Texas Supreme Court says f*%K you to FOIA requests

The Texas Supreme Court told the peasants citizens to STFU. After all, being a Republican means no accountability or transparency, just authoritarianism and elitism.

A recent Texas Supreme Court ruling has loosened the strict 10-day time limit in which governments must comply with public information requests, triggering concerns by watchdog groups that the decision will be used to delay and perhaps avoid releasing information that could embarrass officials or anger voters.

La Marque city council food fight

Mayor Geraldine Sam is calling for the district attorney to investigate possible open meetings violations by three city council members.

The mayor alleges council members Larry Mann, Deanie Barrett and Connie Trube communicated outside of council meetings on a contract for City Manager Eric Gage.

I think city council meetings in La Marque are not going well. Previously, Sam refused to sign Gage's contract.

Government plays bait and switch with war widows and their children

Despite being widowed, [Raquel] Vallejo-Moore thought she was prepared financially because they had discussed what to do if [36 year old Maj. Horst Gerhard "Gary" Moore] was killed. She was unaware of a law that every year takes millions of dollars in anticipated income from some 57,000 surviving military spouses, most of them widows. Because of that law, she has about $1,000 a month less than she expected.

"It doesn't seem fair," said Vallejo-Moore, 39, who lives and works in El Paso. "But life's not fair."

The law allows the government to significantly cut -- and in many cases eliminate -- a Defense Department insurance payment if the surviving spouse chooses to receive a Veterans Affairs benefit. The VA benefit was established to compensate for the service-related death of a family member.

Lets stop the Bush-era abuse of our military and their families.

Tourism just fine in Nuevo Progreso

Despite reports of escalating violence on the Mexican border, the small town of Nuevo Progreso appeared to be thriving this past week.

Sidewalks were not choked with pedestrians, a common scene on busy weekends. But, still, it was a sizeable crowd.

...

Travelers shopping at the local markets Wednesday said they were not concerned for their safety, even though the U.S. State Department reissued a travel alert on Monday for citizens traveling to Mexico.

70 caught up in ICE sweep

U.S. customs officials arrested more than 70 illegal immigrants in South Texas last week during an operation targeting foreign nationals with violent criminal histories — the largest such undertaking ever carried out by the agency in the state.

More than 284 illegal immigrants were arrested in Texas during the enforcement surge, according to a statement issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Oops. It's not a 'sweep' it's an 'enforcement surge'. Is this Iraq or Afghanistan?

Republican Bexar County DA likely to make political hay out former Democratic Party treasurer's indictment

Junior Bush used his office for his own political ends, particularly devastating the 'justice' department. Bexar County DA, Susan Reed is following suit. Sure, the culprits who embezzled money should face justice, but don't time their arrests to make political hay.

Here's a question local Democrats are asking with increasing agitation: Justhow long should it take to charge a man whose attorney has already acknowledged his client took the money?

They'll hate the answer.

They're antsy about an indictment of former party treasurer Dwayne Adams arriving close to the general elections in November. They worry that a potential mess of sordid details from the investigation into the theft of more than $200,000 from the party could inject an ick factor into down-ballot races where the names aren't as familiar to the average voter as party labels are.

Hidalgo elections at risk due to missing voting machine activation key

The key went missing after a voter was helped curbside. The disabled are allowed to vote in their cars. So, what are the Hidalgo election officials doing? Watching that the total number of votes matches the number of people who signed in to vote. FAIL!!! By the time a discrepancy is noted, how are you going to separate out the illegal votes from the legal? Are you going to check vote totals after every voter? I doubt that.

Who could have predicted that an activation module could go missing? A minimally competent designer. Here's an idea. When an activation module goes missing, change the access codes so that the missing activation module cannot work as is. What? You don't have access codes on the missing activation module? See the part about a minimally competent designer.

Rick Casey calls Todd Smith's opponent a liar

If there were any justice in Texas politics, every Democratic and Republican incumbent state representative in Texas would be making their way to the North Texas district of Rep. Todd Smith just long enough to make a strong and simple statement.

Jeff Cason, Smith's challenger in Tuesday's Republican primary, is a liar.

I know. Lots of politicians are liars. But Cason is a liar in a particularly vicious way, albeit in a way that was entirely predictable.

Hey, the liars you call out in your story, Rick Perry and Jeff Cason, are Republicans. Liar and Republican are pretty much the same adjective in my book.

Norma Chávez may lose to challenger in HD 76 primary race

The race between state Rep. Norma Chávez and Assistant County Attorney Naomi Gonzalez is so close that either could win the House District 76 seat outright, a new El Paso Times poll shows.

A more likely outcome is that neither will break the 50 percent threshold in Tuesday's Democratic primary, so they would meet again in a runoff election, said Russell Autry of The Reuel Group, which conducted the poll this week.

I wouldn't be sad to see Norma Chávez go. Chávez has been cozy with 'tort reform' lobbyists and a CraddickDem.

See previous posts on Norma Chávez.

Brownsville warning against trips to Mexico

This is very sad. It is past time to end the war on drugs. Legal drugs can be monitored and tested for consistency. Legal users can be offered rehab. Drug dealers will go out of business. Except for the ones that push Viagra and everything else they sell on your TV.

As drug violence continues in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Brownsville law enforcement officials continue their work to prevent any spillover of the violence into the U.S. and to ensure a safe Charro Days.

However, Brownsville Police Department Chief Carlos Garcia urged border residents to exercise prudence when visiting Mexico.

"It is sad but, if you don’t have any business in Mexico, it’s best not to go," Garcia said. "We continue to monitor the situation and are prepared to act accordingly."

Have some clarity with your coffee

The snowballing response made [Annabel Park] the de facto coordinator of Coffee Party USA, with goals far loftier than its oopsy-daisy origin: promote civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engage the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008.

Amen.

Here's a headline you don't want to see

'Houston medical supplier convicted in adult diaper scam'

What kind of scam involves an adult diaper? Inquiring minds would rather not know.

Blogger and League city council member in fight

A city councilman is threatening to take a blogger to court for posting comments that accuse him of political horse trading.

Councilman J.E.“Mick” Phalen, 62, said he was considering legal action because Dustin Gooding, 28, a 2009 candidate for League City Council, accused him of offering Gooding a deal to drop out of 2009’s race.

Phalen said he did not offer a deal to Gooding and considered the comments to be accusations.

Reyes wants to make torture a crime

I thought torture was already a crime. In so many jurisdictions.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes on Thursday introduced legislation that establishes criminal penalties for intelligence officers and federal contractors who use torture to gain information.

Reyes, D-Texas, and other members of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence amended the intelligence authorization bill late Wednesday night to establish criminal penalties for any officer or employee of the intelligence community who commits torture.

Go ahead. Apparently, we need reminding.

E-Verify is not working properly

The online tool E-Verify, now used voluntarily by employers, wrongly clears illegal workers about 54 percent of the time, according to Westat, a research company that evaluated the system for the Homeland Security Department. E-Verify missed so many illegal workers mainly because it can't detect identity fraud, Westat said.

...

"While not perfect, it is important to note that E-Verify is much more effective" than the paper forms used by most employers, the summary said.

Hey, it's a start. I definitely agree it's the way to go. Practice makes perfect. Keep on working to make it as effective as possible.

Ortiz suggests electing Corpus Christi port commissioners

Sounds like a great idea.

State Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr. wants to eliminate future controversy surrounding the appointment of Port of Corpus Christi commissioners by asking that they be elected.

That idea would need a consensus to pass in the Legislature and reaction this week indicated that Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, will have to persuade some key local and state office-holders.

Too bad some people will not want to give up the power and perks associated with appointing commissioners.

It's fiscal conservatives versus social conservatives

Taking a page from the playbook of social conservatives, the “tea party” movement is trying to change the Republican Party of Texas from the ground up.

Tea party activists in the major cities and suburbs across Texas have been recruiting and training candidates for precinct chairs as the building blocks to shift the emphasis of the state GOP from social issues to fiscal restraint by the federal government and individual freedom.

“It's going to shock the world,” said Austin Tea Party activist Dean Wright.

Social conservatives used similar tactics in 1994 to take control of the state party from the business-oriented party members who sometimes were called “country club Republicans.” The social conservatives set a faith-based agenda.

Hummm. The Mount Vernon Statement was supposed to fix all that. Didn't these Tea Partiers get the message? I did notice the other day that Texas conservative bloggers were 'reaching out' to the more tolerant folk. One, even thought that icky, morally repugnant gays should be allowed to 'fight for liberty' along side regular Republicans. As long as teh gays knew their place.

Attorneys sue Cameron County DA

Several defense attorneys have filed a civil lawsuit in federal court claiming that the Cameron County District Attorney and others in his office conspired to "black-ball" and "black-list" them.

The defense attorneys Moises M. Salas, Nat C. Perez, Jr., Angela P. Nix and Star Jones seek $20 million in damages from Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos.

More voter fraud alleged

This time it's Irma Gutierrez, a politiquera, who is alleged to have filled out an Alice man's ballot. If you have a premium subscription, check out the story.

Previously, 3 Jim Wells County politiqueras were charged with holding fewer than 10 mail in ballots.

None of these cases, even if proved to be voter fraud, could have been prevented with voter id at the polls. However, voter id would prevent the votes of the poor, elderly and disabled without drivers licenses. But, GOP stoked racism is more important than a viable democracy.

Thinking about going to Mexico?

The U.S. State Department renewed a travel alert to Mexico this week, adding Reynosa to an expanding list of cities experiencing drug violence.

The alert, issued Monday, specifically urges U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the states of Coahuila and Durango, where four U.S. citizens were killed in late 2009 and early 2010, the State Department said.

...

The State Department is also urging U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to parts of the Mexican states of Michoacán and Chihuahua, where two Americans were kidnapped and murdered, according to the travel alert.

TCEQ picks refinery over lungs

Republicans love their cronies. You and your kids? Not so much.

Texas' environmental agency is set to renew the air pollution permit of Houston's largest refinery for 10 years despite the city's plea that regulators hold a public hearing first.

The executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has recommended that it vote today to extend the permit and reject Houston's petition for chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries to defend the plant's practices in a trial-like proceeding.

The city made the unusual request for a hearing in 2008, claiming the Ship Channel refinery emits more benzene, a carcinogen, per barrel of product than others and thus poses an unreasonable risk to Houstonians. The city has not asked the agency to deny the permit.

La Marque mayor won't sign city manager's contract

Despite city council’s vote that awarded City Manager Eric Gage a three-year contract, La Marque Mayor Geraldine Sam on Tuesday said she won’t sign the agreement, claiming some of its provisions violate the city’s charter.

Sam said she will ask for the attorney general to rule if the contract terms are legit.

Did a supporter buy votes for a Bexar County candidate?

A Sheila McNeil supporter who runs a youth football program sent a text message last week urging parents to vote for the Commissioners Court hopeful in exchange for a $125 credit on their children's football enrollment fees, according to multiple sources.

Fred Davis, 35, founder of Youth Advancement Initiative, a nonprofit organization with five youth football leagues and a cheerleading program, sent the offer Friday, according to three former East Side City Council members: Mario Salas, John Sanders and McNeil, the hopeful whom Davis sought to help.

No. No. No.

Supreme Court says 'Yes' to Neches Refuge

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that the Court will not hear the lawsuit brought by the City of Dallas and Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) against the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge. Dallas and TWDB had sought to block the refuge to keep the site available for a potential future reservoir.

“We heartily endorse the Court’s decision -- the Neches River Refuge will be great for East Texas!” said Dr. Michael Banks, Co-Chair of Friends of the Neches River. “It’ll provide recreation, draw tourists, protect vital habitat for wildlife and waterfowl, and protect the landowners along the river from condemnation.”

More here.

El Paso knows medical examiner's résumé is wrong. They don't care.

County Human Resources Director Betsy Keller said her staff found discrepancies in Chief Medical Examiner Paul Shrode's résumé.

She reported her department's findings at Monday's meeting of the County Commissioners Court.

The commissioners first discussed Shrode's résumé during a closed session. Then, once back in open session, they announced that no action would be taken at this time.

Whaa? Psst, Betsy. Check the résumé first next time.

See previous posts.

Corpus Christi looking into judge's actions

A former city municipal court judge who was reassigned last year is the subject of a city investigation, City Council members confirmed Monday.

The council will go behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss personnel matters related to Deanie King, a former juvenile court judge who was reassigned to magistrate judge in July.

Local lawyer Rene Rodriguez accused King of allowing non-judicial staff members to take pleas from defendants when she oversaw the city’s juvenile court. Rodriguez made the accusation in his written requests for public information and in other correspondence with the city.

King may be gay and there's a big fuss about that, too. Teh Gay! Oh, no!

City-hired attorney Bill [Chriss submitted] a report to the council finding that the relationship between [former City Attorney Mary Kay] Fischer and King presented a conflict. He recommended eliminating the chain of command that allowed attorneys supervised by Fischer to appear in King’s court. In July, the City Council reassigned King to the city detention center magistrate’s position to eliminate the conflict.

Brownsville Judge held at mental facility sues

A Brownsville municipal judge has filed a lawsuit against officials at the Rio Grande Valley mental health facilities where he was held throughout January and February on court orders.

Phil Bellamy, 46, filed the case Friday, less than two days after his release from a psychiatric center in Harlingen. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for "grievous emotional harm" caused by what he says was "false imprisonment" and a violation of his civil rights, according to court documents.

Apparently, the treatments haven't worked.

See previous posts.

Texas used infant blood to feed federal mtDNA database

But Jim Harrington, the civil rights attorney who filed the blood spot lawsuit last year on behalf of five Texas parents, believes DSHS meant to deceive the public. When he was negotiating with state officials, he says, he specifically asked what research the blood spots were being used for — and there was no mention of the federal mtDNA project. He says he was stunned by how quickly the state settled the lawsuit. “Sometimes there are slam-dunk cases, but I’d never seen this kind of case settle without discovery,” says Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “This explains the mystery of why they gave up so fast.”

Are politiqueras becoming an anachronism?

On the surface, mobile voting seems to be an anti-politiquera: a way to lessen the influence of the entrenched political system that has long been a campaign strategy in the Rio Grande Valley.

...

By taking voting machines to locations that politiqueras target, the county could limit their influence on the groups of voters they round up en masse.

Removing barriers to voting is great, but we always need a way to motivate people to vote. Even when voting is convenient.

Republicans using disabled kids to help them kill public education

More than a decade into Texas' charter school movement, some politicians want to expand the nontraditional campuses to tap into an underserved market: children with special needs.

One of the state Senate's interim charges, released last month, is to study the feasibility of opening charter schools for students with disabilities such as autism.

The idea stems from a failed effort last year to provide vouchers for these students, said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano.

Arbitration zaps Weslaco Police Department

An arbitration ruling handed down this week reverses promotions, demotions and other transfers made by Weslaco Police Chief Jose Perez.

The American Arbitration Association, a New York City-based private organization that administers arbitration proceedings, made the decision that will overturn the chief’s "improper actions" and grant back pay and benefits to officers affected.

A big slap down to Perez.

It's Monday TPA blog roundup time.

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that early voting runs through this Friday at 7 PM for the primaries as it brings you this week's blog highlights.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is amazed that anger is directed toward the Internal Revenue Service when Americans elect the very people who make the laws IRS enforces. Joe Stack targeted the wrong end of this chain. Taxpayers get end up owing money because they do not understand the laws their representatives make. Tax and Defiance – Short Sighted Protester, Joe Stack.

In times of depleting incomes, Republican Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack brags about his $2.3 Million tax funded soap box derby track.

Two Steps Forward One Step Back for Tainted Texas Air at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy reflects on the next 40 days of protest that are taking place at Planned Parenthood, and reviews a performance of the Vagina Monologues at Texas A&M. Also, a look at the poll numbers in the campaign to be the next governor of Texas, and a review of the week in headlines.

The Conservative Politicians Against Compromise convention picked an old-school nutjob as the presidential nominee in 2012, notes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans hate education so much? Why make community colleges unaffordable?

In Lewisville, the school district has revoked consent for a community organization use their parking lots to gather signatures for a petition drive on the weekend.

In what will come as a massive surprise, McBlogger endorses Hank Gilbert. Find out why here.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that even without the severe decrease in sales tax receipts Texas would still be facing a budget crisis, Understanding the budget and Texas' structural deficit.

Off the Kuff notes the humor of our Attorney General suing to protect the sanctity of divorce.

Libby shaw at TexasKaos does the accountability analysis on the GOP stimulus hypocrites. See her scorecard here; TX U.S. House Members Join Senators in GOP Hall of Hypocritical Shame.

