District 2 Supervisor George Shirakawa proved himself to be a gentle giant at this morning’s Board of Supervisors meeting, shedding more than a few tears over the controversial Arizona immigration law, SB 1070.
“I’ve tried to suppress my emotions, so hopefully they won’t come out,” he said in opening, but to no avail. Face reddening, the poor guy basically lost it.
“I apologize, I’m going to fight through it like the Raiders do,” he said. County COO Gary Graves watched with a semi-horrified look on his face.
Shirakawa and Acting County Counsel Miguel Márquez proposed that the board give permission for county counsel to file amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in any upcoming legislation that challenges the constitutionality of the new Arizona law. SB 1070 authorizes law enforcement officers to ask for proof of citizenship and detain those suspected of being in the country illegally.
“You all know my family history,” Shirakawa managed to get out. “My family was interned. And I think this is a veiled attempt to do the same.”
“You did great,” said Board President Ken Yeager.
Soon-to-retire District 1 Supervisor Don Gage was not swayed however, saying Santa Clara County ought not to meddle in other state’s business.
Shirakawa, drying his eyes, argued back that the law does affect immigrant communities in Santa Clara County. “The atmosphere of mistrust of your government, creating that fear is ridiculous,” he said. He added that he is canceling his plans to go golfing in Arizona this fall with an old military police buddy. “If I go to Arizona in the fall, am I going to have to worry, even though I’m fourth generation on one side and 16th generation on the other side?”
Although ICE probably doesn’t waste too much time staking out the links, Shirakawa’s point was taken. The motion passed 4-1, Gage dissenting.
> District 2 Supervisor George Shirakawa proved himself to be a gentle giant at this morning’s Board of Supervisors meeting, shedding more than a few tears over the controversial Arizona immigration law, SB 1070.
More accurately, he proved himself to be a blubbering fool and charlatan playing the old World War II internment race card yet again.
Japanese internees have received compensation for their internment AT LEAST FOUR TIMES. They have received a formal apology from the feckless and cowardly Clinton administration.
And yet, the old con man Shirakawa is out there again trying to cash in the chit one more time.
Thousands and thousands of Americans lost their lives or were maimed in World War II and received far far less from the government than Shirakawa.
Italian American internees received far less from the government than the Japanese. And German-American internees received NOTHING! No restoration. No compensation. No apology. Nothing.
And this notwithstanding the fact that the German-Americans appealed to Congressman Norman Mineta when he carried the WW II Internment Compensation legislation.
Mineta simply turned his back on them. It was a JAPANESE ONLY thing.
“Japanese internees have received compensation for their internment AT LEAST FOUR TIMES.” I know of one time and that took decades to achieve—could you enlighten us on the other 3?
You must be aware of the 442nd—Go for Broke—unit that fought in the war. You know, Japanese Americans fighting in the war while their families were in prison camps back home.
If you feel other ethnic groups are entitled to apologies and/or reparations, then why don’t you fight the good fight and work with those groups to achieve the justice they have been denied?
Mr. Shirakawa,
Thank you for your concern about SB1070 and its effect on our civil rights in light of cops in Arizona being asked to decide who looks “illegal” enough to ask for their papers. My question to you is what can you do to institute a county-government boycott of all business with Arizona and companies based there? Also, what can you do to fight against the ongoing racial profiling experienced by people of color in this county? Releasing all data on use of force incidents for the Sheriff’s department would be a big step in pressuring SJPD to release use of force data which the Mayor has not had the integrity to do yet in spite of his campaigning on openness and transparency.
Oh Puh-Leeze,
Can you or anyone else cite any data about the numbers of Italian, German, and Japanese internees in the U.S.? I am genuinely curious because it is my understanding that the ENTIRE Japanese population (however many generations they had been here) were rounded up and interned, but as part German, I know that none of my ancestors were not interned in the U.S. during WWII. Interning whole populations based on race or ethnicity is genocidal and the commitment to “never again” allow that to happen in the U.S. must be taken seriously. However, if only recent immigrants from Germany or Italy were interned, it would be different than what happened to the Japanese whose ENTIRE population was interned because of their race, not just their immigration status. Your attempt to dismiss concerns from Mr. Shirakawa who sees the Japanese internment as similar in its racist effects to SB1070 fails. SB1070 shares the racist effect of Japanese internment because the “decider” (FDR in 1941, Arizona cops in 2010) will judge whether to stop, arrest, and intern people at detention centers because of their race, not because of their immigration status meaning that 5th generation U.S. citizens who don’t have their papers on them are just as “reasonably suspicious” to a cop as an undocumented worker.
