NATIONAL AFFAIRS: GOP Okays Biden Impeachment Inquiry...Why?...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

WASHINGTON, D.C. | Well, it's no big surprise. Nor is it a big deal. It's just partisan politics, both gung-ho and naive. We speak of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's announcement today that he will seek an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Ho hum.

We are all for keeping our politicians in stir, but this one smacks of cheapness through and through. Have at it, though. Lord knows MAGA Republicans have been clamoring for this for long months, since they took control of the House of Reps after last November elections.

Will it go anywhere. I say no.

But theatrics is our political stage's current middle name, so...

This from USATODAY.com: [ McCarthy, R-Calif., announced the House will open a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, escalating a Republican investigation that started in January when the GOP took majority control of the lower chamber.

The House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees will lead the inquiry after months of investigating Biden, who Republicans allege benefited from his son Hunter Biden's business dealings.

"Today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden," McCarthy said at a press conference Tuesday. "This logical next stop will give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public."

McCarthy's announcement means the House will move forward on an impeachment inquiry into Biden without a formal vote on the House floor. Moderate GOP lawmakers have balked at rushing into the process, and Republicans control the House with just a four-seat majority. It was unclear whether an inquiry vote would pass with the necessary 218 votes in the lower chamber.

Not all Republicans are onboard with this.

"I wholeheartedly embrace investigating and seeing if there was wrongdoing and there sure is a lot of smoke. I just don’t know if there’s a lot of fire when it comes to Joe Biden himself," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told USA TODAY in an interview in August. ]

If you ask me, this is definitely something Donald J. Trump likely ordered. McCarthy, a former yogurt shop owner in his native California, has been soft on the idea for weeks. He's been goaded by Far Right-Wing Republicans such as Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

We believe this to be wildly naive.

The GOP committee headed by Congressman Jim Comer of Missouri has been investigating Hunter Biden and Hunter Biden's alleged crooked business dealings for months. President Joe Biden's name had cropped up repeatedly, yes.

But they really came away without much of an answer to their many questions on a Biden Family corruption tale they sold to themselves.

But, yes, keep digging.

We would say that the truth shall set you free, but we also know that the truth is something MAGA Republicans do not recognize...

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REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Volume VIII, Book 6...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

GALVESTON, Texas | Back three years ago, on a weekend outing to Galveston with a good friend, I went looking for my old office from my days as the Island Bureau Chief for The Houston Post.

It was a neat, white stucco building on 45th Street kinda in the geographic center of the popular island.

I remembered there was a doctor's office in there down the hall, as was the local office for The American Red Cross and a busy enterprise doing business in the diet industry.

My marriage was on the rocks at the time, so, when my now ex-wife left me to return to her hometown of Fort Worth, I took up with the gal running the Red Cross office, not the same day, but soon after.

I was living at the Casa Del Mar hotel on the beach and working my ass off to forget about my marital failings. At the time, the Galvez Hotel had a "happening" lounge that is no longer there serving as social headquarters for the nurses at the UT-Medical Branch and a slew of other local professionals.

That was the place to be after deadline, me there to drown my sorrows and meet women. Well, the year I was there, before the newspaper transferred me to its offices in Houston and before they assigned me writing duties on the State Desk, which flung me all over the place, including Mexico, it was warm and comfy Galveston that held me that winter of my discontent.

Anyway, the newspaper shut down the island office a few years later. When I was there this last time, it was being renovated for future occupants. It can still, I say, tell a few good stories of my days as one of the occupants.

What a time it was...

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[Editor's Note:...Photo of yours truly above taken by my friend, Margaret...]

SUN SPORTS:...Jets Fly By Buffalo Bills, 22-16...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | So what if QB Aaron Rodgers went down four plays into the game? It's a big stage in The Big Apple for the New York Jets. There then came the electrifying walk-off touchdown and the Jets were 1-0. Those high-flying Buffalo Bills, pretenders to the National Football League crown for the past three/four years, yeah, jetted home losers.

This from nydailynews.com: [ Monday was the night all Jets fans waited for, Aaron Rodgers playing his first game with the Green and White. While all that air quickly went out of the balloon after the Jets’ newest star went down early in the first quarter, Gang Green and Bills fans were treated to an exciting game.

The Jets (1-0) snuck by the Bills (0-1), 22-16, in overtime in front of a sellout crowd on Monday Night Football at MetLife Stadium. ]

To recap: Overtime came and Buffalo received the ball. three and out. Oh, well. But then! Then, rookie wide receiver Xavier Gipson returned a punt 65 yards for a game-winning walk-off touchdown.

So much for nothing going on on Mondays.

This one was as good as it gets. The Jets may have lost celebrated Rodgers for a few games and maybe even for the entire season, but who cares?! You play for the Jets and you're playing for The Big Apple!...

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TRIALS:...In A.G. Paxton's Impeachment, Word Of A Woman Not His Wife...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

AUSTIN, Texas | Is it really a truism that there is no literature without sex? The slow unfolding of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's tale of legal woe and secret apartment sex with a woman not his wife is staying up with that saying.

