Wow! And Cruz, Cruz, Cruz!

Wow, Wow, Wow!

Congrats to the SA Mayor and brilliant move by The President’s Campaign team!  This will send a very powerful message to Latino voters as we head into the final 60 days of the election.  Self-deport my arse!   Check out from today’s SA Express News:

Mayor Julián Castro will make history in September when he presents the keynote address on the opening night of 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Castro will become the first Latino to be a keynote speaker at a Democratic national convention, according to the Obama for America campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee. The groups announced early Tuesday that Castro would speak on Sept. 4, following first lady Michelle Obama.

Ted Cruz reads Commentary.  Well at least he read yesterday’s Commentary because he is feeling pretty confident about today so now he’s moving a little away from extremism and says he would work with Dems.

Check out the Chron here.

Check out a bit here:

“I look forward to working very, very closely with him (Sen. John Cornyn) and working closely with both Democrats and Republicans in Washington.”

And:

This comes from a candidate who has slammed Dewhurst for his work with Democrats as Senate leader, and one who likes to say he wouldn’t consider himself to be doing the job in Washington unless he has arrows up and down his torso as he fights in Washington.

Now Cruz sounds like a slimy rascal.  If he would have said this right after May 29 he might have been toast by now. 

The only folks I’ve heard in the last 48 hours that say the Lite Guv is still going to pull off a win tonight are folks that are being paid by the Lite Guv.  Now let’s see.  Everyone was predicting a Lite Guv win back in December.   The last week or so folks started saying that Cruz was poised for an upset victory. The last couple of days, most folks have been predicting it will be a slam dunk Cruz victory.  If the Lite Guv does pull it off and gets 50% plus tonight, will it be considered an “upset?”   I’m confused!

Lone Star State political observers are saying that the Lite Guv’s campaign has been one of the worst run in recent memory, right up there with Guv Dude’s race for Prez effort.  Aren’t they the same folks that ran both campaigns?  Commentary is not going to get too down on the Lite Guv’s and Dude’s consultants/staff.    In the case of the Lite Guv and his consultants/staff, I don’t think they really understood the Tea Bagger factor.  The Lite Guv has never been comfortable around Tea Baggers.   I kind of would like to hear an unvarnished take on why they decided to go negative against Cruz so early in the campaign.

In the case of Dude’s campaign, I don’t think they knew what they were getting into and it showed.  Now I don’t think they understand how the Tea Baggers feel about Dude and his dismal performance on the national stage.

If Ted Cruz wins today, tomorrow he will be the leader of the Texas Republican Party, err Texas Tea Party.  Stand aside Sen. Cornyn, Dude, the Lite Guv, AG Abbott, and all the rest that are trying to figure out how to wear a Tea Bagger snuggie.

The new Chron Sports Columnist has a piece on the ‘Stros today and mentions that only three ‘Stros make more than a million bucks.   Name them?

Yesterday I received a GLBT post card with their endorsed candidates:  Jamaal Smith for State Rep. Dist 137, Alan Rosen for Constable Pct. 1, Zerick Guinn for Constable Pct. 2, and Erica Lee for CBOE, Pct.2, Pos. 6.  I also got a Paul Sadler robo call.

My pal Rosi Hernandez is no longer ‘Stros Vice President for Corporate Partnerships.  Rosi first became a VP back in the 20^th century – 1999. Of the ten current Executive Office VPs, none – nada – zilch – are Latino or Latina.  Root, root, root!

Last night from Arlington:

(Angels DH Kendrys) Morales became the third switch-hitter in major league history to homer as a lefty and righty in the same inning. Carlos Baerga did it for Cleveland in 1993 and Mark Bellhorn of the Chicago Cubs duplicated the feat in 2002.

 

Nice job, Kendrys!

New ‘Stros Francisco Cordero (reliever) and Ben Francisco (outfielder), and Jed Lowrie (shortstop on the DL) of course are the only roster players that make over a million dollars a year. 

We got back to our losing ways last night. 

 

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Why Wait, Dems?

Can you believe that the Lite Guv is getting flushed down the toilet?  I ran into a GOP friend of mine at The Yard Saturday evening.  She has been actively involved in local GOP politics for years and she is kind of in disbelief of what is going on inside of her party.  Meanwhile, the Lite Guv is being reduced to campaigning at a Chick-Fil-A today.  Here is a Texas Tribune story today on the latest poll:

Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz has a 10-point lead over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst……… according to the latest poll from Public Policy Polling.

