The Houston Chronicle in its eagerness to pull Democratic candidate Andrew White over the finish line has also done Texas voters a big favor. Specifically, they made clear that Lupe Valdez is not ready for prime time.
Comments in Sunday's editorial such as: "Valdez couldn't match White on education, taxes and criminal justice." The paper described her performance in the debate last weekend as "lackluster." They described her editorial board appearance as follows:
"She demonstrated startlingly little expertise on any subject outside her law enforcement wheelhouse." The Dallas Morning News described her as having "a gross unfamiliarity with state issues" and "an almost incoherent number of attempts to discuss State financing."
If the Democrats nominate Ms. Valdez, they will be running an unqualified joke who is too risky to put in charge of Texas.
Another Joke But It's A Very Big Deal, HISD Leadership Free Fall
You recall at least ten of HISD's (Houston) schools are clearly non-performing by State standards and are on the brink of a State takeover.
This is no surprise as the school board barely functions. It has been pointed out by observers that the business and charitable communities will not put significant resources behind anything led by our dysfunctional school board.
It's time to have a board that cares only about students and not taking care of friends on contracts, political agendas, etc. One of the problems is we don't elect at-large members anymore, so we don't get any trustees with a community-wide perspective.
The Suicide Of Europe
TCR Comment: The following article by Douglas Murray lays out the threat to our culture - Europe first and then the U.S. Read it and get educated. Thanks to Prager University.
"The civilization born of Judeo-Christian values, ancient Greek philosophy and the discoveries of the Enlightenment is staring at the abyss, brought there by its own hand. To put it starkly: Europe is committing suicide."
"How did this happen? It's a complicated story, but there are two major causes.
"The first is the mass movement of peoples into Europe. This has been going on steadily since the end of World War II but sped up massively in the migration crisis of 2015, when more than a million migrants poured into Europe from the Middle East, North Africa and East Asia.
"The second, and equally significant, is that Europe lost faith in itself - its beliefs, its traditions and even its very legitimacy.
"Let's take a closer look at both causes. For decades, Europe encouraged people - mostly from the Middle East and North Africa - to come as temporary workers. Nobody expected them to stay. Yet they did. And nobody asked them to leave, even those who came illegally. As one British immigration minister put it in 1999, "Removal takes too long, and it's emotional.
"And, of course, why would they leave? The economic opportunities were far greater in Europe than from where they came. And if the work dried up, there were generous welfare benefits to be had.
"For a time, immigrants were allowed - even encouraged, thanks to the European commitment to "multiculturalism" - to pursue whatever culture they wanted. But that didn't work out well. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany admitted as much in 2011, when David Cameron, Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel dramatically announced that multiculturalism had failed.
"So, the immigrants were then asked to assimilate and embrace Western values. If that happened, European governments reasoned, all the financial costs, even the occasional acts of terrorism, could be overlooked. But it never happened. And immigration just increased. During 2015, Germany and Sweden added 2% to their populations in a single year. By 2017, the most popular boys name in United Kingdom was Muhammad.
"So, why did European leaders decide Europe could take in anyone in the world, whether fleeing war or simply seeking a better life, no matter how different - or even opposed - their values were to European values?
"The one-word answer to this question is guilt. Aren't these refugees, the thinking goes, fleeing the consequences of European imperialism? Didn't we mercilessly exploit these unfortunate people in their home countries? Aren't we the cause of their misery?
"Accepting them into Europe is meant to be a wiping-away of this guilt. This is especially true of Germany. In allowing one and a half million people into her country in 2015, Angela Merkel was, in effect, proclaiming to the world that Germany, the great aggressor of the twentieth century, the architect of the Holocaust, would be the humanitarian superpower of the twenty-first. A noble sentiment, perhaps, but who pays the price? The ordinary citizens of Europe, who have seen crime and terrorism increase exponentially. Their fears and frustrations have been largely ignored - or worse.
