Texas
updated
9:22 p.m.
Echoing an advisory from Texas Democratic Party chair earlier this week, the Republican Party of Texas chair has today issued an advisory to party members cautioning that it may not be possible to have an unified April 3 - or even April 17 - primary. The advisory said in part: "The schedule put forth by the court today does not lend itself to an April 3rd unified primary date," the release...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - 9:08 p.m. - 2 clicks 
Nate Silver has an excellent article up about jobs gains and Presidential re-election. It’s well worth the read, but it brings to mind something that’s making me nervous… the correlation between Presidential approval/disapproval and gas prices. Last year, the correlation … Continue reading → ...
McBlogger - 8:24 p.m.
So Komen has supposedly reversed itself on Planned Parenthood. I’ve read their statement, as well as TBogg’s improved version of it, and I don’t see a “reversal” so much as I see a bunch of weasel words that may very well lead to the same functional result. There’s a bunch of analysis out there, I’ll [...]...
Off the Kuff - 5:44 p.m. - 3 clicks
Heads need to roll. Yesterday, a spokesman for the Susan B. Komen for The Cure foundation announced that it was not going to continue to support Planned Parenthood with continued funding for breast cancer screening, a popular and necessary function of the group that saves women’s lives on a daily basis. The reason, as found here , is that one of the foundation’s directors, and who knows,...
Half Empty - 3:45 p.m. - 7 clicks
I just finished reading an excellent essay by Yale law prof James Forman Jr., the son of a legendary civil rights pioneer, critiquing the view of mass incarceration as "the new Jim Crow," a phrase recently popularized by Michelle Alexander's book by that name. Here's the abstract from Forman's essay: In the five decades since black Americans won their civil rights, hundreds of thousands have ...
Grits for Breakfast - 3:45 p.m.
Or, the greatest example to date of how Gang Green enviromentalism's top dog, the Sierra Club, shows how a jokingly self-referential moniker from the start of the Clinton Administration well earns its deeper meeting. So, Chesapeake, one of the biggies in natural gas fracking, was a biggie in funding Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign, eh? And, former executive director Carl Pope was fine w...
SocraticGadfly - 2:43 p.m. - 7 clicks
The bad ole boys of Galveston County By Lloyd Criss Special to The Daily News Published February 2, 2012 On the national scene, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are viscously engaged in a no holds barred battle for the GOP … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - 12:43 p.m. - 12 clicks
What hath the iPod wrought this week? 1. The Best Is Yet To Come – Frank Sinatra and Count Basie 2. Better Be Good To Me – Tina Turner 3. Hammer To Fall – Queen 4. Bridge Of Sighs – Robin Trower 5. Born In Time – Bob Dylan 6. Downtown – The B-52′s 7. [...]...
Off the Kuff - 12:42 p.m.
About this project Beccaria is a chapbook of poetry which brings awareness to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The chapbook is a compilation of the art and poetry of murder victims' family members, current death row inmates and exonerated death row prisoners. The first printing of the chapbook was funded through a Leeway Art and Change Grant. This project is to fund the se...
Texas Death Penalty - 12:20 p.m.
» Chron: Gibson dropping out of Senate race With that, Jason Gibson is out of the race for U.S. Senate. Didn’t know he was running? … or who he was? You weren’t alone. Former State Rep. Paul Sadler is now the presumed ceremonial candidate. If he raises $5M, that’ll be impressive enough to do some [...]...
Greg's Opinion - 12:20 p.m. - 2 clicks
Reader Texas Maverick emails to point out this passage from the board minutes (pdf) of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's August 2011 meeting: Chairman [Oliver] Bell commented that the closure of the Central Unit has been a positive story and stated he was pleased the current trends have allowed the board and the TDCJ to be able to close a unit. The Central Unit has been studied for clo...
Grits for Breakfast - 11:24 a.m. - 9 clicks
» Wash. Monthly: Heath Shuler Retires I think Ed Kilgore (previously noted as one of my favorite bloggers) manages to both find a way to “get” the concept of “Run Everywhere” while at the same time as missing much of the concept. Along the way, Ed cheers the announcement that Heath Shuler won’t run for [...]...
Greg's Opinion - 11:08 a.m. - 15 clicks
Turns out Texas is one of the most regressive states in the nation on the burden of its various state taxes. Surprised? There is no god and I am his prophet. ...
SocraticGadfly - 10:48 a.m. - 10 clicks
In 1994 Bain purchased Baxter International and renamed it Dade International. Bain partnered with Goldman Sachs for the deal. The company was purchased for $442 million, but since it was leveraged, Bain put in less than $30 million. They also … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - 9:26 a.m.
Everybody is talking about how the Susan G. Komen Foundation "caved" to public pressure over cutting off grants to Planned Parenthood because they're under federal investigation. But, if you read the fine print in this story , there may not be much "cave." Komen simply says no current grants will be terminated, and Planned Parenthood will remain eligible for future grants. There's no guaran...
SocraticGadfly - 9:25 a.m. - 3 clicks
Republican Senator Threatens to Block All of President Obama’s Nominees – During an appearance on Chris Matthews, Republican Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) aid that he would bring America down if Democrats didn’t vote to force the American people to live … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - 9:03 a.m.
Republican Wants to Bring Back Public Hangings – There’s something about a public hanging that strikes me as very oh, I don’t know, “cruel and unusual” and offensive to every last bit of human decency. Not so for North Carolina … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - 9:03 a.m.
A few weeks ago I was behind a video game truck while at a red light. This truck apparently ships big video games all over Houston. Here is some history of trucks and the trucking industry. Last week I saw this representation of a game of Galaga on a metal utility box of some kind [...] ...
TexasLiberal - 9:03 a.m. - 8 clicks
And for Obama. The unemployment rate has fallen again, to 8.3 percent, and new hiring exceeded expectations . Not to be too Herbert Hoover-ish, but, expectations are an economic issue in and of themselves. And, therefore, news like this is doubly good. The "expectations" angle should improve more again, if only a bit. And, as noted, it's good news for Obama. If the unemployment rate...
SocraticGadfly - 8:43 a.m. - 3 clicks
Among the recommendations for managing the current stockpile of spent nuclear fuel — approximately 65,000 tons of waste stored at about 75 operating and shut-down reactor sites around the country — is a plan to move the waste to temporary storage sites. Public Citizen rejects this plan. In the absence of a permanent and viable [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - 7:06 a.m.
In the debate between the Bexar County Commissioners Court and the Sheriff over whether the jail is adequately staffed, the state Commission on Jail Standards this week came out with an estimate siding with the Sheriff to say current staffing levels are insufficient without using overtime. Reported the SA Express-News (" State says jail needs additional staff ," Feb. 1): A staffing analysis of Be...
Grits for Breakfast - 7:06 a.m. - 9 clicks
At the Galveston Daily News, Heber Taylor reports that , despite months of negotiation between the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the UT Medical Branch (UTMB) over providing inmate health care: there is no agreement. Dr. David L. Callender, president of the medical branch, let the staff know that the transition has begun to transfer the health services to the corrections department....
Grits for Breakfast - 6:48 a.m. - 9 clicks
WTF? Four stations — NBC affiliate KRIS, Telemundo affiliate KAJA, CW South Texas and independent station KDF — went black for Time Warner subscribers Dec. 12 after the company and Cordillera failed to reach a retransmission agreement. ...
South Texas Chisme - 4:49 a.m. - 12 clicks
Again, WTF ? But the negotiators for the other sides need to recognize that the people of Texas elected a Republican supermajority to the Legislature. The final redistricting outcome ought to reflect the authority vested in the Legislature by the people. Hence, the Supreme Court's decision. WTF? WTF?? Such a gross misunderstanding of the concept of one citizen one vote. Congressional districts...
South Texas Chisme - 4:49 a.m. - 10 clicks
At least a month. A panel of federal judges told parties in a Texas redistricting case Wednesday not to expect a ruling within 30 days, throwing the date of the state’s political primaries further in doubt. A ruling by the District of Columbia court in the complex case was expected to provide guidance to another [...]...
Off the Kuff - 3:28 a.m. - 9 clicks
I have three things to say about this. Despite public and private attempts to revive a shopping scene downtown, the retail market has struggled. Some stores like Forever 21 and Books-A-Million have opened, but most of the activity in recent years has come from restaurants and bars. Turnover has been high. Last year, 16 street-level [...]...
