Wasting money on the census

I saw this the other day on Fox 4 News and it made me wonder. With the census upon us again, the government is trying hard to make sure Latinos are accurately counted. I'm sure their ideas are well meaning, but the idea being shown in this news report is just a waste of time. The Census Bureau here in Dallas sent out a couple of young mariachis - I guess they were "pop mariachis," as they weren't singing the traditional music, to encourage folks to answer the Census outside of a south Dallas grocery store. Really? Things like this make for good TV but at best, they maybe convinced a few dozen folks walking out of the store to take the census. This is all window dressing so we can later say we tried to count all Latinos. The only thing that works, that solves a lot of problems, is EDUCATION. Of course, that's way too much work. Mariachis are more fun. The bottom line is, we need to change the way the Latino culture thinks. It takes an outreach in the schools, where kids can learn the truth without the fear of government inherent in our culture. If Telemundo and other Spanish-language stations made a commitment to airing less trash and more programming of substance, we could make some progress on this problem.

We get the coverage we deserve

Texas State Rep. Norma Chavez is upset that more Hispanics aren't adequately represented in Texas history books. I decided to post a response to a Dallas Morning News story about it on their site, which you can read here. I copied my response below, which I kept very brief:

While I think it is important to ensure that minorities are represented in history books, it should be a truthful representation, not one that seeks a balance or quota based on the fact that a minority group grows in terms of population.

If Chavez has a real beef, she should cite specific examples, not try to score political points. I saw her statement, edited of course, and I saw no examples of "glaring" lapses in Latino coverage. If there is a lack of proper Latino leaders in the history books, it is a poor reflection of our race's lack of leadership, not the historian covering it. Otherwise we do a disservice to our race and all Texas schoolchildren.

I'm not a big fan of Chavez anyway - check out her Wikipedia page to read news reports of her ties to lobbyists and improper behavior towards the police. Her arguments ring hollow until she gives specifics.

Great minds who think alike...

Since my last Dallas Morning News column I'm happy to say I've come into contact with a number of great people, in particular conservative and Republican Latinos around Dallas and nationwide. Among them are the Conservative Hispanic Society of Texas, based here in north Texas and a growing group on Facebook, and the Hispanic Leadership Fund located in D.C. I highly recommend you get to know both groups.