Earlier today, we noted that President-elect Obama had gathered one million subscribers to his mobile service by the end of the campaign. In an excellent piece in the Washington Post, Jose Antonio Vargas reports some more amazing figures that show concretely just how effective the Obama team's tech-saavy approach really was. From the article:

3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online adding up to more than $500 million. Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less. The average online donation was $80, and the average Obama donor gave more than once...

...In September, his single biggest month of fundraising, Obama amassed more than 65 percent of his record-shattering haul -- $100 million of the $150 million -- from online donations, aides said.

...Obama's e-mail list contains upwards of 13 million addresses...Four years ago, Sen. John F. Kerry had 3 million e-addresses on his list; former Vermont governor Howard Dean had 600,000.

...On MyBarackObama.com, or MyBO, Obama's own socnet, 2 million profiles were created. In addition, 200,000 offline events were planned, about 400,000 blog posts were written and more than 35,000 volunteer groups were created...On their own MyBO fundraising pages, 70,000 people raised $30 million...Obama has 5 million supporters in other socnets. He maintained a profile in more than 15 online communities, including BlackPlanet, a MySpace for African Americans, and Eons, a Facebook for baby boomers.

Before this election, there were many people who saw these new tools as gimmicky and essentially unimportant; skeptics pointed to examples like the ultimate failure of the Dean campaign as proof that the internet could not win elections.

Those skeptics may be reconsidering that position right about now. 

Alan Boyle, MSNBC.com's Science Editor, had a terrific report today on what will no doubt be President-elect Barack Obama's tech-savvy Administration.

In his CosmicLog post, Boyle quoted Simon at length about what we can expect from "The Wired White House:"

Rosenberg said it will be common for government agencies to host videos and blogs (as the Transportation Security Administration does already).

"You're going to see competition at the weekly Cabinet meeting between the DHS secretary and the HHS secretary over who had more views on their YouTube video, and who had more comments on their blog," he said.

Global Webcasting of presidential addresses and press briefings - perhaps translated into multiple languages - is likely to become routine. That policy could well filter down to other governmental agencies and even other governments, Rosenberg said.

He pointed to the example of David Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservative Party, who stars in a series of "Webcameron" videos that touch upon his party's policies as well as his personal life. "You can watch videos of him washing dishes in his sink," Rosenberg said.

Boyle also included Simon's vlog on how we can expect Obama to reivent the presidency. You can watch it here:

Boyle also interviewed Scott Goodstein, who was a guest panelist at yesterday's NDN/New Politics (NPI) forum on the New Politics in the Age of Obama:

Scott Goodstein, who served as external online director at Obama for America, was in charge of attracting millions of social networkers to the cause via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other gathering places in cyberspace. "I was very lucky and fortunate to have a campaign that was willing to take the time and opportunity to recognize the power of viral communication and more information about these social networks," he told me.

Goodstein said the secret of success lay in taking advantage of the networking tools already being used by a rapidly increasing proportion of the population: computers, cell phones and other mobile devices. "Usually, campaigns are 10 or 15 years behind other consumer trends," he said.

For instance, one of the tools devised for the campaign was a downloadable application that could turn an iPhone into a hand-held political operative. "We were able to organize people's address books based on who their friends were in battleground states," Goodstein said. The campaign could also send out messages tailored to different geographic areas.

Simon and Scott, the External Online Director for Obama for America, were joined at the standing room-only forum by Andrew Rasiej, founder of Personal Democracy Forum, and Tim Chambers, long-time NDN/NPI collaborator, co-founder of the Media 50 Group and Principal at Dewey Digital.

Visit our New Politics Institute site to learn more about our powerful new tools series, which we plan on updating in the months to come.

