Author: XicanoPwr

To my fellow Democrats, some members of our Party elite utterly fails to understand the power WE hold in the palms of OUR hands. To them, they see a power of just a small number to see us as a treat to the seat they hold. I am talking about those in our Party who refuse to join in the filibuster and/or those who refuse to against Alito.

As Howard Dean, we have the power. We do have the power to significantly reform American government and it is right here in front of us. So far, we have refused seize it for our own. Some refuse to see it. Is power in politics such a frightening thing? My fellow activist, I SAY NOT!!!

I have heard their arguments the argument for their reason not to support a filibuster. It’s a fight Democrats would lose in the court of public opinion; a fight that could cost some Democratic senators seats; a fight of going back on an agreement made by the Gang of 14. But I say these reasons are inexcusable!! May I remind my fellow activist, the last time Democrats used these reasons against us, WE TOLD THEM ENOUGH!!!
May we remind these senators the last time they decided to go against the wishes of their base.

The year was 1991, Thurgood Marshall announced his retirement from the bench and George Bush I nominated Clarence Thomas to fill his seat. Thomas also drew fire from the Democratic based on his stand stance on abortion, affirmative action and his allegations of sexually harassment on one of his female employees, Anita Hill. His highly charged, controversial hearings went before the Senate and was televised nationally and it too polarized the nation. In the end, the Senate confirmed Thomas 52-48.

But it took ONE PERSON in Chicago, IL who said enough was enough and she decided to run for Senate against a two term incumbent, Alan Dixon. This person was Carol Moseley-Braun.

It was her out rage in the Senate that encouraged her to run.

“I thought that the Senate had failed to do its job appropriately,” she said in 1992. “The angrier I got at the way the Senate was carrying on, the more I became convinced that it absolutely needed a healthy dose of democracy.”

I know this because it was my first vote in the electoral process. when she made her decision. Her anger fuel our desire set things right in Congress.

True, incumbents have an unfair advantage, during the primaries. Yet she still beat him and became the first female African-American Senator, something nobody can take away from her.

There is other historical precedent to show WE, THE VOTERS, have the power when we finally had enough.

No one thought Evo Morales would become Bolivia’s first indigenous president.

No one thought Michelle Bachelet would become Chili’s first woman president.

No one thought Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf would not only become Liberia’s and Africa’s first female president.

And no one thought Hamas would take control of the Palestinian government.

This is OUR YEAR to turn things around! This is OUR YEAR to make the impossible possible. YES, WE CAN DO IT!

Our voices were not silence back in 1992 and our voices will not be silenced now! So my fellow activist, spread the word to everybody you know, call your friends, tell you neighbors, tell anybody on the street and do it loud and proud! And when you do, them to call, fax and email those who continue to ride the fence of indecisions to be part of history and SUPPORT THE FILIBUSTER and if there is none, VOTE NO ON ALITO, but most importantly, let them know we will not be silenced, anymore.

They may say, “Democrats would lose in the court of public opinion” But I tell them NO! We will NOT stand in silence! We will make our voices heard on the streets!

They may say, “a fight that could cost some Democratic senators seats.” I would tell them to have faith in US because we will NOT stand in silence!

We will NOT stand in silence while the GOP continue to fan the flames of fear with untruth!

And we will NOT stand in silence as the GOP stacks the court to enshrine discrimination in our constitution!

We are here and we will NEVER be silenced!

YES ON A FILIBUSTER AND NO ON ALITO

The Associated Press just reported that Bush paid a visit to his spying foot soldiers at the NSA. It was all to give them a pep talk on a heck of a job they are doing spying on us.

President Bush paid an in-person visit to the ultra-secretive National Security Agency on…to underscore the importance of his controversial order authorizing surveillance without warrants of communications between people in the United States and overseas….He was aiming to boost the morale of the people carrying out the work of a 4-year-old domestic spying program…

I guess the people at the NSA do have a guilty conscience after all.
However, Bush explain why the spy program must continue, but I do have to say, it might surprise you. Bush told the NSA:

“We must learn the intentions of the enemies before they strike. That’s what they do here. They work to protect us.”

So, here is the million dollar question? If, our is protecting us. Then who is really trying to harm us? Could it be the one who gave the speech?

We must learn the intentions of the enemies before they strike. That’s what they do here. They work to protect us.

Two years ago, Japan imposed a blanket ban on US beef imports after mad cow disease was first discovered in a US infected cow in Washington state in 2003.

Only a month after resuming beef imports from the United States, Japanese insecptor found a banned cattle part that is believed to be a risk of mad cow disease. One condition for lifting the import ban was that all Japanese risky animal parts, such as the spinal column that was found, were to be excluded from imported beef.

On now Japan announced the closing of its border to U.S. beef imports, again. One would think, after the two year ban, inspections would be made very carefully. But that was not the case.
A Brooklyn exporter, Atlantic Veal & Lamb, happened to pack spinal cords in the shipment of beef but part of this blunder falls on the U.S. because an inspector from the Agriculture Department had approved the shipment.

Philip Peerless, president of Atlantic Veal and Lamb, released in a public statement apologizing for shipping unapproved beef:

We sincerely regret that we shipped product not approved for export to Japan. Our company shipped this product in response to an order by a Japanese customer.

But the statement went further from just an apology for it’s error, but Peerless, questioned Japan’s concern for the safety of beef since the product is “widely consumed in the U.S.” Peerless, also wanted to let the Japanese know that the people of San Francisco would have blindly eaten their product because they would have never questioned the “safety” of the beef. So Peerless decided to blame the Japanese for the company’s punishment handed down from the USDA.

The product we shipped is safe and is widely consumed in the U.S. marketplace. Were this product shipped to San Francisco, there would be no question about its safety. But because we shipped it to Japan, and because it contained bones that are not accepted by the Japanese, we have now been prohibited from exporting to Japan.

So now U.S. Officials are trying to control the damage the incident could cause to the beef industry’s export market.

“This is an unacceptable failure on our part to meet the requirements of our agreement with this trading partner, the country of Japan,” Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told reporters. “We are taking this matter very seriously, recognizing the importance of our beef export markets. And we are acting swiftly and firmly.”

