Saturday, November 30, 2024

𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧, 𝗠𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗠, 𝗡𝗢𝗪, 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗨 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞

 


Canadian 
Prime Minister Justin Trudea flew to West Palm Beach, Florida for a Saturday meeting at Mar-a-Lago to discuss Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on goods shipped from Canada and Mexico into the U.S. 

Trudeau said Trump got elected because he promised to bring down grocery prices, but the 25% he's proposing to add to Canadian imports will simply add to the cost of all food items produced or grown in Canada and shipped to the U.S., including potatoes.

"It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There's no question about it," said Trudeau.

"Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business," he added.


Nelson Wiseman
, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, stated that Trump "doesn't need convincing that new tariffs on Canadian products would not be in U.S. interests. He knows that, but cannot say it because it would detract from what he has said publicly. His goal is to project the image that he gets action when he talks."

Those tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact that Trump's team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted they were able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he calls a "win win" for both countries.

Just last week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also explained to Trump how the tariffs would not be good for either the U.S. or Canada.

While it's good our nation is bounded on north and south with countries with leaders who can educate Trump on the effect of tariffs, now we need some strong leader to convince the president-elect to back off his notions of dictatorship.


𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 "𝗦𝗔𝗬" 𝗠𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗛, 𝗔 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗞𝗦 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘

 

Robert "Say" McIntosh in the 80's

From the editor: When I noticed sweet potatoes just 25 cents per pound this week at H.E.B., it occurred to me that I'd forgotten to post Robert "Say" McIntosh's sweet potato pie recipe before Thanksgiving, so I'll post it now just as he wrote it out for me years ago:

"no vanilla, no electric mixer, only sweet potatoes, allspice, nutmeg, eggs, condensed milk and butter."

My version of McIntosh's pie

Who was Mr. McIntosh?

He owned a barbecue restaurant in Little Rock, but was primarily known as the "Sweet Potato Pie King."

His pies were sold in all the major supermarkets in central Arkansas with $1.00 from each pie sold going into a fund to buy toys for children living in impoverished areas, both black and white. Just before Christmas, dressed as Black Santa, he personally delivered the toys.

Now, there was another side to McIntosh that made some folks uncomfortable, his role as a Black Activist or what some white folks in Arkansas called an "agitator."

A frequent guest on local talk shows, McIntosh spoke with a rapid-fire, preacher-style delivery, pushing civil rights in a deep South state with a horrendous record of slavery, suppression and oppression.  For certain, he made some enemies in the state with sometimes outlandish anti-racist protests.

Robert McIntosh on TV talk show

In 1981, McIntosh nearly died after affixing himself to a cross in front of the Arkansas Capitol, during an anti-racism protest against state legislators and former Governor Frank White. 

In another protest, Robert McIntosh cut down a tree planted in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. to protest the Black community's exclusion from Little Rock's political processes.

In 1990, on live TV, he assaulted Ralph Forbes, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and a white supremacist.  

McIntosh, also an artist, had an extreme dislike for former Gov. Bill Clinton, taking particular issue with the former governor's infidelity, distributing flyers under the windshield wipers of each car in the state capitol parking lot with his own drawings of Clinton and his alleged Black child.

Robert McIntosh honored in 2019

McIntosh passed away in 2023 at the age of 79.



𝗠𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗨𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗜 𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗖𝗢


Donald Trump, Kari Lake

Reforma, an online Mexico periódico, projects Kari Lake, sometimes called "Trump in heels," to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

Lake, not only an election denier with respect to Trump's 2020 election, also denies her defeat for the Arizona governorship in 2022 and has not yet conceded her loss to Ruben Gallegos in the 2024 Senate election.

Of course, Lake does have options, as right-wing propagandist outlet Newsmax is said to be mulling over hiring the two-time loser as an online commentator.

Current U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar

Certain not to be retained is current Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, an Obama appointee and former Colorado Senator.

