Thursday, March 6, 2008

America's Shrine of Martyrdom

Left: Alamo as it looked in 1836

Left: Alamo after 1915

Left: Alamo in 2008

As I read Katie Halper's post I wonder, how many say "happy Alamo day?" Yet, the date and especially the year mean so much to many people - to the point that 1836 was considered for the name of Houston's new soccer team (after a large outcry by the Latino community, it was changed to the Dynamos).

Remembering the Alamo as a shrine to Texas Independence is a paradox - considering that all the Texian soldiers were killed during the battle, some brutally. Yet, martyrdom is seen as something to be valued - March 6 is a "happy day" because it shows the outstanding bravery by the Anglo people (men) who founded Texas.

Just like we have "Remember 9-11" - the Texas Republic had "Remember the Alamo" - at the battle of San Jacinto, * some days later, the Texas Army was propelled into killing everyone they could see, even soldiers that were running away. Eyewitness accounts describe hundreds of Mexican soldiers running away and crossing a nearby river. When the Texians killed Mexicans (shooting them in the back) running across the river the bodies fell like a bunch of dead chickens into the water. The Mexican soldiers continued to run in the same direction, crossing the river by stepping over their dead comrades. And, the Texian soldiers continued to shoot the Mexicans, shouting "Remember the Alamo!" all the while. At least 700 Mexican soldiers were killed this way.

Our own "Remember 9-11," a day that thousands (not hundreds) died needlessly, - propelled us to attack Afghanistan and destroyed the population and infrastructure of Iraq. Our next targets are people living inside our nation. We identify those who resemble what we think is the enemy (brown skin, dark hair, a foreign tongue) and we begin to hunt them down, one by one, family by family.

Some people may say undocumented Mexicans are not American because they do not have "our permission" to be here. But in reality all of us living here are part of the American community. We live together in cities, many work together, go to school together. Perhaps if we were not so obsessed with our 9-11 revenge we could see that not having a green card only means it gives official U.S. citizens permission to insult, banish, and even harm those who entered our boundaries without our permission.

What a great holiday. Remember the Alamo! Remember the undocumented!

-----

Happy Alamo Day: Let Us "Never Forget" the Battle by Batting Immigration

Katie Halper
Huffington Post
Posted March 6, 2008 | 05:31 PM (EST)

It's hard to believe it, but the Alamo fell 172 years ago today. As we commemorate the Alamo, let us consider these words: Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.* If you listen closely, you can hear the Alamo's warning cry. And it is warning us against an imminent threat. Sadly, few people realize the connection between national security and immigration. Let us look at the history: 3/6/1836. The Alamo. Never Forget. We live in a post-3/6/1836 world. And we need to be thinking in a post 3/6/1836 mind set. For centuries we've been unable to eliminate the debilitating terrorist campaign of Montezuma's revenge, which continues to attack our values and our bowels. Readers: don't say I didn't warn you. Because by the time a cell of undocumented Mexican gardeners drives their lawnmowers into the pentagon, it will be too late.

In all seriousness, this is my real message for all the people out there who tell "aliens" to go back to where they come from and get out of "our" country: unless your name consists of a gerund adjective followed by an animal, this actually isn't your country either!

for link to original click the title of this post

*a few days after the Alamo battle, another group of Texian soldiers were captured and executed at their camp about 150 miles west of what is now Houston.

photo#1: http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~hyde/SanAntonio/AlamoOld1211.JPG
photo#2 http://texashistory.info/i/Alamo.jpg
photo#3 http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-texas/AlamoToday.jpg

Confidential Study Suggests Tougher Words For Dems On Immigration

BIO
Confidential Study Suggests Tougher Words For Dems On Immigration

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | February 29, 2008 10:10 AM

Democrats may soon be taking a tougher public position on immigration, according to a confidential study put together by key think tanks close to the party leadership.

The study urges Democrats to adopt more rigid rhetoric when discussing immigration by encouraging office-holders to emphasize "requiring immigrants to become legal" rather than stressing border enforcement and the opening of a path to legalization for the undocumented already here.

Implicit in the report is the notion that Democrats can win wider public support for immigration reform by framing the issue in harsher-sound verbiage and, perhaps, policy.

This message places the focus where voters want it, on what's best for the United States, not what we can/should do for illegal immigrants.

Titled "Winning The Immigration Debate," the study was put together by the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the Center for American Progress. Its findings, which have been sent to Capitol Hill and have been part of briefing sessions in both the House and the Senate, are based off of polling conducted by Peter Hart Research Associates.

Taken as a whole, the report presents a new prism through which the Democrats should approach the immigration debate. "It is unacceptable to have 12 million people in our country who are outside the system," it reads. "We must require illegal immigrants to become legal, and reform the laws so this can happen."

Polling for the study revealed that a larger swath of the public was supportive of "requiring" undocumented immigrants already in the country to normalize their status than there was for only offering them legalization as an option. In addition, the report pushes Democrats to argue that immigrants should be required to pay taxes, learn English, and pass criminal background checks to remain in the country. Those who have a criminal record should be deported. All of these policies were included in last year's immigration reform compromise legislation, which ultimately failed.

"Our view is that this argument threads the needle in favor of comprehensive reform in the most effective way," Jen Palmieri, communications chief for the Center for American Progress, told the Huffington Post.

Added Cecilia Muñoz, senior vice president of policy at the National Council of La Raza and chair of the board at CCIR: "We are not asking people to be for legalization out of altruism. It is perfectly okay for them to be for legalization because that is what fixes the problem... Rather than educate [the public], you can convince them to do the right thing if you call it a requirement as opposed to an effort."

And yet, for some, the new frame represents exactly the wrong direction that the Democrats should be taking, reinforcing the notion that immigrants were problematic and "the offenders." (.....More)

Deportation 101 Guide

These days it is not not new to hear that someone got deported. The establishment will not cease to these awful raids anytime soon. What we can do however is prepare and prevent.

Check this guide and follow this link to download into different formats.

Noriega WON! He now moves to the general election campaign against Cornyn

This is really good news. Things look like Texas might have a great representative in Senate. Let's hope that Rick Noriega makes it to Senate this year!

***

Noriega ready to challenge Cornyn this fall
Candidate narrowly avoids runoff against Gene Kelly
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, March 06, 2008

HOUSTON — After narrowly avoiding a runoff in a crowded field of Democrats, State Rep. Rick Noriega said Wednesday he's ready to start trying to persuade Texans they need change in the Senate as well as the White House.

