Jose Penalosa is an immigration lawyer and staunch immigration activist leader in our State of Arizona.  Below you will get his

Above, Brewer disrespecting President Obama. Many Mexican-Americans view Governor Jan Brewer as equivalent to Alabama’s George Wallace.

reaction with regard to our Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s views on the Immigration Reform Plan.  I will continue to give my readers the vibe and pulse of Arizona reactions with regard to legal immigration reform.  It is my intent to garner Mexican-American voter views since those of Mexican descent make up almost 70% of the entire “Latin” population pie.  Furthermore,  we are a border state, and this is the state Sb 1070 was birthed from.  Indeed Gov. Jan Brewer’s legacy will include SB1070.

Here is what Gov. Brewer said during an interview with Mark Curtis (Channel 12):

The Potus’ plan did not contain many details. Arizona has been “victorious” in some respect because they are talking about securing our border. I am more comfortable with the Gang of 8′s plan.  My concern is what comes first “the duck or the egg.”?

What constitutes a secure border to you? I have to depend on my experts for advice, law enforcement, and folks who live on the border. Yuma is a secure port of entry. The Senate blue print gives the Governors authority to determine when the border is secure. Would you use your “veto” to nix the plan?  I’d be willing to participate in the discussion.  Where do you stand on the Dream Act? “It tugs at your heartstrings.” [etc...] “I believe in the rule of law still.” As you look ahead, Governor Brewer, are you confident that CIR will pass? I truly hope that there is a bi-partisan agreement. I want a secure border. I want what is best for the nation.”

Mexican-American and Immigration Lawyer, Jose Penalosa.  responds to Governor Brewer with the following:

I really want to believe that the Dream Act kids tug at her heart! Given that she came out on 8/15/12, the day DACA commenced, to deny driver’s licenses to Dreamers really convinces me that her heart is hardened. If her heart is so touched by the Dreamers, you, Governor Brewer,  should give the Dreamers a great Valentines Day gift and allow them to have licenses.

Governor Brewer and her attorneys, who really know very little about immigration law, will capitulate. If they do not, they will face the wrath of a Motion for Summary judgment by the Plaintiffs in the Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer federal court case. The Plaintiffs’ case is buttressed by the Department of Homeland Security’s amended directive. SCOTUS already stated in the SB1070 decision that the U.S. Constitution grants the Department of Homeland Security exclusive jurisdiction over immigration matters including the right “to define who is in the U.S. lawfully.”

It makes my laugh in that she (Brewer) knows very little about the topic and all of a sudden she is an expert. Her views are irrelevant. CIR will proceed forth without her. … As for the border, the Congress has allocated billions of dollars to secure the border during both the Bush and Obama administrations. As of your alleged veto, you won’t even be around for any discussions about a secured border and the pathway to citizenship step.

Governor Brewer, if you really believe in the “rule of law” I  want you to reinstate photo radar, admit that you were stopped for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, request that AG Horne resign for leaving the scene of an accident and his campaign violations, and request that County Attorney Montgomery prosecute Russell Pearce for the goodies that he received from the Fiesta Bowl.” When you do these things, I’ll believe that you stand for the rule of law. In the interim, you, Governor Brewer, in my finite legal mind just stand for the “rule of convenience.” You just became Governor on the backs of “Juan and Maria” and you have nothing else to offer.

Allow this to be a post-election analysis that comes from the heart of the Mexican-American /Chicana community.

Women, Latinas and Hispanics carried Obama through a re-election. The GOP needs a major overhaul and they need to eliminate their anti-immigrant platform they adopted one week before the Florida RNC Convention of 2012.

We were watching the Senate seats very closely last night because the last thing we need is more obstructionism and gridlock.  American voters made it clear last night that we are seeking bipartisanship.  We are tired of partisanship tactics – and we want to see people at the Hill work on solutions and not Party bickering.  They are hired as public servants to do a job for the American people that will serve in the best interest of the United States and not necessarily their Party.

We knew that the pro legal immigrant candidates needed to beat the Tea Party Republican U.S. Candidates last night and were happy that several Tea Party people lost — it began with learning of the demise of the former Tea Party favorite Scott Brown from Massachusetts when he lost against Elizabeth Warren.  I believe the loss of Brown marks the decline of Tea Party extremism at the Senate level.

