Suggestions on Congestions

Commentary has mentioned a time or two before the escalating congestion down the street at I-10 and Studemont/Studewood and I-10 at Heights/Yale.  It is a growing mess thanks to the development around the new Walmart and the new Kroger on Studewood/Studemont and the I-10 shoulder work.  It is very frustrating.  A lot of times I end up having to snake around and get across I-10 and Taylor. On a related note, Commentary got sent an email from a Heights resident to certain H-Town Council Members.  Check this:

I am a resident of the Heights and want to share a concern I have with traffic in the neighborhood.  Traffic on Heights and Yale close to I-10 intersection has become very congested and has begun to back up north to White Oak and South to the rail road tracks.   I realize the Shepherd/I-10 construction may be flowing over, but it has become ridiculous at times and is causing more traffic in the neighborhood with people cutting through for shorter routes.   Additionally, we use the trails in the neighborhood and take my child for bike rides and have to deal with vehicles speeding down Yale. 

Can you tell me what the city if doing about these issues as I am sure it is not the first time it has been raised?  I see a lot of neighborhood development and as result increased home values, but no further investment other than paved roads on Yale.  Much of this has also been a result of the development on Yale south of I-10, but I see no increased infrastructure to handle the traffic – why?  With regard to speeding vehicles on Yale – are any more lights planned for this street to slow the speeds down?

Ditto!  Of course I think it is only going to get worse. 

If you watch TV you probably know that “42” about Jackie Robinson will be at a local theater near you this Friday. Name a Hall of Fame great that also had his numero 42 retired?

The Mayor was on Khambrel’s show yesterday.  She did OK.

Foreign affairs experts are trying to figure out what the North Korean leader is up to.  Well we know he’s a big fan of the NBA.  I wonder if they have considered offering him courtside seats to Lakers games in exchange for his nukes.

They gave out commemorative baseballs at The Yard this past Saturday night after the game.  They don’t hand them out on the way in if you know what I mean.  The commemorative balls look a bit cheesy.

Commentary snagged foul balls numero 2 and 3 Saturday night.  I handed them off to a couple of kids – drats!

The team is on a nine game West Coast roadie.

San Luis retired Hall of Fame great Bruce Sutter’s numero 42 a few years ago of course.

The ‘Stros are not a good team today.  The weekend attendance stunk.    They strike out too many times.  Carter is hitting .091, Wallace is at .059, and Ankiel is at .083.  Wallace needs to find his game or he may be Oklahoma City bound.  We are 1-5 and so are the Fish, Brewers, Bucs, and Padres.  If we don’t become a more interesting team I don’t see attendance improving when we get home. 

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Heights Walmart Contoversy,Houston City Hall,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Houston City Council,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Texas Politics

Read Full Post »

They Deserve A Vote!

I’m not talking about the College of Cardinals.

I’m also not talking about the supporters of Chuck Hagel  for Defense Secretary.

I’m also not talking about immigration reform and The DREAM Act.

I’m also not talking about supporters of casino gambling in the Lone Star State.

I’m talking about ‘Stros fans that want the team to cut concession prices to match the cut in team payroll.

Name the ‘Stro that has grounded into the most double plays all time?

H-Town City Council races are starting to heat up and of course partisan politics play a role in district races.  If you run in a Dem district, you better not play footsies with the GOP and vice versa.  That’s the way it has been for a while.  There is really no getting around this so watch out and let’s start weeding out the pretenders.

It looks like the mail is starting to hit in the SD6 Special.

Someone said the other day and after the last night that The President was pushing a progressive agenda like same sex marrriage, guns, immigration reform and so on.  Well that’s what the country voted for and that’s where the country is at. 

Baggy of course leads the ‘Stros in grounding into DPs with 221 all time.

I guess every team needs a closer. Here is from the ‘Stros website:

The Astros aren’t saying (Jose) Veras will be their closer to start the year, but he’s certainly the leading candidate after considering the lack of experience in the Houston bullpen. Veras has pitched in 327 big league games, but has only five saves with a 4.01 ERA.

We deserve a vote!

