Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2014 Page: 3 of 20
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Co-Publishers
Mary Henkel Judson
& Murray Judson
Editor
Mary Henkel Judson
Opinion
Member
Texas Press Association
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
National Newspaper Association
Port Aransas South Jetty
Thursday, May i, 2014 3 A
Van de Putte
lights up
Annie s lunch
Wendy
Davis missed
her sched-
Dave uled|°im
t appearance
Me Neely in Austin
Thursday,
April 24, with
running mate Leticia Van de Putte, because
she wasn’t yet cleared for the campaign trail
since neck surgery April 16.
But the mostly female crowd of 800
responded enthusiastically to Van de Putte’s
call to put more women at the tables where
public policies are hammered out.
To try to overcome their problems with
women, she said, Republicans have resorted
to holding classes to coach their candidates
on how to talk to women.
Instead, “Why don’t you just listen to
them in the first place?” the feisty lawmaker
asked, to the crowd’s delight.
Van de Putte, a veteran state senator from
San Antonio, is the Democratic nominee
for lieutenant governor. Her senate col-
league Davis, from Fort Worth, is the party’s
nominee for governor.
It’s the first time in Texas history, for
either major party, that nominees for both
positions are women.
Davis recalled for the crowd the late Gov.
Ann Richards’ famous description of wom-
en’s abilities that she used in keynoting the
1988 Democratic National Convention in
Atlanta - that dancer Ginger Rogers could
do everything that partner Fred Astaire did.
“ ‘Except she did it backward - in high
heels,’ “ Van de Putte quoted, to uproarious
laughter.
“Maybe we should add in running shoes,”
she added - a reference to the pink jogging
footwear Davis wore during her famous
filibuster last June against a law to make
abortions harder to obtain.
Van de Putte jabbed at Houston state Sen.
Dan Patrick, a radio talk show host who
many think will beat incumbent Lt. Gov.
David Dewhurst May 27 in the Republican
runoff for lieutenant governor.
Patrick says he opposes a law requiring
women to be paid as much as men for equal
work because he thinks the “free market,”
rather than government, should decide that.
But not so when it comes to women’s re-
productive decisions, Van de Putte charged.
“He thinks that is government’s job, right?”
she asked.
Davis, with the help of a Skype intercon-
nect on a large TV screen, appeared live
from her home in Fort Worth, wearing a
scarf around her neck.
She kept up her criticism of her Republi-
can opponent for governor, Atty. Gen. Greg
Abbott, over his call for phasing in pre-kin-
dergarten classes for four-year-olds — and
test them - rather than have universal
pre-K, as she favors.
Texas needs a governor, Davis said, who
will “value each and every child.”
Annie’s List... No, it’s not named for
Ann Richards, but it’s sort of similar as a
“first.” The Annie is Annie Webb Blanton,
a teacher at elementary, secondary and
college level.
She was the first woman elected to state-
wide office in Texas — state superintendent
of public instruction in 1918.
Fittingly, the year before, she had
become the first woman president of the
Texas State Teachers Association. In that
position, she helped campaign for women
to get the vote.
She got help from new Gov. William P.
Hobby, Sr., who had moved up from lieu-
tenant governor in 1917 after the Legisla-
ture impeached Gov. James Ferguson. He
had vetoed the appropriation for The Uni-
versity of Texas, after administrators refused
to dismiss some professors he didn’t like.
Hobby called a special session in 1918, so
the Legislature could vote to allow wom-
en to vote in party primaries. Later that
year, Blanton defeated the incumbent state
superintendent and another candidate, and
also led the women to help Hobby win the
Democratic nomination for governor.
Ferguson’s wife Miriam Amanda Wallace
Ferguson — known as “MA,” and thus her
husband was “PA” Ferguson - in 1924 was
elected the first woman Texas governor. She
was beaten for re-election two years later,
but was elected for another two-year term
in 1932.
In 1990, Ann Richards became the first —
and only - Texas woman elected governor
whose husband hadn’t held the job first.
*******
Perhaps coincidentally, the luncheon fea-
turing the two women candidates was held
the same day that Richards’ daughter Cecile,
national president of Planned Parenthood,
was interviewed on Katie Couric’s afternoon
ABC TV show about a new documentary
on her mother.
