Wednesday, October 29, 2025
WITH PUTING HAVING TRUMP IN A LEASH, THERE GOES DEALING DON
COMMENTS:
"I believe Putin has something very incriminating on Donald Trump."
"Putin has Trump in his pocket. He’s taking Ukraine and there is nothing Trump can do about it."
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
GOP CONTROLS THE HOUSE, SENATE, EXECUTIVE, SCOTUS...THEY OWN IT!
This is a violation of the Hatch Act.
They could extend ACA subsidies, so American's healthcare costs don't skyrocket next year, and they could ensure adequate funding for SNAP, so "mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable can receive critical nutrition assistance."
But they refuse to do it.
TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS: "LET THEM EAT CHANDELIERS..."
Donald Trump just found another way to make history — by starving his own country.
While 40 million Americans brace for lost food benefits, the Trump administration is refusing to use a $5 billion emergency fund to keep the SNAP program, better known as food stamps, running during his government shutdown.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t a lack of money. It’s a lack of humanity.
The funds are sitting there, legally available, ready to prevent hunger. But Trump’s USDA decided it “would be illegal” to use them — even though past administrations used the same reserves to cover families during hurricanes and wildfires. Instead, the White House is holding the country’s hungriest hostage to a political tantrum.
At the same time, just blocks away, construction crews are busy gilding Trump’s new $300 million White House ballroom — funded by tech giants, defense contractors, and billionaire donors. Apple, Google, Palantir, Lockheed Martin — all chipped in so the president could have a private Versailles for his friends.
If the shutdown continues into November, experts say benefits could vanish completely for millions.
Some states are scraping together their own emergency funds, but the USDA has warned they won’t be reimbursed. Others are simply out of options.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pretending Democrats are to blame — even though this crisis is entirely self-made.
“We’re only cutting Democrat programs,” Trump bragged earlier this month. Apparently, feeding hungry Americans now counts as a “Democrat program.”
Trump’s America will always find billions for marble floors and gold-plated chandeliers, but not a dime for a struggling mom trying to buy groceries.
It’s the clearest moral contrast you’ll ever see: a government that feeds billionaires while letting children go hungry.
Monday, October 27, 2025
WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH EARLY VOTING ON BISD BOND ISSUE: LET'S TAKE CONTROL
I am very proud to be a product of the BISD school system. I enjoyed attending our schools and supporting my children at school events when they attended school at BISD.
Now, halfway into early voting into the bond issue on projects that have been recommended by a committee composed of a cross-section of our fellow district residents, we are not just voting YES for Propositions A and B in this November's bond election, we're empowering the citizens of Brownsville to take charge of our school district's future. We can ensure that the improvements and changes we need are guided by the community, for the community.
This bond proposal will ensure our schools are rebuilt, maintained, and provide the right environment for our children to learn, and we will be able to take control of our district, and not continue the top-down, business-as-usual practices that have guided us in the past. Now is our chance to wrest control from bureaucrats and return it where it belongs: in the hands of the people.
While previous elections have addressed growth with new schools, this election is to invest in what we already have. The District has done a good job at retiring most of its old bonded debt and has the capacity to finance new facilities through the voter approved bond election this November 4. And the way we've structured it, new taxation will be minimal.
TRUMP BLOWS UP AT REAGAN FOR HIS ANTI-TARIFF STAND
But instead of engaging diplomatically, Trump fired off an angry post on Truth Social, accusing Canada of running a “fraudulent” campaign. He claimed the ad used “selective” clips from Reagan’s old speeches and insisted that the Reagan Foundation was “reviewing legal options.”
Trump then went a step further announcing that, because of this so-called “misrepresentation,” he would increase tariffs on Canada by another 10 percent. Yes, you read that right a serious economic decision triggered by a TV ad.
For many observers, this incident highlights a bigger concern: the instability and impulsiveness of Trump’s decision-making. When the leader of the world’s largest economy reacts to televised criticism by escalating tariffs, it sends a troubling message to allies around the globe.
No country can plan long-term partnerships when U.S. policies seem to depend on the President’s mood swings. Until the White House returns to steady, rational leadership, America’s credibility and global trust will remain at risk.
WHY ARE HEALTH CREDITS LIKE A NEWSPAPER? BECAUSE THEY'RE RED ALL OVER
Sunday, October 26, 2025
EN EL CASO DE TRUMP, "EL PEZ, POR SU PROPIA BOCA, MUERE..."
The failed policies and promises hurt everyone. Even the MAGA diehards that continue to shield, make excuses and blame everyone else for their errant vote.
