A State of Treason

by David Thomas Roberts

  Weaver, reading off a clipboard, continued. “The railways are also shut down and the Navy is turning back ships trying to enter ports in Beaumont, Galveston, Houston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville. Certain ships have been allowed to leave because of official complaints registered with the State Department by the embassies of various countries.”

  He looked up over his glasses briefly to make sure everyone was paying attention, then continued. “The Federal Reserve has locked Texas-chartered banks out of the routing system. There’s been a run on several banks, causing stability issues with at least one financial institution that had its reserves fall below acceptable limits, putting the bank in default failure when this crisis is over.”

  One of the congressmen attending stood up and said, “I am on the House Banking Committee, and I have been locked out of two closed door meetings.”

  “Did your fellow Republicans protest?” asked Cooper.

  “No, Governor, as far as I know, they did not. I called two of them who told me the Republican leadership had threatened them and told them to follow orders. They apologized, but said their hands were tied.”

  The rumblings in the room grew louder because many could not suppress their anger.

  Weaver continued his report. “Food stocks seem to be holding up and no crisis has been reported. There are some empty shelves and shortages reported; however, they have not been food staples. We don’t anticipate any shortages in the near term. Many stores have instituted their own policies for limits on certain items when they run short. We are monitoring this closely. We don’t anticipate the need for intervention by the State Department of Agriculture or any state agency at this time. We have some isolated reports of price gouging, but it’s not widespread. We’ll pursue any leads just as we do after a hurricane or other disaster. Any questions?” Weaver paused.

  “What about medicines, vaccines and those types of items?” asked one of the congressional Democrats.

  “If there are any areas of concern, this would be near the top of the list if this situation continues. Right now, our assessment of hospitals, pharmacies and doctors is that supplies are fine for about two more weeks before we start seeing sporadic shortages. If we have a major flu outbreak or other infectious diseases epidemic, this would be serious. Governor, I know you would like to comment on this.”

  Gov. Cooper stood up and took the huge Churchill-type cigar from his mouth. He had been chewing on it but had not lit it.

  “At some point, we may consider a public statement on this issue. We all know how much President Johnson and Atty. Gen. Tibbs hate Texas,” chuckled Cooper. “With all due respect to our esteemed Democratic friends, President Johnson is too much of a political animal to take the public relations hit from not allowing shipments of needed medicines into the state. He won’t want to allow it, but I think we could create enough public pressure that he would. Hell, does he not want his beloved IRS and DHS employees in Texas to be able to get flu shots?”

  Finally, some nervous laughter broke out among the group following the governor’s comments, except for the sulking Democrats. Cooper sat back down in his overstuffed chair and put the cigar back in his mouth.

  Weaver walked back to the front of the crowded room. “For those who have never met him, I would like to introduce Texas Ranger Pops Younger. He’ll give us his assessment on the status of Texas law enforcement.”

  The energy level in the room, already high, took on a new excitement. Even in this small setting, those who had never met Younger wanted a better look. Those who were sitting in chairs adjusted them slightly or leaned one way or the other. People standing jostled a bit to see the living legend and probably the last of a dying breed.

  Pops, as he had been known to three generations of Texans, had a natural flare for the dramatic, although those who knew him best knew it wasn’t an act or intentional. The iconic lawman just had an air about him that drew people to him and frightened the hell out of criminals. The stories about this Ranger had grown over sixty years to almost mythical proportions.

  Pops could put people under arrest just by looking at them. On at least three occasions, with multiple witnesses, Pops approached wanted fugitives who were armed, dangerous and knew, if they were ever arrested again, they would spend the rest of their lives in jail or worse, die by lethal injection. Although they pointed loaded weapons at Pops, they threw down their weapons as the Ranger stared them down. When he did speak, it was generally with few words and a look of invincibility hard to describe. Most in the room had never been in his presence. Nobody knew for sure how old Pops was. Even the governor didn’t know how old Younger really was. Some speculated he was in his eighties.

  It was hard to upstage the gregarious governor but, if anyone could, it was Pops. Most of the time, the Ranger was surprised at the attention he got. But, every now and then, he used his illustrious status to his advantage when it came to dealing with criminal elements or politicians he despised. Pops had an uncanny ability to get to the heart of the matter in a sentence or two, with simple homespun cowboy logic. Even the governor admired Pops and relished every opportunity he got to spend with him, which was typically on a south Texas quail hunt instead of inside an office filled with politicians and state bureaucrats.

  Pops rose. His cowboy-cut Wrangler jeans, pearl snap western shirt, vintage silver Stetson, and black bull hide cowboy boots reflected his style. He rubbed his large bushy handlebar mustache, slightly tilted his hat and spit into his paper cup before he spoke. Those who knew Pops knew that, when he adjusted his hat, followed by a spit into his paper cup or on the ground, they were about to hear his common sense logic, or they were about to be made a fool.

  Despite the crowd of twenty-some people in the room, each one felt Pops made direct eye contact with them individually with those piercing, Paul Newman blue eyes in the few seconds that he paused. Again, Pops’ flare for the dramatic wasn’t contrived or planned; it was just how his persona exuded from him.

