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Welcome to Thinking Out Loud, a blog that contains postings from The Tampa Tribune’s Editorial Board and from various Tribune Community Columnists. Unlike the unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper’s institutional voice, the blog postings offer personal perspectives on the issues, personalities and events of Tampa Bay. We invite you to participate by posting your comments. We’ll do our best to respond.

Contributors:

Joe Guidry

Joe Guidry is the deputy editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune. He is a Tampa native and a graduate of the University of South Florida. He is married and has an adult son.

Jeff Stidham

Jeff Stidham grew up and lives in Bartow. He has been with the Tribune for nearly 22 years, the last 10 on the editorial board.

William Yelverton

William Yelverton is a Tribune editorial writer who has worked for the paper nearly 22 years. He lives in the Dade City area.

Jim Beamguard

Jim Beamguard is a Tribune editorial writer. He is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of Davidson College. He and his family live in Brandon.

Jackie Papandrew:

Jackie Papandrew is a freelance writer and editor. Her syndicated humor column appears in publications in the United States, Canada and India. She lives in Largo with her husband and children. Visit her website at www.jackiepapandrew.com.

Camille Beredjick

Camille Beredjick is a senior at Chamberlain High School, an avid musician and a scribbler with a quirky sense of humor. In the fall, she will be attending Northwestern University to study journalism, political science and music, and she plans to pursue a career in journalism.

Jim Harnish

Jim Harnish is in his 17th year as Senior Pastor at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa. He and his wife, Marsha, have two daughters and two grandchildren. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary and received the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Bethune-Cookman University. He is the author of six books and numerous articles and studies. He enjoys playing with his grandchildren and cheering for the Florida Gators.

Angela Hunt

Angela Hunt is a novelist living in Pinellas County with her husband and two 220-pound mastiffs.

Sheryl Young

Sheryl Young was a Tampa Tribune Community Columnist in 2005-2006. A freelance writer since 1997, including the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa Style Magazines, St. Pete Times and nationally in Better Nutrition, Today’s Christian Woman and more. She’s received a First Place Amy Foundation national "Roaring Lambs" Writing Award, and has lived in Tampa Bay with her family for over 20 years.

Christie Gold

Christie Gold teaches English and journalism at Freedom High School in Tampa where she advises Revolution, the school newspaper. She has been both the Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year and Florida Journalism Teacher of the Year. She lives on a small farm in Wesley Chapel where she trains as a competitive equestrian.

Natalie D. Preston

Natalie D. Preston is a karaoke singing, only-child pouting, Seminole Tomahawk waving, newlywed bride blushing, 50-state traveling, girlie girl who loves to shop, read, run and jump up and down on her soapbox.

Fernando Figueroa

Fernando Figueroa is a researcher, educator and lives in Riverview.

Gary Beemer

Interests include humor, politics, economics, community and world affairs, finance, people, religion, music, sports, current events, the arts and education.

Nicole Yunger Halpern

Nicole Yunger Halpern is an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, where she studies everything she can get her nerdy little hands on. Desired major: life. No, not necessarily biology. Life.

Kris DiGiovanni

Kris DiGiovanni is a Tribune Community Columnist, Huffington Post contributor, Daily Kos diarist, and teacher, who recently moved from NW Hillsborough to another planet - a small beach community in Pinellas County. She also blogs at www.sandscript.wordpress.com

H. David Braswell Jr.

H. David Braswell Jr. is an Information Systems Professional. He is a native New Yorker and a lifelong NY Giants fan. He attended college in California (Cal State Northridge) and moved to Tampa in 1998.

Sean Marcus

Sean Marcus teaches creative writing, journalism and reading at Chamberlain High School. He has one son and is expecting a daughter in early March. He can be reached at wuizabug@gmail.com

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Fear of a Mexican Planet

Posted Jul 6, 2010 by Antonio Montana

Updated Jul 6, 2010 at 11:10 PM

I remember when the Public Enemy album; Fear of a Black Planet was released. I remember it because it was controversial. Although the controversy was nothing more than Chuck D and Flavor Flav speaking some truths there were some folks who just had to complain, protest and just simply be afraid of the title of the album.

That is why I titled this column Fear of a Mexican Planet. gasp!

After reading the enlightened comments of many on TBO about the suit brought by the federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Arizona Immigration law I was moved.

I was moved by nausea that Tampa had that many ‘ignant” comments. That’s right…you read it right.
Not ignorant. Ignant.

Tampa does not have an “immigrant problem” like the state of Arizona has. Unless you lived in Arizona or any state that borders Mexico, lived near the border, dealt with illegal immigrants there and moved to Tampa to complain…only then...you can have some validity to whatever you want to spew out.

The state of Arizona has every right to be mad as hell about what the Federal government has failed to do: protect our borders.So they want to do some enforcing. Bravo!
By checking any person that is suspicious (non-white) of being an illegal immigrant.
Brilliant! except that…

If I was carrying a bag of oranges to my car and my clothes are dirty because I was doing yard work?
I could be considered an illegal immigrant.
I’m brown and I have native features: gasp! I could be illegal.
My name is pepe, jose, maria or ricardo? Illegal! call INS!
I have an accent or speak little english…hurry call the swat team.

Look. Before you get your underwear bunched up and ready to retaliate with a comment. Consider this:

The ends never justifies the means. The Arizona law leaves too much to interpretation.
We wouldn’t want to have something similar to what happened to Rodney King would we?
Only difference would be that the victims name might be Reynaldo (Rodney) Rey (King)...

The Federal government did NADA during the Clinton and Bush administrations. Although during the final Bush administration months there were a lot of deportations which is similar to taking the water our of a sinking boat with a paper cup. Finally the current administration has some political will to do something and instead of sharing comments of support or suggestions you get things like:

Obama needs to be voted out, mexicans are taking over, blah, blah, blah…same old caca.

Here is a refreshing option. If we have illegal immigrants in this country, lets make them pay. A lot! A fine for having come over, a fine for having stayed and assorted fees to get your paper work done. We have a deficit and we need money. We can take VISA, MC card, payment plans etc. Don’t pay? Jail time or deportation.

You think this is far fetch? The financial collapse/disaster that this country experienced was because financial companies, in a free market, were lending and making bucko money off people who had little money. Here I’m only suggesting that we apply the same principles. Lets start charging and collecting from those who are illegal immigrants.

After all, the american dream does have a price.

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