Archive for November, 2006

Mr. Huchinson makes some rather bold assumtions in this article, and his statistics are rather skewed, but a good read over all. The actual number of hate crimes commited by blacks against whites is actually 31 %, and the actual percentage of all hate crimes commited by blacks against any group is 46%. This is a pretty good percentage of “hate crimes” that are being commited by the people these laws were supposed to protect. JD

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

The arrest of 10 black high school students in Charlottesville, Virginia four years ago, sent shock waves through the nation. The shock wasn’t that they were young, black or were jailed. The shock was that their victims were white students who attended the University of Virginia. The assaults set off a deep and agonizing debate and soul search over whether blacks can be just as guilty and culpable of committing racially motivated hate attacks on whites, as whites have committed on blacks.

The attacks by the black high school students also put civil rights leaders on the spot. The knock against them is that they rush to the barricades to condemn attacks against blacks, but are virtually mute when blacks are accused of racial attacks.
The filing of hate crime charges against 8 young blacks in Long Beach, California for allegedly beating three white women on Halloween night has put them back on the spot again. And it has also renewed the debate over whether black attacks against whites are really hate crimes, and what should be said and done about them.
Whites still commit the overwhelming majority of hate attacks and blacks are still their prime targets. But blacks do commit hate crimes, and as it turns out are committing lots more of them than generally known. According to the 2004 FBI Hate Crimes report, blacks committed slightly more than 20 percent of the hate crimes in America. In most cases, the majority of their victims are whites. An earlier report from the Southern Poverty Law Center warned that there has been a sharp jump in black-on-white violence during the 1990s. And there’s where the confusion comes in. Did the blacks assault whites solely for their money and valuables, or out of anger for a real or imagined racial insult? That blurred the line between common street crime and hate crimes, and made it easier to ignore or downplay the race aspect of the attacks, and thus not classify them as a hate crime. Authorities also mindful of potential backlash from black leaders, and dreading inflaming racial tensions, are deeply reluctant to brand black-on-white attacks as hate crimes.
In the Virginia and now Long Beach race attacks, city officials and local black leaders were cautious and guarded in what they said about the cases. They bent way over to look for reasons beyond race to explain the assaults. They cited frustration, boredom, and anger, as possible extenuating motives. That wasn’t a bad thing. Black violence against whites can’t match the scale and history of white beatings, killings, and verbal physical intimidation, and harassment of blacks. But that still doesn’t cancel out, let alone justify kid glove treatment and silence when blacks are the perpetrators and whites are the victims.
Their victims in almost all cases are innocents that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and were beat or killed solely because they were white. From all reports, that was the case in Long Beach. There was absolutely no evidence that the three women taunted, or provoked the blacks.
This is not to presume that the attackers chose their victims solely because they were white. Their attorney warned the public not to rush to judgment in the case. But it’s not necessary to presume guilt or make assumptions for civil rights leaders to vigorously denounce racially motivated violence. The great strength of the civil rights movement was that it seized and maintained the moral high ground by never stooping to ape the violence of white racists.
Any double standard on hate violence opens the door wide for some white supremacists and extremist groups to paint blacks as the prime racial hate mongers in America. They can play up black-on-white violence as a scare tactic to oppose expanded hate crimes protections, and strengthen civil rights protections. In the Virginia case, avowed white supremacist David Duke saber rattled prosecutors, screamed that whites are under assault from lawless blacks and the federal government won’t protect them. He threatened demonstrations if hate crimes charges were thrown at the students.
The Long Beach assault heightened racial distrust and tensions in the city. Some blacks said they feared whites would blame them for the attacks, and some whites said they feared that blacks would target them. There’s no sign that any of this will happen. It didn’t in Virginia, and other places where black on white racial violence flared. But the danger is there. When blacks say or do nothing about these attacks it is taken by some as a tacit signal that blacks put less value on white lives than black lives. That’s ironic. For decades blacks have shouted often with much justification that black lives have been shamelessly devalued when they are the victims of hate crimes. And that’s even more reason that there be no double standard in condemning hate attacks no matter the color of the assailant.

