Monthly Archives: November 2015

Today in Texas History – November 20

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From the Annals of Journalism – In 1941, writer Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker gave a speech at Southern Methodist University in which he advocated for United States entry into World War II.  After his address, HRK engaged in a heated debate with students who opposed his views.  Knickerbocker was born in Yoakum, Texas and graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown.  He moved to New York and began a distinguished career in journalism. HRK later relocated to Munich, Germany, with the intention of studying psychiatry, but witnessed Adolf Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923.  He resumed his journalism career becoming chief Berlin correspondent for the New York Evening Post and the Philadelphia Public Ledger. In 1931 Knickerbocker won the Pulitzer Prize for his articles describing and analyzing the Soviet Five-Year Plan. With the Nazi takeover in 1933, however, due to his strong opposition to Hitler, he was expelled from Germany.  He forecast the coming conflagration in his book Will War Come to Europe and after the outbreak spent much of his energy attempting to convince Americans that the U.S. should join in the fight against Nazism.

Quote for the Day

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“I reached some plains so vast, that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I travelled over them for more than 300 leagues … with no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea …. [T]here was not a stone, nor bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.”

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in a letter to the King of Spain on Oct. 20, 1541, describing the Llano Estacado, somewhere on the southern great plains (i.e. the Panhandle) of Texas

Houston to Host Games for Copa America Centario

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Houston will be hosting at least 3 games for the Copa America Centario – the second biggest soccer tournament to ever be played in the U.S.  Not since the 1994 World Cup has the U.S. been host to such a high-profile tournament.  In 1994, detractors wondered whether the U.S. would support the world’s biggest single sport event, but those questions were washed away with all time record attendance numbers and a smoothly run tournament.

The Copa America Centario –  to be played from June 3 to 26, 2016 –  is essentially an expanded version of the bi-annual Copa America tournament which determines the champion of South America.  Since there are only 10 countries in COMEBOL, the South American federation, tournament organizers have traditionally invited 2 other teams to create a 12 team tournament.

The Copa America Centario will feature 16 teams – all 10 from South America, plus the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica and the winners of playoffs between Panama v. Cuba and Trinidad-Tobago v. Haiti.  The tournament will feature world renown players such as Lionel Messi of Argentina, James Rodriguez of Columbia, Neymar, Jr. of Brasil and Giovanni Dos Santos of Mexico.

Other cities that will host games are New York, Orlando, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Red will be first in line for tickets and is hoping the Argentina will return to Texas for at least one game.

 

We Don’t Need No Smart Peoples Telling Us What to be Learnin’ our Childrens

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In the face of numerous absurd statements in a recently published history book, the State Board of Education – which authorized the ridiculed textbook – has rejected a proposal to have people who might actually know something about history review textbooks for accuracy.  The 8-7 vote against the proposal at least indicates that not every member of the Board is a Tea Party hack.  But it is clear, that the Board functions as a wing of the Tea Party and is attempting to indoctrinate Texas students with conservative ideology at the expense of actual facts.  The Trailblazer Blog of the Dallas Morning News has more.

State Board of Education members on Wednesday narrowly rejected a plan to create a group of state university professors to scour Texas schoolchildren’s textbooks for factual errors.

The vote against was 8-7, with all the board’s Republicans except two opposing the measure.

The push for more experts to be involved came after more than a year of controversy over board-sanctioned books’ coverage of global warming, descriptions of Islamic history and terrorism and handling of the Civil War and the importance of Moses and the Ten Commandments to the founding fathers.

A tipping point to add more fact checking may have come last month. A suburban Houston mom’s alert that a newly approved geography text described African slaves forcibly brought to North America as “workers” set off a national furor.

At issue is whether the board should continue to rely on publishers and the public to flag errors. Currently, citizen panels nominated by the board have a narrower mission – to determine whether a book fits into Texas’ curriculum standards. Mostly, current and retired teachers sit on the panels.

Board vice chairman Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, offered the backstop panel of university professors as an amendment to a proposed overhaul of textbook approval procedures. Under his proposal, the board could set up a new panel drawn “solely from Texas institutions of higher education” to check the books for errors.

“I know that people are concerned about pointy headed liberals in the ivory tower making our process … worse,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we reach out to them and say let’s make sure these books are as factually accurate as possible?”

Why indeed?

 

Stand in Line to Insult Ted Cruz

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The thin-skinned Senator Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) thinks that Pres. Obama has insulted him by criticizing Cruz’s proposal to only allow Christian refugees into the U.S.

When I hear political leaders suggesting that there would be a religious test for which a person who is fleeing from a war-torn country is admitted, when some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution, that’s shameful, that’s not American.

Apparently, they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America.  . . . At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.

