If I Were Disney CEO - AstroDisney

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts.  I honestly thought I exorcised all of these ideas already.  I admit, I've wanted to touch up the old articles so I could submit myself for the role now that Iger has a two year limit (tongue firmly in cheek), but there hasn't been a lot I've felt I've needed to express in this area. 

Then, over the past couple of weeks, I've watched an AstroWorld documentary, highlighting the rise and fall of that park in Houston.  That lead me to the Wikipedia rabbit hole of articles on AstroWorld and the Astrodome.  That lead me to investigating the current use of the land in the former AstroDomain and learning how much is sitting unused or ill-used.  

Combine that with a healthy dose of nostalgia, and the news that Universal is getting into the regional parks business with a park in Frisco and a year-round haunt in Las Vegas, and the gears started rolling in my head.  I kept thinking through how best to use the current NRG Park-former AstroDomain area to its fullest.  And in that process, my brain kept coming back to one owner who could truly maximize the potential of that area.

Disney.

I've written before on my thoughts for a Disney park in Texas, but that focused on starting from scratch.  Building an entire resort in a new location somewhere around Central Texas.  The thought was to give Texas a resort somewhere between Disneyland and Disney World.  What makes more sense to me now, is for Disney to look for an area in which they could quickly ramp up and entire the theme park business in Texas. 

Especially when Disney is reconsidering where to spend its $17 billion in park expenditures given its current fight in Florida.

What's better for that, than an area that has an empty theme park parcel of land, plenty of parking, the infrastructure needed to move people across a highway to the theme park, a light rail stop, and current venues that would generate revenue from day one?

With that in mind, I think it's time for Disney to buy the AstroDomain from Houston.

Welcome to AstroDisney.

What's great about this proposal is that Disney gets plenty of space to maximize to its fullest for the construction of a one park resort, with the infrastructure work already in place.  Because Disney is essentially re-establishing the AstroDomain as it had previously existed, the work can go a lot quicker.  Building a true resort area - theme park, hotels, shopping and dining area, and a parking garage, all while leaving the existing buildings.  And possibly adding a water park.

This is how I think it would work.

First, Disney leaves NRG Stadium, the AstroArena/NRG Arena, and the NRG Center as is.  There's no need to mess with what is working, and this can guarantee Disney income from the start to being recouping their investment.  I'd buy NRG out of their naming rights, so that Disney could start relabeling things with the Astro- label (AstroArena, AstroCenter, etc.), but otherwise this all works.

The first thing Disney builds is a parking garage.  In looking at Disney's work in California, Disney built the Mickey and Friends Parking Garage, which was at the time the biggest parking garage in America.  It can hold 10,500 cars.  And thankfully, there's plenty of space for Disney to build something similar here in the lot adjacent to the Astrodome and above the AstroArena, as indicated in the image below.  That will free up a lot of surface parking for expansion.

From there, I would suggest Disney remodeling the Astrodome into a luxury hotel/mixed use space.  It would be a great way to preserve the structure, but make it work in context with the other buildings around the AstroDomain and there have been proposals for similar conversions that have already been suggested to Houston.  Disney could create the rooms around the outer ring, converting the old field into the pool and slide area.  With the roof, they could do a pretty amazing projection fireworks show at night and make this a really special hotel to stay at.

I would then build a version of the Downtown Disney area from California from the AstroDome to the pedestrian bridge across to the theme park plot.  The area from California perfectly fits, including the Grand Californian.  If Disney so desired, it could build a second hotel - the Grand Texan resort, in which they could add their time share component, the Disney Vacation Club.  This adds hotel, dining, and retail space to the area, enhancing the athletic and convention space and leaving some surface parking in addition to a new garage.  Win, win, win.

Then across the street, in the empty space, Disney has a blank canvas.  They could build any park they desired, but for nostalgia, I would go with AstroDisney.  A Disney theme park themed to their space related properties.  The image below is crude, but it conveys the point of the massive space Disney has to work with.  Disney could add their entire Tomorrowland from Disneyland in California, Pandora from Animal Kingdom, Star Wars Galaxies Edge from Disneyland, a version of the Avengers Campus from California Adventure (including the expansion space), and Mission Space/Space 220 from Epcot.  All with room to spare.  The land is there and its open, though I did bring in a car lot that has entered that space.

Additionally, there's land available around the space for admin and offsite back of house.  They could likely even acquire land close to the park for a version of the Star Wars Starcruiser boutique hotel if they desired.

Again, land available, ready for prime investment. 

Now if I could just convince Disney to do it.  

It makes sense to my brain if nothing else.

It's The Guns

Once louder for those in the back, and for those who are intentionally refusing to listen...

IT'S THE GUNS!

