TPA Roundup 7/2/2012

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for some fireworks as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff disputed the notion that Rick Perry would be doing better than Mitt Romney if he were the GOP Presidential nominee.

BossKitty at TruthHugger wonders where all the constitutional scholars are, and why they are so silent? Peamble to the US Constitution Violated.

While the Supreme Court delivered landmark case decisions earlier and later in the week, the two Texas Democrats battling for the nomination to the US Senate held a debate. They were overshadowed, as it turned out, for good reason. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs paid attention but really wishes he hadn’t.

The Democrats have to, in the minds of voters, turn Democrats back into the party of the people and the GOP back into the party of the rich and powerful. The winning won’t start again until that’s done, and that new governing coalition is built in Texas. WCNews at Eye on Williamson says that “Beer and Democracy“ is as good a place to start.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme isn’t surprised that the republican Supreme Court wants American Hispanics to carry citizenship papers. Yeah. Right.

At TexasKaos, lightseeker shines a light on the continuing assault on public education in Texas. Coupled with the nationwide exposure of the anti-criticial thinking plank in the state Republican platform, scary stuff indeed. Take a look: Killing Public Education in Texas with STAAR.

Neil at Texas Liberal posted a list of Fouth of July events in Houston, Galveston, Fort Bend County and College Station. This list information comes with a nifty Fourth of July reading list included for no extra charge.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog cheers the incredible rise of Asian Americans in the Texas Democratic Party while lamenting the failures of the Texas Democratic Party Convention’s Nominations Committee.

Texas History, week of July 2

Willie goes to Billy Bob’s for the Fourth of July

Billy Bob’s Texas announces the return of Willie Nelson’s Legendary 4th of July Picnic to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. The long-standing Texas tradition now in it’s 39th year will again be held outside and inside of the famed Billy Bob’s Texas. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 23rd. Willie’s picnic has been held in the Fort Worth Stockyards 4-times previously, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2011. This year’s setup will again feature the air-conditioned comfort of Billy Bob’s opening to the landscaped beauty of Rodeo Plaza in the Stockyards. Doors will open at 11:30 am with the first artist taking the stage at 12 noon.

Hood’s Texas Brigade joins battle at Gettysburg

July 02, 1863, Hood’s Texas Brigade became a major participant in the battle of Gettysburg. The brigade had been organized in 1861 in Richmond, Virginia. It was composed of the First, Fourth and Fifth Texas Infantry regiments, the only Texas troops to fight in the Eastern Theater. Col. John Bell Hood had been commander of the Fourth. On July 2, 1863, the brigade led the assault at Devils Den and Little Round Top, the crucial action of the second day of the battle. A soldier of the First Texas called the assault on Devil’s Den “one of the wildest, fiercest struggles of the war.” After routing the Union forces at the Devil’s Den, however, the brigade was unable to capture Little Round Top. A thirty-five-foot monument to the men of Hood’s Texas Brigade stands on the south drive of the Capitol in Austin.

Greatest manager in Texas League history born

July 02 1879, John Jacob (Jake) Atz, baseball player and manager, was born in Washington, D.C. He is generally considered the greatest baseball manager in Texas League history. He began his major-league playing career in 1902 with Washington of the American League and played for the Chicago White Sox in 1907-09. His major-league career ended when he was hit by a pitch thrown by Walter Johnson. Atz signed as a playing manager of the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League in 1914. He quit in 1916 but returned in 1917.
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Angry soldiers burn Fredericksburg store, destroying early Gillespie County records

July 02 1850, a mob of soldiers burned down the store of Fredericksburg merchant John M. Hunter, destroying all Gillespie County records up to that time. Hunter, the first Gillespie County clerk, had a violent temper and had clashed more than once with the soldiers at nearby Fort Martin Scott. On the night of June 30, Hunter had refused to sell whiskey to a soldier named Dole. When Dole became abusive, Hunter fatally stabbed him in the chest. Some fifty angry soldiers returned the next night, looking for Hunter, but the merchant had fled town.
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African-American bus franchise in Houston suburb is first in the South

July 02 1959, the state of Texas granted the first bus franchise in the South owned and operated by African Americans. The Acres Homes Transit Company served the predominantly black community of Acres Homes, nine miles southwest of downtown Houston. Living outside the city limits and without adequate public transportation, the residents petitioned the city hall for a permit to operate a suburban bus franchise. The AHTC had four buses that made forty-three round trips daily between downtown Houston and Acres Homes.

