112 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 7 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

The Lone Star of the Third World

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   4 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message James Brett
Become a Fan
  (2 fans)
Governor Rick Perry of Texas is all haircut and no cattle ... much less any common sense. He must be related to Ron Blagojevich. The worst thing is that Rick Perry is a dishonest and prevaricating demagogue, which is a person who stirs up the emotions of people for the purpose not so much of carrying through with threats and promises, but to herd people into a spot where they are afflicted with mob psychology and resonate to practically anything they say. Demagogues are not nice people with good voices; they are sick puppies willing to sacrifice any ideal for a temporary political foothold. Whether they understand the root psychology of it or not, demagogues do understand the need of some people to herd together for mutual support and for verification and vindication of their own frets and prejudices. We have had demagogues since the beginning. Demagoguery is something that happens to people whose public prominence seduces them into public narcissism, and boy howdy, that's Rick Perry. The odd thing is how the press, even the nominally sane press has picked up on the latest bull-roar about Texas secession and played it like we are stuck in the doldrums of mid-summer. Truth is there is a lot more going on than the speculation about whether Texas (from which I have recently departed after living five years in the Austin area) is a part of the United States under a treaty that allows it to secede and/or break up into five miniature narcissism states. There is no right to secession
In its 1868 decision in Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled that secession of Texas from the United States was illegal, writing "The Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible States." The court did allow some possibility of the divisibility "through revolution, or through consent of the States." -- Wikipedia
Frankly, I wish it were otherwise and that the arrogant opportunistas in Texas would try. The lesson to themselves would be instructive for all the states. To begin with Texans could not possibly afford to live without all the military installations of the United States. Here they are: Air Force Bases * Brooks City-Base - San Antonio * Dyess Air Force Base - Abilene * Goodfellow Air Force Base - San Angelo * Lackland Air Force Base - San Antonio * Laughlin Air Force Base - Johnstone * Randolph Air Force Base - Universal City * Sheppard Air Force Base - Wichita Falls Army Posts * Biggs Army Airfield - Fort Bliss - El Paso, TX * Camp Bullis - San Antonio * Corpus Christi Army Depot - Corpus Christi * Fort Bliss - El Paso * Fort Hood - Killeen * Fort Sam Houston - San Antonio * Red River Army Depot - southwest of Texarkana Navy Bases * Corpus Christi Naval Air Station including Beeville, etc. * Fort Worth Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base * Ingleside Naval Station Coast Guard Bases * USCG Station Galveston - Galveston Island No USMC facilities ... sort of strangely, but Houston has NASA in spades and, the point being, perhaps Texans could live like the citizens of Guantanamo City, Cuba, as maids and janitors to U.S. bases, but I doubt it. There is not enough oil in Texas to pay off the cost of any of these bases or facilities. And, more to the point, the day after Texas secession more loyal states of the U.S. would be bargaining in Washington to have these bases moved to their territory. California would gladly take NASA, where it would have gone but for Lyndon Baines Johnson. Besides oil, the economy of Texas is heavily agricultural. Cotton and animal husbandry are ubiquitous. With Texas hoping to sign on to NAFTA as an independent trading nation, perhaps we could see our way clear to buying the occasional Texas angus beef, but you never heard of Texas cotton being all that high of quality. Arizona's Pima Cotton is the good stuff. Cities like Dallas-Fort Worth might keep their airport, but I doubt if American Airlines would consider keeping domestic hub in a foreign country. El Paso would break off, surely, for the Mexican drug lords practically own it already. They cross the border with impunity and shoot to death those they have merely winged on the dusty unpaved streets of Ciudad Juarez. There is no question in my mind that the Country of Texas would spiral into third world status at an amazing pace. And, of course, Texans would be too proud to accept foreign aid from the U.S. The problem is in the head of Governor Rick Perry. The problem is that he wants to be Sarah Palin's running mate in 2012. Perhaps these two folks think that the U.S. is finished and that the larger chunks could get together Pakistan-style and surround us with all their empty spaces and pre-evolution education systems. That's why you see pictures of Rick Perry behind Sarah on various stages at the microphones and grinning at the cameras, such as the Republican Governor's Conference a few months ago. I can't think of any other reason to stand behind Sarah Palin, can you? JB
Rate It | View Ratings

James Brett Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

James R. Brett, Ph.D. taught Russian History before (and during) a long stint as an academic administrator in faculty research administration. His academic interests are the modern period of Russian History since Peter the Great, Chinese (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Economy v. Ecology

VP Debate: One Gigantic Mistake by Sarah Palin ... Huge!

Tell It Like It Is

The Meaning of the Mike Connell Story: Under the Bus

Capitalism, Fascism, and Socialism

The End of the Marshall Plan

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend