fritz

Karl, Reminds me of an old cartoon about the old B-52 and the Stragetic Air Command. It portrayed an old fella flying an old plane, and the caption said "Sleep well, America, the country is safe tonight". This was during the cold war and a B-52 loaded with the big bomb was flying 24 hours a day, protecting our country from a missle attack from Russia. The last B-52 came off the assembly line in 1957, and it was a joke even back when I was in SAC, that the pilots flying them were younger than the plane. But it was, and still is, a very good plane. fritz

z1r is right about my position on the matter. I would like to see the work crews out earning their keep, but if the law says that some types are not allowed outside of the jail compound, that's that. Anyway, the sheriff has been reprimanded by the DA and the District Judge on his violating the law. He has accepted it in style, because as he put it, "I don't want to go to jail". The thing that is going to make the next commissioners Court meeting interesting (they are open to the public) is the fact that everyone is sure that one of the commissioners will tell him "I told you so!" And he did, but that is when the sheriff got arrogant and stated that he was the sheriff and do what he wanted with the work gangs. He has also gone way over his budget every year he has been in ofice (he is in his second four year term). The commissioners have, until now, gladly given him more money, although it has to come from some other fund. They still gave him an extra $25,000 to carry him through the current budget period (about 3 months yet), but I doubt if they will do it after all this. They will need the money to pay the part-time county employees who will take over the extra work load. Both the arrogant attitude of him being able to do whatever he wanted, and then the poor budget planning he has been doing, shows me that he is not all that smart. You can't be a Wyatt Earp lawman anymore. Today you need to be a good administrator (not a dictator, as that will get you in trouble real quick). As a liberal contributor to the letters to the editor of our paper put it, he has a good heart. Well, I say that in addition to having a good heart, you need a good brain. fritz

Bahia grass! That stuff is fine in areas with a lot of annual rainfall, but it has been tried here and all it does is get about three inches tall (thick as hell though). When I was in the custom baling business, I had a newbie to our area ask me to come cut his hay. He had about 30 acres of bahia grass. I looked at it and told him it was not tall enough to cut with a hay cutter. He did not understand why it did not grow as tall in Goliad county as it did in Harris county. I told him that this was not Harris county, and anything west of the Colorado River was not going to get the rainfall of the Houston area. Bahia requires a lot of rainfall, and the county agents advise everyone not to plant it west of the Colorado. But I have seen one field make a very good cutting of hay, one year, then decline to a nuisance stage. Right now, since so many people around me planted the cheap seed (about 80 cents a pound at the time) it has spread into neighboring fields as a nuisance crop. It never gets tall enough to mow, but messes up a disc mower when you hit a spot of it. It is slowly taking over some coastal bermuda fields. All because some newbie from Houston decided that it should work. It didn't. fritz

No, the sheriff does not have jurisdiction over federal law! The law is the law, and the fault I find with our current sheriff is the fact that he often ignores the law in order to obtain his views. It is clearly a case of his not having all the smarts it requires to be a sheriff today. Wyatt Earp could get away with it, some claim a sheriff in Arizona today gets away with it. But it is against the law to do what our sheriff did (regardless of what some may think SHOULD be right, don't make it LEGAL). Yes, you see inmate work crews all over the country. But there are not supposed to be convicted felons awaiting transfer to the "big house" among them. I'm sorry if obeying the law chafes some of you the wrong way, but the law is the law. I have to live with it, so should the sheriff. He is not as powerful as many think he is. And yes, I have heard of the old line about a sheriff having the authority to kick a state trooper out of his county if he wants. If he did so, he would probably end up in more trouble than what he started with. Supposedly the Texas Rangers are the top dogs in Texas, but if they have to come in here over this mess, heaven help us. We are really getting messed up to require the Rangers. fritz

I know you are all getting tired of hearing about the troubles of Goliad County with its illegals, but some of the blame has been directed at our sheriff (hispanic). He is a good fellow, has a good heart and tries to do what is best for the county. However, sometimes his arrogant nature gets him in trouble. He has been using inmate work details to help out county employed workers. They are always supervised by a guard and do a lot of work that would have had to done by paid employees. But the problem comes from the fact that the sheriff (in his "good heart" approach) has been sending out on work details some inmates who were felons, and by law are forbidden from leaving the confines of the jail. He has been using inmates that are awaiting transfer to the "big house". Not petty thiefs or drunks, but felons, for the work details. All in the name of saving money to the county. Fine. But it is against the law. And when one of the two anglo commisioners called him to task on this practice, he declared that since he was sheriff he could do whatever he wanted, and the commissioners had no say in the matter. How wrong he was! And now he has gotten investigated by the district judge and district attorney. They told him flat out, "Either stop the illegal work details or go to jail and maybe have to work on one yourself!" He has a good heart. Problem is, he has a weak brain! And to be sheriff today requires a man/woman to have something upstairs also. It ain't like the old days of Matt Dillon or Wyatt Earp. The sheriffs now have judges and higher-ups watching them. In this case, it is for the best (abeit costing the county a little more payroll). I am proud to say that my commissioner (one of four) never used the illegal work crews. Maybe because he knew the law, something that some around here do not. The four commissioners plus the county judge make up the rules for the sheriff to follow in THEIR county, not HIS county. There are two hispanic and two anglo commissioners. The vote always ends up tied, and the judge breaks the tie with his vote. We are now known as "the 2 vs the Duval 3". It fits. The judge is a big democratic liberal, and if anyone ever ran against him, he is history (but not the kind of history Goliad county has always been known for). And no, I am not seeking the job (athough I could do as good or better job than him). You do not have to be an attorney to be a county judge, and he isn't an attorney. But maybe he should study the law once in awhile. fritz

What does one sound like? Today around noon I heard a sound like a big diesel rig driving up to my house. I went out on the porch and looked around, but saw nothing but the heavy rain coming down from Emily. Then the sound diminished. Later I found out that there was a tornado about 6 miles to the south of me, and the entire county (as well as several other S. Texas counties) was under a tornado warning. That would explain it. I never heard if it did any damage, and when the rain subsided a bit, I went to the club to get a beer. As I left home, I noticed a dark cloud coming up from the south, and called mrs fritz (who is part of the emergency management team, and has constant radar contact) as to what was going on. She said that there was a tornado about 6 miles south of me, and since I was on the road already I should keep on driving. Luckily another tornado did not materalize. We have avoided the winds of Emily (who went ashore well to the south of us) but we are on the wet and tornado prone side of her. But the rain was surely welcome to the ranchers around here. We will have green grass again! Has anyone been close enough to a tornado to say what they sound like? I always heard that they sound like a freight train, but this one sounded like a big truck revving up. fritz

I never heard of the Trader Joe's, but am quite familiar with Sonic drive-ins. When I am in a hurry to get fast food, and there is a Sonic nearby, mrs fritz and I stop in. The theme is the old drive-ins of the 50's (while we were dating, and should give away our age). I liked it then, and I wish I could return to those days (knowing what I know now, of course). I like the tater tots that Sonic offers, a good alternative to the same old fries that most fast food places offer. You get your food fast, and it ain't too bad. A little tip to the waitress (on roller skates at some places, not all) and you are on the way again. Beats the hell out of walking up to a DQ counter and ordering a simple burger, and then having to listen to the spiel that the management has obviously instructed them to do, "You want fries with that? Cheese? jalapeno?. "No, I want exactly what I ordered!" I am sick of getting that spiel! I don't remember the old fast food places doing what they do today. But then sometimes it gets hard to remember what I did back in those days. But I never did anything bad enough to get put in jail, and I can't say that for some of my good friends. But as Curly said in the movie, "The day ain't over yet!" fritz

I got the same message---log in. But when I logged in, I was informed that I was banned from that community. Bill requires the log-in in order to keep anyone out who will not kiss his sieso. Or so it seems. And it seems like something Bill would do. fritz

