Respectfully, Mr. President: Thank You! -- ("Obama has not done anything?") CHECK THIS OUT!!!

There are lots and lots of Progressives(?) clamoring "Barack Obama has not done anything", No, I'm not exaggerating, that's what many, many are saying -- while some of them may be parroting Republican Operatives' 'Talking Points", some of these voices are actually Republican Operatives in our midst, including many who infiltrated or sold out in the pro-immigrant rights movement; their goal? Well,  not to difficult to figure out, isn't? Bottom line is, many gullible folk are believing them.

 

So, after reading "ThisIsMyTime" Post with a list of some of President Obama and Dems' accomplishments in spite of vicious attacks and blatant obstructionism, do you think these voices are telling the truth to us all?

 

Most of us know someone who is repeating the Right Wing lies, send them this information, ask them to read it and then ask them to repeat what they've been saying.

 

Millions of us worked very hard to elect President Obama and we accomplished this historic and revolutionary act, take credit for your hard work and foresight, but let's not slip into complacency, the work is far from done, there is so much that needs to be corrected/changed, let's continue with our pledge to work for change, to pressure our Representatives to act, after all, this is the bargain we entered with then Candidate Barack Obama, just to be clear, this is what we agreed on "That we were going to help/make him do it", for,

 

"WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR" And,

 

That "YES, WE CAN - SI SE PUEDE"

 

Aurora

Obama Will Triumph -- So Will America by Frank Schaeffer

---

by ThisIsMyTime [Daily Kos]
Wed Oct 13, 2010 at 08:56:57 AM PDT

 

As the battle for control of Congress has tightened and the so called enthusiasm gap is evaporating, we must continue speaking to voter about what Democrats in Congress have accomplished.

 

If you are a democrat and you have an enthusiasm gap, I am hoping that this could change your lack of enthusiasm.

 

The facts are in the last 23 months, the following are things that I think are worth keeping scores about what President Obama and the Democratic congress have accomplished that get over looked without an ounce of credit by some who are always disappointed about something.

 

More below the fold...
ThisIsMyTime's diary :: ::

 

Crossposted at The People's View

 

I think it is important to not only speak to voters about the fact we are moving forward together but remind activists to see what they have been resisting.

 

I don't know about you but I am ready to go and these are the reasons why I have more Enthusiasm than ever:

 

Health Care Reform:
 Coverage can't be denied to children with pre-existing conditions.
 Adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents' health plans.
 Freepreventive care.
 Rescinding coverage is now illegal.
 Eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage.
 Restricting annual limits on insurance coverage.
 More options to appeal coverage decisions.
 $5 billion in immediate federal support to affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions.
 $10 billion investment in Community Health Centers.
Create immediate access to re-insurance for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees.
Made an $80 billion deal with the pharmaceutical industry to contribute to cut prescription drug costs for the nation's seniors reduce the size of the "donut hole" in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit.

 

Economy:
 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has worked. The Economy Has Been Growing - take a look at the graph of GDP growth between 2007 thru 2010.
 US auto industry rescue plan -- Detroit making profits again and at least 1 million jobs saved.
 Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 that extended Unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks and more.
 Provided $14.7 billion in small business loans increasing minority access to capital.
The $26 billion aid to states package preventing large-scale layoffs of teachers and public employees.

 

Banking and Financial Reform
 Signed a sweeping bank-reform bill (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)into law
 Managed the $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that Banks have repaid 75% of TARP funds, bringing the cost down to $89B as of June 2010.
Cuts Salaries For 65 Bailout Executives
Closed offshore tax safe havens, tax credit loopholes on companies that use the tax laws to ship American Jobs oversees. HR 4213.
Signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act to fight fraud in the use of TARP and recovery funds, and to increase accountability for corporate and mortgage frauds.
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act

VETOED Big Banks' notarization sweetheart deal

 

Education
Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 that increased the amount of federal Pell Grant awards and enabled the stripping of banks privileges as intermediaries for student loan servicing.
Created the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion program to reward States that submit the best proposals for change.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funded over $100 Billion for reforms to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education, early learning programs, college affordability and improve access to higher education, and to close the achievement gap.

