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 – October 9

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From the Annals of Reconstruction –  In 1871, Governor Edmund J. Davis declared martial law in Freestone County.  There had been extensive reports of coercion and fraudulent voting in Fairfield, the county seat during the election of October 3-6.  Freestone County had been a hotbed of slave ownership and a strong supporter of secession having voted 585 to 3 in favor of secession at a county convention.  Racial troubles continued after the war and well into the 20th Century with Klan activity and violence against Blacks.  Martial law was lifted a month later, on November 10. Freestone County was one of four Texas counties in which martial law was declared during Reconstruction.

This Has Bomb Written All Over It

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Former State Senator and miserably failed gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is developing a TV show based on her life story.  Really?  We didn’t get enough of that in 2014?  If Red wants to watch a bad TV show, he’ll stick to reruns of Reba or any of the upcoming GOP debates. The Dallas Morning News has more on this – oh, words just fail Red every now and then.  Why won’t politicians just go away when the voters tell them to?

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis confirmed Thursday night she is working on a pilot for NBC.  She said the series, about a female senator who goes to work for a law firm after losing the governor’s race, is loosely based on her life.

“It is loosely based on my personal experience,” Davis said Thursday night. “It is not an autobiographical tale.”

Davis cautioned the pilot was still in development and NBC was a “long way” from a decision about the series. She said she did not know yet who would play the character based on her.

Red hopes a “long way” means never.  But if it doesn’t, Jenna Elfman is the obvious choice.

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 5

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“Football is not a contact sport; it’s a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport.”

Duffy Daugherty

Apparently, Duffy never went into the mosh pit.

Red Rates Himself – Last week 4-2. For the season 18-6.

Your Fox(boro)trot Pick of the Week: Patriots over Cowboys. Okay, this game is actually in Arlington, but it might as well be in the friendly confines of Foxboro as far as the Patriots are concerned. The Patriots seem to be untouchable right now and Red expects that to last for another 4 or 5 games before they start to come back to earth. The Cowboys on the other hand have so many problems that Red doesn’t know where to start or how to stop grinning. If Red’s Texans are going to stink, the smell is slightly assuaged by an even bigger odor wafting down from the Metroplex. Don’t over analyze this one. The Pats are just better than everyone else right now and will lose only if they beat themselves. The Pats have been scoring at will, but at 49.5, Red likes the under this week. New England 31 Arlington 13.

Your Texas Two-Step Pick of the Week: Colts over Texans. This is painful for Red, but he has to call them as he sees them. As weak and pathetic as the Colts look(1-3), as sorry as A. Luck has been (31st in Total QB Rating ahead of only Alex Smith), as tired and old as Andre Johnson looks (0 receptions in last 2 games), as porous their bottom-tier defense looks (27th ranked), as non-existent as their rushing attack seems (more fumbles than touchdowns), and as ready for the picking as they will ever be, Red still can’t go there in the face of a Texans team that just plain sucks right now. Maybe Arian Foster will come around, maybe quarterback play will be acceptably mediocre, maybe the once-vaunted defense will show some spine, maybe the loss of the number 2 and 3 receivers won’t kill the passing attack, but that is a lot of maybes for a team that is lost in the woods.  This is a Pick ‘Em right now. Red picks the Colts. Indianapolis 13 Houston 9.

Your Do the Hustle Pick of the Week: Giants over 49ers. This week’s triple-forward time zone hex game is an easy pick even without the latent longitudinal bias working in favor of the Giants. The Niners are last in the league in passing offense. The NFL is a passing league. ‘Nuff said. Still Red wouldn’t touch Giants minus 7 with a 100 yard pole. New Jersey 27 Santa Clara 10.

You’re It Takes Two to Tango Pick of the Week: Bengals over Seahawks. Bengals want to play with the big boys – well, they get their chance this week. Red Rifle desperately needs a big game in a big game against a big time opponent. Check, check, check. Red calls the Bengals eking one out in the NFL Game of the Week. When the Bengals win this one, watch out – Red will call the Bengals to go 13-3 and may have to file an amended pre-season Superb Owl prediction. Cincinnati 29 Seattle 27.

Your Pennsylvania Polka Pick of the Week: Eagles over Saints. Saints proved they could beat a crippled Cowboys team last week. This week they face an Eagles squad that may finally be getting some legs underneath it.   A Chip Kelly team is not going to remain in the bottom quartile of NFL offenses for the entire season. This could be the break out game. However, if the Eagles cannot beat the Saints at home, then watch out, the whiskey bottles will be flying in Philly. It’s a hefty 49.5, but take the over, over, over. Philadelphia 45 New Orleans 27.

Your Can-Can Pick of the Week: Jaguars over Buccaneers. This week’s Shit Bowl feature two regular denizens of these Foul Floridian Fecal Fights. Who will stink worse this week, Blake Bortles or Jameis Winston? Red can only feign interest for so long.   Child proof the house lest ye be tempted to add some Drano to your Margarita to end the misery if you dare watch more than 5 minutes of this one. Jacksonville 17 Tampa Bay 13.

