She Left Me For Jesus

Here you see the picture of the satellite radio display on the rental car I’m driving this week in Cincinnati. This picture was taken when I picked up the car a few days ago.

The song on the display is “She Left Me For Jesus.” This song is performed by Hayes Carll.

I’ve investigated this song. Here ate some of the lyrics—

She left me for Jesus and that just ain’t fair.

She days that he’s perfect, how could I compare.

She says I should find him and I’ll know peace at last.

If I ever find Jesus I’m kicking his ass.

This is a fine song. I’m glad I’ve discovered this song.

I Reflected On The Nature Of Existence This Evening

I went to the Cincinnati Reds baseball game this evening.

I had ice cream for dinner. Also, since as you can see in the picture the Ohio River was visible from my seat, I looked at the flowing river and reflected upon the nature of existence.

This Post Means Nothing To You

Here I am on a late June afternoon at what was once 633 York Street in Newport, Kentucky. Now it is a parking lot.

633 York Street in Newport, Kentucky was the site of the great punk rock bar The Jockey Club.

There were other establishments at this address at various times. There was the 633 Club and the Flamingo Club. Local lore had Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis visiting this spot over the years. And given the history of Newport, it is possible that these folks did visit these now defunct clubs.

For me, however, this is where a great punk rock club was one time.

We Must Watch Fox News In Harris County Tax Assessor-Collectors Office Because Of Lack Of Maturity To Conduct People’s Business In Proper Fashion—TPA Blogger Round-Up

Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. There are more than 7 member blogs in the TPA, but sometimes they don’t always get to taking part in the round-up. People are busy.

With the round-up this week, is a picture I took a few days ago when I was registering my car at the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collectors office. I often try to do things with real people instead of online so that people can have jobs.

For the people who are waiting in line at this office to deal with their cars, there is a television to help folks pass the time.

Okay.

What was not okay was the fact that right-wing Fox News was on the TV.

The Tax Assessor, who is also in-charge of voter registration in Harris County, is a Republican.

But the business being conducted each day in his office should be non-partisan.

There is no reason to put Fox on that TV but to annoy people who do not like Fox.

It is a minor matter, but it does give you some sense of  the absence of even a pretense of handling the people’s business in an impartial way that we so often see from Harris County Republicans. You also see here just some of the cheapness in the character of these people.

My friend John Coby at Bay Area Houston has written many posts about the failure of this office to do it’s job in a proper way. Here is one of these posts.

The round-up—

There is no way in hell Txsharon could pick just one post from this hellish week in the Barnett Shale, so she did a recap, at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.San Antonio hospitals are dumping seriously ill homeless patients at Haven for Hope.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme sees Republicans hating health care for the poor. How selfish and cruel can a group of people be?

Off the Kuff examined some data to get a handle on Rick Perry’s performance with Latino voters in the 2002 election.

2010 BP Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Facts & History

(Blogger’s note—This is the second version of the Texas Liberal Gulf of Mexico facts and history post. There are links here to learn about the BP/Transocean disaster, to learn some background on past spills and about oil in general, and to learn about some of the areas impacted by the spill. The posts ends with an extensive collection of links to stories about the disaster I’ve collected since my first spill post began on April 30. If there is a link you feel I should add, please make a suggestion. Thanks for reading Texas Liberal.)

Today’s update—

(I’ll be on the road for a few days, but his post still has many links about the spill and the collection of articles I list is a good history of the events of the disaster.)

7/16/10–The leak is stopped, but there will still be some time before it is known if this will be the final fix.

7/16/10–Here is how the capping of the leak is seen in the U.K.

7/16/10—The test cap is working so far, but the government is not yet convinced. This is as of 6 PM central time.

Links—-

The Houston Chronicle has a web page with all the ongoing coverage of the spill.

Here is oil spill coverage from the great liberal magazine Mother Jones.

Here is the C-Span oil spill page with many video clips and links.

Here is the USA Today page on the spill.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has daily updates on the disaster.

The University of Georgia Department of Marine Sciences has a blog on the spill.

Here is the web home of the coordinated federal response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

There Is No Oil In Galveston Or Anywhere On The Texas Coast And You Can Visit These Places—-Tell Them A Texas Liberal Sent You

Is there any oil from the Gulf of Mexico/BP oil spill and disaster in Galveston, Texas or at any Texas beaches?

No.

(Above–A picture of a ship I took while riding the Bolivar Ferry across Galveston Bay.)

There is no oil in Galveston as of the evening of Thursday, June 24, and there is not expected to be any over the upcoming weekend.

Please do not cancel your trip to a Texas beach because of the oil spill. There has not yet been any report of oil on a Texas beach and no such report is expected at this time.

