Drug cartels may be plotting to kill US enforcement personnel wholesale

A law enforcement bulletin has been issued warning that the drug cartels were overheard plotting to kill ICE agents and Texas Rangers guarding the Texas border, officials reported this morning.

The cartel members planned to use AK-47 assault rifles to shoot the agents and rangers from across the border, the bulletin said. It did not name which drug cartel was involved.

It's past time to legalize drugs. Take away the profit motive. Kill their business before they ramp up efforts to kill us.

Even if this bulletin is a figment of a republican congressman's imagination or has been hyped to promote republican fear mongering, the problem of lawless, armed drug cartels remain.

republicans try to kill ethics watchdog

This makes perfect sense. The republicans have no integrity. And, they don't want anyone to know or publicize that. republicans certainly have no intention of being held accountable for their bad acts.

Buried in the four-inch stack of amendments to the house budget bill is a subtly crafted ambush on the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s office. This is the outfit that investigates corruption cases involving public officials, the most famous of which in recent memory was Ronnie Earle’s dogged pursuit of Tom Delay in the TRMPAC case. Earle has moved on, but Republicans haven’t forgiven or forgotten. This session, Arlington Republican Bill Zedler filed a bill (HB 1928) seeking to move the unit out of the Travis County D.A.’s office and into the Attorney General’s office, which is to say, out of Democratic control and into Republican-held territory. Similar efforts in previous sessions went nowhere, and Zedler’s bill has yet to get a hearing.

republicans are power hungry elitists who do not want to abide by laws you and I must observe.

Ethics complaint filed against Galveston City council member

I thought elected government officials required ethics complaints to come from their cronies, thereby eliminating the mechanism to file ethics complaints.  Who knew.

Following what some city officials called “unprofessional” behavior from council member Chris Gonzales in February, an ethics complaint has been filed against the District 4 councilman for violation of the city charter.

Linda Gonzales-Rains, a Galveston resident, submitted the complaint March 22, according to a city affidavit. Gonzales-Rains said Gonzales violated the charter “by asking the city manager to remove the police chief from his position, directly contacting the police chief to retire or resign and doing so publicly through a city email account and to the local newspaper.”

Texas is sued over foster care system

A New York advocacy group filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming that children in the Texas foster care system are forced to spend years in abusive, poorly supervised facilities and homes hundreds of miles from family and friends.

The group, Children's Rights, filed the suit in Corpus Christi on behalf of 12,000 children housed in long-term foster homes, group homes and residential treatment centers across the state. It names Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Thomas Suehs and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein as defendants.

The suit, which identified nine children by their initials as named plaintiffs, calls on the state to revamp a system that the group says fails foster children.

Since Texas republicans don't care about children after they're born, hate government employees, and love giving taxpayer dollars to cronies for delivering sh*t, I can see where a problem might occur.

Corpus Christi police department sued for discriminating against older, female officer

Josie R. Hernandez, a former Corpus Christi police captain, claims in the lawsuit that she was discriminated against when she was passed over for promotions four times to commander and one time as assistant chief although she was eligible. The lawsuit also states that the city never offered her what it offered former Chief Bryan Smith.

Any police department that would offer the top job to an a**hole like Smith, is suspect.

Who needs the kind of guy who publicly gets engaged, gets drunk, visits an old girlfriend in the middle of the night and is accused by her of rape. Yeah, the rape charge went nowhere. [wink, wink] Guilt or innocence for rape aside, what kind of example is that for the rest of the department? Then there's the impound scandal and the current investigation into derogatory remarks made by Smith.

Will we be subjected to a Rick Perry run for the white house?

I think so.  In 2016. republican puppet, Chris Cillizza, says in his Washington Post blog, no for Perry in 2012,

So, if you assume that none of the newest governors will run, you are left with five people: Govs. Rick Perry (Texas), Mitch Daniels (Ind.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Dave Heineman (Neb.) and Butch Otter (Idaho) — all of whom were elected in 2007 or earlier.

Neither Heineman nor Otter have any sort of national profile. Jindal is actively running for a second term this November, making it impossible for him to simultaneously put the pieces of a presidential bid together. Perry is intriguing but might struggle with being viewed as the second coming of George W. Bush. Plus, Perry’s 2010 campaign manager Rob Johnson and longtime political consigliere Dave Carney have signed on with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign, moves that suggest the Texas governor isn’t likely to be a surprise late entrant into the race.

Note that Perry's team is getting experience campaigning for president in 2012.

Perry looks to give his cronies prisoner healthcare contracts

Top aides to Gov. Rick Perry are quietly exploring a plan to hire private contractors to take over parts or all of Texas' troubled health care system for its convicted criminals.

The details are being touted to legislative leaders and others as a possible way to save millions of dollars amid spiraling costs for prisoner health care that some officials fear could soon rise above $1 billion for a two-year period.

But ongoing discussions about the proposal are also raising concerns of some state officials because private companies interested in providing prisoner health care services have been involved in closed-door talks before the privatization idea has been discussed publicly.

Private companies make profits. That's what they do. If a non-profit, like the government, is already in trouble trying to deliver heathcare at a certain cost, you know that a private company will spend less and deliver much, much less. Look for prisoners dying like flies.

The republicans in our state legislature say f*ck you to libraries

republicans hate education and knowledge.

“We are the Walmart of libraries,” said Dana Rooks, dean of libraries at the University of Houston who helped found TexShare about 20 years ago. “We are getting a better product at a hugely reduced price.”

Lauded as a model of conservative “more bang for the buck” philosophy, Gov. Rick Perry's task force on efficiency in higher education recommended expanding the program, not shrinking it. Yet initial House and Senate budget proposals zeroed out state funds for TexShare, leaving librarians across the state flabbergasted.

“The decision is inexplicable,” Rooks said. “Play by the rules and you get zeroed.”

A recent House committee substitute restores $2.5 million to the program, but that still represents a deep cut that would affect libraries across the state, said Gloria Meraz, a spokeswoman for the Texas Library Association.

If Perry liked it, some crony was making a buck.

Why must everything public education does have to benefit business?

How has education become ONLY a means to provide workers to business?  What about providing a great quality of life for students?  What about providing an informed public capable of making decisions?  Why is everything we do measured by the good it does for business?  Why can't we focus on making life better for PEOPLE?  Here's UT trying to defend research and class size based on the benefit to business.

Some higher education reforms championed by an Austin-based think tank would undermine research and teaching at the University of Texas, the school's president said in his most extensive comments so far on an issue that has roiled the university, its alumni and its governing board.

William Powers Jr. defended research that might not have immediate commercial applications and stood up for small classes that generate less tuition and state funding than large classes.

Victoria DA won't give special prosecuter reports on individuals the DA targeted

Steve Tyler is a disgrace.  To recap for those of you who missed this ugly story.

DA Steve Tyler's chief of staff, Michael Ratcliff, was arrested for raping a boy in his custody as Victoria Sheriff. Ratcliff got a sweet plea deal, but Tyler went after city officials who pushed for an investigation of Ratcliff. The DA charged the police chief for perjury for talking about the Ratcliff investigation to the media and lying about it to the grand jury. Neat. Perjury for shedding light on crony justice and perjury for raping a boy in your custody.

More here, if you can stomach it.  A special prosecutor was appointed to investigate the charges Tyler brought against people in Victoria who wanted to see justice in this case.  Tyler has thumbed his nose at the special prosecutor.

