wlerik

Documented

Documented is a new film by Jose Antonio Vargas

The film had its world premier at the AFI Docs Festival last night to a sold out crowd at the National Portrait Gallery.

It chronicles the struggles and efforts of the Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist, both before and after he outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine. “Documented” chronicles his decision to transform his life. At some point, he could no longer keep his secret. He had become a successful journalist covering political campaigns and appearing on television. He had all the trappings of the American success story, but he lacked permission to be in the United States. He had been brought to the U.S. as a child and had no way to obtain a valid immigration status. And after seeing and speaking with thousands of immigrants in the same situation, he decided to “let the world in” to his secret and decided to become an immigration reform activist/provocateur.

Mr. Vargas has made a compelling film that brings into focus what it really means to be an American. It is not a piece of paper, a birth certificate, a passport, or the luck of being born here. It is a love of country, which Mr. Vargas has in abundance. It is also about hard work and struggle. My Vargas’ grandparents were U.S. citizens and brought him to the USA when he was 12. He became an outstanding student and with the help of dozens of friends, mentors, and surrogate parents, he achieved the American dream. However, the cost of this dream were high, and not being able to be open about his status exacted a toll on his psyche. Seeing other young immigrants struggling to keep their families together and lobby Congress to pass the Dream Act., made him realize that he could use his talents as a writer to help America to peel back the layers and understand the complicated issue of immigration reform. The complexity of the topic has been lost in the political bickering and punditry that characterizes our political system and our society. Sound-bites are particularly inappropriate to understand this complex topic. The film sheds a bright and focused light, like very few other films on this topic. It also highlights his struggle to repair his relationship with his mother, who for twenty years had been trapped half way across the world (in the Philippines) with no way to see her son. The film shows that there are thousands of young adults from all over the world who face the same situation. At one moment towards the end of the film, Mr. Vargas is invited to testify before the Senate. His words are profound and he leaves the Senators with the following question that I think we all must consider thoroughly: “What are you going to do with people like me?” There is not one person who does not recognize how dysfunctional our current immigration system has become. Almost as dysfunctional as our political system. It cannot be acceptable in 21st Century America to have some individuals relegated to the back of the bus, or thrown off the bus after having established such strong roots and allegiances to this country. As Mr. Vargas stated, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions, “but not their own facts.” Before making a decision, one should see this film and lean the facts.

DOJ Educational Videos I Created

Here is a link to a PDF containing links to all of the the videos I created: http://go.usa.gov/2P6m

Published on Feb 4, 2013

This is a PSA from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Many employers erroneously believe that if they have an employee whose Permanent Resident Card (also known as a “Green Card”) is expiring, they must see a new one. This is false. If a Permanent Resident presents an unexpired Permanent Resident Card at the time of hire (or an unexpired identify document together with an unrestricted Social Security card), then that employees From I-9 never needs to be reverified, even if or when the Permanent Resident Card expires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWRSMNFxxKY

Published on Jun 13, 2012

This is a PSA from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. We are the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices, or “OSC,” and we want you to be informed about the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) by signing up for a free webinar. Whoever you may be, employer or employee, sign up for a free webinar with OSC. http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCR-ndCv2Pk&feature=youtu.be

Published on Dec 12, 2012

USCIS has automatically extended the validity of employment authorization documents issued under the last extension/designation of TPS Haiti for an additional 6 months, through July 22, 2013. If you have a TPS Haiti EAD with an original expiration date of January 22, 2012, you are covered by this automatic extension and may continue to work. For more information on TPS eligibility requirements, what to file, and step by step instructions go to http://www.uscis.gov/tps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7xi5ti7s2g

Published on Jun 13, 2012

At the time of hire, all employees have a choice of what document(s) to present to establish their identity and authorization to work, when completing the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. Employees can choose to present one List A document or instead they can present a List B & List C document. Employer’s should not restrict this choice and could be committing document abuse if they do restrict a worker’s choice of documents. Employers also need to give the employee a choice of document(s) to produce during any reverification (if reverification is warranted).

For more information about the From I-9, please refer to http://www.uscis.gov/I-9Central and for more information about immigration related unfair employment practices, see http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbtVn9VX0zE

In Memory of Peter Bis

Peter Bis was a very kind man, who for many years lived on Mass Ave. He enjoyed greeting people from his spot by the gas station, usually under a tree. He would be there all day, everyday. He helped out around the station and also helped customers who needed air in their tires. He had an abundance of personality. In a town where almost nobody seems to have the time to say hello to a stranger, Peter was an anomaly. He always had something kind to say, and frequently caused people to smile. He will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. Below is a revised rough-cut of what will we hope in the future will be a more refined video of the community’s reaction to Peter and his passing.

