"El culto": The Hispano love affair with Pres Obama is frightening

My new American Thinker post.

We Cuban Americans have first hand experience with personality cults. In fact, Latin Americans know a thing or two about cults, from Evita Peron in Argentina to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

All of these cults have something in common: They make people feel good but nothing good happens in the long run.


"El Culto" was in full display in Las Vegas this week.

President Obama was welcomed by hundreds of students screaming "si se puede".  The speech was not very specific but the crowd was so invested in "el culto" that words really don't matter. 


Yes, we have to admit that "el culto"  has overwhelmed too many hispanos.  They just love Obama, no matter what he says or accomplishes. Yes, "el culto" is alive and well,specially among Mexican Americans.


Ironically, President Obama's campaign style speech came on the day that US GDP shrank in the 4th quarter!  


Kind of weird to scream "si se puede" on the day that we learned that the US economy is shrinking not growing.  Wonder how many of those kids invested in "el culto" will find work when they graduate? Most won't but Obama's true believers always blame their misfortune on Bush. Yes, it's always Bush's fault!  Blaming someone else is another symptom of "el culto."


As I posted this week, I support the Rubio immigration plan but the Hispanic love affair with Pres Obama worries me because it makes no sense.


What exactly do Hispanos see in this man?  It can not be results because there are no results. 


President Obama never proposed an immigration plan despite having huge majorities in Congress.  He just took hispanos for granted.  He bet that hispanos would vote for him anyway no matter what. In the end, Obama was right.  He did nothing but hispanos invested in "el culto" reelected him.


Furthermore, "el culto" overlooks that then Senator Obama was one of the US Senators who derailed the work visas in the Kennedy-McCain bill. A very selective memory is another symptom of "el culto"!


Jobs are scarce in Hispanic districts.  We have seen no measurable improvement in Hispanic unemployment under Pres Obama.  "El Culto" gave us a $787 billion stimulus that did not stimulate and trillions of spending with nothing to show for it.  "El Culto" is also leaving our children a huge debt.


The corrupt relationship between the Democratic party and the public teachers' union is keeping Hispano children stuck in bad schools.  Most hispanos are attending big city public schools run by unions that will not introduce reforms, such as giving parents a choice of schools. In fact, Chicago's public schools are so bad that then Senator Obama sent his kids to private schools! 



Add to this the administration's indifference toward Latin America. We are watching economic success stories in Colombia, Peru and Chile. President Bush saw this and proposed free trade agreements.  President Obama opposed all of them.


Overall, it is a bad record but hispanos do not seem to care.  They just voted for the man because the man just keeps telling them what they want to hear.


Let me warn my hispano friends again:  "El culto" is not going to end well.  "El Culto" never does!

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Cubans in Wisconsin book review

We were very happy to get another book review for "Cubanos in Wisconsin".  In this case, the reviewer is website that specializes in everything Wisconsin.  (READ VILLAGE)

Here is the last paragraph of the review:

"This is a great book club selection for Wisconsin readers to spur friendly conversations about childhood memories and lively discussion of political news. No reader of this book will ever again talk about “the Latino vote” and lump Cubans, Mexicans and Colombians together as a monolithic bloc in American public life."

We are very happy with this review because it identifies that this is a book about family and freedom.  

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Immigration debate and Senator Rubio

My new American Thinker post.
Here we go again. 

In Washington, a so called "bipartisan" group of Senators agreed on the outline of an immigration reform package.

In Las Vegas, President Obama gave another campaign speech including the "si se puede" chants.

The devil is still in the details.  I remind you that there is nothing written down or agreed to.  All we have is broad outline from 8 Senators and another campaign speech by President Obama.  

Let me make it very clear.  I hate illegal immigration as much as anybody.  I am a naturalized US citizen and came to the US legally.  The key difference between the US and much of the world is the "rule of law."

At the same time, hating illegal immigration or calling everything "amnesty" is not going to solve the problem.  This is why I've always favored a plan that offers a path to legalization to people who are willing to do a few things.

I said path to legalization NOT citizenship!  A "work visa" is different than US citizenship in my mind. 

I will support the Rubio approach.  Let's hope that the "everything is amnesty" crowd can hit the brakes and understand that this proposal is different.  Asking someone to pay a fine, complete a background check and accept a  probation period is not amnesty.  Asking that after a real effort to secure the border should fix this problem for once and for all.

As Senator Rubio said yesterday, he will not support a proposal that overlooks border security.  He also indicated that the country can not afford adding 11 million people to Obama-Care.

I say this to my fellow conservatives: Let's give the Rubio approach a chance.  Let's put the immigration reform debate behind us so that we can concentrate on talking to Hispanics about the utter failure of Obama economics, indifference toward Latin America and running up a debt that Hispanic children will not afford to pay.