Off the Kuff - 3:28 a.m. - 10 clicks
The Statesman has a long story about the state of water in Texas and its outlook for the future. Short summary: We’re going to need more than what we’re capable of getting now, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to bridge the shortfall. “For most of our recent history, we just treated [...]...
Off the Kuff - 3:01 a.m. - 10 clicks
Texas Watch: The Texas Supreme Court has a long history of favoring corporate defendants over families and small businesses, according to a decade-long review of the Court’s decision making by Court Watch, a project of the non-profit Texas Watch Foundation. Court Watch reviewed the 624 cases involving consumers decided by the Court between 2000 and [...]...
Off the Kuff - 2:45 a.m. - 10 clicks
The next two states to determine their choice for the Republican presidential nomination are Maine and Nevada. In Maine the county caucuses will not necessarily be held at the same time. Each has between February 4th and February 11th to hold their caucus, which means the result of all the seperate caucuses (and its resulting delegate allocation) will not be known for another week. My fello...
jobsanger - Thu 10:29 p.m. - 2 clicks
The Republican presidential nomination has been chugging along nicely, with four states having voted and four more scheduled for the next couple of weeks. But this has been happening without the sizable ego of Donald Trump, and for Trump that is inexcusable. He's convinced that he the kingmaker in the Republican Party. So before a decision in the race became obvious, Trump quickly jumped on...
jobsanger - Thu 10:29 p.m. - 10 clicks
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you already know about the mess the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation has created for itself. The Komen Foundation was created to raise funds to fight breast cancer -- a laudable goal since breast cancer claims the lives of far too many women in this country. And to further that goal, they have in the past been giving a gran...
jobsanger - Thu 10:29 p.m. - 12 clicks
from FOX News: some more bad news for horses... Because of the previous anti-slaughter laws, it appears that horses from the U.S. are being collected and trucked inhumanely from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada where they face further inhumane treatment and slaughtering. So, Congress i...
Somervell County Salon - Thu 8:07 p.m. - 2 clicks
The Texas Rangers focused their offseason free-agent moves on the fees and contracts for wunderkind pitcher Yu Darvish , rather than chasing either Albert Pujols , who scared the hell out of Rangers manager Ron Washington in the World Series, or Prince Fielder . And now, Josh Hamilton has reportedly had another relapse with alcohol . And, per Fox , this was getting drunk, not just a "sli...
SocraticGadfly - Thu 8:06 p.m. - 10 clicks
Ask your candidate about America’s water safety. Ask your candidate about the groundwater pollution caused by Fracking for oil and gas....
BlueBloggin - Thu 4:50 p.m. - 3 clicks
Hear Ye, Hear Ye Hear Ye On Gobbler’s Knob on this magnificent Groundhog Day, February 2 nd , 2012 , Punxsutawney Phill, the Seer of Seers, the Prognosticator of all Prognosticators was summoned from his burrow in the old oak stump…After casting an appreciative glance towards thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed “As I look at the crowd on Gobbler’s Knob many shadows do I s...
Half Empty - Thu 4:07 p.m.
Two million people have no water. Crops are wiped out in the northern half of the country. The worst drought in Mexico's history is likely to worsen until summer rains come devastating the northern half of Mexico, damaging Mexico's economy. Indigenous communities in rural northern Mexico have no water, no food and no crops. Communities have had no rain in 15 months. The Mexican government is m...
DailyKos (Texas) - Thu 2:26 p.m. - 4 clicks
You may recall the case of the blogger/PI who sued two bloggers in Beaumont because they made fun of him, sucking Google (as blogger.com) and others into his vindictive legal wrath. He lost at the Texas Supreme Court , and now he has lost again. First, from the Southeast Texas Record : On Monday a local judge denied Philip Klein's petition to take the depositions of Google and Beaumont attor...
Brains and Eggs - Thu 11:46 a.m. - 13 clicks
I agree with Mitt Romney. I’m not terribly concerned about poor people either. Bunch of whiners. I mean, get a job. There are plenty of them out there. For example, yesterday I was at Starbucks and there was only one barista there and a bunch of people waiting and I almost jumped over the counter [...]...
In the Pink Texas - Thu 11:05 a.m.
Hamburger Wearing An Astros’ Hat—A member of the Texas Liberal Panel of Experts—is reading The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays by Richard Hofstadter. This 1965 book makes it clear that extreme paranoid thinking has long been a feature of American public life. Some may think that today’s conservative movement and Republican Party is some [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Thu 10:03 a.m. - 10 clicks
The Dallas County Jail right now houses roughly 7,800 inmates, according to comments by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards this morning, down from more than 10,000 at its height. That's more than a 22% reduction, but even that may be low-balled. According to the most recent TCJS jail population report (pdf), as of Jan. 1 the Dallas Jail had just 5,741 in...
Grits for Breakfast - Thu 9:45 a.m. - 10 clicks
Several female inmates from TDCJ's Mountain View unit have published a prisoner cookbook describing methods for (sometimes illegally) cooking with commissary items. Interesting. ...
Grits for Breakfast - Thu 8:46 a.m. - 2 clicks
The Democratic Strategist The Republican primary campaign has provided a foretaste of the bitter and divisive super-PAC driven media tactics that will be used against Obama in the fall. The fundamental and inescapable fact is that Democrats will be on the receiving end of a propaganda campaign of a scope and ferocity unparalleled in American history. Democrats must begin planning now how...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Thu 7:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
The cycle of crony money - taxpayer dollars to crony - crony dollars to republican. Eight of nine voting members on the Board of Regents donated to Perry’s gubernatorial campaign fund — Texans for Rick Perry. Perry appoints all of the public university regents, who are influential administrators within a university system. The regents meet quarterly to make budget decisions and set tuition and ...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:28 a.m. - 14 clicks
Li has done great work . The crux of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's court argument has been that the only districts protected under the Voting Rights Act are districts where, unlike Senate District 10, a single minority group, by itself, controls outcomes in elections. In other words, in his view, Hispanic and African-American voters only get protected by the Voting Rights Act if they live ...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:28 a.m. - 15 clicks
Regular readers know Grits thinks "sending a message" though criminal penalties is one of the worst communication methods imaginable. Almost no one actually reads the laws, the media never reports on most of them, and when they do they get things wrong 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Besides, few criminals read the newspaper. If you want to "send a message," in general buying billboard space or TV time is a ...
Grits for Breakfast - Thu 7:28 a.m. - 3 clicks
Don't doubt that for a moment . A former Corpus Christi law firm operator convicted of impersonating a lawyer has been granted a review by the state's highest criminal appeals court. Mauricio Celis was convicted in February 2009 of 14 counts of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. He appealed the conviction on 18 points but was denied by the 13th Court of Appeals. The Texas Court of Crimina...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:02 a.m. - 12 clicks
The fun of living in a crony capitalist state is you get to pay much higher insurance premiums . Farmers Insurance will raise homeowner premiums by nearly 10 percent after Texas regulators declined to object to the increase. ...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:02 a.m. - 14 clicks
Because Texas is a crony state . A close friend of Gov. Rick Perry's who was fired as a Texas A&M University System executive after brandishing a pocket knife has a new job - assistant director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. WTF? This is disgusting. ...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:02 a.m. - 12 clicks
Texas republicans would like to spend no money on educating children. The truth is our school finance system is broken. We are the second largest economy in the Union, however there are 43 states that invest more money per student, when it comes to education spending. If that isn't bad enough, the Texas budget (which I voted against) slashed spending by nearly $500 per student. That means teache...
South Texas Chisme - Thu 7:02 a.m. - 13 clicks
Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism by Carl T. Bogus My rating: 5 of 5 stars Excellent overview of Buckley, and his particular flavor of conservativism, and how he was able to unite disparate wings of conservativism into one "movement." Bogus has written for The Nation, among other things, but, from my POV, there's no liberal ax-grinding; Buckl...
SocraticGadfly - Thu 6:28 a.m.