 

Jobs
The $787 billion economic stimulus package has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs slowing the bleeding
Jobs for Main Street Act (2010)injected $27.5 Billion for Highways, $8.4 Billion for Transit into the country's transportation system to create jobs and spur economic activity.
A $33 Billion Jobs Package that will allow Small businesses to get $5,000 tax credit for new hires.
A $26 billion State Aid Package Jobs Bill saving 300,000 teachers and public workers jobs from unemployment.
The Auto bailout saved 1 million jobs.

 

Green Energy
Implemented renewable fuels mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022, four times what we currently consume.
Automakers will be required to meet a fleet-wide average of New Gas Mileage Standards at 35.5 MPH by 2016.
A $60 billion investment in renewable and clean energy.

 

Housing
$275 billion dollar housing plan - $75 billion dollars to prevent at-risk mortgage debtors already fallen victim to foreclosures and $200 billion to bring about confidence to offer affordable mortgages and to stability the housing market.
Established "Opening Doors" to end the homelessness of 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States in 10 years.
Provided $510 Million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing. ref
Provided $2 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehab, resell, or demolish in order to stabilize neighborhoods.
Provided $5 billion for Weatherization Assistance Program for low income families to weatherize 1 million homes per year for the next decade.
Provided grants to encourage states and localities to take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.

 

Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security
giving $250 economic stimulus check to 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2009.
Cutting prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients by 50% and began eliminating the plan's gap ("donut hole") in coverage.
Passing as part of H.R.3962 (Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010) a $6.4 billion measure reversing a 21 percent cut in physician payments that would have started a flood of rejections by some doctors of seniors covered by Medicare.
Expanded eligibility for Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,400 per year for an individual).

 

Military Veterans and Families
Implemented a strategic plan to increase the hiring of Veterans and Military spouses throughout the Federal civil service.
Provided for the expenses of families of to be at Dover AFB when fallen soldiers arrive.
Passed the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 increasing the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.
Declared the end of the war in Iraqi bringing back nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home to their families.
Donated 250K of Nobel prize money to Fisher House, a group that helps provide housing for families of patients receiving medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers

 

LBGT
Extended  benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.
Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)
Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover Gay employees taking unpaid leave to care for their children of same-sex partners
Lifted the HIV Entry Ban.
Implemented HUD Policies that Would Ban Discrimination Based On Gender Identity

 

Well, there is more but you see we have done a lot. We have the tools to shape the message. We need to move forward together and focus on what we will accomplish forward in the coming years. That is why we have to work hard for the next three weeks to GOTV.

 

These are my kids at the One Nation March about a week ago. They are fired up as I am. Are you?

 

 

 

Yes indeed, there is more, check out this list:

 

Accomplishments by the Administration and Congress on LGBT Equality

No one should rest until we have full LGBT equality.  But after eight years of Republican disrespect, progress is being made.  In its first 20 months, the Obama Administration has...

By Andrew Tobias | Contact DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias is the author of several books, including The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need and The Best Little Boy in the World.

1. Reversed an inexcusable US position by signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
2. Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees in 2009 and, further, in 2010
3. Endorsed the Baldwin-Lieberman bill, The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, to provide FULL partnership benefits to federal employees
4. Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
5. Lifted the HIV Entry Ban effective January 2010
6. Released the first Presidential PRIDE proclamations since 2000
7. Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history
8. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King, joining past recipients such as Rosa Parks
9. Appointed the first ever transgender DNC member
10. Issued diplomatic passports, and provided other benefits, to the partners of same-sex foreign service employees
11. Committed to ensuring that HUD's core housing programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity 
12. Conceived a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders -- the nation's first ever -- funded by a three-year HHS grant to SAGE
13. Testified in favor of ENDA, the first time any official of any administration has testified in the Senate on ENDA
14. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded existing United States federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability -- the first positive federal LGBT legislation in the nation's history
15. Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans (like these), including more than 20 Senate-confirmed appointments
16. Sworn in Ambassador David Huebner
17. Changed the culture of government everywhere from – among others – HUD and HHS to the Export-Import Bank, the State Department, and the Department of Education

18. Appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, instead of conservatives who would have tilted the Court even further to the right and virtually doomed our rights for a generation.  To wit (quoting McCain): "I've said a thousand times on this campaign trail, I've said as often as I can, that I want to find clones of Alito and Roberts.  I worked as hard as anybody to get them confirmed. I look you in the eye and tell you I've said a thousand times that I wanted Alito and Roberts.  I have told anybody who will listen. I flat-out tell you I will have people as close to Roberts and Alito [as possible]."

19. Named open transgender appointees (the first President ever to do so)

20. Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)

21. Emphasized LGBT inclusion in everything from the President's historic NAACP address ("The pain of discrimination is still felt in America.  By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender.  By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country.  By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God.  By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights.") . . . to the first paragraph of his Family Day proclamation ("Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things") and his Mothers Day proclamation ("Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by two parents, a single mother, two mothers, a step-mom, a grandmother, or a guardian.  Mother's Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate these extraordinary caretakers") . . . to creating the chance for an adorable 10-year-old at the White House Easter Egg roll to tell ABC World News how cool it is to have two mommies . . . to including the chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the President of Goldman Sachs in the small audience for the President's economic address at the New York Stock Exchange . . . to welcoming four gay couples to its first State Dinner
22. Recommitted, in a televised address, to passing ENDA . . . repealing Don't Ask/Don't Tell  . . . repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act
23. Spoken out against discrimination at the National Prayer Breakfast ("We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are -- whether it's here in the United States or, as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.")
24. Dispatched the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to call on the Senate to repeal Don't Ask / Don't Tell, in the meantime dialing back on discharges
25. Launched a website to gather public comment on first-ever federal LGBT housing discrimination study
26. Appointed long-time equality champion Chai Feldblum one of the four Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
27. Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept our relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way, even if their state of residence does not yet permit legal marriage
28. Produced U.S. Census Bureau PSAs featuring gay, lesbian, and transgender spokespersons.
29. Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.
30. Appointed Retired Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, an early public champion of open service in the military, to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
31. Required all grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals.
32. Adopted transgender recommendations on the issuance of gender-appropriate passports that will ease barriers to safe travel and that will provide government-issued ID that avoids involuntary "outing" in situations requiring ID, like hiring, where a gender-appropriate driver's license or birth certificate is not available
33. Extended domestic violence protections to LGBT victims
34. Publicly invited shunned MIssissippi high school prom student to the White House 
35. Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners
36. Issued guidance specifically to assist LGBT tenants denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
37. Issued a National HIV/AIDS Strategy praised as "long-overdue" by the Task Force, Lambda and others
38. Successfully fought for UN accreditation of IGLHRC (the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission) -- against Republican attempts to block it
39. Convened the first-ever anti-bullying summit to craft a national strategy to reduce bullying in schools.
40. Awarded $13.3 million to the LA Gay & Lesbian Center to create a model program for LGBTQ youth in the foster care system.

The Administration will continue to make steady progress on our issues whether we help strengthen its hand or not.  But the stronger it is, the faster that progress will come. 

Postville One Year Later: A Day of Remembrance and Action

FROM: Standing FIRM
May 11, 2009

Tomorrow, May 12th, marks the one year anniversary of the devastating ICE raid at Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. That day, hundreds of ICE agents descended on the small Iowa town. They brought helicopters, they brought buses and they brought a show of force that would rival any big-budget action flick this summer. Almost 400 workers were arrested and herded like cattle through a “fast-track” version of the American judicial system.

