Wasn't the ACA passed to help the uninsured?

(My new American Thinker post)

I don't get this. According to Kaiser Health News, the uninsured don't like the Obamacare:

"Uninsured Americans -- the people that the Affordable Care Act was designed to most aid -- are increasingly critical of the law as its key provisions kick in, a poll released Thursday finds.   

This month's tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 47 percent of the uninsured said they hold unfavorable views of the law while 24 percent said they liked it. These negative views have increased since December, when 43 percent of the uninsured panned the law and 36 percent liked it. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the Foundation.)  

We are not sure why the uninsured have soured on Obama Care. 

My guess is that this is a lot more than website problems.

First, many uninsured Americans had access to health care before the AHCA went into effect.  In other words, they've paid for medical services or made deals with hospitals to pay over time. No one has been left "to die" on the street corner because he or she did not have health insurance.

Second, many people do not want to buy insurance no matter how many times liberals tell them they should have it. Many are willing to assume the risk.

Third, many have checked the premium rates and deductibles and discovered that it is too expensive.

Again, we don't know for sure why the "uninsured" are staying away but they are. And they probably will continue to stay away. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Thank you Michael Young

We got the news that Michael Young has retired from baseball, as reported by Evan Grant:

"Young, who still lives in Dallas, won the 2005 AL batting title with a .331 average and finishes with a .300 career batting average in 1,970 career games. He is one of 28 major leaguers in the last 40 years to play at least 1,500 games and compile a .300 or better batting average.

Young made his mark as a durable and versatile player who also became a respected clubhouse voice. He is the only player in the last 90 years to have at least 400 career starts at second, short and third. He won a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2008, but was moved to third base the following season to make room for Elvis Andrus. And he finishes his career without ever having made a trip to the disabled list. From the start of the 2002 season through the end of his career, he averaged 155 games per season.

Young’s last couple of seasons in Texas were marked by some off-the-field drama regarding position moves and roles, but he had career highs in both batting average (.338) and RBIs (106) during the 2011 season. He dropped off significantly in 2012 and the Rangers opted to move him to Philadelphia to save some money and create a role for Jurickson Profar.

Young finishes with 1,823 games as a Ranger, 250 more than the previous leader Rafael Palmeiro. His 2,230 hits with Texas are nearly 500 more than Ivan Rodriguez (1,747), who is second on the list. Young also has club records for doubles (441), triples (55) and runs scored (1,084), is third in RBIs (984) and fifth in homers (177)."

Besides numbers, Young was a great teammate and community leader.  It's a shame that the Rangers did not win the World Series in 2010 or 2011.  

Thank you Michael.  It was a great honor to watch you play over the years.

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Leslie Eastman and Barry Jacobsen join me for a chat about current events and military issues

Check out our show

THURSDAY: Leslie Eastman and Barry Jacobsen join me for a chat.......Listen in now at http://t.co/zTPbx1zXo6. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 31, 2014

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Not a word about Latin America in the SOTU

(My new American Thinker post)

It took President Obama 40-something minutes to get to ObamaCare in his State of the Union speech. Unfortunately, he did not say a word about Latin America, our neighbors and strategic economic partners.

Down in Argentina, the "peso" has collapsed and it will have an impact on other countries in South America, especially Brazil. It is also having an impact on the people, as reported in The NY Times:    

"Cities across Argentina are still unnerved by all the looting that broke out last month after police officers went on strike, protesting salaries eroded by rampant inflation.

Residents fumed over blackouts that left them sweltering during a recent heat wave. Then the currency plunged this week, the steepest decline since the nation's economic collapse in 2002, stirring fears that another major financial crisis could be around the corner. "In 80 years, there've been tough times, but it's never been as bad as this," Irma Herrera, 80, a retired psychologist, said Friday after the government announced that it would make it easier for Argentines to buy dollars amid the financial upheaval.

"I'm not going to buy dollars when my monthly pension doesn't even stretch to buy food," Ms. Herrera said."

Over in Brazil, the country is getting ready for The World Cup but the locals are not happy about it. Young people are burning cars and expressing their dissatisfaction.  They love soccer but not that is happening at the expense of education and health care, as reported by The Telegraph:

"Demonstrators and police have clashed in Sao Paulo during the first in a planned series of anti-World Cup protests called by radical activist group Anonymous across Brazil.

