Joe Pena was a wonderful man and conservative leader!

We learned that Joe Pena died this week.  To say the least, it is a great loss to those of us who value integrity and friendships!

Everyone has a Joe Pena story.  He was one of the original Hispanic GOP leaders in the Dallas area and served in the Reagan administration.

My Joe Pena "story" goes back to 1984 when I was new to Dallas and looking for conservative GOP contacts.

We had coffee and Joe gave me a full report about all of the activities and people to meet.  He did it all with that wonderful smile and sense of humor.   

Joe's humor was well known.  He'd always make fun of my Cuban background with a word or slang.   He gave me "a $1 million bill with his picture on it" the very last time that I saw  him!  He was so funny!

He made my day when he invited me to a "Hispanics for Reagan" meeting with Pres Reagan at the 1984 GOP convention in Dallas.  He did it again a few years later when he invited me to take a picture with then VP Bush running for president in 1988.

What else can you say about such a wonderful man?  He was quite an inspiration to all of us who carry the conservative flag.

We will miss Joe Pena a lot! 

Adryana Boyne created a Facebook page with details about the funeral.  Please go there and show your respects to Gloria and his family.

Again, we will miss Joe Pena a lot:

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My thoughts about 2011 and 2012!

2011 is over but the issues did not go away.

As we go from the old year to the new year, let me tell about the three issues that will be around for a while:

1) Iraq.....did we leave too soon?  Pres BO was handed a victory in Iraq and he has irresponsibly turned it into a potential defeat.  Frankly, I hope that I am dead wrong but "who lost Iraq" may be a real foreign policy issue in 2012.  It's going to be hard to blame this one on Bush.

2) The European economic crisis.....it doesn't go away because European leaders are not serious about addressing the structural problems, i.e. the "something for nothing welfare state."

3) Islamist victories in Egypt and the overall Middle East mess.....Iran does not fear Pres BO and they will spend much of 2012 pushing their weight around.

Speaking of 2012, we will have a new president.  I may be wrong, and things could change, but I don't see how Pres BO can be reelected.

It will be Pres Romney and VP Rubio PLUS a GOP Senate & House.  Let's hope that the GOP can use this mandate better than they did before.

Click to hear our chat with Bil Katz of Urgent Agenda:

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Tags: The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Resolution 2012: I want a federal government that can GOVERN!

As far as I'm concerned, everybody loses when the President & Congress can not get anything done on time. 

We can not continue to run our country like some "banana republic" where politicians are shouting at each other rather than governing seriously.

Let's start with Pres BO, or the man who is not in the game.  He wants to govern by letting other people carry the load or make the tough calls.

Let's go to the Dem Senate, who have never done a budget in 3 years.   I agree with The Washington Examiner:

"While both parties are share responsibility for the debacle over the payroll tax cut, the Democrat-controlled Senate bears special attention. Under the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Congress must produce a five-year budget plan every year. But in 2010, both the House and Senate failed to do so for the first time since 1974.

After Republicans retook the House in November 2010, they got the lower chamber back on track by approving a 2012 budget plan this past April.

No such luck in the Senate.

It has now been 969 days, almost three years, since Senate Democrats have produced an annual budget plan, as they are required to do by law."

What's the point of paying these people, and their huge staffs?

The GOP House is not perfect, as we just saw with the "payroll tax" episode.  At the same time, the GOP House has passed a budget and voted on bills.

Of course, this "chaos" is the result of "zero" presidential leadership.  As we just mentioned, Pres BO has decided that he is going to drift along and get the credit somehow.

We have a dysfunctional federal government and it can not continue.

Check out our commentary:

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The 2011 season was great except for that "Twilight Zone of a 10th inning" of game 6!

From the 9-1 start to watching Derek Holland blossom into a major league pitcher, the 2011 season was a fan's dream.

The Rangers were a great team to follow, from Ian Kinsler blasting lead-off home runs to Neftali Feliz shutting down games.

However, it was game 6 that will probably stick in our minds for some time.  I am not dwelling on it but it was tough to come that close twice and watch the other guys celebrate.

it was a horrible ending to a game that will go down as a classic:

" Closer Neftali Feliz came in to pitch the ninth. 

Ryan Theriot struck out swinging, but Albert Pujols doubled and Lance Berkman walked on four pitches. Craig struck out looking, and Feliz needed just one more out. Instead, Cardinals third baseman David Freese fell behind 1-2 in the count and then hit a long drive to deep right. Cruz went back, but not far enough and the ball sailed beyond his reach for a triple that scored two runs and tied the game. 

It did not stay tied for long. Elvis Andrus singled with one out in the 10th off Jason Motte, and Josh Hamilton followed with a home run to right-center to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead. 

Darren Oliver took over for Feliz in the 10th to face the bottom of the Cardinals' order and two left-handed hitters. But Daniel Descalso grounded a single through the right side and Jon Jay blooped a hit into shallow left, putting runners on first and second. They were bunted over by pinch-hitter Kyle Lohse, and Scott Feldman replaced Oliver. 

Theriot hit a weak grounder to Beltre at third, who threw to first for the second out while Descalso scored. Pujols received an intentional walk. Berkman worked the count to 2-2 and then lined a run-scoring single to center to tie the game. 

The game went into the 11th. The Rangers did not score in the top of the 11th and Freese won it with a walk-off home run off Mark Lowe. 

It was a game that will be long be remembered, but there were other highlights worth recalling."

Like any 'classic game", we will get to watch it over and over at the ESPN classic channel or at that wonderful new MLB network.

Yes, get ready to watch Nellie Cruz misplay that fly ball in the 9th and that "Twilight Zone" bottom of the 10th inning when the Cards came back for the second time.

I guess that Cardinals, not cats, have 9 lives!  

P.S. Check out our baseball show with Coach McCrary after the series:

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Tags: Game 6 of 2011 World Series  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!