Thanksgiving Game between NFL Cowboys and Eagles Could Become the 1st Chicano Quarterback Bowl

                                     Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia Eagles

                           Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Double Header football games have become a lasting tradition on Thanksgiving Day, usually one of the games includes the Detroit Lions and the other includes America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys. Most wives can be found in the kitchen getting the old bird ready for the center table while the guys are huddled around the new large screen television slurping Budweiser beer to wash down the onion dip and potato chips.

This coming Thanksgiving Day features not just two NFL games but three! The NFL holiday triple-header begins with an early Thanksgiving Day game beginning Thursday, November 27, 2014 at 12:30 PM ET on CBS that pits the Detroit Lions against the Buffalo Bills. The Dallas Cowboys will host the Philadelphia Eagles at 4:30 p.m. ET, airing on Fox, followed by the prime-time game on Thanksgiving night with the Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers beginning at 8:30 PM ET on NBC. 

NFL die hard fans will be looking at the latter two games due to playoff implications; however, many Latinos (especially Mexican American fans), will have their eyes glued to the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, not just to see who will take the 1st place lead in the NFC East (Eagles and Cowboys are currently tied for first place, followed by the Giants and the Redskins), but to see who will win the first ever “Chicano Quarterback" battle between the Philadelphia Eagles' Mark Sanchez and the Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo”

While there have been other Mexican American quarterback standouts going backs as far as the sixties through the nineties (Joe Kapp, Tom Flores, Jim Plunkett and Jeff Garcia) this will be the first time you will see two Chicano quarterbacks going head to head on a major Holiday event that will be seen by most American television viewers. Mark Sanchez and Tony Romo are never in the discussion when speaking about legendary quarterbacks, a la Brady, Manning, Brees or Rodgers. But both have proven to be successful in an arena where Latino quarterbacks are considered a rarity. But they do have great credentials.

Romo is a third-generation Mexican American. His grandfather, Ramiro Romo Sr., emigrated from Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico to San Antonio, Texas as an adolescent before settling in Racine, Wis., where he met his wife. According to Wikipedia, Romo was born in San Diego, California while his father Ramiro Romo, Jr. was serving in the United States Navy, and his mother, Joan (Jakubowski) Romo, was a store clerk.[2] His family returned to their home in Burlington, Wisconsin.[3] Romo played baseball as a child and was selected to the Little League All-Star team.[4]

Romo started as quarterback for the Burlington High School Demons beginning as a junior (1996 season). In the 1997 season, Romo and the Demons finished with a 3–6 record, though he earned several honors, including the All-Racine County football team and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-State first team honors. Romo also was a starter on the BHS varsity basketball team and also played golf and tennis. Romo graduated from Burlington High in 1998.[5]

Romo attended Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, where he played for the NCAA Division I-AA Eastern Illinois Panthers football team. As a sophomore in 2000, he ranked second inDivision I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 164 of 278 (59%) passes for 2,583 yards and 27 touchdowns. After the season, he was honored as an All-America honorable mention, an All-Ohio Valley Conference member, and the OVC Player of the Year. As a junior, he led Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 138-of-207 passes for 2,068 yards and 21 touchdowns.[6]

On December 19, 2002 Romo was the first player in Eastern Illinois and Ohio Valley Conference history to win the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top Division I-AA football player. He finished his career holding school and conference records with 85 touchdown passes. Not selected in the 2003 NFL Draft, Romo signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

Sanchez was born in Long Beach, California. He is a third generation Mexican American, whose parents were both Mexican American. Raised in he Whittier-Pico Rivera area as a youth, his parents moved to Orange county and raised him under strict rules and training. His father (Nick Sanchez Sr). trained Mark during sessions in their backyard or at the park.[3]Mark, who was attending Santa Margarita High School, joined the football team. During his firstpass attempt as a sophomore, Mark threw a 55-yard touchdown.[3]

Prior to his junior year of high school, Mark transferred to Mission Viejo,[6] where Johnson, who was recognized as a "quarterback guru", having trained professionals like Carson Palmer, was head coach. Under Johnson's tutelage, Mark felt he would have a better opportunity to become a better player.[3] Johnson tutored Mark on the complexities of the position and in two seasons with the team, Mark led the Diablos to a 27–1 record culminating with the California Interscholastic Federation Division II championship in 2004.[3]

Mark was named football player of the year by several major college recruiting services and was considered the top quarterback in the nation upon the conclusion of his high school football career in 2005.[7] In July 2004, Mark announced his commitment to the University of Southern California.[8 At USC, Sanchez was relegated as the backup quarterback during his first three years though he rose to prominence due to his brief appearances on the field in 2007 due to injuries suffered by starting quarterback John David Booty. Sanchez also became popular within the community due to his Mexican-American heritage. Named the starter in 2008, Sanchez led USC to a 12–1 record and won the Rose Bowl against Penn State for which Sanchez was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his performance on offense.

