Blue Cross Blue Shield shamed into covering baby

I didn't know that you could use shame on these jokers.

Doug and Kim Tracy's battle with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas garnered national attention, coming on the heels of historic healthcare legislation, signed by President Barack Obama a week ago, which will require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.

The Star-Telegram reported on the Tracys' problem on Friday. That evening, Darren Rodgers, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, personally contacted the family. Initially he offered to see whether coverage through the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool could be back-dated to the baby's birth, Tracy said.

Read more:

More crony capitalism for food stamps

What's more important to a Republican? Feeding the poor or shoveling taxpayer money to a crony?

State Auditor John Keel has questioned why state social services officials awarded work to a former colleague without seeking other bids, when his offer to curtail processing errors is good for only one-fifth of Texas' 3.3 million food-stamp recipients.

Keel also chided Health and Human Services Commission officials for seeking help last summer from former deputy commissioner Gregg Phillips' company, though they ignored for nearly two years a similar offer by a Plano firm already on contract.

Earlier this month, The Dallas Morning News reported that Phillips, who played a major role in the state's botched privatization of eligibility screening for assistance programs, is making money trying to help Texas fix the problems that resulted.

Everybody should read what the Center for Public Priorities has to say. The CPPP is doing good works by trying to address real problems with sane solution.\s

See previous posts.

State Farm has a hissy fit. sues the state

Why? The Texas Department of Insurance of did something very, very simple. The TDI published rate hikes. State Farm thinks these rate hikes are 'proprietary' information, meaning they don't want the people of Texas to see how greedy they are.

An unprecedented move by the Texas Department of Insurance to publicize recent rate hikes by State Farm Insurance sparked a legal challenge from the company Tuesday over what it said was confidential information.

Texas' largest insurer filed suit against the state agency seeking to protect from disclosure certain information that State Farm said could benefit its rivals in the insurance industry.

Boo hoo.

Stop the politics and the pandering. Legalize drugs.

The drug violence in Mexico may now be worse that what has been going on in Columbia. The DPS head says spillover is here. How do we stop this problem? Get all macho and bring on the troops? Nope. Get all racist and demonize brown people? Nope. Waste taxpayer dollars and damage the environment by building a monument to racism and fear at the border? Nope.

Why not?

"I think both the U.S. and Mexican governments are starting to see the limitations of military-police solutions to the problems of drug trafficking and related crime and violence," said University of Texas at El Paso Professor Howard Campbell, who specializes in Mexican cartel research.

"You can train someone, but that still doesn't affect their morals," former El Paso customs agent Richard Newton said. "I don't care how good the training is. The problem is that these people can be bribed and they may go to work for the cartels."

It's really, really very simple. Legalize drugs and take away the profit motive. Provide drugs that are as safe as they can be. Encourage and provide access to rehab. It's not only the right thing to do, it's cheaper, safer and more effective.

And, John McCain, following the George Bush thuggery manual, is an a**hole.

Former presidential candidate John McCain is calling for more boots on the border. Yesterday the Arizona senator wrote to Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for reinforcements.

Texas builders found a new way to scr*w consumers

Here's a new concept in real estate: Buy a house, and when you go to sell it years later, owe the original developer or builder 1 percent of the sales price.

Freehold Capital Partners, a company started in Texas, is selling developers across the country on a plan that would attach a private transfer fee to homes, allowing developers to profit for generations.

The fee, written into neighborhood restrictions, would encumber the property for 99 years and throw 1 percent of the sale price back to the developer — or his or her estate or another investor — and Freehold each time the home changes hands.

Don't developers get all kinds of goodies already? Who pays for the improvements to their land? Mostly, taxpayers. Now the buyers get to pay even more.

ILA leader accuses Galveston Port employees of fraud

A labor leader accuses top port employees of falsifying documents, committing timecard fraud and abusing travel and alcohol policies. He’s calling for a forensic audit.

International Longshoremen’s Association Local 20 President Ted O’Rourke, along with his wife, Charlotte, a former port trustee, offered Monday to pay for an audit if it failed to uncover fraud. The port would have to pay if it did, O’Rourke said.

Who is the Republican in the Democratic primary runoff for HD76?

Nice to know that the good people of HD 76 take the word 'Republican' as an epithet.

The race between state Rep. Norma Chávez and Naomi Gonzalez is getting nastier, as both sides recently mailed slick brochures accusing the other of being a Republican.

Gonzalez sent voters a mailer showing Chávez kissing former Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a Republican. The ad also shows Republican Gov. Rick Perry hugging Chávez. A headline above the pictures states, "Republican darling since 1999."

A political action committee working with Chávez countered with a mailer criticizing Gonzalez for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, an insurance lobby group that wants to limit lawsuit awards. This mailer accused Gonzalez of selling out to Republicans.

Chávez is a CraddickDem showing how low she really can go, but the 'tort reform' people are bad. 'Tort reform' means blocking legitimate access to the courts to address a wrong.

Judges recommend TCEQ deny Las Brisas permit

Excellent news.

Two judges issued a recommendation Monday that the Las Brisas Energy Center air permit should be denied or sent back to the state for further review.

The opinion is a recommendation to the three Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners, who make the final decision. Commissioners could follow the judges’ recommendation to deny the permit or send it back to the agency for corrections, or they could approve the permit as is. Their decision could take several months.

Las Brisas “has failed to meet its burden of proof on a number of required issues,” the judges wrote. “Among other things, numerous aspects of LBEC’s air modeling were simply inadequate and provide insufficient assurance that the permits, if issued, would comply with all applicable air quality standards and be protective of human health and the environment.”

The problem is Texas agencies are staffed with crony lovers. The TCEQ doesn't care to protect you.

Developer sells lots without basic services

Yes, that's illegal. Even in Texas.

Another injunction has been filed against Brownsville developer Manuel J. Montemayor, who is accused of violating Texas’ colonia-prevention laws.

According to the Texas attorney general’s office, Montemayor is accused of selling plots in the Los Fresnos and El Jardin areas without basic water and wastewater services. Also named in the injunction are M.A.M. Family Trust, Manuel M. Montemayor, Melva Aida Montemayor and Josephine S. Montemayor as beneficiaries of the M.A.M. Family Trust.

Texas Legislature to look at border violence from the wrong perspective

Lets say it's the early 1900's and people are worried about polio. What should they do? Focus 100% on treating the symptoms or go for a cure? Aaron Peña tells us the Texas Legislature is going to treat the symptoms of the war on drugs: emergency preparedness.

The committee's report - due in December - will look at things like the state's capacity for preventing violence in Mexico from spreading across the border, how local, state and federal law enforcement agencies can work together even more effectively to keep us safe, and how we should respond to potential threats from transnational cartels.

The committee will hold its first hearing in Austin at the Capitol on March 30th. Testimony will address border violence and other security issues. We will hold another hearing in McAllen on May 17th - one of many across Texas in 2010. The public is welcome to attend.

Look. The answer is very, very simple. Legalize drugs. Make them available as safely as possible. Offer rehab. Take the profit motive away. Look at what happened during and after prohibition. What's the problem? Certain powerful interests are either making money or enjoying a feeling of unearned moral superiority. It's time to do the right thing. Solve this problem the only way it can be done.

More here and here.

El Paso Constable charged with assault

That's just not right.

The district attorney's office has charged Precinct 6 Constable Jesus Gustavo Ramirez with Assault Causing Bodily Injury, according to court records

Ramirez has quite the rap sheet.

Are there any moderate Republicans left?

If there are, they won't last long. The Corpus Christi Caller Times looks at today's Republican Party from an sane person's perspective.

At her urging, I met Anabelle for lunch at her country club where two weeks earlier a Tea Party event was held. She was upset because e-mails continued arriving from friends, who she thought knew better. Many of them are seniors, all Republicans and mostly very well off. The missives, spreading virally, are caustic, inflammatory and make unseemly accusations about communists and socialist takeovers, alleging the menace comes from Democrats and President Barack Obama.

The lack of an acceptable normalcy bothers Anabelle. She tells me about having attended a precinct meeting and feeling bullied by fellow Republicans because of her moderate views. Because of her independent thinking on religion, politics and church-and-state matters, she is close to losing a dear friend as a consequence.

The Republican Party is in a death spiral. Where is a leader when you need one?

Here's Robert Leo Heilman's article. Open Left notices the tone of the Tea Partiers, as did Heilman.

It's Monday's TPA blog roundup!

Why not enjoy these posts from the Texas Political Alliance along with the beautiful spring weather?

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme sees vast differences between Perry, his bud David Dewhurst and Democrat Bill White. Democrats are for a robust public education while Republicans are doing their darnedest to kill it.

This week at Texas Vox, the commissioners at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) undermine the findings of their own staff in order to follow TCEQ’s mission statement that prioritizes economic development over protecting the environmental health of Texas. Are we surprised?

Are you playing the Barnett Shale economic shell game? Learn the rules at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS before you play.

The Texas Cloverleaf commentary on Congressional GOP members behaving like grown ups, if grown ups were 4 years old

Off the Kuff took a look at voting trends in Texas' fastest-growing counties. Hint: They getting bluer.

The week at Left of College Station, Teddy reports on the Coalition for Life possibly being in conflict with itself 501(c) 3 status by appearing connected to the Rob Curnock for Congress campaign. Left of College Station also takes a first look at the candidates for College Station mayor, and this week will take a first look at the candidates for Bryan mayor.

Libby Shaw updates us on GoodHair and companies reaction to HCR. It is not pretty. Perry and Abbott On Crusade to Block Health Care Benefits for Texans

Neil at Texas Liberal visited a Walgreen's in suburban Chicago in the week just past. While there he took a picture of chocolate praying hands and of a chocolate cross that are on sale for easter. Maybe these items are for people who adhere to the Chocolate God Theory.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson chronicles the fact that after the Democrats passed a historic health care bill the GOP went Crazy over health care.

Randy Noogie-Booger, the West Texas Congress critter who yelled "Baby killer!" during the debate on healthcare reform last week, was profiled by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Bay Area Houston writes about When Teabaggers Become Terrorist

WhosPlayin, like a lot of other progressive bloggers this week, had thoughts on the historic passage of health care insurance reform.

David Dewhurst glad he helped stifle free speech at University

Dewhurst, for his part, issued the following statement today, one day before Palm Sunday:

“The cancellation of the play, ‘Corpus Christi,’ by the university was the right thing to do. While I’m a strong defender of free speech, we must also protect the rights and reasonable expectations of Texas taxpayers and how their money is used. A play that is completely contrary to the standards of decency and moral beliefs of the vast majority of Texans should not be performed using any state resources, especially by an institution of higher learning. “

Whaa - for free speech, if that speech meets his standards? Does Dewhurst understand the concept of free speech? Yes, but he's just too big an a**hole to live up to decent expectations. Psst. Why didn't Dewhurst condemn the threats of violence from the people who have these 'standards of decency and moral beliefs'?

Republican logic on health care exposed

Here's the new talking point - health care will be rationed due to a shortage of doctors. Psst. That logic falls apart, like all Republican logic, when you bother to examine it. Try out this formula where y = the number of people in the US and x = the number of doctors.

Before insurance reform, aka 'health care reform', was passed, the ratio of people to doctors was y/x. After insurance reform takes effect, the ratio of people to doctors is y/x. So, where does the rationing come in, poor people couldn't afford to see a doctor. Now they can. If there is rationing now, there was much crueler rationing before. QED.

The Corpus Christi Caller Times sees a future for Hispanic Republicans

The appointment of Anna Jimenez as [Nueces County] district attorney may be the smartest thing Republicans have ever done around here. Certainly her appointment is more astute politically than anything the GOP is doing in Washington.

...

That point underscores how difficult it has been for Hispanics to win as Republicans. The prime example of that point is Victor Carrillo, the highest ranking Hispanic in Texas government. Carrillo is chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, an obscure but powerful state agency.

South Texas may vote for Republican Hispanic candidates, but most Republicans in Texas are the good old boy, girl variety. Racism for them is a cottage industry.

AP: Perry says Texas is making great progess in education

Obviously, from Perry's perspective we are making great progress. The State Board of Education has become the propaganda arm of the right wing putting lots of trash into our textbooks. Schools are under funded to the point where their existence is threatened. Cronies are given every chance to take taxpayer money. Texas' universities are rapidly becoming unaffordable for middle class students. What's not to like?

Psst: Bill White is for a robust, functional public education.

Joe Gonzales' team shows lack of class at rally

Because he couldn’t do the rally on school property, Gonzalez’s organizers went to a homeowner, who had a sign for Gonzalez’s opponent Gloria Caceres hanging on her fence, and asked whether they could gather in her yard.

After approval, Gonzalez campaign strategist Jeff Butler grabbed a huge Gonzalez sign and hung it over the Caceres sign, and the rally was on.

Why act like a douche bag?

Truant loses place at college when jailed her for truancy

Did the justice of the peace mean to punish a truant so harshly that her education prospects suffer? Is that the point of truancy court?

And while most accepted their sentences without question, a Monitor review of their cases found these court-ordered imprisonments:

* May have subjected dozens of teens to wrongful incarceration.
* Exacerbated problems with school attendance.
* Were imposed despite missing paperwork required by the law.
* In many cases, were extended well beyond their legal limit through multiple fines assessed for the same offense.

Brownsville mayor's jury believed banks wouldn't take a risk

How did Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada Jr. get by with taking a $26K check from the city belonging to someone else? Because an expert said the mayor had large lines of credit and you can't get credit like that from a bank if you're dishonest.

Hmm. Is anyone in Brownsville paying attention to what happened during our recent and on going financial meltdown? Banks love them some bad boys with lots and lots of risk.

Republicans harass Matt Angle

The state Republican Party has asked Democratic House members to produce all e-mails and documents exchanged between their offices and 27 consultants who have worked on Democratic strategy or campaigns.

The GOP request under the state's open records law, an unusual tactic for a political party, asks for documents and meeting schedules since January 2005. It was sent to dozens of lawmakers Thursday.

...

"It's just a harassment effort on their part," Angle said. "They get really upset when anyone successfully demonstrates their failure as leaders.

David Dewhurst, other public homophobes kill play

Bigots, job well done.

After Tarleton State University received a "staggering" number of threatening calls and e-mails, a drama professor canceled a class assignment for Saturday morning that included the staging of a portion of the controversial play Corpus Christi.

Tarleton officials posted an announcement of the cancellation at 8 p.m. Friday.

The professor, who was not identified in a news release, "cited safety and security concerns for the students as well as the need to maintain an orderly academic environment as reasons for canceling the plays. The performance of these four class plays will not be rescheduled."

Read more:

Ambulance chasers rejoice!

A federal judge has overturned a 2009 Texas law barring medical professionals from contacting victims within 30 days of an accident or lawyers from contacting people within a month of an arrest.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, ruling in a case brought by a Houston lawyer and an Austin chiropractor, called the prohibitions, which legislators said were aimed at unethical solicitations, unconstitutional, saying the law infringed on free speech rights.

How does a guy who admits molesting 3 little girls get probation?

Ok, a previous jury had 1 member voting for acquittal. Sometimes you pick a crazy from the pool. Still, the guy plead guilty. He admits he did it.

Michael Ponce, 41, pleaded guilty on Thursday to 28 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to court records.

Corpus Christi poised to reward Las Brisas for bringing pollution to area

They said it was jobs, but pollution may have a bigger impact. At least, to the ones who get sick.

The City Council will consider awarding the proposed Las Brisas Energy Center incentives for bringing jobs to the area.

Las Brisas is a proposed $3 billion power plant that would be fueled by petroleum coke, a leftover from oil refining. The project has generated heated debate in the community about its economic and environmental effects.

See how TCEQ loves polluters.

Brownsville Bishop prefers Glenn Beck rhetoric over health care for the poor

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville has issued a statement on the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill in which he states his concern that federal funding will be used to pay for abortions.

Although in his statement, Flores cites several deficiencies in the law such as failing to protect the conscience rights of health care workers and not allowing undocumented workers to purchase health care coverage with their own money, he said "the issue of federal funding for abortion is the most grave."

He does have a point about undocumented people. Even from a fiscal conservative point of view, it's cheaper for regular doctor's care than it is for emergency care. As for the 'conscience rights', he means that anyone in the health care chain should have the right to refuse any service based on any personal or religious base prejudice. I say, if you don't, won't or can't do the job, get another profession.

Texas baby born with heart defect denied coverage by Blue Cross Blue Shield

The newborn had a 'preexisting condition'.

That turned out to be d-transposition of the great arteries, a defect in which the two major vessels that carry blood away from the heart are reversed. The condition causes babies to turn blue.

