Happy Birthday, Texas
Today is Texas Independence Day. Texans can celebrate our 190th birthday today.
Here is from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission website:
George Childress, the committee chairman, is generally accepted as the author of the Texas Declaration of Independence, with little help from the other committee members. Since the 12-page document was submitted for a vote of the whole convention on the following day, Childress probably already had a draft version of the document with him when he arrived. As the delegates worked, they received regular reports on the ongoing siege on the Alamo by the forces of Santa Anna’s troops.
A free and independent Republic of Texas was officially declared March 2, 1836. Over the course of the next several days, 59 delegates — each representing one of the settlements in Texas — approved the Texas Declaration of Independence. After the delegates signed the original declaration, 5 copies were made and dispatched to the designated Texas towns of Bexar, Goliad, Nacogdoches, Brazoria, and San Felipe. One thousand copies were ordered printed in handbill form.
Sam Houston was one of the 59 delegates. That is where we got our H-Town name. A few of the delegates got counties in Texas named after them. Less than a handful of the delegates were born in Texas. The rest were settlers.
In their honor, make sure you get all your family and friends in Texas to vote tomorrow in the primary election.
_____
There was another mass shooting in Texas early Sunday morning. This one hit close to me. A close family member was at an establishment very near the Austin bar where the shooting took place and heard the gunshots. He and the folks he was with ducked under tables. He noticed his side was wet and he felt around to see if he had been shot. It was probably a beverage that had been knocked over during the commotion. Needless to say, he was shaken up. Too close for comfort in my book.
_____
The Donald Trump and Iran thing did not surprise me when I first heard the news. Trump had been telegraphing the move for a couple of weeks. I am also not surprised MAGA members of congress are for the most part is in lockstep behind the move. A very bad move by Trump and a very bad move for MAGA to get in lockstep behind Trump.
Meanwhile, CNN tweeted this earlier in the morning today:
Three US fighter jets were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, US military says. All crew members survived the crash.
Sigh.
_____
Commentary supports eliminating the office of Harris County Treasurer, so does the Harris County Commissioners Court, and so should you. See this from the Chron:
Harris County commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to strip County Treasurer Carla Wyatt’s office of a key responsibility and pursue abolishing the office entirely during the next legislative session.
It’s the first step in a long process that could require approval from a majority of voters both statewide and within Harris County. Commissioners voted 4-0 to add abolishing the office to the county’s legislative agenda, the items the county will ask lawmakers to support during the next legislative session in January 2027.
The move came after treasurer’s office staff approved for payment two fraudulent checks totaling nearly $53,000, according to a county document obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Fraudsters intercepted and altered two checks, one for $24,328 and another for $27,530, intended for county vendors. A county financial system that alerts officials of potential problems flagged the payments, but the treasurer’s office approved them anyway, the document shows.
Commissioners unanimously approved transferring that alert system and the employees tasked with overseeing it from the treasurer’s office to the Office of Management and Budget.
While the funds have since been recovered, it’s the latest in a series of mistakes that have shaken commissioners’ faith in Wyatt, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the fraud incident late Thursday.
Commissioners first discussed potentially reducing Wyatt’s duties after she was charged with misdemeanor burglary of a vehicle in December. Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a January Commissioners Court meeting that it was too soon to consider sidelining Wyatt, who has not been convicted and is expected to go before a judge in March. Hidalgo was not at Thursday’s meeting.
The December case was not the first time the embattled treasurer has faced criminal charges. Wyatt was accused of driving while intoxicated in 2023 and later twice violated the conditions of a bond given to her in that case. She committed both violations as a sitting member of the Harris County Bail Bond Board, which hears complaints and helps guide county policy. The DWI charge was dismissed Aug. 15 after Wyatt completed a pretrial diversion program.
Wyatt, who is running for re-election in 2026 and is unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, also is the only candidate in the race for treasurer who has not submitted her Jan. 15 campaign finance report. Wyatt did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week regarding the missing report.
The treasurer’s office also has not uploaded monthly distribution or treasurer’s reports to its website since early 2025. Although not required by law, reports were published on the office’s website each month from 2017 through 2024. The treasurer’s office did not respond to questions about the reports.
Some officials consider the treasurer’s office obsolete, and it has been abolished in 10 counties, including Galveston County, which shuttered the office in 2023. Critics of the county treasurer, such as Republican Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, argue the office is an antiquated position that has long outlived its usefulness.
Here is the entire Chron read: Harris County seeks to abolish elected treasurer after attempted fraud.
It really is a no-brainer. The only reason to keep the office around is that it allows for another Democrat to hold a countywide office, and that isn’t a good reason.
_____
My Beatles wall calendar for the month of March has the four in a black and white photo playing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool from probably in 1962 since Ringo’s bass drum face still has his name on it. My other calendar is also a black and white photo of the four on aircraft boarding stairs waving while fixing to board an airliner in 1964.
_____
Gold medalist Alysa Liu was on “Today” this morning. It turns out Lucky Charms is one of her favorite cereals. She was given an Olympic gold medal made of Lucky Charms. See the featured photo. Nice
_____
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be played at Daikin Park beginning this Friday with Mexico playing Great Britain at 12 noon and Team USA playing Brazil at 7 pm. There will be a total of 12 WBC games played at Daikin Park.