Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog

Click here to listen to the MP3 audio of the discussion between Michel Martin, Stephen Henderson and myself on the GOP debate, and Bush's push for No Child Left Behind. The segment on the new gospel music competition reality show is a great segment -- check it out as well. Tell Me More , October 12, 2007 · This week, GOP presidential contenders met for a debate in Dearborn, Michigan. Meanwhile, President Bush was stumping for reauthorization of the education bill, "No Child Left Behind." In this week's Political Chat , hear insights from political blogger Josue Sierra and Stephen Henderson, Deputy Editorial Page Editor at the Detroit Free Press . You can listen on the NPR website right here . Related Posts : - On Air: Talking GOP Debate and No Child Left Behind - GOP Economy Debate Other Posts of Interest : - Conference for Minority Journalists of Faith Cross posted at: http://josue.townhall.com/g/539550d0-6e62-45a9-b375-f9d534488f25

[ This post was originaly written on September 28th, when ICE was conducting raids on employers of illegal immigrants. ] Fox news is covering the recent ICE raids on McDonalds (and other companies I think), and the accusations by Hispanic community leaders (who decides who a "community leader" is anyway?) that these raids are somehow "racist.' I can sympathize with the plight of an immigrant who is in this country seeking a better life and seeking to provide for his/her family. Having lived in 3 different Central American countries as a missionary, so I can also sympathize with the plight of Latin Americans who are not able to provide for their families. I certainly can sympathize with the hardship created by corrupt governments in Latin America. BUT ...and this is a MAJOR BUT...every action has consequences. Entering our country illegally has legal consequences , including deportation. This is standard. It may not have been enforced in the past, but no...

If you thought the labor issues surrounding the immigration debate is all about farming or hospitality, you're wrong. I'm not advocating one position or the other -- I'm advocating reasonable debate and careful analysis on the real impact of inaction. Below is an informative press release from the Software & Information Industry Association that came in via email. SIIA Joins Immigration Voice in Call for Green Card Reform   Washington , DC – Sept. 18, 2007 .  The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital information industry, today joined in support with the Immigration Voice, an organization of more than 3,000 highly skilled legal immigrants, in an effort to obtain legislative reform of the green card system.   “Software and digital content companies face a workforce skills shortage that is rising dramatically,” said Mark...

The Republican Party General Chairman Mel Martinez released the following statement (via email) recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month: WASHINGTON – Republican Party General Chairman Mel Martinez released the following statement recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month:   “This month, we celebrate the millions of Hispanics who every single day are contributing to our great nation.  We honor those who have come here to live the American dream, we recognize those who have been here for generations, and we thank those who are serving our nation in uniform here and overseas. “The Republican Party is dedicated to making sure opportunity is available for all Americans.  In the last six and a half years, we have seen the achievement gap in schools narrow, Hispanic unemployment reach historic lows, and unprecedented numbers of Hispanics opening their own small businesses.  We can look back with pride o...

Al Cardenas is Chairman of Romney for President's Hispanic Steering Committee. I got the following email from the campaign. Boston, MA – Al Cardenas, the Chairman of Romney for President's National Hispanic Steering Committee, issued the following statement regarding tonight's Democrat presidential forum on Univision: "Tonight's Univision forum demonstrated once again the consequences that a President Clinton, President Obama or President Edwards would have on the Hispanic community.  Whether it's tax increases for families and the two million Hispanic business owners, socialist-style health care, coddling dictators, opposing free trade with our allies or putting family values last, the Democrat presidential candidates made clear how out of sync their policies are with the best interests of the Hispanic community. Mitt Romney has put in the effort to reach out to this vital bloc, and, after watching tonight's debate...

Excellent comments by Romney on the issue of sanctuary cities. I also loved the fact that he made the distinction between legal and illegal immigration, and addressed the fear many legal immigrants may be feeling as they see the growing frustration with illegal immigration in our country. Also, check out this clip where Romney comments on the debate and the difference between him and Rudy .

Via the Sun Sentinel. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Felix was packing maximum sustained winds of 165 mph as it plowed westward toward Central America, where it was expected to skirt Honduras' coastline Tuesday before slamming into Belize on Wednesday as a hurricane capable of massive destruction. Let's hope it misses it, and that its damage is minimum. I'll be traveling to the Southern coast of Honduras this coming October, and just visited La Ceiba on the Northern coast a few months ago.

Rudy Carrasco at Urban Onramps is blogging about those jobs Americans won't do and an Associated Press article that reports on h elp wanted ads that are going unanswered in the west . The article doesn’t even mention the word “immigration.” (Well, not by name.) But read it and you will get a picture of what things might be like once the government follows through on this immigration crackdown thing. There has been a big debate on the concept of “jobs Americans won’t do,” but up to now it’s been pretty theoretical. Well, from now on, it won’t be. I don't have a problem with the illegal immigration crackdown--the laws need to be enforced--but I do have a problem with the fact that nothing is being done to fix the legal immigration process. It needs to be safer, more efficient, and provide for the labor needs of the country. Either that, or the real labor shortage issue needs to be addressed. It seems q...

