All across the great state of Texas, we have witnessed the incredible treasures preserved within libraries, in our schools, public buildings, historical societies, museums, and universities. Those who have traveled to our state Capitol have witnessed the beautiful monuments of eras of Civil War, Texas Revolution, and heroes to the great state of Texas. In county libraries in rural Texas, were the records of families who settled that land back in the early 1800’s, and at the Alamo you have seen and read William B Travis’s “Victory or Death” letter. All of these monuments, forts, libraries & archives, serve to preserve our heritage. They are a record of who and what we are. Sadly, though, most times we lose these treasures not by fire, flood, or willful destruction but by simple neglect or the ignorance of a few. History comes alive when someone is able to not only read about the past, but is also able to visit the places, examine the artifacts, touch it, appreciate the images and monuments, study the actual words of great men who came before us. For most people, history starts with simply learning about their family or their community. A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies — all of the things that quite literally make us who we are. History is not something obscure or unimportant. History plays a vital role in our everyday lives. We learn from our past in order to achieve greater influence over our future. History serves as a model not only of who and what we are to be, we learn what to champion and what to avoid. Everyday decision-making around the world is constantly based on what came before us. Why? BECAUSE OUR TEXAS HISTORY MATTERS. It is extremely important that we fight to preserve and save our Texas History from those who seek to destroy it and then try to rewrite it. This Is Texas Freedom Force has spent our entire existence fighting to save it. We eat, breathe and sleep Texas History. Sure national & state wide politics, our right to bear arms, first amendment rights, the right to life, and all of our rights are important to fight for. The majority of people would rather fight for or fight amongst themselves for/on these issues, but if we don’t fight to save our Texas History we will lose who we are, and in turn, lose our rights. Take for example, if we didn’t remember the Battle of Gonzales and those brave men who fought against the tyrannical dictator Santa Anna, we would forget that our right to bear arms is granted to us by God, not the government. This is just one example. Example 2, if we had forgot the Battle of the Alamo and those brave souls who fought against tyranny, even though they were outnumbered but still fought to the death for liberty, freedom and Texas, well, we may not have the appetite we have to fight for Texas, against any odds, and Texas might look something more New Mexico or Commiefornia. History is important to remember! It’s shapes us, molds us, and makes us who we are today. As long as This Is Texas Freedom Force is around, we will fight to preserve and protect our history. This way Texas’s future generations will be able to hold their heads high, knowing they came from a long line of brave Texans who were willing to stand for what we believed in. Whether it’s today (2020) talking about the Battle of the Alamo, or in the year 3020 talking about the stand that Texans made to protect the Alamo Cenotaph, they will know that that the same spirit of Texans, that rose from the ashes of San Jacinto, hasn’t died and was still alive and well in Texans today. God bless Texas! PROTECT TEXAS HISTORY THIS IS TEXAS FREEDOM FORCE "Protectors Of All Things Texas TxFreedomForce.org Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or here on our web site. Those who do not know history, are doomed to repeat it."