An inability to obtain a summary report from Victoria County District Attorney Steve Tyler continues to stall decisions on the cases against Victoria Police Lt. Ralph Buentello and former city attorney David Atmar Smith.

Terry McDonald, the San Antonio attorney who was named special prosecutor in the cases in July, said he still is waiting on Tyler to provide him with a summary report of how Smith and Buentello's actions affected his 2008 investigation of former Victoria County Sheriff Michael Ratcliff for sexual abuse.

"I haven't heard from him," said McDonald. "If he felt they lied to the grand jury, I'd like him to explain to me how that was material to the investigation."

Latinos call out hypocritical republicans on immigration

The 5th Annual National Latino Congreso started in Austin Friday with a national Latino labor leader calling for a stop to what he labeled a “hypocritical” immigration debate.

Hector E. Sanchez, the executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), said that proponents of anti-immigrant legislation were waging an intellectually dishonest campaign against immigrant labor.

“On the one hand you want your nanny; you want your gardener who you just pay five dollars an hour. You want all these benefits, but you’re not willing to recognize the reality of these workers…You need to grow up and decide what exactly you want as a nation,” Sanchez said.

“I would tell all these anti-immigrant voices, ‘if you’re really honest about these anti-immigrant bills and you don’t want these immigrants here, I propose something: Boycott any vegetable that has been touched with immigrant hands. Boycott any house that has been built with immigrant hands. Boycott any road that has been built with immigrant hands. Then you’re serious about your anti-immigrant bill,” Sanchez said.

Hey, republicans are all about being hypocritical, selfish and just plain mean. Abusing US workers is becoming an art form. Immigrant Latino workers haven't got a chance.

Houston Judge offers book on Christian living instead of community service

Why is a judge using his position to promote his religion to defendants in his court?

“That is illegal, unconstitutional and unfair,” said Houston criminal defense attorney Dan Gerson. “We are offended, as far as preaching from the bench, especially by requiring people, or asking people that they perform religious study in lieu of serving their sentence.”

The topic was debated at a Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association meeting Monday morning.

Does our government have the guts to charge BP with a crime?

Corporations are 'persons' when that's to their advantage. How about sending CEO's to jail when their companies commit crimes? Why aren't there any business people going to jail for crimes in our recent financial meltdown? Why don't corporations pay taxes like real people do?

Can corporations get away with just about anything in the United States of America?Federal prosecutors are considering whether to pursue manslaughter charges against BP Plc managers for decisions made before the Gulf of Mexico oil well explosion last year that killed 11 workers and caused the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history, according to three people familiar with the matter.

All hail the royal corporations. They are the rulers of us all.

Texas is #1 - in minimum wage workers, that is

Are we so proud. This is just the kind of world the republicans want for all of us. All of the benefit of our work product goes to the rich. The workers can just drop dead.

If there’s anything faintly resembling good news in a just-released report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s that Texas’ share of hourly workers at or below minimum wage among U.S. states fell from 14.3 percent in 2009 to 9.5 percent in 2010.

This just barely qualifies as a positive, however, since the number of Texas hourly workers at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage still increased by 76,000 over 2009. At 9.5 percent, Texas ties with Mississippi in terms of U.S. states with the highest proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour.

The "good news" is there is a larger pool of poorly paid workers so Texas doesn't seem quite so bad.

The republican war against workers has been very successful.

Here's a crazy headline

'Texas Could Require Disclosure of Drilling Chemicals'

You mean to tell us that companies can put whatever chemicals they d*mn well please into our soil and our aquifers AND THEY DON"T HAVE TO DISCLOSE IT??? Crony is as crony does. That a republican run world for you.

National Latino Congress is thinking about states redistricting efforts

Organizations from across the country have come together at the fifth annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And this year, it's all eyes on redistricting.

The conference, whose theme, "Fight Back, Fight For," refers to Latino efforts to block or push back against laws considered anti-immigrant and anti-Latino, comes amid the release of 2010 census data showing that the majority of people in Texas are minorities.

Meanwhile, republicans are trying to figure out how to take every seat in every race.

"Why would a House Republican vote for a map with 85 safe R seats? Go explain to your local Republican women's club why that was a good vote. We started with 101 and I voted to help return 85."

What Bay Area Houston said

The bill filed by State Representative Ken Legler, requiring drug testing for teachers being laid off, should be reason enough to require drug testing for our elected officials. Only someone high on crack would ever consider filing something so incredibly mean spirited, so heartless, and so stupid. But, that is exactly what Ken Legler is.

He is a republican. Mean spirited, heartless and very stupid is what they do.

It's Monday so enjoy another TPA blog roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for another sports-related tourist infusion as it brings you this week's bloog roundup.

If the goal of the 81st Texas Legislature and Governor Rick Perry is to stifle job creation in Texas for the next two years, then Off the Kuff says they're knocking it out of the park.

Letters From Texas rolls its collective eyes about the word games played by the Republicans in charge, as they announce their Senate subcommittee to find "non-tax revenue." Earth to Republicans: if we used to own it, but now the government owns it, it's a tax.

Musings looks ahead to 2021 when the Texas economy is in the ditch and many thousands of children have had a substandard education. Do we solve the problem now, or wait until we go to the ballot box in Nov. 2012?

Lightseeker tries to put the present battle into perspective with his posting at TexasKaos, Connecting the dots: Killing Education, Killing Unions, Funding the Tea Partiers [revised]. Give it a look. The videos are worth the price of admission by themselves!

WCNews at Eye On Williamson has this to say about the austerity budget that the House passed out of committee this week, House Appropriations passes budget - tea party blamed for cuts.

In the latest post regarding the poll he's conducting on the mortgage interest tax deduction, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explains why he has never owned a home.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme warns that republicans are near their goal of killing public education for k-12 and at the university level.

Neil at Texas Liberal apologized for ever having voted for Houston City Councilmember C.O. Bradford for any public office. Neil feels that voting for Mr. Bradford was one of the worst ballot box mistakes he has ever made.

refinish69 is ever amazed by the stupidity of the Texas Ledge. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Case in point is Rep. David Simpson's Don't Touch My Junk Bill.

This week, McBlogger takes a look at what austerity will do to Texas.

I've been telling you republicans want to kill public education

Three potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates expressed hostility toward the public school system at a home schooling rally on Wednesday in the early presidential caucus state of Iowa.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul told the crowd government wants "absolute control" of the "indoctrination" of children. Paul spoke along with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Georgia businessman Herman Cain.

What Ron Paul means is that he wants "absolute control to indoctrinate your children".

Proposed Texas budget to kill thousands and thousands of jobs

republicans are just batsh*t crazy.

House Democrats on Thursday seized on an analysis by the Legislative Budget Board to escalate their attacks on a committee-approved state budget, saying the proposed cuts will result in the loss of thousands of jobs over the next two years.

The analysis forecasts that in 2013, as many as 335,244 jobs will be lost in the public and private sectors. A statement from the board's director said the reductions in the proposed budget stem largely from the "steep downturn of the Texas economy" over the past several years.

Who could doubt Aaron Peña is an unprincipled turncoat?

Ok. Peña does have principles. The principle of doing anything and everything for the benefit of Aaron Peña.

Many Hispanic voters who do not have an acceptable form of photo identification may be reluctant to go the Texas Department of Public Safety to get such a document, the Valley delegation has argued. Rather than get a photo ID they will stay at home and not vote. Civil rights groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund have made similar arguments in opposition the Voter ID bills.

