ASHES

 I walked into HEB Plus to paint the town red. Walking up and down the supermarket's ordered aisles substitutes for the old days when I would stumble home from Matamoros, stop half-way across Gateway Bridge and vomit into the slow moving but treacherous Rio Grande River below. It is like a python meandering through heavy brush, but once it has a person in its grip, it's lights out. The coyotes tell the mojados that they can walk across the surface it's so shallow. That's true until they suddenly lose faith like St. Peter and sink into the unsuspected depths, another desperate human being reamed by the American dream.

I'm not concerned about my ashes. I have told family and friends that I won't be attending my own funeral. I'm asking all my acquaintances to follow my example. I'm sure they will have better things to do. Without going through the travail, I wish hospitals would immediately incinerate a body after death. It would be so convenient and I'm sure insurance would cover most the expense. Cremation is the only way to go. I have no desire to endure the pain of staring at a departed love one eternally sleeping in a coffin.

But what about those ashes? I have often suggested mixing them with some good weed. I don't believe in life after death, but maybe the the buddies could invoke my spirit if the dope was decent and they had thrown back sufficient shots of tequila. Maybe somebody would remember to bring a ouija board. It could be a hoot.

There is always the conventional solution of going to the Island and casting them into the gulf. There is the less conventional solution of throwing them into a puddle on Elizabeth Street. It's not that I haven't had many joyous moments downtown and still like to wander to the historical heart of our woeful city and throw back cold beers at The Palm Lounge or The Library.

But if I had my druthers--does anyone use druthers anymore--I would prefer to see my ashes drifting from the halfway point--the official border between Mexico and the United States--of the Gateway Bridge--known locally as the New Bridge although I believed it was built in the 1930s--and down into the serpentine stream--at this point an undocumented tourist could almost leap from one country to the other.

What is life anyway? We are swept along by a river until we are emptied into the sea. My ashes would never complete the 25-mile journey to the gulf. My remains would disappear into the sludge below the bridge. We weren't meant for great things. When we step on an ant and hear the crunch, our own screams when our existences are crushed will be less audible.

FIRST NORTHER

 Let it be recorded that on September 10, 2020, with approximately 192,000 American dead from COVID-19, a cool breeze arrived on the border, the season's first norther. The temperature dropped from a high of 90 to a high of 75. It would be the most notable event of the day. Who could hope for more? We felt for a moment that we had returned to the land of eternal spring. Summer isn't over. In fact, it doesn't officially come to an end for ten days and those of us who have resided on the border for years know from brutal experiences that hot weather will extend into October.

Nevertheless, summer has been dropped to the canvas by autumn's first right. Those of us at ringside are applauding our impending change in fortunes. Will we be applauding on November 3rd when Biden defeats Trump or will be sweating blood as summer rises to its feet and beats the shit out of us with Trump raising his hands triumphantly and trumpeting, "I am the Greatest! I am the Greatest!"

It's important not to lose one's mind over the future. We must lose our mind in the moment. I sit on a lawn chair on the patio and peer over the backyard's freshly mowed lawn. I strum my guitar and breathe deeply. I think of those intubated patients struggling to inhale against all odds. Blackbirds and white wing doves flit from tree to tree. If I had a bb-gun, I would practice my aim. I have no particular love for birds although I would never shoot a hummingbird. I wouldn't be successful for starters. They are too small and quick.

I am alone. I'm used to being alone. I wish I loved being alone. It would make life easier. Relationships seem to be the beginning of the end. The intoxicating highs culminate in abysmal lows. Even among family members, they never seem to conclude well. The person who relishes his solitary existence has conquered the unknown. It's the closest approximation to the Zen mind. I am aware of nothingness, but I haven't learned to live within nothingness. This state of mind goes against our upbringing. We are raised to seek materialistic and physical satisfaction even if they go against our best interests.

Death is the ultimate teacher. The Grim Reaper is our constant companion lurking on the penumbra. This impersonal spirit teaches us the futility of clinging to anything. It's lessons are hardcore and merciless. But it's difficult to argue against a full stomach and a good fuck. I never forget for a second that I am 99.99% animal. We can never escape our appetites and lusts. Therefore, this effort to transcend our instinctual selves is also a futile undertaking.

So on a cool morning as I contemplate my reality, where am I? Who am I? I don't know except that I want to keep living and I see Trump and COVID as major obstacles in that endeavor. But as the leaves of the looming trees rustle over me, I cast these two lethal threats aside. I can't allow the pair to ruin my life 24/7/365. I think of my sons who have departed on their own destinies. I think of the books I want to read, the languages I want to learn, the songs I want to sing, the countries I want to visit and the other pursuits that will ultimately elude my grasp.

Descartes: "I think; therefore, I am." Socrates: "I know that I know nothing." I'm a product of both philosophies. I'm also a product of two parents who believed that I could be anything I wanted. I pray that I haven't disappointed them. As to our inaugural norther, as winter approaches I'm looking forward to donning my leather jacket that I have possessed for two decades and seldom wear more than twice a year. I have never forsaken, even in my worst mental moments, the simple pleasures. They are carrots at the end of the stick that keep me trudging forward.

STIJA RELEASES BISD NUMBERS

 The South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) has released its latest poll on the BISD Board of Trustees race. Here are the current numbers:

Position 2: Frankie Olivo, 41%; Denise Garza, 41%; Jaime Diez, 18%.

Position 3: Phil Cowen, 49%; Jessica Gonzalez, 22%; Argelia Miller, 21%: Viro Cardenas, 8%.

Position 5: Daniella Lopez-Valdez 58%; Erasmo Castro, 42%.

Position 6: Joe Rodriguez, 39%: Minerva Leal, 38%; Marisa Leal, 23%.

Position 7: Eddie Garcia, 58%; Carlos Elizondo, 42%.

"I know that I sound like a broken record, but candidates only need pluralities, not majorities to triumph," says Anthony Starr, the STIJA's longtime president. "The candidate with the highest number of votes wins. There are no runoffs.

"Starting with Position 2, Olivo has moved into a tie with Garza. He has come clean about past mistakes and this honesty has worked in his favor. Working on his Master's, clerking for a state district judge, hosting two different podcasts, the former concentrating on politics and the latter on athletics, Olivo has the credentials that Garza sorely lacks. She is depending on the blind woman vote while she viciously attacks the female leadership at AOBE. This abject hypocrisy has hurt her image, which is already clouded with dark rumors. Jaime Diez, the third candidate, is Garza's ace in the hole. She is banking that he will take from Olivo, which will insure her the victory.

"In Position 3 common sense dictates a Cowen win. His three opponents bring little to the table. Cowen, whose wife is a respected teacher in the school district, knows the BISD inside and out, having served as a trustee several years ago besides completing his present term. A lawyer and a businessman with a sterling reputation for his integrity, the poll indicates that the voters have an abiding faith in the Cowen's family commitment to community service.

"In Position 5 we have the classic confrontation between the beauty and the beast. If there was ever a fresh breath of air, it is Daniella Lopez-Valdez, a well-educated, young entrepreneur. She has no ax to grind unlike her opponent Erasmo Castro, who resigned from the board in disgrace after a drinking incident. He has propounded on his show Brownsville Talk that he wants to control all five seats on the election block and his followers add that he intends to become board president. Castro, a populist who uses his evangelical skills to promote himself, is preaching negativity when the constituency is searching for a positive vision. Castro had his chance and squandered his opportunity. The electorate is indicating that he doesn't deserve another.

"In Position 6 we have perhaps the most intriguing contest. Board President Minerva Peña has already sat on the board for 12 years and wants four more. Like JP Linda Salazar, she has her hardcore backers, but she has as many detractors because she epitomizes a no-nothing persona. "Coach" Joe Rodriguez, a legend on the border, is crusading in his Last Hurrah and his campaign is gathering momentum. His experience is woefully required during the present crisis. Just like Diez may serve Garza's purposes against Olivo, Marisa Leal may serve Rodriguez's purposes against Peña. The women split and Rodriguez emerges as the victor.

"In Position 7 Eddie Garcia, following the trailed blazed by his sister Gabby Garcia in her victorious campaign for state district judge, replaced Castro when the latter had to abdicate his post and has won plaudits for his performance. Carlos Elizondo, his foe, hasn't won plaudits in years. He was terminated as the city's fire chief, has been in and out of court dealing with felony charges and two years ago as a BISD incumbent finished third in a three-person race. He has allied himself with Castro and Cardenas and as Los Tres Buitres hope to control school politics once again. If the elections were held today, he would find himself finishing in his accustomed last place.

"Predicting outcomes these days with the BISD is difficult. Paired with the presidential race, there may be as many as 35,000 people who come to the polls, as many as 20,000 having no idea that the BISD is a political entity and all of the candidates little more than meaningless names to them. Suddenly factors like placement on the ballot, Hispanic or Anglo last names, and gender become factors in the result. Nevertheless, at STIJA we stand behind our numbers." 

JULIETA

We don't know if our good friend and former colleague Tito Mata is endeavoring to defend Julieta Garcia when he says that she was the "first female Latina to become a president of a major university," but we would like to point out two other firsts that she would hope the historians would conveniently forget.

La Julieta was the first Latina to nearly destroy a junior college (TSC) and the first Latina to actually destroy a university (UTB), Tito. You and I were coaches and teachers in the trenches. We loved education and we proudly served the BISD and our community.

La Julieta can never say that. Her attempt to destroy TSC was an unpardonable sin. She was nothing more than a coconut who served her white masters on the UT Board of Regents.

La Julieta took millions of dollars from her own people and then attempted to rob her own people of an affordable and accessible higher ed with her failed attempt to erase TSC from the face of the earth but keeping the taxing entity so she could milk Brownsville for millions more to subsidize the UT System, the richest educational institution in Texas.

La Julieta will always have her propagandists just like Robert E. Lee and his traitors who will continue to deceive us with their false narratives, but the truth will prevail and the perpetrators of lies will come toppling down from their pedestals.

HERALD RIPS CHAMBERS

THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD: "John Chambers, who is running on the Republican ticket, last worked in law enforcement in 2016 as chief of the Indian Lake Police Department. He was convicted that year on 14 felony counts for allegedly having an officer falsify firearms qualification records under pressure from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which was later determined to have lacked the jurisdiction to require the documents. The former chief expressed frustration that his criminal history — which was since overturned and set for a new punishment hearing on misdemeanor charges that are now also on appeal in Austin — is the first point of criticism when discussing his candidacy. Documents provided by TCOLE show that Chambers is “statutorily ineligible” to hold a peace officer license in the State of Texas following its revocation after his original conviction on the felony charges. “Yes, my license was revoked for the conviction of a felony. That felony no longer exists. The criteria for revoking my license no longer exists, so they have to give it back,” said Chambers. TCOLE did not respond to multiple requests for a determination as to whether a license held by a former officer with a partially reversed conviction must be reinstated. According to TCOLE’s website, Class A or B misdemeanors mean that someone applying to get relicensed could submit a waiver request through an agency administrator intending to hire the applicant, then that packet would be reviewed by the executive director to determine if the request is placed on the commission meeting agenda for review. The Cameron County Elections Department said it would likely be up to the Commissioner’s Court to appoint a replacement until a special election could be held if a candidate could not become licensed."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Comparing Democrat Eric Garza with Republican John Chambers in their race for Cameron County Sheriff would be akin to comparing a virgin with a whore. Garza, who has a long record of serving the county, his last years as the district clerk, is clean. His professional past is not only spotless, but he oversaw a smooth operation at the district clerk's office after the iconic Aurora de la Garza retired. And Chambers!?!? According to the dying daily, Chambers "was convicted on 14 felony counts for allegedly having an officer falsify firearm qualifications records," he later "expressed frustration about his criminal history," he is "statutorily ineligible to hold a peace officer license in the State of Texas," he "regrets that his license was revoked for the conviction of a felony," and that if he prevailed against Garza, "the Commissioner's Court would have to appoint a replacement until a special election could be held if a candidate could not become licensed." Besides the fact that he is a Trump Republican, besides the fact that his only leadership qualifications are as police chief of the hick town of Indian Lake where he battled personnel problems, he has not been in law enforcement for almost five years although as an alleged law officer he has found himself behind bars as can be readily observed his the photo above in which he models a pink jumpsuit. Chambers' supporters wildly assert out of desperation that Garza would be the next Conrado Cantu, the singing sheriff who worked for the cartels rather than his own constituents and then spent a third of his life in a federal prison. Based on the facts presented in the newspaper, Chambers is already the next Conrado Cantu. "Why is he running?" asks Justo Leyes, The McHale Report's legal expert. "Did BISD trustees Erasmo Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro Cardenas who have been ushered away by the police to jail inspire him into thinking that only a con is adept at playing a con game on the ignorant masses? When the Herald drags an individual through the mud, which is rare for the newspaper since it never likes to hurt anyone's feelings for fear of losing advertising, that person must have stepped so far over the line that the daily has to report on blatant excesses in order to save the little credibility it still possesses." Who in his right mind would vote for a Trump toady, for all intents and purposes a person without significant leadershp experience, a Republican guilty of a felony conviction among other as well as the target of other charges and a politician who can't take office if he wins? Chambers is so unworthy to serve the county as sheriff that with both his past and present offenses, the BISD wouldn't hire him as a security guard.)

HORSES BREAK FROM THE GATE

Two-year unexpired term)
Place 2: 

1. Jaime Diez

2. Frank Olivo
3. Denise Garza

(Four-year term)
Place 3: 

1. Argelia Miller
2. Jessica G. Gonzalez
3. (I) Phil T. Cowen
4. Viro Cardenas

(Four-year term)
Place 5:

1. Daniella Lopez Valdez

2. Erasmo Castro

(Four-year term)
Place 6:

1. (I) Minerva Peña
2. Marisa Leal
3. Joe A. Rodriguez

(Four-year term)
Place 7:

1. Eddie Garcia
2. Carlos Elizondo

BOOBY RIPS GIL

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "Gilbert Hinojosa is about as much of a Democrat as Hitler was a rabbi. He and his wife are pure evil. Anyone who is a friend with Gilbert in my book has crossed the line into devil worshipping and is unfit for public office."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Nobody says it better than Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss: "Booby is a sick puppy." For clarification headlining that "Booby loses it again" is about as newsworthy as reporting that Brownsville's Best have carted "Captain" Bob Sanchez off to jail again. In an attempt to fill his shadow, the bullying blogger of The Brownsville Void goes from target to target blasting them with a shotgun hoping that a pellet will at least ping the outer circle of one of his marks. From his liberal use of lyrica, hydrocodone, naloxone, androgel and 800 milligrams of ibuprofen, the worthless writer drugged out of his mind has never encountered a sentence he didn't slaughter or a paragraph he didn't pulverize. Disbarred as a lawyer for talking too much and never making sense, Witless-Cervezas would be expelled from a ninth-grade English class for filling page of page in his notebook without  penning one coherent statement. He is a corpulent glob of human flesh whose multiple complexes have reduced him to a raging hypochondriac. The misguided prophet of gobbledygook believes that spewing nothing will eventually culminate in something. Apparently he didn't learn in pre-school (He was the only eight-year-old in a class of four-year-olds) that zero plus zero plus another million zeroes will still add up to zero. He can never escape his anger. Perhaps it's the carpal tunnel that has him screaming in agony every time he presses a key that prevents him from viewing life from a positive perspective. Or it could be the congenital hydrocephalus that has culminated in hypothalamic dysfunction. And nobody should underestimate the toll that iliotibial band syndrome combined with intracerebral pressure exacerbated by both bile gerd and acid reflux can take on a person. These maladies make his precancerous polyps seem like the least of his worries. Conclusively a failure as both a lawyer and a writer, his only option is to belittle others with the intention of bringing them down to his abysmal level. Despite his huffing and puffing, he hasn't been able to blow down a straw palapa, let along a brick building. He never needs a reason to explore his irrational mind, so we're not surprised that he characterizes Gilberto Hinojosa as the devil and that the longtime politico and his lovely wife are no better than Nazis persecuting Jews. "Maybe Booby hasn't been able to take a dump for a week," offered Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos. "He is probably so backed up that I would be surprised if he started vomiting diarrhea. Es un pinche pendejo with his vacuous vitriol. He says that Gilberto and his lovely wife really aren't Democrats. Está bien safado, el puto! Next thing he'll be barfing that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris aren't really Democrats. In one of his posts he indicated that he had access to a vape and blueberry flavored pot. I'd suggest that he take a deep hit and hold it until he asphyxiates himself. He is so detached from reality that Trump seems like only an ignoramus next to this idiot." 

BOLD BIG JOE

He may be old, but he's always been bold.

He may be old, but he isn't cold

He may be old, but he won't fold.

He may be old, but he's solid gold.

He may be old, but he's still on hold.

He may be old, but he broke the mold.

He may be old, but his soul hasn't been sold.

He may be old, but he hasn't been told 

To be or not to be?

"Big" Joe is the BISD. 

BIG JOE'S LAST CHALLENGE

Jack O'Connell, the great unpublished novelist, took a bottle of wine to "Big" Joe Rodgriguez's house in Rio Viejo. They maintained their social distancing as they relaxed on the patio in spite of the humidity and no gulf breezes. Rodriguez has a small refrigerator full of Coors and they were cold. For almost two decades he managed a Coors distributorship and has remained faithful to his favorite brew.

