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File it under “It’s About Time” – Catholic Church to disclose names of all clergy accused of child abuse

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In 2019, the 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas have promised that they will release the names of priests who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of a minor from 1950 on. The move was announced by Bishop Edward Burns of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.   The Church indicated that the bishops from the 15 Texas dioceses decided on September 30 to release the lists of names by January 31, 2019 as part of their effort “to protect children from sexual abuse.”  One might argue that the priestly cows already left the barn while the Church was holding open the barn doors and even directing them to the next pasture where they could graze on unsuspecting Catholic youth.   Still, Red encourages any move in a positive direction towards further exposure of this horrific scandal that has eaten away at the very soul of the Church.  Priests need to know that there is now nowhere to hide and that as Dostoyevsky put it “the path to redemption leads through confession.”  But this confession needs to be in the public square not hidden in the confessional.   It will not heal the wounded, but it needs to be done.

Goodbye El Paso – We hardly knew ye.

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El Paso attorney Steve Fischer is arguing for a break from the Lone Star State.  Fischer thinks that El Paso gets no respect and that it would be better off seceding and hooking up with the Land of Enchantment (aka New Mexico).  El Paso is separated from the rest of Texas by a time zone and a lot of empty space and most Texans have never been there unless they were passing through on the way to California.  And as Fischer points out, there has never been a state-wide official elected from the capable ranks of El Pasoans.  Fischer also complains (rightfully) that El Paso is the step-child when it comes to higher education with only one 4 year university (UTEP) that has never been pushed for Tier One status and never asked to play ball with the other Texas schools.  El Paso is also the largest city in the country without a law school (views could differ on the benefits there – but who knew?).

The rest of the state doesn’t seem to understand us. Maybe it’s time to break up. Texas Republicans should be happy to get rid of El Paso because we are an overwhelmingly Democratic city. Democrats may prefer to keep us, but what did they do for us when they were in power?

Our marriage to Texas has gotten old. New Mexico is younger and more attractive. We would not be ignored, especially because we would be their largest city. Grant us a divorce and we won’t even request the back support. If there are any El Pasoans who think we need a wall to protect us, take ‘em. You can have custody and everyone will be better off.

Maybe Mr. Fischer has a point.

Red’s NFL Picks 2018 – Week 6

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Red was 4-2 last week bringing his season total to a still pathetic 10-14.  This week for sure!

Your Game of the Week Game of the Week – Chiefs over Patriots.  Well it’s showdown time for early season dominance of  the AFC and a a possibly preview of the AFC Championship game.  The Pats looked like a dying dynasty a couple of weeks ago but have resurged to silence the doubters.  Meanwhile in KC, there have been few doubters.  Andy Reid with an arsenal of offensive weapons has always been a recipe for regular-season success (and playoff failure).  This is still the regular season and the Pats have shown a tendency to give up way too many points for their ball-control offense to counteract.  And they have yet to beat an actuall quality opponent.  The Chiefs on the other hand have pretty much gob-smacked whoever is in their way.  Red doesn’t think the Pats (or any other team for that matter) can keep up when the Chiefs offense is clicking.  Mahomes gets back on track in the biggest game of the week.  At some point the GOTW GOTW won’t feature the Chiefs – but not this week. Kansas City 38 New England 28.

Your National TV Game of the Week – Eagles over Giants.  What is wrong  with the Eagles?  Whatever it is – the likely cure is a game against the Giants – which is a little unfair because the Giants looked like a professional sports team last week even in losing.   Even so, trailing the OTNAs in the standings is not likely to strike fear into the collective Eagles’ heart.  But a win here puts them in solid contention.  Because the Eagles are playing down to expectations and the Giants seem surprisingly capable of scoring points, Red figures this one will be more exciting that it should be. But this is close to a must-win game for the stumbling Eagles.  Philadelphia 35 New Jersey 28.

