Debate Sin Fronteras

A new poll brings to light big differences in who whites, blacks, and Hispanics blame for the recession, whether the nation's economic policies have us on the right track, and how optimistic (or not) they are that things will get better. Curiously enough, the groups who were hardest hit by recession, and who are the least likely to hold stocks, investments, and retirement accounts, are also the most optimistic for the future.

The national survey, conducted for the Washington Post with the help of the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, has been strung out into a series of stories by the WaPo. One story, for instance, highlights the low levels of blacks and Hispanics owning stocks, bonds, or mutual funds: Only one in four blacks and one in six Hispanics had any. Also, less than half (46% of blacks and just 32% of Hispanics) said that they had an IRA or any similar retirement account. Meanwhile...

Read More: Race & Recession: How Skin Color Affects One's Perception of the Economy

A bilingual brain is a healthy brain. (Un cerebro bilingüe es un cerebro sano.)

Speakers of two languages may have extra defenses against the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease—that’s according to new research announced this weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, DC. Psychologist Ellen Bialystok and her team studied more than 200 Alzheimer’s patients with about the same level of mental acumen, about half of whom were bilingual and half of whom were monolingual. The result: On average, the speakers of multiple languages had been diagnosed four years later in their lives. Says Bialystok:

Read More: Alzheimer’s Study: Bilingual Brains Are Dementia-Resistant

What makes for the difference between the views of whites and those of blacks and Hispanics? The Post suggests it's Obama, both the man and his policies.

While he's done little to nothing in the eyes of many non-college educated whites to change their entrenched views of which party best protects their interests, his presence apparently has made a difference for blacks and Hispanics.

Analysts who study black prosperity say the optimism is rooted in long experience with hard times. They say that now many African Americans sense attention to their struggles at the highest levels of government, something that was not evident before the recession.

Other surveys have found that African Americans were encouraged by the election of President Obama, whose policies to expand health-care coverage and increase education aid are likely to help them the most, given their past struggles...

Read More: Obama Makes Blacks, Hispanics Upbeat, Whites Less So, On Economy

The Census Bureau rolled out state-level data for four more states this week. One thing they have in common is a burgeoning Hispanic population. That growth will complicate the redistricting process in both Republicans' biggest prize, Texas, and in the Democrats' best redistricting opportunity, Illinois.

-- Texas is a majority-minority state for the first time in a redistricting period, which could complicate Republicans' hopes for a partisan gerrymander - - and make the state competitive for Democrats in future years. Whites now account for just 45 percent of the state's population, down from 52 percent a decade ago. The Hispanic population is now 38 percent of the total population - - growing by 42 percent -- while the African-American population grew slightly and is now 12 percent of the total population.

The state gained four congressional seats in reapportionment, largely due to minority growth. Republicans in control of redistricting this time around may struggle to do better than break even, and will likely have to add two Hispanic districts to the map, one in the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio and the other near Houston.

The new data also suggests that Texas Republicans will need to effectively compete for the Hispanic vote in the future to win statewide contests. As more Latinos turn 18, become citizens, and register to vote, Texas could become a swing state sooner rather than later if Republicans don't make additional inroads with the Hispanic electorate.

Read More: Census Quick Cuts: Hispanic Growth All Over

The study, which consisted of 1,100 participants, that while most respondents (57%) stated that U.S. companies show great respect for them, a startling 42% said these companies demonstrate little respect for them.  Considering the lengths to which many U.S. companies have gone to attract Hispanic 
consumers, it is noteworthy that close to half of those consumers perceive a lack of respect in the marketplace.

Lower income Hispanics were the most critical of U.S. companies, while higher income Hispanics generally had a positive regard for them.

Read More: STUDY: Many Hispanic Consumers Perceive Lack of Respect in the Marketplace

The 2010 Census offered proof that the old Texas mythology is now part of history, revealing a state that is increasingly urban and Latino.

Texas' largest cities grew larger and more diverse, as did many suburban counties, part of what Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg calls "this accelerating demographic revolution."

"The number of Anglos is falling more rapidly than one would expect, and the number of Latinos is rising more rapidly," Klineberg said.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its first detailed look at Texas on Thursday, showing that the state's rapid growth over the past decade was almost entirely concentrated in its major urban areas

Read More: Trends show Texas increasingly urban and Latino

Racial segregation in the U.S. housing market has ebbed since its peak, around 1960. But it can be hard to find a truly integrated American neighborhood, according to demographer John Logan of Brown University, who has been has been parsing the latest census data.

"Black-white segregation is a phenomenon that is dragging on and on," Logan tells NPR's Steve Inskeep.

And instead of gaining momentum, the rate of integration seems to be slowing down, in Logan's view. Asked about the reason for that slowdown, Logan said that he sees one important factor.

Read More: Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On'

State legislators in Arizona are drawing more fire with a proposal that requires hospital workers to check whether patients are illegal in the country to report to federal officials.
For state sen. Don Shotter the bill is good, it is help the state to balance its budget.

"We need to find ways to cut spending and we must find ways to save," the Republican lawmaker said.

Shotter said that he would like to be compassionate to all people but he feels that "charity begins at home and we must start by taking care of our own."

Arizona has one of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country, increasing from 330,000 in 2000 to 560,000 in 2008, according to Statistics by the Department of Homeland Security.

Read More: Hispanic Faith Leader Express Concerns on Immigration Bill

Super Bowl XLV was the most-watched television program of all time, thanks in large part to a big jump in the number of Hispanics, African Americans and females who tuned into professional football’s biggest game.

Showing that fútbol (soccer) is not the only game in town, about 10 million Hispanic viewers watched Super Bowl XLV, up from 8.3 million in 2010, according to Nielsen.

Read More: 10 Mil Hispanics Tune Into Super Bowl

In the third night of man vs. machine on Jeopardy, IBM's Watson supercomputer trounced its champion opponents.

After a slow start, with the computer's human opponents outpacing Watson, the supercomputer made a decisive comeback. At the end of the final game, Watson came away with the big win, racking up a total of $77,147, compared with $24,000 for Ken Jennings and $21,600 for Brad Rutter.

In the show's IBM Challenge, the machine may have faltered in a few categories, but was faster to the buzzer and more knowledgeable than the game show's human champions.

Read More: Machine Beats Out Man