Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog

I'll be gone all weekend celebrating with my lovely wife one year of joyfull and blessed marriage. It has been truly the greatest year of my life, and I am looking for many more great years to come. Consider this an open discussion thread, and feel free to talk about anything. I'll be back Monday night with some thoughts on truth, ethical blogging, and what I have learned on these last couple weeks. :-D ~ Josue

It has come to my attention that in fact UCCS makes it's student emails available to the public over its web site and where in fact are publicly available. The U. Colorado system policy allows students to choose to keep my information private, in which case it is not included in either the print or on-line directories. Hence I evidently ignored and was never told of the option to consider this to be private information. There was no wrong doing or invasion of privacy by Securics, Inc. The addresses used were public information and emails from savehighered.org were perfectly legal. The emails included an unsubscribe link so users could delete themselves from the list and not receive any further messages. My previous statements where lacking in facts, as evidence now shows, and I regret not doing a better job of investigating the facts before hand. Josue Sierra

Chaves is accusing New Tribes Mission of collaborating with US Intelligence agencies and passing strategic information. Interestingly, BBC Spanish version makes this accusation (supuestamente envía información estratégica a la agencia de inteligencia estadounidense.), while the English version of the article leaves this accusation out. The BBC.com English story : He accused the Florida-based group of making unauthorized flights and setting up luxurious camps amid poverty. New Tribes, which preaches to non-Christian indigenous peoples, said it had no immediate comment. It is one of Latin America's biggest missionary organizations and has 3,200 workers and operates in 17 countries, with operations in West Africa and South-East Asia too. Caracas has suggested that American evangelicals are part of a broader conspiracy in Washington to topple a president whose regional influence is growing thanks to massive oil revenues, the BBC's Simon Watts writes. Of course, Chavez takes the op...

Interesting look at religion and blogging via Fox News . WASHINGTON — When Johann Gutenberg's printing press began churning out Bibles in the 15th century, the new technology helped usher in a new era of religion in Europe. Nearly 600 years later, some think that increasingly popular Web logs — the Internet's version of personal journals, pamphleteering and issue forums all wrapped in one — combined with traditional religious beliefs could once again take people on a new, uncharted course. In what appears to be a first of its kind, a small evangelical Christian college in Southern California on Thursday will open the God Blog Convention , a conference on Christian blogging. Matt Anderson, a 23-year-old educator who works for Biola University , is coordinating the God Blog Convention. He said one of the goals of the conference is to see whether God, Christian-oriented blogging and politics are a good marriage, and if so, how they should match up. "Th...

Alarming news , and yet says so much about the moral and cultural health of that city. The Louisiana attorney general's office is investigating allegations that mercy killings occurred and has requested that autopsies be performed on all 45 bodies taken from the hospital after the storm. Orleans Parish coroner Frank Minyard said investigators have told him they think euthanasia may have been committed. "They thought someone was going around injecting people with some sort of lethal medication," Minyard said. Dr. Bryant King, who was working at Memorial when conditions were at their worst, told CNN that while he did not witness any acts of euthanasia, "most people know something happened that shouldn't have happened." Over the course of several weeks, CNN spoke with staff members from Memorial, who recounted the dismal situation inside the hospital after levees protecting New Orleans were breached on Monday, August 29, and most of the city filled up with wate...

This comes via Publisher's Lunch and hat tip to VivirLatino . I had never heard of Cristina Garcia? Any of Cubans out there that have read it that could comment on her books? Is her work any good? Is anyone familiar with her political stand and wordview perspective? Cuban born and NYC raised writer, Cristina Garcia, just signed a deal for an undisclosed amount with publisher Knopf, a division of Random House. The deal is for Garcia's fourth book, titled A Handbook to Luck . The story unfolds in Cuba, Iran, Salvador, and the U.S and deals with themes seen in her previous books, Dreaming in Cuban , The Aguero Sisters ,and Monkey Hunting , namely the immigrant experience. I have truly enjoyed all of Garcia's books so far and congratulate her on the deal and wish her continued success.

New Latino blog out there with English coverage of the Latino world. Some good interesting stories, but I am not sure if I am endorsing them as of yet. They seem to have a team of good quality writters. They had an interesting post on the lack of coverage on the Latin American disasters . Good point--I guess everyone is to busy on the Harriet Miers nomination. The story comes via HispanicTips . I just read a great article entitled, Central American Flood, Where is the Coverage? , discussing the flooding from Hurricane Stan in Mexico & Guatemala and the lack of press attention in the US. I have to say that this is something that has been bothering me for some time, and I'm glad someone has taken the lead in discussing it. Hundreds have died and thousands are in great need. I'm not even going to summarize it...just recommend that everyone go read the article. It's time that the US start paying attention to the rest of the world, as they pay attention to us. It'll come...