The North Carolina-based firm………….. found Cruz leading Dewhurst 52 percent to 42 percent among likely voters ………….. Among voters who identify with the Tea Party, Cruz’s lead grows dramatically to 75 percent to 22 percent.

And:

Likely runoff voters said they were were 31 percent more likely to vote for someone endorsed by (Sarah) Palin, while only 16 percent were more likely to cast a ballot for a candidate endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry, according to the poll. Another 35 percent said they were less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Perry.

"Cruz’s victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters, a generational divide within the Texas Republican ranks, and the lack of regard the party base currently holds for Rick Perry," Tom Jensen, the firm’s polling director, wrote in a blog post. He noted that a victory for Cruz raises questions of whether Perry could survive a primary challenge in 2014 if he decided to run for re-election.

Here is from Burkablog this past weekend:

The tea party is an immediate threat but not a long-term one; it is a one-generation phenomenon, the last gasp of old angry uninformed white guys. Hispanics are a different story; they represent the future and without them the Republicans have no future. Does it change anyone’s thinking? Apparently not.

I had a conversation with a nationally known Republican consultant yesterday . Here is what he told me: “If Ted Cruz wins the Senate race, Texas will be a purple state in four years.” In other words, the tea party is so extreme that even a Democrat might be able to get elected. Does it change anyone’s thinking? Probably not.

My question to Lone Star State Dems is “why wait four years?”   Why not accelerate things starting Wednesday morning?

A little over a million GOPers will cast votes in the GOP runoff tomorrow.  In the 2008 General Election in the Lone Star State, eight million of us cast votes.  That’s seven million voters that aren’t participating in the GOP mudfest.   A lot of voters across the state have been turned off by the onslaught of negative ads that now have a mom blaming her kid’s suicide on Ted Cruz.

I think if Cruz wins he is damaged goods that Dems can seize upon over the next 99 days.

Commentary really doesn’t know who is running the Lone Star State Dem Party these days.  Yeah, I know we have us a new Chair, but I don’t know if he’s in charge.  Commentary also doesn’t know former State Rep. Paul Sadler and of course I don’t even know if he will win tomorrow but if he does, is he capable of convincing those in charge that he can mount a serious challenge?

I do know that here in Harris County if Cruz is the GOP nominee and if we properly redirect resources we can make huge inroads into parts of the County that Dems need in order to thrive, grow, and succeed.

163,000 GOPers voted in Harris County on May 29.

As of Friday, 70,000 GOPers had voted early here in Harris County.  I don’t know how many will show up tomorrow.

In 2008, over 1.1 million voters went to the polls in Harris County.  You get the picture?

If Cruz does pull it off tomorrow we need to immediately paint him and the rest of the GOP ballot as too extreme for the Lone Star State and Harris County.   Commentary has said it before that in order for Dems to grow here in Harris County we have to head northwest.  Commentary is also partial to my client, State Board of Education, District 6 candidate Traci Jensen.  Traci’s GOP opponent Donna Bahorich is State Senator Dan Patrick’s former district director and every bit as scary as Ted Cruz.   The showcasing of Traci Jensen, Rep. Sadler, and Sheriff Adrian Garcia against extremism candidates in that part of the county will result in more Dem votes up and down the ballot countywide.

Sometimes unexpected opportunities just show up at your doorstep.  If Cruz wins, an opportunity is at our doorstep.

If the Dems in charge just shrug it off and go on about business as usual and cede the state to Cruz, the Tea Baggers, and extremism, then a “shame on you”  would be letting them off too lightly. 

In the MLB, only four teams do not have a mascot.  Name the team?

From the Oh Brother Department:  In the wake of the Aurora shooting, movie producer Harvey Weinstein wants to call a summit of movie makers to address how they handle violence in flicks.  This is from the fella that produced “Pulp Fiction”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Halloween”, “Scream”, and “Grindhouse.”  Shut up, Harvey!

The Leader, a local weekly community newspaper that serves my ‘hood, has a new look and team.  Here is what they put out last week about Early Voting:

Where are the early voting sites?

by Charlotte Aguilar
charlotte@theleadernews.com

With early voting underway and a runoff election looming, we did our civic duty and attempted to prepare a list of polling places for voters in Leader neighborhoods for this issue. When it came to early voting, that wasn’t easy.

The Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and other north and northwest communities are a giant no-man’s-land when it comes to voting locations for those who, for whatever reason, can’t make it to their neighborhood polling place on Election Day.

The nearest sites are in River Oaks, Spring Branch, the West Loop/Galleria area, Acres Homes, Moody Park and downtown Houston.

Most other communities in Harris County – especially those with the knowledgeable, committed type of electorate that lives in our areas – have at least one convenient early voting location. We’re wondering about this and would love to hear from you:

1. If you do vote early, where do you go?

2. Is having polling places so far outside your community a deterrent for you to vote early?

3. Has it ever kept you from voting?

4. Where would be a good location in your community to place a regular polling site? (Think large community buildings with adequate parking.)

We’ll take your feedback (and our own concerns) to the appropriate Harris County officials for answers – and perhaps some action in time for the General Election in November. In the meantime, do get out and vote. Even if they make it a challenge for you to do so.

Nice job!

The Angels, Cubbies, Dodgers, and Yankees of course do not have a team mascot.

What the Fick!  We now have on the roster ia pitcher named Chuckie Fick.

The ‘Stros traded third baseman Chris Johnson to the D-Backs yesterday and we finally got a W.

 

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We’re Cool!

Forbes says H-Town is the “coolest” city in the U.S. of A.  Huh!

Check it out here.

Whatever!  The Mayor being on Colbert and the signing of Jeremy Lin put us over the top I guess.

H-Town CM Helena Brown continues to get pub in the Chron. 

Check it out here.

Now that’s probably not cool.

The Pirates are in town for a four game series.  They are in second place in the NL Central with a 56-42 record.  The last time they had a winning season was in 1992 when they finished atop the NL East a few years before we had the Wild Card.  How did the Pirates fare in the 1992 NLCS and name the team they faced?

Here is from a story about last night’s Tea Bagger rally for Ted Cruz up in Dallas:

Burleson activist Maggie Wright was among the speakers who encouraged Texas voters to go to the polls and show their support for Cruz.

"I believe God had a hand in this election," she said. "If we had the election in March, David Dewhurst would be our senator."

Amen!

Yesterday I received mailers from Precinct 1 Constable candidates Cindy Vara-Leija and Alan Rosen.

I bet Forbes didn’t factor in the local janitorial strike when they said we were cool.

The Muppets pulled out of their business arrangement with Chick-fil-A. 

The Chron Sports Section joined the list of those that read Commentary because they put Jerome Solomon on the first flight out to London yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dominique Sachse’s postcard’s in the Chron is all about name dropping. What else is new!

From the “Yankee Doodle came to London just to ride the ponies” Department:  Mitt Romney’s piehole got him trouble with the Brits yesterday.  Meanwhile, The First Lady is in London and she said today that she was going to check out some basketball and Ann Romney came to London just to watch her pony.

The 1992 Pirates lost in seven to The ATL of course in the NLCS.

I honestly can’t say if the team will win another game this season.  Heck, we’re on course to even defy the law of averages!  Tomorrow night Dante and I will be on the third row in Diamond Level.  Too bad nobody will be watching.  Now that’s not cool!

 

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Lone Star Decisions

Quien es mas macho?  Nolan Ryan o Sarah Palin?  If you listen to Sports Talk like Commentary then you have probably heard the drawl of Nolan Ryan endorsing the Lite Guv for U.S. Senate.  Sarah Palin comes to The Woodlands tomorrow to give her stamp of approval to Ted Cruz.

We will find out Tuesday night if we have a Republican Party of Texas or a Tea Party of Texas. 

Here is from a Star Telegram story today on the Tea Party taking over:

"I’m not at all surprised that Mr. Cruz has support from different people around the country. I’ve never gone to any of these people and asked them for their support," Dewhurst told The Associated Press. "I’ve been focused on Texans. My focus is Texas, not Washington and all of these people from other states that Mr. Cruz seems to want or need to come in and embrace him."

Here it the rest of the story.