The Bush administration promised not to release any new regulations after November 1st. But a midnight HHS rule was snuck in, allowing health care organizations who receive federal funding to redefine abortion to include the most common forms of birth control (as I blogged about back in July) and to refuse to provide such services as information about birth control! U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray introduced legislation to block the rule last night. And Senator Clinton has blogged about it on RH Reality Check. As Robert Pear at the New York Times reports, the rule also prevents family planning clinics from "discriminating" against employees who refuse to service women seeking reproductive health care.

During these hard economic times, this rule - which could very possibly pass - would hit low income women seeking reproductive health care the hardest. Despite the fact that President Bush promised a smooth transition, it looks as if he had to take this final opportunity to turn back the clock on women's health and leave President-elect Obama to clean up. Obama has said he opposes the rule, but by the time he is able to rescind it, plenty of damage will already have been done. It is unbelievable to me that our federal government would find it appropriate or even descent to fund providers who would refuse such fundamental and widely accepted (and necessary) standards of care.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that President-elect Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff-designee Rahm Emanuel "promised that a major economic stimulus would be 'the first order of business’ for Mr. Obama when he takes office Jan. 20. The focus of spending will be on infrastructure, specifically 'green infrastructure.'"  

According to Congressman Emanuel's statement, this green infrastructure will include mass transit, modernizing the electrical grid, and universal broadband Internet access, all of which NDN has been arguing should be included in the next Administration's agenda. NDN strongly supports this policy direction and will work with Members of Congress in support of this agenda.  

NDN has long been a strong and vocal advocate of a clean infrastructure stimulus because of its ability to create jobs and stimulate the economy in the short term while also creating a basis for future prosperity.

NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan first articulated the vision of clean and green infrastructure in his 2007 paper, Investing in Our Common Future: U.S. Infrastructure.

As Moynihan wrote more than a year ago, America needs "a GREEN Act requiring that federal infrastructure and buildings...not only address issues like global warming but also establish American leadership in green technologies of the future." Wrote Moynihan, "Only by working together can Americans reverse the decline in infrastructure that is eroding our present economy and make the forward-looking public investments needed to ensure future prosperity." To that end, NDN has proposed a number of green stimulus measures including a clean infrastructure bank, modernization of the electrical grid, support for mass transportation, and greater broadband access.

Recently, Moynihan, NDN Globalization Initiative Chair Dr. Robert Shapiro, and NDN President Simon Rosenberg have authored a number of essays and analyses on clean infrastructure and clean technology:

• Clean Infrastructure Stimulus to Be the Obama Administration's "First Order of Business"
• A Stimulus for the Long Run
• Accelerating the Development of a 21st Century Economy: Investing in Clean Infrastructure
• Solar Energy: The Case for Action

Additionally, earlier this week, NDN hosted a Capitol Hill forum entitled, "A Vision for a Modernized Electric Grid: Clean Infrastructure for a 21st Century Economy," with U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee and Earl Blumenauer, FERC Commissioner Wellinghoff, and other energy experts. Click here for video and photos of the event.

Tonight the Obama Camp brought out their mobile numbers: 1 million mobile subscribers.

A million people signed up for Obama's text-messaging program. On the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field in Denver, more than 30,000 phones among the crowd of 75,000 were used to text in to join the program. On Election Day, every voter who'd signed up for alerts in battleground states got at least three text messages. Supporters on average received five to 20 text messages per month, depending on where they lived -- the program was divided by states, regions, zip codes and colleges -- and what kind of messages they had opted to receive.

And for grins, see this snippet predicting this from our 2006 white paper, Mobile Media in 21st Century Politics:

Imagine this very realistic scenario: In the heat of the 2008 election, 1 million activists – all of them connected in a collaborative web both on their PC's and their mobiles – conspire in a collective act of mobile democracy.

...let's say a candidate has emerged that "gets" the power of the Internet and its mobile cousin. All their traditional media and Internet action combines with a call to mobile action. No speech ends without a call for those listening to join the campaign on their mobile phones – then and there. And this candidate has inspired a small portion of his base - 1 million people - to each devote ten minutes of their time to mobile action for the Presidential campaign.

