TSC TRUSTEE DR. REYNOLDO GARCIA ENDORSES TAD HASSE FOR STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Yes, Tad Hasse ran for County Treasurer, then for TSC Trustee, losing both races.

Surprisingly, Hasse has a good relationship with both victors, David Betancourt and Dr. Reynoldo Garcia, because, in both cases, Tad ran a clean, issues-oriented campaign.  That's just Tad.  He's into ideas, not personality conflicts.

Now, TSC Trustee Dr. Reynaldo Garcia, who defeated Hasse in 2012, has endorsed him.

Dr. Reynaldo Garcia, TSC Trustee

"I strongly support Tad Hasse for the State Board of Education.

He is the best and most qualified candidate for the position."

Dr. Reynaldo Garcia
TSC Trustee

To those who know Hasse, this endorsement and the good will it represents is no surprise.  Tad was extremely gracious in 2012, conceding the TSC trustee election to Dr. Garcia.  Please note Tad's remarks:






Tad Hasse
May 13, 2012

"I wish to thank everyone for all their help and support. 

Before any of the vote totals were released, Dr. Garcia, his wife and I had an engaging conversation over the past, present, and future direction of TSC and I was more than satisfied that we sought exactly the same thing for our community, as were they. 

We both offered our mutual support for the continued progress of TSC. It is so funny that I spent most of last night consoling supporters who thought I felt bad about losing. The more I spoke with Dr. Garcia, the more confidence I had in him, and he in me. 

If all elections could be as clean and issue based as this one was, we all felt it would be a much better community and nation. 

If it sounds like I am singing my opponent's praises, you are right. We both felt exactly that way, and he accepted my offer of help along the way because of all of the research I had done on the situation, which Kiko was kind enough to step in and verify to him. 

Thank you for everything and being part of the small but active members of the community that work for positive change."

WILL GRANDSON JACK TURN OUT LIKE CAIN, ABEL OR THE CARNIVOROUS JEHOVAH

On the second to last day before March, as Nena and I were met at the gate by 7 year old grandson Jack, I asked innocently:  "Where's your dad?"

The normally sweet little boy, suddenly sounded  like a surly teenager:  "I don't monitor my father's movements," he replied with his smallish voice.

The snarky remark, constructed with adult words but without adult understanding of their effect, was quickly handled by Nena.

"Jack, have you ever heard the story of Cain and Able?" Nena asked, falling back on her old belief system.

Nena and I, neither true believers in God or his Book, nonetheless have our brain cells filled with Biblical anecdotes, Scriptural quotes, parables and Beasts of the Revelation.  Involuntarily, we call on this old, long since debunked mythology to explain current life situations.

As Nena passionately conveyed the story of Cain and Able, Jack's eyes got bigger, then bigger.

Grandma related how when the God of the Universe asked Cain the whereabouts of his brother, Cain responded:  "Am I my brother's keeper?" a statement resembling Jack's answer to my question about his dad's whereabouts.

Jack seemed to get the point, patting me on the back with his little hand:  "I'm sorry Grandpa."

THE STORY OF CAIN, ABLE AND CARNIVOROUS JEHOVAH

God has long had a preoccupation, if not an obsession with meat. Although Cain worked hard to produce an offering of vegetables, it was rejected by God because it was not meat.(Able's meat sacrifice met quickly with divine favor.) 

Many years later, Israelite priests were instructed to save certain cuts of meat for the Lord God, the fatty portions. (Not my personal preference, but then I'm not God.) 

At times church leaders have tried to explain away certain actions attributed to God as anthromorphic, that is, human traits attributed to a deity. The Almighty, they say, is really not "hurt" by human actions, nor does he really crave meat, they imply.  He's just trying show humans how pitiful they act and look.  What?

God made specific rules about the eating of meat. At first(until the flood) no meat could be eaten.(Evidently, Abel was as sheep herder only for the wool and hides.) Interesting that righteous Abel, just outside the Garden of Eden, offered essentially illegal contraband, meat, even "their fatty pieces" and it was readily accepted by Jehovah. 

After the flood "every flying creature, every moving animal and fish" became fair game so to speak. With the Mosaic Law God greatly limited the types of meat that could be eaten. Church historians have strongly hinted that preventing diseases like trichinosis played a part in God's new meat rules prohibiting pork, etc. 

Its a shame that God wouldn't have moved earlier and  protected his "friends" Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or ancient greats like Job and Melchizadek from trichinosis. 

Later on God used quail meat to punish ungrateful Israelites who tired of manna during their 40 year trek through the wilderness. He made them eat quail till it came out of their noses. You can even get tired of Big Macs if you eat them every day.

The Book hints that paradise will be vegetarian. Animals will lose their carnivoristic predisposition. Isaiah tells us in prophecy: "the lion will eat straw just like the bull." 

Yet, before God introduces the vegan lifestyle, according to the Book of Revelation, he has scheduled one final meat lovers' "Evening Meal of God" to consume all the dead carcasses from Armageddon. Presumably birds of prey and other still carnivorous creatures will enjoy God's Great Meat Dinner.

This future vegetarian paradise leaves many questions unanswered. Will fish distinguish between animal, bacterial and plant plankton? Will purple martins still consume 600 mosquitoes an hour? What will ant eaters use their snouts for?

Humans may be able to satisfy their cravings by eating "well-oiled dishes filled with marrow," not really meat, but close. 

HASSE GETS ENDORSEMENT FROM THE CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER TIMES WHILE ERIC GARZA FLUNKS BASIC ENGLISH

Putting it bluntly, while stating the obvious, all newspaper endorsements are not equal.

Corpus Christi native, but longtime Brownsville resident Tad Hasse found his campaign for the State Board of Education endorsed by the newspaper with the largest circulation in District 2, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, while his inexperienced opponent, Eric Garza, garnered support from the Colorado County Citizen, a weekly published in podunk Columbus, TX, population 3,500.

In endorsing Hasse, the Caller Times cited the City of Brownsville Information Technology specialist's experience as a teacher and scout leader, but also noted that his primaries opponent, Eric Garza, had an association with "a Koch brothers-funded front for pushing public funding of private and charter schools."

Eric Garza

Young Garza had difficulty writing a basic platform statement for a voters' guide produced by the League of Women Voters.  Problems with sentence structure, grammar and conflicting statements rendered Eric's statement almost unreadable.

See if Eric sounds like someone qualified to serve on an education board with his statement below:

"Invest of dollars from the Texas Permanent School Fund should be spent in a responsible manner that holds districts accountable for how they spend their dollars for instruction and not for higher level administrative salaries and costs."

What is an "invest of dollars," Eric?  The word invest is, of course, a verb, not a noun as Eric tried to use it in a sentence.  This would not be an issue if young Eric wasn't running for a seat on the Board of Education.

Elvis Presley - Little Sister/Get Back 29/07/70 Rehearsal Version (compl...

LOCAL REPUBLICAN PRIMARY BATTLE FOR SBOE EASY CHOICE ACCORDING TO READER

From the editor: The commentary below was sent to us anonymously. We post it here as it relates to the local Republican primary race for a position on the Texas State Board of Education and should create some dialogue about the candidates Tad Hasse and Eric Garza: 

Tuesday is the start of early voting in the Texas Primaries. As has been the growing trend, roughly 60% or maybe more voters will choose to vote early “and often” as politicos like to say.

That is why it’s paramount to discuss what has and hasn’t happened during the campaign up to this point in particular the race for Texas State Board of Education District 2 on the Republican side.

This blog was privy to various tit for tat

Tad Hasse

commentary and articles regarding the race between unknown lightweight Eric Garza and computer expert and local Republican party officer Charles “Tad” Hasse.

Garza is tied for better or worse to Adela Garza who floundered her opportunity to be the Republican nominee for Congress some years back against a little known Jessica Puente Bradshaw. Eric Garza in his campaign to crawl out from Adela’s shadow failed on multiple fronts to differentiate himself from anything other than a gadfly trying to get a smiley face grade in kindergarten.

