Commentary by H.G. Listiak

Wednesday 1/28/2004

Welcome to My World, where the Mexican Government, of course led by El-Presidente Vicente Fox, is going to do us all another big favor. Fox, appropriately named because of his sly ability to hoodwink other leaders, Americans included, drops his unearned arrogance and makes a major deal out of actually allowing U.S. Peace Corps volunteers to serve in Mexico, the first ever in that country. Oh, it won't be your normal Peace Corps personnel, helping third world citizens with medicine, hygiene, and how to plant crops and feed themselves. No it won't be your normal volunteers in their baggy, tacky, khaki shorts, living with the peasants in their modest homes, smiling like Jesus or Sergeant Shriver, altruistically helping the underdeveloped for the whole world to see. These Peace Corps members who have been accepted by Fox, probably to smooth ruffled feathers over their role as part of the coalition of the unwilling in Iraq, won't be visible to the naked eye, the public, or the press. They'll be working on technology behind the scenes so that the Mexican people won't think they are living in an underdeveloped country like they really are. They'll be shadowed away in research centers to basically work on helping Mexico become more developed, something they claim they do not need. Confusing? Not really. Just regard it as another Fox favor, like the favor he does when he allows, even encourages, hundreds of thousands of his people, who of course love their country, to flood the U.S. borders, even dying to get out of Mexico. And like the other favors he does with NAFTA and other knee jerk deals that he has sucked out of the U.S. in the past. But let's not be negative. He did do U.S. antiwar protesters a favor. And without his favors what would El Republico, our morning paper, have to write about? Maybe one more favor would be appropriate. No more favors El Presidente. No mas, por favor, as I see it ... I'm H.G. Listiak.