If Citizen Sarah had a nickel for every time she's put out a statement saying something along the lines of “Governor Perry is blowing hot air about climate change”… she could probably buy something really fancy, like a Mexican coke in a glass bottle. See Texas Vox for more details.

The Texas Cloverleaf reports from frigid New Jersey and wants everyone to know the state, and others, have not fallen into GOP hands.

Efforts to rebuild the Republican Party continue with the Mount Vernon Statement

The Mount Vernon Statement is an effort to rebuild Reagan's coalition of conservatives.

A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.
A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.

The MVS leaves out 'all men are created equal' as a basic principle. Oops. Apparently, equality is a socialist idea.

If they were all that hot to preserve the ideals of our constitution, why don't they just join the ACLU? I did.

The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

See Mahablog for more.

Victoria concil member wants to require prayer at the opening of their meeting

Whose religion will inform that prayer? Your religion? Wiccan? Muslim? Why do you want to force your religious beliefs on others?

Council Member Gabriel Soliz said he'd like to see each council meeting started with a prayer.

"If we take the time to bless our food and take the time to bless our day, then why don't we take time to bless our work?" asked Soliz, who has attended seminary. "I really feel like we need to reset our moral compass and I believe this does help."

Corpus Christi Caller Times argues for increasing Del Mar tuition

Because the alternative of raising taxes or finding other revenue streams doesn't occur to the editors. What's more important? A baseball team or a community college? Community colleges provide the means for working people, the less affluent and those without previous top grades to improve their lot. Our public welfare is dependent on having an educated population. Too bad Republicans want only the elites to go to school.

In the face of a possible budget deficit, the college’s regents this week voted to raise tuition by 13 percent for the fall semester. The bottom line is that a student who lives within the district, which follows the city limits, will pay $1,589 next semester for the 12 credit hours that cost $1,473 this spring.

...

The college faces declining property values and thus far lower revenue. The state, which is the second part of the three-legged stool that pays for the college, is facing falling sales tax revenues. That leaves student tuition to make up the difference. The regents voted in the tuition hike with great reluctance, but casting tough votes is the regents’ job.

Corpus Christi police JUST NOW getting cell phones?

The police department’s newest tactic against crime: 27 cells phones and a direct line to you.

The department issued the phones in late January to patrol and traffic lieutenants as part of the department’s efforts to be more engaged in the community and more aggressive in fighting crime, Police Chief Troy Riggs said.

What about other police officers? Did detectives have laptops that they took into the field? How did they send pictures of suspects? How did they follow up leads in the field? I'm guessing these cell phones are just a community relations deal and that detectives and other police officers did have cell phones. I don't want to think that Corpus Christi is that backward.

Bush and Cheney too busy water boarding and starting wars to protect Americans

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, cockpit doors were sealed, air marshals were added and airport searches became more aggressive, all to make sure an airliner could never again be used as a weapon.

Yet little has been done to guard against attacks with smaller planes.

I really think Cheney just likes water boarding and sending other people and other people's children to war. Then, there's all that Iraqi oil.

As for the airport rituals, I like a term I heard yesterday - security theater.

Bexar County Judge in fight over his campaign tactics

Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff has taken the unusual step of suing the state agency that investigates allegations of judicial wrongdoing, claiming a probe it launched over the way he is handling his re-election campaign is thwarting his right to free speech.

His federal lawsuit against 14 members of the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct centers in part on a June 6, 2009, letter the Republican jurist mailed out in which he claimed Democratic lawyer Barbara Scharf-Zeldes has no trial experience.

...

Late Friday, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez granted a request from Rickhoff to unseal the suit but denied his request to block the commission from forcing him to answer a question on a form used as part of the commission's investigation. The question asks whether Rickhoff believed he violated a canon of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that says a judge or judicial candidate shall not “knowingly or recklessly misrepresent the identity, qualifications, present position, or other fact concerning the candidate or an opponent.”

Hey, Rickoff's a Republican. They're too used to lying and making sh*t up.

Democrat for congress sounds like the craziest extreme of the Tea Party

Kesha Rogers, seeking the Democratic nomination for Congressional District 22, has been making a big statement at the corner of U.S. 59 and Hwy. 6 in Sugar Land lately as she and campaign volunteers hold signs, one of which features a photo of President Barack Obama with an Adolf Hitler-style moustache. A larger sign features a space shuttle with the words, “come and take it.”

Rogers will face businessman Doug Blatt and Minister Freddie John Weider, Jr. in the March 2 Democratic Primary. Republican incumbent Pete Olson is unopposed in the Republican Primary.

Rogers, a Lyndon LaRouche activist, is calling for the impeachment of Obama.

Ah, LaRouche. That explains it. Why isn't she running directly against Olson?

Weasel Valdez chose Weasel Hernandez to try Celis case

Former Nueces County prosecutor Angelica Hernandez will serve as a special prosecutor when Mauricio Celis is tried on a charge of impersonating a peace officer.

Mauricio Celis was previously convicted for impersonating an officer. Backstabber Valdez picked Hernandez, today a Republican, who previously impersonated a Democrat.

Check points stop families from protesting in Austin

More than 100 Rio Grande Valley residents will attend a huge pro-immigration reform rally in Austin on Saturday – but the number could have been five times as many.

The reason 500 families are not attending is because of the checkpoints at Sarita and Falfurrias.

“We could easily have mobilized 500 families to go Austin for the rally, but for the checkpoints,” said San Juan City Council member Mando Garza, a coordinator with Proyecto Azteca.

“These are individuals that are contributing to society, they are working and doing their part to stimulate the economy and move the country forward. Yet, they cannot go to Austin to have their opinions heard because they do not have a particular status.”

Strange headline from The McAllen Monitor

'Two small businessman square off in GOP primary for U.S. House seat'

How small is he? Or, how small are they?

A Mission businessman and Seguin contractor are facing off to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, for one of the Rio Grande Valley’s three U.S. House seats.

For now, Daniel Chavez and Bryan Underwood are focusing on each other and March’s Republican primary. Cuellar is uncontested in the Democratic primary.

Laredo to appeal ruling of sexual harassment

Way to go, guys. Show the world you haven't learned anything and don't care.

What's this all about?

A lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation against a city employee has been filed against the City of Laredo and the city secretary. Earlier this year Hilda Negrete, then an employee in the city secretary’s office, filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss, Gustavo Guevara Jr.

...

“I’ve worked very hard for the past six years that I’ve worked for the city,” Negrete said. “I have maintained a high degree of professionalism. I was even recognized as employee of the month three years ago, and this has been very draining.”

The lawsuit filed by Negrete on Monday lists four counts: sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and offensive physical contact and retaliation.

Last week the Fourth Court of Appeals affirmed the May 2008 ruling in favor of Negrete.

See previous posts.

The Texas Tribune details the race for HD 76

[Norma] Chavez, [Naomi] Gonzalez and a third Democratic candidate, Tony San Roman, a former El Paso Community College board member, are competing to represent House District 76 in central El Paso, where nearly one-third of the residents live in poverty. A recent El Paso Times poll showed that Chavez, who has long been considered unbeatable, could be forced into a runoff. According to the poll, about 41 percent of Democratic voters would choose Chavez, about 30 percent would pick Gonzalez, 8 percent would vote for San Roman, and more than 20 percent were undecided.

The Tribune article has lots of details about Chavez's conflicts with her delegation and the El Paso Times.

Texas Republicans find a new way to harass pregnant women

State Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, is seeking an attorney general's opinion on whether abortion facilities can use pre-recorded telephone messages or one-way conference calls to provide information under the "informed consent," or "Woman's Right to Know Act."

...

We believe Rep. Corte's concerns may have merit," spokeswoman Carrie Williams wrote in an email. "We have pulled the information from our Web site while we immediately review the statute and previous interpretation."

According to Republicans, a women's body belongs to the state.

5th circuit court of appeals ratifies adoption for same sex couple

Wow!

A federal appeals court says Louisiana must put the names of both fathers on the birth certificate of a boy adopted by a same-sex couple.

Touting medical research in El Paso

Community leaders, including Mayor John Cook, said the NIH visit Thursday provided a rare opportunity that could lead to millions of dollars for health research for the region. They welcomed the NIH guests, who attended a daylong symposium at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.

...

