11 Arizona State Legislators join the Capital Coalition resistance in solidarity

As I sit here outside the Senate Building at the Arizona State Capitol, I can’t help but notice the suits coming in and out of the the House of Representatives and the Senate. At one time these were foreign faces. Not as in nationality or ethnicity, but as in strangers who carried a mystique about them as they entered with their briefcases and portfolios. Rarely did they glimpse over at me, let alone squeak out a good morning. After all, I’m the protester! The odd man out! The guy who won’t follow protocol or as Senate President Russell Pearce puts it, the guy who breached decorum in the Senate Building.

However as time passes relationships are formed and many Democratic and Republican State Legislators have approached me to chat. The people in the suits have also approached me and engaged me in conversation. It turns out the suits have names and lives and feelings just like I do. I never doubted it, they just never showed it. In their haste to run into the buildings to advocate for their personal agenda, they figured it was easier to ignore me than to engage me. The same can be said for many of the legislators. Some fear the walk of shame as they are told the truth about their misguided legislation or their double standard lives. No one gets a pass. After all that’s the idea here. Get there attention! Be vocal! Let them know you are watching them and that they will be held accountable for their actions. Does that sound extremist? Well all I did was take a page out of what many of you consider to be the most patriotic splinter of the Republican party, The Tea Party. The twist is I have been out at the Arizona State Capitol for 34 days now.

I have watched Stan Barnes a political pundit complain about us on Sunday Square Off and have been advised by Steve Smith (R) from District 23 that I would be more effective if I made an appointment to speak to him rather than scream at him in the Capitol Courtyard. However, when reminded that the Tea Party whom backed Mr. Smith wholeheartedly and threw their support behind him engages in the same sort of patriotic behavior, he was quick to chastise me by informing me that two wrongs don’t make a right. Imagine that! I would love to see Mr Smith face the Tea Party whom was largely responsible for promoting him by telling them they are wrong for shouting at those who have been supportive of Obama Care. I quickly put Mr. Smith on notice. “You will be held accountable for your actions while in the State Senate.” “We will make sure that we remove you from office Senator Smith.” With a confused look Mr. Smith slithered away back inside the Senate building.

As time has passed we have strengthened relationships with Democratic legislators here at the Arizona State Capitol. This morning we are scheduled for a photo shoot with eight state legislators in the Capitol Courtyard. The same place where we have been protesting for 34 days. Where once these legislators, not all, may have not wanted to recognize the very important work we are doing daily of holding legislators accountable for their actions, today they join us in solidarity with the understanding that what we are doing is for all of Arizona. Today is a clear reflection of the forging of new relationships and alliances in which we will be supportive of those who legislate for all of Arizona, and not just a select few as Arizona’s fiftieth legislature has been doing since they entered into session under the leadership of Russell Pearce.

So the way I see it, being loud isn’t always bad, it’s knowing when to shout and when to shut up and stretch your hand out in solidarity as a good American and a proud Arizonan that’s important. On the other hand, I do question the Tea Party’s actions. In fact, they, and many of their supporters seem to invoke Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote. “When a whole nation is roaring patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart.”

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/http://www.carlosgalindo.com
Listen to our live radio broadcast every Friday from 5-7 PM on The JOLT Tucson 1330 AM or via the web on www.nospinonair.com

In 2009 I read a short statement to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. At that time I unequivocally stated that Arizona’s economy would continue going into the ditch if the attack upon their low skilled labor continued. I have continually asked the question, when will national economists provide reports or statistics reflecting the true detrimental economic impact on Arizona created by it’s failed immigration policies?

Whether on my radio show or in my writings I have always used a clear and very basic example to illustrate what is happening to Arizona. “The house of cards will always collapse when you pull the bottom card out.” So it has been, as we have watched in horror, as Arizona’s lawmakers create laws that lend credence to an attack upon the very foundation of Arizona’s economic infrastructure, our low skilled labor force comprised in majority of undocumented Immigrants.

Being a first generation Immigrant, business owner and a member of Arizona’s media has permitted me to better understand the plight of the immigrants, and of course, the value of the immigrants. I fully understand their buying trends, their most intimate fears, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

As the attack upon those Immigrants via a racial hyped and politically charged populous commenced, I started to see the change in purchasing patterns and a tightening of the financial belt by the Immigrant community. It’s common nature to hoard or bank money for a rainy day or difficult times. Immigrants however, are a very financially astute community. They are certainly savers, and, they are consistent spenders when the economy permits it. They understand the importance of savings, be it for those difficult times that no one can foresee, or for that all expected and dreaded time in which they or a family member may face deportation and ultimately a high bond while sitting in the holding cell at the Immigration & Customs Enforcement building.

There is no doubt that we have all observed a mass exodus since the “attack” began. Senate President Russell Pearce proudly calls it attrition by enforcement. After the initial wave of laws I started to see the results of Arizona’s irresponsible legislation and aggressive law enforcement policies. Arizona’s failure to understand the complexities involved in embracing the Immigrant community while balancing the enforcement of existing laws that serve to protect our communities has been glaringly evident. I think we all understand that we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Arizona desperately needs to know how to balance for the good of Arizona.

Recently we observed a slight change in Arizona’s fiftieth legislature when they overwhelmingly shot down five harsh immigration laws as a result of constant protests at the Arizona State Capitol by people of all walks of life and all colors of skin, that, coupled with a letter that carried a resounding no from CEO’s of huge corporations caused Arizona’s legislature to take a step back, or should I say, a step towards the center regarding the current Immigration policies.

Just a short two weeks after some of the more aggressive bills proposed by Arizona’s fiftieth legislature were shot down, a report from Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center titled “A Rising Tide or a Shrinking Pie” has been released. A clear and concise outline of the value of the Immigrants in Arizona and the the devastating impact their absence will have on Arizona.

The report for me is just a confirmation of what many of us that have no voice in Arizona fiftieth legislature have been aware of for many years. Perhaps as more organizations churn out the undeniable facts and the statistics continue to pour in, Arizona will turn the corner on Immigration and embrace those who built the roads Arizonan’s currently drive on, those who built their houses they sleep in every night, picked the vegetables and fruits they enjoy with their families every evening and those who cook those delicious meals they devour on their lunch hour daily.

Until then, I will continue in resistance at the Arizona State Capitol lending a voice and lobbying for those who have no voice or representation within Arizona’s fiftieth legislature as I have been for the last 32 days straight.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Listen to our live radio broadcast every Friday from 5-7 PM on The JOLT Tucson 1330 AM or via the web on www.nospinonair.com

Although you have seen me leading the charge against the last round of immigration related bills, we cannot let our guard down. I have been at the Arizona State Capitol since I was banned from the Senate building by our self proclaimed Senate Tea Party President Russell Pearce. I have taken a page out of the game of Go as opposed to the game of chess. I have utilized as few resources as possible to gain the maximum territory and I’ve used the concept of destruction and creation as is necessary to win the game of Go. Destruction of offensive bills that have taken Arizona’s fiftieth legislature off course from the real issues affecting Arizonans and creation by unifying Arizona’s voice as one. One voice sending a resounding no to this legislatures misdeeds and misdirection.

During the last 25 days that we have been protesting at the State Legislature we have had protesters join us that are concerned about the shutting down of the mining museum, protesters that want organ transplants restored, teachers and students who want to stop the deep cuts in education, homeless people who have joined us because they are feeling the crunch on health care and cutbacks on ACCCHS and are now required to pay co-pays for meds and doctors visits. The list goes on.

What is clear, is that I have successfully sent the message that if you are not happy with what your government is doing, you go the root of the evil, the Arizona state capitol. So that’s where voters have come to proclaim their dissatisfaction with what they have been seeing during this legislative session. After all, that’s where legislators are working diligently to protect corporate interests, special interest, cleanse Arizona ethnically and misappropriate funds to individual counties claiming to protect border security although their boundaries don’t fall anywhere near the border.

The battle has not been easy and I have received much criticism from all sides. On Sunday Square Off this morning I watched Stan Barnes a conservative political pundit whom I’ve seen strutting around the Arizona State Capitol with a pompous and arrogant demeanor criticize the “protesters” at the Arizona State Capitol. As he did so I watched Senator Kyrsten Sinema sigh in agreement. Par for the course for Senator Sinema who It appears these days is very willing to line up with conservatives, as is demonstrated by her refusal to withdraw her hypocritical bill SB1225. What’s amazing is that when members of the Greater phoenix Tea Party were at the state capitol protesting in favor of immigration bills they were not considered trouble makers. In fact they are often praised as true patriots. That for me clearly invokes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous quote, “When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart.”