Texas Police Shooting Database Now Available

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The Texas Attorney General’s Office is developing a basic database that will allow the public to track all police shootings in Texas.  According to the OAG:

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will be adopting and publishing reporting forms for Officer-Involved Shooting Incidents, as required by H.B. 1036, 85th Leg., R.S. (2015), which became effective September 1, 2015.  Until the OAG has adopted and published a final version of the form, and rules governing its completion and submission, all law enforcement agencies should begin using this interim form in accordance with the instructions contained therein.

The interim form posted by the AG is fairly bare bones and will likely be revised to provide more information.  So far there are about a dozen filed reports from various police departments across the state.  There is not a compilation of the reports, but someone will certain began using these reports to analyze and track what is actually happening when Texas peace officers shoot someone.

Red supports any efforts to reduce police shootings and the shooting of police officers.  But it seems clear which is the bigger problem right now.  According to The Guardian which is tracking all States, 891 people have been killed in the U.S. by police this year.  Contrast that to Great Britain where there have been no fatal police shootings since 2012, or Germany where there have been eight police killings over the past two years.  Even Canada, a country with no aversion to firearms, had a total of 12 police shootings between 1999 and 2009.  Of course, these numbers would have to be adjusted for population, but even so the U.S. is not just an outlier it is a complete aberration from the rest of the democratic industrialized world.

Today in Texas History – October 8

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From the Annals of the Filibusters –  In 1821, James Long and his filibuster forces to Mexican Army troops commanded by Colonel Juan Ignacio Pérez at La Bahia. Long was a former U.S. Army surgeon with dreams of conquest. The Long expedition was one of the first Anglo-Americans attempts to seize control of Texas from Spain. The expedition was formed in the Natchez, Mississippi area by elements who were opposed to the boundary of the Louisiana Purchase as set up in the Adams-Onís Treaty.  In 1819, Long had some initial success in taking Nacogdoches and declaring a new Republic of Texas with Long as President.  But the filibusters were quickly driven out by Pérez and the nascent Republic lasted less than a month.  Undeterred, Long regrouped and joined forces with José Félix Trespalacios, who was organizing an expedition in New Orleans to support the Mexican liberals. Long established his headquarters at Fort Las Casas near Point Bolivar.  There he was joined by his wife, Jane Long, the “Mother of Texas.” He later broke with Trespalacios, and sailed with his wife and an uncertain number of men to the coast south of La Bahia.  The group easily took the presidio but was just as easily routed again by Perez days later.  Long’s filibustering career was over.  He was captured taken to Mexico where he died in prison six months later after being shot by a guard.

Photo of La Bahia from Texas Parks & Wildlife

Texans Take Note – It’s Now Okay to Damage, Mutilate, Deface and Burn Your Flags

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The often obscure but powerful Texas Court of Criminal Appeals handed down its decision in State v. Johnson holding that Tex. Penal Code 42.11(a) is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The Texas statute made it a crime to damage, mutilate, deface or burn a flag and was passed in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision 26 years ago that found Texas’ previous flag desecration statute to be similarly unconstitutional. Terence Johnson was prosecuted for violation of the statute when grabbed a flag from a storefront and threw it into the street.  There was no evidence that the act was politically motivated as Johnson claimed he did it because he was mad.  The Court looked beyond motivation and held that the statute was unconstitutional on its face because it criminalized expressive activity that is protected as free speech under the First Amendment.  The decision is a victory for free speech advocates.  As the flag is a hot button issue for the right, expect a host of bloviators who know nothing about constitutional law taking aim at the Court for protecting the free speech rights of Texas citizens. And while Red has to except former Supreme Court Clerk and Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) from those who know nothing about constitutional law, Red would be shocked if he is not leading the charge.

Today in Texas History – October 7

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From the Annals of the Red River – in 1759, a Spanish troop led by Diego Ortiz Parrilla was defeated by a group of Native Americans at a fortified Taovaya (Wichita) village near Spanish Fort. Parrilla’s expedition was intended to punish the Norteños (in this case the Tawakonis, Tonkawas, and Wichitas) for their destruction of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission in1758. Parrilla’s force consisted of 400 troops from the provinces of northeastern Mexico and the Texas presidios and 176 mission Indians and Apaches.   The need for retribution was reinforced by continuing attacks.  In December 1758, a Comanche band accompanied by members of eleven other groups surprised a group of Apaches near the presidio and killed twenty-one. In March a native force reportedly made up of the same tribes responsible for the mission attack massacred nineteen men guarding the presidio’s horse herd, leaving only one survivor.

On October 7, the troop was attacked by sixty or seventy warriors who led the Spaniards into a well-laid trap.  In pursuit, the troop was led to a sandbank at the edge of the Red River, before the fortified Taovaya village.  The Spaniards attempted to withdraw to regroup but found the road cut off by mounted Indians firing muskets. The Spaniards were trapped in the sand with horses sinking up to their knees.  The resulting 4 hour battle went badly for the force.  Facing a superior force of Comanches, Yaceales, and Tawakonis, and Taovayas, the Spaniards were attacked from the fort and the field.   The troop eventually unlimbered two cannons but they did not affect the course of the engagement. The Apaches, Mission Indians and a number of Spaniards deserted. As darkness fell, Ortiz Parrilla managed an orderly withdrawal, leaving the cannons on the field but with losses of nineteen men killed, fourteen wounded, and nineteen by desertion.

Ruins of San Saba Mission from Texas Escapes.