Vote Salinas
Breaking news! This is just in from the Chron:
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston announced Monday he is jumping into the race for the U.S. Senate.
Hunt, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, is joining an already heated primary, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton trying to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who has been in office since 2002.
“I will ensure this campaign centers on what truly matters – Texas families, the protection of American energy, the security of our border and the safety of every community across the great state,” Hunt said.
Hunt has been teasing a potential run for weeks – even as National Republicans warned against it. In television ads around the state introducing himself to potential voters, he makes clear he’s been an ally to Trump, helping him campaign for reelection and backing his policies.
In a campaign video launching his bid for the Senate, Hunt reiterates that support, noting he was one of the first people to endorse Trump for his second presidential run when others like Cornyn were slower to get behind him.
Cornyn and Paxton have been trading negative attacks for months in their battles against each other. Hunt, an Army veteran first elected to Congress in 2022, took a shot at both on Monday as he entered the fray.
“The U.S. Senate race in Texas must be about more than a petty feud between two men who have spent months trading barbs,” Hunt, 43, said.
I think Sen. Cornyn is not too happy with this development.
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On “What’s Your Point” yesterday, host Greg Groogan said H-Town residents appeared more receptive to accepting outside law enforcement assistance than residents of Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon. Duh! I reckon so. We are only getting state troopers and not the national guard. Oh, well.
Earlier on the show, panelist Chau Nguyen did a classic takedown of the Texas Breitbart fella after his racist sombrero gag on air fell on deaf ears. Dumbarse fella.
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The featured photo is my mail ballot vote for Alejandra Salinas for H-Town City Council At-Large Position 4.
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Chron Music Critic Joey Guerra wrote this about Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl:
Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl. Cry about it.
The announcement was made Sunday night by Apple Music, the NFL and Roc Nation. As expected, the loudest voices were the negative ones. Even Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called out the choice, suggesting Jason Aldean to “bring some patriotism into a country that desperately needs it.”
And by “patriotism” he means white, male and English only.
The irony, of course, is that the very people who constantly bemoan “cancel culture” and poke fun at “snowflakes” for being easily offended are now engaged in the loudest, most visible act of performative outrage, demanding the cancellation of an artist whose success is simply outside of their cultural comfort zone.
Still, it’s difficult to think of a current performer in any language more successful than Bad Bunny. He was the most-streamed artist on Spotify from 2020-2022, the second in 2023 and third in 2024. In Houston, his appeal is just as immense, where he’s been among the top five most-streamed artists for the last several years. He’s earned 15 top 10 singles on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, an incredible feat for an artist who performs primarily in Spanish. Two of those songs — “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin and “Un x100to” with Grupo Frontera — achieved the kind of cultural dominance that goes beyond music and seeps into every aspect of pop culture.
In just a few years, I’ve watched Bad Bunny graduate from Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land’s 6,000-plus capacity to multiple nights for tens of thousands of fans at Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center through an awe-inspiring mix of hard work, opportunity and celebration of identity. It’s the American dream, reclaimed in his own image, which is really the essence and expression of what it means.
That level of success underscores the commercial and culture force of the 65 million Latinos in the U.S. who make up nearly one-fifth of the population. And it speaks to the large percentage who don’t speak Spanish but identify with their culture through music, fashion and food. Almost 80% of U.S. Hispanics say it is not necessary to speak Spanish in order to be considered Hispanic, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. More than 60% report speaking Spanglish, a combination of Spanish and English, at least sometimes.
In 1992, Gloria Estefan became the first Latin artist to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. She returned in 1999 but Latinos have since been few and far between. The Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show in 2000 featured Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias singing a maudlin Disney ballad. For her 2020 performance, Jennifer Lopez wore a cape featuring the American and Puerto Rican flags and featured children performing inside cages. That show also featured Shakira and Bad Bunny.
This is the perfect moment, then, for a Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show, especially because of what is currently happening to so many immigrants in the U.S. In an interview with i-D, Bad Bunny said there were “many reasons” he didn’t tour the mainland U.S. behind his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” including “the issue of — like, fucking ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
That decision cost him millions of dollars in revenue and has become one of the megaphone points amid all the criticisms. But they’re missing the point. By accepting the halftime show as his sole mainland U.S. performance this year, it becomes the ultimate act of visibility, a 15-minute cultural reclamation. No assimilation. No concessions. Resistance by way of reggaeton, salsa and dembow on the biggest stage in the world, on a platform that represents the most mainstream of U.S. culture.
On a related note, JLo was on “Today” this morning and was asked about Bad Bunny getting pushback. JLo was unaware of the pushback. I guess she has been real busy the past week.
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The front-page hard copy of the Chron has the lead story on campaign contributions to the members of the Harris County Commissioners Court. Here is how the story starts:
More than half of Harris County commissioners’ high-dollar campaign contributions were made by individuals and firms paid by the county — a rate that one expert called “a little embarrassing.”
A Houston Chronicle analysis of campaign finance reports from Jan. 1 to June 30 indicates that commissioners’ political war chests are funded largely through contributions made by individuals and businesses that contract or work with the county.
Commissioners are not directly involved in awarding contracts, but they do vote to approve contracts presented at meetings. Support from at least three of the five commissioners is also needed to hire or fire department heads, who have a more direct hand in selecting county contracts.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston and co-host of Houston Public Media’s Party Politics, said that when it comes to campaign finance, it’s more about the perception of impropriety than the actual existence of a conflict of interest.
“For most commissioners, it’s a little embarrassing to see these numbers as high as they are,” Rottinghaus said. “There’s a clear explanation, and it’s obvious what’s happening, but this looks like the commissioners are effectively just doing the bidding of these donors. It may not be true in these cases, but it has the appearance as such.”
And this:
(Harris County Commissioner Adrian) Garcia suggested the Chronicle owed businesses an apology when asked how he would respond to allegations of a conflict of interest or a quid-pro-quo relationship between contractors and commissioners. He emphasized that his campaign is fully in compliance with applicable law and that he would comply with any new regulations if and when they are implemented.
In a more-than-1,200 word post made to X on Sept. 23, Ramsey, who represents Precinct 3, accused the Chronicle of conspiring to frame engineering firms that gave to his campaign negatively in a bid to drive subscriptions.
I have said it before. Harris County Commissioners Court oversees how our tax dollars are spent. Campaign contributions are a matter of public record. If a professional or business doesn’t want to be part of the public discourse on this, don’t do business with Harris County or don’t give a campaign donation to a member of Commissioners Court. Pretty simple in my book.
The Chron went through a process of looking at all the contributions and who gets contracts from Harris County and ta da, the finished product. Commissioners say contributions have no role in contract decisions.
I will say that it is dumb for a commissioner to suggest this story was about getting folks to subscribe to the Chron. It sounds like this commissioner is into full pay-to-play mode. Oh, well.
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“Eat Like a Local” is a 30-minute show that airs on KPRC Channel 2 every Saturday morning that is hosted by chef Chris Shepherd. On the show Shepherd takes us to eateries in the H-Town area. This past Saturday he went to Baytown to visit four dining spots. I have been to two in recent years. The Cuban Café on Decker Drive and Someburger also on Decker Drive. Nice.
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In the first two games of the ALDS, the Blue Jays outscored the Yankees 23-8. Hope the Jays have some runs left when they visit the Bronx tomorrow evening.