An intrusion of reality.....

[Guest083013]

FRED is a very interesting character (his web site below )…he has been living in Mexico for quite a while now….

he doesn’t think much of the USA or our military or our government…..
he puts it in such a way it is sorta funny…. I like to read Fred

he is out there in space at times regarding what he writes and thinks, however, right on the money regarding Mexico….…..
it is bad down there and getting worse (sorta like it is here in the USA)….


An Intrusion of Reality
Never a Good Thing

September 5, 2011


Things change, usually for the worse, and always against the innocent. (This truth is a principle of curmudgeonry.) When I came to Mexico some eight years ago, it was a peaceful, moderately successful upper-Third-World country—middle-class, barely, literate, though often barely, and as democratic as the United States, which is to say barely. Things were improving, though often they had a long way to go. The young were visibly healthier than preceding generations. The birth rate was in sharp decline. Women entered the professions in substantial and growing numbers.

And it was safe. Expats sat over coffee at the plaza laughing at people back in the States, insular, fearful, ignorant of the world outside their borders. (For recent college graduates, Mexico is a country south of the United States. “South” is down on maps.) Mexico, they believed, was most astonishing perilous. Don't drink the water, avoid ice. Salads were thought especially lethal. The Federales would kill you for sport, like squirrels. On any given day, you would probably be shot several times by bandidos. It was nonsense.

Then Vicente Fox left office, and Felipe Calderon came in. He declared war on the narcotraficantes. Why he did this, I don't know, since Mexico didn't have a drug problem. My guess is that Washington pushed him into it, but I don't know.

Unfortunately Mexico, which neither produces nor uses a lot of drugs, lies between Colombia, which produces vast amounts of drugs, and Americans, who want vast amounts of drugs. Washington does not want Americans to have vast amounts of drugs. Neither did it want to lose votes by imprisoning white users of drugs, such as college students, high-school students, professors, Congressmen, lawyers, and blue-collar guys driving bulldozers. The answer was to make Mexico fight Washington's wars.

But Mexico couldn't fight the narcos, because the United States was actually on the side of the traficantes. Does this sound counter-intuitive? What happened was that the narcos gave the Americans the huge quantites of drugs they wanted, and in return Americans gave the narcos huge amounts of money and military-grade weaponry: chiefly AKs,but also grenades and the occasional RPG. The Mexican police, lightly armed, barely paid, and utterly corrupt, could do nothing against these odds. The narcos had a further argument: Do what we say, and we will give you money. Otherwise, we will kill your family.

You figure it out.

The Mexican army doesn't do a whole lot better. It is chieftly a disaster-relief outfit since it has nobody to fight. Mexico doesn't want to invade Guatemala, and has not for some time been openly invaded by America, though truculo-louts north of the border urge this bright idea.

So Washington, to keep Americans from doing what in fact they are contentedly doing with no restriction and little inconvenience—using every drug know to man or beast— is wrecking yet another country.

The killing was for some time largely in the northern tier of states, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Durango, and of course Sinaloa, but now the states of Mexico, Guerrero, Michoacanand Jalisco decapitated bodies strewn about like cherry blossons in spring.

Jalisco, a state in west-central Mexico, contains Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, and me. Along the north shore of Lake Chapala lie Chapala, Ajijic, Jocotepec, and lesser towns inhabited by lots of expat gringos. These towns, as I say, were quiet when I arrived. You could wander home at two in the morning with little concer and a beer in handn. But now the narcos have arrived.

Ergo:
A few weeks back in downtown Chapala there was a firefight with automatic weapons. A few days ago a police car on the local by-pass was attacked with automatic weapons. A few days more ago three bodies, buried by kidnappers, were found in Joco, and three local police were arrested for complicity. Various beheaded or chopped-up former people have surfaced locally, as well as a couple of meth labs. I could go on.

So far, gringos have not been targets. This may last. It may not. Still, things are out of control and getting crazier. For example, in Guerrero the narcos told the teachers in the schools of Acapulco to hand over half their pay in protection money, at which point many dozens of schools closed as teachers declined to attend. This comes close to qualifying the country as a disaster area which, without the narco wars, it wasn't even close to being.
What does this mean for Americans? It depends on the Americans. If gringos begin to be attacked here, there will probably be a mass exodus back to the Northern Rubber Room. A few are already bugging out.

