News and views roundup (11/07/10)
Time to clear out some links and get ready for next week:
- Frank Wilson's last hurrah (Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog)
- Former Yates High Principal Ronald Mumphery accused of sexual harassment, HISD records show (Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog)
- Former Yates principal Ronald Mumphery's sexual misconduct investigation (Mike McGuff, KIAH-39 News)
- Houston wants to continue red-light cameras after voters rejected them (Grits for Breakfast)
- Don't mess with a Texas chef: Bryan Caswell stumps for Houston (Eatocracy)
Our prosperous, livable city does indeed have a thriving food scene, made even better by the diversity of our international city. Good for Caswell for making the case to national folks. We're not all that concerned if coastal elites think Houston is "world class" or not, frankly, but it's nice to see Caswell cite Kotkin, who rejects so much of the "smart growth" nonsense advocated by urbanists infatuated with A Place Called Perfect (and, apparently, at Village Voice Houston -- see below).Here are some questions for you all to answer:
- In the past 10 years what U.S. city has grown 24% (five times the growth rate of San Francisco, Boston and NYC)?
- What city has an influx of new residents equal to that of NYC and 50% higher than Boston or Chicago?
- What city did Joel Kotkin of Forbes Magazine name the most successful 21st century urban city?The answer to all of these is Houston. That’s right, you heard me: H-Town, baby.
Those who write about food, music, culture and art are supposed to be in the know. Obviously, they’re not paying attention. Well, I’m here to put you in the know: Houston’s restaurant scene is thriving as fast as the city is growing.
- Bryan Caswell Defends Houston on Eatocracy, But Can We Defend Ourselves? (Eating Our Words)
Our culinary scene is great, but it would be "world class" if we would just regulate the things that Village Voice Houston folks want regulated, not regulate things that Village Voice Houston folks don't want regulated, and spend lots of money on trinkets to impress tourists (and maybe some food writers elsewhere)! What an incoherent mess -- pretty much the norm at the Village Voice Houston amateur hour these days. Definitely short of world-class. - Pictures of the Historic Preservation Ordinance and How It Affects the Houston Heights (Cynthia Mullins' Real Estate Market Blog)
Eh, what could a professional know about the market, compared to the Houtopians who dream about A Place Called Perfect? - Some Friendly, Post-Defeat Advice for What's Left of the Texas Democratic Party (Bryan Preston, PajamasMedia)
Actually, it was more like $10 million last we checked. Think some enterprising Texas political journalist will sit down with Mostyn at some point for a chat about his efforts this election cycle?Much more difficult will be dealing with the Shadow Party, aka the Lone Star Project. It’s a proven failure now: Matt Angle rode into town pledging to take a statewide office and take the state House by 2010. That’s now, in case you hadn’t noticed, and he’s failed. Angle’s LSP has spent millions left to him by a late trial lawyer, millions that went into setting up front groups and launching attack after attack after attack on Republicans, and has nothing to show for it. But he is the “de facto state party right now.” The problem is, he has no credibility. The TDP lost ground under his watch. Angle isn’t in politics for any discernible good. He doesn’t even care if Texans want the policies his party offers. He doesn’t even seem to care if they’re good policies. He’s just a soulless operative who wants to destroy Republicans, and he and his pack of wild blogs do just that, 24/7/365. Angle needs to be sent packing, to mess with some other state. Messing with Texas has made him wealthy, but has left the Democratic Party here in worse shape than ever, and made our politics more acrimonious than any of us should like.
Thornier still, will be dealing with the Lone Star Soros, Steve Mostyn. The Houston millionaire lawyer spent about $5 million of his own money this cycle, in order to replace Gov. Perry with Bill White, and in order to capture the state House, evidently to control enough votes to get Texas’ successful tort reform overturned. Seen in that light, the $5 million is nothing but a business investment, spent to make it easier for lawyers to sue the pants off of everybody else. Like Angle’s fronts, Mostyn and his front groups like the Back to Basics PAC (which are basically sock puppets on his hands) don’t really stand for anything other than attack ads and gutter politics. Together, Angle and Mostyn don’t just practice the “politics of personal destruction,” they are the “politics of personal destruction.” And after this election cycle, everyone in Texas knows that that brand of politics is all that they stand for, and everyone knows that they control the Democratic Party.
- How about hiring a fact checker? (Unca Darrell)
- Double standard (Houston Chronicle)
Keep on beating those dead horses. - The front page got it (Unca Darrell)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/07/10 08:51 PM | Print |
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