Are the batsh*t crazies dumping the Republicans?

John Cornyn got booed at a Texas Tea party.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn drew boos from a crowd outside the Texas Capitol this afternoon as he spoke at a “tea party” rally organized by the Texas office of Americans for Prosperity.

Cornyn was booed at the start and close of his remarks, which assailed actions in Washington; there were no boos while he awarded a Purple Heart to a Copperas Cove resident injured in Iraq in 2006.

“You’re the problem,” a crowd member hollered.

Perry got a few boos, too. The Lone Star Times, a 'conservative' blog, noted the dichotomy. Thomas Haughey, executive director of the Hidalgo County Republican Party and executive director of the Texas Republican County Chairmen's Association, had a love-in with his Tea party and wrote about it in his regular Rio Grande Guardian gig.

Here's what I think. The Republicans are just finding another way to 'purify' their party to most basic batsh*t crazy nub they can manage.

Cynthia Dunbar to head State Board of Education?

'Conservative eyed for State Board of Education'

I see 'conservative' in the context of school board and picture a flat-earth believing whack job. Whatever happened to the party of Lincoln?

Critics who engineered the recent ouster of State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy, in part because of his strong religious beliefs, could end up with someone even more outspoken in her faith.

Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richardson, who advocated more Christianity in the public square last year with the publication of her book, “One Nation Under God,” is among those that Gov. Rick Perry is considering to lead the State Board of Education, some of her colleagues say.

Cynthia Dunbar is perfect for Republicans. She DOES NOT believe in public education.

Perry's appointment of Dunbar would send a statement “that the governor shares her shocking hostility toward public education,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, an organization that monitors the State Board of Education.

If McLeroy couldn't make it through the confirmation process, I can't see Dunbar doing it either. Too bad Perry's pick gets a free ride until the end of McLeroy's term in 2011. Perry is really going hard for the batsh*t crazy crowd.

Corpus Christi city council meetings on 'relax' time

Council meetings are at noon instead of ten. To make up for starting late, the meetings will end early. Nice gig.

In a retreat last month, the City Council decided to change the meeting time to accommodate members who work part of the day. Mayor Joe Adame also has said he hopes to shorten council meetings, which have lasted up to nine hours.

The new council, which took office May 19, has had meetings averaging 5 hours, 19 minutes.

The previous city council’s meeting was about 6 hours.

It's blogger roundup time!

Now that we've celebrated another birthday for America, it's time for the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup. Here are your highlights from the holiday week.

Neil at Texas Liberal says that while people went on about Michael Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court was making it more difficult for black folks to get promoted at work.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks Manuel Bañales should recuse himself from all things Mauricio Celis.

Off the Kuff takes a look at what happened during the blink-and-you-missed-it special session.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson has more on the impending statewide campaign of former Travis County as the draftronnie.com site goes live, Ronnie Earle is causing a stir.

Mr. The Plumber took some time out recently to talk about much the Founding Father's hated those Godless Communists. McBlogger, obvs, thinks he's kind of a dummy.

Over at Texas Kaos, Libby Shaw catches John Cornyn in yet another big bad whopper. John Cornyn Out to Kill Health Care Reform: Misleads Houston Doctors.

WhosPlayin wondered what could be the real reason for Sarah Palin quitting her post, and decided to post a little poll.

Good news for Harlingen!

Seven Harlingen schools could reach the Texas Education Agency's exemplary rating this year.

Preliminary results for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam were recently released and show that seven Harlingen schools will likely receive TEA's highest rating, according to a news release from the district.

Why are TEA parties called 'non partisan'?

Are the very batsh*t crazies looking at creating their own party or going over to the Libertarians? Have they decided that the Republican brand is too damaged to name it or just too damaged to continue with it?

“A TEA party is a nonpartisan coming together to protest the federal deficit. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and we’re worried about our kids and our grandkids because I don’t know how they’re ever going to pay it off. They are just selling us into slavery,” said Wurmstein.

I remember as Clinton left office, some were worrying that we were paying the Federal deficit off too fast. Then came Bush. Now, Obama has to pick up after Bush's mess. That clean up costs money.

Perry/Hutchison race splits the 'prominent' Nueces County Republicans

Some are much less batsh*t crazy than others.

