Ruminations of an Expatriate

My Ballot Arrived

Gringo Loco — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:28:32 +0000

No longer having a legal residence in the USA I wasn’t sure how I would go about voting in the presidential election, so some months ago I did a bit of looking around the internet for information. I happened upon the Democrats Abroad site, which has lots of useful information; and information at a federal government site.

I joined the Democrats Abroad and voted for Obama in its online primary. Obama won, overwhelmingly. The Democrats Abroad actually had delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

At any rate, in accordance with the information I happened upon, I contacted the voter registrar’s office in the county of coastal Washington where I lived for a bit more than thirty years before my expatriation. The registrar, in the county auditor’s office, checked with the Secretary of State’s office and determined that I was entitled to vote not just in the presidential election but in all of the statewide and local races, as well.

Today I received my ballot, via airmail. There is no postmark on the envelope so I don’t know when it was mailed, but it seems to me that the Mexican postal system service has improved in recent months. I had read sometime back that Mexican postal authorities had contracted with the USA a postal service to help improve the system here. And, as much as I criticize the USA government, the US postal service is first rate and its service is inexpensive.

I notice there is on the Washington state ballot an initiative which, if approved, would authorize access to “lethal prescriptions” for those “predicted” to have less than 6 months to live. It will receive a yes vote from me, though I think the folks should also be provided with a kit which includes the drugs, a bottle of Tequila, a lawn chair, a cinder block, a bit of cord to connect the block to the chair, and transportation to the beach.

Another initiative would require the licensing, based upon examinations and background checks, of “long-term care workers.” I will be voting no. This is another case, I suspect, like the massage therapists asking the legislature to require the licensing of massage therapists. Another state agency to further nannify life in Washington.

The other odd thing about the Washington ballot is that the candidates are listed as “prefers democratic party” or “prefers republican party”. The state legislature, some time ago, adopted legislation establishing that the top two finishers in the primary election go onto the general election ballot. So in some cases the two candidates are from the same party. I think it’s a good idea, particularly in an area such as where I lived where the republicans have historically run as democrats, since a large portion of the electorate are knee-jerkers.

So I will be completing my ballot this afternoon and will walk it down to the post office the first thing Monday morning. Though the return envelope is US postage paid I imagine I’ll have to buy some Mexican postal service stamps.

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“Undecided Voters”

Gringo Loco — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:44:24 +0000

If you’ve watched the, so called, presidential and vice-presidential “debates” (of course they aren’t anything resembling a debate) you’ve probably listened to the news reports of the reactions of “undecided” voters to the debate, some of whom are provided dial indicators with which they may register, in real time, their approval or disapproval of what the candidates are saying.

So how do the news organizations determine who is “undecided”?

Ben Smith, of Politico.com reports the comments of one of those undecided voters as to the screening process.

They asked a few questions regarding my choice in the Presidential election. They asked who I would vote for. I said most likely I would be voting for Barack Obama. They followed with, “is there any chance that you would change your mind”? I said “Of course anything is possible.” They then asked me as an uncommitted voter would I like to participate in the Town hall debate. I said “Of course!”

So it seems that the news media reports of the reactions of the undecided voters they have assembled are no more reliable than online polls.

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Dow Jones Industrial Average

Gringo Loco — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:22:15 +0000

A year ago today the DJIA hit it’s highest point ever, over 14,000, today it fell to 8,579.19. The S&P 500 has performed similarly. The result is that a diversified stocks account has lost about 35% of its value, and the markets have lost trillions of dollars of value.

This seems like really, really bad news, right? Well, it depends upon one’s situation. For those with cash and five or so years of patience it seems the stock market is approaching a very good time to buy an indexed mutual fund for the ride back up. And five or so years from now when one cashes in their profits, one can also sell their losers to offset one’s capital gains.

But, then again, I know very little of the subject.

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First and Second Spouses

Gringo Loco — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:41:52 +0000

I’m at the moment watching Larry King interview Michelle Obama and am very impressed. I know we are electing a president and vice-president, but who would you rather have as first and second spouses for the next four years - Michelle Obama and Jill Biden or Cindy McCain and Todd Palin?

87% percent of those Larry King viewers voting in his “quick vote” think Michelle Obama “would make a better first lady” than would Cindy McCain, whom 13% think would be better.

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Dickipedia

Gringo Loco — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:34:35 +0000

I searched the internet this evening for McCain’s biography and ran across Dickipedia, which is described as a site that “is a monolingual (English), Web-based, free content encyclopedia project with information about people who are dicks. The word “dickipedia” is a portmanteau of the word “encyclopedia” and the word “dick.” Dickipedia does not contain information about people who are detectives.”

The site contains bios of folks from Michael Moore to Lance Armstrong to Dr. Phil to Mel Gibson to Kim Jong-il to Santa Claus , and a bunch of others including the Obamas and McCains. I think it’s pretty funny, but think the site is lacking a bio of the reptilian James Carville.

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McCain - Unfit For Service?

