Pajamas Media

I have decided to apply for membership in Pajamas Media. When I started this blog about a year ago, Roger Simon suggested that I blog about Mexican issues, especially as they related to the border. I have done so only infrequently for a couple of reasons. First, because I have lived in Mexico for some number of years, I consider Mexico to be a sick society with no real hope in sight of improving or correcting the glaring flaws apparent in its institutions, both government and NGO. Holding such a view makes one’s reporting and commenting seem a useless waste of time. Nothing is going to change, so why bother? Second, the 2004 presidential campaign and election held far more interest to me and seemed far more relevant to existence on this planet than anything cooked up by a corrupt Mexican society.

There is also another reason, if not to report and comment on affairs south of the border, then certainly to exercise some caution when doing so. My visa granted by Migración does not permit me to take any part in politics as practiced down here. I have been unsure as to exactly how honest and critical I could be and not run into problems with Mexican authorities. I do know that foreigners who took too active a part in various issues down here, especially human rights issues, have been rounded up and sent packing to whence they came. Since my wife and children are here, such a development would be, ahem, uncomfortable.

However, I have decided to forge ahead and see what I can contribute to the Pajama Media experience. I will be actively seeking local help, both Mexican and foreign, in this endeavor. I have finally been able to dump the creaky old dial-up line and now am armed with 256kbps DSL (Telmex’s Infinitum, we’ll see how well this works) so I have a little more power and speed to bring to bear. I will be reporting on what’s in the news down here as well as adding my own comments and opinions.

I will replace the typical blogger’s tactic of; 1) find a news story of some interest; 2) link to it and quote freely from it (fair use! fair use!), and then; 3) add snarky comment/opinion with a new tactic of; 1) find a Mexican news story of some interest; 2) link to it and quote freely from it (fair use! fair use!), and then; 3) add snarky comment/opinion. If the new tactic seems to you to be suspiciously similar to the old one, you haven’t been paying attention. The "fair use" doctrine would be considered a joke, and a bad one at that, by the media poobahs down here, so I run the risk of irritating them at any given point in time as well as risking the ire of myriad local, state and federal big-fish-in-small-pond tin horn politicians. Well, screw’em.