Nashville Scene has New Yorker-like problem with grinning, gold-toothed Mexican image

The Nashville Scene, unrelenting and funny in poking fun at errors in The Tennessean, may have its own problems that endanger credibility and engender intolerance.

I tried sending the following e-mail to its new editor, but the website kept telling me that my e-mail address was not valid.

So I am publishing my e-mail in hopes of getting answers. I'm not going to call, because I don't want to use up my cell phone minutes enduring excessive rationalization. It's also a recession, you know.


Dear Editor(Pete Kotz),

Have you considered The New Yorker magazine-kind of implications with the visual image of a gold-toothed, grinning Mexican that you are providing of Hispanic-Americans to a less-educated audience compared to the New Yorker's readership?

The image that goes with Gustavo Arellano's brilliant and irreverant column may fit with his satire and his wishes, but it really does little for the majority of Hispanics in this nation -- who are U.S. citizens. And many are not Mexicans. In my extended family across 12 states in this republic, I've yet to meet a relative who has a front gold tooth. I guess we would need to be pimps to feature such dentistry. Most of us are instead professionals.

In particular, since "Nashville" is included in your publication's name, I hope you have noticed that Nashville has a big problem in how it views and treats Mexicans and all Hispanics. Although I haven't read a word about her case in your blogs or in your publication, a Mexican mother named Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) was tortured by local law enforcement authorities for seven days, that included the Fourth of July weekend. The New York Times considered the story worthy enough to publish on two Sunday pages, not only in how Mrs. Villegas was treated but in the implications of the 287g deportation program here.

Yet your publication has remained silent, just like Democratic Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper. Why? Surely your alternative media designation does not also include "blind" to the least among us. Your reporter, P.J. Tobia, was included on the very first e-mails on the topic alerting the media, yet Tobia has not seen fit to write a word. Did Mrs. Villegas or her newborn need to die before becoming newsworthy? Or did Tobia have to write about her torture first to be worthy of your "alternative" designation?

Even all three TV stations have covered this. And the AP's Travis Loller did a great story on the matter.

Tobia did do a story on a threatened Hispanic congregation in Antioch. But they are not being tortured and having their newborn children separated from them, are they?

Since you are from Ohio, you might be able to relate to this issue since the Cleveland Indians' mascot of a broadly-grinning Indian is offensive. We've yet to see a pro sports franchise with a broadly grinning Anglo applying to an entire race.

Please don't cite the Chicago White Sox as an example. I am wearing white sox as I write now. But in looking at your journalistic record, I believe you are a professional of integrity who would want to know if something you're doing is not sending the intended, progressive message.

Thanks, Mr. Kotz, for any answers you could provide.

Sincerely,
Tim Chavez
www.politicalsalsa.com
Columnist, Hispanic Link News Service,
Washington, D.C.

Drill, drill, drill demand is sick, sick, sick ... and wrong for the planet and our families

CNBC's Larry Kudlow and a host of Republican lawmakers are pushing for more domestic oil drilling despite the price for a barrel of oil falling faster than U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' integrity.

America doesn't need more oil drilling. For the sake of the world, stop encouraging more carbon emissions ... BECAUSE THE FREAKIN' POLAR ICECAP IS MELTING TO NOTHING! What other proof do we need that our lifestyle and economic base are destroying this planet?

Demand for oil is going will continue to plummet as the Chinese and world economies fall into recession. Drill, drill, drill for who?

But let's look beyond dollars and cents, which I realize is difficult for Kudlow and his colleagues to do since they are representing big oil profiteers and constituents who drive dinosaur-sized SUVs.

Shell Oil just reported that net profits hit $11.5 billion in the second quarter. And here's one reason why: the local station where I live carries Shell products. And it has been quick to raise prices by 10 cents a day if the price of a barrel of oil rises $10 that day on the market. Yet it has been turtle-like in lowering prices amid the current dive. So if Washington wants to know how these oil companies are racking up huge profits, the conduct of my local station tied to Shell is one answer.

If the price of gas remains too high, then SUV owners will need a more energy efficient vehicle. That means a smaller vehicle, which most poor folks have to drive anyway.

Families across this nation have discovered that staying at home more often is actually not so bad. You actually can talk to one another and find worthy things in each other, just like on The Waltons and even Roseanne. Imagine that?

A lot of people are even saying the gas price crisis has been a blessing. They have more time to do more substantial things at home. They aren't wasting money at hyper-expensive places like Disneyland and Disney World. Local tourist attractions are benefiting, which means a greater contribution to the local tax base to fund services. Imagine that?

Now let's consider T. Boone Pickens, energy baron, who made his fortune from drill, drill, drill for oil. He has been paying for TV commercials to tell Americans that we can't drill out of this energy problem. He is promoting wind power and natural gas. This nation has a bunch of both -- particularly when Kudlow and his comrades get talkly and preachy.

So don't fall for public policy proposals that address our weaknesses, not our hopes. President Bush as usual is way behind the thinking curve on this matter and other issues. I'm sorry to write the following truth, but the days cannot pass fast enough until he is out of office. Most certainly, human beings suffering under 287g deportation and ICE raids cannot long survive this punishing presidency.

So chill, chill, chill, Larry Kudlow and your GOP colleagues. The only drill, drill, drill that's needed is on your brains to eliminate your sad shortsightedness and selfishness.

Mail call! Here is my response to a passionate reader who needs to look beyond the anger

Dear randyjet,

You have to have a camera at the border to prove someone has entered the country illegally. Such a crossing is indeed a felony.

So what prosecutors can only prove is that these human beings(you probably want to argue that label, too) are in the country illegally -- a civil offense. That's what the letter of the law demands.

It's really quite simple to understand, when you don't let hate or ignorance get in the way.

Most people who are charged with being illegally here have come to America LEGALLY -- as seasonal workers to harvest crops and work on golf courses, rebuild New Orleans or work at amusement parks or at an assortment of menial labor workplaces because Americans are too lazy to do these jobs ... or perhaps there is another reason for not giving an honest day's work for a wage.

So in charging these human beings with a civil offense of being illegally here, the court has to recognize that the immigrants have simply overstayed their visas.

Meanwhile, American businesses cry for these workers to be let back into the country because Americans really don't want to work ... or perhaps there is another reason.

You see, it is easy to stereotype an entire people. Of course, Americans want to work. They work hard. Perhaps it is the lowness of the wage that repulses Americans from some jobs. Perhaps we need to pressure businesses and universities to pay a livable wage? I'm for that. Let's work together.

How do Hispanics survive on such a low wage? Well, they work several jobs. Then they buy their own home and start their own business. Both pay property and sales taxes. Or they ultimately return home and buy land and raise crops to support their family and pass wealth on to their children.

Should we criticize these human beings for being hungry for success as Americans once were?

The University of Arizona found that undocumented immigrants and their families contribute almost $1 billion more in revenue than they use in state and local services in that state. The Social Security Fund would go belly up two years earlier if not for the contributions of undocumented workers. Baby Boomers are retiring. Who will fill their jobs? Hispanics constitute the youngest workforce in this nation.

By the way, some of these human beings stay and fight and die in Afghanistan and Iraq even though they are not citizens of the United States. The Arab Press laughs at this nation and calls these human beings "Green Card" soldiers.

Again, these human beings are needed because too many American citizens don't even want to fight for their own country ... or perhaps there is another reason.

I believe, randyjet, that once you get over the unjustified anger at these human beings, you'll see that everyone wins. That has been the case with every immigrant group that has come to this wonderful country.

And the label of immigrant has to be part of your family tree, too, unless you're an American Indian.

Thanks for reading and writing,
Tim Chavez

Mandela has shown us the way to prevent resegregation of schools and end 287g deportation

Personal experience -- or those of others I respect -- mostly direct my opinions on issues.

And so it is with the school rezoning plan passed by a narrow vote recently in Nashville.

Separate can never be equal in putting mostly one race in one school and most of another race or ethnicity in a different one. I learned that truth in 1974, when I walked into the halls of Frederick Douglass High School in northeast Oklahoma City.

I was a product of what was then called forced busing to achieve racial balance. The federal judge who issued the school order in Oklahoma City was villified, as would be judges in Boston and Michigan simultaneously. But these jurists made the right decision.

For what I and others discovered in being transported many miles from home to another public school and neighborhood was that resources and up-to-date textbooks were in short supply at historically black places of learning.

The science books did not include the moon landing. The microscopes were of a different era. Madame Currie must have used them.

The curriculum did not include Latin until my senior year, and even then it was canceled. So no pharmacists would come out of this high school.

I received a truly inferior education compared to my older brothers who had gone to the predominantly white high in southeast Oklahoma City.

Yet I received the greatest social education possible. I was a minority in a black-dominated high school and neighborhood for three years. I learned of the hurt and humiliation my African-American brothers and sisters had endured. I heard the story of the 1964 state championship basketball game in which the white referees were only calling fouls on the Douglass players.

Without equal parental and community support -- particulary from people of political power -- separation is simply damnation.

That's history.

That's the present time, too.

Now, I have suffered some disappointments since then from both predominant races. African-Americans failed to speak up and act morally at the turn of the millennium for immigrant children in Nashville public schools. These children needing English language help were getting less of an education as required by a federal order with the U.S. Department of Education. Teachers were being swamped and learning curves curtailed in every classroom.

So out of desparation, some teachers made the decision to simply leave immigrant children behind in learning and life. This was not bilingual education. This was simply English language education.

The black school board president at that time promised myself and Father Joe Pat Breen at an appearance on NewsChannel 5 that money would be in the school budget to correct these wrongs. It was not. And then Mayor Bill Purcell ignored our pleas.

Al Gore's deputy campaign manager in 2000, Janet Murguia, a Latina, promised to address the wrongs being done to children who looked me and her. She had worked in the Clinton White House. That was the last I heard from her. Now she heads the National Council of La Raza(NCLR). So you can guess what I think of NCLR.

It seems people of influence in all races betray to the status quo and the powers that be.

The Nashville branch of the NAACP now has threatened to sue Metro Schools or at least get some kind of guarantee for more than $6 million in additional funding for schools that will be segregated as mostly black.

With the way the Metro budget has been hamstrung, I don't believe the securing of that kind of funding is possible through political means. Mayor Karl Dean is trying to find some of the Teflon his mentor Phil Bredesen successfully wore as Nashville's CEO. Sorry, Karl, it's only available to mega-millionaires.

If the NAACP wants to sue, I would be more than happy to contribute to its legal costs. I hope other Hispanics would, too.

Jeff Woods of the Nashville Scene blogged the following this afternoon: Black leaders have settled on a strategy to try to overturn the school board’s resegregation plan. They’ve decided to wait until after the Aug. 7 elections to give the new school board the chance to change the plan. If the board refuses, then a lawsuit is certain, a source tells Pith(in the Wind).

Parents already have come forward to serve as potential plaintiffs, and the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund is compiling a file on the case. Among the documents in the file: Pedro Garcia’s “smoking gun” memos.

The NAACP is holding strategy sessions weekly with prominent black ministers and attorneys.

“Everybody in the meetings understands that, if the new school board doesn’t change this or doesn’t overturn it, then really the reason we’re meeting is to prepare for a lawsuit,” the source says. “There’s no question they will sue.”

It is past time for the most vulnerable among us of all races and ethnicities to share one agenda. Let's start with the lawsuit and support the NAACP. Then let's join together against the 287g deportation program.

The great Nelson Mandela always reminded his followers that "our greatest fear" is not that we are powerless. Our greatest fear is that we are more powerful that we believe.

Securing that kind of belief requires the joining of all the vulnerable of all races and ethnicities to one political agenda. For good and real progress in Nashville, we must put the days of destructive segregation behind us and blaze a new trail of equal justice for all.

Hannity, O'Reilly, Savage and others should address Knoxville church shooting with promise to tone down rhetoric or face legal action$$$

Right-wing talk radio has a lot to answer for in Sunday's deadly shooting of members of a Unitarian church here in Knoxville, TN.

Their angry rhetoric, locally and nationally, may attract listeners and big money and later readers, but it seems to feed hate into those who are already ignorant and sick. Not only does talk radio have a lot to answer for -- which includes Rush Limbaugh -- but so do authors like Ann Coulter who regularly damns people who believe differently than her.

It is my hope that members of talk radio and their "Bash-'Em-in-the-Head Book Club" of authors are targeted in a massive lawsuit by wounded victims and families of the dead in the shooting. Talk radio and extreme right wing conservative authors certainly can be cited for shouting "fire" in a crowded building, which does not come under the protection of the First Amendment. In considering Second Amendment rights, which I support, legal restrictions concerning gun licenses for the mentally ill have been unpheld.

The beating death of a 25-year-old Hispanic man by three white teens in Shenandoah, PA., earlier this month also can be connected to the right-wing hate speech. The teens have been charged with homicide.

I know that conservatives I've formed friendships with and respect across Tennessee do not solely rely on talk show hosts and authors to form their opinions. And there are left-wing pundits who spew an assortment of derogatory messages.

But this shooting case in particular may indeed point to a unique characteristic in the extreme right-wing message that puts a sense of mission into the minds of some to wipe out those who believe differently.

If and when we come across people on either ideologocial side who are taking matters too far in their thinking, then we must correct them and demand of them some sense of mitigation in their anger. That's our responsibility in the marketplace of ideas.

Read below about what the Knoxville News-Sentinel -- probably the best big newspaper in Tennessee -- reports today on the shooting:

Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list

4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'

By Hayes Hickman

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical.

Knoxville Police Department Officer Steve Still requested the search warrant after interviewing Adkisson. who was subdued by several church members after firing three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun into the congregation.

Adkisson targeted the church, Still wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."

Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."

Adkisson told officers he left the house unlocked for them because "he expected to be killed during the assault."

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was motivated by a hatred of "the liberal movement," and he planned to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this morning.

Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his "hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said. "Liberals in general, as well as gays."

Adkisson said he also was frustrated about not being able to obtain a job, Owen said.

The letter, recovered from Adkisson's black 2004 Ford Escape, which was parked in the church's parking lot at 2931 Kingston Pike, indicates he had been planning the shooting for about a week.

"He fully expected to be killed by the responding police," the police chief said.

Owen said Adkisson specifically targeted the church for its beliefs, rather than a particular member of the congregation.

"It appears that church had received some publicity regarding its liberal stance," the chief said. The church has a "gays welcome" sign and regularly runs announcements in the News Sentinel about meetings of the Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays meetings at the church.

Owen said Adkisson's stated hatred of the liberal movement was not necessarily connected to any hostility toward Christianity or religion per say, but rather the political advocacy of the church.

The church's Web site states that it has worked for "desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women's rights and gay rights" since the 1950s. Current ministries involve emergency aid for the needy, school tutoring and support for the homeless, as well as a cafe that provides a gathering place for gay and lesbian high-schoolers.

What's the real threat to Williamson County? Tommy Campsey's waistline and hypocrite households with undocumented nannies

NewsChannel 5's Brent Fraiser had a good story last night on controversy in Williamson County over a flyer put out by sheriff-wanna-be Tommy Campsey. It showed illegal immigrants as a dark figure in the shadow waiting to wreak criminal havoc.

The sheriff's race here between eight candidates as turned into a "who can be toughest" contest on undocumented workers and their families. But Campsey this week took the matter further and lower, with his flyer calling undocumented workers "criminals" and showing these human beings as shadowy figures.

Here's what we can determine as the truth about Campsey's candidacy and the impact of undocumented workers on Williamson County's welfare:

* The shadowy figure is certainly not Campsey. He makes Jabba the Hut resemble a Richard Simmons devotee. His gross obesity is a very poor image for Williamson County to the public and to children who are fighting an obesity epidemic.

* With his size, it is obvious that Campsey has greatly benefitted from undocumented workers pilng on food at local buffets and harvesting foods at a lower labor cost.

* I was in the Puffy Muffin restaurant 12 days ago in Brentwood at the invitation of a colleague, and it was packed for lunch. I estimated that at least a quarter of the women there were free to dine at leisure because they had undocumented nannies watching their children at home during the summer break. You learn things about a community after living here almost 12 years.

These women privately testify to the dependability and compassion of these undocumented workers with their children. They could not do without them. But when it comes to going public, and watching shameful campaigns such as Campseys, they do not dare say a word in defense of these good people in their very homes. Shameful.

* Being illegally in this country is a civil offense, a misdemeanor. You pay a fine. If we are to call undocumented workers "criminals", then any person who gets stopped driving too fast in a school zone or having a broken taillight is a criminal, too. But Campsey would not dare call white folks any despicable and inaccurate name.

Campsey may well triumph because he has stooped to this despicable low. But I can guarantee him and Williamson County taxpayers -- of which I am one -- that I will sue a Sheriff Campsey and any of the various city police chiefs if any undocumented worker is treated in the least bit unfairly or questionably, as in the case of Mrs. Juana Villegas in Nashville.

There also are two other prominent Hispanic leaders of means who live here. So I will seek their support, too, since they are attorneys who could file the lawsuit themselves.

So voters of Williamson County, you have a choice. Go with Campsey and his bigotry and threaten future economic development and your wallets, or denounce his candidacy and choose a lesser evil.

Your new neighbors at the Nissan headquarters are watching, and so am I.

Political advance of state Rep. Odom could be good news for state's most vulnerable citizens

It is difficult amid the indefinable politics in the state of Tennessee to find an elected official to count on when it comes to the most vulnerable among us.

But if action earlier this month and an analysis last week by the City Paper's John Rodgers are any indication, state Rep. Gary Odom may be one of the few lawmakers standing who is of distinction to carry this weighty banner. He is far from a perfect lawmaker, and I've criticized him sharply in the past for his dedication to the Naifeh Machine.

Rep. Odom, however, broke up an attempt on the board of AccessTN to put a cap on the program's enrollment. It provides coverage to uninsurable people in Tennessee. Some of these enrollees have lost their workplace health insurance when their small business employers decide they can no longer afford to provide coverage and stay operating.

All have pre-existing conditions that disqualify them for private, personal health insurance coverage. Or the policy has a rider that covers costs for every ailment except the one they have. Eligible enrollees also make too much to qualify for TennCare. They are Tennessee's working poor.

AccessTN was created by Gov. Phil Bredesen after he decimated TennCare rolls in meeting his promise to "fix" the state's Medicaid program and also get re-elected.

About 41,000 people are now enrolled. Some members of the program's board earlier this month tried to install a cap of 60,000 amid a deepening economic recession. That's what Odom objected to. Enrollees still pay for their insurance coverage but at a reduced price. They work. They pay taxes. They're just poor.

So Odom spoke up and stopped the momentum on the board. He continues to show some ownership in the cause of protecting those who are hurting. Odom carried the bill pushed by TennCare advocates for premium assistance in AccessTN in 2006. He helped get $33 million set aside for assistance.

In case you want more information, which I doubt, AccessTN is part of the Cover Tennessee comprehensive legislation Bredesen created and got passed into law in a re-election year.

Now let's fast-forward to July 2008 and reporter John Rodgers, who is fast becoming the best legislative reporter in the state. His newspaper still doesn't respect him and does not feature his work often enough on the cover -- or at least provide a cover reference to it.

Rodgers reports that Odom is smartly moving toward becoming the next House speaker. The Nashville area Democrat has made it to majority leader. The current speaker, Jimmy Naifeh, is considering a run for governor. The path definitely has been cleared for the west Tennessee Democrat with Bill Purcell escaping to Harvard University.

So could Odom as speaker and Naifeh as governor be better for Tennessee and its most vulnerable citizens? Any political equation that does not include Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn is a definite step forward.

Obama's appearance at Unity '08 raises new questions on his actual immigration policy

Give U.S. Sen. Barack Obama a lot of credit for making it to Unity '08 and putting himself at risk before an audience that gave him a standing ovation and a lot of lusty cheers.

He still looked tired from his European trip that thrilled a lot of folks over there but sure didn't help his poll numbers over here. He still is in a dead heat within the margin of error with Sen. John McCain. Go figure. To add injury to insult, he had to visit the hospital afterward for a bad hip.

One thing that caught my attention during his appearance -- beyond columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.'s arrogant frown of indignity -- was the comment by Obama on his immigration policy. He said all the right things about being in favor of comprehensive reform but then added that undocumented workers -- after going through the legalization -- would then have to get in line.

Get in line with who?

For how long --- 12 years?

Would they have to pay the fine plus the costs just to get in line?

What happens to their American citizen children here?

What are the rights of these children in all of this?

Sadly, the one question that needed to be asked was not. Would a President Obama in the first hours of his first day of his first term as president make a phone call or sign an order to stop 287g deportation programs in 57 U.S. communities and two states(N. Carolina and Tennessee) across the country and halt ICE raids of workplaces?

Comprehensive immigration reform will take many months and perhaps another year to pass and enact. Relief from 287g and ICE raids are needed now to stop the inhumanity against heads of households and pregnant mothers such as Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) in Nashville.

The only certainty in this presidential race is that it will be a referendum on Obama's fitness to be president. It is his race to lose. And if he creates more questions with his answers, he will lose it.

A clear and present danger to the most vulnerable among us; be aware and get involved now, please

The fight to protect the most vulnerable of Tennessee continues, as the Tennessee Health Care Campaign begins new strategies to raise funds and awareness to battle TennCare cuts now and in the new legislative session.

The latest threat is to our neighbors who are homebound because of age and/or medical condition. Like me, you probably thought they were protected by the nation's safety net.

We're wrong. But it's not too late. If you care about the most vulnerable in your community, please take note of the following alert:

Are you about to lose your Private Duty Nursing?

Have you gotten a letter or call from AmeriGroup or AmeriChoice or another TennCare managed care company about cutting your nursing services?

Are you worried about being FORCED into a nursing home?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then COME to our training meeting to understand what your rights are and how to appeal. If you do NOT appeal, you may lose part or all of your nursing services and you may end up in a nursing home.

Spread the Word: Pass this email on to your email list. Statewide training for Patients, Family Members, Advocates, Social Workers, Home Health Agencies.

Date: Friday, August 1 (This is the correct date)

Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon

Place: SEIU, Local 205, 521 Gal latin Road, Nashville, TN

Room: Ground Floor


What will you learn at this meeting?

Patient appeal rights under Grier(court ruling)
Patient rights
Right to have a lawyer to represent you
Managed care organization's obligations in the law
Appeal Process
Notification
Timing
Writing your appeal
Asking for a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge
Educate your doctor
Always ask for a Face to Face interview - WHY
Are you ready to go public, contact the media?
If you want to attend, I must hear from you. Email Tony Garr at tgarr@thcc2.org or call me on my cell phone 615-430-8319.
You care deeply about your patients or your family members. This is the time to show up. THIS IS REAL.


It is real. I know Tony Garr and his wonderful wife and sister. They are people of credibility and strong moral fiber.

It now is our responsibility to act in whatever way possible. Spread the word and the warning for the least among us.

Tennessee's 'Fractured Fairy Tale': The story of Good Ol' Uncle Breddy and King Philip the Great

It is no surprise that I consider Gov. Phil Bredesen a hypocrite -- which is the worst thing you can be in the political arena.

I've learned the hard way in interviewing him and writing about his big economic deals as a Nashville columnist. But what he said last week in a very nicely packaged report by Cara Kumari of WSMV Channel 4 makes even "Congressman" Marsha Blackburn seem like a candidate for JFK Library Profiles in Courage Award.

The school sales tax holiday coming up this weekend, Aug. 1-3, is a creation of Bredesen, not so coincidentially before he was running for re-election. In the years 2005 and 2006(the election year), he was going around the stage encouraging parents to take advantage of this three-day holiday to help their kiddies be prepared to learn.

He didn't seem like a politician at all. He resembled a close friend, or even a relative, perhaps an uncle. Yes, an uncle.

So at the same time as he was peddling the sweets of his sales tax holiday, Ol' Uncle Breddy was telling moms and dads not to worry about the state income tax monster. It would be slain during his next four years, he promised in his loud, assuring voice.

And so it was across the Kingdom of the Kind Mega-Millionaire.

The sales tax roof goes 'poof'
Then, however, a fiscal storm blew in. And the refuge of the state sales tax no longer provided protection from the elements.

So what did ol' Uncle Breddy do in 2007 and 2008? Well, he turned into King Philip the Great. And he cut and he cut and he cut programs for the most vulnerable. He refused to use the Golden Goose Rainy Day Fund to help balance the budget, telling people that the rain really wasn't coming down that hard and the wind was a simple breeze.

Yet this year, Ol' Uncle Breddy/King Philip the Great really started to panic as the storm grew worse. He declared in an official, royal proclamation that 2,300 state workers must lose their heads, er, I mean their jobs.

Most of the Republicans in his kingdom cheered lustily: "All hail, King Philip, all hail. He is now one of us!"

Why, boys and girls? Well, they didn't care about the state worker serfs at all. They really were too poor to care about and many of them were not the unofficial state skin color of favor. Wink. Wink.

But some of the people in Uncle Breddy's political party of "Ye Olde Tired Democrats" questioned him publicly about taking off the heads of state workers during an economic recession. Uncle Breddy momentarily returned and relented. He gave in to his lords and ladies of court, and said he'd offer buyouts.

In a recession? Thanks a lot.

The King gets really angry
Last week, the king or Uncle Breddy was not too happy. It seems that only 1,400 workers decided to leave their jobs and their households at risk during an economic recession. Damn, these selfish serfs! Only thinking of themselves.

