Eating Out is Fun?

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Red always thought that the Texas Restaurant Association had the best slogan/motto ever created.  Well, because eating out is in fact usually fun.  Or at least it was when eating out was not something that you did every day and was something of a special treat.  The slogan was apparently first used by the National Restaurant Association in 1947 and later used by the TRA from 1956 onwards.  It does seem to have faded from use.

Well Austin has taken the TRA mantra to heart.  When Red was recently in Austin, there appeared to be a restaurant every 75 feet.  Red has been unable to get a fix on exactly how many restaurants there are in Austin, but the number seems to be extraordinary.  Driving down lower South Lamar alone, Red counted over 50 restaurants in what used to be essentially a dry gulch.  In order to sustain the number of dining establishments observed, everyone in Austin must eat out at least 7 times a week. Is eating out still fun?

Jade Helm Update, Cont.

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Red and Mrs. Red were watching an X-Files rerun last night which got Red to thinking about how much the Feds are hiding from us.  That dang Muldar and Scully could never quite get the goods on the massive cover-ups of the alien invasion and other well-documented bizarre phenomena.  So what chance do the rest of us have?  And while there have been some photos of JH15 operations out there, Red hasn’t heard one single credible report of the jack-booted thugs of the Obamaocracy coming to take away or women, children and most importantly guns.  Of course, this is all very disappointing.  But rest assured it only means that the sneak attack on our way of life will be even more – well, sneaky.  If you have any reports of abductions by the JH15 commies, please let Red know so that he can tell the world all about it.

Vigilantly yours,

Red

Sales Tax Revenue Declines

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For the first time in 5 years, Texas sales tax revenue has declined.  Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar thinks that it is a mere dip and does not presage a continuing drop. Matthew Waller of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times has more.

Glenn Hegar announced he was distributing $610 million in monthly sales taxes, which year over year is a 1.2 percent increase.

However, Texas’ chief financial office said that state sales revenue in June was $2.2 billion, a 1.4 percent decrease compared to June of last year.

“This slight decline was expected due to the slowdown in the oil and gas mining sector, and is in line with the biennial revenue estimate presented in January,” Hegar said in a release. “Receipts from the construction, information, restaurant and services sectors continued to grow, however, which is a testament to Texas’ diverse and dynamic economy.”

Vance Ginn, an economist with the free-market Austin think tank called the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said this isn’t an indictment against the “Texas Model,” reasonable regulations, low taxes, low government spending, not conducive to frivolous lawsuits, and so on.

“Part of that (decline) is just going to be the natural slowdown,” Ginn said. “A lot of this was already forecast, budgeted in.”

The incident is “more of a short-term blip,” he said. “We definitely had slower job creation from the drop of the oil price.”

Today in Texas History – July 21

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From the Annals of the Civil War –  In 1861, Gen. Irwin McDowell began a premature offensive into northern Virginia.  The overconfident McDowell let 34,000 largely inexperienced and poorly trained troops in a search for the main body of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Learning of the Union advance, General P.G.T. Beauregard massed some 20,000 troops at Manassas where he was joined by General Joseph Johnston’s 9,000 troops.

McDowell had initial success when three Union divisions crossed the Bull Run stream driving the  Confederate flank back to Henry House Hill. Beauregard had established a strong defensive line at the hill anchored by a brigade of Virginia infantry under General Thomas J. Jackson whose men repulsed a series of Federal charges.  Gen. Barnard Elliot Bee, Jr. allegedly shouted an order to his men to “Rally behind the Virginians! There stands Jackson like a stone wall!” No-one knows if this was meant to be complimentary or an insult regarding Jackson’s men not advancing. Bee then began to advance at the head of his brigade and fell mortally wounded. He died the next day 22nd July 1861.

The battle turned when Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart captured the Union artillery.  Beauregard ordered a counterattack. With the soon to be famous “rebel yell” the confederate charged down Henry House Hill breaking the Union line and forcing a retreat across Bull Run. The retreat quickly disintegrated into an unorganized flight back to D.C.

Union forces endured a loss of 3,000 men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties.  Such casualties were unheard of in previous American combat and foreshadowed the long violent struggle to come.

Photo of B.E. Bee from http://www.nps.gov

We’re No. 30, We’re No. 30, We’re No. 30

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The Houston Business Journal reports that UT-Austin is ranked as the 30th best university in the world – the highest ranking of any Texas school.  The Center for World University Rankings – yes there is such an organization updates their rankings every year.  The No. 30 spot places UT-Austin 6th among Big State Universities behind.  Univ. of California – Berkeley, UCLA, U.Cal. San Diego, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Statue of Jefferson Davis is very proud.

Jade Helm 15 Update, Cont.

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Red was driving all over central Texas and environs this weekend.  And while he can report that the Stonewall peach crop appears to be excellent – $35 for a small bushel of golden goodness – the sneaky jack-booted thugs of the Federal Gummint sent to take away our wives, children and most importantly guns were unfortunately nowhere to be found.  This is only more evidence that the JH15 plan is working.  We are being lulled into a false sense of security that will make it even easier for Obama to impose his Stalinist dictatorship when the moment comes.  Red purposefully left Mrs. Red alone for a couple of hours as tempting bait for the Obamist forces.  Red forgot to leave her with one of Red’s less expensive weapons to make the target even more tempting – a mistake Red won’t make again.

Vigilantly yours,

Red

Bernie Comes Calling in Texas

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Sen. Bernie Sanders brought his upstart campaign to Texas this weekend.  Rallies in Dallas and Houston had to be moved to larger sites to accommodate crowds not normally seen for Democratic candidates in Texas.  Sanders told the crowds that he is not conceding any state.  The Texas Tribune reports on Sanders’s speech.

One of the problems that exists in American politics today, in my view, is that the Democratic Party has conceded half of the states in the country at the national level, and that’s wrong,” Sanders, a Vermont Independent running as a Democrat, said during a rally at a downtown Dallas hotel.

Several hours later at a similar event in Houston, he sharpened his advice for Democrats, saying the “simple truth is that you cannot be a national political party which claims to represent working families and low-income people and turn your back on some of the poorest states in America.” 

“If we are serious about change in America, we can’t just do it in blue states,” he declared earlier in Dallas, emphasizing the need for a “50-state strategy” that leaves no voter in the dark. 

Yet Sanders’ Texas talk came with a hint of optimism as he raised the prospect of the end of Republican dominance in the state. It was a reliable applause line in Dallas and Houston, cities in the heart of counties critical to Democrats’ hopes for a bluer Texas. 

I am here to tell you that today this is a conservative Republican state, but that doesn’t mean it will be conservative Republican tomorrow,” Sanders said after taking the stage in Houston, remarking he did not want to become dizzied by the stadium-style crowd. “And with the energy I see in this room, it may be sooner than tomorrow.”

While HRC holds private fundraisers and seemingly does everything possible to piss of the press, Sanders is out there trying to connect with people.