Surgery would correct it, but within days of Houston's birth March 15, Tracy learned that his application for health insurance to cover his son had been denied. The reason: a pre-existing condition.

Read more:

Texas Republicans play politics with healthcare costs

Who could possible guess that Republicans would make stuff up?

A senior House Democrat says Texas has vastly inflated its costs under the health care legislation that passed Congress this week.

...

[House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry] Waxman also took issue with Texas' estimate of how much funding its hospitals could lose. Texas receives nearly $1 billion a year through a program that compensates hospitals that treat large numbers of uninsured patients. Lawmakers cut funding for that program because hospitals are likely to treat fewer uninsured as more gain coverage through subsidies provided by the legislation.

The state commission estimated that Texas could lose up to $6 billion over the next decade as funding for this program is cut. Waxman's letter says Texas' losses would be closer to $1.1 billion.

Still trying for a nuclear plant in Victoria

Why take the risk to build and maintain a nuclear plant when many greener alternatives are available now?

If approved, the 6,000-plus-page early site permit application keeps alive the [Execlon's] prospects of building a plant in Victoria. The permit also allows Exelon to wait out the recession.

Mayor Will Armstrong said the news is encouraging, although he added plans remain tentative.

Mission firefighters take their case to the voters

Good for them.

Firefighters here are taking their dispute with City Hall before voters in a move that has elicited competing claims about what’s at stake: public safety vs. higher taxes.

Tired of being given what they regard as a brush-off by the administration, Mission firefighters collected the signatures necessary to force a referendum on a proposition calling for collective bargaining, which would ostensibly give them more leverage in their dealings with City Hall.

Republicans continue to pout, obstruct and hurt the poor

As Congress raced to leave Washington for its Easter recess, a Republican senator blocked a stopgap bill to extend jobless benefits, saying its $9 billion cost should not be added to the national debt.

As a result, some people who have been out of work for more than six months will at least temporarily lose benefits. Newly jobless people won't be eligible to sign up for generous health insurance subsidies.

Heartless, mean, selfish, egotistical, arrogant, thuggish ... What else can you say?

Should Texas lawmakers gay bash or not?

Decisions, decisions.

But it's the members of Congress — not the generals or the president — who will ultimately decide whether the policy dubbed “don't ask, don't tell” remains in place.

And if most of the Houston area's lawmakers have their way, gays will not be permitted to serve openly in the military any time soon.

“The United States military is not the entity that should be used for social experimentation,” said Rep. Pete Olson, a Republican from Sugar Land. “We've got men and women over there fighting, in harm's way. We don't need to introduce anything new right now.”

Gay bash, it is for Pete Olson. Psst. Gays and Lesbians are already serving. Nothing new there.

Apartments cheaper alternative for sheltering homeless

I glad somebody cares.

When helping first-time homeless, it's cheaper for some communities to house individuals and families in rental apartments than in emergency shelters or transitional housing, according to a federal study released Thursday. In Houston, for example, it cost almost $1,400 a month to place a family in an emergency shelter compared with the cost of $743 month to place them in a two-bedroom apartment.

The average monthly cost to the city's homeless system to house, feed and provide other services to an individual is $2,257 and for a family, $11,627.

The figures were released Thursday in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's first comprehensive study on what it cost to house the newly homeless.

Why does it cost so much more for the shelter?

Del Rio employee charged with theft

City communication specialist Jackie Robinson has been indicted for misapplying funds in her care while she served as finance director for the Del Rio Council for the Arts.

Robinson was indicted for the offense of misapplication by a fiduciary, a third-degree felony, according to the file on her case at the Val Verde County Judicial Center.

Maybe she can get Pat Ahumada's attorney.

Many are asking why jury acquitted Brownsville mayor

You really have to wonder why.

Foreman Johnny Simmons, a retired Brownsville businessman, also was upset about the negative reaction some people had upon learning that a unanimous jury Wednesday found Ahumada not guilty of theft, abuse of official capacity and misapplication of fiduciary property.

"We’re being treated like the jury was basically stupid," Simmons said of people who are asking why the jury didn’t find the mayor guilty.

ok.

Ky officials found guilty of changing ES&S votes

Does your county use ES&S voting systems? Many counties in Texas do. Do you trust your county election officials? If you have ES&S, you'd better have honest workers.

We recently detailed the testimony of one of the witnesses in the case who described how she was trained by the county's chief election official, Clerk Freddy Thompson (one of those convicted today), to change votes cast by voters on the county's ES&S touch-screen voting systems after they'd left the voting booth. The witness, Wanda White also detailed how she was instructed to change her own voter registration from Republican to Democratic so that she could serve as a Democratic precinct official.

What was Windcrest thinking to let their city manager do city deals with his brother?

Even if nothing bad happens, it just looks bad. In this case, something bad did happen.

A few days after it was revealed his brother was being investigated for his role in a Rackspace land deal, Windcrest's top administrator announced his retirement last week.

In a special meeting last Friday, the Windcrest City Council accepted the retirement of City Manager Ronnie Cain and granted him administrative leave with pay until April 1, the day his retirement will take effect. The council took the action after a marathon executive session of more than 90 minutes.

Bad, bad judgment from Windcrest leaders.

See previous posts.

Democrats call out Abbott for being a big fat hypocrite

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, who joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the new federal health care law this week, is taking heat from Democrats who say he backed a plan that required non-custodial parents to provide medical coverage for their children.

It is becoming obvious that Republicans are hypocrites all of the time. Check out exhibit A from a right wing Texas blog. The Republican echo chamber is having problems disavowing the basic elements of the just passed health insurance reform bill. In lieu of intellectual honesty, the Republicans have opted for thuggery. Ah, Bush has taught them well. It always amazed me that the only tool in Bush's 'diplomatic' tool box was force. Then, there's that big, fat racism element found in the modern 'Southern Strategy' Republican party.

Brownsville jury gives mayor a pass

Strange.

It did not take a Cameron County state jury long to acquit Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. Wednesday on charges of theft, abuse of official capacity, and misapplication of fiduciary property.

The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning its not guilty verdict against the Brownsville mayor who has been fighting the charges for more than a year.

I guess everybody sympathizes with a $26K check that doesn't belong to you getting deposited into your account.

See previous posts.

Texas Legislature to look at school funding methods

Ahem. Psst. You know we need a state income tax, don't you?

A special legislative committee on school finance, concerned about the bleak revenue outlook for public education, indicated Tuesday that it will be open to a wide range of funding ideas as it drafts recommendations for the 2011 Legislature.

Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, co-chair of the 15-member panel, acknowledged that the funding system is in trouble and needs change – particularly with a massive revenue shortfall facing the Legislature when it convenes in nine months.

Texas wins bilingual suit. For now.

Students, of course, lose.

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Texas in a lawsuit challenging the state's bilingual education system but invited those who brought the suit to retry the case.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge's ruling but called the performance of limited English proficient students in Texas “alarming” and ordered the lower court to determine the cause of poor student achievement and how best to fix the problem.

Why haven't many colonia residents received their census forms?

The head of Texas A&M’s colonia outreach program in the Rio Grande Valley says her promotoras are finding that many colonia residents have not received census forms.

Laura Treviño, associate director of the Center for Housing and Urban Development Colonias Program, said the colonia residents that have not received the forms are those living on lots with multiple houses on them.

“We have gone to some neighborhoods where the main home gets the form but the homes behind them don’t. There are lots of little homes within the lot,” Treviño said.

Throwing billions of dollars at Mexico will not help the drug war

Throwing billions of dollars will only accomplish the loss of billions of dollars. Use that money to provide safer, legalized drugs and rehab facilities. The only way to win the war on drugs is to legalize them.

[Hillary] Clinton’s meeting Tuesday — which included U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Defense Secretary Robert Gates — comes amid rising levels of violence on Mexico’s once quiet northeastern coast, growing disapproval in Mexico of the role of the nation’s military, and the recent slaying of two U.S. consular employees in Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso.

The recent flare-up has led some members of Congress to question spending decisions on a previous $1.3 billion aid package the United States promised to Mexico in 2008.

Dubbed the Mérida Initiative after the southern Mexican city in which Presidents George W. Bush and Felipe Calderón first met to discuss it, the plan acknowledged the United States’ responsibility for Mexico’s current drug problems and comprised the most significant commitment of foreign aid in the ongoing battle to weed out drug trafficking organizations.