Noriega, a Texas Army National Guard officer who spent 14 months in Afghanistan, received about 51 percent of the vote with all but a few precincts reporting to move on to the general election campaign against Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
(enlarge photo)
Rick Noriega

"It was a great day for Texas and we're very humbled and privileged that folks chose us as their Democratic nominee," Noriega said Wednesday.

Cornyn, who handily defeated consultant Larry Kilgore in the Republican primary, said he is "fully aware that this office must be earned in November."

Cornyn already has $7.6 million in the bank for the fall campaign.

Noriega, a five-term state lawmaker, raised $1 million but only had about half that in the bank as of mid-February. He spent more on television ads late in the race in an effort to avoid a runoff.

Perennial candidate Gene Kelly, who capitalized on his famous name to force a runoff in the 2006 Democratic primary for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat, garnered 27 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

Corpus Christi high school teacher Ray McMurrey got 12 percent of the vote. Rhett Smith, another perennial candidate, got 10 percent.

Noriega, who opposes the Iraq war, has said he would work to withdraw American troops but would not commit to a timetable.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Senate GOP pushes strict bills on immigration enforcement-

Could this have been done on purpose while the rest of the world was paying attention to the primaries? Do these guys always work under the table? Mmmm.... I agree with the editor: more stupidity on reforms.

Senate GOP pushes strict bills on immigration enforcement
Trailero 1 on March 5th, 2008

Editors Notes: What utter crap! With our economy in the crapper, Bush’s Iraq fiasco. And now this meaningless piece of legislation, which with luck, will never clear committee.

Let’s see, 2 years imprisonment for crossing the border a second time, as if our prisons are not already overcrowded. Can’t open bank accounts when most don’t have bank accounts and have no desire for one, and the kicker, speak English when dealing with a Federal Agency, as if they have any dealings with Federal Agencies other than the Border Patrol?

And one wonders why the GOP is getting their ass kicked in the elections. But, I guess pandering to the right wing zealots is about the only trick they have left in the playbook.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are set to announce today the hardest-hitting package of immigration enforcement measures seen yet — one that would require jail time for illegal immigrants caught crossing the border, make it harder for them to open bank accounts and compel them to communicate in English when dealing with federal agencies.

Most of the bills stand little chance of being debated in the Democrat-controlled Congress, but the move by some of the Senate’s leading Republicans underscores how potent the issue of immigration remains, particularly during a presidential election year.

The bills give Republicans a way to put pressure on the presidential candidates of both major parties to take a tougher stance on immigration.

They also reflect a shift toward harsher immigration rhetoric and legislative proposals from both parties since Congress failed to pass a comprehensive overhaul in 2007.

The package, an enforcement smorgasbord assembled by at least eight lawmakers, consists of 11 bills but could expand to include as many as 14. Some elements echo House bills, but others go beyond House proposals.

One would discourage states from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants by docking 10 percent of highway funding from states that do. Another would extend the presence of National Guard on the border. A third would end language assistance at federal agencies and the voting booth for people with limited English ability.

A bill by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who is leading the effort, would impose a maximum two-year jail sentence on someone caught crossing the border for a second time.

“The point is to reinforce the idea that most of us here feel that we need to make enforcement and border security a first step to solving the overall problem,” said Sen. David Vitter, R-La., one of three Senate sponsors.

Dreamers march in capitol for in-state tuition

In-state tuition continues to be a battle, the hope never dies. We keep fighting.

***

Students march for state Dream Act
by Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
March 4, 2008
Listen to feature audio

Hundreds of teenagers marched to the state Capitol Tuesday morning to show support for what's known as the Minnesota Dream Act. But despite the show of enthusiasm, the legislation has little chance of passing this year.

St. Paul, Minn. — The proposal would let the children of illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition if they've attended a Minnesota high school for three years, and graduated.

Hundreds of students gathered at a church in St. Paul Tuesday morning before their short march to the Capitol.
Larger view
Sen. Sandy Pappas

A lot of students participating in the rally are not immigrants. They're supporting friends who could possibly benefit from the Dream Act.

Students like eighth grader Mitzi Aguliar, 14, who moved from Mexico to Richfield, Minnesota about nine years ago and wants to be a photographer.

"Why put barriers on education?" she asked. "We're all human and we all deserve a future. And my parents pay taxes, so what's the whole big deal?"

David Cruz, a sophomore at Roosevelt High in Minneapolis, also was born in Mexico and has lived here for about six years.

"Many people, they lose hope that they could do something in the future," Cruz said. "And that's why you have gangs and teen pregnancy. And if they gave us equal education everybody could get a chance. All of those things would reduce, and people would start dreaming again."
"As long as we have Tim Pawlenty as governor, I don't think [the Dream Act is] going to go anywhere."
- Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul

Some students worry that an anti-immigrant backlash in the wake of last month's bus crash in Cottonwood might hurt the Dream Act's chances.

The woman accused of causing the crash, which killed four children, was found to be in the country illegally, and didn't have a driver's license. For a while, authorities didn't know her real name.

The sponsor of the Dream Act in the state Senate has no plans to call for a vote this year. Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, said that's because of the governor's threat of a veto.

"As long as we have Tim Pawlenty as governor, I don't think it's going to go anywhere," Pappas said.

Pawlenty has said he doesn't like the idea of giving benefits to students who aren't citizens, when Iowans, for example, can't go to Minnesota schools at the in-state rate.

Pappas said a vote would only invite false hope.

Organizers say they are encouraged that 22 state colleges and universities charge tuition at a flat rate, meaning residency doesn't matter -- everyone pays the same.

They also note 11 other states have passed versions of the Dream Act. They are: California, Texas, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, Utah, Mississippi, Nebraska, and New Mexico.

Tuesday's march also included a college fair for the teens, which plays into a larger effort. If the Dream Act doesn't pass, organizers say at least it gets young people involved in politics.

The Minnesota push is separate from efforts to pass a federal DREAM Act. At the federal level, DREAM stands for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. It includes a path to citizenship if students serve in the military or attend school.The state bill is aimed only at the in-state tuition issue.

US natives are 10 times more likely to be in prison or jail than immigrants

"Men born in the United States are incarcerated in California prisons at more than two times the rate of foreign-born men. Within the age group most often involved in crime (ages 18 to 40), US natives - astonishingly - are 10 times more likely to be in prison or jail than immigrants"

"Butcher and Piehl address the seemingly irreconcilable statistic that nearly one-fifth of federal prison inmates are illegal immigrants. In truth, they explain, there is no contradiction: Since persons arrested for immigration violations are automatically transferred to federal facilities, noncitizens are disproportionately represented among federal inmates."

