Carlos García is the executive director of Puente Arizona who wrote this story with regard to Arizona Senator Martin Quezada expressing his concerns regarding AZ Senate Bill 1271.

He states:

SB1271 doesn’t create new laws that address new problems. It simply adds harsher sentences to existing laws and puts the discretion of enforcing them directly into the hands of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and others like him, instead of the state’s Attorney General. We’ve seen this approach before. Kyrsten Sinema, previous Arizona state senator, introduced a well-intentioned anti-smuggling law. But in our state, what’s intended to help gets used to hurt as quickly as the ink can dry on the governor’s desk Instead of preventing the terrible practice of smuggling, Arpaio used the bill as a pretext and extra punishment, charging undocumented people with conspiracy to smuggle themselves.   READ FULL STORY HERE>>>

That said, I wanted to get the pulse of what other Arizona Chicano leaders are saying on the matter.

Brenda Cervantes is the Program Director of the Women’s Health Care Coalition and she wrote a letter dated March 2, 2016, that states:

My name is Brenda Cervantes; I am the Program Director of the Women’s Health Care Coalition, an Arizona nonprofit, established in 2006. In 2014, our agency established the Arizona Resource Center for Immigrants out of needs identified by our outreach to working families. I am writing to urge your support in opposing SB 1271. The bill as it is written, is vague and flawed and does nothing to remedy vulnerable families from falling prey to victims of fraud.

Our nonprofit has been serving Arizona’s working economically disadvantaged for many years and recognizes the need for quality, affordable legal and pro bono services. Our Arizona’s working poor, represent teachers, nurses, blue collar workers that don’t have the extra to cover legal costs, limiting them from filing and being active participants and being able to fend for themselves within the legal justice system.

SB1271 seeks to address the need to protect a vulnerable community; however, it is repetitive of what is already in statute and furthermore, makes an exception for certified notaries.  Please note that Arizona certificated notaries submit an application and are bonded to certify identity and clearly not to prepare documents, as this bill states. The bill lacks clarity and doesn’t understand the process already in place by the state. The Arizona Supreme Court established a licensing board that provides licenses to those who seek to prepare legal documents. In fact, in 2013, Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, signed an Administrative Order No. 2013-39 which orders that the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration § 7-208 be amended as indicated in section F. Role and Responsibilities of Certificate Holders. In addition to the requirements of ACJA § 7-201 (F) the following requirements apply: “(a) Prepare or provide legal documents, without the supervision of an attorney for person or entity in any legal matter when that person or entity is not represented by an attorney.” 

The bill’s intention is confusing and in direct conflict with what is already established. In addition, the Administrative Order signed in 2013 is in alignment with national practices. The bill also creates an unnecessary regulation that is already in practice. The bill lacks common sense and is out of touch with who it seeks to protect.

The bill is a direct attack against agencies and small businesses that provide legal document preparation at an affordable price and seeks to create attorney monopolization of an industry that is already vulnerable and burdened.

Furthermore, the bill makes our Arizona families more vulnerable to unscrupulous people and attorneys that lack the experience in the field and make a lucrative business of charging exorbitant prices for filling out forms.

Please stand in support of our vulnerable Arizona families and vote against SB 1271.

Union leader via Ralph Quintana added and stated:

We must caution those who are entrusted to protect our poorest and most defenseless communities who are allowing bad things happen to them.  Quintana believes we ought to focus on matters that really matter such as our Arizona schools that are already suffering from lower public investment and saying no to proposition 123 instead. He is among others who want to vote no on Arizona’s proposition 123.

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A historic moment happened during the GOP Debate yesterday when Donald Trump mentioned his penis size during what is supposed to be a serious event as Americans decide who will lead the United States as commander in chief.  Both Senator Marco Rubio and Donald Trump have contributing to the circus we see during the GOP Debates.

Stanford research finds when masculinity is threatened, men renounce stereotypical feminine traits and exaggerate masculine traits showing signs of aggression, and according to the Business Wire:

The phrase “real man” usually brings to mind images of muscular athletes or military heroes, men who are physically strong, aggressive, and powerful. Those depictions of masculinity may seem outdated in a society where the notion of gender is ever-evolving, but in fact many men still want to project an image of physical strength and preferences that clearly set them apart from women, says Benoît Monin, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business.  … The findings also say something about male consumer behavior.

