Monthly Archives: September 2010

Meet Over 150 Candidates on Saturday at GRB

Posted on September 16, 2010 | Comments Off

From the League of Women Voters-Houston:

(Houston, Texas)  – The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area and the American Society of Civil Engineers are set to host two debates, a candidate meet-and-greet, and infrastructure townhall meetings during the Infrastructure Day Houston (I-Day) event at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Sat., Sept. 18, 2010.  The first of two debates will begin at 6:00pm.  Candidate meet-and-greet opportunities and infrastructure townhall meetings will begin as early as at 3:00 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

The League is hosting and facilitating two debates for the offices of the Harris County Judge and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.  Elisabeth MacNamara, National President of the League of Women Voters of the United States, is introducing the candidates.  Laurie Johnson, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, is moderating the debates.  The Tax Assessor-Collector debate with Don Sumners and Diane Trautman is from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.  The County Judge Debate with Ed Emmett and Gordon Quan is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Prior to the debates, the candidate meet-and-greet and the infrastructure-related townhall meetings will run from 3:00 to 5:30 pm.  Voters will be able to meet over 150 candidates running for public office in Harris County for the election being held on November 2, 2010.  The townhall meetings will focus on topics including: Transportation, Energy, Ports and Airports, and Storm and Waste Water.  Experts, including Dr. John Lienhard, host of the Engines of Our Ingenuity program on National Public Radio, will lead the discussions and information sessions.

Free t-shirts will be given at the door for the first 100 attendees.  For more information on the event, visit our website www.lwvhouston.org.

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Posted in LatinoVote '10, Para La Gente

Save the Children, Vote Bill White.

Posted on September 16, 2010 | Comments Off

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Posted in LatinoVote '10, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege

Obama: No Se Olviden

Posted on September 16, 2010 | Comments Off

President Obama probably said the right words at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Gala last night.

“You have every right to keep the heat on me and the Democrats, and I hope you do. That’s how our political process works,” Obama said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s awards dinner. “But don’t forget who is standing with you, and who is standing against you. Don’t ever believe that this election coming up doesn’t matter. “

There’s nothing wrong with reminding Latino Democrats that, although immigration reform has been stalled primarily because of Republican obstructionism, that it is still the Democrats who have led on other policies that have benefited the Latino community.

Obama urged Hispanics to remember who extended health care to millions of children, provided Pell Grants for Latino students and enacted credit card reform and created a new agency to protect consumers from predatory lending, including millions of immigrants who send money to relatives in their native countries.

“Don’t forget who your friends are,” he said. “No se olviden” — Spanish for “Don’t forget.”

While many of us have been (and have shown) our anger and frustration at the lack of movement in immigration reform and the Republican hate machine’s vilification of Latinos, generally and immigrants specifically, the bottom line is that all that the Obama Administration has produced and won would not have happened with Republicans in power.

We’re less than 50 days away from Election Day, voting from everything from the Senate and House down to the Schoolhouse. As we continue lobbying for the DREAM Act and DADT Repeal, we must continue working for Democratic victories for continued progress.

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Posted in DREAM Act, Immigration, LatinoVote '10, Para La Gente, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege

How’s That Deep End, Debbie?

Posted on September 15, 2010 | Comments Off

Debbie Riddle seems to enjoy falling off of the deep end as she did on CNN with Anderson Cooper  recently. The Texas Trib had an interview with her today. Of course, instead of balancing it with her challenger Brad Neal, it was just free advertising time in which Riddle took on the “liberal, progressive, Godless” folks in her usual nutty way. Thanks, Texas Tribune!

I wish the Trib would have asked if immigration is a form of Godlessness.

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Posted in DREAM Act, Immigration, LatinoVote '10, Republinutiness, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege

What Was I Saying About Coalitions?

Posted on September 14, 2010 | Comments Off

Over a year ago, I wrote a post about the need for a Latino/GLBT coalition as the national debate on everything from DADT to CIR to DREAM Act to same sex marriages had come to the forefront. Obviously, both groups have been feeling a little fed up with how business has been conducted in Washington around these issues.

Well, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the opportunity for a legislative coalition is available now more than ever as Reid plans to offer up the DREAM Act as part of the Defense Authorization Act. Yes, the same Defense Authorization Act which includes a repeal of Dont’t Ask Don’t Tell.

It is no longer “hurry up and wait,” it’s hurry up, unite and get this passed! But we will face push back from Republicans, Tea Party, designated hate groups posing as think tanks, etc.  Republicans can either play it smart and allow the amendments to pass without much debate, or they can play it stupid and allow Latinos to rally around one of the top 2 issues of the Latino electorate.

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Posted in DREAM Act, Immigration, LatinoVote '10, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege

Scenes From Born in East L.A.

Posted on September 14, 2010 | Comments Off

Well, those scenes are definitely coming to life given the deportation of a U.S. Citizen (again) at the hands of overzealous immigration agents.

The story of Luis Alberto Delgado is just one of too many stories in which someone with papers gets thrown out of their own country. And if the Feds are doing it, you can sure as heck take it as fact that it is and will continue happening with the mismanagement and ineffectiveness of 287(g) and Secure Communities.

And just how ineffective are the Feds?

Estimates of the number of U.S. citizens deported from the U.S. vary widely, and such statistics are not officially tracked by U.S. immigration officials, who recently adopted guidelines designed to prevent such deportations.

I’m sure these guidelines are pointed toward local law enforcement, which ICE knows full-well are error-prone in their record-keeping.

