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.

Today in Texas History – April 27

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From the Annals of Heat –  In 1983, Nolan Ryan playing for the Houston Astros set a new major league record with after recording strike-out number 3509 against Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos.  Ryan broke a 55-year-old major league baseball record with the K.  Ryan would go on to strike out a total of 5714 batters in his remarkable career and record a MLB record seven no-hitters.   Less noted is the fact that he also is the all-time leader in bases on balls – but that is the price of longevity.  Ryan is the only player to have his number retired by three different ball clubs – the Angels, Astros and Rangers.  Among the stranger records he holds is his claim to have been the only pitcher in MLB history to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons.   He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1999.  Sadly, he is depicted wearing a Texas Rangers cap on his hall of fame plaque.

Cruz Stomped in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

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Here are the numbers for Cruz from last night GOP primaries:

Pennsylvania    21.6%

Maryland           18.9

Rhode Island    10.4

Connecticut     11.7

Delaware           15.9

Cruz barely avoided single digits in Rhode Island and Connecticut and was generally stomped elsewhere finishing behind Trump and the weakling Kasich.  Pennsylvania was the sole “dim” spot for Cruz last night where he eked out a second place finish over Kasich but still lost by almost 40 points to Trump.  Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that Cruz was bloviating about how 65% of Republican voters had rejected Donald Trump.  Well last night, close to 85% of Republican voters rejected Ted Cruz.

Cruz’s only path to the nomination is to pray for Trump to fall just short of first ballot victory and then sneak away from Cleveland with a second or third ballot nomination.  If that happens, almost every commentator is predicting rioting in the streets.

And then there is this from Cruz:  “If you want to beat Donald Trump, the way to do so is not some backroom deal in Washington that steals the nomination and hands it to someone who hasn’t won at the ballot box. The way instead is to beat Donald trump at the polls.”

Listen to yourself Ted.

That Basketball Ring?

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) attempted to capture some Indiana magic by appearing in the same basketball arena where the iconic movie Hoosiers was filmed.  But Cruz apparently is not very familiar with sports lexicon as he referred to the hoop as “that basketball ring.” That kind of flub in oral argument before a court of appeals would have his colleagues smirking.   CNN has the clip.

John Cornyn States the Obvious

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In an interview with KERA – Dallas, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) unloaded on Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) as a political opportunist.

“We’ve had our differences on tactics or how to accomplish those goals. Part of it [is] from the fact that I’ve been here a while and I’m part of the elected Republican leadership. My goal has always been to figure out how we can advance the conservative cause. I think he’s taken the more immediate shorter-term view of things. Clearly, he didn’t come here to remain in the Senate. He came here to run for president. I think that perhaps explains the difference in tactics.”

So the good folks of Texas voted for a man who had no intention of actually attempting to represent our interests in the Senate.   It’s no surprise to Red that Cruz views his current job as nothing more than a stepping stone to the greater glorification of all things Ted Cruz, but for Cornyn to essentially admit that is fairly remarkable.

All of this begs the question of what Cruz will do if he loses his bid for the presidency.  The Senate will not interest him at all, since it is by now obvious that he will not be able to accomplish anything in that august body that collectively hates him with a white hot passion.  So rather than be a meaningless if petulant back bencher, Red has a few thoughts on what our junior senator might do.

  1. Reality TV show with Sarah Palin – Ted and Sarah on the road, waving flags, shooting guns and talking crazy.
  2. Personal injury plaintiff’s lawyer.
  3. Don’t miss the “TrusTed” show at 9 pm EST on Fox News.
  4. Take over when Ed Young retires from Second Baptist – or push the old guy out if necessary.
  5. Find small third world country looking for Dictator for Life!
  6. Stay at home Dad living off Heidi’s Goldman Sachs paychecks and watching Hogan’s Heroes reruns.
  7. High school history teacher with simple message – Lincoln bad, Jeff Davis good.
  8. Multi-million dollar book deal.  Most copies remaindered for a $1.99.
  9. Actual tea party host.
  10. Or maybe Canada wants him back?

 

Renaming Austin School May Be Harder than Thought

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The Austin Independent School District is determined to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary school.  The school, located in a neighborhood just north of the UT-Austin campus, is now at the center of the growing controversy over removing Confederate icons from the public space.   USA Today reports that turning to the community to suggest a new name isn’t working out exactly like the school board had hoped.

The school board overseeing Austin’s Robert E. Lee Elementary voted last month to rename the school, deeming its namesake — a Confederate general — too polarizing. It then turned to the community to suggest a new name.

But the Austin Independent School District probably didn’t expect the top suggestion would be Donald J. Trump Elementary.

That name, with 45 nominations, heads the list of 240 suggestions announced Friday, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Thirty-four nominations urged the board to leave the school’s name unchanged.

Rounding out the top five were suggestions to name the school after Texas photographer Russell Lee (32 nominations), author Harper Lee (30 noms) or Elisabet Ney, the 19th century Austin sculptor (15 noms).

