President Trump announced his selection for the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Justice Antonin Scalia last year, with Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals as his pick. Trump said of Gorsuch at the announcement address, "The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute. He is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice."
Gorsuch has served on the Tenth Circuit Appeal Court since 2006, where he was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by voice vote. A native of Denver, Colorado, he is the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, Environmental Protection Agency head under Reagan. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, where he founded The Fed, a satirical newspaper, along with Andrew Levy, now a Fox News personality. He graduated from Harvard Law School and received a degree from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar.
Calling Scalia a "lion of the law" at the announcement, Gorsuch is known for his advocacy an originalist, textualist approach in interpreting the Constitution, similar to that of Scalia. Gorsuch will likely most often side with the conservative side of the court should he be confirmed, giving the court a 5-4 conservative majority, with Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy (for whom Gorsuch had once clerked) as the swing vote.
Democrats have begun to announce their opposition to Gorsuch, many angered that Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, received no hearing or vote by the Republican Senate. Sen. Jeff Merkely (D-OR) released a press statement, saying, "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee (Gorsuch), and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the Court.”
If more Democrats feel the same way, it could set a lengthy, tense confirmation battle in the weeks ahead.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
OPINION: Not Racist, Not Sexist, Just Trump
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| Credit: Gage Skidmore |
Donald Trump’s winning the 2016 election was certainly interesting and undoubtedly shocking. Accepting him has not been easy for his detractors, but for his supporters it gives many of them a cause for unmitigated celebration. Trump’s victory seems to be the first time a so-called “outsider” has been able to pull off a win for the Presidency.
One of the main arguments by his detractors for the inherent unacceptability of his presidency for me is somewhat straining, that is, that Donald Trump is a raging sexist. That is simply not the case and is absurd at the highest level, and the main architect for all of this rhetoric is the mainstream media, the upper echelon of academia, and of course the wonderful, loving, and ever so graceful "social justice warriors" which infect our nation’s ivory towers.
Wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon has been chosen as another cabinet member in Mr. Trump’s administration, and she is not the only one chosen either: Nikki Haley, Elaine Chao (who is also an Asian immigrant), Betsy Devos, among possible others. Apparently, after these incredible cabinet decisions, Mr. Trump is still sexist, mean, and evil incarnate. If you look closely however, at everything Trump has done, it is to always be inclusive of everybody of all types.
Now the point I am trying express is that the "old white man’s" GOP does not exist, and if it somehow ever did it has since died. I would also say that we as Americans should stop attacking our new incoming president as if he were some sort of woman-hater as the media and left are making him out to be, instead of focusing on the diversity and the intelligence he is bringing to a new and forthcoming four years, of which I am delighted to be a part. We as a country should move far from the high school bullying of the new president and focus on the new modern era that is bringing jobs to everyone, women and men of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and races. Disagree with Trump all you want, yell at him in front of your TV if you desire so, but don't let it be because he’s a sexist or the party that nominated him is, rather let it be from the political ideology for which he stands. That is what a republic is supposed to include, arguments based upon ideas and not upon silly nonsense gossip and malice from members of the media and sheltered college students.
Can we all just agree to get back the real issues, shall we!
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
What the Democrats Should Do Now
By Bruce L. Brager
The Democrats, particularly the Hillary Clinton camp, have to remember a few things. In 1988, Doug Williams, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, was asked what it feels like to be the first Black quarterback to start a Superbowl. He said he was more concerned with not being the first Black quarterback to lose a Superbowl. His team won the Superbowl, by concentrating on the basics of scoring more points rather than worrying about glass ceilings. There is a lesson here, of focusing on the substantive job one has to do – first win the election, then govern well. Making history with the vice presidential pick, or even the Presidential pick, is really not a major part of the equation.
For Democrats, the Republican presidential campaign has been fun to watch. But there is one thing we have to remember before Democrats take too much pleasure. “Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake” is a quote famously attributed to Napoleon. Logic holds that when the enemy can do himself damage – let the enemy do your work for you. An outside menace can focus the enemy’s attention, and unite feuding, if not actually fighting, factions. So let your enemy do the job for you.