He's on trial, about to be impeached and removed from an office he has held since 2014.

As the second week of his ongoing trial began on Monday, it was that on & off sexual affair with a woman identified as Laura Olson, a four-times divorcee, that became the day's prime testimony.

This from apnews.com: [ One of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's former staffers testified Monday that the Republican’s extramarital affair took a toll on employees who had to work long and odd hours because of the secret relationship that is now a factor in his impeachment trial.

"I told General Paxton quite bluntly it wasn’t my business who he was sleeping with, but when things bleed over into the office and into the state work, it becomes my business," said Katherine Cary, the former chief of staff in Paxton’s office.

The affair is part of the abuse of power and bribery charges that Texas House Republicans have made against Paxton after years of alleged scandal and corruption. If convicted, he could be banned from holding office again in Texas. His fate is in the hands of the Republican-controlled Texas Senate, where a verdict could happen as soon as this week.

Paxton's wife, Angela, is a senator but is barred from voting in the proceedings. She sat at her desk on the chamber floor while Cary described how she warned Paxton that his affair carried legal and political risks.

Paxton had the affair with a woman (Miss Olson) who worked for local developer Nate Paul, whose relationship with one of Texas’ most powerful figures is central to the impeachment trial. Through five days of testimony, five of Paxton’s former aides have testified how Paxton allegedly pressured them in various ways to help Paul, who was under FBI investigation and once gave Paxton a $25,000 campaign contribution.

Tony Buzbee, Paxton’s attorney, challenged Cary on cross examination about the importance an affair should have in an impeachment trial.

"Imagine if we impeached everyone in Austin who had an affair," Buzbee said. "We’d be impeaching people for the next 100 years." ]

That sounded like an admission, of sorts.

The trial continues tomorrow. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (real last name of Goeb) is presiding over the trial. He has said it could end by Thursday, at which time a vote to impeach would follow.

For 60-year-old Paxton, a vote to impeach would likely end his political career. He is being tried at a time when his fellow Republicans are in full control of Texas government, something that we believe has not been lost on him.

We've not heard anything about his paramour (shown in photo above, at right) possibly taking the witness stand.

That would be a needed scene in a novel or a movie...

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ELECTION 2024:...Writing Off Republican Mayra Flores? Think Twice...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas | It's one of those lateral associative sorts of things. You see dirt lobbed at a politician you don't like and then you do it. Not that it hurts or even really bothers you, but you have a writing platform and, well, write you must.

Republican candidate Mayra Flores has her fans. That is not up for discussion, as her history tells you quite readily that she came out of nowhere to actually win a congressional seat in the summer of 2022. Today, she looms as a serious existential threat to 34th Congressional District incumbent Vicente Gonzalez.

 Go ahead and go stupid. Lay it on her thick, bro. Make her the butt of your jokes all you want.

She'll be there, still be there when Election Day rolls around.

We at The Sun are not big fans of her at all. What we do believe in is honesty and fairness. To us, a member of Congress is an upstanding, admired citizen out to do good, knowing, first of all, the difference between good and bad. Miss Flores has been bad and does not seem to be learning on the ever-winding campaign trail.

Is that enough to roast her at every turn?

No. Far from it. She's a worthy opponent at the ballot box and we're pretty sure Vicente Gonzalez knows that. Merely exhibiting agog fascination with nicknames and dirt to throw at her is not going to derail her campaign, which, we're told, will be well-funded by the Republican National Committee, a deep-pockets outfit.

Democrat Gonzalez will bring his growing list of accomplishments and, we expect, a similarly fat bank account to the fray. Miss Flores cannot be devalued or run out of town by mere words, however silly those words may be. They do draw attention, but it's always in a humorous, no-account manner.

True, the written word - or uttered orotundities - carries some clout. You throw them out often enough - as does, for example, Donald J. Trump - and some people are going to buy into them. That's human nature at work and at play.

But this criticism of Miss Flores has now boiled over into detestation.

We would say that is not needed, childish and useless at the end of the day. Have your fun with trying to tear her down. You may even wish to believe you're being successful, but that's a self-created mirage. Seeing yourself as someone who's brought himself excruciatingly up to speed on national affairs convicts you. Anyone can lob cold tortillas from the stadium's upper deck, as they do in Los Angeles quite nicely.

This, too, is clear: Some people simply do not have a sense of humor as much as they have a sense of ridicule. 

Contrapuntal snivel will never either define or derail a political campaign. Remorseles repartee is cute and makes one laugh, but that's all it does. It is fleeting and worthless. You may draw some response. That, we know, will only make you laugh and spur you on down the same potholed road.

We say Mayra Flores will get her day in the court of public opinion on Election Day, 2024.

Until then, everything you read and hear will come adorned with either high praise or low-down dirt.

In politics, rootless excitement is free...

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SUN SPORTS:...Cowboys Bludgeon NY Giants, 40-0...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

DALLAS, Texas | No contest. Forty to nothing, or, numerically, 40-0. That was the final score in yesterday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants rainy tussle at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Need more football? Yes, but closer, more competitive games would help.