This session, the Valley delegation will not be united in opposition to Voter ID legislation. State Rep. Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, has signaled his intention to vote for SB 14. In previous years, Peña, who switched parties soon after being elected last November as a Democrat, has voted against Voter ID bills.

Peña is a republican. That means suppressing the vote. That means doing whatever you can to keep Hispanics from the polls.

Was Cameron County assistant DA murdered in Mexico?

The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has not ruled out murder as the investigation continues in the death of Assistant District Attorney Arturo Jose Iñiguez.

republican policies cause seniors to starve

Let Wall Street run wild and kill our economy. Check. Use downturn to hurt the vulnerable. Check.

Hunger, at an all-time high in the U.S., is especially pronounced among seniors, with more than 6 million considered "food insecure." And as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, the problem is growing in Texas.

List to audio.

Did Corpus Christi Mayor use his office for electioneering?

City attorney Carlos Valdez confirms that an investigation is underway into allegations Mayor Joe Adame improperly used city e-mail and staff to send out materials for the mayor's reelection campaign.

The complaint alleges that e-mails sent from members of the mayor's staff directed people to the mayor's campaign website and included the phrase "Run Joe Run", a violation of the city's code of ethics, that outlaws using any publicly owned equipment or city staff to assist with any political campaign.

I don't trust Carlos Valdez any farther than I can throw him. That said, republicans use anything they can get their hands on to benefit themselves and their cronies. Ethics smethics.

If republicans really wanted clean elections, pure electronic voting machines would be banned

I strongly suspect that certain republicans like the possibility of a 'software solution' for election returns. republicans say voter id has to do with election integrity, but as usual facts be damned. There is no significant problem with voter fraud. There is a huge potential problem with electronic voting machines without a voter verifiable paper trail. There are numerous cases [that we know about] of electronic voting machines messing up.

republicans just want to suppress the vote while leaving in the possibility of stealing an election wholesale.  Shame on republicans for throwing red meat at racists, disenfranchising legitimate voters while causing taxpayers and voters extra money and trouble at the polls.

Cameron County performed another autopsy on assistant DA

Pathologist Elizabeth Miller performed an autopsy Tuesday at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, the hospital confirmed.

Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Manuel Flores Jr. of Rio Hondo reportedly requested the autopsy. He declined to give any details.

Another day, another college tuition rate hike

Del Mar College will cost 11 percent more, or $106 per semester more, for an in-district student with a 12-hour load next year, regents decided Tuesday.

This is the second year in a row regents have increased tuition.

Thank you, Rick Perry and all of your republican friends. Tax cuts for the rich and rate hikes for the rest.

UTB and TSC still fighting

A potential path to the unification of UTB and TSC was rejected again Tuesday morning in a heated atmosphere as Texas Southmost College trustees voted down two agenda items at a special meeting.

After a chant of “Let them vote” from the audience, two motions failed by a 4-2 vote, including one that would have called for a public vote on the unification of the University of Texas at Brownsville and TSC. Such unification would potentially have dissolved the junior college’s taxing district.

Hispanic students now the majority in Texas schools

Ever wonder why the republicans are trying so hard to kill public education?

Hispanic students for the first time make up slightly more than half of Texas public school children.

Enrollment data from the Texas Education Agency show that this school year Hispanic students reached 50.2 percent of Texas' 4.9 million public school children, compared with nearly 49 percent last year.

Anglo students stopped being a majority several years ago and continue to decline in number.

Hispanic students in prekindergarten through high school now total 2,480,000 in Texas. The group is 90 percent of the student population in the El Paso region.

Gas driller cleared by crony riddled Texas agency

In a crony world, cronies rule. Texas is run, I should say overrun, with republican crony lovers.

In a meeting this morning punctuated by harsh denunciations of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Railroad Commission voted unanimously to clear a natural gas driller, Range Resources, of charges that it contaminated two water wells in Parker County.

"We'll see which is the real protection agency, and I'd say it's the Railroad Commission of Texas," Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones said after the vote. The EPA, she said, had been too "hasty" in accusing Range of contaminating an aquifer roughly one mile above its drilling site in the Barnett Shale. The case acquired a high profile after the EPA announced in December that it was ordering Range to fix the homeowners' water problems, effectively stepping in above the Railroad Commission, which was still investigating at the time.

And, by 'protection agency', Elizabeth Ames Jones means 'crony protection agency'. Protecting the public? Not so much.

Get ready for 'charter' universities

Expect religious courses required of every student. Cronies getting all of the contracts. Tuition through the roof. Education standards set by the batsh*t crazy crowd. It's coming. Unless parents wake up. It's coming.

Lawmakers to cut budget for pollution 'watchdogs'

republicans love their cronies and their cronies love their profits. Safe working conditions and an healthy environment just get in the way of those pretty bank accounts.

Texas' environmental regulators, some of whom are already under fire from green groups for not doing enough to keep air and water pollution in check, are bracing for deep cuts as lawmakers hash out the next biennium's budget.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality faces a possible cut of about $295 million, or 34 percent, and could lose 295 full-time employees. The Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, could see a 16 percent cut. Other agencies with some environmental functions also face the ax: Cuts are coming to the General Land Office (perhaps 45 percent, though the agency's oil-spill responsibilities will take a much lesser hit) and the Soil and Conservation Board, which regulates pollution from agricultural operations (as much as 44 percent), among other agencies.

Ignoring calls to 'just roll over', Democrats delay voter id bill

Good job. Maybe more people will see what the republicans are doing. I can hope.

State House Democrats delayed a vote Monday on the controversial voter identification bill.

The bill requiring Texans to show a valid photo ID to cast a ballot could return to the floor later this week. It is expected to eventually pass with ease in the Republican-dominated House.

The delay resulted when Rep. Armando Martinez, a Democrat from Weslaco, raised a point of order dealing with a discrepancy between the bill and its official analysis. Speaker Joe Straus sustained the point of order, which shelved the bill.

Hidalgo County is challenging the census

Attorneys hired by Hidalgo County to protest the census results will pursue a two-track approach, simultaneously negotiating with the Department of Commerce to adjust the county’s population figure upward while preparing evidence that can be used in a lawsuit alleging census protocols were violated here.

Because the federal government is given wide latitude in how it actually conducts the decennial census, the standards for a successful court challenge are high, said Jose Garza, a San Antonio-based attorney who was hired last week to join the county’s census undercount challenge. Attorneys will review the U.S. Census Bureau’s operations here to identify inconsistencies with their work elsewhere and compile evidence that shows some colonias were missed by census enumerators.

What would a separate, Texas-only college accreditation program look like?

Just think about our state board of education. Science would be changed beyond recognition to become religion driven 'intelligent design'. Philosophy and logic courses would become religious instruction. Business classes would churn out 'free' market freaks. History classes would turn into propaganda for slave owners and oligarchists.  No foreign languages or cultures would be taught.  That's just for starters.

As a senior fellow for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, [the new $200K a year adviser to UT, Rick O'Donnell] argued that university research was harmful to good teaching and that Texas schools should create their own system of accreditation, separate from the existing national system.

Wake up! republicans are trying to kill public education. It's that horrifying and it's that simple.

Galveston judge becomes a republican

But, does his switch automatically enroll him into the batsh*t crazy club?

County Republicans gained the first political defection since the GOP swept most of the county elections in November this week when 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia confirmed he would jump from the Democratic Party.

“I’ve always been very conservative, and the Republican Party is a good fit for me,” Mallia said. “I want to do what’s best for the 405th District court, for me and my family.”