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Britney Spears has fallen on hard times after news of her pending divorce. Apparently she is so broke she can no longer afford even the bare essentials like panties, a hair brush or even shampoo for her hair. Her old friend Paris Hilton threw her a bone and took Britney out on the town last week, and in these revealing photo’s we can see just how broke Britney is. As you can see below, she doesn’t even have money for undies and she has even had to shave her private area and sell the clippings on EBAY to the highest bidder. Paris Hilton said ” Duh …. I am felling rally bad for here. It’s rally said or I arent knowing ….. what? ” The pair were seen stumbling around New York recently in a drunken stupor when these pictures were taken. It is rumored that Ted Kennedy won the bid for the clippings and wants to know how much it would cost to drive Ms. Spears off of a bridge. See the pics here XXX JD

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Happy time turns tragic


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I want everyone to read these next three articles and see what’s coming to a neighborhood near you soon. A three year old boy in Pomona, California, about five miles south of where I live was gunned down in gang violence. The neighborhood
Ethan Esparzawhere the Esparza family lives in predominantly hispanic and mostly illegal aliens. It tears my heart out to hear about the senseless killing of a boy of only three years old. Reading this article brings tears to my eyes. The only thing I would want to point out here is that I don’t hear about this nonsense in my neighborhood. Pomona, once considered Hollywood east, has been turned into a ghetto. Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Bob Hope and many others used to play at the Fox Theatre in Pomona. Now its a dump full of miscreants that kill small children. Click this link and then click on “Photo Gallery” and look at the pain and heartache put on the Esparza family by some ruthless coward that shot up the wrong party. JD

Ethan Esparza wasn’t old enough for school, but his classroom was the front porch of his family’s home in a working-class section of Pomona. There, his 8-year-old sister, Belinda, would show him her school textbooks, watch him doodle and go over the alphabet.

“He only learned half his ABCs,” Belinda said from the porch Tuesday, looking out at the frontyard where Ethan was fatally shot Sunday night during a party celebrating his fourth birthday a day early.

Ethan was playing with a toy car, a birthday gift from his father, when an SUV with tinted windows came down the street. A man got out and sprayed gunfire on the yard filled with children from the party.

They scattered — with Ethan going into his mother’s room. Alma Torres, 25, found him moments later on the floor, gasping for air, blood coming from his mouth.

She hugged her boy as he stared at her with silent, pleading eyes. She begged him to stay.

“He looked at me like, ‘Help me, Mommy. Make everything OK,’ ” Torres said Tuesday, sobbing. “He wouldn’t even cry. What I saw when my son died was fear. He was scared. I think he suffered a lot. He didn’t want to die.”

Ethan’s death has sparked new outrage in the city of 170,000, where gang violence has long plagued some neighborhoods.

Two years ago, a 16-year-old boy drove up to California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Steiner at the Pomona courthouse and fatally shot him in what the youth later said was an attempt to impress a gang he wanted to join. The U.S. Postal Service refused to deliver mail to one block in Pomona for more than a year after a letter carrier became frightened upon witnessing a shooting there.

Pomona has an unusually large number of active gangs for a city its size: 15, including the 12th Street gang, which has been linked to the racially motivated murders of two African Americans, according to police. During a multi-agency raid in April that resulted in the arrests of 57 people, authorities said the gang had branched eastward into the fast-growing cities of San Bernardino County.

In the wake of Steiner’s shooting, Pomona police and federal authorities launched a crackdown on gangs.

Today, crime is down significantly in Pomona, though Ethan’s killing underscores how stubborn gang violence remains in pockets of the city.

“There is no getting away from the sadness of the killing of a 3-year-old baby,” said Mayor Norma Torres. “There is a mother here grieving at Thanksgiving and a coward responsible out there.”

The killing shook the veteran homicide detective investigating the case.

“I have a little boy. My partner has four children. Yeah, it plays on us, and it hurts,” said Det. Robert Nelson, who has worked for the Pomona Police Department for 25 years. “That’s why it’s important for us to catch the bad guy.”

