“Today was a fun day,” President Obama said. “Nobody checked my ID at the door.”

1. Silence is argument carried out by other means.
2. The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.
3. Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel!
4. Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.
5. Many will call me an adventurer – and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.\Let the world change you and you can change the world.
6. At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.
7. I am not a liberator.
8. Be realistic, demand the impossible!
9. I will fight with all the weapons within my reach rather than let myself be nailed to a cross or whatever.
10. HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE
11. Every day People straighten up the hair, why not the heart.
12. And then many things became very clear… we learned perfectly that the life of a single human being is worth millions of times more than all the property of the richest man on earth.
13. There is no other definition of socialism valid for us than that of the abolition of the exploitation of man by man.
14. We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.
15. The walls of the educational system must come down. Education should not be a privilege, so the children of those who have money can study.
16. I would rather die standing up to live life on my knees
17. The revolution is made through human beings, but individuals must forge their revolutionary spirit day by day
18. The Revolutionary is not a portrait, It’s a landscape
19. If you consider that the things that we are doing in the people’s interest represent manifestations of communism, then call us communists. If you are asking whether I am a member of the Partido Socialista Popular, the answer is no.
20. I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shootin
21. If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine
22. In a revolution, one triumphs or dies
23. There are no boundaries in this struggle to the death. We cannot be indifferent to what happens anywhere in the world, for a victory by any country over imperialism is our victory; just as any country’s defeat is a defeat for all of us.
24. I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man

Yesterday I posted a blog about the people that I loathe. It was a somewhat therapeutic exercise and I felt better getting some hate out of my system. As a result of digging deep and noting all the folks that I loathe I felt it was necessary to show that I am not filled with only disdain but that I actually like people. Without further adieu the people and organizations that DPC likes:

• My family
• My beautiful wife Lindsey
• David Patrick Castro II
• My friends:
• The University of Nevada: My alma mater and the team I love the most.
• Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls: I am an Evergreen Park, Illinois native, like The Unabomber, and I root for my once local squads.
• The Montreal Canadiens: My love of Patrick Roy made me a fan of the Habs and some 17-years after their last Stanley Cup win I still root for the Canadiens.
• Reno, Nevada: My surrogate home for four-years.
• Juan Pablo Montoya: Gotta root for my Hispanic brother in NASCAR.
• Noel Gallagher: The brains behind my favorite band Oasis. Wrote a majority of their catalog, especially their best work from their first three-albums.
• Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson: For writing the greatest piece of movie dialogue ever: “You wanna talk some jive? I’ll talk some jive. I’ll talk some jive like you’ve never heard!”
• Jan Van Eyck: In my mind he painted the greatest picture ever, the Arnolfini Portrait. I saw it at the National Gallery when I was studying in London.
• Elvis Presley: I have a TCB bumper sticker on my Impala.
• Jim Morrison: The words and voice of the Doors, my second favorite band. During my dazed and confused teenage years the Lizard King provided the soundtrack.
• Shaft: The cat who won’t cop out when there’s danger all about. Me and my friends named our Santa Rose Rec League basketball team after Richard Roundtree’s character.
• Dolemite: If for no other reason than for uttering the phrase, “You rat soup eating, honky motherf**ker!”
• Scarlett Johansson:
  
• Hunter S. Thompson: One of the reasons that I ended up graduating from the Reynolds School of Journalism.
• David Sedaris: Another reason why I ended up as a writer.
  
• James Bond: I even enjoy the Roger Moore era.

This is by no means a complete list and inevitably I forgot somewhere or an organization that I like and also influenced me in a positive manner. Hopefully any misgivings from being ignored on this list shall pass because these are the things I hold dear, cherish and ultimately made Dave into DPC.

Unfortunately I have a propensity towards anger and holding a grudge for very trivial reasons. As a result of this negative behavior I have developed a list of the people and organizations (GOP, San Francisco 49ers and Giants) that I loathe or have absolute disdain for. Without further adieu, the people that DPC loathes:

