday, the parent owner of the radio station announced that the show would be cancelled. That same day, though, KVUE TV broadcast the news report highlighting that the same organization that led the fight against the anti-immigrant slur had the questionable video on its website.
What's exactly in the video and is it truly offensive to gays? You be the judge. The American-Statesman says that it consists of outtakes from a promotional ad for the Association featuring Mexican-born comedian Paul Rodriguez which were never used in the ad that actually aired. The paper described it as "Rodriguez dressed as a construction worker walking in an effeminate manner".
The Association has taken the link to the video off their site but I've managed to get my hands on a copy and have posted it above. The clip in question begins at the :30 second mark and lasts 35 seconds. In it, Rodriguez seems to be ad-libbing his way through the shoot and starts riffing on the gay community in Austin, speaking both in English and Spanish. Here is the transcript with translation of Spanish-language phrases:
Paul Rodriguez: Doesn't Austin have like a gay... a big gay population?
Contractor in blue:Si, esta rogado por locas ["Yes, nellies always ask him out"]
Paul Rodriguez: So you go, you go [prances] 'and specially for you...' [walks and simulates grabbing contractor's butt, contractors laugh, Rodriguez goes back and simulates holding contractor's testicles] Paul Rodriguez: Cough! [contractors laugh] Paul Rodriguez: [prances again] Estas bien nalgón ["You're cute, big butt guy"] Paul Rodriguez: Let's go, let's go... Off-camera: [Unintelligible] Paul Rodriguez: [prances some more] dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena ["Give your body happiness, Macarena", a quote from the song Macarena by Los Del Rio]. Here we go...
At 1:57 there's another bit in which Rodriguez addresses the two contractors as women and hands them over what he describes as invitations for them to join Jenny Craig and lose some weight.
After removing the link from the Association's site, spokesperson Paul Saldaña, speaking to the American-Statesman, said "The video was in poor taste, and we certainly need to be held accountable to the community's expectations."
Frank Fuentes, the organization's chairman, told the paper "We shouldn't have had it up there. I personally don't think it equates to what happened on the radio station, but I can understand why people would think that."
Both Saldaña and Fuentes said that Rodriguez had initiated the banter and that it was never part of a script. They said they had contacted local LGBT organizations and advocates and requested a meeting with them to apologize for the incident. The meeting, they said, is scheduled for later this week.
Their immediate action to remove the link and willingness to be the ones to actively seek a meeting with local LGBT leaders speaks well for the Association despite having posted the video in the first place. I also find it suspicious that people started to complain to media only after the Association's successful actions in shutting down a xenophobic radio show. Something tells me that fans of the show combed through the Association's website to find anything they could pin on them and show them in a bad light.
As for the video's content, does it offend? I guess it depends on your sensibility. To me it comes across as puerile, stereotypical, and - yes - a tad homophobic. But hey! It's Paul Rodriguez! Does it absolutely rile me up and make me want to boycott Austin, Texas? Oh, please, there are bigger fish to fry. At least, once on notice, the organization acted swiftly and properly.
For those of you who don't know, Raul is my hubby of 12 years (pictured above at a diner this morning). No. We haven't gotten officially married, and our partnership might be unconventional by other people's standards, but we have stood strong all these years, through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad times. And for far longer than many straight married couples, although the intent is not to rub it in their faces.
So there we were, William, Raul and I, at a diner outside the Brooklyn Immigration Court, feeling a little nervous and waiting for the time to go to the citizenship ceremony. We had our cameras and our cam-enhanced cell-phones. Unfortunately, when we made the security line, we found out that phones and cameras were banned and, worse yet, that we would only be allowed to watch the procedures from a separate room through an internal televised feed.
No. It wasn't like the pretty, pretty US citizenship ceremonies shown on movies and TV, with the US national anthem played for effect, and people pledging allegiance to the United States of America. It was more like what you would expect at a Brooklyn federal office: Bureaucracy, bored officials, a packed court, and little citizenship pride.
And still, when we were finally allowed inside court for the citizenship oath, I couldn't feel but moved: I was in the presence of hundreds of people who, like my hubby, had struggled to reach this one moment, and I was in awe of their perseverance.
