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Monday, May 28, 2012

Rrun Rrun

EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/

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THE FUTURE CHEATS YOU FROM AFAR: THE SHERGOLD-"W" BUSH PHOTO OP
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">By</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> </b><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Juan Montoya</b><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">Aren't politics something?</div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 381px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJg_Y7AGiyrGJ6vd9R4Wx9fyUblDqVOZI2fsS0xPaMXMRwI6K3qi4_1AsW69W0SxF-ze_TnqR687WZGadZBZp0SqT9iF1jVsm1R-evcYbIpVyO-1klfX5De7DUzmHrcBJKyKgdc04jR7A/s400/shergold1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747691805720292290" /></span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">When I was attending the University of Michigan, among one of my required Journalism classes was one on constitutional law.<br />Now, having been raised in South Texas, I had no idea that people like Clarence Darrow, Mike Wallace, Margaret Bourke White, Williams James Mayo, and other heavy hitters in their diverse fields had attended school there.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">So it was with some surprise when we walked into class one day and had to be patted down by Secret Service agents before they let us in the classroom.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">To our surprise, President Gerald Ford was speaking with our instructor and after a small introduction, took some of our questions. After the perfunctory questions, "How's Betty doing after her rehab?" asked a classmate, the questions got a little heavier.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"Why did you pardon Nixon before he even faced a jury?" and "How could you sign off on the magic-bullet theory on the Kennedy assassination?"</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; ">Ford, if you'll remember, was on the Warren Commission that explained how a bullet could go through Kennedy's spine, exit though his throat, make a 90-degree turn toward Connally, go through his shoulder blades, make another 90 degree turn and strike his right wrist and was found up virtually unharmed on the hospital gurney the next day.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> If so, this bullet traversed 15 layers of clothing, 7 layers of skin, and approximately 15 inches of tissue, struck a necktie knot, removed 4 inches of rib, and s</span>hattered a radius bon<span style="font-size: 100%;">e</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "></span></div><span><span><span>Of course no one believed it then, and probably some of us still don't believe it now.</span></span></span><div><span>After the Q and A, some of the students had their photos taken with Ford, I not being among them. In those days, the memory of the Nixon pardon was still too fresh for the militant mindset of the time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; ">But the reason this story comes to mind is because we at <i>Rrun-Rrun</i> received this Email showing John Shergold, a Brownsville attorney who has run for various offices in the Democratic Party, including this year's try at the chairmanship of Cameron County.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; ">This photo (judging by Shergold's ample hair) was probably taken just about the time that George W. Bush had beaten Ann Richards in a no-hold-barred election where the trademark cutthroat Bush politics would be refined on his way to his two disastrous presidential terms in office.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; ">In other words, the wound was still too fresh for most Democrats to stomach a handshake with W. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; ">This is probably the last thing that John would probably want to see as we head to tomorrow's election, but it is a keeper, isn't it? </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-7683193801770620101?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/by-juan-montoya.html

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THE HEROES OF MEMORIAL DAY TOO MANY, TOO YOUNG
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<span style="font-weight: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGjuCaUXc_2Yv9-IAAT1EVkX35Hy7n6GB286ycuaQb-p6Y_hk2IWxD3vFQtyuI4GZzM5emzNhq3xV272ySEqFNiQ8cb0ODKmYhneJkgFF19aSCvlXVicgb2BPhTkIYotwzFCyQQ4SS9o/s1600/vetsday1.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGjuCaUXc_2Yv9-IAAT1EVkX35Hy7n6GB286ycuaQb-p6Y_hk2IWxD3vFQtyuI4GZzM5emzNhq3xV272ySEqFNiQ8cb0ODKmYhneJkgFF19aSCvlXVicgb2BPhTkIYotwzFCyQQ4SS9o/s400/vetsday1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747649812525666834" /></a>By</span><b> Juan Montoya</b><div style="font-weight: normal; ">That's my friend Felipe "Fito" CastaÃ±eda's name in the bottom of the middle road at the Veterans' Park off Central Boulevard.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Like others who have gone on before us, Fito came back from the Vietnam War and enrolled at Texas Southmost College and sought a degree in education.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">He's been wounded in the 'Nam and to his death was convinced that the numerous dousings of Agent Orange defoliant he and his Airborne unit buddies got there contributed to his many kidney and liver ailments that weakened him over time.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">In a sense, a lot of our soldiers who didn't die immediately in the jungles and hospitals of that country came back to die a slow one here.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">But Fito wasn't one to complain. He was drafted to go serve and â€" like many other Rio Grande Valley patriot soldiers â€" he did.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Throughout our history this country has seen its young go off to fight the wars of this nation on foreign soil. Sometimes it is a clearcut threat to our national security or </div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkH95-dVUlQA_6NzE8ujl4Z3DnDvUu71PVDZwy2ym4LF4sk7CDROghbP1UzaBlYN_W7QcUQuzgbC6vzq2kCIVO9qxQi1rAdJiYJ661gXsnePykmdzOCMmH4PIXNkkNnlb_1J7qQOUpGM/s400/vetsday.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747649695228000642" /><div style="font-weight: normal; ">our interests. Sometimes, unfortunately, it is because the politicians failed at diplomacy and a blood quotient was required of the new generation.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Since the start of this country, the flower of freedom and democracy has been watered by the renewing force of its patriots' blood.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">The Civil War cost the young nation more than 625,000 dead. WWII took 405,399. WWI took another 116,316. Vietnam followed with 58,209. Korea took 36,516 (conflicts also kill). The American Revolutionary War took 25,000. The War of 1812 took 20,000. The Mexican-American War took 13,283 mostly to disease and unsanitary conditions. The War of Terror continues to take our young, now at 6,280 and counting. </div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">And so so go on.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">When old men fail at getting along, their young must often be called upon to settle their scores. </div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Like my friend Felipe, they accepted their duty and performed their responsibilities ungrudgingly. </div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Whether we agree with the justifications for the wars (Vietnam, Iraq, etc.) or we don't, there is no denying the courage and valor of those that served and our respect for the memory and courage of those that fell. We remember them on this Memorial Day.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5851153767574341579?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/heroes-of-memorial-day-too-many-too.html