He's certainly selfish and unprincipled. Those elements will serve him well as a republican.

Blake Farenthold's cleaning crew may have left the lights on in his office

Why is this news, you ask?

Police are investigating a suspected burglary at U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold's district office that instead may have been a cleaning crew oversight.

Staff who arrived to work Friday morning found lights on and a balcony door open but didn't notice anything missing, according to an initial police report of the incident. Farenthold's district office is in the Bay Building at 101 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi.

Cameron County assistant DA's death causes unease

Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos said late Monday that at this time his office has not found any evidence to indicate that foul play occurred in the death of a 26-year-old assistant district attorney.

Villalobos also said that his office has no evidence to indicate that the death of Assistant District Attorney Arturo Jose Iñiguez was caused by a vehicle accident.

Protect your family. Legalize drugs. Take away the profit motive. Make things safe for everyone.

republicans tell Democrats to just roll over on the voter id bill and 'not make it painful'

I say go for it Dems! Make it hurt as much as you can. Go, go go!!

You can expect a long slog in the Texas House as it takes up a bill requiring photo identification for most voters, although GOP Rep. Larry Taylor hopes his Democratic colleagues don't take too long in their doomed fight against it.

“It's going to pass. I don't see the benefit of just dragging it out and making it painful for everybody,” said Taylor, of Friendswood, House Republican Caucus chairman.

“I've been encouraging my Democrat [sic, republican asshattery] colleagues since we got here, if you really want to be a part of the process and be a relevant part, pick your issue ... express your viewpoint succinctly,” he said. “The less you get up and talk, the more people will listen to you, but if you just get up there and drone all the time, people just (tune) you out.”

Why use republican asshattery in the middle of a plea? Does this plea remind anyone of a Claytie Williams rape joke?

Organic farmers want to hire more workers from Mexico

How about providing better wages, benefits and working conditions, then hiring American workers? Not an option, because the profits from high priced organics at the food store go the the middleman.

Fearing a continued shortage of farm workers, Holbrook and other Texas farmers worked with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to establish a pilot program allowing them to hire laborers from Mexico. But in the polarizing debate on immigration reform, that guest worker program didn’t get far.

The Corpus Christi Caller Times rips Rick Perry a new one

The Caller Times says Perry is allowing the rainy day fun to shore up past budget deficits and thereby making it impossible to use for education in the current budget.

It's just one more example of Perry successfully pretending to do something he didn't and be something he isn't. This is the same governor who preaches penny-wisdom while staying in $10,000-a-month luxury quarters at Texas taxpayer expense, and who declared "no sacred cows" in the budgeting process while out of the other side of his mouth he demanded more money for his economic development fund. It's the same governor who projects manliness by shooting a coyote during a jog though he manages also to maintain an unnaturally non-gray, famously full head of hair parted perilously close to the middle, which we doubt John Wayne ever would have done.

Nice to know that the Caller Times is a fan of public education.

Lets count the ways that d*mn fence hurts us

The U.S.-Mexico federal border fence negatively affects minorities disproportionately, a study recently published by local university professors found.

The environmental effects of the fence on the people of the region, something little focused on amid the heated political debate surrounding it, was investigated by University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College professors Jude Benavides and Jeff Wilson.

Since that d*mn fence is a monument to racism and hate, of course it disproportionately affects minorities.

Texas republicans want charter schools to replace public schools

No oversight. No control from voters. Ways to put money in the pockets of cronies. Ways to push the propaganda. Check. Check. Check and Check.

An estimated 56,000 Texas students are on waiting lists for charter schools — the kind of demand that prompts discussion and legislative proposals.

State lawmakers will soon begin considering bills that would chip away at those lists by authorizing more charter schools. But given the need for stringent oversight of these occasionally failed education enterprises, some question whether expansion is appropriate at a time when the Texas Education Agency — public education's chief regulatory body — has laid off about 10 percent of its staff.

State law caps the number of charters the State Board of Education may grant at 215, and there are currently 210 active charters.

Why do republicans hate public education? Because an informed public with good reasoning skills would never buy their sh*t.

Even Texas legislators are suspicious of changes at UT

Never forget that republicans are out to kill public education, push propaganda and fill their cronies pockets with taxpayer dollars. As for promoting the general welfare? Not so much.

After running a gantlet of concerned, even angry legislators, Gene Powell, the chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents since February, took steps last week to assuage concerns that he was leading the system toward what one prominent University of Texas at Austin alumnus called in an open letter “degradation.”

Powell had created a new $200,000-a-year advisory position with a job description close to that of Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa. He quickly filled it with Rick O’Donnell, a controversial advocate of changes in higher education.

O’Donnell’s public writings, which question the value of academic research, did not win him favor in the halls of academia or in the Capitol. That he was to report directly to Powell and to be involved with task forces created by Powell to find strategies to improve educational quality and to lower costs by May — by some estimations a short amount of time to reach anything other than a preordained conclusion — only increased the hand-wringing.

Everything gets worse, when republicans are in charge.

It's time for our blogger roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance's brackets are still in good shape as it brings you this week's blog roundup.

WhosPlayin has been focused on City Council elections and the criminal records of two of the candidates, each of whom has assault convictions, and each of whom lied on their ballot application.

Off the Kuff discusses the budget deal that allows for Rainy Day funds to be used to close the current biennium's shortfall.

DosCentavos compares theMexican shootin' Missouri legislator and the goings on at the Texas Capitol; and tell us what Dems should be doing.

Bay Area Houston notes When the Galveston County Republican Party Chair slept with teabaggers he woke up with a bad taste in his mouth.....and no job.

Are you in favor of preserving the mortgage interest income tax deduction, or do you favor phasing it out for larger, more expensive homes and/or wealthier taxpayers -- or eliminating it altogether? PDiddie wants your opinion at Brains and Eggs.

Musings gives an update on the ground perspective of why schools need more support staff, not less, in order to ensure student success with the new, more rigorous curriculum and testing mandated by the Legislature and SBOE.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson makes clear that the recent "drama" surrounding whether to spend some of the Rainy Day Fund was done for political cover, better known as The Show.

This week, McBlogger takes a look at two crazy people who are, unbelievably, elected officials.

refinish69 is disgusted and dismayed at the stupidity that is the Texas Ledge. Nothing like a Clean Crapper Bill or protecting the ignorant to make the State of Texas proud.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme suspects that Republican hate against Muslims resulted in fires at a Houston Mosque. Republicans have sliced and diced the American public every which way - women, people of color, gays, teachers, nurses, Jews, Muslims and who knows what else. Wisconsin has woken up. Lets hope the rest of America soon follows.

At TexasKaos, lightseeker is Shocked! Shocked! at the new "edited" video that has hit the web. Check out The Media Fail Us Again- of NPR and Editted Videos.

Neil at Texas Liberal came across an example of extreme government direction of our lives.

TCEQ says BexarMet fudged ultility worker tests

How bad is it, if the TCEQ calls you on it?

The results of a test to certify utility workers at the Bexar Metropolitan Water District have been voided by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The commission suspects that some of the test takers were cheating.

Foreign cronies can line up to buy El Paso toll way

republicans love to privatize essential services and infrastructure. Monopolies work best when you have to buy their products or services.

The first toll-road project in El Paso County, planned for the César Chávez Border Highway, will go to bid next month, state Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton said Thursday.

Did you really think that the toll roads would stop just because Texans don't like them?