> Can you or anyone else cite any data about the numbers of Italian, German, and Japanese internees in the U.S.? I am genuinely curious because it is my understanding that the ENTIRE Japanese population (however many generations they had been here) were rounded up and interned, but as part German, I know that none of my ancestors were not interned in the U.S. during WWII.
So, you are going to rank the legitimacy of ethnic grievances by the numbers of each ethnicity affected?
Who put you in charge of ranking comparative ethnic suffering?
For you information, the anti-German hysteria of World War I resulted in the total disbanding of the 2,000,000 member German-American Bund. It’s assets were turned over to the Red Cross. German-Americans were TOTALLY de-ethnicized and turned into “white” people.
There probably has never been a major ethnic group in the history of the United States that has been so totally and systematically stripped of its culture and heritage.
I figure that the United States government owes reparations to each of the 80,000,000 Americans of German descent for 90 years of ethnic cleansing. I think a hundred thousand dollars per person per year of suffering would be a starting point.
Oh Puh-leeze,
Look, I can see we are coming from very different places, but can you at least present some data about how many Germans and Italians were interned during WWII? The reason I ask is because there is a difference between interning an entire population based on their race (regardless of how many generations they have been here) as with the Japanese in the U.S. during WWII and interning people based on their having immigrated recently as you allege happened with Germany and Italy. It is no coincidence that the entire Japanese population was interned, regardless of U.S. citizenship, compared with what happened to German and Italian people. My German family members were not interned because they were U.S. citizens, and because they were white. Mr. Shirakawa’s entire community was interned because they were not white, just like Latinos, Blacks, and Arabs will be facing possible deportation due to SB1070, whereas I will not, because I am white.
> Look, I can see we are coming from very different places, but can you at least present some data about how many Germans and Italians were interned during WWII?
I have already told you ten things you didn’t know.
You have your template. More data isn’t going to change anything.
Go forth and preach the template, if you can find anyone to listen.
> SB1070 shares the racist effect of Japanese internment because the “decider” (FDR in 1941, Arizona cops in 2010) will judge whether to stop, arrest, and intern people at detention centers because of their race, not because of their immigration status meaning that 5th generation U.S. citizens who don’t have their papers on them are just as “reasonably suspicious” to a cop as an undocumented worker.
Stop repeating the ignorant and erroneous claptrap on the mouth foaming moonbat blogs.
SB1070 was carefully drafted by people who knew what they were doing, explicitly prohibits “racial profiling, and will pass court review.
It’s simply not what the morons are telling you it is.
Free will gives us all choices. Choosing not to be a moron is a choice.
How can you state that something “will pass court review” before the courts have reviewed it?
History has shown that lots of laws have been written, presumably, by “people who know what they are doing” yet those laws did not pass legal muster!
> How can you state that something “will pass court review” before the courts have reviewed it?
I opened my mouth, and out came the words: “and will pass court review”.
> Great. Now do something useful and give us Friday’s winning lottery numbers.
Sure.
It’ll be some combination of the digits 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0.
Some of the digits might be used more than once.
I guarantee this is as certain as an Obama promise not to raise taxes.
“I opened my mouth, and out came the words: “and will pass court review”.
Great. Now do something useful and give us Friday’s winning lottery numbers.
“…it is my understanding that the ENTIRE Japanese population (however many generations they had been here) were rounded up and interned.”
Incorrect. That internment was clearly the most shameful act in America history since slavery, but it was primarily on the west coast , not nationwide.
a brief snippet from Wikipedia:
“Japanese-American internment was the forced relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese residing along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called “War Relocation Camps,” in the wake of Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The internment of Japanese Americans was applied unequally throughout the United States. Japanese Americans residing on the West Coast of the United States were all interned, whereas in Hawaii, where more than 150,000 Japanese Americans composed nearly a third of that territory’s population, 1,200 to 1,800 Japanese Americans were interned. Of those interned, 62% were American citizens.”
JMO,
Thanks! Facts help.
In spite of the geographical unevenness of the internment of the Japanese, would you concede that the internment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent (62%) was “acceptable” at the time because of their race? If not, how do you explain the fact that “Oh Puh-Leeze”‘s undetermined yet much much smaller number of German and Italian people were interned? What role do you think the white skin of German and Italian people played in their not being interned en-masse?
You asked:“would you concede that the internment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent (62%) was “acceptable” at the time because of their race”
Go back to my post where I wrote:“That internment was clearly the most shameful act in America history since slavery.” If you still need to ask that question, there’s no hope for you.
