El Zorro forwarded this to our attention.  We recommend the Convention.

James Hathorn

5 hrs · 

Convention of States - The Case for a Convention of States

CONVENTIONOFSTATES.COM

Whether you are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, liberal, conservative or anything else, the Convention of States is necessary to "form a more perfect union". This is for all the people and all the states. Please look, share, and donate if you are persuaded to do so. Anybody can make comments either for or against. This is worth sharing. America is a country that allows us to participate in our own government. In fact, we are able to decide what we want for our country. Please don't blow this off... it doesn't hurt a thing to learn about the Convention of States. I am 100% in favour of this!

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The Saga of Gregorio Cortez....

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Chill is the fellow on the right

      There are thousands of tales about conflict, heroism, cowardice, hubris, and you name it, pertaining to Texas.   Inflation of stories, larding on of elements to an event that actually didn't happen just that way....well, that might be one of our characteristics.   Chill Wills, I think it was, said it best though when he pointed out, "The reason we make up such cock and bull stories is to entertain the ladies and children, of course, but it's also because the Truth about things that happen in Texas, nobody believes anyway."
     There is something to that observation.  One of those events occurred in the nineteen-aughts, in and around the Rio Grande, the Rio Nueces, the Rio San Antonio, the Rio San Marcos, and the Rio Guadalupe.  All of those rivers rather define what is the northern part of  southernmost Texas and the southernmost part of southern South Texas, if you will.
      This particular tale must be one that is known and understood in order to be a "real, live Texian".  It deals with a number of personalities.  Some are Mexican/Spanish.  Some are Czech, and others are Polish, and the rest are Heinz-57/Anglo.   All those lines remain to this day in the area with towns named Floresville, Shiner, Karnes City, Kenedy, Nixon, Goliad, Victoria, Laredo, Benavides, Oiltown, Three Rivers, George West, Tilden, and such.   These places lie west of Corpus Christi and south of San Antonio.
     The story points up, for those who want to paint Texas bad, the ethnic bigotry of the non-Spanish speaking Texans.  Ironically, much of the area lies within that zone where the Irish and some English Roman Catholics settled during the pre-Republican and Republican period in Texas (1836 - 1846).  The  Colony of San Patricio was a grant about the size of Connecticut,
       Those folks came and settled into a formal "Colony", as authorised by the Mexican government,  known as Colonia de San Patricio....the famous Roman Catholic saint who drove the snakes from Ireland.   Although English-speaking, they sided with the Mexican centralist forces when they invaded Texas during the Centralist pogrom and purging effort under President - General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.   The business they did frequently was conducted in Matamoros, to the south.

     As the years went by, and as the dust settled from various wars and dust-ups...such as several range-wars and transportation disputes between teamsters...four or five major ethnic groups made an easy to sometimes testy interrelationship.
    The family of Gregorio Cortez was a social unit that is hard to describe.  There were colonial Latins who had lived in the area from the time of the Spanish domain.  The Cortez's were not among that group.  The patriarch did originate in Matamoros, so it is possible that he might have been, and perhaps his wife as well, of those Spanish settlers who moved in and established Matamoros (Santa Maria del Refugio, originally) in the mid-1700s.   That would have made them part of the Escandon colonisation group.

    But such is conjecture.    It is known that Gregorio Cortez Lira was born on the 22nd of June, in 1875....about the same time as Pancho Villa, a thousand miles to the west.   Gregorio's father was, supposedly, an itinerant farm labourer who worked around Manor, Texas (near, and just east of Austin, Texas).   He had brought his wife and children up in 1887.   These are known facts, although El Gringo Viejo disputes them to some degree. 
     It was my pleasure to have encountered a person who was supposedly a relative of Gregorio's....a very old man, back in the Summer of 1967.  In those days, El Gringo Viejo was working a Summer job with the Institute of Texian Cultures, collecting ethnic and historical data for the ITC's cultural museum to present during the World's HemisFair the next year in San Antonio.
     Although I had some rough familiarity with the Gregorio Cortez legend, such as some old pictures, and some words from a wise old Latin Texan....who demonstrated to me his nepotic, by-blood relation to his Tio Gregorio….and who filled in a lot of holes left by the lore of the tale.   What is related from this point is a melding of the "common knowledge" after some filtering out of things that are obviously untrue, and mixing that with other scraps, tidbits, and that series of conversations I had with the "Viejito" (little old man) in Normanna  Texas, a few miles north of Beeville, Texas.
     While it may be the case that Gregorio's father was an itinerant farm-labouror during the 1880s, he either had or had acquired some resources.  He and another close relative bought a small tract of land near Kenedy and Karnes City....in Karnes County...for the raising of corn and flax.   When events began to catch up with Gregorio just after the "incident", it was said of him in the newspapers and barber shops that he was known to have been a long time horse thief, involved in organised crime.   Such could not have been the case, in that Gregorio, to state once again, was born in 1875, leaving little time to become a serious, organised horse thief in the 1880s.
     What is true is that older brothers Romaldo and Tomas were "chiflados" (bums, pranksters, and crooks) who actually were involved in midnight horse ranching.   Both had served time in the Texas prison system for rustling.   Had it been 20 years earlier, there would have been a 20 per cent chance that they would have been hanged, Mexican - Anglo - or Negro...with or without trial.
     Gregorio married in 1890, at the ripe old age of 15.  He and his wife had four children.   For some reason that I have not been able to establish, Gregorio and his wife divorced after 13 years of marriage, possibly because of the stress brought on by the "incident" which took place a little less than two years before the divorce.   Gregorio married shortly after that divorce, and then again in 1916 shortly before his death at the age of 41 years.

     The Cortez and Lira clan, which produced Gregorio were essentially white Latins...with little or no Indian ancestry.  Gregorio himself could read and write in both the English and Spanish languages.   He spoke English easily, as though an Anglo, and was even known to be eloquent.  He had musical ability in terms of singing, guitar, and accordion.
     Among his characteristics was the fact that he was always respectful.  He was not known to be a carouser or womaniser.   He was also considered to be a magic-man with horses, mules, and donkeys.....a "horse whisperer" of some sort.  He had a magic way of calming a mare during difficult delivery of a foal or breaking a horse to saddle simply by talking to him/her.   According to my "little old man" informant, he declared that all the rich folks would call on Gregorio when they had problems with their livestock, as if he were a veterinarian.
     Anglo and Latin alike thought of him as being similar in appearance to his brothers, but totally unlike them in terms of adhering to moral and legal standards.   He generally dressed well, and with a little flair, and could team a freight wagon and conduct it with ease.   He also farmed the acreage that his father had.

THE EVENT:    So, one day, the Sheriff of Karnes County, W.T. Morris arrived at the corn farm of the Cortez family, wishing to enquire concerning the purchase of a mare from another Mexican fellow back in town.  Sheriff Morris's deputy, an Anglo, was conducting the interview in Spanish, which he spoke relatively well.   But he asked Romaldo, in Spanish, if he had the horse in question, to which Romaldo responded that he had not bought or come into possession of any horse, only a "yegua".
     The deputy turned to the Sheriff and declared, "Cortez is lying.  We know he has the horse, and he says he doesn't."   The problem was that the deputy did not know that Romaldo had used the word "yegua", which means "mare".   The Deputy used the word "caballo" or horse for any and everything equine, and he thought that Romaldo was spinning gibberish in a sarcastic, evasive way.
     The Sheriff moved towards Romaldo to subdue and arrest him, at which time Romaldo withdrew.  The Sheriff tried to detain him by pulling his pistol, at which time Romaldo was shot and seriously wounded.  Gregorio then drew to defend his brother and killed Sheriff Morris with one shot.   The Deputy declared this sequence to be accurate.  He also said that Sheriff Morris had begun to turn his pistol onto Gregorio, and that Gregorio's reaction was instinctive and not premeditated
     In any regard, Gregorio disarmed the Deputy, and went on the lam.  In that he had punched cows and worked throughout the area and was very familiar with the hollows, draws, arroyos, brakes, and meadows...he managed to avoid a posse of over 300 local law enforcement.   He gained some cover from the homes of friends....even a couple of Anglo families who knew him and could not believe anything beyond his explanation....covered for him and provided him provision.
     Gregorio finally made it over to a place in Laredo, Texas where he had friends and cousins.   He might have been thinking about jumping the Rio Grande, but the fact that he had taken the route to the west seems to negate that notion....Had that been his intention, he would have moved more to the south or southwest, also territory with which he was very familiar.
     Telegraphed reports chronicled Gregorios odyssey to all major newspapers throughout the United States and the Republic of Texas.  Fervor against and in favour of the accidental desperado simmered and boiled over on both sides.  And before the wise and liberal commentator declares...."Sure, the unbridled racism of Texans guaranteed a short rope and a long fall." be aware that the story becomes....in true Texas style....much more complex. 
     Poor Gregorio, probably in order to confuse the constabulary, had first ridden to the  north to Gonzalez, Texas where he encountered a friend by the name of Martin Robledo (the Anglos called him Roy).   Robledo was the chief caretaker and lived on the farm of a Mr. Schnabel, a man of German extraction.  There, once again, there was a confused encounter.   Supposedly Mr. Schnabel had gone out to calm Sheriff Glover who was the chief lawman for Gonzalez County.  A shot was fired, some say from the posse, killing Mr. Schnable, then more shooting, and Gregorio had, after the smoke cleared, managed to have killed himself another Texas Sheriff.   It should be noted that no forensic matching was done on the bullet that killed the Sheriff.
     Gregorio faded into the night, and then walked literally 100 miles to the house of a friend by the name of Ceferino Flores who loaned Gregorio mount and tack.   And that was the way he made it to Laredo, travelling mainly at night.   As mentioned above, sides were drawn, but in no way did all the Latins support Gregorio, nor did all the Anglo-types support the lawmen.  For instance, after a short stay, Gregorio was ratted-out by a "friend", a Mexican fellow, to a Texas Ranger.
     It is true that various people caused pointless low-grade violence and vandalism that was truly suffered by a small but significant group of Latins in Refugio, Gonzalez, and in Hayes, just outside of San Marcos, Texas.   A few dumbo Latins railed about how it was time to "liberate Texas" once and for all from the Saxon invaders....but a peculiar thing happened.   The present day Mexican-American leftist activists do not like to listen to this fact, nor do those who might prefer that all Spanish surnamed people return to Spain....but the fact is a peculiar calm came over the sainted Republic of Texas.
     Newspapers that had been calling for exoneration of any lynch-mob that

Governor Joseph Draper
Sayers

was brave enough to hang Gregorio Cortez and "get it over with" during the pursuit, began to suggest that orderly judicial process should take place, due to the complexities of the case.   The Governor of Texas, Joseph Draper Sayers let it be known that this particular case was to be treated with decorum and deliberation.

    Gregorio Cortez, during his entire detention and processing was courteous and deferential.  He understood the gravity of his situation and the damage he had inflicted.  Equally clear was  that he had twice been placed in the position of naturally defending himself, and being realistically unable to trust in any reasonable detention to await a trial that he actually thought might exonerate him.
     He stood trial in Pleasanton, Gonzalez, and Karnes City, the latter two places for 2nd degree murder.  He was found guilty of the charges and was sentenced to various concurrent terms.  However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, (the Supreme Court for criminal matters) did, in fact, overturn all the verdicts, ordering a new trial on all charges, on a unified change of venue in Corpus Christi.  He was found guilty once again and sentenced to life in prison.

   Immediate intercession was sought, either through clemency or outright pardon, funded by various groups and individuals.  In 1913, Governor Oscar Colquitt issued a conditional pardon and ordered his immediate release from prison.  It was an event that was celebrated by the vast majority of Texans. Such might have been foreshadowed by the trial in Gonzalez when 300 citizens showed up to take possession and hang Gregorio....and they were stared down by a crowd of people that essentially made up the rest of the town of 3,000 people.....such was the true nature of the events.

    Gregorio Cortez Lira removed to Laredo, Texas and was recruited to the service of the Mexican Federal Army, at that time under the command of provisional President (Gen.)Victoriano Huerta, a pleasantly brilliant little despot, who made Woodrow Wilson dance on a pin.  He made Wilson make a fool of himself in several diplomatic faux pas during Wilson's early years in the White House.  From there, a very bad beginning of Wilson's tenure only became worse.
     Gregorio's service in the Mexican Army was brief because he married once more, but before two years had passed, he had died of pneumonia, after having been poisoned through his food.  Rumour had it that the deed was done by one of his cousins  who was involved with the revolutionary forces of Venustiano Carranza...who would later become president of Mexico for a couple of years before being run out of town.   It serves to mention that Carranza's train did not make it to Vera Cruz City....with Carranza alive.  The fellow he displaced, Victoriano Huerta, however, picked up a good job in El Paso, Texas at the Texas Hotel's very fine saloon as the chief bartender.

     Like El Gringo Viejo always says, "Better a good chief bartender at the Texas Hotel, than a dead ex-president rotting in the baggage car as  the train pulls into Vera Cruz."

Thanks to one and all for the time and interest invested in this summary.
El Gringo Viejo

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The Old Telephone

The Old Telephone:

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the Wall.

The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box.  I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

     Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

     My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.
The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing.  Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

"Information, please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No, "I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."

"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

     After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was.

She helped me with my math.  She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day

before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, "Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so

beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
"Information," said in the now familiar voice.

"How do I spell fix?" I asked.

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All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much.

Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

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A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. 
Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.

"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,

"Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle.

A different voice answered, "Information."

I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" she said.

"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," She said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?"

"Yes." I answered.

“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.”

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today?

Why not pass this on? I just did....

Lifting you on eagle's wings.

May you find the joy and peace you long for.

Life is a journey... NOT a guided tour.

I loved this story and just had to pass it on.. I hope you find it lovable too.  Life is short ~ drink the good wine first!

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Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station

Just Saying......

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Second Man Arrested In Deadly Gang-Related Drive-By Shooting

on 10/07/2015 | 0 Comment

LOCAL

A second Valley gang member is behind bars in the expressway shooting death of a Brownsville teenager last week. 17-year-old Isaac Cerda was identified as another of the four suspects who were in a Ford Focus that drove up to a Ford Mustang on Expressway 83 in Donna. One of the gang members opened fire on the Mustang, hitting 17-year-old Javier Olmedo in the head.

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Rolando Rodriguez of Donna was arrested several days later, and charged with murder and engaging in organized crime. Cerda is being held also on organized crime, as well as drug possession, charges. Investigators are still working to track down two other suspects

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Two points:   This is Satan's spawn from the last amnesty.  That amnesty was another Trojan Horse the Democrats trotted out.

   They took advantage of the fact that the Mexicans, the Mexican/Spanish colonials, the Braceros, and the Wetbacks of the period before 1970 were, in their 91%, a complete positive for America and the Republic of Texas. 

     We are now, daily, inundated with this total septic slime.  The first point is that all the people who came in during the last amnesty....the "originario" along with every known relative down to the third mistress of the cousin of the brother-in-law of the great-grandmother of the "originario", were allowed to ride in on the coattails with said "originario".   The word "originario" means nothing more nor less that that individual upon whom and from whom all subsequent actions are based.

     The piece of syphllitic camel vomit pictured above is one of those who was born here, but of what used to be referred to as "questionable ancestry".   If I had to estimate, and beware of my estimations because they are frequently either dead on or "within the margin of error", this piece of scum has been  arrested between four to eight times and detained for serious misdemeanours and/or felonies as a juvie, and is probably under parole and/or probation at this time.   He is certainly the spawn of the people we tried to tell the White House back in the time of the first Great Amnesty were not real Mexicans or anything like that.

     It was obvious to us that they were from the indisciplinate, parasitical class of people who would search out and avail themselves of every available "free" benefit that all good parasites require.

      Racist?  Ethnic bigotry?   Please.  The English have them, the Spanish have them.  The Germans and Japanese have them.  Parasites, malingerers, bums, slothful, lazy, and disposed-to-criminality-type people.  One thing for certain....the mommies figure out or already know how to barnacle onto the AFDC, HeadStart, WIC, Lone Star Card, Section VIII, etc.

POINT Two:

     When folks are surprised that there are so many "Hispanics"  who are cleaving unto the Republican Party, although we have been told by the Obsolete Press that the opposition to "La Nueva Amnestia" would end any chance of Republican success at the polls, we can only shake our heads in sadness.   The fact is that a majority....perhaps even a large majority....of the Latin element in the Republic of Texas is disposed to....will probably execute...voting for the Estampeda de los Elefantes".    One of our best electoral instruments?   The dumb s.o.b. pictured above.

     Here lies Rolando Rodriquez.   Born without a soul.  Suffering from terminal food-stamp poisoning.   Defaming an otherwise noble and positive group because of his hubris, mental and emotional retardation, and narcissism.....Rolando Rodriquez and all his ilk who turned the Magic Rio Grande Valley from a pleasant little dump on the border where everyone almost or pretty well "got along", into a combat zone of Changos (gorillas).  We commend this sub-human organism to the Cosmos, hoping that something can be done to prevent any further of his type.

     We request that all OROGs try their best to differentiate between amnesty slugs, anchor baby slugs, and Central American arrogant, demanding gimme-gimme slugs and the substantially positive Latino group....heavily intermarried (reference President of the Republic of Texas and his wife and progeny at this moment. El Gringo Viejo has the same situation)....and integrated into the productive economy of Texas.

     This request/admonition is especially important during these times leading up to the elections.   Words like "they all" or "they are all doing...."  and so forth, we need to remember that our door is open to all people of faith and understanding of common law.
      Remember that the Latin thing in the Republic of Texas is very complex.   All of its failings are the fault of the vote-buyers who need and demand and dependent class. Most of our (Texian)(Tejano) Latin group is not in that demographic cohort.   Most of the Latin blue-collar, skilled and semi/skilled, professionals (doctors, dentists, farmacistas, accountants, teachers/professors), small business people, and ranchers/farmers are Republican, and ultimately ultra-conservative voters.   Remember Cruz and Rubio.

     And the final point is.....?   When the Bishop of Rome and Obama speak with weepy tones about the poor prisoners who are imprisoned solely because they are "minority" of extraction.....and their crimes were so, so, so, very inconsequential, we really should give them early-out or parole.....I mean....who are we to judge?

        The problem with all of this is that the prisoners usually had pled guilty to a lesser felony because the DA was offering to drop "all the other pending charges" in order to obtain one felony plea of "guilty, your Honour" on one significant charge.   So when the Rev. Obamaham grants early-outs to these nice boys...be aware , they were not charged with the entire panoply of their crimes.   Clearing dockets at times is more important than being reasonable.

More later,

El Gringo Viejo

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From Extreme Central Texas comes this reminder from our more Noble Past

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“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. 

Thomas Jefferson 

“All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without His Aid?”   Benjamin Franklin

“If it be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws, —the first growing out of the last... A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.     Alexander Hamilton

“All Americans should reflect upon the precious heritage of liberty under law passed on to us by our Founding Fathers. This heritage finds its most comprehensive expression in our Constitution. The framing of the Constitution was an arduous task accomplished in the spirit of cooperation and with dedication to the ideals of republican self-government and unalienable God-given human rights that gave transcendent meaning and inspiration to the American Revolution... The wisdom and foresight of the architects of the Constitution are manifest in the fact that it remains a powerful governing tool to the present day. Indeed, a great British statesman has called it ‘the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.’ For over 200 years, people from other lands have come to the United States to participate in the great adventure in self-government begun in Philadelphia in 1787... All citizens should reread and study this great document and rededicate themselves to the ideals it enshrines.”     Ronald Reagan

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    We add, lamentably from Wiki, the following reminder about any notion that the First Amendment had to do with anything like "freedom from religion".  To wit:

   The Establishment Clause addressed the concerns of members of minority faiths who did not want the federal government to establish a state religion for the entire nation. The Baptists in Virginia, for example, had suffered discrimination prior to the disestablishment of the Anglican church in 1786. As Virginia prepared to hold its elections to the state ratifying convention in 1788, the Baptists were concerned that the Constitution had no safeguard against the creation of a new national church. In Orange County, Virginia, two federalist candidates, James Madison and James Gordon, Jr., were running against two anti-federalists (opponents of the Constitution), Thomas Barbour and Charles Porter. Barbour requested to John Leland, an influential Baptist preacher and fervent lifelong proponent of religious liberty, that he write a letter to Barbour outlining his objections to the proposed Constitution.^[4] Leland stated in the letter that, among his other concerns, the Constitution had no Bill of Rights and no safeguards for religious liberty and freedom of the press.^[5] A number of historians have concluded on the basis of compelling circumstantial evidence that, just prior to the election in March 1788, Madison met with Leland and gained his support of ratification by addressing these concerns and providing him with the necessary reassurances. In any event, Leland cast his vote for Madison. Leland's support, according to Scarberry, was likely key to the landslide victory of Madison and Gordon.

     As an old, un-reconstructed Episcopalian, member of the Anglican Communion, we state again, that not only the Virginia Baptist, but the Dutch Reform (Lutherans), and various and sundry denominations of the national population were concerned that there were too many people with considerable power and position who were Anglican (Episcopalians).   Among them, of course, was George Washington.

     There was a prayer in the ancient Book of Common Prayer wherein is found in the liturgy of conduct of services, the "Prayer for HRH and all in Civil Authority".  At that time, one would petition via one of two prayers.  Both were changed to modify the  phrase, "Grant to His Majesty, George III..." around 1786, to a  new, slightly more "American" prayer   Our church used the following,

O LORD,

our Governor, whose glory is in all the world,

We commend this nation to thy merciful care,

that being guided by thy Providence, we may

dwell secure in thy peace.  Grant to the President

of the United States, and to all in authority, wisdom

and strength to know and to do thy will.  Fill them

with the love of truth and righteousness;  and make

them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people

in thy fear; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth

 and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God,

world without end.

AMEN

     So, as has been stated here many-a-time, the First Amendment to the Constitution was to clarify, once and for all, that the new Republic would not  force its citizens to kiss the Pope's big toe, nor the King of England's big toe (as the head of the Anglican Church, and its Protector of the Faith), nor any person's or institution's big toe.  There was to be No National Official Church.

And that is from whence the term and legal title "Protestant Episcopal Church of America" came.    As a substantially Catholic Church by traditional Orthodoxy, the various diocese of the Anglican Church in America had to reorganise to the extent that they would no longer recognise the Monarch of the British Empire as the head of their communion.  Thence, the word "protestant" was included into the official title of the new denomination.   It remained a "Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church", but without the King or Queen of England as its head.

FINALLY, original decision to remove God, Yahweh, Jehovah, the Creator, or any such deferential recognition to the Great Cosmic Force and Providential Entity from the public theatre was ill-founded.   The decisions that began to emanate from the minds of very small, very mean jurists that the Founders meant to strike religion from the public forum were ill-established, unfounded by any intellectual standard, statements of hatred for any notion that there was any such thing as a "Supreme Being''.   It was the hubris of the Serpent, winning a battle at the Fig Tree of Eden.   When those silly interpretations of the intent of the First Amendment occurred, much of it centre'd around the Madeline Murray case, we truly sewed the seeds that would cause us to later reap the whirlwind of social disintegration.

'Nuff sed, thanks for your patience and attention.  More to follow about more interesting stuff.
El Gringo Viejo

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