Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Key Swing

Many Latin Players

are associated with a free swinging mentality as
 
  they saying goes "You don't walk off the Island.  You hit your way off."


As a result, Latins have been motivated to swing the bat.Well now Latins are motivated to trigger another swing, The Presidential Vote.

Determining what qualifies as a swing state is not an exact science, but the best estimate nine months out is as follows: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.The key for political parties is registering Hispanics to vote.
 
According to the U.S. Census, 84% of Hispanic registered voters reported voting in 2008. According to the U.S. Census, in 2010 there were 492,330 Latinos of voting age in North Carolina, representing a clear opportunity for both parties. In a tight race, Hispanic voters could be the margin of victory in 12 of the 15 swing states.

Three important points about Hispanic swing voters:
(1) Hispanics lean Democratic, but it's not a base Democratic vote. Hispanics cast their ballots on issues and in favor of the candidates rather than for the party.

(2) Campaigns need to communicate to Hispanics in both English and Spanish. A strategic move behind President Obama winning 67% of Hispanic vote was his campaign's outspending McCain in the Spanish language media by five to one.
(3) Hispanic adults are more engaged in the social Web than non-Hispanics, over-indexing as creators, critics, collectors, joiners in and spectators of social networks. In addressing the concerns of this demographic, no candidate can ignore the issue of immigration reform, particularly when it comes to young, first-time voters. Each month 50,000 Hispanics in the United States turn 18. These young voters power Latino social networks, connecting on Facebook and tweeting voters across the country.

Immigration -- and its power to alienate or attract voters -- is the key for both parties, not just Republicans. Yet, so far for both parties, immigration has been kryptonite. A recent survey found that Latinos, by 91%, support legislation known as the Dream Act that would give legal status to illegal immigrants who earn college degrees or serve in the military for two years. Imagine the waves across social media when the Dream Act is not aggressively pursued or summarily dismissed.

President Obama broke his promise to introduce an immigration reform bill during his first year in office. He deported 1.2 million Latinos, including 46,000 parents of American citizens. His draconian policies left thousands of frightened children in foster care , which brought an onslaught of negative Spanish-language media. Heading into the presidential campaign, President Obama's approval rating among Latinos has plunged 36 points since April 2009 -- from 85% to 49%, according to a recent Pew survey. Translation, that's fucking horrible.

Obama's potential opponent, Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, wants to make life so unbearable for Hispanics working here illegally that they will "self-deport." Passing apartheid-like laws to pressure Hispanic undocumented workers to leave the country is central to Romney's platform. Can we say Oppression? I guess he's never been to the Statue of Liberty and read the inscription.


To win over Hispanic voters, both President Obama and the GOP nominee need to smother the kryptonite that the issue of immigration has become with a lead blanket of comprehensive immigration reform, supported by strong majorities of Hispanic swing voters and a majority of independents and the general public. Only then can the conversation between Hispanic voters and the candidate really begin.

In the 2008 election there was a 30% swing of Hispanic votes away from the Republican Party's share of the vote in 2004. This swing vote was enough to elect Barack Obama to the White House and turn six states — Colorado, Florida, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Virginia — from red to blue. Any candidate or campaign that ignores Hispanic swing voters does it at their peril.


Now its time for all Hispanics, especially those in softball t
to step up to the voting plate and take a swing that counts.
This is more than just another at bat so make it count

Close Call

I often ask are we not Warriors??? when I talk about softball. Well today two great warriors are down, but not out.
Mikey Peckins

 

and Jeff Carol
 


were in an accident (a collision) this past weekend while skiing.  They are OK now and starting the recovery process. The doctor said they were very lucky considering the damage that was done as Mike has had surgery and now has plates in his face where bone used to be as his jaw has been wired shut (for 6 weeks). Crazy. 
Life is Fragile.


The insider wishes these two worries only the best and hopes to see them on the field again at some point in 2012 as the game will not be  the same without them.

Monday, March 5, 2012

March 5th ... Makes me realize I am not crazy

Now you probably get this picture from my blog persona  
that I'm a politically incorrect bastard who bags on Authority. But I wanna just take this time out to be perfectly honest because there's a lot of shit like .
  •  Criticism
  • Apathy
  • Recession
  • Unemployment
  • Economic Hardship
  • Failure
  • Frustration. 
that I keep bottled up that hurts deep inside of me. I handle it well, given the circumstances I'm dealt.  Yet as the older I get I realize how many chances I've had and damn it's too bad, I could have done something else.

People make jokes because they don't understand me, they just don’t see my real side. I act like that shit doesn't phase me, but inside it drives me crazy as my insecurities could eat me alive. However, on days like today any doubts I have are washed away as I realize what I have in life
 As today is March 5th
 
and as a wise friend once told me "it's good to honor the people who are special in your life". Well today is my very low profile wife's Astrid's Birthday.
Talk to the Hand
and the Insider would just like to let you know Thank You - Your Amazing

Friday, March 2, 2012

Get Hooked, not HoodWinked

Do love softball in NYC, but feel Hoodwinked by leagues who conceal their true motives by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an unfair financial end at your expense? Here's an example of a co-ed league that pretends to offer a lot to its customers, but in reality ridiculously overprices their services and exploits the public :


Beginning Hoodwink Advertisement


  • 12 regular season games
  • 12 softballs
  • Officials for all games
  • Permits for the fields
  • All-Star game
  • Single Elimination Playoff Structure
  • End of season awards party
  • Prizes to the top teams.

Leagues are filling up fast! We are looking forward to a great 2012 spring season for our coed divisions, including our very successful new coed division introduced in 2011 - Just for Fun. League fees for most divisions this year are $2,295 per team, the only exception being the Coed I fee of $2,695 (Coed I plays exclusively in Central Park).
 End Hoodwink Advertisement

Love the line "Just for Fun", yeah right. They charge these outrageous prices because they can as they have a monopoly on the fields.  They think they have no real competition.

Until now

I love competition and I'm here to lift the cover off their price gouging hood and open up a affordable, better, and truly fun CO-ED league in Red Hook Brooklyn.

Here's my league's real honest benefits as compared to the Hoodwinking competition:
  • Cost: $1,250 That's Over $1,000 less than the competition.  < $1,000.  Damn that's good.
  • Significant Prizes for Champion and Runner Up. Significant.
  • 12 games - Could increase, if teams vote for 14/15 game season
  • Small 6 team league, where 5 teams make the playoffs. This will give your team personal attention and is preferable to joining a large league where you are only a dollar sign.
  • Two out of Three Playoff Structure in the semi-finals and championship.
  • Cost of Professional Umpires included. Our Officials have a passion for the game
  • Fields : Red Hook Brooklyn - Awesome quality dirt/grass field 
  • Always plenty of parking
  • Field is very safe and nice 5 minute walk from the G or F train. Speaking of train its 10 minutes from Wall street, 20-25 from midtown. So for about the same train ride you pay over $1,000 less? Great deal
  • A real commissioner who cares about provided real softball - Me
Negative:
  • It's in Brooklyn. OK that's fair. But as mentioned above, it is extremely close to Manhattan. As a result, it is still an incredibly convenient alternative.
As you can see the Benefits far outweigh the so called Negatives. remember the only hustle in softball should be by the players on the field, not the league trying to rip you off.
Fight  the Power -Get Red Hooked, not Hoodwinked.





Please contact me at either bknysoftball@gmail.com or 646-337-3535 to discuss the genuinely fun softball opportunity.