Magdaleno

Dear Friends

 

It is great to be alive and to be with so many individuals who do so much good work and help so many individuals. I am always inspired by the humanity of those with whom I work in behalf of peace, justice and human rights…. In particular groups like FOR (fellowship for reconciliation) who work and sing for peace have a long history of telling the truth.

 

Recently I spoke to FOR in Seattle and was again inspired by them and their activism. I didn’t make a speech as much as I told funny stories..and shared some of my dreams.

 

 I want to thank all of you who demonstrated this past weekend and who will continue to apply pressure to get us out this ILLEGAL WAR.

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. josh marquis
2. augmentation
3. stop ICE
4. rush the racist
5. libby lied
6. the Iraqi barber
7. how long you live

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DEBATING JOSH MARQUIS ..

 

Josh Marquis a District Attorney in Astoria, Oregon who supports the death penalty debates people across the country attacking them and their arguments. And in the process defending death and revenge.

 

I was invited to debate him in his home turf of Astoria…It seems that the local high school was producing the dramatic presentation of DEAD MAN WALKING and this stimulated a debate about the penalty of death. So the community wanted a debate on the issue. When I agreed to debate him I did not know that he was a NATIONAL TOP GUN from pro death penalty crowd.

 

When I went for research advice from expert friends around the country they all asked.. OH NO YOU’RE NOT GOING TO DEBATE JOSH MARQUIS.???          

 

I was expecting a tall and strong giant of a man loaded with many guns. When I got to Astoria after driving through 7 hours of snow laden roads I arrived with two old friends Dick and Rosalia Ginsburg…. I was 15 minutes late and as I rushed in encountered this thin man with many notes and references under his arm who was introduced as Josh Marquis…He mentioned that he had debated Sister Helen Prejean on television earlier that day. Me? Well I had a legal pad and my small spiral note book. We were both ready to debate…my major handicap is that I had not done a public debate in almost 8 years…

 

I had gotten the school to allow me to go second since I was the humble guest coming from the outside to meet town’s top gun.

 

Josh is slick and went on the attack with the style and arguments of a good DA …well he didn’t know what he was getting into …. I am these days… like brown jell-o ..hard to pin to the wall but I was present and most visible.

 

I don’t manage the facts as well as some of my friends so I used some key themes that I kept hammering and keeping him off balance.

 

My themes were

1. the moral argument
2. humor
3. prosecutorial misconduct
4. cost of death penalty

 

Once I got the audience laughing at my corny jokes I knew that they would be more open to my arguments. Josh could not get the laughs I got though he did make a couple of meek attempts.

I even made a joke about my friend SISTER HELEN PREJEAN …

 

The joke was …

SISTER HELEN AM I IN YOUR SECOND BOOK DEATH OF INNOCENCE ???

NO she replied to me …YOU HAVE NO INNOCENCE…

 

I asked if he had ever gone to talk to families of murder victims who were pro death penalty who had watched the accused be killed and if he could tell me how they had healed as a result of the execution…. And I asked the same about the innocent family of the accused who had been executed. I asked him and the audience that they too were demonized by this death process and damaged…. I pushed him to understand that he and others don’t care about the pain or the families….instead all they want is revenge.

 

I also presented the argument that no District Attorney should have the budget authority to proceed with a death penalty case with out permission from the county and the state for this huge budget commitment. (My new argument)

 

I think I made many friends as I joked and smiled a lot and connected with Josh. At one point in Fresno he helped the United Farm Workers Union when he was a student. I reminded the audience that many years Josh and I had both been on the same side and that I hoped that we would soon be on the same side again …THAT BEING THAT WE SEEK A HUMANE WAY OF PROTECTING SOCIETY.

 

I am not sure if I won the debate but I know that I did have fun and I am sure that Josh might want another crack at the Mexican.

 

 

AUGMENTATION …is this a troop increase or a cosmetic surgical procedure.????

 

As the administration was moving to push 21,000 plus soldiers into harms ways the Bushites were looking for language that would make this sound like a new strategy and not just an escalation of the same old same old.

 

One Senator was asking Condi Rice if this in fact was not just an escalation and she replied some thing like this NO,…I WOULD RATHER SEE IT AS AN AUGMENTATION…

 

Good thing that I was not the senator asking the questions because I would have broken into uncontrollable laughter.

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STOP THE RAIDS AND SWEEPS BY ICE

 

Immigration Custom Enforcement must be stopped from doing all its raids and also the building of the wall. The quick way to do get this immediate remedy is for the congress to limit the funding they have for round ups, detention and the wall. And this is just a short term remedy while we do the proper education and get COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM.

