1965 BROWNSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL EAGLE STEALS SECOND AND THIRD, BUT GETS THROWN OUT AT HOME!

                                                                               submitted by Rene Torres

In 1965, A Brownsville High School Eagle replicated Jackie Robinson's slide while stealing  3rd base.  He stole second and third but was cut down at home

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦: 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣'𝗦 "𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗟" 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗦~~𝗪𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗧𝗡𝗔𝗠

 From the editor:  At first glance, the chart below seems to portray the U.S. as very moderate in applying "reciprocal" tariffs to other countries.  One column portends to display the "Tariffs Charged to the U.S.A." and the adjacent column "U.S.A. Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs."

Would you be surprised to know that the entire chart is based on lies?

Let's use one country, Vietnam, as an example.  

According to the chart, Vietnam charges 90% on all products imported from the United States, while, in return, the United States has implemented a seemingly reasonable 46% tariff on the goods Vietnam sells the U.S.  

That is simply not true. 

The United States is given Most Favored Nation (MFN) status by Vietnam, meaning an applied tariff rate of 9.4%.  A few items exported to Vietnam get a higher tariff, 15%.  These include artificial sweeteners, candies, shelled walnuts, ketchup and other tomato sauces, inkjet printers, soda ash and stainless steel bars and tools.

So, why does the Trump administration chart indicate that Vietnam "charges" the U.S. a 90% tariff?  Well, Trump confuses trade deficits with tariffs.  The United States buys far more from Vietnam than they buy from us.

For example, in 2024, the United States bought $119,501,485,006 from Vietnam, while they bought 15,102,669,219 from us.  ($120B vs $15B, rounding off the numbers.) So, the Trump team adds that difference of $105B in trade into the "tariffs" they say Vietnam is charging the U.S., but that's simply not true.  

Of course, Vietnam is a smaller country compared to the U.S., 101M to 340M in population, but also with a much lower per capita income, $5,000 to $70,390.

The full U.S. Report on Vietnam/United States trade for 2024 is reported below as published by the U.S. Trade Representative(USTR).

Vietnam’s Key Exports to the US, 2024
Items	Value (US$)	Proportion
Total	119,501,485,006	100.00%
Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof	23,201,555,610	19.42%
Machine, equipment, tools and instruments	22,052,523,094	18.45%
Textiles and garments	16,151,794,382	13.52%
Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof	9,824,431,700	8.22%
Wood and wooden products	9,056,598,490	7.58%
Foot-wears	8,284,399,219	6.93%
Other products	8,111,464,983	6.79%
Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof	3,273,825,912	2.74%
Plastic products	3,081,809,424	2.58%
Fishery products	1,832,900,465	1.53%
Handbags, purses, suit-cases, headgear and umbrellas	1,802,632,964	1.51%
Toys and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof	1,781,174,208	1.49%
Iron and steel products	1,331,044,294	1.11%
Iron and steel	1,318,963,272	1.10%
Still image, video cameras and sparts thereof	1,208,345,217	1.01%
Cashew nut	1,154,132,402	0.97%
Source: Vietnam Customs

 

Vietnam’s Key Imports from the US, 2024
Items	Value (US$)	Proportion
Total	15,102,669,219	100%
Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof	4,336,277,434	28.71%
Other products	1,580,331,721	10.46%
Machine, equipment, tools and instruments	1,099,999,051	7.28%
Animal folders and animal fodder materials	1,016,019,676	6.73%
Plastics	783,671,648	5.19%
Cotton	680,942,965	4.51%
Chemicals	637,544,790	4.22%
Fruits and vegetables	543,946,784	3.60%
Pharmaceutical products	512,534,682	3.39%
Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof	506,719,140	3.36%
Source: Vietnam Customs

How impactful is the new tariff on Vietnam’s trade?

According to data from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), the US has been Vietnam’s largest export market for many years. For the US, Vietnam stands as the 8th largest trading partner, contributing 4.13 percent of total export turnover to this market. In 2024, Vietnam specifically exported goods worth US$119.5 billion to the US, representing 29.5 percent of the country’s total export turnover. 16 categories of goods exported to the US that achieved an export turnover of US$1 billion or more.

