“Weekend Chasing Aliens” Contest in AZ

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Consider this a new nadir in the nation’s feverish immigration debate, sparked by Arizona’s controversial law. A Columbus, Ohio radio station thought it smart—or clever, or whatever—to run a contest offering listeners the chance to visit Phoenix, where “Americans are proud and illegals are scared,” as the station put it, to “spend a weekend chasing aliens and spending cash in the desert, just make sure you have your green card!”

The station, 610 WTVN, launched the contest in reaction to Columbus mayor Michael Coleman’s decision to ban city employees from visiting Arizona on official business in protest of that state’s immigration law. Apparently, the contest has already expired, but here’s the full description of the contest and an ad touting it, via Think Progress:

The text from the ad says:

610 WTVN would like to send you where Americans are proud and illegals are scared, sunny Phoenix, Arizona! You’ll spend a weekend chasing aliens and spending cash in the desert, just make sure you’ve got your green card! Win round trip airfare to Phoenix, hotel accomodations, and a few pesos in spending cash – just register below!

Needless to say, local community groups have railed on the radio station for the “chase an alien” contest. Said Leonardo Ramos, president of Colombianos in Ohio. “This is clearly the chilling effect of what is happening in Arizona with SB 1070. We believe that our community must respect and protect all people.” (You can read the full press release bashing the station here.) Members of community groups said they’ll also send letters to the general manager of Clear Channel in Columbus.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

The short of it: Last year, we had to cut $1 million from our budget so we could have any chance of breaking even by the time our fiscal year ended in June. And despite a huge rally from so many of you leading up to the deadline, we still came up a bit short on the whole. We can’t let that happen again. We have no wiggle room to begin with, and now we have a hole to dig out of.

Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

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