At the time, it was the largest workplace raid in history – sort of mind-blowing to think that since then the raid in Laurel, Mississippi has actually surpassed that number with over 600 people arrested. Postville quickly became symbolic of everything that was wrong with our country’s approach to immigration enforcement, immigration policy, human rights and civil rights. Families were separated, an entire community was destroyed and a small church, St. Bridget’s, was left to deal with the aftermath.

Across the country, communities will hold days of remembrance, will ring bells at 10 AM (the time the raid began) and will don red ribbons in solidarity with the Postville community.

For more information, and to find an action near you, visit the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.

POSIBLY RELATED POSTS:

• Citizens of postville, Iowa report ICE has created 'open-air' prison in town that keeps detained immigrant women from feeding their children


• Government how-to manual on expediting guilty pleas from undocumented immigrants uncovered by ACLU


• Hundreds protest immigration raid in small-town America


• ACTION: Day of Remembrance for Postville


• 1,000 March to Protest Postville Raid


• UPDATE: Crime Rate up in Postville since May’s Raid

FROM: THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

IN GUATEMALA
After Postville raid, Guatemalan town is hurting

By Oscar Avila |Tribune correspondent

May 12, 2009

SAN JOSE CALDERAS, Guatemala -- Here was Angela Noemi Pastor's blueprint for prosperity: She borrowed $12,000 to cross the U.S. border illegally with three of her children, a crossing that posed many risks. Her payoff was a job making less than $7 an hour in rural Iowa.

On paper, it sounds like a questionable business plan. Except it was a formula that meant prosperity to many in this village, the main source of labor for the Agriprocessors Inc. meat-processing plant in Postville, Iowa.

The pipeline -- workers going north, money flowing south -- ended when U.S. Immigration agents raided the plant a year ago and deported hundreds of illegal workers, including Pastor.

"Thank God we were able to work a little bit," Pastor said. "But with a little bit more time, we could have done even more."

As with Pastor, the raid has brought the bitterness of dashed dreams to this cloistered community of 3,800, which lies up a winding gravel road dotted with peach orchards.

Men -- including several who were deported -- loiter outside straw shacks as they wait for odd jobs as farmhands. A handful of general stores, which once buzzed with daily commerce, are quiet. Several of the newer, concrete homes display "For Sale" signs for neighboring plots of land.

Here and elsewhere across Latin America, workers are out of jobs because of tougher U.S. Immigration enforcement and a downturn in the American economy, according to experts. That means a dwindling of remittances sent back home, a development that holds deep implications for a region dependent on money from illegal workers.

According to 2008 data, remittances to Latin America declined in real terms for the first time since accurate data has been kept. The Inter-American Development Bank forecasts even greater declines for 2009.

The trend likely will place even greater pressure on Guatemala and other countries battling epidemics of crime. With employment opportunities bleak, out-of-work young men are prime candidates to fall into illicit activities in a country that is a key crossroads for illegal drugs into the U.S., according to local residents and experts.

While supporters of tougher Immigration enforcement warn of the harm that illegal Immigration may cause in the U.S., American officials and international development experts worry that America's security also could suffer if pockets of poverty and instability grow in Latin America.

The drop in remittances has been especially harsh in Guatemala, which relies on the cash for an estimated 12 percent of its gross domestic product. Guatemala took in about $4.3 billion in remittances last year.

The seeds of hardship already are beginning to sprout in San Jose.

The town is a bumpy 45-minute ride from the cobblestone streets of tourist hot spot Antigua, but the espresso bars and Internet cafes there seem a world away.

Even in their isolation, San Jose residents used to eke out livings by growing vegetables that were exported throughout Central America, lifelong resident Mario Junech said. But soon, mostly because of overfarming, the fields lost their fertility and the markets closed. About a decade ago, the first residents found their way to Postville, followed by a typical chain of others.

Junech worked at the Postville plant, where he came to love the small-town friendliness that reminded him of home as well as new treats, such as Chinese buffets and Mexican taquerias.

Junech came back to San Jose about four years ago after working long enough to pay off his "coyote," who smuggled him north. Once home, he built a small house and an attached general store.

