This is a poll by the Public Insight Network in response to the Associated Press’ decision to drop the term “illegal immigrant”. The Public Insight Network basically wants to know the public’s opinion on what they think  undocumented immigrants should be referred to as in journalism. I’ve personally have been using the term “undocumented immigrant” for quite some time now, but I’ve recently come to question it after reading this Atlantic Wire piece in where they quote the Los Angeles Times’reasoning about why they think this term is sometimes inaccurate. According to them:

‘Illegal immigrants’ is overly broad and does not accurately apply in every situation. The alternative suggested by the 1995 guidelines, ‘undocumented immigrants,’ similarly falls short of our goal of precision. It is also untrue in many cases, as with immigrants who possess passports or other documentation but lack valid visas.

To me this makes a lot of sense and this why I checked “undocumented immigrant” and also “other”.  I explained my reasoning for choosing “other” in the box below, where I wrote that the term “immigrant without proper documentation” can also be an option when speaking of individuals that are residing within the country with a passport or other documentation, but who do not have a valid, for example, working or resident visa. Anyway, I highly recommend everyone mosey on over to the poll and share their opinion. It’s important to remember that the term “illegal” has been turned into a noun that dehumanizes people, so definitely consider that when you take the poll.

By the way, I received the Public Insight Network poll link from follower pag-asaharibon in response to this post I published yesterday. He runs a solid blog covering politics, environmental issues, Arizona news, and technology, among other interesting material. I definitely recommend following. 

In case you missed it, a few days back the Los Angeles Times joined the Associated Press in officially dropping the phrase “illegal immigrant” from any and all coverage. The L.A. Times is taking it a step further by also banning “undocumented immigrant”, since they feel it’s not factually accurate in all situations. This Atlantic Wire piece explains the Los Angeles Times‘ reasoning:

‘Illegal immigrants’ is overly broad and does not accurately apply in every situation. The alternative suggested by the 1995 guidelines, ‘undocumented immigrants,’ similarly falls short of our goal of precision. It is also untrue in many cases, as with immigrants who possess passports or other documentation but lack valid visas.

One school in Georgia has until now had separate end-of-term dance parties for African Americans and whites.

It’s 2013 and almost 60 years after the US Supreme Court desegregated public school, but just now this Rochelle, Georgia high school is having an integrated prom. But we live in a post-racial society, right…

Enidris Siurano Rodríguez may only be in 10th grade, but she knows if she wants to make a change, she has to stand… or in this case, sit for it.

The Puerto Rican-born 15-year-old is making a statement for her cause: raising consciousness about the political situation of the island of her birth and emphasizing her disagreement with U.S. government policies towards the island due to its territorial status.

Since 7th grade the honor student and gifted violinist,who moved to the U.S. mainland when she was three years old,decided not to participate during the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag in her Maryland high school, and stayed silent and seated during that time as a way to protest.

“I did it when I began to understand the current political situation of Puerto Rico,which I do not like,” Siurano told Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Día. “I do not agree with the way the United States treats Puerto Rico… I think Puerto Rico has an undemocratic situation, I dislike the idea that a government so far [from the island] tells us what we can and cannot do. “

…

Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland accused the Montgomery County Maryland Public School of violating Siurano’s rights after at the beginning of the year her teachers confronted her several times and sent to the principal’s office. Authorities told the teenager that while she didn’t have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, she had to stand up every morning during that time.

According to the ACLU, Siurano’s mother was also informed that if her daughter keeps up her protestshe would be removed from class. Since then, teachers have constantly asked the student to stand up by her teachers in an effort the legal organization describes as a way to intimidate her and make her flinch.

…

In Maryland, even though the statute demands that schools say the pledge every day,students that don’t want to do so can be excused, TakePart reports.In an interview with the site David Rocah, staff attorney at the ACLU of Maryland, said the reasoning for telling Rodriguez she must stand “was because she felt Siurano was being disrespectful to military families and the kids from military families in the school.”

This is a seriously gross violation of rights. As Siurano’s compatriot, Ricky Martin tweeted in solidarity: ”The right to free speech also includes the right not to speak. Too often this is forgotten”. 

