RGV Life

In one of my jobs, I have to drive from McAllen to Mission to Edinburg to McAllen and to Mission again. The weather in the Rio Grande Valley is awesome this New Year's Eve. It's t-shirt weather. When I got off from my first job, I smelled barbecue. I drove to the second job to load up and still smelled barbecue. On the way from McAllen to Mission, I smelled barbecue. From Mission to Edinburg, I smelled barbecue. From Edinburg to Mission (I skipped McAllen today), I smelled barbecue. This is such a perfect New Year's Eve compared to other years when we spent the evening huddled inside to keep warm. Everybody is barbecuing! At first, I thought it was fog, as we had fog this morning. I realized, however, that it's smoke from everybody's grills. That's awesome! I'm going to spend the evening drinking Shiners and chilling out. This is the perfect New Year's Eve. I'll stop blogging now and go out to drink beer. The traditional Tejano drink is Bud Light, b...

While writing the last post, I was reminded of a recent experience with a mojado I met recently. I occasionally am called upon to give people a ride home. This guy I met, whom I no longer transport, is a mojado. In English, that's a wetback. For the sensitive crowd, an undocumented worker. Anyway, it's a common misconception that mojados are ignorant, stinky, dirty, and ill-mannered peasants. Well, most Mexicans, including the wealthy ones with whom I often mingle, are ill-mannered. However, many of them are well educated, even the poor ones. So, this guy works in construction. He knows everything about the field. He can roof, lay tile, frame, lay a foundation, set brick, and even make granite countertops. I have a tendency to get to know people; so I got to know him. This guy knew about the bible and about some of the books I've read like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and some other similar books. He is living in, shall we say "low-income housing". Yet,...

I was amazed that people like this think that building a wall across the border is similar to the Berlin wall. I would agree that it is similar to the Great Wall of China. You see, the Berlin wall was meant to keep people in more than it was for keeping people out. The Great Wall of China was, like the recent legislation's plan, meant to keep people out. Chinese people are not racist for one reason. Everyone in China is Chinese. This is probably mostly true because they had the wall to keep out Mongols and Manchurians. The biggest argument I hear from people that it's a bad idea to build a wall across our border is because it will not stop people from crossing it. DUH! It won't stop people from entering the country illegally. That is a given. It will, however, slow them down considerably. Well, no, it won't. The problem with the wall is that it's a government project. Let me tell you the reason why it's destined to fail. You see, the Great Wall of China was not...

A CAPITOL BLOG: Breaking News: Marching Valley Veterans Successful In Securing Clinic Expansion I wish to congratulate Rep. Aaron Peña and Valley Veterans on their small success in getting a Veterans clinic in the Rio Grande Valley. The Rep mentions that some vets see this move as a "crumb". I urge our vets to see this as a big step forward. Yes, it would have been great to get a hospital, but you have to realize that it's on the way. First, our local Veterans should realize that government is like cancer, it only grows and grows. You never hear about government cutting back. The cutbacks you hear about are cutbacks on growth, but not real cutbacks. Like your wife telling you she saved you money because she bought stuff on sale. She could have spent more. The same is true with government. Now it's a clinic with a certain fixed budget. Next year's budget will be bigger due to the high demand of Veteran health services in the Rio Grande Valley. Every year will have ...

I forgot to write about one of the important traditions in the Rio Grande Valley around Christmas time. Tamales! If you live far from the Southern border, you may have tasted canned tamales. Those things are crap. Please don't judge tamales by those standards. Tamales are great when they are fresh. There are chicken tamales, pork tamales, beef tamales, bean tamales, sweet tamales, and I recently tasted cream cheesa and jalapeno tamales. The Christmas holiday is the best time of year because of the abundance of tamales. Certainly they are greasy and can stain your clothes with the spice and chile coloring. There is no doubt that the carbs and high fat content will put you over the 2 million calorie mark. But who cares? They're delicious. If there is one thing that the Mexican culture has got right, it's tamales. The beauty of tamales is that they are delicious when they are fresh. If you have leftovers, you can freeze them. Afterwards, you can nuke them or toss them on a co...

