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Archives for January 2017

What It Means to Be a Texas Gentleman

One of my favorite, but now largely unknown speakers in American history was Robert Green Ingersoll. Redwater, Texas was originally named Ingersoll – after him. He was a philosopher and a popular intellectual, the most sought after orator of his time. He left us many fine proverbs. One of my favorites is this:

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”

Being graceful in victory is easy, but in defeat, to be dignified and composed and still hopeful for a better day, requires deep character.

As the country prepares to make the transition from one president to another, I’m reminded of an example of this kind of rare decency in defeat. It comes from George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he had just lost a bruising presidential campaign to a much younger, far less experienced Bill Clinton. It must have been excruciatingly painful for Mr. Bush. After all, it was said that he had the longest resume in the Western World. How could he lose to someone who was, at least on paper, less qualified for the job? But he accepted his defeat with grace.

As these fine Texans, George and Barbara, were moving out of the White House and the Clintons were soon to move in, George left a letter for Bill on the Oval Office desk. It has received a good deal of attention online over the past months, but it is a remarkable testimony to good character and it certainly deserves a re-reading. The letter is dated January 20, 1993. It says:

Dear Bill,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too.

I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.

There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.

Good Luck – George

Texans have long valued a true southern gentleman. If anyone ever needs a clear definition of what that means, have them read this letter from George H. W. Bush to Bill Clinton.

This Song: Jim James

Jim James’ second solo record is his most lyrically direct and overtly political work to date. Listen as he describes how an art and activism conference made him realize that he wanted to use his music as a way to inspire his fans to be politically active and how the work of artists like Gil Scott-Heron, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder showed him how to speak his mind in a poetic, musical and powerful way.

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Listen to Songs from Episode 65 of This Song

Texas Standard: January 11, 2017

In the past 24 hours, explosive allegations against the President elect have surfaced. Some now wonder: is there a pre-inaugural panic button? We’ll explore. Also, in a state that prides itself on being number one, a dubious distinction… Texas: the uninsured capitol of the US. What if anything happens to healthcare statewide come January 20th? Plus: the oil industry makes a pitch to cash strapped lawmakers: keep the regulators well funded. We’ll talk with the person behind the push. And the Lt. Governor quotes Martin Luther King Jr to introduce his transgender bathroom bill…are we sure Martin Luther King said what he was quoted as saying? All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:

12th & Chicon: Juggling the Demands of a Business

Meet Vivian Linden and Kathy Duffy, co-owners and practitioners at Rosewood Acupuncture & Ayurveda on Chicon. The office is the manifestation of a business plan they created in school to provide affordable health care to everyone.

Tips: Saru Jayaraman (Ep. 23)

“Building unity across divide is possible. Building something even better than we had before, out of terrible tragedy, is possible. A movement for change is never more ripe than when we are, in some cases, at our lowest moment. Because it’s the moment in which we are going to demand absolute transformation, and I have every faith and hope that we will do that now.”-Saru Jayaraman

 

In this edition of The Secret Ingredient Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk with Saru Jayaraman. She is the Co-founder and Co-director of The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at The University of California, Berkeley.

 

 

Texas Standard: January 10, 2016

As lawmakers return to the Texas capitol today, a loud warning from a top state official: money’s tight. What that means for everyday Texans. Plus, yesterday we were at the border. Today we’re looking at another aspect of potential change to Texas in a new political era: a fight over so-called sanctuary cities. Also lights, camera, and cash? Why plans are in the works to shut off incentives for Texas filmmakers. And he’s been called the first social media president. Now some Texas researchers have been given the white house ok to explore what that really means for modern politics. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Steven Thrasher (Ep. 5)

Steven Thrasher is a writer for the guardian and a PhD student in American Studies at New York University. In this conversation with University of Texas Sociology Professor Ben Carrington, Thrasher discusses his first encounter with Stuart Hall’s work.

The interview provides insight into Hall’s intellectual reach. Thrasher shares how his engagement with Hall comes from a journalistic perspective. Having first read the British intellectual in his American Studies classes, Thrasher discloses feeling initially confused about why a British scholar would be relevant to American Studies. However, he found Policing the Crisis to be especially important for his thinking about covering the aftermath of Michael Brown’s shooting and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.

The conversation includes a discussion of how being a public intellectual is not limited to the academy, but also how Hall created a space in which black people can take up the space of public intellectual. Likewise, Thrasher and Carrington comment on the importance of popular media as a “gatekeeper of intellectual space” and Twitter is posited as a useful platform for making intellectual interventions in the public sphere.

-Anima Adjepong

Texas Standard: January 9, 2017

From El Paso to Brownsville: a barrier promising to reshape our landscape and our future.
Today a focus on the wall–a special edition of the Texas Standard.

It was a staple of his presidential campaign. And there are signs, even before his inaguration, work is already underway on Donald Trump’s wall.

But how does the campaign rhetoric square with the reality on the ground… Who’ll build it and at what cost? How will change our communities, our way of life, and how we see each other. On both sides of a new great divide?

