Thread: Mexican American Vet Used to Put Down Protesters

Here is a real good example of how the press can slant stuff.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/colu...y/14682617.htm

Posted on Sat, May. 27, 2006

Hispanics have proud history of defending U.S.By Bud Kennedy
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
On Memorial Day morning, Texas will bury another young hero.

A crowd in an Edinburg church will gather for Benny Ramirez. At 21, he was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

The crowd has been there before. Edinburg has given four lives for America in Iraq.

Ramirez is one of 67 Texans of Hispanic descent killed in Iraq, some from immigrant families who came to the U.S. hoping for citizenship.

Yet elsewhere on Memorial Day, some politician will probably demand that America "stop the invasion" and send troops to protect America from people who look like Ramirez.

One veteran isn't afraid.

"The children of Mexican immigrants have a proud history of fighting to defend this country," said Tony Morales of Fort Worth.

He is the national commander of the Colorado-based American GI Forum, the primary national organization for Hispanic veterans and their families.

In a time when some American veterans join border-patrol militias, GI Forum strongly favors legal work permits for immigrants and opposes the U.S. House immigration bill as a "racial discrimination effort by those who fear change."

Complaints about an "invasion" are simply "a rallying cry for people who don't like Hispanics," Morales said. "They don't like Mexicanos, in particular."

If somebody says, "I'm only against illegal immigrants," Morales said, "that's just sugar-coating."

Often, the same complainers call anyone of Hispanic descent "illegals."

"I think deep down, they still have this racist attitude embedded in them," Morales said. "They don't want to accept somebody who might be different."

Morales, 66, served in France and Germany in the 1950s with the Air Force's 417th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
He is serving his second term as commander of the 145,000-member GI Forum, founded by a Corpus Christi doctor in 1948. The organization took up the cause of defending Hispanic veterans' rights in 1949, after a South Texas funeral home turned away the body of a Hispanic soldier.

Soldiers of Hispanic descent not only fought proudly in World War II, they fought heroically, earning 12 Medals of Honor -- more per capita than any other demographic group.

"History shows that we have always been there to fight for freedom," Morales said.

"Veterans should remember who has been fighting alongside them in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Our people die for this country. We are proud of it."

At the height of the immigration protests last month, GI Forum issued a formal statement supporting the public protests against the House version of an immigration overhaul.

The veterans' news release criticized the "dehumanization" of "hardworking immigrants." It applauded the protests, writing that Hispanic veterans fought for freedom of speech and assembly.

The statement also listed America's most important values as family, work ethic and strong religious beliefs: "These are values that Hispanic immigrants have always cherished and practiced. Exactly what values are threatening the opposition?"

Instead of draining tax money for education and healthcare, the GI Forum statement said, the growing immigrant population has an "enormous beneficial impact," driving economic success and development nationwide.

Morales said that he would like to see legal work permits for immigrants. Those who have come illegally should pay a fine, he said. But he does not support offering them all citizenship: "Some of them don't want it. They want to come here, work and go home."

He supports stronger border security to keep out drug dealers and terrorists.

But he opposes building a fence or wall.

"A fence is never going to work as long as there are jobs," he said. "It's stupid to think that everything can be fixed with a fence."

After Morales' Air Force days, he joined in civil rights protests, including a 1973 Dallas protest against the police killing of a Hispanic teenager.

"My long hair and bell-bottom pants days are over," he said with a smile.

"But I am thrilled to see so many young people out there today taking a stand. I am energized about where we are going now as Hispanics in America.

"Did you see all the young people in those marches? They are standing up and taking civic responsibility. They are the future of this country."

Some of the young people who marched in protests last month were the children of illegal immigrants. Yet they will carry on the legacy of Hispanic veterans who have fought proudly for America.

Someday, we will call them heroes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bud Kennedy's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 817-390-7538 bud @budkennedy.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, only 4 sentences were given to the real Memorial Day story, which was the passing and funeral of a young service man from Texas. This reporter and Vet used this childs death for a political agenda. If I were this kids mother, there would be no end to my discust.

After reading this, I started thinking, why would "Tony" say such racial things, that man does not know me or the people I protested with. Then I remembered, "you criticize others of your own insecurities" and "you point out flaws in others, which you identified as flaws within yourself". Therefore, I didn't let it bother me because I know my own heart and deeds and I don't have to answer to "Tony" only God Almighty.

However, I was a little bothered by this because it was printed in my local paper and the comments were about my protest group. I felt for them because of the ugly things he said. Also, I know it was directed at one of my protest organizers. She knows the author.

