nonetheless it is of critical importance that those who thrive in society and through it have INFLUENCE - make known their positions.

and that is what Rage against the machine group and others, like Shakira - are doing.

and THAT is good. DECIDEDLY good, regardless of what else happens after that.

there is the little matter of standing UP for one's principlesa and for what is right and ethical.

and THIS is one of those. ...whatever else the other s0-called 70% americans in support of such strictures say or think or pretend .

in the end, for better or worse, whatever results - it is a matter of CONSCIENCE and IF the 70 percent americans support such things and adopt them in their own states - SHAME ON THEM.

and history , perhaps, SOONER RATHER than LATER , as their own nation COLLAPSES on itself because of their own CORRUPT mentalities and morality and ethics and the HYPOCRISY of it all , THEY will NEVER be on the "right side" of history's true great deeds.

cynicism is the LAST thing people ought to succumb to , just because "most americans support" this bastard "law". being in the majority - in as many cases as not - does not mean you're RIGHT. it just means you're STUPID like MANY OTHERS.

and if that is what "most americans" want - why -- of course --

they're just STUPID. like they usually are.

CHILDISHLY SELFISH and STUPID.

You are so right. This is all about money, and this band has not recorded since 1999 and they want to get some publicity, so they jump on the boycott Arizona band wagon.

So if Rage Against the Machine cancels a show in Arizona,(did they even have a booking?) the state loses what, ten grand, maybe twenty if they were going to do two shows?

71% of Arizona citizens are behind this law, so Arizona politicians are not about to back down. 63% of all Americans support this law, too. Politicians care about money, but not tax money, at least not as much as they care about votes.

The argument isn't that folks should ignore illegal immigration or "give the country away", it's that the Arizona laws encourage police to infringe on the basic rights of LAW ABIDING residents based almost entirely on skin colour, appearance, language/accent, dress, and other questionable evidence of "illegality". If honest law abiding folks are no longer presumed innocent until proven guilty and no longer free to live without fear of police harassment then you might as well give away your country because there isn't much left worth protecting.

My goodness, this article IS bringing out the conservatives. Welcome to Common Dreams. We can use your well though out ideas as fertilizer.

Yes, it is "almost too late for California". "Almost too late" for what, pray tell?

You're a racist.

And yet you support and will even take to the streets to rally to protect the criminal businesses that make the illegal immigration possible. Thanks a lot anti-American backstabber.

DCH, the ONLY way that an illegal immigrant can possibly take a job away from an American or a legal immigrant is for the business hiring them to break the law. Why do your kind never ever call for those criminals to be prosecuted as our laws demand??? Maybe because those criminals are you and your friends? Or at least the businesses funding the "tea party"? Your hypocrisy is not only chillingly obvious but also down right anti-American.

Ever hear of the 10th Amendment my friend? It states that all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government by the Constitution fall under the juristiction of the states and the people. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that states have to recognize every "holiday" that the federal government decides to create. I find it ironic too that the federal government would create a holiday for a man they constantly harassed, spyed on, and assassinated. I admire MLK Jr. and the work he did not only with the civil rights movement but also with the anti-war movement (which is the main reason he was assassinated), but I also think it is important to recognize that states have rights. Once again I would just like to point out the fact that Arizona's new immigration law is very similar to Mexico's own immigration laws. It is also pretty much a carbon copy of federal immigration laws. The only real difference is that Arizona is going to enforce their laws while the feds just sit with their thumbs up their asses and look the other way when 10s of thousands of illegal immigrants flock to this country to take advantage of our social programs and our higher wages. What if instead of all of the illegal immigrants being allowed into this country, we helped them to improve the living standards of their native countries? One major way to do that would be to repeal NAFTA and GATT, end the absurd "drug war" which is the only reason drug cartels exist, and stop allowing the CIA to overthrow their democratically elected governments in favor of puppet dictators who take their orders from Washington D.C.

Please explain to me your logic. How does calling the country of Mexcio a shit hole (I've been there, the parts I've seen have all been shit holes) make me a racist? Sure, if I said something like "all Mexicans are pieces of shit," now that's racist, and I do not agree with that statement by the way, just making a point. I guess I just don't get it. I can either agree with you or I'm a racist. Is that the logic? Please explain further. And by the way, I do not consider myself a "lefty," so does that mean I am a racist too? I voted for a Republican for President (not McCain) instead of Obama. Does that also make me a racist? You race baiters are fucking pathetic. Come up with a new, legitimate argument other than racism and then we can talk.

