Delayed a day due to reading an important book recently released…

FBI EL PASO CORRUPTION CASE:
The El Paso Times subtly describes El Paso judge Cobos’ new Chief of Staff in the headline. Way to gobos, Cobos.

Honestly, is there any other city in America where a social and political gadfly — who loses more than he wins — succeeds in landing a six-figure job in a burg after calling the FBI the “Gestapo” and where the median income is $22,600? What was Cobos thinking? That the oh-so-politically-savvy Perez is astute enough to delink Cobos from the ongoing investigation? Led by, you know, “the Gestapo” that Perez so clearly despises?

Five’ll get you ten that both take a fall. Odds are even on who is the bigger masochist.

Newspaper Tree has a few thoughts on Perez here and here. Stay tuned to Newspaper Tree for an interesting examination of WikiPedia entries on Cobos and others. And alterations. And more entries. Local talk board The Strelz started the conversation.

El Paso Times has writers’ blogs. Bet you didn’t know that. You may not have even wanted to know that. There’s a fella called Charlie who publishes Charlie’s Angles. Geddit? He weights in on Perez’ hiring here.

Now, onto good El Paso news. I’m sorry, did I write “good news?” My bad: Ysleta Independent School District Trustee Milton “Mickey” Duntley apparently got his son hired by NCED as a political favor. Political favor? Well, yeah, but only because one of the intercepted emails said that. And then not fired. And then, this was allegeldy in exchange for a vote on a multi-million dollar contract. If true, they go cheap in El Paso.

The link chart for all this is: here.

STINKING UP THE BORDER:
With all the silly politicking going on around here, you’d think enough sewage had been spilled in the desert. Apparently not.

The case of USBP agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos continues to generate news and look-sees by people who ought to be look-seeing. This case has stunk from the beginning, though it’s not a stink like Duke University or sludge in Sierra Blanca. It’s a federal, US Attorney kind of stink. At the end of the day, I think we’ll all be wondering whether Bush fired the right US Attorneys, didn’t fire enough US Attorneys, or whether Jaime Perez could have prevented anything if he was other than a social and political gadfly.

If the political stink in the Chihuahuan Desert is too much, I think this might be the cure. Desert rats may do well to buy vinegar futures in the next 180.

Hey, if it dissolves corns, it might dissolve the corny antics of these local border pols. Because when local politicians go so cheap, politicians will go to the hoosegow easy, thanks to the efforts of our federal law enforcement agencies who aren’t so easily corrupted.

THE POLITICAL DANCE:
Mexico’s Ambassador to the US Arturo Sarukhan slags off some old Fox administration gems: the border maps and migration handbooks passed out to border crossers. First I’ve seen of a Mexican official admitting to the country’s contradiction in how it treats its citizens desiring to go north, and how it treats Central Americans desiring to go north.

I get the feeling that Congressman Reyes likes earmarks and perks from military support, but is just plain scared of foreign policy. Here, he toes the Pelosi line on al Qaeda. Best laugh-out-loud line: “There is no room for partisan politics in the realm of national security.”