Now the King found himself in a terrible spot. But his royalness did not consult any oracle, since his opinion is the only one he really respected. Instead, he spoke to WSMV Channel 4 and said that the sales tax holiday -- that his aler-ego Uncle Breddy offered to moms and dads for their kids -- no longer was a good idea. Actually, it was going to cost the jobs and heads of almost 1,000 serfs.

Bad moms!

Bad dads!

Selfish brats!

Governor: Tax Holiday Jeopardizes More Jobs
Money Could Be Used To Pay State Workers

Reported By Cara Kumari
POSTED: 4:00 pm CDT July 24, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The upcoming Tennessee tax holiday is designed to save consumers money, but it could cost some state workers their jobs, according to Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Video: Tax Holiday Not Helping State Budget Woes

When asked about the upcoming sales tax holiday, the governor said there's nothing he can do about the situation because it's the law. He said if he could take back the holiday, he would in order to help the state's finances.

Bredesen said money that consumers are saving during the holiday is costing state employees their jobs.


Now look at this 2006 news story featuring Good Ol' Uncle Breddy:


Knoxville News-SentinelBack-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Starts Friday

Submitted by Les Jones on Sun, 2006/07/30 - 9:59pm.

Tax holiday on clothes, school supplies, computers:

The designated three-day weekend, which starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 4, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6, allows consumers to purchase selected clothing, school supplies and computers without paying Tennessee's state and local sales tax on the items.

Gov. Phil Bredesen proposed the holiday in Tennessee, which is among 13 other states and the District of Columbia that hold sales-tax holidays. It was approved by the Legislature in 2005 and will recur each year.

"Creating this sales-tax holiday was one of my goals from the beginning of my administration," Bredesen said in a statement. "The sales-tax holiday positively impacts education, our number-one priority. The Aug. 4-6 sales-tax holiday will provide tax savings for Tennessee's working families as they prepare for the school year."

The sales-tax exemption applies to clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school supplies with a price of $100 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less per item.

Holy Jekyll and Hyde, Batman!
It's kind of scary, isn't it, that this kind of person is governor of Tennessee?

To be a serf in the Kingdom of Philip the Great is not a great thing. As one of the great prophets of the kingdom told this lowly scribe, many of the state workers are in his Nashville congregation. The Rev. Enoch Fuzz said they are supporting their households on $30,000-$40,000 a year. That's not a lot of money if you have kids, who Ol' Uncle Breddy used to love so dearly.

Meanwhile, the king opened the public pursue strings to welcome a stranger to Tennessee. By name, the original builder of Hitler's people's vehicle promised to bring jobs here. The king has a $100 million economic development goodies fund to reward people and corporations that already have a lot.

And he allowed Queen Andrea de Conte the First to use $11 million in public money to build an underground theme park below the royal castle for guests and very important people like herself. Her response to critics: "Let them eat cake."

But for the serfs, he has relatively nothing. Their worth is in question.

So there you have it, the Tennessee Jekyll and Hyde story of good Ol' Uncle Breddy and King Philip the Great of Tennessee.

The moral of the story -- run away, run away(as the Monty Pythonians cried upon encountering the flesh-eating rabbit) when Ol' Uncle Breddy comes to your hamlet, lest he return two years later as mean King Philip the Great and demand "off with your heads".

Who is reporter G. Chambers Williams III and why can't he and The Tennessean give us definite numbers on corporate welfare for the VW plant?

Never late than sorry, The Tennessean and reporter C. Chambers William III made their first attempt at informing state taxpayers about how they are having to pay in corporate welfare for auto jobs at the VW plant in Chattanooga.

Chambers used the qualifiers of "some estimates" and "not known" about the size and value of the giveaways for VW. If he could not get access via local and state governments to report all these numbers, then that sure would have been a better column for Editor and Vice President Mark Silverman in today's Issues section. He and his newspaper are supposedly champions of open records. Here's an area, Mr. Silverman, that you should tackle in print.

But it would be hard for him to do that. He and a lot of the Tennessee news media leaders serve as cheerleaders for economic development -- or what passes for it in the political arena -- at the cost of taxpayers.

Mr. Chambers really isn't at fault in his reporting, except for the first FOUR paragraphs of his story that read like an editorial instead of an objective examination. Has The Tennessean heard of attribution? Perhaps not.

I attended a writing session Silverman led -- before he came to The Tennessean and I contracted leukemia -- in which he and then Tennessean Editor Frank Sutherland agreed that some long-time reporters do not require attribution.

Yes, they claimed that. The reporters at The Tennessean cited as worthy of not using attribution in news or sports stories were reporters Kirk Loggins and Jeff Legwold. Along with many other long-time pros at The Tennesseans, these two journalists have long been gone.

The biggest loss of the departures was investigative reporter Sheila Wissner, who had the saavy to report BEFOREHAND on all the goodies Dell Computer was promised from then Mayor Bredesen to come to Nashville.

She discovered that the promised corporate welfare over 40 years would cost taxpayers more than they would receive. The VW deal is over 30 years, so that span makes its economic payback for all the goodies given even more in doubt.

Yet The Tennessean editorially endorsed the Dell deal before it went to a vote of the Metro Council, and an MTSU professor intervened and produced WRONG numbers to dispute Wissner's fine reporting.

We all know what happened. The deal was approved. Bredesen and others crowed about how Nashville was going to become a high-tech corridor.

But it gets worse. Then billionaire Michael Dell decided after initial Nashville operations to move the high-paying manufacturing jobs out of Music City and over to Lebanon. He left lower-paying, box-filling jobs in Nashville. And the city was left paying big taxpayer gifts to Dell for every job he still had here, manufacturing or box-filling. The Purcell administration then tried to come in and clean up this mess.

Yet if Chambers reporting is credible, the state -- under Bredesen -- is now following previously failed policy in offering another significant and annual taxpayer gift for each job -- this time to VW.

How can Bredesen get away with this?

Are there safeguards in the VW deal to prevent that corporation from pulling a Michael Dell?

Will Tennessean reporters be required to use attribution in their stories, instead of making the same anecdotal claims as were used with Dell in Nashville?

Would The Tennessean consider making an big offer to Shelia Wissner to come back and do reporting on this matter of interest to taxpayers?

I hope The Tennessean would take the above comments constructively, because there is a way out of reporting that leaves more questions that it answers and column writing that is not pertinent to the moment.

Everyone of us, including me as a subscriber, needs a better Tennessean that is more comprehensive in its reporting. While veterans who have been bought out of their careers and/or who have left for new opportunities are hard to replace, there is progress that can be made with less experienced reporters.

Certainly, a more thorough use of Lexis-Nexus in adequately researching past economic development deals locally and statewide would provide fodder for more questions and better analysis -- particularly in the play story on the front page of the Sunday newspaper and still in the historial shadow of the Dell deal.

Overcoming all these obstacles, however, requires effective leadership from the top. Mr. Chambers tried to do a good job on his story. That point is quite evident. Perhaps an editor rewrote his first four paragraphs. It happens. I know. But Mr. Chambers also needs the direction of editors who have been here a long time and seen all the political tricks played by Bredesen and others.

Without that kind of leadership in the ranks and at the top, newspapers not only here but across the country expose themselves to extinction ... which not only would be bad for this nation but for all the many dedicated rank and file employees at The Tennessean and elsewhere.

They and their families deserve better. Taxpayers, too.

Grandson of German immigrants: Blame for immigrant's beating death is with ranting rabble

A friend of mine and Nashville attorney -- the grandson of German immigrants -- sent me the following comment to the AP story about the beating death of a Mexican undocumented worker walking the sister of his fiance back home for her protection.

Three white teens in Shenandoah, PA., were charged Friday with homicide.

"This is what happens when we act like it is okay to openly look down on someone because they belong to another group. Our children take us at our word. They tend to be a lot more zealous and literal about the “ideals” we espouse, but make no mistake about it – they are merely acting out our own ideals.

"When we make it clear, implicitly or explicitly, that it is okay to deride someone or to treat them as a lesser humans merely because they are from somewhere else or they are part of some other group, then the kids take it the next logical step and perform acts of violence on them.

"I blame the 'our country is being invaded by illegal immigrants' folks for this violence. These are the same people who are so quick to blame rappers for causing gang violence or blame heavy metal bands for a teen suicide. If those people are responsible for those tragedies, then the English-First(referendum petition in Nashville) proponents and their hot air talk radio champions are responsible for this one."


This grandson of German immigrants are ride. Hate begets hate. There is no question about it. And that is the inheritance we are leaving to our children in this nation.

May God forgive us and turn this nation away from hate before it is too late.

Two cases but different circumstancs involving death and two undocumented workers

In response to the AP story in the previous post, FOX News on Neal Cavuto's show this morning featured the story of a man in San Francisco killed by an undocumented worker.

And the response of the uneducated on the show was to blame San Francisco for being a sanctuary city, one of 16 in the nation. Such a local ordinance protects undocumented workers and their families from the heinous 287g deportation program.

For the sake of enlightenment, sanctuary city status does NOT protect undocumented workers with a felony criminal record. The accused in this murder case had such a record, but the federal government, again, failed to deport the man even though it knew of his criminal record.

And again, first demand that the Bush administration do its job in enforcing federal immigration law, instead of focusing criticsm on cities like San Francisco.

While these are two cases of deaths involving undocumented workers, the circumstances are much different. People need to take time to think before blurting out an excuse for a federal government not doing its job.

A warning to Mayor Dean and Congressman Cooper: beware the seeds you are sowing in your silence over 287g and Juana Villegas

Here is some good news for all the ardent supporters of the heinous 287g deportation program in Nashville.

And for those public officials like Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper who continue to maintain their silence over the torture of Mrs. Juana Villegas and the abuse of her newborn son by Music City authorities, this outrage is the kind of conduct your cowardice encourages.

This nation and state continues to turn nasty toward Hispanics -- immigrants illegal or legal. And Hispanic citizens get stained with the same brush of disregard and intolerance.

Be warned about the seeds you are sowing with your acquiescing silence in your community and your children. More and more of the nation is watching.

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_9996051

3 Pa. teens charged in fatal attack on immigrant

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 07/25/2008 01:31:25 PM EDT


PORT CARBON, Pa. — Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant in a small northeastern Pennsylvania coal town.

Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the death of Luis Ramirez. Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation.

Additional charges are expected in the case that has roiled Shenandoah, the small, economically depressed town where the attack occurred and police have reported friction between whites and a growing Hispanic population.

"As a result of this crime, a young man has lost his life, many other lives have been devastated, and the borough of Shenandoah has been filled with tensions between many ethnic groups," Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said.

Ramirez, 25, who was in the country illegally, was beaten July 12 during a confrontation with a group of youths in a park. Authorities said the suspects used ethnic slurs during the fight, but declined to say whether Ramirez's ethnicity was the motive.

The suspects, all Shenandoah residents, played football at Shenandoah Valley High School; Donchak, now enrolled at Bloomsburg University, was the quarterback last season. He declined comment after the arraignment, but lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said there was no evidence to support the homicide charges.

According to a police affidavit, the defendants and three 17-year-olds were drinking alcohol in a wooded area of Shenandoah, then went to a block party sponsored by the borough's Polish American Fire Co. After leaving the party around 11 p.m., the group walked toward a park, where they encountered Ramirez and a teenage girl.

The youths goaded Ramirez and the girl, saying, "You should get out of this neighborhood" and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here," documents said. After Ramirez and the girl began walking away, someone yelled an ethnic slur at him, court documents said. He responded, "What's your problem?"

A fight ensued, during which police said Walsh punched Ramirez in the face. The victim fell and hit his head on the street, leaving him unconscious, after which Piekarsky kicked him in the head, police said.

The suspects fled the scene; Ramirez underwent surgery but died about 30 hours later.

Crystal Dillman, the victim's 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, said Friday that Ramirez was walking her sister to a friend's house that night.

"He was just trying to be a good person, making sure she got (there) safe," said Dillman, adding she was relieved the charges include ethnic intimidation.

She says Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including "dirty Mexican," and told to return to his homeland. Similar insults have been hurled at their children, ages 2 and 11 months, she said.

"I plan on moving out of this town as fast as I can. Not because I'm scared. I just don't want to see my children have to deal with what their father dealt with," Dillman said.

Following the arraignment, lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said their clients are not guilty and that they would try to have the case removed to juvenile court.

Roger Laguna, Walsh's lawyer, said the police affidavit "pretty much describes chaos, and what you have then after the fact is somebody trying to sort through that and attribute certain acts to certain individuals."

Goodman said a fourth teen will be charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation and that charges also will be filed against a man who provided alcohol to the defendants hours before the attack.

Piekarsky and Walsh were detained without bail. Donchak was held in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Preliminary hearings for all three suspects were scheduled for Aug. 4.

The amazing heroics and new momentum behind Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church

The congregation at St. Edward Catholic Church placed more of its faith in action behind the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Nashville by agreeing yesterday to be responsible for a $400,000 loan to pay the $1.5 million debt for OLG's creation.

In addition, the Frist Foundation stepped forward yesterday to give $100,000 to buy computers and establish offices and classrooms for Catholic Charities and St. Mary's Villa CDC at Our Lady's.

Catholic Charities, chaired by attorney Gregg Ramos and daily led by executive director William Sinclair, will shift its services to Nashville immigrants to Our Lady's. St. Mary's will offer pre-K daycare to children of working mothers. That's a marvelous service to the Midstate economy let alone Hispanic working families.

"We originally asked for consideration of funding from Frist for our computer needs on the campus," Sinclair said in a prepared statement. "Pete Byrd became interested in the array of services we will be offering and visited the campus.

"He 'encouraged' our team to expand the request to include: all computers for Charities, the CDC and a bank of 10 stations and a server for the network; all telephone systems and sets for both Charities and SMV; all office equipment for Charities and a generous amount for the SMVCDC to purchase classroom equipment.

"Pete Bryd also told us that they know we need the funds now to be able to move forward and they are sending the entire $100k next week."

The Frist family continues to give to a better Nashville. Their generosity and judgment in providing Mr. Byrd the flexibility to help in a broader and visionary way is most appreciated.

A busy history thanks to a strong shepherd
Our Lady's opened Dec. 12, 2007, on Nolensville Road, in the former home of Radnor Baptist Church. Now it is one of the largest Catholic churches in Tennessee, with 5,000 people attending weekend masses.

Despite the large numbers, it has been one man and his faith that has made Our Lady's possible. Father Joe Pat Breen signed the loan documents with the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, making him officially responsible for two Catholic parishes.

That's a lot to take on for a 73-year-old Nashville native with heart problems. That's a lot for one man to take on, being responsible for answering appeals by the late Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict the XVI to look after Nashville Hispanics and immigrants nationwide.

Father Breen has taken the pastoral, diocesan and political lead in shepherding the enormous Hispanic Catholic population in Nashville. He should be retired or considering retirement. Yet the unofficial "Bishop of Flat Rock" continues by deed to earn his title and gain more admirers.

Beyond raising more than $500,000 in the community and contributing $5,000 of his own money, Father Breen has encouraged his flock to take ownership of the fate of their Hispanic brothers and sisters -- and fellow immigrants.

St. Edward's congregation has contributed more than $330,000 over two years toward making Our Lady's in Nashville a reality. Even now amid a recession, it continues to contribute about $3,000 each Sunday. The working poor congregation of Our Lady's has given more than $80,000 toward retiring the debt.

Two large and affluent Catholic congregations have stepped forward to contribute $125,000. St. Philip's in Franklin and then pastor Rev. Kirk contributed an astonishing $100,000. The Williamson County church also has its own Hispanic ministry. Holy Family Catholic Church and Father Ed Alberts gave a most generous $25,000 amid its own building campaign.

Those who have participated personally and congregationally in giving to the miracle of Our Lady's should now consider themselves officially invited to be part of the upcoming 500th anniversary of Our Lady's only appearance in the Western Hemisphere. Set aside Dec. 12, 2031, for the greatest celebration Nashville has ever seen.

Paying rent and sweat equity while giving service
Besides providing critical community services, Catholic Charities and St. Mary's will be paying more than $30,000 annually in rent to Our Lady's for their offices. So that will help the congregation make the large monthly payment on the diocese's loan.

In regards to the Frist Foundation donation tied to these organizations, Sinclair added: "My compliments to Eileen Beehan, Shirley Lopihandia and Terry Horgan of Catholic Charities and Mike Miller of St. Mary Villa CDC for putting together a great proposal in a very short period of time."

Despite the greatly reduced price for the buildings and property that now make up Our Lady's, about $300,000 in spending has been needed to refuribish the 72,000 square feet in the buildings. Various lots of land also have had to be cleared. Lawn maintenance equipment had to be purchased. Carpeting, painting, air conditioners and new windows are just some of the needed projects.

If not for the sweat equity of parishoners, that cost would be multiplied several times over in labor hours and artisan skills. Altars and chairs have been carved in wood and stone and donated. Votive candles stands have been wielded and painted. Murals have been done by children and professional artists. The list goes on and on.

It ultimately is the goal of Our Lady's advocates to retire the $400,000 loan as soon as possible. That way, the church can be on its own financially and expand its mission to address needs and opportunities. So monetary donations are still needed for this miracle. If you are reading this post, please send me an e-mail and I'll tell how to give, or call Father Breen at (615) 833-5520. Any gift of any size is welcome.

On Tuesday, Father Breen, OLG pastor Father Fernando Garcia and OLG administrator John Martinez hosted an official from a Dallas organization considering a grant to Our Lady's and its broad mission.

So the whirlwind of giving and heroics around this new church continues, despite the heinous 287 deportation program and the support of the mayor, congressman and sheriff behind it.

Read here for more exciting updates, as the people of light battle the descending darkness in Nashville.

The summer of 2008 has been filled with too much death and pain in the Nashville area

It was not for a lack of praying that Anita Anderson passed away this morning.

The death of this Williamson County educator, mother and beloved wife has hit many people hard, particularly those of us who have included her and her husband, Rogers, in our daily prayers.

Besides the heat and drought, the summer of 2008 has been one too filled with death and pain. The death yesterday of the Rev. J. Howard Olds -- retired pastor of Brentwood United Methodist Church -- was difficult for those of us who have admired his long, courageous fight with cancer. We shared hematologists, Dr. John Greer at Vanderbilt, a man of integrity, skill and passionate politics. And my wife and I kept him in our daily prayers like Anita Anderson.

Nashville, too, has lost some of the finest people in hall of fame educator Mary Craighead and businessman philanthropist Monroe Carell, Jr. Both made it their life missions to rescue the most vulnerable among us. Who will fill this void? Who will say, "here I am Lord ... ?

Earlier this month, Sumner County lost former County Executive R.J. "Hank" Thompson. It was my honor to meet and speak with him four years ago at my speech to county Republicans. He died of lung cancer, which does not receive the kind of research dollars necessary to effectively battle this killer. You don't have to be a smoker to get lung cancer. And when you get it, the descent to death often is quick.

Don't lose heart. God does answer prayers, just not according to our weak wisdom. Still, His way is hard. I can tell you that the people who care for those of us with cancer are the more heroic, even though they'd refuse the distinction. My wife was still awake when I would slip in and out of awareness two years ago in a Vanderbilt Medical Center bed. These family members stay aware during all the terror. Then, they must think about the unthinkable if we die -- carrying on.

Rogers Anderson, mayor of Williamson County, definitely married up when he joined his life to Anita's earlier this decade. I got to have dinner with them at a local political function years ago before cancer became a part of our lives. Their eyes twinkled when talking of the other.

Rogers is one of the nicest and most competent public officials I've met. Yet like me, he has a rascally side and likes to tease those he likes and loves. Anita held her own and gave more back. She and Rogers were the perfect match. They had everything except the length of years.

Rev. Olds left a wife of 43 years. She, too, would probably not admit to her heroics. But like Rogers, Sandy Olds shares a kinship of deep love and difficult hurt. They should remain in our prayers.

Despite medical advances and lifetimes of longer length in this country, cancer remains a cruel master on this earth. It is good that more people go into remission, at least temporarily. We learn to live in the moment as the rest of the world passes by on its too-busy schedule. I know that if and when I come out of remission, my passing will be quick. And that's all right.

It is only then that cancer is defeated, by the most powerful and compassionate force of a forgiving and loving God.

Yes, faith abides, because earth is not supposed to be heaven. And life is unfair, as the late President John F. Kennedy once reminded reporters at one of his celebrated press conferences. Still, our selfishness clings to the delight of the presence of these wonderful people too soon departed.

O, Lord, console your people at such departures. Heal the wounds of these long battles against cancer and other diseases. And when our time comes, turn our eyes skyward, in anticipation of blessed reunions in thy light and thy wonderful presence. Amen

ATTENTION NISSAN EMPLOYEES: You're not in California anymore; welcome to the Old South

For all the 1,200 Nissan employees who have moved here and been overwhelmed by the cheap cost of housing and the lower tax burden, remember that there are no bargains in life.

You get what you pay for, or what people in the Old South and here in Tennessee don't want to pay for. And we're cheap here when it comes to investing in enlightenment and tolerance. You'll discover the heavy price being paid by your soul and conscience -- and those of your children -- to live here.

If you're Hispanic, you'll discover that you're living in a hostile environment to the Spanish language, surnames and the color of your skin. Don't leave your home without your driver's license or your seatbelt not on. You're target No. 1 of law enforcement authorities.

Old times, they indeed are not forgotten. But many of us cannot look away, nor move away, because we know the vulnerable people who would be left without advocacy. The only way to really change what is wrong is from within. So some of us hope your presence will bring more soldiers to the fight we're losing.

Don't let Nashvillians fool you about how progressive of a city they have. It's not, period. The public school board just voted to resgregate schools, according to white versus black. A Hispanic mother, Juana Villegas, was tortured by local law enforcement authorities and her child was separated from her soon after birth over the Fouth of July weekend.

Her terrible crime? A civil offense. She was in this country without needed documentation. And she was arrested for a traffic offense of operating a vehicle without a driver's license. Tennessee doesn't allow undocumented workers to get licenses.

Just think what would have been done to her if she had done something violent. Yes, your state has not resolved the matter of undocumented workers either. But at least there is some recognition that Hispanics were in America before there was an America on the West Coast. As Delores Huerta likes to say, "we didn't cross the border; the border crossed us."

Es verdad!

There are things you'll see and experience here that will be shocking from your more diverse and tolerant lifestyle in California. The South has severely regressed in the humane treatment of people, this time against Hispanics. More than 1,500 people LEGALLY in this country have been detained and questioned for hours in Nashville even though the 287g deportation program here was sold as only going after undocumented immigrants who were criminally dangerous to society.

Yes, politicians lie, even in California. But there is a heavy dose of ignorance with each dishonesty here. And it's willful ignorance. The FBI raided the state Legislature here several years ago for lawmakers making money unlawfully under an federal sting.

Thankfully, you'll find pockets of exception. For instance but not exclusively, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center are an oasis of public service, enlightenment and compassion. Some churhces here make a big difference outside their own four walls. They peform a lot of heroics. But the silence of too many congregations to social outrages is deeply disturbing and telling.

WWJD? He'd walk away from Nashville.

But of course, you're lucky to still have a job in this recessed economy. I'm sure few of you were invited to the lavish state-by-state receptions for your decision-making executives. Your company's North American headquarters is located in Williamson County, just south of Nashville. People here are nice, as are many people in Nashville. Family life is big.

But their leaders also are talking about bringing 287g to Williamson County. Every sheriff candidate is trying to sound tougher than the rest on illegal immigration.

Encourage people down here you meet to not embrace 287g as in Nashville, and the cost to the soul and conscience.

So be careful, neighbors. Watch your back and your values and embrace those here you find valuable. Protect your children. Nurture their minds with an overriding sense of humanity to all.

Be warned. You've moved to the Old South, where old times are not forgotten. They're simply relived.

The letter of the law and the Judaeo-Christian tradition/ethic ... which is supreme in the torture case of Juana Villegas and newborn son?

From reading all the comments about the growing and needed coverage of the torture of Juana Villegas and the abuse of newborn son in Nashville, sides have been distinctly drawn across the county.

Why punitive treatment of the undocumented is necessary
One side argues that because Mrs. Villegas was illegally in the country without needed documentation, any torture or abuse she received was justified. She had broken the law. NewsChannel 5 called her "a criminal".

These advocates of punitive treatment, however, are not as vocal about the abuse of her newborn son, an American citizen.

Yes, Mrs. Villegas faced previous deportation proceedings. She and her family have been in this country since 1993 -- establishing a home, work history and the raising of four American citizens. NewsChannel 5 can overeagerly call someone "a criminal" if he or she is arrested for operating a vehicle without a license and careless driving.

Yet, along with being illegally in this country, those traffic offenses are generally considered minor by the public. And being illegally in this nation is a civil offense, not a criminal one. Perhaps the previous deportation proceedings add a damning aspect to her personal history. But she would have had a driver's license if the state of Tennessee allowed it. That privilege was removed from undocumented workers several years ago.

Still, advocates of punitive treatment contend that undocumented human beings in America don't deserve any right to any humane treatment. As lawbreakers, all that Mrs. Villegas deserves is immediate deportation. That is what the law demands. Without laws, the late Edmund Burke said, there can be no liberty.

