Tuesday, October 29, 2024

An open letter to the President of Mexico, the leaders of the Cartels and the Administration of the United States

 

Greetings,

In a letter such as this it may be hard to find an opening, how do we get everyone’s attention. I think it can be much simpler.

Mexico is a beautiful country. Her people are wonderous, hard working, enjoy life, enjoy each other and this is always demonstrated in her music, her art, her cuisine and so much of a vibrant beauty in what the people bring to their lives. I know this because I have crossed the border, la frontera, so many times either from the Rio Grande Valley as a child, travel down the Baja or in El Paso as an adult. It was always a joy to go to the markets, go eat or even visit family and friends. The conversations were always passionate and fun devoid of antagonism towards others. Could we have drank a shot or two too much of tequila? A couple of times maybe, yet in the end all was well.

And like any country Mexico is not perfect.

Maybe it is time to find a solution that allows the people of Mexico to flourish because currently no one is winning and the people of Mexico are losing. People no matter where they are in the world need to be able to enjoy life without fear. Too much of the world is under fear right now, yet in this moment let us try to find one solution to one challenge to allow so many a new life.

And to find this answer we need to look beyond the current mindset of crime and punishment.

I do not want to get into a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of new policy, rather outline a different mentality to rid this weight on Mexico’s people of oppression, death, corruption that the American drug trade has put on this country. I do have some ideas for a way forward, yet for now, I just want to offer a philosophical solution to get started.

And responsibly we do need to prosecute some form of responsibility for the lost lives of many innocent people, so I am not suggesting any type of blanket amnesty, yet a unique version of an amnesty proposal is part of the deal.

Many of the people involved have invested time and money in entrepreneurial enterprises, albeit illegal and dangerous ones. So the proposal includes the concept that sins of the fathersf will not affect what the children can do moving forward. This includes the resources the sins produced are reinvested into legitimate businesses that grow Mexico’s economy. And the possibilities are endless here.

If there is a way to allow a new generation to move into areas where investment is needed, they could use the resources productively as both part of the prosecution and change the country needs.

 Will this make everyone happy? Probably no one, yet right now, the current situation is doing harm at so many levels there is no good in it for Mexico.

The possible benefits are economic growth, lives gained, families reunited, more responsible jobs, using resources for infrastructure needs instead of law enforcement and I could go on. Some indirect benefits are resources by both the Mexico and the United States could be redirected to a stronger border policy for both countries that is productive not antagonistic, innocent lives on both sides of the border are spared, trade is more productive and again this list is not comprehensive.

As a Christian and I know not all are Christians, I see certain aspects of Christianity helping though and that is forgiveness and repentance. The people of Mexico could forgive if the crimes against them stop and going forward resources are used to better their lives. The repentance is some will need to account for their actions and yet this can be viewed with reason if the direct individuals accept a new fate and allow themselves to isolate themselves from the rest of society all the while their children and descendants can go forward with their own lives free of retribution. It is a trade off for certain people to free themselves of a life constantly on the run and in violence where even they do not have any freedoms now anyway. They may have a certain “power” over some areas or groups, but they are not truly free. They could agree together to allow a new life for their families and even have some say in what businesses their children invest to begin. Yet overall though they would need to accept a new role of quiet solitude to allow their later years to be lived in repentance and reflection.

The possibility of criticism for an idea like this is immeasurable since it is wrought with the concept of what some people call underserving individuals a way to avoid consequences these same people prefer for their illlicit actions. And I fall under that camp somedays. Yet all I see is the problem is getting worse not better no matter how much money is given to law enforcement on both sides of the border. People die daily in both countries, many are totally innocent of the events this idea hopes to overcome. So if you want to criticize come with a better idea.

There is so much more to implement a proposal such as this and there will need to be buy in that will have to come with a word no one likes in this situation and that is trust. All sides will have to take that infamous leap of faith to make an idea like this even come close to working. Yet standing pat on the current situation gives us nothing. Trust is difficult to achieve sometimes on a one to one basis and to build it with so many moving pieces may seem impossible. Rather I say create steps, take them one at a time to give every player some confidence they can move to the next step. And one day hopefully soon, people can wake up in their town or village, go to work, spend the holidays with their families out in the open, visit and tour the country, have faith in the people around them and enjoy what all of us should be able to enjoy and that is this wonderful life we have been given.

Cheers

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

They lie, they lie etc podcast is now live

 It is on Youtube under Dallasareaopinion.

There are different groups of podcasts on there so look for the ones with the Dallasareaopinion cover.

Cheers

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

They lie, they lie, they lie and they don’t care about you

 

It is not healthy to be as mad as I am before breakfast. It is not emotionally, physically, mentally and what ever else it shouldn’t be with too much coffee and no food. I finally did get something to eat, but still not good.

And I am talking about both the corporate and political world. Actually with the corporate world it is pretty straightforward, but with the political world it is much more encompassing.  And yes it is the political party machines, they are worthless to the average American citizen even though the citizens do not realize it yet, and worse they treat you like pieces of fecal matter with impunity.

Anyway I am so mad I cannot think. I have a blinding headache and I mean blinding like I need to shut my eyes to control the pain and blinding like rage against the machine with apologies to the band.

I am going to do a podcast and write something on this because it is beyond the pale well the political aspect is beyond the pale, the corporate anger is pretty straight forward. A bit of a nuisance, but still just too much expectation that I want to make them happy instead of them making me happy as the customer. And on a side note, I did something different this morning way out of my comfort zone, but in speaking with people involved they were just as ticked off as I was about the corporate intrusion.

Right now I am too angry to think, much less put together anything that makes sense. I had to drive around this morning and my brain went off on so many tangents I cannot begin to function at the moment.

Also I have functional things to do today that are on a time deadline so need to complete those tasks first anyway. It is for something that helps people out in the long run especially kiddos so maybe doing something positive will alleviate my anger a tad.

There will be at least a podcast and maybe I will write something productive because the reason for my anger needs to be addressed. I cannot believe more people are not screaming to high heaven today, but maybe I just haven’t run across anything yet. I will keep my eyes open and hopefully I can find some solace in others discussing the same topic.

And as you know I am radically independent, a conservative, and a populist, but I think anyone and everyone should be as upset as am I. The abuse of seniors or taking advantage of them is just wrong.

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Vote Independent or third party, why?

 

From MSN article by Andrew Lisa: “Even so, the rich get richer with every presidential cycle while the middle class continues shrinking.”

This may seem like it could be taken out of context. It wasn’t, this is from an article talking about what Trump will do for the middle class, by the way, the article goes on to say:

“A second Trump presidency could affect middle-class finances through potential tax policy changes,” Pace said. “During Trump’s first term, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 offered limited benefits to middle-income earners and more extensive benefits to the wealthy and corporations. Similar future policies could result in minimal tax relief for the middle class and possibly larger budget deficits, raising concerns about future tax increases or cuts in essential services.”

In assessing the impact of the TCJA, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Brookings Institute wrote, “The 2017 tax law doesn’t help the middle class. The benefits of the law tilt toward the well-off both now and in the future, according to the distributional analysis of the Tax Policy Center. By 2027, benefits of the tax law flow entirely to the rich.”

Yet don’t think I am supporting Harris. Go back to the opening sentence… the rich get richer in every presidential cycle…  the author may tend towards Harris, but the reality is for the last forty years or more the wealth gap has been shrinking, yet the stock market has gone up. So why does the gap shrink;  because no one in either party actually fights for the middle class. Sure every now and then a bill gets passed that sounds good, but overall the working and middle class have absolutely no representation in Congress.

Why? Because the Democrat and Republican party has only one goal, getting elected and re-elected. So you hear quite a bit of talk every election cycle, but by the next cycle you need to hear the same promises again because nothing was done for you.

Tired of it yet? Obviously I have been for quite some time which is one reason I keep beating the same ole horse all the time, but hopefully one day people’s eyes and ears will open.

