Donna sergant arrested for pepper spraying youth in holding cell

A Donna police sergeant who allegedly fired pepper spray on a 17-year-old jail inmate last week was arrested on brutality charges by Hidalgo County Sheriff’s deputies Monday evening.

More toll roads coming

Because republicans believe that adding a profit motive and adding a profit to the cost of basic services is a good thing. Especially, if their crony is getting the profits and the taxpayers are paying the costs.

A project to build northbound and southbound connectors from U.S. Expressway 77/83 to the future SH 550 toll road has received $25.5 million from the Texas Department of Transportation.

The connectors will be developed where SH 550 meets Expressway 77/83 at North Olmito Road. The funding for the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority project comes from TxDOT’s Pass Through Financing Program, which will reimburse the CCRMA each year to service the debt on the money CCRMA borrowed for construction.

It time for the blogger roundup!

No matter what the Lege chooses to do, the Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for summer as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff suggests that maybe a Rick Perry Presidential campaign might not be such a bad thing after all.

The demise of the 'sanctuary cities' bill in the closing days of the Texas Legislature's 82nd session represents a "strategic victory" for Rick Perry, according to Mark Jones at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs also notes, in other news, that a Blue Angels-like formation of flying pigs is circling the state capital.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Bill Gates is helping republicans destroy our public education system. Could it be all of that potential revenue from computerized curricula?

The Texas Ledge-The Gift That Keeps On Giving has sunk to a new low. refinish69 is stunned that the budget appropriation for the homeless situation in Texas has been cut to ZERO!!!

This week at Left of College Station, Teddy asks the question who is the Texas Public Policy Foundation? Then he takes a look at the power, influence, and money at work on the Board of Directors on the TPPF, and the man behind the so-called “breakthrough solutions,” Jeff Sandefer.

McBlogger takes a look at the compromises Speaker Straus had to make to the Teabaggers and their allies, compromises that will more than likely return Texas to recession.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted that Democratic Houston Mayor Annise Parker has proposed a city budget that is balanaced on the backs of city workers and on citizens of Houston who are most in need of city services.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson has an update on What's been happening in Williamson County.

republicans used another method to kill your access to the legal system

Justice and the law is only for rich people in the world of republican governance.

State Sen. José Rodríguez is predicting layoffs at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and other legal service programs around the state following the demise of one of his top legislative agenda items.

“We had approximately $32.5 million for legal aid. And now it is totally gone,” the freshman senator from El Paso told the Guardian on Sunday.

Rodríguez said the legal aid funding was needed to assist veterans’ access their VA benefits, seniors who have been wrongly denied Medicare prescriptions or other benefits, families facing foreclosures or who have housing and shelter issues, and individuals requiring legal documents for medical treatment and related services.

The republican philosophy? Why don't those old and those poor people just die?

Here's a headline that shouldn't surprise anyone

It's from the Dallas Morning News and a subscription is required to read the full article.

'Perry donor and tech fund official had ties to companies that got awards'

Rick Perry is the poster boy republican - all about using taxpayer dollars for his cronies. republicans call that privatization. Who else could think that adding a profit and a profit motive to providers of basic services will make those services more attractive to regular people. Adding profit just rations basic services and makes cronies rich and richer. I'd call that what it is - public corruption.

This Memorial Day I was thinking about Pearl Harbor

The service members were in beautiful Hawaii practicing for war. They never expected to be attacked as they were. Two hours of hell rained down. Some sailors were trapped alive in their ship for 17 days till they perished. From beauty to horror so fast. Pearl Harbor made me think about service members today ... wherever they are ... can be at risk in seconds. I am thankful for those that have served and for those that will.

Have a good Memorial Day.

Oh, come on. Who really thinks anyone has to beg Rick Perry to run for president?

Give me a gd break.

The pressure is on for Rick Perry to reverse his position and abandon his longtime refusal to consider a race for president. Conservative pundits have been begging the conservative Texan to enter the enthusiasm-challenged GOP presidential field.

