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.

Ted Cruz Takes the High Road – Through the Garbage Dump

Leave a reply

Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) who repeatedly claims that he talks about the issues and does not resort to ad hominem attacks went on a mud-flinging offensive against Donald Trump today in Indiana.  Among other things, the Tea Party Hero called Trump: (1) a pathological liar; (2) a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen; (3) utterly amoral;  (4) a serial philanderer; and (5) a bully.

Red agrees with most of Cruz’s remarks, except that as far as narcissism goes – no one can hold a candle to Cruz.

Guns Don’t Kill People. People with Guns Kill People.

Leave a reply

The Chicago Tribune relates the sad story of T.J. Antell – a concealed carry owner and former Marine – who was killed in Arlington when he attempted to intervene in a domestic dispute with his gun. The alleged shooter, Ricci Bradden, who was stationed at Fort Hood had been involved in an argument with his wife in the parking lot of a Walgreen’s.  Bradden discharged his gun twice striking the ground and hitting his wife in the ankle.  Antell rushed to his truck, retrieved his gun and attempted to stop Bradden from fleeing.  That’s when Bradden exited his vehicle and shot Antell dead. Now there is a dead father of three and a man who will be charged with murder – none of which had to happen.  Red wonders if the gun lobby’s continual rant which spins the compelling fiction that you need a gun at the ready at all times so that you can save yourself or, even better, be a real-life hero when the time comes had any part in this tragic chain of events.

Thunder Take Game 2 from Spurs – Aided by Massive Cheating and Incompent Refs

Leave a reply

The OKC Thunder rebounded to win game 2 of the Western Conference semi-final series in San Antonio on Monday night.  The last 13.5 seconds were filled with controversy and the analysts are running wild over the chaos that ensued beginning with OKC’s last inbound pass from Dion Walters.  Clearly running out of time to inbound the ball (some analysts claim he should have been called for a 5 second violation), Walters elbowed Manu Ginobili in the chest and then threw a wild pass that was corralled by Danny Green.  Green passed to Patty Mills for what looked like a layup until enormous Steven Adams ran him down.  Mills passed to Ginobili in the corner who moved to the lane making a casual behind the head pass back to Mills in the corner – who had his shot blocked by Adams who also appeared to foul Mills on the play by knocking him into the stands.  LaMarcus Aldridge got the rebound only to be clearly fouled going up for what would have been the game winning basket and the game was over.  Maybe the refs are just “letting them play” but clearly missed the call on Walters on the inbound pass that started the mayhem.

After the game, referee Ken Mauer admitted that his “team” had blown the call.

Q – Can you explain what the referees saw on the in-bounds play with 13.5 seconds remaining when Dion Waiters appeared to make contact with Manu Ginobili?

A – On the floor we did not see a foul on the play. However, upon review we realize and we agree we should have had an offensive foul on the play. It’s a play we’ve never seen before, ever. We should have had an offensive foul on the play.

Q – Had an offensive call been made on Waiters what rule would have applied to a foul committed before throw-in?

A – An offensive foul. Possession Spurs.

Thanks a lot, Ken.  Red predicts that the Spurs take no prisoners on Friday in OKC and reclaim home court advantage.

Today in Texas History – May 3

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Surgeons –  In 1968, surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley and associates at performed the first heart transplant in the United States.  Dr. Christian Barnard had conducted the first heart transplant six months earlier in Cape Town, South Africa.  The first American surgery was conducted at St. Luke’s Hospital.  Everett Thomas received a heart donated from a 15 year old girl and lived for 204 days after the surgery.   The landmark surgery was the first of many contributions that Texas physicians and scientists have made to the field of human heart transplantation.   Dr. Cooley and another Houston heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey were the leaders in the field of heart surgery and heart transplantation.  Their work was the subject of “Hearts” – a book by journalist Tommy Thompson which chronicled their rivalry at the beginning of the heart-transplant era.

The Texas Flag Pledge

Leave a reply

Don Munsch of the Killeen Daily Herald wonders about the increasing use of the Pledge to the Texas Flag at official meetings and in courtrooms across the State.  The pledge itself reads:

Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Putting aside the somewhat redundant nature of the language (Texas being one state and also one and indivisible), and the possible First Amendment violation involved in requiring anyone to pledge that Texas is a state under God, the once obscure pledge is now in common use by certain governmental bodies in addition to the Pledge of Allegiance – which Munsch points out necessarily includes Texas by reference to the fifty-starred flag.

The Herald asked city and school officials about the practice.

“The best answer we can offer as to why we do it is that it is simply a show of respect to our state’s flag,” said Kevin Keller, public information officer for the city of Copperas Cove.

In a statement from the Killeen Independent School District, district spokesman Shannon Rideout said the KISD school board follows the policies written in the Texas Education Code, which states that school boards of each district should require students to recite pledges to both flags — American and Texas — in accordance with applicable government code.

The board just abides by the standards set in the code, by which students are held to, as well.

“I moved from Georgia to Harker Heights in January of 2004 and the pledge to the Texas flag was something being done at that time,” said Harker Heights City Manager David Mitchell. “As far as when that started, I could not tell you. I asked around the office and no one can remember when the city began to include the pledge to the Texas flag.”

