Pneumonia

I was diagnosed as having leukemia in December 2002. The symptoms of the leukemia were not yet obvious, and it was only discovered because I had a series of blood tests done because I had a bad infection in my right lung. For years I had a blood doctor who dealt with the leukemia and a lung doctor who tried to help improve my lung function. I was once trying to impress my attractive lady lung doctor with how much I knew about leukemia. I informed her that most people who have leukemia die of pneumonia. She politely informed me that most people in general at the very end of their life die because of an uncontrollable infection in their lungs. I never tried to impress her after that.

One sees many different life expectancy statistics thrown around concerning people who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A common number for life expectancy is 7 – 10 years from the date of diagnosis. Another is a median survival rate of 95 months. Based upon how my CLL has been progressing recently, both forecasts seem pretty accurate to me.

At the moment the lung infection has returned with a vengeance. Last night my body was making so much incredibly sticky phlegm that a few times during the night I honestly thought it might totally plug up my airways. Every 15 – 20 minutes all night long I had to get up and blow my nose and drink some water.

It would be unfortunate if this lung situation gets any worse, since I would then drown because of my lungs and breathing passages clogging up with this gunk. Last night's episode had a positive ending, but I don't doubt that one way or another the leukemia is going to get me in the not too distant future. I'm nearing the end of that journey. Maybe days, or months, maybe even a couple of years. It would be foolish denial to pretend otherwise.

My latest blood test shows that the white blood cells which fight off disease are very low; the platelets have now declined well below minimum recommended levels and so has the hemoglobin in my blood. Inadequate red blood cells and hemoglobin means that the blood is no longer able to do its job of properly oxygenating the body's tissues. In practice it means that I get out of breath real easy now. After walking just 100 or 200 feet (about 30 - 60 meters) the muscles in my legs begin to ache from a lack of sufficient oxygen. The heart is another useful muscle which demands a good supply of oxygen.

So far this journey has been very tolerable. In fact my little doggie and I both have adapted quite well to my newly limited strength and stamina. I am constantly aware of my nearby “hallway howitzer” but I haven't yet gotten at all close to thinking that I should actually exercise the euthanasia option. Thank goodness for my little dog Inu. He snuggles with me and comforts me all night long. In some ways there has now been a partial role reversal. I am still the pack leader; I bring home the bacon, and I hold the leash when we are out on a short walk here in the city. When we go out for a walk in the nearby desert he is constantly checking on me to make sure that I am doing OK. He understand that it has now become his job to protect me, and he takes his work very seriously. It is good to have a soft little furry black partner who gives you unconditional love and wants for you to get better more than anything in the whole wide world.

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Whose Ass To Kick Barack?

Even among really smart commentators not much is being said about the real cause of the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone wants to blame BP, and they in fact should. Others, especially the right wing fanatics and the Republicans who like to spout their pearls of wisdom about less and smaller government, want to blame the Obama administration and the federal government for not doing enough. This really is just blowhard political rhetoric. Anything to make the Presidential Raghead and the progressives look bad.

The number of oil spills and their magnitude have been on the increase for several years. The cause is what we need to deal with, because this must be corrected in order to assure us that this won't continue to happen.

The cause is regulators who allowed the corporations to self regulate. Under Bush II government regulators who did their job of protecting the environment, the food supply for human consumption, kids toys, and fraud in the financial sector were fired. Career regulators in the FDA, OSHA, and even the legal system were strongly encouraged to let these companies make money. The Bush assumption was that companies as big as the Wall Street banks and British Petroleum would not dare endanger their assets by engaging in excessively risky behavior.

Under funding of the regulatory authorities, downright open and active encouragement telling the government regulators to leave these guys alone, deregulation, and industry self-regulation just about bankrupted the country. Many of the people who have lost their homes, savings, marriages, and jobs have actually found it necessary to formally go bankrupt.

