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.

Bill-O the Clown Out at Fox News

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Fox News stalwart Bill O’Reilly is out at Fox News after mounting pressure from advertisers and others in the wake of revelations that O’Reilly/Fox had paid $13 million to settle 5 sexual harassment lawsuits (does anyone besides Red remember the loofa incident?).  According to his attorney, O’Reilly “has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America.”  How sad.  If that is the case, then why didn’t Bill-O fight at least some of the numerous allegations that were made against him?  Multi-million dollar settlements don’t grow on trees and usually mean that there are some witnesses and documents to back up the claims.

Anyhow, somewhere Keith Olberman (the originator of the “Bill-O the Clown” moniker – Red only wishes he had thought of it first) is knocking back a scotch, lighting up a Cuban and having a good laugh.

Red predicts that Bill-O will land on his feet at One America News – an outfit that makes Fox News look downright fair and balanced.  Plus, OAN has without a doubt the best-looking line up of female anchors and commentators. It will be a field day for O’Reilly.  Here are some of the gals just waiting for Bill:

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Liz “It Was This Big” Wheeler.

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Lilia “Always Wears Bikini When Not Reading News” Fifield

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Kaushal “Elephant Lover” Patel

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Greta “Why Do I Have to Cover the Democrats” Wall

Castro topping Cruz in Early Poll

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 Texas Lyceum has released a poll showing that Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) is vulnerable at an early stage of the 2018 Senate race.  The poll shows Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) slightly ahead in a potential matchup with the Senator referred to as “Lying Ted” by our President (Note:  Red prefers “Chicken Ted”).  The poll shows Castro with 35 percent support of Texas adults and Cruz lagging behind with 31 percent. Even less well known State Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) is tied with Cruz at 30 percent.

Although good news for Democrats, keep in mind that a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in Texas in 29 years and there is not a single state-wide Democratic office-holder thanks primarily to the Bush family.  But the fact that there might be two viable Democratic candidates for any state-wide office is remarkable given the current state of Texas politics. 

Red has endorsed O’Rourke, but would support the emaciated walking dead ghost of former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis against Cruz if he could get his name on the ballot.   

How Low Can He Go (cont.)?

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President Trump (words that Red still chokes on) has a stagnant overall approval rating at around 40%  even after attempting to bomb his way to better numbers.

More troublesome for the golden-haired dear leader are some other numbers about how the public feels about his specific attributes.  A Gallup Poll  released this week found that a pitiful 45% of Americans say Trump “keeps his promises” despite clear evidence to the contrary.   This is down from 62% who believed that nonsense in early February. Gallup also found that only 46% of Americans now believe that Trump “can bring about changes this country needs.”  53% thought that in February.  These numbers indicate that a good number of his supporters are starting to realize they have been sold a bill of goods by the greatest con man of our times – perhaps of all time.  As it becomes more and more clear that Trump has no core beliefs and is swayed by the idea of the moment, Americans may be beginning to catch on to Trump charade.

Today in Texas History – April 19

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From the Annals of the War Chiefs –  In 1875, Kiowa chief Tsen-tainte (“White Horse”) surrendered at Fort Sill. White Horse and his followers were notorious for their numerous raids across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.  He was considered to be the fiercest of the Kiowa chiefs.  Along with Satank, Satanta, Zepko-ete, Mamanti and Big Tree participated in the Warren Wagon Train raid at Salt Creek Prairie in May 1871.  He also fought in the second battle of Adobe Walls in June 1874.  After that he fought with Quanah Parker and Guipago in the Red River War.  After the battle of Palo Duro Canyon in September 1874, he became convinced that further resistance was futile. When Gen. Philip Sheridan demanded that Chief Kicking Bird designate men for imprisonment in the east, White Horse was chosen.  Along with other he was imprisoned at St. Augustine, Florida. He became a practitioner of Ledger Art while in prison.  He was released in 1878 and returned to the reservation near Fort Sill.

And You Thought the Texans had Quarterback Issues?

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The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that University of Louisville graduate transfer quarterback Kyle Bolin might be considering the University of Texas as a possible landing spot.  Bolin started 5 games in 2015 before giving way to 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in the final game of the regular season.  After Jackson threw for 4 touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl, Bolin became a pine-rider for the 2016 season.  As a graduate transfer, Bolin would be immediately eligible to play for the Horns.  After a lackluster season featuring respectable play from highly touted freshman QB Shane Buechele (21 TDs, 11 INTs, 2958 yards and 60.4% completion rate), new head coach Tom Herman could be looking for something more.  Would he find it in Bolin?  He was a second-stringer – albeit to the Heisman Trophy winner, but he was still not a starter in his senior year.   Look for Bolin to more likely land at Northern Illinois where he probably walks into the starter’s job.

