By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
So the shocker election in Massachusetts is over and done, but now the ramifications of losing a 30 point lead to lose the election, Martha Coakley and the Democrats have a lot to think about. President Obama’s last second visit to prop up Caokley’s campaign, only adds to the insult and sting felt by shock shelled Democrats.
Headlines on newspapers and on the Internet tell the story. MSNBC’s headline perhaps best sums the night in Massachusetts, “Dems reeling, soul-searching after Mass loss.” No doubt, this includes a whole lot of soul-searching going on at the White House.
Republican Scott Brown now has the coveted Senate seat held by the late Senator Edward Kennedy. To think that a deep blue state could end up with a Republican senator is simply shocking, particularly when the Democrats held this seat for over a half century. Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 – 1, but it is conceivable that Democrats broke ranks and voted for Brown. Some polls had 65% to 72% of the Independents swinging toward Brown.
If President Obama planned to celebrate his first year in office, this election brought it down to reality and it must have felt more like a stinging rebuke from the Change and Hope crowd. What a difference a year makes. A year ago, it was Obama that stood for change and hope. A year later, Democrats and Independents feeling betrayed by the promises that the President did not live up to, end up losing the confidence and votes of the Massachusetts voter.
Anger, frustration, and fear best describe the voter attitudes in Massachusetts, and maybe may represent the feelings of many voters across the country as well, and something to worry about with the mid-term elections coming in November.
The perception President Obama took care of Wall Street while ignoring Main Street is going to be a tough issue for the President to defuse. Billions of dollars, yes billions of dollars were used to bail out the Wall Street financial district, only to have bankers turn around and continue to do business as usual. Voters are sick of bankers who don’t get it, as those in the financial sector continue their corruption and greed that nearly drove our economy over the cliff.
The billions of the stimulus bill that were supposed to create jobs and create financial stability seem to have never have made it into the wallets of jobless. Unemployment is over 10%, but in many cities, the unemployment rate is as high as 15%, perhaps even higher. Blacks and Latinos are suffering the most as unemployment begins to eat away at savings and hope for the future. In order to put an end to this Great Recession, the President needs to create jobs, more jobs! Unless people don’t get back to work, confidence in the President will continue to drop.
The Democrats are in trouble and the sad part about it, they don’t get it. While people want health care reform, they don’t want it done in the back rooms of politicians who play up to the old stereotypes of deal making in the smoke filled conference rooms of the Capitol. This notion of individual Senators making “deals for their state” has lead directly to this issue of back room politics and greed.
The Democrats have tried to push the health care reform package through Congress without reasonable debate and transparency. According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 48% of voters believe the health care bill is a step backward and only 42% feels the bill would be an improvement. And remember that word, transparency? Transparency was to be the hallmark of the Obama Presidency. Instead, the President continues to operate in the back rooms of the White House with little or no transparency.
The two wars which Americans want out of, and the wars that candidate Obama said he would pull out of, are not going to happen anytime soon. In fact the war policies of President Obama only promise more involvement and a larger military buildup and yes, more young American men and women who are fighting wars that Iraqi and Afghani men and women should be fighting.
While much attention has been given to health care reform, not enough attention has been given to the economy. According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 83% are dissatisfied with the economy. Just 16% are happy with the way the economy is going. That is a red flag waving furiously in the wind, and it seems no one at the White House is paying attention.
Americans, who have jobs, are holding on to their money because of uncertainty and fear of an unknown future. Americans without jobs are fast losing hope for any kind of recovery, a recovery with good paying jobs that may save their homes and families.
It’s the economy, stupid. That is the message the Democrats need to hear…loud and clear if they intend to put out the range fire of discontent, anger, and dissatisfaction with the policies and politics of President Obama and his Reid/Pelosi led Democrats.
For some reason President Obama does not feel the pain that many Americans are suffering. It is as if he has forgotten what happens when people can’t put food on the table, can’t fix the old car anymore, and when little by little, the mortgage gets bigger and bigger. The calls from creditors go ignored, and many are waiting for that dreaded knock on the door with the court order to vacate their home. The President and the Democrats have lost their way and can’t feel the pain.
People are fed up with politics as usual and all the deal making that accompanies any significant legislation. The Democrats like to talk about their veto proof 60 votes in the Senate, but in reality they were never really able to corral the Blue Dog Democrats into voting like Democrats. It was all smoke and mirrors politics, but now, reality sets in as they realize they only have 59 votes in the Senate and what does that really mean anyway?
Democrats had better listen to the discontent and learn the lessons of what went wrong in Massachusetts, and turn the Democratic fighting machine to fight the right battles and face up to the rebellion in the ranks that goes beyond the Tea Party set. The anger and frustration felt in Massachusetts is real and is spreading across the country like a range fire out of control.
The question I keep coming back to is how can a candidate squander a 30 point lead in the polls and end up losing the election is really beyond my comprehension. Somehow the Democratic message to the faithful in Massachusetts must have gotten lost or garbled in the translation.
It is time for the President to stop governing from the Left and find a more suitable and reasonable position in the Middle. The liberal policies of the Left have created a bigger deficit, and are leading us to bankruptcy. We need to stop the wild government spending.
According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, only 38% of Americans believe he shares their position on the issues. Overall, the poll gives the President a lot of evidence of why people are fed up with his year old leftist presidency.
The President and Democrats ought to remember the lessons learned in Massachusetts or who knows; more Scott Browns from across the country may end up getting elected in November and dragging the Obama Presidency to the middle or out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
"He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water." Isaiah 49:10
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
10,000 Marchers & Sixty Black Leaders
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
They came from everywhere on January 16, 2010 for the big march against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Over 10,000 strong, they gathered in Phoenix to protest and were determined to show the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Janet Napolitano that it is time to put a stop to the abuses of Sheriff Arpaio against undocumented immigrants.
The Maricopa County Sheriff Department has used racial profiling against Latinos in order to arrest and detain them in the county’s infamous Tent City. There have been accusations that the Sheriff’s Department has stopped and arrested Latinos for just minor infractions of the law in order to check their immigration status. Latinos who are American citizens have been rounded up simply because they looked like an undocumented immigrant.
In February, Sheriff Arpaio also marched two hundred undocumented immigrants from the county jail to a tent city dressed in black and white prison garb, chained and shackled, and forced to march in streets in Phoenix. The Sheriff created this theatrical display all in the name of ridiculing and disrespecting undocumented immigrants.
The Phoenix of mayor, who has been a critic of Sheriff Arpaio, called for a Department of Justice investigation into the antics and abuse of power by the Maricopa County Sheriff Department.
Many Latinos and undocumented immigrants who have been on the wrong street corner at the wrong time have been arrested and detained in the county jail simply so Arapio could make the outlandish claim by rounding up immigration, criminals will be deported.
Most of the people arrested and detained are hard working men and women, very few with hardened criminal records. All that Arapio has managed to do is separate families, creating hardships for remaining family members not picked up, leaving hundreds of undocumented immigrants and Latinos in fear of this abuse of the law.
The Department of Homeland Security recently took away federal authority and power from the Maricopa County Sheriff Department to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants under the 287 ( g ) agreement. The agreement had allowed Sheriff Arapio to train some of his deputies in immigration law, so that they could enforce federal immigration laws.
Sheriff Arapio has been accused of abusing this federal authority to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants from street corners, shopping malls, bars and clubs where undocumented immigrants or Latinos congregate. Too often, people were jailed without any pretense of the breaking the law, but for simply looking the part of an undocumented immigrant and hardened criminal. Racial profiling abusing the rights of innocent people and families.
Finally in a show of solidarity, people came together to demand a stop to immigrant roundups and racial profiling by Sheriff Arapio. The protestors gathered from around the country in Phoenix to demonstrate to Secretary Napolitano they are fed up with the racial profiling and racist law enforcement by Arapio.
Even under a current grand jury investigation for abuse of power and violating the civil rights of Latinos and undocumented immigrants, Sheriff Arapio has continued to create a mockery of law enforcement.
Sarahi Uribe, a representative from the National Day Labor Organizing Network, told a reporter from KPNX-TV, “We want to tell her (Napolitano) to stop the deportation and abuses of civil rights,“ Uribe said. “We’re very inspired by the civil-rights struggle in this country, and we see this as a continued fight.”
Perhaps one of the most significant displays of solidarity came from a group of sixty prominent Black leaders from twenty-three states who bought a full page ad in the Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic.
James Johnson, a friend of mine, sent me a Facebook message letting me know of the ad in newspaper. Johnson said, “Sixty Black leaders take a stand condemning Arpaio for his negligent actions and inhumane treatment of people and call on Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder and the department of Justice to prove once and for all that this is not Arpaio's America.”
The ad compared Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to the infamous 1960s Birmingham public safety commissioner Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor. The ad drew a pointed comparison of the Civil Rights Movement of the1960s, in which Blacks led the national fight for civil rights, and stood up against the terror and racism of public safety commissioner “Bull” Connor.
Blacks under the leadership of Martin Luther King, lead the national fight for change and against the poverty and segregation which at the time created a deep social divide between whites and people of color in our nation. The ad highlighted the leadership of Blacks during the 1960s.
Blacks in the United States have long been a guiding conscience in our nation. Unlike many social movements which focus on narrow policy goals, the social gains that Blacks struggle for tend to be broad-minded and expansive. The 1960s Civil Rights Movement for instance lifted many Americans of various races, ethnicities and nationalities up out of poverty and stifling segregation. It was this very Civil Rights Movement that strengthened, at least for a time, the social safety net that provided publicly funded pre-school and breakfast programs for our most vulnerable youth.”
In a very strongly worded statement, the ad perhaps represented the first national show of solidarity by the sixty prominent Black leaders with the comprehensive immigration reform movement. The ad which was very straight forward and strongly worded stated, “Regardless of our diverse views on immigration,” said Center for New Community staff James Johnson, “we stand on the side of justice in the treatment of people and we are putting the country on notice that we will not be silent when confronted by the abuse of the law to terrorize people.”
Eric Ward, in his blog Image*2050, wrote, “For over a year people from throughout Arizona bravely stood up to Arpaio’s terror. The same can’t be said of the Director of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, who has sat on her hands and allowed Arpaio free reign to intimidate political opponents and dehumanize suspects based on their national origin. Napolitano could stop Arpaio with the stroke of a pen at any time.”
I believe the Center for New Community sent a strong signal to the 10,000 marchers that we can work together and “put the country on notice that we will not be silent when confronted by the abuse of the law to terrorize people.”
I am encouraged and strengthened in my fight for justice and righteousness by the fact that this group of prominent Blacks signed this advertisement and placed it in The Arizona Republic. Placing the ad on the day of the march against Arapio is a positive step toward a united battle against terror, abuse of authority, and that we will not allow the law to be used against us like it was used in the civil rights movement and by racist cops like public safety commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor….and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arapio.
Perhaps the best way to sum up my thoughts on the peaceful 10,000 strong march in Phoenix, and significant ad by 60 Black leaders condemning Arapio, is to highlight what Eric Ward stated in his blog, Sixty Black Leaders Condemn Sheriff Arapio. “K.L. Shannon, The Police Accountability Chair with the NAACP in Seattle, Washington, said that ‘Sheriff Arpaio is beginning to resemble arch-segregationist Bull Connor and that should send a chill through each of our hearts”
...And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.
Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Memphis, April 3, 1968, the day before King was assassinated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
They came from everywhere on January 16, 2010 for the big march against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Over 10,000 strong, they gathered in Phoenix to protest and were determined to show the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Janet Napolitano that it is time to put a stop to the abuses of Sheriff Arpaio against undocumented immigrants.
The Maricopa County Sheriff Department has used racial profiling against Latinos in order to arrest and detain them in the county’s infamous Tent City. There have been accusations that the Sheriff’s Department has stopped and arrested Latinos for just minor infractions of the law in order to check their immigration status. Latinos who are American citizens have been rounded up simply because they looked like an undocumented immigrant.
In February, Sheriff Arpaio also marched two hundred undocumented immigrants from the county jail to a tent city dressed in black and white prison garb, chained and shackled, and forced to march in streets in Phoenix. The Sheriff created this theatrical display all in the name of ridiculing and disrespecting undocumented immigrants.
The Phoenix of mayor, who has been a critic of Sheriff Arpaio, called for a Department of Justice investigation into the antics and abuse of power by the Maricopa County Sheriff Department.
Many Latinos and undocumented immigrants who have been on the wrong street corner at the wrong time have been arrested and detained in the county jail simply so Arapio could make the outlandish claim by rounding up immigration, criminals will be deported.
Most of the people arrested and detained are hard working men and women, very few with hardened criminal records. All that Arapio has managed to do is separate families, creating hardships for remaining family members not picked up, leaving hundreds of undocumented immigrants and Latinos in fear of this abuse of the law.
The Department of Homeland Security recently took away federal authority and power from the Maricopa County Sheriff Department to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants under the 287 ( g ) agreement. The agreement had allowed Sheriff Arapio to train some of his deputies in immigration law, so that they could enforce federal immigration laws.
Sheriff Arapio has been accused of abusing this federal authority to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants from street corners, shopping malls, bars and clubs where undocumented immigrants or Latinos congregate. Too often, people were jailed without any pretense of the breaking the law, but for simply looking the part of an undocumented immigrant and hardened criminal. Racial profiling abusing the rights of innocent people and families.
Finally in a show of solidarity, people came together to demand a stop to immigrant roundups and racial profiling by Sheriff Arapio. The protestors gathered from around the country in Phoenix to demonstrate to Secretary Napolitano they are fed up with the racial profiling and racist law enforcement by Arapio.
Even under a current grand jury investigation for abuse of power and violating the civil rights of Latinos and undocumented immigrants, Sheriff Arapio has continued to create a mockery of law enforcement.
Sarahi Uribe, a representative from the National Day Labor Organizing Network, told a reporter from KPNX-TV, “We want to tell her (Napolitano) to stop the deportation and abuses of civil rights,“ Uribe said. “We’re very inspired by the civil-rights struggle in this country, and we see this as a continued fight.”
Perhaps one of the most significant displays of solidarity came from a group of sixty prominent Black leaders from twenty-three states who bought a full page ad in the Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic.
James Johnson, a friend of mine, sent me a Facebook message letting me know of the ad in newspaper. Johnson said, “Sixty Black leaders take a stand condemning Arpaio for his negligent actions and inhumane treatment of people and call on Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder and the department of Justice to prove once and for all that this is not Arpaio's America.”
The ad compared Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to the infamous 1960s Birmingham public safety commissioner Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor. The ad drew a pointed comparison of the Civil Rights Movement of the1960s, in which Blacks led the national fight for civil rights, and stood up against the terror and racism of public safety commissioner “Bull” Connor.
Blacks under the leadership of Martin Luther King, lead the national fight for change and against the poverty and segregation which at the time created a deep social divide between whites and people of color in our nation. The ad highlighted the leadership of Blacks during the 1960s.
Blacks in the United States have long been a guiding conscience in our nation. Unlike many social movements which focus on narrow policy goals, the social gains that Blacks struggle for tend to be broad-minded and expansive. The 1960s Civil Rights Movement for instance lifted many Americans of various races, ethnicities and nationalities up out of poverty and stifling segregation. It was this very Civil Rights Movement that strengthened, at least for a time, the social safety net that provided publicly funded pre-school and breakfast programs for our most vulnerable youth.”
In a very strongly worded statement, the ad perhaps represented the first national show of solidarity by the sixty prominent Black leaders with the comprehensive immigration reform movement. The ad which was very straight forward and strongly worded stated, “Regardless of our diverse views on immigration,” said Center for New Community staff James Johnson, “we stand on the side of justice in the treatment of people and we are putting the country on notice that we will not be silent when confronted by the abuse of the law to terrorize people.”
Eric Ward, in his blog Image*2050, wrote, “For over a year people from throughout Arizona bravely stood up to Arpaio’s terror. The same can’t be said of the Director of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, who has sat on her hands and allowed Arpaio free reign to intimidate political opponents and dehumanize suspects based on their national origin. Napolitano could stop Arpaio with the stroke of a pen at any time.”
I believe the Center for New Community sent a strong signal to the 10,000 marchers that we can work together and “put the country on notice that we will not be silent when confronted by the abuse of the law to terrorize people.”
I am encouraged and strengthened in my fight for justice and righteousness by the fact that this group of prominent Blacks signed this advertisement and placed it in The Arizona Republic. Placing the ad on the day of the march against Arapio is a positive step toward a united battle against terror, abuse of authority, and that we will not allow the law to be used against us like it was used in the civil rights movement and by racist cops like public safety commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor….and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arapio.
Perhaps the best way to sum up my thoughts on the peaceful 10,000 strong march in Phoenix, and significant ad by 60 Black leaders condemning Arapio, is to highlight what Eric Ward stated in his blog, Sixty Black Leaders Condemn Sheriff Arapio. “K.L. Shannon, The Police Accountability Chair with the NAACP in Seattle, Washington, said that ‘Sheriff Arpaio is beginning to resemble arch-segregationist Bull Connor and that should send a chill through each of our hearts”
...And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.
Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Memphis, April 3, 1968, the day before King was assassinated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Support Haitian Earthquake Victims
by Fidel "Butch" Montoya
The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has reportedly caused 45,000 to 50,000 deaths, chaos, confusion, leaving the capital city with little or no security, leaving millions homeless, and has put the country in total turmoil. As of January 14, more than 7000 people have already been buried.
While many nations, lead by the United States are attempting to send troops, medical supplies, food and water, many are also encouraging people to use the Internet to contact charities to send donations to help the people in Haiti. All of these efforts are blessings to the people who are in dire need of everything.
According to witnesses, the devastation is literally beyond comprehension. There are bodies lined up on the streets, and with hundreds still trapped in the collapsed buildings.
This is the worst earthquake to hit the area in more than 200 years and the toll of people killed by this 7.0 earthquake is shocking. Most structures in the island’s capital city of Port au Prince were damaged or completely destroyed, leaving people homeless, and families separated by death and destruction.
While we must do what we can to provide water, food, sanitation supplies, and a coordinated effort to provide assistance to the Haitian people, we also need to pray for the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
Many missionaries there are facing difficult times as in many cases, they too have lost everything. We have all heard the charge that Haiti is suffering from its relationship to evil religious practices. I don't believe it is a time to be judgmental, but a time to pray for restoration of not only the nation, but of each individual who now finds themselves at a loss as to what to do.
This is a nation in special need of spiritual restoration as well.
Let's do what we can to support the people of Haiti, but let us not forget that the most powerful gift we can give, our prayers for life, for comfort, for wisdom, and for compassion.
This is a nation, already the poorest country in our hemisphere, that has been badly shaken and faces a very bleak future. Let all of us continue to pray for the people in Haiti, that all of the aid going to Haiti reaches the people in most need.
Let us pray that our prayers also reach each and every individual in Haiti that needs the comfort and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has reportedly caused 45,000 to 50,000 deaths, chaos, confusion, leaving the capital city with little or no security, leaving millions homeless, and has put the country in total turmoil. As of January 14, more than 7000 people have already been buried.
While many nations, lead by the United States are attempting to send troops, medical supplies, food and water, many are also encouraging people to use the Internet to contact charities to send donations to help the people in Haiti. All of these efforts are blessings to the people who are in dire need of everything.
According to witnesses, the devastation is literally beyond comprehension. There are bodies lined up on the streets, and with hundreds still trapped in the collapsed buildings.
This is the worst earthquake to hit the area in more than 200 years and the toll of people killed by this 7.0 earthquake is shocking. Most structures in the island’s capital city of Port au Prince were damaged or completely destroyed, leaving people homeless, and families separated by death and destruction.
While we must do what we can to provide water, food, sanitation supplies, and a coordinated effort to provide assistance to the Haitian people, we also need to pray for the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
Many missionaries there are facing difficult times as in many cases, they too have lost everything. We have all heard the charge that Haiti is suffering from its relationship to evil religious practices. I don't believe it is a time to be judgmental, but a time to pray for restoration of not only the nation, but of each individual who now finds themselves at a loss as to what to do.
This is a nation in special need of spiritual restoration as well.
Let's do what we can to support the people of Haiti, but let us not forget that the most powerful gift we can give, our prayers for life, for comfort, for wisdom, and for compassion.
This is a nation, already the poorest country in our hemisphere, that has been badly shaken and faces a very bleak future. Let all of us continue to pray for the people in Haiti, that all of the aid going to Haiti reaches the people in most need.
Let us pray that our prayers also reach each and every individual in Haiti that needs the comfort and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Immigration Reform - Past Due!
by Fidel "Butch" Montoya
Latino voters from across the country congratulated one another on the role they played in helping to elect Barrack H. Obama as president. It was a time of self reflection and celebration. Many Latinos now felt their issues were going to be addressed and solutions found.
One of the issues high on candidate Obama’s agenda was his promise to address the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Obama put his campaign on over drive in its attempts to reach out to the voters who were supposed to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Well, we know the story. Obama got elected. HOPE and CHANGE were the words of the season. We would see the change we all sought for America and now there was hope as well.
With the President’s ratings dropping and all his political capital backed by paper money, Obama finds that with three years to go, already all is not well in Obama Land.
The Wall Street Journal’s poll is not good news for the president. The 12/11 - 14/2009 Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows 47% - 46% approval for the President. Below 50% and with the war on terror hitting a major pothole in the last few weeks, it does not look for President Obama even as we approach the new year with optimism.
The Wall Street Journal reports that overall the President has lost a good part of the Independent vote and has lost most of his Republican support. Losing this support is going to make it difficult to govern, particularly as Democrats find themselves fighting amongst themselves.
NBC's Mark Murray commenting on the latest polls says, "This survey underscores what I consider a dramatic and unmistakable change in the political landscape,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Bill McInturff. “For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast.”
We have seen how the Democrats have handled the health care reform debacle, buying support from some Democratic senators that are only looking out for their own states and not for the common good.
While there is a celebration in the Senate over heath care reform, the House version is far different and most likely mean more horse trading to get it done, if that it is possible.
With the President’s popularity falling to earth, the health care debate debacle must likely poisoning the immigration reform debate and Democrats choosing sides, it does not look like the best time to introduce comprehensive immigration reform…or will there ever be a good time.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Democrat from Illinois introduced the first step toward comprehensive immigration reform with CIR – ASAP. “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009”.
Immediately, support was being voiced from around the country, with the general consensus being that “it is time”. The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) commended Rep. Gutierrez for introducing CIR – ASAP.
Catherine Tactaquin, NNIRR’s Executive Director did however voice some concerns being raised by other immigration reform allies. “While Rep. Gutierrez’s proposed legislation includes some needed protections for our vulnerable communities, it continues to treat immigration as a ‘national security’ issue and stops short of doing away with the most egregious aspects of our flawed immigration system.”
Many immigration allies agree that thousands of undocumented immigrants continue to be arrested and detained by local law enforcement who often does not understand the nuances of enforcing immigration law. No one need look further than Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has abused the Section 287 (g), Immigration and Nationality Act; Delegation of Immigration Authority agreement with Homeland Security Department.
The Section 287 (g) immigration enforcement agreements with local law enforcement agencies are supposed to provide the necessary training for local cops to act like federal homeland agents. Unfortunately, in Sheriff Arpaio’s case, his troops are accused of violating the civil rights, not to mention civility and moral laws toward undocumented immigrants.
It got so bad in Arizona; Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon called in the Justice Department to investigate Sheriff Arpaio and his gang of merry men. That says something when the mayor of a major city has to call for a Justice Department investigation against the county’s sheriff, and the agency who signed the original Section 287 (g) immigration enforcement agreement.
Meanwhile, in Southern California, State Senator Gil Cedillo didn’t even wait for the ink to dry on Rep. Gutierrez’s immigration reform package before announcing at a press conference his opposition and “to raise concerns about Luis Gutierrez’s Immigration Reform Bill.”
When asked why Cedillo and the Southern California Immigration Coalition were so quick out the door to oppose this legislation, spokesperson Ron Gochez told me, “This bill, for the most part, seems much more progressive than previous bills associated with Gutierrez so we are happy about that. However, we have the responsibility to raise concerns that are otherwise ignored or swept under the rug by the Democratic Party and its leadership.”
I asked Gochez why not work through the process in the Congress to seek changes to the bill so opponents to immigration reform can’t point their fingers and say, “They aren’t even united amongst themselves.”
Gochez fired back, “Although we would like to see real change come from Congress, history tells us that this will only come from an organized people who demand and are willing to fight for their rights and dignity. Power never concedes power without a fight.”
This brings us back to the primary concern about the need for immigration reform. First, with our own gente going public with their opposition to the Gutierrez Bill, that creates a perception that we are not united in our efforts to get reform passed in 2010.
Second, has the poorly managed health care reform legislation poisoned the water for comprehensive immigration reform?
Third, will the Democrats stay together on immigration reform or start making deals to water it down?
But perhaps, more importantly, has anyone heard President Obama come out lately….and say he supports Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s CIR – ASAP immigration reform bill?
I don’t think his falling approval ratings means the president will sit this one out too, do you think?
For the proponents of CIR - ASAP, "the red flags are flying at full mast,” indeed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This article first appeared on http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
Latino voters from across the country congratulated one another on the role they played in helping to elect Barrack H. Obama as president. It was a time of self reflection and celebration. Many Latinos now felt their issues were going to be addressed and solutions found.
One of the issues high on candidate Obama’s agenda was his promise to address the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Obama put his campaign on over drive in its attempts to reach out to the voters who were supposed to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Well, we know the story. Obama got elected. HOPE and CHANGE were the words of the season. We would see the change we all sought for America and now there was hope as well.
With the President’s ratings dropping and all his political capital backed by paper money, Obama finds that with three years to go, already all is not well in Obama Land.
The Wall Street Journal’s poll is not good news for the president. The 12/11 - 14/2009 Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows 47% - 46% approval for the President. Below 50% and with the war on terror hitting a major pothole in the last few weeks, it does not look for President Obama even as we approach the new year with optimism.
The Wall Street Journal reports that overall the President has lost a good part of the Independent vote and has lost most of his Republican support. Losing this support is going to make it difficult to govern, particularly as Democrats find themselves fighting amongst themselves.
NBC's Mark Murray commenting on the latest polls says, "This survey underscores what I consider a dramatic and unmistakable change in the political landscape,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Bill McInturff. “For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast.”
We have seen how the Democrats have handled the health care reform debacle, buying support from some Democratic senators that are only looking out for their own states and not for the common good.
While there is a celebration in the Senate over heath care reform, the House version is far different and most likely mean more horse trading to get it done, if that it is possible.
With the President’s popularity falling to earth, the health care debate debacle must likely poisoning the immigration reform debate and Democrats choosing sides, it does not look like the best time to introduce comprehensive immigration reform…or will there ever be a good time.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Democrat from Illinois introduced the first step toward comprehensive immigration reform with CIR – ASAP. “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009”.
Immediately, support was being voiced from around the country, with the general consensus being that “it is time”. The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) commended Rep. Gutierrez for introducing CIR – ASAP.
Catherine Tactaquin, NNIRR’s Executive Director did however voice some concerns being raised by other immigration reform allies. “While Rep. Gutierrez’s proposed legislation includes some needed protections for our vulnerable communities, it continues to treat immigration as a ‘national security’ issue and stops short of doing away with the most egregious aspects of our flawed immigration system.”
Many immigration allies agree that thousands of undocumented immigrants continue to be arrested and detained by local law enforcement who often does not understand the nuances of enforcing immigration law. No one need look further than Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has abused the Section 287 (g), Immigration and Nationality Act; Delegation of Immigration Authority agreement with Homeland Security Department.
The Section 287 (g) immigration enforcement agreements with local law enforcement agencies are supposed to provide the necessary training for local cops to act like federal homeland agents. Unfortunately, in Sheriff Arpaio’s case, his troops are accused of violating the civil rights, not to mention civility and moral laws toward undocumented immigrants.
It got so bad in Arizona; Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon called in the Justice Department to investigate Sheriff Arpaio and his gang of merry men. That says something when the mayor of a major city has to call for a Justice Department investigation against the county’s sheriff, and the agency who signed the original Section 287 (g) immigration enforcement agreement.
Meanwhile, in Southern California, State Senator Gil Cedillo didn’t even wait for the ink to dry on Rep. Gutierrez’s immigration reform package before announcing at a press conference his opposition and “to raise concerns about Luis Gutierrez’s Immigration Reform Bill.”
When asked why Cedillo and the Southern California Immigration Coalition were so quick out the door to oppose this legislation, spokesperson Ron Gochez told me, “This bill, for the most part, seems much more progressive than previous bills associated with Gutierrez so we are happy about that. However, we have the responsibility to raise concerns that are otherwise ignored or swept under the rug by the Democratic Party and its leadership.”
I asked Gochez why not work through the process in the Congress to seek changes to the bill so opponents to immigration reform can’t point their fingers and say, “They aren’t even united amongst themselves.”
Gochez fired back, “Although we would like to see real change come from Congress, history tells us that this will only come from an organized people who demand and are willing to fight for their rights and dignity. Power never concedes power without a fight.”
This brings us back to the primary concern about the need for immigration reform. First, with our own gente going public with their opposition to the Gutierrez Bill, that creates a perception that we are not united in our efforts to get reform passed in 2010.
Second, has the poorly managed health care reform legislation poisoned the water for comprehensive immigration reform?
Third, will the Democrats stay together on immigration reform or start making deals to water it down?
But perhaps, more importantly, has anyone heard President Obama come out lately….and say he supports Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s CIR – ASAP immigration reform bill?
I don’t think his falling approval ratings means the president will sit this one out too, do you think?
For the proponents of CIR - ASAP, "the red flags are flying at full mast,” indeed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This article first appeared on http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Rocky Road to School Reform in Denver Public Schools
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
The lack of success in education by Latino young men and women has long been a source of pain and determination for me to help improve the lack of achievement and failure facing young Latinos. The drop out rate among Latino youth has centered around the 50% plus side for many years, and it past time that leaders in the church took a stand for the betterment of our community.
I believe a good education can be the great equalizer in our society and direct our community toward the road of future success.
The Denver School Board has been rocked by controversy in its attempts to decide school closures and school redesigns (where all teachers & Principal are fired) in neighborhoods of predominately Latino and Spanish-speaking areas of NorthWest - NorthEast Denver. Parents, community members, teachers, faith leaders, and students have joined together to create a coalition putting pressure on the board to re-consider its decisions.
As a result, as a member of a community coalition demanding open meetings, I wrote an editorial speaking on behalf of a newly elected school board member who was criticized and demonized The Denver Post Editorial, and parents who simply want to be a part of the solution.
The Denver Post Opinion
School reform from the back room a shame
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
Posted: 12/04/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
The Denver Post talks about the Denver School Board misfiring again and demonstrating to our children how to abuse the public trust. It is shameful the editorial board has failed to see the underhanded and unethical abuse of power by the superintendent and old members of the board for the past year.
Isn't this the school board that appointed Tom Boasberg without community input? Isn't this the school board that proposed radical changes without community input? Didn't the old school board and superintendent misfire again by trying to close a public meeting?
The Denver Post editorial board unfairly singled out new member Andrea Merida for what it called "bullying behavior," and her "embarrassing and unprofessional display." In fact, you can replace Andrea's name with Boasberg or any other member of the "old board," and find that those labels can adequately apply to them as well.
Merida took a courageous step in seeking a court order allowing her to be seated as a board member. She clearly demonstrated the seriousness many parents and community members of West and North Denver felt about the radical changes being forced on the community. By using the law to challenge the board's pending agenda, Merida forced the old school board to play fair.
That the proposals were being voted on without community input was an "embarrassing and unprofessional display" of arrogance by the old board.
Perhaps Merida's alleged bullying did not change the outcome of the vote on the reforms, but forcing the old school board to debate and discuss the proposed reform agenda in an open forum was success in itself.
It is a shame the editorial board immediately labeled "Merida and her camp" as being anti-reform. This is absurd! Merida's courageous stand was proof that many parents and families only want to improve education for their children. This alone is the guiding principle for Lake parents, and only shows that the editorial board does not understand the parents' commitment to see true reforms take place.
Let there be no doubt: Merida, Arturo Jimenez and Jeannie Kaplan stand for reform with due process and respect for the parents, teachers, community members and the students who may be impacted by the reforms.
Counseling Boasberg to "play hardball" with the new board members will only increase the rancor and mean-spirited behavior shown by members of the old board. If Boasberg learned anything from the Monday meeting, it should be that his data-based reforms will be challenged, questioned and reviewed so we do not make the same mistakes made in New York City or Chicago.
Reform without representation is dictatorial and shows that Boasberg and the old board will have to learn to change their bullying behavior and shameful display of abuse of leadership and allow parents and community members a role in determining the scope of the reforms for DPS.
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. Contributing to this commentary were Nick Weiser, founder of the Denver Education Advocacy Network; human resources consultant Wendy Silveira- Steinway; and Guerin Green, publisher of the North Denver News.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13921736#ixzz0Zqk3jt8E
Response to my Op-Ed by Editorial Board
The Denver Post Opinion
Critical misinformation in school board debate
By Chuck Plunkett
Posted: 12/07/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
In the wake of Hurricane Merida, and as the Denver community tries to make sense of all the fear and loathing, there is an insidious argument going around that needs to be buried.
If it's allowed to persist, all the marriage counselors in Denver won't be able to help put Denver Public Schools back together again.
The argument is being made by well-meaning people against well- meaning people, so hopefully there's enough goodwill yet to pull us through.
Community leaders like Butch Montoya and the most-famous new member on the DPS board, Andrea Merida, are casting the DPS administration as "dictatorial" and the former board as toadies to the heavy- handed machinations of Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
The erroneous assertion that needs to be clarified is that the DPS administration and the former board sought to push through reforms for several schools that were either failing or struggling — and did so without community meetings, public input or serious debate.
Such claims unfairly conjure an image of a Stalinesque superintendent changing the fundamental structure of six schools without giving so much as a thought to the taxpaying parents and students of DPS, much less any time for the public to dissent or to respond.
Against this horrid backdrop, Montoya and others who oppose Boasberg cast Merida as the courageous David against the DPS Goliath.
The argument explains why the otherwise good-meaning people who support Merida cannot concede that her actions were at least a little over the top.
Merida did nothing illegal. And those who back her convincingly argue that she was guided by her dedication to students and families who resist Boasberg's changes.
Still, let's acknowledge that Merida also was guided by the teachers' unions who backed her election with thousands of dollars and other support. The unions are at odds with Boasberg's plans.
I disagree with the unions that Boasberg's attempt to foster reforms championed by the Obama administration is bad for schoolchildren, but that's another debate.
Tom Boasberg, as I have come to know him, is not dictatorial. To the contrary, folks like me who favor President Obama's reforms wish the relentlessly consensus-minded Boasberg was a bit more resolute.
During the run-up to a community meeting at which the public was to consider the administration's reforms, the mild-mannered superintendent met with The Post editorial board. Boasberg presented us with piles of reports and statistics and rationales for suggesting the changes he hoped to see at the schools in question.
Parents had ample access to the same information. The district freely made it available to all who asked. Additionally, The Post wrote stories explaining the plans, and we editorialized on them.
Opponents demanded more time to debate the changes, so DPS scheduled a second public meeting.
Finally, DPS pushed back a meeting of the Board of Education to vote on the changes from Nov. 19 to last Monday, to allow for extra debate and discussion.
This was — demonstrably — a public process.
And the best-informed people to vote on the plans were members of the former board, who had been through the full scope of the public and administrative process.
Finally, delaying the vote much longer wouldn't have been reasonable, as parents begin making their school choices in January.
I'm a fan of debate and of the public process. I don't think any school administration is so smart or pure that it should not be scrutinized, questioned and challenged.
But DPS didn't try to hide.
DPS acted like a democratic institution is supposed to act. The process that ended so regrettably last week was fair and above-board.
It's time to move on, and to drop the false and destructive misinformation.
Chuck Plunkett: 303-954-1333 or cplunkett@denverpost.com.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13941183#ixzz0ZqmIOfLu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to Preach in 1972.
The lack of success in education by Latino young men and women has long been a source of pain and determination for me to help improve the lack of achievement and failure facing young Latinos. The drop out rate among Latino youth has centered around the 50% plus side for many years, and it past time that leaders in the church took a stand for the betterment of our community.
I believe a good education can be the great equalizer in our society and direct our community toward the road of future success.
The Denver School Board has been rocked by controversy in its attempts to decide school closures and school redesigns (where all teachers & Principal are fired) in neighborhoods of predominately Latino and Spanish-speaking areas of NorthWest - NorthEast Denver. Parents, community members, teachers, faith leaders, and students have joined together to create a coalition putting pressure on the board to re-consider its decisions.
As a result, as a member of a community coalition demanding open meetings, I wrote an editorial speaking on behalf of a newly elected school board member who was criticized and demonized The Denver Post Editorial, and parents who simply want to be a part of the solution.
The Denver Post Opinion
School reform from the back room a shame
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
Posted: 12/04/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
The Denver Post talks about the Denver School Board misfiring again and demonstrating to our children how to abuse the public trust. It is shameful the editorial board has failed to see the underhanded and unethical abuse of power by the superintendent and old members of the board for the past year.
Isn't this the school board that appointed Tom Boasberg without community input? Isn't this the school board that proposed radical changes without community input? Didn't the old school board and superintendent misfire again by trying to close a public meeting?
The Denver Post editorial board unfairly singled out new member Andrea Merida for what it called "bullying behavior," and her "embarrassing and unprofessional display." In fact, you can replace Andrea's name with Boasberg or any other member of the "old board," and find that those labels can adequately apply to them as well.
Merida took a courageous step in seeking a court order allowing her to be seated as a board member. She clearly demonstrated the seriousness many parents and community members of West and North Denver felt about the radical changes being forced on the community. By using the law to challenge the board's pending agenda, Merida forced the old school board to play fair.
That the proposals were being voted on without community input was an "embarrassing and unprofessional display" of arrogance by the old board.
Perhaps Merida's alleged bullying did not change the outcome of the vote on the reforms, but forcing the old school board to debate and discuss the proposed reform agenda in an open forum was success in itself.
It is a shame the editorial board immediately labeled "Merida and her camp" as being anti-reform. This is absurd! Merida's courageous stand was proof that many parents and families only want to improve education for their children. This alone is the guiding principle for Lake parents, and only shows that the editorial board does not understand the parents' commitment to see true reforms take place.
Let there be no doubt: Merida, Arturo Jimenez and Jeannie Kaplan stand for reform with due process and respect for the parents, teachers, community members and the students who may be impacted by the reforms.
Counseling Boasberg to "play hardball" with the new board members will only increase the rancor and mean-spirited behavior shown by members of the old board. If Boasberg learned anything from the Monday meeting, it should be that his data-based reforms will be challenged, questioned and reviewed so we do not make the same mistakes made in New York City or Chicago.
Reform without representation is dictatorial and shows that Boasberg and the old board will have to learn to change their bullying behavior and shameful display of abuse of leadership and allow parents and community members a role in determining the scope of the reforms for DPS.
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. Contributing to this commentary were Nick Weiser, founder of the Denver Education Advocacy Network; human resources consultant Wendy Silveira- Steinway; and Guerin Green, publisher of the North Denver News.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13921736#ixzz0Zqk3jt8E
Response to my Op-Ed by Editorial Board
The Denver Post Opinion
Critical misinformation in school board debate
By Chuck Plunkett
Posted: 12/07/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
In the wake of Hurricane Merida, and as the Denver community tries to make sense of all the fear and loathing, there is an insidious argument going around that needs to be buried.
If it's allowed to persist, all the marriage counselors in Denver won't be able to help put Denver Public Schools back together again.
The argument is being made by well-meaning people against well- meaning people, so hopefully there's enough goodwill yet to pull us through.
Community leaders like Butch Montoya and the most-famous new member on the DPS board, Andrea Merida, are casting the DPS administration as "dictatorial" and the former board as toadies to the heavy- handed machinations of Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
The erroneous assertion that needs to be clarified is that the DPS administration and the former board sought to push through reforms for several schools that were either failing or struggling — and did so without community meetings, public input or serious debate.
Such claims unfairly conjure an image of a Stalinesque superintendent changing the fundamental structure of six schools without giving so much as a thought to the taxpaying parents and students of DPS, much less any time for the public to dissent or to respond.
Against this horrid backdrop, Montoya and others who oppose Boasberg cast Merida as the courageous David against the DPS Goliath.
The argument explains why the otherwise good-meaning people who support Merida cannot concede that her actions were at least a little over the top.
Merida did nothing illegal. And those who back her convincingly argue that she was guided by her dedication to students and families who resist Boasberg's changes.
