Texas law requires children who attend public schools to begin their days with this trifecta: the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas Pledge (“Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible”), and a minute of silence to “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student. [read post]

On February 7, 1861, six days before the certification of Lincoln's electoral vote, Representative Henry Winter Davis proclaimed on the House floor that "cabinet ministers have violated their oaths by organizing insurrection. [read post]