----
Op-Ed
Boston Globe
Immigration and crime

Jeff Jacoby Globe Columnist / March 5, 2008

WARMING to one of his favorite themes the other night, CNN's Lou Dobbs repeatedly invoked the phrase "criminal illegal aliens," as he did his best to feed the stereotype that illegal immigrants drive up crime. Dobbs's relentless spleen on this subject, of course, has won him a following. Seal-the-borders nativism won't get anyone elected president - just ask ex-GOP candidates Tom Tancredo, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani - but there is no denying it's good for TV ratings.

more stories like this

Fortunately, politicians and television personalities aren't the only people interested in immigration and crime. A new study from the Public Policy Institute of California offers significantly more substance on the topic than anything you're likely to encounter on cable TV or in the presidential campaign.
The paper, by economists Kristin F. Butcher and Anne Morrison Piehl, assesses the impact of immigration on crime by analyzing data from California, which has by far the nation's largest population of prison inmates: One-eighth of all state prisoners in the United States are incarcerated in California, as are 30 percent of all inmates who are not American citizens. What Butcher and Piehl demonstrate is that immigrants, far from being more likely to end up behind bars, are dramatically less likely to do so.
The numbers are striking: While immigrants (legal and illegal) account for 35 percent of California adults, they represent just 17 percent of the state's prisoners. Men born in the United States are incarcerated in California prisons at more than two times the rate of foreign-born men. Within the age group most often involved in crime (ages 18 to 40), US natives - astonishingly - are 10 times more likely to be in prison or jail than immigrants (4.2 percent of the former are in correctional institutions, and just 0.42 percent of the latter). Even when the focus is narrowed to inmates who were born in Mexico and are not citizens - the demographic group most likely to include illegal immigrants - the rate of incarceration is only one-eighth that of men born in the United States.
Butcher and Piehl also compared crime rates among California cities. They found that the cities with greater numbers of recently arrived immigrants have lower crime rates, while cities with fewer immigrants experience higher levels of crime.
"Altogether, this evidence suggests that immigrants have very low rates of criminal activity in California," the researchers write - a finding "consistent with national studies on immigration and crime, which also find low rates of criminal activity for the foreign-born." Butcher and Piehl address the seemingly irreconcilable statistic that nearly one-fifth of federal prison inmates are illegal immigrants. In truth, they explain, there is no contradiction: Since persons arrested for immigration violations are automatically transferred to federal facilities, noncitizens are disproportionately represented among federal inmates. In any case, the federal prison population comprises only 8 percent of the total number of prisoners nationwide.
But you don't have to pore through think-tank studies to recognize that immigration, illegal or otherwise, doesn't drive the US crime rate.
Over the last dozen or so years, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has doubled to an estimated 12 million. Those same years saw a dramatic nationwide fall in violent crime and property crime. Similarly, the surge in illegal immigration didn't prevent welfare caseloads from falling or millions of new jobs from being created.
Americans may not have the statistics at their fingertips, but most of them understand that immigrants, even those who enter the country without permission, are not here to make trouble but to make a better life for themselves and their families. Yes, Dobbs has his loyalists; in a nation of 300 million people, you can find an audience to whoop it up for just about any cause. But far more recognize that demonizing illegal immigrants is as bootless as it is mean. In opinion polls, only a minority of respondents say illegals should be forced to leave; the consistent majority preference is that illegal immigrants be given a way to earn American citizenship.
The most distressing spectacle of the 2008 presidential race so far was the attempt by Tancredo, Romney, and Giuliani to win their party's nomination through a Dobbsian attack on illegal immigrants. And the most encouraging development? The Republican Party's rejection of that appeal and its elevation of Senator John McCain, who had refused to take part in the immigrant-bashing.
So chalk one up for American common sense. The anti-immigration rabble-rousers haven't disappeared - but none of them will be the next president of the United States.

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

for link to BG article click the title of this post

thanks to A.N. for noting this article

Latinos cast nearly 1/3 of Election Day votes in Texas!

Who said Latinos don't vote?

KHOU TV
Houston
March 5, 2008

..."Hispanics, a group that has favored Clinton in earlier primaries, cast nearly one-third of the Election Day votes in Texas, up from about one- quarter of the ballots four years ago, according to interviews with voters as they left their polling places. Blacks, who have voted heavily for Obama this year, accounted for roughly 20 percent of the votes cast, roughly the same as four years ago."

for complete KHOU article click the title of this post

p.s. Wake up Republican party: it was the ugly anti-immigration rhetoric that drove Latinos to the polls (Bush's bungling help a little also).

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The emotion of voting

Funny how we often don't think much about the privilege we have, being able to vote. Finally we were able to motivate ourselves, all we needed was for our country to approve torture and ignore habeas corpus. This current presidential administration has taken away so many of our rights as citizens that compared to us, George Orwell's 1984 looks like Shangri-La.

There is so much excitement today over the Texas Primary - people are asking each other "did you vote?" or "did you vote early?" or "will you caucus tonight?"

In far west Houston a polling place was so overwhelmed with voters that they had to shut down and call the police! This is not because of violence, it is because of disorganization compounded by hundreds of people showing up for the caucus..

In Laredo frustrated voters waiting for hours begin chanting "We want to vote!" and "We are being cheated!"

Henry Cisneros is telling a television reporter that Latinos are voting in droves. He thinks this is the beginning of a new trend.

We are all excited. TV people are saying "wonderful to see democracy working."

But it's important not to fool ourselves. There is still much to do. If this momentum of involvement continues, we might be able to change things, with or without Obama.

Lastly, let's not forget the DREAMERS who are longing to vote today. Their silence is painful. Our current immigration law has muted one of our most intelligent and educated populations.

-----

By Eli Saslow
Washington Post

March 4, 2008

8:20 p.m. LAREDO, Tex. -- In an attempt to lure voters into this city's biggest caucus, the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns have brought an all-out carnival to the main entrance of United High School on the north side of town tonight. An eight-piece mariachi band plays tributes to Clinton. An Obama supporter offers free tacos out of a cooler. Dozens of eager tailgaters sit in the back of pickup trucks and drink Coronas as they count down to the 7:30 p.m. CST caucus start.