Still, let's acknowledge that Merida also was guided by the teachers' unions who backed her election with thousands of dollars and other support. The unions are at odds with Boasberg's plans.
I disagree with the unions that Boasberg's attempt to foster reforms championed by the Obama administration is bad for schoolchildren, but that's another debate.
Tom Boasberg, as I have come to know him, is not dictatorial. To the contrary, folks like me who favor President Obama's reforms wish the relentlessly consensus-minded Boasberg was a bit more resolute.
During the run-up to a community meeting at which the public was to consider the administration's reforms, the mild-mannered superintendent met with The Post editorial board. Boasberg presented us with piles of reports and statistics and rationales for suggesting the changes he hoped to see at the schools in question.
Parents had ample access to the same information. The district freely made it available to all who asked. Additionally, The Post wrote stories explaining the plans, and we editorialized on them.
Opponents demanded more time to debate the changes, so DPS scheduled a second public meeting.
Finally, DPS pushed back a meeting of the Board of Education to vote on the changes from Nov. 19 to last Monday, to allow for extra debate and discussion.
This was — demonstrably — a public process.
And the best-informed people to vote on the plans were members of the former board, who had been through the full scope of the public and administrative process.
Finally, delaying the vote much longer wouldn't have been reasonable, as parents begin making their school choices in January.
I'm a fan of debate and of the public process. I don't think any school administration is so smart or pure that it should not be scrutinized, questioned and challenged.
But DPS didn't try to hide.
DPS acted like a democratic institution is supposed to act. The process that ended so regrettably last week was fair and above-board.
It's time to move on, and to drop the false and destructive misinformation.
Chuck Plunkett: 303-954-1333 or cplunkett@denverpost.com.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13941183#ixzz0ZqmIOfLu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to Preach in 1972.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Is Dobbs Really Gone?
By Fidel “Butch” Montoya
It was great news when CNN finally pushed Lou Dobbs off the air, giving in to the pressure of thousands of Latino/as demanding that the cable network fire Dobbs. Unable to sign off with his trademark smirk on his last show, Dobbs was, however, able to heave that reported eight million dollar payoff by CNN over his burdened shoulders and laugh all the way to the bank.
The question everyone was asking was where will Dobbs reappear? Some right-wing pundits have said Dobbs will sign on the FOX News channel. Dobbs, himself, has said he will continue his “advocacy journalism,” and that we have not heard the last of him.
So be it, but what Dobbs and his right-wing fanatics can’t deny is the fact that a national Internet effort, coordinated by journalist Roberto Lovato, was a powerful force that even CNN could not ignore.
Many of his critics could care less where Dobbs might show up. Latinos were satisfied with the wave of criticism and its consequences, which got Dobbs off the air.
But wait, just about three weeks after he was fired, the resurrected Dobbs appeared on a live interview on Telemundo’s Al Rojo Vivo with news anchor Maria Celeste and he had a new message for the masses.
“Whatever you have thought of me in the past, I can tell you right now I am one of your greatest friends and I mean for us to work together.”
Whoa! Stop the ‘Get Rid of Dobbs’ bandwagon! He said what? Yes, you read correctly what Dobbs said. “I am your greatest friend and I mean for us to work together.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new Dobbs is desperately trying to shed the old Dobbs. “I hope that will begin with Maria and me and Telemundo and other media organizations and others in this national debate that we should turn into a solution rather than a continuing debate and factional contest.”
Dobbs said that? I wondered if Dobbs had been hit with a bad case of the H1N1 flu. Was he delirious, out of his mind with a high fever? What exactly was going on here??
As Celeste ran down her list of why the Latino community would not want him over for tamales or menudo, she pushed back harder, wanting to hear why he thought he would be welcomed in the Latino community.
There was no fuzzy warm feeling of “mi casa es su casa” during the interview.
“Many Hispanics consider you to be the No. 1 enemy of Latinos,” Celeste told him. “Do you think that the community is somehow misjudging you?”
“Oh, not somehow. Definitively, absolutely.” Dobbs responded. “By the way, I don’t believe for a moment that the Latino, Hispanic community in the United States believes that of me at all. It has been the efforts of the far left to characterize me in their propaganda as such.”
So all along, every time Dobbs appeared on his daily CNN show and spewed his poisonous mean-spirited hateful lies about immigrants, he was just trying to endear himself to our community?
So as he smirked at his viewers, the lies he told day after day demonizing the undocumented immigrant was just a bad misunderstanding? So as we sat in our family rooms watching CNN, not believing our ears as Dobbs did his best to get his far right-wing nuts all fired up about hating Latino immigrants was just a big misinterpretation of his lies?
But wait, there is more in The Wall Street Journal story that may cause you run to your therapist, thinking your hallucinating or losing your mind.
Mr. Dobbs told Spanish-language network Telemundo he now supports a plan to legalize millions of undocumented workers, a stance he long lambasted as an unfair “amnesty.”
"We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions.”
This is the same immigration critic who day after day called for the deportation of the reported 12 million undocumented immigrants living in our country. Now, according to his spokesperson, Dobbs wanted just the criminals deported. Not those who are “living, upright, positive and constructive lives,” who should be part of our society.
I don’t know if Dobbs bumped his head on the way out of his CNN office or maybe his Latina wife gave him an ultimatum to clean up his act or she would leave him taking with her half of that eight million dollars?
The truth be told, Dobbs is considering a run perhaps as a third party candidate in New Jersey against our only Latino United States Senator Robert Menendez. And you know what that means?
Dobbs needs the votes of the largest growing minority in the country - Latinos! He knows he cannot possibly even think of winning that race without his Latino friends supporting him.
But before we even think of extending our hand to Dobbs, let’s not forget the reason to quiet Dobbs was not because he had just a different opinion. Dobbs found it was better for his TV ratings to feed deception, fear and hate, and allow the merchants of hate push their political agenda of misinformation and myths about immigration reform and undocumented immigrants.
So now that Dobbs is our friend again, and since he earned those millions of dollars demonizing every Latino in the USA, would he consider giving some of that payoff to help spread his newfound truth that immigration reform is needed in our country?
Come on over Lou Dobbs, but don’t forget your wallet, and by the way, forgive us if we don’t forgive you.
****************************************************
This article first appeared on http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
It was great news when CNN finally pushed Lou Dobbs off the air, giving in to the pressure of thousands of Latino/as demanding that the cable network fire Dobbs. Unable to sign off with his trademark smirk on his last show, Dobbs was, however, able to heave that reported eight million dollar payoff by CNN over his burdened shoulders and laugh all the way to the bank.
The question everyone was asking was where will Dobbs reappear? Some right-wing pundits have said Dobbs will sign on the FOX News channel. Dobbs, himself, has said he will continue his “advocacy journalism,” and that we have not heard the last of him.
So be it, but what Dobbs and his right-wing fanatics can’t deny is the fact that a national Internet effort, coordinated by journalist Roberto Lovato, was a powerful force that even CNN could not ignore.
Many of his critics could care less where Dobbs might show up. Latinos were satisfied with the wave of criticism and its consequences, which got Dobbs off the air.
But wait, just about three weeks after he was fired, the resurrected Dobbs appeared on a live interview on Telemundo’s Al Rojo Vivo with news anchor Maria Celeste and he had a new message for the masses.
“Whatever you have thought of me in the past, I can tell you right now I am one of your greatest friends and I mean for us to work together.”
Whoa! Stop the ‘Get Rid of Dobbs’ bandwagon! He said what? Yes, you read correctly what Dobbs said. “I am your greatest friend and I mean for us to work together.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new Dobbs is desperately trying to shed the old Dobbs. “I hope that will begin with Maria and me and Telemundo and other media organizations and others in this national debate that we should turn into a solution rather than a continuing debate and factional contest.”
Dobbs said that? I wondered if Dobbs had been hit with a bad case of the H1N1 flu. Was he delirious, out of his mind with a high fever? What exactly was going on here??
As Celeste ran down her list of why the Latino community would not want him over for tamales or menudo, she pushed back harder, wanting to hear why he thought he would be welcomed in the Latino community.
There was no fuzzy warm feeling of “mi casa es su casa” during the interview.
“Many Hispanics consider you to be the No. 1 enemy of Latinos,” Celeste told him. “Do you think that the community is somehow misjudging you?”
