Abilene paradox management expert Jerry B. Harvey in his 1974 article "The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement". The name of the phenomenon comes from an anecdote that Harvey uses in the article to elucidate the paradox: Ronald Sims writes that the Abilene paradox is similar to groupthink, but differs in significant ways, including that in groupthink individuals are not acting contrary to their conscious wishes and generally feel good about the decisions the group has reached. According to Sims, in the Abilene paradox, the individuals acting contrary to their own wishes are more likely to have negative feelings about the outcome.
Republic of Texas (group) originated by Gary Painter, the sheriff of Midland County, and including officials from some sixty West Texas counties. In a case involving Richard McLaren and his wife Evelyn as plaintiffs, a United States District Court in the District of Columbia ruled, on April 30, 1998: "Despite plaintiffs' argument ... [i]n 1845, Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America. The Republic of Texas no longer exists." In 2003, what remained of the organized movement consolidated into one dominant group recognizing an "interim" government (which replaced the "provisional" government), headed by Daniel Miller. This interim government claimed authority