Rumblings from the Sierra Madre Oriental

Being away from the Quinta for such a length of time leaves the observer a bit in the dark about the nuts and bolts, the ins and outs, of activities South of the Border.    To be sure, anyone who says that he knows and understands everything that is happening in Mexico at any any given moment, past, present, or future, is a fool.   There are many such observers, some who even charge for their services.    This particular entry into the annals of Voice from the Sierra Madre Oriental is simply a bit of a summary of notions, observations, and a few facts about what is going on.

(1)    President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa :

                 The President enters his end days in office now, having served well.   My own evaluation of his service might even place him in the highest tier of Mexican Presidents who were worth more than a bucket of spoiled donkey mare's milk.    El Gringo Viejo gains no friends in some Mexican circles by citing the bad ones, in our opinion, such as Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Benito Juarez Garcia, Venustiano Carranza, Alvaro Obregon, Pllutarco Elias Calles, Lazaro Cardenas, Luis Echeverria Alvarez,  and Jose Lopez Portillo.    There are others who were just dumboes, and others who were "interim Presidents" who had little effect, good or bad.  There were others who had some value of a positive nature.

                  The greatest objection we have with Felipe Calderon is that he cannot resist the ancient Mexican political custom of blaming the United States for the interior problems of Mexico.   He does so much less frequently than most Mexican national level politicians, but that is to be expected from someone who comes to the political scene from the right wing of the spectrum.  Figure that demagoguery ranks about like this:

Percentage of Demagogic Bilge when mentioning the USA

Partido de Accion Nacional - PAN                                    13%
Partido Revolucionario Institucional - PRI              28

Partido Revolcionario Democratico - PRD               63

        

     These figures are highly scientific and approved by Nancy Pelosi, who will read them shortly after the OROGs have voted for this blog-entry.

      It is none of any foreign head of state's business what Arizona does with its relations concerning the central government of the United States of America.   It is none of any foreigner's business who, what, when, where, why, or how matters transpire within the govbernment and the people of the United States of America.   Not the Queen of England, the Prime Minister of Canada, or the President of Mexico or any other of their elected and/or appointed officials.

     While the President of Mexico did point out during his most recent visit, that the military and other authority in Mexico has recovered 150,000 or more firearms during the past 5 years with origins in the United States, he could well have pointed out that over 400,000 weapons such as automatic rifles and pistols, grenade launchers, hand grenades, and even bazookas have been decommissioned, whose origins were from Red China, Russia, Eastern Europe, Hezbollah, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.   El Gringo Viejo has had too, too many conversations with military personnel who freely admit that this is the case, and whose numbers have almost always been in very close focus.
      We are certain that the Mexican President, who is certainly an intelligent man, knows that the Fast and Furious debacle was an artificial construct, meant almost exclusively for the purpose of causing the death of a few Americans and/or American police so as to have a huge pin~ata made of gun dealers, gun owners, and any one else who is stupid enough to think that the American Constitution means anything.
       To the President of Mexico's kind attention, El Gringo Viejo also points out that Mexico is awash with firearms that are normally only found in large armies of small countries.    So, it might occur to him that, in spite of the draconian anti-gun and ammunition laws in Mexico....only the law abiding are disarmed.    The thugs, trash, cockroaches, gangs, and other human refuse are, however, qualified to have automatic weapons and unlimited access to Red Chinese ammunition for AK47s and AR16s.    Thankfully, the vast majority of the people who have been killed or wounded during the last 10 years have been the thugs, trash, cockroaches, gang members, and other human refuse.   But the innocent have also been unjustifiably punished.    Some 200 - 300 civilian deaths alone have been traced to the firearms moved in the Fast and Furious disaster.    Many of those were miscreants.  But others were women, children, soldiers, sailors, honest and semi-honest cops, who were killed because Obama and Holder thought the had a sure-fire way to forward the progressive agenda of disarming American civilians.
       The President did return from a relatively productive trip to Cuba, however.  He made very few friends among the higher ups in the Government by Gulag.   It is said that he made his overtures to Fidel and Raul about how Mexico would be willing to renew investment in the Cuban mess.   When Raul began to point out how the accomplishments of the "Revolucion" could not be compromised even while Cuba begins to make linkages with "friendly and understanding" nations, it is said that Calderon stood up and declared, "Gentlemen, I am on vacation.   I came to give you my message, not to listen to yours.   We'll go out an take our pictures and you can announce that the Revolucion is working as always for the betterment of the Cuban people and that we are all brother nations in Democracy".
      The President was insolently received at Jose Marti' Airport, which was to be expected.  He was received, for instance, by the Assistant Secretary for Foreign Relations.   He did have sit downs with Raul Castro and Congressional leader Alarc0n.   Distance has steadily increased between both official and man-on-the-street Mexico and the regime in La Havana de Cuba during the past 20 years.    Almost all of Calderon's statements in public were directed over the head of the media and directly to the Cuban populace.   He did speak about the future possibly involving Mexican private industrial investment.
     It is sad in a way.   Mexico is Cuba's number six or seven trading partner, but trade does not exceed 400,000,000 dollars total per year.    Mexico and the United States do about that much trade in a day and a half.    C0untries that trade with Cuba in declining rank are (1) Venezuela, (2) Red China  (3) Canada (4) Spain (5) Holland, then Mexico and the United States.    All of that commercial interaction barely totals 10,000,000,000 dollars.
      Cuba has little or  nothing to sell, and it cannot buy anything since it is broke.   Fidel is a zombie, but Raul has the metabolism of a 40 year old man.   So my granddaughters will get to grow up with the Castro-Ruz brothers, just like El Gringo Viejo has.
     Obama has ruined the mystique generale of the gringo.   No political leaders or presidents or dictators want to sidle up to the El Presidente Americano if he is not a tough, fair, real-live-pro-gringo gringo.   The grovelling apologiser is not the guy you want to stand beside at the bar in the Real World Saloon.