Let's hope the door to more abortions in Australia is not opened. They have made a good stand against RU-486, and protected countless women's lives. As is usual with abortion, the group most affected are the underclass--women in rural or poor areas of the country. Of course, there is no mention of the dangerous potential side effects and the many death cases here in the US. John Howard, who has been lobbied by Dr Stone, hinted the Coalition would be prepared to debate the availability of RU-486, which is freely available in many countries, including Britain, New Zealand and the US. "We'll have a talk about that inside the Government," the Prime Minister said. "Any view I have on it I will first contribute to the internal government discussion on it." Senior Labor frontbenchers Tanya Plibersek and Julia Gillard supported a review of the ban. "The appropriate thing for the Government to now do is to commission some independent medical experts to revi...

Here is partial transcript of today's radio show. You can read the full transcript here . There are two parts of the transcript I think are of most interest to those following the Miers nomination. The key part of the conversation is where he talks about the list being cut short because most of the judges on the list took their names out themselves. The fact is, if Bush was not able to appoint a more qualified candidate, it is because the Democrats have politicized this process and NO intelligent individual would want to submit himself or herself to the vicious circus its been made. Of course, Bush cannot go out and say, "I had no choice, all my first choices are not available." I think we need to give it time for the facts to come out. Read on. The first related to the list being cut short: But we also talked about something else, and I think this is the first time this has been disclosed. Some of the other candidates who had been on that short list, and that many conse...

The truth about Castro's revolution is that it is starving the people. Thankfully, the faithful find a way to worship regardless of the circumstances. Despite Castro, and the economic starvation he is imposing, on what used to be a very prosperous nation, Catholics are thriving . This is what is coming to Venezuela. VATICAN CITY, OCT. 11, 2005 (Zenit.org).- It's practically impossible for Catholics in Cuba to build new churches, so "prayer homes" have opened to gather small Christian communities, a Cuban prelate told the Synod of Bishops. Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Victor Petit Vergel of Havana presented a report Monday to the synod on how the local Church lives its relationship with the Eucharist. Given "the difficulty and virtual impossibility of constructing new temples," explained the prelate, "we have what is called 'prayer homes' or 'mission homes' in the suburbs and in the small villages and country homes where, each week or as ofte...

Tancredo's congressional web site is announcing the introduction of bill H.R. 3855 that proposes the sale of 15% of Federal land, which he is reporting would generate almost $148 billion. I am not so sure this is good news. I am glad Tancredo is looking for ways to offset the expenses, but this sounds to me like a way for the government to get their hands on more money, not reducing how much they spend! Ultimately, it would not reduce the amount of pork spending. All it will do is allow them to continue on in their spending, and if not controlled carefully, may actually generate new expenditures. The idea is to reduce spending, not sell of property to allow for a continued increase in spending. WASHINGTON, D.C.; Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has introduced H.R. 3855 to secure the sale of 15% of federal land to offset the massive debt accumulated from Hurricane Katrina relief and reconstruction. The sale of federal land would generate almost $148 billion in Katrina relief. ...

Editor and Publisher has a revealing story about the attitude of most Americans when it comes to interracial dating. I'm no expert on statistics, so I can't say whether this had flaws or what. But, its a big step forward and good news for our country. In all, 69% of Hispanics say they have dated someone of a different racial or ethnic group, 52% of blacks say this and 45% of whites. There is some gender difference among blacks, with 64% of African-American men saying they have dated a non-black and 42% of black women saying this. Among whites, 29% said they had dated a Hispanic, 24% an African-Amercian, and 18% an Asian. The survey, part of Gallup's annual Minority Rights and Relations poll, was based on polling 2,264 adults.

Via IconCulture : In this potpourri of national folk music, dances, and foods emerges the Latino heritage. But just as Christian philosopher Tertullian exclaimed, 'What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?' one is left wondering, what does Mexico have to do with Brazil? JOSÉ ENRIQUE IDLER, A FELLOW AT THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, ON THE AWKWARD PAN-AMERICAN NATURE OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, LOS ANGELES TIMES 9.29.05

Why is is that public figures insist on propagating the myth that the government is the one to solve the problems of poverty? This via GOP.com First Lady Addresses Poverty First Lady Laura Bush told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday that there could be a silver lining in Katrina – the opportunity to address difficult racial and economic problems. "I think it's really important for us to talk about it in a different way," said Mrs. Bush, who over three decades ago taught elementary students at an inner-city school in Houston and was a school librarian in a poor Austin neighborhood. Without offering specifics, she urged policymakers to tackle not only improving education so that poor and minority children have a leg up in life, but increasing the amount of affordable housing stock and the jobs available to those who most need them. She pressed for job training programs, whether through the government or unions or corporations.” I am all for corporate sponsored...

