[Vision2020] Local Accountability: New Orleans? Iraq?

[Kai Eiselein, LatahEagle Editor]

Okay Chuck.
You asked for it. This is my background:
I grew up and graduated high school in Nogales, AZ. If you'll look on a map,
you'll see that Nogales is located on the border with Mexico.
My babysitter was Gina Mercado, her husband was Saul and neither spoke
English, so I spoke (still do, albeit slowly) speak Spanish. I appeared on a
Mexican tv talent show with their daughter, Yolanda, when I was about 7.
My two best friends were Leonardo Molina and Raul Mavis, both are first
generation Americans. The best hotdogs in the world are purchased from
vendor carts in Nogales, Sonora. Wrapped with a big piece of pork and loaded
with onions and jalapenos and stuffed onto a bun,  they'll clog the arteries
of a bull elephant................mmmmmmm
Ken Wong was my Kung Fu instructor, he was also one of my father's students
at the University of Arizona. His parents immigrated from China and owned
the Nanking grocery on Morley Avenue. I can tell you the food you get at a
Chinese restaurant is nothing compared to homemade. My family attended Ken's
wedding and wished him well before he moved to S.F. and a job with the FBI.
My father was a cultural anthropologist, and we spent a lot of time on
reservations and at pow wows. His best friend from high school was Gary
Wining. I took Gary and Connie's oldest daughter, Robin, to prom. In
college, I lived with Winings one summer since my job was in the same town.
Then there was the man I called Uncle Vince. Uncle Vince was a close friend
of my parents and he was as gay as they come. Vince taught me some pretty
cool things, like beading and a love of used/thrift/antique stores. I stayed
with Vince for a couple of weeks after graduation, while I looked for a job
in Tucson. 
After my parents' divorce, and my h.s. graduation,  my mother moved to
Alaska and taught in a Inuit village near Nome. My family ( wife and
daughter and I) spent time there visiting, we still keep in touch with a few
people there.
You see, Chuck, I had a lot of different people influence my life and I
didn't get the white bread upbringing you might think. I am just as
comfortable with Latinos and Natives as I am with Joe Q. Smith.  My comfort
foods aren't things like roast beef and spuds. Mine are popovers, tamales,
refries and carne asada, we ALWAYS have tortillas in my house. Last night's
meal? Carne asada con cebolla, queso, salsa (Herdez), crema y guacamole.
Unlike so many who claim to have "embraced diversity" while going home to
Wonder Bread and Leave it to Beaver,  I grew up in it.
I don't give a damn about your skin color or your sexual preference ( I
don't talk about my love life, I don't care about yours.) I care that
everyone has the right to go as far as their abilty  and dedication may take
them - with as little government interference as possible.

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