Illegal Criminals at our Doorstep.

Today is April 30th, 2019.

Last week, at my front doorstep, the Rio Grande River, two illegal aliens from El Salvador were captured by border patrol agents in La Joya and Roma, Texas. Both aliens were known criminal offenders. The one caught in La Joya was a previously deported alien with an active warrant for sexual assault of a minor in New York. The second alien was a convicted felon also wanted for sexual assault of a minor in Virginia.

Thankfully, both were caught. How many other criminals weren't caught and continued on to other communities in our country? Why does the US government continue to allow this to happen under the guise of humanitarian assistance knowing full well there is no legitimate vetting process for criminals if the Central American and Mexican governments will not provide the US with valid background information on criminals? Must we take all the immigrants at their word that they are seeking asylum knowing full well that they have all been told to request that once they get here?

My experience and opinion? They don't care. The Central American and Mexican government don't want these criminals, poor people and gang members in their countries so they dump them on the US. Those governments don't want the financial burden of supporting or taking care of those people. Basically, they'd rather keep the money for themselves. They're basically playing the US legal system plain and simple. They know full well the American legal system must accept asylum seekers and that all those requests will clog up our legal system and give them the time to keep getting rid of their problem population.

The Mexican government has the reason, the resources, and manpower to stop the immigrants and caravans but they refuse to do anything about it because they don't want to deal with them either, they'd rather pass the problem on to the US. So now the American taxpayers has to foot the bill for coddling illegal immigrants and granting them benefits Americans can't get. Free healthcare, shelter, housing, transportation, education, etc, etc. Some states even grant them driver's licenses and college tuition along with the right to vote!

Interesting side note. Most Mexican prisons in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas are conveniently located along the Mexican / Texas border because the Mexican officials know damn well that any prison escapees will would rather flee to the US rather than face longer sentence in Mexico.

After 21 years of service to my country including border security service, I don't have those same rights! I'm still $10,000.00 in debt for my college education and the guy who entered my country illegally got his education for free along with his other privileges that I have to pay for on a tight budget. Something is definitely wrong here. What is it? POLITICS, politics, P0IiT1k5,! No matter how you present it, its the same shitaki mushroom.

So, here I am, at ground zero of the "immigration problem" in McAllen, TX. and our local leaders are turning this into a political issue during our local elections. Since this is ground zero and in the national spotlight, our city has practically been forced to set up a respite center to handle almost 1000 immigrants a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That humanitarian duty has been taken on by the the Catholic Charities of the RGV. At first, the immigrants were being temporarily housed at a former nursing home located in residential area.

Nearby residents eventually protested out of fear and the impact of immigrants in the area. The city then leased a larger building to the charity in the downtown area and essentially became the landlord to the charity. Local businesses in the area are now expressing their concerns about aliens interrupting and affecting business in the downtown area.

As of today, April 30th, The local candidates are at different ends of the spectrum. One candidate is accusing the the other of turning McAllen into a "sanctuary city" while his opponent is simply following current US law and assisting in humanitarian relief while not falling into the legal definition of "sanctuary city".

I normally don't name names but since this election is public record. I an free to post names. My personal issue is that I know both candidates on a personal level and I have an extremely high regard for both candidates. I have known the Wilkins family for many years and I hold them in extreme high regard and I feel they have McAllen in their best interest. The Ingram family has been in McAllen government for many years and I also feel they have McAllen's best interest at heart but I feel the main point of the problem at hand is, from what perspective is this particular issue being addressed? Is it political, humanitarian, or legal?

Mr. Wilkins claims that Mr. Ingram is turning our city into a sanctuary city in violation of the will of the citizens and US law. By a legal definition, McAllen is not being turned into a sanctuary city. The city of McAllen is acting as an extension of current US law and will be compensated for its  expenditures by the federal government.

As the process now stands, US Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers are dropping of immigrants at the respite center for care and future transport. If McAllen were a sanctuary city, the federal government would be in violation of its own laws, not McAllen. From a humanitarian standpoint, McAllen is also complying with federal law by providing safety and humanitarian needs of non US citizens.

From mine and other McAllenites, (or as I like to call us, McAllenoids), view, it is our own outdated federal laws that have failed us miserably. It is and has always been illegal to enter the US without legal approval but now it has just been relabeled as an asylum and humanitarian issue so as to justify our government's actions and make the problem more palatable for voters. Criminals, drugs, and corruption are still entering our country and no one is taking that into consideration even though the issue is closely tied in with the immigration issue. No one is talking about how Central American countries and Mexico are doing absolutely nothing to help stop the flow of immigrants but are in most cases encouraging it.

While we're on this topic, let's not turn a blind eye to the pink elephant in the room. We as Americans love to stand on our soap boxes and gripe and bitch all we can about the current illegal immigration crisis but continue to hire illegal immigrants because of the cheap labor. We know even big businesses such as poultry processing plants and landscaping businesses do it under the radar. Farmers, ranchers, and labor companies do it all the time and pay in cash under the table. All you have have to do is browse through Craigslist and read between the lines to find the job offers. They usually state that the applicant must be willing to relocate to a northern US state.

Heck, we locals have known that  here in McAllen and the rest of the Texas people have knowingly hired illegals to avoid taxes and labor requirements. Hell, I've known border patrol agents and cops that hire illegals to save a buck or two. They just know what questions not to ask. Those illegals are well known to be hard reliable workers but ultimately, where does most of their pay go? Back to their country of origin to help others come to the US.

Just as with narcotics, Americans and American politicians complain about the drug epidemic in the US and blame Mexico and other South American countries. The drug problem in the US is still and forever will be an issue of supply and demand. The US's insatiable demand for drugs will always have a plentiful supply from our southern neighbors but the drug trade goes hand in hand with human smuggling because those actions are operated by the Mexican drug cartels. As long as the US will continue to give immigrants a free ride to a better live without question, the immigrants will continue to come, legally or illegally along with the narcotics. A free ticket will always be a given, especially when its politicized for votes.


OMG. Did that last paragraph offend you?
Not sorry.

Marijuana bundles aliens were forced to carry into the US by smugglers as part of their crossing deal. If detected by US authorities, the smugglers abandon the aliens and flee back to Mexico. The following investigations tie up Agents and officers for hours or days keeping them from their duties on the border, cartel members know this and exploit the setup to their benefit.

eModicus

At The Border

On April 22nd, I decided to go to the border just to see what if anything was going on. So here is what I saw that day in a one hour period. Below is the areas I took pictures from.

I first stopped at La Lomita Mission. A historical chapel built in 1863 by the Oblate priests. My father used to take me there as a boy. One of the first things I noticed was the abundance of border patrol vehicles in the area and only a few visitors. The chapel sits approximately 100 yards from the Rio Grande River where many illegal crossings take place. Fortunately, there has not been much damage or vandalism caused by the aliens crossing the river at this point.

By The way, If the proposed new border wall is erected, the wall will leave the chapel on the other side of the wall leaving it vulnerable to damage by aliens, vandalism, and ruin.

Just to the north of the chapel, about 50 yards, sits the legendary Pepe's on the River dance place, restaurant, and party hangout for the locals. The patio literally sits over the Rio Grande River. It was severely damaged by floods a few years ago and now sometimes used by coyotes as a staging point for transporting aliens into Mission. I noticed there is now an observation sky-box next to it for observing activity in Mexico.

About 10 years ago, I was at Pepe's for a cookout and dance. We heard gunshots on the Mexico side then a small inflatable boat flying down the river followed by a speeding Border Patrol boat hot on it's tail. The music continued as people ran to the deck to watch. No more as sometimes those bullets are directed at the US side.

I continued down the road and saw a border patrol agent parked alongside the road. I stopped to ask him a few questions about recent activity. He confirmed that the apprehension numbers are definitely rising at a "scary pace" as he put it. He also said that about 90 to 95% of immigrants detained are coming from countries other than Mexico including Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritria, China, and other countries. As we were talking, I noticed he locked in to the treeline behind me and we both saw a group of about five people rushing along the treeline. He flipped on his overheads and left in a hurry leaving me standing in a cloud of dust. Go gittum!

I left and headed towards Granjeno on FM 494 to head home. I stopped under the Anzalduas bridge where I remember many aliens being caught sneaking under the bridge. I noticed concertina wire had been put up on the fence by the Army.

All in all, not much activity but in all fairness, I was only in the area from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Most activity in the area takes place very early in the morning and all night long yet I witnessed a group of about five making a run for it. I will continue to visit the border and post my observations as they are, not like a reporter from New York who is only here a few hours and reports his opinion as fact.

eModicus

At What Point is it a Crisis?

At what point would you consider President Trump's "immigration crisis" a real crisis? How many more needless deaths must occur? How many more children must be separated from their family? How much more taxpayer money must be spent on immigrant care and benefits before this problem is considered a true crisis?

Let's start with Democrats and leftists adamantly protesting that the border issue is a manufactured crisis started by President Trump to justify the border wall. Well, as the well proven saying goes, "numbers don't lie". So let's look at the numbers.


As of today, April 22, 2019, The US Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley sector apprehended a total of 164,000 people, surpassing the total number of apprehensions made in 2018. Last week, a large croup of 135 immigrants was detained near Roma, TX. That group was comprised mostly of families and unaccompanied children. In only three day of that same week, a total of 2,500 immigrants were detained throughout the RGV alone. These numbers do not reflect the immigrants detained in the rest of Texas or other states.

For the past couple of weeks, Border Patrol agents and Customs officers have been overwhelmed with the ever growing numbers of immigrants. Even the respite centers, shelters, and churches are overburdened with such a huge influx of humanity. Resources everywhere are stretched to breaking point while other immigrants are taking advantage of the situation and slipping by and avoiding the standing processes. Today, one of those immigrants who managed to enter the US near Abram, TX was found to be a known MS 13 gang member from El Salvador with an active warrant out of Minnesota. Fortunately, he was caught but how many more others aren't caught? Most MS 13 gang members can speak English and can blend in to a community or move around easily with the help of local gangs. 

There are believed to be some 10,000 MS-13 members scattered across the United States.

One aspect of this crisis that is under reported in the mainstream media are the deaths that occur during the immigration journey. Many occur soon after the immigrants leave their home country while travelling to Mexico. Many more occur in Mexico and others perish in the deserts north of the border during the blazing temperatures of summer.

In today's world of political correctness and fear of offending, the term asylum seekers is being used while I'm still using the term immigrant. The reason I still call them immigrants is because they are immigrating from their country to ours and in most cases illegally. The media prefers to refer to them as "asylum seekers". Let's be real here. The immigrants have been taught to claim asylum once they reach the US. We know full well that they're claim of asylum is bogus and that they know that by claiming asylum, the US must follow the procedures which allows them to remain in the US longer to await their hearing. The are then transported to their destination of their choice where they disappear.

I totally understand helping your fellow man in trouble and hurting but from what I have seen from the inside, many immigrants claiming to seek asylum or a better life simply prefer to live in the US because of the quality of life here, period.  If that's the case, why do they sneak in illegally and or lie to get in? Why do they constantly avoid the legal process? 

Back in 2014 when a similar situation was occurring, an agent friend of mine detained a small group of immigrant near McAllen. He found a few of them carrying printed booklets filled with tips on how and where to cross the border, the times of day, and days of the week to cross into our country. It also included what to say to agents if caught and phrases to regurgitate once in custody. The booklet even contained maps with routes to popular cities. 

 

At many popular crossing points along the Mexican border, immigrants can find vendors selling everything from water jugs to shoes with carpet glued to the soles to hide shoe prints. Other items for sale at these impromptu stands, Immigrants can also purchase items such as maps, flashlight, calling cards, sun hats, and even snacks.

Many of the smugglers (coyotes) often work for the drug cartels and work with smugglers already in the us. These coyotes often coerce or force the immigrants to carry drugs across the border. If there is any sign of US law enforcement intervention is detected, the coyote ditches the immigrants and flees back to Mexico leaving the immigrants literally holding the bag. Due to this happening so often, real smugglers caught crossing the river are now claiming to be immigrants who were forced to carry the drugs and they are soon returned to Mexico to try another time.


So, with with so many immigrants entering the US illegally and the majority claiming asylum, Who can we determine which claim is legitimate when almost every other claim is identical to the last claim? How can we be positive that the child really is a true family member? How can we be sure that some claiming asylum is not a criminal? Since most Central American countries do not share this information (most of which is inaccurate or incomplete), there is no true vetting process. In the meantime, the US continues to bear the cost and burden of treating the immigrants like welcome guests coming over for Christmas dinner.



CRI-SIS /ˈkrīsis/ noun. a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. 2. a time when a difficult or important decision must be made. 3. the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death.  

The question of whether the problem at the border should be called a crisis or not depends on a person's definition of crisis. In my experience dealing with this problem, I do consider it a crisis by it's very definition and not by a political interpretation.


Regardless of your interpretation, the problem of human suffering, deceit, and drugs still exists. Stop with the politics and help with a solution or just continue to be part of the problem.

eModicus

Humanitarian Efforts Addressed

Today, April 17th, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Kevin McAleenen arrived in McAllen to address the media on the issue of the thousands of asylum seekers caught illegally entering the US by Border Patrol.

The secretary the headed to to the Hidalgo - Reynosa International Bridge where his podium was conspicuously placed in front of the current border fence. Secretary McAleenen, who is a former CBP Commissioner, stated that the solution to the current crises is to de-incentivize people from crossing the border and that responsibility falls squarely with law makers, and the laws need to change to address the problem.

Call me forgetful, but that sounds eerily similar to the "solution" proposed by Ronald Vitiello, the former DHS Secretary who was fired by President Trump for not being tough enough on the immigration problem.

I'm no expert on immigration law but from I'm seeing from the border and working on border security, I see current proposals as treating the symptom and not the illness. Currently, the US and Americans along the border are bearing the cost of dealing with the "humanitarian problem" while the real problem is not being address.

Recently, I spoke with a former co worker who returned from duty in El Salvador. He told me that in San Salvador, there are literally billboards and banners posted around the city encouraging it's citizens to go to the US and seek a better life by claiming asylum. From what I heave read during my duties here, The cartels, and gangs in El Salvador and other Central American countries are also encouraging the exodus and profiting from the immigrants who sometimes pay up to $5,000.00 per head to be smuggled into the US. They are then told all they have to do is claim asylum and they're allowed into the US.

The cartels also sometimes use the immigrants to smuggled drugs while crossing the river into the US knowing full well, the immigrant has practically no choice but to cross the drugs. If the Central Americans governments are encouraging their own people to leave and the cartels are going to make a profit, why wouldn't they come? Legally or illegally. Why are these immigrants asked to leave their country? These people are the poorest, the bottom of society that the government will no longer have to support. To the cartels, they are profit without risk.

It is true that some of these immigrants are in the crosshairs of gangs and cartels for various reasons and could use asylum but as it stands right now, they are all being lied to with promises of asylum in the US. This is where the US needs to address the problem, not just with de-incentivizing people from crossing the borders.

I feel that dealing with the Central American and Mexican governments by de-incentivizing them first will likely reduce the numbers to manageable levels in the US. Next, start enforcing the ignored law of penalizing US employers who hire illegal immigrants.

As the "humanitarian" issue stands now, CBP and Border Patrol are understaffed and overworked, resources are stretched to the breaking point, and public outcry is tangling up our government with political correctness, plain politics, and anger. In the mean time, the immigrants keep coming and Border Patrol agents are being pulled off the front  lines in order to manage the mass of humanity at holding facilities while addressing their medical issues, determining familial statuses, and criminal history, all of which must be done within 20 days.

In McAllen, Sister Norma Pimentel who operates the respite center is also stretched thin by taking in up to 400 immigrants per day and sending them off within 48 hours with bus tickets. Then there are those who don't get caught by Border Patrol and make their way to point all over the US. I seriously doubt de-incentivizing them will stop much unless the US addresses the origin governments first.

This past March, Border patrol apprehended approximately 92,000 immigrants along the southwest border, (an all time high), including families and unaccompanied minor children. It is clear the immigrants know how to game US law but our government still wants to deal with this problem as humanitarian issue rather than an illegal immigration problem due to outdated and unenforced laws. Presenting the current problem as a humanitarian issue is mostly due to public outcry of immigrants dying in custody and the images of people in "cages" presented by the media.

A temporary soft sided shelter is proposed near McAllen to house some of the immigrants in an effort to alleviate other overcapped facilities and already it is being called cruel by some people and politicians. (Good enough for our troops but not illegal aliens). This proposed facility will have much better amenities than I ever had in any GP medium I ever had in the Army. But then again, politics are running this show, not logic or law.

Act with common sense, don't react with emotion.

eModicus

Slanderous Reporting

I'm beginning to feel that reporters from the New York Post and The Washington Post really have something against McAllen. After reading a few more articles about other places they've written about, I get the impression they're really trying to make their mark as "investigative" reporters. Enter a city, dig up whatever dirt they can find and make it appear as an investigation, publish it, and BAM, they've made a name for themselves. The key point in this formula is to avoid investigating the other side of the topic and leave the area before anyone asks them any questions.

Another article written about McAllen by the Washington Post was titled "An All American City that Speaks Spanish". LOL! Sure there is alot of Spanish spoken in McAllen but considering 70% of native McAllenites are bilingual, one is bound to hear Spanish spoken considering where there are in the city.

If your're in old downtown McAllen, sure, Spanish is the predominant language spoken in that area but one certainly can't say that makes the entire city Spanish speaking. If the reporter had even bothered to visit the rest of McAllen, they would have observed that the majority of McAllenites and Valleyites for that matter speak predominantly English. This to, me is proof that outsiders like going to places in the headlines like McAllen with preconceived ideas of a dusty border town with loud Mexican music blaring out of shops and colorful overloaded buses carrying people with chickens and an occasional pig onboard.

A few years ago, I discovered that when a survey of spoken languages spoken in in San Antonio, TX was taken, locals were questioned were asked if they were bilingual. If they said yes, they were then asked which language they spoke most often. If they answered Spanish, they were counted as Spanish speakers and English was not counted. I speak primarily English but I also speak Spanish and a little German. If was asked those same questions and I selected German, how would that skew the overall numbers at the end? 

Once here and find that McAllen is a modern American city, they find that it's easier to keep the preconception going than to admit that they were wrong about a modern border city like McAllen. It's also easier to exaggerate the dangers of living in McAllen because of the cartel activity in nearby Mexico to produce more shock value for the reader. I can see how reading about a community living in constant fear of random shootings and kidnappings by uncontrolled thugs rather that a clean well organized peaceful community where crime is not seen by the general public. 

Interesting fact about McAllen: The third most spoken language in McAllen is Tagalog.
Interesting fact about Texas: The third most spoken language in Texas is Vietnamese.

