Go House Go!
04/08/10 HOUSE On Council agenda-- Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council,
04/12/10, 1:00 pm, 404-H
04/12/10 HOUSE Favorable by Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council;
YEAS 13 NAYS 0 -HJ 00676; Now in Rules and Calendar
Council -HJ 00676
This excerpt from the analysis of the bill has all the reason why we need to fix our state constitution:
"The alien land law was created to ban Japanese farmers from leasing or owning property.5 Over the course of the 1940’s, the exclusion of particular Asian nationalities from U.S. citizenship gradually was eliminated, until federal naturalization law was made entirely race- and nationality-neutral in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.6 "
Yes 1952. Those born in Japan, could not become citizens until 1952!
And Yes we're the only state left with an alien land law on the books! Come on Florida!
New Suzuki 442nd Documentary!
This sounds really great. I can't wait to be able to see it... Anyone near the events, let me know what you think!
For info on the film, the 442, a little history, and the trailer go to their website. The trailer makes me really want to see the rest!
http://442film.com/
Here's an article by George Toshio Johnson
http://nikkeination.net/home/2010/3/31/director-suzuki-returns-with-442-documentary.html
Representative Mike Honda, who spent part of his childhood interned due to his Japanese origin, asked Graham to "show respect for our fellow Americans."
Representative Mike Honda of California
Really??? We've come so far as a country, but yet there's some of us who casually use unnecessary and rude racial remarks. (Even rogue employees or rude patrons like Walmart just experienced...)
"Nancy Pelosi, I think, has got them all liquored up on sake and you know, they're making a suicide run here," Graham said.
Does it really matter that the Senator was ignorant and made a bad choice of words? I suppose not. What bothers me more is that there weren't more people saying how wrong he was. And now because its party against party on the health care bill, "partisan" politics will bury the offense. What's more is Senator Graham hasn't even realized what he said. No remorse. Ignorance is bliss?
Representative Honda must have been offended because he has a different view than Senator Graham!?!?
Oh America, have we still not learned?
From Yahoo Article:
Representative Mike Honda, who spent part of his childhood interned due to his Japanese origin, asked Graham to "show respect for our fellow Americans."
"I am disheartened that Senator Graham chose to use racially tinged rhetoric to express his opposition to health care reform," said Honda, who heads the Asian-American caucus in Congress.
"There is a way to engage in healthy debate without alienating Asian-Americans, who are an important part of this democracy and health care reform," he said in remarks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100317/pl_afp/uspoliticshealthjapanracism
Message: Representative Robaina
Sage
Sage, you can count on my strong support on this. I am also CC my office to make me a co-sponsor of this bill.
____________________________________________
Julio Robaina
State Representative
District 117
Some History on the 1926 Constitution and the Proposed Amendment to fix it...
(in 2008 session)
The Legislature sponsored this proposed
change to Florida's Constitution.
This amendment would have removed language from the Florida Constitution that allows the state to regulate property rights of “aliens” ineligible for citizenship.
For the complete discussion:
https://www.communicationsmgr.com/projects/1373/property-rights-ineligible-aliens.asp
House Bill Moved on to Committee
H1553 JOINT RESOLUTION by Rader (Identical S 0084)
Basic Rights; Proposes amendment to s. 2, Art. I of State Constitution
to eliminate authority granted to Legislature by constitutional
amendment that at time of adoption in 1926 allowed Legislature to
regulate or eliminate real property rights of individuals based on race
or national origin, so that, as amended, Florida Constitution will state
that all natural persons are equal before law, etc.
03/01/10 HOUSE Filed
03/02/10 HOUSE Introduced -HJ 00141
03/10/10 HOUSE Referred to Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council; Rules and Calendar Council
Please ask these council members to pass this bill:
Senator Lynn's of the Military Affairs Committee Response
I just received this from Senator Lynn in response to my Email asking the committee to approve the bill. I thought it was very nice of her to respond. She's the first, so far. Also interesting since she was the only "nay" on the vote last year. She's says she'll keep my email in mind if she gets a chance to vote. I can ask no more...
"Thank you for contacting my office regarding SB 84 by Senator Sobel. I appreciate your sharing the personal details from your family history to explain why this bill is so important to you. I will keep you comments in mind should this come before me for a vote.
Sincerely,
Senator Evelyn Lynn"
Email to the Military Affairs and Domestic Security Committee
Here's the E-Mail I wrote the committee:
Dear Honorable Military Affairs and Domestic Security Committee:
I am writing to ask you to pass S84 JOINT RESOLUTION by Sobel (Identical H 1553).
You may recall this email from this time last year, but just as a reminder, I thought I'd send again.
In 1905 my great grandfather, Henry Tamemasu Kamiya, joined his brother and emigrated from Japan in an attempt to create an innovative farming “colony” in South Florida near present day Boca Raton. They called it Yamato, which literally means "The Beginning".
As you know, in 1926 due to increasing anti-Japanese and anti-Asian sentiment our state added the “aliens ineligible for citizenship” sentence into our constitution. I can only imagine how this may have impacted my family. Naturally, I never knew my great grandfather, but I do know from reading his journal that he was a man focused on raising his family and making a better life for them and himself. He had a very strong sense of community both for the Japanese colonists and for the families that were already there. I can only guess that were he able, he would have become an American citizen. Therefore, it probably added insult to injury, when our state tried to restrict what he could do with his land, which at that point he had owned for 20 plus years.
To me, his story rivals the Greek tragedies. After spending over 40 years raising a family, trying to create a “colony”, losing his wife and a son, and building something out of what was just Florida scrub, he went to visit his daughter in California. It was while living there that he got caught up in the dreadful Executive Order 9066 and was interned at Manzanar. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Japan, probably because after all those years he was still not accepted by his adopted country.
The twist is that all of his descendants stayed. I wish I could tell him how grateful I am that he endured so that I can now raise my family to enjoy this great God blessed country and state that we so proudly call home. In a sense, I feel like pushing for and seeing the removal of this discriminatory language, would be my small way of saying "Thank You" to my great grandfather for carving out a new life for our family in this wonderful land of the free.
I also started a web page to help share the information, so please feel free to visit: www.floridasamurai.com
Thank you for your consideration.
Senate 0084: Relating to Basic Rights
PLEASE CONTACT THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND DOMESTIC SECURITY AND ASK THEM TO PASS S84 (Senate 0084)
- Chair: Senator
Dave Aronberg (D) - Vice Chair: Senator
Steve Oelrich (R)