Remembering Where We Were That Day........9/11

I was getting out of the shower, getting ready to go to work. My slacks were hanging on a hangar on my bedroom door with the creases nicely pressed down the middle of each leg. I could see my shirt sleeve sticking out of the closet as it was nice and stiff from the starch with a matching tie draped on the hangar. I had been out of the Marine Corps for over a year by then but my clothes were still inspection ready.

I walked into the room in my towel to get dressed when I saw on the television what I thought was a commercial for an action movie at first. But then I realized commercials don't have "Breaking News" running on the bottom of the screen. I could see what had happened yet I was in disbelief. I could not comprehend how what my eyes were telling me. How can this happen? How can an airplane just smash into a building?

I saw the smoke, the flames, the people jumping out of the buildings. Then I see the second plane fly into the towers. By this time I realize that I just witnessed something awful, something that would impact the nation for the rest of our lives.

I jumped into my car and sped to my job at the Dodge dealership. I ran in thinking I was going to break the news to everyone only to find a room full of people with their jaws dropped and tears slowly building on their bottom eye lids. No one spoke, there was an awful silence. Needless to say we didn't do much business that day. We watched the big screen TV in the showroom most of the day trying to get as much information as we could. We closed the dealership early to pay respect for those who had died as so employees who had family in New York could go home and try to account for all their relatives in New York.

I completed five years of military service and had been discharged from active duty but still had a little under two years left on my inactive reserve commitment. I had not checked in with my inactive reserve unit since I had been discharged. My spouse at the time was scared. She had seen that reservist were being called up so I looked through my papers and called in to the Marine Corps Reserve Support Command (MCRSC) in Kansas City, MO like any good Marine would do. I didn't hesitate, I knew that that was what I had to do. Trust me, it wasn't an easy call to make. They asked my my name, my SS#, my date of entry, date of separation, all your typical military questions. I answered them all but then asked the female on the phone; By when do I have to check in by and am I getting deployed? I didn't want to ask the question but my spouse at the time had her nails dug into my arm and I knew she wanted me to ask.

I was told that due to what just happened the Marine Corps was going to have to evaluate the situation of each Marine reservist. She did tell me the Marine Corps had implemented Operation Stop Loss, witch kept active duty Marines in even after their contracts were over to to the recent events. But she told me she couldn't give me a definite answer. She said the Marine Corps would take several things into consideration before making a decision. They would look at my MOS(military occupation speciality), my time in service, my discharge and how much time I had left on my inactive reserve contract. She told me to wait for a letter that I would be receiving in two weeks.

I'm not going to lie. For two weeks I started running to get back into shape. My uniforms still fit me but the lifestyle of a car salesman did not exactly make me feel comfortable in my old uniforms. Two weeks went by, my spouse at the time checked the mail box every day. I honestly had to check after her because I thought that if the letter did come she might hide it from me.

So one day after work I check the mail. There is a big yellow envelope with a return address in Kansas City. I took a deep breath and walked inside my house. My spouse saw the big envelope and knew that it was THE envelope we were expecting. She started to shake. I slowly opened the envelope hoping that I would at least have some time to say goodbye to my family. There was some sort of card board object with a letter attached. My spouse looked confused. I read the letter. It said that my MOS was not in high demand and that I was not going to be affected by Operation Stop Loss and that I was going to be released early from my inactive reserve contract. The cardboard type thing was my final discharge letter and certificate.

My spouse hugged me in relief but inside I was in shock. I had expected to have received orders for deployment. I think deep inside I wanted to go back and fight for the injustice that had just happened . I told my spouse that I was glad that I had received my final discharge papers but to this day I wish those were orders for deployment. I wanted to serve my country once more.

Our country came together on September 11, 2001. After that day we were all Americans, flag raising, god loving, brother and sister hugging Americans. Our patriotism ran through our veins, we are wore red, white & blue and it was more than O.K. to sing God Bless America.

But nine years later, things have sure changed. Now if you carry a flag, wear red, white and blue while singing God Bless America on a day that is not the 4th of July you are considered a right wing extremist. Why? When did being patriotic become wrong. It wasn't wrong on September 11, 2001, why is it now. Can anyone answer that?

Sheriff Demotes 22 Because He Couldn't Do What He Was Told

El Paso Sheriff Richard Wiles just can't get out of the news can he?

Sheriff Wiles was just on television saying he was going to demote 22 recently promoted Sergeants and said he was doing so because Commissioner's Court forced him to do it. A few weeks back Wiles was on the news after Commissioner's Court told him he had to cut $3 million dollars from his whopping $83 million dollar budget. But he didn't do it so County Commissioners suggested cutting the 22 positions that would save the County $1.8 million a year. So if my three years at Bel Air High School don't fail me now, that means Wiles only has $1.2 million to go. Do you think you can do that Sheriff Wiles?

