Not a whole lot that Texas politicians say or do shocks me anymore, but my jaw dropped this afternoon as I watched the local news on KXAS-5, the Dallas NBC affiliate and heard the evening anchor, Brian Curtis say the following in words in a calm, matter-of-fact way:
“Governor Abbott has put the Texas National Guard on alert to keep an eye on the U.S. military. Special forces from all four U.S. military branches will descend on Texas and six other states in July, as part of a joint training exercise that extends into September. Our partners at the Dallas Morning News report some Texans have raised concerns about martial law, Federal forces coming in and taking over. Governor Abbott has ordered the commander of the Texas state guard to monitor the situation and report back.”
The report showed a U.S. map, highlighting Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.
Since then, I’ve been trying to fathom the implications of the Governor of Texas “alerting” the Texas NATIONAL Guard to “keep an eye” on the forces of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and the United States Marine Corps, at the behest of “some Texans”. One can’t help but wonder how the poor Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard, who is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a native of Wisconsin, and a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran, will go about his assignment to “monitor” and report to the governor on any suspicious activities of the U.S. armed forces training in Texas. Since his mission has been publicly announced wont any “union” forces and officers he deals with perforce become somewhat guarded in his presence. And given the General’s previous willingness to give his life in defense of the United States, can Governor Abbott really be sure that he will “get the straight poop” regarding any odious plans of the Americans to seize the property of persons of “some Texans”?
Ah well, I expect to see a lot of interesting scenarios analyzed on the internet in the upcoming days. Perhaps to President will nationalize some of the California National Guard to spy on the Texas National Guard. For my part, Rick Perry’s previous references to secession are weak tea compared to Abbott’s bold , yet duplicitous, actions. I’m not sure a governor has pulled anything like this since the Civil War. Even Orville Faubus’ use of the Arkansas National Guard at Little Rock Central High School was originally supposed to be to maintain order, although it was actually used to bar a few young black boys and girls from entering the school until President Eisenhower nationalized the Guard and additionally sent in part of the 101st Airborne Division to secure the childrens’ safety. As a college graduate, you would think Governor Abbott would know about the previous efforts to use supposed “state” forces against national interests. Perhaps he thinks this time the support of "some Texans" will make the effort something more than embarrassing and humorous-if-it-weren't-so-sad.
Following is a link to the KXAS story: http://www.nbcdfw.com/...