Last night got better for us when we learned the extremist Tea Party candidate Richard Mourdock was defeated by Joe Donnelly, and even though Donnelly cannot receive praise from the Mexican-American community in light of his failure to support the DREAM Act in 2010 — we are glad the extremist Mourdock was defeated.   The National Tequila Party Movement (woman-led organization) went to Indiana and held a Get Out the Vote Concert Rally where we spoke to students from 5 different universities that included Indiana University and Notre Dame.  We went there to support the last decent Republican Senator via Dick Lugar because he was 1 of only 3 GOPers who voted for the DREAM Act at the Senate level.  Hell, Senator John McCain didn’t even support the DREAM (and we attribute this to grudge holding he has against us since he lost to Obama in 2008).

The night still got better when we learned Senator Bill Nelson beat the Tea Party Connie Mack.  (Now if we can just see and get the Puerto Rican community to ensure that Cuban-American Senator Marco Rubio will be a one term Senator since Rubio supported Arizona’s SB 1070 and did not support the DREAM Act when we needed him to be a light instead of jaws).

As the night progressed, we learned Sen. Claire McCaskill easily defeated Tea Party Republican Todd Akin, and last but not least we are happy that New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich beat Heather Wilson.

We are disappointed that Bob Kerrey did not defeat Debbie Fisher in Nebraska, but the former Democratic U.S. Candidate Ben Nelson of Nebraska didn’t vote for the DREAM Act in December 2010 anyway, and we believe Nebraska will not support the immigrant community even though the Midwest benefits economically from immigrant and competitive labor.

Meanwhile in Arizona, last night we all witnessed a strong Tea Party Republican stronghold when Jeff Flake killed Richard Carmona.   Both Carmona and Flake spent millions of dollars in order to win and I wanted to see Richard take the seat.  I am surprised at Marc Victor’s 4% pull but it wasn’t enough to hurt Flake.  For those who may not know this, Jeff Flake is despised by the Mexican-American community in Arizona for not supporting the DREAM Act in 2010 and Chicanos know that it is a matter of time with our growing demographics that our voting clout will continue to increase.  We hope to eventually vote out uncompassionate politicians like Jeff Flake.  It is only a matter of time and our numbers are working for us as the aging population continues to … well, age.

I’m surprised with the Arizona Mormon community in Arizona – particularly those who claim to spread the Mormon gospel.  I watched them bash the ousted Mormon Russell Pearce for his self-deportation ideas, but on the other hand, they turned a blind eye to Jeff Flake and his failure to support the 2010 DREAM Act and legal immigration reform … in fact, these Mormon leaders supported Mitt Romney even though Romney made Arpaio his chair in 2008, and Mitt received campaign advice this past year from Kris Kobach (the legal architect behind many of these anti-immigrant laws).   I’m disappointed.  They will never understand the collateral damage Romney has created for them.

On a positive note, I am happy to see more WOMEN in the U.S. Senate!  The Tequila Party (woman-led counter movement to the Tea Party) is extremely happy to see more women rise.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Warren, Claire McCaskill and Tammy Baldwin!

First of all, a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Gary Johnson, but nativists and birthers are scared to death of the “L” Libertarian factor and how it will affect GOP races across the nation.  What is it with people who are concerned about how others CHOOSE to vote?  We each have the free will born right to vote however the hell we feel, and those who say otherwise are merely afraid that their candidate of choice is not strong enough to win on their own merit and accord.  There is NO SUCH THING AS A WASTED VOTE as long as the individual believes in the candidate’s platform!

More importantly, if Gary Johnson receives at least 5% of the popular vote, the Libertarian Party will be eligible for Presidential funding in 2016.

I wrote about that here:

2016 Matching Funds an incentive for Libertarian – Republican voters to vote for Gary Johnson this year

More importantly, I am all about punishing the 2 major party system since both major parties have failed the American people with their partisanship. Tea Party people are the worst with their obstructionism in my view, and it is high time we work on methods that will bring our nation together and instead of the divisiveness the 2 major parties bring along with their fringe groups.  Our Nation has already experienced a Civil War, and we don’t need another one. 

Personally, I’m an independent voter for life, and plan on staying an independent voter who will cast my vote based on the person who is running for office — and not necessarily a Party.

Below is the paranoid tweet from Donald Trump who wants to bring our Nation back to the Ice Ages and archaic belief systems:

Brace for lawsuits:  More Storms Hitting Northeast affecting polling and voting — It’s going to be a long night tonight.

From HUFFPO:

NEW YORK — From trying to figure out where people would live to how they would be able to vote and when all the lights will finally come on, government officials are still facing multiple fronts in the efforts to recover from Superstorm Sandy. All that, and there’s another storm coming.

Where to house potentially tens of thousands of people left homeless by the storm is the most pressing crisis, as cold weather sets in.

“It’s not going to be a simple task. It’s going to be one of the most complicated and long-term recovery efforts in U.S. history,” said Mark Merritt, president of Witt Associates, a Washington crisis management consulting firm founded by former Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Witt.