I'm sure little Rickie would love to show up little Georgie Porgie.

There is no doubt he is running. The support of the Hispanic House republicans has got to be a well orchestrated ploy.

The members of the Hispanic Republican Conference today endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for president in 2012.

Like I said, give me a gd break!

Democrats said no to Perry appointments

In a pointed message to Gov. Rick Perry, Senate Democrats again have rejected the governor's choice to lead the State Board of Education, in large part because of the board's approval of controversial curriculum standards that are being challenged as discriminatory and historically inaccurate.

Senate rejection of a governor's nominee is rare. But in back-to-back rejections, Senate Democrats this week blocked the confirmation of State Board of Education Chair Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas. Two years ago, they busted down her predecessor Don McLeroy, R-Bryan.

"The message from us is the State Board has become the board of ideology rather than the board that's focused on the education of Texas children," Senate Democratic Caucus leader Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio said on Thursday. "It's ideology first and education second."

Not just ideology. Perry and his republican friends want to take your taxpayer dollars and give them to their cronies.  republicans do not promote the general welfare.  republicans promote themselves and their cronies.

Did you know that there is a Federal agency originally designed to promote worker safety?

With today's batsh*t crazy people screaming about corporate rights every two seconds you might have forgotten.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied $61,000 in fines against Sam Kane Beef Processor Inc. for safety hazards, according to an agency news release.

The fines result from a December safety and health inspection at the company's Leopard Street facility.

Among OSHA's findings were the following violations: Failing to ensure the safe and proper use of step ladders, not keeping floor surfaces free of water to prevent slipping and not providing an adequate and timely emergency response plan for night shift workers.

Our country is fighting to keep government by the people and for the people. republicans want it to be government for the corporations and the wealthy and to h*ll with the people.

Bill Gates' Teach for America puts profits in private pockets and quickly made to order teachers into the classroom

Why should you care? Do you live in America?

The doublespeak of ed reformers who repeatedly declare that the key to a successful education is to put an “excellent” teacher in every classroom, and then turn around and promote young, Teach for America recruits — with only five weeks’ training, no in-class experience, and only a two-year commitment to the profession — as the answer, has come into sharp focus at the University of Washington in Seattle these past two weeks.

On May 11, the University of Washington’s College of Education announced it would sponsor Teach for America at its teaching college, providing the missing component to the deal that TFA, Inc. struck with the Seattle School District last fall.

Last November, Seattle’s school board approved a (troubling and one-sided) contract to allow TFA, a short-term alternative teacher credentialing program, into Seattle’s hiring pool for the first time. TFA, Inc. also demands a financial and university sponsor in order to brings its program to a new location, and charges school districts an extra $4,000 or more per year for each trainee it hires, in “recruitment, placement and training” fees. (Evidently the millions of dollars from private investors and the $50 million recently granted to TFA, Inc. by the federal government isn’t enough to cover expenses.) Those in the parent ed advocacy community guessed that corporate ed reform sugardaddy Bill Gates would pony up at some point. And he did — his new Washington STEM organization will pay the $4,000 annual fee for the science and math TFAers, which would otherwise be billed to our cash-strapped district. But who would be the university sponsor? We waited for an announcement.

Do you live in the Valley?

The hallways and teachers’ lounges at IDEA Public Schools have been buzzing with talk of the leaking of dozens of emails from the district account of CEO and founder Tom Torkelson last weekend.

...

But several exposed — often quite bluntly — the potential, or lack thereof, for teachers to advance into leadership roles, criticism of an administrator from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo schools, IDEA’s preference for Teach for America recruits and hiring formulas and future expansion into San Antonio or Austin

Greedy corporate a**h*les are figuring out how to make every essential public service a for profit endeavor. Soon Enron types will be running everything. Do you think that these greedy a**h*les will promote the general welfare or promoting their own extensive fortunes?

Check back around the 26th

Won't be near a computer for about two weeks.

republicans in Texas legislature pass their own bills to kill Medicare and Medicaid

Cause republicans want you to just drop dead after you've cleaned their houses, mowed their lawns, and worked 80 hours per week for their companies. After all that, how healthy can you be anyway?

