The Truth About Government Assistance, by Raquel Magana

Guest Voz: Raquel Magana, a Latina Immigrant mother of 4, who has Cancer and is currently receiving assistance. Understand, this is NOT the story Republicans promote about those receiving assistance. Instead, this is a true story about a loving Mother, with an illness, in modern America, looking for a means towards a better life for her children.

The Truth About Government Assistance, by Raquel Magana
A little insight to government assistance, because I am not embarrassed or ashamed about who I am and what I am capable of in this life, I am able to be transparent about it:

I started assistance what will be 2-yrs ago this coming June when I was introduced to it by a family advocate that was involved with my family. Mind you, coming in from a life in Mexico, this was big. I remember the intake worker saying that I would receive $600 a month and I was floored. I thought that was so much money for doing nothing. She was floored in return by my response because she was used to clients complaining that $600 was peanuts and wanted more. Again, I was coming in from Mexico where $600 a month could mean instant middle class status, or at least meat at dinner.
The past year and a half that I have received assistance I have been a full-time student, did the whole cancer battle thing, and now travel back and forth over an hour away to secure work, field work, and classes. Basically my daily schedule is close to throwing myself over the ledge and bouncing off the terrain the entire way down. I keep myself from focusing on all of the things that are not "right" because I have to focus on one thing and that is finishing. Otherwise, we are stuck in this life. No, not stuck, but screwed. There is no option. There is no out. There is only one way and that is to finish with at minimum a masters.

Last year through my chemo and surgeries I was involved in a year-long program that allowed me to use my classes as my "back to work 20-hr/wk requirement" that welfare has adopted I do believe in the year 1996 with half a dozen other rich white guy failed reforms - another topic. I still had to achieve the requirements of 20-hrs a week work related obligations to get any benefits, like assistance and the kids going to the YMCA, if, for example, I happened to have surgery scheduled. I would have to do a "job search" that added up to 20 hours that week of surgery or chemo or whatever. Now this year I work for Easter Seals for that 20 hour requirement. School does not count twds that 20-hr requirement. Only work can count towards the requirement.

The year that I was able to count my school classes for the 20 hr requirement, I was given $600 cash, actually $580. That was helpful, but certainly not living up to the label "getting rich off of the system" with four kids. When I took the job at the Easter Seals, the adjustment to that assistance went to $200/month, because I made $400 a month (200 every 2wks) at my new job. Actually, my last check was 196, 173 of it went to pay for internet so that I can do my homework. That is how we live.
If we make anymore than that, we will not get assistance. That will change the kids' circumstances at the YMCA enrollment that is only $10/wk for me instead of the $2,500 per year.

Julian, now 16 wants to get a job. He can't if he lives with me because it will count towards household income. Because we all know he will be paying my electric and heating bill - yeah, right. It would be helpful if he could drive, but we just can't.  So a house of single mom and four kids is only allowed to make 600.

Think about that when you consider the welfare system. WHO is going to get out of that type of life? No one that is who. I am because I started with school long before assistance affected me. I came from middle class and I have a lot of advantages with my own experiences and connections etc.
The only way that a person on assistance can have a different life is to die and come back as someone else. I know. It's all scraps thrown to you and your kids.

That is the truth.

Meanwhile, the kids and I look around in our house and analyze what we have and where we are and we have it good. We are rich compared to our life in Mexico. We have carpet. We have a couch. Granted, it was someone's garbage, but we have one. And our house is absolutely adorable. We have lamps and actual kitchen cupboards with real dishes in them. We have hot water - well most of the time - except for that month or two that I was fighting with the gas company. We have beds with pillows. We are appreciative in comparison to where we have been. We have access to a Laundromat - instead of a creek and washboard with Zote.

I don't know. Something's messed up. One day I will figure it out I hope. I can say that my family is tired of being oddballs in society. We are tired of being different and of knowing that a typical person's trivial complaints remind us instantly of where we have been and where we actually are. It's human nature.