Deregulation is the cause of all these crises, and this must be corrected. The Republicans will do everything they can to kill re-regulation. Screw these ignorant red neck bastards.

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Policemen Who Want To Be Cop, Judge, and Jury

In American society civilians decide whether we are going to go to war or not, and the military's job is to do their best to enforce the decisions made by their civilian supervisors. In many countries the military tells the civilian lawmakers and elected officials how its going to be; not so in America. Here we feel that it is improper for the military to even publicly comment about laws, rules, or wars that they don't like. The military is not given the authority to only follow those orders or directives that they like, and ignore those orders which they do not care for.

Rule-of-law means that the law is enforced the same for a poor, uneducated Mexican woman as it is for the male, white, Mayor of the city. The policemen are not given the authority to let their friends or the rich and powerful violate society's laws without any consequence. They also are not allowed to single out some particular group, subjecting them to stronger enforcement of the laws – like Jews, Blacks, or Mexicans; while allowing white, redneck, Christians to openly lynch people.

The police are not allowed to permit the rich and powerful to openly smoke pot and snort cocaine, all the while arresting poor brown skinned people for possessing one joint of marijuana. Allowing the law enforcement officer to make these decisions is an open encouragement to bribery and other forms of corruption of the legal system.

The above is a lead in to talking about enforcement of laws relating to immigration.

It is improper for policemen or Border Patrol agents to meet with members of the news media to try and influence which laws will be enforced and which laws will be ignored. It is completely understandable that cops or sheriff's deputies have opinions. In many cases their ideas are based upon personal experience and sound judgment; in others their opinions are ignorant or racist. It is simply their job as law enforcement agents to enforce society's laws as impartially as possible.

Except for those countries undergoing a total breakdown like Somalia, all countries have laws, rules, and regulations which are intended to control who may enter the country, who may work in the country, and who is granted the honor of citizenship. The U.S.A. allows more legal in-migration than any other country. Like all civilized countries the U.S.A. has the obligation to protect the country and it's citizens by prohibiting certain types of people from coming in to the country, and encouraging others to move to America and even eventually gain citizenship status.
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Like in almost all countries, America has long standing laws which require non-citizens to always carry proper identification and proof of citizenship. In many cases this means a passport along with entry visas. When one is driving a motor vehicle it is also the law of the land that one carry proper identification including a driver's license and proof of valid liability insurance.

If the police pull someone over because they are speeding, they have failed to stop at a red light, or because their car does not have valid license plates or an up-to-date safety sticker, the cops are expected to insist that the driver show them a driver's license and insurance card. If in doing so the cops notice an open bottle of whiskey between the driver's legs it is not within their authority to ignore this fact. The same would apply if they notice a handgun being openly displayed sitting on the seat. Same if the policeman obviously smelled the pungent odor of burning marijuana.

So if a traffic cop pulls someone over because they notice that his safety sticker or registration has expired, and then the driver who cannot speak English is unable to produce a valid driver's license or proof of insurance, the same logic would apply. It would be sound judgment on the part of the cop to suspect that perhaps this person has entered the country without being granted proper permission from the American Government. This is commonly called being in the country illegally or being an undocumented alien. We would be very shocked if the policeman were to accept a wad of $100 bills so as to just ignore the violation, and we should also be shocked if the policeman makes an on-the-spot decision to behave as judge and jury by simply letting the person off with no consequences.

When all of society begins openly violating any rule, regulation, or law that they personally don't like it leads to a complete breakdown of civilized society. Witness Somalia or our neighbor just to the south. Mexico has long scoffed at rule-of-law, and now they are paying the price big time.

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Robert Green Blunder

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What Happens When The Oil Reaches Cuba?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides daily updates on the forecast path of the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The latest forecast shows it as possibly getting very near to Cuba. It would be surprising if it did not eventually cause environmental damage in Cuba.

