On August 18, 2000, California established an official state holiday to honor Latino labor leader César Chávez. César Chávez Day is intended to promote service to the community in honor of Chávez's life and work. It is celebrated today, March 31st, in honor of Chávez's birthday. Chávez would have been 79 years old.
Los Angeles - A crowd estimated by police at more than 500,000 boisterously marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented immigrants, penalize those who help them and build a security wall along the U.S.' southern border.
Spirited but peaceful marchers — ordinary immigrants alongside labor, religious and civil rights groups — stretched more than 20 blocks along Spring Street, Broadway and Main Street to City Hall, tooting kazoos, waving American flags and chanting, "Sí se puede!" (Yes we can!).
Attendance at the demonstration far surpassed the number of people who protested against the Vietnam War and Proposition 187, a 1994 state initiative that sought to deny public benefits to undocumented migrants but was struck down by the courts. Police said there were no arrests or injuries except for a few cases of exhaustion.
At a time when Congress prepares to crack down further on illegal immigration and self-appointed militias patrol the U.S. border to stem the flow, Saturday's rally represented a massive response, part of what immigration advocates are calling an unprecedented effort to mobilize immigrants and their supporters nationwide.
On Monday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to resume work on a comprehensive immigration reform proposal. The Senate committee's version includes elements of various bills, including a guest worker program and a path to legalization for the nation's 10 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants proposed by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)
In addition, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has introduced a bill that would strengthen border security, crack down on employers of illegal immigrants and increase the number of visas for workers.
Just some items I thought I'd share for your edification and amusement.
It's a little hard to believe that Goodnight, John Boy has been around for one full year. When I first realized this I couldn't quite accept that a year had passed. Where had the time gone and what had I done with it?
Well, among the many benefits of blogging that I have experienced here is that there is now a record of how exactly I spent that year, like it or not. At times it's hard to recall even how or why I became a blogger. I do remember that Amanda B. and Doc Ern were there since the beginning, cheering me on, offering friendship, and clearly showing me the positive aspects of blogging. I am a bit surprised that they are still coming back, but I always smile when they decide to visit. I have met so many interesting, intelligent and funny people here. Some even knew me before through reading my political comments on Ariel.
Looking back at my first post I see that I didn't really have any expectations at all for this blog. So, I guess the fact that it still exist is its own sign of success. Low expectations are always safe. It makes it harder to fail. But if you do fail, then that can really suck :P
It appears that this "year in review" post might be suffering from even lower or possibly declining expectations. I can see early on I used to spend more time crafting my posts. Sometimes I would even attempt to be educational or introspective or possibly entertaining in some way (well, at least in my view :P ). Then more often there was being just a bit silly, the narcissism of Self-Portrait Day and self-promotion, and the activism of joining together to bring attention to important issues.
With the many changes and new responsibilities in my life I might not blog as often, but I still enjoy the limited time I do spend writing posts and reading the blogs of my many friends. The biggest changes over the last year have been my return to California, finally acquiring a tenure-track teaching position, and, of course, meeting Catherine. Who would have thought that we would now be happily living together? The unexpected and the unknown, these are some of life's greatest little pleasures.
Well, all things considered, I must say it has been an incredible year. Thank you to all those that have cared to join me. Hopefully I will see you again next year :)
The Wachowski brothers are back with a vengeance. Their latest film, V for Vendetta, is an adaptation of the 1988 graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. I want to discuss some of the ideas highlighted by this story, but I do not want to spoil the story for those that have yet to view it. I'll limit my plot synopsis to this line; it is "set in a dystopian future United Kingdom where a mysterious agitator works to destroy the fascist government and profoundly affects the people he encounters."
Naturally, the common people don't want war, but they can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. Tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacificsts for lack of patriotism and endangering the country. It works in every country. ~Herman Goering, Hitler's Reichsmarshall
...the central question is, is this guy right? Or is he mad? What do you, the reader, think about this? Which struck me as a properly anarchist solution. I didn't want to tell people what to think, I just wanted to tell people to think, and consider some of these admittedly extreme little elements, which nevertheless do recur fairly regularly throughout human history.
