As the Steve Ortega for Mayor shellacking winds down it is time to tie up some loose ends. I’ll take them one at a time and reveal who I really think is leading the cultural annihilation of the essence of El Paso and it’s rich history. But first a few loose ends.

The Forma Group

On June 8, 2013, I looked into The Forma Group. Of the many interesting things that I commented on, the issue of their suspension from transacting business in Texas stood out the most. Well guess what, reviewing their public record at the Texas Franchise status page on June 20, 2013 it appears that they rectified their deficiency with the people of Texas.

Since to my knowledge no media outlet reported on their irresponsible behavior in regards to taxes I can only assume that some Woody Hunt useful idiot was sufficiently embarrassed enough by my blog to order them to fix it immediately.

Their updated record still shows Robert Reyes Jr., as the registered agent, and director and treasurer. The other director and the president is still Ricardo Armendariz. Interesting that The Forma Group apparently didn’t have enough time to keep up with their responsibility to the State of Texas but in a two week period, in between “consulting” Steve Ortega into one of the most humiliating thrashings in recent political memory and losing every race they consulted on in the recent election, they found the time to finally file the necessary reports with the State of Texas.

After their poor recent political savoir-faire, I wonder why they bothered to bring themselves current. It’s as if they actually believe some politician would be stupid enough to hire them for the next election cycle. Oh wait, I almost forget that I am writing about El Paso politicians. Oh well, there might be one or two stupid enough to engage The Forma Group. After all, it seems from recent financial reports and public commentary that in order to partake of Hunt’s largess you must accept Forma’s “help” as Hunt and his cohorts will not pay the politician directly but rather they pay The Forma Group directly for them.

I still wonder why.

On Useful Idiots

Many have commented their displeasure of me labeling certain people “useful idiots”. Some individuals feel that it is distasteful and others just think I diminish my argument by name calling. They may both be right but my blog is an expression of my thoughts and for better or for worse this is how I express myself.

Besides, the term “useful idiot” has been used by many to describe individuals that are used for propaganda purposes for a cause that they clearly do not understand. I cannot think of a better definition for Ray Caballero and his disciples. Yes, that’s right Ray Caballero is also a useful idiot although I did not understand that until recently when I started connecting the dots of the political shenanigans in El Paso. You’ll see what I mean as you read further.

On The Invading Horde

I was told in so many ways that I misused the term “Anglo-Saxon” that at this point I’m not even sure what it actually means. I guess it is one of those terms that have significant cultural baggage that it means very different things to many different people. I have decided that there is a better term for the people that are attempting to remake El Paso into something other than what it is by erasing its identity.

They are the invading horde.

The invading horde is led by Paul Foster, Woody L. Hunt and William “Bill” Sanders. Although they have their enablers on the Mexican side of the border, their bond is more of a symbiotic relationship driven by the potential to make money than any affinity they have for each other. It is a “marriage of convenience” for all those involved. In the monetary stratosphere that these people play in, the relationships are formed by the next dollar on the table, rather than in true friendships.

In my personal experience with people like this; friendships and family are just another dollar away.

Enabling the invading horde are three tiers of useful idiots. Among the first tier are the people that know full well what it is that they are doing and continue to do it because frankly that is what they believe. The first tier is made up, among others, by Myrna Deckert who is the “pacifying face” of the horde. Deckert has been quietly playing the part of “pacifier” for Woody Hunt for many years now.

Not only had Deckert fronted the Paso del Norte Group, the Medical Center of the Americas, better known as the Border Health Institute (BHI), the city’s most recent economic initiative with the merging of the PDNG with the Regional Economic Development Corp (RedCo) and now the downtown baseball fiasco. According to John Cook, Myrna Deckert was among the baseball team’s ownership group that told him not to worry about the voters approving the destruction of city hall. She is the person that gives the horde a “friendly” face.

Myrna Deckert first emerged unto the political limelight in 2000 in what would eventually become the Paul Foster Medical School. From that time on, Deckert has become the “face” of the community’s most controversial initiatives.

In all of these there has always been one common constant: Woody L. Hunt.

The second tier includes Joyce Wilson who seems to be driven by who is willing to pay the most for her services as evidenced by her latest job interview at Lee County. Other members of the second tier include the politicians that support the invading horde’s agenda. They include Ray Caballero and his disciples; Susie Byrd, Veronica Escobar, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke and Steve Ortega.

To them, it’s all about the sense of power that Ray Caballero aspires for. That is what drives him and his disciples.

And finally the third tier. This tier is made up of the people that frankly don’t even realize that they are being used to further the horde’s agenda. They are happy for the meager crumbs handed out to them and the occasional “good boy” pats on the head.

They come and go as needed and are easily dispensed of should they become too troublesome for the horde. Among the notables are, in no particular order, is the Reuel Group, The Forma Group and the bloggers: David Karlsruher and Jaime Abeytia.

