Costa Rica Overwhelmingly Picks a Mujer

Laura Chinchilla Miranda just made history by becoming Costa Rica's first woman president. Ms. Chinchilla, an attractive 50-year-old who is a mother to a teenage son, is a protege of Oscar Arias, the Nobel Prize winner and former president of the country. She also speaks English as she attended Georgetown University.

Laura's politics are progressive-conservative. Interesting mix, and if you know anything about the small Central American, you'll agree she's representative of the views held by a majority of 'Ticos.' As this article points out, "But most Costa Ricans were reluctant to shake up the status quo in a country with relatively high salaries, the longest life expectancy in Latin America, a thriving ecotourism industry and near-universal literacy."

However, the libertarian candidate also did well, in this presidential election, which is in keeping with Costa Rica's freewheeling side.

But there's immigration trouble in paradise. Costa Rican officials are restricting visas to Jamaicans, due to a spate of serious problems with Jamaican gangs who have illegally entered the country.

Among the Orphans of the Earthquake

Doug Phillips, and the Vision Forum team, are in Haiti lending a hand and gathering information. Lots of pics and vignettes. Good on them, and all Americans who are going the extra mile for the homeless and hungry of this nation.

Now this story, that Doug brings up, is really interesting. Geraldo Rivera defended - very forcefully - the American missionaries who were accused of abducting Haitian children. He also lets the (very corrupt) Haitian government have it. Are these missionaries still in custody?



Update: Justice for the missionaries!

Que Chévere

U can buy these tees here.

Breitbart Wants to Control Narrative

The opening for this NPR feature is chuckle-worthy and funky: "The conservative online news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart is, for the moment, doing little to dispel stereotypes about bloggers. During a recent visit to his home on the west side of Los Angeles, Breitbart, 41, is working from his own basement. Barefoot. At the beck and call of his own kids."

The piece talks about the Big Journalism, Big Hollywood, and Big Government websites.

Soldier & Baby Mum: When Worlds Collide

Hoover Institute Research Fellow Mary Eberstadt, willing to incur some public wrath, valiantly tackles a sacred cow: The American military's propensity for sending mommies off to war zones, and the consequences of such policies.

She writes, " ... American laws like most others delineate what kind of civilization ours is. And currently, ours is one in which military and political and cultural leaders appear to believe that there is nothing intrinsically wrong about deploying mothers away from their children and into the wars. This apparent near-consensus brings us to another reason the status quo has continued without public protest: because the parties that ordinarily might be expected to be paying attention to this military-social experiment have sidelined themselves for reasons of their own."

Read the whole essay, and ponder the titanic clash between equality and reality.

Update: Will Grigg has written about maternity and the military in "Leviathan's Orphans."

'Nother Update: A U.S. Serviceman, who lives in the Heartland, shared his thoughts with me on this one: "When I was in Iraq, there was even a mothers-of-young-children support group composed of soldiers who were mothers of young children, to help each other get through the deployment while missing their children. Now is that not sick and insane?

But there's not much criticism of it, in part because too many conservatives are just gung-ho about the military and are not willing to question anything about the military for fear of not supporting the troops. They seem oblivious to the fact that today's military is a PC-run organization."

'Nother, nother update: Pastor Baldwin discusses another troubling angle to this story - military women and rape.

Meet Joan of America

In her hometown of Dallas, Holly Dutton is known as "Joan of America," because of the one-woman, 18-month long campaign she conducted on behalf of the "Free Ramos and Compean" cause. (Which, as many of you know, had a happy ending.)


Ms. Dutton recently wrote TCC about another issue she is passionate about: "Since the news media always featured pro-illegal (alien) Catholic leaders, I wondered for a long time if ANY Catholics besides my family and friends and other fellow patriots in the pews opposed illegal immigration. Then this past year Father (Patrick) Bascio's book On the Immorality of Illegal Immigration came out. It is so dynamic and factual! Better yet, it was great to find out that a noted Catholic clergyman actually opposed illegal immigration! I want Father Bascio to know that there are lots of Catholics who really appreciate patriots among our leaders!"


"Joan of America" (on the left) with Jose Compean and his wife, Patty. Cindy, another friend of justice, is on the right.

Tebow Nation Debates Tebow

My blog about QB Tim Tebow, faith, and the pro-life commercial he's starring in during Super Bowl XLIV is live at Bigjournalism.com. Can this young man start a national conversation or what? Chime in!

Photo: Tim with my son, Wid III, at the Heisman Trophy press conference, in NYC, in December, 2008.



Update: Michael Walsh, Big Journalism's editor, says that the newbie site has already made the Technorati 100 list.

Immigrant Finds Spiritual Riches

Aurelio Barreto III, the Cuban-born creator of Dogloo, Inc. and a self-made millionaire, achieved the American dream through ingenuity and hard work. But that wasn't enough for him. Mr. Barreto was hungry for than money and 'wordly' successes. Here's what he shares:

"Why was I no happier now than before I’d graduated to the millionaire club? I started wondering what would happen if I were to die, and why I was even born. What was the point?

