Texas
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6:45 a.m.
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A Democratic Houston judge who last week ruled that the procedures used to convict and sentence someone to death in Texas are unconstitutional has put his ruling in abeyance and scheduled a hearing on April 27 to hear evidence on the issue ( Read more here ). State District Judge Kevin Fine said he wants more information before making a final decision about whether the state's death pe...
Burnt Orange Report - 12:26 a.m.
Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance weekly round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. With the round-up this week is a picture of a turtle called the Texas River Cooter. As you might imagine, this is a turtle that lives in Texas. They appear to live [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sat 7:28 p.m. - 3 clicks 
Good for the Party! The State Democratic Executive Committee approved a resolution relieving the members of the party from supporting any LaRouche candidate running as a Democrat. RESOLVED, that no Rules or Declarations of the TexasDemocratic Party that require support for Party nominees shall be enforced orhave any application as they relate to the candidacy of any person identifying him o...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Sat 3:48 p.m. - 8 clicks
There are good people to support for the school board, but it's time for a response from many fronts to this outrage. Those of us in the Christian community think it's time to stand up against bad theology. Here's a proposed statement I'm taking to a strategy meeting today here in Dallas. ...
DailyKos (Texas) - Sat 10:44 a.m. - 7 clicks
Linda Chavez-Thompson , the Democratic nominee for Texas Lt. Governor, has one of the most focused, understandable messages on education that I have heard in a long time. Below is a post from Latinovations where she was a recent guest blogger. Her personal story is compelling, as well the picture she paints of the future of Texas if we don't act to improve our education system. She's g...
Musings - Sat 8:41 a.m. - 4 clicks
Well, it has come to pass that our Texas School board nut cases have prevailed on a number of points. Let Think Progress explain: Texas Board of Education cuts Thomas Jefferson out of its textbooks. The Texas Board of Education has been meeting this week to revise its social studies curriculum. During the past three days, "the board's far-right faction wielded their power to shape lessons on th...
Texas Kaos - Sat 5:21 a.m. - 7 clicks
I am totally with Heather Michon — if Dennis Kucinich's vote kills the current version of health care reform, two thumbs up. John Nichols notes that Kucinich also voted against the original House bill. Both people note, as I do and do many other real progressives, that this bill will do nothing of note to rein in private insurance costs, little to rein in pharmaceuticals costs, and therefore ...
SocraticGadfly - Sat 12:09 a.m. - 5 clicks
The Texas State Board of Education is meeting again, and it's looking like they will be successful in rewriting history to fit their own narrow political views. When they have finished, the real history of the United States and Texas will be replaced by right-wing propaganda. Just look at some of the outrageous decisions they have made. They have refused to allow history teachers to te...
jobsanger - Fri 10:06 p.m. - 6 clicks
Have you ever wondered why the current Pope has done nothing to punish those church officials who protected child-abusing priests by moving them from church to church instead of reporting them to the proper authorities (thus providing them with a new set of unsuspecting victims)? It may be because he is guilty of doing the same thing himself. It has now been revealed that back in 1980, ...
jobsanger - Fri 10:06 p.m. - 4 clicks
The Austin Women's Political Caucus has voted to restrict their endorsements to woman only. Can you imagine the uproar if a men's caucus voted to endorse men only? It's not like the Austin Lesbian/Gay political caucus only allows endorsements of GLBT candidates or the Mexican American Democrats only Hispanics, or Black Austin Democrats only blacks. What a disappointing move that ma...
Burnt Orange Report - Fri 9:05 p.m. - 4 clicks
PDF-not all pages here but the ones that interested me- the rest are at the county clerk's office.. page 1. County owns the asset known as the Glen Rose hospital. It had previously leased it to the Glen Rose Medical Foundation. Foundation said it wasn't financially able to continue to operate the hospital. Lease got reassianged to the Somervell County Healthcare Authority. Lease is a buck a ye...
Somervell County Salon - Fri 8:48 p.m. - 3 clicks
AUSTIN, Texas — A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade. "We have been about conservatism versus liberalism," said Democrat Mavis Knight of Dallas, explaining her vote against the standards. &quo...