Today in Texas History – May 2

Leave a reply

From the Annals of Broadcast Radio –  In 1922, WBAP-AM began broadcasting in North Texas.] The station shared time with Dallas stations WFAA and WRR. It was the first station in the U.S. to have an sound logo signal similar to the NBC chimes –  the WBAP cowbell.   WBAP had a rather unique dual frequency sharing arrangement with other stations until 1970, when it paid WFAA for the exclusive rights to 820 AM band.  WBAP began broadcasting country music and was for a time the broadcast home of the Texas Rangers.  The station changed to a news/talk format in 1993 and now features a full line-up of insipid right wing talk radio.  WBAP’s broadcasts can be heard in 114 counties in the day and has been heard in up to 38 states at night.

Today in Texas History – April 29

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Dromedaries –   In 1856, 53 camels disembarked at the Port of  Indianola.  The camels were part of a 10-year U.S. Army transportation experiment initiated by then U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to deal with the harsh conditions in the arid southwest regions acquired in the Mexican-American War.  Secretary Davis and his military advisers believed that if camels could be used in Sahara Desert and arid regions that they might be answer for the arid semitropical regions of Texas and the desert southwest.  Accordingly, Congress passed “The Camel Appropriation Act” authorizing the purchase and transport of the beasts.  The US Navy was tasked with transporting the camels from the Middle East to Texas, while the US Army would take charge of the camels for the experiment.

After a harsh sea voyage in which the camels became violently seasick,  the animals were turned over to Major Henry C. Wayne who was pleased at the reaction the camels had to the lush vegetation afforded them on the Texas coast.  On June 6, 1856, Wayne gave the order to initiate the “Texas Camel Drive” from Indianola to San Antonio.    The camel caravan arrived in San Antonio within two weeks and Wayne reported to Washington that the utility and the cooperation of the camels was excellent.  Wayne was ordered to find a permanent camp for the camels and quarters for the personnel.

In July, Wayne left San Antonio and made his way to Fort Martin Scott near Fredericksburg.   From there Wayne scouted for a new camp site ultimately settling on a spot near Kerrville called Verde Creek close to the Guadalupe River.  On August 30, he named the site Camp Verde and the camels now had a permanent home. The camp was to be a US Cavalry post under the direction of  Lt. Colonel Robert E Lee who had just been to Fort Mason in 1856 with the primary task of protecting frontier settlers from raids by the Comanche, Kiowa and other tribes. However, Lee was also charged with protecting the camels.

Lucifer in the Flesh!

Leave a reply

Former GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner unloaded on Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) in an interview.  After calling the Texas Senator “Lucifer in the flesh”, Boehner kept going.

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

Boehner also stated that Cruz would become president “over my dead body.”  Boehner is apparently still seething over Cruz’s promise that he could lead a government shut-down that would result in a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.  When it became obvious that Cruz was blowing smoke up the GOP’s collective pants and that he had little or no support for his cause in the Senate, Boehner and colleagues were left hung out to dry in the face of withering criticism.  What quickly became apparent to all was that Cruz’s ploy was nothing more than a chance for the junior senator to put his name out front and set up his run for the White House.  Cruz never had any intention of doing anything more than hogging the spotlight and running up his national name recognition.

For his part Cruz denied ever having worked with Boehner – another almost certainly verifiable lie from the lips of the Tea Party hero.

Meanwhile, Satanists were complaining that comparing Cruz to the Devil was an insult to all Devil worshippers.

 

Today in Texas History – April 28

Leave a reply

Southwest Texas Convention, Spring 2005

From the Annals of Sacred Music –  In 1900 the Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention was organized at McMahan. Sacred harp music is a religious folk music that derives its name from Benjamin Franklin White’s The Sacred Harp (1844). It features a cappella singing of white spirituals written in shaped notes. The sacred harp is the human voice.   The tradition continues today with the annual Southwest Texas Convention at McMahan, held in the spring, and the East Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention held in August in Henderson.  Other Sacred Heart events are also regularly held around the state.

Photo of Southwest Convention from http://www.texasfasola.org/.

Cruz Tries to Steal the News Cycle

Leave a reply

In the wake of his crushing losses in five primaries on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) made a bold attempt to divert the nation’s attention away from the incredible ass-whomping he had just received by naming failed businesswoman Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate.  Cruz made an interesting choice in picking Fiorina who was soundly rejected by the Republican electorate in the early going.  Fiorina failed to ignite her campaign and performed miserably in the contests in which she competed.  Fiorina had less than 2%support in the Iowa caucuses, received 4% of the vote in New Hampshire with an 8th place finish, and was done.  She won exactly zero (o) delegates.   Fiorina kept proclaiming that her campaign “was not about me” – which in Red’s opinion is the clear sign that a campaign is indeed all about the candidate’s ego.  Fiorina gave voters absolutely no reason to cast their ballot for her – not surprising when he main accomplishments were her record as a horribly failed CEO of Hewlitt-Packard and her losing Senatorial campaign in California.   Her one claim to fame was a good performance in the “undercard” debate preceding Iowa which put her to prominence until the voters had the good sense to reject her as completely unqualified.    So what attracted Ted to her.  Cruz claim he was attracted to Fiorina as his running mate because she  was “born in Texas…the very first thing I liked about her.”  Interesting since that is something that the Canadian-born Cruz cannot say about himself.   Cruz did succeed in turning the national press away from the Trump blow-out on Tuesday, but Red thinks this smacks of desperation and predicts the news cycle will move on in a day or two or at best until Cruz loses in Indiana.