So I came across this video recently that is very clearly targeted to the Latino audience.

Years ago, I would've stepped back and possibly tried to preach the virtues of intellectual debate, higher education, etc. but the energy around the current Presidential race has caused me to rethink my previous position.

In a recent LA Times article, the author asserts that racism per se, is not what is shaping the Latino vote preference; it’s a 16 year head start. I agree. Sort of.

You can read the full article here: www.latimes.com

The cynic in me says this is true and like development throughout Latin America, it’s just plain silly to expect anyone to catch up. I mean, does anyone really think that introducing some new and improved marketplace infrastructure is really going to level the playing field in Latin America? Likewise, does anyone really think that Obama’s campaign headquarters can come up with anything that will battle 16 years of life in the public eye or, um, 16 years of political experience?

I recently came across this video called, "Oye Hillary." As the title implies, this video is clearly targeting the Latino vote. With all the fuss about this new-fangled thing we're calling the *Latino vote,* some of us are sitting here wondering, "huh...how did she pull it off? How did she get more Latino votes than Obama? Is it a race thing? Or is it a female thing?" So now I sit here wondering, does Hillary have the Latina vote in the bag? And if she does, does that mean she's got the Latino (male) vote as well? Unless the Obama campaign steps it up, perhaps so.

The people of El Salvador are anxiously awaiting the benefits of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Like the Energizer Bunny, their hope keeps going, and going, and going...but, when will they learn? These policies aren't for them. Like the Soup Nazi on the Seinfeld sitcom, I feel like shouting, "No soup for you!" These policies are not for you, my Latin American brothers and sisters. Policies like NAFTA, (or similar free trade agreements) are rarely what they're cracked up to be.

A recent article on the Inter Press Service website claimed the agreement was ratified with hardly any debate. Surprised? Confused? Wondering how people might vote for such a policy that didn't benefit them? Well, chances are, they probably didn't.

On this day in 1913, the 16th Amendment was ratified. It was the first graduated income tax and was implemented later in the year as part of the Underwood Simmons Tariff Act. This was significant because previously, taxes were apportioned according to population (Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co., 158 U. S. 601 [1895]). The Sixteenth Amendment took the focus away from whether taxes "are direct or indirect by giving Congress blanket power to lay and collect taxes on income 'from whatever source derived,' without any apportionment or regard to any census." This tax season, can you imagine population and the census being the most important question? How would that change things? How would it affect what we focus on or that for which we fight?

Janet Murguia, president and chief executive of National Council of La Raza (NCLR) just launched a campaign to stop the "vilification of immigrants and Hispanic Americans" against Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. To that I say, it's about time.

Why? Because words matter. Sure, on one level, words are just letters put together in a certain order that we all learn to understand as part of our language and removed from action, mean nothing...or do they? As our minds process these words, we associate them to our environment - that's how we make sense of the world around us.

On the anniversary of President Bush's infamous "mission accomplished" speech aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, Brave New Films launched its own campaign called, "Tell us the Mission." Our spoken word video was viewed over 114,000 times on YouTube and received over 20,000 submissions for our banner competition.

BET's new show, "The 5ive" which premiered Friday night at 7:30pm (ET/PT), will be featuring "Tell us the Mission" twice next week.