Somervell County Salon - Fri 8:48 p.m. - 6 clicks
Before I offend everyone: we are very close to expelling the nuts from control of the Texas board of education. Please, please, please, contribute and volunteer and spread the news. Rebecca Bell-Metereau District #5 www.voterebecca.com Judy Jennings District #10 www.votejudyjennings.com Both of these women are pro-science, pro-truth, and in favor of the American values of Thoma...
DailyKos (Texas) - Fri 8:02 p.m. - 7 clicks
I recently saw this big Soviet looking star on a portion of a Texas highway overpass here in Houston. I think it is meant to represent a Texas Lone Star. But it looks like a communist red star. Roads are so-called socialism because they are built with public dollars. Roads are the kind of socialism folks here in Texas [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Fri 5:44 p.m. - 6 clicks
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A longtime State Board of Education member accused her colleagues of "whitewashing" curriculum standards Thursday and walked out of the panel’s meeting in frustration amid heated debates about race and the inclusion of Hispanics in lesson plans. The board had rejected an effort to include the names of two Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients and one black recip...
DailyKos (Texas) - Fri 5:44 p.m. - 15 clicks
Texas News State Farm to Raise Texas Homeowner Rates 4.5 Percent Texas Politics Textbook Issues Flare Across Partisan Divide Politics Move to Kill Filibuster Gaining Steam Among Democrats Media The End of Newspapers Foreign Policy Making Matters Worse in Afghanistan War and Peace As Afghanistan Contracting Surges, Who's Following the Money? Environment Big Oil ...
Left of College Station - Fri 4:41 p.m. - 9 clicks
I really do love the United Church of Christ congregations. Some of them are just durned creative. Take this one in Wantagh, NY. using their marquee to respond to Glen Beck's rant against social justice when he said "churches that preach about 'social justice' are fronts for communism and Nazism." Full disclosure, my home church the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas is a United Church of Chris...
Dungeon Diary - Fri 4:41 p.m. - 5 clicks
It's not enough, now, for McLeroy and his Christian conservative cohort on the Texas State Board of Education to deny children the right to critical thinking by barring discussion of the First Amendment from social studies textbooks. No, now they're into racism, too, denying that any Tejanos were killed at the Alamo . "I cannot go back to my community and say I participated in perpetrating th...
SocraticGadfly - Fri 4:01 p.m. - 4 clicks
So, the Texas Board of Education, in the process of determining new standards for textbooks, has voted to make Thomas Jefferson an unperson . ...
DailyKos (Texas) - Fri 3:25 p.m. - 5 clicks
And the beat goes on. Minutes ago, in a mostly party line vote, the Texas BOE approved new standards for history textbooks, standards that rewrite history. http://www.chron.com/... Though the standards still face a public hearing in May and final vote, it doesn't look good. Farewell Ted Kennedy . . you have no place in history. You've been replaced by none other than &n...
DailyKos (Texas) - Fri 1:54 p.m. - 2 clicks
That's what a lot of people would say, if given the chance. Could someone out there tell us why he or she is voting for Rick Perry? I promise not to bash you for it if you are honest about it. I really would love to know why people continue to vote for him. Is part or all of it that you feel he is the lesser of the evils? If so, why? Can you back it up?...
Somervell County Salon - Fri 1:39 p.m. - 5 clicks
For some bizarre reason, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Under God is okay in the Pledge because the overall tone is patriotic. From Circuit Judge Bea, p 5. The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded and for which we continue to strive: one Nation under God—the Founding Fathe...
Somervell County Salon - Fri 1:39 p.m. - 3 clicks
Beautiful day. I hear the female guineas in the yard and the female geese are looking for where to lay eggs and nest. I'll have to put a chair with a sign at the top of the driveway to warn people. One year the UPS guy came down the sidewalk and got the fool scared out of him when one of the females hissed at him.:) All kinds of stuff going on in Glen Rose this weekend. Gator Country at the Expo...
Somervell County Salon - Fri 1:39 p.m. - 2 clicks
As some of you may know, I am one of about 40 members of the Citizens Advisory Task Force to Austin's Comprehensive Plan, known as Imagine Austin . As co-chair of the Communications Committee on that task force, I have the opportunity to work with some really great people from across the city in developing some of the message, materials, and outreach to encourage participation. With...
