More on the poor quality control for Texas autopsies

Around the state, some medical examiner offices have relied on the work of medical school interns and unlicensed doctors, as well as physicians who have repeatedly failed certification exams or been disciplined for poor work — even for complex capital murder cases.

Relaxing qualification requirements is one way the offices have tried to keep up with overwhelming caseloads and a shortage of forensic pathologists.

Some pathologists also operate what critics deride as "path mills." That can lead to significant errors, undermining the criminal justice system, some medical examiners themselves worry.

Man loses medical license for giving pain medication to 5 of his chronically ill patients

Whaa? You can't prescribe adequate levels of pain killers without getting into trouble?

New details tonight about a San Benito doctor accused of prescribing powerful pain-killers. He admits he got in trouble, because of the state system that tracks prescriptions.

La Marque firefighter/city council member and victim?

La Marque Mayor Pro tem Keith Bell recently was suspended from his job as a Galveston firefighter after he left work to attend a city council meeting.

Bell claims the 10-day suspension was part of a “vendetta” by his union for speaking out against increased spending in the La Marque Fire Department.

No new power plants until permitting process is legitimate

A coalition of environmental groups is asking the federal government to stop the permitting of power plants, including Las Brisas Energy Center, until the state’s permitting process passes muster with the federal government.

The Sierra Club and Public Citizen Texas stopped Tuesday in Corpus Christi as part of a statewide tour publicizing a recent announcement that portions of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality air permitting process do not comply with the federal Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency said Sept. 8 it would reject parts of the state’s process.

Makes sense to me.

Corpus Christi's city manager must be doing well

Councilwoman Priscilla Leal gave [City Manager Angel] Escobar the best marks, rating him as “excellent” in all but one area, humor, where she rated him as “good.”

Overall, Councilwoman Chris Adler and Councilman Mark Scott gave Escobar the harshest criticism.

Bad marks from the odious Adler and Scott means Escobar must be serving the citizens of Corpus Christi well. Good job.

Flour Bluff girl dies of H1N1

She had no known complicating medical conditions.

At the [Driscoll Children’s Hospital] Saturday, doctors performed a brain scan on the girl and results were normal, he said. But within hours, the girl developed brain swelling and was placed on a ventilator. Hospital doctors pronounced her brain-dead Monday and she died Tuesday, [Nueces County health authority Dr. William] Burgin said.

That is very scary.

Alligators have to be 6' before they're considered dangerous in San Antonio

Whaa?

Because alligators are slow and not very powerful, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department doesn't consider any alligator under 6 feet long to be a nuisance requiring removal, but treats every incident on a case-by-case basis, said Richard Heilbrun, a department urban wildlife biologist.

If an animal is near a bus stop or children, as this one was, it is picked up and relocated, Heilbrun said.

Suit questions legality of El Paso Ethics Commission frivolous suit provisions

In the civil lawsuit filed Monday, Carl Starr says the new commission violates the 1st Amendment because it puts a prior restraint on a person's right to freedom of speech. The new commission does this because its bylaws allow for a person to be fined up to $4,000 if they file a frivolous ethics complaint.

This threat is what Starr claims will keep people from filing a complaint.

Republican challenger for Silvestre Reyes seat

An El Pasoan who is a registered nurse as well as an Air Force and Navy veteran is seeking to become the area's new congressman.

Tim Besco, 42, will be kicking off his Republican Party campaign for the 16th congressional district Wednesday. The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat. Besco must first win the Republican Party's primary in March before he can challenge Reyes or any other Democrat next year.

The failed media and Roman Polanski

Newsweek called bloggers parasites and I got to thinking about why I blog. Print and TV media failed miserably during the 2000 election cycle. I remember being anxious to consume political stories and shows and becoming increasingly appalled at the bias. How can a political junky like me hate the Sunday morning shows? The media became even worse during the Bush administration, burying any real news that they happened to print on page a17. The New York Times and the Washington Post, supposedly the epitome of excellence, let us down repeatedly becoming propaganda arms of the worst presidency in history.

Why did I start to blog? To promote those page a17 stories. At least more people will see them. If someone clicks through to the story on the media site, that's one more set of eyes they would not have gotten on their own.

Another reason to blog? To fight media bias. Here's a lovely example about the Washington Post covering the Roman Polanski story.

As ludicrous as Shore's post is, I have to agree with Fecke that my favorite Polanski apologist is the Washington Post's Anne Applebaum, who finds it "bizarre" that anyone is still pursuing this case. And who also, by the by, failed to disclose the tiny, inconsequential detail that her husband, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, is actively pressuring U.S. authorities to drop the case.

As Kate Harding of Salon notes:

Let's keep in mind that Roman Polanski gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne, then raped her, before we start discussing whether the victim looked older than her 13 years, or that she now says she'd rather not see him prosecuted because she can't stand the media attention.

Polanski drugged a 13-year old and raped her vaginally and anally after she repeatedly said no. What does the mainstream media do? Lobby for Polanski. He's the rich, famous guy afterall. PS: The Newsweek and the Washington Post are sister publicans. Can't you tell?

As early voting for the November elections looms on the horizon, the Texas Progressive Alliance says good-bye to September and hello to another weekly blog roundup.

BREAKING NEWS: Natural Gas Development Brings "amazing and very high" Levels of Carcinogens and Neurotoxins to Barnett Shale area! Take a deep breath before you read this study because the findings will take your breath away! TXsharon at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS broke this story and the study evaluation by MacAuthur (Genius) Award winner, Wilma Subra.

This week Left of College Station, Teddy reports on why the anti-choice movement is not about abortion but about the oppression of women. Also, guest blogger Litia writes about asking non-tradition questions about Texas A&M traditions; Litia writes a weekly guest blog for College Station about a liberal teaching in Aggieland. Left of College Station also coves the week in headlines.

Neil at Texas Liberal writes that Socialist candidate for Mayor of Houston Amanda Ulman should run a serious campaign or not run at all. There once was a solid base of socialist voters in Texas and the U.S. Who says that cannot someday happen again?

McBlogger takes aim at people who think that adjusting to climate change is just something that will unfairly hurt the poor.

Off the Kuff contemplates the possible entry of Farouk Shami into the Governor's race.

The old Easter Lemming has a useful post on voting for the Constitutional Amendments in his area.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the 22 year high TX unemployment rate. What recession? We're in one?

Agriculture commissioner Todd Staples opened his mouth and out fell a big wad of stupid. Stupid so ignorant that it topped anything Rick Perry or John Cornyn or even Glenn Beck could manage this week. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has it -- if you can stand it.

WhosPlayin followed up on an open records request for internal emails related to Lewisville ISD's decision to ban President Obama's speech to children. The emails, including a racially charged email from a board member to the superintendant, do not paint a pretty picture..

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on money, energy, and the economy in the Texas governor's race, Perry's cap and trade photo op.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Rick Perry does his best George Bush cowboy imitation with Ranger Recon.

Over at TexasKaos, boadicea, Warrior Queen, is seeking a pulse, any pulse over at the Tom Schieffer campaign, as she opines that Tom Schieffer Needs Something Original to Offer. It seems that lifting policy ideas from Hank Gilbert is the best he can do right now. Read the rest at TexasKaos.

Who's going to run the Texas GOP now that Tina Benkiser is leaving?

Benkiser is going to the Perry campaign. Will we have more batsh*t crazy? That's what I'm thinking. It's a little late for the adults to show up.

If Democrats win the Texas House, what happens with redistricting?

The state House, which with a 76-74 GOP majority could go either way in 2010, is key. But it's only part of the story, because the GOP's expected to keep a state Senate majority.

If senators and House members don't agree on legislative redistricting in 2011 to reflect the census — or if the governor vetoes a plan — the Legislative Redistricting Board steps in.

And that's a big rub for Democrats.

The board consists of the lieutenant governor, speaker, attorney general, comptroller and land commissioner — all GOP now.

Simple solution. Elect Democrats to statewide offices.

Texas border region has even fewer with health insurance

If you thought Texas' uninsured rate was bad, check the border.

Four counties along the Texas-Mexico border region are among the top seven counties in the nation for the percentage of uninsured residents, a new study shows.

Hidalgo County is third highest with 38.0 percent, Webb County is fourth highest with 36.2 percent, Cameron County is fifth highest, with 35.7 percent, and El Paso County is seventh highest with 31.8 percent.

It's time for our politicians to do the right thing by our citizens: give us a health care public option.

Texas autopsies may be hit or miss

The man almost took the dirty secret of his death to his grave. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office said injuries from a pickup wreck killed him. But after a funeral director hundreds of miles away found a bullet in the man’s head, authorities realized a killer was on the loose.

Worse has happened in the autopsy suites of Texas medical examiners.

...

"The state does not keep track of MEs in any shape, form or fashion," Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Randall Frost said. The state doesn’t even know how many certified forensic pathologists work in government offices, he added.

Why would Nueces County Democrats select a rejected Republican as their candidate for County Judge?