Although USC coach Pete Carroll and many scouts considered him too inexperienced, Sanchez announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Jets after they traded up with the Cleveland Browns, and was named the starting quarterback prior to the start of the season. Despite a sub par performance, Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, a losing effort to the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first playoff game and the second to win two playoff games.

 Sanchez had great success after being drafted in the first round by the New York Jets in 2009. He became the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first post-season contest, and the second to do so on the road.[60] The others were Shaun King ('99 Bucs), Ben Roethlisberger ('04 Steelers), and Joe Flacco ('08 Ravens).[60] On January 17, 2010, Sanchez, with the help of fellow rookie Shonn Greene, defeated the heavily favored San Diego Chargers 17–14 to attain the Jets' third AFC Championship appearance in franchise history.[61] Sanchez became only the second rookie quarterback to win two consecutive playoff games, behind Joe Flacco.[62] In a rematch of their regular season meeting with the Colts, Sanchez performed well in the first half however, the offense succumbed to the Colts' defense in the second half and the Jets gave up an 11-point lead, losing 30–17.[63] Sanchez was named to Sporting News' All-Rookie team for his performance during the season.

While both Sanchez and Romo have distinguished themselves in the past, their recent struggles have been the subject of much scorn and ridicule by nay saying critics and haughty NFL pundits. Romo, in particular, has been highly criticized for winning only one playoff game for the Cowboys since 2010, and finishing 8 and 8 the last three seasons. However, this year, Romo has energized the Cowboys into first place in the NFC East. Sanchez,who has replaced starting quarterback Nick Foles for the last four games (winning three out of four), was out all of last year due to an injury while playing for the Jets. He was traded last year to the Eagles and studied their system while recuperating from his injuries. 

Nevertheless, both Romo and Sanchez’ careers appear to be on the rise again, after most pundits had virtually written off the two Chicano quarterbacks. However, this particular Thanksgiving Day showcase could catapult one of them to new heights, increasing their team's conference lead and paving the road toward a more successful season. 

After the game, many of those less than enthusiastic pundits maybe eating a little crow along with their turkey, this Thanksgiving; but nationwide, Latinos from the East Coast through Texas and all the way through the Southwest and to the Mexican border, will be rooting for either Sanchez or Romo to win the first ever "Chicano Bowl." 

