Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog

I'm spending the weekend at a NSHMBA regional chapter leadership training. You can reach more about us at http://denver.nshmba.org -- Check it out. I won't be blogging much over the weekend. Feel free to post whatever you want in the comments section. Open thread.

UPDATE: fr. Salinas pointed me to his blogs that hold collections of images of the Spain pro-family protests . Make sure to check them out. This is to huge to ignore. **** Here is something the MSM is ignoring! My sources indicated that the police estimated the crowd at 1.5 to 2.0 million people who, despite an earlier rally by the gay community (less than 100,000), turned out en masse to demonstrate their support against the initiative. The PSOE officials are trying to downplay the event, but 1.5 million people can't be ignored, even by the socialist government which is trying to ram through it's agenda. The high Catholic officials rarely in the history of this country get involved in protests such as this, but the Archbishop of Madrid and dozens of other high church officials were actually in the march. Over five hundred busses brought people from all over Spain to participate in the march. We give God the Glory, and WLM... can look with satisfaction on this event as having s...

Inevitably, this decision affects Hispanics in poor areas. One one side, an improved economy is good--more jobs for low income people. On the other hand, I am never for more government control. I just get the feeling that this was not thought out. Way to many conflicts and problems are being solved through government intervention. So, what would be the alternative? What would conservatives and small-government advocates do? Good words from O'Connor and Clarence Thomas. "Today nearly all real property is susceptible to condemnation on the court's theory," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in opposition to the ruling. "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party." O'Connor said the opinion would result in a shift of property away from poor owners in favor of those with "disproportionate influence and power." Justice Clarence Thomas went further in his dissent, arguing that the court's decision "regrettably...

Wow! These are impressive images. Spain has really rallied to the occasion. It is clear they are not in favor of gay marriage. Check out this huge collection of images. http://manifestacionfamilias.blogspot.com/

Fr. Jorge Salinas keeps a wonderful collection of images of Galicia, Spain. If you are planning a vacation or travel to that region, you might want to check it out. It's a sad thing that I have never been to Spain. http://micaminodesantiago.blogspot.com

I don't know what to think about this article. While it would be great if more of the country was better educated and aware of the Hispanic communities around them, I think more Hispanics need to integrate into society and get involved in their communities--That will increase awareness of Hispanics. Let's get out of our Gehtos! That's why I moved out of Miami! Albor Ruiz is a columnist for the Daily News. He writes : Out of an estimated 16,000 stories aired on the networks in 2004, only 115 stories - or 0.72% - were exclusively about Latinos, NAHJ found out. Even worse, despite the explosive increase of the Hispanic population, things are not getting any better. Actually, last year's figures represented a decrease from 2003, when there were 131 stories about Latinos, or 0.82%. Out of an estimated 548 hours of network news stories aired in 2004, a scant 0.62% (3 hours and 25 minutes) was dedicated to Latino stories, according to the report. "The dearth of coverag...

Scary post by Captain Ed about the danger of an unsecured border. Mexico is getting more and more lawless--perfect staging ground for al-Qaeda. I've said it before--I wish more Hispanics would be honest about what the border security problem means to this country. I can understand illegals coming into this country as a necessity, running away from hunger and poverty. But, Hispanics will be in danger from al-Qaeda too. How many Hispanics died on 9/11!! Frankly, I'm concerned, as are many other Hispanics who have respect for the law (both inside our borders, and outside of our borders). It appears that Mexico may have already become an AQ staging area. Perhaps now would be a good time to start getting serious about border control. http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/004786.php

Great article and great issue! Congratulations to World for highlighting the truth about these debt-forgiveness initiatives. Having lived in various third-world countries for over 15 years, I know it doesn't work. I have seen hospitals half-completed, abandoned after funds where mismanaged (stolen more likely). Europe loves coming over to Central American countries, and let everyone know how progressive they are. Ultimately, it's the poor who suffer, while corrupt politicians get rich of the generosity of well-intentioned individuals. ...offstage a band of leading economists and scholars says the G8 plan is not only misguided but harmful, particularly for church-based poverty-fighting efforts. "Debt forgiveness rewards the corruption and inefficiency of governments who have mishandled loaned funds," writes the editorial board of the Kairos Journal in a letter sent June 6 to Mr. Warren and Mr. Stott, along with others. "In forgiving the debt of poor nations, we...

