Dreams Come True: Will Texas Leave the USA?

Since February 1982, the great state of Texas has stood between my life in Mississippi and my friends and family on the Left Coast. I have traversed the length of the Lone Star State many, many times during the intervening years, and I have often thought: What if we gave Texas back to Mexico? Good-bye, Republican majorities in the Electoral College; good-bye, Bush family; good-bye, Karl Rove; good-bye, most of our immigration issues; good-bye, Dallas Cowboys . . .

And now, Texas Governor Rick Perry has suggested the next best thing: that Texas may secede from the Union. From CNN, courtesy of Y'all Politics:

(CNN) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn't ruling out the possibility his state may one day secede from the nation.

Speaking to an energetic and angry tea party crowd in Austin Wednesday evening, the Lone Star State governor suggested secession may happen in the future should the federal government not change its fiscal polices.

"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

The CNN story (which includes a video) is here

Can it get any better than this? Maybe John Madden will be coming back to coach the Raiders.

I can dream, can't I?

If You Thought Mississippi Was On Another Planet, Try Texas

The Texas Monthly reports on the welcome home party for former President George W. Bush in Midland, Texas.

Midland, Texas on Inauguration Day was kind of a parallel universe to the rest of the country. The Age of Obama was being heralded live on national TV, but in their Centennial Plaza, 20- to 25,000 Midlanders, waving red, white, and blue W’s, spent a gorgeous West Texas January afternoon listening to their own parade of local and statewide Republican luminaries. Music was provided by Larry Gatlin and Lee Greenwood.

The rest of the story is at: http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-02-01/webextra6.php

We sometimes think that Mississippi is on another planet. But clearly, Texas is even further out on its own orbit. Don't that make you feel GOOD?

Innocent on Death Row in Texas

From the Houston Chronicle via DPIC, (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/editorials-room-doubt-about-upcoming-texas-excution), the following information about the threatened execution of an innocent man on Death Row in Texas:

The Houston Chronicle editorialized against the execution of Larry Swearingen, which had been scheduled for tomorrow, January 27. The Chronicle noted that the forensic scientist who testified about the time of death of the victim at Swearingen's trial now believes the death occurred later, a time at which Swearingen was in police custody on another matter. Five other physicians and forensic experts concurred that the murder occurred after the time that Swearingen was arrested on a traffic matter. Blood and hair samples from the victim also indicated the presence of another assailant. Dr. Glenn Larkin, a retired forensic pathologist who reviewed the case, told the Texas Monthly that “no rational and intellectually honest person can look at the evidence and conclude Larry Swearingen is guilty of this horrible crime.”
There have been 5 executions so far in 2009--100% have occurred in the south, and 60% in Texas. Three more executions are scheduled in January, all in Texas.
(Editorial, "Room for Doubt," Houston Chronicle, Jan. 22, 2009).

Two hours ago, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a reprieve to allow Swearingen's lawyers to present this (and more) compelling evidence of his innocence. See http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dntswreprieve.6af821f.html

Take action: write Governor Perry of Texas -- no matter where you're from -- and ask him to stop this execution permanently. It CAN work.

Here's the link to his contact info: http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/