I think Monin may be on to something here because last night the Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said he wanted to buy bigger and better military weaponry.  Americans are already footing the bill with our taxpaying money as billions already go into our military and Department of Defense.  We want fiscal responsibility – not someone trying to prove his masculinity.  We do not need overcompensation of military weaponry because of identity concerns one has.

A woman has never served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS); therefore, an option would be voting in our first woman President who has the experience to be our Commander in Chief.   So many women in the US are related to sons, daughters or relatives currently serving our armed forces, and we are feeling apprehensive and pressure with regard to the multiple wars we have been engaged in. It would be helpful knowing that more women are part of the "military advisory committee", which helps plan joint operations and resolutions of military problems because, as it stands, there appears to be too much testosterone fueling those key decisions.  Talks by Donald Trump wanting to buy to buy more weaponry on steroids do not calm the fears of military families and dependents.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations:

Because of her [Secretary of State Hillary Clinton] worldwide popularity and tireless travel—she set a new record for a secretary of state by visiting 112 countries—Clinton helped undo the damage that the habitual unilateralism of the George W. Bush administration had done to the global image of the United States.

…  Like George Shultz, Ronald Reagan’s revered secretary of state, Clinton regularly stressed that diplomacy and economic development must go hand in hand. She preached that helping partner countries achieve social stability—built on progress on health, food security, and women’s rights—would create stronger alliances and new paths to solving traditional foreign policy problems.

As a veteran of the United States military, I believe the Republican candidates are showing signs of more war mongering evident in last night’s GOP debate.  Americans are tired of spending too much of our money in other countries and we want and need to fix our own Homeland issues first.  

 In Forgotten Dead, William D. Carrigan and Clive Webb uncover a comparatively neglected chapter in the story of American racial violence, the lynching of persons of Mexican origin or descent.

List Or No List

The former (Ku Klux Klan) KKK Grand Wizard David Duke appears to be a myth-maker with regard to a "list he is aware of tying politicians to the well known hate group(s)."  Earlier this year, Duke issued a warning to Republicans who have criticized House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) for speaking to a white nationalist group in 2002, saying they "better be looking over their shoulders."

Scalise has claimed otherwise. "I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group,” he said. “For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous."

A few days ago, Duke was on NEWSMAX crying about his past and "wrongfully" being introduced as a former KKK wizard, however, David Duke never apologized for being involved with the KKK to begin with, and at least Sen. Byrd did apologized and was remorseful. Where is Duke's apology?

Since the former Grand Wizard cannot produce a KKK list, we do have researchers who have found strong evidence that racism helps the GOP win.  The likes of Reince Priebus (Chair for the Republican National Committee responsible for adopting harsh anti-immigrant law in 2012 under his leadership), Mitt Romney (who took a strong anti-immigrant and self-deportation approach since he ran against Sen. John McCain in 2008), and the current GOP front runner Donald Trump know that certain phrases or slogans with a bigotry message will be used as a catalyst in order to win and be the GOP Presidential nominee.  Just the other day, Donald Trump’s son called an interview with a White Nationalist to say later that it was inadvertent.

According to the Washington Post:

Recent research by economists Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington suggests that white Southerners who defected from the Democratic party after the civil-rights movement were those with the most conservative views on race. Democrats who held moderate and conservative views on other issues and who lived in other parts of the country largely remained loyal.Polls consistently show that Republicans are more likely to hold racial prejudices, and not just in the South. Nationally, almost one in five Republicans opposes interracial dating, compared to just one in 20 Democrats, according to the Pew Research Center. While 79 percent of Republicans agree with negative statements about blacks such as the one about slavery and discrimination, just 32 percent of Democrats do, the Associated Press has found. 

While the Washington Post mostly mentions the slavery issue and negative statements about blacks in the south, Chicanos know all too well about the discrimination and lynchings against Mexicans that occurred in the southwestern part of the U.S.  The story of Mexican lynchings is virtually nonexistent. Many scholarly books have been written about racism and "Lynching in America,"  yet, most of them do not include or analyze the forgotten dead within the Mexican-American Community.