Cruz responded claiming that, “It is utterly un-befitting of a President to be engaging in those kinds of personal insults, attacks.” Cruz further charged that Obama was “belittling the Republican field” and called for the President to “insult me to my face.”

First, the Republican field is doing a more than adequate job of belittling itself with its  ridiculous rhetoric.  Second, Cruz seems to have a double standard about insults.  Cruz has accused Pres. Obama of waging a war on police, being a state sponsor of terrorism and violating the constitution.  Cruz also claimed that Obama’s “vilification of law enforcement” was responsible for the shooting death of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth – a patently absurd claim in light of the facts surrounding that tragic murder.   Them’s  fighting words where Red comes from.

Moreover, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC points at that if Cruz should be concerned about anyone insulting him it should be Cruz himself –  who just last year argued that we should be accepting Syrian refugees while castigating the President for failing to act.  But that was before Cruz realized he could score some political points with his Tea Party base by attempting to look tough by calling for a halt to resettlement of all but Christian refugees from Syria.

What’s more, Cruz is doing more than just posturing and thumping his chest for the cameras. As the Washington Post reported, the senator “introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit refugees from any country the State Department has determined is controlled in part by a foreign terrorist organization from entering the United States.”
 
How would blocking victims of terrorism help? Cruz hasn’t explained, though it’s the sort of move that’s likely intended to impress Republican primary voters.
 
That said, if the senator is serious about a spirited debate over U.S. refugee policy, perhaps the best course of action would be an argument between this version of Ted Cruz and last year’s version of Ted Cruz. 
Interviewed in February 2014, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared that Syrian refugees should be permitted into the United States and argued that this could be done without jeopardizing national security.
 
“We have welcomed refugees – the tired, huddled masses – for centuries. That’s been the history of the United States,” he told Fox News in a video featured on Cruz’s website. “We should continue to do so.” He added: “We have to continue to be vigilant to make sure those coming are not affiliated with the terrorists, but we can do that.”
I’ll look forward to Cruz’s condemnation of Cruz for his reckless indifference to national security.

Today in Texas History – November 19

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From the Annals of the Civil War – In 1863,  Pres. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a national cemetery for the soldiers who had fallen in the epic battle the previous July near the small Pennsylvania town.  Barely two weeks before the dedication, Lincoln was asked to make some appropriate dedicatory remarks.  His three minute address followed a two-hour stemwinder given by famed orator Edward Everett.  Lincoln considered the address to be a failure, but it has become recognized as the most forceful and eloquent defense of the democratic ideals of our country ever spoken.

“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 11

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“When it comes to football, God is prejudiced – towards big, fast kids.”

Chuck Mills

Red Rates Himself – Last week 4-2. For the season 40-20. Open front door, stretch arms, breathe fresh air – think positive thoughts.

Your God’s Favorite Team Pick of the Week: Patriots over Bills. Either God shines favorably on the Patriots or Bill B. made a deal with the Devil. The latter seems more likely, but the presence of divine intervention cannot be discounted when looking at the Pats. They lose wide-outs, linemen, running backs, ball boys and they just keep on winning. Red is picking the Patriots to win until they lose and then will pick them some more. That said, Red doesn’t like the lines here. God is telling him to take his money elsewhere. New England 33 Orchard Park 10.

Your God’s Second Favorite Team Pick of the Week: Raiders over Lions. Little known fact, God is a huge Raiders fan. Puts on the black and silver every Sunday, paints his face, opens up a 40, calls in Al Davis and always has 50 yard line seat. A more obvious fact, God hates the Lions. And just like Red, God is also a big player on the over line.  But he is going under this week with the line at 48. When God speaks, Red listens.  Oakland 24 Detroit 21.

Your Goddamnit Pick of the Week: Jets over Texans. The Texans seem to respond favorably to Red’s scorn, so he heaps it on this week. Texans, yeah you! You think that beating the Bengals is going to turn around your season. You have another think coming, Mister. Yeah, you have Red Ryder’s (nee Red Rifle) number. Well take that to the deli counter at the Central Market – they won’t even slice your ham correctly. The Bengals had an off week and you took advantage. La di – frigging – da. You think being 4-5 and sitting atop the Pathetic Excuse for a Professional Football Division (PEFPFD) that is the AFC South is something to shout about. Here, shout this – we are the first team in NFL history to be behind by more than 40 points in back to back games. You think that your defensive woes are behind you. Wait ‘til, Fitzpatrick comes back to NRG Stadium to put an asswhipping on the team that let him go – for Brian Hoyer! The bearded wonder is going to throw for 5 count ‘em 5 touchdowns. The Jets are going to steal your lunch, kick your ass and take names. Guys you never heard of are going to score touchdowns. Bill-O the Clown will be fired at half time. Red is going to bet the farm against you and have two farms come Monday morning. New Jersey 45 Houston 31.