The hate fanned by republican rep Peter King erupts into suspected arson at a Houston Mosque

The pro-corporation, anti-worker batsh*t crazy policies of the republicans need a cover. republicans have been using hate against one group or another to do the trick. These tricks have real world consequences and they are very, very ugly.

Nobody has been hurt in the second suspicious fire in as many days at a mosque in suburban Houston.

Reality trumps promises for South Texas uranium operations

Every once in awhile something so big happens that even some republicans sit up and notice.

The South Texas uranium production market is feeling the affect of a nuclear emergency in Japan caused by a record earthquake and tsunami.

Do you want the Pope, the local Bishop and others reviewing and deciding YOUR medical treatment?

I don't mean that, if you're a practicing Catholic. No. I mean anyone who is a patient at a Catholic run hospital.

A high-ranking priest in the Archdiocese of San Antonio [Father Martin Leopold] testified Wednesday that a nurse supplied him private patient data in claiming a Catholic hospital permitted an abortion nearly two years ago.

...

Leopold admitted Wednesday to mistakenly failing to blacken out the patient's name two times on a sensitive document he said was provided by the nurse. He said he gave copies of the document to Gomez and Rosie Perez, the hospital system's liaison to the archdiocese.

Because, old, never-married, men who have no medical training want to control your reproductive systems and end-of-life decisions.

Gee whiz. UT supports academic research after all

When did it become normal to defend the purpose of higher education?  Since Ronald Reagan and Tricky Dick let the backward cousins into their party.  Now their chosen leaders are racing to be dumber and less informed.

Top officials at the University of Texas System — Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and Board of Regents Chairman Gene Powell — said in an interview with The Texas Tribune today that they are moving quickly to allay the concerns of lawmakers, alumni and others regarding the direction and standing of UT, starting with the reassignment of a newly hired adviser to the Board of Regents.

Powell said that, contrary to recent speculation, the UT System "unequivocally" supports academic research, and said concerns that the views of recent hire Rick O'Donnell might change that "are absolutely incorrect." In fact, they're moving O'Donnell — who previously worked for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank that espouses controversial higher ed reforms — to a different spot on the UT System's organization chart. He was hired to report directly to the regents, but now he'll work for the chancellor instead.

Crony in the hen house nonetheless.

Regulation supports free markets while deregulation supports monopolies and oligarchy

Results are pouring in from the republican efforts to deregulate businesses.

1. Products have become unreliable.  Brands suffer.  Trusting products because they are 'American' is no more. 
2. Products are dominant due to the power of their manufacturer rather than their merits.  Bullies reign, because the playing field does not support fair competition.  Cash rather than a good product rules.  Dirty tricks.  Lying ads.
3. Innovation is stifled.  Bullies ensure that new and better products either don't see the light of day or never gain an open market.
4. The environment is trashed.  Pollution grows in our air, water and soil.  Fracking sets up earthquakes.  Billboards dominate instead of pretty scenery.
5. Our financial markets are trashed.  Our government seems to support the frauds over regular people.

Businesses should welcome good regulation that supports and defends fair competition.  Instead, many want to be the bully that doesn't have to build a better product.   As for being contributors to our society?  Nope.  CEOs just want to be richer and richer.

The people the republicans used to pander to are now running their party

An elected republican representative in New Hampshire seriously called for the ill to be deported to Siberia.

A 91-year-old freshman lawmaker in New Hampshire who suggested the mentally disabled should be shipped to Siberia resigned Monday from the state House and said he was sorry that his “big mouth caused this furor.”

Another elected republican in Kansas wants to shot Hispanics from helicopters.

Hispanic lawmakers in the U.S. House urged Kansas Republicans on Tuesday to denounce a state legislator who said this week that illegal immigrants should be shot like feral pigs.

As the statement rippled across the country, angering civil rights and Hispanic groups, Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck, a Republican, said he regretted his comments and intended them as a joke.

These men are not joking. Brutally killing Hispanics and barbaric treatment for the ill are their 'solutions' to 'our problems', i.e. the solution for their racism and hate.

Calls for Bexar County chair to resign increase as more slurs appear

In a wide-ranging interview with the Current last Friday, Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Dan Ramos likened homosexuals to children stricken with polio and the Stonewall Democrats, an organization working to advance the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, to the Nazi Party.

Slams the LGBT community whose endorsement he sought, then African-Americans and the disabled.

Earthquakes have consequences

The horror continues for the Japanese, many of whom are going without food, water and shelter.

The ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan may signal the death knell for the long-planned addition of two nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project.

CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby announced Monday that the utility and NRG Energy, the majority partner in the expansion, have mutually agreed to suspend talks over CPS possibly buying power from the two proposed reactors, which were scheduled to be licensed and begin construction in 2012.

You'd think that a homophobic, sexist, racist guy would be a republican

The head of the Texas Democratic Party is demanding the resignation of Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Ramos, accusing him of bigotry and creating chaos since his election a year ago.

Ramos called the LGBT community termites and disparaged African Americans as well. Ramos thought his election made him king of Bexar County with the ability to run the party without any input from elected precinct chairs.  Too bad the republicans hate Hispanics, cause Ramos sounds like their kinda guy.

Cameron County DA wins against complaining defense attorneys

The February 2010 lawsuit alleging the Cameron County District Attorney and others in his office violated the civil rights of several local defense attorneys was dismissed Thursday.

U.S. Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen issued an order to dismiss all claims that District Attorney Armando Villalobos tried to "black-list" and libel the defense attorneys who filed the case: Moises M. Salas, Nat C. Perez Jr., Angela Nix and Star Jones.

Good news for Hidalgo County

Hidalgo County ranked first among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas for job creation during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to a Washington think tank.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area, which encompasses Hidalgo County, notched a 1.2 percent employment increase during the fourth quarter, according to the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit focused on research and public policy.

Conservative anti-education group well on their way to sabotage Texas A&M, now working on UT

B'bye A&M.

Late last month, three weeks after becoming chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, Gene Powell selected Rick O’Donnell, a former director of Colorado’s higher education department, to fill a newly created position, that of special adviser to the board.

O’Donnell’s $200,000 annual salary and his hiring, which was not announced publicly, have set off some alarms — among lawmakers grappling with the state’s huge budget shortfall and among higher education observers who fear that the choice represents a precarious new direction for the UT System that could threaten its flagship university’s elite status.

The hire comes just months after the Texas A&M University System was criticized for implementing reforms recommended by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative research group that advocates an approach that departs radically from the traditional research-driven model of academia. A spokeswoman for the organization said their recommendations strive for excellence in both teaching and research while recognizing them as separate endeavors.

"What that fails to recognize," said Dean Neikirk, an engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the school's Faculty Council, "is that at the truly top universities in this nation, research is not separate from education. Research is education."

How many scholarships could you fund with $200K? You know that the republicans hate education.

It's Monday so enjoy another TPA blog roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is still working on springing its clocks forward as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff noted that in the days just before the Save Texas Schools rally, State Rep. Scott Hochberg filed a bill that made clear what the effects of cutting the public school budget would mean for local school districts.

Despite a strengthening progressive uprising, the Texas Democratic Party remains so feeble that it appears unable to capitalize on an open US Senate seat in 2012. That's why the nascent movement to draft Tommy Lee Jones to run keeps gaining steam, notes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

As thousands of Texans turned out on Saturday to Save Texas Schools WCNews at Eye On Williamson reminds us whose fault it is that Texas schools need saving and that their ruin has been the GOP's plan all along, Yes Gov. Perry, it is your fault - remember the 65% rule.