The wimpy Giants had nothing. Whipped on the field of play. Booed and cursed at home.

Rain wasn't the only thing that poured on the Giants Sunday night.

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard jogged into the endzone on a one-yard touchdown run. Jogged. The scoreboard ballooned to 33-0 in the third quarter at MetLife Stadium.

26-0 at the half.

It ended 40-0.

New York just had no answer offensively, which gave Dallas a perfect platform to capitalize with easy points that increased the gap.

The win keeps Dallas alongside other division winners Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, all 1-0. New York is the bottom-feeder at 0-1.

It's a very early read, but it says here that Philadelphia is the team to beat for Da Boys this season. The Eagles have the best QB in the division (Jalen Hurts), although that secondary we saw from Dallas last night may be a formidable opponent for the talented Mr. Hurts.

The Giants will spend the rest of the season playing 2nd fiddle in the Big Apple to the New York Jets.

Anachronistic Hippie Aaron Rodgers is their QB...

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MEXICO:...New Album From Juan Gabriel...Died in 2016...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | He remains one of a handful of Mexico's most celebrated singers, there along with Vicente Fernandez, Marco Antonio Solis and Jose Jose. We speak of Juan Gabriel, the most prolific Mexican songwriter of his time.

Who can hang with a new girlfriend and not get wobbly at hearing Querida? Been to a funeral and not heard his Amor Eterno, or to Ciudad Juarez and not sat down for a beer with El Noa Noa storming out of the dusty, corner jukebox?

Gabriel died a few years back, but his music is still around.

Well, now comes a new album of his songs, said to have been released by his estate.

This from latimes.com: [ Thursday night saw the streaming release of "Méxxico es Todo," a love song to Gabriel’s native country released a week before its Independence Day (Sept. 16th). The track is the first single from Gabriel’s upcoming posthumously released album, his second following 2022’s "Los Dúo, Vol. 3." As Billboard reports, the new record will feature original unpublished songs.

The accompanying music video is heavy with red, white and green pride - Gabriel’s vocals play over a montage heavy on Mexican landmarks and imagery like Basilica of Guadalupe, the Aztec sun stone, mariachis and folkloric dancers.

Gabriel captivated generations of Latinos over his four-decade career thanks to his larger-than-life personality. Over time, "Amor Eterno," a song about love and loss written by Gabriel in 1984 and popularized by singer Rocío Dúrcal, has become a staple at funerals and memorials in Mexico and the United States.

The artist died of natural causes in 2016 at his home in Santa Monica. Gabriel, who was 66, had been battling health problems. ] 

Mexican music like that offered by Gabriel and others such as Ana Gabriel (no relation), Jose Luis Peralez and Manuel Mijares was new to me when I began writing about Mexico in the mid-1980s for The Houston Post. Julio Iglesias was also in there, although he is a Spaniard.

Juan Gabriel, whose real name was Alberto Aguilera Valadez, spread his singing talent to pretty much all genres, from rancheras, to ballads, to mariachi, to pop music. He was born January 7, 1950, in the state of Michoacan.

He died August, 28, 2016, at his home in Santa Monica, California.

The cause of death was a heart attack...

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ANNIVERSARIES:..."The Falling Man" On 9/11...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

NEW YORK, N.Y. | Stories abounded today, the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York. But one that has lately found an audience is the story of "The Falling Man," a previously unidentified victim of the airliner crash into the North Tower.

His name was Jonathan Eric Briley. He is shown in photo above, taken shortly after 9:00 Ayem that fateful morning. Briley was a sound technician at the Window of The World restaurant at the top of the tower.

Says Wikipedia about him: "The Falling Man" is also the title of an article about the photograph by Tom Junod that appeared in the September 2003 issue of Esquire magazine. Briley worked on the 106th floor of the tower.

It was there, in the restaurant, that he either fell accidentally while searching for fresh air and safety or decided to jump. He was an asthmatic and would have known he was in danger when smoke began to pour into the restaurant."

The jumper had initially been identified as Norberto Hernandez, a chef at the restaurant, but Junod's investigation revealed it really had been Briley.

I love the story behind the story. Incidentally, most news organizations ignored the "jumper" story, even as bodies landed on the sidewalks below, clearly visible to shocked onlookers.

Editors believed such reporting would further hurt grieving family members...

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ANNIVERSARIES:...The 22nd For Sept. 11, 2001...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

NEW YORK, N.Y. | It wasn't a place I'd hang out at, not the World Trade Center towers. Too far in South Manhattan. Greenwich Village, yeah, the towers, what for? There was a great restaurant with a view at one of them, I was told when I lived in New York and wrote for the sensationalist NY Post.

Those were great days, yes, ones for remembering other haunts, however, not the famous towers that would fall in the stunning terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

The restaurant had a great view of Upper Manhattan, primary in the scene being the also-tall Empire State building in mid-Manhattan. Today is the 22nd anniversary of the downing of the towers, and there will be a lot of bad memories and remembrances in the Big Apple and across the country.

New York City is as resilient a slab of geography as there is on this God-abandoned planet.