Also . . . A victory over your opponent based on his errors is a victory, but it may not last as long as a victory based on your skill. Another often misunderstood reality, also from military history, is that when your enemy stays together they can surrender en masse, not break up into small groups that need to be hunted down at great cost. Democratic best case results this November do not include being able to govern without Republicans at all. They need reasonable Republican leadership, and individual Republicans open to the core element of politics and government, compromise.
And remember, also from football, “on any given Sunday” any given team can beat any other team on the same level. Beating Trump is by no means a certainty.
The Democrats cannot just wait for Donald Trump to do his thing—I think the term I heard is get all Trumpy—and hand the election to Hillary. The Democrats need to come up with good ideas, not just ways to spend more money. They need to be less lobbyists for every interest group, no matter how justified the interest, and more lobbyists for the national interest. For example, they need to find better use for local tax dollars than moving Confederate statues. Perhaps the money for a little much needed history education, to give people some needed historical perspective, on the Civil War, slavery, the dumb disloyalty of secession, and on the period when most of the statues were built – decades later, as it happens.
The Democrats need to remember the brilliance of the Founding Fathers in writing the First Amendment. Maybe James Madison needs his own musical. Expression and distribution of ideas can lead to discussion and debate. A few good radical ideas, such as ending slavery—the antebellum South tried to suppress even discussion of ending slavery—and giving women the vote, can come to pass to the great benefit of the country. Particularly dumb ideas say a lot about the expresser. Trying to curb the public statement of these ideas, so as to not hurt people’s feelings, is all too likely to make idiots martyrs to the First Amendment.
The Democrats need to figure out why so many people seem to like Trump. What is lacking in current political leadership that they look to such an unlikely outsider. They need to do this soon, in the next few weeks, before the party will have to update its “what went wrong” election postmortem.
Fundamentally, after the immediate problem of The Donald, the Democrats need to find ways to convince the country to move away from the current Tea Party, that social Darwinian font of bad at best, dangerous at worst, ideas, totally out of keeping with the American spirit, to the spirit of the first Tea Party, to “mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
The Democrats, particularly the Hillary Clinton camp, have to remember a few things. In 1988, Doug Williams, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, was asked what it feels like to be the first Black quarterback to start a Superbowl. He said he was more concerned with not being the first Black quarterback to lose a Superbowl. His team won the Superbowl, by concentrating on the basics of scoring more points rather than worrying about glass ceilings. There is a lesson here, of focusing on the substantive job one has to do – first win the election, then govern well. Making history with the vice presidential pick, or even the Presidential pick, is really not a major part of the equation.
For Democrats, the Republican presidential campaign has been fun to watch. But there is one thing we have to remember before Democrats take too much pleasure. “Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake” is a quote famously attributed to Napoleon. Logic holds that when the enemy can do himself damage – let the enemy do your work for you. An outside menace can focus the enemy’s attention, and unite feuding, if not actually fighting, factions. So let your enemy do the job for you.
Also . . . A victory over your opponent based on his errors is a victory, but it may not last as long as a victory based on your skill. Another often misunderstood reality, also from military history, is that when your enemy stays together they can surrender en masse, not break up into small groups that need to be hunted down at great cost. Democratic best case results this November do not include being able to govern without Republicans at all. They need reasonable Republican leadership, and individual Republicans open to the core element of politics and government, compromise.
And remember, also from football, “on any given Sunday” any given team can beat any other team on the same level. Beating Trump is by no means a certainty.
The Democrats cannot just wait for Donald Trump to do his thing—I think the term I heard is get all Trumpy—and hand the election to Hillary. The Democrats need to come up with good ideas, not just ways to spend more money. They need to be less lobbyists for every interest group, no matter how justified the interest, and more lobbyists for the national interest. For example, they need to find better use for local tax dollars than moving Confederate statues. Perhaps the money for a little much needed history education, to give people some needed historical perspective, on the Civil War, slavery, the dumb disloyalty of secession, and on the period when most of the statues were built – decades later, as it happens.