Burnt Orange Report - Fri 12:47 p.m. - 9 clicks
Rep. Mark Strama has just opened the application period for his 2010 Campaign Academy . Having been both a participant and a manager of the program, I encourage you to spread the word to your high school and college friends. More info here . In the University of Texas Student Government runoff, Scott Parks & Muneezeh Kabir did indeed come from behind and win the Presid...
Burnt Orange Report - Fri 12:34 p.m. - 2 clicks
As discussed in an earlier diary, Naming An Empire , I've been pondering the historical and political nature of the schismatic state ruled by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney during the previous decade. My tentative model for that state, which I am calling the Texic Empire, revolved around a triumvirate of power centers I am calling the Texic Axis, whose outlines I provide below. This ...
DailyKos (Texas) - Fri 11:53 a.m. - 2 clicks
So, Lindsey Graham thinks he has a good immigration bill but, in essence, is holding GOP support for it hostage to Democrats' possible Senate use of reconciliation procedures to pass a health care bill. And Graham is supposed to be a "sensible" conservative? Besides, co-sponsor Chuck Schumer already can't get any GOP sponsors besides Graham. The refusal of whites in the Texas GOP to even vote ...
SocraticGadfly - Fri 10:06 a.m. - 2 clicks
Great joint op-ed by our friend McCall Johnson over at Environment Texas and State Rep. Rafael Anchia, winner of Public Citizen’s Legislator of the Year award. Following on the heels of TXU’s announcement last week that it will offer customers an affordable solar leasing program, the gist of it is that we can’t let the [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Fri 8:42 a.m. - 5 clicks
Continuing the tough anti-Washington rhetoric from his primary campaign, Governor For Life Rick Perry denounced the advent of Daylight Savings Time this weekend. "Texans know how to set their own clocks without interference from federal bureaucrats," he said in a press release. Perry announced his counter-initiative, State Sovereignty Savings Time. At 2 AM Sunday morning, Texans will set their c...
McBlogger - Fri 7:46 a.m. - 6 clicks
Earlier today, the Texas State Board of Education , in a straight party line vote, voted down an amendment that would require Texas schoolchildren to study the reasons why the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a state religion. The Board's seven Republican Board members voted against the amendment while the Board's five Democratic members voted for it. The amendment was proposed b...
The Texas Blue - Fri 7:22 a.m. - 4 clicks
This has to be one of the worst stories I have seen on KHOU ever. It is surprising. And disappointing. After watching the story below, you would think there is a massive coverup and another Chuck Rosenthal sex scandal brewing by Metro board chairman David Wolff and chief executive Frank Wilson. And yet there is this blog entry in the Houston Chronicle claiming there are no witnesses to support ...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Fri 5:43 a.m. - 3 clicks
Former Candidates Make Endorsements in District 17 Runoff Reporter: Steve Fullhart From KBTX Channel 3 Rob Curnock and Bill Flores are headed to a runoff in the Republican primary for Texas' 17th District of the US House. Both have picked up endorsements from primary opponents. Timothy Delasandro, who finished fifth in the March 2nd election, has put his support behind Curnock in his bid ...
Left of College Station - Fri 5:22 a.m. - 5 clicks
During the primary campaign Governor Rick Perry bragged about bringing jobs to our state by giving away hundreds of millions of your tax dollars in incentives (ie economic bailouts) to corporations. The Texas Observer has just released an investigative story on Rick Perry's slush fund called the Texas Enterprise Fund, and it's not very good: For the past six years, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has l...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Fri 4:47 a.m. - 4 clicks
And, the federal government would like to know why not; just why are seed prices skyrocketing ? That said, Monsanto's increasing monopolization of the field's been going on since Clinton years and it, like ADM, pays out cash well to farm-state Representatives and Senators on both sides of the aisle. In other words, if you expect Team Obama and Big Ag feeder Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to actually ...
SocraticGadfly - Fri 12:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
Oh, great: AUSTIN – Republicans on the State Board of Education Thursday soundly rejected a Democratic-backed proposal to require that Texas students be taught the reasons behind the prohibition of a state religion in the Bill of Rights. The seven social conservatives of the board – several of whom question the legal precedents affirming the separation of church and state R...