As we know, it overcame that horrible day and a new tower has risen place of the iconic old duo. America grew up that day. A scene better suited for war had come home. London had been bombed mercilessly by the Nazis in WW II, the U.S. mainland never.

Seeing the towers fall and the resulting pile of debris was a war scene, no doubt.

With any luck, we won't see another such attack, although we all know we live in a world gone crazy. Life is short enough without being killed in such a bloody way. There were more than a few of the unlucky to be in those towers that day who choose to jump to their deaths and not be fried by the raging fires brought on when the two airliners tore into the buildings.

You can still see video of that on Youtube, nameless Americans who saw no other way out of the disaster, who perhaps sought only one last breath of fresh air...

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SUN SPORTS:...Longhorns Climb to #4 In AP Rankings, Colorado to #18...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Funny what one win will do for you in college football rankings. Lose this early in the season and see yourself dropping like a rock. Win and find yourself climbing the charts, like the Texas Longhorns who this weekend went from #11 to #4 after beating Alabama, 34-24.

Colorado, at #22 entering its game with Nebraska on Saturday, is now at #18 after whipping the Huskers in Boulder, 36-14.

Alabama, the old #4? It fell to #10 following its loss to Texas at home.

This from statesman.com on the Horns: [ "Like I said coming into the game, this game is not going to define our season," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We’ve got 10 more regular-season games to play."

Added QB Quinn Ewers, who threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns: "It’s still early, we’ve still got a lot of games left, a lot of games to play. So we'll enjoy this for 24 hours and regroup and see where we're at."

Time to move on. Or as receiver Xavier Worthy said in his postgame press conference, "game over. We're on to Wyoming."

Next up for the Longhorns is a home game this weekend against Wyoming. The Cowboys and Longhorns last met in 2012, and Texas owns a 5-0 lead in the all-time series.

A Mountain West Conference representative, Wyoming is off to a 2-0 start. This past weekend’s 31-17 win over Portland State wasn’t overly impressive, but the Cowboys did open their season with a double-overtime win over Big 12 preseason darling Texas Tech.

The Longhorns now are a top-five team in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the beginning of the 2010 season. ]

That year, the Horns slumped and finished the Big 12 year in sixth place, with a record of 5-7.

Yes, it's early, but 2-0 is way better than 1-1.

Ask Alabama...

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CAMPAIGNS:...Trump Gets Finger At Iowa-Iowa State Football Game...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Well, Iowa beat Iowa State 20-13 in the game on the field yesterday, but up in the stands it was a toss-up for visitor and oft-indicted presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.

Some fans gave him the finger.

This from yahoonews.com: [ Several college football fans flipped the bird to Donald Trump as he waved to a crowd from a private suite at the Iowa Hawkeyes-Iowa State Cyclones game on Saturday.

Republican Trump, who received a sea of cheers at a prior visit to a fraternity house, got the one-finger salute from a number of fans as he and other GOP presidential candidates were on hand to check out the state’s intense college football rivalry.

The presidential campaign visit came after a rally with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who endorsed his candidacy. It was in the days before this rally that pundits were saying 51-year-old Noem may be being seen as a potential vice president by the Trump campaign.

Neither Trump nor Noem commented on that possibility.

Two other GOP candidates - free-falling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and mouthy businessman Vivek Ramaswamy - also attended the game in Ames, Iowa. Only DeSantis of those two got the finger...

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SUN SPORTS:...Horns Beat Favored Alabama, Go 2-0...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Undefeated Texas (1-0) sashayed into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Saturday evening, went about its business and left after pasting a 34-24 beatdown on the fabled Crimson Tide.

The game was a up & down, here & then there sort of contest, with the Longhorns scoring first and scoring more against renowned coach Nick Saban. It was something of a payback after Bama beat Texas 20-19 last season in Austin.

This from espn.com: [ Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns gave themselves an early welcome to the Southeastern Conference. And perhaps a welcome back to national title contention.

Ewers finished what he started last season, passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns. The Longhorns (2-0) delivered the biggest victory under coach Steve Sarkisian in a game that slipped away last season after a red-hot Ewers exited because of a first-quarter shoulder injury. He was back and with another big playmaker in wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

"Even when it got dicey ... I love the response and the grit and perseverance our guys showed," Sarkisian said.

It didn't come without a fight from the Crimson Tide (1-1), who have now seen three games slip away late in the past two seasons. Alabama had its 21-game home winning streak snapped along with a 57-game regular-season run against nonconference teams dating to Nick Saban's debut season in 2007.

"This was a test for us," Saban said. "I told the players early in the week that this was going to be a test, that we were playing a really good team and that we would find out where we were as a team. It was a test for everybody. It was a test for the coaches, it was a test for me, it was a test for all the players.

"And we obviously didn't do very well. But it's the mid-term, it's not the final." ]

Nope, it's not a final test, but it is a loss for Bama, a team that has dominated college football this decade, even as Georgia has won the last two NCAA championships. Who knows how far Alabama will fall in the rankings this week?

Texas should gain a few spots into the Top 10.

The Horns take on the Wyoming Cowboys next weekend...

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SUN SPORTS:...Coach Prime Goes 2-0, Colorado Whomps Nebraska, 36-14...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas - The final score shows a whipping, but Colorado's win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers was one of those 36-14 slogs. A slog is 36-14? This one was.

Saturday in Boulder, Colorado, at Folsom Field, is never really a bad deal.

Showing up to see the Buffaloes go (however methodically) 2-0 was the so-called frosting on the social outing cake. CU fans filled the stadium to capacity as Head Coach Deion "Prime Time" Sanders marched his young charges in search of a second consecutive win after beating TCU in Fort Worth, Texas last weekend.

Here's the game wrap-up from bouldercamera.com: [ A crowd of 53,241 - the largest at Folsom Field in 15 years - showed up for the much-anticipated home debut of first-year head coach Deion Sanders and the new-look Buffs and they weren’t disappointed.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders shook off a slow start to throw for 393 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a rushing score, and receiver Tar’Varish Dawson scored two touchdowns – one on a reception and one on a run. Xavier Weaver had 10 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.

The first half was almost completely opposite of a week earlier at TCU. In that one, the Buffs seemed to score at will while the defense struggled to stop TCU. On Saturday, the offense sputtered throughout the first half and the defense was locked in.

CU punted on each of its first four possessions, while Nebraska kept making mistakes. The Cornhuskers lost a fumble on its first possession, punted twice and then had a field goal attempt hit off the right upright. The Huskers lost a second fumble with 5 minutes, 32 seconds to play in the second quarter, giving the Buffs the ball at the Nebraska 19-yard line. The offense sputtered again, but Jace Feely hit a 31-yard field goal to get the scoring started.

Three plays later, CU’s Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig picked off a Jeff Sims pass and CU took over at the Nebraska 30. The next play was a 30-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to Tar’Varish Dawson for a 10-0 lead. Just before halftime, the Buffs forced a Nebraska punt and then Shedeur Sanders found some rhythm, going 4-for-4 for 48 yards. That put the Buffs in position for a 32-yard field goal from Feely, making it 13-0 going into halftime.

CU got the ball to start the third quarter but failed on a fourth down attempt at the Nebraska 33-yard line. Four plays later, the Huskers got on the board with a 57-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jeff Sims, cutting the CU lead to 13-7.

Rather than spark listless Nebraska, that seemed to spur the Buffs.

Colorado responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to Xavier Weaver. After a Nebraska three-and-out, the Buffs got another field goal from Feely to go up 23-7. Then, with 10:45 to play in the fourth, Dawson scored on an 8-yard run to give the Buffs a 29-7 lead.

Shedeur Sanders added a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:54 to go to cap the scoring. ]

# 22 Colorado's 2-0 record is coming after the team went 1-11 last season. The Buffaloes have a great shot at going 3-0 next weekend, when they host the Fort Collins-based Colorado State Rams before taking on tougher #13 Oregon on Sept. 30 in an away game.

That one will be a tough one for Coach Prime...

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ROCKETRY:...FAA Comes Down Hard On SpaceX...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas | It was the highlight of last April, a powerful rocket ship roaring off its launching pad in nearby Boca Chica here. Hundreds gathered where they could find space, along a county road and in sand dunes on the beach at South Padre Island.

Enjoy the memory.

It'll be a while before you see another blast-off.

About that, this excerpt from texastribune.org: [ . . .The Federal Aviation Administration completed its investigation into SpaceX’s Starship rocket test launch that self-destructed in April above the Texas coast and sent debris and sand raining down over sensitive habitat and communities nearby. The FAA said the company can’t begin launching again at Boca Chica in Cameron County, where the test launch took place, until it corrects "multiple root causes" that led to the structural failure of the launch pad deck foundation.

The FAA sent a letter to SpaceX Friday that said it completed its investigation and identified over 60 "corrective actions" that include redesigns of vehicle hardware "to prevent leaks and fires" and the launch pad "to increase its robustness" before another launch can be considered.

"The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica," the FAA said in a statement. The FAA wouldn’t release the full report, saying it contains proprietary data and information not available for public release.

People with SpaceX did not immediately respond to comment, but posted an update Thursday that said that the first flight test for its Starship rocket was a "critical step" and "provided numerous lessons learned that are directly contributing to several upgrades being made to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future Starship flights."

In April, SpaceX’s 400-foot-tall Starship spun in circles minutes into its flight, then self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico after reaching a height of 24 miles. The launch sent debris, including chunks of concrete, into sensitive animal habitats nearby.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that a debris cloud, containing pulverized concrete, spread as far as 6.5 miles north of the launch pad. ]

It's not as if SpaceX had announced its next launch date, but there were words earlier from honcho Elon Musk that a launch would come fairly soon after the crazy April lift-off.

Well, it turns out Musk was being a little optimistic.

As things stand, it'll be a spell before another rocket blows up over Brownsville.

But we do wonder: Is the much-celebrated Mars Mission still on the table?...

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TRIALS:...At Week's End, Texas AG Paxton On The Ropes...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Week One of troubled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's much-watched trial in the Texas Senate ended today with witnesses for the prosecution again laying down a storyline that said Paxton was acting too much on behalf of his friends and not overly concerned about appearances or the law. 

