http://redbrownandblue.com Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:39:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [en] The so-called Tea Party Express has identified some favored candidates for this election cycle in an effort to advance a bevy of right-wing attacks on American civil liberties, all in the name of “taking the country back.” I asked before and I’ll ask again here, back to what? A ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/a-tea-party-train-wreck-the-first-amendment [en] Does it seem insensitive for a mosque to be built near Ground Zero? Sure it does. I imagine for those who lost loved ones that September 11th, it must certainly seem callous, and defiant in the face of the resulting outcry. On the other hand, should we respect the right ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/manhattan-mosque-a-matter-of-principle [caption id="attachment_2833" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Harvard student Eric Balderas/Photo: Harvard Crimson"][/caption] [en] Some have long maintained that a Harvard diploma is a “golden passport.” But sometimes what a Harvard student needs is the real thing: a U.S. passport. Or, for that matter, a birth certificate, Social Security card, or any proof of legal residency ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/dreams-in-the-making [en] What’s the matter, Arizona? Couldn’t find someone your own size to pick on? You have to go after children now. What a big, bad state you turned out to be. This fall, Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce is expected to introduce a bill that is already getting a fair amount of ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-az-goes-after-children [en] The supporters of Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070, do have a way of talking in circles. Most of the time, they don’t even seem conscious of their contradictions. One minute, they’re badmouthing the federal government for being ineffective in securing the border and stopping illegal immigration. The next, they’re defending ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-profiling-paradox-of-az-law [en] I wasn’t surprised by events in Texas and Arizona or by their timing. I’m not even taken aback by the statements of Fox News contributor and business anchor, John Stossel. For the last eighteen months, ten Republican members of the Texas Board of Education have systematically rewritten the curriculum to be ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-fear-and-loathing-from-texzona [en] The latest discussion on immigration has largely focused on the illegal immigration of people crossing over into the United States from Mexico. After taking a backseat into issues regarding our financial crisis, healthcare reform, and political tactics, the passing of immigration law SB1070 in Arizona has rekindled the discussion on ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-other-types-of-immigration [en] As a kid growing up on the US-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, I was fascinated by a piece of local history about the Battle of Palmetto Hill. Considered the last battle of the Civil War, it actually took place after the War had officially ended because news of surrender had ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-arizona-reminiscent-of-palmetto [en] It is hard to conceive of a more complicated relationship than the one between Mexican immigrants who only recently arrived in the United States – legally or illegally – and Mexican-Americans whose families have lived here for generations. It's a relationship that is center stage now that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-shared-culture-shared-burden [caption id="attachment_2682" align="alignright" width="365" caption="Immigration protests in Arizona. AP"][/caption] [en] I walked out the doors of the Washoe County Detention Center the other day, five or so feet behind a middle-aged gentleman, a woman who looked like his wife, and a thinner version of the man who appeared to be his son. ... http://redbrownandblue.com/index.php/opinion-an-experiment-america-can%e2%80%99t-afford