The Galveston County Daily News touts better burn center as good news from BP tragedy

Who cares about dangerous conditions or a lack of care? There's a better burn center when workers get fried. Whaa? More 'happy' news at the Houston Chronicle.

Will a civil trial remove Hockley's Sheriff?

Embattled Hockley County Sheriff David Kinney accused of demonstrating gross carelessness and choosing to ignore the actions of two of his deputies involved in a drug ring.

Texas Legislature to review Perry's slush fund

State lawmakers are studying whether taxpayers are getting their money's worth when it comes to a controversial state program that has been using tax dollars during the last seven years to lure big corporations to Texas.

Governor Rick Perry asked the state legislature to create the Texas Enterprise Fund back in 2003. According to his supporters, the state program has created 52,000 jobs in Texas. Recently, a deal with Facebook to bring hundreds of jobs to Austin hinged on the taxpayer-funded incentives provided by the fund.

GOP says White didn't report income

The Republican Party of Texas filed a formal ethics complaint against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White on Tuesday, accusing him of failing to report $83,000 of income to the Texas Ethics Commission.

White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said the money did not have to be reported as “occupational income” because it was deferred compensation paid out through a trust of stocks and mutual funds. Bacon said those holdings were disclosed on White's financial statements.

It seems so strange for the GOP to accuse others of ethics violations.

Embattled Corpus Christi judge resigns with $50K settlement

A former municipal court judge who is the subject of a state judicial investigation resigned from the city after receiving a $50,000 settlement (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SETTLEMENT).

Deanie King was a juvenile court judge who was reassigned to magistrate judge in July. She resigned from that position March 5.

See previous posts.

Senator Hinojosa may abolish SBOE

Good idea. The current State Board of Education has made Texas a laughing stock throughout the world. How can our kids say they're from Texas and be taken seriously when the ignorant, bigoted clowns running the SBOE set the text to follow their twisted beliefs?

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa announced Tuesday he will file legislation to reform or abolish the State Board of Education, saying the board has been “manipulating public school curriculums by controlling what is taught based on personal ideological agendas.”

Will Corpus Christi recall the mayor?

A Corpus Christi resident is starting a petition to recall Mayor Joe Adame, saying he is disappointed in the mayor’s public comment policy.

Jerry Sansing, a Del Mar College biology professor, turned in a petition Tuesday to City Secretary Armando Chapa. After it undergoes review and becomes official, Sansing will have 180 days to collect about 16,000 signatures, or 10 percent of registered city voters.

That's almost 90 valid signatures a day. Good luck.

Brownsville rate of TB infection 3 times national average

The rate of tuberculosis here is about three times as pervasive as the national average, and the threat of multi-drug resistant TB looms large. That means, whereas 4.2 new cases per 100,000 are averaged nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 12 new cases per 100,000 occur in Brownsville annually.

Will we get a verdict in the Brownsville Mayor's trial today?

The jury deliberations are expected to begin today in the criminal trial against Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.

Ahumada is charged with felony offenses of theft, abuse of official capacity, and misapplication of fiduciary property in connection with a $26,139 check that the city issued Oct. 22, 2008 to city vendor Tarsia Technical Industries Inc. of New York that ended up in the mayor’s business bank account.

This is the second trial for the mayor after the first ended in a mistrial on Oct. 15 after the jury deadlocked.

BP cost cutting worries those who care for worker safety

Worker injury is just dollars to big business. Who cares about the human toll. It's all about the net dollar benefit. Everything is just so simple that way.

A deadly explosion at BP's Texas City refinery five years ago today did more than force the British oil giant to upgrade the plant, pay millions to settle lawsuits and shift its thinking about safety.

The tragic event “fundamentally changed BP,” said Keith Casey, BP's Texas City refinery manager.

But there are questions about whether a new wave of cost-cutting by BP and other oil refiners, struggling amid the worst conditions for the business in decades, could push corporate survival to the forefront and relegate safety to a back burner.

Psst. Safety ALWAYS was on the back burner. $$$$$

Why did Texas hire felons to work at state schools?

Criminal fingerprint checks show at least 36 employees continued to work on the state payroll while caring for the mentally disabled — despite being arrested for felonies ranging from indecent exposure, to aggravated assault, child rape and murder.

Of those 36 with arrests, 17 had felony convictions and the remaining 19 still face trial, according to Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services records released to the Houston Chronicle Monday.

The release of the records, first requested six weeks ago, came on the eve of a House committee meeting Tuesday in which lawmakers will discuss for the first time what improvements have been made regarding care at the facilities in the wake of last year's shocking “fight club” incident in Corpus Christi.

The simple answer - Republicans don't care about the poor or the disabled. Republicans care about cronies and tax cuts.

Blah blah. More squables at La Marque city council meeting

They're all acting like Republicans, aka 8 year old boys.

A $30 overdue book fine owed by the mayor pro tem’s wife erupted into accusations of charter violations and political retribution Monday night as the bickering among La Marque council members entered its third month.

Mayor Geraldine Sam accused councilwoman Connie Trube of violating a part of the city’s charter that forbids council members from giving direct orders to city staff. The mayor alleged Trube ordered city librarian Kathy Nixie to turn over the records regarding a past due book checked out by Mayor pro tem Keith Bell’s wife.

Will Texas have to pay for indigent health care?

Under the federal health care bill, the state would take over a portion of health care coverage for adults in Nueces County who fall within a certain low-income eligibility. The county now foots that bill.

Republicans aren't going to like that. Their health plan says the poor should just work till they drop dead.

Stupid, self defeating politics aside, health care coverage for the poor is great idea.

However, Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income Texans, said state residents "are among the biggest winners" from the federal bill.

"There's a huge economic benefit from the federal funds that come back," said Dunkelberg, a former state Medicaid official.

Texas leads the U.S. in percentage of residents without health insurance. The bill, if it were entirely in effect today, would cover at least 4.3 million of the state's 6.1 million uninsured, she said. More than half of those will be buying private insurance through a state-run insurance exchange – assuming Texas creates one. Illegal immigrants would not be covered.

Republicans make slurs, then deny they're batsh*t crazy

Politico, a solid member of the Republican echo chamber, laments Tea Party 'fringe' elements.

Some tea party and GOP leaders quickly denounced the slurs shouted at House Democrats, pointed out they were not representative of most tea partiers and urged protestors to stay focused on the movement’s core issues of limited government and taxation. Others suggested either that reporters and lawmakers had fabricated the incidents, or said the epithets came from tea party opponents who had infiltrated the crowds. Some even demanded apologies from Democrats who they said falsely accused them.

Read more:

Or, maybe Politico is accusing Democrats of lying. Hard to tell since they're trying to have it every which way.

Meanwhile, Texas' own Randy Neugebauer admits he called Bart Stupak a baby killer during Sunday night's debate. Way to go. Randy joins 'you lie' Joe Wilson as seriously batsh*t crazy.

As noted here before, ALL of the Republicans in congress act like 8 year old boys by using 'Democrat' as an adjective to p*ss us off. As near as I can tell, all Republicans in congress are part of that 'fringe' element. Can you think of an exception? I can't.

Drug cartel violence is a problem to be addressed

Politics aside, people, businesses and cities are suffering on the border. It's time to legalize drugs. Take away the profit motive. Make drugs as safe as they can be. Offer rehab. Do it.

People are dying.

In a place where death is measured in massacres, the killing last week of Rogelio Ituarte de la Hoya in Loma Blanca, a dusty agricultural settlement east of this border city, was just a few words on the evening news.

The father of five made it only a few steps from his parked Ford pickup before he was gunned down in front of the corner store La Consentida. The killers then sped off into the night.

Cities, like Juárez are dying. Their citizens are suffering. Justice and order is elusive. It is past time to legalize drugs.

Consumers in Texas beware

I not surprised that Texas would cut consumer protection agencies. I'm surprised we have them at all. Republicans don't care for businesses being 'regulated' nor do they care about you. In their world, after people die others will quit buying the product. That's the free market for ya'.

State agencies expect to investigate fewer consumer complaints of wrongdoing by insurance companies, veterinarians and utility companies, as a result of budget cuts proposed to comply with an order from Gov. Rick Perry and other legislative leaders.

Read more:

State approves charter school despite concerns

Hey, it's a step towards killing public education. Of course, the Republicans would approve.

The State Board of Education recently gave the go-ahead to a Collin County charter school about which state lawyers have for months raised serious concerns.

