Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 2013 Page: 3 of 18
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Ellis Memorial Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Co-Publishers
Mary Henkel Judson
& Murray Judson
Editor
Mary Henkel Judson
Port Aransas South Jetty
Opinion
Member
Texas Press Association
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
National Newspaper Association
Thursday, Janaury 3, 2013 3 A
m •M &
nCNEELY
Commission
a stepping-
stone of sorts
As an
example
of the fact
that getting
elected to
the U.S.
Senate can
last for
awhile, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is
retiring in January after almost 20 years in
the job.
She was first elected to the Senate in
a 1993 special runoff election. She beat
Robert Krueger, who had been appointed
to fill the vacancy created by Democrat
Lloyd Bentsen becoming President Bill
Clinton’s secretary of the treasury.
She was elected to a full six-year term in
1994, and again in 2000 and 2006. She had
considered running for governor against
fellow Republican Rick Perry in 2002, and
again in 2006, but both times backed off.
When she finally did run in 2010 - by
which time most political observers,
including Hutchison, had erroneously
thought Perry would go do something else
- Perry’s campaign team adroitly rode an
anti-Washington wave against her.
They managed to turn Hutchison’s long
and effective service in bringing home
the bacon to Texas from a positive into a
negative.
Why Hutchison, and hubby Ray Hutchi-
son, who had run for governor himself in
1998, allowed the Perry people to get away
with that is odd.
All Hutchison’s people would have had
to do was cherry-pick some of the things
that Hutchison had helped to happen in
Texas with federal money.
Rather than be on the defensive about
federal spending, she could have run TV
ads in San Antonio, for instance, saying
that if it had been left to anti-federal, an-
ti-Washington Perry, Kelly Air Force Base
would have been closed.
Of course, Perry hadn’t advocated that.
But the policy positions he was applaud-
ing would have had that effect. Leave it to
him to attempt to defend it.
But.... Enough what-ifs. Senator, go
on to a well-deserved retirement. And
thank you for your long service and hard
work.
*******
Oldest Ever in Congress.... Texas
Congressman Ralph Hall, on Christmas
day, became the oldest person ever to
serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He broke a record that had stood for
more than eight decades. The previous
holder of it was Charles Manly Stedman
of North Carolina, who died in 1930 at
the age of 89 years, 7 months and 25 days.
Hall passed that record on Christmas day
- Dec. 25.
As long as Hall lives - or stays in Con-
gress, and he’s about to begin his 18th term
- he’ll break his own record every day.
Back in 1972, anyone around politics
probably had one of those Hall pennies,
surrounded by a metal horseshoe, with the
slogan.
‘All for Hall from Rockwall.”
In 1972, Hall, then an outgoing state
senator, was running to be the Democratic
nominee for lieutenant governor of Texas.
The job was being vacated by four-year
incumbent Ben Barnes, also a Democrat,
who was running for governor.
Hall didn’t make it. Former Senate par-
liamentarian Bill Hobby won it in a runoff
over state Sen. Wayne Connally - in the
wake of the Sharpstown Banking and
Stock Fraud Scandal, which tainted every
incumbent legislator, including those with
completely clean hands.
Hall been Rockwall County judge for 12
years, followed by a decade in the Texas
Senate. In 1980, still a Democrat, he ran
to succeed retiring longtime Congressman
Ray Roberts.
He kept winning as a Democrat on
increasingly Republican turf. In 2004, he
finally got tired of running into the wind,
and switched to the Republicans to better
represent his constituents. He retained his
seniority, and has been re-elected since.
Virtually everyone who has ever known
or known of Ralph Hall has one or more
stories about the guy - that give a clue to
why he’s still there.
Another story a few election cycles
ago was when someone was considering
running against Hall. Hall invited the guy
to come to Washington and follow him
around for a week to see what the job was
all about.
The guy did. And after seeing the mas-
sive amount of work, early mornings and
late nights that Hall put in, he dropped his
idea of challenging Hall.
The other story was told to me by Kent
Hance, now the chancellor of Texas Tech,
who overlapped with Hall in Congress in
the 1980s.
Hance said he and Hall were walking
through the Dallas airport, having just re-
turned from Washington for the weekend.
A constituent stopped Hall as they
walked. Hall, Hance said, seeking to make
conversation, asked the man, “So, how’s
that pretty little lady you’re married to?”
The man’s face fell, and he replied, “She
divorced me six months ago.”
Without missing a beat, Hance recalled,
Hall put his hands on the guy’s shoulders,
looked him in the eye, and said, “You were
too good for her.”
Contact McNeely at davemcneelvl 11(a)
gmail.com or 512/458-2963.
Your drawers can talk
Mary
Henkel
Judson
What does
a person’s desk
drawer say
about him or
her?
Lucy Kella-
way, associate
editor and
management columnist for the Investors
Chronicle, who was interviewed on NPR
recently, looked in co-workers desk drawers
to find out what they said about them.
That pushed my curiosity button, so, I
checked out my own desk drawers and, with
permission, those of my co-workers.