Other suggestions, shown on a list obtained by Mashable,  proved as colorful as Trump:

  • Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance (8 noms)
  • Kanye West Elementary (2 noms)
  • John Cena Elementary (1 nom)
  • Bee Movie (1 nom)

The British government could have perhaps warned the school board about the dangers of crowd-sourcing names. The top-voted name for its $300 million research ship was “Boaty McBoatface,” thanks to an online poll.

Red thinks Schooly McSchoolface has a certain ring to it.

Today in Texas History – April 26

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From the Annals of the Early “Bloggers” –  In 1874, the first of a series of twenty-three letters and poems authored by “Pidge” was published in the Austin Statesman.  The actual author was Thomas C. Robinson. Robinson had come to Austin in 1874 following a feud with a neighbor in his native Virginia.  He enlisted in the Texas Rangers and served under Leander H. McNelly during the Sutton-Taylor feud.  He was also involved the continuing conflicts with Juan N. Cortina’s raiders.  Robinson’s works describe Austin in the 1870s, but more importantly provide one of the few insights into what service was like in the Texas Rangers from observations in the field.  Unfortunately, Robinson returned to Virginia on leave to settle the feud with his former neighbor and was killed in a gunfight on April 4, 1876, shortly after the last “Pidge” letter was published.

Fire Guts Cleburne Cafeteria

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The greatest cafeteria in Texas was destroyed Monday night when a blaze consumed the Cleburne Cafeteria on Bissonnet Street.  The Houston landmark was almost entirely gutted by the blaze.  The CC was celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  The CC had been rebuilt after a fire destroyed the previous structure in 1990.  The CC – notorious for accepting only cash and checks – has been run by the Mickelis family since its inception and the walls were decorated with the art work of founder Nick Mickelis.  George Mickelis, son of the founder, was distraught over the loss of his father’s artwork – much more than the loss of the cafeteria itself.  But it appears that a few of the paintings may have survived the blaze.  The loss will be felt throughout the community and especially among its loyal patrons who packed the restaurant at lunch and on Sunday afternoons.  Mickelis vows to rebuild again.  Red will be back for the grand re-opening.

Photo from KPRC. 

Ted Cruz Accused of Campaign Violations

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) has been accused of campaign violations in the conduct of fundraising for his presidential campaign.  Texas Democrats claim that Cruz violated federal election law by illegally coordinating with the Super PAC that is promoting his candidacy but which is supposedly – wink, wink, nudge, nudge – completely and totally separate from Cruz’s official campaign juggernaut.

The complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission alleges that Cruz national co-chairman J. Keet Lewis violated federal election laws at an official campaign fundraiser in December by asking Cruz supporters to donate unlimited amounts, as well as to make corporate contributions to the pro-Cruz Stand for Truth PAC  (you read that right – “Lyin’ Ted’s” Super PAC is named “Stand for Truth”).

Under federal law, a candidate or agent of a candidate can solicit donors to a PAC.  However, it is illegal for them to solicit unlimited contributions or corporate contributions to a Super PAC.

The  complaint names Cruz,  Lewis, Cruz for President treasurer Bradley Knippa and Stand for Truth Treasurer D. Eric Lycan as respondents.  The primary allegations involve remarks Lewis made at the December fundraiser where he told the crowd, “If you hit your max then we have a table for you that is the unlimited table. It can take corporate dollars, it can take partnership dollars, and that’s the Super PAC, Stand for Truth.”

Lewis denies the allegations, but the complaint seems to be just one more in a long line of ethical questions plaguing Cruz’s campaign as it head into the final stretch of primaries over the next month.

Back to Prison for Bernie Tiede

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Bernie Tiede, the Carthage mortician who was convicted of killing wealthy widow Marjorie Nugent in 1996, will be heading back to prison after being resentenced by a jury on Friday.  Tiede, who was the subject of the hit movie Bernie by Texas film maker Richard Linklater, was temporarily out of prison awaiting a resentencing trial after a state district judge set aside his original sentence of life in prison in 2014.  The judge had determined that Tiede’s sentencing was unfair because evidence of sexual abuse that Tiede had allegedly suffered as a child was not allowed to be presented.

Tiede had been living in Austin in Linklater’s garage apartment during part of the time he was out of prison, but will now be incarcerated again.  The new sentencing jury was apparently swayed by testimony from Nugent’s estranged family who portrayed a different portrait of the manipulative misanthrope played by Shirley Maclaine in the movie.  The state presented evidence that Tiede enjoyed a lifestyle well beyond his means thanks to the company of older, wealthy widowed women, and that he killed Nugent when because he feared exposure of his mismanagement of her money. Tiede’s attorneys said he was the victim of Nugent’s emotional abuse and that his decision to kill her  was a result of that abuse triggering the memories of being assaulted by his uncle.  However, the uncle testified and denied that he had abused Tiede as a child.

After deliberating for only a few hours, the new jury sentenced Tiede to a sentence of 99 years to life.  Tiede will not be eligible for parole for another 13 years.  He he has already served almost 17 years for his crime.