Among his many other talents, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick apparently has inside information on the inner workings of Mexican drug cartels.  Patrick claimed at a news conference on Tuesday that drug cartels have been ramping up operations in anticipation that the troops would soon be leaving the area.  Patrick seems increasingly desperate for an excuse to keep the Texas National Guard on the border in the face of a decrease in illegal border crossings by undocumented persons.  The International Business Times reports that Patrick is fighting to keep the National Guard on the border after funds for former Gov. Rick Perry’s deployment run out next month.

[Patrick] announced he would be requesting $12 million in funding to keep the troops there until May and would work on an additional bill to extend their stay through August. “Under no circumstance should we have a complete pullout of the National Guard next month,” he said[.]

Former Gov. Rick Perry ordered 1,000 National Guard troops to the border last year amid a surge of unauthorized border crossings by unaccompanied children and families. Perry argued that the Texas border was left vulnerable to drug cartels and traffickers because Border Patrol resources were diverted to handle the influx. Perry stated at the time that he expected Washington, D.C., to eventually foot the bill for the troops’ presence there.

Troop levels have been winding down in the weeks leading up to their scheduled departure in March, and around 200 remain. The number of unauthorized border crossings has also waned since August.

State Rep. Donna Howard (D. Austin) has filed a bill that would change Confederate Heroes Day into a more general holiday honoring those who fought on both sides in the Civil War.  The Texas holiday celebrated on January 19 (R.E. Lee’s Birthday) occasionally coincides with the National Martin Luther King Jr. federal Monday holiday.  The incongruous pairing of holidays – one celebrating those who fought to preserve slavery and the Southern way life based on that institution – and another celebrating the Civil Rights champion – has caused some controversy over the years.  Howard’s bill would create some distance between the two holidays.  The Houston Chronicle reports:

Howard said she decided to write the bill after being approached by a constituent who thought Confederate Heroes Day insufficient because it does not recognize Union soldiers.

“I think the way that (my constituent) approached this is that there was a Civil War involving all of our United States of America,” Howard said. “We should be recognizing all of those who were involved with that period of our history.”

The state holiday, officially born in 1973 after the Texas Legislature combined celebrations of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis’ birthdays, falls on Jan. 19, Lee’s birthday.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January, which places it around King’s Jan. 15 birthday.

[Reta] Brand, [director of the Texas Society Order of Confederate Rose], said she was not concerned with the coinciding holidays, but said if one has to change it should be the King holiday.

“We had Confederate Heroes Day before there was a Martin Luther King Jr. Day, why can’t they change theirs?” she asked. “I have no problem with them both being celebrated on the same day because most of the people who celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day don’t celebrate Confederate Heroes Day.”

This peculiar brand of Confederate worship has always puzzled Red.  What other nation gets to celebrate and honor persons who were technically traitors fighting for the enslavement of their fellow citizens?  I understand that the vast majority of Confederate soldiers were not slave owners and that they may have believed that they were fighting for something else, but the reality is that they were on the wrong side of history and were sacrificed for an ignoble cause.  That they were allowed to return home in peace and live out their lives was a tribute to the magnanimous policy of Lincoln and Grant in seeking an end to the horrible conflict that saved the USA and put us on the path to global greatness.

The Daily Texan reports that UT fraternity Phi Gamma Delta hosted a “Border Patrol” themed party on Saturday night.  Members and their guests were spotted wearing construction work clothes, sombreros and hard hat with names like “Jefe” or “Pablo Sanchez” on them.  Other partiers were dressed in army camouflage.   The fraternity claimed that the theme was supposed to be traditional Old West, but guests apparently confirmed “Border Patrol” was the real theme.

“Decorations included painted photo cutout boards of people dressed in traditional Mexican attire. The bar was painted to resemble a Mexican flag, with the shape of Texas in the middle.” 

Customers are flocking to Radio Shack stores to take advantage of bargains and have one last look at a dying Texas tradition.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports on the demise of the long-running brand.  Many folks bought there first personal computer (a Tandy) at from the Fort Worth-based company.  Radio Shack is the latest in a long line of traditional retail failures as more and more purchasing moves to internet-only retailers.

RadioShack plans to sell up to 2,400 of its 4,000 stores to hedge fund Standard General, with Sprint planning to set up operations along with RadioShack in as many as 1,750 stores. But other proposals are expected in an upcoming bankruptcy court auction, where the fate of the stores will be determined.  Several customers interviewed outside stores Friday afternoon felt a sense of inevitability that the RadioShack name could soon become a thing of the past.

The Texas Observer has its own take on Rep. Dan Flynn’s Teacher’s Protection Act (HB 868) making an early decision in declaring its Bad Bill Award.  The Act would immunize teachers who use deadly force in the classroom to defend themselves, students or school property.  The Observer’s John Savage takes the Bill apart.

The 84th Texas Legislature has been in session more than three weeks and the Observer has yet to bestow our most dubious legislative accolade: the Bad Bill. We shall dally no more. We present to you House Bill 868 by Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Canton).

Promisingly dubbed the Teacher’s Protection Act, the bill authorizes teachers to use “force or deadly force” to defend themselves, students, or school property. Flynn’s bill expands the Castle Doctrine—the 2007 law that has led to a rash of justifiable homicides in Texas—to include teachers.

As a former public school teacher, I  understand the frustration of catching a student tagging a bathroom wall or having to break up a fight. But suggesting that teachers use deadly force underestimates the potential for hallway misfire. French teachers aren’t trained to use lethal force. Think back to your middle school P.E. teacher. Do you want him locked and loaded?