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Daily Archives: July 2, 2010

New York State Soon Not to Be a Secure Community for the Undocumented

July 2nd, 2010

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pushing his business backed vision for comprehensive immigration reform but the state that his city sits in soon will be a Secure Community state.

Secure Communities is a Bush Jr. policy, expanded under Obama, that gives local jails the power to turn over the fingerprints of the incarcerated to check the immigration status of those inside to I.C.E. so that individuals can be identified for deportation.

In May, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice services signed a Memorandum of Understanding with I.C.E. making NYS a Secure Communities state. You can see a copy of the M.O.U. here. (PDF file).

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It’s raining oil…

July 2nd, 2010

This is just about the most enraging thing I’ve seen in a while.

National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer Charlie Paxton says while it’s always possible a water spout could pick up some oil and carry it a short distance, the notion of black rain is just not possible. Paxton says that’s because oil does not evaporate. As a result, talk of black rain is just a myth.
Jalapnik.com mentions, however that “under normal environmental temperatures, oil does not evaporate, however with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the effects of seawater emulsification and the introduction of BP’s dispersant of choice, Corexit 9500, may be allowing some degree of evaporation into the water cycle.”

Now, yes yes, of course, black rain isn’t possible, or it might be, who the hell knows. And this video may be video of the oil from somebody’s car mixing with rain. But maybe it’s not. Who knows.

The infuriating enraging part is that nobody knows. That we have to all sit and think now, what the hell are the implications of this massive oil spill that nobody anywhere seems to have any damn clue on how to stop. Is it possible to rain oil? Do you know? Do scientists to know? Does Jesus know?

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Unitarian Universalists Stand on the Side of Love in Arizona

July 2nd, 2010

As usual, the churches are leading the way in the pro-immigration movement.

During the presentation Saturday afternoon that preceded the debate and vote about holding a General Assembly in Arizona, the UUA introduced this six-minute video about Unitarian Universalists and Arizona SB 1070. The film, “Standing on the Side of Love in Arizona,” includes footage of the May 29 protest and march opposing SB 1070 and interviews with Arizona UUs whose lives have been affected by current U.S. immigration policies.
TODOS SOMOS ARIZONA

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Reactions to Obama’s Speech on Immigration

July 2nd, 2010

Organizations whose survival relies on the idea that comprehensive immigration reform is not dead or on the rise of the Democratic party machine, will take a speech like yesterday’s and spin it into a positive, over and over again. I understand that and in some ways you have to respect that tenacity.

The Center for American Progress lavished the strongest praise on the President:

President Barack Obama boldly showed today that he is neither giving up on immigration reform nor giving in to restrictionist measures like the one Arizona recently enacted.

The president demonstrated great courage and conviction as he reasserted that the only solution to repairing our broken immigration system is one enacted by the federal government that is tough, practical, and fair.

In an email sent out, SEIU took the president’s call to get Republicans moving on a bill seriously:

In his first major address on immigration reform this morning, President Obama rolled up his sleeves and called on Republicans again to work with him on fixing our broken immigration system.

Still, Republicans have refused to cross the aisle and work with him to deliver the comprehensive immigration reform that a vast majority of Americans want.

So we’re asking all our members and supporters to call on the Republicans in the Senate to join the President by working together to fix our broken immigration system.

Click here to call a Republican Senator: http://action.seiu.org/letsgettowork

Reform Immigration FOR America, took the same approach, shifting any blame from the president or his party and focusing on Republican legislative inaction.

The National Council of la Raza wasn’t as laudatory as it tends to be everytime Obama makes a speech. Their press release post-speech concluded:

“America needs an answer. Comprehensive immigration reform is the solution, and the time to act is now. Politicians who stand in the way or sit on the sidelines will be held accountable on Election Day,” concluded Murguía.

I wonder if that was meant to mean the President as well?

Not all organizations did their usual song and dance though.

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