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DID PRO-NELSON PAC BREAK THE LAW DIVULGING CHALLENGER FARIAS' EXPUNGED RECORD?
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<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">By </span><b style="font-style: normal; ">Juan Montoya</b><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">One of the liveliest race in Cameron County has t be the one between incumbent 138th District Judge Arturo Nelson and challenger Veronica Farias.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">In a series of ads running the last two weeks, a Political Action Committee named Citizens for a Better Judiciary, has run a series of ads calling Farias a "troubled attorney" and listing details of previous charges against her.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">This was preceded by an ad run by Farias taking Nelson to task questioning Nelson's judicial performance in the case of a child molester that she claimed the judge allowed to go free on probation only to have the defenda<span style="font-size: 100%; ">nt engage in sexual abusive criminal cond</span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nHTUj2QeB3PT-RYf_jyzurKkpmyRHZPFwoGc2IEefwOrUATDXu8QvxUsLDgpELhsdiDVIrHHjV03gRbek2Y5J8pPcV-ee_2cIFQqQ3sBtiq-a47P0rDANZJfL26CY1_4Wi6-PYuJdqs/s320/veronica.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747647055128460018" /><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">uct with a minor.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">This drew the heated response of Nelson's supporters such as former district judge Robert Garza and others who defended their colleague and accused Farias of misstating the record.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">But it was the PAC â€" Citizens for a Better Judiciary â€" that listed at least two previous charges filed against Farias in 2008 and 2011 in newspaper ads and listed the specifics of the cases.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">There was only one problem, however.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">According to Farias, both charges listed prominently in the PAC's ads were expunged from her record by a court order last July. The order prohibits anyone (whether a PAC, law enforcement official, or any individual) from opening the files or the expunged records of the arrests and are "not open for inspect6ion by anyone..."</div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">When Farias approached the <i>Brownsville Herald</i>, which ran the PAC's ads, the editors there went back to their files and made a notation tat the charges arising from the police reports had been expunged from the public records by a court.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">But there is more.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">Apparently, the principals in the PAC (and the search is on to find out who it is) may not only have viola</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjL7oZZN3-pSr8IWG9qrhMj8BSk31SdgVwUt7sFWnwcBTHkF04Gy9IOvaGIHDCNVb5X4jiI_O53-_b2M1fQModDyI2Kq8uEl9_a4qMwiVgHhv7U6BfQspxXotsNHQAR1NIhf-rU3fwW4/s200/Arturo_Cisneros_Nelson2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747646915574579250" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 200px; " /><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">ted the court order, but also broken the law contained in Title I, Chapter 55 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. And what's more, not only did the PAC apparently break the law, but in not clearing its ads with Nelson may have violated yet another criminal statute. </div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">The law states that: "the release, maintenance, dissemination, or use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited..</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"A person who acquires knowledge of an arrest while an officer or employee of the state or any agency or other entity of the state or any political subdivision of the state and who knows of an order expunging the records and files relating to that arrest commits and offense if he knowingly releases, disseminates or otherwise uses the records or files...</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor."</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">This comes into play, according to Farias supporters, because the PAC lists its address as 855 W. Price Rd., the same building that houses the offices of Roreig, Oliveira and Fisher, principals with State Rep. Rene Oliveira in the law firm.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">It is also the same address listed for the Cameron County Bar Association. Should the investigation reveal that Oliveira or his law firm were involved in the preparation of the ads and the dissemination of the expunged files, it could result in sanctions applied to whoever is found to have been involved. Oliveria falls under the definition of an officer or employee of the state. </div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">So far, the Brownsville Police Dept. has looked into the complaint and has forwarded the evidence it uncovered to the Cameron County District Attorney's Office.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">But Farias is not stopping there. She says she will to journey to Austin to speak personally to officials with the State Ethics Commission and file a complaint against the PAC, and Nelson, if necessary.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"I will be there eat 8 a.m.at the doors of the Ethic Commission," she said.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">Farias said that under the Texas Election Code, all candidates must follow the Code of Fair Campaign Practices that states that: "I will not permit the use of character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander, or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or the candidate's personal life....</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"I will not use campaign material of any sort that misrepresents, distorts, or otherwise falsifies the facts, nor will I sue malicious or unfounded accusations that aim at creating or exploiting doubts without justification, as to the personal integrity or patriotism of any opponent...</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">The code that every candidate signs with the state also states that a candidate "will immediately and publicly repudiate methods and tactics that may come from others that I have pledged not to use or condone. I shall take firm actions against any subordinate who violates any provision of this code..."</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">Now the question becomes: Did Judge Nelson authorize the ads using expunged records and files? And if he did not, will he disavow the ads? Farias said that all candidates' who have signed the code have their pledges on file with the Ethics Commission.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">"If Judge Nelson didn't sign the code of fair campaign practices, why didn't he?" she asked. "He may just try to wash his hands of responsibility by saying it was a committee that did it, but that is not very credible. The Ethics Commission requires any "committee" acting on a candidate's behalf to get the candidate's authorization for an ad."</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">With election day coming on Tuesday and word spreads of the Farias-Nelson controversy, there's no telling whether the result will be a backlash against the PAC's tactics in support of the incumbent.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-7620356686926174000?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/did-pro-nelson-pac-break-law-diviulging.html

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IF ANYTHING, CORTEZ SHOWS HE'S THE ULTIMATE POLITICIAN
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<div style="font-style: normal; "><span><span>By <b>Juan Montoya</b></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">Even as he defends himself and members of the former Brownsville Independent School District board majority for violating civil rights of former employees and conspiring to rig an insurance contract and steer it to his political supporters, former trustee Ruben Cortez continues to bamboozle voters in the northern reaches of the Texas State Board of Education's District 2.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">Cortez, who was roundly rejected by BISD voters tired that he and the majority of which he formed part, pulled down the district from an all-time pinnacle of having been awarded the prestigious Broad Award and in two short years gobbled up a $175 million reserve fund to just under $68 million.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">The district, which gained a $2 million student scholarship award as a result of the Broad, went literally as his detractors said, from "Broad to Broke."</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">And the firing of three major administrators â€" superintendent Hector Gonzales, Chief Financial Officer Tony Juarez, and Special Needs Director Art Rendon â€" sparked lawsuits in</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0m_2WSKmcIwqXf8C5x6mvdZ080tmSGwbvpw1sybq65IFBNWArK9i4rrpyoWiuIQUU6rzgGa2G_0VZcP5JFEobsnPF9g_DfWG3K0W6MhlAWQGYzdNTFuhZ8GmcsUmh-yCcl31nS8vwWLg/s200/celeste.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5747615817150322146" /><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "> state and federal court. A federal judge denied the four defendants â€" Cortez, Rick Zayas, Joe Colunga and Rolando Aguilar â€" qualified immunity meaning that they would have to answer the charges as elected officials and as individuals.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">A federal appeals court upheld the local decision and later refused to reconsider.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "> Yet, still after all that, Cortez has somehow managed to convince the leadership of the Texas State Teachers Association, <span style="font-size: 100%; ">part of the National Education Association, and the Victoria, Texas, b</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ranch of the Service Employee International Union to endorse his candidacy over his two opponents, both highly-qualified and educated. One Larry Garza, is a Kingsville pharmacist with over a decade on the local school board, and the other Celste Sanchez, is an assistant superintendent of curriculum at the San Benito ISD where she was also a board member and a sitting city commissioner.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Cortez has only a high school diploma as his educational credentials.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">"You have to give Cortez credits for his chutzpah," said a voter waiting outside the Central Blvd. Public Library in Brownsville during early voting. "But thinking it over carefully, the voters would be doing our schools and our children a disservice to reject these other highly qualified people and vote for a career politician."</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Yet, that is the very choice that </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">George Borrego, president elect of the Association of Brownsville Educators, is advocating.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">"Ruben has supported educational issues and employees important to education," Borrego said."We feel we need someone with his view to represent us at the State Board of Education. We are out-numbered. We feel very secure that Ruben's going to win and represent us well."</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">To think that this professional union rep would pick Cortez, whose slogan "Keeping Politics out of the Classroom," goes contrary to what he did while on the BISD board defies belief.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; "><div style="font-style: normal; "><span>Cortez was sued by former </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Special Needs Department Director Art Rendon, who stated in a sworn deposition </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">in his case (Southern District of Texas 1:10-cv-00198) against Cortez and the board </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">majority that:</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><i><span>"58. On or about June, 2008, Ruben Cortez, a sitting board member on BISD, </span><span>contacted Plaintiff directly via telephone. He instructed Plaintiff to hire his sister, </span><span>Linda Aguilar, for summer school employment as a Special Education teacher.</span></i></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><i><span>59. Plaintiff informed Mr. Cortez that BISD had hiring policies in place and instructed </span><span>him that the hiring application for the summer of 2008 had already been accepted and </span><span>processed.</span></i></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><i><span>60. Cortez sent Plaintiff his sister's application and insisted Plaintiff call her </span><span>immediately and giver her a job. Plaintiff set up a meeting between Cortez's sister </span><span>Linda, Ana Lerma, who was a Special Education supervisor, and Dr. Lee Garcia, </span><span>Assistant Director for Special Services. At the meeting, Ruben Cortez's orders were </span><span>followed, and Linda Aguilar was given a job for the summer of 2008.</span></i></div><div><span>And this is the kind of person the teachers union â€" whose members were probably elbowed out by Cortez's interference in the hiring process so the district could hire his ssiter â€" wants to represent us in Austin?</span></div></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><p style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-7771692166831921051?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/if-anything-cortez-shows-hes-ultimate.html

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Brownsville Noise

Brownsville Noise
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â™¥ â™¥ BFFs â™¥ â™¥
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTW6vSITIWPsKkuoumenechNTUUwraeokw7C-5ABOqNzfhdx4yznexCezVkondI1Y33NIxoZkp7-rPSbvx12qxSj75nPV5C7w_m3nM35QWWqjDHKxZUK84IeatQYJVIOHOhAmNk200oIK/s1600/bff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTW6vSITIWPsKkuoumenechNTUUwraeokw7C-5ABOqNzfhdx4yznexCezVkondI1Y33NIxoZkp7-rPSbvx12qxSj75nPV5C7w_m3nM35QWWqjDHKxZUK84IeatQYJVIOHOhAmNk200oIK/s400/bff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Rick congratulates his BFF Charlie on his Turd Place showing in the recent valleycentral.com poll.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7460924536583987444-8997923795881558037?l=brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com/2011/03/bffs.html

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Friday, May 25, 2012

Rrun Rrun

EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/

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BRADSHAW: "NIEGO SER DE MATAMOROS; NI ME LLAMO PUENTE
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<div>By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />With only a few days left before Tuesday's primary elections, at least one of the Republican candidates for the new Congressional District 34 is having serious identity problems.<br />Jessia (Puente?) Bradshaw, in a quarter-page ad that appeared in the local daily states unequivocally that "I do not lie," then goes on to tell some whoppers.<br />In the website "Texans for Jessica," paid for by her campaign committee "Friends of Liberty For Jessica, "her biographical sketch plainly says: "Born in Matamoros, Mexico, Jessica grew up in Brownsville, Texas with her mother and two sisters."<br />Compare that with her ad today under the headline that states that: "Leaders Lead, not Mislead."<br />"I am a Brownsville native and currently live in Brownsville."<br />What are we to believe, that she is Brownsville native or that she was born in Matamoros as her campaign committee (and Jessica herself) attests?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjzFnKUgqz9MggoTAzDkxrKFnOBs3brXmTUuU00m3hT2yg_a4D-xlogRLYU_hyphenhyphencYTfh7PhEcq0rqXMkDa7pjCRWowHE9Mveo6gOjnb-1UMBsZ_RspJ6BoP7Xwz_r07i4rfLtCcSwlyxQ/s1600/jessica1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 155px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5746516801277077458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjzFnKUgqz9MggoTAzDkxrKFnOBs3brXmTUuU00m3hT2yg_a4D-xlogRLYU_hyphenhyphencYTfh7PhEcq0rqXMkDa7pjCRWowHE9Mveo6gOjnb-1UMBsZ_RspJ6BoP7Xwz_r07i4rfLtCcSwlyxQ/s320/jessica1.jpg" /></a><br />Could it possibly be that Ms. Bradshaw is ashamed to admit she was born in Matamoros from Mexican parents? Or perhaps she sees her Mexican heritage as a liability in winning votes and wants to hide it from her fellow Republicans?<br />It's obvious that she is handling her own campaign's media offerings. A good public relations person would have had her embrace her heritage and point out the greateness of this county in becoming the melting pot for the best and the brightest from all over the world, Matamoros included. What's wrong with that? Why lie?<br />She then goes to state that "Robinson," one of the names that she used before her marriage to Jonathan Bradshaw, was her "maiden name."<br />Now, we were all under the impression that her maiden name was "Puente," or so her campaign had led us to believe. In fact, she uses the "Puente Bradshaw" moniker on her campaign logo and her literature.<br />So which is it, then?<br />Perhaps Ms. Bradshaw's confusion also extends to her charges that her campaign opponent (Adela) Garza is "running for congress on a campaign full of misinformation and deceit..she has misled voters about me."<br />She, of course, would never do that herself. Right? We all remember some transcripts from a Bradshaw conversation with some supporters where she was recorded saying this about Adela:<br /><em>"I really believe that this candidate all the lies that she's making up. She's overstating her influence. You know like, oh I have connections here, I have connections there...so she has some people thinking that that's the case and I'm telling you right now, it's not true. As a matter of fact she has some very shady business going on where she used some of her influence locally to fire some very good people from some very good positions where they would have helped a lot of minorities...<br /></em>That's not "misinformation and deceit?"<br />Now we have found out as a result of the ad that the reason she was registered to vote both in Travis and Cameron counties was because "Travis County did not cancel my registration as expected."