"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Language Barriers

"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

In the grand scheme of all the inappropriate remarks made at commencement speeches across the U.S. during graduation season – from snarky high-school clique announcements to college ceremony swearing – this one doesn't even come close, yet laws are being crafted as you read this to make certain this type never happens again.

Two co-valedictorian in Louisiana used one sentence of non-English language during their graduation speeches.

No, they didn't quote a long-dead philosopher in Latin, as many do. They didn't make offensive, disparaging remarks intended to disrespect their fellow students and faculty without their being able to understand them. It wasn't "'Ich bin ein Berliner'" though their intent was Kennedy-esque in aiming to bestow honor by speaking the native tongue of a special audience.

The young women, Cindy and Hue Vo, residents of Houma, La., dedicated one sentence to their Vietnamese immigrant family members which roughly translated into "always be your own person."

Terrebone Parish School District administrators were so distraught at this un-American display of a foreign tongue during their ceremony that according to the Associated Press which reported the story last weekend, officials there are forming a committee comprised of teachers to set school ceremony standards for the school board to adopt. Standards requiring English-only, and even other Bill of Rights benders such as requiring prayers during a ceremony. Not allowing, requiring.

Rickie Pitre, a board member, was quoted as saying, "I don't like them addressing in a foreign language. They should be in English." Man – that is cold!

Anyone who's been reading me for any length of time knows I'm all in favor of English-only in 99.9% of situations – English immersion is the number one way for immigrants to learn the language and culture of our country and translated everything is harming, not helping people acculturate – but this is ridiculous!

How trembling and frightened of anyone who's not exactly like them must a community be to risk becoming a national laughing-stock in the name of ensuring that no student ever utters a single non-English word of love or gratitude to a family member as a special acknowledgement?

The girls were not trying to make political statements, not trying to push a social agenda, not trying to disrespect the cultural or linguistic norms of their fellow students and teachers by cutting them out of their shared graduating experience. They just wanted to tell their families "I love you" in a special way.

"Out of the whole speech, it's one sentence dedicated to them to give thanks," Cindy Vo told an Associated Press reporter, "mine was personal and general for the entire Vietnamese community and something I wanted to share with graduates."

Her cousin Hue Vo remarked that she wanted to express gratitude to her parents for enduring the hardships of moving from Vietnam to the U.S. That would be the land of the free, last time I checked.

Being a buttoned-down, conservative-type, I'm sure Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, that state's first Indian governor, never wrestled with this sort of silliness. Rebuked among some of the Indian community for not being "Indian enough," I'm sure he always sticks to the English, but I'd bet even he's appalled.

If, sadly, we've become an America who no longer wants the world's tired or weary, and heck, let's just throw "uneducated" on that pile, preferring to only welcome the law-abiding, intelligent, and potentially profitable – which the Vo family certainly is – then for Pete's sake let's open our arms and stop harassing them at every turn.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

There's no need to fear – Hispanic babies are here!

"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Dusty, barren ghost towns all over America? Forget it.

Public care facilities bursting with 80 to 90-year-old white people and no one to care for them? Nope.

An American society crumbling under the burden of too few youngsters to go out to work, play, pay taxes, and buy things – like the population shortage that's currently threatening Europe? Not in my lifetime – or yours, either – thanks to the Hispanic baby boom.

Monday's USA TODAY featured a front page story "Births fueling Hispanic growth" which tells the tale of an American populace buoyed by today's reality: most of the growth in the U.S. Hispanic population comes not from Spanish-speaking, slit-eyed ruffians violating chaste America's southern border, but from people just like me: U.S. born Latinos.

According to the story, this month's edition of the Population Council's demographic journal Population and Development Review reports that not only are Hispanic communities growing more from births than immigration in major Latino cities like LA and Chicago, but between 2000 and 2005, in 221 counties across the country, had the Hispanics not shown up and started families, many towns and villages would simply have started dying.

"Demographically they can't recover unless something like this happens," said Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, quoted in the story referring to municipalities in the Great Plains, "there's no way older white populations can replace themselves."

Ouch, that one must have stung to Mark Krikorian, from the Center for Immigration Studies, who just released a new book The New Case Against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal in which he "argues that although mass immigration once served our national interests, in today's America it weakens our common national identity, limits opportunities for upward mobility, threatens our security and sovereignty, strains resources for social programs, and disrupts middle-class norms of behavior."

