Ponietz

Ponietz's Journal

October 2, 2021

When New Mexico defeated Texas in 1841, a territory cheered

Excerpt

In 1841, during his second term as governor, Armijo was tasked with confronting a threat from the east — not from the United States or France but from the Republic of Texas.

American-born Texans were in an expansionist mood that year and felt they would need room to grow their newly minted republic. New Mexico seemed ripe for the taking. Word reached Santa Fe of a contingent of Tejanos moving west toward the New Mexico border. Armijo amassed an army of Mexican New Mexicans and led them east to head off the invading army. This was the Texas-Santa Fe Expedition.

The Texans, who numbered about 300, were not prepared for the harsh terrain, nor for the vast, empty distances of western Texas and eastern New Mexico. Their miscalculations would dearly cost them dearly.

The brave contingent of New Mexicans was able to easily overtake and overcome its adversaries, who were in bad shape and half starving by the time the New Mexicans encountered them. Armijo took the Texans prisoners, and they were marched south to be imprisoned first in Mexico City, then in Veracruz, Mexico.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/commentary/when-new-mexico-defeated-texas-in-1841-a-territory-cheered/article_4e08626e-1fc6-11ec-85ba-cbf044ce0d59.html

The “Mexican New Mexicans” were constituted principally by Taos Pueblo members, and the brigands sent by Texan Governor Lamar were guarding a caravan with $200,000 in goods with the aim of wresting control of the Santa Fe trail from Mexico. Good thing the NM contingent didn’t make martyrs of them, though it was a close call.

September 16, 2021

The Oligarchs have us exactly where they want us--

Divided and at each other’s throats. Really, they’re autocrats now. They pay little to no taxes and are exempt from criminal codes that apply to the rest of us.

One third of our country, the less intelligent, the susceptible, the antisocial and psychologically damaged, have been scrupulously groomed and meticulously miseducated to make room for an agenda of enrichment for a few.

Postmodernism, relativism, deconstructionism, and like theories have altered the cultural Ph and made us ripe for the virulent growth of fascism. (My hot take is just as valid as your hot take—everyone gets a participation trophy!) I think Plato had it right. Ideals exist, but we only see shadows on the wall of the cave. Many have stopped even trying to see the shadows.

The deep pockets know and believe science, and understand that CO2 emissions must fall dramatically for the earth to be habitable and inherited by them (without estate taxes!). The solution? Violence. Sabotaging public health measures. Etc.

This civilization is functioning exactly as it is designed to.

September 5, 2021

La Portuaria feat. David Byrne - Hoy No Le Temo a La Muerte (Today I Do Not Fear Death)

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

I don't know what took it away from me.
No se que fue que me lo quitó.

I don't know if it was your kisses,
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song
O tal ves fue una canción.

Everything I owed, I paid back.
I gave away all my possessions.
And you won’t catch me sleeping
When they tell me the train is coming.

I already paid my debts.
Yo ya pague mis deudas.

But I don't want to have more.
Mas no quiero tener.

And I want to be awake
Y quiero estar despierto

When they tell me the train is coming.
Cuando me digan que viene el tren.

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

I don't know what took it away from me.
No se que fue que me lo quitó.

I don't know if it was your kisses
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song.
O tal ves fue una canción.

I m not afraid, to cross the river.
I m not afraid, to pass on over.
I jump over, jump over the fire.
Today I’m not afraid of dying.

Ay mamasita today I crossed the bridge without fear,
Ay mamasita hoy yo crucé sin miedo del puente,

That passes over the river.
Que pasa por sobre el rió.

Oh mommy today I jumped the rope,
Ay mamita hoy yo salte la soga,

And I just jumped off the slide.
Y me tire solo del tobogán.

I’m not afraid of dying

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

Today it soundenly happened.

I don't know what took ita away.
No se que fue que me lo quito.

It could have been your kisses.

It could have been your kisses,
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song.
O tal vez fue una canción.

September 2, 2021

Were extinct Pleistocene megafauna harnessed to build the largest Neolithic monuments?

Eric Von daniken’s Chariots of the Gods fascinated me as a child, and I witnessed a compelling UFO in my 20’s, but I recognized early the general lack of critical thinking skills in the ancient alien ‘community’. That is a more benign form of the QAnon phenomenon, in my opinion, but still pernicious because it undercuts belief in science. That being said, I’m posting this as an archeology student and asking for a refutation, if you can provide it. Thanks.

I visited Ollantaytambo in Peru’s Sacred valley, near Cusco, in 2015. I agree that current archeology cannot explain how the 50-100 ton monoliths at the Temple of the Sun were were moved from one mountain to the top of another.

