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IN MEXICO D.F., JUAN CORTINA YEARNS TO COME HOME
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid03k020WO5DB1HUGUVL1qbj6O-hkkMZNTfBHVODqlqNVY1Fy8AbWE6aW2JkPQkQQgVfl5Zee71FibPtv4VmSTSHvEaBvGh0VUhtGrcSXpiG60hK-sZ34ZdkoCHSrxLDa4A39ookrTENE/s1600/jcor.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid03k020WO5DB1HUGUVL1qbj6O-hkkMZNTfBHVODqlqNVY1Fy8AbWE6aW2JkPQkQQgVfl5Zee71FibPtv4VmSTSHvEaBvGh0VUhtGrcSXpiG60hK-sZ34ZdkoCHSrxLDa4A39ookrTENE/s1600/jcor.gif" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>By Juan Montoya When Juan Cortina died in Mexico City under home arrest in 1892, he was buried at El Panteon de Dolores in Mexico City, Mexico, even though he yearned to be buried alongside his mother at her ranch in Santa Rita, the first seat of Cameron County. His descendant Praxedis Cavazos of San Pedro says that at least two attempts were made to bring his body home but were thwarted by World War I and later, the Great Depression. His wishes to be buried alongside his mother were never realized. What P.G. Cavazos failed to point out â€" as he is characteristically diplomatic â€" is that the Cortina name often incurred the wrath of his enemies who remembered him as a particularly effective resistance fighter to the encroachment and usurpation of the lands of local Mexican-American families, often at the head of an armed following. Cavazos points out that Cortina was  born in Camargo, Mexico on May 14, 1824. His aristocratic mother was one of the heirs of a large land grant in the lower Rio Grande valley, including the area that surrounded Brownsville. In fact, she was the daughter of Salvador De la Garza, who established the first ranch, now Rancho Viejo, Texas. His daughter DoÃ±a Estefana Goseascochea Cavazos de Cortina's ranch was down Carmen Road (named after her daughter) and abutted the Rio Grande River near what is now Military Highway. The family moved to that land when Cortina was still young. In the Mexican War Cortina served as a part of an irregular cavalry during the battles of Resaca de la Palma and Palo Alto under Gen. Mariano Arista of the Tamaulipas Brigade. After the war he returned to the north bank of the river, where he was accused on at least two occasions of stealing cattle by the Cameron County grand jury. He had grown in popularity and political influence among the Mexicans there and even though he was seen frequently in public, he was not arrested on the indictments. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Cortina developed a hatred for a group of judges, attorneys and land speculators whom he accused of stealing land from Texas Mexican unfamiliar with the American judicial system and in the process became a leader to many of the poorer Mexicans who lived along the banks of the river. Cortina had sworn he would kill these men for stealing land from the Mexican Americans. The incident that ignited the first so-called Cortina War occurred on July, 13, 1859, when Cortina saw the Brownsville, Texas, City Marshall, Robert Shears, brutally arrest a Mexican American who had once been employed by Cortina. Cortina shot the marshall in the impending confrontation and rode out of town with the prisoner. Early on the morning of September 8, 1859, he rode into Brownsville again, this time at the head of some forty to eighty men, and seized control of the town. Only the intervention by his relatives and officials on the Matamoros side persuaded him to lift the occupation. Cortina afterward also fought the French invaders, with Ignacio Zaragoza in Puebla (Cinco de Mayo), another Texan from Goliad. He quickly rose to general in the Liberal Mexican Army of Benito Juarez and was present at the execution of Maximilian in Queretaro, served as military governor of Tamaulipas, and would later support dictator Porfirio Diaz when he overthrew Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, Juarezâ€™ successor. He was an adroit political player, surviving the Imperial government of Maximilian, the Byzantine political changes in Mexico, and even the spillover of the Civil War, taking sides first with the Confederates, and later, with the Union. It was the internal politics of Mexico that eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment. Mexican presidents, especially Diaz, eager to soothe the wounded feelings of Cortinaâ€™s enemies in South Texas and anxious to placate the U.S. government, ordered  him kept at the military prison of Santiago Tlaltelolco, without being tried or sentenced. He remained there until 1890, when he was paroled to a big hacienda below Mexico City. His home imprisonment in Mexico City ended with his death in 1892. He was <div>Even then, when his family tried to have his remains buried in the family cemetery in San Pedro, his political opponents objected and the project was shelved.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-9192410374827603090?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-mexico-city-cemetery-juan-cortina.html

