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The swearing-in of Sonia Sotomayor, on August 8, 2009, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the first Puerto Rican to reach such a prestigious institution, ought to be a moment of jubilation.
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For centuries Hispanics have felt alienated in, from, and by the legal system. Too many of us are on the wrong side [...]
The arrest for disorderly conduct of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., at his Cambridge home, on July 16, 2009, has left a sour aftertaste. Responding to a 911 caller who described two men breaking into the Cambridge house, Sgt. James M. Crowley was greeted by Professor Gates, who quickly became annoyed that a police [...]
The nomination by President Barack Obama of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court Justice for the seat left vacant by Judge David Souter is reason to celebrate. A full-fledged confirmation is in store in which not only the Senate but the American people need to find out her views on a number of decisive [...]
I’m worried about Barack Obama’s Hispanic base—or lack of it.
To explain my worries, let me explain that I’m certainly not the only Latino pleasantly surprised by the support he received from Spanish-speaking people in California, Texas, New Mexico, and even Florida in the concluding stages of the campaign. His astute staff managed to overturn the [...]
Unquestionably, the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009 marks a watershed moment in American history—Obama will become the first “mulatto” president (his mother was a white woman from Kansas, his father a black man from Kenya). After eight years of disastrous domestic and foreign policies under George W. Bush, Obama’s arrival comes not [...]
America has become new again. The triumph of Barack Obama is proof that finally the nation has grown up. The politics of division and resentment are no longer effective. Orchestrating a flawless grassroots campaign that connects to the people, valuing each of us, appeared impossible only six months ago. But [...]
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