Julian worked for money in Mexico in the tortillaria (tortilla making store). He also bought paletas (hand-made popsicles) for 2.50 in town and sold them in our neighborhood for 5-pesos each. And he was like nine/ten/eleven yrs-old?

Now he can't go get a job or our family's existence will be imbalanced and screwed up and he can't until I finish school.

That's something that I cannot wrap my head around. To tell my son, no you can't work, even though it is good for you. No you can't drive, even though I need you to. Julian used to shop for me in Mexico. Every day I would give him and Leah 20 or 50 pesos to run up the road to get "this, this and that" to make dinner and if that store doesn't have it, go up to that other place over on the corner. They were little.

Imagine how it is to learn about inequality and poverty and all of the stuff that social work is expected to "cure" about the USA and the things that I am to learn. And I just have to think about the whole deal in a neutral way. In each class I feel like I am going through the motions to get the degree of things that I've lived. I guess the entire trialzzzz can be considered my field work. Or validation, one or the other.

Don't judge.

One politician gets in my face one day. Just one.. I hope I live long enough.

Targetting the 2016 Latino Vote: Do's and Don'ts

The 2016 Presidential Election is just around the corner. The party that understands the following about Latino Voters may win our votes:

DO Understand:
Latinos in America are a Variety of people. Don't view us as "Mexxkins" or "Foreigners."
We are Brown, Red, Yellow, Black and White.
We are Rich, Middle Class and Poor.
We are young, middle aged and old.
We are educated, whether through formal schooling, home schooling or the school of life.

The vast majority of us speak / understand English and Spanish.
The vast majority of us are Christian and we believe in God.
The vast majority of us love our Families and are family focused.
The vast majority of us are Spiritual in Nature and feel close to our Earth and our Surroundings.
The vast majority of us are Native to the Americas. We are an indigenous people. AND we have lived in the U.S. for centuries. We LOVE the U.S.
The vast majority of us support: Universal Healthcare, Women's Rights, a Healthy Economy, Jobs, Low Gas Prices, Social Security/Medicare, low taxes, raising the minimum wage. We support our Troops. We support honest/fair Policing. We oppose: Deportations, Arpaio tactics/arrests, Racial Profiling and all forms of Discrimination.
The vast majority of us are U.S. Citizens and we VOTE, particularly in Presidential Elections.
The vast majority of us are hard working and NOT on WELFARE!
The vast majority of us love and marry other ethnicities. We have blended families and our blended families ...(wait for it) .... VOTE the way we do!

DON'T:
Don't stereotype us. Don't think we are all DUMB MEXXKINS.
Don't think we all "just came here yesterday" and "we are all illegal."
Don't make your TV/Print Ads only in Spanish, sending us messages you think we will like, which is opposite of what your TV/Print Ads say in English.
Don't have one website for your Tea Party types and another website targeting Latinos.
Don't think we are stupid. We can speak/understand both languages and we see your hypocrisy when you do this.
Don't think we only watch Univision and Spanish Language TV.
Don't think we don't understand or utilize technology. We have PCs, Laptops, iPads, etc. We use Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and more.

So to Summarize:
If you want the Latino Vote, share your written Policies on your websites and in TV/Print Ads. Be Honest. Say the same thing to Latinos as you say to the Tea Party. Tell the Truth!!
AND
If you are duplicitous, be very Aware that Bloggers like me will do our research and publish the facts on our Social Media outlets and you will NOT get our Votes!!

Latinos need to Plan NOW to Vote in the 2014 mid term Elections.

We need Immigration Reform. The 11M here -- most who have been here for decades -- since they were children, should be allowed to become Legal Citizens.
Most Americans agree.
Democrats agree.
Most Republicans do not.
Republican's version of Immigration Reform is to close the Border and make the 11M leave the country. They do not consider the cost of rounding up 11M people, incarcerating them - in prisons for months/years and providing travel for them to leave the country.
Additionally, most Republicans want to militarize the border with an electrified fence.
The most extreme (Rep Steve King) call Latinos animals.
We Latinos will NEVER vote for these Republicans.