Who knows? Thursday's winner may go onto win enough games to make it to the “Super Bowl” on February 1st, as well as break those negative naysayers' Pinatas for many years to come.

~~~~

       

Joe Ortiz. He is a veteran journalist with over 40 years experience as a radio and television talk show host, radio news reporter, newspaper columnist and blogger.

The Coachella Valley, California native has the distinction of being the first Mexican American in the US to host an English-language talk show on a commercial radio station, beginning in 1971 on KABC-AM in the city of Los Angeles.

He is currently a journalist and free-lance writer for numerous media throughout the nation. He manages several blogs as well as writes on a variety of issues including business, community and public leaders, authors, sports and entertainment personalities, theology and many other significant topics.

Eva Longoria’s “Food Chains” Documentary is about Human Rights Issues

Eva Longoria’s “Food Chains” Documentary is about Human Rights Issues:

When a documentary creates “ahaa” moments in the audience’s minds, is a film that needs to be seen by everyone.  Food Chains is such a documentary.  Set to premiere nationwide in more than 20 cities on November 21st & 28th (list of theaters below) the film features such notables as Eva Longoria, Kennedy family members, Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), Dolores Huertaand others who lend their support to bring focus to the issue of earning a fair wage for the persons who put the food on our table.

Do Christians Commit A Sin If They Support The State of Israel? Most Definitely!

Christians in Tennessee

The only significant and clear cut message from the Bible concerning the state, we are told in Romans 13:1-7 about the Christian's submission to Governing Authorities:

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."

You will notice, however, that nothing in the above group of scripture mentions nor implies that believers need be involved in the political process that leads up to the establishment of those governing authorities. Obviously, political involvement by individual Christians and groups has increased as never before these past four to five decades; the Christian Right and its organizers (including former church leaders Jerry Falwell and other professing Conservative Christian political activists such as Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed and others) have taken politics to a new and (some may say) dangerous level. A level that has actually had damaging affect on how the "church" is perceived by our nation, and maybe the whole world.

Actually, much of the damage to the church has not come from its failure to elect "Christian" candidates, but for taking its eye off the Gospel, whose mission (and power) has nothing to do with the political arena. We won't examine this issue with any greater elucidation other than to say that those who still (and insist) in this involvement are actually going against the will of God. Is that a sin? Those who are involved in political matters say "No" but many of us believe that the Bible presents a greater and more important message for the church, simply put (in James 1:26-27):

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

In his book, Idols For Destruction, author Herbert Schlossberg has provided us with one of the most lucid explanations against Christians becoming involved with the political machinations of the state. While many modern day prophets and church leaders subscribe that disciples of Christ should become involved in the political process (with no Bible support) they offer much patriotism rhetoric, as if the welfare of America is more important than God's will for mankind.

"When Jesus spoke about the truth's making men free (John 8:32), it was in the context of faith and discipleship and had nothing to do with the reasons these words are inscribed on the lintels of twentieth-century American libraries. Christian freedom stems from the separation of the creation and Creator; from the repudiation of a demiurge that binds man to the round of his being; from the rejection of determinism and the affirmation of responsibility; and from the limitations on Caesar, the declaration that he is a creature, and the removal of the divine status that he continually seeks to acquire. Christian liberty rests on the foundation that man's responsibility to God may not be abridged or compromised by lesser loyalties.. This is the conviction that made it possible for Peter to say that he would obey God rather than man, and thus relativizes all human power. When loyalty to God disappears, there is no longer a barrier to an omni-competent state. Social democracy makes society increasingly dependent upon the state for continued sustenance, thereby cementing its bondage. That is the wisdom in Chesterton's definition of a despotism as a "tired democracy."

Daniel Bell has said that the central question before us is whether, with society's repudiation of Christian faith, culture can provide sufficient cohesion to prevent disintegration. His answer is that the state takes the place of the discarded religious tradition . But that cannot happen, says Ellul, until it is transformed into a cultic object. "It is not state which enslaves us, not even a centralized police state. It is the sacral transfiguration ...which makes us direct our worship to this conglomeration of offices. "The Enlightenment prepared the way for one manifestation of this , that which was directed toward the nation with its appurtances of flag, army, anthem, and national glory. That has now been displaced by the state with its humanitarian ethic, its bureaucratic framework, its function as symbol of the aspirations of humanity. The state now fulfills the cultic function.

J.L. Talmon's studies of secular messianism reveal this clearly. "...all Messianic trends considered Christianity...as the arch-enemy. Indeed they triumphantly proclaimed themselves substitutes for it. Their own message of salvation was utterly incompatible with the basic Christian doctrine...and its denial of man's power to attain salvation by his own exertions. Redistribution takes its central meaning from this cultic function. The state giveth and the state taketh away. Blessed be the name of the state."

