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Red’s Winning Bar Bets – No. 6
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Author Archives: Red from Texas
Click It or Ticket – or Just Ticket
A stretch of Highway 6 has apparently become infamous for the amount of speeding tickets issued by a trio of Texas towns. WFAA pulled ticket files on a group of cities along I-45 to prepare a story, but the “problem” apparently extends beyond that Interstate. Hearne, Calvert and Lott are apparently funding local government operations through nabbing speeders on the venerable highway. The Blaze explains.
After that story aired, a local judge who had volunteered for 15 years contacted the station to say the problem is even more widespread and that it got so bad in his area, he resigned.
“When I first became a judge, we had one reserve officer,” David Viscarde, the former judge in the town of Calvert, told WFAA. “That’s all he did on Friday and Saturday every other weekend. He’d write 100 citations.”
So why? Well, many local governments, and especially police departments, are funded by tickets and municipal court fees, the station says.
The outlet calls it the new area the “Texas triangle,” named for the three-city area southwest of Waco, Texas. Here’s how bad it is in those towns, Hearne, Lott and Calvert:
Hearne has just 4,400 people, but it has more than 12,000 municipal court cases pending, records show.
Lott is one of the top 20 in the state for pending municipal court cases, records show. The town’s mayor, Anita Tindle, would not provide budget numbers. But state records show Lott has more than 3,400 municipal court cases pending. That’s nearly five cases for each of its 743 residents.
Calvert, also in the top 20 for pending cases, also declined to provide financial numbers. But state records show it has 5,159 municipal court cases pending — which is nearly five for each of its approximately 1,100 residents.
“The pressure to collect revenues in Calvert — and probably other small towns in Texas — is excessive,” Vicarde said. “And what happens is, you got judges like me who say they’ve got better things to do with my time. ‘Thank you very much, and God bless you, I’ll move on.’”
So what happens if you find yourself in the town of Calvert with a ticket in hand? Vicarde has some inside information:
Former Judge Viscarde says small towns bank on no one taking their traffic tickets to court and simply mailing in a check. He said Calvert is incapable of trying cases because it has no prosecutor, and doesn’t want to pay for one.
According to WFAA, the state of Texas does have the ability to audit and fine towns who get more than 30 percent of their revenue from traffic tickets, but none of the three towns mention have ever been investigated.
Red drives this route at least ten times a year and has noticed that there is almost always a police car stationed on the north side of Calvert, but has not otherwise noticed excessive police presence in the area. Red also notes that people drive too damn fast in general. Ever since 75 mph became the norm, left lane traffic is ripping along at 90 mph. I really don’t blame these towns for enforcing the speed limit. The problem would be solved if everyone slowed down just a bit. As Red’s Dad used to say, “They sure are in a hurry to go somewhere and do nothing.”
If at First You Don’t Succeed – Waste Some More Time and Money
Rick Perry announced his candidacy for President today. Just what we needed – another Presidential candidate with Texas roots. The Wall Street Journal, Red’s favorite source on all things Rick Perry, speculates on his chances.
He faces a sizable challenge to separate himself from what looks to be a crowded field of GOP contenders in 2016—and overcome the impression he left with national voters during his initial campaign for president, when he raised a large war chest and briefly led the field before suffering a memory lapse in a debate in which he forgot one of the three federal agencies he proposed to eliminate.
Mr. Perry also faces a pending felony indictment related to a veto he issued as governor. He has denied wrongdoing, calling the prosecution a witch hunt by political opponents, and has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment that is pending before an Austin appellate court.
Mr. Perry has played down the headwinds he faces and emphasized the attributes he believes will help distinguish him in a crowded Republican field, including his military background (Sen. Lindsey Graham is the only other current candidate in the GOP field with a military record) and his long tenure as chief executive of a large state.
“I led the world’s 12th largest economy,” he said Thursday. “The question of every candidate will be this: When have you led?
Red never thought he would say it, but Greg Abbott is making him miss Rick Perry.
Today in Texas History – June 4
From the Annals of Commencement Addresses – In 1897, Booker T. Washington gave the first commencement address to the graduating class at Prairie View A&M University. At the time the school was known as Prairie View Normal Institute. Washington, president of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, was the leading advocate of black advancement through self-help, hard work and solidarity programs. His trips to Texas included an appearance at the State Fair and visits with prominent black families such as the Covingtons of Houston and the Watsons of Dallas.
Ted Cruz – Needs a Punch
Sen. Ted Cruz (TP – Texas) took a tasteless and crude swipe at Joe Biden at a GOP function in Michigan mere days after Biden lost his son to cancer. Cruz was reported to have attempted an old joke in a speech.
“Joe Biden. You know the nice thing? You don’t need a punch line. I promise you it works. The next party you’re at, just walk up to someone and say, ‘Vice President Joe Biden and just close your mouth. They will crack up laughing.”
