Plug from Bush drums up customers

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Published Thursday
June 8, 2006

Plug from Bush drums up customers

BY CHISTOPHER BURBACH


WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

You can't beat a reference from the White House.


Salvador Piña received a phone threat after President Bush highlighted him at Metropolitan Community College.


New customers dialed up Piña's Auto Repair this morning, a day after President Bush gave owner Salvador Piña a plug during a speech in Omaha.

Piña said he had received several calls from prospective customers. He also has been receiving calls of support from regular clients, friends and even some strangers after news reports of Bush's remarks and a threatening call to the shop.

"Sen. Chuck Hagel just called me a few minutes ago," Piña said this morning. "He told me he's very proud of me. He congratulated me, and he said don't worry about that crazy call."

The threat had come 30 minutes after Bush touted Piña's story as the American dream. A male caller said, "Go back to your country."

Never mind that Piña is an American citizen who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years. The call went beyond ignorant insult.

"If you don't, I'll come to your business and kill everybody," the caller said, according to Piña.

The Catholic Charities' Juan Diego Center, which Bush visited Wednesday, received a threatening call around the same time, executive director Scot Adams said.

Piña and Catholic Charities officials took the threats seriously enough that they reported them to Omaha police, who began an investigation.

But Piña said he wasn't frightened, partly because a name and phone number popped up on the shop phone's caller ID.

I don't take my business to sympathizers and morans of the reich wing.

WTF?

You ever get the feeling that some people are like rabid dogs?

Homeland Security money to Omaha, Hagel and the cheat machines, Hagel as next president, Hagel as someone to influence on the course of the next phase of the 'war", the Latino division campaign, the phone threat.