A current (February 28, 2017) opinion poll clearly indicates stark division between the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) leftist faction that favors statehood and the Partido Popular Democrático that prefers to remain a commonwealth.
What a difference a day makes (or a couple decades). Nearly 20 years ago while engaged in a construction project west of Ponce, one faction advocated statehood (comparable to Republicans) while another (comparable to Democrats) advocated independence from the U.S. – either option was in the hands of the voters of Puerto Rico. Pro-statehood voters affixed this bumper sticker to their rear bumpers.
The caption translates, “It’s your flag, too.” Around the Caribbean coastal areas were numerous political signs demanding the U.S. Navy leave Puerto Rico saying in Spanish, “Get out of Vieques, Navy”.
It appears the liberal party now pushes for statehood in order to capture more federal money for welfare programs and the ability to sway elections toward liberal Democrats on the mainland.
Where do most Puertorriqueño live? Approximately twice as many live in New York and Florida than live in the commonwealth. All who are residents of a state can vote because all Puertorriqueño are U.S. citizens by birth.
Puertorriqueños demanded the U.S. Navy leave the commonwealth and it did, along with its huge contribution to the economy of Puerto Rico.
For one term, a Republican governor labored to cut the size of a bloated commonwealth government, but the welfare addicts ultimately had their day and liberal regained control.
Personally, I oppose statehood until such time the commonwealth of Puerto Rico demonstrates sound fiscal policy by cutting spending. Dramatically.
Demand statehood, Governor? Really? How about you EARN it.
Univision vocero Jorge Ramos obviously failed the Dale Carnegie course on Effective Communications and Human Relations Skills for Success.
Your ignorant rants against my president, my fellow Americans, and against me do not serve to foster a healthy, civil relationship between your country and our country.
There is this myth, this lie that formerly Mexican territories that now fly the American flag were ‘stolen’ from Mexico. Just to supplement your ignorance of history, Mr. Ramos. I give you the following facts of history.
Mexico losses encompassed an area that included all of the present State of Texas, as well as parts of present-day New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming after Texans defeated dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna.
The Texans who revolted against Mexico were almost entirely Mexican citizens. Yes, Sam Houston, Lorenzo de Zavala, José Antonio Navarro, Stephen F. Austin, and William B. Travis were loyal Mexican citizens who led the revolt against a ruthless dictator who trampled the Constitution of the United States of Mexico.
The United States of America PURCHASED the border areas of Arizona and New Mexico to resolve a border dispute between Mexico and the USA. Meeting in Mexico City on December 30, 1853, James Gadsden, U.S. Minister to Mexico, and General Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, signed the Gadsden Purchase in Mexico City. This was ten years after the Texas revolution.
A little more than twenty years after the Texas revolution there was a war between Mexico and the United States. Congress overwhelmingly approved a declaration of war on May 13, but the United States entered the war divided. Democrats, especially those in the Southwest, strongly favored the conflict. [Ency. Britannica]
You lost; we won. We paid Mexico $30 million for the rest of present-day US western states, including California.
No, Mr. Jorge Ramos, all the land between present-day borders with Mexico and Canada belong to us, the US, not Mexico.
I know the truth hurts, but you will sleep better knowing it.
Tome sus declaraciones ignorantes en relación con el territorio de los Estados Unidos y póngalas donde el sol no brille.
Saber es poder, amigo.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
PS: Si alguna vez está Ud. en Rockwall, le invito a almorzar en uno de nuestros buenos restaurantes conmigo.
Forfeiture actions have become common in drug cases and white collar crime cases. Additionally, Texas forfeiture law has been expanded to apply to any felony of the first or second degree in the Texas Penal Code, as well as numerous expressly listed offenses contained in other codes.
Allowing local law enforcement officials to keep a substantial amount of the proceeds obtained from seizing contraband for their own official use gives the police and prosecutors an improper incentive to overzealously pursue civil forfeitures. This asset forfeiture system often leads to corruption, particularly in Texas where the police and prosecutors are allowed to keep the property they seize.
How Police Can Seize Your Property Without A Trial
In just over a decade, Texas law enforcement collected more than half a billion dollars, $540.7 million, in cash and personal property from Texans suspected of breaking the law. Known as civil asset forfeiture, this legal practice leaves average Texans vulnerable to having their assets seized by police, no trial or proof of guilt necessary.
Texas is among the worst states in the nation for civil asset forfeiture abuse. The Institute for Justice’s “Policing for Profit” report gave Texas a D+ and said the state leads the nation in average annual forfeiture proceeds, at roughly $41.6 million. Read more from the DMN
Financial Incentives Corrupt Good Government
Back in the day when tiny Lavon, Texas had a meager population fewer than 400 souls, that Collin County city was a notorious speed trap. The city’s police force included four full-time officers and 12 reserve officers.
