There's nothing particularly wrong with Texans, as someone previously implied.
I hitchhiked through a couple of times in the 70s... Did a SW tour working sound for a reggae band in the 80s. El Paso, Dallas, Houston. A small town in New Mexico whose name I've forgotten, where the town people reconditioned an abandoned railway station(took a week) and wired in the electricity from a lamp pole on the street. I swear the whole town and surrounding 50 miles came out for that show.
A bunch of wild Jamaican Rastas playing to an audience that probably hadn't had any music that wasn't from a local band in years. And a good time was had by all... even the "rednecks"...
For years, I've been thoroughly convinced that the distibution of "assholes" and "non-assholes" in the universe is constant, and proportional to the person doing the observing.
"A source in Sheehan's camp identified the property owner as Fred Mattlage, a distant cousin of Larry Mattlage who fired a shotgun over the weekend in frustration over the commotion caused by the vigil. Fred Mattlage was not immediately available for comment."
Anti-war protester Sheehan to move campsite Tue Aug 16, 2005 08:55 PM ET
By Caren Bohan
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, said on Tuesday she is moving her camp closer to President George W. Bush's Texas ranch after being offered the use of a piece of land by a supporter.
The private property was offered by a military veteran who is a distant relative of a man who had fired a shotgun in frustration over her vigil, which has been a growing source of tension in the community.
Sheehan said the hundreds of white crosses put up at her current camp to honor soldiers killed in Iraq would not be moved when she relocates. The crosses were the target of a vandal on Monday night and Sheehan said a small number of people will stay at the original site to watch over them.
"A kind gentleman from down the road, closer to the Bush ranch, has offered us the use of his property," Sheehan told reporters.
"He offered it because he heard about the shots fired at us the other day and he didn't think that was right," she said. "He happens to be the third cousin of the person that fired the shots and so he came down and he said he supports us 100 percent."
The move by Sheehan, expected this week, could help ease growing friction with local residents, some of whom are seeking a ban on parking and camping along the country road where she has pitched her tent.
Sheehan, of Vacaville, California, is in the 10th day of her vigil on the side of Prairie Chapel Road leading to Bush's 1,600-acre (647.5-hectare) ranch. She calls her site "Camp Casey," after her 24-year-old son who was killed in combat in Iraq.
Sheehan has demanded a meeting with Bush to urge him to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, where at least 1,855 U.S. troops have been killed.
Bush, who is adamant about not pulling out troops prematurely, has expressed sympathy for Sheehan's grief but the White House has declined a meeting. Sheehan met with Bush in 2004 but wants to talk to him face to face again.
Sheehan's supporters view her as a hero who has re-energized the anti-war movement but critics see her as a publicity-seeking partisan who is dishonoring her son's status as a war hero.
A source in Sheehan's camp identified the property owner as Fred Mattlage, a distant cousin of Larry Mattlage who fired a shotgun over the weekend in frustration over the commotion caused by the vigil. Fred Mattlage was not immediately available for comment.
Continued ... http://go.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9393358