With less than five months before the June 12 kick-off - when the five-time champions and hosts take on Croatia - Brazil is facing the same kind of social rumblings that marred last year's Confederations Cup dress rehearsal.     Anonymous called for protests against the event via its Facebook page under the slogan, "The Cup will not take place.""

Mexico is a mixed record. There are energy reforms that will benefit US companies.  There is also a war in Michoacan between the cartels and armed citizens. 

We understand that Americans have other concerns on their plate, such as jobs.  However, Latin America matters to our national security and economy.

Again, it's sad that President Obama did not say a word in the SOTU.  For example, he could have praised President Pena-Nieto for bringing together the parties and governing.  On the other hand, why would President Obama want to praise another leader governing rather than giving meaningless "class warfare" speeches?

Speaking of national security, Fausta Wertz reminded us of the Iranian influence in the region.   

A 60-minute plus speech and not a minute about Latin America. 

P. S. You can hear my chat with Fausta Wertz of Fausta's Blog PLUS Comandante Cazorla directly from Venezuela & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr

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Venezuela and other US Latin America issues of the week

We spoke about crime and inflation in Venezuela plus other issues from Mexico to Brazil to Argentina.      

Guests:   Comandante Cazorla from Venezuela PLUS Fausta Wertz of Fausta's Blog.

Check out the show here:

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What happens when public workers don't have to join a union? They don"t

(My new American Thinker post)

Wisconsin continues to lead the way. We hear that public sector workers are leaving the union, according to The Capital Times in Madison:   

"In 2011, the year Act 10 was approved, the four councils that make up the state organization reported a combined income of $14.9 million. In 2012, the first full year that the law was in place, the revenue had dropped roughly 45 percent, to $8.3 million.     

While AFSCME's income occasionally fluctuates to reflect infusions of cash it receives from other labor groups that support its political agenda, most of its money comes directly from member dues.   If we look specifically at dues revenue, the picture is also ugly. In total, dues revenue for the groups dropped 40 percent, from $12 million to $7.1 million."

Why is anyone surprised?  Union membership has two problrms:

First, it was mandatory and people hate to be told what to do; and.

Second, the public sector union in Wisconsin, and elsewhere, was nothing but a collection machine for Democrats.

For example, the Democrat presidential candidate received 53% of the vote in 2012, 56% in 2008, 50% in 2004, 48% in 2000 and 49% in 1996.  

My guess is that public sector workers voted along these lines and yet their dues did not.  In other words, does anyone seriously think that the Romney campaign got 46% of the union contributions?

Let me be clear.  I have nothing against unions but they should never be mandatory, especially in the public sector.   Furthermore, their contributions to political campaigns should reflect the wishes of the membership not the leadership. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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A speech to wake up a very sleepy base

(My new American Thinker post)

Maybe we should get back to a written "State of the Union." It worked for Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. 

Or maybe we should "e-mail" the speech to everyone who cares to read it!

The current version of the SOTU is one gigantic waste of time. It is a campaign speech. It's just another acceptance speech except that he's already won the nomination.

Last night's performance speaks volumes about President Obama's political problems. 

He did not mention the Affordable Health Care Act until the 40th minute!  Isn't this his premiere accomplishment?  Then he goes after the House's repeal votes but overlooks that it's Democrats running for reelection who are worried about it.

Overall, a well delivered speech that will matter little.

"Hope and change" is starting year 6 and there are huge concerns about President Obama's competence, as Brent M. Decker pointed out:

"The 2014 State of the Union address was devoid of many new ideas and full of old ones, such as a commitment to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, something Obama promised to do before he was president but didn't doggedly pursue. Barack Obama can deliver a good speech, but the public has had enough of speeches and wants to see progress."   

After the speech, I caught a focus groups on Megyn Kelly's show. Someone said that he looks tired and exhausted.  I don't know whether the president is tired or exhausted but he is really out of ideas. Unfortunately for him, and the "yes we can" screamers, it won't get any better as reality squeezes "hope and change" further in 2014.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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The GOP House should pass a modest immigration proposal

(My new American Thinker post)

We hear that the GOP House is looking at an immigration set of principles rather than formal legislation, according to a report from Byron York:

"As far as what GOP leadership will propose, the strategist says it's not likely to be anything in particular.

"It's not being presented as 'Here's a plan we want you to endorse," the strategist says. "It's more along the lines of, 'Here are some options. Is there any consensus around them?""

