A Latina Responds to Mitt Romney



Barbie Teaches Tom Tancredo A Lesson In the Beauty of Diversity!

Mattel has released a NEW black Barbie doll. She has fuller lips, curlier hair and other features that the company says more accurately represents African-American women. The doll was created by Stacy McBride-Irby, an African-American who watched her daughter play with dolls and wanted to create a doll that looked more like her. "The new Barbie means so much to me because she came from a positive place," McBride-Irby said. "My daughter loves the doll. I've had dads thank me for creating this line of dolls that represent their little girls. These dolls are for girls all over the world."

This is not the first time Mattell released an ethnic doll. In the 1990s, Mattel released a Latina Barbie and a series of ethnic Barbies. Many parents applaud the release of ethnically diverse dolls. iReporters say their little girls want to play with dolls that "look just like me."

As I was reading this article, I thought about Tom Tancredo's assimilation quote: "Throughout history, people who are NOT WHITE Anglo-Saxon (Northern European) have become American by adopting a WHITE Anglo-Saxon (Northern European) culture." Tom Tancredo wants all minorities to ASSIMILATE to some Mayberrian Vision he has in his mind. He wants minorities to drop their Color. Drop their music. Drop their dance moves. And transform into Alfred E Newman. Just like he did.

Tancredo's problem: He does not understand that our country has continued to evolve ethnically and culturally over the last two centuries. We are not and have never been Northern Europe. Additionally, our cultural identity has NEVER stood still. We are not the America of 1776, 1865, 1950, 1980 or even 2000.

The lesson Barbie is teaching Tom Tancredo: There is BEAUTY IN DIVERSITY! America is a land of Immigrants. We are the world's ideal. We are the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We do not have to assimilate to WHITE Northern Europeans. We are our own unique country. We are NOT going to assimilate to his picture of White European Alfred E Newman. We are going to be ourselves, Americans. And, as minorities grow in number, we want dolls that look like us, food we like to eat and music we enjoy. Every American does.

I love America. We are a melting pot/salad bowl. We are a land of Immigrants.
"E pluribus unum: out of many one. One state made of many states. One culture made of many cultures. One tribe made of many tribes. One clan made of many clans. One family made of many families. Made of individuals as unique and precious as life itself. "

Breaking News: Obama Names First Latina U.S. Supreme Court Justice!

President Obama has named Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor (54) to be his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history.

Sotomayor is a brilliant and highly qualified nominee. She is a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She is considered a political centrist by the American Bar Association Journal and others. Sotomayor was nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On June 25, 1997, she was nominated by former President Bill Clinton to the seat she now holds.

Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8. Her father, a tool-and-die worker with a third-grade education, died the following year. Her mother, a nurse, raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, who is now a doctor.

Sotomayor graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She earned her A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1976, where she won the Pyne Prize, the highest general award given to Princeton undergraduates. Sotomayor obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Sotomayor then served as an Assistant District Attorney under prominent New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, prosecuting robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality, and child pornography cases. In 1984, she entered private practice, making partner at the commercial litigation firm of Pavia & Harcourt, where she specialized in intellectual property litigation. Robyn Kar, who clerked for Sotomayor from 1998 to 1999, described her as a "warm, extraordinarily kind and caring person."
In 1998, for her current seat, the New York judge won the support of 25 Republicans, including eight senators who still serve. If Sotomayor is able to maintain the support of just a few of those GOP senators this year, Senate Republicans would face an almost impossible task in defeating her nomination, even by filibuster, which requires 40 votes. Currently, Republicans hold 39 senate seats. The president has said he hopes hearings will be held in July, with the confirmation completed before Congress leaves for the summer.

In the meantime, right wing extremist pundits have already started their attack against this brilliant, summa cum laude, highly qualified judge. Both Jeffrey Rosen and Mark Krikorian have called her dumb and obnoxious, admittedly without studying any of her rulings and instead relying on their own biased opinions and so-called anonymous sources. They both racistly added that the ONLY reason she is being named is because she is a Hispanic Woman. Their remarks are so typical of good ole boys. They find it hard to believe that any woman or any minority can be brilliant and qualified and should be candidates for high nominations. Rosen and Krikorian prove what racist cavemen they truly are!

Vanity Fair Revisits West Side Story with J-Lo as Anita!

West Side Story has been one of my long-time favorite Broadway Musicals. There is a Broadway revival of the play beginning this week. Vanity Fair has re-created some FABULOUS scenes from the musical featuring one of my favorite actresses, the very beautiful and sexy Jennifer Lopez as Anita. Here is my favorite picture.

Like me, Jennifer Lopez was a huge West Side Story fan who said she watched the film “37 times” as a kid growing up in the Bronx. She was especially attracted to Anita, played by Rita Moreno in the film—a fiery foil to Natalie Wood’s dewy Maria. Says Lopez, “I never wanted to be that wimpy Maria, who sits around pining for her guy. I wanted to be Anita, who danced her way to the top.”
Funny, Anita was also my favorite character in the play because of her strength and ability to take on any challenge.






Here are my two other favorite pictures:

Visit Vanity Fair to see the complete collection.

Breaking News: Obama Select Latina, Daughter of Migrants, as Secretary of Labor!

President elect Obama selected Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) as Secretary of Labor! Ms. Solis is the daughter of two migrant workers and union members.
Ms. Solis was born in Los Angeles, California, was educated at Cal Poly Pomona and then earned a master's degree at University of Southern California. She served in the Carter White House in the Office of Hispanic Affairs and later became an analyst with the Office of Management and Budget. She was elected as a member of the California State Assembly in 1992 and after one term one election to the California State Senate before entering the House. In the California legislature, she became well known for authoring bills to prevent domestic violence. She was the first Hispanic woman to ever serve in the state's senate. Ms. Solis has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 32nd District of California.
CNN is reporting:
"Labor unions Thursday praised President-elect Barack Obama's selection to head the Labor Department, Rep. Hilda Solis. Obama has enjoyed the support of organized labor since the campaign season, when the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, endorsed him for president, calling him "a champion for working families."
As a senator, Obama co-sponsored the Employee Free-Choice Act, which was designed to make it easier to create unions in the workplace. Supporters of the plan, including the AFL-CIO, said it would increase the number of union members in the United States and lead to better wages and benefits for workers.
If confirmed, Solis would be the third Hispanic to serve in Obama's Cabinet, along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is Obama's choice for secretary of commerce, and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who Obama tapped to be secretary of the interior."
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the nation's largest organized labor organization was "thrilled" that Solis would be the next labor secretary. "For Rep. Solis, serving as secretary of labor will not just be a job, but the culmination of a lifetime of action serving as a voice for people who work," Stern said. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the nation's largest organized labor organization was "thrilled" that Solis would be the next labor secretary. "We're confident that she will return to the labor department one of its core missions -- to defend workers' basic rights in our nation's workplaces," Sweeney said.