In the first two months of the year, the US remained Vietnam’s primary export market. Export turnover to the US reached US$19.56 billion, accounting for 30 percent of the total national export turnover, marking a 16.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

 

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗚𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗛 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬

From the editor: I've been following the misguided attempts by the Trump administration to discredit the accomplishments and honors given to citizens of color.(Juan Montoya of "El Rrun Rrun" recently did an article featuring Freddy Gonzalez and others so discredited.)

Like a broken record, Trump and his minions claim the accomplishments of these groundbreakers were enhanced by DEI, a viewpoint that's simply an uneducated lie.

What's so ironic is that Trump himself came into the world with a silver spoon in his mouth, then, according to the "New York Times," promptly turned $413M of daddy's money into 6 bankruptcies.  

I started to do an article on Jackie Robinson, a couple weeks ago, when it was initially reported the legendary ballplayer who courageously broke the color barrier was being removed from government sites giving him due honor.  Then, when it looked like the Trumpies were backing off, I decided not to run the article.

Now, it appears that the Trump administration has reverted back to their original racist stance,  reportedly deciding to ban the Jackie Robinson biography from Naval Academy library.

For Trump to insinuate that Jackie Robinson's presence in baseball was some sort of DEI thing is beyond stupid as he was obviously the most talented player in the game the instant he stepped on the field, but racists like Trump find ways to rationalize their racism.

We post the article by Jack Baer below:

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗚𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗛 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬

                                                

Jack Baer, Staff writer

Sat, March 29, 2025 at 6:53 PM CDT

                                        

Jackie Robinson, 1947

A week after removing, then restoring, an article about Jackie Robinson from the Pentagon's website, the Trump administration has reportedly gone back to that well.

A biography about Jackie Robinson has been identified as a candidate for removal from the Nimitz Library at the U.S. Naval Academy due to a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the school to identify books with diversity, equity and inclusion themes and remove them from circulation, according to The New York Times.

The Robinson biography is reportedly one of 900 books identified as conflicting with the order, with other examples including “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.” and “Einstein on Race and Racism.”

                                

The Naval Academy's statement, via NYT:

“The U.S. Naval Academy is fully committed to executing and implementing all directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president and is currently reviewing the Nimitz Library collection to ensure compliance,” said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, a Navy spokesman. “The Navy is carrying out these actions with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives.”

Hegseth is reportedly scheduled to visit the Naval Academy on Tuesday. It's unclear if the flagged books will be removed before his arrival.

The move to remove the Robinson biography comes less than two weeks after the Trump administration received a torrent of criticism for removing an article about the Dodgers legend's Army career from the Department of Defense's website, as well as articles on subjects such as the Navajo code talkers and the first Black recipient of the Medal of Honor.

The article in question, which discussed how Robinson was once court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of a bus, was later restored.

When asked for comment by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot released a statement doubling down on the administration's campaign against diversity initiatives and implying that some content might be removed by mistake

"Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others — we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop. We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like every other American who has worn the uniform."

                                          

Robinson served in the Army from 1942 to 1944 as a second lieutenant in the 761st Tank Battalion. That unit went on to become the first Black tank unit to see combat in World War II. Robinson was unable to join them due to his court martial for protesting a racist policy. (He refused to go to the back of the bus as a Black soldier.) He was later acquitted and went on to break MLB's color barrier.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Robinson's team of 10 years, announced earlier this week that they will visit President Trump at the White House to celebrate their 2024 World Series title in April, the same month they will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on April 15.

𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗗𝗘~𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

                             

President Trump intentionally waited until just after 4 PM Eastern Time to execute his tariffs, just after the markets had closed, delaying the effects of those tariffs on the markets by one day.

While the President has done most of his public tussling with our two evil neighbors, Canada and Mexico, he did not neglect to add tariffs to worldwide locations with few residents and no exportable economy, but even some with no residents besides penguins (Canada may have even escaped Trump tariffs for now).  We've chronicled a few of those below:

1. Tokelau

                                                                 

Some residents of Tokelau

Thanks to the wisdom and insight of President Trump, the residents of the tiny island of Tokelau will be screwing us over no more.      