Leader: Worries in Spades

- Perhaps it isn't news anymore, but every time we reach thrilling new milestones measuring our economic nose-dive, it seems important to return our attention to such matters.  The S&P 500 took another fall, reaching its lowest point since 1997.  If it ends the year at the level it reached last night, 2008 will constitute the largest percentage drop in the index's 80-year history: 52%. As its shares have dropped by half this week, Citigroup has earned the title of panic-inducing bank of the moment. They're pulling out all the stops to halt the bleeding.

- Paul Krugman sanguinely assures us that we needn't worry about the stock market.  Rather, we should be panicking about the credit market. The NY Times Business pages concur.

- The NY Times also points out that Wall Street is not benefitting from the power vaccum in Washington. With one president redefining the term "lame duck," and another president waiting in the wings, it's just not clear who's in charge. Our constitution has left us with a rather serious problem here, as an awful lot can go wrong between election day and inauguration day. NDN's Rob Shapiro is quoted on TAPPED, wondering why President Bush and the Congress won't push through the first part of a stimulus package now.

Transition

- What about Defense secretary? CNN gives us the shortlist, and Time weighs the pros and cons of keeping Robert Gates around for a while.

- Hillary remains coy about whether she'll take the job as Secretary of State.  If she does, the WaPo wonders: Whither Bill Richardson?

Politics

- In a victory for the environmental movement, and a surprising rebuttal to our usually seniority-obsessed Congress, Rep. Henry Waxman defeated Rep. John Dingell in his challenge for chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Slate's Christopher Beam says this is a boon for President-elect Obama.

- The Washington Post writes about the declining influence of the conservative Federalist Society.  Yesterday, in a moment of surprisingly apt metaphor, Attorney General Michael Mukasey keeled over and nearly died while speaking in front of the Society.

- Ron Brownstein of the National Journal writes of Bush's great gift to the Republican Party: An incoherent coalition of the far-right and the far-far-right. 

- The Guardian covers Republican strategizing to reclaim power by winning over Hispanic voters.  The new map used by Democrats to win this year "Should be very scary to Republicans," says Simon.

International

- A federal district judge ruled yesterday that five Algerian men currently held in Guantanamo Bay were detained illegally.   The tricky question with these men-- and all of the Gitmo detainees-- is what to do with them. Attorney General Mukasey has an Op-Ed in today's WSJ (written before his collapse, presumably), arguing for a uniform, unique set of rules guiding the trial of Guantanamo detainees. Daphne Eviatar, writing for the Windy, questions the premise of an alternative court system.

- The NY Times takes a look at the Mai Mai fighters in the eastern Congo, the third major part of the complex conflict there.

One More Thing

- There is hope for the Republicans yet, as pointed out by the Democratic
Strategist: Scientists draw ever closer to recreating a living Wooly Mammoth. Perhaps, if science can bring back the Pleistocene period, Republicanism would enjoy a revitalization.

- Last, the Astroturf pontificate on stagflation and sing about the Central Banker's Dilemma (So maybe, with consumer prices falling, stagflation isn't the concern of the moment, but the song remains relevant). You can listen to them here on NPR. (Hat Tip: KTW)

 

 

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in. Thanks!

Updates from our last report on the Elections and Immigration: Georgia's Senate Race just two weeks away - The runoff election will take place on December 2 and early the voting period began on Monday in many of the state's counties. Saxby Chambliss and Rep. Jim Martin - the Democratic challenger - are battling voter fatigue, they have to persuade supporters to come out again to vote. A Democratic win in Georgia would be yet another severe blow to the GOP in a state considered a stronghold for them. For immigration advocates, a win by pro-CIR Jim Martin would mean another win for those of us working for immigration reform.