Nelson said he believed the assailant was a gang member and is investigating whether the gunman targeted the wrong house.

It was about 6:30 p.m. when the attacker got out of the SUV, pointing his weapon at a 16-year-old boy visiting from El Monte before opening fire, Nelson said.

“He just starts shooting, hitting the 16-year-old once,” said Nelson, adding that the teenager has no known gang ties. Children playing in the frontyard screamed and ran into the house. Alma Torres said she heard the loud blasts from inside. Moments before, she had told her son that he had to take a bath. But Ethan said he wanted to go to the frontyard to get his new toy car.

In the chaos of screaming children, her 5-year-old son, Efren, told her that Ethan was in her room and that “he got shot.” Torres found her boy on all fours, as if he had crawled into the room.

“I think he couldn’t go any further,” Torres said, wiping her eyes. “With a bullet near his heart, he ran inside looking for me. He wanted his mom.”

Torres screamed for her youngest child to keep fighting.

“I said, ‘Ethan, please baby, don’t leave me, baby,’ ” Torres said. ” ‘Please, baby, don’t leave me!’ ”

She twisted in anguish as she recalled Ethan dying in her arms. She said she is haunted by his demeanor and his obvious struggle to survive.

He was a tough boy, and even when he fell and hurt himself, he rarely cried, Torres said. As he died, bleeding profusely, he didn’t cry. He just stared at her, as if he expected her to make everything right.

Ethan’s grandfather drove him to a hospital, and someone drove the 16-year-old in separate car. The teenager was expected to recover.

On Tuesday, Torres sat on the porch with her mother, 46-year-old Maria del Pilar Torres. There was a makeshift altar on the porch, as well as a collage with scenes from Ethan’s brief life.

Torres thought about what her son’s horoscope had said, struggling to remember the exact words.

“It said something about him not minding being the one in agony, because as long as people can change, the world can change,” she said, blinking back tears.

She paused and asked, hopefully: “Do you think that’s a sign?”

Then she thought about Ethan’s last moments of pain — how his eyes rolled up when he died — and she cried out again.

“I want to go with him, Mom,” she said to her mother. “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and not see him.”

Del Pilar Torres responded in Spanish that her grandson “looked up to see God.”

She took her daughter in her arms and rocked her. The grandmother has her own small child, 4-year-old Gabriel, and in desperation, she told her daughter she could have Gabriel, that he could be her son.

Then she made her devastated daughter a promise.

“Don’t cry, my princess. He’s going to visit you in a dream, I swear to you,” she said, her voice cracking with pain, her hands caressing her child’s face. “It’s going to be a beautiful dream, my princess, I swear! And he’s going to tell you you’ll see him again.”

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The Pomona Police Department continues to look for the gunman who opened fire Nov. 19 on Ethan Esparza’s birthday party from a light-colored SUV, killing the 3-year-old boy and wounding an El Monte teen.

Pomona police can be contacted at (909) 620-2085, an anonymous tip line.

A $1,000 reward has been offered by 1-800-WE-TIP for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooters.

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POMONA – The casket was tiny, their sorrow overwhelming.

More than 100 family members and friends gathered Tuesday to remember the short life of Ethan Esparza, who was killed in a drive-by shooting the night before his fourth birthday.

His family followed Ethan’s casket into St. Madeleine Catholic Church as a woman inside sang sweetly in Spanish of the God they call Sir.

“El Se or es mi pastor,” she sang.

The Rev. Alex Aclan stood next to Ethan’s white casket and remembered the little boy with the bright smile whose life was stolen outside his grandparents’ home the night of Nov. 19.

Ethan was outside his grandparents’ home in the 800 block of East Columbia Avenue in Pomona when he was hit by bullets fired from a passing light-color sport utility vehicle.

About 20 people were outside with him, more than a half-dozen of them children. Guests had gathered at the home to celebrate Ethan’s birthday.

A 16-year-old El Monte boy was also wounded, but survived.