That Ted Cruz Town Hall Was Great!

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Red really enjoyed the Town Hall meeting hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) the other day.  He especially liked the part where the Junior senator – that our President formerly referred to as “Lying” Ted –  never showed up.  That’s because everyone wins when Ted doesn’t post.  Cruz gets to avoid angry constituents who have come to realize that Ted is all about the greater glorification of all things Ted Cruz and that he really couldn’t give a crap about the state he supposedly represents.  For Cruz, being a senator is not about doing your job, it’s all about have a platform for his overweening ambition.  The constituents themselves are winners too, because they get to avoid actually having to be in the presence of the odious Cruz – who just might be the most obnoxious human being Red has ever met.  So it’s really a win-win situation when Ted fails to interact with the good folks he is supposed to represent.

Meanwhile, Cruz has had plenty of time this month to visit the Peterbilt factory in Denton and the Daikin plant in Waller where he gets to bloviate before a captive audience that is unlikely to pose any challenge.  So Cruz is capable of getting out and meeting people in Texas – he just wants to be able to control the narrative and not have to face people who might challenge him.  This brilliant guy who was able to take on the toughest questions from some of the brightest legal minds on the Supreme Court and other Courts of Appeals is somehow incapable of dealing with us average folks who just might not agree with his Tea Party nonsense.  Trump was wrong – he’s not “Lying” Ted he is “Chicken” Ted.

 

How Low Can He Go (cont.)?

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There’s nothing like bombing the shit out of something to bump up your approval ratings.  As shown below, Donald Trump is familiar with the concept.  And it almost always works – even the historically unpopular Trump got a small boost from the pre-disclosed (to the Russians of course) cruise missile strike on a Syrian airbase.  Fivethirtyeight has Trump’s composite approval/disapproval ratings now at 41.5% approval against 52.5% disapproval – still a negative 11 point spread.  The numbers may be somewhat skewed by the outlier Ipsos poll which has Trump with a favorable 2 point spread.

Donald J. Trump

✔ @realDonaldTrump

Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.

4:39 PM – 9 Oct 2012

United – Worst Airline Ever?

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United Airlines called in the goons when a passenger on a flight in Chicago refused to voluntarily give up his seat. UA wanted the seat for its employees who needed to reposition for future flights.  Of course other passengers recorded the forced removal of the man who was injured by the Chicago Airport Police.  Passengers were almost uniformly horrified by the brutal treatment and reportedly heaped abuse on the UA employees who took the passengers’ seats.

Faced with an unfolding PR disaster, United managed to make it worse by releasing the following statement from CEO Oscar Munoz:

“This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”

Red hasn’t been reaccomodated like that since a bar brawl in Wichita Falls in the 70s.

Red will be cutting up his United miles credit card and will never fly United again unless there is absolutely no other choice.  Red suspects this may be the beginning of the end for the carrier that is consistently ranked at the bottom.

 

Dan Patrick Gets Dope Slapped by House

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (TP) really, really wanted a vote on one of his pet projects – school vouchers.  After getting the increasingly right-wing Texas senate to pass a bill that would create education savings accounts allowing parents to remove children from public schools and send them to private alternatives, and provide tax breaks for businesses offering donations to help pay for private schooling.  The measure went down in flames in the Texas House – about the last bastion of occasional sanity in GOP-dominated Texas politics.   The House voted 103-44 to reject Patrick’s plan.  Democrats and rural Republicans torpedoed any chance of passage.  Republicans wonder how they sell a bill that  would reduce public school funding to parents who actually like public schools and have a harder time selling Patrick’s patchwork plan to rural voters where the public schools are the only option.

On to the bathrooms!

Today in Texas History – April 7

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From the Annals of the Halls of Congress –  In 1913, Sam Rayburn of Windom took the oath of office as a member of the United States House of Representatives.  Mr. Sam, as he was known, was to serve in Congress from the presidency of Woodrow Wilson until that of John F. Kennedy.  Rayburn  rose to majority leader in 1937 and was elected Speaker of the House in 1940.  He remained Speaker until his death in 1961.  Rayburn was a master politician who helped negotiate the Roosevelt-Garner ticket in 1932 backing his friend John Nance Garner for Vice-President.  He worked tirelessly to pass New Deal legislation and as chairman of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee in the 1930s he oversaw legislation that established the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.   He worked closely with Senate majority leader Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1950s and Texas benefitted greatly from have the two pillars of power working in D.C.  Rayburn was married only briefly and said that his greatest regret was not have a tow-haired son to take fishing.  The Sam Rayburn Reservoir and several schools in East Texas are name after Mr. Sam.  He was the longest serving Speaker in U.S. history.