Author Archives: Red from Texas

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About Red from Texas

I'm proud to be Red. I have lived most of my life in Texas and I love this place. Here are a few things you should know about me. 1. I am happily married and intend to stay so. 2. I live in a house that is older than you, unless you are really old. 3. I own 2 rifles and a shotgun. I think handguns are just trouble. 4. I have never killed a man, but have taken out some deer and hogs. 5. I was a good student, but never close to being valedictorian. 6. In no particular order I like the Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Astros, FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Texas Longhorns and Houston Dynamo. 7. I hate Dallas but always have a good time when I go there. 8. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan for 26 years but declared that I was no longer a fan during the 1987 strike. 9. I don't own any pets. I like cats, and a good dog and I have met at least 3 of them in my lifetime. 10. I think the best part of Texas is west of I-35. 11. I own two pairs of cowboy boots, but don't wear them very often. 12. I don't have a pronounced Texas accent, but can affect one when needed. 13. My last meal would be fried shrimp with tartar sauce, a baked potato with all the fixins', a dinner salad with 1000 Island dressing, yeast rolls and chocolate fudge pie for dessert. 14. I'm an old Dad, but my children are none of your business. 15. I have two degrees from UT-Austin and somehow managed to fall in love with and marry an Aggie. 16. Most of my family are right-wing nut jobs but I love them anyway. 17. When I get to play golf on a regular basis, I shoot in the low 80's. 18. I don't get to play golf on a regular basis. 19. I think Fort Worth is the best town in Texas by a long shot. 20. I have a mean herb garden. Regards, Red P.S. Remember it's not a color, it's a state of mind.

Today in Texas History – August 29

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From the Annals of the Big Storms –  In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a category 3 hurricane.  The storm’s direct impact was directed most famously at New Orleans, but much of the Gulf Coast from  Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle was effected.  The storm killed more than 1,800 and caused over $115 billion in damage.  The indirect impact on Texas was the outmigration of people from Louisiana many of whom have stayed in Houston and other cities.  The devastation wrought by Katrina was also instrumental in triggering the mass evacuation from the Houston area in advance of Hurricane Rita which resulted in several deaths.

When Dildos are Outlawed only Outlaws will have Dildos

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Thousands of UT-Austin students openly carried dildos and other sex toys to class this week in an hilarious protest against Texas’ law requiring public universities to allow open carry of weapons on campus.  Some believed that it might have been the largest anti-gun protest in Texas history.   The open display of the faux penises disturbed some. But as one protestor, Rosie Zander, put it, If you’re uncomfortable with dildos, how do you think I feel about your gun?” And just where did the students get all of the fake phalluses –  it turns out they were donated by purveyors of sex toys ranging from local sellers in Austin all the way to Singapore.

Red wonders what Ted Cruz – once a prominent supporter of Texas Anti-Dildo Law thinks about all this.

Today in Texas History – August 26

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From the Annals of All the Way with LBJ –  In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated to as the Democratic candidate for president at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, NJ.   LBJ had of course been elevated to the presidency upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy the previous November.  Shortly before his nomination, the seeds of trouble had been planted when LBJ began the escalation of the Vietnam War based on the now discredited Gulf of Tonkin incident.  Vietnam and the domestic unrest that it unleashed would be the undoing of Johnson’s presidency and he would decline to run again in 1968.

Today in Texas History

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From the Annals of Extremely Partisan Politics –   In 1860,  7 defendants were  found guilty of killing 3 men that were taken from the Marion County Jail in Jefferson on the night of October 24, 1868. The 7 defendants along with 17 others who were acquitted were accused of dragging 5 men out of the jail and killing 3 of them. The jailed men were Republicans who had been arrested the night before after a gun fight with local Democrats.

Trump Tackles Texas for Love and Most Importantly Money

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GOP nominee Donald Trump will be in Texas today at fund raisers in Fort Worth and Austin. After fund raising in Cowtown and the Capital, Trump will hold a prime-time rally at the facility east of Austin where the Travis County Rodeo is held every Winter.  It’s an odd choice for the event, but the timing is even odder.   Raising money is normal, what is unusual is the GOP candidate holding a rally in reliably red Texas this late in the campaign.  The Dallas Morning News points out that the last presidential candidate to stage an event this late in the fall campaign in Texas was Bob Dole in 1996.