When, when can we admit that the guns have at least some part to play in the continued rise in deaths from gun violence.  Are we that far gone?

This is tough to write, as the topic continues to make me want to swear or be uncharitable.  My anger over our inability to act continues to rise with each and every event.  Particularly following the ridiculously predictable response we get every single time.  Even down to being able to write the tweets our leadership will share.

Saturday afternoon, May 6, 2023, a gunman opened fire at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, murdering eight people and injuring seven.  The victims range in age from 5 years old to 61 years old.  The attacker was killed by the police.

There have been 199 mass shootings in the country since the beginning of the year.  This is the second most deadly shooting this year.

And just like always, we see the same response.  Thoughts and prayers.  It's not the guns, it's mental health.  We can't do anything about the guns.  

Blah, blah, blah.

All such drivel.

First, I don't want to diminish thoughts and prayers.  They are powerful.  Prayer can move mountains, truly.  I can point to the times of my life where I have been prayed through.  Where I only survived because of the prayers of others.

But we belittle the very purpose and power of prayer when we make it the very least we can do and leave it there.  When we leave it as a simple bon mot response.  If we do nothing else, the faith behind those prayers is dead.  Our faith should be compelling us to some kind of change to make this stop.

And second, I'd believe the line about mental health being a genuine attempt to affect change if the people making that statement weren't also the people voting down every attempt to improve our mental health system in this country.  It's almost as if they know mental health alone is not the solution and they are just looking to deflect.

At some point, and who knows when, we have to be honest and admit that the guns are part of the problem.  

To admit that we, as a country, have a problem with guns.

Specifically, that we have an addiction.

We're addicted to guns.

It's the definition of an addiction, right.  I'm mean, when you propose that the solution involves more of the problem, that's an addiction.  We'll solve gun violence with more guns?  Just like I can solve my overeating with more cake?

We're addicted to guns and we're butchering the Second Amendment to foster that addiction.

Let’s start by clarifying what the Second Amendment actually says. It does not just state “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The full Second Amendment reads “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” This is important because the “well regulated Militia” and “necessary to the security of a free State” are so often ignored, when they are so closely tied to the right in the text itself.

That's because, prior to 2008, the Second Amendment was not recognized as a personal right to bear arms protected by the Constitution.  The Constitutional Second Amendment, prior to 2008, tied the right to keep and bear arms into the well-regulated militia, making the right a collective right of the people to organize into militias and protect themselves in that fashion.  The individual right existed for the benefit of the collective, not the other way around.  Further, there was not a right to organize private militias (i.e. groups of people creating a militia for their own purposes), militias were intended to be individual state militias (i.e. the Texas militia, the Louisiana militia, etc.) which could provide for a state’s defense and protect an individual state from a tyrannical federal government.  The Second Amendment was not recognized as a codification of a common-law right to self-defense.  We did not start treating it as such until the 2008 District of Columbia v Heller Supreme Court case, in which the court determined that the Second Amendment did recognize a personal right.  This means that up to 2008, when looking at whether the Second Amendment had been infringed, courts did not look at whether any one person’s right to protect themselves had been impaired.  They looked at the restriction on the weapon under the context of a state militia.  Conceivably, the Court in the future could overrule Heller and determine that the right to bear arms is inextricably tied to the well-regulated militia.  That's the way it worked for Roe v Wade.

Even if the right continues to be a personal right, like most other rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited.  To have a functioning society, we have agreed that there are certain limitations that can be placed on nearly all of the rights we have enumerated in the Bill of Rights.  Your right to free speech cannot be used to yell “fire” in a public theater.  Your right to free press cannot be used to commit libel.  Your right to the free exercise of religion does not include human sacrifice.  Likewise, the government can put certain limitations on the right to keep and bear arms; it has always been in the government’s power to do so.  Most often these restrictions occur when one person’s right to keep and bear arms runs up against another person’s rights.  We see examples of this with gun-free school zones, prohibitions on fully automatic weapons, background check requirements.  Semi-automatic weapons seem to be the cause of a lot of current discussion and it’s important to note that they were themselves part of heavy restriction from 1994 to 2004, so there is definitely precedence for government action in this area.  It would not be that great of a stretch for the government to reinstate a more effective version of this ban (with fewer loopholes) in the future.  And there is large scale support for such a measure in this country currently.

We just have the willpower to actually make a change.

If we did, we might discover the impact guns have on us goes way beyond the mass shootings that really bring the issue to our attention. We need to explore the impact of mass homicide, on domestic homicide, and on suicide.  On accidental gun violence.  

Additionally, it's important to note this isn't a zero sum game.  We do not have to do only one thing.  It's far past time we put everything on the table.  We should be looking at mental health care.  We should be looking at bullying.  We should be looking at the family structure.  We should be looking at socio-economic status and mobility.  AND we should be looking at sensible gun control.  We're a big country and pretty good at multi-tasking.  We're more than capable of looking at it all.  

