Sunday, January 19, 2025
‘El coco’ Trump
‘El coco’ Trump - American Thinker https://t.co/dK3tupzBWU
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) January 19, 2025
As a kid in a Spanish-speaking household, I remember all of those folk stories about “el coco.” He is like the Spanish version of the Boogeyman, or the monster you are afraid of when you are a kid.
Down in Mexico, “el coco” is President Trump. The left is going crazy and preparing for an invasion of Mexico. The right doesn’t know what to make of him, but its members do share some of his concerns about the cartels.
Senator Rubio’s confirmation hearings for secretary of state are the latest in the “el coco” episodes, especially all of the talk about cartels controlling territory south of the border. This is from Pulse News Mexico:
On Thursday, Jan. 16, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (CSP) responded to U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio’s statements that Mexico and the United States should work together on combating organized crime, saying in her daily morning press conference that “Mexico is ready to collaborate.”
During his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan.15, Rubio publicly said he would prefer to work hand-in-hand with Mexico against drug cartels rather than use military force to combat the organized crime groups.
“These sophisticated transnational terrorist organizations have operational and functional control over huge swaths of areas that border the United States of America,” Rubio said at the time. “It is important for us not just to go after these groups but to identify them and call them for what they are, which is terroristic in their nature.”
“I think there’s a lot we can and we’ll continue to do in close partnership with our allies in Mexico,” continued the nominee. “I think there’s more they can do as well to confront this challenge, and my preference would be, from the Department of State’s perspective, my preference would be that we can work with the Mexicans on this issue cooperatively because it is impacting their nation as much as ours.”
However, Rubio did not rule out the possibility of the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump designating Mexican drug trafficking organizations as terrorist groups while noting the potential complications that would come with said action.
Well, it’s the “not ruling out” part that got them excited.
It’s a complicated issue because most Mexicans actually agree that there are too many cartels, or too much “crimen organizado,” as they call them. They live down there and see the violence with their own eyes. They don’t need to read in the U.S. press that their country is violent. It’s what everyone is talking about in social circles.
Just this week, President Sheinbaum sent more troops to Tabasco. In Culiacán, in the super-violent state of Sinaloa, there was a massive explosion of a casino. According to some local media, it was a “hub for a sophisticated money laundering network used to funnel illicit proceeds from the sale of fentanyl and other narcotics.” There is no official explanation, but most locals think it was one cartel attacking another.
So Mexicans know that the violence is out of control and privately tell you that Trump is right in calling out their government. At the same time, no one wants to come out and publicly give Trump the credit.
So Trump is “el coco,” whom everyone fears. Well, they fear “el coco” but know that there is a bigger monster making their lives miserable.
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We remember Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
We remember Janis Joplin who was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on this day in 1943.
She started singing with the band "Big Brother and the Holding Company" in 1966. In 1968, they released a very popular album "Cheap Thrills".
Janis eventually went solo but but died in 1970 at age 27. After her death, the album "Pearl" became a huge bestseller. It included her biggest hit, "Me and Bobby McGee". Later, a "greatest hits" was released.
A very tragic story.
Happy # 79 Dolly Parton
Her success is incredible: 25 #1's on Billboard country, 41 top 10 albums and over a hundred singles that charted over the years.
Quite a story.
Happy # 81 Shelley Fabares
For some of us, Shelley Fabares was "Mary", the teen daughter" in the very popular "The Donna Reed Show" of the 1960s. (You can still see the reruns and it was an entertaining series)
More recently, she was Christine in "The coach", the funny TV comedy of a few years ago.
Between "Donna Reed" and "The coach", Shelley played different roles on TV and even made 3 movies with Elvis.
She also recorded "Johnny Angel", one of the biggest hits of the pre-Beatles era.
It became one of the best selling "teen girl loves high school boy" songs of pop music history.
P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
Remembering Phil Everly (1939-2014)
We remember Phil Everly who was born on this day in 1939 and died in 2014.
If you love pop music, and I do, then you have to appreciate how The Everly Brothers influenced the music that we grew up listening to.
Just listen to John Lennon & Paul McCartney sing "If I fell" or "I'll be back" or a few others. What you hear is John and Paul singing just like Don & Phil, or the harmonies that they used to hear as aspiring musicians in Liverpool radio. Like so many of the British groups, they learned to sing listening to those tight harmonies recorded by those two Kentucky brothers dominating the US charts.
As Scott Johnson wrote, another political blogger who loves pop music, Don & Phil Everly brought "....the close harmony singing of traditional country music into the mainstream of American popular music."
Phil Everly died at age 74 and you can hear his legacy every time that you hear a duo on the radio.
Yes, it's hard to talk about rock history without devoting a good section to Phil & Don Everly.
P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
We remember Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
We remember Edgar Allan Poe, who was born on this in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, both professional actors, died before he was 3 years old. He was raised by John and Frances Allan as a foster child in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1844, Poe and his wife moved to New York City. Shortly after, he published “The Raven", his most successful poem.
He died young in 1849.
We remember Robert E Lee (1807-70)
Lee was a distinguished military man and West Point graduate. He was a man of great character and accomplishment.
In 1865, General Lee surrendered because he understood that his side had lost and wanted to avoid more bloodshed.