"Big" Joe is an icon. An standout athlete in his hometown of Edinburg, he entered Pam American University where he starred as a play-making guard and a first-baseman. He led the Broncs three consecutive seasons in hitting.

In 1957 he came to Brownsville and coached at Cummings before moving to Stell for two years. During this time he married and had four children. His wife Emma, who has passed, was a beautiful woman and taught chemistry for many years at Brownsville High. His sons and daughters, a physician and a lawyer among other professional careers, have brought him great satisfaction.

Rodriguez has established his reputation as both a coach and a politician. In the mid-1960s he managed the Brownsville Eagles to the baseball state finals and in 1969 he led the football team to the district title and into the playoffs before they met Cleveland Vann, the black locomotive, who spearheaded the Seguin Matadors to a triumph. At The Toddle Inn over breakfast you can still hear customers reminiscing about those glory days.

Rodriguez's accomplishments are many. He served as the school district's athletic director for 20 years and his feats were notable. Sports in all fields prospered under him and nobody loves a winner more than "Big" Joe. Before and after his time as A.D., he sat on the BISD Board of Trustees for 19 years as well as the South Texas Independent School District Board for 15 years.

"To the best of my knowledge I never missed a meeting nor did I leave early," he said. "The voters elected me to do a job and time was never a factor for me. If you are going to ask the public to put their faith in you, you have a responsibility to meet that bar. Politics is tough, but I have no second thoughts about the decisions I have made. Sometimes you tell yourself you could have been more conciliatory in your approach, but no different than a game, you have to make snap judgments in emotional and pressure situations and none of us are perfect."

Two years ago Rodriguez lost his reelection bid. One of the controversies was the scoreboard at Sams Stadium. Less than $2 million for a first-rate product, Rodriguez still shakes his head when he considers the purchase against PUB's $100 million Tenaska scandal, the $20 million Port's Bridge to Nowhere, the money disappearing into the pockets of Mexicans on the other side of the river, the Titan Tire fiasco that cost Brownsville taxpayers $15 million and the six-million-dollar renovation of the Brownsville Country Club that could have been accomplished for one million.

"When I became AD, Sams was in a dilapidated state," began Rodriguez. "This is the Coliseum of South Texas. It is a jewel, but much like downtown, it had been abandoned. Over the years we invested a good deal of money, but I would argue with our turf field, our track, our dressing rooms and numerous other improvements, the taxpayers have restored Sams' beauty. Our kids deserve the best and it is used for everything, particularly graduations. You don't think parents are proud when in their caps and gowns their children are featured on the scoreboard. Unlike those other ripoffs, we have a facility that is the pride of the community."

"Big" Joe ain't young anymore, but they say he can still outrun Sheriff Omar Lucio in a 100-yard dash. He is inspirational because that competitive fire burns. In the rowdy BISD board elections in which five of the seven seats will be contested, Rodriguez is challenging BISD Board President Minerva Peña as well as neophyte Marisa Leal for the Position 2 seat.

"It will be a barnburner," said former Brownsville Herald columnist Tony Gray. "Since a plurality wins, anything can happen. Just like Trump, educators are sick and tired of Peña's idiocy that she does her best to hide behind a religious facade. Her critics have been roundly denouncing her for insisting that COVID-19 is a hoax. There isn't a meeting in which she doesn't embarrass herself.

"Marisa Leal is a newcomer," continued Gray. "She was once a school librarian, but she left for the private sector and has done well. Her husband, a union activist, is respected in educational circles and has appeared on Erasmo Castro's Brownsville Talk to fulminate against the school district's failure to meet the current daunting challenges.

"Leal, in my opinion, has committed a tactical error. Erasmo, who is also running after having to resign for irregular behavior, insists on his show that he wants to win all five seats. He has formed a slate, along with disgraced fireman Carlos Elizondo and nere-do-well Viro 'El Virus' Cardenas, to monopolize the board. They have been baptized as 'Los Buitres' and they insinuate that Leal is joining them as 'La Paloma.' Castro, Elizondo and Cardenas have an ignominious record of losing elections and Leal wants to ally herself with them. Doesn't make sense, but then she is a rookie.

"Rodriguez's platform is simple. No matter the commands of the governor or the president, Rodriguez is not going to allow employees and students to return to classes if their health isn't assured. Besides establishing an incremental pay scale over the next five years for employees, he argues that the school district needs to lower taxes. And like his commitment to a scoreboard, Rodriguez remains adamant in the construction of a performance arts center."

There are those pundits who consider Rodriguez a longshot because he is both old and battle-scarred. The former boxer counters that the BISD needs his experience. He considers the IDEA and charter schools a valid comparison to highlight the district's strengths and confront its weaknesses. He affirms categorically that he is independent and he has no problems of being a minority of one. He says the trustees should be asking "Why?" and getting more answers.

"You can't put a price on competition," said "Big" Joe. "I am not looking back. I want our administration and board working hand in glove in a forward-looking manner because we live in a volatile world and the only way we are going to survive this pandemic is as one. I'm not 6'1" and 190 pounds as I was during the peak of my athletic career, but my lack of speed will not undermine me in meeting our employees and students' needs."

CHANGE CAN BE BAD

RUDY RODRIGUEZ: "The BISD needs board trustees who care about employees and children."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: "I worked 39 years as a teacher, coach and TV personality for the BISD and I believed we were treated justly by the different boards and supers. I had my mano-a-manos with superiors, but I wasn't ever displeased with my salary, my benefits and my working conditions.

I might still be working if Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas hadn't threaten to fire me because of my writings. I wisely chose the pen against her sword and she paid for her bad karma by being terminated.

I believe that Superintendent Rene Gutierrez and the board are doing their best in these volatile and uncertain times. A $2000 raise reflects that effort to their employees with a commitment to future increases.

I believe we do need changes on our board beginning with Minerva Peña. She is a disgrace. But not all change is good.

The slate of Erasmo Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro "El Virus" Cardenas is based on vindictiveness. According to their supporters, they want to fire the super by handing him a $700,000 check to depart quietly.

They, like Trump, are negative forces who seek to divide and conquer. They will reduce the BISD to chaos in the same manner our perverted president has reduced our country to chaos.

Erasmo needs to remain a rabblerouser in the blogging tradition, Like the failed Pat Ahumada who was always a minority of one, Erasmo can't work with others in a compromising fashion. He had his chance and he blew it.

Carlos needs to stay out of jail.

And Viro needs to learn the difference between the truth and a lie.

Former President Barack Obama says that Trump isn't fit for office. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, says that Erasmo, Carlos and Viro aren't fit for office.

Viro, with the insulting hand gesture toward women in the above picture, is just one of the many tangible examples the bloggers will present in their argument that this trio should be exiled to the "frio."

VIRO IN TROUBLE

At The McHale Report this story comes as no surprise to us. Viro "El Virus" Cardenas in in trouble again. Isn't this the usual destination of a neer-do-well? Juan Montoya's El Rrun Rrun is reporting that the candidate for the BISD Board of Trustees--part of the ignominious slate known as "Los Buitres" that include Erasmo Castro and Carlos Elizondo--has a bastard child that he hasn't been paying of his or her upbringing.

Isn't it ironic that he is campaigning to take care of BISD students when he can't even take care of his own child? And isn't it curious that his political compadres have had more than their share of problems with the law? In the end we may discover that another flock of vultures will be picking apart the bones of "Los Buitres" and "La Paloma" Marisa Leal if she isn't care. Reports El Rrun Rrun:

Are you friends with Evaristo "Viro" Cardenas?

If you are, you might want to tell him to keep a low profile and avoid Cameron County Pct. 4 Constable process servers at all costs because they got some paper from  a court which could land him behind bars before the Nov. 3 election.

Cardenas, as we have learned, threw his hat in the ring and placed himself on the ballot August 17 for the four-year term Place 3 position of the Brownsville Independent School District now held by incumbent Phil Cowen.

Other challengers for that position include Argelia Miller and Jessica G. Gonzalez. About three weeks  before the drawing for the ballot, the Texas Attorney General filed its papers to bring him in to court.

The Texas Attorney General filed a motion to confirm support July 23 in the family court of Assistant District Judge Gilbert Rosas and asks that notice be served by the constable's office on Cardenas to appear for a hearing October 23, 11 days before the Nov. 3 general election. The AG wants the court to order him to pay some $53,000 in arrears on child support payments.

This isn't the first time that our luckless Viro has been in the AG's sights. His troubles started in 2007 and over the years he has been able to make a little over $8,000 in payments but has lagged far behind in his agreement. In a previous brush with that court, he ended up donning and orange jumpsuit until he scraped a few bucks to be set loose.

Unless he has friends with deep pockets, Viro might end up before Rosas, who local attorneys say is often adamant with recalcitrant parents. His opponents in the race are probably sighing with relief that they won't have to debate the voluble Viro on the hustings.