William D. Carrigan is Professor of History at Rowan University, who wrote The Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928.  He stated:

Between 1848 and1879, Mexicans were lynched at a rate of 473 victims per 100,000 and African-Americans at a rate (highest rate was in Mississippi) of 52.8  victims per 100,000. Between 1880 and 1930, Mexicans were lynched at a rate of 27 victims per 100,000 and African-Americans at a rate of 37 victims per 100,000....During the course of more than eight decades, the lynching of Mexicans continued to elude systematic analysis. While the literature on mob violence against African Americans continued to expand in scope and sophistication, there was relatively little scholarly interest in Mexican lynchings. 

Time and time again the Southern Poverty Law Center has drawn connections between the anti-immigrant movements proving John Tanton being at the heart of the white nationalist scene for decades. A few years later, the New York Times appropriately labeled John Tanton as the anti-immigrant crusader.

Acts and documents show the KKK is trying to divide and conquer minority groups and doing their best to pit one against the other.  For instance, the KKK in South Carolina is using the nation’s current illegal immigration crisis as a recruiting tool, leaving bags of candy on driveways with notes urging people to “Save our land, join the Klan.” According to Latino Fox News, When someone dials the "Klan Hotline" printed on the paper, according to FOX Carolina, a voicemail message picks up saying: "Be a man, join the Klan! Illegal immigration is destroying America." Then it addresses immigration concerns and ends with, "Always remember: if it ain't white, it ain't right. White power." 

Mexico and the United States, by Lee Stacy, is a book that examines the history and culture of Mexico and its relations with its neighbors to the north and east from the Spanish Conquest to the presidency of Vicente Fox.  It states:

The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups terrorized Mexican Americans, and the Texas Rangers exercised vigilante-like justice against those Mexican Americans they suspected were criminals.  A Mexican American, for instance, could be lynched simply for insulting or injuring a white person. 

From Mitt Romney's self-deportation ideas, to the RNC adopting an anti-immigrant platform in 2012 that was drafted by Kris Kobach, it is no surprise we are seeing Donald Trump become the front runner of the GOP Presidential race.  Under Reince Priebus's leadership, the platform stance on immigration is the brainchild of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the chief architect of the country’s most controversial state immigration laws.   Kris Kobach worked for FAIR -- an organization founded by John Tanton. 

According to a report by POLITICO:  

Kobach, who wrote Arizona's and Alabama’s controversial immigration laws, reminded the group of Republicans in a ballroom at the Marriott hotel here of Romney’s stated positions on the hot-button issue

“These positions are consistent with the Romney campaign,” he said. “As you all will remember one of the primary reasons that Gov. Romney rose past Gov. [Rick] Perry when Mr. Perry was achieving first place in the polls was because of his opposition to in-state tuition for illegal aliens.”

In my view, the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke does not have a KKK list that ties politicians to white supremacists because if he had a list, he would have exonerated himself and  produced it when Scalise essentially denied  Duke. List or no list, all one has to really do is somewhat connect the dots, and look at the politicians who consistently vote against LEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM, and are quoted for their bigotry. Many of these same politicians have ties with the John Tanton Network.  

Hoods are no longer required because a great deal of politicians have discovered it is easier for them to hide and operate in plain sight.

"As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?"  — FAIR founder and board member John Tanton, Oct. 10, 1986

A big showdown between Wall Street-loving billionaires broke out when Mitt Romney called Donald Trump a fraud.

Truth is, Mitt Romney is a fraud, too, and watching him is like seeing the pot call the kettle black -- especially on immigration matters when Mitt Romney supported self deportation ideas during his run in 2012.

Here are some bullet points with regard to Mitt Romney's past:

On abortion -- Full Flop. From "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country" to "I am firmly pro-life."

On signing a no-tax pledge -- Full Flop. As a gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts, he refused to sign a pledge that he would not seek tax increases. As a presidential candidate, he signed it.

On support for Ronald Reagan's policies -- Full Flop. As a Senate candidate in Massachusetts, he distanced himself from Reagan. As a presidential candidate, he's embraced the Gipper.

On whether humans contribute to global warming -- Half Flip. He said be believed humans contribute to climate change, but then hedged.

On gun policy -- Half Flip. Romney’s downplayed his signing of an assault weapons ban as governor in 2004, but it’s not clear that his policies have shifted as much as his rhetoric has.

On the economic stimulus -- Half Flip. Romney supported having a stimulus, but criticized the specific program Obama and congressional Democrats enacted.

On the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) -- No Flip. Romney’s view has been consistent -- TARP was necessary, but some of its operational aspects were bungled.

On support for gay marriage -- No Flip. Romney expressed some relatively liberal positions on gay rights while campaigning for senator in 1994, but he never went as far as backing same-sex marriage.

Here are a few of Donald Trump's Flip Flops from the WaPOST:

1. Afghanistan

At first he said: Entering Afghanistan was "a terrible mistake"

"We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place," he told CNN's "New Day" on Oct. 6. He added: "At some point, are they going to be there for the next 200 years? At some point what's going on? It's going to be a long time."

180: I've never said it was a mistake

"Iraq was a disaster," he told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday. "Not Afghanistan, because that's probably where we should have gone in the first place."

When pressed by CNN's Alisyn Camerota on his change of position, he said: "We made a mistake going into Iraq. I've never said we made a mistake going into Afghanistan."

2. Syrian refugees

At first, he said: "You have to" accept them

"I hate the concept of it,"Trump told Fox News's Bill O'Reilly on Sept. 9. but on a humanitarian basis, with what's happening, you have to" accept the refugees. "They're living in hell." 

90 degrees: Focus more on our own problems

A day later, Trump told CNN after a rally on Capitol Hill against President Obama's Iran nuclear deal that the United States should probably focus on its own problems here at home rather than accept so many refugees.

"I think we should help, but I think we should be very careful because frankly, we have very big problems," he said. "We're not gonna have a country if we don't start getting smart."

180: I will send them back

Less than a month later, Trump told supporters at a campaign rally and said on Fox News that accepting the estimated 10,000 refugees President Obama has agreed to take could result in "one of the greatest military coups of all times." He suggested that the refugees would be terrorists who could strike the homeland from within and that he would send the refugees back if he became president.

"If I win, they're going back," he said.

3. Planned Parenthood

At first, he said: "Absolutely they should be defunded"

Those were Trump's words to Blaze TV in July shortly after an anti-abortion group released videos of officials with the nonprofit women's health care organization talking about what to do with aborted fetal tissue. (Planned Parenthood officials maintain they did nothing wrong.)

In an Aug. 3 interview with conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt, Trump reiterated that he supported conservatives even shutting down the government in a bid to cut off Planned Parenthood from some $500 million in public funds.

180: Keep it funded

A week and a half later, Trump told CNN he opposes taxpayer dollars going to abortions but said he'd probably keep the money flowing to Planned Parenthood because of all the  "good" things the women's nonprofit health care clinic does.

4. Military spending

At first, he said: "I want to build up the military so nobody messes with us."

Days before the first Republican presidential primary debate in early August, Trump answered critics who said he had no specific policies by saying he'd spend to rebuild the military to "its height."

180: Cut spending

Almost exactly two months later, Trump told NBC's Chuck Todd  on Oct. 4 he still believes in a strong military -- but that he'd get there by cutting funding for it. "We can do it for a lot less," he said.

"'I'm gonna build a military that's gonna be much stronger than it is right now," he said. "It's gonna be so strong, nobody's gonna mess with us. But you know what? We can do it for a lot less."

 Donald Trump counters Mitt Romney's attack by attacking his manly ego and calling him "afraid" to run for President.  Will Romney take Trump's bait?  This would certainly split up the vote, and unfortunately Mitt Romney's flip flopping past would haunt him again.  Romney could not beat President Obama because he could not be trusted by the American voters.

The Bernie Sanders campaign is really desperate to appear they have a good lock in with regard to the "Hispanic" vote.  They were wrong with regard to myths they spread about Nevada's Hispanic vote, and the lack of exit poll information in Colorado does not help matters either.  Though Bernie is considered the winner for State of Colorado, Hillary Clinton won the State of Texas which is the 2nd largest Hispanic / Chicano / Latino populated state in the Union with approximately 25.7 million.   Colorado is the 8th largest state with approximately 5.1 million giving an approximate difference of about 20 million or so, according to the PEW Research.  