Tuesday, Aclan read from the Gospel of St. John and told the crowd that when Jesus died, no one responded with violence.

He said for those who loved Ethan, forgiveness would be a light in darkness.

“If we want to let him \ go in peace, then we must respond in the same manner as God our Lord,” Aclan said.

He handed Ethan’s mother, Alma Torres, a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.

“When you see this, think of her holding Ethan,” he said. “And you will see him again and hold him in your arms.”

The morning sun disappeared behind the clouds as Ethan’s casket was wheeled out of St. Madeleine, his family walking slowly behind.

As it was being loaded into the hearse, Ethan’s mother dropped to the ground and moaned “No … no.”

Ethan’s father, Efren Esparza, gently pulled her to her feet and held her close.

At Holy Cross Cemetery, the family gathered around Ethan’s grave, where a statue of St. Anthony holding the baby Jesus stood watch.

Beautiful wreaths and photos of Ethan adorned the grave.

Aclan sprinkled holy water on Ethan’s casket and prayed for the memory of Ethan and God’s other little angels.

“He was here for a brief time during which he brought joy to our lives,” Aclan said.

Family members gently kissed and patted Ethan’s casket, which was adorned with a spray of white roses. The only sound was the cooing of white doves waiting to be released.

Ethan’s parents held one dove gently before releasing it into the air. The dove represented Ethan’s spirit flying free.

The rest of the flock followed – “angel doves” that would guide Ethan’s spirit on his final journey.

The birds circled the grave several times and flew north, where dozens of white balloons released by Ethan’s family and friends drifted slowly higher.

One little boy stood next to Ethan’s casket, then sent his white balloon up to meet the others.

“Heaven!” he cried. “Go on \ heaven!”

As workers prepared to lower the casket into the grave, Ethan’s father was the last to leave. He stood by his son for one long, last moment, then turned and walked slowly away.

mark.petix@dailybulletin.com

m_rodriguez@dailybulletin.com

(909) 483-9355, 483-9336

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Here at Rancho De Gennaro, we like to put up Christmas lights. Lots of them. In fact its not uncommon to put up twenty five thousand lights and a full compliment of animation’s and ornaments. My house is in close proximity to Brackett Field, a local airport in south La Verne, and I have heard rumors that pilots landing there use my house as a landmark during the holidays.

I’m sure a lot of you reading this right now were stunned this past summer by outrageously high electric bills. We had several bills that topped five hundred dollars per month. When I called Edison to complain about it, they explained that California works under a “tiered electrical system that charges more each time you go over your baseline.” The woman on the phone explained that this was to “discourage overuse and waste.”

I’m an electrician by trade. I’m not going to go through all of the mathematical equations needed to figure out what it takes to exceed the baseline, But the way I figure it, we can stay below our baseline provided that the only appliance we use is our refrigerator. So long as we live in the dark and don’t watch television, live in filthy clothes and of course die of heat stroke in the summer, we’ll stay below our baseline.

As I write this letter, I’m looking at the confusion that is our $242.89 electric bill dated Nov. 21 to Dec. 20. Incredibly enough I can’t seem to make heads or tails of this bill and I don’t know exactly what it is that I’m paying for. I do know one thing though. I am being taken advantage of by a company that uses environmental concerns to steal money from me.

With all of this being said, I have decided to do two things. The first is to not put up Christmas lights. I have however fashioned a sign by drilling holes through a sheet of plywood and installing lights through the holes. I intend to erect this sign in my front yard. On this sign is the phrase “Thank Edison. The Grinch who Stole Christmas!”

I have done the math on the sign and the electricity consumed will be that of a single 120 watt light bulb. Using their formula, this will cost me about fourteen dollars to run for a bit more than two weeks of December. I used LED’s, or Light Emitting Diodes for illumination. This type of lighting is more expensive to purchase, but much cheaper to use for light.

The second thing I intend to do is install a solar system to generate my own electricity. The initial investment is costly, but if it cost me $35,000.00 to not give Edison thirty five cents then I going to do it. Who knows, I might even help save the environment as well.