Cuba is now beginning to drill for oil in it's offshore part of the Gulf of Mexico. The first area to be explored is north of Cuba, i.e. quite near to Florida. What happens if one of their wells eventually go ballistic like this BP well?

Before we face these situations heads will be much cooler and saner. While everyone can still think clearly it would be wise to sit down and openly discuss these issues.

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Antisemitism

Helen Thomas recently told a Rabbi, while she was on camera, that the Jews should leave Israel and go back where they came from. Specifically Poland, Germany, and America.

Since the Helen Thomas interview this is some of the hate mail that the Rabbi has gotten on the internet: http://rabbilive.com/RabbiLIVE/HateMail.html
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Gosh, it is amazing how much sickness there is. And to think that some of us thought that except among a buch of uneducated Muslims antisemitism was almost dead.
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Mexicans Attack U.S. Border Patrol Agent

The Mexicans have been permitted to openly violate American laws for so long that now they apparently are genuinely offended when American law enforcement officers insist that they follow U.S. Law. If rule-of-law is ignored this is what happens. The corruption and decay seen in Mexico are largely because all Mexican government officials could be bribed so easily – even the police and the judges.

Yesterday a group of Mexicans crossed the international border into the United States, then began using deadly force (stoning by a group of people is clearly deadly force) against an American Border Patrol bicycle agent. To defend himself he was required to also use deadly force. He drew his .40 caliber gun (probably a Glock) and killed one of the Mexicans.

Not long afterward the Mexican police showed up. While the Americans were attempting to investigate what had happened on their side of the border, the gun toting Mexican authorities kept pointing their weapons at the American agents. The Americans were forced to leave the scene. Video shot at the scene shows the Mexican agents then crossing over to the American side of the border and picking up something. The Mexicans later claimed that they had found a .40 caliber shell casing on the Mexican side of the border.

This situation is only destined to get worse. And it all is because for years the American Government openly ignored all the Mexican people who were crossing into America illegally. This intentional disregard for the rule-of-law by the American authorities assured the supply of slave-wage maids and day laborers, as well as chili pickers who were not protected by OSHA or anyone else in the U.S. Government. The Mexicans got used to being able to walk all over the American authorities. Now they are getting quite upset that we have actually begun enforcing existing laws.
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UPDATE: The Mexican boy throwing the rocks was a know smuggler of people. It also appears possible that he was standing on the Mexcian side of the line and that the American Border Patrol agent was on the American side when he fired the fatal shots.
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The Germans and the French Have Just About Completely Burned Their Bridges

This picture is an accurate view of how happy Sarkozy and Merkel are with each other. They disagree and they don't trust each other. This picture shows so much distaste you would almost think that they were married to each other.

France wants the European Union to become a single country, the United States of Europe; with him as the first president. He doesn't want the downer of any sort of austerity at the moment. Merkel has no intention of making Germany only one county or state in a country called USE. She intends to keep the autonomy which goes along with Germany being a country, and she is one tough lady. She is moving Germany towards fiscal austerity whether the French like it or not.

Merkel even canceled a dinner between the two leaders at the very last minute. It was so last minute that the French press corps had already arrived in Germany.

Despite some well reasoned objections from various friends of mine who still live in the Euro Zone, I maintain my forecast that the Euro currency is doomed. I won't still be around in ten years and I don't believe the Euro will be either.
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LINK TO MAIN ARTICLE: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,699672,00.html

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Guns & Ammo

At the moment I've got things set up just like I want them. I'm pleased with the situation. I don't own an assault rifle, an AK-47, a Uzzi, any .223 caliber weapons, or any of the large magazine capacity "lunatic guns" that you see the cop killers and the extremist government haters so enamored/armed with.

In long guns I've got:
12 gauge pump action shotgun with laser and the shortest barrel that is legal, with OO buck shot.
30-06 bolt action hunting rifle equipped with a Nikon scope, a flashlight, and a laser.
30-30 lever action carbine.