But we should be at the bare minimum doing something. 

'

It’s way past time to do so.

I'm just not hopeful we will.   I think I gave up hope after Sandy Hook.  Once that shooting and then Uvalde happened and we did nothing, once we saw it at an elementary school and did nothing, we've just accepted it as a cost of life in the United States.  We've accepted that the number one cause of death of American children and teens is just going to be firearms.

The really sad thing is, we know what would actually work.  We know what steps we should take with gun control.  We know what steps for gun control have popular support.

The first step, is admitting we have a problem.

Spring Break

Today marks the start of the kids' spring break.  It's one of the many things we've loved about the local schools.  Two week fall break, two week Christmas break, two week spring break.  The kids have been looking forward to it.  We have been looking forward to it.

Because the break being two weeks has greatly enabled us to really enjoy it.  We have been able to go back to Texas, to visit family, to celebrate, and for Jamie and I to take trips.  It means a lot of time on the road, but it's been worth it.

This year should be no exception. We'll get to go visit family.  Jamie and I are going to take our yearly trip over the break and go to Costa Rica.  Jamie has been a couple of times, but I have never been.  So, I'm looking forward to experiencing the country.

All in all, it should hopefully be another wonderful break.

Today, we just have the drive.  So prayers for traveling mercies and a good time for us all on the road.

Lone Star, But Still A State

I know I've joked about this, but joking is one thing.  This is something else.

Texas State Representative Bryan Slayton has filed HB3596, the "Texas Independence Referendum Act" or TEXIT, which, if passed, would enable Texans to vote in the next general election whether Texas should seek to become an independent republic and secede once again from the Union.  "The Texas Constitution is clear that all political power resides in the people," Slaton said. "After decades of continuous abuse of our rights and liberties by the federal government, it is time to let the people of Texas make their voices heard."

It's a popular idea, and a bill that has been suggested before.  It's just amazing that we have to keep shooting this down.

First, despite what you may have heard, there is no special provision that gives Texas this ability.  Some clause or provision that allows Texas because it once was an independent republic to return to that state.  It doesn't exist, and likely never did.  Further, there's no right to secede.  If we do, it's defection against the United States, just as it was before.

A vote would not even work.  The 1869 case Texas v. White determined that individual states could not secede from the United States, even if voted on by the people.  "The union between Texas and the other States was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States."  Again, if we vote, if we force a separation, it's defection.

Plus, recent events should show us that an independent Texas won't survive.  The ERCOT energy crisis in the state in 2021 should show us that.  That mess largely happened because the Texas grid remains isolated and not connected to the larger United States energy grid.  Add to that the small fact of Texas needing to replace the $41.4 Billion that the national government spends in Texas.  And many other entanglements that would have to be unwound.

This ridiculous self-determinism has fatal consequences.

So while it can be a funny joke, it's just that - a joke.

No TEXIT, no secession.

We Texans may think of ourselves as Texans first, and Americans second, but we're still Americans.

Always.  

Remember the Alamo!, maybe

The Battle for the Alamo ended 187 years ago today.  Following a thirteen day siege, the Mexican army under President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo mission.  Most of the occupants and fighters within the mission were killed.

"Remember the Alamo!" 

The battle cry of the Texians in the Battle of San Jacinto would become an unofficial motto of the state, propelling the site into the public consciousness and to perhaps a loftier position that it deserves.  Within weeks of the battle, it was even compared to the Battle of Thermopylae in the Greco-Persian Wars.  Like many things, the myth is more understood than the reality.  And that myth has a tangled history.

The myth often ignores and downplays the contributions of the native Tejano population in the defense of the Alamo and their contributions to the broader Texas Independence movement.  It downplays the problematic underpinnings of Texas Independence, started in part as opposition to Mexican policies regarding the abolition of slavery and the curtailing of immigration from the United States to Texas.  It overplays the certain death the defenders of the Alamo felt, as there was initial hope for support coming to aid them.  It creates dramatic lines in the sand that never existed.

As such, your perception of the Alamo depends on your background.  Especially because the myth is popular.

"There can be little doubt that most Americans have probably formed many of their opinions on what occurred at the Alamo not from books, but from the various movies made about the battle."  

Films certainly have done much to continue to perpetuate the myth of the Alamo.  Films of the Alamo date as far back as 1911 with The Immoral Alamo by George Melies.  And this spirit continued in the Davy Crockett television show (all myth) and the 1960 John Wayne The Alamo, which have continued to present the battle as the ultimate heroic sacrifice.  "There is not a single scene in The Alamo [1960] which corresponds to a historically verifiable event."  Meanwhile, the more character driven and historically accurate 2004 film, The Alamo, while praised by critics for its accuracy, bombed at the box office.