Roots of the law point to compassion
Yet from where has the law in the United States taken its direction and attached its roots? Undeniably, it is the Judaeo-Christian ethic -- from the 10 Commandments to the WWJD to Matthew 25.

In the Pledge of Allegiance, our oath is to the republic and the claim of being under God. Ironically, many of the critics of undocumented workers and their families also wear their faith on their sleeves and tout family values and claim to be supposedly "pro-life."

Is human life worthy of being protected just that of citizens? Should Mrs. Villegas simply aborted her child in the womb so she could have avoided torture at the hands of Nashville legal authorities?

Laws have been challenged and changed. Consider Jim Crow in Nashville and throughout the South. Just recently, the African-American woman who earlier challenged Virginia state law against interracial marriages died, and she was celebrated as a hero.

There are no national holidays dedicated to Bull Connor, the infamous, segregationist. public safety commissioner of Birmingham, AL. He definitely protected the letter of the local and state law during the Civil Rights movement. Some people now call Pima County (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio "the new Bull Connor", this time for brutalizing Hispanic people under the letter of the law -- federal, state and local or whatever passes for "proper procedure".

Edmund Burke also said that for evil to triumph, good -- or those who consider themselves good -- must do nothing. And that's what Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and local Congressman Jim Cooper are doing, nothing.

The greatest American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated the same truth. History -- in reviewing the Civil Rights fight -- would first judge the inaction of the children of light, not the misdeeds of the children of darkness, King told us.

He was right, as history shows us from inhumanity to inhumanity -- the Holocaust, Rwanda, the Spanish Inquisition, slavery in America, Manifest Destiny ... the list goes on and on. Institutions that should have responded instead became the persecutors or supporters of the inhumanity by their silence.

Letter of the law contention is a myth
As for the letter of the law in local courtrooms around the country, it is definitely not followed. Prominent people here who are professional athletes, state legislators and country music stars have avoided the letter of the law for driving under the influence of alcohol and putting other drivers in danger.

Leonard Little, former University of Tennessee football star turned St. Louis Ram, avoided imprisonment for killing a woman while driving under the influece.

The ability of these notables -- to use their vast financial holdings to hire high-powered attorneys -- has provided them the contacts in the legal system to negotiate compromises and hire experts to convince juries that even what they're seeing on police videotape is not true.

Attorneys also have relationships with prosecutors as legal colleagues to get charges reduced or even dropped.

The public accepts this departure from the letter of the law because a strong case is made that the accused has established a positive presence in the community and should be granted leniency. The problem for Hispanics who are undocumented workers is that they don't have the needed amount of cash to hire powerful attorneys. And whether one wants to believe it or not, the color of their skin and the accent in their voice (or inabiity to speak English) dooms them in the legal system.

I won a civics award in 8th grade for my ability to learn all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution. My understanding of these rights also was considered. The lesson I learned from that idyllic setting is nothing like the ugly reality in Nashville and other communities across this nation. People who look like me do not receive the same protections and consideration -- citizens of not, legally here or not.

Why rights must apply to everyone -- including non-Americans
We provide rights to visitors here and even people illegally here because we want the same rights afforded Americans in other countries under their laws.

Yet here in Nashville, more than 1,500 people over the past 14 months have been detained and questioned for hours by the sheriff's department. And they were LEGALLY in this country.

Yet no mainstream media outlet has touched that outrageous story. Why? If more than 1,500 Americans would be detained and questioned by Chinese officials this month at the Summer Olympics, CNN and every other news outlet would be providing extensive coverage. And all the letter of the law advocates for the punitive treatment of undocumented workers and their families would be the loudest voices crying foul and demanding an immediate U.S. invasion of the Asian superpower.

Of course, this crowd would say that matter would be entirely different. The Chinese are Communists and notorious persecutors of the defenseless and innocent. And any charges that have been pressed against the Americans are probably trumped up. What law could these Americans break to endanger the welfare of the Chinese?

That argument is interesting and sadly parochial, considering the number of innocents including children that this nation has killed, abused and tortured under the cause of bringing so-called civilization and God to supposed "savages". And Tennesseans celebrate historical figures like Davy Crockett and Sam Houston who took arms into Mexican territory and supported subversive elements to overthrow the government. Under today's defintions, that would make Crockett and Houston ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and TERRORISTS.

Go figure.

America's historical bigotry
So what makes the presence of Hispanics here so bad that even torture is justified? This nation's historical bigotry and insistence that European blood and heritage is the only pure trait of Americanism are the root cause of today's xenophobia.

In a nation that claims to be under God and so blessed by the Almighty, the Judaeo-Christian tradition and ethic should remain supreme. Bad laws must be challenged, and we consider the Americans who take on this burden to be worthy of holidays and celebration.

Our pledge also does not include any acclamation of lower taxes. Critics of the undocumented cite the drain on government revenues. Yet in Tennessee, the undocumented spend a larger percentage of their income on sales taxes, which represent the greatest funding for state and local government services.

A University of Arizona study released earlier this decade found that undocumented workers and families in that state contributed almost $1 billion more to the support of government services than they used. And Arizona has a much larger population of undocumented workers than Tennessee, and these human beings also fill essential jobs.

They also pay into the federal Social Security fund. The Feds say that these contributions will keep the fund solvent two years longer than expected.

Immigrants bring no more crime
As for crime and a dangerous presence in Tennessee, a traffic accident two years ago that killed a Mt. Juliet couple -- and a murder of two Nashvillians -- stirred enough fear for the sheriff here to seek federal approval of bringing the heinous 287g deportation program to Music City. That's it. How many more crimes have been committed by U.S. citizens here? Yes, it is their country in which to commit crime.

Yet the undocumented worker whose drunk driving took the lives of a Mt. Juliet couple had 12 previous drunk driving offenses. The Feds' data system flagged him for deportation early in his drunk driving history, but Washington then did nothing. So instead of making Washington do its job, three Tennessee congressmen supported putting federal immigration responsibilities in local hands. So why are these congressmen needed in Washington if they're only going to bring the burden of federal responsibilities to their districts?

Research of crime figures from 1990 to 2004 in the city of Chicago showed immigrant crime rates to be much lower than those of American citizens. The research was released in a study authored by Robert Sampson, chairman of the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. The impressive study is a must read for legal authorities open to enlightenment.

Any terrorism threat presented by immigrants coming across this nation's southern border also is without evidence. In face-to-face interviews I had with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, both authorities stated without reservation that undocumented, Hispanic workers and their families were not terrorism threats. Sufficient security was already in place on the border to claim that truth.

Even more, if Republicans quit blocking comprehensive immigration reform in Congress, this nation would have a temporary work program that would require non-Americans to to first register with the federal government to be here. That way, these human beings would not have to risk their lives crossing the desert into this country or being crowded into the back of lethally hot truck trailers. This nation also could follow these human beings more closely in this country and bring them out of the shadows.

Why not bring more federal responsibilities home?
If it is indeed best for local governments to take over federal responsibilities such as with immigration law enforcement, then why not bring the responsibilities of the Social Security Administration(SSA) closer to home?

Its long delay in awarding disability benefits to the financially and medically suffering and dying remains one of this nation's most under-reported outrages. The average wait is two to three years to get benefits after initial denials. I contracted leukemia and almost died two years ago. Yet my first two applications for benefits were denied.

When candidates say that every family in this nation is one serious medical illness away from financial disaster, they are speaking the truth. My wife and I know. It doesn't matter if you live in more affluent Williamson County or more socially challenged Davidson County(Nashville).

Universal health care in this nation is a moral must.

People die waiting on SSA benefits. Some lose their jobs or their employers feel forced to stop providing health care coverage because of rising costs. More people die waiting on SSA benefits than are killed by undocumented workers. Yet no person in authority does anything about SSA's failings, and most of the nation's news media is oblivious.

Following the Judaeo-Christian tradition/ethic
Deep down and by historical standards, we all know why the deporting of undocumented workers is such a priority. It is an easy way for politicians to get votes for re-election. It is an easy way for right wing radio talk show hosts to get listeners. And it is a way to feed America's racist underpinnings that still go unchallenged, no matter how many black men are nominated for the presidency.

As Christ continuously preached, go to the heart of the law. Take it from stone tablets and bring it to life in your actions. His law -- as derived from his Jewish upbringing and faith -- stressed compassion and welcome to the strangers among us.

That point is indisputable. And for a city such as Nashville that has more than 1,000places of worship, the 287g deportation program is the most gross of hypocrises. If these congregations are not going to stand up and act up to force an end to 287g, then their places of worship should be turned into bowling alleys. At least that way, the social worth of these places would be more visible and meaningful.

Yes, definitely yes, by the heart of the law that's rooted in the Judaeo-Christian tradition and ethic, Juana Villegas and her newborn son were wrongly tortured and abused by Nashville authorities.

It's that basic and tragic, no matter the amount of rationalization and ranting by the ignorant and intolerant.

Another New Orleans-like tragedy accompanies Hurricane Dolly's approach to south Texas

The following post by my "big sister" Marisa Treviño shows why the growiing Hispanic blogosphere and media is so critical to providing needed news coverage that's not available from the supposed mainstream outlets.

The U.S. Border Patrol announced earlier this year that its humanitarian evacuations(by bus) in the case of hurricanes would screen for the legal presence of the victims in this nation. Victims identified as undocumented would be evacuated but then deported once they reach a safe place. Either way, these hard-working, church-going people lose their jobs, homes and dreams -- hurricane or not.

How that's for conservative, Bush administration family values?

Advocates responded that this policy would result in the most poor and vulnerable in the paths of hurricanes avoiding evacuation. Thus, flooding from hurricanes under this policy would kill many people, primarily Hispanics. In New Orleans, under the watch of the Bush administration, it was African-Americans.

Does someone see a trend here? I really hate to write about such a political possibility, but this trend is unavoidable to point out.

With ICE workplace raids and 287g deportation programs in cities like Nashville, it is not unreasonable to believe that the Bush administration's intent is to get undocumented workers out of this country -- one way or the other. Flood deaths from hurricanes would most certainly be less costly to the federal budget. And another New Orleans-like tragedy didn't really move the Bush administration initially several years ago.

Here is the needed warning from www.latinalista.net:

Hurricane off S. Texas coast leaves some wondering if Border Patrol will make good on threat to screen for undocumented

By Marisa Treviño

Dolly is getting her act together and while that's usually a good thing for most of those with this name, it isn't for this Dolly — Hurricane Dolly, that is.

Proposed trajectory of Dolly through Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
(Source: National Hurricane Center)

The point of impact is calculated to be around Brownsville,Texas. There are reports that people are flocking to the Home Depot stores in the area and stocking up on supplies and materials to board their homes.

The city of Brownsville is giving out sandbags to every resident who brings a proof of residency and a shovel and a multi-agency coordination center is being set up in McAllen to smooth communications between different jurisdictions. The governor of Texas has also activated the National Guard to be on standby in case they're needed.

With all this activity, there is still "an elephant in the room" that no one has openly addressed yet — if evacuation becomes necessary, will the border patrol follow through on their threat of separating the undocumented from the general population?

Continue reading "Hurricane potential off S. Texas coast leaves some wondering if Border Patrol will make good on threat to screen for undocumented" »


Thanks, Marisa, for the warning. Pray that the Bush administration finally realizes that one New Orleans-like tragedy is enough.

Poor Phil Valentine and his dependence on ignorance in immigration debate

Poor Phil Valentine of The Tennessean wrote Sunday of his blind-leading-the-blind dependence on former Nashville talk radio host Darrell Ankarlo for information on U.S./Mexico border difficulties.

According to the columnist, Ankarlo has written books. I didn't even know he could color between the lines. Then Phil jumped atop his high horse and wrote about how all the Mexicans need to change their own government before they come here.

Hell, Phil, Americans can't even change their government in Washington. How do you expect the very poor of Mexico to change their corrupt officials? Perhaps you could go south of the border to show them and lead them with your fiery rhetoric.

Actually, you don't want Mexicans to change their government. That's just another excuse so you don't have a bunch of brown people diluting the rich European blood across this nation. Sorry, Phil, but the American Indians were here first.

Your ancestors -- as illegal immigrants -- came to this land and brought disease and firearms. Whether the civilization they also brought represents progress remains to be seen. All those whiners former Sen. Phil Gramm cited sure don't represent a happy America.

Then there's Tennessee history. There would not be as many Mexicans in Nashville and the state if Tennesseans of lore would have just stayed home and not invaded another country's territory with firearms.

Celebrated figures Davy Crockett and Sam Houston were ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, and simple seekers of fortune at someone else's expense.

These illegal aliens helped preserve slavery on Mexican territory that forcibly became the state of Texas. The government there had eliminated slavery in the early 1800s. But ol' Davy and Sam made sure that inhumanity survived another three decades. Doesn't it make you proud?

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who likes to introduce resolutions in Congress encouraging more knowledge of American history, sure doesn't bring up those facts about this nation's heritage. He prefers the lie, the myth, the non-cruel version of Manifest Destiny -- brought about by another Tennessean, President James K. Polk.

Lamar also prefers supporting the 287g deportation program in Davidson County. The illegals now are somehow different from Tennessee's hisorical illegals.

The Mexican-American War, which then Congressman Abraham Lincoln prominently opposed, forcibly removed Mexican territory in 1848 that became New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Golden State is one the world's biggest economies by itself. Los Angeles isn't named after the Spanish identification for angels by coincidence.

Think of all the Mexicans who wouldn't have been on U.S. soil if Polk had been even the least bit humane and moral. Put those facts in your next Senate resolution, Lamar.

And don't believe the myth that this nation paid for that territory. The $15 million given Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was for reparations -- to pay for the damage and killings by U.S. forces in Mexico.

So if it were not for all these Tennesseans of lore and all the VOLUNTEERS who reported for Polk's phony war, there wouldn't be many Mexicans here to deport and fret over in pushing a ridiculous referendum on English First -- and running 287g over the human rights of pregnant women and their newborns.

Tennessean columnist Phil Valentine wouldn't have anything to write, except more babble of fear and hypocrisy. To be constructive in my criticism, Tennessean officials should seek some accurate balance to Valentine's erroneous rant.

Read how police officer who arrested Juana would conduct himself as Metro Nashville school board member; is Nashville screwed up or what?

As the NashvillePost reported earlier today, the Berry Hill police officer who arrested Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) and started the torture of this woman three days from delivery of her fourth child is a candidate for a seat on the Metro Nashville school board.

Yes, Sgt. Tim Coleman is running for the District 3 school board seat, which will place him in authority over children in Metro Nashville public schools. Coleman's police chief keeps telling the local news media that this officer followed proper procedure.

But what if the proper procedure stinks, particularly when it comes to arresting women three days from delivering a child for operating a vehicle without a driver's license and supposed careless driving?

Juana and her attorney contend that she had enough identification not to be arrested by state law -- not procedure -- for traffic offenses. She had a Matricula card photo ID and car registration, they say.

The explanation of following "proper procedure" is akin the the excuse of "following orders" at the Nuremberg trials. We always claim "never again" when it comes to inhumanity, yet then we allow it to creep back into our society.

No, Juana's arrest and torture is in no way comparable to the Holocaust and loss of six million innocents. But her arrest and the abuse of her newborn -- by separating mother and son early after his birth -- are indicative of the kind of inhumanity that ultimately leads to worse.

Some Hispanic advocates fear that the anti-immigrant crowd will now rally around Coleman and put him on the school board. Remember, he just needs to win his district, not the whole of Nashville. Tennessean columnist and radio talk show host Phil Valentine probably will become one of Coleman's big backers.

Consider these answers Coleman gave to The Tennessean's survey of school board candidates, published on July 9. His comments would almost be comical if not for Juana's torture and the abuse of her newborn son. I'm only running excerpts to keep readers from falling asleep.

DISTRICT 3

Tim Coleman

Age: 39

Hometown: Nashville

Education: Some college

Employment: Investigator with Berry Hill Police Department

Political experience: None

Top issue: Increasing graduation rates

Question: Why are you running?

Answer: I feel I have a lot to offer to the community. I have been interested in the Metro School Board for many years. ... I want to have input and guide the school system.

Q. Why are you qualified?

A. I feel my qualifications to be a member of the Metropolitan Nashville School Board are wide ranging. My work experiences have taught me to be focused, open minded and direct. I believe that I have the necessary people skills to perform the responsibilities for the common good of the children, community and school system.

Q. What's the biggest issue the Metro school district faces in the next four years and how, if elected, would you address it?

A. This question is challenging. Nashville has been evolving rapidly in cultural diversity. This has placed an emphasis on being able to keep focused and be in a position to meet the demands and strains of this ever-changing landscape. We have got to right the ship and getting the graduation rates up dramatically.

Q. What should the board of education look for in a new school director?

A. I would like to see three things ... to consider when looking for a new director, they are accountability, credibility and common sense. ...


And there you have it. The sad thing about Coleman and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall is that they give a bad name to all local law enforcement, including the Metro Nashville Police Department. But its chief and its officers have acted reasonably and honorably under the burden of the inhumane 287g program.

Now the stain of this inhumanity may well spread to the public school board which is supposed to look out for the welfare of all children, including Hispanic ones. Its record is not good of late. It just voted to desert most African-American children with its decision to resegregate public schools here under the cause of neighborhood rezoning. And the incumbent who Coleman is running against chaired the task force that proposed the rezoned segregation to the board.

So is Nashville screwed up or what? Omigosh, I sound like that guy on WKRN Channel 2!

That's why it is best for the rest of Tennessee and America to avoid Nashville and Davidson County. If you are people of conscience, spend your money elsewhere until Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper finally address the torture of Juana and her newborn son. They should call for an immediate end to the 287 deportation program and stop Nashville's rapid slide into the abyss of inhumanity and intolerance.

Juana's story of torture reaches the influential Daily Kos website; read what the rest of America has to say about Nashville and Davidson County

The story of the torture of Juana Villegas(DeLaPaz) and her newborn son has reached the Daily Kos website, one of the most influential marketplaces of thought and passion in this nation.

And what the nation has to say about Nashville and Davidson County law enforcement authorities is negative -- with the use of the labels "facism" and "anti-immigrant Mayberry."

Go to http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/21/142123/696/114/554145 to read these comments.

With these comments, it is my hope that the nation will be moved to boycott Davidson County and Nashville as a place to visit. Please, America, spend your money elsewhere. This way, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper will finally be forced to speak out to force an end to the inhumane 287g deportation program. These men are both Democrats, or what shamefully passes for a Democrat in the South.

Tell these officials what you think of their silence about Juana's torture and their locale's support of 287g. Tell them you're boycotting Nashville and its products. Please keep the communication civil and copy me on your e-mails -- timchavez787@yahoo.com -- so I can publish them and build support:

* Send an e-mail to Congressman Cooper at http://www.cooper.house.gov and click "Contact."

* Send an e-mail to Mayor Dean at mayor@nashville.com.

The 287g program has now spread like a virus to 57 communities across this nation. And the state of North Carolina will soon be the first to apply the program statewide. That's Liddy Dole for you and the sheriffs in her state. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which approves petitions from localities to enforce federal immigration law, is hopeless when it comes to understanding any case against the inhumanity of 287g.

So attention must be focused on local officials who bring this program to their communities to win the votes of the anti-immigrant crowd and the followers of fear. And tourism and convention boycotts of these Southern communities is the only way to politically hurt these politicians and force them to affect change. Money still talks the loudest here, particularly if tourists are not paying the high sales tax rate that is continually raised to compensate for the lack of a state income tax in Tennessee.

Here's another reason to stay away from Nashville: the school board just voted to resegregate local public schools. Separate has never been equal, no matter the rationale. But Metro Nashville business and elected officials have chosen to return to the year 1896 and the Plessy vs. Ferguson U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Thank you Daily Kos for bringing this matter to the attention of your influential readership. And special thanks are deserved by http://thinkbridge.blogspot.com for making the post and smartly assessing the damning situation here, in the South and out West.

We can fight and defeat this bigotry -- against Hispanics, African-Americans and all people of conscience -- beginning here in Nashville.

The plot thickens in the torture case of Juana Villegas thanks to the NashvillePost; national embarrassment to Nashville grows

Kudos to the Nashville Post and reporter Amy Griffith for the following scoop:

Nashville Post
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2008/7/21/school_board_candidate_arresting_officer_in_controversial_287g_case
School board candidate arresting officer in controversial 287(g) case
Chief: Officer followed procedure
Email | Print By Amy Griffith


07-21-2008 11:48 AM —
A local school board candidate was the arresting officer in an 287(g)-related incident reported by The New York Times over the weekend.

Tim Coleman, who is running against incumbent Mark North in Madison’s District 3 race, is an officer for the Berry Hill Police Department. According to information provided by the department, Coleman on July 3 arrested Juana Villegas – an illegal immigrant who had been deported from the United States in 1996 – after pulling her over for careless driving.

“He followed proper procedure,” Berry Hill Police Chief Robert Bennett said this morning.

Villegas, who was nine months pregnant, was unable to produce a driver’s license at the time of the arrest. After being arrested by Coleman, she went on to deliver her baby in jail. The situation was the subject of a New York Times story printed on Sunday.

The 287(g) program is a portion of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act that was implemented here in March 2007 and is aimed at giving local governments the power to deport illegal immigrants.

Tennessee GOP comment on immigrants is woefully ignorant, intolerant ... and fun

Pete Kotz, new newsroom boss of the Nashville Scene, wrote a great blog post on English First’s Jon Crisp and the most ridiculous political comment of the year in the state of Tennessee.

On the ridiculous scale, Crisp's comment even exceeded Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's statement in Sunday's New York Times about the torture of Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz).

I met Crisp when he was chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. He didn't rant and rave and sounded quite reasonable about his politics. So Kotz's post really startled me. Then I read Crisp's comment:

“Sadly in general, today’s immigrants are not the same as those of our past and seem to want to reap America’s bounty while not committing to our culture. Will we become a patchwork quilt of third world nations that have set up shop in Nashville?"

Wow!

How incredibly stupid!

How historically inaccurate!

Last week, I was speaking to the grandson of German immigrants. The Nashville attorney spoke of Chicago and then cities in the Northeast. There, Italians, Poles and Germans -- for example, not criticism -- created their own little communities of stores, churches, newspapers and other institutions. The native tongue was only spoken. Several generations were able to stay isolated in those neighborhoods and in their native tongue while living in the United States.

In Utica, NY, in the 1990s, I actually came across people living there who still only spoke Italian. So Crisp's comment about the immigrants of the past being more committing to this nation's culture (there is NOT an American culture) is an incredibly nasty plop of horse manure. I wish I could be more eloquent like Mr. Kotz, but that's my failing.

The sons and daughters of today's Hispanic immigrants are picking up English immediately and translating for their folks to various authorities. TV has been one instrument of learning. Survival amid a hostile environment is another. But by the next generation, many of these Hispanic households will only speak ENGLISH -- on their own, not forced by a silly referendum.

That truth happened in my extended family. My cousins and I were raised in English-speaking households of the 1960s and 1970s. Our grandparents were the first to come to this nation from Mexico, recruited by the Santa Fe Railroad to fix and lay track.

Now, to our detriment, we've had to go back to college and community programs to learn Spanish. Thankfully, I am picking it up quickly now, which allows me to work among immigrants in the Nashville Hispanic community in their language to help protect them from the torture of law enforcement authorities and the 287g deportation program. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church is my continued focus.

I've yet to have one English-Firster or anti-immigrant inflamer take me up on my invitation to come with me to the Hispanic community and speak to the people there about their lives and reasons for being here. It also is beneficial to see America through the eyes of others.

Yet, these others are also picking up English in various church and community programs. And compared to Spanish, English is the most difficult lanugage in the world. It has taken words from so many other languages, while Spanish is derived from Latin and a few other romantic tongues. It is beautiful and logical. My uncle, shot down behind enemy lines in WWII, was able to communicate with French allies because of the common roots of Spanish and French. It saved his life.

English is an amalgamation of words thrown together. It is very difficult to learn. And it's why many Hispanic immigrants feel threatened to use it in public, because making mistakes is embarrassing. I feel the same way about my Spanish.

Verbal skills are one thing, which can come quickly, as Hispanic children have shown. Reading and writing take from three to five years for PROFICIENCY. Grammatical perfection takes even longer -- something that I still am pursuing at my age.

No one is arguing against English being the language of empowerment here. But to deny a place for other languages is just plain dumb. It cheats our children out of preparing for a more diverse 21st Century. Worse, it makes Nashville an isolated berg instead of a member of the world. And the world is where the big money is made to power capitalism.

Businesses know that, but they're too afraid to speak out lest a radio talk show host announce a boycott of their establishment and smash a French car in front of their grounds.

Poor Phil Valentine of The Tennessean wrote yesterday of his blind-leading-the-blind dependence on former Nashville talk radio host Darrell Ankarlo for information on border difficulties. According to The Tennessean columnist, Ankarlo has written books. I didn't even know he could color between the lines. Then Phil jumped atop his high horse and wrote about how all the Mexicans need to change their own government before they come here.

Hell, Phil, Americans can't even change their government in Washington. How do you expect the very poor of Mexico to change their corrupt officials?

Actually, you don't. It's just another excuse so you don't have a bunch of brown people diluting the rich European blood across this nation. Sorry, Phil, but the American Indians were here first. Your ancestors -- as illegal immigrants -- came to this land and brought disease and firearms. Whether the civilization they also brought represents progress remains to be seen. All those whiners former Sen. Phil Gramm cited sure don't represent a happy America.

