Border Blogs: Expressing our Border Culture

With a potential cost in the tens of millions of dollars, tremendous acrimony between city and county officials and a baseline of hundreds of millions of dollars with a growth rate of 9 to 10 percent a year, the proposal by Veronica Escobar to consolidate the sheriff's and police departments is simply misguided and fiscally irresponsible. In times of shrinking budgets, pie-in-the-sky wish lists jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

The list of wrong policy approaches goes on. The doobeous, tax and spend and intrusive government advocates in power continue to push through what is increasingly an anti-business, anti-taxpayer agenda. Tobacco - City government has already taken away 1. the liberty of business people to decide what to allow in their business and 2. the liberty of consumers to decide which businesses to jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

The recent announcement the city will seek a tax increase, during a period of time in which the populations is suffering high unemployment, housing foreclosures and repossessions, is outrageous. In response to this announcement, Citizens for Good Government, a conservative non-partisan advocacy group that favors a freeze on property taxes and reducing public debt, has come together again. It jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

A member of the yellow-dog democratic faction called me rather concerned that Commissioner Escobar had been heard at a conservative gathering that she was a, "fiscal conservative" that would not raise taxes. He called me because he knew I was at some forums with her and wanted to know what she was saying to the public at those debates. If it is true that Escobar is shifting right, this would be jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

Marijuana advocates Beto O'Rourke and Steve Ortega were shaken up over the fact Mayor John Cook and City Manager Joyce Wilson were summoned to appear in District Judge Bonnie Rangel's courtroom at the request of Theresa Caballero and Stuart Leeds during a city council meeting. They claim the episode was an "example of the dysfunctional courts system in El Paso." They added they are upset one jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com1

Not long ago, a local radio talk show host mocked a local political activist for "running for everything under the sun." The embarrassed activist called in to clarify he had run for a few positions and to stand up for himself in the face of the apparent intention to humiliate him. Any citizen who engages civic activity and participates in the life of the community should be respected, not jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

I suppose it should come as no surprise.

Despite an arguably tainted federal crusade and its misuse of FBI publicity-oriented tactics to slam guilty and innocent alike

And

Despite the intention of the feds to destroy one political group and solidify support for another

And

Despite the effort by those self-same FBI operatives to cover their skullduggery with high-sounding phrases of cleaning up "corruption."

The stupid among us continue with their penchant for cutting deals as if nothing at all had ensnared their colleagues over the last five years.

Leaving aside the innocent for a moment, the stupid among us really need to wake up and smell the Kanoff thesis.

You remember the Kanoff thesis right? Named for the zealous prosecutor in the FBI cases in El Paso, Debra Kanoff, the thesis holds that political contributions are bribes.

If you want to know who pulls a politicians strings, look at their financial contributions.

It didn't take long for influence peddlers to rear their ugly heads.

No doubt, the egg on the face of federal prosecutors, due to their inability to bring their targets to justice and have them serve jail terms, has made them gun shy.

The more things change...

Ratings drive talk radio and so allowances must be made when hate speech issues from local talk hosts such as Freyermuth, Abeytia or Strelz. Unfortunately, important social, legal and political issues are polarized, trivialized and convoluted to such an extent that little clarity glimmers through the rhetoric. The discussion around the Arizona SB 1070 legislation is a case in point. Clearly, jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

The following is the slogan adopted to promote my campaign for County Judge: More With Less. Our nation, and by extension local government, has reached a point of no return. Either Americans agree to practice frugality as public policy or risk literally destroying the world around us. It is imperative we adopt restraint in the acquisition of goods and services and creatively use what is jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

Disproportionate Force A number of voices have been clamoring about "disproportionate use of force." This is a concept that is of little use according to most serious students of jurisprudence and international law. It is vague and amorphous to be of much use to yield any conclusions relative to incidents that occur on international borders. The Border Patrol Standards Border Patrol Laws, Partjaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

Two migrants, two border agents, two tragedies within days of each other. Needless, senseless and heart-breaking. Yet, as tragic as these deaths are, the blame falls squarely, fully and unequivocally on President Felipe Calderon and his abject failure to control the norther border. He needs to stop being the principal enabler of illegal migration and President Obama needs to stop looking thejaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

A group of lower valley residents is lobbying Rep. Eddie Holguin to run for the seat currently held by Rep. Norma Chavez. The primary contest between Rep. Chavez and her, ultimately successful, opponent left many in the central and lower valley disappointed. They believed the media had a very important role in the race and feel the true Democrat did not win. Eddie Holguin is the current jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

In what can only be considered an insulting and bigoted effort to impose a chauvinistic doublethink upon border residents and national policy-makers, the associated press ran a story that asserts the border is safer than ever. Indeed, it claims there is no problem of violence on the border. George Orwell coined the term doublethink. It is defined as the mental state that allows anyone, "Tojaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/292678 Reality can not and will not be ignored.jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

To all men and women in the armed forces: Thank you for your service, sacrifice and commitment. In memory of those that have enriched our lives, let us all re-dedicate ourselves to our great country's founding principles. To all those who make dedicate their lives to the mission of protect all Americans. Thank you.jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