They know how to turn every public event into a street festival here in South Texas. What remains to be seen, though, is whether or not they know how to caucus.

Both campaigns held intensive educational meetings during the last week in an attempt to demystify the caucus process, but here in Laredo that's a difficult task. Traditionally, fewer than 10 percent of the city's registered voters show up to cast a primary ballot in the first place. They're even less inclined to come back to their precincts a second time after dinner -- even if a mariachi band and free tacos await.

"I'm still not sure people know how to do this," said Sonia Melendez, a Clinton campaign spokeswoman in Laredo. "Like a week ago, nobody here knew what a caucus was. A few days ago, maybe they had heard of it. Tonight, we still can't be sure how well people understand."

Chances are comprehension will not be aided by the tailgate party here, where beers are being passed around and consumed liberally (this reporter, despite temptation, continues to refuse all liquid gifts from either campaign).

Joaquin Fernandez, a guitar player in the mariachi band, says he usually plays wedding and house parties, and this pre-caucus is as spirited as any gig he's played. He's wearing a blue suede suit and cowboy boots, sweating through an eight-song set.

Fernandez is hoping to be done with the gig by 7:30, though.

"I want to go try to go caucus," he said, "if I can figure out how."

9:08 p.m. LAREDO, Tex. -- We're beginning to see here in Laredo why it's not always wise to combine beer and politics. The happy tailgaters we met an hour ago in the parking lot of United High School have become a disgruntled bunch loudly cursing everything from Laredo politics to the caucus system in general.

Because of what polling officials here are calling an "unexpectedly high voter turnout" -- come on! are we still not expecting this? -- the 7:30 p.m. CST caucus has yet to begin. About 75 people are still waiting in line to cast their votes inside the United High School cafeteria, and our prospective caucusgoers aren't allowed inside until this process ends. For now, about 200 people are standing outside in the wind and leaning against the cafeteria windows, monitoring the slow progress inside.

This has led to another problem: a collection of beer cans dropped around the exterior of the cafeteria, which officially remains an "alcohol-and-tobacco-free zone."

10:03 p.m. LAREDO, Tex. -- The scene here at Precinct 345 continues to devolve, as our crowd of would-be caucusgoers still has not been allowed to enter the United High School cafeteria. One man, a volunteer organizer, has now brought a microphone and a portable Behringer speaker from home in an effort to address the crowd. He's been drowned out, though, by loud chants of "WE WANT TO VOTE!" and "WE'RE GETTING CHEATED!"

Hardly an endorsement here for the good ol' caucus process.

Really, though, you've got to feel sorry for the Clinton and Obama campaign organizers who spent hundreds of hours last week trying to convince voters to spend their evening at one of these things. Because right now, frustrated voters are leaving by the dozen. A crowd that once numbered about 200 has shrunk in half, and others are threatening to leave. The man over the loudspeaker is describing the problem as a paperwork delay, but it looks like simple disorganization.

Roberto Hereda, an Obama supporter who spent 90 minutes waiting outside the cafeteria while holding his 4-year-old daughter, put it like this: "It's too much incompetence. Nobody knows what they're doing. I came here to vote, and now I'm getting cheated. I can't stand here all night, so I'm going home."

10: 30 p.m.-- Good news! The caucus process is finally running here. Actually, amend that: The caucus process is finally slogging, slipping, bumbling -- but making some slight progress.

The hearty voters who waited through a two-hour delay at United High School have now entered the once-impenetrable school cafeteria. About 120 voters are inside now, and officials are just beginning to take attendance. Meanwhile, about 20 toddlers are running wild around the room, careening into tables and railings in a scene that is sure to turn ugly soon. So the night's final complaint, courtesy of a voter inside? "Couldn't we at least start caucusing at McDonald's, or some place with a Play Land?"

From the looks of it, the Clinton camp outnumbers the Obama side by a ratio of about 5-to-1 here. Officials are telling voters to brace for another few hours here, which sounded like my cue to leave. It's another good night not to be a caucus voter.

for link to WP article click the title of this post

Monday, March 3, 2008

Woman to Woman Bashing

As I read the article below I am reminded that we women insult each other by saying we will scream (and vote) for a good looking guy. We put down other women, say they are stupid, or angry, or shrill - or watch too many soap operas. It is hard for us to be nice to each other.

I have a faint suspicion that Hillary's current problem has to be related to this "woman to woman bashing" - it is very difficult for us to fully support a woman in a position of power - It is relatively easy to find fault in Hillary's campaign, her staff, her husband, and her pant suits. We are used to doing that to each other.

As for Patti Solis Doyle, what is wrong with watching soap operas? Aren't they all about the real world? (full disclosure - I watched every episode of Univision's Amor Real in 2004-2005 - I even developed a crush on Fernando Colunga)

-----

We Scream, We Swoon. How Dumb Can We Get?

By Charlotte Allen
Sunday, March 2, 2008; Page B01
Washington Post

Here's Agence France-Presse reporting on a rally for Sen. Barack Obama at the University of Maryland on Feb. 11: "He did not flinch when women screamed as he was in mid-sentence, and even broke off once to answer a female's cry of 'I love you, Obama!' with a reassuring 'I love you back.' " Women screamed? What was this, the Beatles tour of 1964? And when they weren't screaming, the fair-sex Obama fans who dominated the rally of 16,000 were saying things like: "Every time I hear him speak, I become more hopeful." Huh?

"Women 'Falling for Obama,' " the story's headline read. Elsewhere around the country, women were falling for the presidential candidate literally. Connecticut radio talk show host Jim Vicevich has counted five separate instances in which women fainted at Obama rallies since last September. And I thought such fainting was supposed to be a relic of the sexist past, when patriarchs forced their wives and daughters to lace themselves into corsets that cut off their oxygen.
***
...Take Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign. By all measures, she has run one of the worst -- and, yes, stupidest -- presidential races in recent history, marred by every stereotypical flaw of the female sex. As far as I'm concerned, she has proved that she can't debate -- viz. her televised one-on-one against Obama last Tuesday, which consisted largely of complaining that she had to answer questions first and putting the audience to sleep with minutiae about her health-coverage mandate. She has whined (via her aides) like the teacher's pet in grade school that the boys are ganging up on her when she's bested by male rivals. She has wept on the campaign trail, even though everyone knows that tears are the last refuge of losers. And she is tellingly dependent on her husband.