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OTIS POWERS: DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO
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By Juan Montoya Every time he runs for office, Otis Powers repeats his mantra of "Character, Proven Leader, Integrity." His signs are always emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes even though he never served in the military. To his dismay, this time around he is going up against an opponent in Argelia Miller who spent 20 years in the Air Force and is about as red-white-and-blue as they come. It's like trying to be more Catholic than the Pope, and even that is going to be difficult because Mrs. Miller will often quote Scripture from memory. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomIlIINph8treORjFM6NapeUTBI4wz2Bf97hyThU7s4FDiLecmWk4fHHfmUTCVuetaaVgu4EITy1wJJSiJB_ehMCUGRswqqCTohZjsT7LVGsBlVbexFwipNChMu_khOMDdrQKbjmpRdo/s1600/otisforsale.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/AVvXsEhomIlIINph8treORjFM6NapeUTBI4wz2Bf97hyThU7s4FDiLecmWk4fHHfmUTCVuetaaVgu4EITy1wJJSiJB_ehMCUGRswqqCTohZjsT7LVGsBlVbexFwipNChMu_khOMDdrQKbjmpRdo/s400/otisforsale.jpg" width="333" /></a>As usual, Powers has entangled his opponent in a dispute over campaign signs. He removed one from the property of a Mr. Calvillo across from Yturria Elementary, a voting precinct. He told Miller in front of witnesses (and then recanted) that Calvillo did not like the school district because just as Powers was negotiating the sale of his land to build a school, he was defeated for reelection by Catalina Presas-Garcia in 2008. But let's take him at his word that he has these attributes he hawks on his signs and compare them to words that emanated from his own lips. These quotes are taken from a tape admitted into evidence in federal court in a case charging that he was involved in a conspiracy with the former board majority (Rick Zayas, Ruben Cortez, Rolando Aguilar and Joe Colunga) to fire former superintendent Hector Gonzales by having former BISD Chief Financial Officer Tony Juarez file a bogus grievance against him. CHARACTER: <a href="http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-talked-to-all-of-them.html" target="_blank">http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-talked-to-all-of-them.html</a> In this first snippet, Powers tells Juarez how he's "talked to all of them" (board members Rick Zayas, Joe Colunga Rolando Aguilar, etc.) about having Juarez file a bogus grievance against Gonzales to give the others a justification for firing him. PROVEN LEADERSHIP: <a href="http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/otis-powers-talks-to-joe-colunga.html" target="_blank">http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/otis-powers-talks-to-joe-colunga.html</a> In this second one, Powers is talking to Colunga over the phone about having his attorney Mark Sossi file a lawsuit and serve trustee Caty Presas-Garcia with a lawsuit during a board meeting. Powers said that after Presas-Garcia was served, she wouldn't be thinking about Colunga anymore when she went into executive session. INTEGRITY: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svw3taAQeWM&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svw3taAQeWM&feature=player_embedded</a> In the third one, Powers is on the phone with Joe Colunga and is heard to tell him of how he received advice from former blogger Bobby Wightman to sue Presas-Garcia for alleged offenses relating to privacy FERPA guidelines. It is said that religion and patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. In Otis' case, it appears to be double-barreled.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-4946510336997944106?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/11/otis-powers-do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do.html

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RASPAGATE VS. BANNERGATE: WHAT'S THE MAYOR DIFFERENCE?