Without doubt, Ollantaytambo’s Wall of the Six Monoliths is one of the most iconic and baffling pieces of Inca architecture yet to be discovered. Standing approximately 36 feet wide and 14 feet high, the wall is one of the great mysteries of the Andes. It consists of 6 massive andesite monoliths, which are curiously divided by small strips, which seem to serve little purpose other than to add a modern riveted steel effect to this ancient wall. The rocks are all masterfully crafted to leave not even a paper-thin crack between them. Archaeologists can only guess that its purpose was to face the winter sun, whilst scientists have only been able to add to the mystery by demonstrating that the stones were dragged 4km from the quarry of Chachiqata on the other side of the 1000ft deep valley and across the Rio Vilcanota. Weighing between 50 and 100 tons a piece, the effort verges on impossible, whilst the reasoning appears to be little more than to dumbfound all that gaze upon them. Littered around the Temple Hill are even larger blocks called the “Tired Stones”, named so after the local belief that they were too tired to reach their final destination within the complex. It is believed that this gargantuan building site was intended to become a Temple of the Sun, but work was abandoned for reasons unknown.

https://uncoveredhistory.com/south-america/exploring-the-mysteries-of-the-andes/

Those stones make me wonder if extinct megafauna were used as beasts of burden and, if so, would explain why the largest stones are always the oldest and predate the Inca. Humans domesticated the camel and the elephant many thousands of years ago. No one has established with certainty how far back they were first used. There were several giant species of both in the Andes and we have very little idea about their disposition or behavior. Imagine an animal as or more biddable than a camel—bactrian or dromedary—or an Indian elephant but twice or three times the size.

There was an enormous span of time, almost 200k years, when humans and these giant mammals coexisted. It’s important to remember that climate change, not human predation, caused the mass extinction. I am confident there were talented people to work out the details if it were possible. (Catbyte posts videos of such people just about every day.)

Probably only a single species, one that was endangered already before humans made contact, or a few select individuals within that species, perhaps orphaned individuals, were suitable.

In the past few years we’ve learned that the process for canine domestication started tens of thousands of years prior to the prevailing estimates—definitely prior to the end of the Ice Age. Extinction of predators may have preceded that of non-carnivorous species, leaving a dying species a brief window, a few thousand years, with no natural predators, and selection pressures toward docility.

Direct evidence for their limited use would be extremely scarce. There must be at least one grave, though, somewhere, or ceremonial remains of consumption or cremation. The animals would have played too important a role for zero direct evidence to exist. Maybe searching for bones and graves along the most probable routes taken would find it.

August 5, 2021

GOP removes official over comments on radio about Espaola residents

I knew and shunned this person in early 2017 when I learned he was a Breitbart huffer, TFG voter, and that his stupidity would never be outweighed by his friendly demeanor. I called him out, then, but little good it did the sick fuck.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/gop-removes-official-over-comments-on-radio-about-espa-ola-residents/article_fa6ecb8c-f53d-11eb-8c63-33eb443cd6a0.html

A Republican Party of New Mexico official has been stripped of his leadership post for making derogatory remarks about people in Española on a conservative radio show last week.

The party’s executive committee unanimously voted Tuesday night to remove Taylor Locker as vice chairman of the 1st Congressional District “due to his inability to conform to the policies and guidelines of the party,” the GOP wrote Wednesday in a news release.

“Locker came under fire after he made comments about the Hispanic community while on an Albuquerque radio broadcast last week,” the news release states. “The action by RPNM’s Executive Committee made it clear that such remarks do not reflect the values of RPNM.”

During Friday’s radio broadcast on The Rock of Talk, host Eddy Aragon introduced Locker as the “newly minted” vice chairman and asked him if he was from Ohio.

“Guilty as charged, although maybe this reference will help you,” Locker responded. “We kind of think of Cleveland when we’re down in the Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton area like you think of Española. You gotta keep that fenced off, make sure those people don’t populate with the rest of the state.”

“Wow,” Aragon, CEO of The Rock of Talk radio station, said before changing the topic.

When Aragon introduced Locker, Locker thanked him for the invitation and said, “Glad to be able to use my big mouth for something constructive.”

July 25, 2021

Which of these names do you prefer?

First grow is finally drying now. (If you are interested in growing yourself, I recommend http://www.growweedeasy.com.

The unidentified seeds were given to me. Looking for just an informal name to use among friends. Pear is the theme and it’s a sativa. Choose one or create your own. Thanks!

July 21, 2021

Facebook only just now gets around to blocking the #VaccinesKill hashtag

Facebook balances lives against dollars the same way Ford did with the Pinto. Civil liability is the only real way available, right now, to make them understand.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/tech/facebook-vaccineskill-hashtag/index.html

Last week, even as it came under fire from the White House over its role in spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, Facebook (FB) hadn't taken the simple step of blocking the #VaccinesKill hashtag on its platform.

Now the hashtag is hidden on the platform, locked behind a message that says Facebook is "keeping our community safe."

The change happened hours after CNN Business asked Facebook why the page full of anti-vaccination falsehoods was easy to find. If this sounds familiar, it's because almost the exact same thing happened with Facebook-owned Instagram two years ago, during one of the company's previous efforts to tell people that, seriously, it really was doing a great job of moderating anti-vaccine content.

It's yet another example of the Whack-a-mole that happens all across social media. Reporters or other users notice content that clearly violates a platform's policies; they ask why it is being permitted; the platform whacks it away; and then the cycle repeats.

The existence of the #VaccinesKill content was noticed by CNN last weekend, after President Joe Biden accused Facebook of "killing people" by letting lies spread on its platforms.
Biden later walked that back and focused his ire on individuals and organizations who use Facebook to spread disinformation.

It remains quite hard to get a handle on the scope of the problem. Many of the so-called "disinformation dozen" that Biden criticized, who were identified in a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate as super-spreaders of anti-vaccine propaganda, have been banned in some way from one or another of Facebook's platforms or have gone quiet. Some of the "dozen" have learned how to post in ways that create less risk Facebook will take action against them.”

July 18, 2021