Tonight is the MLB All Star game and there are major protests being held in Anaheim before the game. I've been involved from the beginning with many of the Latino and a lot of work has gone into putting all these ACTIONS together.

America's Voice:

Today is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Anaheim, yet Arizona’s new immigration law is sending tremors through America’s favorite past-time. Two months after a coalition of major organizations, bloggers, and civil rights groups sent a formal letter to MLB commissioner Bud Selig, telling him it’s time to move the game out of Phoenix to protect the sport’s Latino players and fans who would be targeted under the Draconian new law, baseball fans from coast to coast have joined together in protest.

Bloggers like John Amato of Crooks and Liars and Maegan Ortiz of Vivir Latino have chronicled the mounting pressure to move. Sarah Spooner from Reform Immigration FOR America writes:

Players from both leagues will come together in Anaheim for an exhibition of sportsmanship and skill. But activists from CHIRLA and other organizations will also be in Anaheim, to show the world that baseball fans don’t want to see the sport tarnished. Next year’s game is planned to take place in Phoenix, AZ. Today an op-ed in the Washington Post laid out the case for why the 2011 game doesn’t belong in Arizona: Major League Baseball is scheduled to play its 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix, where discrimination and racial profiling will effectively be sanctioned by SB1070, Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. Unless the league acts, next year our favorite all-stars could enter a hostile environment, and the families, friends and fans of a third of the players could be treated as second-class citizens because of their skin color or the way they speak….

What is happening in Arizona is a regression from the freedoms we hold dear and a violation of our civil rights and fundamental values. We are not asking Selig to weigh in on immigration policy; we are asking him to take a stand against bigotry and intolerance.

So what exactly has Selig said on the record? ESPN has the story: Just what Selig might do is unclear. The only time he has addressed the issue of whether he should move the game was May 13, after he emerged from an owners’ meeting about various topics. He referenced his sport’s record on civil rights.

But while Commissioner Selig has remained silent, his players are speaking up and taking a stand. MLB super stars Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez have spoken out against the law. "I'm opposed to it,” Pujols remarked, “How are you going to tell me that, me being Hispanic, if you stop me and I don't have my ID, you're going to arrest me? That can't be.''

AP reports 2010 All Star pitcher Yovani Gallardo took an even bolder stance, declaring, "If the game is in Arizona, I will totally boycott."

The AP continues: A year before Phoenix is set to host baseball's big event, the state's new immigration law kept drawing the attention of major leaguers. Kansas City reliever Joakim Soria, who leads the majors with 25 saves, said he would support a Latino protest and stay away. Detroit closer Jose Valverde can see himself steering clear, too. "It's a really delicate issue," said Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista, who leads the majors with 24 home runs. "Hopefully, there are some changes in the law before then. We have to back up our Latin communities."

Baseball has a rich history of leading the way in the civil rights struggles of our time. Let’s hope this time is no exception – it’s time for Bud Selig to break the silence and move the game.

Bud Selig as usual remains mum on SB 1070 and instead of acting like a true commissioner to the game of baseball, he acts entirely for the benefit of the owners. Some Latino players are going to be afraid to speak out today against the hateful law which is understandable, but many have not remained silent. Good for Yovani Gallardo and Albert Pujols. This also sets up a big problem for Tony La Russa, the Tea Party King and his star first baseman, Albert Pujols. LaRussa went so far as to highly praise the Tea Party fanatics.

La Russa told reporters he encouraged the presence of different points of view, and said he believed the Tea Party's stances were "correct" on "a lot of things."

Albert spoke out and opposed the law so it could get interesting. Also, Albert will be a free agent soon. here's another great article at ESPN: Immigration law looms over 2011 game

Protest Activities planned in Anaheim for today:

All Star Game Action
July 13th
Schedule

12pm: Security Team – Meet at OC Labor Fed
1pm: Participants – Meet at OC Labor Fed∙
Address: 309 N. Rampart Street, Suite A, Orange, CA 92868∙
Parking available∙
Overview of action
2pm: Walk to Angel Stadium (about 2 blocks)
2:30pm: Arrive at Main Entrance of Stadium (inside parking lot)∙
2pm or 2:30pm: Stadium Parking gates open
3pm-6pm: Rally/Protest
5pm: All Star Game begins
7pm: Return to OC Labor Fed

It'll be peaceful, but fun so please get down there if you can.

Sigh. ABC's This Week can't quit you or the word "exclusive," John McCain. And the dulcet wingnut tones of DeMint/Lieberman on Fox News Sunday will make yer Sabbath hangover feel like a Swedish massage by comparison.