Closer to home, there would not be as many Mexicans in Nashville and Tennessee if Tennesseans of lore would have just stayed home and not invaded another country's territory with firearms. Davy Crockett and Sam Houston were ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. They helped preserve slavery on Mexican territory that forcibly became the state of Texas. The government there had eliminated slavery in the early 1800s.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who likes to introduce resolutions in Congress encouraging more knowledge of American history, sure doesn't bring up those facts about this nation's heritage. He prefers the lie, the myth, the non-cruel version of Manifest Destiny -- brought about by another Tennessean, President James K. Polk.

The Mexican-American War, which then Congressman Abraham Lincoln prominently opposed, forcibly removed Mexican territory in 1848 that became New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Golden State is one the world's biggest economies by itself. Los Angeles isn't named after the Spanish identification for angels by coincidence. Think of all the Mexicans who wouldn't have been on U.S. soil if Polk had been even the least bit humane and moral.

And don't believe the myth that this nation paid for that territory. The $15 million given Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was for reparations -- to pay for the damage and killings by U.S. forces in Mexico.

So if it were not for all these Tennesseans of lore and all the VOLUNTEERS who reported for Polk's war, there wouldn't be many Mexicans here to deport and fret over in pushing a ridiculous referendum on the English language. And Jon Crisp would not have to make himself look incredibly stupid and historically inaccurate in his comments.

But I could tell Pete Kotz of the Scene had a lot of fun in writing that post. You just don't get that kind of REALLY stupid political comment every day to write on. Savor the moment, then stop the political trend toward turning gross ignorance into public policy.

Only newspapers dedicated to watchdog role will survive industry's sharp, painful downturn

Marie Theresa Hernández, associate professor of modern and classical languages at the University of Houston, has taken up the cause of Mrs. Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) on her political blog, http://dreamacttexas.blogspot.com.

Ms. Hernández, also an author of three acclaimed books, is an example of the explosion of Juana's story on the blogosphere across the country and on AOL.com and Yahoo.com with Sunday's New York Times piece by reporter Julia Preston. The space the newspaper devoted to the story on two pages was most impressive.

This newspaper of record will most certainly survive the current downturn in the print industry. This nation and world counts on The New York Times to be our watchdog, even here in Nashville. It is as Jefferson wanted of a free press -- for our republic to survive and prosper through an informed populace.

Hernández, however, initially wrote today that she had trouble finding Juana's story on The Tennessean website, which has news of importance about Nashville and Middle Tennessee. She did finally find the story, as authored by local AP reporter Travis Loller.

I read the story last week on the second page of The Tennessean's Local section, below the fold. The Tennessean either did not have enough staff or concern to cover the story itself. But readers who could find the story benefitted from reading Loller's account. It remains the best story so far on Juana from the mainstream news media along with The New York Times' reporting.

Yet it's difficult not to respectfully wonder about The Tennessean's news judgment when the industry's newspaper of record comes into your own backyard and reports on an incident of nationwide interest. Then today, after reading Tennessean VP Mark Silverman's column -- touting to readers that they are getting more from all the newspaper's content sources - the mainstream industry's credibility suffers.

Credibility is all the industry has left to correct its downturn. I do, however, agree with Silverman that newspapers will not go away. The good ones and those of record like The New York Times will indeed survive and recover. So will needed alternatives like the Nashville Scene in print and in its staff's very informative web blogs, which mostly provide information you can't get in The Tennessean.

I'd like the industry to survive because my wife and I have many friends and their families dependent on keeping readers and their jobs. There are very good and caring professionals who still work at The Tennessean and other newspapers across the country. Not all of us get to work for The New York Times. Still, we can make a big contribution to progress in our communities by increasing the awareness of injustices locally and how to make a difference.

Columns ignoring the obvious that readers have already noticed, however, hurt the industry terribly along with its hard-working employees. They certainly deserve better.

It's ironic that newspaper people like myself used to look on TV journalists as burdens on a free press. Now, TV journalism is one of the few pillars still in place to prop the news business up. I apologize to my TV brethren.

As for newspapers, readers recognize the absence of byline names they invited for years into their households and consciences, and they're stunned by the sudden appearances of new ones. Few newspapers, however, tell their readers about buyouts and layoffs that reduce staff numbers -- particularly of newsroom veterans -- and the adequate coverage of communities. So readers such as myself are left to depend on the alternative media to get the rest of the story.

So to be constructive in my criticism, I'd recommend newspaper leaders and spokespeople first be honest with their readers. While acknowledging the industry downturn, also be transparent about the shortcomings it has forced in your coverage. Your readers already know it -- as with the case of Mrs. Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) and The New York Times coming into your own backyard.

Be honest with readers, and this investment in credibility will pay off in the long term for a recovering news industry.

Conversely, sugar-coating the obvious just insults our intelligence as readers, consumers and involved members of our communities. And yes, I am a Tennessean subscriber and former active employee.

On a final constructive note, I want to express my appreciation to The New York Times and reporter Julia Preston. They have reinforced my faith in the industry by their dedication to be a watchdog of government and human rights, even as far away as Nashville.

Granted, I've been critical in the past of The Times in coverage of one of the battles for Fallujah in the Iraq war before I came down with leukemia. I apologized to readers for accepting too much information from a Tennessee Marine colonel in Iraq whose parents I befriended locally.

My credibility rightly suffered. But my criticism of The Times was not an entire loss. Atrocities by Al Sadr's forces were confirmed in my mind and writing -- by a Marine major writing for The Nation magazine and an on-the-scene story sent me by the Washington bureau chief of the then-Knight-Ridder Newspapers. While the atrocities were not in the Fallujah temple as the colonel contended, they did take place in the local courthouse.

So my jump-on-bandwagon criticism of all the media in Iraq -- including over the security of Samarra -- was entirely unjustified. Many media heroes have come out of this war for their bravery in providing coverage and awareness.

Iraq hopefully will soon be in this nation's rearview mirror, either by the wishes of the Iraqi government or Sen. Obama's win in November. But the welfare of our republic will still always be at risk.

The kind of watchdog dedication again displayed by The New York Times today is what makes newspapers indispensible to consumers and concerned community members such as myself.

The obvious lack of dedication is what leaves other newspapers as future candidates for the scrapheap of history. And that's rightly so, even though it will be the hard-working employees without big bonuses and golden parachutes who hurt the most.

Go to www.nytimes.com and read about the embarrassment brought to Metro Nashville by its sheriff, mayor and congressman

Click on today's New York Times web page and see the story of Mrs. Juana Villegas DeLaPaz featured under U.S. headlines on the bottom half of the screen.

Or http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/us/20immig.html.

My deepest appreciation goes out to Shu Ohno, director of communications for the
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition. After sending out an appeal a week ago to 150 immigrant advocates across the country, Shu was most kind to reply and offer his media contacts in the Northeast. As a decent human being, he was outraged over the torture of Mrs. DeLaPaz.

Yes, it pays to network, particularly with people who believe in the worth of every human being. Now, if only we could convince Shu to move to Nashville and run for sheriff, mayor or congressman. Daron Hall, Jim Cooper and Dean make for a terrbile trio when it comes to the most vulnerable among us, particularly pregnant women three days from delivering their newborns.

But after reading The Times today, a lot of people of conscience across this nation should be writing off Nashville as a place to visit or bring their conventions. The most ridiculous statement of political spin from Mayor Dean only makes the incident here even more embarrassing to the city's image and reinforces fears that it will only happen again to another very pregnant woman, no matter their race or ethnicity.

The mayor may have to move his office and staff to his proposed $600 million convention center once finished so that it will regularly be used. He deserves no less until he speaks out and acts to end the inhumane 287g deportation program in Davidson County/Nashville.

Sad, Mayor Dean, very sad; The Sunday New York Times shines spotlight on torture of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz by local law enforcement

The newspaper of record for the United States -- and possibly the world -- has reported on the torture of a very pregnant Hispanic woman by Davidson County law enforcement authorities for seven days including the Fourth of July weekend.

Read the Sunday story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/us/20immig.html

If that outrage was not enough to embarrass Nashville, the following statement to reporter Julia Preston of The New York Times by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean showcased a complete lack of humanity and obliviousness to any sense of justice fitting the crime:

“We are able to identify and report individuals who are here illegally and have been charged with a criminal offense, while at the same time remaining a friendly and open city to our new legal residents."

That's a bunch of bunk, even for a politician.

Consider that Dean supposedly is a Democrat, whose party is working toward legalization of undocumented immigrants who can prove a history in this nation of work, raising families and paying taxes. Consider that Dean is Catholic, and the follower of a pope who recently visited the United States and called on American Catholics to treat their fellow believers with compassion.

By his statement, Dean considers operating a vehicle without a driver's license to be a criminal offense. So if you leave your home without your wallet and get stopped and ticketed, you're a hardened criminal in the eyes of Nashville's mayor. More importantly, you're deserving of being shackled in your hospital bed while you're delivering a baby or receiving chemo for your cancer.

The mayor should be deeply ashamed of himself for such illogic. He damn well knows that the 287g deportation program that allowed for Mrs. DeLaPaz to be tortured over seven days in sheriff's custody was sold to the public as a way to remove dangerous criminals from Davidson County.

Women three days from delivering their babies do not qualify for the FBI's Most Wanted List, particularly when they have only committed a misdemeanor offense of driving without a license and being in this country without documentation.

At one time, Nashville was considered a progressive city, a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. But the place I've watched since 1996 is most certainly an imposter. Its officials have proposed and passed big projects to benefit the few at the expense of the many. Williamson County patrons say "thanks for the entertainment" as they put most of their money in their schools.

Meanwhile, billionaires and milionaires of the coporate world have had the "Welcome, Step All Over Us" mat put out for them. And mega-millions of dollars in taxpayer freebies are only the appertizer. Dean's handling of the deal to keep the Predators in Nashville was another major embarrassment. One of the investors has filed for bankruptcy and had already developed plans to move the team out of Nashville.

Then, earlier this month, the Metro school board voted to resegregate Nashville public schools. Since 1896 and the Plessy vs Ferguson U.S. Supreme Court decision, we've seen that separate never has been equal. Yet Dean could not even muster enough courage to take a stand as an elected official. Now he says he supports it.

Quick! Someone fill out a Kennedy Library Profiles in Courage application for the mayor!

It is obvious, after studying this matter from both sides, that the resegregation vote was wrong -- no matter the rationale. The study group should have been sent back to bring back a better plan. And I have some definite ideas for such a plan.

But the sad truth is, if you're a minority and/or a woman in Nashville of 2008, you do not have equal protection under the law or in the eyes of policymakers. Instead, these hypocrites are in full spin cycle, rationalizing the torture of pregnant mothers and African-American school children.

Nashville deserves to be held up to the nation -- not for the music from the Ryman or Grand Ole Opry -- but the cries from the streets of its victims from public policy gone terribly awry. Ths city should be boycotted by conventions of people of conscience -- no matter their gender, race or ethnicity -- and designated as under "human rights watch" by Amnesty International USA.

The New York Times story, the mayor's embarrassing statement and the school resegregation vote demand that new leaders step forward and new voices be raised to save a city from its policymakers.

Thanks, Phil, but what's the bill? It's time for the big media to quit accepting no answer

It is most troubling that Tennessee's major news media still have not learned one thing about watching out for the public interest when it comes to big deals negotiated by Gov. Phil Bredesen and his lemming proteges.

The media celebrated Chattanooga's landing of the VW plant, and the number of jobs. But the media allowed Bredesen and local officials to get away with not saying how much money the state and locality were spending to get the plant. They get to say they did not have the information.

Bxllxhxt!

These officials know exactly to the penny how much the taxpayers must pay for these jobs, because that's the way Corporate America does business. The big media's role in this state has somehow become one of cheerleader, or maybe it has always been that way. I only came in when the Titans' deal was being misrepresented to the public and voters.

After it was approved, and I started writing a column for The Tennessean, I actually got into a debate in the middle of the newsroom. It was contended that I would be wrong to write that the Titans' deal cost taxpayers any money.

Thankfully, the City Hall reporter came over and set the record straight. Yes, taxpayer money had been used --- the water bill overpayment fund. And as I later learned, several million dollars were skimmed off the top of the Metro budget annually to pay off the construction bonds. Also, there was the $1 million in annual, required maintenance on the stadium that the city owned, but could only use to make money on a few occasions each year.

Metro now pays more than $20 million a year from the budget to pay for pro sports. That's taxpayer money. And that sum really hurts when city services to residents have to be cut.

Tennessean reporter Brad Schrade's chronicling of the checkered history of one of new investors in the Nashville Predators contains some shocking revelations. It is great reporting. Unfortunately for Nashville taxpayers, Schrade was gone at a journalism fellowship when Bredesen protege Mayor Karl Dean was making a bad deal to keep the NHL team here.

Did Dean not know how to look into this guy's background, particularly a guy who already was planning on moving the team? Do they not have Google on the computers at City Hall?

For goodness sakes, there must be a "kick me" sign on Dean's back. No wonder VW and other companies and investors are looking to come to Tennessee. The guy who trained Dean is in charge of the state. You can't miss in taking taxpayers for a ride while local and state services get cut for corporate welfare.

To her great credit, then Tennessean reporter Sheila Wissner did a great job of reporting on then Mayor Bredesen's big deal with billionaire Michael Dell. She showed the Metro Council before voting on all of Dell's freebies -- including a city payment for each job created -- that the deal over the long-term was a loser for taxpayers. Yet The Tennessean on its editorial page still said the deal should be approved. I don't believe that was then-editorial page editor Sandra Roberts' doing. She has too much integrity and common sense for something like that.

And then the biggest shoe dropped. Dell -- which originally had sold Nashville on manufacturing jobs at its Metro plant for the per job payment -- pulled them out. They left lower-paying, box-filling jobs. For Metro taxpayers, it was insult to injury. Mayor Bill Purcell's administration had to try and clean up Bredesen's mess.

So it would be nice if the big news media would stop accepting "we don't know" for an answer when it comes to the bill for taxpayers at fawning press conferences announcing these deals. Remember the Titans, Dell, American Airlines, the Arena, the Predators and the list goes on and on.

And so does the misery for taxpayers and the people who lose services to corporate welfare.

A Nashville life touched by saints

Sister Sandra Smithson, Nashville's leading authority on the education of at risk children, was once one herself.

And she sat on the lap of her advocate, St. Katharine Drexel, during one of nun's many trips across the country to visit schools set up by her religious order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Katharine Drexel used her inherited fortune to establish schools for African-American and American Indian children. Remember, this was the time when the Plessy v. Ferguson rule of separate but equal dominated this nation's education system.

And so Nashville was blessed with one of her schools, and later the great leaders that came out of it --- like Sister Sandra and her sibling, Mary Smithson Craighead.

Earlier this week, Nashville said goodbye to Mrs. Craighead. Her death at 92 was still a shock for the size of the void it leaves. Mrs. Craighead was one of Tennessee's top educators, particularly when it came to teaching children how to read. She established her own program and curriculum, and partnered with her sister in her later years to educate children at risk in Nashville at what was then called Project Reflect --- an after-school and summer program.

It was my privilege to initially be among these two extraordinary educators in the the late 1990s. And we lamented the number of children being left behind by then Mayor Phil Bredesen's Core Curriculum, forced-march classroom program. If a child couldn't keep up, he or she was lost educationally for good -- unless their parents or grandparents got them to Project Reflect and these two educators.

Our success earlier this decade in getting charter school legislation through the General Assembly and then Gov. Don Sundquist's signature allowed this dynamic duo to open Nashville's first charter school. And there is no way to estimate how many children have been saved. We'll know by the amount of taxpayer money saved on incarceration and single parenthood and perhaps, just perhaps, one of these young people growing up and finding a cure for cancer.

Too many deaths have marred this year in Nashville and left us looking for leaders to fill the void. The passing of Monroe Carell, Jr., was an enormous loss. The children's hospital at Vanderbilt named after him is an incredible treasure. And I've witnessed the miracles it makes during my monthly visits for treatment of my leukemia. Children are transported in little red wagons from stop to stop. And by the color returning to their cheecks or the smiles to their faces, Mr. Carell's generosity is magnified in its invaluable return to humanity.

Mrs. Craighead will be missed as a fixture in the Metro education community. She knew where the problems were in educating children at risk. Her sister always contended that we should first look to the universities turning out teachers to make sure that these new instructors already have experience in dealing with the culture shock of an urban classroom of social and academic needs.

She's right. So was her sister. According to the Education Trust in Washington, D.C., a good and well-trained teacher can catch up a child in five years. But that teacher must be trained to overcome the initial shock of teaching at risk children -- academically and socially. That survival training only comes with on-hands' experience provided while still in college.

Mrs. Craighead truly was a saint by the most important measure -- standing up and acting at the moment of crisis for the least among us. She retired and unretired many times, each time rousing herself to the need of our most vulnerable children.

Now, this marvelous lady and professional educator rests in peace and in the glory of the God she continually served. Thank you, Father, for the most wonderful gift of Mary Smithson Craighead.

I wish to extend my condolences to Sister Sandra, and my congratulations to her for having a life touched by two saints.

McCain eats Obama's lunch before NAACP; when will Obama campaign finally get into gear?

Republican presidential nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain didn't receive a thunderous reception today from members of the NAACP, but he scored major political points with the civility of his message and his ideas to continue aggressive reform of this nation's destructive public education bureaucracy.

In turn. his opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama made sure not to offend his deep-pocketed buddies in the large national teacher unions before the NAACP, rejecting vouchers that would give poor and many minority parents the power to send their children to the some of the same schools as many of the more affluent.

Feeding more money into the public education bureaucratic monster is not the immediate answer to what ails schools. Remember, District of Columbia schools have the highest per pupil expenditure in the country -- and the poorest achievement marks. More accountability is the answer, along with more teacher training and opening the classrooms to caring and competent professionals from other fields. And that is what McCain promised today.

Some people will retort that it is the lack of parental involvement that damns these children. The Education Trust, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C., says that a child with a good, highly trained teacher can catch a child up academically in five years -- parental involvement or not. You also must realize that the parents of these children have been failed by the same public school bureaucracy in their childhoods. Why would they trust it to get involved now with their children?

Particularly here in Nashville, where the public schools unofficially are already under state control, vouchers and other reforms for minority and poor parents are even more critical. The state of Tennessee has no more efffective ideas on how to improve schools for the disadvantaged in Nashville than George W. Bush has in fighting the war on terror.

McCain gave the best political speech of his campaign today, particularly when he referenced how he heard about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was incarcerated and brutalized in the Hanoi Hilton. I don't know who wrote his speech -- perhaps Ronald Reagan's wordsmith, Peggy Noonan, but McCain sounded very presidential and reassuring. And those attributes are going to determine the victor in November.

I don't really want McCain to win. But I have to be honest, so that Obama's supporters will tell their candidate to get his act together now instead of later. Yes, Obama is up seven percentage points in the latest Reuters poll. But as Tennessee's Harold Ford Jr. and his panel mates concluded last Friday on former congressman Joe Scarborough's show, Obama should be much further ahead.

Former congressman Ford was constructively critical of Obama over his inability to connect with the common man and woman. Panelists that included Scarborough and columnist Mike Barnicle said Obama still is hampered by an elitist image.

Ford added that Obama does not stick around long enough with one constituency and one issue to make a definitive impact. The Memphis Democrat is right, and you can see the problem with Obama's woeful courting of the Hispanic electorate.

Earlier this week, McCain and Obama spoke before a Hispanic civil rights organization called the National Council of La Raza. Obama got raves from organization members. But NCLR is just a few years removed from being a very partisan, Democratic Party mouthpiece. Its president is the former deputy campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 run for the presidency.

But Obama did not seal the deal with even La Raza's partisan membership, concluded La Opinión political editor and columnist Pilar Marrero. And Latina icon Delores Huerta -- who marched and organized with the late great Cesar Chavez, was not enthusiastic after hearing Obama.

Marrero cited Obama with nearly 60% support of Hispanic voters while McCain has 29%. That's less for Obama and slightly more for McCain compared to earlier polls. All that McCain needs from this electorate is six to 10 more percentage points to carry the election. Obama, in turn, should be taking 78% of the Latino vote, Marrero said.

Again, I don't really want to see McCain win. His answers on the economy and reforming this nation's sick immigration policy are poor. He is not for universal health care. Obama would be more aggressive and compassionate on all these issues.

But Hispanics will need to be in position to make deals with whomever wins. And right now, nobody really knows, and that should have Obama backers concerned.

McCain, too, is not going to carry the African-American vote. But his speech today that touted true education reforms had to sound good and hopeful ... and it showed McCain rounding into top political form early enough in the campaign to catch up and pass his opponent in a November squeaker.

Does anyone know a good state lawmaker? Until then, Amnesty International should designate Nashville as a threat to human rights, visitors

Amnesty International USA says that only three states forbid the kind of torture that Juana Villegas DeLaPaz endured from the Davidson County Sheriff's Department for the FBI Most Wanted List offense of operating a vehicle without a driver's license.

"Sick and pregnant women prisoners are chained to their hospital beds all over the USA," reports Amnesty International.

And so over the Fourth of July weekend, the city of Nashville was host to the kind of torture even the United Nations forbids but our nation has conducted in places like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. It is going to take a courageous state lawmaker to bring the state of Tennessee and Nashville out of the Dark Ages and into a new millennium of tolerance by proposing legislation forbidding such torture here.

Does anyone know of a state legislator who would speak up now and then act in January for the benefit and protection of all women?

The states of California and Illinois have laws forbidding this kind of mistreatment of women. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has changed its policy to also forbid such torture.

"Jails and prisons commonly use restraints on incarcerated women when they are being transported to and kept in hospital (even when they are in labor or when they are in a coma)," says Amnesty International.

"Jails and prisons use restraints on women as a matter of course regardless of whether a woman has a history of violence (which only a minority have), regardless of whether she has ever absconded or attempted to escape (which few women have) and regardless of her state of consciousness.

"Shackling of all prisoners, including pregnant prisoners, is policy in federal prisons and the US Marshall Service and exists in most state prisons."

This kind of public policy is shocking and obviously the creation of a still very sexist society. America has joined Iran when it comes to the denial of full human rights to women.

Consider this deplorable case:

"In September 2005, although still two weeks from her due date, Samantha Luther, incarcerated in Wisconsin, was allegedly taken in handcuffs and leg shackles to the local hospital, and informed that labor was going to be induced. She told a reporter, 'I was in shock… I felt like all of my rights had been taken away.. '

"Reportedly, her handcuffs were taken off, while her shackles remained on providing 18 inches between her ankles. The doctor ruptured her amniotic sac, and had her pace the hospital hallway for several hours. 'It was so humiliating. My ankles were raw,' Luther said.

"She was given drugs to induce labor, when it did not begin, and reportedly was left in her shackles until just before birth. She reported, 'I had shackles on up until the baby was coming out and then they took them off for me to push… It was unbelievable. Like I was going to go anywhere.'

"She gave birth to a son. Reportedly, it is common to induce inmates before term, however, according to DOC officials, an inmate must sign a consent form."

It is very apparent that Americans don't have much regard for people who break the law. But an increasing number of women are being incarcerated on drug offenses of simply being caught up with a husband or boyfriend who is actually doing the dealing and buying. They often get left holding the bag, literally.

While guilt by association is enough for incarceration, it certainly does not make one a violent criminal. And it certainly doesn't make them or any living thing deserving of torture.

Here is what Amnesty International recommends for any legislation banning the use of restraints on pregnant women:

* Restraints should be used only when they are required as a precaution against escape or to prevent an inmate from injuring herself or other people or damaging property. In every case, due regard must be given to an inmate’s individual history.

* Policies should prohibit the use of restraints on pregnant women when they are being transported and when they are in hospital awaiting birth, and after they have just given birth.

Is there any Tennessee state lawmaker with the courage to propose legislation prohibiting this heinous practice? I'd recommend Rep. Frank Buck, but he is retiring from the General Assembly.

So in the meantime, I have notified Amnesty International of the violation of human rights here of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz. I have requested -- with accompanying evidence -- that Nashville be designated as under "human rights watch" and that all visitors foreign and domestic be advised of the danger in visiting Music City.

Most certainly until local leaders speak up in condemnation of this gross human rights violation and call for an end to the 287g deportation program, all conventions should also avoid this city. I am preparing to put that word out in a column that will appear this week in a Boston, MA., newspaper.

From there, I will take the warning to Chicago for a major gathering of minority journalists and big news organizations from across the country. The story of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz will be heard.

Nashville, the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo of the South, should be designated as a threat to the human rights and dignity of people. And last week's school board vote to resegregate Nashville schools certainly bolsters the case.

If you are member of AI, please copy this web post and send a message concurring with the need for Nashville to be placed under human rights watch.

Until local officials have the courage to speak up, we must do the talking.

For yourselves, your daughters and your granddaughters, tell Rep. Cooper to speak up

Congressman Jim Cooper, who represents most of Davidson County, has been described to me as a nice guy, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Boy Scout and an assortment of other warm and fuzzy descriptions.

Ooooooooooh! I could just squeeze him like a roll of toilet paper.