Letters From Texas poked fun at Bill O'Reilly for his claim that President Obama was the first African-American candidate for President, which is absolutely true if you ignore five or six other African-American candidates for President.

Libby Shaw at TexasKaos explains how Governor "It's not my fault" is going to Cut Care for Granny. Read all about it and then plan to attend the Day of Rage event near you! See here for more info.

Stace at DosCentavos tells us about the big rally held at the Texas Capitol. It's got pictures and everything!

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Dan Patrick is a woman-hating asshat without a sense of irony.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted the March 12, 2011 passing of his father. Tony Aquino was a combat veteran of the Korean War, an award winning journalist, and a committed liberal. Tony would have wanted you to each day fight for a more fair and just society.

This week at McBlogger, Captain Kroc went to the Rally to Save Texas Schools and came away a little underwhelmed.

Fat chance getting hate crime law expanded with Tea Party republicans in charge

A handful of Texas lawmakers are seeking to protect the LGBT community via expansion and review of hate crimes law and employment discrimination legislation. Conservative group The Liberty Institute considers such measures a form of mind control and suppression of opposing views to homosexuality.

Teacher's think Rick Perry is full of sh*t

As thousands of teachers, school staffers and parents prepare for a state Capitol rally Saturday against education cuts, they've found new recruits and fresh motivation from an unlikely source: Gov. Rick Perry.

Reacting to Perry's comments, some teachers and support staffers said Thursday they were angry and discouraged but mostly emboldened to publicly oppose billions of dollars of cuts in education.

DeLay's aides to get a different judge

The judge set to preside over the trial of John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, two Tom DeLay lieutenants charged in connection with an alleged political money laundering scheme that landed the former U.S. House majority leader a three-year prison sentence, removed himself from case Thursday.

Visiting state District Judge Pat Priest, who presided over DeLay's trial last year, agreed to the defendants' request to step down from the trial during a hearing that last less than 15 minutes.

republicans are after your pension. Will they drop their's?

As they talk of cutting pension contributions and raising premiums for state employee health care, having state employees pay to park in state garages, and mandating layoffs and furloughs at state agencies, what are lawmakers doing to their own compensation and benefits?

Your right to use the courts is being diminished again

republicans will do anything to help the rich at the expense of everyone else. Justice? Not in Texas.

Also known as the English Rule, because of its prevalence in Britain, the loser-pays approach, advocates say, is the cure for courts choked with the costs of “junk” lawsuits. But opponents say it obstructs all litigation — without regard to merit — and keeps those with plausible legal claims from seeking justice.

In his February State of the State address, Gov. Rick Perry praised a loser-pays approach that would require “those who sue” to pay lawyers’ fees. The prospect of a one-way system has put the state’s plaintiff bar on high alert.

I can see that sometimes the loser should pay. If the suit had no merit and was only filed to harass, then yes. Sometimes settlements do include the loser paying the court costs. But, this bill is meant to intimidate people who have real cause to sue. If you're poor, you lose your access to an attorney who might not take the chance. If you're poor, you might not take the chance.

Make no mistake. Tort reform's only intent is to limit regular people's access to redress in the courtroom.

Will the Flour Bluff Gay Straight Alliance club ever get to meet?

[Student Nikki]Peet said she hasn't heard when the club can begin meeting on campus or if she will have to resubmit her request to form the club. Her initial request was denied.

The committee will be appointed by Superintendent Julie Carbajal and will make its recommendations on non-curriculum club policies by the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

Carbajal will form the committee and appoint who will serve on it. District spokeswoman Lynn Kaylor said Carbajal has not decided the process.

"They have all summer to work on (the recommendations)," Kaylor said.

Carbajal is the a**hat who caused the problem in the first place by denying the gay straight club and then throwing out all extra curricula clubs.

Perry drains taxes from funding schools, then doesn't want to be blamed for teacher layoffs

Reduce property taxes that fund schools. Check. Take stimulus money meant to add to education coffers and distribute it to your crony friends. Check. Watch pubic education flounder. Check.

Texas school districts have for months pointed the finger at the state's spartan budget proposals for forcing them to lay off thousands of teachers and other employees.

On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry laid the blame for the impending dismissals at the feet of local administrators and school boards.

Being a republican is never having to say you're sorry. Accountability is for the little folks.

San Antonio Express News columnist, Veronica Flores-Paniagua, calls Perry 'shameless'. Shameless is a basic requirement to be a republican these days.

Texas republican seeks to kill idea of a quorum

A Texas House committee on Wednesday considered a proposed resolution by state Representative Dan Branch that says lawmakers who are out of state would not be counted as part of a House or Senate quorum.

Tom Craddick collapses

Former Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick fell and hit his head while giving testimony on a bill that would ban texting and driving.

Iowa reinstates fine against Texas company that exploited mentally disabled workers

You can't blame Henry's Turkey Service. In Texas, workers are meant to be exploited every which way the employer can think of. Who knew Iowa was different.

Cameron County election official on hot seat

The Cameron County Elections Commission Tuesday voted to table taking action on the job evaluation of Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz, but not before allegations were made that he showed favoritism to the Republican Party in the county judge’s race.

Dan Patrick says not to 'play politics' with the sonogram bill

Oh, so many parts of the republican brain are defective, including the irony processor.

“We are going to pass a good sonogram bill at the end of the day,” [State Senator Dan Patrick] said. “This is not a bill to play politics with.”

A good sonogram bill? And, by good you mean the bill that humiliates and denigrates women the most.

Flour Bluff ISD allows Gay Straight club For now.

It's amazing what some kids with fortitude and the ACLU can do

.A Gay-Straight Alliance club can meet on Flour Bluff High School’s campus for now, while a committee evaluates how the school treats non-curriculum clubs.

The Flour Bluff Independent School District board of trustees voted 4-2, with members Wade Chapman and Steve Ellis opposed, to direct the superintendent to temporarily allow all non-curriculum clubs to meet on campus, including a proposed Gay-Straight Alliance that had been prohibited.

Apparently, the board has more sense than the Superintendent.

Texas Trib says Todd Staples encourages vigilantes at our border

Hey, ya' got your gun. It's Friday night.  What the heck.

Texans advocating extreme solutions to secure the border — including land mines and booby traps on Texas farmland along the Rio Grande — have a new forum to share their views: a website operated by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples launched protectyourtexasborder.com last week to allow ranchers and farmers living on or close to the border to share stories, pictures and videos that document their daily struggles with drug cartels and undocumented immigrants. Staples said the purpose of the site, which can be accessed from the agriculture department’s web page, is to give the producers of the nation's food and livestock a portal to pressure the federal government to pay closer attention to their security.

But they're not just sharing their stories. A message board where site visitors can register, log in and post their proposed solutions includes calls to violence.

The white men in the senate disagree with the white men in the house over details on controlling women

republicans in the Texas legislature all agree that a women should have a wand forced up her ... during the early stages of a pregnancy. The Texas sonogram bill proves that republican men are despicable rapists. Ever wonder why John Cornyn wanted to shield cronies from rape charges?

How do you distinguish between the republican way of running an agency and fraud?

Just asking.

The Travis County District Attorney’s public integrity office, together with two state agencies, is probing possible fraud stemming from payments following Hurricane Ike by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.

