Voices And Views From The Border

Ajo is a beautiful small community in the land of the Tohono O’odham people, previously known as Mexico and now known as southern Arizona.

There are no real “borders” there – natural or man made – as the desert and the 3 nations work and live as one, while each maintains its own distinct identities and culture.

It was my winter home for 7 years.

Given the Trump Fascist Regime’s (TFR) militarization, repression, concentration camps, deportation, and tariffs (which greatly expands decades of prior repressive projects), we thought we’d repost some real voices and views from the place:

I travelled the border region for 7 years, from Big Bend Texas to San Diego, California. Here are some prior posts and lovely photos:

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Pagosa Springs

(Somewhere in San Juan National Forest, south  of Wolf Creek and north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. October)

“And the women all were beautifulAnd the men stood straight and strongThey offered life in sacrificeSo that others could go on

Hate was just a legendAnd war was never knownThe people worked togetherAnd they lifted many stones

And they carried them to the flat landsBut they died along the wayAnd they build up with their bare handsWhat we still can’t do today

And I know she’s living thereAnd she loves me to this dayI still can’t remember whenOr how I lost my way ~~~ Neil Young, Cortez The Killer (1975)

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Twilight On The Saw Mill River

Jasper Francis Cropsey (1887) (1823 – 1900)

I was born and grew up very close to the Saw Mill River, a tributary to the awesome Hudson River.

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Predictable But Tragic Irony In Reagan Airport DC Plane Crash

Reagan Fired Air Traffic Controllers

Trump Wants To Fire Thousands More

Trump lied that DEI caused the tragic DC plan crash that killed 67 people.

Trump is a despicable Dictator for doing that.

Doing that right out of the box was a disgraceful attempt to preempt any real analysis and to frame the media coverage. Shame on that shameless SOB.

Trump lied because the obvious facts are damning, even before the NTSB accident investigation gets underway.

Government does provide services that protect the American people. Trump’s Executive Orders to place moratoria on government funding, regulations, slashing government spending, seeking to “dismantle the administrative state”, and appointing unqualified loyalists to government positions will only kill far more people.

It has long been documented that the US air traffic control system is totally underfunded, understaffed, and reliant on antiquated technology.

On top of that, I’ve heard that a US Senator’s intervention with the FAA is what created the route and flight path from Wichita Kansas to the congested skies of Washington, DC.

And WTF was a military training mission doing in the congested and overcapacity night skies over Washington, DC?

I’m having a tough time getting my head around the incredible historical irony that this tragedy happened at the Reagan airport, given Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers .

Trump’s Executive Orders to fire thousands of expert federal employees will make Reagan’s attack and systemic underinvestment in FAA far worse.

That’s the reality that Trump wants to bury with his lies.

Will the US media and American people fall for this these lies AGAIN?

[1/31/25 – End Note: I lashed out emotionally in part because this one was much too close to home.

Just 45 minutes before this DC crash, my daughter landed in Philadelphia on a flight from Chicago. The flight was 15 minutes early, likely due to strong tailwinds. I checkout out the flight data as the plane was landing and saw flight speeds of 670 mph, over 150 mph faster than planned. When I mentioned this to my daughter, she noted that the landing was unusually hard. After I noted that it looked like the plane deviated from the landing curve, I asked: “Was the pilot in a hurry?”

The planes were in the air at the same time, flying from a similar mid-western location, with the same airline – and likely subject to the same strong tailwinds.

Was the DC plan early too? Could that have been a cause of the crash, e.g. the plane in the landing flight path  15 – 20 minutes earlier than expected? Would that timing have impacted the air traffic controller staffing assignments? Or the Army helicopters flight plans?

I know nothing about aviation, so this is pure speculation. We’ll wait for the NTSB Report.

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Wissahickon In Winter

During the proliferating consolidation of the Trump fascist regime, in addition to working in community on collective actions to defend the powerless and stop Trump, it’s vital to walk and get outside into nature, enjoy beauty, and escape the insanity.

Some scenes:

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