For Immediate Release– May 3, 2013
Cinco de Mayo Weekend Celebration
info@nationaltequilapartymovement.com
Shirl Mora James, President and Civil Rights and Immigration Lawyer –
DeeDee Garcia Blase, Communications –

Mexican-American Women-led Political National Organization Slams Tennessee County Commissioner Barry West for his anti-Mexican remark

Lincoln, NE / Phoenix, AZ — Somos Independents (a national Latina-led political movement) believe the Tennessee County Commissioner Barry West ought to apologize for his anti-Mexican remarks. We believe xenophobia is on the rise in light of Mexican-Americans accounting for almost 70% of the Latin population pie. Xenophobes are afraid the fabric of our great Nation is at risk even though Mexican-Americans continue to spill our blood defending Her.

American GI Forum Dr. Hector Garcia was a Patriot who defended Mexican-Americans who served our great Nation.

Mexican-Americans contribute to patriotism in our Country. In addition to this — we believe in taking care of our elderly. There is no need for the likes of Barry West to be afraid of our ethnic group since many of us know we are going to be the ones who will ensure social security benefits will continue despite the aging white baby boom population. Mexican-Americans contribute billions and billions of tax dollars and we will not allow Barry West to minimize our efforts and contributions any longer.

Mexican-American Patriots continue to enlist and serve our military today. We volunteer because we have patriotic hearts and we love the United States of America. Several of us remember our grandfathers, uncles and/or ancestors who were drafted, and a great number of them spilled their blood to defend our country in a time of war. We honor them for that.

Americans of Mexican descent have been fighting for the United States since the American Revolution. In fact, Latinos served as “rough riders” with Teddy Roosevelt and were recognized for that patriotism under the former President.

During World War I, approximately one third of the U.S. population was recent immigrants; the United States implemented a draft for the war effort (drafting many of Mexican descent). Ten years after the war, the economy slowed down and the U.S. adopted a repressive anti-immigration policy against “Mexicans,” using mass deportation roundups and repatriation that forced many established Latinos out of their homes and forced the separation of families. These events occurred during the economic depression of 1929-1939 in a backlash to create jobs for European Americans. Thus, they deprived Mexican-Americans of their public- and private-sector jobs and ignored many past contributions to the military and our nation.

We will no longer allow the likes of Barry West to forget the contributions of Mexican-Americans who spilled our blood and unafraid to go to the frontlines during war drafts — in an effort to protect this great Nation blessed by our Creator.

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SOMOS INDEPENDENTS (formerly known as the National Tequila Party Movement) is a woman-led political movement. It is our goal to communicatto women and Latina matriarchs across the nation with regard to the need in fixing the broken immigration system. We organize events, and college rallies that encourages a massive Latino Get Out The Vote and political participation. This movement is a non-partisan movement. We don’t care how people vote, we just want them to get on the early ballot system, become consistent primary and general election voters.

The1956 film “Giant’, which won Best Director at Oscars, was 1st film to deal with the sacrifices of Mexican American WWII soldiers. This scene was based on the “The Longoria Affair” and was influenced by Hector P. Garcia of the GI Forum.

Russell Contreras from our neighboring state of New Mexico pointed out some interesting Mexican-American trivia last night as it relates to the Oscars — and I want to pass that information on to my readers, too.  The movie near and dear to my heart (last youtube movie clip below) has to do with a story with regard to Mexican-American War Hero Hector P. Garcia and what he did for the cause.

Hector P. Garcia was the founder of the American GI Forum. In 1948, Dr. Hector P. Garcia was quarreling with the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas which refused to accept sick World War II veterans who were Latino. After this effort, Garcia founded the American G.I. Forum. The 500,000 Latinos who honorably served in World War II now had a leader in Garcia, and within months of inception, the American G.I. Forum was opening branches across the nation.

Garcia today remains a central figure of the Latino civil rights movement, due to his refusal to stand idle while Mexican Americans were being dehumanized in the post-World War II society. With Garcia at the helm, the American G.I. Forum called for the removal of poll taxes while simultaneously holding fund-raisers to help pay poll taxes to register more Mexican Americans to vote. García organized back-to-school drives for Mexican American children. He launched case after case against Texas school systems for being illegal, and won many of his efforts. He and others instigated court cases to sue for the right of Mexican Americans to serve on juries (winning one such case in the Supreme Court). While making him heroically revered among the Latino culture, these actions also made him the most hated man in Texas by discriminating parts of society. (The Border 1948 (2004) 1948 American GI Forum. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from PBS History Timeline).

Here is the Academy Award Trivia I learned below from Mr. Contreras:

In 1947, Frank Sinatra declined to perform at the Oscars. That opened the door for Andy Russell to sing in his place, becoming the first Mexican American to perform at the Academy Awards. Andy Russell was the son of Mexican immigrants and was born in East Los Angeles. He was a hero to returning Mexican American veterans of WWII. They were proud that he was able to cross over (and sing in Spanish and English).

In 1956 film “Giant’ won Best Director at Oscars. It was the 1st film to deal with the discrimination of Mexican Americans. In this scene, Latino soldier Angel Obregón prepares to go serve in WWII, and the Dennis Hopper falls in love with nurse, Juana.

CAPTION: Christmas with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor

Also, the1956 film “Giant’, which won Best Director at Oscars, was 1st film to deal with the sacrifices of Mexican American WWII soldiers. This scene was based on the “The Longoria Affair” and was influenced by Hector P. Garcia of the GI Forum.