The Democrats need to remember the brilliance of the Founding Fathers in writing the First Amendment. Maybe James Madison needs his own musical. Expression and distribution of ideas can lead to discussion and debate. A few good radical ideas, such as ending slavery—the antebellum South tried to suppress even discussion of ending slavery—and giving women the vote, can come to pass to the great benefit of the country. Particularly dumb ideas say a lot about the expresser. Trying to curb the public statement of these ideas, so as to not hurt people’s feelings, is all too likely to make idiots martyrs to the First Amendment.
The Democrats need to figure out why so many people seem to like Trump. What is lacking in current political leadership that they look to such an unlikely outsider. They need to do this soon, in the next few weeks, before the party will have to update its “what went wrong” election postmortem.
Fundamentally, after the immediate problem of The Donald, the Democrats need to find ways to convince the country to move away from the current Tea Party, that social Darwinian font of bad at best, dangerous at worst, ideas, totally out of keeping with the American spirit, to the spirit of the first Tea Party, to “mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Inadvertent Leadership Secrets of Alexander Hamilton’s Boss
By Bruce L. Brager
Leadership, simply, is getting yourself, your people, your project, or your company from Point A to Point B. Leadership is evaluating context and situation, examining resources, human and otherwise, and selecting appropriate and realistic goals and objectives to represent the goals. Leadership is motivating your people to follow you, starting with being sure they have the skills they will need and that they trust your judgment and character.
Leadership is recognizing the need for focus on goals, for remaining persistent until the goal is reached. Effective leadership recognizes the need to pick proper and appropriate goals, whether the leader is the ultimate source or has bosses. Leaders need to choose preliminary objectives, preliminary check points to be sure that they are headed in the proper direction. Leaders plan. But leaders also recognize that plans fall apart. Leaders need to monitor plans, using the interim checkpoints. Effective leaders recognize that goals are immutable, methods changeable.
Leadership skills are most recognizable in leaders already leading. You don’t want to start out the leadership process like a 22-year-old Virginia militia commander running operations in western Pennsylvania in 1754. George Washington botched two straight operations and touched off a world war. Washington provides an excellent case study of what not to do as a leader.
Washington was in command of an independent unit, part of a British force sent to chase the French out of disputed territory near the Ohio River. On May 27, Washington learned of a small French force seven miles from his location. Washington, with 47 militiamen and some Indian warriors, found and attacked the French camp. According to Washington's diary, his men fired only when discovered by the French. He mentions that the fight took 15 minutes until the smaller French force was defeated. The leader of the French force and nine others were killed. Washington later wrote "the Indians scalped the dead." Washington went on in his diary to state that he thought the French might have been faking a diplomatic mission as an excuse to attack the English. Washington's report stated that the Indians had scalped the dead, with no mention of how they got to be dead.
The French claimed that their dead were killed, after trying to surrender, by Washington's men or by his Indian allies. French claims were partly based on uncertain evidence, though Washington's diary lends some credence to the idea that he might have lost control of the Indians with his party.
What most likely happened is that a firefight started when the Virginians reached the French camp, though each side later claimed the other fired first. After a few minutes, the wounded French commander, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, asked for a cease-fire. He tried to explain his mission to Washington, but in the middle of the explanation the Indian leader, Tanaghrisson walked up to Jumonville. He called out "you are not yet dead, my father," invoking the powerful but kind role representatives of the French king claimed in dealing with the Indians. He then raised his hatchet and smashed it into Jumonville's skull. Before Washington could stop them, the Indians had killed the other wounded Frenchmen.
