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.

Is Texas Weather Really That Bad?

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Jacquielynn Floyd of the Dallas Morning News wonders if Texas is the worst place in the Nation for for catastrophic weather events and natural disasters.

After a series of devastating 2011 tornadoes and floods in the U.S., The New York Times commissioned data analysts at Sperling’s Best Places to rank hundreds of metro areas by their relative safety from natural disasters.

Their findings: If you’re paranoid about such things, move to the Pacific Northwest. In ranking 379 metropolitan areas — where 85 percent of people in the country live — seven of the safest 10 are in Washington state.

The part you’ll want to chew on, though, is that six of the worst 10 are in Texas. And ranked at the tippy-top (or bottom, if you’re reading it that way), the riskiest place in the nation for catastrophic weather is — grab hold of a desk or something if you’re prone to giddiness — here. Us.

Ted Cruz Against All Spending – Except When it Might Cost Him Votes

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) will apparently support federal funding to help Texans affected by the recent disastrous flooding.  When the good citizens of New Jersey and New York needed such funds after Hurricane Sandy, the good Senator was not so understanding.  He claimed that the relief bill was loaded with pork (a dubious claim in light of the history of such measures) and voted against it.  But when it comes to protecting his base in Texas, Cruz will apparently have no qualms about federal money pouring into our fair state.  That evil federal money will soon start to flow and you can bet Cruz will be claiming credit.  The Washington Post reports on Cruz’s hypocrisy.

Sen. Ted Cruz showed his support for federal disaster relief in the wake of devastating floods in Texas last week — two and a half years after voting against a disaster relief bill for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the East Coast in 2012.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cruz said that it appears as though the disaster money will come through due to the magnitude of the floods, which killed 15 people in Texas.

“The governor has entered a disaster declaration, which is the first step in federal emergency relief,” Cruz said. “There are a series of federal statutory thresholds that have to be satisfied initially. It appears that those thresholds will be satisfied by the magnitude of the flooding.”

Today in Texas History – May 29′

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From the Annals of Hospitality –  In 1947, Hilton Hotels was incorporated in Delaware.  Hilton would later become the first hotel chain listed on the New York Stock Exchange.  HIlton had it humble beginnings in Texas.  In 1919 Conrad Nicholson Hilton purchased the Mobley Hotel in Cisco.  Hilton expanded his holdings in several ways.  After his first purchase in Cisco, Hilton began leasing and renovating old hotels.  After acquiring several such properties, he began building new hotels in Texas on property he ground leased.  Then he moved on to buying existing, low performing hotels at bargain prices. Hilton opened a new hotel in Texas every year between 1925 and 1930 eventually owning 8.  He managed to survive the Depression even though he was close to bankruptcy in1931. But the troubled times forced him to look to outside investors.  Shearn and William L. Moody, Jr., of Galveston were the primary source of new capital and HIlton merged his hotels with the Moodys’ operations to form the National Hotel Company.  The merger was unsuccessful and in 1934 Hilton resumed his independent operation with five hotels. In 1938 he acquired the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, his first hotel outside of Texas. Hilton later established his corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills.  Ultimately, Conrad Hilton owned 188 hotels in 38 United States cities, including the Shamrock in Houston, the Mayflower in Washington, the Palmer House in Chicago, and the Plaza and Waldorf-Astoria in New York, and another 54 hotels in foreign countries.  He also endowed the University of Houston which named the Conrad Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management after him.  His archives are located at the University Hilton on the UH Campus.

Red vowed to never stay at another Hilton Hotel after they tore down the Shamrock.  For those who never stayed at the Shamrock, it was a glorious place and Red spent many a lazy Saturday afternoon at the enormous pool sipping a libation with friends and planning that evening’s dinner and trip to the Astrodome.

Though April Showers May Come Your Way – They Bring Even More Rain in May

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May 2015 is officially the wettest month ever recorded in Texas.  Texas A&M Today reports that the current deluge has broken all records for precipitation in a single month.

Figures from the Office of the State Climatologist at Texas A&M University show that the month of May has been the wettest month ever in the state’s history, averaging 7.54 inches, besting the previous record of 6.66 inches in June of 2004.

“Many parts of the state have set records for the most rainfall ever,” says John Nielsen-Gammon, professor of atmospheric sciences who also has served as State Climatologist since 2000. He says the reason is a combination of factors: an active El Niño in the Pacific Ocean which tends to bring the jet stream over Texas, a steady flow of moist air from the south that becomes unstable when it undercuts the jet stream, and a stubborn weather pattern “that just won’t go away.

“It has been one continuous storm after another for the past week to 10 days in several regions of the state.  It has rained so much that the ground just can’t soak any more moisture into it, and many creeks and rivers are above flood stage.”

The good news: Nielsen-Gammon says the stubborn pattern should begin to change in a few days, “and after this weekend, we should enter a period of more normal conditions.  Spring is usually wet, but not this wet.”

The state’s wettest area has been from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the Red River, parts of which have received more than 20 inches of rain this month.

The Houston area was not hit “that hard until the past few days, but then heavy rains came in waves and areas around Sugarland have received more than 17.50 inches of rain.  The area around San Marcos has received heavy flooding, with more than 18 inches of rain this month,” Nielsen-Gammon adds.

