Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 30, 2014 Page: 3 of 24
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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, January 30, 2014
3A
Candidates
differ on how to
choose senators
751
The 17th
Amendment
to the U. S.
"'y
Constitution
Dave
in 1913 shifted
McNeely
the selecting
U.S. senators
from state legislatures to direct election by
voters.
Two of the four candidates for lieutenant
governor want to repeal it.
Or did.
The lieutenant governor presides over the
Texas Senate. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wants
to keep doing it, since Ted Cruz dashed his U.S.
Senate ambitions in 2012.
In a debate Oct. 3 before the Clear Lake Tea
Party, Dewhurst said returning to legislatures
choosing U.S. senators would have them “lis-
tening daily to the heartbeat of the legislatures
and not be passing the laws that cost all of us.”
Repeal is a big goal for some Tea Party-ori-
ented folks. Gov. Rick Perry called for it in
2011, while seeking the 2012 Republican
presidential nomination.
Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick backed
Dewhurst over Cruz for the Senate. Dewhurst
appointed him to chair the Senate Education
Committee. Patrick now wants to replace
Dewhurst.
Patrick said in October that “I was the one
who began the conversation about this critical-
ly important issue.
“I unequivocally support the repeal of the
17th Amendment and the restoration of our
Founders original intent to have the state
legislatures select our United States senators,”
Patrick said. If U.S. senators were beholden to
legislatures, “Gross overreaches of the federal
government, like Obamacare, would never
have seen the light of day ’
The wind must have changed. Jan. 20, before
the King Street Patriots, news reports said
Patrick and Dewhurst both opposed repeal of
the 17th Amendment.
Patrick: “I would not be in favor of repeal-
ing it. The people have been voting for their
senators too long.”
The October call for repeal? Patrick said he
“misspoke” or was “misquoted.” Wasn’t sure
which.
Dewhurst: “Sheer practicality” makes repeal
infeasible. “It’s not going to happen.”
Candidate Three, Land Commissioner
Jerry Patterson, a former senator who opposed
repeal all along, complained of “whiplash” after
the flip-flops of Patrick and Dewhurst.
Candidate Four, Agriculture Commissioner
Todd Staples, another former state senator, said
“If we didn’t have direct election of senators,
Ted Cruz would not be in the United States
Senate today’
Big vheers from Cruz’s Tea Party fan base.
Stay tuned as we try to monitor the wind
direction.
*******
Here’s our opinion on whether senators
elected since 1940 might have been chosen by
the legislature:
- W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel - (D-1941)
Elected in 1941 special election. The singing
flour salesman on the radio for years got him-
self elected governor in 1938. Narrowly beat
then-U.S. Rep. Lyndon Johnson. Legislators
wouldn’t have sent O’Daniel to the Senate —
except maybe to get rid of him as governor.
- Lyndon Johnson - (D-1948) Elected
when O’Daniel didn’t seek re-election. Might
not have been a senator if it was up to the
legislature.
- Price Daniel, Sr. - (D-1952) Elected
when long-timer Tom Connally retired. Daniel
had been chosen speaker by his colleagues in
the Texas House, and then elected attorney
general. He probably would have been chosen
by the legislature. Left the senate in 1956 after
winning the governorship.
- Ralph W. Yarborough - (D-1957) A
populist who had lost three races for governor,
Yarborough won a 1957 special election with
38 percent - no runoff - to replace Daniel.
Yarborough an unlikely choice by a legislature
much more conservative than he was.
- John Tower - (R-1961) First Republican
senator from Texas since just after the Civil
War. Won a special election when LBJ became
vice-president. Republican Tower wouldn’t be
chosen senator by a legislature whose Republi-
can could caucus in a phone booth.
- Lloyd Bentsen (D-1970) - Won the
Democratic nomination from Yarborough,
then beat Republican George H.W. Bush in
November. Bentsen could have been chosen by
the legislature had he run. Not Bush.
- Phil Gramm (R-1984) - Rode a chain
of circumstances to replace Tower when he
retired. Cocky party-switcher Gramm could
have set a land speed record on a tricycle
before being chosen by a Democrat-dominated
legislature.
- Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-1993) - The
first Republican state treasurer won a special
election when Bentsen became Bill Clinton’s
treasury secretary. Though a 1970s Texas
House member, it’s unlikely the 1993 legislature
would have chosen her.
