Messin’ with Texas

A guy at work sent me this video. I enjoyed it the same way I enjoy Sean Hannity’s show:

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So I seem to be part of the extremely small minority that is liberal in my work place. As I have said I am usually on the defensive. I wrote down a few things I have heard that I thought I would share with you.

1. In a conversation with one of the other engineers, I joking said we should just lie to our clients inspector to get some bottleneck in our work moving. He responded, “Yeah just lie to him, Obama will lie to him anyways.” I am sure he was just saying this because he knows my political views, but what the hell is that even supposed to mean? What a stupid comment. I am not sure if he thought he was attacking me by establishing his unhappiness with the current president.
2. The same guy a week later proposed taking bets on how long it would take to impeach Obama.
3. Another guy at work expressed to me that he was concerned that if someone were to assassinate the president, he was afraid there would be a whites versus blacks civil war. I thought that did a good job of capturing the segregation mentality that still seems to be strong here. A friend of mine told me that some small towns in the area still have each race living in different ‘quarters.’

Another interesting bit. Although not Texas, I feel this article is worth reading:

Segregated Proms

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Lovebugs. These little buggers are a huge pain. There are tons of them, they are constantly fornicating, and they end up splattered all over my windshield. Reading Wikipedia’s article on them, one finds:

Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die en masse on automobile windshields, hoods, and radiator grills when the vehicles travel at high speeds. If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become dried and extremely difficult to remove. In the past, the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female’s egg masses, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly remove

Lately I have been very paranoid about the longevity of my car. I am doing my best to keep it clean.

This guy must have pissed someone off. I caught this picture on my way home from work recently. In case it’s not clear, those are bullet holes in the side of his car.

Of course, in Texas everything is drive thru. This is a drive thru ATM which in itself isn’t a novelty, but if you look in the lower left hand corner, you can see that this ATM offers “audio assitance for the visually impaired.” I’ll let you think about that one on your own…

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Several of the pipefitters that I work with down here in Texas are quite interested in politics. One of our discussions was on guns and gun control, an issue very close to the hearts of Texans. At the time of the argument I hadn’t really formed an opinion on gun control. To me, the issue seemed unimportant compared to the many other issues facing our society. Apparently this wasn’t a satisfying answer for JT, who insisted on taking me shooting to show me how fun guns can be. Having never been to a shooting range (i shot my grand father’s .22 caliber rifle when I was younger), I decided to go.

I had fun, or atleast it was an interesting experience. JT’s plan to get me to love guns kind of backfired. After talking to some of the guys there and seeing some of the weapons people had (assault rifles, high powered rifles, enourmous hand guns), I am now in favor of gun control. One of the guys explained to me that should someone break into his house, he has a shotgun under his bed loaded with a kind of ammo that will spray shot over a large area. He then has a high powered revolver which he will use to kill the intruder. I think that’s a large part of Texas’ infatuation with guns; they all think that someone is going to break into their house with a gun and try to kill them. I tried to argue that most people breaking into someone’s home are doing so to loot the house and that they don’t have the intention to kill you. But they didn’t work.

I am not sure if JT was mad or just disappointed that I didn’t fall in love with guns. Anyway, here are the pictures:

Shooting range outside of Beaumont, Texas

Although it was a kind of run down place on the side of the highway, at least they were taking safety seriously. I don’t mean that sarcastically, they did really take it seriously, as did all the guys at the range including JT and Randy, the two pipefitters I went with.

Shooting range outside of Beaumont, Texas

Randy firing some hand gun. I don’t remember the names of the guns we were shooting. They were all hand guns.

Shooting range outside of Beaumont, Texas

JT shooting. The gun he is holding and the two guns on the table were his. He also brought his high powered rifle which was so strong JT was black and blue all over his shoulder.

Shooting range outside of Beaumont, Texas

Even though the target was really close, I couldn’t hit anything. Guns are heavy and hard to shoot. It’s not like in the movies at all.

Shooting range outside of Beaumont, Texas

JT tired helping me get some consistency in my shooting, but with no success. It’s hard to shoot a gun.

While there, JT told me about a movement to let students have guns on campus. After all the shootings that have gone over the past few years, there is a movement afoot to let students carry guns on college campuses to protect themselves. I am not going to go into a lot of detail about why this is the craziest idea I have ever heard. But I will point you to their website: ConcealedCampus.org

Some highlights from the website are:

Argument: The answer to bullets flying is not more bullets flying.

