Category Archives: Uncategorized

Kathleen Hartnett White Will Not be Leading the Council on Environmental Quality

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The Washington Post reports that Donald Trump has withdrawn its rather controversial nominee to head the Council on Environmental Quality after even Senate Republicans began questioning her expertise regarding environmental matters.  This was seen as good news by most concerned scientists.

Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called her a “remarkably poor choice” for such a consequential environmental post.“A while ago, I wrote that many Trump appointees to science-based positions could be considered to either have deep conflicts of interest, to be fundamentally opposed to the mission of the agency they were to lead or totally unqualified. Hartnett-White was all three — a trifecta,” he said.

The bad news is that Kathleen Hartnett White will be staying in Texas.  KHW has proved to be a useful tool of science deniers and enamored with carbon in all its forms.  With respect to concerns about increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, Hartnett has suggested that:

“Carbon dioxide has none of the characteristics of a pollutant that could harm human health. Our flesh, blood and bones are built of carbon. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the gas of life on this planet, an essential nutrient for plant growth on which human life depends.”

That’s a special kind of stupid.  She should volunteer to sit in an enclosed chamber with about a 95% concentration of CO2 to demonstrate the beneficial effects on her flesh, blood and bones.  Where does he find these people?

 

Today in Texas History – February 6

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From the Annals of the Bohemians –  In 1879, E. J. Glueckman published the first issue of the Texan.   This was the first Czech newspaper in Texas.  The paper lasted about decade focusing on Czech culture in Texas and catering to the many Czech immigrants who came to Texas beginning in the early 1850s.  Czech immigrants established settlements primarily in Austin, Fayette, Lavaca, and Washington counties.  The Texan was just the first of many such periodicals which celebrated the rich contribution of Czechs to Texas.  By the end of the twentieth century, more than thirty Czech newspapers and periodicals had been published.  Today Czech traditions are still alive in Texas music, food, beer, community groups and festivals.

Today in Texas History – February 5

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From the Annals of the Highways –  In 1844, the Congress of the Republic of Texas authorized a commission to oversee the construction of the Central National Road. The CNR was planned to run from the Elm Fork of the Trinity River to Kiomatia Crossing on the Red River in far northeast Texas.  It was intended to become part of a larger international highway ultimately connecting San Antonio to St. Louis.  The Congress provided that the CNR was to be at least 30 feet wide with no tree stumps taller than 12 inches from the ground.  Bridges were to be at least 15 feet wide and built of good substantial materials.  The project was to be paid for with public land grants to contractors building the road. The rate was to be 160 acres of land for every mile constructed.

The commissioners chose George Stell of Paris, Texas, as surveyor for the project.  Surveying work began in April 1844. Stell and his assistant traveled northeast, measuring and marking the exact route, which passed through the present counties of Dallas, Rockwall, Collin, Hunt, Fannin, Lamar and Red River. The route largely  utilized existing prairies and natural stream crossings – avoiding densely wooded areas and river crossing requiring bridges.  It is unclear if construction was ever completed.  The CNR appears to have been short-lived and was replaced by the Preston Road and other early routes.

 

Quote for the Day

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“I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him. I don’t think I’ve ever met him. And he actually said he was a very low-level member of I think a committee for a short period of time. I don’t think I ever met him. Now, it’s possible that I walked into a room and he was sitting there, but I don’t think I ever met him.”

Donald Trump on Carter Page.  Yet somehow, the widely discredited Nunes memo concerning the FBI’s supposedly questionable  surveillance of Page completely vindicates Trump?  Please explain!

Today in Texas History – February 2

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From the Annals of the Highway –  In 1949, professional golfer Ben Hogan and his wife Valerie were seriously injured in an auto accident.  Hogan was born in Stephenville but raised in Dublin and Fort Worth.  After his father committed suicide when Hogan was 9, he began to caddy at Glen Garden CC south of town where he met his later tour rival Byron Nelson.  He turned pro at age 18 but struggled for almost a decade before winning a professional event.  But before his accident in 1949, Hogan had won 54 times on the PGA Tour including two PGA Championships and one U.S. Open victory.

