“What the hell?” shouted the general in the situation room.
“Not again…” said a disgusted Avery Smith as he plopped down in one of the leather chairs, unable to take his eyes off the screen.
“It’s time to kill that son of a bitch once and for all! Maybe the Mexicans will do us a favor,” said Tibbs hopefully.
Most in the room were fascinated by Pop Younger’s audacity, yet it was hard for some to hide their fondness of this character who seemed misplaced in time.
The CNN cameras showed a tall, lean figure holding onto his cowboy hat to keep it from flying off his head in the chopper’s blade wash while standing at the edge of the bridge where a giant hole existed from the rocket strikes.
* * *
Once the wind of the chopper was no longer a threat to his Stetson, Pops Younger pulled his two pearl-handled Colt .45s and began firing across the bridge at the Mexicans. Coming up to stand next to him were the five other Texas Rangers, all with rifles. They began shooting across and over the bridge into the Mexican side of the river bank.
“Cmdr. Parsons, change course to one-two-zero. Those Texas Rangers are trying to hold off the Mexicans so we can get our wounded out of the checkpoint. Light up the Mexican side of the river bank!” Sterling roared.
“Roger that! The cavalry is on the way!” radioed Parsons.
The F-16s came screaming along the river from the west, barely two hundred feet above its banks. Pops and the Rangers continued to unload on the Mexicans on the bridge as bullets whizzed by them. Reserve Guard troops and emergency personnel were making their way through the rubble as best they could, recovering bodies and looking for survivors. If anyone was still alive, Pops and the Rangers were laying down enough ground fire to back up several dozen Mexican troops on the bridge.
“El Gringo Vaquero! El Gringo Vaquero!” screamed the Mexicans as many rushed to get a better shot at Pops from their vantage point on the Mexican side of the bridge or in the brush up high on the river bank.
“Tell Mexico to stand down now!” screamed the president. “If they kill that damned cowboy, this crisis will never get settled.”
Just as soon as the president issued that order, the CNN cameras captured “Tex” Parsons and the F-16s as they obliterated the Mexican side of the bridge still standing and the southern banks of the Rio Grande River bank with a combination of rockets and machine gun strafing.
Now all cameras from all the news outlets covering the event live were focused on Texas Ranger Cmdr. Pops Younger. Pops never flinched as the F-16s screamed by, but the lawman had to hang onto his hat again. In the meantime, the world saw the Texas Rangers calmly re-loading their rifles as Pops reloaded his six-shot Colt pistols.
Trying to make a name for themselves, two young Mexican infantrymen scrambled onto the bridge and began running straight toward Pops. The other Rangers were focused on the potshots that were coming from the raised river bank and didn’t see the small charge coming toward them.
“Alto! Alto, you damn Mezcans!” yelled Pops.
The pair kept charging and began firing their weapons at Pops.
Pops calmly raised his Colt pistols and, with one shot each, dropped the two charging soldiers. One of them fell forward, rolled and plunged through the giant hole on the bridge, dropping one hundred fifty feet to splash dead into the Rio Grande. The other youngster dropped dead in his tracks. Pops calmly holstered his pistols and turned around to see how the recovery efforts were progressing, while sporadic covering fire was still coming from the Texas side of the river.
“Holy crap! Did you see that? Did we really just see that?” said the general in the situation room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what you just witnessed was legendary Texas Ranger Pops Younger. I’m at a loss to describe what we all just witnessed live. The crisis in Texas is not over, ladies and gentlemen, and it appears to have just reached a new and even more dangerous level,” said the CNN host from the studio.
Chapter 37
“The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.”
~ Patrick Henry
American Revolution Hero & Founding Father
Ardent Supporter of States’ Rights (Federalism)
A flood of news and TV reporters crowded the south steps of the Texas capitol. Satellite trucks from every conceivable worldwide news outlet clogged the blocks around the grounds. At the podium stood Gov. Brahman, flanked by every state official in his administration, including many state senators and state representatives.
“Texas is under siege by the federal government of the United States, and this administration has enlisted the help of Mexico to illegally invade a sovereign state.” Brahman was clearly agitated. “Texans have had their governor and first lady murdered in the bedroom where they slept.
“They have killed our lieutenant governor, state troopers and Texas Rangers. As the world witnessed today, with the help of Mexico, they have killed thirteen Texas Guard troops who were simply manning a customs checkpoint at the border in Laredo.” Brahman glared into the camera. “They have terrorized the citizens of Texas that have differing political opinions. They have had the ATF and the FBI raid the homes of our citizens without the due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. They have shut down banking, shipping, and interstate commerce to and from Texas. Hell, they even blockaded our ports. Texans’ constitutional rights have not only been trampled, but obliterated.
“I am here to tell the world, specifically the governors of our United States and specifically the United States Congress, enough is enough! If this criminal administration is not stopped, Texas cannot and will not subject itself to further tyranny.