Right after Japan made their announcement, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns sent additional inspectors to Japan, revoked Atlantic Veal & Lamb’s export license to Japan, ordered unannounced checks, and promised to take “appropriate personnel action” against the inspector.

“It’s a situation where very, very clearly our inspectors should have caught this,” Johanns said. “And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

However, this is not just a little mistake, but this could lead to long term effects to both Texas and Kansas, the number one and two in nation in cattle production. Before the bans, Japan was the top (37%) overseas market for U.S. beef, South Korea (21%) is the No. 3 market behind Mexico (24%).

But this incident comes at the worse time because beef exporters were just about to rebuild the overseas beef market because Japan was not the only country to place a tempoary ban. Other countries included were Mexico, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. The decline began when a discovery was made of a diseased cow in Washington state in 2003.

There are others who take the same view as
Philip Peerless, who feels Japan’s policy is being unfair to the U.S. cattle industry. Jake Cummins, executive director of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, went so far to call Japan’s decision “a draconian step.”

However, not everybody would agree with Peerless or Cummins. There are some U.S. producers who were angry with the meatpacking plant that committed the error.

Don Hineman, a beef producer from Dighton, Kan., told AP:

“I’m angry, and disappointed too.”

“Some harm has been done, and I fear getting the borders back open may be a lengthy process again,” Hineman said. “We are going to have to regain their trust and that is going to take time, unfortunately.”

The decision will create a “negative tone” in the market, indirectly affecting anyone raising beef.

Bruce Berven, vice president of marketing for Harris Ranch – the first company to send a shipment of U.S. beef to Japan said:

“You get geared up for that, and then to find out that the market is temporarily taken away because someone from New York state with a small shipment messed up _ well, it’s disheartening, frustrating and maddening,”

Cattle owner Brant Crowder of Sale Creek, TN was disappointment at the person “not paying attention.”

Now this kind of just knocks you in the face,” said Crowder, who owns about 75 head of cattle. “Who knows how long it will be? It was two years. Now you’ve got an incident done by somebody who was not paying attention to what they were doing.

The corrective measures were announced by Secretary Mike Johanns for immediate action:

• Send additional inspectors to every beef export plant to review procedures and ensure compliance with export rules.
• Require that two USDA inspectors review every shipment of U.S. beef for export to confirm compliance.
• Stage surprise inspections at every U.S. plant approved for beef export.
• Meet with U.S. beef industry representatives to review compliance with export rules for Japan.

But the question that really needs to be explored- How could the USDA inspectors not catch this mistake? According to Joseph Mendelson, Center for Food Safety’s legal director, blames the incompetence that continues to pleague the USDA for not doing enough to guard against mad cow disease. Mendelson said:

“If they just did their job domestically, then we wouldn’t have the problem.”

Echoing Mendelson’s sentaments is Kathleen Kelley, a rancher a rancher from Meeker, CO, and a member of R-CALF Stockgrowers of America who also believes the Agriculture Department is inadequate. Kelley told the Houston Chronicle:

We’ve said for a long time that we have to live by high standards, that it’s our future,” Kelley said. “We can’t continue down this path or we’re not going to have an industry.

It should be noted not all the blame should be placed on Secretary Mike Johanns even though he had one year to correct the mess created by the previous secreatary. Mike Johanns, replaced Ann Veneman, who was the first woman to hold the post of Agriculture Secretary and who is now the Executive Director of UNICEF.

While Ann Veneman was Agriculture Secretary, the USDA was like all agencies under the Bush administration, the department is run by U.S. food and trade industry. Interestingly, Charles Lambert, USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs used to work for the National Cattleman’s Association, the trade group for beef industry, which also includes beef packing distribution.

It just so happens that one day before Japan made their announcement, Inspector General Phyllis Fong released her findings in the latest Department of Agriculture audit:

A department audit found that employees who are supposed to investigate unfair or anticompetitive behavior were pressured to create the appearance of strong enforcement by logging routine letters as investigations. At the same time, senior officials were stopping complaints from being filed or prosecuted

Inspector General Fong also cited that the Packers and Stockyards Program’s “tracking system could not be relied upon, competition and complex investigations were not being performed and timely action was not being taken.” According to the report, the program did not have any formal definition for what constituted an investigation. Which resulted employees defined full-fledged investigations as routine correspondence to companies and using public data to track the companies.

The report noted, JoAnn Waterfield, the deputy administrator, would reprimand regional offices for logging too few investigations and then have them make up their deficiency by logging activities that previously had not been counted. The report also noted,  Waterfield required her managers to “perform their functions in more of a ‘big picture’ view and to evaluate the repercussions that their decisions have on the agency and the livestock and poultry industries.”

Secretary Johanns response to the audit was that he didn’t know why senior officials blocked investigations of stockyards and meat companies. Johanns replying to Waterfield sudden departure:

“But she has left, and that gives us the opportunity to declare a new day and fix the problems.”

It looks like the mess haunted him sooner than he would have hoped. If the beef industry is running the USDA and how food is packed and shipped, should the American public worry what they eat? And what about Atlantic Veal & Lamb, they only received a slap on the hand by only revoking their license to export to Japan, but – Is this Atlantic Veal & Lamb’s first mistake or are there more?

It seems that the only time the mighty beef industry were shaking in their boots, was the time Ophra Winfrey took them on.

Back in December, I wrote how the U.S. denied the Cuban baseball team into the U.S., Denied Entrance to the US for Possible Enjoyment of Financial Gain.

The week before Christmas, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, denied the Cuban Baseball Team a license to enter in the U.S. because the Bush administration had “concerns that Castro’s government could enjoy financial gain by participating.”

Looks like the Bush administration changed it’s mind and is now letting Cuba “play ball.”
However, it looks like there was more to than Castro enjoying some financial gain, according to Scott McClellan’s e-mail to The Associated Press:

“Our concerns were centered on making sure that no money was going to the Castro regime and that the World Baseball Classic would not be misused by the regime for spying.

Which was also repeated by the State Department. Sean McCormack, State Department spokesman, also echoing Bush’s reasons, said that the “initial rejection was based on concerns Cuban spies might accompany the team.”

SPYING???? This is coming from the President, who just happens to be spying on us? The same administration who had the Justice Department write a 42-page “rationale” for spying on us. Come on!! It looks like the country that the U.S. enjoys to bully around, has found some allies to defend it, and this time it was not Venezuela. It came from one of the United States’ territories, Puerto Rico.

