Andrew Orci, COO of LA based Hispanic advertising agency Orci, discusses the 2010 census and Hispanic buying power, and what it means for the U.S. advertising industry. Video from Orci.Andrew Orci, COO of LA based Hispanic advertising agency Orci, discusses the 2010... more
Washington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the food industry.
Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.
During the first nine months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages - which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks and chocolate milk.
About $5 million of the money was spent on a national advertising campaign aimed at Capitol Hill lawmakers and promoting a newly formed coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes . The group bills itself on its website as a coalition of "responsible individuals, financially-strapped families, [and] small and large businesses" but its 400-plus membership list is dominated by industry heavyweights such as Burger King Corporation, Coca Cola, Pepsico and Domino's Pizza.
Many health officials and advocacy groups have argued for years that sugary drinks, particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup, have been key contributors to a rise in obesity rates in the United States, especially among children. Some argue that the time is right for a soda tax, which they say could not only cut consumption but also generate revenue to close state budget gaps and pay for new health care programs.
A proposal for a national excise tax on soft drinks surfaced in a May funding policy options paper during the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on health care reform. Food lobbyists attacked then and continued their efforts in July when President Obama raised the possibility of a soda tax in an interview with Men's Health magazine. The proposal has not emerged in any of the health care reform bills still in play on Capitol Hill.
But the issue may be gaining traction in some key states. This week, California lawmakers are holding a high-profile hearing in Los Angeles to examine the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has revived the idea of a sugared beverage tax after a previous proposal was shot down by the legislature earlier this year in the face of industry opposition.
While race is usually thought of as dividing Americans, immigration and income are among the issues that divides them the most.
The Pew Research Center, in a study taken in the summer of 2009, found their were fewer conflicts perceived by Americans between blacks and whites than those between immigrants and the native born, or between rich and poor people. The study was conducted between July 20 and August 2, shortly after the Harvard incident but before President Carter's remarks.While race is usually thought of as dividing Americans, immigration and income are... more
A new report by Berkeley Law’s Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity reveals that Hispanics in Irving, Texas were unjustly targeted as part of an effort to enforce federal immigration laws.
From January 2006 through November 2007, Irving’s police department worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of the federal Criminal Alien Program to deport serious criminal offenders. During the program’s most intense phase, the number of Hispanic arrests for minor crimes increased by nearly 150 percent.
The report, from data first obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, provides the first analysis of the effect of local police involvement in immigration enforcement—historically a federal function. More information about the report is available here.
Although the Criminal Alien Program purportedly sought to target serious criminals for deportation, just 2 percent of those detained by immigration authorities over a 14-month period were charged with felonies. Irving police arrested Hispanics for misdemeanors in far greater numbers than Whites and African-Americans, and in July 2007 the number of Hispanic traffic arrests went up 223 percent compared to just three months earlier.
The Criminal Alien Program in Irving was scaled back in November 2007 amid complaints of racial profiling—and that Hispanics were being arrested for minor charges as a pretext to examining their citizenship and immigration status.
The Warren Institute’s report issued several recommendations to improve the program before it expands nationwide: examine the impact of local partnerships with immigration enforcement, bar criminal alien screenings of individuals arrested for petty offenses, and mandate that local police partnering with federal immigration authorities record arrest data by race, ethnicity, and level of offense.
Rush limbo seems to think Democrats are racist towards
Hispanics and also being for Hispanics who are
racist towards White People at the Same time
and so the Insanity DeepensRush limbo seems to think Democrats are racist towards
Hispanics and also being for... more
"The L.A. District Attorney’s office said the Bugarins managed abortion clinics in Baldwin Park, Huntington Park, Los Angeles and Panorama City, operating under the names, Clinica Medica Para La Mujer de Hoy or Community Women's Medical Clinic. Public records confirm Bugarin operated abortion clinics in four other locations -- Chula Vista, North Hollywood, Torrance and Santa Ana. Twelve personal injury and malpractice lawsuits and one wrongful death suit have been filed against Bugarin in L.A. County since the early 1990s, the Times reported."
Wow. I hope he spends a good while in there."The L.A. District Attorney’s office said the Bugarins managed abortion... more
A Republican official in the US has resigned over comments he made to the BBC that "Hispanics consider themselves above blacks".
Fernando de Baca, the chairman of the Republican Party in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, also said Hispanics "won't vote for a black president".
Mr de Baca spoke last week but resisted calls from his own party to resign, saying he was quoted out of context.
He said he decided to step down because of the "media circus" that developed.
Mr de Baca had been approached by the BBC's Jon Kelly for comments on the presidential election campaign at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, part of Bernalillo County.
He was explaining why he thought John McCain would do well in the state, which has large population of Hispanics.
"The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors. African-Americans came here as slaves."
He said the Latino emphasis on hard work and family values and the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion made the community naturally conservative.
The remarks appeared on the BBC News website on its Talking America blog.
After calls grew for his resignation, he said the comments were taken out of context and that he was referring to views held by the older generation of Hispanics.
"Snippets were used to try and embarrass me," Mr de Baca, 70, told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
He said a "media circus" had developed that was obscuring the election issues.
"It's time to step aside and let the candidates and the political races that are so important to this country and democracy be placed in focus," he told AP. A Republican official in the US has resigned over comments he made to the BBC that... more
In a speech in 2002, Bush promised that 5 million poor families will own their own homes - nice homes, not crappy homes - by the end of the decade, with the help of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. It was a setup. When these homes are repossessed, their owners have nowhere to go but on the street, in tent cities, etc. Will they end up being rounded up and stacked in Fema concentration camps? I heard that the military will be deploying on US land next week... Also, homeless people can no longer vote in some States. Connect the dots...In a speech in 2002, Bush promised that 5 million poor families will own their own... more
This renewed xenophobia towards Mexicans will bode very badly for the GOP come the general election as Hispanics are the fastest growing minority and an influential voting demographic. And yes I say Mexicans, because the vast majority of "illegal immigrants" are Mexicans and this IS a RACIAL ISSUE--if you doubt this then you might want to ask yourself: why don't they worry about securing Canada's border? If you remember terrorists didn't go through the mexican border.
Mexicans are being scapegoated once more in the history of the United States. Know your history people, in the 1930's during the depression over a million Mexicans, including american citizens (sons/daughters of mexican immigrants) were "re-patriated" to Mexico a place that had become foreign to many of them (they WERE AMERICANS.) They were shipped in trains, boats, and many drove cars south. The journey was a dangerous and sometimes a disgusting one. Some people packed into trains having to stand in their own shit and piss for hours at a time (which eerily reminds me of the trains that took holocaust victums). Mexicans were humiliated and disrespected simply for the color of their skin.
Not to mention the way Mexicans were beaten, raped and lynched during the 1840's and 50s after the U.S. stole half of Mexico in the gravely unjust and undertaught Mexican-American War. If the GOP is so hung up on respecting the law then maybe they should honor the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo a lawful agreement, that respected Mexicans right to perseve their property, language and culture. But oh yeah, the U.S. only honors laws that align with their own ignorance, bigotry, racism and homophobia. So we see an UNNECESSARY rise in hate crimes against gays and latinos, because well, it comes down to one simple elemantry thing: they're different, and we dont like people who are different. Republicans GROW UP.
Sorry, I'm latino and I'm gay so I feel like I'm getting attacked for who I am twice as much these days.
