| #5 - Cuba Lifts Ban on Some Consumer
Electronics but Where’s the Beef?
Cubans will be able to purchase a toaster by 2010! They are lifting the ban on computers, DVD players and microwaves. Is a new Cuba arising? As Lee Corso says on ESPN, “Not so fast my friend.” Monthly wages in Cuba average $17 a month so who will be able to afford these items? Practically nobody that’s who. When you consider also that the State will also mark up these electrical items up to 200 percent, this smacks more of a political ploy than real reform. Remittances from Cuban Americans are limited as well. Why are they “opening up?” According to Economist magazine, Venezuela is providing aid that is allowing the government to modernize (relative term) their electrical grid. Irregardless, change is change and perhaps these very baby steps will eventually allow democracy to crawl, then walk, in Cuba.
#6 - Police in Raleigh, NC are Warning People
About Robberies Targeting Hispanics
I wonder if this one will make the Lou Dobbs report or the O’Reilly Factor? Last week I reported to you that hate crimes against Latinos were on the rise and now the Raleigh, NC Police Department is verifying this to be true. According to a report in the News & Observer, there have been over 30 robberies in the past few months that target Latinos as victims. Imagine how many Hispanics will be calling in to report crimes if the county sherrif’s department is approved by ICE to enforce immigrations. They are presently trying to get this approval. Carlos Martinez, 24 was shot to death by a masked gunman demanding cash. If you own a company or are in charge of safety, you should use a safety talk to teach your Latino workers what to do in the event of a crime against them. This is a legitimate safety issue. After all, who cares more about them than their company, and of course, what’s more dangerous than death?
COMMENTARY (con't from page 1)
Does the endorsement actually help Obama with Latinos? I don’t think so. Here’s why. Latinos are loyal. Governor Richardson came to national political prominence in Bill
Clinton’s administration and the public perception was that of good friends and political allies. His endorsement of Obama is as close to a defection as one can get without it actually being one. The Clinton - Richardson bond is broken. Granted, Hillary didn’t give him his breaks but Latinos tend to see Hillary and Bill Clinton as one entity. One of the reasons, among many, that they are loyal to Hillary is because, as many Latinos see it, she was loyal to her husband in tough times. Hillary won both Texas and California on the strength of the Latino vote. Latinos will find it difficult to rally around someone they view as disloyal.
Puerto Rico is the only remaining Democratic primary of Latino significance and Governor Richardson is Mexican-American and he will have very little, if any, resonance with the Puerto Rican people. 63 delegates are at stake in Puerto Rico.
When Gov. Richardson first introduced his candidacy in 2007 he had to tell Latinos he was Latino. This, in part, is due to his last name and the fact that his father was an American living in Mexico, who married his Mexican secretary. Upon finding out she was pregnant, he sent her to the United States to have the baby. Gov. Richardson was raised in Mexico until, on his 13th birthday, he was sent to a boarding school in Massachusetts. When he first ran for political office in New Mexico, his aides wanted him to use his mother’s last name as well, but he said that “Richardson López” wouldn’t fit on a bumper sticker. Once the GOP gets that bit of news, they will be more than happy to remind Latinos. I mean, if you are truly Latino, you want it to show somewhere in your name. (commentary continues on page 4)
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