I'm heading off to bed this evening, preparing to rest before my big LSAT exam tomorrow morning. However, it was going to be impossible for me to fall asleep without making a very necessary post. This week has been one of the most tumultuous weeks in politics that I have ever experienced in my life (as far as I can remember) I haven't been around a lot of years and perhaps I don't know much but what I do know is that I'm completely disillusioned. My fellow progressives insist I should be pissed at the President, but he's the last of my concern. My real concerns are about the number of friends and colleagues around the country insanely upset at the President's tax "compromise" with the Republican's this week. Believe it or not, as the biggest Maddow fan out there, I was extremely disappointed in the reaction from Rachel in regards to Obama's decision to move forward on this tax plan. After Rachel elaborated on her disdain for this plan, I was floored. For months she has been defending President Obama's policies and celebrating his accomplishments, despite the difficulties of a disastrous economic downturn and right wing nut jobs hijacking the media platform. But through all of that, understanding that the Dems are weak and unwilling to fight and the Repubs obstructing with every opportunity they have, Obama has in essence failed and has sealed the fate of his presidency.

After days of listening to friends, colleagues, and of course, Rachel and Keith and my numerous exchanging of tweets with fellow progressives, I was so happy to go on to Rachel Maddow's blog this evening and see this comment of the day, which was posted and shared with her readers. It stated:

Comment of the day (so far)
By Laura Conaway - Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:00 PM EST
On the tax deal -- what else -- @Just1MoreVoice writes:

Honestly, it isn't Obama I am upset with. He has consistently tried to get the results that we progressives are looking for through what he considers to be the best approach, which is through legislation and not executive action.

I am, on the other hand VERY upset with our legislators in D.C. They had everything they needed to put really forward-thinking policies into law, and the only time we have seen actual unity from them was when they voted on this recent resolution to send a resounding "No" to the White House concerning these taxes. Why couldn't they have shown us that unity a little sooner? If they had, if the Democrats in Congress had just held the line from the start, we would not be where we are today.

Let us all remember that our President is also a professor of Constitutional Law and give him a little credit for knowing the best way to go about this, even if we wish that he would maybe abuse his authority just a little more on our behalf.

I'm relieved to read that I am not the only person that believes this. The last few days have been unbearable, surrounded by my fellow progressives who are so upset and ready to throw the President under the bus. Yes, this compromise sucks! But the arguments, which have been stated throughout the last 72 hours, with such conviction mind you, is a bit too late. President Obama did what he had to do this week because the Dems didn't do it these last two years as a majority. Let's be honest, when Obama won the presidency, his base stopped paying attention. It's infuriating to me that for months Obama has been criticized for pursuing his "agenda," but the minute he goes off that agenda and appears to be a "moderate" (which he campaigned as, so there is this is no surprise) we are still critical. I agree with Jon Stewart's segment last night. The media should not focus on our own irritation with the President, because it's obvious he's irritated with us.

My hope is that Dems and progressives finally realize what we have not done in the last two years and make sure that we get organized and fight the necessary fight and remain united. I don't know how well I'll handle the next two years with a majority of Republican's in the House of Reps. But one thing is for certain, there is no way I will handle a Sarah Palin as President in 2012.

I was going to write up something the minute the midterm elections concluded two weeks ago. However, I just did not feel right. Perhaps it could be because we got our asses beat and I was left with very little to say, but it was a bit more than that I think. Since the evening of the election and recreating the evening over and over in my mind, I have come to the realization that things went bad, but they could have been a lot worse.

Yes, we now have a majority of Republican's in the House. This I get. But c'mon, I studied political science. Poli Sci 101 specifically taught me that House members, while important, generally are more, radical. They tend to each vote based on their political ideologies but that the Senate in the end, being more practical, can put out more realistic legislation in the end or stop legislation from going through at all. Despite how much Lawrence O'Donnell scared the beejeesus out of me on election night, I think Republican's can do very little in the next two years because at the end of the evening of election night, the Senate still belonged to the Democrats, which however way you see it, was good news in the end.

I have no idea if the previous paragraph made much sense and I really do not want to go back and revise it, but the bottom line is that we're still ok, I think. I mean, we're still not going to get shizz done in the next two years, because if the Republican's were already obstructionists prior to the election, it will be worse now. The silver lining however, after all this misery is that perhaps American's will finally get on the ball and realize where we are headed if we continue to support a right wing agenda from the likes of Boehner and Cantor and all their "young guns" bringing forth their "new plan" January 1st.