Perry takes locals including architect Chuck Anastos and his interior designer wife Tina; attorney Lance Bruun; Nissan car dealers and philanthropists Ed and Gloria Hicks; Dr. Gaylord Hoyt and wife Sue; businessman Jerry Kane and wife Glenda; businessman Mike Scott and wife Connie, who ran for state representative; and attorney Colleen McHugh.

Hutchison has businessmen R.C. Allen and Dick Bowers; Nueces County Judge and former Corpus Christi Mayor Loyd Neal and his wife Thetis; former Corpus Christi Mayor Betty Turner; King Ranch heir Stephen “Tio” Kleberg; businessman Robert Adler and his City Councilwoman wife Chris Adler; and attorney Ben Donnell and his wife, Elinor.

Recent reports make Judge Bañales look bad

Over the past two decades, many a South Texas defendant has feared a sentencing by state District Judge Manuel Bañales, who's known for meting out harsh and creative punishments.

...

Thus, when Bañales appeared to show leniency this spring after stepping into a high-profile case involving the state's most prominent fake lawyer, Mauricio Celis, the natural legal order shuddered.

“That's not the Judge Bañales I've known all these years. It's a different one. Maybe he's mellowing,” said [Albert Peña III, a veteran criminal defense lawyer], one of the few willing to speak on the record.

Bañales' deepening role in the case has triggered a public showdown with prosecutor Carlos Valdez. The longtime Nueces County district attorney wants Bañales off the case, claiming he hasn't been impartial.

It's time for Bañales to get off the Celis case.

Rick Perry headlines tea party with 'Joe the Plumber'

Yes, the Republican party is officially a joke.Gov.

Rick Perry will attend, as will Joseph Wurzelbacher, who rocketed to fame after a brief encounter with then-candidate Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign and is better known as “Joe the Plumber.”

Perry spokesman Mark Minor said the event is “an opportunity for the governor to be with fellow Texans who share the same concerns about out-of-control spending and what an impact it's having around the country.”

Most Texas state prisions lack air conditioning

You have got to be kidding. What is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment?

But in Texas’ state prisons — where the summer heat index can top 100 degrees — the wages of sin is sweat. In 112 prisons scattered from the Panhandle to Beaumont, only 19 are air conditioned. And those, say prison officials, generally are reserved for the sick and mentally ill.

Dead zone off Galveston Island

Researchers from Texas A&M University have fired up a new monitoring system on an offshore wind platform and detected a new “dead zone” in the Gulf south of Galveston.

The size and impact of the zone has not yet been measured, but the low oxygen levels of the area spell danger for marine life. The pocket of water is south of Galveston, about nine nautical miles from shore.

Brownsville fight over fire dog continues

The firefighters are fighting with their fire chief over their mascot.

A proposal to authorize the city manager to develop a policy that would allow for mascots at fire stations is tentatively slated for Tuesday's City Commission meeting. The agenda for the session will be finalized today.

"Basically, I don't believe the City Commission has a dog in this fight," Commissioner Melissa Zamora said. "If we request that a policy be created to allow for a mascot, I still believe the City Commission cannot dictate that it should be allowed. The policy should ultimately allow the fire chief to say yes or no," Zamora added.

The mayor joined in. What about the poor dog?

The Victoria Advocate wants to know why nobody minds a coal plant in Goliad

Coal-fired power plants are the dirtiest of all power plants when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions.

The leading greenhouse gas is blamed for global warming. It's the basis for a worldwide push in stricter regulations and renewable energy sources.

Why, then, does a proposed second coal-fired unit at Goliad's Coleto Creek Power Station face such quiet local opposition?

If you blinked, you missed the special session

After less than 30 hours of fast lawmaking, the Texas Legislature adjourned Thursday having resolved two of the three problems Gov. Rick Perry wanted them to fix.

Lawmakers approved and sent to Perry bills that will keep five state agencies — including the transportation, insurance and racing departments — in business for the next two years and that authorize the expenditure of $2 billion in voter-approved road-building bonds.

But despite a push in last-minute negotiations, a request by Perry to let state transportation officials continue signing contracts for privately built toll roads never came up for a vote. Still, legislative leaders said that would not thwart any projects during the next two years.

Toll lanes could still be added to free roads.

Houston Mayor, police union quarrel

Houston’s largest police union, citing the death of six officers during Mayor Bill White’s tenure, called on the mayor and City Council this week to hire more officers, restore $14 million in overtime pay and overturn the long-standing policy of not questioning residents about their immigration status.

In a letter to White, Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, called last week’s slaying of veteran officer Henry Canales a “trifeca failure” of federal, state and city government to protect citizens and police officers from criminal illegal immigrants.

...

White countered that Houston police now are inquiring about the immigration status of those arrested and booked into jail, and are seeking fuller access to federal immigration databases.

Oh, nifty. Is this a one-two hit piece from the head of the police union and the Houston Chronicle? Just asking. White does have plans to run for higher office and the Chronicle has been on his a**.

Asarco, the pain that keeps on giving

Could pollution be the cause of health problems in Sunland Park?

Many residents suspect that it is.

They consider the Asarco smelter in El Paso and the Camino Real landfill in Sunland Park to be the major sources of contamination in their community.

Will a non-crony government agency help these residents find out?

Administrator will testify in school fighting case after all

A former Corpus Christi State School employee accused of failing to report fights among its mentally disabled residents will testify against former co-workers accused of organizing the fights, her attorney said, after an appeals court postponed her trial.

The 13th Court of Appeals ordered Thursday that the trial of Stephanie Garza on Monday be put on hold. Garza agreed in exchange for immunity to testify against five former co-workers, including Jesse Salazar, Timothy Dixon and D’Angelo Riley, whose trials begin Monday.

Brownsville fire chief took fire house puppy to the pound

The fire fighters and the Mayor are not amused.

Tug of wars within the Brownsville Fire Department that have brewed for years have escalated with a dog, named Chief, now at the center of controversy and the mayor's proposal to oust the fire chief.

For now, Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.'s proposal to evaluate and seek the ouster of city Fire Chief Lenny Perez at next week's City Commission meeting fizzled Tuesday when City Manager Charlie Cabler refused to place the item on the agenda.

Ok. I'll bite. (No pun intended.) How come the city manager sets the agenda for city council meetings?

You're invited to Gloria Caceres' party today!

Congratulations to Gloria. She has worked long and hard for the Nueces County Democratic Party at the headquarters, in the field and with the Texas Democratic Women. Here's a copy of the email I received.

Please join
Gloria Caceres
for her official campaign announcement for
Nueces County Commissioner, Pct. 2
Thursday, July 2nd
3:00 p.m.
at the
Nueces County Courthouse
Commissioners Court Room
Everyone is welcome to attend. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
For more information email votegloria@gmail.com or call 361-779-5228.

To view the invitation, click here.

TABC will hold its own investigation into raid of Fort Worth gay bar

The Fort Worth police chief says the head injury to a young man at the bar happened while he was in TABC custody. Witnesses say the young man was slammed into the wall by officers first. Maybe finger pointing will lessen the chances of a cover up.

Officials for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission have acknowledged that a man was severely injured Sunday while in the custody of a TABC agent who was joining in an inspection of a new gay bar.

I heard yesterday, via a friend of a friend who attended the White House Stonewall celebration, that Obama was aware of the incident. Here's a chance for Obama's DOJ to make sure the right thing happens. National attention on gay bashing may help move the hate crimes bill along, too.

See previous posts.

Perry nearly misses deadline to get education funds

Texas Gov. Rick Perry met a deadline Wednesday to request federal stabilization funds for education — with 18 minutes to spare.

Perry was the last of the nation's governors to submit an application. Missing the deadline could have meant losing more than $3 billion in federal money for education funding, from preschool to college. Much of the money is intended for salary increases for teachers, librarians and other school employees.

Last in the nation. That sounds about right.

ICE switches focus to employers

The Obama administration launched investigations of hundreds of businesses around the country Wednesday as part of its strategy to focus immigration enforcement on the employers who hire illegal workers.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms — employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker — the agency told members of Congress in an e-mail Wednesday.

Immigration officers served "Notices of Inspection" to 625 businesses, the Homeland Security Department said. By comparison, 503 such notices were issued to businesses last year, the agency said.

So far Texas lege cool to toll roads

Crony is as crony does.

A push to allow for new privately run toll roads hit a pothole Wednesday as the special legislative session opened, with the measure likely to be drastically scaled back or ditched.

The idea was “struggling to find support,” said Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas.

