Issue No. 92
Nov. 6, 2018
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PLEASE DISPLAY IMAGES ON THIS EMAIL
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Please Do Not Take The Privilege of Voting For Granted
and Please Honor Our Nation's Brave Troops Who Defend That Right
“And [I hope] that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us,” he said. “‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ God Bless America.”
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Taylor, a married father of seven, praised the Afghan people for taking part in the country’s first parliamentary elections in eight years on Oct. 20, and he urged Americans to follow suit on Tuesday.
“It was beautiful to see over 4 million Afghan men and women brave threats and deadly attacks to vote,” he said. “The strong turnout, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan and for the cause of human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and US soldiers I serve with. Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible; for example, my dear friend Lieutenant Kefayatullah who was killed fighting the Taliban the day before voting began.”
Source:
New York Post
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Did I Libel Judge Prine?
Judge Charley Prine was very upset by my last issue, which took him to task for his campaign website declaring tht he believes what he believes that marriage is just for heterosexuals regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled:
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Prine e-mailed me:
Had you bothered to check with me or the Chronicle Editorial Board you would have learned I have no control over that web page. Allen Blakemore put that up four years ago during the GOP primary. I asked his office to take it down or let me edit it. All I've heard from them is crickets. The editorial board had this information during our recent meeting but chose to ignore it in the article you posted. They did acknowledge I follow the law in the previous post. The Chronicle also ignored that it once endorsed me after having read, reviewed and discussed the same web page with me. Shame on you Greg Enos. You owe me an apology and retraction.
I already knew that the
Houston Chronicle
editorial board had doubted his explanation and I e-mailed Prine back:
Please forward all emails or letters to Mr. Blakemore regarding him not allowing you to edit, control or delete the web site or at least your requests to him which he has ignored. Also, did he tell you that you would have to file a federal lawsuit to get the website from him? I am checking with folks at the Chronicle. On its face, this explanation does seem a tad unlikely. A Republican political consultant refuses to give an elected Republican official access to his own campaign web site? I request any confirmation you may have.
Prine replied, but he did not provide me any documentation that he had asked Mr. Blakemore to change or delete the campaign website. Prine only said in reply:
It's not my website. I never owned it . Still don't. You should have done your homework before you published.
Hmmm. How believable is it that a Republican political consultant would create a campaign website for a Republican judge and then refuse to accept more money from the elected judge to edit and update his website? If the website was important to Prine, would you expect him to get one of his many lawyer friends to write a letter to demand control of his campaign website or even file a lawsuit if he was ignored? It would not be a wise business decision for Blakemore to ignore or anger an elected Republican given that his clients are all elected Republicans or those seeking the GOP nomination. If Prine has been demanding that Blakemore turn over control of Prine's campaign website, why didn't Prine share copies of those letters or e-mails with me?
I at least understand why the
Houston Chronicle
editorial board did not accept Prine's explanation for his bigoted and unjudicial statement on what sure looks like his website. If Judge Prine now believes gay people have every right to enjoy marriage and divorce, then he can publicly say so and I will be proud to print his position in this newsletter.
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Book Review -
The Traitor Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade)
I recently found a list of "The Hundred Best Fantasy Novels" put out by Unbound World and I realized I had read 41 of these books. I ordered one I had not heard of and I ended up reading
"The Traitor Baru Cormorant"
by Seth Dickinson in two days. In fact, I stayed up until almost 2:00 a.m. on a work day to finish it.
Click here
to download the list of best fantasy novels to see how many you have read. Fantasy novels usually involve magic or mythical creatures and alternative worlds. Examples include the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings novels.
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The Traitor Baru Cormorant
is an exciting, interesting book where the central character is a young, female accountant determined to bring down an evil empire that has taken over the land she was raised in. Imagine a religiously oppressive empire (of the sort Mike Pence would dream of) which relies on race based eugenics and does very bad things to those it considers sexual deviants. The Empire conquers a less advanced country, destroys its social systems, takes its brightest children and "educates" them in its ways. The brightest few students are allowed to enter its civil service to further the Empire's reach. This particular young woman is taken from her family (warrior mother and two fathers) and she vows to reach the heart of the empire to destroy it just as it did her homeland. However, Baru Cormant is sent as an Imperial Accountant to another restive country straining against the Empire's oppresive yoke. She is soon immersed in intrique and rebellion which leads to a mind blowing and painful ending that this reader absolutely did not see coming. While not as dense or complex, this book reminded me of
Dune
and
A Game of Thrones
. This 2016 book is the first of a trilogy and the second book was just published. There is more economics than magic in this book, but is it a great read.
Click here
to order one of the most unique and gripping books I have read in years.
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I may not win every case (even if in my heart I expect to). I just want an efficient system in which my client gets a fair hearing before a judge who works hard, knows the law, and does not play favorites. I also expect judges to appoint qualified amicus attorneys who zealously look after children (and who actually personally visit their minor clients in their homes). Is that asking too much? Stay tuned.
Greg Enos
The Enos Law Firm
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The Enos Law Firm
17207 Feather Craft Lane, Webster, Texas 77598
(281) 333-3030
www.divorcereality.com
Please forward this e-mail newsletter to everyone who cares about our family courts!
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Early Voting Off the Charts
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Early voting in Harris County (and Texas and most other states) has broken all records for a mid-term election. Typically, most Texans do not vote and those who do vote usually skip non-presidential years. This year's turnout is off the charts:
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Of course, the question is, who are all of these early voters voting for and will their enthusiasm for Beto O'Rourke or Lizard-Alien-Wearing-Human-Costume, Ted Cruz, trickle down to the Harris County judicial races?