So, here's my plea for you today. Please, do remember the Alamo.  We don't need to go as far as the call of "Forget the Alamo" that was written in opinion columns a few years ago.

Instead, let's just remember it completely.  Let's understand all of the complexities of the battle.  All of the actors, all of the contributors.  

Let's enrich our understanding of history, not just continue to perpetuate myth and legend.

Because the truth is so much more interesting.

Texas Independence Day 2023

On March 1, 1836, a committee of five delegates of the Convention of 1836 were appointed to draft a document declaring independence from Mexico.  The draft was produced, quite literally, overnight, as the Alamo in San Antonio was under siege during its preparation.  After a brief review, the declaration was then adopted by the delegates of the convention at Washington (now on the Brazos) then next day, March 2, 1836.

From that period on, Texas has always maintained a sense of independence.  A defiant attitude that is all its own.  An individualism that runs to its core.

It's a place that is big enough for everyone.  That embraces its oddballs, and we have our fair share.  Whose vast and wonderful geography contains the best of all possible worlds.

A mix of cultures and races that continue to create and develop the best in art, food, and music.

And one of the only states with international recognition and perception.

"Texas is neither southern nor western.  Texas is Texas."  Senator William Blakely

Though we may no longer reside there, we will forever be Texan.

Here's to you Texas!  Happy 187 Birthday!  To many many more...

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

The End of Jurisprudence

Or why the new Texas abortion law is terrible news for everyone.

This May, Texas passed Senate Bill 8, banning all abortions performed after a fetal heartbeat can be detected in the state of Texas, effectively banning all abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.  This is now the strictest abortion law in the land.

The new law passed on May 19 to take effect on September 1, but had its share of legal complications.  The matter was ultimately raised to the Supreme Court, who delayed their decision regarding whether it would hear the case until after the law went into effect.  The Supreme Court officially refused to hear the case on September 2, 2021.

The Supreme Court's delay was purportedly tied to the law's novelty.  The law does not criminalize the abortion procedure; rather, it makes it an issue of civil liability.

And whatever your underlying feelings on abortion, this is why everyone should be afraid of this law.

For the explicitly removes enforcement of the new law from the hands of the executive branch of government (police, district attorneys, etc.), and places it squarely in the hands of the general public.

We've created abortion vigilantism.

And have upended 250 years of jurisprudence.

"Any person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state, may
bring a civil action against any person who:

(1) performs or induces an abortion in violation of this subchapter;
(2) knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise, if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subchapter, regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this subchapter; or
(3) intends to engage in the conduct described by Subdivision (1) or (2)."

Any citizen of the state of Texas can bring suit against an abortion provider or assister (very loosely defined) to seek civil damages and attorneys' fees.  

Note that the law so far, does not punish the pregnant woman receiving the abortion (unless perhaps she paid for it herself), but punishes anyone aiding in that end.  The abortion provider, the person that drives you to the clinic, the person that helps pay for it, the person that gives you a name or number, etc, etc, etc.  If you even suspect that someone intends to drive a woman to seek an abortion after 6 weeks but hasn't done it yet, you could bring suit against them.

So, we have what should be a criminal statute, that doesn't criminalize the behavior.  

One that turns over enforcement to the people.

A civil suit that does not require that the plaintiff themselves have been injured.  

That award's statutory damages not less than $10,000.  A $10,000 bounty if you will.

We're breaking our rules of law to make this work, and we will all pay for it.

Make no mistake, you will see a rise in frivolous, tenuous lawsuits coming out of this because of the financial incentive.  They will flood our already overloaded court dockets, pushing out court dates for all manner of suits.  And this will likely lead to other attempts to use this type of legislation for other types of social issues.

Imagine if this had been used in the early days of the pandemic to enforce social distancing.  If you could get a $10,000 reward for turning in anyone you saw gathering in groups over 10.  That weren't wearing masks.  If you could sue them if you just heard them talking about a party, intending to gather.

That sounds like a nightmare, right?

This is why we have certain requirements for our laws.  Why we abide by them, even if we are trying to do what we deem is noble.

The ends must justify the means.  And they don't here.  The means are too destructive.

I could write more about this, and probably will.  But for now, I'm just stunned, a little numb.

Texas Uncovered

Well, I guess Texas really wants a fourth surge.  Citizens of Texas should start preparing now.

Yesterday, Govern Abbott issued an executive order lifting the state's mask mandate and occupancy restrictions.  "We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent."  Businesses are left to their own discretion regarding individual mask or social distancing requirements within their doors, but starting next Wednesday, March 10, 2021, any business in the state of Texas will be able to have 100% capacity with no mask requirement if they so choose.  It also removes any kind of enforcement capabilities local governments could have to enforce their own mask and social distancing requirements.