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,The Latino vote in Texas,Latino vote in Harris County,Latino Vote in the United States,Immigration reform,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Minute Maid Park,President Barack Obama,State Representative Carol Alvarado,2013 State Senate District 6 Special Election

Read Full Post »

Turkey of the Year?

I’m betting most members of the H-Town City Council aren’t too happy about Council being named Turkey of the Year by the Houston Press.  The Press gave them the dishonor because of issues related to CM Helena Brown, food trucks, and the revised noise and feeding the homeless ordinances.   I don’t know about giving the entire Council the bad rap.

Check out the dishonor here.

The Chron E-Board wants to do away with straight ticket voting for judges.  Good luck! 

Here is their take that ran yesterday.

I wonder how they want it to work.  Do they leave the R and D next to the candidates’ name and just take judicial races off of the straight ticket grid and force people to go down the list and mark off what they wanted to do in the first place.  Do you let the party primaries nominate and don’t put an R or D next to their name so the partisans will just have to study up or take a party slate card with them to go vote? 

We don’t have a great system but I’d rather leave it up to the political parties to select their best judicial candidates and hopes it all works out on Election Day. 

AP’s Russell Contreras put out a piece this past weekend about JFK’s last night in H-Town at the Rice and what it meant to Latinos back then.

Check it out here.

Name the MLB club that produced the most Cy Young Award winners for 1980 through 1989?

Salon.com has a piece today on how it won’t be that easy for the GOP to start winning more Latino votes.

Check it out here.

I couldn’t agree more with the piece.  When you demonize a part of our community like they’ve been doing for the last four years or so ala Gov. Jan Brewer, you get payback at the polls.

Living rooms across H-Town erupted mid-afternoon on Thanksgiving Day when the Texans won in OT.  There were knuckle bumps galore in Baytown at my parents’ house.  We caught a good break for sure when the red challenge flag came out at the wrong time.   Once again I thought we were goners. 

From the gift that keeps giving department from The President’s Annual Turkey Pardon ceremony:

“They say that life is all about second chances,” Obama said to laughter, his daughters, Sasha and Malia at his side. “And this November, I could not agree more. So in the spirit of the season, I have one more gift to give, and it goes to a pair of turkeys named Cobbler and Gobbler.”

Yuk, yuk, yuk!  More from the ceremony:

“For the first time in our history, the winners of the White House turkey pardon were chosen through a highly competitive online vote. And once again, Nate Silver completely nailed it,” Obama said. “The guy’s amazing. He predicted these guys would win.”

I saw a photo this past week showing Romney putting gas in his ride just like those of the 47% that have rides. 

Phillies pitchers snagged four NL Cy Young Awards in the eighties of course:  Steve Carlton (1980 and 1982), John Denny (remember him? 1983), and closer Steve Bedrosian (1987).

I don’t have anything from The Yard today.

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,The Latino vote in Texas,Latino vote in Harris County,Latino Vote in the United States,Houston City Council,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Minute Maid Park,2012 U.S. Presidential Election,President Barack Obama,Mitt Romney,Houston Texans,NFL

Read Full Post »

GOP’s Fraud

Commentary has said before that it was never about voter fraud at the polls.  I’m talking about the BS GOP promoting their voter I.D. bills.  It has always been about making it harder for Latinos and others to cast votes.  It has been about putting up barriers at the polls.  Burkablog points out today a Washington Post article about a review of voter fraud in the U.S. of A.  Here is from the Post piece:

The analysis of 2,068 reported fraud cases by News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project, found 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation since 2000. With 146 million registered voters in the United States, those represent about one for every 15 million prospective voters.

Here is the entire Post article.

Here is what Burkablog says:

Fraud by impersonation is a myth, perpetuated by Republicans to justify Voter I.D. laws that suppress turnout. You’ll never convince me otherwise. It’s one of the worst things that has happened to American democracy.

Here is all of Burkablog.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, GOP!  Sooner or later (hopefully sooner) the Latino vote is going to take a hunk out of your arse.  Hopefully it will happen this year in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.

Yesterday Commentary mentioned the five seasons (1994-1999) the ‘Stros wore the Blue and Gold Star uniforms.  How many winning seasons did the ‘Stros have wearing the Blue and Gold Star uniforms?