Dr. Michael Escamilla, a psychiatry professor and director of the Center of Excellence of Neuro Science at Texas Texas, said NIH is a major financial contributor to university research programs.

"We can really contribute to the national research effort, especially in terms of what is going on in the Hispanic population," Escamilla said.

Mean judge Keller not out of the woods

Seeking to revive their case against Judge Sharon Keller, prosecutors argued Wednesday that Keller deserves to be reprimanded or removed from office for refusing to accept a late execution-day appeal in 2007.

In documents filed Wednesday with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which will weigh Keller's fate, prosecutors objected to a special master's conclusion that Keller was not to blame for failures that resulted in death row inmate Michael Richard being executed without his final appeal being heard in court.

Dismissing the findings by Special Master David Berchelmann Jr. as irrelevant and misguided, prosecutors said Keller's conduct in Richard's case "was clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of her duties ... and cast public discredit on the judiciary."

More here. See previous posts.

CPS Energy, partner settle suit

CPS Energy ended a two-month legal battle with its corporate partner in the proposed South Texas Project nuclear expansion with a settlement Wednesday that allows the utility to immediately stop making payments on the project while retaining a small share.

The partner, Nuclear Innovation North America, also agreed to pay CPS $80 million and contribute $10 million in assistance for low-income local residents to pay power bills.

18 year old murdered in Fort Bend jail

How can that happen? At least there are only 3 other people in the cell with him.

The death of 18-year-old Emmanuel Earl Baines while in a four-man cell at the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Jail Detention Center has been ruled a homicide by the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Rick Perry wants his cronies to keep on polluting Texas

Texas fired off another salvo in a struggle with Washington over environmental regulation Tuesday, filing a suit in federal court to prevent regulation of greenhouse gases.

Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott are trying to get the federal Environmental Protection Agency to back away from a finding last year that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. The finding sets the stage for regulation of the gases, which scientists have linked to global warming.

More here and here.

Greg Abbott says Lesbians must stay married

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has intervened in a first-of-its-kind Travis County same-sex divorce case, arguing that the women involved, who were married in another state, may not be legally granted a divorce because Texas law defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

DPS wants to cut border security. What?

Didn't Rick Perry just allocate more money for prosecutors on the border? Who are they going to prosecute?

Millions of state dollars allocated to beef up border security this year could be in jeopardy in the face of an estimated $10 billion to $16 billion budget shortfall.

On Tuesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety proposed slashing almost half the $22 million set aside to fund overtime hours for local law enforcement agencies and recommended eliminating money to purchase 41 new squad cars for the border region.

Republicans attack education, yet again

With college tuition so high and many students working, why make it harder to get a degree? Because Republicans refuse to make more high quality academic seats available at our pubic institutions thereby creating a shortage. Because only the elites should be able to go to college.

A task force on Tuesday recommended requiring students at the University of Texas to complete their bachelor's degrees in 10 semesters or five years

Strange story in District 27 state rep race

Representatives of the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the State Bar of Texas have clarified that State Representative District 27 candidate Ron Reynolds has only two suspensions on his record that resulted from seven violations of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

Apparently, his missed deadlines while his mother was ill causing his clients' case to be dismissed. Reynolds came close to winning the Democratic primary in 2008. Here's a nicer take on Reynolds and his website - here.

El Paso Times editor naively titles story on Republican propositions

'GOP voters weigh issues: Proposition results may guide lawmakers'

All the world is candy land and the elves make my breakfast.

The Democrats aren't fooled.

"These questions definitely speak to that sort of partisan wedge issue mentality that has left the real issues in Texas unaddressed after a decade of Republican rule," said Kirsten Gray, a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party.

See the ridiculous propositions here.

The University of Wisconsin ranks health of US Counties

The study, which included most counties in the U.S., provided county information by state and ranked the counties by categories including ideal life span, highest quality of life and best environment for access to healthy foods

.Check out this site to see where your county ranks. East Texas looks the worst and the valley doesn't look too bad.

Weasel Carlos Valdez takes Corpus Christi appointment

District Attorney Carlos Valdez is the next lead attorney for Corpus Christi, after the City Council confirmed his appointment 8-1.

“I want to thank you for the expression of trust you have given me today,” Valdez said to the council after his appointment was approved. “I want to do everything I can to live up to that.”

Councilman Mark Scott cast the only vote against Valdez, saying that he had hoped that the new city attorney would have more city government experience.

Valdez left the Nueces Democratic party in the lurch after his timed departure from the 2010 race lets Rick Perry appoint his replacement as DA.

Katrina crime wave just a fiction

A fiction of racism and classism.

A huge crime wave blamed on thousands of Katrina evacuees in Houston and other Southwest cities never happened, say criminologists who warned public officials and the media to be careful in attributing crime to the former New Orleans residents.

Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in the current issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice, and found only a “modest” increase in the murder rates of Houston and Phoenix, and none in San Antonio, three cities that took in thousands of evacuees from storm-ravaged New Orleans.

The researchers did not find an accompanying rise in auto theft and assaults and other crimes, which they said would have been expected if dispossessed evacuees were responsible for a crime hike.

Katy Mayor endorses Ron Paul primary opponent

GOP congressional candidate Tim Graney has picked up the endorsement of Katy’s mayor in his race to unseat veteran Rep. Ron Paul to represent Texas’ 14th Congressional District.

...

“Tim Graney is a true Republican conservative dedicated to pursuing common sense solutions for the families of Katy,” [Mayor Don] Elder said. “The Republican Party needs a proven Conservative with the necessary problem-solving experience to go to Washington and get things done. As a former small business owner, Tim will deliver effective common sense solutions for the residents of the 14th District.”

OpenLeft's Paul Rosenberg frequently blogs about the identity politics of Republicans. Katy's Mayor neatly illustrates Rosenberg's point.

Perry sets up Border Prosecution Unit

A $1.7 million grant from the state will pay for more prosecutors or investigators to take on gangs, drugs and human trafficking along the border, Gov. Rick Perry said Monday.

Perry announced funding for the creation of the Border Prosecution Unit, which came from the $110 million allocated by the lawmakers for border security during the last legislative session.

The 16 district attorneys along the border will receive funding to hire an additional prosecutor or an investigator who would work exclusively with the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies on border crime cases.

Baylor hires Republican partisan hack for president

Shame on Baylor for hiring Ken Starr. What kind of an image do you want to present to your students and to the world? Greedy, power hungry, sleazy, criminal, extreme right wing ...

Baylor University named former Clinton White House nemesis Kenneth Starr its new president on Monday, saying the one-time independent prosecutor's Christian ideals and experience heading a law school made him the ideal candidate to lead the world's largest Baptist university.

Apparently, the ends justify the means for Baylor.

Sugar Land about to use taxpayer money for corporate welfare

How did fat cat sports team owners get the 'right' to taxpayer money? I really don't understand.

Sugar Land City Council on Feb. 16 will consider a Memorandum of Understanding with Opening Day Partners, LLC to provide a professional minor league baseball team and develop a stadium in Sugar Land’s Cultural/Entertainment District.

This is corporate welfare in the extreme.

Anti-family group seaks to overturn DP benefits in El Paso

Why are some people so full of hate that they spend their time and energy trying to hurt gay families?

Barney Field has been active in El Paso's religious community since 1992, when he founded the citywide ministry El Paso for Jesus.

...

Ever since, a group calling itself El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values has been trying to overturn that decision. The group is now circulating a petition that seeks to force a citywide vote on the issue on Nov. 2.

Jesus preached hate? The 'do unto others' guy? What are your values again? Hate for others and strict gender roles where women and children are chattel?

It's Monday blog roundup time!

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes you all a happy Lunar New Year, and brings you the first Year of the Tiger blog roundup.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog notes that Houston is the first locale President Obama named in his Lunar New Year Greeting. Could there be a political meaning behind it?

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme marvels at the jackassery presented to voters on the Republican ballot. No, we're not talking about the candidates. It's the propositions that disenfranchise voters, turn Texas into Colorado Springs or California, and humiliate pregnant women.

Fake Consultant, over at TexasKaos, gives us a tale from the health care frontier. He points out that even in the little things the present system is fundamentally broken. Check it out here.

From TXsharon: How Oil and Gas industry bullies turned an ordinary, honest man into a modern day hero. Read it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

WhosPlayin is watching candidates file for the 2010 Lewisville ISD School board election.