Meaning - Texas is taking off the mask come hell or high water.  And damn the consequences.

It's hard to write about this without being punchy, because it's so short sighted.  Yesterday, when Abbott made this announcement, Texas had 7,747 new cases.  271 new deaths from Covid-19.  Only around 7.5% of the population has been fully vaccinated.  Texas is no where near where it would need to be regarding potential herd immunity either from the virus or the vaccine to where it could start easing restrictions designed to stop this virus from running rampant.

The sad thing is, by easing restrictions in the name of "freedom," Texas is only making things more difficult for small business owners who want to continue to protect their employees and families by continuing a mask or social distancing requirement for their business.  Make no mistake, masks are still going to be required at your big national chains.  You will still have to wear a mask at Wal-mart.  You will still be asked to wear a mask at HEB.  And there will be small businesses who wish to continue to require it there as well.  What Abbott has done has encouraged entitled egotists to flaunt the requirements and provoke altercations with front line employees at those businesses.  

It's been sickening to scroll through Facebook and see the number of people praising this decision as if it were on the level of Texas Independence.  Or as if it "restored a fundamental freedom" on the level of the Civil Rights Act.  In reality, it revealed that we do not have it within us anymore to sacrifice for the greater good.  We do not have it in us anymore to care more for the people around us and make small concessions for their well-being.  It revealed that we don't have what it takes to endure a minor setback in the grand scheme of life.

That's the most frustrating aspect of the whole ordeal - we only had another few months to go through to where easing restrictions could start to make sense.  The announcement today indicated that vaccine production should be ramped up enough to where all American adults could get vaccinated by the end of May.  Two more months, and we could really start pulling things back and restoring normalcy, whatever that was.

But we can't wait.

Make no mistake, this was political theater.  It was designed to distract Texas from the utter failure that the Texas government displayed through their lack of preparation for a winter storm, not learning the lessons from 2011, and their total mishandling of the whole affair during the storm.

We're at that moment in Jaws where the citizens have caught a tiger shark and the mayor goes out and proclaims that everything is safe.  Everyone should go back out, everyone should go to the beach and visit Amity Island.  We need those tourist dollars.  Think of the Fourth of July.

That decision didn't work out well for the citizens of Amity and I fear this decision will not bode well for the citizens of Texas.

Stay safe.

Wear your mask, no matter what the governor may say.

Keep your distance.

There is light at the end of the tunnel; we just have to persevere.

Texas Independence Day 2021

On March 1, 1836, a committee of five delegates of the Convention of 1836 were appointed to draft a document declaring independence from Mexico.  The draft was produced, quite literally, overnight, as the Alamo in San Antonio was under siege during its preparation.  After a brief review, the declaration was then adopted by the delegates of the convention at Washington (now on the Brazos) then next day, March 2, 1836.

From that period on, Texas has always maintained a sense of independence.  A defiant attitude that is all its own.  An individualism that runs to its core.

It's a place that is big enough for everyone.  That embraces its oddballs, and we have our fair share.  Whose vast and wonderful geography contains the best of all possible worlds.

A mix of cultures and races that continue to create and develop the best in art, food, and music.

And one of the only states with international recognition and perception.

"Texas is neither southern nor western.  Texas is Texas."  Senator William Blakely

Though we may no longer reside there, we will forever be Texan.

Here's to you Texas!  Happy 184 Birthday!  To many many more...

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Ken Paxton, Texas, and the Definition of a Frivolous Lawsuit

UPDATE: Supreme Court summarily rejected the Texas motion on Friday evening December 11, 2020

Long post, one again I wish didn't have to be addressed.

As if the craziness surrounding this election couldn't get sadder, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit Tuesday in the United States Supreme Court to invalidate presidential election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  The filing argues that those states used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to unlawfully change their election rules “through executive fiat or friendly lawsuits, thereby weakening ballot integrity,” and that any electoral college votes so cast could not be counted.  According to the suit, this would make the election results in those states unlawful and should be declared unconstitutional.  In the days since Texas filed suit, eighteen other states have joined Texas by filing an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, as well as the president himself, and 106 House Republicans.  And as if 2020 could not get weird enough, two pseudo-states, New California and New Nevada, have joined with amicus briefs.  These pseudo-states are movements in the two states to form new states from rural counties, separating them out from the urban counties (or separating red from blue). 

