Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up With Map Of Spanish Missions In Texas

Below is the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The Texas Progressive Alliance is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

Above is a map of where Spanish Missions were located in Texas between 1659 and 1795.  Here is information and history about Spanish Missions in Texas from the very good Handbook of Texas Online.

From the Handbook—“The Spanish mission was a frontier institution that sought to incorporate indigenous people into the Spanish colonial empire, its Catholic religion, and certain aspects of its Hispanic culture through the formal establishment or recognition of sedentary Indian communities entrusted to the tutelage of missionaries under the protection and control of the Spanish state.”

The round-up–

Off the Kuff takes a look at the latest Lyceum poll on the Governor and Senate races in Texas.

Neil at Texas Liberal suggests that instead of blowing of your fingers lighting fireworks–during a drought in Harris County no less—that maybe you would be better off reading a book instead.

With 2010 spinning up, it’s funny to watch all the different players already on the field line up to take their first hits. McBlogger, of course, thinks they’re all deeply in need of a little advice which he graciously provides (with surprisingly sparse use of profanity)!

WCNews & Dembones at Eye On Williamson post on the latest controversy involving the Williamson County Commissioners Court, Budget officer not just a good idea, it’s the law.

John at Bay Area Houston says Turn out the lights, the family values party is over.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chismethinks online Texas Republican commentary on Mark Sanford is interesting.

The similarities between Mark Sanford and Ray Bolger (as the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz”)are just too weird, notes PDidde at Brains and Eggs.

The wise men are willing to pay a tax on their favorite junk food to pay for health care reform.

WhosPlayin.com Video bring you EXTREME Congressional Town Hall – Special “Losing our freedoms” edition, sponsored by Prozac.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw calls our attention to Confessions of a Former Health Insurance Exec: “We Dump the Sick”. Who knew? All the posturing , hypocritical , offers of self-reform and insurance relief are just so much bogus cover up for an industry too greedy to ever be trusted to regulate themselves!

The Texas Cloverleaf discusses gay pride, bar raids, and millions of gays marching in DFW this past weekend during the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.

Burnt Orange Report covers TX-10 Congressional candidate Jack McDonald’s campaign expansion in the Austin area.

Texas Vox reports on Texas’ record setting energy consumptionand the need for renewable peak energy over boring old baseload from coal, gas, and nuclear.