Three-Point Shots, Vol. 1, No. 22: September 22, 2023

We Americans hate our politics – Ken Paxton is a prime example why – but we Texans still love our outlaw country music.

         Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. If you enjoy reading it, please 1) hit the Like button, 2) subscribe to the Life Its Ownself, and 3) share it with others in the link below. Comments are welcome and encouraged.

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Friday, September 22, 2023, 12:00 p.m.

1.    We Are Not Happy Campers in Our Polity.

         I doubt this will surprise you, Esteemed Readers, but Americans as a group are not happy with our politics as practiced these days. A new report by the Pew Research Center dramatically highlights the problems.

         By significant majorities, Americans feel “exhausted” and “angry” when they think about politics. By contrast, only teeny-tiny groups of people feel “excited” (4%) or “hopeful” (10%) about politics.

         In an open-ended question, people were asked: “What one word or phrase would you use to describe politics in the U.S. these days?” Take a look at the results and try to find a silver lining:

         My take: There’s lots more to unpack from this study, and I hope to come back to some of its finding in future newsletters. But my first question is: what are we to do? We know that cynics of all stripes seek to inflame and exploit our frustrations with our politics; for them, the dysfunction is the point. But we cannot survive long if these trends continue.

         What think ye? Have we reached “peak” America, at least in our politics?

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2.    How Can We Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?

         I would love not to mention Ken Paxton in this newsletter, but he is celebrating his moment in the sun. Fresh off his acquittal by the Texas Senate – so poorly stage-managed by Dan Patrick that literally nobody believes the fix was not in from the beginning – Ken Paxton journeyed to Maine to be interviewed by no less a journalist than Tucker Carlson. And by “no less a journalist,” I mean “not a journalist at all.” And by “Maine,” I mean the lobster-infested hellhole to which bronzer model and failed Houston mayoral candidate )soon to be a failed City Council candidate as well) Tony Buzbee consigned the entire Bush family during one of his Tourette’s outbursts last Saturday.

         The first question on everyone’s mind during the interview was, “Did Ken Paxton dye his hair?” I’ll let you be the judge of that.  

(Ken, on the Capitol floor Saturday and on the Tucker set Wednesday.)

         Tonsorial excesses notwithstanding, the interview featured the usual thoughtful, fact-filled give-and-take that has characterized Carlson’s career. In his normal calm, objective manner, Carlson solicited the following pearls of wisdom from Our Once-Disgraced Attorney General:

·      The Biden Administration sent people to help prosecute Paxton because he’d been so effective at halting their unconstitutional overreach;

·      GOP apostates, like Karl Rove (“an activist liberal working effectively for the Biden administration”), House Speaker Dade Phelan, and “RINO” groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform all conspired against him in the impeachment;

·      He’s thinking of running against John Cornyn, who is weak on immigration, for his U.S. Senate seat in 2026. (He did not mention that Cornyn had criticized him right before the trial began.)

         My take: You’d like to think Ken Paxton would take it easy after narrowly escaping the judgment of his peers, but then you wouldn’t understand Ken Paxton. Long ago he realized he’d be more successful owning the libs then actually, you know, collecting overdue child support payments or whatever it is that Attorneys General do.

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3.    The 50^th Anniversary of ¡Viva Terlingua!

         Last month was the 50^th anniversary of the recording of ¡Viva Terlingua!, the iconic album described as “the Big Bang of Texas Music” that catalyzed the outlaw country music revolution. Recorded in Luckenbach — which, by the way, is 400 miles from Terlingua — one month after Willie Nelson’s first 4^th of July picnic, it launched “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” and “London Homesick Blues” into the public consciousness, the latter becoming the theme song for the Austin City Limits show on PBS for over 30 years. ¡Viva Terlingua!’s charm lies in its laid-back, underproduced feel, excellent song selections and superb musicianship from the Lost Gonzo Band.

         My take: ¡Viva Terlingua! was a watershed for me. I spent my college summers working in the Hill Country and delighted in thinking of myself as “knowing” that part of the state. Viva Terlingua! came out during the fall of my second year, and I got a copy while home for Christmas break. That spring, I wore out that album, getting my dorm-mates to sing “Home with the Armadillo” with appropriate collegiate gusto.

         For my money, it’s still the quintessential Texas music album.

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         Something for the weekend:

         … For your reading pleasure – Lawrence Wright’ much anticipated new book, Mr. Texas, is out. Larry is one of Texas’s great writers, and this book is rooted firmly in Texas land and politics.  

         … Speaking of ¡Viva Terlingua!... go check out the “Viva Terlingua: The Big Bang of Texas Music” exhibit at the Witliff Collections at Texas State University in San Marcos

         … Check it out – Austin’s only natural history museum nearly went extinct. Now it’s back and better than ever.

         Have a great weekend!