“I call on Congress to immediately re-open emergency impeachment proceedings. I am convening a conference call with many fellow governors in two hours. I have asked our delegation to the United States Senate and the House to deliver an ultimatum. That ultimatum will be crystal clear. Either Congress brings this administration to justice or the Texas Legislature will put the future of Texas in this republic to the voters in a binding state referendum.
“Let me be clear to our fellow Americans. The injustices perpetrated on Americans here in Texas can and will be duplicated in every state. If they can get away with it in Texas, we have news for the rest of you. It can also happen to you, and I assure you it will. Liberty, as you know it, is over. Freedom, as you know it, is over. The United States Constitution has been rendered obsolete and irrelevant. The Bill of Rights is just a piece of paper. This government, and the duly elected representatives of the other forty-nine states have allowed this to happen. This government has violated the treaty under which Texas became a part of this Union.
“To the rest of America, you have largely been silent on the atrocities of this administration. You have continued to elect representatives who have steered this nation toward socialism, or worse. With each election over the last fifty years, this country moves another step from our founders’ intent and the literal meaning of the Constitution. Texas will be silent no longer. You either help Texas by demanding impeachment, or you are part of the problem. Texans will stand for this no more.”
Gov. Brahman took a deep breath, pausing as he turned to look at those in state leadership who flanked him. The governor had no notes and no teleprompters.
“With the help of the state leadership you see behind me, we are delivering a list of demands to this administration and to the United States Congress, including the leadership of both houses in both parties. Congress will have forty-eight hours to embark on new impeachment hearings against this president.
“We also demand the immediate resignations of various cabinet members including, but not limited to, the United States attorney general, the director of DHS, including the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the directors of the FBI and ATF, and the head of the IRS. Upon their resignations, Texans demand an independent and bi-partisan prosecutor to be appointed by Congress wi
thin three days to open criminal investigations on these departments and cabinet members for their actions over the last several months of this crisis,” stated Brahman flatly.
“We have also petitioned the United Nations Security Council, through various countries in which Texas has historical and economic ties, for an immediate hearing to address the escalating crisis. This crisis continues to impact global financial markets and I suspect that the rest of the world has been shocked at the illegal acts this administration has taken against one of its sovereign states,” Brahman added.
Pausing again, Brahman looked directly into the nearest TV camera. “On February 24th, 1836, William Barrett Travis scratched out a letter from inside the walls of the Alamo while a simple tri-colored flag with the inscription “1824” flew from the crumbling mission. The tyrannical despot, Santa Anna, had invalidated the Mexican Constitution of 1824. Texians at the time simply wanted a return to constitutional rule and were willing to die for a return to liberty and freedom. I would like to read one small portion of Travis’ letter as it is as appropriate today as it was then. I stand before you today in the same spirit and desperation as Travis,” said Brahman as he unfolded a small piece of paper.
Even with hundreds of people on and around the steps of the capitol building, everything became instantly silent. Brahman took a set of reading glasses from his coat pocket and put them on.
“Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of Patriotism and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch.”
Taking the reading glasses off, Brahman looked up. “America, your fellow American brothers and sisters in Texas are under tyrannical assault from the jack-booted thugs of this administration. It’s time for you to decide if this Constitution means anything to you. This is not politics as usual, and it’s not about any political party. Now is the time to act. God Bless Texas.”
Chapter 38
“If every person has the right to defend―even by force― his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly.”
~ Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)
French Politician & Economist
Forefather of Libertarian Ideals
& Austrian Economics Theory of Thought
Breaking news from Austin, Texas: Gov. Brahman of Texas has just delivered an ultimatum to Washington, D.C. and to the rest of the country hours after the armed confrontation on the International Bridge in Laredo. His message? Impeach the president now, or else,” said the MSNBC host.
“What do you make of it?” said the host to the group of three political pundits sitting on a brightly lit blue set.
“Well, the governor has just raised the stakes, essentially putting the rest of the country on the clock. I think this does nothing to quell the crisis. It was unfortunate that there were deaths in this latest incident on both sides, but his rant and demands will only inflame the situation,” said an editor of the Huffington Post.
“The stakes are definitely raised. What if Texas votes to secede?” asked the host.
“It’s unconstitutional, simply not doable,” claimed a New York Times editor.
“What’s the chance Congress acts?” asked the host.
“There will be a lot of gnashing of teeth by Republicans, especially southern Republicans. In the end, Congress is not going to impeach this popular president,” stated the guest from the NAACP.
“His approval numbers are in the mid-thirties, sir. I’m not sure if his popularity is what it once was. He has been brutally criticized, even by members of his own party, for the handling of the Texas crisis. His approval ratings were at their all-time highest shortly after the assassination attempt, but those ratings have steadily declined, especially since the death of the Texas governor and his wife,” returned the host.