Then there's Clinton's nearly all-female staff, chosen for loyalty rather than, say, brains or political savvy. Clinton finally fired her daytime-soap-watching, self-styled "Latina queena" campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, known for burning through campaign money and for her open contempt for the "white boys" in the Clinton camp. But stupidly, she did it just in time to alienate the Hispanic voters she now desperately needs to win in Texas or Ohio to have any shot at the Democratic nomination...

for complete WP article click the title of this post

Equal Opportunity at the Houston Rodeo

The Houston Chronicle is supporting the recent complaints of Latino interests being ignored:

March 2, 2008, 11:07PM
No sacred cows
Complaints about no Tejano headliner seem thin, but rodeo officials should not lightly dismiss them
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Editorial

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has enjoyed enthusiastic support throughout this community. It would be dismaying if many Hispanics, the population's largest segment, felt slighted by the organization that puts on this hallmark event.

For that reason, the disagreement over Hispanics' music preferences needs to be resolved quickly and respectfully.

Earlier this week, a group of Hispanic leaders accused rodeo officials of shortchanging Hispanics in their selection of Tejano Day entertainment, assignments of positions within the organization and the number of scholarships awarded to Hispanic students. They called on Hispanics to stay away from the event, which starts today and runs through March 22.

A leader in the dispute, former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, said, "We request our friends across the whole state of Texas not to attend the Houston Livestock Show."

One of the points of contention appears to be that rodeo organizers booked non-Tejano performing groups to play at the show's main venue on March 16, Go Tejano Day. That might give the public pause if there were no Hispanic musical acts at all set to play that day. But that's not the case.

Tejano is a brand of music that grew out of Mexican folk and German polka music in Central and South Texas and enriched the culture of Texans of Hispanic descent. Non-Tejano fans are likely to recognize the name Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the artist known as the "queen of Tejano music" who was murdered in 1995.

Unfortunately, this form of musical entertainment appears to have been eclipsed among Hispanic music enthusiasts by other styles. That accounts for why on the main bill at this year's Go Tejano Day are Duelo, a norteño band from Roma, and Los Horoscopos de Durango, a duranguense act from Chicago.

As Leroy Shafer, the rodeo's chief operating officer, points out, Go Tejano Day is not just about Tejano music, but also about Hispanic culture. The day should showcase more than one slice of Hispanic arts. What's more, Tejano bands will perform that day on smaller stages. It's telling, too, that a member of the rodeo's Go Tejano Committee told the Chronicle he opposes the boycott.

Members of VIVE Tejano-Houston, the group formed to voice complaints about the rodeo performers, also charge that the rodeo awards too few scholarships to Hispanic students and hasn't enough Hispanics at the executive level.

But rodeo officials counter that nearly a third of the 927 students who attended Texas universities on rodeo scholarships last year were Hispanic. They acknowledge, however, that the executive committee includes no Hispanics. Those members are elected based on years of service, leadership and financial contributions — a merit system that seems fair enough.

Though the charges made against the rodeo are on the thin side, they should not be lightly dismissed. The success of the rodeo and its educational goals will depend in large measure on this area's growing Hispanic population. The rodeo must work with those who feel aggrieved and come to an amicable understanding. By custom and design, the rodeo belongs to all of greater Houston, and all segments of this population must be made to feel welcome and a valued part of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo events.

for link to Houston Chronicle editorial click the title of this post

For Obama: after winning the election in November

This may seem like we are getting ahead of ourselves. But it's been on my mind for a while. The biggest question I have about Obama's candidacy is: besides his charisma, does he have enough going for him to be an effective U.S. President? Will he be able to work with the Congress? Will they listen to him? Will he be able to make the American people feel he is looking out for all of us? Will he be able to keep us engaged?

Lastly, will anyone (Obama, Clinton, or McCain) be able to get us out of the mess Bush and his minions in the Congress got us into?

Gary Younge: "...As the primary race reaches its denouement, Obama needs to reflect on how he can nurture a similar relationship with his base - not just to sustain his candidacy but to bolster his prospects of actually delivering on his promises..."