• Chris Ault: I feel that Coach Ault is keeping my alma mater, the University of Nevada, down with less than stellar play calling and an ideology that focuses solely on beating UNLV as opposed to overtaking the Boise State Broncos as WAC champions.
• Jan Brewer: The Governor of Arizona has taken a once nice state and turned into a late night TV joke. Any proponent of 1070 and perpetuating racist concepts to her constituents is an enemy of Life In The DPC.
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A Nazi with a badge.
• Will Clark: My disdain for the San Francisco Giants likely stems from my hatred for Clark. I still haven’t forgotten the 1989 NLCS.
• Barry Bonds: BALCO, he played for the Giants and he broke Henry Aaron’s hallowed record.
• Joe Montana: He lit up the Bears and I can’t stand the 49ers.
• Jerry Rice: See above.
• Murph and Mac: Homers for the Giants and 49ers.
• Ralph Barbieri: Annoying voice and seems to know less about hockey than I do. Go Sharks!
• Tony LaRussa: Manages the Cubs’ rival and supports 1070.
• Albert Pujols: Star for the Cubs’ rival and also supports 1070.
• Bush/Cheney: Set America back decades with a self serving administration. When I was studying in London I was embarrassed to say I was an American because many locals assumed that all Yanks were as stupid as Bush.
• Emmit Smith: After reading Jeff Pearlman’s Boys Will Be Boys my respect for Smith bottomed out. It wasn’t very high before because I always assumed he extended his career to bolster his stats.
• Sarah Palin: Palin, like Bush/Cheney, brings the GOP down. Which in a way is a good thing. My loathing of Palin is based on the concept that she makes America look bad. I’m not overly patriotic but I like to have my country represented in a positive light.
• Russel Pearce: He sponsored 1070 and is trying to eliminate the 14th Amendment.
• UNLV: The Wolf Pack’s rival to the south.
• That customer, when I worked at Blockbuster, who told me how the Sixth Sense ended. I won’t spoil it for the few that haven’t seen it.
• Chris Murray: He canceled my column at the Reno Gazette-Journal. Of course one of my journalism school professors told me afterward that you haven’t made it until someone fires you. Of course I wasn’t being paid for my work so I am not sure if I was technically fired but I can say that my services where no longer wanted.

This is not by any means a complete list but it was somewhat therapeutic to get some hatred out of my system. As I have gotten older I have noticed that I am less inclined to maintain childish grudges against peoples or institutions but by the same token I am also more aware of injustice and inequality in society.

Most of my athletic based hatred stems from my youth, the exception being UNLV but that contempt is because I am trying to do my best as Nevada alumni. As I have gotten older my anger is directed more towards politics and the real world. The box scores are still relevant but I don’t consider a defeat by the collective efforts of the San Francisco 49ers to be a social injustice.

According to a recent NY Times article Arizona’s Republican party is recruiting transients and other local misfits to run for office under the Green Party ticket. It seems that the local GOP office is hoping to divert votes from the Democratic in this Fall’s election by flooding the market with Green Party options. Local Democrats are attempting to sue to create an injunction that will halt the extra Green Party candidates.

…other drifters and homeless people were recruited onto the Green Party ballot by a Republican political operative who freely admits that their candidacies may siphon some support from the Democrats. Arizona’s Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint with local, state and federal prosecutors in an effort to have the candidates removed from the ballot, and the Green Party has urged its supporters to steer clear of the rogue candidates.
-NY Times, 9.7.10

It seems that the GOP will stop at nothing to garner the extra votes necessary to win an election. I am not naive and I realize that politics can be a dirty affair filled with people that are guided by morals that are less than scrupulous but this latest turn is truly despicable. Essentially the GOP of Arizona, or at least Steve May a candidate for Arizona’s 17th District House seat, is conspiring to confuse local voters and exploit those that consider Mill Avenue home.

It’s instances such as these that make me embarrassed to be an Arizona resident. From afar, or at least the perspective I have gathered from my friends and family that reside in California, Arizona is social experiment gone bad. Liberal gun laws, anti-immigration and to certain degree anti-Mexican culture, a governor who is held speechless for 16-seconds while on a televised debate, a GOP culture that feels it is suitable to exploit transients and social misfits for a few votes. I am ranting and raving but the bottom line is the simple fact that a member of local politics feels it is necessary to circumvent campaign regulations to garner some votes.

According to a recent AZCentral.com post two Kansas politicians are looking to reverse the Federal Governments recent ruling on SB1070. The pair of Kansas politicians are arguing that the Federal Government’s recent ruling prohibits each state from securing their own borders and maintaining a form of civility.

To this scribe it seems that the great state of Kansas and its pair of conservatively drawn politicians are looking to garner support and are using the hot ticket item of immigration as the catalyst. SB1070 was justifiably neutered by the Feds and a recent Wall Street Journal article notes that Illegal immigration to the U.S. has slowed sharply since 2007, with the bleak U.S. job market apparently discouraging people from heading north… The influx of illegal immigrants plunged to an estimated 300,000 annually between March 2007 and 2009, from 850,000 a year between March 2000 and March 2005, according to new study released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group.

