Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 24, 2011 Page: 2 of 94
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Co-Publishers
Mary Henkel Judson
& Murray Judson
Editor
Mary Henkel Judson
2A Thursday, November 24, 2011
Member
Texas Press Association
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Nation a l NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION
Port Aransas South Jetty
Guv’s roadhouse
swing gets wider
In trying
to pull his
presidential
campaign
out of a
nosedive,
|ELY Gov. Rick
Perry is esca-
lating his attack on all things Washington.
Perrys latest proposals include making
serving in Congress a part-time job, for half
the current $174,000 salary, with members
spending more time earning a living in their
districts.
“It is time to create a part time Congress
where their pay is cut in half, their office
budgets are cut in half, and their time in
Washington is cut in half,” Perry said last
week in Iowa.
Perry also wants to put term limits on
Congress, which seems a little strange com-
ing from Texas’ longest-serving governor,
ever - who is paid $150,000 a year. He also
wants term limits for federal judges, includ-
ing members of the U.S. Supreme Court,
who currently have lifetime appointments.
And, after CBS news questioned whether
top congressional leaders have cashed in on
insider information, Perry wants to make
that a crime.
Perry challenged one leader - House
Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
- to a debate on congressional ethics. Too
busy, Pelosi said.
Perry didn’t challenge Republican House
Speaker John Boehner, also among those
mentioned by CBS. But Boehner was prob-
ably also too busy, with Congress trying to
figure out how to cut spending and increase
revenue without taking heat for raising
taxes.
Perry proposals about ethics may be
skating a bit close to thin ice. Some critics
immediately charged Perry has his own ethi-
cal tin ear.
Like lobby business going to former staff
members. And pay-to-play questions about
whether grants from his pet Texas Enter-
prise Fund and Emerging Technology Fund
are used as rewards for contributors to his
campaign fund.
One thing Perry does have is campaign
money. He’s using some of it for TV ads in
Iowa and elsewhere, claiming that Demo-
cratic President Barack Obama said, “that
Americans are lazy.”
The ad starts with a clip of Obama saying,
“We’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the
last couple of decades.”
“Can you believe that?” Perry exclaims.
“That’s what our president thinks is wrong
with America? That Americans are lazy?
That’s pathetic.”
Obama was talking about attracting for-
eign investors to America, responding to a
question from the head of Boeing about how
foreign investors perceive America.
Obama said this country hasn’t been as
vigorous as it should in advertising its at-
tractions to foreigners.
“There are a lot of things that make
foreign investors see the U.S. as a great
opportunity - our stability, our openness,
our innovative free-market culture,” Obama
said. “But we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think,
over the last couple of decades.
“We’ve kind of taken for granted - well,
people will want to come here - and we
aren’t out there hungry, selling America and
trying to attract new business into America,”
Obama said.
Not quite the same as saying that “Ameri-
cans are lazy,” as Perry charges.
If Perry doesn’t make a presidential ticket,
his credibility rating in Texas could drop a
lot.
* * * * * *** 4- X-
One thing Perry’s presidential candidacy
has done is burn up a lot of the political
oxygen in Texas.
But with federal courts redrawing redis-
tricting maps passed by the Legislature and
signed by Perry, the political fire should heat
up considerably.
On Thursday, Nov. 17, two of three
judges that heard the redistricting challenges
in San Antonio said the Legislature’s Texas
House and Senate maps under-represented
minorities that made up most of the state’s
population growth.
Since minorities in Texas tend to lean
Democratic, the new map for the House
is expected to produce as many as a dozen
more Democratic seats than that drawn by
the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Present and would-be legislators have
been poring over the latest jigsaw puzzles,
trying to plot their political courses. The fil-
ing period opens Nov. 28 and closes Dec. 15.
Those preliminary interim maps for the
2012 elections, plus a re-charting of the
state’s congressional districts that was not
released Thursday, were expected to be final-
ized this week.
Because of population growth, Texas will
go from 32 congressional districts to 36.
That makes the map-drawing more complex
than the 150 Texas House districts or 31
Senate districts, which remain with the same
number of legislative districts.
Minority groups and Democrats com-
plained that the Legislature’s congressional
map would reduce the number of districts
thought capable of electing a minority from
the current 11 of 32 to 10 of 36.
Those contesting the Legislature’s map
think as many as 14 such “minority oppor-
tunity” districts can be drawn, but believe 12
or more will be a victory.
Contact McNeely at
davemcneelvl 1 l@gmail.com or (512)
458-2963.
Plenty to give thanks for
Those of you who are on Facebook have
probably seen, or participated in, a Thanks-
giving ritual of noting what you are thank-
ful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving.
I think that’s a good idea, but I’m not a
regular enough “Facebooker” to do that.
I give thanks everyday, though, because I
am richly blessed. Thanksgiving is, how-
ever, a great opportunity to make a list of
those blessings. So, here is my list of 30
things for the 30 days of November, for
which I am thankful, in no particular order,
and it surely isn’t complete:
1. The readers of the South Jetty who let
us know when we don’t get it right and also
let us know when we do.
2. The businesses and individuals who
advertise in the South Jetty. We couldn’t do
this without you, and we truly appreciate
your support.
3. My family, immediate and extended.
You are my everything and I am held up
by your love and support. I hope I give
back half as much in return - it’s certainly
in my heart.
4. My friends, who give my life mean-
ing, depth, color, character and laughter.
Tears, too — that’s part of friendship.
5. My health. I survived a minor brush
with cancer and it changed my life for the
better.
6. Murray’s health. He survived cancer,
and it want fun. What’s important is that
he’s here and he’s good.
7. Libby, our daughter. She is our pride,
our joy, our light and laughter.
8. Our staff at the South Jetty. I can’t say
enough good about them, and we can t pay
them enough. They are a joy to work with,
we are proud of the jobs they do, and we love
them individually and as a group. I love to
go to the office, in great measure because of
them. I love our sense of camaraderie and
teamwork, our birthday lunches and our
Christmas party because of them. I hope our
readers and advertisers appreciate them half
as much as we do.
9. The people of Port Aransas. I have
worked and played, laughed and cried with
so many of you over the years, there isn’t
space to name you all. You can’t imagine the
warmth you generate in my heart and soul,
and how much you mean to me.
10. The spirit of this community that has
weathered the bad times with dignity, energy
and a positive, can-do attitude that has kept
us afloat.
11. The ability of so many in this com-
munity to disagree agreeably. I genuinely
admire that, and pray we can hold on to
it. We are in this together, and we need to
make it work.
12. Redfish. I love to fish, and I love catch-
ing and eating redfish more than just about
anything, other than ...
13. Dorado. I’ll never forget a fishing
trip when we filled the box with dorado,
and it was good thing, because we were so
ARY
ENKEL
UDSON
worn out we
couldn’t fish
any more.
Never tasted
anything bet-
ter!
14. Sunsets
in the fall.
15. Watching the ducks take flight at the
end of a November day. I still don’t know
where they go. But they return every morn-
ing.
16. The fact that I have a roof (a nice one
that doesn’t leak) over my head, that I’m
warm in winter, cool (well, as cool as you
can be in South Texas) in summer, and that
I’ve never known hunger or been without
clothes on my back.
17. Good art. I love it.
18. Good food. I love it.
19. Old friends - not as in age, but as
in time. I already mentioned friends, but
old friends are a sub-group that deserve
individual mention. There’s just something
special about old friends you can call or e-
mail and just pick up where you left off. No
hard feelings. Just understanding and love.
That’s very comfortable and reassuring.
20. Good neighbors. We are so fortunate!
21. A higher power that hears - and an-
swers - my prayers.
22. Port Aransas. Period. It’s a great place
to live and work.
23. Good local government. They’re
not perfect, and we will continue to point
out those imperfections, but they pass the
“smell” test. More than that, really.
24. The volunteers in this town. Unbeliev-
able!
25. That I quit smoking 35 years ago come
March 17.
26. That I have a sister. I couldn’t live
without her.
27. That I have three older brothers - ev-
ery girl should have at least one.
28. That I have a job - nothing to take
for granted given the state of the national
economy.
29. That Texas is in better shape than just
about any other state in the nation (and I
don’t credit our governor, what’s his name,
uh, uh, uh, I cant, uh ... oops.)
30. That we have women and men in
our armed forces willing to put their lives
in danger to protect their countrymen and
the principals upon which this country was
founded.
As usual, this Thanksgiving, we will sit
around the table, and each of us will be
asked to tell what we are thankful for. I
hope you will be able to do the same, and
have much for which to be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-
publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at
southietty@centurytel.net. (361) 749-
5131 or PO. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX
78373.
Letters to the Editor
Good work
adopted a new best friend (the puppies).