Your Texas Game of the Week – Jaguars over Cowboys.  The Red Rule (score 17 points and beat the Cowboys) was tailor-made for a club like the Jaguars coming off a “What the Hell just happened here?” game against the seemingly unstoppable Chiefs.  Expect the Jaguars to be out for body bags this week against a Cowboys offense that is searching for answers – in fact, they may be actually searching for questions having given up on answers.  The Jags defense was humiliated last week and after some soul-searching they reassert themselves against a Cowboys offense that can run the ball (sort of) and has a quarterback that can scramble well enough to buy time – but is otherwise utterly bereft of actual NFL talent and led by perhaps the second worst game caller in the league (an honor reserved for Bill O’ the Clown).  Thanks JJ.  Jacksonville 17 Arlington 16.

Your Disappointing Game of the Week – Bengals over Stealers.  Well the Bengals certainly were the surprise of the league at the quarter-pole even having played a relatively weak schedule to that point.  But they solidified their position as unexpected team of destiny (regular season version only) by beating the Dolphins and the return of  Joe Mixon.  The big question is can they overcome the traditional nemisis Stealers and claim solid control of the AFC – North in Week 6?  Red is buying into the fact that Mixon is a franchise caliber back to go with franchise caliber wideout A.J. Green to go with almost franchise caliber QB Red Rifle.  Every other aspect of this team is decidedly mediocre but that offensive combination may be enough to win 10 to 12 games.  Cincinnati 28 Pittsburgh 20.

Your Time Zone Hex Game of the Week – Bears over Dolphins.  The single time zone, inverse longitudinal, fresh-water/salt-water hex is easily overcome by the rather awesome Bears defense coming off a bye week against an increasingly pathetic-looking Dolphins offense.  In fact, neither of these teams have a shit-worthy offense.  When in doubt go with the best defense in a grubby low-scoring game.  This one will certainly be grubby.  Chicago 13 Miami 7.

This Week’s Shit Bowl – Seahawks over Raiders.  Just a couple of years ago this would have been an exciting west coast matchup between two teams with playoff aspirations if not expectations.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  The Raiders are a reality TV show joke of a football team right now and are in the process of being torn apart.  The Seahawks are not a joke, they just aren’t very good anymore. But this week, Pete the Cheat gets the best of Jabbering Jon.  Please place your tray tables and seat backs in the full upright position and fasten your seat belts so that you cannot jump up and head butt the 58 incher while watching this Cruddy Colon Clash.  Seattle 22 Oakland 10.

Some observations from the Texans – Cowboys game

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Red goes back and forth on whether football or golf is the stupidest sport.  The improbability of golf (you are really supposed to put this tiny ball in a 4.5 inch hole with only 4 strokes in this 10 acre pasture?) and the brute nature of football (you are supposed to withstand being repeatedly body-slammed by 300+ lb guys?) stand in contrast.   But today it’s football and Red was in attendance last night so here goes:

  1.  The Red Rule is still in place – Score 17 points and beat the Cowboys.
  2. Bill O’ the Clown is obviously unfamiliar with the Red Rule or he would have taken the field goal at the end of first half to get to 13 points with a full half to play
  3. It was a field goal fest anyway.  Seven field goals and only two touchdowns.  Fred Akers would be happy.
  4. Dak Prescott is slippery and got away with more than one ball thrown up for grabs.
  5. Deshaun Watson is not quite as slippery and somewhat more careful with the ball.
  6. If you can beat E. Elliott, you will beat the Cowboys.
  7. The crowd at NRG was about 70/30 Texans to Cowboys fans.  Red heard that Chris Collingsworth called it 50/50.  As with most things, CC was wrong.
  8. You cannot run wide on this Cowboys defense – especially in the Red Zone.
  9. NFL overtime rules suck!
  10. The Texans’ franchise is pathetic in almost everyway possible as a football organization and that extends right down to customer relations, traffic and crowd control, the useless moveable roof at NRG, and halftime entertainment.
  11. Red, however, has now seen Big Boy – who actually was more entertaining than expected.
  12. Sadly, the NFL appears to have eliminated the “Drive Start Indicator” and along with it the most useless position in all of football.  Red is certain this is saving teams at least $100 per game.

