Thursday, May 27, 2010

Comedy Gold

All I can say is this: make sure Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia all have seats on the jury. You may want to ignore the somewhat dodgy translation and concentrate of the message:

To reverse the effects of SB-1070, legislators in Mexico and the U.S. (EU) have agreed to submit an appeal to the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR), since this initiative criminalises migration with racial profiling in the state of Arizona.

Amanda Aguirre, state Sen. governed by Jan Brewer, read-after a closed-door meeting in the City of Nogales, “a joint statement announcing the promotion of comprehensive immigration reform” before the U.S. Congress- to enable the safe and orderly flow of migrants, in response to the reality of both nations in labor.

“We will seek to denounce the SB-1070 to the Organization of American States (OAS) through the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (…) in order to determine if the imminent implementation of this legislation violates the human rights of residents Arizona, regardless of their immigration status, “he said.

Of course, as things stand now we have a very safe and orderly flow of immigrants. What could be more safe than being crammed into a panel truck? But I digress. You could dismiss all this as yet another pathetic grandstand play, since it is one, but there's this little detail. From the article:

Update: It looks to me like this action may have violated the oath of office required of all elected officials in AZ.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the State of Arizona, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and defend them against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of ______________ according to the best of my ability, so help me God (or so I do affirm).

What do you think?

Ooh, pick me, pick me! I'd say yes, the Arizona politicians who pulled this stunt are definitely violating their oath of office. But I suspect they'll do well in the voting for the upcoming Aztlan legislature.

3 comments:

my name is Amanda said...

Are you accusing them of grandstanding because they're in government? If so, then you're saying people in government don't genuinely believe that anything is worth fighting against simply because it's wrong? I guess I just don't understand the title of this post. Pointing that someone may be violating an oath - in pursuit of human rights - doesn't prove that the law does not promote racial profiling.

Mr. D said...

No, I'm just mocking them, Amanda. Two reasons:

Because (a) it is their job to defend the laws of the state first. They can disagree with them and work to repeal the laws, of course, but they ought to do within the framework of their own legislature, rather than conducting a grandstand play of this sort. And in making an alliance with another country, they are certainly violating their oath of office. Which won't help the cause they purport to champion.

And (b), because considering the way the Mexican government treats immigrants, and the current state of Mexican immigration law, it beggars belief that an alliance with Mexican legislators is going to produce anything that will actually help the plight of the people these folks purport to champion.

But other than that, it's a highly effective gambit.

Gino said...

i propose we treat illegal immigrants the same way their home country treats illegal immigrants.

then we'll see calderone blush like a virgin at chippendales.