That Knock in the Night

Fear and Grief Flow Mingled Down

When there is a rap on the door at 4:15 in the morning, good news is never expected.

My experience came today when a Kerrville Police Sergeant awakened me to tell me that my son had been the passenger in a motor vehicle accident and airlifted to University Hospital.  Condition unknown, he said, "but he was talking when he left, that is all I know".   Kind but direct, he gave no further enlightenment or succor.

A flurry of phone calls later, the remainder of the family was headed to San Antonio.  Upon arriving at the University Hospital ER we were relieved to find that he was not gravely injured.  Our happiness was then greatly tempered by learning that the driver,  a dear and long-time family friend, had died at the scene of the accident.   Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and children.

Many widows have remarked to me that "life is just a vapor, a mist", too easily blown away by the cold breath of death.  And thus we were to taste of that experience, bearing the guilt  of survivors, whether it be rational guilt or not.  As King David said upon the guilt-accompanied death of his son, "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Sam 2:23)  But in our knowledge that Clarissa knew Jesus as her Savior,  our grief  may turn to joy in the knowledge that  "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible."

Sign of the Cross, and Other Reflections

Sign of the Cross

Former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz came in second in the Senate primary, thus forcing a runoff with current Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.  Whether his showing was "strong" or "weak" depends on one's perspective, I suppose.  As a Cruz supporter I had hoped for a stronger showing.  Various Texas political pundits contend that his showing was strong, and that by forcing a runoff in late July, Cruz' chances of winning the nomination are reasonably good.  I am not so optimistic:  Dewhurst's greater name recognition and personal wealth make him a formidable opponent and the deck seems stacked against Cruz who has both a financial and voter deficit to overcome.  As I pointed out yesterday, both are good candidates and either will be a "win" for the state.

Salvaging the 198th

Scott Monroe won the 198th District Attorney race handily and now we will have the opportunity to see what kind of a DA he will be.   Several "blots on the escutcheon" need to be scrubbed after some unfortunate events of recent years including the disciplinary actions against former DA Ron Sutton and former Judge Karl Prohl.  The most egregious sin of the 198th has been the actions of the "198th District Attorney Police Force" which terrorized I-10 under the direction of current DA Amos Barton.  This sorry organization even drew attention on a national level.  Most solid citizens were shocked to learn that a district attorney could run his own police force. 

I've been critical of this contest for months since it was largely bereft of any serious discussion of major issues, choosing to revel in whether Monroe was rude to police during a traffic stop (who wouldn't be) or whether McCullough had an affair with a staff member or had lived in Texas long enough (he hadn't).

DA's generally like to run on the question of how "tough on crime" they will be, how many folks they lock up and what maximum sentences they will pursue.  I hope Monroe will prove to be in the lower percentiles on these issues.  In our economy people need to be aware that putting people in jail or prison is a very expensive proposition for the state.   Nonviolent offenders should not need to be incarcerated when probation and home monitoring are more effective and are in fact more dreaded by the offenders.   We've been locking up minor drug offenders for 40 years and have nothing to show for it but more drug offenses and larger jail and prison budgets.  However, if we quit over-reacting to minor nonviolent crimes, I'm not sure what the Kerrville Daily Times will find to print on their front page.

Texan Advantages

Either Way We Win

A biog advantage to living in conservative, "Red State" Texas is that we are unlikely to elect a really "bad" candidate to statewide office.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Texas Republican Senate Primary.

Current Lieutenant Governor and Hill Country resident David Dewhurst is the token frontrunner in the primary wherein he is hotly pursued by "Tea Party Candidate" Ted Cruz.  (Full Disclosure:  I voted for Cruz and contributed financially to his campaign.)  I bellieve that Cruz is the better candidate for Texas because of his rock-solid conservative credentials and philosophy, his intellectual brilliance and his full-throated opposition to all things Obama. 

