The Latina Voice

History is made … and it’s a great day for women.

2006-11-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

Nancy Pelosi has broken the marble ceiling, soon to become the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives -- third in line to the president of the United States. Democrats scored considerably more than the 15 seats needed to take control of the House of Representatives, delivering arguably the most powerful lawmaker position in America to the congresswoman from San Francisco.

Later on Election Night, the number of female Senators from both parties rose to a record high of 16 as the Democrats surprisingly inched toward winning a majority of the Senate too.

Political junkie or not, the elections lived up to the hype and delivered an intriguing evening filled with nail-biting and too-close-to-call races throughout the country.

A shift in balance
It appears voters were serious about change and clear in their message that the partisan politics that has divided much of the country has gone on far too long.

Exit poll numbers on the Latino vote have yet to be reported, but a positive trend appeared. In a poll released by the National Council of La Raza and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, half of Latino voters said they were “more enthusiastic” about voting this year than in previous elections. In California, by reelecting Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), voters repudiated the fear tactics of one candidate who used a highly controversial letter campaign that tried to drive immigrants away from the polls.

Congratulations to all the winners, and a special congratulations to Nancy Pelosi, soon to be the honorable 52nd Speaker of the House, the highest elected office ever held by a woman.

Why Latinas should vote

2006-11-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

A message from LatinaVoz founder, Lorraine Quintanar
October 6, 2006

When no one heard your silence in 2000 and 2004,
TheLatinaVoz.com did.

The inspiration for our online magazine began in the
summer of 2004, when an article appeared in a woman’s
magazine reporting 22 million American women had not
voted in the 2000 presidential election.

Shortly after the WOW factor wore off, we wondered how
many of the women who did not vote were Latinas. After
many weeks of searching the Internet, researching
articles and reviewing studies on civic participation,
we were no closer to an answer. However, what we did
discover disturbed us deeply. Latina news coverage was
scarce, trivial and it seemed mainstream media had
decided immigration was our only issue.

As women, we know our issues are far-reaching, and as
Latinas we know our issues go beyond immigration. Over
the past year, TheLatinaVoz.com has written about and
uncovered many of the issues and challenges facing our
families and communities today.

We’ve learned the struggle many Latinas face in
finding affordable health insurance. We’ve learned
that more than one-third of Latinas (37%) are
uninsured. We learned there is a growing health
epidemic among Latino youths--Latino children are now
disproportionately obese when compared to non- Latino
youths.

We learned that, some 30 years after the feminist
revolution calling for the end of gender
discrimination, women are still paid considerably less
then men. And we learned Latinas fare much worse,
earning only 55 cents to a man's dollar.

Access to quality education is more elusive: Latino
high school dropout rates remain high, and our college
participation low.

Our constitutional right to our reproductive rights
continues to be challenged, and the lack of access to
safe birth-control options is placing many young
women--especially Latinas--at risk.

Sadly, we’ve also learned when it comes to going to
the polls, Latinos are among the most apathetic voters
in the U.S., voting at significantly lower levels than
their white and black counterparts.

Was 2000 a mirror for 2004? Unfortunately, yes. Civic
participation among women in the 2004 presidential
election wasn’t much better than in the 2000
presidential election. Although, like the 22 million
in 2000, the number remains unconfirmed, it is
believed that some 20 million American women again
elected not to vote two years ago.

Minimal time to research issues and candidates is the
number one reason women say they don’t vote, according
to a national survey conducted by Greenberg,
Quinlan, Rosner (GQR) Research. Most women we know are
multi-taskers; they operate their daily lives in warp
speed constantly responding to work and life
pressures. As women, we get it when we hear our
sisters our moms and our friends say, “I’m tired.”

Being a woman in America is not easy, and while our
own personal struggles and pressures are real, they
are not unique to the female experience. We know our
own grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters and
aunts faced the same family and work challenges, and
still they’d say hay que luchar for a better life for
ourselves and our children.

We know throughout American history, women fought and
struggled to ensure that future generations of
American women are recognized and treated as equal
citizens afforded with the same opportunities to
pursue liberty, justice and happiness.

Being a woman in America is as much about
responsibility as it is about the pursuit of equality.
We have a responsibility to seek and to promote
practical economic policy for all our citizens. We
have a responsibility to seek and promote better
access to health care and education. We have a
responsibility to seek and promote safe schools and
child-care facilities. We have a responsibility to
seek and promote tighter laws that protect women and
children against violence. We have a responsibility to
seek and promote laws that put an end to gender and
workplace discrimination. We have a responsibility to
elect leaders who will seek and promote tolerance and
equal opportunity to all citizens. We have a
responsibility to the women who came before us--the
women who fought for not only our right to vote, but
our right to be recognized as full citizens under the
law.

As Latinas, we have a responsibility to ourselves and
to our families to VOTE. Our political participation
can make a difference today. Make your VOZ heard:
VOTE. Hay que luchar for a better life for us and our
children.