Begich Defeats Convicted Sen. Ted Stevens in Alaska - Senator-elect Begich (D) defeated Stevens by 3,724 votes, a margin of more than 1 percentage point, putting Democrats closer to the 60 seat mark in the Senate. While Stevens has conceded this election, in Minnesota the candidates are still fighting in out. Election officials began a recount yesterday in the race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. So far Coleman leads Franken by 216 votes out of 2.9 million cast.

Obama picks scholars to develop immigration plan - Alexander Aleinikoff, Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center, and Mariano Florentino Cuellar, professor at Stanford Law School will lead the policy working group designated for immigration. Click here to read some articles by Dean Aleinikoff, and here to read more about Florentino Cuellar. In addition, it's looking more and more like Gov. Janet Napolitano will take on the important position of DHS Secretary. In the meantime, Julie Myers is officially no longer at ICE, and John Torres will take the helm through the end of this administration. And according to Adfero Group, these are the 10 most important jobs to be filled at ICE.

New Bedford Factory Targeted in Raid to pay $850,000 in overtime - The owners of the factory settled a class action lawsuit this week, agreeing to pay 764 current and former workers $850,000 owed in overtime.

The Texas GOP just doesn't get it - the Texas State Legislature will see several bills related to illegal immigration this session - "Advocates for a crackdown on illegal immigrants, apparently undaunted by their failures in the last Legislature, have filed a slew of bills for the upcoming session that are even stronger in tone and approach." The GOP is allegedly panicked about their lack of support among Hispanics, but Texas Republican legislators don't seem to get it. The bills go beyond the usual, one is for English-only, another would require public schools to check the citizenship of their students. Another would require illegal immigrants to be banished to self-described "sanctuary cities." Author Leo Berman, R-Tyler said, "The federal government is requiring us to give free education and health care to illegals," Mr. Berman said. "It's the largest unfunded mandate in the history of our nation." Another bill filed for the 2009 session allows police to check people's immigration status under "reasonable suspicion" that they might be illegal immigrants - really. Another refuses birth certificates to children born in the U.S. to parents who are here illegally.

On the flip side, a bill by Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, prohibits cities from restricting landlords on who can rent homes from them - a direct criticism of Farmers Branch's efforts to keep illegal immigrants from renting homes there. Another bill would create a task force to fight human trafficking. "The reality is that these problems can only be solved in Washington, D.C.," said Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. "Even if every immigration-related bill passed in the Texas House, it would be wholly ineffective at dealing with the larger issue of how we align our immigration policy with the needs of our labor force. And that's what's driving illegal immigration." I wholeheartedly agree - and so far I've heard many doubts as to whether immigration reform will even be addressed by the 111th Congress.

Will Reform Happen in 2009? - Well, Congress should do so - after the 2006 midterm elections two years ago, congressional job approval was 26%. In this week's Gallup poll, Congressional approval is now at at19%, with a 74% disapproval rating. Polling data consistently shows that immigration is not the third rail of politics - it's not that people are against reform, if you take the time to ask, people are against the broken immigration system and they want it fixed. Two-thirds of all voters support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. Patience is not a virtue when it comes to immigration reform - how much longer can we wait? Obama is facing pressure from immigration advocates and from voters, particularly mixed-status families, to pass reform. Many articles posit that Latinos "may" question Obama on immigration - I disagree, Latinos will question Obama on immigration.