FEMA said it has already dispensed close to $200 million in emergency housing assistance and has put 34,000 people in New York and New Jersey up in hotels and motels. But local, state and federal officials have yet to lay out a specific, comprehensive plan for finding them long-term places to live. And given the scarcity and high cost of housing there and the lack of open space, it could prove a monumental undertaking.

Sandy killed more 100 people in 10 states but vented the worst of its fury on New Jersey and New York. A week after the storm slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, more than 1 million homes and businesses remained without power.

Another storm – a nor’easter packing heavy rain and gusts of 50 to 60 mph – was headed for the area Wednesday, threatening more flooding and power outages that could undo some of the repairs made in the past few days.

With the temperatures dropping into the 30s overnight, people in dark, unheated homes were urged to go to overnight shelters or daytime warming centers.

Because so many people have been displaced by the storm, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order allowing people to vote in Tuesday’s statewide and presidential elections at any polling place in the state. New Jersey had already taken similar measures.

“Just because you are displaced doesn’t mean you are disenfranchised,” Cuomo said. “Compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting.”

As for long-term housing for the homeless, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday that the government is looking into using everything from hotels and motels to FEMA trailers and prefab homes.

“Given the extent of need, no option is off the table,” she said. “All of them will have some place in this puzzle.”

Officials have yet to even establish the magnitude of the problem.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that officials are going door-to-door in hard-hit areas to assess the need for shelter. He said the worst-case estimate is 40,000 people, half of them in public housing.

But he said as many as 20,000 will probably get their heat and power back within a few days. Ultimately, the number of people who need longer-term housing could be under 10,000, he said.

In New Jersey, state officials said they are still trying to figure out how many people will need long-term housing. At least 4,000 residents were in New Jersey shelters.

___

Contributing to this report were Michael Hill, Larry Neumeister, Cara Anna and Christina Rexrode in New York, Alicia Caldwell in Washington and Frank Eltman in Long Beach, N.Y.

We are hearing too many stories where folks are having to stand in line for hours and hours.  The Florida Governor will not extend voting hours.  I believe this will pose a problem tonight that is reminiscent of what occurred in Bush/Gore 2000 election.

From the HUFFPO:

 

8:28 AM – Today

Voters Wait More Than 3 Hours To Vote In Miami-Dade County

In light of the misinformation that is out there, and political candidates telling people to go to the wrong voting booth (Arizona Election Alert: Calls from Jeff Flake Campaign give wrong voting locations to voters), we feel it is important to inform the public on how to acquire accurate information via GOOGLE.

All you have to do is use GOOGLE‘s feature by typing the address where you are registered to vote for a polling place lookup.

It’s easy.

2012 PREDICTION:  Another Bush/Gore election fiasco reminiscent of 2000, but ultimately we predict the electoral college vote will look like this:

Obama 285, Romney 191, tossup 62

I hope I am wrong, but we are hearing too  many complaints with regard to voter suppression laws, and Republicans are the ones behind those voter suppression laws causing people to wait for 6 hours in order to vote, and the Florida Gov. Scott refuses to extend voting hours.

But in Florida this year, it has been a nightmare for voters, who have faced record wait times, long lines in the sun and a Republican governor, Rick Scott, who has refused to budge and extend early voting hours.

“People are getting out to vote. That’s what’s very good,” said Scott.

People are getting out to vote — but many of them are having to wait in line for three or four hours to do so. One contributor to DailyKos claimed it took 9 hours to vote. In Miami-Dade on Saturday, people who had gotten in line by 7:00 p.m. were allowed to vote; the last person wasn’t checked in until 1 a.m., meaning it took some individuals six hours to cast a ballot.

“We’re looking at an election meltdown that is eerily similar to 2000, minus the hanging chads,” said Dan Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida.  FULL STORY HERE>>>

If you are not sold yet by the above headlines, it gets worse …  several Counties in the northeastern part of the United States are not fully up and operating in light of the Hurricane and storms hitting the coast.

Hurricane Sandy: Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York And More States Recover From Storm

And last but certainly not least…..

Hurricane Sandy Leaves 1.3 Million Still Without Power As Nor’easter Approaches

Nearly a full week after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, more than 1.3 million electricity customersfrom West Virgina to Connecticut are still without power as temperatures plunge below the freezing point at night.

