Free Republic

SAN ANTONIO - Texas Freedom Force Militia group has taken Thursday night's vandalism into their own hands and are standing guard while armed with rifles and shotguns out in front of the Alamo Cenotaph

As our President finally engages the Democrats on their desire to cut and run in Iraq, much of George W. Bush's philosophy can be found in the words of another plain spoken American hero...Davy Crockett.. I've excerpted a few of his finest quotes for your enjoyment. It'd be wonderful if VP Cheney trotted out a few of these this morning, as he lays the heavy lumber to the spineless Democrats in Cingress..

I saw "The Alamo" tonight. I went in with an open mind, having read the comments posted on here as well as on the 'Net in general. Though I'm no authority on the subject, I found the movie to be relatively true to actual historical events. Yes, with any Hollywood production, you're gonna see some artistic license taken...and there were a few that were taken here that shouldn't have been taken. There has been on on-going debate for the few decades over whether Davy Crockett was killed in the fighting or whether he was captured alive and then executed. Because...

Associated PressAlamo visitors check out the restored 1834 portrait of Davy Crockett. SAN ANTONIO - Davy Crockett has returned to the Alamo, but visitors to the shrine of Texas independence say the frontiersman's oil-and-canvas version appeared kinder and gentler than his rough frontier image. The restored 1834 painting of Crockett has not hung in the Alamo since 1977. Observers during an informal morning ceremony Tuesday said they were surprised to see Crockett's delicate looks. Crockett was likely 47 when he sat for the portrait by artist John Gadsby Chapman two years before the Tennessee statesman's death at the famous...

SOCKDOLAGER As a basis for my belief in the lack of Constitutionality of federal welfare programs, I use the following story about Davy Crockett when he was a member of the House of Representatives. Being a Texan, I have a great deal of respect for anyone who fought at the Alamo! Take care and God bless, HowardP A Tale of Davy Crockett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A "sockdolager" is a knock-down blow. This is a newspaper reporter's captivating story of his unforgettable encounter with the old "Bear Hunter" from Tennessee. From The Life of Colonel David Crockett, by Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphia: Porter...

This is chapter 12 of a book titled The Freedom Philosophy published in 1988 by The Foundation for Economic Education. This story by and about Davy Crockett is taken from The Life of Colonel David Crockett, complied by Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphia; Porter & Coates, 1884). Holders of political office are but reflections of the dominant leadership-good or bad-among the electorate. Horatio Bunce is a striking example of responsible citizenship. Were his kind to multiply we would see many new faces in public offices, or, as in the case of Davy Crockett, a new Crockett. One day in the House...

A simmering dispute over planned renovations to the Alamo erupted into a war of words between two Republican elected state officials this week. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined critics of Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who is overseeing the controversial Alamo redesign plan. Patrick accused Bush of broadly labeling detractors as “liars and racists.” Bush said Patrick twisted his words in what he labeled a “dangerous mistake.”{snip} In a Dec. 10 post, Range wrote that Bush intends to put up a statue of Antonio López de Santa Anna, the president who led Mexican troops against the defenders of the Alamo,...

Someone sent me a Chuck Norris fact that says: “Had Chuck Norris been present at the Battle of the Alamo, the southern border of Texas would be extended a few thousand miles to Guatemala.” I don’t know about that, but I can tell you I’ve found some of my greatest heroes at that Texan O.K. Corral. Sunday, Feb. 24, marks the anniversary of the day in 1836 that those Alamo defenders called for assistance. Colonel William Travis sent out that call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo, the old Spanish mission and fortress in the...

The San Antonio City Council approved a $450 million redevelopment plan for the Alamo, marking a new chapter for the nearly 300-year-old site. The council voted for the proposal on Thursday, signing off on disputed changes, including moving the 1930s Cenotaph memorial, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The vote comes after months of debate by city officials and residents over elements of the redevelopment plan, such as closing streets to vehicle traffic, moving the Cenotaph, and using fences or barriers to control public access. The council approved a 50-year lease that gives the Texas General Land Office management and control...

The Texas State Board of Education appears to have decided the heroism of the Alamo is worth teaching to students after all. State politicians erupted in protest this month after a volunteer team of educators, looking for ways to “streamline” the state’s social studies curriculum, recommended scrubbing references to “all the heroic defenders” at the Alamo from classroom teaching plans. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both Republicans, accused the panel of allowing the dictates of political correctness to run wild and demanded that Texans call the board to complain. Rep. Ted Poe showed up personally before the...