 

YEP …we can quickly limit their actions by limiting their funding…

An immediate remedy for  ICE

            De-fund it

            Put the heat on ICE…..MELT IT …YES ICEMELT…

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Rush Limbaugh …just another racist

           

            There are many racists’ attacks being rolled out on Barack Obama..one of the worst was done by Rush Limbaugh when he criticized Senator Obama for smoking cigarettes by saying something to the affect

THAT IF BARACK HAS FIRE IN HIS HANDS I WONDER WHAT HE HAS IN HIS PANTS.

           

 

 

LIBBY LIED…but then again so did so many others

 

Keep an eye on the trial of el senor Scooter Libby. And in the process we will see more of the evil of the Vice President and his minions…if I were Scooter I would change my name before I went to prison.

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THE IRAQI BARBER

 

In my neighborhood a short block from my house is a new barber shop. I needed a trim and decided to get a cut from a local guy and support a local shop.

 

I went twice on a early Saturday morning before I finally found the barber there getting ready to open the office. I was his first customer…and as I settled into the chair I noticed his physical features and strong accent.

 

WHERE YOU FROM .. I asked

I AM IRAQI he proudly replied

Then I made my big mistake of the morning…

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAQ

 

He became very animated as he spoke about his country, his family and all the suffering that was being perpetrated by this insane war. As he talked I sunk into his heartfelt pain…and as he talked he grew more animated with the passing of each moment…the only weapon he had with which to defend Iraq was these  barber’s sheers and my hair seemed to be an easy target …before I knew it I was receiving the shortest hair cut in five years. I was shocked by the barber’s pain and by my very short haircut…

 

 

NOT HOW LONG YOU LIVE BUT WHAT YOU DID WHILE YOU WERE ALIVE…

 

All of us must ensure that each day we do something to help someone in some way …We don’t have to be a national or local leader or part of a big movement…we just need to take a  moment to help some body…

 

Maybe it is just a smile, a handshake, a helping hand or a small donation…when we give we will also receive…we must take advantage of our time on this earth to help others and to do what ever we can in behalf of peace, justice and human rights. And in the process protect our environment…..and all who depend on MOTHER EARTH…

 

My best

 

leno

 

 

Dear Friends

 

It is 2007 and we are all looking for a better year…perhaps one with PEACE….. Next week George Bush will announce his so-called new direction…but I feel that George Bush will repeat his message of STAY THE COURSE…but with this so called troop surge…(perhaps Bush should send his twin daughters as part of the surge). If there is a surge it should be a surge to get out of IRAQ and out of that CIVIL WAR……We should all be ready to raise our voices to Bush’s announcement next week about his so called NEW STRATEGY for Iraq.

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS…

 

a. the death of Saddam

b. james brown

c. Gerald ford

d. death penalty in new jersey

e. mistaken identity..

f. subway samaritan

 

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THE DEATH OF SADDAM …Turning lemonade into lemons

     Or should we say giving Saddam life after death

 

I find it ironic that the Bush administration washes its hands of the execution of Saddam much like a biblical character Pontius Pilate did in the bible.. The government of Iraq is but a sick bird that eats out of the hand of the Bush machine.  The current Iraqi government could not exist with out our money or military… The Bush administration could have demanded a different kind of execution but they didn’t care. What blew their scheme out of the water was the cell phones video tape…This showed the world the insanity of Iraqi government that we support. Now Bush and his staff try to distance themselves from this botched execution…

 

Human rights groups and many European countries have condemned this execution as they do the taking of any life by any government. This is still a human rights abuse in spite of all those things Saddam did with the help and support of countries like the USA.

 

It would have been better if there had not been an execution and that Saddam would have been tried by an international court …Bush wanted revenge and they wanted Saddam executed thinking that by killing him that peace would some how sneak into Iraq… I can not believe the stupidity of this administration…

 

Now the Iraq government is out to punish the man who video taped this disaster and is not taking the same steps to arrest those who were chanting and taunting Saddam in his last moments. Many Arabs across the Middle East are outraged by not only the execution but the manner in which it was done.. They all know that this was done with the blessing of the USA and this has done little to help to create the DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT that the Bush Administration has been promising..Instead it has widened the ethnic-religious divisions..

 

This is what the Bush administration wanted and they got it… another execution….. Today they are now back pedaling because it was all captured on a cell phone…This like everything else that Bush has done has backfired on him…

 

And this is not good for anyone carrying a USA passport and traveling internationally.

 

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JAMES BROWN an incredible artist

 

 this incredible artist passed away after an incredible musical history where he provided us all with the best of soul. His personal life and problems often overshadowed his contributions to the pride and power of the black community.  He was a wonderful artist and the stage was his canvass.

