Free Republic

A new, comprehensive survey of young Latinos paints a mixed picture of their footing in the United States. They express overall satisfaction with their lives, despite high levels of poverty and teenage pregnancy, while carving an identity based more on their parents’ home country rather than labels like “American” or even “Hispanic” or “Latino.”

Note: The following text is a quote: MS-13 Gunman Sentenced 80 Years for Attempted Murder ALEXANDRIA, VA—Dennis L. Gil Bernardez, 33, of Landover, Md., the gunman in an MS-13 shooting, was sentenced to 80 years in prison today for attempting to murder rival gang members on Oct. 6, 2008, at a park near homes in Reston, Va. His accomplice, Jose M. Aguilar Orantes, 18, of Reston, Va., who provided the firearm, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for his role in the attempted murders. A third member, Carlos B. Guzman Cruz, 25, of Richmond, Va., was sentenced to 144...

Filmmaker Michael Moore will probably want to steer clear of one of his favorite leftist countries -- Hugo Chavez's Venezuela -- after he inadvertently insulted El Presidente and enraged the strongman's rabid supporters. Chavez's devoted followers (no doubt at Chavez's behest) are deriding Moore as a liar, racist, and coward -- all for the filmmakers outrageous statements about their leader during an appearance on a late-night talk show, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." (A film clip of the Oct. 9th show may be seen here.) Moore described a strange encounter with Chavez during last September's Venice Film Festival. Chavez was there...

nstead of being simply a draw for Hispanic viewers, CNN’s four-hour documentary, “Latino in America,” turned into a political rallying cry for activist groups who are calling on the cable news channel to fire Lou Dobbs, a veteran anchor with well-known views on immigration.

Federal authorities have opened an investigation into allegations of “discriminatory policing” by the Suffolk County Police Department over how officers responded to reports of crimes against Latinos, a Justice Department spokesman said Monday. Latino residents and their advocates have accused the police in that Long Island county of systematically failing to fully investigate allegations of assaults on Latinos. After the highly publicized stabbing death of an Ecuadorean immigrant last November — prosecutors said that his attackers were driven by prejudice against Latinos — residents stepped forward with accounts of other attacks they believed were racially motivated. Some of those cases...

Folks, a while back I talked about Islamic Proselytism Increasing Among Latinos in New York and now this piece from CNN, Brooklyn family keeps Latino-Jewish traditions alive, sends me in the direction of an increasing "return to Judaism" movement in Latino communities that I've seen gaining exposure in the media: Every Friday evening, the Núñez family sits down to a traditional religious dinner. Like most families in their Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, their Jewish Sabbath meal includes blessings over the wineand bread, the company of family and friends and excellent food. But for the Núñez family, the...

US President Barack Obama has welcomed plans for a massive but controversial concert in Havana on Sunday by Miami-based music star Juanes. Obama told US Spanish language network Univision that the concert, which is expected to draw around half a million Cubans, could help improve ties with Cuba. Obama's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had met the Colombian singer before he left for Cuba, with both drawing criticism from Miami's Cuban exile community for a performance they say will legitimize the island's communist regime. "My understanding is that he's a terrific musician. He puts on a very good concert," Obama...

As FNC's Sean Hannity devoted his show Hannity on Thursday evening to the plight of California farmers who are suffering unemployment because the federal government is withholding water from their crops in favor of saving endangered fish, Hannity began the show, specially titled "The Valley That Hope Forgot," by interviewing comedian and former Democrat Paul Rodriguez, chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition. Rodriguez, who last year supported Barack Obama but famously turned GOP after Democrats refused to help him and other farmers obtain water for their crops, made a plea for help to President Obama on Hannity's show: Mr....

It has all the hallmarks of the beloved telenovela: Heart-wrenching dialogue. Doors slamming amid tears. Over-the-top theatrics. But the titillating story lines are laced with medical advice. An expecting but bickering couple is encouraged to seek prenatal care. The uncle of a boy injured in a car wreck caused by a drunk teenager learns about state-funded health insurance. A character who doesn't like her figure gets some advice from a health care adviser: Stop eating so many tamales. --snip-- "It's a soap opera. So it's got the teenager who has some substance abuse issues. We have a family who is...