Lavon city law enforcement claimed the department was merely protecting its citizens, but police officers were writing tickets for all manner of things from one mile per hour over the posted speed limit to tinted windows that allegedly exceeded state-mandated limits.
Bottom line: After the Texas Legislature limited the share of traffic fines, the city reduced the size of its police department and today Lavon is no longer a speed trap.
The overall effectiveness of government is inextricably dependent on public trust. A 2011 FBI law enforcement bulletin stated, “In terms of public trust for law enforcement, recent polls show that only 56 percent of people rated the police as having a high or very high ethical standard as compared with 84 percent for nurses.”
In the wake of the Obama administration, public trust in law enforcement is at an all-time low as mobs take to the streets of major metropolitan areas and leftist organizations like the ACLU and the BLM movement oppose legitimate law enforcement.
Call for Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform in Texas
The 85th Texas Legislature has before it Senate Bill 380 carried by State Senator Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) to dramatically reform civil asset forfeiture in our state.
Previously, State Senator John Whitmire (R- Houston) carried SB-316 that successfully curtailed abuses of property unjustly seized at roadside traffic stops. But, it did not go far enough.
Common sense tells us the seizure of huge sums of money disruptst drug cartels. Equally so, common sense tells us the seizure of private property from innocent Texans disrupts Texas lives.
Attorney, patriot, and mom, KrisAnne Hall podcast: Civil Asset Forfeiture
Action
Contact your Texas State Senator and your Texas State Representative. Tell them you support SB-380 to reform Texas Civil Asset Forfeiture.
In Matthew 5:25 Jesus warns us of probable injustice. “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg viciously attacked candidate Donald Trump, calling him a ‘faker’ even while a case involving Mr. Trump was before the Supreme Court. While Justice may be blind, this Supreme Court Justice obviously promotes a leftist agenda.
In an interview with Egyptian television she said, “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were adopting a constitution in the year 2012..“
By virtue of her strident and public opposition to the president whom we elected and her disdain of the U.S. Constitution that she swore to uphold, Ginsburg, as a Supreme Court Justice, behaves badly.
Supreme Court judges are not appointed for life; they can remain in office so long as they exhibit good behavior. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution stipulates, ” The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour…” Furthermore, this same article and section of the Constitution clearly disprove a popular myth of ‘three co-equal branches of government’.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.
Congress unmistakably holds authority over the other two branches of government. Congress decides what the authority of the Supreme Court and Congress has the constitutional authority to remove federal judges and presidents from office, but not the other way around.
I will recommend to my two U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz that impeachment be initiated against Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This is how we can DrainTheSwamp to make America great again.
What do curses and blessings have in common? Only one thing: they are spoken words.
You have heard people say, “She baked me a cake! What a blessing!” No, a cake is not a blessing. It’s a cake.
James 3:10 says, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing…”
No doubt about it: curses are bad; blessings are good.
What should you do when someone curses you? Jesus admonishes us to “…bless those who curse you…”
The Bible has a lot to say about the subject and on this occasion, I point to Psalm 109 that features intriguing language. Starting at verse 2, compare the following to fake news.
“They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.”
Skipping down to verses 17-20:
“As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.”
There is much to say on the subject of blessings and curses. I conclude with Exodus 22:28. “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”
So, what can happen to President Trump? His authority will increase and his poll numbers will continue to go up because the curses from witches and ‘fake news’ media will return upon those who curse the president.
What’s our responsibility? We are directed to pray for “…all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life…” 1 Tim. 2:2
So what? It’s all going to be okay. Rest assured that President Trump is God’s anointed leader for this time in our history. God is still sovereign and comfortably seated on his throne.
Cuba’s capital, Havana, was a glittering and dynamic city. In the early part of the century the country’s economy, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States, had grown dynamically. Cuba ranked fifth in the hemisphere in per capita income, third in life expectancy, second in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, first in the number of television sets per inhabitant. The literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America. Cuba ranked 11th in the world in the number of doctors per capita. Many private clinics and hospitals provided services for the poor. Cuba’s income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American societies. A thriving middle class held the promise of prosperity and social mobility. – PBS American Experience: Pre-Castro Cuba
Said Fidel Castro after his failed assault on the Moncada Barracks, “Not Communism or Marxism is our idea. Our political philosophy is representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy.”