"In October 2015, the German government designated that 800 newly arrived immigrants were to be housed in the German town of Kassel. Concerned residents had a meeting to ask questions of their representatives. As a video recording shows, the citizens were calm and polite. Then, at a certain point, their district president informs them that the refugees are coming regardless of their objections and anyone who does not agree with the policy is "free to leave Germany.
"This official attitude - if there is a problem, it's not with the refugees, but with the citizens - reflects the sense of what I call "tiredness" - a feeling among the elite class that the European story has played out: that we have tried religion and all imaginable forms of politics, and that each has, one after another, led us to disaster. We taint every idea we touch, so who's to say that the world wouldn't be better off without us?
"Of course, only people who have no idea how lucky they are could take this view. Ironically, no one knows this better than those refugees who truly did assimilate and who defend Western values. Extraordinary people, like Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who left the Netherlands because she believed in the principles of the Enlightenment more than the Dutch did. Or Hamed Abdel-Samad in Germany, whose life is threatened by fellow immigrants because he defends European values.
"This is the stuff of suicide, the self-annihilation of a culture. It is possible that ordinary Europeans will join their leaders in this pact. But recent opinion polls suggest that they have no intention of doing so. How they act on that intention will be the great story of the years ahead. Are we about to witness the end of Europe, or its re-birth?"
In The "This Can't Be True" Department, The Democrats Nominate Socialists In Pennsylvania Primaries And Texas, Too
Two openly socialist candidates - members of the Democratic Socialists of America - won Democratic primaries for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives this week.
Note that this is a trend as the radical-left Democratic candidates won in lots of primaries across the country this week. And believe it or not, in Harris County, too!
Franklin Bynum, nominated for Harris County Criminal Court No. 8. Incredibly, Bynum admits, "I'm a far left candidate." His group, Democratic Socialists of America promises to combat income inequality and an end to a cash bail system (free bonds for all criminals) and some even ask for abolishing the prison system.
It appears Harris County voters will have the chance to reject a socialist criminal justice system in November because it is too risky for public safety.
Wow, Israel Blamed By Mainstream Media, But Hamas Official Tells The Truth
An official of Hamas, the terrorist group that exercises complete political and military control over the Gaza Strip, acknowledged that 50 of those killed during last Monday's violent riots (not peaceful protests) belonged to Hamas. Salah Bardawil told an interviewer that of the "62 people martyred, 50 were Hamas."
The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza had previously said that 60 Gazans had died in the riots, which saw rioters throw firebombs and shoot at Israel troops, were part of Hamas (a terrorist group).
But if you read the headlines for the New York Times: "Israeli Military 'Kills 15' Palestinians in Confrontation on the Gaza Border" or "Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem." A totally different story is told - one which is not true. No wonder our left-wing daily papers are in severe decline.
It's Time To Wrap It Up Mr. Mueller
Ok, it's been one year in the Mueller investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump Campaign, and so far they have reviewed 1.4 million documents and interviewed 28 witnesses and have nothing to show for it.
Now it's true we have pre-campaign charges and process crimes. The investigation has now been exposed for the real goal, get Donald Trump out of office, but that's what elections are for. It's time for Mueller and company to say goodbye.
TCR on the Air
Red, White & Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland and liberal commentator David Jones on Fridays at 7:30 pm on PBS Houston Channel 8, replaying Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 8, Monday at 11:30 pm on Channel 8.2 and on the web at www.houstonpublicmedia.org.
Latest show: (View Online)
05-18-18 - State of Houston-The Kinder Houston Area Survey 2018 with Guest: Dr. Stephen L. Klineberg, Founding Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Coming soon:
The US Supreme Court Key Decisions Coming with Guests: Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes (South Texas College of Law Houston), Martin Levy (Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law) and Teddy Rave (University of Houston Law Center).
About Your Editor
Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his twenty-first year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last seventeen years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 15 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his 15th year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on PBS Houston, longest running political talk show in Texas history. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.
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