What a smart girl...

[one_voice]

Sarah are you listening? I wish I could post more, it's definitely worth the read. Someone should send this to Palin and everyone else criticizing the school.



Sarah Palin Attacked My High School -- Here's Why She's Wrong

I'm a junior at Highland Park High School in Chicago, where our superintendent recently canceled the girls varsity basketball team's trip to Arizona in protest of the state's new immigration bill.

Almost instantly, complaints from team members and parents evolved into a national debate over the school board's decision and whether the board was within its power to decide the way it did. For many, it has become another platform from which to debate this highly controversial law; so far Bill O'Reilly, the Chicago Tribune, and even Sarah Palin, have vehemently denounced the administration's ruling.


*snip*

My school is largely composed of upper-middle-class Caucasians, with a significant Latino population. Thus, when Assistant Superintendent Suzan Hebson refers to "safety" as one of the factors that led to the school board's decision, she is referring to the large number of students who might be at risk traveling to Arizona for the tournament, according to a new law which says that anyone even suspected of being an illegal immigrant can now be asked to show their papers.

Although the tournament is optional, District 113 (my community's school system) values the inclusion and protection of ALL students. So if the school board had approved the trip, it would have automatically discouraged some students at my school from trying out for the basketball team. Since the varsity tryouts are not held until fall, a large number of Latino students who feel uncomfortable or at risk under the new law might not try out, knowing the team would be going to Arizona. Furthermore, the long-term implications of allowing such a trip might be interpreted as a political statement in favor of the law, a message that would alienate a larger number of students at the school.


http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/05/18/sarah-palin-slandered-my-high-school-heres-why-shes-wrong/?icid=main|main|dl9|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lemondrop.com%2F2010%2F05%2F18%2Fsarah-palin-slandered-my-high-school-heres-why-shes-wrong%2F

[BrklynLiberal]

1. The barracuda is not even as smart as a 5th grader, much less a high school student!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

70. I teach elementary school and I'd fail her if she was a kindergarten student

That whole be nice to others thing. Pretty big deal in kindergarten. Sarah never got it.

[terrapinwelcher]

2. Get Serious

It was nothing more than a dumb administrator trying to make a name for themselves without considering the kids on the team. That excuse is soooo lame.

[donco6]

3. I take it you are in favor of AZ's law? n/t

[terrapinwelcher]

7. Yeah, I Am

Have you ever lived in the Southwest? If the federal law were enforced, local jurisdictions wouldn't feel compelled to step in. That being said, even if I were against the AZ law, the administrator is nothing but a bozo. This is the same kind of clown who expels six year old boys for taking a toy soldier to school or thirteen year old girls for having a Tylenol in their purse. My feelings about illegal immigration played zero percent in my appraisal of this idiot.

[donco6]

11. I totally support the administration.

If I were to send undocumented students to an out-of-state tournament, and something were to happen to said student which got them turned over to ICE and deported, I'd have failed at my duty to protect my students.

I fully support a widescale boycott of AZ.

[terrapinwelcher]

16. Oh C'mon

That was a real concern? Please link to the article that talks about the illegal immigrants on the team who were at risk of deportation if caught in AZ. Seriously, how contorted an argument do you have to twist to swallow that line of bull?

[riderinthestorm]

18. My post #15 was meant for you. Posted in wrong place

the team doesn't try out until the fall. Who knows if any of the kids will be illegal?

Doesn't matter though. It only matters that the kids ARE in jeopardy of being held while their papers are produced by parents who are hundreds of miles away.

Would you want your kid held in juvie (or in the case of these teens who look like adults, in adult jail) while their paperwork is sorted out?

Sorry, I'd be furious at an admin who exposed my kids to that risk.

[donco6]

19. Not at all contorted.

We have lots of undocumented students here. I could not, in good conscience, allow them to enter a state where a slip in decisionmaking could land them in an ICE office on their way to a country they don't even remember.

As to what you may swallow, I can think of a few things.

[seabeyond]

26. yes. texas and calif. higher illegals than az. further, the law is going to allow more illegals

to legally stay in az. it is going to create exactly the opposite of what you are looking for.

how smart is that

further

how smart is it to ignore facts.

that is, IF you cannot see the unconstitutionality of it all. that is, if you cant see the inherent racism in it.

just out of selfish reasons, the law should not work for you

but dont bother with thinking, and gaining knowledge and information

[terrapinwelcher]

28. Can Someone Translate This Gibberish For Me?

[seabeyond]

36. you understand right.... that when they arrest an illegal to go thru the court

they will be handed back to family in the state with a working permit until court date. they will then legally be able to work in az. they will no longer be illegal. courts are jammed. takes forever for court date. people dont show.

the exact opposite will happen in az than what people think will happen.

if you still dont understand, get educated

[Luminous Animal]

46. Please stop calling human being "illegals."

Setting aside the fact that your usage is not grammatically correct; let's focus on implications of the characterization of human beings as "illegals". The implication is that their very existence, who they are as people, are illegal.