As a matter of fact, when the judge ordered everyone to stand up and recite the oath, I couldn't help but look around the room and feel overwhelmed by emotion. Anti-immigrant folk always claim that they are not against immigrants, just 'illegal' immigration, but they rarely talk about how difficult it is to gain immigration rights in this country. Nothing farther from the truth. It's difficult as hell!
But there was Raul, looking a bit anxious but also a bit happy. And me, looking at him across the room and finally realizing what a momentous occasion this was. And then tears.
Damn, Raulito! You are finally a citizen, after all these years. And still very much part of me. I could not be prouder of you! Congratulations, bubby! Hugs! El Blabbeador.
You might remember the few posts I wrote back in December on the brutal beating and subsequent death of Ecuadorean immigrant José Sucuzhañay. The assailants, who saw Sucuzhañay walking arm-in-arm with his brother, allegedly shouted anti-immigrant and anti-gay slurs as they attacked them, mistaking them for a gay couple.
Yesterday, the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) posted a great essay by NACLA Research Associate Marisol LeBrón titled "When Xenophobia Meets Homophobia".
In the essay, LeBrón picks up on some of my thoughts on how immigration and LGBT-rights organizations reacted to the crime, and does a far better job than I did in analyzing why both sides "failed to recognize the potential for collaboration and coalition".
Better yet, she doesn't stop at questioning the single-issue focus of mainstream LGBT-rights organizations, but also argues that Latino / immigration rights organizations are just as guilty.
It's a great essay and I urge you to click on the link and read it in full.
By the way, LeBrón is not just a NACLA Research Associate. She is also one of my favorite bloggers. You can have a look at Marisol's musings (including the NACLA essay) at the greatly titled post pomo nuyorican homo.
Side note: In her essay, Marisol mentions a few organizations that 'get' multi-issue advocacy. I'll would ad Make the Road by Walking's Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered (GLOBE) who organized the Dec. 14th immigration rights / LGBT rights rally in the wake of the crime. I didn't give kudos to organizer Alexander Morris back then, so I will now. Photo captured at the rally, above, courtesy of my friend José Bayona.
A 31-year-old Ecuadorian man remains in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital after four men allegedly attacked him and his brother with baseball bats and bottles near their Bushwick home early Sunday morning in what police are investigating as a anti-gay and anti-Latino hate crime
...This attack comes a month after a group of seven Long Island teenagers allegedly attacked Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue. Local authorities have charged Jeffrey Conroy with second-degree murder as a hate crime for allegedly fatally stabbing Lucero in the chest on Nov. 8. They also charged him and his alleged co-conspirators with hate crime and conspiracy counts.
A law enforcement official said that at about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, the man and his brother, described by officials as Ecuadorian immigrants, were walking at Kossuth Place and Bushwick Avenue when a carload of men pulled up nearby. The brothers, who had been drinking, were walking “arm-in-arm” to support each other, the official said.
A man who got out of the car yelled anti-gay and anti-Latino epithets at the brothers, then broke a bottle over the 31-year-old man’s head, the official said.
His brother ran, and at least three other men who were in the car set upon the 31-year-old, beating him with a baseball bat and kicking him, the official said. The beating stopped when the brother returned, holding his cellphone, and told the attackers he had just called the police, the official said. All the attackers were black, the official said.
UPDATE: The local ABC news station says the following video report [h/t NG]
The two brothers were a block away from reaching home when they were attacked
Their family lives in Ecuador and has been notified about the attack, they must now decide whether one of their sons, who is at Elmhurst Hospital, will be kept on life support.
At today's press conference, Councilmember Diana Reyna said that the family has decided to not allow him to suffer"
There is a vigil planned for tomorrow evening set to begin outside Elmhurst Hospital
UPDATE 2: The Times now has a full report online ("Attack on Ecuadorean Brothers Investigated as Hate Crime"). It identifies the brother who is in life-support tonight as Jose Sucuzhanay (above), the owner of a real estate agency.
UPDATE 3: On December 9th, there were reports that the most seriously injured of the brothers had died victims had died but those reports have now been retracted.
Arrest made in murder of Angie Zapata:Allen Ray Andrade (right) was arrested yesterday morning in Greely, Colorado, and charged with last week's brutal murder of transgender woman Angie Zapata.