I hope my neighbors will understand and I would like to apologize to the pilots trying to find their way through the gloomy winter nights while on their approach to Brackett Field, as well as all of the children that my Christmas display used to bring great joy and happiness.

John A. De Gennaro

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And they say the illegals only do jobs us Americans won’t do! It is about time they do something about this.

Stillmore — Felons on probation and homeless men have filled some of the poultry jobs left by illegal Mexican laborers deported in raids two months ago.

About 40 convicted felons from the Macon Diversion Center are bused in each day to work at the Crider Poultry plant in Stillmore — the focus of the raids.

Additionally, 16 men from the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta have come to work in the plant. Several from the mission have become shift leaders, said Lavond Reynolds, director of men’s housing for the mission.

“Compared to the attrition rate [at the plant] in general, these guys have really stuck so far,” Reynolds said. The mission might send another 15 soon.

Still, that’s just a drop in the bucket. The Crider plant is operating at about 450 employees — less than half its preraid level of 1,000, company president David Purtle said.

The Mexican population in Stillmore has plummeted since immigration officials first visited the Crider plant in May, town residents said. Immigration agents estimated that 700 workers were using fraudulent IDs. The company began checking documents and confronting employees. Many were fired and hundreds of illegal immigrants left town on their own throughout the summer.

Then, over Labor Day, federal agents rounded up and deported more than 125 illegal immigrants working at the Crider plant or living in Emanuel and surrounding counties.

That left Crider with a big labor gap, and finding workers to fill the jobs has been a challenge. Among the efforts and changes at the plant since the raids:

• The company outsourced 250 jobs in its raw deboning operation to Alabama.

• Some processing has slowed because of the downturn in the work force.

• Crider has turned to an outside company to hire about 100 workers to clean the plant each night.

• The company raised starting wages by about 40 cents and now offers attendance bonuses to new hires. Before, it took a year to be eligible for the extra pay. (Starting base pay is $6 an hour; most workers earn more through bonuses and overtime.)

• The company is spending more on hiring and training as turnover is high among new employees.

For instance, Crider advanced money to house the homeless men from the mission in trailers and to turn on their utilities. The company also pays to bus state probationers from Macon each day and is busing workers from surrounding communities.

Purtle said about 50 percent of applicants since the raids either did not pass the drug test or reference checks. Many of those who did have poor attendance or quit quickly.

“Our challenge is — in hiring unskilled people — their ability to understand what’s expected of them,” Purtle said. “Attendance is important. No acting up, no mouthing off. They just haven’t learned.”

The raids not only affected the chicken plant, but the surrounding community.

At least two landlords near Stillmore who rented to immigrants have put their properties up for sale. The Hispanic-run stores in town are operating at reduced hours.

“There’s no people anymore,” said Liliana Santos, 24, the clerk behind the counter at Salinas Surcusal No. 2 in downtown Stillmore.

“They don’t have any jobs,” she said in Spanish.

“Before, people would be walking around downtown,” said Manuel Mendoza, 22, who stopped to buy tortillas. The store’s jukebox played Mariachi music to an empty sideroom pool hall.

Mendoza has been in the United States 10 years and says he has a Social Security card and a job making pallets for $8.50 an hour. His hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, has descended into anarchy with armed fighting in the streets, and he is in no hurry to return home.

Pastor Ariel Rodriguez drives around Stillmore, explaining what happened to each of the Mexican families that used to live in trailers and apartments.

“The majority of people have gone to Kentucky,” he said. They knew a priest who used to live in the area and followed him up there, Rodriguez said. Other residents have gone back to Mexico.

At least one local businessman said his business has gone up since the raids. The churn of new folks applying and working at Crider has brought new customers to Mighty Mike’s Hot Stop gas station and convenience store in town.

“They come in here and shop,” said manager Willie Gordon. “Our inside sales have gone up $3,000 per week since the raids.”

It’s been a mixture of new clientele. But Gordon, who is African-American, attributes a good part of the increase to more black workers coming into town. Gordon notes: “You gotta be legal now.”

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