Colorado School Bans U.S. Flag Amid Racial Tension

[PhilosophyGenius]

Colorado School Bans U.S. Flag Amid Racial Tension
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/31/national/main1461262.shtml

(PG: Photos of illegals holding Mexican flags is just wrong. Click on the link and check out some of those photos)

LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) — Dozens of high school students protested a temporary school policy forbidding students from displaying the U.S. flag — as well as flags from other countries — amid racial tensions following immigration rallies.

Skyline High School Principal Tom Stumpf said American flags were brazenly waved in the faces of Hispanic students and in one case a Mexican flag was thrown into the face of another student.
"When it involves the American flag and its abuse in vilifying other people, we simply will not tolerate it," Stumpf said. "They were using the symbol derisively as misguided patriotism."

Students were warned about the policy Friday and several were suspended, although Stumpf would not provide details. Then, about 100 students protested during lunch time.

Student Dustin Carlson told Denver station KCNC-TV that he was suspended for two days.

"I'm getting suspended for it and personally I think that's uncalled for," he said. "If this country means freedom, then why can't we fly our own flag? It's ridiculous."

Thousands of high school students Friday in California, Texas, Nevada and other states protested the tough immigration laws proposed in the House. Some waved Mexican flags and carried signs saying "We are not criminals."

On Monday, about 150 high school students, including some from Skyline, protested in Longmont.

"People are taking it to a whole other level," said Laura Avitia. "I don't think they know why we were protesting."

[Partridge]

McCain promises full status for Irish illegals
Irish Times (http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0403/2603739893HM6MCCAIN.html)

Senator John McCain, who has hopes of running for US president in 2008, promised full legal status for tens of thousands of illegal Irish at a town hall meeting in the Irish neighbourhood of Woodlawn, New York, at the weekend.

To the strain of "We're all part of Jackie's Army", the unlikely anthem of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, Mr McCain took the podium before an audience of hundreds of Tricolour and US-flag waving supporters in a neighbourhood that has seen many people return to Ireland because of post 9/11 immigration clampdowns.

While the line "We're all off to Italy" from Ireland's 1990 World Cup song Put 'Em Under Pressure may seem inappropriate for immigrants determined to stay in the US, Mr McCain took it in good spirits, nodding his head in approval as the "Olé, Olé, Olé" chorus kicked in.

Mr McCain, along with Senator Edward Kennedy, is sponsoring the so-called "McCain-Kennedy" immigration reform Bill in the US Senate. This contains provisions for a guest-worker programme and a way for those living in the US illegally to work toward citizenship.

Interviewed on the This Week programme on RTÉ Radio yesterday, he said there was a "very significant" Irish influence on the campaign to grant legal status to illegal immigrants in the US. He said he did not know how long the legislative battle over the issue would take.

Hundreds of people, many of them wearing "Legalize The Irish" T-shirts, crammed into the St Barnabas School's auditorium on the Bronx-Yonkers border for his weekend speech while dozens more listened on speakers set up outside the hall.

To laughter from the audience, the senator repeatedly had to ask bar owner and Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform deputy chairman, Ciarán Staunton, to translate some of the audience questions into American English.

In answer to one question, he said he didn't know why Congressman Peter King, a close ally of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, was co-sponsoring a Bill that would make illegal immigration an aggravated felony crime.

To loud applause from the audience, he said Mr King needed a "better education" from the Irish community on the realities of undocumented immigration.

Asked about President Bush's credibility on immigration issues by Irish woman Mags O'Brien from Stanford, Connecticut, Mr McCain said the president had a lot of experience on illegal immigration issues as Governor of Texas and viewed immigration reform positively.

A woman who identified herself only as Siobhán, asked Mr McCain how he felt about a possible presidential run by Congressman Tom Tancredo, who is strongly anti-immigrant.

"Come on in," Mr McCain said, addressing Congressman Tancredo directly, "the water's fine".

On his own possible run for the presidency in 2008, Mr McCain joked that the only members of Congress that were ever ruled out of a presidential run were either incapacitated or in detox.