We spent the night in Obregon last night. It is the second largest city (next to Hermosillo) in Sonora.
Above is a photo I took at Laguna Nainair while Yun enjoyed eating her coconut. The temperature is quite pleasant here – as of 8.44am it is in the high 70s.
Yun and I are leaving this evening to head to Nogales, before heading off to Huatabambo and Alamos tomorrow. We’re hoping to see the Copper Canyon (Canon de Cobre) over the next week – it’s similar to the Grand Canyon, but MUCH bigger.
We’re going to a wedding Saturday in Huatabambo, so I am preparing my best look.
Yunuen and I came down to Mexico this afternoon, primarily as we were selling her Beetle, which I was quite excited about! We were also excited because our Passat has finished its time in the shop as we replaced all of the intake valves which was no small job. As we returned to her parents house from the shop, we intended to wash the car, but that was cut short when a car up the street chose to evade a military checkpoint (these checkpoints are everywhere) and was pursued by the local policia. That’s when we heard the first shots about a 100 feet up the street before a rush of automatic fire. We all jumped for cover under a vehicle while the shooting continued. We ran for cover for her parent’s house and then huddled on the floor as military, police, and federal officers surrounded the house. The shooting continued for what seemed to be about 10-15 minutes longer. When we thought it was safe enough to venture outside, we found a SWAT team on top of Yun’s parent’s house and more SWAT in the backyard. At this point, we weren’t sure where we were supposed to go, but there were men everywhere with automatic rifles (taped banana clips) drawn.
As we understand now, six members of a drug cartel were gunned down just up the street. When they were fleeing in the car, they took refuge in a house a few houses away. When the police made their way into the house they found they were missing one of the men and thus the pursuit through the neighborhood. Yun’s parents have a small house in their backyard which they believed the gunman might have attempted to hide in. Tila and Scout are with us and needless to say they were going crazy.
I am going to attempt to attach some video.
Jesus and Krystal had a beer and bratwurst party at their house last night. The invitation required each couple to bring a 6-pack of beer, so I brought 6 of Poland’s finest! I found a place near my work that had one of the finest selection of beer I’ve seen in quite some time. They had a beer called Zagloba which had an interesting, sweet taste. Zagloba was a character in one my favorite work of Sienkiewicz’s ‘With Fire and Sword’.
Despite getting home late last night, I awoke early this morning to meet my reading group at Ben’s house. We have been reading McGuckin’s historical survey of the events leading up to the Council of Ephesus in 431 and a careful analysis of Cyril and Nestorius’ christological views.
We spent the majority of the day working on the back yard. I am nearly finished with the brick wall that goes along the perimeter of the wall. It is about two feet tall and looking quite nice.
Yunuen and I participated in a baseball clinic in Nogales last weekend for some youth. We drove down with Eddie Vosberg, Jerry Kindall, Jeff Bajenaru, and some other major league players. Despite the massive rain, the kids had a great time and learned a lot from the coaches. We brought an enormous amount of food with us as well and were able to feed over 200 people.
(from left to right: Tony from Sweden, Me and Yunuen, Eddie Vosberg, Jerry Kindall, and Jeff Bajenaru)
Sadly, Yunuen’s father’s medical office was broken into the night before, so her parents had to leave early to meet with the policia. Fortunately, the thieves didn’t take much – passing up on thousands of dollars in medication, computer equipment, medical equipment, and other valuables. They did cause an incredible mess and destroyed the front door. After the baseball clinic, we spent the remainder fo the day replacing the front door which turned out to be quite a task. Miguel, Josue, Obed, and Yun’s brothers joined us and we ended up having a lot of fun together.
From: updates08@ronpaulforcongress.cp20.com [mailto:updates08@ronpaulforcongress.cp20.com] On Behalf Of Ron Paul 2008
Sent:
To: nomosian@gmail.com
Subject: Time is running out
Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.
The events of the past week are no exception.
The bailout package that is about to be rammed down Congress’ throat is not just economically foolish. It is downright sinister. It makes a mockery of our Constitution, which our leaders should never again bother pretending is still in effect. It promises the American people a never-ending nightmare of ever-greater debt liabilities they will have to shoulder. Two weeks ago, financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made
That describes the current bailout package to a T. And we’re being told it’s unavoidable.
The claim that the market caused all this is so staggeringly foolish that only politicians and the media could pretend to believe it. But that has become the conventional wisdom, with the desired result that those responsible for the credit bubble and its predictable consequences – predictable, that is, to those who understand sound, Austrian economics – are being let off the hook. The Federal Reserve System is actually positioning itself as the savior, rather than the culprit, in this mess!
• The Treasury Secretary is authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets at any one time. That means $700 billion is only the very beginning of what will hit us.
• Financial institutions are “designated as financial agents of the Government.” This is the New Deal to end all New Deals.
• Then there’s this: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.
There goes your country.
Even some so-called free-market economists are calling all this “sadly necessary.” Sad, yes. Necessary? Don’t make me laugh.
Our one-party system is complicit in yet another crime against the American people. The two major party candidates for president themselves initially indicated their strong support for bailouts of this kind – another example of the big choice we’re supposedly presented with this November: yes or yes. Now, with a backlash brewing, they’re not quite sure what their views are. A sad display, really.
Although the present bailout package is almost certainly not the end of the political atrocities we’ll witness in connection with the crisis, time is short. Congress may vote as soon as tomorrow. With a Rasmussen poll finding support for the bailout at an anemic seven percent, some members of Congress are afraid to vote for it. Call them! Let them hear from you! Tell them you will never vote for anyone who supports this atrocity.
The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?
When the chips are down, will we stand up and fight, even if it means standing up against every stripe of fashionable opinion in politics and the media?
Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be.
In liberty,
Ron Paul
Tila and Scout continue to grow – not only in size (mostly Tila), but also in personality. Scout is faithful and loving (to the point of being pathological), and Tila is calm and protective. I took them for a run out in the desert yesterday, to run them to the point of utter exhaustion. They chase my truck at 20-30mph for considerable distances. Scout is unbelievably fast – Tila not so much. They love to run free without the leash.
Yunuen just finished giving them a shower outside. It’s a perfect day for the sort of thing, quite warm, so they will dry quickly. Scout is absolutely neurotic when it comes to water – he will chase it around the yard for hours. Tila couldn’t be more the opposite, she hates water with a passion and looks absolutely miserable when being washed.
We have a small group of men that meet regularly for study, most often orientated toward political or economic issues. Ben is one such member of this group and I believe he is an able commentator on the catastrophic economic events we are presently experiencing. He sent out an email this morning that paints a brief, yet concise picture of events as they unfold.
Now is certainly the time to prepare for the inevitable collapse.
From: Benjamin Richards
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 8:11 AM
Subject: Disastrous.
Hi everyone,
Sorry I am to write this email, but the magnitude of the goings on requires it. I will try to be as brief as possible.
Bush has just proposed a $700 billion dollar bailout for toxic mortgage loans. It is promoted as a bailout for homeowners. It is actually a bailout for banks. Just to remind you, in the past few weeks we bailed out AIG for $85B, printed $185B to “promote liquidity”, nationalized Fannie and Freddie with an unlimited line of credit from the Treasury (their liabilities exceed $5 trillion, with a “T”), and earlier this year bailed out Bear Stearns for tens of billions.
Since these numbers may be too big to be meaningful, I will remind you that our national debt right now is just under $10 trillion, and our official budget deficit for this year will be almost $500 billion. G. W. Bush entered office with a budget surplus and a national debt less than half of what it is now. Andrew Jackson was president the last time we had no national debt. From Jackson to Clinton, the national debt grew to $5T. In eight years under Bush, it has doubled, and that doesn’t include any of these bailouts.
The bailouts constitute a transfer of toxic waste investments from the multimillionaire finance managers who personally orchestrated and oversaw this disaster onto the U.S. taxpayer. While the sun was shining, these people were taking billions of dollars in bonuses and drawing annual salaries in the tens of millions. Now that the sun is no longer shining, their disastrous investments will be transferred to you and me, and more importantly, our children and our grandchildren. This is privatizing the gains, and socializing the losses. “Make someone else pay.”
The worst of this is that it is all planned and executed by two unelected officials: a lame duck Treasury Secretary, leaving in January, who is a former CEO of one of the big investment banks, and Ben Bernanke with his Federal Reserve. All of this is illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral on a mind-numbing scale. Congress will do whatever they say. Congress has abdicated.
These measures will not make anything better. They will delay the inevitable for a few months, possibly, and then make things much, much worse. Congress cannot change economic law by printing money, but they will try. They cannot beat the forces of the market. This crisis was caused by too much money and too much credit, but they will try to fix it with even more money and credit.
The immediate results are the following. (1) a mind-boggling expansion of government power. In less than a month, the U.S. housing mortgage industry and the insurance industry have been unilaterally nationalized. (2) the destruction of the US dollar. It cannot possibly recover from these measures. (3) a serious recession, perhaps the worst recession that anyone living has seen.
Nothing like what is going on now has happened in U.S. history. It has happened repeatedly in world history, and the inevitable result is the collapse of the empire. Every empire in world history has eventually bankrupted itself by debasing its currency and overextending itself militarily. People seem to think it can be different this time. It can’t.
What I am encouraging all of you to do is to (1) please, please call each of your congressmen as soon as possible and protest what is going on. National politics is absolutely hopeless, and I never bother to call, but it is about the only thing we can do. Maybe if enough people call, they will not pass this $700B bailout. And (2), please pray for our economy, every day. My pastor reminded us this week that we should be doing this right now. He is right. Many, many people are going to suffer as a result of what they’re doing in Washington, and if it goes as planned, I am not even willing to guess at the magnitude of the consequences.
We cannot thumb our nose at economic law and expect to get away with it, because it is God’s law. We have built an entire economic system on fraud, theft, and deception, and I fear we may be about to be judged for it.
In HIM,
Ben
Yunuen and I spent last weekend in Mexico with her family. Friday night we went out for sushi (Mexican style!) which included rolls with jalapenos among other things. I was introduced to the quite rare Modelo Chope, a fine ale from the Modelo Group (who also make Pacifico, Corona, and Modelo Negra).
We had a chance to meet Yunuen’s cousin Ricky who works on a task force with Mexico’s Federal Police for drug enforcement. We had a lot of fun as we traveled to the mountains of El Bellotoso for some carne asada. We took the dogs with us where they enjoyed themselves just as much.
I have attached a sweet video of some hacky sack action!
