Monthly Archives: November 2015

Today in Texas History – November 18

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From the Annals of Texas A&M –  In 1999, 11 Texas A&M students were killed, one former student was killed and another 28 injured during construction of the annual bonfire for the UT (or TU as the Aggies would have it) game.  The bonfire had been a tradition at A&M for almost 90 years.  Early Bonfires were just that – piles of trash. But over the years, the Bonfire grew exponentially, setting the world record in 1969.  By the time of the 1999 Bonfire collapse, the Bonfire ritual had become a months long endeavor producing what ultimately proved to be a precarious 90 foot tall six tiered structure centered around two telephone poles affixed end to end.   The ensuing investigation revealed that there were no exact plans for the Bonfire, the structure had never been approved by an engineer, and that drinking and hazing were prevalent.  None of that took away from the tragedy of the event and the dedication of those who died in the construction accident.   The tragedy led A&M to declare a hiatus on an official Bonfire. However, since 2002, a student-sponsored coalition has constructed an annual unsanctioned, off-campus “Student Bonfire” in the spirit of its predecessor.

Photo of the 1928 Bonfire.

Today in Texas History – November 17

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From the Annals of Houston –  In 1981, Kathryn Whitmire was elected as the first female mayor of Houston.  Whitmire was first elected as City Controller for two terms and then to five consecutive terms as mayor. She also served as the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Texas Municipal League. As mayor she appointed Lee P. Brown as the first African American to serve as police chief. Brown later would become mayor.  Whitmire was defeated in 1991 by political power-broker Bob Lanier in an election that turned largely on Lanier’s opposition to Whitmire’s plan to bring mono-rail to Houston.  Whitmire moved to Hawaii in 2001.

Forget About Syrian Refugees, We Must Protect Ourselves from the Insidious Dangers of the “Stealth Dorm”

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While Gov. Greg Abbott (TP- Texas) frets over Syrian refugees and boldly states that Texas will accept none (Red wonders exactly how that is going to work), our Poor Idiot Governor is ignoring the real crisis facing our state – the specter of the Stealth Dorm (ominous music plays).

It’s a good thing the Austin and Fort Worth City Councils are on the job, because they have recently passed anti-Stealth Dorm ordinances to deal with problems allegedly created by TCU and UT students cohabitating in willy-nilly fashion. The FW ordinance prohibits more than five unrelated people from occupying a single-family home, no matter how large it is, while the Austin ordinance puts the limit at four for new construction. The ordinances are allegedly justified as an attempt to preserve single family neighborhoods and avoid an end-around of municipal zoning laws.  The allegedly awful consequence of allowing people to decide where and how to live include increased traffic, parking problems, noise and “overflowing sewers.”  Red can see possible problems with the first three, but fails to see how 5 college students tax the sewer lines any more than a houseful of teenagers who are all related in some form or fashion.  The hubbub has caught the attention of the Business Insider which you can peruse if you want to know more.

How Would a Real “Tea Party” Fare in Texas

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The divide in the GOP is playing itself out on the national stage as the Tea Party wing (represented by Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, etc.) fights it out with the Establishment wing (represented by Jeb!!!!$$$$?, Marco Rubio, John Kasick, Chris Christie, etc.) while the Insanity wing (Donald Trump and Ben Carson) leads the way.  Meanwhile, Red wonders how his many Republican friends can continue to stand with a party in which 43% of its members think Pres. Obama is a Muslim, which believes we can deport 11 million people back to wherever they came from without any problems, still believes that supply-side economics works, and wants to return to the gold standard.

Simply put, the Republican Party needs to break up.  We will have your Grandfather’s Country Club GOP which believes that responsible governance is a good thing, that not all government is inherently evil, understands that many aspects of modern commerce require reasonable regulation, recognizes that compromise is an essential part of life, and which has more or less sane fiscal policies.  Then you will have a Tea Party which will be ideologically pure and stand for kicking out every last undocumented alien, huge tax cuts for the very wealthiest, bring back the gold standard, making gay marriage illegal, destroying any right to choose, instituting religious tests for office, allowing guns everywhere, repealing the 17th Amendment, instituting property ownership requirements for voting and any other policy that will insure that the upstanding good, white people of  America remain in control.

