September/October 2009

Volume 7 , Number 9/10

AUTHORS NOTE: MICROSOFT FRONTPAGE, THE PROGRAM THAT PUBLISHED THIS ENTIRE SITE TO DATE CRASHED AND ALMOST TOOK OUT THE WHOLE SITE ON DECEMBER 23, 2007. I HAVE PURCHASED ADOBE DREAMWEAVER SUITE AND AM LEARNING THAT PROGRAM. SEEMS MICROSOFT WORD AND DREAMWEAVER HAVE SOME CONFLICTS. I WRITE MY SCRIPT IN WORD, HENCE YOU WILL SEE SOME STRANGE PARAGRAPH VARIATIONS IN THIS MONTH'S NEWSLETTER. THIS IS A GROUP EFFORT TO KEEP THIS WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING. IF YOU APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE AND/OR YOU HAVE SAVED MONEY (BOAT BUYERS) OR MADE MONEY (BOAT BROKERS) THROUGH THE USE OF THIS SITE, PLEASE DONATE!

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GillBilly.com Tribute to the Kennedy Brothers

IN MEMORY OF BOBBY, TEDDY AND JACK

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Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.
Herbert Hoover

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INTRODUCING THE GillBilly.com MOVIE PROJECT!

This is an appeal to those that would like to benefit the fishing industry in this rather difficult economic environment, and who would also like to help promote and propel a new project designed to expose more adults and young people to fishing as a healthy family life experience. Thus bringing a greater green awareness of ocean and fish ecology. The project needs investors, screenwriters and any connections that may be usable in the film and animation trades. Your interest and support will be greatly appreciated!

Visit the GillBilly Movie Development Blog and Help Us Create the Movie by Adding Your Idea Comments.

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Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration.
Izaac Walton

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MEXICO DECRIMINALIZES SMALL SCALE DRUG POSSESSION

Mexico enacted a controversial law on August 20th, 2009 that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging free government treatment for drug dependency. The law defines "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamines. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution when the law goes into effect on Friday. Anyone caught with drug amounts under the personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory — although the law does not specify penalties for noncompliance.

In 2006, the U.S. government publicly criticized a similar bill. Then-President Vicente Fox sent that law — which did not have a mandatory treatment provision — back to Congress for reconsideration.

The maximum amount considered to be for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams of marijuana — the equivalent of two or three joints — or a half-gram of cocaine. The limit for methamphetamine is 40 milligrams, and 0.015 milligrams of LSD. The law was approved by Congress before it recessed in late April, and President Felipe Calderon — who is leading a major offensives against drug cartels — waited most of the summer before enacting it.

Calderon's original proposal would have required first-time detainees to complete treatment or face jail time. But the lower house of Congress, where Calderon's party was short of a majority, weakened the bill. Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate between addicts or casual consumers and the violent drug traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of over 11,000 people during Calderon's term. And in the face of growing domestic drug use, Mexico has increased its focus on prevention and drug treatment. Sen. Pablo Gomez of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party praised the legislation: "This law achieves the decriminalization of drugs, and in exchange, offers government recovery treatment for addicts."

Previously, all drug possession was punishable by stiff jail sentences, with some leeway for those considered addicts and caught with smaller amounts. In practice, relatively few people were prosecuted and sentenced to jail for small-time possession. While the United States openly expressed concern about the 2006 law, this time around it has been more circumspect.

Asked about the new law in July, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said he would adopt a "wait-and-see attitude." "If the sanction becomes completely nonexistent I think that would be a concern, but I actually didn't read quite that level of de facto (decriminalization) in the law," said Kerlikowske, who heads the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Whether the law's proposed sanctions "are actually enough or not, I'm not sure," he said.

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Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
Henry David Thoreau

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The only thing bad about winning the pennant is that you have to manage the All-Star Game the next year. I`d rather go fishing.
Andrew Lindberg

BOOK REPORT

¡ASK A MEXICAN!

This best selling book is a compilation of the author’s answers to the questions sent him in the ¡ASK A MEXICAN! column he writes in the Orange County Weekly. The author was a food editor at the paper, and had answered a couple of idiotic questions from readers each week about the subtleties of Mexican culture. Arellano is hilarious; this book is smart, well-researched and subversive. Within these pages we find an entertaining way to immerse yourself in Mexican culture and an immensely amusing collection of questions and answers about that culture.

Arellano explains the genesis of the column in 2004, “…one day my boss asked why don't you start a column called '¡Ask a Mexican!'?” I thought to myself, “That's a weird idea, but sure, let's do it.” So I made up the question, "Dear Mexican, why do Mexicans call white people gringos ?" And my response was "Dear Gabacho , Mexicans don't call gringos gringos , only gringos call gringos gringos . Mexicans call gringos gabachos .” So we ran the column. We figured it was a one-time-only joke. We knew we were going to get a reaction, but we were only planning to run it that one time. Once we realized we were getting a lot of questions, we figured we'd hit some nerves and that we needed to continue this. So we started answering those questions. Then one week we didn't run the column just because of space restraints and we started getting even more comments, "Hey, where is the Mexican? Why aren't you running the Mexican anymore?" Except for special issues, we have run it every week since.”

This is one of those coffee table books that you will pick up every day for further enlightenment. It’s hilarious, ribald, sometimes bordering on and being profane, and completely politically incorrect. You will soon realize that beneath Arellano's offensive stereotypes and penchant for vulgarity, the book's heart is in the right place. He states, “Ultimately, I like to confound people. I like to challenge people on every level, with every word I use.” In the book we explore simple questions such as “Why aren’t there any Mexicans on Star Trek?” and “If Mexico was settle by Spaniards, why do Mexicans drink beer and not wine?” To the question, “Why do Mexicans always cram into a small car?”, Arellano answers, “Because a burro can’t support more than 3 people!”.

The book also contains a handy collection of common Mexican terms defined as only this author could. Such as “”Otro lado – The other side. Otherwise known as the United States.” And “Virgin of Guadalupe – The patron saint of Mexico. Appears everywhere in Mexican society, from churches to silk shirts to hubcaps”. Also included, “Chuntaro – a Mexican redneck. Term used mostly by Mexicans against each other. Jeff Foxworthy is a white chuntaro.”

The most asked question in ¡ASK A MEXICAN! history?  “Why do Mexicans always swim in the ocean with their clothes on?”. The authors answer is both astute and well informed,  ““As with gabachos, an alarming number of Mexicans are out of shape… 24% of Mexico’s population is overweight. That’s the second highest obesity rate in the world, following-wait for it- ¡los Estados Unidos! Unlike gabachos, Mexicans respect the public when it comes to flashing our flabby chichis, pompis, and cerveza guts- so when we are out near the pool or by the beach, we cover up. It ain’t Catholicism, machismo, or a homage to our swim across the Rio Grande, its good manners.” Remember this when you visit your local Baja pool or beach this summer!

    Arellano concludes, “The column attacks everybody. Sure, I'll go after white racism, but I'll also go after Mexican racism with the same knife. But I would say that the people who ask me the questions are roughly a 50-50 split between Latinos and everyone else. More importantly, though, when I am out there in the community, when I am out there talking to people, people will come up to me and say, "'¡Ask a Mexican!' that's my favorite column,” and almost always it's people like myself, young Latinos.”

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The only reason I played golf was so that I could afford to go hunting and fishing.
Sam Snead

We`re not going to untie the boats until we get a reasonable price to go fishing. We love to fish, but you can`t keep doing it if it`s a losing proposition. We haven`t been offered a price that`s worth us going fishing for.
Larry Collins