Today in Texas History – January 26

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From the Annals of Crockery –  In 1893, the new McDade Pottery plant produced its first wares. The McDade plant was the successor to a “jug shop” begun in 1853 near present-day Bastrop State Park.  The plant moved to McDade in the late 1870s. Robert L. Williams, an experience ceramicist, recognized the potential for McDade clay, bought the business in 1890. He built a new plant with two brick beehive kilns, clay-grinding equipment, and a railroad siding. He continued production of garden pottery, specialty items and kitchen ware. Williams invented an extrusion press with assorted sizes of dies for the rapid production of flowerpots and other hollowware. The business flourished until Williams’ death in 1924.  By the forties mass produced plastic ware and other developments led to the demise of the pottery business.

Photo of early McDade potters from the McDade Historical Museum.

Perry Endorses Cruz – Big Whoop

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FoxNews is reporting that twice-failed GOP presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas).  “I am convinced without a doubt that on day one, this very committed conservative American will be ready to be commander-in-chief,” Perry told Fox News.

And exactly what is that belief based on?  Ted’s vast military experience?  Ted’s abuse of an automatic weapon to fry bacon? Ted’s desire to see glowing sand in Syria?  His bloviation and bluster?   Please tell us, oh great failed candidate.

Today in Texas History – January 25

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From the Annals of Heraldry –  In 1839, the Congress of the Republic of Texas adopted the Texas coat of arms.  The herald is a circular shield with a white five-pointed star on an azure ground surrounded by olive and live oak branches.  Upon statehood in 1845, the designation was altered from the Republic of Texas to the State of Texas.

Red understands the live oak branch and realizes that some now claim to make Texas olive oil, but it seems like a strange choice at the time.

Our Poor Idiot Governor

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The Texas Observer chronicles Gov. Greg Abbott’s first year in office and it is a sad tale of incompetent leadership, right-wing bluster, Tea Party sycophancy, and an apparent desire to do anything but the job he was elected to do.

Abbott has won real national attention for precisely three things this year: his Jade Helm letter, his personal war against Syrian refugees, and his bonkers proposal to rewrite the U.S. Constitution, which we may properly call the Articles of Gregfederation. In each case, the primary effect of his actions has been to make us look kinda dumb.

UT is Coming to Town

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The Houston Chronicle reports that the University of Texas system will in fact be making its presence known in Texas’ largest city.  UT will be paying $450 million over a period of 30 years for a 300 acre campus just south of the South 610 Loop.  The land is likely the largest open parcel that close to central Houston and is surrounded by several other slightly used tracts that could be used for expansion.  The purchase has raised outcries from University of Houston supporters who are feeling the heat of real Tier One university coming to town.  For a city its size, Houston is severely under-universitied. Houston has UH and Rice as major universities and then a small number of other players including UH-Downtown, the University of St. Thomas, Texas Southern University and Houston Baptist University.  Six real universities for a city of over 4 million is totally inadequate.  Red welcomes UT to town.  UT System Chancellor William McRaven said he wants to “astound people with our boldness.”

Perhaps this offends the powers that be at UH – who are more accustomed to astounding people with corruption and ineptitude.  If they had any vision, they would see that adding another major university center to Houston can only benefit UH by making Houston a university city and expanding opportunities for cooperation.  But they are too busy attempting to build walls to protect their fiefdoms, building expensive stadiums that are underutilized, and covering up any hint of scandal.

Today in Texas History – January 22

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From the Annals of the Presidency –  In 1973, former President Lyndon Baines Johnson passed away in Johnson City at the age of 64.  After deciding to not stand for re-election, LBJ went back his ranch in Central Texas.  According to many, LBJ worked as hard at ranching as he had as a politician.  The presidential biographer, Doris Kearns, observed Johnson working on the ranch with the same level of intensity he had tackled work in the Oval Office. Each morning, Johnson would instruct his ranch hands to make a “solemn pledge that you will not go to bed tonight until you are sure that every steer has everything he needs. We’ve got a chance of producing some of the finest beef in this country if we work at it.  And if we treat those hens with loving care we should be able to produce the finest eggs in the country.” He ordered daily reports on the production of eggs. To Kearns, Johnson’s frustration with his hens’ egg production echoed the frustration he experienced in failing to conclude an un-winnable war in Vietnam.

The ranch work could not conceal the fact that LBJ was, in his own words, miserable.  His legacy of accomplishment as the creator of a “Great Society” and in passing the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was being overshadowed by the floundering war in Vietnam and the anti-war movement.

On the day of Richard M. Nixon’s inauguration, Johnson watched sullenly as Nixon announced the dismantling of many of Johnson’s Great Society social programs.  The next day, Nixon announced that he had achieved the ceasefire in Vietnam that had eluded Johnson. Johnson had reportedly predicted that he would die if his vision of the Great Society died. The following day, while Lady Bird and their daughters were in Austin, Johnson suffered a fatal heart attack.  He is buried in a family cemetery at the ranch.  One can only imagine what he would think about the likes of Trump and Cruz.

Photo from the LBJ Library

Is There Anything Ted Cruz Doesn’t Lie About?

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) is now claiming that the “Washington Establishment” has determined Marco Rubio “can’t win this race” and consequently is “rushing over to support Donald Trump.” While campaigning in New Hampshire, Cruz laid down the following whopper:

“We’re seeing the Washington establishment abandoning Marco Rubio and unifying behind Donald Trump. And we’re seeing conservatives coming together and unifying behind our campaign. And if conservatives unite, we win.”

