Category Archives: Texas News

HISD Plays Chicken with Texas Legislature

The Texas Tribune details the Hobson’s Choice facing voters residing within the Houston Independent School.  Under the “Robin Hood” plan HISD is due to send $165 million to poorer school districts subject to voter approval.  The voters can turn down the plan, but then the district faces the prospect of having some of its most expensive real estate figuratively moved to another close-by poorer district.  That is, if the voters say ‘no’ to the incredibly poorly worded proposition on the November ballot, then the state can take some expensive real property off of the HISD rolls and instead assign it to another district to boost its property tax base.  Locals bigwigs are lining up behind the “no” vote in the hopes that the Legislature will blink when faced with the proposition of telling the largest school district in the state that it is stripping away some $18 billion of its tax base.  And the kicker is, the obligation to pay the $165 million is still there – only to be paid by the smaller number of taxpayers.   Red envisions James Dean speeding towards the cliff and this time his sleeve gets caught in the door handle.

Ted Cruz – Servile Puppy Dog

Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) ended any doubt that he has not a shred of integrity by endorsing Donald Trump for the Presidency today.  Cruz refused to endorse Trump at the GOP Convention and later defended his refusal to do so by stating that he was not a “servile puppy dog.”  Showing some spine, Cruz backed down on his pledge to endorse the GOP nominee when faced with the distasteful prospect of endorsing a reality show con-man like Trump for the most important office on the planet.  So Ted has endorsed a man that claimed his father was involved in JFK’s assassination, called his wife ugly, and who, in his own words, he believes is “utterly amoral”, a “pathological liar” and a “narcissistic bully.”  And those were some of the nicer things Lyin’ Ted had to say about The Donald.  Cruz was clearly running for cover in making the endorsement as it was looking more and more like a failure to endorse Trump would put an end to the one thing that Cruz values most of all – the greater glorification of all things Ted Cruz.

Congratulations Mr. Mercilus

The appropriately named Whitney Mercilus was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.  Mercilus, the Texans OLB, was indeed merciless against the Bears on Sunday. Mercilus recorded four tackles,  two sacks, two quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble in Houston’s 23-14 season-opening victory.

Mercilus is an interesting guy to boot.  The University of Illinois graduate of Haitian descent has taken an interest in his adopted city and loves classical music.  Lots of NFL players have so-called foundations which are frequently just a way to pay for a party, but the Mercilus Foundation seems to be the real deal.  According to Mercilus, the focus of the MF “is helping underprivileged families raising kids with disabilities.  It’s what I studied in college – Community Health Disability and Rehabilitation Concentration – essentially helping disabled people with home accommodations, home living, work space, transportation and more.” Expect big things from Mercilus on and off the field.

Louie Gohmert Speaks to His Personal Expertise – Mental Impairment

Rep. Louie Gohmert (TP-Tyler) claims that Hillary Clinton is mentally impaired.

“A true believer does what Jesus did … you don’t make fun of people who are impaired, have special needs, and whether you like her or not, Hillary Clinton’s made clear, she is mentally impaired.”  Gohmert later commented that “Hillary’s brain is in a blender.”

Red has to defer to the Tea Party darling from east Texas on the subject of mental impairment since it has long been clear that Gohmert isn’t firing on all cylinders himself.  Gohmert is well-known for his idiotic statements.  What is incredible is that this guy was actually the Chief Justice of one of our Texas Courts of Appeals and was in a position to directly impact the lives of the people whose cases were before his court.  Gohmert wants to keep playing the clearly discredited – Hillary is brain damaged from a fall back in 2012 card – as though he actually had a medical diagnosis of Clinton.  Just the kind of excrement that typically flows from Gohmert’s mouth in an almost uncontrollable flow.

Here is a small sample of some of the stupidity that has come from Gohmert’s mouth.

Speaking of the Alaska pipeline Gohmert commented, “So when [caribou] want to go on a date, they invite each other to head over to the pipeline. … So my real concern now [is] if oil stops running through the pipeline … do we need a study to see how adversely the caribou would be affected if that warm oil ever quit flowing?”  Gohmert is apparently unaware that the Caribou survived for millennia without the benefit of flowing oil.

Talking about the Obama administration, Gohmert claimed, “This administration has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America.”  Unfortunately for Louie, he was unable to point to any actual MB members making policy in DC.

 

 

Is Bevo XV Lame?