Discounting the usual array of staples,
pens, scissors, rulers, reference materials,
stamps, staple removers, hole punches and
such, I tried to determine a link between
the items in the drawer to the person re-
sponsible for filling the drawer.
Drawer One: A magnifying glass, a rub-
ber finger tip, tacky finger stuff.
What it reveals about the owner Far-sight-
ed, slippery fingers - which is better than
sticky fingers, especially in this case.
Drawer Two (contents of which are par-
tially inherited): Cat snacks, lint roller filled
with cat hair, Goof Off, perfume, lotion,
stickers for a calendar, air freshener, hand
sanitizer, eye glass wipes, a warranty for an
office chair, a Mr. Goodbar, cat hair brush,
CDs.
What it reveals about the owner (and pre-
vious owner): Likes cats - a lot. Concerned
with cleanliness and odors (personal and
otherwise) decorative items — in short, a
neat freak who loves cats, likes to decorate
and eat chocolate.
Drawer Three: Cat snacks, Q-Tips, and
old Nokia cell phone and instruction man-
ual, pizza restaurant menu, notes scribbled
on multiple sheets of scrap paper.
What it reveals about the (previous)
owner: Another cat lover unable to decide
which pizza to order.
Drawer Four: Cough drops, black crepe
paper, sock monkey, nuts, make up.
What it reveals about the owner: Allergy
sufferer with a sense of humor who wants
to make a good impression.
Drawer Five: Candy, hair care products,
mad money, kitty cat treats.
What it reveals about the owner: Sweet
with a wild hair(s); impulsive, cat lover.
Drawer Six: Inherited stuff from previous
occupant - coffee and hot cocoa packets,
lots of computer-related gadgets. All other
contents belonging to the current occupant
are strictly reference materials.
What it reveals about the (previous)
owner: With a fully stocked kitchen, this
previous drawer supervisor takes no chanc-
es - with the coffee or computer supplies.
The current supervisor will be on his way to
grad school after this week’s edition, so he’s
minimizing the footprint he leaves behind.
Drawer Seven: Electrical outlet plug
(two), a 2010 reminder for a doctor’s
appointment, instructions for a space
heater, three proportion wheels circa 1976,
a set of walkie-talkies, one 50-cent piece
and two pennies, photos from the 20-year
anniversary of an employee who now has
been with the company for 34 years, photos
from the first Taste of Port Aransas (1988,
I think), paper napkins, chopsticks, plastic
cutlery, packets of salt and pepper and a
child’s handwritten note that reads, “Mom
I’am hungry. Wene a we going?”
What it reveals about the owner: A
control freak who clings to the past and is
prepared for the next meal of any ethnic
origin.
Drawer Eight: Pens that don’t work, 35
mm negatives, photo of an old, (apparently
not factory issue) white Chevy van on the
beach, packages of color slides, all manner
of Ducks Unlimited paraphernalia, a tin of
mints, expired fishing and driver’s licenses,
photo of an adorable little girl about two
years old.
What it reveals about the owner: This per-
son is a hoarder with his heart in the right
place. No telling what his garage looks like.
My unofficial and unprofessional conclu-
sion is that this office is, and was, filled with
a bunch of sentimental cat lovers who like
to eat and want to look good.
Mary Henkel Judson is editor and
co-publisher of the South Jetty. Contact
her at southietty@centurytel.net. (361)
749-5131 or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas,
TX 78373.
Letters to the Editor
It’s no wonder!
I can certainly understand why the U.S.
Postal Service is losing money.
I sent a birthday card to my son with a gift
card from Home Depot the end of Septem-
ber. As of this date (three months later) he
has not received it.
But Home Depot was very kind and sent
me another gift card to replace the other
one.
On Nov. 29 (one month ago), I sent a
book to Roland, Okla., to a friend who is
dying of cancer. I talked with her on Dec. 23
and she had not received it.
I wonder how many Christmas cards will
be lost in the mail? And the postage is going
up on the first of January?
Something is very wrong with this pic-
ture.
Betty Marriett
Port Aransas
EMS director finalists named
Continued from Page iA
The three finalists, in no particular order
are:
• Timothy McIntosh, a paramedic in Ci-
bolo. He is training manager for Southern
Cross Ambulance in the New Braunfels/San
Antonio metropolitan area. He has been a
training facilitator for Careflight Airmobile, a
critical care paramedic with Middleton Hos-
pital out of Ohio and a certified paramedic
for American Ambulance in Ohio. He started
his career as a certified paramedic in 1986.
• Juan Martinez, a transport paramedic
at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Previously
he was the EMS director for the City of
Robstown, an EMT field medic for the City
of Robstown, and was an EMT with Border
Ambulance Service of McAllen. He has
worked as an EMT or paramedic since 2000.
• Shelley Zielonka, a paramedic with
Acadian Ambulance Co. of George West.