We need more than a "set of principles." We need for the House to pass a bill and send it to the US Senate.

Let me start by saying that I'm not calling for amnesty, as happened in 1986 under President Reagan, or a comprehensive package like McCain-Kennedy circa 2006-7.

I am simply calling on the GOP to take the long view and pass something along these lines:

a) Border security;

b) Very tough employer sanctions; and,

c) A path to legalization for the youngsters, or "dreamers".

My proposal does not do anything about the 10-12 million people who are here without papers. 

In fact, my message to these people is that they will have to wait. By the way, there are many waiting to enter the country "legally." Waiting is a way of life for people who want to come to the US.

The GOP House should act affirmatively and pass such a modest proposal. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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The late Adelfa Callejo was a Dallas legend

(My new American Thinker post)

Once upon a time, liberals and conservatives could sit down, disagree and still walk away with a smile.  Unfortunately, our politics today is so toxic that it's tough to discuss politics without people calling you a racist or something else.

Back in 1984, I met Adelfa Callejo at a Hispanic political meeting in Dallas.  We had a very pleasant chat and I came to admire her life story and work in the area.  I found that she could disagree with people without being disagreeable.

We learned that Adelfa Callejo died. She was 90 and suffering from cancer, according to a front page story in The Dallas Morning News:

"Callejo eventually became a bilingual secretary by day and an SMU student by night.  

For a time, she lived in California.

There, she began an export-import business and found herself competing against a New Yorker with a Puerto Rican background.

Within a year, Adelfa Botello married Bill Callejo. 

The couple lived for a year in Mexico City, but Callejo declared herself "too American" for Mexican sexism.

The Callejos moved to Troy, N.Y., where Adelfa worked three jobs to put her husband through college.

By 1952, they were back in Dallas - and she was back in SMU night classes. 

A decade later, after both had their law degrees, her activism took off at the firm of Callejo & Callejo.  

In 1973, she took part in protests against the killing of Santos Rodriguez, a 12-year-old boy shot in a squad car by a Dallas police officer.  

In 1982, she organized and led hundreds of demonstrators through downtown Dallas to protest deportations by immigration agents in Oak Cliff. Several U.S. citizen-children were left with no parent present. She filed a lawsuit to prevent family breakups.  

In the late 1980s, she warred with others for political power-sharing in Dallas, helping to bring about the city's first single-member council districts. Later, those districts launched the careers of many black and Hispanic politicians. 

In the 1990s, battles with the Dallas school district were frequent. Callejo said she was determined to push for bilingual education because of her mother, a Spanish-speaker with a fine mind but no teachers to teach her English. Her mother, she said, left school after third grade knowing only 20 words in English."

Mrs Callejo's life story is so inspirational.  She taught us that you could disagree with people without hating them or being disagreeable. 

RIP Mrs Callejo.  You left your mark in our area and we are grateful for that.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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3060 hits and reasons to put Craig Biggio in the Hall of Fame

Let me go on record and start the "Biggio belongs in the Hall of Fame" talk for the next time that they vote next year.

By any measurement, Biggio belongs in the Hall of Fame:  3,050 hits, 3 divisional titles, a NLCS in 2004 and a trip to the World Series in 2005.

Check out sports chat with Dave Michaels:

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A very cold January!

January is turning out to be a very cold month:

"America is set for the coldest month of the century as weather forecasters predict yet another freezing blast of Arctic air - putting Super Bowl Sunday in jeopardy.  

Teams have been warned to stay on high alert for changes to the scheduling of the first Super Bowl to be played in an open-air stadium.  

Temperatures have already hit record lows, at times making parts of the U.S. colder than the North Pole, and are expected to plunge in the coming days."

We discussed "the weather" with Bill Katz of Urgent Agenda:

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Who else but Yu Darvish on opening day?

Ron Washington announced the obvious about the opening day starter:

"Right-hander  Yu Darvish, one of only two healthy starters for the Texas Rangers headed into spring training, will make is first Opening Day start with the club this season, manager Ron Washington said on Saturday.

”I think it’s obvious,’ Washington said of the starter for the March 31 game against Philadelphia at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. ”It’s Yu, if he’s healthy.”