On another scarier note, yesterday I read about a Pew study that was recently conducted about how a little under half of American's surveyed had no idea that the Republican party had taken control of the House. Yes, almost half of American's do not know this. Yet most of American's are spending their time and effort voting for the Bristol Palin's and Justin Bieber's of the world on reality TV and actually consider Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman relevant in our political debate.

I still remain an optimist. Believe me, it isn't easy. Considering that I am currently living in a state where we elected our first Hispanic female governor Susana Martinez...I'm barely hanging by a thread. My only hope is that constituencies across our great country will finally...FINALLY wake up and realize that the road the Right-wing nut jobs are taking us is quite awful and reconsider what they produced two weeks ago.

The next thing we have to do as progressives is make sure that this election is capitalize on what could have been but did not occur. The Tea Party is not that powerful. If anything, they hijacked our political debate and materialized in huge campaign when in fact it was all an illusion produced by the media, both left and right. Progressives need to continue to push our agenda in the next two years, while still accepting and defending our progress in the last two years. I mean c'mon...we did a lot of great work! Why didn't we defend it this campaign season? We should not wait until the last minute to spur any momentum because by then it is too late. We need to begin now otherwise, what was ultimately predicted this last election, will become reality in 2012. That I cannot handle.

Land of Enchantment...or Entrapment

After several months, I'm finally sitting down to blog. It's not to say that I haven't had much to say...believe me, that would be an understatement. I just haven't had the motivation to sit down and finally put it all down in written form. Mostly because life happens, which is kind of weird because I thought that by leaving LA ten months ago, and relocating to my hometown of little LA (aka Lake Arthur, New Mexico) I'd have more time to concentrate on extracurricular activities, like blogging. Well, this is not the case. Instead, I'm working more than ever in my day job, a second job and trying to get Dems elected and/or re-elected here in New Mexico. The challenge? Southeastern New Mexico, where my hometown is. I've grown up in this small town most of my young life but for the last thirteen years, I've been off wandering the world, living mostly in Los Angeles. Last December, however I decided to return to my home state. 1)To apply to law school at University of New Mexico (of which the application is about to be submitted, so cross your fingers) and 2) hopefully make a long lasting difference in my own community.

If you're smart enough, one thing you and I will agree on is that there is more to the state then just Albuquerque and Santa Fe (well, unless you're a northern NM elitist, which believe me, they exist unfortunately) Sure, it's great to have two great urban cities within a state with such wide open space, but c'mon...there is more to it then that. What really makes our state so incredibly awesome is its increasing diversity, especially (and surprisingly) in rural and Native American regions of the state. Some folks, mostly those north of I-40 (the northern elitists), will tell you that nothing exists south of here, well...anything that matters to them anyway. That is not true at all. There are those of us, like me(!), who are here and working night and day to make this place...this very conservative place, as progressive a place as possible, despite its ongoing challenges.

So the reason why I'm writing about this right now may have something to do with the fact that in thirty days, we face an election night like no other. All over the country, Congressional and Governor seats are up for grabs and it's wide open for either candidate. But most importantly, just like every other election this state, in particular, has ever had, has resulted in my Democratic brothers and sisters continue its historical routine of forgetting my region of the state.

If you've studied New Mexico politics, you will learn that southeastern New Mexico is very conservative. Ok, let me put it this way, it's so conservative that it's called "little Texas" and by that I mean, like west Texas-style politics. If you need a clear picture, imagine a totally hippie looking VW Beetle (my car), driving along a county road, heading north to Roswell on my daily commute to work, then being confronted by obvious, distasteful looks in my rear-view mirror from the car behind me, eyes glaring straight at my "Latinos for Obama" bumper stickers. In front of me, a big redneck truck driving the opposite direction with its confederate flag as a license plate. Ok, now this isn't all the time, but I'm sure you get the picture. Most people who live around me are involved in the oil and/or farm business and in many cases, have Rush Limbaugh stuck on their radio dial. So, "why do you live here?" you might ask. Aside from the politics and the sometimes (ok, most times) backwards thinking, it's home. My entire family is here and it's honestly where I feel great comfort and an obligation to do good for the communities around me.

So what does this all have to do with politics and election night? Everything.

Like the rest of the country, the Democrats are facing stiff challenges on election night, particularly in conservative regions of the country. Now, when I say stiff challenges, I definitely do not mean that the opposition has better policies and/or greater ideas for improving the lives of Americans. That would just be hilarious. Instead, what I mean is that somehow people across the country, and especially southeastern New Mexico, American's have forgotten how incredibly awful things were under the GOP Congress. Dems have have also done very little, in my opinion, to talk up their progress, which have proven to be successful in the last four years. Instead what I'm seeing are apologies from them. Apologies for attempting to provide basic needs to the middle class and low income families. I mean, seriously? We're apologizing for reform? Is there something completely wrong with this picture? There is a list of priorities that the Dems and its base have successfully accomplished in the last four years and yes, there is still more to do, but why are we allowing the Right to counter anything we say with proposals they have recently introduced, which are obviously the same old thing and are proof of what did not work?

I know that conservative regions of the country are a lost cause for many Democratic candidates. I mean, believe me...it would be very difficult to take on a Republican opponent even in my neck of the woods. But to completely forget about these regions where there are still some great Democrats amongst the ocean of Republican's is in my opinion, idiotic. Yes, it has a lot to do with election tactics and strategies, but honestly for southeastern New Mexico, Democratic candidates have done nothing but ignore these communities all along the southeast part of the state and I find it upsetting.

Right now in New Mexico you have two women fighting it out for the governorship of New Mexico. Despite everything that is going on with this particular campaign, it's awesome to see my state giving two women the opportunity to fight it out for the most important political office in the state. No matter who wins, it will be the first time in the history of the state where we will have a female governor and that is pretty kick ass. However, I'm rather disappointed with our Democratic candidate, Diane Denish. She's been our Lieutenant Governor for two terms already, and has done a pretty good job. Most importantly though, she's from southeastern New Mexico. I may be wrong about this and someone can correct me if they'd like, but considering that she's from this region of the state, you would think she'd actually do some campaigning here. She really hasn't. Instead, its as if she's been contaminated by the northern New Mexico mindset that nothing exists south of the I-40. This to me is disappointing because yes, I am living in a sea of right-wing Republican nut jobs, but it's overwhelming to see the amount of support the Republican candidate is getting, someone who has done very little for the state, particularly for this region and honestly, she scares the shizz out of me with all her far right rhetoric. For a Latina woman like myself, I'm highly offended by her ability to ignore her own Latino roots and dismiss it like its an accusation she should deny on all counts. But aside from all of that, my point is that like other Dems in middle America, our own candidates are dismissing us because we're located in areas where they will not win.

While this may be a good tactic come election day, what good will it really do in the long run? What if Diane Denish does end up pulling an upset and winning this thing? Where will those of us south of the I-40 do or think? No matter what, I will be supportive. However, I do feel neglected by my own candidate, knowing that she did very little to engage her voter base, from her own community.

Yes, I have described my region of the state as a God-awful Republican sea of lunatics, yada, yada, yada. But I also love this place. Not because of what it has stood for all these years, politically...but for the challenges that await me and the excitement I get thinking about the future and how I will be a part of what will shake the core of the conservative mindset around here. Yes, right now people up north don't recognize those of us south of the I-40 But you know what? They soon will.

I hate banks...yeah, I said it!

In 2006, I began working for a community development corporation, specializing in affordable housing development in East Los Angeles. At the time I was hired on as Housing Counselor, providing the typical information any first time homebuyer should use when purchasing their first home. For about a year I provided the typical budget counseling, reviewed and made recommendations on credit scores and helping families identify ways to prepare for the purchase of their first home. Mind you, I was working for a non-profit organization, which provided this counseling for free and about 98% of our clientèle was low to moderate income levels, furthermore...it was in 2005, the height of the housing market.

In East LA, you could easily find a 2bd/2ba home for $500k...easy. The problem though, which I encountered time and time again, was the constant self-defeating feeling I'd get each time I had to tell the family across the table from me that they were in absolutely no position financially to purchase a home. Now, usually this isn't a huge deal right? Most people can take advice and say, "oh well! better luck next time!" But for the families that I worked with, many of whom were incredibly hard working, had saved for so many years, who had decided to wait for the perfect moment, were being told that under the current market, it was almost impossible for them to buy.

This was part of my job for the entire year of 2006. But right before it ended, I was met with some unexpected events, that would change my professional career upside down. Around the holidays of that same year, I had a walk-in come by. It was a young family, monolingual...who were interested in having me read over their loan documents. Now, at this point my only real experience with loan documents were 30yr fixes, low interest rates...the usual decent loan. This young family however came in with a completely different document that I hadn't ever seen. They were loan documents from Bank of America, and to be frank, they were rather obscene. Yes, I'm an educated woman...I have a graduate degree with lots of work experience, however what I was seeing in front of me were documents that even your most skilled attorney would have trouble reading. Furthermore, I'm trying to explain these loan documents to this monolingual family, and while I did my best...I could tell that they were drawing a complete...blank. The loan documents in front of me were for the home they had purchased three years prior. What they did not understand however is that in just a few months, their current interest rate (which hovered at around 5%) was about to jump to close to 9%. In addition to this, they also had a 2nd...ok? Just trying to explain it right now is giving me a headache. The bottomline is that this family had no idea that for the last 3 years they had been paying on a loan which was not only "not fixed for 30 years" but that they were also paying on an additional loan, the 1st which covered 80% of the purchase price, fixed for three years and then adjustable thereafter, while the 2nd, was the down payment, a small payment at 10% for 15 yrs, amortized as a balloon payment.

You're confused right? Right?

Basically, this family at origination was told that they were locking in this 5% interest rate for 30 years, not knowing that it was only fixed for 3 years and that the reason they didn't have to put a down payment down was because they were sold a 2nd at a higher interest rate, which would have to be paid in full at the end of 15 years. Let's just say that it was soon after this meeting that I was introduced to adjustable rates and balloon loans, both of which had prepayment penalties attached to them.

I was officially introduced to the foreclosure/mortgage crisis. An issue I have unfortunately become an expert on, but also a staunch advocate, publicly opposing the lies of financial institutions and their inability to own up to this crisis and defending the rights of families facing foreclosure in Los Angeles.

My reasons for posting about this tonight is because after watching The Rachel Maddow Show tonight, and sitting through her interview with Elizabeth Warren, I got to thinking. Almost every question Rachel asked tonight was the same questions I, and countless other advocates all over the country, have asked time and time again for the last four years. The greatest question tonight being, "why can't we force the banks to work with families facing foreclosure?" Right Rachel?!? Right?!?

But no...

The numbers Elizabeth Warren provided tonight were both informative, yet discouraging. I recently left Los Angeles to pursue other opportunities, so I'm no longer on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis, but when I left I felt that I had done all I could for my community in Los Angeles and that things might improve. However, tonight showed a different perspective.

Why Banks Suck and Foreclosures are Never ENDING!

The financial institutions began to have their financial problems in the fall of 2008. At this time, the Treasury Department, under Paulson (remember his one pager?haha)recommended that we bail out the financial institutions and provide them with enough funds to prevent any meltdown, primarily in the housing market. So in the fall of 2008, the federal government approved TARP, Troubled Asset Relief Program. Under this program financial institutions would be provided with enough funds to stay afloat with the caveat of continuing business as usual. They were expected to continue lending to families who were interested in investing in small businesses or a home. Let me just be frank and say that this never happened. Through the end of 2008 and all of 2009, until my last day in Los Angeles, there was no financial institution interested in lending any money out. Not to any of our clients, and surely not to anyone else in LA County. That is the truth. Furthermore, financial institutions have and still make it impossible to find any solution for families facing foreclosure. While modifications are to be considered, they are not.

When President Obama took office in January of 2009, within months he introduced the Making Home Affordable Program, which would be implemented that Spring and financial institutions who received funds through TARP were expected to participate. I'll be frank...once again (My apologies for always being frank), and say that while this was a sigh of relief to many of us advocates, we soon realized that it was not going to work. You see, when the banks were failing and were going broke because of all the bad investments they made, you know? Like selling really bad loans like the ones I talked about in previous paragraphs? It was going to be a national...No! GLOBAL catastrophe! Something had to be done immediately in order to save our financial system right? Well, we did that. We gave you guys the money you needed to survive. But what you also did was pay obscene amounts of bonuses to your executives, and forgot (or dare say, didn't give a crap) about Juan and Maria, who are living around the corner and about to lose their home because you refuse to answer your phone and accept a modification packet that will not only help the family, but will help YOU TOO!!

I'm a huge fan of President Obama. I'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Warren. I'm also a very huge fan of others in the federal government try to do what is right to help families stay in their homes, but I have to be honest. I'm so tired of hearing some of the solutions, when in fact they are not working and are only recommendations made by those in the banking business. With Making Home Affordable for example, banks were incentivized if and when they worked with a family to get a loan modification, however this participation was "optional." The federal government was not mandating that they participate. So the numbers Elizabeth Warren provided tonight on Rachel Maddow should be indicative of how irresponsible financial institutions have been all along and how advocates like myself and others, have not been fully utilized to provide the solutions necessary to prevent a continual up tick in the foreclosure crisis.

To hear Elizabeth Warren tonight, talk about how only about 150,000 families have been helped by the Making Home Affordable Program, while on average of 200,000 families are being foreclosed on per month, that tells you something. It also tells you something when Bank of America and Citi are both sitting in front of lawmakers today, explaining how they are apologetic about what has occurred but that they are unable to do what is necessary to help families. If this isn't infuriating enough to people, I don't know what is. The banks can put the blame on the families, stating that they bought "too much" house, but at the end of the day, the banks should be held accountable for this travesty of a financial meltdown. It is obvious to every single American that they have done nothing but squander our tax payer money, and for the federal government to not hold them accountable and mandate that they do help families remain in their home is indecent.

For years I have been requesting that advocates like myself be included in discussions being held at the national level. We have the solutions, we just haven't been asked. But when will we finally be invited? We are the people on the front lines working with families directly, one on one, every single day for the last 5 years, so shouldn't we be the one's helping to make the decisions on how to move forward? Shouldn't we be the experts in identifying what the best remedy is for this foreclosure crisis?

So thank you Rachel Maddow! You finally asked the one question we all have been dying to ask. It's just a matter of time now in which advocates like myself will be called upon to meet with the President. So I'm here, waiting...we're ready... waiting for that call.

March Madness...

I missed a huge opportunity to blog in March and I'm so bummed. So much political activity has taken place over the last month, but what can you do? I'll try to make up for it now and in the coming days. I've recently returned to my hometown of Lake Arthur, New Mexico, so I'll be honest and say I have a lot of time on my hands. Hopefully for just awhile, but who knows. Time will tell.

One thing that I have gained from moving back temporarily is an ever growing motivation to stay involved politically, even if just through social media outlets. Coming home, while a great opportunity to connect with family and friends, has also lead to an incredible feeling of political isolation. Let's be clear, I'm surrounded by two types of people. 1) People who just don't give a f*** about politics and its ever growing polarization and toying with our political system and 2) People who do care about politics, but are mostly if not all ill-informed about the current political climate. Most if not all Republicans in this overwhelmingly, conservative region receive most, if not all their political information from Glen Beck at Fox News and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. (I know I'm repeating "mostly if not all", so I guess I should be just say all, but trying not to generalize" Listen, I am not gonna lie as I too engage and frequent in my own leftist indulgences such as Keith Olberman and of course, the very objective and wonderful Rachel Maddow. However, with my obvious leftist leaning, I do still try to remain as objective as possible, reaching my own conclusions and furthering my personal research on political and policy topics of the day, outside of Keith and Rachel. I mean, you kind of have to be objective...right?

Well, I'll be frank and say, from what I have seen in 2009 and since relocating to southeastern New Mexico, this has not been the case with group #2 (or the GOP in general for that matter) They have earned the name "the party of No" for a reason and it may get worse. What I will say about group #2 though is unlike the non-doers of group #1, they are involved in some form of the political debate, regardless if I find them crazy or not (and let's be honest, most of the time they are crazy) Nonetheless they are participating in the civic life of this country and while my concerns are growing with this particular group, I will say that my greatest concern is by far group #1. (I'll get to #2 in a few)

Group #2 had me extremely worried early on in 2008, election year. I think we all know why and it's simple, would they go out and vote come November 4? Fortunately, many of those whom I felt belonged under group #1 came out in overwhelming numbers and voted for our current president, Barack Obama. What was even more impressive is in the way in which they represented the vote. We gained so many new and young voters, I was confident that after election night we could finally begin the work necessary to definitely take on the campaign motto of "Yes We Can!"

Well, then came January 20, 2009. President Barack H. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Despite the fact I was one of thousands holding on to the infamous "purple ticket," unable to make it out of the tunnel and watch the most historic day in the country's lifetime, the country did in fact enter into a new era and there was a hint of change in the air. An era I hoped would be incredibly productive and one that many of us would be a part of, bringing change to a country that had been beaten down for eight long years.

The result was instead this:
Group #1 somehow forgot that there was more to do then just elect a new president. In fact, they completely forgot how to maintain their civic duty and remain as involved as possible in the political process, in particular to reform and help make the big political decisions facing this country, then and now. How could a movement so big and involved during the 2008 elections, just disappear? It's simple. Many just assumed that with a new administration in the White House, all would be fixed come January 21, 2009. It's obvious to many of us that this would not be the case, not at all, but I don't think the rest got the memo.

But like I've said time and time again, and something that many would definitely back me up on, we are a country that thrive on instant gratification. Already, within the first few months of 2009, we were already looking for an end to two wars, the economy reaching 1990s heights and living happily ever after, the end! What they didn't realize however was that in fact, the work had just begun!

2009 was a year in which we met our first real challenge and it was to reform our health care system. This was the greatest fight for America, attempting to make a significant stride to get millions of families insured. This was a challenge in which the country had debated for close to 100 years, but never ever succeeded. This was the time to get the job done, we had the President and the majority in Congress to do it. However, what occurred instead was the greatest hijacking in politics I have ever seen in my thirty years of life. (I know it's not long, but c'mon? I remember the Reagan/Bush years) Now, I'm not going to give the hijackers that much credit as I'm not convinced that they're that influential, but instead the blame goes to the one and only...group #1. Where the hell were the millions of voters who came out enthusiastically in 2008? Where was their attendance during the lengthy month of August where town halls were held all over the country? THEY WERE NOWHERE!!...instead...the entire healthcare reform debate was hijacked beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Group #2 are a collection of people, both bitter and I'll be honest and say led by a lot of angry white men. They are a mixture of people who voted against President Obama and/or voted for Obama but became dissatisfied with his politics the minute he set foot into the White House. They are committed to "taking back" America (from whom, I have no idea) Furthermore, this small group of people represent a very small minority, yet have taken over the entire political conversation, healthcare and everything else the President attempts to accomplish. This group has evolved into the infamous "Tea Party Movement." Their mission: "A community committed to standing together, shoulder to shoulder, to protect our country and the Constitution upon which we were founded!" Hmm. Really? Where were you guys during the Bush years when civil liberties were taken from American's and decisions were made bypassing Congress? Oh yeah, it didn't matter then right? It matters now because...

Group #2 is destroying our country. They have retreated to protesting every aspect of the presidents policy platform, questioning his every move and authority and have gone as far as questioning his "American" authenticity. They have done nothing but divide a country and create a movement that has not proven to take a step forward, but has instead retreated back to a time in which this country faced the greatest of challenges. This "tea party" movement, has brought out a bigotry which I thought was long gone, but instead it was just hidden, under a very thin surface, waiting for the appropriate time to uproot itself and show its disgusting face. It appears, according to the Tea Party movement, that that time is now.

Rather than make an educated attempt to understand the logic behind President Obama's policies and how in fact they do help stimulate our economy and put us back on the right track, with inclusion of debate of course, the decisions by this movement are obvious. They don't care what the President proposes. Even if he were to negotiate peace on earth, in the eyes of this movement, they would still not be satisfied. The Tea Party has hijacked our political conversation, boldly objecting to our political system and informally implementing a backwards ideology which has thus been embraced by most if not all of the conservative movement, all for political gain and in an effort to "physically" take back this country. They are a group of people that are in fact scared of diversity and are freaked out that this country's fabric is no longer what they are used to. They are racists, plain and simple. When they chant "Take back America" they are not talking about taking Dems out and replacing the majority with Repubs, they are proclaiming their dissatisfaction with the current makeup of this government.

As a Latina woman, I am scared. I am scared that this group of people have been legitimized by the public, by the media and by the GOP Senators and Congressional representatives who stand behind them. I am utterly disgusted by this show of apparent "tea party" solidarity, which in my opinion is nothing more than a disgusting example of fundamental racism. Anyone who says otherwise is insane to assume that this group should be taken seriously. I have never sided with an anarchist and I will never side with the likes who side with treason.

Despite all this however, after almost a year of debate, back and forth, death panels and all...health care reform was passed and the last of the health care bill was signed into law on March 30, 2010. FINALLY! (take that tea party!)

So now, April 11, 2010...what is next? Well, the week the President signed healthcare reform, he also met with the Russians begin to take steps to put an end to nuclear proliferation, furthermore he made some decisions on offshore drilling and there appears to be a goal to get financial reform done before Memorial Day. Will it happen? Will we be able to accomplish financial reform before then or will it be another year-long fight like healthcare? Will we ever get to immigration reform?

There are so many things that we need to accomplish and I hope that with the momentum we have gained with the healthcare reform victory, we will lead many from group #1 to finally come to the realization that this does take work and that they will finally join us and keep our mission in tact.

In the meantime, I am here...in Lake Arthur, trying to survive a political undertaking of the conservative persuasion, and do my part in helping the Progressive movement...progress.

Wow!...What a week!!

First, last weeks 7.0 earthquake in Haiti has affected most, if not all of us, in some way or another. We have all felt extreme sadness throughout the last 12 days, watching on television as thousands have died and watching the thousands who still remain, figuring out the recovery and the future. Then, in Massachusetts an unknown State Senator Scott Brown, beat Martha Coakley on Tuesday, winning overwhelmingly in a special election held to replace Ted Kennedy's US Senate seat. This was then preceded by Thursday in which the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 decision set a huge precedent by beating down campaign financing reform and ruling that corporations could finance political campaigns because it was their First Amendment Right. And finally, to make matters worse, Conan O'Brien hosted his last Tonight Show after just seven months on the job, leaving millions of fans, like myself...extremely disappointed. Ok...so Conan leaving NBC's the Tonight Show really isn't the end of the world. But I will say that it was sort of the last that I, and many others who do love Conan, could have done without. However, through all that has happened, you got to admit...there's got to be a silver lining, right?

Haiti: Aftershocks continue, while Haitians are still being pulled out of the rubble, many miraculously still alive even after 12 days. CNN's Anderson Cooper has given us the capability to witness a lot of the tragedy on television, but ironically...even a bit of joy and happiness. Case in point, Kiki, the little boy pulled out of the rubble yesterday. He was in the rubble for 8 days. EIGHT DAYS!! Just seeing the picture of him being pulled out made me realize how fortunate we are to experience something so profound, even under the current circumstances in which hundreds of thousands have perished. There has been a great sense of unity throughout these 12 days though and that is the reason that I have hope for the human race once again. Unfortunately it always happens under these circumstances, but it happens and I guess that is what matters right? I mean think about it...from day one, I like millions of others used our cell phones to donate money to the Red Cross and/or other organizations helping directly. Then there was Twitter and other social media networking tools, in which millions came together to share their deepest thoughts, an experience of unity which I don't think I had ever truly experienced with random strangers. Of course, throughout the course of all of this, I've also witnessed the worst in people. Many stating that Haiti should take care of themselves, etc. Not sure why people like this exist, but they do. People seem to not realize or even care that much of the agony the Haitians have dealt with in years past is a result of things America has done to the country. This is the least we can do. Last night though brought something pretty special which helped me to ignore all of the negativity surrounding this situation. The Hope for Haiti telethon, organized by George Clooney was televised in almost all of the major networks and cable channels. Wait up...don't start up on the celebs. Sure, they can be quite annoying...however last night was pretty incredible, with so many participating and performing for a great cause. I witnessed something pretty remarkable as I sat in my new apartment outside Santa Fe, laughing and crying, tweeting with others and thinking about all that was going on at this very instance, some thousands of miles away and how we truly were making a difference, even if it is from out couches. In tragedy, we have witnessed the worst and the best of people...but I choose to look at what could be the best. The world came through to help and even though there are some issues with getting things to the people due to lack of infrastructure in Haiti, I'm hoping that things will remain positive. I have faith in the world that in times of tragedy...we can all come together like we have and make a difference that will last a life time.

Scott Brown: This loss was unbelievable!! OK, maybe it wasn't all that surprising as we all knew what kind of candidate Coakley ended up being in the last month, but for me and like many other progressives, it wasn't so much that we lost this seat to a republican per se, but it was so much that we lost the Lion's TED KENNEDY'S seat. I sat at home on Tuesday night glued to the television and twitter, waiting to hear the results to only be utterly disappointed when around 8pm MST, I received notice that Coakely had called Brown to concede. The Dems obviously still hold the majority with 59 seats, which is great, but the problem though is getting them to use this majority effectively...cause they haven't at all this last year. This has been the greatest issue many of us progressives have had with the Dems since early 09. Let's take for example, healthcare reform. The Dems have given up so much with this reform bill, all because of their attempts at bipartisanship. Since before the summer, we all knew that the Repubs would never vote for anything we put out there and yet the Dems continued to cater to them, specifically the Blue Dogs. The Repubs, since the President took office last January, have all decided to say no to everything that Prez and the Dems have put on the table. Yet the Dems and the Prez refuse to do what the Repubs do best push stuff through without bi-partisanship. The Repubs do it all the time and accomplish nothing except ruining our country. We know the Dems have good policies, which is why we voted for you in 08. Now take the charge, play the Repubs game and accomplish what needs to be done! We lost Ted Kennedy's seat within the state of Mass, which some would consider a pretty progressive state. Bottom line, peeps are pissed and if Dems and the Pres don't get it together pretty soon, Mass will be replicated come November. Silver lining? Dems and the Prez seem to have gotten the message within the last 72 hours. While some were rather astonished by the results on Tuesday night, one in particular (Barney Frank) looks like we might in fact push this healthcare bill through within the next few weeks (hopefully). Secondly, the Prez Obama was in Ohio yesterday doing a town hall and for the first time in probably a year, I saw the guy that I worked my ass off to get to the presidency. He was on the attack and seems like he really is ready for this fight against the Repubs. And yes, I don't care what anyone says, but this IS a fight against the Repubs. They are they reason the US is facing its current challenges, but as a united front we got to make sure we get things done asap. Finally, after Obama's town hall yesterday in Ohio, we got confirmation this morning that David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager during the presidential election will be rejoining the team, to make sure that all goes well this coming November. This makes me giddy only because...well, if you followed the election last year and have since read the Audacity to Win, this is huge because it puts us back to where we should have been all year. Obama being guided by good people, like Plouffe, who really understands the challenges we face but also knows how to get things done.

The SCOTUS: 5 to 4 ruling FOR corporations. If this doesn't tell you that the Supreme Court judges who ruled for this are not right wing sympathizers, then stop reading now. What gives them the right to think that Corporations of any kind have the same rights that the rest of us have? With this ruling, corporations will be influencing elections with greater ability then ever before. In my opinion, this is the greatest threat to our democracy. Already campaigns in the last few years have exceeded funds of up to billions of dollars and some would say that it has in fact won elections for certain candidates. But now? It will be worse, unless we the People do something about it. SCOTUS silver lining? This one's a bit trickier, but...well; I'm an optimistic so I'll do my best to explain. We need a revolution. I'm not talking about rebelling against the government or anything like that...instead I'm talking about American's coming together with one common goal and rebelling against the corporations who have the capability to turn this country into a corporatist state, more so than what they have already done in the last 20 years. I hate to even say this, but this is the sort of thing I think we could even join the Tea Party movement on. WAIT! Hold up! Let me finish. I can't stand those freaks...AT ALL! They are an absolute disgrace to this country and to the word "American." However, if they truly are who they say they are, and then this ruling is the sort of thing that should piss these freaks off and use this as leverage to help us progressives politically. On Thursday when the ruling was announced, Republicans up in Congress were the only one's cheering this thing on. The Tea Party is a break from the GOP and if anything it is good for us progressives if we can keep them somewhat involved in this particular issue, but irrelevant with everything else, otherwise it could backfire and lead to a "Vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" situation which we obviously don't want. But with this issue in particular, I think something good could come of this and the Dems and the President can feed off of this and use this to gauge the populists all over the country and make sure we keep our country in tact. Demonstrate to the rest of the country that the corporations will not decide our fate and that the People are still in charge. Ok...I think I've already had too much wine if I'm already talking about how we can join the tea baggers on this so let's just put that to the side and pretend I never said anything. What I will say is that this decision should really be pissing a lot of people off all over the country. In order to survive this thing, we need to work hard to make sure that we get everyone out to vote at every single election and I mean EVERYBODY and prevent any corporation from deciding our fate.

Finally, Conan O'Brien. What can I say except that this is probably the classiest man EVER! I have always liked him, but the fact that he was such a cool cat throughout this whole situation with NBC makes me think that we're pretty lucky to have had him, even if it were just for 7 short months. His final farewell, speaking of cynicism and how much he hates it, literally had me in tears. Why you ask? Because I think that all week long, a lot of us progressives have been down in the dumps with all that went wrong. Believe me...I have been pretty sickened by everything that has been happening politically and in Haiti. However when Conan said what he said last night, I was like...Hellz yeah Conan!!! We can't be cynical about all that has occurred these last two week. We have to just get back up and make things happen and make sure that we're fighting on for the progressive cause. No one should hold us back, and that staying optimistic can go a long way. So...what will the future bring after this tumultuous two weeks? Not sure, but I hope that we can all think about where we're headed and understand what is at stake and do our best to make sure that in the end it's for the good of the planet and all people.