|
PROTECTORS OF ALL THINGS TEXAS
TITFF NEWS
|
|
 On Dec 18, 2019 the Historic Design and Review Commission (HDRC) voted 7-4 to implement phase 1 of the massive re-development of Alamo Plaza, a plan that includes relocating the Alamo Cenotaph. This basically gave the green light to the city of San Antonio to start moving the Alamo Cenotaph. The City of San Antonio has said that they intend to start work on the plaza in December 2019. This Is Texas Freedom Force (TITFF) members/supporters and Texans from all over packed the HDRC meeting room, there was standing room only. All but 3 people spoke out against relocating the Alamo Cenotaph, but it fell on mostly def ears. This was the last public meeting that the citizens of Texas will be able to speak in opposition of the Re-Imagine The Alamo Plan concerning the Alamo Cenotaph. The first phase of the planned $450 million makeover of Alamo Plaza could begin as early as December 2019, starting with moving the 1930's Alamo Cenotaph and converting the South part of the plaza into a shady, expanded pedestrian space." TITFF and Texans have attended Alamo Meetings since 2017, pouring our hearts out, speaking against the plan to relocate the Alamo Cenotaph. The time for talk is over, now, we as Texans, must act in order to be heard. A wise man once said," When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps". Texans, it is time to put boots on the ground. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time". A few weeks ago TITFF was approached by a reliable source, that showed us proof the City of San Antonio were set to start work on the Alamo Cenotaph on Dec 28, 2019 (equipment would be set up on Dec 27th, with work to begin on the Dec 28th). The channels that we were watching, to stay on top of this information, went dark as of Monday evening (Dec 16th). We are no longer able to monitor this information. The City of San Antonio (COSA) has a history of doing this and removing monuments in the dead of night. The last monument they removed, which isn't half the size of the Alamo Cenotaph, was damaged and the time capsule was subjected to rain, thus destroying a lot of what was in it. We must try to stop the COSA from destroying the Alamo Cenotaph. On December 27, 2019, high noon (12pm), Texans from all over the state will make our move, and stop the COSA from starting their effort to move the Alamo Cenotaph. A Facebook event titled "Re-Defend The Alamo" has been made to relay important details to Texans. Click on the button below to be directed to the event. Because the COSA is known for doing their dirty work in the cover of darkness, we will be staying until Dec 28, 2019, maybe longer if need be. If thousands of Texans show up to this event on the 27th, we should accomplish our objective by the 28th. If only 50 of us show up, well as Doc Greene put it," We will only be able to witness the destruction of our beloved monument, the Alamo Cenotaph. What's your objective? There are 2 objectives, we aim to accomplish, by holding this event. Objective 1, which is obvious, to surround the Alamo Cenotaph and stop the COSA from moving forward with their plan (not allow the cranes to get anywhere near the Alamo Cenotaph). Objective 2, is stir up enough noise, with thousands of Texans, to force Lt Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott to step in and say," Let's hold off on relocating the Alamo Cenotaph until (A) Texans get to vote on this issue or (B) allow the Texas Legislators to open public discussion and make a decision. TITFF will be sending out a press release to over 20 media outlets, asking them to cover the event, so that the voices of Texans are heard across the state. In addition to that, the thousands of Texans in attendance can live stream video from their personal Facebook, Youtube and Twitter pages, as well as their organizations' pages, to help word spread around the state. Texans, we are drawing a line in the sand, just like Col William B Travis, will you cross the line?  SUPPLIES AND SUPPLY DROPS Since we will be staying at the Alamo Cenotaph for over 24 hours (Dec 27-28), supplies are real important. We advise Texans to bring their own supplies to sustain themselves over night (snacks, water, meds, etc). TITFF will have two supply drops, where Texans can donate supplies, 1 in Spring, Texas and the other in San Antonio, Texas. SUPPLY DROP #1 Dec 22, 2019 1pm-5pm Big Tex Dance Hall Parking Lot 20115 Holzwarth Rd Spring, Texas (look for the Texas Flags and the TITFF logo on the truck.) SUPPLY DROP #2 Dec 22, 2019 1pm-3pm Cowboys Dancehall Parking Lot 3030 NE Loop 410 San Antonio, Texas 78217 (look for the Texas Flags and TITFF logo on the trucks) If you cannot make it to the Supply Drops, you can donate on Paypal. You can scan the QR Code from the pic below, using your phones camera, to be directed to our paypal account. You can also go to Paypal.Me/TexasFreedomForce . From there TITFF will purchase previsions for the event. Please remember that all previsions donated need to be light and small because they have to be placed in backpacks and hauled out to the site.  