DailyKos (Texas) - Thu 10:08 p.m. - 6 clicks
Along with his theocratic compadres on the Texas State Board of Education? The seven social conservatives, joined by three more "moderate" GOPers on the board, blocked a provision that would have required high school social students students to learn about the First Amendment: (Board member Mavis) Knight said all she was trying to do was encourage study of the First Amendment language that stat...
SocraticGadfly - Thu 10:02 p.m. - 4 clicks
Don't get me wrong, I think Amarillo is a nice place to live and I have enjoyed living here for nearly four years now. The people are nice, and the city is large enough to have most anything you'd want without the overcrowding, slums and traffic problems of larger cities. But a Spring Break destination -- who would have guessed? But evidently someone thinks that may be the case. The A...
jobsanger - Thu 10:02 p.m. - 4 clicks
AUSTIN – Republicans on the State Board of Education Thursday soundly rejected a Democratic-backed proposal to require that Texas students be taught the reasons behind the prohibition of a state religion in the Bill of Rights. In a surprise decision in the curriculum standards for U.S. government classes, the board defeated an amendment by member Mavis Knight, D- Dallas...
Somervell County Salon - Thu 7:41 p.m. - 4 clicks
Cross-posted to Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters Although the 2008 presidential election showed unprecedented increases in turnout from underrepresented citizens, their rates of voter registration and participation were still well behind the electorate in general. As we approach election season, this pattern may only continue. Instead of taking steps to improve the administration ...
DailyKos (Texas) - Thu 4:46 p.m. - 4 clicks
Courtesy Peggy B Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui> st1\:{behavior:url(#ieooui) } / Style Definitions / p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-botto...
Somervell County Salon - Thu 4:01 p.m. - 2 clicks
I am sure homeowners with State Farm insurance are calling Rick Perry and thanking him for a job well done on insurance reform passed in 2003. In documents filed with the Texas Department of Insurance, State Farm said it optedfor a lower rate increase than the 26 percent hike its projectionsindicate it needs. State Farm is also increasing the discounts itoffers consumers who buy both home ...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Thu 4:00 p.m. - 3 clicks
The other day I saw an article in the Texas Tribune that was talking about how US Homeland Security grant money was dished out to various counties. In particular, there was a paragraph about how Somervell County had gotten an armoured vehicle. And you never know when terrorists might attack the nuclear power plant in the second-smallest county in the state. That’s why Somervell Count...
Somervell County Salon - Thu 3:48 p.m. - 3 clicks
The Texas Observer feature on how Rick Perry has profited politically from the Texas Enterprise Fund is the must read story of the month. Highlights, from the feature titled "Slush Fun" : The 20 companies have received a combined $174.2 million from the Enterprise Fund. During the same time period, those 20 corporations have donated $2.2 million to Perry and the governors associ...
Burnt Orange Report - Thu 2:57 p.m. - 4 clicks
The United States Department of Energy has sunk $154 million into a carbon capture and sequestration project in Texas proposed by NRG Energy near Houston. The “demonstration” project will be built on their existing Parish Generating Station in Thompsons, TX (one of the biggest and dirtiest coal plants in Texas and the United States). The [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Thu 2:21 p.m. - 4 clicks
Governor Perry sent a letter to Congressional leadership and the Texas delegation asking them to strip the EPA of the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, which they were told to do by the Supreme Court in 2007’s Massachusetts v. EPA. Governor Perry needs to check his facts a little more carefully. He stated in the letter “Texas [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Thu 2:21 p.m. - 3 clicks
On Tuesday, Bill White spoke at an event hosted by the Texas Tribune . During the course of the interview, White refused to pledge that he would cut taxes as Governor, or that he would not raise taxes as Governor. When Texas Tribune CEO noted that he may have handed Rick Perry ammo for the fall campaign, White shrugged his shoulders and said, "they'll mislead people anyway..." ...
Burnt Orange Report - Thu 1:47 p.m. - 3 clicks
The National Wildlife Federation and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club have created a splash with their latest report: Drop by Drop: 7 Ways Texas Cities Can Conserve Water. Austin should be proud. Out of 19 cities studied in this report, our capital city was highly ranked on outdoor water ordinances and has an [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Thu 11:27 a.m. - 8 clicks
Fox News is trying to stir up a war in Texas and it's doing it by laying. Big surprise! The alleged "news" channel is drumming up a supposed conspiracy to make Texas textbooks "liberal". I guess the arm lock the Right-Wing has had on Texas education isn't good enough for them. Now they are intent on making the piss-poor textbooks we already use even worse. How? By claiming they are being con...
Dungeon Diary - Thu 11:07 a.m. - 8 clicks
Although Texas Board of Education's Don McLeroy, theocrat and Reaganophile, was recently defeated by a more moderate Republican candidate for the top spot on the Board of Ed, he still has 10 months left on his term. Vowing to "put their mark on the guidelines for social studies texts", he and seven other conservative board members (R - Wingnutistan) seek to, among many other things, require pub...
DailyKos (Texas) - Thu 9:29 a.m. - 5 clicks
The Texas gubernatorial bout between Republican Rick Perry and former Houston Mayor Bill White continues to garner national headlines with ABC News declaring the race as #9 to watch across the United States. Democrats are hoping that Perry's primary run, in which he expressed sympathy with secessionists, will give them a chance of taking back the governor's office for th...
Burnt Orange Report - Thu 9:22 a.m. - 2 clicks
I get that the Tribune is trying to fill some space and they're really trying to create discussion. But seriously, can we all agree that Tom Pauken is just too goddamn stupid to be given any opportunity to do anything other than go to my fucking cleaners and pick up my shirts? This is the same fuckup who, as chair of the Texas Republican Party, got sidelined by that buttertroll Rove. Now, I ...
McBlogger - Thu 7:49 a.m. - 6 clicks
I will be the first to admit that the Republicans are not the only sleezebags around. We Democrats have our full share as well and right now the biggest one would seem to be Representative Eric Massa. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard about this jerk who groped one of his male staff members. That would be sexual harassment in the business world and would result in prompt ...
Dungeon Diary - Thu 7:25 a.m. - 5 clicks
"Alaska and Texas are the only states that declined to participate in the standards-writing effort. In keeping his state out, Gov. Rick Perry argued that only Texans should decide what children there learn." From NY Times: www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/education/11educ.html ...
Somervell County Salon - Thu 7:09 a.m. - 3 clicks
We folks here in District E are lucky to have Houston City Council Member Mike Sullivan on our side. Mike Sullivan doesn't pull punches. He tells it like it is. It makes for interesting conversations. Speaking of.... Last month Mike cautioned members of the Association of Clear Lake City about their wish to be separated from Kingwood in the upcoming redistricting process. He stated that the ...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Thu 7:08 a.m. - 7 clicks
I live within 500 yards of two election day precinct polling places, and about five blocks from one of the most popular early voting locations in Travis County, so it's no surprise that by election day, my area is well-populated with political yard signs of all persuasions. Since there were so many contested judicial races in Travis County this time, and since the nomination for Governor was c...
Letters From Texas - Thu 6:26 a.m. - 11 clicks
Mayoral Candidates Mostly Agree By Cassie Smith From the Bryan-College Station Eagle The two candidates running for Bryan mayor demonstrated Wednesday that they have a lot in common. Both are lifelong residents of the city, both are business owners, both have served as mayor pro tem and view downtown as the heart of Bryan. And both believe that the city needs to focus on improving what it...
Left of College Station - Thu 5:26 a.m. - 5 clicks
Pulte just couldn't overcome the massive failure of the retaining wall in San Antonio and it seems like they are finally doing the right thing : SAN ANTONIO — Centex Homes will offer to buy back 27 homes in aNorthwest Side neighborhood and plans to spend $4 million to $5 millionto rebuild a massive retaining wall that collapsed in January. Some advice to the homeowners: take the money and run. A...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Thu 5:25 a.m. - 5 clicks
It looks like the state Republican leadership in Texas is determined to destroy the educational system here. Most other states realize the growing importance of education in the modern world, and place education as a priority when considering funding or standards -- but not Texas. For our state leadership, education is little more than a political football, and not nearly as important as c...
jobsanger - Wed 10:25 p.m. - 6 clicks
From Channel 8 news: After months of study, seismologists at SMU say a saltwater injection well at the southern end of the airport is a “plausible” cause. The injection well pumps fluids nearly three miles deep into the earth’s crust. This is how drilling companies get rid of waste water from gas drilling. When activity at the D/FW [...]...