Exit polls were conducted in Texas giving us a bit of information, and according to NBC News, "Exit polling of a slice of Latinos who voted showed Clinton won 70 percent of those Latinos, and 28 percent voted for Sanders. The Texas Hispanic sample from the exit poll includes 405 Democratic primary respondents."  However, according to the Denver Post,  "Without exit polling, Sanders' level of Latino support was tough to gauge."

What should this mean with regard to the Chicano / Hispanic / Latino population and our vote? 

Size does matter. 

And one should consider the big picture and the delegate power a state offers based on population size, too.

Lastly, according to the Denver Post, "Clinton now looks likely to tie the Vermont senator 38-38 in the state's delegate count, according to projections from The Denver Post, Bloomberg Politics and The Associated Press. That includes a potential 38-28 split in Sanders' favor in projections based on Tuesday's preference poll results, plus 10 superdelegates (out of 12) who have committed to Clinton, the former secretary of state."

According to Bloomberg Political News:  The rapidly intensifying effort by the Republican establishment to dislodge Donald Trump from the top of the party's presidential nominating race will star 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who is preparing a speech for Thursday when he'll lay out his case against the front-runner.

On February 29, 2016 via Twitter, Romney wrote:  "A disqualifying & disgusting response by @realDonaldTrump to the KKK. His coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America."

However, the same Mitt Romney who is accusing Donald Trump of his bigotry, is the same Mitt Romney who conceded to Kris Kobach (featured speaker at a “writers' workshop” put on by the white nationalist The Social Contract Press) to being one of his advisers.  Furthermore, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump argued that 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s self-deportation policy is “mean-spirited” on a “Special Report” on the Fox News Channel.

So what is Mitt Romney's real beef with Trump?

Well, it could have something to do with Mitt Romney's Mormon religion and the not so nice views Trump has about them. 

On February 29, 2016, www.lds.net wrote:

Trump’s attempts to paint the [Mormon / LDS] Church as alien and marginal also has effects on his policies. For most candidates their ignorance about or hostility toward our faith would be incidental because of first amendment protections.

Christopher D. Cunningham should join the Chicano / Latino club with regard to attacks by Trump on our community.  Trump has managed to offend every demographic under the sun from calling Mexicans rapists and murderers ... to attacking the Roman Catholic Pope. 

Understandably, former 2012 Republican Presidential candidate and leader of the Mormon faith Mitt Romney could be lashing out at Trump for his anti-Mormon views, but Romney shouldn't do so under the guise of "KKK" and "bigotry."  Romney will be throwing stones while living in a glass house in light of his own bigotry.

CNN and a trip back to memory lane reminds us of the immigration attack ads by the Romney campaign against Senator John McCain:

"McCain pushed to let every illegal immigrant stay here permanently..." the announcer charges. "Even voted to allow illegals to collect Social Security."  Watch Romney's ad attacking McCain »

But the ad distorts the position of the Arizona Republican, who has narrowed Romney's lead in New Hampshire. McCain's compromise legislation introduced last summer, which was backed by President Bush, would have required illegal immigrants to return to their home countries and pay a fine for breaking the law before applying for legal status.

McCain also voted to allow illegals to receive past Social Security benefits only after obtaining legal status.

Romney, for his part, ordered a police crackdown on illegal immigrants two weeks before he left the job of governor of Massachusetts.  Read More>>> 

According to the L.A. Times, in December 2011, Mitt Romney aimed his fire at Obama when he said:

"There are people in this room who are informed and who care about this election, who recognize that this is a defining time for America," he said. "We have on one side a president who wants to transform America into a European-style nation, and you have on other hand someone like myself that wants to turn around America and keep America American with the principals that made us the greatest nation on Earth."

While the Romney campaign did not use "Keep America American" as a continuous slogan, a United States Presidential candidate should avoid using that phrase all together considering the KKK used a similar phrase. The 2002 book Jewish Polity and American Civil Society reports, for example:

The rise and growth of the Klan in the 1920s as well as other manifestations of hate afforded these [anti-Jewish] agencies an early opportunity to collectively mobilize their resources. Organized around the theme "Keep America American," Klan activists murdered blacks and boycotted and destroyed Jewish businesses, while leaving their trademark, the burning cross, outside synagogues.