Local lawyer Guy Williams, a Republican, was coy Wednesday when asked whether the rumors are true that he intends to run as a Democrat against Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal.

HE'S A REPUBLICAN! And, even they don't like him.

Dr. Oz makes a case for a public health option in Houston

Nearly 2,000 people turned out Saturday for the free checkups, medical tests and minor procedures performed by 700 volunteers at the event hosted by television physician Dr. Mehmet Oz and the National Association of Free Clinics. Scenes from the clinic will be used in an October episode of The Dr. Oz Show.

...

Oz called the more than 40 million uninsured Americans “a national catastrophe … but one that we can engage and actually embrace and probably overcome.”

Texas has the nation's highest uninsured rate. One in every three Harris County adults lacks health insurance. More than 4 million Americans receive care from the nation's free clinics.

I don't know what Dr. Oz's plan is. I do know that a public health option is needed to address the problem of our expensive, exclusive system that functions to feed profits to the few instead of delivering quality, affordable health care to US citizens. The government is meant to promote the general welfare.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis tied our economic future to healthcare during her visit to El Paso.

In addition, El Paso has a high percentage of residents who lack health insurance. About 33 percent of residents, or 230,000 people, do not have health-care coverage, Reyes has previously stated.

Solis' account of the regional economic situation was optimistic. She said she would focus on efforts to train workers for careers in the energy-efficiency and renewable-energy sectors, which she said would open millions of jobs in the future.

She also plans to direct money to prepare more workers for careers in health-care.

People on the Texas Border not happy with cowboy Perry

Law enforcement is skeptical. The Texas Border Coalition isn't happy. Some Hispanics are reminded off the days when Rangers meant lynchings. The business community isn't happy with all that border war talk by Dewhurst either.

The only problem, local leaders say, is that [Perry's plan to send Ranger] ignores ongoing efforts to clamp down on border crime and fundamentally mischaracterizes life as it is now for the region’s residents.

"What does (Perry) think we’ve been doing down here for the past couple of years?" Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. "We’re all out there every day."

It's not about the border. It's about appealing to the batsh*t crazy base. Nothing like a show of force against those brown skinned people to excite the Republicans.

The war on drugs has failed miserably just like prohibition did early last century. It's time to legalize and regulate drugs and their usage. How about those North Texas pot farms?

Principal changes tune on treatment of Hispanic students

You can run, but you can't hide.

Hispanic freshmen at Gainesville High School were not blamed for the school’s academically unacceptable state rating during specially called assemblies, the principal said Friday.

Meetings solely for Hispanic students are among assemblies the campus has with various groups at the beginning of the year "to make sure they have the support, tools and information they need to be successful," Principal Gene Suttle said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is investigating a parent’s complaint that Hispanics were singled out for assemblies Sept. 17 to discuss low standardized test scores, gangs and sex.

Irvings diversity panel rebukes Irving city leaders

Irving's all-white City Council and some of the minority community members it chose for an advisory committee voiced markedly different reactions this week to a study that said it found evidence that Irving police racially profile Hispanics.

Council members and Police Chief Larry Boyd expressed frustration with, anger about and indifference to the California law school's report. They questioned researchers' motives, criticized the study's methods and condemned media for quickly reporting its release.

But minority leaders on the mayor's human relations advisory committee weren't as quick to dismiss the study's data and suggested that the city's elected leaders pander to the corporate community but pay lip service to the minority groups that make up the majority of Irving's population.

"Do they really understand what diversity is?" committee member Rachel Torrez Moon said at a meeting of the group on Tuesday. "I really want to see this committee put something out there for the mayor and the council that would be blatant.

Dewhurst's 'border war' comments irk border business owners

When elected officials talk about the U.S.-Mexico border region being a war zone it makes the job of attracting new businesses to the region much, much, harder.

That was the consensus view among economic development and business leaders that attended the Rio Grande Valley-Tamaulipas Bi-National Chambers of Commerce meeting at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce offices on Thursday.

Yeah, but Republicans like war. Especially, the idea of all those buff guys in uniform holding guns and terrorizing people white supremacists (aka the new Republican Party) hate.

IBWC whistleblower lists complaints

In the 11-page complaint filed with a civil service board that investigates whistleblower complaints, [former general counsel Robert] McCarthy alleges wanton abuses of power at the El Paso-based agency, including illegal wiretapping of employees, a conspiracy to obtain unlawful pay raises and other examples of “gross mismanagement” by rogue employees.

Most notably for local interests, he accuses the agency of breaking the law when it contributed funds to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s levee-wall in Hidalgo County and for using county-owned engineering plans for repair work.

Oil spill in Houston Ship Channel

The Houston Ship Channel remains closed to northbound traffic this morning after a vessel struck a barge Friday night, damaging one of the vessel's fuel tanks and leaking some 10,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

Corpus Christi city attorney retires surprising the City Council

City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer retired Thursday after more than six years with Corpus Christi.

The retirement announcement was a surprise to many council members, but City Manager Angel Escobar said she had been considering it for a while.

“There are no large issues pending,” Escobar said. “It was a good time for her to go.”

Carl Lewis may get a park

Oh, sweet.A

large portion of city-owned property surrounding Corpus Christi State School soon could be named Carl Lewis Memorial Park after the deceased lawyer, juvenile court judge and former Nueces County Attorney.

ICE detention guard admits to fondling prisoners

A former immigration facility prison guard admitted on Thursday that he repeatedly snuck into the rooms of women held in isolation and ordered them to strip so he could fondle them.

Robert Luis Loya, 43, pleaded guilty to three counts of depriving the detained women of their civil rights and three counts of abusive sexual contact for attacking three women in the spring of 2008 at the Port Isabel Detention Center operated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE uses the facility to hold immigrants without documentation.

Passion defense gets man a short prision sentence for killing his ex-wife

What century are we in? Is it almost ok to kill your ex-wife in Brownsville?

On Thursday defense attorney Peter Gilman said Pascual de la Rosa killed his ex-wife in "sudden passion," after learning that a family member had been sexually assaulted by a man living with Norma de la Rosa and that she did nothing about it.

The neighbors said de la Rosa was a 'harmless' drunk. Stabbing somebody to death doesn't qualify as harm?

ACLU wants to know if Hispanic students were singled out

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has launched an investigation into whether the Hispanic students in Gainesville High School were singled out for assemblies about low standardized test scores.

A parent complained to the Austin-based group that during classes on Sept. 17, calls went out over the school public address system instructing ninth-grade Hispanic students to report to assemblies, according to an ACLU news release.

The students were told they were responsible for the school "underperforming" on the standardized Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and the school’s rating of academically unacceptable, lowest on the state’s four-tier accountability scale, the release said.

StoryCorps officially launches Historias

It's good to save the stories.

StoryCorps officially launched Historias, which will be archived at the Library of Congress, at a ceremony that featured talks by, among others, House members of Latino descent.

Speakers praised the project and StoryCorps' past efforts, saying that the stories of everyday people preserve the American experience and that the new initiative offers the often-ignored Latino community a chance to participate

.Latino House members are ordinary people?

State Senator Lucio wants to run for a new Congressional seat

I hope we can do better than that.

State Sen. Eddie Lucio says he will seriously consider running for Congress after the next round of redistricting, which takes place in 2011.

The Brownsville Democrat says the huge growth in population in the Rio Grande Valley over the last ten years merits the creation of two new U.S. House seats anchored in the four-county region, in addition to the district currently represented by Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes.

Getting closer to a Valley VA hospital

Voters statewide will consider a constitutional amendment Nov. 3 that gives Texas the option of partnering with the federal government to build veterans hospitals, a measure designed to bring a hospital here.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, again filed legislation in Washington this year to authorize the VA to construct a facility and submit reports to Congress outlining its costs and timeline.

At the same time, the VA is proceeding with plans to split the Valley, Corpus Christi and Laredo off from its San Antonio-based hospital system by 2011 and give the region its own director, its own budget and its own office in Harlingen.

Former IBWC attorney says he was fired for reporting abuses

The general counsel for the International Boundary and Water Commission who was fired in July has filed a whistle-blower complaint against the commission, alleging he was fired because he reported abuses within the agency.

El Paso lawyer Robert McCarthy, who worked for the federal agency for six months, filed the whistle-blower complaint on Thursday. In the retaliation complaint filed with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, McCarthy is asking for immediate restoration. The merit board is the equivalent of a civil service commission for federal employees.

Texas Transportation Commission adds tolls to El Paso highway

I thought we were done with that bit of highway robbery.

The César Chávez Border Highway will become the first El Paso road to have toll lanes, the Texas Transportation Commission decided in a unanimous vote on Thursday.

The state now has the OK to move forward with plans to widen the border highway between U.S. 54 and Zaragoza Road from four lanes to six, and to make the two new lanes into toll roads.

Jim Wells County Judge interviewed in DA forfeiture fund investigation

As part of his investigation, during previous visits to Jim Wells County [Attorney General Investigator Rudy] Villarreal met with officials in the county auditor’s office, the county clerk’s office and the county treasurer’s office to deliver subpoenas and collect information.
Saenz said he was not subpoenaed for any documentation, but he declined to say what was discussed.