Generations of Texans have rightly drawn inspiration and strength from the heroes of the Alamo – the brave men who fought to the death to defend the battle-scarred mission in San Antonio in 1836 in the fight for Texas’ independence from Mexico. These freedom fighters are a symbol of valor for all Americans. It is bizarre, then, that an advisory group recommended to the Texas Board of Education that it remove the words “all the heroic defenders” from the state’s social studies curriculum describing the men who gave their lives at the Alamo. The Board of Education was holding a...

A panel advising the State Board of Education on what seventh-graders should learn in their social studies courses has urged deleting the label "heroic" from a curriculum standard about the Alamo's defenders.---snip---The panel said "heroic" was a "value-charged word."---snip---Current seventh-grade social studies curriculum standards include the "siege of the Alamo and all of the heroic defenders who gave their lives there." The advisory committee recommended cutting the phrase "and all of the heroic defenders who gave their lives there."---snip---Debbie Ratcliffe, spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, said the recommendation was made in response to complaints that curriculum standards are too...

Nearly 100 people turned up to discuss a proposed Alamo plan at a public meeting that became heated Monday night... "We’re already in the first minute on our conversation, and I’m already hearing booing. It can’t happen that way,” Brockhouse said. Members of the design team addressed the group, which sometimes jeered as the consultants acknowledged being from outside of Texas... Earlier in the day, singer Phil Collins, who has donated his collection of artifacts to the Alamo, was in San Antonio for unveiling of bronze models depicting the evolution of the mission and military fortress over more than a...

Texans go to the polls for primary elections on March 6, the same date is also the 182nd anniversary of the fall of the Alamo. Normally, they would not be connected but this year they are in one of the hottest primary races in Texas. Incumbent Land Commissioner George P. Bush is fighting off a blast from the past. His predecessor, Jerry Patterson, wants his job back in part because of a needed but controversial revamp of the historical site. Specifically, whether to move the cenotaph – the gravestone of the Alamo defenders...Bush and his campaign team didn’t grant us...

Bush is overseeing a $450 million plan to redevelop and improve the site, featuring things like a new museum housed in nearby state-owned buildings and additional historic programming. A mix of public money and private donations is meant to cover the cost. But the report obtained by the newspaper, dated Sept. 8, notes that "the current situation obscures the control of the funds. It also has created a situation where GLO is responsible for state laws over the use of funds, but with limited control since the expenditures are prior to approval by the GLO." GLO spokeswoman Brittany Eck said...

That's why it was so notable when Bush did himself absolutely no favors on a video conference call Wednesday with supporters of his father's presidential campaign, which has failed to catch on with Republicans in a crowded field.

San Antonio's traditional Alamo Plaza tree-lighting ceremony will relocate families to Travis Park on Friday, but the cheer is continuing at the original spot -- thanks to a (now-not so) secret elf. Over the weekend, locals and tourists seemed happy to spot an 18-inch tree standing small but proud in front of the Alamo. No one knew how the little tree got there, but they crouched beside it and posted photos on Facebook and Instagram. And that elf -- he isn't done yet. The tree stood in the exact spot a much bigger tree usually stands during the holiday season...

The Second Battle of the Alamo A second Texas Revolution is currently brewing in the Lone Star State. This all comes as a result of a seemingly laudable plan promoted to and passed by the state’s legislature some four years ago. The plan involved the rebuilding and improvement of the state’s most iconic shrine—the Alamo. The plan as promoted and approved would have rebuilt certain historic structures present at the time of the 1836 battle, as well as give visitors there a better and more complete understanding of the physical environment existing at the time of the conflict. Consequent to...

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is foisting upon the people of Texas a horrible and disrespectful plan for the Alamo. He has consistently thwarted or ignored every objection by the citizens of this State and all attempts to stop it.The current plan for the Alamo is a looming disaster that must be prevented.

181 years ago, March 6, 1836, the Alamo garrison fell, and the fortress that had been a mission became a shrine. Francisco Antonio Ruiz was the Acalde (mayor) of San Antonio. He was an eyewitness to the events of that day. Twenty-four years later, in 1860, Don Poncho (as Ruiz was known), recounted what he had seen for the Texas Almanac. Below is his account in full. Remember the Alamo! Fall of the Alamo, and Massacre of Travis and His Brave Associates by Francisco Antonio Ruiz Translated by J. A. Quintero On the 6th of March at 3 a.m. General...