Contrary to what the Star Telegram keeps repeating, the Texas Cloverleaf reminds everyone that there is a Democrat running in CD-26.

"Why I'm supporting Dr. Alma Aguado for Texas governor" is PDiddie's endorsement in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Read more at Brains and Eggs.

MeanRachel endorses Bill White and Linda Chavez-Thompson in the two top spots on the Democratic primary ticket.

Adam at Three Wise Men lays out our blog's endorsements for the 2010 Texas Democratic Primary.

Off the Kuff says there's a smart way to do budget cuts and a dumb way to do budget cuts, and we need to do it the smart way.

Neil at Texas Liberal endorsed Hank Gilbert in the Democratic Primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. The post includes a picture of a Longhorn steer, a watermelon, and of a Channel Catfish.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the coming budget woes and that we can't balance the budget on the back of the poor again, the 2011 budget cannot be balanced like in 2003, not this time.

This week at McBlogger, Mojito takes a look at a Travis County JP race and find the challenger lacking.

Peggy Fikac takes Republican candidate to the wood shed

Fikac goes after Paul Workman's campaign flyer touting voter id as the only issue of concern to Texas voters. There's more. Good job!

Retired state judge indicted for theft

Former state District Court Judge E. Karl Prohl was indicted on a felony charge of theft by a public servant concerning $34,706 received from public coffers, reportedly for travel-related expenses, records show.

Prohl, who retired in September after 18 years on the bench, was booked into the Kerr County Jail Friday evening and released on a personal recognizance bond.

The Houston Chronicle says trouble for Perry in match up with White

Nothing like an expensive, brutal primary to get you started. Keep up those negative ads, Kay Bailey.

Looking ahead to the general election, Democrat Bill White had potentially good news in the survey.

...

“Bill White, who has never run statewide, is barely behind an incumbent who has been one office or another for 25 years and has spent millions on this race,” [White spokeswoman Katy] Bacon said. “When people learn something about Bill White, they like him, and that's why Bill is working hard to introduce himself to Texans across the state.”

Galveston County Daily News rips College of the Mainland board

The second lesson is about the board’s attitude toward the public. Based on its behavior in the past couple of years and statements about the court ruling, it seems to think of the public as a nuisance, or worse, that it needs to be closely managed and held in check so the board can get its important work done.

~25% of Bexar County are living in poverty

Republicans are working to make that 95%.

Almost a quarter of the children in Bexar County lived in poverty and lacked health insurance in 2008, according to a new study on poverty in Texas.

And while the numbers dropped slightly compared with a similar study the year before, this still means roughly one in four children struggled with the byproducts of poverty: poor school performance, health woes, hunger and circumscribed futures.

“Decades of belt-tightening have left us with more poor, uninsured and hungry children than almost every other state,” said Frances Deviney, director of Texas KIDS COUNT.

Another public corruption charge in El Paso

It's good when the charges surface. Lets hope it means true clean up.

Former El Paso County Housing Authority Executive Director Tomas Rodriguez was arrested Friday morning on federal fraud charges, officials said.

El Paso Commissioner Escobar cleared

Oops. County Judge Anthony Cobos loses again.

At a news conference Friday, Sheriff Richard Wiles announced that an investigation failed to reveal any evidence of criminal misconduct on [Veronica] Escobar's part. He also said Escobar did not violate the county's code of ethics.

See previous posts.

Ignorant endorsement for Congress by Corpus Christi Caller Times

This Caller Times editorial endorsement is embarrassingly bad.

James Duerr is declared 'the most moderate' candidate of the bunch. What does that mean? The Caller Times neglected to mention some relevant data on Duerr. James Duerr, as you may recall, had a temper tantrum over losing the fight to close beaches for the benefit of private business and declared Flour Bluff and its school system dead. Duerr was listed as the contact for Ann Coulter's Corpus Christi 'Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse' event. Being against lawsuit abuse means being against citizen's use of the court system to obtain justice.

The reporting on Blake Farenthold is even worse

[Farenthold] also sees a good chance that the incumbent can be beaten this year. In the past, he said, he has voted for Ortiz. But when Ortiz voted for the health care bill containing funding for abortion, he decided: “No more.”

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Stupidly, stupidly wrong. As a point of fact, the house bill on health care reform prohibited any public funds being anywhere near private funds used to purchase health care. The effect of the house bill would be to outlaw even private purchase of health care insurance that covered abortions.

A third candidate, Jessica Puente-Bradshaw, is listed as a Tea Party player. The last candidate gets this one liner 'Willie Vaden also is running, for the fourth time.'

The Caller Times endorsement goes like this.

Our feeling is that Duerr, Puente-Bradshaw or Farenthold would serve the 27th Congressional District well. But Farenthold has our endorsement for the Republican primary. He’s articulate, knows the issues and should more than satisfy the conservatives of the party.

Oh, you went by feelings. My mistake. I forgot that facts aren't important to Republicans.

Mauricio Celis files appeal

Former law firm operator Mauricio Celis has filed an 18-point appeal of his conviction last year on charges of impersonating a lawyer.

Among the arguments in the appeal are that the trial judge was biased against Celis and jury instructions did not include wording the defense had sought. Celis also argues that the statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.

It isn't fair. They're picking on him. He should be allowed to break any law he wants. Whaaa. Whaaa.

Nueces County jail out of state compliance. Again.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has found the Nueces County Jail non-compliant with state standards.

Jailers did not complete a screening form for a 45-year-old man who later committed suicide in the jail, said Jail Commission executive director Adan Muñoz.

Evidence conveniently lost for fellow officer's trial

Sgt. Melissa Rendon-Wasicek, an investigator with the Victoria County Sheriff's Office special crimes unit and internal compliance division, told jurors that she used a digital recorder to capture the wife's initial interview in which she claimed prior beatings by her husband.

However, Rendon-Wasicek, who has been with the department for five years, said the audio recording was not available as of Jan. 25.

The dog ate her homework and pigs fly.

Why do Republicans want an uneducated America?

Stalled immigration reform is making it harder to increase college-going rates among Hispanics, a problem that ultimately will mean a less-educated work force, the president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities said Thursday.

The rancor over immigration hurts Hispanics here legally, too, Antonio Flores said after addressing a group of higher education leaders at the University of Houston-Downtown.

College of the Mainland gets slapped for violating 1st amendment rights of employee

Two federal judges in Houston ruled College of the Mainland trustees violated the First Amendment rights of a college professor and his wife when they were denied the opportunity to voice their opposition to changes in employee grievance polices.

What a bunch of dildos those trustees are.

El Paso Sheriff to hold press conference on investigation of commissioner

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles will hold a press conference early Friday in regards to the allegations made by El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos against Commissioner Veronica Escobar.

The charges came after Escobar voted to appoint Jo Anne Bernal to the County attorney's office. Cobos strongly favors Bernal's opponent, Therese Caballero.

El Paso voters like acting County attorney in new poll

[Jo Anne] Bernal [appointed to the County attorney's post last year] attracted 49.7 percent of likely voters in the [El Paso Times] poll while her rival, Theresa Caballero, pulled in 35.3 percent in the poll conducted by The Reuel Group.

Pollster Russell Autry said it would take a big effort on Caballero's part to pull out a win in the Democratic primary on March 2.

Eat that Judge Cobos.

Abbott starting early to flog voter id with arrests of 3 women

Three Jim Wells County women are charged with illegally possessing other people’s ballots, resulting from a 2008 voter fraud investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office.

Cynthia Lopez, 46, Norma Lopez, 50, and Zaida Bueno, 55, face misdemeanor charges related to illegal possession of fewer than 10 ballots each, said Attorney General’s spokesman Tom Kelley.

Please remember that having a voter id law would not help in cases involving mail in ballots. But, just wait for the Republicans to use this case for voter id. Facts are such malleable things for Republicans.

Nueces County DA, resigns, stabs 'fellow' Democrats in the back

Longtime District Attorney Carlos Valdez intends to retire effective next month and has sufficient City Council support to be confirmed as Corpus Christi’s next city attorney.

...

The timing of Valdez’s announcement gave some local Democrats including former state Rep. Hugo Berlanga and state Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, pause because Valdez, a fellow Democrat will step down after the March 2 primary and Republican Gov. Rick Perry would appoint his replacement.

What a guy. Seems like the Republican party is a perfect fit for Valdez.

Finally, former McAllen mayor charged with DWI

Prosecutors said they filed the driving while intoxicated case of former McAllen mayor Leo Montalvo on Monday, seven months after his arrest.