I lifted this from Politico that lifted it from the Boston Globe today:

Both (Rupert) Murdoch and (NY Mayor Michael) Bloomberg said they were mystified that Romney hasn’t done more to reach out to Latino voters by outlining plans to ease immigration

“Give them a path to citizenship,” Murdoch said. “They pay taxes. They are hard-working people. Why Mitt Romney doesn’t do it, I have no idea because they are naturally Republicans.”

Bloomberg added: “The Republicans walking away from the Latino community is about as dumb a strategy as any political party has ever adopted. "

You can say that again and again!

Meanwhile the process for DREAMERs begins today!  Si se puede!

My pal Gary Polland in his latest Texas Conservative Review opposes the HISD bonds.  Well at least the HISD Bonds Campaign won’t have to spend a ton of money buying ads in Gary’s campaign special edition mailer.  Here is part of what Gary says:

Congratulations to Greg Meyers, the only school board member with enough common sense to agree HISD should earn the voters trust first before asking for the whole enchilada. Voters should take a look at this stinker and vote NO, so HISD can have a reality check and do their planning in stages. Remember, it is always good to learn to walk before one runs.

Gary also lets us know what is going on behind the scenes at the local Dem Party.  Here is what he says:

This hasn’t made the local media yet, but former Democratic Chair Gerald Birnberg has made a complaint designed to remove Democratic "accidental" District Attorney candidate Lloyd Oliver from the ballot. This is an interesting development.

TCR wonders, do the D’s intend to remove and replace with a handpicked star who they think could take advantage of the nasty GOP primary battle between incumbent Pat Lykos and successful primary challenger Mike Anderson? Do the Democrats think that they can convince enough swing and Lykos loyalists to vote their way, and win a tight battle? Maybe it’s time for the Anderson group to smoke the peace pipe with District Attorney Lykos and her supporters.

I sure am glad Gary is around to let me know what the local Dem Party is up to.

Former H-Town CM Peter Brown addressed City Council yesterday to complain about the City-County-METRO GMPs deal that was cut the other day.  However, former CM Brown wouldn’t call it a deal – got it!

Julianna Margulies from “The Good Wife” is one of Commentary’s favorite TV actresses.  I’m adding Emily Mortimer from “The Newsroom” to the list. 

All five of the Blue and Gold Star uniform seasons were winning seasons of course (66-49 in ’94, 76-68 in ’95, 82-80 in ’96, 84-78 in ’97, 102-60 in ’98, and 97-65 in ’99).

The GM sent us an email yesterday thanking us for hanging in there and ‘splaining why we’re doing lousy and how we are going to get better.  He didn’t need to ‘splain why we’re not winning – no hitting, no pitching, lousy base running, missing the cutoff man, lousy fielding, mental mistakes, and lousy ballplayers).  I’d much rather get an email from him this morning ‘splaining how in the heck we scored 10 runs last night that included a pair of three run dingers.

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,Immigration,illegal Immigration,Immigrant discrimination,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Minute Maid Park,2012 U.S. Presidential Election,President Barack Obama,Mitt Romney,Republican Party Voter Suppression

Read Full Post »

The Politics of BBWA

My pal Rusty Hardin said this yesterday right after the verdict:

"I hope those in the public who made up their minds before there was a trial will now back up and entertain the possibility of what he has always said – using steroids and HGH is cheating and it was totally contrary to his entire career.”

Rusty wasn’t talking to me and he wasn’t talking to you.  He was addressing the voting members of the Baseball Writers of America (BBWA), The Rocket’s next jury.  This December the members of the BBWA will decide if The Rocket, Barry, Barry, Sammy Sosa, B-G-O, and others make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  If The Rocket doesn’t get the minimum 75% of the BBWA vote it will be because enough BBWA voters think he was on ‘roids.

Here is a sampling of sorts of BBWA voters from stories today from my pal Jose de Jesus Ortiz and the AP:

“Roger Clemens is one of the greatest right-handers in baseball history,” said USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale, who is credited with being the first writer to address the steroid problem in baseball. “He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. And I believe today’s verdict will get him to Cooperstown on the first ballot.”  “I will vote him to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot; the same with Barry Bonds; the same with Sammy Sosa,” Nightengale said. “The trouble is that it was almost a level playing field during the steroid era. If Clemens was pitching on steroids, he was facing hitters on steroids.