Hi There, If this is the first time you visit Latino Issues, would you let me know what you think? Is the writhing and links interesting? Do the opinions expressed make you think? Am I what you would expect from a Hispanic? Considering the fact that I am a US born Hispanic, born to immigrants, how does that reflect on my writing and opinions? Whether your reaction be negative, or positive, click on the comments link and let me know. I am just starting at this, and I would love to get reactions from readers. If you are here for a second or third time, what brought you back? What would make this site more compelling or interesting? Thank you for your time in sharing your thoughts. - Josue

It absolutely disgusts me that when the media or intellectual elites want to give the token consideration to Hispanics, they go to the left wing, extremist La Raza. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) released a report detailing the impact Social Security has on Hispanic workers and beneficiaries. I disagree mostly with their so-called findings, but I do have to agree with this quote from the civilrights.org article : The report, "The Social Security Program and Reform: A Latino Perspective," reveals that while the vast majority of the U.S. Latino workforce--including native-born, lawfully-present foreign-born, and undocumented workers--are paying into the Social Security system, in many cases, they are less likely than other American workers to receive retirement benefits. But, politics trumps true compassion and objective, evidence-based reasoning for the extreme left--specially when its the extreme La Raza left. (I even get nervous writing criticism of them...do a...

I'm having a rough day. I had to take the afternoon of from work to get some studying done for a Statistics mid-term. For those who are new to my blogs, I am working on my MBA, and this is my first semester. Instapundit.com linked to a post by VIRGINIA POSTREL that points to an editorial by Steve Forbes on immigration policy. The Instapundit.com post reads : Forbes is right: It's asinine. We have the worst of all worlds in our current immigration system -- it's demeaning, unpredictable, and contemptuous toward would-be legal immigrants, while being porous toward illegals. And it's the main experience most foreigners have of dealing with the United States government. When my Nigerian sister-in-law, before she married my brother, passed her citizenship test, my brother said he was glad that the person who swore her in was so nice, because it was the first time in the entire process that the process wasn't run by a jerk. This is a mess, and the Bush ...

Interesting piece at VOA news. What I found most interesting is a fact that keeps popping up here and there, but it seems like no one is making the connection. With average birth rates going rapidly down, when you look at US birth rates it is interesting to note the reason our birth rates are not dipping like in the rest of the world is because of Hispanics. They inflate and deflect the trend. So, you tell me--who is going to be paying for my Social Security benefits when I retire? It's going to be our children--Hispanics. Latinos were responsible for about one-half of the national population growth from July of two thousand three to July of two thousand four. The Census Bureau says their growth rate was more than three and one-half percent, compared to one percent nationally. Half the Latinos in the United States are under the age of twenty-seven. This is a result of high birth rates combined with high immigration levels. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Latinos enter t...

The following is a letter to the editor of Honduras This Week , the weekly English Honduran newspaper. I thought you all might find it interesting. The relevance is in that we will not completly solve our imigration problem until more people take an interest in solving the corrpution and economic problems of third world countries. I am not talking about setting up a world welfare system, but lending a hand to hard working people that care, and holding foreign governments accountable for the good of its own people. Read on. Adopt a third world country. Dedicate time and energy. Read their publications. It will make a world of a difference in how you understand the challenges and problems of illegal imigration, and related imigrant issues in the US. Dear HTW: Congratulations to a well thought out article. I totally agree and enjoyed seeing this honest look at the truth in regards to the free markets. The article, “Trying to rationalize the origins of corruption” by Lorenzo Dee Belvea...

