El Now
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RIP Robin Williams aka Ramon the singing, dancing Mexipenguin (video)
There will never be another actor and comedian like Robin Williams, and there will never be another Ramon, the animated, singing, dancing Mexican penguin Williams brought to life in Happy Feet. Williams, 63, was pronounced dead at his home by first responders today in Tiburon, north of San Francisco.
Oklahoma GOP uses jumping bean in a sombrero on fundraising flyer
Come for the (Mexican jumping) “GOP Bean Feed,” read the Oklahoma Republican Party fundraising flyer, and maybe you’ll stay for the KKK lecture. No offense, though.
Oklahoma democrats were shocked to see the crude racially charged image of a Mexican jumping bean on a GOP fundraising flyer for governor Mary Fallin which claimed to have information about the KKK.
In fact, many had assumed this was a hoax or a parody.
Mas…Oklahoma GOP uses jumping bean in a sombrero on fundraising flyer
End of a Bromance: ‘Tear Drops for Eric Cantor’ by John Boehner
Speaker of the House John Boehner has the sad now that his GOP bromantic buddy Majority Leader Eric Cantor is stepping down. What’s that? Water gushing from Boehner’s ojos? Elise Roedenbeck’s musical dramatization is called Tear Drops for Eric Cantor.
Jon Stewart: I can solve kid crisis at the border (educational video)
Why do the right wing haters make it so hard? The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart knows exactly what to do to clean up the mess at the border. PRO TIP: Do not risk monitor damage and/or electric shock by drinking coffee, beer or any other beverage while watching this educational video. Extreme danger of spitting on the screen! Kombucha drinker? Put down the beverage and step away from the computer.
Reality check at the Sierra Blanca, Texas border checkpoint (video)
At the Sierra Blanca, Texas, border checkpoint, even La MIGRA has realized that immigrants have rights.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE BORDER:
Mas…Reality check at the Sierra Blanca, Texas border checkpoint (video)
Just 8% of SF/fantasy stars are pochos but Zoe Saldaña will save us
Almost no science fiction and fantasy movies feature protagonists of color — not to mention women of color — but thankfully we have Zoe Saldaña! Check out this study and awful infographic from Lee & Low Books:
Mas…Just 8% of SF/fantasy stars are pochos but Zoe Saldaña will save us
Watch: ‘First contact’ with isolated Ashaninka Indians in Brazil
A group of “isolates” from the Ashaninka Indian tribe in Acre in Northwest Brazil made “first contact” with government scientists last month.
Mas…Watch: ‘First contact’ with isolated Ashaninka Indians in Brazil
NPR: Who are the refugee kids at the border? (audio, video)
Researcher Elizabeth Kennedy interviewed a 12-year-old boy who returned to El Salvador barefoot; he had been robbed of everything he owned.
"I asked him if he was going to try again," says Kennedy, "and he just burst into tears and said, 'What would you do if you were me? I haven't seen my mom or my dad in 10 years ... and no one here loves me.'"
Since October, a staggering 57,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been apprehended at the southwestern U.S. border. Sometimes, they’ve been welcomed into the country by activists; other times they’ve been turned away by protesters.
Mas…NPR: Who are the refugee kids at the border? (audio, video)
Linda Ronstadt awarded National Medal of the Arts (videos)
Pocha sweetheart Linda Ronstadt was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama on Monday, citing the singer’s “one-of-a-kind voice and her decades of remarkable music.” The actual awards start after 5:30 or so in the video.
Sadly, Ronstadt can no longer sing. This spring, she told Diane Sawyer why:
Mas…Linda Ronstadt awarded National Medal of the Arts (videos)
As the Illegal Mexicans and Muslims Invade (a poem)
AN ILLEGAL POEM
By Illegal Immigrants
I cross river,
Poor and broke,
Take bus,
See employment folk.
Nice man
Treat me good in there,
Say I need
Go see Welfare.
Stop the gay Muslim Chinese terrorist illegal aliens! (video)
Conservatives explain how gays, Muslims, Mexicans and President Obama are all working together to destroy the moral fabric of America. Video’d at an anti-immigration protest in Houston, pro-immigration supporters also chime in while dancing.
Cheap Chinese chanclas choke Chuy’s Choo Repair
(PNS reporting from CHICAGO) Chuy’s Choo Repair on Ashland has been fixing heels, stretching boots and giving new soles to tired oxfords since 1956, but owner Eddie Calderon doesn’t know how long he can keep his shop open.
Calderon (photo, right), whose father opened the business when he returned to Chicago after the Korean War, says he can’t keep up with cheap imported shoes flooding the country.
“Look at the pinches chanclas on sale at the Dollar Store!” Calderon told PNS as we toured the neighborhood (photo, top.) “If people can buy new Chinese chanclas for 60 cents at the stupid Dollar Store, why would they want to get them repaired if a strap breaks? It’s not worth it!”
La Cucaracha: Murrieta, CA is concerned for the kids (toon)
In case you missed it, the “crisis manager” hired by Murrieta doesn’t much like my cartoons or my use of the Twitter hashtag #MurrietaHateCityUSA.
Ken White, of the most excellent PopeHat blog has the story:
Mas…La Cucaracha: Murrieta, CA is concerned for the kids (toon)
Jorge Ramos: Let’s treat child refugees like children (video)
Jorge Ramos, of Univision and FUSION, says there is but one moral choice for America: We have to treat child refugees like the children they are — with love.
Gov. Rick Perry orders troops to the border, Texans react (photo)
As Texas Gov. Rick Perry mobilizes the National Guard to patrol the border and protect America from helpless fleeing single mothers and child refugees, his fellow Texans aren’t shy about sharing their love.
PREVIOUSLY ON RICK PERRY:
Mas…Gov. Rick Perry orders troops to the border, Texans react (photo)
Stephen Colbert: I pity the poor immigrants (video)
Whatever it is these poor kid refugees are fleeing — Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, El Diablo — Stephen Colbert pities them. But not too much.
Kid immigrants have been arriving alone since Ellis Island
In 1892, the first immigrant to enter the U.S. at the new Ellis Island immigration facility was an unaccompanied 15-year-old minor.
Not only was she not greeted by howling racists, their faces distorted with unfathomable rage, but she got a certificate and a gold coin.
An unaccompanied child migrant was the first person in line on opening day of the new immigration station at Ellis Island Her name was Annie Moore, and that day, January 1, 1892, happened to be her 15th birthday. She had traveled with her two little brothers from Cork County, Ireland, and when they walked off the gangplank, she was awarded a certificate and a $10 gold coin for being the first to register.
Mas…Kid immigrants have been arriving alone since Ellis Island
Por los que no se rajan — for those that don’t crack
(Antigua, Guatemala — December 2000) I glanced up from my plate of rice, beans and perfectly grilled chicken breast. I was nauseous and weak from days of vomiting. Third-world cuisine always leaves me thinner than when I arrive.
In hindsight, I’m not sure if it was the beautiful colors in the woman’s “huipil” or if it was the look of angst on her face that caught my eye. As I gazed out the window of the restaurant I sat in, all I could think about was my own discomfort and what my friends back in the U.S. were doing.
While I contemplated these trivial matters, my father jumped up from his chair. I watched as he grabbed my uneaten plate, bolted out the front door of the restaurant and caught up to the woman I had seen walk by.