He goes on, "as the politicians argue about border fences and amnesty, they are missing the bigger picture: the harmful impact of large-scale settlement of all kinds of immigrants, whether legal or illegal, skilled or unskilled, temporary or permanent, European or Latin or Asian or African. Modern America has simply outgrown immigration, and we must end it before it cripples us."

No worries, Mark, according to the experts, immigration to the U.S.' established Hispanic communities is no longer numero uno.

Kidding aside, my curiosity is peaked about Mark's data but I haven't yet read his book so I can't gauge the validity of his sources. Either way his is a viewpoint – about legal and illegal immigrants from all countries alike – is shared by a large minority of people in this country. And the dislike and fear is generally not toward the brown-skinned computer programmers from India, but the brown-skinned peach-pickers from south of the border.

But in my conversations with economists, metropolitan planners, medical and military experts, and demographers I rarely hear such gloom and doom about the, yes, many many challenges that a whole generation of kids born to low-income immigrant children. Rather, the Latino community is seen by these experts as young, ready and able to work and eager to contribute to the success of this country.

Two years ago the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released an independent Task Force report called "A Shared Future: The Economic Engagement of Greater Chicago and Its Mexican Community." It cast a bright light on the multitude challenges – of language, culture, resources – the 83 percent increase in the Chicago region's Mexican population poses while also illuminating such opportunities as a potential 2.4 trillion dollars worth of business and cultural exchanges with the world's 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

Their bottom line was that the Latino community in Chicago, as in so many other states, is the fuel for our economic engine, their words: "play a vital role the region's prosperity and will do so even more in the future." This from people looking to make money, not lose money, on a bevy of social services and law enforcement programs.

Yes, like Bruce Springsteen – who sprung from Dutch, Irish and Italian immigrants – for generations to come there will be millions of Miguels and Marias making America better and proudly singing they were "Boooooorn in the You-Ess-Aayy."

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Who loves ya, baby? McCain, Obama court Latinos

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

Oh look! It’s a slow news day and the topic of immigration has come up, so the mainstream media all of a sudden actually cares what the presidential candidates think about Latinos.

And how could they resist? John McCain and Barack Obama both showed up to a sleepy Saturday gathering of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in full woo mode – all smiles and happy Hispanic messages.

The two candidates – who, of the 20 votes they both cast out of 30 immigration-related votes since May 17, 2006, voted identically 11 times – turned on the charm with such pithy quotes as this one from John McCain who became a target in the Republican party for championing immigration law reform but had recently taken a harsher tone:

"It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow. We must also understand that there are 12 million people who are here, and they're here illegally and they are God's children," Bloomberg quoted McCain as saying.

Reuters quoted Obama’s gushing thusly: "I'm hoping that somewhere out in this audience sits the person who will become the first Latino [presidential] nominee of a major party." Gee, I wonder what Hispanic pre-candidate and former Clinton devotee Bill Richardson thought of that one!

So we’re alternately the chosen ones and next in line for the White House after the black guy, huh? Gee, thanks a lot fellas.

And why the fuss?

Because this utopian "Hispanic vote," estimated to be approximately 9 percent of the national electorate and always referred to as the "fastest growing minority group in the U.S., is up for grabs now that Hillary is out of the picture.

Take their not-completely-opposite voting records on immigration matters and weight their actions versus their words: by all accounts, even from those inside the campaign, Obama has had a blind spot for Latinos throughout the race.

Contrast that with John McCain who was the only Republican candidate who agreed to Univision’s Spanish-language presidential debates last August (it was subsequently cancelled due to lack of Republican interest). Oh, and McCain is touring Mexico and South America early next month, presumably on a listening tour.

Barack must not be compelled to the poor south, though he’ll be gallivanting through more affluent Europe and the Middle East next month well. Still, I’ll give him brownie points, pun intended, for actually trying to give Latin America attention even though his viewpoints on our neighbors to the south rarely make it on the air or into print.

I don’t fall for sugary political pandering so, frankly, I don’t care who makes the better pre-election overture but this is just the beginning. There’ll be plenty of immigration finger-pointing – probably punctuated by some ethnic stereotype mishap – and wobbly, unsubstantive Spanish-language pleas in targeted media.

