Should the State of Texas reassert its status as an independent nation? Almost a quarter of likely Texas voters say yes

The natives are restless. Across America, independence movements have sprung up, calling for individual states to secede from the Union.

 According to a recent Newsweek article, secession campaigns are active in twelve states: Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Louisiana, California, Washington, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania. That list does not include two more states with active independence movements: Alaska and Florida. 

In Texas, the Texas Nationalist Movement is making significant strides in its campaign for independence. TNM is pushing for a statewide, nonbinding referendum allowing Texans to voice their opinion on a single question: "Should the state of Texas reassert its status as an independent nation?" The movement collected 140,000 signatures for this question to be placed on the Republican primary ballot this year.

Indeed, Texas independence has become a mainstream political issue in the Lone Star State. The Texas Republican Party's "official legislative platform" includes a plank calling for an independence vote. A recent poll of likely Texas voters found that 23 percent would vote for Texas independence if allowed to vote on the question.

Why do some Texans want to secede from the United States? I can think of three reasons. 

First, Texans are alarmed by the federal government's open border policy, which has allowed millions of immigrants to enter the country illegally and enabled drug traffickers to smuggle illegal drugs, including fentanyl, across the nation's southern border.  

Second, many Texans are concerned about the spiraling national debt, which is growing by one trillion dollars every 100 days.

Finally, many Texans are offended by attacks on traditional Texas culture by the federal government and the East Coast mainstream media. The Biden administration's push for transgender participation in girls' varsity sports is just one example of the federal government's disdain for the cultural values of the Heartland.

I am not a resident of Texas, but I support the Texas independence movement. I believe Texas will thrive as an independent nation. 

After all, Texas's economy is the eighth-largest in the world. The state has abundant energy resources and has been the top exporting state for 22 years in a row. 

Perhaps, most importantly, Texas is an agreeable place to live and do business. That's why Texas has attracted so many Californians and California corporations.

I'm beginning to wonder if a nation of 330 million people can maintain a healthy democracy under a government dominated by soulless bureaucrats, repressive government regulations, and an obsession with race and sexual orientation. I also wonder whether a healthy national discourse about major public policy issues can occur in a social media environment easily manipulated and censored by governmental agencies and their corporate lackeys.

On the other hand, Texas has demonstrated that a clearly defined geographic region with a well-educated population, abundant natural resources, access to sea lanes, and a traditional work ethic can prosper.

Maybe it is time for Americans in all 50 states to ponder whether they would be better off leaving the Deep State with its weaponized legal system, political corruption, and universities-inspired culture of victimhood to strike out on their own. 

The people living in the states that make up Flyover Country might prosper as smaller political units, and the coastal elites would be glad to see us go.

Tampons in the boys' bathroom and deer hunting in the rural South

Deer hunting in the rural South is as popular as tennis in the Hamptons. Several Southern states have a traditional rifle hunting season, a bowhunting season, a season for hunting with primitive rifles, and a season for hunting deer with dogs.

Hunting deer with dogs is a brutal sport involving dogs that chase deer to the point of exhaustion and then attack them by the throat. Sometimes, a panicked deer will plunge into a river or stream, hoping to escape its canine pursuers, but the dogs go in after it and occasionally drown a deer before the hunter arrives on the scene.

In a video I watched, I saw a large deer with impressive antlers standing in water up to its neck in an ice-cold slough, wholly exhausted. A relentless tracking dog harassed it, lunging at its throat. The buck was too tired to defend itself.

A hunter, stripped to his boxer shorts and an international orange sweatshirt, waded into the frigid water and shot the deer with his rifle from a distance of about five feet. The deer made a last desperate lunge at the hunter, who shot it a second time. Then he dragged the deer out of the slough onto dry land.

