BILL NEINAST neins1@aol.com THE MOSTLY TRUE AND UNABRIDGED HISTORY OF WILLIAM H. “BILL” NEINAST Some people believe I caused the Great Depression. There is a basis for that belief. I was born in Somerville, Texas, on August 26, 1929, in my parent’s home; a house without electricity or plumbing. A mere 59 days later, the banks failed and the stock markets crashed on Black Friday, October 24. Those two dates are too close to be a mere coincidence. Being a man of conscience, however, I helped start the long road to recovery. My friend, Cotton Malkey, and I kept construction of the stone gymnasium and football field in Somerville moving. Ensconced in Cotton’s front yard, we would ping with a BB gun any man working on the WPA project who would bend over too long to pick up a stone with his butt pointed toward us. When not supervising the WPA, there were no TVs, video games, IPhones, or air conditioning to keep me inside, so I mowed lawns, sanded floors, worked the projectors at the Lyon theatre, and cut meat in my Dad’s market and grocery. For a break from that tedium, I graduated as valedictorian of the Somerville High class of 1946. Then it was off to the real world of my mother’s alma mater, Texas Lutheran College (now Texas Lutheran University) in Sequin. I graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in the last class as a junior college. Next, was a migration north to THE university--The University of Texas in Austin. There, I was fortunate enough to help my future wife earn the degree she was seeking. Jeannine Pearce left her home in Marlin to get an Mrs degree. Being a good Methodist, she joined the Methodist Student Association, but found nothing there that met her standards. So she transferred to the Lutheran Student Association, where we found each other. The rest is history. The 60 year old trial marriage has worked so well, we are considering making it permanent. In 1952, we left Austin with degrees in hand. Jeannine had earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics and I was carrying a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctor of Jurisprudence. We moved to Caldwell where I practiced law for a short while in a two-man firm that was first established in 1911. The late Hays Bowers, my mentor and the namesake of our oldest son, taught me more law in three months than I learned in three years of law school. The Korean War was claiming American lives across the Pacific at the time. So, to dodge the draft, I got a commission in The Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army. I began my military career with a belief that no one who could make a living on the outside would ever undertake a military career. My contact with senior career officers and enlisted personnel quickly disabused me of that idea. So I became one of them and the Army then tried for 27 years to educate me at taxpayers expense. On the military side of the ledger, I graduated from both the basic and career courses of The Judge Advocate General’s School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and The Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. On the civilian side, I did a year’s graduate work in international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and graduated from the Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague Holland, and the Management School for Executives of Pittsburgh University. In 27 years of active duty, I had two tours of duty in the Pentagon and three overseas tours in Germany and Vietnam. I performed various periods of duty in eight foreign countries. Along the way, Jeannine and I reared four Army brats into productive citizens. Steven Hays is the Assistant General Counsel for Entergy Corporation. Mark is the American Sales Director for ESP Corp., a GE subsidiary in the oil patch. Bill, Jr., or Will, is a Senior Vice President of Bank of America. Anita, the Chief of Staff of the family, is a CPA/CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) with her own consulting firm. I am published in Military Law Review, Army Lawyer, Army, Progressive Farmer, Gulf Coast Cattleman, The Lion, and Country (where I was a “country editor” for ten years). Currently, I pen a weekly political op-ed piece for the Brenham Banner Press. Jeannine and I are now enjoying our golden years on property in Washington County, Texas, that has been in my family since the Civil War. My grandfather and father were born here, so here is where it started and where it will will end. enough MY ESSAYS 1 In Perspective 2 Dear Mr. Congressman 3 Enough Already! 4 Hunker Down! 5 WWDD 6 The RNC: a Treat 7 A Sitcom in Charlotte 8 Get Serious about the War 9 Spokesperson: Most Difficult Job 10 Singing Cathy’s Song 11 What If It Had Been George? 11 Desperate Men Do Desperate Things 12 Class Warrior in Chief 13 What Did He Know and When... 14 We Need a Graveyard for Sacred Cows 15 GOP Swan Song? 16 Class Warriors: the Truth Hurts 17 The Dust Bowl and the Role of Government 18 There Are Many Cliffs 19 The Death Penalty 20 We Lost the War on Poverty 21 More Gun Laws a Folly 22 To Sue or Not to Sue 23 The Wording Says It All 24 Culture of Dependence 25 Trip to the Watermelon Patch 26 Knee Jerk Reaction 27 Defense Department Two-Step 28 Saving the Military 29 Economically Illiterate 30 Charity and the Work Ethic 31 Where Is the Sequester Disaster? 32 Reviving Monsters 33 The Cost of Medical Care 34 A History Lesson: English Only 35 Slackers and Your Money 36 The Mouse That Roared 37 A Day of Infamy 38 One More Law 39 The Key Word Is Terrorist 40 Mission Accomplished 41 The Buck Stops Here 42 Hear No Evil, Etc. 43 CSOPE 44 Drip, Drip, Drip 45 Sleep Well 46 Lie Redefined 47 PC and History 48 Joe and Jose 49 Foreign Policy Mush 50 Why? Not Who? 51 Coherent Policy...I Think Not 52 From Liebenau to Detroit 53 Hog Killing Time 54 Blind Hog Finds Acorn 55 The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure 56 Red Line Rewrite 57 Where’s Waldo? 58 Looming Danger 59 Alcohol and Drugs: History Repeated 60 Voting Hypocracy 61 Our Henny Penny Congress 62 Affordable Healthcare? 63 Look Over There 64 Advertising Pays 65 Kicking the Can Down the Road and the Texas Model 66 A Little Good News 67 Silver Alerts and Pinocchios 68 I Know Nothing 69 Viva Independence and Self-Reliance 70 Perspective on bin Laden’s War 71 Fewer Toys for the Pentagon 72 Obamacare Flight 73 Radical? 74 Fair? 75 Republican New Year’s Resolution 76 Now You’re Concerned? 77 Unemployment the Texas Way 78 Beware Solicitation Letters 79 We Must Not Forget 80 Political Lies 81 Dangit! 82 Let’s Not Make Anyone Uncomfortable 83 Dropouts and Graduates 84 The Ditherer 85 Illegal Aliens 86 Top Secret 87 Larry, Moe, and Curley 88 Charity Starts at Home 89 Declare Peace in the War on Drugs 90 Stop Knee Jerk Reactions 91 Sensible Military Reductions 92 If It’s Not Broke 93 What Difference Does It Make 94 Education: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It 95 Order More Stop Signs 96 Back to the Issues That Matter 97 Fairness: Here We Go Again 98 Less Sports and Entertainment: More Hard News 99 Uncle Sugar 100 The Veterans Administration’s Mess 101 The Last Chivalry 102 Rights to Entitlements 103 Workers’ Paradise 104 United? Nations 105 An Outstanding President: Obama 106 Double Agent? 107 Deja-vu, All Over Again 108 A Little Middle East History 109 Surviving the Hydra 110 Only the Facts M’am 111 Tomlinson Hill and the Democrats 112 Both Parties Hypocrites 113 We’re Already at War 114 I Know Nothing 115 Alarm Bells 116 Radical Change 117 Ebola: an Imagined Epidemic 118 It’s Better to... 119 Make Schools Independent 120 RRR 121 Changing Neighborhoods 122 We’ll Survive 123 Just the Facts 124 What Do They Want? 125 Affordable Care Act? 126 Been There, Done That `127 My Chystal Ball 128 Kudos to President Obama 129 The Keystone XL Pipeline 130 Voting Reform Important 131 Time Marches On 132 Narcissist-in-Chief 133 Mideast Treaty Organization 134 Give Common Core a Chance 135 War and Luck 136 Nobody Else Is Doing It? 137 What If Obama Were President in 1941 138 Bernie Madoff: Barrack Obama 139 Global Warming Nuts 140 Scams 141 Welcome Back to Munich 142 A President from the Business World? 