“Both Clemens and Bonds perplex me,” said former New York Times baseball columnist Claire Smith, who has voted for the Hall of Fame since 1993. “Have always considered them HOFers prior to the madness. But HOFers have asked, ‘How do I know which numbers are clean and which are tainted?’ “Truth be told, I don’t. No one but those two know. Such a dilemma. Don’t know yet what I will do.”

“I’m not so sure this makes him a shoo-in on my ballot, but I haven’t ruled him out,” said Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. “But a guilty verdict would have sealed his fate for me. I still have time to digest this.”

Former BBWAA president Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer didn’t need a jury to help him with his decision.  “I wasn’t going to vote for him anyway, so this won’t affect it,” said Hoynes, who is in his 30th year covering the majors. “I just think he’s guilty. I don’t care what the court said. I think he did it. I think he knew he was cheating, and I’m not voting for him.”

"I think everybody believes he was guilty in some form or fashion," said John Harper of the New York Daily News, who doesn’t plan to vote for Clemens. "I think that’s the real issue as far as voters go. I know that’s an issue for me."

ESPN reporter/analyst Tim Kurkjian, a Hall voter for more than two decades, said: "It doesn’t change how I view him. I think he did something and they just couldn’t prove it. I think most rational people look at it that way. I was going to vote for him anyway."

"To me, Roger Clemens was a Hall of Famer from the moment he retired, just like Barry Bonds," San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins said. "I don’t much care for them as people, but that’s irrelevant, and I’ve never believed in the Hall of Fame’s ‘character’ clause. It never seemed to apply to a number of shady characters who made the Hall of Fame over the years, so I simply ignore it. I base my vote on the best players during their time. Cheating has been part of the game since its inception, whether it was gambling, doctored balls or pre-steroid drugs. It’s as essential to the game’s fabric as the sacrifice fly."

That’s 3 for, 2 against, and 2 undecided.  So that gives him 43% – not enough.

Yesterday’s jury kept him out of jail and tomorrow’s jury will decide his Hall of Fame status.

The BBWA for the most part doesn’t give a rat’s arse about yesterday’s jury verdict or what Rusty has to say.  The will talk to each other and/or their sources like players, managers, coaches, former players, and front office folks before they make up their minds if they haven’t already.

Here is the other matter they will probably consider.  How does it look if they vote The Rocket in and don’t give Barry, Barry a hall pass?  Now that would certainly spark a lively discussion about race in baseball that the Commissioner and BBWA don’t want on their plates.

How many times did The Rocket win 20 or more games in a season?

This is why some folks are turned off by politics.  Check this from the Chron:

An advocacy group formed by Houston-area real estate developers threatened Monday to seek help from the Legislature if the transit agency asks voters to cap the payments that help Harris County and area cities improve roads and bridges.

And:

If voters approve a referendum that caps general mobility payments, Houstonians for Responsible Growth will lobby state lawmakers to get the city of Houston’s money back, (Joshua) Sander said.

Here is the entire story.

So if we have a campaign and Joshua’s side loses fair and square, his group is going to the legislature to ask the legislature to overturn the results – right?  I wonder if Joshua understands how silly he sounds.  And so goes the GMPs debate.

My good buddy Kyle’s mug was seen throughout the game last night on the tube thanks to his third row seats behind the plate.

The Rocket won 20 games or more six different seasons during his career: 1986 (24), 1987 (20), 1990 (21), 1997 (21), 1998 (20), and 2001 (20).

It looks like The Yard is receiving a makeover of sorts in left center field. 

I don’t care how ugly the win was last night.  A win is a win. 

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Houston City Hall,Houston City Council

Read Full Post »

Wah, Wah, Wah!

Pardon me but cut me some slack for having a Tiger and ‘Stros hangover this morning – sadly pitiful, but I’ll still hang with them!

Sir Paul is 70 today!