The 60-year-old Paxton has been a familiar fixture in Texas law & order as the state's highest ranking legal official since he was first elected in November 2014. Paxton won reelection in 2018 and in 2022. That political success aside, well, things are not looking good for him now.

This from the statesman.com: [ Before trial, both sides were given 24 hours to present their case and to question the other sides' witnesses. Heading into next week, House prosecutors have 13 to 14 hours remaining, and for Paxton's side the available time is similar. Barring any lengthy delays, this could be over at the low end of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's two-to-three-week estimate. 

Through the trial's first four days - it began Tuesday because Monday was a holiday - the House called four witnesses. All four are former aides in the Attorney General's office who resigned or were fired after they made a whistleblower complaint against Paxton to the FBI in 2020.

The latest to testify was David Maxwell, a former Texas Ranger who served as the AG's law enforcement director. In testimony Friday, Maxwell said he cautioned Paxton about getting involved with Austin developer Nate Paul, who had requested Paxton's office to investigate the actions of law enforcement officials and a federal judge in a 2019 raid at his home.

Maxwell said Paul had a PowerPoint of six individuals he wanted the attorney general's office to investigate. "If we followed it we would have committed several federal crimes," Maxwell said.

There are eight whistleblowers in all. Given the time limitations for the House prosecutors, it remains to be seen if they will get to the remaining four. ]

The trial resumes Monday.

Paxton 's lawyer has said the suspended A.G. will not testify. That's a big question mark for all concerned, as some legal minds have opined that Paxton needs to personally defend himself. Plus, still to be considered are the details surrounding Paxton's super-close friendship with Paul that included Paul's hiring of a woman said to have been having an affair with the very-married Paxton.

Seated in the courtroom's gallery all week has been Paxton's wife, Angela (shown waving in photo above), a state senator representing a Dallas area constituency. She has been barred from voting in the case.

And there is still no word about any of this from Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Based on what we know and what we have heard during the trial, we'd say Paxton's ouster is a foregone conclusion....

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SUN SPORTS:...Horns Visit Bama In Tough Road Game...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | This early in the 2023 season, it would be almost too easy to go with recent history and say that perennial college football power Alabama will blow out the visiting Texas Longhorns in Saturday night's meeting, the second game of the season for both teams.

Oh, but this one has Upset City written all over it.

The somewhat experienced Horns come into the game after beating a woeful Rice Owls squad in Austin last weekend, 37-10. Alabama, behind QB Jalen Milroe (of Katy, Texas) whipped Middle Tennessee 56-7.

So, is it a competitive matchup we're getting, or what?

If you look at the first game of the 2023 season for both teams and compare the outcomes, they are extremely close side-by-side. Texas had 458 total yards, Alabama 431 yards. Texas QB Quinn Ewers threw 260 yards passing, Bama QB Jalen Milroe had 194 yards with a better completion rate, 63% and 72% respectively, though Ewers threw almost twice as many passes.

The two teams met last season in Austin, where Bama pulled out a surprisingly tough 20-19 victory.

Something tells us Saturday's game will be more wide-open, as both squads seem to be favoring pass over the run. Texas lost star running back Bijan Robinson to the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Bama lost QB Bryce Young to the Carolina Panthers.

The game is being played at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and broadcast by ESPN. (Note: There are problems with some of ESPN's Cable-TV providers, such as Spectrum. Hopefully, that will be resolved before kickoff.)

The Longhorns stroll into the game ranked #11 in the NCAA Division 1 rankings.

Alabama is at #3.

Texas needs this game. Once a premier football program, the Horns have fallen on hard times steadily since last winning the national championship in 2005, when Vince Young quarterbacked the team. It needs to beat Alabama.

Beating Rice last weekend and playing Wyoming next week won't cut it for the Horns faithful. Not yet another year, no.

Game time is 7:00 P.M. on ESPN and fuboTV.

Vegas line: Alabama -7.

The Sun prediction: Texas 28 Alabama 20...

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ROLLING BLACKOUTS:... Still An Option As Texas Fights Summer Heat...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Scorching July and the Dog Days of August may be gone, but Texans are still thisclose to losing their electricity at home from one moment to the next. Temperatures remain in the low-100-degree range across the state and demand has been taxing the state's electrical grid like never before.

Rolling blackouts remain on the table. Those are undertaken to allow Texans to share the pain of life without electrical power. How long they last is always anybody's guess.

Hope that one doesn't come your way today. And, sure, all you have to do is look out the window to see that the sun is still blazing, and that the day is going to be another moving sauna.

But here's a bit more info from a report at austinchronicle.com: [ Last night, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued its first energy emergency alert since 2021’s winter storm.

Record-breaking heat (read: demand) has caused Texans to almost expect weekly calls for voluntary conservation – yesterday around 6pm marked ERCOT’s 10th call since the summer began. But soon after, power reserves began dropping precipitously, and ERCOT issued a Level 2 emergency alert – the level right below rolling blackouts. Extreme heat has been extending the need for cranked AC longer into the evening as solar power simultaneously winds down, making that the tightest time for the grid; but this was much tighter than usual.