Who Was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century.
Did you know? There are 34 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (3.9 million). Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.
Take the Irish Quiz.
Oh, and we can't forget the Irish brews.
You didn't think I was going to let an opportunity to discuss history pass by now did you? Learn more here :)
So, what do these three things have in common? Well, really nothing unless you spent today with John Boy :)
The United Kingdom has been on my mind a lot over the last six weeks as I have been promoting the college's study abroad trip. I was asked at the last minute to try and salvage this trip for the college. Not from a lack of effort, but I don't think it is going to happen. We don't have enough people registered yet and the deadline is only two weeks off. I'm not giving up yet, but it's not looking good.
Well, anyway, the other day when I was shopping for ingredients to make some chili pepper spiced chocolate for my Mesoamerican art class, I spotted a small jar of Double Devon cream (aka clotted cream). This is not easy to find, so I had to buy one. If you haven't been to England you might not know what I am talking about. This is a heavy cream that the English use as a spread for their scones. Now, of course, I had to make some scones. 
It turns out that Catherine hadn't had scones before. So, this morning I baked a batch of fresh scones and served them with the cream and some English breakfast tea. Not a bad way to start the day.
After breakfast Catherine wanted to go for a drive. When we looked outside we saw that it had snowed. Well not at my place, but we live right at the baseline of the San Gabriel Mountains. So even though it is sunny and I have palm trees in my yard, just two miles up the street (also up the side of the mountain) there was snow. Not much mind you, but it was frozen and white. We joined about a dozen other people on the hillside that were enjoying a bit of winter in Southern California.
Since there was snow this far down at the edge of the valley, I thought there might be more snow higher up. We drove into the high desert to see. Well, it turned out there wasn't any more snow there, just on the mountain peaks. Catherine hadn't seen this part of the country before, so we drove in about fifty miles to look at the beautiful scenery. I guess I grew up with this type of surroundings and might sometimes take it for granted. As a New Yorker, the grandness of it all was a bit emotional for Catherine.
On our trek back to the city we stopped in Victorville on the historic Route 66 at Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse for some smoked barbeque. It was one of those places that give you a big bucket of peanuts and you just throw the shells on the floor. It's been a few years since I left Texas, so it was good to have some excellent brisket, hushpuppies, mashed potatoes, collard greens and a cold drink served in a mason jar to wash it all down. Oh, and a big serving of blackberry cobbler to top it off. Some of this food was new to Catherine and she just couldn't bring herself to throw anything on the floor (New Yorkers! LOL). I just happened to be wearing my Texas sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with a few holes, so we fit right in :)
Recently the discussion of reproductive rights has been getting more headlines. With the two new Supreme Court judges now on the bench the anti-choice contingent is seeing a new opportunity to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion in the U.S.
Current attempts to ban abortion are taking place at the state level. A South Dakota bill to ban abortion was signed by the governor on Monday. "The ban allows no exceptions for rape, incest or serious dangers to the mother's health." The next state preparing to pass a ban is Mississippi. "The Mississippi bill proposes to ban abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger or unless she is a victim of rape or incest." Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky are also planning legislation for their own state bans.
Last week I participated in a good, if at times heated, discussion of this topic on VeryZen. The discussion covered the usual range of comments from "the decision is a personal one that every women has the right to make for herself" to the view that "abortion is murder". I was on the side stating that it must remain a legal choice for each individual, but I am not writing this post to rehash the discussion of whether we think abortion is right or wrong. I have another question that I would like to pose today that was raised in a discussion about whether women should be held legally liable.
If a woman's legal right to control her own reproductive destiny that is now protected by Roe v. Wade is taken away, therefore allowing the choice of abortion to become illegal, and if an unborn fetus is given the same legal rights as the mother, therefore designating abortion as an unlawful murder committed by the mother, what should be the punishment levied on a woman that has an illegal abortion?
