Austin Armadillo
Texas highway adviser to Congressman Steve Stockman. Politically speaking, I'm middle of the road.
I believe that politicians who squish on the issues are as bad as drivers who squish my relatives.
Conservative Review
Hopefully, at least in this aspect, history is repeating itself.
Hey Republican National Committee, adapt or die.
Is the GOP the new whig party?
Congressman Steve Stockman
Duh, Texas is where it's at.
No wonder I'm dodging more cars these days
Number of Californians Moving to Texas Hits Highest Level in Nearly a Decade
Wise move
freebeacon.com The number of Californians leaving the state and moving to Texas is at its highest level in nearly a decade, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service. According to IRS migration data, wh
180 years ago today, this was the Texians in Gonzales' response to Santa Anna's demand to hand over their cannon
America's city rankings set for Texas-sized shake up; Houston to edge past Chicago
Well of course the producers are coming to . Where else would they go?
Welcome to the Lone Star State. Please drive carefully and friendly, the Texas way.
tiny.iavian.net HOUSTON (Reuters) - Hidden in the haze of the petrochemical plants and beyond the seemingly endless traffic jams, a Texas city has grown so large that it is poised to pass Chicago as the third biggest in the United States in the next decade.
Texas man shoots armadillo, gets hit in face by bullet ricochet
Don't mess with Texas armadillos!
ca.news.yahoo.com By Lisa Maria Garza DALLAS (Reuters) - An East Texas man was wounded after he fired a gun at an armadillo in his yard and the bullet ricocheted back to hit him in his face, the county sheriff said on Friday. Cass County Sheriff Larry Rowe said the man, who was not identified, went outside his home i…
25 Words That Have A Totally Different Meaning In Texas
Here y'all go...
buzzfeed.com It's like a different country.
Man shoots at armadillo, bullet hits mother-in-law
I often implore you soft-shell humans not to squash us, but I guess I have to spell it out: Please don't shoot us either--if only to show some respect to your mother-in-law.
http://www.walb.com/story/28786983/man-shoots-at-armadillo-bullet-hits-mother-in-law
walb.com Authorities say a woman was accidentally shot by her son-in-law while he was trying to shoot an armadillo.
Texas FFA Association
25 Words That Have A Totally Different Meaning In Texas
www.buzzfeed.com/javiermoreno/words-that-have-a-totally-different-meaning-in-texas
buzzfeed.com It's like a different country.
Texas State Historical Association
Today in 1836, the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos adjourned in a BIG hurry. See why in TSHA's Handbook of Texas: http://ht.ly/uFi45. Image of Independence Hall courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Star of the Republic Museum
On this day in 1836, after receiving confirmation of the fall of the Alamo, the delegates hurriedly adopted a Constitution and elected officers for the provisional government.
Texas Hill Country
Day Thirteen of THE ALAMO SEIGE, THE LAST DAY –
Sunday March 6, 1836
At Midnight on March 5, 1836, Santa Anna's troops began moving into position for their planned attack of the Alamo compound. For several hours, the soldiers lay on the ground in complete darkness. About 5:30 A.M., they received the order to begin the assault.
The massed troops moved quietly, encountering the Texian sentinels first. They killed them as they slept.
No longer able to contain the nervous energy gripping them, cries of "Viva la Republica" and "Viva Santa Anna" broke the stillness.
The Mexican soldiers' shouts spoiled the moment of surprise. Colonel Travis, the Mexicans are coming!
Inside the compound, Adjutant John Baugh had just begun his morning rounds when he heard the cries. He hurriedly ran to the quarters of Colonel William Barret Travis. He awakened him with: "Colonel Travis, the Mexicans are coming!" Travis and his slave Joe quickly scrambled from their cots. The two men grabbed their weapons and headed for the north wall battery. Travis yelled "Come on boys, the Mexicans are on us and we'll give them Hell! "Unable to see the advancing troops for the darkness, the Texian gunners blindly opened fire; they had packed their cannon with jagged pieces of scrap metal, shot, and chain. The muzzle flash briefly illuminated the landscape and it was with horror that the Texians understood their predicament. The enemy had nearly reached the walls of the compound.