It's important to underscore that this lawsuit is the very definition of frivolous.  It's political theater writ large, in the form of a baseless lawsuit.  It's the very latest in baseless lawsuits that Trump's team and supporters have made.  Or as election law expert Richard Hasen put it to NPR, "This is a press release masquerading as a lawsuit. ... What utter garbage. Dangerous garbage, but garbage."  One tell, can be found in who is filing the suit.  Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General filed, instead of the Texas Solicitor General.  For the uninitiated, the Solicitor General would typically represent and defend the interests of Texas in Supreme Court litigation.  Texas Solicitor General Kyle D. Hawkins, so far, has kept his distance from the litigation.  Likewise, Trump's brief was not signed by the United States Solicitor General or any other Department of Justice Official, but rather John Eastman, a conservative law professor at Chapman University, so Trump could appear in his "personal capacity."

There are other major issues with the lawsuit.

First, the suit will have standing problems, meaning Texas really has no right to sue.  There is no national election process, even for president.  What we have is a system of state elections that are run and managed completely by the states.  This means, Texas has no real say or no injury from how Georgia runs its election, for example.  Combine this with the fact that states must ask for and receive permission to sue other states from the Supreme Court, and you have an enormous uphill battle for the suit to be heard.  The most likely outcome will be that the Supreme Court will simply refuse to hear the case in an unanimous decision with no other comment, just like the outcome of Trump's lawsuit against Pennsylvania.

Second, the Supreme Court really has no authority to move the date the Electors meet and vote for the Electoral College.  That power is explicit in the United States Constitution, Article II, Section 1.  "The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States."  And Congress has set December 14.  Given the time frame of the case, and this impending date, it makes the suit more of final "Hail Mary" attempt to derail the vote, than a legitimate suit.  Especially given the Supreme Court can take forever to vote on these motions.  Texas filed a similar suit against California in February regarding a California law banning state-sponsored travel to states deemed discriminatory against LGBTQ people.  The Supreme Court has, as of yet, not voted on whether or not it would hear that motion.  It would not be surprising for the Supreme Court not to have made any determination before the electors vote on Monday, and after they vote, the Court may view the motion as moot.

It's also pretty clear the case was thrown together hastily.  Paxton in his brief has misstated the number of electors at stake and other simple math mistakes, misquoted Justice Neil Gorsuch, contains circular logic regarding "expert" statistical analysis, and otherwise relies on the same innuendo and conjecture that the previous Trump lawsuits have used, so far to no avail.

To drive home that last point, Trump is 1 and 55 in court to date.  The avalanche of lawsuits that the Trump team has filed have all fizzled out but one.  It's important to note here that they have all largely been dismissed at the outset, at the very first opportunity for frivolous lawsuits to be dismissed.  After the first defendant's motion to dismiss.  This is because there is no there there.  The Trump team has yet to provide substantiated evidence of their allegations.  Their attorneys have even gone so far as to avoid even naming a cause of action like fraud - meaning they refuse to accuse that actual fraud has been committed, but rather raise the presumption that fraud could have been committed.  This is so the attorneys filing aren't disbarred.  Trump's one victory was pyrrhic.  He won a victory regarding the Pennsylvania election to prevent the mail in ballots received after November 9 from being counted, which the state's Secretary of State had already agreed to do.

I'm including a better explanation of the timing of Trump's losses below from a friend from law school, in which she outlines the initial filing process and the point at which his cases are being dismissed.  Why it matters, emphasis mine.

"It's clear to me after looking at Facebook that a quick legal lesson is in order for those who are confused about Trump's lawsuits regarding the election. 

When you file a lawsuit, you have to have a minimal level of proof that what you are saying is true.
You don't have to prove your entire case before you file it. The process of discovery is designed to have both parties exchange documents and information in the course of the lawsuit. 

For those who hate frivolous lawsuits, there are several stages of the process where a Defendant can ask the judge to get rid of the lawsuit because the Plaintiff can't carry their burden in proving their case. 

The first stage of getting rid of a baseless lawsuit is right after filing the lawsuit. Personally, I have never seen this happen in any case I have filed. Because I don't file baseless lawsuits. (There's a duty that lawyers owe to the court under Rule 11 which prohibits that.) But, this is an important safeguard to stop baseless lawsuits. So, if I am sued by someone I have no connection with and there is no evidence I have done anything wrong, this is when I would file a motion to get rid of the lawsuit. The standard applied to this type of motion is high. And It basically just means that the evidence attached to the lawsuit is fraudulent or fake or that even assuming all of the evidence is true, the Defendant did nothing wrong under the law. 

This is the stage at which all but one of Trump's election lawsuits have been dismissed. I think this is being lost somewhere on people who care. The last count I saw was that this has happened 39 (now 55) times and only 1 lawsuit has even been permitted to proceed to the next stage. 

I can't express how rare this is or how deeply it shows how baseless these lawsuits are. This is not a normal thing that happens in lawsuits. 