The Bush administration had to cave in because this small U.S. territory, stood up to the Bush administration and caused a chain reaction that could have resulted denial of any future U.S. bids to host the Olympics. The Puerto Rican Baseball Federation told the International Baseball Federation it will back out of serving as a host city if Cuba was not allowed to participate.

“It’s my duty to inform you that Puerto Rico withdraws its availability to serve as host and headquarters of the World Baseball Classic in the year 2006. The reason for this decision is that the Treasury Department of the United States government has announced that it will deny the corresponding permission in violation of the Olympic regulations guaranteeing Cuba’s participation in the aforementioned event.”

This stand set off a chain reaction. The International Baseball Federation (IBAF), baseball’s world governing body, then informed the officials at the Major League Baseball they would not sanction the World Baseball Classic or the championships game which is planned in San Diego, unless the Bush administration allows Cuba to compete. Their withdrawal would have dealt a crippling blow to the tournament, and in the end affected every team involved in the tournament. And because the U.S. was dragging it’s feet, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to step in and placed conditions on the U.S. for any future bids to host the Olympics. Jacques Rogge, IOC president, said “that any future U.S. bids to host the Olympics would have to ensure there would be no restrictions on participating nations.”

It also has to be noted, Cuba’s earnings will go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and this was a decision from Cuba and not the United States.

Although Puerto Rico is not an independent country and is a territory of the United States, this is still very significant, because the territory stood up to the U.S. and defended Cuba. It is obvious that President Hugo Chavez continues to have an impact; not only in South America, but through out all of Latin American and the Caribbean, which includes Puerto Rico.

In Dec 2005, William Miranda Marin, mayor of Caguas, has urged Puerto Rican governor Anibal Acevedo Vila to sue the United States for “$100,000 million” for “damages suffered by the country.” He also stated that he thinks Puerto Rico should become a sovereign state.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s mother, TX Comptroller Carole Keeton “One Tough Grandma” Strayhorn, dropped out of the Republican Party and continue to challenge Rick Perry for governor of Texas as an Independent.

Strayhorn, was first elected as TX Comptroller of Public Accounts in 1998. Interesting, she is the mother members of the Bush Administration.
From her campaign web site:

Comptroller Strayhorn is the daughter of the late Page Keeton, the revered long-time Dean of the University of Texas Law School. He instilled in her at a very early age the importance of public service. She not only learned that lesson from her dad, she passed it on to her children. Her eldest son, Dr. Mark McClellan, is the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He previously served as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Her twin sons, Brad McClellan and Dudley McClellan are both attorneys. Brad is the manager for his mother’s campaign for governor, and Dudley is Assistant General Counsel for the State Bar of Texas. Her youngest son, Scott McClellan, is Press Secretary to the President of the United States.

What does mean for the Republican Party? Will Scott McClellan try to talk mom out of running for gov? Did the GOP kick her out of the Party. The Houston Chronicle reported that Strayhorn is not willing to talk about rumors why she is running as independent.

Strayhorn … announced in June that she would challenge Perry for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. But last week she refused to dismiss speculation that she would run as an independent to avoid Perry’s strong popularity in the GOP primary.

But one has to wonder if she was kicked out of the GOP Party. Considering she is running as an independent and her popularity in TX, it is hard not spectuclate that her move will have a factor taking away Republican votes from Perry. And if the GOP did kick her out, they messed with the wrong woman. She certainly does deserve her title as “One Tough Grandma”.

This is still a developing story.

It seems one of the conditions to enter into the US is NOT to seek any financial gain. The week before Christmas, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control rejected Cuba’s application to play in the World Baseball Classic, because of “concerns that Castro’s government could enjoy financial gain by participating.”

Based on the regulation of tournament, Cuba would get the 1 percent of tournament revenues and 5 percent if it won, that is not allowed by U.S. Treasury Department.
The World Baseball Classic is an 18-day, 16-team World Cup-style tournament. The tournament is scheduled to begin on March 3 that will bring together some of the world’s best baseball players on teams representing their home countries.

Even thought the event is scheduled for March, a 60-man roster is due on Jan. 17, so there is some urgency to resolve Cuba’s fate. Cuba is slated to play in Pool C of the tournament and is scheduled to play its first game on March 8 against Panama in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Paul Archey, MLB’s vice president of international business operations, “MLB intends to “exhaust all avenues to have Cuba participate” before taking an alternate route.”

“I’m not really sure why [the Treasury Dept.] is making these objections,” Archey said. “That’s what we’re trying to get our arms around.”

“The People United. Shall never be divided!”
In an effort to show solidarity among the Latin American countries, Puerto Rico’s Amateur Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico made the decision to protest the US decision by announcing it would not host games if the Cubans were not allowed to participate. Should Puerto Rico decide to withdraw itself as a host city, this too would put the WBC in a major dilemma. It is easier to find a replacement team, but it is harder to find a host city and make all the necessary arrangements.

Israel Roldan, the president of the Amateur Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico, was quoted in Puerto Rico’s Primera Hora that he had sent a letter to the International Baseball Federation saying that Puerto Rico was renouncing its decision to be a tournament host because Cuba was being excluded “for reasons not regarding sports or Olympic spirit.” Although, International Baseball Federation president, Aldo Notari, told The Associated Press that it’s the decision of the Major League Baseball’s to remove Puerto Rico as a host; “The position of Roldan is very good and very clear;” said Notari.

Other support has come from Hector Cardona, president of Puerto Rico’s Olympic Committee. It has been reported that Cardona has been talking to other athletic officials from Latin American in an effort to enlist their support to persuade Bush to change its position.

To combat this united front, South Florida Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who supported the Treasury Department decision to deny a license for Cuba, has recruited team of Cuban players who defected to the United States during the past two decades to represent the country. Diaz-Balart said: “We cannot–we will not–give money to the government of Cuba. Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism. What kind of message would we be sending if we lifted our embargo? That it’s OK to oppress human rights? That it’s OK to stifle free market economy? By vetoing their appearance in the WBC, we’re sending the world a message that we won’t tolerate any countries with ideologies different than ours, especially dirt poor ones.”

Players that are currently being recruited included are former Boston bullpen coach Euclides Rojas, Osvaldo Fernandez, Eddie Oropesa and Rene Arocha, the first Cuban defector to play in the majors.

“We represent Cuban baseball because we were born, were raised with and played that baseball in Cuba,” Oropesa said. “But because professional baseball is not allowed in Cuba, we had to defect and leave our families behind and begin a new life.”

Cuba continues to out shine Bush in the humanitarian front: Tournament Proceeds will go to the Katrina Effort
According to Reuters, Cuba said it would donate any money received from World Baseball Classic to Hurricane Katrina victims if the U.S. Government reverses a controversial decision to deny Cuba’s participation.

Cuba has gone on the offensive by labeling the Bush administration’s position as “shameful” and “absurd” and “having nothing to do with sports.” Fidel Castro, even went as far to say, “He is very much a fool,” talking about Bush.

In a letter to Major League Baseball, the Federation wrote: “The Cuban baseball federation, in an effort to find options, would be ready for the money corresponding to its participation in the classic to go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina left homeless in New Orleans,”

The letter further says:

How can one speak of a World Baseball Classic in which the Cuban Olympic and World Championship team is not represented?

We defend baseball and its significance for our people.

We cannot allow ourselves to be dragged along by the ultraconservatives characterizing the present United States government.

Once again we are open to seek solutions and ways to evaluate possible participation of our team.

It is not for the money that the OFAC puts forward as the motive for our interest in competing. We are a federation from a poor but dignified country; our only plan is to cooperate so that baseball continues developing and achieves inclusion again in the Olympic program in the near future. We never compete for money.

The Cuban Baseball Federation, in order to offer options, would be willing to donate the proceeds corresponding from its participation in the Classic to:

The victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The US Hypocrasy
According to the New York Times, a delegation of Cuban athletes were able to obtained visas, five months ago from the US without any difficulty. They were allowed to play their games in Seattle and Foxborough, Mass. Ted Howard, the deputy secretary general of Concacaf, the soccer confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean, said the Cubans were able to attain their visas because they went through “normal channels.” The State Department did not give the Cubans any trouble.

Concacaf spokesman, Steve Torres, said, “This is the same as granting visas for Cuban athletes to participate in the Olympics.”

But in US fashion, Treasury Department, would not comment on why the Cuban soccer players were permitted to play in the United States and the baseball team was forbidden.

Castro does a Little Baseball Trash Talking
One has to wonder why Bush allowed the Treasury Department to deny the Cuban teams from coming to the US. Could it be that Bush fears a country that currently dominates the Amateur baseworld? Last month, Castro did a little baseball trash talking. “We can do it better and take on the major leagues. … For each player that leaves, 10 better ones arise,” Castro said.

Like the US a national slogan “America’s Past Time,” Cuba too has made baseball its national sport and through out the world, Cuba has dominated international baseball. It has won every International Baseball Amateur Federation’s World Cup since 1984. Cuba also took the gold medal for baseball at the 1992, 1996 and 2004 Olympics, only falling once to the United States in the finals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

It will be interesting to see what develops in the upcoming months. It would be wise for the Bush administration to leave politics out on this sports. I would think that other Major League Players would jump on this issue considering Castro did challenge the US regarding who are the true World Series Champions. Lets drop the politics and “Play Ball!”

I hope everybody had a great day, today. I did, the fact I can spend it with family is always the best Xmas present. But I have always been bothered by this so called War on Christmas which to no suprise that it orginated by Faux News John Gibson. But the truth is it was nothing more than he and his zombie ditto heads inventing a war where there is none. It is nothing more but to surplant a subliminal delusional idea that this war on Christmas is a war on Christians, and that Christians are oppressed in this country. I am hoping he was visited by the 3 ghosts and infomed him of the reality that Christians are in the majority, but I doubt it.

But this really pissed me off, because this war has even gone so far that the only proper saying is Merry Christmas because anything other than that would “offend Christ.” That is the inhert danger when someone like Gidson plants these ideas in someone’s head. Take the person who wrote this in The Charlotte Observer Forum:

If someone greets me with “Feliz Navidad” or anything else other than “Merry Christmas” this season, I will kindly answer them with “Merry Christmas.” I truly believe to say anything else would offend Christ.

This made up war are coming from the same conservative and evangelical complainers:

“A secular and atheistic jihad,” cries a guy named David Huntwork on the GOPUSA Web site.

“Frightening,” declares Bill O’Reilly.

So it is time for a little history lesson of the magic of Christmas and how the multitude of traditions from ancient to have made their way to our modern way of celebrating Christmas.

Christmas 101
Christmas was first celebrated in ancient Rome, around 336 AD, and their actually lived a real Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas. Christmas was a popular Christian holiday until John Calvin et al came up with the crazy idea that celebrating Christmas also “offended God”, during the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s. It “offended God” because it included pagan customs into the religious observance and many Protestants chose not to celebrate it at all, including the American Puritans. Maybe it would be a good thing thing if modern day evangelicals would do the same thing time NOW. So we, like the rest of colonial America, could celebrate Christmas. During colonial American many celebrated Christmas by hunting, dancing, and feasting, while city streets filled with enthusiastic celebrants.

It was until Henry Livingston Jr’s. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (popularly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas”) Christmas became a family holiday.

Other “No Thanks to Poker in the Ass Fundi’s” Favorite Traditions
Christmas Greenery: Ancient Egyptians used palm branches, while northern cultures preferred evergreens, to brighten the home during the winter. Continuing a custom that dates back to the 16th century, German immigrants were the first Americans to purchase and decorate Christmas trees, typically in the pine family.

Saint Nick: Today’s Santa Claus, is based on a real saint who lived in Turkey in the 4th century. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his generosity and love of children. According to historical sources, he would drop coins down the chimney to preserve his anonymity and the dignity of his recipients.

Gift Giving: Is a pagan custom dating back to the Romans, Sol Invictus, gift giving is an integral part of our Christmas tradition.

