Repairs around the Adobe Hut

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The Culprit after having body and soul restored
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   One can imagine a voice calling out at 23:00 hours, "Deivy, don Deivy", and at least taking some comfort in knowing that it is the "backdoor neighbour".    I stumbled to the door, knowing that the voice was Anastacio's and quickly inquired as to what I might offer to be of assistance....(that is the way things are phrased in this 'behind the times' locale).

     Anastacio then suggested that I might need to go check on the water heater in back of our place, because it was on fire.   Instantly, of course, I went through the house, and to the water heater, and sure enough, it was not totally engulfed in flames, but it did had a significant leak fire in the area of the thermostatic control.   The fire was coming out from the bottom of that apparatus, obviously from a small leak that had just occurred.   The flame was yellow, and not at all spewing like a flamethrower....but it did need attention.

     Our water heater has served relatively faithfully during the past 14 years....never failing during the times of client visitation, and only needing, on a couple of occasions, a change-out of ignitors.   El Gringo Viejo took advantage during his last couple of days of his stay down at our little hideaway of the slightly warm water in order to shower. This was done while he contemplated from whence to scrape up the money to buy a new water heater and just get it all over with.

     Alvaro returned a little earlier than was programmed a couple of days after the "Great Conflagration" and said that there was nothing serious.   I, of course, suggested that having an indisciplined fire fed by propane under pressure was, in fact, something most people would consider serious.   Later that same day, our neighbour, Rafael, came and Alvaro showed him the problem.   Anastasio came over to kibbitz a bit, as men often do, and they all seemed to agree that "....there is no problem."

     The next thing is that I receive a photograph sent from Rafael's I-pod, showing the newly renovated thermostatic control with its new ignitors, etc.    The "maestro" replaced the plastic face with a forged aluminum face,  replaced the priming thumb-plunger, replaced the temperature control dial, cleaned all the innards (removing several preserved moths that I had been keeping, just in case), tested it out, pronounced it whole, and then charged Rafael and Alvaro, apparently as best I can determine, three hundred (300) pesos.  That is right at sixteen - forty(16.40) Yankee dollars installed!

     So, of course, we are searching for a small claims attorney to see if we can arbitrate a better deal.  Just joshing, folks.

Thanks for all attention and time diverted in this direction.  More will follow later to-day.
El Gringo Viejo

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Something to Ponder from the Outpost in Extreme Central Texas - Internet Server Integrity?

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My Internet browser has a gizmo that shows the flag of the country hosting the website I’m currently viewing. Lately, many of the U.S. websites I visit display the tricolor flag of the Republic of Ireland. That means the servers that host the information I’m viewing — and the information those servers are gathering about me — are located on the Emerald Isle.

That’s very much by design. Ireland is in the European Union, where privacy rules are much stronger than in the so-called Land of the Free. Ever since Edward Snowden’s bombshell revelations about U.S. government spying on Internet users, big U.S. data companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple have transferred server capacity to places such as Ireland and Norway, out of reach of U.S. courts. That’s because they knew that both European and U.S. users would eventually realize that U.S. servers aren’t safe, and would stop doing business with them.

But the U.S. government seems to think its laws apply to everyone on the planet. For the last year, it’s sought a court order to force Microsoft to hand over private emails from a European customer accused of drug trafficking in the U.S. Microsoft has so far refused, arguing that the servers containing the emails are subject to Irish law. But Obama’s Department of Justice hasn’t backed down. It says that since Microsoft has control over the servers, it’s subject to U.S. law.

This is precisely why a courageous Austrian lad by the name of Max Schrems sued Facebook in the European Union Court of Justice, rightly claiming that the company’s inability to guarantee the privacy of his data from U.S. spies violated EU law. Even though Facebook’s servers were in Ireland, he argued, it was clear that the company was vulnerable to U.S. legal demands. Essentially, he argued that the “Safe Harbor” agreement between the U.S. and Europe was worthless, and now he has been proven right. 

The decision to invalidate Safe Harbor was long overdue. Everyone on both sides of the Atlantic knows that American companies can’t guarantee the safety of anyone’s data from U.S. government eavesdropping. Even worse, those companies aren’t allowed to tell customers when their information is accessed by U.S. law enforcement or spy agencies. In some cases, they aren’t even aware that Uncle Sam is doing so.