The release of the 82-minute film, sched-
uled for a debut on HBO on May 1, may
be a boost for the attempt to promote two
women to the top spots in 2014.
Dewhurst, in an attempt to stave off some
of Patrick’s presumed Tea Party support,
has announced endorsement by at least
three local Tea Party organizations, plus 30
of the 62 members of the State Republican
Executive Committee.
He’s also pointedly pointing out that he
and Van de Putte have released their tax
returns for the last three years, while Patrick
- at least so far — refuses to.
Contact McNeely at davemcneelyl 11@
gmail.com or at (512) 458-2963.
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A YANKEES
PITCHER USED
PINE TAR IN A
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EJECTED/
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IT'S HARD TO
KEEP STRAIGHT
ANYMORE...
Embrace a good attitude
I had
two “ah-ha”
moments last
week.
One was
in a conver-
sation with
Mary
Henkel
Judson
Beth Owens. Beth and her husband, Kelly,
own Deep Sea Headquarters and Fins Grill
and Ice House. On a recent trip to Florida,
Beth said she was struck by the attitude of
the people in the tourist communities they
visited.
In her words, “they embrace tourism.”
She said their focus is on making sure their
visitors have a quality experience.
How about that?
Floridians, she said, open their arms and
welcome the tourists who flock to their
shores.
This made me think that we all should
keep that in mind as we move into our
summer tourist season and every weekend
is a “can’t turn left” affair with all the traffic,
when the waits at restaurants seem endless
and when the grocery store aisles practically
need traffic cops to keep the grocery carts
moving.
How do you do this?
That’s where the other ah-ha moment
came in.
An occasional columnist for the San
Antonio Express-News, Larry Johnson, wrote
a column about attitude last Thursday.
He wrote that he could gripe about the
weather, his friends, Congress and the
world. Or, he could choose to think about
the nice lady in the doctor’s office who
helped him.
He could complain about the rain or be
thankful the grass was getting watered for
free. He could grumble about everything
from having to go to school or work, or be
glad he has a school or a job to go to.
He concluded that he is the sculptor of his
days, and what they will be like is up to him.
“Success and happiness are determined
by attitude,” of which we are in charge, he
wrote.
We can’t control circumstances, he point-
ed out, but we can decide how to react to
them.
“We cannot change our past, but we can
change our future - by our attitude in the
present,” he wrote.
Ah-ha!
Kind of like making lemonade from
lemons.
So, if you have a job you hate, a mean boss
and rude customers you can either join them
or make your day better with a positive at-
titude that just might rub off - on your boss
and your customers.
As summer rolls around, let’s embrace
our tourists and make their day - and ours -
with a positive attitude.
P.S. Mr. Johnson, who is in his 70s, is
blind.
Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-
publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at
southjetty@centurytel.net, (361) 749-5131
or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.
Letters to the Editor
The ‘Port Aransas way’
I have been following with great enthusi-
asm the interest city council has in passing a
“big box” ordinance.
We have a residential rental business
in Port Aransas and we are just sick of all
the competition and want city council to
pass an ordinance helping us out, too. We
don’t want any “franchise” businesses to be
allowed in Port Aransas. Businesses like
Holiday Inn and Best Western should just
leave. They are just not right for our town’s
“atmosphere” and we should keep them out.
They and residential subdivisions that offer
short-term rentals should all be banned as
well in order to reduce the “sprawl” in our
town. The “style” of them just doesn’t fit
into the small town atmosphere and they
just “take money out of the community”.
We should later expand this to include new
restaurants and other businesses as well.
I know this isn’t the American way; but
apparently it is the Port Aransas way.
Philip McBride
Port Aransas and Rockport
Golf cart responsibility
I recently saw another golf cart driving
around town with a child riding without any
sort of restraint.
It was sporting a City of Port Aransas
license plate, prompting me to visit city hall
where I asked about requirements for licens-
ing golf carts. I was informed that there is a
form, a fee and the applicant’s meeting the
short list of requirements was “on the honor
system.” The form states the cart must have
safety restraints, headlights, tail lights, a slow
moving emblem and a parking brake.
I was not able to talk to the driver before
she entered a local business, however I did
examine the cart she was driving with her
young daughter. In a brief inspection, I
noticed it had no safety restraints in any of
the six seats, and there was no slow moving
emblem on the rear of the cart.
If Port Aransas is willing to allow these
golf carts, the city needs to be more respon-
sible regarding their safety and safe use. In
fact, if the city is willing to make money off
their presence here, that should more than
cover the cost of an inspection of the vehicle
that is being licensed to operate within our
city.
Also, the police department needs to be
on the lookout for unrestrained passengers
in these carts and enforce the rules that are
in place for them. If a cart is found without
a registration, the license plate should be
confiscated and not re-issued until the cart is
brought into compliance.
If the city is unwilling/unable to inspect
when issuing the license plates, they could
farm it out to the police department, or to a
shop in town that could charge the applicant
for the inspection and provide a compliance
certificate they could take to the city.
I dread the day that someone loses a loved
one due to lax enforcement of the safety
restraints and other requirements in place
for these golf carts.
James Re veil
Port Aransas
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• Limit 300 words.
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Send your letters to
SOUTHJETTY@CENTURYTEL.NET OR
P.O. Box 1117 Port Aransas, TX 78373
Pres. Obama’s
foreign policy
is nonexistent
r>
Cal
Thomas
477:1
(c) 2011 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
You know
things are bad
when you can’t
wait for the
return of a TV
character to
demonstrate
what resolve
and leadership really look like. Yes, after a
four-year hiatus, the show “24,” featuring
Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland),
returns May 5 to the Fox network.
Bauer displays many of the traits once
found in, or at least expected of, American
presidents and top military leaders. He
doesn’t waffle or wiggle; neither does he
negotiate. He wins. If you think I am about
to draw a contrast between Bauer and the
current president of the United States you
are right.
The headlines are depressing: “Obama
Suffers Setbacks in Japan and the Mideast”
(New York Times); “Pentagon: (Defense
Secretary Chuck) Hagel’s Russian Counter-
part won’t return his calls” (Fox News); and
these two from the May issue of Commen-
tary Magazine: “China Rises As America
Weakens”; “He’s Made It Worse: Obama’s
Middle East.”
Obama is detached, uninterested and
inexperienced in foreign affairs and the
world has taken notice. Putin calculated he
could get away with meddling in Ukraine
because he perceived weakness in the pres-
ident of the United States. And, in fact, the
first wave of U.S. and European sanctions
against Russia proved him right. They were
nothing short of laughable. Does the West
really think it can fell a Russian bear with a
water pistol?
The only thing I learned in a physics class
before flunking it was that nature abhors a
vacuum and will fill it if given the oppor-
tunity. The same is true in foreign policy.
That’s what “Peace Through Strength” in the
Reagan era was about. There was a reason
the Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release
of American hostages on Inauguration Day
1981. He seemed to believe Reagan might
attack if Iran kept Americans as prisoners.
While Obama plays numerous rounds of
golf and the military fiddles with issues like
women in combat and whether taxpayers
should pay for convicted intelligence leaker
Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning’s gender
transition, Putin acts. The Middle East is in
flames - diplomatically and literally — be-
cause this administration has no discernible
foreign policy other than criticizing Israel.
As the world changes and new chal-
lenges arise, American foreign policy must
adapt. Past failures should be scrapped.
Past successes should be remembered and
replicated.
The first and most important step must
be for the United States to declare who we
are as a country and to define our purpose
in the world. Presidents are supposed to do
this. Somewhere between isolationism and
interventionism is a U.S. policy waiting to be
discovered.
“Freedom” may mean one thing to us,
but it means something quite different in
other parts of the world. In Russia, which
has a long history of autocratic leaders who
have traded freedom for a minimal stan-
dard of living, American-style freedom is
not universally embraced. In many Muslim
lands, freedom means Sharia law. Apply-
ing American principles to that world has
caused frustration, even failure.
If the president fails to articulate who we
are to fellow Americans and the world —
and there is little evidence he knows how, or
even wants to — the United States will lose
its leadership role. The hostile forces willing
to take its place — China, Russia and radical
Islam — will bring with them consequences
we will not like and threats to our national
security we may not be able to repel.
Perhaps Jack Bauer can again inspire as
he did when “24” premiered in November
2001, two months after the terrorist attacks
on America. Sometimes fiction is stranger
than truth.
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.
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2014, newspaper, May 1, 2014; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741152/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.