So I realized Mr. Tony Morales was used, by the writer to make a stab at someone else. She refused an interview because he would twist it. No other reason why “Tony” would go off into a race issue for a Memorial Day article. So then I questioned the group of GI's Mr. Morales belongs to. Well, there was the answer.

I went and I found the American Gi Fourm on the net.
I looked at a picture of my accuser, Antonio "Tony" Morales. Americanized himself for the article.
http://www.agif.us/news.htm

I found it interesting that they call themselves "American" GI Fourm. It appears to be a pretty exclusive group comprised of Hispanic-Americans.

In the article, "Tony" appears to be a proud American vet and his American buddies that do not approve of the protesters, which are picking on the illegal aliens.

This is just an example of how slanted an article can become when a writer spins it.

Don’t take words from the press to heart and don’t let them disturb you.

Your unashamed mostly white, non-racist and proud American protester for immigration reform. I will not feel guilty for standing up for what is right and I will not be silenced by calling me unjust names.

Guiltless, shameless and unrelenting,

Dixie

Often, the same complainers call anyone of Hispanic descent "illegals."

"I think deep down, they still have this racist attitude embedded in them," Morales said. "They don't want to accept somebody who might be different."

Sigh, Again, I don't care where an illegal is from, nor their race nor ethnicity...not even if they're white and from England!...nor do I mind LEGAL immigration. JUST OBEY THE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS!

It's gotta be hard for legal immigrants with relatives or friends here illegally. (NOT that I know that's his situation.) BUT, they should of thought of that, first, before committing the crime of illegal entrance to this country. Just an observation. NOW, go home.

See my sig:

The sad thing is - by singling out this one man - it is such a slap in the face of every soldier who died in Iraq - or elsewhere - who were children of legal immigrants, or who had ancestors who previously fought or died for this country, or people who have obeyed the laws, maintained and sustained this country.

This man's father came here to steal - and somehow he gets more recognition????

All the young men and women deserve as much recognition as this young man because of HIS sacrifice - not because of the misdeeds of his father.

They are not really praising the young man - they are praising his illegal father - sad, sad, sad.

The Ft. Worth Star Telegram has been an ulta liberal paper for many, many years.

Dixie, you little ALIPAC Titan....... well-written grouping of words.

You hit the proverbial nail upon its proverbial head when mentioning how one finds "flaws" and "insecurities" in others based upon those within one's self.

That finding fault in others based upon one's own flaws has been confirmed by psychological studies researching the human condition.

I wonder if Morales would have been so quick to spew his froth if he was aware of this aspect of humanity?

obbop,

Fellow Titan! I'm sure he would not have spewed it and front of me.

He may have served in the armed forces but he is no match for me considering what is going on between his ears.

Dixie

"The children of Mexican immigrants have a proud history of fighting to defend this country," said Tony Morales of Fort Worth.

He is the national commander of the Colorado-based American GI Forum, the primary national organization for Hispanic veterans and their families.

nobody ever said "immigrants" didn't.

Tony Morales took an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same . . . So help me God, " the Constitution he took an oath to defend mandates repelling invasion

clearly, his allegiance is with Mexico first ... he calls Americans racist but he's the 'national commander' of an organization for "hispanic" veterans -- NOT American veterans ..

I found some champions around town that are not in my protest group. This just goes to show that others are involved that are not standing in the streets with us.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opin...2/14723978.htm

Posted on Fri, Jun. 02, 2006

Hispanics on the front linesStar-Telegram

Bud Kennedy nailed a major part of the problem with immigrants in the United States, although he obviously doesn't understand his own point. He wrote: "They're not Hispanic heroes, they're American heroes." (See Saturday column, "Hispanics have proud history of defending U.S.")

If all Americans considered themselves to be unhyphenated Americans instead of "Hispanic-Americans," "African-Americans" or "Whatever-Americans," we wouldn't have nearly the problems we face in our country.

We could celebrate and be thankful for being Americans instead of pitting ourselves against one another and emphasizing whatever differences there may have been in the various countries from which we -- or, in most cases, our parents, grandparents or other forefathers -- came from.

So what if my great-great-grandmother grew up in a teepee and yours grew up in a European palace and someone else's was sold into slavery by her tribe to be delivered to the slave markets that once thrived in the Western Hemisphere? That history is irrelevant to our lives today.

Let's all take a tip from what Kennedy unintentionally said (he would never intentionally be on the right side of an issue) and start looking at ourselves as Americans. And let's realize that terrorists threaten all of us.

Regardless of any hyphens we may want to use, we must gain control of our borders and stem the free flow of terrorists and their weapons into our country.