See you at the polls!

2006-10-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Investigators with the state attorney general's office have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to Hispanic families last week warning that some immigrants could be jailed or deported for voting next month, an agency spokesman said Wednesday.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, declined to identify the campaign, citing the ongoing investigation.

"We believe it's linked to a particular Republican campaign," Barankin said in a telephone interview from Sacramento. "We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained."

Legislative/Political News

2006-10-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

And the hits just keep on coming for President Bush and the GOP. The Combination of Bob Woodward’s book “State of Denial” -- which describes a very dysfunctional White House – the ongoing violence in Iraq, and the Foley sex scandal seems to be taking its political toll on the current administration and the Republican Party. A recently released Newsweek poll shows the President's approval rating at 33%. Nearly 60% disapprove of how President Bush is handling his job. Some 66% of Americans say the Iraq war has not made the country safer. The Newsweek poll also reveals a majority of Americans, 58%, believe the Bush administration purposely misled the public about Iraq.

The GOP is not faring any better. The GOP is at risk of losing the House and, some say, even the Senate. The House of Representatives had been expected to be in play in November, but the Senate was considered a longshot. The Foley sex scandal and the alleged cover-up from House speaker Hastert has rocked Washington and perhaps even the November vote. Some 53% of those surveyed in the same Newsweek poll would like to see the Democrats take control of Congress. Conversely, 35% say they would like the Republicans to retain control.

The Bush Administration held a conference to determine how the federal government can help communities improve school safety. Recent shootings in three schools in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and threats of violence in many other states prompted the meeting. President Bush asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to convene a meeting of leading experts and stakeholders to discuss how federal, state, and local governments can work together with schools, communities, and families to help ensure our schools are safe places for students to learn.

Today's Top Stories

2006-10-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Fence Meets Wall of Skepticism

GOP Officials Brace for Loss Of Seven to 30 House Seats

Bush's 'Axis of Evil' Comes Back to Haunt United States

Today's Top Stories

2006-10-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

Antiabortion Campaign Waves Feminist Flag

N. Korea Reports 1st Nuclear Arms Test

E. Coli Worry Spreads to Lettuce; California Grower Issues Recall

GOP Struggles to Shift Focus From Scandal

Today's Top Stories

2006-10-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hastert Challenged About Office's Knowledge of Foley

Abuse Experts See E-Mails as Red Flag

The Energy Diet

Today's Top Stories

2006-10-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hi-Tech Stalking Devices Extend Abusers's Reach

Roberts Court May Be Defined in Second Term

Curing the Debt Addiction

Proposition 89 Launches Latino Website to Reach this Important Segment of Voters in California

2006-09-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Aware of the increase interest in politics and participation by Latinos in California and the importance of offering information in their native language to have educated voters, Proposition 89 has launched the website www.Latinosfor89.org , which offers information in both English and Spanish and has video interviews with key Latino leaders like Dolores Huerta.

“Latinos in the U.S. and particularly in California, are very aware that our votes are our voices and ever since this latest wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, Latinos are willing to come out of the shadow and participate with a voice as big as our number,” said Felipe Agredano of California Clean Money Campaign one of the many groups allied to pass Proposition 89 this November.

“Today, big money interests decide who can run for office and what issues they can raise. Only full public financing can change that,” said Dolores Huerta, Cofounder of United Farm Workers, AFLCIO.

Proposition 89 establishes a voluntary public financing system for candidates running for state political offices. Candidates are required to reject private financing and agree to limit spending to a set amount provided by the public. Additionally, candidates need to demonstrate broad-based public support by gathering a set number of signatures and $5 donations (from 750 for Assembly races up to 25,000 for Governor). Furthermore, they must participate in at least one primary and two general election debates. Proposition 89 also establishes a limit on contributions to candidates and political action committees and places a cap on corporate contributions to ballot measures. The public financing system is patterned after the successful Clean Money systems working in Arizona and Maine since 2000.

“Prop. 89 will allow for voters to support candidates based on their ideas and true intentions for the community and not based on how much money they raised through wealthy contributions,” said Unai Montes-Irueste, Statewide Field Director for 89 Now. “It will make elected officials accountable to voters’ rather than big money contributors and will save taxpayer money since lobbyists and special interests will see their influence greatly reduced.”

Latinos and women candidates as well as voter confidence will increase under Proposition 89. In Arizona, the number of minority candidates and elected officials tripled after just a few elections cycles under their Clean Money system.

Latinos have felt for too long that it did not matter if they voted or not, since only those with lots of money could pay for politicians to have things done their way. A Clean Money system allows communities to choose their own candidates, making elected officials accountable to the voters and not to big money contributors. Public funding of campaigns encourages politicians to listen to voters instead of having to spend their time “dialing for dollars”. With Proposition 89, politicians are more compelled to engage the public and address their issues and concerns.