In hand guns I've got:
One beautiful little 2 shot derringer chambered for .38 special or .32 H&R magnum.
.38 special +P titanium alloy frame revolver with a laser grip.
.44 magnum revolvers with laser grips - 2 ea.
.380 semi automatic concealed carry with a laser grip.

This does not make me a gun freak. Honest. This just proves that I am a normal Texan.

I learned firearms safety, gun cleaning, and how to shoot from my Dad when I was a young boy with a .22 long rifle semi automatic. From my grandfather I inherited a 410 pump action shotgun. Our family also had a Winchester lever action 30-30, an old civil war era derringer, and a semi automatic .32 caliber handgun that had been used in WWII by someone in the medical corps. When I served in the army in the 1970's (during the Vietnam War) everyone was required to receive adequate training in weapons safety, firing, and maintaining the M16; but I spent the next three years sitting behind an IBM Executive typewriter typing for a General at the 3rd Armored Division Headquarters in Frankfurt, West Germany.

I worked in his campaign because he had the most liberal voting record of any U.S. Senator and because he was an ex-community organizer. Now based upon his behavior I consider President Barack Obama to be very much middle-of-the-road; maybe somewhat to the right of center. Many people tend to try define a person with one word. He is a black, he is a Republican wanna be, she is a lesbian, or he is a liberal.

When people find out that I drive a Toyota Prius (this is my second one), that my house has a white roof, great insulation, triple pane windows, roll down shutters, and desert landscaping some people like to define me as a liberal, environmentalist, tree hugger. In many ways I guess I am; and a pinko, progressive or liberal too.

But on economics issues I consider the Republicans to be horribly wasteful deficit spending extremists. Ronald Rayguns was the worst. I believe in civil rights for people of color and equality for women. I abhor warfare, and I think marine mammals should be protected. If the Californians want to legalize pot it is fine with me. All of this makes people say that I am a liberal.
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In Mexico is it extremely illegal for normal people to possess firearms, but the criminals are very well armed. It just proves that the bad guys will always be able to get guns, even if guns are made illegal. I am a supporter of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing broad gun rights to all adult, non-criminal Americans. I think open carry is fine. I also want to stop undocumented immigration. These ideas are normally associated with the right wing.

It just proves that the old left-right, liberal-conservative definition is horribly simple minded. Always was. People are far more complex than that.

Ammunition is currently readily available for all my guns, except for the .380 auto. I have a couple of boxes of shells for each caliber of gun that I own. I do have some 380 rounds (also called 9 mm short), but they are full metal jacket rounds. The high performance, “self protection” type of ammunition is all on back order everywhere that I know of at the moment.

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Death by Giant Meteor Courtesy of Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson

If you are using a wireless connection or a slow internet connection it will take a few seconds for this to appear. It is really funny so please be patient.
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Summer In The Desert

Right now it is 105.6 F (41 C) just a couple of kilometers from my house in El Paso, Texas.

Thank goodness for good insulation, the white reflective roof, triple pane windows, roll down shutters, and most of all for the air conditioning!

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When The Oil Starts Running Out

The New York Times has a great article today about the various people who are concerned about what will happen to society as the easy to recover (read cheap) oil runs out and worldwide we transition to using oil which which was more difficult, dangerous, and expensive to recover.

The article describes the collapsitarians and the doomers, both of which are “located somewhere between the environmental movement and the bunkered survivalists.”

I certainly won't live long enough to see the major effects of the cheap oil shortage, but it still makes me feel good about myself to own a house with triple pane windows, a white roof, and to drive a Toyota Prius. I do find myself sometimes thinking about the social and economic collapse which might result. Maybe these thought patterns of gloom and doom, possible imminent chaos, and destruction are contributing to my generalized paranoia. Or maybe this mostly is just a physical and chemical reaction to having late stage leukemia.
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COLLAPSITARIANS: http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/02/collapsitarians.php
DOOMERS: http://www.doomers.us/forum2/


LINK TO MAIN ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/us/06peak.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Republican TV Campaign Ad

I am about as far as one can get from being a Republican. Even so, I really like this campaign ad!