Mistletoe Kissing: The myth surrounding mistletoe dates back to the eighth century when the Vikings believed that mistletoe could raise humans from the dead. This goes back to the resurrection of Balder, the god of the summer sun. His mother, Frigga, the goddess of love and beauty, like a mother “went to all of the elements — air, fire, water and earth, as well as to all of the animals and plants — and asked them not to kill Balder.” And some things never change no matter what century it is, poor Balder was teased for being a “mama’s boy.” And when that happens, their is that one bully who will make the boy’s life a living hell and Balder’s bully was Loki.

The mistletoe grows on the tree it attaches itself to, and therefore has no roots of its own and could not be affected by Frigga’s request. Loki made a poisoned dart with mistletoe, and tricked the blind brother of Balder, Hoder, into shooting the arrow that killed Balder. Frigga was heart broken, but it was a tear from Frigga that changed the red mistletoe berries to white, raising Balder from the dead. Frigga then reversed mistletoe’s bad reputation, and kissed everyone who walked underneath it out of gratitude for getting her son back.

Other pre-Christian Xmas Traditions

So, if they want a war, fine, THEREFORE THIS IS WHAT I PROPOSE:

From this day fourth, all future Christmas for those who continue to support uberfundamentalist and really belive there is a “war on christians” –
I THERE BY DECLARE THEY CAN NO LONGER:

• PARTICIPATE IN THE PAGAN RITUAL OF GIFT GIVING;
• PARTICIPATE IN THE GERMAN PRE-CHRISTIAN TRADITION OF TREE DECORATING;
• MENTION THE NAME SANTA CLAUS, ST. NICK OR ANYTHING RELATED TO SANTA CLAUS; OR
• ANY THING THAT ORGINATED BEFORE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, THIS ALL DONE IN THE NAME OF GOD AND WILL MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT OFFENDING CHRIST.

AND FROM THIS DAY FOURTH THIS WILL NOW BE PART OF A NEW CHRISTMAS TRADITION FOR ALL UBERFUNDAMENTALIST.

So I hope you enjoy your future of your soon to be boring Christmas. And if you are a parent, all I have to say, I would hate to be in your shoes, when you have to explain to your child why Santa is not coming or the reason they are not getting any presents and why they have to return any gift they receive. Some how using the excuse “it would offend Christ” since it was a Pagan tradition will not fly.

Don’t like it? Then:
GET YOUR WARPPED DELUSIONAL FUNDAMENTALIST IDEAS OUT OF MY CHRISTMAS!!!

Note: If you notice I mentioned Henry Livingston as the author of the classic poem instead of mentioning the credited author Clement Clarke Moore. The true story behind “Twas the Night Before Christmas” is about plagerism. The poem was written in 1823, which depicted the Santa we have come to know and love today, a cherubic and jolly fellow. The poem was published anonymously in the New York Sentinel. Livingston died in 1828, five years after the poem was published. Twenty years later, Moore, a religious fundi and a straitlaced academician, took advantage of Livingston’s unknown reputation and decided to take credit for writing the poem. Fundis back then are no different from fundis of today. But recently notable forensic literary critic Don Foster catches this fundi fraud and lets us know who the real author of the poem. So, lets try to correct ourselves next time we mention the author of this classic poem.

The Xicano Version of the Night Before Christmas, so, without further ado, I give you –

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through la casa Not a creature
was stirring, Caramba! Que pasa?

Los ninos were all tucked away in their camas, Some in vestidos and
some in pajamas. While Mama worked late in her little cocina, El viejo was
down at the corner cantina.

The stockings were hanging con mucho cuidado, In hopes that St.
Nicholas would feel obligado To bring all the children, both buenos y
malos, A Nice batch of dulces and other regalos. Outside in the yard
there arouse such a grito, That I jumped to my feet like a frightened
cabrito.

I went to the window and looked out afuera, And who in the world, do
you think que era? Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero Came
dashing along like a crazy bombero! And pulling his sleigh instead of
venados, Were eight little burros approaching volados.

I watched as they came, and this little hombre was shouting and
whistling and calling by nombre.

Ay, Pancho! Ay, Pepe! Ay, Cuca! Ay, Beto!
Ay, Chato! Ay, Chopo! Maruca and Nieto!

Then standing erect with his hand on his pecho He flew to the top of
our very own techo. With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea, He
struggled to squeeze down our old chimenea.

Then huffing and puffing, at last in our sala, With soot smeared all
over his red suit de gala. He filled the stockings with lovely regalos,
For none of the children had been very malos.

Then chuckling aloud and seeming contento, He turned like a flash and
was gone like the viento.

And I heard him exclaim and this is VERDAD,

Merry Christmas to all, And to All ¡Feliz Navidad!

Pancho Claus

x-posted on ePluribus Media

Committee chairperson and the former White House political director, responded to Mr. Brian Lunde and Mr. Mark Hearne’s, of the American Center for Voting Rights, report on voter fraud entitled: “Vote Fraud, Intimidation & Suppression In The 2004 Presidential Election” in a letter. In this poignant letter, Mehlman writes:

I strongly support your proposal of a zero-tolerance policy toward election fraud and intimidation…The position of the Republican National Committee is simple: we will not tolerate fraud; we will not tolerate intimidation; we will not tolerate suppression. No employee, associate, or any person representing the Republican Party who engages in these kinds of acts will remain in that position. Republicans do not need to resort to fraud and intimidation to win, and no Republican who does deserves victory.

Last Thursday, James Tobin, was convicted for his role in a telephone-jamming scheme to “disrupt phone service to five Democratic Party offices and a firefighters’ ride-to-the-polls program on Election Day 2002.” Tobin was New England’s chairperson of Bush’s reelection campaign, New England Regional Director of the Republican National Committee, and the Northeast director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Tobin, 45, of Bangor, Maine, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit telephone harassment…and one count of aiding and abetting of telephone harassment…Another count of the superseding indictment had been dismissed prior to submission of the case to the jury, and Tobin was acquitted on a charge of conspiracy to injure the free exercise of the right to vote.

One can speculate, from this crime, now-Senator John Sununu was able to beat New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen in a close race – 227,229 to 207,478 votes.

Because phone-jamming considered of little importance as a crime, it easily went unnoticed by the media. However, this race is significant; according to PBS’ NewsHour:

Sununu’s projected victory is viewed as a key win in the Republican bid to overturn the one-vote Democratic majority in the Senate.

