THE 2026 ELECTIONS ARE ANYTHING BUT A SURE THING

Polling is anything but stable.  The latest WSJ does not read well for the Democrats if the key issue is security.  In key areas the voters trust the Republicans over the Democrats.  The few issues where the Democrats have the support of the people are not enough to insure a win.  I think it will come down to what is more important on election day, security of the economy?  If it is security, the Democrats could be in trouble.

On the economy the Republicans lose in every poll.  Anyone who tries to tell me the economy is fine will feel my derision.  With the exception of the beef I have in the freezer, beef is no longer on the menu.  I can buy a fresh ham and feed 3 1/2 people for three days for under $20.00.  

My caldo ribs, are off the chart in terms of price.  Yes, I can buy cheaper rips, but why?  I want to pull the meat off the bone with the tortilla.  

A big part of the beef issue is, I cannot stand Choice Cut.  It is way too gelatinous.  You think it is tender, it is not.  It is so over processed to make it tender it is like eating Jello flavored beef.  I am not paying $50.00 for two Prime Cut ribeye. 

I will continue to buy taco diced beef, and ground beef.  If you understand how to cook these cuts, they can be very flavorful.  Here is a hint, do not use packets of seasoning.  Learn to season your meat.  It is key you simmer in a small boil all forms of chopped or ground meat.  You use your sofrito of choice, seasoning of choice and simmer it into the meat for about 10 minutes.  Now the meat is flavored and no longer a sense of a grey flavor in the ground beef.  Hint I find one packet of Sazon per pound with some Worstershire Sauce, with my sofrito gives all meat great flavor if boiled in with a slight simmer. 

Italian meat sauce is easy.  I start with diced onion and garlic. I simmer it in a bit of water with Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. and yes, salt and pepper. You can actually taste all the flavors in the ground beef. 

I am amazed how many people I can feed on pork.  Also, if you shop you can get chicken at a good price.

I keep dried goods in my home.  They are better than anything in a can, and a lot cheaper.

To support the expanding business in Cameron County we have seen our water and electric bills rise.

While far too many homes remain unfinished because of a lack of workers, the cost of construction is way up.  Next month because my home is insured for reconstruction, I expect my homeowner's insurance to jump again.

I know people who have been working to get into a home, who are now phased out.  Between the interest rate and costs, an income of $70,000 will not allow you to get into a home. To avoid PMI insurance a $200,000 home requires $40,000 down plus all closing costs.  

The economy will play hard in November of 2026, but security could become an issue, and then the Democrats are on the losing side. 

I am having to rethink every purchase.  I have no fears of going under, but my spending is very curtailed to what I need, and no more stupid Amazon shopping.

 THE DEMOCRATS HAVE OFFICIALLY KILLED DR. KING'S MESSAGE, SO NOW WHAT?

When we think of Dr. King's messaging, it begins and ends with "Content of Character." This is not a consideration for the Democrats.  The Plantation Democrats are clear on this point; you vote based on political party label, and not policy which is an extension of the candidate's character.

We are in trouble with the construction industry.  I can say with 100% certainty, without SpaceX, employers who provide construction material to the area would be facing closure of their business.

I know for a fact, these employers are having a hard time providing their workers with 40 hour weeks.  

Without specific knowledge of the local situation, when profits drop as they have, business owners cut back on regulatory compliance.  When there is an accident, the lawyers win, which means we lose.

We need leaders who will push hard to protect the business owners who provide construction material locally. If they go under, a chain reaction results in your friends and neighbors losing their jobs.

THE LABEL ISSUE - I EXPRESSED MY SUPPORT REPUBLICAN MONICA DE LA CRUZ, EXPRESSLY BECAUSE SHE IS WORKING TO PROTECT THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

As a Republican she can influence the Trump Administration in providing worker's permits for the undocumented construction workers.  This one policy does more to protect the construction industry in the LRGV and all the associated jobs held by US citizens, than anything else I can think of.

I believe Dr. King would agree that we view Congresswoman De La Cruz for how she is actually trying to protect our workers, and not some meaningless label of party affiliation.

For the Article click here.

Merely telling people what Dr. King said, without applying it to the politics of the day is meaningless.

I stand with all the construction related businesses, and their workers, which means I stand with anyone trying to protect the construction industry.

NO LABELS, "CONTENT OF CHARACTER"

 

THE WORLD WAITS TO SEE IF TRUMP WILL END NATO

In Trump's mind we are safer without NATO.  Finland and Poland have long since abandoned reliance on the US.  They know the lessons of WWII all too well, so they have chosen to go it alone.  Finland which has historically been deemed a neutral zone, with no meaningful fear of Russian interference, has abandoned the anti-mine Treaty and has made its border something akin to the DMZ which separates North and South Korea. 

Poland knows better than any other European country to not rely on Europe or the US.  Poland knows if Ukraine falls, they become the front line, and Europe will not help. 

Europe will cave to Trump because they have no resolve.  Money and resources will be waisted trying to fight Trump, to only in the end to cave.  

European leaders are pondering whether they will impose an anti-coercion provision to punish the US on trade.  It will change nothing if they do, because Trump will not be stopped.

Until the European countries recall their ambassadors for consultation, the Republicans in the Senate will not be moved. Even then Trump will still move forward.

Europe sees the Democrats as weak and lacking in resolve to stand up against Trump.  They are not far off, because the latest polls show the American people feel the same. Compounding this, those under 30 trust neither the Democrats nor the Republicans. 

If this mess comes to blow, I believe the world will blame the US and not just because of Trump, but because Congress abandoned its constitutional duty to protect the Republic from a tyrant.  The focused blame will be on the Democrats.  History will record the Democrats as the party of cowards playing coy with Trump in hopes they take control after the midterms.  If a political party collapses over this mess, it will be the Democrats. The Democrats stand with no one. while the Republicans stand with MAGA.  

WHAT IS SO EXTRAORDINARY IS TRUMP'S USE OF TARIFFS COULD COME TO AN END ON JANUARY 26TH, WHEN THE SUPREME COURT IS EXPECTED TO RULE ON THE ISSUE

Qualified Supreme Court watchers have known for two months the tariff decision will come down on the 26th.  The date has been set for months as the date the Supreme Court will hand down its first set of decisions of the new year.  I think 2 have already been released, but they were easy cases in terms of getting ready for release.  The tariff case requires the Supreme Court to set a date certain for when a dissent or concurring decision must be submitted. Less complex decisions do not require this type of calendaring.

In light of the mess with Europe the Court can move the release of the tariff decision forward.  Moving the release forward to help Trump will only compound the mess with Europe.  

LET'S WAIT AND SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF EUROPE TODAY

If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act the Republic will fail as the US military is deployed to Minnesota to face the National Guard.  Who will blink first. To avoid being party to this inevitable meltdown of order, every military officer needs to resign before being part of the deployment, if called for.

Every commander has to know, if Trump is removed from office over the deployment of the military, they will be brought before Congress and eventually possibly face a trial.  Trump needs to show reserve, rather than compromise his presidency further, and to protect our military leaders from having to take sides.

Nothing I said implies I believe Trump will issue an illegal order.  I am not comfortable with the idea a military commander refusing an order from Trump as illegal.  Now if Congress were to declare the order as illegal, maybe.  Trust me the day commanders can refuse to follow Trump's orders as illegal, or for that matter any other president, the Republic will fall.  

We have mechanisms in our system which can protect our commanders while following orders from the Commander in Chief. 

 

HAVING MADE VENEZUELA HIS FOLLY, TRUMP ACTUALLY GOT SOMETHING VERY RIGHT

Now I stand by my analysis Venezuela will remain a folly for Trump.  But having made Venezuela his folly he did get the biggest issue right, and for that he gets a hat off.

George W. Bush upon entering Iraq fired the entire military and law enforcement infrastructure.  This gave us ISIS and a lot of other groups who fought us for years.

Trump effectively kept all of Maduro's machine on the payroll, and now instead of fighting us, they work for Trump.

If we want to be fair, we have to be able to say when Trump does something right. 

Now Trump can mess this up if he fails to understand how China is creating the Pan African movement, which has poor countries financing development using their natural resources.  China gets first shot at buying key natural resources, and then the money goes to pay for the massive infrastructure development funded by China.  The Pan African countries are not going into debt.  They have taken back their natural resources, and are using the projected revenues to build roads, powerplants, hospitals, universities and schools.  These countries have pulled out of the IMF.

China is in South American doing the same with countries with large amounts of key natural resources.  These countries are moving forward.  They own their natural resources with a guarantee purchase from China.  They use these funds to finance development. 

If Trump fails to understand this model, his folly will only become worse. 

 

WHEN A LIPOMA IS MORE THAN JUST A FAT DEPOSIT

It has been 16+ years since the lipoma developed. I was told the location indicated a response to my hormone imbalance.  I was told if it remained soft and pain free to ignore it. It was only noticeable if you were looking at it directly.

Well, a few months ago during a PT massage in the area, I was forced to tell the PT to stop and never touch the area again.

The surgery was a lot more complex than I expected.  The prep in the surgery room was nearly an hour.  I expected a small amount of numbing medicine, and then a small incision.  Not at all.  There was so much draping.

Once you have pain, there is always the danger it has grown into the nerves.  Mine had grown into the fascia tissue.  The surgeon got the bigger piece out and then had to remove the smaller pieces one at a time from the fascia.  That took time.

I am pain free.  I did not even need ibuprofen.  I am just tired.

The entire week began in SA for several days to include another follow-up with my brain surgeon checking on my value setting. 

 

HELEN RAMIREZ'S AWAITS WACO'S DECISION ON CITY MANAGER

The decision will be made on Tuesday afternoon at the regular Waco City council meeting.

I cannot predict who will win the prize.  But I can tell you about the data.

There is a key reason why Waco pays it city managers so much more than Brownsville, which is in fact a larger city. 

The City of Waco is in constant negotiations with Fort Hood.  The U.S. Army will not tolerate a Waco city manager adept at playing by the mayor's rules and not the rules which bind Waco and Ft. Hood.

When compared to the other candidates, Ramirez is the least qualified.  She has no awareness about how to manage a city with ties to a massive military base.

But then we all know how this works.  The candidate deemed most trustworthy to carry out the orders of the mayor and council, wins.  But in this case Ft. Hood will not tolerate a city manage beholden to a corrupt city council.  Waco is a lot better than Brownsville when it comes to ethics.  

We shall see how Waco handles this appointment knowing the winner must be able to work with the commanders at Ft. Hood. 

Waco is not Brownsville. it is Waco plus Ft. Hood.  All of the other candidates know how Ft. Hood interacts with the City of Waco.  They have first-hand experience in working with Ft. Hood. 

Ft. Hood is the largest military base in Texas.

The City of Waco years ago signed an agreement to pay exiting Ft. Hood military personnel for 6 months while they do job training for local jobs.  

Ft. Hood remains a big part of the City of Waco.

 

UNDER THE GUISE OF TWO TREATIES WITH GREENLAND TRUMP SEEKS TO TAKE MILITARY CONTROL OF GREENLAND

When we consider the oil Venezuela is putting in the world market, the invasion of Venezuela was not about oil.  

Numbers are misleading.  This week a massive oil and gas find in the Permian Basin was announced.  In real terms the oil if extracted today would mean, 10 weeks of demand in the entire US.  The natural gas would mean 10 months. 

So how much was found? The USGS said Wednesday it found 28.3 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.6 billion barrels of oil in the Woodford and Barnett shale formations, part of the larger Permian Basin, which straddles West Texas and New Mexico."

Now think, 1.6 billion barrels would meet only 10 weeks of total US demand. 

The high end of the amount of oil coming from Venezuela is 50 million barrels.  It is nothing.  The estimated 50 million barrels included oil already extracted and sitting in tanks waiting for export.

NO, VENEZUELA IS ABOUT SENDING A MESSAGE TO GREENLAND, WE CAN SEIZE YOUR COUNTRY, SO YOU BETTER NEGOTIATE

THE TREATY OF 1951, PROVIDES THE US CAN EXPAND ITS MILITARY PRESENCE IN GREENLAND WITH NATO CONSENT.

The Venezuela incursion was nothing more than a message to NATO, to get on board or else.

If Trump defies NATO and increases US presence in Greenland, we will have a NATO breach of security initiated by Trump.

Trump is already moving forward on US presence in Greenland.  He has called for upgrading the existing military base, and to make ready the mess hall to receive more US troops.

Trump will argue a loophole which makes this possible without NATO permission.

"The 1951 Greenland Defence Agreement allowed the United States to keep its military bases in Greenland, and to establish new bases or "defense areas" if deemed necessary by NATO. "

NATO is never going to agree an expansion is necessary, unless Trump agrees in writing with permission to expand US military presence Trump will stop claiming he will take Greenland. 

The 2004 Igaliku Agreement stated that the U.S. must inform Denmark and Greenland of any proposed changes.^[

The consensus is, under the 2004 treaty Denmark and Greenland must agree the US military presence is necessary, after NATO gives its permission for the expansion.

Those claiming Trump went into Venezuela  for a few cups of oil, are Trump's best friends.  They are carrying his guise to avoid the truth that it was abount intimidating NATO to consent to expansion in Greenland.