Thumbs up, down
Haters unite against Astros, Abbott and Texas ham but applaud NASA and SpaceX.
Julián Castro might have skipped the Democratic National Convention, and there was no room for Texans in the featured speaker slots, but the state was still well-represented over the four nights of the socially distanced gathering. Elected officials, including Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and El Paso’s U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, made appearances, along with Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Texas also scored musical performances by The Chicks and Leon Bridges. Eva Longoria hosted on the first night. Would we have liked to have seen San Antonio’s former mayor get his due? Sure. It was still good to see the Lone Star State get some attention. While Democrats strive for unity, Gov. Greg Abbott said hold my Shiner. Flanked by Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and on-his-way-out House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Abbott announced this week he would be pushing for the Legislature to punish cities that “defund” police departments by freezing their tax revenue at the current level. The vague proposal successfully brought all sides together in their derision, with the move called empty chest thumping on the left and “space logic” by some on the right, who blasted Abbott for finally facilitating longsought property tax relief but at the unsavory cost of cutting funding for police. There’s an old saying in journalism that if both sides call to complain then you’re doing something right. Not sure it’s the same for politics. At least Abbott is in good company. The Astros also have sparked unwanted unity this season, as fans across Major League Baseball and some players rally ’round their hatred for Houston. As reported by the New York Times, the haters, robbed of being able to jeer the ’Stros in person, have gotten creative. Fans of the 2020 Astros Shame Tour account on Twitter even pitched in to hire a plane to fly over batting practice with a banner reading “Houston Asterisks.” Players also have gotten into the act, inciting a couple of bench-clearing brawls that have led to suspensions. We get it, the cheating scandal left the franchise with a black eye and the pandemic has left many with some pent-up fury, but these boys of summer need to grow up. It’s not all bad, Texas. At least the stars at night are still big and bright — and one of them might even be the International Space Station, where American astronauts now can travel without hitching a ride from Russia. Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz joined with their Florida counterparts to introduce a resolution congratulating the men and women at SpaceX and NASA for their successful mission to the ISS. “American astronauts reached the International Space Station after leaving American soil in an American spacecraft for the first time in nearly a decade,” Cruz said in a statement. “That is no small feat and is a powerful reminder of our country’s strength and ingenuity.” Now that Americans have made it back to space without Russian help, can we ask that the president do the same with his re-election effort — or is that a cheap (moon) shot? Kidding aside, we hope U.S. officials take election integrity as seriously as Spaniards take their ham, or to be more specific, their jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn-fed Iberian ham). According to the Guardian, Spaniards consider those ubiquitous haunches of cured pork their greatest gift to international gastronomy, so some are up in arms that two farms, including one in nearby Flatonia, are working on their own version. Going whole hog on their accusations, these ham-handed nationalists are calling on Spain to ban the export of native blackfoot pigs and claim that customers of American jamón will be getting nothing but a pig in a poke. While their objections aren’t complete hogwash, Spanish producers should get ready to compete instead of wallowing in selfpity.