I was visiting myy dear Cuban friend Eladio in the Spring of 2009. He asked, “Juan, que pasa en los estados unidos?” (John, what’s happening in the United States?)
My immediate response, “Oh, Eladio, hay una Obamanacion en la Casa Blanca.” (Oh, Eladio, there is an Obamanation in the White House.)
Eladio laughed heartily before soberly telling me how he saw parallels between our Obama and Cuba’s Castro. He proceeded to relate how he and several other wealthy businessmen financially supported Fidel Castro to rid Cuba of the corrupt and inept Batista government. “Nunca nos dijo que es comunista.” (He never told us he is a communist.)
Eladio pointed to me and said, “John, you have to warn your people.”
Back to headline above
As American tourists raced to enjoy the tropical beaches and resorts, the money poured into communist coffers.
Let’s be reminded Cuba is a Marxist-socialist country that controls every aspect of day to day life, including prices on all products and services. So it is the communist government exercised dramatic price increases on lodging and everything else. According to the Bloomberg story:
“Some rooms now cost as much as $650 per night, serving as a major deterrent to Americans hunting for novel warm-weather destinations.
Even the costs of classic car rides and dinners at popular paladares, private restaurants run by families, have in some cases tripled, Insight Cuba says. Prices have begun to moderate this year for the first time since 2014, the company said this week. But beyond the high prices lie additional difficulties for U.S. tourists.”
Central control of economies – price fixing – has proven to be a failure everywhere the socialists have control of prices.
My warning: the U.S. dollars spent in Cuba mostly go to fund the Marxist-socialist-communist government. Before you think to race over the Florida Straits in search of a cheap vacation in Cuba, you may want to reconsider and look to Mexico, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, or Alabama for your beach get away. You can thank me afterward.
Why would Americans want to go to Cuba while Cubans are dying to come here?
As I read comments from constituents on Rep. John Ratcliffe’s facebook, I can easily understand why many younger people want it: they don’t have to pay for it until they have a pre-existing condition or another serious malady, somewhat like a parachute whereby you wait until you are in free fall before pulling the rip cord.
My formative years were in a single-parent household of my mother and two sisters. There was neither Medicaid nor ObamaCare.
By the time I left my hometown of Palacios I had experienced an appendectomy, tonsillectomy, serious injury from a car wreck, nails through feet, respiratory problems, broken bones, and a near-death experience from a knife attack by a thug. The doctors and the hospital were paid in full.
For most of ten years, we lived in what today would be described as poverty. So, how was it mom was able to pay doctor and hospital bills? Easy answer: paying for Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance was a top priority.
Allow me to simplify. Throughout my first 18 years of life in Palacios, Texas, mom was a responsible parent. She paid for quality insurance coverage.
While undergoing physical therapy here in Rockwall, a young PT remarked to me she how she struggles to pay down her credit card debt. Minutes later she remarked about flying back from a vacation in Mexico. Am I alone? Does anyone see how she and millions of our fellow Americans shirk personal responsibility then expect some government to pick up the tab?
The Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) actually made health insurance Unaffordable for most Americans. Yes, there are a few who enjoyed immediate benefits due to catastrophic illness or pre-existing conditions.
When government controls prices and overrides free markets EVERYTHING UNDER GOVERNMENT CONTROL BECOMES MORE COSTLY.
Insurers gleefully supported the ACA thinking the law would compel more people to do the responsible thing and buy health insurance, but that did not happen. Insurance funds are pools of money initially seeded by capitalists, subsequently grown through contributions by the insured whose payments are basically based on two things: risk factors (the likelihood of outlays to cover insured’s medical expenses) and expectations of investors for a good return on their investments.
ObamaCare grossly undermined the insurance industry and insurers willingly supported the Affordable Care Act expecting great returns on investments while wholly ignoring the obvious risks.
What’s a citizen to do? Take personal responsibility and buy your own insurance. Also, tell your congressional delegation you want a full repeal of ObamaCare.
Those of you who expect your fellow taxpayers to pick up the tab willfully ignore the reality of government indebtedness. As of 2/23/2017 at 5:00 am, total federal government debt was in excess of $66 trillion dollars or $206,289 per citizen.
Eventually, we run out of other peoples’ money and everything comes to a halt. Period.
God has mercifully raised up a type of Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-6), someone prophets call the “human wrecking ball”, a man who actually understands the fundamentals of economics.
If you prefer to ignore the truth and demand more free stuff, you have chosen poorly.
understand why many younger people want it: they don’t have to pay for it until they have a pre-existing condition or another serious malady, somewhat like a parachute whereby you wait until you are in free fall before pulling the rip cord.
