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| City Manager Helen Ramirez~$247,235 annual salary |
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| BCIC Director Cori Pena~$120,000 annual salary |
Thursday, August 31, 2023
HAVE THESE GIRLS SQUANDERED $750,000 IN BROWNSVILLE SALES TAX DOLLARS???
BLAST FROM THE PAST~PRIDE EVENT ORGANIZER BLOCKS REPORTER
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| Joe Uvalles II as "Beatrix LeStrange" |
As a 4 year old kid on Union Avenue in Seattle, I walked to the corner grocery to spend my nickel, either on an ice cream cone or a roll of red "caps" that would pop on the sidewalk when hit with a rock.
One day, I saw a tall black man wearing a dress and I ran into the house to ask my mother: "Why is that man wearing a dress?"
My mother simply said: "Don't look at him!" never answering my question.
Admittedly, in the 50's we used words that are now unacceptable to describe people; retard, spastic and homo.
Use of the word "queer" was also discouraged n polite society, but now that word is embraced.
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| Pastor Ali Lopez |
Uvalles(Beatrix), the organizer, tried to stop me from taking pictures in a public venue for a public event, sponsored by H.E.B., the Community Development Corporation, Planned Parenthood of South Texas, the Brownsville Jaycees and the ACLU, among others.(I wonder what the ACLU would have thought about Uvalles/Beatrix's attempt to stifle my right to free speech via photo journalism?)
Uvalles' rationale for interfering with my work is his claim that I'd used the word transvestite in a story.
Since the event, Uvalles has more clearly stated his objection to my "writing" via Facebook:
Uvalles: "I’m sorry but I did not consent to these photos. You and this blogger have a history of transphobic and problematic language online and on blogs and simply asked Mr Barton to stop taking photos out of respect for the community present."
Eventually, I learned that Uvalles' concern was about a story I wrote about two drag queens performing at La Movidita over a year ago in which I described them as transvestites.
trans·ves·tite/transˈvesˌtīt,tranzˈvesˌtīt/
noun: transvestite; plural noun: transvestites
a person, typically a man, who derives pleasure from dressing in clothes primarily associated with the opposite sex.
I've since learned that the LGBTQ community prefers the term transgender or the ambiguous non-word trans.
Of course, the word transgender concerns a person's sense of sexual identity, something I can't determine simply seeing a man in a dress or a woman in men's garb. I'm not a mental health professional and make no claim to having made a psychological analysis.
Here's my response on Facebook to Uvalles:
Joe. . you may lack the perspective of time, but all these words have cycled in and out of acceptability. Queer and gay are now acceptable, but, in previous years not so much. A transvestite is simply by definition someone who enjoys dressing in the characteristic clothes of the opposite gender, thus not a boogie word at all. As for the pics, your permission is not needed for a public event in a public place and wasn't requested.
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Juan Fidencio Trevino, Brownsville Bright |
Good Afternoon Mr. Barton,
As possibly the newest local Brownsville blogger, I wanted to thank you for being a part of the reason why I became interested in this field. The way you use your voice to inform people is inspiring, and I hope to emulate that effectiveness in Brownsville Bright. Consider me a friendly face. I hope we can both be positive influences to our city."
Juan Fidencio Trevino
The irony is that I've consistently supported and promoted events by the LBGTQ community and will continue to do so. My attitude, as always: Live and let live!
PINKTON~A NET GAME FROM MEXICO TO TSC
by Rene Torres
Pington was not an ancient sport played by the Greek and/or by kings and queens, but rather a game, the father of which is unknown, that had its roots in Mexico, played since the 1950's.
The question is how this net game crossed the border and instantly found a welcoming home at Texas Southmost College.
When the '59 TSC basketball team traveled into Mexico, then Coach Steinbach noticed a group of youngsters having a blast playing this unusual game hitting a wad of paper over a net with ping pong paddles with fast action like badminton.
It was not long before Steinbach introduced the game to his physical education classes in Brownsville replacing the paper wad with a badminton bird.
But as the game evolved, the sport took on a new name; “Pington” and the ping pong paddles eventually gave way to a unique, locally designed wooden paddle. The origin of the name, according to Jim Lemons, stemmed from the funny sound of the paddle hitting the bird in flight.