Tanaghrisson was probably motivated by a desire to regain personal power he had lost over the past few years by returning to the Iroquois with his new British allies. Washington did not know it, but he had been given a lesson in the importance of the Indians in the rivalry between Britain and France in North America – a major part of his management environment. Immediately after the Jumonville Glen incident, Washington and his men returned to their camp a few miles to the east, at Great Meadows, about 50 miles southeast of what is now Pittsburgh.
Washington anticipated French retaliation. He ordered his men, and reinforcements who had arrived after the Jumonville Glen incident, to build a wood stockade, which he named Fort Necessity. Washington thought this was a good fort. "We have just finish'd a small palisado'd fort, in which, with my small numbers, I shall not fear the attack of 500 men." Washington might have been right, had the French not shown up with twice that number. A force of 700 French and French Canadian soldiers, and 350 Indian allies, led by the half brother of Jumonville, attacked Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754. Washington had 180 men. Never much for lost causes, his Indian allies, including the one who had started the whole mess, had left the scene. A few hours of intense fighting followed, in a driving rain. Washington had only cleared a 60 yard "field of fire" between the fort and the woods, less than the killing range of the weapons of the day. The French forces were able to take shelter in the woods, and shoot down into Fort Necessity.
Fort Necessity soon became flooded, ruining most of the Virginians' gunpowder.
Roughly one third of the British colonial force was killed or wounded compared to only a handful of enemy casualties. Later that evening, the French commander offered Washington the chance to surrender. Since the British and French were not at war, Washington and his men would be permitted to return to Virginia. All Washington had to do was sign the terms of capitulation.
Washington, due to a mistranslation, thought he was confirming that his men killed Jumonville. The actual French word, "l'assassinate," was more loaded, meaning murder rather than just kill. To make things worse, the document also mentioned that Jumonville had been on a mission to deliver a communication from the French government to the British government; in other words, a diplomatic mission. Washington might have learned this earlier, had a letter Jumonville was carrying been fully translated before Tanaghrisson acted, and been able to restrain the Indians.
After signing a surrender, at a little before midnight on July 3, Washington and his men were permitted to head for home. In a historical irony, Washington and his men left Fort Necessity on July 4th. Indications are that Washington later would appreciate the irony. On July 20, 1776, while awaiting the British attack on New York, Washington wrote a friend and former colleague from the Virginia militia. After describing his current crisis, he ended by remarking that "I did not let the Anniversary of the 3d or 9th of this [month] pass without a grateful remembrance of the escape we had at the Meadows and on the Banks of the Monongahela...”
Washington appears to focus on the minor parts of the battles, as well his own reputation. In a letter home written between the two battles to his brother John Augustine Washington, Washington did not mention the earlier massacre of the French prisoners. He did write his brother that "I heard Bullets whistle and believe me there was something charming in the Sound." The remark made it into the Virginia newspapers, and even reached London. None other than King George II is supposed to have commented "He would not say so, if he had been used to hear many.”
The French were given a dandy tool should they wish to escalate the fighting. The Marquis Ange Duquesne de Menneville, the French military commander in North America, commented after reading Washington's confiscated diary that "He lies very much to justify the assassination of the sieur de Jumonville, which had turned on him, and which he had the stupidity to confess in his capitulation...There is nothing more unworthy and lower and even blacker than the sentiments and the way of thinking of this Washington.”
Washington acted without understanding of information and situation. He did not know his people. He refused to accept responsibility for his actions. Worst of all, he signed a document he did not read, accepted admitting the people under his command murdered a soldier on a diplomatic mission. The Jumonville Glen incident, and its barely believable aftermath, spiraled into a world war. The world war spiraled into the American Revolution.
Twenty years later, Washington’s learning curve moved back a bit, but he gradually learned what he needed to do to win the Revolutionary war – stay around and keep his army intact, take advantage of any opportunities given him by the not always expert British commanders, and let the diplomats do their work. Washington’s first command, in the context of his later career, is a valuable study in leadership and management: learning from your mistakes is a vital leadership skill.
