Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has tapped a Republican Senator Abel Maldonado to fill the lieutenant governor's vacancy.  Maldonado, is a 42-year-old  Republican whose family emigrated from Mexico. If confirmed, Maldonado would be the only Latino holding statewide office and the first Republican Latino to do so since 1875.

From Patrick Dorinson - Politico's Daily Debate, The Arena

 

Patrick Dorinson, Political communications strategist and commentator:

 

As employment in California's construction industry dropped 18.5% from 2008 and lost 200,000 jobs, the Federal Highway Administration has approved California's minority business contracting plan that purposely excludes Caucasians, Indians, and Latinos. 

In February 2009, California lost 116,000 jobs, 30,900 of those in construction.  This brought the total number of unemployed Californians to 1,950,000.  That is an increase of 824,000 from February of last year.  

The Federal Highway Administration's decision to openly discriminate by awarding public contracts and taxpayer money on the basis on race ignores the fact that every Californian pays taxes.  The economic downturn has affected everyone without regard to race or ethnicity.
 
President Obama has called for a new age of responsibility, yet its clear that this policy by his own administration is only reinforcing racial differences and giving preference without considering what counts - ability, merit, and the best deal for the taxpayer.   
 
 
Federal Highway Administration: Latinos & Indians Need Not Apply

"The Federal Highway Administration this week formally approved the department's minority business contracting plan. It seeks to award more transportation contracts to firms owned by blacks, Asians, Native Americans and women as part of an ongoing effort to increase diversity. ... "It does not apply to firms operated by Hispanics or those whose origins are from India. The department says those groups already are sufficiently represented in state highway contracts." (Judy Lin, "California Diversity Push Could Run Afoul Of State Law," Associated Press, 4/3/09)  

If State Does Not Comply: "Could Result In The ‘Withholding [Of] Federal Funds"

"A Feb. 25 letter from the Federal Highway Administration to Kempton granted conditional approval to California's minority hiring guidelines but also said failure to implement the goal could result in the ‘withholding federal funds.'  (Judy Lin, "California Diversity Push Could Run Afoul Of State Law," Associated Press, 4/3/09)

As a presidential candidate, Obama promised to make immigration reform his top priority.  Then he addressed Congress earlier this year and laid out his priorities- a 5,900 word speech that took over an hour to deliver and failed to include a single mention of immigration, immigration reform, or Latinos/Hispanics of our immigrant community.

At a townhall meeting in Los Angeles, as part of Obama’s recent trip to southern California, President Obama claimed to want to work with leaders in congress to come up with a comprehensive immigration plan later this year.  This shortly followed up by Obama’s Vice President who stated, “It’s difficult to tell a constituency while unemployment is rising, they’re losing their jobs and their homes, that what we should do is in fact legalize (illegal immigrants) and stop all deportation.” 

But for the past year hasn’t our economy been in a slump?  People have been losing their jobs, homes, and wasn’t it last June when the price for a gallon of gasoline hit above $4? 

It if was good enough for Obama to make the promises then, why isn’t it good enough for him to keep his promises now?

After a recent public relations flap, where U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her Russian counterpart a “reset” button with an ironic misspelling, one would have thought that more research and preparation was in order for Clinton and her state department.  But the opposite seems to be true after Clinton, on a trip to Mexico, told a group gathered outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, “You have a marvelous virgin!”

If that wasn’t a big enough insult, while viewing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the tilma, Clinton asked Msgr. Diego Monroy, “who painted it?”  Msgr. Monroy responded “God!”

It seems the computer savvy of the Obama campaign has not made its way to the State Department, as a quick google search would have revealed some important details to Clinton:

“Our Lady of Guadalupe is an aspect of the Virgin Mary, who is believed to have appeared to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec convert to Roman Catholicism in 1531. According to the traditional account, Juan Diego was walking between his village and Mexico City on December 12, 1531 when Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared, speaking to him in his native Nahuatl language. She told him to build a church at the site.

 “When Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, the bishop did not believe him, asking for a miraculous sign. Although it was winter, the Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers, and Spanish roses bloomed right at his feet.

“When Juan Diego presented these to the bishop, the roses fell from his apron (the Tilma) and an icon of the Virgin was miraculously imprinted on the cloth.”  http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/mexico-city-basilica-guadalupe.htm

With recent headlines like: “Obama’s Bear Market, Earmarks-Schmearmarks, Mortgage Plan Won’t Help Many California Homeowners, Obama’s Radicalism Is Killing The Dow, Obama’s Budget: Wanton Recklessness, White House Rethinks Tax Hikes, President Barack Obama Dislikes Britain, and Obama’s Blockbuster Gift For Brown To Reaffirm The ‘Special Relationship’: 25 DVDs,” you have to wonder why his Obama failing so miserably?  

University of Wisconsin emeritus professor and presidential scholar Charles Jones, recent noted that “during a time of economic crisis, Obama also has no former company chief executive officer or cabinet member or nominee with significant private business experience.”  

With a substantial economic spending packages, new government programs, and an uncertain economic market, Obama’s cabinet seems filled with people who don’t have managerial experience, but instead have spend a majority of this time working for the government.  

“Whatever else they are, however good they are, people with legislative experience...know very little about executive management,” Jones said.  “So there is a need for some demonstration that the folks that are taking over all of these pieces that are in the stimulus package...are able and capable of dealing with it.”  (Chuck Raasch, “Cabinet Short On Managerial Experience,” Gannett News Service, 3/8/09)  

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 20 percent since Inauguration Day, the fastest drop under a newly elected president in at least 90 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge has lost 53 percent from its October 2007 record of 14,164.53, slipping 4.1 percent to 6,594.44 yesterday.

“More than $1.6 trillion has been erased from U.S. equities since Jan. 20 as mounting bank losses and rising unemployment convinced investors the recession is getting worse. The president is in danger of breaking a pattern in which the Dow rallied 9.8 percent on average in the 12 months after a Democrat captured the White House, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
...

“The Dow average has dropped 31 percent since Obama’s election. The 30-stock gauge trades at 8.04 times annual earnings, the cheapest since 1995 and down from 10.06 times on Inauguration Day.”
...

“Herbert Hoover

“The crash of 1929 occurred seven months into the administration of Herbert Hoover, who presided over an 89 percent plunge in the Dow between September 1929 and July 1932, the steepest retreat ever.

“Only twice has the benchmark gauge slipped in the 12 months after the election of a Democratic president since 1900, after Woodrow Wilson’s victory in 1912 and Jimmy Carter’s in 1976.
...

“‘Obama should be listening to the stock market more than talking to it,’ said Kenneth Fisher, the billionaire chairman of Woodside, California-based Fisher Investments Inc., which oversees $22 billion. “He hasn’t gotten out of the gate well.’”

(Editorial, “‘Obama’s Bear Market’ Punishes Investors As Dow Slumps,” Bloomberg, 3/6/09)  

“The Obama administration's plan to stave off foreclosures could fall flat in California, where nearly one-third of mortgage holders are underwater on their loans -- many of them by amounts that would disqualify them for government-sponsored refinancing.

“The problem is likely to be especially acute in areas like the Inland Empire, where homes have lost more than 40% of their value in the last year and nearly half the homeowners owe more on their loans than the properties are worth.

"‘They're underwater by six figures in many cases,’ said Greg McBride, a senior analyst with Bankrate.com. "‘Many homeowners in Southern California are left to twist in the wind.’”

(E. Scott Reckard and Peter Hong, “Obama Plan To Prevent Foreclosures Won’t Help Many California Homeowners,” Los Angeles Times, 3/5/09)

In Obama's first address to a joint session of congress he talked about tax breaks, healthcare, education, Afghanistan, Pakistan, global warming, and even finding a cure for cancer "in our time."  But 5900 words later, it's clear that Obama forgot something.  Big time.   
 
In the 60 approximate minutes of his address, President Obama failed to give even seconds to mention Latinos, Hispanics, or immigration reform.

Link to Obama's Speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-Address-to-Joint-Session-of-Congress/

Remember Obama's Comments When He Spoke At The National Council Of La Raza:

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a President who won't walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular."

So much for change we can believe in.  It's clear that Obama's words don't matter and his old campaign rhetoric will remain just what it seemed to be at the time - empty.
 

http://www.nclr.org/content/viewpoints/detail/52978/

Senator Barack Obama's Remarks at the 2008 Annual Conference:

...
Now, I know Senator McCain used to buck his party on immigration by fighting for comprehensive reform - and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he abandoned his courageous stance, and said that he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote.

Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a President who won't walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular. And that's the commitment I'm making to you. I marched with you in the streets of Chicago. I fought with you in the Senate for comprehensive immigration reform. And I will make it a top priority in my first year as President. Not just because we need to secure our borders and get control of who comes into our country. And not just because we have to crack down on employers abusing undocumented immigrants. But because we have to finally bring those 12 million people out of the shadows.

...

After cutting ties with Israel, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has become an open supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah.  The authors of a new book, “The Threat Closer To Home: Hugo Chavez And The War Against America,” notes that besides the monetary support, Chavez is also providing a safe refuge for these terrorists. 

The U.S. State Department still believes that Iranian operatives were behind the two terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires -  the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center. 

Chavez recently welcomed Russian warships to his country, and has frequently visited with Fidel Castro and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There is growing fear among U.S. allies that Hezbollah is establishing a growing number of terrorist cells in South America. 

Let’s see how Obama’s policy of meeting without preconditions, described during the campaign, holds up to the reality of international terrorism and diplomacy.  


 

Link to complete article written by: Sholomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent .