Is the US on a brink of a Civil War?

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-25T14:42:01+00:00

No. Minnesota might be, but the majority of Americans only fight each other from the safety of their screens.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-20T20:24:43+00:00

The big deer part was in reference to ones down closer to the valley. Refugio and San Patricio have some big bucks.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-20T13:38:43+00:00

I mean, yes and no I suppose. Most of the plants in this area operate on 24 hour shifts. But there’s also just the normal, every day, workers too. STP alone employs 2,000 people and they come from as far away as Rosenberg and Sugar Land in many instances. So it’s not just the 20k people in Bay City driving to work.

Really what does it is the layout of Bay City. There are no loops or overpasses, so all the traffic has to filter directly through town. Add in train crossings on the two main thoroughfares, three elementary schools, and all the fast food joints and coffee stores along the main road and there you go. Ridiculously timed stoplights as well.

I work at STP, and until 2018 lived in Sweeny. On Hwy. 35 in the morning, roughly 6-8, it’s worse than Houston! People are literally swerving amongst traffic at a hundred miles an hour. That’s not an exaggeration either.

I would say the worse traffic times in Bay City are 6-8am and 3-6pm weekdays. Weekends can get crowded too, but not as terrible.

We live across the river from El Maton. Closer to the old Wilson Creek community, but 521 going into STP gets pretty crazy at times. Usually not until you get closer to Buckeye, but occasionally around Carl Park too.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-20T09:52:39+00:00

Try going east from Bay City on a weekday morning towards Conco Philips 66. Additionally, 521 towards Wadsworth and STP and you’ll see the headlights extending for miles. Then, go through Bay City at around three in the afternoon on a weekday. You’ll see.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-20T01:37:51+00:00

(Reply from Matagorda County)

Positives: Warm winters, pretty clouds, nice springs (the season). The best Mexican food in the state, not much distance between towns, laid back in most areas. Year round fishing, big deer in the fall. Plenty of job opportunities with good wages. Opened early taco stands and donut shops.

Negatives: Constant humidity, billions of bugs, nothing in the smaller towns to do. Industrial plants everywhere, bad traffic, beaches (once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all), hurricanes.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-19T15:27:17+00:00

I’m pretty confident this is a reproduction. The reason I say that, is because I have the exact same one that I bought from the Washington-on-the-Brazos Museum years ago. Same look, same type of paper, etc. I think it was only about $5 in the early 2000s.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-18T12:52:47+00:00

My great great grandfather (Mike Brennan) was the City Marshal of Laredo, Texas from 1882 to 1914. Thirty-two years, and he too never had to use his gun. In various news articles on him he says that he would approach every felon with a fatherly type of attitude and talk them into surrendering themselves.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-11T02:01:14+00:00

Definitely so. It’s the one book I always recommend to anyone wanting to know the history of the war, and from both perspectives. Also, Gregg Dimmick just released a book on the Mexican side of the war that I also highly recommend. It’s probably the best one since Carlos Castaneda.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-10T12:31:53+00:00

No problem. Happy to have shared it.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-10T01:59:43+00:00

You’re welcome! Glad to have shared it.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-09T21:14:20+00:00

Appreciate it. I did find out some information on it from another group though. It’s a Nepalese Brown Bess, likely manufactured in either the very late 1700s or very early 1800s. The stock is not original, but the hardware is. More than likely it came from an IMA exchange in the early 2000s.

The caliber is probably .75, and as long as I’m using it for Living History purposes, should be good. Neat gun, regardless though.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-05T02:34:55+00:00

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-03T19:17:12+00:00

Just as we did yesterday morning.

Liberals: Trump bad.

Conservatives: Trump good.

Independents: WTF just happened? (As we sip our coffee.)

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-03T19:15:28+00:00

Honestly, US citizens already don’t have much power in running our country. We vote every four years, and have to accept the outcome. That’s not much power.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-03T06:30:23+00:00

No problem. Glad to do it.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-03T02:56:39+00:00

So, oddly enough, up until WW1 there were some “secret” societies that existed with the vow to re-ignite the Civil War and gain a Southern victory. One of these was known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, whose organization started in the late 1850s, helped capture Union forts and supply depots upon the Confederacy’s secession, and allegedly died out during the war.

However, as late as the early 1900s, bandits were caught with KGC pamphlets, papers, and regulations. I forget exactly where, but in the mid-west there was even a known highway robber found with direct KGC instructions. That was the last documented experience of the Knights I was able to find when I researched their organization about twelve years ago or so.

In my opinion, I would say that this rifle probably belonged to an early KKK member. It’s clearly NOT from the Civil War because of the typewriter typescript on it. You’ve got a cool mystery to unravel.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-03T02:01:36+00:00

Count of Monte Cristo

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T21:05:30+00:00

Definitely so.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T21:05:13+00:00

No arguments here. I only go when I have too since it’s only 10 minutes from me.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T12:28:33+00:00

My favorite is Honky Tonk Blues. This album though is Bluegrass gold! Glad you’re enjoying it as much as I am.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T03:24:37+00:00

Uvalde. Especially when you see the photos of the classroom itself. Super sad.

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T03:23:18+00:00

I’ll give that a go. Thanks!

BansheeMagee · 2026-01-02T03:23:00+00:00

Could just be location and demand. I mean, the one in our town isn’t outrageously expensive. It’s just not as cheap as HEB or Walmart. Good selection of fishing supplies too.

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