HUD Finally Approves Recovery Funds for Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands

In a series of press releases made available March 1, the Department of Housing and Urban Development finally announced the approval of recovery funds once promised by Congress to the island territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
   
The official announcement comes almost two years after the passing of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season and includes $779 million for recovery in the US Virgin Islands along with $8.2 billion for Puerto Rico. These funds were previously authorized in February of 2018 by the U.S. Congress and were scheduled for disbursement after a finalized recovery plan for each territory was approved by HUD.

For Puerto Rico, which suffered an estimated 3,000 deaths due to Hurricane Maria with an estimated damage cost of $100 billion, the slow rollout of Federal funds has only deepened the cost of recovery.  The material and human costs of the storm have led to a near economic collapse of the island and a mass exodus of professionals seeking off-island destinations to begin their lives anew.

Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson said, “This money will directly benefit the communities who have suffered substantial damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.” “Today’s announcement is an important milestone as we help the U.S. Virgin Islands rebuild.”   In similar fashion, the HUD press release called the funds an “unprecedented investment,” for Puerto Rico.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson

However, made explicitly clear in the title of each press release was the inclusion for both territories that “APPROVAL COMES WITH TIGHT FISCAL CONTROLS,” a statement missing from similar press releases regarding hurricane recovery in Texas and Florida.

Secretary Carson, quoted in the press release regarding Puerto Rico, went further to say that “Puerto Rico has a history of fiscal malfeasance, we are putting additional financial controls in place to ensure this disaster recovery money is spent properly.”

As if the long wait has not been enough, Carson’s department explained that, “HUD will impose strict conditions and financial controls on the use of the funds.”

Nothing like adding more obstacles to the long road of recovery. Oh, sorry, I think we are supposed to be thankful.

Insurgent Blog: Whole Foods Guacamole for $10 ?!?

 

Today I went to Whole Foods looking for a rare cooking ingredient called black salt.  Whole Foods was my last hope in a quest that took my wife and I all over the city of Orlando.  But they did not have it either. So we walked around the store just to see if we could pick up anything else to make the trip worthwhile. 

2,500 Nicaraguans Told to Leave U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered the 2,500 Nicaraguans currently residing in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that they must leave by January 5, 2019.

Camila Cabello - Latina Rising

If you do not yet know Camila Cabello, you will.   Over the last year since leaving Fifth Harmony, the Cuban-Mexican American singer has risen from relative obscurity to land today at the top of the charts with her hit song "Havana."

Official Cover for the Single "Havana"

Camila Cabello's Background

Her musical career started in 2012 when she left Miami Palmetto High School and headed straight to the audition stage of The X Factor.  Her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" did not convince the judges, but her talent showed and was selected by Simon Cowell to join another four women in the female singing group as Fifth Harmony.  After four years with the singing group, Camila left on December 2016 to launch her solo career, still under Simon Cowell's Syco Music and SONY Music (Epic Records).  As the daughter of a Mexican mother and Cuban father, Camila's new single, "Havana," seems to reference that heritage when she sings the line "Half my heart is in Havana."

The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)

Official music video for Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) by K'naan featuring Residente, Riz MC & Snow Tha Product 

Donate $10 to Lin-Manuel’s Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition at: http://bit.ly/2tOfD3A and win a chance to attend the Los Angeles opening of Hamilton 

Buy/Stream The Hamilton Mixtape Here: https://Atlantic.lnk.to/HamiltonMixtape 

Directed By Tomás Whitmore 

Produced by Kimberly Stuckwisch, Melora Donoghue 

Executive Produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Rodriguez, Kimberly Stuckwisch, Ian Blair

Racist Tweets from Trump Continue

Yet again (soon to be ex-) President Trump, otherwise known to us as La Gran Naranja, has used the Tweeter social platform to demean and insult Senator Elizabeth Warren, calling her "Pocahontas."

November 2 - Latina Equal Pay Day

Yesterday, November 2, marked Latina Equal Pay Day - or the day in 2017 when on average Hispanic women in the U.S. earned enough to equal the pay of American non-hispanic white men in 2016.  Eva Longoria explains it below:

Latina Equal Pay Day, the day when the amount the average Latina is paid catches up to what the average white man made the previous year. In other words: In order to earn what a white man earned in 2016, a Latina must work that entire year—plus 10 extra months in 2017. - Eva Longoria - Fortune.com

This ten month gap makes Latinas the lowest paid demographic in the United States at only $0.54 to the dollar earned by white men.  