I suggest both McCain and Obama proceed with caution. If either of them go overboard – I can just hear promises of "a taco in every pot!" – they’ll stand a chance of turning off a ton of U.S.-born Latinos who are much likelier to vote come November than the May Day marchers you see on the TV everyday.

Here’s a thought, John and Barry: not all of our votes hinge on your stance on immigration, so when you see me, think of something compelling to say other than something along the lines of: "Gosh I love immigrants! My ancestors were immigrants, y’know?!"

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Eight national views on Chicago's Olympic Hopes

"Pregunta del Dia" by Esther J. Cepeda

(WASHINGTON, DC) "Pregunta del Dia" translates from Spanish into "Question of the Day" and I posed today’s question to my fellow Columbia University American Assembly Next Generation Project Fellows as we took a cocktail break during our three-day bull session on U.S. Global Policy & the Future of International Institutions in Washington, DC.

Q. Now that Chicago has been named one of four finalists – Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro round out the list – to bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, what do you think about Chicago city residents who might be skeptical that an Olympics will be no more than a big hassle whose funds and energy could go to other projects?

A. I asked several of the amazing brainiacs I was with, wondering if any of them would even care. In this ultra-elite group?– of course they cared! Here's what the country's best, brightest, and really young leaders had to say:

· "How much infrastructure is there – that would be my first question – but it would be great for global policy. The violence there? – it's horrible, but I don't think it'll have any effect on the bid." – Julie Schumacher Cohen, Legislative Coordinator, Churches for Middle East Peace, Washington, DC

· "Would da co-ach light da torch? It seems to me Chicago is always the second city for some reason, but it's a world-class city and this could be the opportunity to showcase that. Frankly, Atlanta is half the city that Chicago is and this is a tremendous opportunity for the city to show it's on the first tier with New York and L.A." – Tim Graczewski, Director, Strategic Alliances & Corporate Development, Intuti, Mountain View, CA

· "It's the perfect way to showcase the city! Largely, Chicago's self-esteem problem is the reflection of our own feeling of being the 'second city.' Of course, getting chosen is the number one big challenge now, then if we're chosen, getting the players to come through with funding, there'll be construction issues, opportunity for strike issues – it's phenomenal. We don't want to be like Greece, hopefully." – John M. Syrek, Citizenship Program Director, McCormick Foundation, Chicago, IL

· "It could be a lot of fun, I lived in LA during the last Olympics and it was fun and generally a good thing. If you do it right, it could show people that they don't have to drive anywhere for two weeks, though O'Hare could be an impediment. Will there be a 'Barack Obama Stadium?'" – Andrew Gettelmen, Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, Boulder, CO

· "I'm from Vancouver, Canada and all I can remember from the Olympics was what a pain in the ass it was when things were shut down for construction."- Michael Levi, Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY

· "People in the American press have been criticizing China saying its build-out disenfranchised the community because they were focused on revenue rather than rights. The question is, can we take this golden opportunity to put that rhetoric to practice and get capital and development to play a role in bringing communities to life?" – Mohammad Hanif Jhaveri, Chief Executive Officer, Hera Capital, Dubai via Texas

· "An Olympics puts the city that achieves that stature on the global platform. Chicago is ideally poised – not just from an infrastructure and cultural diversity aspect – to be a positive influence on global policy after that. A by-product of the Olympics could be a theoretical reduction in violent crime. The Olympics could mobilize the citizenry to be involved and have a tremendously positive impact. And it is a privilege – you are representing all the cultures in your city. Tell all your people to empower the youth with that." - De'Edra S. Williams, CRM Lead Consultant, Wipro Technologies, Dallas, TX

· "Chicago is a great U.S. representative! I ran the Chicago Marathon and it represented the world. All the neighborhoods had not only the American spirit, but also were so multicultural. Many American cities have that, but Chicago has that distinctiveness, that sense of diversity that comes into play." - Brett House, Policy Adviser & Senior Macroeconomist, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY

Note: the International Olympics Committee members will pick the 2016 host on Oct. 2, 2009.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Small potatoes, big dust-up

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

If I said po-tay-toe, you might say po-tah-toe, or you might say "Irish potato famine." You might say "baked, covered in butter, sour cream and chives, sitting next to a filet mignon" or even say "McDonald's," if you're the sort who'd know they're the single largest purchaser of potatoes in the U.S.

Me, I say South American comfort food – not what immediately springs to mind, I know. I'd never presumed to pinpoint the potato's exact origins but Peru and Chile are doing it for me, trying to lay claim to birth-place bragging rights and J.R. Simplot is no longer around for comment, may he rest in peace. Let me back up.

Picture this: Andean highlands, brightly wrapped, broad-faced peasants cultivating tasty tubers while sikus (pan pipes) play gently in the background. Those are the origins of the potato.

Sunday's New York Times ran a story about Peru and Chile being at odds about who can claim the spud as their's first at this most delicate time: the U.N.-decreed International Year of the Potato. According to the International Potato Center (I didn't know either, but don’t miss clicking on the potato song!), annual production approaches 300 million tons and more than one-third of the global potato output now comes from developing countries.

To top it off, the site says potatoes are the "third most important food crop in the world" because its "a major carbohydrate in the diet of hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries.

That alone is a biggie right now as food manufacturers look to the potato as the price of corn skyrockets – Peru has already started putting potato bread in schools. Which brings me to Mr. J.R. Simplot who passed away May 25 of this year – a mere five days before Peru's National Potato Day – at the ripe old age of 99.

Though I doubt he can be credited with the development of the delicious potato-flour bun which graced the long-defunct Arch Deluxe, Simplot – a Dubuque, Iowa native who died a billionaire – will be remembered as the man who perfected the method of freezing the French-cut potato, forever making them a staple of the fast food industry. The man loved potatoes like no other, and oh how I wish he were around to weigh in on this tater tiff.

My dearest dad – not a potato baron but raised in the more bucolic parts of Ecuador – remembers eating potatoes of many shapes and sizes nearly every day because corn and wheat products were out of his family's financial means. "Every once in a while we'd have some fresh cheese with them," he told me over a rare potato-sparse Sunday-night dinner.

And that's my fondest memory of the humble potato – freshly fished out of a kettle of boiling water, served steaming hot along with a chunk of white cheese and a salt shaker. On special occasions they'd be mashed, colored with the oil of the Achiote seed, studded with pieces of brick or viajero cheese and fried into potato pancakes: my southern comfort food.

But rather than being the beacon of peace and indulgence Simplot considered the spud to be, the tubers are a sore spot. The Associated Press reported that Andres Contreras, a researcher at Chile's Austral University in Valdivia, said archaeological studies have found the first evidence of human potato chomping dating back 14,000 years in southern Chile, long before evidence emerges of spud consumption in Peru. The AP also quoted Juan Risi, the head of Peru's National Institute for Agricultural Innovation, calling Chile's potatoes mere "grandchildren" of Peru's tubers.

A shame that things had to get so ugly – it's not like Chile and Peru don't have more pressing social issues to address – but it is a matter of national pride. Luckily, neither I nor Simplot, "America's Great Potato Baron," have to pick sides. He will, by now, have learned all the potato secrets of the universe he craved during his earthly life, and I will satisfy myself with the knowledge that national borders won't keep me from being proud of my potato ancestry.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

I'm not a terrorist

“Pregunta del Dia” by Esther J. Cepeda

“Pregunta del Dia” translates from Spanish into Question of the Day and today’s was delivered at 12:15 am this morning at the McDonald’s inside Chicago Union Station by a seemingly stone-cold-sober Cubs fan catching a snack before boarding a Metra train out to the ‘burbs.

After the blond-haired, blue-eyed young man let loose a string of vile expletives to his eating companions, then caught my icy glare for polluting our communal space with his negativity, he retaliated against my silent protest of his rude behavior by asking me the following:

Q. Do you have fun blowing up buildings, you ------- terrorist? Huh? You heard me, you ------- ---- terrorist!

A. How to reply?

My mouth dropped open and I smiled, 100% sure he was kidding. His mocking face followed by another string of even worse garbage set me straight.

I tried to lighten the mood with the platitude: “Would you talk like that in front of your mother?” Things devolved from there and after he reiterated today’s “pregunta,” with various vivid details added, my loud indignation had attracted one of Chicago’s finest who directed him and his posse to leave the station.

