Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog

UPDATE II: I finished reading Army of Davids! Great conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has already made me rethink my career direction and academic pursuits in light of some of Glenn's insight into the effects technology is having on our society. We are living historical moments, and Glenn documents what is happening with great accuracy, and presents a vision of what is yet to come. Glenn's perspective struck me as very positive, perhaps almost utopian. I am a bit more cynical than he is. My only disappointment with Army of Davids was the fact that he did not touch on the effects technology is having on spirituality, faith, and the organized church. The book covered well the future in regards to intellect, the physical world, and technology, but he ignores (or perhaps left it out as beyond the scope of this book) the impact this will have on spirituality, faith, and those who follow a religion. Regardless of technological progress, faith and the Judeo-Christian worldview ...

I am in the process of reading "An Army of Davids" and of course, finished reading "Blog" a few weeks ago, so I've been keeping an eye on the whole blogging phenomena. I found this article on Wired News I thought was interesting. It's a must read if you are looking into making some cash from your blogging. I personally have not even gotten over $100 since I started using Google AdSense, but then again, I don't have that much time to dedicate to this. WN: What do you need to start a profitable blog? Davis: You should have at least 100 pages of high-quality content in the can. Blogs are good because they keep content fresh, but that's just a small part of it. Good reference material really draws traffic. On a photography site I run, for example, one piece I wrote on how to convert raw digital photos draws more traffic than 99 percent of my other photo pages. WN: What are some of the more lucrative areas for blogging? Davis: Hot technology areas are alw...

This is the sort of story that should be translated to Spanish, and spread out through Latin America. This is right--if you enter our nation while breaking our immigration laws, you will be prosecuted as an accomplice with those that help you get in. Obey our laws. I know, I know--immigrants are just regular hard working people who are desperate. That's all good and fine. It is not an excuse for living above the law. It is not an excuse to allow our immigration laws to go unbroken. KVOA is reporting on the story of the arrest of fifty-four immigrants that were discovered in a pair of furniture trucks. They are being charged with "conspiring with their smugglers to sneak into the country illegally." The arrests mark the first time local authorities have applied a new state law on migrant smuggling to smuggled immigrants. The people were discovered Thursday about 50 miles west of Phoenix. Authorities said they obtained confessions from several in the group who said they pa...

This is so funny! I mean, the media is so hell-bent on distorting the news according to their own way of seeing the world, they can't even get a basic fact straight. What part about the most notable child psychologist in the nation NOT being a reverend do they not understand? Can a regular citizen speak out on moral and faith issues? Or, is that something only for reverends and priests? I do hope the CNN mailroom and phone banks just get flooded. I, of course, never watch CNN. While you are emailing Blitzer, let him know about a great course being offered down at my community college--JOU 101. I think one of the first lessons has to do with getting your facts straight. Well, here is the invitiation from the CitizenLink email editors calling on readers (and Dr. Dobson's radio show listeners) to contact CNN and help set the record straight. Dr. Dobson Wants You to Set CNN Straight Network keeps calling him "Reverend" Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson asked l...

Do you think this is accurate? Is there really no difference? Or, is Mr. Browne just a bit cynical? "Left-wing politicians take away your liberty in the name of children and of fighting poverty, while right-wing politicians do it in the name of family values and fighting drugs. Either way, government gets bigger and you become less free." Harry Browne

I just heard today about the "End of the Spear" controversy with the lead actor,Chad Allen, who happens to be an openly gay activist. Now, it seems that many Christian groups are calling for a boycott of the film. Dennise Washington over at ColoringGirl asks some really good questions people of faith need to be considering. It is a requirement that everyone on the set be a Christian and espouse to the same beliefs as the production company? If so, not a lot of movies will be made. Newsweek has a story on the details. They describe the Christian response to the film as "The schizophrenic." I hate to say it, but it sounds accurate. When the movie's producers offered the part to Allen, who currently attends a Christian congregation, they didn't know he was gay. (The producers aren't exactly the target audience for The Advocate, which put Allen on the cover when he came out in 2001.) Ultimately, the decision to leave Allen in the role was left up to the ...

"They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here?" Paul Harvey

I heard this today on Fox News earlier today, and AP has the story . A 20-year-old legal fight over protests outside abortion clinics ended Tuesday with the Supreme Court ruling that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used against demonstrators. Breyer's words: In Tuesday's ruling, Justice Stephen Breyer said Congress did not create "a freestanding physical violence offense" in the federal extortion law known as the Hobbs Act. Instead, Breyer wrote, Congress addressed violence outside abortion clinics in 1994 by passing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which allows for court injunctions to set limits for such protests. Today is a great day for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom to peacefully protest. There are key rights in our nation. Today has given the President, and the Republican party, a lot of points with the pro-life and value-voter base. Memo to the party: If you want to reach the Latino value voter, speak about th...

