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House of Rep Reyes who is supposed to represent this district, met with 'real' people at a breakfast held by Northeast city council rep Carl Robinson & found a)they are from every walk of life, b)every color, c)every political philosophy, d)fed up with lies & half-truths, e)are naturally distrustful of not only him but EVERY politician, f)fed up with him not listening to their calls, emails & letters & g)fed up with him voting more debt for our nation. He also, IF HE WERE HONEST, would now admit that dismissing his constituents & the needs/calls to meet face to face in a 'townhall meeting' would not be a riot, nor would it necessarily be raucous/rude.
Reyes' answer to NOT having to meet with the public at large is to tell constituents to "call his office", "make an appointment", etc. Well, did HE make an appointment with you when he was begging for votes? Did he personally call you, was it a pre-recorded call or one from a campaign worker? He is only adding more insults to intelligent people. Can you are now see the false results created by voting a straight Republican or straight Democrat ticket?
I believe he owes an apology to the district he is supposed to represent. I believe he owes it to his district to actually meet face to face as many times, as often, as requested. HE WORKS FOR THE PEOPLE IN HIS DISTRICT. HE NEEDS TO LISTEN & VOTE THE MAJORITY WILL. Now, do I think this will happen? NO. Here's why: he was just re-elected. So, his belief (& if past history is any clue) that the voters have a short-term memory may be justified. Unless there is someone running against him who can remind all the voters of his foibles, votes that his district did not support, etc. - unless the opposition is VERY strong in pointing out his ignoring people when it was the MOST important, he will very likely be in office after the next election. Also, it will take people of the district actually THINKING about their votes rather than checking off "straight republican" or "straight democrat". Are you the voter who chose a "straight ??????" option in your voting? If so, please let me know: - Were you in a hurry?
- Why did you vote?
- Did you study the candidates for each position?
- Did you take the easy way out?
- Did you honestly not care who was elected?
- Are you so much in a 'party' line that you do not take each candidate for each position seriously?
- Do you now feel well-represented in Washington, D.C.?
- Do you feel your senator, rep, etc. actually listens to you?
- Do you trust what your political representatives say?
While I am glad reyes finally had to come face to face with REAL people, not hand-picked for their fawning obedience as with bho, he also had to realize no one was frothing at the mouth or screaming at him or carrying nazi signs or advocating violence - even as he spouted the 'party line' about HR3200. Also, I notice there is no mention of an apology & distancing himself from the nasty, horrible names being used for those who question HR3200 or disagree with more government in people's lives. Btw, if he is so willing to have the government take over health insurance & wipe out that industry - basically making any employees now the responsibility of taxpayers - & is willing to be 'enrolled in the public option', what other 'out' is there for him? He knows darn well that federal employees, ALL fed employees, will be exempt somehow. There will be a loophole, an addendum, some way he & his family will be treated differently. There always is & they will continue to make sure of it in Washington, D.C. Because if the executive, legislative, & judicial branches are good at one thing, it is that they are always figuring a way 'out' for themselves. WE, THE PEOPLE, (remember us?) -- we deserve better.
Headlines blare from the local newspulp that the economy here in El Paso is not only NOT going to grow, it is going to be under a huge burden. NOT planning for this by the Mayor & City Council & school districts ridiculous. Spending $$ like water, which are both in short supply in the desert, should have stopped ages ago. Spending $$ that does not exist in the coffers is asking - begging - for problems. This begs the addage: FAILURE TO PLAN INSURES PLANNING TO FAIL.
Now that there will be no influx of a Brigade into Fort Bliss, El Paso businesses are sweating. Those on the edge were hoping to stay alive with the prospect of newcomers; businesses making it, were hoping to grow & prosper. However, there will be no new growth with military in El Paso. The word 'stagnant' comes to mind here. It saddens me. It worries me because now the city will have to come up with a way to pay for projects they have approved. Schools were gearing up for larger classes, improvements planned for roads, stormwater projects, name it -- they will all have to be re-examined.