I found myself wondering about this dauntless hunter's politics. I asked myself what he might think about tampon dispensers in the boys' bathrooms at his son's school. Perhaps the man has a high-school-age daughter. Would he be okay if a six-foot kid with a penis and hairy testicles competed against his daughter on the varsity girls basketball team?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Today, our Ivy League-trained politicians are poking the Russian bear, enabling Ukraine, where elections have been suspended, to invade Russia. Vladimir Putin has warned of a nuclear conflict. Meanwhile, President Biden is playing patsy with Iran, which has vowed death to America and Israel. 

Where will Americans go if we are plunged into nuclear war? Will we feel safe if we shelter in the Hamptons, where we can play tennis with the swells as we breathe radioactive air? Or will we be better off living down a rural Southern road from a deer hunter who will go to almost any length to bring meat home to his family and might deign to teach an urbanite how to hunt deer?

Deer hunting with dogs: Better than ice fishing with Tim Walz

Are we nuts? Ukraine invades Russia

When the good guys invade a country, it’s called an incursion. When the bad guys invade a country, it’s called an invasion. Thus, when the United States invaded Cambodia in 1970, the press described the event as an incursion.

When the good guys sponsor an independence election, it’s an exercise of democracy. When the bad guys sponsor an independence election, it’s called an illegal annexation and a violation of international law.

Over the years, the United States has supported free elections worldwide to further democracy. Nevertheless, when the people of Crimea voted to join Russia and the people of the Donbas region did likewise, the Western press described these expressions of democracy as fraudulent violations of international law.

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now, Ukraine has invaded Russia. According to the American sycophant press, Ukraine’s action is an incursion, not an invasion. Nothing to see here folks; please move along.

Ukraine has sunk about a third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, and now it has pushed Ukrainian troops into the Kursk region of Russia. Ukraine could not have done those things without American approval and logistics support. It would not be unfair to say that the United States has attacked Russia by destroying the Russian navy and invading Russian soil. Indeed, Vladimir Putin sees it that way, and Putin has nuclear weapons.

How smart are the Americans who have managed the Ukraine war? Let’s face it. Joe Biden is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and Kamala Harris is no brighter.

Americans are not giving much thought to the war in Ukraine. The mainline press is obsessed with the November election, and the Labor Day holiday is approaching. We aren't concerned with events in Ukraine, where war has produced a million casualties.

Putin has warned us that an escalation of the war in Ukraine could force Russia to use tactical nuclear weapons. I believe him. Biden, Congress, and the New York Times apparently believe that Putin is just blowing smoke.

If nuclear war breaks out because of our stupid meddling in Eastern Europe, I will be in Mississippi catching catfish on the Buffalo River. The residents of New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, will be the people at risk. 

And when the apocalypse descends on America, the coastal elites will suddenly discover the charms of Flyover Country. They will be welcome to shelter in the rural South so long as they leave their arrogant and self-centered politics behind.

Russian refugees from the Kursk region

Golly gee, It doesn't matter who we elect as president

Well, golly gee, what have you done to me?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

Buddy Holly (1956)

Americans are caught up in a frenzy about the November election as if it matters who we choose as president. But it doesn't. 

An economic, military, and political hurricane is building strength just off our coast, and soon, it will slam ashore as a Category 5 storm--destroying our economy, our status as a world power, and our way of life.

Here's what's coming our way:

The war in Ukraine. Separatists and Russian troops have been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas for ten years. Ukraine has lost that war and will never reclaim the territory Russia holds. It's lunacy to talk about throwing Russia out of Crimea.

Americans are treating the war like the lottery. Every month, we pour money down the Ukrainian rathole, hoping we'll eventually buy the winning ticket. We don't seem to realize it's a sucker's bet.

Gaza, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.  Israel has been fighting Islamic hatred since 1948, and American money and armaments have kept the wolves at bay.

But the progressive left is bored with Israel, and it's now fashionable to support the Palestinians. President Biden and Antony Blinken are at the roulette table, and they think they can win if they put half their resources on red and half on black. Another sucker's bet.