The investigation stems from an audit of District Attorney Joe Frank Garza’s forfeiture funds from 2004 to 2008, conducted by local CPA Roger Saenz during the first half of this year and presented to the JWC Commissioners’ Court in July.

According to the drug forfeiture audit, more than $1.1 million in forfeiture funds was given to three district attorney office employees– Maria Quintero, Sandy Joslin-Harrell and Lydia Chapa– during a five-year period.

Pressure on for Texas Tomorrow Fund refunds

State legislators are pressuring Texas Comptroller Susan Combs to drop plans to slash refunds to parents and others who invested in a state prepaid college tuition program.

After Oct. 30, people who paid into the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan will receive only the money they put into the plan if they request a refund. They will not receive any earnings, no matter how long their money had been invested. And fees will be deducted from their refund.

On Tuesday, state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, sent a letter to Combs, saying she strongly objects to the decision by the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board. Last week, 43 Democratic state representatives signed a letter to Combs that calls on the board to "immediately reconsider its action." Combs leads the board, which oversees the tuition plan.

"I think we’re setting a bad precedent," said state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, who signed the letter. "We need residents of the state to have full faith in what we’re doing down in Austin, particularly in these tough economic times."

Perry wins endorsement of Swift Boat Veterans funder

So nice when sleaze meets sleaze.

Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday that he's won the endorsement of Dallas energy executive T. Boone Pickens, and Perry declared himself an ally in the billionaire's effort to promote wind energy and natural gas as a way of weaning the nation from foreign oil.

Pickens is a major Republican campaign contributor who made headlines in 2004 when he gave $2.5 million to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. He is a member of the governor's Century Council, Perry's top-tier political donors who pledge to give at least $100,000 to his campaigns.

Perry's for Perry. If that means renewable energy, that means Perry is for Perry.

Bexar County charter school audit reveals chaos

A routine financial audit of Bexar County's largest charter school system, the School of Excellence in Education, turned out to be anything but routine, the board of directors learned Wednesday night.

During a special board meeting, auditors from Padgett Stratemann & Co. laid out for the governing board a report that details the financial quagmire the 2,300-student charter district faced during the 2007-08 school year, when it experienced significant turnover in its business department.

Auditors said sloppy bookkeeping put the district in a precarious situation — the Texas Education Agency threatened to withhold its funding last summer and lead auditor Santos Fraga described the school as being in a “very low-level cash position” — that school officials say they have begun to turn around.

Why does anyone push charter schools?

Grand jury still looking at La Marque police custody fatality

he grand jury reviewing the actions of three La Marque police officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in custody has had its term extended.

District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk’s office and the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office took the lead in the investigation of the death of Jamaal Valentine, 27. Valentine died May 17 after he wrestled with the three officers as they tried to arrest him.

El Paso Times questions that d*mn fence.

As would anybody in their right mind.

When the Bush administration mandated the border fence, opponents protested that it would be everything from an eyesore to a fiscal black hole.

Call them prophets. The Government Accountability Office, in a report released last week, said taxpayers are going to have to pay $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain the fence.

The word "maintain" is open to some questions here, because it isn't obvious that much maintenance is currently being performed. The fence is ugly, rusty and a target for graffiti. And, the GAO said, as of May 14 there had been 3,363 breaches in the fence. Each of those incursions cost about $1,300 to repair -- $4,371,900.

You've got to understand that the fence is meant to be a monument to racism and fear. Who cares if it works. For Republicans, policies are symbols and symbols are policies. Heck of a job.

Valero, Citgo get puny TCEQ fines

Pollute and cause families endless years of agony, then get charge a fine so small it's like buying a cup of vending machine coffee.

Rodriguez wants to check effects of that d*mn fence

U.S. Congressman Ciro Rodriguez has filed legislation to identify and address the ecological impacts of fencing along the border.

The Healthy Borderlands Act of 2009 requires the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to develop a mitigation plan to begin to address ecological impacts of border fencing.

Thanks, but wouldn't it be better to address ecological issues before the fence was built?

Other colonias, like the one near Robstown, aren't doing to well either.

Twenty years after the state began to address the problems faced by colonias — a byword for poor communities that lack basic infrastructure — bad water and sewage issues continue to plague them. Roads are rutted, and some toilets are known to flush into backyards, even if a homeowner is lucky to have a septic tank instead of an outhouse. Quality drinking water can be iffy. Even as colonias along the border have received assistance from state and federal officials, colonias here — near Corpus Christi — and in other parts of the state have historically been left out by a trick of the odometer.

Colonia projects too slow

Colonia projects are always too slow. If they weren't, we wouldn't still have houses without basic services.

A State Auditor’s report of a program to bring water and wastewater projects to colonias shows some were completed years later than scheduled and at a much greater cost than envisaged.

For example, one project designed to provide water and wastewater hookups to 5,800 colonia residents in Mercedes was given the OK to start in July 1996. The project did not start until October 2001 and was not completed until March 2008.

Of the eight Economically Distressed Areas Program projects audited, the average completion date was more than five years behind schedule and the average cost was 31 percent higher than budgeted.

The rich get richer and the poor don't get sewer service.

Business tax incentives hurt in the long run

States like Texas and Florida, which use tax incentives to lure economic development, are damaging their own business climates in the long run, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation declared in a report released Tuesday.

Why should BP make safety changes?

Who's going to make them? Certainly not politicians who love corporations more than people.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has told BP it had failed to make agreed-upon safety improvements at its Texas City refinery following the March 23, 2005, explosions that killed 15 workers.

...

In a copy of the Aug. 3 letter obtained by The Daily News, [OSHA Houston South Area Office Director Mark R.] Briggs detailed dozens of problems, including BP’s failure to review instrument alarm systems that “are critical to process safety” and failure to conduct a comprehensive valve study on its process units as required.

Republicans love those corporations. Is OSHA under Obama starting to actually protect workers? I hope so.

Students around the US rally for the DREAM Act today

The events Wednesday are part of the nationwide Back-to-School DREAM Act Day efforts.

See HispanicTips for more.

McAllen ISD busing students to make classroom size rule

McAllen wants a waiver. Maybe they could move some teachers north.

Student population as a whole has flattened over the past several years, but schools on the north side of town are growing, while those on the south side are losing students.

Some of the north-side schools have had several classes exceed the state’s maximum teacher-to-student ratio for kindergarten through fourth grade by just one or two students.

To stay within state guidelines, the district has been busing the extra students to other campuses where there is room. What started out as moving one or two students has become the district-wide busing of hundreds of students. Last year the school system bused almost 800 children to campuses outside their neighborhoods.

UT president says he will use new admission rules to advance diversity at UT

I'll believe it when I see. I suspect UT just wants the power to hand out admissions.

The school will now have the ability to handpick about 750 more students each year, including students of diverse ethnic backgrounds and students who may excel in one area but did not make the top 8 percent.

"This will leave room for diversity efforts," [UT-Austin President William Powers Jr.] said.

Sure, diversity. That's it.

Cornyn comes out against health care for the poor

You knew he was.

[John] Cornyn, R-Texas, said expanding Medicaid to include more of the poor would impose huge cost increases on taxpayers in states that set eligibility limits, but must also provide matching funds for coverage.

Let them die. In the meantime, lets spend more at the ERs.

Dallas area swim team bus ends up in a pond

Everybody is ok.

San Antonio revives teen pregnancy program

Local and state elected leaders applauded Mayor Julián Castro and City Council members Monday for saving the city’s only teen pregnancy prevention program, Project WORTH.

Dr. Janet Realini, president of the nonprofit Healthy Futures, expressed her gratitude to lawmakers for not letting the city program, which espouses abstinence-plus education that also instructs teens in contraception, go belly-up.

Abbott indicts 3 felons for voting in Progreso election

“Last week, Office of the Attorney General investigators arrested three convicted felons who are accused of casting illegal votes in the Progreso Independent School District election in May 2008. Each defendant was indicted by a Brooks County grand jury this past Wednesday on a charge of illegal voting – a third-degree felony. As convicted felons, the three defendants are ineligible to vote.”

Big whoop. This can hardly be construed as ballot stuffing or hordes of non-citizens voting.

The citizens were concerned about organized election fraud.

As a result of their complaints, and those from the Hidalgo County-based watchdog group OWLS, state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and state Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, passed legislation aimed at helping voters unhappy with the way elections in small communities are run.

SB 1402, authored by Hinojosa and sponsored by Peña, allows voters in communities with no more than 150,000 inhabitants to petition their county elections office to run local elections.

Texas ACLU files open records request on Perry's border ranger operation

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas wants to know a lot more about Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to send Department of Public Safety "Ranger Recon" teams to the border.

The ACLU announced Monday it had filed open records requests with both the Governor’s office and DPS seeking documents related to Perry’s directive. The move follows a letter sent to Perry by the Texas Border Coalition voicing concerns over his latest border security initiative.

Rebecca Bernhardt, policy director for the ACLU of Texas, said her group fears Perry’s move will expose border residents to the operations of yet another law enforcement entity lacking sufficient coordination or oversight.

Why Perry is sending the Ranger Recon teams is obvious. Republicans like a show of force and are currently fanning the flames of racism. What a perfect combo when you're running in a tough primary election.

Harris County beats Texas average for uninsured.

That's not a good thing.

One in three adults in Harris County lacked health insurance in 2008 while Texas continued to have the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, the Census Bureau reported Monday.

Harris County's overall uninsured rate of 26.9 percent was the seventh-highest among Texas' 50 most populous counties, according to data from the American Community Survey. The state uninsured rate was 24 percent, compared with the national rate of 15 percent.

All those very sick people flocking to the ERs, cost more.

Juárez Mayor calls on US to change drug policies

Now it is the United States' turn to battle the drug cartels that have paralyzed Mexico for 20 months, Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said Monday at a War on Drugs conference.

He said U.S. policies of the past 40 years had done nothing to lessen the demand for marijuana, cocaine and heroin in America.

"The policy in Mexico is to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, and that has caused a lot of people to be killed," Reyes said of the 3,200 homicides in Juárez since January 2008. "From politicians to innocent people to police officers, they have all died trying to stop the flow of drugs into the United States."

What are we trying to accomplish? More money for dirt bags? Check. More poor and minorities in prison? Check. Promoting the general welfare? Not so much.

17 compliance issues found with private Robstown prison

State jail inspectors have warned the owner of a private Robstown facility to rectify 17 compliance issues immediately or face possible closure.

The Coastal Bend Detention Center was cited Monday for failing to classify inmates, check for contraband, improper staff training, jailers without proper state licensing and no tuberculosis screening plan, among other issues.

If the facility, owned by Lafayette, La.-based LCS Corrections, cannot correct its problems, especially the jailers’ licensing, then the Texas Commission on Jail Standards could temporarily close it, commission Director Adan Muñoz said.

They didn't check for contraband? No tuberculosis screening?

URB-TSC gets $500K for Hispanic grad students

UTB-TSC has received nearly $500,000 in federal dollars to extend postbaccalaureate educational opportunities for Hispanic students, U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi announced Monday.

The project aims to improve the graduation rate of Hispanic and low-income graduate students in the areas of math and computer science, to improve the job prospects of these graduates, and to attract more Hispanic and low-income students into the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Texas Republicans screw Texas citizens over mineral rights

Under a rule change approved by the Texas Department of Insurance, it will be harder for homeowners to know whether they own their mineral rights.

It’s still unclear, though, whether homeowners will get a discount on their title insurance for what critics say amounts to less coverage. The state insurance commissioner, Mike Geeslin, "wants to hear that issue in the future," said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Robert Carter, who oversees title insurance.

The new rule, adopted Aug. 13, allows title insurance companies to take a "blanket exception" regarding their responsibility to determine whether a landowner owns the mineral rights for a piece of property. That relieves the companies from doing extra title searches and may protect them from legal action.

It's all about protecting the title companies. Citizens, not so much.

Jason Embry notes the Perry and Hutchison sense of entitlement

They are Republicans after all.

A race between two well-funded — I mean, really well-funded — politicians for an office this big would be heated no matter the personal relationship of the candidates. And yet it can’t help matters that, if you listen closely, it’s clear that Perry and Hutchison each feel that the other has no business running. You could say that each has expressed a certain entitlement to the Republican nomination.

Well said.

Peggy Fikac writes love puff piece for the odius Dan Patrick

If you like Bill O'Reilly, Tom DeLay, Dick Cheney, Glen Beck, and Rush Limbaugh, Dan Patrick is your guy. The rest of us, not so much.

Bexar County sheriff set to cut 30 deputies

30 seems like a lot. Couldn't they find some other way?

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office will likely lose up to 30 experienced officers in coming weeks as a cost-saving, voluntary retirement package is hammered out between the county and the deputy sheriffs union.

The tentative plan calls for each potential retiree opting out for a lump-sum payment of $125,000 and a promise that they'll keep their county health insurance benefits for up to 10 years or until age 65, whichever comes first.

It's time for the Monday blog roundup!

The fall is upon us, and so the Texas Progressive Alliance closes out another summer with some more hot blogging.

Halliburton was fracking for Cabot and...Oh Oops! We Spilled Some! TWICE! Deadly Hydraulic Fracture Fluid! Ironically, industry just released part of their $80 million propaganda campaign asking people to submit "Eureka" moments. From TXsharon at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Congressman "Deer in the headlights" Pete Olson (R-TX) gets called out at his town hall meeting and the police are called in!

The Texas Cloverleaf wonders when police departments will enter the 21st Century. A San Antonio lesbian couple sues in federal court over blatant harassment in their own home.

This week at McBlogger, Mayor McSleaze took the time out of his life to educate you people on some things going on around the country.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Rick Perry won't admit execution might have been a mistake. To be a Republican is never to say you're sorry.

At Texas Vox, nuclear energy and economic experts explain just how much is at stake with the South Texas Nuclear Project expansion -- the entire San Antonio economy.

Off the Kuff takes note of some hot judge-on-prosecutor action going on at the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Neil at Texas Liberal ran a one-minute video this week, filmed in front of hurricane remembrances in Galveston, Texas, in which he made a plea for folks to be aware of the past.

Kay Bailey has two purse boys, and Rick Perry is unaware there is a recession. Sometimes the cluelessness and utter hypocrisy of Texas Republicans still amazes the cynical PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

WhosPlayin had video of parents handing all kinds of hell to Lewisville ISD board and administration over banning the Obama pep talk. Perhaps the bigger story though is that like many other school districts in the state, the financial situation looks bleak for the coming year.

Over at TexascKaos, Bulldog reminds us that health care , like national defense is NOT about profit, but about the security of the American people. She tells her story and does it well in Health Care Rambling.

Wealthy Mexicans imigrating to US

[Mexican entrepreneur Pierre Oliver] Gama, 34, and a business partner who followed him here are among thousands of Mexico's affluent citizens using U.S. business visas to essentially buy an escape from their nation's drug war.

These visas, known as the “E” and “L” series, allow this growing class of elite drug war refugees involved in business and trade to gain residency and possible citizenship and bypass immigration entanglements that commonly block their less-affluent countrymen. They are taking full advantage as never before, according to immigration attorneys, real estate agents and business people.

Tara Rios Ybarra raises big bucks from 'lawsuit reform' PAC

Oh, goodie. Take more rights away from the people and give them to corporations.

Contributions of $492,930, expenditures of $630,027 and two bank loans totaling $175,000.

Her single largest contributor was the political action committee Texans for Lawsuit Reform $112,236, plus $13,000 from its co-founder Houston businessman Richard Weekley.

...

"Pro business is what I am about," she said.

Yes, indeed.

Gonzales supporters target Brownsville ISD trustees

The Hispanic activist group Accion America is calling for the ouster of the four-member majority of the Brownsville Independent School District’s Board of Trustees — and for the Texas Education Agency to investigate BISD’s Special Services Department.

The Dallas-based group also is opposing the proposed firing of Superintendent Hector Gonzales, claiming the board majority moved against him precisely because he was taking "corrective action" against systemic fraud and corruption in the Special Services Department.

Rick Perry just fine with execution of man for questionable arson

Gov. Rick Perry on Friday strenuously defended the execution of a Corsicana man whose conviction for killing his daughters in a house fire hinged on an arson finding that top experts call junk science.

Republicans like to execute people, but never like to apologize for their mistakes.

Trailer park requires proof of citizenship

Really?

On Friday, tensions rose at the mobile home park and a Grand Prairie police officer came in to bring calm.

"We want everybody to confirm that they are legal residents of the United States of America," said Nola Wolfe, property owners board vice president and a school crossing guard.

"Everyone," Wolfe said, is asked for identification regarding legal status. "We don't discriminate against anyone."

Reta McVicker, the board president, said: "We ask for a proof of identification. Show us a green card, a Social Security number."

Not all Texas colleges reporting crimes like they should

Many institutions of higher education in Texasfall short of the federal government's standards for tracking and disclosing crime on and near campus, state audits and spot-checks by the American-Statesman show.

Hurricane Ike left new plants for residents to enjoy

As soon as spring’s warmer weather could coax new growth from the barren landscape, volunteer fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers started to sprout in yards all across the island. The seeds were scattered to their new spots by the unstoppable surge.

Tiny grape tomatoes and melon plants are the most common addition to the island’s landscape.

Former Galveston City Council member fined by Texas Ethics Commission

The Texas Ethics Commission fined former city council member Dianna Puccetti $1,000 earlier this month for violating the state’s campaign finance laws.

The commission ruled Puccetti failed to properly disclose total political contributions, reported contributions in the wrong filing periods and reported cash contributions improperly. The commission also ruled Puccetti did not accurately list reasons for political expenditures or addresses of businesses from which she made purchases.