Obviously this edict applies more so to the paradigm accepted by American Christians. Moreover, for those Christian Zionists who view they must also support the Zionists' theory, based solely and primarily by a misinterpreted scripture verse (Genesis 12:3) that they apply to the state of Israel, perilously dance on the thawing floor of frozen ice. This belief system becomes even more dangerous to Christian Zionists who are going against God's will, which therefore qualifies it as a sin. As Jesus tells us in (Matthew 12:30 ), you are either on His side or the side of the state.

Support for the state of Israel has become one of the primary and contributing causes to a world-wide conflict that cannot be solved through the political machinations being practiced by both the United States and the state of Israel. We can labor and debate who is correct about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict until hell freezes over.

However, based on scripture, this conflict will never be resolved until Jesus Christ returns to set things straight. No political system has ever been employed throughout history that has even come close to a viable solution to a two-millennium conflict, nor has any cogent answer been proffered that is amenable to all parties involved. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is one that cannot be solved by geopolitical alignments, nor by any racial or religious formula. The cause of the conflict is truly a spiritual issue that only God can resolve. While many will continue to support the Israel state based on a much debated scripture verse (Genesis 12:3), there is sufficient proof throughout the Bible that the initial covenants made by God were intended for a faith-based people, those who would obey and abide by His will. Unfortunately, both Christian and Israeli Zionists are ill-informed not only as to who can make the claim of owning the land of Palestine, that patch of land in the Middle East has never been the true Promised Land the patriarchs were looking forward to (read all of Hebrews - Chapter 11, especially verses 14 through 16) as their eternal resting place.

Yet, the state continues to set itself above God and the uninformed (or ignorant) and will continue to bow before the will of the state idol, which (by God's laws and standards) are destined to be destroyed.

Whose side will you take? God's or the state?

                                                    

Concerning my ethnicity? What do I want to be called?

In a recent survey about my ethnicity, we were asked which defines you more? Mexican? Mexican American? Latino? Hispanic? Spaniard? Chicano? In other words, what do I want to be called?

Following is my response:

Whenever people ask me what I prefer to be called, I always say: "Call me 'Mr. Ortiz.'" #whatareyou? Share: http://t.co/8aVP8khz6x
— publicinsight (@publicinsight) October 16, 2014

Immigrant Debate’s Focus on National Identity Could Be Good For All Americans

(1940 Immigrant Arrivals to US)

     One of the phrases that have captured my attention more so than the “illegal” aspect of the immigration imbroglio is “National Identity.” The phrase is also presented as “American Identity” with supporting adjectives such as “cultural, traditional and creeds.” 

     In this day and age, culture can mean many things to many people, but it’s basically the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, traditions and practices that characterizes specific entities. Mexicans have a culture, so do Asians, Jews, Italians, as all ethnic groups do, and America has benefited greatly by them.

     As the “immigration” debate continues to rear its ugly head, I have received many emails from white friends about their fear of “American Identity” erosion. Each time I asked what is meant by this phrase (American Identity) the responses I get is that immigrants should be good and law-abiding citizens, committed to speaking in English, patriotic and committed to the values, traditions, creeds and the American culture.

     I kept probing for a more succinct meaning to this phrase, and for them not to take for granted that I know (and accept unwittingly) what they mean. Most responded by stating that historically, American Identity has had two primary components: culture and creed. The first they say has been the values and institutions of the original settlers, who were Northern European, primarily British, and Christian, primarily Protestant. This culture included speaking the English language and upholding traditions concerning relations between church and state and the place of the individual in society.

     Over the course of three centuries, black people were slowly and only partially assimilated into this culture. Immigrants from western, southern, and Eastern Europe were more quickly and fully assimilated, and the original culture evolved and was modified but not fundamentally altered as a result. It was also pointed out to me that American Identity developed through three phases: Anglo-America (1789-1861), Euro-America (1875-1957), and Multicultural America (1972-to the present).

     The second component of American identity, many said, has been a set of universal ideas and principles such as liberty, equality, democracy, constitutionalism, limited government, private enterprise. These, many stated, constitute the American Creed, which in essence they believe is the fate of America as a nation is not to have various ideologies but to be one.

     One person added that the founding (white) fathers did envision diversity as a future problem, hence the national motto, e pluribus Unum. He said that throughout American history political leaders, also fearful of the dangers of racial, sectional, ethnic, economic, and cultural diversity, responded to the need to bring us “Americans” together, and made the promotion of national unity their central responsibility. He quoted Theodore Roosevelt as stating:

      “The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing as a nation, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”