The reason, board members said, was simple: Imagine International Academy of North Texas has scores of supportive parents and plans to hire a management company to operate the school. If it were up to them, some board members said at a recent meeting and in interviews afterward, they would allow the McKinney school to open today.

However, Texas Education Agency officials have said that cannot happen because they believe that parts of the school's proposed management contract with Imagine Schools Inc., a Virginia-based charter operator, appear to violate state education code.

Little help from Texas for Starr County flood victims

Starr County has $500,000 to help seven or eight homeowners repair and rebuild their houses after severe flooding damaged or destroyed them in 2008. But there are still more than 100 families still on the waiting list.

“The residents of Starr County experienced a major disaster … and it is important that the state help restore its housing stock in the wake of this flooding,” said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini. “This type of assistance is crucial to rural Texas, particularly because many homeowners do not have the funds to make the necessary repairs themselves.”

City Council discord continues in La Marque

The division among members of the La Marque city council appears no closer to ending, with Mayor Geraldine Sam apparently prepared to accuse some on the council of violating a provision in the city charter that prohibits council members from directing the city manager on personnel issues.

Brownsville Mayor on trial today for depositing a large check that wasn't his

The trial of Brownsville Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. ended in a mistrial last year, but he is scheduled to be retried today in state district court on three felony charges stemming from a check scandal.

See previous posts.

Yippee! It's Monday blog roundup time.

The Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog roundup will reach 32 million more Americans regardless of their pre-existing conditions.

Last week, TXsharon made a video statement at the EPA Public Hearing on the proposed ozone standards.

Bay Area Houston says Who Needs a Proctologist when you have former State Representative Rick Green running for the Texas Supreme Court?

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy looks at the voter turnout in the Bryan and College Station municipal elections and has to ask the question if minority rules? Teddy also unpacks the misleading poll on health care reform that the Chamber of Commerce commissioned to attack Democrats in conservative congressional districts. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why monuments to racism and fear are so important to Republicans. Why not spend taxpayer dollars on something constructive like education or health care?

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the continuation of skyrocketing homeowners insurance rates in Texas Homeowners insurance corporations - increasing our pain, Perry, GOP sit idly by.

Off the Kuff writes about tough times for school districts. Get ready for another school finance lawsuit, because it's coming sooner or later.

The Texas Cloverleaf tells the Dallas Trinity Tollers I told ya so.

Phillip Martin at Burnt Orange Report has covered Rick Perry's "secret" border plan in great detail -- namely, the lies and politics Perry has thrust into a very serious and dangerous situation along the Texas-Mexico border. Be sure to read his post, Rick Perry's Political Grandstanding Misrepresents Definition of "Spillover Violence and follow the links at the bottom of that post to learn much, much more.

WhosPlayin's story last week about a tax-dodging Lewisville City Councilman resulted in a tearful admission at the next council meeting, where news cameras were running. WhosPlayin follows up on the results of that meeting, and analyzes the media coverage and truthfulness of the councilman in his response.

As if sea level rise, stronger hurricanes, and more extreme weather events weren't bad enough... not the Golden Cheeked Warbler too! Texas Vox is sad to report this week that birds of a feather feel the heat from climate change.

A little March madness in the form of preparations for his Senate district convention overtook PDiddie at Brains and Eggs, and he lumped in two updates on the campaigns of Bill White and Lakeisha Rogers (completely unrelated, trust him).

LibbyShaw over at TexasKaos, checks in on Representative Rep. Louie Gohmert who, in speaking to a Tea Bagger rally "declared that "demons" - yes, demons - have invaded the capital (and likely the souls of Democrats), forcing lawmakers to mislead the public about the content of the health care bill." Check out the rest of the fun here: TX U.S. House Rep: "Demons have Invaded the Capital".

What are Texas progressives saying about the health care bill?

Bay Area Houston asks what's next to rile up the batsh*t crazy crowd.

Brains and Eggs casts a skeptical eye at AP reports and looks ahead to legislative scheduling.

The Burnt Orange Report details the benefits of this bill.

Capitol Annex notes Texas will sue.

Eye on Williamson County looks at the benefits to Texans.

Half Empty contemplates the historical record.

Jobsanger celebrates the bill's passage.

Texas Kaos declares a win for us and a loss for profiteers.

Texas Liberal declares Ted Kennedy the winner over Scott Brown and hopes Rick Perry is right.

Who's Playing wants to know what's going to be in the final, final bill.

Lessons learned from health care bill passage in the House

We all saw Nancy Pelosi is awesome. How did Nany Pelosi and her team herd all of those cats and get the job done? Well done, Madame speaker.

Barack Obama learned the President must campaign and lead full time. Lets see what he does in the future. The signs are looking good.

Republicans will indeed follow their leadership off a cliff. By making such a huge fuss over any health care bill, the Republicans made the case that the bill is important. The Democrats did not pass a sweeping health care reform bill, but they'll get credit for that anyway.

Many Democrats will throw women's health care under the bus. I am ashamed for my party.

No matter which party claims power, corporations get priority consideration. The proof? This bill adds sometweaks to the current status quo. This bill has a mandate without either a public option or a single payer solution.

Another Rick Perry crony revealed

On Sept. 25, 2008, Triton Financial CEO Kurt Barton made his largest-ever political contribution, according to Texas Ethics Commission records: a $33,000 donation to Gov. Rick Perry. Barely three weeks later, Perry stood next to Barton and former professional football player Ty Detmer, at the time a Triton executive, at an Austin news conference.

Why no publicity for the failure of that d*mn fence?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already spent $1.1 billion on the virtual fence, but so far they have yet to receive a working system. Mark Borkowski, executive director of the electronic fence program at DHS, said, "It was a great idea, but it didn't work."

The larger story, which some politicians seem to be unable or unwilling to grasp, is that physical border walls have also proven to be utter failures.

Assertions by politicians that solid walls allow the U.S. to secure its southern border are utterly false. Before they were built Del Rio, Texas, Border Patrol Chief Randy Hill said, “We're going to see steel barriers erected on the borders where U.S. and Mexican cities adjoin. These will slow down illegal crossers by minutes.” Not stop crossers, but slow them down by “minutes.” As Border Patrol spokesperson Mike Scioli described it, “The border fence is a speed bump in the desert.”

Why do we spend billions of taxpayer dollars on nonsense like that d*mn fence and the war on drugs? Both are useless monuments to racism and fear. Think about it.

Texas border counties need doctors

Like other rural border counties, Starr County faces a severe shortage of physicians to meet the needs of its residents. Its total number of physicians per capita is barely one-quarter of the national average — which is frighteninly low, according to health care experts.

State legislators took steps last year to entice doctors to underserved areas — two dozen counties in rural parts of the state claimed no doctors last year — by forgiving student loans for doctors who practice in health professional shortage areas.

But Starr County’s unique confluence of circumstances, including its poverty rate, high rate of uninsured residents and small-town atmosphere, may make it a perennially underserved area.

More drug war casualties

Four people died and two others were injured during a clash between the Mexican army and members of organized crime in this city [Ciudad Victoria ] south of Reynosa, authorities said.

It is past time to legalize drugs. Take the profit motive away. Provide rehab and reliable drug doses, just like regulated booze replaced moonshine. Haven't enough young black men been sent to prison?

Here's a headline you don't see often in Texas

'Builder faces more lawsuits'

I thought Texans were never allowed to sue builders, since the legislature fixed the game in favor of their best cronies like Bob Perry.

A flood of lawsuits against the nation’s largest mobile-home manufacturer started years ago in a law office in Alice.

It's not a builder after all. Never mind. Special Republican cronies are still above the law.

Cameron County DA wants county to pay

DA Armando Villalobos sued the county commissioners to kept his gig as their attorney. Now, Villalobos wants the county to pick up the tab.

The Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos wants the county to pay a law firm that assisted in the lawsuit he filed against the Commissioners Court and its Civil Legal Division.

However, County Auditor Martha Galarza has forwarded the request to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

But, that's not all.

Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos recently said that the DA’s Office is representing him and the office in the litigation that defense attorneys brought against them last month, but whether or not county funds can be used to pay for their defense is in question.

Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos’ understanding is that only Commissioners Court can authorize representation for Villalobos and his office and as of Friday, Villalobos had not approached Commissioners Court.

I'm thinking the commissioners court isn't going to be very accommodating.

Will Democrats trade women's rights for their health care bill?