The Mexican soldiers had immediate and terrible losses. That first cannon blast ripped a huge gap in their column. Colonel José Enrique de la Peña would later write "...a single cannon volley did away with half the company of Chasseurs from Toluca." The screams and moans of the dying and wounded only heightened the fear and chaos of those first few moments of the assault.
Travis hastily climbed to the top of the north wall battery and readied himself to fire; discharging both barrels of his shotgun into the massed troops below. As he turned to reload, a single lead ball struck him in the forehead sending him rolling down the ramp where he came to rest in a sitting position. Travis was dead. Joe saw his master go down and so retreated to one of the rooms along the west wall to hide.
There was no safe position on the walls of the compound. Each time the Texian riflemen fired at the troops below, they exposed themselves to deadly Mexican fire. On the south end of the compound, Colonel Juan Morales and about 100 riflemen attacked what they perceived was the weak palisade area. They met heavy fire from Crockett's riflemen and a single cannon. Morales's men quickly moved toward the southwest corner and the comparative safety of cover behind an old stone building and the burned ruins of scattered jacales.
On the north wall, exploding Texian canister shredded but did not halt the advance of Mexican soldiers. Cos's and Duque's companies, now greatly reduced in number, found themselves at the base of the north wall. Romero's men joined them after his column had wheeled to the right to avoid deadly grapeshot from the guns of the Alamo church.
General Castrillón took command from the wounded Colonel Duque and began the difficult task of getting his men over the wall. As the Mexican army reached the walls, their advance halted. Santa Anna saw this lag and so committed his reserve of 400 men to the assault bringing the total force to around 1400 men.
Amid the Texian cannon fire tearing through their ranks, General Cos's troops performed a right oblique to begin an assault on the west wall. The Mexicans used axes and crowbars to break through the barricaded windows and openings. They climbed through the gun ports and over the wall to enter the compound.
That first cannon blast ripped a huge gap in their column.General Amador and his men entered the compound by climbing up the rough-faced repairs made on the north wall by the Texians. They successfully breached the wall and in a flood of fury, the Mexican army poured through.
The Texians turned their cannon northward to check this new onslaught. With cannon fire shifted, Colonel Morales recognized a momentary advantage. His men stormed the walls and took the southwest corner, the 18-pounder, and the main gate. The Mexican army was now able to enter from almost every direction.
In one room near the main gate, the Mexican soldiers found Colonel James Bowie. Bowie was critically ill and confined to bed when the fighting began. The soldiers showed little mercy as they silenced him with their bayonets.
The Texians continued to pour gunfire into the advancing Mexican soldiers devastating their ranks. Still they came.
When they saw the enemy rush into the compound from all sides, the Texians fell back to their defenses in the Long Barracks. Crockett's men in the palisade area retreated into the church.
The rooms of the north barrack and the Long Barracks had been prepared well in advance in the event the Mexicans gained entry. The Texians made the rooms formidable by trenching and barricading them with raw cowhides filled with earth. For a short time, the Texians held their ground.
The Mexicans turned the abandoned Texian cannon on the barricaded rooms. With cannon blast followed by a musket volley, the Mexican soldiers stormed the rooms to finish the defenders inside the barrack.
Mexican soldiers rushed the darkened rooms. With sword, bayonet, knife, and fist the adversaries clashed. In the darkened rooms of the north barrack, it was hard to tell friend from foe. The Mexicans systematically took room after room; finally, the only resistance came from within the church itself.
Once more, the Mexicans employed the Texians' cannon to blast apart the defenses of the entrance. Bonham, Dickinson and Esparza died by their cannon at the rear of the church. An act of war became a slaughter. It was over in minutes.
According to one of Santa Anna's officers, the Mexican army overwhelmed and captured a small group of defenders. According to this officer, Crockett was among them. The prisoners were brought before Santa Anna where General Castrillón asked for mercy on their behalf. Santa Anna instead answered with a "gesture of indignation" and ordered their ex*****on. Nearby officers who had not taken part in the assault fell upon the helpless men with their swords. One Mexican officer noted in his journal that: "Though tortured before they were killed, these unfortunates died without complaining and without humiliating themselves before their torturers."