  In his unmistakable Texas drawl, he began. “The Rangers have been monitoring all local and state law enforcement departments. We have many that are happier than a pig in a poke that our people here in Austin are finally standing up to the damned carpetbaggers in D.C. However, we have some law enforcement officials who are openly trying to contact the feds and assist them with their intervention in our fine state. Most of these bastards are in the larger urban police departments in Houston, Dallas, and right here in Austin.”

  He paused, reaching for the Copenhagen smokeless tobacco in his back pocket. He took a pinch, and placed it between his cheek and gums in one effortless motion.

  “One thing is as sure as the Texas sun rising tomorrow and, with the exception of just a few counties, the Texas sheriffs are with us. And, once again, it’s the commie sheriffs in Dallas, Houston and several Rio Grande border counties that are the problem. That being said, we are in great shape with most Texas sheriffs and constables, with a few hold-outs in those same cities. Those folks are beholden to DHS and gladly take their money to help militarize their departments. They are essentially bought and paid for like a cheap Pecos River saloon whore.”

  “Mr. Younger,” interrupted a young Hispanic Democratic congressman from a district that included south San Antonio, “are you calling the police chiefs in those cities communists? Don’t you think we should try to solve this conflict instead of calling members of our law enforcement names?”

  Pops stared fiercely at the congressman, then spit into his paper spit cup. Those who knew Pops knew what was coming, and were no doubt relishing the opportunity to see the Ranger handle his challenger. The room suddenly went eerily silent. Pops took three steps toward the congressman and stopped right in front of him. His eyes blazed right through the young man.

  “Sonny, when is the last time you read our fine Constitution?”

  “Well, Mr. Younger, I took an oath to uphold….”

  “That’s not what I asked you, son. I asked when was the last time you r
ead it, or have you ever read it?”

  The congressman squirmed under the Ranger’s glare. “Mr. Younger, I would expect someone like you to have a little more respect toward a U.S. congressman elected by the good people of Texas.”

  “Son, a congressman who takes an oath of office to a Constitution he hasn’t read or doesn’t follow is as useless as nipples on a boar hog. Furthermore, either your constituents are as clueless as you are, or you have them fooled. But you ain’t got me fooled. You’re a damned socialist at best, but probably a communist!”

  “I’m not a communist, Mr. Younger!”

  “Did you vote for the Patriot Act? Did you vote for the National Defense Authorization Act? Did you vote for the assault weapons ban? Do you agree with wealth redistribution? If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck, it’s a goddamn communist!”

  The congressman glared at Gov. Cooper. “Sir, I don’t have to sit here and take ridicule like that from anyone.”

  During this exchange, the governor took his time lighting his cigar, the slight smirk on his face indicating that he was enjoying the show. Eying the defiant congressman with something akin to disdain, he took a puff on the cigar and said, “Congressman, you have to understand that you are part of the problem, as is your party and, for that matter, so is the GOP establishment. Now I suggest that if you want to participate in averting the crisis we face with this administration and, as the junior member of the congressional delegation in this room, you sit down, shut up and watch how things are done by people in Texas who know how to get things done!”

  The congressman’s face flushed a dark red. “Sir, the federal government is going to come down on you so fast your head will spin. And I, for one, am going to enjoy the day we see you led away in handcuffs,” retorted the congressman as he picked up his briefcase and made his way through the crowded room toward the door.

  “Sonny, your assignment is to read that Constitution you took an oath to uphold,” called Pops to the retreating back of the politician. He took another spit into his Dixie cup that was now about one quarter full of a mixture of brown tobacco juice and spit.

  The few Texas Democrats who had been asked to participate in the meeting suddenly became more uneasy than they already were. Sensing their uneasiness as easy targets in the room, Cooper stood up.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I asked all of you here for input on how to protect Texas and Texans from any calamity. Now, it’s true that we don’t all agree on many issues, but it’s time to come together to figure this out.” He surveyed the room. “Does anyone else want to leave? If so, leave now,” he said.

  When no one responded, the governor continued. “Okay, let’s hear from Maj. Gen. Rex Conroy with the Texas State Guard.”

  Maj. Gen. Conroy stepped to the front of the room with a manila folder that he began to pull papers from. Conroy was a decorated Vietnam War veteran and held command posts in the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Shield. He retired from active duty and became active in the State Guard, accepting his commission as commander from Gov. Cooper.

  “We have a stand-off situation at various points on the state border, including I-35 at the Oklahoma state line, I-20 and I-10 at Louisiana and I-10 at El Paso. The location with the most tension seems to be at I-30 at Texarkana. There have been skirmishes at that location and others, but no exchange of gunfire since the original incident three days after the surrender in Austin.”

  Conroy continued. “The U.S. Air Force bases in Texas are still effectively shut down and are under my direct command as directed by Gov. Cooper. There are no federal flights in or out at the moment. However, some private aircraft have been able to operate.