Junech could make a living in San Jose by selling milk, detergent and other staples to townspeople flush with cash from the north. Since the Iowa raid, his business is down about 50 percent.

His teenage son was among those deported from Postville, having tried to follow in father's footsteps. The son was away for a few days working in the countryside, where he makes $7 a day, about the same as an hour's wage in Postville.

The country's unrest is already hitting San Jose as residents complain of a crime wave that makes it unsafe to go out at night. Even worse, kidnappers are targeting returning immigrants, assuming they have more money than the typical resident, villagers say.

"How are you going to compare life in the United States to what a family finds here?" Junech said. "If God allows it, maybe one day we will return."

oavila@tribune.com

NAHP to DHS and to President Obama: Cease conducting worksite and residential raids...

Resolución de la Asociación Nacional de Publicaciones Hispanas al DHS a Parar Las Redadas.

Resolución de la Asociación Nacional de Publicaciones Hispanas (NAHP) Respecto a las Redadas y Acciones Ejecutorias del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS)

CONSIDERANDO QUE la Asociación Nacional de Publicaciones Hispanas (NAHP) es una organización que representa a las principales publicaciones en idioma español que sirven a 41 mercados en 39 estados, el Distrito de Columbia y Puerto Rico, con una circulación combinada de más de 23 millones,

CONSIDERANDO QUE nuestra misión incluye servir y capacitar a las comunidades hispanas,

CONSIDERANDO QUE creemos contundentemente que las redadas de inmigración no resolverán el problema de la inmigración de indocumentados,

CONSIDERANDO QUE la NAHP ha exhortado al Congreso a promulgar una reforma amplia de inmigración que ofrezca un camino a la ciudadanía para aproximadamente 12 millones de inmigrantes indocumentados forzados a vivir en la sombra,

CONSIDERANDO QUE las redadas y otras acciones ejecutorias del DHS provocan la separación de niños ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos y sus familias,

CONSIDERANDO QUE las acciones ejecutorias del DHS violan frecuentemente los derechos de las enmiendas Cuarta y Quinta de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos,

SE DETERMINA QUE LA ASOCIACION NACIONAL DE PUBLICACIONES HISPANAS (NAHP) exhorta al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) y a la administración del Presidente Obama a:

Cesar la ejecución de redadas en sitios de trabajo y residenciales,

Concentrar las actividades ejecutorias del DHS en la protección de la población americana, enfocándose en personas que han cometido delitos serios, tráfico de dinero, armas y drogas en ambos lados de la frontera México-americana, y personas perjudiciales, y no en ejecutar acciones que separen familias,

Eliminar el programa de Operaciones Fugitivas, que ya no cumple con el objetivo inicial de aprehender delincuentes,

Realizar todas sus acciones ejecutorias de manera que los agentes solamente aprehendan a los objetivos de sus investigaciones y cesen los “arrestos colaterales”,

Eliminar las cuotas de arrestos de los agentes, que han originado violaciones a los derechos legales de la población,

Acreditar a los agentes únicamente por el número de aprehensiones de los objetivos de las acciones, y no acreditarlos por el número de arrestos colaterales, Y,

Apoyar los esfuerzos para reducir verdaderamente la cantidad de inmigración de indocumentados mediante la promulgación de una reforma amplia de inmigración.

Que el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) elimine las redadas en lugares de trabajo y residenciales.

Historial de la Asociación Nacional de Publicaciones Hispanas (NAHP). La NAHP fue fundada en 1982 para promover las publicaciones en idioma español, el medio más efectivo para llegar a la creciente comunidad hispana. La afiliación está disponible para periódicos y revistas en idioma español y de propiedad hispana.

Geográficamente, los miembros de la NAHP abarcan todo el país, concentrándose en áreas de población hispana considerable. Los miembros de la NAHP producen anualmente más de 15 billones de páginas de información. NUESTRA MISION: En aras de la excelencia, reconocimiento y uso de las publicaciones hispanas, proveemos acceso a las oportunidades de desarrollo professional para servir más apropiadamente y capacitar a las comunidades hispanas.

