Today in Texas History – June 10

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From the Annals of the Revolution –  In 1832,  a rebel force attacked Anahuac in the first armed clash between Anglo-Texians and Mexican troops. Juan Davis Bradburn, formerly an American citizen, was commander of the Mexican post at Anahuac on Galveston Bay.  He was an ardent opponent of slavery which was illegal under the Mexican Constitution of 1824.  Bradburn was unpopular with the Anglo-Texians in the area for his opposition to slavery and enforcement of Mexican law.   When he granted asylum to 3 escaped slaves from Louisiana, tensions began to heat up.  Attorney William B. Travis was hired by the slaves owner to attempt to regain control of the slaves.  Travis was probably involved in writing a letter to Bradburn claiming that 100 men were coming from Louisiana to reclaim the slaves.  When Bradburn realized it was a hoax, he arrested Travis.  Patrick Jack, a ringleader of the Texians opposed to Bradburn confronted Bradburn about Travis’ arrest and was himself arrested.  The arrests provoked Jack’s brother to bring a contingent of men from Brazoria and other towns to secure the release of the prisoners.  Bradburn agreed to exchange Travis and the other Anglos for nineteen cavalrymen held by the insurgents. The cavalrymen were released, but when Bradburn discovered that a number of rebels had remained in town overnight, he refused to free his prisoners and began firing on the town. The insurgents withdrew to Turtle Bayou, where they drew up a series of resolutions explaining their action. Bradburn appealed for help from other military commanders in Texas. Col. José de las Piedras marched from Nacogdoches, but met with Anglo insurgents near Liberty and agreed to remove Bradburn from command and free Travis and the others.

Can We have Their Names Please?

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Gov. Greg Abbott signed a sweeping border security bill that will cost the state over $300 million to fix a problem that may not exist anymore. Statistics show that crime in the Rio Grande valley is at an all time low. But that doesn’t matter to Abbott who justified the massive increase in police presence by claiming that, “Here in Houston, there are more than 20,000 dangerous gang members that are associated with cross border traffic crime.”  Abbott went on to claim that there are more than 100,000 such hoodlums In the state. Abbott cited no source for his numbers.  It’s becoming more and more clear that Abbott will say anything because Texas Tea Party voters who control the electorate clearly will not hold him accountable. Need a stat to support throwing money at a problem- just make one up.

You Can’t Ignore a Headline Like This

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The New York Times has posted an article under the headline “John Boehner, Ted Cruz and the One Finger Salute.”

Speaker John A. Boehner has had ample reason to give Senator Ted Cruz of Texas the stink eye, shall we say. Mr. Cruz has repeatedly encouraged House conservatives to push Mr. Boehner sharply, even untenably, to the right, and he helped orchestrate the government shutdown at the end of 2013, which Mr. Boehner tried mightily to prevent.

Mr. Boehner did not hide his displeasure at those junctures, but he has refrained from criticizing Mr. Cruz personally. Asked about him last fall, Mr. Boehner said they had not talked to Mr. Cruz since he was elected to the Senate in 2012.

Last week, however, at a closed fund-raiser — in Texas, no less — it seemed to some of the 40 people in attendance that Mr. Boehner made his feelings about Mr. Cruz quite clear.

During the event, in Midland, Mr. Boehner was asked by the chairman of the state’s Republican Party, Tom Mechler, for his thoughts on Mr. Cruz’s presidential campaign. Mr. Boehner chuckled and then raised a middle finger.

Teacher Hands Out “Ghetto Awards”

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A middle school teacher in Sulphur Springs apparently has a tradition of handing out “Ghetto Classroom Awards” to students.  The Root reports that the teachers have landed in a bit of hot water over what they claim was intended to be a joke.  Some parents found the awards decidedly unfunny.

Jerrika Wilkins sparked controversy after posting a photo of the certificate on Facebook, explaining that it was part of the “8th Annual Ghetto Classroom Awards,” given to her eighth-grade son at Sulphur Springs Middle School for saying “Huh?” a lot in class, the report says.

 

Wilkins told Fox News that her son was “pretty hurt” by the award. “He feels pretty inferior,” she said. “You know, he want to succeed. You know, it just kind of hurt his feelings.”