EVENT DETAILS We will meet at the rally point ( 300 Ave E San Antonio, Texas) at 12 noon on Dec 27, 2019. After a brief discussion we will make our move. We intend to stay from 12pm Dec. 27, 2019 till 12pm Dec 28, 2019. We encourage Texans, Texas Organizations, III%ers, Oath Keepers, Militias, to attend the event. Remember, if we can get 1,000 people on site, we will be heard. If you will not stand for the Alamo, when will you ever stand? The weather will be cool during the day and cold at night. We highly advise people to come dressed in layers. You can always shed clothes on site if you get too hot, but it's better to have them there to stay warm. TITFF has already arranged a Hotel Room in the area that will be used as our command center. This will help us keep and eye on the site, any activity happening there, and any counter measures that the city might take. The location of our command center will not be disclosed, incase there is any opposition monitoring our site. We will be using the "Zello" app as a way to communicate in real time to all participants. You can download the Zello App on your phone for free. The channel we will be using and the password will remain undisclosed until participants arrive at the rally location. We would advise that you download the app early, get use to using it, so you do not have to learn on site. We are also looking into 2 way radios that can be used as a secondary form of communication. Doc Greene, from the Amazing Doc Greene Show, will be there to broadcast his show live from the Alamo Cenotaph. Also George "El Conservador" Rodriguez has confirmed he will be there to do his show from the Alamo Cenotaph as well. This will help spread the word from the Alamo Cenotaph. Open Carry.... TITFF is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. You can open carry or conceal carry to the event if you like. We do ask that any and all Texans thinking about carrying to the event, be fully aware of the consequences that could arise if you carry. So the choice is up to you. We will support you either way.  Texans, this is our last chance to protect the Alamo Cenotaph. Please spread the word and come prepared.
0 Comments
HERE ARE A FEW COMMENTS, FROM TEXANS, READ TO CITY COUNCIL AT THE CTHI MEETINGS
January of 2018 we knew the majority of San Antonio City Councilmembers were not listening. At every one of the CTBI Meetings, the majority of City Councilmembers were playing games or texting on their phones. We even caught, and took pictures of, D5 San Antonio City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales sleeping at 2 of the CTBI Meetings. We called her out on it, she denied it, but the photos/videos proved she was taking a "Santa Anna Siesta" during the CTBI Meetings. Other TITFF Members started bringing up the fact that Councilmembers were not listening to the people, they were more interested in their iPhones and iPads while constituents were addressing them. At this point TITFF Directors called a meeting to discuss a different tactic, because we weren't getting anywhere in the CTBI Meetings. We started scheduling meetings & meeting with Councilmembers one on one, to discuss the "Reimagine The Alamo Master Plan", but more importantly their plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph. It's important to note that D1 Councilman Roberto Trevino, D2 Councilman Cruz Shaw, D3 Councilwoman Rebecca J Viagran and D5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales refused to meet with members of TITFF . Other Councilmen were happy to meet with us, and 2 of the members of City Council (D9 John Courage, D10 Clayton Perry) told TITFF Directors/Members that we had won them over at the CTBI Meetings and they would vote "NO" on moving the Alamo Cenotaph. It was a small victory, but it gave us some encouragement to continue the fight. In 2018 TITFF Directors/Members attended a total of 89 Alamo Meetings (this includes CTBI Meetings, Alamo Trust Meetings, Alamo Endowment Board Meetings, Alamo Roadshow Meetings, Alamo Advisory Meetings, HDRC Meetings and others). It's important to point out that TITFF is the only organization that attending every single Alamo related meeting in 2018, other organizations attended some meetings, but TITFF never missed a single meeting. This is how important the Alamo and the Cenotaph is to us. TITFF Directors/Members have jobs, they have lives, but God bless every single one of them for showing up to represent the organization and our stance on the Alamo Cenotaph. #NotOneInch  Since D1 Councilman Roberto Trevino is the head of the Central Development Committee (which the Cenotaph sits in his district), and he heads up the Alamo Endowment