Gay Bashing at a Sports Bar: What Do You Do?

ABC News Tested Americans' increasing open-mindedness, they staged a verbal gay-bashing scenario at a local sports bar in Linden, N.J. They hired actor Vince August to play a homophobic patron. Dusty St. Amand and Dominic Benevento, a gay couple in real life, played the targets of his slurs. Two additional actors, Traci Hovel and Brad Lee Wind, played a heterosexual couple at the opposite end of the bar.

States Revisit Immigration Laws for who's convince?

In Iowa, Democratic state Rep. Bruce Hunter wants to repeal a law that makes English the state's official language and requires most government documents to be in English. "It's really sent out the wrong message about the state of Iowa," he says.

The Madison County (Ala.) Commission last August toned down a policy that requires businesses bidding for contracts to sign a pledge saying they don't knowingly employ illegal immigrants. The change was part of a settlement with a company that was late in submitting the pledge and did not win the contract.

The new pledge no longer says county officials can inspect contractors' personnel records.

"I would prefer it to be much stronger," says Commissioner Mo Brooks, author of the original policy. After studying legal opinions and federal law, though, the commission had no other choice, he says.

In Utah, two legislators, one from each party, have proposed delaying implementation of a law set to take effect in July. The bill's provisions include a requirement that government agencies check the legal status of new hires against a federal database.

Republican state Rep. Stephen Clark, author of one proposal, wants to delay the bill for a year to study the economic impact of illegal immigrants on the state.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican, supports a delay, says spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley.especially when we don't know whether illegal immigration is a financial plus or minus to the state."

convience?

BLOG QUESTION: L.A Mayor Heavy Hitter or Hollywood Type.

Mayor Villaraigosa, arguably one of the most high profile big city Latino mayors in the country is cruising toward a second term as mayor, people are wondering if he will deliver on some of his promises and stay in City Hall or attempt to make the jump to the governor’s office.

As many have noted, there isn’t a camera that Mayor Villaraigosa doesn’t like. He’s always photo-op ready with his big, pearly white, mega-watt smile and designer duds. Villaraigosa is one of the best dressed Latino politicos, but image isn’t everything, especially when the economic forecast is gloomy and he cannot point to any big policy victories. The AP (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h10wH51Jd3vs3z-KdEBsPQKEYTgAD96KN40O0) article that came out yesterday asked in its headline, “LA mayor: Heavy hitter or Hollywood hype?”

The following gets to the essence of his record for the last few years:
“Crime rates were heading down when Villaraigosa took office in 2005, and they have continued to decline under the stewardship of Police Chief William Bratton, who was installed by James Hahn, the mayor Villaraigosa defeated four years ago. Safer streets are a cornerstone of his campaign pitch.

However, Villaraigosa’s signature plan to take control of schools was blocked in court, and a one-in-three dropout rate is unchanged. Traffic is considered the most snarled in America, and a badly needed subway extension from downtown to Santa Monica might be a generation away, despite strong lobbying by Villaraigosa.
He promised to plant a million trees in a city starved for parks, but so far only a fraction of that number have gone into the ground. A bid for the 2016 Olympics flopped on his watch. And the mayor’s biggest moment in the national spotlight during his first term was the result of his marriage-ending affair with a TV newscaster.

Villaraigosa regrets his playboy-at-City Hall episode but argues he’s built a foundation for change by hiring 700 additional police officers, helping push through higher sales taxes to fund mass transit, promoting green power and pushing clean-air rules at the polluted port.”

Since the AP did not post this article where readers could chime in with their opinions about Villaraigosa directly. I’m giving you the opportunity to do so. I’m of the opinion that he is full of Hollywood hype, but he will certainly have a chance to become more successful on substantive policy issues in Los Angeles, assuming he does not run for governor. I would like to see him succeed. There is no point in wishing failure upon Villaraigosa, as some in the GOP have decided to do with President Obama. So what do you think?