"Still if you consider that the party in power is from Texas, you would expect them to care about the state. Karl " Actually, that was answered by a previous post--cheaper labor (albeit illegal) and more liberal votes. The party in power now wants those votes. As to cheaper labor, they want that also. How can GW better get a chance at more votes for him and fight the unions, any better than by ignoriing the problem of the illegals? The problem seems to be not his. So is he looking out for the best interests of the state of Texas? In the view of the companies that hire this cheap (albeit illegal) labor--yes. In the view of the landowners here in South Texas---HELL NO! Just as what was replied to the Minuteman organizer at our first meeting when he asked the audience if they felt the federal government was doing enough to stop the illegal immigrants. The resounding answer was "Hell no!" Sailormilan2, Where was the "Mexican army patrol" on March 9, 1916 during the raid by a bunch of guerrillas led by Villa upon the town of Columbus, NM? I know some history also, and I never heard of a Mexican army patrol crossing over here to help us out. Maybe they did, I just never heard of it. And I bet they did not help very much, if any. CG, "I'm quite interested in the eventual political implications ... as you say, the cultural shift is ongoing and quite evident." The change in the political structure is already here. How else do you explain all the liberal hispanic congressmen (especially a certain one named Hinojosa) introducing a bill in congress to rename our US Post Office in favor of "his friend" Vargas? fritz

That's a lot questions, this late at night. But I can answer a few. Yes, Texas will eventually become (if not already) assimilated into the hispanic culture. With the help of our federal government, by the way. Which should answer another question about whether they will ever do anything substantial to ease the illegal entries. As to calling it an invasion by the Mexicans, we have been invaded by them before. Pancho Villa launched a raid on US territory and went back across the border safely. Oh sure, the US sent troops down there to get him, but he had the protection of the native people to hide him. He had more trouble from his own people than the US, and was eventually asassinated. Whether you could call Santa Anna a raider (since Mexico legally owned Texas until the whole thing was decide in battle), he was a dictator. And we don't like dictators over here. Unless we elect them to office in DC. Right now, the ones being on the front lines in this invasion are the ranchers and landowners. And they are the ones who asked for help from the Minuteman group. They were getting absolutely no help from INS, or the local law, until recently when public pressure became so great. A former deputy tells of a time years ago when the sheriff's office helped find jobs for the illegals, instead of sending them back to Mexico. fritz

That is an interesting photograph. It's good to have preserved some of those. While that photo was in California, it could have easily been one of my German ancestors here in Texas. I was born and raised on a farm, and still live on the one a mile from where I was born in 1943. The women worked along side the men in the fields, but it was nice they let her have the reins. She obviously knew as much about farm work as the men, my mother did. I cannot say if it was the newbies that made California the joke it has become, but they probably were. Wouldn't it be great if everyone today had the work ethics of those old timers? I have to admit that I do not work as hard as my father did, but there are so many things now that make my work easier. It still ain't no piece of cake, but if the outsiders just leave us alone, we will be better off. fritz

Well, I do have one more question--how come Emul8 has posted on this page several times on this topic and so has fritz, but our post count remains the same (she has 38, I have 50)? Edit: Now I have 51, but she still has 38. One of the things that will keep me awake tonight until I find the answer. fritz

Well, I just have one thing to say--Ezboard is better at censoring posts for words like "cock" (which is readying a weapon for firing) than protecting the interests of those paying for their shitty service! fritz

And due to the fact that "that book" has some contradicting paragraphs in it, you must read that book VERY carefully. Better yet, get a New York lawyer to read it to you! fritz

Thanks. That is the form I have. I will be credited with $300 per quarter additional earnings for each quarter I served. It won't be much, but it will be a few clams. fritz

Well, whether or not he gets them back cannot be proven by me. He has obviously added a requirement to be rigistered before you view. It used to be just to post. Since I am not registered there anymore, and since my name is now shitt there, I cannot even view. Some of you fellows may still be able to view. And if so, you can probably post. But be careful of what you say--because you may suffer the same fate?? as fritz. I really hate to hear of anything bad happening to Bill's sites (if indeed it is). But it couldn't happen to a more deserving fellow. fritz

This was mentioned before, but what is the document number (somethig DD-?) that you need to present to the social security people to prove you were in the military? You see, I am about to apply for social security (what a joke) and I was told that if I was ever in the military, I could get a few clams more per month. I just found a bunch of records from my service, one of which was saying I was separated on a certain date under honorable conditions. Is this the one I need to get a little more out of Uncle Sam? I am not that worried about getting the few crumbs that may be added to my $341 per month check if I choose to retire (another joke) at 62. I figure this amount will be half of what I just sold a calf for. But is is it true that military service adds a bit to your social security check? Or was I being bullshitted by a few old veterans? Yeah, I know, go to the SS office and ask this question. But I was hoping someone here (all you old military people) could give me a clue as to what document I needed to prove military sevice. After looking through the first documents mrs fritz has preserved, I found my proof of separation under honorable (but does that make a difference?) conditions. Also some document that said my security clearance could be transferred without further checks. Hmmm, that was 38 years ago. I doubt anyone would honor that.. But what I found interesting, and what I had largely forgotten, was my records of schools and achievements, etc that I had while in the service. Yeah, there is always a recorded record of what you did (or failed to do) while in the military. Anyway, how much extra do you old vets think I can get by proving my military service? Or none at all? fritz