-----

Obama must build a movement to take him beyond the White House

An effective presidency will need his supporters to keep mobilising to take on the corporations and lobbyists in his way
The Guardian - London
Gary Younge
March 3, 2008
On the night when Barack Obama took Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC with 20 point leads, an equally potent primary result came in from Maryland's fourth congressional district. Away from the glare of the international media, Donna Edwards, anti-war campaigner and community activist, trounced eight-time incumbent Albert Wynn in the battle for the Democratic nomination. This was no minor achievement. A sitting congressman had not been ousted in a primary in Maryland for 16 years. In 2006, a high tide for anti-incumbent sentiment, Edwards lost to Wynn by 3%. But she persevered. Wynn had taken huge sums from lobbyists. He had voted for the Iraq war, Dick Cheney's energy bill and to repeal inheritance tax. Edwards argued that this was against the wishes and interests of his mostly black, middle-class constituents. Last month she beat him by 35%.
There is a symbiotic relationship between Edwards's victory and Obama's potential. To some extent, she rode his coat-tails. The surge in turnout - particularly among the young - and focus on "change" could only have swelled her numbers. But if the energy around Obama's candidacy is going to be translated into an enduring political reality, then he has more to learn from her victory that night than she does from his.
For her win was the product not just of electoral momentum but a political movement. For several years now online activists have been building a progressive counterweight to rightward drift within the Democratic party. In general elections, they attack Republicans. In primaries, they support progressives. And in between time they light a fire under Democrats lest they forget why they were elected.
Edwards was, among other things, a product of that movement. It made her candidacy viable and sustained it after her narrow defeat in 2006. If she goes to Congress and sells out, they will turn on her. If she delivers progressive policies and comes under fire, they will support her. The interests of her candidacy and their priorities coincided. But they are not identical.
As the primary race reaches its denouement, Obama needs to reflect on how he can nurture a similar relationship with his base - not just to sustain his candidacy but to bolster his prospects of actually delivering on his promises. Obama has been described as running a grassroots movement. This is only half true. It is certainly grassroots. In the various states that I have seen it operate there are plenty of local volunteers and local staff. At web-driven meet-ups people get together, independent of the campaign. On Facebook his candidacy has a life of its own. One of the reasons he has won every caucus state is because his supporters are far more dedicated and far better organised at a local level than Clinton's.
But it is not a movement. It has no purpose or meaning beyond getting him elected. Once he wins or loses it will cease to exist. It operates not from the bottom up but the top down. The change he refers to is principally a change in leadership. The chant "Yes we can", in essence, means yes he can.
When I asked a group of volunteers in Charleston who had just literally danced through the streets on Martin Luther King day, why they were so excited about his candidacy, they told me they could not answer without prior approval from head office 115 miles away in Columbia. It is always a troubling sign when politicised people lose their voice or hand it over to a higher authority.
This comes more by way of description than criticism. None of this is a problem for Clinton because she has never pretended she is running a movement (or if she did nobody believed her). Obama alludes to his need for broader support on the stump, regularly telling audiences "this election is not just about me" and "I cannot do this alone". But beyond electing him it is not at all clear where he imagines others will come from or how they would engage. There is little in the way his campaign works to suggest a vibrant, independent insurgency being reined in by headquarters.
What Obama does have is a highly professional electoral campaign that has proved itself adept at getting people involved at every level and harnessing new technologies to that end. So far so good. It is perfectly possible (although by no means inevitable) that by the end of tomorrow night Obama will effectively be the nominee. His team could be forgiven for dwelling on making that immediate prospect a reality.
But then what? If Obama is serious about his desire to fundamentally change the way America operates at home and abroad then he will have take on entrenched, vested interests to beat John McCain and deliver on his promises.
This would be a tall order in the best of times. And these are not the best of times. Whoever wins will inherit a nation in serious state of disrepair. Just in the last two months, since those first caucus goers ventured into the Iowa cold to deliver him his surprise initial victory, the Dow has fallen by 6% and the price of petrol has risen by 4.5%. Meanwhile Iraq is stalling, Afghanistan is unravelling and the former chief prosecutor for Guantánamo's military commissions, Colonel Morris Davis, has conceded that the trials of detainees there are rigged. Taking over from George Bush is a bit like becoming the new manager of Leeds United or chief executive of Northern Rock. You enter with high hopes pinned to your front and "kick me" on your behind.
An electoral coalition of independents, wealthy progressives, African Americans, white men and the young have come together to vote for him, but has yet to mobilise itself into a political movement that can support him. A movement sparked by the issues his candidacy has raised that moves beyond his personality as a candidate.
Were he to win, he would need to tap their outrage at the pharmaceutical companies, Halliburton, lobbyists, Pentagon torturers and corporate tax-dodgers. He would need them sufficiently empowered to confront the banks over their lending practices, multinationals over outsourcing, and universities over rising fees. And in his negotiations with Congress and other powerbrokers he would need to know the limits to what he can concede without antagonising his base.
Obama cannot turn this around on his own any more than Bush got America into this mess on his own. Enough of the public had to be actively complicit in the Bush agenda for it to be possible to make things this bad. Indeed, the right has been extraordinarily adept in this regard. When Bush nominated Harriet Miers or sought to pass immigration reform, they blocked him. When he cut taxes and started war, they backed him. Without them his presidency would have crumbled sooner, and even more dramatically. Enough of the public would have to be equally complicit in Obama's agenda for him to right Bush's wrongs.
But the White House is where that process ends - complete with signing ceremony and fanfare - not where it starts. Tomorrow Obama will once again be running. If he is to be successful, not just electorally but politically, his supporters will have to make sure they do not stand still.
g.younge@guardian.co.uk

photo: gobarackobama.blogspot.com
for link to Guardian article click the title of this post

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Clinton at Mason Park in Houston

Bill and Chelsea Clinton at Lakewood Church.
detail of photo by Steve Ueckert, Houston Chronicle

Hillary campaign continues to court Hispanic vote in Houston
06:23 PM CST on Sunday, March 2, 2008
By Leigh Frillici / 11 News
In a southeast Houston neighborhood known to be a Hispanic stronghold, over 1,000 people awaited a special visitor Sunday.

“The road to the White House is coming through our neighborhood. That was amazing,” Tim Rios said.

It was the Hillary campaign that swung through Mason Park.

And even though the New York senator wasn’t there in person, the people there had a message for the candidate.

“To keep constantly counting on the Hispanic vote. We’re out there. We’re a very large group, a large minority group,” Carolina Chavana said.
They’re also a group that could be critical to Clinton’s success in the Lone Star State.

So while Hillary was off in Ohio over the weekend, her favorite ground crew stayed behind.

Former President Clinton continued to rally support in the Bayou City.

“We need a president who will create more jobs, who will make this country energy independent,” he said.

His speech was just about 10 minutes long. It was one of six stops scheduled for Sunday, including College Station, Marshall, Wichita Falls and Abilene.

Earlier in the day, he and his daughter, Chelsea, joined thousands of worshippers at Lakewood Church.

There weren’t any campaign speeches, but the pair got valuable face time in a venue that’s more akin to an Obama rally in its size...

for video and complete KHOU article click the title of this post

Black -- Latino Tension?

Barack Obama:

"The notion that is being perpetrated, unfortunately I think in the media, that somehow Hispanics won't vote for African-Americans because of this particular race and the fact that Senator Clinton has an advantage due to a long-standing presence on the national scene just doesn't make sense,"

While there have been moments where Latinos and Blacks have agreed and worked together, this has not often been the case. Since the immigration debate began in late 2005 - Blacks have often berated immigrants. Personally I have seen Black and Latino academics argue vociferously about whether Blacks or DREAMERS (undocumented college students) should get more support for scholarships or into better colleges.

It is common knowledge in a large school district in Houston there is long standing tension between Blacks and Latinos.

Unfortunately, it appears that many Latinos have taken on the attitudes of white people who disparage Blacks. It's ironic, because if people only knew the real history of Mexico and Latin America --- there was a HUGE slave population that was imported from Africa. During certain points in Mexico's colonial period there were 3 times as many Black slaves as there were "white" Spaniards.

What happened to all the millions of slaves? They intermarried into the rest of the Mexican population.

In addition, Texas has a number of stories about Mexican helping Blacks escape from slavery (a very interesting story of this in Houston's nearby Colorado County in 1856).

-
Despite this history, anyone that says that Blacks and Latinos always get along is deceiving themselves.

However, this doesn't mean we can't begin to collaborate. Maybe Obama could really show the Latino community that he is sensitive to their needs... that would help dispel the bad feelings left over from past conflicts.

in regards to immigration:

I am surprised that either candidate hasn't figured out that if they made very strong statements about stopping the ICE raids they would guarantee getting just about all the Latino support. Unfortunately it didn't happen during the debate in Austin, when they both had a chance to say something.... In Spanish there is a saying when someone finally gets it "se le prendio el foco" --- their light bulb finally went on. Maybe someone's light bulb will turn on soon, it would be nice.