We have had great weather in the Rio Grande Valley. It's cause for frustration amongst some here. It would have been nice to have a cold Christmas. No luck. It was a gorgeous day. We've had temperatures in the 70 and 80 degree range. The weather is expected to continue this great. If you're from up north, you may think that this is a great thing. The problem is this, you can't do hot chocolate and baking very well in warm weather. It just doesn't fit. This is iced tea and sandwich weather. We'd like to pretend this isn't a subtropical region once in a while.

Politico is right about Omar Guerrero. The lies will be his undoing. If I were caught in the same circumstances, even if the weed weren't mine, rather than deny it, I'd say that I need help with my problem. I'd do this because nobody is going to believe that "somebody" left their bag of weed in my vehicle without my knowing. There's no way. Let's say it isn't his. Who is going to get on the vehicle of the district clerk and just leave his stash behind? I know stoners, they DON'T forget where they put their weed. If it's not his, he knows exactly who left it there.

I got a chance to speak with Laura Hinojosa today. She seems upbeat about her campaign, especially with the latest developments with her opponents. She expects to ratchet up her work in January. I think I'll make some time to go visit her campaign office and help out. Just to remind my readers, I don't really know Laura Hinojosa's views on politics. At the District Clerk level, they are not relevant. It would be stupid to help a Republican seek an office because the Democrats run the Rio Grande Valley. In any case, Candidate Hinojosa is nice to me, so I am willing to return the favor. I won't report any juicy secrets about the campaign, should I hear any. I will simply report my contribution.

There is a Mexican saying: Estan haciendo chile con el rabo. Loosely translated, it means "they're pretty angry". The literal translation is "they're making pepper with the tail". Something gets lost in translation. Anyway, the Dems are probably haciendo chile con el rabo over the president's recent rise in approval . GW is kicking butt on two fronts: Iraq and the economy. In Iraq, the recent elections are proof that he was right about the Iraqis wanting to govern themselves. Even the Sunnis turned out to vote. On the economy, just watch CNNfn, Bloomberg, or other financial networks. Listen to Bob Brinker on the weekends. You'll have known that the economy has been surging ahead like a machine. The only downer on the economy is the President's reluctance to reign in spending by the Republicrats. We have low interest rates, single digit unemployment, and a pretty steady cosumer price index despite fighting a war against terrorism, getting hit b...

Anybody who supports the McCain amendment is calling our troops thugs. We had a few jerks who stepped out of line. Overall, our troops have not been and are still not torturing people. This is a piece of feel-good legislation that doesn't do anybody any good. Here is my point. When legislators take on a cause to criminalize some behavior, they have not solved the problem. Let's say that we criminalize drugs, for example. People will still do drugs. The law only applies to those who get caught. If we criminalize torture, it only applies to those who get caught. I've broken so many laws, yet have not been caught. I break the law every time I go 56 in an 55 mph area. I break the law when I sell some crap in a yard sale and don't report the income. I break the law when my insurance expires for a couple days. I am a hardened criminal. The laws were meant to stop me from doing these things that I do often. More importantly, the fact that such legislation was ever proposed mak...

For Our Democrat Friends: "Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physica...

Accuweather's Joe Bastardi is forecasting freezing temperatures for the Rio Grande Valley on Sunday and Monday. You can hear Joe on KURV 710 AM radio during the morning drive show. You have time to prepare your plants and pipes for the cold. Make sure you check out your heater early. The fire department gets many calls during this season because of poorly maintained heaters that catch fire. If you have a gas heater, check for leaks and provide adequate ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. And don't forget to bring your pets inside. Make sure you have plenty of Swiss Miss and pan dulce ready.