Let me back up. Twenty-four hours prior to the incident, I had decided to write for Friday about the ridiculous accusations made about Food Network star Rachel Ray’s Dunkin’ Donuts commercial being taken off the air. Conservative Filipina columnist Michelle Malkin, and other bloggers, said Rachel’s scarf looked like a keffiyeh reminiscent of those that some Middle Easterners wear. Malkin has dropped bombs like this on America’s dark-haired sweetheart over the last week: “many readers have e-mailed about, Dunkin Donuts’ spokeswoman Rachel Ray’s clueless sporting of a jihadi chic keffiyeh in a recent DD ad campaign. I’m hoping her hate couture choice was spurred more by ignorance than ideology.” Apparently Rachel would be a lot sweeter if her costume designer was less flamboyant.

Early Thursday I’d started my day at the Chicago Google offices munching on bagels with some of the smartest innovators in the world and brightest young business people in town at the Executives Club of Chicago’s New Leaders general meeting.

A few hours later I lunched at a fancy downtown restaurant with the leader of a multi-million dollar business. Later I hopped into a cab – the driver had greeted me warmly in a language I didn’t understand because he mistook me for a fellow Indian – on my way to a lecture at the Arts and Business Council of Chicago’s “Rise of the Cultural Consumer” program at the Alliance Française where I learned about the bright future of our society. I topped the night off with not one, but two, fancy parties with some of Chicago’s most influential young professionals. Shortly after midnight I was attacked because I quietly resisted someone’s foul language with a disapproving look.

For the first time in my Cinderella-story-book life, I was simply one of so many others who are looked at with suspicion because of the color of their hair, eyes, and skin. I was shamed in front of an instantly-alarmed crowd at a major Midwestern transportation hub by a dangerous federally-defined insult.

Informing my fellow midnight-snacker that I was born in the United States as I gathered my things – and as the policewoman started getting heavy on him – probably went unheard. Besides, I was too busy scurrying away to cry out of sight to enunciate properly.

Here’s my answer again: On behalf of myself, of good-lookin’-and-good-cookin’ multi-millionairess Rachel Ray, and on behalf of every other person in this country with dark hair, dark eyes, but no dark intentions: I am not a terrorist.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Scary South Americans!

Pregunta del Dia by Esther J. Cepeda

Bum bah dum-dum, bum ba-dee! Bum bah dum-dum, bum ba-dee-Dee-DEE!!

"Pregunta del Dia" translates to Question of the Day and today’s comes from a loyal, albeit bitter, Westchester, IL reader who preferred to remain nameless:

Q. Did you see that Indiana Jones movie, just about a buncha white men looting our culture?

A. Whoa, Nelly! (No, not really "Nelly," though that is a popular name in Latin America.) Take a chill pill, will ya – not everything is about "da man" trying to keep us down.

Monday morning I sat in an audience of predominantly white movie-goers practically vibrating with glee that the long-awaited summer blockbuster chose to highlight my beautiful ancestral South America.

There were jungles, maps of Peru (darned close to Ecuador), mentions of Quechua – a native tongue my own father has referenced many times in passing conversation about his youth in Quito – and gorgeous pyramids, waterfalls, and indigenous women in their traditional multi-colored ponchos and felt bowler hats.

Ok, so the only people of color in the movie where those baddish, scary-exotic loin-clothed Indians oddly reminiscent of Jack Black’s toothy sidekick "Esqueleto" in Nacho Libre. But aside from a drop-dead-gorgeous Cate Blanchett the real star of the movie is its location.

Ok, ok, so the Peruvian town was actually a backlot in California and the jungle was in reality in Hawaii, details – mere quibbles! I felt the director’s and producer’s love, and in this time where anyone brown is either looked at with suspicion because they might throw an election or scam someone out of their social security debt – ahem, I mean, benefits – we need all the Latin American lovin’ we can get.

As for the tall tale of the crystal skull, the official Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull web site has a nice, long explanation of its’ origins and whether there might be any truth to it. Better still, read Benjamin Radford’s column on livescience.com, there he describes the real-life quartz Skull of Doom "supposedly found in the 1920s at a lost Mayan ruin in Central America by an explorer named F. A. Mitchell-Hedges…rumored to have the power to kill." His florid description ends with a less-than-mystical forgery theory, but hey, where’s your benefit of the doubt?