[seabeyond]

54. i dont agree. it is a reality. it is a description. clarification

it is not an offensive term. and it is not commenting on all that they are as a people is illegal. you cannot be an illegal person. you can be in this country illegally.

the az law is unconstitutional and racist and offensive.

but calling illegals, illegal is not offensive. it is descriptive.

[Luminous Animal]

79. "Illegals" is remarkably offensive and the word "illegal" is an adjective.

You are using it as a noun. You might as well call them "elegants"

[seabeyond]

83. except elegants wouldnt be the right descriptive. they are here illegally. they know they are

illegal. you know they are illegal. i know they are illegal. obviously they arent so offended with being illegal that they are legal. it works. i made it a noun.

[Luminous Animal]

86. I do not know that "they" are here illegally. That is up to a court to decide.

And kudos for your right wing bastardization of the language. No doubt you call jaywalkers and speeders "illegals", as well.

[seabeyond]

87. i am not here judging individuals. hence the reason why illegals work. it only applies to the

people that are here illegally that you and i dont individually know, but know are in this country.

[seabeyond]

65. illegal aliens. i don't call them aliens. i think that is just bottom line stupid. nt

[nomorenomore08]

30. If the Southwest has too many brown folks for your taste, you could always move to Wyoming...

:shrug:

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[riderinthestorm]

45. I've stated openly that I've hired an illegal immigrant

I didn't know it at the time. He spoke perfect english but had an hispanic name so I asked for copies of his documents, including his SS card. I even checked his SS# against the government's own "legal" database.

All were forged.

It took the IRS more than 10 years to catch up with him whereby he was long gone from my employ.

With forged documents, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to discern who is legal and who is not. In my business, there are many who could be questionable but there is no way to really know for sure.

You are the bigot for ASSuming that anyone in the southwest is illegal. You don't know that for sure. You can only ASSume. We may speculate and theorize and postulate but until you know for sure, you sir are the bigot.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seabeyond]

56. but you are asking for the people here legally, americans to also be harrassed in looking

for those that are illegal. that is morally wrong.

[blondeatlast]

57. The assumption, on its face, is bigotrry. It doesn't matter on what

criteria your assumption is based.

[riderinthestorm]

58. I absolutely believe there are illegals in the SW. But nobody knows exactly who they are.

And until there is a way to clearly identify them, without racial profiling, nobody knows for sure.

But racial profiling to "find" them, in the way that AZ wants, and the way you endorse, THAT is bigoted.

[Name removed]

71. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[donco6]

74. Geez, can you GET more racist?

So now you can narrow the illegals down to the ones who look more indian?

Interesting.

[riderinthestorm]

76. I know right? Depressing. nt

[blondeatlast]

82. I was wondering what was posted. I think Mr. TPW has shown his true colors. nt

[nomorenomore08]

59. +1

He says he'd feel the same way about "illegal Canadians," but even if there were two million of them picking apples in Washington, I doubt many people would notice. Why? Because they look like the majority, the "norm," i.e. white Americans.

The knee-jerk fear of "illegal immigrants" is predicated upon an underlying fear of dark-skinned "outsiders." And a hell of a lot of people make no careful distinction between "illegals" and Latinos in general, even if they might claim to.

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[riderinthestorm]

75. I didn't alert on you. Seems like you are pushing a lot of people's buttons tho. nt

[elleng]

4. ?

:thumbsdown:

[TroglodyteScholar]

5. What a sad world you must live in. n/t

[terrapinwelcher]

12. No, The Sad World

Is the one where kids are used as unwilling pawns to make political statements that ultimately hold no sway. The administrator was free to make a personal statement of disapproval. Involving the kids was petty and selfish.

[donco6]

13. It's for their protection, and well-warranted. n/t

[terrapinwelcher]

17. Please Link to a Legitimate Story

That supports the position that there were actually team members at risk.