Please know that I’m an Obama voter who wants America to move to the left.

I care about the people who work in tourist -related jobs on the Texas coast and I care about small business people on the Texas coast.

Visit the Texas coast this weekend and tell folks that a Texas liberal sent you.

Here is information about visiting Galveston.

Here are links to some towns you can visit on the Texas Gulf Coast.

King Phillip IV & Queen Mariana On New York’s 72nd Street—Latest From Texas Liberal New York City Desk

(Blogger’s Note—This is the latest offering from Texas Liberal New York City correspondent Lyuba Halkyn.  Ms. Halkyn wrote the post and took the pictures. I added the links.)

Two large, bronze sculptures of female abstracts seemed to appear overnight in my neighborhood several weeks ago.  These sculptures fit right into the landscape at the entrance of the subway at 72^nd Street.  This is the subway that I frequently use.  It is a wonderful convenience to have a subway stop right outside my front door.  Now to enhance my daily mass transit experience, a Spanish, contemporary artist, by the name of Manolo Valdés, will be displaying his work throughout the Upper West Side neighborhoods of Manhattan from May 20, 2010- January 23, 2011.

These sculptures that are at the south entrance of 72^nd Street, are two out of six large ladies called Reina Mariana and depict Queen Mariana as immortalized by the artist Diego Velázquez. Velázquez was Spain’s greatest baroque artist in the 17^th century.  He became King Phillip IV’s official painter.  One of his greatest masterpieces was Las Meninas painted in 1656.  This painting depicted the daughter of King Phillip IV and Queen Mariana.  If you are not familiar with this painting, it is most definitely worth checking out.

I was not familiar with the background of either of these artists but found myself digging deeper into the history of these sculptures and finding out more about its influences.  I also found the connection between a modern day artist/sculptor, Valdés, and a baroque, 17^th century artist, Velázquez intriguing enough to mention.

Living in a vibrant city, such as New York, free art pops up everywhere.  It’s even better when it pops up right outside my front door.

Can Bill White Beat Rick Perry?—Four Reasons Bill White Will Win in November

Can Bill White defeat Governor Rick Perry to become the next Governor of Texas?

Yes.

Here are four reasons why—

1. The latest poll shows that Mr. White, the Democratic nominee, and Mr. Perry are tied at 43% each here in Republican Texas. Mr. White is doing more than hoping to play catch-up. He is running even.

2. Many Republicans intend to vote for Mr. White. Governor Perry is having a difficult time holding his base.

From the Houston Chronicle—

“Wales Madden Jr., an Amarillo attorney and civic leader, cast his first Republican vote in 1948, for almost-President Thomas E. Dewey. Although he admits to voting for Democrats in the 1950s and 1960s, when Texas Republicans were a rare breed, he has voted almost exclusively GOP since Democrat-turned-Republican John Connally asked him to be the statewide party chairman for his presidential bid in 1976. When his candidate for governor, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, fell to Gov. Rick Perry, he switched his support to Democrat Bill White.”

3. In an anti-incumbent election season, Rick Perry is the longest serving Governor in the history of Texas.

4. Governor Perry’s extreme right-wing positions, such as talking abut Texas leaving the union and refusing federal funds to help improve Texas education, are alienating potential Perry supporters.

These are just some of the reasons that former Houston Mayor White can and will win in November.

Here is the Bill White campaign web home.

Now That Insubordinate McChrystal Is Gone, Liberals & Progressives Must Insist Obama Show Progress In Afghanistan Just Like They Would Have Demanded Of Bush

General Stanley McChrystal has been fired from his command in Afghanistan.

Given that General McChrystal could not discipline himself and those closest to him, how could he trusted to lead others?

Now that President Obama has moved forward in this respect, it is time for liberals and progressives to insist upon the same standards in Afghanistan that they would have demanded of George W. Bush.

We need to have progress or we need to get out.

Lives are on the line regardless of the political party of the President at a given moment.

And if liberals don’t have high standards—who will?

An Open Road For Your Thoughts

This post, devoid of much content, affords you an open road for your own ideas.

What should I have said this evening? What would you have said if this blog post had been your own?

Leave a comment if you wish. Or just drive on down the open road to your next web destination.

Thanks for reading Texas Liberal. I’ll be back up at full speed soon enough.

Hotels In Houston I Can Afford To Stay In With My Blogging Income

These are the hotels that I can afford to stay in in Houston with the money I make from blogging.

No–I’m exaggerating.

I could afford to stay out on the street with the money I make from blogging.

Still, I blog.

Vanity is a harsh master.