 

 In 1985 James Brown would frequent a dentist who had his office next to the old Amnesty International Office on Peachtree st. in Atlanta, Georgia. At that point in my history I was Southern Regional Director for Amnesty International…

 

 One day as I was going to accompanied by a friend Jew Don Boney an activist from Houston Texas who was leading our defense of then Death row inmate Clarence Brandley.. It was then that a long white Limo pulled up to the side of the building..And out stepped JAMES BROWN…we went up and introduced our selves and said things like I FEEL GOOD, …he was polite to us and was relieved to escape our handshakes and our eyes…It did feel very good to meet this incredible artist…once in a life time experience…I should have gotten an autograph.

 

Later on Clarence Brandley was taken off death row and freed from prison and Jew Don Boney went on to be a city councilman.

 

And I continued to work for Amnesty International and will always remember meeting James Brown.

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Gerald Ford …takes a swipe at bush

              And it is released after his death…

 

Former President Ford raised his doubts about the Bush Iraq strategy and the problems it has created. Many could not believe that Ford had raised his concerns about Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney to Bob Woodward so Woodward had to release the audio tapes.

 

This is yet another leader telling Bush that he was and is wrong and should stop this insane war.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

                        New Jersey and the death penalty

January 5, 2007
Editorial

Rethinking the Death Penalty
New Jersey could take the lead among states in abolishing the death penalty if it follows the recommendation that a legislative commission made this week. It is the right thing to do, and not just because capital punishment is barbaric and a poor deterrent. It has become increasingly clear as the use of DNA evidence has grown that there is simply too great a risk of making an irreversible mistake.

While we would have used stronger language, we applaud the 13-member panel for having the courage to recommend that New Jersey become the first state to abolish the death penalty since states began reinstating it 35 years ago. The commission included two prosecutors, a police chief, members of the clergy and a man whose daughter was murdered in 2000. Only one member, a former state senator who wrote the death penalty law, dissented.

Although it has nine people on death row, New Jersey has had a moratorium on executions since 2005 and has not put anyone to death since 1963. Nevertheless, the panel’s recommendation that the death penalty be replaced with life imprisonment without parole is likely to have significant influence both inside and outside the state. It comes as about 10 of the 38 states with death penalties, including New York, have suspended executions and as recent developments, like DNA exonerations and a botched lethal injection in Florida last month, have created a growing unease about executions.

With Gov. Jon Corzine opposed to the death penalty, and substantial numbers of capital punishment opponents in both houses of the Legislature, there is a reasonable chance the commission’s recommendations will become law. That would make New Jersey’s criminal justice system more civilized and fair. It could also prod other states to abandon their own use of what Justice Harry Blackmun called the “machinery of death.”

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MISTAKEN IDENTITY AGAIN

There I was in Miami sitting in a barbershop waiting for my turn for a hair cut when the Cuban barber called out to me in English  YOU’RE NEXT

ME

YES YOU …he replied

Okay ..and I took my seat

WHAT KIND OF A CUT WOULD YOU LIKE….???

JUST A TRIM …LIFT THE  SIDE BURNS A BIT…I said

YOU LIVE AROUND HERE he asked

WAIT A MINUTE ….WHY DO YOU TALK TO EVERYONE ELSE IN SPANISH AND TO ME IN ENGLISH?? ….I inquired…

With out hesitating he said BECAUSE YOU ARE LEBANESE….

NO I AM A CHICANO ….A MEXICAN-AMERICAN ….I protested

WELL YOU LOOK ARAB TO US …referring to his friend who was there reading a sports magazine ….and his friend confirmed his statement by shaking his head…

I laughed and began speaking to them in my best Spanish giving my phrases a slight Cuban lilt

This is not the first time that I have been mistaken for an Arab…

When I related this incident to a Palestinian friend in Seattle he told me about when he has been in parts of the country where there are a lot of Latinos that he is often mistaken for a Mexican and they insist on speaking to him in Spanish.

Funny how we judge folks by their looks ….below is his story

Hello Leno,

 

Thanks for sharing your stories with me. Funny you said that, let me share my stories also. While I was going to school and living in Tri-Cities in the late 70′s. I was always approached by everybody with Latino greetings (Que pasa Amigo) I was lucky enough to know and reply in kind. A new clothing store was open in down town Pasco, catering to mostly Mexicans. I was told who was the owners of that store. I decided to go to say hello. Walking in, I was greeted in Spanish, I replied and kept looking for around, picked couple of things and went to pay. The owner/casher started talking to me in Spanish, so I replied in Arabic. He was very surprised and shocked. This Palestinian owner, immigrated to Porto Rico, shortly after the Palestinian Nakba (The creation of the State of Israel), settle there and made his money, then decided to come to the heartland and make more money.