[donco6]

20. This one has it all. n/t

[terrapinwelcher]

27. From The Chicago Trib

Highland Park High made the wrong call
May 14, 2010

Congratulations to the District 113 Board on their lack of leadership and hypocrisy with respect to the decision to cancel the Highland Park High School girls basketball team's trip to Arizona. By allowing the team to be used as a political pawn to advance an agenda (discounting the seemingly faux post facto "safety" reasoning behind the cancellation) they have given the green light to every political group and pundit on both sides of the political spectrum to use the team as a pawn, including those who preach fear and intolerance. Rush Limbaugh could not have choreographed it better if he tried. In the worst example, it has enabled Sarah Palin to use our students' trip to China as a lead-in to reduce to "abusers of girls" an entire centuries-old diverse culture. And by acting in a way that both liberal and conservatives view as un-democratic, they likely created more, not less, support of an immigration law that seems hard to implement without racial profiling. Well I guess one good pawn deserves another, but who really wins -- certainly not the students. It is not too late. Reverse the decision. Open public comment on it from your community. Hold hearings -- just like you have done historically every time you approve a student trip overseas. Had the Board acted in this democratic way in the first place, the firestorm would have been avoided, the misuse of these girls would have been prevented, and most importantly, our kids would likely have just been able to play a decent game of basketball with kids from another state.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-14/news/chi-100514sereda_briefs_1_pawn-immigration-law-students

[riderinthestorm]

34. Chicago Trib, one of the most far-right wing papers out there.

Way to out yourself....

[terrapinwelcher]

40. Nice Try

But I'm not from Illinois and know nothing about the paper. The editorial looked to me like it was written by someone like me who is progressive politically but still feels that illegal immigration is a problem. Do you honestly think that a conservative wrote that piece?

[donco6]

42. Absolutely!

YOu are kidding right? The Trib? And you don't know their political bent? Sheesh.

[terrapinwelcher]

44. I Haven't Read a Paper in Over 5 Years

Last one I read was the LA Times when I lived in So Cal.

[donco6]

47. Here you go:

From editorial board policies:

The Chicago Tribune believes in the traditional principles of limited government; maximum individual responsibility; minimum restriction of personal liberty, opportunity and enterprise. It believes in free markets, free will and freedom of expression. These principles, while traditionally conservative, are guidelines and not reflexive dogmas.

[dionysus]

81. "I Haven't Read a Paper in Over 5 Years" it shows.

[riderinthestorm]

49. Yes. I am from Illinois and I get that paper delivered.

Their editorial board is especially slanted viciously rightword. They'd go so far as to endorse Alan Keyes over a Dem in an election. Good luck with that.

[donco6]

37. LOL! Like the Trib would say anything else. n/t

[one_voice]

50. So?...

You post an opinion piece written by a parent of a student, and that's somehow supposed to negate a the student's opinion?

[riderinthestorm]

22. The story is that AZ is racially profiling so any Hispanic teen is at risk.

How many of them carry their birth certificates with them?

How long would they be held in juvie (or god-forbid, an adult cell) until their parents could be located to produce said documents?

And the team isn't decided yet. They try out in the fall. So nobody knows who may be on the team who is illegal. But that's beside the point: it's AZ's racial profiling that's the trouble. Any hispanic teen could be caught up in it.

Its the admin's job to protect the kids from that exposure.

[terrapinwelcher]

32. The Law Doesn't Require carrying a Birth Certificate

Nice straw man argument.

[donco6]

35. It did for this guy:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/az-truck-driver-forced-show-birth-certifica

PHOENIX – A Valley man says he was pulled over Wednesday morning and questioned when he arrived at a weigh station for his commercial vehicle along Val Vista and the 202 freeway. Abdon, who did not want to use his last name, says he provided several key pieces of information but what he provided apparently was not what was needed. He tells 3TV, “I don't think it's correct, if I have to take my birth certificate with me all the time.”

3TV caught up with Abdon after he was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in central Phoenix. He and his wife, Jackie, are still upset about what happened to him. Jackie tells 3TV, “It's still something awful to be targeted. I can't even imagine what he felt, people watching like he was some type of criminal.”

Abdon was told he did not have enough paperwork on him when he pulled into a weigh station to have his commercial truck checked. He provided his commercial driver’s license and a social security number but ended up handcuffed. An agent called his wife and she had to leave work to drive home and grab other documents like his birth certificate. Jackie explains, “I have his social security card as well and mine. He's legit. It's the first time it's ever happened.” Both were born in the United States and say they are now both infuriated that keeping important documents safely at home is no longer an option.

[terrapinwelcher]

43. Sounds like Something Is Missing From That Story

Did the truck have Mexican plates? The story smells fishy because it is just too convenient. Regardless, if valid, it is certain to be a rare exception. If not, it wouldn't be a story.

