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16. & 17. Texas Declaration of Independence

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16. & 17. Texas Declaration of Independence

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Over the past several hundred years, Texas has had many flags fly over it. In that time it's had at least 7 Constitutions! But in all that time it only had one Declaration of Independence. That declaration was made when the Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

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Federal and State Holidays in Texas, USA in 2017 | Office Holidays

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List of Federal and State Holidays observed in Texas, USA during 2017 with background detail on many holidays.

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Long ago, it was very common to see that a person running for an office like Mayor, Governor, and President had been in the military when they were young. Unfortunately these days this is rare. Very few people that hold those offices have ever been in the military.

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Free Enterprise--is the basis of our economy. It is based on idea that you have the right to choose. As an American, the government cannot tell you what to buy or where to work.

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A governor is the head of a state. The governor of Texas is Greg Abbott. To be good at his job, it is really important that a governor understand his state and all of the problems his people face.

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Please, please, please don't make Mrs. Hawkins and Mrs. Lara sad. You know how to read a pie chart. Petroleum is what oil and gas comes from. Transportation involves cars, trucks, trains, and anything that gets people around.

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At just 16, Casey Decker can't vote, but he still feels like he had a big impact on politics this election season.

Decker supported his favorite candidates by making phone calls and knocking on doors, which, "in a sense, can actually be more effective," he said. He also registered voters.

When "you can't just vote and change something about the election outcome," Decker said, "it makes you go out and do more than just vote. ... Not being able to vote forces you to take that extra step."

Decker is just one Clark County teen who says he sees the value in following, discussing and influencing politics. After interning for President Barack Obama's grass-roots campaign arm, Organizing for America, and volunteering for Democratic governor-elect Jay Inslee, Decker and three other sharp teenagers shared their perspectives on politics with The Columbian.

The four Clark County teens, most of whom are considering careers in politics, also sounded off on hot topics central to their generation, including unemployment, affordable college education, and many social issues.

Pivotal issues

On the minds of many young people, Vancouver native Judah Rancourt said, are education and finding a job. Rancourt, 19, has struggled with employment. Although Rancourt's home is Clark County, he's living in Yakima, where he's found some temporary construction work.

"The economy is not doing so well, and there's a massive number of unemployed youth," Rancourt said.

For 16-year-old Dylan Koester, health care reform has been another major issue for younger people, especially the change in the law that allows young adults to remain on their parents' health insurance plans. Another big topic is affording college.

"For many kids, it's really hard to pay for college," Koester said. "I'm college-bound, and lots of my friends are, so that's a pretty big discussion."

If a political topic is front and center in the news, these guys are talking about it, they say. Lately, they're grappling with the topics of gun control and the so-called "fiscal cliff," which loomed as tax breaks were set to expire and automatic spending cuts were expected to take effect at the end of this year.

Republican Carter Morgan, 18, also likes to debate with friends about what role the government should play in Americans' lives.

"I'm a big fan of the idea that we all have our own agency and we all make our own decisions, and we're responsible for those," Morgan said. Although he said he's a big supporter of people's donating to charity, he said he doesn't like the idea of the government redistributing individuals' wealth.

When it comes to political differences the teens might have with older generations, Koester said he thinks his generation tends to pay more attention to social issues rather than budgetary issues, supporting issues such as same-sex marriage and laws to guarantee equal pay for women. In his case, Koester says, he has liberal views about fiscal policies.

"I believe that the Democratic Party wants to create an economy that's built to last from the middle out, not from the top down," Koester said.

Rancourt said he sees a certain amount of optimism in his generation; many young people are energized once they learn about their government and that they can take part in it.

"They're becoming more idealistic as they see an end that they want to enact," Rancourt said, while many in the older generations are "not working toward that end anymore."

Intrigued in 2008

All four teens point to the 2008 presidential election between Barack Obama and John McCain as the point in their lives when they really began paying attention to politics.

Rancourt said he's always been politically aware, but his interest in politics increased during the 2008 elections, when he started researching how he and his family could be impacted by those promises made on the campaign trail.

He joined a club for teenage Republicans and soon became the club's chair. He also helped start seven other Republican clubs for teens across the state and volunteered for U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's 2010 bid for U.S. House. This year, the campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Shahram Hadian recruited Rancourt.

While working with teenage Republicans, Rancourt said his goal wasn't to convert teens to Republicanism. Rather, he encouraged them to do their own research and figure out where they stand. Either way, it encouraged more politically active young people, he said, and that's a good thing.

"A lot of times, they think that (politics) doesn't affect them, because they can't vote yet," Rancourt said. "It still does impact them, through student loans, through the economy. ... They can have a massive impact at the political level."