California's financial unraveling has prompted a long-overdue debate about taxes, regulation, and government spending, but the state's media and government continue to ignore what could be an even greater problem: the irreparable damage to California's human capital that nearly 30 years of unrestrained illegal immigration has achieved. This is not an immigration problem, or even an illegal-immigration problem, per se. A strong case could be made that, in terms of educational achievement, industriousness, and entrepreneurial acumen, Asian immigrants to California have proven superior to white natives of the state. Therefore, if California were to experience a wave of mass immigration...

by Debra Medina, Republican candidate for Governor of Texas It’s a shame isn’t it, that Republicans continue to ignore Hispanics especially here in Texas? The writing has long been on the wall that unless the GOP begins to better work with Latinos, the GOP will continue to lose races and be a minority party. It is equally important, of course, for the Latino community to realize that true political identity will be achieved only through participation in all national party structures - Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, etc. We are not all the same and we shouldn’t all be attracted to...

I know HBO probably isn't really looked upon to highly around here (love trueblood, enterouge) But if anybody saw last night's stand up. As a conservative I have never felt more attacked in my life. As usual we were all accused of being racist for opposing Sotomayor....i mean forget the fact that she actually uses race as motivation for her rulings and basically ignores the constitution....it has to be racist why we oppose her... i mean lets all forget how the left treated Gonzelez under the Bush administration....that couldn't be racist... As a half latin person i'm amazed at how...

More than Mexicans Crossing the Border byPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org [caption id="attachment_887" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="MS-13 Member with Arabic tatoos (Police Photograph)"][/caption] Al Qaeda and the Latino Gang-Bangers The situation at the border now poses a grave threat to national security. Agent Mike Scioli of the U.S. Border Patrol confirms that the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol is facing a worsening problem with Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadoran street gang that now controls the flow of arms, drugs, and illegal aliens into the U.S. Two members of the violent gang were collared last week in Tucson and Nogales. Twenty have...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Many Latinos say they know how Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates felt during a recent arrest because they believe police often racially profile Hispanics, too. Gates, a noted African-American scholar, has said he was arrested at his home in large part because of his race. Police say he became disorderly when asked for identification after a report of a possible break-in. "Professor Gates' case resonates with us because he is a prominent academic at a very prominent institution, but it is a reality that occurs on these streets every day," said Vicente Alba-Panama of the...

I have lived in Watsonville, California a small city for the last 34 years. I have seen it change from a small truly multi-cultural town of Italians, Japanese, Croatians, Serbians, Filipinos, Mexicans and other ethnic groups to a town that is 90% Hispanic. Now we have the gangs, the crime, the collapse of the school district, our hospital went bankrupt and the local real estate market is in the toilet. Our local Strawberry Festival lacked funding to continue this year and an outside promoter came in to keep it functioning for at least another year. Unfortunately it appears that the...

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I testify today not as a wise Latina woman, but as an American who believes that skin color and national origin should not determine who gets a job, promotion, or public contract, or who gets into college or receives a scholarship. My message today is straightforward, Mr. Chairman: Do not vote to confirm this nominee. I say this with some regret, because I believe Judge Sotomayor’s personal story is an inspiring one, which proves that this is truly a land of opportunity where circumstances of birth and class do not determine whether you can succeed. Unfortunately,...

Here is video today of Sen. Lindsey Graham questioning Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Graham confronted Sotomayor with her quote from numerous speeches in which she said she would hope that a "wise Latina woman would come to a better decision (as a judge) than an average white male." Graham worked the exchange to a high point where he pointedly told Sotomayor that if he, as a white male, had ever said anything even close to what she did, his career would be over. He asked her if she could understand that? She said that she could understand how...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's chief counsel, Thomas Saenz, has been tapped to become president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the organization announced Tuesday. Saenz has been one of Villaraigosa's closest advisors since taking the post in August 2005, recently serving as the mayor's lead representative in negotiations with city labor unions over salary and benefit concessions to help close the city's $530-million budget gap. And he helped to successfully defend a city ordinance that required hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay a "living wage" to workers. Saenz also was one...

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor defended herself Tuesday against charges that her speeches and rulings show racial bias, telling a Senate panel vetting her nomination that critics had misunderstood her record. "I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences," Sotomayor said. Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's pick to become the high court's first Hispanic and third woman, was responding...

(CNN) — As the Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, a Latino group is launching a radio ad in Florida highlighting Republican opposition to the first Hispanic nominee to the high court. The ad, sponsored by Presente.org and Progressive Change Campaign Committee, features past remarks from conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh declaring Sotomayor a 'racist," and attacks Republican Rep. John Mica of the Florida's 7th Congressional District for not denouncing the remarks. Full English translation of the ad: Sonia Sotomayor is set to be the first Latina and Puerto Rican to serve on the...