143 Blunderbuss Foreign Policy 144 The Inheritance Tax 145 Fair Trial in Baltimore 146 The Governor and the Military 147 From General to Personal Welfare 148 From Independence to Dependency 149 Finally Some Good News 150 December 7 151 When Did Policemen Become the Bad Guys? 152 This Ain’t Crystal Night 153 Bingo, Hillary 154 The Trump Card 155 Goodbye Old Flag 156 Obeying the Law 157 The Tax Collector or Karl Marx 158 Good News, Bad News 159 The Cream Rises to the Top 160 Kept in the Closet 161 From Baitzemt to the US 162 Seig Heil Again? 163 Abortions Many Aspects 164 Sauce for the Goose Is Sauce for the Gander 165 Perspective from Dr. Ben Carson 166 Modest Proposals for a Conundrum 167 Snake Oil 168 The Log in Your Own Eye 169 Chaos, Dysfunction, Frustration 170 How Not to Get Your Ass Kicked 171 Foreign Policy Seek and Fink 172 A Radical by Any Other Name Is Still a Radical 173 War Requires a Strategy 174 War Requires a Strategy...Still 175 Tread Lightly, Voters 176 Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor... 177 President Clueless about the Misuse of Firearms 178 Immigration Solved: Enforce Laws on Books 179 I, Uncle Sam, Resolve... 180 Tears and Fiddling 181 Political But Not Correct 182 Same Tune---Different Verse 183 A Wake for the Two Parties 184 A Generational Difference 185 County Commissioners’ Court Accessible 186 Do You Want This Thing to Be President? 187 LaBahia/Washington 188 Clarification: Supreme Court 189 Today Is 1984 190 Be Careful What You Ask For 191 World War III 192 Time for a Tune Up 193 Is “Hello” PC? 194 Trump on Abortion 195 Supreme Court Up for Grabs 196 Keep Your Fingers Crossed 197 Hobson’s Choice 2016 198 Get Out of Panic Mode 199 New Models for Elections 200 A Country of Immigrants 201 Nothing to Fear 202 There Is an Alternative 203 Texas Needs a Death with Dignity Law 204 Stupid Response to Orlando 205 The Worst Commander-in-Chief 206 The U.S. Army War College 207 BLM Mirrors KKK 208 Wars’s Many Faces 209 Ma and Pa Clinton 210 Chameleon Trump 211 SNAFU 212 Autographed Copy of Jesus Christ 213 No Best Out There 214 A New Draft 215 Hard Decisions 216 It Must Be True 217 Federal Government Dysfunctional 218 Vote for Supremes and Congress 219 The Republican Party and Silk Purses 220 Mission Impossible 221 Enough Already 222 Ma and Pa Going to the White House? 223 Henny Penny Democrats 224 Politically Correct=Political Idiocy 225 Newton’s Third Law and Politics 226 Miracles Do Happen 227 The Business of Government 228 The Russians Are Coming 229 What Will Happen in 2017? 230 Driving Nails into Coffins 231 Pass in Review! 232 Will Trump Be Presidential? 233 A Glimmer of Hope 234 Flabbergasted Democrats 235 Part of Our Heritage 236 DeVos Right Secretary of Education 237 Rethinking Education 238 Abortion and Sex Education 239 The Russians Did It? 240 Free Speech Not Free 241 Shaky Standing 242 Flailing Chickens 243 Operation Papyrus 244 And the Winner Is 245 A New Man in Town 246 Too Soon Old, too Late Smart 247 The Land of Oz, USA 248 News and Facts 249 Washington County EMS: the Best 250 Memorial Day---Every Day 251 Prejudice a Learned Behavior 252 Emoluments? 253 Give Henny Penny a Rest 254 Too Much Trivia 255 Nuclear North Korea 256 Fair Taxes 257 Ignoring Facts 258 Starving Departments 259 Time for Another Hoover Commission? 260 Hate and the KKK 261 Bad Language: Bad Choice 262 Waiting with Baited Breath 263 Hate Knows No Bounds 264 A Step too Far 265 The Law Is the Law 266 Honest Trump 267 Stuck in the Swamp 268 Why? 269 The NFL, Racism, and the President 270 Politics and Monuments 271 Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How 272 Guns Don’t Kill People... 273 Yesterday Not All Bad 274 Racism and the National Anthem 275 Dear Kneeling Brothers 276 Sex Will Win 277 Apples and Oranges 278 Truth in Advertising 279 A Better Way 280 White Privilege to the Trash 281 Taxes---Same Old Story 282 County Governance 283 From the Farms to the Cyberworld 284 The Scoundrels! 