 

Bring Your Textbooks, Notebook, LapTop, Pens and .38 Special

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The Texas Tribune reports that the conservative quest to have more guns on Texas campuses is still alive.  Despite repeated admonitions from university administrators across the board (except shamefully for John Sharp at Texas A&M), the Legislature is more interested in kowtowing to its extreme right wing than doing what is in the best interests of our state universities and their students.

Campus carry legislation lived to fight another day as a last-minute deal saved Senate Bill 11 just before a midnight deadline in the House to take initial votes on bills originating in the Senate.

The dramatic scene occurred close to 11:30 p.m. The House had just spent 30 minutes considering a point of order raised by San Antonio Democrat Trey Martinez Fischer. With about 100 filed amendments awaiting debate, many had already started writing the obituaries for the legislation that would require public colleges and universities to allow concealed handgun license holders to bring guns on campus.

 

Today in Texas History – May 28

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From the Annals of Big Oil – In 1923, the Santa Rita No. 1 oil well came in.  The gusher came in the early morning at the solitary rig located in Reagan County.  The University of Texas had leased 670 sections of its west Texas land to Rupert P. Ricker.  Ricker in turn hoped to make enough selling drilling permits from various wildcatters to make the rental payments to UT.  Frank T. Pickrell and Haymon Krupp bought the drilling permits and formed Texon Oil and Land Company.  They then hired geologist Hugh Tucker to select a site for drilling among the almost 200,000 acres.  Carl G. Cromwell drilled the well which was spudded in only minutes before the drilling permit would have expired.  The incredible gusher and the ensuing development of UT’s vast land holdings transformed the school from a small land grant college in a small city to a major institution of higher education.  The University of Texas system has the second highest endowment of any US university ranking only behind Harvard.

The Dam Will Hold – For Now

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A dam near Midlothian appeared to be on the edge of failure, but WFAA reports that it will hold for the time being.

Engineers and builders at Padera Lake in Midlothian say it was a close call, but an earthen dam won’t breach after all. They are still waiting on official word from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The National Weather Service expected the levee to break Wednesday morning. U.S. Highway 287 was being prepared to close near Kimble Road in case the road became flooded. Up to 15 feet of water was possible.

Stephanie Parker with the Ellis County Emergency Management Agency told News 8 that people living near the dam were notified of the potential break, and livestock was moved to higher ground.

Officials had been trying to slow down the process for several days, as rain added more water to the small lake. They were draining it from the bottom of the dam Monday morning, as soil was seen eroding and water was spilling over the top.

Today in Texas History – May 27

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From the Annals of the GOP –  In 1961, John Tower was elected as the first Republican senator from Texas since the days of Reconstruction.  It was Tower’s first elective office. Tower a professor at Midwestern University had run unsuccessfully for state representative in 1954 and worked to build the GOP in Texas.  By 1960, he was sufficiently well known to be nominated at the state Republican convention to run against Lyndon B. Johnson for senator – who was also on the national ticket as the Democratic candidate for Vice-President.  Tower’s campaign slogan was “double your pleasure, double your fun, vote against Johnson two times, not one.”  Johnson easily won the election but resigned his seat when he was also elected vice president. Tower entered a very crowded field of more than 60 candidates for the special election to replace Johnson. His main opposition was William Blakely of Dallas whom Price Daniel, Sr. had appointed to fill the vacancy left by Johnson’s resignation.  He led the first election with 31% of the vote and then won the runoff.   Tower was a mostly reliable conservative during his tenure.  His shameful votes against the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were likely popular in Texas.  But Tower did stray from the ranks of the hard-right when he supported Gerald Ford over Ronald Reagan in 1976.  Tower resigned in 1985.  After his 24 year career in the Senate, President Ronald Reagan appointed him chief United States negotiator at the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks in Geneva. In 1986, Reagan appointed him to chair a commission to investigate the Iran-Contra affair. In 1989, President George Bush nominated him to become secretary of defense.  In an unusual move, the Senate rejected one of its on largely because of concerns over Tower’s alleged excessive drinking and womanizing.

Houston Hammered

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Red will confirm that Houston was indeed hammered last night and into the early morning.   CNN can fill in the details.  When woken by Mrs. Red this morning at 3 am, Casa Rojo was completely surrounded by water.  Around 5:30 Red was pretty sure it was going to flood, but the rain stopped.

“We got hammered,” Houston Emergency Management Coordinator Rick Flanagan told CNN’s “New Day,” echoing sentiments by many others in the region in recent days. “We had cars that were stranded, mobility was stopped … signals didn’t work. It was just a madhouse.”

It still is. While the sun appeared Tuesday, more rain remains possible. And even though some parts of Houston were “high and dry,” others were not, Mayor Annise Parker said.

 

“The sun is shining out here right now and the city is slowly getting back to normal, but this is a little bit of a situation of a tale of two cities. Much of Houston was unaffected by the weather, but the parts that were affected by the weather were very severely hit,” she told reporters.

Underpasses, patches of highways and areas near waterways such as the San Jacinto River, Cypress Creek and Buffalo Bayou, already strained by weeks of heavy rain, remain inundated.

“The defining feature of Houston is the small rivers that run through the city,” Parker said. “Many of them went over their banks and began to flood neighborhoods.”

The result of the flash floods and river overruns is “lots and lots of abandoned cars” and large pools of standing water, making for a logistical and traffic nightmare in the United States fourth most populated city.

The mayor said that as many as 4,000 properties in Houston may have suffered “significant damage,” although the assessment is complicated by all the water.

Image of worst high-water spots from http://www.chron.com.