Like Donald Trump, David Duke, the former KKK Grand Wizard was a Democrat who switched to the Republican Party. In fact, Duke was a Republican Candidate seeking the nomination for United States Presidential Candidate in 1992.  Many dixiecrats have been defecting over to the Republican Party post Civil Rights era.  The political realignment of the old confederate south now belongs to the GOP soon after the rise of Strom Thurmond and Barry Goldwater.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

David Duke is the most recognizable figure of the American radical right, a neo-Nazi, longtime Klan leader and now international spokesman for Holocaust denial who has nevertheless won election to Louisiana's House of Representatives and once was nearly elected governor.

David Duke recently told his audience on Wednesday, February 24, 2016,  that voting for anyone besides Donald Trump “is really treason to your heritage.”  Trump had also indicated he knew of Duke during a Friday, February 26, 2016,  press conference, and said: "David Duke endorsed me? OK, all right. I disavow, OK?" Yet on February 28, 2016, Donald Trump on Sunday morning refused to condemn actions taken and comments made by the Ku Klux Klan and one of its former leaders, claiming he needed to do "more research" before taking a position. 

Trump's refusal to strongly condemn David Duke's action was met with push back from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senators Marco Rubio and Cruz.  After the push back, Trump then blamed CNN for providing a ‘lousy earpiece,’ in explaining his non-answer to [Jake Tapper] when asked to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke.

And speaking of Mr. Duke, today, March 2, 2016, his head exploded during an interview today with Newsmax TV host Steve Malzberg when he appropriately introduced Duke as a former KKK wizard.  See video here.

What can this all mean?

For starters, it opens the door for Mitt Romney to be the "hero" and attack Trump, as the Republican Party begins to take Trump seriously too little and too late. 

On Twitter, Romney wrote:

A disqualifying & disgusting response by @realDonaldTrump to the KKK. His coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America.

Now Romney is expected to use a speech soon to criticize GOP front-runner Donald Trump, emphasizing that Trump is the wrong person to lead the Republican Party in November and underscoring the “choices facing the Republican Party and the country” in this election according to the CNN Wire. That said, Mitt Romney must remember he has his own bigotry demons to face and pointing fingers at Trump will remind voters how many fingers are pointed at Romney, too.

Reasonable and informed voters know that Donald Trump is playing a dangerous KKK game, and he is out of control for the GOP.  However, it's going to take a whole helluva lot more than Romney's hypocritical stance to stop him. It's clear the dixiecrats have been defecting over to the Republican Party, but the real blame ought to go to the Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus who runs a top-down organization that allowed an anti-immigrant platform to be adopted in 2012.  That platform became a magnet for the likes of Kris Kobach, Donald Trump, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and more.  It seems to me that Donald Trump is being more outspoken and vocal instead of the likes of what Kris Kobach whispers behind closed doors.

"It wasn’t just just black voters, either: Clinton dominated with Hispanics in #‎Texas." - Nate Silver

Success is the best revenge. I have been waiting for the 538 "blessing"... and although we must keep the BS campaign under our thumb, the blessing from Nate Silver and the polls-only and polls-plus methodology IS something I am more comfortable with considering how "polls are all over the place."

538 has helped hard core politicos this past year because Nate Silver is essentially a leading American statistician utilizing data science. As we approach the general election season (post #‎SuperTuesday), I would caution folks to cite credible sources. Too often I am seeing stories on my news feed that have not been vetted or researched properly, nor can political claims be substantiated.

From Latin Heat Entertainment:

Jeff Valdez
Serial Entrepreneur, Keynote Speaker, President VPI

First of all, congratulations for your work last night. It took a lot of courage to voice your thoughts about Hollywood. Until people become conscious about an issue, it’s difficult for them to create real change within themselves. Again, thank you. I believe when the mouth is open with laughter, that’s the best time to insert food for thought. You served up a buffet of “food for thought,” however, I would ask you both to consider whether you served DIVERSE delicacies or the same course over and over again.

Merriam –Webster defines “diversity,” as follows; “The state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization.” Case in point, we have to be careful that diversity isn’t viewed as only a black and white issue.

