SOME REPORTS SOUND TOO BAD TO BE TRUE

The anti-Hispanic views of Sen. Russell Pearce are pretty much on view for all to see now that he passed around what seems to be a bogus letter in a vain attempt to get his anti-Hispanic bills passed.

The letter is from a substitute teacher named Tony Hill and you can find all of it here.  Here are some excerpts that made me suspicious:

- During the Pledge of Allegiance I notice the vast majority of students refusing to stand and say the pledge. I asked the students why they refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance and they responded by saying, "we are Mexicans and Americans stole our land."

- Most of the students came unprepared for class not possessing paper and pencil. I provided the students with paper and pencils only to have them wade-up the paper and throw it at each other along with their pencils.

- I asked the students to stop speaking Spanish in class because it was impolite to speak a language in front of people who may not speak that language. Their response was that Americans better learn Spanish and their customs because they are taking their land back from us.

- Most of the students refused to open the book, tore the pages out of the book, or threw the textbooks at each other.

According to the letter, these were 8th graders and I recall that when I had a sub, we generally had a pretty good time and didn't do much work but nothing like the chaos that Mr. Hill describes. Hill's claim to have taught in the Phoenix area schools has not been verified according to Alia Rau at the Arizona Republic:

The Arizona Department of Education has confirmed that Hill is certified as a substitute teacher. Hill declined to say which school he was describing, but said it was not a charter school.

Glendale, Peoria, Alhambra and Pendergast school districts have no record of Hill teaching there. Deer Valley has not returned multiple calls seeking information.

Sen. Pearce has refused to apologize for passing along this inflammatory letter:

Pearce said he has spoken to Hill and that Hill stands by what he wrote. Pearce criticized Senate Democrats for questioning the legitimacy of the letter.