Something I need to keep up with, and we should all consider the implications. This alarming article comes via RedState.org diary . By: FrauBudgie According to Senator Richard Lugar, bloggers would probably not be protected under the new shield law. In a speech reported by Editor and Publisher , Luger said that the debate isn't closed yet as to how to define a journalist. Lugar's the sponsor of a bill called the "Free Flow of Information Act" which is designed to protect journalists from going to jail for not revealing lying anonymous sources ... Here's the gig about anonymous sources: if an official isn't willing to give his name, then chances are, the information being given to the reporter is manipulative. Reporters need to take that into account, although these days, they don't seem to. If you know you might have to go to jail to protect a source, there's a little more gravity in the transaction -- or at least, there should be. In the blogos...

LatinoPundit proposes a simple solution to illegal immigration --cut off the demand. One sentence: Fine the businesses that hire illegals. Fine Walmart, fine construction companies, fine whoever...and fine heavily! If you are not promoting that then you really are not serious. Screw the borders, screw policy, screw everything except fining the companies that hire illegal immigrants. Put that on the plate. A reader points out that penalties are already in place, but fake IDs make it difficult. He calls for a national ID. That won't work unless there is a national I.D. card. Most businesses who hire illegals don't know for sure if the person is illegal. The illegals use false I.D. There are already very heavy penalties for knowingly hiring illegals. Posted by James at October 7, 2005 06:27 AM It is a very difficult challenge to address, but it's good to hear another Latino talking openly about the problem and proposing solutions. Tags: Politics , Current Affairs , Californi...

This story is via Yahoo News and the Associated Press . This is political correctness run amok! I appreciate the Mayor's desire to give respect to the murder victims, but he could have found a strong significant way to do so without being divisive, unpatriotic, and disrespectful to our flag. This is common flag etiquette! TIFTON, Ga. - A south Georgia mayor said Friday he will continue flying a Mexican flag at city hall for the six immigrant farmworkers slain in robberies — despite complaints from residents. Seven people called WTIF radio station Thursday, saying the gesture was inappropriate and that the Mexican and U.S. flags should not fly together. "I did that as an expression of sorrow to the Hispanic community," Mayor Paul Johnson said. "For those who we offended, I apologize, but I think it was the right thing to do." The red, white and green Mexican flag, donated by the Colombian-born priest of Tifton's only Roman Catholic church, was first raised Mo...

UPDATE II: Ed Morrissey was doing a web chat today on the WashingtonPost.com web site, and got hit with a question about Dobson's comments . Morrilton, Ark.: Why is an inquiry not being launched into the comments made by James Dobson on his response to the Harriet Miers' appointment? If, in fact, a person or persons unknown were doing "back door dealings" on pre-existing laws already in place by past judges would this not be grounds to nullify the appointment. Ed Morrissey: Arlen Specter says he will address this during the hearings. I'd certainly be interested in hearing Dr. Dobson explain this a bit more. Am I missing something? What is the big deal about this conversation? The discussion is a good read, so head on over and check out the whole thing . UPDATE AND BUMP: More on this story via Newsday.com : Alleged Rove secret riles senators Schumer said Dobson should be called to testify when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on Miers, a s...

Hat Tip to krempasky over at RedState.org: Since her nomination was announced, I’ve said that Harriet Miers should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, despite her unexciting qualifications, because she’s a conservative. Information that has come out over the last week has caused me to believe she is not a conservative. So I’m changing my position: Harriet Miers should not be confirmed by the Senate. On Roe v. Wade, I have no doubt that Miers is a rock-solid pro-lifer. If this were the only issue that mattered, then Miers would have my full support. But there are any number of other issues before the Court, foremost among them the racial discrimination that goes on in the name of affirmative action. On these issues, Miers would at best be a squishy liberal like Justice O’Connor. You don’t have to believe me, just ask her liberal-lawyer friend, Louise B. Raggio : “The abortion issue is a bad issue for me,” Raggio acknowledged, “but overall you look at the whol...

Via GOP.com : Washington DC – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ken Mehlman today unveiled the national committee’s new Spanish language Web site as part of a continued effort to communicate the President’s and Republican Party’s message to all Americans. GOP en Español is another mechanism that encourages more Latinos to get involved, expands the party’s reach, and attracts new Hispanic faces and voices. The new Web site presents current news and information to the Latino community with recent political updates and information on President Bush’s positive agenda and how it is benefiting Hispanic Americans. Among the new features and tools, GOP en Español offers online voter registration forms for all fifty states, the opportunity to become a volunteer at the local, state, or national level, and a way to sign up to receive and send information, entirely in Spanish. GOP en Español will also feature “The Latino Corner” or “La Esquina Latina”, a Web cast completely in Spanish w...