(2)    Please beware of news articles about the unpopularity of Felipe Calderon Hinojosa.   His overall approval ratings remain remarkably high.    The sober and silent Mexicans who are undecided about their vote this round have a very high level of possibility that they will keep to the right.    El Gringo Viejo had thought about printing bumper stickers in the blue and white....with slight orange accents....which are the PAN's battle colours....with the ancient highway sign admonition (before the days of deaf-mute, metric signs with circles and bars).
     The was a sign for the literate that stated "Conserve su derecha".....which means Keep to the right.   Anyway it was a thought, but it would have probably resulted in my being escorted to the border.   We'll leave everyone with what it might have looked like, more or less.   There will be more on the Mexico situation, politically and in terms of the peculiar calm that has settled over most of Mexico.   Perhaps it is Popocatepetl....or maybe it's the Mayan Calendar thing....or perhaps Al Gore is going to visit Mexico City and they are breaking out the snow ploughs.

                     CONSERVE SU DERECHA  -   Vote Josephina, Vote PAN


As always, we appreciate your presence on the blog, and your continued interest in the affairs we cover.
El Gringo Viejo

Fleeting Observations

(1)    There is a boy who drives the pickup out to our Ejido, all the way from Cd. Victoria, with about 8 medium sized ice-chests every morning....five, six, or seven days a week.   He sells pre-measured 1 kilo packs of freshly made corn tortillas that arrive still too-hot-to-handle.   He will frequently dally at our gate, although El Gringo Viejo only buys about 1 kilo per week (13 pesos at the current time).

     He likes to ask questions about his use of English, or how to say this or that.   We try to tell him to speak English at the same level he speaks his Spanish, and to avoid VHI and MTV and such.    Then, the time before last, he showed me a 1099 IRS form that showed his earnings for having worked in Wisconsin for five months during the last year.   His earnings had been about 11,500.oo American dollars.  The contracting firm had requested that he sign and send back the carbon in the return envelope that had been provided.  He had been concerned that he was in some kind of trouble.  He was assured that it was just a standard thing now.   Nobody owes anything.

     "I had wondered where you had gone," th Gringo Viejo inquired obliquely.

     "We go up every year, except the year before last." the Tortilla Man says.  He is a jovial fellow and smiles broadly after every finished statement.

    "What do the people make or produce?" another question comes at him.

    "The have farms and canneries and quick-freeze plants.   I do building maintenance and machinery preparation in the early mornings and put the machinery to sleep sometimes."

    El Gringo Viejo asks, "This is all money that you sent here?   Don't they charge you for room and board or anything?"

     "No, they tell me, no social security, no withholding.   Then our contractor says, no social security, no taxes.   He pays our taxes, but no social security.   We are paid 12.50/hour and out checks show a net of 11.77 per hour after the income tax."

