Sonogram bill hit on grounds of free speech

What about a woman's right to her own body? Or, a woman's right to make decisions for herself?

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key provisions of Texas' new law requiring a doctor to perform a sonogram before an abortion, ruling the measure violates the free speech rights of both doctors and patients.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks upheld the requirement that sonograms be performed, but struck down the provisions requiring doctors to describe the images to their patients and requiring women to hear the descriptions.

Rapist enabler, John Cornyn, likes a display of force at our border

What is it with fake machismo republicans anyway?

The United States should spend $6 billion to hire 5,000 new Customs and Border Protection officers and upgrade the nation’s ports of entry, including the aging Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, Sen. John Cornyn said Tuesday.

The Texas Republican outlined his border security plan while standing on the bridge, surrounded by local mayors. Cornyn met with Rio Grande Valley officials before announcing the bill, called the Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2011.

Security appeared tighter than normal during Cornyn’s visit, and several machine-gun toting CBP agents stood nearby while he spoke to a gaggle of reporters.

I'll bet Rick Perry and George Bush would have liked to have seen those CBP agents all decked out in their gear holding those very big guns.

Has anybody else noticed that the Iowa straw poll hay bales make a nice prop for manly men to pose with one leg out stretched on the bale. Do they all have to show off their packages?

A health care industry shill likes Perry

This American Spectator article is full of crap about Perry and jobs - most of the new jobs were government jobs - and Perry and health care. Texas has an abysmal record on health care any way you look at it.

But, it is interesting to see who is taking which side.   When I see crap articles, I immediately wonder who is paying off whom.

John Cornyn is having a meeting in the Valley, but you're not invitied

John Cornyn, who famously voted to enable rapists, excludes you.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is to host a roundtable discussion with local elected officials, port directors and business leaders in the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday.

Cornyn said the roundtable discussion, which is closed to the press and public, will focus on ways to boost economic opportunity along the border through enhanced security and efficiency at U.S. ports of entry.

republicans do no believe in open government or democracy.

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

'Corpus Christi ISD needs to ensure faith in its bid process'

The formal complaint by 32 local architects and engineers against the design team chosen for a Corpus Christi middle school is highly unusual, perhaps unprecedented. Without rushing to judgment, the sheer volume of complaint signers is a statement that can't be ignored. And since not all of the complainants bid on the project, they're less easily dismissed as sour grapes.

A major complaint was the discussion of fees at a trustees meeting. I don't understand why that is prohibited. All bidders should follow the same rules, I can see that.

If a congressional rep won't hold town hall meetings, are the constituents still going to be angry?

Oh, you know that they are. With social media, blogs and other forms of instant communications, that anger is shared and known. The days of isolating dissidents is over.

What a job? Become a hurricane worker

Climate change does bring about some jobs. Not to mention rebuilding after a very large hurricane.

Hidalgo County will hire up to 70 temporary workers to remove debris and repair damages caused by Hurricane Alex and complete other work intended to prepare the county’s drainage ditches for the next hurricane.

Insurance and drugs companies have killed our health care system

Greed, greed and more greed. Promoting the general welfare is anathema to greedy corporate b*st*rds. Slowly, but surely only the very rich will be able to afford the few doctors we have.

The national health care debate continues, but Nueces County doesn't have the luxury of debating its policy much longer.

The fund that pays for indigent health care for the county's poorest residents is due to run out of money in three years.

To make the fund solvent, county commissioners would need to raise taxes for the hospital district by 8 percent several years in a row.

They're not willing to do that, County Judge Loyd Neal said.

Every mature democracy except ours has a single payer health care system. What is wrong with us? Greed and the politicians who cater to corporate interests.

It's time for the TPA blog roundup

The Texas Progressive Alliance, which has some experience in these matters, extends its best wishes to the east coast as it recovers from Hurricane Irene. Here now is the roundup:

Off the Kuff notes that Texas' unemployment rate is at its highest level since the days of the oil bust. Maybe firing thousands of teachers and other public employees isn't such a hot idea.

Sanger ISD Administrators make fun of Rick Perry in a Hee-Haw sing along skit.

A Houston city council candidate has affixed hundreds of his campaign signs to utility poles -- in violation of both city ordinance and the utility company's rules -- throughout the city, many of them 20- and 30-feet off the ground. This candidate, an attorney, blames "overzealous volunteers" and makes no promise to remove them. This candidate's name is Eric Dick. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs asks the (hopefully obvious) question: does Houston really need another dick on city council?

How can you tell that republicans are batsh*t crazy? Rick Perry has jumped to the top of the polls. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme has warned you for years.

