What is it with private corporations these days?  During an era where we see bills introduced giving corporations voting rights while we see other bills introduced making it harder for the elderly, the disabled and minorities to vote.

Now we see Space X in the new millennium participating with a new type of Manifest Destiny and it’s rearing it’s ugly ahead again with the attempt to take land away from the indigenous, David Ruiz (part of the Cisneros family) and others.

Why can’t Space X pick land that is for sale?

Why do they want land that is owned and protected by treaties?

The initial purpose of the Adams-Onis Treaty had much to do with stopping raids of the Native Americans and/or the indigenous.  According to the Library of Congress, “The Adams-Onís Treaty was negotiated in response to Andrew Jackson’s incursion into Florida to stop the raids of the Seminole Indians on U.S. settlements along the border. Signed on February 22, 1819, and ratified by the United States in 1821, the treaty granted to the United States Florida and former Spanish territory west of the Sabine River, along a new boundary line north of Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and California.”

The Adams-Onis Treaty isn’t the only treaty we have our eyes on ….we want to ensure the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is maintained, followed and respected, too.  According to the Library of U.S. Congress, “The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by the United States and Mexico on February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican War and extending the boundaries of the United States by over 525,000 square miles. In addition to establishing the Rio Grande as the border between the two countries, the territory acquired by the U.S. included what will become the states of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In exchange Mexico received fifteen million dollars in compensation for the territory and the U.S. agreed to assume claims from private citizens of these areas against the Mexican government.”

From the Rio Grand Valley News:

SpaceX, the privately owned company out of California could be launching off in the future from property near Boca Chica beach. Brownsville, Florida, and Puerto Rico are in the running for the launch site.

“What we don’t want is private industries and private corporations to come in and run our lands.” said Cameron County resident David Ruiz.

David Ruiz is part of the Cisneros family, and he claims the proposed SpaceX launch site is on that family’s property.

“We we born and raised here and we love this area this is our own.”

Ruiz says the land is protected by a 19th century treaty.

“Protected by the federal government through the Adams Onis treaty, it goes back to 1819 and my purpose here is we are trying to tell county government, the state, and city of Brownsville, that these lands are privately owned by the Cisneros family.”

Dr. Anthony Knopp is a history professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville who is familiar with the Adams Onis treaty.

 

FULL STORY >>>

We are really watching several new Mexican-American leaders come into play and unfold in the southwestern part of our Nation during a crucial time when comprehensive immigration reform will be played out. Keep your eyes on New Mexico’s Congressman Ben Ray Lujan who was appointed a chief deputy whip for the 113rd Congress.  This ‘whip’ is an important role when votes need to be whipped up and accounted for.

Too often folks have been making the mistake of seeking leadership of the politicians who live in states that do not border Mexico, and everyone knows the bleeding needs to stop in the southwestern part of our Nation — particularly when Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer tried to trump the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution via SB 1070.   It’s common sense to listen to the community that has been impacted the most — particularly when most of the deportations have been Mexican nationals.

We will be keeping an eye on the Mexican-American leadership — particularly in the states that border Mexico.  After all, the burden typically lies on the counties that border Mexico.   States bordering Mexico have a better idea on the problems and solutions to a reasonable legal immigration plan.

A quick snapshot of the bordering states:

Texas: 1,255 miles/64% of border length and has 24 ports of entry

Arizona: 354 miles/18% of border length and has 8 ports of entry

New Mexico: 180 miles/9% and has 3 ports of entry

California: 165 miles/8% of border length and 6 ports of entry

As you can see, Texas has the most coverage and this is why we are happy to see freshman Democrat Joaquin Castro take the bull by the horns when he recently laid out immigration plans he is taking to Washington D.C.  We hope the quartet states bordering Mexico will fully get behind the Texas Castro.

The California Open Primaries has helped a much needed Mexican-American candidate of California via Abel Maldonado.  I like Abel.  He didn’t demonize Mexican immigrants in order to get ahead and am especially glad to see more Mexican-American leadership.

