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PLUS: How the B 3Rinistibn ,Fraps Abused Immigrants in Ii What Austin Does Right in the II Fel Fight Against Do Violence

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PLUS: How the B 3Rinistibn ,Fraps Abused Immigrants in Ii What Austin Does Right in the II Fel Fight Against Do Violence MARCH 7 PLUS: How the B 3rinistibn ,fraps abused immigrants in Ii what Austin does right in the II fel fight against do violence. 0 4 MARCH 7, 2008 TheTexas Observer WALL OF SAME on the square then pulling out of FEATURES Why would this surprise anyone? town when former residents weren't in ("Holes in the February 22). It's town to buy the underwear and socks SEE NO EVIL 6 business as usual with the Bush family because they had moved to Austin or In Houston, wife-beaters can elude and friends profiting at the expense of Dallas to seek their fortunes and shop prosecution just by leaving the scene. the rest of our citizens. in the Big Retail Giant Supercenter by Emily DePrang Barbara McFarland Store for their underwear and socks. via e-mail End of story ... end of Clarksville as we 12 SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT knew it. Thank you. Why is the Bush administration ignoring Outstanding article. It seems like Larry Cox a law that protects abused immigrants? the mistreated rich must always be Mt. Pleasant by Melissa del Bosque protected from the mean, brutal, lower THE SAFE PLACE 16 class. Why not dig a tunnel 300 feet Written by an "old soul" with a heart For victims of domestic violence, there's under the property of the rich? The as well as a mind. That is rarely seen no safer city than Austin. property owners might not mind if in journalism today. Thanks for telling by Dave Mann they were each given 40 or 50 million our sad story. Does no one else see how dollars of tax money that has been Wal-Mart manipulates the market by DEPARTMENTS taken from the poor. what they sell and don't sell? Get us We must protect the rich. all hooked on the convenience of one- Fred Vance stop shopping, then decide what not to DIALOGUE 2 San Antonio carry. You can't buy it if they don't sell EDITORIAL 3 it, and it is oh so inconvenient to go Does anybody really think a fence elsewhere—so you switch to what they POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE 4 will keep people out? The fence is a sell. Hmm. Could be a good investiga- way to spend tax money while avoid- tive subject. JIM HIGHTOWER 20 ing working out solutions to the prob- D. S. Townes From bad ideas to worse. lem. Building the fence through the Clarksville property of people who don't have BOOKS & THE CULTURE the political clout to fight back while FUTURE SHOCK avoiding the land of the politically well- Does this mean that we lesser-known POETRY 21 connected is morally corrupt. humans and writers will still be liv- by ratilrsalinas Eleanor Hare ing? That is some world-class satire via e-mail ("Deathless Prose," February 8). Some TEAR DOWN THE WALL 22 of Don Graham's neo-Orwellian pre- The border-busting banda sound of BACK TO CLARKSVILLE dictions will probably come true. But Dallas' Las Palmas de Durango. Very well written ("The Big Empty," which ones? Because of the "long tail" by Michael Hoinski February 22). The description of the and Amazon, those mentioned will still Giant Retail Beast coming into small- be selling books. Great writing! RANCH DRESSING 26 town America breathing fire and clos- Johnny Hughes Just another Texas town, ready ing the underwear and sock store via e-mail for its close-up. by Steven G. Kellman AFTERWORD 29 WE REGRRET THE ERROR by Dave Richards Appallingly, our February 22 issue misspelled Barack Obama's name—in his byline. Our extra "r" was not an attempt to attract Latino voters with Cover illustration by Maggie Brophy the comforting familiarity of the doble r. It was just a last-minute goof. Also in our February 22 issue, "Holes in the Wall" misstated the date of a congressional report estimating the cost of building and maintaining a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The report was released in 2006, not 2007. 2 THE TEXAS OBSERVER MARCH 7, 2008 EDITORIAL A Fighting Chance t's an all-too-familiar story. We extra step—seeking a warrant—is seldom the terrible catch-22 that occurs when saw her, maybe picking her kids taken. Women who make it to the police an undocumented woman is battered up at school or at the supermar- station to file charges can watch their by a husband who is a U.S. citizen or ket or church. She was wearing cases languish for months. Obtaining a permanent resident. The ability of these dark glasses or heavy makeup to protective order can require long visits to women to stay in the country depends try to hide the bruises. Maybe the district attorney's office. And because on their abusers. Often such couples weI watched briefly before getting into the Houston criminal justice system have children who are