ERCOT has three levels of emergency alerts, and is supposed to call Level 1 first when supply and demand lines get too close. Level 1 allows ERCOT to pull all available energy resources, Level 2 allows it to pay large industrial customers like bitcoin miners to conserve energy, and Level 3 means rolling blackouts. ERCOT went straight to a Level 2 alert, skipping right over Level 1, around 7:30pm last night. Energy experts also pointed out that what got us through was partly battery storage, which provided a spike of 2,000 megawatts of power between 7 and 8pm. ]

Know this: Expect another "conservation alert" from your electricity provider later today.

Those have become a daily occurrence, I know.

But that's where we are.

Texas has its own electrical grid and is not hooked up to any of the country's other grids, and that includes neighboring states which, if we had the capability, would absolutely help the situation when the need for additional power arises.

Mexico is always another option...

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SUN SPORTS:...Lions Beat Super Bowl Champs in NFL Opener...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Those Lions. Man, those Lions. Is this the same professional football team that's been sucking the air out of bummed-out Detroit for - what? - more than 10/12 years? Used to be late-night comedians would tell you that the Edsel and mediocrity were born in Detroit.

Well, last night the Lions knocked-off the defending National Football League champion Kansas City Chiefs - in Kansas City!

(Disclaimer: I was at P.F. Chang's in West McAllen for dinner with my lovely galpal Laura, so I missed this game on TV.)

This from usatoday.com: [ Jared Goff, the Lions quarterback, who didn’t play a lick in preseason, pretty much picked up where he left off from his 2022 Pro Bowl effort, passing for 253 yards and a TD while effectively protecting the ball.

Chiefs defense: The unit was without All-Pro DT Chris Jones, his ongoing holdout landing him at an Arrowhead Stadium suite to watch the action, and suspended DE Charles Omenihu, one of the team’s primary offseason signings. Nevertheless, K.C. held up fairly well, surrendering just two touchdowns.

AFC hopefuls: No better outcome for title aspirants like the Jets, Bills, Bengals, Ravens, Jaguars and a few others than watching the champs stumble out of the blocks in what promises to be a hypercompetitive conference.

Lions rookies: They didn’t necessarily take over the game, but you wouldn’t expect players making their professional debuts to do as much. Still, RB Jahmyr Gibbs (60 yards on nine touches), TE Sam LaPorta (5 catches, 39 yards) and DB Brian Branch (50-yard pick-six) all flashed the ability that projects them to be big-time contributors. And presumably Branch, who exited the game before the fourth quarter with cramping, will be OK for Week 2.

1-0 start for Detroit: Now in his third season, head coach Dan Campbell won his opener for the first time. The Lions started 0-10-1 in 2021 and 1-6 last year prior to strong finishes but could finally be on the way to their first NFC North crown in club history.

0-1 start for Kansas City: Patrick Mahomes lost in Week 1 for the first time since becoming the Chiefs’ QB1 in 2018. It may not seem like a big deal, but the ramifications could be huge for a team seeking to become the first to win back-to-back Lombardi Trophies in 19 years. Since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, roughly half the teams that win their openers make the playoffs, while teams that start 0-1 qualify for postseason about a quarter of the time. Prior to Thursday, the Chiefs had won their last eight season debuts overall. ]

It's onto Sunday for the rest of the NFL schedule.

Dallas is in New York to lose big to the NY Giants. Game is set to begin at 7:00 PM.

Go Jets!!!...

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SUN SPOTS:...Buoys In Brownsville Resacas?...

 

STAFF REPORT

BROWNSVILLE, Texas | No, Maria, Texas Gov. Abbott is not installing buoys in Brownsville resacas to entertain local dummies. They have more than enough comedy relief from the heat with steady updates on that long-running crusade to get even the cheapest bus stop shelters for the city's damned.

But, hey, ready for a sundown dip? I know you are.

Look at you. You look drained, exhausted.

This horrible summer is on its way out, however.

We're buoyed by that...

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[Editor's Note: SUN SPOTS is an occasional feature in which we sort of shine the old flashlight on interesting tidbits or photos. Sometimes we have fun with it and sometimes it's just part of the daily drag of writing news...]

BUOYS:...Appeals Court Sides By Abbott...For Now...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

EAGLE PASS, Texas | The buoys stay in the picture. At least for now. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott got his stay on a lower federal court ruling ordering him to remove his buoys from the Rio Grande.

The earlier ruling would have forced Abbott to move the barrier from the middle of the river to the northern banks, Texas territory.

This from CBSnews.com: [ At the request of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued an administrative stay of Wednesday's ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra while the appeals process plays out.

Ezra had issued a preliminary injunction directing Texas officials to remove the floating border barriers from the middle of the Rio Grande by Sept. 15, at the state's own expense. He also prohibited the state from setting up similar structures in the middle of the Rio Grande.

