The Goal Remains The Same - A Democratic Presidency in 2008

The ultimate goal for the CasaBlanca Project is to become a "home" for and to provide guidance to thousands of volunteers and organizers involved in the 2008 presidential primary cycle so that we can guarantee that the Latino vote results in a Democratic Presidential victory in the general election. More specifically, the CasaBlanca Project aims to accomplish the following:

1. Volunteer loss reduction (transition from primaries to general campaign)

2. Maximize volunteer recruitment

3. Provide high quality training materials for first time volunteers

4. Increase recruitment for Democratic Party non-candidate volunteer initiatives

5. Provide a placement service to the eventual coordinated campaign

Once the Democratic Party's Nominee for President is chosen, all of the volunteers and organizers will become part of the CasaBlanca Project, which will, in turn, assist the nominee in the general election. This will allow for continuity and guarantee that we do not lose their support or energy for the general election.

The goal remains the same - a democratic presidency in 2008. Join the Casablanca Project today and help us accomplish that goal.

Gravel Praises Edwards for his Support

Mike Gravel today made a statement on his campaign website praising Edwards for his support. According to Gravel, "It saddened me greatly to hear yesterday that John Edwards had decided to drop out of the race. We may have had our differences on some issues, such as supporting gay marriage and ending the war on drugs, but clearly he was a better choice for America than the two remaining so-called top-tier Democratic candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."

Gravel Fails in Iowa but Still in Race

According to Gravel's campaign website....We're Still in the Race! Senator Gravel has no intention of dissolving the campaign.

El mes de la herencia hispana

Bueno, estamos a solo diez dias del comienzo del mes de la herencia hispana, del 15 de setiembre al 15 de octubre. Estamos en un periodo importante de la realidad Latina en este pais.

Tenemos los anhelos aplastados de millones de indocumentados y sus aliados políticos, pero debemos contiuar la busqueda de soluciones para esta verdadera crisis que afecta a tantas personas a nivel nacional. Es una crisis como la que se ha visto ya muchas veces en la historia humana, migraciones regionales en Sudamerica, migraciones de Africa hacia Europa, migraciones internas en China, de los campos de cultivo a las ciudades. Y no siempre se corrijen los problemas con simples leyes, pero esta crisis afecta directamente a nuestra comunidad y nuestras familias, y debemos hacer lo correcto.

Tambien tenemos el lanzamiento en pocos dias de un programa de televisión que hara historia. La red nacional Univisión esta lanzando un programa de actualidad política y noticias generales llamado "Al Punto", y dirigida por el popular Jorge Ramos. Esperamos ansiosos los primeros capítulos de este programa, una categoria que faltó ya por demasiados años en la programaciós dominical de las redes de televisión de lengua española.

Y por ultimo, a disfrutar de la comida típica hispana, la comida de nuestros paises y regiones de orígen! Esta mañana, viendo la televisión mientras terminaba mi ejercicio sobre la máquina elíptica del gimnasio: Setiembre es el mes nacional del colesterol. "Que?" pense yo. Será que tiene algo que ver con el mes de la herencia hispana y nuestra comida típica?

Iniciativas Populares Nacionales

En el estado de Alaska, el cual envio a Mike Gravel al senado por dos períodos, existe un mecanismo para que la población apruebe programas a traves de votos populares (iniciativas). Este mecanismo también existe en California y 21 otros estados.

El sitio del matutino Anchorage Daily News ha publicado una entrevista con el Senador Gravel el 2 de setiembre, y se encuentra en este sitio.

PBS reverses course, will include Latinos

Not sure if you've been following this: a PBS documentary about World War II has been under fire for some time from Latino activists because they had not included any mention of Latinos' contribution to the war effort.

Originally, the film maker, Ken Burns, had rebuffed the activists and asked that judgement be withheld until the movie was complete. The movie was completed and still, no mention of Latinos' contribution. Now, PBS is announcing they are reversing their earlier posture, and they will, after all, make an effort to accurately portray our community's contribution.

San Diego Union Tribune has more on the story:

After two months of protest spearheaded in part by a longtime San Diego activist, PBS announced yesterday that filmmaker Ken Burns' upcoming seven-part documentary on World War II will be amended to include Latinos. [read the full story here]

Sen. Gravel and the Latino community

A member of the Gravel community recently posted a very compelling post on the campaign Forums. Juan Flores writes:

People thing [sic] that immigration is the most important issue to Latinos. It's not. Latinos are more concerned with jobs and, increasingly, the War in Iraq. More and more Latino kids are coming home from their tour of duty missing arms and legs. The military was once an option for Latinos who struggled in the public school system, but today they are weary of signing up and they do not trust George Bush.

Read more about it at the forum posting area.