Maegan puts it brilliantly over at her blog, Luis Ramirez and Every Mother's Sons and Daughters : Seeking Justice by All Means Necessary :: VivirLatino:

Speaking Spanish can get you beaten.

And most recently, Luis Ramirez was beaten and killed and those accused got away with murder.

I could go through recent and not so recent history and clearly see a pattern and practice of hate that has been growing. A pattern and practice of racism, nativism, fueled by the media and government, eaten up by the mainstream public.

People in Shenandoah celebrated, went out into the streets and rejoiced after an all-white jury found Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17, and Derrick M. Donchak, 19, guilty of lesser charges and acquitted them of criminal homicide and aggravated assault.

And then people have the nerve to ask why are more Latinos not more active in the fight for immigration change?

This is not just about laws, this about lives.

As she correctly states, the petition will not bring back the dead. Hopefully will bring justice to this one case and make it an example for other juries who think they can use their prejudices to protect "their kind" instead of all citizens equally.

Sign the petition. The fill text of the letter is after the jump.
 more this way»

This is amazing. The UK has declared quite a number of US extremists, including Eric Gliebe of the Skinheads, the Phelps from hate-filled Westboro Baptist Church and Michael Savage threats to their national security and for that matter not fit to enter the country. And not only have they've banned them but have equated them with Middle Eastern extremists as well.

Home Office name hate promoters excluded from the UK :: Home Office:

It follows the Home Secretary’s introduction of new measures against such individuals last year, including creating a presumption in favour of exclusion in respect of all those who have engaged in spreading hate.

Eric Gliebe
Has made web-radio broadcasts in which he vilifies certain ethnic groups and encourages the download and distribution of provocative racist leaflets and posters. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by justifying terrorist violence, provoking others to commit serious crime and fostering racial hatred.

Stephen Donald Black
Set up Stormfront, a racist website. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by promoting serious criminal activity and fostering hatred, which might lead to inter-community violence in the United Kingdom.

Mike Guzovsky
Leader of a violent group and actively involved with military training camps. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts.

Fred Waldron Phelps Snr and Shirley Phelps-Roper
Pastor and leading spokesperson of Westboro Baptist Church. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the United Kingdom.

Michael Alan Weiner (also known as Michael Savage)
Controversial daily radio host. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence.

Now compare this to the fact that the United States banned the most important novelist of Latin America from entering the country due to his work in Cuba and relationship with Fidel Castro.

Nevermind that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has written novels and articles against domestic terrorists everywhere, the most famous being Notas de un secuestro. The fact that the Nobel Laureate and author of One Hundred Years of Solitude was considered a threat to our national security while Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin and Michael Savage have carte blanche to broadcast their hatred and desires of violence against women, people of color, gays and immigrants tells you how bigotry has become a markatable product in this country and a tool of political power.
 more this way»

I think Al-Jazeera captures the WTF state of my brain trying to wrap itself around the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. What it doesn't really explain is the dark underbelly of the "Why?" Is the a show of strength or a show of weakness?

I hope history will prove me absolutely wrong on this one, but I have to go with the second choice and not the first. For all the talk of frenemies being the new black, the fact of the matter is that Obama didn't win support within the Democratic Party unless he had to give up something.

And by the looks of it, it was control of national security both in the foreign and domestic arena. Here's a magical mystery tour of the country's "new" National Security Team :
 more this way»

I know am coming late to the Campbell Brown party but I just have to post it here because it's so awesome. Campell Brown smacks down McCain surrogate Tucker Bounds for not being able to give not one example of Sarah Palin's alleged experience with National Security.

She goes after him like a pitbull and doesn't back down even as he acts insulted by not being allowed to stick to his talking points. Funny because now the Alask National Guard has responded directly to the question and the answer is, No. Sarah Palin has never had to deploy the Alaska National Guard in any situation akin to a national security crisis. (h/t to Andrew Sullivan)

It's amazing we have to congratulate Campbell for just doing her job.

March is an insane month for the amount of political events you can go to. The proof is in the amount of political heavy hitters DL21C was able to wrangle during that month : Jon Kerry, Wesley Clark, John Tester, John Edwards, Bill Richardson. It is also an insane month for the amount of technology and media conferences you can get invited to, the most important (at least for me) being SXSW --but there's eTech and IDPI as well.

I missed almost all the events involving presidential candidates because of the amount of conferences I was involved in during the month of March. Once I was done with my last one, ARC's national conference on "Facing Race", I was free to enjoy a candidate or two by the end of the month. I wasn't able to make it to the John Edwards event (I was having some fun at a party with Nancy Pelosi).

So 3/26 was Bill Richardson's lucky number.
 more this way»