But that message [people like Medicare and Medicaid] hasn’t made its way to Texas, where state lawmakers are moving full speed ahead on their own efforts to take control of — and then restructure — both Medicare and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health care program that primarily serves poor children and the disabled.

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst’s “health care compact” bill, HB 5 — which would effectively ask the federal government to give Texas and other states block grants to run Medicaid and Medicare as they see fit — passed easily out of the House, and was heard in a Senate committee on Tuesday. That’s despite Democrats’ warnings that any effort to redesign Medicare will terrify, or potentially harm, seniors and a failed attempt by Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, to remove Medicare from the Texas compact bill.

I don't understand how people keep electing these clowns. The people get the leaders they deserve either by their apathy or their hate.

Port of Corpus Christi is selling Harbor Island

republicans like to take public assets and get them into their cronies' hands.

The Port of Corpus Christi is selling its Harbor Island property for possible industrial or residential development.

Port commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to give real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield exclusive rights to sell or lease the Harbor Island property.

The island, located near Port Aransas along the ship channel, was once used by ships to unload oil.

Is Corpus Christi taking domestic violence seriously?

What's wrong with this paragraph?

Last year, the department's victim assistance program helped about 3,769 victims. It's unclear how many cases end because of victims who either won't cooperate or no longer can be found. [police Lt. Rebeca] Schauer said police don't track those numbers because the department already knows it's an issue.

Numbers aren't tracked just to see how serious an issue is. You need the numbers to see what progress or lack of progress you are making. That paragraph sends a disturbing message about the way Corpus Christi is treating domestic violence cases.

Here's a strange headline

'Former Jim Wells DA Reports To Jail'

Although, with so many reports of prosecutor misconduct, you'd think it would happen more often.

Former District Attorney Joe Frank Garza reported to the county jail today to begin serving a 180 day sentence for the misuse of drug forfeiture funds.

It's way past time to legalize drugs

I guess it's better late than never.

Marines who were patrolling Falcon Lake along the Texas-Mexico border discovered a drug gang camp on an island, sparking a gun battle that left 13 people dead, the Mexican Navy said Monday.

After republicans slash Medicaid, doctors will flee the Valley

You know what the republicans are thinking: Just let those brown people die. After they clean my house, dig my ditch and make me a breakfast taco.

But as state legislators reduce government reimbursement rates for physicians who accept Medicaid patients, Valley healthcare advocates worry the tighter purse strings could force physicians like Ferrufino to depart the Valley after finding it nearly impossible to practice here amid lower payments from their primary customer base.

A budget the state Senate approved Wednesday cuts reimbursement rates to Medicaid providers by 6 percent, compared with the 10 percent reduction proposed in the Texas House. The Senate budget replaced $3 billion in rainy-day funding by bumping Medicaid payments to the end of the budget period, with state budget writers promising to add the money back if Texas’ revenues improve.

For republicans, only rich people deserve health care.

Is lead poisoning the reason for high rates of kidney disease in Hispanics?

In the borderland, Mexican candy, folk remedies and industrial pollution all are sources of lead that can build up in a person's blood and settle into bone.

A recent Texas Tech study examined blood-lead levels in 245 area residents as a first step toward understanding why Hispanics suffer serious kidney disease at rates double that of non-Hispanic Anglos.

It is known that high levels of lead exposure damage kidneys. The Texas Tech study found that even small increases in blood-lead levels can have significant negative impacts on the kidneys.

"The higher your blood-lead levels, the lower your kidney function," said Dr. German Hernandez, the study's author. The study did not look at where patients were exposed to lead.

Hernandez's data also will allow researchers to begin studying how lead affects health throughout a person's life cycle, said Maria Amaya, a University of Texas at El Paso professor who has studied blood-lead levels in children.

It's the Monday TPA blog showcase

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a good Mother's Day as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff takes a look at the new House districts to see what opportunities exist for Democrats.

