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.

Bike Gang Shootout Results in Mass Arrests

2 Replies

The lunch time biker gang shoot out at Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco has resulted in almost 200 arrests.  KWTX in Waco reports that the aftermath of the bloody Sunday shootout will continue for months as police and prosecutors sort out what happened when at least five biker gangs clashed.

All arrested suspects have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity but some could face more charges as the investigation continues.

The nine bodies of gang members who died in the Sunday afternoon parking lot shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant had been taken to various morgues for autopsy.

Bullet-riddled vehicles left behind by customers and employees still sat in the parking lot between Twin Peaks and Don Carlos restaurant but were being moved to forensic laboratories for investigation Monday morning.

At least two bikers were arrested in the early morning hours on Monday as they rode into town but their identities and charges were not made public.  Local law enforcement officers said they remain on edge in an effort to prevent any more violence.

Rival motorcycle gangs turned a local restaurant into a shooting gallery Sunday afternoon and when the gunfire was over, nine people were dead and 18 were injured.

Early Monday, law enforcement had turned their attention to the risk of additional bike gang members looking to retaliate, and initiate further violence in the Waco area.

The fight apparently erupted over a long brewing conflict between the Bandidos and the Cossacks.

Today in Texas History – May 18

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Depredations –  In 1871, more than 100 Kiowas, Comanches, Kiowa-Apaches, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes from the Fort Sill Reservation in Oklahoma attacked Henry Warren’s wagontrain on the Butterfield Overland Mail route.  The attack ended with the wagonmaster and six teamsters dead while five others managed to escape.  The raiding party suffered one killed and five more wounded.  One of the escaped teamsters related his story of the attack to Gen. Sherman and Col. Ranald MacKenzie at Fort Richardson. As a result the leaders of the raid, Chiefs Satank, Satanta, and Big Tree, leaders of the raid, were arrested. Satank attempted to escape and was killed. Satanta and Big Tree were tried for murder in Texas which was reputed to be the first use of Texas courts to try Indian for criminal acts.  They were found guilty and sentenced to death, but had their sentences commuted to life by Gov. Edmund Davis.   The raid restarted U.S. military operations against the Comanches and their allies who remained at large.

Photo of Chief Satanta from http://www.Kansas.com

The Anti-Gay Crowd Aint Going Down Without a Fight

2 Replies

Texas AG Ken Paxton will not give up easy and Red suspects neither will his Tea Party cohorts.  Marriage is only for straights and the Gays can feel whatever they want, but don’t try to walk down the aisle in Texas.  RawStory recounts Paxton’s recent interview on CNN.

“My job as attorney general and the job of the Legislature is to really follow the will of the people and enforce the laws that we have,” he remarked. “This is both in statute and in our constitution. So, that’s my job, and that’s the job of the Legislature.”

But the attorney general was not willing to say that the state would follow the Supreme Court if it decided to rule in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage later this year.

“Aren’t you saying that the gays and lesbians in your state are not as valued at heterosexuals because they can’t form into a union?” Camerota asked.

“All the Legislature has done in the past is try to reflect the values that have been in this state and this country for over two centuries,” Paxton insisted.

“What about homosexuals who fall in love? What should they do?” the CNN host pressed.

“They have — they can do whatever they want,” Paxton shrugged. “But the reality itself right now in Texas was defined by the people of Texas overwhelmingly as between a man and a woman. And that’s the law of Texas, it’s in our constitution, it’s in our statutes.”

“I mean, they can’t really do whatever they want as you’ve just said,” Camerota shot back. “Do you understand why gays in Texas would feel that is discriminating against them?”

“They can feel how they want,” Paxton replied. “The reality is the voters of Texas have passed the law as it is.”

Ten bucks says that even Tea Party crazed Texas would not vote the gay marriage ban into the Constitution today.

Drought in Doubt?

Leave a reply

Current U.S. Drought Monitor

The current drought gripping much of Texas since its official beginning in October or 2010 has relaxed somewhat.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram nods approvingly at indications that the almost five year drought is easing.

None of the state is in exceptional drought, the most serious category, which is noted by maroon splotches on the drought map.

West of Fort Worth, Palo Pinto, Young and Stephens counties, which had been stuck in exceptional drought, improved dramatically over the last week. They’re still in severe drought but conditions are definitely trending in the right direction. Lake Palo Pinto, which was hovering around 10 percent a month ago, is now full.

“It looks like we’re headed in the right direction,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Lamont Bain. “We’ll see what this weekend rain brings.”

Meanwhile, California is drying up and blowing away.  Red isn’t planting wheat just yet.

The Inmates are Running the GOP Asylum

Leave a reply

The embarrassing fallout from the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theorists of the Texas Tea Party continues to mount.  The International Business Times reports that 32% of GOP primary voters nationwide actually believe that Jade Helm 15 is a secret plot of the federal government to take over Texas.

Hey morons, listen up!  In case you hadn’t noticed, the federal government already controls Texas and has for over 150 years now and has over 50,000 troops stationed here to boot.  We tried to secede once and it didn’t work.  And if the number is 32% nationwide, one can only imagine what it is in Texas since this is the nest.  What is troubling is that these are the people that have an outsized say in how this state is governed since winning the GOP primary is tantamount to election in any statewide office.  Unbelievable.

