Long Road to Texas Independence

The Eagle shows the territory of US in 1833,
after the Adams-Onis Treaty

In 1819, the United States formally abandoned any claim to the territory of Texas through the Adams-Onis Treaty.  That treaty upset many US citizens in Louisiana and Mississippi who believed that the territory conveyed in the Louisiana Purchase (1803) include parts of East Texas.  James Long of Natchez,  Mississippi was particularly pissed.  In June of 1819, Long and Eli Harris led an "expedition" to Nacogdoches, New Spain. Thanks to the fact that rapid mass troop transport had not yet been invented, Long and Harris successfully established the first (?) Republic of Texas. On the noble side of the revolution, the citizens of the Long Republic promoted religious freedom, tolerance and freedom of the press. On the more traditional side of revolutions, each member of the "expedition" received 10 acres of land for their sacrifice.  Long attempted to enlist the assistance of pirate Jean Lafitte, promising to appointment Lafitte governor of Galveston.  What did Long learn?  Don't trust pirates.  After accepting the governorship, Lafitte "traded" the information about Long's revolution to the Spanish who had not yet realized that a small portion of the empire had been usurped.  Shortly thereafter, 500 Spanish troops arrived at Galveston and drove Long and his expedition back to Louisiana.  The Long Republic lasted four months.  The flag of the Long Republic was red with a single white star in the middle.

A Switch for Switchblade Enthusiasts in Texas

Miniature switchblade necklace, $39.99

The 83rd Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1862 which decriminalizes the possession, manufacture, repairing, transporting, and selling of switchblade knives. In a sober moment, the Legislature refrained from decriminalizing brass knuckles and "tire deflation devices."

Fredonia or Petoria: The Flag Makes the Nation

Flag of Fredonia 1825-1826

In April of 1825, Hayden Edwards received a grant from the districts of Texas and Coahuila (districts of Mexico) to colonize the area of Nacogdoches with 800 families.  Edwards began to promote and organize the colony with his brother B. W. Edwards.  As a condition of the grant, Edwards had to honor any prior grants of land in his settlement territory.  This led to a vetting of prior settlers in the area to determine who had a legitimate land claim, a contentious process which sparked a feud between Edwards and the Mexican government. Those who lost their land appealed to the regional Mexican authorities.  Empresario Stephen F. Austin attempted to quench the rebellious tendencies of Hayden Edwards. In a letter to Edwards, Austin wrote, "The truth is, you do not understand the nature of the authority with which you are vested by the government, and it is my candid opinion that a continuance of the imprudent course you have commenced will totally ruin you, and materially injure all the new settlements." The truth was that Edwards envied and despised Austin. So, being told by Austin that he should know his place probably pushed Edwards to secede from Mexico. The irony of this is that Austin would eventually mount his own rebellion, successfully establishing the Republic of Texas. In preparation for the secession, Hayden signed a treaty with the local Cherokee Indians (represented by the red band in the flag) and declared independence from Mexico on December 21, 1826. Assisted by Stephen F. Austin (and the Cherokee Indians), the Mexican government forcibly suppressed the rebellion, which ended on January 31, 1827. (more info on Fredonia) After fleeing to Louisiana, Hayden Edwards returned to Texas during the Texas Revolution and settled in Nacogdoches. Hayden Edwards died within the territory of his colony in 1849.

Flag of Petoria

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"Take My Snake" you *$%$@ politicians

Instead of paying the bribes demanded of them, two North Indian farmers deposited three bags of snakes on the floor of the local tax office. As a protest against endemic government corruption, Hukkul Khan and Ramkul Ram (a local snake charmer) collected together more than 40 snakes, including 4 cobras, and then delivered the snakes to the tax office in Basti.  Office workers described the scene as "absolute chaos"... snakes crawling and climbing everywhere.  Snakes are a serious problem in India, even when they have not been angered and dumped in front of helpless functionaries.  The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene estimates that nearly 46,000 people in India die each year from snake bites.

Ready To Be An Environmentalist? It is all about the marketing.

**** for Forests, or FFF, was founded in Norway to protest the destruction of rainforests worldwide.  The group's first appearance on the world's stage was at the Quartz Festival in 2004 when two members "shared their love" on stage.  More recently, FFF staged a two person protest in front of the alter at Oslo Cathedral, during service.  Some have suggested that the FFF website is merely a porn site; others have suggested that FFFers are actually Swedes and not Norwegians.

A One Vote Does Not A Democracy Make

Egypt is on the Edge of constitutional reform.  Mubarak resigned office February 11, 2011.  Today, a little over a month later, Egypt is holding a nationwide vote to revise their constitution.  Fast-tracked by the military into a nationwide referendum, Egyptians have begun voting on a slate of alterations to their Constitution as a first step towards democracy.  I am having a hard time figuring out what is at stake in the referendum. The process has been fast and little effort was made to educate the public as to the purpose and nature of the referendum.  Here is the best I can figure out:  1) Adopt terms limits for president; 2) Broaden the pool of candidates beyond those in the ruling party; 3) some other things that are probably very important

Despite this prompt and overt attempt at democratic rule, voices rumbling from Egypt are calling for a complete rewriting of the constitution.  This makes sense.  Democracy is not merely electing leaders and voting on constitutional amendments.  At best you might empower a benevolent short-term dictator, at worst, you have Representative Despotism (if there is such a thing).


Besides elections and referendums, what else do you need to create a Democracy?