I was a responsible, moral man; I loved my family and prayed every night, but I had never heard the gospel nor did I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

In March 18, 1998, while visiting my children’s school (Woodcrest Christian in Riverside, California), I chatted with the school superintendent, Randy Thompson. He mentioned my daughter’s CoLene's faith, and I wondered out loud how a sixth-grade girl could possibly truly know God."

You can read the rest of his heart-felt story here, but some of you can already guess where this is going.

Mr. Barreto is also the founder of the C28* stores. A portion of the proceeds from purchases are donated to the ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ and Mercy Ships.

More about his spiritual odyssey in this interview.

C28 stands for the Bible verse Colossians 2:8 — “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Debra Medina for Texas

Debra Medina, a native Texan and a Republican, is running for governor of Texas. She could be dubbed the "Tea Party" candidate or the "9-12" candidate. Mrs. Medina, age 47, is a well-spoken nurse, mother, wife, rancher, and homeschooler. Here's her official campaign site. She has been endorsed by U.S. Border Watch. Photos from the Open Carry BBQ.

Video 1 is her being interviewed by two (somewhat snotty) establishment journalists. She more than holds her own explaining why she wants to eliminate the property tax and why she's not a "spoiler" (She has to face Governor Rick Perry and Senator Kay Baily Hutchinson in the March 2 primary.) and why she wants to court the Latino vote. Videos 2 and 3 are her interview with Alex Jones, the antithesis of a snooty pundit. Mr. Jones, and his callers, are very excited about Debra's candidacy.







Update: Pastor Chuck Baldwin does a little cheerleading for Debra.

'Nother update: Debra's interview with G. Beck, about truthing, forces her to clarify her comments.

I don't think D.M. answered that question very well (perhaps, she was trying to be diplomatic?) given what she later said. However, Glen seemed to be indulging in a game of gotcha, because he has admitted he does enthusiastically agree with her 'states right' message.

Be a Video Fellow at FIRE

Opportunity for an up-and-comer: “FIRE is seeking one energetic full-time Video Fellow to play an integral role in forwarding FIRE's mission using the canvas of video and the paintbrush of cutting edge technology. The position has been fully funded for one year.”

FIRE, btw, stands for The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. This is an exciting non-profit outfit whose mission it is to defend free speech, individual liberty, religious freedom, due process, and academic freedom on American college campuses.

One example of why this organization’s work is important is here. (This one has to do with the immigration debate.)

Another one is here.

Another one.

And another one.

The Dark Side of the 'School Culture'

Six months ago, a mother and her daughters, from County Clare, Ireland, arrived in the United States. They settled in quiet South Hadley, Massachusetts eager to experience American culture and live near the Irish relatives who made their home in the picturesque town. (South Hadley is in the western part of the Bay State. The real estate is pricey; it's also where Mount Holyoke College is located.)

Alas and alas. Pretty Phoebe Nora Mary Prince, the 15-year-old, committed suicide, earlier this month, apparently anguished over the cyberbullying, harassment and 'dating spats' she had experienced at her new high school, South Hadley High. Several (female) students were jealous that Phoebe had become the school's new It Girl and were incessantly picking on her. (Although one took it further and committed assault and battery by throwing an object at her.)

“Criminal harassment, stalking, and threats” are prohibited under existing Massachusetts' laws, but public officials are mum as to whether any of Phoebe’s tormentors will be criminally charged. Two students, however, have been disciplined by school officials.

Equally as tragic, it was Phoebe's 12-year-old sister who found the body.

For more, go here and here and here and here and here.

Phoebe's online obituary is here. She had so much going for her! What a shocking story.

Update: Sizeable public turn-out to discuss the bullying issue at South Hadly High School. If the problem is indeed that serious, with kids getting regularly assaulted, why aren't the cops ever called? What a lame response by the superintendent.

A Massachusetts attorney sent this comment: "If nothing else, these kinds of situations leads me to conclude that we made the right decision to home school and to send our children to schools that had more accountability than can be found in the government edu-gulags.

I often wonder if kids are nastier and more conscienceless than in the past. I suspect not, its just that in our wired, 24/7 society there is no escape from the buzzing of the bees in the hive. Certainly in our fragmented, value-free zeitgeist there exists reinforcement and validation for even the most unpleasant of behaviors. In this case, it does seem as though the worst of the tormentors were indeed sociopaths."

American Samoa, Football, & the Minimum Wage

Peter Schiff, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut and is a financial guru of sorts, videoblogged an interesting response to the interesting CBS/60 Minutes story about football in American Samoa and how federal government mandates (regarding the minimum wage) are destroying the tuna canning industry in this tiny, peaceful island. Peter is responding to the job issue, not the NFL issue.