Thursday's stay will remain in place until the appeals court issues its own ruling on the merits of Texas' request for the lower court ruling to be suspended. ]

The Cheeto-colored buoys were strung along a stretch of the river south of this small border town last June and quickly earned the ire of federal officials and the Mexican government. The U.S. said it violated a treaty with Mexico, which called the buoys an "inhumane" measure aimed at injuring migrants.

There was no word on when a final ruling will come...

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GUILTY:...Trump Flunky Peter Navarro Convicted...

 

STAFF REPORT

McALLEN, Texas | Brash Trump minion Peter Navarro, shown in photo above, became the second aide to be convicted of failing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The verdict came this afternoon after a short trial.

Navarro served as a White House trade adviser under Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost.

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was the first. Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to four months behind bars, though he has been free pending appeal. Judge Amit Mehta scheduled Navarro's sentencing for Jan. 12. He was convicted in Washington's federal courthouse of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, both punishable by up to a year behind bars.

Prosecutors said Navarro acted as if he were "above the law" when he defied a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee.

Navarro stood by his claim that he had executive privilege... 

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TEXAS POLITICS:...Easy Rider Gonzalez Going After Republican Slacker Ted Cruz...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas | Get to know Mark Gonzalez. Yes, he just resigned as district attorney for Nueces County, but that was because he didn't want to play the "rigged" Republican games, which means Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, wanted Gonzalez gone.

It's an intriguing story about a spirited, educated Chicano who isn't done.

He just declared his candidacy for U.S. Senator, for a shot at Texas Senator Ted Cruz's job. The initial salvo: shots at Cruz's tone-deaf Cancun vacation during the state's frozen winter crisis two years ago. Campaign videos he has issued to the press take the same harsh tack against the state's junior senator. That's his way.

This from dailykos.com: [ Gonzalez, a Democrat who has spent the last seven years as one of Texas' most prominent progressive prosecutors, unexpectedly announced Tuesday that he was joining the March Democratic primary to later take on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Gonzalez, who had to quit his current post because of the state's resign-to-run law, joins a nomination contest that includes Rep. Colin Allred and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez. A May runoff would take place if no one wins a majority of the vote in the first round.

Gonzalez, a criminal defense attorney who touted himself as a "Mexican biker lawyer covered in tattoos," first won office in a tight 2016 race even as Donald Trump was narrowly carrying his South Texas community, which includes Corpus Christi. Soon after, he began to attract national attention.

In 2018, he was the subject of a Politico profile in which the writer noted that he belonged to the Calaveras, a group that touts itself as a charity biker organization but that the state classifies as a gang. "At least once last year, he had to explain to a police officer who pulled him over for speeding that he would come up in his system as a known gang member - and, full disclosure, that he was also the county’s district attorney," the profile writer wrote.

Gonzalez never apologizes.

"I try to find a bit of balance," he has said. "How do I carry this office with responsibility and honor and distinguish it, but not lose who I am being this tattooed, Hispanic, Calaveras, criminal-defense guy who grew up in a small town?" 

Gonzalez defied critics by pulling off a 51-49 reelection win in 2020 as Trump was taking Nueces County 51-48, which prompted conservatives to instead try to remove him from office without an election. Local Republicans filed a petition in January that, among other things, alleged he'd failed to properly oversee his office and tried to win grant money by dismissing cases. (The petition originally also blasted him for joining four other Texas district attorneys in refusing to prosecute abortion cases, but the argument was later dropped since there were no instances of such cases coming before the county.)

Gonzalez responded to the New York Times, "We’re dismissing cases because it’s the right thing to do." ]

But it was that ceaseless drumbeat of politically-motivated criticism from county Republicans that eventually angered and then inspired Gonzalez to take the fight a step higher - into statewide politics, against a guy he's never liked.

His district attorney term (he won his first election in 2015 and a reelection in 2020) was supposed to end on Dec. 31, 2024, next year. Gonzalez enters the race with plenty of unknowns, a key one being whether he can raise the sort of big money needed to wage a believable campaign and not simply be one more name on the ballot.

He has the fighting spirit and the harsh political lingo of the day.

The unanswered questions are many, but he does have the motivation...and a motorcycle...

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PRO BALL:...Chiefs-Lions Kickoff NFL Season...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | The hunt for the coveted Lombardi Trophy begins tonight. That would be the National Football League and its weekly roll to next year's Super Bowl. Thursday Night Football brings you a clash between the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the said-to-be-rising Detroit Lions.

We're picking the Chiefs.

The Lions finished 9-8 last season, good enough for 2nd place in the NFC North division.

Kansas City is a 4 1/2-point favorite going into the game - but that dropped from 6 1/2 points almost immediately after touted receiver Travis Kelce hyperextended his knee to close out the week’s final practice session. It appears Kelce will be a game-time decision tonight.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes should do well. A year ago, the Lions had the second-worst passing defense in football by yards per play.

Oh, and it’s a pretty good matchup for the running game too - the Lions allowed 5.22 yards per carry last season. On the other side of the ball, the Lions finished fourth in total yards last season.

It's not quite the marquee game, but it is the season's kick-off contest.

The Vegas line: Chiefs 4.5

The Sun pick: Chiefs 31, Lions 20

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