285 Whistler’s Mother 286 Pot, Bowl, or Magnet 287 State Level Term Limits 288 Murder Is Already Illegal 289 Truth in Advertising 290 The National Debt 291 Brenham, Texas, Has a Professional Theatre 292 The Train to Crystal City 293 Paying for Panic 294 Time’s Up 295 Trouble 296 Pro-Lifers or Anti-Abortionists? 297 Deal Not Bonded 298 Laws Punish---Not Prevent 299 Republicans---Don’t Be Hypocrites 300 Immigration 301 Our Schools Need Overhaul 302 Barack Obama...What a Guy! 303 Facts about Separated Children 304 We’re Doomed 305 Emotional Thinkers 306 Democratic Socialists of America 307 Casey at the Bat 308 Talk Softly and Carry a Big Stick 309 The World Moves On 310 Trump and the Press 311 Security Clearance: the Truth 312 The Washington Playground 313 Life Is Adaptable 314 Millennials and Prosperity 315 OK, We Lost 316 Do Democrats Have No Shame? 317 Bring Back the WPA 318 Senators and Sense 319 Murder 320 The Cost of Illegals 321 Term Limits 322 Murder Is a Constant 323 Health Care Not an Entitlement 324 Thankful for the Constitution 325 Trump and Media Are Both Guilty 326 Atrocity Upon Atrocity 327 Memories 328 “The New Colossus” 329 Pork and the Wall 330 Wake Up America 331 21 Months until Election 332 Birth and Law Suits 333 Socialism and Stupidity 334 DC’s a Logic Vacuum 335 Relax: Climate Change Not All Bad 336 President Trump: a Man of His Word 337 My Own History 338 December 7,1941 339 Big Changes Since WWII 340 Bernie Says Medicare for All 341 The VA: Faceless, Nameless, Unapproachable 342 We’ve Moved but Little Has Changed 343 Brain Cells and Democrats 344 The “Doctor” Needs Guidance 345 Dems Plotting against Electoral College 346 Greatest Generation Not to Be Replicated 347 Chickens and Illegals 348 Have Faith in Capitalism 349 Will It Never End? 350 Aliens on Stage 351 That’s a Lot of History 352 Socialists-Democrats 353 Respect for Country 354 Naive Socialist-Democrats 355 Scary Socialist-Democrats 356 Beating a Dead Horse 3357 Rational Conclusions 358 Respect for the Law 359 Thank Your Mentors 360 Nero’s Fiddling 361 Red Flag Approach 362 High Crimes and Misdemeanors 363 Three Threats to U. S. 364 In My Shoes 365 Adapt 366 “Racism” 367 Star Chamber 368 Naive, Uninformed, and Juvenile 369 Honoring the Veterans 370 Old Folks Homes 371 Washington’s Farce 372 Our Jury System 373 What to Worry about 374 Impeachment: a Christmas Gift 375 Happy New Decade 376 It’s What He Does 377 Nightmares 378 Now That’s a Nightmare 379 No Thanks, Dems 380 Where’s My Present, Kim? 381 Civics Lessons Needed 382 The Cat Fight 383 From Sears to Amazon 384 Self-Funded...Not So Much 385 Panic...Really? 386 The Pandemic and the Economy 387 The Pandemic and World War II 388 COVID-19 and Future Wars 389 It’s a Tough Call 390 Stop Whining 391 New Reads and the Death Penalty 392 The Coming Economic Disaster? 393 Kamikaze Warfare 394 Your Grandparents’ Shoes 395 It’s Not Broken 396 Black and White Police Brutality 397 Systemic Police Brutality 398 What’s the Point? 399 BLM: What Do They Want? 400 The Holocaust, Friends, and Slavery 401 auf wiedersehen Logic 402 It’s Time to Stop the Nonsense 403 Applaud the Men in Blue 404 The Answer: Term Limits 405 Miraculous Advancements 406 Lady Liberty 407 Don’t Believe Everything You Read 408 History and Experience 409 The First Amendment 410 The Supreme Court 411 What’s behind Proposed Changes? 412 Four on One 413 Optimism Ain’t Easy 414 Medicine Ranks Number 1 415 The Blue Wave 416 Election Fraud Nothing New 417 Thanksgiving Thanks 318 You Lost---Go Home 419 Trump Is an Idiot 420 The Atmosphere Changes: Get Over It 421 The Days of Self-Reliance 422 So Here’s the Perspective 423 The Path to the Workers’ Paradise 424 Thrown to the Wolves 425 January 4, 2021: Historical 426 Eight Levels of Control 427 Hypocracy and the Southern Border 428 The Right to Assemble and Petition 429 Where’s Hunter? 430 Tax and Spend 431 1941 Again 432 Guns and Common Sense 433 Century of Change 434 Racist Country? 435 What’s Next! 436 Biden’s Policies? 437 Jack Norton 438 Three Mistakes 439 The Ostrich Administration 440 Auf Wiedersehen

