January 17, 2019 600 AM
Dear editor: Gentlepeople, The sage tells us that those who have the gold make the rules. And Republicans and the Head Rich Pig in Charge certainly know this rule. They do look after rich corporate pigs. A great example is found in the details of the new 2018 income tax changes so quickly written by the Corporate Pig Republicans for their golden god, the Head Rich Pig in Charge. Beginning in 2018 and for the next seven years, individual itemized tax deduction for taxes paid is limited to $10,000. So the itemized deduction for taxes paid to states, counties, cities, school districts, etc. is limited to $10,000. But wonders of wonders, the limitation does not apply to taxes paid by individuals to foreign taxing authorities. So if one pays $15,000 in state income taxes, property taxes and sales taxes, the itemized deduction is limited to $10,000 and $5,000 although paid is not a tax deduction. But if one pays $1 million in foreign taxes there is no limitation and all of the million dollars is deductible. Who pays foreign taxes? Rich Corporate Pigs pay foreign taxes, but certainly not the Working Class. The lesson is clear. For those who are old enough to remember, in the 1960s, there was an ad on television by a major oil well servicing corporation that ended with: “If you don’t own an oil well, get one. You will love doing business with us.” If you don’t pay foreign taxes, get some foreign investments. You will love being serviced by Republican pimps. Eat the Rich!
Lineaus Hooper Lorette Marfa and Fort Davis
Dear editor, Border Myth The strength of the United States as put forth in the constitution is its careful provision for the representation of all citizens, not by demographic but by state. It is no accident that Central American caravans travel 2700 miles from Guatemala City to the People’s Republic of California rather than the 1300 miles to Brownsville where Texans fly the state flag alongside that of the United States. Because of its wealth, California will retain the illegal criminal element among immigrants, which will stay where the money is, and any terrorist element, which will stay where the population is. McAllen is a different story altogether, since drug runners in that area blend their product with human trafficking, and their destination may be any city, any state. Almost no one immigrates through Presidio despite its practical, arms open, gentle reception of Mexicans and theoretically equivalent reception of Central Americans. Migration is often about the redistribution of wealth, not asylum, not freedom. There will be no wall, nor is there a need for one along the Big Bend, and that will remain true as long as there is no comparative wealth in the region. “Ethnic identity has become a diverse and inflammatory feature of society in the modern world,” but it wasn’t always that way. For 1600 years in the inland Niger delta region, inter-ethnic “conflict arising from different priorities of land use” (smelting of ore, crop land, pasture, forest, urban, manufacture) became part of myths and legends, all of which “transform the potential of conflict between groups into expectations of appropriate behavior, which in turn defines ethnic identity in terms of obligations to others. People know how to behave because they know they are different, and this mutual respect allows specialization to flourish, and material symbols of group identity (hairstyles, scarification, dress, etc.) to develop. Together, myths and material symbols remind all involved of the expectations that bind the regional community. Herein lies the origin of in situ ethnic elaboration and the device that maintains ethnic boundaries.” –A Biography of the Continent of Africa, John Reader. In three straight letters, “The Morality, the Words and the Leadership of Donald J. Trump,” I have portrayed the president as someone who is working for the American people. The border myth, including the left and right coasts, is that wealthy white men look out only for themselves.
Rex Redden South Brewster County
Dear editor, While in El Paso this past week I paid $1.799 for regular unleaded gas. I paid $2.599 in Fort Davis. Nearly all of the Alpine gas stations are charging $2.799! I can accept an additional 35 cents to 40 cents for transportation, but a $1.? I have contacted the State Attorney General to requested an investigation into possible collusion/price-fixing. Maybe their supplier(s) are ripping them off, but regardless, the Alpine driving public appears to be paying way in excess of free-market prices for gas. The price of Texas crude has fallen significantly, but our gas prices have remained fairly constant. Other markets in Texas have dropped with the price of oil, but not so much in Alpine. Why?
Brian Shugart Alpine
Dear editor, What about the Dog? Who else remembers the iconic 1973 Harvard Lampoon magazine cover? Portrayed is a terrified dog, gun asserting: “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog”, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeseface.Maybe I shouldn’t have been intimidated into buying that magazine, but I was young and didn’t know much about life. Nowadays we understand the consequences of submitting to political terrorists. Our nation rejects shakedowns, discouraging others when extortion is their calling card 1973’s lesson is applicable to the president’s prolonged government shutdown. “Never buy the magazine when a patriotic Congressional SWAT team is doing their job!” That’s 2019’s colonial Minuteman defending our constitution. However, embodying despotic King George III’s redcoats at Lexington-Concord, Senate Majority Leader McConnell, also holds a gun to our nation’s head. Although being word for word the same as the GOP passed in December, he won’t allow the Dem’s House appropriation bill a Senate vote. Will McConnell allow a vote? Will Trump declare a national “emergency”? Will it occur to conservatives, if a legitimate “emergency,” the GOP didn’t approve a $5 billion+ wall funding boondoggle while having total control the past two years? Meanwhile, what about the dog?
Rev. Barry Abraham Zavah Alpine