[donco6]

48. Nope. US plates.

The only thing missing is your idea that it wouldn't happen. As this story proves, it not only can happen, but already has.

[terrapinwelcher]

66. We Live In a World With Few Absolutes

I was a passenger in my friend's BMW when we were surrounded by the CHP on the 101 freeway in Ventura because he matched a vague description of a bank robber who had just left the scene of the crime in a similar BMW 320i. We were detained for approximately ten minutes while officers outside had guns pulled on the vehicle (and us). After he was cleared and we were let go, not once did he bitch or moan about the incident. Nor did hey go to KEYT TV in Santa Barbara to complain that he was singled out for being black. He understood that the officers were doing their job and that mistakes happen. If the officer in the AZ story overstepped his bounds, one would hope that appropriate disciplinary measures would be implemented. Again, I never asserted that a case of mistaken identity couldn't happen. But I would guess that the odds are higher that a player on the team dies in a vehicular crash while in AZ versus one getting pulled over and detained for not being here legally.

[donco6]

67. Well, I'm glad you can admit you're wrong then.

Good for you.

[one_voice]

73. You "argue" like the conservatives do at another..

site I used to go to. They'd post on DU or Huff and then go over there and laugh at how they pulled one over on the liberals. The story you're saying sounds fishy was on all the news stations and checked out. And what you think is a rare exception is becoming the rule.

And even a "rare expception" should make you take notice, but instead you blow it off like it's no big deal. You sound fishy to me.

[riderinthestorm]

38. Many CHILDREN don't have any other form of appropriate ID to produce

And we are talking about children here....

It's the admin's job to foresee potential problems. Highland Park's admin is acting prudently in regards to the population THEY know will be impacted.

Why are you working so hard to defend AZ's despicable law?

[terrapinwelcher]

51. I'll Type Slow For You So You Can Understand

1. Regardless of where I stand on AZ's law, it was a bullcrap thing for the board to do. It was never a safety issue. It was using kids to make a political point. Let kids be fricking kids. they'll get to deal with all of our adult crap soon enough.

2. As to my stance on the AZ law, it is basically local government stepping in to enforce what Washing has failed to enforce. I have NEVER been in favor of amnesty for people who cheat the system. Reagan was wrong to offer it and Obama would be as well (although I doubt he has the cajones to try it). My question to you is why you feel that immigration should be anything other than legal and orderly in this country?

[donco6]

60. It's very much a safety issue.

If a student were to be involved in an incident and then turned over to ICE because they didn't have appropriate "documentation", that threatens their safety. It's a perfectly valid concern.

[riderinthestorm]

69. Nice slam for a long time poster so let me try to reciprocate with respect

instead of your gratuitous slam....

1. It IS a safety issue. That you don't care to see that, or acknowledge that isn't my problem. Got it? As a parent, I 110% agree with the board's decision. I would never want MY kids to be placed in jeopardy in another state. This isn't about using kids to make a political point. It's about making sure no kid ends up in juvie waiting for their parent to come up with documents.

2. NAFTA means we have a free trade zone economically but NOT socially. Keeping immigration regulations means the rich countries get to exploit the poor populations' resources while the poor population doesn't get to travel to where the riches are. If we were going to have NAFTA, it was only logical that we had open borders to ensure fairness for everyone. Instead we have created monstrous turmoil, inequality and grotesque injustices.

And spare me the tripe about local government stepping in... they are a bunch of racist fools who simply wanted to stop anyone who looked Mexican and deport them. This will do nothing to 'stop" illegal immigration and instead will do a whole lot to create lawsuits by law-abiding CITIZENS who are caught up in this. It's racial profiling of the worst sort and a real Dem would be opposed.

[Luminous Animal]

72. Regarding your points.

#1) Your opinion only. It doesn't carry any factual weight.

#2) Too bad for you that the Feds let those dirty Mexicans invade your state. If you are so concerned, how about rallying to support the law enacted in AZ but rarely enforced that was supposed to SHUT DOWN businesses who hired undocumented workers. Nope, it's much easier to put the fear of big government on an exploited population that already lives on the edge than go after the fat cats who pay for your elected officials political campaigns.

Demanding papers from people who look Mexican is not going to stop businesses from hiring cheap labor. More likely it will have the opposite effect by forcing people to work even more for even less because the boss man has yet more tools to blackmail them into doing so.