The office, with the Texas Department of Insurance fraud team and the Texas State Auditor’s office, is looking into allegations that a Hurricane Ike claims adjuster was paid for work that was not done, and that claims were paid based on that outside adjuster’s say-so, an assistant DA confirmed in an interview. The investigation is also seeking specifics on the dismissals in December of two high-ranking claims employees at TWIA, Reggie Warren and Bill Knarr.

If republican cronies benefited, I'll bet there wouldn't be a peep.

South Texas will be scr*wed in redistricting

First, republicans will want to draw Blake Farenthold a safe seat. Next, republicans will draw a seat for turncoat Aaron Peña. Blllleck.

Flour Bluff ISD protest is colorful and educational for all

Waving rainbow flags and colorful signs, protesters gathered in front of Flour Bluff High School on Friday as they called on the district to approve an on-campus club supporting gay and lesbian students.

“This is about equal rights,” said Terrel S. Preston, a retired Air Force colonel and board member of Equality Texas, which lobbies lawmakers on gay rights. “This is about fair treatment under the law.”

Joe Frank Garza takes a plea deal

Former 79th District Attorney Joe Frank Garza took a plea deal Monday for suspended prison time for illegally paying himself and his employees hundreds of thousands of dollars from his office’s drug forfeiture fund.

Garza, who represented Brooks and Jim Wells counties until 2008, pleaded guilty to misapplication of fiduciary property, a first-degree felony.

Texas couldn't be bothered to run a DNA test for someone on death row

6 of the Supreme Court justices said allow the defense access to the materials. 3 of the Supreme Court justices voted as their usual a**hole selves.

Texas Tech admin enshrines gender pay inequity

Sexism, sexism, sexism.  I'd say that was so 1980s, but then we've got the republican renewed assault program on women.  No birth control or abortions for you.

Glass ceilings and gender pay gaps abound at Texas Tech, especially at the administrative level, according to an Avalanche-Journal analysis of more than 4,500 university salaries.

Although Tech’s gender-based pay and achievement gaps reflect a broader societal trend, gender equity advocates at Tech say the university’s imbalanced pay scales could threaten to derail its tier-one ambitions.

Bring on the law suits.

The Texas Tribune thinks the 'sonogram'/rape bill was of substance

Really?  Really?  You don't see it as red meat to the base?  A gesture to minimize and demean women?  Really?

The following quote appears on the Tribune front page and is buried in the story with the all telling text that appears between the hyphens missing.  Major boos to the online editor.  See post about disgusting pigs.  Substance my big ass.

'In the House, what starts with substance — abortion sonogram legislation, in this case — often ends with procedure.'

Dos Centavos lists the Democrats who join Texas republicans on the wall of shame

These 'Democrats' think it is just fine to force a sonogram wand up the ... of a woman who requests an abortion in Texas. Rape? Yes. Medical intrusion? You got it. Disgusting? Yes.

Who are these disgusting pigs?

Ryan Guillen, Tracy King, Jose Lozano, Armando Martinez, Sergio Munoz, Joe Pickett, Chente Quintanilla

It's time for our blogger roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for this Saturday's rally to save Texas schools in Austin as it brings you the weekly roundup.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted that Texas State Rep. Borris Miles of Houston called upon Texans to flood the State Capitol just as we are seeing in Wisconsin. Rep. Miles made the strong point that it is up to each Texan to decide to fight back against the brutal and vindictive budget and social policy legislation now being considered by our legislature in Austin.

Letters From Texas closed the loop on how decisions the Republicans in charge are making affect every aspect of your child's public school education, and it's even worse than you thought.

John at The Texas Cloverleaf is looking for your support to win a DFA sponsored scholarship to Netroots Nation 2011, and shows how you can apply for your own chance.

Bay Area Houston says State Rep Larry Taylor's TWIA is in TWOUBLE.

Off the Kuff notes that quite a few Republicans are now talking about using the Rainy Day Fund. Will they have the guts to go against Governor Perry? That remains to be seen.

This Week on Left of College Station, Teddy looks at the Center for Public Integrity’s investigation into sexual assault in Aggieland. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

Is DosCentavos making a return? Stace teases us with a smack-down upon the Democratic men who voted for the intrusive sonogram bill. Stay tuned for the return!

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows what 30 years of GOP degradation of government has left us, Debt and privatization, is that the future of Texas?

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw tells us Texas Taliban Impose More Government on Women . It is as bad as you think...

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that the republican war on workers, women, Hispanics, children and the poor is going gangbusters.

The Koch brothers are poised to make another bundle if the Keystone XL pipeline is approved, writes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

WhosPlayin went after Texas GOP Congressman Michael Burgess, who is pushing a bill to sell war bonds to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, and whatever war is next. Problem: Burgess thinks bonds are free money, having told the Air Force Times that they don't add to the debt and you don't have to raise taxes to pay for them. The Republican War on Arithmetic continues...

Free parking downtown a thing of the past?

Texas republicans choose insurance companies over Texans

Again. And, who could possibly be surprised. republicans love their corporate cronies. You? Not so much.

State regulators hoped to tighten rules for one particular investment that has cost Texans hundreds of millions of dollars.

But the Legislature is not going to come through for consumers.

Not one lawmaker has introduced a bill that would clarify state law on the life settlement industry and determine whether the investments -- essentially bets on when a stranger will die -- are securities.

Both the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas State Securities Board requested a law to tighten consumer protections, as other states have done. But the agencies couldn't find any takers among legislators.

Texas workers die because republicans like their corporate cronies more than you

I really hope that the union busting antics let people connect the dots. republicans like banks, oil companies and hedge fund mangers. The rich can make off with trillions in profits. Regular working stiffs are meant to be ... stiffed. Regulation means fair play and the republicans want none of that.

Protesting a tragedy state Sen. Eddie Lucio says often hits Hispanics hardest, construction workers and workplace safety advocates marched on the Capitol carrying 138 coffins, one for each construction site death in Texas in 2009.

Atheists billboards coming back to Houston

The latest ones coming to the area will read "You don't need God--to hope, to care, to love, to live," a campaign by the Center for Inquiry that debuted in D.C. this week and will spread to Indianapolis and Houston in coming weeks, according to an AP report.

Cue the screams from those who want to impose their religion on you and yours. These are the same folks who wrap themselves in our constitution and have no idea what it means.

The Texas Legislature's war on women is exposed with Vasectomy amendment

Yup. Forcing a woman to have a wand stuck up her ... well you know, is meant to be demeaning and invasive. The proposed Vasectomy amendment shows that some legislators recognize the republicans assault on women.

State Reps. Marisa Marquez and Naomi Gonzalez, both Democrats, said that if the state is going to mandate pre-abortion sonograms, it should also require vasectomies for promiscuous men.

Gay divorce case goes to the Texas Supreme Court

The Texas Supreme Court is 100% partisan. Good luck there. Don't expect justice.

More than two years after he filed an uncontested petition for divorce, attorneys for the gay Dallas resident known as “J.B.” have appealed his case to the Texas Supreme Court.

Get ready for billboards at our state parks

When you go to a park, aren't you kind of looking for peaceful, green spaces? Not if you're a republican. Then, you're looking for ways your cronies can make money at the public expense. How would advertising in parks promote tourism exactly? republican logic.

This headline says it all about the character of Rick Perry

'Gov. Rick Perry erects office barricades after disabled Texans staged sit-in'

King Rick has nothing but disdain for the people of Texas. Even his Twitter feeds are 'special' access. No newspaper interviews. No debates. Just Royal Rick, the royal a**hole.