If the candidate who wins follows through with his/her promises to both the Latino and Black community, the relationship between the two groups would certainly improve - part of the tension comes from many people of color feeling left out of the larger American Dream.

-----

Excerpt from:

March 1, 2008, 11:42PM

East Texas may hold key to Democratic primary

By R.G. RATCLIFFE and PEGGY FIKAC
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Clinton has held a lead among white voters of about 7 percentage points and a lead of at least 20 percentage points over Obama among Hispanics. But more than 75 percent of the blacks surveyed supported Obama.

Clinton had more than 60 percent support in traditionally Hispanic South Texas.

Obama in his interview rejected the idea that her [Clinton's] lead may be the result of racially polarized voting by Hispanics.

"The notion that is being perpetrated, unfortunately I think in the media, that somehow Hispanics won't vote for African-Americans because of this particular race and the fact that Senator Clinton has an advantage due to a long-standing presence on the national scene just doesn't make sense," Obama said.

Obama said he has had good Hispanic support in his past races, and if he is the nominee he will have a record to show Hispanics why he would be better for them as president than any Republican.

for link to complete Houston Chronicle article, click the title of this post

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Thank you George W. Bush

For all the suffering, lost privacy, and lost lives we still have to thank George W. Bush for doing us the ultimate favor of provoking American voters to go to the polls in a way that has never been seen before.

Remembering the 2004 election, I was living in California at the time, doing research at UC Santa Cruz. When Bush won (or stole) the election, people were so depressed. There were meetings, discussions - places where we all lamented such a horrible turn in American democracy. I am not sure if any of us were thinking of a long term reaction to Bush's election.

Now things are different. The last night of early voting in Houston is showing something NEVER seen before. Over two hundred thousand people early voted in Harris County - and everyone is not counted yet! This is not just in precincts that always have lots of people who predictably vote. It's in Latino and Black neighborhoods and less affluent neighborhoods all over the city.

Sometimes it takes something extreme to get people going. Bush's tragic presidency has pushed us over the edge... we cannot tolerate this type of incompetency anymore... we are trying to take back our government - it's tremendously exciting to see all the momentum.

Thank you again George W. Bush - for the wonderful gift you are leaving us.

-----

Feb. 29, 2008, 11:55PM
Early Harris County voting for primary turnout 'unprecedented'

By JENNIFER LEAHY
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
More than 230,000 people cast ballots in Harris County during the last 11 days, capping an "unprecedented" early voting period for the Republican and Democratic primaries.
Shortly before 10 p.m., last-minute early voters had been waiting at six locations for three hours to cast their ballots, said Paul Bettencourt, tax assessor-collector and voter registrar. Polling stations with lines of more than 100 people included Moody Park, Acres Homes and the Bayland Recreation Center on the southwest side.

"It's an unprecedented primary turnout," said Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, referring to the early voting that ended Friday.

Kaufman noted that through the years the number of citizens opting to vote early has risen from less than 20 percent to more than 30 percent of the total primary vote.

"That could mean we would vote another 500,000 people on Tuesday," she said.

She added that the office is prepared for "a long night" Tuesday.

"The biggest problem facing workers at the polling places is crowd control," she said.

Election rules require officials to keep the polls open and allow residents to vote as long as they arrived at their precinct before 7 p.m., officials said.

The ratio of Democratic to Republican voting was about 3-to-1.

By 8 p.m., almost 220,000 residents of Harris County had voted in person in the primary elections. Another 10,554 ballots were returned by mail.

The three most popular polling places during the primary election were the Cypress Creek Library in northwest Harris County, the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Montrose and the Freeman Library in Clear Lake, each drawing more than 10,000 voters.

Larry Blanco and his wife waited almost two hours Friday evening to cast their ballots at the Multi-Service Center.

Hundreds of people were still in line there as the couple exited just after 6 p.m.

"People talked to each other, waited patiently," Blanco said, adding that he only saw one voter leave due to long lines.

The 58-year-old said he'd "never, ever, waited so long to vote."

"But it's good — it means that people care," Blanco said.

Kaufman said voters in the primary election experienced delays but that there were no significant problems.

"And we're ready for next Tuesday — this is not my first rodeo," she said.

Chronicle reporter Alan Bernstein contributed.

jennifer.leahy@chron.com

for link to Houston Chronicle article, click the title of this post

Playing dirty politics

One of the nastiest things I will always remember about the Bush administration was their plan to have the country in perpetual fear. After 9-11 they did everything possible to keep us terrified -to make us hate people from the Middle East, hate immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, to isolate ourselves as a nation. The were immensely successful - We were/are so scared we thought we should start constructing bomb shelters again.

Clinton's people must be talking to Karl Rove. They have launched a last ditch effort to save her faltering campaign by trying to frighten us. The thing is, I'm not so sure that works anymore.

