Sunday Enchiladas

Most everything came from the freezer and pantry inventory.  Picked-up an beautiful, imported Mexican farmer cheese yesterday while in Sturgeon Bay. 

Lazy Sunday chile verde chicken enchiladas.

From six o’clock, homemade guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes.  Queso fresco and frijoles from our friendly neighbors south of the border.  

Chips.

Post-solstice there’s no eating in the dark either.

How good is that?

 

The End of Venezuela?

Geopolitical strategist, Peter Zeihan, posted this yesterday morning. 

 

United States forces have captured the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, in the capital of Caracas.  Peter suggests that this event marks the beginning of the disintegration of what is left of the country... 

 

 

I got all sorta questions.

 

If you watched Telemundo last night - Venezuelans were celebrating.  They appeared ecstatic that Maduro is gone.  How could that possibly mean the beginning of the end?   If Peter believes Venezuela was already a dead state and where civilization is going to disintegrate, then wouldn't this action be a positive one as it provides Venezuelans an opportunity to turn things around?  It might be more like the beginning of Venezuela as a functional state.  

 

The military operation was nothing less than a spectacular tactical success.  Yet, what is the strategy to follow?  Is there a plan, some sort of architecture to manage an orderly transition?​  Or will this be a nation building mission with a vague and nebulous end result?  

 

Venezuela could install opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado; whom Maduro didn't allow to take office and Trump has also dismissed out of hand. 

 

It will be interesting to see where things are in one month, three month and six month intervals. 

 

And ask yourself this.  What gives the United States the authority to attack another country and remove their leadership?  

 

Who is next?

 

Mexico or Greenland? 

 

Picking Winners and Losers - Part 2

Who’s winning?

Domestic US automobile manufacturers are subject to a 50% tariff on steel - resulting in the highest steel prices on the planet, a 25% tariff on parts imported from Mexico and Canada along with a 65%+ tariff on Chinese LCDs and electronics. 

The European Union can manufacture cars with zero steel tariffs, 4% Chinese tariffs, and zero tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. 

EU auto exports to the US are subject to a 15% tariff.

The Art of the Deal.......

On This Day In History

Spanish for the Fifth of May - Cinco do Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla which took place on this day in 1862.

Following on the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and the Reform War (1858-61) the country of Mexico was a social, political and financial basket case.   Owing money to French, British and Spanish financiers Mexican President Benito Juárez suspended payment leading to a declaration of war by the three countries.  Britain and Spain negotiated a settlement and Napoleon III used the opportunity as a pretext to invade Mexico and install Archduke Maximilian (of Austria) as a puppet monarchy. 

A ragtag Mexican force of 2,000 poorly trained and equipped soldiers led by General Ignacio Zaragoza engaged in a pitched battle near Mexico City against a professional French force of 6,000.  Despite being outnumbered and outgunned the Mexican forces prevailed in a decisive victory.

France ultimately occupied Mexico City so this was not a strategic victory; nevertheless,  General Zaragoza became a national hero and the defeat of the French at Puebla became a source of national pride in the Mexican resistance.

This day is not to be mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day - September 16, 1810 - but as a point of national pride it has evolved into a cultural celebration including food, parades, music and fireworks.  Mexican Americans celebrate it as a symbol of ethnic solidarity. 

As for me, I'll likely enjoy a frosty cerveza at the end of the day and raise a toast to my brown-skinned, Spanish-speaking compadres who keep the dairy operations in the neighborhood and Green Bay meat-packing plants running smoothly.

Salud!