In early 2003, Josh Marshall reported on the allegations of phone jamming scheme during the tight race in 2002 between now-Senator Sununu and Governor Shaheen. A few days before the election, New Hampshire GOP Executive Director Chuck McGee told Tobin of a plan that involved disrupting the Democrats’ communications on Election Day. McGee asked if Tobin could refer him to someone who was knowledgeable about telephones and telemarketing.

Tobin advised McGee to hire Allen Raymond, former president of Virginia-based GOP Marketplace, to carry out the phone jamming. Before the 2002 elections, McGee hired GOP Marketplace to disrupt six phone lines with hundreds of anonymous, hang-up phone calls over two hours before the plot was called off. The effected lines were four state Democratic field offices, the Manchester City Democrats and the Manchester firefighters union.

Both McGee and Raymond have already entered guilty pleas for their roles in the phone jamming. McGee has already served a seven-month sentence in federal prison. Raymond is sentenced to five months but has not yet served his or her time.

There are several interesting facts that have been overlooked:

1. Republican National Committee has paid more than $722,000 to a powerful Washington law firm hired to defend Tobin because he is the only one of the three who pleaded not guilty.
2. Tobin’s past and his or her previous employers; and
3. Back in February, The Washington Post reported that Raymond’s attorney, John Durkin, did not return their telephone call to seek a comment on a pervious comment Durkin said in court: “[H]is client had been manipulated by senior Republican officials, provoking a heated exchange with the judge;”

The Republican Party Hypocrisy
It is interesting how the Republican Party continue to reiterate its “zero-tolerance policy” and then deny that anybody used any “dirty tricks” aimed at keeping citizens from voting. Yet, the RNC is willing to pay over $700,000 for a couple of high-powered law firms to defend Tobin. According to blogger Betsy Devine – Betsy Devine: Funny Ha-Ha or Funny Peculiar? – who has been blogging about the since it first started, the two high-powered law firms in question are New Hampshire’s Rath, Young and Pignatelli and Washington DC’s Williams & Connolly. Tobin’s attorney’s are Dennis Black and Dane Butswinkas, Williams & Connolly, and Brian Tucker, Rath, Young and Pignatelli.

AP writes:

Republican Party officials said they don’t ordinarily discuss specifics of their legal work, but confirmed to The Associated Press they had agreed to underwrite Tobin’s defense because he was a longtime supporter and that he assured them he had committed no crimes.

Could the RNC’s hiring of Williams & Connolly be because the law firm belongs to Iran-Contra attorney Brendan “I’m not a potted plant” Sullivan? Or could it be that some of the law firm’s notable corporate client’s include: Arthur Andersen, Lockheed Martin, PNC Bank, Halliburton/Brown & Root, American Management Systems Inc, Alaska Pulp Corporation, and OAO Corporation? Or notable individuals, which include: President Bill Clinton, Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, Congressman Harold Ford, John Hinckley, and Oliver North?

Who is James Torbin?
There has to be more than just being a longtime supporter for the RNC to foot the bill. And there is more to Torbin, than just having strong ties to the GOP. In 2000, when Steve Forbes made a run for the Presidency, Tobin served as national political director for the Forbes’ Presidential campaign. Before the trial was an employee of the Washington, D.C.-based, DCI Group (Click here for the google search results) and he also has his own consulting firm, Tobin & Co., based in Bangor, Maine. During the 2004 election cycle was a Bush Ranger, raising at least $200,000 for the Bush 2004 reelection effort.

The DCI Group is a lobbying front founded by Republican Party ideologues and operatives from the Bush campaign, which specializes in so-called “astroturf” organizing. DCI Group itself is an offshoot of FLS-DCI, founded in 1999 by Tony Feather, Jeffrey Larson and Thomas Synhorst. All three are veteran Republican Party consultants – Feather served as the national political director for the Bush-Cheney 2000 election team. DCI Group was spun off from the main company just after Bush came into office, and has since handled several campaigns for the Republican National Committee.

The Union Leader wrote:

Tobin reported to NRSCC executive director Mitch Bainwol and political director Chris LaCivita. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist chaired the NRSCC at the time.  Subsequently, Tobin and LaCivita worked together at DCI Group, a Washington GOP lobbying and public relations firm, along with Brian McCabe, a GOP activist who formerly worked in several roles in New Hampshire, including as a campaign manager for former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff.

The Meaning behind Durkin’s remarks
During the trial Tobin’s defense attorney Dane Butswinkas, tried to portray Tobin as a hardworking family man, churchgoer and youth mentor who played an insignificant role in the phone jamming.

In 2002, Jim was working 80 to 100 hours a week. He was raising money, arranging state visits by dignitaries, and working with state parties to help them function on their own. He was making more than 100 phone calls per day.
…

My client Jim Tobin is 42 years old. He spent the first half of his life in Windham, Maine and the next half in Bangor, Maine.* He and his wife met in church–when he was 5 years old and she was 4. They have been married for 19 years. They have 4 kids–the “two bigs”, their teenage sons, and the “two littles”, aged 4 and 7. Jim is very active in the church.

At the same time, Butswinkas was trying to distance Tobin from McGee and Raymond.

Now, you have heard that Tobin was on a higher level than McGee and Raymond. I disagree. Allen Raymond was a national political figure, the head of the Republican Leadership Committee, a prestigious group that included Christie Todd Whitman. Raymond was making a six-figure salary and running a very profitable business.

John Tobin called Allen Raymond, told him a vague idea, said you can expect a call from Chuck McGee.
…

When Mr. Raymond gets here–I don’t know what he’ll say. It’s hard to predict, based on what he’s said in the past. Mr. Raymond has a 5 month sentence hanging over his head like a grand piano. He asked the start of his sentence to be held off until after this trial so that he could give, and I quote Mr. Raymond here, “valuable testimony.”