Our sucker economy. Our government has maxed out all its credit cards. There's not enough money to fight a war in Ukraine and another in the Middle East while paying out all those Social Security checks, Medicare bills, and student loan payouts. Soon, we'll be asking the global loan sharks for cash, but we can't afford the vig. Yet another sucker's game.

So, to riff Buddy Holly, golly gee, who gets sworn in as president doesn't matter anymore. Neither Harris nor Trump can turn the ship of state around.

In short, Americans have behaved like gamblers playing the slots at a Biloxi casino—they didn't realize they were on the dirty side of the storm until the hurricane arrived to blow their gambling den to smithereens.

Is it time to stock up on canned goods and ammunition? Maybe not. But it's definitely time to stop gambling with America's future.

Anti-Israel protesters on American college campuses: Are they Neo-Nazis?

 Nothing has surprised me more in recent months than the rise of anti-Semitism in America. Anti-Jewish bigotry seemed to appear out of nowhere after Hamas terrorists slithered out of Gaza to butcher 1200 Israelis on October 7, 2023. 

Israel retaliated vigorously and has been fighting Hamas in the streets of Gaza for the last nine months.  Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas and to rescue more than 200 hostages it had kidnapped, including seven American citizens. 

Suddenly, faux-liberal college students and professors began protesting on behalf of the Palestinians, who have suffered greatly in the Gaza conflict due to the Hamas presence in their midst. Protesters camped out on campus lawns, vandalized college buildings, and occasionally scuffled with the police--all to show their support for the people of Gaza. 

It quickly became evident that these protesters were not animated by a humanitarian spirit; their graffiti, protest signs, and declared goals showed many of them to be Jew haters--neo-Nazis.

Americans should be frightened by the sudden rise of anti-Semitism in higher education. Curiously, it seems most vehement at our nation's most elite schools: Harvard, Columbia, and UCLA, among others. Although hundreds of these bigots were arrested, many were released because spineless prosecutors declined to press charges against them.

No one deigns to study history anymore. Woke college students and professors dismiss events of the past as irrelevant--just a bunch of folklore about white racists.

That's a mistake because history contains lessons that help us interpret current events. Anti-Israel protests in our own country are remarkably similar to events in Europe as the Nazis rose to power-- and not just in Germany.

Historian Ezra Mendelsohn wrote that universities in pre-war Eastern Europe established "ghetto benches" and required  Jewish students "to attend lectures in segregated areas of the classroom." 

Encouraged by Hitler's persecution of Jews in Germany, Mendelsohn noted, "universities [in East Central Europe] "became centers of anti-Jewish agitation and riots, much of it in emulation of the Nazis." And commencing in 1937, "physical attacks against Jewish students became ever more common, and several Jewish students were actually murdered."

Make no mistake. The people who are engaging in violent anti-Israel attacks on our nation's college campuses are neo-Nazis.

And there is a name for the Jewish politicians who encourage these outbreaks of racist violence by not speaking out against it and by undermining Israel in its existential war against bestial Islamic terrorism. The word is kapo.

What is a kapo? Historically, a kapo was a Jewish concentration camp prisoner who collaborated with the Nazis during World War to control fellow Jewish inmates. Who says history doesn't repeat itself?

Photo credit: The Telegraph

Whistle while you work: Why are the waitresses at Louie's Cafe so cheerful?

 Louie’s café is a greasy spoon restaurant in the best sense of the word. It has been in business since 1941 and is open until late at night. Located just a block from the campus of Louisiana State University, Louie’s has served comfort food to hungover college students for three-quarters of a century.

My wife and I often patronize Louie’s on weekends. Famous for its hashbrowns and omelets, the cafe offers solid late-morning breakfasts. I like the informal, diner-style ambiance and enjoy watching the bustling cooks who toil at a massive grill behind the lunch counter.

I’ve patronized Louie’s for more than 30 years. In fact, I accepted a job offer at LSU partly because the faculty recruiting team treated me to breakfast at Louie’s, brunch at the Coffee Call, and dinner at Mike Anderson’s seafood restaurant.