Three Wise Men - Wed 9:05 p.m. - 6 clicks
Fox News is lying? What is next? The Pope is Catholic? Crackers are salty? Republicans are white? Teabaggers are racists? From the Texas Education Agency: TEA News Releases Online March 10, 2010 Fox inaccurately reporting State Board of Education action AUSTIN - The Fox Network in recent days has repeatedly broadcast highlyinaccurate information about the State Board of Educatio...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Wed 8:00 p.m. - 5 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank the Academy by presenting it with this week's roundup. TXsharon went undercover this week to Map Methane plumes in the Barnett Shale: "Stealth" measurements contradict Shale Gas industry safe air claims, new technology shows . Big Gas is so BUSTED! And it's all reported on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS . This week on Left of College Stat...
The Texas Cloverleaf - Wed 7:03 p.m. - 9 clicks
Didn't we say so? Doesn't EVERYBODY think so> Well, guess what.... Researchers believe that when wastewater from the gas extraction process was injected into that disposal well, it could have affected a nearby and relatively inactive fault line running along the Dallas and Tarrant county lines, "reactivating it and generating the DFW earthquakes," said Brian Stump, an SMU geo...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 4:21 p.m. - 7 clicks
Even with one Travis County Democratic primary race race to be decided in an April run off, the campaigns for Austin ISD Board of Trustees and the Austin Community College Board of Trustees have already begun. The filing deadline was last Monday and Election Day is May 8. Austin ISD Place 9 candidate Dianne Mendoza garnered a mention on the Austin Chronicle's Newsdesk blog for ...
Burnt Orange Report - Wed 4:20 p.m. - 8 clicks
I actually do, too (believe in separation of church and state) , b ut it really grates on me that a church gets a big ole tax exemption FROM THE STATE while flying around in a 2.8 MILLION dollar Cessna Copeland's Eagle Mountain International Church and the Tarrant Appraisal District settled a lawsuit last month over the denial of a tax exemption for the $2.8 million jet, according to court a...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 4:09 p.m. - 6 clicks
Tonight on Biased Transmission our studio guest is Gray Varner, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Texas A&M. Topics we will discuss include the relationship between science and philosophy, the animal welfare (AW)/animal rights (AR) distinction, hunting and environmental ethics, and the concept of personhood. Listen to Biased Transmission every Wednesday on 89.1FM K...
Left of College Station - Wed 3:08 p.m. - 7 clicks
Floating in the road in the twitterverse right now is Austin Mayor, Lee Leffingwell, and City Councils decision to not force a transportation bond through for the November ballot and take the additional time to, "do urban rail right..." From the Mayor's website: Dear Friends: After countless conversations and careful consideration over the past few weeks, I have come to the concl...
Burnt Orange Report - Wed 1:01 p.m. - 7 clicks
I had been to a 4b meeting in which Pat Barrow asked the board for money to help restore the museum . She came very well prepared, with a thick notebook full of plans and details, and I was very impressed. The vote will take place at the next 4b meeting. She invited me out to the mill for a tour. I confess that I have seen the various adverts, been by there a couple of times when it was not o...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 9:47 a.m. - 4 clicks
Above you see Houston Mayor Annise Parker encouraging folks in Houston to fill out their census forms. Very good. Here are details of testimony offered by Mayor Parker about EPA clean air standards that impact Houston. All right. We should hear what the Mayor has to say on this issue. Here is a link about an agreement the Mayor [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Wed 9:46 a.m. - 4 clicks
I am continually amazed that a small group of private citizens control what may be taught in our schools and terrified by the fact that since Texas is one of the biggest customers to the textbook publishing business, they are also determining what students in other states are being taught. Here's an update. "AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas' state education board, rocked by primary elections that ma...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 9:29 a.m. - 3 clicks
Heard Billy Huckaby's glowing report on the progress of Oakdale Park I had been out there in January and took some video, so thought it would be interesting to see what it looks like now. Justin Day showed me the cabins. The cabins that have been done look terrific-the old-style paneling is gone.At the skating rink, not only the paneling but the beams are exposed, and are go...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 7:45 a.m. - 4 clicks
The Texas Ethics Commission has new rules about how candidates and officeholders report expenses. They apply to expenses made on or after July 1, 2010. My advice is to be mindful now of these new reporting categories for expenditures, before they are required. Note that you do not have to report expenditures this way on the report that is filed on July 15th. All of those expenditures will be...