Exactly who is the “Washington Establishment” is anybody’s fair guess, but in Cruz’s opinion it seems to be anyone who doesn’t support him.  It seems to Red, however, that the WE is likely composed of current and former office holders that serve or served in the halls of Congress and elsewhere in good ol’ DC.

So let’s look at exactly how many current or former members of Congress have endorsed Donald Trump.   Fortunately for Red, he doesn’t have to look too far because the list is pretty damn short.  In fact, it’s not even a list because all of one – count him – one former Congressman, Virgil Short (VA) has endorsed Trump.  To give Ted the benefit of the doubt Red will also include one Jeff Lord, former White House associate political director for Reagan in 1987–88.  While Red is sure that Jeff is a great guy, Red doubts that Mr. Lord is swinging a big dick or a whole lot of votes towards the Donald.

And then we turn to Mr. Anti-Establishment himself.  How many current of former members of Congress has TC snared?  Drum roll please – 20 – including one former Senator!  Plus, Cruz has also snagged the endorsements of 7 former members of the Republican National Committee.  Curious how Mr. Cruz has failed to obtain the endorsement of a single one of his colleagues in the Senate, isn’t it?

But in Red’s opinion, the endorsement game is fought and won on the crazy celebrity battlefront.  Here, Trump is clearly coming out ahead with endorsements of such heavyweights as Mike Tyson (pun intended), Tia Tequila, Gary Busey, Dennis Rodman, Hulk Hogan, Ted Nugent, Lou “the Hulk” Ferrigno, and Wayne Newton.  Danke Schoen.

Poor Ted just can’t compete here, and thus is reduced to whining about the Washington Establishment.  What else can he do with a celebrity endorsement roster that features lightweights like Phil Robertson, James Woods and R. Lee Ermey?

Red’s NFL Picks – Conference Championships

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“The stash of games is getting low.”

Said many years ago by an old stoner friend of Red’s (who loved football almost as much as he liked the weed). Indeed, it is. Indeed, it is.

Red Rates Himself – For Round 2 of the Playoffs Red was 2-2. For the season Red is now 58-46. Omaha, Omaha.

Your Rocky Mountain High Pick of the Week: Broncos over Patriots. Red is breaking tradition and all the rules by picking the Broncos – even though the Patriots were his preseason AFC Champ. If this game were in Foxboro, Red would call it the other way. If you didn’t notice, every home team won last week and every game was a “one score” game in that one score by the losing team would have won or tied the game. Red expects the same this weekend. There will be no blowouts of the last teams standing but the home field advantage in this type of game is enormous. The Patriots strategy last week was to pretend like the solid front 7 of the Chiefs defense simply did not exist and throw, throw some more and keep throwing the entire game. There was a mere pretense of a running game – not surprising since the Pats were down to retired retread Steven Jackson as their main option in the backfield. No knock on Jackson who had a solid career but expecting him to come out of retirement a couple of weeks before the playoffs and rush for 100 yards is a little much even for the Pats. That strategy will not work against the best defense in the league. Miller, Ware, Jackson and Wolfe will be turned loose on Brady. Pressure will be the key. So what will Belicheat pull out of the hat this week in the face of the team who gets after the QB better than anyone else? If Red knew that he wouldn’t be working for a living.   Red expects the Broncos’ sputtering offense will need to score 24 to win and they can do that with smart game management and a decent game from the disappointing C.J. Anderson. The Broncos need at least 130 yards on the ground and the clock chewing that entails, if they are going to win. And PMS needs to not suck – a tall order right now. Red likes the Broncos plus 3, but the O/U at 44.5 scares him. Denver 24 New England 23.

Your Wildwood Weed Pick of the Week: Panthers over Cardinals. Cardinals surprised Red last week. He thought that the Packers wild finish would finish off a team that had to be wondering “What the Hell just happened?” But Larry Fitzgerald put an end to Red’s dream of correctly picking both Superb Owl teams – so now he hates them. On the other side, the Panthers have simply been the best team in the league all season. Notwithstanding the Seahawks furious comeback in the second half, what the Panthers did to the Hawks in the first half ought to be illegal. Red expects a similarly fast start to this one – again followed by a spirited rally that falls short. And although, Red would desperately like to see the first ever all Mountain Time Zone Superb Owl (with the only two teams that could possibly make that happen), he can’t go against a Carolina team that has bested all comers but one – and looked pretty snappy doing so. Red likes the Panthers giving up 3 and the over at 44.5.   Carolina 35 Arizona 29.

Today in Texas History – January 21

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From the Annals of Stupidity –  In 1856, the American or Know-Nothing party of Texas came out of the closet and met for the first time in open convention in Austin. The party was formed by the members of the xenophobic, racist and anti-Catholic secret society known as the American Order. The origin of the “Know Nothing” term was in the semi-secret organization of the party. When a member was asked about its activities, he was supposed to reply, “I know nothing.” Outsiders called them “Know-Nothings”, and the name stuck. In 1855, the Know-Nothings first entered politics as the American Party.  The Texas Know-Nothings, led by Lieutenant Governor David C. Dickson – a former Democrat, attempted to gain control of the State.   Dickson was the candidate for governor.  Most members and Know-Nothing candidates continued to deny that they were members of the American Order.  The campaign was helped by Sam Houston who drafted a public letter endorsing the principles of the American Order. In the August election, incumbent Democratic governor Elisha M. Pease defeated Dickson.  However, the Know-Nothings had other successes.  The voters elected Lemuel D. Evans to Congress and won several seats in the state house.  The party was short-lived coming apart over the issue of slavery.  By 1857, the Know-Nothings had virtually ceased to exist in Texas.

Image of David Catchings Dickson.