Immigration

On Neighbors and Immigration

Written by Guest Blogger

Submitted by Doug West
DWest@us.ci.org

I was an eyewitness this week to some of the worst aspects of humanity: fear, distrust, defensiveness. It was a single incident that happened behind my neighbor’s house. Running behind the houses on my street is a walking trail that weaves through some woods and along a creek and a small lake. Several children, including my 3 sons, were playing at the edge of those woods, checking out the creek, throwing rocks in the water – typical kid stuff. I was in the backyard when I heard my neighbor, let’s call her ‘Liz’, talking to someone, in a tone of voice that clearly suggested she was annoyed or angry:… Read more

Motorcycle Zen

Written by Guest Blogger

Last weekend I joined with thousands of bikers to ride through Montana and Wyoming’s Beartooth Pass Highway. Now if you would have asked me a year ago if I saw myself riding switchback after switchback in leather boots and jacket on the back of a Harley, I would have taken a moment to contemplate, laughed and said “anything is possible, I guess”. Now what amazes me the most about this whole experience is why I hadn’t done it before.

There’s nothing like it.

There’s nothing like the wind in my hair, the cool breeze and hot patches of sun warmed road, the balmy segments of valley that feel like hot, moist, summer days back East.… Read more

What I Learned from Jefferson’s Mountain

Written by Jill Garvey

A few weeks ago President Bush welcomed 72 new Americans as they took their oath of citizenship at Thomas Jefferson’s famous estate, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia. 72 new citizens got a healthy taste of free speech as Bush was continually heckled from the crowd.

I happened to be in Virginia too, visiting relatives, and as I watched Bush give his speech on TV, I wondered what it must feel like to become a citizen on such hallowed ground. I had an urge to visit Monticello and so a few days later there I was- standing atop Jefferson’s mountain, guidebook in hand.

Many considered Jefferson a man of great genius. Born into one of the nation’s… Read more

Sports

Dominating the World one Gold Medal at a time

Written by Guest Blogger

The obsession that some people have over the Olympics confuses me. I am not anti-American, but sometimes I wonder if people are rooting for the American team for the right reasons.

Allow me to digress.

Occasionally I run into people that I enjoy talking sports with. Seeing as how I live in Chicago, I mostly run into people that want to talk about whatever sport is in season. There are so many Cubs fans right now that you wouldn’t even believe it.

On occasion though, I run into Chicago Bulls fans. We reminisce about the 90s and Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (sometimes Dennis Rodman) and their dominance over the NBA for six years. The… Read more

Black Superheroes Wanted

Written by Guest Blogger

By Walidah Imarisha
Warning: Spoilers ahead!

How do you make a movie that relies entirely on America’s sordid racial history, without ever talking about race? Ask the makers of Hancock, they seem to have it down pat.

John Hancock [Will Smith] is a superhero that protects Los Angeles, begrudgingly. Drunk, foul mouthed, bedraggled, sexist, homophobic and ethnically insensitive, he’s about as far from a Superman as you’re ever going to get. But we find out that all Hancock needs is a little TLC.

A blow to the head 80 years ago erased his memory, so he lives in isolation from society, saving it without being of it. But all that changes when he meets… Read more

Immigration

Chicago’s Hometown Heroes

Written by Jill Garvey

I was born and raised in the Chicago-area. I grew up going to Cubs games with my dad, and playing catch in the backyard. I spent most of my childhood in a suburb where one enjoyed the best of the city and ignored the worst.

The worst was the segregation, poverty, and police brutality. I heard about it, but I never saw it. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I learned about the deep divisions of my city. In some Chicago neighborhoods one can feel as if every step is scrutinized. Although I loved it here, I began to be uncomfortable in my city; uncomfortable with what my moving into the neighborhood meant… Read more

Politics

Businesses Should Follow the Money Trail on Immigration

Written by Eric Ward

As I skimmed yesterday morning’s New York Times, I noticed an editorial entitled Pushing Back on Immigration. The piece makes clear that business leaders are equally frustrated both with their inability to secure a workforce and with the federal government’s unwillingness to create rational migration laws here in the United States.

The editorial congratulated employers around the country who have banded together to defeat local and state-level anti-immigrant legislation.

What isn’t mentioned in the editorial is that the political action committees (PACs) of these same businesses have been among the most enthusiastic financial supporters of the very same Congresspersons blocking such meaningful legislation.

Consider Home Depot’s PAC, which gave $130,500, more than… Read more

Immigration

Do We Really Want Change?

Written by Sarah Viets

Have you ever broken up with someone because they rarely stood on their own? Or because they stimulated you, but the tone of their words muted the sound of your voice – their words and thoughts towered over your every word.

I have. Then I promised myself I’d never date a replica of my past. I made a vow to meet someone who would challenge me and get me to see the world and myself through a different prism. I was so tired of making all the decisions, no matter how serious or trivial they were. Tired, tired tired…

But then life goes on and my previous experiences are remembered as a small and insignificant… Read more

Batman: Hoping for a Dark Knight

Written by Guest Blogger

You will undoubtedly read and/or hear about the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, in some form or another sometime in the next few weeks. Critics will rave about it, fans will recommend it, and kids will demand that parents take them to it. These are the ways things work in the film industry.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, The Dark Knight, which was released just yesterday, set a box office record for its midnight debut. Box office totals from the 3,040 theaters that showed the film are said to be at $18.5 million. This figure does not even include the ticket sales from 3:00 am and… Read more

Obama, Satire, and Reverse Racism

Written by Sarah Viets

This week, news anchors and politicians are attacking the New Yorker (a national political magazine) for printing a dicey image of Michelle and Barack Obama. The cover of the magazine is an image of Obama wearing traditional Islamic dress, Michelle looking pissed off with an Afro and carrying an AK-47, and the American flag burning in the fireplace. (Image gratefully borrowed from www.gothamist.com)

Conservatives and progressives are calling the drawing offensive and disturbing.

At the same time, comedians across the nation are asking why they can’t make fun of Obama. They’re asking why they can’t use conservative urban legends for shits and giggles.White comedians are asking why Obama is free range for… Read more