Joe Garcia debates the rubber-stamp 10 a.m. Sunday on Univision

Message from the Joe Garcia campaign:

I want you to tune in tomorrow morning to the final debate between Joe Garcia and Mario Diaz-Balart and encourage your friends and family to watch as well.

Here are the details:
Sunday, October 19 at 10 AM
Univision 'Al Punto' with Jorge Ramos
(A version with English subtitles will be available online shortly after)

The differences in this election are clear:

• Joe Garcia will fight for economic relief for families and small businesses -- Mario Diaz-Balart will give billions in tax give-aways to the big oil companies that fund his campaign.

• Joe Garcia has a plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible -- Mario Diaz-Balart wants to deregulate insurance companies and do to healthcare what he and George W. Bush have done to Wall Street.

• Joe Garcia will bring a safe and responsible end to the Iraq War -- Mario Diaz-Balart will vote to prolong it.

The truth will win. Gotta listen to know the truth.

More Cuba -- it's the Univision weekend

This story is the big feature on the front page of Saturday's Miami Herald, so many of you have already seen it. It talks about the increase in migration from Cuba since Fidel Castro's illness was announced a year ago. The story also finds the reason why more are leaving, or at least what they say: they don't see much chance of freedom or prosperity after Castro, so why wait.

One more point of interest for me: the Herald's repeated use of the word illegal to refer to these migrants. This usage is, of course, quite common. But as it happened, I had just read a post in the MYDD blog in which Rudy Giuliani rejected the use of illegal to refer to people in the country without visas. And as he said, he was U.S. attorney in New York and he oughta know what's illegal and what's not. It's not a federal crime to be an immigrant without a visa, and those in that situation are processed through civil court, not criminal court. There you are: from Rudy's lips.

Now let's see what words our Democratic presidential aspirants use in this situation. And I will continue to wonder at the Herald's use of illegal. No doubt they've hashed it over and decided that's the word to use.

Chris Dodd is featured in Miami Herald's Univision story

Saturday's Herald has a tidy preview of the Univision debate forum, featuring Chris Dodd's most open position on Cuba policy -- end the embargo.

Debate/forum question

The Univision debate/forum is only three days away. Is that enough time to study up on the issue of trade pacts? Here is a suggestion for a debate question from Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer. This is one reason I'm not running for president: what the heck to say about new trade pacts with this country and that?

Unvision debate coming soon

Here's a post in the Florida Politics blog reminding us how the Republicans are doing their best to shoo away the Latino vote. It quotes from an editorial in the Tampa Tribune remarking how the Republican presidential aspirants all gave up on the Univision debate in Spanish, while the Democrats are booking their tickets to Miami for their debate next Sunday.

And do you have your ticket to the debate? There's a lottery that you can register for at the local party website, www.miamidadedemocrats.com.

Dennis Kucinich at DFAM fund-raiser Sept. 8

The Ohio congressman and presidential contender is the star at Democracy for America-Miami-Dade’s Sept. 8 fund-raiser – the day before the Univision Spanish-language debate at the University of Miami. The event is at 6:30 p.m., at the Howard Johnson Plaza Miami Airport, 7707 NW 103^rd St., Hialeah Gardens.

Contact Barbara Walters for tickets, 786 287-7027, or bwalters1701@yahoo.com.

To see what Kucinich says about the Florida primary-date problem, this link will do.

Republicans not reporting for Univision Spanish debate

They used to say they were interested in the Hispanic/Latino vote. Now they can’t be bothered. They must see our wave a-rising. What’s this about? The Univision debate that was to let the presidential candidates appeal to a Spanish-speaking TV audience will not have a Republican forum. The Democratic candidates will all be there for their Sept. 9 debate at the University of Miami, but the Republican event scheduled for Sept. 16 has been called off. Only John McCain had confirmed to attend.

This Miami Herald report mentions our local effort, as well as the national drive run through NDN to build a national Hispanic strategy to win elections.

I say chalk all this up to a victory of our think tanks over their think tanks (if they’re still thinking in this stage of collapse).