My biggest question is this: for every person who bought into 'hope & change' - is THIS the CHANGE you HOPED would happen? You cannot be surprised since the protection of our nation & Military is far down the list of priorities for congress & presidency. Those in place right now, voting on spending $$ on the local or Federal levels, are simply voting to control YOU.
YOU granted CHANGE with votes. How much HOPE do you have now for the future?
Goodness! Reading online & in the newspaper -- especially about El Paso politicians -- is enough to make one scream!
The big news -- EMBARRASSING news -- was Norma Chavez dissing Melissa Marquez during the celebration of Chavez' graduation from college because according to Chavez, Marquez hasn't shown her "the respect" she deserves after working to get Marquez elected. Excuse me? The voters elected her. YOU did not "get" her elected. While you helped & she has said this many times, you are owed no more special treatment than any other campaign worker. Period. So, Norma -- get over yourself!
like an immature 22 year old, which Norma is NOT, she acted as a child pitching a tantrum under the stress. While Chavez may not appreciate, or even like, Marquez, they BOTH owe El Paso an apology for acting so childish. The text messages were, to say the least, tacky in the extreme -- & to say the most, rude & uncalled for. Chavez should have had the brains & the backbone to actually call Marquez to say this or sort this out. Instead, she acted like a teenager lost in the world of "it's all about me!"
Chavez says....Marquez says....she did....well, SHE did....you can't come to my party! And, here - take your present back! and the card! There!!!! That'll show you!
What it showed the rest of us was that the two of you are immature to the extreme! You weren't sent to Austin to be best friends or roomies or playmates. We, the constituents (remember us?), expect you to work for the good of El Paso. As with every person who works, there are people we don't particularly care for personally, but we can respect the job they do or the work they do. We can respect their achievements & acknowledge them. If, in returning a gift in this very public, petty, nasty way was an example of Chavez' ability to get along with others, we are in trouble.
This was an embarrassment. Petty. Spiteful. Vindictive. Those are the words I think of when I hear their names.
And so do a lot of other El Pasoans. So ladies - take a hint -- GROW UP! You do not have to like each other, but yes we expect you to get along to work for the best interests of EL PASO! Do the jobs you were hired for & do them well. Or we will find others who WILL do the jobs well.
It's a beautiful day....thanks to God for all His blessings. I am doubly blessed to be the Mother of 3 wonderful children....they are amazing people! More on that in the next blog entry....but for now, I need to get some thoughts out about politics here in El Paso, Texas. They seem to be as pathetic as national politics.
I have to admit I am totally shocked that there are only 345,000 or so REGISTERED voters here in this city of over 750,000 people. The vote that throws most of the same ones back into the council chambers was accomplished by less than 10% of the city's REGISTERED VOTERS. So, 1 person is dictating for more than 9 other REGISTERED VOTERS the management of this city &, to a great extent, what will happen in their lives. Are you comfortable with that?
I notice the re-elected mayor said this is wonderful because it shows (in his mind anyway) the support for his "progressive council" & pride in all their accomplishments. SAY WHAT? In what world does he live? The lessons he SHOULD get (but won't) is the voters are completely apathetic about him & the rest of his crew. What he SHOULD be saying is: we need to engage more voters in the process. But he & his cronies won't do this because then they might be found to be less than forthright & someone else would be elected. Elections are planned down to the exact days to be held, normally anticipating the lowest turnout because then the outcome is pretty much already decided. Those already in office use every opportunity to get their name in the paper & on the news, in front of potential voters, because that name recognition will serve them well instead of the challengers -- no matter how much advertising they buy.
Cook strikes me as a con artist & thus far he seems to be doing everything to reinforce this perception. If you are a person with lots of money, I am sure you are important to him & his cronies as they bob & weave & slide all around expanding city government & spending money the city does not have. All the while, he & the council talk about low taxes, low cost of living, great schools, storm-water runoff, etc. That last one didn't work out quite as well as he wanted as the few voters who did show up displayed the good sense to leave storm-water management with the PSB rather than putting it into the hands of political appointees.
Frankly, when has a politician EVER improved your life? Seriously, I would like to know. I am certain there must be individuals out there who have a story of being helped with a specific problem. However, every time politicians get into the mix, there is usually an outcome that is neither wanted & oft-times unintended. How, exactly, has Cook being the Mayor helped you in some way that is helpful to others also?
A case in point: who thought up building 'round-abouts' on residential streets & decided this was a valid idea in a quiet neighborhood? Things were going along fine. I never had a problem at that intersection & quite frankly, it is not one that is heavily traveled. The ones using the main street where the 'round about' was built are the residents of this housing area. I have come close, just about every time I go that way, to being hit by other drivers who simply drive in & never look to see if others are coming. Good grief! the street is barely wide enough for a car to park on each side of the street & 2-way traffic to continue. So, the city puts in this absurd 'round about'. Assinine does not even begin to describe how foolish this was & what a waste of money!
Now there really IS congestion (& danger) when someone tries to park near the houses on the corners nearest to the nightmare 'round. People approach & if they need to make a turn, go the wrong way to 'cut the corner' & not go around the circle. WHY IS IT HERE? Take the damn thing out! I have watched youngsters try to cross the street (there is a school about a block away) & with no stop signs drivers ignore them. I am afraid there will have to be a serious injury or death of a child before anyone in 'power' acknowledges the absurdity of the situation & removes this nightmare. I pray I am wrong, that someone in the city will wake up & remove this traffic hazard before someone gets hurt.
Why are parks, sports facilities & pretty downtown ideas thought up by Cook & associates a good idea when social services is suffering under the weight of so many people in need & so few workers to help them? Maybe those in need can just go sleep in one of the pretty little 'green' areas. I'm sure it will make them feel better. Why isn't more money available for police officers & firemen? Why isn't more money available for the El Paso Animal Control people? Where is the priority for these vital services? It is being spent for El Paso to be pretty for visitors that will be attracted if the council just does ???? (fill in the ? mark with some inane idea).
Why is giving money to builders for new office or retail space a priority when the Northeast has so much of both sitting empty? The Northeast does not exist except as an aside from Cook that he 'came from the northeast' as though that makes him 'one of the common people'. Wrong. The situation in the Northeast worsens every day that no new businesses open. Why are there no incentives for companies to locate in the Northeast? There certainly is a lot of space to from which to choose. So, Cook being from the Northeast, how has this helped the area?
The council jets off to visit other places & see how they do things; they fly off to meetings; they trip the light fantastic & get paid to play. There are such things as internet meetings & DVDs & info provided many ways other than spending time & money jetting around! As businesses cut back, pare expenses, the council continues with business as usual.
Residents pay higher & higher taxes - WHY DO THEY SIT STILL FOR IT? geez....
My father's property tax statement just came. It is common knowledge the housing market, even in El Paso with more incoming military personnel, is down. So please, someone, Cook? anyone on the 'progressive' council? explain how his taxes went up for 'improvements'? There has been no work done because he lives on a very tight, fixed income. This house needs a new cooler, new windows, new soffit & fascia, concrete work in the driveway & sidewalk, landscaping front & back, just to mention a few needed 'improvements'.
So, please explain the IMPROVEMENTS? Where the heck are they? He & I am know exactly what needs to be done & neither of us can afford the work. Where is the help for him with this 'progressive' council? Oops. He's not wealthy. I am not wealthy. Therefore, the only time he counts is elections & THAT rates an electronically generated, prerecorded phone message. Thanks for caring about your constituents.
So, Mayor Cook, as you bask in the glow of your victory, realize the grass is growing & the roots are getting deeper.
This new term will not be a repeat of the last one. You will now have to deal with that pesky 'silent majority'. We are getting louder. If you do not listen & learn, you can kiss your political dreams bye-bye. And that goes for your 'progressive' council also.
