Today in Texas History – October 5

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From the Annals of the Governors – In 1907, Allan Shivers was born in Lufkin.   Shivers was the youngest Senator in Texas history when he was elected to the state senate in 1937.  He had been a force in the Texas Senate.  After serving in Europe in World War II, he sought the position of Lt. Governor in 1946.   He became Governor upon the death of Gov. Beauford Jester.  He served as Governor for 7.5 years.  Shivers was initially very popular, but his sway on the public and influence in the Democratic Party declined when he supported Dwight Eisenhower for President.  Texas supporters of Eisenhower were known as Shivercrats.  Shivers did accomplish much in politics including establishing Texas Southern University, putting women on juries for the first time, and creating the Legislative Budget Board.

Today in Texas History – October 2

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From the Annals of the Revolution – In 1835, fighting broke out at Gonzales between Mexican soldiers and Texian militiamen.  Gen. Domingo de Ugartechea learned that the colonists of Gonzales refused to surrender a small cannon that had been given that settlement in 1831 as a defense against the Indians, he dispatched Francisco de Castañeda and 100 dragoons to retrieve it on September 27. Though Castañeda attempted to avoid conflict, on the morning of October 2 his force clashed with local Texan militia led by John Henry Moore in the first battle of the Texas Revolution. The colonists motto of “Come and Take It” became a rallying cry.  The actual skirmish for the cannon was brief  and ended with the retreat of Castañeda and his force, but it also marked a clear break between the American colonists and the Mexican government.

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 4

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“However, there are several differences between a football game and a revolution. For one thing, a football game usually lasts longer and the participants wear uniforms. Also, there are usually more casualties in a football game. The object of the game is to move a ball past the other team’s goal line. This counts as six points. No points are given for lacerations, contusions, or abrasions, but then no points are deducted, either. Kicking is very important in football. In fact, some of the more enthusiastic players even kick the football occasionally.”

Alfred Hitchcock.

Red Rates Himself – Last week 6-0. For the season 14-4. Boy Howdy!

Your North by Northwest Pick of the Week: Seahawks over Lions. Matt Stafford better strap ‘em on tight for this one. Seahawks feast on immobile overrated quarterbacks who are 0-3 and desperate. Seattle has a chance to right the ship and post at least a 2-2 mark against the NFC North. Even with the Beast possibly out, the Hawks have just enough offense in the tank to win what may be a closer than expected match-up of two underperforming teams. All that said it would not particularly surprise or displease Red to see Pete’s Pack at 1-3 and looking at a long difficult road to January. Stick with the under on this one. Seattle 13 Detroit 10.

Your Suspicion Pick of the Week: Raiders over Bears. Is it wrong for Red to pick on the Bears for an easy one in the “W” column every week? Yeah, but remember that Red has been on the Raiders bandwagon since the beginning of the season. Latavius Murray is looking like an All-Pro so far and the Lil’ Carr-Amari Cooper connection is working well enough to have the Raiders in the playoff hunt already. Those are words that not a lot of your professional prognosticators are willing to throw around just yet. Red aint scared. Meanwhile, Bears could hardly look worse having been outscored more than 2-1 in their first three games while posting a mighty four touchdowns. Look for the Raiders to mop the field with the Bears on Sunday. Oakland 33 Chicago 6.

Your Psycho Pick of the Week: Jaguars over Colts. Needs no explanation. Jacksonville 17 Indianapolis 6.

You’re The Wrong Man Pick of the Week: Chargers over Browns. Reports are that 3 Browns players were complaining that John F. Football should be the starting QB. Reports also are that 50 other players vehemently disagree. JFF is definitely your man if you have a couple of wide receivers who can pluck his thrown up for grabs wounded ducks out of the air against an also-ran secondary. McCown is your man if you like consistent mediocrity and semi-competent game management. In other words, for the Clowns it doesn’t really matter who is taking snaps. Meanwhile in Chargerland, if their offense can’t exploit the Browns awful defense at home in the balmy warmth of Southern California, it’s going to be a long cold season. San Dieago 34 Cleveland 13.