David N. Walker, Fort Worth

I thoroughly enjoyed Kennedy's column that dealt with the issue of Hispanic loyalty and bravery on the front line.

I'm a grandson of two men whose parents found Mexico's political environment in the 1900s a bit too hot for their safety, so they crossed the river with their families without "papers."

Of their children (all citizens by birth), three defended their country in a not-very-friendly time: the 1940s. My father served in the Navy, and one uncle served in Europe. He was wounded by heavy machine-gun fire. The other uncle made the ultimate sacrifice when a kamikaze plane crashed into the destroyer on which he was a gunner on an anti-aircraft battery.

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting a war memorial in Okinawa where he and about 15,000 fellow American heroes are honored, along with the rest of the estimated 200,000 from all sides, including Okinawan civilians, who died during the bloodiest battle of World War II.

Kennedy was absolutely correct. Our ethnic group has contributed many to the list of American heroes now in Iraq and in past wars. If only the xenophobic segments of the population would understand the above.

I suspect that many of these people have never even considered serving in the armed forces, yet they partake of the freedoms that were paid for by Hispanic blood spilt protecting those freedoms.

I tried to do my share. I served as a physician in the Army during the Vietnam conflict.

John Menchaca, Fort Worth

Kennedy's Saturday column was left-wing, liberal, politically correct tripe.

His problem is that he made no distinction between legal and illegal immigration. It's an invasion. It's against the law. It's not racism to secure and defend your country's borders. It's your country's duty to do so. Every country except the United States defends its borders -- all of its borders. It's insane not to do so.

Let Kennedy try sneaking into Mexico or any other country and see what happens to him. Has Kennedy forgotten 9-11?

I, like Kennedy, was raised around Mexican-Americans and have many Latino friends and neighbors. I served with many in the military and worked with them and have great respect for them. I don't know if they were all legal immigrants. It didn't matter, and I didn't ask.

The point is, we have to stop the illegal immigration flooding into this country. If it takes fences, moats or the whole army to stop it, it must be done. We can't take every immigrant in the world who wants to come here.

Tony Morales was quoted by Kennedy as equating the Minute Men and securing the border with racism. I call it patriotism. Morales expressed pride in the young people who marched in demonstrations against the House version of an immigration overhaul. Does that include those who carried Mexican flags as they marched? If they want to be Americans, why didn't they carry U.S. flags?

The borders must be secured. This invasion must be stopped. Legal immigrants are welcome. Illegal ones are not.

Bill E. Miller, Fort Worth

On Memorial Day, you listed on the Op-Ed page ("In memoriam") all of the Texans who have given their lives in defense of our country in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was a deeply touching tribute to the fallen, but as I read each name, I couldn't help but notice the abundance of them that had Latino or Hispanic flourishes.

How utterly proper. I have friends and family members who have served in both conflicts. They tell me that a good portion of the Latino population of our military are young men and women who aren't U.S. citizens, and yet they serve, and in some cases have died for, a country where a large portion of the population wants them to leave -- to return to the land whence they came and never return.

And so I ask those who propose this: If you haven't already, will you take their place in the military? Will you go off to some strange land of brutal cold or unbearable heat to fight for your country? Will you risk all that you have, your very life, in defense of our great land? These young men and women were and are willing to make that sacrifice for a country whose citizenry, in some cases, denies their very existences, their rights as human beings.

We must remember those who fought and died for our freedoms, but also remember that you have something that some of them did not: citizenship.

Robert W. Powell, Cleburne

Complaints about an "invasion" are simply "a rallying cry for people who don't like Hispanics," Morales said. "They don't like Mexicanos, in particular."

If somebody says, "I'm only against illegal immigrants," Morales said, "that's just sugar-coating."

Often, the same complainers call anyone of Hispanic descent "illegals."

"I think deep down, they still have this racist attitude embedded in them," Morales said. "They don't want to accept somebody who might be different."

Morales, 66, served in France and Germany in the 1950s with the Air Force's 417th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
He is serving his second term as commander of the 145,000-member GI Forum, founded by a Corpus Christi doctor in 1948. The organization took up the cause of defending Hispanic veterans' rights in 1949, after a South Texas funeral home turned away the body of a Hispanic soldier.

Soldiers of Hispanic descent not only fought proudly in World War II, they fought heroically, earning 12 Medals of Honor -- more per capita than any other demographic group.

This SMELLS just like JfnKerry's Winter Soldiers
Wonder how many fake Vets belong to this group?

"Did you see all the young people in those marches? They are standing up and taking civic responsibility. They are the future of this country."

They are standing up all right but I do not call it "civic responsibility".

If this is the future of our country we are doomed.