Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up—The Six Flags Of Texas

Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. TPA members are citizen-bloggers working for a better Texas.

(Above–The Six Flags of Texas. You can find our more about these flags and about everything Texas from the Texas State Historical Society. The TSHS publishes The Texas Almanac every two years. In additon to the online resources the Almanac provides, I buy each new edition of the print version.)

Every Texan and every American has the ability to attend a public meeting, attend or organize a protest, write or call an elected official, talk to friends and family, start a blog, donate money, write a letter to the editor, volunteer for candidates and causes, engage in acts of civil disobedience, and to run for public office.

The work of freedom and justice is up to each of us.

Here is the round-up—

Off the Kuff notes that we are now up to six school finance lawsuits.

BossKitty at TruthHugger sings back to the choir; you know, that small loud minority willing to sacrifice everybody else to satisfy their selfish rhetoric. Is crazy weather really a liberal conspiracy?

Resources To Learn About Texas—175th Anniversary Of Texas Independence

Today marks the 175th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto.  This was the battle in which Texas Independence was won from Mexico.

To mark the day, Hamburger Wearing An Astros’ Hat is trying to use some Republic of Texas currency to buy a book of Texas history. Hamburger is a member of the Texas Liberal Panel of Experts.

While many conservative Texans might wish that this currency was still valid, I may have  to spot Hamburger a few real dollars to buy the book.

It should be recalled that most Texans at the time wanted Texas to join the federal union as a state.

Below are some resources to learn more about Texas.

Everybody has the ability to learn for themselves about the subjects they view as important in life. The resources to learn about the world are all around us, and are accessible with effort and imagination.

Lone Star Nation–The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence by H.W. Brands will tell you all you need to know about how Texans won independence from Mexico.

Texas: A Modern History by David McComb is short and readable history of Texas history all the way up to the current century.

The Texas Almanac is simply one of the best reference books I own on any topic. The Almanac is published by the Texas State Historical Society.

(The budget of the Texas State Historical Society is under attack from Governor Rick Perry and Republicans in Texas. Is this how we should honor Texas history?) 

The Handbook of Texas Online is very comprehensive on many aspects of Texas both past and present. The Handbook is also published by the Texas Historical Society.

Here is the link for San Jacinto Museum.  You can see the San Jacinto battlefield at this site.

Here is the link to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville.

December 29 Marks Another Year Of Texas Statehood In Our Federal Union

Today is the 165th anniversary of Texas Statehood.  Texas became a state on December 29, 1845.

(Above–Texas State Capitol. As you see, the U.S. Flag flies above the Texas State Flag. Photo by Daniel Mayer.)

Here are some basic facts about Texas from the excellent Texas Almanac.

While our Governor, Rick Perry, has engaged in seditious talk about Texas leaving our federal union, Texas is one of the 50 states of the United States of America.

In aggressively promoting a so-called states rights agenda, the Governor shows a historical fondness for the Southern lost cause of slavery and for the Apartheid like brutality of Jim Crow.

Loyal Texans see no conflict between seeing what is best about the many contributions Texas has made to our nation, and, at the same time, being part of our great nation.

(The San Jacinto Battlefield Monument and the USS Texas battleship in LaPorte, Texas.  LaPorte is just outside of Houston. Texas independence was won in 1836 at San Jacinto. The monument and the battleship are well worth a visit. Photo by Louis Vest.)

There are many fine resources to learn about Texas.

Lone Star Nation–The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence by H.W. Brands will tell you all you need to know about how Texans won independence from Mexico.

Texas: A Modern History by David McComb is short and readable history of Texas history all the way up to the current century.

The Texas Almanac is simply one of the best reference books I own on any topic. The Almanac is published by the Texas State Historical Society.

The Handbook of Texas Online is very comprehensive on many aspects of Texas both past and present. The Handbook is also published by the TSHS.

I’m certain there are many additional quality resources about our state.

Congratulations to all Texans for being lucky enough to live in a state that is justifiably famous all around the world, and that is also a proud part of our union.

(Below—The President of the United States of America.)