For this episode Mike and I revisit some of our favorite moments—and yours—from the first season of Robles & Rosado. We hope you join us again in 2015 for more of our unique mix of humor and commentary.
Wishing you all good health, happiness, and success!
We’d like to give Phil Griffin the benefit of the doubt and we desperately want to believe he wasn’t as insulting in person as he came across in pixels.
In reports from the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists about his apology for this year’s Cinco de Mayo on-air racist shenanigans, the president of MSNBC sounded smug and patronizing.
Comments like “When I walk by a Mexican restaurant, I get nervous,” and “when I see a sombrero, I get upset” seemed needlessly flip.
Mr. Griffin insists that the cable network’s addition of Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart to its lineup is an indication of positive change at the liberal-leaning news network.
While it’s a great first step, MSNBC has miles to go before it can claim their world has changed.
Also on this episode we address Republican congressman Mo Brook’s claim that liberals are waging a “war on whites” and how his colleagues across the aisle Luis Gutiérrez and José Serrano have taken off the gloves while going after the GOP on immigration.
Both major political parties are guilty of “Hispandering” and despite the Dems outrage, Latinos are not offended by that word. In a sincere effort to help, Mike offers his alternatives to the controversial portmanteau.
While Mike plays peacemaker I wonder what exactly are these much sought after jobs anti-immigrant protesters and pundits claim undocumented immigrants are taking from “suffering citizens”?
And we end the show on an up note with much needed positive news about Latinos in the U.S.
Yes, there is positive news about Latinos. Don’t look so surprised.
It was always a source of pride for many of us growing up, especially in the rough and tumble immigrant-heavy Bronx neighborhoods where I spent my formative years.
I’ll bet almost everyone reading this can recite the last few lines of Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus”.
You know, the one about giving us your tired and poor? Your wretched refuse? Exactly! The words carved into the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Well, forget what you’ve learned amigos because the updated version will include a few lines about arming yourself against kids coming across the border like these two yahoos:
Paranoia and fear served up with a heaping helping of bigotry makes for a very potent mix.
On this episode Mike and Pedro discuss how the situation at the Texas border has taken on an almost surreal quality and propose an equally surreal solution to the problem.
The riotous duo also opine on Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart’s new English-language morning show on MSNBC and discuss Nuyorican vedette Jennifer Lopez and the big-bootied bugs named in her honor.
What? We are professional jodones and take our responsibilities very seriously.
I was going to link to a clip of MSNBC “Way Too Early” anchor Thomas Roberts and producer and correspondent Louis Burgdorf torpedoing their reputations as serious journalists with their insipid Cinco de Mayo antics but I refused to harsh my mellow so instead I’ll post their apology:
I wonder how long that Burgdorf kid had to practice in front of a mirror to approximate a look of contrition. He did nail a pained look of befuddlement.
I was going to post a clip of “Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer having a spring break flashback and making her colleagues more than a little uncomfortable during a Cinco de Mayo segment but instead I’ll post her tweet to me and some others who called her out on her lack of common sense:
Got carried w excitement over Cinco de Mayo celebration on GMA-sorry and thankful to @johnqabc@prrosado@julito77-u make great points.
— Lara Spencer (@LaraSpencer) May 6, 2014
If you’re looking for a textbook example of a tepid non-apology, you couldn’t ask for a better one than what Ms. Spencer offered up.
Where is the apology from the network brass? Let’s just say you shouldn’t necessarily wait for one. Why didn’t the Latino producers and staffers of these shows put a stop to the embarrassing shenanigans? Well they’d have to hire some for that to actually happen.
The lack of diversity in news organizations is getting worse by the day and until that particular issue is addressed we’ll have to suffer through more of these cringeworthy bits.
Mike and I make no apologies for our sincere outrage and will most likely become a thorn in the side of organizations and individuals who insinuate themselves into a story for political gain but who may have no real intention or realistic access to force substantive change that will benefit Latinos across the United States.