With Trump's recent threat to add a 25% tariff to all products the U.S. imports from Mexico and the subsequent pushback from President Claudia Sheinbaum, Salazar admitted that "drug consumption" and "arms trafficking" by the U.S. were "part of the problem."

To be fair, Salazar has also criticized Mexico for not cooperating with the U.S. to fight the cartels, saying that Mexico's statements minimizing the problem are "not based on reality."

In response to that criticism, Mexico sent a note to the U.S. Embassy "expressing its surprise."

Friday, November 29, 2024

𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗕𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗔𝗬

Eight years ago on the West Trail; Diego, Felix, Jack following the lead dog (hard to believe these boys are now in middle school and high school respectively)

Greeted at the gate by Brownsville's most lovable Doberman and three little dogs of varying breeds, I showed up yesterday at the love-filled home of my son, Diego, daughter-in-law Isela and precocious grandsons Jack and Felix. (
In the first order of business, Isela brought me a beer.)

The West Brownsville home, on one of those wide, comfortable streets, while not listed on the historic register, is nonetheless historic, constructed over a century ago to meet the needs of the city's beekeeper, but now has its walls totally covered with Isela's rock 'n' roll memorabilia, while Diego's ever-evolving landscaping constantly changes the look of the outside lot.

Grandson Jack, something of a teckie, has assembled in the boy's bedroom, a powerful laptop beast from online components, with CPU, RAM and storage off the charts, connecting it to two large wall monitors. (Felix has something similar in the developmental stage.)

Anyway, I visited mostly with Isela's dad, Johnny, as the Detroit Lions performed on the TV, both of us having a similar view of Cowboy's owner, Jerry Jones, agreeing the team would have won several more Super Bowls had Jones' egomania and narcissism not led to the firing of Jimmy Johnson.

Annie Lennox

During Isela's fine meal, I garnered a bit of rock 'n' roll cred, showing the lady of the house a response I'd received from Annie Lennox, formerly of the Eurythmics, who totally agreed with my comment on a Beatle's site about the nature of Ringo Starr's drumming.

DeMarvion Overshown

During the lull before the start of the Cowboys' game, we exchanged hugs and I made my exit, driving across a mostly-dormant town and arriving home in time to witness the Cowboys' 24 year old, flashy linebacker, 
DeMarvion Overshown, batting the ball into the air to himself, then racing 23 yards for a  Pick-6.

So many reasons to Give Thanks on this and every day!

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

𝗠𝗬 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞, 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗘, 𝗧𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗦

Mr. Elon Musk

Starbase, Texas


Dear Elon, 

You're getting a little big for your britches, aren't you, son?  Are you letting that token "appointment" to the non-existent Department of Government Efficiency go to your head?

I just read where you callously revealed the names of four women who will lose their jobs in your assigned purge of civil servants and those women are now facing harassment as a direct result of your thoughtless, classless, juvenile public disclosure.

Son, you've been given tax breaks beyond reason to locate your firm in this community and many, if not most of Cameron County, are proud of the rocket launches from our once pristine Boca Chica.  But that business acumen does not give you license to boorish and inconsiderate behavior, putting people needlessly in harm's way.

Young man, you owe those women and their families an apology for the trauma and fear you've created in their lives, although, most likely, you're not man enough to do so.

Grow up, Elon.  Set an example of real manhood for those eleven kids you've fathered.  


Sincerely,  

Jim Barton, Brownsville, Texas



𝗠𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗖𝗢'𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧, 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗠, 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞


President-Elect Donald Trump

Donald Trump
has threatened both Canada and Mexico that on Day One of assuming the Presidency he will impose 25% tariffs on all products imported by the United States from those countries.

Trump's exact words: “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

President Claudia Sheinbaum

Claudia Sheinbaum
, Mexico's President, responded almost immediately to Trump's threat:

"Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country," said Ms. Sheinbaum. 

"Mexico does not produce these weapons, nor do we consume synthetic drugs. Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours . . . . . . . If a percentage of what the United States spends on war were dedicated to peace and development, that would address the underlying causes of migration,” she said.

