Some of them are members of Union Del Barrio, an organization from which I derive great inspiration. That these brothers and sisters can speak the truth AND WIN ELECTIONS is a great beacon of hope for me.

Congratulations!

Good Americans Are Losing Their Homes, “not minorities…defective…useless…wasteful…” Just watch it.

I mean what else can I say or analyze about this video? I guess what pops into my head is that many minority policy reformers never get off of their point of view, that you have to stroke the white ego to get things done. They are the ones with the power, they say. It is true that when something affects whites, something is done about it. Sometimes, however, in running only toward practical reform, these reformer lose the bigger lessons, or don’t want to invest the time in learning the bigger lessons.

Then there is this from Candidate Rand Paul, according to the Huff Post, “Republican Senatorial candidate Rand Paul wants to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s a rather ho-hum proposition in the larger context of conservative ideas — except that Paul wants that fence to be electric and he wants it built underground.”

On CNN Rick Sanchez mused jokingly about the possibility of having to get all those Mexicans to wear the dog collars that would activate the electricity in said fence.

Don’t these libertarians want less government and less spending.  I suppose when ideals can be pushed aside when their cultural privilege is compromised.

The Social Justice Education Project (SJEP) and our Critically Compassionate Intellectualism model have and are showing profound effects on academic success, graduation rates, and participation in post-secondary education. Evaluation already in place determined the following information for the students who participated in the program.

Comparing the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) pass rates over six academic years (2004 to 2009) for SJEP students and non-SJEP students who failed the AIMS their sophomore year, we have found significant differences among these same students and their junior year (SJEP year one) performance on the AIMS exam:

       ♦SJEP students passed at the rates of 68% (reading), 76% (writing), and 54% (math).

       ♦Non-SJEP students passed at the rates of 23% (reading), 17% (writing), and 21% (math).

The data reveals that SJEP students are:

♦3 x more likely to pass the reading portions than their non-SJEP peers.

♦4 x more likely to pass the writing portions than their non-SJEP peers.

♦2.5 x more likely to pass the math portions than their non-SJEP peers.

Student surveys indicate:

        Almost all SJEP students agree that the SJEP has better prepared them for college and that

        working on their projects has helped them believe that they have something worthwhile to

        contribute to society (97% and 98% respectively).

The SJEP shows great impact on the post-secondary participation of our graduates:

      ♦67% of SJEP students enroll in post-secondary education when they graduated high

        school. This is 179% greater than the national average of 24% for Mexican American

        students.

SJEP students explain how the program transformed their perceptions of themselves and the world:

      ♦”[SJEP] made me realize what everything is and who I am…It just gives

   you power to do better for yourself — to keep learning, want to keep doing things.”

      ♦“I love the project, it was great, and it helped me feel smarter … and the project gave the   

          idea that I could help my community; and that is what I am going to do with my life.”

Social Justice Education Project

Tucson Unified School District &

The University of Arizona

I am proposing a statewide conference call to respond to these changes starting in the Fall school year. If you would like to participate and have not registered, please e-mail me using the contact form on this blog, and provide a brief statement on your background and community work. If you have registered, please send me agenda items that you would like to see listed, along with any ground rules for the conference call that you would recommend.

The conference call is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 12 at 1:00 PM. Those who have registered will receive instructions for the call by e-mail later on this week.

Adelante y hasta la victoria!

Adelante

What she does not reveal is that the bill that she introduced in the last legislative session makes unauthorized presence a crime.  It amends the Texas Penal Code to make unauthorized presence a misdemeanor.

Then it amends the Code of Criminal Procedures so that law enforcement can check the status of anyone that they suspect of being in violation of the above-referenced code.

In other words, if someone is SUSPECTED of being here without papers, their immigration status can be checked without a warrant, and ostensibly detained.

This gives license to any law enforcement officer to detain any person of color for any reason and then claim that they reasonbly suspected us of being undocuemted.

A little information on the event:

Protest Rally at Chevron in Houston
Wednesday, May 26 2010 7-11am
Houston, TX
On May 26, 2010, Chevron will move its annual shareholder meeting from San Ramon, California (where it is based) to its Houston, Texas headquarters (in the infamous Enron Building). Chevron is trying to run from its critics.

Chevron can run, but with your help, it cannot hide!

Community leaders from Angola, Burma, New Mexico, Australia, Kazakhstan, Alaska, Ecuador, Texas, Nigeria, California, Colombia, Mississippi, Canada, Thailand, Wyoming, and more will go inside the meeting to address the gathered shareholders. Outside, there will be a celebratory, colorful, and fun protest rally at Chevron’s headquarters at 1500 Louisiana.
Please join us!

Location:
Chevron’s Houston Headquarters
1500 Louisiana
Houston, TX

Sponsored By:
The True Cost of Chevron Network

Apparently, even certain shareholders and properly credentialed individuals were being denied access. When his father got too close to the entrance, Bryan Parras, says that his father was detained by two law enforcement officers and put in the back of the transport vehicle. Bryan says that he did not think his father was injured in any way.

In his interview with Candy Crowley, Allen confirmed my initial thoughts: the government is acting so permissively, because they don’t have the power to do otherwise. I don’t mean the formal, regulatory power. What I mean is that the government does not have the technical power to oversee what is going on. Neither did they have the power to properly regulate the rig before the spill.

What those at the top do not openly dare admit is that private industry has surpassed the abilities of the US government in several sectors. Private industry has more technology, more creativity, more discipline and more knowledge than the agencies which pretend to regulate them.

The Admiral admitted that in the instance of the oil spill, BP had the technology required to work on the spill and the government does not. He said that “partnering” with BP to shut off the oil spill was the “necessary modality” which will be used to shut off the spill. He was later asked if he trusts BP. If the Admiral does not have the technology to do his own work, what choice does he have but to trust BP?  He is required to trust BP because he can’t do his own verifications.

Private industry has surpassed the ability of its regulators in many industries including, finance, weapons, computer tech and energy. I don’t say this to argue for the free market. I say this to warn against my previous prediction that the decline of government’s authority could one day make democracy irrelevant to the “masters of the universe,” the CEOs of these multi-nationals.

In this case, the government serves only as the guy in the room saying, “um do you think you can kind of hurry up? Do you need some water uh or help or something?”

In the end, the Admiral was forced to answer the question, “Do you trust BP?” He responded something like, “I trust Tony Hayward (BP’s CEO). I even have his cel phone, and he picks right up when I call him.” For real? That’s why? He answers your phone calls and answers your questions? He kind of sounded like a teenager bragging that they had spoken to one of their singing idols. Let’s hope Hayward doesn’t change his cel phone number.