Eric Garza

Eric Garza never had any plan or intention of winning the general. He didn’t timely submit his nomination for treasurer even though he publicly announced his full intention to run for this office. He essentially violated state rules in campaigning without a treasurer on file with the Texas Ethics Commission. This demonstrates his lackluster organization and how he was never a serious candidate.

The incumbent in the race is Ruben Cortez, a well known Democrat from the deep blue Rio Grande Valley. The Brownsville resident is a seasoned campaigner with the ability to fundraiser and defeat a candidate like Eric Garza in the general election. Eric Garza has NEVER responded with a plan to win in November.

Ruben Cortez

The Republicans of the 17 counties that encompass Texas State Board of Education District 2 would be foolish and downright dumb to nominate a neophyte like Eric Garza.

On the other hand, Republicans would be wise to consider and vote for Charles “Tad” Hasse, a well known politico from Brownsville in Cameron County, the seat of TSBOE 2. His friendship with officeholders and politicos on both sides of the aisle would pay dividends in the general election. It’s clear based on voting patterns that the right Republican can and should win in a midterm election in this TSBOE district. Hasse offered a campaign plan that includes grassroots, advertising, and political connections to beat Cortez in the general election.

Hasse’s technological expertise will also help in his campaign and more importantly once in office. His strategy focusing on his mathematical background and the lack of a mathematician on the statewide board that selects textbooks and plans for the educational standards of the second largest state in the United States is, for lack of a better word, genius. Tad Hasse has all the intangibles that Eric Garza does not.

With his team of support in all 17 counties, Tad Hasse can count on a historical upset victory come this November but only if he wins his party’s nomination in March. Anything but an overwhelming support for Hasse in the Republican Primary would be a mistake the Republicans can little afford to make.

A CONSPIRACY THEORY TRUMP MISSED; TRUMP'S CONTINUED SUPPORT FROM RELIGIOUS RIGHT

It would have been there for the taking, an easy slam.

Had the Parkland massacre occurred during the Republican primary in 2016, Trump might have hinted that the little fart who killed 17 students in Florida's Broward County, Nikolas Cruz, was somehow related to Senator Ted Cruz.

It would have been a more believable story than the one Trump told during the campaign, alleging that Ted Cruz's dad was involved in the Kennedy assassination, a little tid bit Trump gleaned from the National Enquirer and revealed in an interview with Fox News: 

“His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being — you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said Tuesday during a phone interview with Fox News. “What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don't even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it.”

“I mean, what was he doing — what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting?” Trump continued. “It’s horrible.”

In any other year or any other campaign, Trump would have been laughed off the political stage, instantly disqualified, unfit for office, but truth, facts, even slander are viewed differently now.

"It was social media," explained Diego Lee Rot, 46, someone from a different generation than mine.  

"People got accustomed to reading and believing fabricated reports and running with them as gospel," Rot explained.

The strangest and most obvious hypocrisy is the support Trump gets from the religious right.  They could not care less about Trump's lifestyle or constant lying as long as he appoints judges who will oppose abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control.

As one teacher explained it:  "We elected a president, not a pastor."

Even some of the most religious women in our community are dyed-in-the-wool Trumpites.  We include this quote from a 2016 Brownsville Observer article:

It just seems odd, incongruous, that professedly Christian women, who would not tolerate a Playboy magazine in their house or apartment, read the Bible daily and pray nightly, would unhesitatingly identify themselves with a man so openly disrespectful of women, minorities, the disabled and even war heroes like John McCain.

Letty Garzoria-Perez

Among others, my friend, Letty Perez-Garzoria, comes to mind. Letty plays piano for weekly services at the West Brownsville Iglesia Bautista, knows the Word like the back of her hand and would take a nickel found in an H.E.B. parking lot to the store office. In other words, Ms. Garzoria, a widow, is the epitome of Biblical morality.