Board, TITFF launched a recall effort in Jan 2018, to remove Trevino from office. We hoped that we could remove Trevino from office, which would give San Antonians an opportunity to elect someone who would stop the Alamo Cenotaph from being moved and most likely damaged. Not only that, but by recalling Trevino it would have sent a stern message to the rest of city council, possibly changing their minds to support the moving of the cenotaph. What we found, once we started the recall, was that the majority of citizens in Trevino's district were unhappy with the fact that Trevino had spent $68,000 tax payer dollars to paint a crosswalk rainbow, he spent $500,000 on a glorified port-o-potty in the Downtown area, he also used tax payer dollars to secure a location to build a monument to Salina (which looked like something from a junkyard), he spent all this money on these things yet many citizens in his district didn't have sidewalks or street lights in their neighborhoods. Another issue we found is there were pot holes knee deep in District 1, the citizens were tired of him misusing funds and they certainly were not happy to spend tax payer dollars moving the cenotaph while their neighborhood suffered and streets needed repairs. TITFF block walked and set up signing locations in D1, we got to talk to the people of D1 and they weren't happy with Trevino. The problem we ran into was man power. 4 TITFF Directors worked 60+ hours a week, about 8 members volunteered 2 or 3 hours a week, and that was all the help we received. Not one person from another organization came out to help with the recall effort. We had a chance to stop the Alamo Cenotaph from being moved, the people of D1 wanted Trevino gone for various reasons, but lack of volunteers hindered the effort and we lacked the desired amount of signatures to remove Trevino from office. Did we quit? Nope!  We started to see that we were getting nowhere with the San Antonio City Council, so we turned our attention to the State level. We still attended and spoke out at CTBI Meetings, but our focus was on the GLO race. In March 2018 TITFF hosted our annual "Remember The Alamo March", but this year we brought out every candidate for Texas General Land Office except for George P Bush. At the end of the march, we invited Davey Edwards, Andy Prior, Matt Pina, Rick Range and Jerry Patterson out to speak to Texans. Hundreds of Texans came out to pay their respects to our brave Alamo Defenders, who died for Texas, and to hear what each GLO candidate had to say about the "Reimagine The Alamo Plan". Every single GLO candidate said they would stop the Alamo Cenotaph from being moved, if they were elected. Unfortunately, not enough of Texans were paying attention. Between straight party ticket voting, Texans not paying attention, and the Bush name in the race, George P Bush won the primary. Later that year Matt Pina ran against George P Bush in the general election, yet again, Bush won the election and the Reimagine The Alamo Plan moved forward.
Unfortunately, not enough Texans were paying attention and this is what George P Bush, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and D1 Councilman Roberto Trevino were counting on. So throughout 2018 TITFF held an array of events/functions. In 2018 TITFF hosted numerous events at the Alamo Cenotaph, each with a minimum of 100 people in attendance. We participated in 3 parades across the state with our float themed "Protect Texas History". The Alamo was our float centerpiece, and at every parade we passed out literature about "Alamo Cenotaph". TITFF took home 1st place at one parade and 3rd place at another. TITFF hosted townhall style meetings in Amarillo, Houston, Waco, San Antonio, Dallas, Corpus Christi and El Paso, trying to educate Texans on what George P Bush and the City of San Antonio were going to do with the Alamo Cenotaph. TITFF worked at the Republican Convention, passing out information about the Reimagine The Alamo Plan, and helped pass plant 296 and 315( Plank 296 calls for the Alamo Cenotaph to not be moved & 315 had to do with protecting Texas Confederate Monuments)(2 of our TITFF Directors are Texas Delegates). George P Bush was booed at the convention, unfortunately not all politicians followed the plank passed by Texas Delegates. Last TITFF held our annual "Christmas At The Alamo" event, where we had Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and elves hand out free toys and take free photos in front of the Alamo Christmas Tree. While parents & kids were waiting in line to get their pic with Santa & Mrs. Claus, TITFF Members were handing out pamphlets about the Reimagine The Alamo plan, the Alamo Cenotaph, and explaining to them that they most likely will never get to do this again if the Reimagine The Alamo plan is passed.  