Author Archives: Red from Texas

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About Red from Texas

I'm proud to be Red. I have lived most of my life in Texas and I love this place. Here are a few things you should know about me. 1. I am happily married and intend to stay so. 2. I live in a house that is older than you, unless you are really old. 3. I own 2 rifles and a shotgun. I think handguns are just trouble. 4. I have never killed a man, but have taken out some deer and hogs. 5. I was a good student, but never close to being valedictorian. 6. In no particular order I like the Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Astros, FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Texas Longhorns and Houston Dynamo. 7. I hate Dallas but always have a good time when I go there. 8. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan for 26 years but declared that I was no longer a fan during the 1987 strike. 9. I don't own any pets. I like cats, and a good dog and I have met at least 3 of them in my lifetime. 10. I think the best part of Texas is west of I-35. 11. I own two pairs of cowboy boots, but don't wear them very often. 12. I don't have a pronounced Texas accent, but can affect one when needed. 13. My last meal would be fried shrimp with tartar sauce, a baked potato with all the fixins', a dinner salad with 1000 Island dressing, yeast rolls and chocolate fudge pie for dessert. 14. I'm an old Dad, but my children are none of your business. 15. I have two degrees from UT-Austin and somehow managed to fall in love with and marry an Aggie. 16. Most of my family are right-wing nut jobs but I love them anyway. 17. When I get to play golf on a regular basis, I shoot in the low 80's. 18. I don't get to play golf on a regular basis. 19. I think Fort Worth is the best town in Texas by a long shot. 20. I have a mean herb garden. Regards, Red P.S. Remember it's not a color, it's a state of mind.

Red Calls the Copa America Centenario

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Red will be watching a lot of soccer over the next few weeks with the Copa America Centario and the European Championship overlapping.  Here are Red’s picks for the CAC starting tonight:

Group Stage

Group A   – 1st Columbia; 2d USA

Group B   – 1st Brazil; 2d Ecuador

Group C  – 1st Mexico; 2d Uruguay

Group D – 1st Argentina, 2d Chile

Red doesn’t think that any of the CONCACAF teams other than the US and Mexico stand a chance to make it out of group play with the possible exception of Jamaica.  The Reggae Boys got a tough draw with Uruguay and Mexico in Group C.  They clearly  could make it out of a weak group like B.  And perhaps Haiti will surprise and knock off Ecuador for the second spot in Group B. Costa Rica might have had a chance but with ace goalkeeper Navas out it is a tough road.  The “match” of group play comes early with the Argentina-Chile pairing on June 6 in Santa Clara.  The match between the last two teams left standing in the tournament last year will be must see TV for all soccer fans.

Quarterfinals

Columbia 3 Ecuador 0

Argentina 1 Uruguay 0

USA 2 Brazil 2 (USA advances on PKs)

Mexico 2 Chile 1

A bit of a stretch to think that the US can beat Brazil but Brazil is playing with Neymar, Jr. (who decided to play in the Olympics) and this is not an outstanding Brazilian squad.  Argentina will be at full strength and has numerous weapons but is weak on the back line.  Columbia breezes by virtue of a relatively lucky draw.  And Mexico is fielding perhaps their strongest team ever with Javier Hernandez in good form joined by Peralta up front and a strong back line anchored by Layun and Marquez.

Semifinals

Argentina 3 USA 1

Mexico 2 Columbia 1

The US gets a bad draw here and suffers from not winning its group. Argentina should be the class of the field and Messi needs to prove that he can lead his team to something better than the usual second place finish.  Mexico gets a Columbian team that has an off form James Rodriguez and is missing their best defensive players from their remarkable 2014 World Cup Finals run.

Final

Argentina 2 Mexico 1

This could go either way but Los Albicelestes finally get a big trophy to put up on the mantel.

 

Copa America Centario Kicks Off Tonight

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The second biggest soccer tournament ever to be held in the U.S. kicks off tonight with the USA taking on Columbia in Santa Clara, CA.  The Copa America Centario  is a celebration of 100 years of South American futbol and will be played outside of S. America for the first time ever.  The tournament typically features all ten COMEBOL national teams from South America and two invitees to make up a 12 team field.  But in honor of 100 years of competition, this year’s edition includes all of the S. America squads and national teams from the U.S. (host), Mexico (CONCACAF Champion), Jamaica (Caribbean Champion), Costa Rica (Central American Champion) and Haiti and Panama who won entry in qualifying rounds.  The field includes powerhouses such as Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile (the defending champion).   Games will be played in ten venues (including 3 games at NRG in Houston) from tonight until the final on June 23 in New Jersey.

Keep your eye on this space for Red’s predictions.

 

Today in Texas History – June 3

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From the Annals of Space –  In 1965, Astronaut Ed White of San Antonio became the first American to take a stroll in space.  The so-called “space walk” occurred during the Gemini 4 mission.  The extra-vehicular activity (according to NASA jargon) started on the third orbit when White opened the capsule’s hatch and used the hand-held manuevering oxygen-jet gun to push himself out into space. The EVA started over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and lasted 23 minutes, ending over the Gulf of Mexico. Initially, White propelled himself to the end of the 8 meter tether and back to the spacecraft three times using the hand-held gun. After the first three minutes the fuel ran out and White manuevered by twisting his body and pulling on the tether.