      "And you receive the 11.77?   No problem?"

      "They send it to my house in Cd. Victoria in a money order every fortnight.   My wife puts it on the debit card.   But she's a good wife.  She spends very little. Mainly the house and our daughter.   They want me to come back again next year.   They can't get anyone there to work."

       "And they don't charge you for meals or a place to stay?"

       "I ask them to give me 30 dollars every week out of my check to buy things.   But they give me a small apartment at the plant.   Sometimes trucks come early in the morning, and I open the locks on the gates for them.   Sometimes I wash their trucks and they give me effectivo (cash)for that.   But my apartment is nice.  It has a bathroom with tile and I have a flat screen and cable, nice furniture.   It's not fun being away from the family.   But then I get to come back and help my mom and dad with this, and relax for seven months...at home all the time.  Our Tortilla business is really good."

     The mean old lady with the store near us is tapping her foot in the middle of our little trail, waiting for the truck to bring her delivery.   The tortillas are a little too big, and very well made, so she sells about twenty kilos every morning.   We state our departure good-byes and the boy "roars" off the 100 yards to her place.

     Bebe the Labrador is happy, because he knows El Gringo Viejo will play a bit of tortilla Frisbee with him on the very short walk back to the front door.    Bebe will catch it and bring it back a couple of times before just eating it.   They really are good tortillas.

(2)    We have communicated with the Quinta, and we have been informed that the security situation has been very, very quiet.    Cd. Victoria and all the surrounding counties...quiet.   Perhaps no more should be said.

(3)    The better half continues to improve....well into the A- level now, but she took quite a mule-kick in the gut.    So she is still not in the position to run any 100 yard dashes or  880 relays.

(4)    We are prepared to wait for every convoluted, tax-the-rich, Romney's a polygamist, "the Republicans want to starve the children" attack imaginable.    In Mexico, Josephina met with Fox in Monterrey and buried their differences (they clashed in intra-party[PAN] affairs before).   She continues to gradually build her percentages.   In the Pena Nieto (PRI) camp, there is grumbling that Ernesto likes to make sweeping ads, like intros to his wife's stupid telenovelas.    The party poobahs are certain that the people will tire of the "ads that say nothing'', and begin to listen to the conservative candidata and the leftist nut-case and forget about the PRI....leaving them to finish in 3rd place like the last two times.    We'll see.

Enough for the night.   Thanks for your time and interest!

El Gringo Viejo

Cain't Beat It With a Stick!

Humour, Ire, Wonder, and Frustration....

Among the OROGs are many, many more eloquent and well-stated than the Gringo Viejo.  My old buddy from days of yore is one of those more intellectually endowed who will write in occasionally with recommendations, corrections, and salient comments.    He arrives at certain points where the frustration of things like, "Why doesn't somebody make Obama understand .....blah, blah, blah.."   or the famous, "I think Obama is a loyal American who wants the best for this country. ....blah, blah, blah."  drive him back down to the television store to buy another flying-brick-proof television.    We meet down there frequently.   It's like buying another battery for your car.   They measure the time left on the warranty on the old television, figure our remaining credit and then we pay the difference on the new brick-proof television.    My last one only set me back about 43 dollars.

      He states things in a way that neither requires nor begs apology.   He very frequently states exactly what I am thinking, only in a more readily understood way.   To wit:

 0.)   I feel your mortality as I do mine.  The issue about belief in Jesus is huge.  To be a charismatic Christian or not, that is the question.  Never mind.  The ends make the means a difference without a distinction.

1.)   Without having any informed basis to comment, I believe the Mexicans who are dedicated are as good or better than any soldiers in the world excluding ours truly.  They have motivation without prejudice.  The problem I see is the dysfunctional bureaucracy/govt. with the disclaimer that the govt. appears to be struggling mightily to “do the right thing” unsolicited corruption notwithstanding.

2.)   University is not one size fits all nor is it appropriate for what could be more than 60% of the high school graduates.  There are alternatives that could shrink the number of unfit significantly i.e. associates studies, trade schools, OJT, last but not least the military.  The problem is education.  They need to go to university “to know what’s in it”.  Actually, the pressure for the urchins to attend college by family is absurd.  Not all your 90 IQ offspring are qualified or able to comprehend that level of dribble.  Then the vigorish to the government is equivalent to racketeering by the mob (wait… they are the mob).