This is what the
Houston Chronicle
said three days ago:
Researchers said Democrats maintain a slight edge in Harris County that will likely grow on Election Day. The so-called Blue Wave here may not be enough to propel Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke to victory in the U.S. Senate race against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, but could doom Republicans in local races.
The electorate that has turned out the past two weeks is younger, less Anglo and contains far more new or infrequent voters than normal midterms, factors that largely benefit Democrats.
“Republicans are very good at getting their voters to turn out,” said University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus. “If there are a bunch of voters who don’t typically vote in midterms but are now, it’s probably because they’re Democratic-leaning voters.”
Both major parties have capitalized on enthusiasm among their voters, Rottinghaus said. But Democrats have a higher ceiling, since they traditionally struggle to get their voters to the polls. He said investments local Democrats made years ago to boost turnout among young and non-white voters are paying dividends now.
This is also the final
election with straight-ticket voting
in
Texas, which has usually benefited Republicans. This year it could be their curse, since the fate of local GOP candidates likely lies with ticket-splitters, who have become rarer as partisanship has increased.
Historically, the Election Day vote mirrors the partisan split in early balloting, but some elections have bucked this trend. Energized Democrats rushed to Harris County polls in 2008 to vote early for Barack Obama, but more Republicans turned out on Election Day.
The late GOP surge failed to prevent Obama from winning the county, but it put Republicans within striking distance in down-ballot races. Democrats won 85 percent of judicial contests that year, only the second time in the last five elections in which one party failed to sweep the courthouse races,
according to
Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.
In the past three general elections, Rottinghaus said a strong Democrat at the top of the ticket has carried Harris County for the party. He said O’Rourke is likely to perform a similar role this year, even if he loses his own race.
“Harris County blooms as a Democratic haven when they’ve got a popular candidate at the ticket,” he said. “You saw that with Obama in ‘08 and ‘12, and (Hillary) Clinton in ‘16. I suspect we’ll see it here in ‘18, too.”
There are some encouraging signs for county Republicans. The most popular early voting locations included the Republican strongholds of Kingwood, Cypress, Champion Forest and Spring Branch.
- Early voting by those under age 30 in Texas increased 508%
- Turnout for white voters has increased by 165 percent since 2014
- Voters over the age of 65 have increased by 96 percent.
- Women are so far outvoting men
- Unmarried individuals have increased turnout by 219 percent, typically a good sign for Democrats.
A Quinnipiac poll
published last week showed 66 percent of voters under 34 back O'Rourke, along with 86 percent of black voters and 60 percent of Hispanic voters. Beto also lead Cruz 52 to 45 percent among women.On the other hand, Cruz had the support of 67 percent of white voters and 56 percent of men. The poll showed Cruz leading by 5 percent overall, but no poll could have accurately predicted who was a likely voter given the astounding turnout this year. But, if young people, women and Hispanics are voting in record numbers, that is a very good sign for Beto.
This is the last year of straight ticket voting and we simply cannot predict how many people who vote in the U.S. Senate race will vote straight ticket or will make individual decisions for judges.
In 2016, 1,338,734 Harris County voters voted in that Presidential year and 887,071 or 66% were straight ticket votes. In the election that year for the 507th Family District Court, 45,735 people who voted for President did not vote in that judicial race.
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Canaries in the 2018 Election Coal Mine:
How to Tell Early If There Will Be A Blue Wave
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We should know the fate of our Harris County judges when the early voting results are released by about 8:00 p.m. Probably 65% of the total vote in this unusual election will come from the early voting (it was 73% in 2016). If the Democratic judicial candidates are ahead by 52% or more in the early voting, they will win the election. The same would be true for our Republican incumbents (and Ms. Flowers). If the down ballot judicial races are close in the early voting (within less than 3%), then we may have to wait an hour or two to see who wins.
To see the results that the news stations are reporting tonight, go to
https://www.harrisvotes.com
and click on "Election Results" then on "Election Day" to see the updated PDF of the results as they are released.
Nationally, these races from the East coast will tell us early in the evening if we will see a Democratic blue wave in this election. Results in these races should be reported starting about 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time:
- Georgia Governor
- Florida U.S. Senate and Governor
- West Virginia U.S. Senate (polls there close at 6:30 pm CST)
- Florida 26th and 27th Congressional races
- North Carolina 9th Congressional district
- Virginia 2nd Congressional district
- Pennsylvania 17th District
- New Jersey 3rd and 7th Congressional districts
- New York 19th and 22nd Congressional districts
If Democrats are winning these competitive races, it is going to be a bad night for the Republicans.
Again, my predictions are:
- Beto O'Rourke wins Harris County by 11% to 16%. If Beto wins by twelve percent or more, then the Democrats probably win all of the judicial races.
- Cruz wins Texas by 5%.
- Democrats win the House and Republicans add one to their narrow majority in the Senate.
- Trump tomorrow forgets that he has been saying this election is about him and declares victory despite the results.
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Thank you for your support! Together We Can Make Our Profession Better and Our Courts More Fair
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Attorney Greg Enos has been through his own divorce and child custody battle (he won) and understands what his clients are going through. Enos graduated from the University of Texas Law School and was a successful personal injury attorney in Texas City before he decided his true calling was to help families in divorce and child custody cases. Greg Enos is active in politics and in Clear Lake area charities. He has served as President of the Bay Area Bar Association and President of the Board of Interfaith Caring Ministries. The Enos Law Firm serves clients in Galveston County, Brazoria County and Harris County, Texas.
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Greg Enos
Board Certified in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
The Enos Law Firm
281-333-3030
www.
divorce
reality.com
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Text the code:
THEMONGOOSE
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