La Prensa San Diego

Commentary: By Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto  José Díaz-Balart, chief political analyst for Telemundo, had one important task during the September 7, 2011, Republican debate—to ask the candidates about immigration. Díaz-Balart asked his question, got his answer and was dismissed from the stage. The stereotype was fulfilled; a Latino asked one question and the one [...]

Commentary: By Rodolfo F. Acuña For the past six years or so I have heard constant threats from Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne (Canada) and Superintendent of Schools John Huppenthal (Indiana) that they were going to ban, destroy and wipe out Mexican American Studies, as well as Occupied America. Now after disregarding a $177,000 report [...]

Commentary: By Darryl Lorenzo Wellington  Welcome to Black History Month. The idea originated with historian Carter G. Woodson, best remembered for having published “The Mis-Education of the Negro” in 1933. In it, Woodson argued, “The so-called modern education does others so much more good than it does the Negro, because it has been worked out [...]

  Commentary: By Juan Cartagena During the very first week of the new year of 2012 came news of the loss of Robert Carter and Gordon Hirabayashi, two giants in this country’s civil rights movement and two beacons of light for the Latino community. They died only one day apart. Gordon Hirabayashi is one of [...]

 Commentary: By Rodolfo F. Acuña Teresa Wiltz in America’s Wire writes that despite claims of increased educational opportunities for minorities that the performance of black and Latino teenagers remains the same or lower than 30 years ago. In fact, the math and reading performance of black and Latino high school seniors equal that of 13-year-old [...]

  Commentary: By Andrew Kordik For readers of history, it was not shocking when the Arizona Department of Education decided to close Tucson’s Mexican-American Studies program. In a debate on the popular news program Democracy Now!, Superintendent John Huppenthal defended his position, saying, “I want to make sure these students aren’t being indoctrinated . . [...]

Commentary: By Maria Cardona If you missed the press conference after the State Department announcement that the Keystone XL pipeline had been canceled, you missed a heck of a show. House Speaker John Boehner was mad. And the Republican lawmakers behind him were furious. Over and over, Boehner and the gang asked angrily “What happened?” [...]

Commentary: By Rodolfo F. Acuña What is missing in the media’s coverage of the elimination of the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies program is that students were learning and they wanted to go to school. I take this shutdown personal. One of the reasons I have stayed in education for over fifty-five years [...]

Commentary: By Raoul Lowery Contreras Howls of laughter bounce off the walls in California’s capitol, Sacramento with the revelation of an exciting new criminal defense that follows the creative “Twinkie Defense” in San Francisco a generation ago that justified murder. The “tumor” defense of Democratic legislator Mary Hayashi bamboozled a judge enough to lower her [...]

 Opinion: By Yolanda Selene Walther-Meade, Ambassador of Our Greater San Diego Vision  Now through January 31 San Diegans have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to plan for the region’s future. Together, we can create a 50- to 100-year strategic vision and action plan for San Diego by weighing in on our priorities, hopes and concerns for this [...]

Commentary: By Michael J. Aguirre Kris: Imagine … making a child take something it doesn’t want … just because he bought too many of the wrong toys. That’s what I’ve been fighting against for years … the way they commercialize Christmas. Alfred: A lot of bad “isms” floating around this world … but one of [...]

Arizona’s apartheid war against Mexican American Studies Commentary: By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez Early on the morning of the 7th day, God wrote HB 2281; then he rested. That’s the way conservative Arizonans view this clearly unconstitutional and immoral anti-Ethnic Studies measure. The opponents of Tucson’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) department – who act as [...]

Commentary: By Anna Wong When Steve Jobs passed away, I was admittedly surprised by the public outpour surrounding his death. This not only from people who knew him personally, but also from my friends, who told me how much his life influenced theirs. “My iPhone is the first thing I pick up in the morning [...]

Commentary: By Maria Cardona Tuesday night’s tight contest for the top spot in the Iowa Republican caucuses reflects the ongoing tension that exists within the Republican Party. This struggle between the conservative religious voters — whose voice is strong and loud in Iowa and was represented by Rick Santorum — and the more moderate, mainstream [...]

Comentario: Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D. Finalmente empezó la guerra republicana por el “ticket” de las elecciones de 2012. Desde temprana hora del día martes, la batalla política en Iowa estuvo caracterizada por la incertidumbre. Nadie supo quién iba a tomar la delantera final. De momento, el candidato preferido de los libertarios, Ron Paul, parecía imponerse [...]

The most significant event of 2011 hands down should have been the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Iraq Commentary: By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez In the United States, the most significant event of 2011 hands down should have been the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Iraq. But for most Americans, the [...]

Commentary: By Starita Smith  Home care workers should get standard labor protections. President Obama is proposing an adjustment to laws governing working conditions for approximately 2 million workers whose job is helping elderly and disabled people with such basic tasks as eating, caring for their wounds and doing physical therapy. Under the Obama proposal, these [...]