Rep. Don Young, one of the most senior Republicans in the House, has apologized for using the racial slur “wetbacks” in referring to Hispanic migrant workers.

Young, now in his 21st term in the House, said in an interview with Alaska’s KRBD radio that when he was young, his father “used 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes” on their California farm.

In a statement issued late Thursday and reported by several news organizations, Young said the derogatory term was used commonly when he was growing up and that he “meant no disrespect.” He said he had discussed in the interview the compassion he had for these workers.

The Republican Party is seeking to temper its hard-line positions on those in the country illegally to improve its standing among Hispanic voters.

As national Republican leadership continues to tout a push to re-imagine itself as a party beyond the scope of aging, heterosexual, White men in to cultural homogeny, its actual GOP members in positions of power at the state level are keeping it real…reductive.

SEE ALSO: Will A Black Justice Set Back The Vote?

Last week, Missouri state Rep. Mike Leara (pictured) proposed legislation that would make it a felony for lawmakers to propose any bill that would regulate firearms. In Leara’s bill:

…[A]ny member of the general assembly who proposes a piece of legislation that further restricts the right of an individual to bear arms, as set forth under the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States, shall be guilty of a class D felony.

Isn’t that mature?

Meanwhile, two weeks ago, Virginia Delegate C. Todd Gilbert managed to successfully kill a bipartisan proposal to protect LGBT state government employees from discrimination. Despite the bill passing the Virginia Senate by a 24-16 majority - all Democrats and four Republicans – Gilbert felt there was no “proof” that anti-gay discrimination exists.

Think Progress reports that Gilbert told his colleagues in his subcommittee:

Among all the people who spoke, there was not a single example of one that was discriminated against in public employment. I challenge those in the room to bring forth an example. I was told the following year that there would be a line out the door of people with examples of having been discriminated against in public employment. There was not a single example anyone that felt that except that abstract fear that we’ve heard testified here today.

Speaking of discrimination, Virginia congressman Rep. Bob Goodlatte told NPR that while he is against bipartisan proposals allowing undocumented immigrants to earn a path to citizenship, he is all for the expansion of “a guest-worker program for immigrant-labor-dependent U.S. agriculture.”

In other words, a program that would make certain that foreign labor is available to do American agriculture’s “dirtiest jobs.”

Funny enough, former White House senior adviser David Plouffe dismissed the notion that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his push for immigration reform would magically save the GOP from scaring away Latino voters for the foreseeable future.

“And by the way: the bigger problem they’ve got with Latinos isn’t immigration,” Plouffe said in the New York Times’ magazine article. “It’s their economic policies and health care. The group that supported the President’s health care bill the most? Latinos.”

Kansas’ contribution to the stupid slate is the Kansas House Education Committee introducing a bill that would mandate that teachers question the scientific basis of global warming.

Yes, Kansas Republicans want teachers to instill anti-intellectualism in its students.

And in the woman-hating portion of this post, Tennessee’s Rep. John Duncan says he’s not sure where he will support the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

He told the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

“Every bill is given a motherhood-and-apple-pie title,” Duncan said outside the House chamber. “But if you voted [based] on the title, you’d vote for every bill up here. If we’d all done that, the country would have crashed a long time ago.

Duncan went on to say he opposes domestic violence against women because “most men can handle [violence] a little better than a lot of women can.” His vote won’t be dictated by compassion for women and a disdain for forms of violence; instead, it will be dictated by cost.

Not to be outdone, gay Republicans have been once again blocked from the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

In a new poll released by USA Today/Pew Research Thursday, only 22 percent of voters bothered to identify themselves as Republicans — a record low. I think I’ve done a good enough job explaining why that is.

Zoom, look at this GOP makeover go!

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer and blogger. You can read more of his work on his site, The Cynical Ones. Follow him on Twitter: @youngsinick

This Sunday, the 2013 Oscars will grace our television sets, honoring Hollywood heavyweights, such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Naomi Watts. But if you are wondering who are some of the Black film stars who could be bringing home an Oscar, NewsOne‘s got you covered with an African-American Oscar nominee list for this year’s show.

RELATED: Ouch! Spike Lee: “The Oscars Don’t Matter”

Best Picture:

“Beasts Of The Southern Wild,” starring Quvenzhane Wallis

“Django Unchained,” starring Jamie Foxx

Actor in a Leading Role:

Denzel Washington in “Flight”

Actress in a Leading Role:

Quvenzhane Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Watch the “Beasts” trailer here:

Cinematography:

“Django Unchained”

Watch the “Django” trailer here:

Directing:

“Beasts Of The Southern Wild”

Writing-Adapted Screenplay:

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Writing-Original Screenplay:

“Django Unchained”

“Flight”

Watch the “Flight” trailer here:

Sound off!

Sound off!

RELATED: 10 Biggest Black Snubs At The Oscars

“He’s in a bad way,” Rahman said in an interview with The Sun. “He’s very sick, It could be months, it could be days. I don’t know if he’ll last the summer. He’s in God’s hands.”

Rahman says that the former heavyweight champion no longer recognizes him and is unable to speak.

Read more from the Daily Mail:

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984 but remained active for many years and made a moving appearance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games where he lit the flame.

Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s “Rumble In The Jungle”

However, he was seen looking particularly thin and frail at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony where he was helped across the stage by wife Lonnie.

Ali’s most recent public health scare was December, 2011, when the champion was taken to hospital after falling unconscious.

Emergency services were called days after Ali made a frail appearance at the funeral of fellow boxing great Joe Frazier.

He was treated for dehydration after collapsing at his 6,000 sq ft estate in Arizona.

Rahman told The Sun from his flat in Louisville that before Ali’s health deteriorated, he said he was in no pain and was proud of his achievements.

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Though Ali’s widow has not commented on the claims, Rahman says that his brother has requested a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. be inscribed on his headstone:

“I tried to love somebody, I did try to feed the hungry. I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.’ The Greatest.’”

***

See “The Greatest” in a rare 1977 interview below. He touches on Christianity, violence in Chicago and what boxing would be like after he retires.

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A Bronx Mother is threatening a $250-million lawsuit against the NYPD for handcuffing her son, Wilson Reyes (pictured), to a police precinct wall for six hours in December.

RELATED: ‘School-To-Prison Pipeline’ Debate Reignites With NYPD Cuffing Of 7-Year-Old

According to the New York Daily News, the 7-year-old (pictured) was arrested and held for allegedly punching and stealing $5 from a 9-year-old in December. Authorities apprehended him in his classroom at Public School 114 near the Bronx’s Grand Concourse thoroughfare. They detained him at the school for four hours before taking him in to the 44th Precinct for additional detainment.

An anonymous police source told the News that the boy is known for being mischievous, saying that he knocked the older boy to the ground and bloodied his lip.  A lawyer for the boy’s mother refutes these allegations, noting that he has filed a notice of claim against the city, NYPD, and the 44th Precinct.

“How would you feel if [the boy] was your child or your grandchild?” attorney Jack Yankowitz said in a press release. “What happened is a travesty of justice.”

Yankowitz also says that the boy was cuffed for a long time because of where he’s from. “If [this] 7-year-old and his mother lived on 64th and Park and he attended a $35,000-a-year private school, do you think [he] would have been arrested, handcuffed to a wall, and denied access to his mother and legal counsel for 10 hours?”

According to Yankowitz, the responding officers intimidated, verbally assaulted, and threatened the youth for the duration of his stay. The NYPD denies such treatment happened.

A department spokeswoman claims the boy was only restrained at the precinct for four hours and forty minutes.

“The attorney is fabricating the amount of time the child was in custody,” NYPD Inspector Kim Royster said. Another anonymous police source near the situation says that the cops followed the book in how they handled the child. “Everything was done properly,” he said. “He was arrested for a robbery. He was taken to the precinct and put in the juvenile room. His parent was allowed to see him. He had to be handcuffed — he was a prisoner.”

Because of the boy’s age, he can legally be charged as a juvenile. The source says he is no saint and had a history of bullying his victim.

“This kid is no angel, even though he may look like it. We made the arrest based on the complainant aggressively complaining about what the defendant did to him.”

Sound off!

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5 Tips To Stay Fit And Fine Like The Flotus

Updated: 4:54 p.m., 1/29/13:

LAS VEGAS — Declaring “now is the time” to fix broken immigration laws, President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to put millions of illegal immigrants on a clear path to U.S. citizenship while cracking down on businesses that employ people illegally and tightening security at the borders. He heralded a rare show of bipartisanship between the White House and Senate leaders on basic plans to resolve the long, emotional national issue.

But both the White House and Senate proposals for tackling the complex and emotionally charged issue still lack key details. And potential roadblocks are already emerging over how to structure the avenue to citizenship and whether a bill would cover same-sex couples – and that’s all before a Senate measure can be debated, approved and sent to the Republican-controlled House where opposition is likely to be stronger.

Obama, in the heart of the heavily Hispanic Southwest, praised the Senate push, saying Congress is showing “a genuine desire to get this done soon.” But mindful of previous immigrations efforts that have failed, Obama warned that the debate would become more difficult as it gets closer to a conclusion.

“The question now is simple,” Obama said during a campaign-style event in Las Vegas, one week after being sworn in for a second term in the White House. “Do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government to finally put this issue behind us? I believe that we do.”