But never has anyone described him as an effective lawmaker, which I thought representatives of the people were supposed to be -- particularly in a supposed progressive city of Democrats like Nashville. Quick, tell me what Cooper has proposed and passed in Congress to make your life better. Sorry, time's up. But I have to admit that I can answer the same question for Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

So it is no wonder that Rep. Cooper has continued to remain silent about the inhumane treatment of undocumented workers and their families for the past 14 months in Davidson County under the 287g deportation program. And over the July 4th weekend, that treatment became torture and degradation, just like we've heard about at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

The 287g deportation program was requested by Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall. And he sold it to Nashvillians as a way to deport the dangerous, criminal element from the county and nation. But the program -- like the Iraq war -- has operated on a rotating rationale that has nothing to do with its founding mission.

The great majority of the people deported have had no dangerous criminal record at all. And now Hall has backtracked to claim he never promised that the program would only deport dangerous criminals. At least George W. Bush acknowledges his initial misrepresentation.

Yet I still can respect Hall, even if he wears his hard feelings toward Hispanics on his sleeves. I can't respect Cooper, who hides behind a nice guy image but fails to speak up when tortuous inhumanity arises in his own congessional district. Instead, he only speaks up to joust with the windmills of Rural Electric Cooperatives. But there isn't one REC in his district.

Still, local Democrats and the news media give Cooper a pass. But I can't, especially after what happened to Juana Villegas DeLaPaz from July 3 to July 10 here. Mrs. DeLaPaz was literally tortured by the county sheriff's department as she went through childbirth and the recovery afterward.

I use the word "torture" specifically, because the mothers I've spoken to say the pain they went through would have been multiplied for Ms. DeLaPaz with handcuffs to the bedrail during most of her labor, leg shackles for trips to the bathroom and -- worst of all -- the denial of a breast pump by the sheriff's department to feed her newborn and ease the pain from her swollen breasts.

The water boarding this nation used at Guatanamo and the various degrees of degradation used against Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib have been duplicated here in Nashville with a woman arrested three days before giving birth by the Berry Hill Police Department. She spent seven days in sheriff's custody, which supervised her torture.

No law required the department treat her like that. It was the department's policy under one man, Sheriff Daron Hall. And the treatment was more indicative of overt sexism against women than it was scorn for her ethnicity.

That's why every Nashville woman should be outraged by this incident. They are vulernable, too, if they accidentally drive through Berry Hill in south Nashville and then come under the sheriff's custody.

Congressman Easter Bunny could stop this threat with his simple objection to the 287g program in his congressional district. I'll fly up to Washington, D.C., and walk him over to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His objection would carry great political weight because no member of Congress has yet to object to 287g in his or her district. The program has now spread like a virus to 55 communities across the nation. North Carolina will soon add it statewide. The state of Tennessee reportedly is pursuing the program statewide under the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

So if you're a woman driving Tennessee's interstates, be warned. You could end up at the mercy of the county sheriff where you car is stopped. Some Tennessee sheriffs make Daron Hall resemble Sherlock Holmes, so beware.

Sheriff Hall, however, will protest loudly and long if you challenge him on 287g. He'll say people have nothing to worry about if they are legally in the country. Technically, he's right. But in how a police department in a very small section of south Nashville interpreted the law, he's wrong. Mrs. DeLaPaz had enough documentation to prove that she'd show up in court for a driving without a license traffic offense. But Sgt. Barney Fife of Berry Hill went overboard, made Ms. DeLaPaz wait an hour in her car on a hot summer day and then hauled in this woman who was three days from delivering her fourth child.

Then consider that Sheriff Hall and his department have a very enlarged opinion of themselves and their authority after running 287g for 14 months. More than 1,500 people legally in this country have been detained and questioned for hours by the sheriff's department. That's a lot of people. I am part of the second generation of my family born in this nation. My Uncle Sal is a WWII hero, who saved members of his crew as a middle gunner on a B-17.

But I would never bring him here because of 287g and the threat to him as a Mexican-American.

My wife, a daughter of Kentucky, always asks me if I have my driver's license before I travel to mass at St. Edward Catholic Church. If I get stopped, she knows I'm at the mercy of local law enforcement. And you never know -- as we all have unfortunately discovered in this computer age -- what this form of supposed higher intelligence will say about us. We all have received enough erroneous, computer-generated information from health insurance companies, banks and credit card issuers.

I could get confused with another "Chavez" in the federal immigration database used by the sheriff. "Chavez" in Mexico is like "Jones" here.

Now you won't have any trouble with Metro Police. Chief Serpas has trained his men and women to look for other forms of ID to establish residency and assurance that you'll show up in court for a traffic offense. You'll get a ticket and drive on. Chief Serpas is a man of integrity.

But if you drive through Belle Meade where Al Gore lives, or Berry Hill near 100 Oaks Mall and St. Edward's, you're at the mercy of police officers who are part of a smaller force and perhaps a smaller way of thinking and tolerance. And remember, some smaller sections of Nashville are notorious for setting up speed traps, so you could easily be stopped. Then, your fate or that of your loved ones is out of your hands.

You may not like Mrs. DeLaPaz because she is Mexican. You may not like her because she is illegally here. You may not like her because she was deported before in 1996. But think about yourselves, your sisters, your daughters and your granddaughters and the sanctity of childbirth.

Do you want it violated by the men heading local and county law enforcement? That's the precious thing at stake here.

It's also why lawmakers representing you in Washington, D.C., should first be effective. Whether they love puppies or look like one is not really important. Remember what Tina Fey said during her SNL appearance about Hillary Clinton and all the silly talk that she was too hard-nosed. Who do want dealing with terrorists? Santa Claus? Mr. Nice Guy? A Boy Scout?

The same need is required when dealing with local authorities who would treat a woman at childbirth like a terrorist.

Cooper's continuing silence is deafening. And it is a reminder of what Dante wrote about people who remain neutral at the time of crisis.

If you're happy with an ineffective but lovable congressman, then read no further.

But if you want competency and effectiveness, then send an e-mail to the following address or make a phone call. Tell the congressman to file an objection to 287g in Nashville and to tell the governor not to allow 287g across the state.

Call Congressman Cooper at (615) 736-5295 or (202) 225-4311. Send an e-mail to http://www.cooper.house.gov and click "Contact."

The welfare of yourselves, your sisters, your daughters and your granddaughters depends on it.

Who's on first? Apparently WKRN Channel 2

Reporter Amy Napier Viteri of WKRN Channel 2 writes to tell me that her station was the first, major media outlet to reveal the tortuous mistreatment of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz by Berry Hill Police and the Davidson County Sheriff's office.

That's good enough for me, because Viteri is a good and trusted journalist, and I know she initially tried to interview Mrs. DeLaPaz last Thursday after she was released at 2 to 3 in the morning by the Sheriff of Nottingham ... er, I mean Davidson County.

NewsChannel 5's Brent Frazier reported the story on Saturday night. I wrongly cited his report as the first by a big news outlet. The Associated Press locally released a very well-written story yesterday.

So, I wish to extend my apologies to News Channel 2. I appreciate their continuing coverage of this outrage, which represents Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo coming to America and Nashville.

Nashville's big news media missed this important perspective on public school rezoning plan

If you want to know what is happening in the Hispanic community of Nashville and what Hispanics are thinking, then John Lamb's website, http://www.hispanicnashville.com/, is a must read.

Yesterday, he had a great post featuring comments from a Hispanic leader in Metro education. The news media has portrayed the controversial re-zoning plan and vote for local schools as a black and white issue. Wrong, again.

Read the following commentary from Cesar A. Muedas, the first president of an organization of Hispanic parents and the only Hispanic member of Mayor Karl Dean's first task force on student success:

I am glad that the school board approved the new rezoning plan for Nashville public schools with a 5:4 vote.

I am afraid, however, that most news reports have gone for the sensational angles in the story. I was present at the board meeting last Tuesday and was very impressed by the candor, common sense and professionalism of the five members that voted in favor of the rezoning.

I feel confident that the current political will to change for the better is real.My two children attend public school in Nashville, and I have been involved with MNPS since 2005 as a parent and volunteer.

I have had the opportunity to visit 26 schools in the system, and to speak with 17 principals and with – I estimate - three times as many teachers. I have attended at least 10 school board meetings and one regular membership meeting of MNEA. I have served as member of the PTO board of my children's school and have made a personal commitment to devote as much time as possible to make their school better every year.

My simple conclusion is that the sooner rational change is introduced in the public school system, the more meaningful the improvements will be regardless of racial and socio-economical differences. I share the opinion that public education in Nashville is at a crossroads today; the status quo must be challenged every single day by every stakeholder.

I want to believe that I am not the only parent that expects to see and hear courageous leaders that separate themselves from cosmetic or incremental changes and are willing to imagine, propose and execute radical solutions that transform our schools in the very short term. In exchange for that kind of leadership, many parents like me are willing to roll up our sleeves and walk the walk with plenty of trust in those who take the lead, even if plowing a new path is not 100% risk-free or 100% popular.

What about the foul-crying about re-segregation?

I took the time to read the proposal of the student re-assignment task force. I spoke with three of its members and with two members of the school board. Like any proposal for change, nobody was expecting the miracle of unquestioned support of it. Unanimity is not a condition for democracy, nor victimology of a group the justification for opposition and distrust.

We should respect the outcome of the vote by the board and decry the collateral politicking, posturing and litigiousness, all three responses simply counterproductive.My other simple conclusion is that we live in a Nashville that not only is different than the one of 50 years ago, but is also populated by a new generation of adults that will never go back to a time of racism or corruption.

I feel optimistic because a growing number of parents is realizing that change begins at home, continues at our children's schools and requires our civic participation in every election. Not two households are the same, not two schools are identical, and we have very different candidates running for school board posts next month.

Let's continue our engagement at all three levels and demand equitable conditions throughout MNPS independently from how we may understand or perceive this or any future rezoning plan.

Thank you, Mr. Muedas, for providing a perspective missing in local media coverage. You prove again that we as Hispanics do think and do have an educated opinion on all issues.

Mr. Mueda's perspective will go a long way toward the forming of my opinion on the vote and plan. For the moment, I am listening to both sides before taking a position.

NewsChannel 5 gives; tomorrow it will take away

Promos for tomorrow's NewsChannel 5 evening newscast tout a story of illegal immigrants on the run from the law because of their criminal records.

Saturday at least, thanks to Phil Jones, Jeff Tang and Brent Frasier, the station's news operation looked at Hispanics as victims, such as with the case of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz and her newborn son.

Yet promos for tomorrow point to a renewal of the station's fear-mongering reporting -- initialized last fall by anchor/reporter Scott Arnold in a series on the Electorlux plant in Springfield. NewsChannel 5 unfortunately represents the norm of predominant coverage locally and nationally of the growing Hispanic presence in this state and nation.

Tomorrow's story just boosts the station's focus on Hispanics as a law-breaking threat in Middle Tennessee. It also gives support to Councilman Eric Crafton and his secret contributors who are pushing a petition for a fall referendum called "English First". It demands that English be the official language for Metro Nashville government.

If the station and Arnold invested the time in more thoroughly investigating the Hispanic presence, particularly in the county that boasts of its most viewers, they'd be reporting different stories that look at the civil rights offenses against all immigrants, legally here or not.

Because of Davidson C ounty Sheriff Daron Hall's 287g deportation program, more than 1,5o0 immigrants LEGALLY in this state and nation were detained and questioned for at least hours by his department, according to statistics provided by the sheriff's community advisory board.

That's a helluva lot of people to be rousted during the past 14 months for being LEGALLY here.

* From 4/16-/07 to June 30 of this year, the total, foreign-born people booked and interviewed -- 5,037.

*Total placed in removal(deportation) proceedings -- 3,508.

Do the math. That leaves 1,529 immigrants wrongly questioned over their legal status in this country over the past 14 months.

So if NewsChannel 5's report tomorrow evening can specifically cite more than 1,529 immigrants fleeing the law over their criminal record, then I will apologize for criticizing their reporting beforehand based only on station promotions.

If the reporting cannot cite more than 1,529 immigrants as fleeing the law and their criminal records over the past 14 months, then something is terribly wrong in the focus of the station's reporting.

We'll be watching. And so will members of Sheriff Hall's advisory board, whose advice in treating immigrants humanely and fairly under 287g is being ignored. Hall did not even invite members of his own advisory board to his press conference several months ago touting the success of 287g in deporting more than 3,000 immigrants.

So the sheriff is ignoring the advice of community members on his 287g advisory board? Why?

Sounds like a heck of a story in regards to public policy and civil rights in supposedly progressive Nashville. Let's see if NewsChannel 5 ever gets around to reporting it. I'm willing to provide any media outlet the names of members who would speak on the record -- if fairness and balance is the intent of the news operation in regards to the Hispanic presence here.

Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo come to Nashville

In listening yesterday to Juana Villegas DeLaPaz describe her ordeal at the hands of Davidson County law enforcement authorities, my mind raced to Iraq and the war on terror and the inhumanity our nation stands convicted of on the world stage.

That was war, however, and many miles away.

But the torture Ms. DeLaPaz described happened here in my home, in the state of Tennessee, in the United States of America. What shame! What immorality! And it was done in your name, as citizens of Davidson County, TN.

My previous posts have described the torture.

* A woman, three days before delivery of her fourth AMERICAN child, was wrongly arrested and incarcerated.

* Her water broke while she was in jail; she was transported to Metro General Hospital.

* When the nurse asked her to undress to get into hospital clothes, the sheriff's guard was asked to leave for the moment. He -- yes, he -- refused. So she had to undress in front of him. I don't know about your culture, but in the Mexican culture and Mexican-American culture, that is a highly offensive affront to our women, no to mention our mothers.

* Then, while in labor, she was handcuffed by her wrist and ankle to the bed. I've seen women in labor, and they constantly are shifting positions to try and get some sense of relief, if that is even possible. Now consider the pain if handcuffs prevented your movement.

* Thankfully, the handcuffs were taken off two hours before she delivered. But then she was restrained again in bed a day later. And every trip to the bathroom required leg shackles. When the nurse strongly objected, the sherrif's department stayed absolute. The nurse said the new mother would not be able to clean herself properly with shackles. The sheriff's guard said it didn't matter; he was doing his job.

Didn't we hear that excuse before at Nuremberg? Never forget; we still hardly remember. Our Jewish brothers and sisters deserve better from us.

* It also didn't matter if the baby received the critical mother's milk in its first days of life. The child was removed from its mother, and Ms. DeLaPaz was returned to jail.

* The final injury inflicted upon this CIVIL/MISDEMEANOR offender was the denial of her use of a breast pump to express her milk for the baby and her own comfort. The nurse again strongly objected, but the sheriff's department again played law enforcer, physician and God.

* Ms. DeLaPaz returned to her jail cell in great pain from her swollen breasts. She could not sleep due to the agony.

* Meanwhile, her infant son was taken to a pediatrican. There he was tested and found to have a blood level containing a high measurement of a dangerous chemical that produces jaundice, a yellowing of the skin. My father had jaundice before he died of cancer, so the condition denotes the medical seriousness of the moment.

The child's condition was due to a lack of mother's milk.

Are you starting to think of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the forbidding of cruel and unusual punishment?

We usually think of murderers and rapists seeking protection under this amendment. But in Mrs. DeLaPaz's case, it is a mother of three AMERICAN children who was giving birth to her fourth young one. Surely, this area's and nation's supposed "pro-life" forces should be up in arms.

Her crime was being illegally in this nation -- a civil MISDEMEANOR -- and driving without a license -- a TRAFFIC OFFENSE.

So now you know why Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have come to Nashville. It happened in your own backyard. And there is no reason that it won't happen again, next time to another very expectant mother stopped for a traffic offense in the Berry Hill section of Nashville.

Next time, however, she may be a U.S. citizen who runs afoul of a moment and a policeman. She may not have had time to get her license renewed. She may be driving her husband's car. Why?

Her car registration has been left on the kitchen table for her husband to get her car tested for emissions and re-tagged. I've done as much for my wife. But beware, if your wife unknowingly is driving through a part of Berry Hill. And with her dark hair and new tan she got at Destin, she may look Hispanic from a distance.

Just pray that she isn't pregnant and about to deliver. Don't let her drive in Nashville after the fifth month of pregnancy just to be on the safe side. For sure, keep her out of south Nashville and ultimatelyout of the hands of Sheriff Daron Hall's department.

Thankfully, your wife has nothing to fear from Metro Nashville Police. Its officers and chief have acted honorably in the treatment of Hispanic women and in accepting photo identification other than a driver's license to avoid arrest and incarceration. That's according to state law, too. Chief Serpas and Lt. Don Aaron are law enforcement authorities of honor and integrity, along with those men and women who serve below them.

But Metro Police cannot be there to protect you and your wife from other law enforcement authorities operating in Davidson County.

While Juana Villegas DeLaPaz was put through Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo-like treatment, you can take steps now to stop this outrage from happening again and to your loved one.

Here's how:

1) Call for an end to the 287g deportation program in Davidson County. When very pregnant mothers are tortured, then we know it is not working as promised. This kind of threat does not belong with mothers and taxpayers who now will be liable for millions of dollars in damages for this gross violation of 8th Amendment protections.

2) Call or e-mail Sheriff Daron Hall and Congressman Jim Cooper and tell them that you are holding them personally responsible for this abuse and the threat of more abuse to expectant mothers. Don't let either of them use the excuse of taking the threat of drunken immigrant drivers off the road.

Two incidents tied to drunken immigrant drivers are far outnumbered by incidents involving native Tennesseans. Former UT football start Leonard Little killed a woman in St. Louis while driving under the influence. And he got no jail time. How did that kind of leniency deter future drunk driving crimes? In addition, long lines have returned to driver's license places in Metro. Since undocumented workers can no longer get Tennessee's driver's licenses, they can't be blamed for that social problem.

Call Sheriff Hall at (615) 862-8170. Call Congressman Cooper at (615) 736-5295 or (202) 225-4311. Or send an e-mail at sheriff@dcso.nashville.org or go to http://www.nashville-sheriff.net/contact_us.htm. For Cooper, go to http://www.cooper.house.gov and click "Contact."

The federal government already has a system in place to remove immigrant drivers with any kind of criminal record off the road and out of the country. In the case of the traffic deaths of a Mt. Juliet couple, the driver already had a dozen drunk-driving arrests. The federal government just failed to do its job and remove him from this nation after his first offense.

Local and state governments cannot afford to take over federal responsibilities, particularly when local mistakes are going to cost taxpayers mega-millions of dollars in defending civil lawsuits and paying jury awards. How are Reps. Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn encouraging the federal government to do its job when they simply shift the burden to local authorities and taxpayers? Is that what you sent them to Washington, D.C. for?

If that's how things are supposed to work, then let's shift the administration of Social Security to Tennessee. More Tennessee lives are lost to the average three-year delay in getting disability benefits awarded than from drunk driving arrests. I know about the failure of the Social Security Administration from my dealing with it over my leukemia.

3) Call or e-mail Gov. Phil Bredesen and tell him that you've heard reports that the Tennessee Highway Patrol is applying for 287g deportation powers. Tell him that you don't want that kind of threat to expectant mothers on the state's interstates.

Call (615) 741.2001; Fax: (615) 532.9711; e-mail: phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

Don't let the governor or his staff use excuses that the Highway Patrol officers will be better trained. Unless the governor is willing and magically capable of riding in each patrol vehicle 24/7/365, then no one can guarantee such an outrage will not reoccur. The best protection for expectant mothers is no 287g program in Tennessee. And be sure to keep them out of North Carolina. It is preparing to implement a statewide 287g program.

Do the above things, and Nashville can ensure that the torture of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo will no longer be allowed within its borders. And our wives, mothers and daughters and granddaughters will again be safe on Tennessee's roads.

Thanks to NewsChannel 5 for showing wrongs to Nashville mother and her newborn

NewsChannel 5 tonight became the first, big-name media outlet in Middle Tennessee to feature the story of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz and the horrors she experienced at the hands of local authorities in her arrest and incarceration under Metro Nashville's 287 deportation program.

Reporter Brent Frazier did a good job in bringing this situation to the attention of Midstate viewers. His fairness is appreciated. NewsChannel 5 has made a special outreach to the Hispanic community through the work of reporter Phil Jones. And the CBS affiliate finally got a comment out of the Davidson County sheriff's department over the mistreatment of Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz, who was detained and incarcerated beginning three days before she was expected to give birth to her fourth child.

Every mother in Middle Tennessee knows the difficulty in giving birth. Now multiply the pain and discomfort by being handcuffed by your wrist and ankle to a hospital bed through hours of labor. And you are not allowed to call your husband or family to tell them to come and be with you.

Then consider being shackled at your feet when you try and go to bathroom to simply clean yourself after all the mess of childbirth. This hygiene is necessary to prevent infection and more pain.

Finally, imagine the mental and physical pain of having your newborn taken from you, before you have the all the necessary time to breast feed your child to ensure he or she receives all the early nutrients to build a body's immune system to full capacity. The sheriff department officer overseeing your every move -- and wanting to return you to your jail cell -- prevents your nurse from giving you a breast pump to drain your milk.

Nurses caring for Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz were reduced to tears.

So you are returned to your jail cell with your breasts swollen and hurting, the pain preventing you from sleeping after one of life's most draining ordeals.

While on one hand, the sheriff's department tonight defended itself to NewsChannel 5 by saying it followed procedure and the law in the terrible treatment of Mrs. Villages DeLaPaz, its spokesperson then noted that it let her go after seven days of illegal holding when it should have deported her.

Why do her a favor when it forced her to go through almost all of her time in labor handcuffed by her wrist and ankle to her hospital bed? Because Sheriff Daron Hall and his department realizes it went way beyond any sense of decency and legality in what it did to this woman. And they have now put taxpayers liable to significant civil damages during a budget year that already forced painful cuts in Metro Nashville services.

Meanwhile, the Berry Hill Police Department, told NewsChannel 5 that its officer acted properly in forcing a very pregnant Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz to sit for an hour in an automobile before arresting her for driving without a license and supposed reckless driving. Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz says she told the officer she was only three days from delivering. It apparently didn't matter, and she was turned over to the sheriff's department.

It also didn't matter what state law said about when any person can be arrested for committing a minor, non-violent, traffic offense. Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz's attorney, Elliott Ozment, says state law allows for a person to only be written a ticket if they have an alternative form of photo ID and car registration. Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz produced a Matricula card photo ID and car registration in absence of a driver's license. She did not have a driver's license because the state of Tennessee no longer allows undocumented workers and their families to get one.

Ozment told NewsChannel 5 that he wants someone in authority in Davidson County to be accountable for all these wrongs. No matter whether anyone is in this nation legally or not, our Constitution nationally protects him or her. Berry Hill's Police and Davidson County's sheriff's departments are not excluded from obeying this document.

These authorities can admit their wrongs now and make amends to Mrs. Villegas DeLaPaz for her incarceration over seven days, or they can face a jury that will undoubtedly include women who have given birth. These mothers will readily recognize the wrongs based on simple moral and constitutional grounds, and make taxpayers in Davidson County pay dearly for what their supposed public servants have failed to recognize and respect.

Why don't 'they' wait in line to come to the United States? Here are the answers

Each day, I recognize in my prayers my good fortune to be born in this country.

What if I had been born in Mynammar, and lost my family and all our possessions from a cyclone? And what if hope of recovery had been deterred by a totalitarian regime?

What if I had been born in China, and lived in a village where the schools were poorly constructed? What if my children lost their lives in an earthquake because of the poor construction? What if the Communist government refused my grievances so this outrage would not happen again?

What if I had been born in Dafur, in the Sudan, and government and rebel forces took their turns raping my family and destroying our home? What if the world for years had recognized our suffering, but yet had not the courage to intervene militarily?

What if?

The reply has always been "then go to America" -- for so many of the suffering people of this world. And the Statue of Liberty that this nation celebrates is inscribed with an invitation to them as the world's huddled masses yearning to be free.

Now consider if you lived in Mexico, for instance, only a matter of miles by foot or car to get to the border and to cross into this land of prosperity and justice.

Would you take the risk of entering the United States, even though you realized it was illegal? Unlawful presence in America is a civil offense.

Would you stay home and apply for legal entrance, knowing that it would take 12 years and more than $7,000 you don't have?

If you had $7,000, you wouldn't be looking to leave Mexico in the first place. You'd buy your own land and raise corn and wheat to sell at new, all-time high prices to be made into bio fuels.

But then there are your children -- six months, two years and four years of age. In 12 years of waiting for legal entrance, if you are accepted, they will have grown old enough to be recruited by the only growing opportunity for advancement across your troubled nation -- the drug dealers and smugglers of narcotics and people. They currently are waging a war in Mexico's streets against the government for control.

Rember the term "family values"? Conservatives should.

Besides, the people in America brag about believing in the same God as you do and cherish the Statue of Liberty. They're sending its sons and daughters to Iraq to fight for the freedom of a people 5,000 miles away.

You don't want anyone fighting a war for you. And you're even willing to fight in America's military in exchange for legality. You know, deep in your heart, that when Americans see you work hard and worship a higher presence on Sunday, they'll recognize your value ... just as they did when Mexicans were actively recruited by the U.S. government for the Bracero farm program in World War II.

You've heard all the arguments by many Americans about why you should not come to to their country.

Stay home and change it and change your own country. The poor in Mexico have never been able to change their country. They don't have the money to contribute to candidates or to finance a war. Even in America, one of its leading presidential candidates is talking about change. If America has found it difficult to change, how could Mexico have any success?