A conspiracy theory that the U.S. military is plotting to invade Texas and impose martial law has gained some traction among Republicans. A poll by Public Policy Polling released on Wednesday found that 32 percent of GOP primary voters nationwide believe that the federal government is in fact trying to take over Texas.

The conspiracy centers on an exercise the Department of Defense is planning to conduct, known as Jade Helm 15, across several Southwestern states including Texas. It’s not uncommon for the Pentagon to conduct practice missions with troops, but this one is large-scale and meant to simulate entering a hostile country.

Pointing to briefing documents the military had provided the public to explain the exercise, a group of conspiracy theorists began arguing that it wasn’t an exercise at all, but an excuse for the military to deploy troops in order to take over Texas, seize guns, arrest political opponents and impose martial law. The conspiracy theories gained more traction after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the U.S. military’s movements. And Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for president, was criticized for further stoking the fire after he asked the Pentagon to clarify their intentions and said the concern was justified because no one trusts the administration.

But it didn’t appear to give Cruz a boost among those who believe the conspiracy theory. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was leading among the Texas-takeover believers, winning 23 percent of that constituency compared with Cruz’s 18 percent.  

Well, there is a silver lining.  At least Ted Cruz is not benefitting from pandering to these nut jobs.  One can only imagine the anguished looks of disappointment on the faces of these fools, when they realize that the jack-booted thugs of the federal government haven’t actually come to take away their women, children and most importantly guns.

Today in Texas History – May 14

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Revolution – In 1836, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and Republic of Texas provisional president David Burnett signed two Treaties of Velasco ending the Texas Revolution.  The public treaty, signed not surprisingly at Velasco (now Surfside Beach), ceased the fighting, called for withdrawal of Mexican troops and exchanges of prisoners, but Mexico did not formally recognize Texas’ independence.  The self-styled “secret treaty” had provisions for normalization of relations after the terms of the public treaty had been met.  The still vastly superior Mexican forces in the field honored the treaty and withdrew to Mexico.  In effect, the treaty was a venal effort by Santa Anna to save his own skin as it provided for his immediate transport to Veracruz. The story of Texas might have been vastly different if Gens. Urea and Filasola had decided to ignore Santa Anna’s command to stand down.

Despite the treaties, disputes over whether the Texas/Mexico boundary was on the Rio Grande or the Nueces continued and ultimately was the provocation that started the Mexican-American War that John Polk desperately wanted.  As a result, Texas’ boundary was never finally resolved during the days of the Republic.  It was not determined until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 at the end of the Mexican-American War.

Spam of the Day

Leave a reply

When Red started blogging, he did not realize how much Spam would be coming his way.  And now he feels a need to share these wondrous tidbits on occasion.  With comments of course.

whoah (Okay I’ll stop)  this blog is fantastic (at least we agree on something) I like reading your posts.  Stay up the great work! (Definitely staying up for now) You understand, many people
are looking round for this information, (some looking square too)
you could aid them greatly (glad to be of assistance).

UT President Turns Down Money

Leave a reply

The Bryan-College Station Eagle reports that incoming UT-Austin President Gregory Fenves is turning down a salary offer of $1,000,000 because of concerns over the impact of such a salary in times of belt-tightening and budget cutting.  Lest ye feel too sorry for Fenves – don’t.  He apparently will still make in the neighborhood of $800,000 with bonuses and deferred pay.

Emails show the incoming president of the University of Texas at Austin declined a $1 million salary offer because he was concerned it could upset students and faculty at the school that has been stretched for funds in recent years.

“With many issues and concerns about administrative costs, affordability and tuition, such a salary will affect the ability of the president to work with the Texas Legislature on matters important to the university,” Gregory Fenves said in an email to Pedro Reyes, the UT System’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Fenves warned that the proposed paycheck would draw “widespread negative attention from students and faculty because of budget constraints seen in the last five years.” His email was obtained by the Austin American-Statesman through an open records request.

Fenves is expected to receive his requested base salary of $750,000 a year, making him an outlier in a field where salaries generally push north of seven figures.

Michael Young, who became president of Texas A&M University on May 1, is the highest-paid leader of a public academic institution in Texas. His total annual compensation is $1.4 million, including $1 million in base salary.

Today in Texas History – May 13

Leave a reply

From the Annals of the Unlucky –  In 1865, the last battle of the Civil War was fought near Brownsville at Palmito Ranch.  Union and Confederate commanders had previously reached a local truce thinking that a confrontation in the what appeared to be the waning days of the war over non-strategic ground in south Texas would be a waste of time, ammunition and most importantly lives.  Despite this on May 11, Col. Theo. H Barrett sent 300 mostly Black troops to take possession of Brownsville.  The Union force surprised about 150 Confederate cavalrymen and quickly routed them.  However, later in the afternoon the Confederates engaged the Union in a skirmish.  The Union commanders assumed that the Confederates had received reinforcements and quickly withdrew.  On May 13, Col. John “Rip” Ford arrived with artillery and assumed command.  The Confederates opened up with the cannons and an ensuing cavalry charge.  The Union troops were quickly routed and fell back to Brazos Island.  Approximately 30 unfortunate Union soldiers were killed in the meaningless and unnecessary battle.  After capturing some Union troops, the Confederates learned of the surrender of Lee and Johnston.  This small battle is only remembered because it was the last actual battle of the Civil War.