NBC is celebrating Independence from Great Britain Day this year by broadcasting tennis from Great Britain. At least they have an actual "exclusive" on it.

ABC's "This Week" - EXCLUSIVE Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

NBC's "Meet the Press" and "The Chris Matthews Show" - Pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States; Reps. John Boccieri, D-Ohio, Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Mike Coffman, R-Colo.

"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of fund set up to compensate Gulf oil spill victims.

What catches your eyes and ears this morning?

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It turns out that the Arizona immigration-bashing nativists who enacted SB1070, led by State Sen. Russell Pearce, were just getting started in their campaign to drive out Latino immigrants:

E-mails to and from Ariz.state Sen. Russell Pearce reveal the immigration enforcement debate may not stop with SB 1070, the controversial immigration law.

Pearce, R-Mesa, the author of Arizona’s immigration law, has been writing to some of his constituents about what he plans to accomplish next.

In e-mails obtained by CBS 5 News, Pearce said he intends to push for a bill that would enable Arizona to no longer grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born on U.S. soil.

Pearce wrote in one e-mail: "I also intend to push for an Arizona bill that would refuse to accept or issue a birth certificate that recognizes citizenship to those born to illegal aliens, unless one parent is a citizen."

CBS 5 Investigates looked through hundreds of e-mails Pearce had sent to constituents and some of their replies. The e-mails varied from praise to criticism and outlined Pearce’s future plans. Most were about SB 1070, his immigration law.

E-mails from the law’s supporters outnumbered those from critics by seven to one.

One supporter wrote, "I think it is about time we take our state and country back from the Mexicans."

So Pearce went on Bill O'Reilly's show last night to try to explain his thinking. According to Pearce, the 14th Amendment doesn't actually say what it says in in plain language:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

O'Reilly, of course, is not much help: He counters Pearce by observing that this is "federal law" -- though that is hardly the half of it, since this particular principle, of birthright citizenship, is embedded in the Constitution and is indeed a proud part of America's heritage as a nation of immigrants.

Pearce wants to claim that this only refers to people with "legal domicile" in the U.S. -- even though the words appear nowhere in the Constitution.

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The threat of violence is continuing in our country and will continue until we see it come to fruition more and more. Rep Harry Mitchell-(D)from Arizona is the latest member of Congress to witness the insanity. via Andrea Mitchell:

Caller: You are going to have to look over your f*&king shoulder because people in your district hate your f*&king face. I love my insurance company and to have you come between me and my f*&king doctor. I cannot tell you how much I wish a panty bomber would come in and just f*&king blow your place up.

A recorded message to his office from a woman who said she hates his f*&king face and hopes a bomb will blow his office up. Nice.

U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., has received death threats over his vote in favor of federal health care reforms.

“Congressman Mitchell’s life was threatened both prior to and following the vote,” said press secretary Adam Bozzi.

Bozzi said Mitchell also received calls at his Tempe home and someone left a note about health care with coal and dog feces at his congressional office in suburban Phoenix.

One caller said she was so filled with rage that the Congressman should ‘watch his back’ and called for a bomber to blow up his Scottsdale office, Bozzi said. "His wife has been harassed at their Tempe home, and his son – a Tempe city councilman – also received menacing calls, as well," Bozzi said.

Just wait until the summer strolls along. And the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19th, is right around the corner. Law enforcement is not looking forward to the day that Timothy McVeigh launched his terrorist attack on US soil.

(UPDATE: Rep. Alan Grayson will be on C&L doing a Live Chat at 2 PM pst/5PM est so please join us.)

I almost feel embarrassed for John McCain, but I really don't.

The Maverick is really a pony.

Mean old man McCain has a sad:

Democrats shouldn’t expect much cooperation from Republicans the rest of this year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned Monday.

McCain and another Republican senator decried the effect health reform legislation has had on the Senate, a day after the House passed the upper chamber’s bill.

GOP senators emerged Monday to caution that the health debate had taken a toll on the institution, warning of little work between parties the rest of this year.

“There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year,” McCain said during an interview Monday on an Arizona radio affiliate. “They have poisoned the well in what they’ve done and how they’ve done it.”

Oh no! Not obstructionism! They wouldn’t dare try that!

What is amazing is that a Senator is openly saying “Fuck the nation’s business, we’re a bunch of kids,” and no one in the media will point out how worthless and childish the Republicans are. Even worse, no one is even surprised.

Harry Reid responds.