U.S. citizens. our cars as she and her man argued in fails in its most basic obligations, some The law Congress passed—and Bush the parking lot, saw as he raised his hand. women die. signed—allows these women, after a Loathe to put ourselves into someone It doesn't have to be this way. Dave long and detailed administrative pro- else's business, we didn't do anything. Mann's story, "The Safe Place" (page 16), cess, to stay in the country legally. Now We sat by. Or maybe we screwed up our makes that clear. In Austin, law enforce- that the Bush administration has found courage and asked if she needed help, ment personnel, the district attorney, it politically convenient to play tough and then accepted her dismissal. Then judges, and advocates work together to on border enforcement, it has rejected one day she was gone, her exit marked prevent domestic violence. Resources many of these women's independent by the yellow police tape strung across are available. They're never enough, but appeals for legal status and put the rest the door of her home. they allow women a fighting chance. on indefinite hold, trapping women When it comes to domestic violence, it This is what it looks like when a com- in abusive relationships that are hard is hard to live the ideal that we all share munity makes a commitment on behalf enough to leave without the threat of an obligation to our neighbors. But what of its citizens and government functions deportation. should be beyond dispute is that the properly. Accompanying our Houston and police must protect the citizenry, and In Washington, D.C., under an incom- Austin stories is information about particularly the most vulnerable among petent administration, government has resources available to victims of abuse us. That's why Emily DePrang's story, "See long since ceased to function properly. in both communities. On our Web No Evil" (page 6), is so shocking and what If we've learned anything in the past site, www.texasobserver.org, we have she reports so disappointing. DePrang's seven years, it's the foolishness of hiring posted a list of similar resources in cities three-month investigation uncovered people who don't believe in govern- throughout the state. a Houston Police Department that has ment to run it. Melissa del Bosque's Here at the Observer, we take our grossly underfunded and understaffed "Selective Enforcement" (page 12), details responsibilities—as journalists and its domestic violence units. Houston yet another disturbing example of the members of the community—as a sacred police officers often do the bare mini- Bush administration's willful disregard trust. It's our hope that this issue might mum because that's all their department's of the law. Congress overwhelmingly help make a difference in the lives of policy requires. If suspects flee the scene, passed the Violence Against Women Act, those who need a helping hand, not they will likely escape prosecution. The twice. Included in that law is a fix for more hurt. ■ THE TEXAS OBSERVER I VOLUME 100, NO. 5 I A Journal of Free Voices Since 1954 Founding Editor Ronnie Dugger James McWilliams, Char Miller, The Texas Observer (ISSN 0040-4519/ paid. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk CEO/Executive Publisher Carlton Carl Debbie Nathan, Karen Olsson, USPS 541300), entire contents copy- rates on request. Microfilm available Executive Editor Jake Bernstein John Ross, Andrew Wheat righted ©2008, is published biweekly from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N. Managing Editor Brad Tyer Staff Photographers except during January and August Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Associate Editor Dave Mann Alan Pogue, Jana Birchum, when there is a 4 week break Publisher Charlotte McCann Steve Satterwhite between issues (24 issues per year) Indexes The Texas Observer is indexed Associate Publisher Julia Austin by the Texas Democracy Foundation, in Access: The Supplementary Index to Circulation Manager Lara George Tucker Contributing Artists a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, 307 Periodicals; Texas Index and, for the Art Director Leah Ball Sam Hurt, Kevin Kreneck, West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. years 1954 through 1981, Investigative Reporter Melissa del Bosque Michael Krone, Gary Oliver, Jim Marston, Mary Nell Mathis, Telephone (512) 477-0746, The Texas Observer Index. Toll-Free (800) 939-6620 Poetry Editor Naomi Shihab Nye Doug Potter Gilberto Ocarhas, Jesse Oliver, POSTMASTER Send address changes Copy Editor Rusty Todd Bernard Rapoport, Geoffrey Rips, E-mail observer®texasobserver.org Editorial Advisory Board to: The Texas Observer, 307 West 7th Staff Writer Forrest Wilder Geronimo Rodriquez, World Wide Web DownHome page David Anderson, Chandler Davidson, Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Marketing Asst. Robby Brown Sharron Rush, Kelly White, .
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