In an affidavit obtained by The Denver Post of statements Andrade made to the police after being arrested, he says that he reacted violently after he realized Zapata was transgender after spending a night at her place, hitting her first with his fist and then with a fire estinguisher.
The arresting police officer quotes Andrade as saying that he thought he had "killed it" and then proceeded to wrap the body in a blanket. He then tried to clean up the mess but "after he noticed Zapata sitting up, he hit her again with the fire extinguisher."
He might claim temporary insanity once the trial comes but he seemed to recover his marbles pretty fast since he then systematically ran through the apartment and gathered some of Zapata's belongings including her purse, cellphone and car. Andrade has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated motor-vehicle theft .
I had previously written about the case here and here. Monica Roberts has additional commentary here.
United States HIV ban partially lifted: It's been said that one of President George W. Bush's few semi-positive legacies will be the increase in funding that the United States contributes towards HIV prevention worldwide and, as part of a funding initiative that he signed into law yesterday, he also removed a federal ban on allowing HIV positive non-residents enter the country.
For those of us who have long advocated for a repeal of this discriminatory policy, it was a bitter-sweet but incredible moment. I have first-hand knowledge of the hell that so many go through when they have been eligible for immigration status but for their HIV status and this relic of the Jesse Helms anti-gay era is almost out of here.
Almost, because the removal from federal policy does not automatically remove the discriminatory language from the Department of Health and Human Services stipulations on who is allowed to enter the United States ("Ban on travelers with HIV to U.S. partially lifted", Los Angeles Times).
Immigration Equality, one of the leading organizations behind the repeal, have this to say about it. I previously wrote about the issue here.
Something huge happened today but few of you might know - or care. Nevertheless, for someone who has worked with hundreds of HIV positive individuals - straight and gay - who met every possible requirement to gain immigration rights in the United States EXCEPT for the fact that they were HIV+, this is a victory long time coming.
Tonight I will share this with you: Political pundit Andrew Sullivan (pictured) has posted the following on his site (The Daily Dish). I'm not HIV positive so I'll let him do the talking. After all, he also played big part in reaching this point. I hope he does not mind that I've lifted the whole post from his site. I just thought that it best reflected the moment!
I'm not usually speechless but I'm ecstatic to report that the Senate just passed PEPFAR without the Sessions amendment, and Senator Biden, who managed the bill, just said they will probably avoid a conference with the House and send the bill forthwith to the president's desk. Barring some unforeseen event, the HIV Travel Ban - a relic of the days when HIV was a source of fear and stigma and terror - is finally over.
Obviously, the bigger achievement in PEPFAR is the funding for continued help for those with HIV and AIDS in the developing world - people whose plight is unimaginably worse than mine or so many others trapped by this HIV law. Bush's legacy in this is one for which he is rightly proud. But for those of us who have long dreamed of becoming Americans, and have been prevented by 1993 law from even being able to enter or leave the US without waivers or fear or humiliation, this is a massive burden lifted.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the happiest days of my whole life. For two and a half decades, I have longed to be a citizen of the country I love and have made my home. I now can. There is no greater feeling.
Thanks go to many, many people, chiefly Senators Kerry and Smith, who made this a bipartisan priority. Gordon Smith proved how Republicans can reach out to those in genuine need, even if some are gay. All of us with HIV and with spouses or loved ones with the virus are in his debt. But also: Rob Epplin and Alex Nunez, Smith's and Kerry's amazing staffers, who made this possible. The Human Rights Campaign came through too, with insistent, diligent lobbying and a last-minute member email blitz. Immigration Equality, the group that does all the heavy lifting on LGBT and HIV immigration issues, were indispensable. Thanks, Rachel and Adam in particular. A word too to Senators Lugar and Biden, who shepherded the bill forward. I'm grateful too for those behind the scenes, Democrats and Republicans, who helped enormously: Carl Schmid and Jeff Trandahl, in particular. I will not forget Yuval Levin's support. And a word to my friend, David Kuo, who helped me through some of the bleakest days I experienced because of this law. My closest friends know who they are and they know what they've done.
