CamelCase LinkLanguage WikiWalker MarkDilley

Dear Friend —

It’s time for CNN to answer for their Lou Dobbs problem once and for all.

During the past month, Presente.org has been running an amazing campaign called “BastaDobbs.” They’ve been calling on CNN to cut ties with Dobbs for his long history of spreading myths about immigrants and Latinos, and his promotion of extremist, xenophobic groups (Basta means “enough” in Spanish).

This week, BastaDobbs supporters staged demonstrations across the country to coincide with the premier of CNN’s highly publicized special, “Latino in America.” The events drew significant coverage from both local and national media, and we know their message is being heard inside CNN. 1,2 Now it’s time to turn up the heat even further. Currently, more than 70,000 people have joined them in calling for Lou Dobbs to be fired. Can you add your voice, and help them reach their goal of 100,000 

http://bastadobbs.com/action/org/moveon/?ref_by=1670-26471

Dobbs’ network CNN, calls itself “The Most Trusted Name in News.” But Dobbs has shown that the only thing he can be trusted to do is spread dangerous, false myths about immigrants, give airtime to extremists, and use dehumanizing and disrespectful language towards our community.

For example, Dobbs has blamed Latino immigrants for an alleged leprosy epidemic that was widely debunked3, and has insinuated high crime rates by Latinos falsely claiming “illegal aliens” 4make up a third of the prison population. Dobbs also regularly hosts extremist guests like FAIR, the Minutemen, and Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who he called “a model for the whole country.”5 

At the same time that they broadcast Dobbs’ show, CNN is aggressively courting the Latino market. The BastaDobbs.com campaign has been successfully calling out this hypocrisy, and demanding that CNN stop trying to have it both ways. It’s a powerful argument, and on top of Dobbs’ support for “Birther” conspiracy theorists, its making it harder than ever for CNN to stand behind Dobbs.

Please join me in saying “¡basta!” and ask your friends and family to do the same. It only takes a moment:

http://bastadobbs.com/action/org/moveon/?ref_by=1670-26471

Thank you!

References

1. “CNN Special on Latinos Stokes Debate Over Dobbs,” New York Times, 10-24-09 


http://tinyurl.com/yksufz8

2. “”S.A. groups join ‘Basta Dobbs’ campaign,” San Antonio Express News, 10-21-09 

 
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/65316732.html

3. “A Look at Lou Dobbs’ Leprosy ‘Expert,’” Migra Matters, 5-12-07 
http://tinyurl.com/qnrkpm

4. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, “The Illusion of Immigrant Criminality” 


http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3683 

5. “Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration and Cable News,” Media Matters
http://tinyurl.com/5919rh