Pington is a combination of badminton, ping pong and tennis that, up to 1970, was mainly played at the college gymnasium. While the sport flourished in the physical education classes, as an intramural sport and among Brownsville and Matamoros businessmen, little was done to spread the game outside the confines of the TSC gym.
Former TSC student and player of the game, Lucy Tijerina Torres, recently stated that the game was so popular among local businessmen that they formed the Brownsville Men’s Pington Club.
“Their devotion to the game was evident every afternoon at 4:00 p.m,” said Lucy.
By 1992, after playing the game for many years, Jim Lemons and Judy Walton, both UTB/TSC physical education instructors at the time, decided to a write a book about the game, one, to help spread the knowledge of the sport and secondly, to set-up a scholarship fund in honor of Werner Steinbach,the stepfather of the game.
Beyond the book, Lemons often conducted demonstration workshops to expand the interest of the game. “It’s a great conditioning sport.
"It’s easy to play and it’s inexpensive,” Lemons said.
Jim not only talked a good game, but he backed it up by demonstrating skills that few could better.
Lemons wrote, “One of the theories of learning is that anything you succeed at you like.
That’s one of the reasons the kids like the game so much—they are successful at it.”
The dream of Lemons and Walton was that pington would spread throughout the United States and the world, but they were content if the game would spread to the local school districts and some colleges.
Both have retired, leaving behind footprints of the game.
Unfortunately, the game today is part of Texas Southmost College history.
I’d be remiss If I did not mention the person who managed the gym’s equipment room, an icon who, for decades ran things like a drill sergeant, known on campus as the "Sgt."
Photo: Former Kinesiology faculty member Jim Lemons presents his textbook on Pington to UT-B/TSC President Dr. Juliet Garcia
Photo 2 Doubles Champs 68
RIOS TO LEAD UTRGV VAQUEROS MARCHING BAND
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| UTRGV Band Leader Ronnie Rios |
RGV, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is expanding its legacy and making history this school year.
Multi-Grammy nominated music educator Ronnie Rios is leading the first Vaquero marching band in UTRGV history.
Rios, a native of Alice, joins UTRGV with more than 20 years of experience in the South Texas region including Harlingen and Kingsville.
“I have lots of gratitude that the university chose me to be the first Director of Athletic Bands here. I plan on doing everything I can to making this the greatest start to a marching band ever,” Rios said.
The Director of Athletic Bands was brought on board at the end of June at UTRGV to establish the marching band as the first of its kind for the university.
Rios said he envisions a band that will help uplift school spirit and play a special part in the university experience.
“We’re looking forward to giving the community and beyond the 956-area code something meaningful that represents UTRGV at its very best,” Rios said.
One of Rios’ goals for the Vaquero marching band is to bring in more students to enroll at UTRGV.
“You don’t have to leave the Valley to be part of a marching band. It’s right here,” Rios said. “We’re going to bring a top-tier group, top-tier instructors, and a top-tier level of performance to celebrate the 956.”
IS THE LAREDO POLICE DEPARTMENT TAKING A "HANDS OFF" POLICY ON KIDNAPPINGS?
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| Laredo Police Department, 4712 Mayer St., Laredo, TX |
Has the Laredo Police Department been instructed to stand idly by while kidnappings occur in the city?
An internal LPD police memo was leaked recently that the department is to "be on the lookout" for such kidnappings by the Cartel del Noreste, but that such kidnappings are a cartel matter and that local police should use "exterme(sic) caution."
A BOLO "Situational Awareness" purports that the department is to share any information about such kidnappings to the FBI, that such are not a "concern to the community."
Laredo Police Chief Steve Landin indicates that this leaked BOLO or "Be on the Lookout" was sent to several law enforcement entities.
"Ultimately, it was not something random for the public. These kidnappings or alleged upcoming kidnappings that could be happening, it's more about a crime organization against another. It wasn't a threat to the general public," stated Landin.
Cartel del Noreste, as well as the Michoacan Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are known to operate in the area.
Citizens, if they see something, are told to call 911 or the LPD at (956) 795-2800.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
MAGA Claims Atlanta Mural of Trump's Arrest Gives Him "Street Cred" with Blacks
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Fox News' Jesse Watters is claiming that Trump's mugshot portrait by an Atlanta mural artist, showing his arrest, broadened his appeal among Black people, claiming my "garbage man loved it."
Dumb, dumb, beyond dumb!
Blacks will now view Trump as "one of us" because he's been arrested?
Shit!
While Fox News always falls to the lowest denominator, this time they've totally misjudged the electorate.
Dumbasses!
ANTICIPATION IS BUILDING FOR THE SECOND REPUBLICAN DEBATE SEPTEMBER 27
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| Debate anchors Stuart Varney, Dana Perino from Fox News Business |
OK, you don't believe me when I tell you I'm actually looking forward to the second Republican candidate debate, but I have to wait until September 27.
Debate qualifiers will need to poll at a 3% level, have at least 50,000 donors with 200 unique donors in 20 states or territories.
The broadcast will again be in the hands of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch's Disinformation Network, the company recently paying out a $787,000,000 settlement for lies it told about Dominion Voting Machines, the network largely responsible for the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
Moderators will be Stuart Varney and Dana Perino from, both Fox News business "reporters."
Billionaire businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who parlayed hedge fund profits into ownership of a pharmaceutical company, dominated the first debate early on, flashing a huge smile when countered or challenged as skilled debaters do, but then got his brain and mouth tangled hinting the government was behind 9/11 and trying to draw a correlation with the January 6 insurrection.
No amount of smiling will cover that sort of mind-numbing theorizing.
I'm pretty certain that former Vice President Mike Pence views himself as a person with high moral values drawing strength from his Christianity.
If Pence had any self-awareness he'd know that most view him as an extraordinarily weak man, without the intestinal fortitude to act as any sort of check and balance during Trump's stint as President, and as someone with an obvious subservience to the one he calls "mother."
Pence may have a "calling," but it's not being President.
Nikki Haley likely "won" the debate on points, but came off as forced, too strident, actually irritating.
She'd be better served relaxing those facial muscles a little and varying her tone. It's called modulation, yes, a variance of voice's pace, pitch and power, that shows one's total control of the situation and the subject matter.
"Whininess" is grating and tiresome to the listener.
Chris Christie may be lobbying to be the default candidate if Trump gets jailed before the general election, but MAGA will never vote for him after all the "mean" things he's said about their hero. So, what service is Christie providing here?
Participation trophies should be handed out to Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson and Doug Bergum. Thanks for playing guys!
Have we left out anyone?
Oh, yeah, the guy at war with Mickey Mouse, the guy who reminds us in every sentence he's anti-woke. That guy!
Ron DeSantis seemingly loses voters every time he speaks, displaying a certain soullessness, shallowness, a flatness of tone with zero warmth, in some ways a Trump clone, but without the personality.
DeSantis won't win and he won't get a job in a Trump administration.
And then there's the Republican frontrunner, Donald J. Trump himself, currently soaring over the GOP field with a lead upwards of 40 or 50 points.
The Republican nomination is Trump's to lose, although he might need and will likely get a 5th indictment to put him over the top, both in votes and in fundraising.
Yes, the anticipation is building. I can hardly wait until September 27, just 28 more days boys and girls!
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AUDIT REVEALS BROWNSVILLE GOT ZERO, ZILCH, NADA FOR $750,000 INVESTMENT IN SPACE TECHNOLOGY
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — Back in November 2021, the city of Brownsville made a big announcement.
The city’s economic development arm, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp., had partnered with a Canadian entrepreneur to bring space-related businesses to Brownsville.
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| J. Brant Arseneau |
J. Brant Arseneau made quite the impression.
He talked about becoming the J.P. Morgan of space. He name-dropped “Elon, Jeff and Richard.” And he said Brownsville reminded him of Silicon Valley in the 1990s.
“I don’t want to miss that opportunity to be here when Brownsville becomes the Silicon Valley of space,” Arseneau said during a news conference in November 2021.
The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. paid $750,000 to 9Point8 Capital and Spaced Ventures, two corporations linked to Arseneau.
Nearly two years later, Brownsville has little to show for it, according to a report prepared by the city auditor.
Brownsville sent a Notice of Default and Demand for Repayment to 9Point8 Capital in May, attempting to claw back $500,000.
