Arizona Bill Targeting Ethnic Studies Signed Into Law
The presence of Latinos has driven Arizona legislators over the edge. On the heels of passing some of the most racist legislation in recent history, the saga continues. Now, lawmakers have targeted the school system, banning ethnic studies. According to Tom Horne, the Tucson school system's state superintendent of Public Instruction, the bill was written to target the Chicano, or Mexican-American, studies program in the Tucson school system. HB 2281 bans schools from teaching classes that are designed for students of a particular ethnic group, promote resentment or advocate ethnic solidarity over treating pupils as individuals. Wow, we thought the village idiot lived in Texas. Guess he's in Arizona now.
Read it at the Los Angeles Times.
3 Pakistani Men Arrested in Times Square Probe
Speaking of village idiots. When fighting racial profiling, it doesn't help the cause when people of color actually go out and satisfy the stereotype by plotting to blow up folks in Times Square. Yes, you read right. Three more Pakistanis have been tied to the failed car bombing in Times Square. To our Pakistani brothers, we say thank you for making our trek through JFK airport tomorrow even more stressful and precarious.
Mr. Officer, Mr. Officer: Lil Wayne Accused of Breaking Jail Music Rules
America's favorite rapper is in trouble again, this time for having headphones and a charger to an MP3 player in his possession. Both are against the rules at Rikers Island, where the items were found in a crumpled up potato chip bag. Wee ooh wee, wee ooh wee don't know why Weezy can't keep it together. He's obviously fiending for some tunes in the joint. Perhaps if he stopped smoking joints and carrying illegal weapons, he could have music and his freedom. Novel concept we suppose.
Read it at Yahoo News.
Protesters Blast Haiti President's Quake Response
Haitian President Rene Preval is under fire for his handling of the earthquake crisis. Two thousand protesters called for his resignation, saying that he is profiting from the earthquake by announcing that he would stay in office for three months beyond the end of his term to help bring "stability" to his country. We're wondering where was this desire for "stability" came from since Preval was noticeably absent during the recovery efforts. Yeah, we know that the quake destroyed the election agency's headquarters and records and killed or displaced about 1.6 million voters, so pushing back the elections kind of makes sense. But still.
Gentrification Run Amok: Young Whites Leaving U.S. Suburbs for Cities
Awww, look at that. Americans are taking cues from Europe. White folks have tired of the commute and the vanilla of suburban living, They want to get some flavor without having to really interact with those that generate said flavor. For the first time, the majority of all racial and ethnic minorities live outside the city. The suburbs now have the largest poor population in the country. Black and brown folks are quite familiar with the copious amounts of gentrification going on in our neighborhoods in major cities. Southeast Wasthington, D.C., Los Feliz in Los Angeles, West Side in Chicago, Harlem. You name it. We live it. Even natural disasters are doing unnatural things, like making cities of color (New Orleans) less colorful.
Read it at the Times of India.