Now the AG wants him to come in with every possible record of personal income including IRS forms, Social Security statements, pay stubs, etc., and fork over the dough for the October hearing.

Others ask: How can a person afford to finance a political race when he has a $53,000 monkey on his back? And why would anyone subject themselves to the inevitable public scrutiny of their personal finances by running in such a contentious public forum?

Our candidate has a long row to hoe with this little problem and running for a public board that controls a budget exceeding $500 million, votes on the employment of more than 6,500 workers and looks after the education and welfare of some 40,000 BISD students right about now may not have been the most judicious decision he could have made.

CONFESSIONS OF A DRUG ADDICT

I'm 70. 

I get 60 milligrams 

of xanax each month 

via my insurance. 

The prescription costs $2. 

The doctor told me 

I might become addicted. 

I told him hat at my age 

I could give a shit. 

I live in the here and now 

and one milligram daily 

makes the moment peaceful.

STIJA POLL NUMBERS

Politics has been, is and will forever be nasty. Look at the present presidential race. This confrontation may turn out to be the nastiest in American history although there have been donnybrooks in the past, particularly throughout the 19th century. One outcome led directly to the Civil War.

So get over being disgusted or shocked or disappointed by dirty politics. It is not the exception. It is the rule. With social media running amuck and individuals able to post anonymously or use their own names and unleash wild accusations that will be read by thousands in a local election and millions in a national election, competing for office is not for the faint of heart.

Returning to the word civil again, there has probably never been a less civil contest for seats on the Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) Board of Trustees. At The McHale Report we do our best to depict the Third World Capital of the United States' reality show in living color. We will be typing to our heart's content over the next two months.

Without going into details about the candidates, the South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) released its first poll. STIJA

President Anthony Starr offered a cursory assessment of the results: "This is just the beginning. We are merely trying to get a feel for the land. With different stories breaking on the blogs every day, it is impossible to predict candidates' ultimate fortunes. We post our most current numbers. You draw your own conclusions."

Position 2: Denise Garza, 42%; Frankie Olivo, 38%, Jaime Diez, 20%.

Position 3: Philip Cowen, 49%; Jessica Gonzalez, 24%; Argelia Miller, 21%; Viro Cardenas, 6%.

Position 5: Daniella Lopez-Valdez, 56%; Erasmo Castro, 44%

Position 6: Minerva Peña, 38%; Joe Rodriguez, 35%; Marisa Leal, 27%.

Position 7: Eddie Garcia, 57%; Carlos Elizondo, 43%.

There are no runoffs. A candidate only needs a plurality to win. For those who don't know the meaning of the word plurality (Not all of our citizens were well-educated in the BISD), the candidate with the most votes wins. No majority (50% plus one vote) is required. 

THE LAST HURRAH

ELIZABETH ANN JOHNSON: "I only listened to Brownsville Talk for a few minutes as I don’t care for Erasmo Castro and his rudeness and how he makes fun of everyone, but Joe was doing a good job of not letting Erasmo turn around what Joe said."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Joe is Ali: He's the champ. He can dance, he can jab, he can retreat into the rope-a-dope, he can throw a big right and he is fearless. As I officially become an old man when I turn 70 at the end of this year, I find the octogenarian's campaign inspirational. He is a shell of the 6'1", 190-pound athlete who led Pan Am University in hitting for three years in a row. He was also the starting guard on the basketball team. He started at Cummings in 1957 as slowly ascended the BISD ranks. He is a legend. He is an icon. If we can't rename Sams Stadium after him as he turned the venerable playing field into the Coliseum of the RGV as athletic director, I say we vote for him. Minerva Peña has chattered nonsensically for twelve monotonous years and poor, defenseless Marisa Leal embarrassed herself in the AOBE debates with her tangential responses that drew no conclusions. Was Minerva, who skipped the forum, mysteriously inhabiting her body? These two gals couldn't carry "Big" Joe's jock strap in locker room parlance. Compared to Coach's intelligence, they are a pair of dunces. Minerva calls COVID-19 a hoax and Marisa calls Erasmo Mr. Señor. It's time for experience and knowledge during these Terrible Times of Trump. The two ladies will split the female vote and "Big" Joe will rise from the political dead and the BISD will have a leader who will help the school district get ahead. Be a part of history. Join the Last Hurrah!)

BOOBY FORGET MEDS

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "I'm giving it to you straight on why Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz is not in federal prison. He has the DOJ blackmailed. Hopefully, if Joe Biden wins, his new attorney general will end the criminal enterprise of Luis Saenz. Let me give you a well-established fact. Mayor Trey Mendez, knowing Saenz is a criminal, cut a deal with him to insure Saenz's wife would replace him on the TSC Board of Trustees if Saenz endorsed him. Devoid of any moral compass, Mendez did not give a rat's ass that Saenz covered up the murders of Mary Tipton and Maria Fidela Garza. He wanted power at any price. For Mendez the lives of these two women were just the price which had to be paid to make him mayor."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Why does Booby Witless-Cervezas waste his time blogging when he could be writing best-selling novels? The publisher of The Brownsville Void has a gift for fiction. We are surprised that Texas Southmost College hasn't hired him to teach a course in creative writing. Maybe it's because of his grammar. At The McHale Report we have to edit his copy extensively. Unless you have read him through the years, he is incoherent to the average viewer. Besides alternating between upper and lower cases, different colors and fonts, Witless-Cervezas long ago declared war on the English language. To his credit, he has never surrendered in his struggle to induce William Shakespeare to turn in his grave. But you have to give credit where credit is due: He can sure tell a good story.)

WHAT IS DENISE HIDING?

EL RRUN RRUN CONTRIBUTOR: "Could it be that Sylvia Atkinson has a slate of chosen candidates? Could Denise Garza, who was known as Denise Mujica when she was married to a well-respected CBP officer, be one of Sylvia's candidates? The connection between Sylvia and Denise is there. Denise was a special services clerk while working at the BISD and is very close friends with another former special services clerk who now is a campus clerk who works with monies for fundraisers with school clubs and organizations. This campus clerk formerly from special services seems to be related to Prisci Roca-Tipton. Could this person be Prisci's sister or cousin? As it has been alleged many times by others, Prisci follows Sylvia's orders and does her bidding. Could Prisci have recruited Denise to run on Sylvia's orders with promises of financial support for her campaign just like Prisci received? If Denise is elected, will she be Sylvia's girl on the board and follow her orders? If Sylvia ends up behind bars, will she become the drug cartel kingpin who calls the shots at BISD from behind prison walls and manipulate Denise? Denise had Sylvia as a Facebook friend, but recently unfriended her. Could Denise be trying to distance herself from Sylvia? Where is Denise getting the funds to pay for her campaign signs? She still works as a special education department clerk in the San Benito CISD."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Who is the real Denise "La Gata" Garza? Is she a coward? She is running against state court coordinator Frankie Olivo and businessman Jaime Diez. Why didn't she participate in the AOBE debate against Olivo and Diez? Is it because she is the least educated of the three candidates and as a result of her scant knowledge she is unable to articulate the issues? She believes that she doesn't have to present a platform or campaign because she is banking on the female vote to blindly pull the palanca for her. Since she insists on remaining in the shadows, dark insinuations will haunt her if she doesn't shed light on her motives for entering this contest. The above commentary posted on Juan Montoya's influential El Rrun Rrun will only be the beginning of her trials and tribulations if she doesn't come clean with the electorate. Everybody is asking: What is Denise hiding? How many skeletons are in her closet? Why doesn't she tell the truth? Just like lawyers would have no respect for a judge that didn't have a law license, teachers don't like taking orders from board members who aren't uneducated. Uneducated politicians tend to be easy prey for the special interests. We can imagine a health insurance company bidding for a $40 million BISD contract providing Denise and whomever is her current lover air fair, accommodations and tickets to a Dallas Cowboy game in exchange for one measly vote. From information gathered via the Baker Boys, the famed investigative team, we have a growing distrust in Garza's ability to sit on the BISD Board of Trustees. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, noted in his usual sardonic humor: "We don't need another Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa in the spotlight. Jessica has already embarrassed us enough." If Garza were a male, the public might mistake her for Viro "El Virus" Cardenas. Her critics are raising serious concerns about her employment in the San Benito Independent School District. At The McHale Report we are only scratching the surface in regards to Garza. Her detractors insist that her dearth of education and her lack of discretion are causes for grave concern regarding her capacity to serve the community honestly and competently. With more than two months until the election, we bloggers have a long and respected tradition of vetting the candidates. We report; you decide. Our many readers have inquiring minds and where there's smoke, there's fire. We faithfully execute our duty to follow the rumors wherever they may lead. We are asking that Garza be more forthright with the citizenry Skipping forums and avoiding debates will never gain her the community's confidence.)

GARZA RIPS AOBE

This is a breaking story. More will be forthcoming in the next 24 hours.

Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees candidate Denise "La Gata" Garza is accusing the Association of Brownsville Educators (AOBE) of rigging the organization's endorsements in the upcoming November elections. A clerk in the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District (SBCISD), she is competing in Position 2 against state district court coordinator Frankie Olivo and businessman Jaime Diez.

While both of her opponents are college educated with the former pursing his Master's, Garza readily admits that she lacks a university diploma and adds that AOBE is actively conspiring against her candidacy.

Is she saying that AOBE officers Veronica Borrego (President), Micaela Escobar (Vice President), Laura Rosenbaum (Secretary) and Elizabeth Torres (Treasurer) are bought and sold? If that is her contention, where is her evidence?

AOBE is the most respected and powerful educators organization in the city and is affiliated with TSTA statewide and NEA nationally. Accusing her critics of being liars and taking money to undermine her candidacy, she is revealing that as a rookie in politics that doesn't know the fundamentals of the game. She is counting on the blind woman vote to defeat her male candidates, but she doesn't think twice about attacking members of her own gender if she believes that are plotting against her.

"We are conferring with our lawyer, Justo Leyes, to determine if her statements accusing The McHale Report of receiving money from her two foes in exchange for printing lies about her may be grounds for legal action," said Scott Steinbeck, the blog's managing editor.

"We have not taken one cent in advertising from Mr. Olivo or Mr. Diez and we don't intend to receive any money from either of the two gentlemen who have comported themselves with dignity as they have stuck to the issues and refrained from personal attacks. Ms. Garza makes these wild Trumpian accusations that we are purposely printing lies about her, but she fails to produce any evidence to support her claims in her hysterical diatribe on her Facebook page.

"We are in the process of editing her incoherent outburst so our readers will have a small inkling of her thinking that deduced from her own words borders on the irrational. We have gathered from the Baker Boys, the famed investigative team, that her boss Ernesto Manriquez, SBCISD Director for Special Services, holds her in high regard as she is willing to go the extra mile to exceed professional expectations.

"At The McHale Report we have no doubt that she is an excellent employee and is a credit to her school district, but once you choose politics, both your professional and personal lives become subjects of scrutiny. We are disappointed that she can't handle constructive criticism and resorts to unfounded allegations in a emotional display that destroys any remnant of the gravitas that all trustees are expected to exhibit as public officials. We will be posting Ms. Garza denunciation of AOBE, her fellow candidates and The McHale Report September 3."

GARZA RANTS

DENISE GARZA: "A local blogger suggests that I am hiding or intimidated due to my lack of higher education for not participating in the AOBE forum. In all due respect, if he would have reached out to me before writing lies, he would have known why I chose not to participate. In my opinion, the AOBE forum was not a level-playing field. You had one candidate answering as if he was reading from a teleprompter and another candidate being coached on the side on how to respond. Particular candidates already knew they would be getting an endorsement. What message are we sending to our future? That if you don't complete college, you will not be respected? Yes, I am a special ed clerk. I know my self-worth and I do not need to pay bloggers to lie."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The McHale Report is the blog that Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) trustee Denise "La Gata" Garza is denouncing in the above edited version of a once incoherent diatribe. She is accusing this highly regarded source of information and entertainment of taking money in order to write lies about her. "She needs to present evidence to support her accusations," said Justo Leyes, The McHale Report's legal counsel. "Managing Editor Scott Steinbeck has assured me that the blog has not accepted one penny from her two foes for Position 2 on the school board. Her scurrilous allegations are defamation per se. Apparently, she isn't aware that she is a political candidate. Everything from her divorce to her work environment become fair game if a blogger like The Brownsville Void's Booby Witless-Cervezas chooses to pursue her down a rabbit's hole." At The McHale Report we find it appalling that she would insinuate that the Association of Brownsville Educators (AOBE) is rigged and corrupt. Its officers, Veronica Borrego, Micaela Escobar, Laura Rosenbaum, Elizabeth Torres and Maria Fonseca, are tireless advocates for BISD employees. They have made a significant difference in the lives of their members. Garza, in her tacky temper tantrum that she posted on Facebook, accused AOBE's recent forum of not being "a level-playing field" and that "particular candidates already knew they would be getting an endorsement." Is there any doubt that she is asserting in no uncertain terms that AOBE has no integrity or credibility? What does Garza expect as a result of her arrogant conduct? When she skips the forum and refuses to answer the organization's questionnaire--both her foes attended the forum and answered AOBE's 15 questions--she is the one responsible for tilting the playing field against herself. And when she is ripping AOBE, the local representative for TSTA statewide and NEA nationwide, for staging an event with a predetermined outcome, she is literally spitting in the faces of fellow female Hispanics Borrego, Escobar, Rosenbaum, Torres and Fonseca. "I believe she owes these ladies and the association an apology," said an Olivo supporter, the candidate himself running neck-and-neck with Garza in the latest STIJA poll. "She has the audacity to accuse The McHale Report, a blog comprised of educators who have always kept BISD employees and students as the staff's top priority, of lying when she is sounding like a paranoid Trump as she strings together one lie after another. At The McHale Report we believe her lack of education is an issue because she is displaying by her dismissal to speak at the forum and to write on the questionnaire that she can't meet the bar easily surpassed by her college-educated adversaries. It is no secret that she is confident that the blind woman vote will carry her to victory. If she thinks that ripping the reputations of the AOBE's female leadership is a sound strategy, she may discover that her alleged lemmings will open their eyes and vote for the males. At The McHale Report we have assigned the Baker Boys, our investigative team, to vet Garza in the usual fashion. While both Olivo and Diez are standing tall in the middle of the road, Garza is lying in the high grass out of sight. As we have asked from the initiation of her campaign and will repeat until Garza coms clean with the electorate: What is Denise Garza hiding?)

BOOBY THREATENS BLOOD BATH

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS:  "What kind of sick, demented women would endorse someone who sexually attacked another woman via a XXX video? Parents need to be warned. No right-minded parent would allow his or her child in the classroom of an AOBE member. I am working on getting a list of every female member. Their lives will be turned upside down. To a member each of these women is emotionally disturbed if they fail to withdraw from AOBE. If anyone has the list you can email me the names. I  also need to know the name of the schools, so it can be posted on each school webpage so parents can pull their children from the classes of these teachers. This is war against the sexual predators at AOBE. They need to be exposed and destroyed. They should not be allowed to teach in the BISD. Their neighbors need to know their names. They endorsed a sexual predator, a convicted  felon, someone on probation and a man who pleaded guilty to stealing wheelchairs. No real teacher will remain with AOBE. I promise the AOBE members a blood bath. This will be non-stop until every parent knows their child is being taught by someone who believes sexually abusing women is unacceptable. This will not stand. The sexual predators at AOBE need to be exposed and fired from the  BISD."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Does Booby Witless-Cervezas read his own rantings or does he just spew diarrhea and licks the excrement from the street like a mangy dog? The bloviating and bullying blogger, who in recent weeks has been issuing unhinged statements against Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, Mayor Trey Mendez and Police Chief Felix Sauceda and demanding that all sorts of ludicrous actions be launched against them, has stepped over the line. The Association of Brownsville Educators (AOBE), an organization with impeccable credentials that has been advocating for Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) employees for decades and is the regional  subsidiary of TSTA statewide and NEA nationwide, finds itself on Witless-Cervezas' hit list. LITERALLY!!! NOT METAPHORICALLY!!! Because he didn't like AOBE's endorsements in the upcoming November school board elections (We disagreed with several of them at The McHale Report) reached after a democratic vote by its own members and recorded accurately by AOBE, the disbarred lawyer issued this bizarre and chilling statement against the hundreds of women in AOBE: "I promise the AOBE a blood bath!" A member reacted in horror: "I can't believe my ears! I'm having difficulties registering his words. Is he actually saying that he will resort to physical violence against me and my colleagues!?!? Is he capable of going on a murderous rampage like the teenage vigilante who shot in cold blood two protesters in the streets of Wisconsin because he didn't agree with their politics? My God! What is becoming to America in Trump's world!?!?" Forget America? Brownsville is in Witless-Cervezas' crosshairs. AOBE women, after he has declared categorically that he is going to put them on a black list for their affiliation with the organization if they don't immediately resign from AOBE, culminated his series of intimidating actions that he intends to personally and imminently commence against them by snarling, "I promise the AOBE  a blood bath!" This is an outrage!!! Witless-Cervezas has finally revealed the hand that everyone in politics knows that he has been holding for years: He is sick! He is crazy! He is mentally deranged! And as a military veteran, he knows weapons and nobody doubts that he is capable of personally precipitating a blood bath. Will BISD Superintendent Dr. Rene Gutierrez seek a restraining order that doesn't allow this mad man to step foot on any BISD properties? Will District Attorney Saenz and Mayor Mendez hold press conferences and assure a horrified community that they have Witless-Cervezas on their radar? Does the blogger's violent ultimatum require a prompt investigation by Chief Sauceda? Will authorities increase security around AOBE's office on West Jefferson Street? For the AOBE women who are crying with fear, Witless-Cervezas' blood-curling words are no laughing matter.")