And Trump will raise your taxes indirectly with tariffs and Harris will do what all Democrats do raise your taxes to pay for benefits our government can no longer afford.

To me our government could afford the benefits by making the distribution more efficient, but don’t expect a Democrat to figure that out. Oh by the way, Musk’s efficiency idea though is not what I am talking about. He will just shut down the government and shift all benefits to a few billionaires and you will be holding one giant bag of nothing costing you a fortune.

People will say you are wasting your vote if you vote third party or independent. Ask them when wasn’t my vote wasted. Everything is getting worse, wealth gap, quality of education, social security needs work (fixable, but nobody in Congress wants to do what is best for you) and so on.

A republican or democrat will tell you some inkling of an idea or fact that sounds like they did something, but again the slow deterioration is still happening. If either was actually doing something, then things would change. And then they will say, it is not us, it is the other side. That should tell you right away, that the blame game is part of the problem. If people really wanted to do something they would overcome the other side and do better.

So be bold, be strong and vote for your interests. Find a third party or independent candidate and vote for them. Sure they probably won’t win, but once you make the first step it is easier to start looking for something better. And once we get out of the mindset we must vote for the duopoly or the lesser of two evils others will see it can be done. Just think if third parties receive larger numbers then other people will notice and eventually people with viable ideas will feel that might have a chance to make changes.

I will be writing in a name for President and the Senate race in Texas. And both are approved write in candidates so my votes should be counted. I am going to go over my precinct results to make sure at least one for each and possibly two since the better half has come over to the force and no longer votes for the dark side. Research all your available options in your area and see which of those come closest to your values. No one may be perfect, but seriously if you are holding your nose and voting for someone you don’t like because you feel you have to, start researching.

And don’t let people say the other side is so bad you have to vote for my side, stop right there, wish them well and go back to researching. The hyperbole is insane and not real and this election is going to be close so voting outside the duopoly will make a bigger impact because both parties will realize you have learned they don’t care a damn about you, but themselves.

VOTE!  And check your precinct results, because you would have a very real and serious case if you know who you voted for and nothing shows.

Cheers

Friday, October 11, 2024

Finally someone gets it

 

I saw this cartoon and I wanted to share:

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller (msn.com)

 

Basically it says why we need new parties better than me or hopefully it gets through to people better than me.

 

Cheers

Saturday, October 5, 2024

The Trouble with Tribbles or Trump supporters

 

I like this title, but it probably gives off the wrong impression and of course many apologies to the Star Trek writers and fandom.

I read The Dispatch and in it Jonah Goldberg writes something he calls the G- Files. This is not about any of his G files, but rather one comment made about his latest G File.

The comment was “gratitude is the opposite of victimhood”. I upvoted the comment, yet I do not completely agree with it, yet it has quite a bit of legs. Yet, it got me to thinking about Trump, he never really expresses gratitude for anything and as we all know he plays the victim to a fake news academy award winning performance.

And then I thought this must be what is going on with his supporters. And then I realized, no that is not the problem. Sure there are some people that are obnoxious, or despicable, but that is not the vast majority of Trump supporters. Which makes it even harder to understand why they are Trump supporters if generally they are decent people. And many are very decent.

I have been to a Trump rally. It was quite an experience. Or maybe I should say I walked through a Trump rally and stayed for a bit. The rally crowd was so large they were broadcasting his speech on screens outside the building he was speaking. I walked through the crowd that was outside and watched some of his speech on the screen. Now this was one of his earlier rallies not a 2024 event.

And quite frankly they were not hate filled lunatics yelling and screaming all sorts of madness except being boisterous and supportive of his comments and his gloating about only he can make America great. Yes they did give enthusiastic approval of all that, but generally they were a normal crowd enjoying the moment.

I spoke to many of them as I walked by and they were cordial, excited about being there, very supportive of Trump, yet most did not try to force me into anything or say I must support Trump or go away. They were neat. Trash was not strewn all over the place even though it was very crowded and they had been there for hours. Many had been to local restaurants and had brought their food there to eat. Trashcans were full and overflowing, but it was at the trashcans, not up and down the streets.