- John Comyn (R-2002) - The former Tex-
as attorney general and Supreme Court justice
replaced the retiring Gramm. Might have been
chosen by a newly-Republican Texas House
and Senate - had he chosen to try.
- Ted Cruz (R-2012) -Blindsided Dewhurst
to replace the retiring Hutchison. Second in
first primary; won handily in runoff. Legisla-
ture choose? (Expletive), no.
Unknown and arrogant, Cruz wouldn’t
have been considered by the legislature, much
less been chosen, despite Republican control.
Dewhurst, though some will disagree, probably
wouldn’t have either, despite - or maybe
because of - 10 years presiding over the Texas
Senate.
Contact McNeely at davemcneelyl 11 @gmail.
com or (512) 458-2963.
A matter of perspective
MarH
Henke j
Judson
Each day
over the
past week I
looked back
and thought,
“Who was
that oc-
cupying my body?” not realizing that yet
another stranger was occupying it at that
very moment.
I wasn’t suffering from multiple personal-
ity syndrome. No, I was overtaken by swine
- swine flu, also known as HINI.
Yes, I had a flu shot. I have a great deal of
respect for the flu. I’ve had it four times: at
age 19,40,49 and now at 61. Through age 49
each time was worse than the time before. Of
course, at 49 I had two kinds of flu at once
(one reason I’m not real excited about taking
another cruise. Airplanes are bad enough,
and probably where I picked up this year’s
swine flu). I am religious about getting flu
shots.
Flu shots don’t keep you from getting the
flu. They just lessen the chance and lessen
the severity if you do contract the flu.
While suffering two kinds of flu, I
thought, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think I
was delirious,” as I got into a tub of cold wa-
ter with a Ziploc of ice cubes on my head in
an attempt to kick my fever. I was delirious.
Did I mention I’m religious about getting
flu shots?
This go-round wasn’t as bad as the dou-
ble-whammy - for sure. But it wasn’t’ a cake-
walk, and as this is written, it’s not really
over (which is why I’m writing about it — I
am not capable of operating heavy machin-
ery, including a computer.).
However, if you know me, you know I’m
not very good at goofing off. Sitting or lying
around the house for five days and not even
caring if newspapers are strewn all over the
living room or that dishes are stacking up in
the sink is not my modus operandi. But that
is exactly how I’ve spent the last week.
While I was fighting the “pig,” Murray was
suffering from a particularly nasty cold - but
he managed to take care of me.
As we both begin to come out of the fog,
we realize how fortunate we are.
One of our friends - who has had two
kidney transplants and wins gold medals in
the Transplant Olympics in such places as
Australia and Africa - recently broke a hip
and a femur while playing soccer. He’s in
his late 30s or early 40s and is in constant
motion. He’s had to have help getting from
his bed to a wheelchair or walker. He’s in for
a very long rehabilitation process.
Swine flu and a cold are nothing.
Another friend is battling multiple cancers
and in the midst of it all, his wife broke both
ankles. Both of his parents had died within
six months of one another only a few months
before.
Swine flu and a cold are nothing.
Another friend, who survived prostate
cancer, had a heart a attack and, thankfully,
is doing well.
Swine flu and a cold are nothing.
Another friend has recently been di-
agnosed with breast cancer and is facing
surgery and radiation.
Swine flu and a cold are nothing.
We all have our hardships. But if you’re
feeling down and out, just look around.
You’re likely to find you’ve got it pretty good.
We’re thankful that we do have it good,
and we send love, good vibrations and
prayers to our friends and everyone un-
known to us in pain - real pain.
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.
the Editor
Island.
In a democracy, the citizens get to vote
for a candidate, in theory, to represent his
constituents (the people who voted for him)
and vote the way they want him to. It is very
evident, Mr. Price, how the vast majority of
Port Aransas want you to vote and that is for
the rezoning of Harbor Island. Did I make
myself clear? You need to take your personal
ideas out of this vote and vote the way “we”
want you to vote. I guess the other six coun-
cil members got the message loud and clear
and voted the right way.
Wayne Williams
Port Aransas
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SOUTHJETTY@CENTURYTEL.NET
OR
P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373
Letters to
Listen to voters
I have just finished reading the article by
Dan Parker covering the Port Aransas city
council meeting involving the Harbor Island
Rezoning (South Jetty, Jan. 23).
