On several Texas rivers one may rent a large tire inner tube, to float down the river on a good day.
Safety instructions sometimes are minimal, but effective.
Safety rules at a river float rental company, location unknown. Photo via Cathy Ordemann
Tip of the old scrub brush to Cathy Ordemann.
2 Comments | 
Outdoor Recreation, Rivers, Safety, Signs, Texas | Tagged: Outdoor Recreation, Rivers, Safety, Signs, Texas, Y'all | 
Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Few days go by that I don’t hear from some Texas yahoo about the futility of conservation, especially attempts to save sustainable populations of animals near or teetering on the brink of extinction.
American bison galloping. Photos by early motion-studying photographer Eadweard Muybridge, first published in 1887 in Animal Locomotion. Wikipedia image
Conservation works. Conservation works in Texas. How can they ignore stories like this one, about the conservation of the plains bison, at Texas’s Caprock Canyon State Park?
This film from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department illustrates and discusses the work going on at Caprock Canyon SP to keep a herd of bison there healthy and reproducing:
Published on Feb 1, 2013
Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle holds the last remnants of pure Southern Plains Bison that once numbered in the millions on this land. Watch as this historic herd is restored to its native habitat. For details on visiting the park, see http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-par…
If we had a national mammal, is there much doubt the noble American buffalo would be it?
Defenders of Wildlife range map, showing where to find bison in North America. DoW said: Bison once roamed across much of North America. Today bison are ecologically extinct throughout most of their historic range, except for a few national parks and other small wildlife areas. Yellowstone National Park has the largest population of free-roaming plains bison (about 4,000), and Wood Buffalo National Park has the largest population of free-roaming wood bison (about 10,000).
You can see that conservation is not easy, that serious conservation of animals takes cooperation between governments, federal, state, county and local. Throw in migratory birds, and you’re talking international efforts.
But it’s worth it, at least to me. Wholly apart from the direct benefits to humans — the discovery of drugs like digitalis and tamoxifen, for example — we learn so much about how the planet operates, how nature operates. We get a view into the ideas of God, if not a direct view into the universe’s creative mind.
There are two recognized subspecies in North America: Bison bison bison and B. b. athabascae. We have populations saved in small plots across the U.S.: In and around Yellowstone National Park; on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake; in Utah’s Henry Mountains in the south central part of the state; at the LBJ Grasslands (National Forest); and at Caprock Canyons State Park. At one time, millions of the plains subspecies migrated for hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles, harvesting grass and turning the soil to make the North American Great Plains one of the most productive habitats for plants and animals on the face of the Earth. We screwed that up a bit. The same area today does not produce equally to 200 years ago in fiber and meat, despite modern farming and ranching.
Maybe we can learn a lot more from these creatures, about how to keep food supplies going for that other common, though self-threatened species, Homo sapiens.
Probably can’t improve on the video, but I hope to get some good photos of these creatures for myself, this summer. Check the map above. If your summer travels take you close to a population of bison, why not stop in and visit?
More:
World Wildlife Fund image of plains bison, mother and calf, and caption: Historically bison were the dominant grazer on the Northern Great Plains landscape. This dominance shaped the landscape by affecting the pattern and structure of the grasses and vegetation that grew, and it was this vegetation pattern that allowed animals to flourish.
2 Comments | Conservation, History, Texas, Wildlife | Tagged: American buffalo, bison, Caprock Canyon State Park Texas, Conservation, History, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
As an introduction to her speech at the Texas State Democratic Party 2014 Convention last Friday, Lieutenant Governor candidate, Sen. Leticia Van De Putte produced a short video, making light of the serious issues of citizens trying to get the attention of Texas officials under the current GOP junta.
If nothing else, the Democrats offer someone with a much better sense of humor than the Republicans.
Published on Jun 28, 2014
Introducing Senator Van de Putte and family at the Texas Democratic Convention
Texas State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte; the Harvard-graduate, Texas pharmacist pushed the Texas Senate in good directions; she offers a solid record and outstanding ability for the Lieutenant Governor’s office. It Texas, the Lieutenant Governor makes the state budget, chairs the State Senate, and appoints people to several important boards and commissions, making the post more important than the Governor, in many calculations.
Now, is there some way we can get the video of Van De Putte’s actual speech, or the text of it? What she said of substance was even better than the video.
More:
Leave a Comment » | 2014 Elections, Campaigns, Elections, Texas | Tagged: Campaigns, Election 2014, Leticia Van De Putte, Lieutenant Governor, Texas, Texas Democratic Convention | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Here’s the press release from EPA’s Region 6 office:
EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Permit for Voestalpine Iron Production Plant
$740M facility in San Patricio Co., TX, will bring 1,400 construction jobs and150 permanent jobsDALLAS – (June 16, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final greenhouse gas (GHG) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) construction permit to Voestalpine for an iron production plant in San Patricio County, TX. The facility’s process for producing iron will use minimal natural gas and will be 40 percent more efficient than traditional methods. The permit is another in the series of permits drafted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and issued by EPA under a program to facilitate timely permitting for applicants in the State of Texas.
“Voestalpine shows energy efficiency is a common-sense strategy for success, not just in business but for the environment as well,” said Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “The joint EPA and TCEQ permitting program is helping Texas business grow while building greener plants.”
The plant will reduce iron ore pellets, which will be used as raw material input at steel mills. The direct reduced iron process will use only clean-burning natural gas instead of solid fossil fuels. The estimated project cost is $740 million and will bring 1,400 construction jobs to the area. Once complete, the facility will create around 150 permanent jobs.
In June 2010, EPA finalized national GHG regulations, which specify that beginning on January 2, 2011, projects that increase GHG emissions substantially will require an air permit.
EPA believes states are best equipped to run GHG air permitting programs. Texas is working to replace a federal implementation plan with its own state program, which will eliminate the need for businesses to seek air permits from EPA. This action will increase efficiency and allow for industry to continue to grow in Texas.
EPA has finalized 43 GHG permits in Texas, proposed an additional six permits, and currently has 21 additional GHG permit applications under review and permit development in Texas.
For all of the latest information on GHG permits in Texas please visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r6/Apermit.nsf/AirP
Connect with EPA Region 6:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
Activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm
Headquarters of Voestalpine, head-turning building by Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, located in Linz, Austria. Architecture News Plus image. Voestalpine plans to build a $740 million steel plant near Corpus Christi, Texas.
This is big news, really. Texas constantly complains about regulations on greenhouse gases, and regularly and constantly sues EPA to stop regulation. Texas and it’s wacky governor Rick Perry constantly complain that EPA regulation harms jobs, and that permits never really get issued. So this announcement should be front page news in most Texas newspapers.
How was it covered?
That’s it for Texas media. Where are the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express, the El Paso Times? Big market TV and radio?
National coverage was limited to low-circulation newsletters.
Seems to me that these issues of actual action on climate change, are under-reported.
More:
Caption from Voestalpine LLC: After about a year of preparation, Wolfgang Eder, CEO of voestalpine, broke ground today for the construction of a direct reduction plant in Texas (USA). This EUR 550 million investment is the largest foreign investment in the history of the Austrian Group. The voestalpine Texas LLC plant is being constructed at the La Quinta Trade Gateway Terminal in close proximity to the City of Corpus Christi. Starting in 2016, the plant will produce two million tons of HBI (Hot Briquetted Iron) and DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) annually and will supply Austrian locations, such as Linz and Donawitz, with “sponge iron” as a premium raw material. With the new facility, voestalpine can significantly reduce production costs in Europe. The highly automated plant will create 150 jobs.
Leave a Comment » | Clean Air Act, Climate change, climate_change, CO2, Environmental protection, EPA, Global warming, pollution, Regulation, Science, Texas | Tagged: Clean Air, Climate change, CO2, EPA, Global warming, pollution, Regulation, Science, Texas, Voestalpine | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
You may have missed it.
Ending yesterday, the Texas Republican Party conventioned in Fort Worth, Texas — oh, if you were in Fort Worth you noticed all the people looking like fools and packing urban assault weapons, but others may have missed it. National GOP officials, and quite a few Texas GOP candidates, hope the convention would fly under the radar, with its call for repeal of Constitutional rights in almost every plank of their platform.
Delegates got a nice little map to help them tour Fort Worth, which is where Wendy Davis, the Democratic nominee for governor, got her political start.
Come to think of it, it’s a map every Texas voter ought to have, even those not visiting Fort Worth. It spells out the difference between Wendy Davis’s vision for the growing, healthy and productive Texas, and Greg Abbott’s no-public school, low-wage playground for the rich-and-heavily-armed view.
Sites to see in Fort Worth, if you’re a Texas Voter. Map courtesy Wendy Davis for Governor campaign.
[Conflict of interest note: I’ve hired (and been happy with) the work of some of the law firms listed, and have familial connections to others. Needless to say, the views in this map are not necessarily the views of any of my employers, though they should be, if they had any sense about what’s good for Texas, and justice.]
Leave a Comment » | Business, Campaigns, Elections, Texas | Tagged: Business, Campaigns, Elections, Texas, Wendy Davis for Governor | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Caption from the Dallas Morning News blogs: This aerial photo shows the Casa View shopping village and the surrounding area in 1957, three years after Bob Reitz moved into the neighborhood with his family at age 7. Reitz is presenting a talk titled “A Time We Once Shared” from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Dallas’ White Rock Hills Branch Library. File 1957 / Staff Photo
Steve Blow writes columns for the local section of the Dallas Morning News. Wednesday he featured one of our veteran Scouters from Wisdom Trail District here in the southwest corner of Dallas County.
Dallas and Scout historian Bob Reitz
Bob Reitz is also the curator of the Jack Harbin Boy Scout Museum at Camp Wisdom, a surprisingly great store of Scout history. Among many other things he does well, Bob is a historian of great stories.
This afternoon, May 10, he’s telling stories of Dallas in his growing up years in the “middle-middle class” neighborhood of Casa View, east of downtown. Bob’s got two hours (it will seem like one or less) at the White Rock Hills Branch Library, starting at 2:00 p.m. (9150 Ferguson Rd, 75228 (map))
You ought to go.
Below the fold, Steve Blow’s column, should it disappear from the DMN site.
Leave a Comment » | Capturing history, Dallas, History, Texas | Tagged: Bob Reitz, Capturing history, Casa View, Dallas, History, Steve Blow, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
You may have missed the press statement the U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued yesterday, in response to press requests following the release of a letter from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Here it is.
On the Record
The BLM is categorically not expanding Federal holdings along the Red River. The 140-acres in question were determined to be public land in 1986 when the U.S. District Court ruled on a case brought by two private landowners, each seeking to adjust boundary lines for their respective properties. The BLM was not party to any litigation between the landowners. The 140-acres were at no time held in private ownership.
On Background
During Westward expansion of the country, Texas and Oklahoma disputed their state line, particularly in relationship to where it fell on the Red River. Once oil and gas was discovered, the dispute was elevated.
In 1923, the Supreme Court made a final determination on the State line and also clarified ownership by private landowners on each side of the river. Subsequently in 1981 and 1984, Texas and Oklahoma landowners challenged this finding in U.S. District Court as it related to their private property and the changing course of the river. In both cases, the District Court echoed the Supreme Court determination regarding private boundaries, ruling that the Oklahoma private landowner held property to the center of the river while the Texas landowner’s boundary stopped at the ordinary high water mark. In 1986, the U.S. District Court established that the 140-acres are public lands.
The BLM is currently in the initial stages of developing options for management of public lands in an area that includes the Red River. This is a transparent process with several opportunities for public input.
This issue has moved mostly underground, on radical right-wing on-line media, and Facebook and Twitter.
FYI.
Leave a Comment » | Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Politics, Texas | Tagged: Bureau of Land Management BLM, Politics, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
April 16 marks the 67th anniversary of the Texas City Disaster.
It’s a day Texans, and all Americans should note. It’s an event we need to remember, because every point of the disaster is something we forget at our very great peril. Thinking such a disaster could not happen again, and failing to train for these same conditions, contributed to the disaster last year in West, Texas.
67 years ago, in the harbor at Texas City, a large cargo ship being loaded with tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire and exploded, setting fire to other nearby ships, one of which exploded, devastating much of the town. In all, 576 people died in Texas City on April 16 and 17, 1947.
View of Texas City from Galveston, across the bay, after the explosion of the French ship SS Grandchamp, April 16, 1947. Photo from International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1259
The incident also produced one of the most famous tort cases in U.S. history, Dalehite vs. United States, 346 U.S. 15 (1953). (Here is the Findlaw version, subscription may be required.)
The entire Texas City fire department was wiped out, 28 firefighters in all. The International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1259 has a website dedicated to the history of the disaster, with a collection of some powerful photographs.
More below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Disasters, History, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law, Texas, Texas history | Tagged: Disasters, History, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law, Local 1259 International Association of Fire Fighters, Texas, Texas City Disaster, Texas history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Stealing this wholesale from my history class blog: A few hundred students still need to take the old TAKS Exit Level Social Studies Test, in order to finish their high school diploma requirements.
Isn’t the TAKS Test dead? Not yet — zombie like, it still prowls the nightmares of older students working to get a Texas diploma. Test review and practice in this post
You can do it; and if you’ve been out of class for a while, or if you just want to boost your score, here’s a review, and a few lines down here is a link to a place to take an on-line practice test which you can get scored. The practice test questions should be mostly phased out by now, but the topics will remain.
It’s spring, and a young person’s fancy and earnest wishes turn to acing these tests to get a high school diploma.
From Mr. Darrell’s Wayback Machine:
Here’s a generalized, much truncated list of things high school juniors need to know, according to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This is a list from which the TAKS test questions will be drawn.
Earlier posts provided the definitions of each of these terms and phrases — check those out in your study, too.
We’ll add links to these terms as we find them — you may want to bookmark this post so you can find it again.
You can download a MicroSoft Word version of this study guide, essentially the same as here in a dozen posts, in one file that prints out to about 12 pages; click here to get the printed study guide.
Update 2012: Go here to link to an on-line, TEA-released TAKS Social Studies Exit Level Test.
People:
Dates:
Primary Sources (mostly documents):
Events:
Vocabulary
Concepts/Issues:
Leave a Comment » | Education, Social Studies, TAKS, TEKS, Testing, Texas | Tagged: Education, Practice Tests, Social Studies, TAKS, Testing, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Will it work this time? Can it recharge the effort Al Gore started?
Monte Best of Plainview, Texas, explains to Don Cheadle how the Texas drought caused the Cargill Company to close its meat packing plant in the city. “Act of God,” many local people say.
Here’s the trailer:
The avid promotional explanation:
Published on Mar 14, 2014
Don’t miss the documentary series premiere of Years of Living Dangerously, Sunday, April 13th at 10PM ET/PT.
Subscribe to the Years of Living Dangerously channel for more clips:
http://s.sho.com/YearsYouTubeOfficial site: http://www.sho.com/yearsoflivingdange…
The Years Project: http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/
Follow: https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING
Like: https://www.facebook.com/YearsOfLiving
Watch on Showtime Anytime: http://s.sho.com/1hoirn4
Don’t Have Showtime? Order Now: http://s.sho.com/P0DCVUIt’s the biggest story of our time. Hollywood’s brightest stars and today’s most respected journalists explore the issues of climate change and bring you intimate accounts of triumph and tragedy. YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY takes you directly to the heart of the matter in this awe-inspiring and cinematic documentary series event from Executive Producers James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
More:
Leave a Comment » | Citizenship, Climate change, climate_change, CO2, Drought, Environmental protection, Global warming, Politics, Science, Texas | Tagged: Citizenship, Climate change, CO2, drought, Environmental protection, Global warming, James Cameron, Science, Texas, Years of Living Dangrously | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
This guy just can’t seem to figure out when it’s polite to talk about some things, and when one should just be quiet.
In short, he’s not got the judgment to be governor of Texas.
We’re just five days out from a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, where gun packing has taken too many innocent lives in the past few years.
Doesn’t Abbott have any sense of decency?
No wonder his campaign is troubled. At this point, a candidate for governor should be working on a message about building the state to make it stronger (hows that for generic?).
Abbott’s cracking Second Amendment gun jokes while families grieve. Ouch.
This isn’t funny, five days after the April 3 incident at Fort Hood.
Not funny sign, at this time, if ever.
Leave a Comment » | Campaigns, Elections, Guns, Second Amendment, Texas | Tagged: Elections 2014, Fort Hood, Greg Abbott, Manners, Second Amendment, Texas, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Photo from the Dallas Karting Complex. Dallas, evening of March 27, 2014. Photographer unidentified. David Worthington.
Funny thing is, this photo probably didn’t require much processing to look like this. Advances in lighting, especially LEDs and color, mean that Dallas’s skyline can look much like this any night.
Just add a thunderhead to the northeast, and voila!
Nota bene: Mr. Higginbotham discovered the photographer to be David Worthington, who is selling prints. I recommend Dallasites contact him to get one. (Anyone else, too; it’s a great shot.)
1 Comment | Architecture, Dallas, photography, Texas, Weather | Tagged: Architecture, Dallas, photography, Texas, Weather | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
In a meeting hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texans meet to write the Texas Declaration of Independence, released March 2, 1836; image from Portal to Texas History
So, put some barbecue in the smoker, get a Shiner for you and your pet armadillo, sit back and enjoy the holiday. If you’re near Washington-on-the-Brazos, go to the ceremony. You’d better be sure you’ve got plenty of Blue Bell Ice Cream.
What? You don’t get the day off? You know, Texas schools don’t even take the day off any more. (In 2014, of course, it’s a Sunday.)
I thought things were going to change when the Tea Party got to Austin and Washington? What happened?
For Texas Independence Day, it’s appropriate to fly your U.S. flag — or your Texas flag, if you have one.
Original Manuscript, Texas Declaration of Independence, page 1 – Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Text from the image above:
The Unanimous
Declaration of Independence
made by the
Delegates of the People of Texas
in General Convention
at the Town of Washington
on the 2nd day of March 1836When a government has ceased
to protect the lives, liberty and property
of the people, from whom its legitimate
powers are derived, and for the advance-
ment of whose happiness it was inst-
ituted, and so far from being a guaran-
tee for the enjoyment of those inesti-
mable and inalienable rights, becomes
an instrument in the hands of evil
rulers for their oppression.
[Complete text, and images of each page, at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission site.]
Resources for Texas Independence Day
Resources at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub
More:
This is mostly an encore post.
6 Comments | 1836, Historic documents, History, Holidays, Texas, Texas history | Tagged: Education, History, Lesson plans, March 2, Teachers, Texas, Texas Declaration of Independence, Texas history, Texas Independence Day | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
U.S. and Texas flags at the Texas Capitol – photo: jmtimages
168 years ago today: Rub your pet armadillo’s belly, slaughter the fatted longhorn, crank up the barbecue pit with the mesquite wood, put Willie Nelson and Bob Wills on the mp3 player, put the “Giant” DVD on the television, and raise your glass of Big Red, Dr. Pepper, or Lone Star Beer (or Pearl, or Shiner Bock, or Llano Wine).
U.S. Flag Code rules urge flying the U.S. flag on the anniversary of a state’s joining the Union — even as much as that will frost the tiny band of desperate Texas secessionists. (Will the secessionists fly the Texas flag at half-staff?)
Texas was admitted to the union of the United States of America on December 29, 1845.
President Polk’s Authorization to Affix the Great Seal to Texas Statehood documents – Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin
The text of Polk’s message:
I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to an authenticated copy of “an act to extend the laws of the United States over the State of Texas and for other purposes” approved Dec. 29, 1845 dated this day, and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant.
James K. Polk
Washington, Dec. 29, 1845
Great Seal of the United States of America, affixed to the Texas Statehood Proclamation – image from State Archives Division, Texas State Library
Resources:
More:
Much of this post appeared here before; it’s an annual event, after all.
Leave a Comment » | 1845, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, History images, Statehood, Texas, Texas history | Tagged: December 29 1845, Fly your flag, History, President Polk, Texas, Texas Statehood | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
You can’t find it much in Texas newspapers, though Steve Blow at the Dallas Morning News had a good piece about it today (he’s a columnist, not a news writer).
Texas “gun rights advocates” have been stalking people who argue for safety for school kids. You could see photos of it in all sorts of blogs and websites — but silence from most Texas media.
Cops in Arlington, Texas, seem uninterested because, they say, it’s legal to wave guns around in Texas.
But it’s not legal to stalk, and the on-line photos and other coverage should be warning to those nuts giving gun owners a bad reputation: Every dog gets one bite, every stalker gets one visit, and you just had yours.
Here’s the skinny: Four women want to agitate for rational laws to protect their children and grandchildren. They chat about it in even public places, like restaurants and Facebook. Four of them met for lunch, at a restaurant in Arlington, Texas. A bunch of gun idiots decided to show up to intimidate them, with guns “openly carried.”
It hit my e-mail inbox as “Wee Winkie Parade.” Here’s the photo from Moms Demand Action:
Photo of the “Wee Winkie Parade,” posted at the Facebook site for Moms Demand Action.
Here are the photographs offered by the intimidating group, Open Carry Texas:
Open Carry Texas’s Facebook photos of the Arlington, Texas, incident.
What would a rational person think if a group of gun-carrying people showed up after announcing they were coming to crash your lunch?
Arlington Police, perhaps with some wisdom, didn’t make arrests (avoiding confrontations with people waving guns in public is often an act of good discretion). They noted Texas law allows hunters and others to carry non-handguns openly, if no other violations of law are involved.
Arlington Police, and Open Carry Texas may want to familiarize themselves with Texas’s anti-stalking laws, as described by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Information on Stalking
You have the right to defend yourself against a stalker. This page lists strategies that can help shield you from stalking. You do not deserve to be intimidated or terrified.
Questions About Stalking…
What is Stalking?
A stalker tries to control his or her victim through behavior or threats intended to intimidate and terrify. A stalker can be an unknown person, an acquaintance or a former intimate partner. A stalker’s state of mind can range from obsessive love to obsessive hatred. A stalker may follow a victim off and on for a period of days, weeks, or even years. A stalking victim feels reasonable fear of bodily injury or death to self or to a family or household member or damage to property. Stalking can be perpetrated by the stalker or by someone acting on her/his behalf. Stalking can take the form of verbal threats or threats conveyed by the stalker’s conduct, threatening mail, property damage, surveillance of the victim, or by following the victim.
How do I Know if I’m Being Stalked?
The stalker may, on more than one occasion:
- Follow the victim and/or victim’s family or household members, or
- vandalize the victim’s property, or
- inflict damage to property–perhaps by vandalizing the car, harming a pet or breaking windows at the victim’s home, or
- make threatening calls or send threatening mail, or
- drive by or park near the victim’s home, office, and other places familiar to the victim.
Terroristic Threat
What is a terroristic threat?
