el rinconcito

Apparently the Democrats and AT&T have no shame at all. This fall every delegate and media representative at the Democratic National Convention will be given a cute little bag with AT&T's logo on it, as well as several other corporate logos. I imagine the bag will even be made in China, or at least be "assembled in USA of foreign components".

Of course it's just a cheap little bag, but what it represents is so much larger. It seems like "Ma Bell" would like to lay low for a little while after sodomizing the public with a rolled-up copy of the Constitution, but no, they keep right on going with their lawless pride, and the Dems just keep sucking it up. I'm sure the delegates will look cute toting their little bags around. This pride-in-corruption trickles all the way through society signaling everybody that this is the way to act and this is how it has to be if you want to function.

It's just a trite tawdry symbol of brazenness, but one which turns my stomach and makes me want to flip the bird to every AT&T truck I see around town as well as to the convention and party in general.

I guess this fall protesters at the convention will be relegated to the usual "free speech zones". I thought the whole country was a free-speech zone, but there are so many gotchas and "if's"" now.

Good reporting on the trite issue here.

Some music via Internet for sipping drinks and cooking out on the patio now through the weekend:

• Last FM
  
• Jamendo
  
• SomaFM
  
• divbyzero.de
  

Any others? You coming over? Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights.

A filthy dirty post from the k5 website about making your own wine. I like the humor in it. Warning, lots-o-profanity.

Brewing your own hobo-wine on todays subprime mortgage budget.

Enjoy!

Reedplayernc and I have traveled all over the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. We started out years ago using busses. The first class ones, and some of the second class ones, are truly excellent. We found out later on that to go exploring deeply, a rental car is needed. If you have two or more people, renting a car can be cost effective and your comfort level will soar. Charge it to a Visa card and you can decline that expensive CDW insurance.

Driving a rental car exposes you to the wonders of the Mexican national petroleum company, Pemex. In general Pemex runs nice gas stations. The bathrooms are usually acceptable, there's often a convenience store attached, they pump the fuel for you, clean the windshield, and check the fluids. They can be a nice travel oasis. Most Pemex are honest, sometimes amazingly so, in that ripping off confused foreign tourists can be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

I do hear about people getting cheated at Pemex stations, and I often get asked about this by people who have seen our pics and are seeking advice on driving in Mexico, especially in the rural Yucatan. For one, tip the people who are honest and render you services. Sometimes though, it's possible you may never know you were cheated.

A few basic pointers:

• Get out of the car and stand near the pump where your view of the numbers cannot be blocked.
  
• As your tank nears full, don't be distracted by questions from the employees, things dropped on the ground, or shouting (Oh my god you have a flat tire! Are those Nikes you have on? etc.)
  
• Know about how much your tank holds and about how much money it takes to fill it.
  

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the most corrupt Pemex I've ever seen. As I said before, most are honest, but this one gets the GRAND PRIZE for thievery and having the world's largest balls (cojones) while doing it. Google "pemex xpujil" and you'll find many stories about them. Our first encounter with them was in 2003 when we filled up with them twice, then we met them again in 2007. Apparently consistency over many years is their specialty.

How to find this famous Pemex:

It's on Federal Highway 186 a few miles east of Xpujil in the state of Campeche. Highway 186 makes a straight shot from Chetumal, Quintana Roo, on the Atlantic coast, running westward to Escárcega, Campeche. Xpujil is about at the midpoint and makes a nice base for visiting the Mayan ruins of Xpuhil, Becán, Chicanná, and several others. Drive about 10 miles east of the town of Xpujil on the 186 and the Pemex will be on your left.

Their tricks are well refined!

Now that almost all Pemex pumps are digital, the main thing to worry about is getting the final total before it is erased or changed. Just to the side of the digital display there is a number keypad that includes a "CLEAR" button. The second they stop the pumping they will either clear the total immediately, or they will clear it and rapidly tap in a new total, using the number keys, that is a lot higher than what was pumped. The goal is to get you to look away during the 1/100th of a second it takes them to do this. Sometimes multiple employees are involved.

In 2003 they got mad at me because I fixed my gaze on the pump like a stone statue and refused to look away even though the guy was yelling at me. All through the pumping process he was firing questions at me: "Where are you from? Where are you going? Where'd you get that belt you have on? Those Nikes look cool!"

He kept turning up the volume with each question, then finally broke out laughing when I would not look away.

A few days later I was back filling up again. Strange the routine was the same when we'd gotten to know each other so well the last time. This time as the tank was nearing full, he yelled out. "Oh my God that tire is flat!" When I refused to look at it he yelled, "Would you look at the fucking tire? Look at that fucking flat tire man!!" LOL. Didn't work!

In 2007 we were back and ready for the usual entertainment, but this time the humor was gone and replaced by slick slight of hand. The lack of chatter lulled me into a false sense of complacency. I got bored, and began to let my guard down, but at the last second I caught it! The instant the nozzle clicked full, a flurry of employees dashed by the pump and I saw a hand reach up to tap the keys on the number pad. My total of about 200 pesos was changed to 340 pesos in the blink of an eye as the group dashed by. My attendant smiled and said "340 please". I said I saw the whole thing as I slid the 200 pesos in his hand and walked away. He laughed and said "have a good trip".

Long story about nuttin', huh? Oh well, I like to get wordy.

Below are a few pics from a couple of nice Pemex, not the one mentioned above.


This one is a lonely but nice one on the free road that runs from Cancun to Merida. The laid-back staff loves to chat awhile. Refreshing cold sodas are inside:



This one was somewhere way south of Merida as we were heading to Chiapas. Nice bathrooms and good coffee. You can see my cup on the roof:




Sipping that good coffee. We'd been to a bar called "Freeway" in Merida the night before, and my eyes were still slits:



Brian posing at the same Pemex:

Sympathy to the family and friends, former North Carolina long-term senator Jesse Helms died today.

What is bothering me about this is that the corporate press is already churning out the fawning, adoring, "what a great American", died on the 4th of July, "what a patriot", CRAP! It's as bogus as that feel-goody revisionist history about Ronald Reagan.

The following press release from Faith in America reflects my feeligs more:

JULY 4, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lane Hudson, 202-834-0275

Lesson to be learned from Helms' dark legacy

While Faith In America respects this time of loss for former Sen. Jesse Helms' family, we are compelled to remind Americans that there is a lesson to be learned from Helms' dark legacy that for years promoted religion-based prejudice and discrimination against those that were different than him.

In a 1995 radio broadcast he remarked, "Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches."

In a 1994 letter to Patsy Clarke of Raleigh, N.C., whose son had died of AIDS, Helms wrote "As for homosexuality, the Bible judges it, I do not."

"These typical statements by Helms clearly demonstrate how he used the Bible to justify a message of hostility, condemnation and discrimination toward gays and lesbians," said Faith In America Executive Director Brent Childers.

"He clearly judged and condemned gay and lesbian individuals as morally depraved, while trying to conceal his hostility, bigotry and prejudice behind his own personal interpretation of scriptual text."

Childers said it may never be known if Helms truly believed gay and lesbians were condemned by God or if he once truly believed the Bible condemned interracial marriages when in 1968 he told Duke University students who staged a vigil in response to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination that "They should ask their parents if it would be all right for their son or daughter to marry a Negro."

"What we do know is that he was wrong in 1968 to condemn interracial marriage and he was wrong to condemn gays and lesbians," he said. "Inflicting harm on others in the name of religion is at the heart of Helms' dark legacy. People like Helms don't seem to recognize the very real harm they cause, especially to impressionable teenagers."

And while Helms in the past may have promoted bigotry and hatred because of his own personal misunderstanding and prejudices, Childers said it is clear today that many elected officials and those seeking public office promote hatred and bigotry toward gay and lesbians for no other other reason than political gain.

"These politicians are writing a legacy far darker than even that of Helms," he added.

Faith in America is a civil rights advocacy organization whose mission is to end legal and spiritual discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people in America and to gain full and equal rights for those citizens. Faith in America is the only national LGBT rights advocacy organization lead by a straight ally. Faith In America is not a religious organization but works to educate Americans about the harm caused by religion-based bigotry against GLBT individuals by connecting the historical dots of discrimination and prejudice.


Update, July 7th, 2008:

I found this jewel today on DemocracyNow. Sickening! I remember back during the 1980's he regularly used the words "fags" and "queers" in public and to the press. What a nice way for an elected official to behave.

From democracynow:

Former GOP Senator, Jesse Helms, 86, Dies

Former North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms has died at the age of eighty-six. During the 1960s, he was a vocal critic of the civil rights movement. He once wrote, “Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced.” In 1983, he opposed the Martin Luther King Day bill. Helms was also a longtime opponent of AIDS research and treatment. In 1988, Helms said, “There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy.” On foreign affairs, Helms was a supporter of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and was linked to backing right-wing death squads in El Salvador. In 1996, he co-sponsored the Helms-Burton Act, which strengthened the US embargo against Cuba. Ed Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, praised Jesse Helms. He said, “Along with Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, [Helms] helped establish the conservative movement and became a powerful voice for free markets and free people.”