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Today in Texas History – April 20

From the Annals of Deutschland –  In 1842, the Adelsverein (officially named the Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer in Texas or Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) was provisionally organized by German noblemen at Biebrich on the Rhine.  The society was intended to promote German emigration to Texas and is credited with having arranged for more than 7,000 Germans to settle in Texas.  Other than arranging for the initial resettlement of Germans the Society was largely a failure as a business venture.

Joseph of Boos-Waldeck and Victor August of Leiningen-Westerburg-Alt-Leiningen were the first to come to Texas to investigate.  After declining an offer from Pres. Sam Houston for a colony west of Austin, Boos-Waldeck purchased a league of land (4,428 acres) near Industry in current day Fayette County. He named it Nassau Farm in honor of Duke Adolf of Nassau, the patron of the society.  It served as a base for future German immigrants.

He’s Still Lyin’ Ted – He’s just lyin’ for Trump now

Calling Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Tex) a spineless weasel is truly an insult to spineless weasels in general.  Lyin’ Ted has proven that he will say anything to anyone if he thinks it will result in the greater glorification of all things Ted Cruz.  His latest attempt to curry favor with the Trumpian wing of the GOP is to write a hagiographic testament to Trump in the Time magazine’s new feature on the 100 most influential people of 2018.  Ted practically falls over himself in praising Trump as a great leader.  That same great leader that Ted called “utterly amoral’, a “pathological liar” and a “narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen.”

Red defers to Lyin’ Ted’s expertise on narcissism. Oh hell, Red defers to Ted on the pathology of lying as well.  Apparently, Ted was asked by Time to do the piece.  He could have declined and no one would have been the wiser.  But given a chance to suck up and boost his sagging popularity, Ted chose to praise the man who said his wife was purt near ugly as store-bought sin and his Daddy might have helped kill JFK.  It takes an utterly broken moral compass to make the switch from righteous indignation to moral bankruptcy.  And apologies to spineless weasels everywhere.

Today in Texas History – April 17

Image result for west texas explosion

From the Annals of Industrial Explosions – In 2013, the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas exploded.  The explosion occurred after local firefighters arrived on the scene to battle a fire.  The enormous blast killed 15 including 10 first responders and 2 civilians who volunteered to help fight the blaze.  An additional 160 people were injured.  A local school and apartment complex were almost completely destroyed and a nursing home facility was severely damaged.

The initial investigation was unable to determine the source of the fire, but on May 11, 2016, the  Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms announced that the fire that led to the explosion was intentionally set.

 On April 22, 2014, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released preliminary findings concluding that company officials failed to safely store the chemicals and that federal, state and local regulations regarding such hazardous materials were wholly inadequate.  The board’s chair, Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso, stated:

“The fire and explosion at West Fertilizer was preventable. It should never have occurred. It resulted from the failure of a company to take the necessary steps to avert a preventable fire and explosion and from the inability of federal, state and local regulatory agencies to identify a serious hazard and correct it.”

Some have disputed the conclusion that the fire was intentionally set.  To date no one has been charged in connection with the horrific explosion.

Today in Texas History – April 16

The Longest Shutout By Innings In Major League History

From the Annals of MLB – In 1968, the Houston Astros and New York Mets finished the longest night game in Major League history.  The game lasted 24 innings and clocked in at six hours six minutes.  The game had started on April 15 but did not finish until 1:37 a.m. the next day.

In the bottom of the 24th inning, the Astros loaded the bases.  Bob Aspromonte hit a routine grounder to utility infielder Al Weis who was filling in at shortstop because Bud Harrelson had a sore arm.  The ball went through his legs to score Norm Miller and end the game with a 1-0 Astros victory. The game was also notable because it was the longest scoreless contest in baseball history.

Today in Texas History – April 13

Uncovered Texas Postcards | San Pedro Springs Park - 1912

From the Annals of the Missionaries –  In 1709, an expedition led by Franciscan fathers Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares and Isidro Félix de Espinosa reached the site of current day San Antonio.   Olivares and Espinosa were escorted by Capt. Pedro de Aguirre and fourteen soldiers.  The small expedition left San Juan Bautista on April 5 with the goal of contacting Tejas Indians living on the lower Colorado River.  The Fathers encamped at site near the springs that they christened as San Pedro Springs. The expedition continued on and reached the Colorado near Bastrop on May 19.  However, the Tejas were living further east and the Fathers did not have authorization to proceed farther than the Colorado. , They had also learned that the Tejas were likely hostile to the Spanish and the expedition returned to the Rio Grande.

Today in Texas History – April 12

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From the Annals of Real Property Records –  In 1758,Luís Antonio Menchaca and Andrés Hernández resolved a title dispute concerning Menchaca’s San Francisco Ranch. The agreement resulted in the oldest recorded private land grant in Texas. The grant which is recorded in the General Land Office involved a total of fifteen leagues and seven labores in present-day Karnes and Wilson counties.  Menchaca was deeded eleven leagues and two labores while four leagues and five labores were granted to Hernández.

Menchaca was born in 1713 and was a Captain in the Spanish army and served as justicia mayor of San Fernando.  Less is know about Hernandez, but he was a soldier at San Antonio de Béxar Presidio. At the time of the grant, he made sworn statements to the effect that he had been living on the site for more than five years by virtue of a grant of four sitios and eight caballerías of land which had been made to his deceased father more than twenty-two years previously.  It is possible that this was the site of the first ranch in Texas.

Quote for the Day

 “That’s the whole point that we’re supposed to have the rule of law. It ain’t the rule of law when they kick in your door at three in the morning and you’re faced with armed men and you have no reason to be told you’re going to have that kind of treatment. That’s Stalin. That’s the gestapo in Germany. That shouldn’t be the American FBI.”

Newt “Gasbag” Gingrich on Fox & Friends

Red wonders if that scumbag Nazi Mueller will soon be hauling people off to concentration camps or the American Gulag and summarily executing them.  Maybe Newt is afraid that he will start with him and Steve “the Stupidest Man Ever Allowed on TV” Doocy.  Gingrich knows Trump is soiling his big-leg pants over the entirely legal Cohen seizure and he will stop at nothing to defame those who would hold Trump and his band of crooks accountable in a desperate attempt to deflect blame.

Somehow Red just doesn’t recall Stalin or the Gestapo going through the rather strict process of getting a search warrant based on probable cause under the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  The reason you get a search warrant is because you have enough of a quantum of evidence to establish that a crime has been committed.  And the reason for surprise in executing a warrant is because you have reason to believe that the target will otherwise destroy evidence.  Both Manafort and Cohen have associated themselves with utter scum and have a track record of unethical behavior.  It doesn’t strain credulity to see either of them destroying evidence.

For draft-dodger, serial philanderer, for sale to the highest bidder, bloviator Newt to attack a man who served his country honorably in Vietnam and has dedicated his life to the rule of law and fighting crime shows exactly how desperate the Trumpians are at this point.  When you have absolutely nothing left you play the Nazi card.  To quote Jim Hightower, “You have to watch out for Newt. He’s a slimy little lizard.”

Today in Texas History – April 11

MAJESTIC THEATRE (DALLAS) | The Handbook of Texas Online ...

From the Annals of the Theatre – In 1921, the Majestic Theater opened in Dallas.  This was during the Vaudeville Era and the MT hosted a variety of acts rangint from Harry Houdini to Mae West to Bob Hope. The Theater was named to the National Register of Historic Places and re-opened on January 28, 1983, as an elegant center for the performing arts in downtown Dallas.  The MT presents music concerts of all stripes, traditional theater, musicals, comedians, movies, lectures and a variety of other events.