Sorry.  I feel compelled to, rather commiserate with, your brilliant knowledge and analysis on most matters affecting the universe.  I will try to limit my inane commentary...

      This OROG's code name inside of our computer and files is EL Zorro.  We had thought about using his initials, but they are 'JR' and we did not want anyone to think that Larry Hagman had anything to do with this blog.   Larry Hagman can act like he was an officer in the Air Force hobnobbing with beauties like Barbara Eden, but while that show was going on El Zorro was actually serving in Viet Nam.   He did advanced technical work on the F-4 Phantoms, and also did black-ops work outside of, and adjacent to, Viet Nam, especially related to counter-insurgency and recovery.   He was one of the guys who won the war that the pinkoes in Congress decided to lose for us after we had withdrawn.   Thanks, Sen. Church.

This is Barbara.  She's a Republican.
She performed for the troops.
  After second thought we
decided Larry Hagman is a drunken pinko, so
we did not show a picture of him.

     Anyway, you all can see that OROGs are a literate bunch....most of them much better than El Gringo Viejo.   It is interesting how El Zorro can state forcefully in three paragraphs more goodies, and in pure Texian lexicon, than El Gringo Viejo.   Must work on my brevity!
El Gringo Viejo

All Saints Intervene in the Affairs of the Episcopal Church....We pray

We urge the intervention of  the Saints in the affairs of the Anglican Communion, especially the Episcopal Church, USA.    We ask that attention not be spared the Church of England as it drifts into its self-satisfying heresies.    We also recommend the site, The Anglican Curmudgeon, as usual.  There are still lighthouses in the storm.   His  is one of the good ones. 

The Anglican Curmudgeon has asked us to consider the absurd comments of highly placed personalities who hold power and fundamentaly Apostolic positions of authority in our Communion.   To wit:

The American Anglican Council has published on its Website a newly updated (as of April 2012) edition of its classic resource: Tearing the Fabric. The compilation is more useful than ever, but also more desultory than ever, as well.

It starts out with a collection of quotations from ECUSA's heretics, including this classic statement of the "faith once handed down" (not!) by the former rector of All Saints Pasadena (which shows why that church went the way it did):
"'I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to God except through me.' The first thing I want you to explore with me is this: I simply refuse to hold the doctrine that there is no access to God except through Jesus. I personally reject the claim that Christianity has the truth and all other religions are in error... I think it is a mistaken view to say Christianity is superior to Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism and that Christ is the only way to God and salvation." The Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Rector Emeritus, All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena, California, April 24, 2005, guest sermon at Washington National CathedralAnd of course, it does not fail to include gems from the Presiding Bishop, such as these:
TIME Question: Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven?
Katherine Jefferts Schori: We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, TIME Magazine interview, July 10, 2006 CNN Question: So what happens after I die?
Jefferts Schori: What happens after you die? I would ask you that question. But what‘s important about your life? What is it that has made you a unique individual? What is the passion that has kept you getting up every morning and engaging the world? There are hints within that about what it is that continues after you die. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, interview by CNN Live, June 19, 2006The document continues with a section on the "Fruits of TEC's Theology", including "Syncretism", "Promoting Abortion", "Weakening Traditional Marriage", and more.

It also has a useful compilation of ECUSA statistics, including a nifty graph showing the decline in active membership from 2.32 million in 2002 to 1.95 million in 2010. Then it concludes with a compendium of all the litigation with which ECUSA has harassed its congregations, bishops and clergy since 2004. The list of more than 78 lawsuits initiated by ECUSA and its dioceses demonstrates how their pace has accelerated in recent years.*

It is an invaluable resource, and I commend it to your attention.

We once again commend the Anglican Curmudgeon's site, which can be readily linked by searching just to the right of this posting....perhaps a little lower.   As according to the canons of our Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith, you do not have to be Orthodox or Catholic to enjoy, enter, and study at his site.   It helps to be baptised by water in the Name of the Father, Son, and  the Holy Ghost....but nobody will check to see how wet your forehead or hair is.

El Gringo Viejo

El Gringo Viejo

Makes the poor Gringo Viejo crazy!

(1)    There are stories, circulated by McKlatchy News Service concerning the desertions in the Mexican military.
      This news service cites various un-named sources who moan about how crummy the service is and how low the pay is and how they don't want to make war on fellow citizens just to defend the rich. The news service cites the number of "nearly 50,000" soldiers and airmen who have deserted.

