Miguel Perez from Creators Syndicate

The Counterrevolutionary Perspective for 06/16/2009

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A long time ago, when I was too young to be interested in politics, the Cuban government labeled me as a "counterrevolutionary." I had nothing to do with it. It was my parents' decision to take me off the communist island to become a refugee in the United States. But that was enough for my homeland to consider me an enemy.

In retrospect, of course, I think my parents' decision ...

Updated: Tue Jun 16, 2009

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On Immigration, Bush and Obama Are No Different for 06/23/2009

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In one extreme corner, we have the immigrant haters, with their never-ending list of excuses for denying some form of amnesty to foreigners living in this country without proper documents. And in the other corner, just as extreme, we have the immigrant lovers, with their idealistic demands for amnesty without first finding a way to stop future illegal immigration.

A new immigration fight ...

Updated: Tue Jun 23, 2009

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Keep Affirmative Action, Without Reverse Discrimination for 06/30/2009

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Some Republicans will tell us that Sonia Sotomayor is in trouble, that Monday's Supreme Court decision to overturn one of her appeals court rulings should disqualify her from joining the highest court in the land.

Of course, because this is not unprecedented, the argument will be phony. Appeals court judges whose rulings are overturned can end up on the Supreme Court. It has happened bef ...

Updated: Tue Jun 30, 2009

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If It Smells Like a Coup ... for 07/07/2009

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The military raided the president's home, forcibly put him on an airplane and sent him out of the country, yet we are told that what happened in Honduras June 28 was not a coup d'etat.

Of course, "if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck," and Honduras doesn't pass the duck test.

President Manuel Zelaya's deportation m ...

Updated: Tue Jul 07, 2009

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In Sotomayor Hearings, Republicans Are On Trial for 07/14/2009

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Shortly after the Judge Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings began Monday, Sen. Jeff Sessions let it be known that he and other Republicans intend to play hardball.

And in the Latino community, where almost everyone enjoys a good ballgame, many people began to look for fouls.

If the Republicans play hard but fair, as the opposition party, they will be within their rights. But if ...

Updated: Tue Jul 14, 2009

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The Solution for Honduras for 07/21/2009

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Granted: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was a democratically elected leader who was on a mission to crown himself as dictator. He had joined the axis of evil of leftist Latin American presidents, and he was following their playbook on rewriting their constitutions to perpetuate their stays in power.

Granted: His June 28 ouster was legal and constitutional, and it had the support ...

Updated: Tue Jul 21, 2009

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The Giant Still Is Sleeping for 07/28/2009

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For U.S. politicians who may be weighing the significance of the Hispanic vote in future elections, the writing is on the wall: Although Latinos clearly swung several key states for Barack Obama in 2008, you haven't seen nada yet.

The so-called Latino "electoral sleeping giant" has not fully awakened yet. And when that giant finally decides to get up and stretch out, ...

Updated: Tue Jul 28, 2009

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A Dose of Cuban Reality for 08/04/2009

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For those who still had naive illusions about changing Cuba by befriending a couple of old tyrants, Raul Castro offered a dose of reality Saturday.

"I wasn't elected president to return capitalism to Cuba or to surrender the revolution," said the younger of the Castro brothers in an obvious response to the Obama administration's calls for social and political reforms on the com ...

Updated: Tue Aug 04, 2009

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Repelling Latino Voters for 08/11/2009

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The feeling is hard to explain. Ethnic pride is like intense love — something you just can't put into words. You have to feel it to understand it.

This is why, in the U.S. Hispanic community — in ways that are incomprehensible to many non-Latino Americans — Justice Sonia Sotomayor's rise to the U.S. Supreme Court is not seen as just one woman's achievement.

It is ...

Updated: Tue Aug 11, 2009

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Peace Without Freedom? for 08/25/2009

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

When the Colombian pop singer known as Juanes announced that he would take his music to Havana's Plaza of the Revolution soon to perform in a "Peace Without Borders" concert, I had some soul-searching to do. Surely it happened to most of my fellow Cuban-Americans.