It seems to me that because we are in election season any and all candidates will put out all the stops to get into office or maintain their political prowess. It’s very easy to blame a particular race or culture for all of our nation’s shortcomings. But as the Wall Street Journal noted there are less illegal immigrants coming to America so maybe the true enemy of this great country are the Right Wing bobbleheads that placate their conservative customers with hate based rhetoric.

Illegal immigration is not the greatest problem in America. Hell, I’d be shocked if it was in the top ten. The economy, the inability for many folks to get a job, lack of funding for education and social programs, The Tea Party , Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin being a voice of reason for some folks and countless other ailments are the real issues that are keeping America down.

Concentrate on the real issues conservative America and quit blaming Mexicans for all of the ills in our society. If these aforementioned ideas about Fascist, Right Wing America makes me an unpatriotic heathen, so be it. To protest is patriotic and I like most Americans are the eventual byproduct of immigration.

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrations and revolutionists. ~ Franklin D Roosevelt

Emotions remain high as a Muslim group attempts to build a Mosque near Ground Zero of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Both protesters for and against the $100,000,000 project, which will be within 3-blocks of Ground Zero, have made their opinions very clear and even President Obama has commented on this polarizing issue.

“Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances,” Obama said. “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”

It is the opinion of this scribe that the Mosque has the right to be built wherever it pleases as long as it is within its zoning rights. I understand that the wounds from 9/11 are still raw and that there will always remain a certain of amount of hatred from the public because of the attacks but one must realize that even though the attack was carried out by Muslims doesn’t mean that all Muslims are the enemy. President Obama said it best when he stated that, “Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.”

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that:

Ben Quayle, the son of former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle, is attempting to stir up Right Wing love by bashing President Obama. In a recent campaign video Quayle states that, “Barack Obama is the worst president in history.” Quayle is a Republican candidate for the US House of Representative for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District.

Quayle, according to a recent Phoenix New Times Report, hasn’t voted in a municipal election since registering to vote in Arizona in 1997, a new report claims.According to voting records dug up by the Arizona Guardian, Quayle has voted in two primaries in Arizona but has never cast a ballot in a local election.

Like many Arizonans I am a transplant and so is Quayle but it is the opinion of this scribe that if a man wants to represent the good people of Valley he should be active in politics and take the time to vote. Just because you have an infamous last name that does not entitle you to be an active member of major politics in my state. You sir should go back to your office at Tynwald Capital to do some reading up on U.S. Presidents and realize that the son of your daddy’s boss was the worst president in our nations history.

The Brave New Foundation, a California based organization whose “mission is to champion social justice issues by using a model of media, education, and grassroots volunteer involvement that inspires, empowers, motivates and teaches civic participation and makes a difference” paid for a billboard in Phoenix that proclaims, “Have your papers ready — Racial profiling just ahead.”

The billboard, located in Phoenix at Third Street and Camelback, warns of the anti-immigration climate in Arizona. Despite the neutering of SB 1070 tensions remain high in the Valley of the Sun for all parties and the billboard from The Brave New Foundation succinctly identifies many of the fears that Hispanics, both resident and alien, are feeling.

Despite having SB 1070 reduced to nothing more than a shell of its former self a majority of Americans still want the more stringent version of the law that would have turned police officers in to immigration officers. A recent poll by CNN indicates that 55% of Americans support the original version of SB 1070.

The results of the poll are disheartening and show that most Americans are not willing to acknowledge that, with the exception of Native Americans, they are ultimately immigrants. It seems that after acclimating, or dare I say assimilating, to a new culture and settling down we U.S. citizens refuse to acknowledge our own past struggles to get in and make it in America. I guess the 55% that support the original text from SB 1070 forgot that the Statue of Liberty clearley states, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”.

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts. – James Madison, The Fourth President of the United States of America

The U.S. Department of Justice is prepared to sue the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office due to the institutions inability to comply with an investigation.

The Division’s investigation pertains to allegations of unlawful searches and seizures, discriminatory police conduct, and failure to provide basic services to individuals with limited English proficiency. – Letter from the Office of the Assistant Attorney General

It seems that Sheriff and the powers that be at the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office refuse to play ball with the Department of Justice. It seems that your cavalier attitude, Sheriff Joe, may come back to bite you. Just because you’re a big fish in the Valley of the Sun doesn’t mean that you don’t have to adhere to the federal government.

These are heavy charges and I understand why you may shy away from them. If you are found guilty of the aforementioned accusations then the good people of Maricopa County will have had the great misfortune of being policed by a man that doesn’t care to protect inalienable rights. All men are created equal and the Fourth Amendment was written to protect all of us. Your flippant attitude is becoming readily apparent as you ignore the Department of Justice and the ultimate law, that is the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV)