Conexion Miami / Biking for the Cuban Five

In Miami there have been caravan of cars for the Cuban Five. Now we hear that as part of the activities being organized in cities all over the world, that started September 12 and end on October 6, the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5 is organizing a bicycle ride in San Francisco, California, to bring attention to the 16 years of cruel imprisonment of the Five. Based on our experience with San Francisco, we feel that Miami would be the better place for the bikes and Frisco a better place for the cars… Have you ever ridden the streets of San Francisco? Steep… Click here to see the story of the Cuban Five.

Breast feeding Miami-Dade teachers

Should teachers / mothers have a right to breastfeed their children, or have the right to offer their newborn their breast milk? It is currently being discussed in Miami-Dade public schools. Teachers are campaigning for Miami-Dade schools to establish policies to allow lactating teachers time and space to pump breast milk. The Miami Herald recently reported on Monica Howell, who was told, ““Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate breastfeeding mothers,” after asking for 20 minutes a day to pump breast milk for her newborn.

Black vote key in FL governor’s race

Black voters showed up in larger numbers in 2008 and 2012, more than white voters, but will they bring record numbers to the polls without President Barack Obama at the top of the ticket? According to a Miami Herald report it’s a question black leaders across Florida have been asking since the August primary, when fewer than 5 percent of the 1.6 million black voters cast ballots. Fact is that without the black vote Charlie Crist may not be able to unseat Governor Rick Scott. Look at this statistic: Blacks made up 11 percent of the vote in 2010, “but if that vote share had been over 12 percent, Rick Scott would not be governor,” said Omar Khan, Crist’s campaign manager.

National Voter Registration Day

September 23 has been designated National Voter Registration Day across the U.S. Hundreds of events are being planned to make sure that as many people as possible register to vote and participate in the upcoming elections. You may click here and turn to the page that features a directory of all planned events so that future voters and those interested in volunteering can find local events near them. Click here if you want to register to vote.

Debbie does herself… in the foot

South Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has risen to the top of the Democratic Party totem pole by hook and crook. She is one of the most powerful politicians in the land. But recently Wasserman Schultz seems to be losing the confidence of the White House, congressional Democrats and Washington insiders. In a telling quote, John Morgan, a major Democratic Party donor in Florida, said, “I guess the best way to describe it is, it’s not that she’s losing a duel anywhere, it’s that she seems to keep shooting herself in the foot before she gets the gun out of the holster.” The news is nothing new to Cuban insiders…

Social Security and Medicare: Ponzi schemes, according to Curbelo

There’s a You Tube video that shows Carlos Curbelo calling Social Security and Medicare a Ponzi scheme. Curbelo is challenging Joe Garcia for the Florida District 26 congressional seat. This kind of talk will not help him with seniors – who traditionally vote.

Rating network TV’s Latino inclusion

The National Latino Media Council (NLMC) recently released the 2014 NLMC Television Network Diversity Report. The report rates Latino inclusion and diversity performance of the major TV networks – ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC – in the 2013-2014 television season, based on the employment of Latino actors, writers, producers, directors, and entertainment executives; program development; procurement; and commitment to diversity and transparency. Everyone came up mediocre, except NBC, which was rated Mediocre/Good. To view the full report, click here.

Guns don’t kill people

We keep hearing that guns don’t kill people. Probably true. Still… here’s another example of why we detest guns and advocate for the abolishment, or at least updating of, the 2nd Amendment. A grandfather shot and killed his daughter and six grandchildren at his Florida home last week before turning his gun on himself. Ages of the children ranged from three months to 10 years. The killer had spent three years in jail in January 2003, over the death of his son who he had “accidentally shot” and killed in a hunting accident.

Floridians without health insurance

The U.S. Census Bureau released new figures that capture the lives of Floridians last year and how they changed from 2012. Here’s news that is not news to us: The rate of Floridians without health insurance stayed the same in 2013 from the previous year – 20 percent. Florida ranked behind only Texas and Nevada in having the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation. The counties with the highest rates of the uninsured were Miami-Dade and Osceola counties; the ones with the lowest rates were Sumter and St. Johns counties.

Florida 2016

The 2016 presidential election is just around the corner. Imagine if Charlie Crist wins the Florida governor’s race and Jeb Bush and/or Marco Rubio decide to run for president… both of whom once counted Crist as a friend. Now, though, both call Crist an opportunist whose political conversion was more about ambition than ideology. If Crist does win, we’re sure that they’d both like to call Charlie a friend – again.

Let’s shoot our kids

School police departments across the U.S. have taken advantage of free military surplus gear, stocking up on mine-resistant armored vehicles, grenade launchers and scores of M16 rifles. Federal records show schools in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Utah obtained surplus military gear. In Florida, Pinellas county schools police said the county possessed 28 semi-automatic M16 rifles. 

Cuban Americans in congress (except one) want attack on ISIS

Here’s how the Cuban Americans in congress voted on the current campaign to counter the ISIS aggression in the Middle East. Overall, the 33 Latino voting members of the House of Representatives voted 64 percent in favor of the President’s plan. The only Cuban American to vote against Obama’s plan was Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey.

Charlie Crist and the economy

Charlie Crist may be tacking his campaign back to what had him 12 points ahead in the polls about a year ago: the economy. Last week he spelled out some of his plans to create jobs. The lists of proposals include restoring financial incentives for film productions and taking steps to help the solar industry. He may have left out (on purpose) his Cuba plans, which could represent tens of thousand of new jobs for the Sunshine State.

Red tide

Last week, El Nuevo Herald reported that clusters of toxic algae moving slowly in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico are killing turtles, sharks and fish, and threatening the waters and beaches that drive the regional economy in Florida. Known as “red tide”, this particular variety called Karenia brevis appears almost every year off the coast of Florida, and the bulky outbreaks can be particularly devastating. At present algae are building up in the St. Petersburg area of the state.

Women’s wage gap

U.S. Census Bureau data shows that the wage gap in 2013 shrank to 78 cents, but it does not represent a statistically significant change for women from 2012. Fatima Goss Graves, vice president for education and employment at the National Women’s Law Center said, “… The good news: the wage gap is shrinking. The very bad news: it’s by only a penny. So this means that women on average still make only 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. And that means that millions of women and their families continue to slide backwards year after year. We can and must do better than this. It’s time to close the wage gap now.”

Money for and against med pot in Florida

Where’s the money coming from in favor and against medical marijuana in Florida? They are both very wealthy men. John Morgan is an Orlando trial attorney who has spent $4.7 million on the pro-pot campaign. His motivation comes from a younger brother who has been paralyzed for decades. “He’s able to take one or two hits, and instantaneously the pain goes away,” he told the Palm Beach Post. For Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas billionaire who gave $2.5 million to anti-pot efforts, inspiration comes from the death of a son by drug overdose.