We hope Charles Ramsey (who helped Amanda Berry escaped) gets rewarded for his courage and helping save these women!

Thank Heavens 3 women who were kidnapped several years ago were discovered alive!

Charles Ramsey hero for helping save the kidnapped women

According to Cleveland.Com, Police arrested the owner of the house, Ariel Castro, 52, who had lived in the house since 1992. Records show he was arrested for domestic  violence in 1993, but a grand jury declined to indict him.

As a woman, I’m curious why the grand jury declined to indict him.  I think many women will be probing this aspect of the story as the days move along and since many of us heard the 911 call made by Amanda Berry who was able to escape.  She was clearly terrified and we heard sobbing in the background.

There is no excuse for men who physically harm, stalk, terrify, harass, kidnap and rape children or women –  and sometimes I wish a strong example can be made out of cases like this.

Are simple jail sentences enough to prevent kidnaps and raping of women or children?

I encourage you to take the poll below:

Here is more from Cleveland news below:

Berry, DeJesus, Knight found alive, police source confirms

Long-missing Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive.

Long-missing Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive.

Berry called police Monday afternoon and frantically told a dispatcher that she was alive and free after being kidnapped 10 years ago and held captive in a house on Seymour Avenue on the city’s West Side. DeJesus was with her.

A third woman, Michelle Knight, who has been missing since 2002, was also found at the house.

Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus found alive – family and friends react Family and friends of

Missing Person Amanda Berry was found.

Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus react outside MetroHealth Medical Center as they gather after hearing that the two and another woman were found alive after missing ten years.

“We’ve confirmed it’s them,” a detective said. “They are alive and safe.”

….

Police arrested the owner of the house, Ariel Castro, 52, who had lived in the house since 1992. Records show he was arrested for domestic  violence in 1993, but a grand jury declined to indict him.

Neighbors on Seymour said a man was arrested and three women came out of the home.

Berry disappeared at about 7:40 p.m. April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday. She was last seen leaving her job at a Burger King at West 110th Street and Lorain Avenue.

FULL STORY>>>

To the John Tanton network / xenophobes who are thirsty and ready to turn this into an anti-Latino agenda:

It appears the suspect they arrested was an American citizen — not an undocumented person.   We know how you tried to turn a national tragedy via the Boston Bombing into an anti-Latino / anti-immigrant ordeal and it backfired on you.

Remember when the attacks on Sonia Sotomayor reached a fevered pitch?  You had Republicans like Rush Limbaugh and 2012 GOP Mitt Romney stating a qualified Latina should not have been supported as SCOTUS.  The Republican war on Latina women began with Sotomayor.  Only hours after we posted our support for a female candidate via Xiomara for Congress …  the Tequila Party Movement (a female-led movement based out of Arizona) was discovered in one of the most anti-immigrant websites and lobbying groups in our nation that appears to make a concerted effort to stop all immigration in our country.

Now we are seeing a continued common enemy via the John Tanton Network with regard to the war on latina women and “machismo” a/k/a male chauvinism runs in all ethnic backgrounds.

Here are the organizations the anti-immigrant crusader, John Tanton, began.  From the Southern Povertly Law Center (SPLC):

Now we will parallel what is going on with some of these far right wingers, the anti-immigrant groups and/or so forth between Sonia Sotomayor and now Xiomara who is running for Nevada Congress.   The COMMON ENEMY are affiliates of the John Tanton Network, Kris Kobach, Dan Stein and Mark Krikorian’s organization, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).  *Note: Kris Kobach advised Mitt Romney during the 2012 GOP race and endorsed Romney for POTUS.

According to America’s Voice:

Download PDF

Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies

…and Chief Linguist of the Anti-Immigrant Lobby schools Judge Sotomayor on how to pronounce her own name

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A Network of Hate:

Mark Krikorian, oft-cited as an expert on immigration issues by the mainstream media, is adding to his already damaged reputation this week.