Both David Karlsruher and Jaime Abeytia are a case study on how the invading horde manipulates useful idiots into their service, David more than Jaime. David Karlsruher came to the attention of the horde when David had his initial thought that he was actually a viable candidate for political office in El Paso.

As is typical with Hunt and cohorts, David Karlsruher became a willing useful idiot when he assumed they would support his run for office. The horde enabled him just enough to make him a tool for their needs but not enough to give him the independence he strives for. First it was the Newspaper Tree, then his stint on the radio and then his personal blog.

Not clearly understanding the way the El Paso “mordida” game is played (more on this later), he mistakenly thought the local Republican Party was responsible for ostracizing him from politics and he reacted by attacking the party. He was also oblivious to the pressure brought upon media outlets as each closed their outlets to him when the oligarch’s got too uncomfortable with his brand of politicking on the air.

Recently David Karlsruher seems to have been trying to gain the good graces of the horde by going on a blog rampage in support of the oligarch’s ballpark fiasco. It is unclear why but it could be centered on the need to keep the moneyman happy for his family’s business sake. You see, the power elite rely on economic isolation to get their will. I’ll elaborate on this later in this post.

And then we have Jaime Abeytia. In El Paso one of the perks of being a useful idiot is the appearance of “special treatment” to those who serve. Take for example Jaime Abeytia.

Jaime Abeytia was arrested in February 2013 on a third-degree felony and another misdemeanor. Only four months later the District Attorney’s office decided to drop the felony and turn into a misdemeanor. I question how fast the legal system seems to work when it seems to benefit those who seem to be connected. More importantly Jaime Abeytia is getting paid by the taxpayers’ of the community at the behest of County Commissioner Vince Perez.

It’s not as if this is Abeytia’s first run in with the law. He has a criminal record going back to 1999 for “theft of property” for misusing a check. In 2004, Jaime Abeytia was assessed six months of probation and 100 hours of community service for another “computer security breach” charge in 2004.

And as if that wasn’t enough, as of June 20, 2013, Jaime Remigio Abeytia still has an arrest warrant out of Maricopa County for failure to pay child support since 2002, according to the Maricopa County website.

In a County where residents are constantly decrying how gainful employment is so difficult to get that many qualified people have to work for lower wages, it defies common sense how someone indicted, currently awaiting trial, with a criminal record and an open arrest record in another jurisdiction can be so qualified that a County Commissioner allows him to work in his office.

That to me is not only dishonest it smacks of political favoritism.

Of course none of this could ever be proved, the horde is just too adept at protecting themselves and of course the retort is always, can you prove it. Unfortunately, even if I could it still wouldn’t make a difference to them. You see, they just don’t care what those beneath them have to say.

And, as I predicted in an earlier post, the Newspaper Tree is set to launch on July 4. E. Anthony Martinez was the original, online muckraker for the horde and is now poised to be back because the sting from the “crazies” and the “rabble-rousers” at the polls has forced the horde to once again silence those who dare to dissent their “vision” of El Paso.

In their world, the loud “crazies” just cannot be allowed and the horde is set to strike back with a vengeance. Martinez, along with Bob Moore at the El Paso Times have surely been summoned and given the orders to go out and decimate those who dared to voice their displeasure of the horde’s “grand vision”.

As for the invading horde; many in the community believe that the leader is Bill Sanders but the public record shows that Woody L. Hunt is actually the driving force behind the cultural obliteration of El Paso. Almost everywhere there is public outcry in El Paso you are sure to find Hunt in the mix.

On The Future of My Blog

I have written extensive commentary on El Paso politics since at least 2000 when the El Paso Times decided to convert from a newspaper into a propaganda machine for the powers that be. The El Paso Times, under the tutelage of Bob Moore, decided to target me because I dared to provide a tool for people to express themselves and to exercise their rights in a Democracy.

That’s right, I blog because I’m angry. That is my agenda.

Up until the El Paso Times attempted to trample over me to silence political dissension under the Caballero regime, the only thing I strived for was to build a regional Internet business. I had accepted the fact that El Paso required me to pay-to-play but I just didn’t realize to what extent.

Having grown up in Mexico I was accustomed to paying the “mordida” to move forward. In El Paso the “mordida” involved many levels and was not always cash that was needed to get things done because it also required the right “palancas”, or “connections” for the English speakers. For those who do not know, the “mordida” is a time honored tradition where overt cash-for-action exchanges are frowned upon and instead there is a “wink-wink”, “aqui tienes para una soda”, or “here you go for a cold one” quid pro quo.

In the higher circles, the “soda” was replaced by the obligatory Christmas liquor bottle rising in price according to the recipient’s ability to open up the next level you are looking to get into.

El Paso may be in the United States but the “mordida” is more than alive and it has even become so engrained in the fabric of the community that most don’t even realize that they are participating in it. But as with anything unethical there are consequences to be had and the “moridida” is no exception.

The carnage in Cd. Juárez in the ongoing battle for control of the largest drug corridor into the US made me realize that the “moridida” is not only wrong but potentially destructive to the fabric of society.

I realized that it cannot and should not exist.

As I criticize El Paso, I am not unaware of what transpires in my own country. I am fully aware of it. But I am also aware that the notion most have of Mexico, including within Mexico, is only a façade of the essence of Mexico and therefore I will continue to comment about the good and the bad of Mexico.

As for El Paso, I will continue to comment on the oligarchy that has assumed control of the city not because I am jealous of them but because I know firsthand how dangerous their “vision” can be if left unchecked. I have and will continue to write about gentrification and the displacement of people and cultures under the guise of the latest urbanization scam.

I am also not jealous of their money; in fact, many that know me personally have commented that I am not driven by money. Some will even tell you that money never lasts long in my wallet.

Rather, I am angry that people like these, on both sides of the border; destroy communities to build playgrounds for themselves regardless of the people and the cultures they displace. El Paso is but one of many communities being suffocated by the horde.

I now have the luxury to comment on their cultural obliteration. You read that right; I have the luxury to do what I do.

The biggest weapon the power mongers have at their disposal is the ability to wield economic destruction on those that dare to challenge them. First they will attempt to reason with you and then they will shun those that challenge them. They then demonize them publicly by unleashing the Bob Moore’s of the world upon them.

There is a reason why Joyce Wilson referred to the detractors of the downtown fiasco as “crazies”.

When none of that works they then use government enforcement tools such as what they did to the Three-Legged Monkey to subjugate those unwilling to yield. If that still doesn’t work then they economically isolate you in order to silence you.

Sito Negron, formerly of the El Paso Times, Newspaper Tree and now working in the office of Jose Rodriguez once asked me point blank if it was right that I had been “blacklisted”. I was so taken aback by his question that I must have stuttered a few times before answering him. It shocked me because here was someone who understood El Paso politics better than I, affirming what I already knew but could never prove. When I wouldn’t yield they went after my business. I knew they strong-armed businesses to stay away from my company but I just couldn’t prove it.

“Of course not”, I told Sito Negron adding, “But what can I do about it”.

I’m sure other journalists were aware of this but just as Sito wasn’t willing to report on it neither did anyone else. Now think about how many other people or businesses are “blacklisted” because they aren’t willing to play ball. Likewise how many are shown “special treatment”, like Jaime Abeytia, because they do.

And this is how the invading horde controls their power, they first ignore, than they demonize you and when none of that works they unleash their attack dogs on you and finally they isolate you economically. And, as a final resort they will use the threat of criminal prosecution against you.

Don’t think the criminal system can’t be leveraged against you. Take a look at how the Texas prohibition against corporate donations is being currently applied. On one hand, Pastor Brown is facing criminal prosecution for a failed recall attempt while Steve Ortega first accepts an apparent corporate contribution and then returns it and no interest from the prosecutors is apparent.

It took me a long time to understand this about El Paso. I also mistakenly thought the real threat was Ray Caballero when in reality it was Woody Hunt all along. Ray Caballero was just a willingly useful idiot trying to attain status within the El Paso elite. He just hasn’t realized that he will never be welcomed into their realm because he just doesn’t have the “status” needed to play with them.

As for my luxury in writing it is based on changing my business model to the point that I am no longer “blacklist-able” by the El Paso horde. I am no longer dependent on the “goodwill” of the El Paso power mongers that would allow El Paso businesses the freedom to choose who they do business with.

The future of this blog is my anger therapy for the cultural annihilation by an invading horde across many communities who are only looking to displace the rift-raft that makes personal playgrounds unsavory to them. They just cannot comprehend how destructive they are to the cultural identities that make up many communities with their flights-of-fancy of the new-urbanism flavor du jour, or the further plundering of the public trough.

As this is therapeutic for me I will occasional get distracted by other pursuits that I get involved with and therefore my blog postings will not be as regular as they have been lately, or the topic many not interest you. If you have not already done so I encourage you to add your email address to my newsletter system. Look for the link at the top of the page. By doing so, not only will you know what I am working on, or what open records requests I have filed but you will not miss a blog post that might interest you. You can rest assured I will never give anyone else your email address nor will I bombard you with email spam. My email to you will be periodic in order to keep you abreast of what I’m looking into.

I have the luxury to do this and I am very thankful for that. I am especially cognizant of the many people who challenge the status-quo in El Paso and who do not have the luxury that I do, to do it away from the power-monger’s reach. Many of these “crazies” see their livelihood threatened each day that they challenge the horde. These people should be applauded by the community. The voters that recently repudiated the hordes’ latest downtown fiasco, also known as the ballpark benefited from the El Paso “crazies”.

The repudiation of Steve Ortega clearly shows how El Paso truly feels about the horde. The horde, on the other hand, really doesn’t give a damn. To them, El Paso is just a playground occupied by nasty and loud chihuahuas nipping at their legs. The sooner they get rid of them the sooner they get to move forward on to their next plunder.