I did an interview for a syndicated radio show yesterday to promote my recently published book Bilingual is Better, and I was asked some pretty interesting questions. One of them reminded me that while a lot of parents wholeheartedly support the idea of raising bilingual and bicultural children, a lot more people out there go as far as thinking that this practice is unpatriotic. I know that sounds ludicrous to most of us, but it's the sad reality. A lot of people truly believe that in order to be fully American, you need to let go of your (or your ancestor's) heritage, language, traditions and just assimilate into this country's culture. But nothing could be further from the truth. 

Unlike other presidential elections, this year, I did my best to keep my lips tight regarding several of the more controversial issues at stake. Not because I didn't care, but because I can't vote. And, like my husband likes to say, if I won't do anything to try to change the things I don't like or I don't agree with, then I shouldn't have the right to complain about them. But yesterday, as I watched the results of the presidential election with my two small children and my mom--all of whom are American citizens--I came to the realization that the time has finally come for me to become a naturalized citizen.

It's been years (too many to divulge without being embarrassed) since I became eligible to go through this legal process, but for very personal reasons--that have made sense only to me--I have opted against it.

I've been in this country for 18 years and for all this time I've been hearing about the importance of the Latino vote, but nothing demonstrated that unquestionable power like last night's re-election of President Barack Obama. We've now become more than just a big pile of money for marketers, transcending our economic spending power and finally flexing our political might--and I sincerely hope we are here to stay. The Obama family gets four more years in the White House, and it's all thanks in large part to Latino voters.

Another huge segment to whom President Obama owes this election? Us women! The president received 19% more female votes than his Republican rival Mitt Romney. 

I was as shocked as everyone else when I heard about the protests in Libya, Egypt, and now Yemen, that caused the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three embassy employees--and even more so after I realized that it all stemmed from a YouTube trailer for an anti-Islam propaganda film. But the story only got more unbelievable when I heard that a Latina actress, Cindy Lee Garcia, was right at the center of all the controversy!

Garcia recently opened up to Jezebel about her role in the offensive movie, revealing that she had absolutely NO idea that she was participating in an anti-religion spoof!

What could have happened to 22-month-old Cyleste Gonzales? The little angel had bruises all over her body, a broken arm and an injury to her abdomen when she died four years ago. Cyleste, and her older brother, were under the care of Sarah Sifuentes, who'd agreed to look after them since their mother, a good friend of hers, was going to jail. Although a jury found Sifuentes guilty of injury to a child by omission causing seriously bodily injury and she has been sentenced to 19 years in prison, it is still unknown how and by whom little Cyleste's body ended up so battered.

What San Antonio prosecutors were able to prove is that Sifuentes knew Cyleste was injured, but she didn't do anything about it until it was too late. Basically, she allowed her to die from her injuries.