Despite possible obstacles to come, the broad agreement between the White House and bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate represents a drastic shift in Washington’s willingness to tackle immigration, an issue that has languished for years. Much of that shift is politically motivated, due to the growing influence of Hispanics in presidential and other elections and their overwhelming support for Obama in November.

Still, some Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Minority Leader of Kentucky, responded cautiously to the proposals from the President, on Tuesday, and the Senate group, which put forward its proposals one day earlier.

“Any solution should be a bipartisan one, and we hope the President is careful not to drag the debate to the left and ultimately disrupt the difficult work that is ahead in the House and Senate,” said Brendan Buck, a Boehner spokesman.

The separate White House and Senate proposals focus on the same principles: providing a way for most of the estimated 11 million people already in the U.S. illegally to become citizens, strengthening border security, cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and streamlining the legal immigration system.

A consensus around the question of citizenship could help lawmakers clear one major hurdle that has blocked previous immigration efforts. Many Republicans have opposed allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens, saying that would be an unfair reward for people who have broken the law.

Details on how to achieve a pathway to citizenship still could prove to be a major sticking point between the White House and the Senate group, which is comprised of eight lawmakers – four Democrats and four Republicans.

Obama and the Senate lawmakers all want to require people here illegally to register with the government, pass criminal and national security background checks, pay fees and penalties as well as back taxes, and wait until existing immigration backlogs are cleared before getting in line for green cards. After reaching that status, U.S. law says people can become citizens after five years.

The Senate proposal says that entire process couldn’t start until the borders were fully secure and tracking of people in the United States on visas had improved. Those vague requirements would almost certainly make the timeline for achieving citizenship longer than what the White House is proposing.

The president urged lawmakers to avoid making the citizenship pathway so difficult that it would appear out of reach for many illegal immigrants.

“We all agree that these men and women have to earn their way to citizenship,” he said. “But for comprehensive immigration reform to work, it must make clear from the outset that there is a pathway to citizenship.”

“It won’t be a quick process, but it will be a fair process,” Obama added.

Another key difference between the White House and Senate proposals is the administration’s plan to allow same-sex partners to seek visas under the same rules that govern other family immigration. The Senate principles do not recognize same-sex partners, though Democratic lawmakers have told gay rights groups that they could seek to include that in a final bill.

John McCain of Arizona, who is among the eight in the Senate immigration group, called the issue a “red flag” in an interview Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.”

Washington last took up immigration changes in a serious way in 2007, when then-President George W. Bush pressed for an overhaul. The initial efforts had bipartisan support but eventually collapsed in the Senate because of a lack of GOP support.

Cognizant of that failed effort, the White House has readied its own immigration legislation. But officials said Obama will send it to the Hill only if the Senate process stalls.

Most of the recommendations Obama made Tuesday were not new. They were included in the immigration blueprint he released in 2011, but he exerted little political capital to get it passed by Congress, to the disappointment of many Hispanics.

Some of the recommendations in the Senate plan are also pulled from past immigration efforts. The senators involved in formulating the latest proposals, in addition to McCain, are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Also Tuesday, in another sign of Congress’ increased attention to immigration issues, a group of four senators introduced legislation aimed at allowing more high-tech workers into the country, a longtime priority of technology businesses. The bill by Republicans Rubio and Orrin Hatch and Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Chris Coons would increase the number of visas available for high-tech workers, make it easier for them to change jobs once here and for their spouses to work, and aim to make it easier for foreigners at U.S. universities to remain here upon graduation.

____________________________

WASHINGTON — Seeking swift action on immigration, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will try to rally public support behind his proposals for giving millions of illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, as well as making improvements to the legal immigration system and border security.

SEE ALSO: Superbowl Attendees Not Likely To See Traces Of Hurricane Katrina

The President will launch his push in a campaign-style event in Las Vegas, a day after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their own plan for addressing an issue that has languished in Washington for years.

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Administration officials said Obama would largely endorse the senators’ efforts, though immigration advocates said they expected the President’s own proposals to be more progressive than the Senate group’s plan, including a faster pathway to citizenship.

The simultaneous immigration campaigns were spurred by the November presidential election, in which Obama won an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters. The results caused Republican lawmakers who had previously opposed immigration reform to reconsider in order to rebuild the party’s reputation among Hispanics, an increasingly powerful political force.

Most of the recommendations Obama will make Tuesday are not new. He outlined an immigration blueprint in May 2011 but exerted little political capital to get it passed by Congress, to the disappointment of many Hispanics.

Obama “will certainly note today the promising signs we’ve seen in Congress, most specifically the bipartisan principles put together by the group of senators that mirror his own principles,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Nevada.

“That is cause for hope. And what you’ll hear from the president today is how we need to take these initial positive steps and continue to move forward so that actual legislation is produced.”

The President was to make his pitch in Nevada, a political battleground he carried in November, in large part because of support from Hispanics in the state.

Nationally, Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote, giving him a key advantage over Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Administration officials said the President would bolster his 2011 immigration blueprint with some fresh details. His original plan centered on four key areas: a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, improved border security, an overhaul of the legal immigration system, and an easier process for businesses to verify the legal status of workers.

Administration officials said they were encouraged to see the Senate backing the same broad principles. In part because of the fast action on Capitol Hill, Obama does not currently plan to send lawmakers formal immigration legislation.

However, officials said the White House does have legislation drafted and could fall back on it should the Senate process stall. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal strategy.

Carney said the President believes the package also should include recognition of gay couples where one partner is American and another is not.

“The President has long believed that Americans with same-sex partners from other countries should not be faced with the painful choice between staying with the person they love or staying in the country they love,” Carney said.

Sen. John McCain called the issue a “red flag” in an interview Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.”

The Arizona Republican also said he didn’t think the issue was of “paramount importance at this time.”

“We’ll have to look at it,” McCain said. But he added that the highest priority is finding a “broad consensus” behind the immigration bill already being planned. He said the country must do something about 11 million people “living in the shadows.”

Obama’s previous proposals for creating a pathway to citizenship required those already in the United States illegally to register with the government and submit to security checks; pay registration fees, a series of fines and back taxes; and learn English. After eight years, individuals would be allowed to become legal permanent residents and could eventually become citizens five years later.

SEE ALSO: 5 Murders In Chicago Overnight, Woman Loses 4th Child To Gun Violence [VIDEO]

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The deal, to be announced at a news conference Monday, also covers border security, non-citizen or “guest” workers, and employer verification of immigration status.

Although thorny details remain to be negotiated and success is far from certain, the development heralds the start of what could be the most significant effort in years toward overhauling the nation’s inefficient patchwork of immigration laws.

President Barack Obama also is committed to enacting comprehensive immigration legislation and will travel to Nevada on Tuesday to lay out his vision, which is expected to overlap in important ways with the Senate effort.

“We welcome this. We think this is positive,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney (pictured). He said the Senate plan mirrors the principles Obama believes must be included in immigration reform, but wouldn’t say whether Obama would sign the legislation that ultimately emerges.

Passage of legislation by the full Democratic-controlled Senate is far from assured, but the tallest hurdle could come in the House, which is dominated by conservative Republicans who’ve shown little interest in immigration reform.

Still, with some Republicans chastened by the November elections, which demonstrated the importance of Latino voters and their increasing commitment to Democrats, some in the GOP say this time will be different.

“What’s changed, honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle – including maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle – that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I think the time is right,” McCain said.

Besides McCain, the senators expected to endorse the new principles Monday are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn’t get enough GOP support.

The group claims a notable newcomer in Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate whose conservative bona fides may help smooth the way for support among conservatives wary of anything that smacks of amnesty. In an opinion piece published Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rubio wrote that the existing system amounts to “de facto amnesty,” and he called for “commonsense reform.”

According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, the senators will call for accomplishing four goals:

-Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.

-Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.

-Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants in the future, including requiring prospective workers to verify legal status and identity through a non-forgeable electronic system.

-Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn’t recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.

The principles being released Monday are outlined on just over four pages, leaving plenty of details left to fill in. What the senators do call for is similar to Obama’s goals and some past efforts by Democrats and Republicans, since there’s wide agreement in identifying problems with the current immigration system. The most difficult disagreement is likely to arise over how to accomplish the path to citizenship.

In order to satisfy the concerns of Rubio and other Republicans, the senators are calling for the completion of steps on border security and oversight of those here on visas before taking major steps forward on the path to citizenship.

Even then, those here illegally would have to pass background checks and pay fines and taxes in order to qualify for a “probationary legal status” that would allow them to live and work here – but not qualify for federal benefits – before being able to apply for permanent residency, a critical step toward citizenship. Once they are allowed to apply they would do so behind everyone else already in line for a green card within the current immigration system.

That could be a highly cumbersome process, but how to make it more workable is being left to future negotiations. The senators envision a more streamlined process toward citizenship for immigrants brought here as children, and for agricultural workers.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that the framework agreed on by the senators could provide important protections for illegal immigrants who are exploited by employers and live in “constant fear” over their immigration status.

But the ACLU took issue with the proposal to require employers to use an electronic employment-verification system, calling it “a thinly disguised national ID requirement” that would undermine employees’ privacy and lead to discrimination against those “who look or sound `foreign.’”

The debate will play out at the start of Obama’s second term, as he aims to spend the political capital afforded him by his re-election victory on an issue that has eluded past presidents and stymied him during his first term despite his promises to the Latino community to act.

“As the President has made clear for some time, immigration reform is an important priority and he is pleased that progress is being made with bipartisan support,” a White House spokesman, Clark Stevens, said in a statement. “At the same time, he will not be satisfied until there is meaningful reform and he will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved.”

For Republicans, the November elections were a stark schooling on the importance of Latino voters, who voted for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71 percent to 27 percent, helping ensure Obama’s victory. That led some Republican leaders to conclude that supporting immigration reform with a path to citizenship has become a political imperative.

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(CNN) — Just two weeks after Chi Omega‘s controversial party photo surfaced on Facebook, students at Penn State are planning a silent march today, hoping to increase Latino recruitment and retention.

SEE ALSO: Karl Rove’s New Obama Ad Trumpets ‘Us Vs. Them’

The sorority members celebrated Halloween with a Mexican-themed party wearing sombreros and ponchos and pasted fake mustaches on their faces. They held signs that said: “Will mow lawn for weed + beer.” Another sign said: “I don’t cut grass. I smoke it.”

The university president, the president of the board of trustees, and other officials expressed deep disappointment and Chi Omega put its Penn State chapter on probation.

Members of the Latino community were outraged by the photo with comments like this one from Liz Martinez on Twitter: “So many frats and sororities think it’s ok to perpetuate stereotypes. It isn’t.”

March organizer Manuel Figueroa said the march is not being organized in response to the Chi Omega photo.

“The incident definitely served as a catalyst for all this but it’s not the reason we are doing it,” said Figueroa. “There are grievances to a larger issue that we believe the university should take up.”

The Mexican American Student Association (MASA) will not be participating in the march and instead plans to work with Penn State President Rodney Erickson and university officials to bring awareness and change to the campus environment.

The organization would rather “not make this issue a larger one,” said Roberto Hernandez, president of the Mexican student group. “We are hoping to expand the Latino Studies program into a department. We are working with faculty on that.”

In a statement, MASA said: “We … urge the university to reassert its commitment to ethnic and racial diversity. We hope that the university exercises its stated commitment to diversity. We look forward to working with the campus community in reaching these goals.”

Students who are marching plan to peacefully walk through the campus in a silent, single-line manner.

Hispanic students make up 5 percent of the 45,351 undergraduate and graduate population on campus, according to the fall 2012 enrollment data.

Figueroa said they expect at least 50 students to participate.

Erickson commended the student movement to combat the issue, reported the the Daily Collegian.

SEE ALSO: Junior High School Teaches Students Business Plan To Enslave Africans

Mexican-American singer and reality TV star Jenni Rivera poses during an interview in Los Angeles Thursday, March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

By CNN Staff

RELATED: Mitt Romney: President Obama Won By Promising “Gifts” To Black, Hispanic And Young Voters

In what was called the “final press call” of the Obama for America presidential campaign, Campaign Manager Jim Messina and former Campaign Manager David Plouffe, among others, broke down how President Barack Obama was able to pull a decisive win over GOP challenger Mitt Romney, to the press. NewsOne was in attendance.

SEE ALSO: NewsOne Celebrates President Obama’s Big Win!

Before getting to the hard numbers of blue states that effectively delivered the President to the finish line, Messina made sure to clarify that the wins they earned were inspired by people on the ground who identified and were moved by the President’s message, rather than some sort of high-level algorithm that other election campaigns can copy for winning results.

“On Election Day, we hit over 7 million doors. We had over 109,000 people canvassing on doors, double that on the phones, and they executed a historic ground game.

“But the reason they did it, goes back to what [David Axelrod] talked about. The reason they were motivated to do this wasn’t because of any check product we gave them, or some analytical tool. They were working to build this campaign because they believed in Barack Obama and his message, and the policies that he moved forward to move this country forward, and that’s what won in this election.”

While stats and percentages are usually boring to everyone but statisticians, the data released by the Obama campaign gave fascinating insight in to how Obama precisely won this nation.

Total minority votes increased to 28 percent. Our coalition turned out in massive numbers with massive support, women made up about the same portion of the electorate as in 2008. And our support remains strong. We’ve got 55 percent of women voters. Youth actually increased as a percentage of the electorate. So for lots of reporting about youth, they turned out again and continue to take control of their future. We won them again at historic margins over 3 to 2, explained Messina.

One state that’s good to point out is Virginia, where we increased our youth percentage. In Florida, youth voting rates increased from 15 to 16 percent, and our share of the youth electorate in Florida, we had 61 percent of youth voters in ’08, we got 66 percent in 2012.

As NewsOne underscored on Thursday, the Black and Latino vote made all the difference in this election, with both groups voting at record-breaking levels:

African-American turnout and support was as high or higher than ever. In Ohio, for instance, African-American turnout increased from 11 to 15 percent, a dramatic increase. We again won somewhere between 90 and 97 percent in every battleground state.

Latinos: the President won 71 percent of the Latino vote, the highest percentage of Latino votes since 1996. In raw numbers, we won more Latino votes than any other presidential candidate twice. The vote share increased to an all-time high of 10 percent in Florida. It increased from 14 percent in 2008, to 17 percent in 2012. And we increased our vote share in Florida from 57 to 60, which appears to be a high mark for any Democratic candidate.

One surprise was the Cuban vote. Cubans have traditionally voted Republican, but according to the Huffington Post, young Cubans are breaking from their elders to cross party lines and recent Cuban immigrants also tend to be less Republican.

“The shifting tide among Cuban-American voters is being propelled by two factors: youth and immigration, said Miami’s Bendixen & Amandi International, who conducted a survey on voting in Florida’s Hispanic community. Young Cuban-Americans born and raised here are not sure-bet Republican voters as their staunchly anti-Castro elders were.”

Case in point, Messina said that Cubans voted for President Obama in unprecedented numbers, “We also, for the first time since the Revolution, won a majority of Cuban voters in Florida, which marks a dramatic realignment in the politics of that state.”

As for how voters responded to the President’s landmark Affordable Care Act and increasing tax rates for the wealthy, Messina added that only 25 percent of voters wanted to see Obamacare repealed, while 60 percent agree with Obama’s tax plan.

Plouffe also chimed in to address swing voters and how they bolstered the President’s campaign. Swing voters or also called “moderate voters” are considered one of the key voting blocs a candidate needs to win a presidential election. As their name implies, moderate voters can go with either candidate because they are not too far right or left. Luckily for Obama, enough of these voters came to bat on Election Day.

I think, a very important number with this 56 percent of the moderate voters in the country supported the president. That’s important.

Hillsborough County, Florida, the President won – actually with a larger margin than we did in 2008. Loudoun County in Virginia, quintessential suburban county. Bucks County in Pennsylvania where Governor Romney actually went and had his event over the weekend, the President won. Hamilton County in Ohio where we both spent probably an inordinate amount of time. Jefferson County and Arapahoe County in Colorado, and Washoe County in Nevada, Plouffe said.

And I think that speaks to, while obviously the campaign and our volunteers did a tremendous job of identifying and turning out core supporters, the President also showed a great appeal in these moderate suburban counties that determine presidential elections.

Getting right back to work, with barely a break from his exhausting re-election campaign, Obama will discuss the controversial “fiscal cliff,” which will address Congressional Republicans’ resistance to taxing the rich, on Friday afternoon.

SEE ALSO: President Barack Obama In Tears: ‘I’m Really Proud Of All Of You’

First Lady Michelle Obama embraces President Barack Obama. Tweeted by the POTUS after the 2012 election was called.

Tuesday night, President Barack Obama was re-elected as the 44th President of the United States. NewsOne celebrates the President’s historic win with a number of features we hope you will enjoy.

1. If you want to know the President’s journey to victory — in addition to Mitt Romney’s many faux pas along the way — read NewsOne’s analysis of both campaigns here:

Obama Wins Re-Election As 44th President Of United States!

2. Wanting to continue to celebrate President Obama’s win, NewsOne had to go backward before we could forward. Relive how President Obama’s 2008 win impacted Black America, this nation, and the world!

Obama’s Win In 2008 Rocks Black Nation, World This Week

3. In case you missed it, you can catch up with the details of not only the President’s win, but Democrat’s wins in the Senate, the state’s that now have legalized marijuana, and more:

Election 2012: The ’47 Percent’ Leads President Obama To A Second Term

4. NewsOne was also present at President Obama’s election watch party. Read about the magnetic energy and the President’s speech up close and personal here:

NewsOne Attends Obama Election Watch Party, 2012 Black Vote Exceeds 2008 Vote

5. If you care to know why Mittens, uh, Mitt Romney lost to the President last night, maybe it has something to do with Negroes, Latinos, and sl*ts:

Negroes, Illegals (I Mean, Latinos) And ‘Sl*ts’: Why Mittens And The GOP Are Out Of Touch!

Election Day 2012 is finally here!

President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney have campaigned  nationwide vying for the American vote and today people will cast their ballot.

Now is the time for your voice to be heard.

To keep the momentum going, NewsOne wants you to share your Election Day photos, and videos via BPNext to category Election 2012! Show the world you exercised your right to vote! Get sharing like the folks below and we’ll pick out the best to highlight on our websites:

Related Link: ‘I Love Obama’ :99-year-old Woman Votes For First Time

Related Link: Jay-Z At Obama Rally: “I Got 99 Problems But Mitt Ain’t One” [VIDEO]

SEE ALSO: What Voters Must Know Before Election Day

1) Straight-party voting does not apply to the President.  There is a rumor that you must vote for the President first before voting for all democrats — or what is called “straight-party voting” — or your vote for the President won’t count.

NOT TRUE!   

Straight-party voting applies to the President and all other partisan offices on the ballot.  In America, the voting process depends on the type of elections that are being held as well as what state you live in.

For example, some states allow straight ticket voting, where voters can choose a single vote button and elect all members for various positions from a single party.

Presently, a total of 15 states offer this straight-ticket voting option.

On the other hand, there is also a split-ticket voting system, where voters can elect candidates from different parties by using various voting buttons. Either way, how to vote will be clarified in your voting region and at your respective voting venue, so you don’t have to worry about being tricked or mislead while voting.

2)  New regulations require a picture identification as well as a voter registration card for voting this year and all the information has to match.

FALSE!

In order to vote, you only have to produce one of three items: a voter registration card, driver’s license, or DMV-issued state ID card. Your driver’s license/ID card address does not have to match your address on the voter registration list. All that matters is that is your address on the voter registration list is correct.

3) If you show up wearing a T-shirt with your preferred candidate’s face plastered on it, you will be asked to leave the polling site! 

Not! 

While you WILL be asked to cover that Obama T-shirt before you vote, no one will give you the boot at the polling place for advertising your preferred candidate on a piece of clothing, so you will STILL be allowed to rock your vote!

4) Voters can cast their votes via telephone.

There has been a rash of voting saboteurs who have been calling the elderly and advising them to vote for their presidential candidate via phone to save them the trouble of heading out to the polls.

FALSE! 

Voting via phone is not a technology that has been introduced for national elections.  Before voting via phone could even be possible, there has to be significant security issues that have to be resolved.

5) If you have outstanding warrants or unpaid traffic tickets undercover cops will be waiting for you at the polls.

Stop It!

This is a nonsensical rumor that began circulating circa 2008 primarily in Black communities. Have no fear, the only thing that police personnel will be doing at the polls is exercising their own right to vote!

6) Black President Barack Obama supporters will riot nationwide if he loses the presidential race and he will then declare martial law and refuse to leave office.

ARE YOU SERIOUS!

This myth is obviously so absurd, it doesn’t even merit an explanation!

Sound off!

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), accused GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, of tax evasion “for over 10 years” on the Senate floor in August, but the intense speculation around his statement simmered down after Mittens released two years of tax returns — though they showed legal holdings in Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Switzerland.

On October 28, Bloomberg.com, dropped the bombshell that Reid was right:

Mitt Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity — the Mormon Church of Latter Day Saints– to avoid paying taxes for over 15 years.

A maneuver that I’m sure former President Bill Clinton would call tricky “arithmetic.”

Bloomberg’s Jesse Rucker reports:

Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity — the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing — to defer taxes for more than 15 years. At the same time he is benefiting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires, according to tax returns obtained by Bloomberg this month through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In general, charities don’t owe capital gains taxes when they sell assets for a profit. Trusts like Romney’s permit funders to benefit from that tax-free treatment, said Jonathan Blattmachr, a trusts and estates lawyer who set up hundreds of such vehicles in the 1990s.

“The main benefit from a charitable remainder trust is the renting from your favorite charity of its exemption from taxation,” Blattmachr said. Despite the name, giving a gift or getting a charitable deduction “is just a throwaway,” he said. “I used to structure them so the value dedicated to charity was as close to zero as possible without being zero.”

Congress aggressively cracked down on this rich man scheme in 1997, but according to Bloomberg, Romney was grandfathered in because he established the tax shelter in 1996 while he was an executive at Bain Capital.

Senator Reid accusing Romney of not paying taxes on the Senate floor:

In short, Romney “rented” tax-exempt status from the Mormon Church, setting up a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT), that paid him yearly dividends, while donating a miniscule amount to the church. The trade-off is at his death, the balance of the trust is gifted to the Mormon Church of Latter Day Saints.

Romney is under no legal obligation to release the trust’s tax returns, but a campaign spokesperson said that all activity pertaining to the shelter has operated within the law.

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Knowledgeable observers watching as Romney refused to release his returns made clear that he must have weighed the pros and cons of doing so and found it less damaging to ignore the criticism and keep them under lock and key. They were right.

In August of this year, Romney told FOX’s Sean Hannity that Senator Reid needed to “put up or shut up” when it came to accusing him of not paying taxes:

“Well, it’s time for Harry to put up or shut up. Harry’s going to have to describe who it is he spoke with because of course, that’s totally and completely wrong,” Romney told Hannity in a radio interview. “It’s untrue, dishonest, and inaccurate. It’s wrong. So I’m looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources and we’ll probably find out it’s the White House.

Maybe it’s time that the former governor takes his own advice — and a look in the mirror to see who’s really being “dishonest.”

Still, as explosive as this revelation has the potential to be, the important question is will it have any effect on the outcome of the election?

The answer should be interesting, and we only have two days left to find out.

SEE ALSO:

Hurricane Sandy’s ‘Kitty Genovese’ Moment: The Ugly Side Of Humanity

Romney Vs. Sandy’ Ad: Is ‘The Rise Of The Oceans’ Funny Now, Governor? [VIDEO]

Scott, who already passed a law last year limiting early voting days to 8 from 14, has the support of his fellow politicians.

Republican officials, such as Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, have said they don’t plan on asking Scott for more voting time. This is expected to result in longer lines next Tuesday. So far, over 3 million Floridians had voted by mail Wednesday evening. Democratic voters lead in early voting. Republican voters lead in absentee voting. Between the first day of voting Saturday and this Wednesday, Broward County averaged over 28,400 voters per day. Miami-Dade brought in over 26, 300.

But the focus largely remains on early voting. On Thursday, Former State Senator Dan Gelber implored Scott to extend the early voting period to Sunday (as it stands now, the period ends Saturday at 7pm). “In parts of Florida many citizens — including veterans and seniors — have had to wait for as many as 5 hours to simply express the most fundamental right guaranteed to them in a democracy,” Gelber wrote in his letter to Scott, according to the Miami Herald.

Gelber’s fellow Democrats — including Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith and League of Women Voters President Deirdre Macnab — also sent appeals to Scott about extending early voting hours. Republicans derided the Democrats’ pleas as partisan attacks.

“Florida has a law in regard to early voting — this law provides for 96 hours of operation for early voting locations, the exact same amount of hours as 2008,” Mike Grissom, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida commented. “The fact is simple as this: more Floridians have cast a ballot as of 5 days out than in 2008. For one side to demand that we break the law because they feel like they are losing is wrong.”

“There’s no unusual circumstances,” Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putman, a GOP member, said. “There’s no weather-related events. There’s nothing out there in the state of Florida right now that would create the basis for an emergency order for the governor to produce.”

“We still have days to vote,” said Lt. Gov Jennifer Carroll about the time allotted. “It’s not the end yet, and we certainly have election day as well, that people can turn out and vote.”

SEE ALSO: The White Romney Vote: Based On Race?

In a tight camera shot with a black background, Will.i.am gets right to the point in his 30-second spot:

 You have the whole world depending on you not to vote. You have the whole world saying don’t even come to the ballot.

I say, Prove them wrong. Come as an individual, come as a collective. Go to your ballot, show your voice and be as loud as amplifiers, be as loud as rock & roll. Be as loud as triumph.

If his message still hasn’t inspired you to vote, Will.i.am adds:

Go out and activate yourself and show that you ain’t a punk.

Other high-profile celebrities who have joined in for the voting cause are lawyer and TV personality Star Jones and actress Jessica Alba. Watch them team up with Will.i.am here:

Will.i.am, Jones, and Alba collectively encourage voters to learn how to “protect your vote”at ApVote.org, so they can be informed about state-by-state voting rules, accurate polling venues, and what to do if there are any voting issues on Election Day.

Check the website out for yourself here.

Sound off!

Gilberto Valle (pictured), a New York City cop with six years on the force, planned to kidnap, torture, cook and eat more than 100 women, the New York Daily News reports.

The FBI intercepted his plans through multiple internet discussions he had with a co-conspirator that date back to early this year. Valle even went as far as to ask how to slow-cook a grown human. Federal agents arrested him at his Forest Hills, Queens apartment this morning. He will be arraigned at a Manhattan federal court today. Valle is married, according to the New York Times.

The co-conspirator has not been identified.

Valle, 28, did his instant messaging of his sordid plans on his home computer. The files of more than 100 women, including photos, first and last names and other personal information, was also found on his hard drive. The FBI tracked down 10 of women the men planned on attacking. They all acknowledged knowing of Valle in some capacity. Valle accessed a law enforcement data base without permission while plotting his cannibalistic attacks.

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In an 8-page complaint filed by the feds, Valle and his co-conspirator’s conversations of how they would kidnap and cook their victims were beyond sick. During his exchange with the co-conspirator, he expressed a desire to be a “professional kidnapper.”

“You do know if we don’t waste any of her, there is nearly 75 pounds of food there,” the co-conspirator wrote during one of their exchanges.

Here is more on this sickening story:

He apparently became more deranged as the months passed, first offering to sell one woman to the co-conspirator for $5,000 so he could rape and kill her, prosecutors say.

During a February chat, Valle assured the co-conspirator he would deliver the woman alive, but wouldn’t participate in what happened after that.

“I think I would rather not get involved in the rape. You paid for her. She is all yours and I don’t want to be tempted the next time I abduct a girl,” he wrote.

“I am putting my neck on the line here. If something goes wrong somehow, I am in deep s—. $5,000 and you need to make sure that she is not found. She will definitely make the news.”

As the months progressed, however, Valle began talking about taking part in more macabre behavior – cooking and eating his victims.

When his co-conspirator asked, “How big is your oven?” Valle replied, “Big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs.”

Besides being unhinged, it appears Valle was also disgruntled as a cop. On his Facebook page he complained about perps begin released by the “liberal court system” and counted the days until he could retire from the NYPD and begin collecting his pension.

“15 years until I can move the hell out of this rotten scumbag-filled city,” he wrote in a January 2011 posting.

In another sick exchange with his co-conspirator who offered Valle $5,000 to kidnap a woman, the cannibal cop assured him that the woman would be delivered in good shape. “No need to worry. She will be alive. It’s a short drive to you. I think I would rather not get involved in the rape,” Valle allegedly replied. “You paid for her. She is all yours and I don’t want to be tempted the next time I abduct a girl.”

FBI Acting Assistant Director Mary E. Galligan said Valle’s words need no further explanation. “The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us,” Galligan said in a statement issued Thursday. “It would be an understatement merely to say Valle’s own words and actions were shocking.

Go here to read the full federal report of Valle’s plans.

Widespread speculation predictably and disappointedly followed.

Douglas Kass, a financial adviser who appears on CNBC, claimed Trump had divorce papers filed by the Obamas. Oh, dear God, a married couple who had problems? Way to shake the table, Trump.

Then came chatter about President Obama secretly being intertwined with the ways of the gay. Look, I totally understand how a man who can manage to be that handsome despite looking like a pack of Newports are his BFF would be a total get for the gay community (or any really), but shut up before the First Lady finds a way to put those paws on somebody.

There were also little theories that Trump had found evidence that the President at one point had Bobby by the pound, Whitney by the key, though that joined the other aforementioned rumors in the denial pile.

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So what was the big revelation?

SEE ALSO: Jon Stewart Mocks Romney’s Parroting Of Obama’s Foreign Policy

Not a damn thing.

True to form, Donald Trump’s talk amounted to a whole lot of nothing. Appearing before his life partner — a working camera — Trump offered President Obama a deal:

 If Obama opens up and gives his college records and applications, and if he gives his passport applications and records, I will give to a charity of his choice. Inner-city children in Chicago, American Cancer Society, AIDS research, anything he wants. A check, immediately, for $5 million.

Mind you, the records have to be “to his satisfaction,” because evidently, the world revolves around this arrogant blowhard.

Of course, he continued:

The check will be given within one hour after he releases all of the records…he’ll be doing a great service to the country if he does this. If he releases these records, it will end the question and indeed the anger of many Americans…they’ll know something about their president…their president will become transparent..like other presidents.

Watch Trump’s stupidity here:

I got at least six dollars on whatever pledge will be made for President Obama not to do anything. Actually no, I’d like to put that money toward Trump voluntarily falling down a well — that is surely a charitable cause to fight for.

Not that I believed for a second Trump’s “announcement” would alter the race, but this all but confirms what a complete waste of time paying him any mind is. No one should be this desperate to plug their reality show on NBC.

Yes, he’s White, male, and wealthy, which means he doesn’t have to prove much to get undeserved attention, but at what point do we collectively say, “Trump is an empty-headed nuisance who should be relegated to crazy man yelling crap on the corner while collecting spare change status?”

Donald Trump is to the media what genital herpes is to the human body.

And while we would all wish that he would just go away permanently — never to be seen on another news station again — unfortunately, Trump behaves like some sort of mutated strain that manages to keep popping up.

Enter today.

I may not be literally scratching in the “love below” area, but I am scratching the head up top, wondering just how much longer the media at large is going to put up with this dude’s attention-whoring antics.  It’s apparent that he’s on that “Effie White” side of life when it comes to his pursuit of publicity. So be it, but can’t we be more stingy when it comes to giving in?

Sound off!

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer and blogger. You can read more of his work on his site, The Cynical Ones. Follow him on Twitter: @youngsinick

Drake

SEE ALSO: McJordan Barbecue Sauce Sells For $10,000!

Over the last five months, Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, has been toiling away at trying to balance his hectic work schedule with studying in order to get his diploma.

Drake dropped out of the famed Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto, where luminaries such as actress Neve Campbell, Monte Kwinter (member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario), and Dr. Arthur Leonard Schawlow (Nobel Laureate and research scientist) have graduated.

The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated recording artist wanted to pursue the arts, so at 15 he landed a role on the Canadian TV show “Degrassi: The Next Generation” in lieu of continuing his studies. Drake’s mother, Sandi, who is an educator, was heartbroken at her son’s decision to walk away from his studies at such a young age and always wanted him to complete his education.

“At one point in my life, I was a kid who was lost,” Drake told San Francisco radio station 106 KMEL. “I knew I wanted to do music, but I dropped out of high school against my mother’s wishes.”

Drake talks about the fact that he never graduated from high school in songs like “Crew Love,” where he raps, “I guess we’ll never know what Harvard gets us/But seeing my family have it all/ Took the place of that desire for diplomas on the wall.” 

On Wednesday, elated at his latest accomplishment, Drake tweeted his good news to his 9 million-plus fans on Twitter:

 DrizzyVerified ‏@Drake 11h

97% on my final exam. 88% in the course. One of the greatest feelings in my entire life. As of tonight I have graduated high school!

With all of the voter ID laws being passed, appealed, and postponed lately, it is easy to get confused over what our rights are as we prepare to cast our ballots in November.

In the past two weeks alone, South Carolina’s and Pennsylvania’s voter ID laws, which require voters to present photo ID, have either been blocked (as was the case with Pennsylvania) or postponed (as is the case in South Carolina) until after the elections.

The operative word being after.

And what if you are a felon? What are your rights in this instance? Then there is the “voter suppression” issue we’ve all heard about. What if someone challenges your right to vote? What do you do?

Some advocacy groups fear that many citizens will go to their local voting precincts unprepared to vote because they will not know what documents they need to bring, whether a neighboring state’s voter ID laws apply to theirs, or how to challenge an official who says that they are not eligible to vote.

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But NewsOne has interviewed several legal and voter rights experts from various organizations to help arm readers with the knowledge needed to ensure their voices will be heard next month.

Below are three common questions people have about their voting rights:

1. How Do New Voter ID Laws Affect You?

It depends on where you live. Most states do not have voter ID laws.

If you live in South Carolina or Pennsylvania, you do not need a photo ID to vote this November. Federal judges in both states blocked legislation that requires citizens to show a photo ID during the November elections.

“They can ask you for ID, but they can’t prevent you from voting,” says Corinne A. Carey assistant legislative director at the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Another concern Carey says the Civil Liberties Union has is that voters in New York, for example, may believe voter ID legislation in Pennsylvania applies to their state. This is simply not true, she says. New York state does not have an ID requirement for voters.

The best thing any voter can do to help avoid any confusion is to know the laws and document requirements of his or her state before Nov. 6.

You can call your local Board of Elections and someone should be able to help you understand what ID, if any, you will need to bring with you on Election Day.

For a breakdown of states and their individual voter ID guidelines, click here.

2. If I Have Been To Jail, Can I Vote?

It depends on where you live, what crime you have been convicted of, and your criminal record because each state has its own laws in regards to voting rights for citizens with criminal records. And those guidelines can be very confusing, especially for those with felony convictions.

“There are a lot of people who believe, incorrectly, that if you ever get a felony conviction, you never vote again,” says Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project. “Unfortunately, that is the case in a handful of states. But in most states, after some period of time or after you complete your sentence, you are eligible to vote again.”

Rock the Vote, a voter rights and advocacy organization based in the nation’s capital, has a comprehensive chart that helps felons figure out what their voting rights are. You can find it here.

Citizens with other kinds of criminal convictions have more flexibility depending on the state. If you are on parole in some states, you are eligible to vote after your parole period ends. Some states allow parolees to vote. In some cases, you may have to request that your rights are restored.

So if you have been locked up for any reason, it is good to double-check on how your criminal record affects your voting status. Generally speaking, citizens serving prison time cannot vote.

The Sentencing Project estimates that nearly 6-million people are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, but don’t let this statistic stop you from checking the status of your voting rights. You just might have the right to vote, despite your criminal past.

Call your state’s Board of Elections to check your status. You can also call the Sentencing Project at 202.628.0871 for more information.

3. Who Can I Call If I Feel My Rights Have Been Violated?

There are several organizations you can call if you have been denied the right to vote. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), a national organization based in Washington, D.C., is one of them. The group has hundreds of lawyers staffed across the United States who are a phone call away if you need their assistance.

“The most important thing is that voters need to know what kind of ID they need to bring with them on election day,” Eric Marshall, manager of Legal Mobilization at LCCRUL. “They can look it up well before election day.”

But if you happen to find yourself at a polling station and a polling official says you cannot vote, please call the LCCRUL toll free at 888-299-5227. Program the number in your cell phone today, so you will have it ready if needed.

Election Protection, a non-partisan coalition based in Washington D.C., can be called at 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report any problems or concerns you have about voting.

You can also call your local NAACP. There are a countless resources at your disposal to help ensure you have a right to vote. Moreover, additional information is just a Google search away. If you know friends or family who may potentially be confused about their rights, please tell them what you know. Each one, teach one is the adage by which our community should abide by as Election Day approaches.

The stakes are simply too high for us not to.