 Hey everyone. I got this in my inbox this morning.  I want to highlight a key point in the policy discussion section. Some see a deteriorating quality of life with a larger population, including its impact on such things as pollution, congestion, loss of open spaces, and sprawl. Others may feel that a much larger population will create more opportunities for businesses, workers, and consumers. These projections do not resolve those questions. What the projections do tell us is where we are headed as a country. The question for the nation is: Do we wish to go there?  Regardless of your views on the issue, I think its important to note that it is American citizens -- voters -- who should get to choose on the direction America will take. The law is already clear about much of the issues being debated -- why are we debating it? America DOES have a right to determine its own future and what guests it welcomes. The push to legitimize il...

I guess it was to much to hope that the Democrat congress could avoid making the Justice Department into a partican issue.   " RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement today in response to Chuck Schumer’s comments on the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. " “Chuck Schumer, the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has wasted no time appearing on the airwaves today to make the resignation of Alberto Gonzales – and the appointment of a new Attorney General – into a partisan issue.  The appointment of a new Attorney General should not be about scoring political points, and it should not be about fundraising for the next election; it must be about selecting the best possible person to be our nation’s next top law enforcement official.” 

Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12), Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement on the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “The Department of Justice now has the opportunity to benefit from fresh leadership. What the American people need is an effective, independent Attorney General who will be undistracted in his or her efforts to enforce our laws, secure our borders, and vigorously prosecute the war against radical militant Islamists. “The Congress will soon take up debate on permanently modernizing our intelligence gathering laws. A new Attorney General should have the necessary credibility on Capitol Hill to give our intelligence and law enforcement communities the tools they need to intercept terrorist communications and stop attacks before they happen. “Finally, it is incumbent upon both the new Attorney General and Congressional Democrat leaders to put an end to the politicization of ...

I'm not sure if its going to be for today's show, or tomorrow's. I'll be talking about the Alberto Gonzalez resignation. I'll update as I know more. Check out Michelle's blog here .

Understandable considering the distraction the Liberals have made out of him. It's to bad.  Now that the Libs have lost Rove, AND Gonzalez, I wonder what Boogie man they will go after next? NY Times has the story .

This week's Economist had a short blurb  in the "The World This Week" section on how the Venezuelan National Assembly -- all Chavez cronies -- unanimously approved the constitutional change that removes term limits on Chavez. How surprising! And all it took them was 6 hours of debate.   Hugo Chavez and his enablers   indeed ! An Aug 16th article also on the Economist had more details on the Venezuelan Constitutional changes . The plan to abolish presidential term limits is part of a bundle of constitutional changes unveiled by Mr. Chávez on August 15th. These would remove the last remaining checks and balances to presidential power in Venezuela. They would strip the Central Bank of all autonomy, allowing the government to spend the country's foreign reserves. The government would be given power to expropriate private property by decree, and to promote co-operatives and state enterprise. Perhaps in the midst of these dark days for Ve...

J ust a heads up on the media war. Check out the links below. Folks: Just a quick note to draw your attention to a multi-million dollar advertising campaign that is launching today on our side of the debate. The campaign's sponsor, Freedom's Watch ,  is a brand-new organization with a brand-new website that you can visit here . From their press release: August 22, 2007, (Washington, D.C.)—Today a new organization named Freedom’s Watch announced it is launching a nationwide grassroots campaign aimed at ensuring Congress continues to fully fund the troops with the ultimate goal of victory in the War on Terror. Freedom’s Watch will spend approximately $15 million on radio and television ads as well as grassroots activities from now thru mid-September and has partnered with a host of veteran’s organizations in an effort to ensure terrorism is confronted all over the world. I'd encourage everyone to visit the Freed...

Quick and rapid response from Romney campaign on Obama's short-sighted Cuba Succession Policy. Good job Romney campaign! Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 1:14 PM Subject:  PRESS RELEASE: Governor Romney On Senator Obama's Cuba Succession Policy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2007 GOVERNOR ROMNEY ON SENATOR OBAMA'S CUBA SUCCESSION POLICY Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on Senator Barack Obama's Cuba succession policy, outlined today in the Miami Herald: "Senator Barack Obama continues to demonstrate through his words that he does not have the strength to confront America's enemies or defend our values. First, Senator Obama said he would make it a priority to meet with Castro in his first year in office. Now, he's proposing that we begin to lift sanctions against the Castro regime. Unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a successi...

The AP headline this morning says, " Immigration Activist Deported to Mexico ." It goes on to tell you what a brave cause she struggled for, and made sure to even give you the tear-jerker details on how she left her son behind. Her 8-year-old son, Saul, is now living with Coleman's family. During a news conference in Los Angeles after Arellano's arrest, the boy hid behind the pastor's wife and wiped away tears. But just in case you lose sight of what the real story is, let me remind you... Arellano, 32, arrived in Washington state illegally in 1997. She was deported to Mexico shortly afterward, but returned and moved to Illinois in 2000, taking a job cleaning planes at O'Hare International Airport. She was arrested in 2002 at O'Hare and convicted of working under a false Social Security number. She was to surrender to authorities last August but instead sought refuge at the church on Aug. 15, 2006. False Social...

