While I really want to applaud Gov. Perry for sending the a special group of Texas Rangers to the border to do the job that the Federal Government either can’t or won’t, but why oh why did he wait until now?  Could it be that there is a Democrat in the White House?  Or could it be like the teetotaler who were in DC and this is just when the water boiled over?  Somehow I think it’s the former, especially since Perry is part of the opposing political party and the teetotalers , while fiscal conservatives, are pretty much a blend of several parties (or not affiliated at all).

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from Texas…makes you fell kinda proud to live here!

If someone in a Lowe’s store offers you assistance and they don’t work there, you may live in Texas ;

If you’ve worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas ;

If you’ve had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Texas ;

If “Vacation” means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in Texas;

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas;

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Texas ;

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Texas ;

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Texas ;

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph — you’re going 80 and everybody’s passing you, you may live in Texas ;

If you find 60 degrees “a little chilly,” you may live in Texas ;

If you actually understand these jokes, and share them with all your Texas friends, you definitely live in Texas .

Here are some little known, very interesting facts about Texas .

1. Beaumont to El Paso : 742 miles
2. Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles
3. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas
4. World’s first rodeo was in Pecos , July 4, 1883.
5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.
6. The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full-time coach at Rice University in Houston .
7. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America .
8. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America ’s only remaining flock of whooping cranes.
9. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.
10. The worst natural disaster in U.S . history was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island .
11. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was ” Houston .”
12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island .
13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43″ in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July of 1979.
14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union ) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 5 states.
15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.
16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period in Dr Pepper.
18. Texas has had six capital cities: Washington -on- the Brazos, Harrisburg , Galveston , Velasco, West Columbia and Austin .
19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 feet).
20. The name ” Texas ” comes from the Hasini Indian word “tejas” meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish for Texas .
21. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg, which splits into four, and they either have four males or four females.).
22. The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston .

Cowboy’s Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie , Texas :

(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin’.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin’ before God.
(6) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal.
(7) No killin’.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don’t take what ain’t yers.
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff

This poster was found at a gun shop in Texas. As always with cool stuff, it came from the Coach.

The Daily Advertiser reports that Obama plans to raise excise taxes on oil and gas producers especially in the Gulf of Mexico.  At least we know that Obama won’t kick us when we’re down; he’ll just wait until “after the economy has had time to recover, White House officials said.” That makes me feel so much better!

Will these new taxes discourage exploration, production and/or threaten current and future jobs.  Time will tell, but Louisiana and Texas will feel the pain first.  Don’t blame the oil and gas companies who may decide invest in overseas efforts that may have better ROI (see US Taxpayers make $1B investment in Brazil).

My inner libertarian takes a backseat to my outer scientist. If anyone is willing to propose a model of funding research that doesn’t require the federal government that is feasible, I’m all ears. Until then, I can justify my egregious begging thus: I am currently working on a computer that was built in 1998, for crying out loud. We’re almost to the point where we’re recycling ethanol at the lab! This is money better spent on research rather than bank bailouts. The first paragraph is mine, the rest is for members of the Society for Neuroscience.

Mr Culberson,

I know that after years of irresponsible spending at the federal level, it is tempting to tighten the belt on things like the NIH budget. Please consider that the NIH budget has remained flat for the last 6 years. As a republican, I remember the initiative taken by the GOP in 1998 under Newt Gingrich to double NIH funding. This spending is not a “bridge to nowhere” such as the one in Alaska, as it provides tangible benefits and a profitable ROI for our nation and the world. Also, and perhaps more germane, it benefits the Baylor College of Medicine where I and many of my colleagues are employed. The medical center is the largest source of employment for the city of Houston, a fact you should consider when reading this letter and voting on NIH funding.

As a constituent and a member of the Society for Neuroscience, I urge you to sign a letter being circulated by Representatives Edward Markey (D-MA), David Reichert (R-WA), and others, to Appropriations Chair David Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) that requests an increase for the NIH of $1.9 billion or 6.5 percent in FY2009. NIH is the world’s leading medical research enterprise, and without strong Congressional support it will not be able to sustain the pace of recent discoveries that are saving lives, improving health and promoting economic development in your district and across the nation.

With over 38,000 members, SfN is the world’s largest organization of basic scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system. Neuroscience includes the study of brain development, sensation and perception, learning and memory, movement, sleep, stress, aging, and neurological and psychiatric disorders. It also includes study of the molecules, cells, and genes responsible for nervous system functioning.

I urge you to help ensure that NIH has sufficient funding to help solve the many public health challenges in our nation by signing this letter. To sign on, please contact Josh Lumbley in Rep. Markey’s office at <joshua.lumbley@mail.house.gov> or (202) 225-2836, or Jason Edgar in Rep. Reichert’s office <jason.edgar@mail.house.gov> or (202) 225-7761.

Thank you in advance for your support.