As reported by La Jornada, "the Latino vote is not a blank check...it represents the aspiration for change, social and economic justice for Latinos." Hopefully President Obama will work with Congress to fix our very broken immigration system, and fight against the few who confuse reform for "open borders." The Americas Policy Program attempted to explain how the two camps are "retrenching" on the issue of immigration reform, but their explanation merits comment - their article argues that opponents of reform argue that CIR can't happen during a time of economic downturn for fear "we'll lose jobs." Really? All data demonstrates that undocumented immigrants perform jobs that Americans don't want, and by legalizing those without papers, we would be bringing them out of the shadows and improving wages for all, thus increasing wages across the board and fostering a more productive consumer base. The economic crisis is no argument against reform, if anything, CIR can be used as a tool to help improve the economy. The article says proponents of reform are arguing that the new administration "owes" the Hispanic/Latino electorate, i.e., they should pass it because we want it. Not really - while the Democratic party can certainly expect a backlash at the polls for not fixing the broken immigration system, it will come not only from Latinos, but from all the voters who currently feel Congress has not delivered solutions. Yes, Hispanic voters will be watching to see whether Obama "keeps all his promises," and you can bet he won't feel the love next time at the polls if he does not, but CIR shouldn't pass just because Latinos want it, it should be passed because from a policy and a political standpoint, the right and the best thing to do is to pass it in 2009.

Instances of Mistreatment of Children under CPB and ICE custody - A study released by the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) found that more than 43,000 undocumented, unaccompanied children have been mistreated while in custody and denied access to representation by Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and then transported home unsafely. The story was also reported by Latin American press, with reports of children being caged, neglected, and denied medical care.

Decorated immigration agent arrested on crystal meth charges.

Read the signs - A CQ article from this week makes some good points, but slightly misread the polling data from Lake Research, saying the issue of immigration has "cooled" - hardly. As Hispanics are being attacked and ostracized throughout the country, a more accurate point in the story that should be highlighted: "Hispanics could blame Democrats for immigration inertia, or feel that implicit campaign pledges weren't honored." A post-election poll by Lake Research Partners for America's Voice found that Hispanics turned their backs on the GOP - even though President Bush and Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., both favored comprehensive legislation - because of perceptions that Republicans blocked the immigration overhaul in 2007 and used inflammatory rhetoric in the process. And Hispanics will only continue to determine candidates' political fate based on this important issue, as Robert Paral and Associates have reported - the 2008 election results demonstrate that, "even in states where the Hispanic community is relatively small, they can tip those states, they can be kingmakers if the other groups are evenly balanced." Paral expects the Hispanic vote to be the pivotal swing in future elections too, as more Hispanics register to vote, not only in traditional immigrant-receiving states, but also in states with fewer immigrants, such as New Hampshire, Connecticut, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

E-Verify not Ready for Prime Time - According to the ITAA, the final rule published this week requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to screen workers and new hires through the E-Verify system each year will put significant new burdens on those employers at least in the short term.

Immigration authorities need to release the guidelines they use in deciding 'stipulated removal' cases - In the last few years, the number of illegal immigrants in detention who waived their right to plead their case to remain in the United States has shot up from 5,500 in 2004 to 35,000 this year. In all, nearly 100,000 people have agreed to leave the country under "stipulated removal." Not surprisingly, troubling reports have surfaced of immigrants who say they were encouraged to self-deport without knowing that they had valid legal claims to remain in the U.S. and to have a hearing before a judge. Immigrants' rights groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, demanding they divulge their procedures for informing detainees of their rights. The department, which has made only half-hearted attempts to comply, should be made to do so.

Querétaro, Mexico gets appropriation for immigrants - The lower chamber of the Mexican Congress approved 704 million pesos to support immigrants returning to 10 states of the country, 50 million of this sum will go to the state of Querétaro.

Oberlin, OH considering becoming sanctuary city.

UN Trade Chief sees up to 6 percent drop in migrant remittances in 2009 - Migrant remittances, a vital source of income for poor countries, could decline by up to 6 percent next year due to worsening economic conditions around the world, the U.N.'s trade chief said last Friday.

Words Have Consequences - Click to read our coverage of hate crimes. Most recently, the death of Ecuadorian immigrant, Marcelo Lucero.

The economic body blows just keep raining down. According to today's Forbes: 

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time hit a 16-year high last week, pushing the rolling herd of jobless citizens receiving this type of government aid to its highest level in 26 years.

