Don't you live in Texas? Definitely not NM where that is the case. I do, but I'm still a traditionalist when it comes to chili; I have a handful of chili recipes that came from some San Antonio chili queens, and another handful of chili recipes from pre-WWII Mexican restaurants, all of which contain zero tomatoes. Funny, I would have thought you would have argued no beans more than no tomatoes. Obviously a lot of regional variants, but nonetheless what they all should have in common is NO Chili Powder. That stuff is god awful. Chili Powder = Ew Chile Powder = Yummy Beans seem to be somewhat common in the traditional recipes I have, actually