Politics

You can read the Spanish version here. Honduras has never been well-known, rather simply thought of as a small Third World country and not much more than a name on a world map. Yet the levels of violence, the death toll, a proliferation of gangs and gang activity, and an increase in organized crime and […]

Despite garnering over 50,000 signatures to an online petition asking that the Obama Administration not cut back on health care benefits to Puerto Ricans living on the island, this past Monday the Puerto Rican Healthcare Crisis Coalition (PRHCC) issued a strong statement, saying that June 8 decision by the government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid […]

Today a group of immigration lawyers —all individual members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)— published an open letter to AILA’S executive director, formally asking that a keynote speaker invitation to the White House’s Director of Public Policy be rescinded. The letter, which appears below, says that AILA should not have Cecilia Muñoz as […]

CHICAGO—It’s May 2015, which means the start of the 2016 presidential campaign season is only a blink away. Already hopefuls are throwing their hats into the ring. So far only one person has mounted a challenge to Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee—though why Bernie Sanders, a self-styled democratic socialist and the independent junior senator […]

In the spirit of sharing yet another story out of Puerto Rico few mainland Americans would even care to follow, a new ad from a group called the Puerto Rico Healthcare Crisis Coalition is now running in the Washington, D.C., media market: The coalition, which according to its website is “a group of concerned patient […]

This Monday I was the moderator on a political roundtable where the hot topic was the 2016 presidential election. The one name that stood out above all the others was Hillary Clinton. According to one of the panelists, political psychologist and television analyst Bart Rossi: Hilary has a winning personality. It’s not just about the politics or policies, […]

Seasonal employers were relieved when the U.S. Department of Labor recently resumed processing H-2B visa program labor certifications. However, an ominous cloud of proposed new program regulations threaten what could be sunnier days for employers and workers alike. The long-running H-2B program enables businesses that perform seasonal work to legally hire employees from outside of […]

I think we’ve all agreed that racism and ethnic slurs are not OK in 2015, haven’t we? Maybe we haven’t. In today’s world, a lot of bigoted/racist/xenophobic sentiment creeps up not overtly, but in the subtle ways that are less perceptible. For example, we all constantly hear racist jokes, see stereotypical costumes and read publications […]

In case you missed it last night on The Daily Show, Senior Latino Correspondent Al Madrigal breaks it down pretty brilliantly: The Daily ShowDaily Show Full Episodes,  More Daily Show Videos,  Comedy Central Full Episodes

Thirty-five years ago Rubén Berríos, the president of the Independence Party of Puerto Rico (PIP), made a very dramatic speech. He informed the world that both of the major parties in Puerto Rico were a complete fraud. The reason was very simple: both of them defined their candidates, and trolled for votes, and structured their […]

Phoenix, Arizona. Pale blue sky blushes at sunset. The heat still feels just warm on the skin this time of year. Food trucks serve up some of the best tacos this side of the border. It‘s been five years since SB1070 was signed into law. Governor Jan Brewer and state Senator Russell Pearce are out […]

As you know, we like to check out what’s new in Neo-Nativism, so we subscribe to the newsletters of several so-called “Patriot” groups. Last night we got this email from a Maryland group with the following subject line, “Can It Get Any Worse?” You can read more about the context of the email here and […]

This weekend we heard a story discussing the systematic “exporting” of drug addicts from many Puerto Rican municipalities to Chicago. We were disturbed both by the policy and by the way in which the story was framed in the pieces we heard. The stories we heard emphasized a corruption scheme in which Puerto Rican municipal […]

Last month, I was a guest on Hot 97 FM to discuss race relations and law enforcement with other invited guests. When the rest of the people in the discussion found out that I was a registered Republican, they were floored. My way of thinking, my views and the fact that I went on this […]

A week after I completed AIT (job-training school you go to after Basic Training), I found myself on a bus listening to three senior NCOs, each one close to retirement, having what seemed to me at the time to be a peculiar and surprising conversation: “I hate when people say we fight for freedom. I […]

Those who ignore history are doomed to look ridiculous. First, I’d like to give props to the Associated Press’ Matt Lee for showing how journalists can still serve the indispensable role of keeping a society, if not free, then at least accurate. When State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told him something blatantly untrue during a […]

On the morning of February 11, in a park in the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic, a Haitian man was found hanging from a tree. Bound hand and foot, the corpse of Jean Baptiste Harry has prompted special investigations, incited fiery protests on both sides of Hispañola and become the flashpoint in an international debate […]

A few things you need to know: tax stories are really complicated and quite frankly, a bit geeky. You should also know that Puerto Rico is on the brink of bankruptcy. I’m pretty sure that you haven’t heard about that fact, nor about the story that governor Alejandro García Padilla and his status-quo pro-Commonwealth Popular […]

So, Conan went to Cuba. Seems fitting considering that, once upon a time, Conan was my generation’s Johnny Carson. And if you’ve seen any of the surveys published in the past five years, you’ll know Millennials are the most open to opening relations between the United States and its closest, non-bordering neighbor. After all, we’re too […]

Originalmente escrito en inglés por Nelson A. Denis, traducido al español por Vlade. Este ensayo no juzga ni condena a Luis Muñoz Marín. Todos sabemos que el presidente Barack Obama, el gobernador David Patterson (New York) y el congresista Trey Radel (Florida) han usado cocaína, los alcaldes Marion Barry (Washington, D.C.) y Rob Ford (Toronto) fumaron […]

(Spanish version here.) This essay does not judge or condemn Luis Muñoz Marín. We all know that President Barack Obama, Governor David Patterson (New York) and Congressman Trey Radel (Florida) used cocaine, Mayors Marion Barry (Washington, D.C.) and Rob Ford (Toronto)  smoked crack, and innumerable politicians and CEOs do a little “something something” on the regular. But […]