Author Archives: Red from Texas

Unknown's avatar

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.

Ken Paxton Butts in Again

Leave a reply

Vexatious litigant and embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit to waste taxpayer dollars and deflect attention from his own considerable legal woes.   Paxton is suing the City of Austin for an alleged violation of the state’s open carry law by banning guns from its city hall, according to the Austin American-Statesman.  Red predicts that Mr. P will fail in his efforts to coerce Austin into complying with his Tea Party and NRA agenda.  The language of the open carry law provides that guns can be prohibited in courts or “offices utilized by the court.”  Austin’s city hall (and many others in Texas) frequently hold various types of court proceedings.  Austin temple of local democracy, for example, hosts a community court for low-level offenders, and the City based its gun ban on that fact. Whether that’s actually a court is an open question. Three weeks ago, Paxton issued a non-binding AG’s opinion claiming there is no court in Austin’s city hall and threatened to sue Austin unless it blinked first.  City officials apparently had little respect for the legal stylings of an indicted AG.  Paxton, ever eager for a spotlight that will cement his Tea Party bona fides has now sued.

Today in Texas History – July 29

Leave a reply

From the Annals of Public Non-Broadcasting  –   In 2010, Baylor University’s KWBU-TV/Waco signed off after 21 years due to budgetary shortfalls. The PBS station went on the air in 1989 as KCTF and in 1994 the license was transferred to Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation and the station was moved to the Baylor campus.  The Waco community never fully supported the station and lack of local contributions ended its run.  Although Baylor had majority control of the BVPBF, KWBU still technically held a community license. However, the partnership with Baylor led to the perception that it was a “Baylor station,” which further cut into the community support needed to keep the station on the air.  Baylor itself was apparently uninterested in picking up the slack to keep public broadcasting on the air in Waco.  Could the University’s all-consuming focus on its corrupt men’s basketball and football programs have had anything to do with that?

Today in Texas History – July 28

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Toreros –   In 1908, Harper Lee of Ysleta made his first appearance as a novillero, or apprentice matador, in the Plaza de Guadalajara.   In 1895 Harper’s mother married Samuel M. Lee, a resident of Guadalajara. Harper joined the family there and enrolled in high school in 1899. He called himself Harper Baylor Lee even though he was never legally adopted. His amigos called him El Gringo Harper.  Lee showed early promise in bullfighting games.  He was invited to bull haciendas as was given the opportunity to test young fighting bulls and breeding cows.  He showed exceptional talent with the cape.  Under the tutelage of his friend Francisco Gómez, El Chiclanero, a retired matador from Spain, Lee decided to become a professional torero.  His initial appearance in Guadalajara launched a remarkable career in which he ultimately became the first North American to be acknowledged as a full-fledged matador de toros.  His career was cut short by the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution but he appeared in 52 corridas and  dispatched 100 bulls.  He “cut the pigtail” in the formal ceremony of retirement on December 3, 1911.

Must Kill Turtle Before Turtle Kills Me

Leave a reply

Terry Wayne Washington of Austin has been charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal and unauthorized taking of wildlife after beating a snapping turtle to death with a claw hammer.  Washington was fishing with a friend in Austin’s Lady Bird Lake when he snagged the 40 pound reptile.  Washington was apparently annoyed that the turtle had been chasing away fish and decided to dispatch it with the tool at hand.  According to witnesses, Washington struck the snapper at least ten times finally crushing its skull.  Washinton would like have escaped trouble but for Geoffrey Frank who was jogging on the hike and bike trail around the lake and caught the last few blows on his cell phone.

After turning himself in, Washington claimed self-defense and that he was protecting himself from the raging reptile – claims which are belied by the video evidence.   Now Red has seen a few snappers in his time and you don’t want to mess with them.  But if you can’t out run a speeding turtle, then maybe you should consider staying at home.

Today in Texas History – July 27

Leave a reply

From the Annals of Voting Rights –   In 1940, Lonnie Smith, an African-American dentist from Houston, was denied a ballot to vote in a Democratic primary because of his race.  The stated rationale was that the parties ran their primary elections and that as a private entity, the Democratic Party of Texas could decide its membership and thus determine who could and could not vote in its primary elections.  Of course, Texas was a one-party state at the time (much like now) and winning the Democratic primary was tantamount to winning office in all but a very few instances.  The ensuing legal battle lasted four years and resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision – Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649 (1944) in which Smith was represented by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.  The Supreme Court overturned the Texas law that authorized the Democratic Party to set its internal rules which called for whites only primaries.  The court held that it was an unconstitutional violation of the equal protection clause of the  14th Amendment for the state to delegate its authority over elections to the Democratic Party in order to allow discrimination to be practiced. This ruling affected all other states where the party used the white primary rule and was an important step in opening the ballot box to citizens of all races.

Photo of Lonnie Smith

Looking to Lower Your Ethical Standards? Just Follow Ken Paxton’s Lead.