Oldest public hospital in Texas opens

July 03 1884, the City-County Hospital, the oldest public hospital in Texas, opened in Austin. The hospital was owned jointly by the city of Austin and Travis County until 1907, when the county withdrew its support. It was known as City Hospital until 1929, when the city council renamed it in honor of Dr. Robert J. Brackenridge, who had served as chairman of the hospital board and worked for many years toward improving medical care in Austin. Brackenridge Hospital offered Austin’s first intercranial and open-heart surgery in 1948 and 1961. The city’s first intensive-care unit opened there in 1960, its first cardiac-care unit in 1971, and its first alternative birth center in 1978. In addition, the Brackenridge Emergency Room is the regional trauma center for a ten-county area. Brackenridge also housed the area’s first nursing school, which was established in 1915 and operated by the hospital until 1984, when Austin Community College assumed responsibility for the program. After beginning an education program for interns and residents after World War II, Brackenridge became a fully accredited teaching hospital in the mid-1950s.

Convention considers annexation

July 04 1845, the convention to consider the joint resolution of the United States Congress proposing the annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States assembled in Austin. Thomas Jefferson Rusk was elected president of the convention, and James H. Raymond was secretary. By a vote of fifty-five to one, the delegates approved the offer of annexation. Richard Bache of Galveston was the lone dissenter. Subsequently, the convention prepared the Constitution of 1845 for the new state. Rusk appointed several committees to examine legislative, executive, judicial, and general provisions of the constitution, as well as a committee of five to prepare convention rules. Of the fifty-seven delegates elected to the convention, eighteen were originally from Tennessee, eight from Virginia, seven from Georgia, six from Kentucky, and five from North Carolina. Considered the most able body of its kind ever to meet in Texas, the convention included men of broad political experience such as Thomas J. Rusk, James Pinckney Henderson, Isaac Van Zandt, Hardin R. Runnels, Abner S. Lipscomb, Nicholas H. Darnell, R. E. B. Baylor, and José Antonio Navarro. The convention adjourned on August 28, 1845.

Governor Pease launches Callahan expedition

July 05 1855, Governor Elisha Pease authorized James Hughes Callahan to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico for the alleged purpose of punishing Apache Indians who raided in Texas and then fled to Mexico. The expedition may have been an attempt by Texas slaveholders to capture runaway slaves who were being permitted to settle in Mexico. Governor Santiago Vidaurri of Nuevo León y Coahuila had rebuffed the slaveholders’ emissary and ordered his troops to prepare for invasion. Callahan crossed into Mexico on October 1-2 and encountered a Mexican detachment at the Rio Escondito near Piedras Negras. There were casualties on both sides. Callahan retreated to Piedras Negras, captured the town, and burned it. American forces across the river covered his retreat. Historians have long argued about the real purpose of the operation. In 1876 the Claims Commission settled claims originating from the expedition, awarding 150 Mexican citizens a total of $50,000 in damages.

July 03

Natural Bridge Caverns, largest in Texas, opens to public (1964)
Oldest public hospital in Texas opens (1884)
Generous curandero dies in South Texas (1907)

July 04

Convention considers annexation (1845)
Willie goes to Luckenbach for the Fourth of July (1995)
First train to Brownsville touches off Kingsville celebration (1904)

July 05

Texas’s first licensed pilot dies (1956)
Governor Pease launches Callahan expedition (1855)
Margaret Borland dies of “trail fever” (1873)

July 06

Order of the Sons of Hermann founded (1861)
Wealthiest antebellum planter dies (1878)
Dr Pepper incorporates (1923)
Civil rights leader Lulu White dies (1957)

July 07

New republic staves off old adversary (1842)
Gritten keeps Gonzales loyal to Mexico (1835)
Border businesswoman attends ceremony at Big Bend National Park (1960)
New port of Velasco officially opens (1891)

Posted by bosskitty July 2nd, 2012 | Tags: Politics, Texas Blogs, Texas History, Texas Progessive Alliance, TPA Roundup | Category: Politics, Texas Blogs, Texas Democratic Party, Texas Democrats, Texas History, Texas Progressive Alliance, TPA | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL

Think-Buzz.com:
July 8th, 2012 at 9:00 am

“No Future We Want Without the Ocean We Need”…

Climate Change, Conferences, Environment, Headlines, Natural Resources, United Nations, World, Yeosu World Expo At this Bonaire reef, the olive-green coral is alive, but the mottled-gray coral is dead. Credit: Living Oceans Foundation/IPSUNITED NATIONS…