The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over the Trinity River. Designed by Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava, the bridge links downtown Dallas to predominantly Hispanic West Dallas. It opened this past weekend with much fanfare and hope for a brighter future. Another bridge is planned across the Trinity River, but further east where it swoops southward; it’ll link downtown Dallas to predominantly Black South Dallas. Ah hah! I see a connection!
The cartels have changed the game. As long as they sit on the Mexican side of the border and fire rounds, then we’ve got an obligation to not just roll over.”
– Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw, dedicating the second of six machine gun-toting patrol boats on the Rio Grande.
No one can accuse Texas of being gun shy! I fully support the DPS efforts to fight back against the drug cartels. Then again, if the U.S. didn’t have such an appetite for illegal narcotics, we wouldn’t have this problem.
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People have complained for years that elected officials don’t truly represent their constituencies. Then again, you have to consider who those constituents are. In this survey by YouGov, average citizens apparently have different views on the presidential candidates, based upon the latter group’s personal wealth. We may always have to resign ourselves to the fact that people who can afford to run for public office often can afford a lot more than just time off for campaigning.
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“My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.”
– Rush Limbaugh apologizing on his web site Saturday
Thanks, Rush! After a national backlash and several corporate sponsors pulled ads from your show, I can tell this comes from the depths of your enlarged heart. You besmirched the reputation of someone you don’t know, but that happens all the time in your business. Now, take some Vicodin and shut the hell up!
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Oklahoma state Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, left, holds a sign borrowed from a protester against the state’s “Personhood” bill outside her office.
The photo naturally got the state’s conservative extremists all riled up who thought it was of McIntyre’s design.
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“For a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all, for the human dignity of all.”
— Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, in signing legislation that made his state the eighth to legalize gay marriage.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Gov. Martin O’Malley and House Speaker Michael Busch, from left, sign the state’s same-sex marriage bill into law at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images
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Latin America has produced some of the best writers the world has ever known: Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende, Octavio Paz and Pablo Neruda among them. As the nations of the region move towards more democratic forms of government, their citizens are becoming increasingly connected to the world around them. And, of course, literature assumes its usual role as a conduit of culture and ideology. It goes without saying that political freedom allows a populace to consume anything it wants to read. Just ask residents of the former Soviet Union. But, amidst the glory of Latin America’s revitalization, Venezuela seems mired in literary seclusion. According to Roger Michelena, owner of Librerias Michelena and founder of Ficcion Breve (Short Fiction), an independent literary trade publisher in Caracas, barely 1% of titles published in Spanish ever make it to Venezuela.
The nation isn’t just dealing with the usual problems involving distribution and marketing. It has to contend with a government that imposes strict exchange controls – much like the former Soviet Union did to its literary elite and what China often does now to its own writers. It shouldn’t be a surprise to even a minor student of international politics.
Since assuming the presidency in 1999, Hugo Chavez has ruled Venezuela like…well, like Stalin. As with many Latin American leaders, Chavez came to power with a socialist agenda; promising radical changes for the poor and daring to take on the “predatory oligarchs” of the old order. But, in the 13 years since, he’s become more of an autocrat; holding onto his position in much the same way any dictator does. And, when the power and wealth of a nation go into the hands of a few, the lower classes suffer the most. And, among the first things they’re forced to sacrifice is education.
It’s up against this backdrop that Michelena finds himself. In this interview with “Spanish World Book News,” Michelena explains his mission and his passion.
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