You’re Oh my God! Pick of the Week: OTNA’s over Panthers. This exercise just isn’t all that much fun and much too time consuming unless Red can go crazy every once in a while. OTNA’s are coming off big win over the Saints. While Red is still convinced they suck, the time is ripe to eliminate one more team from the ranks of the unbeaten and it isn’t going to be the Patriots. Interesting fact of the week – never before in NFL history had 3 teams had 8-0 records. Another one falls away this week. Take the OTNA’s and the points – any points will do. Landover, Md 28 Carolina 17.

Your Godforsaken Pick of the Week: Jaguars over Titans. By the rules of the game, Red just can’t seem to avoid putting the Jaguars in the Shit Bowl week after week. These teams have but 5 wins between them. So the battle for the AFC South Basement (which is a sub-sub-basement indeed) will require Red, for the 4th time this season (at least), to pick the Jags to win this week’s Shit Bowl over the Titans. Despite Red’s warning, the Shit Bowl is not necessarily a bad game – just usually so. This one is on the knife edge of watchability so the usual measures (e.g., locking up weapons, hiding poison, avoiding high places) will not be needed. Red thinks it is very likely that Mariota will have an excellent game and that the Jags will score oodles of points against the shaky Titan defense. Red rarely bets the Shit Bowl but is making a big play on the over here at 43.   Jacksonville 32 Tennesee 25.

You’re a Mighty Fortress is Our God Pick of the Week: Dolphins over Cowboys. Red, you ask, “Don’t you have to pick another game to make up the weekly six-pack.” Well, Tommy, that’s technically correct, Red always picks at least six games and the occasional bonus game. But, Sammy, Red is tired this week and almost just dozed off writing this sentence. So where can Red turn when the other games are inducing a soporific state? Ah, Lonnie, Red can always turn to his unmitigated hate for the Cowboys to finish off this week’s picks. So, Jimmy, Red is going to pick the lowly Dolphins led by Lamar Miller who has almost single-handedly destroyed Red’s fantasy football teams this year. Let LM destroy the Cowboys for a change. And maybe next week Red will have to revise the Red Rule – but for now it stands at – Score 13 points and beat the Cowboys. Miami 13 Arlington 9.

Photo of Chuck Mills (left) coaching at Pomona College.

It’s Annual Unclaimed Property Time

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Each year the Texas Comptroller issues its unclaimed property list.  Under Texas law, unclaimed funds in dormant bank accounts, refunds, security deposits and other places will ultimately escheat to the state unless claimed by the rightful property owner.  It’s worth a brief check at ClaimItTexas to see if you might be due some cold hard cash.

Greg Abbott to Terrorists – “You Win.”

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Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) continues to posture on the issue of allowing Syrian refugees into Texas.  Abbott must know that he is powerless to stop legitimately admitted refugees into the State, but that message would not play well with his Tea Party base.  So instead, Abbott grandstands making spurious claims about his authority.  But under the Refugee Act of 1980, a state governor cannot legally block refugees. Each state has a refugee coordinator, which is funded by the federal government.  The coordinator works with relief agencies and directs federal funds for refugees. So while Abbott may be able to throw a wrench or two into the works, there is absolutely nothing he can do to prevent Syrian refugees from coming to Texas.

What our poor idiot governor is really doing is playing into the hands of ISIS.  ISIS and the ongoing civil war in Syria have resulted in a flood of refugees overwhelming Europe.  ISIS has seemed essentially powerless to stop this incredible population drain.  That is until now.  It seems clear to Red that ISIS intended the latest attacks in Paris to provoke the exact response we are seeing.  Cut off the willingness of Europe, the US and others to accept refugees out of the fear that a few jihadists might slip through, and you will begin to see the end of people fleeing from ISIS because there is nowhere to go.  ISIS wins.   And that is to say nothing of the moral bankruptcy of abandoning thousands of families who are suffering because of the aftermath of W. Bush’s foolish Iraq warmongering.

Maybe the rise of ISIS was not exactly foreseeable, but that Iraq would descend into chaos unless we kept a major, major military presence there was inevitable.  If Red hears, “The Surge worked and Obama lost the war,” one more time his head might explode.  The Surge working only because, the die-hard Iraqis were smart enough to realize that they could wait us out and that there was no way the US was ready for a decades long occupation of Iraq.  What has happened was more or less inevitable, but was also  greatly aided by the civil war in Syria.  And as much as we might like to, we cannot simply wash our hands of this mess.  Taking legitimate refugees is a part of American tradition and responsibility that we cannot now turn our backs on.  Unless, of course, you want ISIS to win.