Equally invoked during these troubled times in Arizona’s history is a quote that many claim has been wrongly attributed to Thomas Jefferson “dissent is the highest form of patriotism”, In any event I firmly believe that whomever originally stated those words, was simply put, a great analytical thinker conscious of the words contained within the declaration of independence, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

What better way to alter or abolish our current out of control state government than to protest where those laws are created? Where those whom we have given power to, have become destructive?

What I and many others have been doing at the Arizona state capitol is unprecedented and will surely bring a change within Arizona’s government.

So as we watched five immigration bills that I’m sure took a lot of energy and resources to write and promote, go down in flames this past Thursday, we anticipate the revival of those bills from an angry Senate President who states that his charge does not have “the political courage” to go forward with these cumbersome bills.

However that’s not the only thing we have to prepare for. There’s a series of bills that I am very concerned with. Starting with HB2102 which is an attempt to deny professional licenses to anyone who cannot satisfactorily provide proof of residency. This bill is proudly sponsored by Jon Kavanagh our very own Queens New York transplant who obviously wouldn’t have dared tread on the Immigrants in New York, but is willing to pick on Arizona’s Immigrants. The way things have been rolling here in Arizona, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

The next bill is HB2718 proposed by Steve Montenegro the same guy who proposed the ethnic studies ban and who today is the Salvadoran communities leper, since he himself came from El Salvador with his parents at a very young age, supposedly fleeing from persecution and whom today attacks even those who are members of his father’s church that are undocumented by and through the creation of these Immigrant focused bills. Did I mention Montenegro hold the title of messenger of peace as awarded by his church? HB2718 will allow a windfall of $5,000.000.00 to be given to Sheriff Paul Babeu the current Pinal County Sheriff for equipment and guns related to border security. Problem? Pinal County is not a border county and this measure is being pushed through as an emergency measure. Ironically, we have 96 people with a true emergency who today sit on a death list waiting for organ transplants. According to experts, the approximate sum needed is $1,200.000.00 to allow those transplants to occur and save the lives of 96 Arizonans.

The following bill which is of concern is SB1141. The purpose of this bill is to force proof of Arizona residency to attend local schools. Essentially it requires the department of education to establish a protocol of type that would require schools to maintain some type of documentation of state residency that could be verified for those students enrolled in public or charter schools. As it stands now there is no proof of citizenship required to attend public schools in grades K-12.This is another fear mongering bill meant to alienate children and scare parents from enrolling the children in school, while at the same time the bill provides for criminal charges for those not enrolling their children in a school or complying with home schooling requirements. Oh, quick fact, SB1141 was originally proposed as an escape; secure facility bill, but under a legislative procedure called a strike all amendment or striker, the sponsor Steve Smith of Maricopa, Arizona who is often seen strutting across the capitol courtyard with his over gelled hair slicked back and wearing a cheap suit, made a complete turnabout and changed it into an anti-Immigrant bill. This striker procedure is often used to slide bills in under the radar before much opposition can build up. I’m not surprised at Smith’s deceptive behavior. Sleight of hand may be one of his specialties since I heard that he’s in the business of hiring out clowns and actors through his talent agency. Apparently Smith made that short leap from Talent company owner to state senator all the while running his campaign on an anti-Immigration agenda. Everything in this guys Q&A with the AZ Republic screams “I hate illegals.” it’s my understanding that Smith still owns the talent agency.

The final bill, although I am sure we will be seeing many more of concern this legislative session is SB1495. This bill was originally sponsored by Representative Jack Harper out of Sun City West. This guy is bursting at the seams about his proposed volunteer militia that he said he likes to call a “homeland security force” cause it sounds better. This is a guy who proposed weapons in schools and who once talked about his near gay experience. He also called Teachers, Librarians and School Bus Drivers trough feeders while speaking on the senate floor. This guy is a piece of work! The purpose of the bill is to not only create a volunteer militia which already exists under A.R.S. 26-174, but more importantly it’s meant to give unlimited powers to Jan Brewer over the volunteer militia. The wording actually says the governor of Arizona can invoke the militia for any reason she considers to be necessary. Let me see, given Brewer’s past behavior of fabricating be-headings and given her alarmist and unsubstantiated comments regarding an invasion, I would venture to say that if this bill passes were going to have a bunch of yahoos down at the border hunting Immigrants.