I took this little un-scientific test that indicates my position on the political and social spectrum. I found it most interesting, as I always considered myself a strong conservative in regards to social issues, yet this test puts me in the social moderate category. Very interesting. For those that have read my posts, and are regulars, would you peg me as a social moderate? You are a Social Moderate (50% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (80% permissive) You are best described as a: Capitalist You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness Link: The Politics Test

The Green Magazine had a politically loaded article on Cuba. The full story is not online, but I started reading it and got disgusted half way through the article. Enough to say I will be canceling my subscription. The Day After...Cuba Beyond Castro Boxer turned promoter seeks revolution By Playthell Benjamin As the Cuban Revolution nears its 50th anniversary, much speculation exists regarding what course Cuban society will take once its aging leader Fidel Castro passes from the scene. Any conjecture on the direction of Cuban society in the post-Castro era begs the question of what will be the character of US/Cuban relations in the future. Internal policy in Cuba has long been shaped by American foreign policy toward that Spanish-speaking Caribbean island ninety miles from the shores of Florida—the largest and most richly endowed island in the region in terms of natural and human resources. It is impossible to understand the character of Cuban society today and seriously contemplate ...

Hat tip to GOPBlogger for this story . As we noted yesterday , Arnold Schwarzenegger's reform proposals, which the dysfunctional state legistlature refused to enact, are doing well in polls. In the purest form of democracy we have, voters will directly determine whether the ballot propositions for teacher tenure, union dues, a state spending cap and redistricting pass . But Los Angeles mayor, "Democrat" Antonio Villaraigosa, does not approve of citizens being empowered to vote on these issues . "I'm opposed to all of his initiatives," said Villaraigosa, a former state Assembly speaker, who had appeared eager to work with Schwarzenegger. "In this instance it's very clear that the initiative process is being misused," Villaraigosa said. "These are matters that could and should be addressed by the Legislature." But instead of allowing citizens to vote on issues, Democrats prefer to spend time overriding the clear will of the people on g...

I recently read about Jim Gilchrist's campaign for congress . I checked out his web site , and read all about his position on immigration and pork spending . Frankly, I liked what it said, but I was concerned about the possibility of racism being part of the mix. So, I wrote an email to the address indicated in his web site, and got a response from Republican activist, strategist and consultant, Tom Hoefling. I must say: I am no longer concerned as far as racism and Gilchrist is concerned. I have said this before about other ethnic groups, and I will say it now about latinos: Latinos need to stand up and speak up in regards to the problem of immigration. Silence and fear of public opinion will only make us weaker. Worst, the greater the problem of illegal immigration, the more racism we will see. Not because of the leaders like Tancredo or Gilchrist, but because of liberals and because of extremist and racists that will take the frustration, and use it as a catalyst to foster more...

I was glad to see Sen. Allard standing by the Commander in Chief by voting against further rules and constraints on the Defense Departments ability to deal with prisoners and enemy combatants. It's too bad there where not enough Senators with the guts to do the right thing. The fact is that there are already in place plenty of regulations and rules of conduct. What happened in Iraq was outside of already existing rules. We don't need more rules, we need continued enforcement. The fact is that those that have gone outside the law in the treatment of prisoners have been prosecuted and brought to justice. Creating new legislations and controls over the issue may be politically correct, and may gain you popularity points with the media, but it won't change the past or do anything to improve the future. Here is the story from the Rocky Mountain News : The amendment was inspired by reported abuses of detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But Allard said changing the regu...

It was surprised to find this quote in a mainstream media publication, Parade Magazine (insert in many Sunday papers). This came out of Walter Scott's Personality Parade column in today's issue, through the Denver post & Rocky Mountain News. A reader by the name of Robert Henry, from Los Angeles, CA, asks where Fidel Castro is getting the money to shore up his bankrupt regime. Here is Scott's response: In the wake of the collapse of the USSR, which bankrolled him to the tune of $4 billion a year, Castro has turned to Hugo Chavez, Marxist president of Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil-exporter. In addition to shoring up Castro, he's funding revolutionaries and terrorists throughout Latin America. Way to go Mr. Scott! Your courage to write the truth gives you credibility--a rare thing in the mainstream print media. Tags: Venezuela , USSR , Chavez , Castro , Cuba , News , Politics , Latin America