ACCORDING TO FBI STATISTICS, hate crimes targeting Latinos are on the rise nationally and have been since 2003. Just between 2003 and 2006 attacks on Latinos simply for being Latino have jumped by 35%. Many of these cases still are not prosecuted as "hate crimes," however. Even when the evidence overwhelmingly shows to any reasonable person that this is the case.

A gruesome but apt example of this was when David Tuck, a known Neo-Nazi and Skinhead, yells out "White Power" as he pours bleach on a Latino's face, sodomizes him with a broken pipe and beats him for five hours. (The state of Houston omitted the Hate Crime charge claiming the charges level against Tuck already carried a life sentence. which prompts this writer to ask why have a "hate crime" classification if it is not about the very morality of the charge?)

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BRUTAL QUESTIONSaddresses the fifth incident of the Eugene Police using the department's newly-adopted Taser gun. Was it police brutality as at least ten witnesses stated? Or is it the police giving the more truthful accounting in claiming the multiple shocks were required to force compliance from a dangerous protestor? Now that the case has caused public outcry and formally filed charges of police brutality, a deputy auditor has been assigned. And many people are waiting for her findings.

Consider this a necessary follow-up toTazing Eugene, which was my video on the very first use of Tasers by police in this same city. In that case, wherein a homeless man was shocked, there was hardly a ripple and the local papers did not report on any witnesses who contradicted the police's report (as this trumpet-blower did). This time, however, it's astudent...

AS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS first reported last night, Obama officially secured the pledges of enough delegates to be presumed the Democratic Nominee for President of the U.S.A. and this comes as happy news to many young people in Oregon. Judy Lee, a student at Sheldon High in Eugene excitedly claims "all my friends and I totally support him. I think it's wonderful that we actually have an African American nominee...and possibly President." I asked Judy if there were many disappointed Clinton supporters among her peers.

"A few were neutral," she replied after thinking about it. "But most are for Obama."

That proportion can be seen on larger scales. After all, it wasn't long ago that Barack Obama drew a crowd of over 72,000 people to a Portland rally, and not too long prior that he filled University of Oregon's MacArthur Court to the rafters.

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OBAMA IN OREGON (PT. 3)concludes our trilogy featuring Obama's rousing event that energized the town of Eugene, Oregon as well as the University of Oregon, and packed McArthur Court to overflowing on March 13, 2008.

• Part Onehere.
• PartTwo
• TheMaking Ofnarrative

The latest video by Oregon's OfficialMTV Choose or Lose Street Team 08 Citizen Journalist,Nezua.

Clicking the picture above will take you to the video page.

SHHH. Can you hear it? Oregon is voting. And even though the Democratic nomination may end up being decided in great part by our votes here in the Beaver State, it remains a rather subtle event by all appearances.

Yes, amidst all the online chatter, behind all the headlines, going on without much fanfare at all, we are voting. In Oregon, this means that ballots are arriving and ballots are being filled in and mailed back. There are no precinct polling locations, there are no lines, there is no hush on the street as the devoted disciples of Democracy make the trek to a gymnasium or some other building to draw back a curtain, pull a lever, or touch a screen. There are, instead, the warnings not to use black pen (the ink contains traces of the color red, which the tallying machines cannot read) nor blue pen (which has been known to cause problems with the machines as well) but instead, the true and trusty pencil.

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HILLARY CLINTON IN EUGENE [1] begins our HRC four-part series, which will feature the Senator's rally/town-hall appearance at Eugene, Oregon's South Eugene High School Gymnasium. You've read Tapper and Suarez and myself and many others comment on this very appearance. Now, witness all the small town high school political gymnasium goodness for yourself.

Part 2 here, Part 3 and 4 to follow shortly.

The latest video by Oregon's Official MTV Choose or Lose Street Team 08 Citizen Journalist, Nezua.

HILLARY CLINTON IN EUGENE [2] continues our HRC four-part series, which features the Senator's rally/town-hall appearance at Eugene, Oregon's South Eugene High School Gymnasium. You've read the comments of Tapper and Suarez and myself and probably many others, regarding this very appearance. If you're one of the chosen ones, you've even seen Part 1. Now you can feast on this continuation of Historic Pacific North West Gymnasium Clintonobilia.

Parts 3 and 4 to follow.

The latest video by Oregon's Official MTV Choose or Lose Street Team 08 Citizen Journalist, Nezua.

Clicking the picture above will take you to the video page.

Diary of A Citizen Journalist: Shooting the Obama Trilogy

THE LINE AROUND THE BLOCK took us by surprise. We had heard the buzz over Senator's Obama's arrival building in the last day or so, even though only two days notice were given before he came to Eugene, Oregon to speak at McArthur Court or "The Pit" as it is known to locals. 

Still, we hadn't expected the turnout or the speed with which it would, well—turn out!

A Quickly-Growing Line and a Quickly-Made Decision

One of the things that stands out regarding Senator Obama's campaign is its ability to draw massive crowds wherever the campaign touches down. Oregon has proven to be no exception.

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OBAMA IN OREGON (PT. 2) continues our trilogy of Obama-in-Oregonity as promised last week! Peep through the Lens O' Nez and once again, enter "The Pit" in Eugene, Oregon—which is really not as gruesome as the name might sound, but instead a rather invigorating and some might even venture, rousing venue.

Part One here. Part Three soon to come.

The latest video by Oregon's Official MTV Choose or Lose Street Team 08 Citizen Journalist, Nezua.

Clicking the picture above will take you to the video page.

OBAMA IN OREGON (PT. 1) is the name of the new video from yours truly, Oregon's Street Team rep, and just as the title foreshadows, there will be two more parts to this tryptych of political goodness. Clicking the picture above will take you to the video page. Playing the video will bring you a little closer to the excitement that hit the city of Eugene when Obama came to town.