The Washington Jumonville Glen case study raises the interesting question of had he not made careless mistakes, the United States might not have become independent, at least not under the same conditions. Is it ever right to do minor bad for a major good? How can we tell?
Washington himself was not perfect, neither as a general nor as President. He was never the perfect marble man he was supposed to be. He had learned from experience that mistakes happen, that he had to get as many facts as possible before a decision, if the decision was wrong, or even a seemingly correct decision that did not work, correct the decision and move on. We can learn a lot from this case.
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
Leadership, simply, is getting yourself, your people, your project, or your company from Point A to Point B. Leadership is evaluating context and situation, examining resources, human and otherwise, and selecting appropriate and realistic goals and objectives to represent the goals. Leadership is motivating your people to follow you, starting with being sure they have the skills they will need and that they trust your judgment and character.
Leadership is recognizing the need for focus on goals, for remaining persistent until the goal is reached. Effective leadership recognizes the need to pick proper and appropriate goals, whether the leader is the ultimate source or has bosses. Leaders need to choose preliminary objectives, preliminary check points to be sure that they are headed in the proper direction. Leaders plan. But leaders also recognize that plans fall apart. Leaders need to monitor plans, using the interim checkpoints. Effective leaders recognize that goals are immutable, methods changeable.
Leadership skills are most recognizable in leaders already leading. You don’t want to start out the leadership process like a 22-year-old Virginia militia commander running operations in western Pennsylvania in 1754. George Washington botched two straight operations and touched off a world war. Washington provides an excellent case study of what not to do as a leader.
Washington was in command of an independent unit, part of a British force sent to chase the French out of disputed territory near the Ohio River. On May 27, Washington learned of a small French force seven miles from his location. Washington, with 47 militiamen and some Indian warriors, found and attacked the French camp. According to Washington's diary, his men fired only when discovered by the French. He mentions that the fight took 15 minutes until the smaller French force was defeated. The leader of the French force and nine others were killed. Washington later wrote "the Indians scalped the dead." Washington went on in his diary to state that he thought the French might have been faking a diplomatic mission as an excuse to attack the English. Washington's report stated that the Indians had scalped the dead, with no mention of how they got to be dead.
The French claimed that their dead were killed, after trying to surrender, by Washington's men or by his Indian allies. French claims were partly based on uncertain evidence, though Washington's diary lends some credence to the idea that he might have lost control of the Indians with his party.
What most likely happened is that a firefight started when the Virginians reached the French camp, though each side later claimed the other fired first. After a few minutes, the wounded French commander, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, asked for a cease-fire. He tried to explain his mission to Washington, but in the middle of the explanation the Indian leader, Tanaghrisson walked up to Jumonville. He called out "you are not yet dead, my father," invoking the powerful but kind role representatives of the French king claimed in dealing with the Indians. He then raised his hatchet and smashed it into Jumonville's skull. Before Washington could stop them, the Indians had killed the other wounded Frenchmen.
Tanaghrisson was probably motivated by a desire to regain personal power he had lost over the past few years by returning to the Iroquois with his new British allies. Washington did not know it, but he had been given a lesson in the importance of the Indians in the rivalry between Britain and France in North America – a major part of his management environment. Immediately after the Jumonville Glen incident, Washington and his men returned to their camp a few miles to the east, at Great Meadows, about 50 miles southeast of what is now Pittsburgh.
Washington anticipated French retaliation. He ordered his men, and reinforcements who had arrived after the Jumonville Glen incident, to build a wood stockade, which he named Fort Necessity. Washington thought this was a good fort. "We have just finish'd a small palisado'd fort, in which, with my small numbers, I shall not fear the attack of 500 men." Washington might have been right, had the French not shown up with twice that number. A force of 700 French and French Canadian soldiers, and 350 Indian allies, led by the half brother of Jumonville, attacked Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754. Washington had 180 men. Never much for lost causes, his Indian allies, including the one who had started the whole mess, had left the scene. A few hours of intense fighting followed, in a driving rain. Washington had only cleared a 60 yard "field of fire" between the fort and the woods, less than the killing range of the weapons of the day. The French forces were able to take shelter in the woods, and shoot down into Fort Necessity.