Situated between New Zealand and Hawaii, Tokelau has few physical links with the wider world. There is no airport and it takes more than a day at sea to reach its southern neighbour, Samoa. Most of the 1,500 islanders live by subsistence farming. Thousands have chosen to leave, usually for New Zealand or Samoa.

Should the greedy Islanders on Tokelau ever decide to start exporting to the U.S., Trump has a 10% tariff waiting for them. 

 

2. Keeling Islands

                                        

Long Beach on Home Island in the Keeling Islands

The Keeling Islands are two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, of which only two – West Island and Home Island – are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocos Malays.

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two flat, low-lying coral atolls with an area of 14.2 square kilometres (5.5 sq mi), 26 kilometres (16 mi) of coastline, a highest elevation of 5 metres (16 ft) and thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation. The climate is pleasant, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with moderate rainfall. Tropical cyclones may occur in the early months of the year.

President Trump has put a stop to economic warfare by the Cocos against the United States with a 10% tariff on anything these Islanders decide to ship to our country.

3. Jan Mayen Island

                                           

Jan Mayen Island

President Trump is really getting ahead of the game as the island of Jan Mayen, given a 10% tariff by the U.S., has no permanent residents.  

The Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Meteorologican Institute do operate a weather station there with a staff of 18 in the winter and 35 in the summer.

Should anyone decide to make Jan Mayen their permanent home and start shipping goods to the United States, President Trump has a 10% tariff waiting for them.

4. Heard and McDonald Islands

                               

Proud Penguins of Heard and McDonald Islands

                            

The Heard and McDonald Islands are two volcanic islands totally uninhabited except for a sizeable population of penguins.  The island can be accessed by a two week boat ride from Western Australia. Should someone decide to move to either of these islands, possibly exporting penguin excrement to the United States, President Trump has that potential economic warfare already covered with a 10% tariff on anything exported from either Heard or McDonald Island.

4. The Falkland Islands

                                          

The Falklands, with 3,200 people and over one million penguins, has been given a 41% tariff, perhaps a bit harsher because it's a territory of Great Britain.  

The Falkland Islands do export products to the United States and other countries in the following amounts USD: molluscs ($309M), non-fillet frozen fish ($41.5M), wool ($6.32M), sheep and goat meat ($2.2M), and fish fillets ($949k), exporting mostly to Spain ($248M), Morocco ($36.6M), United States ($27.4M), Namibia ($10M), and Germany ($6.16M).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~𝗥.𝗜.𝗣. 𝗝𝗢𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔!!!!

                                                                 

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗥𝗬𝗔𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗭 𝟯𝟬𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗛 𝗔𝗧 𝗟𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗔 𝗗𝗘 𝗟𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔

 Photos courtesy of Jerry Danache

𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰, 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞'𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗜𝗦 "𝗡𝗢 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗" 𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘

                                      

Well, maybe the Musk/Trump tide is turning.  After Musk bought the U.S. presidency for Donald Trump in 2024, donating $277M to the campaign, then, after the inauguration, pledging another $100M to Trump's America P.A.C., he turned his attention to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

After jumping up and down for Donald Trump, Musk donned a Wisconsin cheese hat and spent $21M on conservative Brad Schimel, but that went for naught as Susan Crawford won handily, 55% to 45%.

“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”

                                 

Susan Crawford wins Supreme Court judgeship in Wisconsin

Republicans did win a couple races in super red Florida, but not by the margins anticipated, but America is not out of the woods yet, as Trump increasingly mimicks his dictatorial idols; Putin, Orban, Jong Un, etc.  

Hopefully, the Statue of Liberty will not "sail away to sea" just yet.

                                                                 

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧: 𝟭 𝗜𝗡 𝟱 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦~𝟴𝟭% 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬

                                                                   "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  Saint Matthew, Chapter 25, Verse 40 

Bishop Mark Seitz, Diocese of El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – One in five Catholic families in the United States stands to feel the pain from mass deportations promised by the Trump administration, a coalition of faith leaders said on Monday.

That’s how many Catholics have a family member – a parent, a spouse, themselves – who is undocumented and could face deportation proceedings in the next four years, the leaders said.

Mark J. Seitz, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso and chairman of the Migration Committee of the U.S. Conference on Bishops, said the deportations will not only separate families but also send hard-working God-fearing immigrants back to the crime, violence and poverty that made them flee to America in the first plac

“People are going to return to that situation but worse than before because they sold everything they had when they left. Now, they’re going with no resources to countries with economies in shambles,” Seitz said. 

Add the danger of organized criminal activity or a government that persecutes the opposition and, “people are going to die if this deportation effort continues at the level it is.”

Others said the deportations could decimate religious congregations at a time church membership in America is on a downward slide.

“We want churches to grow,” said Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. “Most evangelical Christians don’t want to see deportations on this scale of people who have not committed violent crimes, who go to our churches and who would be separated from their families.”

                                     

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Brownsville, Texas

The coalition on Monday presented findings from a new report titled, “One Part of the Body.” It was sponsored by the Conference of Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, and World Relief.

“In the U.S., immigrants from various countries form integral parts of the Body of Christ. Most are lawfully present, but a significant share is vulnerable to deportation whether because they have no legal status or their legal protection could be withdrawn,” the report states.

Coalition members said they will urge churchgoers and American lawmakers who identify themselves as Christians to oppose the removal of those who came to the country without permission but have demonstrated willingness to work and otherwise have a track record of lawful conduct.

27 religious groups are suing Trump over refusal to block immigration arrests in houses of worship

“The people who are coming are people who uphold values that we in the past have considered central to our country,” Seitz said. “It’s sad when people suggest these immigrants are a threat to the values of our country. From what I have personally witnessed [….] these are people that are very much reinforcing those values of faith and strength of family and love for their community.”

The leaders said they’re not opposed to securing the border but urge changes to the law so that the undocumented as well as those who were admitted through temporary visas may have a path to legal status.

They’re also concerned that America’s image as a beacon of religious freedom is being tarnished.

“There is a deep concern in the global Christian community of the perception that immigrant communities no longer welcome,” Kim said. “It is concerning because America has been seen as a place that protects religious freedom.”

                                         

The report states that 81% of immigrants in the U.S. with no lawful status or with temporary protections that President Donald Trump is threatening to withdraw are Christians.

“We don’t believe people voting for the present administration were voting for the extreme measures put into place now or did not realize the implications of those measures,” Seitz said. Those at risk of deportation are “literally their neighbors, the people they worship with on Sunday, who mow their lawns, fix their roofs and pick their crops.”

𝗠𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝟮𝟯 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 𝗔𝗧 𝗘𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣'𝗦 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗛𝗘𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬

                                                           

                                                               

Patrick Crusius, center

On August 3, 2019, Patrick Crusius walked into an El Paso Walmart carrying an automatic rifle, taking aim at Hispanic customers, killing 23, wounding 22.

The people who were killed ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several grandparents, included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, tradesmen, including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.

According to El Paso Matters, a free, online newsletter, Crusius' attorney, Richard Spencer, claims that racist rhetoric by the President Donald Trump had motivated the killer.

“He thought he had to stop the invasion because that’s what his president was telling him, which is just not rational,” defense attorney Joe Spencer said in his first extended interview about the mass shooting that Crusius said was meant to stop “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

“He thought, if he doesn’t do it, then nobody’s going to do it. He’s got to start,” Spencer said.

As reported in El Paso Matters: 

"Crusius, now 26, is expected to plead guilty April 21 to charges of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. District Attorney James Montoya announced on Tuesday that state prosecutors would no longer seek the death penalty, meaning Crusius will be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. He also has been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms after pleading guilty to federal weapons and hate crime charges."

Spencer said Crusius told him that a key event leading to the murderous rampage in El Paso occurred in May 2019 in Panama City Beach, Florida, when Trump spoke at a rally.