Anyway, when you try to read the article, do try to avoid the comments. The RepubliBaggers are at it, even questioning this poor guy’s commitment to wanting to be American, which goes to show that the Republican way of thinking is all about race and ethnicity and has little to do with “security.”

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Posted in DREAM Act, Immigration, LatinoVote '10, Republinutiness, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege

Carlos Guerra Day in SA – Dinner on 9-24

Posted on September 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

My friends, this is one event and fundraiser worthy of your financial support. Can you give $10, $50, $100? And if you can give more, even better! Carlos Guerra has committed to endowing a scholarship in his name for the Texas A&M Kingsville Communications/Theatre Arts Department to help South Texas kids get their start at a top-notch South Texas university. Carlos is committed to creating the next generation of media talent and this endeavor is just the beginning.  Buy your tickets here.

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Posted in DC Chicanos, DC Ojo, Higher Education, Your Wallet

Thoughts on Viernes…09102010

Posted on September 10, 2010 | Comments Off

JULIET for HISD

Earlier this week, my good friend Juliet Stipeche announced that she was in the running in the November special election for Houston ISD School Board District 8. If anyone is in it for the kids and the teachers,  it’s Juliet.

Some of you will recall she gave it a good run during the Democratic Primary for a judicial position and was a major volunteer in the iYa Es Hora! Census program; and, she’s already hit the ground running earning various endorsements and nods from supporters. Stay tuned!

Quan’s Lifetime in Houston

It really is bothersome when a reporter tries to challenge a candidate’s statement based on trivial things. For instance, AAA-Fund blog has a post on a recent write-up by a local Chron reporter who challenged candidate for County Judge Gordon Quan’s lifetime in Houston because he arrived here at age 3 during some tumultuous times in his country of birth. As if being in Houston since age 3 isn’t a lifetime for a middle aged person?  If the purpose of the article is to pretend to be “politifact” then I deem it a major failure.

As it stands, many children of immigrants are going through similar circumstances, brought here by their parents for better opportunities. And it is indeed a fact that the only life some of these kids have known and will remember is that of being here in the U.S. And yes, right-wingers (and some press folks) will challenge that as being a “lifetime,” but only because they can’t find anything else to challenge one on.

As far as Gordon Quan is concerned, his life in Houston hasn’t been one of being “hunk’rd down,” it’s been one of moving forward and making something of himself and helping others do the same. Maybe that should be reported at length?

Steve Jordan’s Legacy Continues

Esteban “Steve” Jordan’s sons continue their dad’s legacy and the group Rio Jordan. Hector Saldana has a great article on Rio Jordan and the Jordan boys. Check it out.

Fiestas Patrias Parade – 10AM – Texas @ Hamilton

See you at the parade! Have a good weekend.


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Posted in Thoughts on Viernes

Rick Perry’s Slush Fund FAIL

Posted on September 8, 2010 | Comments Off

Rick Perry touted his Texas Enterprise Fund as a means of attracting companies to Texas to create jobs. According to Texans for Public Justice, not only did Perry fail to bring jobs, but his track record worsened.

Two-thirds of the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) projects that faced job-creation targets by 2009 failed to deliver the jobs that they originally promised in exchange for $368 million in public funding, a new Texans for Public Justice study finds. This marks a sharp increase from the 42 percent of TEF projects that were so compromised just one year earlier.

Basically, this would make the TEF a political slush fund for corporate hand-outs to Rick Perry’s buddies. According to facts provided by the Bill White campaign:

The Texas Enterprise Fund was also a part of Perry’s cash for favors scandal. Perry awarded $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars to Sino Swearingen, a company founded by Doug Jaffe. Jaffe was one of two business partners who helped Rick Perry personally pocket $500,000 in ill-gotten gains. Later, after Perry had pocketed the cash, the $2.5 million handout was terminated.

Rick Perry gave taxpayer-funded subsidies totaling $408 million to nearly 70 hand-picked companies. Of 50 subsidy contracts reviewed, Texans for Public Justice found that 14 contracts had been amended to reduce the companies’ obligations by about a third; 6 had been terminated altogether; and 19 were non-performing, troubled or weak. Only 11 companies were performing.

Even worse, is the appearance of kick-backs for contributions.

The Texas Enterprise Fund, Rick Perry’s pet program, has been questionable from the start.  One of the first companies picked by Perry to receive $35 million in taxpayer dollars was was the failing drug company Lexicon, whose major investors were among Perry’s major campaign contributors.

Perry gave $35 million in taxpayer dollars to subprime lenders Countrywide and Washington Mutual. Perry has also given two subsidies to Caterpillar, the company whose largest dealer is a Perry campaign fundraiser, political appointee and state contractor.

Bill White has a simple solution that makes a lot of sense.

White has said that decisions about how to allocate business incentive dollars should be in the hands of local and regional businesspeople rather than in the governor’s office.

Imagine that…local control.

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Posted in LatinoVote '10, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege, Your Wallet

Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez Cites Real Border Security in Bill White Endorsement

Posted on September 7, 2010 | Comments Off

“Border security isn’t just a border area issue in our state. There are eight major drug routes in the United States, and three of them go through Dallas. We need to do whatever is necessary to stop the flow of drugs, money and violence. Bill White will act, and his border security plan will be effective.”

And with that, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez endorsed Bill White for Governor.

Now, this is the type of endorsement I like to read. The “border violence” problem goes beyond the border because the gun-fights on the other side are all about who gets to cross to our side and use the drug routes to feed the demand for drugs on this side of the border.

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Posted in Immigration, Texas Dems 2010, Texas Lege