MCHALE REPORT DEMANDS ACTION

The McHale Report is demanding immediate action from the BISD, the City of Brownsville and Cameron County authorities in the wake of Brownsville Void Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas threatening the Association of Brownsville Educators (AOBE) with a "blood bath" if its members don't resign from the organization because the bloviating and bullying blogger doesn't agree with the association's endorsements in the school district's November elections.

"We all know that politics is blood sport," said The McHale Report's managing editor Scott Steinbeck. "We have our perverted president saying, 'They start looting and we start shooting' as well as he defending the teenage vigilante who killed two protesters in the streets of Wisconsin. We know that Trump's Coronavirus has reached Brownsville and is killing hundreds. Is the social unrest that he is promoting to divide and conquer the country in order to win the presidency at any cost now coming to Brownsville with Witless-Cervezas threatening all AOBE women--everyone a BISD employee--with a 'blood bath' because he doesn't agree with their politics?

"We are insisting that BISD Superintendent Rene Gutierrez issue a restraining order that prohibits Witless-Cervezas from stepping on any BISD properties. We are insisting that Mayor Trey Mendez assure BISD employees that they have nothing to fear from Witless-Cervezas. We are insisting that Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, District Attorney Luis Saenz and Sheriff Omar Lucio aren't brushing off Witless-Cervezas' comments to launch a 'blood bath' against defenseless BISD women as hyperbole and reduce this mad man's invective to a sick joke. We are insisting that Brownsville Police Chief Feliz Sauceda affirm AOBE members and BISD employees that there will be no 'blood bath' at their expense. And last, but hardly least, The Brownsville Herald needs to get off its lazy ass and warn the citizenry that there is a new 'Bobby Loco' running the streets and planning a 'blood bath' against Brownsville women.

"El Rrun Rrun Publisher Juan Montoya has been warning his readers for years that the misguided Witless-Cervevas is not well. In the words of Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss: 'He is a sick puppy. He makes no sense. He rips AOBE for allegedly endorsing sexual predators and in the next paragraph he wants to launch a blood bath on the would-be victims of sexual predators. The McHale Report's legal counsel, Justo Leyes, succinctly summed up the misfit Witless-Cervezas: 'He wasn't disbarred as a Texas lawyer for nothing. Maybe a blood bath would be redder, but that decision by his own peers to prevent him from practicing in the state as an attorney was a huge red flag.'

"At The McHale Report, since Witless-Cervezas impugns all bloggers with the public statement that he will resort to violence if AOBE women don't follow his command and resign from the association, we will be relentless in following this story. We have fought Witless-Cervezas in court and we have forced him to surrender or face the consequences of his tawdry tactics. This is dead serious. AOBE women are literally fearful for their lives. Many had never heard of this jerk and he suddenly descends upon them threatening them with a 'blood bath' if they don't adhere to his preposterous demands. These ladies and their families hear 'blood bath' for merely exercising their democratic right to select the candidates of their choice and they can't believe their ears.

"To be quite honest, we couldn't believe our eyes when we read the word 'blood bath' against these many wonderful ladies who are advocating for BISD employees. At The McHale Report we are in the front lines of every political battle in the endless war for social justice and protection of our rights. We have no second thoughts about employing graphic language in our prose and poetry. We love it when the shit is flying. And we have paid the price. We have gone to court to defend ourselves against defamation suits. We faced retaliatory acts taken against us by BISD administrators in the past. And we have been threatened with bodily harm on countless occasions, even intimations that we were putting our lives on the line with our commentary. This ain't no bullshit. But resorting to a 'blood bath' because we couldn't achieve our ends is ludicrous.

"Witless-Cervezas is a heinous creature. We don't have to tell Superintendent Gutierrez or Mayor Mendez or County Judge Treviño or Sheriff Lucio or Brownsville Police Chief Sauceda that Witless-Cervezas is a piece of insane shit. But our mothers and wives and daughters who are members of AOBE and BISD employees don't know this fact. This monster has suddenly appeared in their existences and they are afraid. Though they find their new reality that their lives may be on the line (And they thought COVID-19 was bad enough!) as surreal with this image of a 'blood bath' filling their minds, it's the lesser threats that unravel them just as much. Witless-Cervezas has bellowed like el burro that he is that he will go to any extreme in order for these AOBE ladies to lose their reputations and their BISD employment. A blood bath!!! Can you believe it???"

WHY IS BOOBY SO FUCKED UP

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "I should not fear arrest as a way to silence my dissent based on truth. Her criminal complaint was filed to cause me to fear for my safety and freedom. Leaving my home and an arrest can be difficult. In the mornings I charge an internal spinal stimulator. I live in constant fear of not having my CPAP. My sister died in her sleep from sleep apnea. I have a brain shunt which requires great care. I limit leaving the house because of underlying conditions which make me more susceptible to COVID. I am not happy I have to leave my home in the morning for lab work to check my hormone levels. This is part of the brain shunt. I then come home and hopefully still have time to start the two-hour recharging of the spinal stimulator to avoid horrific pain."

EDITOR'S NOTE: And this is only the tip of Booby Witless-Cervezas's suffering. Bald and beer-belled, Witless-Cervezas is not a handsome man. Whether his many maladies have affected him both mentally and physically, we at The McHale Report are not medical experts, but we will speculate that there is something wrong with him both mentally and physically. And now that AOBE's President Veronica Borrego has filed a police report against him for threatening her, her fellow association members and sundry BISD female employees with  a "blood death" if the organization doesn't rescind the endorsements with which he differed. His hatred for women has been palpable in his rantings that often borders on incoherent harangues. In the wake of his numerous threats against hundreds of Brownsville women that literally includes exercising bloody violence against them, Witless-Cervantes retreats to his favorite defense when he has royally fucked up--He's not well. there's the internal spinal stimulator that may be misfiring. And, of course, there's that damn brain shunt that makes his life miserable as if it weren't already miserable before the doctors peered into his head and found nothing, which surprises nobody. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, has referred to him on many occasions as an empty-headed bully. And those unpredicable hormone levels keep fluctuating, which would certainly affect his moods and make him more susceptible to angry outbursts that might include him raving about "blood baths" when his body is rebelling against him. Wightman-Cervantes whimpers that his life is filled with "horrific pain." And as a result of his many woes, this heartless hypochondriac has become a "horrific pain" in the ass for the rest of us.)

GARZA RESPONSIBLE FOR BLOOD BATH

Was BISD Trustee candidate Denise "La Gata" Garza the catalyst for The Brownsville Void's Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas' blood bath threats against the Association of Brownsville Educators' (AOBE) leadership--President Veronica Borrego, Vice President Micaela Escobar, Secretary Laura Rosenbaum and Treasurer Elizabeth Torres--after she insinuated they were corrupt?

Her statement against the organization certainly furthered the narrative which Witless-Cervezas commenced after the San Benito clerk's disparaging remarks in regards to the association: "The AOBE forum was not a level-playing field. You had one candidate answering as if he was reading from a teleprompter and another candidate being coached on the side on how to respond. Particular candidates already knew they would be getting an endorsement."

There is no doubt that Garza is against Los Tres Buitres--Erasmo Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Virus Cardenas. She has company as the latest South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) has the trioka trailing by hefty margins as their detractors view "El Trio Frio" as the district regressing rather than progressing. It is an opinion that we share with STIJA, which has already endorsed businesswoman Daniella Lopez-Valdez against Castro, retired policeman Eddie Garcia against Elizondo and attorney and incumbent Philip Cowen against Cardenas.

Garza, however, is an aberration among the candidates, particularly in her race against Frankie "El Aguila" Olivo and Jaime "El Junior" Diez. She is promulgating the strange platform that a higher education isn't important. Is it because she has no significant college credentials to command the respect of the community and the educators? Instead of projecting a positive image, she promotes a negative message about pursuing a college degree. Olivo is studying for his Master's and Diez recently achieved his Bachelor's. Both are articulate and write well, two talents that Garza is sadly lacking.

"This explains her reason for not appearing at the AOBE's forum and failing to answer AOBE's questionnaire," opined a former Brownsville Herald columnist. "She didn't want to embarrass her with semi-literate skills. Both her foes complied with AOBE's requests. For her to turn around and say that it was not an even-playing field competing for an AOBE endorsement when she refused to participate in the process itself is blatantly disingenuous. She sounds as hypocritical as Wightman-Cervantes who claims that he wants to defend women against sexual predators and in the following breath is threatening them with a 'blood bath' if AOBE females don't endorse his candidates."

