Twenty-one years ago, my employee chose me from a group of seven managers to offer a position here in the Valley. Being an unemployed 58-year-old without a college degree in the Southern California labor market with its cloud-high cost of living was not appealing, I accepted and instantly became a non-Spanish-speaking Republican at the time, a minority. I have spent the past 20 years observing the Valley through the eyes of a person whose entire experience had been from a conservative background experienced in nine cities and four states. background is appropriate.
After 10 years I could no longer excuse the obvious graft and corruption as a product of education, habit, ethnicity or experience. The causes are clear: It is purely greed, ego and a lust for money and influence by a select few.
Mr. Rosales’ letter of Nov. 13, “Just do your job,” expresses what has placed and continues to hold the Valley 20 years behind the rest of Texas. The near absence of high-tech industries, low pay, high unemployment and the presence of cronyism, mordida, nepotism, political graft and corruption are all due in large part to the citizenry who take your advice to “leave politics aside and just do your job.”
Mr. Rosales, employees, political ones for sure, should be leading the ranks of whistleblowers. They are needed to reform the Valley and make it better for residents and easier to attract more businesses. Instead, they are protecting their party, themselves and their families to the detriment of the rest of the citizens.
Ned Sheats
Mission
Republicans
draw attack
Some Republican politicians are distancing themselves from the baggage of Donald Trump. Why? Because they hope to present a better image of themselves to potential voters. “Trumpism” is in their blood. It’s practically impossible for them to distance themselves from Trump.
Let’s see: They defended and acquitted him twice when he was impeached for committing serious crimes. So, isn’t it fair to say that it was they who enabled Trump to try to overturn an election and to try to destroy America’s democracy on Jan. 6, 2021? So, now that they are certain Trump failed, they want to distance themselves from him? What’s this? Typical Republican hypocrisy? So, what else is new?
Trump did not force these guys to support him. He just gave them the courage to expose themselves for who they really are. And they showed it! They have no use for democracy. They have no regard for the middle class, the vulnerable, the disabled and the poor. They want to do away with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They have no respect for women’s rights and they only pretend to care for veterans and law enforcement officers. Republicans in Texas showed us that they support the rights of 18-year-old kids to buy assault weapons. Yes! The very same weapons that murderers of schoolchildren prefer! If you think the Republican Party has no morals, you’d be right. The irony is, people still vote for them. It’s mind-boggling!
Unfortunately, only the blind cannot see what Republicans have shown us. And those who have seen what Republicans have shown us, I hope will never forget!
Italo J. Zarate
Brownsville