Wah, wah, wah!  That’s all I heard this weekend from right wing GOPers after they got caught off guard by The President on providing the DREAMERS some relief.  Some far righties called The President “craven”.  (Commentary never uses the word “craven” but I do use “crave” as in have an urge for something so I had to look up “craven” and it means cowardly.) 

What I kept hearing this weekend was that The President went around Congress and “usurped” his authority.  The “usurp” stuff is totally ridiculous and bogus.  The going around Congress is probably true because the GOP is not interested in immigration reform or helping out the DREAMERS period.  They’re not, they’re not, they’re not!

Mitt Romney and others banged up Guv Dude last year on the so called Texas DREAM Act.  They scored DREAMER points at Dude’s expense.  At some point you have to say YA BASTA and that is exactly what The President did.

It was interesting to see that Romney didn’t rant and rave like Ted Cruz and the Lite Guv. 

Here is from an article this past weekend:

Romney’s mild response reflects the political tightrope he is walking on the issue of immigration. During the Republican primary contest, he positioned himself as the most conservative candidate in the field on illegal immigration, slamming Texas Gov. Rick Perry for allowing in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students and recommending “self-deportation” for millions of people living illegally in the U.S.

The President and Romney will address NALEO later on this week.  I’m going to go out on a limb and bet that The President will get a better response from NALEO members.  SI SE PUEDE!

I kind of thought this kind of stuff didn’t happen in these parts these days. This is what the Chron E-Board had to say (with photos) this past Saturday:

In various Harris County Precinct 4 parks, official signs on official sign posts declare "No piñatas allowed on park grounds" and "No confetti eggs in park."

Well actually the confetti eggs are called “cascarones”.  Maybe the new County Commissioner will put up some better worded signs.

Check out the entire E-Board piece here. 

The Chron had a story Saturday on former ‘Stro Jason Lane who now plays down the road at Skeeter Stadium.

Check it out here.

The Nationals designated Lights Out for assignment yesterday meaning he’s not in the bigs today.  How many 2005 World Serious ‘Stros are currently on a MLB roster?

Commentary has been talking about possible bond campaigns this fall here in H-Town.  The Chron today has a piece today on what could be HISD’s whopping $1.8 billion in bonds campaign.

Check it out here.

Stay tuned for more on this one!

The Chron E-Board had a take on pensions yesterday. 

Check it out here.

There was also a front page story on pensions yesterday and check it out here.

Now I know that the pension groups have their constituencies to fight off attempts to mess with them.  What is the constituency of those that want “reform” and are they getting engaged?

Four of the 2005 World Serious ‘Stros of course are currently on a MLB roster: Wandy, The Big Puma (on the DL in San Luis), Andy Pettitte (Yankees), and Chad Qualls (Phillies). 

Former 2005 World Serious ‘Stro reliever Dan Wheeler was designated for assignment by the Tribe last month.

While watching the ‘Stros, I was thinking about the new uniforms that the team plans to unveil after this season.   I wondered if I would buy the new lid or lids.  I looked over to my active lid wear and here’s what I have:  the orange, gold star blue, gold star blue batting practice mesh, blue with orange star, brick red, brick red World Serious logo, black/brick red batting practice mesh, Colt 45s, white/brick red mesh, black open star, black open star Old Yankee Stadium All Star Game logo, black open star 2000 Opening Day, patriotic red open star, and patriotic blue open star.  I think I’m plenty lid up.

The ‘Stros are at The Yard for a ten game homie against the Royals, Tribe, and Padres.  I don’t expect much of a crowd for the Royals this week.   The Tribe might bring in some folks this weekend since they are in second in the AL Central and B-G-O bobbleheads will be handed out Friday.  The Padres have the second worst record in the MLB so figure on a light to sparse crowd next week.  Hope we can make up some ground because being 11 ½ games out stinks.

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,Immigration,illegal Immigration,Immigration and Customs Enforcement,Immigrant discrimination,Dream Act,The Latino vote in Texas,Latino vote in Harris County,Latino Vote in the United States,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,2012 U.S. Presidential Election,President Barack Obama,Mitt Romney,National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)

Read Full Post »

Dream but not Dumb

First of all Happy Birthday today to my good friend HISD Trustee Anna Eastman!