There are a few Republicans that disagree and do support Immigration Reform. Governor Chris Christie told Latino Voters in his state that he agrees. That's why Latinos, in large numbers, voted for him. Let's hope he keeps his word.

I don't believe Congress will pass Immigration Reform in 2014. I don't believe Immigration Reform will pass until Democrats are the majority in both the Senate and the House. The only way this is possible is if Latinos vote in the 2014 mid term elections.

We need a grass roots campaign to get out the Vote!

Statistics Show: Latino, Youth & Minority Votes will be a HUGE FACTOR in the 2012 Election! Right Wing Extremists DON'T STAND A CHANCE!

Demographics are changing and statistics make it abundantly clear that the Latino, Youth and Minority Votes will be a HUGE Factor in determining who will be elected President in 2012.

Leading Republican Pundit Mike Murphy agrees: "As I wrote in this space two years ago, Republicans need to learn that we no longer hold our presidential elections in Ronald Reagan's America. Here are the numbers: in 1980, white voters cast 88% of the total presidential vote; by 2008, the percentage had shrunk to 74%. Which is why, though George W. Bush in 2000 and John McCain in 2008 both won 55% of the white vote, McCain lost by 7 points and Bush essentially tied Al Gore. Worse for the GOP, the proportion of overall votes cast by white voters will decline even more in 2012. Latinos are rapidly redrawing the demographic playing field. In 2008, Obama won the Latino vote by 36 points. His massive fundraising machine is preparing to spend millions registering even more Latinos to vote. This will have a powerful impact in the vital Western swing states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, all of which have rapidly growing Latino populations. Obama carried three of these states in 2008, losing only McCain's Arizona."
The Pew Research organization said, "Hispanics voted for Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden over Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin by a margin of more than two-to-one in the 2008 presidential election, 67% versus 31%, according to an analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center of exit polls from Edison Media Research as published by CNN. The Center's analysis also finds that 9% of the electorate was Latino, as indicated by the national exit poll. This is higher, by one percentage point, than the share in the 2004 national exit poll."
Both Murphy's analysis and the Pew statistics make it very clear. Latino Votes will have a major impact on the election. So who will win in 2012? If the Republicans hope to have a shred of chance, they must do as Murphy suggests: they MUST SHED their Nativism and attract more Latinos, or the Electoral College math becomes prohibitive."
Looking at the the Republican Candidate field, the Tea Party Favorites, the extreme right wing candidates, DO NOT HAVE A HOPE of attracting a single Latino Vote! Look at them! Look at their agendas! Republican's only hope is a Centrist Republican. However, the Tea Party calls the Centrists RINOs and refuse to back them. Instead, they stand behind the far right wing extremists who don't stand a shadow (or white hood) of a chance!

Guest Voz - Robert Creamer: Latinos Prevent Republicans From Seizing Control of Senate

Guest Voz - Robert Creamer: Latinos Prevent Republicans From Seizing Control of Senate
Republicans won control of the House Tuesday, but their hopes of controlling the Senate as well were stymied by a firewall of Latino voters who were outraged by Republican demonization of Latino immigrants, their Arizona "papers please" law, their proposal to repeal the 14th Amendment, and their overall opposition to comprehensive immigration reform.
The consequences of the Republican anti-immigrant rhetoric will likely spread far beyond last Tuesday's election. The fact that Republicans have alienated the fastest-growing ethnic group in America will have far-reaching consequences for the party's ability to win a Presidential election and compete nationally over the long term. A quick look at the numbers tells the tale:

Senator Harry Reid was trailing Tea Party icon Sharron Angle going into Tuesday's election. In fact, Reid beat Angle by over 6 percent.. The big difference was the Latino vote. Reid beat Angle among Latinos a whopping 90% to 8%, and Latino turnout was up from 12% of the electorate in the 2006 Mid-Terms to 15% in 2010.
In Colorado's Senate race, the consensus polls showed Democrat Michael Bennet losing by about 1% in a close race. Instead he won by 1%. His margin among Latinos was 81% to 19% and Latino turnout was up from 9% of the electorate in 2006 to 13% in 2010.

