Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog

SouthCoastToday.com has a Washington Post story by Dan Balz, on comments Ken Mehlman made before the Republican Governors Association yesterday. I don't agree with his wording in calling the White House's and the Chairman's approach a "Middle Ground." It makes it sound weak. The truth is, a tougher stance on border security and adherence to the law is the higher ground. And, a hospitable, welcoming and supporting approach towards immigration is the higher ground. I appreciate the chairman's concern and warning--it would be a shame if the debate over border security is turned into a nationalistic, anti-immigrant prejudice. The fact is that immigrants have and continue to contribute much to our nation and our culture. This is no time to fall prey to prejudice, and further close our borders to safe and legal immigration. This is more than politics to me--it has everything to do with the continued prosperity, and moral fiber of our country. Appearing before the R...

From Reuters , more bad news for global human rights with this continued push for special rights for homosexuals. Reuters Thursday, December 1, 2005; 10:02 AM JOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 -- South Africa's top court said on Thursday it was unconstitutional to deny gay people the right to marry, putting it on track to become the first African country to legalise same-sex marriage. The Constitutional Court told parliament to amend marriage laws to include same-sex partners within the year -- a step that would make South Africa the fifth country in the world to approve gay marriage despite widespread African taboos against homosexuality. In case you are wondering what does special rights for homosexuals have to do with human rights, here is what Yuri Mantilla, a Bolivian international human-rights expert had to say in reaction to the news that Ake Green – the Swedish pastor accused of committing "hate speech" by commenting on homosexuality during a sermon – was acquitted by that nat...

Here is an interesting quote--our contribution to American obesity!! Well, not me--I married a great cook, and a thrifty woman at that, so we eat out about once or twice a month at best. This is quite interesting though. Latinos spend an average of $71 a week eating out or having food delivered. Non-Hispanics spend $59. Acculturated Latinos spend $108 a week, about 83% more than general-market consumers. NATION'S RESTAURANT NEWS 10.31.05 HT: IconCulture

Great speech today by the President , addressing the problem of illegal immigration and border security. I saw two key things I liked: first, he is clearly making a stand against amnesty. Now, whether the laws introduced actually follow through is yet to be seen. According to this, the President's plan clearly calls for ending the policy of “catch and release” and returning all illegal immigrants to their home country. ...there's a lot of opinions on this proposal -- I understand that. But people in this debate must recognize that we will not be able to effectively enforce our immigration laws until we create a temporary worker program. The program that I proposed would not create an automatic path to citizenship, it wouldn't provide for amnesty -- I oppose amnesty. Rewarding those who have broken the law would encourage others to break the law and keep pressure on our border. A temporary worker program, by contrast, would decrease pressure on the border. I support the ...

Interesting article. Informative, but not conclusive in any major way. I found it interesting mostly because I have never had an issue with people calling me Latino or Hispanic. Truth is, I think I find it to be a label with which people can grapple with my heritage. I am a US Citizen, and consider myself an American, but the fact remains that I speak Spanish fluently, and my parent's come from Cuba. We live in a culture where this needs to be "tagged" and identified in some sort of way, so if the government wants to call me something, I don't care. As long as it does not infringe or minimize my rights and responsabilities as a citizen, I'm fine. Something to think about. Here is a little side bar from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists : LATINO An umbrella ethnic term describing people in the United States who are either themselves from a Spanish-speaking country or whose ancestors were from a Spanish-speaking country. The U.S. Census Bureau in the ...

It's unfortunate, but it is my opinion that Tancredo has no credibility to speak on the issue of immigration. For him to say that legal immigration is where the nation's crisis starts , is to ignore the truth for the sake of his pet-cause and his drive for power and influence. In one of two extensive interviews with The Denver Post about his life and career, Tancredo said that immigration - both legal and illegal - is just where the nation's crisis starts. While some celebrate the country's multitude of cultures, he sees it as dangerous. Immigrants who cling to their language, heritage and loyalties while living in the U.S. threaten to turn the nation into a "Tower of Babel," he said. He rails against what he calls "the cult of multiculturalism," or "people who are intent upon dividing America up into cultural enclaves, who are intent upon essentially minimizing the importance of Western civilization." Don't get me wrong--he is right ...