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Peru, the Uribe book and other US-Latin America issues

Fausta Wertz (Fausta's Blog) and Michael Prada (International Center of Freedom and Prosperity).  

We also heard from Cecilia Torres about President Uribe's memoirs.   

We concluded with Jorge Ponce about the life and times of Jose Marti.

Click here for our Tuesday show:

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Whatever happened to the imperial presidency?

This is my new American Thinker post.
 

 President Obama keeps pushing the envelope on executive powers and the left is largely silent.  

Where are all of those "imperial presidency" Democrats who used to complain about President Bush?  I guess that they must be hiding trying to figure out how they are going to explain their intellectual dishonesty.

Yes, they must be hiding with all of those liberals who told us that Guantanamo recruited terrorists or that drones were turning off the locals.

President Obama got the US involved in a war in Libya by going to the UN and not the US Congress.  I'm all for giving the president the to flexibility to react to emergencies but Libya was a preemptive war.   He had time to ask Congress for a resolution.

Second, he went around Congress and offered "special immigration status" to the "dreamers".  I happen to be one of those who thinks that a special arrangement should be made for these young dreamers but it should pass Congress as the Constitution intended it.

 
Third, he appointed 3 people to the NLRB.or the now famous recess appointments.  He did this because he knew that these candidates would not pass Congress.   Fourth,  he appointed Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,  Again, no role for Congress.

A day ago, a Court determined that Obama had exceeded his authority.  It found the appointments unconstitutional.

 
I like the Court's decision.  It is not final and could end up in the Supreme Court.  Nevertheless, the message was sent and  hopefully received at the White House.

Most important, where are the liberals?  Where are the marches?  It would be nice to see a liberal stand up and be intellectually honest.
 

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Pres BO blames Limbaugh & Fox News because Senate Democrats won't pass his gun control bill

Have we not seen this movie before?  Pres BO goes after Rush Limbaugh and Fox News:

'Obama also said one of the biggest factors in the gun-control debate will be how it is shaped by the media.
“If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it,” he said. “I think John Boehner genuinely wanted to get a deal done, but it was hard to do in part because his caucus is more conservative probably than most Republican leaders are, and partly because he is vulnerable to attack for compromising Republican principles and working with Obama.”"


This is outrageous.

First, the statement is so un-presidential.

Second, why doesn't Pres BO talk about the extreme on his side of the aisle?  For example, Roe v Wade?

Third, it is an attack on our free press.  Wonder how Allan Colmes and Juan Williams feel about that?

Fourth, doesn't Pres BO have a majority in the US Senate?  Didn't I just hear that Majority Leader Reid won't be supporting Pres BO's gun proposals?

Anyway, this is pathetic and un-presidential.  On second thought, Pres BO is pathetic and un-presidential.

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The court checks the imperial president

President Obama keeps pushing the envelope on executive powers.  
First, he got the US involved in a war in Libya without going to Congress.  Incredibly, he went to the UN but not the US Congress.

Second, he went around Congress and offered "special immigration status" to the "dreamers".
Third, he appointed 3 people to the NLRB.or the now famous recess appointments.

Fourth,  he appointed Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,

The Court determined that Pres BO had exceeded his authority.  It found the appointments unconstitutional.
I like the Court's decision.  It is not final and could end up in the Supreme Court.  Nevertheless, the message was sent. 

  

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"NO" to women in combat

NO NO NO to girls in combat.....this is PC gone crazy......I hope that women oppose this because it is a very bad idea for many reasons......

My friend Barry Jacobsen knows a thing or two about military service.  He wrote this today about women in combat:

"So why do I think Leon Panetta and (ultimately) the Pentagon brass have surrendered common sense to the pressures of political correctness? Because, simply put, women in general just can’t hack it.

Not that women can’t handle the incredible emotional stress of combat: some can. Nor am I saying that a woman can’t pull a trigger or launch a rocket with as much accuracy as her male counterparts: again, some can. Some women will, if allowed the opportunity, be able to “make the grade” and stand beside their male comrades. Some.
What most women cannot do is carry their own weight. That is to say, the weight of the required equipment EVERY combat infantryman must be able to “hump”."

This is not about equality.  It's common sense.  Women can not carry the equipment that a modern soldier has to travel with.  Again, it's common sense not civil rights.

Again, this is not about equality.  It's about common sense.

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The Libya story must be really bad if Democrats want to relive Iraq & WMDs

My new American Thinker post.

Give an A-plus to Senator Paul and Senator McCain for asking good questions. 