Good. Perry is still flogging for his cronies while the Texas legislature, having a small clue that they work for the people, hesitate. Keep the pressure on.

Silvestre Reyes cool on location of a new El Paso international bridge

A study on whether a new international port of entry is needed in the Lower Valley is not getting the support of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.

Reyes on Wednesday said he opposed the city's study for a new commuter bridge because it was focusing only on land between the Bridge of the Americas and the the Zaragoza Bridge and not other locations.

He said that the feasibility study should include the entire U.S.-Mexico border area between the Tornillo and Santa Teresa ports of entry.

Fort Worth police point fingers at TABC for injury to gay man

A 26-year-old customer who was injured early Sunday at a gay bar south of downtown was in the custody of an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, not a Fort Worth police officer, Police Chief Jeff Halstead said Tuesday night.

"They were not my employees," Halstead said during a meeting at an east Fort Worth church.

That will get the TABC guys talking. I hope.

Here's an improvement in attitude.

Halstead promised that he will work to employ a liaison between police and the gay community.

See previous posts.

Still fighting at Texas A & M

Ignoring a plea from a member of their governing board, faculty leaders at Texas A&M University on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a no-confidence vote aimed at the system’s chancellor, Michael McKinney.

“This is not that we believe Chancellor McKinney is a bad person,” said Michael Benedik, a biology professor and member of the faculty senate. “Do we have confidence in his ability as a leader? I do not.”

Perry wants more gravy for toll road cronies

The special legislative session that starts today includes measures to allow private companies to build more toll roads across the state — an idea opponents have dubbed “the largest tax increase in history.”

Gov. Rick Perry, who called the special session and sets its agenda, wants lawmakers to continue five state agencies that otherwise would expire, to permit highway bonds to be issued — and to authorize the continued use of comprehensive agreements that allow public-private partnerships in development of toll roads.

He said the work, left undone in the recent regular session, can be completed in a few days.

Opponents of privately run toll roads, however, hope the idea gets anything but a short, smooth ride

More

State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said none of those items - save the last one, which could grow contentious if Perry pushes for a blanket authority to build toll roads - is likely to foster any divisions among lawmakers.

Toll opponents are not amused.

“Concerned citizens are hopping mad about lawmakers' rush to get home for the 4th of July holiday rather than give due consideration to what some have dubbed the largest tax increase in Texas history, selling Texas highways to PRIVATE foreign corporations that charge 75 cents PER MILE in new toll taxes to access PUBLIC roads,” said a press release from Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom.

Samuel B. Kent is no longer a Federal judge

The White House has accepted the resignation of an imprisoned federal judge whom the House impeached on allegations of sexually assaulting two women and lying about the assaults.

President Barack Obama’s acceptance of U.S. Judge Samuel Kent’s resignation, effective Tuesday, ends Kent’s $174,000 annual judicial salary, as many members of Congress wanted. Kent will have to wait at least a week for the Senate to decide whether to end his impeachment trial. Congress is adjourned this week for the July Fourth holiday.

Is it too early to pop the champagne?

See previous posts.

Bañales won't step down from Celis case

Nueces County DA, Carlos Valdez, said donations to Bañales from Celis cronies might give the impression of bias as does Bañales' connection to defense lawyer Tony Canales.

The district attorney’s motion stated the judge received campaign contributions from lawyers and firms with whom Celis split fees. The motion also implied Celis attorney Tony Canales could help Bañales if he wanted to become a federal judge.

What's next?

A motion to recuse Bañales now goes to Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson, who can decide the motion or refer another judge to decide it. There will not be a hearing on the motion.

Bañales, presiding judge over this administrative region, signed an order Monday referring the motion to Jefferson. The order explains actions in the case so far.

See previous posts.

Cornyn muses on Franken and Sotomayor

John Cornyn, as a Republican, is all about being a ... Republican. Making the United States and/or Texas a better place isn't important. George Bush ruled that way and we all know how that turned out.

Al Franken will be seated in the Senate soon, giving Democrats 60 votes in the Senate. Cornyn says Democrats will 'own' the results of Congress now, i.e. Republicans are not helping to solve problems and can now just go completely crazy instead of just being the 'party of no'. Speaking of going crazy, is Cornyn implying a step up in batsh*t crazy over Sotomayor? I think so.