These lawsuits have been dismissed largely by Republican-appointed judges, even though that shouldn't matter. And they have been dismissed with some of the strongest language I have even seen coming from federal judges.

In case you are confused by these baseless lawsuits, the election is over. Even though our President is acting like a toddler and cannot accept reality, reality and the facts do not care about his feelings. He will stop being the president on January 20, 2021 at noon by operation of law. Because the law still matters, no matter your feelings about it."

And that's our one source of hope.  The law still matters and there are those that are still dedicated to upholding the law.  Country over party, even country over appointer.  The Supreme Court itself, all 9 justices including his recent appointees, refused to hear Trump's appeal over the Buck County Pennsylvania ballots.  The four states at issue in the suit have roared back in a blistering response, firmly denouncing Texas's actions and telling it to butt out of their elections.  "The court should not abide this seditious abuse of the judicial process, and should send a clear and unmistakable signal that such abuse must never be replicated."  Twenty two other states and territories have filed amicus briefs supporting the defendants.  Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn has issued his own rebuke of his state's actions.  "Number one, why would a state, even such a great state as Texas, have a say-so on how other states administer their elections?" and "I read just the summary of it, and I frankly struggle to understand the legal theory of it... It's an interesting theory, but I'm not convinced."

That's because there is no cogent legal theory.  This is political - just as it has always been.  The prevailing thought is that Paxton filed the suit to curry favor with Trump for a presidential pardon.  Paxton has been indicted for securities fraud and is currently being investigated by the FBI for abuse of authority.  

That's where we are, currying favor of a lame duck president because of the influence he has over the party.  How he has shaped the GOP into his personal party and how Republicans are too afraid of upsetting his base with reality.  Especially given his floated interest in running again in 2024, meaning he will continue to influence the actions of the GOP for years to come.

It would be laughable if it were not for the millions of Americans who stand by and accept his every word and accusation.  As if he were the only person telling the truth.  The depth of conspiracy you have to believe where literally everyone is out to get you except for the ones who support this man.  That is what makes this terrifying.

It's the beginnings of a stupid coup.  And I use that term, because if it happens, it happens through our sheer stupidity.  So far, we have every signal that it will not succeed.

But if you want to look for the battle lines of Civil War 2: Electric Bugaloo, look no further than this case.

John William King is Dead

John William King was executed by the state of Texas by lethal injection at 6:40 pm this evening.  He was pronounced dead at 7:08 pm.

King was the second perpetrator executed by Texas for their involvement in the dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. outside Jasper, Texas.  King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and Shawn Allen Berry, all white, offered a ride to Byrd, a black man on June 7, 1998.  Instead of taking Byrd home, the three men took Byrd to a remote country road out of town where they beat him severely, urinated and defecated on him, and chained him by his ankles to their pickup truck before dragging him for about 3 miles.  The autopsy would later suggest that Byrd would be alive for at least half of the 3 miles, up to the point where his right arm and head were severed when his body hit a culvert.  Berry, Brewer, and King dumped the mutilated remains of the body in front of an African-American church on Huff Creek Road and then drove off to a barbecue.  The police would later find 81 places that were littered with Byrd's remains.

The murder was deemed a "hate crime," though Texas had no specific provision for this type of crime.  King had several racist tattoos including a black man hanging from a tree, Nazi symbols, the words "Aryan Pride," and the patch for the Confederate Knights of America. King was proud of the crime and would write "Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history.  Death before dishonor.  Sieg Heil!"  Even at his execution, he made no final statement, he showed no remorse.  He simply closed his eyes and refused to acknowledge the family of the victim.

For their involvement, Brewer and King each received the death penalty and Berry was sentenced to life in prison.  Brewer was previously executed on September 21, 2011.  The murder and trial led to the passage of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act in Texas in 2001, and the national Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009.

This was the hate crime that hit too close to home.  Jasper is a little over thirty miles from where I grew up.  The events of the murder, investigation, and trial all unfolded in the summer immediately following my graduation.  We knew the sheriff investigating and I had a teacher who served on the jury.

The events weighed all over our area in the ensuing months, particularly to show that these events did not reflect the general populace.  That they reflected the sick and twisted minds of only a small sliver of us.

They still serve as a sobering reminder of what we have to fight.  Especially as it seems that hate is on the rise.  We can see it all around us.  Especially on social media.

Islamophobia is on the rise.  New flare ups seem to have occurred in apparent response to prominent Muslim Congresswomen.

Anti-semitism is on the rise.

Transphobia is on the rise, with an increase in violence against transgender people.

White nationalism is on the rise.

Hate crimes in general are on the rise, for the third consecutive year.

How have we come this far and still have these aspects of the worst of us increasing?

Why do we allow leadership that seems to turn a blind eye to it at best or to incite it at worst?

When is enough enough?