Sheinbaum also stated, that if Trump foolishly imposes a tariff on Mexico's products, Mexico will respond with an equal tariff on U.S. products, a situation she says would only add to the prices and inflation in both countries.

Sheinbaum obviously understands how tariffs work and their effects, something Trump has so far been unable to grasp.

"For example, Mexico’s main exporters to the U.S. are General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Company, which came to Mexico 80 years ago. Why put a tax on them that puts them at risk? It is not acceptable and would cause the U.S. and Mexico inflation and job losses," adds Sheinbaum.

Not at all intimidated by Trump's postering, Sheinbaum adds:  “We negotiate as equals, there is no subordination here, because we are a great nation . . . .I think we are going to reach an agreement.”


𝗠𝗖𝗡𝗔𝗜𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗬𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡' 𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞

 


Through the eyes of Brownsville:


The McNair manufacturing company kept Brownsville in fashion…

By Rene Torres

Its history was marked with brushes of success. The given photo was taken back when newspaper and postcard advertising were utilized to advance sales.

They are in …McNair Casuals

Shown is a postcard from the 1960s with the following message…

Ivy all the way in the slim, trim traditional style. Walk shorts in bold patterns, smooth corduroys in swinging and solid colors—all are permanently creased…no ironing ever.

Slims, regulars and huskies. Also, Continental styles. Guaranteed to satisfy and priced to please.

Note: Can you identify Harry McNair?

𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜 𝗧𝗢 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗝𝗨𝗗𝗚𝗘 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗙 $𝟭𝟰𝟴𝗠 𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧: "𝗜 𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗔 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗬!"

 

Artist's conception of Rudy Giuliani's testimony at court hearing about dispersal of assets to satisfy a $148M settlement for defamation of two election workers


U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman is getting bit weary of Rudy Giuliani's shenanigans.  

Giuliani, an integral and vocal part of the first Trump administration, agreed to a $148M settlement back in December 2023 for defaming two Georgia poll workers.

Since Giuliani claims all his cash is "tied up," he's been ordered to disperse assets to the two women, but now, that's become problematic.

All the memorabilia lining his walls has been put in a storage building to which he says he "doesn't have access" and he can't find the title to his 1980 Mercedes Benz.

At one point, Giuliani screamed out in court: "I don't have a penny!"

After that unapproved outburst, Judge Liman told Giuliani he could no longer "testify" without first being sworn in as a witness.

𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗘𝗚 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞, 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣, 𝗝𝗥. 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗛𝗜𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗘𝗩 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦

 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

No one in U.S. politics responds to misinformation, criticism or outright lies more tactfully, carefully and factually than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Recently, Congressman Michael Rulli, R, Ohio, posted an untruth on social media: "Pete Butigieg will leave his post as Transportation Secretary having spent $7.5B to build 8 EV charging stations."

Quickly, Donald Trump, Jr. reposted Rulli's statement, receiving a response from Elon Musk, agreeing with the congressman's contention.

Misinformed Rep. Rulli, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, Jr.(montage by editor)

Now, you might think that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, would understand how the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure(NEVI) program works, but it took Pete Buttigieg to explain the program on X to stop the three Republicans from spreading misinformation.

Initially, Buttigieg, simply said on X that the statement was "false," giving Musk the opportunity to make a correction on his own social media site.

Musk turned it back to Buttigieg to "make a rebuttal."

So, Buttigieg went on to carefully explain that the $7.5B was for the "entire program" for NEVI and that each state must apply for a piece of those monies and that, contrary to the posts by Rulli, Trump, Jr. and Musk, the money has not been spent. Once the funds are granted, "the states build the EV chargers, not the federal government," stated Buttigieg.

"That is helpful to understand," wrote back Musk.

Buttigieg noted than nine states now have NEVI-funded chargers in operation, the first handful to be built, with most planned to be built in "the second half of the decade."  


The program's end game is to have fast electric charges installed coast-to-coast by 2030.  This past August, 29 states qualified for NEVI funding's second round of approximately $521M.