Officials representing Latino districts will be more directly focused on the needs of their constituents because it will be the people who dictate the decisions, not corporate and special interests. As a result, Latinos will be better represented under Clean Money and an increase in voter turnout of Latinos is very likely to occur. In Arizona, overall voter turnout has increased more than twenty percent since the adoption of Clean Money.

A broad coalition of groups, community leaders, and elected officials have already endorsed Proposition 89, including: the League of Women Voters of California, the California Nurses Association, the California Clean Money Campaign, Public Campaign, Common Cause of California, and the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, as well as the Congress of California Seniors, the Sierra Club of California, SEIU, the William C. Velasquez Institute, and the Consumer Federation of America.

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Clean Money Now - Yes on 89 is a committee of leading reform groups working with Californians for Clean Elections to pass Proposition 89, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. For more info on Prop 89 and its endorsers, go to 89Now.org.

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Cost of Senate Immigration Bill Put at $126 Billion

Pa. City Puts Illegal Immigrants on Notice

A Welfare Law Milestone Finds Many Left Behind

On the Web, Pedophiles Extend Their Reach

Anti-Poverty Efforts Face Child Marriage Hurdle

Deal to Raise Wage to $8

Bush Seeks Better Health Care Cost Info

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Eight Issues That Will Shape the 2006 Elections
Which party will control Congress?

In Porous Border, GOP Sees An Opening

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Republicans Losing The 'Security Moms'

Bush Denounces Surveillance Ruling

Maternity: Anxious Mothers and Their Calmer Babies

Patient Power: Making Sure Your Doctor Really Hears You

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Web Searches Go Low-Tech: You Ask, a Person Answers

Planning for Unthinkable Events Could Mean Survival

Consumer Prices Up, Factory Output Slows

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Group Disputes Costa Mesa's Stance on Immigration

Spending by HMOs Is Ranked

Up Close And Too Personal

Census Shows Growth of Immigrants

Governors Resist Shifting Authority Over Guard

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Aircraft Bomb Plot Thwarted in Britain

Labor Federation Forms a Pact With Day Workers

Does It ... or Doesn’t It?

Please Don’t Make Me Go on Vacation

Cartoon Exhibits Put Gender History on Display

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Lieberman Is Defeated in Primary

Fed Opts to Hold Interest Rates Steady

Is Mexico Nearing an Election Resolution?

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

House Incumbents at Risk, Poll Finds

Tale of the Tapeworm (Squeamish Readers Stop Here)

Cuban Officials Say Castro Is Recovering and the Nation Is Stable

Facing Middle Age With No Degree, and No Wife

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Underwhelmed by It All

Bush Presses Comprehensive U.N. Action

Oil Field in Alaska Shuts Down, and Prices Shoot Up

Critics Say Politics Driving Immigration Hearings

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

Female Vets Put Military Mettle in House Races

'Devil Wears Prada' Puts Heat on Boss-Women

Today's Top Stories

2006-08-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Drama in the Senate: Rich Plan, Poor Plan

Ailing Castro Transfers Powers

Today's Top Stories

2006-07-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Men Not Working, and Not Wanting Just Any Job

Newspapers to Use Links to Rivals on Web Sites

FDA to Consider 'Morning After Pill'

More Hearings, More Stalling, Say Democrats

Today's Top Stories

2006-07-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Friday Presidential Line

Bush Signs Voting Rights Act Extension

Today's Top Stories

2006-07-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Eight Issues That Will Shape the 2006 Elections

Young Latinas and a Cry for Help

Minutemen not watching over funds

Today's Top Stories

2006-07-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Voting Rights Act Extension Passes In Senate, 98 to 0
By Charles Babington

2006-07-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Artist/social activist Soraida Martinez was featured in the December issue of theLatinaVoz.com is again at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Following is an excerpt of the press release highlighting Soraida's participation in this year's National Latinos HIV/AIDS conference.

(Miami, Florida) – “The 2006 National Conference on Latinos and HIV/AIDS,” an educational forum designed specifically for professionals who provide health care for Latinos, will be held at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa, July 24th and 25th. Co-hosted by Minority Health Care Communications, Inc. (MHCC) and Nurse Practitioner Alternatives, Inc. (NPAI), the primary goal of this Latino conference is to update the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of health care professionals involved in the caring of patients with HIV/AIDS. Also, to familiarize federal and state legislators, AIDS service groups, social workers, pharmacists, nurses, counselors, church organizations, corrections health care personnel, and the health care media on the epidemiology of HIV in the USA – including the current guidelines and cutting edge clinical modalities being utilized for the management of HIV. Other issues to be discussed include the most up-to-date research encompassing drug abuse and its connection to the HIV epidemic, the social and psychiatric concerns of the HIV infected patient, and an analysis of the policy initiatives, trends, and political issues which impact the HIV infected patient.

For more information Click here