Photo from NASA archives.

Did Greg Abbott Kill Lawsuit Against Trump U?

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After documents were released pursuant to a open records request, it was revealed that the Texas Attorney General’s office had determined that Trump University was a scam worthy of pursuit under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  But now the Dallas Morning News reveals that a potential lawsuit against good ol’ Trump U was scuttled by none other than Our Poor Idiot Governor Greg Abbott.  Did Abbott – who was not shy about suing the federal government when he was AG – stop action against Donald Trump?  And did he get his reward in the form of campaign contributions from the self-proclaimed billionaire?

According to a DMN investigation, plans for the lawsuit and settlement negotiations had been carefully prepared; the AG’s office was ready to take action  and was looking at damages of at least $5.4 million for the violations – at least until the plan was killed by Abbott.

John Owens, the former deputy chief of the AG’s consumer protection division smells something rotten in the decision to let Trump skate after fleecing Texas consumers for millions of dollars.

“It was swept under the rug, and the consumers were left with no one to go to bat for them,” according to Owens who also claimed that the decision to not sue Trump was clearly political.  His consumer protection division routinely got approval to sue schools who offered bogus diplomas.  The only difference in this case was Trump’s status as a political player.

And what was the payoff for Greg Abbott?  A few years later, Trump donated $35,000 to Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign.  Other sources are reporting that Florida AG Pam Bondi dropped her office’s investigation and refused to join in a lawsuit against Trump just days after receiving a $25,000 campaign contribution from Trump.

So now we know just about exactly how much Texas consumers can be bought and sold for.  It’s a little more expensive than in Florida, but not much.

What Greg Abbott’s Office Had to Say about Trump University

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Our Poor Idiot Governor Greg Abbott has resoundingly endorsed Donald Trump for President of these United States.  But when his office investigated good ol’ Trump U back in 2010, it reached the conclusion that the whole scheme was a scam designed to fleece the gullible.   The Texas Attorney General Office’s investigation of deceptive trade practices at Trump University determined that the promises made to students were “virtually impossible to achieve.”

In the documents unearthed by a Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, Assistant Attorney General Rick Berlin stated that Trump University seminars  targeted real estate novices and promised “to teach these novices everything they need to know to be a successful residential real estate broker — in 3 days.”  But Berlin also noted, that in Texas, “to become licensed as a real estate broker you must have 900 hours of classroom instruction and 2 years selling experience.” Berlin also concluded that the information provided to students by Trump University “is essentially unusable,” and students “will be unable to recoup their investment in the course, much less make a profit, as promised by Trump U.  .  . . In addition to encouraging unlicensed activity (which is a misdemeanor in Texas), the course materials in a number of respects are simply wrong under Texas law.”

Apparently the AG’s investigation was enough to drive the Trump U hucksters out of Texas as the “University” stopped doing business in Texas shortly afterwards.

So kudos to OPIG for having driven a con man out of the state.  So exactly why does he want to bring him back now?  Does Red smell a vice-presidential hope in the air?

Today in Texas History – June 2

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From the Annals of Prohibition –   In 1911, prohibitionists mourned the death of  Carry Nation.  Nation was born in Kentucky in 1846, but lived in Texas for several years as a child in the 1860s and from 1879 to 1889. While in Texas, Nation claimed to have had numerous mystic experiences and ultimately came to believe that she had been selected by God and that she spoke through divine inspiration.  Her husband, a reporter for the Houston Post, ran afoul of the feuding sides in the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, and the couple relocated to Kansas. In 1892 she helped organize a local chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and was appointed jail evangelist. She began a crusade against alcohol and tobacco that lasted until her disability and death.  She became famous as the hatchet-wielding illegal “joint” wrecker  and berated persons who sold liquor. The sale of souvenir hatchets and earnings from nationwide lecture tours allowed her to pay the fines that resulted from more than thirty arrests. Although she was a national leader of the extremist element of the prohibitionist movement, she never had the unqualified support of the WCTU or of any other national organization.

Hillary Claims She Can Win Texas

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Politico reports that Hillary Clinton thinks that Texas is in play in the November general election.   According to  interview with Rebecca Traister of New York Magazine, Clinton has indicated that “If black and Latino voters come out and vote, we could win Texas.”

Here is a list of ten Texas things that Red thinks are more likely to happen than Hillary winning ultra-Red Texas in November:

  1. LBJ rises from the dead to reclaim control of the Democratic party.
  2. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wears make-up and dress -insists on using Ladies room.
  3. The Texas Supreme Court rules against an insurance company.
  4. Mary Lou Bruner commits herself to lunatic asylum.
  5. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller gives up cupcakes – loses 75 lbs.
  6. Land Commissioner George P. Bush figures out that the laws apply to him too.
  7. The Rio Grande reverses course – flows backwards to Colorado.
  8. Trump builds wall – Mexico pays.
  9. Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) decides to not run for President in 2020.
  10. Brownsville freezes over.

 

Today in Texas History – June 1

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From the Annals of the State Parks –  in 1969, the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park opened to the public.  The state park is directly across the Pedernales River from the LBJ National Historical Park which encompasses much of the LBJ Ranch.  The two parks operate largely in tandem and feature numerous sites including the family cemetery where LBJ and Lady Bird are laid to rest.