The Texas Tribune has the breakdown on just what might happen if the GOP were to fracture.

Candidate filing is underway and guess what, Captain Obvious? Almost everything that’s competitive in Texas races will come to a head in the March primary and not in the November general election.

That said, recent polling shows that not only are there strong factional differences between Tea Party and non-Tea Party Republicans, but also that the anti-establishment types are a sizable part of the Texas GOP.

The latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll asked Texans which primary they’d be voting in; 50 percent said Republican and 35 percent said Democrat. It also asked how they would vote in a congressional race if there were candidates from the Republican, Democratic and Tea Parties. Once again, 35 percent chose the Democrats. The Republican number dropped to 22 percent, and the Tea Party got 17 percent. The percentage of “don’t know” responses rose, too.

One of the poll’s co-directors, Daron Shaw of the University of Texas at Austin, reads that to say that 43 percent to 44 percent of the GOP primary voters are Tea Party voters. That faction is relatively small in the Legislature, especially in the Texas House. But they’re bucking for a promotion, talking about entering enough candidates in the 2016 elections to seriously challenge the conservatives now in power.

The races will firm up over the next month; the filing period that opened on Saturday continues through Dec. 14.

Today in Texas History – November 16

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From the Annals of the Republic –  In 1845, the Republic of Texas concluded its last Indian treaty.  The agreement was the culmination of the Tehuacana Creek Councils, which began in the spring of 1843.  Jesse Chisholm has worked to convince a number of Indian groups, including the Caddos, Tawakonis, Delawares, Lipan Apaches, and Tonkawas, to meet on Tehuacana Creek near the Torrey Brothers trading post south of present Waco. A second council met at Fort Bird on the Trinity River in the fall of 1843.  These councils resulted in a peace treaty between the Republic and the Wacos, Caddos, and others.  However, the Comanches were not represented.  President Sam Houston called another council meeting at Tehuacana in April 1844. The Comanches were yet again absent, but by October 9, 1844, Houston had negotiated a treaty with a part of the southern Comanches, Kichais, Wacos, Caddos, Anadarkos, Hainais, Delawares, Shawnees, Cherokees, Lipan Apaches, and Tawakonis. At the November 1845 council the Wacos, Tawakonis, Kichais, and Wichitas agreed to the treaty of October 9, 1844.

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 10

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“I remember a discussion that several of us had with Tom Landry one afternoon. The subject was field position, a term you hear more frequently from college coaches than professional coaches. The concept of the game of football is attack and retreat, the same as war. The ultimate object is to capture the opponent=s goal, but a secondary consideration is keeping the ball as far as possible from your own goal line. Professional teams with their superior striking power are less cautious about field position, but no less concerned, as Landry was explaining. After taking some time to ferment his question, Harold Ratliff cornered Landry and asked, “Tell us, Tom, what you consider the best field position?” I looked at Landry. He didn’t need anyone to remind him to answer with care. He said, “Harold, I am personally attracted to my opponent’s one inch line.”

From Confessions of a Washed Up Sportswriter by Gary Cartwright.

And that my friends, was as close as Tom Landry ever came to telling a joke.

Red Rates Himself – Last week 2-4. For the season 36-18. Affect hangdog look.

Your Tom Landry Pick of the Week: Buccaneers over Cowboys. Red thinks this may be the most even match up of the entire season – at least on a statistical basis. Both teams are have similarly mediocre offenses ranking smack in the middle of the pack with equally inept passing games bolstered by reasonably strong running attacks. The main difference is the Buccaneers slightly less mediocre defense. But this game comes down to Red’s long hoped for desire to see an 8 game Cowboy losing streak. If they can just blow this one, then only one more game stands between Red and happiness. So once again, Red invokes the Red Rule (score 13 points and beat the Cowboys). It is hard to see how the Cowboys are not completely dead if they lose this one, but stranger things . . .   Red likes the under at 43.5.  Tampa Bay 20 Arlington 10.