(What follows is a compilation of comments received by Mexican leaders for a report requested by the County Judge of El Paso.) Military actions directed by the Mexican government to disrupt drug corridors, capture drug cartel leaders and otherwise disrupt relations between the cartels are having severe consequences on the social fabric of key northern cities including those on the US side of thejaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com1

On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I received yet another confidential report of an American citizen -- a child, kidnapped in an effort to extort money and terrorize an El Paso family. There is evidence there may be more to the story relative to cartel revenge. The effort is no doubt the work of the "Desgraciados" - the despicable and filthy rich war lords that rule the streets of El Paso and jaimeoperezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168740247697542660jaimeoperez@yahoo.com0

The Dallas Morning News carried an article penned by Alfredo Corchado that spoke to Medellin, Colombia's "miracle" and the challenges facing Mexican cities.

Mexican alcaldes went to Medellin to determine whether investment in social justic programs would end the violence in their region.

I was gratified to see Mr. Corchado continue to write in the vein of other reporters such as Diana Washington Valdez and Ramon Bracamontes: balanced, fair and with true insight.

They exemplify the best of El Paso-produced journalists and are truly worthy of emulation.

Mr. Corchado spoke to the truth of the Medellin "miracle". He stated that the peace wrought in Colombia had everything to do with an "accomodation" between the drug cartels and the government NOT the overpowering of the cartels -- A case I have been making for some time.

Daniel Borunda, another emerging reporter for the El Paso Times, recently broke a story regarding spill-over violence, i.e. the murders and shootings between gang members related to the Sinaloa cartel in El Paso in our neighborhoods.

Yet, the mainstream television media and certainly the sentries at the El Paso Times (clearly in the pocket of the cartels or afraid of them or both) refuse to report the truth or allow commentary on it.

Astonishingly, editors, are blind, deaf and dumb when it comes to the real story relative to cartel violence. They refuse to provide analysis of the problems facing our community and report and editorialize at a level not worthy of this community.

Spillover violence is here and has been here for over a year. The refusal to report on it is deeply concerning as it points to media corruption at levels so deep, it should frighten every citizen of El Paso.

The fact that leaders of local Law Enforcement are "not worried" is, in itself, worrisome. Either all Sheriffs on the U.S. Mexico border are wrong and our so-called law enforcement leaders are right OR, to beat the daily dead, tattooed and decapitated bodies, such commentary points to corruption at law enforcement levels so deep, it should frighten every citizen of El Paso.

Do not expect to see any of the reports provided by regional officials and sanitized analyses compiled by local analysts any time soon. The fact they have been buried points to corruption at governmental and judicial levels so deep, it should frighten every citizen of El Paso.

As more public figures are indicted and others die "accidentally" in El Paso, cartel spillover violence reporting will see an uptick in large media markets.

In El Paso, however, under the direction of current leaders expect, only, to see an uptick in stories relative to cell phone, seat belt, car seat, brake light, redlight cams and dui arrests, not to mention, the new mantra of putative elected leaders doing the cartel's bidding, i.e. "Spark one up" (translation- Let's take over the marijuana market and allow Mexicans to kill themselves over the cocaine trade).

Dear Mr. President Barack Obama:
As a life-long environmentalist, I am unable to articulate the depth of feelings at the incessant contamination of the Gulf of Mexico. Deeply frustrated by the inability of British Petroleum to solve the problem and outraged that deep sea drilling was allowed without appropriate testing by the government of the potential hazards, every American and environmentalist calls upon you and your administration to muster every resource, military and technological, to save the coastal gems of our nation from Lousiana, to Florida.

I suspect that more ecological damage will be the end result of this spill as I no longer believe either what British Petroleum or your administration is telling the American public relative to the degree of environmental damage and financial impact.

Nevertheless, it behooves you to do whatever it takes to handle the problem and to name a "team" of Presidential advisers to work with British Petroleum and other oil companies with deep see drilling experience to respond to this disaster.

Until such time as the American public can be assured there are fail safe mechanisms in place to guard against another similar spill, there should be no ocean drilling at all.

Mr. President, we were shocked you indicated you would allow off-shore drilling and it did not go unnoticed that you approved drilling permits even as millions of gallons of oil were spilling into the Gulf.

Of all the conflicting challenges facing your administration and the on-going partisan vitriol, the one thing that will hang on your legacy will be what you did (or did not do) to protect America's environment.

Shame on British Petroleum and shame on those whose responsibility it was to provide oversight to the companies activities that served the previous and your administration.

And shame on you, if you allow the destruction of the southern states bordering on the gulf and potentially the entire eastern seaboard.

The decision by President Obama to deploy 1,200 national guard troops to the border is partly correct.

There is a need to beef up the ports of entry and relieve border patrol to those tasks they do best. However, the deployment of the national guard to rural areas may not have the desired outcomes.

There is a need for stronger presence of national guard troops at the busiest ports of entry including El Paso, McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville. A rural strategy will not work to effectively interdict either drugs or human smugglers.