I am appalled that Councilman John Price
voted against the rezoning issue. I am in
total agreement with Councilwoman Glenda
Balentine that there is very clear mandate in-
volving how the Port Aransas citizens want
their elected council members to vote. It is
very clear with the unanimous support of
the Friends of Port Aransas mission to stop
any large refinery from being built in Harbor
Jay Leno:
Mr. Nice Guy
4** |
Cal
T HOMAS '
(c) 2011 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
Anyone
in the news
business will
tell you that
a side benefit
is the diverse
number of
people one
gets to meet.
Jay Leno, who leaves “The Tonight Show”
on Feb. 6 after a 22-year run (retire is not
the right word in his case), is one such
person.
The circumstances surrounding our first
meeting involved a column I wrote 15 years
ago in support of his wife’s activism on be-
half of Afghan women. Jay and Mavis Leno
invited my wife and me for a visit. Things
progressed from there.
Last October when we attended the show,
I asked him why he wouldn’t want to move
to another network after leaving NBC. He
told me that after being number one for
some time, a new show would always be
measured by the success of “The Tonight
Show” and he didn’t want that. “Besides,” he
said, “I am going to be very busy.” He said
he has scores of appearances scheduled,
starting the day after his departure from
“Tonight.”
On a previous visit I asked him why he
never had a substitute host. He said, “Are
you kidding? That’s how I got the job.” He
often subbed for Johnny Carson. Unlike the
four-times married Carson, Jay is married to
the same woman he started with and he has
never been associated with any scandal. He
is the anti-Justin Bieber.
If you saw the “60 Minutes” interview
Sunday night, you witnessed what seemed
like genuine humility from a man at the top
of his game. That is rare in entertainment
and in politics.
I once asked him why the show wasn’t
labeled “starring,” instead of “with Jay Leno.”
He said, “You always want to underplay
yourself,” implying as Scripture does that
“pride goes before destruction.”
Once he invited us to a movie screening
on the Fox lot, not far from the NBC studios
in Burbank. The movie was “The Insider,”
about a “60 Minutes” expose of the cigarette
industry and the behind-the-scenes battle
involving lawyers and journalists to get the
expose on the air. It was an amazing mo-
ment for me, sitting next to one of the most
famous entertainers in America.
I have been privileged to know two of
“The Tonight Show’s” four hosts. Steve
Allen, who invented the format, was the
other. Allen was a multitalented man. In
addition to his comedic skills, he wrote
more than 3,000 songs (the theme from the
film “Picnic” and “This Could Be the Start of
Something Big” are among the best known).
He also acted and wrote novels. Leno is a
great standup comic. His other passion is
cars, of which he owns quite a few.
Leno has had some detractors, including a
few fellow entertainers (I call them “B-list-
ers”) who criticized what they regarded as
his bad behavior during NBC’s disastrous
decision to replace him with Conan O’Brien
and then move Leno to 10 p.m. Leno was
vindicated when NBC was forced to return
him to “Tonight” after O’Brien’s ratings
tanked.
The website splitside.com offers “9
Reasons Why Jay Leno’s Retirement Will Be
the End of Late Night Drama,” by which it
means rivalries among hosts. Writes split-
side, “It’s likely... that this will be the last
headline-grabbing talk show power struggle
for a while because the late-night landscape
has changed so much the past few years.
And it probably won’t be a bloody battle like
the last one given how super polite and new
to the job Jimmy Fallon is.”
Reason number nine is: “Once Jay Leno
retires, there will be no more Jay Lenos.”
That’s for sure.
One more mark of Leno’s graciousness
is something Johnny Carson refused to do
when he departed. Jay plans to have his
replacement, Jimmy Fallon, on the show
his final week. It will be a “pass the baton”
moment. In the “60 Minutes” interview,
Jay praised the talented Fallon as “a young
Johnny Carson.” High praise, indeed.
Jay Leno will leave “Tonight” number one
in total audience ratings and number one
with the coveted younger demographic. He
is living proof that sometimes — not often,
but on occasion - nice guys can finish first.
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. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 30, 2014, newspaper, January 30, 2014; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741075/m1/3/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.