Musings - Wed 7:44 a.m. - 4 clicks
Trustee, Council Races Set for May By Cassie Smith From the Bryan-College Station Eagle The filing period to run for city council and school board positions closed Monday with 16 people having filed for eight contested races in the May elections. While the College Station School Board will not see any contested races, two of the three open seats for Bryan trustees drew opposition. The Br...
Left of College Station - Wed 7:01 a.m. - 5 clicks
JERUSALEM — Having been removed in favor of Israeli nationalist Jews, members of the Palestinian Ghawi family have been sheltering this winter in a tent on the sidewalk opposite their home of more than five decades in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10jerusalem.html ...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 7:01 a.m. - 5 clicks
Note to Rick Perry: Bill White is no Kay Bailey Hutchison. Over the next few months, he is going to say what needs to be said about the failures of Rick Perry as Governor of Texas for the last 10 years. From the Texas Tribune : He criticized Republican Gov. Rick Perry as a divisive chief executive who wastes more time campaigning and"railing about things he can't control" than he does working o...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Wed 7:01 a.m. - 7 clicks
First, a deficit as high as $15 billion by 2011 can't be cured by 5 percent budget cuts. Neither, unless a lot of Texas voters are even dumber, or more hypnotized by Gov. Helmethair than I think, can the gap be filled by "fees." So, Tricky Ricky, and Speaker Joe Straus, having to pick up after former Speaker Kid Craddick, that means either budget slashes or new taxes. Meanwhile, showing both t...
SocraticGadfly - Tue 9:28 p.m. - 6 clicks
Another Gubernatorial Election Year of Eminent Domain Issues Gov. Rick Perry: proponent of endless toll roads, stealing eminent domain and "flim-flamming" Texans by Peter Stern Hey buddy! You got rocks in your head? Anyone voting to re-elect Rick Perry as governor of Texas t...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 9:03 p.m. - 5 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank the Academy by presenting it with this week’s roundup. TXsharon went undercover this week to Map Methane plumes in the Barnett Shale: “Stealth” measurements contradict Shale Gas industry safe air claims, new technology shows. Big Gas is so BUSTED! And it’s all reported on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR [...]...
Three Wise Men - Tue 8:29 p.m. - 4 clicks
Here’s a picture I took today that captures Houston well-enough. You’ve got the droopy palm trees, a billboard, a sign for an oil company, and a highway. This is a Houston anybody who lives here would understand. ...
TexasLiberal - Tue 6:08 p.m. - 5 clicks
From the March 8 2010 meeting. I like to record the meetings and sometimes when I'm listening to the presentations made, I'm waiting for one of the council people to ask a question I have. Not that every question that crosses my mind is going to be the same ones that cross the council people's mind. But I had one biggie that I wondered about immediately and then kept popping up during the present...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 5:29 p.m. - 7 clicks
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus has endorsed in the Harris County Primary Runoffs. Below are the four runoff races in Harris, with the two top vote getters and their percentage of the vote in the March 2nd Primary Election. The first name listed, in bold, is the HGLBT endorsed candidate: Judge, 234th District Court: Tanner Garth 46.20%, Jim Peacock 29.21% Judge, 270th District Co...
Musings - Tue 3:40 p.m. - 8 clicks
Phew . The top conservative activist on the powerful Texas Board of Education, who rejects evolution and has pushed for a revisionist right-wing U.S. history curriculum, is on the way out, after a moderate candidate defeated him in a tight primary last week. For months now, TPMmuckraker has been covering Don McLeroy as a major player in the battle over the drafting of nationally influent...