Judgment was served tonight, but we still have a long way to go for justice.

Texas Independence Day

On March 1, 1836, a committee of five delegates of the Convention of 1836 were appointed to draft a document declaring independence from Mexico.  The draft was produced, quite literally, overnight, as the Alamo in San Antonio was under siege during its preparation.  After a brief review, the declaration was then adopted by the delegates of the convention at Washington (now on the Brazos) then next day, March 2, 1836.

From that period on, Texas has always maintained a sense of independence.  A defiant attitude that is all its own.  An individualism that runs to its core.

It's a place that is big enough for everyone.  That embraces its oddballs, and we have our fair share.  Whose vast and wonderful geography contains the best of all possible worlds.

A mix of cultures and races that continue to create and develop the best in art, food, and music.

And one of the only states with international recognition and perception.

"Texas is neither southern nor western.  Texas is Texas."  Senator William Blakely

Here's to you Texas!  Happy 183 Birthday!  To many many more...

"Texas is a state of mind.  Texas is an obsession.  Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word."

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Dear Texas Weather,

Dear Texas Weather,

We need to talk.

Listen, I know you are notoriously fickle.  It's promoted as a selling point.  "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes and it will change."  We know it's true.  And we appreciate that in summer. That's when it can bring a little relief from your oppressive heat.

But we're in winter now.  Or at least what is supposed to be winter.  And I have to say, all these changes, they just aren't healthy.

I mean it was twenty-eight degrees this morning.  Parts of the state even hit twenty-four degrees.  That's great.  That's winter.  We appreciate it.  We're not used to it, but we appreciate it.

By this weekend, though, we're going to hit the mid-seventies. The low will be basically sixty.  That's a quick turnaround.  Any faster and you'd catch up to yesterday.

The new joke going around is that you celebrate all four seasons but just all in one day.  Spring at 9:00 am, Summer at 1:00 pm, Fall at 4:00 pm, and Winter at 8:00 pm.  It's too much, it's too fast.  I don't know that I can dress in sufficiently appropriate layers to address all those changes.  I mean, this upcoming weekend will be comfortably spring weather, and I'm just not ready for that.

So can we please stick to the cold for a little while.  And if you're really generous, can we get one good freeze/snow week day.  Just one; not hard and not heavy, but just enough to cover.  It really makes it feel like we truly got winter down here.  That way we can hold onto that memory when you turn it up to 100+ in the summer.

That's all and thank you for listening. I just felt like we needed to clear the air, so to speak.  Hopefully we can reach some sort of breakthrough.  A little consistency could do us all some good.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen

The Travelers' Report Part 9 - Waco

This past weekend, we took a day trip to Waco to meet up with my brother, my sister, and her family.  We've discovered Waco is a good half-way point, about a two hour drive for us and an hour and a half for them.

We spent the day at the Cameron Park Zoo, a very nice zoo that I had not been to before, eating in downtown Waco, and making a pass through Silobration.  It's crazy for me to see how much Waco has changed just in the 13 years since I lived there.  Time flies.

We started the day with a stop at Slovacek's in West to get klobasneky and cinnamon rolls.  I chose a "jalapeno popper" klobasnek (cream cheese, bacon, and jalapeno) and Jamie got the Big Poppa with the garlic and cheese sausage.  And the kids loved the cinnamon roll and Nutella turnover.  We may have made another stop on the way back home for Gingerdoodle cookies.

The best part of the trip was getting to spend time with family and enjoy being out in the zoo.  It was a little cooler and still a little wet from rain the days before, but still a great time.  Here Avalyn and Ezra are ready to take on the zoo holding their Uncle T's hand.

Just a great shot of Avalyn and Jamie and Ezra and Ryan looking at one of the avian exhibits.

Avalyn and Jude both enjoyed feeding the giraffe.  This guy hung out at that balcony all morning and had a line waiting to feed him lettuce leaves.

Avalyn ad Ezra hand in hand.  They were best buddies throughout this trip.

My two little monkies.  The orangutan exhibit here was really neat and allowed for close up views of the large orangutan and the new baby.  The kids loved getting to sit on the statue as well.

A bit of the craziness with the kids at Jake's Texas Tea House in downtown Waco.  Good food and a neat atmosphere.  Not the best time with our kids as they both could have used a nap at this time.

The Magnolia Silos.  They were throwing Silobration with vendors and a concert that night.  The place was packed but neat to walk through.  The bakery had at least an hour wait line when we were there.

Avalyn had to get a picture with this Dinosaur across the street from the Silo exit.  This was the last stop of the day and looked like a fun place to come get a bite the next time we're in Waco. 

We're hoping we can keep up these kind of day trip meetings to get to see the Austin crew on a more frequent basis.

Until next time.