SS C0ST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT UP 2.8% FOR 2026 BECAUSE OF TRUMP'S TARIFFS INFLATION
By Jose Rodriguez
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
SAN BENITO – Good news for the 75 million Social Security recipients who will receive a 2.8 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase in their SS benefits beginning in January 2026.
This year 2025 the increase was a 2.5 percent increase. However, despite Trump saying inflation is down, inflation is creeping upward triggering this 2.8 percent COLA. Social Security recipients should be notified by mail starting in early December 2025.
Trump will probably try to take credit for this Social Security COLA as he does with all good news. Trump’s philosophy is when the economy is hot, it is because of Trump; if the economy is in the dumps, it is Biden’s fault.
The truth is The Social Security Act dictates how the COLA is calculated. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
On the bad news side, many Social Security beneficiaries may lose some of the 2.8 percent COLA to a yet-to-be-announced increase in Medicare Part B premiums for 2026.
BTW, this announcement was delayed because the government shutdown delayed the release of September’s CPI numbers until today. The Trump Administration had to call back some furloughed employees of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to manage the CPI release. It is what it is!
Saturday, October 25, 2025
MONEY AND POLITICS TALK. AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE 1920-CIRCA SINCLAIR STATION IS GONE. SO MUCH FOR BTX'S HISTORICAL PRESERVATION B.S.
Photograph of the Sinclair gas station in downtown Brownsville, pictured on the corner of 10th and Levee Street. The gas station, visible at center-left, is a light-colored building with several roofed gas pumps and signs bearing several wordmarks for the gas station and for Goodyear tires.
Cars turn and ambulate along the intersection in front of the gas station, and other buildings are visible further down the road to the right, such as the George Ury Motor Company. Pedestrians walk along the road's sidewalks at left and center.
MOM OF GIRL KILLED BY DRUNK DRIVER IN CHICAGO PROTESTS TRUMP'S POLITICAL EXPLOITATION OF HER DEATH
It’s hard to imagine a more chilling example of how far the right will go to manipulate tragedy for political gain. Katie’s memory — a young woman full of empathy and light — is being twisted into propaganda for an agenda of cruelty.
THE FINAL VESTIGES OF THE FAILED UTB-TSC "PARTNERSHIP" COMES DOWN
THE HUNS WHO TRIED TO KILL HIM DIDN'T ASK IF HE HAD PAPERS...
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
The Most Decorated Texan of WWI...was also an undocumented immigrant.
"Many of these non-American soldiers went on to prove that their bravery and dedication to the cause was of the highest order. Among these, one of the most highly decorated was a Mexican-born [undocumented] immigrant named Marcelino Serna, the first Mexican American to collect a Distinguished Service Cross."
When the U.S. entered World War One in 1917, it is estimated that roughly 500,000 people who joined the United States armed services were immigrants. According to the National Park Service, this amounted to 18 percent of U.S. troops.
From the memoirs of Sergeant Alvin York from Tennessee, one of the most highly decorated Americans who served in the U.S. forces during World War One, we can learn more about life for this diverse collection of people.
At first, he writes, he had been shocked by the fact that there were so many foreigners in his units: Italians, Poles, Irish, Greeks, and Mexicans. But, as he recollects, they soon became his buddies and he “learned to love them.”
Many of these non-American soldiers went on to prove that their bravery and dedication to the cause was of the highest order. Among these, one of the most highly decorated was a Mexican-born illegal immigrant named Marcelino Serna, the first Mexican American to collect a Distinguished Service Cross.
He migrated from his home country of Mexico to El Paso, Texas, in 1915, when he was almost 20 years old. After working illegally for two years, Serna was eventually arrested by Federal officials concerning his status as a citizen. While he waited to find out if he was to be deported back to Mexico, Serna decided that he would show his desire to become a U.S. citizen by volunteering for the army.
He received less than a month of training in Kansas, after which he was deployed with his infantry unit to Europe, to fight in the French trenches. He was part of the 89th Infantry Division. Serna did not speak much English and upon his arrival, his superiors immediately noted he was Mexican. They offered to discharge him from service, but Serna politely declined.
On the battle lines, he proved his courage as a soldier several times, his actions speaking for themselves as to why he was worth all the decorations he later collected. In one confrontation with enemy soldiers, his squad was attacked and 12 fellows were killed. Injured himself, Serna nevertheless proceeded with the fight, going after the attackers and capturing eight adversaries.
Friday, October 24, 2025
WE HAVE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, THE TRUMP BUNKER, THE I.C.E. SS...