If so, I am ashamed to be a Democrat.

Are border businesses hurting over drug war?

How can they not be?

In the midst of all the recent headlines, the Regional Economic Development Corporation or REDCO keeps trying to do their job and attract new businesses to the border.

"So far we have not seen them relocate to another Mexican city or choose to locate in another city in the world because of the violence taking place in Juarez, " said REDCO President Bob Cook.

He acknowledges there's been major job loss in maquilas across the border, but attributes it to the global recession.

Meanwhile, the adults are scheduled to meet with Mexican authorities.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Mexico with other Obama cabinet members to discuss the escalating drug war.

Psst, Hillary. Legalize drugs. It's so simple. Take the profit motive away. Make drug doses safer. Give addicts a chance at rehab.

Our banks lent drug cartels money

Surprisingly, the cartels didn't feel the need to pay the money back.

"Background checks show that some of the companies that received loans from the U.S. Export-Import Bank are associated with the Juárez drug cartel and the Sinaloa drug cartel," said Phil Jordan, former director of the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center.

"It isn't that difficult to obtain that kind of information from U.S. law enforcement sources," said Jordan, now a security consultant. "This goes to show that the bank did not conduct due diligence on its loan applications. The cartel-related companies received millions of dollars."

EPA visitor notes Corpus Christi pollution problems

Republicans believe that their cronies can pollute all they want. After all, companies are people who are more equal that you or me. But, Obama is the new Sheriff in town. Looks like he just might believe in the law.

“It seems that the communities near the industrial facilities have a host of legitimate concerns,” [EPA Regional chief Al] Armendariz said. “This is a community where groundwater contamination is well documented, and it’s likely there are people being exposed to vapors. In addition there are air emissions.”

President Barack Obama appointed Armendariz to the position in November. Armendariz, a former Southern Methodist University professor, holds degrees in chemical and environmental engineering. He oversees the region including Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Will the Texas Legislature return funding to our public universities?

I won't hold my breath. Today's Republicans want to kill public education so we can live like they do in Haiti.

The University of Texas Board of Regents approved tuition and fee increases for its nine academic institutions for the next two years and six health institutions for the next academic year during a special-called meeting Wednesday. But the board agreed to review tuition and fee costs for the 2011-2012 school year should the Texas State Legislature make changes in its appropriations to higher education when it convenes next year.

Why do Congressional Republicans act like 8 year olds?

I just watched Republican house leader Eric Cantor use the word 'Democrat' as an adjective. Republicans use that word like racists use the n word or the s word or the w word. All the Republicans in Congress seem to do that now. All of the time. How can they expect to be taken seriously when they act like spoiled rotten little boys?

They were having a temper tantrum over the health care bill. All ego and no consideration for the needs of millions of American citizens.

We should be addressing drug cartels in a sane, adult manner

If sane adults address the drug cartel violence, one answer pops up to the top: Legalize drugs. Take away the profit motive, make drugs safer and provide for rehab. Why is that so hard? Because craven political actors are appealing to a batsh*t crazy base for some pseudo moral superiority. Get over it. It didn't work during prohibition and it's not working now.

There is more violence just across our border.

Two people died during a gunfight between Mexican soldiers and members of organized crime in [Reynosa’s] southwest side, where several shootouts have been reported in recent weeks.

And,

In Miguel Alemán, state officials found the body of a man strangled with a plastic cord on the banks of the Rio Grande across from Roma. Tamaulipas state police continue to investigate the homicide and no further information was available.

The two homicides in the small cities across from Starr County were joined by several other incidents reported across Tamaulipas state.

People are scared.

El Paso Mayor John Cook is telling Americans to stay out of neighboring Juárez, Mexico because of escalating drug cartel violence.

"Personally, I am advising people not to go to Juárez unless it is absolutely necessary," Cook said in an interview Wednesday with the El Paso Times. "I feel sorry for those who have to live in Juárez."

Read more

More fear here. Then, there's the politics.

Democrat Bill White pressed for help with federal border security in a call to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and he said Thursday that Republican Rick Perry, the governor he is challenging, also should have picked up the phone.

In a critical statement issued by his campaign, White said that solving problems and protecting against spillover violence from Mexico is better accomplished by talking and coordinating with local and federal counterparts.

White said he asked Napolitano for more resources and airborne surveillance along the border – requests similar to those that have been made by Perry.

Rick Perry sends helicopters to the border. Henry Cuellar touts drones.

An unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, will be flying over South Texas from Corpus Christi to Brownsville to El Paso before year’s end to help patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, a South Texas congressman said Thursday.

More politics here.

Merida promotes business interests.

Those in attendance stressed the need for continued support of the Merida Initiative, a security cooperation program between the two neighboring nations that aims to help Mexico in its fight against illegal narcotics trafficking and organized crime. The program also focuses on boosting law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions and on promoting the rules of the law.

We have to recognize that there is a problem. Arguing how much, if any, spill over violence isn't helpful. There is fear and there is carnage associated with the drug cartels business. There is the threat that drug cartels will buy out our politicians.

Lets start looking at the problem as sane adults who have no other agenda than to promote the general welfare. Take the first step and legalize drugs.

Will the military stop future wind farms?

The U.S. military is growing increasingly concerned that proposed wind farms can disrupt or block radar designed to detect threats and protect America's skies, a problem that is stalling the alternative energy projects around the country.

A top U.S. general told Congress on Thursday that federal agencies need to work better together on a formal vetting process for the wind projects to prevent them from being built where they will interfere with radar defenses.

Weasel Carlos Valdez lets Perry appoint his replacement as Nuece County DA

Thanks for all the years you were supported by loyal Democrats.

Hours after Gov. Rick Perry announced Anna Jimenez was his choice for Nueces County district attorney she was surrounded by fellow Republicans and some Democrats, as she was sworn in.

Court case against Cameron County Sheriff continues

The legal battle brought on by chaplain Gail Hanson against Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio is not over.

A federal judge earlier this year rejected arguments to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit brought by Hanson against Lucio and Cameron County. The move has heartened Hanson’s counsel but has not dispirited her opponents.

The federal lawsuit was heard in court January by U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle. In the case, Hanson alleges that Lucio retaliated against her in 2008 after she publicly criticized him and the county for the operation of the county’s jail system, court documents show.

In any case, Hanson will get more coverage for the Cameron County jail conditions.

More here.

Democrats working on border security

Eliot Shapleigh is all over it.

Over the last few weeks, approximately 250 experts from Washington, D.C. and Mexico, D.F. representing a dozen agencies have been on the ground in Juarez, San Diego, Tijuana and other Border communities on a fact-finding mission to inform a policy review and assessment of the fundamental policy changes critical to US-Mexico bilateral relations.

Their basic plan is to frame Merida II around four key policy objectives: federal security, local/state security, jobs, and socioeconomic concerns. Key interest groups here and in Mexico want to broaden the policy discussion further to include the trillion-dollar annual (and growing) demand for drugs in the United States.

It is past time to legalize drugs. That should be the central idea going forward. Take out the profit motive. The business interests driving Merida II should understand profits very well.

Hillary Clinton is going to Mexico City.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be part of a Cabinet-level U.S. delegation visiting Mexico City next week to discuss the drug war and other matters.

State Department officials said the meeting next Tuesday has been in preparation for several months, but it comes days after three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez were killed.

The El Paso Times wants more than talk. The border citizens do, too. Legalize drugs. You know you have to do that to begin solving the problem of border violence.

Chet Edwards thinks constituents should STFU

Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, a prime target for House Republicans this fall who has dug in as a "no" vote despite a personal plea last week from President Barack Obama, is getting flooded with calls prompted by Organizing for America – the offshoot of the president's 2008 campaign organization.

He's not happy about it.

"When they know I'm voting no, for them to have people call our base and discourage base Democratic voters shows a lack of political consideration," Edwards said Wednesday evening.

Chet, you're the one discouraging base Democratic voters.

The health care fight should include veterans

Remember them? Bring a VA hospital to the Valley. And, while we're at it, the Valley deserves a medical school, too.

The most important part of the article on the meeting between Bishop Flores and Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley is the third to last paragraph, which reads in part:

Veterans told him that the VA required that a VA hospital be close to a medical school, that it required for the local population to be large enough to sustain a hospital and that land be provided. The latest news, the Bishop was informed, is that the Harlingen VA Outpatient Clinic is expanding and that all those requirements are being addressed. The Regional Academic Health Center is expanding also, the Bishop was told, and the state of Texas is supporting the establishment of a medical school through the University of Texas Health Science Center facility in Harlingen. The Bishop was also told that the City of Harlingen has provided land for the VA clinic expansion and for the proposed medical school. There is still some land available and the veterans would be approaching the city for support in the very near future, Gallegos said.

San Antonio Express News thinks Perry is running for president

Just what we need, another contestant for the batsh*t crazy crowd. Weren't Palin and Liz Cheney enough? Even Texas only liked Perry about 39% last election.

Gov. Rick Perry is gearing up for a re-election campaign against Democrat Bill White, but at a Tuesday night panel discussion he sounded more like a man running for president.

I have lost any respect I have had for Republicans

That thought struck me as I read the headlines about Hutchison and Cornyn asking for Obama's plans to address the violence in Mexico and at our border. Republicans have behaved so badly for years ignoring the public good while looking and acting only for the immediate good for themselves. My first thought - Republicans are using the violence to attack Obama. They don't care what happens to people at the border. In fact, the more violence, the more they can attack Obama. Clearly, Republicans hope for more violence, not solutions.

These are horrible thoughts to have about fellow Americans. Yet, Republicans have earned these thoughts and more over the years since Reagan ascended power. Would a decent Texas Senator acting on the public behalf ask questions about border security plans? Absolutely they should. But, I hear only craven politicos making hay.

Texas’ U.S. senators called for more openness from President Barack Obama’s administration Wednesday on its response plans for escalating violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the exact terms of the situation to which they asked the federal government to respond remain a matter of confusion.

In a letter to the president, Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, both Republicans, urged him to provide a full briefing on the border security situation and to visit the border region himself in the near future. They also asked Obama to outline a concrete plan to members of Congress addressing the ongoing violence.

Here is their letter. Republicans have a very, very long way to go to earn back my respect. [Senator John Cornyn, as you may recall, is one of the 30 white male Republican senators who voted to enable rapists.]

B'bye to virtual fence

Why can't they say that about the real one?

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday froze the effort to build a virtual fence along the southern border.

She cited cost overruns and missed deadlines as she halted what is known as Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet).

Judge says fine against BP too high

Poor British Petroleum. They're only trying to conduct business at a low cost with high profits. If people die or get sick, that's not BP's problem.

A federal judge on Tuesday set aside a $100 million judgment against BP Texas City that had been awarded to 10 contract workers for injuries they suffered from a leak at the refinery in April 2007.

More than 100 workers were overcome by fumes from a leak that never was identified.

Businesses, especially rich businesses, are people now. People who are more equal that the kind of people that breath air.

Perry has a 'secret' plan to combat spillover violence at the border

You just have to snicker. 'Secret' as in 'we haven't figured out what to do, but we'd like you to think that we have it all under control.' More on Perry's plan here.

Meanwhile, the 'violence is the only tool we know' crowd is advocating - ta da - bringing troops into Mexico.

Citing the escalating drug war in Juarez and other Mexican border cities, the founder of the Minuteman Project is suggesting the U.S. government deploy the U.S. Army Airborne Rangers into Mexico to fight the drug cartels, according to a news release from the Minuteman Project.

Like that will help in any way. Just legalize drugs. It's simpler and much, much safer.

What will hapen to Juárez?

Mexicans are not responsible for our drug habit. We are. It is time to legalize drugs in the US. Provide regulated doses at cheaper rates. Provide accessible rehab. Eliminate the profit motive and start addressing addiction. It's that simple.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Tuesday offered his plan to "rescue" and "rebuild" the city, which has been plagued by 4,700 slayings since 2008.

His plan would attack poverty, improves education, health facilities and offers financial assistance to families in an effort to combat organized crime and the drug war that has turned Juárez into the most dangerous city in Mexico.

Corpus Christi Caller Times, AP provide GOP propaganda on health care bill

Don't you just love the right wing echo machine. 'Associated Press fact check: Premiums would rise under Obama plan ' Fact check my a**.

Here's what the White House said about this lie.

If you’re watching the bipartisan healthcare meeting today, you’ve seen some people leaning on a talking point that premiums will increase under health care reform. Let’s be clear: our approach will lower costs for American families and businesses, and slow the growth of costs for the country as a whole.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal all found that our approach will substantially lower the cost of health care premiums for the vast majority of Americans for three reasons: because it lowers administrative costs, it increases competition, and spreads the cost of health care fairly across millions of Americans.

Under our plan, Americans buying comparable health plans to what they have today in the individual market would see premiums fall by 14 to 20 percent. And most Americans buying coverage on their own would qualify for tax credits that would reduce their premiums by an average of nearly 60 percent – even as they get better coverage than what they have today. This is going to encourage people to purchase better coverage.

What about that reference to the AP? That was earlier. Today's cr*p comes to you via Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar,

More here and here.

Dallas Morning News tries to chastize SBOE. Fails

This Dallas Morning News editorial exhibits a common, pernicious defect in modern media.

But it's also clear in reading the standards – which cover such areas as economics, history, citizenship and culture – that the board's right-wing faction has an agenda and is using this debate to jam it through. Like liberals who use panels at colleges to drive home their point of view, the Texas right-wingers are pushing hard to teach ideas about religion, history and economics.

Why does the DMN have to make up a counterpoint? What liberal panels at colleges? Name 2 or STFU.

Drug cartel violence is the price for snooty, ineffective drug war

It is time to legalize drugs. Not only will you take away the profit motive for the cartels, you can start to treat drug addiction for real. Why did we have a war on drugs? To persecute people perceived to be less than. Haven't we jailed enough black men for whatever reason? Haven't we spent enough money? Haven't enough people suffered?

What are we reaping now? Border residents are scared.

The ongoing struggle in the northern part of Mexico between drug cartels has created an atmosphere of fear in the general public, many of whom have relatives just across the border. The main concern surrounding those fears is that the violence could spill over to the U.S. side.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón will visit Juárez today for the third time this month.

Spillover has already occurred in McAllen with shootings at the WalMart.

"The jury is still out as to who is involved here and what happened," said John Johnson, who heads the FBI’s office in McAllen. "In general … the vast majority of kidnappings we get involved with are drug-related. That’s the way this threat has evolved here."

Mexico and the US become more isolated.

While ongoing border violence is not the specific reason for a drop in crossings at the three international bridges operated by Cameron County, it could be a contributing factor, Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said Monday.

Do you feel like having lunch across the border today? People near Juarez don't.

Would you give tax breaks to a business that brings carcinogens into your city?

Nueces County commissioners are scheduled to vote Wednesday on $40 million in tax abatements for Las Brisas Energy Center.

Under the tax reduction proposal, the company would receive a $40 million tax break and pay $14 million to Nueces County during its first 10 years. The company would pay full taxes to the county beginning in 2022.

The Nueces County Hospital District, however, would levy full taxes from the start of construction, totaling a projected $23.6 million by 2021.

Were they being funny when they kept the Hospital District taxes?

See previous posts.

Republicans want your water to be dirtier

Republicans like their polluting cronies more than they like you.

In a move that it says will save money and is a practical strategy for monitoring the state's waterways, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has proposed loosening its water quality standards.

Houston police department slowly becoming more diverse

Despite clear gains made during years of recruitment campaigns to diversify the Houston Police Department, the force still is not fully reflective of the ethnic makeup of the city.

Nonetheless, today there is roughly a 50-50 chance a Houston police officer responding to a call will be Hispanic, African-American or Asian.

Law enforcement experts, community activists and HPD commanders say a diversified police force is a powerful asset for reducing crime, noting that minority officers can more easily get cooperation in ethnic communities when crimes are committed there.

Tuition and fees up at UT

Expect two waves of increases with 5.4% this year and 3.89% next. While your wallets open, expect additional fees to go green.

Republicans are doing their best to kill public education. How can we be like Haiti, if just regular people can receive and education?

Cartel violence erupts at McAllen WalMart

Look folks, it is past time to legalize drugs. Take the profits out of drug running and the scary shooting stuff will go away.

Police have detained one man suspected of a drug cartel-related shooting outside a Walmart store late Sunday night.

Two men were shot and possibly kidnapped during the incident, which occurred about 10:30 p.m. Sunday near the 1200 block of Jackson Avenue, said McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.

There's more on the way.