Great news! After the Susan G. Komen Foundation pulled funding from Planned Parenthood's mammogram program for political reasons, the organization had a surge of donations (mine included) and raised over $400,000 in one day. The cancer awareness and prevention group bowed to political pressure to cut off their grant to Planned Parenthood and caused a firestorm of controversy. Facebook and o...
Dungeon Diary - Thu 6:28 a.m. - 2 clicks
Last year around this time, the city announced it was “getting tough on users of its services who have racked up nearly $1 billion in unpaid fines and fees, unveiling an aggressive collection program that is expected to make frequent use of litigation.” The Chron has an update on how that is going. A city [...]...
Off the Kuff - Thu 3:27 a.m.
The state of Texas is very likely to have to do something about school finance soon, but “soon” is not the same as “right now”. Houston ISD counsel David Thompson was exuding confidence Saturday that Texas school districts will prevail in their four lawsuits challenging state funding — but he warned trustees not to expect [...]...
Off the Kuff - Thu 3:05 a.m. - 15 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on unhealthy snacks and adult beverages as it brings you this week’s roundup. BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned that frivolous issues, wielded by the GOP-Tea Party-Republican Party, is a terrible distraction from serious problems facing America. Character slaughter, in the battle for a Republican Presidential candidate, does not [...]...
Off the Kuff - Thu 3:05 a.m. - 12 clicks
We get a C. Texas public school science courses “pay lip service” to critical content and largely ignore evolution in the middle grades, according to a national education foundation study that gives the state of Texas an overall “C” for science education. The average grade for Texas science curriculum standards by the Thomas B. Fordham [...]...
Off the Kuff - Thu 3:05 a.m. - 14 clicks
(The above cartoon is by Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News .) Yesterday I remarked in a post that since Romney has been unable to win the hearts of Republican voters, he has decided to try and buy the election. I've also taken to calling him Wall Street Willie, because most of his money is coming from corporations and other denizens of Wall Street. Some of you may think I was joking. I wa...
jobsanger - Wed 10:22 p.m. - 11 clicks
The Republicans took the House of Representatives away from the Democrats in the 2010 election -- and they did it because the Republican voters were highly enthusiastic about voting. They showed up at the polls while many frustrated Democrats and Independents did not. Until recently, there were those who believed the same thing could happen in the 2012 election. In the last couple of mon...
jobsanger - Wed 10:22 p.m. - 3 clicks
I received the following missive from Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) yesterday. Since I consider Bernie to be the best senator in the United States Senate, and I think everyone should hear what he has to say, I have posted his message below: I want to take this opportunity to update you about what’s going on in Washington, and share my thoughts about the short and long-term challen...
jobsanger - Wed 10:22 p.m.
A few days ago President Obama gave his State of the Union speech, and in that speech he outlined several proposals he wanted to pass. The Republicans were quick to pan the president's proposals, even though they have none of their own (except to give rich people more tax cuts -- their cure for everything). But it seems that the Republicans are not in tune without the large majority of Amer...
jobsanger - Wed 10:22 p.m.
You probably heard about 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper who couldn't get a free voter photo ID card at a Tennessee Driver Service Center in October . Tennessee has a voter photo ID law nearly identical to Texas' new ID law. Cooper never had a driver's license so she had to get a "free" voter photo ID card to vote in future elections. Even though she had a birth certificate and other ID the Dri...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Wed 7:44 p.m. - 16 clicks
I think we are seeing the writing on the wall this week as final arguments were made in DC yesterday on the Texas redistricting lawsuit. There is no way that the present district maps passed by the Texas state legislature last year will be allowed to stand. That much is certain. I don’t think I have ever seen this before. Well, yeah. I still remember Judge Sam Sparks telling Tom DeLay to ...
Half Empty - Wed 6:26 p.m. - 15 clicks
I almost missed this notice in the Glen Rose Reporter today: "The enclosed application form is an exemption for property taxes which you recieved last year but for which you must reapply before May 1 of this year. In order for this application to be valid, you must furnish the information it requires. If the application is not timely filed, the exemption must be denied. However, upon s...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 5:42 p.m. - 30 clicks
DBN : The D.C. District Court three judge panel entered a order in the preclearance case telling parties that they should not expect a ruling for at least 30 days: The Court directs the parties to comply fully with the page limits and briefing schedule set in this matter so that it can be timely resolved and also notifies the parties that this Court does not anticipate issuing any order with...
Brains and Eggs - Wed 2:47 p.m. - 2 clicks
Today, Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, sent out an email saying, "Yesterday a federal DC court heard closing arguments in the Texas redistricting pre-clearance case. So far, there have been two panels of federal judges and a hearing before the United States Supreme Court on Texas redistricting. Every court that has examined the redistricting maps enacted by the legislature...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Wed 2:29 p.m. - 16 clicks
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reporting that a “small” amount of radioactive gas may have leaked at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in Southern California. The San Onofre plant is on the Pacific Ocean coast near San Clemente north of San Diego. It consists of two units, No. 2 and No. 3. No. 1 was shut down [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Wed 2:28 p.m. - 2 clicks
For more information, please contact: Jim Craig, Louisiana Capital Assistance Center 636 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 558-9867 jimc@thejusticecenter.org Contact the Governor: The Hon. Phil Bryant Governor of Mississippi Phone: 601.359.3150 Camp.Murphy@governor.ms.gov &nbs...
Texas Death Penalty - Wed 1:29 p.m.
Nuclear energy may be on the ropes post Fukushima’s explosive meltdowns, but 70 years of U.S. bomb and power plant waste doesn’t dissipate so easily. Despite federal promises to the power industry to dispose of their highly toxic, long-lived poisons — and despite utilities collecting more than $25 billion in fees for such from customers [...] ...
harman on earth - Wed 12:03 p.m. - 12 clicks
From Burnt Orange Report , Progress Texas and Democratic Blog News The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate clearinghouse for the promotion of "model bills" that pad bottom lines of corporations at the public's expense. Over the last few months, Progress Texas has looked at ALEC and their influence on the Texas Legislature . ALEC has operated in relative...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Wed 11:05 a.m. - 14 clicks
Hearing about the unfortunate suicide of Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train saddened me. I can take comfort in all the wonderful performers he boosted during his career. Cornelius brought soul to TV and gave America a big helping of Black Culture and for that I will always be grateful. Here is a clip of the amazing Aretha on Soul Train, she was Rock Steady! Dungeon Diary ...
Dungeon Diary - Wed 10:44 a.m.
While I was watching the Florida returns last night on CNN/MSNBC/FOX/TNT/TBS, I was missing War Games on AMC. (Goddammit, I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it’d do any good!) The movie came out in 1983 at the height of my fear that it was just a matter of time before we would [...]...
In the Pink Texas - Wed 10:07 a.m.
Mitt Romney told a group of seniors on Monday night that “we will never go after Medicare or Social Security. We will protect those programs.” Barely a month ago, Romney became a strong backer of the Paul Ryan budget which would essentially end Medicare by privatizing it into a corporate insurance company voucher program. Mitt Romney is trying to “change his tune,” DNC Chair Debbie Wasse...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Wed 8:41 a.m. - 2 clicks
Juan Williams, commentator for Fox Noise, is having a wide awake hallucination. He thinks that his job is to be a real reporter and ask tough questions. Silly Juan, that's not your job, it is to shill for Republican candidates and , since you are black, to give them cover for their racial dog-whistling! But, let Juan speak for himself: Racial code words obscure real issues Race is always a tri...
Texas Kaos - Wed 8:10 a.m. - 2 clicks
The SA Express News had an editorial today praising a district court ruling last week requiring state mental hospitals to timely accept defendants for "competency restoration" who've been deemed incompetent to stand trial by the courts. Here's a notable excerpt: In San Antonio, criminal defendants in need of a bed in a state psychiatric facility are routinely spending months in the Bexar Count...
Grits for Breakfast - Wed 7:42 a.m. - 14 clicks
Even though Rick Perry blew more than $17 million from Make Us Great Again , his Super PAC, on a doomed Presidential campaign, he still has $2.5 million in his state campaign coffer. Furthermore, Perry remains the most powerful official in the state of Texas. The Austin-American Statesman reported that: "The top donors to Make Us Great Again included Dallas busine...