“I mean, you have 15,000 people marching up and you have hundreds and hundreds of people and you have two or three border security people that are brave and great,” Trump said, then added falsely that Border Patrol agents weren’t allowed to use weapons.

“But how do you stop these people?” Trump said.

“Shoot them,” someone in the audience shouted, drawing laughter from the crowd and a smile from the president. 

“That’s only in the (Florida) Panhandle you can get away with that statement,” Trump said while shaking his head. “Only in the Panhandle.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~𝘽𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙄𝙍𝙀 𝙊𝙇𝙄𝙂𝘼𝙍𝘾𝙃𝙎 𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙍𝙐𝙈𝙋 𝘼𝘿𝙈𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉

 

Elon Musk, D.O.G.E.,  Linda McMahon, Department of Education,  Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary,  Howard Lutnik,  Secretary of Commerce, Kelly Loeffler, Small Business  Administration, Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator

𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞'𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗪 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗦~~𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗔𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗡𝗪𝗦 𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗭𝗘𝗡𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗠'𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗬

                                                 

Not only has Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) been shown to greatly exaggerate the savings it's generated, it will likely end up losing far more federal revenue than it saves.  

Musk's cuts are not surgical, but reckless, typically just reducing staff sizes, a move that usually doesn't make a department more efficient.

The Internal Revenue Service, for example, is projecting a $500B shortfall in collected revenue as Musk cuts I.R.S. staff, particularly those in enforcement, that is roughly 10% of total taxes legitimately due.  Reading the current mood of the taxpaying public, the I.R.S. fully expects a segment of the population to simply not file their taxes knowing the staff to audit or enforce tax laws has been considerably reduced.

                          

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA), of which the National Weather Service (NWS) is a part, forecasting hurricanes, tornadoes and forest fires, has a benefit to cost ratio of 24:1, while the NWS is projected to be at 72:1.  NOAA's annual $13-14B effects savings 100-fold in terms, not only in lives saved, with warnings that allow citizens to get to safety before being overwhelmed by such natural disasters.  In 2024, the U.S. experienced losses exceeding $1B in 27 separate events: 1 flooding event, 17 severe storms, 5 tropical cyclone events, 1 wildfire event and two winter storm events. (Again, damages exceeded $1B in each event.)

Musk has already cut 1,300 staffers from N.O.A.A., not to make the agency more efficient, but because the agency currently has oversight over space operations Musk wants to privatize.

Musk's primary focus, though, seems to be on making cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, despite the fact that Trump has repeatedly promised not to do exactly that.

My thinking is that many MAGA adherents, will soon come face to face with how little Trump cares about their actual needs.  Unfortunately, they've been conned, duped and tricked, but, now in town halls in Republican districts across the country, many are slowly coming to grips with the true cost of Trump 2.0 and they're not happy about it.

                                

𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗧 𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗕, 𝗡𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗞𝗬, 𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗡𝗣𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖~𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗭𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗣𝗢'𝗦 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗢𝗖𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗥𝗗

                                               

Nurith Galonsky

On January 22, I received the text:  "This is Nurith Galonsky for the City Commissioner at Large "B" Campaign.  Brownsville is our home, and we want to fix its problems.  Perhaps you want to help us improve our city.  Let us know your most pressing issues."

Then, this past Friday, March 28, I received another text:  "I'm Nurith Galonsky for City Commissioner.  If you are concerned about streets and traffic, can I send you some information on how we can fix them?"

Since this was a more specific request, I responded immediately: "Of course."  

Ms Galonsky responded yesterday:  "Thank you so much.  Here is a link to my video in which I explain the issue and how I think we can solve it.  Let me know what you think!"  https://.www.nurithgalonsky.-com/about/.

In the short 3 or 4 minute clip above, Galonsky states the obvious:  We need money, better planning and all the necessary city road projects can't be done simultaneously.  She suggests better coordination with elected state officials, securing TXDOT loans.  Then, appealing to citizens, she says that we may have a better concept of a road or highway's deficiencies than could be obtained from an expensive study.