CREDIT: Giant

 

 

Mitt Romney has a military problem.  He appears to be clueless on matters relating to foreign policy.  More importantly, how can he handle economic budgets when he can’t get the Veteran Affairs budget facts straight?

Now he is Falsely Claiming Pentagon Cuts Will Impact Veterans, and as a Gulf War I veteran … I take issue with Romney’s populist lying in order to get ahead. Besides, I have news for Mitt Romney:  Americans are tired of blowing a good chunk of our money on wars and Romney wants to increase our war budget during a slower economy.  We need to invest war dollars right here in our Homeland.  We are tired of wasting our tax payer dollars on bombs and rebuilding countries we bomb.

Enough is enough with war and we need to slow it down.

Just in:

Romney Falsely Claims Pentagon Cuts Will Impact Veterans

By Adam Peck on Sep 27, 2012 at 5:39 pm

In a speech to the American Legion today, Mitt Romney leveled fresh criticism against President Obama, accusing his administration of cutting the benefits of veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and going so far as to call plans to cut the Veterans Affairs Department budget a “crisis.”:

Romney charged that the defense budget cuts would affect services for veterans, including the men and women returning from conflict overseas who need psychological counseling. Romney invoked the rising number of suicides – “This is a crisis,” he declared – as he sharpened his attack on the Obama administration’s proposed spending cuts.

But Romney’s claim — that veterans’ care will be negatively impacted by sequestration — is not grounded in reality. Earlier this month, the White House announced that virtually all of the Veterans Affairs Department budget will be exempt from mandatory cuts if and when sequestration goes into effect in January 2013. The only exception, according to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, would be possible cuts to administrative costs. That means health care, vocational, and education services will remain fully funded while cuts are made elsewhere within the Department of Defense, despite Mitt Romney’s claims to the contrary.

Of course, if Romney were actually concerned about the possibility of losing funding for the Veterans Affairs Department, he probably wouldn’t have embraced Paul Ryan or his budget, which could lead to reductions in veterans’ benefits.

YES, YES, YES!!! Arpiao’s case is now in federal court!

One of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s officers used a Taser on a Latino military veteran that later died. Ernest “Marty” Atencio was a Gulf War Veteran and he will not be forgotten.

“The civil lawsuit filed at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix alleges the sherriff’s office has violated the First, Fourth and Fourteenth amendments of the Constitution, which protect free speech, unlawful searches and due process rights respectively.”

It was sad to see one of our own military Latino veterans die in an unjust manner under the supervision of Joe Arpaio. Ernest “Marty” Atencio will not be forgotten.  It is clear excessive force was used in the video that can be seen here.  The footage showed the altercation from 26 camera angles. The struggle took place in the early hours of Dec. 16, 2012,  inside a Maricopa County jail and came just hours after the Justice Department accused Arpaio’s agency of routinely violating the civil rights of Latinos.

The Tequila Party Movement wrote the FBI with regard to Marty’s death. In our letter to the Director of the FBI, we seek an outside investigation with regard to the incident of Ernest M. Atencio, a 44-year-old Gulf War veteran who was  booked into the jail in Phoenix, when he was allegedly tasered and suffered a heart attack according to his family.  We have been told that an internal investigation is being carried out, however, we believe the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) should conduct a full investigation with regard to the possible excessive abusive actions by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) under the leadership of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

See our  joint open letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller regarding Gulf War Veteran Ernest M. Atencio below:

December 19, 2011

 

FBI Headquarters

Director Robert Mueller

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
(202) 324-3000

 

Subject:  Gulf War Veteran Ernest M. Atencio while in custody of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Dear Mr. Robert Mueller:

We are seeking outside investigation with regard to the incident of Ernest M. Atencio, a 44-year-old Gulf War veteran who was recently booked into the jail in Phoenix, when he was allegedly tasered and suffered a heart attack according to his family.  We have been told that an internal investigation is being carried out, however, we believe the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) should conduct a full investigation with regard to the possible excessive abusive actions by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) under the leadership of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

According to recent news media, his family told local TV station Channel 5 that he was a ‘loving and sweet boy’ who suffered from a mental illness and is now fighting for his life.

Commensurate with the Daily Mail Reporter, one U.S. veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attempts suicide every 80 minutes, according to new study.  The report reveals 1,868 veterans made suicide attempts in 2009 alone. Many veterans face dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, high employment and a loss of military camaraderie after returning from tours.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while Latinos make up 9.5 percent of the actively enlisted forces, they are over-represented in the categories that get the most dangerous assignments – infantry, gun crews and seamanship – and make up over 17.5 percent of the front lines.  DOD numbers reveal 35,000 non-citizens currently in the active Armed Forces.

The MCSO should have been trained on how to handle war veterans particularly when there is a history of mental illness and they should be vigilant with regard to the excessive abuse of these veterans.  We are seeking the help of the FBI.  An investigation should be conducted by the FBI in light of the recent findings provided by the feds via the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Sincerely,

Bernie Abeytia

Immediate Past American GI Forum Commander of the State of Arizona

 

Shirl Mora James

Lead Co-President of National Tequila Party Movement

Civil Rights and Immigration Attorney

 

DeeDee Garcia Blase

Founder, Co-President of National Tequila Party Movement

 

 Adam Bustos

National President, SOMOS REPUBLICANS

 

 

“…the next time you’re down in Washington, D.C., to go to the Vietnam War Memorial and look at the names engraved in black granite, you’ll find a whole lot of Hispanic names…who love this country so much that they’re willing to risk their lives in its service….remember that these are God’s children…” – Senator John McCain