Somervell County Salon - Wed 7:08 a.m. - 28 clicks
Say what? It seems that the whole Super-PAC thing isn't lucrative enough for the Republican Party, now they want to amend the campaign finance laws to allow corporations to just funnel as much money as they want into campaigns. Not that they aren't already doing it to some extent, but the GOP wants to clear away the artifice of PACs and Super-PACs to just put the money on the table. G...
Dungeon Diary - Wed 7:08 a.m. - 2 clicks
Ri ght wing thuggery knows no bounds . The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will no longer give hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to Planned Parenthood, according to the Associated Press. Planned Parenthood received $680,000 in 2011 and $580,000 in 2010 from Komen for breast-cancer screening and related services. Nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams we...
South Texas Chisme - Wed 6:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
Perhaps she should invoke the Heisenberg uncertainty principle . Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones appears to have uncovered a mystery in the state's Constitution: Nowhere does it define “the Capital of the State.” The Constitution requires certain state officers to reside there while in office, but since the capital city isn't named, how can that requirement be enforced? Jones se...
South Texas Chisme - Wed 6:29 a.m. - 15 clicks
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia was elected in 2008 with the highest vote total of any candidate on the ballot. He inherited an office that was tainted by the scandals of his long-term predecessor, a jail system that was overcrowded, understaffed, unsafe, unsanitary, and under the spotlight of federal and state inspectors, a hiring freeze [...]...
Off the Kuff - Wed 4:20 a.m. - 11 clicks
Glad we got that settled. New owner Jim Crane ended a week of speculation and rare attention on a national level and anticipated backlash among Houstonians, saying he would not change the name of the club – a possibility he floated last week. “You asked for change and we added several fan friendly initiatives last [...]...
Off the Kuff - Wed 4:20 a.m. - 13 clicks
Late last week we heard about the possibility of a settlement agreement in the San Antonio redistricting case that would allow for the creation of interim maps in time to keep the April 3 primary date. The court gave this Friday as a drop dead date for getting that done. As of today, it’s looking [...]...
Off the Kuff - Wed 4:20 a.m. - 14 clicks
I’ve been banging the drum lately about encouraging growth inside the city’s boundaries as a long-term financial management strategy, so I’m glad to see this. Eight years ago, city of Houston officials decided to incentivize the conversion of 80 wooded acres off Little York Road into a 375-home community, a place, in some small measure, [...]...
Off the Kuff - Wed 4:20 a.m. - 12 clicks
(The cartoon above is by Jerry Holbert in The Boston Herald .) Most Americans have been shocked to learn in the past couple of years just how small a tax rate is paid by the richest people in this country. The issue recently received a new impetus with the release of Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney's tax return from 2010. Although he made over $20 million for not workin...
jobsanger - Tue 10:27 p.m. - 13 clicks
The Florida primary wasn't the only election that was held in the United States yesterday. The people of Oregon's 1st congressional district were also voting in a special election to fill that House seat. It is the seat that was held by Democrat David Wu, who resigned last August. You may remember Wu as the candidate who sent his staffers a picture of himself in a tiger costume, causing man...
jobsanger - Tue 10:27 p.m. - 2 clicks
Politics has always been a rather brutal undertaking, and never more than in a general election or a party primary. The stakes are high and the loser goes home while the winner assumes a lot of power -- or in the case of a primary, the right to run for that power position. Even the tamest of primary campaigns can rightfully be compared to a bare-knuckles brawl, where even the winner comes o...
jobsanger - Tue 10:27 p.m. - 15 clicks
The denizens of Wall Street can celebrate today. Their candidate, the candidate they bankrolled, won a smashing victory in the Sunshine State. Willard Mitt Romney (Wall Street Willie) beat Newt Gingrich by a whopping 14% in Florida, and took all of the 50 delegates that Florida offered. And with this victory, Romney has snatched the race momentum back from Gingrich. Does this mean that t...
jobsanger - Tue 10:27 p.m.
This post starts with three main observations. One is that Social Darwinism, whether under that name or not, has a long history in America. The second is that, in general, this has been more a respected than a disrespected position in American social, political and even religious thought. The third is that, along with increasing income inequality, a renewed focus on Social Darwinism start...
SocraticGadfly - Tue 9:04 p.m. - 12 clicks
I’m speechless. In a shocking move Tuesday afternoon, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the country’s most famous breast cancer charity, pulled its grants for breast-cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. Komen claims that their reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation from Congress, but as it’s well-understood on both the left and the right that the [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 8:23 p.m. - 2 clicks
With a 47% majority Romney snagged all the delegates from the Sunshine State and now moves west. Meanwhile the much touted Newt Gingrich bubble, seems to have burst. The campaign moves to Nevada where Romney has the advantage of being Mormon, and with a large Mormon population he seems a shoe-in there. Though Newt says he will soldier on, I suspect he has blown his wad. Meanwhile w...
Dungeon Diary - Tue 8:05 p.m. - 2 clicks
Well, well, well. So far, the D.C. Court of Appeals is pretty skeptical of Texas' redistricting maps. Now, with this in mind, we have to turn our eyes back to San Antonio. To me, it sounds like plaintiffs have good reason NOT to sign off on a Feb. 6 settlement deadline if the D.C. Court is likely to make an unfavorable preclearance ruling just days after that. There is no god and I am his prophe...
SocraticGadfly - Tue 7:49 p.m. - 15 clicks
Thus endeth one of the most fascinating local stories in recent memory. A Harris County grand jury ended its session Tuesday, ending a months-long investigation into the district attorney’s office and the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vehicles with a blistering report, but no indictments. “There was no evidence of a crime,” said grand jury [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 6:05 p.m. - 16 clicks
InterOccupy.org facilitates open conference calls about a variety of topics for participants and supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement. This is just one more indication that Occupy is around for the long haul. Here is a list of upcoming InterOccupy calls. InterOccupy also serves as a source of Occupy Wall Street news and events. [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Tue 5:48 p.m. - 3 clicks
I feel sometimes that I am most at home when on the move, when considering ideas that are interesting, and when I’m with friends. This is why I enjoyed this graffiti that I saw on the Galveston Seawall earlier this week. I was on the road for a day trip, I liked the idea being [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Tue 5:48 p.m. - 16 clicks
Did the message to 1 get garbled? Was only 1 listening? I'm normally not like Gnu Atheists, taking cheap potshots at organized religion. But, per this interesting substory within last week's Florida traffic accident tragic pile-up, this is one time to partially set aside those rules. For the omnipotent god of conservative Christians, of course, the only answer is that "god is inscrut...
SocraticGadfly - Tue 4:03 p.m. - 2 clicks
Here we are early in the primary season, with the Florida Primary today, and promises of a double digit Romney victory, and it seems that Republican voters are still unimpressed with the field of candidates that remain. According to the Pew Research Center , Republicans are singularly unexcited about their candidates. They report that the 44% of Republican or Republican-leaning ...
Half Empty - Tue 3:27 p.m.
In Travis County, a federal jury declared that, although jailers weren't the "proximate" cause of Rachel Jackson's death, but there were areas where the county's operation of its jail needs to improve. Reported Steven Kreytak at the Austin Statesman : A federal jury in Austin ruled [Friday] that neither the actions of Travis County officials nor of a former jail psychiatrist caused the death o...
Grits for Breakfast - Tue 1:04 p.m. - 14 clicks
A grand jury investigating misconduct at the Harris County District Attorney's Office declined to issue indictments , but put out a stinging public statement critical of the DA's Office's handling of the affair. Reports Brian Rogers at the Houston Chronicle : A Harris County grand jury ended its session Tuesday, ending a months-long investigation into the district attorney's office and th...
Grits for Breakfast - Tue 1:04 p.m. - 14 clicks
Yes a community water well has fallen so low that its supplier the Lower Colorado River Authority, is having to truck water to Spicewood Beach. More interestingly yet, the unincorporated community of Spicewood Beach isn't out in the semidesert or desert of Far West Texas. It's in the Hill Country, less than 35 miles from Austin. And, as the LCRA name should indicate, it's near a decent-sized riv...
SocraticGadfly - Tue 12:24 p.m. - 12 clicks
Apparently Gingrich has been using the song “Eye of the Tiger” at his campaign rallies and Survivor is not happy. They’ve even filed a lawsuit for him to cease and desist and for unspecified damages. (Incidentally this was always my favorite Survivor song although “High on You” was a close second.) As someone who’s a [...]...