Santa Anna ordered Alcalde Francisco Ruiz to gather firewood from the surrounding countryside and in alternating layers of wood and bodies the dead were stacked.
At 5:00 O'clock in the evening the pyres were lit. In this final act, Santa Anna's "small affair" ended.
Taken from (the rest of the story) http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/1836/the_battle/chronology.html #3
Drive Thru History
William Barret Travis was twenty-six years old when he commanded the Alamo defenders against the Mexican army.
He died at his post on this day in 1836.
His sacrifice, and the sacrifice of the other Texian heroes, helped inspire and coalesce the creation of a new nation.
The Bonanza Era: Southeast Texas Sawmill Heritage
Before the area attained worldwide fame during the Spindletop oil boom, southeast Texas was a dominant force in the United States lumber industry--making for a heritage still affecting us today.
http://lumbertonoutpost.com/the-bonanza-era-southeast-texas-sawmill-heritage/
lumbertonoutpost.com Winding through rows of grayish, unpainted clapboard houses, miles upon miles of alternately dusty and muddy streets buzz with activity: ragged, mop-headed children—coming to or from playtime on the railroad cars and mill ponds—trot in flocks to their collective destination; lanky, grim-faced logger...
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Now through August 17, see the Magna Carta at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This was one of the inspirations for our .
Museum: www.hmns.org
News: http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1386612766-Houston-Museum-First-And-Only-Place-To-Display-Magna-Carta-Outside-Of-England.html
hmns.org The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the Top 10 most attended museums in the US - Come see why!
Texas FFA Association
The 2014 Texas FFA Scholarship Application is now open and available to current members through http://TexasFFA.org/txscholarship. Talk to your advisor about how to get started on your application. Deadlines vary by area.
San Jacinto Battleground/Battleship TEXAS - Texas Parks and Wildlife
shot 2,640 five inch rounds & 2,109 14 inch rounds during 7.5 wks of battle at Okinawa!
Fun Texas Facts That Might Interest You This Christmas Season!
Fun facts about Texas. My favorite: "The armadillo is the official state mammal. Need we say more!?" http://texastreats.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/fun-texas-facts-that-might-interest-you-this-christmas-season/
texastreats.wordpress.com We thought it'd be fun to share with you a couple fun facts about Texas thanks to 50states.com! This winter, as you try to stay warm while you shop and think about all the wonderful traditions of t...
Comptroller’s Office Shares Texas Holiday Facts
Isn't Texas great? Here's some facts about how Christmas business in Texas contributes to the economy.
www.window.state.tx.us/news2009/091209-holiday.html
window.state.tx.us (AUSTIN) — During the holiday season, people across our state will gather together and celebrate with friends and family to exchange gifts, offer thanks and reflect on the past year. Many Texans are also expected to buy Christmas trees, bake holiday treats or hit the roads to travel.To commemorate t...
San Jacinto Museum
December & the Texas Revolution...On this day in 1835, Sam Houston issued a proclamation to recruit a Regular Texas Army. By the 17th, commander-in-chief of the regular Texas Army Houston was ordered by Texas Governor Henry Smith to attack Matamoros. While the Matamoros expedition was approved, the political rivalry between Governor Smith and Houston caused delays. For the remainder of 1835, preparations for conflict occurred on both sides, but battle would not recommence until the new year.
San Jacinto Museum
The next time you venture out to San Jacinto, be sure to stop by the newly reinstalled weapons case. The display features 19th century weapons including flintlocks, derringers, a plethora of pistols, a sword cane and a bowie knife that predates Bowie! A sword taken by Major John Forbes from General Antonio López de Santa Anna after the Battle of San Jacinto is also on display.
Texas agriculture surpasses that of any other state. With 247,500 farms covering 130 million acres, Texas is ranked #1 in the nation in both areas. One in every seven Texans (I'm one of them) works in agriculture, the second-largest industry in the Lone Star State. It generates around $80 billion for our economy every year.
