Rice University Political Science Professor Mark Jones about the latest controversy in the Trump...

An eighty year old blues guitarist who can bark like a dog and meow like a cat, who could resist that?  Last Wednesday we welcomed in our morning program KPFT Open Journal a living blues legend: Jimmy Louisiana Dotson. Sonny Boy Terry brought Jimmy to our attention and came along to play and talk about the blues. It was a morning that everything went wrong. The day before I had forgotten my laptop in the newsroom at KPFT so I decided to come in early to finish the scripts for the program before the hosts were arriving. I was lucky because although no-one who was also early had a key to the newsroom it wasn’t locked and my laptop was still there. But then the printer failed us. With only two minutes left before 8 am I ran upstairs to the newsroom again to start the computer, which always takes more time when you have less of it. But before Duane and Marlo run out of things to say, I was in the studio with the scripts. Sonny Boy Terry was already in the coffee-room/kitchen/meeting room at KPFT. I never know what to call it, only during our membership drive it has a widely acknowledged name: pledge center. We start again January 15, but that is another story. Jimmy was on his way, Sonny said. So we waited with anticipation and thought already about plan B in case we would have to improvise. But just when the song of the Day was started our honorable guest arrived in the parking lot. Jimmy is not an great walker anymore so it was not easy to get him in the studio as fast as we wanted. Once he was seated and had caught his breath the...

After our half Dutch half American Sinterklaasfeest at December 5, it was time to shift gears and move on to the next holiday theme. Christmas is approaching fast. Our Sinterklaas co-conspirators invited us to go Christmas tree hunting. On a farm called Dewberry just outside Katy. Only a 45 minute drive, very close by for Houstonians. the fun part is that you can cut your own Christmas tree. A very Texan custom we assumed. Well, I guess the experience was quite Texas style. Our hosts felt a bit embarrassed because they dragged us there. We loved it for its craziness, but I refused to buy our Christmas tree there. According to my opinion those cypresses were not fit to serve as a Christmas tree in my house. Although they could claim it to be local grown. Dewberry Farm scores a point there. The offense is merely in the sort of tree. I don’t like the type. And the let them grow and then cut them brutally to shape them into a cone, a sort of Disney land perfect Christmas tree form. Not real enough for me. I would rather buy a plastic tree and save myself the mess. Four days later the men went on a mission again and bought us a real Christmas tree, it is now setting in our den. It smells lovely and looks more like a Christmas tree every day. Now all we need to do is decorate it. We should start with the lights, then the ornaments. I have only one problem: where in Houston can I find chocolate Christmas wreaths for my tree? – to be continued....

We went to New York City for Thanksgiving Holiday. The name NYC alone is enough to step up my pace, so I warned my co-travelers that sleeping in was not an option. You don’t go to New York to unwind and get lots of rest. Way too much to see, to taste, to experience. There were a few must-do’s and I guess we only missed one. Gives us a good reason to go back some day. First of all we were extremely lucky we could stay in the apartment of friends of friends. Right in the middle of Manhattan, close to subway stations to go uptown and downtown. In five days we tried all kind of transportation, so lets start with that topic. We flew to Newark International Airport and took the train to NY Penn Station and from there a cab to our ‘house’ for the coming days. The fun started in the air because of an incoming snow storm EWR was half closed, so our plane was forced to circle an hour extra in the air before being allowed to land. The pilot was incredible funny he assured us he had enough fuel aboard. Everybody felt really relieved. On Thursday we walked mostly, but later bought a metro pass so we could hop on, hop off as much as we liked. The next day the sun shined and we took the metro downtown to the South Ferry for the cheapest ride in town. Twenty years ago the Staten Island ferry cost 50 dollarcent, now it is free. Breakfast at the island was not the best, but we did it for the views of Manhattan’s skyline and those were gorgeous. Going back to to the city we decided to rent bikes and explore...

