Thanksgiving Day After

Yesterday was our first Thanksgiving Day without my Mom. We handled it Ok. We definitely missed her.

There will be no MLB question today.

A little over a couple of weeks ago we voted to expand the raffles that the ‘Stros hold at The Yard. Now the Skeeters and Express can hold those raffles. We did it through approving a constitutional amendment. The Trib today has a real good explanation on why we keep having to approve stuff through constitutional amendments. This is required reading for all Texas politicos, please. Here is a part:

Texans have been voting on constitutional amendments ever since — and the document keeps growing. Since 1876, Texans have voted on roughly 680 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution (and approved 498), and the constitution has expanded from 289 sections to 388, according to the Texas Legislative Reference Library. It’s now the second-longest constitution in the nation.

Attempts to convene a constitutional convention to make the document easier to use and understand have been unsuccessful. The most promising attempt was in 1974, when lawmakers met for a constitutional convention and drafted a simplified constitution. The new constitution failed by only three votes, in part because of the addition of a controversial “right-to-work” provision that was strongly opposed by labor groups.

Here is the entire must read: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/24/hey-texplainer-why-are-so-many-trivial-things-put-texas-voters-constit/.

I was there during the epic 1974 Constitutional Convention. It went down to the wire for sure.

My good friend and client H-Town City Council Member Karla Cisneros pushed this issue to the forefront during the 2015 city elections. Here is from today’s Chron:

In one of the most economically segregated cities in the country, the divide between the haves and have-nots is apparent. “While Houston ranks as the second-most prosperous city in the United States and the fifth fastest-growing, it only ranks 64th on a list of most economically inclusive cities,” notes a recently released report from the task force, which included researchers from the Kinder Institute.

Here is another must read: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Is-income-equality-possible-in-Houston-12369973.php.

The best thing about yesterday’s dinner was the selfie we sent to Laredo and the response we received from Laredo.

The only thing I have to say about the ‘Stros is that the Team Store is open today so go get your gear.