In 2018, TITFF attended the City of San Antonio's vote on the Alamo Cenotaph and the Reimagine The Alamo Plan. Before the vote took place Councilman Brockhouse walked up to TITFF Directors and informed them he was going to vote "YES" on the plan. During the vote Councilman Brockhouse looked towards TITFF, sitting in the audience, and told us, "You guys won, you stopped the city of San Antonio from moving the Cenotaph off of Market Street, we are only moving it 500 feet now, you guys won" (The first plan was to move the Alamo Cenotaph off of Market Street which is blocks away from the Alamo, kind of a dark quiet corner where the Alamo Defenders wouldn't be in the way of George P Bush's, D1 Councilman Roberto Trevino's, Alamo CEO Douglas McDonald's and Mayor Ron Nirenberg's new narrative for the Alamo). Not one person from TITFF took this as a victory. A full victory for us would be the Alamo Cenotaph repaired in place and left standing in the center of the Alamo Footprint. Although no one was aloud to speak at the meeting, TITFF's President Brandon B and TITFF's Research Director Keri stood up and spoke out on behalf of Texans, both were escorted out of city hall. The City Council voted 8-2 to pass the Reimagine The Alamo Plan and our fight to save the Alamo Cenotaph from being moved had stopped in San Antonio, we had lost a critical battle, but the war was far from over.  In 2019 TITFF camped out at the Capitol Building in Austin, Texas. We took our directors, members and on a few occasions supporters to the capitol to talk to Senators, House Members as well as Legislators, trying to garner support for our monument protection bill SB1663. This bill stated that any historical monument 40 years old or older COULD NOT BE REMOVED, and any monument 25 years old to 40 years old had to be voted on by the people of Texas in order to move or remove it. This was a great bill because it included and mentioned the Alamo Cenotaph in the bill as well as all Texas monuments, including Confederate monuments. TITFF had been working with a Senator since 2017 to get a Monument Protection Bill passed. In 2017 we were late getting to work on the bill, so when we started pushing for the bill, we were pushing to get the bill placed on the Special Session called by Governor Greg Abbott. Unfortunately our bill was not added to the Special Session, so we promised our members and supporters we would hit the ground running for the 2019 Legislative Session. TITFF spent months at the capitol, talking to Senators, House Members and even Legislators, trying to gather support for the bill. TITFF testified in 2 hearings, which our bill was passed, then we sat on the Senator Floor offering support to our Senator, who did a absolute great job on the Senate Floor pushing the bill. The bill passed the Senate and on we went to the House with only 1 week left in the 2019 Legislative Session. Texans from all over the state were emailing and calling their representatives asking them to support SB1663. Unfortunately, speaker Bonnen and Greg Abbott got to the leadership in the House and our bill was never allowed to be heard on the House Floor. This was sickening to TITFF, and like one of our Directors said, "This feels like a punch in the gut". At this point our options were very limited, but we did not give up.  At this point TITFF turned our attention to the 2019 Runoff Election for Mayor of San Antonio (between Ron Nirenberg and Greg Brockhouse), TITFF scheduled a sit down with Greg Brockhouse, in hopes we could convince him to stop the moving of the Alamo Cenotaph, if he was elected. You see the polls for the runoff election were close, we hoped if we could change Brockhouse's mind, it would give him enough support to win and give Texans fighting for the Alamo Cenotaph a win. At the meeting between TITFF and Councilman/Mayoral Candidate Brockhouse, he said, "If I become Mayor, I will disclose the location of the Travis Park Monument and will form a commission to put it back up. I support allowing the public to vote on the Alamo Cenotaph or any monument the city wants removed/moved, that is 40 years old or older". We asked Councilman Brockhouse if we could post the quote onto our Facebook page and he agreed. Unfortunately Candidate Greg Brockhouse didn't win the Runoff Election against Ron Nirenberg. It's important to point out that if Greg Brockhouse would have voted "NO" on the Reimagine The Alamo Plan, most likely he would have won the Runoff Election, and the Alamo Cenotaph would not be threatened to move. In March 2019, TITFF was back at it again hosting our annual "Remember The Alamo March". At the event we brought out more Texans, like Dr. Alma Arredondo, George "El Conservador" Rodrigues, Lamar Henry, Bob Sanders, and many more, to speak to the crowd. Again Texans should up in large numbers, and our message could be heard all across Alamo Plaza. The march was a success, and even more Texans learned of the plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph.