Bevo XV debuted at the Notre Dame game on Saturday.  He is a leaner, smaller, shorter-horned version of a Bevo – at least compared to some of the recent Bevos shown below. Red is puzzled by the new look, but maybe safety concerns came into play. Or perhaps, new Bevo is in keeping with the Longhorns new fast-paced offense brought in by offensive coordinator Sterling Gilbert.   One thing his keepers will not have to worry about is the Aggies “sawing Varsity’s horns off – short.”  The horns are pretty darn short already.

A Very Wet August in Texas

 

The Austin American-Statesman reports that August has been exactly as wet as Red thought it was – that would be very wet.

Persistent rain in Texas has made August 2016 the wettest August in more than a century and equal to the rainiest August ever.

Preliminary figures from the State Climatologist office at Texas A&M University show Texas received an average 5.69 inches of rain statewide. That’s the same amount measured in 1914, the present record holder for the month based on records that go back to 1895.

State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon credits the rainfall to an atmospheric wind pattern that pumped lots of deep, moist tropical air into Texas, with heaviest rainfall mainly in east, central and southeast parts of the state. He says it could stay wet for the next couple of months, since September and October historically are the wettest months of the year in Texas.

When Dildos are Outlawed only Outlaws will have Dildos

Thousands of UT-Austin students openly carried dildos and other sex toys to class this week in an hilarious protest against Texas’ law requiring public universities to allow open carry of weapons on campus.  Some believed that it might have been the largest anti-gun protest in Texas history.   The open display of the faux penises disturbed some. But as one protestor, Rosie Zander, put it, If you’re uncomfortable with dildos, how do you think I feel about your gun?” And just where did the students get all of the fake phalluses –  it turns out they were donated by purveyors of sex toys ranging from local sellers in Austin all the way to Singapore.

Red wonders what Ted Cruz – once a prominent supporter of Texas Anti-Dildo Law thinks about all this.

Trump Tackles Texas for Love and Most Importantly Money

GOP nominee Donald Trump will be in Texas today at fund raisers in Fort Worth and Austin. After fund raising in Cowtown and the Capital, Trump will hold a prime-time rally at the facility east of Austin where the Travis County Rodeo is held every Winter.  It’s an odd choice for the event, but the timing is even odder.   Raising money is normal, what is unusual is the GOP candidate holding a rally in reliably red Texas this late in the campaign.  The Dallas Morning News points out that the last presidential candidate to stage an event this late in the fall campaign in Texas was Bob Dole in 1996.

Trump’s quick Texas swing is motivated by cash needs. The campaign hopes to haul in more than $3 million from Texas donors, and the rally is an afterthought – but one that is sure to draw attention and TV coverage.

Racist Lives Matter

A small group demonstrated outside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s offices in Houston on Sunday.  The alleged message of White Lives Matter may have been lost in the display of Confederate Flags and assault rifles by the 20 or so demonstrators.  Ken Reed a spokesman for the group who sported a Trump ’16 cap was quoted as saying:

“We came out here to protest against the NAACP and their failure in speaking out against the atrocities that organizations like Black Lives Matter and other pro-black organizations have caused the attack and killing of white police officers, the burning down of cities and things of that nature. If they’re going to be a civil rights organization and defend their people, they also need to hold their people accountable.”

Reality and Mr. Reed are not well acquainted it seems as the NAACP has c0ndemned the killings of police officers as it moves forward with attempts to stop the rampant killing of citizens by police in the U.S.   And a tip from Red.  If you want to be taken seriously and not as a caricature of a racist, leave the Rebel flags and assault rifles at home.

Frat House Bust at Texas A&M

KHOU is reporting that one Texas A&M student is dead and four others have been arrested for possession at the Sigma Nu chapter in College Station.

Police have arrested four men after a student died at a Texas A&M fraternity house this weekend. Police found LSD, Ecstasy and THC on the four fraternity members they arrested inside the Sigma Nu house.

Investigators also told KHOU 11 News, they believe the members tried to move the body of the deceased to cover up the drugs. Outside their chapter house on Fraternity Row, members asked for privacy and declined comment. The arrested are Samuel Patterson, 21, Michael Frymire, 20, Christian Sandford, 18, and Ty Robertson, 21.

“I hate to hear that happened because it’s just kids trying to have a party and it turns into something like this, it gets very real very quickly,” said Harrison Brewer, a neighbor.