This border city [Reynosa] and others near the eastern end of the U.S. border escaped the worst of Mexico’s bloody drug war for years, but now the bodies are piling up, several journalists are reportedly missing or dead and once-busy streets are empty after dark.

The crumbling of an alliance between two Mexican drug gangs has plunged the 200-mile stretch of border into violence, raising fears of a new front in the drug war, a U.S. anti-drug official told The Associated Press.

State Department employees and their families are at risk.

The State Department authorized U.S. government employees at six U.S. consulates in northern Mexico to send their family members out of the area because of concerns about rising drug-related violence. At least 18,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug traffickers in December 2006.

The State Department said it would allow family members of diplomatic staff to leave the border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros.

More on the Juarez shooting here.

The victims were identified as Lesley A. Enriquez, 25, who worked for the consulate and was four-months pregnant, her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, 30, a detention officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, whose wife also worked for the consulate.

It's Monday TPA blog roundup time.

The Texas Progressive Alliance heads into March Madness with its own bracket of news and links for the week.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders how Republicans can be so violently against having services they desperately need?

Off the Kuff analyzed county returns in the primaries for Governor, Lite Guv, and the Commissioners.

When are you "too gay" for your job? The Texas Cloverleaf finds out.

WhosPlayin broke the story of a Tea-Partying Lewisville City Councilman who has failed to pay his business property taxes for the 28 years he has been in business. On the same weekend, the story came out that the son of the Flower Mound mayor and her public school Bible class promoting husband was busted with marijuana, a BB gun, and stolen property in his car. (But don't worry, he wasn't actually arrested.)

Bay Area Houston says When Capitalism Works we buy from China.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson says it's Time for Democrats to go all in on health care.

This week, McBlogger brings you Tom Pauken, Moron (NSFW).

Karl Rove is "proud" that the Bush administration tortured suspected al-Qaeda terrorists. That -- coupled with the Obama administration's recalcitrance to prosecute Rove, Cheney, Bush, et.al for their admitted war crimes -- has PDiddie at Brains and Eggs a little more pessimistic than usual.

Attention all Breathers! It's URGENT that you attend the EPA Public Hearing on the proposed new ozone standards. The hearing is Tuesday in Arlington and to help get you motivated TXsharon posted a video on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Neil at Texas Liberal says that with one-in-three folks in Houston lacking health insurance, Houston Mayor Annise Parker should be speaking up in favor in health care reform. Mayor Parker has already spoken up on the federal issues of the census and EPA air quality standards. So why not speak up on this federal issue that impacts Houston?

Lightseeker at TexasKaos tells us, again, why Rick Perry Must Go. It seems his cronies want the private sector bozos who messed up the validation procedure for Food Stamps, to advise on fixing the system, and they don't understand what all the fuss is about. I mean doesn't every vendor get a no-bid contract?

Republicans put their revisionist illusions in our children's textbooks

Hispanics? Nope. Not in Texas. We're white. Blacks are dangerous anarchists. Women? Shouldn't play sports, but should admire Phyllis Schafley. The US of A was always meant to be a Christian nation run by Republicans, the natural ruling class. That's what the barking mad Republicans want in our children's books.

When did it become ok to blatantly propagandize our education? If Republicans had their way, Americans would be ignorant, poor and unhealthy. Why do Republicans want us to live like Haiti?

Scary, silly headline

'Despite buzz, Perry says he has no interest in running for president'

Whaa? Perry won last time with 39% of the vote. In reality, Perry isn't that popular in Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry insists that his sole political ambition is to serve the people of Texas for another four years, but his triumph over U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the March 2 Republican primary is propelling his name onto the list of potential Republican contenders in the 2012 presidential race.

Batsh*t craziness.

Super crony f*ck up given contract to 'fix' welfare

Why do Republicans hate the poor so much? Why do Republicans love their incompetent, greedy cronies so much?

A former state official who played a major role in the state's biggest privatization fiasco is now making money trying to help Texas fix the problems that resulted.

Gregg Phillips was the state's No. 2 social services official several years ago, and he led a push to hire a private company to evaluate applications for public assistance.

Now his Austin-based company, AutoGov Inc., has received $207,500 since November to help the state eliminate errors in deciding whether an applicant gets food stamps or other aid and how much recipients get. AutoGov was hired without other companies having a chance to bid for the work.

Psst. Republicans want government services to fail. Oh, for the days when the classes knew their places. Democracy? Meritocracy? What does that matter when the ruling class controls all of the wealth?

Barking mad Republicans

I attended a seminar at a luxury hotel where a few prominent Democrats were going to speak. I had my badge on while waiting in line for the breakfast buffet, when a woman using a walker asked me what my badge meant. I told her and she spat 'I wouldn't go hear xxx speak!'. My breakfast companion explained that she wasn't, in fact, invited to hear him. Then she went on about how she just hated Obama and wanted to punch Democrats out. Her companion said perhaps we shouldn't talk politics. Then, the lady in the walker, complained that she had a degenerative disc and could not get health insurance. Really, she just volunteered that. She, also, mentioned that she couldn't afford a house in Irvine, California where she lived. Barking mad. Barking, barking mad.

Later, at lunch, another pair of women next to our table asked about our badges. We explained, they sneered and dug into their lunches. Soon they were talking about a friend of theirs who had reached her lifetime expenditure limit with her insurance company while she was still battling a life and death illness. Barking mad. Barking, barking mad.

Hidalgo election machine irregularities

Hidalgo County Elections Department employees on Wednesday manually verified the total ballots cast in Tuesday’s primary elections after a misstep in the vote-tallying procedure sparked late-night confusion in countywide races.

The protocol for any election calls for the verification process to take place the morning after the polls close, county elections administrator Yvonne Ramón said at a news conference Wednesday. But candidates angry with the results had a heightened interest in the process this year.

Do you trust electronic voting machines? I don't. Nothing to see here. Just move along.

In one race, Precinct 5 justice of the peace candidate Hilda Caceres thought she had easily won election by an 1,100-vote margin. But the corrected tally posted at 11:22 p.m. showed incumbent Speedy Jackson with a narrow, 40-vote victory.

Gonzales had troubles, too.

Voting machine malfunctions in a justice of the peace race forced election workers to hand count ballots on Wednesday.

The final unofficial report on Tuesday night showed a 10-10 tie in the race for the Democratic nominee for Gonzales County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 between incumbent Eulogio "Lacho" Melchor and challenger Avery Williams.

"We knew that couldn't be right. The machines fouled up and weren't reading the ballots. So they were hand counted," said county clerk Lee Riedel.

After Wednesday's hand count, Melchor led with 260 votes to 139 for Williams.

'We knew that couldn't be right.' Is that the fail safe check?

Hutchison says she feels pressure to stay in the Senate

Oh, please. We all know that you were hedging your bets when you realized your bid for governor wasn't going to be the cakewalk you envisioned. Now, you're just 'sacrificing' for your fellow Republicans? Yeah. Right.

Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is getting some GOP pressure to change her mind about resigning her seat, but a close friend predicted Wednesday that her decision will hinge on whether she can balance her service with what is best for her young children.

Republican hack at Caller Times slurs again

Republicans like to use the word 'Democrat' as an adjective. It is very much meant as a slur, just like the N word. The Corpus Christi Caller Times 'political reporter' just couldn't resist using 'Democrat' as the first word in her story and three times again, later on.

Democrat and Republican candidates heading into an April 13 runoff election will have a massive obstacle to overcome: voter apathy.

...

On the Democrat side, voters will choose nominees for Precinct 2 county commissioner and justice of the peace Precinct 1, Place 1.

...

This year, Barrera said she expects Republican turnout to exceed Democrat because of the runoff for the District 27 U.S. House nomination between James Duerr and Blake Farenthold.

...

On the Democrat ballot, Gloria Caceres and Joe A. Gonzalez also could generate some political heat in the runoff for the Democratic nomination to replace Precinct 2 County Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria, Barrera said.

It's Democratic, Jaime, you hack.

Corpus Christi RTA bosses punished

Two senior managers resigned from the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority earlier this week after a three-week internal investigation, officials said. Two other senior managers will return to work after a five-day suspension without pay.

The four managers had been on paid administrative leave for about three weeks after allegations of inappropriate behavior during and after an off-site Christmas luncheon. Ruth Willey, human resource manager, and Alfonso Carrillo, manager of operations, resigned, said John Bell, the RTA’s legal counsel.

I predict a whistleblower lawsuit from Gloria Allen Smith.