ACLU stands up for kids in Flour Bluff ISD fight

Flour Bluff Independent School District has until Wednesday to approve a proposed club supporting gay and lesbian students or it may face a lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union announced.

Does Flour Bluff have that much extra money this year that they can afford to throw it away on a lawsuit?

The Corpus Christi Caller Times rightly asks what lessons Flour Bluff ISD is teaching.

The more important issues here are about what the district is trying to teach its students at this delicate time in their lives, and what it hopes to accomplish by banishing this group and the others. The group's expressed intent is to "bring tolerance and acceptance to the school and community." The district's decision to enforce the 2005 policy may be technically correct. The message to students isn't tolerance.

It's obvious that the Flour Bluff ISD is encouraging other students to hate the GSA students. Who will be blamed for getting the clubs kicked out?  I know who I blame and it isn't someone under the age of 21.

Cameron County Judge may discipline elections administrator over handling of Judge's election

Does anyone else see a conflict of interest here?

The Cameron County Elections Commission will meet next week to discuss the job performance of Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz and the events that transpired in one of the most controversial elections in the county.

The meeting was called by Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos, who also serves as chairman of the Elections Commission.

...

It took almost a month after the Nov. 2 general election for Commissioners Court to approve the final vote count in the county judge’s race. Unofficial results after election night found Cascos with a lead over Wood by only 80 votes, so Wood asked for a recount.

Psst. Voter id would not have helped this situation.

So much for republicans 'reaching out' to Hispanics

It's been racism 24/7.

Lawmakers debate whether this will be the worst ever session for Hispanics

At a panel addressing the rising Hispanic majority in Texas, state Rep. Mike Villarreal said that this legislative session could be “the worst in recent memory” for the state’s Latino population.

Citing cuts to Pre-K, public school, and college grants, Villarreal, a San Antonio Democrat, said that even as it surges forward in record numbers, the Hispanic population could suffer setbacks that will leave it reeling for years to come.

Interviewed by the Guardian afterwards, state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, a fellow panelist, agreed with Villarreal, noting that in addition to numerous budgeting maneuvers that would hit Latinos hardest, “There are so many bills that target the Hispanic community.”

The McAllen Democrat said cuts to education and health care will have a “devastating impact” on Hispanic communities. “So, yes, I agree this could be the worst session for the Hispanic population and it could have an impact for years to come. We do not want to lose the future.”

Texas disabled protest at Capitol

About 35 Texans in wheelchairs, denouncing proposed state budget cuts, staged a sit-in outside Gov. Rick Perry’s Capitol office late Tuesday.

Protesters with the disability rights group Adapt of Texas vowed to stay until they were removed or arrested.

Chief organizers Bob Kafka and David Wittie said the group also would disperse if Perry agreed in writing to its demand that Texas use all its rainy-day money and raise other revenue to avoid cuts to community-based long-term-care services. The Republican governor has urged lawmakers not to use any rainy-day money and opposes tax increases.

For Rick Perry, if you aren't a crony, why bother to breathe.

A republican lawmaker makes sense about the budget

Please help me, I'm having the vapors.

State Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, would rather raise taxes a little bit than make the cuts lawmakers are considering now, he said this evening.

You mean to tell me that raising taxes is an option for balancing a budget?

Democrats make a slight difference in the Texas Senate

Who knew.

In a bid to defuse a partisan showdown, the name of Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley was temporarily stricken Tuesday from a list of nominees to be submitted to the full Senate for confirmation.

Nominations Committee Chairman Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, said he plans to submit the list of Monday's nominees to the Senate for approval — possibly as early as today — without Bradley's name.

It's nice to know that the bully, batsh*t crazy level in the Texas Senate hasn't risen to the 'let's do that to show who's in charge and to p*ss you off' level. Yet.  A few more batsh*t primary rounds should do that trick.

Rick Paper blew off newspapers in his 2010 race, now it's reporters he doesn't like

How nice it is to believe that you are royalty and not in power by and for the people of Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry has been telling us for years that newspapers are as dead as yesterday's coyote.

So if we're not worth his valuable time -- then why is he de-tweeting us?

As of Tuesday, Perry or someone using his personal Twitter.com account has specifically singled out and blocked at least six Texas journalists from following his posts at www.twitter.com/GovernorPerry.

What a jerk.

Who owns the water under your land?

Then, there's that tricky point about flowing water moving around, ignoring property boundaries.

Legislators will try to settle a famously murky water issue this session without penalizing landowners or flooding water regulators with lawsuits.

Landowners have the right to drill for water beneath their property, but a legal argument erupts when someone asks at what point they actually own the water.

What do the cronies want? Nothing like having control of the people's water supply.

What republicans do when given a huge budget shortfall

Harass women, the elderly, the sick and the poor. 'Voter ID, sonogram bills set on fast track'

What's the point of having power, if you can't kick a lot of people around? Ah, the mindset of a bully republican. Never worry about promoting the general welfare.  Just flex your tiny muscles and cater to your cronies.

The good news?  Turncoat Aaron Peña got a large dose of racism in his face.

“The danger of voter fraud is the illegals that come into this country and vote fraudulently,” said David Carter, an elections volunteer from Temple. “Photo ID kills that problem.”

But state Rep. Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, said there is surely not a "horde of illegal immigrants voting."

Peña should get over the idea that logic or facts are important, if he's going to be a republican.  Racism, kicking the underdog and cronies are what it's all about.

Rick Perry says Juarez is the 'most dangerous city in America'

Nobody's that stupid.  Are they?

During a sit down with reporters on Monday, the Texas governor incorrectly identified Juarez — located across the Rio Grande, and border, from El Paso — as “the most dangerous city in America.”

Just like his buds Sarah Palin and George Bush. Remember him?

Here's a headline for ya'

State: Windstorm agency 'hazardous to the public'

This is what happens when promoting cronies trumps promoting the general welfare.

In a letter to [TWIA general manager, Jim] Oliver, the state Insurance Department said that the management of the windstorm association "does not have the experience, competence or trustworthiness to operate TWIA in a safe and sound manner."

Apparently, TWIA settled some claims and a Democratic trial lawyer got fees from lawsuits. Don't these people know that republican run government agencies do not exist to serve the people of Texas?

The Galveston County Daily News doesn't like the city council to criticize the police chief

[Galveston City Councilman Chris] Gonzales has made many statements in public — including statements to the newspaper and at council meetings that were broadcast on public access television — saying that he wanted to be rid of police Chief Charles Wiley.

Gonzales’ plan to retire Wiley was to confront him with a lot of old, half-baked accusations and to threaten to take the information to The Daily News if he didn’t agree to step down.

The charter does not envision council members making such retirement arrangements for employees.

If a city council member believes that the police chief is very bad for the city, then it is necessary to take some corrective action. Would the Galveston County Daily News expect that all action be done behind closed doors and through the good graces of the city manager?

Flour Bluff ISD hates gays more than it loves Christians

How silly and unnecessary this will all seem in 100 years. The Texas Tribune has the salaries of school district superintendents around Texas. I think Flour Bluff pays too much.

In response to Nikki Peet and advocate Paul Rodriguez's push to start a gay-straight alliance, the school district decided to prohibit all extra-curricular clubs from meeting on campus, pending legal review. "The attention is turning from GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) against Flour Bluff, to GSA and everyone else who wants a club on campus to come out and support and join together to try to get all of the clubs back," said Rodriguez, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

There will be protests starting this Friday at 9AM.