I can relate to the inflamed passions. Its baffling and at times irrational (though I have never received any death threats). Someone did mock me once by saying that my name must really be "Jose"... I still haven't figured that one out! LOL It's amazing how many freedom loving conservatives would quickly opt to silence my opinions, despite the fact that I am against illegal immigration. Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Wednesday that the issue of illegal immigration angered people unlike no other, including the unpopular war in Iraq, and sparked unprecedented death threats against him. "It is unbelievable how this has inflamed the passions of the American people," the Arizona senator said in remarks at The Aspen Institute, a public policy forum. In an interview, he declined to elaborate on the threats he had received.

Just got this in my email and I wanted to pass it along. From: The Victory Caucus [mailto:news@victorycaucus.com] Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 12:47 AM To: Josue Subject: Call for Victory Day Thursday 8/16 Folks: Apologies for a second message this week, but tomorrow (Thursday 8/16) is an important day and we need your help. Several pro-victory groups including Vets for Freedom and Families United are planning a national call-your-Congresspeople day to counter efforts of defeatist groups. Please, please, take five minutes and call or fax your Representative and Senators and let them know you want them to be strong on the war and support our men and women in uniform until their mission is a success. To make this easy, Victory Caucus has a new page where you can easily look up your Rep and Senators. Just go here , type in your zip code, and you'll get your Representative and Senators telephone number, fax, and web contact ...

Cross posted at josue.townhall.com This latest news from inside Cuba is that Michael Moore's "ill intentioned documentary" Sicko amounts to nothing more than communist propaganda, and has been banned from viewing.  Clearly, Moore's place in history has been cemented as that of a willing puppet of the Cuban dictatorship. The article reprinted below was written originally in English, with thanks to Dr. Roberto A. Galloso for the English translation. I read the Spanish version, and the translation is accurate. I want to call your attention to the extensive list of Cuban government officials and even medical staff who regularly go to France, England and Spain for medical treatment -- not exactly a vote of confidence in the Cuban healthcare system. I agree that there is much that could be done to improve our healthcare system--starting with tort reform! But, read this article and ask yourself, "Am I sure I want a socialized, government-controlled healthc...

This is great news published today by the Associated Press. But it also shows that there is still a lot of work to be done by conservatives in spreading the conservative message . Democrats hold an edge with Hispanics in national elections, but Latinos' growing tendency to register as independents and split their vote between parties is buoying Republican prospects for 2008. Younger and college-educated Hispanics in particular offer fertile ground for the GOP, new data show. And while no one suggests Republicans have become the party of choice for the nation's fastest-growing minority, Democrats have been gradually losing ground. I can still remember the nice older lady in my church in Miami who kept going around telling everyone that Bush was going to take away retiree's benefits, and that they all needed to vote for Gore. Somebody had to give her a little reality check and a scolding for believing everything she heard on TV!     ...

Hugh Hewitt offers an interesting perspective on the Tancredo campaign. A lot of Iowa voters are expected to cast ballots for Tom Tancredo at the Ames straw poll this week. Until recently a vote for Tancredo would have been understood as a vote against indifference to illegal immigration and for the idea of deportation. But the general and instant rejection of the proposed immigration "reform" bill undercut Tancredo's candidacy as all of the leading GOPers came out against the bill and managed to do so without sounding nativist in the least degree. Suddenly you could be for strong borders and coherent regularization without being for Tancredo, and his "protest" candidacy sputtered, and then began to bomb, burdened as well by Tancredo's own debate performances. Ron Paul became the marginal candidate with the biggest band. Read Hugh's full post here . Hugh is not holding back, and based on his recent comments, I tend...

The backtracking on free trade in South America has been among the frustrating news for me coming out of the beltway. Considering how the economic downturns in Latin America affect us through the increase in illegal immigration, I would think more Americans would be fighting for this one as loudly as they fought for the failed Immigration legislation. Democratic presidential candidates like to talk about "turning a page" in America's relations with the rest of the world. But what does that mean, in practical terms, on bread-and-butter issues such as trade? Are today's Democrats a party of open markets and economic development, or of market restrictions and job protection? The answer is that leading Democrats seem to want both -- they favor economic development overseas but not at the cost of U.S. jobs. That sounds like a coherent position until you begin to look carefully at the political choices in Latin America, a part of the world ...

I   got this in my email today. It speaks for itself. What America’s Still Saying About The Stolen Immigration Vote   “… Democrats ruled that a GOP motion had failed even though, when the gavel fell, the electronic score board showed it winning 215-213 along with the word FINAL.” “Democrats undid a vote they had lost over the issue of subsidies to illegal immigrants … you don't change or ‘fix’ the score after the game has been played.” “Even [Democrat Rep. Rick] Larsen, who voted with his party, wasn't certain how the roll call moved that night. ‘I looked up and the board had changed,’ he said.” The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund: “ The House of Representatives almost turned into the Fight Club Thursday night, when Democrats ruled that a GOP motion had failed even though, when the gavel fell, the electronic ...