For Mexico, such a remigration would be a catastrophe. To simplify and approximate vigorously, Mexican law requires expats to have incomes of a thousand bucks a month. Most have a lot more. I read that a million gringos live in Mexico. So, a thousand times a million times twelve is, well, a bunch of money annually. Losing it would unhelp the local economy, and probably send people toward the Rio Bravo in bathing suits.

Most Americans don't care at all what happens in Mexico, or anywhere else they can't actually see. However, it is hard to figure the advantage of having a major trading partner turn into Afghanistan with better music.

Conservative bozos of immoderate idiocy fantasize, as mentioned, of sending the Marines. Oh sure, that will work. The Pentagon couldn't win a rigged lottery, much less a war.

Mexico, especially in the godawful, broken, infernally impassibe mountains where the dream-weed grows, is perfect for displaying the clownish incapacity of the Nintendo military. The GIs don't know the territory, most don't know the language, the people, or the culture, but they can yell “Ooo-rah!”really well. That's because it has only two syllables.

Nothing can change things except the utter collapse of the US economy and the burning of its cities, a singularity the other side of which is not visible. Any possible sollution would require a decision. The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, yes, and notice that it hurts, but it can't stop beating its thumb. That would take a decision, and Washington doesn't do decisions.

People email me, asking where I would go if I were trying to get out of the crumbling US before the roof falls in. Argentina. Thailand. Viet Nam. China. Pederably to a country without oil. Chile. Maybe Uruguay. Almost anywhere in Europe if you can afford it.

Mexico is a fine place, but getting dicey. Very dicey.

http://www.fredoneverything.net/Downhill.shtml

[Laz]

I have a friend with a house in that area. It will be sad if this nonsense destroys the beauty.

If only people would wake up and realize that the consequences of the criminalization of drugs is worse than the consequences of some people using them.

[Gladman]

Originally Posted by dennisrn

. . . Washington doesn't do decisions. . . .

Not since 2008 anyways :-( The political correctness prevents it. I served under Obama for almost three months before retiring, and when I left, it was already getting PC in the military.

Thanks for the article, dennisrn.

[Doglegg]

Wasn't Obama. Actually started under Clinton much as I hate to say it

For the AF we can point at one person - McPeak, he ripped the underpinnings out from under us.

Navy may point at Zumwalt. Never had enough interest in the other services to keep track on the downturns.

[Gladman]

Originally Posted by Doglegg

Wasn't Obama. Actually started under Clinton much as I hate to say it

For the AF we can point at one person - McPeak, he ripped the underpinnings out from under us.

Navy may point at Zumwalt. Never had enough interest in the other services to keep track on the downturns.

Ahh, McPeak. Such a lovely fellow.
I was so junior then I didn't think about sharing opinions with my comrades. But I do recall having to clear a couple of fields in the fall of leaves with my fellow students, without a rake (only a dozen rakes for 80+ of us), in the cold rain and mud on a weekend, b/c bigwig McPeak was visiting the base soon. Later, the rumor was that during his visit he didn't even drive by the student areas (a training base no less). Yay. Sorry I forgot about him. Or rather, sorry I remembered this anecdote.

I'd also forgotten how it was under Clinton, especially after he perjured himself and then continued the lie to the public. I recall one time when Slick Willy was doing his normal shtick on TV, a furious colleague started yelling and pointing at the screen loud enough to be heard outside; we had to restrain the guy and remind him others had been court-martialed for less. Good times.

A couple of months after Bush was sworn in, my base had a commander's call, and the base commander mentioned, "So, we've got a new Commander-in-Chief . . ." and the standing-room-only auditorium erupted in cheers and applause, which soon became a standing ovation lasting over a minute before the commander motioned for us to take our seats LOL. Better times.

[Rodram]

Bye-Bye Clinton!

And sadly so ended A balanced budget and a good economy, but hey, he got a bj in the Oval Office and served up a heaping helping of splooge on a young girls dress, so lets impeach him and vote in a war criminal filled, incompetent bunch of greedy-ass morons to replace him.

Leave it to Gladman "the usual delusional" and his cohorts of destruction to celebrate the dumbing down of America.

So how bout' a little refresher on the Bush Administration? Well then, I am so happy to oblige and if anyone would like to debate the facts I'd be more than willing!!

Who's Counting Bush's Mistakes?
Given how ambitious and wide-ranging the incompetence of this administration has been, it's high time we started keeping track of its many failures.


Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, "The louder he spoke of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons." And no administration in U.S. history has spoken louder, or as often, of its honor.

So let us count our spoons.

