A couple of weeks ago I was invited to be part of a panel that would preview and comment Soledad Bravo's effort, "Latino In America" #LIA. What you see here in the product of my appearance.

As I was sitting in an empty camera room, watching the video, I actually was amused, outraged, annoyed and moved to tears by what I was watching. To me that means that Soledad and her team did an awfully good job at trying to stir people's emotions and minds about the subject in question.

No, I wouldn't give them an A or even A- for their work. Even though their effort is certainly extraordinary --like the very quiet shout out they give to afroLatinos with the Garcia family with the 2 teenage boys-- CNN needed to give the topic at least 8 if not 12 hours in order to just cover the basics. I find it a failure on their part to dedicate less than a couple of minutes to Puerto Rico's colonial/commonwealth status.

That said, I think it is a good start.
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Got this today via email:

CNN’s Dobbs Problem Just Got Bigger
Media Matters calls on public to pressure “The Most Trusted Name In News”

Washington, DC -- After CNN President Jon Klein reportedly called Lou Dobbs’ coverage of conspiracy theories about President Obama’s birth certificate “legitimate” on Friday, July 24, Media Matters for America President Eric Burns sent an email to its thousands of online activists today asking for their help to publicly pressure CNN to credibly address its Lou Dobbs problem.

In the email, Burns writes: “Klein's caving to Dobbs raises a serious, troubling question: Who is really calling the shots at CNN?”

Burns also called on readers to sign a public petition, saying: “Dobbs’ relentless promotion of outlandish conspiracy theories seriously damages CNN’s credibility. It is time for ‘The Most Trusted Name in News’ to prove it deserves viewers’ trust.”

Those receiving the email are encouraged to sign the petition at http://dobbsconspiracy.com

I guess they are continuing the work started by NCLR and Southern Poverty Law Center with We Can Stop The Hate.

I just wished that instead of looking for a competitive advantage, these advocacy organizations worked with more a meshing and co-opetitive spirit. That instead of announcing their efforts as being completely independent they touted right off the bat how they're taking other people's advocacy work and pushing it to the next level with their effort.

Anyway ...

You know what's really sad? That nobody in the Latino Spanish-speaking mainstream media is taking CNN or Lou Dobbs or for that matter US mainstream media to task. Of course, the histories of the Latino MSM is not one of upsetting the status quo either.

Sigh ...

A negrita can still dream, no?

The complete email of their petition is after the jump:

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So like, I was watching Lou "I hate dark-skinned immigrants" Dobbs because no matter how much of a jerk he is, when it comes to economics, the guy knows and has people around him who know a thing or two.

Anyway, I noticed there's a lot of ads for Cialis during his show, selling 36 hour erections.

Ok sex and health bloggers, I need you to answer this one : why in the world would a guy want to be for 36 hours in a state of arousal induced by "erectile dysfunction" drugs?

Am baffled at the idea that a guy, an old guy at that, would have a hard-on for 36 hours.

WTF?
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In the first two hours of their workday most CEOs will have made more than the average worker on minimum wage. CEOs like Ray Nordelli of Home Depot, get fired by their stockholders but with secret compensation packages only known to their cronies at executive boards all across the United States, incompetence is rewarded in the hundreds of millions. In Nordelli's case, lower stock prices and spiralling costs was compensated to the tune of $200,000,000+.

Meanwhile, the Securities Exchange Commission, which has the authority to inquire and deny such payouts if it hurts stockholders, does nothing.

I honestly don't understand why so many bloggers hate Lou Dobbs. When it comes to economics, he is right on the money --with all pun intended.

Check out the clip after the jump:
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Location

Many bloggers think of Lou Dobbs as a wanker. I have always thought of him as a markets journalist with more than a few interesting things to say.

Can I hear a witness for "faith-based free trade"? Oh yeah, baby, preach it! :

Eye-glazing stuff, international trade. But the consequences of faith-based free-trade will be eye-popping in the disaster it wreaks on our economy and working Americans. The facts are anything but dull: For 30 consecutive years the United States has run a trade deficit, and our trade deficit has surged to record highs in each of the past four years. Our monthly deficits have reached record levels in two of the past three months.

Our current account deficit -- the broadest measure of international trade -- is on track to approach $1 trillion this year. And our current account deficit is almost 7 percent of our nation's gross domestic product, considerably above the threshold at which Federal Reserve studies have acknowledged our economy must make policy adjustments or face major financial crisis. We're borrowing about $3 billion a day just to pay for our imports, and our trade debt now stands at $5 trillion.

We will no longer have to be patient to see the impact of these faith-based policies in free trade. Signs are already beginning to mount that a reckoning is nearing. Our trading partners in Europe are counseling "vigilance" in the currency markets, as their anxiety rises with the value of the Euro against the dollar. For the first time, the Chinese government is publicly expressing its concern about the more than $1 trillion it holds in reserves.

But most disturbing of all are the comments of new Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who said in London Tuesday, "A strong dollar is clearly in our nation's interest and I feel very good today about the strength of the U.S. economy," as the U.S. dollar hit a 20-month low against the Euro. Treasury secretaries are not paid for their candor, but Paulson's rejection of our current reality won't bolster his credibility with either our trading partners or the new Democratic-led Congress.

Source

When I travelled earlier this year to Amsterdam and walked into an H&M store, I was hit by the painful realization that having dollars in my pocket didn't and couldn't get me far in the European city. A sweater that costs me 39 dollars in the US costs me 39 euros in Holland. Fair trade for a bargain seeker? Of course not.
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