Racial politics is a great wedge issues. Traditionally the Democratic party has made big gains as the protector of the disenfranchised. Pete Wilson used the denial of public benefits to illegal immigrants as a wedge issue in California to win office (as a Republican).
Party politics, racial wedge issues…and at the end of the day, no one still does anything about the real issues except smile and count their ill-gotten votes.
Is illegal immigration okay? Ready to dissolve the immigration service and open the boarders? Probably not. Amnesty has been done before (Reagan??) and we didn’t fall apart, but what’s really fair and right? In a bad economy, jobs, even low paying ones really do matter to people and illegal immigration heats up as an issue. I don’t see or hear anyone in California doing anything other than milking the issue for political support. I’m sorry, but that’s how I see it.
Government is making hard decisions and then seeing that it works as well as possible. We’ve had a lost generation of politicians who’ve passed the buck in California and seem to have grown up on empty rhetoric and emoting into microphones but don’t seem to take the real hard stuff (balancing budgets, defining core services and delivering them with efficiency, repealing old laws that didn’t work or don’t make sense) seriously.
We have the government we deserve. Viva the Happy Meal Ban!
> I don’t see or hear anyone in California doing anything other than milking the issue for political support.
I don’t see or hear anyone in California or anywhere else in the cosmos BLAMING THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT!
Things would change dramatically if we sent the 82nd Airborne Division into Mexico, rounded up the corrupt politicians and put them in camps, and turned the government of Mexico over to the Cato Institute.
Mexico could be turned into a hotbed of entrepreneurial energy, a capitalist dynamo, and a model of broad economic prosperity.
The U.S. border problem would change from keeping impovershed Mexicans out the the United States, to a problem of controlling the flood of ambitious Mexicans returning to Mexico to participate in the exploding opportunities.
Visualize liberty,
For a Cato Institute fan, you don’t sound very libertarian… as a matter of fact you sound like a fascist. I’ll bet you cheered when the U.S. government helped overthrow the government of Chile in 1973 and install Pinochet as military dictator to work his fascist free-market magic. It has taken U.S. supported military coups de etat to institute your vision of free markets in country after country: Guatemala 1953, Iran 1954, Iraq 1963 & 1968 (to install Hussein’s Baath party), 1976 Argentina.
Instituting a military dictatorship in Mexico may be your dream but it would cause a huge refugee influx as people fled your free-market utopia. But hey, as long as capitalists are happy, screw everyone else and their rights, right?
> but it would cause a huge refugee influx as people fled your free-market utopia.
Ummmm. Let’s think about this, Down-and-outer.
There already IS a huge refugee influx. Are you claiming that the refugees are FLEEING the Mexican free-market utopia?
Or, are the Mexicans rushing to get into the American free-market utopia?
You’re a bit foggy.
Visualize Liberty,
Currently, the refugees are economic refugees fleeing the destruction to the Mexican economy caused by NAFTA and the flood of U.S. government subsidized corn.
If your bloodlust was satisfied with a U.S. installed military dictatorship (you can call it Mexico Incorporated and sell all of Mexico on your free market), then the refugees would be political refugees. They would be fleeing the physical repression necessary to “ensure stability” in a newly “liberated” country: ie putting down riots and strikes by the people who reject your free-market dream. Just imagine all the money you and your entreprenurial fascists could make on private prisons here and in Mexico Inc. to house all the refugees at taxpayer expense. Then you could make money transporting the prisoners back to your private prisons in Mexico Inc.! There would be minutemen lining up at your office to do the work of subjugating Mexican people in new and exciting ways, all the while strutting around in their fancy new uniforms and fancy new guns for profits, Jesus, and America!
The resistance to SB1070 is growing, and not just among Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Arabs who don’t want to see what happens when local law enforcement’s ongoing racial profiling is combined with deportation. There are a lot of white people who don’t want to see more racial profiling and deportations because they share the values of the civil rights movement and core values of this country: life, liberty, and freedom for ALL people in this country.
“The resistance to SB1070 is growing.”
And you would be dead wrong. Again.
“Fully 73% say they approve of requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status if police ask for them. Two-thirds (67%) approve of allowing police to detain anyone who cannot verify their legal status, while 62% approve of allowing police to question people they think may be in the country illegally.”
http://people-press.org/report/613/arizona-immigration-law
> Currently, the refugees are economic refugees fleeing the destruction to the Mexican economy caused by NAFTA and the flood of U.S. government subsidized corn.