Emergency Management: They completely failed to manage the first large-scale emergency since 9/11. Despite all their big talk and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on homeland security over the past four years, this administration proved itself stunningly incompetent when faced with an actual emergency. (Katrina Relief Funds Squandered)

Fiscal Management: America is broke. No wait, we're worse than broke. In less than five years these borrow and spend-thrifts have nearly doubled our national debt, to a stunning $8.2 trillion. These are not your father's Republicans who treated public dollars as though they were an endangered species. These Republicans waste money in ways and in quantities that make those old tax and spend liberals of yore look like tight-fisted Scots.

This administration is so incompetent that you can just throw a dart at the front page of your morning paper and whatever story of importance it hits will prove my point.

Katrina relief: Eleven thousand spanking new mobile homes sinking into the Arkansas mud. Seems no one in the administration knew there were federal and state laws prohibiting trailers in flood zones. Oops. That little mistake cost you $850 million -- and counting.

Medicare Drug Program: This $50 billion white elephant debuted by trampling many of those it was supposed to save. The mess forced states to step in and try to save its own citizens from being killed by the administration's poorly planned and executed attempt to privatize huge hunks of the federal health safety net.

Afghanistan: Good managers know that in order to pocket the gains of a project, you have to finish it. This administration started out fine in Afghanistan. They had the Taliban and al Queda on the run and Osama bin Laden trapped in a box canyon. Then they were distracted by a nearby shiney object -- Iraq. We are now $75 billion out of pocket in Afghanistan and its sitting president still rules only within the confines of the nation's capital. Tribal warlords, the growing remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda call the shots in the rest of the county.

Iraq: This ill-begotten war was supposed to only cost us $65 billion. It has now cost us over $300 billion and continues to suck $6 billion a month out of our children's futures. Meanwhile the three warring tribes Bush "liberated" are using our money and soldiers' lives to partition the country. The Shiites and Kurds are carving out the prime cuts while treating the once-dominant Sunnis the same way the Israelis treat the Palestinians, forcing them onto Iraq's version of Death Valley. Meanwhile Iran is increasingly calling the shots in the Shiite region as mullahs loyal to Iran take charge. (More)

Iran: The administration not only jinxed its Afghanistan operations by attacking Iraq, but also provided Iran both the rationale for and time to move toward nuclear weapons. The Bush administration's neocons' threats to attack Syria next only provided more support for religious conservatives within Iran who argued U.S. intentions in the Middle East were clear, and that only the deterrent that comes with nuclear weapons could protect them.

North Korea: Ditto. Also add to all the above the example North Korea set for Iran. Clearly once a country possesses nukes, the U.S. drops the veiled threats and wants to talk.

Social Programs: It's easier to get affordable -- even free -- American-style medical care, paid for with American dollars, if you are injured in Iraq, Afghanistan or are victims of a Pakistani earthquake, than if you live and pay taxes in the good old U.S.A. Nearly 50 million Americans can't afford medical insurance. Nevertheless the administration has proposed a budget that will cut $40 billion from domestic social programs, including health care for the working poor. The administration is quick to say that those services will be replaced by its "faith-based" programs. Not so fast...

"Despite the Bush administration's rhetorical support for religious charities, the amount of direct federal grants to faith-based organizations declined from 2002 to 2004, according to a major new study released yesterday....The study released yesterday "is confirmation of the suspicion I've had all along, that what the faith-based initiative is really all about is de-funding social programs and dumping responsibility for the poor on the charitable sector," said Kay Guinane, director of the nonprofit advocacy program at OMB Watch.." (More)

The Military: Overused and over-deployed.
Former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned in a 15-page report that the Army and Marine Corps cannot sustain the current operational tempo without "doing real damage to their forces." ... Speaking at a news conference to release the study, Albright said she is "very troubled" the military will not be able to meet demands abroad. Perry warned that the strain, "if not relieved, can have highly corrosive and long-term effects on the military. (More)
With military budgets gutted by the spiraling costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the administration has requested funding for fewer National Guard troops in fiscal 2007 -- 17,000 fewer. Which boggles the sane mind since, if it weren't for reserve/National Guard, the administration would not have had enough troops to rotate forces in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly 40 percent of the troops sent to those two countries were from the reserve and National Guard.

The Environment: Here's a little pop quiz: What happens if all the coral in the world's oceans dies? Answer: Coral is the first rung on the food-chain ladder; so when it goes, everything else in the ocean dies. And if the oceans die, we die.

