September 24, 2021
SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience is back… It landed off the coast of Cape Cañaveral during the early night, on September 18. It marked the end of the Inspiration4 mission, a private space flight with four rich, really rich civilians on board that orbited the earth for three days without an aircraft commander. Yikes. It was a fundraising effort we are told. But, but, and adding an Ummm to it, me thinks it’s about something else, like eventually controlling us earthlings from high, high above in a not-too-distant future. Not by the hidden reach of a foreign power or of our own, but by the scheming super, super rich who yearn to be in control… Ummmmm.
A grandstanding tax the rich message makes global headlines… Bronx icon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC for short, wore an Aurora James designed floor-length white gown to the 2021 Met Gala with a cheesy message written on the back. It said, “Tax the Rich,” in bold, red letters. Come on, Ms. AOC, you have plenty other venues for making statements; don’t need to do it on your butt. Gotta take the high road if you know what I mean. Or if you wanna be credible. Besides, if you’re really serious about taxing the rich, convince your peers in Congress to do it, with your support. But they ain’t gonna do it, me thinks. History is my witness. The U.S. Tax Code favors the rich. And that ain’t gonna change anytime soon unless the representatives of the people, like you and others, grow a spine. But all of youse ain’t gonna do it. You know why? Once your kind is in, meaning you politicians, you tend to cuddle the rich. That’s how it is and has always been.
Might as well send back the Statue of Liberty… After all, our nation is no longer welcoming the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of a teeming shore. Especially the throngs of those of darker skin, like those from Haiti, as exemplified by the recent hopeful souls who were brutally rounded up in Del Río, like animals, by border patrol horsemen whose actions were, I’d bet on it, sanctioned by folks in the higher rungs of government. Of course, after the visual evidence got disclosed on the virtual world, Biden, Harris, and Mayorkas et al claimed ignorance and surprise. Come on, give me a break. Crocodile tears don’t help, by the way. Just fix the darn immigration problem. Youse and other hypocrites in our government were elected to do it.
Better late than ever… Yolanda López, and artist and activist, finally gets noticed by mainstream. After she dies. She was 78 and passed away of liver cancer complications on September 3, 2021. She was born in San Diego. Grew up there and went to school there. Then moved to San Francisco, the Mission district. She was often criticized for transforming the image of the virgin of Guadalupe, a Mexican icon and a tool invented by the Spanish clergy and the conquistadores (the invaders) to turn the natives into Catholics. Yolanda tweaked the image and revamped it as a Chicana superhero. That and other pieces of her art were never really known beyond the perimeters that surround some of the barrios that knew of her, but now that she’s dead her art is probably going to be worth a mint. She also did collages and little cards that she called pocket posters, to make a point and most likely to also make a dime. But she never gave up on her art. She also struggled. I’m sure Yolanda went hungry often. It’s tough to sell your art sometimes. Especially when you are from the barrio. But she did sell some personal belongings at least once, I am told, to try to pay the rent and not get evicted from her home.
From one arms runner to another… The French aren’t happy with us. We just killed their submarine deal with Australia. It was worth a pretty penny, some 50-billion-dollars of pretty pennies. The U.S. convinced the Aussies to deep-six their contract with the French, who were to build a few conventional submarines for them, and to instead buy nuclear kind of subs from the U.S., in a three-part deal that included the UK. France’s Emmanuel Macron was beyond upset; he was a stunned mullet, as an Ozzie would say. He didn’t see it coming. But China probably did. It was them; it was the Chinese that made it happen after all. They were the catalysts for the change of mind, in a roundabout way. Mainly because China’s ever-growing tentacles have been ambling toward that part of the globe for a while. Something tells me, just between you and me, that those folks from down under were probably worried about becoming what they call shrimp on a barbie unless they opted for nuke type subs like the ones made in America, which will for sure help abate the China threat. So they cancelled the previously signed sales order with France, giving Monsieur Macron an unexpected “au revoir” and an I’m sorry message, which in French would more than likely translate to “je suis désolé.” I’m used to that phrase, by the way, the English language version. You know, “I’m sorry.” I’ve been told that plenty times by mainstream Americans after they’ve hit me over the head.
Until next week…
AUTHOR: Pedro Chávez