Maduro is the real loser in Venezuela

My new American Thinker post.
  

What a lousy morning.  The 6am alarm went off and I heard on the radio that Maduro had won the election - 50.7% of the vote.

Maduro now faces two insurmountable problems:

1) Capriles and the opposition have not conceded.  They shouldn't.  There is evidence of fraud all over. My friend Daniel Duquenal in Venezuela has been reporting minute by minute about the election. He will join me later today on the radio.

Let's hope that Jay Carney waits a few days before he claims that Maduro won.He killed the opposition last October when he put the US behind the results.

2) 50.7% is no mandate, as Pres Obama learned in November. 

Venezuela faces a long list of very serious problems and having "Chaviztas" steal the election won't fix them.

Venezuela is suffering from chronic power outages.  Just ask anyone who lives there.  My parents have friends in Caracas and the lights go out so often that it is a joke.

The infrastructure is crumbling because of the corruption and irrational behavior of the Chavez regime.

There are unfinished public works projects all over, another indication of the impulsive nature of a dictator who was more concerned with headlines than results.

Add to all of this the double-digit inflation that every Venezuelan housewife can tell you about plus food and medicine shortages that are reminiscent of Cuba.

There is rampant crime, homicides and kidnappings. Caracas is very unsafe, unless you are a government official protected by guards.

Last, but not least, there are real questions about the legitimacy of Chavez' inauguration, i.e. nobody saw him publicly.  Did he raise his hand from a casket?

We've been critical of President Obama's indifference toward Latin America. Yesterday's election offers the US a chance to stand up for the integrity of democracy in a very important country.

---

Tags: Maduro is the real loser in Venezuela  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Are blacks on board for immigration reform?

My new American Thinker post.

We know this about immigration reform & Democrats:

1) they are very good at giving speeches calling for reform; and,

2) they don't like "guest worker visas."

We may be learning something new, specifically that blacks are not crazy about legalizing 10 million people after all.

I found this article so interesting:

"Three members of the United States Commission on Civil Rights wrote on Thursday to Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to express their belief that amnesty or legalization of some 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. will hurt the black community.

"In light of recent debates on comprehensive immigration reform, we are writing to address a rarely-discussed effect of granting legal status or effective amnesty to illegal immigrants," the three Civil Rights Commission members wrote. "Such grant of legal status will likely disproportionately harm lower-skilled African-Americans by making it more difficult for them to obtain employment and depressing their wages when they do obtain employment."

"The increased employment difficulties will likely have negative consequences that extend far beyond economics," the authors warn."

Frankly, I'm surprised that it took this long for someone to bring this up!

Remember the last jobs report?  The 7.6% official rate is more like 13% because so many are not looking for work!

Wonder what the real black unemployment rate is?  The official rate is 14% so can we assume that the real rate is closer to 20%? 

I don't know what the rate is but any trip to a black congressional district is depressing. 

In North Texas, our black district is one poor area surrounded by thriving communities.  I recall Friday night football games and black parents telling me that they rented apartments in North Dallas so that their kids did not have to attend the schools or walk the streets of Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson's district. 

ObamaCare is teaching Democrats that it was easier to give speeches about "universal care" before it was the law of the land and taxes had to pay for it.  Wonder how many Democrats running for reelection wished that Justice Roberts had killed it?  My guess is that most of them feel that way!  It was a better campaign issue than a law to implement!

I think that we will see the same with immigration reform.   It's great to give speeches about immigration reform and speak of it in the abstract.  It may be a lot more difficult when blacks find out that reform means that they will have 10 million people to compete with for jobs!  

Click here for Sunday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Blacks and immigration reform  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!