Here is from an AP update last night:

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says he never felt the need to woo key tea party leaders nationwide. In his words, "I’ve been focused on Texans."

What a bushel of BS!  The Lite Guv has been courting the Tea Party for the last couple of years or so and even trying to advance the Tea Party agenda this past legislative session.  He just wasn’t as frothy at the mouth like Cruz.  Now the Tea Baggers could take a chunk out of his arse this coming Tuesday. 

It doesn’t surprise Commentary that the Lite Guv is running negative and nasty ads on Cruz.  The Lite Guv is hurting.

Guv Dude, the Lite Guv, and others have been feeding Tea Baggers piles of red meat and now it looks like they could be taken hostage by the Tea Party of Texas.   I wonder how Hunker Down and Nolan Ryan feel about being a member of the Tea Party?

Courtesy of Dougie:  Who is now the longest tenured ‘Stro?

Speaking of, my pal Nick Anderson has a killer cartoon on CM Helena Brown in today’s Chron that you can only see in the hard copy – ouch!

Here is an interesting stat from the 2008 general election in Harris County.  Among straight party Early Voters in Person, Dems received 56.94% and the GOP received 42.7%.  Among mail ballot straight party voters, the GOP received 65.81% to the Dems 33.8%. 

I got an Erica Lee mailer yesterday.

I got a Paul Sadler bilingual robo call yesterday.

The Chron Sports Section did a bunch of pre-Olympics coverage but the only reporter sending post cards from London in the Chron is Channel 2’s Dominique Sachse.  What’s up with that?

Reliever Wesley Wright of course is the longest tenured ‘Stro these days when he made his debut in March of 2008 – of course he has also been sent down a time or two since then.

Here is what I said yesterday about Tuesday’s game:

Our new closer came in to close out the game with a one run lead and he didn’t close.  What else is news? 

Here is what I’m saying about last night’s game:

Our new closer came in to close out the game with a one run lead and he didn’t close.  What else is news? 

I don’t know what to say.

 

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Where’s Wandy’s Bobblehead?

If you are on your way to London this morning, there is plenty of reading material for your flight.  Patricia Kilday Hart has an unflattering piece on the Lite Guv and his race against Ted Cruz.

Check it out here.

Also from the Chron is the latest on CM Helena Brown.  Here is how it starts:

City Councilwoman Helena Brown on Tuesday accused Mayor Annise Parker of sabotaging her recent taxpayer-funded trip to Asia to promote direct air service between Seoul and Houston.

Check out the entire piece here.

As I was sitting at The Yard last night while we still had a lead, I got to thinking about arguably the best team we ever had and it had to be the 1998 team when we won 102 games but flamed out in the NLDS against the Padres.  Name the 1998 Opening Day lineup for the ‘Stros?

If you want more reading material for your trip to London, check out today’s Chron article on the GMPs here.

Here is from the piece:

County Commissioners Steve Radack and Jack Cagle and County Judge Ed Emmett said the status quo is unfair to residents in some unincorporated areas of the county who pay taxes to Metro but get few services.

"It’s long overdue for the citizens of the unincorporated area of Harris County to stand together and fight against the unfair Metro sales tax imposed upon them," Radack said, deriding Metro’s light rail as "a choo-choo train."

As I recall, voters voted a few decades ago to impose the METRO sales tax upon ourselves fair and square and it looks like we will also get the opportunity to vote on something this November.

Commentary received the Kubosh petition yesterday in the mail to do away with the ordinance on feeding the homeless.  All I have to do is sign it and stick it in the postage paid envelope.  I won’t.

I was at The Yard and noticed that the street parking meter rate went up by 25%.  They didn’t ask Commentary.

Speaking of, a parking issue is forcing The Roundtable to set up shop at the Black Labrador tonight.

During the game yesterday the buzz started about Wandy getting traded to the Pirates and then we checked the schedule and realized that Wandy could be pitching against us this Saturday.  We also realized that the roster had been officially blown up and as we celebrate 50 years of MLB in H-Town we have the look of an expansion team.

Leading off at second base, B-G-O, followed by Derrick Bell (RF), Baggy (1B), Sean Berry (3B), Moises Alou (LF), Richard Hidalgo (CF), Ricky Gutierrez (SS), Brad Ausmus catching, and Shane Reynolds on the mound of course was our 1998 Opening Day starting lineup against the Giants.