Man who murdered Abel Herrero's sister pleads guilty

Facing a jury trial in about two weeks, the man accused of strangling and killing Devon Herrero instead pleaded guilty to murder Friday.

Esteban Ruiz, 30, faced visiting District Judge Jack Hunter, his bottom lip quivering, and told him that he understood the plea deal — 40 years in exchange for Ruiz admitting he killed Herrero.

It's official. Brownsville ISD fires Gonzales.

The Brownsville Independent School District on Friday terminated the contract of Superintendent Hector Gonzales, adopting the recommendation of the independent Texas Education Agency hearing examiner who heard the case against him.

At a specially called noon meeting, the BISD Board of Trustees voted 5-1 to terminate its contract with Gonzales, who had been superintendent since November 2006 and worked 12 years for the district.

See previous posts.

Republicans, Rick Perry, Kay Bailey and racism

Republicans have made the most out of racism since the Civil Rights fights of the 60s. But, overt racist baits were verboten. For awhile. With today's blogs, twitter, video phones etc, it is increasingly difficult for a politician to be different things to different groups of people. The ugly can hang out. At the same time, the batsh*t crazy base is pulling the strings of a largely leaderless party. Batsh*t crazies in elected positions abound, while those who might have been more moderate are pushed to join the lunacy.

The Hutchison/Perry race for governor is an interesting case in point. Will the batsh*t crazy base get their man? Can Hutchison resist a fall into the crazy bin? The Austin American Statesman breaks down the latest Rasmussen poll numbers for the governor's race. Hutchison gets the young, middle aged, poor, well off and the independents who expect to vote in the Republican primary.

I say it's the batsh*t crazy crowd versus the remnants of the pre-sixies Republican Party.

Bandera police chief cleared at trial

Bandera Police Chief James Eigner was acquitted of perjury and evidence tampering charges Thursday at a trial where other law officers also had their credibility questioned.

Oops. San Antonio misplaces thousands of police reports

The San Antonio Police Department has misplaced more than 2,000 police reports ranging from thefts and car wrecks to more serious offenses of rapes and assaults, according to internal police documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

Now, the Police Department is scrambling to “recover and correct the open cases so all reports are properly received, entered and accounted for,” according to an internal memo that a deputy chief sent last week to Police Chief William McManus.

Border port construction halts for now

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has put a hold on border construction projects; this after receiving criticism of giving stimulus money to less busy inland ports while bypassing larger busier ports like the ones here in Laredo.

HFD sexist, racist graffiti case 'unsovled'

How hard are they trying to solve it? Who is covering for whom? How hard can it be when there was limited access to the facility?

In the 73 days since Houston firefighters Jane Draycott and Paula Keyes stepped forward with complaints of racist and sexual slurs scrawled in their Station 54 dorm, not a single culprit has been identified, not a single co-worker has come forward to confess.

“We still have no confession, and we have no suspect positively identified,” said Houston police Capt. David Watkins, the city's inspector general in charge of the investigation into the incident.

On Wednesday, Draycott plans to return to work at Station 54 at Bush Intercontinental Airport after a paid administrative leave.

“I'm coming back to 54,” Draycott, 40, said Thursday, adding that she doesn't want anyone to think she can be intimidated out of her job. “I have worked way too hard to get where I am.”

Will her harassers feel emboldened? I hope not.

Prosecutors say special treatment for El Paso city rep is warranted

In this case, special wasn't a good thing.

Arguing before three judges from the 8th Court of Appeals, Assistant District Attorney Lily Stroud said some cases require special treatment. She said Quintana, an elected public servant, is involved in one of those.

Prosecutors charged [El Paso city rep Rachel]Quintana, 31, with misdemeanor forgery in October 2007, four months after she took her seat on the City Council. They say she forged a document to obtain a Southwest Airlines ticket at no cost.

Stroud said District Attorney Jaime Esparza wanted to hold Quintana to a high standard because of the office she holds.

SBOE approves Cesar Chávez and Thurgood Marshall for school kids

How 'white' of them.

Texas public school children will continue to learn about civil-rights leaders César Chávez and Thurgood Marshall in social studies classrooms.

Gail Lowe, the chairwoman of the State Board of Education, said Thursday that members of the board did not intend to exclude the contributions of either leader during revisions to the required social studies curriculum.

State School fight club promoter gets 4 years

Will there be exciting fights for him in prison?

Former Corpus Christi State School employee D’angelo Riley was sentenced to four years in prison and eight years probation on Thursday for his role in staging fights between residents.

Republicans use public school curricula for propaganda.

Education and history be d*mned.

Some of the board-appointed reviewers are picking and choosing certain people and events from history to make an argument that America is a Christian nation, said John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College, a Christian school in Grantham, Pa.

"Students are not learning history. They are learning the facts about the past that suit some larger agenda, a cultural and political agenda," said Fea, who has been following the Texas curriculum process.

Just to make sure that we understand that Republicans are peddling la la land, David Barton, who doesn't believe in the separation of church and state, wants John Wayne covered. You see, Ronald Reagan played John Wayne playing the role of an American hero. That's what passes for Republican reality these days. Smoke meet mirror.

Kino Flores leaves. The race for his old seat continues.

Sandra Rodriguez and Sergio Muñoz, Jr. are making it a contest.

Rodriguez surprised everyone but herself when she came within a couple of percentage points of toppling Flores in the March 2008 Democratic primary. It was a hard-fought campaign with Rodriguez hitting Flores hard in the media. “I criticized him for the way he was taking care of business for himself. I never went personal, I attacked his record,” she said.

Muñoz has family connections to Flores.

Muñoz, Jr., son of former state Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Sr., may expect to pick up a lot of Flores’ support in the western part of Hidalgo County. Muñoz, Sr., and Flores are good friends.

More concern over Perry's plan to send the Rangers to the border

The Texas Border Coalition has written to Gov. Rick Perry to voice concerns about his latest plan to expand Operation Border Star.

The move follows Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada’s stinging criticism last week of Perry’s plan to deploy Texas Rangers and National Guardsmen on the Texas-Mexico border.

“While each of our communities has their own unique issues, being overwhelmed by criminal elements from Mexico is not one of them,” said Chad Foster, chair of the TBC and mayor of Eagle Pass.

Perhaps, this is what Kay Bailey meant when she talked about Perry's bullying.

You may now call him Juan Garcia, assistant secretary of the Navy

The U.S. Senate late Wednesday confirmed former state Rep. Juan Garcia as assistant secretary of the Navy.

...

Garcia’s nomination had been stalled along with nine other key appointments, including Army Secretary nominee U.S. Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., after U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts blocked confirmations.

Congratulations, Juan!

Is Houston Mayoral Candidate, Gene Locke, an a**hole?

John Coby of Bay Area Houston makes some good points on the subject while Gary from Easter Lemming News shares an Annie's list email on the subject.

Texas Ethics Commission fines Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon

The Texas Ethics Commission has slapped Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, with a $3,100 fine after validating multiple errors in the veteran lawmaker's campaign finance reports.

The commission determined that the violations were neither technical nor minimal.

A couple of violations involved improper reimbursements, such as giving checks to colleagues — Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City — to cover her share of gifts the lawmakers presented to committee chairmen. Those payments should have been made directly to the store or company from which the gifts were bought.

Kino Flores won't run for re-election

Don't let the door hit, ya', either.

Facing a costly criminal trial and a repeat challenger for his seat, state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010.

Did 2 state district judges skirt nepotism laws?

[El Paso County DA, Jaime Esparza], investigating an allegation that two state district judges violated nepotism laws by hiring each other's relatives, has subpoenaed the two employees in question.

The subpoenas for Dante Christian Vance and Sally Mena were issued Tuesday and order them to appear before a county grand jury.

Mena is the sister of suspended District Court Judge Manuel Barraza. She works for District Court Judge Regina Arditti as the court coordinator.

Vance is Arditti's son. He works as the bailiff for the criminal court that Barraza was elected to preside over.

Nepotism charges are the least of Barraza's worries.

The state Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended Barraza without pay in April after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on separate federal charges. He was charged with offering favorable judicial rulings in return for sex or money.

Todd Gillman dissects Kay Bailey's words

"He jumped in after I had started talking to people about running. And I just wasn't going to be bullied out of running," she said.

Gillman thinks Kay Bailey's use of the word 'bully' means she's using the gender card. Maybe.

Or, maybe not. A Bush type Republican uses force instead of any other tool. How do you suppose we got into two long wars? Perry is sending the Rangers down to the border, much to the dismay of many. Kay Bailey is trying to contrast her 'rational' Republican persona to the tea party Perry's. Thuggery versus reason may be her goal with the 'bully' word. Or, maybe she's getting a twofer.

Corpus Christi's former police chief to take the money and run

Don't let the door hit ya'.

The city will pay former Police Chief Bryan Smith $125,777.84 in exchange for his retirement and agreement to drop a lawsuit claiming he was improperly demoted.

Smith was a real piece of work. And, I don't mean that in a good way.

