One has to be thankful for political analysts and university professors who share with us, mortals, their insight and wisdom about current events. Take Cal Jillson, a political science professor at the Southern Methodist University, who recently was quoted in the press analyzing the fallout of Alberto Gonzales.

“He was a Republican more than he was Hispanic in his adult life,” Mr. Jillson told The Dallas Morning News.

And wait, he’s not alone: apparently a growing number of “analysts” and Latino activists have concluded that Gonzales’ fallout was a matter of ethics not ethnicity, and that it shouldn’t be interpreted as a fallout of the Hispanic community.

Really?? And to think that I had been on the wrong side of the analysis all along, thinking we (Hispanics, Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and people with names like Martinez, Gonzalez or Rodriguez) were all creepy, disgusting politicians.

Well, I also thought Salma Hayek’s engagement to one of the world’s richest men meant all Mexican single women over 40 were destined for a similar future. Oh dear…

As the investigation into how Telemundo covered L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s marital problems came to a conclusion (with TV anchor Mirthala Salinas temporarily suspended without paid) the Latino fiesta goes on in the streets of Los Angeles in anticipation of the 8th annual Festival de la Gente, to be held Oct. 27-28 at the historic 6th Street Bridge.

According to the invitation –sent to me by a friend in LaLaLand– the event is organized by Arte Calidad Cultural Institute, and sponsored in partnership with California Assembly speaker Fabián Nuñez and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who –as everyone knows by now– seem to have the same taste in women.

The October public encounter between Nuñez and Villaraigosa will be interesting, but much more so if it gets to be covered by Telemundo 52 (we estimate Ms. Salinas will be back in business by then).

Hillary Clinton’s favorite TV show is American Idol; she has a weakness for chocolate, hates to cook but can make great huevos revueltos, and has a pending business with her closet, which is in dire need of attention…You can find these and other tidbits on the candidate’s favorite “stuff” on her recently uploaded page at Latino social networking site MyGrito.

Although she tells us there what her job is (senadora) and what her dating status is (married), she makes a point to leave out her orientation and body type (I wonder why). But if you are fortunate enough to read Spanish, you will find that she talks about her posiciones (oh mama!) “En esta página presentaremos más información sobre mis posiciones en diferentes temas que son importantes para los latinos”. I thought only Monica was known for her “posiciones” in the White House.

In only a few hours, the senator has added a bunch of Latino “friends” to her page with names such as Lovely Latina, Naranja Dulce, Pancho Villa, Friendly Chica and Yomero.

I am starting to feel jealous, so I’ll log on to MyGrito and join the fiesta.

Tired of reading about Los Angeles mayor’s extramarital affair? Quite frankly I am, but today I came across the most recent –and weirdest– twist to the story: It turns out devout Catholic Latino women are now flocking to church to light up votiva candles and pray for a reconciliation between Villaraigosa and his wife of 20 years. Otherwise… he’s going straight to hell!

An unusually long story on today’s San Jose Mercury News quotes several Latino women who are said to be “morally outraged” about the whole thing.

“I pray with God’s help they find a way of reconciling,” one woman told the Mercury reporter. “If they don’t, Antonio is lost. He is lost to his family. He is lost to himself. Most importantly, he is lost to God.”

I don’t know if Mr. Villaraigosa is really lost to God, but I am sure as hell his pecadillo has been a blessing for Hispanic-related blogs (including my own, of course). Is there anything else going on?

Wishing somebody’s death is not a very Christian thing. Yet, Mr. Bush invoked the Lord himself to express what he really feels about Fidel Castro.”One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away,” the president said this week during a speech at the Naval War College in Rhode Island.

And, of course, the White House spokespeople had to come out to try to fix the “misunderstanding” (if any). Asked whether Bush was wishing Castro dead, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe was quoted in the press saying: “The president was commenting on an inevitable event.”

As for Castro himself … well, he responded with humor, and also pointing at the grace of God.

“Now I understand why I survived Bush’s plans and those of presidents who ordered my assassination,” he joked in an essay distributed to international media in Havana. “The good Lord protected me,” he said, echoing Bush’s words on his eventual demise.

Good lord!

Who says you cannot play soccer de altura?

To contest FIFA’s decision to prohibit international tournaments and World Cup qualifying matches above 8,200 feet (2,500 meters), Bolivian president Evo Morales (shown in green in this AP photo) this week played two soccer matches –one at 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level, and another one at 5,580– in an improvised field on top of el nevado de Sajama, near the Chilean border.

As most Latin American soccer fans know, FIFA’s decision rules out the capitals of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and the stadiums of leading teams in Peru, Chile and Mexico.

As NBC’s Today host Matt Lauer prepares to broadcast live from Havana on Tuesday June 5, some disturbing details regarding a Cuba after Fidel have started to emerge.

For starters, according to an article by TodayShow.com contributor Peter Greenberg, all U.S. cruise lines are already preparing for Life after Castro. After all, he says, they are already floating hotels. For their part, U.S. hotel companies have been “prospecting”, doing handshake deals on properties throughout the island, signing quiet conditional deals to kick in the minute things change and they are allowed to do business.

NBC’s special Cuba coverage includes an online poll asking U.S. citizens if they would consider a Havana holiday should there be no traveling ban: at 10:00 PM (ET) Monday night, 42% had said: “No. There are other countries I’d rather give my money to.” What it’s not clear to me is: Doesn’t the question pertain to Havana only? What if these people are actually inclined to spend their money in, say, Varadero?

The TodayShow.com coverage also includes an invitation for visitors to pose questions to Lauer about Cuba. I have submitted mine, and cannot wait for the answer. Stay tuned.

It turns out there is a “confederation of blogs” called Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty, and it also turns it has a lot of money … and does not like Spain.

At least that is what comes to light from a recent advertising effort targeting the Spanish government. The reason? According to these bloggers, the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is behind an effort to normalize relations between the European Union and Cuba.

The multimedia effort consists of several bus shelters located near the Spanish consulate and the Spanish Cultural Center in the exclusive area of Coral Gables, Florida. And according to the confederation spokesman (yep, it even has a spokesman!) it “marks the first of several coordinated activities aimed at exposing those countries, companies and institutions that aid and abet the Castro regime in oppressing the Cuban people.”

I wonder who these bloggers will target next. Perhaps it will be the 5-member delegation from the U.S. Congress who this week attended a U.S.-Cuba trade fair in Havana and even met with Ricardo Alarcón… Or they might want to get Matt Lauer, the NBC Today anchor, who will broadcast his show live from the island next Tuesday.

And while they’re at it, they might also want to get the French … I’m not sure why, but it seems it’s always popular to be anti-French.

Personally, all I want to know is how I can join a confederation and, more importantly, how I can have my own blog advertised on a bus shelter.