Playahata

Al Madrigal travels to Arizona, where the powerful evidence of hearsay convinced the Tucson school board to ban Mexican-American studies programs.

With the promise of increased “product” (aka detained immigrants) and alleged prosperity for a town that was struggling with an economic crisis Littlefield embarked in the so-called “lucrative” business of detention centers. Instead, what Littlefield got was a mega-complex private facility, an additional $10 million contractual debt, and a fleeing population. At an average rate of $200 per night/per inmate, private prison operators profit over $5 billion a year. How do they do it? Like con-artists, they lure town councils and local government officials with promises of easy money and increased revenue. However, what they don’t tell them is at what cost!
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We are calling for your pledge to boycott Georgia and Georgia produce. Drastic measures, require a strong action. Georgia is following Arizona’s footsteps with their own version of the discriminatory and draconian anti-immigration law: HB87. Once again we see the same alliance of extremist groups and private prison corporations – those who pushed for similar bills in Arizona and Utah – doing the same in Georgia: FAIR, CCA (Correction Corporation of America) and now even the KKK.

Our communities have been a key part in the development of Georgia’s economy and now they are punishing us for a political game that will hurt the state in the long run. We are calling for a boycott as a last resort now that politicians in the state have decided to ignore our voices. (more…)

TUCSON, Ariz. – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday by a gunman who opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with voters, killing a federal judge and five others in a rampage that rattled the country and left Americans questioning whether divisive politics had pushed the suspect over the edge.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said Giffords was the target of a gunman whom he described as mentally unstable and possibly acting along with an accomplice. He said Giffords was among 13 people wounded in the melee that killed six people, including Arizona’s chief federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and an aide for the Democratic lawmaker. He said the rampage ended only after two people tackled the gunman.

The sheriff pointed to the vitriolic political rhetoric that has consumed the country as he denounced the shooting that claimed several of his friends as victims, including U.S. District Judge John Roll. The judge celebrated Mass on Saturday morning like he does every day before stopping by to say hello to his good friend Giffords.

“When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” the sheriff said. “And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.” (more…)