Most Americans have not shared in the benefits of the last eight years of growth economy, as job creation stagnated and real wages fell. Now, with our economy in a full-blown recession and the housing and financial sectors melting down, everyday Americans are hurting more than ever, and many homeowners are underwater. NDN has long argued that we must keep the focus on everyday people. As part of this effort, policy makers should embrace the growing momentum behind NDN’s proposal to keep people in their homes.

And while Congress has indicated that it will wait until President-elect Barack Obama takes office before it attempts to pass an economic package, NDN continues to argue that any proposal must be a stimulus for the long run.

For more on NDN's economic work, commentary and arguments, please click here.

As Tim Chambers mentioned at our great forum today on the New Politics of the Obama Age, NDN has partnered with Dewey Digital and Divinity Metrics to produce a white paper on Web video and the 2008 presidential election. Divinity Metrics collected an amazing amount of data over more than 400 days of the election cycle, from more than 150 different online media services and platforms, and this data allows us to take an in-depth look at how specific events during the election played out in the Web world.

For now, as a preview, I'd like to offer a few key numbers from the report:

• The Obama campaign produced 2,000 official Web videos over the course of the election, compared to 376 from the McCain campaign.
• There were 123,000 non-Campaign Obama videos, compared to less than 70,000 for McCain.
• Videos about Obama received over 1 billion views over the course of the election, compared to 613 million for McCain.

There are several things to take away from these numbers, but I think perhaps the most important is this: With a combined 1.6 billion views between just the Obama and McCain videos this election cycle (approximately 2 billion with all the presidential campaigns included), Web video is no longer an emergent medium. It now falls, definitively, under the heading of "mass media." And it's not just a question of reach, either; because Web video does not come through a middle-man, and is often sent to the viewer by family or friends, it can have a strong, direct impact that is hard for other media to match. 

As NDN and our affiliate, the New Politics Institute, have been saying for some time, Web video has very quickly become an essential component of successful political campaigns, and is now becoming a powerful tool for governing as well (see my recent post about President-elect Obama's first weekly YouTube address). To learn more about how Web video has permanently altered the political landscape, and for tips on how to use it effectively, check out our New Politics Institute paper, Reimagine Video, and be sure to stay tuned for our upcoming white paper!

Talk about a paradox: just days after Americans made history by electing the first black president, the AP reports that threats against a president-elect spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than any president-elect ever before. And in New York, seven teenage thugs in Patchogue replicated a shameful page of what we'd like to call "history" by forming what one prosecutor called a "lynch mob." Why are people bent on hate? More importantly - how do we fight ignorance and intolerance? A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." A wise friend once said, "the same people who hate immigrants and immigration reform hate Latinos, and hate other races, and the people who hate these groups are the same who speak out against women's rights, and against choice, and against gay rights...." Arguing that any one group is better or worse than another constitutes hate speech, and hate speech has consequences.

A New York Times editorial this week, The High Cost of Harsh Words opens with the name of our column - words have consequences. And Steve Levy, the Suffolk County executive, is learning that the hard way. Seven teenagers were arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing last Saturday of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, on a street in the Long Island village of Patchogue. Local lawmakers in Suffolk would speak out complaining about immigration, but Levy went farther - he founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns. He went on "Lou Dobbs." He sought to drive day laborers from local streets, yet rigidly opposed efforts to create hiring sites. Even as tensions escalated in places like Farmingville, a hot spot for anti-immigrant resentment, Mr. Levy parroted extremist talking points, going so far as to raise the alarm, utterly false, that illegal immigrants' "anchor babies" were forcing Southampton Hospital to close its maternity ward. He now denounces racist hatred, yet his words have made him a hero to white supremacist hate groups, and certainly contributed to the atmosphere that allowed these men to feel angry enough to want to kill another human being, and protected enough to think that they could get away with it.