If you want to work at a refinery or get in the natural gas business, Texas is the place to do it! The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports:
Texas was the leading crude oil-producing State in the Nation in 2011 and exceeded production levels even from the Federal offshore areas.
In 2011, Texas's 27 petroleum refineries had a capacity of over 4.7 million barrels of crude oil per day and accounted for 27 percent of total U.S. refining capacity.
Texas accounted for 28 percent of U.S. marketed natural gas production in 2011, making it the leading natural gas producer among the States.
As the official Texas small mammal, I have many interesting tales to tell. For instance, you may think of me as a short and stiff little guy, but I'm a great climber: I can climb chain-link fences, logs, and rocks.
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Add a little strut to your day with turkey desktop backgrounds, turkey trivia and more at http://bit.ly/WildTurkeyTales.
Top 10 reasons I'm thankful to be part of a farming family
tabletop.texasfarmbureau.org By Julie Vrazel Every year on Thanksgiving—rain or shine, cold or warm—we feed our cattle before we can dig into our feast. It doesn't matter that it’s a holiday, our bovine family comes first. Gro...
San Jacinto Museum
Need something to do away from the kitchen this week? Avoiding shoping centers on Friday? Visit San Jacinto! http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/news/san-jacinto-museum-monument-to-be-open-before-and-after/article_46d98da4-fe30-54be-bdc3-86ddd92b26cd.html
San Jacinto Museum
The 8th Texas Cavalry, (1861–1865), popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a group of volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin F. Terry in Aug. 1861. The unit earned a reputation as some of the most effective mounted regiments in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Their abilities and heroism were no match for what met them at the Battle of Chattanooga (Nov. 23-25, 1863.) This loss to General Grant was a turning point in the Civil War. It opened the doorway to the Union forces to invade the deep South at a crucial time, making the capture of Atlanta possible in time to influence the 1864 elections. This Re*****on .36 caliber cap & ball six-shot revolver was owned by Andrew J. Harris who captured it in a skirmish before the battle from an Irish captain in the Union Army.
In San Felipe, the Declaration of November 7, 1835 was signed declaring that Texans had taken up arms in defense of their rights and liberties. These courageous men also declared that Texas was no longer bound by the compact of union and that they would continue to fight for their rights in Texas. Other provisions of this key document of the Revolution stated that the Texans had the right to establish an independent government and that those who fought for these democratic principles would be rewarded with land and citizenship if victory was obtained. This townscape of San Felipe from the early 1830s was painted by 20th century illustrator, Charles Shaw.
In San Felipe, the Declaration of November 7, 1835 was signed declaring that Texans had taken up arms in defense of their rights and liberties. These courageous men also declared that Texas was no longer bound by the compact of union and that they would continue to fight for their rights in Texas. Other provisions of this key document of the Revolution stated that the Texans had the right to establish an independent government and that those who fought for these democratic principles would be rewarded with land and citizenship if victory was obtained. This townscape of San Felipe from the early 1830s was painted by 20th century illustrator, Charles Shaw.
Texas Farm Bureau
Today is Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. Who makes the best?
Texas State Historical Association
Everything you need to know about the Alamo is now available in the Explore Texas History Resource Center. Check it out--it's FREE. http://bit.ly/1gOezPv
17 Reasons Why Armadillos Should Be Blowing Your Freakin' Mind Right Now
Hey, are we armadillos cool or what???
www.buzzfeed.com/meganm15/reasons-why-armadillos-should-be-blowing-your-mind
buzzfeed.com I'm sorry are you under the impression that Armadillos AREN'T the best animals of all time? Step aside, buddy. You've got some learnin' to do.
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center
Looks like our scarecrows at Scarecrow Festival have the Magic Touch! Come see this gorgeous creation and many more at the 5th Annual Scarecrow Festival -- the largest scarecrow festival in the state of Texas. There are an array of unique designs, well-craftes displays and festive autumn decor throughout Shangri La. We can't wait for you to see our celebration of Fall! Shangri La is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and is located at 2111 W. Park Avenue in Orange, Texas. For more information, visit www.shangrilagardens.org.