As an independent voter living in Arizona — this is wonderful news.  As many of you might already know … independent voters in Arizona make up the 2nd largest party in our State.  As an independent voter who is hell bent on eliminating extremism from the fringe groups, I support the Open Primaries.  I believe in bipartisanship, hence my support for the top two primary elections.  Mexican-Americans in the southwest often look to Abel Maldonado because he is considered a ‘friendly’ to Latino politics in our Country.  Like Abel (of California), I support the Open Primaries in Arizona.

Here is what Arizona can learn from the California open primary elections of 2012.

Independent Thoughts on CA’s Primary Results

By Jason Olson on 06/07/2012 in California, Electoral Reform, Open Primaries, States with 0 Comments

The San Francisco Chronicle ran this headline across their front page yesterday:

It’s a little hard to believe that in April of 2010, I sat in a meeting with their editors and then Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado to pitch them on endorsing the “Top 2” open primary (Proposition 14). They did and their article today begins, “The potentially dramatic effects of two landmark ballot measures approved by California voters in recent years began to emerge Tuesday with a primary election that could lead to shifts in the state’s legislative profile in Sacramento and Washington.”

Congratulations again to the voters who supported the Top Two Open Primary and Redistricting Reform measures in past elections. Yesterday’s vote showed what removing party control over the elections can do. We had a primary process that was about selecting the best leader to move California forward, rather than who was the best partisan to fight for their party.

Yesterday five independent (“No Party Preference”) candidates running for the California Legislature placed in the “top two” of their respective races and will advance to the general election to face an incumbent. Top Two Open Primary champion Abel Maldonado (R) will also advance.

While the political parties are too entrenched for independents to change the outcome of elections more dramatically then that, we are impacting on the process as the Chronicle headline attests.

In the past, districts that heavily favored one major party over the other would be decided in the dominant party’s primary, making the general election meaningless. This year many of those districts feature races between two candidates of the same party, or against an independent candidate. This ensures that in November, all the candidates will have to work harder for the independent vote.

Take the 15th Congressional District. Over 58% of voters chose a candidate other than Pete Stark (D), a 40-year incumbent and the longest tenured elected official in the state. Stark won by a narrower-then-predicted margin of 42% to 36%. The other 22% (which the Chronicle doesn’t spell out) went to an independent candidate who did not advance but, in this new “top two” environment, is clearly holding cards with the power of his endorsement along with the voters who backed him.

I want to send a special congratulations to Abel Maldonado on his win in the 24^th Congressional District last night. Abel took on both political parties by putting the open primary on the ballot. We were proud to fight with him for open primaries, and we were proud to endorse him for Congress. Maldonado represents the kind of non-partisan leadership America needs.  We’re excited to bring that message to every independent in his district again in the general election.

I also want to congratulate independent Linda Parks, who IndependentVoice.Org endorsed in the 26^th Congressional District and who polled 18.5% of the vote to place third. Democrat Stacey Lawson [D - 26th CD] who we also endorsed, finished 4th in her contest with 10.1% of the vote. We were proud to support them both and look forward to building on those relationships. (link to endorsement press release)

Finally, this was the first election where forces of the independent movement became directly involved in State Legislative and Congressional Races. While our approaches were different, we sought to push the agenda embraced by independent voters: that partisanship has broken our government and the only way forward is fundamental political reform.

While the results were impressive for our first go around, they also show the challenges ahead. If we are to emerge as a “third force” (rather than a third party) in California politics, we must make the long-term investment in building our base at the grassroots.  IndependentVoice.Org and our national organization IndependentVoting.Org remain committed to that goal. I invite all of our partners in this election and those who share in those ideals to join with us.