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Adolph Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933. Hitler had a large reception hall/ ballroom added to the Old Reich Chancellery in 1936 officially known as the Festsaal mit Wintergarten in the garden area.
The expansion also included an air-raid shelter known as the Vorbunker and completed in 1936.
FYI, the East Wing of the White House torn down also had an underground bunker built in. Trump’s new ballroom will also include a much larger bunker and the total price for the project has increased to $300 million (due to tariffs) to be paid by so-called (billionaire) patriots who have government contracts in the billions of dollars. Can you say quid pro quo?
In October 2024, reports emerged from interviews given by retired Marine general John Kelly, who served as Trump's longest-serving White House Chief of Staff.
Praise for Hitler: Kelly claimed to The New York Times that Trump "commented more than once" that "Hitler did some good things, too".
Admiring generals: Kelly also told The Atlantic that during a 2020 conversation, Trump expressed admiration for the loyalty of Hitler's generals, saying, "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had".
Fascist tendencies: Kelly described Trump as having authoritarian tendencies, admiring dictators, and fitting the general definition of a fascist.
A new much larger Reich Chancellery was built from 1938 to 1939 by architect Alber Speer. The new building was called the New Reich Chancellery.
Sources: World War II Database
WIKIPEDIA
GARCIA, A WW II MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER, WAS DENIED SERVICE WHEN HE RETURNED HOME TO TEXAS
Wikipedia
Staff Sergeant Marcario GarcÃa, also known as Macario GarcÃa (January 20, 1920 – December 24, 1972) was the first Mexican American immigrant to receive the U.S. Congressional, the United States' highest military decoration. He received the award for his heroic actions as a soldier during World War II.
Upon the outbreak of World War II, Garcia joined the United States Army at a recruiting station in his adopted hometown in November 1942. He was assigned to Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
Garcia participated in, and was wounded during, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Awarded the Purple Heart, he soon returned to duty where he later earned the Bronze Star. On November 27, 1944, GarcÃa was an acting squad leader in his platoon, which found itself engaged in combat against the German troops in the vicinity of Grosshau, Germany.
Realizing that his company could not advance because it was pinned down by enemy machine gun fire fire, Garcia, on his own initiative, went ahead alone, destroying two enemy emplacements and capturing four prisoners. Despite being wounded himself, he continued to fight on with his unit until the objective was taken.
"Only then did he permit himself to be removed for medical care," his Medal of Honor citation states. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle several years later, Garcia said: "I did not know the wound was so serious. I was numb, I think, and besides, we were moving forward, and it was not the time to stop."
A month after he was awarded the Medal of Honor, Garcia was denied service at a restaurant located in a town just a few miles south of Houston because he was Hispanic. Garcia was beaten with a bat by the owner. No one was arrested and no charges were initially filed.
It was only after national columnist Walter Winchell reported the incident and labeled Sugar Land the most racist city in America that charges were filed – against Garcia. Then the incident was covered by the news media, and caused an uproar amongst the Mexican community who rallied to his aid. The nation was made aware as to the discriminatory policies that Mexican-Americans were subject to, as the case against Garcia was repeatedly postponed before being dropped.
GarcÃa became an American citizen on June 25, 1947, and earned a high school diploma in 1951. On May 18, 1952, he married Alicia Reyes with whom he had three children. For twenty-five years he worked as a counselor in the Veterans' Administration.
On the evening of November 21, 1963, Marcario GarcÃa greeted President John F. Kennedy at the door of the Rice Ballroom in Houston Texas. The ballroom was filled with a diverse crowd of attendees that included Hispanic World War II veterans, Civil Rights advocates and future political activists. The president spoke of U.S. and Latin American Foreign Policy and the importance of recognition and acknowledgement of Hispanic organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
Speaking in fluent Spanish, Mrs. Kennedy offered words of inspiration and encouragement. The day after this meeting Kennedy was assassinated.
GarcÃa died on December 24, 1972, from injuries which he received in a car accident. He was buried with full military honors in the Houston National Cemetery in Houston, Texas. The local government of Houston honored his memory by naming a middle school after him as well as renaming part of 69th Street in Houston "S/SGT Marcario GarcÃa Street".
In 1983 Vice President George Bush dedicated Houston's new Macario GarcÃa Army Reserve Center, and in 1994 Macario Garcia Middle School of the Fort Bend Independent School District in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, near Sugar Land, was named in GarcÃa's honor.
On November 11 2021, a mural by artist Mez Data, was unveiled and dedicated along an exterior wall of Houston Fire Station #20, which is along S/Sgt. Macario Garcia Drive at Navigation Boulevard.