Surely, Americans understand the moral imperative of providing better for one's children than you have. President Bush does. In an interview in the Oval Office, he bragged to me of his understanding of this truth as the governor of a border state and a child who was raised in Houston by a Mexican nanny. He called her a second mother.

Now, however, Bush has allowed the 287g deportation program in 55 U.S. communities including Davidson County and increased ICE raids of workplaces. Compassionate conservatism has been replaced by a sad sacking of integrity.

Besides war, truth is the first casualty in politics. And so it has been with this nation's immigration policy. It has become a political football.

Friday, I was speaking to a friend of mine, a descendant of German immigrants. He recalled how his ancestors formed their own communities in big cities and only spoke their native tongue there for generations. He cited the Poles and Italians as having the same history.

Meanwhile, Hispanics have shown themselves to assimilate to the English language by the next generation after immigration, he said. That's the fastest for any group, my friend said.

The defining issue in this nation's refusal to reconcile its immigration policy to simple truth is a historical bigotry, he said, which also was exhibited against Italians, Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Irish and Poles to mention only a few.

My friend of German grandparents told me that punitive programs like 287g are akin to squeezing a plugged garden hose. One only increases the pressure of the moment, and then the water explodes everywhere, uncontrollably and a lot of folks end up getting wet and irritated.

He's right. And compassion is one of the first virtues to get dampened. So is forward thinking. Baby Boomers are retiring. They are needing more frequent hospitalization while nursing numbers continue to fall. Hispanics constitute the youngest workforce in the nation. We need those numbers to care for people and to keep the Social Security fund solvent.

We need these Hispanic immigrants -- to care for our aged, to fill their professional jobs and be America's workforce of the future.

While this fact is not often reported, most of the 12 million Hispanics illegally in this country have come into America legally -- under temporary work visas to labor in our fields at harvest time, to keep up golf courses at tee time and perform other menial tasks at dinner time. They became illegal when they failed to return home, usually because other employers hired them out of respect for their work ethic.

That truth says more about citizens of this nation than about them.

According to that experience, Democrats including Sen. Barack Obama and a Republican such as Sen. John McCain proposed the creation of an expanded temporary work program in comprehensive immigration reform legislation. With the expanded program, temporary workers would be more closely followed to ensure they left the country after their legal stay period ended.

Republican lawmakers, however, blocked this important reform.

Punitive measures they support are 287g deportation, ICE workplace raids and a silly wall on the border to address the issue at the moment. They do not look to a better and more prosperous future for all people involved and affected. Immigrants pay taxes, particularly the sales tax which accounts for most of the money used for Tennessee state operations.

A University of Arizona study released earlier this year determined that undocumented immigrants contributed almost $1 billion more in revenue than money expended for government services they used. In addition, undocumented immigrants have money taken out of their wages for Social Security benefits they'll never receive. At the beginning of this decade, their contribution to the Social Security fund topped $20 billion. Earlier this year, the federal government announced that the size of SS contributions by undocumented immigrants would keep the Social Security Fund solvent by an additional two years.

So there are the answers to why undocumented immigrants and their families are here and what they contribute to a more prosperous America. Some people won't like the answers. But unless we deal with the matter of illegal immigration truthfully, the controversy will only grow.

Damage to mother and newborn could be extensive according to Franklin,TN., physician

The following information provided by a Franklin physician who read my writing about the shocking treatment of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz by Davidson County authorities shows the damage Ms. DeLaPaz and her family must now contend with concerning their health and that of their newborn.

Here is what the physician says:

There are some glaring medical issues with plenty of literature to back up them up:

1. Psychological trauma at having a newborn wrenched from the mother with minimal visual contact.

2. Cultural violation of not allowing breast feeding, as well as the beneficial hormone changes that occur in the mother and help her to heal, physically and mentally.

3. No colostrum peptides available to the baby for nutrition and to provide her with immune defenses.

4. No nipple stimulation provided for the mother to facilitate 'let-down' and no feeding of the infant to relieve the pain of encourgement.

5. Typically a half liter of blood and several liters of fluid are lost during delivery and rest is required, rather than being chained to other prisioners and forced to board a bus to the next holding pen.

6. Food and fluid are required for the recuperation of the mother, and it is very dangerous to withold ad lib feeding in the postpartum period. Iron and vitamins are needed to help her recover. Juana was given pureed food (prisioners are not allowed forks and knives) which of course she was too sick and too frightened to eat. She was withheld from being offered fluids for many hours.

7. Vaginal bleeding continues for several days post partum emphasizing the need to rest. Just because hospitals in the US have to kick women out after 48 hrs, doesn't mean the recovery is complete. Did anyone take her blood pressure? Did anyone know that she was dizzy and was certainly hypovolemic? What was her heart rate?

8. Would anyone deny that there is trauma when a newborn is wrenched from her mother and not allowed to feed or to bond with her. Anyone familiar with those monkey experiements (freshman psych classes -Miller I think), where the newborn monkey was only allowed to bond with a stiff, constructed metal replica substitute for its mother?

9. The newborn was taken to a pediatrician and had a bilirubin level over 14! This placed her in the high intermediate risk category for hyperbilirubinemia. The cause was an inability to have free access to her mother's milk.

(Website note: According to the University of Virginia Health Systems, "hyperbilirubinemia is a condition in which there is too much bilirubin in the blood. When red blood cells break down, a substance called bilirubin is formed. Babies are not easily able to get rid of the bilirubin and it can build up in the blood and other tissues and fluids of the baby's body. This is called hyperbilirubinemia. Because bilirubin has a pigment or coloring, it causes a yellowing of the baby's skin and tissues. This is called jaundice. Depending on the cause of the hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice may appear at birth or at any time afterward."

10. Did any of the male officers, guards, judges, etc. provide her with care for the extremely painful condition of milk-engorged breasts? This is a grave example of witholding necessary medical care and a fine example of gender discrimination.

Isn't this the 'poster-child-case' for blowing the lid off of this crazy law which allows everyone up and down the chain to simply say they are "just doing their job" or, "just following the law"?

Yes, doctor, you are very correct. It is a crazy law and program replete with legal authorities and politicians staying quiet or passing the buck.

And thank you so much for taking your time to evaluate Ms. DeLaPaz's case. The damage to her and her newborn may well be extraordinary, and a Nashville jury that includes mothers will believe so, too.

BREAKING NEWS: More disturbing revelations emerge in case of arrested expectant mother then separated from newborn by 287g deportation program

More disturbing revelations have emerged concerning the arrest and incarceration of a pregnant Nashville woman three days from delivery and her treatment by legal authorities during and after she gave birth.

The revelations -- which begin with Ms. DeLaPaz's arrest on July 3 -- come from an interview yesterday of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz and her family by local Nashville attorney Elliot Ozment. I can vouch for his credibility from his association as a legal representative with other cases of misreatment under the Davidson County's 287 deportation program and ICE raids across the state. The 287g program was brought here 14 months ago by Sheriff Daron Hall and without the objection of U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, whose district covers most of Davidson County.

Ms. DeLaPaz's story has exploded over the local and national blogosphere.

Here are excepts of the statement she gave to her attorney:

� Ms. DeLaPaz was pulled over by Berry Hill PD, Sgt. Timothy Ray Coleman, to be precise. This was on 7/3/08 at 12:40 PM. The ticket issued said "Careless driving", but no other details were available. Poor Juana still to this day doesn't understand what she did wrong. I interviewed the couple's 14-year-old son who was in the car, and he said the policeman never specified what the woman did that was wrong.

She has a court appearance at the Berry Hill Municipal Court (698 Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN 37204) on Aug 15, 2008 at 2:30 PM.

The younger policeman who issued a ticket to the vehicle immediately in front of Juana's car approached Juana's car when he was finished with the other vehicle and started up a conversation with the boy. He apologized and said he would never arrest a pregnant lady such as this. This didn't stop Sgt. Coleman -- he made pregnant Juana wait in a hot car for an hour. When the other driver arrived, Coleman then told Juana that she didn't get out of the car into his police vehicle in two seconds he would put her in handcuffs. She told Coleman that she was supposed to deliver in three days, but it made no difference.

� During her ICE(Immigration and Customs Enforcement) screening interview at the Davidson County Jail, Juana again told the intake interviewer that she was to deliver in three days.

�It was determined by ICE that she had been previously removed (in deportation proceedings a decade ago) and was kept in jail on the charge of driving without a license along with an ICE detainer, thus preventing her from getting out on bail on the state charge.

� On 7/5/08, her "water broke" at approximately10 p.m and she was taken by ambulance to General Hospital about an hour later. She gave birth on 7/6/08 at 1:03 a.m. She received excellent and compassionate care at Nashville General.

During her stay there, the guard (I believe it to have been sheriff's personnel -- wore a "green uniform") disconnected the phone so that she could make no outgoing calls. She did not see her husband the entire time she was there. She was ankle-cuffed to the bed at all times (except when she was released to take a bathroom break).

On the first hour after admission, her right hand and left ankle were cuffed to the bed. After the baby delivered, she spent the rest of the day uncuffed. That night, her ankle cuff was reattached and stayed for the duration. When she had to go to the bathroom for personal hygeine as directed by the nurse, she shuffled to the bathroom with both feet shackled to each other.

When the nurse requested the cuffs be removed to enable a better job of self-administering personal hygeine, the guard refused. The nurse became upset, but the guard callously said, "I'm just doing my job". She was discharged on 7/8 at 4 p.m.

The nurse gave her a breast pump, but the sheriff's guard refused to let her use it or take it with her from the hospital.

� Ms. DeLaPaz was returned to jail. She was released at 3 a.m. Thursday -- ending eight days of shocking treatment.

These revelations are deeply distrurbing. They should move each of us to get involved and demand a response from the sheriff's office and Berry Hill's police department. As of this writing, I have received no electronic mail response from both parties, nor from Rep. Cooper's office. The Nashville Democrat has yet to object to the program in Davidson County despite a long series of reports of mistreatment of immigrants and their families.

The program was sold to Davidson County residents two years ago as a way to remove dangerous criminals from the undocumented population of immigrants and their families here. A subsequent investigation by The Tennessean newspaper, however, revealed that the great majority of deportations were of people with no criminal record, let alone one of felonies and violence. Families here have been devastated.

Despite this record of promising one thing and then doing another, 287g remains in Nashville and 54 other communities across the country after approval of applications by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. With the support of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, the state of North Carolina will institute a statewide 287g program. Dole's Democratic challenger also approves of the program.

The state of Tennessee -- as do many other states -- does not allow undocumented immigrants to have driver's licenses, repealing approval earlier this decade. This matter cropped up in the Democratic primary presidential race. Future nominee Barack Obama maintained his support of giving licenses to qualifying immigrants who pass written and actual driving tests and secure private auto insurance. Sen. Hillary Clinton came out against such a proposal for New York State.

Such ID with picture is necessary for police to determine -- with any arrest for any offense -- if the alleged offender will show up for his or her court hearing. If the arresting officer cannot be convinced of that, he or she then will arrest the person and take them to be booked and incarcerated until a court can initiate proceedings.

Metro Police Chief Serpas has given his officers discretion in determining their belief in a person's ability to appear at a court hearing. If a driver's license is not available, he has allowed other documents to prove residence and reliability here. However, he does require a ticket be written for anyone driving who does not possess a license. Of course, that is what the law requires.

In combinations, such needed documents for Metro Police include a car registration and Matricula card issue by the government of Mexico. Ms. DeLaPaz reportedly had both. But Berry Hill's police department apparently has its own standards for proof of residence and reliability, or in this matter, two different policeman disagreed over whether Ms. DeLaPaz should have been arrested in the first place.

Advocates for the Hispanic community claim that 287g has resulted in racial profiling of Hispanic drivers by legal authorites. They can be stopped for simply "driving while Mexican" or any other nationality.

Here, with Ms. DeLaPaz's shocking treatment because of 287g, Lt. Don Aaron of the Metro Police Department issued a statement on Thursday stating that the department's officers were not involved in this incident with Ms. DeLaPaz, her three children and subsequent treatment revolving her incarceration and hospitalization.

Out of fairness, when the sheriff's, Rep. Cooper's and the Berry Hill Police offices release a public statement, I'll publish them to accompany the following record of this shocking treatment of an expecting mother and her separation from her newborn

The passing of Tony Snow and making sure to live in the moment

Today's sad news from our nation's capital is a sobering reminder for those of us who remain under treatment for our cancers.

Tony Show, former Bush press secretary and conservative politico, lost his second battle against cancer. He left his job last year at the White House to earn more money for his family -- knowing privately that his prognosis was not one that boded for long-term survival.

With cancer, one learns to live in the moment, knowing that the loss of remission means a certain and probably quick death. Actually, all of us -- no matter the status of our health -- should live in the moment. Cancer is not the only immediate threat to our survival. Traffic deaths and tornadoes seem too frequent these days. As one writer said, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. And as Christ preached, "consider the lillies of the field ... ."

This approach doesn't mean we don't save for our retirement or put money into college funds for our children. The law of averages point to their survival and ours. But we must live in the moment in making sure we tell everyone important in our lives about how much we love them, then treating them accordingly each day.

Father Ed Alberts, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Brentwood, had a brilliant sermon last weekend on taking time to celebrate the fireworks in life, including the literal ones on the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. These moments are gifts from God, too.

Longevity of life is simply another blessing. As this nation's greatest American said on the eve of his death, longevity has its place, its attraction is real. But the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., told a Memphis crowd that he was fearing no man or any threat, because he had been to the mountaintop and seen the promised land. And in reiterating the national hymn, he closed his Memphis speech with its words, my "eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Our real focus should remain on heaven as the promised land. Efforts to create one on earth through material possessions will only leave us wanting for more.

No matter our health backgroud, Snow's passing at the too young of an age of 53 is a loss. He approached his convservatism in a happy manner that was contrary to the threatening nature of others who share his political beliefs. He was to the Right what the late great Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey was to his followers on the Left. HHH was the "happy warrior", and we loved him for it.

Below is the news from Washington about Tony Snow. May our prayers be for his family for their consolation and strength and for him and his soul, that he may now rest in peace and joy.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tony Snow, a conservative writer and commentator who cheerfully sparred with reporters in the White House briefing room during a stint as President Bush's press secretary, has died of colon cancer, Fox News reported Saturday. Snow was 53 years old.

Snow, who served as the first host of the television news program "Fox News Sunday" from 1996 to 2003, would later say that in the Bush administration he was enjoying "the most exciting, intellectually aerobic job I'm ever going to have."

SIDE 1: Immigrant numbers just bring destruction ... a story the news media won't tell

The Sanoran Desert in Arizona is home to a national park and incredible beauty. Yet the following description by a supposed U.S. Border Patrol agent paints a much more negative picture.

I'm not using the person's name to protect his identification in case of retaliation. But his opinion certainly appears to be an honest one taken from personal experience. And it is reiterated on the Internet.

This website post represents the first of three from non-politicians that examine the issue of immigration from a personal connection to the nation's failed immigration policy. Read and see in the next three posts which opinion you most identify with. Then scroll way down to the bottom of this web page to take a poll on your answer. I'll publish the results in a few days.

Here is what the agent had to write:

Pictures Of Our Beautiful Sonoran desert in AZ.

HERE IS A REAL EYE OPENER FOR YOU. Another Monster Layup/Rest Area Discovered by MCDC AZ SEARCH & RESCUE.

We breathed a sigh of relief the day the Senate defeated the Amnesty Bill, but the USA is still being invaded! We discovered one of the biggest layups we have ever found. This layup is on an 'illegal super - highway' from Mexico to the USA (Tucson) used by human smugglers.

This layup area is located in a wash area approximately .5 of a mile long just south of Tucson. We estimate there are over 3,000 discarded backpacks in this layup area. Countless water containers, food wrappers, clothing, and soiled baby diapers. And as you can see in this picture, fresh footprints leading right into it. We weren't too far behind them.

As I kept walking down the wash, I was sure it was going to end just ahead, but I kept walking and walking, and around every corner was more and more trash!

And of course the trail leading out of the layup area heading NORTH to Tucson, then on to your town tomorrow. They've already come through here. Is this America the Beautiful ? Or another landfill?

The trash left behind by the illegal's is another of the Environmental Disasters to hit the USA. Had this been done in one of our great Northwest Forests or Seashore National Parks areas there would be an uprising of the American people ... but this is remote Arizona-Mexican border.

You won't see these pictures on CNN, ABC, NBC or the Arizona Republic. Nor will they mention the disease that comes from the human waste left in the desert. They do talk about light bulbs a lot though ... . This information needs to be seen by the rest of the country.

"Hey, we don't care mind if you want to stay in the USA Hotel, but follow the rules of the house and at least stop at the desk and sign the guest book!" ---- Dennis Miller, satirist.

SIDE 2: Caught in the middle between what she sees and feels

Jody Vasquez of Phoenix works in the Maricopa County Jail, operated by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She has some powerful perspectives that must be kept in mind in the ongoing immigration debate. Here is her opinion:

I cry every year when I hear of the young people that die trying to cross the desert. The people that come over here to work and send money back home are not the problem either. But there is also the side I see working in the jail.

The human smugglers are ruthless and heartless people that take advantage of the people looking for a better life. They extort money from families living in poverty, they kill them if the family doesn't pay, and then pay more, and rape them even if the families do pay. I have to look these guys in the eye, feed them and listen to their grievances about their discomforts.

I am human, too, and they treat me a lot worse than I have ever treated them. I had a seventeen year old juvy girl (in jail) that was helping the coyotes. She would knock on the door of a drop house, and when someone looked out and saw it was just a young girl, they would open the door. The coyotes would come from behind her, run inside, tie the people up, and steal the drugs and money that was being smuggled by other coyotes.

She was the only one that got caught, and since she wouldn't testify against the coyotes, she got 17 years. I really got attached to her and asked her why she was willing to do time for grown men that were out there living free, she said, "If I snitch on them they will kill my Mother."

She got involved with them in the first place because they paid her a LOT of money. I'll never forget her, she broke my heart. The night before she went to prison she sat on the table in the dayroom and cried; she asked me if I could write to her, I had to tell her "no" and it took everything I had not to cry, too.

Those guys didn't give her a second thought.

Then there is the crime factor here in our hometown. This isn't the same place we grew up in. The border towns in Mexico seem to have no laws, and when many of them come up here, they bring the same mentality with them. If you read the crime page in the Arizona Republic, you'll see about 80% of the burglaries are committed by Mexican residents that are here illegally.

EVERYBODY knows somebody that has been in a traffic accident with an illegal resident without insurance. A co-worker of mine lost his 16-year-old daughter when a drunk ran a stop sign and killed her five years ago. He ran back to Mexico and didn't do a day in jail.

When I started this job in 1989, there were about 50 juvy boys being tried as adults; now there are about 400, at least 1/2 are illegal, in for murder, car thefts, kidnapping, armed robberies, trafficking stolen property and sexual crimes. If their parents came over here for a better life, the kids didn't appreciate the opportunity they were given.

The Mexican Mafia is successfully becoming millionaires with the weed and the meth that is on our streets and in our schools. About two months ago, there were 3 dead bodies found in alleys in residential areas. (19th and Northern area). It was said to be linked to the human smugglers.

My Son had his I.D. stolen and was told by Social Security that he worked at a "Metals Management" company. He told ss to check again, and they confirmed that there was a "Richard Vasquez" with the same ss working there. The Immigration Officers live very dangerous lives. They are often shot at or paid off.

Who is really in control? Who really has the power?

I used to think that all they needed was a chance, too, but it is not always appreciated the way WE would appreciate it.

Would we move to Mexico on OUR terms?

Would we break into houses there?

Would we carry guns and murder their people?

Would we be all about making illegal money from stuffing 50 people in a house?

Would we refuse to learn Spanish?

Would we feel good about making big money selling drugs to their kids?

We can't pretend we live in a safe city. We can't "do nothing". We have the good, hard working families that have come over here for a better life, and we have just as many bad, criminal minded, people with no soul that have changed our existence.

I agree that the Sheriff goes about what he is doing in a very negative way, he knows how powerful the media is, but the problem is more than people know, huge, frightening, and overwhelming. Also, I am making about 50% less than I made last year, homes all over my neighborhood are abandoned, our economy is struggling, what if we just can't take care of the hundreds a day that are coming into our state?

At least a hundred came over while I was writing this. What is the answer?

SIDE 3: Advocates want the laws obeyed, too

Gregg Ramos is a longtime Nashville attorney and chairman of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Nashville. He is a constant advocate for social justice, not only for Hispanics in Nashville but all people. He also is part of the community advisory board established by Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall for his 287g deportation program.

Gregg is a hero of mine and a fellow Mexican-American. Both our fathers served in World War II. Gregg grew up in Arizona; I grew up in Kansas. Our parents are gone, but we share their same faith. His Spanish is much better than mine, but I am improving each day.

English was the only language spoken in my home. So I had to get the basics of Spanish in college. Now, my immersion in the Hispanic community in Nashville through Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church has made me courageous enough to try my weak Spanish in public.

Here is Gregg's response to Jody, the sister of one of his childhood friends:

Thanks for your powerful perspective. But please, don’t let so many of the bad people you see there in the Maricopa County jail skew your entire outlook regarding all the good, honest, and hard working immigrant families who are there are in Arizona and throughout the United States.

Unfortunately, the greater and tighter the enforcement, especially there at the Arizona border and in the other border states, the more important those damn coyotes become in providing immigrant families with their only viable access to this great country of ours.

Sheriff Arpaio unreasonably refuses to comprehend and acknowledge that all his efforts, and those of his “posse”, are only exacerbating the very problem he (allegedly) is seeking to prevent, thus leading to even more of the human suffering that you so vividly described in your email, especially the unbelievably tragic story of the 17 yr. old girl. I sincerely believe that Arpaio’s efforts effectively cause the coyote system to become even more entrenched!

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t condone illegal immigration. The problem however, is that our entire immigration system is broken. It makes absolutely no sense.

One example: Our country creates, and thus needs, more than 750,000 new, unskilled or low-skilled employment positions each year. These jobs largely go unfilled by American workers however, who are either unable or, more likely, unwilling, to perform the hard labor required.

This means that we drastically need foreign workers to fill the jobs. This documented need notwithstanding, our country only provides 5,000 visas each year for unskilled laborers. Needless to say, this ridiculous figure comes nowhere close to satisfying what we actually need.

So, for most of the unskilled workers coming from Latin America, there is not even a line for
them to get in should they want to try and come across the border legally. Faced with no lawful opportunity to come to America, too many immigrants have no alternative but to come across the border unlawfully.

Again, by concentrating on enforcement alone without trying to fix our broken immigration system at the same time, we in the USA are just adding fuel to the already out-of-control immigration fire. We are creating even more need for the coyote system – that which you and I seem to agree is a plague on our society. This will be the true legacy of Sheriff Arpaio.

Wouldn’t it make much more sense if we knew exactly who was coming to our country in the first place? This would be a primary goal of a guest worker program, which is at the core of comprehensive immigration reform. Such reform would allow us to weed out those with a criminal history as well as more efficiently keep track of those who overstay their visas.

Believe me, the last thing in the world I want is an immigrant population that comes here and violates our criminal laws (I was an Assistant Prosecutor in Phoenix from 1980 to 1984, so I know about, and advocate for, law and order). These criminals, especially the drug dealers, coyotes and drunk drivers, make it much more difficult for the overwhelming majority of immigrants who will do just about anything to avoid the spotlight, choosing instead to lead peaceful, law abiding and uneventful livrees.

I don’t want the criminals here in the first place and if they manage to get here, I want them gone! Comprehensive immigration reform will help make this happen much more than enforcement efforts only.

Can you imagine how horrible life must be for these folks in their respective native countries that they are compelled to literally risk their very existence by crossing the brutal Arizona desert in order to come to this great country of ours? Surely, we Americans can do better; we must be more humane.

We have to remember that these folks are God's creations - living, breathing human beings. We must resist the efforts of Sheriff Arpaio and others like him to de-humanize these folks. We must live up to our lofty American ideals. In our Pledge of Allegiance, we say that we are "... one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In this respect, Martin Luther King said, "Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds." When we fight for MLK's vision, I believe we truly fight for "one nation, under God, indivisible."

As for the children of undocumented immigrants, many find themselves at a dead end upon graduating from H.S., even when they graduate with honors. This is because they find themselves unable to proceed to college without SS nos. or not being able to afford to pay out-of-state tuition because of their status as undocumented immigrants. This is true even if they have lived in the United States for most of their lives.

We are trying to change this sad reality with the DREAM Act, thus providing these young students the hope of a brighter future. Without hope I’m afraid, too many tragically turn to a life of crime. Moreover, many (way too many) young students drop out of HS before graduation precisely because they see no hope for their lives beyond HS. They reason, “What’s the use?” “What possible reason do I have to stay in school?”

I believe we as a country can do better. I myself would not be where I am today if it were not for a lot of good people who helped me along the way, especially my father who was raised in Northern Mexico. My father only had a 3rd grade education and didn’t speak English at all until he was an adult.

Yet he served our country in WWII (he served in the U.S. Army in 1944 and 1945, and was in Europe during the last year of the War). My brother served our country in Viet Nam. The point is that my father and many other good people along the way provided me with the opportunity for success. With this opportunity came hope for the future.