Darvish dealt with a nerve irritation in the lower back during the final two months of last season. The condition has eased in the off-season, and Darvish has begun a throwing program in his native Japan. He threw 27 pitches in a bullpen session on Thursday.

Darvish was 13-9 with a 2.83 ERA last season and finished second to Detroit’s Max Scherzer in the American League Cy Young voting. Darvish will be the club’s sixth Opening Day starter in the last six seasons. Left-hander Matt Harrison made the start last season.    

Left-hander Martin Perez is the club’s only other fully healthy starter going into spring training."

Yes, it should be Darvish.   

The other Rangers topic is the batting order.  

This is what I see:  

Choo, LF;   
Andrus, SS;
Fielder, 1b   
Beltre, 3b   
Rios, RF  
Moreland or Choice, DH
Soto, C   
Profar, 2b   
Martin ,CF

By the way, I think that Fielder is going to have a banner year and a strong candidate for MVP.  He will hit 40 homeruns!

Click our show with Dave Michaels:

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'Très malade': France still has a very sick economy

(My new American Thinker post)

We've heard a lot lately about President Hollande's alleged love affair. 

However, don't blame the French if they'd rather talk about their economy.  In other words, it's bad in France as reported by French sources: 

"France's INSEE statistics agency said in a report released on Thursday that the jobless rate jumped in the third quarter to 10.9 percent from 10.8 percent in the previous three months.

The rise in the unemployment rate brought it closer to an all-time high of 11.2 percent registered in France in 1997.

The latest figures come as French President Francois Hollande says his administration will reduce unemployment by the end of 2013.

In mid-November, INSEE said that France's economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the July-to-September period.

According to the agency, the contraction was due to a 1.5-percent slide in France's exports in the third quarter and a 0.6-percent fall in business investment.

New surveys have showed that a stagnant economy and high unemployment are among the main reasons behind a decrease in the approval rating of President Hollande."

There is more, according to Reuters:

"With business recovering in much of Europe, the French corporate sector's weak performance increasingly stands out, a situation President Francois Hollande hopes to turn around with new plans to cut the cost of labour in exchange for hiring and investing inFrance. 
Data compiler Markit said its composite purchasing managers' index rose in January to a three-month high of 48.5 from 47.3 in December. It remained below the 50-point threshold separating expansions in activity from contractions.  
"Companies are worried about the outlook," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.  
"They're worried about the political situation, about the lack of proper reforms and just how the French government is going to bring about a recovery in the economy," he added."  

We understand that country to country comparisons are not easy to make.  However, there are some lessons that President Obama can learn from President Hollande and his lousy economy.

First, it's always about jobs for democratically elected leaders.

Second, you can"t tax your way to prosperity, especially when the taxes are directed at "the rich" or people who can move to another country.  There was an ad running in Europe recently calling on the overtaxed French to move to Britain.  Many have indeed moved.

Third, and saddest of all the lessons, the young people are leaving, according to a rather amazing story in the New York Times last summer: 

"Young French people need to go abroad, to work, to travel, to see how things can work differently in cultures and countries that don't play by the same old rules - and then come back to France, and reinject some of the energy and enthusiasm they've absorbed to help reconcile the broader population with the global reality that France has shunned for far too long."

Let me say it again.  Don't be surprised if the next resume that applies for that job posting is a young person from France.

How many more times is socialism to fail before people get that it does not work?

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Get ready for "instant replay" in baseball 2014

 SATURDAY: NFL, MLB replays, Texas Rangers' batting order & Hall of Fame vote...with Dave Michaels by Silvio Canto Jr http://t.co/nT71VAhzZ3

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 25, 2014

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The nuns are singing 'Dominque' and Wendy Davis is humming the blues

(My new American Thinker post)

A good week for the nuns and a bad week for Texas Senator Wendy Davis.   

This is huge, as reported by The Los Angeles Times:

"The Supreme Court on Friday shielded the Little Sisters of the Poor and other nonprofit religious groups from complying, for now, with the Obama administration's rule that they provide free contraceptives in the health insurance they offer employees.  

The justices issued a one-paragraph order that keeps in place a temporary injunction that was handed down by Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Dec. 31. 

The Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic charities objected to the so-called "contraceptive mandate" -- a provision of the Affordable Care Act -- on religious grounds. Their lawyers said they feared "draconian fines" if they failed to comply with the new rule, which took effect Jan. 1.  

