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.

The Eleventh Commandment – Thou Shalt be Packing Heat

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Texas Republicans are convinced that the right to bear arms is a God-given right.  This has been a primary argument in their fight to bring concealed carry and open carry of firearms to Texas campuses.  It leads to some interesting exchanges on the Senate floor.  Such as when Sen. John Whitmire (D- Houston), the longest serving senator, questioned gun rights advocate Sen. Brian Birdwell (TP- Granbury).

Whitmire:  “You believe it’s a God-given right to arm yourself and to defend yourself. I don’t want to put words in your mouth. Is that the premise of your legislation?”

Birdwell: “The Declaration (of Independence) says we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights and that to protect these rights, governments are instituted among men to preserve them. Article VII of the U.S. Constitution brings forward the Declaration as original law, therefore, creator and God are the same to me.  The right to self preservation and the right to defend one’s life is God-given because of the language in our Declaration and Article VII of the U.S. Constitution.”

Whitmire:  “And you’ve explained that to me and I do not understand fully the God right…I don’t remember in the Sunday school lessons or in my Scriptures that God spoke, obviously to weapons, or concealed weapons holders.”

Texas Wipe Out

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Texas led the nation in having 5 teams make the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.  It turns out that was the high point for Texas fans as all five teams lost in the first round.

Butler 56 Texas 48

Arizona 93 Texas Southern 72

Utah 57 Stephen F. Austin 50

UCLA 60 SMU 59

Georgia State 57 Baylor 56

We knew the Longhorns were no good, but Baylor and SMU losing was a surprise.  At least Texas Southern managed to score more than 60 points.

Today in Texas History – March 20

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From the Annals of the Good LBJ – In 1965, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson notified Alabama Gov. George Wallace that he was calling up the Alabama National Guard to supervise a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.  The action followed the confrontation of Bloody Sunday on March 7 when a group of 600 protestors were attacked by state and local police wielding billy clubs and firing tear gas in a brutal clash that was widely broadcast on television to the revulsion and outrage of millions of decent Americans.

After an Alabama federal judge ruled that the planned march to Montgomery could go ahead, President Johnson and his advisers worked quickly to find a way to ensure the safety of King and his demonstrators on their way from Selma to Montgomery. Standing in the way was ardent segregationist Wallace.   The Governor initially promised LBJ that he would call out the Alabama National Guard to maintain order, but then went on television to demand that LBJ send in federal troops instead.   LBJ was understandably enraged and sent out a press release stating that because Wallace refused to use the National Guard to preserve order,  he would call up the guard and give them all necessary support. Several days later, some 50,000 marchers followed King on the 54 mile march guarded by state and federal troops. Arriving safely in Montgomery on March 25, they watched King deliver his famous “How Long, Not Long” speech from the steps of the Capitol building.  One can only imagine how the despicable Wallace felt seeing his Capitol being used by King and his followers.

Red Out

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Red will be on vacation for the next week, so posting on the site may be sporadic at best.  Red needs to rusticate every now and then and get back to his country roots.  Life in the big city can wear on a man.

Quote for the Day

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“The miracle of Texas lies in the fact that it is the work of a handful of men. In not a single fight during the entire period from 1800 to 1845 did they muster as many as one thousand fighting men. Overwhelming odds never discouraged them and defeat but spurred them to ultimate victory.”  Jack C. Butterfield

Bush Boots DRT from Alamo

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Newly elected Land Commissioner George P. Bush (is there no end to politicians named George Bush?) has booted the Daughters of the Republic of Texas from their traditional role as custodians of the hallowed shrine.  Bush claims that the DRT has breached an agreement with the state by failing to adequately protect the Alamo.  In his letter to the DRT,  Bush said the relationship will terminate on July 10 because of 10 contractual violations including failing to maintain the fiscal and physical health of the state-owned monument.

Showing his ignorance of Texas history Bush claimed, “The Alamo has always had the same owner — the people of Texas.”  Perhaps it was hyperbole, but even a casual student of Texas history knows that the Alamo has only been officially owned by the state since 1905 and that was done at the urging of the DRT who had purchased other buildings in an effort to preserve the site.  The DRT’s custodianship has been much maligned over the years, but the debt of gratitude that the people of Texas owe them for saving the iconic shrine can never be repaid.

Bill Seeks to Limit Citizens’ Ability to Video Police in Action

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Rep. Jason Villalba (TP-Dallas) has introduced House Bill 2918 which creates a Class B Misdemeanor offense for private citizens who record, video or photograph police within 25 feet of the officers.  If you are armed, you would not be able to record or photograph within 100 feet of an officer.  The bill also creates a defense for a person working for a radio or television station that holds a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, as well as certain newspaper and magazine reporters

Today in Texas History – March 13

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From the Annals of the Revolution –  In 1836, after the disastrous defeat of Texian forces at the Alamo, the newly commissioned Texan General Sam Houston began a retreat across the coastal plan in an effort to buy time to train his makeshift army. Houston had been chosen on March 6 to be the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army by the delegates at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Houston immediately departed for Gonzales to join the main force of the revolutionary army.  The Texan Army, such as it was, consisted of about 400 poorly dressed and ill-equipped men. Almost none of them had military experience, some had no weapons and little in the way of provisions.

Houston quickly learned that forces under Col. William B. Travis and volunteers led by Jim Bowie were under siege by the main force of the Mexican Army at the Alamo in San Antonio.  Historians debate whether Houston ever considered attempting to relieve the siege, but it was too late because the Alamo had already fallen when he took command. Scouts reported that Santa Anna’s division was heading east toward Gonzales. Houston had little choice but to retreat and hope for that a situation might present itself where he could press a strategic advantage. The retreat started what became known as the Runaway Scrape in which Anglo settlers followed Houston’s Army across Texas ostensibly seeking refuge in Louisiana.

Phil Collins – Honorary Texan

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Jim Bowie on the left and Phil Collins on the right. The resemblance is uncanny. Photo: SAEN

Phil Collins was made an honorary Texan after donating his extensive collection of Alamo artifacts to a museum that will be named in his honor.  Collins’ extraordinary gift of his collection will provide researchers and history buffs an invaluable resource for years to come.  Collins says that his fascination with the Alamo began with watching Disney’s Davy Crockett and never left him.  He first encountered a Davy Crockett letter at an antiquarian dealer in Washington, D.C. in the 80’s but thought he could not afford it.  When his third wife gave him a receipt for the purchase of a saddle by one of the Alamo couriers he was hooked.  Texas owes a deep debt of gratitude to Collins for assembling and then generously donating most of his collection to the State.

Image from the San Antonio Express-News that notes the remarkable similarity between James Bowie and Phil Collins.