Give a C-minus to Senate Democrats praising Sec Clinton and turning the hearing into "we love how much you've traveled for your country" show.

Isn't traveling the world what the Secretary of State is supposed to do?

Give a big F to Senator Durbin and Senator Murphy for "selectively" reminding us about Iraq & WMD's. 

What a shameful performance from these two men!  

The Benghazi story must be really bad if Democrats want to distract the public with "Bush bashing" about the Iraq War.

Why didn't Sen Durbin or Sen Nelson ask Secretary Clinton about her Iraq War vote?  Who lied to her about WMD's?  Was it her husband President Clinton?   As I recall, President bombed Iraq in December '98 because of WMDs?  or what about The Iraq Liberation Act that President Clinton boasted about in '98?

Can we finally get over the "who lied about WMDs" issue?  I don't think that anybody lied. 

Pres Bush made the right decision to take out Saddam Hussein.  He made that decision in the context of 9-11 and I don't remember Senator Durbin going on TV on the night of the invasion saying that anyone lied.

Let's get back to Benghazi, a terrible episode that killed 4 Americans and was followed by an even worse charade of explanations.

I agree with Sec Clinton that we should find out what happened that day rather than look back.  At the same time, it does not help that the Obama administration is not helping us to find what happened that day.

Click here for a couple of interesting videos:

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Tags: What a pathetic performance today by Secretary Clinton and some Democrats   To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Immigration: Senator Rubio is on the right track

A few days ago, Senator Rubio came forward with an immigration plan that makes sense all around:

"Here’s how I envision it. They would have to come forward. They would have to undergo a background check. They would be fingerprinted. They would have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, maybe even do community service. They would have to prove they’ve been here for an extended period of time. They understand some English and are assimilated. Then most of them would get legal status and be allowed to stay in the country.”"

This plan will accomplish two things:

1) It will preempt the Democrats.  It will force Pres BO and the Dems to put up a plan.  We remind you that Pres BO gave speeches but never called on Democrat majorities to vote on a plan; and,

2) It will be well received by honest employers who would rather hire people legally.

I'm sure that some will call it amnesty.  I disagree because this not free or unconditional.  It is a good start but a lot of work lies ahead.

Click here for the Wednesday show:

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Obama hits the wrong note in inaugural address

This is my new American Thinker post.

Yes, it was an unusually partisan speech.  It was also unnecessary because no one woke up in a partisan mood anyway.  Inaugurations are special days for emphasizing the peaceful transfer of power, an American tradition going back to the very early days of the republic.

I can still remember President Carter turning around and thanking President Ford for everything he did to heal the country.  It was a classy moment and a well deserved bipartisan praise.

I can recall the first President Bush speaking of a "1,000 points of light" and bringing the nation together.  It was good. 

Or what about 41 hugging 43?  That was good, too! 

President Obama blew an opportunity to highlight the Martin Luther King themes that most Americans subscribe to.  It would have been a great today to remind young people that we have a black man in office on the 50th anniversary of The March in Washington.  Wonder if the Rev King would have believed that?

He missed a great chance. 

So why did he do it?  Why is President Obama so tone deaf about the historic importance of an inauguration day?

I think that President Obama is trying to come to the terms with the reality that it's tough to be a big government liberal when there is no money in the treasury.  There are very tough choices ahead and the left won't like any of them.  In other words, he can talk "big liberal" but he ain't going to walk it!

President Obama will have to cut spending because reality is reality.  

President Obama will have to delay the implementation of Obama-Care.  Again, it's not the GOP but the growing realization that Obama-Care is a mess that we can't afford.  It won't be long before Democrats start privately telling the White House to push back the start of the program.  Keep in mind that there are 20 Democrat US Senators up for reelection in 2014.

President Obama will have to take our financial crisis seriously or face another downgrade.  Again, it will be reality not the GOP that will force the change in direction.

President Obama spoke to his base now because reality is coming and coming fast.  The Democrat base is not going to like the speech that President Obama will have to deliver later this year, especially if our GDP continues to grow at a 1-2% range.

Enjoy the speech liberals.  It won't last.  Obama's 2nd term is going to be very hard on liberals.

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Tags: The Obama inauguration speech was too partisan To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Cuba and more of the same repression

We caught up with Alberto De La Cruz of Babalu Blog on Tuesday.   

First, we discussed Hugo Chavez' hearlth.  Chavez must be very ill because no one has seen him in public for a few weeks.  He could not even attend his own inauguration.

Second, we heard about the growing repression against peaceful dissenters like Damas en Blanco, a group of Cuban women who march peacefully every Sunday.

At the end of the day, nothing has changed in Cuba.  It is still a dictatorship and that's all you have to say.