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Vincent and the Doc

The latest episode of Doctor Who goes from from the present back to the late 1800's and back. We get to see Vincent Van Gogh interacting with Dr. Who and Amy. It all sounds a bit hokey, but I think it may be the best Dr. Who that I have ever watched.

No doubt that fact that I have lived for 3 years in Germany and the 15 years in Holland, that I have visited Paris at least 15 times, and that I saw a great many Vincent Van Gogh works live and in person affects the way I reacted to this episode of Dr. Who.

I had frankly been a little concerned that with Russell Davies leaving and also getting a new Doctor the show was going downhill. I'm not at all worried about it now!

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The Porous Border

It is an illusion and delusional to thank that America can ever fully close off the border with Mexico. Even if we spent the vast amounts of money needed to build a Berlin Wall on America's southern border, just like was the case in Germany, there would still be plenty of people who find ways to get through or over the wall. The real solution is genuine and sincere enforcement of employment laws, and enforcement of the laws regarding whether a person who is a citizen of another country has been granted permission by the U.S. government to visit, live, or work in America. Judicial transparency and some measure of compassion are both required if this is going to work. The poor immigrants who come to America don't do so for the climate or the political system; they come north hoping to improve themselves and their families financially by working their asses off in mostly low paying, demeaning jobs.

If society decides that we really do want to control and reduce casual immigration from the Spanish speaking countries then there are two elements, neither of which involves bigger and longer walls or more U.S. Border Patrol agents and all their SUVs & helicopters.

First, heavy fines which are big enough that they really do hurt must become mandatory for any American employer who hires people who do not have U.S. Government working permission. Big fines and mandatory jail time for American businessmen and managers who repeatedly violate the law would help. What this also says is that the government must get it's act together so that all adults in America have a high tech U.S. Government I.D. Card with their photo and their status regarding whether they may be employed or not. Second, the government needs to get its act together regarding keeping track of all non-citizens. Especially tracking when they exit the country or if they overstay their temporary permission to visit.

The above is a discussion about the essentially racist and xenophobic matter of immigration by badly educated, brown skinned, poor people who speak the Spanish language. There is the second issue of drugs, drug barons, ignoring rule-of-law, etc. This is probably a far more important matter.

We should start out by legalizing marijuana, regulating its growth, production, use, and taxing it when it is sold to the final consumer. Just like tobacco, pot should be treated much like alcohol was after prohibition. Young people need to find it much harder to get their hands on pot. Driving a motor vehicle while stoned on pot is probably just as dangerous as driving drunk or talking-texting on your cell phone while driving.

When the marijuana money flow is transparent and is tracked and taxed by the IRS, it will be more difficult for the drug barons/criminals to remain involved in the matter. The addictive drugs like oxycontin, crystal meth, heroin, and cocaine are an entirely different issue and this has to be dealt with differently. I don't have time to discuss it here. It is worth noting that prescriptions by Doctors must be computerized and better regulated so that the flow of illegal prescription drugs is also ameliorated.

Supporting rule-of-law and fighting corruption/bribery are essential for the survival of America as a civilized society. The penalties for corruption and bribery by government employees (including elected officials) need to be greatly increased and made mandatory. Not discretionary. Rooting out and preventing corruption among government workers has to become one of our highest priorities.

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BP Oil Spill

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-Multiply gallons by roughly 3.8 to convert to liters.
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Easy Rider

The 1969 movie entitled Easy Rider was really famous at the time. Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and a young Jack Nicholson starred in it. At the time it was viewed as earth shaking, maybe even revolutionary. It was the first movie which openly discussed and advocated smoking marijuana and long hair on men, and the perils of the not so bright, closed minded southern red necks.