A couple of years ago or so I think it was GOP State Rep. Leo Berman  that said something like if we create a path to citizenship for those that were undocumented then those same folks would just turn out to be Democratic Party voters.  Check out today’s NY Times editorial titled “A Dream Act without the Dream.”  Here is how it starts:

Republican politicians have overwhelmingly embraced an approach to immigration reform that offers only misery, arrest and punishment to the undocumented. That is popular with party’s hard-right base, but toxic with Hispanic voters — which has led some Republicans to come up with proposals that seem to shimmer with promise but lead to the same no-future dead end.

Here is the entire editorial.

The DREAMERS are pretty politically sophisticated folks.  Heck, why do you think this issue rings loudly in the Latino community and elsewhere.   Heck, why do you think this issue is in today’s editorial page of arguably the world’s most prestigious newspaper.  Heck, why do you think the GOP has to counter the pushback from Latino voters by floating a bogus proposal that says DREAMERS can stay but they’ll never have a shot at CITIZENSHIP.  Heck, why do you think Jeb Bush said in Arlington, Texas the other day that the GOP is missing out on the Latino vote.

This GOP proposal is going nowhere and you know why?  It’s because The DREAMERS are doing a great job!

Speaking of dreamers, Newt Gingrich was forced to lay-off a third of his campaign staff yesterday and fired his campaign manager but Newt is still in the race. 

Coming into the 2012 MLB season, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners had 2,428 career base hits in 11 seasons – wow!  Where does that put him on the career base hits list among active players?

H-Town CM Jerry Davis wore a hoodie to the City Council meeting yesterday to show support for Trayvon Martin. 
Check out the Chron story here.

Talk about manufacturing hate!  Check out this from an AP story yesterday:

The leading national organization opposing same-sex marriage has sought to split the Democratic Party base by pitting African-Americans and Hispanics against gay-rights groups, according to confidential strategy memos made public by court officials in Maine.

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” says one of the memos. It also suggests “interrupting” the process of cultural assimilation for Hispanics in hopes of curtailing support for same-sex marriage.

The documents, dating from 2009, were written by the National Organization for Marriage and had been kept from the public until Monday, when they were unsealed by court officials in Maine.

Here is the entire AP story.

Commentary is never going to buy into the BS that my community doesn’t support equality.  Why do you think the Pope didn’t drop into DF last week?

Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners with 2,428 career base hits ranks 9^th of course on the list of active players and 106^th all time.  In case you haven’t heard, the MLB season opened last night in Tokyo with the Mariners beating the A’s 3-1 with Ichiro going 4 for 5 so that puts him at 2,432 career base hits.

The Yard reports that Wandy will be the Opening Day starting pitcher. 

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,Immigrant discrimination,Immigration,illegal Immigration,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Latinos and the GOP,National Democratic Party,Texas Democratic Party,Gay rights in U.S.2012 U.S. Presidential Election,Newt Gingrich,Dream Act

Read Full Post »

Forever Etched

Serious and casual local sports fans will forever remember the name Jacoby Jones when they think about the one that got away. 

Here is what Chron sports columnist Jerome Soloman said:
Jacoby Jones will be the most chastised, cussed and criticized figure in Houston sports for the foreseeable future.

And:
His first-quarter fumble was so ridiculously stupid that ridiculously stupid isn’t the best way to describe it. It is all I have right now.d, well, he deserves it.

And:
Now, I’m not saying Jones is the reason the Texans lost, but had he missed the team flight and been suspended for the game, the Texans would be playing in Foxboro next Sunday for the right to go to the Super Bowl.  Oh, he is going to be roasted this week and next week and the week after that and forever more.

Here is Coach Kubiak’s reaction in the Chron:
“There’s no excuse,” Kubiak said. “He shouldn’t even be around the ball once that happens. He just made a mistake.”

Here is from the Chron’s General:
Jacoby Jones went brain dead with one of the worst decisions a player could make and helped put the Texans in an early hole they never recovered from.

Jones’ play will go down as one of the dumbest in Houston’s sports history.