She has worked as a paramedic with the
Jackson County Hospital in Edna, was
medical operations director/paramedic for
Mercury EMS that serves Corpus Christi,
Taft and Odem, and was the Goliad County
EMS training supervisor/paramedic. She
has approximately 25 years of experience
in the field.
Letters to the Editor
Deadline is Noon Monday
Unsigned Letters will not be published.
Signature, phone number, mailing address required.
Limit 300 words.
Letters to the editor should • contain a valid signature and mailing address, day and
evening telephone numbers where the writer may be reached • names of persons
writing letters will not be withheld from publication • unsigned letters will not be pub-
lished *only one letter per person per 30 days period • letters endorsing or opposing
political candidates are political advertising and should be taken to the advertising
department • letters endorsing or opposing issues on ballots will not be published
in the last two editions before the election • all letters are subject to editing • letters
of complaint about private businesses will be forwarded to the business and will
not be published • “thank you” letters are classified advertising and should go to
the classified ad department
SOUTHJETTY@CENTURYTEL.NET OR
P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373
(c) 2011 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
Vietnam —
plus 50 years
HANOI,
Vietnam — It
has been 50
years since
President
John F. Ken-
nedy ordered
U.S. “advis-
ers” to South
Vietnam to
help battle the communist North and 37
years since the end of that divisive war and
the country’s unification under Commu-
nism.
Today, Vietnam is fighting a war with
itself.
A local TV program reminds a visitor of
Chinese propaganda “operas” circa 1970.
Performers, some wearing military garb
with a backdrop of missiles and an Amer-
ican B-52 bomber going down in flames,
commemorate the 1972 Christmas bombing
of Hanoi and Haiphong ordered by Presi-
dent Richard Nixon. Banners and posters
in the streets reinforce the government’s
history lesson.
Younger people, who substantially
outnumber the old guard, seem mostly
indifferent to these messages, because few
lived through the war. An American official
tells me just four percent of the population
belongs to the Communist Party.
While there are large pockets of poverty
between and even within major cities like
Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hanoi,
prosperity is making inroads. The one-year-
old Da Nang airport is more modern than
some U.S. airports. Luxury hotels, clothing
stores and restaurants abound. While many
cater to foreign travelers, many locals wear
stylish Western clothes and transport them-
selves on motorbikes and in cars. Twenty
years ago, the primary mode of transporta-
tion was the bicycle.
Vietnam eagerly wants to conclude a
trade agreement with the United States
known as TPP. Among other things, it
would allow for more capital investment
here and more Vietnamese goods to be
sold in the United States. Deputy Foreign
Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga tells me that
since normalization of relations in 1995, the
U.S. has become the “eighth-biggest foreign
investor in Vietnam,” totaling $10 billion.
U.S. officials say human rights issues, in-
cluding more religious freedom, are holding
up American approval of the new trade deal.
I asked Madame Nga about this and the re-
cent sentencing of three bloggers to between
four and 12 years in prison for criticizing
the government.
She deflects the question by noting press
criticism of government corruption (true)
and claims people have freedom of speech
so long as they do not cause “harm,” a word
open to interpretation in a one-party state.
Vietnam recently opened two new areas
to exploration for the bodies of American
soldiers missing in action. Madame Nga says
Vietnam has “actively worked with and sup-
ported the U.S. in finding the MLAs during
the last 20 years,” but notes that on the
Vietnamese side “about three million MIAs
remain to be found.” She also says “there are
more than three million Vietnamese known
as victims of Agent Orange ... while thou-
sands of hectares of land are contaminated
with dioxin.” She adds her appreciation for
money provided by Congress to help victims
and clean land, but she says more is needed.
As in many other one-party states, the
Internet remains a powerful counterforce
to managed information. The U.S. Embassy
provides, and the government mostly allows,
an information center where students and
others can log onto iPads and search for
information that is often counter to the
government line.
The old guard remains suspicious about
American objectives, seeing economic
and political liberalization as a strategy to
achieve among the Vietnamese people what
America failed to in pursuing their “hearts
and minds” in the war.
Professor Carlyle A. Thayer of the Uni-
versity of New South Wales, an expert on
Vietnam, said recently, “Vietnam is moti-
vated to keep the U.S. engaged in Southeast
Asia, and the South China Sea in particular,
as a balance to China,” which claims some
territorial rights in conflict with Vietnam
and is a formidable economic and military
power on its northern border.
Vietnam is in transition, and it is un-
realistic to expect too much progress too
quickly. Considering where it was when
the U.S. left in 1975, the country appears
to be inching in a positive direction. Those
Americans who died here left behind the
seeds of democracy, capitalism and a desire
for prosperity and freedom. Whatever one’s
view of that war, it can be said they did not
die in vain.
Contact Cal Thomas at Tribune Media
Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114,
Buffalo, N.Y. 14207, or e-mail him at tmsedi-
tors@tribune.com.
Keep up
with
Port Aransas
South Jettt^N
Subscribe
Print. Online
or both
www.portasoutlijetty.com
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View two places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 2013, newspaper, January 3, 2013; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth505904/m1/3/?q=architectural+drawings: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.