That being said, Dewhurst is no RINO or even a moderate.  He will most likely vote the "conservative" position at least 96% of the time.  The main criticism of Dewhurst is his previous tendency to flirt with moderate-to-liberal ideas such as a state income tax, business tax, and most regrettably such Obama-esque statements as stating that Texas businesses "need to pay their fair share" in taxes.

Vote Ted Cruz.  But either way we win.

Early Voting, Timely Voting, Critical Voting

Too Much is at Stake Not to Vote

I participated in early voting last week and though I am a traditional sort of guy, I must say I've enjoyed the convenience of early voting several times in the past few years.  I was there in mid-afternoon and was happy to see a steady flow of interested citizens coming in to mark their ballots.  Most ballot positions are unopposed but a number of important races are contested.

SCOTT MONROE should be supported for 198th District Attorney.  Mr. Monroe is well known as an excellent lawyer in our community, a native Texan, and exudes Hill Country values.  He is experienced in the field, has plenty of life experience of his own, and appears to have the practical, common-sense bent that is badly needed in the District Attorney's Office.

LAMAR SMITH has been in office long enough that his tenure would normally trigger my anti-incumbent tendencies; but he is generally on the right side off issues that affect our state and region such as immigration, gun control, and the excesses of the anti-constitutional Obama/Holder Department of Justice.  I feel that he was very wrong in his support of the "Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)" but that died anyway so I will give him a pass on that one.  He should be returned to office.

RUSTY HIERHOLZER has done a good, solid job as Kerr County Sheriff and deserves re-election.  He faces only token opposition.  (Full disclosure:  I am a contract employee of the Sheriff's Office).

HARLEY DAVID BELEW  deserves a shot at County Commissioner.  I was told once by a business leader that in order to be a commissioner you had to have failed at business and failed at farming.  I don't believe Belew has failed at either, but I believe he does bring some new energy and ideas to the campaign and the Commissioners Court.  Belew opposes long time incumbent Buster Baldwin who is a fine and honorable man but has run a lackluster campaign. 

Be sure to show up on Election Day if you were not able to make it for Early Voting.  It also assures that you are properly registered for the all important November election.

Monday's Surly Snippets

What happened to Wampler?

I was suprised that Wampler was not re-elected to his mayoral post.  I surmise that it is this year's version of "it's the economy, stupid."  I believe that the mayor and council have been very pro-growth, forward thinking folks, which is fine, as far as it goes.  But this is a recession year.  Big time.  Folks are out of work, worried about the future--and yet our city leaders have continued to promote a very pro-growth, pro-development agenda despite community sentiments against it.

Against it?  Well, yes, I think so.  A question of timing--not the right time to do these things.  Sure, their agenda was "good for the city" but it would not soften the tax burden or make the economy improve.  So it was not a good time to proceed with non-critical spending.

Incumbent council members and county commissioners should take heed.

Left and Right May Agree on this one

Fox News reports today that the FAA is formulating procedures for reconnaissance drones to be used inside the United States by various government agencies--to keep an eye on all of us!  In my opinion this is just a bridge too far in intrusive government snooping.  The country is over-policed now, with too much adoption of military and spy technology for use in the local community. 

Fortunately voices from both sides (such as Rep. Joe Barton (R. Tex) to Rep. Edward Markey (D. Mass) are calling for banning this invasive technology.  Let the drones remain with the military for use outside of the United States.

Is It Muddy Water, or Just the Daily Times Reporting

Local attorney Doyle Weaver has done a great job of exploding the poor reporting recently done in the
Daily Times regarding the latest intrigue in the 198th District Attorney race.  Ever since the opening moves of this race I have been impressed no information of factual value has been written in the paper. 

I would recommend to everyone Mr. Weaver's post on his blog site today, hillcountrylawyer.tv  Liar Liar

How Things Get Started

We Can't Get Any News Around Here

This blog is created with the intention of being a daily--or at least frequent--post offering comments on local events of interest.  It was born out of frustration that our local newspapers have declined so much in recent years that it isn't possible to find out much about major issues, nor to see them discussed.

Readers are are invited to comment frequently!