Posted on 03/12/2005 10:19:16 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
Rather than putting his faith in diplomacy or our legal system, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson wants to solve an ongoing border dispute with New Mexico by sponsoring a "free-for-all brawl" between senators from the two states.
At issue is more than 600,000 acres in West Texas that New Mexico legislators complain their state lost in a flawed land survey in 1859. The New Mexico Senate voted this week to sue Texas to get the land back. Some lawmakers talked about taking Texas groundwater -- or even the city of El Paso -- as compensation, according to press reports.
But Patterson -- who has already challenged his New Mexico counterpart to settle the dispute in a duel -- had a solution Friday.
"I say to the New Mexico Senate what proud Texians at Gonzales told Santa Anna in 1835: Come and take it," Patterson said in a news release.
"Since both the Texas and New Mexico Senate are currently in session, I propose they meet in the disputed territory to engage in a free-for-all brawl to resolve this issue. Lord knows these boys and girls could use the exercise," he added.
And they say there's no more civility in government.
This an exerpt from Under the Dome
The two other parts are:
Hutchison hitting the trail;
plenty of heroes at (Williams)swearing-in
Possession is 90% of the law. The ability to defend your rights is the other 10%. I agree. If New Mexico wants to claim it, they can come and try to take it.
Rearranging the deck chairs on The Aztlan.
http://www.scsun-news.com/artman/publish/article_4433.shtml
Legislation to sue Texas over land gains support
By By Steve Ramirez
Mar 13, 2005, 07:30 am
“Don’t mess with New Mexico” could become the newest catch phrase, a twist on the slogan Texas has used for years.
Robinson says he is dead serious about following through with proposed legislation that would seek to have Texas “return” 603,485 acres of land that he believes rightly has belonged to New Mexico since its territorial days. Robinson says the boundary line between Texas and New Mexico was never correctly drawn because elected leaders in Texas threatened in 1910 to keep New Mexico from gaining statehood unless the boundary stayed as it has been since 1912, when New Mexico officially became the 47th state in the continental U.S.
“We’re serious about it,” Robinson said flatly. “It’s already cleared the (New Mexico) Senate on a unanimous vote, so that shows you there is some growing support behind this.”
The legislation, known as Senate Bill 555, was given “do pass” recommendations from the Senate’s Judiciary and Conservation committees, before the Senate’s 33-0 approval vote on Monday. The legislation has now been sent to the New Mexico House of Representatives for consideration.
Robinson didn’t mince words, saying New Mexico “has been treated like a stepchild by Texas long enough,” and he’s prepared to see any lawsuit through its conclusion.
“New Mexico has never abandoned these claims,” Robinson said. “I feel strongly like this matter needs to be addressed before the (U.S.) Supreme Court.”
Robinson added that if the state prevailed, it could gain “billions” of dollars in compensation for mineral rights, oil and gas royalties, property taxes and grazing privileges that New Mexico has lost because the state line with Texas was allegedly not drawn properly.
Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said he hasn’t paid too much attention to the proposed legislation, but said New Mexico’s compensation could be substantial if it prevailed in a lawsuit.
“The southeast corner, by Jal, is rich in oil and gas,” Gallagher said. “If you compared it just to the production that has happened in New Mexico all these years it would a fair assumption that the lost compensation could be substantial.”
But Cynthia Thigpen, secretary for the city of Farwell, Texas, said the border dispute is old news and not worth getting worked up about.
“It’s just stupid,” said Thigpen, a Farwell resident for 34 years. “They’ve been dredging this up for years. It’s happened before and I just file it in the ‘For What It’s Worth Department.’ The media from all over the country has done stories about it before, but it’s a non issue as far as we’re concerned.”
Farwell is located just inside the Texas border and has an approximate population of 1,400. Only nine miles from Clovis, Thigpen said it probably wouldn’t make too much of a difference if New Mexico were to prevail in a possible lawsuit.
“I feel like we are a part of New Mexico anyway,” Thigpen said. “If we need something, we know where to go and get it, and that’s in Clovis. People in Austin (where the Texas Legislature meets) don’t know where Farwell is. It’s just a way of life.”
According to a Financial Impact Report, which was filed with the proposed legislation, if the bill is approved, Madrid would have to determine if a potential lawsuit has merit.
But Thigpen doesn’t believe that any kind of legal action — or changes in the border — are imminent.
“I just don’t ever see it happening in your lifetime or mine,” Thigpen said.
Steve Ramirez can be reached at sramirez@lcsun-news.com
BRING 'EM ON!
NO WAY, JOSE!
My ex moved to NM and moving the border would put her back in Texas - AAAARRRRGH.
Believe me, it's worth it to keep her in NM, lol.
;^D
New Mexico can't have El Paso... that'll give Gov. Richardson more votes in the next election (and more cemeteries to find dead voters). I hear Mexico will let them have Juarez though...
"Rearranging the deck chairs on The Aztlan."
Very insightful.
That was in Jerry's '02 campaign. You could email it to friends with different background music and in different colors. Can't wait to see what he has for the '06 campaign!
To those Mexicans - Not Going To Happen Anytime Soon. Your boy Santa Anna and his friends decided to deprive the Texians of their means of self-defense, committed atrocities when the Texians protested, and got what they desrved in the end. Travis, Fannin, and their men paid for the land in blood. Sanata Anna tried to get Texas back in 1846 - not only did we whup his butt the second time around, we captured your frigging capital.
Yeah, if it wasn't for the principle, I'd be more than happy to give it to the New Mexicans. Texas is sensitive to land loss because if Congress hadn't partitioned us up, we'd be the single largest state in the Union and would stretch from Lousiana to the Rockies.
I believe there is an old law that says if ya don't squawk within a few years as to being ripped off regarding land grants etc then yer screwed.
100 years later in 1959 Marty Robbins declared El Paso ..........West Texas !
And as ya stated ....if they want to push the issue they better be prepared to move their capitol to the other side of the Rio Grande.........:o)
I love these reindeer games that polidiots play !
If anyone is interested, here's Stephen Austin's 1830 map; shows just how huge Texas used to be:
http://www.cah.utexas.edu/exhibits/Pena/english/large/11a.html
I've never seen a pistol in campaign lit, and I'm from a fairly pro-2a state(albeit not Texas or Wyoming level). We've had lots of shotgun photo-ops here(both parties), as well as a poodle that says "That dog don't hunt" to counter one of them who stole the state in 2004.
Al Buquerque would be nice in the summer!
Yes there are significant petroleum deposits there. The area around Hobbs and Eddy County is THE center of drilling activity in Texas/New Mexico at the moment. It's huge.
Good reason not to provoke a Texan (evil grin)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