Kansans protest Kris Kobach voter ID laws

Talk about a revolutionary way to overcome Kris Kobach’s voter ID and voter suppression laws!  Evotee is the answer to help overcome suppression in a secure and reliable way!  Technology overcomes the mundane “paper” way of registering voter and Evotee has some answers in light of our ‘silicon valley’ Information Age era.  *Speaking of Kris Kobach — Latinos will never forget how Mitt Romney received Kobach’s endorsement and political advise during his 2012 GOP primary campaign.

Huffington Post sheds light with regard to the iPad revolutionary way to Rock the Latino Vote.  The Tequila Party has been using the paper method as well as the Rock the Vote method, but here is another way to register eligible Latino voters in a secure manner.

We cannot wait for Evotee to enter key swing Presidential states.  The ground is fertile in high Hispanic populated states, and our organizers are ready to execute the iPad app in these states.

From the HuffPo:

This month, Libersky and his app will team up with the Tequila Party, an organization founded by Latinas concerned about the tenor and content of the nation’s immigration debate.

Since 2008 — a year in which then-candidate Barack Obama’s campaign organization registered and mobilized millions of new voters — nearly 30 states have enacted laws restricting the activities of groups and individuals that work to put voters on the rolls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In 2011 alone, legislators in 34 states considered so-called voter ID laws. Voter ID policies require voters to present specific types of identification in order to cast a ballot. To date, 10 states have put voter ID laws in place. New Mexico does not have a voter ID law but has restricted the activities of groups that have worked to register voters for most of the last six years.

I am no longer President of SOMOS REPUBLICANS, I left the Republican Party and stepped down from SOMOS REPUBLICANS due to the Republican hostility against my people,  and am now an Independent voter in Arizona.  Hispanic Republicans have been marginalized and I discovered that the real political power is behind a non-partisan movement that combines Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and Republicans within  the National Tequila Party Movement (Tequila Party is a Latina-led counter movement to the Tea Party militia men, birthers, nativists and extremists).  Why focus on just Latino Republicans (which have been marginalized anyway) when we can find common ground via the DREAM Act and immigration among Latinos across a broader political spectrum?

I’m  in UNIVISION news regarding President Obama and the Arizona vote, but let me be clear on what was not clarified….

It wasn’t clarified on what it MIGHT take for me (as an individual) to vote for Obama, and I MIGHT be enthused IF Obama takes a stronger lead on the DREAM Act/Immigration issues BEFORE November 2012 (who knows I just may write in Ronald Reagan or JFK), that said, I realize that Latinos need to get out and vote in droves and offer political covering and political courage to immigrant-friendly politicians in places like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Florida and the like.

I cannot just hand my vote too easily….these politicians need to work HARD for the Independent vote.   Somos is currently led by registered Republican voters who can still handle the hostility within the GOP, and I feel liberated as an Independent voter.  I know Democrats will vote Democratic, and I know Republicans will primarily vote Republican; however, I am hearing from Hispanic Evangelical leaders and reverends that they will vote for Obama if Newt Gingrich is not the Republican nominee.

From Univision, below and entire story can be read here:

Obama’s team eyes Arizona’s Latino voters

President Obama, seen here speaking in Arizona, is looking to turn the state into a battleground with the help of Latino voters, a group that has traditionally punched below its weight at the voting booth in the Grand Canyon State. (Flickr: Intel Photos)

By URIEL J. GARCIA
Channel: Politics

<snip>

And even though Latino registrations spiked by 200,000 between 2009 and 2010, Democrats saw an overall 6.2 percent dip in voter registrations between 2008 and 2012, only to be surpassed by independents as the second-largest voter group in the state.

…..

During an Arizona Republican primary debate last month, Romney … endorsed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped author Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration crackdown law.

DeeDee Blase Garcia, founder of the Hispanic group Somos Republicans [now with Tequila Party Movement], an Arizona-based group Latino GOP group, stepped down as the organization’s president because she got tired of the party’s tough immigration views. In an interview she said she might vote for Obama in 2012.  FULL STORY.