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By Juan Montoya What is the difference between the acts of San Benito Mayor Joe Hernandez and Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez? Besides the size of their cities, one would have to say that there isn't much difference. Both are mayors of a Cameron County city. Both have to live under thye rules of their municipality. And both ostensibly have the best interest of their cities in mind. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI3uBt0qppug9MwKiXztLR7SFK_D76cq_83OikpRq15l6aEfTgf-V_vdK3dWIf6DLvQQf2AStufAfrD6SS2FGAZvhlN8TssVWLNSC4d2ENQ374fDWPEgS0BXqMwsWwr68y9IF7aP4nkc/s1600/JoeHdzMayor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI3uBt0qppug9MwKiXztLR7SFK_D76cq_83OikpRq15l6aEfTgf-V_vdK3dWIf6DLvQQf2AStufAfrD6SS2FGAZvhlN8TssVWLNSC4d2ENQ374fDWPEgS0BXqMwsWwr68y9IF7aP4nkc/s200/JoeHdzMayor.jpg" width="200" /></a>Yet, when the San Bene mayor attempts to revise an ordinance that will allow him to sell raspas (Noe's Snow Wiz) in the property where his barber shop is located, he also participates in the discussion presenting a clear conflict of interest. That, we could agree, is a bad thing to do. It's not earthshaking, mind you. But he really should have known better. It took nothing from the public treasury. It's not going to make him a wealthy man. It was just stupid bad. Now take the case of our learned attorney Martinez over at Browntown. During a jaunt to Orlando, Fla., he casually sings an "agreement" accepting the "award" of a three-year commitment from a banner salesman under the guise of fomenting the revitalization and rehabilitation of the city's downtown. Nothing bad with that, is it? After all, Brownsvillians have been talking about doing just that forever and ever. But how much an advertising banner will help to revitalize and infuse the economic forces of the city is to be debated. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QeqE50GTypVZgM2WTxV_jgnHvrnUBxb3SA0LKMNz1pmUJl9oCYS0aFZRuV1V4KRXHm7JeSuLNcssb24CGcaFy4ocorb2sMASOqbQONS64uw3P6mbHN0ui8ts2J9l6s5nWFJX-Uwo6NU/s1600/tony+martinez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QeqE50GTypVZgM2WTxV_jgnHvrnUBxb3SA0LKMNz1pmUJl9oCYS0aFZRuV1V4KRXHm7JeSuLNcssb24CGcaFy4ocorb2sMASOqbQONS64uw3P6mbHN0ui8ts2J9l6s5nWFJX-Uwo6NU/s1600/tony+martinez.jpg" /></a>According to the sales pitch from David McCarthy, the self- proclaimed back-up quarterback Super Bowl ring recipient with the Oakland Raiders who persuaded Martinez to sing the agreement in Orlando before he even returned home to consult with his city commission, the banners (at a hefty price tag) would show local business people's pride in their city. All, of course, at no cost to the city. However, before he signed the three-year agreement, Martinez should have realized that as a lone elected official, he could not encumber the city or its utility (PUB) to provide the Community Showcase Banner firm with access to its utility poles and encumber it to their maintenance. Of course, the city would be bound to replace torn banners, provide the fixtures like braces and the like, and generally make sure they didn't end up being an eyesore. Martinez apparently forgot that there is a purchasing process, a method of Requesting For Proposals from vendors, and a whole departmental vetting process before anyone can do business with the city. Then there's that small matter of getting the approval of the city commission for the enterprise. After all, there are seven other voices on the council that may have had questions on the propriety of the mayor committing the city and PUB to the McCarthy deal. In the case of San Benito, the city's attorney probably went to the Cameron County District Attorney and eventually the case ended with a grand jury true-billing him for the alleged offense over the snow cone stand. Martinez, on the other hand, appears to have been in cahoots with our city attorney â€"  Mark Sossi â€" the city's architect of our elusive code of ethics. It appears that the buxom babe who was on the sales tag team with McCarthy when they enticed local businesses to take the bait was a chum of Mark's. So to expect our city attorney to seek the assistance of the DA's office or to assemble a grand jury to determine (not whether the mayor sought to change the rules) whether Martinez simply ignored them would seem farfetched at the minimum. So, we come back to the original question. What's the difference between the mayor of San Benito with his Raspagate and Brownsville's with his Bannergate? Apparently, in San Bene they're sticklers for the laws and in Browntown we simply ignore them.        <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-2170341138821518521?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/11/raspagate-vs-bannergate-whats-mayor.html

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

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