As a Mexican-American, the only thing distinguishing my young life in Arizona from today’s immigrant children was that I was fortunate enough to be born in the United States of America -- land of opportunity, where dreams really do come true. This is the America I know and cherish. I truly believe this is what we can be again.

We are, after all, a country of immigrants. Sheriff Arpaio and the Minutemen on the other hand, at least in my humble opinion, represent racism, intolerance and fear – everything America is not and hopefully will never be.

Gregg

P.S.: Please feel free to share this with the Joe Arpaio and his staff there at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. I’m sharing it with our Sheriff and Chief of Police here in Davidson County, TN so they hopefully can more readily understand my perspective regarding Sheriff Daron Hall’s 287(g) program.

Fighting for Matthew 25 and strangers among us

You can tell the greatness of a man by the number of friends he keeps, as movies like "It's A Wonderful Life" have shown us.

Last night, more than 200 friends of Johnny Hayes from Sumner County helped pack a ballroom at Leows Vanderbilt Hotel to watch this champion for the most vulnerable in our state receive recognition. Hayes was presented The American Dream Award from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition(TIRRC).

A political and moral force in Tennessee for decades, Hayes was described last night as a man driven to honor the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, in which Christ describes the kindnesses required from each of us for those in need. And if we are doing for them, we also are doing for Christ. It is the ultimate answer to the question, WWJD..

In accepting his award, Hayes gave the shortest speech of the night. But it was direct in making his point. His father worked in the Alcoa, TN., aluminum plant. He labored next to second generation immigrants -- all in pursuit of the American Dream that makes communities and a nation more prosperous. His work now -- in step with his beloved wife, Mary Howard -- is toward insuring the American Dream remains accessible to today's immigrants. Hayes and his wife also are very active in the Bethpage United Methodist Church in Sumner County.

This compassionate force has worked behind the scenes with TIRRC to defeat anti-immigrant legislation in the General Assembly, such as this year's effort to make English the only language allowed in workplaces. If TIRRC advocates failed to turn a stubborn, narrow-minded lawmaker, Hayes was always there to get another meeting to press the case for welcoming the strangers among us.

No piece of anti-immigrant legislation made it out of the General Assembly this year. The two standing ovations Hayes received from the packed ballroom confirmed the deep appreciation for his leadership for those of Matthew 25 without a voice.

Hayes was joined in the awards' circle by former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, who was singled out for his veto earlier this decade of the first English Only resolution to make it out of the Metro Council. Introduced by attorney and Catholic Charities chairman Gregg Ramos, Purcell was praised for the forceful language he used in vetoing the council resolution. The standing ovation Purcell received stirred emotions in an audience now fighting a petition drive for an English Only referendum this fall in Nashville.

The former mayor referred to his non-native status as a Nashvillian and noted how all newcomers have added to Nashville's growth, no matter what language initially spoken.
Purcell leaves soon for Harvard University and his new job there as director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The honor is well-deserved. Tennessee's great loss is the fortunate gain of a generation of new political leaders who will descend on the Cambridge campus.

It took some incredible leaders to start TIRRC in 2001. It is the first statewide organization fighting for immigrant rights, with offices in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis. Last night, its founder and executive director David Lubell was honored as he departs to Harvard as the holder of the Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship. He was saluted by three immigrants who also are Tennesseans -- Trinidad Gonzalez, Haji Nousuf and Nonye Ejiofor.

TIRRC is an immigrant-led organization that directs immigrants to get more involved in the civic process of their new home. It also promotes a more accurate image of immigrants as contributors to communities.

Lubell will be replaced as executive director by Stephen Fotopulos. He joined TIRRC as policy director in 2004. His one-year-old son, Oliver, was on hand at one of the banquet tables, making his presence known with impressive giggles and coos.

If there is an injustice to the newcomers among us, TIRRC will know about it and be there. To learn more about the organization and contribute to its mission, go to http://www.tnimmigrant.org/.

Definitions of damnation by 287g in Nashville

The case of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz in Nashville points to the kind of political doubletalk in public policy that has justified America's continued involvement in Iraq. And likewise, the list of victims just continues to grow.

This nation invaded Iraq to find and dismantle threatening weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. Yet the public policy was continued there under new justifications: this time to provide freedom to another people and democracy to another region.

The 287g deportation program was sold to Nashvillians as a way to deport a criminal element among undocumented workers and their families that threatened the safety of you and me. Sheriff Daron Hall cited a DUI offense by an undocumented worker that resulted in a traffic collision taking the lives of a Mt. Juliet couple. The DUI offense was the 12th or 13th by the undocumented worker. The federal government should have flagged his name on its own and deported him. A system was in place to do so. But the Feds failed to do their job.

Hall also has pointed to a double murder committed by an undocumented worker for the need of 287g in Nashville.

Now let's consider Ms. DeLaPaz. She was operating a vehicle without a Tennessee's driver's license. Officials like Hall and Richard Rocha with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have fallen back on that fact to claim that criminals are still being targeted. Besides, to be illegally in this country, also is a crime, they say.

Yet these offenses cannot automatically be considered a threat to you and me. The only reason an undocumented worker in Tennessee does not have a license is because the state removed the ability of undocumented workers to get one. With a license comes a test on the rules of the road and the requirement of insurance. A license or not, however, does not mean someone will drink and drive. We've seen people with licenses like members of the Tennessee Titans get stopped for this offense. And of course, there are several country music stars.

Illegal presence in this country is not a felony. Rocha calls it an administrative offense. Yet undocumented workers and their families are not even being arrested by local authorities for being in the country illegally. Only the Feds can do that. They're being stopped and arrested for state and local offenses, like fishing without a license, operating a vehicle without a license or operating a vehicle with a broken tail light.

It is only when the person gets under the sheriff's custody that their name is processed through a federal data system to determine legality in the country or any legal proceedings connected to their status. Then the sheriff holds them until the Feds arrive.

For any offense, committed by a citizen or not, the police do the arresting, not the sheriff's department. And Metro Nashville has several police departments operating within its county borders.

When stopped for an offense, every person must produce needed identification to ensure the police that he or she can be depended on to appear before a court for the ticketed offense. Without needed identification that shows the person has established a residence and presence in Nashville, the police must arrest and take the person into custody. Then the alleged offenders are taken for a hearing on their offense before a local magistrate.

Metro Police Chief Serpas has given his officers the discretion to consider something more than a driver's license with a picture ID to prove reliability to appear in court. Car registration and a Matricula card together are considered worthy ID by Metro Police.

But it appears to be a subjective decision for each local police department to set its own ID standards. And there is the rub. This inconsistency results in the kind of inhumanity Ms. DeLaPaz faced. Whether her background after checking included something that caught the attention of Berry Hill Police is unknown. But I'll be inquiring and reporting as much in my next piece on this case. Ms. DeLaPaz, however, apparently had a car registration and a Matricula card. A Matricula card is an ID issued by the country of Mexico and also its nearby consulate in Atlanta.

What is known from at least one advocate source is that she was very pregnant, was stopped outside a prenatal clinic and ended up giving birth under custody at Metro General Hospital. Then she had to give up her newborn baby and go back to jail.

At 3 a.m. today, she was released.

While the law is the law, we hope it will be written in hearts and minds and not on stone. Arresting and then holding a very pregnant woman with three children for a non-violent offense of driving without an operator's license goes beyond a basic sense of human decency. We'd hope law enforcement would use common sense along with consistency.

Yet like the war in Iraq, the 287g program is full of contradictions and on-the-run rationalization to cover up for promises not kept and inhumanity that ravages so many. More than 3,000 people have been deported by Sheriff Hall's 287g program. Families continue to be devastated. Business owners and managers call advocates for help to rescue their workers. They usually are mothers whose husbands have been detained somewhere in the United States for weeks after arrest and holding in Nashville. These women can't support a household -- that includes American citizens -- on their own.

Is Nashville a safer place?

Is it also a better place?

Do we need to have both for a progressive city of more than 1,000 places of worship?

We need to stand up, speak up and be counted before more very pregnant women are arrested and separated from their little ones after birth. Do it now, or Nashville's image of Music City may soon become noise to a more tolerant nation.

BREAKING NEWS ... Outrage! Mother and newborn child separated and hurt by 287g in Nashville

Of all the inhumanity and devastation heaped upon immigrant families by Metro Nashville’s 287g deportation program, the very worst has been leveled this week against a pregnant woman pulled over, handcuffed and forced to have her baby under custody.

Then, to add insult to this grevious injury, the infant was taken from its mother’s arms as she was taken back to jail.

If this is not enough of an outrage for Nashvillians to finally speak up and demand the end to this punitive program, then let the heavens fall on each of us. … for we have deserted the God we believe in and a nation of fairness and family values we cherish.

Here is all that Juana Villegas DeLaPaz did wrong in the 2800 block of Bransford, according to one advocate:

“She was pulled over by the Berry Hill Police Department as she left a prenatal clinic. She had her three other children with her. She showed a current car registration but had no license. She also showed a matricular card.

“ The police asked her to call someone who could come and drive them and the car home. She called her husband's brother, he came, spoke to police, and then was ready to drive the car home when the cop decided that the pregnant mom was going to jail. He handcuffed her and drove her to jail. Another cop who was nearby … came to speak with the uncle after the mom was driven away.

“The cop said he would have never arrested her, and that it was wrong to arrest her. But that he couldn't do anything about it.”

This afternoon, Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron sent out an electronic press release stating that Metro Police were not involved in this outrage. I believe him. Aaron has always been honest with me. And Chief Serpas has viewed Sheriff Daron Hall’s 287g program as a burden to his fine forces trying to fight real crime committed by real criminals.

“The arrest report and the arrest warrant were both completed by Berry Hill Police Officer Coleman,” Aaron said. “As some of you are aware, the Berry Hill Police Department is a completely separate agency with its own Chief and staff.”

After arrest and incarceration, Ms. DeLaPaz had her baby at Metro General Hospital.

The advocate says: “Its staff called the father to ask him to pick up the baby. They did this, but couldn't see the mom because she was sent back to jail. The mom has some type of hearing ... (the family doesn't know if it is for migration or for whatever charges they booked her on.). The mom hasn't been able to call home. And now the two-day-old baby is without its mother, and who knows what the medical condition of the mother is.”

At 3 a.m. today -- under the cover of darkness and stain of embarrassment -- local legal authorities released Ms. DeLaPaz to return home and tardily nurse her child.

But the outrage remains, burning deep underneath a skin already rubbed raw by previous inhumanity under 287g in Nashville.

Every mother knows that every moment your newborn can receive the immunizing milk from her breast, then the child’s lifetime will be more protected. Beyond the physical, what is the mental damage and anguish to the mother and child from incaceration and separation?

I don’t know, but I sure hope a jury of Nashville mothers determines the amount.

The outrageous treatment of Ms. DeLaPaz and her newborn is only the latest inhumanity devastating Nashville immigrant families. Many advocates have been trying to get Nashville’s attention to the wrong that have been transpiring the past 14 months in this city of more than 1,000 places of worship.

If these hallowed places and their believers still cannot summon a voice of indignation about 287g with their knowledge of what has happened to Ms. DeLaPaz and her newborn, then each of these sacred sites should be turned into a bowling alley. That way, at least, they would serve some noticeable good. Right now with 287g, they are just four walls. God is not there. He is with people like Ms. DeLaPaz and their families.

Here is what you can do if you are moved by what has happened to this innocent mother and newborn child:

Contact Sheriff Daron Hall, the person who sponsored the program for Nashville, and Congressman Jim Cooper, the man whose district this plan has been allowed to operate. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security gives approval to counties like Davidson to adopt such programs dealing with immigration law -- which is a federal responsibility. The department also gives congressional members -- whose districts will be affected -- the ability to object to the approval of the program.

Richard Rocha, DHS spokesperson for ICE and 287g, told me last week that Cooper has not filed any objection to 287g in Nashville. If he did, that would carry some political weight. Hall and Cooper are both Democrats, which is ironic considering that their party says it favors steps toward legalization of all undocumented immigrants -- not punitive action like arresting pregnant women outside prenatal clinics, making them have their children under police custody, then ripping their babies from them after birth and sending the mothers back to jail.

Sheriff Hall sold the program to Nashville about two years ago, promising to only go after undocumented criminals who were a threat to each of us. Instead, he has assisted in deporting more than 3,000 heads of households -- the vast majority having no criminal record at all. The only threat they pose is to Hall's re-election.

With the outrageous treatment of a mother and her newborn, Sheriff Hall will try and dance around this matter as he has with 287g's malfunction in Nashville. He'll say that officially Ms. DeLaPaz was not in his custody because her state charges of driving without a license were still being adjudicated. But we know that people like Ms. DeLaPaz are automatically a target because of the presence of 287g, at least that is what Hispanics and their advocates of all races and citizenship say. Hall brought 287g to Nashville. He should now be made to accept its consequences. Nashville is in Cooper's district. He should no longer be allowed to hide his eyes.

Nashville, wake up!

Call Sheriff Hall at (615) 862-8170. Call Congressman Cooper at (615) 736-5295 or (202) 225-4311.

Or send an e-mail at sheriff@dcso.nashville.org or go to http://www.nashville-sheriff.net/contact_us.htm. For Cooper, go to http://www.cooper.house.gov and click "Contact."

Nashville, please see the outrage!

Do you not care for your mothers and their newborn children of all races and ethnicities?!

WWJD?

Mothers who love their children, please speak up for one of your own!

Act!

Tell Sheriff Hall and Congressman Cooper to stop the 287g program in Nashville, lest more mothers be handcuffed outside of prenatal clinics and more newborns ripped from their arms.

List of top 20 places in U.S. to raise families does not include the state of Tennessee

Don't get angry.

The factors constituting the best environment in which to raise children is quite subjective. New rankings by reputable sources come out all the time. So if you don't like the latest one -- such as the Top 20 ranking by Forbes magazine -- just wait a few more months.

At http://www.forbes.com/, the latest ranking advertised great schools, low crime and a desirable cost of living as the factors determining which U.S. county is the best place to raise a family. Go to that website to review the list and weigh the validity of the reporting.

These counties significantly beat the national average of 28% for locales putting property taxes into their public schools. That was the big standard for Forbes and its corporate readers. And for Tennessee counties with great schools, it is no wonder that the headquarters for North American Nissan has landed in Williamson County. The first workers are expected to show up this week.

The No. 1 best place is Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis. Homes there sell for an average of $200,000. Nearly all the places on the top 20 list are suburban counties of big cities in the North.

Now swallow hard before reading further. The state of New Jersey has six counties on the top 20 list.

Pennsylvania had several counties outside of Philly on the list.

Wisconsin got two.

The only two Southern counties on the list are in Florida.

The state of Kansas got one, along with California, Texas, Rhode Island, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Massachuseets and South Dakota.

I can hear you shouting as you read this, since a lot of the new people we know in Tennessee have come here from the North. Take time to read the comments section under the Forbes story for some great entertainment from outraged former Northerners.

As for the social history molding the Forbes' rankings, you can cite white-flight over school desegregation or fatigue of parents in poor urban schools. Which came first is up to debate. But it certainly appears that corporations and long-time homeowners deserted the cities and their schools first.

So the acclaim these counties are now receiving for livability, low crime and schools is not grounded in as much heroism and visionary planning as they might like us to believe. And the current involvement of corporations in these school districts begs the question "why now?" and "why did you desert the cities and children-at-risk there in the first place?"

Still, the education bar has been set. And people of all races and ethnicites are buying into these suburban counties and the quality of life. The cities will never be able to jump as high because their property values -- particularly on residential properties -- will never reach that of the suburban counties. In addition, they have more education responsibilities with a more diverse student population.

Yes, urban districts do receive additional dollars from the federal government. But funds are no replacement for patrons of the district -- represented by long-time homeowners, local grocers and neighborhood manufacturers. That sense of stability and reliability is irreplaceable. If you don't believe this contention, go rent a copy of the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life."

Conversely, the lending scandal that has gripped the nation and mushroomed foreclosures has reduced property values in the suburbs, too. So their school budgets will be under stress like those in the city. But the suburbs will be forced to meet expectations, no matter if less revenue is coming in.

Yes, we all know that Tennessee is a good place to raise families. But the best? If that comparison must be made, then read who's hot and who's not. And perhaps, just perhaps, consider what more could be done in your county and state along with reforms to rattle the public education bureaucracy that wastes more money than it uses to actually help.

As for all the former Northern folks shouting at the computer screen, they might have to admit that the superior education they received in their highly taxed hometowns perhaps allowed them to pursue their professional careers and be able to move wherever they wanted in their later years. Just because they no longer have children in public schools does not make higher taxation directed toward better schools wrong.

At least that is what one of the bibles of the corporate world is saying.

Please don't kill the messenger ... just wait and think, if you want all the jobs from corporate HQs like Nissan.

Thank you, Williamson County churches

Because of its affluency, Williamson County often receives a negative eye from its brothers and sisters in Nashville and Davidson County. Its residents are seen as only white-flighters, intolerant, too-money and too self-concentrated.

Yet consider the following fact to dispel that untruth. The only two Catholic churches in Tennessee -- to officially contribute the past two months to keep the doors open at the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Nashville -- are located in Williamson County. And Our Lady's is devoted to serving Hispanic Catholics in the Spanish language.

We pray more churches will answer the call. And we believe they will, as Our Lady continues to inspire and encourage her good people.

Based on that assurance, an intensive campaign beginning in May to solicit donations from churches and individuals produced these two remarkable donations:

St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin,TN. and its then-pastor Father Kirk, gave an astonishing $100,000. The church there has also been most welcoming to the city's growing Hispanic population.

Holy Family Catholic Church in Brentwood and its pastor Father Ed Alberts gave an incredible $25,000 despite being in the middle of their own building project. Outstanding.

These gifts have made the stress of the two-month campaign during an economic recession much easier to take.

St. Edward Catholic Church in Nashville does not officially count as a big donor in the two-month campaign. Its congregation's involvement goes back for several years. They helped open Our Lady's on Dec. 12, 2007. It is the sponsor church of Our Lady's, and members have given more than $325,000 the past two years. And its pastor, Father Joe Pat Breen, has devoted his entire being to getting Our Lady's up and going.

St. Edward also will be financially responsible for a loan from the Diocese of Nashville to pay for the remaining part of Our Lady's debt. Our campaign still came up short by $400,000 by the June 30 deadline. The original debt was $1.5 million. About $930,000 had been raised by the start of the two-month campaign.

Now the working poor congregation of Our Lady's will have to try and pay monthly loan payments in addition to expenses for church operations, staff salaries and community services. That is a burden the church's members are ready to take on. They've raised $75,000 of their own money to cover the debt.

Last week, a loan agreement from the diocese was supposed to be signed by Father Breen. But there were delays. So until that agreement is transacted, we continue to pray for more donations from churches and individuals to reduce the debt. We believe Our Lady of Guadalupe will inspire and encourage, even at this late moment.

The wonderful nuns on the Dominican Campus in Nashville have made their own donation. In addition, they educate Nashville's children, including some young ones from Our Lady's, at Overbrook School.

If you or your congregation or business or organization would like to give, please e-mail me timchavez787@yahoo.com, and I'll give you the information on how. You do not have to identify yourself. I handle no money or donation, except from my own family. Your gift does not have to be large. Any amount will be a great blessing and most appreciated.

There is little more, however, that we can expect from Williamson County believers. Two Catholic churches there have made an incredible difference for some of the most vulnerable people in Nashville and Davidson County. Their giving has touched and blessed our lives. And it is indicative of the ongoing work and generosity of many Williamson County churches of all denominations in reaching out to their brothers and sisters in need in Nashville.

Tennessean schools' investigative series scores well today, except with ELL students

Give The Tennessean a lot of credit for all the hard work that went into today's part of its continuing investigative series on saving Metro Nashville Schools.

Well done.

But today's part automatically threw up a red flag for some of us when the two, above-the-fold graphics had no mention of children with problems in English language proficiency. Officially, these youngsters are called English Language Learners. I profiled these children and their problems early this decade for The Tennessean in a long series of columns that ultimately produced the needed change. The Bush administration's Department of Education came in and declared the school district out of compliance with a Civil Rights agreement signed during the Bredesen mayoral tenure to correct the inadequate education of ELL children.

The great John Seigenthaler, editor emeritus of The Tennessean, was gracious enough to call me at home to express appreciation for my columns. Yet the best thing he ever did for me was personally bring over David Halberstam at a First Amendment Center gathering. I was able to shake this great journalist's hand and talk with him. What a thrill! Halberstam's passing last year was a great shock, and I include him in my prayers each day.

With today's part of the series, I would have liked to have seen immigrant children included in the statistical graphics. I would like to know how they are faring with the needed teachers of good training based on years of experience. The Tennessean did note in a condensed piece in how it got the information needed for the series. There was, however, no explanation about the lack of English Language Learner students in the data request.

If the state could not provide such data, and simply rolled ELL student information into that for white students, then we have a problem with the state of Tennessee. The greatness of No Child Left Behind is in its requirement of school districts to compile information on ELL students and other classifications simply cast in the statistical shadowns. This is called disaggregation.

Either way, it would be helpful if The Tennessean could explain from where the problem emanates in not breaking out graphic numbers for ELL students.

My two older brothers are teachers. So I know the wonders and integrity that an experienced teacher offers. There also is my good friend, Charlene Grinder, who retired this past school year after a long career in Metro and areas schools. Her compassion for ELL students struggling in her history classes was moving. I believe other Metro teachers act accordingly, and God bless each of them. They see the deprivation and tragedy each day. I know it breaks their hearts.

In my years of conversations with the great Sister Sandra Smithson, she pointed to the training in university education programs for the difficulties in retaining experienced teachers in the most needy classrooms. The teachers are taught by theory and not hands-on experience, except for perhaps a short period of teacher aide assignments. The shock then as a new professional of enterting a classroom filled with significant academic and social needs becomes overwhelming. Today's Tennessean cited that. Also well done. Thank goodness for the extraordinary instructors who successfully overcome the classroom's social and academic obstacles.

Yet, if Nashville leaders are looking for a place to start for the future, they need to also be in more contact with the universities training the teachers before they ever get close to a Metro classroom.

Smithson, for those of you not familiar with her miracles, heads a charter school for at risk children in Nashville. Her sister is a Tennessee Hall of Fame instructor. They ran Project Reflect off Charlotte Avenue for years. The children they took in had fallen behind in regular public school classrooms, many during the forced march days of Phil Bredesen's Core Curriculum program.

In closing, I do not offer this assessment of Today's Tennessean to criticize. It is well done with the exception of leaving out a big group statistically that is affecting Metro score numbers.

I offer this web post to add to the necessary compilation of voices that will be needed to help turn Metro schools around. Besides Seigenthaler's compliment, the only other credentials I can offer are from the National Education Reporting Awards offered annually by the Education Writers Association in Washington, D.C. In the large newspapers' competition, my commentary beat out entries from newspapers including The Washington Post. And I won the commentary awards for three consecutive years.

I also have an investment in Metro schools, including two computer labs and a revitalized school music program at one place. I hope they still exist. Metro schools must succeed for a better Midstate. We need each of their students -- most particularly ELL students who can bring down a district's performance numbers in falling behind -- to come out prepared to contribute as citizens, leaders and professionals.

Some critics may say the problem belongs with the parents. Yes, an involved, educated parent can make the biggest difference. But what if the parent was failed by the same school system one year away from state control? Somewhere and at some time, the cycle must be broken. The Education Trust, a non-profit and non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C., has found that a good, qualified teacher can catch up a child from a bad learning environment in five years. Yes, five years.

The same contention was made to me by a conservative Republican and Tennessean, who has been put in charge of going around the country into deprived areas to find education initiatives that worked. In interviews with disadvantaged families in Chattanooga, he found the same cyclical problem of failed parents trying to help their children who were being failed by the school system. So instead of working with the system, these parents distrusted it even more for what they believed it was doing to their children. A horrible history was being repeated.

ELL students face the difficulty of learning in a language many of their parents don't know. Critics will say that the parents should not come to this country without English language proficiency. But hungry mouths and stunted futures cannot wait. Any parent wants to provide better for his or her child, not wait 12 years to get into the legalization process line, raise thousands of dollars for fees and help they can't get from their nation's depressed economy, then watch many of their children reach adulthood and lose hope.

And besides, American business throughout our history has wanted these kind of people, because they are hungry to succeed and will work tirelessly for their dreams of better for their children. They contribute enormous energy and labor to our economy, pay sales taxes and buy homes. We need them, and most especially their children in our graying nation.

The voices of business men and women are most important in bettering public schools. The idea of incentives to recruit better teachers to more challenged schools is not new, even though the Metro school board will vote on it Tuesday. Early this decade, a businessman on the board often pointed to the lack of teachers in the most challenged schools and proposed ways to alleviate the imbalance. But his proposals did not gain enough discussion or needed traction on the board or in Nashville political circles -- partly because of his businesss, conservative credentials.

So there you have it. There are no easy solutions but the long, dedicated road back of forward steps and missteps without losing sight of the goal on the horizon. Best of luck and prayers, Nashville, on this most important trek. Those of us rooting for you will be looking for opportunities to contribute. And we'll most appreciate coverage like that provided today by The Tennessean.

The lack of diverse voices on WKRN's This Week continues

Anchor Bob Mueller's and WKRN's This Week Sunday political program continues to reflect a sad and inaccurate view of the kind of voices needed to present opinions in the Nashville aea.

