Thumbs up, down: Trump and tiger tales
India makes a scene; Patrick gets a nod; land commissioner tries hard in tweet.
There’s a certain hint of flop sweat in the air as Houston’s runaway animals try to keep the nation’s attention. In the last few weeks, we’ve escalated from cow to gator and now to a missing tiger. A big cat named India decided to exercise its escape claws and bolted from its enclosure inside an Energy Corridor home. The tiger’s tale began on Sunday, after the fleeing feline squared off with an armed, off-duty Waller County sheriff ’s deputy. “Don’t shoot my cat,” said Victor Hugo Cuevas, whose lawyer claims is not the animal’s owner but does take care of it occasionally, before putting the tiger in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee and speeding away as Houston police arrived. When authorities searched the home, they found two monkeys, who, while expected to do as they see, did not follow the tiger outside. Cuevas, who was out on bond on a 2017 murder charge, was later detained for evading arrest. He posted bond and was released Friday, while India’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
We usually like to focus on animal stories to avoid politics, but even our missing tigers are getting political. Carole Baskin, who gained notoriety as one of the stars of Netflix’s popular “Tiger King” docuseries, says U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are partly to blame for what’s happening. Appearing on CNN, Baskin blasted the lawmakers for failing to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would restrict the public from owning big cats. In an interview with the Chronicle, the self-described animal rights activist also offered a $5,000 reward for the tiger’s safe capture. That’s generous of her, but we can’t help feeling that Baskin, who has been accused of (though never charged with) abusing animals and murdering her husband, is using India to extend her time in the spotlight.
Speaking of reality stars from whom we really don’t need to hear, Donald Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for reelection this week. The former leader of the free world said he supports Patrick’s bid for a third term. “He is outstanding and has my complete and total Endorsement!” Trump said. While the lieutenant governor currently has no primary challengers, the endorsement goes a long way to dissuade any potential opponents. In a world that made sense — say, one where your neighbor couldn’t own a 500-pound apex predator — being backed by an insurrection-stoking, truth-challenged one-termer frequently accused of racism and being a serial abuser would be seen as a negative. Please invite us to that world. Y’all, you know who also totally loves Trump, drinks beer, eats red meat and supports the local sports team? That’s right. It’s Average Republican Joe, George Prescott Bush. That’s the tone of the Texas land commissioner’s tweet Thursday after U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was ousted from GOP congressional leadership over her disturbing lack of faith in Dear Leader. “Instead of training fire on the President, she really should have been training fire on Biden … that’s what you want out of your leadership.” We can’t blame Bush, who may be taking on Attorney General Ken Paxton next year, for feeling he needs to buttress his Trump-supporting bona fides, but his heart’s not in it. He couldn’t help but give himself away by including an image in the tweet where he looks sweaty and pained. Is that what you want out of your leadership?
Gov. Greg Abbott is no stranger to bad tweets or to inviting interesting characters to move to Texas (did you see Elon Musk on “SNL”?), but his latest still bears some mention. “Texas stands with the NRA and we look forward to working with the Association on their plans to move to Texas,” Abbott wrote Tuesday. That was the day a federal judge in Dallas dismissed a bankruptcy case by the National Rifle Association that would have allowed it to reorganize as a nonprofit in the Lone Star State. It’s one thing to back guns, but the NRA’s bankruptcy move was a stunt to avoid a lawsuit in New York, where leadership is accused of fraudulently using the group’s funds. We already have our share of grifters in Texas, let’s not start importing them, shall we?
Sticking with Abbott, the governor made some mistakes when dealing with the pandemic but allowing restaurants to sell alcohol along with food delivery or pickup was not one of them. The move, which was aimed at helping businesses get through the economic downturn, is now the law of the land, after Abbott signed the bipartisan measure Wednesday. Sure, it’s depressing that the best thing related to the pandemic that has come out of the Legislature is the ability to buy a margarita kit from Hugo’s, but after a couple of drinks, we don’t feel as bad anymore. Bottoms up, Texas!