EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/
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11 YEARS AND MORE THAN 4,000 DEAD, ARE WE SAFER?
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By<b> Juan Montoya</b><br />I was in southwestern Minnesota getting ready for work the morning of 911 when I saw the burning South Tower and turned to my better half and said: "Either we choose to be in continual war from now on, or we reassess our foreign policy toward the Middle East. Otherwise, this isn't going to stop."<br />Eleven years later as we remember the anniversary of the attacks, it is apparent that we chose war as our future. It hasn't been until George Bush left office that we are finally getting disentangled from those wars of choice that have wrecked our economy and our standing abroad.<br />Our Middle East policy toward the Muslim world continues and has cost us blood and treasure and thousands of lives of innocent people in those countries. We have hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden and decapitated the Al Quaida leadership. And what has it gotten us? Do you feel any safer? It seems that for every Muslim we kill, another two or three rise to take their place. We are spending billions to lay waste to entire countries.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly0uDSCtDPDj_jcLprUA5kKs4AQTGjEbCS78S_-GSaONm04ZYGRjxffo42-s4djM-bOdbZzquFp6r9-uFKUQQrZztKWkmyRX-lISZ8oVhBeeLThVNs8QWn2N-g1_glZy9dp8ZyFYa3DI/s1600/911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly0uDSCtDPDj_jcLprUA5kKs4AQTGjEbCS78S_-GSaONm04ZYGRjxffo42-s4djM-bOdbZzquFp6r9-uFKUQQrZztKWkmyRX-lISZ8oVhBeeLThVNs8QWn2N-g1_glZy9dp8ZyFYa3DI/s400/911.jpg" width="382" /></a>We still prop up monarchies that suppress their people for oil, regimes that deprive women of simple human rights, and "our friends" still continue to finance the movements of radicals against us. That's what we chose and now we have to live with it until we regain our national collective sense. Our policies continue to nurture hatred against us among their young generations.<br />However, it can't be said that this nation has not shown the resolve necessary to confront a determined enemy.<br />The USS New York was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.<br />It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.<br />Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, La., to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, "those big rough <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60qY6M2hDfZlwy7AqqpZpiEa1OgYHzobHdHrVHmF7tDM5vL_DKxGH2QvFEphS8WBMFLddvk34z87dSiZT54UVlRcdA8HCpK0MGfRefRCutBc3XjlqtLEp2IMwK5mUls6Yev_y7RGLuMo/s1600/911.jpg"></a>steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there.<br />"It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."<br />Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up.<br />"It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."<br />The ship's motto? "Never Forget."<br />Closer to home, the unveiling of the new Fire Station No. 1 at 106 W. Retama in South Padre Island will feature an I-beam salvaged from the World Trade Center that will be mounted next to the flag pole in front of the station, Fire Chief Burney Baskett said.<br />But just as 911 united us as a nation, it has also fueled an industry that feeds on the national grief. The U.S. government finally gave in to the pressure and allowed several new types of cancer to be paid by public funds to first responders at Ground Zero who complained of the diseases and blamed them on being there during rescue operations.<br />And if you want to talk about a 911 permanent industry, how about the $700 million price tag of the 911 memorial at National September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero and an annual budget of $60 million to operate it?<br />The Associated Press reported that $12 million a year would be spent on security, more than the entire operating budgets of Gettysburg National Park and the monument that includes the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl harbor.<br />At some point in time we have to let go of this national grief frenzy. We will never forget the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost there in Sept. 11, 2011. But in a blind effort to strike out at the perpetrators we have invaded two inoffensive nations under contrived justifications, lost more than 4,000 more American lives in the process, and are now in the longest war of choice in our history.<br />It's time to bring our soldiers home, maintain a vigilant military and intelligence stance and go about the task of rebuilding our own nation's economy and restoring our moral strength. The best revenge, we're certain those who went down in 911 would agree,would be for our nation to perform well again and give those after us a hopeful future.<br />It's the least we can do to respect to their memory. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1684620096898191269?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/09/911.html