Yet, the virtuous Garzoria posts daily timelines on Facebook extolling the virtues of Trump, many being articles from the online vehicle, Liberty Writers News.

Jessica Puente-Bradshaw

Another friend, Jessica Puente-Bradshaw, once named as one of the
"Hottest Republican Politicians in the U.S.," a former congressional opponent of Filemon Vela and a candidate for several other local offices, like Ms. Garzoria, pushes daily the Trump candidacy.

Bradshaw, who would slap the shit out of Trump if he tried to grab anything, is a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

WILL THE PARKLAND SHOOTING BE THE LAST SCHOOL MASSACRE IN THE U.S.?

Diego Lee Rot Eating Chips

After imbibing one and one half cups of hard cider at Diego Lee Rot's West Brownsville abode, my lap top fingers were a-twitching to write something about the Parkland shooting.

This article's headline, written before the article, in defiance of Journalism 101, is illogically optimistic, calling the school massacre our country's "last."

The truth is that there will likely be many more school massacres utilizing an AR 15 assault weapon,  or worse, as long as President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio continue to wear N.R.A., National Rifle Association monogrammed silk panties.

Trump, receiving a $30,000,000 contribution from the N.R.A. for his 2016 presidential run, also sports a matching 48B brassiere, he proudly wore while tweeting in response to the Parkland shooting:  

"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"

The silk-pantied Donald is right.  Neighbors and classmates are responsible for the shooting by not reporting the mentally disturbed person, not the president who opposes ANY restriction on the sale of weapons, even automatic ones to eighteen year olds.

VP Mike Pence, Mrs. Pence, Senator Cruz
Disembarking at McAllen's Miller Airport

There was no reported "pantie check" at McAllen's Miller Airport Friday as Vice-President Mike Pence, Mrs. Pence and Senator Ted Cruz disembarked.  We suspect N.R.A. silk for Cruz and possibly matching N.R.A. boxer shorts for the Pences.

All oppose any restrictions on automatic weapons no matter how many school kids get slaughtered.

One of may Parkland parents and students speaking out, Lori Alhadeff, mother of 14 year old Alyssa Alhadeff, killed in the shooting:

“President Trump, you say, ‘What can you do?’

Lori Alhadeff, Mother of Alyssa Alhadeff

You can stop the guns from getting into these children’s hands. Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do? You can do a lot. This is not fair to our families. That our children go to school and have to get killed. . . . . . . I just spent the last two hours putting the burial arrangements for my daughter’s funeral who is fourteen. President Trump, please do something. Do something. Action, action, action. We need it now. These kids need safety now.”

Mrs. Alhadeff lost her daughter Alyssa in Thursday's school massacre.

Alyssa Alhadeff, 14

FIGHT OVER CONFEDERATE ROCK GETS PERSONAL IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Now that the Eagles have dispatched the Patriots, we're reminded of Brownsville's emotional Super Bowl, what to do with the Confederate Monument in Washington Park.

"It's not a monument!" claims Diego Lee Rot, music writer for the Brownsville Observer.

"It's a heavy roadside marker, an ugly one at that," Diego continued.

"Put the thing back at Elizabeth and Palm so drivers will know they're entering the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway and, if they veer off the road at that point, they will total their car."

"I'm not sure that was ever the start of the highway," I responded.

"The original plan for the highway was to start at Arlington, Virginia, the home of the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery," I continued, displaying knowledge gleaned from wikipedia.

Civil Rights March Near Selma, Alabama c. 1965

"The plan was to go south from Arlington, through Florida and across the South, ending at San Diego, California," I continued.

It's true.  Brownsville is not part of the original highway, just part of a extreme south spur.  There are actually about twenty of these roadside markers across the state and many others in Alabama and Louisiana.  My home state of Washington had several, but they've been removed or placed in museums.

The war of words continues in Brownsville, recently spilling over into my Facebook page.

It seems to have gotten personal between Javier R. Garcia and Rafael Collado.

The 9/11 Attack Turned the Super Bowl into a Sacred, Patriotic Event

On September 11, 2001, the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the attacks.

Americans clutched their kids, buried their dead and built monuments on the Twin Towers grounds.  Mike Moran, a New York firefighter, spoke for all Americans at a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden when he shouted:  

"Osama bin Laden you can kiss my royal Irish ass!"

Many countrymen said:

"If we act scared, the terrorists win!"

So Americans pretended not to be scared, continued to populate rock concerts, football games and, of course, the Super Bowl, every event with tightened security and a sense of patriotism.

I had watched the first two Super Bowls, or NFL-AFL World Championships as then advertised, with a certain young arrogance. 

"How could an AFL team beat the Green Bay Packers" I asked, along with millions of others. 

They couldn't.  Green Bay kicked ass in both games against Kansas City and Oakland.

In 1969 Joe Willie Namath of Beaver Falls, PA and the University of Alabama led the New York Jets into Super Bowl III against the favored Baltimore Colts.  Most sports fans viewed the Jets' chances as dismal as they viewed Cassius Clay's years before against Sonny Liston.

Joe Namath

Selling thousands more copies of the New York Times, Namath cockily "guaranteed" victory and delivered on the promise.

The following year, 1970, the NFL and AFL merged into the current league.

Fast forward nearly fifty years and the National Football League faces its biggest challenge; the longterm health of its players.

The average lifespan of an NFL player is considerably shorter than the norm.  Players take hits to their head from the Pee Wee League to the NFL and it adds up to permanent damage.

Nena reminds me of these reports.  Bob Costas, one of my favorite broadcasters, no longer works the Super Bowl with his views on the game's permanent head injuries well known.

"Do you want your grandson playing football?" Nena asks.

Like a hypocrite, I still watch.  

At halftime, it's Philadelphia 22, New England 12.

Stay tuned!

HOW ARRESTED EDINBURG JUDGE FOSTERED VOTER FRAUD IN CAMERON COUNTY

District Judge Rudy Delgado,
Arrested by FBI Friday in Edinburg

Judge Rodolfo "Rudy" Delgado was arrested at his home in Edinburg Friday by the F.B.I. with nothing revealed yet as to charges.

In 2010-11, Delgado, a crony of the ultra-slimy Gilberto Hinojosa, was selected as a substitute judge in the Ernie Hernandez-Ruben Pena voter fraud trial.

At the time, this blog reported two distinct incidents during the trial, both weakly handled by Delgado, allowing the status quo on the use of politiqueras and the mishandling of mail-in ballots to continue.  Here is a snippet from our 2012 report:

"Four prominent Brownville politiqueras were identified and received trial subpoenas: Norma Hernandez(Ernie's wife), Herminia Becerra, Amadeo Rodriguez and Margarita Ozuna (not to be confused with political activist Maggie Ozuna). All four went into hiding! Three process servers and one detective could not locate the witnesses so critical to the trial.

Ruben Pena

Here are Ruben Pena's discouraging opening remarks at the trial:

'Herminia Becerra, Norma Hernandez, Amadeo Rodriguez and Margarita Ozuna. . . . we immediately issued out trial subpoenas for them, and through today we have not been able to find a single one of them They are not to be found. They, as I predicted, are hiding . . . . . . These individuals are very critical to this case. They are the individuals who, for the most part, obtained almost a majority of the mail-in ballots, along with the applications. Without their presence, without their testimony, our case is going to be very hampered and very limited.'
Of course, these four can be seen around town prominently at many political events. Certainly, Ernie Hernandez knew where his wife was. But, the four politiqueras had no interest in the truth or having their day in court and cowardly went into hiding. In a way, it made perfect sense. If you have absolutely no respect for the election process, why would you respect the judicial process?"

