Miguel Perez from Creators Syndicate

Texas Latinos Will Pick the Democratic Nominee for 02/19/2008

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

After all the unforeseen twists and turns of the Democratic race for president this year, after all the times we thought one particular primary or interest group would be the one that would prop one candidate above all others, it is Latino voters in Texas who finally may determine who will be the Democratic nominee.

Latinos make up more than one-third of the voters in Texas. If Latino De ...

Updated: Tue Feb 19, 2008

]]>

Obama Is Naive About Havana for 02/26/2008

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Just as the ruthless regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro declared that it was gasping for its last breath of air last week, Sen. Barack Obama shamefully was sending oxygen to Havana.

In his most recent debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton, only two days after Castro announced his resignation, Obama said that as president of the United States, he would be willing to meet with Castro's succe ...

Updated: Tue Feb 26, 2008

]]>

War Is Knocking on Our Back Door for 03/04/2008

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

At first, you get the impression that the Colombians overplayed their hand. You don't send armed troops across a border with a neighboring country — not even if you are chasing wanted criminals — unless you have permission from your neighbor.

But what should you do if you suspect the leftist terrorists/guerrillas who have bloodied your country for 50 years are able to elude j ...

Updated: Tue Mar 04, 2008

]]>

'Los Presidentes' Assault Each Other Then Embrace for 03/11/2008

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In the end, they embraced each other, just like many boxers do moments after bloodying each other's faces. But I can't think of a boxing match that was more exciting than the face-to-face, blow-by-blow encounter between several Latin American presidents at the Rio Group summit in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, last week.

Forget the Spanish soap operas! This was much more dramatic.

Updated: Tue Mar 11, 2008

]]>

Put Venezuela on the Terror List for 03/18/2008

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

After years on the receiving end of insults and unfounded attacks from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Bush finally is engaging in some tough talk with the firebrand/demagogue who wants to lead a leftist movement against the United States.

Last week, Bush took a few long-overdue shots at Chavez — all part of a renewed White House effort to back the Colombian government ...

Updated: Tue Mar 18, 2008

]]>

Latino-American History, Chapter 4: The Black Legend Returns for 03/25/2008

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Don't blame it on talk radio and conservative politicians, as if they started something new. The anti-Hispanic rhetoric poisoning political discourse in the United States lately actually dates back to 16th-century Europe. That's when British and Dutch writers set out to deliberately spread negative propaganda about the Spanish colonies in the Americas.

Fierce competition with Spain over ...

Updated: Tue Mar 25, 2008

]]>

Latino-American History, Chapter 5: Even on HBO, 'The Black Legend' Lives for 04/01/2008

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Watching the Founding Fathers and their historic creation of a new nation, even in a dramatization, always makes me feel proud to be an American.

But just when I expected "John Adams" to make me feel proud to be a Latino, too, the new HBO miniseries did a huge fast forward, skipping almost the entire Revolutionary War and leaving the contributions of Latinos totally out of the ...

Updated: Tue Apr 01, 2008

]]>

Cuba's 'Changes' Amount To Nada for 04/08/2008

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Just as America's "useful fools" were beginning to buy the smoke and mirror changes that appear to be taking place in Cuba, out comes a new report condemning the communist island for multiple human rights violations.

The changes are purely cosmetic. Under Raul Castro, who officially replaced his brother Fidel as the island's dictator in February, Cubans are being given access t ...

Updated: Tue Apr 08, 2008

]]>

On Free Trade, Democrats Are Spineless for 04/15/2008

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Let's face it: There are good trade deals, and there are bad ones. Unfortunately, this country has been engaging in so many bad ones that when a good one comes along, our politicians don't have the courage to separate it.

That's the kind of spinelessness that has been prevalent lately in the Democratic Party, where politicians are so busy pandering to anti-trade voters that they are outr ...

Updated: Tue Apr 15, 2008

]]>

On Immigration, Some Popes Speak Louder Than Others for 04/22/2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The pope calls for compassion for America's "many immigrant children," and some people accuse him of meddling in American politics. My, how things have changed in this country! On immigration, the political pendulum has swung so far to the right that immigrant-bashing politicians are challenging even Pope Benedict XVI's right to defend his American immigrant flock.