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BILL NEINAST

neins1@aol.com

THE MOSTLY TRUE AND UNABRIDGED HISTORY OF WILLIAM H. “BILL” NEINAST

Some people believe I caused the Great Depression. There is a basis for that belief. I was born in Somerville, Texas, on August 26, 1929, in my parent’s home; a house without electricity or plumbing. A mere 59 days later, the banks failed and the stock markets crashed on Black Friday, October 24. Those two dates are too close to be a mere coincidence.

Being a man of conscience, however, I helped start the long road to recovery. My friend, Cotton Malkey, and I kept construction of the stone gymnasium and football field in Somerville moving. Ensconced in Cotton’s front yard, we would ping with a BB gun any man working on the WPA project who would bend over too long to pick up a stone with his butt pointed toward us.

When not supervising the WPA, there were no TVs, video games, IPhones, or air conditioning to keep me inside, so I mowed lawns, sanded floors, worked the projectors at the Lyon theatre, and cut meat in my Dad’s market and grocery. For a break from that tedium, I graduated as valedictorian of the Somerville High class of 1946.

Then it was off to the real world of my mother’s alma mater, Texas Lutheran College (now Texas Lutheran University) in Sequin. I graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in the last class as a junior college.

Next, was a migration north to THE university--The University of Texas in Austin. There, I was fortunate enough to help my future wife earn the degree she was seeking.

Jeannine Pearce left her home in Marlin to get an Mrs degree. Being a good Methodist, she joined the Methodist Student Association, but found nothing there that met her standards. So she transferred to the Lutheran Student Association, where we found each other. The rest is history. The 60 year old trial marriage has worked so well, we are considering making it permanent.

In 1952, we left Austin with degrees in hand. Jeannine had earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics and I was carrying a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctor of Jurisprudence. We moved to Caldwell where I practiced law for a short while in a two-man firm that was first established in 1911. The late Hays Bowers, my mentor and the namesake of our oldest son, taught me more law in three months than I learned in three years of law school.

The Korean War was claiming American lives across the Pacific at the time. So, to dodge the draft, I got a commission in The Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army.

I began my military career with a belief that no one who could make a living on the outside would ever undertake a military career. My contact with senior career officers and enlisted personnel quickly disabused me of that idea. So I became one of them and the Army then tried for 27 years to educate me at taxpayers expense.

On the military side of the ledger, I graduated from both the basic and career courses of The Judge Advocate General’s School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and The Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. On the civilian side, I did a year’s graduate work in international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and graduated from the Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague Holland, and the Management School for Executives of Pittsburgh University.

In 27 years of active duty, I had two tours of duty in the Pentagon and three overseas tours in Germany and Vietnam. I performed various periods of duty in eight foreign countries.

Along the way, Jeannine and I reared four Army brats into productive citizens. Steven Hays is the Assistant General Counsel for Entergy Corporation. Mark is the American Sales Director for ESP Corp., a GE subsidiary in the oil patch. Bill, Jr., or Will, is a Senior Vice President of Bank of America. Anita, the Chief of Staff of the family, is a CPA/CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) with her own consulting firm.

I am published in Military Law Review, Army Lawyer, Army, Progressive Farmer, Gulf Coast Cattleman, The Lion, and Country (where I was a “country editor” for ten years). Currently, I pen a weekly political op-ed piece for the Brenham Banner Press.

Jeannine and I are now enjoying our golden years on property in Washington County, Texas, that has been in my family since the Civil War. My grandfather and father were born here, so here is where it started and where it will will end.