I've lived with this awful sense of insecurity, of fear of leaving the country, of visiting my family, of the lingering sense that my virus rendered me potentially deportable, that any roots I put down might be dug up suddenly one day - for fifteen years. The lifting of this threat - the sense that I now have a home I know will be secure for me and my husband - is indescribable.
And thank you, too, especially. Dish readers really helped - emailing your Senators and telling your stories. This blog can be really draining and a little exasperating. But the sense of support I've gotten these past few weeks has been amazing. It really is like family. And now you've made it possible to make an honest American out of me. Maybe you'll regret it soon enough.
But you're stuck with me now.
I'm gonna celebrate now, so no promises on the timing of my next post.
I met Richard Sandman (left) about five years ago in Queens as he was attending an immigration law workshop for immigrants with HIV. We'd corresponded through e-mail on immigration issues before but it was nice to put a face to the name.
As of late, Sandman, who often provided pro-bono work representing HIV positive and LGBT immigrants from an academic environment, had recently decided to launch his own private attorney practice.
I can't say that we were friends but over the years we developed a close professional relationship. He often reached out to me to see if I had country-specific documentation on abuses against HIV positive and LGBT individuals in certain Latin American countries and, more often than not, I was able to provide him with a wealth of information from my archives. He also would refer clients to me for advice on immigration issues and to facilitate sharing of information in cases that he was working on.
Last time I exchanged messages with Richard back in April, he had asked whether I had articles on Argentina. I'd saved a reminder to send him the information but had yet to get around to it. Yet, the reminder stared at me from time to time and made me feel guilty I still hadn't looked for stuff in my files. What made me feel at ease was that Richard was pretty good at reminding me if I still hadn't replied, knowing how overwhelmed I sometimes get at work, and - so far - he had not pressed for the info.
This is why it was such a shock to me to find out on Friday night that Richard, who was 46, had passed away on April 30th. He had been hospitalized on April 23d after suffering a massive heart attack and, though doctors seemed to think he might survive after a week in a coma, unfortunately he did not make it through.
A sweet low-key kinda guy who truly helped hundreds of HIV positive and LGBT immigrants gain political asylum in the United States, Richard was truly an unsung hero. He was somewhat comfortable with the Spanish language which surprised me a bit until I found out his family was from Mexico. Still, as always, he would underplay just how much Spanish he knew and was self-depreciating about his language abilities.
A mutual friend tells me he was so dedicated to his work that few people truly got to know him. By all accounts, though, many seemed to love the guy and recognize his unselfishness in dedicating his life's work to the issue of immigration.
So, thanks Richard, for dedicating your life to such an unprotected and maligned population. Thanks, Richard, for the many times you expressed admiration for my work. And, thanks, Richard, for inspiring others - including me - to keep doing what we do.
Too late to learn about a recent memorial in my case, friends set up a blog to update others on Richard's condition from the moment that he was hospitalized. You can read the entries and comments made by friends here.
The center-left government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a legislative proposal that would extend to gay Brazilians the same right straight Brazilians have to sponsor foreign partners for temporary or permanent resident visas. It's a Brazilian UAFA (Uniting American Families Act), if you will.
The proposed law would simply remove any distinction of sex from existing provisions that allow Brazilians to sponsor foreign partners. In reality, Brazil is already one of two-dozen countries that already allow gay citizens to sponsor foreign partners for residence, but that right is based entirely on vulnerable judge-made law.
As a long-time immigration rights advocate, some of the most indelible memories I have are the couple of times I visited immigration detention centers in New Jersey along with Will Coley. I have been to many an asylum court hearing acting as as translator but it was shocking to realize that local detention centers are run by independent contractors (much like Blackwater USA is contracted to do the dirty stuff in Iraq and Afghanistan) and that some people are held indefinitely and are rarely provided access to legal representation, translation services, or hearings.
I also have been at many a political asylum hearing (also as a translator), so when Will sent me a link to the YouTube video above, I certainly recognized some of the asylum court procedures that the video parodies (Will wrote the clip's script which was taped as a response to a YouTube contest launched by the Movement Vision Lab).
On the same vein, I also received info about a BreakthroughTV video game called "ICED - I Can End Deportation" in which "you can step inside the shoes of one out of five immigrant teens, each of a different ethnicity and immigration status," according to press materials.