His controversial comments regarding President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination, Sonia Sotomayor, have launched him into the national limelight. Krikorian’s organization, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), describes itself as a non-partisan, unbiased “think tank” on immigration, but it is widely recognized as anything but.  Under Krikorian, CIS, whose core mission is to reduce immigration to the United States, routinely blames immigrants for everything from “voter fraud” to “global warming.” Krikorian figures prominently in the network of anti-immigrant, extremist organizations founded by a man with clear ties to white nationalism— John Tanton. These organizations may be outside of mainstream, but they are also well-funded, and maintain a firm grip on both the airwaves and the halls of Congress.

 

Now that we know CIS is an affiliate of the John Tanton/Kris Kobach network, and so is FAIR and Numbers USA …. what can we expect their attacks to be with regard to Xiomara who is running for Congress in Nevada? FAIR via Dan Stein has her campaign targeted via his website.

Dan Stein a project of FAIR federation of american for Immigration reform targets Latina running for Congress in Nevada

Dan Stein a project of FAIR federation of american for Immigration reform targets Latina running for Congress in Nevada

Only hours after we posted our support for a female candidate via Xiomara for Congress …  the Tequila Party Movement (a female-led movement based out of Arizona) was discovered in one of the most anti-immigrant websites and lobbying groups in our nation that appears to make a concerted effort to stop all immigration in our country.  This organization does not seem to want legal immigration reform that will fix our broken system because they appear to rebuke politicians who have reasonable legal immigration views.

Now that we know that FAIR and Dan Stein’s anti-immigrant website is targeting a LEGAL American Puerto Rican Citizen via Xiomara for Congress, we are asking every Latina in our Country to support a pro legal immigration Latina because we know that FAIR will probably support her Democratic opponent that is white and/or the Tea party Republican incumbent.

Do you want to learn more about FAIR and their history that is dripping with bigotry?

Learn how FAIR attacks minorities running for office (example:  Spencer Abraham of Michigan who ran for Senate) .  We hope the attorney for SPLC will watch Xiomara’s race closely, and we have already contacted SPLC informing their office and alerting them to FAIR’s activities regarding a fellow Latina running for Congress via our Xio.

Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center discusses the Federation for American Immigration Reform in this video below:

See below NUMBERS USA Immigration scorecard where they give Mitt Romney the best score.  On a side note:  Kris Kobach of Kansas who advised Mitt Romney during GOP 2012 elections endorsed Mitt Romney – and is part of the legal architect of  FAIR. We perceive Numbers USA as a racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino organization that is part of the John Tanton network.

Above - Mitt Romney receives best "anti-immigrant and anti-Latino" score from an organization that has strong ties to the John Tanton network.

From the Southern Poverty Law Center:

The National Tequila Party Movement is a female-led political movement encouraging Latinos to vote for Latino-friendly politicians and  is headquartered in Arizona.

We are making historic news as we get behind the first Latina political candidate to run for Congressional District 2 in Nevada.

We are excited to see emerging new Latina leadership in the Southwestern part of the Country.  The Tequila Party supports all politicians who support the DREAM Act regardless of their political affiliation.  If politicians support our youth, naturally we will support them.

From Xiomara for Congress:

Xiomara Rodriguez Vazquez

XIOMARA (Xio) RODRIGUEZ
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR Congressional District 2
“Working for Nevada”

Xio4Congress, P.O. Box 21218, Reno, NV 89515
xio4congress@gmail.com
Office: 775.848-2455/Cell: 775-229-3669
www.xio4congress.com
Twitter:@xio4congress
Facebook: xio4congress

** PRESS RELEASE **

Xiomara (Xio) Rodriguez is running for Nevada’s Congressional District 2. She is the 1st Latina to run for this position in Nevada. She was born in San Juan and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico. She also attended George Mason University and TMCC.

Xiomara is a veteran of twenty years service in the U. S. Coast Guard. She served as the first Latina to be a recruiter for the Coast Guard and also the first Latina to be a Special Agent with the Coast Guard Investigative Service.