Three white men -- while knowledgeable from their experiences and disabled by their poverty of diverse experiences -- just doesn't cut it. Viewers should receive a diversity of ethnic and racial opinions that will determine the winner of the White House in 2008. For goodness sake, an African-American will be the Democratic Party presidential nominee. And African-Americans represent 25% of Nashville's population. So on This Week, their views really are not represented on common issues and more importantly issues Mueller's is not asking about because of his poverty of experiences.

And then there was the latest show's lack of a woman, the gender that does most of voting in this nation. Poor Liz Murray Garrigan. She can't keep bailing out the show each week, sitting between the political polar extremes as they utter apologistic views for people of their political leanings. Surely Mueller knows someone female who has political opinions of credibility. If he doesn't, that says more about him.

I reruited the Rev. Enoch Fuzz -- who I wrote about yesterday on this website -- for This Week. I was privileged to join Rev. Fuzz. He did great. and I was proud. That's the last I've seen of him on the show. My absence is no loss to viewers. There are more credible people to appear. My gas miles are devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Nashville and shopping for groceries.

The lack of the Nashville area's real reflection on the show's panel of experts is sad to watch. I hope it will improve.

Blackburn's toughening primary fight

Politicial reporter John Rodgers' piece in the July 3rd City Paper provides a good in-depth analysis on the toughening Republican primary race between incumbent "Congressman" Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood and former GOP state Sen. Tom Leatherwood of Shelby County.

Go to: http://nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61227.

Being a Republican incumbent even in the South is difficult these days as the Democrats strengthen their hold on Congress in sweeping special elections of open seats, even in Mississippi. President Bush's slumping approval rating is sinking many GOP boats or beaching them on sandbars.

Blackburn's problem, however, is more unique and telling.

Her office bureaucracy has improperly reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions since 2002. And a significant part of the cash has gone to services rendered by her relatives. For a lawmaker who has been critical of the state's and Washington's management of money -- and rightly so -- it is difficult to swallow her failures in her own congressional office. She had financial problems when she previously ran the State Film Office.

If you're going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.

Yes, she reported her failings to the public herself. But that was only after dozens of letters of warning from the FEC.

People hate hypocrites in politics. And so Blackburn's challenger, Tom Leatherwood, has been turning up the heat. Does that mean he deserves my or anyone's endorsement? For me, not until I explore his proposals and background more thoroughly.

But that's enough about and from me. Rodgers does a much better job of analysis for us to make the call.

I'll close, however, with this advice for his employer. Some of us believe John Rodgers is the star of The City Paper. So whenever he does an in-depth poiltical piece like on the Blackburn-Leatherwood race or examining the ethics pullback at the General Assembly, please at least feature a mention of the guy's work on the newspaper cover even if his story is inside.

And most certainly on your opening web page, feature Rodgers' work amid the assortment of your items. I had to really search for his Blackburn piece this morning. I originally read it in print. He merits better, or you may find him soon working somewhere else.

His kind of talent is attractive to readers, because we leave his work each time better informed.

The voice of a prophet on Nashville and the nation

The most courageous social and political voice in Nashville is that of the Rev. Enoch Fuzz of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church.

To single him out as simply a pastor would be wrong. He is involved across racial and ethnic lines in making for a better Nashville. He also was one of the leaders behind bringing the Rev. Billy Graham to Nashville for one of his last revivals. Fuzz took some criticism for that, considering Graham's less vocal stance during the Civil Rights movement. In turn, he has confronted the state Legislative Black Caucus for its failure to lead in fighting Gov. Phil Bredesen's TennCare cuts.


I received the following e-mail earlier this month from Rev. Fuzz, asking him to recap his sermon to a revival sponsored by eight Nashville churches early last month. He invited me to the event, but it feel on my heavy chemo day, which wipes me out for 12-16 hours. Then the death of my marvlous mother interrupted by publication of his message on my website.


So here is Fuzz's synopsis for me, as he speaks to the congregations and places of worship that are part of the Vatican of the South, Nashville:

"I always have felt curious that Tim Chavez understood Enoch Fuzz for doing service to people and supporting efforts that promote societal peace and prosperity.

Psalms 122 prays for the City of God asks; "Peace within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces".

I love to apply that verse to Nashville as the city of God, nicknamed by some The Jerusalem of the Western Hemisphere and it's Religious Epic Center. As many as ten Christian demoninations have their National Headquarters here; National Baptist USA, inc; National Missionary Baptist Of America; Southern Baptist Convention; United Methodist Church, African Methodist; Original Church of God, intl'; The House of God Worldwide; and The Church of God Santified from the top of my head. Then there are; Seven Day Adventists, Nazarenes, Primitive/Freewill Baptist, the Churches of Christ, and no doubt others; who have significant corporate and academic operations in Nashville.

More than a few times I've imagined that my clergy peers were modern day Pharisees and Sadducees because of their failure to call for social justice and to more fervently advocate for all the people in the city. I see no better explanation for the religious leaders lack of outrage over the way the people we love; and the sheep we are charged to cautiously guard; are ravaged and razed by addictive greed and materialism; the financial moneychangers ungodly high interest rate credit products like credit, debit, and Golden, VIP, or Special Priviledges, Membership Cards, and the financial industry marketing of predatory loan instructments and it's arrogance to rewrite the National Bankrupcty Laws to assist their unholy plot.

Our leaders will hold strategy sessions with church ministry leaders about the high cost of Oil and Gas. Never will they notice that gas over past 35 years has lagged enormously behind the rates of the inflation in other products including, housing, automobiles, travel, sporting events, cable TV, and eating out have all shown 3 to 5 fold increases.

Health care though many times more advanced, is a thousand times more unaffordable than it was in the 1970s. But if the religious leaders cannot see with prophetic eyes that are inherently gifted towards societal discernment of Justice and Righteousness in humanity, or their heart's compassion extend not to all Peoples; how can we require a greed-driven, self-serving, and a brainwashed public, to do justice and love mercy, and to walk rightly with God?

The greatest precepts ever taught to me are: Love thy enemy and those who for no reason hate you" and "Do not return evil for evil, but overcome evil by doing good."
Well, Tim there is sooooo much EVIL to overcome. The listings in this letter above are enough tragedy to at least cause a Renting of the Prophet's clothes and the Priest to cry continually. But their coporate silence astonish natural elements of the wind, fire and the waters in the sky. Upon hearing the human ridiculous injustices and wreckless abandon of human worth, the sky shut off the rains to cause drought, wild fires unquenchable, and record numbers of the wind storms.

The most appalling American evil is the criminalization of the inner cities male youth and the creation of prisons-for-profit. Maybe you've seen the news about the accidental shooting of a 16-year-old female on Acklen Street two weeks ago(late May) by Anton Rucker. The shooting occurred after Rucker went to car supposedly driven by his wife Cassandra, got a gun out of that car and went on a violence rampage shooting into crowd of high school students celebrating the end of school.

He is in jail after being convinced to surrender a day after police arrested and charged his wife with the same crime as his, attempted criminal homicide.

Husband and wife, mom and dad in prison and no state agency has ever inquired as to the guardianship of their 3 children, ages 8, 5 and 1 years old. Ms. Rucker is a life-long Nashvillian, a home-owner, beautician, insurance clerk and taxpayer. Her bond is 150k.

Five weeks now her family and friends been trying to find ways to secure the 15K dollars required to secure this bond, or the have bond amount reduced to an amount affordable so she can get out of jail until her days in the courts. She is in no way a danger to the public and is not a flight risk. She had no idea of her wrongdoing until police informed her in a meeting she volunteered to attend that they had a warrant for her arrest and that she would have to go to with police for questioning.

She is not a criminal but a citizen of our community who deserves her day in court before being presecuted financially or prosecuted publicly. Her 150K bond and the court and D.A. refusal to consider reduction of it is a miscarriage of justice. Mary Winkler murdered his pastor husband with a shotgun while he slept; fled the state, but upon capture was out of jail on $75k bond to await trial.

Enough.

Do good; always.

You can hear Rev. Fuzz on his radio program 5 p.m. Sundays on WVOL-AM1470 or online http://www.wvol1470.com/ .

I especially invite the news media to listen in. I will be working with Rev. Fuzz to address the questions in Ms. Rucker's case, raise money for her bond and find her a good and hopefully pro bono attorney for this case.

I put a lot of stock in Rev. Fuzz's words because they have always been backed with action. My leukemia interrupted our relationship almost three years ago. But I am most grateful to be reunited with his fight. He is a mentor to me about what it means to be a believer and doer of social justice.

If it were not for Rev. Fuzz and his support of Sen. Obama, I would start giving up on the Democrat's campaign for president due to the flip-flop disappointments of the past two weeks on Iraq withdrawl and campaign finance reform.

So I remain tremendously influenced by Rev. Fuzz and several other leaders of faith in Nashville. Besides being with my wife and supporting Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Nashville, working with these faith leaders on their agendas is the greatest joy of my life.

Please listen to them.

Gov. Bredesen's busy week

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen had a busy week before the holiday weekend --- interviewed at a Democratic leadership gathering up North and then back home during more legal proceedings surrounding disgraced former state Sen. John Ford.

Bredesen belonged in both places. On a blog with RealClearPolitics.com, he represented himself well and quite honestly in an interview. He put it on the line about Obama and his chances here and other places in the South. It was a good read, darn it.

The governor also handled himself well in court testimony regarding Ford. I'm not going into all the new details concerning this disgraced politician. For a more ethical and credible General Assembly, if that is possible, Ford's ouster has been most welcome.

Bredesen was simply asked about a conversation Ford tried to have with him concerning a deep-pocketed company possibly doing more business with the state. Bredesen is in no way directly connected to the scandal of Ford or Operation Tennessee Waltz. He's way too smart for that, and he's a walking mega-million dollar corporation himself.

Yet indirectly, Bredesen was connected to the ethical problems that befell the General Assemby this decade by retiring Rep. Frank Buck. The General Assembly's conscience told me he met with Bredesen early in the governor's first term to tell him about all the shenanigans. Buck said he felt that a new governor with a reputation of being tough with legislative bodies could wrangle real ethical reform out of the General Assembly before another scandal hit.

Well, we all know what happened, much to this state's shame. The FBI had to come in and straighten out our own house. Bredesen's office, in a reply for my Tennessean column several years ago citing Buck's meeting with the governor, remembered the conversation differently. It only said that the governor respectfully disagreed with Buck's recollection.

Frank Buck is as honest a politician I've ever met, even to a fault. The first time I wrote about him, it was to criticize him for using the word "wetback" in discussion of legislation. Buck apologized, but added that the term was just frequently used in his upbringing and in his locale.

To his credit, Buck never used it again, and we became friends as much as professionals can and should. He never treated me with disrespect. And my wife would grumble when the cell phone would ring before 7 in the morning as Rep. Buck was driving to Nashville from Dowelltown.

Taxpayers should know that Rep. Buck could have used your money and stayed the night during legislative session in Nashville and go out to drink with lobbyists and get some campaign donations. But he didn't believe in feeding the incumbency monster, so it was turned on him regularly by Democratic Party leaders in the House. And yes, Frank Buck was a true Democrat.

Each re-election, the leadership would turn the machine on Buck and field a string of primary candidates. So Buck would drive around his district, tell folks about the opposition faced, and told them if they wanted him representing them for another two years in Nashville, he probably would need some financial support. This story is kind of like Davy Crockett did -- or we'd like to think -- in his day representing Tennesseans in Congress. These examples are indicative of real populism, not the kind of stuff we get now from Tennessee Democrats.

I depended on Buck for direction sometimes in the different world of General Assembly, in addition to encouragement that there were still some elected representatives left who would take on a bureaucracy that was hurting taxpayers and the vulnerable alike. My leukemia cut short our relationship as he was trying to fill in the loopholes left by the Naifeh/McMillan after-the-fact effort reform effort. As reporter John Rodgers of the City Paper reported earlier this year, the General Assmebly is starting to return to its old tricks.

But Buck won't be there to watch out for us anymore. This rural, Sam Ervin-style attorney of candor and strength will return to run his law office and take care of his grandchildren simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Bredesen has more than two years left in office, Naifeh is thinking about running for governor in 2010 and Bill Purcell has retreated to Harvard. So this is what we mostly have left for Democrats in Tennessee. There are bright spots like Congressman Steve Cohen and several folks in the General Assembly -- but there are from enough to stem the descending darkness. No wonder the celebrated, GOP muckraker Bill Hobbs is having a field day. Tennessee is losing a distinctive and effective two-party system of choices.

Voters should demand change or run up a white flag.

In my Tennessean column, Buck said Bredesen told him that he really didn't have the political capital and time to tackle ethics in the General Assembly. Remember the old Civil Rights' slogan? If not now, when? If not us, then who?

And so it goes -- a busy week for the governor in which Real Clear Politics did not once ask him if he was on the short list to be Sen. Obama's VP choice and testimony about a meeting that was symptomatic of the ethics problem at the General Assembly.

Despite all the fireworks this weekend, I just kind of feel flat.


To read the Bredesen interivew, go to:

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/07/notes_from_the_dlc_bredesen_un.html

Could both campaigns lose the election? For now, McCain is gaining an edge

Ah, what a good shot at the U.S. presidency a strong Independent candidate would have after the past several days.

This shortened holiday week has shown Republican and Democratic campaigns making critical mistakes so early that September and October will be nothing but daily gaffes and clarifications. Polls will see saw like the Dow Jones. Using the old football analysis on two mistake-prone teams, "no one seems to want to win this game".

Let's do some play-by-play of a very frightening week that left voters shaking their heads in indecision:

Sen. John McCain added to the baggage of his record of flip-flops when he claimed he voted for Ronald Reagan's immigration amnesty law in 1986. Records showed he didn't. McCain also has drawn fire for switching from a position of moderate in supporting immigration policy reform in Congress but becoming a "secure the borders first" hardliner on the campaign trail.

Bobble. Fumble. Turnover!

Sen. Barack Obama showed up unusually large on the flip-flop radar for telling a veterans group that he may change his mind about his 16-month pledge to get troops out of Iraq when he gets on the ground and assesses the situation by talking to the military commanders. What?!?!

That's a much different approach than the one he used to repeatedly batter Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries for voting in favor of the conflict. Now he has moved closer to McCain, who will stay in Iraq from indefinitely to 100 years in the future. Someone needs to tell the Republican that his authority on troop deployment is only good for eight years at most if he wins and then is re-elected.

Pass. Dropped. Fourth down!

Obama emerged later in the day to backtrack from his statements before the veterans to say he was not backing away from his 16-month pledge. Still, the Democrat reiterated that he always has said he reserved the right to change his mind based on new evidence. At least that's what I think he said. I'm open to a different interpretation. This latest flip, flop or firming of an existing position comes after Obama last month rejected campaign finance reform he initially supported.

Fake punt. Errant pass. Interception!

One thing for sure, he has pundit Arianna Huffington mad at him for moving toward the center politically. I really can't figure out how Huffington has gained enough credibility to appear on shows like ABC-TV's This Week, other than she had enough money from a divorce settlement to build a big, liberal political website and take important politicos to lunch at expensive eateries. Perhaps that's how Hispanic pundits finally could get on This Week's roundtable. Most certainly, their intelligence and insight on the most pivotal electorate in the general election is not enough to break the show's barrier on brown.

Tweeeeeeeeeet! Clock runs out. Halftime!

Yet while Obama was retreating from his moral summit against the war, McCain was shaking up his campaign's leadership by phone from Colombia and Mexico. Republicans have been extremely critical of his efforts. Deep down, they really don't like him. They know if McCain gets in office, he could go maverick and cooperate with the Democratic Congress on matters other than the war to pay back these GOP pains-in-ass like Rush Limbaugh. Heck, he almost went Democrat after he lost to a cheap-shot opportunist named George W. Bush in the 2000 Republican primaries.

As the campaign now stands, I believe, but don't hold me to this, that I am leaning ever slightly toward McCain. He is tilting left as Obama goes right. I don't know whom will pass the other in the center. I endorsed Obama in the Hispanic press before the Texas primary. I did not endorse on the GOP side, because McCain already had things pretty much sown up.

I won't endorse for the general election until it is apparent whose ship is heading in which direction on eliminating the 287g deportation program and ICE raids in the first phone call on the first day of his first term in the White House.

Real immigration policy reform will take much longer. Hispanics -- citizens and non-citizens -- want respect and relief now. Remember the urgency of the times, as Sen. Obama has cited for his candidacy? Ditto for the Hispanic electorate.

As it now looks -- and that could change depending on where Gen. Clark or some Catholic-hating televangelist is speaking -- I am counting on McCain being petty and angry enough if he gets into office to follow his history and pay back all the staunch Republicans for all the barbs hurled at him. He did it to Bush by trashing Rumsfield. Thankfully, he was right. I believe that immigration will be the best and most available issue for President McCain to give Limbaugh and his lackeys hell.

Bad note. Tuba player faints. Second half begins!

Obama starts on defense. McCain is making big yards on the national security sweep. That issue will ultimately determine the game ... er, the election as Israel and Iran prepare to duel amid the world's primary oil supply and the Afghanistan war on terror escalates..

For the past several days, McCain has been in Latin America as Obama's spokespeople had to tell writers like myself on a Tuesday teleconference that they didn't know when their candidate would get south of the border. He is busy preparing to get to Europe and the Middle East, places McCain has already traversed several times.

Finally, one team has made it just inside the 30. But McCain doesn't have a good kicking game. The offense sputters.

Fourth down!

The long July Fourth Weekend descends on the game as McCain is deciding whether to pin Obama deep inside his own ineptness, or go for a 40-plus yard field goal to take the lead.

Go for it!

Keep Obama pinned down in hopes of another turnover!

The fans just can't decide. Meanwhile, the polar icecap continues to melt as the clock runs down on the good ol' planet Earth.

Ah, what fans, I mean voters, wouldn't do for another choice ... like a strong Independent candidate. Until then, McCain appears on the move on this July Fourth Weekend.

Good news for Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church

Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Nashville has signed a lease to open an office at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in south Nashville on Nolensville Road.

This move will provide an additional $25,000 in annual rental income to help with loan payments that will have to be made to cover a $400,000 debt left on the property and buildings. About $1.1 million was raised to pay the debt by the June 30 deadline.

The Catholic Charities' lease was signed with Father Joseph Patrick Breen and St. Edward Catholic Church, which is ultimately responsible for Our Lady's debt.

Catholic Charities executive director William Sinclair said in an e-mail to CC chairman of the board Gregg Ramos: "We are excited and we are moving forward as of today with plans to paint, carpet, install phones and computers, and office equipment. The truly exciting aspect is that we will be located on the campus in a couple weeks rendering great services to the Hispanic community."

This development truly is a blessing at a very difficult time for Hispanics in Nashville with the English Only referendum petition and the ongoing 287g deportation program. Our Lady truly is making miracles happen in what continues to be Nashville best "good news" story of the past 12 months.

Father Breen was slated this week to sign a loan document with the diocese to cover Our Lady's remaining debt. St. Edward's will ultimately be responsbile for the church's debt and survival. Monthly loan payments will still place a significant burden to pay on Our Lady's working poor congregation. It also has to pay for church operations and community services.

So donations from those who believe in the good news of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and its mission for Nashville's most vulnerable can still make a big difference. Go to http://www.stedward.org/ to read more about this ongoing miracle and possibly donate. Click on the box entitled "Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church" on the left side of the web page.

In other news aimed at making Nashville a more welcoming city, Catholic Charities received a proposed lease after much delay for the space for the Tennessee Office for Refugees on White Bridge Road, Sinclair said.

So from the evil of 287g and the English Only petition, good can still survive and even prosper. Please help to expand on this good news with your donation to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.

Time to make deals with McCain ... just in case

I was part of a Tuesday teleconference by the Hispanic outreach folks with the Obama campaign for bloggers. I am a blogger, but I’ve tried to tell these good people that I am also a print columnist to English and Spanish language newspapers across the country through the Scripps-Howard News Service.

I hope they have heard of Scripps-Howard and also Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. Charlie Ericksen, my professional mentor, was one of the founders of Hispanic Link in 1980 to provide news on Latino and non-Latino issues from inside the Beltway. It provides commentary to Scripps-Howard for distribution besides sending out its own newsletter.

Charlie has been in the news business since 1948 and was friends with the late, great Ruben Salazaar, columnist of The LA Times and owner of his own radio station. Mr. Salazaar was martyred for his people and profession almost four decades ago in covering a Hispanic protest against the Vietnam War. He was hit by a tear gas cannister fired by police. It punctured his head. A U.S. postal stamp was issued in his honor earlier this year.

I write all this seemly unimportant background in the beginning, because it is important for all of us to learn about our roots in this profession. And Charlie has been a great teacher as a person and editor. But in yesterday’s teleconference, I could detect a definite lack of know-how in reaching out to the Hispanic press or authority to reach out as needed to the Hispanic press. We also intermingle with Anglo and other readers. Besides my print columns, many of my blog readers are Republican and conservative. I can tell from the anger in some responses – but far from all -- when I write about 287g and ICE raids.

The guys who ran the teleconference are definitely good fellows and their passion is in the right place. But the question asked by my good friend Marisa – publisher of http://www.latinalista.net/ – showed a terrible flaw in the Obama’s campaign’s attempt to connect with Hispanic voters.

She asked why we couldn’t just sign up for e-mail press releases from the campaign with the regular press office and officials available to the mainstream, still white-dominated, mainstream news media.

The answer to her question was one of uncertainty but a promise to do future teleconferences and contact e-mails and sharing of phone numbers by the Hispanic media outreach folks.

I’m really a nobody in the Hispanic media and mainstream one as well. Yet I still do write for both. I’ve sent two e-mails asking to get on the Hispanic media e-mail list of regular updates on the Obama campaign, particularly but not limited to what he said to NALEO on Saturday. And these poor guys still haven’t followed through, or the people they've assigned the task haven't follow through.

I don’t consider any of this situation their fault. I go to where the buck stops, as Harry Truman always stated. The candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, still does not understand the Hispanic electorate and how to communicate his message to it.

And it will cost him the election.

That means we as Hispanic advocates need to make sure our people are politically covered. Set aside your political affiliations and start working with both campaigns. Get answers and guarantees on a variety of issues that include comprehensive immigration reform.

We need relief on the first day of the first term of the new president from the 287g deportation program and ICE raids of workplaces. That can be done with a simple phone call from the Oval Office or signing of an executive order. At least I hope. If we can get that promise from McCain, then were are being wise in hedging our bets.

Now the Obama people point to polls that give the senator a big lead in the Hispanic vote – something like 62% to 28%. But all that McCain needs to win the presidency is another seven percentage points to match GW Bush’s take in 2000. That’s definitely doable, particularly if people like Gen. Clark keep speaking out for him.

Political analysts are pointing to the West as the region that will determine the election. That gives McCain an edge without even considering California, Oregon or Washington. And if he picks Mitt Romney as his VP – and Romney has been campaigning hard for that spot -- then McCain will pick up more votes in that region.

While some Latino advocates downplay McCain’s visit to Mexico and Colombia this week, it means a lot to me that he’ll view the Tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. She is the protector of the Hispanic people. She has reached into hearts and minds for almost five centuries. I am praying that she’ll do the same with Sen. McCain on the humane treatment of her people. She has the power. And his act of paying respect to her means a lot to me as a Mexican-American and someone who has been deeply involved in raising money to keep open the doors of a church dedicated to her and the Hispanic people in Nashville, TN.

Respect is something that has been missing from this nation in the treatment of Latinos – citizens and particularly undocumented workers and their families. The mainstream news media virtually ignores our issues except if the event is negative. Political panels on TV rarely include us.

So any act to go with words means something in this intolerant environment. Meanwhile, Obama remains one step and one week behind McCain’s schedule. He is just going to Europe and the Middle East to visit leaders. McCain can say: “been there, done that ... several times.”

Monday, Obama had to clean up the mess on patriotism left by Gen. Clark in his appearance on Meet the Press. Still, Clark is not backing away from his comments. So Obama ended up mostly defending McCain and not propping up himself in what was supposed to be a major speech about his patriotism.

These failings are also reflected in the Obama outreach to Hispanic media. Most Latino writers want to herald his credentials and worthiness to be president. But the lack of questions on the teleconference – I asked about President Uribe of Colombia and Marisa asked about access to the main press office for the campaign – denoted a lack of excitement among Latino writers about Obama. For me, I felt a sense of resignation and disappointment. And it's not these guys fault.

It is kind of like you see in Division A college football. The programs like USC, Florida and LSU have the support from the top of school leadership and across the alumni to field the best squad. They also have the best coaches and recruit the best players. Finally, deep pockets make sure all the equipment and facilities are the best.

From Obama's Hispanic outreach efforts so far, it is apparent that the candidate is not willing to provide that kind of support to woo the Latino electorate -- despite the good and passionate people involved in his Hispanic efforts. That means he doesn't respect the Latino electorate enough, just like the mainstream media on its Sunday morning TV political shows.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s endorsement is not going to be enough to keep McCain from getting those seven additional percentage points from the Hispanic electorate.

So I encourage my fellow advocates and journalists to connect to both campaigns and ask the needed questions to get relief from 287g and ICE raids on the first day of the new president’s term.