When Trump spoke there was much noise, yet just yelling in support of some sordid comment, laughing at his attempt’s at humor (which by the way is one problem with Trump, he has no sense of humor, not an ounce) and his statements on how he was going to make things great.

So what gives? How can so many decent people like such a person as Trump? He represents everything that goes against what makes this country great. Sure a few of the things he says sound like he is out to save America, but in reality, they are either empty promises or nothing more than personal bluster. There is also the so called Trump being Trump comments that his supporters try to gloss over, but overall they buy into the idea of what they see as him. It is like they have created an AI version of him that fits into what they want him to be even though when the curtains are pulled back, it gets extremely ugly.

And by no means do I think this is an original opinion. I have read and probably you have too many versions of this same thought about him. Yet it is his supporters that are misunderstood.

There was an article recently that I think was titled Why the elites don’t get the Trump supporters or something close to that. The title seriously intrigued me, but the article ran through so many LeMans S curves it went off the track and never made the long straight away for an actual point. You will have to excuse me, I still have a desire or hankering to see the LeMans 24 hour car race and for some reason it bounced into my head recently so I needed to get that reference out before it drove me crazy.

Anyway anyway anway, back to the point, the elites on the left and right don’t get the Trump supporters and they miss by a long shot.  H. Clinton infamously called them deplorables. Probably one of the most idiotic lines ever said in a Presidential campaign. Yet she is a compete leftist elitist that is clueless as they come. This statement is just the crowning jewel of her cluelessness.

So what to believe about Trump supporters and I almost made the mistake they are like the people who go to the non-denominational  mega churches to feel good. They go to watch some person on the stage who preach a variety of feel good messages, that try to relate to being a Christian, but they are all there to get their weekly dose of religion and then go about their lives. Yet there is no equivalency here for what Trump supporters are looking. Sure some or many may go to these churches, but it is not the same message. Well the prosperity gospels and Trump’s message may have some of the same ring to it, but it is not completely the same.

So what it is it we don’t get. And that is they are just like us, they go to work, they have families they care about, they have fears (unfortunately amplified and creatively exasperated by Trump), and they want a good future.

In Mr. Goldberg’s G file he talks about the difference between the utopians and the eutopians, now the Trump supporters are neither, they do fit closer to the eutopians as that they are working from the ground up. I hate to say this, but many of the regular supporters are not generally creative or large problem solving people. They are hard workers, but the rely on complaints to deal with problems not creative solutions, yet there are many on the left and non Trump supporting right that are the same way.  And there is way more to Mr. Goldberg’s point in his article than this reference gives a compliment to, but you have to understand there is a similar comparison between the elitists and their view of the world as one side versus the Trump supporters and their view of the world. The elitists want us to believe they know what to do and we should listen to them at all costs, while the Trump supporters are looking to find a better way for their lives. They are just incapable like most of us of finding the solutions so they rely on someone like Trump to become their hero to solve their problems, from their perspective or trying to build something better from the bottom up which is what they are looking.

After decades of the elites telling them they do not matter, they see their top down approach as hateful, disrespectful, and unconcerned with them so when Trump said hey guys I understand you, I am here to save you, it sounds good. It was a breath of fresh air in their world.

Unfortunately, Trump tapped into this need for someone to respect and understand them while all the while lying through his teeth to them that they cannot see beyond the proverbial curtain at all.

The Trump supporters are not the enemy or deplorable, they are tired angry and sick of being neglected by elites. So why are the elites so shocked he has so many supporters. The elites just need to look into a mirror and realize their visions were never Trump’s supporters visions or even needs and listen to who they are and act accordingly.

I fear it may be too late or at best may take a long time to bring his supporters back into the fold, but if they do come back, we will need to do a much better job of being eutopians and create some bottom up populist public policy to reinvigorate them into America’s greatness.