Gringo Loco — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:09:50 +0000

Talking Points Memo has posted this video of McCain on the stump today, where he said “Across this country, this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners and the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent.”

It seems entirely legitimate to inquire as to McCain’s mental suitability to serve as president. Maybe this was just a slip of his tongue. We’ll see how he explains it in the next day or so.

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USA Economic Meltdown

Gringo Loco — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:50:05 +0000

If you’re interested in a succinct, understanable explanation of what is happening to the USA economy I recommend this piece by Nouriel Roubini, “Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business at NYU and Chairman of RGE Monitor.” Remarkably, Roubini wrote it last February and he is astoundingly prescient.

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Exchange Rate

Gringo Loco — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:28:22 +0000

I am not a currency trader and am ignorant as to what drives changes in exchange rates, but I do follow the USA dollar/Mexican peso exchange rate. I find curious the recent fairly substantial drop in the relative value of the peso.

When I opended my Mexican bank account in April of 2006 the exchange rate was around $10.7 pesos to $1. USA. The rate crept up to about $11. to $1. in the run up to the July, 2006 Mexican presidential election. My banker at the time told me that the value of the peso would probably increase after the election, a prediction which proved correct. The value of the peso has been generally increasing since, with the exception of a couple of drops in the peso’s value in March and September of 2007, to the point at the beginning of August of this year of a rate of $9.9 pesos to $1. USA dollar.

Since early August the peso has steadily lost value to a rate today of $11.79 pesos to $1. USA.

THE NEXT MORNING: And now this next morning the peso has further declined to $12.17 to $1.

I guess I should note that the decline has little effect on my daily life, other than perhaps an increase in the prices of imported goods. Also it may be a good time for me import dollars to my Mexican bank account, and for those in the USA to vacation in Mexico.

AND THIS AFTERNOON: $12.33 to $1.

WEDNESDAY MORNING: $13.18 to $1.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso extended its decline against the dollar on Wednesday pressured by soaring demand from local investors and companies in need of the greenback to meet foreign currency-denominated payments, traders said.

By Angela Kocherga / 11 News
EL PASO, Texas—The financial crisis is having an effect along the Texas and Mexico border.

Many are concerned that Mexico’s peso continues to tumble lower against the dollar.

It has been that way for the past several days.

Experts say that Texas businesses that depend on shoppers from Mexico are preparing for a rough holiday season.

Some shopkeepers in El Paso say they are already seeing a drop in sales.

According to experts, the impact is likely to be felt well beyond the border in our state.

That’s because, experts say, shopping is one of the main reasons tourists from Mexico visit Houston.

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Last Night At Tavola Trattoria

Gringo Loco — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:39:07 +0000

As I mentioned in the post below, last evening I went with my part-time gringo neighbor, Ross, to listen to an excellent jazz group and eat dinner at the Tavola Trattoria. My six readers may remember that I am a big fan of the restaurant, which serves the best pizza I’ve ever eaten. Ana, the owner, has recently had the interior courtyard, of the colonial home in which her restaurant is located, remodeled and covered to provide more seating and to provide a stage for the regular musical performances.

Here are some photos I shot last evening.

Ingrid from Mexico City, at the right in the photo below, has a voice at times very sweet and at others quite powerful. She performed quite a number of jazz standards, such as Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” and was accompanied by a very talented group of musicians, each of whom took their turns at periodic solos.

Here’s a closer shot of Ingrid and her drummer who was cut out of the photo above.

Here’s a shot from the back of the courtyard looking toward the stage. The stars above the stage and the insects hung from the orange tree are ceramic.

And a shot looking the other way in the courtyard. The fellow giving the thumbs up is Dr. Edgar, a dentist of some renown with whom I have become familiar through Tavola and who is entirely fluent in English. He recently returned from Italy where he presented at a conference related to dentistry.

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Independence Day Party

Gringo Loco — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:40:50 +0000

Here are a few photos from the Independence Day party organized by La Administradora, and family, of the apartment building where I live. The party was in the glass enclosure on the roof of the building.

There was painting of the red, while, and green of the Mexican flag onto the faces of the attendees. This extremely cute little girl is a granddaughter of La Administradora.

This very amiable fellow is an engineer at the Modelo brewery in Tuxtepec just across the Veracruz state border in Oaxaca. His wife and two daughters live a couple floors above me while he visits on the weekends and during his two week vacation to be here for Independence Day. His daughters have come to Xalapa to study at universities and his wife lives here with them. The entire family has been very friendly and kind to me since they moved in.

This is Ross, a gringo from Baltimore who spends his Summers here in Xalapa. Ross is a writer who works four days each week on the various books he has been writing. A couple of times each week he and I go to dinner together at the Tavola Trattoria. Last evening we enjoyed a great show of Jazz standards, in English, by a really excellent band from Mexico City in the newly covered courtyard of Tavola. I have today posted to the Tavola website photos I shot of the show and the newly covered courtyard seating . Ross is well informed as to history and politics so is great company.

This little guy was up late.

About midnight fireworks were launched from downtown.

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