Today was full of surprise to formulate it nice. Yesterday I saw an announcement for a protest at the Mexican consulate in Houston and I thought that would be a nice subject for me. Last week I already tried to reach them but failed to get a hold on someone in time. Today would be my revenge. So I entered the KPFT newsroom quite confidently. It should have been a warning. Anytime I think things goes smoothly something terrible happens. Still the beginning was promising enough, Tucker signed me off and I hopped on my bike. The Mexican consulate is only ten minutes away – on a bicycle. When I arrived there were plenty people and I had no trouble finding people willing to talk to me. Lots of cops were all around but the atmosphere stayed relaxed, even though the topic of the students who disappeared in September is gruesome enough. Just a little after noon I was back at the station. Editing my soundbites for a wrap took me a bit more than an hour – I still have the pace of a snail. But I thought I had it pretty well organized. I wrote my script and handed it over to Tucker. the first hiccup appeared there, I could not close my text file so she could not edit it. First real delay. After that was solved I recorded my script or at least I tried, but I could not get the sound up. Tony, our receptionist, was the solution to this problem. I recorded and went upstairs to merge my script and my soundbites, of which I had eleven. There the real terror began. All of a sudden the computer slowed down and some soundbites got deformed and mixed up....

It seems like I have started a series of articles about fun outings. Yesterday definitely was a fun outing although with a serious goal. The fun was cycling in the sunshine and it may have been chilly the environment of Terry Hershey Park was extremely nice, the company was pleasant – they did not complain about my moderate pace – and I accomplished almost 24 miles. Not bad for a first try I would say. Yes I finally have taken the step of getting serious about participating in MS150 in 2015. So far my knees are holding out. I did manage to cycle 24 miles within a two hour time frame. I also started to use my gears and I am a bit proud that on the way back I was able to climb all the ‘hills’ in the park. More dips and bumps to navigate the busy streets that cross Terry Hershey Park which you can avoid by taking the underpasses. Today the sun does not show its face and temperature has dropped significantly due to a harsh coldfront from the northwest. We will survive, but as I was wearing only a few days ago shorts and tank tops now the heater is on and I donned a sweater and going out on my bike means putting on a coat and even a scarf. It suddenly feels like Dutch fall weather. -to be continued.          ...

Don’t worry I have not been arrested. I call it a nice day for a good reason. Yetserday I joined with the Outpost outing to Harris County Civil Court and got a tour by one of the judges. She did a nice job enlightening us about the U.S. justice system with juries and all kind of appeal courts. She also told us that she was re-elected last Tuesday. I already knew judges get chosen, but I didn’t know that is specific for Texas. Not all states elect their judges. Also if you want to be a lawyer and pass the bar exam in Texas, if you move to another state you may not be allowed to practice law. So it seems to me you are never an American lawyer, but a Texas lawyer or a California lawyer or an Illinois lawyer. From the Civil Court we watched the skyline of Houston on both sides and judge Sylvia Matthews explained the landmark buildings. Most of them not that old as she admitted with some regret. One of the older buildings (1910 to put it in perspective) is the 1910 Court House, in which all the courts were crammed before moving to the new building on 201 Caroline Street. That was also the one we were heading for, still with Judge Matthews as our tour guide. The building was restored after some old photographs, similar Court buildings in other city, they all tended to copy each other. And by researching the old building itself. The result is quite impressive. Not something you would like in your own house I guess. Not really refined but with some nice details as well as some less heroic history. Like the balcony in what is now one of the appeal...

It took a little drive out of the city, but then you can enter some sort of Texas paradise. Our neighbors across the street own a ranch one hour drive up north out of Houston. They had invited us already several times, but it never happened. Yesterday we took advantage of the great weather to come over for a visit. As it turned out it was our neighbor’s birthday. Luckily we brought a bottle of little bubbles. They were gracious enough to welcome us to their second home, and it is a lovely place. Something like that does not exist in the Netherlands I reckon. Dogs running around, two of them, two of their youngest son, three horses, a bull, all roaming free and playing with each other. We took a stroll to the creek and found some petrified wood. But first Joe persuaded us to drive his fifty year old John Deere tractor. I have never ridden a tractor in y life and it didn’t come natural. But with directions and some hands-on help from Joe and my husband I did manage to get it into motion, my true love made some video’s but played around with the slow motion mode on my new iPhone. Very funny and I did not go fast but also not that slow. The best part of our visit was when we came to talk about some BBQ-sauce that we picked up from the shop around the corner, homemade by some older guy who lives in a small town close to Houston. Guess what? That is our neighbor’s brother-in-law. On the jar the label shows a fence and a horse and both belong to Joe. We told him we exported already a few jars to the Netherlands to...