Rosie Perez mocks Mitt Romney over his “it would be easier if I were Latino” comments in a video posted on actually.org. And boy, is it funny!

SEE ALSO: The Origins Of ‘Ratchet’ 

“Actually Mitt, that is so true,” Perez says in the video. “All you have to do is look at the statistics and Mitt’s point becomes crystal clear. Hispanics represent 17 percent of the population and account for less than 2 percent of all elected and appointed officials.

SEE ALSO: Celebrities Argue That The Truth Matters

“The advantage is obvious,” she adds sarcastically.

While the GOP candidate has been lambasted for his remarks about the “47 percent” (which he later said were misspoken), Perez is the first notable celebrity to satirize the Latino part of the video that was first published by Mother Jones.

(Go to NewsOne for the full video of Romney’s remarks)

SEE ALSO: CNN Columnist: Blacks Don’t Like Affirmative Action

The hilarity of the two and a half minute clip intensified when she named the “Latino presidents” that have occupied the Oval Office.

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“Think of all of our Hispanic-American presidents. From Jorge Washington to Jorge Bush. And who can forget Presidente Jimmy Smits,” Perez cracks in the video, referring to President Santos from the show “The West Wing.”

And if cracking on his Latino comments wasn’t enough, Perez reminded us of that brownface he wore during his appearances at Latino forums.

“You didn’t have to go full John Boehner on the spray tan,” she joked. CLASSIC!

The video featuring Perez, along with other political parodies on actually.org, is part of a campaign backed by the Jewish Council for Education and Research and the American Bridge 21st Century, according to the New York Daily News.

Actually.org aims to spread “the truth, because the truth matters — even in politics,” according to its website.

Check out the clip for yourself.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama said Monday they are both voting early, a nod to the campaign’s efforts to encourage supporters to vote absentee by mail or cast their ballot at an early voting location. Mrs. Obama said on Twitter that she dropped her absentee ballot in the mail on Monday, telling her followers, “I couldn’t wait for Election Day!” The first lady then tweeted out a photo of her posing with the envelope holding her absentee ballot.

Minutes later, the president said on Twitter that he was following Mrs. Obama’s example and intended to vote early in person in Illinois on Oct. 25 – three days after the final presidential debate. “If your state has early voting, join me,” Obama said on Twitter, directing followers to a link with more information about early voting.

Obama’s campaign said it was the first time a presidential nominee and his spouse will not vote in person on Election Day, reflecting their emphasis on early voting in several key battleground states. Obama dominated early voting in 2008, giving him an edge over Republican John McCain well before Election Day.

In Colorado, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina, for example, Obama banked so many votes early in the process that he won each state even though he lost the Election Day vote, according to voting data compiled by The Associated Press.

The carefully choreographed early voting announcement was part of a big push this week. Obama plans to discuss early voting in Ohio and Iowa on Wednesday, after Tuesday’s second presidential debate. The first lady was discussing early voting at events in Ohio on Monday, in North Carolina on Tuesday and in Wisconsin on Friday.

Obama has repeatedly urged supporters to vote early, placing an emphasis on absentee and early voting during recent rallies in battleground states such as Florida, Iowa and Ohio. The strategy aims to free up campaign workers and volunteers on Nov. 6 to focus on a smaller number of potential supporters and make sure they get to the polls.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign has targeted supporters who don’t typically vote in every election, placing a premium on getting those voters to cast early ballots. Most of Romney’s remaining supporters would be people who are much more likely to vote, regardless of whether they are contacted by the campaign.

Obama’s campaign has tried to bolster in-person early voting in states where that is already under way and reduce Republicans’ typical advantage in absentee voting. Democrats lead Republicans in Iowa in vote-by-mail ballots and in-person early voting; in Ohio, Democrats have requested and cast more ballots than Republicans. In Florida, Obama’s campaign has cut into the GOP’s advantage in absentee ballots.

Analysts estimate that about one-third of all voters could cast their ballots before Election Day.

The video show Mittens debating himself on issues ranging from healthcare and government spending, to tax reform.

And what’s really frightening?

There is enough material for it to appear as if two people with major differences in ideology are actually sparring.

See video below:

Daily Kos provides a partial transcript:

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12:I will not reduce the taxes paid by high income Americans.Mitt Romney, 2/22/12: There were so many misrepresentations in there it’s going to take me a little while. Number one, I said today that we’re going to cut taxes on everyone across the country by twenty percent—including the top one percent.

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12: The key to great schools? Great teachers. So I reject the idea that I don’t believe in great teachers or more teachers.

Mitt Romney, 6/8/12: He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government.

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12: Actually, it’s a lengthy description, but number one, pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.

Mitt Romney, 3/27/12: If they’re 45 years old and they show up and they say I want insurance because I’ve got heart disease, it’s like: “Hey guys, we can’t play the game like that.” You’ve got to get insurance when you’re well, and then if you get ill, then you’re going to be covered.

Whatever politically correct way there is to describe his various platform changes, nothing is more accurate than saying that Romney lies to the faces of potential voters when it suits his political aspirations at any and every opportunity. He probably doesn’t know what he believes anymore.

As previously reported by NewsOne, President Barack Obama voiced his incredulousness  at the version of Mittens who showed up for the first presidential debate, stating that he didn’t know who he was that night.

See POTUS’ remarks and clips from a rally in Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver, Colorado:

When I got on the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney.

But it couldn’t have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.

The real Mitt Romney said we don’t need any more teachers in our classrooms, but the fellow on stage last night, he loves teachers, can’t get enough of them.

The Mitt Romney we all know invested in companies that were called pioneers of outsourcing jobs to other countries, but the guy on stage last night said he doesn’t even know that there were such laws that encourage outsourcing. He’s never heard of them!

Never heard of tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas? He said that if it’s true he must need a new accountant.

Now, we know for sure it was not the real Mitt Romney because he seems to be doing just fine with his current accountant.

So, you see, the man on stage last night does not want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney’s decisions and what he’s been saying for the last year. And that’s because he knows full well that we don’t want what he’s been selling for the last year.

So Governor Romney may dance around his positions, but if you want to be president you owe the American people the truth.

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Romney’s belief that he is entitled to his own facts, and the belief that the American people are apathetic and ignorant enough not to follow his policy shuffle, would be funny if he were not selling himself as the next leader of the free world.

And with undecided voters still weighing their options less than a month from this pivotal election, that is no laughing matter.

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But as a congressman in Wisconsin, Ryan lobbied for tens of millions of dollars on behalf of his constituents for the kinds of largess he’s now campaigning against, according to an Associated Press review of 8,900 pages of correspondence between Ryan’s office and more than 70 executive branch agencies.

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For 12 years in the House, Ryan wrote to federal agencies supporting expansion of food stamps in his Wisconsin district. He supported city officials and everyday constituents who sought stimulus grants, federally guaranteed business loans, grants to invest in green technology, and money under the health care law he opposes.

On the campaign trail, Ryan has called those kinds of handouts big-government overreaching.

He tells crowds he supports smaller government and rails against what he calls President Barack Obama‘s wasteful spending, including the president’s $800-billion stimulus program. Ryan renewed his criticism about stimulus spending in Thursday night’s vice presidential debate.

“Was it a good idea to spend taxpayer dollars on electric cars in Finland or on windmills in China?” Ryan said. “Was it a good idea to borrow all this money from countries like China and spend it on all these various different interest groups?”

Yet the AP’s review of Ryan’s congressional correspondence showed that he sought stimulus funding on behalf of residents and at one point told federal regulators that cutting a stimulus grant in his district at the 11th hour would be “economically devastating.”

Vice President Joe Biden cited during the debate Ryan’s letters seeking stimulus money: “I love that. This was such a bad program, and he writes me a letter saying, writes the Department of Energy a letter saying, `The reason we need this stimulus, it will create growth and jobs.’ His words. And now he’s sitting here looking at me,” Biden said.

Much of Ryan’s correspondence is similar to other lawmakers performing constituent duties, describing problems that residents have reported. They include requests such as assisting a family missing airline baggage and helping a man who didn’t receive a pancake maker he had ordered.

But in other correspondence, Ryan explicitly supports programs and encourages federal agencies to take actions.

He supported in his congressional letters some Wisconsin farms’ share of an $11.8 million loan guarantee but later criticized other loan guarantees, such as the $535 million loan that went to now-defunct solar panel maker Solyndra. He asked transportation officials for a grant for green technology and alternative fuels, although his proposed budget as House budget chairman called loans for electric car development “corporate welfare.”

He’s also supported federal money to help a Kenosha, Wis., community center cover health care costs of low-income families under Obama’s health care reform law – the very program he and Romney say they will repeal if they win the White House.

Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck said AP’s findings represented a member of Congress helping people in his district. “Part of being a congressman is vouching for constituents and helping them navigate the federal bureaucracy when asked,” he said.

Among the ways Ryan went to bat for his constituents, as detailed in his correspondence:

-A Kenosha community center’s grant proposal under the Food Stamps Access Research program, to educate families about the nutritional benefits of food stamps. Ryan said in a 2002 letter the program would increase the enrollment of eligible individuals in the program by providing laptop computers to pre-screen applicants. Ryan’s budget proposed cutting food stamps by $134 billion over 10 years, although his spokesman said he “has always made clear we need a strong safety net.”

-Letters offering support or forwarding requests for projects funded by stimulus money. Ryan’s May 2009 letter to a regional Environmental Protection Agency office asked for its “full consideration” in awarding grant money to an organization under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, which reduces diesel emissions.