Boudreaux's first military assignment was to a military induction center, and--because he was a good talker they assigned him the duty of advising new recruits about the government benefits, especially the GI insurance to which they were entitled. Before long the Captain in charge of the induction center began noticing that Boudreaux was getting a 99% sign up for the top GI insurance. This was odd, because it would cost these poor inductees nearly $30.00 per month more for their higher coverage than what the government was already granting. The Captain decided that he would not ask Boudreaux about his selling techniques but that he would sit in the back of the room and observe Boudreaux's sales pitch. Boudreaux stood up before his latest group of inductees and stated, "If you have da normal GI insurance and go to Iraq and get killed, the government pays your beneficiary $6,000. If you take out da supplemental GI insurance (which cost you only $30.00 a month), the government has to pay your beneficiary $200,000. "NOW," Boudreaux concluded, "which bunch do you think dey gonna send to Iraq first? fritz

In an article in USA Today, Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine says that terrorists will try to take advantage of our Coast Guard's aging fleet once they find out its weaknesses. You know how they're going to find out about our weaknesses? By reading her article in USA Today! .... In fact, many in Washington say that if the Coast Guard's ships aren't replaced soon, they will be unable to keep out drugs and illegal aliens from entering our country. God forbid that should ever happen -- imagine what this place would be like if illegal aliens and drugs were able to get in here! fritz (quoting Jay Leno)

Dr. Hess, Sorry, I mistook AR for AZ. AR is the home of Bill, right? And not the fundillo over at the surplus rifle sites. But the Bill that all the liberals love and admire. Are you sure that AZ would not be a better place to live? And are you sure there ain't no fire ants in AR? I heard they are there, and there for keeps. If, perchance you don't have any now, they will be arriving any day now. Courtesy of your neighbors to the south and east. Hey! What's a neighbor for? fritz

You'll probably get a slightly different answer to that question--depending on who at the bureau you speak to. The one that is important to you is the one who will inspect your collection someday. But that is rare. fritz

There are ticks in Missouri? That's because they ain't got the fire ant yet. When they get a lot of fire ants, the ants will eat the ticks, then start on you. We used to have ticks in Texas, until the fire ants moved in. There went the neighborhood! If I had my choice between the two, I would choose ticks. Well, we still do have ticks here in Texas, now that I think about it. They are called Texas legislators now. The word politics comes from two other words--poly, meaning many, and tics, meaning blood sucking creatures. fritz

A test-- One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an >experiment. What he did was, he went into the boy's room and placed on his >study table these three objects: A Bible, a silver dollar, and a bottle of whiskey. > >"Now then," the old preacher said to himself, "I'll >just hide behind the door here, and when my son comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which >of these three objects he picks up. If he picks up the Bible, he's going >to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that > would be. If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that > would be o.k. too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a drunkard - > a no-good drunkard and Lord, what a shame that would be." > >The old man was anxious as he waited, and soon he > heard his son's footsteps as he came into the house whistling and headed > back to his room. He deposited his books on the bed, as a matter of routine, and > as he turned around to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. > With a curious set in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. What he > finally did was, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his > arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. >He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink... > >"Lord have mercy," the old man whispered, "He's > gonna be a politician!" > fritz

Karl, I cannot believe you don't realize the Mauser rifles were used extensively in the snow. Many battles were fought in the snow. Snow is so rare here in S. Texas that it probably may never see another snow again. I had to give it a chance to experience the feel of snow upon the stock. I am always thinking about what my rifles might say if they could talk. This one said "Let there be snow". And there was snow. fritz

New cartridges means new rifles to shoot them means new money for the rifle manufacturers. Now that's a mouthful! But it's the truth! fritz