She is running because she believes it is time to stop playing politics with the people of Nevada and this country. It is time to start working TOGETHER to move this state and this country forward. WE CANNOT continue to be content with party line actions that affect us all. We have to say “Enough is Enough”. …

Let’s also look at what has happened in the last few weeks regarding women’s health issues. Our Representatives in Congress have mounted a series of actions to restrict women’s access to much needed health care. They have also proposed very restrictive regulations and reporting procedures for doctors.

It is also time to solve our immigration problems; we cannot continue to let every state approve draconian immigration laws aimed at one group of immigrants. These measures cause chaos and divide families. It is time to stop this. It is time we, as a country, take the right steps toward comprehensive immigration reform and toward passage of the DREAM Act.

….

 

Recently, there has been much discussion with regard to Mitt Romney and the Republican War on Women — but more awareness needs to be raised with regard to the perception that is given instead of what is reality.

The reality is President Obama nominated the first Latina as a Supreme Court Justice.  On the other hand, Mitt Romney stated he would not support Sonia Sotomayor as a justice of the Supreme Court even though in 1991, she was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush.

According to the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Columbia University, Janine Balekdjian stated: “President Obama has made other concrete steps for the advancement of women, like signing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay act and appointing Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.”

Indeed the Republican Party has a woman problem and it extends into the Latina community.  Dr. Caroline Heldman, an Associate Professor of Politics at Occidental College and political commentator for Fox News identifies the problem further as she digs deeper into Conservative talking heads like Rush Limbaugh.  According to Heldman, Limbaugh has spent two decades attacking feminists, female political leaders, professional women, women who speak out, and women’s gains more generally. This formula makes his almost exclusively older, white, male audience feel more powerful in a world where changing gender roles have challenged non-meritorious power structures that benefit them.

Mitt Romney and Rush Limbaugh share the same philosophy because both have publicly stated their opposition toward a Latina justice that holds one of the highest positions in the land.  Coincidentally enough, the last act of Mel Martinez as U.S. Senator was voting as one of only nine Republicans in support Sotomayor for SCOTUS. He resigned the next morning.

Will the Republican Party take us two steps backward as Latina leadership emerges?

We believe so.

Recently, the Republican Governor Dave Heineman has promised to veto the Nebraska bill (LB599).  LB599 provides prenatal coverage to low-income women, many of them undocumented, who lost Medicaid coverage for prenatal care in 2010.  Civil Rights and immigration attorney, Shirl Mora James, also Lead Co-President of the National Tequila Party Movement (a female-led Independent movement that motivates Latinos to vote for pro-immigrant politicians), recently exposed the Republican Governor of Nebraska with regard to his pro life hypocrisy. Shirl believes in helping ALL women who choose to keep their babies while ensuring appropriate prenatal care despite their immigration status.

Apparently the Governor of Nebraska thinks it is safe to pick on undocumented women who choose to keep their babies since he really does not have to worry about their votes in the immediate sense– and this seems to be the path Republicans are now willing to embrace.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University:

“… voter turnout rates for women have equaled or exceeded voter turnout rates for men. Women, who constitute more than half the population, have cast between four and seven million more votes than men in recent elections. In every presidential election since 1980, the proportion [of] female adults who voted has exceeded the proportion of made adults who voted …”

There is a strong sense of matriarchy within the Mexican-American culture, and Latinas will ‘wise up’ during the 2012 elections when we evaluate how politicians treat women of Latin descent.  One thing is for certain — we cannot gamble our vote away on “multiple-choice” Mitt.  Why should women support him if he would have opposed a ‘wise Latina’ like Sotomayor?

In conclusion, male chauvinism is a thing of the past and it is high time men take note in the political arena.  Women can do much more than cook and clean … we can politically educate ourselves, too, and base our voting behavior on the past history of those who want to be entrusted as our elected officials.

Mitt Romney would have opposed Latina Justice Sonia Sotomayor