Ryan also wrote to the EPA in 2009 on behalf of a small town trying to secure $550,000 in stimulus money for utility repairs. Ryan, whose staff requested meetings with the EPA about the matter, said the rescinding of the grant “would be economically devastating” to Sharon, Wis., since it already began spending the money. The EPA said project costs were incurred before October 2008, making the project ineligible for stimulus cash. Ryan has also voiced support for millions in EPA grant money to clean up abandoned building sites in Wisconsin towns.

-A 2002 Agriculture Department loan guarantee to develop a pork-packing and processing plant for farms in the region, including some in his district. The new factory appeared to be “state of the art” and worthy of funding, he said, adding: “It is my hope that the USDA will reach a favorable decision” on the application for a 60 percent federal loan guarantee toward a $19.7 million loan.

-A Kenosha health center’s request to use money under Obama’s new health care law to help meet health care needs of “thousands of new patients” who lack coverage. Ryan’s December 2010 letter to the Health and Human Services Department, first reported by the Nation magazine and also obtained by the AP, appears at odds with his pledge to repeal “Obamacare.”

-Support for a grant for the Historical Society in Milton, Wis., from the National Park Service for $271,000 in order to preserve a Civil War-era home. Ryan supported the plan in 2002, saying historical artifacts inside the former transfer point for slaves “have aged to a point where aggressive preservation and restoration is needed to save them.” Meanwhile, he’s supported recent cuts to the federal budget that would invariably affect national parks.

The AP obtained requested documents from nearly every executive branch agency, although many have been slow to provide any relevant files. Some Obama administration agencies declined AP’s request to quickly turn over materials even though they involve an election that’s just weeks away.

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RELATED: Mom Faces Life For Gluing Toddler To Wall, Beating Her Into Coma

Elizabeth Escalona (pictured) faced probation to life in prison. Prosecutors sought 45 years behind bars. A state district judge decided her sentence Friday.

Police say Escalona attacked 2-year-old Jocelyn Cedillo because of potty training problems. The 23-year-old pleaded guilty in July to felony injury to a child.

Police records show Escalona’s other children told authorities she kicked Jocelyn in the stomach and hit her with a jug in September 2011. They said Escalona glued Jocelyn’s hands to the wall with a type of strong adhesive known as Super Glue.

Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, multiple bruises, and was in a coma for a couple of days.

Watch the case here:

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Elizabeth Escalona has admitted that when she beat her then 2-year-old daughter and glued her hands to a wall, she behaved like a monster.

Where both sides disagree is whether she’s a monster now.

Prosecutors and Escalona’s attorney, Angie N’Duka, are scheduled to present their closing arguments on her sentencing Friday morning. Escalona, who pleaded guilty to felony injury of a child, faces up to life in prison. Prosecutors want a 45-year sentence.

State District Judge Larry Mitchell will decide Escalona’s sentence.

Prosecutor Eren Price has repeatedly described the 23-year-old Escalona as a “monster.” Price ripped into Escalona on Thursday, repeatedly calling her a liar and ordering her to look at photos of the injuries she inflicted on her daughter, Jocelyn Cedillo.

In one photo, dozens of red and brown marks from the September 2011 beating covered Jocelyn’s back. Price told Escalona to count how many bruises there were. Escalona sobbed for several seconds.

“Ms. Escalona, if you can do it, you can look at it,” Price said in a loud, sharp voice.

Police say Escalona kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive commonly known as Super Glue. Escalona’s other children told authorities their mother attacked Jocelyn due to potty training problems.

Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, a fractured rib, bruises and bite marks, and was in a coma for a couple of days. Some skin had been torn off her hands, where doctors also found paint chips from the apartment wall, witnesses testified.

Escalona has admitted she behaved like a monster when she beat Jocelyn but insists she isn’t one now.

Price asked Escalona what she thought should happen in the case. Escalona replied in a soft, halting voice: “I should be put away.” Then, she added, “But I also think I should be given a second chance.”

When Price asked her why, she responded: “Because I’m not a monster.”

The toddler’s grandmother, Ofelia Escalona, said her daughter “made a mistake. She’s not a monster. She needs help.” Ofelia Escalona tearfully asked the judge to sentence her daughter to probation, saying she could be “fixed” and needed to work to support her children.

And N’Duka, Escalona’s attorney, pointed out repeatedly that Escalona had taken the blame for attacking her daughter.

“She said to you, `I take full responsibility for what happened,’” N’Duka said in questioning a Dallas Police officer who investigated the case, Senior Cpl. Abel Lopez.

Escalona acknowledged several missteps in her childhood: hanging around with gang members and trying marijuana around the age of 11, assaulting her mother at 12, and getting pregnant with her first child at 14.

She also admitted drinking and doing drugs after she was released from jail on bail in February.

Despite what she described as problems paying rent and other bills, Escalona admitted she was using marijuana about twice a day in the time before she attacked Jocelyn.

Sound off!

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And for many, Biden’s showing last night, with him not only fact checking Ryan’s “plans” but underscoring his and the President’s successes, proved that the Democrats were in it to win it.

Watch a summary of the debate here:

On foreign policy, Biden spoke, in part, about President Obama’s determination to seek and capture Osama bin Laden, highlighting Gov. Romney’s public decision to “not move heaven and earth” in the significant effort:

When it came to Osama bin Laden, the president the first day in office, I was sitting with him in the Oval Office, he called in the CIA and signed an order saying, “My highest priority is to get bin Laden.”

Prior to the election, prior to the — him being sworn in, Governor Romney was asked the question about how he would proceed. He said, “I wouldn’t move heaven and earth to get bin Laden.” He didn’t understand it was more than about taking a murderer off the battlefield. It was about restoring America’s heart and letting terrorists around the world know, if you do harm to America, we will track you to the gates of hell if need be.

After talking about foreign policy, the moderator, Martha Raddatz, moved the debate along to the issue of the economy, where Biden employed Romney’s infamous 47 percent to illustrate how out of touch the Romney/Ryan ticket are when it comes to the poor and the middle class:

We knew we had to act for the middle class. We immediately went out and rescued General Motors. We went ahead and made sure that we cut taxes for the middle class. And in addition to that, when that — when that occurred, what did Romney do? Romney said, “No, let Detroit go bankrupt.” We moved in and helped people refinance their homes. Governor Romney said, “No, let foreclosures hit the bottom.”

But it shouldn’t be surprising for a guy who says 47 percent of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives. My friend recently in a speech in Washington said “30 percent of the American people are takers.”

These people are my mom and dad — the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They pay more effective tax than Governor Romney pays in his federal income tax. They are elderly people who in fact are living off of Social Security. They are veterans and people fighting in Afghanistan right now who are, quote, “not paying any tax.”

I’ve had it up to here with this notion that 47 percent — it’s about time they take some responsibility here. And instead of signing pledges to Grover Norquist not to ask the wealthiest among us to contribute to bring back the middle class, they should be signing a pledge saying to the middle class we’re going to level the playing field; we’re going to give you a fair shot again; we are going to not repeat the mistakes we made in the past by having a different set of rules for Wall Street and Main Street, making sure that we continue to hemorrhage these tax cuts for the super wealthy.

They’re pushing the continuation of a tax cut that will give an additional $500 billion in tax cuts to 120,000 families. And they’re holding hostage the middle class tax cut because they say we won’t pass — we won’t continue the middle class tax cut unless you give the tax cut for the super wealthy.

Watch Biden discuss the 47 percent here:

During Ryan’s remarks, he tried to paint his running mate as the charitable guy who, regarding his 47 percent comments, just didn’t express himself that well:

This is a man who gave 30 percent of his income to charity, more than the two of us combined. Mitt Romney’s a good man. He cares about 100 percent of Americans in this country. And with respect to that quote, I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.

Taking the dig in full stride, Biden, who is known for putting his foot in his mouth, strongly stated, “But I always say what I mean. And so does Romney.”

One of Biden’s best moments came, though, when Ryan attempted to explain how he would get unemployment under 6 percent. Ryan said:

Look at just the $90 billion in stimulus. The vice president was in charge of overseeing this. $90 billion in green pork to campaign contributors and special interest groups. There are just at the Department of Energy over 100 criminal investigations that have been launched into just how stimulus…crony capitalism and corporate welfare.

Here, Biden went for the jugular, explaining that if the President’s stimulus was such a bad idea, why did Ryan write him two letters begging for money for his state?

And I love my friend here. I — I’m not allowed to show letters but go on our website, he sent me two letters saying, “By the way, can you send me some stimulus money for companies here in the state of Wisconsin?” We sent millions of dollars. You know…

Raddatz jumped in here, asking Ryan pointedly if he had indeed asked Biden for stimulus money, “You did ask for stimulus money, correct?” with Ryan responding weakly, “On two occasions we — we — we advocated for constituents who were applying for grants. That’s what we do. We do that for all constituents who are…..

Victoriously, Biden replied:

I love that. I love that. This was such a bad program and he writes me a letter saying — writes the Department of Energy a letter saying, “The reason we need this stimulus, it will create growth and jobs.” His words. And now he’s sitting here looking at me.

Moving on to the issue of Medicare, Ryan seemed to suggest that there was something wrong with Obama’s 15-person board on Medicare.

And then they put this new Obamacare board in charge of cutting Medicare each and every year in ways that will lead to denied care for current seniors, Ryan said.