In the California Senate race, Barbara Boxer beat Carly Fiorina among Latinos 86% to 14%, and Latino turnout was up from 19% of the electorate in 2006 to 22% in 2010. Fiorina lost despite having spent a record-setting140 million of her own money on the campaign. Latinos also made the difference in critical Governors' races that will affect the playing field shaped by redistricting.

In California, Jerry Brown won Latinos 86% to 13% over Republican Meg Whitman, who had endorsed the Arizona law during the primary and whose hypocrisy on immigration became an issue when it was revealed she had hired an undocumented immigrant to be her maid, and then treated her badly. John Hickenlooper won the Colorado Governor's mansion in a contest with arch anti-immigrant Tom Tancredo and rightwinger Dan Maes. Among Latinos he got 77% of the vote, compared with 14% and 9% for Tancredo and Maes.
And in Illinois, Democrat Pat Quinn was re-elected by a margin of fewer than 20,000 votes. Latinos voted for Quinn 83% to 13% for his opponent. Even at 6% of the voters, the support of the Latino community was decisive.

According to election-eve polling of Latino voters conducted in eight key states (AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, NM, NV, TX), Latinos overall voted for Democrats over Republicans by approximately 75% to 25% -- a 3 to 1 margin. That is a stark contrast to six years ago when Latinos voted for Democrat John Kerry over George Bush by only 59% to 40% -- a 3 to 2 margin. There has been a massive swing toward Democrats and away from Republicans in this fastest-growing group of voters in the country.
Immigration was the major issue driving these vote totals. In some cases Republican candidates depicted Hispanics as gang members and criminals in ads that were meant to whip up fear among Anglo voters about immigration. That kind of rhetoric is not understood as a difference about a policy or issue. It directly offended the Latino community's sense of identity, pride and self-worth. That drove voter decisions as well as turnout.

The Las Vegas Sun quoted Gilberto Ramirez, a first-time, recently-naturalized voter from Reno, Nevada, as he explained how Sharron Angle's anti-Latino ads influenced the fact that he turned out and the fact that he voted for Harry Reid: "She was depicting me as a gang member. I served seven years in the Marine Corps."

Fiorina and Whitman got on the wrong side of the immigration issue in order to win Republican primaries. Angle, Tancredo, Maes and Colorado Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck overtly trumpeted their anti-immigration positions to whip up fear and anti-immigrant votes. Turned out that was a bad call. And it will likely turn out to be a worse and worse call that will effectively prevent Republicans from winning control of the White House. In fact, demographers tell us that another 1.25 million Latinos will reach voting age between now and 2012. A major organizational effort by Latino and immigration rights groups helped galvanize voter turn out. The level of organization is only likely to grow over the next several years. The fact is that as the Latino population continues to grow, it will rapidly become impossible to put together an electoral majority of 270 electoral votes with that kind of Hispanic opposition.

It is increasingly difficult for overtly anti-immigrant candidates to win electoral votes in states like California, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Florida. Together these states have 117 electoral votes. It would also be very difficult for them to win New Mexico, and might even put Texas into play. Remember that when John McCain and George Bush ran for President they presented themselves as pro-immigration reform candidates. Bush got a sizable percentage of Hispanic voters. McCain got less, but was not wiped out. Between them, Texas and New Mexico have another 34 electoral votes.

If an anti-immigration Republican disqualifies himself completely in states with 117 electoral votes, and then makes life very difficult in states with another 34 (a total of 151 votes), that massively narrows the playing-field where he or she must assemble the 270 votes needed to win election.