Your One Inch Pick of the Week: Cardinals over Seahawks. The Cardinals are the most balanced team in the league so far. They have a top 3 offense and a top 3 defense. Only a slightly underperforming rushing game keeps them in check. About right now, Red is wondering why he did not pick the Cards to make the Superb Owl – especially in light of the troubles brewing in Northern Wisconsin. Meanwhile, this is as close to a must-win game as there is for the defending NFC Champion Seahawks. A loss and they are 3 full games behind the Cards with 7 to play. Not an impossible hill to climb, but definitely a demanding task for an underperforming offense that has scored almost 100 points less than the explosive Cardinal attack. Despite the seeming disparity, Red thinks this is Your NFL Game of the Week. Too close to call on the money line, but solid on the over at 44.5. Arizona 29 Seattle 28.

Your Field Position Pick of the Week: Bengals over Texans. Forgive Red for stating the obvious, but the undefeated Bengals are undefeated at home with a 4-0 record. The 3-5 Texans have an expected 1-3 road record having only beaten the Jags on the road. Yet, the Texans are still in the hunt in the pathetic excuse for a professional football division (PEFPFD) that is the AFC South. The hunt is likely to come up empty as the Texans are looking at 3-5 in the second half of the season at best. Red just can’t see the Texans beating the Bengals, or the Patriots, or the Jets, or the Saints, or Bills, or the Colts for that matter. It was nice while it didn’t last.  Red is done with betting on Texans’ games. Cincinnati 35 Houston 17.

You’re Asinine Question Pick of the Week: Patriots over Giants. The question here is, “Red, how can the Giants possibly be 5-4 and leading their division when they have the worst defense in the entire NFL and a sub-par offense?” Well, Timmy, it’s called the “luck of the draw.” You see, Billy, the Giants play in the festering swamp that goes by the name of the NFC East Division. It is filled with teams led by megalomaniac owners, college coaches in over their heads, and quarterbacks that are, in the words of the eloquent fraternity of professional sportswriters, “really, really bad.” So Jimmy, even though the Giants are only 2-2 against the dregs of the NFL (see festering swamp supra) and have an offense that at times seems incapable of advancing the ball more than about ¾ of a yard at a time, they have managed to somehow score 247 points which ranks only behind the “real NFL teams” called the Patriots and the Cardinals. Thus Willy, Red believes that smoke and mirrors must be somehow involved in the Giants having actually won 5 games. That can work, Lenny, until you meet up with a team that smashes mirrors with a sledgehammer and puts sugar in the gas tank of your smoke machine. Red will take the Pats giving up 7 on the road and take it all day, every day, at least 3 times a day. New England 57 New Jersey 16.

Your Washed Up Sportswriter Pick of the Week: Packers over Lions. Somewhere on Red’s list was becoming a “Washed Up Sportswriter.” Unfortunately, this weekly ranting about NFL games is about as close as Red is ever going to make it. Red is somewhat mystified by the Packers 6-2 record – he would be more mystified if the Pack had not gotten slaughtered by what we call “Really Good Teams” in the Panthers and the Broncos the last two weeks. Other than beating a fast-fading Seahawks team in Week 2, the Packers really do not have a quality win yet this season and have yet to really dominate a game. So when they faced quality opposition coming off the “bye” week, it was not a real surprise that they stumbled. As it stands, the Pack has not won a game in almost a month, and that is just not something that fits well in to the order of Red’s universe. Take the Pack and given up whatever points you have to give up (probably at least 11), the Packers will be taking out a month’s worth of frustration on the hapless Lions. Green Bay 35 Detroit 16.

Your Dumbshit Pick of the Week: Jaguars over Ravens. Red keeps picking the Jags. The Jags keep losing. Red rewards the Jags by putting them in the Shit Bowl for the third time this season. Sixteen games these teams have played and 4 times they have emerged victorious. It really don’t get no shittier than that. Put the lock on the Glock and hide the key in a place you will forget before you dare to tune in to watch this beastly bowel battle, lest ye be tempted to empty a clip into your brand new 86 incher. Oh, you wanted Red to give you a recommendation so that you could bet on this one? Call Gamblers Anonymous right now. Jacksonville 17 Baltimore 13.