There are also 10 other languages than can be heard in McAllen.
Languages of India -  0.3%
Vietnamese -              0.2%
Korean -                     0.2%
Pacific Island Lang-   0.1%
Russian-                     0.1%
Chinese -                    0.1%
Hungarian -                0.1%
German -                    0.1%
Japanese -                   0.1%
Romanian -                 0.1%

Speak up!

eModicus

Trash My Town

Recently, the New York Post ran an article about my home town of McAllen, Tx. If you’ve been following the “border crisis” news on the immigrant caravans, child separations, border militarization, and caging immigrants, you may have heard of McAllen, TX. We are an All-American City located about eight miles north the US / Mexico border on the southernmost tip of Texas. I was born and raised here and lived and work in all the bordering counties.

After reading the article, it’s safe to say that I was pretty ticked off. The article was at least partially correct about some of the descriptions about McAllen such as the mall, parks, and luxurious houses but I feel it sorely failed in how McAllen sustains itself as a city. First off, I will admit that money laundering does happen in McAllen but money laundering goes on all over the US. Did not the mafia, gangs, and corrupt politicians play a big role in the growth and prosperity of New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Chicago? Does that make those cities drug infested dangerous and corrupt as they are portrayed now?

As for the poverty, yes, McAllen is located in one of the poorest counties in the US but that is according to the US definition of $25,000 per year for a family of four. Today, a family of four making $20,000 per year still gets by pretty good in the Rio Grande Valley because of the low cost of living and readily work available for unskilled workers and other factors. The impression of people living in abject poverty in shacks and wheeless buses is a total misrepresentation of life in McAllen and the RGV. There are areas of McAllen where families live in small wood frame houses with chickens in the yard and a broken car in the dirt driveway but that family still lives comfortably for the most part. I have been in many of these homes and surprised to see modern electronics and amenities.

These are mostly deeply religious first and second generation immigrants people who shun drugs and crime. Where they live now is in most cases, a step up or two from what they knew in their native country. Their lifestyles shouldn’t be judged by outsiders just as hillbillies living in wooden cabins with no running water in the hollars of West Virginia shouldn’t be judged. They’re happy with their lot in life and should not be looked down on or felt sorry for. For this reason, an entire community shouldn’t be labeled under one heading.

As for the money laundering in McAllen, I beg to differ with malice on that matter. I’ve already admitted to some laundering going on here but that is not what makes McAllen what it is. Much of the Rio Grande Valley makes quite a big chunk of it’s revenue by other means such as citrus export, cross border manufacturing, winter visitors, Mexican shoppers, tourism, and various businesses from out of state moving to McAllen. Other important statistics to describe McAllen can be found here.

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/mcallen-tx/

The New Yok Post titled “Texas oasis of wealth and luxury thrives on trafficking near border” clearly paints McAllen as a city built on smuggling, money laundering and corruption. That simply is not true and it gives outsiders and potential visitors a very negative view of our home. That makes us wary of outside reporters and news crews who only come and visit for a day or two to point out the negative to show the rest of the world for their sole purpose of furthering their reporting careers and personal profiting.

McAllen is one of the most populous cities in south Texas for good reason. It is best known for the incredibly low cost of living, the great educational system, the culture, and the exceptional weather. Forbes ranked McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area as the 35th best performing city in the country not due to money laundering. According to neighborhoodscout.com, McAllen is ranked 18 out of 100 in crime analytics. https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/tx/mcallen/crime  Enter your hometown in neighborhoodscout to see how your city ranks.

The author Isabel Vincent, (a Canadian), came to my city and basically trashed it because she spoke to a few officials and the story she chose to print was probably more for shock value which fit in well with someone’s agenda or maybe for just another notch in her journalist belt. Maybe, if she’d have stuck around a little longer or maybe lived here awhile, she’d see the true McAllen and the comfortable lives we enjoy in our little corner of the world. Who knows, had she stayed longer, she may have even noticed all the Canadian flags flown in the RGV by our Canadian friends who enjoy life here during the winter months along with all the other Minnesotans, Iowans, Nebraskans, Dakotans, and other northern states.

I’ve been to Toronto and I believe it is a beautiful city but I know it has it’s problems, I just wouldn’t go pointing out to the rest of the world any negative or preconceived notions just to say I saw it with my own eyes and make a half story out of it.

If you have read any of my other posts, you know that I worked on a border security mission alongside many other law enforcement agencies for 10 years. I was the guy that saw the border situation from the inside and some cases knew more about the goings on along the border than most “officials”. I had no agenda, no leanings, nor reason to sugar coat the truth. I just crunched the numbers and got the stats from the numbers.  Sometimes official mouthpieces do have political motives and allow only certain things to be reported. 


Next time, do more research and talk to Mr. and Mrs. Citizen before you put your journalistic foot in your mouth by only reporting partial and non truths. 