Electrical utilities are turning into punching bags for elected officials and ordinary residents alike. A gathering Nor’easter storm, meanwhile, threatens the same region affected by Sandy with high winds, heavy rainfall and, in some regions of Appalachia, snowfall as early as Wednesday. The storm could further complicate power restoration efforts.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Saturday night that the two-week-long restoration times proposed by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) for parts of the Rockaways are “unacceptable.” The city warned that temperatures had fallen so low that seniors and others were at risk of hypothermia, and urged those affected to seek city shelters or warming centers.  FULL STORY>>>

Lord knows I hope the Bush/Gore prediction is wrong, but there is just too much strange energy out there to get me to believe otherwise.

In any event, get out and vote. Be a voice for the voiceless.

Why are we going to vote in record numbers this year?

For them.

For the voiceless and for those who are afraid to stand up for themselves — or can’t defend themselves.

So be it.  So be it.

Just in from the HuffPo:

Latino voters will likely come to the polls in record numbers next week, experts from ImpreMedia and Latino Decisions predict based on a tracking poll released Monday.

The weekly tracking poll found 87 percent of Latino voters say they are almost certain they will vote, including 8 percent who already voted early.

“The poll shows that this year we can anticipate record participation among Latino voters,” ImpreMedia CEO Monica Lozano said in a press release. “However, Latinos are also realistic about what it will take to make real progress on the issues they care about, especially given the lack of cooperation among our elected representatives in Congress.”

Enthusiasm also increased among Latino voters — a good sign for the president — and now 45 percent say they are more enthusiastic about the 2012 election than they were in 2008, according to the poll.

Huge news! Military Veteran supported Tammy Duckworth hits a double-digit lead in new poll!  For those of you who may not know this, Tammy is an Iraqi Veteran, and we support her.

From ROLL CALL:

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth (D) had a 10-point advantage over freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R) in the most recent poll of the suburban Chicago 8th district.

Duckworth led Walsh, 50 percent to 40 percent, in the Chicago Tribune poll of 600 likely voters. Notably, Duckworth led Walsh among female voters, 54 percent to 34 percent.

The new numbers come one day after Duckworth hosted Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) to discuss Walsh’s comments on abortion. Speier opened up about her own medically necessary abortion on the House floor last February.

Things are getting down right ugly here in Arizona with the deep partisanship of the two major party system between Republicans and Democrats — and this is precisely why I am an Arizona independent voter for life.

I want to demonstrate to my reader how the 2 major party system has failed American voters, and if you really want to punish the 2 major party system here in Arizona — I recommend you vote YES to an Open Arizona Primary via Prop 121.

For example, in Congressional District 9, we have seen the ugly partisanship nature of Republican Candidate  Vernon Parker attack the Democratic Candidate Kyrsten Sinema for referring to mothers as leeches.

Burnin’ Vernon states on his facebook page:

“FACT CHECK: Sinema Lies About Breast Feeding Moms Legislation; Taking Credit for Jonathan Paton’s Bill

Phoenix, AZ – Today the Vernon Parker campaign called on Kyrsten Sinema to immediately pull her blatantly false television ad claiming she sponsored legislation to protect breast feeding moms.Sinema’s Claim: “It was Sinema’s legislation that protected breastfeeding mothers like us from indecent exposure laws”FACT: HB 2376 was introduced by Jonathon Paton and Tim Bee. To see the actual bill click the link:

“Shame on Kyrsten Sinema for taking credit for someone else’s work. She should immediately apologize for lying about her record and apologize for calling stay at home moms leeches. Then she should take down this deceptive television commercial and finally come clean about her record,” said Alyssa Pivirotto, Parker Communications Director.”

On the other hand, a Libertarian-Republican friend of mine sent me this photo today below where it shows Burnin Vernon liking a fan page titled:

“Screw the skinny bitches:  A break up cookbook manual”

So how is a woman to vote in Congressional District 9 this year?  The options given to them in my view are horrendous.  It will amount to two things for the lady voters this year: Whether or not a woman finds it more offensive to be called a “leech” or finding it more offensive that politicians only like to “screw the skinny bitches” if these women voters are overweight.

I really don’t care who wins this race, but as a Latina … I am still disgusted with Burnin’ Vernon parading the border with Sheriff Joe Arpaio back in 2010…and in fact, one day before the Republican primary of 2012, my Libertarian friends told me they received robocalls from Arpaio supporting  Burnin’ Vernon Parker and shedding him in a good light.  My disdain runs deep against Arpaio since he sent a letter to his fans where he called me a liberal in 2010 — however, liberals are falsely calling me a far right winger and an Arpaio supporter despite my strong anti-Arpaio record.  The fringe groups have gone off the deep end — leaving the reasonable 80% that afraid to speak up in fear of being attacked by extremists on both sides of the aisle.

Long live the Independent Revolution, and may we be on the brink of another healthy American Revolution that will take power from both sides of the aisle.