The Right State

According to Fox News, Robert Gates, currently the President of Texas A&M University, has been tapped by President Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld as the new Secretary of Defense.  Obviously the President has decided to replace Rumsfeld in the aftermath of the 2006 elections when the Republicans lost the House and possibly the Senate.  This is either too little too late or an effort by the President to stave off hearings in Congress about the conduct of the war.  Most likely the later.  In the run up to the elections, the Democrats have continually called for Rumsfeld’s head and hearings as to what Bush knew about WMDs in Iraq.  Even calls for impeachment has been openly discussed.

This appears to be a President who is running scared.  He is caving into the demands of Democrats before the new Speaker even takes office.  He has already acknowledged that he will have to give in to the Democrats on multiple areas including spending and securing the border.

This much is certain, George Bush is no Ronald Reagan.  President Bush needs to grow a backbone.  Giving in to the Democrats will not work.  Bush should remember what happened to his father, George H.W. Bush, when he sought to give in to the Democratic demands to raise taxes.  Look what happened to him.  After pledging to ‘read my lips, no new taxes’  the elder Bush was lampooned by the Democratic Party for his failure to keep his promise.  His ‘read my lips’ became a huge joke for the other party.  All this when he expected the Dems to acknowledge his courage for raising taxes.  Bush’s pledge was then used against him successfully in the 1992 election by Bill Clinton.

This is a part of history the current President should remember.  Politics is war.  The other side will not acknowledge any compromise as heroic.  Their motto of ‘no good deed will go unpunished’ is the norm.  They see any kind of compromise as a weakness and they will go for blood.

It is only a matter of time before the Dems go after and attack Robert Gates.  After all, he just came from that ultra conservative campus of Texas A&M University.  And all the liberals know nothing progressive comes out of A&M.

The blootletting has just started, especially if President Bush is already caving in to the Democrats demands.

Tags: President Bush, Texas Aggies, Texas by Chuck
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There is sad news coming out of Austin today—Bevo VIII, the beloved mascot of the Texas Longhorns (t.u.) died.

Bevo XIII, 22, was on the Texas sideline for 16 seasons, starting in 1988.

During his tenure, the Longhorns had three head coaches and won a Big 12 football title, and Ricky Williams won the Heisman Trophy. Bevo XIII retired before the 2004 season.

He had reached his life expectancy and had trouble standing. His handlers thought he would have to be put down before his heart finally gave out, Brennes said. (snip)

Bevo XIII even dabbled in politics. In 2001, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to be part of President Bush’s inauguration ceremonies.

Perhaps his most famous moment came after a Texas loss.

After Nebraska beat Texas in the 1999 Big 12 championship game in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Bevo XIII was walking off the field when nature called.

With perfect timing, he left his mark squarely on the Cornhuskers logo.

The name Bevo is a strange name, but where did it come from? Legend says that in 1916 Texas A&M University, then called the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas, defeated their longtime rival from Austin 13-0. So the next year some Aggie students caught the Texas mascot and branded the score “13-0” on the steer’s side. t.u. students embarrassed by both the score and the brand on their beloved steer’s side changed the brand. The ‘13’ was changed to a ‘B.’ The ‘-‘ was changed to an ‘E.’ And a ‘V’ was inserted before the ‘0’ forming the name: ‘BEVO.’ (Whoop!)

The story of Bevo is one of the many traditions and folklores at Texas A&M University.

Hat tip: Lone Star Pundit

Tags: Texas Aggies, Texas by Chuck
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A group of conservative bloggers have teamed up to support a collection of Republican candidates who would help the Republican Party maintain control of both chambers of Congress.  The group is called Rightroots and is helping raise money and support for a few selected candidates in important closely contested elections.  One of the candidates they support is Van Taylor who is running for the seat currently held by liberal Democrat Chet Edwards.

