PAYDAY COMING FOR PRESCOTT WHAT GAROPPOLO’S RECORD DEAL MEANS
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IMMIGRATION REFORM
‘Dreamers’ remain in limbo Senate plans that spare young immigrants from deportation rejected By Alan Fram and Kevin Freking A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — The Senate has left hundreds of thousands of “Dreamer” immigrants in limbo, rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nation’s bor-
Sen. Lindsey Graham, flanked by fellow Senators, discuss their bipartisan immigration deal during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday.
plan. Trump tweeted: “Cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the Democrats...totally abandoned! Republicans are still working hard.” Also defeated Thursday was a compromise by a bipartisan group of senators that would have shielded the young im-
der security. Senators dealt President Donald Trump an especially galling defeat as more than a quarter of fellow Republicans abandoned him on an issue that helped propel him to the White House. Trump, on Twitter Friday, accused Democrats of abandoning Dreamers because they wouldn’t back his immigration
Limbo continues on A3
TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
MEXICO CITY
7.2 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES CAPITAL Jon Elswick / AP
A Facebook posting, released by the House Intelligence Committee, for a group called "Being Patriotic" is shown in Washington on Friday. A federal grand jury indictment charges 13 Russians and three Russian entities with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election beginning in June 2016.
13 Russians charged with meddling Elaborate plot to disrupt 2016 presidential uncovered By Eric Tucker
Bernandino Hernandez / AP
People stand in the street as an earthquake shakes Mexico City on Friday. A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake has shaken south and central Mexico, causing people to flee buildings and office towers and setting off the earthquake alert system.
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
People flee swaying buildings and office towers
WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary indictment, the U.S. special counsel accused 13 Russians Friday of an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, charging them with running a huge but hidden social media trolling campaign aimed in part at helping Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. The federal indictment, brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, represents the most detailed allegations to date of illegal Russian meddling during the campaign that sent Trump to the White House. It also marks the first criminal charges against Russians believed to have secretly worked to influence the outcome. The Russian organization was funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the indictment says. He is a wealthy St. Petersburg businessman with ties to the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin. Trump quickly claimed vindication Friday, noting in a tweet that the alleged interference efforts began in 2014 — “long before I announced that I would run for President.” “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong — no collusion!” he tweeted. But the indictment does not resolve the collusion question at the heart of the continuing Mueller probe, which before Friday had produced charges against four Trump associates. U.S. intelligence agencies have previously said the Russian government interfered to benefit Trump,
MEXICO CITY — A powerful magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook south and central Mexico Friday, causing people to flee swaying buildings and office towers in the country’s capital, where residents were still jittery after a deadly quake five months ago. Crowds of people gathered on Mexico City’s central Reforma Avenue as well as on streets in Oaxaca state’s capital, nearer the quake’s epicenter. “It was awful,” said Mercedes Rojas Huerta, 57, who was sitting on a bench outside her home in Mexico City’s trendy Condesa district, too frightened to go back inside. “It started to shake; the cars were going here
Probe continues on A5
Mexico continues on A3
By Peter Orsi and Christopher Sherman ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Pedro Pardo / AFP/Getty Images
A patient is evacuated from a hospital during a powerful earthquake in Mexico City on Friday. Mexico's National Seismological Service put the magnitude of the quake at 7.0, and seismic monitor network Sky Alert said the quake was felt across the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla.
In Brief A2 | Saturday, February 17, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
THURSDAY, FEB. 22 Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society meeting. 3 to 5 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, second floor. Speaker topic: San Ygnacio and the River Pierce Foundation, Melita Rodriguez. For more info, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810. Spanish Book Club. 6 to 8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, conference room. For more info, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Mourners gather at the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Florida to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday.
FBI SAYS IT FAILED TO INVESTIGATE TIP PARKLAND, Fla. — The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a “desire to kill” and access to guns and could be plotting an attack, but agents failed to investigate, the agency said Friday. Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for the FBI’s director to resign because of the missteps. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the shooting that killed 17 people Wednesday was a “tragic consequence” of the FBI’s failure and ordered a review of the Justice Department’s processes. He said it’s now clear that the nation’s premier law en-
forcement agency missed warning signs. In more evidence that there had been signs of trouble with the suspect, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a Friday news conference that his office had received more than 20 calls about Nikolas Cruz in the past few years. A person close to Cruz called the FBI’s tip line on Jan. 5 and provided information about Cruz’s weapons and his erratic behavior, including his disturbing social media posts. The caller was concerned that Cruz could attack a school. — Compiled from AP reports
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, APRIL 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, APRIL 14 Habitat for Humanity Laredo major fundraiser Golfing For Roofs golf tournament. Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course. Hole sponsorships are title $10,000, platinum $5,000, diamond $2,500, gold $1,500, silver $1,000, bronze. For information, call 724-3227.
SATURDAY, MAY 5 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, JUNE 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, JULY 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
Kelly overhauls White House clearance procedure NEW YORK — Under pressure over his handling of abuse allegations against a top aide, White House chief of staff John Kelly on Friday ordered sweeping changes in how the White House clears staff members to gain access to classified information, acknowledging that the administration “must do better” in how it handles security clearances.
Kelly issued a five-page memo that acknowledged White House mistakes but also put the onus on the FBI and the Justice Department to provide more timely updates on background investigations, asking that any significant derogatory information about staff members be quickly flagged to the White House counsel’s office. The issue has been in the spotlight for more than a week after it was revealed that former staff secretary Rob Porter had an interim security clear-
AROUND THE STATE Sheriff didn’t pursue sex case against gunman HOUSTON — Sheriff’s deputies didn’t pursue a sexual assault investigation against the gunman in a mass shooting at a Texas church, even though the woman reporting it signed a complaint detailing the alleged attack, according to records released Friday. The records also contradict the reason previously given for why the case stalled against Devin Patrick Kelley, four years before the November 2017 massacre at a tiny church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Had Kelley been prosecuted for sexual assault, a conviction could have stopped a trail of violent allegations that culminated in the shooting. Authorities acknowledged Friday that the alleged victim was not given a forensic exam in June 2013 after reporting the assault, which she said had
David J. Phillip / AP
The sun sets behind 26 crosses at a vigil for the victims of the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
occurred three days earlier. And the investigation was listed as inactive because a detective at the Comal County sheriff’s office couldn’t contact Kelley, thinking he had moved. It remained inactive even after deputies were called to Kelley’s home in February 2014 to investigate a separate domestic violence complaint against him.