“For someone who campaigned on ‘Country First’ and claims to take great pride in bipartisanship, it’s absolutely bizarre for Senator McCain to tell the American people he is going to take his ball and go home until the next election. He must be living in some parallel universe because the fact is, with very few exceptions, we’ve gotten very little cooperation from Senate Republicans in recent years.

“At a time when our economy is suffering and we’re fighting two wars, the American people need Senator McCain and his fellow Republicans to start working with us to confront the challenges facing our country—not reiterating their constant opposition to helping working families when they need it most.”

John McCain should just turn in his paycheck if he's not going to work, but then again, his wife can support him just fine. Maybe all the Republicans can forgo their salaries if they continue to obstruct every piece of legislation.

Digby has more:

I can't help but recall hearing a whole lot of patronizing advice from these same people a few years back when anyone breathed that President Bush might not have legitimately taken office since he lost the popular vote, his brother manipulated the system in Florida and he was was installed by a partisan supreme court decision. Back then it was all "get over it," and "I've got political capital and I'm gonna spend it!" Now, these same people are all screaming that it's a usurpation if the Democrats win the majority and then pass legislation that they don't like.

It's fairly clear that Republicans don't understand how democracy works. You campaign, people vote, you win elections, you get a majority, you pass legislation. They seem to think Democracy means that that elections are irrelevant, majorities are meaningless and that all legislation is contingent upon the permission of the Republican Party.

I'm sorry these people are so unhappy. I know how they feel. I used to hate it when the Republicans passed some disgusting initiative that went against everything I believe in. But I don't recall having a mental breakdown at the notion that they could do it even though I didn't want them to. The idea that they were obligated to do my bidding didn't actually cross my mind.

Elections have consequences, or so I was told by conservatives when Bush won in 2004.

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John McCain is facing a tough challenger for his Senate seat in former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, although Hayworth has yet to formally enter the race. Hayworth is clearly gunning for the eliminationist nutters, with lots of angry rhetoric about border security and illegal immigration, both in a new book and on his radio show.

So what's a maverick to do? Run to the right of the right wing nut jobs and pander to the teabaggers.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is up with his first ads for his 2010 Senate reelection campaign, and they portray the 2008 Republican presidential nominee as a crucial impediment to President Obama's "extreme left-wing crusade to bankrupt America."

"I stand in his way every day," McCain says in one of the ads. "If I get a bruise or two knocking some sense into heads in Washington, so be it."

The other spot features an announcer saying "John McCain is leading the fight against President Obama every day" and casting McCain as "Arizona's last line of defense."

Head. Bangs. Desk. Sorry, but after watching him so closely last year, if he was my last line of defense, I'd be pretty damn worried. I guess calling yourself "irrelevant" and "pathetic" -- while clearly more truthful -- really won't get you re-elected. Of course, you know McCain would also have no scruples against playing his favorite trump card: his prisoner of war past.

In one of the ads, McCain's past as a prisoner of war is evoked, with an announcer saying "we know what he has endured."

"Turned down the chance to go home early," the announcer says. "It was against the prisoner's code. John McCain has spent his life representing Arizona. Fighting for the little guy. Standing up to titans. Afraid of no man."

The other ad opens with the announcer saying McCain has "lived through a battle or two" and "vanquished many a foe," before adding that "perhaps no battle in our lifetime is more vital than the one John McCain fights now: A battle to save America."

Spare me the hyperbole. Save America? From what, the guy overwhelmingly chosen (over you) to fix what you and your party screwed up beyond all recognition? Other than your proud admission of obstructionism, what more do you think you and your minority party can accomplish?

Actually, maybe that's why he's pandering up to the teabaggers. It makes sense. They're the only ones whose critical thinking skills are so sub-par that this would be logical.

One Senator mentioned how funny it was that the same Republicans who fought so hard to stop Medicare now paint themselves as the program's champion:

The Senate voted Thursday to keep nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts in its overhaul of the health care system, protecting the bill's major source of financing against a Republican attack.

On a vote of 58 to 42, the Senate rejected a proposal by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to send the bill back to committee with orders to strip out the cuts, a move that would effectively have killed the measure. Two Democrats -- Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Jim Webb of Virginia -- voted with all 40 Republicans on the amendment.

The vote was among the first cast on proposed changes to the package, which would spend $848 billion over the next decade to extend coverage to more than 30 million additional people and implement the most dramatic revisions to the nation's health-care system in more than 40 years. Though debate officially opened on Monday, legislative progress has been hampered by disagreements between the two parties over the terms of debate and the timing of votes. But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) still hopes to hold a vote on final passage before the Senate adjourns for the Christmas holidays, and on Thursday he told senators to plan on working throughout the coming weekend.