So Tucson, I wouldn’t wait until you become Baja Arizona to act. If you wait any longer you might just find yourselves being detained by a volunteer militia guy near a land mined border with road blocks every few miles in which you’ll have to show your Identification and perhaps soon you might even be subject to a cavity search.

The time to act is now! Protest your government loud and clear. Don’t send a mumbled or muffled message. Use a bullhorn if you have to, but whatever you do remember, you have a voice use it!

Carlos Galindo with fellow Protesters At State Capitol joined by Senators Jackson & Gallardo

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/http://www.carlosgalindo.com
Listen to our live radio broadcast every Friday from 5-7 PM on The JOLT Tucson 1330 AM or via the web on www.nospinonair.com

Well nothing should surprise me anymore. I protested for 10 days and maintained a hunger strike for four days last week all based on unjust laws and my arrest and denial of rights under the 1st amendment provisions of the Constitution of the United States.

On Friday Pearce released a statement indicating that all Anti-Immigrant bills would be pulled off the agenda and that Republicans would focus on balancing the budget, I broke my hunger strike and considered it a small victory, a temporary reprieve, a battle won, but certainly not the war.

When I arrived to the Arizona state capitol today I realized that Pearce’s administration had sunk to a new low. The solid stone benches where I and many others had sat were removed. These are fixtures of the Senate and House buildings. They have been there for as long as I can remember. Last week an elderly handicapped woman named Dora sat with me on the bench right in front of the Senate building. Also last week, a Tucsonan that had come up with the Unions sat and took a picture with me, and this past Saturday, during the “Walk of Life” for transplant patients, sick people used those benches to sit on to regain their strength for the walk back to St. Mathews Church in Phoenix.

That was then and this is now. Every day there’s a new creative twist to Russell Pearce’s administration. From banning people and placing them on lists, to denying the public access to press conferences, to removing seating outside the Senate building. Remember, Pearce has made it clear that he supersedes Arizona’s Revised Statutes when it comes to the senate building and that what he says is final. I would venture to say that the entire Arizona State Capitol falls under Pearce’s regime.

I called Spitfire Latino Senator Steve Gallardo a few minutes ago and he said it had been brought to his attention earlier today. He said he was going to bring it up on the Senate floor tomorrow. His comment to me was, “those benches have been there as long as I can remember.”

So the next time you see a handicapped person or elderly person sitting on the ground at our state capitol, you can thank Arizona’s fiftieth legislature and perhaps Senator Russell Pearce (pronounced with a Southern accent) for their petty behavior.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/www.carlosgalindo.com

Listen to our live radio broadcast every Friday from 5-7 PM on The JOLT Tucson 1330 AM or via the web on www.nospinonair.com

Many of you know that I have spent quite a bit of time at the Arizona State Capitol for the last several years and much more since Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant fiftieth legislature went into session.

While I’m at the capitol I often meet fascinating people. I ran into and had the honor to meet this Native American that held a sign that said “Russell Pearce, haven’t you learned from history?”

As I interviewed him he shared his concerns as a Native American and as a person of brown skin.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Listen to Straight Talk with Carlos Galindo every Friday from 5-7 PM on Tucson’s “The Jolt” KJJL 1330 AM.
“Politics The Way They Were Meant To Be, From Arizona’s Unapologetic Liberal”

When I went to the state capitol to protest Kyrsten Sinema’s SB1225, I had no idea I would be charged criminally and that I would witness the arrest of three of my friends and community members. Thank God all of us are U.S. Citizens or by now we would have been placed in Joe’s gulag and we would have subsequently ended up in CCA’s profit machine of a concentration camp commonly known as a private Federal Detention Center by those naive white folk who can’t possibly understand what it feels like to be caged like an animal after being offered employment under the current hypocritical U.S. labor system I call modernized slavery.

Of all people, I certainly thought that Senator Sinema understood what activism was all about. I mean, I remember seeing her at marches and protests at the State Capitol. She stood on a stage and riled the masses up. Telling them how much she supported them and how unfair this treatment was. As a member of the LGBT community Senator Sinema claimed to understand what discrimination felt like and how important it was to stand up and demand change from government.

Senator Sinema could have stopped Tuesday’s mayhem by shutting down her press conference. In fact, she was in the process of doing so, when the Capitol Police arrived. Instead she became more empowered by my removal from the press conference and in turn the crowd got more vocal, which lead to the arrest of a Latino businessman, a Latino Mother and a Latino 17 year old girl scheduled to check in for the military that week. As I previously mentioned, all of us are American Citizen’s exercising our rights under first amendment provisions.

