RNC 2008: Renato heads to the convention

politics

thu 9/4/2008

 
Is that Daddy Yankee?

All week long, Renato has been covering the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota for our upcoming News Special: Vote 4 UR Future 2008.

In this clip, Renato rushes out of the airport to meet Meghan McCain (John McCain's daughter) and runs into a Daddy Yankee look-alike. While lamenting the lack of celebs in Minnesota, Renato scores an interview with actress Rosario Dawson.

You could win the camera that was used to shoot this clip, see holamun2.com/wonka.

 
 

white tee tri

daily dos

wed 9/3/2008

 
daily-dos-white-tee-tri Two Mexico soccer fans wear hats featuring soccer balls.

(image by ++Frank++ via flickr)

Talk the talk and walk the walk with Barack Obama and John McCain-themed flip-flops. (via Guanabee)

 
 

elephant in the room

daily dos

thu 8/28/2008

 
daily-dos-elephant-in-the-room Fat Joe sits down in front of a light blue-green background.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

 
 

rico y apretadito

daily dos

mon 8/25/2008

 
daily-dos-rico-y-apretadito

Why did Daddy Yankee endorse Republican presidential candidate John McCain during a surprise joint appearance together at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona? Yankee: "He's been a fighter for the Hispanic community and I know that, me personally, I'm choosing the best candidate, because he's been a fighter for the immigration issues."

 
 

rico y apretadito

daily dos

mon 8/25/2008

 
daily-dos-rico-y-apretadito

The Democratic National Convention kicked off last night in Denver, Colorado and will wrap up on Thursday night when Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president. Check here for Yarel's videos and pics from the convention.

 
 

no cigar

daily dos

sun 8/24/2008

 
daily-dos-no-cigar

(image by Bob Jagendorf via flickr)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama presented his running mate, 65-year-old Delaware Senator Joe Biden, this past weekend. Obama:"[Biden] brings extensive foreign policy experience, an impressive record of collaborating across party lines, and a direct approach to getting the job done."

 
 

no cigar

daily dos

sun 8/24/2008

 
daily-dos-no-cigar

(image by Bob Jagendorf via flickr)

Eight out of 10 likely McCain voters believe "gaining control of the border" is a greater concern than "legalizing undocumented workers," according to a telephone survey by Rasmussen Reports. Half of potential Obama voters favor controlling the border, while 3 out of 10 believe legalization for immigrants is more important.

 
 

WTF is happening to the U.S. economy?

politics

sun 8/17/2008

 
politics-wtf-is-happening-to-the-us-economy Close-up of a burned and torn $1 USD bill on a sidewalk.

(image by califrayray via Flickr)

Lil Wayne isn't the only one with money on his mind. The top issue this election is the economy – and how to fix it. While senators McCain and Obama don't agree on the best response, no one disputes the U.S. economy is in deep trouble.

Feeling Yucky.

If our economy was a person, it would have a fever, aches and pains, some weird-looking spots and, depending on who you ask, either a really bad cold or a life-threatening illness. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the basic things we buy in stores are getting more expensive more quickly. That inflation is being caused by higher oil and food costs. But not only are things more expensive, today's consumers have less money to spend.

The number of unemployed people looking for work is now the highest it's been in six years. When there are more people looking for jobs than there are jobs, companies don't need to raise wages to attract workers. So everyone – unemployed and employed – ends up with less income.

Less income means less spending and less spending doesn't just hurt the families who are skipping a trip to the mall. Our national economy is powered by consumer spending. This summer the consumer confidence index is the second lowest it's been in 28 years. When consumers stop consuming, companies lose money and there are even less jobs and less shoppers.

When our economy had these symptoms in the past, we just took a pill and felt better in the morning. That pill was credit or borrowed money. Guess what: we've overdosed.

High times.

In 1998, the average household debt was $70,220. Last year it was $121,650 – it nearly doubled in less than 10 years. While much of that debt is in increasingly painful credit cards, most of it is money Americans borrowed against their homes.

When Internet company stocks went bust in 2000, people started to invest in real estate. For the next five years, housing prices nearly doubled in many major cities. This meant that someone could borrow money to buy a house, wait a few months, sell the house and make a profit. It was like magic money and soon everyone wanted a piece of the action.

Wall Street investors backed banks who were lending money. Companies started borrowing money to build more homes. People with no money – and sometimes, no jobs – were borrowing ridiculous money to buy homes. And people who already had one mortgage borrowed more money – just to spend it. All of them thought they could eventually sell their home for more than they borrowed. Until last year.

Where's my money at?

For the last 22 months straight, home prices have dropped in 20 key cities across the country. In some cities, prices have dropped 25 to 30 percent. There are too many homes and too few people with the money to buy them.

An estimated 9 million homeowners now owe more money for their homes than those homes are worth. Banks and investors around the world are owed as much as $1 trillion they may never get back. Some institutions don't even know how much money they're owed.

When lenders began to realize they were losing money, they panicked and stopped making new loans. For a minute, it looked like much of the global economy was close to collapsing until the U.S. and European governments had to put some of their money in the mix.

The mornings after.

As American consumers, companies and banks recover from six years of bad choices — President Bush describes it as "Wall Street got drunk" – the U.S. economy is struggling to crawl forward. (Latinos are among the worst off.) Europe, Asia and Latin America are now catching what we've got. There may be no one left standing to help us up.

If you're over 18, register to vote. If not, help register someone who is. Get invested. It's your future.

 
 

splish splash

daily dos

sun 8/17/2008

 
daily-dos-splish-splash Olympic champion Michael Phelps during a college swimming meet.

(image by Vironevaeh via flickr)

The Boston Globe analyzes the most-used words found in the blogs of Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. McCain and Obama's most-used word was the same: Obama. (via Neatorama)

 
 

10 exitos

daily dos

thu 8/14/2008

 
daily-dos-10-exitos Compton rapper The Game in a white tank top.

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain released a list of their top 10 favorite songs. The Fugees' Ready or Not topped Obama's list while McCain's was capped off by Dancing Queen by ABBA.

 
 
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