Today we’re live from Brownsville, our starting point for “the wall”.

A Tribute to the late Ruth Brown (Ep. 5, 2017)

In Black America host and producer John L. Hanson, Jr presents a 1998 conversation with the late Ruth Brown, the great Rhythm and Blues singer known as The Queen of R&B, who died in 2006.

Best of “Higher Ed:” New Year, New Commitment to Learning

Note: This “Best of Higher Ed” episode was originally released on January 10, 2016.

We are just a little ways into the new year and it’s already proving tough to keep some of those well-intentioned resolutions. You know, the usual ones such as exercise more, eat better, or be nicer to people. There is actually a resolution that can be fun and not too hard to keep. In this “best of” episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger talk about learning more – and liking it – in 2017. People already lead very busy lives, so it might seem tough to even think about cramming something else into an already full schedule. But Ed says there are some pretty easy ways to expand our horizons and learn new things in 2017. In this episode, he and Jennifer discuss focusing on something of interest (“I want to learn that” rather than “I have to learn that”) and keeping expectations realistic (aim for just going a little deeper into something that intrigues you rather than becoming an expert).

We’re still easing into the new year, so no new puzzler this week!

This episode was recorded on December 15, 2015.

KUT Weekend – January 6, 2017

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveils a new bathroom bill aimed at transgender people. How a new A-to-F report card for public schools works. New restaurant openings to look forward to in 2017. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!

Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org

Fake News

Did you hear the latest? Did you see that Tweet? They’re talking about it on cable news. We’re all getting a free car tomorrow!

Oh wait, maybe not.

Texas Standard: January 6, 2017

The report cards are in —and what do they teach us about the state of Texas public schools? A collision course over the grading system. Also, water closets everywhere, but who gets to use which ones? Texas lawmakers move to regulate public bathrooms a la North Carolina, as business groups warn that the price could be billions of dollars lost. We’ll hear all about it. Plus Texas bankruptcies on the rise. An ominous sign, or a hint that the worst of the oil bust may be behind us? And some new potential challengers to Ted Cruz and the rest of the week in politics plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Memorization

There are so many fascinating aspects of what we remember and what we forget, but one we rarely ask about is what is the point of memorization. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about why it’s important to store poems, math facts and more in long-term memory.

Texas Standard: January 5, 2016

He once called him a buffoon with the fear mongering arguments of a child. Now, a top Hispanic leader is joining the Trump team. Our conversation today. Also massive protests and reports of looting in cities all across Mexico as parts of the country come to a virtual standstill. We’ll hear what’s behind it. And a closer to home a tightening job market. How some Texas companies are trying to win over the best and brightest with coffee bars, free college courses and other perks. Plus how much does it really cost to educate Texas kids? The state rethinks the numbers. And the promise of 2017, from high tech to tacos. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 4, 2017

A matter of life and death: the state’s attorney general suing the Food and Drug Administration over execution drugs. Plus just how open are the public’s records? With days to go before the launch of the next Texas legislative session, a bipartisan move to let in more sunshine. Also off the rail, but for how much longer: sings of a shift in attitudes over how to get around one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. And few six shooters, and not so many cattle, but cowboy culture’s big in east Germany…the backstory of an unlikely cultural appropriation. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 3, 2017

As members of congress return to Washington, Texas lawmakers get ready to return to austin. The road ahead reconsidered today. Also when police use deadly force against an unarmed suspect, what happens next? A new investigation in Houston suggests very little. We’ll have details of a new investigative report. And Texas wine versus Texas cotton? A decision by the EPA could pit the two against each other, we’ll hear why. And Sinatra versus Sinatra in a Texas courtroom: the issue? Love and marriage. And bitcoin is ballooning, or is that a bubble getting ready to burst? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

This Song: The Shelters

David Sanger:

The Shelters love to rock and their self titled record is a testament to that. But why do they rock?  Would you believe Link Wray’s “Rumble”, the music of the Yardbirds and a Tom Petty concert sing-along all played a part in their sound? Well, believe it. Chase Simpson and Josh Jove from the LA-based band walk us through how playing worse is better and what the goal of a songwriter should be.

Watch the Shelters’ video for “Rebel Heart.”

Subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher to get the new episodes of This Song delivered to you as soon as they come out.

 

Listen to Songs from Episode 64 of This Song

Texas Standard: January 2, 2017

A federal judge in Texas issues a nationwide injunction seen as another blow to transgender rights and the Obama administration, we’ll explore today. Also, we’ve heard the warnings from the mayor himself: Dallas could be forced into bankruptcy because of a pension fund meltdown. Now, the mayor’s asking the Texas Rangers to step in. Plus, it’s black Monday for pro football. Why this matters to you, even if you’ve never so much as touched a pigskin. And what do you call a fish found all across Texas that doesn’t swim? Our resident expert calls it a pest. What you can do if you find yourself on the hook. All that and much more coming up on today’s Texas Standard:

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