Nat-Wu of Three Wise Men takes a look at local elections in Irving.

BossKitty at TruthHugger sees a divided America is easy pickings for anyone who is really organized. If the Tea Party succeeds, America becomes a loose federation of independent states, all programs and responsibility for regulation will fall into individual state hands. Everyone in each state will foot the bill for services previously funded by the Federal government. Tea Party would replace big government with Corporate Governance ... they don't want funding for anything because their corporate buddies will be in charge. Federal Government in the crosshairs REDUX – OpEd.

This week the GOP majority in the Texas Senate rammed through a partisan budget. Why did they do that? WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows why, Seed Corn & Koch money.

sccs over at TexasKaos notes with some sadness how few women we have in prominent offices here in Texas. Check it out: Women in Texas Politics.

For years now, South Texas Chisme has been watching the battles between the racist republicans and the greedy corporate republicans over immigration. Symbolic hate that allows workers to be exploited still appears to be the winning solution.

Planned Parenthood of South Texas' annual luncheon in Houston -- attended by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs -- featured pollster Celinda Lake and some revealing statistics regarding the birth of the death of Republican overreach.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote this week about the Forced Sonogram bill that will soon be law in Texas. If the State of Texas can compel one type of unwanted medical procedure, what stops Texas from mandating other unwanted medical procedures?

At WhosPlayin, BCooper addresses the frequent and erroneous usage of the term "sanctuary city" to describe Lewisville by radical right-wing Council candidates running on anti-immigration platforms.

Class Actions? Not so much any more according to our Supreme Court. Harry Balczak takes a look at yet another decision from the Great Red Justices on the Supreme Court the weakens consumers and strengthens corporations.

Racist republicans itching to harass brown people

republican politicians have spent decades whipping up the hate in their base. No wonder that today's crop of politicians are largely a bunch of racists, themselves.

Is it about security or racial profiling? Will it financially drain local governments through unfunded mandates? Is it an innocuous tool that simply allows law enforcement to ask more questions? Will U.S. citizens be targets of harassment? Will it stain Texas with the reputation Arizona thrust upon itself?

The Texas House will likely entertain those and other sensitive questions when House Bill 12, commonly referred to as the “sanctuary cities” bill, hits the chamber's floor on Friday. Observers expect the item, one of five declared an "emergency" by Gov. Rick Perry, to test how far lawmakers are willing to go to address the issue of illegal immigration in Texas. Fifty-nine amendments, mostly authored by Democrats, have already been filed.

Well, duh, yes, it's about making people the republicans don't like feel unwelcome.  Texas is already a joke to the rest of the country and to the world.  George Bush set us on the track of shame with his horrible record in office and Rick Perry has moved us further along with Tea Party sensibilities.

Disgraced former State rep to have name removed from health clinic

Legislation has been filed to remove the name of former state Rep. Jim Solis from a state-owned outpatient clinic in Harlingen.

Solis, an attorney, pleaded guilty to extortion last week in a federal court in Brownsville. He served as state representative for Harlingen and San Benito for 14 years until his retirement from public office in 2007.

If a Corpus Christi City Council candidate supports Las Brisas, VOTE AGAINST HIM!!

In fact, if a city council candidate doesn't denounce Las Brisas, vote against him.

The City Council previously passed a resolution to have the city manager negotiate a water contract with the company. At-large incumbent Mark Scott stood by his decision to negotiate the water contract. At-large candidate David Loeb said he opposed that decision because he felt it was a missed opportunity for the council to discuss what Las Brisas would mean for the city. He didn't take a position on Las Brisas. At-large candidate Roland Gaona didn't attend.

Who like Mark Scott anyway?

Texas republicans make it easier for businesses to hire undocumented workers

Despite the growing clamor for Texas businesses to adopt a federal employment verification system that some say would clamp down on the hiring of illegal immigrants, state lawmakers say they need more time to evaluate the system.

republicans have to balance the racist hate of the base with the greed of their corporate masters.