Garza did everything within her self-fulfilling prophecy regarding her relationship with AOBE. She sought rejection by her actions and she achieved her enigmatic ends. She finished last as Olivo received the organization's endorsement with 78%  of the vote in a democratic and transparent election by the organization's members. Diez collected 13%. There were 11% who were undecided and Garza had zilch in her column.

"Garza wants the women of Brownsville to support her, yet she defies the all-women leadership at AOBE, even going so far as to intimate that the likes of respected educators Borrego, Escobar, Rosenbaum and Torres as bought-and-sold puppets of a special interest," continued the journalist. "And rather than repudiating Wightman-Cervantes' who is calling for a 'blood bath' against the association's hierarchy as well as hundreds of other BISD women, she says nothing about this unholy crusade. 

"As has been asked numerous times about her: What is Denise 'La Gata' Garza hiding? What she isn't hiding from the electorate is that her clandestine campaigning is not resonating. Her mysterious backers must have told her that a victorious outcome was a slam-dunk. She is discovering, to her chagrin, that in the eyes of her critics she isn't a Michael Jordan gliding to a triumph with the greatest of ease. In fact, she is beginning to look like an intellectual pygmy against her two foes who are running up and down the basketball court with the best of them. They like the competition. Even though it's summer, Garza seeks hibernation."

BOOBY JOINS SHOCK TROOPS

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "Jerry proves that Eric Garza knows nothing but contempt for the law and will get the county sued. Jerry, the self-professed drug addict and pornographer, accuses Garza of being with the drug cartels while taking his money to spread lies. Is Garza paying him in pot or unreported money? Why do Jerry and Garza lie? Because for them being a sheriff does not include honor or integrity. Is Garza now an employee of the Robert Gracia and Mark A. Johnson's political brothel? For months I have been fed garbage on Gracia and Johnson. I have published none of it because as is nearly always the case, when you ask for proof, they go silent. If I were Johnson, I would get a criminal defense attorney now before Gracia throws him under the bus. Democrats are coming out of the woodwork to denounce Garza as the face of corruption, which makes Cameron County a cesspool. John Chambers is good for Cameron County. You need to vote for integrity and not a "D" next to someone's name. If you cannot smell a rat, you need to get a doctor because you have lost your sense of smell and have COVID. If The Brownsville Herald or any TV station accepts any more Garza ads, they are on notice they could be sued for forfeiture."

(EDITOR'S NOTES: When we edit a Booby Witless-Cervezas' article at The McHale Report, it is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It's fun taking the wild rantings of this bloviating blogger and arranging them into a coherent presentation although it's impossible to eradicate all his mental muddlings. Now that the publisher of The Brownsville Void is a goose-stepping Trump toady, "Blood Bath" Booby has become the Hispanic version of the perverted president. He has decided that he is going to support Republican John Chambers because the latter has experience on both sides of the bars. Since Chambers has an ignominious past detailed on Google as well as having suffered the shame of his own Republican Party repudiating him as its sheriff candidate in a previous election, Witless-Cervezas can only engineer the Second Coming of Conrado Cantu by unleashing a ruthless smear campaign against Democratic nominee Eric Garza. It is laughable the extremes Witless-Cervantes will desperately explore as he does his best to supplant reality with fiction. But after we submit his writings to our grammar and poetic standards, there is a mad artistry in his insanity. The motif, however, never changes. He launches baseless accusations, charges everyone with corruption that would include his own mother except she's dead and threatens individuals and institutions with dire repercussions if they don't adhere to his dictates. With the season's first norther sweeping through South Texas, Booby's hot air quickly dissipates in the refreshing weather.)   

WILL PREDATOR BE CAGED

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "Like I said: This is going to be a 'political' blood bath for AOBE. If the Brownsville police give me any cause to believe they will take her complaint seriously, I can go into federal court against the COB and get an injunction while suing AOBE and its President Veronica Borrego for conspiracy to violate my civil rights. For good measure, so we can litigate the truth, I will bring in Olivo, Saenz, Castro and Elizondo. I do not fear court. The press will cover it and AOBE will be left with no members. I have notified BISD board attorney Baltazar Salazar that the parents of the children Ms. Borrego oversees need to be notified of her conduct so they can decide if they want to remove their children from her care. She has every right to endorse anyone she wants, but she can also be held accountable for showing poor judgement which sends the wrong message to children and in some cases endangers them. Parents have the right to seek a different teacher."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: You didn't say it was going to be a "political" blood bath, Booby. You threatened every female who is a member of AOBE that you were going to unleashed a "blood bath" on them if they did not withdraw their membership from the organization. You need to add "political" to your original posting although your first statement is already in the authorities' hands. It is obvious that the Brownsville Police Department (BPD) contacted him and are taking AOBE President Veronica Borrego's complaint seriously. And what does Booby Witless-Cervezas do? He immediately returns to his tattered playbook. He retaliates by filing a complaint with the BPD against Borrego and then communicates to BISD board attorney Baltazar Salazar that he wants all the parents of Borrego's students informed that she supports sexual predators. In boxing terminology, this is his right. With his left, he immediately threatens Brownsville's finest and city officials with a suit that his "civil rights" are being violated. Did Booby learn his tactics from Trump or did Trump learned his tactics from a fellow miserable human being? But this is no longer about Witless-Cervezas. It's about AOBE and the threat of a "blood bath" against all its female members. Will AOBE pursue legal action against the bullying blogger with the support of its parent organizations TSTA and NEA? They certainly have an army of attorneys to go mano-a-mano with this disbarred lawyer. Will BISD Superintendent Rene Gutierrez take action to protect his female employee in the wake of the "blood bath" threats by requesting a restraining order against the mental misfit? Will the super tell the board attorney to ignore Wightman-Cervezas' demands? Will the school board issue an unanimous proclamation that reads: "Go fuck yourself, Booby!!!" Like Trump, Witless-Cervezas specializes in crossing the line and then shooting his victims the middle finger. Let there be no doubt. This blathering ball of coagulated fat is not a sexual predator. He is a toothless predator, pure and simple.)

COLLEAGUE RIPS GARZA

At The McHale Report we keep asking the same question: "What is Denise 'La Gata' Garza hiding?" A contributor to Juan Montoya's award-winning El Rrun Rrun attempts to shine light on this wannabe BISD trustee who is counting on women to lead her to victory when she doesn't think twice about calling the the female AOBE leadership and hundreds of BISD women corrupt. As a result of her allegations, blogger Booby Witless-Cervezas went wacko and threatened these respected educators with a "blood bath" among other retaliatory actions because the organization posted their endorsements that did not include Garza. AOBE has filed a complaint against him with the Brownsville Police Department.

Garza, who doesn't have a college degree and refuses to publish on her Facebook page the number of higher education credits she has earned, is she has earned any, says her experience as the BISD's Medicaid coordinator more than compensates for frontrunner Frankie Olivo's Bachelor's degree and Master's degree studies as well as Jaime Diez's Bachelor's. According to a critic in the following article, the detractor asserts, "Now Denise claims she was the Medicaid coordinator. Give us a break. That position has never existed in the BISD. She needs to be honest about her job title when she worked at special services. Give credit where credit is due.

What did Garza actually do for the BISD? The El Rrun Rrun contributor responds, "Denise just pushed some buttons on a keyboard every once in a while and spent plenty of time in her male friend's office at special services. She did not change, feed or do any of the hard work we did in the classroom."

The Baker Boys, the famed investigative duo, are vetting her. BISD insiders are arguing that Board President Minerva Peña, who is trailing "Big" Joe Rodriguez in the polls after the latter who, like Olivo, gained endorsements from both AOBE and STIJA, pulls Garza's strings. 

Minerva is the puppeteer and Garza is the marionette. There are many questions buzzing around Garza. Some of them are answered in the following article. After digesting the following information, educators need to ask themselves a simple questions: Do educated persons want an uneducated person giving them their marching orders? An educator answers that question:

Many of us cannot believe that Denise Garza (AKA Mujica) would have the nerve to be running for the BISD board. She would brag about her alone making all this Medicaid money for BISD while thinking us special education teachers and aides would never find out about what she was saying to people in and out of the school district.

The former superintendent who left to San Antonio and his wife, another clerk at special services, would believe her without realizing that the hard-working special education teachers and paraprofessionals generated the money while we cared for the children in our classrooms feeding them, changing them, assisting in the restroom, monitoring behavior and taking them to the nurses for medication.

Denise loved to say "I bring in all this money to the district" to the former superintendent and his wife. We had to enter by ourselves all our Medicaid billing on the computer and this took many hours to complete. Ask the leader of BEST who is a retired special education teacher about this. We all did the hard work.

Denise just pushed some buttons on a keyboard every once in a while and spent plenty of time in her male friend's office at special services. She did not change, feed or do any of the hard work we did in the classroom.