  “We have also locked down all border check points on the Mexican border. Interestingly, the U.S. Border Patrol has cooperated, and seems to have relaxed surveillance and enforcement activities.

  “The administration still has U.S. Navy ships stationed in the Gulf strategically to intercept incoming and outgoing cargo ships and tankers. They are blockading ports at Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Port Arthur and Beaumont, as well as the Houston Ship Channel entrance.”

  Conroy shuffled several pieces of paper as if looking for something. Finally, he glanced up and continued. “We have stationed Texas Guard and militia troops at key refineries where pipelines flow out of state,” he said. “We have worked with various oil companies and refineries per the governor to turn off those outgoing oil and gas pipelines to other states.”

  Gov. Cooper stood up and added, “We think it’s a little comical that President Johnson has shut down tanker access. Those tankers take crude to other refineries on the Gulf Coast and other states for refinement to gasoline. It will be interesting to see the short- and long-term effects this has on gasoline prices and stockpiles nationally. OPEC will have this administration by the short hairs if this blockade continues. I would like to remind everyone not only of the vast oil reserves in Texas but, more important, is its refining capacity that is second to none. This will get painful for Johnson in a hurry. Continue on, Major General, and pardon me for interrupting.”

  “Yes, sir, no interruption at all. We have established rules of engagement with all Texas forces and they are defensive only. Do not engage unless we have been engaged.”

  “Do we expect them to engage?” asked Sen. Simpson.

  “I have to prepare our troops as if they will,” said Conroy, “but this may be more of a political question for the governor or attorney general.”

  Weaver stood. “I do not believe we will see any all-out assault of any kind. That would be messy for the administration.”

  Conroy nodded at Weaver, then continued his briefing. “What we do expect is some type of extraction attempt for the governor and other officials sitting in this room. This administration has a blood thirst for political theater when they think it will benefit its propaganda machine.”

  “The banking lockdown and halt of all federal payments and other actions by this administration are attempts to create internal pressure on state officials,” said Cooper emphatically. “They are trying to make it hard on the average Texan, hoping our citizens will put pressure on state officials to cave.”

  The balding, twenty-eight-year-old incumbent Democratic Congressman Mario Pena from Laredo interrupted the governor to ask, “Sir, how bad does it have to get for Texas for you to consider turning yourself in to the Justice Department? Does our banking system have to come undone? Do food or medicine shortages have to get critically low? Does it have to result in bloodshed on the interstate?”

  A little-known freshman state legislator, Mike Woods, from north of Houston, stood up. Woods had bucked the establishment good ole boy network in the legislature, introducing maverick legislation on everything from gun rights to nullification of federal laws, and had won the favor of Gov. Cooper and the Tea Party.

  “Congressman Pena, there are no circumstances where our governor, our lieutenant governor or our attorney general can surrender. This administration hates Texas and everything it stands for. People around the world see Texas as the last hope for free enterprise, Christian values, capitalism and individual responsibility. I say to you and to everyone in this room, we have reached the point of no return.”

  Clearly caught up in the moment, Woods continued. “Everyone here sees the dysfunctional system we have in Washington. Hell, we have the president and his attorney general complicit in maybe the worst conspiracy in American history that includes the death of a federal whistleblower and his wife and the trampling of the constitutional rights of numerous Texans who just happen to be Tea Party activists. Yet we can’t get Congress to invoke impeachment proceedings.

  “So I say not only no, but hell, no! Under no circumstances does the governor, or anyone else for that matter, surrender to federal authorities! Governor, if you do that, Texas is over. It’s as plain and simple as that.”

  Now the room’s intensity went off the charts, with everyone talking at the same
time, some so loud others had to yell to get their points across. Finally, the only one in the room who could quiet a crowd strode to the front of the governor’s desk.

  Without a word, Pops spit into his Dixie cup and looked at the arguments going on around him. One by one, he stared down each party involved in a sidebar discussion. When they noticed Pops staring at them, they immediately quit talking. As each small group got quiet, others noticed Pops and became silent themselves.

  The Texas Rangers’ motto is “One riot, one Ranger,” emblazoned in history from the story of a Dallas sheriff who sent for the Rangers as a riot over an illegal prize fight broke out in town. When a Ranger showed up, the sheriff looked at him and asked incredulously, “There’s only one Ranger?”

  Ranger Captain W.J. McDonald shot back, “There’s only one riot, isn’t there?”

  It was obvious Pops garnered the same type of respect the Rangers were famous for.

  “Folks, neither this governor nor anyone else in this room ain’t surrendering to nobody, but especially not to that federal attorney general. Not while my boots still have dust from Texas dirt on them. Let’s not forget that Texans voted the other day in favor of Texas independence. Now I’m not a damned politician like the rest of you fine folks,” he said with just a smidgen of sarcasm, “but I can tell you that the average Texan does not want the governor or any of the rest of you hauled off by the feds. There’s more than a few of you I wouldn’t mind to run your hippie-thinkin’ asses out of Texas, especially you folk that think left-handed but, at the end of the day, you’re Texans.”

  “Pops is right,” declared Weaver.”