We had to weigh all the facts and decide which side we were going to fall on. There was no gray area, no middle gro ...

Updated: Tue Aug 25, 2009

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America's Cradle for 09/01/2009

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: This is the 13th part of an ongoing series on America's hidden Hispanic heritage. To read previous columns in the series, go to http://MiguelPerez.com and click on "American's Hidden Hispanic Heritage."

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — You tour the "colonial zone" and hear the names of the many amazing people who have lived here, at lea ...

Updated: Tue Sep 01, 2009

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Our Quincentennial Is Coming! for 09/09/2009

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: This is the 14th part of an ongoing series, "America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage." To read previous columns in the series, go to http://www.MiguelPerez.com.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — When they take the time to read the writing carved on a marble wall in a particularly dark section of the San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral here, that's when visito ...

Updated: Wed Sep 09, 2009

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American Discovery Day for 09/15/2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: This is the 15th part of an ongoing series, "America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage." To read previous columns in the series, go to http://www.MiguelPerez.com.

When he discovered the huge landmass now known as the United States, Juan Ponce de Leon decided to call it Florida. It was April 2, 1513, during the "Pascua Florida" season — Spanish for " ...

Updated: Tue Sep 15, 2009

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Health Care Sends Immigration Into Coma for 09/22/2009

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

They have been washing our cars and our dishes, caring for our children and elderly, picking our crops and mowing our lawns. They work in construction, restaurant kitchens and sweatshops, and those are some of the less hazardous jobs they do. And yet most politicians — including President Barack Obama — say undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to health care coverage.

...

Updated: Tue Sep 22, 2009

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In Cuba Concert, Even the Audience Was Staged for 09/29/2009

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

They were told that the Cuban government couldn't be trusted — warned by thousands that there was no way that outside promoters could stage and control a massive music concert under a very repressive communist dictatorship.

But Juanes and his friends persisted, as "useful fools" usually do.

Although the group of artists led by the Colombian pop singer was warned th ...

Updated: Tue Sep 29, 2009

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Knock, Knock: Census Workers or Immigration Raid? for 10/06/2009

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Just when we thought things would be a little different under the Obama administration — because we were promised so much "change" — we realize that we are getting more of the same. On some issues with which we expected clear improvement, things are actually getting worse.

On two issues of particular importance to the nation's 45 million Latinos — immigration ...

Updated: Tue Oct 06, 2009

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Bad Idea Turns Even Worse for 10/13/2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All along, it was obvious that deputizing local cops to do the job of federal immigration agents would be a bad idea. It was clear that such a policy would make undocumented immigrants reluctant to report real crimes and would drive them further underground at a time when so many hypocritical politicians kept claiming they wanted to bring those people "out of the shadows."

But ...

Updated: Tue Oct 13, 2009

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From Cuba With Courage for 10/20/2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

She is an outstanding writer, a great political analyst, a popular blogger and an award-winning journalist. But those are not the best adjectives to describe Yoani Sanchez.

Courage is what makes her different.

After all, writing, analyzing politics, blogging and practicing journalism are much more difficult where she does it. Freedom of expression is a rare commodity in Havana.

Updated: Tue Oct 20, 2009

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A Time To Welcome the Spirits for 10/27/2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: This column, originally published in October 2005, is the 16th part of an ongoing series, "America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage." To read previous columns in the series, go to http://www.MiguelPerez.com.

During the next few days in Hispanic homes throughout this country, there will be people invoking the spirits — asking dead relatives to come back in ...

Updated: Tue Oct 27, 2009

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The Closing Immigration Window for 11/03/2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Even those idealists who still believe it is possible for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation within the next year, even those dreamers who persist that President Barack Obama will keep his promise to Hispanic voters by finding a way to legalize some 12 million undocumented immigrants — yes, even the optimists are beginning to sound like pessimists.

Now th ...

Updated: Tue Nov 03, 2009

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