The training we received on Medicaid billing was always done by people from Houston ISD, not by Denise. They would come down in person to meet with us. She wanted to pretend to be a supervisor, but even the new special education teachers figured out she was a clerk by the way she presented herself.

Now Denise claims she was the Medicaid coordinator. Give us a break. That position has never existed in BISD. She needs to be honest about her job title when she worked at special services. Give credit where credit is due. The staff from Houston ISD Medicaid where the go-to-people for billing help.

Since Denise had been gone, we still continue to receive Medicaid billing training and support from the people from Houston and our Medicaid monies have increased over the years without her. The former superintendent and his wife (clerk) thought Denise was needed. Many of us did not think that back then and don't think we need Denise Garza (Mujica) in BISD now or in the future.

GARZA'S PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP

EL RRUN RRUN READER: "A week or so ago, there was a comment posted in this blog that said, "Bring back Ernesto Manriquez to BISD's Special Services." Why would somebody make such a comment? The answer is becoming more obvious. If Denise Garza is elected to the BISD Board of Trustees, will she try to get Manriquez hired as Director of Special Services? According to the blogosphere, Manriquez 'holds Denise in high regard as she is willing to go the extra mile.' Manriquez was a crony of Art Rendon who came to work in BISD Special Services when Rendon was made Director of Special Services. It was a period in time when certain board members made special concessions to their friends."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Denise "La Gata" Garza thinks she can hide and get a free ride in the upcoming BISD trustee elections, but slowly but surely she is being pulled out of the shadows. Running on the unique platform that dismisses the importance of a college degree, Garza, who isn't even elected, is apparently playing politics before she owns the position. The El Rrun Rrun reader raises yet another question that is causing voters to scratch their heads regarding Garza's political motivations. He or she is looking for a reason the BISD would hire Ernesto Manriquez a second time as director of special services when he performed so poorly the first time? He or she then answers his or her own question: "If Denise Garza is elected to the BISD Board of Trustees, will she try to get Manriquez hired as Director of Special Services?" What is the professional relationship between Manriquez and Garza? Why would she want him back in the BISD? Why did she follow him to the San Benito Consolidated School District? The Baker Boys are hot on the trail. Their noses have them fast on the tail of an October Surprise.)

RUMORS SURROUND GARZA

EL RRUN RRUN PUNDIT: "Celina Manríquez, a diagnostician at Los Cuates Middle School, is wondering why her husband has been “very close“ with a candidate for BISD. Aver qué pasa raza; se va poner buena la cosa."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: When a candidate steps into the spotlight, he or she should know that his or her professional, political and personal lives became fair game. Denise "La Gata" Garza is facing state district court clerk Frankie "El Aguila"  Olivo and Jaime "The Whiz Kid" Diez for a seat on the BISD Board of Trustees. Both have college degrees with Olivo pursuing a Master's. Garza, a clerk in the San Benito Consolidated School District, has little if any higher education credits. While both Olivo and Diez have come clean with the public--the former admitting that he sent unsolicited photos to a female and Diez confessing that he takes a shower in the morning and in the evening--Garza retreats into the shadows. Her handlers have told her she doesn't have to do anything except avoid doing something stupid. These puppeteers have advised her that she can ride the blind female vote to victory just like Julio Graña will ride the blind Hispanic vote to victory over incumbent John Reed at the Port of Brownsville. Insiders suggest that BISD Board of Trustees President Minerva Peña convinced her to run so the former can build her own majority of four. As Justo Leyes, The McHale Report's legal counsel, says, "There is no bigger whore than a majority of four." We are not sure what the El Rrun Rrun pundit is insinuating except the obvious: Is Garza having an affair with her San Benito boss, Ernesto Manríquez, the same administrator who took her from the BISD to San Benito? One of her former BISD colleagues asserted that in Brownsville Garza spent much of her time in Manríquez's office instead of attending to her daily responsibilities. And to add a feather that may break the camel's back, The Brownsville Void's Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas, who recently threated to rain a "blood bath" on hundreds of BISD women, is promoting Garza's platform. Except she has no platform. The refrain with "La Gata" never changes: What is she hiding? The Baker Boys are investigating.)

BONKERS BOBBY

BOOBY WITLESS-CERVANTES: "The Association of Brownsville Educators (AOBE) does not stand with its teachers. Veronica Borrego is willfully ignoring the complaints of teachers out of fears voters will retaliate against her criminal ticket. AOBE and other teacher unions have made it clear they will put the voters/parents over the teachers and students so as to be able to take control of the school board. The NEA will take TSTA to task if they fail to take action against AOBE."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever since AOBE democratically chose its endorsements, Booby Witless-Cervezas has been going through a menopausal mental breakdown. The publisher of The Brownsville Void has lost it completely. He is intimating that "Big" Joe Rodriguez is part of a "criminal ticket" because AOBE rejected incumbent Minerva Peña who now proudly calls herself Witless-Cervezas' pen pal with their frequent love letters printed on his blog. Witless-Cervezas suffered such a fit of fury when AOBE announced its endorsements that he guaranteed the entity's President Veronica Borrego, its elected officials and BISD educators and employees that they would experience a "blood bath" if they didn't rescind their recommendations within 48 hours. They refused and the belittled blogger slunk into the darkness with his tail between his legs. Instead, Borrego went to the Brownsville Police Department and filed a complaint arguing that Witless-Cervezas had sworn physical violence against hundreds of defenseless women with his "blood bath" ultimatum. Blowing still more hot air, the humiliated disbarred lawyer is now demanding that TSTA and NEA, AOBE's parent organizations, take immediate action against AOBE. Nobody doubts that TSTA and NEA will take action, but it won't be against AOBE. It will be against Witless-Cervezas who believes he can inflict physical harm on females exercising their democratic right to vote and then escape the repercussions for his wilfull words. "There is no doubt that Booby is physically sick," says Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss. "He bores us with his latest ailment on a weekly basis and then proceeds to label the various doctors incompetent who are treating him. I believe an expert would determine that he is mentally sick. Witless-Cervezas must be looking at himself when he is lashing out at others. The facts speak for themselves. He was incompetent as a soldier. He was incompetent as a lawyer and booted out of the profession as a result of his ineptitude. He is incompetent as a writer as the editors at The McHale Report must peruse his incoherent copy and extensively edit it in order to present a literate commentary. And he is incompetent as a blogger as the more he vows "blood baths" against those with whom he doesn't agree, the more credibility he loses if that's possible because he has less money in the bank in the estimation of the public than when BISD attorney Baltazar Salazar was writing hot checks without sufficient funds in his account." Booby will blather and babble and blither and the occasional reader will chop through his prose with a machete. It is no easy task cutting through Booby's jungle of gibberish. Most detractors would agree that Booby is a freak of nature, except they don't want to insult nature, but a mere look at his figure--a cue ball sitting atop a bowling ball--and it isn't difficult to conclude that God has not been kind to him

CANDISDATES' DARK PAST

"As we prepare for our BEST/AFT School Board Forums," said a spokesperson for Brownsville Educators Stand Together affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

"I wanted to provide you with the following updates: I have received and shared with our members the Felony records that I have received via public information on school board candidates. I am still pending on the results of our request for misdemeanor background records."

Of the five races, BEST/AFT only comments on two, the Place 5 race between businesswoman Daniella Lopez-Valdez and preacher Erasmo Castro. In the last South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) poll, Lopez-Valdez is leading Castro, who had to resign from the board as a result of a drinking incident, 56% to 44%.

"Mr. Erasmo Castro was found guilty of a felony for forgery," continued the spokesperson. "He received ten years probation and had to make restitution. After his conviction, Mr. Castro returned to court and received deferred adjudication. Since he successfully completed his probation, this cleared his record and allows him to be a candidate for the school board.

In the Place 7 showdown between retired policeman Eddie Garcia and terminated Brownsville Fire Chief Carlos Elizondo, who as an incumbent finished third in a three-person BISD race two years ago, BEST/AFT raises serious concerns about Elizondo. The same STIJA poll has Garcia winning, 57% to 43%.

"Mr. Carlos Elizondo has been indicted twice by a grand jury for the crime of theft of $8500 from the Fire Fighters Union" stated the spokesperson. "Mr. Elizondo's first indictment was withdrawn and then re-filed. The case appears to be pending."

Castro and Elizondo are part of a slate called "Los Buitres" that also includes political wannabe and failed political candidate in the past Viro Cardenas.

"Los Buitres are using the Coronavirus pandemic to pick the district's bones," said Maclovio O'Malley, La Voz de los Vatos. "They are running on a negative campaign that everything is bad, bad, bad in the district. In a time when we should be united in our battle against COVID-19 on behalf of our children, these three are pushing a platform that may be more destructive to the district than the pandemic. I'm thankful they shed some light on their dark pasts but chose to ignore Cardenas' two arrest, the most recent one a few weeks ago."