For years, A ...

Updated: Tue Apr 22, 2008

]]>

From a Primaries Marathon to a General Election Sprint for 04/29/2008

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The more they try to be different the more they sound the same. Now that Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have convinced us that they are almost equal on every issue, now that petty attacks have taken over political discourse in this country, aren't you ready for the general election? I know I am.

We need some real contrast in this presidential race, the kind that we surely will ge ...

Updated: Tue Apr 29, 2008

]]>

The Great Immigration Divide for 05/06/2008

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I've been saying it for years: The only reason we can't fix our broken immigration system is because on the issue of illegal immigration, there is no middle ground. But maybe I've been part of the problem; maybe I, too, should move to the middle ground.

On one end of the political spectrum, you have those who oppose any kind of "amnesty" for the country's 12 million illegal imm ...

Updated: Tue May 06, 2008

]]>

In Puerto Rico, Rare Vote for 'Presidente' for 05/13/2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

They serve valiantly in our armed forces, yet they don't have the right to vote for the president, who is their commander in chief during war. They are American citizens, yet they don't have a single voting representative in Congress. They are our 4 million fellow Americans who live on the island of Puerto Rico — a people about to get a rare say on who gets to live in the White House.

...

Updated: Tue May 13, 2008

]]>

VP Pick Could Swing the Latino Vote for 05/20/2008

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As the Clinton campaign finally begins to read the writing on the wall — "Get Out" — and the race for president turns to vice presidential picks, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama should try to avoid selecting running mates who might alienate Hispanic voters.

In the race to determine which states will be blue or red, those that are now purple are the ones that real ...

Updated: Tue May 20, 2008

]]>

Driving out of the FARC Tunnel for 05/27/2008

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The death of Colombian rebel leader Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, following a series of major setbacks to his Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), could mark the beginning of the end of Latin America's longest and bloodiest civil war.

At last, the Colombian people may realize the peace and security they have craved for more than four decades. And they have done it by r ...

Updated: Tue May 27, 2008

]]>

The Clinton Spin Cycle for 06/03/2008

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We have to grant it to them: When it comes to spinning the arguments — bordering on dishonesty — nobody does it better than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her band of professional spinners.

For months, they have been telling us the states that will matter in November are the big swing states she has been winning in the primaries. If she ever became the Democratic nominee, yo ...

Updated: Tue Jun 03, 2008

]]>

Latinos Will Select Our New 'Presidente' for 06/10/2008

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

With Sen. Hillary Clinton out of the presidential race after having won most of the Hispanic vote in the primaries, Latinos and their issues are about to receive unprecedented attention from Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. After all, neither of them can win the White House without the increasingly powerful "voto latino."

Because the number of eligible Latino voters has grow ...

Updated: Tue Jun 10, 2008

]]>

The Most Hated Woman in Colombia for 06/17/2008

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

BARRANQUILLA, Colombia — Everywhere you go in this country, the mere mention of her name evokes angry reactions. Cursing is people's preferred method to describe how they feel about Colombian leftist Senator Piedad Cordoba. And it's all justified!

Imagine how we Americans would feel if a U.S. senator went around saying that the world needs more people like Osama bin Laden and telli ...

Updated: Tue Jun 17, 2008

]]>

Latino-American History, Chapter 6: Our Spanish Heritage for 06/24/2008

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Surrounded by a wall fortified by cannons and in the midst of fortresses and castles, there is no better place to appreciate Spanish influence in the New World than in this beautiful city by the Caribbean Sea. This is the place where U.S. Latinos come to recharge their ethnic batteries and to dig out the roots of their Spanish ancestry.

There are places, such ...

Updated: Tue Jun 24, 2008

]]>

Colombians Worship 2 Gods for 07/01/2008

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Amid all the historical information going back several centuries, the tour guide kept referring to the past six years. It was unusual, given the fact that recent history doesn't normally compare to ancient times, especially in a 475-year-old city.

But at La Popa, a hilltop convent overlooking all of Cartagena, guide Jose Hernandez kept insisting that without t ...

Updated: Tue Jul 01, 2008

]]>