“Granito: How to Nail A Dictator” to air on some public television stations

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala in the late 1980s. Since that time, I have tried to stay informed about what is going on there. It is an amazingly beautiful country with a brutally violent history. It was with great sadness that I recently learned that the United States will no longer send volunteers to Guatemala and many other Central American countries because of an escalation of drug war violence.

(As an aside, I recommend that you watch http://www.thehouseilivein.org/ for why the drug war is a failure.)

The purpose of this post is to highlight the national distribution of “Granito: How to Nail A Dictator,” which I have heard is an amazing film and will be nationally broadcast on public television stations starting on Thursday, June 28.

However, as I explained in the post below, many public television stations have decided not to air it at all (this seems to be true for WHUT and MPT), and some, like WETA, have decided to air this film only in the middle of the night.

How is it that Antiques Roadshow can air repeatedly occupying many prime viewing slots and an amazing documentary film is relegated to the middle of the night? See post below to help correct this problem.

If you love great films, Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Do you love great documentary films? Would you like to see them on your local public television station? A recent Center for Social Media report showed strong public support for public-purpose programming and popular anger that many public television stations decide to repeatedly air programs like Antiques Roadshow during prime viewing hours, while relegating meaningful documentary films few slots, frequently in the middle of the night. In addition, many public television station choose not to air many meaningful documentaries at all.

Please help make sure that your local public television affiliate knows what you value. POV and Independent Lens both fund and distribute some of the best new docs on public television stations throughout the United States. They publicize these films and release schedules for when they are going to air. However, if you have ever tried to watch a documentary on your local public television station, you have likely found that the show that you want to watch is not airing on the date or time that was advertised. Local affiliates have discretion over which shows to air and when to schedule them. Here in the Washington DC area, we are lucky to have three public television stations, WHUT, WETA, MPT. Unfortunately, WHUT, WETA and MPT frequently air ITVS’ Independent Lens, and POV and other great documentaries not on the dates and times advertised for national distribution, but mostly if they choose to air them at all, they air them days or weeks later, in the wee hours of the night.

Nationally, Public Broadcasting Service (“PBS”) has decided to promote documentaries into a more desirable time frame. This fall, PBS will program POV documentaries to air on Monday early evening time slot. The purpose of this blog post is to encourage documentary lovers and all lovers of great films to encourage your local PBS affiliate to follow PBS’ lead and air Independent Lens and POV documentaries on Monday evenings, at the times and days that they air nationally. To the uninitiated, this seems like a relatively minor issue. However, for documentary filmmakers, the issue is quite important for building audiences and promoting their films. Obviously, it is not desirable to have your film air at one in the morning, but having it air on a different date in every major city is also a tremendous impediment to viewers like you and me. Please contact your local public television affiliate and encourage it air these great films during the same days and times are they are intend to be seen nationally.

Click here to send an email WETA: http://www.weta.org/contact

WETA, 3939 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206

Phone: 703-998-2600

Or contact Maryland Public Television here: directconnection@mpt.org

Maryland Public Television
11767 Owings Mills Boulevard
Owings Mills, MD 21117-1499

Phone: 410-356-5600
Fax: 410-581-4298

Or contact WHUT here: http://www.whut.org/whut/?page_id=28

WHUT
Howard University Television
2222 Fourth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20059
202-806-3200

For more context, see:

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blog/future-public-media/pbs-decides-showcase-indie-work

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blog/future-public-media/pbs-finds-spot-independent-lens-and-pov%E2%80%94-where

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/pbs-will-move-series-of-films-to-monday-night/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/business/media/schedule-changes-hurt-pbs-film-series.html?_r=1

http://kartemquin.com/newsletter/4531/pbs-needs-indies-a-success-%E2%80%94-pbs-moves-pov-independent-lens-to-monday-night

http://www.current.org/indies/indies1209treaty.html

Free educational webinars from DOJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCR-ndCv2Pk

One of our talented law students made created a poem to promote our new webinar series. Sign up for a free webinar here: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php

One of our talented law students wrote and performed a poem to promote our new webinar series. Sign up for a free webinar here: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php

New Album: Strike the Root

Professor Lawrence Lessig (and others) set to music. Not quite Gil-Scott Hereon, but insightful non-the-less.