[blondeatlast]

85. Ah, you typed just a little too slow. Bye, you unrepentengly, obvious, racist you-know-what. nr

[rzemanfl]

6. When you fish do you cast or just drag the lure behind the boat?

[donco6]

8. He definitely drags. n/t

[rzemanfl]

10. There's another name for that....but I obey DU rules and so do

you.

[blondeatlast]

14. I've had to hold my tongue (er, fingers) many, many, many times lately. nt

[one_voice]

9. This isn't the administrators opinion or thoughts..

it's a student that attends the high school opinion. She's allowed to have one, and I don't think it's lame. I think it's a good thing that students are aware of things that are going on. These students will be voters in a few short years, and I think their opinion matters.

It's a shame that you think it's lame. I'm happy to see high school students taking an active role in things.

[riderinthestorm]

15. Actually the administrator is only thinking of the kids on the team, being harassed in AZ

for looking Hispanic.

Tell me, as an admin, are you going to allow x-number of your students to travel out of your control to a state that can stop them, hold them, and demand papers they probably AREN'T carrying? Which means they are held in juvie or most likely adult jail (since many teens LOOK like adults, and most city kids don't have a drivers license) until their parents show up with the papers, 24 hours later?

I would be furious at any adminstration that exposed my kids to that kind of risk.

This decision was all about the kids and protecting them from a potentially damn ugly scenario. Its an admin's job to try to trouble shoot. AZ's law makes it damn easy for anyone that has the unenviable job of trying to shepherd teen Hispanic students (who many times look like adults) away from at least this obvious potential trouble spot.

[terrapinwelcher]

21. You Apologists Crack Me Up

I'm assuming that every one of them had a DL or State ID card. Again, please link to a legitimate story that backs up the position that actual players were at risk (beyond the stupid and insulting assertion that AZ police stop people simply for looking Hispanic). This is an rationalization fabricated out of whole cloth.

[donco6]

23. So your defense is, "It wouldn't happen."

I'll tell that to the parents on your behalf.

[terrapinwelcher]

39. I Don't Need to Defend Anything

My assertion is that the District 113 School Board are not only idiots, but are making a political point for their own selfish purposes and at the expense of the kids on the team. The safety story is complete BS and was only part of the original rationalization that the board offered. Damn! Are people so lacking in discernment that they can't fathom that someone who agrees with their position can still act stupidly?

[donco6]

41. I totally agree with their decision.

I wouldn't allow my teams to go to AZ either for the reasons already enumerated. The board and administration have made the right call.

[riderinthestorm]

53. The team is now going to a more prestigious tournament in Florida now.

So they have not only made the right decision but it will work out better for the kids involved.

The safety story is NOT BS even if you are unable to see the potential problems for the kids involved.

Are you so lacking in discernment that you haven't been able to see anyone else's points made on this thread? Then why are you participating in a DISCUSSION board? If you've already made up your mind, you are going to have a short lifespan here. This is an open board with a lot of opinions. If you are so fixed in your rightward craziness, you won't last.

[blondeatlast]

63. And yet you do, over and over.

You're so easy and so transparent.

[EFerrari]

64. LOL

[johnnie]

24. .

:boring:

[riderinthestorm]

25. You ASSumptions are the problem

Many teens don't have a DL or state ID card. They are urban dwellers where many don't drive. And state laws are such nowadays that many aren't eligible to drive anyway.

[dionysus]

31. well, racist dipshits crack me up.

[Luminous Animal]

55. The issue isn't you has or does not have an ID card. The issue is equal opportunity

for those kids who would be unable to attain one. It is giving kids an opportunity, no matter their immigration status, an opportunity to engage in civic activities without fear of detention or deportation.

[EFerrari]

61. You mean like that truck driver who was stopped for looking Latino?

http://www.examiner.com/x-31836-Dallas-Trucking-Examiner~y2010m4d23-At-least-one-truck-driver-was-detained-at-a-weigh-station-because-of-the-new-immigration-law?cid=exrss-Dallas-Trucking-Examiner

Right. That could never happen. Oh, wait.

[Bill McBlueState]

62. someone needs to provide moral leadership for these kids

It sure as hell isn't your type.

[seabeyond]

29. i got distracted by another poster on the thread. NOW... this girl, good for her

i like hearing this across the nation. i like different states boycotting. this is what i wanted to see with other things when bushco broke the laws and constitution, but we never saw

yea

[donco6]

77. Well, he's all gone now.

Too bad.

[dionysus]

80. they grow up so fast....... then leave the nest....

:rofl:

[grantcart]

84. and get a pizza - ah the beauty of the cycle of life.

[JBoy]

78. Wow, that was a nasty virus.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=258606