Given the importance of Latinas to the well being of our communities, the present state of our families, the upbringing of our children, and the very economic stability of our communities, Latino men must recognize the need for a change.

To be clear,  this is not primarily a White vs Latino issue, many Latinas are employed by Latinos who could care very little to do right by their communities.  Latino men must take equal responsibility for this gender gap, for its existence and for finding a solution out of it.

Eva Longoria, the Mexican-American actress from Texas has been speaking on issues of Latina rights for years, and its time more people paid attention. 

Her letter, published by Fortune.com, was intended to raise awareness among business leaders, but everyone needs a little more awareness on this issue.

Eva Longoria speaks on equal pay for all women in April of 2017:

 

Hurricane Irma Videos From Caribbean - Barbuda, St. Marteen, Anguilla, Dominica, Antigua

To all of our brother and sisters in the affected islands, stay safe and please take care of each other.

From St. Marteen

Entire top floor is gone. #IrmaHurricane #StMaarten good news I think the worse is behind us pic.twitter.com/9WEIRae28W

— eze (@internetofzings) September 6, 2017

From Dominica

Storm surge in Dominica #IrmaHurricane pic.twitter.com/r6Tlq7GygO

— Based Monitored 🇺🇸 (@BasedMonitored) September 6, 2017

From Antigua

This is how strong the winds are in Antigua. So everyone better prepare and be safe #IrmaHurricane pic.twitter.com/Vr58fR952V

— Etyi Zabari (@EZabari98) September 5, 2017

Latino Fraternities Take Stand For DACA

On September 1, 2017 the fraternal leadership of the country's largest Latino serving collegiate fraternities penned a letter to their national memberships calling on them to get involved in the protection of undocumented minors in our communities in the wake of rumors that the Trump Administration might move to remove the DACA protections in the coming days.

The Mayweather vs McGregor Fight: An Idiots Guide

 

 

Managua 2017: Nicaragua and The XI Central American Games

Logo of the 2017 Central American Games

 The XI Central American Games will be held over 15 days between December 3 and December 17 of 2017.

When any nation, big or small, sets out to host an international event the pressure can expose the flaws and fractures of that host society.  For Nicaragua, often cited as the poorest of the Central American nations, the opportunity to host the 2017 games comes during a period of mixed successes and failures, but with great hope.

Salma Hayek and Mexican Slang

Salma Hayek's press tour for "How to be a Latin Lover" brought her and Euguenio Derbez before a number of press outlets this week. Below she translates Maxican slav for Vanity Fair.

Mensaje al Pueblo - The Governor of Puerto Rico Signs Project 938

Machine Transcript Available Below (non-human transcription) :

Why I'm in love with Rosario Dawson

Enough said.

Of Plantains and Platanos - A Documentary Film - Summer 2016

Of Plantains and Platanos is a documentary film currently in production and set to be release in late Summer 2016.   This is just some test footage we were playing with and decided to put it up.

Get Your Trump Piñata Before it's Too Late

Donald Trump in Piñata form

No Latin American celebration should be without the HUUUUUUGGGGGGGE presence of the Donald Trump Piñata.  Maybe you have some candy you want to stuff up it's ass, or maybe, you and your Latino friends just need something to beat with a stick repeatedly.  Go get yourself a Donald Trump Piñata.

Actually maybe check out the full selection of Trump related novelties for that Trump supporter/hater in your life.

Then beat the piñata with a stick.

Kanhaiya Kumar Speech - Azadi = Freedom = Libertad

Kanhaiya Kumar's speech is currently gaining attention across the world as mostly Indian expatriates working and living in all parts of the world witness the birth of a new voice for truth and justice in India. Kumar's speech is the most direct challenge for India's government, challenging it to uphold it own constitution and protect freedom of expression and democracy in the country.


His release from prison, the cause of the event celebrated in the video, came following protests begun last month against the government for imprisoning Kumar under sedition charges.

Kumar, who last year was elected president of the Student Union at JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) is also a member of the Indian Communist Party whose values for "socialism, secularism, and equality" are intoned in the speech.

"Azadi in India," freedom in India is what he wants. "Freedom from hunger, poverty, the caste system." - LISTEN.

If India's Ministers sought to silence a voice, they failed. Instead they have awakened India and the world to another insurgent voice from below calling for a new world that should already exist.    

