After two great days of hiking, sightseeing, eating and drinking with my younger son (a CS assistant professor at UT Austin) and his girl friend who works for My Fitness Pal, the 98 degree heat was replaced by a steady rain. Trapped inside our hotel room, my wife read the New York Times and did a crossword puzzle, while I wrote a couple of referee’s reports on papers that were worse than the weather.

While it is not fun to be forced inside by the rain it is a good time to reflect on what I’ve seen while visiting Austin. Saturday afternoon we went to the LBJ museum on the UT campus. He served as president for five years after JFK was assassinated in 1963. Before that he was elected to the House or Representatives in 1937 and to the Senate in 1948.

His War on Poverty helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during his administration. Civil rights bills that he signed into law banned racial discrimination in public facilities, interstate commerce, the workplace, and housing. The Voting Rights Act prohibited certain laws southern states used to disenfranchise African Americans. With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the country’s immigration system was reformed, encouraging greater immigration from regions other than Europe. In short, the Republican agenda times -1.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to the Bullock Texas State History Museum. The most interesting part for me was the story of Texas in the early 1800s. In 1821 Texas won its independence from Spain and became part of Mexico. Between 1821 and 1836 an estimated 38,000 settlers, on promise of 4,000 acres per family for a small fee, trekked from the United States into the territory. The Mexican government grew alarmed at the immigration threatening to engulf the province. Military troops were moved to the border to enforce the policy but illegal immigrants crossed the border easily. Hopefully the parallel with the current situation ends there, since there were revolts in Texas 1832, leading to war with Mexico in 1834, and to the independence of Texas in 1836.

My third fun fact is a short one: Austin City Limits was a TV show for 40 before it became a music festival. Haven’t seen either one but Austin is a great place to visit.