by José de la Isla

HOUSTON — Only hours after announcing in late August he would resign, embattled Attorney General Alberto González talked to Rubén Navarrette, a columnist with the San Diego Union Tribune.

The AG told Navarrette he wanted to be remembered “as someone who did the best he could … based on what was right and what was just.”

That sounds like a fair yardstick for measuring his public service. But there was more about Alberto González not yet known.

When González resigned, Richard Prince, in his online column “Journalisms,” pointed out that all of the stories about the attorney general’s resignation mentioned he was the first Hispanic to hold that position. The designation supposedly complicated — or constrained — some commentators from being too critical of him. After all, a Latino as attorney general was a milestone achievement, a source of pride.

Navarrette seems to have been one of those who wasn’t sure González got a fair shake throughout the legalistic capers the AG was embroiled in. In that interview with Navarrette, González recognized “at some point, all the facts will come out and people can judge for themselves.”

That time has come. Those who were sanguine might now find the facts not going down very well.

On Oct. 4, The New York Times disclosed that shortly after González became attorney general in February 2005, his Justice Department issued a secret opinion. In it, González approved the legal memo authorizing “to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics,” according to the Times.

The methods included head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Some torture practices had been recanted earlier when they were disclosed after a González-led task force in the White House had given them legal sanction.

As legal counsel to President Bush, González had orchestrated the group that devised the draconian torture papers, giving legal sanction to methods violating the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of war prisoners.

That alone did not block him from getting appointed attorney general. Soon, he was implicated in questionable White House interference leading to the firing of nine regional U.S. Attorneys.

In crucial hearings into the matter, González testified 71 times he didn’t remember or couldn’t recall important meetings concerning the matter.

Late last year, with his leadership at Justice in question, González faced scrutiny over whether he testified truthfully, stonewalled or misled congressional inquiry into the firings and National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.

Now with the revelation he endorsed the harshest interrogation techniques used by the CIA, even González’ stalwart defenders will have a hard time rationalizing on his behalf. His own deputy at the time, James B. Comey, told colleagues at Justice they would all be ashamed when the public learned of the memo.

Two days before the Times exposé, on a seemingly different matter concerning Hispanic Heritage Month, González provided a guest commentary to CNN. In it, he defined Hispanic values as comprised of sacrifice, hard work, personal initiative, dedication to family, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Those are good, and unsurprisingly similar to the personal values he referred to during the turbulent weeks before his long-sought resignation.

They are not the distinguishing qualities that result from the “Hispanic experience,” as he was assigned.

In fact, the response sounds remarkably like the platitudes used for high-sounding, little-meaning political patronizing.

A more accurate portrayal of the Hispanic experience, especially coming after the 1970s, would recognize the Latino push for voting rights and representation at all levels of government, a demand for a just government that is responsive to the community, an opportunity to participate in all sectors of society and the economy, fair procedures, and respect for civil rights. These values cut across party lines. They are not anyone’s exclusive property. They rest in the domain of social values — even universal standards — not just personal ones.

These social values too should be used to measure how the former attorney general performed when he occupied that position. Those who seek to justify torture should never be allowed to hide behind Hispanic values. Breaking the public trust and absconding secrets will find no safe harbor in Hispanic civic values.

[José de la Isla, author of “The Rise of Hispanic Political Power” (Archer Books, 2003) writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. E-mail joseisla3@yahoo.com]. © 2007

by Janet Murguía

Stories about families who face foreclosure on their homes because they trusted lenders have become part of the daily news cycle. Unscrupulous lenders offered easy and fast approvals, only to leave ill-informed borrowers with risky, expensive, and in some cases, deceptive financing.­

In recent days, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. has pointed to bad lending practices as the reason for the current downturn in the mortgage market.

We could not agree more. The current crisis is further evidence of the flaws in the mortgage system – which the National Council of La Raza and many others have long warned about – and it leaves Latino and other borrowers vulnerable to unethical lending practices.

A house is the primary asset for most families. For low-income families, a home represents the single greatest opportunity to build wealth. Congress and the mortgage industry must act now to protect the gains toward achieving the American Dream of homeownership and to prevent that dream from turning into a nightmare for millions.

Predatory lending is threatening the significant gains in homeownership Hispanics have made in the last decade. Too many low-income families in the Latino community have been shuffled into expensive loans by lenders, even when they had good credit. Foreclosure rates are at an all-time high and they are likely to keep climbing.

But there is a ray of hope. We are encouraged by findings of a report produced by NCLR and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), which highlight the best practices of the mortgage brokers who are doing a good job in serving our community.

Many brokers interviewed for the report expressed frustration that others in their industry have taken advantage of families’ trust by steering them to high-cost loans that are profitable for the broker but risky for the borrower. As one respondent put it, “Eight out of ten of these families (in foreclosure) never should have gotten the loan.”

These real estate professionals realize that the mortgage industry needs reform to promote responsible lending and protect vulnerable borrowers.

The report, Saving Homes, Saving Communities: Latino Brokers Speak Out on Hispanic Homeownership, is an indication that we can do better. Some industry leaders have announced plans to support foreclosure prevention counseling. Others are taking steps to modify unaffordable loan terms for borrowers in trouble. But this is far from an industry-wide trend. We need to do more.

We need a national campaign against foreclosure that compels all stakeholders to contribute to the solution.

Wall Street must agree to new principles under which they will consider modifying the terms of loans that were never going to be affordable in the first place. Lenders must give priority to developing affordable loans that meet the credit needs of underserved borrowers. And, the Latino community must urge Congress to pass anti-predatory lending legislation to end the untenable practices that are at the heart of the alarming rise in foreclosure rates.

The nonprofit housing counseling industry must also gear up to meet the demands of families who are facing a financial crisis. These providers know how to get safe and fair mortgages for working families and to educate them on how to be responsible borrowers.

(Janet Murgúia, president of the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy and civil rights organization, writes a monthly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. Readers may respond to her at leadership@nclr.org or contact one of the mentioned groups by visiting www.nclr.org/homeownership). ©2007