If India won't have Kumar, we could use someone like him in Latin America.

 Finding a proper translation is difficult at this time since the speech is over 30 minutes in length, but NDTV has provided a translation in highlights here:

1. I want to thank everyone who has stood with JNU.
2. I want to thank the people sitting in Parliament deciding what is right and what is wrong.
3. I want thank their police and some media channels.
4. I have no hatred towards anybody, especially towards ABVP.
5. Because the ABVP we have on campus is more rational than the ABVP outside.
6. There will be no witch hunt against them.
7. We have no ill feelings towards ABVP because we truly believe in democracy and the Constitution.
8. We don't look at ABVP as the enemy, we look at them like the Opposition.
9. The best thing about how JNU has stood up in one voice was that it was spontaneous
10. They had all of it planned but we were spontaneous.
11. We stand up for all parts of Constitution - socialism, secularism and equality.
12. I don't want to comment on the case. It is sub judice.
13. I have many differences with the PM but I agree with his tweet - Satyameva Jayate - truth will triumph.
14. In railway stations you will find a guy who shows you magic tricks. We have some people like that in our country.
15. They say black money will come back, sabka saath sabka vikas, equality and all that.
16. Yes we Indians forget things too soon but this time the tamasha is too big. These jumlas wont be forgotten.
17. But what will happen if you speak up?
18. Their cyber-cell will release doctored videos and count condoms in your dustbins.
19. This is a planned attack to delegitimise the UGC protests, to prevent justice to Rohith Vemula.
20. But let me just say it is not easy to get admission in JNU neither it is easy to silence those in JNU.
21. You cannot dilute our struggle.
22. They say soldiers are dying on the borders - I salute them.
23. I want to ask the BJP lawmaker who said in Parliament that soldiers are dying on the border - is he your son or brother?
24. He is the son or father of the farmer who is dying of drought.
25. Do not create a false debate in this country.
26. Who is responsible for their deaths?
27. We will not rest till everybody has an equal right to prosperity.
28. We are not asking for freedom from India because India has not colonised anyone.
29. The man fighting on the border, perhaps he wanted to study but he couldn't get to JNU.
30. You want to silence one Rohith, today look how big that revolution has become.
31. I realized one thing in jail. We people of JNU speak in civilized voices, but we use heavy terminologies.
32. Perhaps it doesn't reach the common man. We have to establish communication with the common people.
33. We will bring Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas for real.
34. Today the honourable PM was talking about Stalin, I say Modi ji speak about Hitler too sometimes. Or maybe Mussolini?
35. He speaks of Mann Ki Baat but doesn't listen.
36. What is happening today in the country is very dangerous.
37. It is not about one party, one news channel.
38. I have never told this to anybody but my family makes Rs. 3,000. Can you imagine somebody like me doing a PhD in any other college?
39. And they are calling anybody who stands up for this, traitor?
40. What kind of a self-proclaimed nationalism is this?
41. I want to remind our government that 69 per cent voted against you.
42. Just 31 per cent voted for you and some of them were caught up in your jumlas.
43. And today they are running a distraction campaign so that people don't ask them the real questions.
44. RSS mouthpiece The Organiser did a cover story on JNU.
45. If they can reason in a debate why JNU should be shut for four months, I will agree with them.
46. They want to suppress the voice of dissent but I want to tell them, you will never be able to do that.
47. Once again let's raise slogans for freedom - not from India, but within India.
48. Freedom from hunger, poverty, the caste system - all of that.

Can Bernie Sanders Win the Latino Vote in Florida?

Yes.., but not before March 15.

When Floridians head to the polls on March 15, the Democratic base is expected to continue the gradual confirmation of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America.  The rightful nominee, based on issue preference should be Bernie Sanders, but that will not matter on March 15 as the line of loyal party members march into the polling centers to elect Hillary Clinton.

The problem is not Bernie Sanders himself.  I and many other Latino I know will vote for Bernie over Hillary. but we are not the majority of either the Latino vote or the Democratic vote.  Rather, Hillary's momentum, though slowed in recent months, is carried by a long-term covenant between the Clinton and minority organizations across the United States.  Bill and Hillary both, but mostly Hillary, have accumulated two decades of goodwill with community organizers and their organizations.

