Hispanics

In a recent editorial you write that "any party that so ignores the interests of Hispanics, blacks, women and young people doesn't have a bright future" ("Diversity and the GOP," Nov. 8). I suppose that the key is determining what those interests are. If their interests are jobs, poverty and wealth accumulation, the election results suggest that the Democratic Party (or at least its presidential candidate) can ignore those interests and do just fine. At some point, this president is going to have to accept some responsibility for the high percentage of black and Latino unemployment, the high percentage of blacks and Latinos living in poverty and the decline in wealth of African-Americans and Latinos.

Last week's column was all about why certain of us (49 percent nationally) continue to identify with the party of individualism and free markets. This week, a related topic: what it will take to increase that 49 percent to 51 percent in 2016. First, we should not attempt to emulate liberal Democrats on their core issues. A "Democrat-lite" approach is simply a nonstarter, despite the apparent dawning of a new progressive era in the U.S. Believe me, this too shall pass. Accordingly, any recipe for wholesale redrawing of the party platform should be resisted.

Campaign 2012 is now joined. The darts heretofore traded between the Obama and Romney camps now have extra-sharp tips. And it's going to stay this way through to Nov. 2. Most pundits predict a "razor close" and "particularly ugly" campaign. I concur. So, which storyline is a political junkie to follow in light of the 24/7 coverage given to this race for the ages? Which subplot is most instructive with regard to the ultimate outcome? A few thoughts for your consideration: •Youth.

A week after the election, Mitt Romney, on a conference call with his National Finance Committee, recently blamed his loss on "gifts" President Obama promised to Blacks, Hispanics and young voters ("Obama's 'gifts' to voters fueled his victory, Romney says," Nov. 15). He went on to state that the president followed "the old playbook" of wooing special interests with targeted gifts and initiatives. When I read this in the New York Times, I was bewildered by the nonsensical nature of the comment.

Five years ago, in response to a barrage of discrimination complaints, studies and a class-action suit, the National Security Agency opened an office in Phoenix to recruit more Hispanic employees.But three years later, the Arizona office, staffed by a lone, 60-year-old black man, had hired only 11 Hispanics before it was closed for budget reasons.There were never any Hispanic recruiters or any analysis of the office's lackluster performance, according to a Pentagon inspector general's report released last week.

THE COLUMBIA Association's Sister Cities Program will hold a Holiday Tertulia on Sunday at Howard Community College. Murray Simon, one of the event's organizers, explained that tertulia means social gathering in Spanish. Originally from East Harlem in New York, Simon lives in Long Reach village with his wife, Juana, and daughter, Sarah. He was an education adviser in Latin America and Africa for 25 years. "Since my wife is from Bolivia, I felt something was needed in Howard County for the growing Hispanic population," Simon said.

LET'S PUT some signs up at Baltimore's city limits: Asian, African, European and black Caribbean immigrants not welcome. If members of those particular groups didn't know that before, they know it now. Baltimore's political honchos made it perfectly clear which immigrants they want to attract to the city: Hispanics. All others need not apply. So keen are Mayor Martin O'Malley and his crew about attracting Hispanic immigrants that they don't even mind doing something flagrantly illegal to do it. In an article by The Sun's Laura Vozzella that ran Monday, we learned Baltimore has set aside 15 grants of $3,000 each for Hispanics who want to buy homes in Charm City.

The great organ in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen was silent yesterday afternoon. In its place were the words and music of representatives of 22 Hispanic communities in Baltimore, praising the Virgin Mary in heartfelt Spanish to the accompaniment of a half-dozen guitars.Roman Catholics of Spanish and Latin American heritage, many in national costume, came together to celebrate the 461-year-old tradition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Archbishop William H. Keeler, Bishop John H. Ricard and numerous other vested clergymen, including a preacher from Washington, all spoke or sang in Spanish throughout a special Mass.

Until recently, if Hispanics in Anne Arundel County wanted to buy corn masa for making tortillas, or chorizo, a spicy sausage, they had to hit the road.Although a few local markets sold a limited number of Hispanic foods, many items were unavailable. But then Juan Rivas and Santiago Morataya, cousins from the Maryland suburbs near Washington, passed through Annapolis and recognized an opportunity."I noticed that there was no Latino store here," Mr. Rivas said. "All the Latinos who live here have to go shopping in Washington, in Silver Spring, in Baltimore."

WASHINGTON - Mixed marriages, once rare in the United States, are surging, due largely to the willingness of Asians and Hispanics to marry outside their racial and ethnic groups. Nearly 34 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the last laws prohibiting mixed-race marriages, the once-forbidden unions now total about 1.5 million. That's a tenfold increase over 1960. Adding Hispanics who marry outside their ethnic group brings the total of mixed marriages to 3 million, based on an analysis of recent census survey data.

