sick nation

Here is a statement from El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles after the white supremacist murder rampage in El Paso.

This Anglo man came here to kill Hispanics. I'm outraged and you should be too. This entire nation should be outraged. In this day and age, with all the serious issues we face, we are still confronted with people who will kill another for the sole reason of the color of their skin.

I fear things will not get better. Not pointing out anyone in particular (HELLO, DONALD TRUMP and TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT!!), but I'm sick of people jumping in front of the cameras offering prayers and condolences as things just keep getting worse.

It's time to rise up and hold our representatives accountable at all levels. I want representatives who will stand up against racism. Who will stand up and support the diversity of our nation and our state. Who will stand up for a strong criminal justice system that holds criminals responsible and keeps violent individuals locked up and off our streets. Who support robust community mental health services. Who support keeping guns out of the hands of people who are just waiting for an opportunity to kill others.

El Paso will never be the same, because a racist came to our city to try and make a point. It didn't work though, because the backlash of this community, as we hold national, state and local politicians accountable, will be the only point that will be made.

And then came Dayton, Ohio.

pitiful day

The Baltimore Sun had some words for "president" Trump after Trump continued to deride Baltimore. We have some piece of work in the White House. A real prince.

The pitiful day a U.S. president used a political rally to mock Baltimore’s homicide rate

Slightly more than 15 minutes into his speech at a rally in Cincinnati Thursday night — right after claiming the crowd was record size but bemoaning how local authorities had limited the arena’s lawful capacity — President Donald Trump set his sights once again upon Baltimore. Basking in the crowd’s adulation, he started listing the dangerous countries where the murder rate was, he believed, not as bad as Charm City’s. El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala. Then he sought his supporters’ response. " I believe it’s higher than ... give me, give me a place that you think is pretty bad," he excitedly announced. “Give me a place. This guy says Afghanistan,” he said smiling and pointing to a member of the audience. “I believe it’s higher than Afghanistan.”

The crowd took it all in appreciatively, smiling, some cheering. They laughed when their leader joked how fact-checkers might contradict him Friday. Like Mr. Trump, they appeared wholly indifferent to people dying in Baltimore.

We have seen much in our day. Crime, poverty, drug abuse, racial discrimination, human trafficking, hate crimes. We have witnessed soldiers marched off to wars, some justified, others not. We have reported on horrible car accidents, serial killings, political corruption, disease outbreaks, air crashes, natural disasters, tragedy heaped on tragedy. But we can’t recall a president of the United States making light of the violent deaths of his fellow Americans. And to make it clear how meaningless those lives are to him, he then, in a breathtaking leap of logic, connected it all to his favorite topic, illegal immigration.

The Democrats “for many years wanted to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on illegal migrants instead of supporting their own struggling communities,” he said.

That’s right. If only the Democrats were less sympathetic to immigrants (or at least supported tens of billions of dollars for a new border wall, one presumes) there would be money for urban renewal. That’s some twisted logic coming from the man who thinks Baltimore has wasted or stolen billions already. But then what does that matter? This is someone who argues both sides, none of it sincerely, none of it truthfully. One moment it’s a lack of federal spending, the next moment he says all that is wasted. Or maybe it’s up to Elijah Cummings, one of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, to save Baltimore. What, with a resolution on the House floor? President Trump doesn’t mean a word of it. He’s just lashing out. It’s all a performance. It’s all a show.

This newspaper got some attention six days ago — when Mr. Trump first launched his attacks on Charm City — for describing this president’s shortcomings in unfiltered, unequivocal terms. But that missed an important point that was so vividly on display Thursday: He lacks human empathy. Psychiatry has a name for that condition. It’s called antisocial personality disorder. But taking partisan delight at the suffering of Baltimoreans? That is not the action of a rodent. (As PETA chastised us this week, rats actually care about each other.) Nor can it be explained by mental aberration. This is the behavior of a jerk, a clod, a dolt, a schmuck.

Every American should watch that tape so they may be spared the delusion that Mr. Trump’s criticism of Baltimore comes from a constructive place. He is dancing on graves. He is ridiculing Baltimore along with other big cities for partisan gain. As if the rest of America didn’t have housing problems, or crime, or drug abuse. Yes, Baltimore’s homicide rate is high compared to other communities, but then so is the rate in the rest of this country compared to other industrialized nations. As a United Nations study has pointed out, the U.S. intentional homicide rate is well above all of Europe and all of Asia. A normal president, a person with the ability to understand the suffering of his fellow humans, would not mock victims or communities he’s supposed to be leading.

And what are we to make of an audience that Mr. Trump so often described as “patriotic” yet which views Baltimore with such distaste and indifference? Cincinnati suffers these woes, too. There are murders and trash strewn alleys, overdose deaths and concentrated poverty. Why so little compassion? This was not a game, not the Reds against the Orioles, the Bengals against the Ravens. It was about the carnage on our streets, the 309 people killed here last year, the 197 murdered so far this year. And to reaffirm his own lack of empathy, Mr. Trump had one more trick up his sleeve. When word came out Friday that Rep. Cummings’ home had been burglarized last weekend, Mr. Trump tweeted his disingenuous concern shortly before 8 a.m.: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!”

One could almost hear the laughter.

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Robert Reich

THE REAL REASON FOR IMPEACHMENT

boil water notice!

Yesterday afternoon, July 24, a stupid construction crew severed the main water line leading to South Padre Island, and the entire island was without water until after 8pm last night. Needless to say, restaurants had to shut down all over the island, in the middle of the tourist season!

When they restored the water, they issued a "boil water notice" until further notice. Bacteria apparently had gotten into the water supply. It's kind of a pain to boil water before making coffee, etc. Yeah, I know, whine, whine, whine. But with the frequent water outages and frequent power outages on this island, this place is starting to look like a 3rd world country. I mean, we ARE only a few miles from Mexico!

Finally, the boil water notice has been rescinded, but I can promise you, you should NOT drink any untreated tap water on this island. It smells and tastes like dirt. Use a filter. Or TWO!

Boil Water Notice Rescinded

July 25, 2019

On July 24, 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the Laguna Madre Water District public water system, PWS ID: 0310005, to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of July 25, 2019, 2:00 p.m. Bacteriological samples from lab came back negative, results received at 2:00 p.m.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Carlos J. Galvan, Jr. at (956) 943-2626 Ext. 110, 105 Port Road, Port Isabel, TX 78578.

dragonflies

We're being invaded by dragonflies again, and it's great to see.

Mosquito Control: 10 Plants That Attract Mosquito-Eating Dragonflies

Did you know that dragonflies love to eat mosquitoes at all stages of life? They are excellent mosquito predators and can keep mosquito populations low if you attract dragonflies to your area. Not only do dragonflies eat mosquitoes, but they eat other pests as well.

How can one attract dragonflies if they don’t seem to live in your area? Adding the following plants to your landscape will attract dragonflies and encourage the population to flourish!

Add hiding spots for baby dragonflies using trees and shrubs around the perimeter of your property. In general, flowering plants should be integrated throughout your landscape. Use the following plants and dragonflies will call your area home in no time!

Dragonflies are aquatic insect predators by nature so a small body of water such as a pond is ideal to have in your landscape. When dragonflies mate, they leg eggs in water. Some of the plants below do very well in wet environments but the first 5 plants in this list are best suited for those without a pond. The last 5 plants are better suited for a wet, shoreline environment.

Five Plants for a Dry Landscape

1. Meadow Sage (Salvia marcus)

2. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

3. Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

4. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

5. White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Five Plants for a Wet Environment

6. Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)

7. Wild Celery (Vallisneria americana)

8. Cattail (Typha latifolia)

9. Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile)

10. Water Lily

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roasting garlic

yum!

You Should Grill Whole Heads of Garlic This Summer

Roasted garlic is the ultimate finishing touch. Smear it across a steak, mix it in a dip, or toss it with some sort of grilled vegetable salad, and it will make it better. But, in the summer months, the act of roasting turns your kitchen into a sweaty, unpleasant place. The great news is that you don’t have to choose between a swampy kitchen and delicious roasted garlic—you just have to throw it on the grill.

When grilled over indirect heat, the garlic roasts just as it would in your oven, without heating up your house and making you sad. It also requires so little attention, you can simply toss it in there along with whatever else you’re grilling. The prep for grilled garlic is the same as the prep for roasted garlic: cut about a quarter inch off of the top to expose the cloves, drizzle some olive oil on top, tapping to get it down in the bulb, then wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil. Once the bulb is oiled and wrapped, set it on the grill where it will get some good indirect heat, and let it hang out for at least half an hour, until it’s soft, spreadable, and deep, golden brown. Remove the fragrant cloves and spread them on everything—grilled meats are ideal, but don’t sleep on simply grilled bread.

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