When I read the Lodi News-Sentinel story last week that University of Pacific seniors would wear graduation gowns made from recycled plastic bottles, I was impressed. Curious about what other innovations Pacific might have developed, I went to its website to take a look.
To my dismay, I learned that Mexico's former president, Vicente Fox, will be Pacific's Commencement Week keynote speaker. The prior evening, Fox will give the International School's Gerber lecture, thus providing the community with two chances in less than 24 hours to hear his propaganda.
With hundreds of candidates to chose from, why would Pacific honor Fox with such a prestigious invitation? During his six years in office, from 2000-2006, Fox did not improve Mexico's dismal economic status one iota.
Rather, Fox continued a long tradition of ignoring Mexican poverty, preferring instead to come to the United States to pontificate to the U.S. about the value of welcoming his citizens. Among the many insults Fox leveled at Americans was his infamous 2005 slur on African-Americans. Said Fox to an audience of Texas businessmen: "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States." Although Fox later apologized under pressure, one has to wonder if his scripted comments don't reflect his true opinion.
Corruption tainted Fox's administration before he assumed office. First, Mexican banking officials charged Fox with accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions. Then, immediately following his election and as reported by the Los Angeles Times, Fox admitted that his ranch employed minors, some as young as 11. Fox quickly sold his interests to relatives and then claimed that child labor was no longer his problem but that of "other people named Fox."
Fox openly confessed to his failed leadership. On Oct. 8, 2007, when Fox appeared on CNN's "Larry King Show" to talk about his book "Revolution of Hope," a viewer emailed King a question for Fox. From the transcript: "Don't the leaders of Mexico feel ashamed that so many of their countrymen are leaving to find a better life in a country rather than their own?"
Fox's reply: "Partially, yes. That's partially true, this comment. It's our main obligation, our first obligation, to build up these opportunities in Mexico for our own people."
Looking back, there's not a shred of evidence that Fox came close to improving living conditions for his "own people." In May 2006, Fox's final days in office, the organization Human Rights Watch issued a 150-page report titled "Lost in Transition: Bold Ambitions, Limited Results for Human Relations Under Fox." Writing that Mexico's preceding presidents had "routinely violated the rights of its citizens ... then covered up those violations ..." Human Rights Watch was initially encouraged by Fox's two 2001 initiatives to end the nation's "legacy of state lawlessness."
But in the end, Human Rights Watch concluded that the Fox administration had been "deeply disappointing." As an example, it pointed to what it labeled "one of the most notorious human rights cases in years," the murders and disappearances of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
Returning to my original question: What, except for a blind devotion to globalism, would prompt Pacific to invite the former president of Mexico (five years out of office) to speak to its eager graduates? Why pay Fox's expenses and his generous honorarium when there are so many more worthwhile speakers right in Stockton?
Were any individuals who truly make a difference considered? I'm thinking of the emergency room nurse who works long hours in an understaffed hospital; the primary grade teacher from an underfunded school who buys his students supplies from personal funds; the police officer who cruises Stockton's mean streets to keep innocent citizens safe; or a soldier home on leave from Iraq or Afghanistan.
I'd love to hear their "from the front" opinions. But I'm disappointed that the some of the last words Pacific's senior class will hear will come from a failed, anti-American Mexican politician.
Joe Guzzardi retired from the Lodi Unified School District in 2008. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.
Darrell Baumbach posted at 9:43 am on Tue, May 3, 2011.
Brian.... Im not sure MS Bobin would think it is a matter of "deserves"... considering
Obama's Omnipotence, I think the halo comes with the territory... he cannot help it.
Brian Dockter posted at 8:53 am on Tue, May 3, 2011.
And Joanne,
I know of no one on the right who has suggested Sarah has not been dishonest. Unlike you and your ilk who are still sure Obama deserves that halo on his head.
Brian Dockter posted at 8:48 am on Tue, May 3, 2011.
Joanne wrote:
And I am so glad that Sarah Palin is sharing her financial information with you so that you are centain where her money is staying. I'm betting on some offshore accounts in the Caymen Islands.
-Joanne,
Most business people are always looking for tax shelters and places to hide their money. Sarah is not only a businessperson but also a politician. I don't know why
you want to keep on asserting, with no facts to back it up, that Democrats are less likely to try to find ways to hide their money or shelter it from taxes.
Brian Dockter posted at 8:43 am on Tue, May 3, 2011.
Joanne wrote:
Mr. Baxter's comments also make no sense whatsoever...Alaska, drug cartels...are you suggesting that Fox is using his speaking fees to finance drug cartels?
-For Joanne to suggest that Fox does NOT have ties to drug cartels and he does not receive money from them to keep his mouth shut nor does he funnel money to them
from his sources of income is naive at the least.
Doug Chaney posted at 10:09 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Mr. Baxter, my home has been paid for since 1994. Why would I want to rent from any landlord or slumlord, especially an overpriced dump in Lodi on the westside?
Darrell Baumbach posted at 8:42 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Pat.... you are having too much fun.... I'm jealous
Patrick W Maple posted at 6:26 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Isn't sarcasm wonderful? Joe B: It helps them...
Patrick W Maple posted at 6:23 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Joe B: Type slower...it helps. ms b: The disconnect is only an illusion of a smoke screen sleight of hand deceptive misconception posted by a wizard of magical chimera and a silver tongued devil...you know... like BO.
Joe Baxter posted at 6:03 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Mr. Cheney,,,,Check out the MY slum rentals on the eastside? You looking for a place to rent? Actually, all of my rentals are north of Pine St and west of Ham Lane.
Joanne Bobin...My comments make sense to people who have any sense.
Patrick W Maple posted at 2:45 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
ms b: Congratulation 35 yrs...that is quite an accomplishment in this day and age...of course maybe your husband has just put up with you like my wife has put up with me for 40 years.
The thread was about Vinny the Fox and is relatives...where they lived (ironically the family Fuchs originated in France!)...and where you could live...if you asked them. As far as Mr Baxter...his was a very simple point to get...Fox looked the other way for the cartels...Palin hasn't and wouldn't.
Joanne Bobin posted at 1:03 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
Mr. Maple: Thank you for providing documentation for the information I already stated. And I'm not sure why you are suggesting I move to Mexico was it? Or France, Germany or Spain? Not sure from your disconnected phrasing that is your trademark.
Mr. Baxter's comments also make no sense whatsoever...Alaska, drug cartels...are you suggesting that Fox is using his speaking fees to finance drug cartels? Hard to tell from your statement. And I am so glad that Sarah Palin is sharing her financial information with you so that you are centain where her money is staying. I'm betting on some offshore accounts in the Caymen Islands.
Patrick W Maple posted at 1:02 pm on Sun, May 1, 2011.
ms b: Wikipedia: Vicente Fox was born in Guanajuato on July 2, 1942, the second of nine children. His father was José Luis Fox Pont, a Mexican citizen[4] and his mother Mercedes Quesada Etxaide, was Basque from San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Fox's paternal grandfather was born Joseph Louis Fuchs in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catholic immigrants Louis Fuchs and Catherina Elisabetha Flach of Strasbourg, France [1]. The "Fox" surname was changed from the German "Fuchs" during the 1870s.[5]
I am SURE that they would have a place for you to live should you choose to move there...maybe you could ask them. Ask him why his other grandparents move to the US from France while you are at it. Geeeezzzz do you ever have anything to contribute to the discussion except lame comments?
Joe Baxter posted at 12:14 pm on Sun, May 1, 2011.
Joanne, I don't see drug cartels running Alaska, Not yet anyway. Keep up all this PC BS and they soon will be. We need to fight "fire with fire". Obviously coddling and hugging these creeps isn't working. And at least the cash Palin raises stays in AMERICA, not MEXICO.
Joanne Bobin posted at 10:16 am on Sun, May 1, 2011.
And what is the difference between this failed politician making a career from public speaking and say, a Sarah Palin, another failed politician, who hoodwinks the public for cash?
Joanne Bobin posted at 10:14 am on Sun, May 1, 2011.
Ironically, Mr. Maple, Vicente Fox's grandparents were Americans. Imagine that! Wonder why they emigrated to Mexico?
Doug Chaney posted at 10:03 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Hey Joe, maybe you could make a special trip to attend and while you're at it, check out your slum rental on the eastside?
roy bitz posted at 9:47 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Hopefully all University financial supporters will be attending.
Bob Marconi posted at 7:36 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Man, Joe, you've really nailed it. Unfortunately Pacific students are just as stupidly PC as any others.
Patrick W Maple posted at 7:36 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Joey G: I would like to hear from some of the front line people too: Joe the Plumber, Wanda the Waitress, Bob the Barber, Jim the Trucker, Leo the Farmer, Elwood the Electrician, Pete the Pharmacist, Paul the Physician, Lisa the Librarian, Ben the Businessman, Sammy from Sales.....how about just anyone else. This guy was a creep, a user and abuser...both of his people and the US. There is more to his scratch than the itch.
Patrick W Maple posted at 7:30 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Geeez Joe...that's a simple one......Because he makes ours look GOOD!!!! I like your last comment too. Fox was/is the slick Mexican/Spaniard dude who USED the Mexican people just like the liberals and their own people here do...to do their dirty work. A caste system doesn't even begin to touch the coat tails of these creeps.
Joe Baxter posted at 12:25 pm on Sat, Apr 30, 2011.
Throughout history, there have been a lot of "Those that can't do it, teach it". In this case, this guy can'tdo either. I was appalled when he had the nerve to tell America how bad we are when he can't even lead his own country to some semblance of civility. I am thinking he would be an illegal alien himself if he could.