     What most Americans today fail to recognize is that those pilgrims and puritans were all white and did not foresee the immigration realities we see today. The US Constitution, for the most part, promotes and practices principles and treatment of its beneficiary community.

     What many also do not know is the white Anglo-Saxon “good old boy” network of implementing this document has been in existent since the day the pilgrims and puritans landed on Plymouth Rock. According to Scott Atkins, who wrote The American Sense of Puritan, “Of the earliest remembrances of the Pilgrims in the latter part of the 18th century was the establishment of the ‘Old Colony Club’ to provide a clear example of how, from the beginnings of an official nation, nationalistic tendencies used the past as current self-justification. Atkins also stated that their true task “was to appropriate the past of religious separatism as an undeniable component of social and culture and, thereby, its American Identity."

     Sadly, American Identity proponents are being led by right wingers and many evangelicals who proudly wear this identity on their shirt sleeves, they who are the tails wagging elite sentry dogs full of bile and hatred toward immigrants. 

     For the most part, religious zealots (not Christ-following servants) have used their erroneous belief in what the Bible truly states in quest of an American mission that their so-called “build a wall” patriotism is in tune with its union of near-religious end, being influenced and guided along with political righteous means. They are convinced (as Atkins stated) that (in regard to liberty), “every part of God’s providential proceedings justifies the thought....God does the work, but not without his instruments, and they who are employed are denominated his servants.”

     The idea of our (America’s) white forefathers then expands beyond its more literal sense to anticipate that it takes its place in a larger lesson in national (genealogy) identity; what the forefathers started their children are bound to finish. Thus, a majority of white Americans have now become the soldiers and border patrol vigilantes not to just their blood-related ancestors, but to their American Identity itself.

     It is easier and perhaps in its way necessary to do what has often been done with the waves of immigrants that lay the foundation of the European presence in New England in the early 1600s, to form a stern but strong figure of religious freedom and peaceful coexistence. But yet, today’s American Identity xenophobic explosion towards Mexican immigrants is no less different than their witch-hunts, elitism, intolerance, and narrow-minded zealotry.

     To help explain just what America Identity truly means, it’s the white-Anglo Saxon culture whose influence has had the greater effect and which indeed swallowed the “philosophical” one that was once taught when I went to school but has since never been practiced to its fullest. The phrase, anyone can grow up to be the President of the United States comes laughably to mind. Yet, we still see in media and history books the grateful Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock, greeted by the true (native) Americans, the ones portrayed by a national holiday, Thanksgiving. Their inherent ideology has nevertheless served as something (for them as) not essential, and therefore, not a danger, to their meaning of American Identity. 

     But it is the white Anglo Saxon Puritanism whose meaning has proved the more dynamic, the more vital to the discourse of public memory. It is American Identity which can be seen as they see fit, and has served as a tool of contention for differing ideological uses and perspectives. However, it’s a sad historical paper trail that they leave behind, along with their strong strain of superiority that is literally negated by Godly principles. Because of their lack of true Godly love (patience, forgiveness, long-suffering, etc.) the lack of these traits, have had a shallow meaning for their national identity.

     Yet, this renewed focus on America’s National Identity, resulting from the immigrant debate, could go far in bringing about a more humane view and positive approach as to how Americans treat their fellow human beings.

~

Joe Ortiz has the distinction of being the first Mexican American to host an English-language talk show on a commercial radio station (KABC Talk Radio, in Los Angeles, beginning in1971). He is the author of The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation, two books that refute the Left Behind doctrine and many right-wing evangelical doctrines that are not biblical. He lives in Redlands, California and writes for local, national and international media.

For more information about the author, click on Joe Ortiz and or visit his web site by clicking here>> Joe Ortiz Associates.

Who Is This Blogger Joe Ortiz, and Who Really Cares? by Martha Gonzalez

 

Once he started blogging he knew this day would come, one where he had to let his audience know not only who he is (credentials, etc.), but how he would describe himself. This is because most folks who have read Ortiz’ articles and blogs can’t figure out what he really stand for. Is Joe Ortiz a Liberal, moderate, conservative, evangelical, anarchist, patriot, egotistical buffoon, elitist snob, racist, or a servant of and for the people?

“Ortiz quotes a lot from the Bible, but he sounds much more like a Liberal, to me,” said one reader.

“Naw, Ortiz is a right-wing Conservative popping off with his religious stuff, always talking about Jesus,” said another.

"Are you kidding me? He's a left-wing radical trying to overthrow our nation and turn it over to minorities," spews another.

“I’m not really sure but, one thing I do know is you can’t pigeon-hole him nor put him in any traditional box,” claims another.

Well, once upon a time, back in the early 40's, a young Mexican American kid grew up in the barrios of Coachella Valley, little knowing he was going to impact society more than he could have imagined. He grew up in that dry, hot and arid desert community in Southern California, the second oldest in a family of four brothers and four sisters, raised primarily by a single mother (he was 10 years old when she divorced his father), who picked grapes and dates in the fields of that farming community, and also washed dishes and worked as a fry-cook throughout grammar school and part of high school to help the family pay its bills.

