The Lou Dobbs-for-Senate rumor had barely crested when the Lou Dobbs-for-president rumor suddenly overtook it this week.

Mr. Dobbs, the former cable television anchor of the sonorous voice and tough-talking immigration politics, parted ways with CNN on Nov. 11, reportedly receiving an $8 million severance payment, and immediately stirred questions about his plans.

His name was quickly floated as a potential challenger in 2012 to United States Senator Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat, an ardent advocate for immigrants’ rights and the chamber’s only Hispanic member. (Mr. Dobbs, 64, lives on a horse farm in rural Wantage, N.J.) Read more »

It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so get your fill of news today before you jump for joy when that clock strikes:

1. The Obamas had their first state dinner last night in honor of Prime Minister of India Singh’s visit to the White House
2. President Obama pardons a turkey today before Thanksgiving
3. Iran’s Leader Makes Inroads in Latin America

Have a great Thanksgiving!

They have infiltrated American consumer culture – Walmart, Target, and Costco. They are the mega-chains. Stores that carry anything and everything found in almost every community across the country. Many towns have gone to court to stop stores like Walmart from setting up shop, fearing a loss of local businesses and community charm.

Now in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood, a new phenomenon is starting to take root. The local chain. They’re small businesses linked by a common theme and – unlike their big chain rivals – are located in close proximity to each other. “We’re not cloning one thing and putting it somewhere else,” says Patrick Watson. “We’re trying to target a neighborhood that we know and love incredibly well, and fill the gaps in.”

Read the rest of the story on CNN.

WASHINGTON — In the next several months, the Supreme Court will decide at least a half-dozen cases about the rights of people accused of crimes involving drugs, sex and corruption. Civil liberties groups and associations of defense lawyers have lined up on the side of the accused.

But so have conservative, libertarian and business groups. Their briefs and public statements are signs of an emerging consensus on the right that the criminal justice system is an aspect of big government that must be contained. Read more »

By Joseph Curl and Matthew Mosk

While the White House is mum about who will be among the 300 or so lucky invitees to President Obama’s first state dinner Tuesday night, word is already leaking out about who’s not on the A-list.

Chief among the non-attendees: top Republican lawmakers. Read more »

By Joseph Curl and Matthew Mosk

While the White House is mum about who will be among the 300 or so lucky invitees to President Obama’s first state dinner Tuesday night, word is already leaking out about who’s not on the A-list.

Chief among the non-attendees: top Republican lawmakers. Read more »

At the gym this week, my iPod shuffled to a heavy metal song from the 1980s, pushing me through my third mile with the reminder that “I never played by the rules/I never really cared.”

Then I wondered if Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild” wasn’t exactly an age-appropriate anthem for a 36-year-old. If Sebastian Bach is over the hill, could the rest of Generation X be far behind?

Turns out the young turks are taking politics by storm. The under-50 crowd seems to be outpacing its older opponents from coast to coast.

Read more at The Hill.

Read more at the Colorado Independent.

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart welcomed former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs with a Mariachi band.

Part 2

Part3

How old is old enough for students to be approached by military recruiters? High school? Junior high? Fourth grade? How about ten weeks into kindergarten? Read More

Harvey Milk was the first openly-gay man to be elected to public office in the US in 1977. His most recognized speech, “You Cannot Live On Hope Alone,” was given in 1978, shortly before he was assassinated. His words resonate particularly today as Californians debate a resolution to ban gay marriage.

The nation’s economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people — including almost one child in four — struggled last year to get enough to eat.

At a time when rising poverty, widespread unemployment and other effects of the recession have been well documented, the report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the government’s first detailed portrait of the toll that the faltering economy has taken on Americans’ access to food.

Read more at the Washington Post.

The nation’s economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people — including almost one child in four — struggled last year to get enough to eat.

At a time when rising poverty, widespread unemployment and other effects of the recession have been well documented, the report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the government’s first detailed portrait of the toll that the faltering economy has taken on Americans’ access to food.

Read more at the Washington Post.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the minority population reached an estimated 104.6 million — or 34 percent of the nation’s total population — on July 1, 2008, compared to 31 percent when the Census was taken in 2000. Nearly one in six residents, or 46.9 million people, are Hispanic, the agency reported.
Even more telling for the future: 44 percent of children younger than 18 and 47 percent of children younger than the age of five are now from minority families.

(reposted from LatinoPolicy.org)

Read more »