REPORT: IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN CRATERING TEXAS JOB GROWTH
San Antonio Current
The Trump administration’s intensifying immigration crackdown led to to Texas reporting its worst job-growth numbers since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows.
One in five Texas businesses reported that they’re having a hard time hiring and keeping foreign-born workers in the wake of the White House’s policies, according to the Dallas Fed's latest Texas Business Outlook Survey. Further, 13 percent said they’re experiencing a “negative impact” from the federal crackdown.
Indeed, Texas’ job growth so far this year plummeted to 1.2 percent, its lowest rate since 2020, when the pandemic shut down much of the economy, Dallas Fed economists found. This year’s job growth also is first time since at least 2018 that the state has dropped below its long-run trend rate of about 2 percent.
“Since the immigration enforcement changes began in mid-2024, U.S. and Texas job growth have fallen well below their respective long-run trends,” the report states. “Given the decline in immigration inflows, increase in arrests and removals of immigrants already here and the chilling effect, labor supply is clearly being affected.”
The negative impact on Texas businesses is likely underrepresented in the numbers since the Dallas Fed survey doesn’t include some of the sectors most dependent on immigrant labor, namely construction and agriculture, according to the report.
Further, fear spread in immigrant communities by the administration’s increasingly aggressive enforcement actions has also harmed Texas businesses in other ways, the document states.
“[We have experienced] reduced sales to foreign-born customers, and customer counts [have been] down periodically due to raids by ICE in the area,” one retailer said in the survey.
While employers could offset some of the labor problems with automation and AI, the Dallas Fed cautions that neither can completely make up the difference. That’s especially the case because, by 2031, all U.S. population growth is expected to come from immigration.
“Hence, when officials set immigration policy, they may also be setting the speed limit for the economy,” the report states.
U.S. HATE YOU, U.S. HATE YOU NOT...U.S. HATE YOU, U.S. HATE YOU NOT
Hating America is in fact, saying our people are TERRORISTS and CRIMINALS while locking up innocent people, so they’ll be less people to vote against them; less people to fight against them if it comes to that.
KKK Karoline Leavitt and Speaker Milk-it Johnson made this moronic statement to America and the world. They made complete MAGA morons out of themselves. I won’t be dropping this fact!
👑 ALL, WHO PARTICIPATE AT THE NO KING’S PROTEST, ARE THE TRUE PATRIOTS. YOU’RE ALL HEROS, THE USA AND THE WORLD THANKS YOU!
🚘 Thank Tramp for these average prices! This is per Kelly Bluebook, the average cost of a new car is $50,000!
⏰ IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME DONALD! These women deserve justice now! Meanwhile, Maxwell is getting steak dinners and exercising in luxury! 47 did that for her, just a few weeks ago.
🗳️ POLLS SAY IT’S TIME TO GO
🩺 The Republicans explicitly want to raise the cost of healthcare for millions of us. They are delaying a vote on releasing the full Epstein files. Remember, they have been trying to lie to us about it all.
💙 Keep being strong, be safe.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
LOW EARLY VOTING TURNOUT MADE WORSE BY PRIVATE SCHOOL FUNCTION
ITS' GETTING SO WE KNOW IT'S A LIE, BUT ABOUT PAR FOR TRUMP
WHAT EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY? SHE CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
ACCORDING TO VANCE, THE SWAZTIKA AND LOVE OF HITLER IS JUST "A KID'S PRANK."
Whether a sick prank or something worse, this is not a minor incident. We know where hate symbols lead. We’ve seen democracies fall to silence and complicity before. We will never normalize Nazi imagery — not in parliaments, not in politics, not ever.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
HELEN RAMIREZ LEAVES: DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT
By Juan Montoya
Sources in the City of Brownsville have notified us that city manager Helen Ramirez has given notice that she will be leaving her position citing her need to attend to her husband's illness and convalescence.
We, of course, wish him well, and thank Helen for her, ahem, service. She was expected to make her announcement Tuesday and her last day will be December 19.
But we would be untruthful if we didn't say that she has long ago worn out her welcome here after former city manager Noel Bernal brought her in to become part of his managerial team.
Each of these assistant city managers pulled salaries exceeding $100,000, with Ramirez closing in on $300,000. The salary schedule below demonstrates how this gang of well-paid underachievers has been rewarded for their mediocrity. Missing in this list is Doroteo Garcia and Alan Gard, two other assistant managers commanding a $100,000 (plus) salary.
Just like her predecessor Noel Bernal had the "Total Alignment" buzzword, Ramirez came up with her "One City" slogan.