Fort Necessity soon became flooded, ruining most of the Virginians' gunpowder.
Roughly one third of the British colonial force was killed or wounded compared to only a handful of enemy casualties. Later that evening, the French commander offered Washington the chance to surrender. Since the British and French were not at war, Washington and his men would be permitted to return to Virginia. All Washington had to do was sign the terms of capitulation.
Washington, due to a mistranslation, thought he was confirming that his men killed Jumonville. The actual French word, "l'assassinate," was more loaded, meaning murder rather than just kill. To make things worse, the document also mentioned that Jumonville had been on a mission to deliver a communication from the French government to the British government; in other words, a diplomatic mission. Washington might have learned this earlier, had a letter Jumonville was carrying been fully translated before Tanaghrisson acted, and been able to restrain the Indians.
After signing a surrender, at a little before midnight on July 3, Washington and his men were permitted to head for home. In a historical irony, Washington and his men left Fort Necessity on July 4th. Indications are that Washington later would appreciate the irony. On July 20, 1776, while awaiting the British attack on New York, Washington wrote a friend and former colleague from the Virginia militia. After describing his current crisis, he ended by remarking that "I did not let the Anniversary of the 3d or 9th of this [month] pass without a grateful remembrance of the escape we had at the Meadows and on the Banks of the Monongahela...”
Washington appears to focus on the minor parts of the battles, as well his own reputation. In a letter home written between the two battles to his brother John Augustine Washington, Washington did not mention the earlier massacre of the French prisoners. He did write his brother that "I heard Bullets whistle and believe me there was something charming in the Sound." The remark made it into the Virginia newspapers, and even reached London. None other than King George II is supposed to have commented "He would not say so, if he had been used to hear many.”
The French were given a dandy tool should they wish to escalate the fighting. The Marquis Ange Duquesne de Menneville, the French military commander in North America, commented after reading Washington's confiscated diary that "He lies very much to justify the assassination of the sieur de Jumonville, which had turned on him, and which he had the stupidity to confess in his capitulation...There is nothing more unworthy and lower and even blacker than the sentiments and the way of thinking of this Washington.”
Washington acted without understanding of information and situation. He did not know his people. He refused to accept responsibility for his actions. Worst of all, he signed a document he did not read, accepted admitting the people under his command murdered a soldier on a diplomatic mission. The Jumonville Glen incident, and its barely believable aftermath, spiraled into a world war. The world war spiraled into the American Revolution.
Twenty years later, Washington’s learning curve moved back a bit, but he gradually learned what he needed to do to win the Revolutionary war – stay around and keep his army intact, take advantage of any opportunities given him by the not always expert British commanders, and let the diplomats do their work. Washington’s first command, in the context of his later career, is a valuable study in leadership and management: learning from your mistakes is a vital leadership skill.
The Washington Jumonville Glen case study raises the interesting question of had he not made careless mistakes, the United States might not have become independent, at least not under the same conditions. Is it ever right to do minor bad for a major good? How can we tell?
Washington himself was not perfect, neither as a general nor as President. He was never the perfect marble man he was supposed to be. He had learned from experience that mistakes happen, that he had to get as many facts as possible before a decision, if the decision was wrong, or even a seemingly correct decision that did not work, correct the decision and move on. We can learn a lot from this case.
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
New York and Texas Values
By
Bruce L. Brager
Ted Cruz calls Donald Trump too much the product of New York values to be a good Republican nominee. Trump's table thumping appeal to the basest of instincts, and arrogance, is not enough. Cruz is right; there are distinct differences between New York City and Texas.
In Texas people sneer at those who are different, and happily throw the poor to the wolves. Here we have homeless people dodging rats. We sneer at everybody. We pack heat, carry guns, but bought illegally and concealed. Create your own joke about Texas guns and sensitivity about manhood. Was it actually harder to carry a gun in Texas 1870 than in Texas 2016?
In Texas they try to keep people from voting. New York has been more into ballot stuffing and "vote early and vote often." Texans like to drive very fast. In much of New York City you can walk faster than drive. New York liberals apologize too much. Being a Texan means never having to say you are sorry. But it apparently also means don't discuss certain topics — gun control, religion, politics, as my sister was warned by a friend in Texas she was visiting. But no mention about Friday night high school football, the holy of holies down there — the friend is a transplanted Yankee.
New York changed countries twice in the past - Dutch to British, British to United States. Starting in 1820, Texas went from Spanish, to Mexican, to independent, to the United States, to independent, to Confederate, to the United States. All in just over 50 years.
The Dutch bought the island of Manhattan for $24 worth of goods from a tribe of Indians. Indians never claimed ownership of land, so New York City got started by land fraud. Books have been written about Texas oil fraud. Of course, the story, perhaps urban legend, is that the Brooklyn Bridge was first "sold" before it was even finished. This is probably not true. William Marcy "Boss" Tweed was involved in the bridge, but only for a while. This is probably why the bridge nearly doubled its initial cost estimate — about $7 million to about $13 million. Tweed once put in a bid to build a court house for $100,000. The final cost was $13,000,000. Remember, this is all in the money of 1869-1883. Top that, Texas oil people.
In New York, we like jeans, boots and funny hats. In Texas they like jeans, boots and funny hats. On my first trip to Texas, changing planes in Dallas, one of the first people I saw was dressed like I would expect, from boots to jeans, to suede vest to Stetson hat. I think I saw one other person dressed that way in Texas, sitting under a speaker at a rural outlet mall. The speaker was playing music: Paul Simon, not George Jones. But they also know good music down there.
In New York you ask for rye bread and you get rye bread. In a Texas truck stop you might get told that the bread is dry. (The bread was dry, they told the truth, in a manner which brought to mind the west Texas desert.) Asking for a scotch and soda, hold the scotch, did not even work. In New York we know what club soda is.
East coast baby boomers actually have a soft spot in in their hearts for the "Wild West" including Texas. One of the programs I watched as a kid I called the Long Ranger. People ask if I mean Lone Ranger. No, I reply, this was a show about a very tall lawman. Lone had a "faithful Indian companion" (try that today) named Tonto. Tonto called Lone kemosabi. The joke is that
after he retired to his ranch, Tonto warned a guest near his barn not to step in the kemosabi.
In Texas they name baseball teams after law enforcement agencies. In New York we name baseball teams after people from New England.
In Texas, public transport exists only technically. In New York City, the subway is a great motivator for walking all but the longest distances.
In Texas, you can be walking in a small town, dark out, where the weather makes you wonder why there is so much traffic in a July evening. It is actually almost November. They don't even know proper late fall weather. Actually, this winter in New York neither did we. The recent snow storm missed a record by 1/4 inch or so. A Texas Blue Norther would not come so close yet miss the record.
New York, a blue state, sends more tax dollars to Washington than it gets back. Texas, a red state, gets more tax money from Washington than it sends. Texas has the state guard to defend itself against Federal overreach. The state guard is about 150 years old, formed for those who did not want to join the militia or the Confederate volunteer service. Patrolling rural Texas, unless you ran into a ticked off group of Comanche, was a lot safer than joining Hood's Brigade for the Battle of the Wilderness.
Many New Yorkers back then preferred draft rioting to fighting Robert E. Lee. We successful oppressed our Native Americans much earlier than they did in Texas.
Finally, in New York we have Wall Street greed. Texans have oil industry greed. Texans once said "drive fast, freeze a Yankee." We don't even have to drive slowly to bankrupt a Texan. The beloved free market is doing that for us.