Great story today on being a Latino Journalist. Good work by Ruben Navarrette Jr. at the San Diego Union-Tribune. The call brought to mind a lunch I had about five years ago with a veteran columnist in Washington. It was right before I started this column, and the veteran offered some advice -- and then offered his sympathies. "It must be very difficult," he said, "to constantly feel as if you have to serve a constituency." What he meant was that, as a Latino columnist, I must feel as though I have to advance the views of Latino organizations and Latino elected officials, both of which, in his experience, tended to lean to the left. Actually, I responded, if there is a constituency (and I'm not sure there is), I'm not sure I'm up to the task of serving it. Latino leaders and I disagree on immigration enforcement, bilingual education, affirmative action, capital punishment, school vouchers and privatizing Social Security. And that's just for starters....

Here is an interesting article that looks into the second generation Hispanic culture. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/11932898.htm Lopez, Gross says, is ''very conscious'' of this dynamic. But in her case, he says, the connection is ``not about her work -- it's her story.'' To begin with, her biography, which she repeats in every interview, reads like an immigrant archetype: Raised in a working-class part of the Bronx by a computer technician and a kindergarten teacher, Lopez started out as a backup dancer and, by dint of hard work and determination, became a powerhouse -- a $12 million-a-picture film star, a recording artist who's sold 35 million CDs, an entrepreneur whose clothing line and fragrance businesses People magazine estimated to be worth $350 million. To some, like Wong and Rivera, this is inspiring. To others, infuriating. ''When she first came out, it was electric,'' Mulligan says. ``I was in college and to s...

Telemundo's mun2 cable channel moving from Miami to Los Angeles The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Spanish-language television network Telemundo is expected to announce Monday its relocation of a youth-oriented cable channel from Miami to Los Angeles. By moving mun2, Telemundo executives hope to market to Southern California's increasing Hispanic population and also Hollywood's arts community. No loss from what I have heard about the channel.

Is this your political leadership? Democrats should take note. In the early 1940s, a politically ambitious butcher from West Virginia named Bob Byrd recruited 150 of his friends and associates to form a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. After Byrd had collected the $10 joining fee and $3 charge for a robe and hood from every applicant, the "Grand Dragon" for the mid-Atlantic states came down to tiny Crab Orchard, W.Va., to officially organize the chapter. As Byrd recalls now, the Klan official, Joel L. Baskin of Arlington, Va., was so impressed with the young Byrd's organizational skills that he urged him to go into politics. "The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation," Baskin said. The young Klan leader went on to become one of the most powerful and enduring figures in modern Senate history. Throughout a half-century on Capitol Hill, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) has twice held the premier leadership post in the Senate, helped win ratific...

I am not calling Villaraigosa a fascist, but in this country, we do not try to take away the power of the people to select and direct their own government. To do so by an elected official is to attempt to centralize power in one man--the basis for fascism. Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed that he should appoint the school board overseeing the nation's second-largest school system. "I think the mayor should be able to appoint all the members of the school board," Villaraigosa told a state legislative committee during a public hearing Friday. Currently, the seven board members who oversee the 740,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District are elected from their districts. Mayors in other big cities, including New York City and Boston, also have sought to gain greater authority over their school boards. "I am not looking for more power. I just got elected to a great job and have plenty of that," said Villaraigosa, who takes office July 1. "I...

I found this article some time ago, and had posted about it on a different blog of mine, but I thought I would post it here for your comments. Here is what seems to be an interesting book. I say interesting, because right of I don't think I agree with the author's premise, but to be clear, I have not read it yet. If anyone out there has read it, I would love to hear from you. As Hispanics, we need to be aware of the mainstream culture's perception of us. It is not the same world of yesterday. Immigration is not as welcome by some. The idea of the melting pot of the world is a concept this country seems to forget. Read the full article by the Miami Herald here: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/8238758.htm