𝟰𝟵.𝟵% 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘, 𝟱𝟮.𝟱% 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬, 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗪𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗞



You couldn't see the overt racism when he kept doubling down on his lie that Haitian immigrants of color were eating the cats and dogs of Springfield, Ohio?

His threat to bring the former Military Chief of Staff General Mark Milley before a military tribunal to face execution did not concern you?

What about Trump's total mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic? At first, he said it would "disappear," then called it a "Democratic hoax," then worried about a cruise ship docking in San Francisco because the COVID victims on the ship would add to "our numbers," then worried similarly about "too much testing."  

Next, Trump claimed the virus affected "virtually nobody, mostly elderly."

Trump mocked wearing a mask, but wore one himself out of the public eye, praised Xi Jinping for his "strong control" of the virus, then suggested on national television "injecting bleach."

Final COVID-19 death toll in U.S.=1,219,487

Gleaning just a few points from the 814 page report from the U.S. House Select Committee report on the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol:

Trump "lit that fire" with "premeditated actions," "putting the lives of lawmakers at risk," after "making 200 acts of apparent public or private outreach, pressure or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators to overturn State election results." The committee found that Trump's "repeated, false claims of voter fraud created the distrust of government" and noted "his refusal to stop them when they resorted to violence."(Trump sat on his rear, watching the insurrection on TV for 3 hours and 7 minutes, doing nothing.)


When Trump aids rushed to the White House dining room to tell Trump that Vice President Pence's life was in danger, he reportedly said: "So what?"

Trump "is unfit for any office," wrote the committee's vice chairwoman, Rep. Liz Cheney.

Trump's open admiration for murderous dictators Putin, Kim Jong Un, Orbin, his use of Hitler's exact words about immigrants, calling them "vermin," saying they were "poisoning the blood of the country." His promise to be a "dictator on Day One."

Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts, plus pending charges in multiple cases.

Trump's record of business fraud: Trump University was shut down as a fraud.  The Trump Organization was shut down as a fraud.  Trump is prohibited currently from engaging in business in New York and must pay a $450M settlement for monies "fraudulently obtained."

Although, those are just some of the disqualifying factors, it wasn't enough for you.  You voted for a trainwreck.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗥𝗙𝗞, 𝗝𝗥. 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗔

From the editor: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a prominent anti-vaxxer and Donald Trump's proposed nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, is the subject of November 25, 2024 New York Times article written by Brian Deer.  Mr. Deer is a journalist who's written in considerable detail about the anti-vaccine movement.

Journalist Brian Deer

This particular article, one of several I located about this matter, details an outbreak of measles in the Polynesian island of Samoa, an outbreak that resulted in 4,000 infections and over 90 deaths caused in large part by misinformation Kennedy shared with the Prime Minister of Samoa in 2019 and a 90-minute documentary VAXXED, that was circulated in New Zealand and Samoa creating fear of vaccines.

The article is posted below in its entirety:


Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Cheryl Hines in Samoa 2019

In November 2019, when an epidemic of measles was killing children and babies in Samoa, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who in recent days became Donald Trump’s pick to lead the department of Health and Human Services — sent the prime minister of Samoa a four-page letter. In it, he suggested the measles vaccine itself may have caused the outbreak.

He claimed that the vaccine might have “failed to produce antibodies” in vaccinated mothers sufficient to provide infants with immunity, that it perhaps provoked “the evolution of more virulent measles strains” and that children who received the vaccine may have inadvertently spread the virus to other children. “Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance,” he added, writing in his role as the chairman of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.

At the time of his letter, 16 people, many of them younger than 2, were already reported dead. Measles, which is among the most contagious diseases, can sometimes lead to brain swelling, pneumonia and death. For months, families grieved over heartbreaking little coffins, until a door-to-door vaccination campaign brought the calamity to a close. The final number of fatalities topped 80.