 

Yesterday, I went to Value Village down Lake City Way to donate some stuff. I finished my business, the engine in my van would not start. I looked around, very hesitant to ask anybody, until I noticed a dark skin man drove in, so I felt a sigh of relief. I waved that gentleman, he stopped, I told him my problem and he said, I’ll gladly assist (I thought he looked Arab, because he spoke with a slight accent). While getting my act together, he started to speak in Spanish. To my surprise, he was a Mexican. I told him that I am Palestinian. He replied by saying, “I support your cause, I know about your history. In fact there are lots of Palestinians in Guadalajara, that is where I came from”.

 

The essence of our stories is: We are all the same, no matter what anybody says. At this time, it is good to be anything but an Arab under this political climate.

 

Hope for better 2007,

 

Ziyad

 

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Subway Samaritan Now Must Survive Onrushing Media
New York City Embraces Man Who Saved Stranger on Tracks

By Robin Shulman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 5, 2007; A03

NEW YORK, Jan. 4 — The act was beautiful and brave, and lucky.

A young film student suffered a seizure in a Harlem subway station Tuesday afternoon and toppled onto the tracks. Wesley Autrey, 50, a construction worker with two young daughters at his side, tried to tug him back onto the platform. But as a train approached, the student began to seize again, and Autrey jumped on top, pushing him into a foot-deep trough between the tracks and covering his body with his own.

Though the train braked, several cars ran over both men, passing just inches from Autrey’s head, leaving grease marks on his powder-blue hat. Amazingly, they escaped with little more than scratches.

Then came the frenzy.

It took Autrey unawares. On Tuesday after the incident, he went home, stripped off his wet, stinking clothes, showered and went to work at a construction site in Brooklyn. His boss didn’t believe his story at first, and then he bought Autrey a sandwich — a hero.

Media crews soon descended on the site, and the making of a New York City hero began, with hypercompetitive tabloids and television stations, morning and late-night talk shows, and celebrity donors such as Donald Trump all vying for a piece.

In the hours and days after his heroics, nothing in Autrey’s world has been the same.

Local news picked up the incident almost immediately.

In the subway and in the street near the station in Harlem where the incident occurred, people called out hello, shook his hand, held him. “You a hero,” said one man. As he walked to his mother’s apartment, a stranger pressed $10 in his hand.

His mother’s comfortable home was a giddy war room. Autrey’s sisters kept track of appointments. Media crews filed in and out. The phone rang constantly.

Autrey had just come back from a celebratory dinner and tried on his new black quilted jacket from the New York Film Academy, the school attended by Cameron Hollopeter, the 20-year-old who had suffered the seizure and was still being evaluated in a hospital Thursday. The academy also offered him a $5,000 check.

He had spent much of the day on the subway platform reenacting events at the behest of various television and newspaper crews. One tabloid reporter asked him to don a Superman suit and stand on the platform for a picture. He declined.

He’s told his story so many times it comes in gasps out of order, almost by rote.

Mainly, Autrey recalls seeing the lights of an oncoming train. “I thought, ‘ Somebody’s got to go save this guy.’ Then I thought, ‘Not somebody, fool — you got to save him!’ ”

As he held Hollopeter down in that trough, he spoke into the student’s ear. “I said, ‘You fell under the train tracks. . . . Don’t move or both of us’ll die.’ ”

And with that the train slid over them.

“Once the first car grazed my blue hat — I felt the bottom of the train rub my hat and pull it down and the hat move back on my head.”

Hollopeter asked: “Am I dead yet? Are we dead?”

“You are very much alive,” Autrey replied.

Autrey said construction work taught him to think fast and maneuver in contained spaces. And the instinct to do good?

“My mom brought us all up like that,” he said.

But the attention was something else. “They’ve been swarming all day. I feel like Princess Diana.”

On Thursday he had an interview with CNN and did the morning talk shows. He traveled in a limousine to meet with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

In the Blue Room at City Hall, Bloomberg suggested Autrey might run for mayor, or even president, and awarded him the Bronze Medallion for civic achievement, which has been awarded to Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali.

A Walt Disney Co. executive offered an all-expense-paid trip to Disneyland in California. Autrey said Trump was going to give him a check for $10,000 after the news conference.

“What I did is something that every New Yorker should do. If you see somebody in distress, do the right thing. Help out. Okay?”

Autrey left City Hall in a cloud of confusion. Reporters pigeonholed his 6-year-old daughter; his sister wanted to talk privately; no one could find the address of Trump’s office.

“I need my privacy ’cause I’m not used to this,” he said. “I don’t know how superstars deal.”

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NOW THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE WHO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS…

MY BEST

leno