Of coarse Wiles is on television complaining and blaming other people for what he has failed to do. There is nothing like watching a big tough guy like Richard Wiles try to play the victim. It's really comical if you ask me.

He had not cut his budget like he was told so County Commissioner's Court helped him do it. The Commissioners aren't stupid though. They can see the game Wiles is playing so they are making Wiles decide how he is going to make the final cuts. A simple game of political Chess. Who do you think will win this match?

I just feel bad for those 22 Sergeants who are being demoted. All that hard work to make the rank gone because their boss could not follow orders. What do you think that does to morale? I bet most of those in the Sheriff's department hate all the Commissioners about now. They should really look at the situation and realize that their leader is the one who is putting them out to try. If Wiles would have found somewhere to cut $3 million out of his budget those 22 Sergeants wouldn't have to be going home tonight delivering the bad news to their spouses or to their kids.

But that's not the case. Wiles put on his Poker Face(the Lady GaGa version) and hoped the County Commissioners would back down. They called him on his bluff and now 22 families will have a somber dinner tonight. I really hope there will be 22 families who will be questioning the leadership at the Sheriff's Department and not blaming the County Commissioners for their short comings.

There are many places Wiles could start to cut to save those positions.

If you ask me he could start off by getting rid of Bill Ellis. According to the Sheriff Department's website, Ellis is Wiles' Executive Administrative Officer. He was the former Police Union's Attorney and most claim he is Wiles' personal on staff attorney. Why would anybody on the County payroll need an on staff attorney? Isn't that what the County Attorney's office is for? I bet Ellis' salary would give a couple of those Sergeants there positions back. I say get rid of Ellis!

Now as many of you know, or have figured out by now, I am not a big fan of Richard Wiles or Bill Ellis. But I don't let my personal feelings against these two men who tried to ruin my life affect my posts. My feelings towards them just make me more aware, more observant and maybe just a tad bit more critical of their actions.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I just hope they don't try to use their positions in the Sheriff's Department to try to shut me up..........again. Yeah, I said again. Call me loco all you want, but I will not allow an elected official and his goons intimidate me or try to silence me with threats of incarceration. It is our right to voice our grievances against our elected officials. So if you can't handle the criticism don't run for office.

El Paso Sheriff Has A New Dance

El Paso Sheriff Richard Wiles once again has said one thing then changed his mind and said the opposite for political purposes. According to an article by the Austin Bureau of the El Paso Times, Richard Wiles has gone on the campaign trail with Gubernatorial Candidate Bill White and spoken on behalf of White's border security proposal. The plan "promised immediate funding for 1,250 law enforcement officers to secure Texas' border with Mexico".

In the article Richard Wiles says:

"This is what we've been talking about for years, and nobody would even consider it," "He understands that by providing those extra officers, not only are we keeping El Paso safe, but we are keeping Texas safe, too."

Yet in his testimony to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in May of 2009 the same double talking Richard Wiles says:

"Immigration and immigration enforcement rest solely with the federal government and federal agencies."

"In the past, there has been discussion of local, county and state law enforcement agencies "assisting" in the area of immigration enforcement; this is not good policy".

So what is it going to be Wiles? Make up your mind.

For those of you who don't know, this is standard operating procedure for Richard Wiles. He has a history of double talking his way through anything without being called out on it. That is going to change now. I have said it before and I will continue to say it again until the people of El Paso see the truth.  He did it when he was Chief of Police, he did it on the campaign trail when he ran for Sheriff and now he is doing it as the Sheriff of El Paso County for Bill White's campaign.

In previous posts I have referred to it as the Texas Two Step. But Wiles has taken it a step further. He has a new dance that is the latest craze and it goes something like this..........

You put your LEFT foot in,

You put your LEFT foot out,

You put your LEFT foot in

and you jerk us all around.

You do the Hokey Pokey

and you turn your answers all around,

that's what your all about!

Do the Hokey Pokey,

You tell the truth about him

And he'll stick you in the Pokie,

That's what he's all about!

Mayor John Cook out does Gene Simmons

El Paso Mayor John Cook has taken a page out of Gene Simmons' book and has claimed the title of Self Promotion King.

 The President flew in to Ft.Bliss to speak to the troops last week and the Mayor took advantage of the situation by presenting the President with the key to the city and sneaking in a bottle of his very own Señor Cook BBQ sauce. Cook has proven to El Paso that there is no shame in his game. You have to givehim credit, it really takes some guts to cancel a city council meeting to push your own products on the President.

In a related story, City Representative Eddie Holguin  was seen leaving the airport with a bucket of buffalo wings pouting and muttering 

"I hate it when he does that. Why can't the rest of us get a chance to push our products?"