Leave a reply

Embattled but apparently unashamed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may have reached a new ethical low in his fight to stave off a criminal conviction.  Paxton  is reported to have accepted a $100,000 gift to help pay for his own criminal defense from the head of a medical-imaging company that his office investigated for Medicaid fraud.

Preferred Imaging founder James Webb gave Paxton at least $100,000 to help cover his mounting criminal defense bills.  Now Red thinks everyone is entitled to a good criminal defense and very few actually get one.  But when you are the state’s top legal official, it is more than a little suspicious when you are taking large amounts of money from someone your office is investigating.

Be prepared for the usual side-stepping and soft shoe from Paxton as he dances around yet another ethical minefield.  Despite the fact that Webb’s company settled a $3.5 million whistleblower lawsuit this month, Paxton is now claiming that federal prosecutors took the lead and that he had no direct involvement. No involvement other than to cash the check, that is.  Of course, Webb expected nothing in return for his largess.  And if you believer that, Red has Republican presidential nominee to sell you.

 

Today in Texas History – July 26

Leave a reply

From the Annals of Cowtown –  In 1887, the Fort Worth Union Stock Yards were chartered.  John Peter Smith, J. W. Burgess and Morgan Jones obtained the charter to build the yard in north Fort Worth.  They raised $200,000 for construction which began in 1888.  The Union yard was the first step in a plan to convert Fort Worth from a temporary way station on the route from Texas to Kansas City and St. Louis into a major stock yard and meat packing center.  Over the next 30 years with the addition of several meat packing plants, Fort Worth which had already earned the nickname “Cowtown” truly became one.  

Walls of the Alamo?

Leave a reply

Researchers working to restore the Alamo have unearthed Spanish colonial adobe bricks at a dig site in Alamo Plaza.  What is not yet known is whether those bricks may have comprised part of the historic shrine’s original western wall.  More analysis may reveal the architectural function of the colonial-era bricks.

According to archaeologist Nesta Anderson, there is a possibility that the bricks uncovered only two feet below the surface are part of the original mission because they clearly form part of a larger wall structure .  “Because we’ve got something from the Spanish colonial period, we know we are digging in the right place. Now we know we can get information from the ground over here that will support the master plan and the reinterpretation.”

The dig is part of a plan by the state and local officials to restore and refurbish the Alamo.  According to the officials in charge of the Alamo project, their work will hopefully  unearth the original western and southern walls.   In December, the state purchased three buildings on Alamo Plaza that housed tourist traps such as Guiness World Records Musuem and a Ripley’s Odditorium.  The purchase was the first step by the Alamo Endowment Board and the city of San Antonio to move forward with plans to de-campify the area around the historic mission.  Last October, the endowment, city and Texas signed an agreement to develop a master plan for the district with a focus on historic preservation and a dignified treatment for the site.

Discovery of the bricks on Friday marked a major step toward uncovering the construction history of the world-famous Texas landmark.

Texans Play Small Role at the Democratic National Convention

Leave a reply

Texas delegates do not play a large role at either of the two major party conventions under the current political state of affairs.  The Republicans pay scant attention to Texas because it is currently the reddest of the red states.  If Trump cannot win Texas, he cannot possibly secure victory and there appears to be no doubt about his ability to win the Lone Star State no matter what he says or does. He might even be able to violate the Edwin Edwards Rule (who claimed he would be okay unless caught with a dead woman or a live boy) and still win the Lone Star State.

The Democrats ignore Texas for similar reasons.  Why pay the slightest bit of attention to a state where your party has not won a state-wide election since 1994 and has not voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.  After the abject failure of Battleground Texas in 2014, it’s almost amazing that the Democrats even acknowledge that Texas exists.

Nonetheless, at least of couple of Texans will soak up some of the spotlight in Philadelphia this week.  On the deserving side, there is HUD Secretary Julian Castro – who might be the only hope for Democratic Governor in Red’s remaining time.  Castro is a polished politician who has parlayed his success into serious consideration for the Vice-Presidential nod – only to lose out to Tim Kaine.  On the undeserving side is Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.  Lee is notorious for staking out any opportunity to bore the public.  Never discount a woman who managed to push her way into a speaking spot at Michael Jackson’s funeral.  Red hears that is one of SJL’s favorite stump opportunities around Houston.  There are tales of SJL showing up at a funeral and just taking possession of the altar uninvited and pontificating on someone she barely knew.

Red will tune in for Castro and tune out SJL.

 

Today in Texas History – July 25

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Civil War –  In 1861, the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution was passed by the U.S. Congress.  The resolution sought to reassure the border states of Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland and pro-slavery Unionists that the Civil War was being fought to restore the Union and not to eradicate slavery.  The implication was that once the war had been won, the Confederate states would be returned to the Union fold with slavery intact.  The resolution was named for its sponsors Rep. John Crittenden of Kentucky and Sen. Andrew Johnson of Tennessee.  The resolution passed with an overwhelming vote in both houses.  The plan to reassure the border states worked as none of them left the Union.  However, by December of 1861, sentiment had changed so drastically that the resolution was repealed largely through the actions of Pennsylvania Senator Thaddeus Stevens.