Here's Part 1 and Part 2 of the original 60 Minutes story. "Football Island" can be watched in its entirety here. And don't those tough guys wearing lava-lavas (skirts) look adorable?

John Whitehead is Afraid, Very Afraid

Mr. Whitehead, a constitutional attorney and religious liberties champion, has written a fierce column about 'the state of the nation' in which he laments the surveillance culture, unemployment rate, unprotected borders, apathetic young Americans, a Congress whose lifestyle mimics those of Hollywood celebrities, global wars - all the ingredients for a 'perfect storm.'

Here's a part of it: " ... can freedom in the United States flourish in an age when the physical movements, individual purchases, conversations and meetings of every citizen are under constant surveillance by private companies and government agencies?

We are metamorphosing into a police state. Governmental tentacles now invade virtually every facet of our lives, with agents of the government listening in on our telephone calls and reading our e-mails."

Admittedly, he's too much of a realist (or a prophet?) to be doing cartwheels over the election of a Scott Brown.

Read the rest of his column here.

U.S. Cabbies are Hosts & Heroes

File this one under "only in America."

Ever watched "Cash Cab"? You know, the show where unsuspecting New Yorkers get into sly Ben Baily's taxi and become contestants in a quiz show. The questions Ben gets to ask range from super hard to fairly easy. It's always amazing to watch a solo passenger answer question after question, correctly. But, of course, the Big Apple, for all its quirks, is the home to more than a few well-read characters. The perfect locale for an engaging show which also features mobile and street shout-outs.

And it's also the perfect place for real-life dilemmas to occur in real-life taxi cabs driven by real-life drivers.

Last month Felicia Lettieri, of Italy, left $21,000 in a NYC cab.

Mukul Asadujjaman, an American-Bangladeshi cabbie, discovered the cash, and had to answer a question or two of his own:

Do I keep the money?

Or, do I return it?

He chose well. He chose wisely. In fact, he went the extra mile to track down the likely distraught passenger. Mukul drove 50 miles to return Felicia's handbag which, besides the money, also contained passports and jewelry.

He didn't even accept a reward.

Good on you, Mukul.

Spotlight on "Coach Nacho"

Ignacio Ramos (of Ramos and Compean) is making headlines again.

While his life has returned to some normalcy, thanks to President Bush's commutation of his prison sentence, the former Border Patrol agent still wants to clear his name.

Here's the scoop.

Kudos to Texans for Immigration Reform for stepping up to the plate to help out this pair of men (and their families), as well as to the supporter who gave Mr. Ramos a job, as well as to all the Americans who advocated on his/their behalf. It took a village to bring justice.

The government's zeal in prosecuting these two men (while ignoring these thousands of lawbreakers) is truly bewildering.

I Was a Trucker's Wife

My Belgrade-News column, about how the recession and shrinking manufacturing base, is negatively affecting the U.S. trucking industry, is here.

In the beginning: "For four years, my husband Wid worked as an over-the-road trucker.

Like the fella in the Johnny Cash song, he’s “been everywhere, man,” criss-crossing the country umpteen times.

First he worked as a company driver for Covenant Transport (The back of every Covenant truck carries a sign reading: “It is not a choice. It is a child.”); next he was an owner-operator with Landstar Ranger.

Despite the dangers of sharing the road with texting teenagers and the onerous government regulations (Truckers are required to keep a daily log book, and random inspections are not uncommon.), Wid thoroughly enjoyed owning an orange, white, and green Peterbilt 387."

Hubby even gave his truck a name - El Don. The previous owner was a nice gentleman from Missouri named Eldon.

The Social Networking Revolution

Check out this video!

BigJournalism.com

The visionary Andrew Breitbart, creator of Big Hollywood and Big Government, has launched another site. This one is called Big Journalism.

Mr. Michael Walsh, author of Hostile Intent and a New York Times bestselling author, is the editor.

And I joined Team Walsh/Breitbart as a contributor.

Here's my first piece.

Aren't all these alternatives to the MSM kewl?

The Ever Diminishing American Manufacturing Base

Jobs in northern Michigan are going South:

"Two dozen manufacturing jobs in Traverse City will be packed up and are moving to Mexico. The announcement comes from the parent company of Grand Traverse Stamping."

This particular plant stamps automotive electrical distribution systems' parts.

Just what we needed: More laid-off Americans, in the Wolverine State, filing for unemployment benefits, thanks to offshoring. Sigh.

Update: Speaking of Mexico, this story notes that the country had 69 murders in one day. One day? Shudder. A couple of these crimes were gasp-aloud-worthy.

The NBA Star and the National Anthem

Remember the Brandon Roy/Star Spangled Banner story? (Go here.)

I asked the Portland Blazers front office about it, last week, and here's what they said:

"Brandon no longer stands in the tunnel during the national anthem. He changed his pre-game routine the day that story came out."