I concluded that LSU is in a town that cares about food, and since I care about food, the job was a good fit for me. My Harvard advisor warned me not to start my academic career at LSU, urging me to wait for a better offer. However, I made a good decision by coming to Louisiana, a decision I’ve never regretted.

Among Louie’s many charms are its amiable waitresses, who always bring ice water to my table, vigilantly refill my coffee cup, and exude hospitality and goodwill toward me and every customer in the restaurant.

Why are Louie’s waitresses so cheerful? The service industry is breaking down all over the United States—particularly in restaurants, where the waitstaff are often surly and inattentive, even though they expect a 25 percent tip.

In a town where restaurants are begging for workers, Louie’s waitresses can work just about anywhere they want. I doubt that Louie’s wages are higher than those paid at similar restaurants, yet they choose to work at Louie’s.

 Why?

Perhaps Louie’s managers have cultivated a friendly service culture, and prospective employees want to work there because of that. I don’t know.

I know this: America’s service industry has grown increasingly rude, discourteous, and churlish, and Louie’s is an oasis of hospitality and rustic graciousness.

Breakfast at Louie's

 

Bone Tomahawk revives the Western movie genre

 I grew up in the golden age of Western movies. I saw dozens of Westerns as a child and watched hundreds of Western episodes on television: Gunsmoke, Bonanza, High Chapparal, Have Gun Will Travel, The Roy Rogers Show, Rawhide—I saw them all.

Why did I love this genre? The Western desert appealed to me--the beauty of a long vista, with its ever-present sense of danger and adventure. Mostly, however, I loved to see stories of good guys on horseback as they struggled against insensate evil. I knew the good guys would eventually win, and in the movies, they almost always did.

John Ford's Westerns were my favorites. Without realizing it, I was a movie critic in elementary school. I realized that The Searchers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence were the genuine article and far superior to the cheap imitations.

Beginning in the 1960s, the Western movie genre fell into decline. I hoped Missouri Brakes, starring Marlin Brando, and The Shootist, starring John Wayne, would revive it, but those movies were disappointments.

Eventually, I realized that Western movies set in modern times are just as thrilling as films about the Old West. Lonely Are the Brave, Hud, and No Country for Old Men were authentic contributions to my beloved genre.  Hell or High Water, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, and Chris Pine, is equal to Shane, even though the victory over evil was nuanced.

Last night, I watched Bone Tomahawk on Netflix, and I was gratified to see a Western movie that is equal to the films I saw as a kid. The plot is simple: four men of uneven temperament ride out to rescue a kidnapped damsel in distress. By the movie's end, the good guys complete their mission, but two of the four saviors are dead.

Kurt Russell plays the laconic, relentless, and totally dedicated lawman. Mathew Fox plays Brooder, the Western dandy who hates Indians. Patrick Wilson is the faithful husband who endures almost unbelievable pain and hardship to be reunited with his wife, played by Lili Simmons.

Richard Jenkins is cast in the scene-stealing role of Chicory, the self-proclaimed "backup deputy" who is simple-minded but loyal and brave. If there is a hall of fame for Western movie sidekicks, Jenkins deserves a place next to Gabby Hayes, Slim Pickens, and Andy Devine.

I always judge a Western movie's portrayal of Native Americans. Until I saw Bone Tomahawk, I gave Wes Studi top billing for his role as the malignant Magua in The Last of the Mohicans. Now, there was an Indian with a chip on his shoulders.

Wes Studi, however, is a Presbyterian compared to the aborigines in Bone Tomahawk, who are bone-chillingly scary. I won't say more because I want movie movers to feel the horror I experienced when the bad-ass Native Americans showed up in Bone Tomahawk.

Bone Tomahawk is an almost perfect Western--the old-fashioned struggle of good against evil set against the backdrop of the stark and pitiless landscape of the American West.  My faith in Westerns has been renewed,

Going after the Bad Guys