I just wish they would charge the man
I am so glad the Port Aransas Police who allegedly dumped the pups with 10
Department arrested the man who allegedly counts of attempted murder!
dumped 10 puppies in a trash bin. Thanks! Lisa Stevens
And congratulations to the people who Port Aransas
Ad
at work
let the
South Jett
Put an ad to work for you.
Call Lisa Shelton
(3611749-5131 or (3611537-5777
(c) 2011 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES.
Searching for the
perfect candidate
Now it’s
Newt’s turn.
Having risen to
the top in some
opinion polls,
the former
speaker of the
House is taking
heat for large
consulting fees
paid to him by the government-sponsored
mortgage company Freddie Mac, for wis-
dom a New York Times editorial said was so
simplistic it might have come from a fortune
cookie.
As Republican presidential candidates
rise only to fall when their imperfections
are brought to light, Republican voters risk
disappointment in 2012 by playing the left’s
game on their turf and by their rules. What
they must do instead is to protect their
“product” at a time when the opportunity to
hold Barack Obama to one term, while tak-
ing the Senate and increasing their House
majority, has never looked better.
The best candidate would clearly be
a composite of the eight still standing:
Mitt Romney’s business sense and debat-
ing skills; Newt Gingrich’s experience in
Washington and knowledge of how to
tear down the enormous bureaucracy and
make government function the way the
founders intended; Herman Cain’s politi-
cal passion and the added bonus of being a
conservative African-American; Ron Paul’s
fealty to the Constitution and his call for
America to rethink its military role in the
world; Jon Huntsman’s knowledge of China,
which will remain important for decades;
Rick Santorum’s and Michele Bachmann’s
strong moral voices (along with her singular
feminine voice) in an age of societal flux;
and Rick Perry’s Southwestern values and
evangelical faith.
Unfortunately, Republicans can’t vote
for a composite; they’ll have to choose one
candidate, hopefully one they won’t come to
regret.
There is something else Republicans must
not do. They must avoid making the same
mistake Democrats make by looking to
government as a first resource. If they are to
reduce the size, reach and cost of govern-
ment, they must demonstrate how they
intend to empower Americans. If they are
going to deprive Washington of power, they
must show people who have ceded personal
control to government why they would be
better off taking care of themselves. Tell
stories about those who have overcome
obstacles to become self-sustaining.
The liberal left has so addicted half the
country to government entitlement pro-
grams and the fiction that they can’t possibly
make it in life without the aid of government
that many have forgotten the meaning of ,
personal freedom and the power that comes j
with it.
Back to Newt. That Gingrich took
money from Freddie Mac, an agency he
now derides, may seem like hypocrisy to
some, but not to me. J, for example, think
the Department of Agriculture should be
closed, though I once worked for them. I
also received a student loan, which I repaid,
though I am now critical of how some of the
government’s student loan programs are
run. I attended public schools, but believe
parents ought to be able to send their kids
to a private school if it promises to offer a
better education. Am I hypocritical?
Gingrich could return his fees to Freddie
Mac, but that wouldn’t satisfy his critics. He
should only make the offer if some of those
top Fannie execs who received fat bonuses
gave them back.
For their role in the failed government
loan program that aided the bankrupt
Solyndra, President Obama and Secretary of
Energy Steven Chu are not getting anywhere
near the heat Gingrich is getting over Fred-
die Mac.
The U.S. government, as part of its “Fast
and Furious” program, sent guns to Mexican
drug cartels in hopes of tracing them to
cartel leaders and making arrests. Are we
holding the administration accountable?
There are different standards for Republi-
cans and Democrats.
Looking for a perfect candidate will end
in disappointment. Consider President
Obama, his falling poll numbers and the
misplaced faith too many voters had in him
in 2008. Republicans should not make the
same mistake in selecting the next GOP
presidential candidate.
By realizing the imperfections in every
candidate — and every person — and focus-
ing on the ability of the one who is nomi-
nated to do what he promises, Republicans
will have a better candidate and the country
could have a better (but not perfect) presi-
dent.
Contact Cal Thomas at Tribune Me-
dia Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite
114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207, or e-mail him at
tmseditors@tribune.com.
Letters to the Editor
Deadline: Noon Monday
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Letters to the editor should • contain a valid sig-
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telephone numbers where the writer may be
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not be published *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 • 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
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P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 24, 2011, newspaper, November 24, 2011; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth505974/m1/2/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.