EthnoBlog

The Week in Dope: January 19-25

By Daniel Hirsch, Jan 26, 2010 2:32 PM

Amidst the annual glut of award ceremonies for film and television, Colorado cannabis fans had the privilege of hearing this week that they’ll be able to enjoy an award ceremony all their own. Coming this April, Aspen will host the first-ever Western Slope Cannabis Crown, where growers from across the country will compete for the hearts and votes of event-goers. According to Cannabis Crown organizer, 1,500 tickets have already been sold.

Weekly Diaspora: Does Coakley's Loss Spell Trouble for Immigration Reform?

By Nezua, Jan 21, 2010 9:58 AM

Professional pundits and Democratic politicians are in a frenzy over what Martha Coakley's senate seat loss to Republican Scott Brown might mean for American politics.

Immigration reform in jeopardy

As Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect reports, the loss of one seat probably won't derail heath care reform, but it does make the chances of passing immigration reform slimmer. Meyerson writes that immigration reform is "necessary to restore our economic vitality and political equality," and actually passing reform would benefit the Democratic faction. Unfortunately, that means that immigration reform will require 60 votes in order to pass the senate.

Weekly Diaspora: Protecting Haitian Refugees Through Immigration Reform

By Nezua, Jan 14, 2010 9:53 AM

On Tuesday, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck just off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as The Nation reports. Bringing "catastrophic destruction" to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, the disaster has spurred relief efforts worldwide. Crises like this are important reminders of how the treatment and protection of refugees must be a part of immigration reform.

Temporary protected status for Haitian refugees

Not Granting Haitian Immigrants TPS After Earthquake Would Be 'Not Only Immoral, But Irresponsible'

By Andrea Nill, Jan 13, 2010 11:01 AM

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on The Wonk Room.  Andrea Nill is an Immigration Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Political Science with a concentration in Latin American Studies and Law and Society.

Since the election of President Obama, Haitians in the U.S. have been anxiously awaiting a change in immigration policy which would grant undocumented Haitian immigrants temporary protected status (TPS). TPS is a temporary immigration status that is available to individuals from a small number of federally-designated countries suffering armed conflicts, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. Haitian immigrants in the U.S. probably should’ve been granted TPS long before yesterday’s earthquake. Yet now, as Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) points out, it would be “not only immoral, but irresponsible” not to.

Video Doesn't Necessarily Link Taliban in Pakistan to C.I.A. Attack

By Jalal Ghazi, Jan 11, 2010 4:36 PM

Something important was missing in the New York Times article examining the recorded message of the Jordanian doctor, Humam al-Balawi, who carried out the suicide attack in a CIA base in Afghanistan, killing 7 CIA employees and private contractors as well as a senior Jordanian military officer.

Balawi appeared in the recoded video, which was aired on Al Jazeera, sitting next to Hakimullah Mehsud, a current commander of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who succeeded Baitullah Mehsud after his death in a US bombing in August 2009.

My Big Phat Same-Sex Prison Wedding

By NAM Youth Communications Team, Jan 11, 2010 2:59 PM

Editor's note: This piece by Dawn Davis II also appeared on YO! Youth Outlook and New America Media.

I was wearing my orange jumpsuit with black tennis shoes on my wedding day. And I was not able to kiss my wife.

We got married in San Francisco County Jail on Aug. 19, 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. The jail staff told me this was the first time a same-sex marriage happened there. I was so scared and nervous.

I signed the marriage license papers in front of the notary lady from the bail bonds place across the street. My wife-to-be, Shayonna, wasn’t allowed upstairs, so we signed it separately.

Economic Development At Home: A Moral Imperative

By Michael Kroll, Jan 8, 2010 3:50 PM

As I listened to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pronounce her world view on why international development is the key to combating terrorism—key to our own domestic security — I was struck by the dramatic disconnect between our official rhetoric about the need for development abroad, which she called a “strategic, economic and moral imperative,” and the political platitudes that define that “moral imperative” at home (“Leave no child behind.”)