Listen for free to this album, or better yet, buy it for everyone on your holiday gift list. Proceeds go towards fighting for democracy.

ccMixter is proud to release Strike the Root — its new concept album in support of Rootstrikers everywhere, getting money out of politics. The album features Professor Lawrence Lessig, Loveshadow, Snowflake, Jeris, Alex Beroza, Abstract Audio, Mind Map That, spinningmerkaba, Admiral Bob, Copperhead, Fireproof Babies and many other beloved ccMixter artists.

The ccMixter community created over 100 remixes of original songs, poetry, and for the Strike the Root Remix Project.

Rootstrikers has just joined forces with MSNBC’s host Dylan Ratigan’s “Get Money Out” campaign with a new organization called United Republic.

To enjoy Strike the Root as a CD-quality download, join the ccMixter Green Room. To obtain a physical copy of the Strike the Root CD-Artbook, join the ccMixter Blue Room. For a signed copy of Lessig’s new book Republic Lost along with the he Strike the Root download and physical CD-artbook, join the ccMixter Purple Room. All contributions are shared with the artists and nonprofits United Republic and ccMixter.org.

A tribute to a civilian war veteran

Remember This Lady!

Look at this lady – Let us never forget! The world hasn’t just become wicked…it’s always been wicked.

Irena Sendler

Died

12 May 2008 (aged 98)
Warsaw, Poland

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.
She had an ulterior motive. Because she was German, she KNEW what the Nazis’ plans were for the Jews.
Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack for larger kids.

She also had a dog in the back which she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, arms, and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed.. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

In 2007 Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won — for a slide show on Global Warming.

In MEMORIAM – 65 YEARS LATER

Now, more than ever, with Iran and others claiming the HOLOCAUST to be a myth, it’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets because there are others who would like to do it again.

Lawrence Lessig Explains How to Fix Congress

http://www.rootstrikers.org/

Two Great Films

INCENDIES

Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s acclaimed play, Incendies is a moving tale of discovery. Two siblings travel halfway across the world to piece together the troubled history that their mother almost took with her to her grave. Jeanne and Simon are young adults living in Canada, oblivious to their mother’s turbulent past. The siblings are set in motion after their mother goes into a catatonic state. Jeanne seeks to carry out her mother’s wishes and her brother seeks to distance himself from what he sees as the final manifestation of his mother’s incomprehensibility.

Visiting Lebanon for the first time, Jeanne discovers the horrors her mother spent her whole life trying to protect her from. Flashbacks to her mother’s youth during Lebanon’s civil war are effectively used to make Jeanne’s journey vivid and revealing. She walks through the same dusty streets and country lanes as her mother had decades earlier. Many are almost unchanged. The scenery is stark and beautiful. A language barrier is the least of her difficulties. She is fluent in two languages, but cannot decipher her mother’s history without significant assistance and determination. The hostility Jeanne encounters from the women of her mother’s native village, is striking for it ferocity. After all those many years, hatreds have not subsided. After discovering part of the riddle, she convinces her brother to join her to locate their missing family members. Although the story they piece together is brutal, it is also filled with love and sacrifice that is not easily forgotten.

THE HELP

Set in the South in the early 1960s, the relationship of a young white society woman, Skeeter, and a friend’s maid, Abileen, provide an important window into the world of discrimination that was at the time, not only condoned, but by some, even encouraged. It was a way of life that was enforced by law. What starts as a relationship of necessity, becomes a friendship built upon mutual respect. Having been waited on all her life by her family’s maid, Skeeter needs Abileen to provide her the how-to for her newspaper’s household advice column. As an aspiring writer, Skeeter longs to tell a far more important story, from the perspective of the maids in her town. As Skeeter becomes more intimate with the struggles of the black women who raised generations of white children, she, together with the audience, begins to lose respect for many of her white, childhood friends as they attempt to perpetuate the repressive social structure. The maids, who at their time were seen more like posessions than people, are seen through the eyes of Skeeter to be resilient, loving, and beautiful characters. The richness of these characters and the white women surrounding them make this powerful story one that will bring you to laughter and tears. You can’t help but root for Skeeter and Abileen as they traverse the dangerous terrain that must be passed through to arrive at the truth.