The vote on Medicare cuts was the most significant of four votes held Thursday. Republicans argued that the cuts, which would slow the projected increase in Medicare by about 5 percent over the next decade, would decimate the popular program for people over 65 in order to finance an expansion of insurance coverage for younger people. Any cuts to Medicare, they argued, should instead be dedicated to preserving the program, which is scheduled to start running out of money in 2017.

"If we're going to take money from Grandma's Medicare, let's spend it on Medicare," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

Democrats, backed by an array of major senior organizations, including the AARP, argued that the cuts would extend the financial life of Medicare by several years. The cuts would not reduce guaranteed benefits or increase co-payments, they said. And because hospitals and other providers have agreed to absorb the cuts by working more efficiently, Democrats said they would not affect access to medical services.

"I think it's pretty clear that the main organizations that care about seniors support this bill," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which drafted the bill that formed the foundation for a compromise package assembled by Reid.

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CNN last week took steps to repair its tattered image with the Latino community by running a heart-warming series, Latino in America, that does a reasonable job of exploring the realities of daily life the nation's fastest-growing minority bloc.

But what they really don't want to talk about is Lou Dobbs -- the most Latino-bashing media figure of them all. And it's already biting them in the butt, as the New York Times noted this weekend:

CNN, a unit of Time Warner, has not commented on the protests or covered them on its news programs. One of the activists featured in the documentary said she tried to raise what she called Mr. Dobbs’s “hatred” on one of the channel’s news programs Wednesday, but her remarks were cut from the interview.

... Privately, when some executives are asked about the Dobbs complaints, they sometimes cite the production of “Latino in America,” with the implication being that the channel presents many points of view. The documentary, which drew an average of about 900,000 viewers on Wednesday and Thursday, follows two editions of “Black in America.” It presented Hispanic activists with a new rallying point this fall.

Isabel Garcia, a civil rights lawyer who was featured in “Latino in America” and organized an anti-Dobbs protest in Tucson on Wednesday, said that CNN edited her comments about the anchor out of an interview.

She had expected a 15-minute conversation about immigration opposite Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., and a staunch supporter in immigration enforcement, on the prime-time program “Anderson Cooper 360.” During the taped interview Wednesday, she said she made several unprompted comments about Mr. Dobbs.

She said she called Mr. Arpaio and Mr. Dobbs “the two most dangerous men to our communities,” and said that “because of them, our communities are being terrorized in a real way.” She also asserted that CNN was “promoting lies and hate about our community” by broadcasting Mr. Dobbs’s program. The comments were not included when the interview was shown Wednesday night.

“They heavily deleted what I did get to say,” she said.

CNN said the segment in question was tied to “Latino in America.”

“As with all pre-taped interviews, they are edited for time and relevance to the topic of discussion,” a spokeswoman said. “The debate between Isabel Garcia and Joe Arpaio was no exception.”

Yeah, right. And Dobbs' birther coverage never promoted any conspiracy theories, either.

Basta Dobbs has been organizing a Dobbs advertising boycott, as well as protests of CNN by Latinos last week to coincide with the broadcast of Latinos in America:

“Our message to CNN is clear: You cannot have it both ways. It’s either promotion of hatred by Lou Dobbs or real news regarding the Latino community,” said Isabel Garcia, a prominent civil and human rights attorney in Arizona who is highlighted in the “Latino in America” series and who is also participating in the BastaDobbs.com effort.

“Lou Dobbs abuses the CNN platform to dehumanize and spread fear about Latinos and immigrants. It is no surprise that hard-working Latinos in this country are increasingly victims of hate-motivated violence,” added Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). “CNN must be accountable to one of the largest minority groups in the United States if it seeks to gain their following and respect”.

It's becoming evident that CNN has told Dobbs to chill. Unlike any similar time period in the past eight years, Dobbs has done only a handful of segments on immigration in the past couple of months. Of course, when he has discussed it, he can't help referring to comprehensive immigration reform as "amnesty" and fetishizing over the "amnesty question" -- as he did last week:

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[H/t Heather]

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[Video via deedynamo at YouTube.]

The strange case of Shawna Forde, the Everett-based anti-immigration activist whose gang of Minutemen murdered a 9-year-old girl and her father in cold blood, took another interesting turn this week.

