So last Friday, we received the following mass communique from Vice-President Joe Biden entitled "We Want Our Money Back":

Yesterday, President Obama announced our proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee on the country's largest banks:

"My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. And my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people...We want our money back, and we're going to get it."

The fee would recover every penny loaned to Wall Street during the financial crisis and stop the reckless abuses and excesses that nearly caused the collapse of our financial system in the first place.

But the banking industry -- among the most powerful lobbies in Washington -- is already launching attacks to stop Congress from enacting the proposal.

Barack and I aren't backing down. But to win, we'll need the American people to add their voice right away.

And here's our response to it:

Dear Joe, Barack and the current administration should of thought about this before handing billions over to the banks with basically no strings attached. Now the banks have you and the country by the proverbial nuts.

We can't comprehend why if the Fed is lending what amounts to almost free money to the banks, we the consumer are getting paid on average 1% in interest for them to hold our money only to have them take that 1% back via ridiculous banking and ATM fees. The playing field between bank and consumer really needs to be leveled so that it is a win-win situation for both.

The nice-guy regime is over. You cannot please everyone. We really need to get our shit together as a country. There is too much intellectual capital on your All-Star team to not win the trophy for our country.

Get it together or in another three years, there will surely be trades made to assure our country a Championship for the people. Don't let Massachusetts be the beginning of the end for your team.

We're baaack! It’s been a hot minute since our last post hence we feel that this is a very apropos time for us to get back on the scene, like a microphone fiend - just in time to give away one of vetch’s hottest new products - their wi-fi based internet radio (a $149.00 value for a limited time only).

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In order to enter, go to www.facebook.com/rumba.vtech, become a fan and write on their wall, (under the "Just Fans" section) your favorite/most memorable Holiday moment of all time and don’t forget to mention the República Update in your post. These two components are necessary to win.    

The ninth person to post their moment on the wall and mention the República Update wins the radio.    

As there can only be one winner, boo-hoo, yeah-yeah, we know…here’s a little friends and family love that will save you 15% on the radio when you purchase it on the vetch site and it includes free shipping when you use the code: amigos2010 or…if your want to cop the sexy wireless phone below, the 10% off code for it is: rumba10.

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From your friends at the República Update family, we wish you and yours a warm and wonderful Holiday Season!

It amazes us that our politicians will go to any extent to "protect" its citizens from "external" threats via the waging of war. Yet when it comes to extending something as basic as the right to affordable health care to "protect" these same constituents, some individual political representatives fight it tooth and nail. Why? Check out Keith Olbermann's own personal experience with this very important subject.

Not to jock Jay, but we are thoroughly impressed with the way he handled this interview. Is it any wonder he's where he's at today? He truly deserves all the success he's attained...a true inspiration for all those out there getting their hustle on. STAY FOCUSED!!! Blueprint 3 in stores on 09/11/09. For more info visit: www.jay-z.com

WHOSE BARRIO? is an emotionally charged look at the changes in Manhattan’s Spanish Harlem as real estate speculation pushes rents and property values past the point of affordability for most area residents. By interviewing long-time East Harlemites and new arrivals, and digging deep into the flavor of a neighborhood long regarded as a cultural homeland for Latinos and other ethnic groups, the film reveals a complex web of individual and community interests. Directed and produced by Ed Morales and Laura Rivera, WHOSE BARRIO? is having its world premiere at the New York International Latino Film Festival on August 2, 2009.

They producers are seeking: Salsa – Fania style songs; Mambo – Palladium years style songs; Danzon; Danza and Puerto Rican Folk Conjunto.

For more info or to submit your music contact: Ed Morales, 347-271-4615, 646-342-2100, emorale@optonline.net

By Juleyka Lantigua

This summer, there’s good news for many Black and Latino youth around the country. The federal government has designated $1.2 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package for the creation and support of summer jobs for disadvantaged youth.

Nationally, unemployment for 16-to-19-year-olds is nearly 23 percent, more than double the 9.2 percent overall unemployment rate. But Black and Latino youth suffer disproportionately higher unemployment rates. As of May 2009, Latinos aged 16-19 faced a 31 percent unemployment rate. Black teens have to contend with an unemployment rate of 34 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics latest report.