Meanwhile, the DWI case of Jesse Contreras, presiding judge of the 449th state District Court in Hidalgo County, has yet to be filed in Cameron County — and prosecutors did not offer an update on its status.

Because the charges against the two officials are misdemeanors, prosecutors have two years after their arrests to decide whether there's enough evidence to prosecute them.

Power has its privileges. We do live in a strict class society, don't we?

BISD trustee caught lying on his resume

A longtime school board member and candidate for county commissioner who for years has listed his credentials as "Dr." and "M.D." is neither a medical doctor nor a Ph.D., The Brownsville Herald has found.

A trustee of the Brownsville Independent School District since 2003, Enrique Escobedo Jr., who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for Cameron County Pct. 2 commissioner in March, has used the "Dr." and "M.D." designations with his name since at least 2002, the Herald investigation shows.

...

Escobedo said he never intended to give anyone the impression that he was a "practicing" doctor and stressed that he has never practiced medicine.

He insists, however, that he is a doctor

I don't think I'd be voting for him. Nor, will I be going to his office for treatment.

Bob Perry funds Republicans who do him proud

Texas home builders have bought their way into a pretty cozy deal with Texas Republicans. Protection comes to home builders, not buyers. New home buyers have to go through the home builder's arbitration system to solve any problems. In whose favor do you think the arbitration goes? What if the arbitrator sides in your favor? The Texas Supreme Court is 100% Republican.

Houston homebuilder Bob Perry shows no signs of slowing down as the biggest campaign contributor in Texas. As I reported today, Perry's back in the news -- his decade-long legal battle against a retirement-age couple over a defective house is in district court in Fort Worth. Bottom line: An independent arbiter ordered Perry to pay $800,000, but he refused. Although the arbiter and lower courts all directed Perry to pay, the builder appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, whose members have all received campaign contributions from Perry. The Supreme Court ruled Perry's way and sent the case back to district court to start all over again.

Perry slashes costs by slashing trooper training

Why bother training them at all. Just let them watch a season or two of 24.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is reducing the length of academy training for troopers by nine weeks in an effort to attract more recruits and save money.

DPS Director Steve McCraw says cutting the trooper training period to 18 weeks has been approved by the agency's governing board.

Crony policies being corrected at FAA, American Airlines

Here's how Republican deregulation works - airlines get sloppy, have accidents, people die and their market share decreases. The dead people stop flying and the rest take safer airlines. Sound like a good deal? Of course, that new airline might decide to get sloppy at any time. Instead of having an 'American brand' where food and product safety is assured, we have fear, doubt and temporarily high profits for greedy CEOs.

American Airlines is about to get a large fine after Bush's FAA let them slide.

Separately, the Transportation Department's inspector general is due to release an audit in the next several days that criticizes FAA for lax oversight of aircraft maintenance at American, the officials said Tuesday.

...

FAA officials declined to speak publicly about the audit since it hasn't yet been released by the inspector general. However, an FAA official said the agency has submitted formal replies that agree with many of the auditors' conclusions about maintenance problems at American and some of the conclusions about weak oversight.

Remember when buy American meant something good? Lack of regulation means lack of confidence in our brands.

Number of homeless in Victoria more than doubles

The number of homeless living in the Crossroads doubled since last year.

Ninety-seven people were identified as living without shelter, up from 38 a year ago, according to the most recent count by the Victoria Homeless Coalition.

Is it a bird, a plane? No, it's a drone on the border.

Unarmed Predator drones -- sought by Gov. Rick Perry to patrol the border -- have been flying over the nation's Southwest border for the past two years and more are expected, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes said Tuesday.

Perry, a Republican running for his third full term, asked the Defense Department to send one of the drones to Texas during a Monday campaign stop.

Perry asked for a drone as a campaign prop? Sounds like a very Republican thing to do. Using military assets for a tough guy image - with image being the operative word.

Gotta say, I prefer drones to that d*mn fence.

Former Brownsville superintendent loses TEA appeals

Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott has taken no action on former BISD superintendent Hector Gonzales’ motion for a rehearing, effectively ending Gonzales’ appeal route with the Texas Education Agency.

The Brownsville Independent School District alleged fiscal and personnel problems in the Special Services Department and a poor relationship with the Board of Trustees.

See previous posts.

Texas Republican ballot propositions read like a bad push poll

Everybody knows that Republicans, like Tea Party favorite Tom Tancredo, just want to block non-whites from voting. Why can't they just put those words on the ballot? So here's the 'I don't want Mexicans (or, other non-white people) voting' proposition.

Ballot Proposition #1: Photo ID
The Texas legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas.

There's the 'drown government in a bathtub' proposition.

Ballot Proposition #2: Controlling Government Growth Every government body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official emergency.

Another 'drown government in the bathtub' proposition

Ballot Proposition #3: Cutting Federal Income Taxes In addition to aggressively eliminating irresponsible federal spending, Congress should empower American citizens to stimulate the economy by Congress cutting federal income taxes for all federal taxpayers, rather than spending hundreds

Here's the 'pushing theocracy' proposition.

Ballot Proposition #4: Public Acknowledgement of God The use of the word "God", prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

And, what crazy-a** Republican ballot would be complete without a call for women to be bare foot and pregnant?

Ballot Proposition #5: Sonograms The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.

Tea Party challengers disrupt Republican congressional cakewalks

Lamar Smith and Mike McCaul are getting primaried.

Toll road agency's lawyer loses his license

Tom Nielson, a former Round Rock City Council member and general counsel of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority since 2006, quietly left the toll road agency several weeks ago after the State Bar of Texas suspended his law license.

The five-year suspension of Nielson's right to practice law, for "professional misconduct," grows out of a 2000 land deal that went awry several years before he became the toll authority's lawyer, according to a six-page suspension judgment by the bar. Nielson, according to the judgment, falsely claimed to have put $25,000 in a trust account and gave a "false document" to a partner in the deal purporting to show that the money had been deposited with a title company.

Such ethically challenged people pushing toll roads. Who would have thought?

The high price of xenophobia

First-time offenders with no previous criminal histories — who would have previously been removed from the country though the civil immigration system — are increasingly facing the threat of jail time and a record for their failed attempts to sneak across the border.

Federal law enforcement officials credit this aggressive prosecution strategy with helping curb illegal immigration by 9 percent in the last year, but judges, prosecutors and other court staff fear it is taking an increasing toll on the justice system.

With ever rising immigration case loads, the price of jailing, charging and defending these migrants has become harder and harder to handle.

Toyota blows its brand advantage

Sure, mistakes happen. Defects will occur. But, Toyota apparently knew it had serious problems and did the wrong thing. Fixing problems on the assembly line before addressing problems on the highway is just plain ethically challenged. I have a Toyota, but I can't see buying another.

Here's a very belated reply to the crisis from the head of Toyota.

“I don’t see Toyota as an infallible company that never makes mistakes,” President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference today in Tokyo. “We will face up to the facts and correct the problem, putting customers’ safety and convenience first.”

Now you say that, but that is not what you did. You put your profits ahead of safety and convenience. I have no reason to believe you won't do that again. And, again.

No help for colonias

About $1.4 billion in taxpayers' money has been sent to the border for water and sewage projects in the last eight years, but little has been achieved in making low-income neighborhoods more livable, a new federal study says.

Where did the money go?

Besides the Army Corps of Engineers and HUD, the study says the other federal agencies that were ineffective were: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Economic Development Administration, the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Reclamation.

It's Monday post super bowl TPA roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance congratulates the city of New Orleans for the Saints' stirring Super Bowl victory, and reminds them that the "hair of the dog" trick doesn't really help with the hangover.

The Texas Cloverleaf highlights the sentencing of GOP Denton County Constable Ken Jannereth. Probation, anger management, laying off the bottle, and maybe more to come for the disgraced lawman.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is watching 2 Texas Counties fight it out with their DAs over legal duties.

Bay Area Houston says Teabaggers claim illiterate Blacks elected Obama.

Is your gas wet or dry? Despite industry spin, it seems to not matter. TCEQ testing shows Barnett Shale "Dry Gas" health hazard. TXsharon thanks State Representative Lon Burnam for wading through the recent TCEQ testing report to find the truth. Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Over at TexasKaos, lightseeker connects Obama's big picture with our big picture, in Obama's Problem is Our Problem In a Nutshell. Is our future Sarah Palin, Tea Partyers and failure?