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THE COACH JOE TRADITION: CHILD LABOR, UNFAIR LABOR ACTS, STIFF FINES FOR BISD
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Former Brownsville Independent School Distinct administrators and trustees still remember the costs that had to be paid to district employees who complained about having to work for former Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez for the benefit of his private non-profit.<br />"We had to pay about $28,000 as a result of their grievances in 2008," recalled one. "Coach Joe would use them at his fundraiser as well as BISD vehicles and other equipment. He used to have BISD coolers full of Coors beer at those functions against the policies of the district."<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZCLvBIYj6AuMkVUjO0i3qhn3D_WTYUMdzVSjS01LjMBo1EXHRgxET2qD0LGQl-MCqdEduwbbSxeo_PknEp6Rx9_dT3NrAwUWDw1yoRleRnOk7MHxDqVh419B3F9pmG6UpuumBk1CtLk/s1600/chains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZCLvBIYj6AuMkVUjO0i3qhn3D_WTYUMdzVSjS01LjMBo1EXHRgxET2qD0LGQl-MCqdEduwbbSxeo_PknEp6Rx9_dT3NrAwUWDw1yoRleRnOk7MHxDqVh419B3F9pmG6UpuumBk1CtLk/s320/chains.jpg" width="320" /></a>At last Thursday's meeting of the BISD trustees, another part of the Joe Rodriguez legacy has come back to bite the district in its fund balance. Just as Coach Joe would make use of district employees for his functions, the U.S. Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Division has assessed fines totalling $45,920 against the district for using minors against the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The fines come under two provisions of the FLSA; hours standards and under legal age employment.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Department of Labor probe covers only two years (2010 through 2012) but some BISD administrators say the district lucked out paying only the fines for two years instead of the larger amounts if investigators had go back even further.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"We lucked out," said an administrator. "If the Dept. of Labor had gone back to 2008 or before we'd be looking at perhaps $100,000s instead of the $45,000 they assessed in penalties for the last two years."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">For at least one of the trustees, Catalina Garcia-Presas, the Dept. of Labor penalties are a warning that it is high time that the practices of the past should be discarded.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"We have to train our administrators and coaches to follow the law," she said. "These are not new laws. They have been on the books for decades. Just because they are used to do it the old way doesn't mean they can continue doing it anymore. This is going to hurt our fund balance again."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The fines were assessed because of the continuing use of students (some as young as 12 or 13) to move the chains, chase balls, help with the setting up of the fields and other assorted tasks during football games and other sporting events. Others dealt with the violation of hours standards for 14 and 15 year olds. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In a report that Superintendent Carl Montoya gave the trustees last Thursday, he informed them of the Dept. of Labor findings but did not give specifics on the locations and the amounts per site. However, he did say that the money would have to come from the district's fund balance that recently took a hit from the settlement with former superintendent Hector Gonzales and former CFO Tony Juarez.</div>Below is a list of the sites and violations and the fines assessed.<br />1. <strong>Sam's Stadium</strong> â€" Hours standards, 1 violation (14-15): $1,150<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Under Legal Age for Employment (12-13): $6,000</div><strong>Total: $7,150</strong><br /><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2. <strong>Pace High School</strong> â€" Hours standards, 5 minors (14-15)</div><strong>Total: $2,795</strong><br /><br />3. <strong>Lopez High School</strong>â€" Hours standards, 5 violations (14-15)<br /><strong>Total: $1,725</strong><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>4. <strong>Veterans High School</strong> â€" Hours standards, 8 violations<br /><strong>Total: $4,600</strong><br /><br />5. <strong>Besteiro Middle School</strong> â€" Hours standards, Under Legal Age for Employment, 7 minors (12-13)<br /><strong>Total: $20,220</strong><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>6. <strong>Garcia Middle School</strong> â€" Hours standards, 5 violations, $2,875<br />Under Legal Age for Employment, 1 violation, $6,000<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Total: $8,875</strong></div><br />7. <strong>Hanna High School</strong> â€" Hours standards, 1 violation<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Total: $575 </strong></div><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Total Fines: $45,920 </strong></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1352641666371647851?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-coach-joe-tradition-child-unfair.html