Samoan children 2019

I was in Samoa during that outbreak as part of my more than 16 years of reporting on the anti-vaccine movement. The cause of the outbreak was not the vaccine, but most likely an infected traveler who brought the virus from New Zealand, which that year had had the biggest measles outbreaks in decades, especially among that country’s Indigenous and Pacific Islander communities. Migration and poverty were likely factors in a sudden spread of measles in Samoa and New Zealand. But, as an editorial in The New Zealand Medical Journal reported, so too was a factor that Mr. Kennedy specializes in: “increasing circulation of misinformation leading to distrust and reduced vaccination uptake.” Samoa’s vaccination rates had fallen to fewer than a third of eligible 1-year-olds.

Vaccine skepticism has ballooned worldwide, and Mr. Kennedy and others who back him have encouraged it. Americans may be well aware that their possible future health leader holds dangerous beliefs about vaccines. The consequences of his views — and those of his orbit — are not merely absurd but tragic.

In my reporting, parents have mentioned fearing vaccines after watching “Vaxxed,” a 90-minute documentary, which had also toured countries such as New Zealand. The film, focused on unproven allegations, was released more than three years before the Samoa measles outbreak. Among much else, it claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had committed fraud.

Two of the filmmakers — Del Bigtree and Andrew Wakefield — are buddies of Mr. Kennedy. The director, Mr. Wakefield, is a former doctor whose medical license was revoked in his native Britain in 2010 amid charges of ethical violations. One of the producers, Mr. Bigtree, became Mr. Kennedy’s presidential campaign communications chief.

In the years before the documentary was released, I revealed, in a series of articles, evidence that Mr. Wakefield’s research in the 1990s had been rigged at a London hospital to make it look as if the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine was linked to autism. This research was retracted in 2010. Mr. Kennedy certainly didn’t seem fazed by Mr. Wakefield’s professional downfall. “In any just society, we would be building statues to Andy Wakefield,” he yelled, for instance, from a platform he and Mr. Wakefield shared at an event in Washington, D.C., a few days before he sent his letter to Samoa.

Reports say Mr. Kennedy is reviewing résumés for his possible Health and Human Services Department empire. He’s reportedly eyeing Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a Florida health official who has questioned the safety of Covid vaccines. I’d say Mr. Bigtree may get a role; Mr. Wakefield is trickier, given how discredited he is, even in the United States. But there are plenty of others in Mr. Kennedy’s circle whose claims ought to concern everyone.

Consider Sherri Tenpenny, a doctor who has been declared by Mr. Kennedy as “one of the great leaders” of the anti-vaccine movement. She has falsely claimed that a “metal” attached to a protein in the Covid shots was making their recipients magnetic. “They can put a key on their forehead and it sticks,” she told Ohio state lawmakers in June 2021. “They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick.” I could pluck plenty more outrageous characters from Mr. Kennedy’s circle over the years, including veteran AIDS denialists.

In recent days, Mr. Kennedy appears to have tried to change the conversation around his vaccine views to focus on America’s junk food diets. But his views on vaccines shouldn’t be forgotten. In January 2021, speaking to a gathering of loyalists in Ohio, he outlined a three-point checklist that had to be met for him to consider a Covid vaccine. First, he said, “you take one shot, you get lifetime immunity.” Second, side effects are only “one in a million.” Third, “herd immunity” is achieved at 70 percent public uptake — after which, he stipulated, “nobody in this society” ever gets the disease again.

“If they came up with that product,” he said, “I’d be happy to look at it.”

His audience laughed. But it’s not funny.

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗣 𝟮𝟱% 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙 𝗢𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 $𝟱𝟬𝟬𝗕 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗠𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗖𝗢

 

Collage by editor

We submit the latest words of wisdom from President-Elect Donald Trump with Trump's typical random capitalization and hyperbole:

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders . . . . . . . . This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!