The school’s principal called an emergency meeting, at which, Wilkins says, one of the teachers, Tim Couch—who also serves as pastor at the Cross Branch Cowboy Church in Sumner, Texas—apologized. The other teacher, Stephanie Garner, offered to resign, but the family said they didn’t want that, Fox writes. The district also issued an apology to the family.

The family said that they were told the awards went out to all the kids in the classroom as a joke and were not meant as a racial slur.

“‘Ghetto’ was not supposed to be a malicious intent to degrade him,” said Wilkins. “It was supposed to be all in fun. I didn’t take it that way.”

Today in Texas History – June 9

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From the Annals of Judaism –  In 1870, Mr. Tuck, the grand master of the Masonic Lodge of Texas, laid the cornerstone for Temple B’nai Israel in Galveston.  Rabbi Jacobs of the New Orleans Portuguese Synagogue officiated. It is believed that this was the first time an ordained rabbi functioned in Texas. Temple B’nai Israel is the oldest Reform Jewish congregation in Texas. The earliest mention of the congregation is found in the October 8, 1859, edition of the Galveston Weekly News. The earliest extant temple record dated August 16, 1868, records the normal meetings that led to the establishment of the congregation.  On March 27, 1870, S. K. Labatt was asked to secure a charter for Congregation B’nai Israel from the next session of the Texas legislature.

Get Your Conspiracy Theory Here – Hot Off the Press. Oh, and The End Times are Near by the Way.

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The Express links Jade Helm 15 with the asteroid that is coming to wipe out humanity in late September.  Apparently, the U.S. government is training the troops to deal with the panic and chaos that will occur when a planet killer hits at the end of the summer. And the Large Hadron Collider is going to create a black hole that I guess will attract the asteroid.   But, if it really is a planet killer . . . oh never mind.  Just read and enjoy.

Accordion Kings and Queens Rocks

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One of the best free music performances of the year is almost always the Accordion Kings and Queens show at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston.  This year the featured performers were Los Texmaniacs from San Antonio.  These guys are incredible performers and tremendous musicians and go see them if you get the chance.  The show would have been great with just them, but they brought in David Hidalgo and Steve Berlin from Los Lobos to really get things rocking.  If that wasn’t enough, Flaco Jimenez and Augie Meyers of Texas Tornados fame pumped it up another notch.  There is nothing like going from Volver Volver Volver to Hey Baby, Que Paso.   Red has seen some incredible acts at the annual festival, but this year’s lineup was the best yet.

The undercard featured Jerome Baptiste and the ZydeKo Players from Crosby.  Red liked them good enough to buy a CD.

Today in Texas History – June 8

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From the Annals of Arson –  In 2008, the historic 1856 Governor’s Mansion was set ablaze by a Molotov cocktail thrown on the front porch.  Fortunately, most of the historic paintings and furniture had been removed to complete a major renovation of the historic residence. Gov. Rick Perry and his wife Anita were living in another mansion at taxpayer expense during the renovation.  The fire gutted the home.

A special commission investigated set up to investigate uncovered several security flaws. Among them, the DPS found seven security cameras not working. Some DPS staff were also not adequately trained, and at least one DPS officer not at his post. For some unknown reason, it took almost 3 years for the DPS to release surveillance video showing the arsonist throwing the fire bomb into the mansion. The video shows a shadowy figure running to the front doors, lighting a Molotov cocktail, and running away.  But to this day, the crime remains unsolved.

There is a $50,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest.  You can call Texas Crimestoppers at (800) 252-TIPS (8477) or the state fire marshal’s arson hotline at (988) 252-8477 if you think you have information that might solve this mystery.

Our Obese State

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No one will ever accuse Red of being svelte – but at least I try. At the Dyanamo match  last night (a rousing 4-2  victory over the Red Bulls) a woman in the row in front of us was so fat that she broke the seat. Plop on her ample behind as the seat bottom gave way under her considerable gross tonnage. The kind of person you don’t want sitting next to you. Stadium personnel did an excellent job of responding to the calorie caused crisis and managed the situation in a professional manner. Red is not a fat shamer, but if you take up your seat and 27%  of the seats on either side – do us all a favor and watch on TV.