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COPS BEHAVING BADLY: FIST O'CUFFS, FBI RAID ON BPD OFFICER'S CRIB LINKED TO CARTEL
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Things are not going well at the Brownsville Police Department under new chief Orlando Rordiguez.<br />The latest scandal involves the report to police 911 dispatchers that two officers were involved in a fist fight in the middle of the street, allegedly over a woman.<br />The other incident â€" perhaps more troubling â€" is that a Brownsville police officer's home was raided last week by the FBI because of his nexus to the Gulf Cartel.<br />The officers involved in the love triangle spat â€" we have learned â€" are none other than an officer named Julio Hernandez and BPD's own "Policeman to the Stars" Everardo Longoria. There was a police report filed in the incident that news organizations have been promised will be released at BPD's convenience.<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">According to several sources, a citizen called up the 911 dispatcher to report that Hernandez and Longoria were duking it out in the middle of the street. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"It's a miracle that they didn't pull out their guns," quipped a BPD insider. "Then the stuff would really hit the fan."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUb65wRvI9Wx42u5JDg4_xkqAzE2vozNJfxONqZ1Q0aUu5xVKHWitzyAQPQ6ZHEbqzspDrIgio7JTJhlHN0ycBmbaNzgyqbLU0Ip5D0fDQgyE3kM85l8A54GPIbYSB9j8IXHFdQVuZ_c/s1600/Tarnished-Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUb65wRvI9Wx42u5JDg4_xkqAzE2vozNJfxONqZ1Q0aUu5xVKHWitzyAQPQ6ZHEbqzspDrIgio7JTJhlHN0ycBmbaNzgyqbLU0Ip5D0fDQgyE3kM85l8A54GPIbYSB9j8IXHFdQVuZ_c/s400/Tarnished-Badge.jpg" width="400" /></a>Now, we don't know if Chief Rodriguez will utilize his time-tried method of discipline of sending the boys off for a few days rest with pay or whether someone is so close to retirement that the issue will be "moot."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Remember that Longoria is the brother of city commissioner Ricardo Longoria and that Ricky has gone to bat for him in the past over some domestic troubles that Evie got into.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The ever-popular Everardo has gained some notoriety for being at the wrong place at the right time when he was the arresting officer of former mayor Pat Ahumada, the officer who arrested State Rep. Rene Oliveira's girlfriend Lupita Molina for DWI after she (or was it her?) crashed into then rear of a van driven by an unsuspecting couple. He also conveniently overlooked the fact that another city commissioner â€" Melissa Zamora â€" twice ignored the warnings she was interfering with an arrest and let her go her merry way. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">He was also one of the officers who gunned down and killed 15-year-old Jaime Gonzales at the Cummings Middle School standoff that gained national coverage.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now we wonder whether his political connections and his high-profile image will protect him from the wrath of Rodriguez and the mantle of City Manager Charlie Cabler.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The other, and perhaps more serious incident, involves the reported raid by FBI agents of the home of a police officer last week in an investigation into possible involvement of city employees with the Gulf Cartel.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The probe is said to permeate several city departments, with the police department members' involvement being the most serious.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We don't know the full extent or the seriousness of the investigation, but we do know the officer's name and his badge number. We are not releasing it until the feds are more forthcoming on the matter. News organizations now are petitioning the local office of the FBI and U.S. Attorney for details into the reported raid and the extent of the allegations in relation to the Gulf Cartel.</div><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-7883254009942118381?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/09/cops-behaving-badly-fist-ocuffs-fbi.html
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