Un-huh. I see.
Well, let’s just put on our thinking caps and try to solve this problem.
I KNOW!
How about re-directing the flood of economic refugees from Mexico to a welcoming, progressive, non-free market society with respect for human rights and national healthcare.
We could send them to:
A. Cuba
B. Venezuela
C. China
D. Zimbabwe
E. North Korea
Which one do you like the most?
Visualize Liberty,
“How about re-directing the flood of economic refugees from Mexico to a welcoming, progressive, non-free market society with respect for human rights and national healthcare.”
How about doing something about the root cause of immigration which is the economic devastation of Mexico by NAFTA and the annual 10 billion dollar U.S. government corn subsidies which drive Mexican farmers off their land and into the U.S. for work?
You’re resisting saying unkind things about NorthKore?Ren’t you.
Looking forward to the day when Shirikawa manages to “fight through it like the Raiders do” and apologize for war crimes and atrocities committed by the Japanese against Koreans, Chinese, Filipinos, Americans, et al
Maybe he can work the tear felt apology into his karaoke schtick.
What a moron.
Irrespective of what one things about the Arizona statute in question, Shirakawa’s performance sounds like it should be an embarrassment to us all. What a maroon.
Mr. Keefe,
Irrespective of the Arizona statute I’m glad that the Brits kicked the crap out of you and your people. Long live the Queen.
I eat Sons of John Bull for breakfast.
In his defense, it doesn’t look like he’s ever missed a meal.
The Supes can’t fix the budget, can’t spend within their means, took 18 months to fill the county elections committee posts; but they can rush through a ban on happy meal toys and can find the time criticize others’ efforts to get a handle on the ILLEGAL immigration crisis.
Do the work you were elected to do, George, and let others deal with Arizona. I don’t want my tax dollars going to fund an amicus brief in Arizona when you guys can’t make ends meet here at home.
Go ahead and golf there, George. If you get stopped, the cops will probably confuse your surname with the Chiricahua Apaches and just let you go.
George is a loving sensitive man. It is refreshing to see someone in politics with a heart for a change. Say what you will but I find his passion on the subject to be what we need more of from our electeds.
George may have personal views, which he is entitled to express.
But we didn’t elect him to wax tearful about what other jurisdictions have or have not done. We elected him to deal with the chronic fiscal problems of SC County.
If he wants to get teary-eyed about Arizona laws, let him do it on his own time. Meanwhile, do your job and fix the problems HERE, George.
Does anyone know how he voted on uber-fit Ken Yeager’s fight against childhood obesity by banning Happy Meals toys?
When oh when will one of the shining lights at City Hall call for the forced exile of Arizonans and the banishment of Arizona Ice Tea from San Jose to show solidarity with the oppressed illegals, drug smugglers, kidnappers, et al.
Madison, Sam, Ash – the whole world is watching.
Good gosh, Shirakwawa is soooooo PC! It brings tears to my eyes knowing that we have a Board of Supes that has the time to spend on an issue like this. Why don’t they instead fix the 0.25 billion dollar County deficit?!
TThis is a very interesting point of view on this topic to consider:
“When we weigh racial and gender stereotypes for what we deem are noble purposes, we call it “diversity,” but when considering criteria other than one’s individuality for matters of public safety, it devolves into “profiling”?
So what are we to make of the Arizona law?”
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_15078860?nclick_check=1
Victor Davis Hansen has an interesting point of view? I find his points of view reprehensible, so I imagine this one is similar. But his point of view that this is a “proper use of profiling” (huh?) will fit right in with the feelings of the folks on this blog.
Hansen,
Differing points of view is what makes this country great. In other countries you can be shot, jailed, or tortured for expressing your opinion. Be glad you live in a country that encourages freedom of speech, thought, and expression.
As to your comment, ” But his point of view that this is a “proper use of profiling” (huh?) will fit right in with the feelings of the folks on this blog.”
You ought to practice what you preach. By making such a prejudice, and unfounded statement like that, without knowing any of us personally, you are no better than the very people you dislike. No one walking this planet is perfect. We all have our own bias. It is a fact that we make 11 judgments in 7 seconds the first time we lay our eyes on someone. You are certainly no exception.
Illegal is Illegal. It is not a race. I don’t care where you are from if you are a criminal you need to be dealt with. That is an unpleasant fact that you wimps can’t handle.