South side growth will force Nueces County to redistrict

Nueces County went from a population of about 313,000 in 2000 to 342,000 in 2010.

Commissioner Joe McComb's Precinct 4, which includes the city's sprawling Southside, Padre Island and miles of beaches, saw an increase of more than 20,000 people between those years.

Longoria says he's not guilty in Limas corruption case

Jose Manuel Longoria pleaded not guilty Wednesday to extortion and wire fraud in federal court in Brownsville. The wire fraud charge is related to the racketeering case of former 404th state District Judge Abel C. Limas.

Adios, Dan Ramos

Bexar County Democratic Party leaders voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to remove ailing and embattled Chairman Dan Ramos for misconduct and neglect of duty.

The 104-5 vote by the party's executive committee came despite a desperate attempt by Ramos to call off the meeting.

Old republican white males think women should be barefoot and pregnant

Bring your man a beer on your way to the kitchen to make that fried chicken dinner.

A state health program that helps low-income women get birth control, Pap smears and cancer screenings could cease to exist as some lawmakers try to shore up their anti-abortion credentials.

About 120,000 women are covered monthly by the Women's Medicaid Health Program, which must be renewed this year to continue. The state provides about $3 million annually to keep the program afloat and gets about $28 million in matching money from the federal government.

republicans have nothing but contempt for women.

Edcouch city officials fighting each other

Rolando Reyes, the stepfather of Edcouch Mayor Robert Schmalzried, was charged with assault, a Class A misdemeanor, for a dustup he got into Monday with Mayor Pro Tem Eddy Gonzalez outside the police department.


Edcouch police did not release incident details Wednesday. But Schmalzried, who is up for re-election next month, said the fight began when Gonzalez slapped him in the council board room after he accused Gonzalez of organizing an illegal city council meeting Friday.

After a janitor broke up the confrontation between the two elected officials, the two men went to file police reports against each other, Schmalzried said. Chief Eloy Cardenas told both men he would arrest both of them if they decided to press charges against each other.

More colonias in Nueces County than you might think

The Nueces County Commissioners say they will try to tackle the problem of colonias tomorrow.

People who live in the rural subdivisions, often live without running water and utilities.

But one county commissioner tells Six News that the number of colonias in Nueces County is bigger than anyone realizes, in part because many areas that should be classified as colonias, haven't been officially declared as such.

Up next in Abel Limas corruption case is Jose Longoria

A defendant in the criminal case against former 404th state District Judge Abel C. Limas is scheduled for arraignment today in federal court in Brownsville.

Jose Manuel Longoria, 52, of San Benito, will appear before U. S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio at 8:45 a.m. to answer to charges of extortion, wire fraud and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

The wire fraud charge is related to the racketeering conviction of Limas, who pleaded guilty on March 31.

Comptroller is hiding actions after data exposure was revealed

On March 31, the Texas Comptroller's Office says, it discovered that personal information of 3.5 million Texans had been posted on a public computer server.

So what were agency officials doing over the next five days to address that problem?

That remains unclear — in part because the comptroller's office has declined to release any documents from March 31 through April 5 that are related to the incident.

republicans have incredible distain for women

Labeled "emergency" legislation by Gov. Rick Perry early in the session, the bill would require the image to be shown to the woman at least 24 hours before an abortion is performed. It also would require doctors or medical professionals to play audio of the fetal heartbeat if there is one and point out to the woman the arms, legs and internal organs of the fetus.

A woman could choose not to view the sonogram or hear the heartbeat but would be required to listen as the medical professional points out the arms, legs and internal organs that are visible on the screen.Victims of rape and incest would be exempt from the sonogram requirement, under Patrick's bill.

republicans are despicable.

Shame, shame on the Houston Chronicle

Do you remember Bush nonchalantly, you know his routine, dismissing the hunt for Bin Laden?