This board, by the way, it’s 15 people, the president’s supposed to appoint them next year. And not one of them even has to have medical training.

To which Biden quipped, “You know, I heard that death panel argument from Sarah Palin. It seems every vice presidential debate I hear this kind of stuff about panels.”

After discussing Romney’s flaws with Medicare due to his notions that it should be privatized and that he would turn it into a voucher program, Biden asked the public:

Who do you believe, the AMA, me, a guy who’s fought his whole life for this, or somebody who would actually put in motion a plan that knowingly cut — added $6,400 a year more to the cost of Medicare?

Now they got a new plan: ‘Trust me, it’s not going to cost you any more.’ Folks, follow your instincts on this one.

And with regard to Social Security, we will not — we will not privatize it. If we had listened to Romney, Governor Romney, and the congressman during the Bush years, imagine where all those seniors would be now if their money had been in the market.

Their ideas are old and their ideas are bad, and they eliminate the guarantee of Medicare.

When Ryan attempted to explain how he would provide for seniors who fall through the cracks, Biden brought home his point that, with all of their talk about having bipartisan support, no Democrats have signed off on their Medicare plans. Raddatz asked, “What is your specific plan for seniors who really can’t afford to make up the difference in the value of what you call a premium support plan and others call a voucher?”

RYAN: Hundred percent coverage…

RADDATZ: How do you make that up?

RYAN: … income adjusts (inaudible) these premium support payments by taking down the subsidies for wealthy people.

Look, this is a plan — by the way, that $6,400 number, it was misleading then, it’s totally inaccurate now. This is a plan that’s bipartisan. It’s a plan I put together with a prominent Democrat senator from Oregon.

BIDEN: There’s not one Democrat who endorses it.

RYAN: It’s a plan…

BIDEN: Not one Democrat who (inaudible).

RYAN: Our partner is a Democrat from Oregon.

BIDEN: And he said he does no longer supports [it].

RYAN: We — we — we put it — we put it together with the former Clinton budget director.

BIDEN: Who disavows it.

Once they moved to the issues of taxes, Raddatz said,”Well, let’s talk about this 20 percent. You have refused — and, again — to offer specifics on how you pay for that 20 percent across-the-board tax cut. Do you actually have the specifics? Or are you still working on it, and that’s why you won’t tell voters?” Again, Congressman Ryan found himself unable to articulate his plan:

RYAN: Different than this administration, we actually want to have big bipartisan agreements. You see, I understand the…

RADDATZ: Do you have the specifics? Do you have the…

…

RADDATZ: Do you know exactly what you’re doing?

…

RYAN: We want to work with Congress — we want to work with the Congress on how best to achieve this. That means successful. Look…

RADDATZ: No specifics, again.

RYAN: Mitt — what we’re saying is, lower tax rates 20 percent, start with the wealthy, work with Congress to do it…

RADDATZ: And you guarantee this math will add up?

After minutes pass by with Ryan offering no real details about how he will lower tax rates 20 percent across the board, Raddatz asks irritably, “Can you declare anything off-limits? meaning what wouldn’t Ryan touch in his efforts to lower tax rates. When he still couldn’t offer an answer, Raddatz began tossing out possible answers in the hopes of being able to give some idea to the public where Ryan stands on taxes:

RYAN: Yeah, we’re saying close loopholes…

RADDATZ: Home mortgage deduction?

RYAN: … on high-interest people.

RADDATZ: Home mortgage deduction?

RYAN: For higher-income people. Here…

…

RADDATZ: And you’re — and you’re going to increase the defense budget.

RYAN: Think about it this way.

RADDATZ: And you’re going to increase the defense budget.

RYAN: No, we’re not just going to cut the defense budget like they’re — they’re proposing…

…

RADDATZ: So no massive defense increases?

RYAN: No, we’re saying don’t — OK, you want to get into defense now?

RADDATZ: Yes, I do. I do, because that’s another math question.

RYAN: So — right, OK.

RADDATZ: How do you do that?

RYAN: So they proposed a $478 billion cut to defense to begin with. Now we have another $500 billion cut to defense that’s lurking on the horizon. They insisted upon that cut being involved in the debt negotiations, and so we have a $1 trillion cut…

RADDATZ: Let’s put the automatic defense cuts aside, OK?

RYAN: Right, OK.

RADDATZ: Let’s put those aside. No one wants that.

RADDATZ: But I want to know how you do the math and have this increase in defense spending?

Giving up, Raddatz says, “I want to move on.”

Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can watch this debate and think that Ryan either won it or there was a draw. Just as it was clear across party lines that President Obama lost last week’s debate to Mitt Romney, it is just as clear that Biden trounced Ryan in Thursday night’s debate.

Ryan seemed categorically outclassed in foreign policy, and just when you were waiting for Ryan to finally unveil their seemingly secret plan for the economy, Ryan revealed that — outside of regurgitating a “5-point plan” — they do not actually have a plan.

The public still doesn’t know what loopholes they intend to close in order to make their tax plan work and using warm and fuzzy anecdotes about money Romney gives to charity, which is likely a tax write-off, isn’t going to fill that gaping hole.

While the President will have to make sure that he does his part next week, Biden definitively stepped up to the plate and brought this one home for the Democrats last night.

And I am not alone in my assessment.

Here are some reactions from high-profile politicos and news organizations:

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Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe in Denver, Colo., says it has received death threats after it refused to host a Mitt Romney event, KCNC in Denver reports.

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Oscar Aguirre, who runs cafe, told CBS affiliate that he has received more than 500 emails and non-stop phone calls after news broke that his cafe refused Romney’s request to host a political function there.

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“They say, ‘I know where you live. I’m going to get you. Watch your back,’” Aguirre said, repeating one of the threats he said was made against him.

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Aguirre’s parents, the owners of the restaurant, said that they refused the request because they are not Republicans and would have also denied a request from President. “Obama, or anybody else wants to hold a political stop here, we’re not here for that. I’ll say no,” Aguirre said. He added that his parents did not want their eating establishment to get caught up in national politics.

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KCNC has more:

“The way (Romney’s camp) presented it to us was because we’re Latinos, we’re Mormon, we’re a small business, what a great venue to host a political presidential campaign stop,” Aguirre said.

“Did he ask to come and eat here, or just to do a political stop?” asked KCNC correspondent Jodi Brooks.

“Be a political stop,” Aguirre said.

Rebuffed, Romney made his campaign stop at another “Mexican” establishment while in Denver last week: Chipotle.

The mother of the 3-week-old Detroit infant (pictured above) who was mauled to death by a Pit Bull is speaking out for the first time since the horrible incident.

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Fox 2 News Detroit spoke with Marciella Ramirez about that horrible day her baby, Tarilyn Luciana Bowles, was killed. She told the TV station that she had no idea the dog was in the house when she put her baby, who was strapped in a car seat, on the floor.

“I put my child to sleep after feeding her and set her down in the car seat like any mother would set her car seat on the floor,” she said. “Because she didn’t like her bouncy seat.”

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Here is more of what the mother had to say, as reported by Fox 2 News Detroit:

She says she saw no problem with that because she was nearby and the homeowner’s 2 year old pit bull was not in the house. She says the dog was always either outside in the yard or locked in his kennel. But somehow the dog got into the house and within a matter of moments he attacked Tarilyn. It was more than any newborn could withstand. Sources tell Fox 2 the ambulance that was supposed to rush her to the hospital had engine trouble and couldn’t go any faster than 40 miles an hour. Tarilynn was pronounced dead at the hospital. Maricella and the dog’s owner say the attack came without warning and the dog never targeted any of the owner’s children.

Right now, the dog is with animal control and will likely be put down. The dog’s owner is OK with that possibility. A funeral home in Detroit has offered to pay for the funeral and burial, but the family is raising money to buy the headstone.

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Detroit police have called the baby’s death a tragic accident.

Barack Obama has garnered up to 70 percent support among likely Latino voters, according to a new poll by CNN. Mitt Romney holds a meager 26 percent of that voting block’s support in comparison.

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Both campaigns have been fighting aggressively for this rapidly growing voting demographic that Obama won back in 2008 by 67 percent. His GOP competitor in that race, John McCain, won 36 percent. In 2004, 54 percent of Latino voters cast their ballots for Democratic Presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry. His competitor and eventual winner, Georgia W. Bush, collected 44 percent.

These figures show that Latino voters are increasingly voting Democrat during Presidential campaigns. Here are more details behind the numbers, according to CNN:

Obama’s approval rating has improved markedly among Latinos since 2010, the poll indicated. He stood at 57% approval two years ago, and was at 68% in Tuesday’s poll. Twenty-eight percent of Latinos disapproved of the job Obama is doing as president, compared to 41% who disapproved in 2010.

When asked to rate their enthusiasm for voting on Election Day, 24% of Latinos said they were extremely enthusiastic, compared to 25% who said very enthusiastic, 24% who said somewhat enthusiastic, and 14% who said they were not enthusiastic.

Those numbers are lower than the enthusiasm figures for non-white Latinos, as measured in a CNN/ORC poll taken at the end of September. In that survey, 41% of non-Latino whites said they were extremely enthusiastic about voting in November.

The poll also reports that 50 percent of Latino voters list the economy as their top priority. Gas prices and federal spending were also key issues. Obama and Romney will square off in their first debate of the campaign on

Go to CNN for a full report.

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