The Big Fix – Part Three RIGGED, ILLEGAL, RACIAL, and INTRUSIVE Strike One. In violation of Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, President Barack Obama has assumed complete control of the 2010 Census. This Article, which concerns the legislative rather than executive branch of government, stipulates that the “enumeration” be conducted by a commerce official under the supervision of the Senate and the House of Representations. It reads: Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers … . The actual Enumeration shall be...

"Suzanne", a female caller to Mark Levin's show on June 25th, revealed the ominous secret of the Democrat health care reform effort. "I want to tell you that last week I attended a conference on health care reform sponsored by La Raza. And I will tell you that what they had to say, Mark, is scarier than anything that's been said so far on the health care plan. The kind of comments that were made and the notes that I took... they started the conference out by saying "America does not need health care reform, but Latino immigrants need health...

... FRANCISCO arrived in Hempstead, a decaying inner-ring suburb in Nassau County, nine years after his mother. She had come ahead in the early 1990s, as the Salvadoran civil war was ending, leaving Francisco in the care of an aunt until she could save $5,000 to pay a smuggler to ferry him across the border to join her. Francisco was 12 when he crossed from Tijuana to San Diego in 2001, stuffed in the trunk of a Honda next to several strangers. The trip was terrifying, but later he would say it had toughened him for life on Long Island....

No-Brainer choice for Latinos Much is heard about the competition between the Republicans and the Demo/Nihilists for the so called Latino vote. From the standpoint of the average Latino, this should be a “no-brainer,” the Republicans are stewards of two bright and shining beacons: Truth and Morality. The Demo/Nihilists are racists, constantly seeking to put Latinos on the same plantation where they are holding the blacks captive. Author and social observer, Star Parker has examined this phenomenon thoroughly in her book, Back on Uncle Sam’s Plantation. Visit her site at, http://www.urbancure.org/article.asp?id=3141 Here are some brief snips from Ms. Parker’s site:...

Back on May 5, the Mexican government gave their highest award for foreigners - the "Ohtli Award" - to Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza. That award is basically given to putative Americans who help the government of Mexico push their agenda inside the U.S. Per Google's accurate translation, those awards: recognize the contribution of the winners to the empowerment of Mexican communities and Mexican-American in United States (que reconocen la contribución de los galardonados al empoderamiento de las comunidades mexicana y mexicano-americana en Estados Unidos) More here: portal.sre.gob.mx/eua/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=392 Note that Sonia Sotomayor was a member of...

Estrada's nomination for a federal judgeship set off alarm bells among Democrats. There is a group of left-leaning organizations -- People for the American Way, NARAL, the Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the NAACP, and others -- that work closely with Senate Democrats to promote Democratic judicial nominations and kill Republican ones. They were particularly concerned about Estrada. In November, 2001, representatives of those groups met with Democratic Senate staff. One of those staffers then wrote a memo to Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin, informing Durbin that the groups wanted to stall Bush nominees, particularly three they...

More than one in five of all children in the United States are Hispanic – a significant jump from 29 years ago when only about 9 percent of children were Latino, according to a Pew Hispanic report released today. The study, called "Latino Children: A majority are U.S.-Born offspring of Immigrants," states that more than half of the nation's 16 million Latino children are now "second generation," which means they are the U.S.-born children of at least one foreign-born parent. In California the number of second generation Latino children is 62 percent.

Hispanics now make up 22% of all children under the age of 18 in the United States--up from 9% in 1980--and as their numbers have grown, their demographic profile has changed. A majority (52%) of the nation's 16 million Hispanic children are now "second generation," meaning they are the U.S.-born sons or daughters of at least one foreign-born parent, typically someone who came to this country in the immigration wave from Mexico, Central America and South America that began around 1980. Some 11% of Latino children are "first generation"--meaning they themselves are foreign-born. And 37% are "third generation or higher"--meaning...

<p>President Obama's radical new nominee to replace Associate Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, used to serve on the board of LatinoJustice PRLDEF (White House backgrounder), one of the racial grievance groups that helped to sink the judicial nomination of Honduran-born Miguel Estrada in 2003.</p>

Latino legal activists applauded Sotomayor's appointment. "This is a historic moment," said Cesar Perales, executive director of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a New York-based civil rights group, where Sotomayor once served as a board member. "This is the most important Hispanic appointment that has been made in this country's history. It is a recognition that we are coming of age, that we can be one of nine wise people on the Supreme Court, making decisions that affect everyone in this country." During her years on the organization's board during the 1980s, the organization, then known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and...