 In mid 2019, TITFF held another Town Hall meeting at the Waffle House in Amarillo, Tx. There we informed the public about the status of the Monument Protection Bill, the actions of some politicians, and our continued fight to save the Alamo Cenotaph. The meeting was standing room only and every Texan in attendance was angry. Most could not believe they had not heard about this plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph, others said they would be contacting their representative, and try to sway him to stop the Reimagine The Alamo Plan. On Dec 4, 2019, TITFF attended the Historic Review and Design Commission meeting (HDRC) and spoke up on behalf of Texans, trying to get the HDRC to stop the plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph. Thankfully, the Tap Pilam Nation (Native American Coalition) had filed a Federal Lawsuit seeking for the site to be recognized an Official Cemetery. Because of this lawsuit, and this lawsuit alone, the HDRC tabled the plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph (voted 8-3) until they had time to be briefed on the merits of the lawsuit. This bought Texans some time to continue the fight to save the Alamo Cenotaph. The next HDRC meeting is scheduled on Dec 18, 2019 (tomorrow), 1pm, at 1901 South Alamo Street. TITFF has already made plans to attend the next meeting. Our most recent battle to save the Alamo Cenotaph took place in Downtown San Antonio. TITFF was asked to join a "Save Our Texas History March" and speak at the end of the march. TITFF brought out about 40 supporters and TITFF Vice President Lamar Henry spoke at the event. At the last second TITFF President Brandon B was asked to speak too because 1 or 2 speakers did not show up. The idea of the march was educate Texans and tourist of the battle to save the Alamo Cenotaph. There were a lot of Texans that learned about this plan, to move the Alamo Cenotaph, that had no idea it was happening. Sadly, we are in the 11th hour, but the fight continues!
So as you can see, This Is Texas Freedom Force has been in the forefront of this battle to save the Alamo Cenotaph, but like we stated at the beginning of this article, you wouldn't know everything that TITFF has done if you hadn't been following us on our Facebook page. The media won't cover it because they don't want to show an organized resistance against the Reimagine The Alamo Master Plan, and others won't tell you that TITFF has been at the forefront of this battle all along.
Today TITFF has multiple social media pages, website, groups, etc., that you can follow to stay up to date on varies battles and issues. We invite everyone to join us in our battles, and participate in lots of different ways. During the TITFF #NotOneInch battle, we have only asked 2 times (since 2017) for Texans to help us financially in our battle to save the Alamo Cenotaph. The rest has been done on the dimes of TITFF Directors/Members or those who donate unsolicited (Which we cannot thank them enough). If you would like to follow us, there are several social media icons at the bottom of every page on this website, tap on them, it will send you straight to our Facebook, Twitter or Youtube pages. Reminder- hit follow or like on our pages to stay informed. PS- Texans, join the fight, stay the course, continue the fight, we have to stop the city of San Antonio and George P Bush from moving the Alamo Cenotaph. #NeverSurrenderNorRetreat #NotOneInch #DontMoveTheAlamoCenotaph God bless Texas, "Protector Of All Things Texas" This Is Texas Freedom Force TxFreedomForce.org 
They used to take us there when we were schoolchildren. They told us how glorious that battle was. When I grew up I learned that "heroes" of the Alamo were a bunch of drunks and crooks and slaveholding imperialist who conquered land that didn't belong to them. But as a little girl I got the message - we were losers. I can truly say that I hate that place and everything that it stands for. Rosie Castro hates the Alamo. So it is no surprise that a mayor who is buddied up with the Castro family would be the one to bring forth the "Reimagine the Alamo Plan". All of what we have mentioned above, along with action by the city council and several other comments from Trevino, Nirenberg, and George P Bush is why Texans do not trust them. How can any red blooded Texan trust them to honor our Alamo and Cenotaph when Roberto Trevino laughs in the face of Texans and says "Our lawyers will find a way around that" when he is presented the deed of the Alamo Cenotaph which says the space cannot be used for anything else but the Cenotaph? How can Texans trust them when Mayor Ron Nirenberg makes quotes about honoring both sides? The answer is you can't. Make no mistake Texans, this isn't about honoring our Alamo Defenders, its all about money and rewriting history. The Alamo Cenotaph is exactly where Texans, and most importantly where Coppini want it, in the middle of the Alamo Footprint where the sun would rise on the Alamo Defenders in the East and set on them in the West. If Mayor Nirenberg truly meant the quote "honor both side", the Travis Park Monument would still be standing in Travis Park. Texans, it's time to put a stop to the rewriting and watering down of our Texas history. If you will not fight for the Spirit of Sacrfice now, you most likely will never fight at all. I think everyone who shed blood in the defense of liberty and the things that they believe in, on both sides, ought to be honored, and that's exactly what the intent of this redevelopment plan is. Visit our "Event Page" to see how you can help fight for our Texas history.
|
AuthorsTITFF Directors ArchivesLinks |
RSS Feed