<br />A certain Jessica Robinson (d.o.b. 5-1-74) has two VUIDs:<br />One in Cameron - 1181585157 registered at 44 Calle Duquesa and<br />One in Travis - 1131347027 registered at 12500 Uvalde Creek Dr.<br />And a certain Johnathan Samuel Bradshaw (d.o.b. 5-23-70) also has two VUIDs:<br />One in Cameron - 1181585135 registered at 44 Calle Duquesa and<br />One in Travis - 1131411560 registered at 12500 Uvalde Creek Dr.<br /><br />But she saves the best for last, according to her ad in the paper.<br />She is obviously ignorant of the fact that a majority of local residents elected the majority on the Texas Southmost College board of trustees based on their platform separating the community college mission from the UT System. She says that as a result of Garza's "vote on the UTB-TSC partnership, severely weakened both institutions resulting in 600+ lost jobs in Brownsville and the Valley."<br />Doesn't she realize that it was the UT Regents in Austin who cast the separation vote first before the TSC trustees even considered the matter?<br />The rest of her charges against Garza also ring hollow. Let's take one by one of her "bullets."<br />That Garza "crippled" the Los Fresnos CISD as a trustee by firing a proven superintendent and replacing him with her personal friend as a favor."<br />Now, we were under the impression that it takes a majority of a seven-member board of trustees to make any decision, let alone one as important as replacing a superintendent. Did Garza's vote nullify the other six? That statement indicates Bradshaw's complete lack of knowledge of serving on any public board. In fact, she never has. We'll ascribe that statement to ignorance of board dynamics. The last we heard, the Los Fresnos CISD is alive and well.<br />She states that Garza worked for "Congressman (Blake) Farenthold, her son-in-law's employee," for less than one year" and never handled legislation as she claims."<br />Farenthold, as the elected official, is of course the person entrusted to handle legislation. As far as we know, Garza, in her role as field director in the southern end of the district handles the groundwork which is the foundation for any legislation. That means that Garza, in her capacity and purview, can "handle" legislation.<br />And what does her son-in-law being employed by the congressman have to do with anything? We know David and you don't want to have him as an opponent in a political race. We're sure Ms. Bradshaw will attest to his effectiveness, therefore the slur.<br />As far as who's supporting Garza, well, that is up to each individual. If State Rep. Jose Aliseda, a former popular Bee County Judge, endorsed her over Bradshaw, that is his prerogative. In fact, Aliseda had this to say about her:<br />"Yes, I have endorsed Adela. I did several months ago. I thought she was the best of the three candidates running, mainly because I believe she is the most qualified, she is a conservative, she has been a Republican for a long time, she is currently serving on the College Board of Trustees in the Valley, and we need people that are experienced and that know how to move around in government, and I think she is the one. The other two candidates don't have her experience and qualifications, so that's why I endorsed her..."<br />The interviewer (Bob Price, of Texas GOP Vote) then compared Garza with Bradshaw's approach to representative<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTxhIxqFLpm2XFT9zhRIq3WsFB9H-Ih28zg-QDeIYi5N_RgCuL9Cfpfw-SoRo07Fnfcdpn2eq_wXwP8jY-NXuyy3AZ7CtjpleNB_xmrevQkEA0b2FAENRXKCyPt86e6ozQR8OadgtcjI/s1600/Garza-Connects-With-People.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 441px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 189px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5746519955533963458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTxhIxqFLpm2XFT9zhRIq3WsFB9H-Ih28zg-QDeIYi5N_RgCuL9Cfpfw-SoRo07Fnfcdpn2eq_wXwP8jY-NXuyy3AZ7CtjpleNB_xmrevQkEA0b2FAENRXKCyPt86e6ozQR8OadgtcjI/s400/Garza-Connects-With-People.jpg" /></a> government:<br />"Contrast that with one of her opponents(Jessica) , who spent almost the entire evening sitting at her table with her campaign team and hardly speaking with anyone. She then ducked out early, whereas Garza was one of the last to leave and then went on to have more discussions with local leaders about district issues. That is what representation is about."<br /><br /><div>If anything, Ms. Bradshaw's ad is instructive in that her charges against Garza and her denials of her own heritage indicate a very insecure personality who wouldn't think twice of selling her own folks down the river to attain a desired political post.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-8952245125202710458?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/bradshaw-niego-ser-de-matamoros-ni-me.html

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Brownsville Noise

Thursday, May 24, 2012

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CASCOS BARES HIS SOUL AT OLIVEIRA JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION CEREMONY
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEy8jJWkUgzTK9AB0S0BpjHA4cYywBon0jTs5GZlw-AdqGM4G9lHUaRIQjidl22RcOZDOE8KabHj8jeqzgQjkH7RfxNwgaxS0dhYfxCW_ERb_nmncGqR1xbXYWERMcQrqCCyRh_Pyq54/s1600/cascos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 400px; height: 216px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5745897974014666226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEy8jJWkUgzTK9AB0S0BpjHA4cYywBon0jTs5GZlw-AdqGM4G9lHUaRIQjidl22RcOZDOE8KabHj8jeqzgQjkH7RfxNwgaxS0dhYfxCW_ERb_nmncGqR1xbXYWERMcQrqCCyRh_Pyq54/s400/cascos.jpg" /></a>By<strong> Juan Montoya</strong><br />In the forty or so years that I have known Carlos Cascos, his speech last night at the Oliveira Middle School National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony had to be the best last speech i have ever heard him deliver.<br />No, it wasn't a call to arms as he was apt to give when he was fighting for his political life when votes went missing in his race with Democrat standard bearer John Wood.<br />And it wasn't a plaintive appeal to his fellow commissioner in the first year of the 12 he served as county commissioner for Pct. 2 when Mike Cortinas transferred all of the road material budget item to San Benito's Adolph Thomae and left Cascos with an empty caliche bin at the warehouse at the 14th Street county barn.<br />It wasn't a rousing one either as when he became the second Republican to occupy the county judge's seat after defeating Democrat honcho Gilberto Hinojosa in a no-holds barred contest still memorable in the political talk at the county coffee shop.<br />In an era when we have two Republican congressional candidates with roots in Mexico (Adela Garza and Jessica P. Bradshaw) and at least one of the handful of Justice of the Peace (2-2) candidates (Yolanda Begum) also hailing from our neighboring country, it was heartening to see first-hand that the American Dream is still very much alive and manifesting itself in the likes of the Cameron County Judge.<br />In his remarks, Cascos told the 30 young inductees to the NJHS inductees of a young man born in Matamoros from parents from Mexico City and San Fernando who entered out local public schools (Los Ebanos, aka Sharp Elementary) in the anti-Mexican era when even speaking Spanish was agaisnt the rules.<br />"That young man was me. There was no National Honor Society when I was growing up," he told them. "In fact, even admitting that you were from Matamoros was looked down upon back then."<br />Nonetheless, he outlined his ascent though academia and on to Brownsville High School, Texas Southmost College, then on to get his accounting degree at the University of Texas. Today, he is a certified public accountant, is a diplomat in the Academy of Certified Public Accountants and is certified as a forensic auditor.<br />After a short stint with the Department of Public Safety, he joined a nationally-known accounting firm with offices in Brownsville.<br />"I remember when I went to see the counselor at Brownsville High School and she told me that college wasn't for me, that i should look for a trade," he said. "And I wasn't the only one they told this to. But we're stubborn sometimes."<br />"We didn't have things like financial aid back then," he told them. "But we knew what we wanted."<br />He also reminded the inductees and guests that technology had speeded up the transfer of knowledge so that each new generation possess an exponential increase of know how not available to previous generations.<br />"When your parents were growing up there was no such thing as a cell phone, or iPods or iPads," he said. "Nowadays a three-year-old can figure out how to program a remote faster than I could."<br />However, he cautioned the young scholars that because they are now part of an elite group of students nationally, they also inherited a responsibility to be role models for other students because anything they did would reflect on their membership in the organization.<br />"With great power comes great responsibility," he said. "You are going to be a role model for someone."<br />Then, in his closing statements, he brought back the students to the ground.<br />"Never think that you know more than your parent," he siad. "You might think that you're getting away with it, but sooner or later you'll get caught. Your parents have been there and can see what you're doing. You are book smart, but you are not street smart."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-3485217103615705033?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/cascos-bares-his-soul-at-oliveira.html

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Brownsville Noise

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ERIN HERNANDEZ BETTING A LAW DEGREE WILL TRUMP A LIFETIME OF EXPERIENCE
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<div><span>By <b>Juan Montoya</b></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>By now we've all heard the justifications of Erin Hernandez Garcia's supporters that we should all jump off the elections cliff and vote for her because she has a law degree and we don't. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>You know Erin, she's a local lawyer who happens to be Cameron County Precinct 2 Commissioner Ernie Hernandez's daughter, a point she doesn't readily acknowledge on her campaign literature to limit her liability over his quasi-legal escapades.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>The mantra has taken yet another twist now with these same acolytes claiming that the candidate that they see as Erin's main opponent Yolanda Begum isn't e</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ducated.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>As usual, these simple statements strike a chord with people who might not know any better. Now we understand that Begum's supporters are making their point forcefully that not only does Begum have an education, but that in terms of life experience, she is heads and shoulders way above Erin whose legal practice has consisted mainly of keeping her dad's money-making schemes (such as the vending contract with the county) barely legal.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>"</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">To be clear, Yolanda Begum </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">graduated from both high school and college," one of her supporters wrote us. "She is also certified in anger management </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">and domestic violence resolution skills apart from obtaining many years of formal education in </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">liberal arts. </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Yolanda attended</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">a community college where she graduated with a business and accounting degree."</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Unlike Erin, whose family has been siphoning the resources of local public entities like the city and now the county, as she was growing up, Yolandaâ€™s family was by no means wealthy, they said.</span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjll69wdSkSs0h4ayu0gF-mJNOzNwK8iwDGpApuPKejzdqtyNvzt0T8ca6hltYUEN3lIzWvVw8hFpxHtRm0s-mhKTCxDhyvPV2iOBZkKucR0GaBQpB5mnagsPwtZ6g2sA4DuM1BtjVuMcY/s400/yolanda.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5745815469245395218" /><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">When she married Mike Begum, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">a downtown retail pioneer who immigrated to Brownsville</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">in the early 1950â€™s from Russia, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">they operated and managed numerous womenâ€™s and childrenâ€™s retail stores in the </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">valley and Yolanda branched out to operate other small business interests including starting a restaurant, property management, an art s</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">tudio, and a beverage company.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">As far as her family, Erin has nothing on Yolanda. She is the eldest of seven children, with one of her brothers being</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> a prominent doctor, her second brother is a </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">lawyer, and her sisters all had careers ranging from a biochemist, human resources director to interior </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">decorator.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Not only has Begum spent almost all of her adult life in the valley, she has also been involved in charities, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">business organizations, civic organizations, teaching children on probation, and teaching woman with </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">cancer how to utilize alternative life saving strategies for surviving cancer.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Her two children, Sasha and Alex Begum, are both successful </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">lawyers.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">No stranger to life's adversities, Begum, a cancer survivor, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">was forced to undergo thee years of chemotherapy, radiation, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">cancer surgeries, and finally was able to beat cancer through the use of alternative medicine and diet. Two younger sisters were not so fortunate. They were </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">diagnosed with breast cancer and died after long-</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">fought battles with the disease.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">There was a reason why the Texas Legislature, in its wisdom, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">created the Small Claims Courts with the specific provision that </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">no legal degree is required for that position. The legislature wanted people who could be fair to folks </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">who did not hire lawyers. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">The Legislature wanted Justices of the Peace to be regular folks who could hear </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">common sense arguments and not apply legalese or complex procedural hoops to folks coming before </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">these courts. They were set up so that regular people with everyday problems could go and argue their </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">own case without having to hire an expensive lawyer. These courts were an alternative to the Federal, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">County or District Courts where all the Judges are lawyers.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>Some political opponents argue that a law degree is the only qualifier for Justice of the Peace. A Law </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">degree does not bring with it life experiences, wisdom, compassion, integrity, honor and an ethical </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">disposition.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">A cursory look into the many lawyers and public officials with law degrees who are currently</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>under federal indictments in Cameron County should dispel that misconception. Does a law degree in and of itself, then, bring </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">the qualities that are vital for a good public official or Justice of the Peace?</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">President Reagan was once </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">quoted as saying: "I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Erin Hernandez's minions are probably past the point of understanding or of viewing the point objectively. But even in Begum has no l</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">aw degree, she does bring life experiences, wisdom, education, </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">compassion and integrity to the office of the Justice of the Peace that Erin would need a whole lifetime to achieve. No one in </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Begumâ€™s family h</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">as ever run for public office and she is not a career politician. She is not looking to use the</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> position as a spring board to further her political aspirations or that of her immediate family. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">But as a mother, a teacher, a successful </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">business woman, and a civic leader who wants to bring positive change to this position and address </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">issues such as truancy so that youth do not</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span>become societal tax burdens in our community, Begum is about as different from Erin as night and day.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">Given her family's track record, do you really expect someone like Erin Hernandez to offer <span style="font-size: 100%; ">integrity, respect, accountability and honesty to this position? </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Between a law degree used for her family's and personal benefit and Begum's wealth of life experience dedicated to our community, Begum is our choice.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-8052296393457234465?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/hernandez-betting-law-degree-will-trump.html

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Maclovio OMalley

The Maclovio O'Malley Show
http://www.spreaker.com/show/the_maclovio_o_malley_show

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Episode 30, May 22 2012
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LINK: http://www.spreaker.com/user/maclovioomalley/episode_30_may_22_2012

Copyright Maclovio O'Malley

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SEARCH FOR S. TEXAS ANCESTOR REVEALS HERITAGE OF SLAVERY, CIVIL WAR AND LOCAL CULTURE
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<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrktGFLY5soHAyw5F0eV-mHz_uqWoxWwxnp_OXm3NGrqSNeh3m6sGN679T98k0xkWWImEVyffLHn1xprdCedkr3rmk5XwvatsaUcSGQod_yDpn01ZH5tJkjrjlI1yFueUN6nGLAyEhT9Q/s400/cuellar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5745507861181936770" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div>By <b>Juan Montoya</b></div><div><div>Just a few months ago Joe Cuellar was settling in to the laid-back life of retirement and unending doldrums at his <span style="font-size: 100%; ">homestead out in the southeastern reaches of Brownsville near Palm Grove Elementary.</span></div><div>After deca<span>des of work</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ing for the City of Brownsville's Public Works Department followed by another l</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ong stint as foreman of the Cameron County Precinct 1 Road and Bridge crew, Cuellar, now us</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ing </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">a walker and an electronic wheelchair, was getting used to the quiet country life watching over his </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">pet dog Peanut and his roosters.</span></div></div><div><div>Then he sta<span>rted looking into his ancestry. Sudd</span><span>enly, </span><span>the sedate laid-back lifestyle no longer seemed en</span><span>ticing. Cuellar, who had shunned computers, or for that matter, the Internet, suddenly found he did not have enough hours in the day.</span><span></span></div><div>"I always <span>wondered why some of our relatives were named Webber," he said. "Some of us had blue eyes and others we</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">re lighter-skinned than the others. I though it was just coincidence." Little did he know that he was beginning a journey that would take him back more than 400 years in t</span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">ime weaving through the beginning of U.S. history, slavery, the Civil War, prejudice, and South Texas early history.</span></div><div><span></span></div></div><div><div>After his sons, now grown with children of their own, got him hooked up to the world-wide web and taught him the rudiments of web surfing, he started looking up his ancestors. What he found caused an impact on him that still has not subsided.</div><div>He found out that he was a descendant of a New En<span>gland Yankee who formed part of then-Mexican Texas Moses (Stephen's dad) Austin's colony in 1826.</span></div><div><span>John Ferdinand Webber was born of English stock and his own grandparents traced their beginnings to a John Webber who was born in Stepney, London, England in 1600 and died in 1650, about the a</span><span>verage life span in those times.</span></div><div>After members of his family immigrated to the brand-new country of the United States, they settled in around New Hampshire and branched out into Vermont and other Eastern Seaboard states.</div><div><span>Cuellar's ancestor Webber (known locally as Juan Fernando Webber) was born 1794 in Vermont. He served in the War of 1812 as a medical technician in Capt. S. Dickinson's company, Thirty-first United States Infantry from May 13, 1813 to May 31, 1814 and fought in the Battle of Shadage Woods.</span></div><div><span>In 1832, after coming to Texas, he settled in Wells Prairie on the Colorado River sixteen miles below present Austin. He built a fort as protection against Indians, which developed into the village of Webberville.</span></div><div>Webber bought Silvia Hector, the slave of a neighbor, freed and married her. Cuellar has been able to trace her beginnings to Louisiana and Missouri. In those days, slaves were sold and traded like goods and had to follow their owners where they took them.</div><div>Webber provided private tutors for his eleven children with Sylvia (another was born later). Seeking tolerance for his biracial family, he moved to the Rio Grande Valley <span>in 1851.</span></div><div>In 1853, he purchased 8,856 acres in Agostadero del Gato Land Grant for his Webber Ranch and other property in La Blanca Grant. As a Yankee, he supported the Union cause, and moved the family to Mexico during the Civil War.<br />Webber sold the northern half of his ranch to Edward Dougherty in 1877. His other tracts, about 4,000 acres, were gradually broken up until his death on July 19, 1882. He bequeathed each of his children 34.5 acres; his daughter Marcella received the family cemetery in her share. His heirs sold most of his property to Alamo Land & Sugar Company by 1918. Much of it has been recombined and is now part of Krenmiller Farms of San Juan.</div><div>That cemetery on the levee road, a short distance above the Donna, Texas pump, still exists. His widow died in September 1892. Cuellar said he and his family were always curious about their ancestor and his wife and started seeking more information on Sylvia Hector, the slave woman who married Webber.</div><div>Some of his family still lives in the Donna area on land originally acquired by Webber.</div><div>If family trees could be compared to tree species, this one could easily be classified as a Sequoia, with roots buried to ancient depths and branches reaching out into the new future.</div><div>His research has now spread to cover more than 60 families and over 1,000 people.</div><div>When Webber died on July 19, 1882, his 12 children married into the local population intermarrying with families with last names such as Alanis, Alvarado, Bar</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidylgPtmS4D5xx-oU3gx8_IJdATRasjFAjLGtBWf4pqZ_pMfxKE9QaCJVlpdCaFGnUTDZ92qp2C5MNran5dQoe91FI9DAutUQEUk-XErjb0t8guJzysUUKEr2WEeWOamp_lGFQujdwlUo/s400/webber.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5745506445792754642" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /><div>rientos, Contreras, Cuellar, Cavazos, Esquivel, Handy, Hernandez, Limas, Martinez, Ochoa, Olvera, Reyas, Reyas, Rocha, Sarmiento, and, of course, the remaining Webbers.</div><div>"I got a note from ancestry.com that it was the largest genealogy list that they had encountered," Cuellar said. "There is a wealth of diversity in our heritage."</div><div>In 2005, the Hidalgo Historical Commission authorized the recognition of the Webber Cemetery and made a census of the names. Among the buried at the site is Juan Ferdinand Webber himself.</div><div>Just last month, his descendants, among them Cuellar and his family, gathered to recognize their progressive ancestor. They erected a granite headstone next to the grave of one of his daughters also buried there.</div><div>"To think that a person of his day would buy and free a slave girl and and have his children with her and move to South Texas because of the racial intolerance of the times is simply amazing," he said. "Just think of the prejudice that must have existed back then in a slave state like Texas where people were simply property."</div><div>The thought of finding the entire family genealogy has sparked a interest in Cuellar that has shattered the idyll that was retirement.</div><div>"I have found so much about my ancestors and I'm finding out even more every time I follow one of the branches," he said. "Who knows where it will lead next?"</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-536709960955671463?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/search-for-s-texas-ancestor-reveals.html

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