The Holidays are without a doubt, one of my favorite times of year. I love the cheer and goodwill that permeates the air amongst us. Even when we are older, we try to be good for goodness sake around this time. Then there is also the happiness of being with friends and family. We share food. We share gifts. We spend our time off together. Most people do not decorate their homes throughout the year, but will at least put up a Christmas tree. It's a wonderful time. I must admin that for me it's also a time of reflection on seasons past. I remember the days of my childhood as a poor migrant and the slow shift to where I am today. I am by no means well off or even comfortable. Thanks to my wife's job, we are officially above the poverty line, although with tons of debt. Prior to this year, our combined earnings were less than $20k per year. I look forward to someday being middle class. Still, I look back and see how poor we were and I am grateful for what I have. If you ever s...

Listening to radio statioin KURV, you may hear Sergio Sanchez refer to the weather we had recently as "caldito weather." Mmmm, caldo. I have to agree with Sergio. Caldo is awesome in cool weather. For the uninitiated in Rio Grande Valley culture, caldo is soup. It can be chicken or beef soup. Caldo generally has cabbage, carrots, potatos, corn on the cob, and chayote, a kind of squash. Some people add some celery or other greens. You garnish the soup with cilantro. You also squeeze some lemon into the soup. In the Valley, we hardly use yellow lemons, we use limes. We just say lemons because we don't use lemons and the only thing close to one is a lime. Geez, my mouth is watering while I write this. If you just have the soup by itself, it's not really filling. You need to eat caldo with a rolled up tortilla in the same way most people eat food with a roll or a biscuit. This may be enough to introduce you to one of our favorite dishes. To really make your caldo complete...

This morning, the temperature was 37 degrees. It has gone up into the 40's today. Things will get better later in the week. I can't wait. I had a low tire, which was a bit worn out around the edge anyway, so I went to a tire shop and had the two front tires replaced. It was on my list of things to do, so I can pass the state inspection. So, for $50, I got two front tires with mounting included. Used, of course. It was damn cold out there. It must be tough for the guys changing tires. I had a quick trip to HEB down the street to get cash. My face, ears, fingers, and brain were almost frozen stiff. I can't imagine what it must be like to work outside in the cold all day like that.

Just want to post a quick, see, I told you so. The Mexican AFI, their version of our FBI, has agents under investigation for "probably committing crimes." Come on, probably? Let me tell you that drug cartels are much better financed than the federal government in Mexico. There is no way the government can afford to pay agents better than drug lords. In addition, there is no way the government can protect agents and their families from drug lords. The irony, as mentioned previously, is that we pay for all this. When we reduce supply on the streets, it increases the price of drugs. This is more incentive for cartels to do everything in their power to bring their stuff in. The additional money also gives them more options by allowing them to pay off officials in both countries and to afford better logistics. Vicente Fox and the succeeding presidents of the Mexican Republic simply cannot win so long as there is poverty in Mexico. Easy money is just too much of an incentiv...

I once had a research paper regarding the drug trade. The way things are now, we can only expect one result: increased violence. You have to know some people in the business to understand that it's business. Take away the profit and you've got no incentive. I don't know when the drug war started. I'm sure it was back in the 60s or 70s sometime. In the Reagan years, our country began to crack down on drugs (pun intended). Then George Bush, the father, had his turn to defeat drugs. Bill Clinton did his best. I haven't seen any evidence that the current Bush puts fighting drugs as a priority. On the other hand, by adding more people to the Border Patrol and Customs, it's likely that more drugs are interdicted. It seems like the more our country fights drugs, the richer and more powerful the cartels become. It's simple supply and demand economics. The more we restrict the flow of drugs into the country, the more valuable the drugs that get through become. The in...

Listen to Rio Grande Valley news as recorded live. What I was trying to convey here was that my wife and I attended the Hidalgo County Christmas Party, hosted by Judge Ramon Garcia. Also in attendance was Eric Cardenas. The party included live music and brisket dinner. It was held at the Pharr International Convention Center, which is located right off Hwy 281, North of the Sioux Rd Exit. Towards the end, there were prizes awarded to lucky ticketholders. Compared to last year, the location was much roomier with more parking. Last year's party at Nellie's Ballroom was great, but a little crowded. Last year's party also had a better band, Latin Beat . In any case, it was fun.