Astros and Politics, But Mainly, Astros
I did try to find the Rangers' history of cheating, and indeed there were lots of accusations, but no proof. As one fan said in comments on the issue... "If we were cheats, we were the worst cheats ever."
In addition to writing these eminently forgettable diatribes, I anchor the news on the radio in Tyler, Texas, a commute of incredible dreariness from my home in east Texas. But, when I get there, amidst a group of Texas Rangers fans on the staff, I am pretty much the lone Astros supporter. But just as I would cheer for the Rangers if they made it to the Series, assuming the Astros didn't, most of them as well would support even that other Texas team if need be.
But one young man is extremely vocal in his dislike for the Bayou City. He is 20-years-old and still in college at UT Tyler. He is already a very good news anchor and will no doubt succeed in the business, however unwise his choice of mediums proves to be. Suffice to say, when I started in radio news in 1970 at KTRH, there was a very different media landscape. I wouldn't want to be that young guy today.
But his disdain for Houston permeates every sports discussion we have, and whenever the 'Stros have a good run, his reply is to bang one of the wastebaskets at the station. He has been off for the last few days and I haven't seen him since the Astros-Rangers series where the Dallas team was treated like women in "A Handmaid's Tale." Monday I will be placing the Astros cap I got at Fantasy Camp back in '93 on my desk for him to see every time he walks by.
By the way, I did try to find the Rangers history of cheating, and indeed there were lots of accusations, but no proof. As one fan said in comments on the issue...
"If we were cheats, we were the worst cheats ever."
Elsewhere this week, the impeachment trial for Ken Paxton is underway, and a posse of slick-haired Houston lawyers are handling the defense of the indefensible. The prosecuting lawyers are also from my hometown and , well, OK, Rusty Hardin was never one of the slickest-haired barristers in H-Town. As many have observed, Paxton's defenses all revolve around politics. "They are out to get me! They don't like my brand of conservatism! It was a coup by my disloyal staff! Nate who? What Affair?"
To be blunt, it's bunk. He was impeached by a majority Republican House, and is being tried by a majority Republican Senate. And despite my almost visceral distaste for Dan Patrick, which I have chronicled elsewhere, he has kept the proceedings pretty much on course and under control. OK, that said, he is still an untrustworthy schmuck, but other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
I have noticed in many of the shots a Texas Senator whom I know, have covered, and genuinely like and admire. He is a Republican, natch, but one of those I'd have no problem voting for despite our policy differences in many ways. He is open to opposing views and is a subscriber to both the Texas Outlaw Writers and my personal blog, Roger Gray at Large. He has commented on some of my work and agreed with more of it than he'd want voters to know. I watch him wondering what he is thinking during this impeacha-palooza but I won't ask him until it's all over.
This week also saw the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim "Gym" Jordon decide that a local, Georgia prosecution was his to oversee, the reason being it involves his personal golden calf, the former President.
His request for District Attorney Fani Willis' files on the indictments upcoming for the January 6th Pranksters was answered with one of the most scathing and deadly replies I've ever read. She, in the most formal and direct way possible told Jordan to pound sand and butt out. From Politico...
In the blistering, nine-page response, Willis called Jordan’s actions “offensive,” accused him of being “misinformed” and said it’s “clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically.”
Jordan requested information about Willis’ use of federal funding and any conversations her office had with the Justice Department or special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought charges against Trump in both a classified documents case and over his actions during the 2020 election. But Willis, in her letter, said that Jordan’s “obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations.”
“Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution. … There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution,” she added in the letter to Jordan.
Now in other congressional non-news, the push among the House Silly Caucus to go ahead and impeach Joe Biden instead of just waiting for him to live out his golden years, continues apace. In fact, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Deliverance) filed Articles of Impeachment before Biden was sworn in, on the frankly verifiable grounds that he was not Donald Trump. I mean, what more do you need?
But despite the fact that their rendition of the actions by the then Vice-President Biden to remove a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor back in 2014 is part of their argument, that move was backed by the administration, the EU, UN, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and, wait for it, conservative Republicans in Congress. A letter was sent by Republican senators to President Obama calling for prosecutor Shokin to be fired. It was sent two months before that firing happened and was signed by some members of what is now the "Freedom Caucus," most prominently, Senator Ron Johnson.
He, of course, is one who is reversing the heroes and villains in the revisionist version of this incident, and if you want more, I explained it all a couple of months back...
Roger T. Gray
Well, the latest straw being grasped is that a trove of emails from Joe Biden's time as VP are sitting in the National Archives. And apparently, some are to his son, our favorite drug-addled scion, Hunter. Some apparently use a pseudonym, you know, like Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama used. It's done, so the explanation goes, to keep personal emails from being hacked. You can buy that or not, but it certainly wasn't unique to Gramps.
But the key thing that stands out to me is, if Joe Biden wanted communications with his most disappointing family member to remain secret, well, there they are in the National Archives, where he sent them all upon leaving office. And where any Tom, Dick or Marjorie can file a freedom of information request to see them. Like his public explanation about the negotiations in Ukraine in 2014 to remove a corrupt prosecutor, if he was doing something nefarious, he's as lousy at it as that Rangers fan said of their cheating accusation. .
So, unless these emails, and they are going to get them, contain anything really incriminating, this may truly be the first Faith-Based Impeachment. Now I can go back to worrying about the presidential rematch that no one on either side really wants.
And speaking of that, and of embarrassing offspring, what's the latest from the pater familias of the Huckabee clan? Interesting you should ask. Former Arkansas Governor and father of the current irksome inhabitant of the Gov's Mansion, said something this week on his TV show you've never watched on a network you probably didn't know about.
Mike Huckabee, who is indeed an ordained Baptist Minister, walked out on camera on his Trinity Broadcasting Network program "Huckabee," wrapped himself in the Shroud of Turin and proclaimed we'll be shooting each other if Donald Trump isn't elected.
“If these tactics end up working to keep Trump from winning or even running in 2024, it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets,” Huckabee said.
To their credit, the Baptist News Global publication called him out on this most un-Christian sentiment. From their piece...
"Without a hint of irony, Huckabee compared Biden to a third-world dictator who jails his political enemies while never mentioning that Trump’s well-worn mantra at his political rallies in 2016 was “Lock her up!” — referring to his opponent Hillary Clinton."
And to wrap things up, there are GOP messaging experts who are pondering a new wrinkle in the abortion debate. Since the mid-term elections, it has become apparent that the term "Pro-Life" has become associated with a no-exceptions policy toward abortion. Now they are searching for a softer phrase.
Having done more interviews and debates on this subject than I can count over the years, I have seen the evolution of the terminology. In the beginning you were either pro or anti-abortion. But the pro side figured that sounded a bit cold-hearted and went with Pro-Choice. The anti side also wanted something more sympathetic sounding and chose Pro-Life. I have always adopted the position that you call people what they want to be called.
Well, according to one news report, at a meeting of Republican insiders in Congress...
Senator Todd Young had a suggestion: Instead of “pro-life,” he likes “pro-baby.” The phrase “was just a term of my creation to demonstrate my concern for babies,” he said.
If this term becomes the nomenclature, I fully expect more moves to increase SNAP benefits and help on child care for working mothers, right? After all, you know, babies.
And so the fight goes on. I have written elsewhere about my mixed feelings on the subject, as an adoptive father, but I still insist I will call them what they want. You know, as I'm sure conservatives will go back to talking about the Democrat-ic Party, right?
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Now, he is part of the Texas Outlaw Writers, and if this doesn't pan out, the outlaw part will still work as he will indeed resort to robbing banks.