Hunter Pence got a bobblehead and so did Michel Bourn and so did Jose Valverde and so did Brett Myers and so did Pudge and heck even Chris Johnson got a bobblehead.  Even Milo, J.D. and Brownie have bobbleheads.  Wandy never got a bobblehead. 

Our new closer came in to close out the game with a one run lead and he didn’t close.  What else is news? 

 

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A Little Bit of Dishing it Out

CEWDEM has decreed that he will no longer put out takes on the CD 7 Dem runoff…awwwww!   It was just getting interesting.  Meanwhile, the Chron has a piece on the Constable Precinct 1 runoff.    Here are parts:

(Cindy) Vara-Leija accused (Alan) Rosen of misrepresenting his post at the Sheriff’s Office by not clarifying that he is a reserve. Rosen called that a "non-issue," noting that reservists have the same training and arrest powers as full-time officers and that his training hours and patrol experience exceed his opponent’s.

And:

"I have valuable insight that my opponent does not. I did come from Precinct 1," Vara-Leija said. "I know exactly where to go, how to take care of problems that I know are already there."

And:

Online, Rosen supporters have questioned whether Vara-Leija knew of (Former Constable Jack) Abercia’s alleged crimes while at the precinct.

"My responsibilities and my duties were to supervise and to make sure those under my command were taking care of the community’s needs," Vara-Leija said. "Whatever was going on in the constable’s office, I was not privy to."

Well she didn’t know where all the problems were – got it!  The runoff was getting a little boring so a little spice doesn’t hurt.  Both Alan and Cindy would be OK constables so I’m not going to get all worked up for nothing.  My pal Keir is right on target though:

Political consultant Keir Murray said the precinct’s black voters likely will decide the runoff, noting that two black candidates in the May primary split 42 percent of the vote between them. Rosen’s edge in campaign funds and spate of endorsements from black political leaders may give him an edge, Murray said, but nothing is certain in what is expected to be a low-turnout election.

Check out the Chron piece here.

We will know a week from tonight!

The late Cubbie Ron Santo was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this past weekend.  The nine-time All Star and winner of five Gold Glove Awards was the 4^th highest vote getter in the 1967 NL MVP balloting and 5^th in the 1969 balloting.  Name the players that were ahead of Santo in the 1969 balloting? Hint:  They are all still with us, three are in the Hall of Fame, and one may never be.

My pal Robert Miller has a take this morning on winners and losers. 

Check it out.

Robert predicts that GOP State Sen. Wentworth is going down the drain next week.

This is how Robert ends his take this morning:

At this point, it appears that establishment Republicans and trial lawyers may float out into the Gulf together after being swamped by a Tea Party election wave.

I don’t know about that.

What I do know is that Ichiro Suzuki is now wearing the pin stripes. 

Yesterday I received a robo call from Erika Lee and one from Paul Sadler.

In 1969, Cubbie Ron Santo trailed NL MVP Award winner Willie McCovey, Tom Seaver, Hank Aaron, and Pete Rose of course in the balloting.

Here is what the ‘Stros GM said yesterday:

“One of the benefits of some of the trades we’ve made in addition to getting prospects is that we’ve given ourselves some more freedom next year by freeing up some payroll space that allows us to use that to get the free-agent pieces we want to get.  We’re going to be able to use that freedom to more effectively help the club next year immediately than we would have.”

We will see!

You don’t want to hear about another loss night.  It was like most of the other 62 losses. 

 

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Vote, Vote, Vote, Root, Root, Root!

Early Voting in Person begins today and the Lone Star State Dem Party has endorsed former State Rep. Paul Sadler for U.S. Senate.  I’m Ok with that as long as Sadler wins or else egg on our faces is going to be the least of our problems.

The Chron has a story today on the Constable Precinct 2 Dem runoff.

Check it out here.

Of course, the Chron didn’t endorse in this race.  What’s up with that?

If opposition to the proposed HISD bonds ever emerges, they will probably use what was in Saturday’s Chron.  Check out how the article starts:

Numerous HISD schools that underwent tens of millions of dollars in repairs and renovations in recent years would be rebuilt or remodeled under a proposed bond issue this November, raising questions about wasted spending.