How does saying that Mexico is a complete shithole make me a racist? If i said that all Mexicans were shitholes, sure that might be racist, but that's not what I said at all. I guess the fact that I support Arizona's legitimate right as a state to enforce the laws that the vast majority of their people agree with and support makes me a racist. Ok, I guess we're back to name calling as opposed to any real debate. In that case, go fuck yourself you stupid cock sucker.

Ok, first of all, in a perfect world, we would not need borders. I know they are just imaginary lines on maps. In that utopian society where everyone got along and nobody went hungry or cold, we could live without borders. Maybe someday. But for now, we have borders and we have laws to protect those borders and prevent our country from being inundated with cheap labor which would completely ruin the standards of living that people in this country have worked and fought for hundreds of years to achieve. It would mean an end to livable wages, worker provided medical insurance, 401k plans, etc. It would literally be a race to the bottom to see who is willing to work for the least. Survival of the most desparate. Second, please show me exactly where in this bill it states that police have to use racial profiling. It specifically says that racial profiling is unacceptable. Also, it is for the most part a carbon copy of federal immigration laws with one exception, Arizona plans to actually enforce their laws. Thrid, your 3rd point directly contradicts your 2nd point. And finally, I agree with you that American politicians are for the most part corrupt. That corruption and their obedience to the corporate elites is the exact reason that the federal immigration laws are not enforced. Corporate America wants to use people from south of the border as cheap labor, nothing more. They don't want to help you get a better life for yourself and your family. They just want to use you to do backbreaking work for wages that are a fraction of what they pay American workers to do the same job. You are basically being used as semi slave labor. Like I said, instead of allowing illegal immigrants to all come to the U.S. and completely destroy the middle-class (which is what the elites who run this country are after), I would like to see us help Mexico and other South and Central American countries improve their own situation. We could repeal NAFTA and other similar "free" trade agreements, end our "war on drugs" which has given rise to the drug cartels that now dominate much of Latin America, and stop allowing our CIA to overthrow democratically elected governments in favor of pro-American business puppet dictators. You seem to think I am completely oblivious to the fact that the U.S. caused much of the suffering of latin peoples, but I am not. I know that our government has long used the latin countries basically as sweat shops. I know that our government has overthrown many democratically elected governments simply because those governments wanted to use the natural rsources of their country to help the people there instead of American corporate interests. I know that the only reason drug cartels exist is because of the ridiculous "war on drugs." I know that our government has trained (at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning) some of the most brutal and oppressive paramilitary forces in the world to police Latin America. I get it. What I am saying here though, is that instead of punishing the American working class people who did not have any input into what our government does (they do whatever they want), why not try to improve the situation in the countries where most of the illegal immigrants to the U.S. come from? That way people would not have to leave their homes and families just to scratch out a meager living in some far off foreign country.

"1. The US law does not require profiling; the AZ law does. That is a big difference, and the one that has mostly drawn fire."

Incorrect.

"2. Mexican immigration law does not much resemble US law. Actually, were a law in Mexico to be worded just like a US law, it would be a very different law in practice."

Theirs is much harsher, certainly contains profiling where ours doesn't and they treat illegals badly as the reports will show, human rights violations and abuse abound.

"3. You do not seem to much approve of Mexico. Why would you want the US to act similarly? Why would injustices against Guatemalans committed by Mexican law enforcement excuse racial profiling in Arizona?"

Mexico is a soverign country and they don't need our permission nor our approval for anything they do. Where are you finding the racial profiling you speak of?

"4. Any pretence of symmetry between the countries is ridiculous anyway: the elites that control both places face different logistics to maintain hegemony in both places, so they bribe pols to do different things."

In essence...true

"5. Having corrupt officials does not in itself make a country a "shithole," but I suppose you're speaking loosely. More importantly, how do you feel the greater corruption of American officials reflects on the United States?"

Of course it doesn't or most countries would fit the description. But as bad as our government is, as corrupt as it is, its not close to Mexico, corruption is endemic in Mexico. Top to bottom.