Midterm Elections 2010

The midterm elections are finally (with a couple of exceptions) over and the networks can start running ads for Christmas shopping. I am a political junkie but even I became nauseated by the amount of advertising for the various candidates in this past cycle. Now we get to the fun part of elections: the oracle known as the American electorate has spoken and we can spend hours trying to analyze what it means.

In Dallas there were few upsets. The state representative from Lakewood ( a Democrat) lost but other than that, the status quo reigned. District Attorney Craig Watkins (D) edged out a victory over Danny Clancy (R) in one of the more hotly contested elections. Eddie Bernice Johnson won a tenth term easily in spite of a scandal over the awarding of scholarships and a pending ethics investigation. My own state representative, Alan Hartnett, also had little trouble in dealing with a very well funded Democratic opponent. Other races across the state were as predicted with the exception of long-term Democratic incumbent Chet Edwards losing in Waco.

In my opinion, the key factor in Dallas County is its continued move into the Democrats column. This is most notable in the election for County Commissioner, where the Democrats now have a majority. The implications of this are economic. Will the commissioners be more likely to approve tax increases versus budget cuts to meet the expected shortfalls?

World Series Recap

The Rangers lost game 5 of the World Series and the San Francisco Giants are World Champions. The Giants deserve it. They out pitched us and got the key hits when they needed them. As I wrote previously, I am not disappointed. Many Ranger fans share this feeling. Nobody (except maybe Nolan Ryan) expected this team to still be playing in November. And to be playing meaningful games after the Cowboys were through for the year. But now we have been to the mountaintop. We have seen the Promised Land. Wait until next year!

World Series Game 4

Madison Bumgardner? The rookie put it to us last night. He didn't get a lot of strikeouts but the Rangers hitters never seemed to get good wood on the ball. The game basically turned on one pitch by Tommy Hunter to Aubrey Huff. Result? San Francisco 4, Rangers 0, San Francisco leads three games to one.
I am more at peace with the concept the Rangers may not win the Series. It is the belief that just getting there considering this franchise's history is a major accomplishment that should not be belittled. It is almost as if winning the Series would just be icing on the cake.