The Texas gubernatorial debate was held Friday night. The participants were incumbent Rick Perry, Democratic nominee Chris Bell, independent State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and independent Kinky Friedman. It was certainly interesting. This is my critique and impressions of each of their debate performances:
Chris Bell: Knowledgeable, extremely bland and uninspiring, liberal, used talking points to answer every response, changed the subject when he was asked about being so boring.
Carole Keeton Strayhorn: Unknowledgeable, evasive when pressed about a previous campaign pledge that was evidently not honored, ridiculously claimed to be an Austin outsider even though she has served as Austin mayor and State Comptroller, unable to answer any unrehearsed answer, not confidence inspiring.
Rick Perry: Polished and knowledgeable, confident in his answers, intelligent arguments, refused to acknowledge independent candidates during closing statement, holier-than-thou attitude towards Kinky Friedman.
Kinky Friedman: Totally unpretentious, biting yet truthful humor, anti-establishment, wore cowboy hat and held unlit cigar throughout debate and stated he would continue to smoke cigars while in office, politically incorrect while speaking reality, knowledgeable, committed in his beliefs, someone who would attempt to shake up state government while meeting fierce resistance from the legislature.
The story regarding the roots of the Kosse Cafe will be continued in the next post of the Kosse Blog.
The Kosse Cafe became part of the Rasco Business Group in June, 1994. The owner of the downtown restaurant in 1994 was Peggy Clark, and appropriately enough it was being operated as Peggy's Cafe. It was in the building which now houses my office, across the highway from our grocery store. One of my employees at the time was Peggy's granddaughter, Tonya. One day Tonya mentioned that Peggy wanted to sell the cafe. Having always been interested in the foodservice business, my mind immediately went to work. The restaurant business is a perfect match for the grocery business, as is evidenced by virtually every convenience or grocery store in America selling prepared foods. The first thing I needed to find out was the asking price, and make sure she was truly serious about selling. I had Tonya go across the street and get further details. She returned with the price and affirmation that Peggy was indeed ready to sell. Upon hearing the price, I hot-footed it across the street to further inspect the place and talk to Peggy. I had known Peggy for a couple of years and knew she was a woman who spoke her mind, but that day she was sweet as could be. The workers were all smiles and looked like they were having the time of their lives. She invited me to look around and answered a few pertinent business-related questions. I was not going to quibble over the price as it was extremely fair. It was the beginning of lunchtime and it was evident she was getting a certain amount of business. The building itself was worth about 2/3 of her asking price so I knew I would have a minimal amount at risk. I told her I'd get back in touch and went to my office to contemplate the situation. I made a list of pros and cons, and drew up a list of expenses that would be incurred in making needed improvements to what I had just seen. The price of the improvements would equal her asking price for the business, but it would still come out to be an excellent bargain. Within an hour I knew it was going to be a go. And that's when the real fun began. To be continued in the next post of the Kosse Blog.
According to the Bremond Press, the Super WalMart in Marlin is finally going to be a reality. This has been rumored for years and now appears on the horizon of fruition. Undoubtedly this will have a major negative impact on the Marlin HEB, as they have had no real competition for years. The last time I was at HEB the area around the front entrance was crowded with ghetto teenage loiterers, one of whom was asking everyone who walked by for money. It was not exactly an inviting environment.
I had a nice conversation with Mary Brantner while making my bank deposit this morning. We were primarily discussing the realities of growing old and the accompanying afflictions. Speaking of which, my mother is facing even more health complications. While in the hospital for congestive heart failure it was discovered she has what appears to be a malignant growth on her liver. This comes a couple of months after she had her breast removed. She was in good health until a few years ago and all of a sudden one thing after another begin attacking her body. The ravages of age spare no one.
In the Kosse blog post of June 11, 2006, I wrote of the need for street improvements within our great little town, and offered what would be a fair and relatively painless process through which this could be accomplished. Click for June 11, 2006 article. I was most gratified to see an announcement from Mayor Ben Daniell that this proposal will be on the November ballot in the form of a city referendum. What is even more gratifying is knowing our city officials are forward-looking and seeking a better quality of life for the future of Kosse.