Who knows if he’s hiding in some cave or not. We haven’t heard from him in a long time. The idea of focusing on one person really indicates to me people don’t understand the scope of the mission. Terror is bigger than one person. He’s just a person who’s been marginalized. … I don’t know where he is. I really just don’t spend that much time on him, to be honest with you.

So, why does the Chronicle have this headline?

Obama picked up where Bush left off
Both presidents stand to get a boost to their reputations after the successful raid

Bull f**king sh*t!! Bush gave up the hunt for Bin Laden and the edge in crushing Al-Qaeda to invade Iraq.  I wouldn't be surprised  if his Saudi friends told him to back off.  Apparently, the Houston Chronicle is pushing the propaganda.

Blake Farenthold calls the unemployed druggies and alcoholics

No doubt that republicans hold ordinary citizens in contempt.

Freshman Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold held a town hall Tuesday at which he compared jobless Texans to drug users and alcoholics [1]. Farenthold advocates slashing social services and unemployment benefits severely because “until things get bad enough there’s no incentive to change.”

Lets hold Farenthold in contempt.

republicans swagger and strut. Democrats get stuff done.

Witness Bush with his false 'Mission Accomplished' codpiece theater.  Witness today's republican front runner Donald Trump.  Compare these clowns with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  Birth certificate my ass.

Update:  I was just switching between MSNBC and Fox News watching the Medal of Honor ceremony for the Korean soldiers when I noticed something odd.  The Fox News shot shows Obama darker than the MSNBC shot.  Same shot, darkened picture.  Hummm.  I wondered what Fox News would say and do today.  Got to throw something to the racist, republican base.  Nothing more important to them than skin color.

Was the stinky Brownsville airport deal sunk because of a due diligence report?

Or, was that just a convenient excuse to let go of a deal made public by a competitor?

For the due diligence report, BEDC requested extensive documentation from PCI and CAT, including financials going back three years; proof of legal authority to provide the proposed passenger service; a list of the companies’ owners and officers; a business plan; details of the operational agreement between PCI and CAT; certificates of good-standing from the companies’ respective states; and financials on another Gallagher venture, Aviation Technologies Inc.

BEDC did not receive all the information it requested, such as details on Aviation Technologies. Gallagher said he declined to provide financials on that company since it wasn’t involved in the Fly Frontera deal.

Nevertheless, the missing data made a complete due diligence review impossible, said BEDC’s Gilberto Salinas. Much of the requested documentation was not provided in CAT’s case.

McAllen residents are good people

Not selfish, mean and power hungry like republicans.

Residents support raises for police and firefighters, even if McAllen must increase property taxes or cut city services to afford them, according to a citywide survey.

It's Monday blog roundup time!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is proud of President Obama and the Navy SEALS as it brings you this week's roundup.

Marxists, CFL light bulbs, and Paul Tsongas? These topics and more were discussed during the recent Congressman Michael Burgess town hall meeting in Frisco, covered by the Texas Cloverleaf.

We have a new map for the State House. Off the Kuff has a first look at it.

At TexasKaos, liberaltexan explains the Republican Path to Plutocracy. Are you listening Paul Ryan?

Former Texas Lt. Governor Bill Hobby served in the office longer than anybody else. So when Hobby sounded the alarm bell on Texas' lack of leadership, in a poem he wrote entitled "The Perverted Village," Letters From Texas figured people better listen up.

Texas state comptroller Susan Combs is under intense fire for allowing the personal data of 3.5 million Texans unsecured for more than a year. Calls for her resignation and various lawsuits aren't being quelled by her belated apologies and offers to pay for credit monitoring services for those affected. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs sees a political career crashing in flames, and a scrum among the GOP sharks in the tank to eventually replace her.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts that it's finally here, Texas Democrats have the opportunity they've been waiting for.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that republicans are going gangbusters killing public education and other institutions.

This week, McBlogger asks David Stockman to STOP THE DEFICIT MADNESS!

Neil at Texas Liberal noted that former Texas Lt. Governor Bill Hobby---very much an establishment figure---is wondering if the Republican intent in the ongoing legislative session is to ruin Texas.