Still trying to find out the self-identification of Latinos when it comes to the question of race; which in 2000 was 48 percent white, 42 percent other, 8 percent American Indian and 2 percent African-American.

One of the mixed blessings of our modern society is an ever-increasing life expectancy. For those of us with the advantages of good health and adequate income, those extra years are a gift. But for those who face a long period of disability and poverty, old age can be more daunting than rewarding, not only for the elderly but for their families as well.

Huge surges among Hispanic populations in the Deep South could mean a political sea change over the next two decades, as immigrants become naturalized and they and their American-born children register to vote. The states with some of the largest percentages in Hispanic population growth make up a large swath of the Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.