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Case of the ‘ISIS bride’; raging bull no match for hero dad; Abbott has a secret weapon.
U.S. Rep. Van Taylor’s sunny campaign website still declares him a “family man” and casts his worst political foes as “liberal extremists” who revile his “conservative Texas values,” but in the end, he didn’t need their help in securing his downfall. The two-term congressman and decorated Marine veteran from Plano abruptly dropped his bid for re-election, conceding his seat to challenger Keith Self, after revelations of his recent extramarital affair with Tania Joya, once known as the “ISIS bride” for her previous marriage to an ISIS recruiter. Joya, long a darling of the British tabloids, recently gave an interview sharing salacious, sexually explicit details of her relationship with Taylor and even alerted one of Taylor’s political opponents to the relationship. She said the two met at an event to combat extremism and they bonded over their interest in religion and politics but soon veered into other territory. Taylor promptly admitted to the affair this week, calling it a “horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain” to his loved ones, which include his wife and three young daughters. It’s a sad, shameful situation. But we’re not entirely sure Taylor should have thrown in the towel so quickly. After all, Texas Republican voters can be surprisingly forgiving of candidates facing credible accusations of moral and ethical failures, extramarital affairs, and even criminal indictment and repeated allegations of corruption. Just ask Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
We parents like to say that if our kids were ever in imminent danger, we’d have their back. One dad proved that’s no bull, living up to the pledge quite literally in a video that went viral this week. Landis Hooks’ son, Cody, is seen at the Belton rodeo, just barely exiting the gate on an agitated bull when he falls off, landing motionless on his back. Others try to guide the raging bull away, but the young man’s father isn’t taking chances. Dad jumps into the ring, wrapping his body around his son’s in a potentially life-saving Papa Bear hug that shields the 18-year-old just before the bull returns, slinging his horns and head-butting dad in the side — knocking off his cowboy hat but leaving other vital organs intact. His son is apparently alive and well, taking to Instagram to post the video, noting “Not one to post falling off, but big thanks to my dad … and the bullfighters last night in Belton, Tx could’ve been a hella lot worse. #blessed.” Indeed. But one little social media post ain’t going to cut it for Dad of the Year. Come Father’s Day, Cody better gift his hero dad something beyond a necktie and a fart joke greeting card. We’re thinking something expensive, timeless and possibly made of Kevlar.
With all eyes on the brutal invasion of Ukraine, Texas political leaders are doing their part, most recently with a bipartisan group of senators signaling support for divesting state pension systems from Russian companies. Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, called on Texas restaurants and bars to flush Russian vodka. We generally support the idea of replacing Russian alcohol with, if you will, freedom ferments, substances more worthy of freshly renamed classic cocktails — White Ukrainian, anyone? How about a Kyiv Mule? But we think the governor could do so much more. The governor could employ his very particular set of skills in the area of power grid sabotage. Abbott could team up with his appointees at the Public Utility Commission and his old pals at ERCOT to wreak Texas-sized havoc on Russia’s power supply, causing blackouts that never stop rolling across every home and business in Russia. Millions of Texans can vouch for the world of hurt Russia would face in that kind of attack.
She works hard for the money. And now she gets to keep it. Strippers at a Hillcroft-area club who for years had been denied a salary, leaving them to make a living on tips that they were expected to share with coworkers, got good news this week when a judge ruled they are employees, not contractors, and the club owes them a base salary under the Fair Labor Standards Act. And, while the ladies may find honest work in taking it off, the court ruled that their employer may no longer rip them off with “house fees” for the privilege of dancing at the club. Apparently, the judge didn’t believe the club owner’s contention that it’s the venue’s streaming sports games, and not the pretty ladies, that serve as the main attraction. If the club wanted to use that excuse, it should have called itself, say, the Goal Post — not Polekatz. We cheer this latest labor rights victory in Houston’s long-exploitative exotic dancing industry. The phrase “baring it all” was never meant to imply onerous financial burden. Speaking of burdens, good lord, somebody get Harris County elections administrator Isabel Longoria and her staff some help. Delays in reporting election results are par for the course in Texas’ largest county, but they appear to have been exacerbated this go-round with the introduction of new voting machines that supposedly make the process more secure but also more tedious. Naturally, Republicans pounced on Democratic county leadership with litigation and calls for Longoria’s resignation. We’re still trying to sort out what went wrong. But Longoria’s comments as the pressure mounted seemed to indicate issues more dramatic than even those witnessed when former Republican Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart ran elections. Whatever delays and dysfunction arose under his tenure, Stanart seemed to keep his composure, as did his perfectly coiffed fondant. But this week, we witnessed officials dissolve in tears and a news conference where Longoria told reporters that her staff had been staying up “36, 48 hours at a time to prepare this equipment” and had suffered “asthma attacks, exhaustion, peeing blood, breaking down daily because we have not slept” and “almost heart-attacks.” It’s fine to ask county employees to give their blood, sweat and tears for democracy, as long as it’s only meant metaphorically.