A court in Chile has set a date for the exhumation of the remains of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, as part of an inquest into his death.

International experts will begin their examinations on 8 April to determine whether the poet was poisoned in 1973.

The poet and left-wing activist died 12 days after a military coup replaced the socialist President Salvador Allende with General Augusto Pinochet.

The poet’s family maintains that he died at 69 of advanced prostate cancer.

In 2011, Chile started investigating allegations by his former driver, Manuel Araya Osorio, that the poet had been poisoned

This is a HUGE deal. For those that don’t know, Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Pablo Neruda is considered among Latin America’s most prolific poets. He published over 40 full-length poetry books and literary thousands and thousands of pages of poetry. Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian novelist and considered worldwide to be one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, called Neruda “the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language.”.

Neruda was also a politician and served as a senator under the Chilean Communist Party. Because of his political affiliations, Neruda was later warranted for arrest when communism became outlawed under the Videla presidency in 1948, but managed to escape and seek exile in Argentina. Neruda returned to Chile in 1952 after Salvador Allende become the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open election. Neruda is known to have been a great friend and supporter Salvador Allende.

Although Neruda was in the hospital from cancer complications at the time of the Chilean coup d’état led by Pinochet, and died three days later after the coup from heart failure, doubts surrounding the reason of his death have always been present.

Racists trying to prove they’re not racists by acting racist. I think you guys are doing it wrong…

btw you probably shouldn’t name the session where you’re trying to prove you’re not racist, “Trump The Race Card: Are You Sick And Tired Of Being Called A Racist When You Know You’re Not One?”. That title is basically saying “whatever arguments you have as a PoC isn’t legitimate because you’re just relying on the “race card” and your marginalization is made up. oh, and p.s. I’m not racist cuz I say so.”

Right-wing funders and business industrialists David and Charles Koch may purchase the Tribune Company newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and the Los Angeles Times. The brothers are “interested in the clout they could gain through the Times’ editorial pages,” the Hollywood Reporter notes. Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Koch told the website that the brothers are “constantly exploring profitable opportunities in many industries and sectors”

….

The Koch brothers own Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in America, and fund a network of right-wing think tanks and organizations. In 2012, the brothers had pledged $60 million to defeat President Obama and even sent mailers to employees urging them to support Mitt Romney and other conservative candidates.

You should be scared. And this is why:

• The Koch brothers funds and supports an organization which thinks the Violence Against Women Act is “unconstitutional”.
• The same organization, called The Heritage Foundation, is known for being anti-gay and climate change denying, among other bigoted and delusional stands.  
• Last year, Koch Industries Warned 45,000 Employees Of ‘Consequences’ If They Don’t Vote For Republicans.
• Koch Industries is one of top five corporate air polluters in the U.S. 
• The Koch brothers have been accused of backing public school segregation, in 2009.
• The Koch brothers have no respect for Native American rights or lands.
• The Koch brothers also sympathize and help fund Tea Party rallies. 
• ALEC, which is Koch funded, is responsible for drafting strict voter ID laws that have been known to exclude students, People of Color, the elderly, and low income citizens from the voting process.
• The Koch brothers are basically at war with Social Security.

The Colorado House passed a bill on Friday allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition for state public colleges. For 10 years, the legislature has debated versions of the bill that lets students who graduate from Colorado high schools pay a lower tuition bill, regardless of their immigration status.

The bill passed 40-21 with just three Republicans joining the House Democrats, and it heads to Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to sign.

68-year-old Onyango Obama is facing deportation after being pulled over for drunk driving. Onyango arrived to the US in his teens and has been living in this country for over 50 years.  

Can we talk about how ridiculous this is. What do you go back to after 50 years? The sad thing about this story is that cases like these happen on a regular basis. We’re just hearing about this one because it happens to be the president’s uncle.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday that he would like to see the implementation of high-tech border solutions — including drone aircraft — as part of a comprehensive immigration reform deal.

because what’s more comprehensive than drones when it comes to American politics…