Here is the entire article.

Name the ‘Stros players that were yesterday’s starting lineup in Arizona that were also in the Opening Day starting lineup back on April 6 against the Rockies?

It is official.  The NCAA will never ever impose a death penalty on a member school.   I was watching the NCAA announce their penalties on Penn State this morning and when asked about the death penalty they said that they took into account “collateral damage” to the band, the athletic department, and the folks that made a living off of games.  Well, that’s the whole point!

Here is what the ‘Stros GM said before the season started:

"We’re going to work hard, work smart and make a return to competitiveness in as short a time frame as possible."

And this is what he also said:

“There is a plan in place.  We want to get to a point where we can compete year in and year out.” 

Who are these guys?   The latest ‘Stros to get traded included Brett Myers, J.A. Happ, and Brandon Lyon is a sure sign that new management is saying get ready for another 100 plus loss season this year and possibly another 100 plus loss season next year.  That’s certainly not going to get folks to visit The Yard anytime soon.   It could also possibly put a dent in season ticket sales.

Oh, well!  At least the bathroom lines won’t be long.

Jose Altuve (2B), Chris Johnson (3B), and J.D. Martinez (LF) of course were in yesterday’s starting lineup and in the Opening Day starting lineup.

Let’s get back to the plan.  The team has decided that by stockpiling prospects, maybe a few will turn into bona fide major leaguers.  Right now of the position players, Altuve and Jed Lowrie (currently on the DL) are the only ones that could play on a contending team.   The team has decided that for now, going the free agent route is not part of the plan.  So we are just going to have to wait, wait, wait, and root, root, root, and be patient, patient, patient!  It is going to be a while before we can compete, compete, compete, much less contend, contend, contend!

The problem with this plan is the prospects will get so used to losing that they will never learn how to win.

 

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Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

We have to be proud of the fact that the U.S. of A.  probably leads the universe in random mass shootings of innocent victims.  Post offices, cafeterias, college campuses, high schools, shopping malls, grocery store parking lots, and now movie theaters make the list of mass shooting venues.  It wouldn’t surprise Commentary if the NRA shills came out today with proposed legislation to allow theater ushers to pack.

We are all too familiar with the drill.  We will find out later today that the shooter is some sort of troubled fella and loner. In a day or two we will know how and where he got his guns.  The President and The First Lady will head out to Colorado next week and speak at a memorial service and console the families.   The guns shop clerk and supervisor who sold the shooter the guns will probably get their arses indicted for some gun sale violation.   Some will blame violence in movies.  The talking heads will once again debate tighter gun laws but nothing will happen and then we will move on to other things.  It will then happen again and as they say, coming to a theater near you.

I got a mailer from Precinct 1 Constable candidate Cindy Vara-Leija and she is definitely going negative on Alan Rosen.

CD 7 Dem candidate James Cargas was endorsed by the Chron E-Board today.

Check it out here.

Congrats to James!

In baseball, hitting for the cycle means in a game a batter hits at least a single, a double, a triple, and a dinger.  In MLB history, only two teams have never had a player hit for the cycle.  Name the two teams?

The Chick-fil-A CEO has come out in opposition to marriage equality.  What for?  Why don’t you just stay closed on Sundays and keep your piehole shut.

Check out the story here.

That’s where I grub out after a ‘Stro hits the Chick-fil-A fair pole at The Yard but I also get me some fries and a soft drink. They just opened an eatery a couple of months ago down the street.   I just had me some grub there a couple of days ago.   Now those stinking cows that hang on to the fair poles at The Yard are going to give me negative vibes – something I don’t go to The Yard to get.  The same goes for those stinking cows that walk around the concourse handing out those stinking little stuffed cows to the children.   Now I have to rethink my choices.

The Padres and the Fish of course are the only teams that have never had a player hit for the cycle.

I have absolutely nothing to say about the ‘Stros only getting one hit last night – a check swing single at that.  Meanwhile Michael Bourn is hitting .305 and Hunter Pence has 57 RBIs.  That’s all I have to say.

 

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On Latinos Again

More on that 48 point lead (70-22) The President has over Romney among Latino voters.

Foreign-born Latinos favor Obama by 72 percent to 19 percent.

The margin is tighter among native-born Latinos: 69 percent to 25 percent.

Among families who primarily speak Spanish, Obama has his largest lead, 76 percent to 15 percent.  (Commentary has said before that there is a reason that the local Univision newscast usually leads all others during the 10 pm time slot.  Do you believe me now?)

Latinos who voted in the 2008 presidential election give Obama a 52 point lead, 72 percent to 20 percent.

Sixty percent of Hispanic independents say they will vote for Obama and 13 percent of Republican Latinos say they will vote Democratic in 2012.

On a related note, the GOP continues to try to figure out how to keep Latinos from voting in the Lone Star State.  Check this from the Chron yesterday:

Texas officials plan to join a growing number of states across the country seeking access to a massive immigration database to check voter rolls for possible non-citizens, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Here is the entire piece.

Do they not understand that all this does is p_ss off Latino voters?  This is our state too!  Heck, why stop at 70%!

Name the MLB Hall of Fame great that holds the record for most career runs scored?  Hint:  He’s still with us.

I’m guessing Chron columnist Lisa Falkenberg won’t ever get invited by Guv Dude for lunch over at the refurbished Mansion.  Falkenberg has a column today talking about how the Lone Star State is tanking and is at the bottom of the heap in a bunch of key categories.  Of course, you can only check out the piece in the hard copy right now but here is a bit:

“I love Texas.  But I’m not proud of where it’s going.  Or more accurately, where we’ve let it go.”

And here is how it ends:

“We can change course.  But first we have to swallow our pride and admit we’re on the wrong one.”

Nice job Lisa!

My pal Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman is running campaign ads for the GOP runoff and he’s not bashing The President.  What’s up with that?

It looks like Dante knows a whole lot more about that Bane fella from “The Dark Knight Rises” than that Rush chump.  Dante is my go to guy when it comes to action flicks these days.

I stand corrected!  Hector still reads Commentary and sent me this:

Of the 1,893,937 registered voters in Harris County, there are 303,422 (as of Feb., 2012) Spanish Surnamed Registered Voters (SSRV) based on a 1996 Census study which identified the 639 most common Spanish Surnames.  There are 358,410 (as of Feb., 2012) Spanish Surnamed Registered Voters based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Spanish Surnames List which includes over 12,000 names.

It is probably in between.  It is still around 300,000 Spanish Surnamed Registered Voters that Guv Dude and the GOP wish didn’t exist.

The Emmys were announced this morning and I’m kind of behind the times in the major categories.  “Smash” barely got a mention.  “The Big Bang Theory” got some run and so did “The Good Wife.”  “Game Change” about Sarah Palin got some run.  I’m really not into the Downton, Boardwalk, Horror, Girls, Bad, Mad, Rock, Family, and Enthusiasm.

I wonder what kind of ratings Colbert got in H-Town last night.  Maybe we ought to start a campaign to get The Mayor an “Outstanding Guest Performance in a Variety Series” Emmy nomination next year!

Hall of Fame great Rickey Henderson of course holds the record with 2,295 career runs scored.

Tiger had a nice first round today across the pond.

Do you really want to hear my ‘Stros take today?  Do you want to hear that Altuve’s batting average has dropped to .290?  Do you want to hear that Wandy only lasted 4 innings yesterday?  I wonder if Jeremy Lin can catch.

 

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Did You Know?

A few months ago Hector mentioned to me that there were around 360,000 Latinos registered to vote in Harris County and that 57% of the 360,000 lived at around the beltway and beyond.  He also told me that only 16% of the 360,000 resided inside of the loop.  A lot of the Latino growth is in northwest Harris County and that’s why Cy-Fair ISD, the third largest school district in the state, has an over 40% Latino student population.  Lesson for local Dems:  If you want to turn Harris County blue, get out of your comfort zone and head northwest and engage Latino voters.    FYI:  SBOE District 6 candidate Traci Jensen (Commentary’s client) is running in a king size district that includes most of CY-Fair ISD and other areas with a lot of Latino voters.

On a related note, here is from today’s Politico:

Latino Decisions, the polling outfit that showed a jump in Latino enthusiasm for President Obama following last month’s policy shift on deportation, finds today that the president is winning 70 percent of the Latino vote in 2012.

