Daddy Yankee Endorses John McCain?

Many of the girls at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona, couldn't hide their excitement when John McCain introduced "Ramón," the Puerto Rican reaggaetonero "Daddy Yankee." From one daddy to another, McCain praised DY for being married fifteen years and for “making the right choices” in his youth. "Man of few words," Ramón said McCain was the right choice for president for his stance on immigration issues (mind you, not that Ramón has to worry about deportation like many other Latino homies), and for being "a fighter for the Hispanic community." McCain, a fighter for the Latino community? Not since Ricky Martin's performance at the George W. Bush's 2001 inauguration have progressive Puerto Ricans been so perplexed if not outright appalled. It was a career ender for Ricky, though he purportedly thought the performance would increase his appeal among the oxford button-down and Sperry top-siders crowd. The bread and circuses were captured in the video below. Many continue to sleepwalk though history, while others simply can not understand why "history is what hurts" when a reaggaetonero dispenses somnambulence with every repetitive beat of a soon to be worn postmodern lullaby. "Gasolina," indeed.




"Gasolina"

Corporal Punishment in Schools

Twenty-one U.S. states still permit the use of corporal punishment in schools. This past year over 200,000 children were corporally beaten as "punishment." Most of the battered children were students of color.

Ed Stoddard writes that "[i]n 13 states in the U.S. South where corporal punishment is the most prevalent, African-American girls are twice as likely to be hit as their white counterparts, according to the 125-page report." His article is based on the Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union study, "A Violent Education: Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Public Schools."

Esteban Colbert Tells Stephen Colbert to Kiss Jorge Ramos on the Lips

Jorge Ramos, whose appeals for Latino immigrant inclusion don't go any further than claiming they'd make good "Americans" because they love "family" and are good "Christians," appeared on the Colbert Report last night. Colbert's alter ego, Esteban Colbert, sets the stage for the kiss with "las chicas Colbert." He was funnier on Strangers with Candy as the erstwhile closeted homosexual Chuck Noblet. So much opportunity, such limited imaginings.

The Imperiled Latina Body

A pregnant woman, Juana Villegas, got pulled over for a routine traffic infraction. As an undocumented immigrant, she was jailed and forced to give labor while cuffed to the hospital bed as a sheriff's officer stood guard over her. Under Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agreement "287G," which gives immigration enforcement powers to county officers, police can exceed their authority when they act on immigration laws they are not fully trained to enforce.

See Julia Preston's story in the New York Times, "Immigrant, Pregnant, Is Jailed Under Pact"