But if you scrutinize her "successes" and "achievements" you will see that she oversaw a series of boondoggles which costs the city taxpayers millions in cost overruns. Take for example, the process by which the Brownsville Market and Communications (the Ministry of Truth) facility near the old Casa del Nylon was built. There was only one bid considered, the same guy who got the E-Bridge gig. Normally, such a facility would cost between $20 to $30 per square foot. Ours cost was about $462 per square foot.
It has now become a de facto propaganda machine to boost the political images of Mayor John Cowen, La Chisquiada Rose Gowen (now overseeing the $5.5
The same goes for the Capital Improvement Projects spending from the 2017-2022 period with monies obtained through the issuance of bonds. Most of the projects were overspent and some of the monies earmarked for some projects were never started.
And shall we mention the Wellness Crowd's Cannery building to feed the famished silk-stocking cyclists along Linear Park? That project has had two general contractors, both of who failed miserably and the change orders have bloated the project's budget and have been routinely approved by an inept management and a docile city commission.
And what about Helen's reign at the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation where Cowen directed her to have some "quick successes" after he and Nurith Galonsky ran off and bought out former GBIC director Mario Losoya with a $700,000 golden parachute?
Remember these "successes?"
Under her, GBIC negotiated with companies (9Point8 Capital) which bilked the city and resulted in non-compliance with their contractual obligations. On September 29, 2021, 9Point8 Capital agreed with the city that for $1 million it would perform a number of tasks related to bringing space-related industries, including bringing in $10 million in taxable assets within the city limits of Brownsville.
On January 6, 2023, after the city attorney and the city auditor determined that the company was in non-compliance, they ordered that an audit be performed to discover what went wrong with the venture between it and the GBIC.
The audit was performed by City Auditor Keilah Folkerstma, Deputy City Auditor Jose Luis Silva, and Assistant City Auditor Daniela G. Gonzalez. The compliance audit was completed on May 19, 2023.
The auditors reported that the agreement between 9Point8 Capital was signed by founder J. Brant Arseneau and then-GBIC Director and CEO Ramirez. In the agreement, the company claimed that 9Point8 Capital was a New York based corporation authorized to do business in the State of Texas. It turned out not to be true, but Helen didn't bother to check being too much in a hurry to have some "quick successes."
In other words, the GBIC and Ramirez agreed that the company was going to get full payment of the $1 million halfway through the length of the contract.
Under that agreement, the auditors reported that 9Point8 Capital, an advisory company, was supposed to create local employment (20 full time equivalent jobs – 15 back office and 5 hatchery jobs), create a business “hatchery” to help startups find funding, fund space program scholarships at University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and bring capital investment for space startups within the city limits of Brownsville.
The original terms for payment were to be $1,000,000 in incentives, paid $250,000 every 6 months for two years per the original term sheet. The agreement with 9Point8 Capital was signed September 29, 2021, just two months after the proposal was sent to the City and 10 months after the City’s 380 agreement with Spaced Ventures, Inc. Per information given to the GBIC board, the entity was also supposed to bring in taxable business personal property valued at $10 million to within the city limits of Brownsville.
On January 6, 2023, the city auditor informed the city's Audit and Oversight Committee that the company failed to deliver the services it had promised and had been paid two payment of $250,000 each, and recommended that a compliance audit be performed on the agreement. The committee agreed.
Auditors found that the rapid pace at which the agreement was proposed and approved was breathtaking. The proposal was made to the city on July 23, 2021, the term sheet signed on August 6, 2021, and the final agreement signed September 29. The first $250,000 payment was made five days later on October 5, 2021 before any work had been performed for the city. Six months later, they got another quarter mill. Nothing ever materialized and good luck on getting the cash back.
Quick and dirty. Yeah, that's the ticket. And after dishing out half a million for nothing, how many local jobs were created? O
And when the city commission appoints someone as "interim" (say Sauceda or Garcia, and Gard), will we see the same dog-and-pony show of a nationwide search for one of them to be appointed after spending all that money again? Remember that Gard came from Ana, Texas, a metropolis of 29,000 people. Garcia is a civil engineer.
(Last time we had cops as city managers - Andy Vega and Charlie Cabler - they turned out to be, ahem, urban planning "challenged," for lack of a more charitable term. Will lightning strike in the same place a third time?)
We could go on and on...Whenever there was a public event, it usually was the Helen and Minions show with elected officials taking a back seat to the little queen hogging the spotlight.
But that's water under the bridge, and with Ramirez leaving, hopefully all this will dissipate like a bad dream.
MEET THE LOYAL OPPOSITION TO BISD'S SCHOOL BOND ISSUE
rita
