Kino's Got an Opponent

Sandra Rodriguez officially announced her bid to oust Craddick sycophant Kino Flores in the race for the District 36 seat.

Rodriguez launches campaign for District 36 House seat

A native of Mission, Rodriguez is a former probation officer and high school teacher. She is married to former State district Judge Fernando Mancias and has four children.

Rodriguez has stated she wants to increase funding for the Childeren's Health Insurance Program. She has already received the backing of Annie's List, a "statewide political network that recruits, trains and financially supports Democratic women candidates so that they are credible contenders."

While Flores may have the advantage of being the incumbent, his track record in the Legislature has been criticized. From his open support of Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick to his absence during the Voter Id Bill which would require voters to show photo identification in addition to their voter registration card.

Flores claims he was "sick" that day. Sick? When the Bill reached the Senate, Senator Mario Gallegos who was recovering from a liver transplant, defied doctors orders, traveled to the Capitol, and remained in a hospital bed outside the senate chambers for more than 48 hours to block the voter ID bill that narrowly passed the House. With the help of the ailing Gallegos, the bill died in the Senate and failed to become a law. Speculation suggest that Flores was too busy campaigning for the 2007 La Joya ISD School Board election, but Flores claims he was sick.

In Texas Monthly's Best and Worst of 2007, Flores was given a DIS-Honorable mention.

Kino Flores is one of the least trusted members. He operates in the dark corners of the Legislature.”When he presented his bill to provide tax breaks for RV trailers in Hidalgo County, he represented that local officials supported his bill and that no other county was affected. Neither was true.

Kino Flores lied? Gasp.

Stay tuned..........

La Joya ISD Goes to Court .Vrom Vroom!

Day three of the La Joya ISD School Board election challenge is to be taking place this morning. As mentioned before, Judge Hinojosa had already granted former County Judge Ramon Garcia permission to videotape depositions of over a dozen people who may have behaved badly during the May 12 School Board election. Now depositions have ended and the case is being heard by Judge Fred Hinojosa.

The suit, filed by opposing candidates Elma Garza and Domingo Villareal, Jr. shortly after Arturo Gonzalez and Esperanza Ochoa were sworn in, alleges that:
x
* More than 400 votes were improperly counted
* People registered outside LJISD were allowed to vote and their votes were allowed to be counted (confirmed by the Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro)
* LJISD election employees prevented eligible voters from voting.
* UNAUTHORIZED people were allowed to work as clerks or judges

According to The Monitor

Questioning has centered around four election officials: Linda Tijerina and Aida Rivas -- both also Palmview city employees -- Max Montelongo and Gloria Amador. The four were judges or clerks at Bentsen and E. B. Reyna elementaries. Team USA member Johnn Alaniz, a La Joya board member, is the city manager of Palmview.

Also on the witnesses list: Sofia Villareal who served as the election judge for La Joya ISD, Irene Garcia, a politiquera, mother in law to State Rep. Kino Flores who pretty much called the shots for the Ochoa and Gonzalez camp, and wife of Palmview mayor Jorge Garcia, and La Joya Board member Rita Uresti who is married to an alderman from Palmview. His name? Antonio Uresti, a middle school principal who was promoted to Asst. Superintendent shortly after TEA declared his school "unsatisfactory."

There were four voting locations for this election. Sullivan City, La Joya, Penitas, and Palmview. Where did most of these complaints occur? Palmview. Who are the alleged culprits in this election challenge? Not the candidates themselves, but individuals connected to Palmview.

Y'all see a pattern here?????

Photo of participants in the Ochoa-Gonzalez campaign. Top: State Representative Kino Flores. Bottom: School Board member Rita Uresti, and Irene Garcia.

**UPDATE: ** The Monitor has reported that closing arguments are set for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. How long will the judge take to make a decision? I will try to make my way to the courthouse tommorow and report the news, hopefully, before 5pm tomorow. No telling what will turn up.

Oh Donna...

Already under scrutiny following a TEA investigation, the Donna school district has once again made headlines.

Donna School District Supe Under Fire

TEA investigation, Board pres indicted, a principal accused (charges were dropped) of theft. Ay, ay... Can this valley school move towards a positive path?

Well It's About Darn Time!

This just announced: Alberto Gonzalez, "the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, announced his resignation Monday — ending a nasty, months long standoff over his honesty and competence at the helm of the Justice Department."

First Hispanic AG and he had to be a screw up, even worse, he was appointed by Bushy #2. That is fanfreakintastic! Will there be anyone left in Bush's cabin by 2008?

Another Bush Star Falls

Karl Rove, the grand mastermind behind the Republican success in 2004, will join the ranks of Rummy, C. Pow, Ashcroft, and others, as he leaves the woefully distraught Bush admin. at the end of August.

According to the AP

After a lengthy hug from Bush and then his wife, Laura, Rove joined them on the president's helicopter. Rove, his wife and their son were flying with Bush on Air Force One to Texas, where the president is vacationing.

Say what? Another Bush vacation? It's good to be President of the U.S. The boys will likely hang out at the Bushy ranch and marvel about the fact that Rove escaped an indictment (but not public prosecution) for leaking a CIA agent's name.

Karl Rove, hated by many, revered by others, was no doubt a damn good and shrewd political strategist, much of Bush's success was owed to him. You know what else? Karl Rove, the brain behind our brilliant president, has no college degree.

Kino Flores, Que no Sabe?

That he just isn't as well liked as he believes himself to be?

After an overwhelming response on my blogger polls, support for State Rep. Kino Flores is at a low. Alright so I'm not just going on the polls posted here but observations and talk around the valley.

It's not just the valley, Texas Monthly recently gave Kino a "Dishonorable Mention" among TX Legislators. Stating that:

Kino Flores is one of the least trusted members. When he presented his bill to provide tax breaks for RV trailers in Hidalgo County, he represented that local officials supported his bill and that no other county was affected. Neither was true.

Flores has even got sly in his campaign tactics by posting a few billboards marketing our state capitol. A political ad in disguise indeed.

There is hope for District 36, for the first time in years, el KFC will have an opponent in Sandra Rodriguez.

Start gearing up Kino, Robert Jackson's $360,000 can't fund your whole campaign, he's up for re-election in La Joya and also needs to pay salaries to Board members' daughters.

This certainly promises to be a very interesting race.

The Jury is Out and So Is Omar

It was the front page header for what seemed like years, but after a 2 week trial and spending over 4 months in jail, Omar Guerrero is a free man. Yesterday a jury found him not guilty on all 7 counts of sexually assaulting a teenager.

Public opinions have varied in this matter, but the prosecution and the evidence they presented must not have been convincing to a jury. After more that four hours of deliberating, the jury consisting of 7 women and 5 men, decided to acquit Guerrero on all charges.

There is no doubt Guerrero has had his own trials and tribulations since the charge that led to his political downfall. Here was a young man viewed by many as someone with great potential and in one incident threw it all away. Not an uncommon tale.

Could Omar's acquittal be his saving grace? Or will his family and valley be tainted by another front page header about Omar?

I sure hope not.

A Look at Some Numbers

March 9, 2003. Bush, in office for a little over 2 years, sends American troops into Iraq to search for weapons of destruction. What began as a search for the mysterious WMD has now turned into a mission to secure democracy in Iraq, protect the U.S. against terrorists, and who knows what else, I lost track.

Below are some numbers in relation to the war that began in 2003.

3634- American troops killed in Iraq

25- Rio Grande Valley soldiers who have given their lives to President G.W. Bush’s failed plan.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/body_3623___article.html/funeral_army.html

30- Average age of the 3,000+ soldiers killed in Iraq.
American Blog

110- Journalists killed while on duty in Iraq
40 media support workers killed

288- Coalition forces representing 20 different countries have been killed in Iraq.
Of those soldiers:

160 from UK , 32 Italy, 20 Poland, 18 Ukraine, 13 Bulgaria, 11 Spain, 7 Denmark, 5 El Salvador, 4 Slovakia , 3 Latvia , 2 Romania, 2 Estonia 2 Netherlands , 2 Thailand , 2 Australia , 1 Canada , 1 South Korea , 1 from Hungary , 1 from Kazakhistan , 1 from Fiji.

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted, Vacation Had to Get Away

63- Visits Dubya Bush has made to his rancho in Crawford since taking office in Jan. 2001.
405- Vacation days Dubya has taken since the Supreme Court made him president.
ABC News, April 2007

We hear about soldiers every day, but lest we forget Iraqi civilians? How many have people have been killed since war began? Iraq Body Count gives those details.

The Drama Continues in Valley Schools

The fate of Donna I.S.D. administrators may finally be decided at a special called meeting this afternoon.

Donna School Board Meeting Agenda

On the agenda, possible suspension of Superintendent Joe Gonzalez and the termination of Donna ISD's General Counsel Jacques Trevino.

Andale.....

The Donna school district has been under intense scrutiny following a TEA investigation last summer upon allegations of wrong-doing by someone in Donna.

TEA Report on Donna ISD Made Public

The Monitor

Ironically, Donna School Board President George Hernandez, who may have called the special meeting, is currently facing charges of 11 counts of conspiracy and extortion in a federal indictment unsealed June 5 as part of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district bribery scandal. Hernandez's charges are not related to his school board position in Donna.

Its been a rough year for Superintendents in the valley. Last year Edinburg ISD suspended Superintendent J.L Salinas for violating nepotism rules and La Joya ISD School Board members, shortly after gaining a new majority, dismissed Filomena Leo. The Board never did reveal the reason (although School Board member Fito Salinas did state to the Monitor "It's political. I'm not going to say it's not.") for Leo's suspension or termination, but in another event of irony, Leo was hired earlier this year to serve as Interim Superintendent in Raymondville after School Board members terminated Superintendent Roy Casteneda for putting up signs for challengers of 2 Raymondville ISD Board members.

FBI raids, TEA investigations, election challenges, suspensions, elected officials trying to evade taxes, is there any political stability in this place?
Update: In a 4-3 vote this afternoon, the Donna ISD School Board voted to suspend the supe and terminate the lawyer. Politics has always been crazy, but now our schools are being invaded, couls this be a trend in thevalley?

Is It any Wonder?

Saturday, July, 7, 2007, lucky 7 was it?
7 continents, Former U.S. VP Al Gore and 24 hours of music marked a call for inhabitants of the earth to wake up and change their habits. Ladies and gentlemens: if you were clueless before, then after rocking to Madonna, Enrique Iglesisas, Kanye West and many other bands across the globe, you should now know that Mother Earth is slowly dying thanks to our consumer habits.
The question asked around the globe: Can these rockers get the word out and make a difference in the fight against our 'global crisis'? Maybe, maybe not.

Not to say that all these rockers aren't eco-friendly, but a better question to ask would be: What habits have these rockers undergone to combat the global crisis?

Elsewhere across the globe...
The New 7 Wonders of the World

While millions rocked to the save Mother Earth, others, including Hollywood's Hilary Swank and Jennifer Lopez, gathered in Portugal for the unveiling of the new 7 Wonders of The World.

Over 200 million voted and in the end decided on these 7 wonders.

Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
The Great Wall, China
Machu Picchu, Peru
Petra, Jordan
The Roman Colloseum, Italy
The Taj Mahal, India

The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt is the only Ancient Wonder left standing and remains an honorable world wonder.

It is not a suprise that this contest drew criticism from many, including the the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who said wonders of the world should not be chosen in a popular vote.

Other finalists in this race included: The Acropolis, Greece; Alhambra, Spain; Angkor, Cambodia; Statues of Easter Island, Chile; Eiffel Tower, France; Hagia Sophia, Turkey; Kiyomizu Temple, Japan;Kremlin/St. Basil, Russia; Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany; Stonehenge, United Kingdom; and Timbuktu, Mali.

Other contenders, the Sydney Opera House in Australia and America's Statue of Liberty reportedly were at the bottom of the list. Not to worry America, once we build that great wall against Mexico, we too, shall become a world wonder.

I had hoped that the Acropolis, Alhambra and the Kremlin, because of their beauty and history would make the cut, but ah well, the masses have spoken.

For more info on our new wonders visit: http://www.new7wonders.com
Wanna save our planet? www.liveearth.org