I can’t think of a dumber play in H-Town sports history.  If you can, let me know.  The sad thing is that to date, Jacoby hasn’t owned it.  I doubt he will be back in battle red next year.

Name the current active MLBer with the highest career batting average?

Check out this interesting piece on the GOP pi__ing off the Latino vote.
Here is a piece:
Mitt Romney “is done,” said DeeDee Blase, founder of Somos Republicans in Arizona. “He’ll be lucky to get 8 percent of the Hispanic vote” after saying he would veto legislation that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants and accepting the endorsement of anti-immigration activist Kris Kobach, architect of two of the strongest immigration crackdown laws in the country.

Here is an interesting Chron article on GOP Harris County Commissioner Jack Morman’s first year in office.

Here are a few tidbits:
He’d never run for or held office, never voted in a Republican primary.

And:
(Dem County Commissioner El Franco) Lee said hiring political veteran Dave Walden as his chief of staff showed Morman’s maturity. Walden, a top aide under former County Judge Jon Lindsay and former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier, and road and bridge superintendent Jack Rodriguez, another of Morman’s hires, are a pair of “get-the-job-done people,” according to Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell.

Oh, well!

Commentary went out to cheer on my niece Cristina Alig running the marathon yesterday and I saw my old pal Kathryn McNiel making her marathon bid.  Way to go!

Commentary checked out a tame Ricky Gervais last night.  Nobody seemed to be offended and in fact Jodie Foster flashed the thumbs up when he mentioned Foster’s “Beaver” – err, her movie.   All the women on the red carpet looked great especially the older ones that have decided they don’t ever need to be touched up including Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. 

The Chron had an editorial last Friday about the County not paying its Rebuild Houston bill.  Here is from the editorial:

This past Tuesday, the Harris County Commissioners Court voted against paying the ReBuild Houston drainage fee for the county-owned Reliant Park Complex. Not only that, but the Commissioners Court also instructed Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan to pursue a refund of $88,000 in drainage fees that the county had already paid.

And:
In response, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff floated the idea of legislation to exempt city residents from paying property taxes to the county.
Here is the entire editorial.

Albert Pujols of course leads all active MLBer with a .328 batting average.

John Huntsman is out today and I’m betting he will be followed by Guv Dude in a week at the latest.

Organizers of the Tea Bagger gathering at The Yard this past weekend were hoping for a bigger crowd.  I hope they don’t try to blame the team’s 106 losses for their lousy turnout.

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,National Latino Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,U.S. Elections,Houston City Hall,Houston City Council,Harris County Commissioners Court,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Houston Texans,NFL,2012 U.S. Presidential Election,Governor Rick Perry,Latino Vote in the United States,Immigration,illegal Immigration,Latino Republicans of Texas,Latinos and the GOP

Read Full Post »

The Announcement

You have to hand it to Team Dude for their discipline these days.  He’s supposed to announce next week for president and we still don’t know where.  There was a report earlier this week that Guv Dude would announce in H-Town but apparently that’s not the case.  Check this from Chron.com today:

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that, according to a Republican operative close to Perry, he was tentatively scheduled to make his formal announcement next week in Houston.

When that was recycled today, a colleague who embarked on the chase got this from a Perry insider: “Don’t know where that is coming from. Totally wrong … Is there a Houston, Iowa?”

When the President announced back in 2007, he did so in his home state of Illinois.  When 43 announced, he did so in Iowa.    I’m thinking that since Dude is getting in later than most, he’ll announce in Iowa to help make up some ground.   Check out the entire Chron piece here.  Stay tuned!

It looks like H-Town will have mandatory water restrictions next week.
Check out the Chron article on this.  I don’t have a problem with this but the City of H-Town needs to ‘splain this better to all the water users in town.  Spell out the specifics. What are the penalties if there are any?  How does one get a citation?  Are we supposed to rat out our neighbors?  They say you can’t wash your car, how about the dog?  How is the City going to get the info to water users since not everybody gets the Chron, watches TV, or goes online?  Show me the info!

Numero 45 got his 1,258^th career RBI last night against the D-Backs.  Where does Numero 45 rank in career RBIs among active MLBers.

After three days of filing for City of H-Town offices, there are no surprises to report.