----

Clinton Ad Hints Obama Is Unprepared for Crisis
By Anne E. Kornblut and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 1, 2008; A01
WACO, Tex., Feb. 29 -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton launched an across-the-board assault on Sen. Barack Obama on Friday, questioning in a provocative new television ad his ability to keep the nation safe as her advisers sought to raise an array of questions about her rival's ethics and electability.
In the ad, a narrator says that a telephone is ringing in the White House and that "your vote" will determine whether "someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world" will answer it. In the last scene, Clinton (N.Y.) is pictured picking up a phone while the narrator says: "It's 3 a.m., and your children are safely asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"
Obama (Ill.) dismissed the ad as fear-mongering. "The question is not about picking up the phone. The question is, what kind of judgment will you make when you answer?" he said in a meeting with veterans in Houston. "We've had a red-phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. And Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer."
The Obama campaign said it was putting up its own ad, with a similar script but a different ending: "Who understood the real threat to America was al-Qaeda, in Afghanistan, not Iraq?" the narrator asks. "Who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe? . . . In a dangerous world, it's judgment that matters."
With early balloting coming to a close in Texas, Clinton campaign officials tried to recast the importance of Tuesday's primaries and caucuses here and in Ohio; former president Bill Clinton recently said his wife must win both to stay in the race after 11 straight defeats over the past three weeks. Her aides said that the onus is on Obama to win both primaries to prove himself the front-runner and suggested that Clinton will stay in the race even if she loses one of the big contests. Rhode Island and Vermont will also hold primaries Tuesday.
"If you are acting like the nominee, if you are essentially declaring the race over, you ought to be able to win the contests that are coming up," Howard Wolfson, a senior Clinton adviser, said in a conference call with other senior aides and reporters that lasted more than an hour. "And if you don't, it says something profound about Democrats' unease with handing the nomination to somebody with such little experience and so many unanswered questions."
As their campaigns held dueling conference calls and released competing ads, Clinton and Obama nearly crossed paths in Texas before returning to Ohio and, over the weekend, heading back to Texas. Clinton attended a funeral service in Dallas for a motorcycle policeman killed in her motorcade last week. She also appeared at a half-empty convention center here in Waco for an event designed to highlight her national security experience.
Obama advisers continued to argue that Tuesday is Clinton's make-or-break day, her final opportunity to stop her rival's momentum and climb back into contention in the delegate count. But Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, sought to lower expectations of a popular-vote blowout similar to Obama's runaway victories in Wisconsin and Virginia.
Only in Vermont, the smallest of the four March 4 prizes, is Obama the clear favorite. But Plouffe asserted that even if Clinton performs reasonably well on Tuesday, winning at least one of the big states, her prospects for closing the delegate gap are remote, verging on hopeless.
"Our number one goal is to maintain and, if we can, build on our pledged-delegate lead," Plouffe said. The Clinton team, he said, is "fighting with every fiber of their being," but he added: "We think we're in very good shape heading into next Tuesday."
The Obama campaign also announced that it had won the support of five more superdelegates, including Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.).
The Clinton "phone" ad, produced by Texas advertising guru Roy Spence, bears a strong resemblance to a spot that Spence made in 1984 for Walter Mondale in his successful campaign to beat Gary Hart for the Democratic nomination. That ad featured a red phone and questioned whether Hart had the experience to be president.
"We've seen these ads before," Obama said during his opening remarks at the first public event of the day, a meeting with veterans at an American Legion post in Houston. "They're the kind that play on people's fears to scare up votes," he said. "Well, it won't work this time."
In their conference call, Clinton officials attempted to focus attention on Obama's relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago businessman indicted last fall on federal charges of business fraud and influence peddling, and berated reporters for not asking what they described as a "staggering" number of questions about it.
"Just a couple: Is there anyone on this call who knows how many fundraisers Tony Rezko has thrown for Barack Obama?" Wolfson said. "Is there anyone on this call who knows how much money Tony Rezko has raised for Barack Obama?"
Until his legal problems, Rezko had been a friend of Obama's and a financial supporter of his political career. The Obama campaign says it has given to charity more than $150,000 in contributions linked to Rezko.
Wolfson said Obama has "skated by" in the campaign so far, a common refrain from Clinton advisers who argue that Obama has not been vetted enough to survive a general election.
Another issue raised by the Clinton campaign was a report that an Obama adviser, Austan Goolsbee, had quietly told the Canadian consul in Chicago that Obama would back away from his criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement once he took office.
"The story's just not true," Plouffe said. "No one in our campaign has said or otherwise implied that he would back away from his position on NAFTA."
The Obama campaign, for its part, sought to revive two disclosure issues believed to be Clinton vulnerabilities -- the fact that she has not released her tax returns, and the White House records involving her that are stored at her husband's presidential library.
The campaign noted that for the 2004 Democratic primary season, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio), Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) and Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) released their tax returns in April 2003 -- a year earlier in the process. Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) released his tax returns in December 2003, and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark released his in January 2004, the campaign memo said.
It continued: "As her top Ohio supporter Governor Ted Strickland said in his 2006 campaign, if a candidate is not releasing his or her 'tax return, what is he hiding? We should question what's going on.' "

cartoon: http://www.warrentoons.com/WT%20Political%20Cartoons%20Page/2004%20Toons/Toons/Toon%20-%20I'm%20Hillary%20Clinton.jpg

for link to original WP article click the title of this post

So you want to caucus in Texas?

You definitely have a challenge ahead of you - If you are good at detailed (and confusing) instructions you may get it right - good luck.

Texas made it extremely difficult for voters to get involved in the primary caucus - As mentioned before in post "More on the Texas Two Step (March 4 Primary)" February 26, 2008.

It looks like this system that was put in place by :

"the national party elite [who]crafted the superdelegate rules in 1980 to wrest some control over the nomination process from the unpredictable masses." (Texas Observer, February 22, 2008)

Well now the "Texas Masses" are certainly taking a hit - this 28 year old policy has confused the Texas electorate enough that even those with the highest IQ's are having trouble understanding what to do if they want to attend the caucus. One place to look if you want to try and figure this out is the Burnt Orange Report:

http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5010

Friday, February 29, 2008

Under the Moon

The film "Under the Moon" will come to Houston in March 2008. Matamoros Food Markets will give away 12 tickets to the film in a drawing on March 4.

A story portraying the immigrant familia....

Hopefully this movie comes to Texas. When I first saw a preview a few weeks ago...I was not that excited because its has the most common plot ( la famila inmigrante sufre al venir a los EEUU, la unidad de la familia es interumpida y luego atravez de eventos imaginables se reunen y se convierte en un cuento feliz) . Don't get me wrong, I truly wish that all immigrant families had a happy ending in real life. I just feel it is "refry". What matters in this story is that family is the most important aspect and the reality is moving...I'm sure that many people will go see it. We'll see if im right or wrong when I watch the movie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LA MISMA LUNA

In her feature debut, Patricia Riggen offers a touching tale of the way the love between a mother and child can thrive and endure despite physical separation.

In La Misma Luna (The Same Moon), Riggen gives us the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico.

Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again.

Riggen's film is not only a heartwarming family story; she also offers subtle commentary on the much-debated issue of illegal immigration.

Adeptly weaving the stories of mother and son, Riggen has created a poignant film that reminds us that the most important thing in life is the love of family. At every turn, La Misma Luna (The Same Moon) underscores the notion that geography is insignificant, for we are all under the same moon.

http://www.lamismaluna.com/

Picture from itunes.

President Bill Clinton at Mason Park

Becuase this is a country of democracy...and for those of us who are still undecided...

Meet President Bill Clinton at a
Rally for Hillary

this Sunday, March 2nd at 11:00 amat Mason Park on 75th St

Let's make this a massive rally to show our Hispanic Unity and Strength!