We'll see how this all plays out.  After all, Trump's promise to finish the Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump 1,954 mile border wall resulted in about 400 miles of secondary barriers, but only 49 miles of actual new wall built.  Mexico didn't "pay for it" either as Trump had promised. Instead, he transferred nearly $15B from the segment of government he disrespects the most, the Department of Defense.

Of all U.S. imports, 72.5% come from Mexico, our largest trading partner with nearly $500B worth of products coming in annually.

It's not just vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, lettuce, avocados and watermelons, but also 16 out of every 100 cars sold in the U.S. coming from Mexico with VW, GM and Mazda leading the way.


In 2022 the U.S. imported $692M worth of beer and tequila from Mexico with Corona Extra the leading beer and Jose Cuervo the most-imported tequila.

VW Jetta, #1 Car Import from Mexico

Mexico is certainly a main source of supply for this country's auto parts with $66.3B imported in 2023.

We've not even mentioned electronics, crude petroleum, medical instruments, plastic, gems and precious metals, all a significant part in the $475.6B imported from Mexico last year.

While it seems obvious to many economists that adding a tariff to imported goods will add to the price of those goods, Trumpers trust that their idol is playing some type of 3D chess well over the heads of such economic experts. 

Monday, November 25, 2024

"𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗦" 𝗦𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣'𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡



𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗕𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 "𝗡𝗔𝗭𝗜"


From the editor: A reader objected to my description of Stephen Miller, the Trump advisor behind the proposed mass deportation of 11M immigrants as a Nazi.  To be clear, both Miller and Trump have Nazi and white supremacist values.  Published below is a letter signed by civil and human rights groups, including several representing the Jewish community, that agree with that assessment: 


November 18, 2019

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States, and the undersigned entities, we write to demand the removal of Stephen Miller from his position as your senior advisor.

Supporters of white supremacists and neo-Nazis should not be allowed to serve at any level of government, let alone in the White House. Stephen Miller has stoked bigotry, hate, and division with his extreme political rhetoric and policies throughout his career. The recent exposure of his deep-seated racism provides further proof that he is unfit to serve and should immediately leave his post.

In his role as your senior advisor, Stephen Miller has promoted hate speech spewed from neo-Nazis, bigots, and white supremacists. His advancement of white nationalist ideology has resulted in policies — and violent acts — that actively harm immigrants, people of color, and marginalized communities. These policies include the devastating Muslim ban, efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a ban on transgender people serving in the military, and the family separation policy that has led to the cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrant families in detention centers throughout our nation. The heightened anti-immigrant and anti-minority sentiments driving the policies of this administration are undoubtedly linked to the alarming rise of hate crimes and the highest number of hate-fueled murders in recent history. Stephen Miller’s racist, deadly agenda is contributing to this violence and must be stopped.

Stephen Miller represents white supremacy, violent extremism, and hate — all ideologies that are antithetical to the fundamental values that guide our democracy. Allowing him to remain a White House advisor is a betrayal of our national ideals of justice, inclusion, and fairness. We call on you to halt your own hateful actions and rhetoric and remove all hate enthusiasts from the administration.

Unless and until you fire Stephen Miller — and all who promulgate bigotry — and abandon your administration’s anti-civil rights agenda, you will continue to be responsible for the violence fueled by that hate.

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Advocates for Youth
African American Ministers In Action
American Atheists
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Anti-Defamation League
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Center for Community Self-Help
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Popular Democracy
Center for Responsible Lending
CHIRLA – Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
Coalition on Human Needs
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Equal Rights Advocates
Equality California
Faith in Public Life
Families Belong Together
Farmworker Justice
Hindu American Foundation
Human Rights Campaign
Jews United for Democracy and Justice
Lambda Legal
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Muslim Public Affairs Council
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
National Action Network
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council on Independent Living
National Education Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Hispanic Media Coalition
National Housing Law Project
National Immigration Law Center
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National LGBTQ Task Force
National Organization for Women
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
One Fair Wage
People for the American Way
Population Connection Action Fund
Public Citizen
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Silver State Equality-Nevada
Southern Poverty Law Center
Take on Hate (A Project of ACCESS)
Texas Progressive Action Network
The League of United Latin American Citizens
Transformative Justice Coalition
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
United We Dream
Win Without War