Today in Texas History – November 13

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From the Annals of Plutonium –  In 1974, union activist Karen Silkwood died in an automobile accident. Silkwood was born in Longview and was a laboratory technician at a Kerr-McGee  plutonium plant in Oklahoma. She joined the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union and became the first female member of the union bargaining committee in Kerr-McGee history.  Working to investigate health and safety concerns, she quickly discovered evidence of spills, leaks, and missing plutonium.  As a result of conditions in its plant, Kerr-McGee was sued in connection with worker safety and environmental contamination claims.  Braving strong opposition and threats, Silkwood testified before the Atomic Energy Commission that she had suffered radiation exposure in a series of unexplained incidents.  The automobile accident that claimed her life occurred while she was on the way to a meeting with an AEC official and a New York Times reporter.  Although there was many theories floated regarding her death, nothing in the way of foul play was ever proven.  However, an autopsy confirmed that she had been contaminated by plutonium.  She was portrayed by Meryl Streep in the 1984 movie Silkwood. 

Veteran’s Day

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Thank a veteran for their service to our country today.  We may not always agree with the causes in which they have been engaged to serve their country, but that can never detract from the sacrifice that many have made.

Red’s grandfather (whom he never met) fought in World War I in France and his Dad fought in World War II in France, Belgium and Germany. Dad never said much about his service – only that he was an ambulance driver and that he kept a rifle in the ambulance even though he wasn’t supposed to.  “I wasn’t about to be the only soldier in Europe without a weapon”, as he put it.  When Red looked at some of his letters from the war, it became clear that he had served much of the time in a Battalion Aid Station.  That is a unit that operates just behind the front lines and is the first place that wounded and dying soldiers are taken.  So he probably was transporting wounded soldiers from the front to medical units.  Red cannot even imagine the suffering and death that his Dad witnessed first hand at an age when all Red was thinking about was drinking, smoking, partying and trying to get a date (in between studying and going to class).  Dad may have even had a tremendous sense of guilt for having come through the war “without as much as a scratch thanks to the Nazis” as he put it.   Only much too late, Red realized that he had to forgive his Dad for being somewhat emotionally withdrawn and extremely cautious for the rest of his all too short life.

So Dad, thanks for your service and Red, for one, will never forget what you endured for your country, friends and family.

Will Texas Ever Have a Decent Rail System?

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TCR Board - Alternatives Considered Octber 20 2014

Competition for a high-speed rail network in Texas may be heating up.  The Texas Tribune reports that Chinese, French and Japanese interests may be lining up to provide an alternative to the short haul flights that now connect Texas’ major cities.  The earliest possible date for actual rail service floating around is 2021.  But it can’t happen soon enough for Red.

Texas Central Partners has drawn attention with its plans to develop a Dallas-Houston high-speed rail line using Japanese trains. While that project is furthest along, French and Chinese rail interests are more quietly discussing the prospects for rail projects with state and local officials.

“There comes a time when adding lanes is not a solution anymore, and that’s when you realize you need more public transportation,” said Alain Leray, president of SNCF America, the U.S. subsidiary of French rail operator SNCF. The company has been talking with Texas officials in earnest for about a year about potential rail projects, Leray said.

Chinese-backed rail interests have also approached some transportation officials in Texas about future projects, several transportation officials confirmed.

106 Bikers from Twin Peaks Shoot-Out Finally Indicted

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After only 8 months of prosecutorial twisting in the wind, the McClennan County District Attorney finally obtained indictments against 106 of the bikers involved in the March 2015 shoot-out at the now closed Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.  The wheels of justice are grinding slowly, but not particularly finely as there were no indictments for murder or assault issued by the grand jury. All were indicted on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.  For unknown reasons, 9 of the 106 indictments were sealed.  Another 71 bikers were arrested and perhaps the murder, assault and weapons charges are going to be leveled against those individuals.  In any event, the MCDA has seemed overwhelmed by this massive project.