The poll is sponsored by a pair of progressive groups and finds Obama leading Romney by an even wider margin than he beat John McCain in 2008:

“Latino Decisions released new national poll of Latino registered voters showing Barack Obama winning 70% of the Latino vote compared to 22% for Mitt Romney.  The poll, commissioned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and America’s Voice,  illustrates an increase in support for President Obama, and comes after a month of outreach to Latino voters, starting with the June 15 Dream announcement, appearances by the President and Vice President at NALEO and NCLR conferences, and comments opposing Arizona’s SB1070 immigration law.  This poll marks the first time Obama has received 70% of the vote in Latino Decisions polling on the presidential election over the past 20 months.”

The final margin among Latinos in 2008 was a 36-point gap in Obama’s favor. Right now, he’s up by 48 points. Which gives you a sense of why Republican elites think it’s so urgent for Romney to make up ground with this bloc.

Today I would say that the polling numbers are about right even here in Harris County.  Of course the polling numbers don’t mean squat if we’re not engaging the Latino voters.

A rarity in MLB these days is stealing home.  Name the player with record for career steals of home?

From yesterday’s Chron.com, a Joe Holley Moment:

U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst probably didn’t need a press release to communicate his nose-thumbing disdain for President Obama’s visit to Austin and San Antonio this week, but a press release we got nonetheless.

“President Obama is using Texas as an ATM, the same way he’s using taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars to spend our country into oblivion,” the lieutenant governor proclaims, before delivering himself of a jeremiad worthy of talk-show ranter Michael Savage. His upstart rival, former Texas solicitor general Ted Cruz, routinely describes the president as “the most radical president in American history,” but Dewhurst ramps up the screed. “President Obama,” he asserts, “is the most serious threat to America since World War II.” (Worse, apparently, than Cold War nuclear threats, Al Quaeda attacks, the hearbreak of psoriasis)

Our national fate, Dewhurst warns, is a dismal Obama-led Continental tour: “Through his disastrous and reckless policies like Obamacare, it seems Obama is trying to mirror America in the image of Europe. If we do not change the path we’re on, Obama will kill our economy, spend America into bankruptcy and relegate us to a failed future.”

The relatively low-key lieutenant governor, who has fallen behind the energetic and hyper-articulate Cruz in recent polls, calls for “a complete transformation of how our government works” and “leaders who will get government out of the way and allow the private sector to flourish.”

He’s waited 66 years for his Mr. Dewhurst-goes- to-Washington-moment, and now, even if he gets by the pesky Cruz, he may find the Capitol crumbled, thanks to “the most serious threat. . . ” Like Charlton Heston’s Statue of Liberty moment in “The Planet of the Apes,” all he’ll be able to do is shake his head at the folly of his fellow Americans, take one last look at the fallen dome and then trudge on back to Texas. It’s that bad, folks.

Or so says an over-heated candidate in the home stretch of a long, bitter race.

Also from Chron.com is Guv Dude’s Welcome to the Lone Star State letter to The President:

“Perhaps while the President is visiting Texas, he can take a break from big-dollar fundraisers to disavow his Attorney General’s offensive and incendiary comments regarding our common-sense voter identification law.

“In labeling the Texas voter ID law as a “poll tax,” Eric Holder purposefully used language designed to inflame passions and incite racial tension. It was not only inappropriate, but simply incorrect on its face.

“The president should apologize for Holder’s imprudent remarks and for his insulting lawsuit against the people of Texas.”

Every time The President visits the Lone Star State, GOP leaders go bonkers.  I love it!

Burkablog is sorta making a prediction in the GOP U.S. Senate race:

I believe this is going to be a very close race. The bigger the turnout, the better it is for Dewhurst. I think the breaking point is around 825,000. If the turnout is less, Cruz wins. If it’s more, Dewhurst wins.

Commentary isn’t going to say anything lincredibly silly about H-Town’s newest resident Jeremy Lin other than to ask if he is considering moving to Lindale – home to former Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Sheriff Adrian Garcia, CM Ed Gonzalez, and HCC Trustee Yolanda Navarro Flores.

Hall of Fame great Ty Cobb of course stole home 54 times in his career.

I also said I wasn’t going to say anything about Jeremy Lin other than to ask if he can play shortstop because Jed Lowrie is out for 4-6 weeks and we now have 36 roadie losses – HELP!

 

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