And in a story you will only see here, an unconfirmed source who was at Biggs Army Air Field told the AD Blog(Ala Derecha Blog) that City Representative Susie Byrd was not allowed to pass through one of the many security check points with what seemed to be some sort of brick. After further investigation, Secret Service allowed Byrd to pass without the brick as it was found not to be dangerous. Witnesses at the scene tell us that it had a strong processed cheese smell to to it. Secret service would not confirm or deny the rumor to us by phone of the confiscated brick but did say that the President's safety was never in any danger. Please stay tuned for updates as they become available.

The AD Blog, reporting what nobody else will...................

OK, maybe because most of it didn't really happen, except for the BBQ thing, that really did happen. Seeing how bloggers have been coming under fire here in El Paso lately, I better cover my Nachas. This post was written for entertainment purposes only.

***No government cheese was harmed in the making of this post***

Larry Laying It On Thick.......Again

Larry Medina turned himself in to the FBI building in front of cameras on Thursday. He did it in typical Larry style. He walked in with a certain swagger, he smiled , he flirted with the ladies and he told all the reporters that even the FBI was shocked to see him there. They must have been so shocked to see him that they just charged him with violating the Racketeering Influence and Conspiracy Organization Act, more commonly known as the RICO act just for showing up. The Rico Act might sound familiar because that is what all the Barrio Azteca gang members get charged with in addition to any crime they commit. His frequent use of the term "Carnal" might come in handy pretty soon.

According to the indictment, Medina was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, deprivation of honest services and aiding and abetting. I wonder what employee he is going to blame now? I bet he is going to tell the El Paso Times it was all a misunderstanding and it will all be fixed within the next couple days. Oh wait, he already used those excuses last time. Darn, it seems he is going to have to come up with something new for this one.

I wonder if he is going treat it like his resignation from the Ethics Commission and refuse to submit anything in writing? Who knows what Larry is going to do? I don't think Larry himself knows what he is going to do. But whatever it is , it will be in typical Larry style. Don't be shocked if tears are shed.

Larry was laying it on thick for the cameras telling them that this is an opportunity to prove his innocence. I think its just another case of Larry being Larry. Honestly, how many times can a guy be accused of some sort of corruption before people finally start believing he is corrupt? And to think that this guy was appointed to the ethics commission? Only in El Paso would the Ethics Commission have problems with their own lack of ethics.

The President Visits Ft. Bliss; No Clear Answers For El Paso

Air Force One landed on Biggs Army Airfield yesterday for what seemed to be a well timed photo opportunity for President Obama. He shook hands with the troops and thanked them at a dinning hall on Ft. Bliss. He also took time to talk to the widows of some fallen soldiers. That's not exactly an easy task especially when you are the guy who says when and where the troops go.

But it's not the good things the President did that most people have a problem with. It's the timing of his visit(right before a nationally telivised address to the nation) and not talking about the issues that affect the border region that bothered most people. His excuse was that he had to go back to Washington to address the nation. Comeon, you telling me the President of the United States of America could not schedule time to speak to our leaders about the issues of our community. Of coarse not, he only wanted the camaras to get him shaking hands with the troops. He could care less about El Paso or Texas for that mattter. The President would not meet with Rick Perry to talk about border security yet he flew in with Congressman Sylvestre Reyes and met with Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and Congressman Harry Teague once in El Paso. He knew they were friendlys so he agreed to meet with him.

If not having the President talk about border security or immigration wasn't bad enough, Sylvestre Reyes added insult to injury by thinking El Pasoans were too stupid to see he was lying through his teeth as he attempted to dodge the media's questions when asked if he and the President talked about border security. Reyes said that they had talked about "options" to support Mexican President Calderon. When asked what type of  "options" all he could say was "There are many... many more things" and when the reporter persisted and asked for something more specific the Congressman answered "I can't". Maybe that's because he and the President didn't talk about border issues. Why would two Democrats talk about border security when those words are only used by Republicans. Democrats have no desire to address border security. The only time those words come out of a Democrats mouth they are normally in a conversation about immigration and the words racist or xenophobe follow very close buy. The ironic thing is that if we would secure our borders it would make the lives of natural born citizens, documented immigrants and even the lives of undocumented immigrants who live on this side of the border safer. Border Security would benefit all on this side of the border, not just those of a certain skin tone or ethnic background. But you try explaining that to the far left wing.

But I have to be honest, I'm glad to see the Border Network for Certain Human Rights once again protesting against the President. After all, he is the one who lied to the Latino community and promised to address Comprehensive Immigration Reform in his first term in office. His second term is rounding third base just about now and no reform in sight. Sometimes groups who are not supposed to be affiliated with any political party loose focus of their true mission and jump on the political band wagon. That is when they start to loose the respect of certain people.

I Am An El Paso Republican........the video