Come down and visit us, stay for a spell and live our lives. https://www.mcallen.net/ We have real tacos. 

eModicus

Home School Rant

Keeping it short and sweet here.

My wife and I decided to homes school our three daughters. At first, I resisted but eventually, I relented after hearing her our out. After our twin daughters graduated, I was so thankful of our decisions to home school. I was so proud of my daughters and both soon left to make their their mark on the world. One went to Japan, China, and Hong Kong where she spread the word of Jesus to those who did not know the Word of God.

The  other twin remained at home and endured a two year internship at our church and became a successful photographer and eventually became a successful photographer and started her own corporate branding business.

My third serves at a server at popular restaurant. I am so proud that all three of my daughters are self supported productive members of our society.

Our decision to home school was not based on religious reasons but solely on the the principles that we wanted our kids to live by. As Christians, we wanted our kids to grow up on and live by those same principles we grew up on, love, no hate, no discrimination, or political beliefs, period.

I am so glad we made we made that decision. I am also thankful for the sacrifices my wife made to take on that commitment. We now get to travel throughout the US and the world to visit them where we now learn about our world from them.

For proof, here are a few links by our daughters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yqEYvlfxU8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxGImV6fxnA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEh-_InwA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEh-_InwA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQPMlZ_YBbA

HOPE: Home Oriented Parental Education.

Homeschooling Curriculum: Christian Curriculum for Home school Families. https://www.aop.com/curriculum The curriculum we used.

We also used https://www.abeka.com/homeschool/

We even used https://www.aop.com/curriculum/monarch occasionally.

Whenever we took our kids out on daily errands, we took advantage of daily life skills like price comparisons by volume, or  price and demand.

On vacation to the Mexican ruins in Tulum, We had them write essays on Mayan culture based on what they saw. You can't get out of that from a book. They experienced that first hand as well as all of the the other stuff. That is how they learned, by experience and seeing for themselves!
Every experience we had, we turned into a learning experience for our kids. Everything from a shopping trip to an oil change on our SUV, they learned something.

I'm proud that my kids can school you from everything from the Incan Empire to changing a flat tire in on a 1985 Mercedez Benz. They can do that because I can proudly say, my kids were home schooled. BTW, they can probably do your taxes and save you some money. Not because I taught them math but because they continued learning on their own.

That's how we rolled.

eModicus

Race Riot Rant

To my R&R Readers,

So guys, I received an email from an R&R reader that had been following my blog for about eight months and wanted to ask me few questions. His last question was about my nationality and ethnicity. When I responded with the truth, he, or she, blasted me by ultimately telling me I was not a “real” American. Wow! OK. I’m used to hate hate mail and haters but I relented. I politely asked the “questioner” about their nationality and ethnicity. He simply replied with AMERICAN! Ok. American is not an ethnicity or race. It is a nationality by definition.

Well even though I have a Spanish surname, I was born in Texas and my forefathers were born in the area before it was later known as Texas. I told him an Ancestry.com test showed my ancestors were from Spain and Portugal and Cristobal Colon’s (Christopher Columbus), personal steward had my family’s surname and I also had 40% native American heritage.

So, according to this hater’s claim, I needed to go back to where I came from (Mexico). I was so glad to the let this bigot know that my ancestors and family were here way before his family ever even knew coming to the Americans was a possibility.

My father’s parents were born in Texas but they moved to Mexico because of abuse and discrimination by the Anglos. My father was later born in Mexico and came to the US legally as a teenager, became a successful business man and was accepted as such by the whites in our community.  I was born in 66 in south Texas. As a kid in our community growing up, I didn’t see the skin color difference as a barrier. I only knew Hispanics or Anglos in my community growing up. There were no other races in our community that I was aware of at the time.

I was born and raised in a primarily Hispanic community in south Texas where discrimination was still prevalent in the 60s but I was too young to understand what discrimination was. I am Hispanic but sometimes mistaken as white because of my light complexion and lack of an accent.

After I graduated from high school, I joined the US Army and traveled the world (14 countries), where I was often asked about my race, ethnicity, and nationality wherever I went. I noticed that when I answered as Hispanic, I was treated one way. When I answered as American, I was treated another way, and when I answered about my ethnicity, I answered as Hispanic and treated another way. Yet, I am often labeled as Latino, but not as an American. Why? Are not African Americans, Irish Americans, German Americans, or any other nationality Americans. Why as a Hispanic am I always considered a Mexican?

While in the Army, in Germany of all places, I married an Anglo woman which complicated matters even more. I am sometimes mistaken as white (Anglo) when I was with her and afforded or denied white or minority "privileges" depending on how I was viewed at the time by the official.

In a college course I took, I learned that race, and in most cases, nationality, are a man made construct design to categorize humans because that is what humans are drawn to do. Ultimately, humans are what we all are. The only difference is the amount of pigment in our skin and where we are raised with a culture of the area we were born in. The world is a big place and the way in which we are raised cannot be standardized on one particular race. People just feel a need to put others in categories based on the beliefs they were raised by. That belief does not make the judgment right by one race that sets their standards.

So, if that is how humanity is going to set any standard, I will accept the privilege that gives me the most advantage. Hispanic privilege, Latino privilege, or even Indian privilege when I can because my skin color does not define me, if is set by others. My wife and I had three children, all of which have flown the coup and live in different parts of the US and Canada where she is often asked about her ethnicity only because of the lack of the typical blonde hair, and blue eyes.

Another daughter lives in Kansas and is subject to similar scrutiny when questioned about her surname but cannot speak Spanish. Big brown eyes and beautiful chestnut brown curly hair. From what I see on social media, she’s a looker but sometimes questioned for being Hispanic but cannot speak Spanish. But yet, she contributes more to America with her work than some self proclaimed nationalist Americans cannot. Even though she cannot speak Spanish, she understands it and the Hispanic culture that makes America what she is.

Our third daughter is what some haters would call a “racial oddity”. She is a happy go lucky free spirit with a zest for life but more times than not is mistaken as Anglo because of her white complexion and light auburn hair, She was once labeled as Albanian by new coworkers because they didn’t know how to categorize her because of her physical appearance and she didn’t speak Spanish. She does know Spanish, they just never heard her speak it, so they slapped a label on her because of her physical appearance.

I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Germany for four years. Because of my linguistic skills, I was able to learn and speak German proficiently, enough so that I was labeled the unofficial translator for my unit. So now, here I am, a Hispanic with a southern accent, married to an Anglo woman who doesn’t speak Spanish and who home schooled our three daughters with limited Spanish language skills but yet, they all turned out to be productive useful citizens of US and Canadian societies.

My question to you. What does race, nationality, ethnicity, or skin color have to do with being a member of any society?

My story is just one of millions from around the world many of my readers can relate to. I’m sure many R&R readers have their own similar stories. I encourage you to share your family history and let these stereotypical meaningless constructs go and make this world a better place for our children and future generations.

Peace Out Dudes.

eModicus

Border Shutdown Showdown

Well R&R readers, here we are at the precipice of a dangerous cliff. Will President Trump shut down the border? Personally, I don’t think he will. Why pray tell you ask?

Well, here goes. Today Apr 3, 2019. City leaders in the Rio Grande Valley and their counterparts in Mexico met to discuss what the impact of the border closure could have on our area. Also to be discussed is how to present what those impacts would have on us in our region along the border to our officials in Washington. Before I go any further, there some things that should be made crystal clear before you make any judgments.

Americans living along the border here are fully aware of the immigration problem along our border because we deal with it 24-7-365. We way down here in the RGV are feeling left out of the decision or not asked for our opinion while people in the northern states have already made up their minds about the border issues, especially the Liberals and Leftist who are making decisions solely to deny our President without any regard to the Americans living along the US / Mexico border.

To put things in perspective, what if Americans from Texas to Southern California supported the proposal the shut down of the US / Canadian border because we believed that Canadians are taking advantage of the US? How would that closure affect YOU personally along our northern border? How would that affect YOUR local economy?

By my estimation, about 80% of Americans in the RGV are opposed to illegal immigration because it drains our resources and it creates other social ills in our communities.  Most of us here in the Rio Grande Valley fully understand that both border economies are dependent on each other. A border closure would devastate the economy here and other areas along the border. Business here is already dropping and the long term effects are unknown.

The US imported around $1.3 billion in avocados alone. Are you ready to live without guacamole? How about tomatoes, bananas, or nuts?

  

When the original border fence was proposed, most local residents in the RGV were opposed to the wall being put up but not for the reasons most non border Americans thought. When the original wall was being proposed, I was in training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

During a class, our instructor asked for a raise of hands from those that were for the border wall. Most of the Anglos who were from north Texas raised their hands while most of the against raised hands came from Hispanics from south Texas who opposed the border fence. The following heated discussion was a lesson on looking at the entire issue and not making decisions on one particular aspect of the problem or on emotion.

Most of the pro fence supporters believed we didn’t want the fence because we wanted to allow our extended family members to enter the US. Fact was, 98% of us don’t even have any relatives in Mexico because we are third and fourth generation Americans born in the US.

White folks, Oh. We thought…..

Border Hispanics: Cool with immigration as long as it’s legal and we don’t lose our land. You cool with that Herr Schwartz?

The border issue at hand is about illegal immigration and the broken system that was not designed to address the problem we have at hand today. The problem the local citizens and Hispanics had with the issue was that Americans’ farm lands and private properties would be lost to the placement of the fence. The environmental issues were another reason. As of today, many farmers have land south of the border wall, longtime residences are south of the wall now, the TSC College campus had a large portion of it’s campus left south of the wall and native wildlife no longer have access to food and water from the river.