In the Pink Texas - Tue 10:21 a.m. - 17 clicks
Burnt Orange Report: Governor Romney is finally sealing the deal, even if by eliminating the opponents from a less-than-stellar field, and this looks like the two-man race that most experts predicted 12 months ago. If tomorrow's Florida primary goes as advertised, Romney wins by at least double-digits, and the run for Tampa becomes a mere formality. More importantly, within the past...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Tue 9:07 a.m.
At this point in the presidential nomination process, voters usually start getting comfortable with at least some of the candidates who have been campaigning for many months. Republican voters have gotten to know their candidates and attending agendas pretty well by now. And yet, as the Pew Research Center found, rank-and-file Republicans are finding themselves less satisfied with their...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Tue 8:48 a.m. - 16 clicks
» Wash. Post: Half of Maryland residents back legalizing same-sex marriage This could prove interesting in the years ahead … The new poll found a sharp divide among Maryland Democrats based on race. Among whites, 71 percent support same-sex marriage, while 24 percent do not. Among blacks, 41 percent are supportive, while 53 percent are [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Tue 8:47 a.m. - 2 clicks
Before this momentous occasion slips too far into the rear view mirror, I do need to publicly celebrate the fact that Ed Kilgore is the new blogger for Washington Monthly. I’ve been a fan of Ed’s ever since I was vaguely aware of the policy work he did for Sen. Sam Nunn as far back [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Tue 8:20 a.m. - 30 clicks
Spicewood, Texas, a small community on Lake Travis, is precariously close to becoming the state’s first community to run out of drinking water during this historic drought. On Monday, under dark clouds and with rain falling, Spicewood got its first delivery of 8,000-gallons of water after it became clear local wells could no longer produce enough [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Tue 7:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
Corruption Inept election planning Poor oversight Lack of responsibility Poor voting machine integrity Inadequate election laws State and GOP Power & Control issues Lack of voter awareness and knowledge At best, questionable election procedures and actions. In addition, On the Florida ballot there are many write-in and oth...
Somervell County Salon - Tue 6:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
Good point . In pursuing a hostile racial profiling campaign against Mexican-looking citizens, the Arizona Maricopa County sheriff’s actions are the topic of emotional debate. Following the vile behavior example of 1960s southern sheriffs who used their official positions to fight racial equality for Black citizens, the Arizona sheriff is using his position to likewise violate civil rights. He ha...
South Texas Chisme - Tue 5:21 a.m.
Crony capitalists don't like people to know how they are funneling our money . A member of Gov. Rick Perry's staff testified Monday that the Legislature might have gone too far in requiring technology startups to disclose how many jobs they are creating with taxpayer money. WTF??? If a company takes our money, we deserve to know how THAT company rewarded us. Otherwise, don't take our money. ...
South Texas Chisme - Tue 5:21 a.m. - 15 clicks
republicans hate public education and have gone about destroying science education in particular. Texas public school science courses “pay lip service” to critical content and largely ignore evolution in the middle grades, according to a national education foundation study that gives the state an overall “C” for science education. The average grade for Texas science curriculum standards by the T...
South Texas Chisme - Tue 5:21 a.m. - 16 clicks
Want the scoop on hot races around the country? Get the digest emailed to you each weekday morning. Sign up here . Leading Off : • House Open Seat Watch : The newest installment in our 2012 House Open Seat Watch is finally here. We've accounted for every twist and turn brought on by reapportionment and redistricting, and you won't find a more comprehensive list anywhere else of who's...
DailyKos (Texas) - Tue 5:21 a.m. - 2 clicks
From Tim Cole's posthumous exoneration to a failed effort in the Todd Willingham case and now in the aftermath of Michael Morton's exoneration, defense attorneys have sought to use courts of inquiry, not always successfully , to ferret out injustice and police and prosecutor misconduct when official channels have been barred. The military has a much-different process with the same name, but acc...
Grits for Breakfast - Tue 4:08 a.m. - 18 clicks
As you know, the state of Texas has filed a lawsuit in the DC District Federal Court – the same court that is hearing the preclearance lawsuit – to get the odious voter ID law precleared. Michael Li introduces us to the judges that will be hearing this case. Texas’ suit over its voter ID [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 3:20 a.m. - 17 clicks
I feel like there are some pieces missing in this discussion. The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to add Matagorda County to the list of Texas’ smog violators because Gulf breezes that blow through the area send air pollution toward the sprawling metropolis. Local leaders are pushing back, saying the dubious distinction would lead to [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 3:20 a.m. - 18 clicks
Here’s another long Chron story about disciplinary statistics for Harris County Sheriff’s deputies. Reading through it, I felt like there was some context missing. A Houston Chronicle review of disciplinary records indicates that from 2008 through 2010, more than 200 jail employees were disciplined for various offenses, some serious and others minor. Last year, the [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 3:20 a.m. - 14 clicks
In addition to county candidates, my 2012 Democratic primary election page has information about state and federal candidates who will be on the ballot in Harris County. There are numerous contested primaries, and while I’m not tracking information about Republican races on that page, I thought it would be useful to check on the finance [...]...
Off the Kuff - Tue 3:20 a.m.
There are those fundamentalist christians that like to claim atheism is a kind of religion. As the picture above (from The Immoral Minority ) shows, that is ridiculous. Atheism is simply the lack of a belief in any god -- nothing more. ...
jobsanger - Mon 10:24 p.m. - 2 clicks
The card above is basically what a Texas Voter Registration Card looks like these days. For many years now this is the only thing you needed to have to vote in any election. I'm sure your state has something similar. This system has worked pretty well, and there is really no need to change it, but the Republicans in Texas want to change it anyway. They claim that they need to prevent vot...
jobsanger - Mon 10:06 p.m. - 11 clicks
The struggle to stop the execution of Troy Davis last fall showed the brutal reality of innocent, African-American men on death rows across this country. Now we face yet another urgent case: the time is now to stand with Tim McKinney. Tim McKinney is an innocent man who was on Tennessee's death row for over a decade . ...
Texas Death Penalty - Mon 8:43 p.m. - 14 clicks
Science News has two excellent articles on where we are at, part of a just-started ongoing series. The first , by Tom Siegfried, follows in many of the footsteps of Douglas Hofstadter to talk about consciousness and self-referential systems. The title of "Self as Symbol" gives some hint of where he's headed. And, he says self-referentiality may actually deepen our eventual understanding of co...
SocraticGadfly - Mon 7:43 p.m. - 2 clicks
Last week I watched President Obama’s State of the Union speech. On my Facebook that evening, I saw a number of reactions to the speech from both moderate and liberal Democrats, from Green Party supporters, from Occupy Wall Street backers and from socialists. The Democrats all liked the speech, while some of my friends further [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Mon 7:07 p.m.
Is it just me or are some of the rest of you in my area experiencing supreme frustration, more often than not, when trying to stream a video these days? Since I don't watch much TV, I look forward in the evening to watching a video of something I missed, on the net. These days, that's one of the coolest things about the internet. But it isn't if it doesn't work. Having the a...
Somervell County Salon - Mon 6:24 p.m.
OK, when I saw this headline at the Austin American-Statesman, “ Perry to address CPAC conference ” I had to ask myself this question: Why? Isn’t he out of the presidential nomination race? Didn’t he prove to the nation that he had no qualifications to be president? That he is an ignorant slob? Hey, I thought so. But not the case. And the reason this is not the case is that the C...
Half Empty - Mon 5:25 p.m. - 13 clicks
Well, crap. Under orders from the Vatican, the Catholic church is telling parishioners that they should oppose the president over contraceptive services. We’ve been here before but this is an ELECTION YEAR. However church leaders have made it very clear that Catholics who vote for Obama might as well be Methodists. The Obama administration is [...]...
In the Pink Texas - Mon 2:43 p.m. - 15 clicks
Via Democratic Blog News , the Austin Chronicle (their emphasis): There were rumors floating around all weekend that there could be a deal struck as early as today, but with all parties heading to DC to catch closing arguments in the preclearance hearing tomorrow, Jan. 31, that seems unlikely. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus told the Chronicle this morning that a deal is not immine...
