I'm In San Antonio -- Ready For The State Convention

Well, I made it to San Antonio, and I'm ready for the convention to start on Friday morning.

My oldest daughter made my hotel reservations this year, and I wish I could let her do that all the time. She put me in the Marriott Rivercenter -- an extremely nice hotel with great rooms. And it's right in the middle of everything I need. The River Walk is right behind my hotel (with it's mall), and only one block away is the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center -- where the convention will be held. She couldn't have put me in a better spot.

I was also pleased to see that the hotel is flying its flags at half-staff (in honor of the victims of the Orlando shooting).

Now let's get the convention started!

Sanctuary Movement Started In San Antonio

A new sanctuary movement has been started in San Antonio to help undocumented immigrants. They are Catholic faith-based activists who have organized to provide food, healthcare and places to stay for the immigrants.

Currently the group visits day laborers, giving them breakfast and a card. The card has a picture of Father Toribio Romo on one side and a phone number on the other. They can call the phone number and use the code word "Romo" to get help.

Toribio Romo was a Mexican priest who was killed in the 1920's and later canonized. Many of the undocumented immigrants pray to him during their dangerous crossing into this country.

The group members know they are flirting with the possibility of violating U.S. immigration laws, and many of them are willing to go to jail for their beliefs. They say their religious and moral tenets are more important than unjust laws. As Lee Thelien of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church says, "We're accomplices if we don't speak out against this injustice."

I admire these people. I am not a religious person, but I do respect the few christians brave enough to actually follow the teachings of their faith. Far too often in our modern world, religion is nothing more than a way to hurt and discriminate against those who are not liked.

People who are willing to put their freedom at stake to help the downtrodden deserve our respect.