SATURDAY, AUG. 4
AROUND THE WORLD
First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
Houston firm sues ex Venezuelan oil czar over bribes
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ance that allowed him access to classified material despite allegations of domestic violence by his two ex-wives. Dozens of White House aides have been working under interim clearances for months, raising questions about the handling of the issue and whether classified information has been jeopardized. Kelly’s plan would limit interim clearances to 180 days, with an option to extend them another 90 days if background checks had not turned up troubling information. — Compiled from AP reports
BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuela’s former oil czar Rafael Ramirez was sued Friday by a Houston company that alleges he was behind demands for at least $10 million in bribes to sign off on deals to sell its energy assets in the South American country. The civil complaint filed in Houston came just four days after a U.S. offi-
cial told The Associated Press that Ramirez is suspected by prosecutors of having received bribes in connection to a major graft scheme at Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA. In the new lawsuit, Harvest Natural Resources alleges that starting in 2012 it refused a $10 million bribe demand from a Florida-based oil consultant who said he was acting in the name of Ramirez, then PDVSA’s president and Venezuela’s oil minister. The company had reached an agreement
“This was an error on the part of the sheriff’s office,” Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds told The Associated Press on Friday. Kelley shot and killed 25 people on Nov. 5, 2017, at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Authorities have put the official death toll at 26. — Compiled from AP reports
Today is Saturday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2018. There are 317 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 17, 1968, the original Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located on the campus of Springfield College in Massachusetts, was opened to the public. On this date: In 1815, the United States and Britain exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. In 1864, during the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley in the first naval attack of its kind; the Hunley also sank. In 1865, during the Civil War, Columbia, South Carolina, burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. In 1897, the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convened its first meeting in Washington. In 1913, the Armory Show, a landmark modern art exhibit, opened in New York City. In 1925, the first issue of The New Yorker magazine was published. In 1933, Newsweek magazine was first published under the title "NewsWeek." In 1944, during World War II, U.S. forces invaded Eniwetok Atoll, encountering little initial resistance from Imperial Japanese troops. In 1959, the United States launched Vanguard 2, a satellite which carried meteorological equipment. In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon departed the White House with his wife, Pat, on a historic trip to China. In 1988, Lt. Col. William Higgins, a Marine Corps officer serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group, was kidnapped in southern Lebanon by Iranian-backed terrorists. In 1996, world chess champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue," winning a sixgame match in Philadelphia. Ten years ago: President George W. Bush rejected proposed Democratic changes to his prized AIDS relief program, issuing a challenge to Congress from Tanzania to "stop the squabbling" and renew it as is. Kosovo declared itself a nation in defiance of Serbia and Russia. Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak, giving car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory. The East beat the Western Conference 134-128 in the NBA All-Star Game played in New Orleans. Five years ago: Danica Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race. (Patrick covered the 2½-mile Superspeedway in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.434 mph. A week later, Jimmie Johnson won the race, while Patrick finished eighth.) The Western Conference beat the East 143-138 in the NBA All-Star game played in Houston. One year ago: Over the strong objections of environmental groups, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency; Pruitt was sworn in later in the day by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Making his debut on the world stage, Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Germany, looking to reassure skeptical allies in Europe about U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who had made his "America First" mantra a centerpiece of his new administration. Today's Birthdays: Actor Hal Holbrook is 93. Actor-comedian Barry Humphries is 84. Country singersongwriter Johnny Bush is 83. Actress Christina Pickles is 83. Jim Brown is 82. Actress Brenda Fricker is 73. Actress Becky Ann Baker is 65. Actress Rene Russo is 64. Actor Richard Karn is 62. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 56. Michael Jordan is 55. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 55. TV personality Rene Syler is 55. Movie director Michael Bay is 54. Singer Chante Moore is 51. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney is 48. Actor Dominic Purcell is 48. Olympic gold and silver medal skier Tommy Moe is 48. Actress Denise Richards is 47. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong is 46. Rock musician Taylor Hawkins is 46. Actor Jerry O'Connell is 44. Country singer Bryan White is 44. Actress Kelly Carlson is 42. Actor Ashton Holmes is 40. Actor Conrad Ricamora is 39. Actor Jason Ritter is 38. TV personality Paris Hilton is 37. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 37. TV host Daphne Oz is 32. Actor Chord Overstreet is 29. Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 27. Thought for Today : "Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." — George Sand, French author (1804-1876).
CONTACT US to sell its stake in a joint venture with PDVSA for $725 million to Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina. Harvest claims that as a result of its refusal to pay up, Ramirez failed to approve the sale and the deal fell through. The complaint cited press reports in which Ramirez was quoted as saying that Venezuela was still analyzing the proposed sale and that “both the buyer and seller know what they need to do in order to obtain government approval.” — Compiled from AP reports
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, February 17, 2018 |
A3
FROM THE COVER
Officials gave activist’s information to ICE agents By Gene Johnson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SEATTLE — The Washington state Department of Licensing gave information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about an undocumented immigrant rights activist now facing deportation, records released Friday confirm. An email obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request shows the state agency sent ICE a copy of the driver’s license and license application for activist Maru MoraVillalpando on Dec. 7. Weeks later, ICE ordered her to appear before an immigration judge, even though she said she had not had any contact with law enforcement that might have prompted deportation.
LIMBO From page A1 migrants and financed Trump’s demands for money to build his border wall, though more gradually than he wants. Eight Republicans joined most Democrats in backing that plan, but it fell short after the White House threatened a veto and GOP leaders opposed it. The day’s votes, in which four separate proposals were defeated, illustrated anew Congress’ steep challenge in striking a deal on an issue that’s proven intractable for years and on which each party’s most fervent supporters refuse to budge. The outcome suggests there may be no permanent solution soon to help the young immigrants, despite their sky-high support in public polling. The Senate votes left the young immigrants facing a March 5 deadline that Trump has given Congress to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, that he annulled last year. Federal courts have blocked him temporarily from dismantling the Obamaera initiative, but without congressional action, the immigrants will face growing risks of deportation as their protections expire. “Dreamers” are immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and now risk deportation because they lack permanent authorization to stay. DACA gives them the ability to live and work in the U.S. for two-year periods that can be renewed. “It looks like demagogues on the left and the right win again on immigration,” said Sen.
The Seattle Times last month reported that the Department of Licensing had shared information with immigration authorities despite promises by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee that state officials would not enforce immigration laws. Inslee ordered the practice halted immediately and the deputy director of the department resigned. Activists have said the department’s director, Pat Kohler, should also step down. “For me, this validates what we’ve been saying for years: that DOL was giving information to ICE,” MoraVillalpando said Friday. “This agency willingly collaborated with ICE without asking any questions.” The removal proceedings against Mora-Villalpando and other immigrant-rights advocates around the coun-
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who helped craft the bipartisan package but also backed Trump’s plan. He added, “The only way forward is for President Trump to grab the reins and lead us to a solution.” That scenario wasn’t in sight Thursday. The White House trashed the bipartisan proposal as “dangerous policy that will harm the nation,” denouncing a provision directing the government to prioritize enforcement efforts against immigrants who arrive illegally — beginning in July. Trump proved unwilling to fold on his demands for a tougher bill, reflecting the hard-line im-
try have drawn criticism from United Nations human rights experts, who on Wednesday called on the U.S. to protect immigrant rights activists from deportation, saying they’re concerned about a pattern of intimidation and retaliation. “People working legitimately to protect migrants’ rights must not be restricted or silenced,” said the statement from the Genevabased U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. ICE has repeatedly denied targeting anyone for political reasons. “Ms. Mora-Villalpando is a Mexican national who violated the terms of her nonimmigrant status in the United States,” agency spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe said in an email. “All those in violation
migration stance that fueled his presidential run. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blamed Democrats for failing to accept what he said was a “generous” offer from Trump. “They turned away from a golden opportunity to solve the issue,” said McConnell. He expressed openness to considering a future compromise but said, “For that to happen, Democrats will need to take a second look” at Trump’s demands. Trump had dangled a chance at citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants, meeting a top Democratic demand. But
MEXICO From page A1
of the immigration laws may be subject to enforcement proceedings, up to and including removal from the United States.” Mora-Villalpando, an activist for immigrants held at the privately run Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, has been in the U.S. continuously since 1996. In response to The Seattle Times story, the Department of Licensing said it would no longer release personal information to federal immigration authorities without a court order unless required by law. The department had been handing over personal information to federal authorities 20 to 30 times a month. Washington is one of about a dozen states that issue licenses without proof of legal U.S. residency.
that plan also included $25 billion to build his border wall with Mexico and enact other border security measures, tighter curbs on relatives whom legal immigrants could sponsor for citizenship and an end to a visa lottery that encourages immigration from diverse nations. No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said after the votes that lawmakers might consider temporarily protecting Dreamers from deportation in a governmentwide spending measure Congress will consider next month. He said that approach “to me is not great, but that’s kind of where we
and there. What do I do?” She said she was still scared thinking of the Sept. 19 earthquake that left 228 people dead in the capital and 369 across the region. Many buildings in Mexico City are still damaged from that quake. Mexican Civil Protection chief Luis Felipe Fuente tweeted that there were no immediate reports of major damages from Friday’s quake. The Red Cross reported the facade from a building in the Condesa neighborhood, which was hit hard on Sept. 19, collapsed. And at least one strong aftershock shook building again in Mexico City. In Oaxaca, Gov. Alejandro Murat said via Twitter that damage was being evaluated, but there were so far no reports of deaths. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake’s preliminary magnitude at 7.2 and said its epicenter was 33 miles (53 kilometers) northeast of Pinotepa in Oaxaca state. It had a depth of 15 miles (24 kilometers). The epicenter is a rural area of western Oaxaca state near the Pacific coast and the border with Guerrero state. In the Condesa, frightened residents flooded into the streets, including one woman wrapped in just a towel, but there were no immediate signs of damage. “I’m scared,” Rojas Huerta said. “The house is old.”
are.” Democrats said Trump was the major hindrance to a broader deal. “This vote is proof that President Trump’s plan will never become law,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “If he would stop torpedoing bipartisan efforts, a good bill would pass.” The Senate derailed Trump’s proposal by voting 60-39 against it — 21 votes shy of the 60 it needed to survive. Fourteen Republicans — more than 1 in 4 — joined 46 Democrats in opposition. The “no” votes included some of the chamber’s most conservative Republicans,
many of whom were uncomfortable with offering citizenship to immigrants here illegally. Just three Democrats backed Trump’s proposal, all of them facing dicey November re-election in states he carried easily in 2016: Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. The vote on the bipartisan plan was 54-45, six short of the required 60. Eight Republicans who helped craft that compromise supported it, and three Democrats voted “no,” including Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who’s viewed as a 2020 presidential hopeful.
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A4 | Saturday, February 17, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Study finds too few Texans talk about politics By Ken Herman COX N EWSPAPE RS
Texas, we need to talk. And we need to talk about what we talk about and what we don’t talk about. Apparently — surprisingly? — it turns out too few Texans talk about politics. A new study says that’s bad for our civic health. So, in the name of improving our civic health, please take time today get a political conversation going with somebody. Here are two suggested opening lines: “Hey, is that Trump guy unbelievably great or what?” or “Hey, is that Trump guy bat-droppings crazy or what?” Let me preface this by noting I’ve never found Texans shy about sharing their opinions about politics. However, I’ve spoken with relatively few Texans when you consider there are more than 28 million of us. But the University of Texas Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life has spoken with lots of Texans, sort of. Its recently released 2018 Texas Civic Health Index is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey that asks questions to about 60,000 households across the country. The Texas Civic Health Index includes a section called “Discussing Politics.” (Spoiler alert: Texas’ civic health isn’t healthy.) “A regular practice of discussing politics with family and friends is an indicator of vibrant civic health,” says the report. “Texas, however, ranks 50th in the nation, with only 23 percent of Texans saying that they frequently discuss politics. This is less than half of the percentage of respondents from the national leader — the District of Columbia — who talk about politics with their family and friends at a rate of 48 percent.” There’s lots to talk about here, and we’ll do so. But first, more from the report: “Social and economic factors predict how often Texans talk about politics,” the report says. “Those with lower income and less education discuss politics with less frequency.” The numbers show that Texans who earn less than $35,000 a year “profess frequently discussing politics only 14 percent of the time, while those making more than $75,000 annually report talking about politics 33 percent of the time.” There’s also an education correlation: The more of it you have, the more likely you are to talk about politics, according to the study. OK, let’s start with the
fact that it seems fewer Texans regularly talk about politics than in every state other than North Carolina, which came in last at 22.4 percent, just below Texas’ 23 percent. By comparison, the 2013 version of this report said 26 percent of Texans said they discuss politics “with family or friends a few times a week or more.” That was not much below the 29.3 percent national average and placed Texas 44th in the nation. I also was struck by the report’s section on “Reasons for Not Voting” in the 2016 presidential election. In Texas, the leading cause (28 percent) was “Didn’t like candidates or campaign issues.” Second (20 percent) was “too busy, conflicting work or school.” Those two semidefensible-at-best reasons accounted for about half the ballot box no-shows. And the report notes it’s “notable” that in the 2012 presidential election, only 13 percent of Texans said they skipped voting that year due to “dislike of the candidates and issues.” In 2012, the most common reason for not voting (21 percent) was “too busy” or “conflict with work.” I continue to believe that for most folks it’s pretty easy to cast your ballot. Early voting for the upcoming March 6 primaries starts Tuesday and ends March 2. There are plenty of convenient places to vote. Check your county clerk’s website for the list. Self-suppression seems to remain the most common and easily solved version of voter suppression. The bottom-line diagnosis in the 2018 Texas Civic Health Index is that our civic health remains unhealthy. Texas voter turnout in 2016 was 47th in the nation. “The benefits of civic health remain elusive for many Texans,” the conclusion says, “and on most measures of civic engagement Texas does not compare favorably with other states. These findings should sound an alarm for anyone who cares about the future of Texas and of the United States more broadly.” Overall, the report found that folks who are younger, have lower levels of education and lower incomes “are less civically engaged.” “While efforts to improve the symptoms of our ailing civic health can alleviate our engagement problems, the findings of this report suggest we will not see lasting and sustainable change until we address the root cause,” the report said. Ken Herman is a Austin American-Statesman columnist.
COLUMN
Lying to investigators shouldn’t be a crime By Stephen L. Carter BL OOMBERG NEWS
Former federal prosecutor Ken White created a stir with his recent argument at Reason.com that neither President Donald Trump nor anyone else should voluntarily meet with investigators. By anyone else, White does not simply mean other people facing scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. He means you and me. Ever. According to White, the only reason prosecutors ever really want to interview targets is to trap them into a story and catch them in a lie. If they’re after you, you can’t talk your way out of trouble. Sure, you might have information that would exonerate you, but your lawyer can instead convey it informally to the investigators, without any risk. White is right, but he doesn’t go far enough. Prosecutors want to catch you in a lie because, when they can’t prove an underlying crime, it’s often easy to prove that you lied to them. That’s where the problem arises. I’ve been telling my astonished law students for decades that except in certain welldefined circumstances, lying to investigators shouldn’t be a crime. And it shouldn’t. Period. Part of the reason for my position involves symmetry. As long as government investigators are allowed to deceive you, you should be allowed to deceive government investigators. And deceive you they may — rather willy-nilly. If a suspect confesses after police falsely tell him that his fingerprints were found at the crime scene, fine. If a suspect confesses after police falsely tell him that
they have satellite images and DNA evidence linking him to the crime, fine. My view is that suspects should have the same freedom. If you can throw the police off the scent by telling them you weren’t there ... fine. This last point is important. White argues that investigators rarely talk to suspects without strong evidence of their guilt. Again, you’re not likely to be able to talk them out of pursuing you. So if your lie changes the course of the investigation, the case must not have been that strong to begin with. Another reason not to criminalize the lie. If, on the other hand, your lie doesn’t change the course of the investigation — if they still come after you — then the case was very strong from the beginning. And if the case is so strong that investigators still want to chase you after your lie, then your lie had no effect. So let’s force them to come after you for the crime they’re investigating, not for trying (and failing) to deceive them. Remember, they can deceive you. When a lie by investigators leads to a confession, we congratulate them on their great police work. By that logic, if a lie by a suspect leads to a decision not to file charges, we should congratulate the suspect on great defense work. Remember that the innocent as well as the guilty may lie, often to hide something that isn’t a crime but would be embarrassing or in some other way impose a significant cost. “I never met her” — when in fact you’re having an extramarital affair. “I’ve never said a bad word about my boss” — when in fact you’ve told friends how
much you despise him. “I didn’t speak to him” — when in fact you were the perfectly legal source on a story. A lie is often our reflexive answer when we get into trouble. It can be automatic, even when what we’re hiding isn’t a crime. (And it’s often not.) This doesn’t make lies a moral good — I’m on record that they’re almost always morally bad — but that doesn’t mean we should punish the natural human instinct toward self-protection. We shouldn’t criminalize a reflex. Yet we do. All the time. Prosecutors have a plethora of ways to charge a suspect with lying to them, even when they can’t prove any other offense. Of special prosecutors this is particularly true. I have been a critic of special prosecutors for going on 30 years now. A big part of the problem, as I have argued before in this space, is that they almost never prosecute the crime they were appointed to investigate. Instead, going all the way back to the administrations of Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, they prosecute people for lying. Even in the Watergate investigation, the prosecutors had trouble discovering an underlying crime. But at least the famous March 1974 indictment that included President Richard Nixon as an unnamed “person to the grand jury known” charged more than making false statements and false declarations, the far-too-common offenses on which prosecutors rely. The indictment also charged conspiracy to obstruct justice and defraud federal agencies. Although the fraud charge was thin, the ob-
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DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
struction charge was strong — and more than sufficient to bring Nixon down. This is a distinction that matters. Obstruction of justice should certainly be a crime, as long as the overt act is more than simply telling a lie. If you and your buddies conspire over how to mislead investigators, that should remain illegal. So should destroying evidence. And many lies to the government should still be crimes: in particular, lies under oath, whether or not before a court or grand jury, or in documents signed under penalty of perjury. True, if prosecutors put suspects under oath before questioning them, the suspects will be more careful. But that’s the point: The formal trappings surrounding the statement will play an appropriate cautionary function. The person who is under oath will think about what to say much more carefully than the person who isn’t. That seems to me a good thing. One might object that all of this would make the prosecutor’s job more difficult. But prosecution should be difficult, and should generally be aimed at discovering an actual crime. If, on the other hand, we aren’t going to grant suspects the right to lie to investigators, we should at least take away from investigators the right to lie to suspects. One might further object that this approach would make it harder to get President Trump. I’m no Trump fan, but I don’t think that in the rush to bring him down, we should make it easier to get the rest of us. Stephen L. Carter is Bloomberg View columnist.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, February 17, 2018 |
A5
FROM THE COVER PROBE From page A1 including by orchestrating the hacking of Democratic emails, and Mueller has been assessing whether the campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. The latest indictment does not focus on the hacking but instead centers on a social media propaganda effort that began in 2014 and continued past the election, with the goal of producing distrust in the American political process. Trump himself has been reluctant to acknowledge the interference and any role that it might have played in propelling him to the White House. The indictment does not allege that any American knowingly participated in Russian meddling, or suggest that Trump campaign associates had more than “unwitting” contact with some of the defendants who posed as Americans during election season. It does lay out a vast and wide-ranging effort to sway political opinion in the United States. The 13 Russians are not in custody and not likely to ever face trial. The Justice Department has increasingly favored indicting foreign defendants in absentia as a way of publicly shaming them and effectively barring them from foreign travel. The Russian group’s strategy included purchasing internet advertisements in the names of Americans whose identities it had stolen, staging political rallies while posing as American political activists and paying people in the U.S. to promote or disparage candidates. “This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the internet,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Friday. “The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to
promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed.” The surreptitious campaign was organized by the Internet Research Agency, a notorious Russian troll farm that the indictment says sought to conduct “information warfare against the United States of America.” The company, among three Russian entities named in the indictment, had a multimillion-dollar budget and hundreds of workers divided by specialties and assigned to day and night shifts. According to the indictment, the company was funded by companies controlled by Prigozhin, the wealthy Russian who has been dubbed “Putin’s chef” because his restaurants and catering businesses have hosted the Kremlin leader’s dinners with foreign dignitaries. Prigozhin said Friday he was not upset by the indictment. “Americans are very impressionable people,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s state news agency. They “see what they want to see.” The election-meddling organization, looking to conceal its Russian roots, purchased space on computer servers within the U.S., used email accounts from U.S. internet service providers and took control of social media pages on divisive issues such as immigration, religion and the Black Lives Matter movement. Starting in April 2016, the indictment says, the Russian agency bought political ads on social media supporting Trump and opposing Clinton without reporting expenditures to the Federal Election Commission or registering as foreign agents. Among the ads: “JOIN our (hash)HillaryClintonForPrison2016” and “Donald wants to defeat terrorism ... Hillary
Lleve con usted estos documentos al sitio de VITA: • Prueba de identidad • Tarjeta original de Seguro Social, de usted, su cónyuge y dependientes y/o una carta de verificación del número de seguro social emitida por la Administración del Seguro Social • Fecha de nacimiento suya, de su cónyuge y de los dependientes que aparecen en la declaración de impuestos. • Carta del Departamento de IRS si usted, su cónyuge, y/o dependientes recibieron un número de ITIN. • Comprobante de salario e ingresos en Formularios W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, de todos sus empleadores. • Estados bancarios de intereses y dividendos (Formulario 1099-Int, 1099-Div) • Número de ruta bancaria y número de cuenta para depósito directo • Monto total pagado a proveedores de cuidado en guardería y el número de identificación tributaria del proveedor (el número de seguro social del proveedor o el número de identificación del empleador del negocio) • Para presentar electrónicamente una declaración de impuestos conjunta, ambos deben estar presentes para firmar
wants to sponsor it.” The indictment details contacts targeting three unnamed officials in the Trump campaign’s Florida operation. In each instance, the Russians used false U.S. personas to contact the officials. The indictment doesn’t say if any of them responded. Two of the defendants traveled to the U.S. in June 2014 to gather intelligence on social media sites and identify targets for their operations, the indictment alleges. Following the trip, the group collected further intelligence by contacting U.S. political and social media activists while posing as U.S. citizens. They were guided by one contact to target “purple states like Colorado, Virginia and Florida,” prosecutors say. “They engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.” Cruz and Rubio ran against Trump in the Republican primary; Sanders opposed Clinton in the Democratic primary. According to one internal communication described by prosecutors, the specialists were instructed to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them).” And according to one internal review, a specialist was criticized for having a low number of posts criticizing Clinton. The person was told “it is imperative to intensify criticizing Hillary Clinton” in future posts. The indictment also asserts that the posts encouraged minority groups not to vote or to vote for third parties and alleged Democratic voter fraud. Ahead of a Florida
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rally, the Russians paid one person to build a cage on a flatbed truck and another to wear a costume portraying Clinton in a prison uniform. But they also organized some rallies opposing Trump, including one in New York after the election called “Trump is NOT my president.” The Russians destroyed evidence of their activities as Mueller’s investigation picked up, with one of those indicted sending an email in September 2017 to a family member that said the FBI had “busted” them so they were covering their tracks. That person, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, wrote the family member: “I created all of these pictures and posts, and the Americans believed that it was written by their people.”
Study finds quakes remain years after injection wells close ASSOCIATED PRE SS
DALLAS — A university study analyzing a sequence of North Texas earthquakes has found that seismic activity can continue for years even after wastewater injection wells are closed in order to prevent them. Researchers at Southern Methodist University said this week that highvolume injection near a critically stressed fault can “induce long-lasting seismicity.” The findings indicate that shutting down injection wells in reaction to
earthquakes may not have the desired effect of immediately stopping them. The researchers recently reported their findings in the peer-reviewed Journal of Geophysical Research. They studied a series of quakes near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that began in 2008. Nearby wastewater injection was halted in 2009, but earthquakes continued for at least seven more years. Researchers say the phenomenon isn’t unprecedented: A similar outcome occurred near Denver in the 1960s.
Frontera A6 | Saturday, February 17, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE FEATHER FESTIVAL EN SAN YGNACIO 1 La primera edición de este festival se llevará a cabo el sábado 17 de febrero en la plaza principal de San Ygnacio a partir del mediodía. Habrá venta de comida, música, concursos, danza, bingo, entre otras actividades para toda la familia. Más informes al 956-489-1064. SOCIEDAD GENEALÓGICA 1 La reunión de la Sociedad Genealógica Nuevo Santander, se reunirá el sábado 17 de febrero en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata, a las 2 p.m. Dora Villarreal presentará a la familia Flores de Guerrero. Admisión 5 dólares. Entrada gratuita para miembros. GENEALOGÍA 1 ¿Desea saber más sobre su historia familiar? ¿Necesita ayuda para iniciar su genealogía? Venga y reciba ayuda personalizada para investigar a sus ancestros utilizando recursos en línea. Voluntarios entrenados le ayudarán, este martes 20 de 6:30 p.m a 8 p.m., en Roma Birding Center. Evento gratuito patrocinado por la Iglesia de Jesús de los Santos de los Últimos Días. TALENTO MUSICAL 1 Show de talento musical en su 14 ava edición, el jueves 22 de febrero, de 6 p.m. a 9 p.m. em 2031 North U.S. Highway 83, en Roma. CONCIERTO 1 El Mariachi del distrito escolar Roma Independent School District invita a su concierto el domingo 25 de febrero en Roma ISD Performing Arts Center, ubicado en 2031 North U.S. Highway 83. Admisión general 7 dólares por persona. Cupo limitado. ANIVERSARIO PUENTE 1 El Ayuntamieto de la Ciudad de Roma y la Comisión Histórica de Roma tienen el honor de invitar al público al evento sobre la celebración de 90 años de historia del Puente Internacional Colgante Roma-Miguel Alemán, el próximo 3 de marzo. DÍA DE APRECIO A ADULTO MAYOR 1 Acompañe a celebrar y mostrar su aprecio por los Adultos Mayores y Winter Texan’s, que serán honrados por sus logros y por lo que siguen haciendo a favor de su comunidad, el jueves 22 de febrero. AVIARIO 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero. Mayores informes al 956-8491411 BOTES DE BASURA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa que sólo recolectará basura contenida en botes de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411
TIROTEO EN FLORIDA
Control de armas Sobrevivientes piden leyes más estrictas Por Kelli Kennedy y Jason Dearen ASSOCIATED PRE SS
PARKLAND, Florida — Los cadáveres aún estaban dentro de la secundaria Marjory Stoneman Douglas cuando los sobrevivientes del tiroteo de esta semana comenzaron a hablar sobre la violencia con armas de fuego. En lugar de tratar de refugiarse en sus vidas privadas, los jóvenes que atestiguaron la matanza de sus compañeros de clase rápidamente empezaron a pronunciarse en pro de leyes más estrictas sobre el control de armas y de un mundo más seguro. David Hogg, estudiante de último año de la secundaria, grabó video de
la masacre del miércoles mientras se resguardaba en un aula con sus compañeros. “Imagina escuchar las balas... es abominable”, dijo Hogg. “Por eso las personas necesitan ser activas políticamente. Esto debe ser un punto de inflexión”. Luego de otros tiroteos, muchos sobrevivientes tratan de sanar sus heridas en privado y volver a sus rutinas. Si hay exhortos para nuevas leyes sobre armas de fuego o revisión de antecedentes, suelen disiparse en cuestión de días o semanas. ¿Esta vez será diferente? Los estudiantes dicen que sí. Dicen que están cansados de ver sangre y cadá-
veres en las aulas, y quieren que su generación sea un catalizador para el cambio. Hasta ahora, los jóvenes han discutido en redes sociales con defensores de la tenencia de armas, han dado entrevistas para televisión y han hablado en vigilias que parecen mítines para exigir leyes más estrictas sobre las armas de fuego. También se lanzó una campaña en Twitter con el hashtag #neveragain (nunca más). “Me escondí en un armario por dos horas. Se trata de las armas de fuego. No estuviste ahí, no sabes lo que se siente”, tuiteó la estudiante Carly Novell en respuesta a un defensor de la tenencia de armas de fuego que criticó las reacciones al
ataque en la escuela de Florida. “Las armas le dan a estas despreciables personas la capacidad de matar a otros seres humanos. Esto se trata de las armas, y de las personas cuyas vidas terminaron abruptamente debido a las armas”. En una vigilia en honor de las víctimas, una multitud de más de 1.000 personas —en su mayoría estudiantes— coreaba “no más armas, no más armas”. Algunos adolescentes han criticado al presidente Donald Trump por no mencionar las armas de fuego en sus comentarios acerca del ataque en su escuela, y muchos señalaron los miles de dólares en contribuciones de campaña que Trump y el senador republicano de Florida Marco Rubio han recibido de la National Rifle Association.
Tyra Hemans, de 19 años, sostenía el jueves carteles de sus amigos muertos, junto con uno que decía “Basta de armas. Reforma ahora”. “Decidí hacer estos letreros para que cuando Donald Trump visite Parkland sepa que esto es lo que quiero. Quiero que el Congreso entienda que ayer arrancaron 17 personas de mi vida. Mi amigo nunca podrá decir: ‘Me gradué de la secundaria’”, manifestó con lágrimas en los ojos. Los estudiantes de otras partes se han sumado al coro de Parkland. El viernes, unos 100 estudiantes de la secundaria South Broward salieron de sus aulas para protestar por la violencia con armas de fuego. Llevaban carteles que decían: “Hagan algo” y “Protejan a los niños, no a las armas”.
TAMAULIPAS
NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO, MÉXICO
Apoyan a familias en región ribereña
ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO
E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
MIGUEL ALEMÁN, México— En gira de trabajo por la región ribereña del estado de Tamaulipas, el gobernador Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca y la presidenta del Sistema DIF Tamaulipas, Mariana García Gómez de García de Cabeza de Vaca, pusieron en marcha las brigadas asistenciales ‘Un Gobierno Cerca de Ti’ en los municipios de Miguel Alemán y Mier, en las cuales se ofrecieron cerca de 25 mil servicios gratuitos para la población. A través de las brigadas asistenciales se acercan a la población los servicios de salud, educación y trámites administrativos del Gobierno del Estado, con la finalidad de mejorar la calidad de vida de la población en condiciones de vulnerabilidad en zonas rurales y urbanas con alto grado de marginación. García Cabeza de Vaca se comprometió con los habitantes de la región a
ampliar el programa de becas educativas, reactivar e impulsar la ganadería, otrora principal actividad productiva de la región, invertir por parte del Gobierno de Tamaulipas en infraestructura vial, deportiva y en alumbrado público, mejorar viviendas y fortalecer la seguridad en la zona. Como parte de las estrategias y acciones para recuperar la paz y reconstruir el tejido social en la región, el Gobernador de Tamaulipas y la Presidenta del Sistema DIF, sostuvieron una reunión de trabajo con líderes religiosos y la comunidad en general, en las que se dio a conocer a los asistentes los beneficios y programas que la administración estatal brinda a la sociedad para mejorar su calidad de vida. La estrategia es operada por la Secretaría de Bienestar Social y se denomina Construyendo la Paz. Su objetivo es reafirmar el compromiso del Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas con las asociaciones civiles y religiosas, conocer sus inquietudes y convocar a la sociedad en general a colaborar en la reconstrucción del tejido social.
Foto de cortesía / Gobierno de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
A 187 años de la muerte del General Don Vicente Guerrero, se llevó a cabo una guardia de honor en el monumento en su honor, en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, la cual estuvo encabezada por la Presidenta Municipal Beatriz Posada Noriega (tercera de izquierda a derecha) y su cabildo. Vicente Guerrero fue uno de los jefes de insurgencia en la Guerra de Independencia de México. También ocupó la presidencia de ese país en 1829. Ha sido declarado Benémerito de la Patria.
COLUMNA
Peculiar y jocosa filosofía Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
A orillas del río Santa Engracia cobra vida en 1749 la villa de Güemes, denominación que el barbarismo vuelve Güémez. En horizontes decimonónicos, Manuel Payno la incluye entre las “poblaciones soñolientas, indolentes, perezosas” del centro de Tamaulipas. A contrapelo, el municipio veterano ostenta ahora el mérito de incubar peculiares y jocosos aportes filosóficos. Botones de muestra sobran: ‘Todo tiempo pasado fue anterior’. “Verdad o certeza que,
por” notoria, “es necedad o simpleza decirla”, así la Real Academia Española define las perogrulladas. A Francisco de Quevedo atribuyen el término, que incluye en “Los sueños”. De 1622, en la obra leemos: “Las mujeres parirán / si se empreñan y parieren, / y los hijos que nacieren / de cuyos fueren serán”. Quevedo achaca las perogrulladas a Pero Grullo. Considerándolo algunos ficticio, otros verdadero, coinciden en reconocerle el oficio de “gran profeta”. Con dichas pautas quizás, los apotegmas producidos en la parte noreste de México provendrían de ingenioso pensador. O sea
el Filósofo de Güémez: “Curva que se endereza, es recta”. El incisivo morador del pueblo “soñoliento” y “perezoso” deja ver contundencia y brevedad. Sin arredrarse, el aludido habitante de la aldea “indolente” enuncia: “Lo que pasa, pasa, y lo que no se atora”. Hacia 1950, el guanajuatense Leobino Zavala Camarena edita sabrosos poemas bajo el pseudónimo de Margarito Ledezma. Presidiéndolos aparente inocencia pueblerina, derrochan espontaneidad y sencillez. Análogos condimentos sazonan al Filósofo de Güémez: “Se está murien-
do mucha gente que no se había muerto antes”. De Guanajuato también, Efraín Huerta gana el Premio Nacional de Literatura en 1976. Sacude a bardos y estudiosos mediante los innovadores poemínimos. Una de las vetas que explora Huerta está compuesta por conocidos aforismos, trastocándolos con picardía. En forma coincidente, el mentado tamaulipeco nos entrega reinterpretaciones audaces: “Cría cuervos… y tendrás muchos”. Este último prefiere las máximas, vehículos de la sabiduría popular. Cuadra lo anterior con las hondas tradiciones relati-
vas en la comunidad de marras. Ramón Durón Ruiz en 1992 dedica primigenio libro al tema, de moda entonces. Con ínfulas machistas, se introduce la hipótesis de que el supuesto autor refranero acaso existió, remedándose la polémica concerniente a Pero Grullo. Vistos los antecedentes, nada improbable resulta que el Filósofo de Güémez constituya anónima invención colectiva, al estilo de Lope de Vega en Fuenteovejuna, “todos a una”. Eso sí, inspirándose en Pero Grullo, el controvertido güemence vaticina: “Si para el día último no llueve, ya no llovió en todo el mes”.
Sports&Outdoors
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, February 17, 2018 |
A7
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Big payday ahead for Prescott What Garoppolo’s big deal means for Dallas’ QB By Clarence E. Hill Jr. FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM
Shortly after Dak Prescott’s sensational rookie season, amid the hoopla of owner Jerry Jones being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys brass gleefully resigned themselves to the fact they would one day make a neophyte quarterback the highest paid player in the NFL. It made sense, considering the excitement surrounding his historic play and the team’s 13-3 record. The position he played and the presumed improvement and success going forward would warrant as much. Well, the future is fast approaching. The decision might not be such a slam dunk anymore, given Prescott’s and the Cowboys’ struggles in 2017. But the reality remains the same. The Cowboys have not only not wavered in their belief that Prescott is their franchise quarterback for the future, but they have doubled down by trying to make changes to the offense to make it more "Prescott friendly". If things work out like they hope, the result
should take Prescott from the biggest bargain in the NFL to the richest player sometime after the 2018 season. The numbers are already out there, thanks to the $137 million contract extension signed by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo last week. That deal will soon be surpassed by Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins on the freeagent market and then topped again by expected new deals for Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. And of course, that is not even considering what a one-year wonder such as Minnesota’s Case Keenum might receive. For Prescott, all it means is cha-ching. As a fourth-round pick in 2016, Prescott signed a four-year deal for $2.723 million with a $383,393 signing bonus. His base salary in 2018 is $630,000 and he’ll count $725,848 against the cap. No matter what you think about his accuracy and struggles in 2017, there is no denying he was the biggest bargain in the NFL. That bargain has an expiration date. Prescott is signed
Chris Szagola / Associated Press file
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott may be headed for a big contract extension in 2019 after the 49ers made Jimmy Garappolo the highest paid player in league history after starting only seven career games.
through 2019, but he can be signed to a new deal after his third full season, which is the end of 2018. He has a $720,000 base salary for 2019. There is little chance he plays for that. It’s the same route that Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson took after becoming a superstar and surpassing the draft status of an overlooked third-round pick in 2012.
He signed a four-year, $87.6 million contract extension before the 2015 season, making Wilson the second-highest-paid player in NFL history at the time. But there is a huge difference between playing in Seattle and playing for America’s Team. Nobody in the NFL signed more marketing deals since the end of the 2016 season than Prescott.
His list of endorsements include: New Era caps, Beats by Dre headphones, Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Tostitos tortilla chips, Pepsi, 7-Eleven, it’s Nicholas Air, DirecTV, Panini America, adidas and Dannon Yogurt. His off-field salary was five times what he made on the field in 2017. Per NFLPA records, he led the NFL in jersey sales from March 1 to Nov. 30,
2017. Again, that’s money for Prescott, but it’s also money and cache for the Cowboys. Earning status as the highest paid player in the NFL is not about being the best player, it’s about the timing of the deal. The timing couldn’t be better, considering what Garoppolo got and the expected quarterback deals to come.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
RANGERS HAVE QUITE AN ARRAY IN ROTATION PLANS Newcomers like Minor, Fister, Moore and Colon competing to join the Rangers’ starting staff Stephen Hawkins A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers have quite an array of pitching candidates behind ace Cole Hamels along with a working plan for some variation outside of a traditional five-man rotation. Manager Jeff Banister hinted throughout the offseason about the possibility of a six-man rotation. "We are leaning toward some variation that gives these guys additional rest," general manager Jon Daniels said Thursday before the Rangers went through their first official spring training workout. "It may be flexible, but we are going to look to give guys additional recovery time. That's the priority, both for health and performance reasons." While their No. 1 starter is healthy after his fewest innings since his rookie season 12 years ago, the Rangers also have returning left-hander Martin Perez. He broke a bone in his non-throwing elbow after being spooked by a cow during the offseason. Matt Bush, a hardthrowing reliever who at 32 is going into only his third MLB season, already declared himself a starter. Then there are the newcomers: — Mike Minor, a lefty who hasn't started since 2014, signed a $28 million, three-year con-
tract. He was a full-time reliever with 65 appearances for Kansas City last year after missing two full seasons because of injury — Right-hander Doug Fister agreed to a $4 million one-year deal that could be worth up to $11.5 million over two seasons. — Matt Moore, another lefty, was acquired in a trade from the San Francisco Giants. Rangers fans may also remember his unexpected start for Tampa Bay, and his seven scoreless innings to win Game 1 of the 2011 AL Division Series. He tied for the NL lead in losses last year with 15. — And then 44-year-old Bartolo Colon, in camp on a minor league deal. The oldest player to appear in both the AL and NL, he hopes to play in his 21st season and with his 11th major league team. "My motivation is I like to be around this," Colon said through a translator. "Of course, if I make the team, I think I can be a good help for the young guys this team has now." The schedule was altered a bit because of damp fields after unusual steady rain. Fielding drills were scrapped, though pitchers went through conditioning and bullpen sessions. "Just not going to risk putting them out on a wet field on day one," Banister said. Banister said the organization has looked at a number of rotation scenarios, both for the full
season and mapping out the first half of the season. "Don't miss the point of this being health-related, peak performance-related, those types of things," Banister said. Hamels, Fister and Moore will prepare in spring training like they normally would for a season. Perez will, too, once he catches up on conditioning. A portion of bone was replaced in his right elbow following the fall off a fence at his ranch in his native Venezuela. He had surgery in mid-December and expects to be ready for the start of the season. Former first-round draft picks Bush and Minor will be making the transition from the bullpen, Bush for the first time in his career. The right-hander, drafted first overall as an infielder by San Diego in 2004, has a 3.08 ERA in 114 innings in 115 games over two major league seasons. Minor was 6-6 with a 2.55 ERA in 77 2/3 innings last season with Kansas City after missing the 2015 and 2016 seasons with shoulder issues. The Braves picked him seventh overall in the 2009 amateur draft, a year before his big league debut. "Guys are in different categories," Daniels said. "You have Matt and Mike that are making a transition. Mike's done it before, but it's been a few years. ... Mike and Matt, we'll monitor a little differently."
Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press
New Texas pitcher Mike Minor is one of many hurlers the Rangers have for the upcoming 2018 season.
A8 | Saturday, February 17, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
BUSINESS
Stocks stretch winning streak to 6 days despite turbulence By Marley Jay A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — Stocks closed out their strongest week in five years Friday and have now recovered more than half of the losses they suffered in a plunge at the beginning of the month. Investors got back to buying stocks almost as quickly as they started dumping them. The gain Friday was the sixth in a row for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. A com-
bination of cheaper prices for stocks as well as solid company profits put investors back in a buying mood. The S&P 500, which many index funds track, has risen almost 6 percent in its current streak. Investors haven’t hesitated to buy the same types of stocks that did well before the market’s recent slump, including technology companies and banks. In a typical market downturn, investors might avoid stocks that
have had huge run-ups out of fear they had gotten too expensive. Instead, investors are still betting on more strength in the economy and are buying companies that tend to do better in times of faster growth. After an unusually long period of calm, stocks plunged at the start of February as investors worried about inflation and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 fell as much as 10 percent from its latest record high reached
January 26. But investors weren’t scared off for long. “Rates started to stabilize and you got some better economic data, and earnings in general have been pretty good,” said Sameer Samana, global equity and technical strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Samana said bond and credit markets showed that the fear wasn’t spreading. Companies were still able to borrow at relatively low rates, which showed lenders
weren’t concerned the economy was weakening. “A lot of people probably looked at stocks vs. credit and probably thought ‘if credit’s not feeling it, things must not be all that bad,”’ he said. The S&P 500 gained 1.02 points, or less than 0.1 percent, at 2,732.22. That includes a gain of 4.3 percent this week, its best since January 2013. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.01 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,219.38. The Nasdaq
composite lost 16.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,239.47. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks climbed 6.35 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,543.55. U.S. crude oil picked up 34 cents to $61.68 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 51 cents to $64.84 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.75 a gallon. Heating oil added 2 cents to $1.91 a gallon. Natural gas slipped 2 cents to $2.56 per 1,000 cubic feet.