In those days, very few Mexican kids graduated from high school and very few (if any) could afford to go to college. Coming from a predominately Latino working-class environment, Joe Ortiz went to high school his entire freshman year, part of his sophomore (he was hit by a car and was hospitalized for two months and rehabbed at home for another two), was kicked out of high school midway through his junior year, and attended only the first of two months of his senior class, opting to work as a cook for several months before enlisting in the Air Force in 1960, where he hoped to at least get a GED certificate.

“I could not believe his story when I first met Joe,” said Sabra Besly, the principal of Coachella Valley High School back in 1987.

“Joe came to visit me to see if he could do some make up work in order to get his high school diploma,” added Besly. “Here was a guy who in the last three decades had succeeded in the electronic medium of radio and television, in the political arena and in the social service and educational fields like few people ever, and he was more concerned about getting his high school diploma.”

Ortiz did get his high school diploma on June 12, 1987, at the school's graduating ceremony where he was invited by Besly to give the commencement address to the Coachella Valley High School Class of 1987. Right after his speech, Besly presented Ortiz with the first and only “Honorary High School Diploma” in the school’s history.

“My life’s purpose was shaped mostly during my not so remarkable school years, where most of my friends and teachers said that I was probably viewed as one of the least likely to succeed stories coming out of CV High,” said Ortiz. “I was told by many that I would never amount to anything, and my reaction, which I kept to myself, was, ‘Oh yea, we’ll see about that’!”

From the time Ortiz got out of the Air Force (where he served as an military policeman until 1964), he dived right into work in various fields, including credit and collections specialist, a behavioral skills instructor at Riverside City College, job developer for the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, job agent for the State Department of Employment, one year as a Parole Agent for the State of California, an adult education teacher and counselor for the Los Angeles Unified School District, a public information specialist at the biggest anti-poverty agency on the west coast, a press deputy for a Los Angeles City Councilman, and Vice President of Counseling and Placement for South Bay College. Throughout those various jobs, he attended night school at various southland colleges off and on for about twenty years and eventually earned state credentials to teach Public Relations, Public Affairs Broadcasting and Human Relations for Business classes at the adult school level. But his life-changing moment came when he was hired by KABC-AM in Los Angeles in 1971 becoming the first Mexican American to ever host a talk show at an English-language, commercial radio station.

“That was a watershed moment in my life, which catapulted me to a level I never thought imaginable,” said Ortiz, an award-winning journalist who went on to work as a talk show host on various radio and television stations in Los Angeles, and as a news reporter and news columnist for over 25 years. The second (and probably the most important) moment of his life was when he experienced a spiritual awakening in 1975.

“Prior to that moment, most of my life’s activities included working in the civil rights movement and as an advocate for better opportunities for minorities,” said Ortiz. “But my religious training and Bible studies, from 1975 to the present, have given me much clearer insights to life than ever before.”

Since his ‘born again’ experience in 1975, Ortiz worked as an evangelist for about seven years in the 80’s and has written three books on theology, which mainly question and challenge the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture and Left Behind” doctrines promoted by many right wing evangelicals, and he still writes for many periodicals both locally and on a national scale, in addition to several blog sites.

“Yes, I am still a strong advocate for the poor and minorities, especially Mexicans and Mexican Americans, which obviously confuses my conservative Christian friends,” states Ortiz; “but yet I also believe in living and writing about the moral standards held by most conservatives (such as Right to Life, traditional marriages between man and woman, and moral conduct in all areas of life as is clearly stated in the Bible.”

Ortiz is always questioned by many in his audience as to how can he support law-breakers like illegal immigrants and still make claim to adhere to the moral codes found in the Bible.

“That’s the irony of this political conundrum,” laughs Ortiz, “while many focus on crossing the border without legal documentation (which is a $250 dollar misdemeanor), the Bible clearly states that we should treat aliens as if they were natural born citizens of this country. ”

Therein lay the confusion most people have about Joe Ortiz and his varying articles he writes and blogs.

“I am a staunch advocate of helping, feeding and supporting the infirm, homeless, down trodden and the aliens of the world,” says Ortiz.

“Many people think this form of advocacy is a Liberal, un-American cause; however, Jesus Himself says that helping the poor is what true religion is all about and, yet, I can still support and vigorously promote the need for stronger moral values in the political, economic and social arenas of our country.”

“Logic dictates we come up with a viable solution to this (immigration) problem, instead of using it as an excuse to vent racial animus towards people who simply want to work to care for their family.’

-30-

Martha B. Gonzalez is a freelance writer who is also a Registered Nurse who works in the Cardiac Thoracic Unit of a major hospital in Southern California. She can be contacted at gonzalezmrn@yahoo.com