When someone asks, "What has Hillary done for the Latino community?" The only real answer is not much.  She has at times spoken the right words at the right time and place, but beyond that there has been little action of any consequence in support of Latinos.  

But if we ask, "What has Hillary done for Latino community leaders?"  The real answer there is that Hillary has always managed to surround herself with Latinos of all nationalities and has done a lot to raise their image, fund raise for them, and lobby for their causes when it was possible.  I this way Hillary has not so much won the Latino community's vote, but rather won over it's organizing structure, the one that will call for volunteers and will hit the streets canvasing door to door.

Bernie's best hope, and there is hope, is for Florida's college students to head out to the polls in massive numbers. The chances of a massive youth turnout is definitely greater than that of a moderate Latino turnout, because history has proven that Latinos will not head to the polls in massive numbers for a presidential primary and don't count on any Latino organizations breaking the Clinton-covenant, even if Bernie's platform is the best for welfare and well being of the Latino community.

You Don't Have Enough Mariachi in Your Life

This is just a fact: You need more Mariachi in your life. Stop doubting this.  Check out the Mariachi Entertainment System on Youtube if you need some Mariachi today.

Suddenly Puerto Rico Matters to Republican Primary - Delegate Counts 2016

Nothing must feel so odd to a rank-and-file member of the U.S. Republican Party than to hear that the fate of Republican presidential candidates may be decided by Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico this Sunday.  Sort of.

See Puerto Rico holds 23 delegates in the 2016 Republican Primary, and 20 of those will be decided by the primary vote on Sunday March 6.   According to the rules, the votes are apportioned directly by the results in the ballot-box. That is, unless any one candidate gets 50% of the vote, at which point that candidate is granted all of the 20 primary delegate votes.  The remaining 3 delegates are technically "unprojected" or "unassigned" until the Republican National Convention is held (though in reality these have been promised to Marco Rubio).

These twenty-three delegates should not matter in a political race where the winner needs 1237 out of a possible 1777 delegates.  But for Marco Rubio a win in Puerto Rico could be used to argue that he has the ability to unite Hispanics under the Republican brand and do it without jeopardizing Republican principles.  By consequence he could argue that he can steal Hispanic votes away from Hillary Clinton.  Cruz on the other hand does not really want to win in Puerto Rico.  Ted Cruz has neither the ground team nor the community connections necessary to make a play for the island's votes.  He hopes to do well enough to counter any positives Rubio could garner but a better strategy for Cruz is to draw a better line of differentiation between himself and Rubio.  The harder Rubio argues that Hispanics prefer him and his brand of Republicanism, the easier it is for Cruz to argue that Rubio is soft on immigration, even though that issue is generally and logically null for Puerto Ricans.

Don't be surprised on Monday when Rubio claims himself the face of a new Republicam Party based on his win in Puerto Rico, and Cruz claims to be the greater stalwart against amnesty and lax immigration policies.


In the mean time, the Republican primary in Puerto Rico also gives us a great chance to see how easily the candidates  gaffe their way through the island.  The most recent tumble of the tongue happened in 2012, when presidential candidate Rick Santorum managed to alienate the very base of Republican Party support in the island when he noted his belief that Puerto Rico must speak English to be a State of the Union.

"Obviously, people can speak Spanish... but everybody needs to speak English..." he says in the interview with WIPR when asked about the process that the island would need to undergo to become a state.  His answer was the expected answer for anyone running in the Republican field.  Though we could get stuck here deconstructing the historical accuracy of whole statement but that never mattered because whatever rationale he offered would not make up for the slap in the face that the statement became for the local Republican Party of Puerto Rico and its allies on the Partido Nuevo Progresista. 

  

 

The notion that Puerto Ricans will need to adopt English, sounds a lot like saying that Puerto Ricans need to turn their backs to the Spanish-language and over 500 years of heritage to become a US state. These are notions that are quickly and strenuously disavowed by both the Republican Party of Puerto Rico and the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista. The result was to hand the other political parties in the island another reason to distrust the PNP party heading into the 2012 gubernatorial elections. So you can expect every Republican, and possibly every Democrat, presidential candidate to be asked the same question.

Or that time in 2008 when Daddy Yankee endorsed John McCain which is still one of the greatest comedic episodes in US-Puerto Rico conservative politics.

If any of the presidential primary candidates head to Puerto Rico this weekend, it is  possible this GOP-PNP alliance will again make for great Sunday morning breakfast entertainment on March 6.