Your Foreign Correspondent Pick of the Week: Jets over Dolphins. Red would like to see a game at Wembly someday, but he hopes it will be a Champions League Final with Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, not this week’s Shit Bowl (Red admits that he is uncertain exactly how to translate Shit Bowl into English English). Don’t let this one interrupt your Sunday morning coffee and bagel. Resist the temptation to pour that cup of hot joe over your head before you switch over at half-time to watch the Arsenal-Man U match on NBCSN. Wake Red up when this doleful dung duel is over. New Jersey 24 Miami 21.

You’re Notorious Pick of the Week: Falcons over Texans. Last week Red commented that if he kept picking the Texans he will eventually get it right. Well he did, but Red isn’t pushing his luck on backing the Texans. Falcons are looking very real and the Texans aren’t the type of team that exposes the underlying falsity of a pretender. Julio Jones is on track to be MVP – except that if he stays on that track – the award will go to Matty Ice. That’s just the way it is in the NFL. Texans’ defense continues to disappoint in all categories except perhaps giving up stupid touchdowns. That won’t do it against the high-flying Falcons.  Atlanta 32 Houston 17.

Red is not picking the Cowboys/Saints game this week because Las Vegas has pulled the line. If the pros won’t pick it, then neither will Red.

Dope Smokers Get Free Pass in West Texas

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Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West is refusing to take any more marijuana bust cases originating from the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 in west Texas.  West’s refusal has nothing to do with politics, ideology, Texas law, or the moving trend towards legalization of marijuana.  Rather, West is facing budgetary restraints that make taking the 20 to 30 busts a day an intolerable burden and also take up jail space that the County otherwise rents out for $45 a day.  NPR has the straight dope.

A federal inspection station on Interstate 10 in the West Texas desert earned the nickname “checkpoint of the stars” for all the entertainers who kept getting busted there. In the past six years, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Fiona Apple were all arrested for possession of marijuana.

These days, though, after a decision by a local lawman, everyone from personal pot smokers to medium-size marijuana traffickers can avoid jail.

The Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint was once the bane of pot smokers driving from Los Angeles to Texas. Green-suited federal agents and their uncanny drug dogs would make 20 to 30 busts a day.

But for the past year, Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West has refused to take any more “checkpoint cases,” even those involving commercial quantities of marijuana worth thousands of dollars.

“I don’t have a problem whatsoever going out there and arresting them,” West says. “I just have a problem making my local taxpayers foot the bill for America’s problem. I’m not gonna do the federal government’s job.”

The checkpoint dispute is not about justice, it’s about money. The sheriff says there were so many checkpoint cases they occupied two of his full-time deputies and a fourth of the space in his county jail. This was OK as long as he was getting federal criminal justice grants, but those have dried up.

“When I occupy one of those beds it takes away from a paying customer back there,” the sheriff says.

His jail is a moneymaker. Like a lot of poor Texas counties, Hudspeth built an oversize jail so it can rent out excess space to other counties at $45 a night per prisoner.

The Most Exciting City in Texas

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Is . . . drumroll please . . . COLLEGE STATION?

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that according to Gogobot – a “social media travel planning site”, College Station is the most exciting city in Texas.  Red always knew that he could trust social media to steer him in the right direction.   Red’s favorite – Fort Worth – finished a distant 23rd behind such cultural hotbeds as Beaumont and Killeen.  That pleasure-dome on the Brazos known to the world as Waco comes in third.  Here’s the Top Ten:

1. College Station

2. Austin

3. Waco

4. Amarillo

5. Abilene

6. Houston

7. Denton

8. Beaumont

9. Dallas

10. San Antonio

So round up the wife and kids, load up the SUV and head for a fabulous weekend in exciting downtown College Station – and let Red know if you can find it.

Sticking With the Astros Choke Watch

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Red’s lack of confidence seems to inspire them.

Astros are currently 2.5 games behind the hated Texas Rangers and 0.5 games ahead of the California Angels of Anaheim, Orange County, Los Angeles or the General Vicinity of Southern California.

Magic Numbers:

7 to clinch AL West – it still aint gonna happen

4 to clinch Wildcard Playoff spot – winning the last 3 would guarantee a Game 163. 