Weekly Diaspora: Real Immigration Reform in 2010

By Nezua, Jan 7, 2010 10:35 AM

"Is it ever 'the right time' to pass immigration reform and a path to legalization?" asks Maribel Hastings at New America Media. The short answer? Yes. Our national economic situation dictates that we are smart about the resources available to us all. It's also a moral imperative to adjust our laws to protect the most vulnerable of us.

Hastings runs through the complications, campaign promises, and opportunities facing the Obama administration in regards to immigration reform. While acknowledging the nature of our government as "a complex organism," Hastings nonetheless signs off with a warning: There are many awaiting action today, people "who voted for Democrats with the expectation that they would make comprehensive immigration reform a reality."

Mind-Altering Drugs Are the Criminal Justice System's New Lobotomy

By Silicon Valley Debug, Jan 6, 2010 2:01 PM

Editor's note: This piece, from Silicon Valley De-bug, was written by Justin Collins.

Have you ever heard of a Lobotomy procedure? This is when a doctor goes in above the eye, breaks through the bone and scrambles the frontal lobe -- essentially robbing the subject of their personality, ability to form opinions and perform basic motor skills, and creating a vegetable.

Lobotomies are now illegal in the United States, but the desire to deny people their free mind is not. Lobotomies were once used to punish juvenile delinquents, unfaithful wives and people the state considered incorrigible. Now the same outcome is achieved through potent psychoactive medications like Rxsperadol, Triazadone and Xyprexa. These medications were originally conceived to aid in schizophrenics with violent hallucinations, or in order to quell disturbing voices.

When Grief Kills

By Jamilah King, Jan 4, 2010 4:48 PM

It's official: Grief can kill.

I once read Alice Walker's words that her father, a sharecropper in Georgia, ultimately died from "heatbreak." I think the same principle can apply to the families of murder victims, especially Black folks whose cases rarely land headlines.

Heartbreaking news out of Florida. Denise King, the 40-year-old mother of murder victim Simmie Williams, collapsed and died in her apartment just hours before midnight on New Year's eve.

Weekly Diaspora: Working Together for Reform

By Nezua, Jan 4, 2010 2:02 PM

As we usher the last decade into the realm of memory, it’s time to stop viewing immigration reform as an Us vs. Them issue. The metaphors and language we use are key to framing a debate because they can communicate broader truths via association. For example, a scientist might mention the porous nature of all membranes and boundaries found in nature to describe the ineffectiveness of the militarized U.S.-Mexico border.

Reporting for New America Media, Marcelo Ballvé defines two emerging policy terms—“complementarity” and “circularity”—that are being used to describe the seasonal ebb and flow of migrant labor and argue for progressive reform. The terms effectively render concepts impenetrable borders and zero sum supply of resources, which are key fighting points for those who oppose progressive immigration reform, rigid and backward in contrast.

Salt And Pepper

By Michael Kroll, Dec 17, 2009 2:38 PM

The latest issue of San Quentin News (AUG/SEPT/OCT 2009), a prisoner-run newspaper (that has the Administration’s blessing) is filled with the kind of stories you expect to find in prison publications. The front page features stories that explain the latest federal court ruling regarding overcrowding in California’s prisons (“Taking a Thorough Look at the Federal Court Ruling”), inmates donating money to the fight against breast cancer (“S.Q. Closing on $9,000 Goal For Its Breast Cancer Walk”), the possibility that Willie Nelson might do a concert there next spring (“Willie To Play At S.Q.?”), and a profile of a Bay Area human rights advocate recently fired by the White House (“Van Jones: A Life With Ups and Downs”).

But the two-sentence front-page story that caught my eye — and still has me shaking my head in disbelief — is titled, “SALT & PEPPER.” It’s a simple story: “Salt and Pepper will no longer be provided to inmates in their lunches. Food service officials say that health concerns led to the decision.”

Young Activist Faces Deportation in Florida

By Jamilah King, Dec 15, 2009 12:40 PM

Editor's note: This blog originally appeared in WireTap.

Distressing news out of Florida.

Last week, ICE officials in Broward County detained 24-year-old undocumented community organizer Andrea Huerfano after committing the criminal act of trying to pay a traffic ticket.

Authorities could deport her as soon as Tuesday.