I am sure other districts have reasons why we need to support their candidate, but Texas needs to be rid of Chet Edwards, a liberal Democrat who continues to be a smudge on the very conservative area of Texas district 17.  TX-17 is home to Texas A&M University (very conservative), Fort Hood, Waco, and the Bryan/College Station area all of which are fairly conservative.  Mr. Edwards talks a great talk, but his walk is so very different from what he says.  This guy need to be retired from Congress and replaced by a good conservative like Van Taylor.

Taylor is a great guy, a Marine, a businessman, a family man, and a true conservative.  Van supports the Second Amendment, tightening the borders, lower taxes, smaller government, is pro-family and anti-abortion, and supports the GWOT.

Chet on the other hand tries to speak out of both sides of his mouth at the same time.  As an example, Chet has been highly critical of Taylor for moving from Dallas to central Texas in order to run in district 17.  Yet Edwards has moved at least three times in order to run for office.

“Edwards himself moved three times for attractive races: to College Station for his first congressional campaign, then to Duncanville [Dallas County] for a Waco-area state senate race and finally to Waco in 1989, when he won the seat he holds to this day” (Waco Tribune June 5, 2006).

Be sure to check out Fact Check Chet for more of our favorite liberal’s walk and speech patterns including how he votes and speaks on abortion, taxes, spending, and lawsuit reform.  This guy is all over the map.  Let’s retire Chet Edwards by supporting Van Taylor!

Tags: Democrats, Texas Aggies, Texas, Politics, War by Chuck
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NASA has a new Space Shuttle crew. What makes this one so different? It includes the first graduate from my alma mater, Texas A&M University. (Whoop!)

Mission specialist Michael Fossum

Age: 48

Hometown: Born in Sioux Falls, S.D., but grew up in McAllen, Texas

Family: Married, four children

Fossum is about to be the first Aggie in space.

The Texas A&M graduate plans to bring to the space station a university flag which he will bring back for his alma mater. But he may want to hide it from fellow crew mate Stephanie Wilson, who went to graduate school at the University of Texas. (sssssssss!) (Sorry, I could not help myself)

I could not find when they will launch in space, but it will be neat to finally have an aggie in space. It is worth noting the paper says this will be the first Aggie in space and goes on to mention that Wilson is a former longhorn. Just goes to show you can be a former anything other than a former marine and a former aggie.

Tags: Texas Aggies, Culture by Chuck
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The Seattle Seahawks and Texas A&M University have settled a lawsuit over the 12^th Man moniker. The Aggies sued the Seahawks days before their 2006 Super Bowl match against the eventual champion Pittsburg Steelers.

The agreement, announced by both entities Monday, allows the Seahawks to use the 12th Man slogan within a seven-state area in the Northwest region of the United States. The team must publicly state that A&M owns the phrase each time it is used, according to A&M officials.

The Seahawks also will pay a licensing fee to A&M, though A&M representatives refused to release how much, saying the final documents haven’t been filed in court yet.

A&M has used the 12th Man slogan for decades, but the Aggies made it official in 1990 when they received the licensing trademark, which is a step the Seahawks never took.

The Seattle Times has a little bit more on the Seahawks conditional use of the 12^th Man name.

The Seahawks can essentially use the 12th Man anywhere, but have to acknowledge that the slogan is being used under copyright of the school when mentioning it in print or on a team-sponsored broadcast.

The Aggies have been using the name, 12^th Man for decades going all the way back to a 1922 football game against Centre College.

The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation’s top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies.

To this day, the student body of Texas A&M will stand during the entire football game showing their willingness to enter the game if needed. The 12th Man tradition might have been born in 1922, but the gained national prominence when Head Coach Jackie Sherrill instituted the 12th Man kickoff squad made of eleven non-scholarship players. For those unfamiliar with the school, the tradition of the 12th Man is a very big part of the University.

A statue of E. King Gill greets fans to Kyle Field as they enter the football stadium at tradition rich Texas A&M.

Hat tip to Outside the Beltway

Tags: Texas Aggies, Culture, Sports by Chuck
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