Corpus Christi A & M honors Dr. Hector P. Garcia

On Tuesday at the university, Hernandez and more than 200 students, lawmakers and family members of the local civil rights leader celebrated his contribution to the state and nation.

Garcia will be recognized statewide today. In May, Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 495 establishing the third Wednesday of September as Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day.

Lesbian couple sue San Antonio police

A lesbian couple sued the city of San Antonio and nine police officers Monday for alleged harassment during a fruitless drug raid in April in which the women say officers handcuffed them and made demeaning comments about their sexual orientation.

In a news conference Monday outside federal court, Lindsey Bishop, 25, and her partner, Carolyn Clark, 26, said they were terrorized by officers, did not know the suspect police were looking for and are not involved in drugs. No drugs were found and the women were not charged.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and asks the court to order the police force to change the way it conducts raids.

Arlington ISD says no to Bush, too

I guess fair is fair.

Six days after drawing fire for not showing President Barack Obama's speech to schoolchildren, Arlington Superintendent Jerry McCullough announced Monday that he also will not be allowing 600 fifth-graders to attend a Super Bowl event next week featuring former President George W. Bush.

Kids lose out twice. Conservatives mess up continues.

That headline said what?

'Sex offender should not hold medical license'

Ok. This is Texas, run by Republicans like Bush who think that they're above the law. Still ...

To say that something is out of whack in state law is an understatement. The case involves Dr. William Olmsted, a child psychiatrist who pleaded no contest to a molestation charge in Dallas County but was able to skate past the State Medical Board with his license intact, albeit with restrictions.

With citizens unable to obtain redress for malpractice in Texas, doctors can pretty much do whatever.

Rangers on the border remind some of lynchings

They seem to be speaking to the Anglo populace, because they sure are not speaking to me. Am I supposed to be thrilled that Perry is bringing Los Rinches back? They just don't get it, do they? Now comes PERRY - an Anglo - to remind us Mexicans/Chicanos that the killer Texas Rangers are still alive and well. Known by Mexicans as Los Rinches de Tejas – these foul-mouthed lawmen too often took the law into their own hands and lynched Mexicans simply because they were there and because they were defenseless.

By some estimates, thousands of Mexicans were lynched by Los Rinches who, in their brutality, executed them without suffering any repercussions from Texas courts. Los Rinches would falsely arrest Mexicans and would promptly lynch them, without benefit of a court trial or any other venue where the person's guilt or innocence could be proved.

In the period from 1848 to 1870, some official records show that 473 out of every 100,000 Mexican migrant workers died at the hands of Los Rinches. In the 1850s, Tejanos faced expulsion from their Central Texas homes on the accusation that they helped slaves escape to Mexico. Others became victims of Anglo wrath around the Goliad area during the Cart War of 1857, as they did in South Texas in 1859 after Juan N. Cortinas' capture of Brownsville.

Hispanic cancer rates lower than others'

U.S. Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to develop cancer, but more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, according to a new report.

The American Cancer Society report, released today, found that because of the later detection, Hispanics' five-year survival rate for the four most common cancers — breast, prostate, colon and lung — is less than that of non-Hispanic whites.

Can anyone say PUBLIC HEALTH OPTION?

Corpus Christi has a new police chief

City Manager, Angel R. Escobar, announced his selection today to fill the Corpus Christi Police Department Police Chief position as Mr. Troy Riggs of Louisville, Ky.

After the city manager requests City Council confirmation of his selection, the appointment will be effective Oct. 5.

Cameron County Jailer arrested for assaulting his pregnant wife

What a guy.

Brownsville police arrested a Cameron County Detention officer on Sunday evening for an assault on his pregnant wife, officials said.

Christopher Miguel Alderete was arrested and then released. That doesn't seem safe for the soon to be ex-Mrs. Alderete.

It's time for the Monday blog roundup!

With the start of the new football season, the Texas Progressive Alliance invites you to read this week's roundup of blog highlights in the voice of John Facenda.

Last week, Texas got some much needed help from the Feds when the EPA slapped down Governor Perry's global warming denier pick for our state's top environmental official. This week, the EPA will have another opportunity to intervene in Texas when Mayor Calvin Tillman releases an environmental study of air quality in DISH, TX that will contrast dramatically with industry findings. Keep watching Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS as TXsharon brings you that news.

Bay Area Houston has some pics from the Yes we Klan! teabaggers on parade in DC.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that editorial boards across the state are taking Rick Perry to task for running Texas like he owned it.

Mean Rachel asks "Since when do conservatives care about anyone dying?" in "Dare Devils: Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Death Panel."

Off the Kuff takes a look at a local race that found a hole in our state's Elections Code.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog writes about the right wing's War on Diwali.

BossKitty at TruthHugger notices headlines this week demonstrate America's decline in common sense or accountability. Even worse, there is no regard for consequences of thoughtless actions ... Sabotage Experts: US Coast Guard Exercise on 9/11, Congressman Baucus and Republicans.

Neil at Texas Liberal ran a video he shot in front a hurricane damged fishing pier in Galveston in which he asked people to be flexible of mind. The video is 48 seconds long.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson on Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) making if official that he won't seek reelection, and what that means going forward, Ogden will not run for Senate in 2010.

McBlogger offers another post on wage growth. Not terribly exciting, but it is hella important to the future of Democracy. So, you know, you might want to read it.

A couple of Kinky Katz could wind up at the top of the 2010 Texas Democratic ticket, according to PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Kay Bailey Hutchison takes a head-in-the-hot-sand approach to climate change that will get Texas burned and drive tens of thousands of new jobs elsewhere. Learn more at Texas Vox.

Will the AP be improving anytime soon?

The AP is everywhere reporting the news. Some of it is great and some of it is propaganda. AP's executive editor, Kathleen Carroll, has some encouraging words to say.

The Internet also has made it easier to research information and find errors in news stories, said Kathleen Carroll, the AP's executive editor. And the Web's discussion boards spread word of mistakes when they're found.

Carroll said she hopes the increased scrutiny and accountability fostered by the Internet will lead to better journalism.

"We're in the early stages of a changing relationship between news organizations and consumers, who are becoming much more vocal about what they like, what they don't and what they want to know," Carroll wrote in a statement. "It's not always pretty or pleasant, but that engagement can and does help improve coverage."

Yes. Thank you.

Nueces County targeting domestic abuse

That’s why we hope that the work being done by the local domestic violence court, headed by 347th District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, has success. The court, in partnership with the Nueces County Probation Department, is right to identify the defendants in domestic violence cases for close monitoring with specific attention to managing anger, gaining control of alcohol and drug problems or whatever method is necessary to change their violent conduct.

The court is relatively new at its work. The probation department developed a specialized case load for domestic abusers in 2006 and in 2007 the court under Judge Ramos was formed. About 140 probationers are now under Ramos’ supervision.

Lets hope it works for some. Focus is better than no focus.

Texas newspapers notice that Perry runs Texas like he owns it

Why should Perry's actions be a surprise? All of today's Republicans act like that. Remember Bush, the guy Perry followed?

The Austin American Statesman is timid: 'Governor's meddling a concern'. Did the editors paused briefly during their afternoon tea to say 'tsk tsk':

The Dallas Morning News gets to the point: 'Perry's treating universities like they are his playground'

The Bryan Eagle fears the consequences: 'Meddling at the top threatens A&M's future'

Republican racism hurts party with American veterans

As veterans, we pledged allegiance to our country against all enemies foreign and domestic. In that pledge it was understood that we were to follow our Commander-in-Chief's orders, whether the Commander-in-Chief is black, brown, white, Asian, Native American, etc. Apparently, Republicans think that they can do whatever they can with our Commander-in-Chief because he is black. During the past 100-plus days that our Commander-in-Chief has been president, Republicans (mostly White) have attacked him for even the smallest of things. Some are just waiting to see what he is going to do so that they can oppose it and even distort facts to go against him no matter if his ideas are good for the American people. Ever since Republicans heard the words "I am not a Crook," from their leader they seem to be failing on family values and honesty. But when it comes to a Black President, he has to be perfect.

The 2000 election taught me that Republicans are not the least bit interested in Democracy. The actual Bush presidency echoed that point every single day of its existence. Respect for our institutions? For Republicans, not so much.

Green stimulus money to help fund wind energy research in Texas

Universities and businesses across Texas are expecting to spend millions in the next few years honing the blades, gearboxes and generators that make up turbines designed to harness power from the wind.

The work, including studies scheduled for a new University of Houston research park as well as at a 22-acre testing operation planned near Corpus Christi, has a common goal: developing a new generation of efficient and reliable wind turbines.

The challenge, said Don Birx, the vice chancellor of research at the University of Houston, is building turbines out of materials strong enough to withstand tremendous pressure in heavy winds, but without adding weight and stress to spinning blades that can now stretch beyond 100 yards.

Public money ready to be spent on Harris County professional sports facilities

How is it that very wealthy individuals can talk taxpayers into paying for their luxury adventures while the owners enjoy swanky boxes and rake in the profits?