Texas Progressive Alliance Blogger Round-Up

Here we have the weekly posting the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

Please visit TPA member blogs as often as your time allows.

The round up—

Off the Kuff takes a look at an alternate universe in which the DeLay-engineered re-redistricting of 2003 never took place.

Captain Kroc at McBlogger is not at all impressed with all the cross-Atlantic chatter regarding British Petroleum and their oopsie in the Gulf.

Bay Area Houston has photographic evidence that the Republican party convention was invaded by dickheads.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why a Hidalgo electionis allowed to stand after so many fraud allegations.

The Republican Party of Texas is either under siege or on a crusade, depending on the POV of Dave Mann at the Texas Observer and Wayne Slater of the DMN. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs just thinks they’re a bunch of gun-and-Bible-clinging bed-wetters.

A Break From The Heat

We’ve heard of opening fire hydrants so kids could cool off on hot days. Above you see an example of this from Philadelphia.

In Houston though, the automobile is supreme.  What we do here is open the city water supply to give cars a break from the heat.

Instead Of Sticking To Guns, Congressman Joe Barton Apologizes For BP Remarks—If Barton Had Been At The Alamo, He Would Have Run Like A Coward

Republican U.S Representative Joe Barton of Texas has said that BP is a wronged party in that it has been forced by the White House to pay $20 billion into a fund to assist persons who have economically impacted by the  BP/Transocean Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

(Above–Mr. Barton)

He said this because this was his belief.

Mr. Barton was wrong. Our Federal Government has the right to protect citizens from corporate wrongs. Our government has the right to protect and promote the general welfare.

Mr. Barton would have our fellow Americans at the whims of corporations that put money before people.

This said, rather than sticking by his Tea Party/Republican views, Mr. Barton instead apologized.

Gutless.

(Above–A painting of Mr Barton. Look how distinguished he is when not running away from his beliefs. The painting is by Laurel Boeck. )

It seems that Mr. Barton holds no convictions that stand up to public criticism.

Of what use is Mr. Barton to anyone?—Except to the  big money interests he helps when nobody is looking and he can escape the public anger he fears so much.

If Mr. Barton had been at the Alamo, he would have deserted.

Mr. Barton represents the 6th district of Texas. Here is a map of this district. It is a largely rural district.

Here is Mr. Barton’s entry in the informative Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.

(Below—The 1903 painting “The Fall Of The Alamo” by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk. Mr. Barton would have deserted well before the point you see in the painting.)

Facts About Juneteenth—Juneteenth 2010

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is the celebration to mark the end of slavery in the United States.

On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger, landing at Galveston, Texas, made the announcement that the Civil War was over and that slaves were free.

Juneteenth for 2010 will be observed on Saturday, June 19.

Here is information on Juneteenth from the very useful Handbook of Texas Online.

From the Handbook—

“On June 19 (“Juneteenth”), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, thus belatedly bringing about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war. The news elicited an array of personal celebrations, some of which have been described in The Slave Narratives of Texas (1974). The first broader celebrations of Juneteenth were used as political rallies and to teach freed African-Americans about their voting rights. Within a short time, however, Juneteenth was marked by festivities throughout the state, some of which were organized by official Juneteenth committees.”

Though the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863, it took time for word to get around that slavery was over. People went around for two years not knowing they were free.

The knowledge you need for your freedom is out there. You just may not be aware.

It’s up to you to gain the knowledge you require about your history. I mean this for people of all colors because history is a shared thing. The fate of all people is connected.

The knowledge you need is on-line, in books, and at the library. The knowledge you need is all around you if you take the time and make the effort to learn.

You are intelligent and you are able to gain the knowledge you need.

After Juneteenth came the failure of Reconstruction and over 100 years of Jim Crow. many people had their lives wasted in these years.

Here is a history of Reconstruction.

Here is a history of Jim Crow.

Here is a collection of links that form a history of slavery in the United States.

These folks think Juneteenth should be a holiday.

Here is a list of Juneteenth events here in Houston.

Here is additional information about the Juneteenth event at Houston’s Hermann Park to be held on Saturday June 19 at 7 PM.

( I’ve also written the best Martin Luther King Reading & Reference list on the web. Please click here to see the list.)

Below is a picture of a man who was a slave and who was whipped many times by his overseer.

The man in the picture above had no choice about his fate in life.

And even today we are not in full control of our fates. Circumstance and chance play a role in life.

Yet you always have the option to learn about your freedom and to conduct yourself as a free person.

Sometimes our freedom  is restricted by our self-imposed limits of imagination. Other times our freedom is challenged by the greed of the wealthy.

In any case, we must always press ahead towards freedom and emancipation.