Trump’s quick Texas swing is motivated by cash needs. The campaign hopes to haul in more than $3 million from Texas donors, and the rally is an afterthought – but one that is sure to draw attention and TV coverage.

Racist Lives Matter

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A small group demonstrated outside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s offices in Houston on Sunday.  The alleged message of White Lives Matter may have been lost in the display of Confederate Flags and assault rifles by the 20 or so demonstrators.  Ken Reed a spokesman for the group who sported a Trump ’16 cap was quoted as saying:

“We came out here to protest against the NAACP and their failure in speaking out against the atrocities that organizations like Black Lives Matter and other pro-black organizations have caused the attack and killing of white police officers, the burning down of cities and things of that nature. If they’re going to be a civil rights organization and defend their people, they also need to hold their people accountable.”

Reality and Mr. Reed are not well acquainted it seems as the NAACP has c0ndemned the killings of police officers as it moves forward with attempts to stop the rampant killing of citizens by police in the U.S.   And a tip from Red.  If you want to be taken seriously and not as a caricature of a racist, leave the Rebel flags and assault rifles at home.

Frat House Bust at Texas A&M

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KHOU is reporting that one Texas A&M student is dead and four others have been arrested for possession at the Sigma Nu chapter in College Station.

Police have arrested four men after a student died at a Texas A&M fraternity house this weekend. Police found LSD, Ecstasy and THC on the four fraternity members they arrested inside the Sigma Nu house.

Investigators also told KHOU 11 News, they believe the members tried to move the body of the deceased to cover up the drugs. Outside their chapter house on Fraternity Row, members asked for privacy and declined comment. The arrested are Samuel Patterson, 21, Michael Frymire, 20, Christian Sandford, 18, and Ty Robertson, 21.

“I hate to hear that happened because it’s just kids trying to have a party and it turns into something like this, it gets very real very quickly,” said Harrison Brewer, a neighbor.

Today in Texas History – August 22

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From the Annals of Art Spaces – In 1971, the De Luxe Show opened in the remodeled De Luxe movie theater in Houston’s Fifth Ward. The show ran from August 22 to September 29.  The Menil Foundation sponsored the show in response to a brewing controversy over the lack of opportunities for black artists.  The exhibit was notable in that it was one of the first racially integrated exhibitions of contemporary art.

The De Luxe Theater was an important part of the Fifth Ward as it provided a family-oriented alternative to residents of the neighborhood.   However, as white theaters integrated it’s business declined and was closed in 1969.   The theatre was transformed into an exhibition space in a matter of weeks by the Jones and Bynam Construction Company.

The exhibition was curated by painter Peter Bradley.  Bradley chose 40 abstract works by 19 artists including Virginia Jaramillo, Ed Clark, Larry Poons, Jules Olitski, William T. Williams and Sam Gilliam along with constructions from Alvin Loving, Richard Hunt, Michael Stiener and Anthony Caro.

Photo from http://www.thedeluxetheater.com

 

 

Today in Texas History – August 19

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From the Annals of “How Low Can You Go” –  In 1962, Homero Blancas  of Houston shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament in Longview. Blancas was playing for the University of Houston golf team.  Blancas had 13 birdies and an eagle to go 15 under par on the par 70 course.  It remains the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history.  Blancas went on to join the PGA tour where he was rookie of the year in 1965.  He won four events in his career and played on the 1973 Ryder Cup team.  He is a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.

Texas Fails Again in Attempt to Suppress Voting

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Off the Kuff reports on the latest lawsuit over voting rights that Texas has lost.  The issue concerned Malika Das, an Indian-American woman who wanted her son to help her at the poll in case she did not understand instructions in English.  The precinct chair at her Williamson County polling station denied her the right to her son’s assistance based on an arcane Texas law that requires an interpreter to be registered in the same county as the voter.  U.S. District Robert Pitman ruled that the law was in violation of the Voting Rights Act which guarantees voters the right to assistance in these circumstances.  In addition to voiding the law, Pitman gave the State 7 days to provide “additional remedies” needed to protect the rights of limited-language voters.  It will be interesting to see what the lawyers for the state come up with in this regard.

Red notes that Williamson County is GOP stronghold.  Perhaps just a coincidence.  Perhaps not.