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Controversy has dogged the Reimagine The Alamo Plan ever since it started. After reviewing the Master Plan by team “Reimagine the Alamo” to significantly improve the visitor experience at Texas’ most historic and cherished site, it’s became clear that the state of Texas and the city of San Antonio are demonstrating to the nation and the world why you should never entrust an historic site to politicians and bureaucrats. Since 2017 when the plan was made public Texans have been largely skeptical and unreceptive to the proposals. Instead of fostering enthusiasm and pride, the public is expressing shock and angst. The Texas Legislature provided funds for upgrading the plaza after viewing the concepts of the creators of the Alamo Plaza Project. The money was intended to repair and preserve the Alamo Church, to reclaim (as much as possible) the “footprint” of the Alamo, and restore certain structures and walls such as the Low Barracks/Main Gate, Crockett’s Palisade, and much of the west wall, including Travis’ headquarters. But the spirit and intent expressed by the Texas legislature was set aside for a different direction — an alternate vision as laid out in the “Reimagine the Alamo” Master Plan. After evaluation of the master plan, it made Texans wonder if it was designed by a landscaping team from Better Homes and Gardens instead of Texas Historians. Of course that blame solely falls on the shoulders of George P Bush and the City of San Antonio. Instead of focusing on and presenting the most compelling moment in Texas history, the master planners opt for a presentation that diminishes the sacrifice made by those who perished in the famous battle in preference for a memorial park where people can gather, lounge in the shade, cool their toes, and take pictures. This is not how we interpret and present our nation’s historic battlefields. This Is Texas Freedom Force has been fighting the Reimagine the Alamo Plan since mid 2017. Since the beginning our primary objective is to ensure the #AlamoCenotaph stays in its original location. Our commitment and determination to save the 60 ft. high 40 ft. long #AlamoCenotaph located in front of the Alamo has inspired thousands of Texans from all across the state, to keep the memorial from being moved/removed. Texans should question whether or not the perceived benefits of moving the Cenotaph some 500 feet South to a new location in front of the Menger Hotel are worth the costs and very real possibility that this priceless work of art by renowned sculptor Pompeo Coppini might be destroyed in the process of being dismantled and moved. Then there is question WHY? Why is it so important for the City of San Antonio and George P Bush to move the Alamo Cenotaph? Most of yall know that the Cenotaph's sculpture Pompeo Coppini picked this location out for several reasons. One, the cenotaph sits in the exact center of the entire Alamo Footprint. Two, Coppini wanted the sun to rise and set on the figures (Davy Crockett, William B Travis, J Bowie, etc.) on the side of the cenotaph. Last but not least the Alamo Cenotaph sits on the Alamo Footprint. If George P Bush and the City of San Antonio get their way the cenotaph will sit off of the Alamo Footprint. When This Is Texas Freedom Force attended a private meeting with District 1 City Councilman Roberto Trevino and Reimagine The Alamo Engineers, the question was brought up "Why does the Cenotaph have to be moved". Immediately the meeting was shut down and no answer was given. Trevino's response was, "We can schedule another meeting to answer that question". After several attempts by TITFF directors to set up that meeting, it was made clear that no meeting will take place to answer that question. What is the City of San Antonio hiding? Why can't they answer this question? There is much speculation that the plan is to start work on the cenotaph and have a "Ooops moment" where they damage the cenotaph. Then the city will claim they don't have the money to repair it, and it will sit in a dark, damp warehouse indefinitely, just like they did with the Travis Park Monument. Some believe this is an attempt to rewrite history, others believe this about money. Whatever the case, we cannot give them an inch ( #NotOneInch), if we do, they are likely to dishonor the empty tomb of the Alamo Defenders. There is renewed hope to save the cenotaph since Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke up and criticized George P Bush's handling of the Reimagine the Alamo Project. 184 years ago tomorrow, brave men fought and died to save the Alamo. It was a battle that changed the course of history for Texas, the United States and the world. Now it is time for Texans to come together to fight for it again. How can I help to save the Alamo Cenotaph?
There are a few ways, you as Texans, can help us save the Alamo Cenotaph. First, please take a few minutes out your life to call or write Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and ask him to ask Governor Greg Abbott to call a special session so that a #MonumentProtectionBill can be passed. This will stop the City of San Antonio and George P Bush from ram rodding their Alamo Master Plan down the throats of Texans. This Is Texas Freedom Force has been visiting Senators, House Members and Legislators, gaining their support, and we are prepared to hit the ground running with a Monument Protection Bill. We fully believe we have enough support from both Republicans and Democrats to get this bill passed. LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK 1-512-463-0001 PO BOX 12068 AUSTIN, TX 78711 ( you can be linked directly to his email by clicking on the box below) Secondly, there is a Texas Historical Commission Meeting in Houston, TX on March 24, 2020. At the first meeting, there were only about 10 people who showed up to speak on behalf of the Alamo Cenotaph. Despite the low turnout, the Commission kicked the can down the road to be decided in March. If we can pack the meeting with hundreds of Texans, it is likely that we will be able to convince the Texas Historical Commission to stop them from moving the Alamo Cenotaph. The address and other information about the meeting is posted on both our This Is Texas Freedom Force Facebook event and on our web site colander. This will likely be the last meeting where the public can speak out against the moving/removing of the Alamo Cenotaph. Please come out and take a stand for Texas History! TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 24, 2020 2900 SAGE ROAD HOUSTON, TEXAS 9:00AM Last but not least contact your representative and ask them to join our Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in demanding a special session be called. The more push Patrick gets, the better our chances to stop the City of San Antonio and George P Bush from moving/removing the Alamo Cenotaph. These are our best options at this time. Yes, there are lawsuits out there, but these lawsuits will have little effect, if any at all. Remember, the lawsuits filed on other monuments haven't ended well (except for one). When Trevino was provided the deed to the Alamo Cenotaph, which said that the space could not be used for anything but the cenotaph, Trevino laughed and said," Our lawyers will find a way around it". We have to remember that the City of San Antonio has a lot of money, to pay top lawyers, and eventually get the lawsuits dismissed. Not to mention Texans have no clue where the bulk of the $450 million dollars allotted to the Reimagine The Alamo Project has gone. So please make a call or email our Lt. Gov. and attend the March 24th Texas Historical Commission Meeting. The fight to save the Alamo Cenotaph continues in 2020 and there is a lot to be excited about. On March 3, 2020 (and during early voting) Texans who voted on the Republican Ballot saw Proposition 7 concerning the Alamo and the Alamo Cenotaph. PROP 7 Over 90% of conservative Texans voted yes on Prop 7, saying "Leave the Alamo Cenotaph and our Texas Monuments alone". Never before has the bulk of Texans had a say in the matter. Sure TITFF and others have ran petitions, asking people to sign the petitions "Don't move the cenotaph", but those petitions only produced about 10,000 signatures. Prop 7 allowed the majority of conservative Texans to have their say, over 1,282,180 voted "Yes" and only just over 37,976 conservative Texans voted "No". Some speculation has occurred that some Texans were confused by the phrasing of the question, and they would have voted "Yes" if they better understood the question. Immediately following the vote, TITFF Directors started blowing up Lt Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott's social media feeds asking, "What are you going to do to stop the cenotaph from being moved?" Late that same night on March 3, 2020 Lt Gov Dan Patrick posted this comment on Twitter. This was great news for Texans! For over 3 years TITFF has tried to grasp the attention of Dan Patrick concerning the Alamo Cenotaph. Now we have his attention! TITFF continued to tag Patrick in Twitter post, hounding him, asking "What are you going to do about the Alamo Cenotaph?" We never heard anything back on Twitter, but we continued sending him tweets. Finally today, March 5, 2020, Lt Gov. Dan Patrick spoke up and released this statement... There is no disagreement that the Cenotaph needs repair, but there has been substantial disagreement on its final location. I have yet to hear a good explanation of why the Cenotaph must be moved. In the Republican Primary on Tuesday, nearly 98% of voters supported Proposition 7, which would prohibit the removal of historic monuments in Texas, including the Cenotaph. This issue now seems to be settled. We are excited and hopeful now that Texans have gotten Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's attention, but the big question is what is he going to do about it? The City of San Antonio (under the leadership of Mayor Ron Nirenberg & D1 Councilman Roberto Trevino) wanted to start moving the Alamo Cenotaph back in December of 2019. A HDRC ruling kicked the can down the road a bit, and the Texas Historical Commission ruling kicked the can down the road even further. We all know Trevino was licking his lips and chomping at the bit to get this plan started in April, but hopefully Lt Gov Dan Patrick will put a stop to this himself or let the people of Texas vote on the issue all together in November (both Democrats & Republicans). We need to apply pressure to Patrick and let him know words are cheap, we want to see action. One last thing to remember, we still need Texans to turn out in force for the next Texas Historical Commission Meeting in Houston, Tx on March 24, 2020. With all this new info out, we should be able to convince the THC to put a halt to the Reimagine The Alamo Project, more specifically stop the moving of the Alamo Cenotaph. Please put this date in your calendars, come prepared to speak, and lets finish what we started! #NotOneInch
March 24, 2020 9:00am Courtyard by Marriot 2900 Sage Road Houston, Texas 77056 |
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