It seems the RNC is trying deflect any attention on James Tobin and try to pin it on a scapegoat, Allen Raymond. Who is scapegoat Allen Raymond? And what is his company GOP Marketplace and the Republican Leadership Council? It turns out, the Republican Leadership Council, is the Republican version of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist pressure group. Like the DLC, the RLC philosophy should adopt a more centrist strategy as oppose to the current Christian Fundamentalist position. In 1998, the Slate wrote:

About the only thing a Republican moderate is likely to get worked up about these days is the Christian right, whose existence led to the 1992 creation of the Republican Leadership Council, co-chaired by financier Henry Kravis. The group is housed in a shabby building on Capitol Hill a few doors down from the palatial headquarters of the Heritage Foundation. The elevator groans, and brown paint peels from the window frames. The RLC’s purpose seems to be precisely in tune with that of the corporate titans who supposedly rule the party: Get government out of the bedrooms and concentrate on lowering taxes. Yet the group’s budget is dwarfed by that of Heritage, which rakes in corporate contributions while scattering its attention between economic and social issues.

Moderate Republicans are giving America what it wants. Broadly speaking, they provided their party with its last two presidential nominees (George Bush and Bob Dole) and, according to early betting, will serve up the next one (George W. Bush). Yet even as their votes in Congress are courted this week by Republican leaders and the White House, their ranks seem in no danger of expanding. For all their good manners, common sense, and solicitude toward voters, they just don’t command much respect.

Josh Marshall also discusses the RLC and provides which Republicans are involved in the RLC. Steve Kornacki of PoliticsNJ.com provided some informative information regarding Allen Raymond’s background.

Raymond first involvement in the Republican Party began when he started working for the state Republican committee as well as former Rep. William Martini. Kornacki reported, in 1994, Raymond helped Martini win his congressional race, “followed the congressman to Washington, D.C. where he served as chief of staff for two years.”

However, Martini lost his re-election in 1996 to Democrat Bill Pascrell, Jr., so after the election:

Raymond became a field representative for the Republican National Committee. He served Research Director and Press Secretary of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, and founded his consulting firm three years ago. He is also the Executive Director of the Republican Leadership Council, which is chaired by former Rep. Richard A. Zimmer.

Raymond’s role in the RNC seems pretty minimal, which doesn’t really explain why the RNC would spend over hundreds of thousands of dollars on Tobin. So, how does this long time RNC backer get the red carpet treatment?

Two Scandals Colliding: Connecting the Dots
There are two interesting facts that RNC would wish this matter could just disappear: 1) Tobin worked as Northeast political director for the Republican Senatorial Committee under then-President Senator Bill Frist; 2) Tobin’s strong connections to Abramoff, DeLay, and Rove.

Dr. Frist climb to the top is very interesting and should be discussed. Senator First was first elected to the U.S. Senate 1994 during the Republican Congressional takeover. In 2000, he won his second term he was and unanimously elected chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). The purpose of the NRSC:

The Committee was formed with the primary goal of supporting Republican candidates to the United States Senate by offering current and prospective candidates support in a number of ways. The NRSC provides invaluable assistance such as budget planning and compliance guidelines for Federal Election Commission law, fundraising, communications tools and messaging, and a research and strategy center.

During that time, James “Jim” Tobin was working under Senator Frist. Tobin involvement in the GOP is very deep. He has held many leadership position, which ultimately landed him a leadership position in the Bush-Cheney ’04 Leadership Team.

Jim Tobin will serve as the New England regional campaign chairman which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Tobin is the founder of The Tobin Company, a Bangor, Maine based communications and political consulting company. Tobin has more than 20 years of political experience and has served as national political director for Forbes for President, Northeast political director for the Republican Senatorial Committee under Senator Bill Frist, regional political director at the Republican National Committee for Chairmen Barbour, Nicholson and Racicot and as a consultant to the National Republican Congressional Committee. In addition, Tobin has advised Senators Cohen, Snowe and Collins.

And as stated in Senator Frist’s Biography on the Senator’s website, in “December 2002 was [Senator Frist was] unanimously elected Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.” It further states:

Under his leadership as Chairman of the NRSC, for the first time in history, the party of the President won back majority control of the U.S. Senate in a midterm election. He assumed his position as the 18th Senate Majority Leader and 14th Republican Floor Leader having served fewer total years in the U.S. Congress than any previous leader.

If Tobin was suppose to report to Senator Frist, it would be interesting to find out what role Senator Frist had in this scheme as Tobin and McGee were carrying out their phone jamming scheme.

Betsy Devine mentions in her blog:

Josh Marshall has suggested that Tobin’s case may be tied to the Abramoff scandal. If Tobin had information on higher-level RNC involvement with Abramoff, the Feds would most likely love to make a deal.

According to New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan, there were three donations made to the New Hampshire Republican Party just before Election Day 2002. One donation came a few days before the election from Tom DeLay’s political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC). The PAC gave a donation of $5,000 to the state Republican Party and Federal Election Commission (FEC) records also show John E. Sununu receiving another $5,000 from ARMPAC via “Team Sununu” in 2002.

On October 28, 2002, two of Jack Abramoff’s represented Indian tribes, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Palm Springs, CA, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Choctaw, MS, also gave the state party $5,000. According the Associated Press, the donations equaled the amount Republicans paid the telemarketing firm that made the repeated hang-up calls to the Democratic phone banks.

According to SourceWatch, the ledger showed that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) only contributed $19.30. directly to Sununu’s campaign in 1997. As of 2002, the NRSC has yet to contribute anything to Sununu.

Even though Chuck McGee has severed his time, he continues to be loyal to the rank and file.

“No doubt, Kathy Sullivan will continue to find any angle she can to beat this dead horse, but the federal government already investigated this,” he said.

The continuing subversion of American government is a fascist pogram devised and implemented by a cult of greed. And the members of this cult are the members of the Republican National Committee and all those who continue to fund them.

The government as we know it “of the people, by the people, and for the people” has been sold to the highest bidder and those interests are those of the corporations who pour millions of dollars to line their pockets. The fact the media has refused to cover this scandal or the all the others is just proof that corporate America is in collusion with the media to keep the American people stupid, in dire financial need, and in support of the very people that are un-democratizing America.

The right to know has been severely hampered by in a game of the prophetic six degrees of George W. Bush. These are wicked people!! Sooner or later, WE THE PEOPLE WILL WAKE UP!! And when that time comes, those who continue to subvert the American democratic process will face the wrath of the oppressed. The consequences of sedition are coming, and once the great sleepy giant that is the American people wake up, there is going to be hell to pay. Six degrees of separation will not be enough to save the criminals that have attempted to play America as the stooge.

In 2002 the Institute of Medicine came out with their finding in their landmark study, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, which documented the disparities in treatment of minorities in the American healthcare system. They found:

Racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare than non-minorities, even when access-related factors, such as patients’ insurance status and income, are controlled.

The report found that one of the major factors for the lack of health insurance is due to racial disparities that occur regarding healthcare. These disparities occur in the societal context of broader social and economic inequality and a history of racial and ethnic discrimination.
The state of healthcare in America, the study found that too many Hispanic Americans do not have access to even basic health insurance coverage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004 [PDF] report, “[t]he uninsured rate in 2004 was 11.3 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 19.7 percent for blacks” compared to the “uninsured rate for Hispanics … was 32.7 percent.”

Interestingly, a study conducted by the Aetna U.S. Healthcare, over half of Americans (55%) believe people of color receive the same quality of medical care as White Americans do and only a third (28%) do believe African Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups receive a lower quality of care. In the same study, they found:

A substantial majority of White Americans (63%) see no differences in the quality of healthcare, while an almost equally strong majority of African Americans (59%) see lower quality care for people of color. Hispanics are divided on the issue.

According to Aetna U.S. Healthcare, the highest uninsured rate in the United States is among people of Hispanic origin. Over one-third, or 39 percent, of Hispanics were uninsured compared with only 14 percent for non-Hispanic whites. [Aetna U.S. Healthcare, “Concerning the Uninsured Worker: An Introduction to a Critical Issue for All Americans,” May 1999]

Although tens of millions of Americans lack health insurance, the issue is the ability keep health care. In most other economically developed countries, governments guarantee health coverage, or require that citizens have it. However, in the U.S., coverage is not stable. It can come and go. This can have devastating clinical and financial consequences for those who find themselves without health insurance, even for relatively short periods. Recently, September 2005, a study conducted The Commonwealth Fund found that the young adults and Hispanics with Medicaid or private insurance, were relatively likely to lose their coverage. And less than half of people who transitioned into and out of low income and were initially uninsured were able to obtain coverage.

In another report by the Commonwealth Fund, when it comes to the workforce, The Commonwealth Fund found that Hispanics lag far behind non-Hispanics in health insurance coverage.

In the job market, Hispanics are at a double disadvantage: they are more likely to be employed in industries and occupations where employer coverage is less likely to be offered and within these industries, Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanics to be offered coverage. For example, within the construction industry, 64% of non-Hispanic whites are offered and eligible for coverage, compared to 46% of Hispanics. Yet when they are offered health benefits, Hispanics are just as likely as non-Hispanic whites to accept it.

Lower income accounts for some, but not all of the disparity between Hispanic workers and other workers. Among families with incomes of less than $15,000, 45% of Hispanics are uninsured compared with 29% of whites and blacks. Among full-time Hispanic workers, 58% have coverage through their job, compared with 75% of blacks and 80% of whites.

“Even after years in the workforce, many Hispanics in the U.S. remain shut out of employer-based health insurance, because they are working in lower-wage jobs, often in small firms, within industries that either do not offer health benefits at all or that restrict eligibility to certain groups of workers.” said Claudia Schur, deputy director of the Project HOPE Center for Health Affairs and lead author of the report. “Policymakers, employers, and health care leaders need to be aware of the complex nature of the issue in order to craft appropriate solutions.”

Even worse, when it comes to undocumented workers, they are “twice as likely as U.S.-born Hispanics to be uninsured (49% v. 24%).”

For obvious reasons, not having health insurance can kill. About 18,000 deaths among those 25-64 in 2002 could have been prevented had they had insurance, according to the Institute of Medicine. Even when being uninsured does not result in death, it can have profoundly serious repercussions:

• Uninsured people are almost twice as likely as the insured to delay getting needed medical care (15.7 percent vs. 8.6 percent).
• Cancer patients who don’t have coverage die sooner than those with insurance, largely because of delayed diagnosis.
• Twenty-five percent of adult diabetics who were uninsured for a year or more went two years without a checkup, compared to 5 percent of diabetics with insurance.
• Children without coverage often go without medical care for  common childhood illnesses. For example, children with insurance are more than twice as likely to get medical help for recurrent ear aches and nearly twice as likely to get asthma treatment as children lacking coverage.

In addition to health consequences suffered by uninsured individuals, there are community-wide clinical consequences as well. In 1997, New York experienced a large rubella outbreak, which started in an Hispanic immigrant community where many people had no insurance, and did not receive rubella vaccinations. Subsequently, surrounding communities also became infected.

In recent news, a recent report by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) cited that the hospital system are not prepared to handle the number of patients if a pandemic broke out, in fact, “most states have few plans in place for coping and the federal government has not taken charge of such preparation.”

According to TFAH:

While considerable progress has been achieved in improving America’s health emergency preparedness, the nation is still not adequately prepared for the range of serious threats we face.

To achieve an appropriate level of preparedness, efforts must be rapidly enhanced and accelerated, requiring improved policies and funding at all levels of government

This is considerably serious among the Hispanic and non-Hispanic uninsured community because in a very recent study by Institute for Health and Aging, it was found that “not only did uninsured persons with chronic health conditions lack adequate health care, their illnesses were also poorly controlled.”

Compared with insured respondents, uninsured respondents were much less effective at managing their illnesses. The uninsured had poorly controlled illnesses, frequent health crises, difficulty procuring medication, used medication incorrectly, demonstrated poor understanding of their illness, and displayed little knowledge of self-care measures or risk awareness. They rarely had a regular physician or attended a specific health clinic.

Since studies show that persons who are uninsured seek a doctor until it is too late, then the chances of a serious avian flu outbreak are considerably high. It is critical that these findings be taken seriously because hospitals and other health care providers simply would not be aware or have any knowledge if the Avian flu outbreak were occurring. Considering Dr. David Nabarro — U.N. coordinator for avian and human influenza — predicted that the “range of deaths could be anything between 5 and 150 million.”

Therefore, this is not just a “Hispanic thing” this is an American issue that should be taken seriously. If the pandemic predictions are correct, there is enough information that shows that the speed of on outbreak will depend on the adequacy of a person’s health care. As long as the Hispanic community continues to be highest among those who are uninsured, those numbers will be a reality and deaths of thousands Americans will be on Congress’ and Bushes head.

X-posted on ePluribus Media