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
 |
| Credit: Bruce L. Brager |
Ted Cruz calls Donald Trump too much the product of New York values to be a good Republican nominee. Trump's table thumping appeal to the basest of instincts, and arrogance, is not enough. Cruz is right; there are distinct differences between New York City and Texas.
In Texas people sneer at those who are different, and happily throw the poor to the wolves. Here we have homeless people dodging rats. We sneer at everybody. We pack heat, carry guns, but bought illegally and concealed. Create your own joke about Texas guns and sensitivity about manhood. Was it actually harder to carry a gun in Texas 1870 than in Texas 2016?
In Texas they try to keep people from voting. New York has been more into ballot stuffing and "vote early and vote often." Texans like to drive very fast. In much of New York City you can walk faster than drive. New York liberals apologize too much. Being a Texan means never having to say you are sorry. But it apparently also means don't discuss certain topics — gun control, religion, politics, as my sister was warned by a friend in Texas she was visiting. But no mention about Friday night high school football, the holy of holies down there — the friend is a transplanted Yankee.
New York changed countries twice in the past - Dutch to British, British to United States. Starting in 1820, Texas went from Spanish, to Mexican, to independent, to the United States, to independent, to Confederate, to the United States. All in just over 50 years.
The Dutch bought the island of Manhattan for $24 worth of goods from a tribe of Indians. Indians never claimed ownership of land, so New York City got started by land fraud. Books have been written about Texas oil fraud. Of course, the story, perhaps urban legend, is that the Brooklyn Bridge was first "sold" before it was even finished. This is probably not true. William Marcy "Boss" Tweed was involved in the bridge, but only for a while. This is probably why the bridge nearly doubled its initial cost estimate — about $7 million to about $13 million. Tweed once put in a bid to build a court house for $100,000. The final cost was $13,000,000. Remember, this is all in the money of 1869-1883. Top that, Texas oil people.
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| Credit: Jon Sullivan, public-domain-image.com |
In New York, we like jeans, boots and funny hats. In Texas they like jeans, boots and funny hats. On my first trip to Texas, changing planes in Dallas, one of the first people I saw was dressed like I would expect, from boots to jeans, to suede vest to Stetson hat. I think I saw one other person dressed that way in Texas, sitting under a speaker at a rural outlet mall. The speaker was playing music: Paul Simon, not George Jones. But they also know good music down there.
In New York you ask for rye bread and you get rye bread. In a Texas truck stop you might get told that the bread is dry. (The bread was dry, they told the truth, in a manner which brought to mind the west Texas desert.) Asking for a scotch and soda, hold the scotch, did not even work. In New York we know what club soda is.
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| Credit: Bruce L. Brager |
In Texas they name baseball teams after law enforcement agencies. In New York we name baseball teams after people from New England.
In Texas, public transport exists only technically. In New York City, the subway is a great motivator for walking all but the longest distances.
In Texas, you can be walking in a small town, dark out, where the weather makes you wonder why there is so much traffic in a July evening. It is actually almost November. They don't even know proper late fall weather. Actually, this winter in New York neither did we. The recent snow storm missed a record by 1/4 inch or so. A Texas Blue Norther would not come so close yet miss the record.
New York, a blue state, sends more tax dollars to Washington than it gets back. Texas, a red state, gets more tax money from Washington than it sends. Texas has the state guard to defend itself against Federal overreach. The state guard is about 150 years old, formed for those who did not want to join the militia or the Confederate volunteer service. Patrolling rural Texas, unless you ran into a ticked off group of Comanche, was a lot safer than joining Hood's Brigade for the Battle of the Wilderness.
Many New Yorkers back then preferred draft rioting to fighting Robert E. Lee. We successful oppressed our Native Americans much earlier than they did in Texas.
Finally, in New York we have Wall Street greed. Texans have oil industry greed. Texans once said "drive fast, freeze a Yankee." We don't even have to drive slowly to bankrupt a Texan. The beloved free market is doing that for us.
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| Credit: Bruce L. Brager |
All opinion pieces reflect solely the views of the writer(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of CAB News Online.
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