Anti-choice proponents have been working for three decades to make abortion illegal, but I cannot recall hearing a suggesting for what the punishment should be. Is there such a thing as a law that does not have any punishment for breaking it? Should the woman receive a fine, a prison sentence, or maybe the death penalty? What about the father? If we as a nation want to make something illegal, I think we should have to make the punishment clear as well.
This is a big month for Blogger Birthdays. Let the festivities begin!
Do you remember the wisdom of Emo Phillips?
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" He said, "Baptist!" I said,"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" He said, "Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said,"Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.
~ Emo Phillips
Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion. The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs." The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."
In 1978 I went to an Indy race at the Ontario Speedway. We watched the race from the center of the track while sitting atop my grandfather's motor home. Twenty-eight years later that racetrack is gone and a new one, the California Speedway, has been built in nearby Fontana.
As you know, I grew up on a farm in California's conservative Central Valley. I learned a lot about cars from my father growing up. In addition to the farming he also owns a tire and automotive repair shop and is an excellent mechanic. In his youth he drag raced in his 1967 GTX with a 440 cubic inch engine, needless to say, very fast.
Last Sunday was the Auto Club 500 NASCAR race. My parents came down to see the race and also bought tickets for Catherine and I. Yes, this was very generous. NASCAR tickets are not cheap. Although, if I had a few extra hundred dollars on hand, going to a NASCAR race would likely not make my top five list. But, I guess it was time for me to see another race. Before I go on I want to say I had a great time spending the day with my parents and Catherine at the races.
If you are not familiar with NASCAR, here are the basics for the California track. There are forty-three cars racing on a two-mile 'D'-shaped track for 500 miles at an average speed of 170 mph. This was a wide-open race meaning there were no restrictor plates on the engines. This allows the cars to go even faster, but it also means the cars are getting about 4.5 miles to the gallon. I estimated about 4,800 gallons of fuel were used in the race. If you like to sit in the sun with 100,000 people drinking $7 beers and breathing in raw gasoline fumes, this is the sport for you :) 
Yes, I know this is entertainment and people have the right to spend their money anyway they want, but I couldn't help from thinking the resources being used in this one afternoon could have probably fed a country in Africa for a decade. The cash prizes alone for this one race reached $6 million. It was one of the most unbelievably and intensely corporate-sponsored events I have ever attended. I think everything possible, including the audience, was covered in corporate decals.
Thankfully there were no crashes or deaths on this day. From the response of much of the crowd though it seems like this might have been viewed as a bad thing. This week I gave a lecture on Roman gladiators competing to the death at the Colosseum, and from what I saw people's interest in seeing carnage has not changed much. 
But, to be fair, there is a great amount of strategy and skill needed to build and successfully race a car into the winner's circle. It is very exciting to watch. On this day there were some disappointments. Both of the top vehicles that dominated the track throughout the day ended up having engine problems and could not complete the final part of the race. Another observation, many of the spectators cheered when these superior racers had to leave the race, um, not what I would call good sportsmanship.
Here is a recap of the race:
Kenseth wins Auto Club 500Even when he took the lead late in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at California Speedway, Matt Kenseth didn't expect to win.
''I was sort of planning on running second,'' Kenseth said, grinning.
But the 2003 Cup champion got a gift Sunday, winning the Auto Club 500 after the stronger cars of Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart went to the garage with late-race engine failures.
''I feel bad for Greg,'' Kenseth said. ``He was really the class of the field all day. But I feel like we had the second- or third-best car. We had a great-handling car all day.''
Stewart's blown engine on Lap 214 of the 250-lap event brought out a caution flag and sent the leaders to pit road for their final stop. A great pit stop by the crew of Kenseth's No. 17 Roush Racing Ford got him out ahead of Biffle, but, until smoke began spouting out of the exhaust on Biffle's No. 16, Kenseth didn't expect to stay ahead.