Cruz then went on to make fun of Biden’s comments about defending himself against intruders with a double-barrel shotgun.
Ted Cruz. You know the nice thing? Synonymous with asshole. Try it at a party sometime. I promise you, the person will punch you in the face.
Rick Perry’s “Texas Miracle” Coming Under More Fire
The Wall Street Journal seems fixated on debunking Rick Perry’s claim to have led the state through the Texas Miracle. As Red has repeatedly pointed out, when big oil is up, Texas is up and vice versa. We would all like to take credit for a robust economy, but sometimes it’s just location, location, location. Still one has to wonder if the WSJ’s continually bagging on Perry’s signature accomplishment signals a tough road ahead for the former Governor. And of course, the WSJ has to slip in the inconvenient fact that Perry remains under indictment.
As Mr. Perry prepares to announce an anticipated second run for president on Thursday, the “Texas Miracle” is looking less impressive amid falling oil prices that have led to thousands of job cuts in his home state. That has created an opening for challengers to say Mr. Perry’s jobs record was attributable more to good timing—namely the hydraulic-fracturing oil-and-gas boom—than to the business-friendly mix of low tax rates and light regulations that he has frequently cited.
Texas lost more than 25,000 jobs in March according to state figures, its first monthly net decline in more than four years, after adding nearly 458,000 jobs in 2014, more than any other state. It bounced back in April but still only added 1,200 new jobs, far below other large states.
Today in Texas History – June 3
From the Annals of the Horse Marines – In 1836, a Texas mounted ranger company captured a Mexican ship. Maj. Isaac Watts Burton’s unit was keeping watch over a stretch of the Gulf Coast south of San Antonio Bay. When they heard of a suspicious vessel in Copano Bay, the rangers hid on the shore and sent up distress signals. The ship responded first by hoisting American and Texan signals, which were ignored. Only when the ship raised Mexican signals did the rangers respond. Thus tricked into thinking the supposedly distressed soldiers were Mexican, the captain came ashore and was captured. With him as hostage, sixteen rangers rowed out, boarded the Watchman, and seized its cargo of provisions for the Mexican army. The mounted rangers were dubbed “Horse Marines.”
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ – Though the Streams are Swollen
The recent flooding resurrected the practice of a real life cattle drive for some modern day cowboys in Liberty County. Approximately 500 head of cattle had to be rescued from a small dry island of land. The drive took the herd straight through downtown Dayton to the amusement and fascination of local residents. The Houston Chronicle reports on the step back in time.
It was a scene lifted straight from the sepia-tinged film of an old Western – a harrowing rescue of hundreds of cattle through floodwaters, herded onto dry land and through town to safety.
But there were cars and boats here to carry the calves too small to tread water. And in town there were people – hundreds of them – snapping enough pictures and video on smartphones to stir up a viral sensation.
It was a distinctly Texan success story after a hard week in Liberty County, where road flooding along the Trinity River trapped residents in at least 600 homes last week. On Sunday, downtown was full for the show.
“Oh my goodness – you couldn’t even park a car all the way through Dayton,” Liberty County sheriff’s Capt. Ken DeFoor said of the crowded streets in the town of about 7,400 northeast of Houston. “It’s not every day you see a cattle drive going through a major highway going through downtown. You see that in the movies, but you don’t see that in real life any more.”
Today in Texas History
From the Annals of the Lost Counties – In 1873, the Texas Legislature declared the existence of Wegefarth County. It was named for C. Wegefarth, president of the Texas Immigrant Aid and Supply Company. The county, which was created in a disputed area west of Greer County in the eastern panhandle region, had but a brief existence. It was abolished by another act of the Legislature in 1876 which created the current Panhandle counties.
Is There No End to Their Evil?
FIFA has elected Sepp Blatter to a fifth term to lead the organization which almost single-handedly controls the biggest sport in the world. The 209 FIFA member federations voted to keep Blatter despite the allegations of massive corruption occurring during Blatter’s watch. The 79-year-old Blatter outpolled Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan by 133-73 in the first round of voting. The Prince, who promised of a clean break from Blatter’s legacy of corruption, conceded defeat.
“I like you, I like my job,” Blatter said to cheering voters. “I am not perfect, nobody is perfect, but we will do a good job together I am sure.”
Blatter isn’t on the same continent with perfect. Blatter wouldn’t know perfect if Red attached it to briefcase filled with 100’s and handed it to him. And it is hard to fathom what FIFA members considered to be a “good job.” If their definition includes almost unlimited opportunities for fraud, graft and corruption, then Blatter is probably the right guy.
Red loves his soccer, but this stain on the world’s greatest game must be expunged. Red urges all soccer fans to write their national federation demanding that they not participate in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups unless and until a full and complete investigation is undertaken into the award of the World Cup Finals to Russia and Qatar. Both awards are clearly tainted by massive corruption. Heads need to roll. And Blatter’s should be the first.
Paradise in Hell 