"I think if they're determined to seat her and they have 60 votes, they can do so but that still doesn't mean we shouldn't do our job in good faith trying to, in good faith, do an appropriate confirmation hearing and process," Cornyn said.

Updates on Fort Worth gay bar raid

Surprise. Surprise. The police say it was business as usual.

Police officers did not target gays during a bar inspection early Sunday in which one man was injured and seven people were arrested, Police Chief Jeff Halstead said Monday.

How can the Chief know that for certain so soon? Did he just take the officer's word for it while ignoring what the patrons said?

"There was never, ever anyone employed with the Fort Worth Police Department who would want to specifically target a location because of the date," Halstead said. "That simply did not occur.

So, it simply did not occur to inspect a gay bar on A DIFFERENT DATE? So much for community policing. Openly gay Fort Worth city council member, Joel Burns, said that the police were unaware of Stonewall.

In addition to a Fort Worth police IA investigation, the TABC might investigate as well. Might???

The TABC is waiting on a report from the Fort Worth office, but “given the concerns that have been raised, it would not be unusual” for an internal investigation to be done, said agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck.

The Dallas Morning News is skeptical.

'Cause – Problem No. 1 – bar patrons who were there say it wasn't a "check," it was a "raid." Problem No. 2, this particular "check" ended with a kid in the intensive-care unit with a head injury.

Problem No. 3, in what I can only hope is a spectacularly infelicitous coincidence, all this took place on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Raid.

The Fort Worth raid is in the national spotlight. That's good news. We need to find out what happened. Official details of the raid can be found here. Eye witness accounts and commentary can be found here. More details here.

A Lesbian couple had their home raided by San Antonio police April 28. San Antonio's police chief, William McManus, has a better relationship with the San Antonio LGBT community.

The San Antonio Police Department has come under fire lately from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activist after police allegedly used derogatory comments against a lesbian couple during a home raid.

...

The outrage from the community was swift and resulted in numerous emails to Police Chief, William McManus, resulting in him contacting the San Antonio Stonewall Democrats to advise them that he wanted to speak to the LGBT community about the situation. Chief McManus arrived at a crowded restaurant to a round of thunderous applause. He stood before the room and began by disarming everyone with a history of his involvement with the LGBT Community, including serving as Grand Marshal of the San Antonio Gay Pride Parade in spite of severe criticism. He then assured the group that, because of this history, he would never turn a "blind eye" to allegations of inappropriate conduct by officers against the gay community adding that, "[if the allegations] happen to be true, there are heavy consequences."

Obama looking for troops to send to our border

Are we at war with Mexico? I don't think so.

The Obama administration is developing a plan to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the military’s counterdrug efforts along the Mexican border, senior administration officials said Monday.

The stopgap measure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and comes despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the border — a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing the region.

How many ways does law enforcement differ from fighting a war? Rules for shooting people just for starters.

Gag order for Brownsville Mayor's trial

While Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr., his attorney and a state prosecutor were ordered not to talk about the mayor's check scandal Monday, he looks forward to the "end of this chapter" of his life where he faces criminal charges.

...

The charges against the mayor stem from a $26,139 check that the city issued to Tarsia Technical Industries Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y, on Oct. 22, 2008, that ended up in Ahumada's business bank account on Oct. 28.

See previous posts.

Texas makes deal with BP

The Texas attorney general and BP have reached a partial settlement in a lawsuit against the oil company for what the state claims were repeated environmental violations at its Texas City refinery.

Earlier this month, the state sued BP for what Attorney General Greg Abbott said was a “pattern of unnecessary and unlawful emissions” at the refinery between 2000 and 2007.

I'll bet somebody (Gregg Abbott, I'm looking at you) is running for higher office. Republicans don't normally go after polluters, except for the occasional symbolic gesture. Republicans are big on symbols. And, even bigger on cronies.

Slow to no justice for boys raped in Texas juvenile facility

More than two years ago, a pair of former administrators at a remote West Texas juvenile prison were indicted on charges accusing them of sexually preying on teenage boys at the facility—a development hailed by the state's attorney general as a first step toward justice in a statewide scandal.

But the cases have languished in court. And the delay could spell trouble for the prosecution, say attorneys and legal scholars.

Ill health of the judge or Republican crony justice?