Morgan started following politics when he discovered a fellow Mormon, Mitt Romney, was running for president in 2008. Even after Romney conceded, Morgan kept following the race and learning about the issues.

In 2012, Morgan got to put his political passion to work by volunteering in Clark County for the man who sparked his political passion: Romney. He also lent a hand to the campaigns of state Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, and state Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver.

Koester spent his summer vacation interning for the Inslee campaign. He made phone calls, went door-belling for Inslee and even escorted Inslee around the Clark County fairgrounds.

Koester started following politics closely in 2008, but knew he was interested in the subject in 2004, when his mother took him to a John Kerry rally.

"I was pretty young at that age," Koester said. "That was pretty exciting for me."

Decker said he became politically involved in 2008, and "the first issue that I actually did research on and had discussions about was the Affordable Health Care Act. ... I got an adrenalin rush from talking about politics."

Encouraging young people to get involved in politics is crucial to the future of the political parties, leaders of Clark County's Democrats and Republicans said recently. Clark County Republicans don't currently have a young Republicans club, and the Young Democrats club is on hiatus until next month.

Eye on the future

Koester, who attends Columbia River High School and is expected to graduate in 2014, said he's interested in becoming a campaign manager. He sees himself in a behind-the-scenes political role.

"After this internship, I've become obsessed with campaigns," Koester said.

His fellow Democrat, Decker, also a student at Columbia River, said he'd like to run for office some day, because "it's more tangible if you're the actual person passing the legislation," he said.

Rancourt, who was home-schooled in Vancouver, has a long list of campaigns on his résumé. Besides working for Herrera Beutler and Hadian, he's contributed to campaigns for Sen. Benton and 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.

"Most local (Republican) candidates who ran in 2010 - if you can name them, I probably worked with them," he added.

Rancourt said he considers himself a "conservatarian," or someone who has a mixture of conservative and libertarian views, he said. Republicans should move away from the middle and reach out to their base in order to appeal to young conservatives, he said.

Moderate Republicans have moved "further and further left," Rancourt said. They've "embraced things like Obamacare" and "pandered to the middle to get votes. They're leaving a lot of young people behind."

Meanwhile, Morgan, who attends Evergreen High School, said he considers himself a moderate Republican and a fiscal conservative. He said the Republican movement in Clark County is growing, and "we're more sensible than the media makes us out to be." He said rather than focusing on social issues, he thinks the focus should be on finding reasonable approaches to fiscal issues. The government can't spend money it doesn't have, he said.

Volunteering for campaigns this year was fun, Morgan said, but "one day I'd actually like to manage a campaign and do something besides the grunt work."

Stevie Mathieu: 360-735-4523; http://facebook.com/reportermathieu; http://twitter.com/col_politics; stevie.mathieu@columbian.com.

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Appeal of political work pulls local teens to volunteer

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At just 16, Casey Decker can't vote, but he still feels like he had a big impact on politics this election season. Decker supported his favorite candidates by making phone calls and knocking on doors, which, "in a sense, can actually be more effective," he said. He also registered voters.

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Have you heard of Beefmaster cattle? This versatile multi-purpose breed was developed from Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn!

Developed around 1930, Beefmaster cattle have predominantly been bred in the USA. It was officially recognised as a breed in 1954!

Of course, it's mainly a beef breed! However, Beefmasters are multi-purpose, and the dairying abilities are well-recognised!

As quite a young breed, Beefmaster cattle have easily-traced roots. They were developed through the crossbreeding of Shorthorns, Herefords and Brahmans. Nowadays, the usual ratio is 50% Brahman, 25% Shorthorn and 25% Hereford.

Most Beefmasters are red in colour, but there are variations such as red coats with white speckles, usually around the facial area.

Cows usually weigh 800kg, while Beefmaster bulls can reach over 1,200kg! On average, calves weigh around 35kg.

The Beefmaster breed has become very established across the USA! It's now the fourth-largest beef breed in the country, and has been exported as far as South America and Brazil.

Bred to withstand the tough farming conditions of Texas, Beefmasters have great heat tolerance. Even in droughts, they can successfully forage and thrive in the driest of regions. Instead of staying in the shade, Beefmasters are known to graze even during the hottest parts of the day.

They're also resistant to parasites and diseases such as pinkeye, meaning health problems are relatively rare.

Beefmasters are docile and intelligent, making them easy to handle! However, it's important to always be cautious around all bulls, regardless of breed! Check out our article on Bull Safety to remind yourself of the necessary precautions.

