Signs Of Hope ....

So, like many Americans, I am still flabbergasted by the election last week of _____. I guess there were a lot more bigots and haters and homophobes and Islamophobes and rightwingnuts than I realized who crawled out of the primordial ooze to vote.

But it is what it is—god how I hate that phrase—and so we need not bury our heads any longer and moan and kvetch; we need to mobilize and change the Democratic Party so that this kind of lunacy never happens again. We need to take a stand against this almost instant rise in hate speech and hate crimes around the country spawned by the election.

I mean, schoolchildren chanting to a Latino student that they’re going to build a wall; graffiti sprayed on buildings that says “Black Lives Don’t Matter” and “_____ Nation;” swastikas.

We need to stop shaking our heads at this kind of hate and do something, say something, stand for something. Stop living in fear of what might happen now that the lunatic is in charge ...

Take the example set by a Massachusetts school teacher who is spreading hope one classroom at a time. The teacher posted just six signs in the classroom after the election but they speak volumes, addressing different minorities who may be in the classroom and urging them to stay strong and fight the hate and stay positive.

This is what we need to do; this is our protest. Sure, bitching about President-elect _____ might make you feel better, for a moment, until you realize this is what’s happened to America, but standing up for those who are the targets of the Alt-right movement, the nationalists, the white supremacists, might be the better way to go.

Say something against the hate; stand up to the bullies. Stay positive, stay strong, stay vigilant, and demand that this not be the direction in which we choose to go.

Six signs of hope ... they should be on display everywhere.

Attitude

Minute Rant: Anti-Latino GOP ... It's Not Just [t]Rump

Everyone is jumping on Donald [t]Rump’s behind these days for his racist and insensitive remarks that Mexicans — at least, most Mexicans because he thinks “some are good” — are here illegally and are thieves, rapist and drug dealers. Even members of his own party want him to keep quiet.

But at least we know that [t]Rump is a bigot because he says so right to our faces; the other members of the GOP Clown Car shroud their racism in silence.

See, the National Council of La Raza's Annual Conference and Latino Family Expo started last weekend and there was not one Republican candidate at the event.

Now, maybe the GOP hopefuls couldn’t get to the conference, except, well, it was held in Kansas City, Missouri, about three hours from Iowa where most if the Republican wannabes were campaigning all weekend and couldn’t be bothered to speak at a Latino event.

A spokesman for La Raza said that 17 of the announced or soon-to-announce GOP presidential candidates had been invited, and that every single one of them declined.

As for the Democrats? Both Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley accepted, and Bernie Sanders rearranged his schedule to attend.

And this is nothing new for the GOP; in fact, this is the second time in two months that the Republican field has snubbed an influential Latino group.

In June, long-shot GOP contender Ben Carson was the only Republican to speak at a conference of the National Association of Elected and Appointed Latino Officials, while the same three Democrats — Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley — all showed up.

I guess maybe the GOP candidates had prior engagements both times, because otherwise, how do we explain that the entire Republican field has no interest in speaking to Latino groups at all, anywhere, ever.

At least [t]Rump]s bigotry is out in the open.

NCRM

Judge Susan Bolton Okays Arizona's "Show Me Your Papers" Law

Usually I have faith in the court system in this country, but every once in a while, they get it wrong. I mean, we all remember OJ Simpson getting off for killing two people. And, before you ask, no, I didn't forget to say ALLEGEDLY.

Now it seems that a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, has ruled that Arizona authorities can enforce the loveliest part of their anti-Hispanic immigration law, the so racist "show me your papers" provision. This clears the way for police officers, while enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of anyone they suspect to be in this country illegally.

Now, let's be clear: they mean the brown-skinned, Spanish speaking ones. I cannot imagine an Arizona police officer asking to see the papers of a white Canadian, even one with a hint of what some might call an un-American accent, so we have to be clear: this law is aimed directly at Spanish speaking people in this country only. Even those who are here legally, and have been for years--or sometimes their entire lives--can be questioned about their immigration status.

Those against the law--and this is mostly people who aren't idiotic and racist--urged Bolton to block the requirement, arguing that it would lead to racial profiling and unreasonable detention of Latino's, if it was enforced. But, lawyers for Arizona Governor, that lying--remember when she talked about headless bodies in the deserts and blamed them on Latinos--Jan "Eva Braun" Brewer, urged the judge to let the requirement go into effect. They argued that the police have the training not to racially profile any member of the public. Yes, we know, because there has never been an incident of racial profiling anywhere, ever. 

:::sarcasm font::::

So, this is what Arizona has come to, a police state where, if you have brown skin and if you have an accent, specially an Hispanic accent, and you, say, have a taillight out on your car, or you crossed the street against the light, or might have stayed too long in one spot, a police officer will ask to see "your papers."

That's so American, isn't it?

source

Progress For HIV Testing

This just in from my favorite, and cutest, ISBL correspondent, Carlos:

New York Governor David Paterson stands up for the LGBT community. Again.

The Latino Commission on AIDS recognizes the leadership of Governor Paterson, Senator Thomas Duane and Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, in achieving a tremendous public health victory for the Hispanic communities with a new HIV testing law.

The decision to sign into law the Gottfried/Duane “Act to Amend the Public Health Law in Relation to HIV Testing” will contribute to expand HIV testing for all New Yorkers, and it will institute significant advances in making HIV testing routine, such as:

• It requires offering an HIV test in all public and private health care settings thereby establishing the offer of an HIV test as the standard of care.
• It extends the required offering of HIV screening to individuals ages 13-64 years old.
• It requires that informed consent be obtained prior to performing an HIV test.
• It facilitates routine testing by permitting flexibility in how informed consent is documented where rapid technology is used.
• It requires that when an HIV test is positive, with the patients’ consent, the person ordering the test must provide or arrange for follow-up medical care.

This is big news.

HIV is not over.

It is not curable.

It is, however, treatable, if you know you have it and seek treatment and counseling.

New York City is the epicenter of this disease in America. Every single year, more than 1000 New York City residents--three people each day--are diagnosed concurrently with HIV and AIDS. Many of these individuals are considered late testers who have been infected for 10 years or longer, and may have never been offered an HIV test by their health care provider. These "late testers" often receive an AIDS diagnosis when it may be too late to fully benefit from life-extending treatments.

Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS: “This new law will allow us to intensify our ability to provide HIV testing in the context of prevention and education to more communities. The main goal is to dramatically decrease the spread of HIV across New York State and link to care those that are in need.”

File this under: Good news.