Answer: Actually,  the answer to bullets flying is almost always more bullets flying.  That’s why the police bring so many guns with  them when they respond to a report of ‘shots fired.

Argument: It is inconceivable that any logical person would believe that the answer to violence is more guns.

Answer: One  might have just as easily told Edward Jenner, the man who discovered in the  late eighteenth century that the cowpox virus could be used to inoculate people  against smallpox, ‘It is inconceivable that any logical person would believe  that the answer to disease is more viruses.

Sorry this post is short, but I have been busy. Anyone else have any good reading on gun control?

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This past weekend my new friend Elizabeth invited me to a wedding with her as her guest. She was in the bridal party and she hadn’t invited anyone so at the last minute (11pm the night before the wedding) she called me up and invited me. I had nothing better to do so I went.

The wedding was at an big old house near Buna, Texas. For those of you that know where that is, it was more middle-of-nowhere than Buna. The event was nice. Small, quiet and short. The venue was beautiful especially this time of year when it’s warm but not to warm, and there aren’t many mosquitoes. I even had a little adventure when I got pulled over by the police on my way back. Fortuneately I hadn’t been drinking.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures:

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A friend of mine took these pictures. She said:

“I was able to fool my friends and family and now they think that Beaumont is a great place.”

Thanks Carolina for letting me post your pictures. Hopefully everyone else is fooled as well. Great shots. They really do capture the best views of Beaumont.

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Last week I was lured to one of the many “tea parties” that went on around the country on April 15th, 2009 (tax day). Two friends of mine were going and I figured that it was something worth seeing. I remember living in Turkey and thinking how cool it was to see people out in the streets showing their unified opposition to the government, to see Democracy in action! Although I don’t necessarily agree with the protests, or a lot of things that Texans are passionate about, I concluded that this was an event worth seeing. The current administration will make history, and regardless of what side I consider myself on, it is important to understand both sides.

Southeast Texas Tea Party, Beaumont, Texas

Southeast Texas Tea Party, Beaumont, Texas

The event that took place here in Beaumont was not huge. I would guess between one and two thousand people (the population of Beaumont is a little over 100,000). Speakers included: local business leaders, teachers, refinery workers, police, politicians and Ted Poe the congressional representative from Texas’ second district (this one). Not knowing what to expect, I pleasantly surprised at how non-partisan the speakers were, although I found that the crowd was anything but.

Since Beaumont is a small town I ran into people I knew. One of the organizers was a woman I work with, who today high fived me for being, “a domestic terrorist,” like herself. She was very dissapointed when I told her my political alignment and that I was there for the intellectual value. Two guys from my soccer team were there (Ben and Robin), one of whom was volunteered to help run the event because his father-in-law was one of the guest speakers. And of course my most conservative friend, (sorry Nick, I think you’re beat on this one) Elizabeth, was there with a sign and her politically active aunt.

What grabbed me most were the signs that people made. I did my best to snap photos of as many as I could. Here are a few of the better signs that I saw:

Southeast Texas Tea Party, Beaumont, Texas

If you can’t see it, the sign says “don’t spend my wealth, spend my work ethic.” This idea seems to be a value very important to Texans which is ironic in my opinion. Most of the taxes being levied by the current administration will not affect these people at all. Infact they will affect a much higher income bracket, a bracket that most of these people will never be in. Although I don’t know who this was with this sign, it’s probably a pretty safe bet to say that the government is planning to spend his work ethic and reward it with wealthier people’s wealth. Robin Hood anyone?

Southeast Texas Tea Party, Beaumont, Texas

Clear and to the point. But does he actually know what socialism is? I have met two people at my office (keep in mind we are all engineers), who had the right definition and understanding of socialism and its implications in a modern society. The word has become a political catch phrase just like communism did under the efforts of Senator McCarthy. In the current political atmosphere, it is impossible to have a real discussion about anything remotely socialist.

Taxation Without Representation

Not quite sure what to say. You can’t make everyone happy.

Anti Obama Posters

I know who this guy voted for.

Anti-Obama poster

Wow. Just wow.You know after seeing this guy, I took off the hemp bracelet and other jewelry I was wearing.

Southeast Texas Tea Party Speaker

Not sure who the speaker was.

Southeast Texas Tea Party: My favorite picture

I love this picture. It’s just perfect. Sorry to everyone else but this guy and his daughter win the best sign in my opinion.

Tea or Kool-aid?

That’s Elizabeth with her sign.

After the event my brother or father or some member of my family sent me an interesting Op-Ed Article published in the New York Times on April 18th. The author makes a very interesting comment, something that bothered me as well. Most people in this area call themselves patriots, and believe strongly in the image of America that they have in their minds. They have what I would consider (and please correct me if I am wrong) southern values. They are certainly more interested in politics than many of my peers from New York. The theme, or rather the threat of the tea party seemed to be the 10th amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. It reads:

• The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The claim was that the states have the right to secede from the union if the federal government oversteps its bounds. Of course there is a tremendous amount more discussion to be had on this subject and the various supplementary subjects, but that’s the basic idea. The irony of this is that these people cry out for using the 10th amendment to secede while waving an American flag. Isn’t Secession the most un-patriotic thing you can do? It only shows that you have lost complete faith in your government, your constitution, and everything about the system, which you are apparently so proud of.

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Art in the Park in Orange, Texas

This is the main street through Orange. It was pretty empty on a Saturday afternoon.

Stark House

This is a cool tree that was growing in the front yard of the house of Orange local, . The house is now a museum known as the Stark House. I didn’t get a chance to go inside because it was closed, but I will go back eventually and post some pictures on a later date.

Stark Museum

In my opinion the main attraction of Orange is the Stark Museum of Art. The museum had a great collection of American Western Art (which is ironic because this part of Texas is definitely not the American West), including many pieces by Frederic Remington.

Sculpture from the Stark Museum

A sculpture.

Sculpture from the Stark Museum

Another sculpture.

They had the original of this sculpture. It was probably my favorite piece in the whole collection. Unfortunatley I couldn’t take pictures in any of the exhibits.

Sculpture from the Stark Museum

…and another great sculpture. I found the sculptures to be so full of life, energy and motion.

Train station in Orange, Texas

This is a picture of the old train station in Orange. The rail infrastructure in the area is used almost entirely for moving industrial goods and chemicals. I know this picture doesn’t fit with the pictures of the museum, but I found it to be a perfect reminder of how little public transportation there is in this part of the country.

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In an effort to branch out and do different things, I went to the opening of an exhibition of art work done by important female figurative artists from the 70’s SoHo co-ops (hence the title of the exhibition). The exhibition was at the Dishman Museum, on Lamar University. This museum is small, and not many people went there, but it was a nice event. In addition to wine, snacks and art, there was also some interpretive dance. I am thinking that Lamar will be increasingly part of my life. I may even take a class there. Here are two of the pieces that I found very interesting. My favorite piece in the exhibition I could not find online.

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Two weekends ago I went down to Pleasure Island, an island south of Port Arthur, Texas on Sabine Lake. It doesn’t really have much of beach but it has a marina, or at least it did. I went there to look at boats. A friend and I went to look at sailboats. I have been thinking of buying one here and I figured that given the current economy, now is the time to by. My friend also had the same idea (actually it was his idea first). What we saw at the marina was a disaster.

Destruction of Pleasure Island Marina

The first picture of the marina is a bit innocuous. Some boats survived the storm with minimal damage, and other people have returned to the marina since then.

Destruction of Pleasure Island Marina

This is a bit worse. The area was scattered with broken down boats all of which had been looted and left. Almost no cleanup has been begun, now several months after the event.

Destruction of Pleasure Island Marina

… more destruction…

Destruction of Pleasure Island Marina

… more destruction…

Alligators in Pleasure Island Marina

Since so many boats were lost, the marina isn’t used that often anymore and alligators have now moved in. Apparently people have also been using the marina as a toilet since the bathrooms were destroyed and the tank cleaning equipment was destroyed.

Destoryed restaurant on Pleasure Island

This apparently used to be a nice and popular restaurant. It hasn’t been touched since before the hurricane.

Mansions on Pleasure Island

In sharp contrast, literally right next to the Marina is a series of mansions, all of which are in perfect condition. Why were all these homes in good condition? “because they have money” said one of the live-aboards (expression meaning someone who lives on their boat) living in the marina.

Mansions in Pleasure Island Marina

Not all the mansions survived the hurricane. This guy ended up with his sail boat in his backyard. The truth of the matter is that the houses were designed to use the first floor as storage space in case there was flooding. A lot of the residents had turned the large first floor storage spaces into living spaces and were not able to collect insurance money for their damaged possessions.

Oil platform from Pleasure Island, Port Arthur, Texas

Of course, within sight of the marina is an oil platform.

In addition to the visual damage to the marina, there was no electricity or running water, and the water in the area is disgusting. So I have (almost) abandonned the idea.

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