I won’t take any mind-altering substances and peer into the misty corridors of "my people’s" collective knowledge for the truth – you can do that yourself – but I don’t need to. Not only do "I want to believe," but what I know for a fact is that South America truly is lush, gorgeous, and full of nice monkeys. There really are glittering water falls, ancient mysteries, and is to this day home to women who wear the colorful ponchos and bowlers everyday. And I’m eternally grateful to Doctor Jones for pointing it out.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Latin America: forever on the back burner

"600 words" by Esther J. Cepeda

It was going to happen: finally, a robust discussion about the United States’ foreign policy toward Latin America because the "rock star" was going to bring it up. Yep, it was to be an important day in turning the nation’s attention south until someone had to stick her big fat foot - conservative pump and all - into her mouth. Again.

Capitalizing on the occasion of Cuban Independence Day week, Barack Obama seized his moment in the Miami sun Friday to deliver a speech titled "Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas." He spoke of the promise of hard-working immigrants, of "taking pride in a vibrant and diverse democracy," of challenging the visions of leftist dictator-wannabes by actually acknowledging those south of the border as more than just U.S.-bound welfare cases or drug dealers.

‘Bama ripped George Bush’s record of completely neglecting Latin America and threw McCain under the same bus: "It is time for us to recognize that the future security and prosperity of the United States is fundamentally tied to the future of the Americas. If we don’t turn away from the policies of the past, then we won’t be able to shape the future.  The Bush Administration has offered no clear vision for this future, and neither has John McCain."

He covered dealing with FARC rebels in Colombia, bringing libertad to Cuba, finding a way to keep China from buying up everything south of the equator and keeping Iran from propping up Venezuela’s instability with its oil money.

Did you hear about it? No, because on the same day Hillary Clinton bumbled into offending supporters and detractors alike by saying something stupid that had a weird racial tinge. Again.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Hillary brought up Bobby Kennedy’s 1968 assassination simultaneously recalling the sore subjects of Barack Obama’s peril on the campaign trail and the frail health of Senator Edward Kennedy who, let’s not forget, completely punked her out by throwing the full weight of his political machine behind Barack several months ago.

The media, of course, were off to the races. McCain’s flack’s silly exhortation that "Senator Obama’s reckless judgement, and his pandering on trade will set back relations between the U.S. and Latin America for decades!" took a back seat to the latest Hillary kerfuffle.

Will anything short of Colombia taking Jessica Simpson hostage while symbolically dumping several plane-loads of pure cocaine into Boston Harbor get the United States to

pay attention to the almost thirty countries who could be our greatest allies, trade partners, and friends?

Frankly I don’t much care what other stupidity any of the candidates manage to croak out in the next few months. I, like so many others, have disconnected from it all but they’re missing opportunities to engage voters in open, constructive national dialogues.

Instead of talking about, much less to, our neighbors to the south – though I guess we will when Rio steals that 2016 Olympics bid from Chicago – our relationship with Latin America remains nonexistent, and it ain’t because they’re boring!

Argentina just elected its first female president who happened to be married to the immediate outgoing president, Ecuador’s leftist president studied at the University of Illinois, the president of Bolivia used to be a coca plant farmer. There are a million non-presidential but interesting telenovela-style points of interest but they seem to be forever off the American map of "things that matter."

News flash: our "American" way of life squarely rests on the prosperity and health of everyone of our continental neighbors. It matters.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Coming attractions

The link on the left takes you to my upcoming events:

Esther J. Cepeda is deeply committed to opening minds and broadening horizons through aggressive thought leadership and the dissemination of positive, analytical ideas.

That means she gives speeches/Q&A, moderates roundtable discussions/panels, shows up ready to rumble or rumba, take your pick.

Esther can rattle off statistics on population and migration patterns, speak passionately on topics as diverse as sports, culture, education, news, politics, economics and business, and, yes, if pressed she'll give you her take on immigration/diversity/all that jazz (oh yeah, don't get her started on that, she can belt out every song from the musical Chicago...don't ask unless you reallllly want to hear it).

The fun part is that you never know what's gonna come out of her mouth!