It's difficult to tell whether Levy even cares about the responsibility he bears in relation to this crime, immigrant advocates assailed him for having poisoned the atmosphere. Some called for his resignation, and with tactless self-pity, Mr. Levy complained to Newsday that the killing would have been a one-day story anywhere but his home turf. He insists that people have a distorted picture of him, but "Mr. Levy needs to realize that distortions cut both ways." Some white supremacists hide behind the alleged legal status argument - alleging Lucero was "illegal," so what if he was? If you think that his legal status excuses taking his life, then you are a racist. Then where do we draw the line? Is the life of a thief, an adulterer, or an unscrupulous wall street executive also expendable? And to further make the point - these thugs didn't stop to ask for papers before attacking, which would put you, or me, or anyone at risk. The murder is just the tip of the iceberg - it's not a "story" when Hispanics are assaulted and beaten, but don't die, or when rocks or other items are thrown at them in places like Suffolk around the country, or when a Latino family's house burns down because two teens thought it would be "cool" to throw firecrackers into the house and see the family scurry out.

Where is the outrage against the cruel murder of an Ecuadorian man? I applaud Peter Applebome, Angela Macropoulos, and Kirk Semple of the New York Times for reporting on it, but what about national news, national networks? Why isn't Lou Dobbs talking about this war by the middle class, against the Hispanic middle and poor class? Oh yes, he's against illegal and legal immigrants, I almost forgot. Where is the Hispanic Bill O'Reilly, angrily mobilizing mobs to speak out against this horrible crime? That's a rhetorical question, it would be awful for Latinos to fuel the fire by drawing additional racial divides - the idea is for no group to predicate division, but rather hold Dobbs, Beck and O'Reilly and people like them accountable for all acts like this murder, because words do have consequences.

On the day these men killed Mr. Lucero, they were identified by witnesses as having battered two other Hispanics earlier in the afternoon. What if the story had been the other way around, and a group of Latinos went out hunting for a U.S. born high school boy, or a "frat boy?" What kind of coverage would that story receive? Dobbs would have dedicated a month's worth of programming to it. And what kind of justice would those murderers get? I sincerely doubt a gang of Hispanics would get off on a first or second degree "manslaughter" indictment (only one of the seven attackers is charged with murder). A very unfair double-standard still exists, and it's appalling. Make no mistake, these weren't young kids who didn't know any better, they were a gang as defined in the U.S.: "a street-oriented youth group whose own identity includes the involvement in illegal activity." And to be clear, assault - which doesn't even involve putting a hand on someone, battery, murder, are all illegal activities.

Murder is murder - manslaughter means you didn't intend to kill. A requirement of murder is that a person acts with intent to kill and knowledge that their actions will result in someone's death. And the police reports that this gang was out to - self-describedly - "kill a Mexican," and they stabbed the guy - they beat him, and then they stabbed him - let's not confuse things, they were out to kill. And if they can do this to another man for no reason, what's not to say that these same men would be just as willing to assault a woman just because they can, or a child? They are a menace to society, as is anyone who thinks like them. One of the killers, Chris Overton, 16 years old, is awaiting sentencing in another case. He pleaded guilty to burglary in another fatal attack in May 2007 in which a 38-year-old East Patchogue man was shot dead when a group of teenagers robbed his home. A neighbor found the victim, Carlton Shaw, dead in his backyard, his 3-year-old son sleeping on his chest.

But the Lucero murder was fueled by hate, and it's up to each community to not allow these crimes to go unreported, underreported, or unpunished. Let us not forget; now Levy plans to have a scholarship for children in honor of Marcelo Lucero, and that's all well and good, but I care more about what he personally is going to do to admit his rhetoric was hateful and unacceptable, and to change the atmosphere in Suffolk. Remember Luis Ramirez? The Mexican man who was also killed by another high-school age gang in Shenandoah, PA? The picture above is of Ramirez him just before he died...let's not forget, and let's not allow hate crimes to become a "fact of life," let's stay vigilant in our communities to avoid adding another name to the list of victims.