Terroristic Threat is a penal code offense (Section 22.07). A person commits the offense of Terroristic Threat if he or she threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with the intent to place a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Penalty: Class B misdemeanor.
Texas Stalking Law
The law on stalking can be found in Section 42.072 of the Texas penal code.
How is stalking proven?
- Intent of stalker: Stalker has the intent or the knowledge that his/her actions will instill fear of death or bodily injury to the victim or a member of the victim’s family or household. Threats can be explicit (e.g.-stating that he is going to kill the victim) or implied (e.g.-veiled threats, hurting the family pet). Threats have to be aimed at a specific person; they cannot be general threats. Threats may be conveyed by the stalker or by someone acting on behalf of the stalker.
- Conduct of stalker: Conduct has to occur on more than one occasion and be directed towards the victim and/or the victim’s family or household members. More than one police report is not required. The acts may include threatening contact by mail or by phone, or damaging the victim’s property.
Penalty: Third Degree Felony- unless there is a prior conviction for stalking, in which case the penalty is upgraded to a 2nd degree felony.
If You Are Being Stalked…
NOTIFY THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTOR’S OFFICES. All stalking incidents should be reported to the police. Request that each incident be documented. Request a copy of the report from your local law enforcement agency. Give police any written correspondence and report any phone threats. Put dates received on all correspondence from the stalker. Know the name of the law enforcement officer in each incident.
KEEP A DIARY. Obtain the names and addresses of witnesses. Complete records are essential to the successful prosecution of stalking cases. Write a description of each incident.
GET A PROTECTIVE ORDER if you are related to the stalker by blood or marriage, if you ever lived together, or if you have a child in common. To get a Pro Se Protective Order Packet call 800-777-3247. This packet will help you obtain a protective order barring the stalker from certain areas near your home, your work, or your child’s school. You can also review our Domestic Violence Protective Order Kit.
RECORD TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS. Tell the stalker to stop calling and hang up. Screen your calls. Write down the time and date the stalker calls. Keep recorded messages and give them to law enforcement.
TAKE PICTURES OF THE STALKER. Take pictures of the stalker if it can be done safely and write time, date, and place on the back of each picture.
KEEP ALL CORRESPONDENCE. Make a copy of anything you receive from the stalker. Touching the letter as little as possible will preserve fingerprints.
TELL EVERYONE. Give friends, co-workers, and neighbors a description of the stalker. Ask them to document each time the stalker is seen by them.
Important Safety Measures
BE ALERT and aware of your surroundings, the people and things happening around you.
VARY ROUTES of travel when you come and go from work or home.
PARK SECURELY and in well-lit areas. Ask someone to escort you to your car.
BE AWARE of vehicles following you. If you are followed drive to a police station, fire depart-ment, or busy shopping center and sound the horn to attract attention.
ALERT MANAGERS or security at your place of business. Provide a picture or description of the stalker.
HAVE A SECURITY CHECK MADE by law enforcement of your home to ensure your home can be locked safely. Secure all doors and windows in both your home and vehicle.
MAINTAIN AN UNLISTED NUMBER. If Caller ID is available in your area, obtain the service for your phone.
DO NOT DISMISS ANY THREAT, written or verbal. Call the police or sheriff ‘s department and save any documentation.
MAINTAIN PRIVACY, never give out personal information to anyone where the information can be overheard. Remove phone number and social security number from as many items as possible.
DEVELOP A SAFETY PLAN for yourself and family members in case of emergency. Decide on a safe place to meet and someone to call if problems do arise.
Revised: November 08 2012
Dallas’s Mayor campaigns for an end to violence against women. Perhaps Moms Demand Action should move their lunches to Dallas.
More:
7 Comments | Civil Rights, Dissent, Guns, Justice, Law, Second Amendment, Texas | Tagged: 2nd Amendment, Civil Rights, Dallas Morning News, Guns, Moms Demand Action, Open Carry Texas, Stalking, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
You are currently browsing the archives for the Texas category.
Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 