Not only did the four politiqueras, including Ernie Hernandez's wife Norma, make themselves scarce for the trial, witnesses willing to testify about the mishandling of their mail-in ballots were surreptitiously sent home early.  Here is more from our 2012 report:

Sylvia Garza-Perez

"Then, during a break in the trial, Ernie Hernandez sympathizer Sylvia Garza-Perez, it is alleged, sent home the critically needed voters waiting to testify about their stolen votes. Delgado stated in his ruling that, while he believed those who had testified, the sheer numbers were not enough to overturn the election. Of course! The needed witnesses had been sent home! A missed opportunity to right the Cameron County electoral ship!"

Epilogue:  As we hear the actual charges against Judge Rudy Delgado today, we can recall the role he played in Brownsville and Cameron County in fostering a continued environment for voter fraud.

FWIW, we heard later that the four politiqueras, including Ernie's wife Norma, were holed up in a condo on S.P.I. during the trial.\



  

John McCain: "We're Doing Putin's Job for Him"

From the editor:  While gutless wonders House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lift their petticoats to dance to the Trump polka, Senator John McCain, one of the few real men in Congress, trashes the White House-orchestrated Nunes memo.

We share his statement below:

Senator John McCain

"In 2016, the Russian government engaged in an elaborate plot to interfere in an American election and undermine our democracy. Russia employed the same tactics it has used to influence elections around the world, from France and Germany to Ukraine, Montenegro, and beyond. Putin’s regime launched cyberattacks and spread disinformation with the goal of sowing chaos and weakening faith in our institutions. And while we have no evidence that these efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling political discord and dividing us from one another.

The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests – no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s. The American people deserve to know all of the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation must proceed unimpeded. Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him."

ANONYMOUS COMMENTER DISPUTES OUR REPORT ON GALONSKY-NEECE REMODEL AT 1203 E. WASHINGTON STREET

From the editor:  We received an anonymous email comment at 1:13 AM concerning our report that the Galonsky-owned property at 1203 E. Washington Street was being remodeled by City Commissioner Ben Neece without permits.

We'd also reported that the remodeling was being performed in lieu of paying rent on the property.

We reprint the comment below:

"Jim: If you would, actually, check on the rumors being fed to you, you'd see that 1203 E Washington is registered at the City Engineer's office, a permit was issued for remodeling, a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued for a Commercial/Residential Use and Abraham Galonsky doesn't own the property. Just saying, Mr. Rumor Control."

Actually, we did not rely on rumors in reporting that no permits had been issued by the City of Brownsville for the remodel at 1203 E. Washington Street.  We sent a Public Information Request to City Secretary Griselda Rosas on December 22, 2017, receiving an answer on January 5, 2018.

We post the city's response below:

Public Information 2017-694    January 5, 2018


Good Morning Mr. Barton,

This message is a response to your request listed below. The report was asked from the Building Department, they report no permits were issued.

Thank you

Juan Carlos (Johnny) Gutierrez

Records Management Specialist

City of Brownsville | Office of the City Secretary
1034 E. Levee St. | P.O. Box 911 | Brownsville, TX 78520

Tel: 956/548-6067 | Fax: 956/546-2130

juan.gutierrez@cob.us | www.cob.us





P Go Green! Please do not print this e-mail unless completely necessary.

From: Jim Barton [mailto:barton873@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2017 1:47 PM
To: public request <public.inforequest@cob.us>
Subject: Public Information Request

Please show any and all permits during 2017 for 1203 E. Washington Street.

Thanks,
Jim Barton

First of all, who sent this anonymous comment?  It could have been sent by Ben Neece, although Ben typically communicates directly, signing his name.

Nurith Galonsky

It could also have been sent by Nurith Galonsky, Abraham's daughter.  Nurith, with a law degree from SMU, has recently been appointed to a couple city boards.  It's possible that Nurith, not Abraham, actually owns the property now identified as 1203 E. Washington Street.

The Public Information Request above shows we were not relying on mere rumors in our report.  We did our due diligence.

Notice that the anonymous comment did not say WHEN 1203 E. Washington Street was permitted.  It's entirely possible that permit was issued AFTER our Public Information Request was received and shared in our report.