During the audit, questions surfaced about whether or not the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. conducted background checks and took other basic steps before handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Based on the lack of files, prior GBIC management and personnel did not keep files and did not verify existence and registration of the entity called 9Point8 Capital (company), documented to be a New York Corporation, before signing the Performance Agreement September 29, 2021 (agreement). Therefore, no one found that the company used an ‘assumed name’, also known as a ‘doing business as’ or ‘dba’, and incorrectly recorded the company’s state of formation and legal status to do business in Texas in the agreement,” according to the audit. “No background check on the founder was done or documented and documentation was not kept in entity files.”
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| City Manager Helen Ramirez |
Brownsville City Manager Helen Ramirez, who previously served as CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp., told NBC 23 the city has addressed the problems identified by auditors.
Arseneau and Aaron Burnett, the CEO of Spaced Ventures, did not respond to requests for comment.
The city released the following statement:
The City of Brownsville (COB), in conjunction with the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC), has initiated legal action to recover $500,000 in grant funds that were awarded to 9Point8 Capital, in 2022, for the recruitment of business development in support of the growing aerospace industry in the City of Brownsville.
The grant was awarded to 9Point8 Capital with the expectation that the company would adhere to specific rules and regulations outlined in a performance agreement entered into with GBIC to recruit businesses and jobs to Brownsville related to the aerospace industry. However, a City audit found that 9Point8 Capital has not complied with these stipulations.
Recognizing some of the challenges to this industry nationally, the City of Brownsville Office of the City Attorney, in collaboration with GBIC, twice previously issued notices to 9Point8 Capital, informing them of their breach of agreement and inviting them to update their business plan toward compliance. These letters were reviewed during a recent checks-and-balances by the City Auditor’s Office. The notices advised that failure to comply with the original terms and conditions of the performance agreement would necessitate the return in full of the $500,000 in incentive funds.
These notices were sent in accordance with the terms set out in the performance agreement, which was executed by J. Brant Arseneau, Founder and Partner of 9Point8 Capital. As of August 24, 2023, 9Point8 Capital has not responded to either notice or provided any updates or indications of compliance.
The City of Brownsville and GBIC now actively are pursuing the recovery of the $500,000 incentive grant and are considering all legal avenues available and law enforcement as appropriate. Once recovered, GBIC intends to reinvest those funds in new job opportunities across emerging and expanding industries as it relentlessly pursues economic development initiatives in Brownsville.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
A SLICE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND POLITICS
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| Barry Goldwater When a high school classmate, Cunningham, tried to pin a "Barry Goldwater for President" campaign button on my shirt, I resisted. "Don't tell me you're for Johnson!" my classmate responded, as in Lyndon. I was for neither at that point, truly apolitical. The songs on the Beatles' Rubber Soul constantly went through my head and when I heard Dylan's Positively 4th Street played on KJR Seattle, I actually pulled my ''59 VW to the side of the road to listen. "Who talks like that?" I said to myself, disgusted and amazed at the same time. "I'd rather see you paralyzed" was the most brutally honest line I'd ever heard.  Secretly, I did admire Goldwater for his forthrightness, while hating his stupid comment referring to "tactical nuclear weapons." A commercial with a little girl plucking petals from a daisy while the announcer counted down "10/0/8/7/6/5/4 , , ," won the election for Johnson, as it reminded Americans of their biggest single fear--nuclear war. Just the year before our president had been assassinated on November 22. My religious relatives said it was proof we were living in the "end times." I mostly drove and listened to the radio, often ending up on Seattle's First Avenue, where as Paul Simon wrote "the ragged people go." I felt at home walking around drunks and face-painted, middle-aged whores. No one bothered me. My afterschool job in a radio station had put me next to a teletype machine and I read condolences as they came in from all over the world with the machine paper folding itself, first this way, then that way and down into a box. I was surprised one of the messages was from Russian President Nikita Krushchev. "I thought our countries hated each other," I told myself. Frequently, I would drive over to my Uncle Joe's place, a haven where I could share my feelings without judgement. I'd lent Aunt Doris my copy of Rubber Soul and she loved it. Uncle Joe, a huge Nat King Cole fan, was unimpressed, but he also barbered on the side and, I suspect was not into the Beatle haircut. |
DON'T BUY DAD'S MUG SHOT FROM "UNSCRUPULOUS GRIFTERS," STATES DON JR, "BUY IT FROM ME!"
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| Donald Trump, Jr. |
Donald Trump, Jr. is beyond tired of "grifters" profiting from his father's mug shot.