---

Resolution of The National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) on Raids and Enforcement Actions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

WHEREAS the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) is a organization representing the leading Spanish language publications serving 41 markets in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with a combined circulation of over 23 million,

WHEREAS our mission includes serving and empowering the Hispanic communities,

WHEREAS we strongly believe that immigration raids will not solve the problem of undocumented immigration,

WHEREAS NAHP has urged Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that offers a path to citizenship to the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants forced to live in the shadows,

WHEREAS raids and other DHS enforcement actions result in separating United States citizen children from their families,

WHEREAS DHS enforcement actions often violate persons' fourth and fifth amendment rights under the United States Constitution,

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HISPANIC PUBLICATIONS (NAHP) urges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the administration of President Obama to:

Cease conducting worksite and residential raids,

Concentrate DHS enforcement activity to protect the American people, by focusing on persons who have committed serious crimes, the trafficking of money, arms, and drugs on both sides of the Mexican-United States border, and persons who would do us harm, and not conduct actions that separate families,

End the Fugitive Operations program which no longer is accomplishing its initial goal of apprehending criminals,

Conduct all its enforcement actions in a manner in which agents only apprehend the target of the investigations and cease to make “collateral arrests”,

Eliminate arrest quotas for agents, which have resulted in violations of people's legal rights,

Credit agents only for the number of apprehensions of the targets of the action, and not crediting them with the numbers of collateral arrests, AND,

Support efforts to truly reduce the number of undocumented immigrations by enacting comprehensive immigration reform.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end worksite and residential raids,

Background on the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP. NAHP was founded in 1982 to promote Spanish language publications, the most effective medium to reach the fast growing Hispanic community. Membership is open to Spanish language and Hispanic owned newspapers and magazines.

Geographically, NAHP members span the country, with a concentration in areas of large Hispanic populations. NAHP members produce over 15 billion pages of information annually. OUR MISSION: We further the excellence, recognition and usage of Hispanic publications by providing access to professional development opportunities to better serve and empower our Hispanic communities.

A prelude of things to come? Bravo Michelle Obama! Huzzá!!!

Michelle Obama opened her heart and told it like it is and now she is under attack from certain quarters.

There's a segment in the population who holds a position which roughly translates to: "America, right or wrong, love it or leave it" Who also loudly voices this anathema to Democracy angrily at every opportunity, hurling it usually in a most savage way at whoever dares to criticize the USA or it's ruler elite.

This attitude is problematic at different levels, foremost is the, already mentioned above, contradiction to the continuously broadcast mantra that this is a democratic nation, where there is freedom and liberty, where it's citizen's are obligated, as shareholders of the franchise named The United States of America, to honestly speak up their minds, in a civilized manner of course, if and when they see that their country, who proclaims what are held as "Truths", has not lived up to it's obligations to insure that it's credo becomes a reality for all:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...."

Your Country, love it! And when wrong, fix it! This is what citizens are demanded to do.

Oh, how I wish Dr. King was alive today to glimpse a small ray of hope, that his dream may be coming to fruition, that this Nation may yet 'live up to it's promise' to guarantee Freedom, Liberty and Justice for all, starting on the economic front with the rest soon to follow.

That he were here to see that we may be living at the time where the unjust and incomprehensible parading that a person of color, or a woman, can't be elected President, be put into a grave.

(Maybe some day we will see openly Atheists and others 'ists' running for office and having a realistic chance at being elected. - Hey! All equal, remember?)

Let's see to it.

And this is a good reason to feel pride!

And Furthermore, IT WAS ABOUT TIME!

Yes, Madame Michelle Obama would make a wonderful First Lady.

Yes, me likes!
(sic)

Aurora


"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi
"Viva Obama / Aurora Song / Aurora Video"
"Yes We Can, Si Se Puede!"
"March 1st, Int'l Women of Color Day"
"El Rinconcito de Aurora"