The Phoenix Suns Will Make A Bold Statement Against Unjust Arizona Immigration Law

It is not an official NBA move, necessarily, but the Phoenix Suns are doing their part to combat an unjust (some say racist) law designed to target illegal immigration in Arizona.

The Suns, the professional basketball team based in Phoenix, will be wearing “Los Suns” jerseys (with the name in Spanish) on Wednesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals round of the playoffs on Cinco de Mayo. From a protest standpoint, this is a good start and the Suns are to be commended for their willingness to step forward and make this gesture. Although, it will be interesting to see how it is received when the team takes the court. Generally, in sports, when the home team wins - all is forgiven. Still, what is perhaps most interesting about this move is that the owner of the Suns, Robert Sarver, is apparently a Republican.

Here is what Sarver said in a statement released by the franchise:

"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

Sarver has stated that this move is indeed a political statement. It's fantastic to see individuals involved in professional sports taking a stand against issues of great importance. This issue is too important for those involved in professional sports to sit on the bench or rest in the dugout.

The Arizona Republic: The bill, SB 1070, makes it a crime for a person to not have immigration documents and empowers law enforcement

agencies to question about the status of people based on "reasonable suspicion."

Nigger, Faggot Among Words Used By Tea Party People To Describe Democrats

Eugene "Bull" Connor would have been proud of some of the language being used by Tea Party protesters fighting against health care reform.

Tea Party protesters, using racist and homophobic language to attack men like Rep. John Lewis (pictured) and Rep. Barney Frank (among others), went on an attack that was regretfully reminiscent of the Jim Crow era in the United States of America (a chapter many in this country thought was long gone). Rep. Lewis was called a "nigger" by members of the crowd while Rep. Frank was called a "faggot" by Tea Party protesters. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was spat on by a protester. Sadly, this was 2010 and not 1910. This was not 1957 when the Little Rock Nine were attacked as they did their part to desegregate Little Rock Central High School (where they were viciously confronted by racist protesters). This was 2010 with a distinguished civil rights leader like Rep. Lewis treated in a way that was a chilling and painful reminder of the hatred of the Jim Crow era.

Here is an excerpt from a Huffington Post story:

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.

But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

"It was absolutely shocking to me," Clyburn said, in response to a question from the Huffington Post. "Last Monday, this past Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus of Claflin University where fifty years ago as of last Monday... I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit ins... And quite frankly I heard some things today I have not heard since that day. I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus."

This is sadly indicative of the hatred coming from some on the far right who have simply come unhinged since the election of President Obama, the first black man to be elected president of the United States of America.

Rep. Lewis had this to say about the racial slurs he was subjected to after leaving a health care reform meeting on Capitol Hill.

Civil rights icon and veteran Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, said anti-health care bill protesters Saturday repeatedly yelled the "N" word at him as he left a heath care meeting and walked to the Capitol.

"I haven't seen heard anything like this in more than 40 years, maybe 45." Lewis said. "Since the march from Selma to Montgomery really."

"Yeah, but it's okay," Lewis added. "I've faced this before. So, it reminded me of the 60's. There's a lot of downright hate and anger and people are just being downright mean."

Rep. Lewis truly is a civil rights icon who has fought for justice before and will continue the fight. I doubt it was accidental that these Tea Party people went after him knowing what he represents as far as civil rights. That is what makes it all the more disturbing.

It's a shame more conservatives (some have been forced to) are not stepping forward to condemn these kinds of racist attacks.

UPDATE: For those of you who wonder why I am always so critical of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, this is a good example. Appearing on Meet the Press, Steele referred to protesters who made racist and homophobic statements as: "a handful of people who just got stupid." That is disgracefully inadequate on the part of Michael Steele, but I doubt it is the first time he has been thought of as inadequate.

Tea Baggers Want to Send Home European Immigrants?

The speaker is Robert Erickson, and he had some interesting things to say about illegal immigration, but I don’t think people got what he was saying until it was too late and by then they had already been apparently suckered.

Teabaggers Planning Protests

I saw this headline from a Media Matters for America entry:

Kilmeade predicts that “[t]ens of thousands of people from across the country” will participate in 9/12 protests

By the way, that is right winger Brian Kilmeade, of Fox News, referenced above.

Are right wingers, these tea baggers, really planning to exploit the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 to launch yet another partisan attack on President Obama?

It sure seems that way.

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200909110001

An Interesting Perspective From Joe Scarborough

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough made interesting comments that Think Progress has reported today. Scarborough, who I do not always agree with, seems to take a stance opposite of political partisan parrots like right-winger Mitt Romney (who will say just about anything to appease the far right).

Here is an excerpt that includes the comments from Scarborough:

Later on Meet the Press, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough seemed to rebut these right-wing claims, suggesting that President Obama’s outreach in Cairo “scared” the Iranian leaders into fixing the election:

SCARBOROUGH: You know, the law of unintended consequences came in again. I suspect that Cairo speech really scared the grand ayatollahs in Iran. If they were going to fix an election, this was the time to fix it, because the last thing they wanted to do was Barack Obama take credit for reformers winning in Iran, like they already have in Lebanon. And by the way, in the short term that’s bad news for us. I think in the long term, though – if the ayatollahs are seen stealing an election, as a result from what Barack Obama did in Cairo – I actually think that’s a positive for the United States and Iran in the long run.

That is an interesting thought, however, it is a reasonable belief that he would have done anything to remain in power as president. President Obama’s inspiration seems to be sparking people to stand up and assert themselves in the pursuit of fairness, freedom and to ensure they are not disenfranchised by a farce of an election, a rigged process with a predetermined conclusion. Perhaps Scarborough is correct in that this (what appears to some people to be a huge power grab) could spark people to continue to pursue change after being victimized by a process a large number of people see as crooked. If President Obama’s words have made people hungry for change then that seems to me to potentially be a positive.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/14/neocons-blame-obama-iran/