Slaying of Deputy Jerry Ortiz triggered four-year investigation HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Almost 1,400 law enforcement officials converged on Hawaiian Gardens in a series of pre-dawn raids Thursday as part of the largest federal indictment against a street gang in United States history. Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, Hawaiian Gardens' oldest and most notorious gang, waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community via attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments that werei unsealed Thursday. A total of five indictments charged 147 members and associates of the gang, and federal, state and local law enforcement officials...

HAWAIIAN GARDENS, Calif. (AP) - A Latino street gang waged a racist campaign to eliminate the city’s black residents through attempted murders and other crimes, according to federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday. Five indictments charged a total of 147 members and associates of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang, and federal and local agencies arrested 63 of them by early Thursday, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said at a news conference. Another 35 defendants were already in custody on unrelated charges. Weapons and drugs worth more than $1 million also were seized in what O’Brien called “the largest gang takedown in...

AP) — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama sought Friday to reassure Hispanics that swine flu won't lead to an epidemic of discrimination in the United States just because Mexico has been the epicenter of the outbreak. At a town hall-style meeting at the White House, Obama told about 130 Latino public health professionals and neighborhood volunteers that the nation's plan to fight the flu will not exclude their communities. Even if some residents are here illegally, they will still be able to get medical care for the flu, administration officials assured the group. "We're one country, we're one community. When...

Crimes are going unsolved in Charlotte because immigrants again don't feel safe reporting them, police say. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Rodney Monroe, as part of his 2009 strategic plan, has launched a campaign to repair what he calls the “damaged” relationship between the two groups. The relationship began to crumble in 2006 due to increased immigration enforcement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hispanics made up nearly half of the more than 1 million people who became U.S. citizens last year, according to a Hispanic advocacy group. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said the number of Latinos who became Americans in fiscal year 2008 more than doubled over the previous year, to 461,317. That's nearly half of the record 1,046,539 new citizens overall in 2008, a 58 percent increase from 2007.

Hundreds of immigrant supporters rallied Saturday at a Family Unity forum south of Orlando, decrying deportations that tear apart families and calling for immigration reform. They were pastors from dozens of churches of various denominations, activists and local politicians, and a largely Hispanic crowd that easily overshadowed the sole anti-amnesty protester reported to have been escorted off the property. It was standing-room only inside Pabellón de la Victoria, a Hispanic evangelical church that seats about 1,500 people, as participants listened to U.S. citizens separated from their loved ones. .... A Puerto Rican mother of five told how her Mexican husband...

On a Los Angeles FM radio talk show, the following aired recently: A caller identifying himself as Mohammed said, “I believe that so-called Israel should be annihilated totally, wiped off the map ... I hope that Iran has the gall to nuke and exterminate them so they go back to Europe. “And as long as there is one Palestinian man, woman or child, there will be no peace in Palestine ... as far as I’m concerned, so-called Israel should be exterminated from the face of the earth. That’s my personal opinion. They have no right to exist….” Augustin Cebada, the...

LOS ANGELES — The sharp growth in illegal immigration and increased enforcement of immigration laws have dramatically altered the ethnic composition of offenders sentenced in federal courts. In 2007, Latinos accounted for 40 percent of all those convicted of federal crimes and one third of all federal prison inmates, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan think tank. Nearly half of all Latino offenders, or about 48 percent, were convicted of immigration crimes. Drug offenses were the second-most prevalent charge among Latino federal convicts, according to the report, which was made public on Wednesday. As...

President Obama has decided to bring the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction, a move that incensed House Republicans, who fired off a blistering letter to him Thursday, calling it "outrageous and unprecedented" and a "blatant partisan and political maneuver." The move would shift the chain of command with the bureau and the Commerce Department, where the bureau currently resides. It comes after the Congressional Black Caucus, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and other groups expressed displeasure with Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Gregg, the groups said this week,...

The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that the as-yet-unnamed Census Bureau director will have a direct line to the White House but sought to define the relationship as one in which the director would “work closely with” rather than report to President Obama’s senior staff. ***After black and Hispanic leaders raised concerns over Commerce Secretary-nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to core functions of the Census Bureau, a senior White House official told CQ on Wednesday that the director would report directly to the White House.*** That brought fire Thursday from Republicans, who accused the White House of attempting to gain advantage...