Though program requirements for federally funded summer jobs will vary from state to state, participants will largely come from low-income families, underserved areas and from groups who face greater challenges in accessing jobs, like the disabled, high school dropouts and those who have no previous work experience or training.

This seasonal focus on hard-hit populations will have a lasting impact on Latinos and Blacks, who tend to outpace the general population in undesirable categories like dropout rates, youth crime and poverty. Reaching out to young people who may already have one or two strikes working against them will have immediate economic and social impacts across communities in need. Providing job training, professional skills and mentorship for at-risk youth can create viable options for meaningful work, motivate them to continue their education, and help them feel valued and productive.

In New York City, which has large Black and Latino populations, the unemployment rate among 16-to-19-year-olds doubled in the past year to 22 percent, according to state estimates. This summer, $18.5 million in stimulus funds will help add 13,378 jobs, for a total of 51,000, which is 8,000 more than existed last year. Demand is so high that weeks before the May 15 deadline, the program had already received 81,000 applications, according to the Department of Youth and Community Development. Participants will earn $7.25 an hour, and also receive training in financial literacy and job skills.

Economically, teens are avid consumers, so much of their earnings will be funneled right back into the economy as they use their earnings to buy music, go to the movies, buy used cars, new clothes, and the status-defining electronics of the moment.

Stimulus dollars were distributed to all states, from about $3 million for Wyoming and South Dakota and other low-population states to $186 million for California, which is among the most populated states. The combined effect will be much greater than the billion-dollar expenditure may signify, as countless teens will have transformative experiences that can take them down entirely different paths, leading to college or trade school or full-time employment after summer ends.

The White House estimates that stimulus money will create 125,000 jobs for low-income youths this summer. The positive effect of all those teens hard at work will ripple out to their families, schools, communities and the whole country, positively impacting millions. That’s the type of stimulus we need to make permanent.

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Juleyka Lantigua is a writer whose work has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.

By Juleyka Lantigua

As you may know, taxpayers are about to own 60% of General Motors. So here’s our chance to get exactly what we want in our favorite mode of transportation. Personally, I am looking forward to annual meetings in which I can discuss my wish list at length with fellow stockholders.

A driver for over fifteen years, I have accumulated a list of improvements that I believe will make all our driving experiences more pleasurable. Feel free to add your own thoughts, fellow shareholder.

1.    How about 100 miles per gallon. We’ve been to the Moon and sent rovers Mars, but still can’t figure this one out?
2.    Standard built-in navigation systems for all models. Why should the rich be the only ones who don’t get lost anymore?
3.    Volume and tuning buttons standard on all steering wheels. The number of accidents avoided will stagger you.
4.    Remote control key for every car. There’s no reason a 2-cent battery in a plastic case should be turned into a luxury item.
5.    Different sounds for different warnings. Door open = three bells. Key in ignition = 4 pings. Headlights still on = 2 knocks. Those are just suggestions, but you get the point.
6.    Power-controlled seats on the driver and passenger seats; sometimes the driver is the passenger, and that’s an unpleasant surprise.
7.    Value retention, for real.
8.    Built-in technology that melds our techie lifestyles (iPods, cell phones, etc.)
9.    Roadside assistance service modeled after On-Star, connecting the car directly to the manufacturer and sharing performance data automatically, to keep you safe and the car running smoothly.
10.    Lastly: car designed so sleekly they make you want to get in and go fast.

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Juleyka Lantigua is a writer whose work has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.

By Juleyka Lantigua
The more I hear, read, and witness the reaction of many (mostly conservative) white people to the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the worse I feel for white people in general.

You know the feeling. That nagging sense of collective embarrassment (C.E.) some of us brown/black folks feel whenever “one of us” does something so outrageously unimaginable that we shrug our shoulders and brace for impact.

Examples:
    A Latino mayor of huge city admitting to cheating on his wife.
    A certain Black civil rights icon threatening to castrate a presidential candidate.
    A Black star athlete shooting himself in a club after strapping his gun to his sweatpants.
    A first Latino governor who can’t get confirmed for Cabinet because he’s so corrupt.

I don’t know for sure if white people ever get a serious outbreak of C.E., but I bet plenty of them are feeling a little rash-y right about now. The likes of Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Bill O'Reilly and their ilk have spent the last week chomping at Judge Sotomayor, and trying to best each other for bottom-feeder status.