In a recent editorial you write that "any party that so ignores the interests of Hispanics, blacks, women and young people doesn't have a bright future" ("Diversity and the GOP," Nov. 8). I suppose that the key is determining what those interests are. If their interests are jobs, poverty and wealth accumulation, the election results suggest that the Democratic Party (or at least its presidential candidate) can ignore those interests and do just fine. At some point, this president is going to have to accept some responsibility for the high percentage of black and Latino unemployment, the high percentage of blacks and Latinos living in poverty and the decline in wealth of African-Americans and Latinos.

However you read the polls, the 2012 presidential election is turning into a nail-biter. Former Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are just about tied among likely voters. The bump Mr. Romney got from the first debate seems to have been matched by the bump the president got from the good jobs report for September. (We won't know the real results of Tuesday night's matchup for another week.) But beware. Polls of "likely voters" are notoriously imprecise because they reflect everyone who says they're likely to vote -- including those who hope to but won't, as well as those who won't but don't want to admit it. The biggest party in America is neither Democrats nor Republicans.

Amid the quaint brick storefronts of Westminster's Main Street, Lily's Mexican Market sells Virgin of Guadalupe statues, sacks of dried beans and paddle-shaped cactus leaves. A mile away, the aisles of Las Palmeras grocery store are stocked with Salvadoran cheeses and pastries. A nearby Catholic church draws more than 200 people to a Spanish Mass each Sunday. Mexican and Central American immigrants have flocked to Carroll County over the past decade, drawn by pastures and orchards that remind them of the rural villages in which they were raised.

This weekend, an hour and a half north of Baltimore in Carlisle, Pa., a group of experts will convene for a symposium on the first federally operated Native American boarding school in the U.S. The lessons learned from this piece of U.S. history still resonate today when we think about current federal education policies and practices. I teach a graduate course on the history of education to local teachers at Loyola University Maryland, and we spend a good deal of time learning about this historical phenomenon.

Sobeidy Vidal sees a dearth of Hispanic models and designers in high fashion. It's been the driving force behind Latin Fashion Week for the past 12 years. "Our country is represented by a number of different cultures," she said. "They should be represented on the runway. " Vidal's brainchild, "Ola! DC 2012" by Latin Fashion Week, kicks off Friday at the Washington Convention Center. The three-day event will be an opportunity to highlight the diverse talents of models, designers and stylists from around the globe, according to Vidal.

So, if I understood her correctly, St. Mary's College History Professor Christine Adams is saying that if the truth be known women value "jobs" over parenting, and the fulfillment of such values is just not possible if women are not in control of their bodies ("For women, reproductive rights are economic issues," Sept. 18). Control, in her opinion, is that women must have the sole elective right to terminate their pregnancies to avoid being discriminated against and bullied by societal laws and mores.

WASHINGTON - Calling homeownership the cornerstone of the American dream, an advocacy group launched a program Wednesday designed to raise the purchasing rate among Hispanics nationwide. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute said buying a home is one of the foremost ways for Hispanics to achieve financial security and stability, but the lack of knowledge among some Hispanics about the purchasing process has caused a "homeownership gap" that threatens their long-term economic mobility.

Although doctors have made progress toward improving health care for African-Americans, minorities continue to receive generally worse treatment than whites, with Hispanic- and Asian-Americans the biggest losers in the U.S. health care system, according to a new study. Dr. Karen Scott Collins, vice president of a New York-based medical research organization called the Commonwealth Fund, reported the conclusions of her national survey of 6,722 adults yesterday at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center.

One in a series of profiles of Maryland delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Jennifer Hosey was 7 years old the first time she volunteered for a presidential campaign — stuffing and stamping envelopes for Bill Clinton's 1992 run. She has volunteered in every election since. The Potomac resident, now 27, grew up around politics. Her mom was a longtime Democratic Party volunteer. As a student, Hosey was always looking for ways to do more for the party. This year, she is attending her first national convention and, as a delegate, formally casting a vote for President Barack Obama's nomination.

The courtship of the Hispanic vote has reached new intensity in the presidential campaign, with both President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney dutifully addressing the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in the last few days. Mr. Romney, who arrived first, had the larger challenge, having embraced the tough anti-immigration law in Arizona during the Republican primaries. Mr. Obama then came in riding a strong tailwind of past Hispanic support, recently accelerated by his executive order halting the deportation of children of illegal aliens brought to this country.