Today in Texas History – October 1

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From the Annals of the Early Republic – In 1837, John P. Borden opened the General Land Office in Houston.  Borden was a veteran of the Texas Revolution and was appointed by Sam Houston to be the first commissioner of the new land office. His most daunting task was to catalogue and preserve the many Spanish and Mexican land titles issued before the republic. Borden worked alone as he had no funding or employees to assist him.  Within months, Borden had  successfully acquired documents from all over Texas. He also registered and surveyed new grants. When the General Land Office moved to Austin in 1839, Borden transported almost 5,000 pounds of documents by wagon.

Image from the General Land Office.

Red’s Texas College Football Game of the Week

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This week Red features the oldest extant rivalry in Texas college football – the aptly named “Battle of the Piney Woods” between the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks and Sam Houston State University Bearkats.  Heading into the 90th meeting, SHSU leads the series 53-35-2.  SHSU has been the dominant team for the better part of a decade with a shot at the FCS national title in recent years.

Since 2007, the winner has hauled away a 21-pound solid tombstone shaped pinewood trophy that somewhat bizarrely displays replica pistols. The logos from both universities are engraved on the handle of the pistols above name plates that will display the outcomes of the contest for the next two decades.   Previously, a pair of Colt Walker Pistols were awarded to the winning team, but the pistols have vanished.  Perhaps, just as well.

The 12th ranked Bearkats roll into NRG stadium in Houston with a 1-2 record having posted a very respectable score in a closer than expected 59-45 loss to Texas Tech and losing a heartbreaker to an up and coming Lamar team 49-46.  They mopped the floor with pathetic newcomer Houston Baptist last week.  Look for the Bearkats to be loaded for bear with their powerful offense taking charge.  SHSU averages an astounding 635.3 yards total offense and 51.3 points per game.  The Bearkats rank No. 1 among FCS teams in scoring, No. 2 in passing offense and No. 10 in rushing offense.

In contrast, SFA comes in at 0-4 with the season lowlight so far being the 70-7 butt-whipping put on them by the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth.  There really isn’t much to say as this really just isn’t a very good football team right now.  They could turn it all around with a win this big rivalry game – but Red isn’t going there.

Red calls it for the Bearkats over the Lumberjacks by a “We’re Leaving Early to Get a Cold One” score of 57 -13.  Let’s hope the roof is open.

Cruz Lines up Texas Tea Party Support – Big Whoop!

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The Houston Chronicle reports that Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) has lined up the support of numerous Tea Party denizens of the Texas Legislature.  Red is not sure how that is going to help him in Iowa where a decent showing is surely critical.  Cruz is currently staggering around in sixth place in most national polls, but ranges anywhere from third to sixth in Iowa.  Still, Red has to admit that even sixth place is an impressive feat for a politician that has NOT ACCOMPLISHED A SINGLE THING in his not quite TWO YEARS in actual elective office.  The Canadian-born Cruz talks a good game to his rabid base of right wing loonies, but he has yet to show much broader appeal.  Maybe that day will come now that Cruz has lined up the craziest of the inmates of the Texas Legislative Asylum.  With Tea Party favorites like Konni Burton, Matt Krause and Doug Miller backing him, Cruz is sure to rocket to the top.

But Cruz can’t match the endorsement chops of Ben Carson.  Carson, who looks more and more clueless with each passing minute, has snagged the coveted endorsements of Kid Rock, Roger McGuinn, Richard Petty and Mickey Rourke.  If that isn’t a lineup sure to sway the national consensus in Ben’s direction, Red doesn’t know what is.

Astros Choke Watch is Back

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After blowing it last night against the lowly Mariners, the Astros are now currently 2.5 games behind the hated Texas Rangers. But more importantly, are now 0.5 games behind the Somewhere in the General Vicinity of Southern California and possibly in Anaheim Angels for the last Wildcard spot.  This is first time that the Astros have been out of a playoff spot in over 5 months.

Magic Numbers:

8 to clinch AL West  – It aint gonna happen folks.

6 to clinch a Wildcard Playoff berth – Now needing serious help.

Could the Angels just lose a game every once in a while?