One of our Kosse Cafe waitresses tied the knot this past weekend. Lisa Taylor is now Mrs. Robert Sumner. We wish them the best.
This was sure a busy news day. One bit of good news for Kosse drivers is that the price of oil has dropped over 3% in the last two days, which should bring down the price of gasoline another eight or nine cents. Click for article. On the opposite extreme, a milk-truck driver in Pennsylvania went to a one-room Amish school, lined eleven girls up, and shot them all in the head execution-style. So far four have died and the rest are in grave condition. Click for article. Mark Foley, the evidently gay Congressman who was caught sending disgusting e- mails to a teenage male Congressional page has entered alcohol rehab. Click for article. (Perhaps he and Mel Gibson could get in on the Happy Valley Rehab two-for-one special.) Highly-respected Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has written a book which claims to detail how the Bush administration is misleading the American public on the Iraq War. Click for article. Texas will attempt to end the practice of selling a car to someone and telling the tax office it was purchased for less than it actually was, thus avoiding paying as much tax on the vehicle. Quoting the tax assessor/collector in San Antonio, ‘‘There are going to be a lot of unhappy people. People just don’t know what is going to hit them.’’ Click for article. In two weeks, the U.S. population will hit 300 million, behind only China and India. Click for article. And to think my biggest concern had been how much mozzarella cheese went up in price this week.
The final quarter of 2006 has arrived along with another wave of hot and humid weather.
Technology has brought many improvements to our lives. With that said, I am at my wit's end by an increasing inundation of spam e-mails and unsolicited solicitation calls. Just in case anyone involved in hounding me is reading this, I do not need the following:
1. A free four-room satellite television system. 2. Debt consolidation service. 3. The latest stock market tip about some unknown company that promises to be the next Microsoft. 4. Prescriptions for Xanax or Viagra from a pharmaceutical plant in Bangladesh. 5. Products guaranteed to enlarge my bosoms. 6. Twenty-nine new low-interest credit cards. 7. Methods to ensure winning the lottery a minimum of twice a year. 8. Knowledge of how to make $10,000 a week on the internet by bothering even more people with spam e-mails. 9. Health insurance from any company not willing to cover a person like myself who suffers from every malady known to mankind. 10. Donation solicitations from any organization using a generic law enforcement title in their name, telling me a portion of the proceeds will benefit a worthy group, and finding out the portion of the proceeds being donated is 1.07% of the collected amount.
The Falls County Tax Assessor/Collector appears to be in a sticky situation. According to allegations, she was making it appear that certain late taxpayers had paid their taxes on time so as to avoid paying the penalties and interest. Click for article.
The Groesbeck Goats and Bremond Tigers were both big winners in last night's football games. The Goats defeated Whitney by a score of 41-0 while Bremond defeated Wortham 56- 13. Groesbeck is now 3-2 for the season and appears to have a good team. We lived in Houston in 1991 and were able to attend the 3A State Championship at the Astrodome that year. The Goats were facing Burnet, and while I do not remember the final score, Groesbeck did win the title. It was certainly interesting to see the alma mater playing in the Astrodome.
Sometimes I do not understand my workers, especially the ones in Rosebud. Two days ago one of them decided to quit without telling me and simply not show for work. This happens occasionally but it is still bothersome each time it happens. So I called an applicant who had been repeatedly asking for the job. She seemed thrilled by the offer for work as jobs in Rosebud are difficult to come by. She was to start training yesterday but never showed for work. This was a person who had begged for the job on numerous occasions but her career as a pizza maker has now ended before it began.
The Republican chairman of the U.S. Congress' Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children resigned from Congress yesterday. He was caught sending disgusting e-mails to a sixteen year-old male, and is now facing possible federal charges of soliciting underage children for sex. The irony is that he was among the congressmen who wrote the law he may now be charged with. Click for article.