Harris County may be forced to pay $4 million or more to the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority due to a cascading series of challenges initiated when $117 million in stadium bonds soured at the peak of the financial crisis last year.

The payments indirectly could upend a promise to taxpayers that public money would not be spent on professional sports stadiums.

City, county and stadium authority officials have struggled to avoid that outcome for months as the due date for a balloon debt payment approaches in November.

Two year old theft dogs El Paso City Rep

City Rep. Rachel Quintana claims that because she holds a powerful position she is being persecuted in a 2-year-old misdemeanor theft case.

Were Quintana not a member of the City Council, her lawyer says, she would have been allowed to enter a program for first-time offenders and the theft charge against her would have been dismissed.

...

[District Attorney Jaime] Esparza characterized Quintana's alleged crime as one that required sophisticated planning and execution. She is charged with forging a document to obtain a free Southwest Airlines ticket in October 2007.

Should an elected official be held to a higher standard? Makes you wonder why Bush officials who outted a CIA agent, lied to Congress, lied us into war, and tortured seem to be getting away with high crimes.

Others have been convicted for buying and selling illegal Southwest Airlines tickets.

Gil Olivares pleads guilty to wiretapping at BexarMet

The former general manager for the Bexar Metropolitan Water District pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of wiretapping — admissions that could send him to prison for up to 20 years and force him to testify against the utility's previous public relations consultant.

As a condition of the plea agreements, prosecutors aren't challenging Gil Olivares' request for probation.

How on earth will Texas 6th graders know when it's Christmas?

A proposal for new social studies curriculum in Texas public schools removes a mention of Christmas in a sixth-grade lesson, replacing it with a Hindu religious festival, a change that's riled conservatives who say it's another battle in the "war" against the Christian holiday.

Why is Perry sending Rangers to the border?

Have local law enforcement asked for that help? No, they're skeptical. Oh, yeah. Perry's running a primary race against Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The day after Gov. Rick Perry announced plans to deploy Texas Ranger teams to the border, local law enforcement officials said they were skeptical about whether the initiative would do any good.

A handful of recent organized-crime cases suggest to some that Perry's Ranger plan comes as cartel violence increasingly spills over into the United States, but law enforcement officials insist that border crime hasn't really escalated on the U.S. side.

Nothing like a little 'us vs them' thuggery to get a Republican's juices flowing.

More from Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada Jr.

Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada has slammed Gov. Rick Perry for deploying highly-skilled Ranger Reconnaissance Teams on the Texas-Mexico border.

“This is not what we need for security. This is an extremist and alarmist reaction to incidents that are happening in Mexico and that are being handled by the Mexican government,” Ahumada said.

Ahumada, a leading member of the Texas Border Coalition (TBC), predicted commerce with Mexico would be affected by the “lawless perception” being created “for political gain by Governor Rick Perry.

TEA finds against BISD superintendent Gonzales

Texas Education Agency hearing officer Victoria Guerra handed the Brownsville Independent School District a resounding victory Friday afternoon in its case against Superintendent Hector Gonzales.

Finding for the district in every one of its allegations of wrongdoing against Gonzales, Guerra recommended that the BISD Board of Trustees terminate its contract with Gonzales.

Ouch!

Columnist says others in GOP should be like Joe Straus

Indeed. With Jean Schmidt, Joe Wilson, crazy uncle Cheney, Michael Steele - oh, the list is too long to go on - it isn't just the Republican base that's batsh*t crazy. The GOP leadership is obsessed with power instead of wanting to solve public problems. Oh, wait. The government has no business solving public problems. No wonder.

“I think Joe's influence on the Republican Party has brought real civility to the House, and I think that's what needs to be done all over the country,” said Joci Straus, a GOP activist before it was cool in Texas. “If the rest of the country would follow the example that Joe has set for the state of Texas, it would be very helpful.”

UT reviewing campus police departments

The formal review comes nearly a year after the University of Texas-Pan American’s police chief, Howard Miller, was fired following an internal investigation.

Another scalp in El Paso public corruption case

An El Paso businessman who formerly worked for one of the largest general contractors in El Paso was indicted on bribery and fraud charges in the continuing public corruption investigation.

A federal indictment filed Thursday charges Adrian Edward Pena, who used to work for C.F. Jordan, with three counts of mail fraud involving a scheme to bribe a former county commissioner.

Taft city manager under investigation

Taft City Manager Florencio “Flo” Sauceda is on paid administrative leave as the Texas Rangers and District Attorney’s Office investigate city operations, City Attorney Sid Arismendez said.

Children who cross the border to go to school in Del Rio will be expelled

School officials will be checking those addresses.

Cameron County Sheriff's Deputy arrested for lying about guns

Ezequiel Sauceda was charged with three counts of providing false information in federal documents when he bought guns for other people.

How can the Brownsville Mayor's trial be held in Brownsville?

I know that a lot of people don't pay attend to city politics, but really. How do you find a fair jury pool?

The trial of Brownsville’s mayor on felony charges stemming from a check scandal likely will be held in this city, his attorney said.

"We will try to select a jury here," Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.’s attorney Ed Cyganiewicz said Thursday, noting that the mayor decided not to seek a change of venue at this time.

See previous posts.

Valley reps say they are ready for health care reform

Good. Push a public option. You know that is the only way to get the job done.

U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, both said Obama laid the groundwork for decisive health-care reform.

U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, was not available Wednesday night.

Silvestre Reyes is ready, too.

A CNN poll of those that watched the address found a 14 percent increase in support for Obama’s reforms. Congressman Silvestre Reyes believes that support must be turned into meaningful legislation.

Cornyn and Hutchison were disappointed - Obama's speech was better than they wanted it to be.

The two Republican senators from Texas were disappointed by President Obama’s address on health care reform before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening.

Arlington school says Bush ok, pep talk from Obama not

The Arlington Independent School District, which passed on airing President Barack Obama's live classroom address, has announced that some students will be bussed off campus to hear a message from former President George W. Bush on Sept. 21.

What a lovely mess a double standard brings.

Dewhurst says he'll run for re-election

Oh, goody.

“I wanted you to be one of the first to know that I am running for re-election as Lt. Governor of Texas, and I would like to humbly ask for your endorsement and continued support in my re-election,” Dewhurst said in a letter to supporters.

Austin restaurateur, Marc Katz, announced he will run as a Democrat for Lt. Governor.

Judge jails man for critizing him

What a weenie.

State District Judge Jack Robison got cussed out in the bathroom after a grandfather disapproved of Robison's decision in a custody case. Ok, it had to be intimidating to have the guy follow the judge into the bathroom, but 30 days? Apparently, it's not legal to put someone in jail for criticizing you.

The homophobes rise up in El Paso

All 10 of them.

A group of pastors, parents, grandparents and taxpayers want the City Council to overturn its recent decision to extend health benefits to gay and unmarried heterosexual partners of city employees.

A group of about 10 people announced Tuesday that it would start a petition drive in hopes of forcing the council to reconsider its position.

The EPA notices the TCEQ's crony ways

The Environmental Protection Agency signaled Tuesday that it is serious about demanding changes in the way Texas issues air pollution permits to major industries.

Federal officials said they intend to disapprove three Texas permitting programs that deal with emissions from factories, power plants, refineries and other industrial plants. The proposal, which is open to public comment for 60 days, will trigger months of negotiations with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

No more 'let them eat air.'

Alton police chief said to regularly have sex in a parked car

WTF?

Alton’s police chief had sex with a 22-year-old woman inside police vehicles on a weekly basis for more than a year, according to an auto parts store manager cited in police records.

Alton Police Chief Baldemar Flores, who plans on running for Mission mayor in the May 2010 election, turned himself in at the Mission Police Department on Monday. He said he learned of his arrest warrant on one count of public lewdness the night before.

I'm thinking Flores might just save himself the filing fee.

Oh, no! Students were INSPIRED by Obama's speech

Whatever will the right wing do. The tin foil hat business must be booming.

Students across Brownsville sat around televisions and computer screens on Tuesday as President Barack Obama encouraged them to stay in school and focus on the future.

A former Roma student was singled out as an example of success in Obama's speech.

[Jazmin] Perez, 22, a 2005 Roma High School graduate, was cited by Obama in his Tuesday speech to students as someone who overcame obstacles in their path to an education.

Perez didn’t speak English when she first started school, Obama said in an address televised at some Rio Grande Valley schools. Although neither of her parents went to college, she worked hard at Roma High School and received a scholarship to Brown University.

Perez, who graduated with a degree in human biology and education studies, is now a graduate student in public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

Oil companies taking a hit

I wouldn't get out the Kleenex just yet.

The [Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson] has involved himself in a 10-year-old civil lawsuit between Exxon and a royalty owner, offering his opinion to the Texas Supreme Court that Exxon sabotaged wells and badgering the Railroad Commission to investigate whether the company lied on forms filed with the commission.

"Exxon has been a tremendous benefit to the state of Texas. They employ a boatload of people and pay a lot of taxes," he said. But "you're either right or you're wrong, and in this case, they're wrong."