If wondering how all this blubber and back slapping can be happening in these dire budget times, remember, the Board is made up of several of the guys that through their compulsive obsessive behaviours regarding land use, downtown, cop benefits, New City Hall, Airport… have brought the City of San Jose to its knees. And the voters just rotate them around to incur further damage (or reelect as in Reed’s case). And now the Chamber wants to criticise X. Campos for being the Bro of one who co-conspired with G jr. to blight Tropicana(George’s best show to date of comradery with 1st generation Latinos)? Wow! the winds in SJ politics just blow every which way, its pure comedy and tragedy simultaneous.
Califonia has a law similar to Arizona’s, but it’s rarely enforced
SECTION 834b Penal Code
834b. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal status and provide any additional information that may be requested by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city, county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly prohibited.
________________________________________________________________________
Does anyone know when this item was heard in the meeting?
Item #8 – Under County Counsel report
The recent AZ law is not being enforced until this summer, yet there are people being bullied and harassed in Los Angeles because they did not say what someone wants to hear. In my opinion, this is wrong:
“…We want to find out where the team stands on the law.” (Mario Gonzalez). Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/05/activists-protest-lakers-coach-phil-jackons-comments-on-arizonas-new-immigration-law.html
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The above article stated the AZ law “allows local police to check citizens documents and arrest them if they don’t have them”. I could not find the statement anywhere in the bill so I think it is inaccurate and misleading.
This is the only section I found regarding reasonable attempt to verify immigration status where reasonable suspicion exists:
“B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE PERSON’S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c).”
Retrieved from http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf
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Have a great week!
Hello all,
Here is my big disappointment:
– “Moving swiftly after the Governor of Arizona signed shocking anti-immigrant legislation, Supervisor Shirakawa asked the Board on April 27, 2010 to direct the County Counsel to support any pending litigation against the State of Arizona in the form of an amicus brief. Miguel Marquez, the County Counsel returned to the Board of Supervisors during the May 10, 2010 Closed Session with options for the Board to act upon. During open session on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, the Board of Supervisors 4-1 vote in opposition to Arizona was made public with additional action being requested by Supervisor Shirakawa.” (Retrieved from http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/d2).
I think the Board of Supervisors is given too much power.
– “…imagine if you are a Hispanic American in Arizona, your great, great grandparents may have been there before Arizona was even a state. But now suddenly if you don’t have your papers and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you’re going to be harassed, that’s something that could potentially happen.” (The President of the United States). Retrieved from http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/04/president-obama-says-arizonas-poorlyconceived-immigration-law-could-mean-hispanicamericans-are-haras.html).
What an imagination some lawyers have! I’ve read the AZ law and I simply don’t see how it applies to the above scenario. If it was me, and I was stopped, I would comply without any hard feelings. There are many advantages being in this great country so I’m willing to accept some minor inconveniences as well.
It’s awful that these elected leaders can say whatever and do whatever they want without thinking of the impact on others. Denouncing Arizona for their attempt to halt the flow of illegal immigrants into their state is wrong. But worse, in doing so, the claim gives the impression that American law enforcement, i.e. policemen, are bad people waiting to harass anyone which I don’t think is the case. It is distasteful and disrespectful to boycott Arizona and their businesses. To gain respect is to show respect. If AZ law is unlawful, the law will be made ineffective in the courts. Using any other means such as boycotting, to me, is un-American, a form of blackmailing and bullying.
As residents of San Jose, whether you agree with me or not, please voice your opinion to your city council representative before June 8th when they will vote on the AZ boycott (http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15073347?nclick_check=1).
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I was delighted to hear the statement by Miss Oklahoma-USA Morgan Elizabeth Woolard in which she said: “I’m a huge believer in states’ rights. I think that’s what’s so wonderful about America. So I think it’s perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law.” (Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/StandWithArizona).
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To the editor:
I am not sure if you will post this. If you do, I thank you. Have a great day!
“And Mexico has a law that is no different from Arizona’s that empowers local police to check the immigration documents of people suspected of not being in the country legally.
“There (in the United States), they’ll deport you,” Hector Vázquez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, said as he rested in a makeshift camp with other migrants under a highway bridge in Tultitlán. “In Mexico they’ll probably let you go, but they’ll beat you up and steal everything you’ve got first.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-05-25-mexico-migrants_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno
Shirakawa has got to be one of the worlds greatest hypocrites! He cries about Arizona’s laws and cancels his trip to Arizona, and then he leads the charge to give one of the County’s biggest contracts (ambulances) to an Arizona based company. And if that’s not bad enough, it’s the same company that makes donations to the co-authors of the Arizona anti-immigration bill. What a joke. He’s an embarrassment to our community.