Kavanaugh to be Confirmed

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It appears that Bret Kavanaugh, hard-partying frat boy with major memory lapses, will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Red fully supports Kavanaugh’s confirmation.  He is the perfect exemplar of a Trump appointee – one who appears to be ethically and morally challenged, with a sense of entitlement and who is willing to squeeze the truth to achieve his goal.  Unless CJ Roberts makes a dramatic shift to the center and is willing to respect stare decisis – Red expects that this now potentially reactionary SCOTUS will undermine decades of precedent protecting civil liberties, allow further advancement of the emerging police state, flip the off-switch on gay marriage and gay rights, kowtow to the religious right’s bigotry to exempt zealots from an entire host of anti-discrimination laws under the guise of the first amendment, eliminate any protection of voting rights, allow absurd partisan gerrymandering to prop up a dying Trumpian party (formerly known as the GOP), kill any attempts at sensible gun control,  end the last vestiges of affirmative action, crank up substantive due process to reverse any legislative enactment viewed as too liberal or progressive, and as the final coup d’état reverse Roe v. Wade – which will sow the seeds for the second American civil war.

This is what America voted for in electing Trump and this is exactly what we deserve to get.   Enjoy!

Red’s NFL Picks 2018 – Week 5

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Well, Week 4 was purtnear a total disaster for old Cousin Red.  He went 1-5 with only his undying faith in the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes being rewarded.  Colts’ offensive coordinator Frank Reich handing the game to the Texans in OT didn’t help either.  Nor did the Cowboys offense actually coming to life – sort of.  Or the Patriots remembering that they were the Patriots.  Excuses, excuses.  Anyhow, that brings Red down to 6-12 for the season – “Stop digging boys!”

Your Game of the Week Game of the Week – Chiefs over Jaguars.  If the Andy Reid show (starring Patrick Mahomes and featuring Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and the Sad Sack Defense) can put up 35 points against the vaunted Jaguars defense, then as Keith Jackson used to say – “Katy bar the door!”  The Chiefs may be unstoppable.  They certainly are resilient as they looked all but dead until a crushing fourth quarter rally left the Broncos wondering “What just happened here?”  Chiefs don’t need such heroics this week.  Jags chase PM to no avail and cannot score enough points to keep up despite the Chiefs defensive inepitutude.  Chiefs 35 Jacksonville 25.

Your Texas Game of the Week – Texans over Cowboys.  Red doesn’t really have much choice this week here.  Does he pick the underperforming Texans or the hated Cowboys?  Texans also rallied against the sad sack Colts to eke out a gifted victory in OT on the road.  That cannot hurt, but it may not help much either.  Bill O’ the Clown is doing his best Jeff Fischer impersonation this season in taking what should be a relatively talented team and turning them into a loosing snoozefest.  Meanwhile the Cowboys broke out of a scoring slump – aided by the Lions’ ineptitude (something that can never be overrated).  Still the Boys are averaging a near league worst 16.8 points per game.  But given the Texans complete inability to stop the run or the pass (unless there is a sack and please dear God, let there be sacks), Red expects the Cowboys to score a bit more than average this week.  Will it be good enough?  Red would ramble on a bit more, but it’s time to piss on the proverbial fire and call this one. Houston 21 Arlington 19. 

Your National TV Game of the Week – Eagles over Vikings.  Eagles are a major disappointment so far but with Ajayi back in the fold and Carson Wentz getting warmed up, the Eagles offense should be following the lead of Guitar Steve Miller (that would be “Fly Like an Eagle” for those of you born after 1980 – and if you are bored go to one of those websites where people tell you how they misunderstood lyrics and put in Fly Like and Eagle – then sit back and guffaw – “Shoot the children with no shoes on their feet.”)  Okay, this is supposed to be about football.   Vikings defense is moving to the top of the heap and Red swears the Vikings have a quarterback – he just can’t remember who or why he should care.  Philadelphia 28 Minnesota 27.

Your Disappointing Game of the Week – Bengals over Dolphins.  When two 3-1 teams matchup at this point of the season you would expect to be watching the cream of the crop or at least some decent milkfat.  Red isn’t a believer in either of these teams.  He believed briefly in the Dolphins last week and see what that got him!  But if you were inclined to believe in one of these squads, it would probably have to be the Bengals led by the resurgent Red Rifle and a possibly recharged (at least no longer limping) Joe Mixon.  Cincinnati 19 Miami 5.