A Republican siding against a large company? An oil company at that?

There's more citizen push back.

Three Dallas law firms have formed a litigation group and are meeting with Tarrant County residents who could become parties to lawsuits against energy companies involved in leasing properties for Barnett Shale natural gas drilling.

Will Kay Bailey use her remaining time in the Senate to be an a**hole?

She's got to win over the batsh*t crazy base to take the Republican primary.

"It's not as if she's a swing vote," said Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker, a leading congressional scholar. He said that once a politician declares an intention to leave, that person doesn't have a lot of clout. "The assumption is that you're a short-timer, so there's not a particular value attached to working with you."

...

It's possible, though, that Hutchison plans to come out swinging in coming weeks, using her remaining Senate time to court conservative primary voters.

Mondello said that Hutchison also will push a proposal to let prisons jam cellphone transmissions. A tough-on-crime stance can only help when Election Day arrives.

Oh, goodie. Just what we need. Another Republican deliberately being an a**.

Alton police chief arrested for having sex in a parked car

Alton Police Chief Baldemar Flores turned himself in Monday morning after learning he was wanted for public lewdness.

The arrest came after Mission police received "several complaints" from store personnel of a suspicious vehicle parked behind Auto Zone and the H-E-B near the intersection of Conway Avenue and Griffin Parkway, police said.

Store employees told police that a man and woman were having sex inside vehicles while parked "in plain view," a according to a Mission police statement.

Has Mexico given up fighting the drug cartels?

Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday removed his attorney general who had spearheaded the government's anti-drug campaign that has so far failed to defeat powerful cartels.

Calderon told reporters that Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora had resigned and would be replaced by a little-known former law enforcement official. Calderon gave no details about the motive for the move.

Mexican immigrants stay put

Many immigrants hurt by the recession decided to ride out the downturn rather than return to their home countries, according to a Migrant Policy Institute report released today.

The report found that fewer Mexican citizens tried to enter the United States, and fewer Mexican citizens who were in the United States illegally tried to return home.

Makes sense. It takes money to move.

Silvestre Reyes admonishes us to stand up for health care

Opponents of health-care reform, Reyes said, are being spurred on by hollow patriots, such as Rush Limbaugh, who drape themselves in the flag but want Obama to fail.

"We had an election. President Obama won. Get over it and support this country," Reyes said in front of about 350 labor union officials, Democratic Party activists and politicians who assembled at the Wyndham Hotel near the airport.

Reyes urged those in favor of overhauling health care to write letters, speak out and let their voices be heard.

Good points.

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone has a Happy Labor Day, and notes that it won't be any work at all to read this week's roundup of blog highlights.

Like TXsharon, Elizabeth Burns is a reluctant activist forced into action by the horrendous environmental abuses she witnesses on her own ranch. Her videos have exposed reckless drilling practices by XOM that endanger human health and safety, harm wildlife and spoil air, soil and water. XOM has gagged Mrs. Burns claiming that she is revealing "trade secrets."

Neil at Texas Liberal made note of elections in Japan. These elections have moved Japan to the left and possibly changed politics in Japan for years to come.

Off the Kuff discusses the latest entrants into the Texas Governor's race.

Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger takes a look at the BARACKNOPHOBIA gripping a small minority of the people in some parts of Texas.

The Texas Cloverleaf announces its intention to not run for Governor.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why SMU is still supporting a Bush policy institute. Isn't that like the Larry, Moe and Curly institute of higher learning?

Felix Alvarado's problems managing his checking account are a precursor of bigger troubles ahead for Texas Democrats in 2010, reports PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson posts about the latest craziness from the crackpots in our country, More fake outrage from right wing astroturf.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw helps out understand the latest right wing melt down in his posting The Right Wing Goes Ballastic Again . If their unhinged outrage leaves you scratching your head, check it out!

WhosPlayin readers divided their time between rallying for health insurance reform and standing up to the Lewisville ISD's silly decision to BLOCK the President's speech from its classrooms.

Restrictive birth control for teens means Texas is #1 in teenage repeat births

What happens when the holier than thou folks control our government? Good policy outcomes? Hardly.

Texas, a leader in teen pregnancy and the state where more teens give birth to subsequent children than in any other, maintains one of the most restrictive policies in the nation for minors to obtain prescription birth control.

Not even young parents in Texas can get birth control without their own parents' permission at nearly a third of the family planning clinics on contract with the state health department.

If the Republicans had their way, even married women couldn't get birth control.

Juárez cartel boss taken out

A reputed high-ranking boss in the Juárez drug cartel arrested by the Mexican army during the weekend was notorious for using terror to control the vital smuggling routes in the Valley of Juárez.

Jose Rodolfo Escajeda Escajeda was captured Friday in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, in what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration described as a significant blow against the cartel.

I hope this isn't like all of the Bush era (error?) reports. How many times was the #2 al qaeda guy taken out?

Del Rio Fire Department celebrates 100% pass rate

Given the task at hand and the amount of time allotted to achieve it, Del Rio Fire Department officials are calling its 100 percent pass rate on emergency medical certification tests a proud moment.

All 15 of the department's recruit firefighters passed the national basic emergency medical technician test after a mere two-and-a-half months of preparation.

TWIA says roofs with unsealed shingles are not covered as Ike damage

WTF? What a**hole decided to pull that swindle?

“The lifted shingle issue is not limited to TWIA,” said Alex Winslow, head of Texas Watch, a consumer group in Austin. Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin “can either make sure these claims get paid or he can allow TWIA and the other insurance companies to keep denying them.”

The case stems from 23 complaints the department has received about the windstorm association's denial of certain claims that involve lifted or unsealed shingles. Another 14 complaints on the issue are against other companies.

Policyholders say Hurricane Ike winds blew their shingles back, breaking the seals that keep them adhered to each other and that prevent water from leaking through.

Food stamp business booming in Texas

Last month, 354,429 people in Harris County received food assistance, with the average household getting $323 worth of food.

Delays in certification for food stamps ranks as “probably the No. 1 reason why people call our office,” said Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus.

“It's really a ratty deal to treat people this way,” she said. “This is the most down-and-out group of folks, and you will continue to see that as the economy (struggles).”

She contends some lawmakers deliberately starve state government to keep costs down. The federal government pays for the food stamps and shares the cost of running the program with the state. The state's share this year amounts to about $181 million, which also includes administrative costs for Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

1/3 of El Paso without health insurance

Our health care system is broken. Republicans can whip up their base, even the ones on Medicare who don't know Medicare is a government run, single payer system. Reality and Republicanism parted ways when Reagan got elected. Their lack of facts, shouldn't stop the rest of us. Give us at least a public option. Now. Just do it.

Many of the uninsured, such as Laura Sanchez-Miramontez, have jobs, but say they still cannot afford medical coverage. The owner of a small business, she says she makes a decent living but has not had health coverage for 13 years.

Bexar County commissioner proposing private jails.

Because, private jails have been a horrendously bad idea for the taxpayers and the prisoners? Because, private jails have been great for private profits? For profit prisons care about money, not reducing the number of inmates or prisoner reactivation rates.

Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff is proposing the privatization of the county jail, a politically tricky maneuver that he said would largely eliminate the need to cut jobs and trim employee's paychecks.

Facing a shortfall of $14 million that officials fear is likely to grow, county commissioners are considering laying off as many as 70 county employees, eliminating an additional 100 unfilled positions and trimming employee wages between two percent and five percent.

Galveston ISD says not to children hearing a postive message on education from Obama

The Galveston public school district announced Friday it will not broadcast President Barack Obama’s address to students live Tuesday.

Others schools join Galveston in the frenzy.

Several districts have said they won't participate in viewing the speech that will be nationally televised at 11 a.m. Tuesday on C-SPAN. They include the Victoria, Yoakum and Refugio school districts.

Host International gets dinged for age discrimination

A jury has awarded almost $1 million to a former airport restaurant manager who said he was fired because of his age.

Twelve jurors unanimously decided that Host International Inc. discriminated against Fred J. Jackson, who was 57 when the company fired him in 2007. Jackson was older than any of Host International's other management employees in El Paso. Host International holds the city contract to provide food and beverage services at El Paso International Airport.

This is not a joke. Bush has a policy institute

It's not like Bush ever seemed to have deep thoughts. Everything seemed to flow from "I'm charge, so I know best".

A Washington veteran with experience in media, politics and diplomacy will take over the most controversial arm of George W. Bush's presidential library – the policy institute that some SMU faculty members and Methodist leaders did not want.

Over lunch this week in Dallas, Bush offered former White House official James K. Glassman the opportunity to run the think tank that the former president has described as a place to foster debate on democracy, education and other global concerns.

Glassman was an American Enterprise Institute fellow. Bleeech. Here's another take:

"It's been clear from the beginning that this is a very ideological and partisan institution," SMU history professor Ben Johnson said.

That said, Glassman's credentials as a "conservative intellectual" are solid, Johnson said. "They could've done much worse. This guy's a serious writer and thinker, not a shill or a hack."