I didn’t see Sinema bat an eye when she watched a frail young girl and her mom handcuffed and led away like common criminals, I didn’t see her twitch an eye as Genaro Alcantara an Arizona businessman and constituent of hers pleaded with her, “I voted for you”. And in fact, she even looked smug and fulfilled when she watched a member of the media, Latino Activist and Leader, yours truly, being led out of the hearing room.

When did Sinema decide that Latinos should be examining her backside? Why did Sinema decide that she didn’t have to address Latino’s answers on her offensive and hypocritical bill SB1225? Perhaps it’s always been that way, but her spin machine has always been so polished that a few key appearances on a stage provided by a popular Mexican radio station was sufficient to woo the Latino community. A little rah rah here and a rah rah there and voila, we have an enchanted Latino community ready to believe anything Sinema has to sell.

Why does the image of the guy from the “got milk?” billboard, with a ring of milk around his lips come to mind? However in this case I think “got atole” would be more appropriate. There’s a saying in Spanish that says “Nos dio atole con el dedo”, translated it means, “She gave us atole with her finger”. In other words, she doesn’t let us have the whole cup of atole to drink, she gives us a taste as a teaser every now and then to quell our desires and needs, with a promise of more to come.

Frankly, the Latino community is sick of being teased, sick of being lied to, and sick of being the sole of the opportunist politician’s shoe. One wants to use us for cheap labor (R) and the other obviously uses us for cheap votes (D). Tell me, what’s the difference? They are all cut from the same piece of cloth.

Because of Sinema barking orders for removal of those opposing her bill, and according to Russell Pearce’s allegations that Sinema feared for her safety, I and the rest of those arrested that day were banned from the Senate building.

I never thought I would see the day that Kyrsten Sinema would have 10 Republican co-sponsors on one of her proposed bills, much less the day in which her and Senate Tea Party President Russell Pearce would do a tag team against Latino activists.

So every day I go to the state capitol and protest my ban from the senate building. I sit there with signs and a group of about 20-30 people join me daily in solidarity.

As I sit there, I watch the lobbyists in their monkey suits come and go. State legislators stare at me and mumble as they look at me and read my signs. Frankly I don’t understand what the problem is. I’m exercising my 1st amendment rights. If it was a member of the Tea Party they would be smiling and throwing a thumbs up, but since it’s a Latino trying to exercise his rights, all I get is an index finger straight up.

While walking through the courtyard today I ran into State Senator Ron Gould, he frowned and walked towards me in a threatening manner as I asked him why he was focused on an anti-Immigrant agenda rather than fixing Arizona’s woes. Gould didn’t answer my questions. By the way Ron Gould (R) Lake Havasu City, Arizona, conducts his meetings with a yellow don’t tread on me sticker prominently displayed on his laptop and facing the audience. If Gould believes so much in the Tea Party “motto”, “don’t tread on me”, then I wonder, why is Ron Gould trying to tread on me?

It seems like the nightmare doesn’t end. Everyday there’s a new twist at the Arizona State Capitol. I ran into Paul Babeu yesterday and he didn’t want to answer questions as to why he receives so many border security funds yet he isn’t a border county. I bantered with gun lobbyists and chatted with Senator Steve Gallardo. No, no, no, I didn’t go inside the senate building! I’m banned remember! Senator Gallardo came out to where I sit outside the Senate building to have a cup of coffee with me.

I tried once again to ask Senator Sinema some questions regarding SB1225 and she called capitol police and asked for an escort. Lord have mercy! You would think I’m a Latino terrorist armed with provocative questions.

So I’m sitting here writing this blog and the words to to Alice Coopers song, “welcome to my nightmare” keep popping into my head.

By the way, today I celebrated my one week anniversary of being banned from the Senate building and my sit in at the Arizona State Capitol, or should I say, sit out. It seems that everyday brings a different twist.

Channel 10 interviewed me today and said Russell Pearce denies there’s a blacklist, I’m inclined to agree with the Tea Party Senate President, it’s not a blacklist, it’s a brown list! All of those banned to date from Russell Pearce’s kingdom called the Senate building are Latinos.

Welcome to my nightmare! The life of a Latino living in 2011 Arizona.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. www.nospinonair.com/http://www.carlosgalindo.com