The Hogans somehow survived the early morning head-on collision with a Greyhound bus on a fog-shrouded bridge east of Van Horn.  Hogan threw himself across Valerie in order to protect her.  He likely would have been killed otherwise as the steering column punctured the driver’s seat.  Hogan suffered a double fracture of his pelvis, a fractured collar bone and left ankle and a chipped rib.  He also suffered blood clots that would cause circulatory problems for the remainder of his life.

It seemed doubtful that he would ever compete again at the high level to which his fans were accustomed.  After 59 days in the hospital, Hogan began his rehabilitation – mostly by extensive walking. He was back on the course by November and returned to the PGA Tour to start the season at the Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club.  He finished tied with Sam Snead  but lost in a playoff.  Hogan would go on the win the U.S. Open in 1950 and five more major championships before he retired in 1959.

 

The Most Unsurprising Headline of the Year – Trump is a Golf Cheat

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Two time major champion Suzann Petterson has told a Norwegian newspaper that Trump is a big-time cheat on the links. Unlike Rory McIlroy who has refused to spill the beans on Trump’s golf antics saying only that he was a good golfer “for his age”, Petterson didn’t hold back.

“He cheats like hell,” according to Petterson.  Petterson also wondered how Trump’s errant shots into the woods somehow end up in the fairway speculating that his caddy is well paid.  Petterson also challenged Trump’s claim to golfing prowess.

What’s strange is that he has never come close to breaking 80 when I’ve played with him, but whenever I talk to him he says he’s just shot 69, or broken a course record, or won a club championship.

You can get the full story at nationalclubgolfer.com.  The only question is why is Petterson still playing with or even talking to a golf cheat.  She’s just lucky Trump didn’t try to grab her by the putter.  And any golfer who still supports Trump will never be in a foursome with Red.

The End Times are Near (cont.)

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Keurig Green Mountain – a privately-held coffee behemoth – is reportedly purchase Dr. Pepper – aka the National Drink of Texas.

Actually, JAB Holding Company – the parent of Keurig Green Mountain is orchestrating the takeover of Dr Pepper Snapple Group for $18.7 billion.  The bid is one of the largest ever in the beverage industry and will include not only Dr. Pepper but other brands such as 7Up and Snapple.  JAB has been rolling up beverage companies for a while – using its the huge war chest of its founding family, the wealthy Reimann clan of Germany.

So the Germans are going to own Dr. Pepper.  Why did we even bother fighting? Let’s hope they like hot Dr. Pepper with a slice of lemon as much as Red does.

Today in Texas History – February 1

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From the Annals of the Statehouse –  In 1882, Nimrod Norton and Joseph Lee ceremonially broke ground on the site of the present Texas Capitol Building.  Norton and Lee were the building commissioners in charge of overseeing construction.  A design competition resulted in eight architects submitting eleven different designs for the building.  In May 1881 the Capitol Board approved the design entered by Elijah E. Meyers of Detroit. The building commission then advertised for a contractor who would build the Capitol in exchange for the three million acres of public land. There were only two bidders and the BC chose Mathias Schnell of Rock Island, Illinois. Schnell ultimately assigned the contract to Taylor, Babcock and Company, a Chicago firm.  Abner Taylor became the chief contractor but subcontracted the work to Gustav Wilke also of Chicago.  The  Capitol was intended to be constructed from Texas limestone but impurities in the rock made it impractical.  The design was changed – made less ornate – and the main building material was changed to red granite from Marble Mountain near Marble Falls.  The Renaissance Revival structure was completed in about six years for a cost of $3.75 million.

Red’s NFL Picks – The Championship

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Last week – Red was 0-2 in the Conference Championship games.  Bleech!

The Jaguars had a real chance to off the Patriots but fell into the trap of not pressuring Brady with the game on the line.  Here’s the deal, if you don’t pressure him, he’s going to beat you.  If you do pressure him, he’s only probably going to beat you.  Not a tough choice in Red’s humble opinion.  The game came down to that and the Jags coaching staff blinked.

The Vikings – Eagles game was simpler.  In the matchup of two Texas quarterbacks, Case Keenum played like the Case Keenum of old – a creaky, unsure, seat of the pants, turnover machine Case Keenum.  Meanwhile, Nick Foles played like the Nick Foles of old – the can do no wrong best 2/3rd of a season of almost any quarterback in NFL history Nick Foles.  That was the game. The Superb Owl host jinx didn’t help either.