Click to hear our Tuesday show on Cuba with Alberto De La Cruz & Michael Prada:

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Why such a partisan speech?

Frankly, I can't remember much about inauguration speeches in recent years. 

I do recall Pres Carter turning around and graciously thanking Pres Ford for everything that he had done to heal the country after Watergate.  It was classy and very well-deserved praise.  

Later, I remember the first Pres Bush talking about bringing the nation together, or "the 1,000 points of light." 

Today, Pres BO surprised me with such a partisan speech.  It was unnecessary.  Nobody was in a partisan mood except Pres BO.

He did not mention any big themes, except for more of the same about social justice.  "Gay rights" may be an important issue to Pres BO and the left but the people are more interested in jobs.  Also, there was not a word about the deficit, or the silent killer threatening our economy.

Again, I don't get it.  Nobody wanted to hear a partisan speech except Pres BO and some of his most ardent supporters.
 

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Gun control and the 2nd Amendment

We spoke today with Clayton Moore about gun control, the 2nd Amendment and mental health.  We discussed the history of the 2nd Amendment and why The Founding Fathers put it in the US Constitution.  Also, Clayton does not think that Pres BO's executive orders are serious or very significant.

Clayton wrote a book about his brother and mental health.  It is "My brother Ron" and it tells us about we've allowed thousands of dangerous to walk the streets.

Click here for our Monday show with Clayton Cramer:

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Pres BO starts Part 2 with a very divided country

Day 1 of the second term starts today.  We congratulate Pres BO but confess that there are some serious problems ahead:

First, Pres BO's approvals are around 50%.  In other words, this is a 50-50 nation again.

Second, Pres BO has a very partisan tone these days.  He does not look like a man who wants to unite the country.  Instead, he comes across as a man who wants to settle scores.

Third, foreign policy will be the "wildcard" of 2013.  I don't know what will happen in the Middle East but it could go really bad.

Fourth, Pres BO's indifference toward spending or our financial crisis is very troubling.  Doesn't he understand that a country can not continue to run these deficits?  The financial crisis will limit his options!

Again, we wish Pres BO well but we would also like to see a little bit more respect for opposing points of view.

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The debt ceiling and getting very scared again

We are headed to the next "crisis" or the debt ceiling debate.  

We spoke with Dr Ileana Johnson on Friday and she commented on "the debt ceiling and fear mongering":

"What if the debt limit is reached and not raised? Perhaps bills will be paid in the order in which they are received; bills to be paid will be prioritized; other bills would go into an unpaid and delayed bills category. Such decisions would be similar to those made by everyday Americans who have to live on a limited budget and within their means. Would prioritizing be a glaring example of U.S. government’s failure to meet its commitments? GAO said in 1985 that the “Treasury is free to liquidate obligations in any order it finds will best serve the interests of the United States.” But the Treasury thinks that all obligations have equal footing according to the law.

It is fear mongering to say that the U.S. cannot pay its bills if the debt ceiling is not raised again. “The Treasury has sufficient resources to liquidate all obligations arising from discretionary and mandatory (direct) spending, including interest payments on the debt.” (CRS, p. 10)"

Here is an idea.  Let's try living within our means for a change.  Let's prioritize our responsibilities and use our tax resources to meet them.

My point is simple:  Bite the bullet now or we will have to bite a much bigger bullet down the road.  In other words, we can not avoid biting the bullet! 

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The president needs to get serious and stop the campaign speeches

President Obama put on quite a show on Wednesday.  He even included some cute little kids in the act, a pathetic reminder that it's always about promoting a political agenda with this crowd in the White House.

What did President Obama propose?  Nothing consequential.   Don't expect the Senate Democrats to put any of this to a vote.  And it's worse at the GOP House.

President Obama wants to enforce gun laws.  My question is simple:  Why weren't we enforcing these laws before?

As the father of three 20-something sons, let me say this:  It ain't about guns!  Guns don't cause kids to go crazy and kill other kids.

I am a lot more concerned about the filth and trash that these kids watch in movies and video games: 

"NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said after the shooting. "A child growing up in America witnesses 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18."  (WashingtonTimes)

Let me repeat:  As a father of boys, I was always a lot more concerned about the stuff that my kids were watching than the guns at home or elsewhere.

We can't continue to overlook the filth and violence in movies and games.  I would also add that aborting 1 million babies does not communicate "a respect for life" to our kids either.

Yes, everyone was appalled by the Newtown tragedy.  We do not want a repeat of that terrible incident.

Just as important, we also want a president who is serious and wants to have a complete discussion not just deliver another campaign speech.

On school violence, and every other issue, someone needs to remind President Obama that he won the election and it's time to govern and get serious.

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