When I worked for the Dutch parliament we called election day the ‘Highlight of Democracy’, I am not sure that is the correct translation. Yesterday I experienced my first major election day in Houston, last year election of the mayor almost passed by unnoticed. I didn’t work for KPFT at that time and just returned from the Netherlands with my three cats. So I had more important matters on my mind :-). Like a big red cat who is afraid of the ceiling fan. By the way he has conquered his fear. he is truly at home here now. Just before early voting started I did a report on that and called with Joaquin Guerra, political director of Texas Organizing Projects. He told me about their campaign to get as many voters to the poll as possible, especially targeting infrequent voters. Part of that is the Drive for Democracy campaign in which they offer to drive people to the voting polls. They were looking for volunteers. After I finished my report I kept thinking about it. As I have said before I am a legal alien, so I am not allowed to vote -it is no complaint, just a fact. But as an ex-House of Representatives employee democracy is a dear issue for me. The right to vote is hard-won, not easily disregarded. I decided to sign up as a volunteer to help getting people to the polls, and make a report about it for KPFT Local News. I had a fun day, thanks to TOP communications coordinator Alejandro Ortiz. I also met a wonderful woman who I was honored to drive to the polls. 87 years old, but sharp as a pencil and very independent. Although she could not walk very well anymore,...

Our second Halloween in Houston and we were once again in the Heights. Houston’s self acclaimed hipster neighborhood. Last year we went to a big(ger) party, this year we spent a lazy evening at someone else porch, handing out candy someone else had bought and eating chili someone else had made. Not a bad score for a Friday night. I forgo to make a picture of the supply of candy: Snickers and Kitkat bars (full size not the mini), bags with Kittles or M&M’s. I thought we needed an army to pass by to get rid of it. Well after all I guess I was right. We saw spidermen, batmen and batwomen, witches, skeletons, Dart Vaders, fairies and butterflies and bumblebee’s, princesses and devils. In all shapes and colors. And of course a crocodile accompanied by Captain Hook. Luckily they all wanted some candy, so we were not left with all this fake chocolate junk food. On the way home we took a little detour to cruise along Westheimer. There the steady stream of Halloween party goers was even more impressive. I don’t think they were of the age to go trick-or-treating, and if they did I guess they would prefer something liquid. We just sat in our car and gaped. Houston Halloween has a lot to offer. – to be...

Ever since I joined BikeHouston early this year, Houstonians told me about the Moonlight Bicycle Ramble, or Ramble for friends. It is considered the highlight of the year. Last weekend the moment of “getting to know you” was finally there. I was too late to do something spectacular with my bike, but was proud to at least have the bike lights working in time. I did go to the party store for some costume accessories and I told everyone it was a sort of Tinkerbell impression. OK, it might also have just been a butterfly, but that is hardly Halloween-worthy. I also attached some balloons to my bike, just for fun, but at least one fellow rider was puzzled by that. It may not fit the Disney-image. The ride itself was great fun, we were in the last group to start as I was helping out at on-site registration and in the beginning the pace was slow due to traffic lights. Once we left the short route behind us the pace stepped up. At the 610 feeder the temperature dropped to “pleasant cool”, almost too cold for a T-shirt. Going back into the city by Memorial Drive is the best part. I never knew Memorial Drive is that long. We yelled like kids under the overpasses on Allen Parkway before speeding through downtown back to the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB). We went straight for the car and home. It was fun and well organized. No trouble finding the route, thanks to signs and numerous corner marshals, and we also didn’t encounter too many potholes. I hope every rider made a safe return to GRB that night. See y’all next...

When I finally remembered today to step outside and pick up the morning papers this article came a bit as a shock. Another one gone. Bradlee was my personal role model for an editor of a newspaper. Maybe he was not a nice guy, I wouldn’t know and of course my image of him is mostly shaped by the movie All the Presidents Men – and that one we merely watched to drool over Robert Redford. But still, Bradlee became one of the icons of free press and of persistent research journalism despite counter forces from the government or big firms. Bradlee was 93 years old when he died and that surely is a blessed age. The New York Times articles says he died at home of natural causes. I would say he was double blessed. When I am reading his obituary I feel a urge to look up that movie again and watch it all over and maybe also search for the book, or better several books as I guess will have been written about this very famous newspaper episode. Rest in peace Mr. Bradlee and thanks again for backing those two reporters forty years ago. Free and independent press is key for a true democracy. – to be...