Your NFL Championship Game Pick of the Week –  Patriots over Eagles. 

The Eagles Last Championship – The Eagles last won the NFL Championship in 1960 at muddy Franklin Field with a 17-13 win over the Packers.  The game was Vince Lombardi’s only playoff loss (9-1).  Led by the Dutchman, Norm Van Brocklin, the Eagles only secured a victory when Chuck Bednarik stopped Packer’s fullback Jim Taylor at the 10 yard line after a reception from Bart Starr.  If the Packers had scored Taylor would likely have been the MVP of the game.  It would be 18 years before the Eagles returned to the playoffs losing to the Falcons in 1978.  Since then, the Eagles have been rather regular NFL playoff participants with only one major dry spell between the 1981 and 1988 seasons.  But real success has been elusive.  They have lost two Championship games – to the Raiders after the 1979 season (perhaps the best Eagles team since 1960) and to the Patriots after the 2004 season.  That was a close 24-21 loss for the Eagles.  McNabb’s 3 interceptions and the collapse of the Eagles rushing attack sealed the deal for the Pats.

The Patriots Last Championship – The Patriots last won the NFL Championship last season in the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history (Oilers fans still remember the biggest).  And as for the rest of the story – does anyone really need to read about it here?

The Eagles Story – If Carson Wentz were still under center, Red would have no problem picking the Eagles.   Well, maybe a little problem.  There is certainly an argument that the Eagles feasted on a weak regular season schedule.  By Red’s hallmark (Quality Wins – meaning wins over Playoff teams and teams with winning records), the Eagles have four with wins over the Chargers (9-7 missed playoffs), Panthers (11-5 playoffs) and Rams (11-5 playoffs) and Cowboys (9-7 missed playoffs).  That is not bad by any means – even though Red discounts the win over the Cowboys because the only reason that team finished with a winning record was because of their 6-0 win in Week 17 over the Eagles who fielded a team largely made up of high school all-stars.  Throw in two impressive playoff wins over the redoubtable Falcons and the insurgent Vikings and its a pretty damn good season for the Eagles.  The only chance the Eagles have is to establish their running game early and put together some solid 5-7 minute scoring drives to keep Brady off the field and tire out the Pats defense.  If Foles has to throw 30 or fewer times and the defense sacks Brady 4 times and keeps the pressure up through the 4th quarter, there is a possibility that the Eagles could pull out a close one.  But Red doesn’t like those chances.  Alternatively, maybe the worst thing the Eagles could do would be to come out and rack up a sizable lead.  That seems to not work at all against the Pats.  Maybe they need to be behind by 10 going into the 4th quarter and then . . . oh, forget it!  In the unlikely event the Eagles win it will be on the last play of the game.

The Patriots 2017 Story –  The Patriots had six Quality Wins (Saints, Chargers, Falcons, Bills (2) and Stealers).  That is an impressive total for any team and just your average season for the Pats.  Home losses to the Chiefs and Panthers were unexpected but not terribly surprising.  The only real blip on the schedule was the late season loss to the Dolphins.   The hallmark of this season was the consistency of the Patriots offense.  They scored 30+ points seven times and only scored less than 20 once in a 19-14 win on the road against the sad-sack Buccaneers.  Odds are the Eagles are going to have to score at least 30 to have a chance. Given the Pats defense that is not likely.  After a shaky start, the Pats surrendered more than 20 points only twice after the first 4 games – in the loss to the Dolphins and in beating the Stealers on the road.  They kept the opposition in single digits three times.  On the other side of the ball with Tom Brady at the helm, confidence is always high on the Patriots sideline.  Having your legacy already fixed gives you some leeway in a game like this.  If Brady has a terrible game – it will not alter the perception of him at all.  It will make a lot of folks ridiculously happy but it will not change the historical perspective on Brady.  The only question here is what relatively unknown player will step up and have the game of his career in the championship game.  It happens every time the Pats win.  Picking that player is beyond Red’s prognostic abilities.

Suffice it to say, that after Red has scarfed down a half dozen of his Superb Ribs and a heap of potato salad and coleslaw, he will settle in for the inevitable second half where the Pats either put it away or mount another annoying yet incredible come from behind win.

New England 35 Philadelphia 27.   See you next season.