DailyKos (Texas) - Tue 2:28 p.m. - 5 clicks
I have a few things I want to talk about in the meeting but will do that on an upcoming post. For now, here's the audio of the whole thing. And here's the agenda More pics on Somervell County Salon's Flickr site. ...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 12:05 p.m. - 7 clicks
In Texas we have Good Hair, nationally, well, what Republican politician has NOT invoked the Gipper over and over again. St. Reagan is the all purpose quote machine. Charlies Crist down in Florida is invoking him as his moderate, big tent Republican approach is overwhelmed by the Republican right-wing. And every single one of the supposed "front runners" for the 2012 and beyond Republican presid...
Texas Kaos - Tue 10:29 a.m. - 5 clicks
NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE March Meeting: Gas Drilling 101 General Meeting Information: When: Thursday, March 11, 2010 6:30 pm – Doors Open – Coffee & Networking 7:00 – 8:45 pm: NCTCA Meeting Where: Hotel Trinity – Inn Suites I-30 @ Beach Street (east of downtown Ft. Worth) You asked for it, we listened! We’ll have a panel of knowledgeable, experien...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Tue 9:27 a.m. - 5 clicks
For Glen Rose Medical Center's operations in January through February 2010. (Item 16 on the Somervell County Commissioner's Court agenda ). My rough transcript here -listen to the audio to be certain. (about 10 minutes) Also copy of PDF request here. Darrell Morrison. Cash position for month of January 2010-$294,024.85 request for court.Approved at Authority board meeeting of Jan 26th-...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 9:27 a.m. - 6 clicks
from the March 8 2010 Somervell County Commissioners Court meeting . Pecan Plantation. (Rough Transcript). Somervell County Hospital Authority Board wants to borrow funds, under contract we limit their borrowing power to $50,000, but adding addtional doctor to Pecan Plantation clinic with enlarging of facility, don't want to ask the county for money to be expended and be able to borrow money an...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 9:27 a.m. - 4 clicks
This month Earthworks officially launched the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project (OGAP), a new citizens’ group that will work to ensure that Texas’ burgeoning Barnett shale gas industry operates while respecting the environment and the rights of its neighbors. There have been, to say the (very) least, a myriad of concerns popping up in recent years [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Tue 8:24 a.m. - 7 clicks
I am sure everyone has heard about the California GOP lawmaker Roy Ashburn who after being arrested for DUI leaving a gay nightclub has finally come out on a talk radio show? No? Well, that pretty much sums it up except for the fact that this guy has been virulent in his work against LGBT rights in California for the past 15 years. Now he says he voted that way because his constituents wanted...
Dungeon Diary - Tue 8:23 a.m. - 7 clicks
If you have a few minutes watch Rachel Maddow expose the so-called "grassroots" movement to stop any health care reform or any debate about health care reform from happening. From the teabaggers to the corporations supporting them, Maddow's report shows how the debate about the need for health care has been hijacked by the very people who are raising your insurance rates by 39%, the very pe...
Bay Area Houston Blog - Tue 4:29 a.m. - 11 clicks
Last weekend professors and scientists from four major Texas universities joined forces to write an editorial in the Houston Chronicle defending the science of global warming from skeptics and deniers. Check it out! On global warming, the science is solid In recent months, e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit in the United [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Tue 4:05 a.m. - 9 clicks
The filing deadline for candidates for the municipal elections passed setting the stage for contested municipal elections in Bryan and College Station. There will be a new mayor in Bryan, however, the current mayor of College Station is running for reelection against a challenger that was a previous city councilmember. While four of the six city council positions in Bryan and College Station are c...
Left of College Station - Mon 7:07 p.m. - 11 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank the Academy by presenting it with this week's roundup. TXsharon went undercover this week to Map Methane plumes in the Barnett Shale: "Stealth" measurements contradict Shale Gas industry safe air claims, new technology shows. Big Gas is so BUSTED! And it's all reported on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS. This week on Left of College Station,...
Texas Kaos - Mon 7:06 p.m. - 6 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank the Academy by presenting it with this week's roundup. TXsharon went undercover this week to Map Methane plumes in the Barnett Shale: "Stealth" measurements contradict Shale Gas industry safe air claims, new technology shows . Big Gas is so BUSTED! And it's all reported on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS . This week on Left of College ...
Left of College Station - Mon 5:46 p.m. - 10 clicks
