By Harbeer Sandhu Illustration by Michael C. Rodriguez  Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.   – George Orwell The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart.  – Kurt Vonnegut A proposed new law would redefine what counts as history in Texas universities.  Early in March, Texas State Senator Daniel Patrick introduced bill SB 1128 that reads, in part: A college or university receiving state support or state aid from public funds may not grant a baccalaureate degree or a ... Read More »

By Amanda Hart Illustration by Blake Jones Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Our history matters. And silence will not do when it comes to demanding that everyone’s history continues to be included in our school curriculum. FPH caught up with Librotraficante member Lupe Mendez to find out about the upcoming battle over SB 1128. What impact will SB 1128 have on our community? This bill and its companion in the House, TX (R) Rep. Capriglione’s HB 1938, would serve to limit the kinds of history classes ... Read More »

As the first of the year again meant rules changes to the Texas Women’s Health Program by the Health and Human Services Commission, 50,000+ Texas women will need to scramble to find new providers. The State and HHSC promise that it will be provided for.  But at what cost to quality and availability to these women and their families? The Texas Women’s Health Progam (WHP) was initiated in 2005 as a joint federal and state service to provide checkups and birth control, to low-income, uninsured women who are not pregnant.  The WHP covers preventive care and contraception, including a yearly examination with screening for ... Read More »

Hands across Texas (HAT), an organization dedicated to helping fellow Texan communities with unforeseen life changes, reaches out to those that are in need to provide relief and help rebuild lives of those affected by unfortunate events. Hands Across Texas will join Newtown Youth & Family Services, a 501(c)3 nonprofit group, in hosting a Sandy Hook Memorial Benefit Concert Saturday, January 27, from noon to 10pm at Papa’s Ice House in Spring, TX (314 Pruitt Road). Every cent raised by the fundraiser will go directly to the Newtown Youth & Family Services, in consideration of the recent Sandy Hook Elementary ... Read More »

You want heavy? These two Texas bands will deliver in spades! Read More »

“Dinosaurs were on the arc! That’s what I would teach.” The head of the Texas State Board of Education meant this, quite seriously.The Revisionaries is a documentary or inadvertent comedy/horror movie about the rewriting of Texas textbooks and the conflicts between liberal and conservative board members. The political and social implications of the board’s decisions are why this movie is so scary and why we as a nation need to be more conscious of the influences on our nation’s youth.  What better way to shape the minds and direction of our country than to dictate what they are taught is ... Read More »

 Illustration by Blake Jones By: Amanda Hart We’ve all had a rough election cycle this year. Shit was intense. Not to mention that the relief many of us felt when they called the election in Obama’s favor was short-lived. Especially since we all awoke to reports of crazy, in-denial white people doing things like stocking up on guns, demanding his impeachment, and starting petitions requesting the right to secede from the union.  Which if you grew up in Texas, wasn’t all that shocking. We have become accustomed to this very specific kind of Caucasian crazy. The difference now though is ... Read More »

By Amanda Hart Illustration by Blake Jones Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst recently appointed some rather craptastic people to some rather powerful positions. Our very own Houston Senator, Dan Patrick, was appointed to chair of the Senate Education Committee. Patrick has been an outspoken supporter for implementing school vouchers (or school choice) into our public school system. Shortly after Patrick’s appointment he touted at a press conference, “Our base has wanted us to pass photo voter ID (law) for years, and we did it. They’ve wanted us to pass school choice (vouchers) for years. This is the year to do ... Read More »

Illustration by Blake Jones A look at how proposed voter ID legislation is attempting to silence the minority vote By Amanda Hart This past month a Federal District Court, along with a little help from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thankfully struck down the recently passed Texas voter ID law, SB 14. The law would have required voters to show a government-issued identification to be able to cast a ballot this election cycle. A letter from the Justice Department to the state of Texas clearly outlines why Texas can’t have nice things, “We conclude that the total number of ... Read More »

Illustration by Blake Jones By: Amanda Hart It has been a rough few years to own a vagina. In 2011 alone, there were 711 anti-choice measures enacted across the country.  Texas, as we all know, didn’t exactly wave its “We <3 Vagina” flag. We lost the Texas Women’s Health Program effectively leaving low-income women without access to birth control and life-saving cancer screenings all because the federal government would not allow our legislators to exclude Planned Parenthood from the service providers list. Just this year, 430,000 women will be left without birth control, cervical exams, breast exams, STD testing, and ... Read More »