No Man’s Land 6:55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr6wiT3ElVo

This past week in the RGV, a poll was taken here and it revealed that 75% of Valley residents are opposed to, ”A Great Wall”. Most stated that we already have a wall and the problem we have today has resulted in 6000 immigrant apprehensions in one week. Our Border Patrol agents are spending more time at their stations attending to the immigrants with processing, medical issues, transportation than they are patrolling the border. A Border Patrol agent I spoke to told me they are “stretched to the limit and wasting valuable time babysitting immigrants”. That agent also told me that when he was in Central America, he saw billboards and signs all over the cities encouraging Central Americans to go to the US. Who do you think put those billboards up? Most probably the government and I wouldn’t doubt the cartels may have had a hand in it.

RGV Border Patrol Sector, Today Apr 3, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd1I-IvcV0g

Ultimately, President Trump must first consider the devastating effect a shutdown would have on US citizens living along the border and the effect a shutdown would have on the US economy. I feel the president will ultimately accept that fact and will not shut down the border. Our immigration policy is antiquated and not designed to function in today’s world. Any future immigration policy must include cooperation and compliance from every country south of our border.

Any new policy must also include repercussion for employers who seek out to exploit immigrants for profit and tax evasion. It must also include stiff penalties for countries that encourage or enable emigration to the US and human rights violations such as El Salvador and Venezuela which they are currently engaging in. Honduras and Guatemala are not for behind. 

From the border, hasta luego.

Oh wait.... Here's my personal rendition of Trump's new border wall.

eModicus.

Cartel Intelligence Techniques

Why are the Mexican cartels successful at what the do? The consensus answer in the US Intelligence agencies and American analysts is multifaceted. 1). They have a clear-cut goal, 2). They know Mexican and US laws, 3) They well structured.

They are not the ragtag bunch of uneducated thugs many people make them out to be. While the lowest level members may not be well educated and many live in poverty, they see the possibility of moving up the ladder by proving their abilities and loyalty. It is the plaza bosses and their cartel leaders that make the important decisions. Many if not most of the Lieutenant, Captains, and cartel heads are well educated. Some were ex-military, policeman, government officials, and even engineers, and doctors. Some were even educated and trained in US schools or even at Ft. Benning Georgia’s School of the Americas were US Army Rangers and other elite units train.

I’ll touch a bit on the above three topics above but in this post, I want to emphasize the Intelligence aspect of the cartels’ success reasons.

Clear- cut goal: Get filthy rich as soon as possible without letting anything or anyone get in their way, especially the law.

They know Mexican and US laws: They just find ways to circumvent or just ignore the laws.

They are well structured. Each member has a purpose to serve in the cartel. From the 16 year old lookout on the street corner to the boss’s second in command, they know there is big price to pay for failure or betrayal.

So how do the cartels use intelligence. As mentioned earlier, many of the top level cartel members are educated in various fields, they understand the usefulness of intelligence and many ex- military and ex- law enforcement officials are well trained in this field. The simple use of two-way radios and cloned cell phones is the basis for their communications but they’ve taking it to a higher level by erecting clandestine radio communications towers with repeaters and other equipment to maintain their communication networks. If there is no one within their group with the knowledge to build them, it’s not uncommon to find someone who can and threaten with their lives and those of their families.

Mexican Military seized of 51 radios, a base radio charger with vehicle microphone, 57 chargers, several cloned cell phones,  

In the passed five years, as many as 42 engineers, technicians and tradesmen have been kidnapped and forced to set up the equipment at gunpoint until the project is completed. Most are never seen again. These types of radio networks are primarily used by the lower echelon members for basic communications or to jam or intercept law enforcement or military forces. In some cases, these radio networks are used to spy on rival cartels and even find out moles or betrayers.

Meanwhile, bosses use the internet to communicate. One crafty way they use email without attracting to much attention and seem legitimate is set up an email account using a free commonly known domain such as Gmail, AOL, or any other. The boss gives the account name and password to his trusted captains who sets up another free email account and gives his lieutenants the account address and password.

The boss writes his orders to his captain as any regular email but, instead of sending the email, he saves it in the draft folder. The boss then sends the captain a regular email containing innocuous information about harmless subjects such as school, family, or some innocent conversation. This sent email notifies the captain to check his email. The captain logs in and checks the draft folder to find his new orders. He reads it, then deletes the message.

Mexican Marines patrolling a desolate area in Tamaulipas found a radio communications tower with repeaters and other equipment.

Marines guard seized telecommunications equipment, allegedly built by the Zetas drug cartel.

This post explains only the communication networks the cartels use to communicate and exploit to their advantage. There are more methods they use which I will post at a later time.

Keep in contact.

eModicus