The story is about two small time drug dealers who ride their motorcycles across America. Along the way they have various adventures including experiencing the good and the bad of a commune, being thrown in a red neck jail, and eventually getting gunned down by a dumb ass southern good-ole-boy.

I saw the movie back when it was fresh, and now forty one years later I just finished it again. I had forgotten that in some ways it was a musical. But not with Broadway singers, rather the popular druggie music of the time along with scenic shots of their trip across the southwest.

Some books and movies age very well. Others not so well. I am surprised at how amateurish this movie seems now. Most of the things we thought we believed in back then have not panned out well. Actually we were just a bunch of mostly lazy stoners. Our thoughts about peace, equality of the races and sexes, and saving the environment certainly have not played out well at all. The forces of evil have won over – solidly won. You might say that the rich, closed minded, red neck bastards kicked our asses.


LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Rider

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Warm Here In The Chihuahuan Desert

President Obama and Macca

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Piracy Along The International Border With Mexico

An example of the effects of ignoring rule-of-law is showing up along the Texas-Mexico international border. Falcon Lake is famous for its bass fishing. It is a fairly big lake on the Rio Grande river, straddling the border as the long river finally approaches the end of its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Mexican gangs have been robbing American fisherman on the lake, many of whom drive $50,000 boats in order to go fishing. According to news reports these Mexicans wear black uniforms like the Mexican law enforcement authorities, carry automatic weapons, two way radios, and have very fast boats which can easily out run the boats being used by the American Border Patrol.

Most of the Mexican police in the area have either been murdered or are so terribly threatened and intimidated that they are nowhere to be seen. It has been estimated that more than 50% of the Mexican law enforcement officials are corrupt and actively assist these Mexican criminal gangs.

When I moved to Europe you were safe from apprehension if you were able to cross the international border between Germany and Holland. The police could not cross the border and continue pursuing you. This was great for the bad guys, but harmed civilized society. So even though these two countries have a fair amount of bad blood between them historically, they agreed to let their police forces continue right on past the international border when in hot pursuit. Notification by radio is encouraged but not required. This policy has worked out great.

The only thing preventing America and Mexico from implementing a similar hot pursuit cooperation agreement is that the Mexican culture does not support rule-of-law. The general populace has now fully accepted the dishonest approach of paying bribes to government officials. Also, the Americans are not likely to allow the Mexican police onto their territory when so many of these Mexican authorities do not believe in rule-of-law, and are in the pockets of the criminal gangs.

My recommendations are twofold. First, the American authorities along the border, whether they be called Texas Rangers, the Police, the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Customs, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, or the U.S. Navy must be supplied with the very fastest and most powerful boats currently made. Fast attack helicopters too - armed with live guns and missiles. Our law enforcement personnel must be provided with technology at least as good as the enemy has – this includes weapons, body armor, radios, night vision equipment, etc.

Second, the Americans need to begin a policy of continuing on in hot pursuit. Ideally this would be with the official agreement of the Mexican authorities, but if they refuse (which almost certainly they will) then it needs to happen anyway, simply as a matter of reality. This is a situation of self defense when our countrymen are under attack by machine gun toting murderers headquartered in Mexico. Just because the American fishermen are mostly corrupt, rich bastards driving their $50,000 boats does not allow us to ignore their genuine calls for help. If we allow the Mexicans to continue these deadly attacks, then we have tacitly agreed to ignore rule-of-law ourselves.

No doubt the Mexican government wasn't very happy with America when we entered Mexico with our military to try and apprehend Pancho Francisco Villa after he and his men killed eighteen Americans in Columbus, New Mexico. Too bad. Sorry that the Mexicans got their feelings hurt. When one if under attack by deadly force one must fight back. Simply cowering in a corner is not the American Way, nor is it the Texan Way.

I generally believe in non-violence, but in this life threatening, self defense situation it will only result in further, even more barbarous attacks by the Mexicans. Don't Mess With Texas .

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