Your Time Zone Hex Game of the Week  – Jets over Broncos.  Broncos are hexed this week.  Other than that, Red really doesn’t care and neither should you.  New Jersey 24 Denver 21.

This Week’s Shit Bowl – 49ers over Cardinals. Speaking of not caring, this week’s Shit Bowl is particularly odiferous featuring two teams that have managed to eke out one win between them.  It’s a bit harder to fault the Niners having bet wildly and come up snake eyes so far on J. Garapolo.  Now they will be led by C.J. Beathard – a name which Red could have a lot of fun with if it weren’t time to get back to work.  The Cardinals made an even worse bet on Sam Bradford and have now turned to Josh Rosen.  Even still the Cards are putting up a league worst 9.2 points per game which almost impossible to fathom in the modern NFL.  What is really impossible to fathom is that anyone other than diehard fans or gambling addicts will be watching this game.  If you fall into one of those categories, please remember to glue the remote to the armrest of the LaZ-boy lest ye be tempted to gag yourself with it during the third quarter of this turgid turd tussle.   Santa Clara 28 Arizona 10.

Bands that Red Cannot Stand

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Red has been thinking about music a lot lately.  Red’s near complete lack of musical talent makes him appreciate it all the much more.  But there are certain bands/artists that will cause Red to change the channel almost immediately.  And exactly why is something of a mystery.  Oh, Red can put some of it into words, but why is there such a visceral dislike.  Why the jarring of the nerves, the grinding of teeth, the white-hot hatred pounding the frontal lobe?  Perhaps bad memories evoking primal rage?  Or who knows – it just happens.  So while Red realizes these may be fighting words, here goes.

  1. Steely Dan – overproduced, pretentious pseudo-intellectual soft rock from a band named after a dildo.
  2. The Doobie Brothers – Red actually went to see them once.  That sealed the deal.
  3. Yes – The worst of the 70’s with annoying vocals – who actually sounds like that?
  4. Randy Travis – pandering pathetic platitudes of patriotism.
  5. Rush – noise accompanied by possibly even more annoying vocals than Yes.
  6. AC/DC – for those about to rock – listen to something else.
  7. Foreigner – oh only if they were actually foreigners.
  8. Kansas – shaming an entire state.
  9. Kanye – for obvious reasons.
  10. Plastic Ono Band – an aural assault posing as art.

Quote for the Day

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“I think he’s got a good shot. If he wins, it will be part of Texas political history, standing beside Lyndon Johnson’s 1937 congressional race in terms of personal effort, and perhaps besides John Tower’s 1960 election to the U.S. Senate, in terms of consequence.”

Lawrence Wright on Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for U.S. Senate.  Red wants to believe, yet cannot.  Rafael “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz (TP-Texas) will probably win by at least 5 points.

I-14 Update – Student Coalition Supports Interstate 14

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A small part of construction on new Interstate 14 is underway.  Now a student coalition is promoting a complete I-14 stretching from Georgia to west Texas.  The Youth Infrastructure Coalition  wants an I-14 that would create an east-west alternative accross the southern reaches of the US between I-10 and I-20.  Frank Lumpkin, YIC’s founder started the group to promote infrastructure and economic growth in an underserved area.  In Texas, I-14 would run from the Louisiana border near Jasper, through Huntsville, Bryan/College Station, Temple/Killeen and hook up with I-10 near Fort Stockton.

“If you look at a map and take the demographics of those regions, you’ll find the median household income average is about 22 percent below the average for the entire United States. So, there’s definitely disparity and facts show it.”

YIC envisions I-14 being created primarily be the expansion and improvement of existing highways as a less expensive alternative to building an entirely new highway.  In contrast to Rick Perry’s Texas Trans-Corridor proposal – which drew near universal outrage and opposition –  I-14 seems to be winning local support as a number of municipalities that would be affected have passed resolutions in support of the super-highway.