Somebody has to tell the local Dem Party that they need to do a little updating on their website.  They still have former State Rep. Al Edwards’ photo up as a current elected official.  There are also a few others on the website that are no longer in office.

Speaking of, H-Town CM James Rodriguez will file today for reelection. 

According to MLB.com, Numero 45 ranks 13^th in career RBIs among current active players.  Well he is actually in the 11^th spots because ManRam and Carlos Delgado are still listed but are out of the game.  A-Roid tops the list with 1,883 career RBIs.

Henry Sosa made his major league debut for the ‘Stros last night and had a rocky first inning then settled down but we still lost again and last year’s starting shortstop Tommy Manzella is fixing to get his outright release from the organization as he has been languishing at the graveyard, err Oklahoma City – yikes!

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,Houston City Hall,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,National Latino Politics,Governor Rick Perry,2012 U.S. Presidential Election,Mayor Annise Parker

Read Full Post »

We’re Not Great?

We’re the greatest nation on the Earth.  At least that was what I always thought.  We have the greatest military.  We have a lot of great things in the U.S. of A.  Sure we’re going through a tough time but we’re still the greatest.  Then how come super lobbyist Mike Toomey has put together a PAC to support Guv Dude’s quest for the presidency called “Make Us Great Again”?  I wonder if Dude thinks we’re still great.

Last week, there was a story somewhere (maybe the Texas Tribune) that listed Dude’s brain trust or inner circle or kitchen cabinet or something like that and Toomey was listed.  You have to wonder how independent his PAC will be.

H-Town may get into the prez race next week.  Check this from Chron.com:

And the Associated Press reports that “a Republican close to Perry, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a formal announcement is tentatively planned for the middle of next week in Houston.”

I wonder where he would make the announcement.  They would be crazy to hold it outdoors because folks would be passing out in the heat so look for an indoor venue.  They won’t do a church because they just got through praying.  They won’t do any public schools because Dude just slashed school spending.   They will probably find a business that has been thriving and creating jobs so Dude can take credit. Stay tuned!

The far right wing bloggers are mad at “Newsweek” for making GOP Cong. Michelle Bachman look like a nut on their cover this week.   Let’s see now – getting mad for making a nut look like a nut – now that’s nuts!

‘Stros rookie J.D. Martinez hit his third dinger of the season last night.  In just nine games played, J.D. already has nine RBIs.  Who leads the team in RBIs?

Filing for H-Town city offices began yesterday.  Thanks to the Mayor’s staff, for the first time ever you can go to the following link to get the latest list of those candidates that have filed over at the City: http://www.houstontx.gov/2011candidates.html.

Check this out from yesterday’s Chron.com:

Saint Arnold’s newest brew will be its first to not feature the iconic patron saint of beer in a tall bishop’s hat anywhere on the bottle label, six-pack carton or cardboard case packaging.

In its place will be a crowned and grinning skull in a field of red and gold, a design by Carlos Hernandez, the Houston artist known for his distinctive “Day of the Dead Rock Stars” series.

“We didn’t want to make it too safe,” Hernandez said last week. “We intended it to be raw. We intended it to be full-on folk art.”

The beer itself, which goes on sale Sept. 1, marks another break from the past for Houston-based Saint Arnold Brewing Co. It’s called Santo and is described as a “black Kölsch,” a relatively light brew that is similar to the best-selling Fancy Lawnmower, but changed in appearance and flavor by the addition of dark malt during the brewing process.

Santo, (Brewer) Wagner suggested, would pair well with enchiladas verdes.

Numero 45 of course has 63 RBIs in 110 games.

2009 20^th Round MLB Draft pick J.D. Martinez led the team last night over the D-Backs so just stay on board and watch the development of the new Young Guns that are now wearing the brick red!

 

Technorati Tags: Marc Campos,Campos Communications,Latino politics,Texas Latino Politics,Houston Latino Politics,Houston Politics,Harris County Politics,Texas Politics,National Politics,Houston Elections,Harris County Elections,Texas Elections,Houston Astros,Major League Baseball,Governor Rick Perry,2012 U.S. Presidential Election

Read Full Post »