Bulls have excellent libidos, and will breed aggressively and successfully. Beefmasters also have excellent hybrid vigour, meaning that their best genetic traits are easily passed on to their progeny. This makes them very popular among breeders.

Beefmaster cows will reliably give birth to a calf each year, and care for them well. They're fertile, and produce plenty of milk! Recurrent calving problems are practically unheard of in Beefmasters.

Tom Lasater, the founder of the breed, believed that breeders should ignore general and cosmetic traits such as colouring, horns and height in favour of the genes that will improve beef and milk quality. As a result, the Beefmaster breed has been developed to have all of the 'Six Essentials': Disposition, Fertility, Weight, Conformation, Hardiness and Milk Production, giving them the nickname 'The Profit Breed'!

For a more general overview of how to choose a breed that suits your farm, you can also read our article on Beef Cattle: Choosing the Right Breed for You.

Photo Source: Casey Beefmasters

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12 Things You Should Know About Beefmaster Cattle | THATSFARMING.COM

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Have you heard of Beefmaster cattle? This versatile multi-purpose breed was developed from Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn! Developed around 1930, Beefmaster cattle have predominantly been bred in the USA. It was officially recognised as a breed in 1954! Of course, it's mainly a beef breed! However, Beefmasters are multi-purpose, and the dairying abilities are well-recognised!

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In Texas, the future of cotton isn't about growing more, it's about growing it better.

Texas is already the best in the nation at growing cotton, producing roughly one-third
of the U.S. cotton crop.

"Historically, East Texas was the primary cotton-producing region," says Darren Hudson, director of the Cotton Economics Research Institute at Texas Tech University. "Cotton is still grown over there to some extent, but over time, cotton production has gravitated westward and to some extent southward. Cotton has always been, and still is, grown in the Coastal Bend and along the Upper Coast. But today, the High Plains is the big producer of cotton."

The total economic impact of cotton in Texas is more than $24 billion, with approximately five million bales of cotton produced annually. Hudson says that figure won't likely change in the future, but technology and biotechnology will continue to improve efficiencies and genetics.

"That means cotton is going to be a viable crop and one of the biggest cash crops we're going to have in Texas," he says.

Farming More Efficiently

Fourth-generation cotton farmer Jon Whatley says advancements in technology and biotechnology have already impacted his business.

"The biggest transition since I started farming has been the advent of technology allowing us to farm more efficiently and with less trouble," Whatley says. "In the last 15 years, we've substantially changed how we operate. Biotechnology has allowed us to apply fewer chemicals and increase the health of the plant. We have newer varieties available that work better regionally, and that has increased our yields."

Whatley's cotton is grown on his 5,000-acre farm located in Odem, Texas.

"We have created a niche in the Coastal Bend region thanks to the quality of our cotton," he says. "It matches some of the varieties grown in Arizona and California, but ours comes off a couple of months earlier, so we're able to fill that market need."

Cotton Industry's Future

Whatley sees a bright future for the cotton industry.

"It's a natural fiber, and that's what people want," he says. "Texas is going to benefit from the demand for cotton because we grow so much of it. The industry has its ups and downs, but it's still thriving through technology and research."

The supply chain from the farm to a department store is a complex world.

"A pair of jeans has about two pounds of cotton," Hudson says. "It's amazingly small, but from a margin perspective, it's important. Farmers are always dealing with cost pressures, and technology helps with that by giving productivity gains."

New Markets

Prior to the collapse of the textile industry, approximately 70 percent of the cotton produced in Texas was milled in the U.S.

Today, nearly all cotton produced in Texas goes into the global market. Market change resulted in a need to transform the product itself, says Dr. Dean Ethridge, managing director of the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute (FBRI) at Texas Tech University.

"The best cotton is going to be the longest, the strongest and the finest," Ethridge says. "FBRI's mission is to add value to cotton. One way of achieving that goal is the use of sophisticated instruments to measure fiber properties that are being bred into new seed lines."

Hudson also notes that work at FBRI has changed the cotton industry in Texas and across the country.

"Research is developing drought-tolerant varieties," Hudson says. "Biotechnology, technology and water management are the focus going forward. We've got challenges, but cotton has been a good thing for us in Texas, and it will continue to be a good thing. We have turned our attention to technology and management practices that will allow us to meet the production challenges ahead."

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In Texas, the future of cotton isn't about growing more, it's about growing it better. Texas is already the best in the nation at growing cotton, producing roughly one-third of the U.S. cotton crop. "Historically, East Texas was the primary cotton-producing region," says Darren Hudson, director of the Cotton Economics Research Institute at Texas Tech University.