First of all, the roads are much improved since my first stint in Brownsville, 1966-70.  Most of the side roads were clay back then, impassable when it rained. Some of the more heavily trafficked side roads got a layer of caliche over the clay dirt, improving somewhat.  My late father-in-law, Manuel Perez, living on Cental Avenue when it was simply clay, would leave his car on FM 802 and drive a Honda 3-wheeler from his house to FM 802 on rainy days.  Years ago, some of us used seashells mounded up near the railroad tracks in West Brownsville to cover the clay.  A few pickup truck loads could make a clay road passable, and, over time, the shells were crushed into a good driving surface.

Some of the main arteries, like Old Port Isabel Road, were narrow, two laned roads made in concrete sections. (If you weren't careful, you could drive off the side into clay.)

Before I-69 split the city in two, streets like Los Ebanos, where the U.S. Post Office is located, were main arteries.  At one time Los Ebanos Boulevard ran from many blocks west of Central Boulevard all the way to Boca Chica Boulevard in one fell swoop.  

As someone who used to regularly attend meetings of the local Metropolitian Planning Organization before it morphed into a regional one, even seeing the plan for a median-separated Boca Chica Boulevard before that shitty plan came to fruition. 

Anyway, since Nurith asked, here's a few of my observations about the changes made by the MPO and TXDOT to Boca Chica Blvd. a few years ago:

The shit show that is Boca Chica Boulevard is a living testament to millions of taxpayer dollars wasted by Brownsville's incompetent Metropolitan Planning Organization before it was eaten by the bigger fish, the Rio Grande Valley MPO.

The old Triple A farm team MPO was always dominated by the informative, but condescending Mark Lund, who presided over MPO meetings like a strict schoolmarm hovering over wayward students, asking and answering his own rhetorical questions, entertaining himself with  witticisms and asides only he found humorous.

Several years ago, I attended the MPO meetings discussing the proposed changes to Boca Chica Boulevard presided over by Mark Lund.  

An artist's rendering of the "new" median-divided Boca Chica Boulevard was propped up on a tripod.

Of course, it wasn't until traffic flow began to be hampered by traffic cones and the construction of the concrete barrier that Brownsville taxpayers began to complain.

An aspect of road construction not widely known is that the planning agency feels compelled to utilize their entire annual budget on projects, lest that budget be reduced the following year.  That thinking did play a part in the Boca Chica project.

Let's examine some of the problems created by the medianing of Boca Chica Boulevard.

Whether or not Boca Chica's traffic lights are synchronized is not the issue, it's the difficulty accessing a business you want to patronize on the opposite side of Boca Chica. 

The largest retailer in that stretch of Boca Chica, the H.E.B. Supermarket, can no longer be accessed with a direct left turn, but drivers from the east are given two awkward, unwieldy options:

1.  Make a U-turn at the U-Haul Trailer facility, then navigate the many speed bumps across the parking lot and a concrete barrier in front of U-Haul to find a narrow lane behind Chase Bank leading to the H.E.B. parking lot.

2.  Pass H.E.B. going west and turn left at the traffic light at Paredes Line Road.  Proceed approximately two blocks to access H.E.B. from the west side of the parking lot.

Going east, the revamped Boca Chica Boulevard forces drivers wanting to access the strip mall containing D.D.'s Discounts, etc. to pass the area, then u-turn back to it.  

Vehicles traveling east on Boca Chica, attempting to enter the Walmart parking, face the option of sitting through four red lights to turn left on Old Port Isabel Road or execute a U-turn much further east.

Dozens of cars at a time are exiting or entering the narrow opening of a tiny strip mall turning it into a heavily-trafficked side road. 

Boca Chica Boulevard has needlessly become a congested little mess, victimized by poor design, more than actual traffic.

Piss poor "planning" MPO!

                                        

Mark Lund

This new dangerously congested stretch of what is actually Texas Highway 4 needs to be renamed "Mark Lund Boulevard," to recognize its primary bureaucratic creator. 

Others running for City Commissioner At Large B, besides Nurith Galonsky, include Roy De Los Santos, Alejandro Garcia and Jason Moody.