These people feel reasonably comfortable:

• May 28, 2008 Perspectives  South Loop Middle school annual graduation  (not open to public)

• June 5-7, 2008 ColumbiaUniversity Next Generation Project American Assembly: U.S. GLobal Policy and the future of international relations @ the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (not open to public)

• June 10-11, 2008 Making Media Connections Conference "Ethnic Media & Beyond" According to recent reports, the ethnic news sector has audiences that are growing rather than shrinking. Learn how your organization can reach out to these audiences. Dee Daniels, Noir Woman News; Ray Hanania, Chicago Arab American Journalist Association; Glen Reedus, Chicago Daily Defender. Moderator: Esther Cepeda, 600words.com. (Register right this moment)

• June 18, 2008 "1,001 Afternoons in Chicago" - "an innovative collaboration between Accessible Contemporary Music and "The Moving Architects" based on the stories of legendary Chicago newspaperman Ben Hecht. During the 1920's Hecht, a writer at the time for the Daily News, challenged himself to write a short story each day and publish it in the paper. He succeeded and the result has been compiled and published as 1,001 Afternoons in Chicago. This collaborative piece explores 12 of the stories through music, motion and visual imagery. The Evanston performance will be preceded by a panel discussion featuring the Chicago Tribune's Rick Kogan and Neil Steinberg from the Chicago Sun-Times. The panel will be moderated by Esther J. Cepeda, "600 Words" columnist."

• July 26, 2008, UNITY 08 Journalism Convention "Bloggers of Color: The Top Five Reasons Why the Blogosphere is NOT Diverse and What You Can Do About It!" Bloggers have forced the mainstream media to investigate stories of interest to communities of color like the "Jena Six," "Genarlow Wilson" and "Shaquanda Cotton." Bloggers were instrumental to forcing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch to ditch their racial anti-Asian t-shirts. Bloggers helped the Latino community organize their pro-immigration rallies. Yet bloggers of color are woefully under-represented in the blogosphere. Bloggers are regularly invited onto radio and TV shows to provide an "alternative" voice on breaking news stories. However, many of these prominent bloggers are overwhelmingly white and male..." read more and register now.

Contact Esther if you want her to come spread her magic at your gig. Her rates are reasonable, but its extra if you DON'T want her to sing. (Not a wise choice...she's pretty darned good.)

Loving Lorena

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

Like Roosevelt Hicks longing for the same respect in business he finally got on the links of Pittsburgh in August Wilson’s play Radio Golf, I longed to roam the back nine.

Not as a pro, nah, just good enough to go out on a Saturday with rich white people and not make a fool of myself.

To me, like to many others, getting out on the green was the ultimate symbol of "making it." Never mind the satisfaction waltzing into private clubs previously closed off to women and minorities – the passage of time mostly took care of that – to me, gaining access to the venue of big money deals and long-lasting partnerships was the important part. I knew the very fabric of American business was forged out in the sun somewhere between the fifth and the twelfth hole, and I wanted in.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Immediately after Tiger made golf accessible to just about anyone – heck if a "Cablinasian" could become a golf rock star, what would stop me from donning the silly shorts? – and I’d finally bought a set of golf clubs, fate stepped in. I shattered my wrist, and summer of 2004 passed without me making it to the driving range.

Leave it to me to be a Juana-come-lately.

It’s not enough that one of the top golfers in the world is a tiny woman who, as a child, fell and broke both wrists but somehow emerged with magical carpals. Not enough that this young Lorena Ochoa – all of 26 and just won the Sybase Classic for the third straight year on Sunday – is an international superstar and a national hero in Mexico. Yes, that country where the only white ball that gets around grass is made of leather and aimed at a net, and the only multi-millionaires golf.

Nope, my moment has passed because golf is on the outs.

In towns all over America dilapidated golf courses are being turned over to suburban mommies and their energetic broods who need a place to kick soccer balls between snacks. And just in time. After all, modern man is too devoted to family to spend endless hours perfecting his double-cross on an ocean of chemically treated, water-hogging, ecologically abominable turf. What sort of monster leaves his (or her) family at home and drives his SUV out to the suburbs to walk on sublime eco-terror? And in these economic times, who can afford it?

Not me and not a lot of people. According to the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association the total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million. The number who play 25 times a year or more fell about a third to 4.6 million in 2005 from 6.9 million in 2000, and those tee-ing up eight or more times a year is slipping as well. In my neck of the woods angry words and white, dimpled insults are being driven home as park districts struggle to placate residents fighting over what to do with thirsty, decaying golf courses.

It all adds up to me not discovering whether my wrist’s metal plate would help my fade. Never will I get to know my bogeys from my birdies, or my shambles from my scrambles. Seal a big money deal while swinging through the sweet spot? Not meant to be.

Farewell to my fairway fantasies, the great game shall never be mine. I guess I’ll just have to live out my golf glory on TV through the great Lorena. Not the same as mulligan-ing with money men, but it’ll do.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com