Brains and Eggs - Mon 2:42 p.m. - 18 clicks
The Austin Chronicle / 1:17pm, Mon. Jan. 30: Monday, February 6, 2012 -- That's the deadline set last Friday by the San Antonio District Court redistricting panel for all parties to agree on interim House, Senate and Congressional maps, or they'll miss the deadline for the April 3 unified primary. There were rumors floating around all weekend that there could be a deal struck as early ...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Mon 1:30 p.m. - 18 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on unhealthy snacks and adult beverages as it brings you this week’s roundup. BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned that frivolous issues, wielded by the GOP-Tea Party-Republican Party, is a terrible distraction from serious problems facing America. Character slaughter, in the battle for a Republican Presidential candidate, does not [...]...
BlueBloggin - Mon 11:48 a.m. - 15 clicks
From LiveScience In an election year, it's hard to turn on the television or read a newspaper without getting the sense that Americans are becoming ever more divided into red versus blue. But a new study finds that perception may be downright wrong. In fact, political polarization among the public has barely budged at all over the past 40 years, according to research presented her...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Mon 11:21 a.m. - 2 clicks
Texas Coalition for Affordable Power’s (TCAP) report on electric deregulation in Texas says the industry has failed to deliver, while industry and agency critics find fault with the reports price and reliability comparisons. Texans have paid higher prices for power that is less reliable – as evidenced by two rolling blackouts – during a decade [...] ...
TexasVOX: Public Citizen - Mon 10:41 a.m. - 19 clicks
So I’m back from Florida where I single-handedly demolished Newt Gingrich’s campaign. Don’t ask me how. You don’t want to know. Suffice it to say, the latest poll shows Romney leading by 20 points. That gives Newt less than 24 hours to turn things around with his BIG FAT GRANDIOSE IDEAS. I was feeling pretty [...]...
In the Pink Texas - Mon 10:40 a.m. - 2 clicks
Law enforcement interests, both through the Texas Police Chiefs Association and individually, are seeking to undermine the new model eyewitness ID policy from Sam Houston State University's Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), produced under the auspices of a bill, HB 215 , passed last year at the Texas Legislature. LEMIT did a fine job creating the model policy (pdf), by ...
Grits for Breakfast - Mon 9:43 a.m. - 14 clicks
Turns out Freddie Mac is betting that many underwater homeowners will lose their homes, and that it started increasing securities trades toward this end in the middle of the recession, running counter to its mission to boost affordable housing AND the general needs of the economy. And, it's made refinancing almost impossible to get. Even if the trading division didn't get work by the "main...
SocraticGadfly - Mon 8:05 a.m. - 2 clicks
Crossposted at burn after writing Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is back with a new anti-privacy bill that's been on the radar of civil liberties organizations for several months now, though it hasn't yet received much attention in the mainstream media. He introduced H.R. 1981 , euphemistically the "Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011" back in May 2011 and on July 28, 20...
DailyKos (Texas) - Mon 8:05 a.m. - 11 clicks
I neglected to mention that at the Austin Statesman, Eric Dexheimer last week had a lengthy item in which your correspondent was briefly quoted critiquing Texas' seldom-used hate crimes statute, which has yielded just 10 successful prosecutions since Gov. Perry signed it into law in 2001. "'The law should punish bad actions, not unpopular or ignorant beliefs,' said Scott Henson, who writes the ...
Grits for Breakfast - Mon 7:41 a.m. - 13 clicks
Crony capitalists can just take your land , because republicans and some crony capitalist democrats let them. The Gipses are one of hundreds in the Crossroads with pipelines crisscrossing their property. For the Gipses and others, their worries aren't about fracking or possible pollutants. For them, the problems start with two legal words: eminent domain. The Eagle Ford Shale play has unlocked t...
South Texas Chisme - Mon 7:21 a.m. - 2 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on unhealthy snacks and adult beverages -- in preparation to celebrate the almost-ready-to-break news on Texas redistricting as well as Sunday's Super Bowl -- as it brings you this week's roundup. BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned that the frivolous issues the Tea Party Republicans scream about -- and boo and cheer about at their debates -- ...
Brains and Eggs - Mon 7:20 a.m. - 18 clicks
Why should this even be an issue? Crony capitalists. Colonia residents showed up in force at a Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council meeting last Thursday to get behind a big jobs issue proposed by the Equal Voice for America’s Families network. Equal Voice wants the LRGVDC to make sure a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, known as Section 3, is fully c...
South Texas Chisme - Mon 6:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on unhealthy snacks and adult beverages as it brings you this week's roundup. BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned that frivolous issues, wielded by the GOP-Tea Party-Republican Party, is a terrible distraction from serious problems facing America. Character slaughter, in the battle for a Republican Presidential candidate, does not show wh...
South Texas Chisme - Mon 6:42 a.m. - 14 clicks
At the Houston Chronicle, James Pinkerton has a story today (" Discipline problems persist behind bars ," Jan. 30) describing employee misconduct that spawned disciplinary actions and terminations at the Harris County Jail from 2008 to 2010. The article opens: A female jailer ordered, without authorization, an entire cellblock of women prisoners to strip naked during a July 2010 search. She's st...
Grits for Breakfast - Mon 6:41 a.m. - 12 clicks
The latest GOP poll taken by the American Research Group, Inc. shows Romney first in Florida. The fact that there have been 3 different winners in the last 3 states (1 caucus, 2 primaries) shows that the GOP is not in the best place to make a real bid against President Obama. The party should have learned something from its miserable showing 4 years ago, but obviously, GOP leadersh...
Somervell County Salon - Mon 5:41 a.m. - 31 clicks
No more mystery meat. School lunches, long saddled with an unhealthy reputation, are getting a makeover. Instead of salt-doused fried foods, highly processed white bread and sugar-laden desserts, cafeteria trays will be carrying whole wheat pizza, leafy green and orange vegetables and fresh fruit. The changes, announced Wednesday by first lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture [...]...
Off the Kuff - Mon 3:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
As of today, the following candidates for county offices in Harris County have not filed campaign finance reports with the County Clerk: Candidates for Sheriff Charles Massey El (D) Guy Clark (R, formerly D) Daniel Lemkuil (R) Candidates for HCDE Jarvis Johnson (D) Silvia Mintz (D) Timothy Rose (R) Tom Cruz (R) Candidates for County [...]...
Off the Kuff - Mon 3:48 a.m.
I must say, I was a bit flummoxed by this story. The City of Austin might repeal a 2-year-old ordinance requiring some facilities that counsel women with unplanned pregnancies to post signs saying they don’t offer abortions or contraceptive services. The four Austin facilities affected by the ordinance sued the city last fall, saying the [...]...
Off the Kuff - Mon 3:48 a.m. - 24 clicks
We move on this week to the two top of the ticket races for Harris County, DA and Sheriff, starting today with Zack Fertitta, who is running for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. Fertitta spent several years in the DA’s office as a prosecutor, and since then he has had his own practice as [...]...
Off the Kuff - Mon 3:48 a.m.
» NY Times: In Their Election Drought, Texas Democrats Find Solace in G.O.P.’s Past Struggles » Chron: Gibson plunges into politics in Senate run Two different takes on the Dem side of the US Senate contest: one with a focus on East Texas former State Rep. Paul Sadler and another with a focus on Houston [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Mon 3:48 a.m. - 33 clicks
Here is a photo I took a few hours ago at the water’s edge in Galveston, Texas. Very primordial. You say that this blog and that many things as well began at the water’s edge. At The Water’s Edge is a well-reviewed book by Carl Zimmer about—among other topics—sea creatures first walking on land. Life–A [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sun 9:47 p.m. - 11 clicks
Here is a home decorated for Valentine’s Day that I saw a few hours ago in Galveston,Texas. I thought this was friendly. Here is a history of Valentine’s Day. With more and more states allowing gay marriage, Valentine’s Day 2012 will be extra happy for folks able to live as they wish in a tough [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sun 9:21 p.m. - 14 clicks
Last night I saw the movie Contraband. This movie was about people smuggling stuff aboard big ships. Here is my review of this movie— “Contraband was enjoyable. There was plenty of action and many interesting pictures of ships and of Panama City, Panama.” This covers my thoughts about Contraband. Here are some facts on [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sun 9:21 p.m. - 12 clicks
Ron Paul Signed Off on Racist Newsletters in the 1990s, Associates Say – Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian , has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - Sun 7:44 p.m. - 27 clicks
Swiss Mitt! – Mitt Romney Tax Returns Released: Paid Just 13.9% Rate In 2010, below that of most wage-earning Americans, had Swiss bank account. Rick Santorum Campaign Staffer Says It Is Against God’s Will to Have a Female President – … Continue reading → ...
