DBWI: The Republic of Texas turns 173 years old on March 2

[glenn67]

On March 2, 1836, the Convention of 1836 delegates met at Washington-on-the-Brazos and declared its independence from Mexico.

Almost 173 years later, our country of Texas stands tall and proud as the economic tiger of North America. While the President of the United States wonders why Congress will not approve drilling for oil in Alaska, we Texans are already drilling off shore and generating our own oil instead of buying it from OPEC. And gas prices are the lowest since Ross Perot was elected President of our Republic in 1990. Can the Americans make that same claim?

Here in Texas, there are no economic stimulus programs and especially no subsidized tattoo removal programs like they have in the USA. Can you imagine Texas officially joining the USA as a state. I don't.

Do any of you have any plans to celebrate Texas independence this March 2?

 

[the Apple Man]

I know a few people who will be in Texas for celebrations. Our dollar goes preety far down there, and their should be plenty fo sales on for Independance day.

Me, I've never much cared for Texas. It's far too hot.

 

[TNF]

Americans might not be able to make the same claim that Texas is in drilling for its own oil, but at least the cap and trade system that's been in effect here for a good six years is working well enough to put more funding into alternative energy sources that don't pollute our ecosystem, unlike the high levels of carbon emissions you find south of the border. President Powell's pushing for more drilling in Alaska is a setback, in my opinion. Gore had it right with the OPEC sanctions and the cap and trade system.

Texas doesn't have a stimulus package because the Texan government doesn't believe in actual government. How's President Hutchison going to handle the economic crisis when one of your much vaunted oil companies takes a dive? Up here, at least Powell is getting work done, even with the Democratic House and the GOP Senate, with most of his opposition coming from his own party over all of it.

As for the general question, I think that I have a few friends who'll be in Texas for the celebrations. A few Texan friends, a few others just looking for a good time. I've only been to the country once, and discounting the pollution and the poverty, its a nice place.

 

[King Gorilla]

Texas may drill its own oil, but it couldn't do so without the help of the machinery, technology, and engineers provided by Standard Oil of California.

 

[Germaniac]

Nice Place, Ya really nice place. If you forget about the racial segregation for the last century. You would think after the Southern US states lost the Civil War in 1861 the Texans would abolish that awful disgusting practice. No... It took them another 40 years. What happens after that, Segregation right down to which towns African-Texans can live in. Hell, It took until the Mid 30's for Texas to allow limited black Voting.

Don't let me even get started on the expulsion of the Catholics after Texas beat the Mexicans again in 1870.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Nice Place, Ya really nice place. If you forget about the racial segregation for the last century. You would think after the Southern US states lost the Civil War in 1861 the Texans would abolish that awful disgusting practice. No... It took them another 40 years. What happens after that, Segregation right down to which towns African-Texans can live in. Hell, It took until the Mid 30's for Texas to allow limited black Voting.

Don't let me even get started on the expulsion of the Catholics after Texas beat the Mexicans again in 1870.

I can certainly vouch for the racist and segregationist policies. My friend Malin Ramirez died in 1994 during the riots in Austin after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)was ratified. Apparently, despite claims to the contrary, Tejanos and Chicano/Latino residents must have "travel/work-passes" to leave the barrios. It wasn't until 1998 that people of different religions, much less races have been allowed to intermingle.

 

[GeneralHouston]

I can certainly vouch for the racist and segregationist policies. My friend Malin Ramirez died in 1994 during the riots in Austin after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)was ratified. Apparently, despite claims to the contrary, Tejanos and Chicano/Latino residents must have "travel/work-passes" to leave the barrios. It wasn't until 1998 that people of different religions, much less races have been allowed to intermingle.

You need to distinguish between Tejanos and Mexican'ts. Tejanos have always been considered a vital part of Texas--there has been some discrimination against them, yes, but they've generally been considered to be Texian. That's a large reason why most of them look and act like the rest of Texas, just with black hair and Spanish surnames.

Mexicans, on the other hand, are a scourge on our state. The ones that get here are good for nothing other than cheap labor, and they do everything they can to undermine our government. They have some club called LULAC that always protests as much as they can--they were the ones who instigated the 1994 riots, not the rest of the Texian population. Apparently, they were rather upset that Texas wasn't going to go along with Clinton's "American unity" garbage, because they realized it meant that they couldn't steal more of our money and resources and send them to Mexico.

And yes, Negroes have not always had the easiest life here in Texas, but you do have to realize that there aren't very many of them here--once Congress legalized lifelong indentured-servitude for Mexican POWs and their descendants after the Western War of 1852, blacks soon became irrelevant in most of the country. They're only in small pockets in East Texas. They've been able to vote since the 1930's, which is more than the Southern US can say. Racism in Texas has always been much more anti-Mexican than anti-black.

And Texas has always prided itself on religious freedom, so I don't know what you're talking about. Catholics have just as much freedom as protestants--there is just less of us. Sure, we kicked the Mexicans and their pagan-syncretism out of the church and out of the country, but it isn't an affront to Catholicism, it's an affront to their mongrel race and culture, and one I'm damn glad we did.

As for independence day, a bunch of my fraternity brothers sat around a keg of Lone Star and we shot off fireworks while listening to Texas Country...GOD BLESS TEXAS!