Chris, in your own words from a 2014 Hollywood Reporter interview you said:

 “But forget whether Hollywood is black enough. A better question is: Is Hollywood Mexican enough? You’re in L.A, you’ve got to try not to hire Mexicans.”

In case your GPS’ were broken guys, the Dolby Theater, is in L.A. and it  looked like you tried not to hire Latinos. There were actually more animated characters in the show, than Latinos and Asians. Chris, I kind of felt like you were telling us, “We like you, Juan, but you’re not an Omega Psi Phi.”

Reggie, I even tried to take preventative measures to avoid the exclusion of Latinos in the Oscars this year. In early December, I e-mailed you 23 pages with every possible data point you would ever need about Latinos. In my e-mail, I said, “I really hope and pray that you and the team there can empower our community, which is very much part of the fabric of our country.” Reggie, you responded by saying, “There will be Latinos on the Oscars of course!” We proudly stand with what you did last night, but where was the diversity as defined by Merriam-Webster?

Guys, you should have watched John Oliver’s, “How Is This Still A Thing- Hollywood Whitewashing,” segment online before writing the Oscars. It was really funny and on point about Hollywood’s true lack of diversity with all cultures. Had you seen that segment, you probably would have avoided marching out four American kids that happened to be Asian and then joke about how they are accountants and make cell phones. Really guys, that’s the best material you could come up with?

You guys had several Native American members from the cast of  The Revenant, in the audience, you could have let them introduce an award, or would it have been too awkward as they were in tuxedos and not wearing war paint? Jesus Christ, if anybody deserves to be on a stage as a presenter, one would think a Native American actor in anOscar winning film would have qualified.

Chris, your very poignant line, “We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer”, was quite clever and powerful. We can relate to the pain of a horrible moment in time, as today we have Presidential candidates falsely accusing Latinos of being rapists and criminals and wanting to deport 11 million people, and we do care about best cinematography, as last night,history was made, when Emmanuel Lubezki, a Latino, won “Best Cinematography,” for the third year in a row.

But nary a peep about Lubezki, nor an acknowledgment about how Alejandro González Iñárritu, as “Best Director,” is the third person in Oscar history, to win two years in a row. When you add Alfonso Cuarón, Latinos again made history by winning “Best Director,” three years in a row! One would think that there must be something in the water Latinos are drinking and that Hollywood should be hiring Latino directors left and right, based on their dominance on this area. Sadly, Latino directors especially those born in the U.S, are almost invisible in the Hollywood employment ranks, even at a time when U.S. Latinos buy 25% of all movie tickets and are currently 50.6% of the coveted 18-34 demos in LosAngeles.

READ FULL STORY AT LATIN HEAT >>>

As an Independent registered voter, I am able to see how both sides have reacted when their candidate is losing delegate strength.  Democratic voters should take heart that the Republican Party’s delegate set up is slightly worse.  A Democrat would not be able to lose all of the states and win the nomination due to the super delegates or delegates in general.  But this isn’t the case with the GOP, for instance the New York Times published a story regarding how Marco Rubio could lose every state on Super Tuesday yet still win. 

Nate Cohn wrote:

Marco Rubio has not won a state, a fact that worries allies and pleases skeptics who mock his chances to win the Republican presidential nomination. It doesn’t even sound as if the Rubio team knows when it will win one.

Can this strategy really work? Could he really lose every state on Super Tuesday and still stand a chance of becoming the nominee?

The delegate math says yes. No, it wouldn’t be optimal for Mr. Rubio to lose all 12 contests on March 1, Super Tuesday. His chances of amassing an outright majority of delegates, and becoming the presumptive nominee before the convention, would be quite low. But he would still have a real chance to take a clear delegate lead over Donald Trump, and win the nomination.

That window closes March 15. On that day a slew of big winner-take-all states will vote. If Mr. Rubio can’t hold his own in those states — Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Missouri and North Carolina — it will become extremely difficult for him to finish the primary season with a lead in pledged delegates. His more realistic strategy then would be to deny Mr. Trump a majority and hope to win at a contested convention.

Based on the above, the Republican delegate set up appears worse than the Democratic delegate issues.