The WAWG Blog - Sun 7:44 p.m.
The end of the road for this particular bit of litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up the adult entertainment industry’s lawsuit against the state’s $5-per-patron strip club tax, justices decided Monday. “Texas is now one step closer to a sustainable source of funding for rape crisis centers, and most importantly, for supporting [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sun 5:44 p.m. - 13 clicks
To everything there is a season, and that season starts with pitchers and catchers. “If you are a consumer of conservative media, you get constant reminders — every day, multiple times a day — that you absolutely must not believe anything you hear or read in any news outlet that is not explicitly conservative.” Fans [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sun 5:44 p.m. - 2 clicks
More hopeful news for this year. Boosted by gains in energy, manufacturing and retail trade, the Houston area added 75,800 jobs during 2011, a 3 percent increase over the previous year, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday. “The numbers are impressive,” said Barton Smith, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Houston. Improvement appeared [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sun 5:44 p.m. - 12 clicks
Me, last month: Meanwhile, two weeks ago there was a story about TxDOT closing the White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Trail between Ella and 34th streets while there is construction on the service road for 610 North at East TC Jester. The closure was scheduled for two years, without an alternate route that bicyclists thought was [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sun 5:44 p.m. - 11 clicks
Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever by Kathleen Sharp My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yes, the label of "Big Pharma" can be thrown around indiscriminately. Then, a book like this suggests we need to use it even more. There's an ugly world out there of drug company sales reps essentially bribing doctors, hospitals and clinics to use the...
SocraticGadfly - Sun 3:45 p.m. - 4 clicks
This is hilarious. You might remember this group released nearly the same You Tube video in 2008. Their story then was John McCain would win the presidential election because he was the choice of the Dark Masters. Now they are back with the story that the puppet masters have picked Mitt Romney to be our next president. As I mentioned to the one who posted this video on her faceb...
Half Empty - Sun 2:24 p.m. - 3 clicks
Police can lie to suspects to get a confession; that is well established law. But what, exactly is a lie? As it turns out, that was well established law, too, at the time Austin PD officers allegedly crossed the line to hoping Mark Alan Norwood would confess to the murder of Debra Baker. Austin police "doctored" a forensics report to try to get Norwood - now the prime suspect in the Christin...
Grits for Breakfast - Sun 10:46 a.m. - 11 clicks
Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. TPA members are citizen-bloggers working for a better Texas. Often I post some additional Texas related political or historical material with the round-up. However, I’m going to go to Galveston instead later this [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sun 8:41 a.m. - 10 clicks
Saturday's protests -- the most turbulent since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November -- came just days after the group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall. Springtime will be coming soon. ...
Brains and Eggs - Sun 8:00 a.m.
I have been wondering why the state of Texas (read: Attorney General Greg Abbott) has been so suddenly willing to abandon its concurrent legal strategies to force discriminatory districts on us all, and reach a settlement that will reportedly favor Democrats, Latino organizations, and others fighting them. Here's the insight I have been seeking to what, by every appearance to me, looked like...
Brains and Eggs - Sun 8:00 a.m. - 14 clicks
A lingering anachronism from a failed social experiment, the Amarillo Globe-News (" Boot camps: Learn new or pay later ," Jan. 26) describes a boot camp facility that barely receives commitments these days (370 out of 400 beds are empty), as well as debates within criminal-justice circles over whether such programs make sense given well-documented evidence that they do not reduce recidivism. Here'...
Grits for Breakfast - Sun 7:42 a.m. - 14 clicks
The Conroe Courier yesterday had the story of a new mental health docket in Montgomery County (using "managed assigned counsel," whatever that means) created with a grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission aimed at diverting mentallly ill defendants from the jail: In the past few days, the county launched its managed assigned counsel program for indigent defendants to focus on represent...
Grits for Breakfast - Sun 7:09 a.m. - 18 clicks
» Wash. Post: Maryland governor’s agenda faces challenges, poll shows As a means of tracking my slightly-more-than-passing interest in Martin O’Malley as a potential 2016 Presidential candidate …. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley lacks clear public support for key budget and tax proposals and a bid to legalize same-sex marriage, underscoring the uncertainty of an ambitious [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Sun 4:45 a.m.
» Chron: Bands go their own way with Kickstarter I mention this primarily since one of the references is to the worship band at my church, the Robbie Seay Band. Nice to see them getting some mention in the local rag … More artists are parting ways with traditional record labels to make and promote [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Sun 4:45 a.m.
» Chron: Cougar baseball begins new journey For the five people or so who might be interested in Cougar baseball … A total of 14 Cougars return from that 27-32 squad that finished tied for fourth in C-USA (12-12) and they’re joined by a whopping 20 newcomers that look to add significant depth that wasn’t [...]...
Greg's Opinion - Sun 4:45 a.m.
From the fact that there's more male bisexuality in societies other than America to a long history of situational homosexuality, from Greek pederasty to American West "brokeback mountain" moments, it's clear that, while inclinations to a gay/lesbian orientation are primarily genetic (and, in gay males, also, likely to some degree "environmental," but womb-environment affected) this is NOT a 100 pe...
SocraticGadfly - Sat 11:28 p.m. - 9 clicks
Poor Mitt. Poor Newt. They haven't a clue, have they? They argue about millions when most of us still are thinking of assets in the thousands. How out of touch is that? ...
Half Empty - Sat 11:28 p.m.
Early this week, Google rolled out its new privacy policy, translating across almost all Google platforms, being forced, and having no opt-out clause. You have to quit your Google account or else accept things. Then, later in the week, Twitter announced changes to its platform that would, upon a government’s request, allowed Tweets to be blocked on a country-by-country basis rather than ...
SocraticGadfly - Sat 6:46 p.m. - 8 clicks
Recent polls continue to show that Americans have not ambivalent, but instead, ultimately uninformed, unreflective, self-misinformed, even brainwashed attitudes about financial equality. Polls continue to show that Americans want more equality of economic opportunity, but that the majority doesn’t worry about income inequality per se. Usually, I’m not harsh in this blog, but ther...
SocraticGadfly - Sat 6:02 p.m. - 3 clicks
Song #84 on the Popsode Top 100 Covers list is “Kiss”, originally by Prince and covered by the Art of Noise with Tom Jones. While I was able to find a Prince song video before, I regret to say that this time I struck out – every one I clicked on had the audio disabled. [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sat 12:03 p.m.
In bright sunshine, objects are all under the same light while also standing quite distinctly from one another. Since metaphor gives form to solid things, this may be the case solely to show that we can acknowledge what we hold in common while existing quite clearly on our own. To hell with all that rugged [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Sat 9:44 a.m. - 14 clicks
Late Friday we heard about the possibility of a settlement agreement in the redistricting lawsuit in San Antonio, with the idea of coming up with an interim map in time to keep the primaries on April 6. Here’s an update on that from the Chron. Under the arrangement outlined during the hearing, the parties would [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sat 7:06 a.m. - 18 clicks
At The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik this week has a remarkable article, " The Caging of America ," which Grits recommends as a must read. If nothing else, it prompted me to purchase a copy of the late Bill Stuntz's book, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice , which arrived yesterday by post. Here's Gopnik's description of Stuntz's thesis: William J. Stuntz, a professor at Harvard Law School who ...
Grits for Breakfast - Sat 5:49 a.m.
Via PBS Frontline and ProPublica , a conviction for the death of a child was overturned this week by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals because the defendant's attorney failed to challenge bogus medical evidence presented in the penalty phase of the case that the infant had been sexually assaulted: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals [on Wednesday] set aside the conviction of Ernie Lopez, an A...