The coral in the world's oceans are dying (called "bleaching") at an alarming and accelerating rate. Global warming is the culprit. Nevertheless, this administration continues as the world's leading global warming denier. Why? Because they seem to feel it's more cost effective to be dead than to force reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. How stupid is that? And time is running out.

Trade: We are approaching a $1 trillion annual trade deficit, most of it with Asia, $220 billion with just China -- just last year.

Energy: Record high energy prices. Record energy company profits. Dick Cheney's energy task force meetings remain secret. Need I say more?

Consumers: Americans finally did it last year -- they achieved a negative savings rate. (Folks in China save 10 percent, for contrast.) If the government can spend more than it makes and just say "charge it" when it runs out, so can we. The average American now owes $9,000 to credit card companies. Imagine that.

Human Rights: America now runs secret prisons and a secret judicial system that would give Kafka fits. And the U.S. has joined the list of nations that tortures prisioners of war. (Shut up George! We have pictures!)

I could go on for another 1,000 words listing the stunning incompetence of the Bush administration and its GOP sycophants in Congress. But what's the use? No seems to give a fig. The sun continues to shine in this fool's paradise. House starts were up in January. The stock market is finally back over 11,000.

But don't bother George W. Bush with any of this. While seldom right, he is never in doubt. Doubt is Bush's enemy. Worry? How can he worry when he has no doubts?

Me? Well, I worry about all the above, all the time. But in particular, I worry about coral."

[Gladman]

Once again, RR, you failed to comprehend. Nice list of lib-prog talking points. If I had the time, I'd shoot down every one of them, but most of it boils down to History rules the Present, lib-progs can't accept blame, and no President legislates money. RR, if you knew the Constitution, you'd know that last one, though lib-progs forget it alllll the time like you have.

My apologies to Dennisrn for opening RR's thread hijack of a good wake-up article about our southern neighbor's problems.

[Guest083013]

Gladman wrote in part:
".....My apologies to Dennisrn for opening RR's thread hijack of a good wake-up article about our southern neighbor's problems....."

No apology necessary at all mainly because having some folks on IGNORE (one male and one female have that honor out of the thousands on eccie) is truly a blessing in that whatever chunks of words they wish to project never come into my line of sight.

And yes - I would like the staff to remind those taking things "off-track" that it is viewed as irresponsible and childish at best. Kinda like "yelling louder and longer like spoiled little children whose mommy has taken him off of her breast because he has made it through high school" in an effort to be seen or heard.


This thread is in regards to Fred and Mexico!!

[Rodram]

Originally Posted by Gladman

Once again, RR, you failed to comprehend. Nice list of lib-prog talking points. If I had the time, I'd shoot down every one of them, but most of it boils down to History rules the Present, lib-progs can't accept blame, and no President legislates money. RR, if you knew the Constitution, you'd know that last one, though lib-progs forget it alllll the time like you have.

My apologies to Dennisrn for opening RR's thread hijack of a good wake-up article about our southern neighbor's problems.

LMAO! How pathetic! Running away again huh? You have the time to spew your bullshit but not enough time to take me on? Lol!

Ahh, the intellectual peasantry is stunning.

[Rodram]

Gladman, I didn't hijack anything, you're the one that compared Bush to Clinton and I just pointed out the difference.

[Mokoa]

Rodram & Gladman...

Please do not hijack threads. It is expressly forbidden by Rule 6 of the Forum Guidelines.

I will not ask again.

Also...

Replying to a post that strays from a thread's topic is just as much a hijack as the post itself because it is also off topic.

[eddiecruz]

Back on topic. Thanks for the article Dennis. I may not agree 100% with everything it says but it makes some interesting points and was a good read. I especially liked this part:

"The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, yes, and notice that it hurts, but it can't stop beating its thumb. That would take a decision, and Washington doesn't do decisions."

I couldn't agree more, although, some people on this thread said it may have started with Clinton, I think that started further back with Bush Sr. He started a war in Iraq then didn't end it (letting Saddam stay in power).

[oden]

Didn't Stonewall Jackson and later Pershing have some moderate success in Mexico as well as early Texas Rangers? Let's face the facts, we have taken action in Mexico in the past to protect our boarder towns and probably will do so in the future.
As corrupt as we may be, the corruption that infuses Mexico is more than we will accept. Drugs are just a manifestation of the worse corruption that is going on there. In my opinion Columbia is a great example of the will of a society to establish the rule of law and how a country can turn itself around although their tactics are a little more than we would put up with today.