Among their most ignorant claims:
    She’s an immigrant fluent in “illegal speak.”
    She’s a racist who thinks she’s better than a white man.
    Her menstrual cycles will impact court rulings.
    She does not know the real America.

I’m not accusing all white people of sharing these incendiary views, not by far. But what I am aware of is that the rest of us non-whites are watching and listening carefully, because deep down in places we don’t talk about, we live with the fear that to some extent many more white folks see us in such radically warped ways as to render some of these statements .0000000001% true in their worldviews.

And that’s why I feel bad for white people right now. I feel bad for them because an almost measurable degree of doubt has been introduced to their relationships with the rest of us, because they have all become somewhat suspect in our eyes—just a tiny bit—because the most vociferous and dangerously ignorant among them have unleashed the type of venom that clouds the air for years.

I hope I’m wrong about this, and that this is merely a fleeting manifestation of some deep-set paranoia the immigrant, Bronx-bred, educated Latina in me harbors in a forgotten crevice in her mind.

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Juleyka Lantigua is a writer whose work has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.

By Juleyka Lantigua

Despite all the depressing news about the evaporating worth of money, the imploding world economy and the impending doom about to befall us, right now is exactly the time to make one important financial investment: improving your personal finance knowhow.

My recommendation is a $16 investment in Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, a book that changed my life when someone recommended it to me a decade ago. Like many of you out there, I grew up in a working class household (in the South Bronx) where we got by paycheck to paycheck. Those circumstances made for very pragmatic money managing principles: if you don’t have cash in hand, you can’t afford it. If you want something extra nice, start saving today. Those solid principles form a sturdy foundation for building financial stability and wealth, but without the right tools and knowledge, you won’t reap the benefits of living in the most advanced capitalistic system in history.

Stocks, bonds, insurance, compound interest and all such financial terms, did not enter my vocabulary until I was considerably in debt and headed straight for a financial abyss. In a moronic and robotic way, I was just making monthly payments and trying to avoid the dreaded collections calls, while making decent salaries and living well beyond my means.

Then I read this exceptional primer and began a serious overhaul of my financial life. Today, I’m no millionaire, but I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I would be—in terms of managing my debt, saving for retirement, and making smarter money decisions—than I would have ever been without this guide.The author, Beth Kobliner, is a contributor to the New York Times, and a former staff writer for Money magazine and financial columnist for Glamour. Her no-nonsense, jargon-free approach will decode the otherwise intimidating worlds of real estate, investment portfolios, savings plans and much more.Maybe you’re all set when it comes to managing your money. Congratulations. Now help out your sibling or friend who’s still struggling: buy them this book.

Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties by Beth Kobliner, 2009 edition, paperback, $16 

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Juleyka Lantigua is a writer whose work has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.

By Juleyka Lantigua

Since AmeriCorps was founded by President Clinton in 1993, 540,000 members have served with thousands of nonprofit organizations, public agencies and faith-based organizations nationwide. Among many other things, members tutor and mentor youth, build affordable housing, clean parks and streams, and recruit, train and manage community volunteers, and coordinate after-school programs.

In exchange, volunteers receive a very modest monetary award they can use towards college or qualified student loans. During their term of service, volunteers are also provided training, student loan deferment, health care, and in about half the cases, a modest annual living allowance.

The bill that President Obama just signed contains a few important changes: it increases volunteers to 250,000 from 75,000 annually, and bumps the education allowance to match the amount given by a Pell education grant ($5,350). The areas of service will also be expanded to include education, veterans’ affairs, health care, and renewable energy.

More needs to be done, though.

According to AmeriCorps, 46 percent of members embark on careers in education, social work, public safety, government and military service. A way to modernize the volunteer organization is to create strong mentorship opportunities for volunteers to interact with high-level managers, executives and elected officials who can help them envision and shape careers in those fields.

But to fully mature AmeriCorps we need to create tangible career tracks that lead to lasting professions in service, civic entrepreneurship, and elected office. President Obama is a perfect example of how community-level experience can form a solid foundation for a life in service and leadership.

We should provide the same opportunity to others.

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Juleyka Lantigua is a writer whose work has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.