Of course right now, Republicans are flush with their victory in the House, and there is no sign that they recognize the looming political disaster just over the demographic horizon. Already Republicans have denied themselves potential control of the Senate because of their immigrant bashing. It is likely that the fresh gang of Tea Party extremists that they have just sent to Washington will make matters worse. Nothing like being hoisted on your own petard.

SB1070: Polls Say Majority of Americans Believe Bill Racially Profiles Latino Citizens and they Just Don't Care!

The Pew, NBC and Wall St. Journal polls are out and the polls say:
. 60% of Americans polled support sb1070
. 71% of Americans polled think legal Latino citizens will be harassed by the police.

New polls of AZ Latino Voters say:
. 81% of Arizona Latino voters oppose SB 1070
. Arizona Latino voters overwhelmingly oppose SB 1070, are increasingly frustrated by federal inaction, and are moving swiftly away from candidates who support the bill.

These polls provide us three insights:
1. The majority of those polled by Pew, NBC and NY Times are non-latino, believe sb1070 racially profiles Latinos and do not care the bill racially profiles Latinos.
2. The majority of Latino voters polled believe the bill racially profiles Latinos, oppose the bill and oppose being racially profiled.
3. The majority of Latino voters polled believe the state bill and federal inaction on immigration reform is increasing Latino Voter frustration which is resulting in a heightening of political awareness and a call to action by Latino voters across the U.S.

When I study the poll results, I am saddened. It seems so unfair. We see how Arpaio and his masked goons are racially profiling Latinos in his suppression sweeps in Latino neighborhoods in Maricopa County. We know how the bill, with its "Citizen Reporting of Latinos" clause will magnify the current racial profiling rates. The polls say Americans know the bill racially profiles Latinos, but they don't care. They just don't care.

This isn't the first time polls reflect the majority of Americans do not care about the oppression of minority groups. Back in the 60's, Jim Crow laws in Alabama and Mississippi were vastly supported by the great majority of Americans. During World War 2, there was virtual consensus that the government had done the right thing in establishing Japanese Internment Camps and moving Japanese aliens away from the coast. 59 percent of the interviewees also favored moving American citizens of Japanese ancestry into these Internment Camps.

What the polls tell us are people's state of minds. That doesn't make them right or wrong. It just tells us the truth about what people are thinking. It tells us everyday Americans believe sb1070 racially profiles Latino citizens and those polled just don't care. Part of the reason they don't care is because Latinos have been far too humble, far too meek, far too mild, too docile, too accommodating. We continue to spend our money in businesses that support racial profiling. We have not registered to vote nor voted in sufficient numbers. Heck, Latinos don't even participate in Pew, or NBC or Wall St. Journal polls. That is clear! We are not being asked. No one is asking us and up until now, there have been no ramifications. None!
We continue to spend our money, work our hearts out, serve in the front lines of the military, go to church and keep to ourselves. Latino Citizens are 50M strong in this great country of ours. We are close to 20% of the population, but we are only 8% of the vote.

So now, our lack of participation in the polls and in the voting booth is resulting in our getting stepped on, racially profiled and Nobody Cares.

I ask all Latinos who read this blog and who have studied these polls, do NOT get Mad! Instead, we have two lessons we Latinos and our Humanitarian supporters can learn from this:
1. BOYCOTT: Stop Spending $ in Arizona; Stop Spending $ in any Business that supports sb1070. Encourage your relatives and friends to do the same.
2. VOTE: Register to Vote and VOTE! Vote in 2010. Vote in 2012. Vote! Study the Issues. Vote for people who support your beliefs. Vote against anyone that opposes your beliefs. Encourage your relatives and friends to do the same.

To President Obama: Anytime you have a majority infringing upon the rights of a minority, then that's usually when the Justice Department does need to stand up. President Obama, please ask Eric Holder to provide us the results of the DOJ/FBI investigation against Arpaio and his masked goons. Ask him to support the lawsuits which say sb1070 violates Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.