“I think America will reject this ultimatum as extreme, and any further actions by this state government along the path of some type of twisted secession movement are treasonous. A governor of a state does not simply impose his or her demands on the federal government,” claimed the NAACP guest.
“We do know Texans are mad as hell. How do you folks think the rest of America views these latest events, but especially how do you think they will view this speech by the new Texas governor?”
“I think his speech will resonate with those in other southern states or those that lean as a red state. Most of the nullification and Tenth Amendment wingnuts come from those states. The only folks that will view it favorably are the extremists in the Tea Party and other far right wing zealots, but his threats will ring hollow to the rest of and majority of America,” responded the New York Times guest.
“Did the governor back his state into a corner? What happens in both scenarios? I mean, if Congress doesn’t impeach and Texas puts secession to a vote and it doesn’t pass, then what?” The host continued to query her panel.
“I just don’t think there are as many crazies in Texas as we might think. I don’t think a statewide referendum on secession would pass. I for one welcome it because of that reason. If it is defeated, as I predict, the governor will have no choice but to negotiate an end to this nonsense,” snapped the Huffington Post contributor.
“So you think they will have the vote?” asked the host to the Huffington Post panelist.
“Well, I don’t think there’s a chance on God’s green earth that Congress votes to impeach, so I take the governor at his word.”
“So what if your scenario plays out and Texas votes to secede?” asked the host to the entire panel.
“I think at that point Texas invites further and more substantial U.S. military intervention,” stated the NAACP guest.
“As much as I hate to say it, I think he’s right about increased military intervention at that juncture. There is no way the United States allows a state to break away. For all their claims to the Constitution, they, meaning the Texas state leadership, forget that this issue was settled in 1860. If you want to change it, you do it through the ballot box,” echoed the Huffington Post contributor.
“Well, if it goes that far, it will be over in a heartbeat. How does Texas stand up to the mighty USA and its military? The very minute this president wants to squash what amounts to an insidious little rebellion orchestrated by extremists, he will. I believe the president will send a very strongly worded message to Texas before any scheduled vote to let average Texans fully understand what the consequences of their votes will mean, and what will happen to them and their state leadership if they continue down this path. This is treason, plain and simple,” said the NAACP contributor forcefully.
The host turned to the camera and, in a very serious tone, ended the segment saying, “There you have it, America. After months of this crisis, it would seem we are coming to an apex. How will the administration act now that the governor of Texas has put this administration on the clock? Will Texas vote to secede? Stayed tuned, folks. The next few days will be important to all Americans. Let’s all hope this series of events doesn’t culminate in more bloodshed.”
Chapter 39
“Democracy is a form of government that cannot long survive, for as soon as the people learn that they have a voice in the fiscal policies of the government, they will move to vote for themselves all the money in the treasury, and bankrupt the nation.”
~ Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Author of “The Communist Manifesto”
The Father of Modern Communism
President Johnson was incensed, calling an immediate emergency cabinet meeting. No press was allowed to attend. He specifically called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and instructed his press secretary to “leak” the fact that he’d summoned his top administration officials. This led to wild speculation in the media that the administration was exploring military options to end the months’-old crisis once and for all.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to make it crystal clear to T
exans that any referendum for secession from these United States will not be recognized and will bring dire consequences to the people of Texas,” the president said. It was clear Johnson had reached the pinnacle of his frustration with the Texas crisis.
“Mr. President, the question is, do we bring that message now or after the vote? What if the independence vote is defeated?” asked Sarah McDermott.
“Avery, what are the politics here? If they bring this vote, where does it likely fall?” asked the president.
“This is a hard one to gauge, Mr. President. The Swingin’ T disaster and now the border bridge drama in Laredo are stoking Texas nationalism, if you will. Texans have a different mindset than the rest of the country, which is painfully obvious to all of us here.”
“Can we stop the referendum?” asked Johnson.
“Short of a full military option, I don’t think we can,” answered Smith.
“Then let’s do it!” blurted Tibbs, referring to a military option.
Ignoring Tibbs, Johnson asked, “Are we sure how this vote would turn out? I mean, if it was defeated, then it’s an entirely different scenario, isn’t it? A much easier one that just calls for removing the current state leadership and restoring the military bases?”
Hesitating slightly, Smith continued, “Mr. President, I think we need to face the more likely scenario that it passes. Also, you must remember that this type of election is not going to have any federal oversight, so we should expect the results the governor wants, one way or the other.”
“Well, Avery, if you think this is going to pass, we need to ratchet up the pressure before the vote, don’t you think?”
The rest of the cabinet sat riveted in the conversation that was essentially a conversation between the president and his most influential advisor who, interestingly enough, didn’t hold an official cabinet position in the administration.
A State of Treason Page 26