News to make you doubt your sanity or at least start a petition.

November 2, 2009

Federal Money Put to Good Use Along the Border
New reports from the Government Accountability Office estimate the cost of maintaining the 600 miles of fence along the Mexican-U.S. border at $6.5 billion over the next 20 years. That doesn’t even include the $2.4 billion it cost to build the thing in the first place. And yet the government still pours money into it. We’re in the midst of a record-breaking economic downturn, but at least we can trust our federal government to do the right thing to get our country back on track.

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White Man gets Asylum from Racism
Which is more galling? That Brandon Carl Huntley, a white man from South Africa, applied to the Canadian government for asylum claiming he feared racist attacks in his home country, or that the Canadian government granted him his request this summer? The Associated Press reported that Huntley feared being targeted by “[B]lack criminals in South Africa” who called him a “white dog.” Huntley admitted he never reported the attacks he supposedly endured.

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Latinas Leave High School Too Soon
The numbers are stark: 98 percent of Latinas report wanting to graduate from high school, but 41 percent of young Latinas end up dropping out of high school, according to a new report from the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. They cite a number of systemic solutions: early education to encourage Latinas to graduate, more educational programs to encourage family support and better communication of higher education opportunities.

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U.S. Forest Service Issues “Tortilla Alert”
When the U.S. Forest Service recently announced their suspicions that an international crime ring was responsible for hidden pot farms, they had several helpful suggestions for campers in the countryside, including instructions to steer clear of people who eat tortillas and/or Spam, drink Tecate, play Latin music and speak Spanish. Campers who came across people who fit the profile were urged to “hike out quickly” and alert the police. “When I go camping,” remarked Marvink Correa, spokesman of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, “I’ll be sure to play nothing but Bruce Springsteen.”