This week at Left of College Station, Teddy interviews several members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community at Texas A&M while investigating what it is like to be gay in Aggieland. Left of College Station also takes a look at American’s ignorance of current events and the political process, and a report on the local campaign spending and donations. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

The Nuge was campaigning for 39% over the weekend. Can't you just feel the greasy, smelly excitement?

WCNews at Eye On Williamson looks at how the legislature is already laying the groundwork for adding sales taxes to items currently excluded like bottled water, basic internet service, and coin operated services, House Ways and Means Committee to look at "Certain Sales Tax Exemptions & Exclusions.

Off the Kuff looks at the effect of the "Citizens United" ruling on judicial elections in Texas.

WhosPlayin is neck-deep in local issues in North Texas, having spent the weekend with the Lewisville City Council at their retreat, and noting that the local school district is discouraging candidates from running for school board.

This week at Texas Vox Citizen Sarah geeked out on the new energy generation plan presented to Austin City Council. May not sound too snazzy but there's enormous potential there to reduce carbon emissions, build up our local economy, and improve public health with this plan, so she thinks it is pretty cool.

Neil at Texas Liberal commented that office building janitors in Houston have set up a Facebook page as they prepare for a new round of contract negotiations in 2010. All work has merit and all people should be paid a living wage.

Yesterday was huge for New Orleans but it was also TeaBagger Rally Day in northwest Harris County, as PDiddie at Brains and Eggs recounted in "Rick and Ted's (and Sarah's) Excellent Super Bowl Sunday Venture".

Many professionals do not like El Paso attorney candidate

Representatives for hundreds of El Paso police officers, firefighters, and sheriff's deputies say "the community's safety is at risk" if attorney Theresa Caballero is elected county attorney.

The Combined El Paso Public Safety Coalition came out strongly against Democratic County Attorney candidate Caballero, and instead endorsed her opponent, interim County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal.

The coalition is citing examples where, it says, Caballero has clashed with law enforcement, such as her defense as a private attorney of a suspected gang member named in an injunction, and clashed with the courts if inquiry, where she accused police officers and prosecutors of conspiring to hide mishandling of cases.

Ouch! County Judge Anthony Cobos is probably having a hissy fit. Meanwhile, Cabellero may get sanctioned or worse.

Tea Party candidate goes after - Ron Paul?

Ron Paul is an incumbent.

Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can't escape the conservative "Tea Party" fervor stretching across the county.

Paul, the Gulf Coast congressman whose 2008 presidential run excited libertarians nationwide, even though he didn't get much traction overall, is considered by many to be the "father of the Tea Parties." But he has three opponents in the March Republican primary – more than he has faced in his past six primary campaigns combined.

All three have ties to the anti-tax Tea Party movement. And while Paul remains the odds-on favorite to win re-election in his district, the crowded primary highlights the potential conflict between Tea Party activists and a GOP hoping to ride their wave to electoral success this fall.

Galveston property values yo-yo after Ike and repairs

The chief appraiser argues that, in most cases, homesteads that were rebuilt or repaired after the storm could have property values returned to pre-Ike levels — even though their values this year dropped significantly.

But County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Johnson argues state law prohibits the appraisal district from valuing any homestead at more than 10 percent of its 2009 appraised value.

I'll bite. Why is Jesse Noyola's picture in with those running for Nueces County Republican chair?

Is this a large hint? Jesse Noyola was a cr*ppy Corpus Christi city council member. Does that qualify him?

Brownsville judge given extended stay at mental health facility

A Brownsville municipal judge was committed to a mental health center in Harlingen Thursday morning, less than two weeks after he was ordered released from a mandatory stay at another psychiatric facility.

Municipal Judge Phil Bellamy will remain confined for the next two weeks at Rio Grande State Center, where he has been held since Friday after friends and family say he displayed erratic behavior.

This is a very sad story.

See previous posts.

Dallas and Cameron County DAs fight their county commissioners

The dispute between Dallas County commissioners and District Attorney Craig Watkins over who should represent them in lawsuits could be decided by the Texas attorney general.

When several current and former deputy constables sued the county in December, alleging they were intimidated and harassed by their bosses, the commissioners decided they wanted a private law firm, not Watkins, to defend them.

A similar dispute is going on in Cameron County.

Legal counsel for the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court and its legal division late Tuesday filed a notice of appeal with the appellate court in Corpus Christi, requesting the court to overturn a temporary injunction issued this week that allows the DA’s office to represent the Commissioners’ Court on legal issues.

Judge questions jailing of undocumented immigrants

In an order filed Friday, a federal judge in Austin questioned U.S. prosecutors for seeking criminal convictions in court against some illegal immigrants, writing that the practice "presents a cost to the American taxpayer ... that is neither meritorious nor reasonable."

The order by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks comes as his docket, like others in Texas, is swollen with defendants charged with immigration crimes.

Bill Miller barbecue guy gets tiny fine for clearing trees

Balous Miller, owner and C.E.O of Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Restaurants, and the city of Bulverde agreed to an out-of-court settlement in which Miller will pay the city $25,000 for the removal of trees on 19 acres of land located on the northeast corner of U.S. Hwy. 281 and Texas Hwy. 46.

Webb County Tax Assessor-Collector is trouble over office raffles

After an investigation by the state attorney general, Patricia Barrera must pay back proceeds from her office lottery. You can't force employees to fund your campaign through raffles.

Here's a funny headline

'Baptists concerned Haiti arrests may hurt image'

And, the Southern Baptists haven't done that for themselves? Telling women to submit to their husbands and telling gays they're depraved? Oh, the superiority of Southern, white, Christian men.

Texas Baptists using CDs to proselytize

I'm thinking that their message of submission to women and hate for homosexuals is already out there.

Why do some people hate it when others improve themselves?

Texas is one of 11 states that allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates and receive state grants. [Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IRCOT)] challenged that law in December, arguing that the state overstepped its authority and violated federal law.

The case was moved from state district court in Harris County to federal court on Jan. 19. It could decide the fate of Carmen and at least another 8,000 undocumented immigrants who are receiving in-state tuition and scholarships in Texas, according to the coalition.

Well finally. Judge Barraza guilty on 3 counts.

"Be prepared to go to prison on April 28," [Judge Frank] Montalvo told Barraza.

...

The jury of six women and six men convicted Barraza of both counts of wire fraud and lying to a federal officer. They acquitted him of mail fraud. Their deliberations lasted a bit more than five hours over two days.

Judges aren't supposed to ask for a 'buffet of women' for sex nor are they supposed to take bribes to get cases fixed. I'm glad this guy was stopped after just a few months in office.

See previous posts. More here.

America becoming uneducated in an increasingly educated world

Texas is dead last in persons with high school diplomas. I hope the education-hating Republicans are proud.

According to [Douglas] Hall, just 77 percent of Americans are graduating from high school, which is below most developed countries.

In 2008, he said, only 27 percent of Americans had achieved their bachelor's or higher degree.

...

Texas, in particular, fares badly, according to Hall, who said that in 2005, the Lone Star State was dead last among the 50 states in the percentage of adults with a high school diploma.

Destroying the environment to save it is DHS mantra

Lawsuits and injunctions followed the passage of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. If there are winners and losers after a protracted environmental versus governmental battle, both the environmentalists who wanted no border wall at all, and the more extreme border security proponents who wanted double tiered Pacific Ocean to Gulf of Mexico walls lost. Neither got what they wanted. In the Rio Grande Valley, Bentsen State Park and the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge survived the border wall and the ecological disturbances of its construction. Communities like Granjeno ended up with an eighteen foot concrete wall to their back.

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It is the Trail’s location on the banks of the Rio Grande in a heavily vegetated area bordering Nuevo Laredo that is the bone of contention. No one disagrees that human and drug trafficking occur in the area because of its location. In an effort to more efficiently patrol the area, the Department of Homeland Security and the Center are engaged in negotiations to determine how much of the Center will be altered by bulldozers and earth-moving heavy equipment in order to provide an all-weather road through the eighty acres of the Center to Border Patrol vehicles below the fence and along the embankment.

Here's a simple solution: legalize drugs. Here's a harder task: implement a decent immigration plan.

Why is Manuel Barraza's jury taking more than 3 hours?

The six men and six women on the panel deliberated about 3åhours Wednesday without reaching a verdict. U.S. District Court Judge Frank Montalvo sent them home for the night about 5 p.m.