Friday's order says that if Little Sisters and the other nonprofits that filed suit inform the Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing that they have religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptive services, the government may not enforce the provision until the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver rules on their legal challenge.   

Catholic leaders say the rule violates their religious freedom because they believe contraceptives are immoral."

Down in Texas, State Senator Davis is being confronted with questions that she did not plan to answer in the campaign.  It all started when Wayne Slater, not known around here as "a right winger" reporter at The Dallas Morning News, published an article about some "holes" in Senator Davis' biography.

Who would have believed this last summer when a filibuster made Senator Davis a liberal icon and no one knew about these nuns in Denver! 

The nuns are smiling today and Senator Davis is wondering if her campaign can survive this big "iceberg" along the road to the primary.   

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr

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Yes, it looks like 2014 will be bad for Democrats

(My new American Thinker post)

On one hand, I hate thinking that something is in the bag because it often isn't. Don't you remember the one about Romney winning in 2012 and that Senate majority?  

So let's get the "27 outs" before we celebrate. 

Nevertheless, the landscape looks bad for Democrats in 2014, as Ed Rogers posted:

"We take fleeting comfort in the occasional economic indicator that isn't awful, but the reality is that growth is stagnant, at best, with gross domestic product growth likely to remain between only 2 percent and 2.5 percent. And more than 23 million American households - 20 percent - rely on food stamps. The Washington Examiner published part of a memo by Wall Street adviser David John Marotta, who reminds us that, "officially reported unemployment numbers decrease when enough time passes to discourage the unemployed from looking for work." And "discouraged" seems to describe how many Americans feel. Marotta also calculated that the misery index - today's true unemployment rate plus the true inflation figure - is 14.7 percent, the worst in 40 years.  

And Obamacare is not making things better. There are plenty of commentators on the left who want to declare that Obamacare has taken root, is working and is here to stay. But so far, the data the administration has released about Obamacare enrollments suggest that people are signing up because their insurance policies - the ones they liked and were told by the president they could keep - were canceled because of Obamacare. Yesterday, in what seems to be a growing trend, we learned that Target no longer will offer health insurance to its part-time workers. This is just another example of how Obamacare is not only failing in its goal of providing health insurance to the estimated 45 million Americans who don't have it, but is, for the time being, increasing the number of uninsured Americans."

The problem of the economy can not be underestimated, especially following the last jobs report.   I would add a couple of sleeper issues, such as "foreign policy" and the whole question of incompetence in the Obama administration.  

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Our consumption of illegal drugs is financing mansions and violence in Mexico

(My new American Thinker post)

The rebellion in Michoacan, Mexico, has farmers and peasants ("vigilantes") at war with cartels. They want to drive the cartels out of their state. It has put President Pena-Nieto in a very tough place. 
In other words, how do you criticize citizens who are defending themselves against criminal and ruthless elements terrorizing the country? How do you stop local priests from preaching sermons about the inhumanity of cartels?

This is from a recent news report:

"Armed vigilante groups who have risen up to combat the vicious Knights Templar drug cartel in the Mexican state of Michoacan were surrounding the city of Apatzingan, a main cartel stronghold, Monday morning and were threatening to invade the city, as Mexican government officials scrambled to defuse the situation.   
"We have already circled Apatzingan," one of the self-defense leaders, Hipolito Mora, said in a radio interview Monday morning. "I don't know if we have the capacity [to take it] or not, but we are obligated to do it, and we are going to do it." 
The security cabinet of President Enrique Peña Nieto was meeting with state officials, including Gov. Fausto Vallejo, late Monday morning. 
The federal government has sent troops and police to the region in recent days as the self-defense groups have essentially gone on the offensive, seizing control of a number of towns surrounding Apatzingan. Federal officials have given a kind of tenuous, de facto approval to some of the groups, in some cases allowing troops and police to work alongside the armed peasant groups at checkpoints in the region."

