Remember the Alamo

On this date in 1836, the Battle of the Alamo ended with the defeat of the Texas forces under the command of William Travis.



Here is a letter he wrote shortly before he gave his life for Texas independence.

To The People of Texas and
All Americans In The World --
February 24, 1836

Fellow citizens & compatriots --
I am beseiged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country --

VICTORY OR DEATH

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

P.S. The Lord is on our side -- When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn -- We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves --

Travis

Did he die in vain?

Happy Texas Independence Day

Forty years ago today...

Our nation experienced a great tragedy. We were in a race with the Evil Empire to reach the Moon before them. Our greatest minds and most experienced pilots were focused on getting there first. But in our rush to be first, important things were overlooked, and three Americans were killed; Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Today, they were remembered at Cape Canaveral.

"Each of these individuals knew they were part of something larger than themselves," said Mick Ukleka, chairman of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation. "The risk was not reckless. It was well thought out. But it is dangerous."

They are heroes we should never forget.

Happy Constitution Day

Two hundred and nineteen years ago today our basic form of government was codified in our nation's Constitution. Today it is the longest serving charter for self government in the world.


September 17 is the actual Constitution Day (the anniversary of its signing), but because it falls on a weekend it will be observed tomorrow, among other places, by all schools that receive federal funding. (Did you know that? I didn't.) So make sure to ask your child tomorrow afternoon what they've learned about the Constitution.

The Tax Cut that won the Cold War

Being a Cold War history freak, I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to share this with you. A fellow named Drew McKissick has posted "The Tax Cut that won the Cold War" on the Wizbang Bomb Squad.

A few weeks ago marked the silver anniversary of one of the most pivotal events in American economic and foreign policy history. It was twenty-five years ago on August 13th that Ronald Reagan signed into law the Kemp/Roth tax cuts, also known as the Economic Recovery Act of 1981—legislation which helped set in motion the events which shaped the world in which we live today.

The bill reduced American income tax rates by approximately one-third across the board, and unleashed the pent up power of an economy besieged by double digit inflation, double digit interest rates and double digit unemployment.

The result was an economy that grew at phenomenal rates, created tens of millions of jobs, raised personal incomes and more than doubled overall revenues to the US Treasury, (something liberals and most economists said couldn’t happen). In addition, investment and entrepreneurship blossomed, helping to foster the technology boom that has impacted just about every aspect of our lives.

It's a wonderful article. Something our kids should learn about in their history books.

July 20, 1969

One of the few things our government has done well has been to put men on the Moon. America first accomplished this feat on this date in 1969 with less space ship computing power than a present-day caluclator.


It's good to remember good things.

Happy 50th Birthday, Interstate Highway System

Today is the (generally accepted) 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System. I say "generally accepted" beacause — and this is how we know that it's a creature of government — June 29, 1956 is the date that President Eisenhower signed the legislation that created the system. And that's the date we celebrate as its birthday. Ah, Government!

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a "Limited Government" man. I think our governments (all levels) do far too many things. (For a list of the things our Federal government is supposed to do, please see Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution.) National highways, however, are indeed a Federal responsibility. And while few things governments do are done well, the Interstate Highway System is pretty decent; a standardized system of highways allowing us to travel between states without difficulty. Just by the numerical designation of the road you can tell if it runs North-South or East-West, if it's a loop, or if it's a spur. It's a commonly accepted infrastructure element now, but a radical idea at it's start.

Here's an "Interstate Density Map", or a map of interstate highways over time. And here's an analysis of what the system has meant to the country (written back in 1996, for the 40th birthday).

April 28, 1986

Today is not the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. That was two days ago, on April 26, 2006. Instead, today is the 20th anniversary of the Tass News Agency report announcing the disaster to the people of the former Soviet Union and confirming what the world had already discovered.

An accident has occurred at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant - one of the atomic reactors has been damaged. Measures are being undertaken to liquidate the consequences of the accident. Those affected are being given aid, and a government commission has been created.

Can you imagine something like that happening today? I can't. Too many freedoms have been unleashed in the former Soviet Republics that make keeping such an event secret, even for a few hours, a Herculean task. The world saw that a few years ago with the Kursk submarine incident. Certainly, many more freedoms need to be unleashed in that part of the world, but between that date and today, the United States won the Cold War. Those freedoms can grow in fertile ground.