Barraza, 54, is accused of three counts of wire fraud, deprivation of honest services and one count of lying to a federal agent. Federal prosecutors allege that he accepted money and would have taken sexual favors in return for trying to fix a case involving a woman charged with cocaine possession.

Is the courtroom food that good?

See previous posts.

Problems with virtual fence

An ambitious, $6.7 billion government project to secure nearly the entire Mexican border with a “virtual fence” of cameras, ground sensors and radar is in jeopardy after a string of technical glitches and delays.

Having spent $672 million so far with little to show for it, Washington has ordered a reassessment of the whole idea. The outlook became gloomier this week when President Barack Obama proposed cutting $189 million from the venture.

The virtual fence is a better idea than a physical one that diverts water, divides fields and families, changes ecosystems and hinders commerce.

Nueces County appraisal district caves, refunds money

The Nueces County Appraisal District will refund at least part of a $2.8 million building fund, after board members said mounting pressure from taxing entities gave them no other option.

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For at least five years, the district moved unspent money at the end of each budget year to a fund set aside for building repairs. Over time, as the account accrued money, the board decided to build a new office instead of renovating its building at 201 N. Chaparral St.

Brownsville Housing Authority wants to hire in the dark

Sunshine is a wonderful disinfectant. Why doesn't the Brownsville Housing Authority agree?

The Brownsville Housing Authority has refused to disclose the names of applicants the board selected to interview for executive director, but the selection apparently nears.

The authority’s board meeting agendas show that interviews were scheduled for Jan. 28 and discussions regarding the position continued at its Feb. 1 meeting.

Is there something going on that they're ashamed of?

John Cornyn wants victims of rape to hide their ordeal

Cornyn's crony Halliburton thinks the alleged gang rape victim ought to keep her ordeal to herself.

In September, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the arbitration provision in Jones’ employment contract did not prevent her from suing KBR and its parent company at the time of the attack. Halliburton and KBR have responded by filing a petition with the Supreme Court which includes the accusation that “Jones has gone to great lengths to sensationalize her allegations.”

John Cornyn, along with 29 other all male, all Republican Senators, voted to allow companies like Halliburton to bury an employee's gang rape with force arbitration resolution. After all, she's just sensationalizing her rape.

100s of Hidalgo court cases may be tainted

Documents pertaining to an ongoing corruption probe within Hidalgo County Court-at-law No. 5 suggest the alleged misconduct may have affected hundreds more cases than investigators initially let on.

Last month, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra vowed to review every criminal case the court had ever thrown out, after two court coordinators were arrested on charges they accepted a bribe from an undercover FBI agent to help secure a dismissal in a misdemeanor case.

OSHA actually fines somebody for a worker's death

How much is an interior contractor's life worth? $112K. Here's what I don't understand. Why aren't businesses owners and managers held criminally liable when their negligence leads to injury or death? Non-business owners can get into trouble.

Judge Barraza's trial goes to the jury soon

[State drug court judge Manuel]Barraza, 54, is fighting for his judicial career and his freedom against federal charges that he made a deal with a former client in which he would unjustly help her in a cocaine case in return for money and sexual favors. Barraza had been the judge of a state drug court for only three months when FBI agents arrested him in April 2009.

Prosecutors brought in a woman from Barraza's distant past to try to show that he sought sexual favors at another time in his career.

Corpus Christi Caller Times and Judge Neal find a way to slap Terry Shamsie

The Caller Times never misses an opportunity to slam certain people. Republicans, and Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal is one, love the mud. What's the fuss about? It's a two fer. Slam attorneys cost for the poor and Judge Shamsie.

The importance of fathers

A new Pew study, partnered with the Prop 8 trial, illustrate the changing marriage contract in today's society.

From Pew we learn about the changing economics and roles.

The institution of marriage has undergone significant changes in recent decades as women have outpaced men in education and earnings growth. These unequal gains have been accompanied by gender role reversals in both the spousal characteristics and the economic benefits of marriage.

From the Prop 8 trial, we learn about the desperate attempts of some to turn back the clock to a time when women and children were the chattel of the husband and father. The man's role was predetermined as the ruler of his house. Prop 8 defenders brought out David Blankenhorn.

Blankenhorn is the founder and president of the Institute for American Values, a non-partisan think tank that commissions studies on marriage, fatherhood, and family structure. This organization published Blankenhorn’s two books on these topics, and one of them, Fatherless America, was reviewed widely in the popular press and in at least one professional journal. However, Blankenhorn’s master’s degree is in the history of labor relations with particular focus on 19th century Britain. He has never written a peer-reviewed article on the effects of same-sex marriage nor, by his own admission, studied any of the legal cases in which the United States Supreme Court has declared marriage a fundamental right. No college or university has ever employed him to teach.

With only his opinions, based on his own feelings and not scientific study or scholarship of any kind, Blankenhorn lamented love-based marriages.

“The marital institution is differently purposed, is specifically purposed,” he said. “The purpose is to bring together the biological male and biological female to make it as likely as possible that they are the social and legal parents of the child. That’s the lodestar, that’s the distinctive and core contribution of the institution of marriage.”

What about real American marriages today?

The domestic shift in which women earn more and men help out at home has translated into lower divorce rates and more harmonious couplings. Studies show the more financial independence and education a woman has, the more likely she is to stay married.

Which father is more important to the family? The one who is cold, emotionless and an iron-fisted ruler of the roost? Or, the man who interacts with his family, does chores, reads to the kids, plays with the kids and shows his love? I'd say that today, fathers are more important than ever.

John Cornyn, rapist enabler, bloviates on health care

Did I say health care? Oops. Republicans like to change that frame to 'insurance reform', because everybody needs to have a private, for-profit entity in between them and their ability to get decent health care. Every basic human service, for a Republican, requires some a crony to bleed the public.

Read here about Cornyn's efforts to shield rapists.

San Antonio loses water rights fight with LCRA

The judge tossed San Antonio Water System's suit. State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky says the LCRA has sovereign immunity. And, apparently, you can do anything you want if you have sovereign immunity.

It's time for the blog roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for the Super Bowl this Sunday as it brings you this week's blog highlights.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that the Houston Chronicle caught the essence of the GOP with this headline 'Many attacks, but few suggestions'.

WhosPlayin is tired of hearing obstructionist Republicans whining about not having a seat at the table for Health Care Insurance Reform, after they make it clear they'll vote against any attempt to harm their Pharma and Insurance benefactors.

Off the Kuff notes that the Texas ParentPAC has endorsed Thomas Ratliff in his GOP primary fight against uber-SBOE wingnut Don McLeroy.

Bay Area Houston watched as the Texas Association of Builders got kicked in the nuts at a hearing in Austin over the abuse of mandatory binding arbitration.

It's been such an amazing news week in the Barnett Shale that it's hard to pick one topic for the round-up. One item that should be of interest to anyone in the DFW area who drinks water: Argyle Disposal Well in Denton Creek Flood Plain. No kidding! It's for real on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the taxing TAKS becoming the pretty STAAR that school children will have to shoot past in order to graduate.

Has the so-called nuclear renaissance been dealt a blow by the South Texas Project's troubles? Learn more at Texas Vox.

If you missed the GOP gov debate, check out McBlogger's rather insightful analysis of the three players performances, along with a mercifully brief comment on the sexual desirability of Rep. Louie Gohmert.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the latest Texans for Public Justice "Watching Your Assets" report, this one about the Texas Enterprise Fund, Perry's corporate welfare not paying off for Texas.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw puts a local spin on young James O'Keefe's foiled attempt to tamper with Mary Landrieu's phones. The roll call Texas Republican admirers is quite long. Of equal interest was the discussion that followed the outing of these Republicans. See it all at Texas Republican Lawmakers Honor James O'Keefe.

It's a travesty that only Bill White and Farouk Shami are participating in the Texas Democratic gubernatorial debate on February 8 because the other five candidates don't meet the "standards". PDiddie at Brains and Eggs believes it's impossible to reconcile that KERA, a public broadcasting station, together with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Univision and other corporate and media industry sponsors, would conspire to preclude candidates for the state's highest public office.

Neil at Texas Liberal is glad that Houston City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson is talking about poverty in his 18th U.S. House District primary fight with incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee. However, it will take some solid ideas and not just talk to feel that Mr. Johnson is really serious about the issue.