Not sure how I feel about the immigration issue becoming an internet video game, even if it's for the right reasons (plus I am always weary about organizations reaching out to 'the kids' by using new technology), but you might as well give it a try and tell me how it goes! Haven't played the game yet so I am not sure if the game programmers did a good job or not. In any case you will be able to test it before I do and give us feedback.
As blogs and punditry go, I know this blog is a little fish compared to the DailyKOS's, Huffington Post's, Andrew Sullivan's or Drudge Report's out there. Then again, punditry is not what this blog was set up for though we touch on politics from time to time.
Still when I read a CBS Newsblog post by Maria Gavrilovic on a Barack Obama campaign stop at a Los Angeles technical college earlier today describing his speech to a "predominantly African-American and Latino crowd," the heart soared. Again.
No. It wasn't necessarily because he used the word "gay" in his speech (as in gays are part of the community that he hopes to represent when he becomes the President of the United States), which he did. In front of what some would consider a non-gay friendly environment. Yet again (btw - blogger Chris Crain has an interesting post on Barack's usage of the g-word in his speeches).
No, it wasn't that.
It was that in a week that saw media ratchet up the interpretation that Latinos might not vote for Obama based on his race (I wrote about it on Tuesday), here's what Barack told the mostly black and Latino crowd:
Over the past few weeks, we've heard some cynical talk about how black folks and white folks and Latinos cannot come together. We've heard it before. We've heard talk about the so-called black-brown divide, and whenever I hear this I take it seriously because im reminded of Latino brothers and sisters that I worked alongside on the streets of Chicago more than two decades ago.
We have to stop letting those in power turn us against each other. No place do I see this more than in our immigration debate. I am tired of people of people using this as a political football. We need to solve this problem.
And on his father's immigrant experience:
My father when he came here, he didn’t look like you know - he didn’t look like he stepped off the Mayflower. But we have to remember the history of immigration in this country. When the Irish first came, people were anti-Irish, when the Italians first came, people were anti-Italian and so we’ve got to remember our own past history. And let me remind everybody that not everybody who came in through Ellis Island had their papers in order.
Yes, I get that he's going for the Latino vote in California. But this is damn fine oratory at that.
I know some gay immigration rights activists out there are not happy that Obama, as a Senator, has yet to endorse the Uniting Americans Families Act or UAFA (which would allow for US citizens to sponsor their foreign-born same-sex partners for immigration as heterosexual partners can through marriage). Neither has Hillary Clinton. And there definitely should be more pressure on both raise their commitment on behalf of bi-national couples.
Let's hope that Senator Ted Kennedy, who is a UAFA sponsor and recently endorsed Obama, can bring the Illinois senator there.
But imagine a candidate invoking the immigration issue not only to appeal to Latino voters but also to urge better relations between African-Americans and Latinos. Pretty amazing.
UPDATE: Hillary in tonight's debate on undocumented immigrants -
"I was in Atlanta last night, and an African-American man said to me, 'I used to have a lot of construction jobs, and now it just seems like the only people who get them anymore are people who are here without documentation.'"
If that's not racial wedge-driving at its most shameless, I don't know what is. I actually gasped when she said it and was not surprised to see Pat Buchanan of all people praising Hillary on MSNBC after the debate for her stand on immigration.
Lettuce Pray
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Recent news reports allege the explosive outbreak of cyclospora-induced
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The following are some great sex games for everyone to enjoy, regardless of
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cool gros einbaukuche weiss hochglanz einbauk c3 bcche from küche
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White Feminism Did Not Save Us
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It is the morning after and my feed is full of angry posts about who is
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Back off from third party voters or eli...
Club Fonograma's Best Music Videos of 2015
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*“Amor Fantasma”*
((The Plastics
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10. Sefárdico
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Esta semana en Diversidad Capital por Capital 21 hablamos sobre
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The Years Of Writing Dangerously
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Thirteen years ago, as I was starting to experiment with this blogging
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Joining the Trans Advocacy Network
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Post by Christopher Argyros, Pride Agenda Transgender Rights Organizer I’m
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Chess, anyone?
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Art by MUROB
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Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It
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