Just recently, they found the home of a cartel leader.  It reminds some of us of one of Saddam's mansions:

"Vigilante "self-defense" groups in the southern Mexican state of Michoacan have in recent days stepped up their campaign to seize control of small towns and cities in the area known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Land. Their goal is to rid the area of the Knights Templar drug cartel.  
But last week, just as the vigilantes were poised to bring their battle to the Knights Templars' most important regional stronghold, the city of Apatzingan, the Mexican government flooded the state with troops and federal police, averting what could have been a bloody battle for the city of more than 90,000 residents.  
As of Saturday, an uneasy peace reigned in much of Michoacan. But the vigilantes had not ceded any of the territory they had gained, including the smaller city of Nueva Italia, which fell to them after a gun battle last weekend. Though cartel allies were believed to be lying low in the town, the vigilantes' control gave them the opportunity to see how at least one top cartel leader lives. 
These photos, taken in the Nueva Italia home of Enrique "El Kike" Plancarte Solis, offer a glimpse of luxury that most of the vigilantes -- many of them are small farmers or agricultural workers -- would have seen only on television. Plancarte, a key Knights Templar boss, remains at large."   (Here are the pictures from The LA Times.)

As we've posted before, our consumption of illegal drugs, recreation or otherwise, is driving these dollars south. These "narco dolares" build these mansions and finance all of this massive killing.

P. S. You can hear my chat with Allan Wall about Mexico & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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The California Tea Party with Leslie Eastman & Dawn Wildman

THURSDAY: California Tea Party update with Leslie Eastman & Dawn Wildman...Listen in now at http://t.co/dekbDjE715. #BlogTalkRadio

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 24, 2014

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Hispanos in California: 'Yo no quiero ObamaCare'

(My new American Thinker post)

The "train wreck" known as Obama Care faces another hurdle, or Latinos are staying away.   The LA Times reports that enrollment is down:

"Supporters of the healthcare law say those broader service issues are hampering enrollment among Latinos, who are expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries of President Obama's signature law. 
An estimated 1.2 million, or 46%, of the 2.6 million Californians eligible for federal premium subsidies are Latino.
But Covered California said only 20% of enrollees through the end of December described themselves as Latino on their application. 
"Latino enrollment is still falling short given how big a share of the uninsured they are in California," said Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation." 

 My guess is that there are two factors behind these disappointing enrollments.

First, it is expensive, especially to many Latinos who did not have insurance in the first place; and

Second, Latinos are running into the same technical problems that everyone is running into!

ObamaCare desperately needs Latinos to pay the premiums. This is because Latinos are younger and more likely to be uninsured. But so far, Latinos are saying "Yo no quiero ObamaCare!" (I do not want Obamacare).

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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

Ana Quintana, a young Cuban woman at The Heritage Foundation

(My new Babalu post)  

Ana Quintana's parents came from Cuba.  She was born in Miami and now a Research Associate, Latin America, at The Heritage Foundation:

 "Quintana holds a master of arts degree in global security studies and a bachelor’s degree in political science, both from Florida International University. She also received certificates in national security, Latin American and Caribbean studies. She was a scholar in the university’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies.   

Fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese, Quintana studied in Minas Gerais, Brazil, on a scholarship sponsored by the Department of Defense.   

Before joining Heritage in 2013, she was a student trainee at Defense. She also held internships at Virginia-based International Relief and Development, where she worked on rule of law issues in Latin America, and at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where she worked on civilian-military cooperation."   

A few days ago, Ana wrote a very good article about the killing of Monica Spears, the beauty queen:   

"Venezuela is one of the most violent countries in South America. Since the commencement of Hugo Chavez’s 21st-century socialist movement in Venezuela, violence and crime have skyrocketed. The country now registers an average of 79 murders per 100,000. (Honduras, the murder capital of the world, has 91 murders per 100,000.) Chavez’s appointed successor, Nicolas Maduro, has done little to improve the situation. His proposed security plan, Patria Segura (“Secure Homeland”), is nothing more than a publicity stunt backed up by falsified statistics.    

While homicide and kidnapping rates are decreasing on a global average, those crimes continue to plague Latin America, with Mexico remaining the world leader. You’re more likely to be kidnapped in Venezuela than in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or Libya. Active war zones and countries overrun by terrorists are much safer than Maduro’s Venezuela."     

"Over the holiday, beauty queen Monica Spears and her husband were gunned down while visiting her home country of Venezuela. The couple was traveling with their five-year-old daughter when their car broke down. As they waited for help, armed robbers assaulted the family. While the child survived with only a minor gunshot wound to the leg, her parents were not as fortunate."

We spoke with Ana, and Fausta Wertz of Fausta's Blog, on today's show.  I hope that you follow Ana's work at The Heritage Foundation.

Here is the show:

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