Grits for Breakfast - Sat 4:04 a.m. - 14 clicks
This ought to be good. Picking his first public fight with the banking industry, Washington’s top consumer cop, Richard Cordray, promised on Thursday that his examiners will scrutinize a handful of big banks that make high-cost loans. Inspection of major financial institutions will be part of a broader review of payday lenders, he said at [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sat 3:26 a.m.
Pedal to the metal, y’all. The Texas Transportation Commission approved 75 mph speed limits for nearly 1,500 miles of interstate in 60 counties. The action follows a state law approved last year providing for the Texas Department of Transportation to see whether 70 mph speed limits safely can be raised to 75 mph, and to [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sat 3:26 a.m. - 16 clicks
Remember how four coal plants were granted permits to pollute more in December? You probably don’t, because it basically happened under cover of darkness. The Sierra Club found out about it and has filed a lawsuit to call a halt to it. The environmental group is appealing permit amendments approved Dec. 16 by the Texas [...]...
Off the Kuff - Sat 3:02 a.m. - 16 clicks
Just pinch me! I don't know what is happening, but Texans are having a great week. First Perry comes home with his tail between his legs. He has never been this unpopular. Right now, he couldn't get elected dog catcher. http://www.statesman.com/... Then the Feds rode into Texas to deny the request to delay insurance reform. A win for Texans. http://www.texastrib...
DailyKos (Texas) - Jan 27 - 17 clicks
These days the Republican contest for the presidential nomination seems more like high school than a political happening. One after one, the famous, infamous and established have lined up to bash Newt Gingrich to make good and well sure that he is not their candidate in the fall. First, we hear that 3-time presidential hopeful Bob Dole has nothing good to say about him, this despite the f...
Half Empty - Jan 27
I vote for "head fake" on Dear Leader's announcement about a major new investigation into the mortgage fradu behind (in part) the subprime bubble. After all, just earlier this week, his administration was trying to still,/again browbeat state AGs into accepting a slap-on-the-wrist deal with banksters on the robosigning and related issues. Add in an election-year pseudopopulism push, and it...
SocraticGadfly - Jan 27 - 3 clicks
The three federal judges charged with drawing the maps that Texas will use in the 2012 primary elections pushed the date of those primaries later into April, and left uncertainty as to whether that would be final due to continuing questions swirling about the maps themselves. After testimony from various parties -- Chad Dunn of the TDP, David Mattax for the TX OAG, attorneys for Reps. Joe Ba...
Brains and Eggs - Jan 27 - 15 clicks
Rick Perry's job approval ratings are almost lower than those of President Barack Obama. In the red hot state Texas. Rick Perry did himself no favors by running for President because now everyone knows that the Governor of Texas is an idiot. What he had been hiding from voters for the last ten years is no longer hidden. The consequences for Rick Perry's future as the Governor looms ...
Texas Kaos - Jan 27 - 16 clicks
Maybe. A leading player in the state’s redistricting turmoil said this morning he’s hopeful that both sides are closing in on a settlement that will salvage Texas’ April 3 primary. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has been meeting with representatives of minority groups that sued the state last year to stop new political boundaries from [...]...
Off the Kuff - Jan 27 - 17 clicks
Barring a last-minute court ruling, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul could be the only two GOP candidates in teh Virginia primary. That said, the idea that movement conservatives will unite around Paul to defeat Romnney sounds laughable. But, it could be funny to se the two battle it out. Actually, the "tell" would be how low the GOP turnout is this year. There is no god and I am his prophet. ...
SocraticGadfly - Jan 27 - 14 clicks
While much of what is on the web is junk, there are some great resources for folks who want to use their discretionary time effectively. C-SPAN has a full archive of all its programming over the years. One thing I find of value at the C-SPAN site is the Booknotes page. Booknotes was a weekly [...] ...
TexasLiberal - Jan 27 - 3 clicks
From a Human Rights Watch press release : Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Because of their higher rates of illness and impairments, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as tho...
Grits for Breakfast - Jan 27
As I drove by Northpark Mall last night on my way home I passed a small group of Ron Paul supporters waving signs and generally having a good time showing their support for Mr. Paul. The fact that the Texas primary isn't for a couple of months didn't seem to matter to them. I have seen them there before and I have to wonder what they are hoping to accomplish? Ron Paul, who is more a l...
Dungeon Diary - Jan 27 - 14 clicks
The Most Human Human by Brian Christian My rating: 4 of 5 stars Good, but oh, it could have been better. There's an annual Turing test event in Britain every year. A group of top computer programs compete against a group of human confederates, as the computers try to prove, per Alan Turing, that they're really humans, just as the humans do. So far, no computer has won this test, ...
SocraticGadfly - Jan 27 - 13 clicks
What could possibly possess Brownsville? Hiding information about the shooting of a student will only make people think you have something to hide. Now I do. The Brownsville Police Department has asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to rule against releasing files related to the fatal shooting of a Cummings Middle School student on Jan 4. The material includes a surveillance video, accord...
South Texas Chisme - Jan 27 - 14 clicks
No wonder republicans run the city council and the county . For the second time in three years, Corpus Christi finished next to last in the Central Connecticut State University's ranking of America's Most Literate Cities with a population 250,000 and above. Except for Austin, a Democratic island in Texas, Texas cities did poorly . ...
South Texas Chisme - Jan 27 - 20 clicks
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum has left the Sunshine State for the cooler climate of his home. Seeing an inevitable loss to either Gingrich or Romney, Santorum has decided to pull up stakes in Florida and save his meager campaign chest for future primaries. His next best shot at the nomination will come in Arizona and Michigan which hold primaries at the ...
Dungeon Diary - Jan 27
Big news for mentally ill defendants in Texas declared incompetent to stand trial, not to mention the state agency that is supposed to provide "competency restoration" services, which presently has a months-long waiting list . After a court ruling this week, such long delays have been deemed unconstitutional and state mental hospitals have been ordered to begin taking inmates within 21 days after...
Grits for Breakfast - Jan 27 - 16 clicks
There's no astronauts any more. There's almost no Astrodome any more. Even Astroworld, which had nearly nothing to do with outer space, is a prairie again . So WTF does anyone want to be called "Astros" anyway? “We’re looking at the name,” (brand-new Astros owner Jim) Crane said. “I said earlier that the Astros will be here, but we’re looking into that, too.” This is a reversal of what Cran...
Brains and Eggs - Jan 27
I'm not a prude about alcohol ... but, I know that denial ain't just a river in Egypt, and that " justifying " binge drinking in the face of a CDC report when you don't have to write a column about it could be seen as "protesting too much." Seven drinks in four hours, even as part of a wine-and-food pairing at a restaurant, seems a bit much. Even if the CDC does, I don't think most people w...
SocraticGadfly - Jan 26 - 3 clicks
That’s a quote from one of my all-time favorite films “Broadcast News.” It seems that the character that Robert Brooks plays, Aaron Altman, has been left out of a weekend news special when a Libyan air force pilot attacked an American base. He was singularly qualified to be involved in this, having interviewed Moammar Ghadaffi but was stuck at home watching the broadcast on TV. Every once in a...
Half Empty - Jan 26 - 9 clicks
According to a new report (pdf) by the Vera Institute, "Texas taxpayers pay an average 23 percent more for state prisons than the state’s annual corrections budget reflects," reports Mike Ward at the Austin Statesman : "The new report by the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York-based research organization that tracks criminal justice trends, calculates the state’s total costs for its adult c...
Grits for Breakfast - Jan 26 - 10 clicks
At the US Supreme Court case this week, the opinion in US v. Jones on GPS tracking of private vehicles was a fascinating piece of jurisprudence. Ostensibly a 9-0 decision , the only thing all nine justices agreed on was the bottom line that "the decision of the Court of Appeals must be affirmed," and none of them for precisely the reasons on which the lower court based its decision! To make ma...
Grits for Breakfast - Jan 26
Media Matters Over the last two weeks, Fox has repeatedly promoted the claim that voter fraud is indicated by records showing that more than 900 South Carolina residents were recorded as casting a vote after their reported death date. Lou Dobbs, Bill Hemmer , and Neil Cavuto all gave state Attorney General Alan Wilson a platform to offer up this assertion, and on Monday Bret Baier re...
Democratic Blog of Collin County - Jan 26