Sure, it’s early yet. Only the first day of February. Lots of time for someone to overtake her. But let’s recognize that Kirsten Gillibrand has taken the lead for the worst piece of political gobbledygook of this young year. As per the Associated Press, here’s what the newly-anointed senator from New York, billed as a “conservative” Democrat, had to say after emerging from a meeting with Latino leaders who had been peeved about her immigration policies: "We need to recognize the heritage that the immigrant community has provided to this country and put policies in place that will reflect that...

Key Points * Exit polls from Election Day indicated that President Barack Obama won 67 percent of the Latino vote, and John McCain 32 percent. This compares to estimates of Latino support for George W. Bush in the range of 39 percent or higher in 2004. In 2000, Bush is thought to have received 35 percent of the Latino vote. * The drop in support among Latinos for Republicans between 2004 and 2008 was part of a broad-based electoral movement away from the GOP, and was hardly specific to that demographic group. McCain received only 57 percent of the white...

A new president takes office on Tuesday. It is time to ask for favors, to settle debts accrued during the campaign season. Latinos, who make up 9 percent of the national electorate, lent their support overwhelmingly to President-elect Barack Obama, voting for him at a rate of 2 to 1 over his Republican rival, Senator John McCain. [snip] Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of the New Democratic Network, a progressive think tank, said that the Latino vote is now too important to be ignored and that might help speed things up in Congress, especially as congressional district lines will be...

Location 2100 Maple Los Angeles, CA INTERESTING POINTS: 1. Interesting that this group has the recourses to rent a permanent facility. (even if it is in downtown) 2. Note the mural there is a man holding a Palestinian flag, leading a group of Hispanic people. 3. This facility just opened this month. Downtown Los Angeles is unbelievably dirty. Trash everywhere and just dirt. Very few light posts so it is dark and creepy. The meeting was supposed to start at 6:00 but at 7;15 a gang looking crowd was developing and since I was alone, I thought it best to...

It was late November when Angel and her boyfriend visited Silent Voices, a pro-life pregnancy resource center (PRC) in Chula Vista, Calif. Angel's menstrual cycle was also late. It wasn't the first time. The sexually active 17-year-old Latina had stopped in at Silent Voices five or six times since 2004 to take a free pregnancy test. Over the years, said Sharon Pearce, the center's executive director, Angel revealed herself bit by bit. From her perfect French manicure to her designer handbag and jeans, it was clear that her family had money. When she wanted a certain kind of car for...

Nearly one in 10 Latino homeowners fell behind in mortgage payments last year, and about 3 percent said they had received a foreclosure notice, a Hispanic research group reported Thursday. The Pew Hispanic Center's survey of Hispanic adults found that 9 percent said they missed a mortgage payment or made a partial payment during the past year. Nearly half of respondents, 47 percent, indicated they were homeowners, a figure consistent with census data that shows 49.5 percent of Hispanics owned their homes in the third quarter of 2008. Among Hispanic renters, 5 percent said they had lived in a home...

While thousands of dogs and cats are being given up by pet owners across the U.S. as times become harder, chickens are gaining popularity as household pets... The rising popularity of the feathered creature is due to the chicken's ability to provide eggs, pest control, fertilizer and eventually meat. To address zoning regulations, homeowners are working to amend local laws ... Some cities like New York, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle already allow chicken to be raised by urban residents

The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations recently presented a report about how hate crimes stacked up in Los Angeles County for the year of 2006. The report came back with some interesting figures on the rising tensions between African-American and Latino communities. Hate crimes directed towards African-Americans have been on the rise leading many to abandon their communities. According to an analysis by Manuel Pastor, a University of California, Santa Cruz professor, the Highland Park area was 80 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic in 1980. By 2000, it was 60 percent Hispanic, 40 percent black.

At the same moment, on the same busy day, the people of unincorporated East Los Angeles celebrated the completion of an "independencia" petition drive for cityhood and the annual pilgrimage of the Miracle of the Bleeding Street Vendor. After crunching some census numbers with my Times colleague Doug Smith, I found out that East Los Angeles had become the most ethnically homogenous place in Southern California. It seemed to be the tragic underside to the happier news we reported last week -- that Southern California suburbs were more racially integrated than ever before. In the center of Southern California, the...

In the past two years, community organizations across the United States mobilized like never before to help Latinos become citizens, register to vote and go to the polls. Now, many of these organizations plan to use that structure to advance the interests of Latinos on issues such as the economy, education and immigration. “The work has just begun,” said David Valladolid, who headed regional efforts to establish Viva Obama clubs and form a coalition with San Diego County's African-American population. The National Association of Latino Elected Officials worked with Spanish-language media and community groups in a get-out-the-vote effort, and it...