The Truth:
        Mexico has a form of national military service. Young men of a certain age are require to report once a month for rank and file formations, drill, weapons familiarity and marksmanship, military law and protocol, and so forth. This is done for one year. Some are chosen and asked to join the "regular Army", and many of those do, perhaps one-tenth or fewer.    They are the ones who have an inner military bent.

       Many who are momma's boys, poofies, communists, dumboes with no sense of obligation to the country, and some who are just shiftless and lazy, drift in and out of this obligation for part of the year, and just kind of evaporate along the way.    They are enrolled as members of the reserve training program, but their brief records indicate that they did not complete. They are noted as "desertadores". BUT! In Mexican military Spanish, this has the equivalent of the American military English of Absent Without Leave (AWOL). It is rarely punished.   They do have problems later in life when their "tarjeta militar" cannot be presented or it is not stamped "Sirvio'".

      The fact is that the men under arms at this time are very dedicated. The pay is relatively good, the benefits are good, the arms and equipment are good, and their mission is honourable and legally founded. Previous postings have the numbers who are under detention and the numbers presently serving and the numbers of personnel in combat and close combat support who have served and/or are serving since 2006. The official and the probable statistics are close....better than "close enough for government work"....and they are very good in terms of the morale of the troops and sailors,  especially considering the difficulty of the mission.

   And so that folks will know, last Saturday there was a "pursuit" by the Army against four thugs in two vehicles. The Army followed the thugs and their stolen vehicles out on the Monterrey highway to the west of Reynosa. Both vehicles were recovered and two of the thugs were wounded, all four were captured. There was a brief news article on one of the television stations, the reporter interviewing a business woman near where the incident began, wherein she stated, "I had gotten used to the pursuits and the battles. It's been so long since we had a good one, but this one was nothing...just two little cars. I was hoping we would have some more altercations so that the Army would stay in force longer."

(2) Why Romney evokes yawns when passion is required:

       We rightwing crazies say, "But, we cannot compromise with those who want to buy votes with someone else's money. It's a racket...Social Security, Medicare, AFDC, WIC, Section 8, Food Stamps, COLLEGE LOANS, and the like....It's all a racket. We cannot compromise!"

Now, with the nomination more or less comfortably in hand, Mitt decides that he likes the slavery producing, communist halls of higher (sic) learning funding college loan program that Father O'bamaham wants.

        Earth, Gravity, Solar forces to Mitt Romney!!!
      Money!   Give money to college bound urchins. Urchins give money to communist professors and overpaid university workers. There is more money now because Romney and O'bamaham want to give urchins more  free money! Therefore, since there are fewer "students" with more money in hand, the COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RAISE TUITIONS AND OTHER CHARGES because they are staffed and run by leftist slugs who like to do little and be paid much. More money, same amount of product? Prices and charges rise. DUH? DUH! DUH? So, we pay,  and the urchins pay in order to be indoctrinated and told that the system is taking advantage of them, by making them slaves to the bank. Can you imagine how the commie professors are laughing up their sleeves?

      My urchins borrowed a bit, but they both totally paid their way, working much of their way through, with good grades and incredible life experience en route. They were forged and tempered. They started excellent and came out even better. There is no need to facilitate university tuition. It is not meant to be easy.   Many, if not most, of those who are on campus would be better off somewhere else.   A master underwater welder makes $300/hour.   First class and deluxe hotels are paying six figures to Managing Chefs, for instance.
      And, if overly facilitated, a graduate winds up as cannon fodder arrogant, ignorant college-drips who feel entitled to something and feel bitter and neglected because there were not 500 employers offering 100,000 dollar/year jobs to people with degrees in "History of Lesbian Circus Performers' Literary Works".

          ''And your degree is in "African Myths and Legends as a major, let's see here, Women's studies as a minor, with emphasis on Eskimoe Serial Murderers as a Justifiable Homocide Sub-group.    And you want 20,000 dollars/month to start, and a chauffeured limousine to take you to and from your office? We'll get right to it!

Thanks for your kind attention, as usual.   Negotiaing with a communist always starts with the communist declaring, "What is mine is mine.   What is yours is negotiable".   One cannot reason or compromise with a communist, a nazi, a socialist of any kind.    The want to dress your children in grey linsey-woolsey, and feed them all bread and water twice a day while they carry dung to the dung heap for Chairman Mao.
El Gringo Viejo