POLITICAL NEWS:
You'll find political news that affects all of us directly! Pay attention because, "Actions speak louder than words...but words of tell what actions you can expect." Reverend John Hagee, it was reported May 14, 2008, who has been so critical of the Catholic Church in his sermons and publicly and a supporter of John McCain, has clarified his remarks saying among other things, " ...the crusades and the inquisiton had been described as defining the Catholic Church, they certainly do not." Hagee went on to say to members of the church, "...I regret and apologize for remarks I have made that may have seemed hurtful." This comment was made recently due to what we suspect was mounting pressure from Catholics worldwide and more local Hispanics, the majority of whom are Catholic, who also found Rev. Hagee's past remarks very insulting and demeaning. Lauro.
It was reported on April 28, 2008 in the Houston Chronicle that the Latino voter rolls in Harris County have tripled in the past 10 years. It was also reported this is the largest region in the US that has failed to send a Latino to the US Congress. They went on to report there are 1.5 million Latinos in Harris County but only 280,000 are registered to vote. On April 29, 2008, columnist Lisa Falkenberg wrote a column entitled "' Ignorance is costlier than immigrants." Her first line read, " 'We're under seige. They're swamping our schools and hospitals. They're compounding the crime rate. They're declaring a culture war by refusing to learn English and otherwise assimilate into American culture.' " She gave those quotes to illustrate the hysteria associated with this issue but went on to report some important facts. She wrote, "Illegal immigrants's total cost for state services was $1.15 billion....consider the fact that illegal immigrants are taxpayers, too. The sales and property taxes paid by as many as 1.6 million illegal immigrants in Texas provided $1.58 billion..." Falkenberg went on to debunk a number of similar myths associated with illegal immigrants. Please write lisa.falkenberg@chron.com to learn more. We, at RNHA, already knew this, and also found the anti immigration rhetoric insulting and a threat to our, American Hispanic citizens, civil rights and has driven many of us away from the Republican party. We at RNHA have worked tirelessly to correct this attitude and bring Latinos back to the conservative ideals demonstrated only in the Republican Party. Lauro.
On May 13, 2008, it was reported in the Houston Chronicle that Senator John McCain reportedly said that the anti-immigration rhetoric spread among the Republican party during the past few years has been misguided. McCain went on to say, reportedly, that it had alienated Hispanics. We, at RNHA, believe this political position touted by the Republican Presidential candidate who handily defeated his competitors who touted the opposite position demonstrates that our efforts and those of others have directly impacted national politics. We futher believe that the anti-immigration positions were actually touted by a vocal minority in the Republican party and not the majority as demonstrated by their voting behavior during this past year. Lauro.
It was reported recently, May 22, 2008, that Senator John McCain has repudiated the support and endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee. It was discovered that Hagee had, in the past, made such insane and sacreligious remarks that it was no longer possible to accept his support. Hagee reportedly said that Adolf Hitler and his genocidal villany were actually the instrument of God's design to cause the Jews to return to the promised land. It was reported on June 3, 2008 in the Houston Chronicle that because of the rancorous debate among Democat Clinton supporters and Obama supporters that Clinton supporters were expecting many defections to John McCain.
It was reported on July 1, 2008 in the Houston Chroncile that Senatory John McCain, on the campaign trail, would visit Colombia and Mexico to reassure their leadership of his committment to Free Trade and his support for continued efforts against illegal drugs and the cartels that benefit from them. It was also reported that Senator McCain, during his visit to Mexico City, would visit the Shrine of the Virgin de Guadalupe.
Senator McCain is trying very hard to mend fences with Latinos and it has been repeatedly pointed out that Latinos will again be the swing vote this election year. Lauro