The ruling will be devastating for American data companies with operations in Europe. Absent a change in U.S. practices, their only hope is to set up legally separate companies with completely separate infrastructure in Europe — a highly expensive and complex proposition. Even then, it’s quite likely that European courts will hold that any connection at all between U.S. and European companies — say, common shareholding and boards of directors — will render them noncompliant with EU law. French courts have already made such rulings.

Congratulations, Uncle Sam. You’re destroying one of the central pillars of what’s left of the U.S. economy. 

Clearly, there are still countries that understand privacy is an essential right to be protected, not violated whenever it’s easier to do so — an idea that seems increasingly alien to the U.S.

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Please read Ed Klein's article to the end....very interesting about Hillary's emotional state....

Be First to Know. Hillary: The Comeback Kid? If you’ve been paying attention to the wall-to-wall media coverage of Hillary Clinton, you’d be excused for thinking she’s heading into next week’s Democratic debate as a badly wounded candidate whose quest for the presidency is doomed by her sinking polls numbers, e-mail scandal and upcoming grilling by the Benghazi committee. Think again. According to my sources, Hillary’s advisers are confident that next Tuesday’s debate will turn out to be her big night. They predict that the media will declare her the winner of the debate and portray her as the comeback kid. What’s more, they tell me that Hillary’s performance in the debate could very well mark the beginning of her unstoppable march to the Democratic nomination. In short, Hillary may be unlikeable (as I call her in my new book), but she is not unelectable. Is this just a lot of political spin on the part of Hillary’s handlers? Or are they justified in being optimistic? I think they may be on to something. To begin with, Hillary’s recent appearance on Saturday Night Live may be her last stab at trying to appear charming and likeable—a persona that has never fit her pugnacious personality. Since then, she has reverted to form and taken off the gloves. Over the past two weeks, she has slammed the Benghazi hearings as nothing more than a Republican instigated political witch-hunt aimed at suppressing her poll numbers. She’s bashed the Supreme Court and the National Rifle Association over the Second Amendment. She’s thumbed her nose at Barack Obama by coming out against one of the president’s major foreign-policy goals—the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And with her approval, her opposition research team has been collecting dirt on Vice President Joe Biden, which Hillary’s camp is prepared to release to the media if Biden enters the nominating race. “Hillary’s always at her most effective when her back is to the wall,” says one of her longtime political advisers. “After weeks of pounding and pummeling by the press, she’s mad as hell and isn’t going to take it any more.” Hillary rage has been on full display behind the scenes of her campaign. “Hillary’s been having screaming, child-like tantrums that have left staff members in tears and unable to work,” says a campaign aide. “She thought the nomination was hers for the asking, but her mounting problems have been getting to her and she’s become shrill and, at times, even violent.” In one incident, Hillary berated a low-level campaign worker for making a scheduling mistake. When the girl had the nerve to turn her back on Hillary and walk away, Hillary grabbed her arm and twisted it. Bill Clinton and Hillary’s campaign team are concerned that her anger may spin out of control in public. They have been trying to calm her down. They are concerned that she could have a serious meltdown in front of TV cameras, which would make her look so out of control that voters would decide she doesn’t have the temperament to be commander in chief. They also fear that she could work herself into a tizzy and have another fainting spell, which would instantly doom her candidacy. Their goal is to channel her anger and make her focus on Republicans, not on her campaign aides and fellow Democrats. “We’re having some success in giving her some chill pills,” says a campaign adviser. “She’s beginning to understand that she can use her righteous anger and indignation to good effect. After all, her anger is in keeping with the mood of the American electorate.” Sincerely, ED KLEIN   Edward Klein is one of America's most celebrated journalists and the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. The Obamas and The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House. He previously served as Foreign Editor of Newsweek and Editor-in-Chief of The New York Times Magazine.

El Zorro speaks with more wisdom than: Obama, Democrats, United Nations, Euro-appeasers, (Sir Edmund) Hillary....choose one and all and/or many more.

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ISIS or ISIL?:

El Zorro contributes this excellent analysis:

Most of us have been wondering, or not, the reason Obama keeps referring to the current Islamic State to ISIL as opposed to the original Acronym ISIS which stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria”.

ISIS, the acronym, stands for :Islamic State of Iraq and Syria”.  That is what the Al Qaeda in Iraq successors called themselves as they planted their black flag in Syria.

ISIL, the acronym, stands for Islamic “State of Iraq and Levant”.  Obama and his administration members carefully and consistently refer to this Islamic terrorist organization as ISIL.

The difference is between the last letter in the acronym, “Syria” and “Levant”.  We know where and what Syria is but most do not know of the Levant.  The Levant consists of a geographic area that includes states and area on the north from Jordan extending south to Egypt.  

The significance, as far as Obama is concerned, is that he does not want the U.S. to be involved in Syria specifically.  For that reason he is opposed to using ISIS.  Further, he has no love for Israel.  In that regard, Israel is approximately the geographic center of the Levant.  Obama is determined that the U.S. will be out of the region during his presidency and does not care at what cost politically, financially or at the expense of our stature in the World.  He will drag his feet all through the remainder of his occupation of the White House which will allow ISIS to grow to the boundaries of the Levant.   

The liberal media has mindlessly fallen for Obama’s devious conversion (ISIS to ISIL) with seemingly no understanding of his strategy.  Islam will ultimately succeed in crushing Israel if Obama is not exposed for this and all his other carefully chosen verbiage not to mention his lack of support for our Middle Eastern Allies, Jordan Israel Egypt, etc.  

Considering the fact that Vladimir Putin is supporting Syria’s government and apparently avoiding damage to ISIS/ISIL all of the European continent and Africa are at risk of becoming victims to a Russian Islamic coalition in the near future.  If that happens, the World will find out firsthand about Shar’ia.  That might sound far-fetched; however, look how far Islam has come, just since Obama was elected, and how far U.S. influence in the world has fallen.  We have almost lost our standing as a world power.  Our military has been substantially diminished by downsizing and its leadership has been compromised by Obama appointments.  Our allies no longer have confidence in us and are turning to Russia and China for financial and military support.  Americans are demoralized as Congress will not stop the president and the Courts support him.  The Constitution is being subverted by all three branches of government.

Islam will not stop at the Levant.  They want a world caliphate.  Whether intentionally or through ideology, Obama is complicit.  If his party and sympathizers are re-elected there will be little hope for our society.  If he cannot be neutralized for the rest of his term, the damage may not be repairable.  In any event, short term the U.S. needs conservative electoral success in 2016.  Long term, the Constitution has to be strengthened (Article V Convention of States) to prevent the kind of lawless destruction that has been wrought the last seven plus years.

J.R.Hathorn, Sergeant, USAF, Vietnam/ retired.......

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Why ''Levant"?

     Drawn from the latinate-based words in French and Spanish, levantar for example in Spanish, or "to lift, or to raise up"....it is somewhat related to the name "Lucifer".  That name means everything from Satan, Satan's son, to lamp-lighter....and it associated with the rising of the sun.   Levant came to mean 'the eastern lands' and to much of the known world well into the Christian era, the east of the Mediterranean Sea merited being known at "The East".   Marco Polo  and others ruined that concept, but the name continued.

    The French, British, Spanish, and others during the colonial times used the term to displace the names of the various tribes, nations, kingdoms, and assorted ethnic and racial groups in the area.   Why?  For the same reason people say, "....they were a bunch of Spanish people..." when in fact the people were Mexican.   Mexican was a dirty word to some, especially in the lower and uneducated classes. so they would subsitute Spanish for Mexican, in order, in their mind, not to offend.

     So, in order to follow diplomatic niceties, it was thought better to use the ancient trade word....Levant...for the people....by calling them Levantine.   So what the Arabs and Jews called the Mashrig (east lands) the rest of the world called Levant.   West in the Mediterranean scope in Arabic is Maghreb....and in Latin...Hispania (west lands).

     The "dirty name" frequently used for people from that area, even into the last century as Assyrian or even Syrian and frequently Jews were referred to, mistakenly, as Assyrians because it seemed to sound better to the speaker or writer than Jew, Hebrew, or Hebe.

     And speaking of Hebes, we have a President who hates Hebes, and will celebrate the day the ghouls of ISIS storm the tiny nation and invoke the wrath of Herod upon the babies, then the women and children, and then every non-compliant Ishmaelite, every Jew, every Christian, every agnostic, atheist, or other faith person....and then spread through the world until the sun will never set upon the beautiful call to worship song sung from the minaret by Obama's imam.  (his words, not mine)

El Gringo Viejo

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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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