“Oh, not somehow. Definitively, absolutely.” Dobbs responded. “By the way, I don’t believe for a moment that the Latino, Hispanic community in the United States believes that of me at all. It has been the efforts of the far left to characterize me in their propaganda as such.”
So all along, every time Dobbs appeared on his daily CNN show and spewed his poisonous mean-spirited hateful lies about immigrants, he was just trying to endear himself to our community?
So as he smirked at his viewers, the lies he told day after day demonizing the undocumented immigrant was just a bad misunderstanding? So as we sat in our family rooms watching CNN, not believing our ears as Dobbs did his best to get his far right-wing nuts all fired up about hating Latino immigrants was just a big misinterpretation of his lies?
But wait, there is more in The Wall Street Journal story that may cause you run to your therapist, thinking your hallucinating or losing your mind.
Mr. Dobbs told Spanish-language network Telemundo he now supports a plan to legalize millions of undocumented workers, a stance he long lambasted as an unfair “amnesty.”
"We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions.”
This is the same immigration critic who day after day called for the deportation of the reported 12 million undocumented immigrants living in our country. Now, according to his spokesperson, Dobbs wanted just the criminals deported. Not those who are “living, upright, positive and constructive lives,” who should be part of our society.
I don’t know if Dobbs bumped his head on the way out of his CNN office or maybe his Latina wife gave him an ultimatum to clean up his act or she would leave him taking with her half of that eight million dollars?
The truth be told, Dobbs is considering a run perhaps as a third party candidate in New Jersey against our only Latino United States Senator Robert Menendez. And you know what that means?
Dobbs needs the votes of the largest growing minority in the country - Latinos! He knows he cannot possibly even think of winning that race without his Latino friends supporting him.
But before we even think of extending our hand to Dobbs, let’s not forget the reason to quiet Dobbs was not because he had just a different opinion. Dobbs found it was better for his TV ratings to feed deception, fear and hate, and allow the merchants of hate push their political agenda of misinformation and myths about immigration reform and undocumented immigrants.
So now that Dobbs is our friend again, and since he earned those millions of dollars demonizing every Latino in the USA, would he consider giving some of that payoff to help spread his newfound truth that immigration reform is needed in our country?
Come on over Lou Dobbs, but don’t forget your wallet, and by the way, forgive us if we don’t forgive you.
****************************************************
This article first appeared on http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saying "No" to the Red Kettle of hypocrisy"
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
The long awaited decision by National Association of Evangelicals to endorse a resolution supporting comprehensive immigration reform was seen as a major break through among Latino evangelicals and other Church leaders.
While not endorsing any particular political policy, the N.A.E. outlined their support based on Biblical principles.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference referred to the resolution as a “tipping point.” The NHCLC represents some 15 million Latino Evangelicals, and counts over 25,000 churches as part of its membership. The NHCLC has worked behind the scenes for several years trying to convince the N.A.E. to support immigration reform.
"Today’s resolution conveys a collective message on behalf of the evangelical community that at the end of the day immigration reform is a matter of justice firmly grounded on biblical truth. Moreover, this resolution embodies the spirit of a message declaring that comprehensive immigration reform stems neither from the agenda of the donkey nor from the agenda of the elephant but rather from the agenda of the Lamb,” declared Rev. Rodriguez.
The N.A.E. resolution was seen by many interfaith leaders as an important step toward putting together a large interfaith based coalition pressuring Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.
In the past, white evangelicals generally sat on the sidelines silently opposing any attempt to bring the undocumented immigrants out of the shadows or protested openly against undocumented immigrants in our country. They turned a deaf ear to the sound Biblical guidance that brings an added dimension to a badly needed civil debate.
As quickly as the news spread concerning the N.A.E.’s adoption of the immigration reform resolution, immediately some members of the N.A.E. responded by doing all they could to distance themselves from supporting immigration reform and claiming they had not endorsed the controversial resolution.
It reminded me of the movie Titanic as panicked passengers were literally jumping overboard to escape the danger of going down with the sinking ship. Not that the N.A.E.’s adoption of the resolution in any way reflects a sinking ship, but the Christian faithful running away from endorsing the resolution demonstrated confusion and chaos aboard the good ship N.A.E. about loving and taking care of the stranger in our land.
We had large denominational leaders stuttering as they sought to justify their lack of support of the resolution. Almost as quickly as most N.A.E. members were quoting Biblical principles for supporting the resolution, other N.A.E. members apparently forgot to recall those Biblical truths before taking a political stand versus a Christian one against the resolution.
Many N.A.E. members quickly denounced the resolution as nothing more than a means to provide “amnesty” to illegal immigrants. Clearly many white evangelicals have not dropped their opposition to providing a reasonable process for immigrants to assimilate into our society and seek citizenship if they desire to do so.
NumbersUSA, a notoriously anti-immigrant organization, with a goal to push undocumented immigrants out of our county, has an article in their newsletter trumpeting the fact that many N.A.E. members were backing away from the N.A.E. resolution on immigration reform.
The article color some evangelical ministers and churches with stripes of yellow, making it clear these members do not support the N.A.E. resolution on immigration reform even though they claim membership of the mighty Evangelical N.A.E.
The anti-immigrant N.A.E. members are using their denominational Websites to convey their side of the story as they continue to deny the Biblical proclamations that instruct us to love the stranger, the alien, the forgotten in our communities.
The fact that these Biblical principles are “The Word,” the “rightwing Christian politicians,” pontificating their word, might as well stand behind their bully pulpits to denounce the teachings of the Holy Scriptures that serve as moral and Christian guide for many born-again Christians. .
Many of those N.A.E. members posted their opposition on their denominational websites, trying to calm down the racist furor among some of their membership that the resolution caused.
"The Churches of Christ in Christian Union does not support the N.A.E. resolution on illegal immigration. We are a member of N.A.E., but our support on the resolution was never requested. The Churches of Christ in Christian Union support legal, regulated, and fair immigration”. -- Dr. Thomas H. Heniz, General Superintendent, the Churches of Christ in Christian Union.
Another N.A.E. member denomination in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, posted this disclaimer on their website:
“Statement on Amnesty forms the Executive Director in behalf of our Leadership Team and the General Association of General Baptists. Our denomination has been misidentified in recent email correspondence regarding amnesty for illegal immigrants. Neither I, our Leadership Team, nor the denominations we serve have been involved in the cause for amnesty for illegal aliens”. -- Dr. Ron Black, Executive Director, General Association of General Baptists.
Even our friendly Christmas bell ringers have found no room in the inn for undocumented immigrants. As members of the N.A.E., The Salvation Army does not support the resolution and make it quite clear that they will not support “amnesty” for the estimated 12-20 million undocumented immigrants in our country.
“The Salvation Army chose not to adopt the resolution nor will it become our stance on immigration reform”. Salvation Army official statement
It is a sad commentary by one of the biggest faith-based organizations, which claims to be compassionate and willing to help the poor and disadvantaged, unless of course, you are an undocumented immigrant. It is clearly racial profiling and morally reprehensible for The Salvation Army to disavow the Biblical principles and not adopt the Christ-centered examples of ministering to the alien, the poor and the homeless.
It seems like we might have to take a half a loaf of support from the N.A.E. when it comes to moving the urgent need for immigration reform forward. The reality is that we have too many families living in the shadows of our communities, our economy, and our church stipples.
Too many immigrant families are being separated everyday as long as Christians of the Right refuse to accept an immigration policy which would keep families together without fear of home or work place raids that lead to separation of families and deportation to a country some left years ago.
Truth be told, without a strong commitment from the “Christian community,” immigrants will continue to live in fear, confusion and a society where hate crimes against Latinos will continue to escalate. The consequences are serious bodily injury and even death to the innocent immigrant walking the streets of gold in America.
It is time for faith leaders across this country to encourage and pressure President Obama to act on providing immigration reform so that those individuals and families living near the margins of the American Dream can actually and realistically live that dream.
However, it more critical for faith leaders, who do support comprehensive immigration reform, to pressure their own to follow the Biblical principles of caring and loving our neighbor, instead of allowing the evil one to use politics to create disharmony and division among the followers of Christ.
Too many “born again Christians” are confusing the Word with plain old dirty politics. Dancing around their idol of racism, how quickly they have forgotten that the Love of Christ is for everyone, legal or undocumented. We can’t pick and choose who we love when we are commanded by Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves.
I, for one, am pleased that the N.A.E. worked closely with their Latino evangelical allies and members and finally passed a comprehensive immigration reform resolution. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez also deserves recognition for his untiring efforts and ministry to the families that we are encouraged in the Bible to love and care for.
By the way, this Christmas holiday while shopping at the mall, if you run into “a soldier of the Salvation Army,” waving their red kettle and the ringing bells asking for a small donation, instead of reaching into your purse or wallet, save that money and give to your church or favorite other Christian charity. Give your donation to an organization that does not look at the color or nationality of the poor, the hungry, and the forgotten.
The Salvation Army - or any other Church - shouldn’t preach to us about caring and loving the deprived and then walk away from the reality of the needs of undocumented immigrants. Keep your money out of the red kettle and instead support another organization that does not question or qualify their calling to the poor and needy based on immigrant status.
Beware of wolves in sheep clothing, - those selective ministries requesting a green card before they are willing to provide the necessary Christian ministry and family services to immigrant families yearning for a helping hand; that both support and sincerely appreciate your ministry.
Remember, Christ loved us all and never once required a picture ID or green card.
*********************************
This column first appeared at:
http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed as a Minister in 1972.
The long awaited decision by National Association of Evangelicals to endorse a resolution supporting comprehensive immigration reform was seen as a major break through among Latino evangelicals and other Church leaders.
While not endorsing any particular political policy, the N.A.E. outlined their support based on Biblical principles.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference referred to the resolution as a “tipping point.” The NHCLC represents some 15 million Latino Evangelicals, and counts over 25,000 churches as part of its membership. The NHCLC has worked behind the scenes for several years trying to convince the N.A.E. to support immigration reform.
"Today’s resolution conveys a collective message on behalf of the evangelical community that at the end of the day immigration reform is a matter of justice firmly grounded on biblical truth. Moreover, this resolution embodies the spirit of a message declaring that comprehensive immigration reform stems neither from the agenda of the donkey nor from the agenda of the elephant but rather from the agenda of the Lamb,” declared Rev. Rodriguez.
The N.A.E. resolution was seen by many interfaith leaders as an important step toward putting together a large interfaith based coalition pressuring Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.
In the past, white evangelicals generally sat on the sidelines silently opposing any attempt to bring the undocumented immigrants out of the shadows or protested openly against undocumented immigrants in our country. They turned a deaf ear to the sound Biblical guidance that brings an added dimension to a badly needed civil debate.
As quickly as the news spread concerning the N.A.E.’s adoption of the immigration reform resolution, immediately some members of the N.A.E. responded by doing all they could to distance themselves from supporting immigration reform and claiming they had not endorsed the controversial resolution.
It reminded me of the movie Titanic as panicked passengers were literally jumping overboard to escape the danger of going down with the sinking ship. Not that the N.A.E.’s adoption of the resolution in any way reflects a sinking ship, but the Christian faithful running away from endorsing the resolution demonstrated confusion and chaos aboard the good ship N.A.E. about loving and taking care of the stranger in our land.
We had large denominational leaders stuttering as they sought to justify their lack of support of the resolution. Almost as quickly as most N.A.E. members were quoting Biblical principles for supporting the resolution, other N.A.E. members apparently forgot to recall those Biblical truths before taking a political stand versus a Christian one against the resolution.
Many N.A.E. members quickly denounced the resolution as nothing more than a means to provide “amnesty” to illegal immigrants. Clearly many white evangelicals have not dropped their opposition to providing a reasonable process for immigrants to assimilate into our society and seek citizenship if they desire to do so.
NumbersUSA, a notoriously anti-immigrant organization, with a goal to push undocumented immigrants out of our county, has an article in their newsletter trumpeting the fact that many N.A.E. members were backing away from the N.A.E. resolution on immigration reform.
The article color some evangelical ministers and churches with stripes of yellow, making it clear these members do not support the N.A.E. resolution on immigration reform even though they claim membership of the mighty Evangelical N.A.E.
The anti-immigrant N.A.E. members are using their denominational Websites to convey their side of the story as they continue to deny the Biblical proclamations that instruct us to love the stranger, the alien, the forgotten in our communities.
The fact that these Biblical principles are “The Word,” the “rightwing Christian politicians,” pontificating their word, might as well stand behind their bully pulpits to denounce the teachings of the Holy Scriptures that serve as moral and Christian guide for many born-again Christians. .
Many of those N.A.E. members posted their opposition on their denominational websites, trying to calm down the racist furor among some of their membership that the resolution caused.
"The Churches of Christ in Christian Union does not support the N.A.E. resolution on illegal immigration. We are a member of N.A.E., but our support on the resolution was never requested. The Churches of Christ in Christian Union support legal, regulated, and fair immigration”. -- Dr. Thomas H. Heniz, General Superintendent, the Churches of Christ in Christian Union.
Another N.A.E. member denomination in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, posted this disclaimer on their website:
“Statement on Amnesty forms the Executive Director in behalf of our Leadership Team and the General Association of General Baptists. Our denomination has been misidentified in recent email correspondence regarding amnesty for illegal immigrants. Neither I, our Leadership Team, nor the denominations we serve have been involved in the cause for amnesty for illegal aliens”. -- Dr. Ron Black, Executive Director, General Association of General Baptists.
Even our friendly Christmas bell ringers have found no room in the inn for undocumented immigrants. As members of the N.A.E., The Salvation Army does not support the resolution and make it quite clear that they will not support “amnesty” for the estimated 12-20 million undocumented immigrants in our country.
“The Salvation Army chose not to adopt the resolution nor will it become our stance on immigration reform”. Salvation Army official statement
It is a sad commentary by one of the biggest faith-based organizations, which claims to be compassionate and willing to help the poor and disadvantaged, unless of course, you are an undocumented immigrant. It is clearly racial profiling and morally reprehensible for The Salvation Army to disavow the Biblical principles and not adopt the Christ-centered examples of ministering to the alien, the poor and the homeless.
It seems like we might have to take a half a loaf of support from the N.A.E. when it comes to moving the urgent need for immigration reform forward. The reality is that we have too many families living in the shadows of our communities, our economy, and our church stipples.
Too many immigrant families are being separated everyday as long as Christians of the Right refuse to accept an immigration policy which would keep families together without fear of home or work place raids that lead to separation of families and deportation to a country some left years ago.
Truth be told, without a strong commitment from the “Christian community,” immigrants will continue to live in fear, confusion and a society where hate crimes against Latinos will continue to escalate. The consequences are serious bodily injury and even death to the innocent immigrant walking the streets of gold in America.
It is time for faith leaders across this country to encourage and pressure President Obama to act on providing immigration reform so that those individuals and families living near the margins of the American Dream can actually and realistically live that dream.
However, it more critical for faith leaders, who do support comprehensive immigration reform, to pressure their own to follow the Biblical principles of caring and loving our neighbor, instead of allowing the evil one to use politics to create disharmony and division among the followers of Christ.
Too many “born again Christians” are confusing the Word with plain old dirty politics. Dancing around their idol of racism, how quickly they have forgotten that the Love of Christ is for everyone, legal or undocumented. We can’t pick and choose who we love when we are commanded by Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves.
I, for one, am pleased that the N.A.E. worked closely with their Latino evangelical allies and members and finally passed a comprehensive immigration reform resolution. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez also deserves recognition for his untiring efforts and ministry to the families that we are encouraged in the Bible to love and care for.
By the way, this Christmas holiday while shopping at the mall, if you run into “a soldier of the Salvation Army,” waving their red kettle and the ringing bells asking for a small donation, instead of reaching into your purse or wallet, save that money and give to your church or favorite other Christian charity. Give your donation to an organization that does not look at the color or nationality of the poor, the hungry, and the forgotten.
The Salvation Army - or any other Church - shouldn’t preach to us about caring and loving the deprived and then walk away from the reality of the needs of undocumented immigrants. Keep your money out of the red kettle and instead support another organization that does not question or qualify their calling to the poor and needy based on immigrant status.
Beware of wolves in sheep clothing, - those selective ministries requesting a green card before they are willing to provide the necessary Christian ministry and family services to immigrant families yearning for a helping hand; that both support and sincerely appreciate your ministry.
Remember, Christ loved us all and never once required a picture ID or green card.
*********************************
This column first appeared at:
http://www.latinolandscape.com/
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed as a Minister in 1972.
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