With a perfectly straight face, young Mr. Trump told an audience on Triggered that he'd rather the MAGA faithful buy the merchandise "from him," to actually help "the cause," that is his father's legal defense fund.
It's better, he said, than buying the famous mug shot from someone just "lining their own pockets."
If MAGA-ites want to do the right thing, they can go to Don Jr.'s website where he is offering shirts, posters, koozies, hoodies, coffee mugs and, of course, the infamous mug shot.
Let's support "the cause," MAGA-ites, not these unscrupulous grifters just wanting to "line their pockets!"
I SHOULD PAY FOR MY CRIMES
When I read that a California man, Libo Chen, age 50, had been arrested for criminal trespass for entering the SpaceX grounds, I realized quickly what I must do.
The man has been detained at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center and that just torments me in the worst way.
You see, I did exactly the same thing a couple years ago, but I wasn't caught.
Brushing aside the warnings of those with me, I stepped past the gate, past the "No Trespassing" signs to get a picture of the SpaceX rockets without being obscured by chain link fencing.
I absolutely know I was wrong and I'm seriously considering turning myself in to the authorities.
Why should a California man be detained among robbers, rapists and murderers when a Brownsvillian was guilty of the same offense?
We can't tolerate a two-tier justice system in this country.
GUARDSMAN DEPLOYED BY ABBOTT FIRES WEAPON OVER RIO GRANDE AT EL PASO STRIKING MEXICAN NATIONAL
Saturday at 8:50 PM a Texas National Guardsman deployed on the border at El Paso discharged his weapon across the Rio Grande River striking a Mexican National in the leg.
Darwin Jose Garcia, 37, the man struck, was first treated by paramedics, then taken to a Juarez hospital and later released.
On Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the moving force behind the multi-billion dollar Operation Lonestar released this statement: "Texas will not stand idly by while Biden's open border policies wreak havoc with our nation."
According to an F.B.I. spokesperson, the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.
It has not been determined if the weapon discharged accidentally or was fired intentionally "over the heads" of migrants attempting to cross the Rio Grande.
One rumor contends that the National Guardsman was responding to three men who were attacking migrants with a knife and fired over their heads to ward off the attack.
Some in Mexico have called for the guardsman to be extradited to Mexico to face charges.
IT'S SO, SO . . . . . . . . . SIMPLE!
cli·ché
/klēˈSHā/
noun
- 1.a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
So, let's betray our lack of original thought and say:
"It's as plain as the nose on your face," unless
"you can't see the forest for the trees."
"It stands out like a sore thumb!" It's "blatantly obvious," "conspicuously conspicuous," a "foregone conclusion."
We said all that just to report what Trump told an assistant yesterday, that he will fight the indictments by "winning the election."
It's so very simple.
Trump will again win the presidency, then pardon himself or ask his newly-appointed attorney general to "deal with it."
And, what will Trump do in 2028, should he win in 2024?
That's simple too!
Think Benito Mussolini!
Monday, August 28, 2023
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FROM BOTH PARTIES EMBRACE CONSPIRACY THEORIES
"The truth is far from you, so you know you got to lie. Then you're all the time defending what you can never justify." Bob Dylan
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| Vivek Ramaswamy |
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for President with the glib tongue and ready smile, recently presented an alternative view of the events of 9/11, both in the Atlantic Monthly and in a CNN interview.
“I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if we’re doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to,” Ramaswamy told reporter John Hendrickson.
It's an odd issue to raise at this point, but the apparent purpose of Ramaswamy's 9/11 speculation is to draw some kind of correlation between 9/11 and the January 6 insurrection.
Ramaswamy's timing for raising such an issue may be a smart move with a GOP/MAGA base seemingly ripe for being duped by conspiracy theories after 8 years of having their brains pounded daily with misinformation and lies from the Trumpster.
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| Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. |
Jumping headfirst into the conspiracy theory playground is Democratic candidate for President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who makes Ramaswamy look like a mere piker in terms of swallowing the unproven, unsubstantiated.
Kennedy identifies himself with some whoppers; believing Covid 19 was targeted to attack Caucasians and Blacks, links mass shootings to the availability of the drug prozac, claims the 2004 election was "stolen" and several more.
With candidates from both parties pushing conspiracy narratives, the 2024 election gets "curiouser and curiouser."
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