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.

University of Houston Wants to Bully its Way Into the Big 12

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UH Board of Regents Chairman Tilman Fertitta thinks UH should be playing with the big boys in the Big 12.  Fertitta is apparently willing to play any card to make that happen.  According to the Houston Chronicle, the Chairman has suggested the Legislature engage in strong-arm tactics to achieve his goal.

“Put pressure on the presidents;, say, ‘If you don’t do this, we’re not going to fund you for this,'” Fertitta said in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board Thursday. “It’s just the way it is. That’s the way to do it.” Fertitta said it’s “an embarrassment” that the namesake university of the fourth largest city in the United States has not been welcomed into the conference. 

The only embarrassment has been the overall performance of UH athletic teams in recent years – highlighted by the season-opening loss to the UTSA Roadrunners in the inaugural game at troubled TDECU Stadium.  UH lost that game badly to a football program that has been in existence for all of 5 years and does not play in anything resembling a major conference.  And Fertitta’s wish does not appear likely to come true as the Big 12 has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in expanding right now.  Fertitta also overlooks the fact that only two schools in the Big 12 – UT and Tech – receive state funding.  The Legislature can’t put the screws to the other 8 members of the conference.

Draft Jerry Lovelocke

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Prairie View A&M Quarterback Jerry Lovelocke has all the physical attributes of an NFL quarterback.  Right now he is projected to be a possible 7th round pick Lovelocke is a 6-foot-5, 200-pound four-year starter who passed for 39 touchdowns and 18 interceptions over the past two seasons. He also rushed for 19 touchdowns during that span. Some team needs to take a flyer on this guy.  He played in a pro-style offense and is a smart kid with a good arm.   A project – but perhaps a very worthwhile project. Can he be worse than Johnny Football?

Today in Texas History – February 23

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From the Annals of Valor –  In 1945, the Marines raised the US Flag on top of Mount Suribachi, a 550 foot-high extinct volcano at the southern end of Iwo Jima.  The Marines of Company E, Second Battalion, 28th Marines had fought their way to the top for three days. They first planted a small flag to signal the victory to other units on the island.  They later raised a larger flag.  This act was caught in perhaps the most indelible image from the Pacific War.  The Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal shows six men raising the flag on Mount Surbachi.  Harlon Block of Weslaco was the Marine guiding the base of the flagpole into the volcanic ash. Block never saw the famous picture.  He was killed in action a week later as his unit advanced in the direction of Mishi Ridge. Block was buried in the Fifth Marine Division cemetery at the foot of Mount Suribachi.  He was brought home for burial in Weslaco in 1949.

You Keep a Knocking But You Can’t Come In – But, Please Leave the Check by Door

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Newly elected Sen. Konni Burton (TP-Crazyville) desperately wants to become the Ted Cruz of the Texas Senate.  To advance that claim, Burton announced she will ban public-sector lobbyists from her office.  If Burton follows her policy she will exclude representatives of municipalities, counties, school districts, public universities, river authorities, and water districts.  Burton will exclude representatives of the areas she allegedly serves.  Any person officially representing citizens in Fort Worth, Arlington, or a local school district will not be allowed into her office to advocate or inform Burton on issues that could help or hurt the her constituents.  This unusual policy did not prevent Burton from accepting campaign contributions from some of the now-banned lobbyists.   It would be one thing if Burton’s lobbyist ban was universal, but of course it is not, because Burton will still welcome lobbyists representing private corporations or special interest groups.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (not exactly a liberal rag) is not amused.

Burton says lobbyists “very well could be pushing policy that is in direct conflict with the will of the people.” She shouldn’t make that judgment before she knows what they want to talk about. Elected officials in her district hire lobbyists to push specific policies, presumably ones they believe represent “the will of the people.”  She can make lobbyists tell her what they want to discuss and decide case by case which she wants to hear. To reject them all without consideration is a disservice to the people back home, and it’s not smart.

Today in Texas History – February 20

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From the Annals of Reconstruction –  In 1874, the Texas Senate confirmed the election of former slave Walter Moses Burton. Burton was 21 when he was brought to Texas in 1850 as the slave of Thomas Burke Burton, a Fort Bend farmer. His owner taught Burton how to read and write, skills which Burton put to great effect. After emancipation, Burton became one of the wealthiest and most influential blacks in Fort Bend County. In 1869, Burton was elected sheriff and tax collector of Fort Bend County. In 1873 Burton was elected to the Texas Senate, where he served for seven years over two terms.  In the Senate he championed the education of blacks and is perhaps best remembered for the bill that established Prairie View Normal School (now Prairie View A&M University). When he left the Senate in 1882, Burton was given an ebony and gold cane as a tribute.  He remained active in state and local politics until his death in 1913.

Jeb Bush – His Own Man?

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Jeb Bush claims to be “his own man.”  A look at his foreign policy advisors reveals that he appears to be nothing more than a retread of brother George W. who led perhaps the most incompetent foreign policy team in U.S. history.  “Jeb’s Team” includes discredited figures such as Paul “I’ve Been Wrong About Almost Everything” Wolfowitz and John “Death Squad” Negroponte.  The Washington Post has prepared a Venn diagram which illustrates Jeb’s almost complete lack of independence from the Bush family legacy of foreign policy failure.  How did Don Rumsfeld get left out?

Texas Supreme Court Puts a Stop to Same-Sex Marriage

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Responding quickly to Texas AG Ken Paxton’s request for emergency relief, the Texas Supreme Court put a halt to any further same-sex marriages in Texas.  CNN reports that Paxton will seek to have the one marriage license issued rescinded after Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant were married on the steps of the Travis County Courthouse today.

Hours later, however, the Texas Supreme Court blocked other gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses after a legal challenge by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The state high court ruling did not invalidate the marriage of the two women in Austin, but Paxton said his office will seek to void their marriage license “due to the erroneous judicial order.”

Paxton is relying primarily on cases that have been pending before the Texas Supreme Court for several years involving the question of whether a same-sex couple that was legally married in another state can obtain a divorce in Texas.  The Texas AG intervened in those cases to claim that a district court did not have jurisdiction to grant a divorce because Texas law does not recognize same-sex marriage.  Paxton claims that Probate Court Judge Guy Herman abused his discretion in deciding an issue that is pending before the Supreme Court.  This seems to be a novel argument as the Supreme Court has not ruled and therefore, there is no clear ruling that Hermann failed to follow.  Rather, Hermann found the Texas prohibition on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional – something the Texas Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on.

First Legal Same-Sex Marriage in Texas

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A Travis County District Court judge ordered Travis County Clerk Dan DeBeauvoir to issue a marriage license to a long time Austin same-sex couple.  The order followed Travis County Probate Judge Guy Hermann’s ruling earlier this week holding that Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.  The Austin American-Statesman reports that the couple was married in a rushed ceremony outside the Travis County Courthouse. Predictably, Tea-Party favorite Attorney General Ken Paxton attempted to stomp on the ceremony, but was likely too late.

Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, together almost 31 years, said their vows before Rabbi Kerry Baker while standing in front of the Travis County Clerk’s Office sign on Airport Boulevard.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office responded by filing an emergency motion Thursday morning asking the Texas Supreme Court to stay the judge’s order and “further stay all further state trial courts” that may seek to follow suit.

The court has not yet ruled, but there seems little that a stay could accomplish now that the marriage has already been performed. The first legally married gay couple in Texas was denied a license in the same county office building eight years ago. But on Thursday morning, state District Judge David Wahlberg, petitioned by a lawyer for Goodfriend and Bryant, ordered Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to grant the couple a marriage license.

Red’s long-standing position is that he is in favor of allowing people to freely enter into foolish contractual relationships  – such as marriage.

Texas – Not the Most Conservative State?

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According to an article published in the Houston Chronicle, Texas is only the 18th most conservative state.  You could have fooled Red, since Republicans have had a lock hold on state-wide elective office for over 20 years or ever since George W. Bush’s election as Governor.

Despite Texas’ reputation as a Republican bulwark and a stronghold for conservatism, the state’s electorate doesn’t lean as hard to the right you’d think. Not by a long shot. Data from Gallup Daily tracking interviews in 2014 – which interviewed more than 177,000 U.S. adults – showed that Wyoming and Utah are the top two most Republican states again. Wyoming (Republican advantage: 35.5 percent) and Utah (33.1 percent) have topped the list every year since 2008.

The 10 most Republican states all hold advantages over the Democratic Party by more than 10 percent. But Texas is not among these “solid Republican” states nor the “leaning Republican” states (states where the party gap is between 5 and 10 percent). Instead Texas is among the 18 competitive states, with Republicans holding a 3.9 percent advantage over Democrats.

That small percent still means a more than 1 million voter-advantage for Texas’ Republicans. Still, with the state’s changing demographics, analysts expect that gap to dwindle even further. However it could be at least a decade before Texas realistically has a shot of becoming a purple state. 

Red aint holding his breath.