AFF's Doublethink

A look at how Latinos influenced the results of the California recall election and how those results should inform the parties’ future efforts to attract Hispanic voters.

A carnivorous jaunt through Argentina proves that not just the good food, but its celebrated culture of meat eating, that makes the country great.

As one of the few people I know without a personal Web site, I thought I’d try my hand at “blogging” this month’s column. style=’mso-spacerun:yes’> (It’s official: I’ve never written a sentence that made me feel older or seem more out of touch.) (Readers are, of course, free to refute the prior claim.) As with [...]

Although the Supreme Court’s decision in the University of Michigan affirmative action case is being hailed as a victory for “diversity,” one can’t help but notice that little is being said about how any of this will actually improve minorities’ schools or help minority students prepare for their future. < p> Black and Hispanic students [...]

Since our nation’s lawmakers have no immediate interest in discussing immigration reform, those interested in the topic must content themselves with its periphery. One such area concerns whether or not high school graduates who are illegal immigrants should be eligible for in-state tuition for college education. As with most debates, this one is just as [...]

Around this time in 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell took it on the chin for opining, “Castro has done some good things for his people.” Last week Powell spoke about the Castro regime much more honestly, stating that the recent crackdown, sham trials and summary executions “should be an outrage to every leader in [...]

Imagine my surprise upon learning that I might not be Hispanic. < p> What if, all this time, I’d been eating a steady diet of fried-pork-based dishes for no good reason? Worse still, what if I didn’t really have to talk about Castro at every single meal since the age of two? < p> This [...]

Last year the low-budget film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” netted $249 million at the domestic box office. According to Hollywood business analysts, an audience largely composed of people who don’t usually go to the movies generated the film’s remarkable success. < p> “Wedding” tapped into a market segment that traditionally showed little interest in [...]

Mr. Damas said he would watch “The Hours” himself. < p> Fortunately, I was able to go under cover of female accompaniment, but I would have ended up seeing it anyway. I view all the Oscar-nominated. Indeed, “The Hours” will take the Academy’s highest honors if one employs the predictive model of Golden Globes results. [...]

Socrates said, “Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat.” I say Socrates ended up with Hemlock by misreading the wine list. Anyone who considers food only for the sake of and to the degree that it nourishes ignores one of modern civilization’s greatest achievements: Restaurants. Socrates is forgiven, for food was largely a [...]

Settling in to write yet another election post-mortem, I demurred, realizing that at best it would be yet another election post-mortem. Every possible explanation for the GOP victory has been circulated and I’m not proud enough to believe I can contribute anything new to the discussion. < p> Like many of my fellow political operatives, [...]

Last week the Wall Street Journal editorial team took a major step in the debate on immigration reform. < p> They suggested that there ought to be one. < p> Immigration is the most important public policy issue that nobody is discussing in any meaningful way. < p> Sure, there are plenty of postures, declarations, [...]

For the first time in history, American isn’t keeping its promise. < p> Never before have the children of immigrants been poised as they are today to fare no better than their parents. < p> Latino children — immigrants and the sons of immigrants — now have fewer opportunities than the preceding generation. < p> [...]

As an American of Cuban descent, I appreciated Jimmy Carter’s recent excursion the same way Leno and Letterman appreciated Monica Lewinsky keeping the dress. Our ex-president’s travels to the land of Castro, and the requisite media coverage, have been an endless source of guilty pleasure. < p>Look, Jimmy Carter needed a vacation. Ghostwriting Arafat’s memoirs [...]