 

Sunday, November 24, 2024

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣'𝗦 𝗢𝗕𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗘𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥


Top: Stephen Miller/Donald Trump
Bottom: Joseph Goebbels/Adolf Hitler

Few in this town care to hear it, especially the 52.5% who voted for Donald Trump in the last election, but there's an eerie similarity between Adolf Hitler and his closest adviser, Joseph Goebbels, and Donald Trump and the orchestrator of his immigration policies, Stephen Miller.

Goebbels, like Miller, was a racist to the core, promoting anti-semiticism and Nazi supremacy. 

In 1933 Goebbels created the Reich Chamber of Culture, a vehicle he used to force Jewish artists and musicians out of their jobs, then followed that with a massive book burning of works by Jewish authors.  That was followed up by 6,000,000 Jews being stripped naked, marched to chambers to be exposed to Zyklon B gas, followed by their bodies burned in crematoriums and the bones ground up for fertilizer in the fields.
Hitler's Concentration Camps

Trump's  admiration of Hitler is no secret as witnessed by his first wife, Ivana Trump, who said he kept a book of Hitler's speeches on his nightstand.  Even during the recent campaign, Trump regularly used Hitler's own words, repeatedly calling immigrants "vermin," saying they'd "poisoned the blood of our country."

Stephen Miller, who plays a similar role to Hitler's associate Goebbels, is the evil advisor/architect behind the proposed mass deportation of immigrants, initially helped shape the racist policies of Trump's first term:  the so-called "zero tolerance" policy leading to family separation at the border, the infamous Muslim ban, the decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA), the "purging" of civil servants not considered loyal to Trump, the refusal to issue green cards during COVID-19, the fearmongering, xenophobia and demonization of immigrants.

Trump's Border Detention Centers

Now, the Miller/Trump tandem are planning a mass deportation of 11M immigrants who've been productive, tax-paying participants in our system, many for decades, mired in the stranglehold of an inefficient and incompetent immigration system that our legislative branch of government has been too partisan to reach consensus and repair.

Yes, "elections have consequences," and the prospect of our country retaining its moral and historical values does not look good.

Saturday, November 23, 2024

𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗙𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗩𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗕𝗟𝗔, 𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗕𝗟𝗔


Zacua MX-3, produced in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

While Tesla has announced plans to drop $15B for its Gigafactory automotive plant near Monterrey, Mexico (Santa Catarina), I'm more intrigued by the Zacua Auto Plant in Puebla, now said to be in production with an all-female workforce.


Several reports listed Nazareth Black as CEO and founder, while others indicate Jorge Martinez Ramos started the company but named Black as CEO.

The Oropendola

Oh, the name Zacua? Zacua is a náhualt word and it means Oropendola, the favorite bird of Emperor Moctezuma.

Zacua CEO Nazareth Black

“The bird sings beautifully and it is endemic to Mexico and Central America. Supposedly, it is said it was Emperor Moctezuma's favorite bird. Zacua is a Mexican project, with a Mexican soul, therefore we had to choose a name that represented this. Zacua is a word that encompasses our essence and gives us the opportunity to share a bit of our history when we talk to people from abroad or simply people who did not know this,” says Ms. Black.

“We realized then that the future was electric and the solution was to swap from conventional gasoline engine cars to electric cars, offering a sustainable mobility option. That is how Zacua was born, we wanted to create a Mexican brand of electric cars and with a social conscience, a project that would impact the community positively,” continued Black.

Zacua builds two models: the MX2 and MX3, both selling for $30,500. The car utilizes a chassis and drivetrain from the French company Chatenet and batteries from China.  No automation is used as the female work crew assembles the car from parts.

The Zacua, designed primarily for urban areas like Mexico City, has a top speed of 59 MPH and a range of 99 miles before charging.

Technician Assembles Electronic Features in Zacua