The Tomahawk Chop

We Americans (and Taosenos) are entering unchartered territory.

Our madcap President, the real estate developer and golfer, decided to bomb Syria with Tomahawks missiles while dining on chocolate cake because El Assad allegedly poisoned and/or killed his people with Sarin gas.

But, according to the “suppressed” news, the old Al Qaeda organization may be the responsible party. Call it “Wag the Dog” when you get a bump in the polls for a little war cry.

While threatening North Korea’s Kim Jong-un with an “armada,” the tweeter in chief and his aides, spokesperson Sean Spicer, VP Mike Pence, Sec. of defense Mad dog Mattis and National Security Adviser HR McMaster reinforced the impression. But the vaunted USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier traveled in the opposite direction some 3500 hundred miles away from the Korean Peninsula. Say what?

Trumps’ Muslim ban was stopped by the courts; his “repeal and replace” health care bill stopped by the self-destructive Republican majority in Congress. Although his ICE and Customs/Border Patrol agents have deported or jailed some 5000, dreamers, illegal moms or dads of these American children, so 10,000,995,000 undocumented human beings from elsewhere remain in the U.S. What wall?

Trump’s a bully with a message but the message is mostly stymied by incompetence like his bloody counterpart, the GOP Governor of Arkansas, who would administer serial executions if only he could figure out how or find the drugs to use as an overdose.

Meanwhile the Trump Family hotel business is good, Ivanka’s copyright claims in China approved and Jared’s real estate deals very profitable. The emoluments clause and campaign deals with the Russians await investigation by a timid Congress whose idea of “the rule of law” remains as stillborn as the Republican ability to govern or stay the course. The Chair of the Republican Oversight Committee in the House, Jason Chaffetz, has announced he will not be seeking re-election.

Aqui En Taos

Here in Town of Taos, the leading elected official, Mayor Barrone, we’re told does not even live in Taos but in Lower Las Colonias out by Olguin’s Wood Yard on Highway 64…despite rules requiring elected officials to be residents of the district or TOWN they serve.

At the PRC we wait for a decision on retroactive over-billing by the local Kit Carson Coop, which organization is getting ready for May elections and looking for a few ethically challenged individuals to run for the board.

One aspiring candidate for Coop Trustee, the Mayor of Questa and a County Commissioner, aka Mark Gallegos, from the northern district, has been forbidden from running for Virgil Martinez’s seat up in Questa, we’re told. CEO Reyes allegedly told Mr. Gallegos he didn’t live in the El Norte/Questa area. Mr. Gallegos lives somewhere adjacent to Llano Quemado in southern Taos County.

Rumor says Mr. Bernie Torres of the Costilla/Amalia area will run for Virgil’s seat. Virgil as we know was “beaten” into submission by the Coop Board’s enforcer.

According to its website, KCEC has done such a good job installing Broadband aqui en Taos, what with 4000 customers (mas y menos), hooked up during the last 6 years at a cost of some $70 million (mas y menos) that Continental Divide Electric hired KCEC to do the same for the Grants Coop. Someday KCEC will hook up requests from members right here in Taos and Ranchos and El Prado.

Think about the poor little Mora-San Miguel Coop: several district court judges have recused themselves from hearing challenges to the issues of “term-limits” in the coop by-laws. The trustees in Mora, whether crooks or incompetents get a free ride like the Kit Carson trustees, like the Town Mayor, like the CEO who missed tier 6 of 8 times but has no fear for his job. Like Richard  Nixon told us, he was not a crook.

In Washington D.C. pundits are trying to figure out whether the Trumpistas are “nefarious” or “stupid” in their approach to destroying government while aiming empty tweets and innocuous Tomahawks at dictators.

But El Norte operates under the Fran Gallegos Rule: “I’m not a crook, I’m incompetent.” Despite the opposition of thousands, the Town believes in a field of dreams: “build it, book it, and they will come to a four-story hotel.” Yet the Mayor did not show up at his house on Zuni St: he sent a proxy.

The KCEC Coop represents Fran’s recipe for fusion: “conspiratorial incompetence.” Think about it: $70 million for Broadband; $37 million for the Guzman buy-out; muddled and mingled finances; beer-swilling linemen; over-charging the members; “beating-down” non-compliant trustees; the exchange of free Christmas Tree Lights for the Mayor so the Town will ignore and not protest higher electric rates.

The rest of the country is just getting used to this El Norte syndrome via Trumpista tweets. Our progressive Republican Governor vetoed the budgets for the statewide university and colleges. At least she’s not a serial killer like the Arkansas Gov. But the legislature did dip into school system reserves so as to balance the budget in a state where children finish last in education and and access to resources compared to other states. Excellence is not our middle name.

Build it and book it and they will come except for the Mayors of Taos and Questa. They visit like tourists  but live elsewhere. Go figure.