This is great news! These men where seeking freedom from a brutal dictatorship, and there was no reason to send them back--it was completely inconsistent with present law. We are in the business of opposing dictators, and promoting liberty all around the world. HT: BabaluBlog . Via The Real Cuba A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the U.S. government acted unreasonably when it sent home 15 Cubans who had made it to abandoned bridge under the presumption they weren't actually on U.S. soil. U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno ordered the federal government to make its best effort to help the immigrants to return to the United States, said Kendall Coffey, an attorney for the Cubans and their relatives. Read the whole story here .

UPDATE II: Michelle Malking reacts to Bush's comments about the blogsphere: "...for all the lip service being paid to the power of blogosphere, the White House has sure down a l ousy job of monitoring it. " UPDATE: Looks like the blogsphere is talking about this one. Wizbang has a round up of links , and had this to say. I'm glad to see that Bush and Rove understand the importance of the blogosphere in disseminating information; however, as Michelle Malkin notes , they need to do a much better job of monitoring reaction to their policies, particularly the ports deal . Maybe President Bush could have avoided this headache. I think the President has an impossible job--predict how everyone is going to react to every decision or lack of, right or wrong. It's a no-win situation for him, and what he is doing now--giving the deal more time--is good enough as far as I am concerned. *** Drudge reports on comments made by President Bush and his top advisers on the imp...

The Times Online have an interesting story of a new town being established in Florida. This is the sort of thing that makes America great! I remember as a child being read the story of Tom Monaghan. It inspired me greatly, and to this day, I still remember that evening, at my mother's feet. For perspective, whether you are catholic or protestant, I would highly recommend you read "A History of the American People" by Paul Johnson. In part one, "A City on a Hill" Johnson chronicles the history of colonial America from 1580 to 1750, including the many theocratic groups that established themselves on the American shores. Of course, the Times article comes across to me a bit irreverent and with sarcastic overtones. That's to be expected. It's to bad--its a great story on what makes America great--the freedom to practice your faith and to join other like-minded people in doing so. While the strict moral principles faithfully Catholics live by may be "th...

The AP has a story on a new task force the IRS set up in 2004 to review allegations of improper political activity by churches and non-profit charities. Of course, the headline is deceptive, as it declares "IRS: Charities Overstepping Into Politics." It makes it sound like a systemic problem among the church and faith community. You got to go down to the 6th paragraph to get the proper context for what the IRS actually discovered. Those referred to the IRS represent a tiny fraction of more than 1 million tax-exempt organizations organized under section 501(c)(3) of the tax law. The IRS examined 110 organizations referred to the tax agency for potentially violations, and 28 cases remain open. Among the 82 closed cases, the IRS found prohibited politicking and sent a written warning to 55 organizations and assessed a penalty tax against one group. Those organizations included 37 churches and 19 other organizations. In the three additional cases in which the IRS recommended r...

Listen to Cavuto now on Fox News. He is talking about the idea that government handouts are contributing to the problem in NO. I'll put up a link to the site when its up. Update: Cavuto's site on FoxNews.com Jonathan (on Fox News): "It's not the role of the government to pick up the pieces"

To many, the words inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty have little meaning. For me, a son of immigrants, and for thousands of others like my parents, the words best describe the feelings of coming to America. Immigrants are tired; tired of hiding from the law, tired of not being able to practice their faith, and tired of not being able to enjoy liberty. They are tired of being poor at the hands of injustice, and corruption. Tired of seeing little hope and future for their children. They are masses, yes, yearning to breathe free. This is America, land of the free. America is a nation united by values, not ethnic heritage. We are not a nation of white people, or English people, but a nation of free people who share a common desire to enjoy liberty, and prosperity. On a tablet on the pedestal of the statue of liberty is inscribed a poem. Entitled "The New Colossus," it contains the famous words, " Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning t...

Wow. DJ Drummond wrote a compelling post on immigration that provides context to our current immigration policy problems. It's a sad part of our national history--racist or bigoted immigration policy based out of ignorance or fear. Earlier this week I had the pleasure to hear Stephen Moore discuss President Bush’s proposal with William Bennett on “ Morning in America ”. Mr. Moore, no cheerleader for the White House, was quick to point out just what I have been saying all along, and to add a question he asked his own parents, when they objected to the way new citizens come to America. ‘ Why don’t they come here legally, the way our ancestors did? ’ Moore says his parents demanded. ‘ How sure are you that they did come here legally? ’ countered Moore, reminding Dr. Bennett that the immigration and entry laws of the United States have varied widely over the years, and many now-respectable families started out by skirting the law to some extent. At one time or another, immigration...