Scott North of the Everett Herald -- a classically dogged news reporter who has been on this case since the start -- reported this week that one of the people who helped Forde and her gang after the murders was none other than Arizona anti-immigrant activist Laine Lawless [real name: Roberta Dill], perhaps most noted for burning the Mexican flag in public and ranting about communists in the government (as in the video above):

A minuteman who says he helped bind a bullet wound May 30 for a co-defendant of border activist Shawna Forde now says he wasn’t alone when he went to provide medical assistance to the man in Arivaca, Ariz.

Chuck Stonex of Alamagordo, N.M., said Tuesday he was accompanied on the first-aid mission by Laine Lawless of Phoenix.

Lawless, who is known in Arizona for burning Mexican flags, recently made headlines for starting up a Web site claiming that Forde, formerly of Everett, is being railroaded on charges that she was involved in a double murder in Arivaca. Arizona prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Stonex said it’s time for Lawless to publicly acknowledge that she met with Forde, 41, and co-defendant Jason Eugene Bush, 35, within hours of the killings. The meeting occurred at an Arivaca house that Stonex said he now believes was the home of Albert Gaxiola, the third defendant in the murder case.

“She was there, too. She saw everything that I saw,” Stonex said of Lawless. He had earlier decided to leave it up to Lawless to come forward as a witness — something Stonex said he did as soon as he learned that Forde and Bush were suspects in a double murder.

He changed his mind in part because of Lawless’ involvement with the Web site Justiceforshawnaforde.com.

“She’s making too many troubles and I think it is time for the rest of the story,” Stonex said.

Stephen Lemons at the Phoenix New Times has more about Lawless, including the fact that she recently attended a speech by Holocaust denier David Irving in the Phoenix area.

Lawless, in fact, has been a significant figure on the Minuteman front for some time now, not least because she formed one of the first spinoff groups. She played a key role in helping Chris Simcox organize one of his earlier versions of the Minutemen, the Civil Homeland Defense, and was one of the characters who showed up on video when the Minutemen first organized their border watch.

However, she got the boot shortly afterward, no doubt because she's such a lunatic that not even Simcox wanted to be associated with her. So she started up her own Minuteman offshoot, and it was shortly in the business of forming alliances with real neo-Nazis and even offering them advice on how to harass Latinos:

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Great Van Susteren last night on Fox News ran a segment exploring whether or not illegal immigrants were going to be dragged into the health-care debate by conservatives eager to find anything to latch onto to drag the legislation down.

Most notably, Sen. Jon Kyl has been giving them aid and comfort:

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday defended critics of Democratic health care reform plans who claim the proposals would provide subsidized health care to illegal immigrants. Kyl said Democrats have long sought to block curbs on public services for people illegally in the country.

“It’s a logical question for people to ask,” Kyl said during a conference call with reporters, maintaining that during last year’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program debate and other legislative fights, Democrats blocked efforts by Republicans to include curbs on health care for illegal immigrants.

“In the last couple of bills … there were efforts to ensure that only eligible people would get the benefits … those efforts were defeated by Democrats,” Kyl argued, pointing out that hospitals currently are required to provide illegal aliens — as well as anyone else — with health care if they are in need.

“That illegal immigrants get care ... it’s a big burden on hospitals,” Kyl said.

Well, just like the "death panels" and "euthanasia" and "socialized medicine" claims, this one is wholly false, with no basis in reality whatsoever.

Media Matters has compiled a handy list of health-care myths propagated by right-wing talkers, and the "illegal immigrants will receive benefits" is No. 4 on the list:

REALITY: House bill stipulates that those "not lawfully present" may not receive subsidies to purchase insurance. Under the "Individual Affordability Credits" section of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009:

SEC. 242. AFFORDABLE CREDIT ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.

(a) DEFINITION. --

(1) IN GENERAL. -- For purposes of this division, the term ''affordable credit eligible individual'' means, subject to subsection (b), an individual who is lawfully present in a State in the United States (other than as a nonimmigrant described in a subparagraph (excluding subparagraphs (K), (T), (U), and (V)) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) --

[...]

SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

Senate HELP bill excludes those "not lawfully present" from federal funding. Under the "Making Coverage Affordable" section of the Affordable Health Choices Act:

(h) NO FEDERAL FUNDING. -- Nothing in this Act shall allow Federal payments for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

PolitiFact has a further debunking. Antonio Olivo in the LA Times had a good piece examining the issue awhile back.

Have no fear: The fact of the claim's provable falsity will not deter the teabaggers from adopting it. Indeed, it probably increases the chances we'll be hearing it a lot more in the days to come.