Libby Shaw at TexasKaos has a roundup of Icky Ricky's Pay to Play Politics for those inquiring minds that need to know. See Icky Ricky Perry, the Master of Pay to Play Politics.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that state Sen. Steve Ogden needs to check his facts about who's to blame for the budget impasse last session, Sen. Ogden's false equivalency.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy continues to look at Rick Perry’s Texas. From tort reform that doesn’t deliver on promises to water infrastructure neglect that has left Texas a dry state; from crony capitalism that benefits Perry’s campaign contributors to the fact that Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured in the nation. It’s hard to mess with Texas when Perry already has.

Neil at Texas Liberal will be taking part in a spoken word event and concert in Cincinnati on Saturday, 9/3 to mark the release of the Aurore Press book Living In The Lap Of Labor. This book is a collection of essays about working in America. Neil has an essay in the book and will be reading from that essay. While it is unlikely you will be in Cincinnati in the week ahead, Neil asks you to stop on by and say hello if you are in fact in town.

If you have running water, do you want to light it on fire?

The Texas Railroad Commission's Eagle Ford Task Force has decided the oil shale play's most pressing issues are fracking water usage, community infrastructure impacts and economic development.

Letting infrastructure fail on its own isn't enough for republicans. Must hurry along the process and give you carcinogens in the process.

Without infrastructure we all live in colonias

We have aging water, road, electrical systems. Workers could be put to good use to help the economy and our quality of life. Instead, republicans are pulling us all down so that the top 1% can laud it over all of us. Welcome to hell.

Here's proof Rick Perry wants teachers to drop dead

There can be no doubt Rick Perry is a crony capitalist.

All they had to do was convince retirees to let UBS buy life insurance policies on them. When the retirees died, those policies would pay out benefits to Wall Street speculators, and the state, supposedly, would get paid for arranging the bets. The families of the deceased former teachers would get nothing.

The meeting notes offer the most direct evidence that the Perry administration was not only intimately involved with the insurance scheme, but a leading driver of the plan.

It was a back-room deal at odds with Perry's public persona as a career politician who had successfully sold Texans on his vision of minimal government intrusion. And it still is. Nearly eight years after the meeting, when Perry formally announced his run for the presidency in Charleston, S.C., he honed that vision into the perfect applause line: "I'll promise you this," he had said in his West Texas drawl. "I'll work every day to try to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can."

Rick Perry cares about Rick Perry. Everybody else can just drop dead.

Rick Perry leads GOP field of crazy

republicans hate science. Climate change? Evolution? Facts. Smacks. The field of crazy has a new leader proving once and for all, republicans are batsh*t crazy. Perry wasn't shy about touting the republican religious line. No science. No help for the elderly or the poor. Tax cuts for rich people. Low wages for everyone else.

The King of Mean is just the thing for the republican ticket.

Former Cameron County DA investigator charged with aiding drug cartels

47-year-old Jaime Munivez of San Benito was charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine and taking bribes in exchange for passing information to drug traffickers.

It is past time to legalize drugs. Take away the profit motive. Take away the corruption of people in our government.

Police to get involved in Nueces County Appraisal District affairs

Claims of wrongdoing at the Nueces County Appraisal District haven't made it yet to the Texas Rangers, but Corpus Christi police are discussing how best to investigate the matter.

Earlier this week, appraisal district board member John Sendejar sent an email to other board members notifying them he intended to take his concerns to the Texas Rangers. He didn't, both he and a rangers representative said.

On Tuesday, he met with Cmdr. Mark Schauer of the Corpus Christi Police Department.

Mexican city says we're too violent

The Matamoros Chamber of Commerce has issued an alert warning people of possible risks involved in traveling to U.S. border cities.

The advisory, in response to continuing alerts from the U.S. State Department about dangers of travel in Mexico caused by fighting among drug cartels, says that travelers should beware of violence.

Raul Quintanilla, chamber vice president for foreign commerce, voiced the warning in an article published in a Matamoros newspaper, and the alert was restated Wednesday by Christian Perez on behalf of Chamber President Roberto Salas.

Fair is fair.

Rick Perry could teach Barack Obama a thing or two about using the power you have

The Texas governorship is a weak position, but through crony trading and appointments, Rick Perry has amassed power.  I'm not advocating Barack Obama become any more of a crony capitalist than he is. Obama favors business over people too much for my taste. But, Obama could use his bully pulpit both publicly and privately to make our lives better.  Why hasn't he?  Barack Obama could use the appointments he can make to work than needs to be done.  For example, put banksters and wallstreeters in jail when they've broken our laws.

This notion, floating about that the presidency is weak, is just nuts.

San Antonio Express News writer says that public corruption is so pervasive, no one minds

How else can you interpret this article? Really. How.

Reports that Rick Perry rewarded campaign donors with state appointments and questionable business development grants did not hurt his gubernatorial re-election campaign in Texas last year, and experts say those resurfacing reports might not be a problem for him on the national stage, either.

“Pay-to-play politics is pervasive at every level of government. ... The likelihood of this influencing the election is pretty small, given Mr. Perry is going to be running against others who probably have similar pasts,” said Paul S. Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan government ethics watchdog group pushing for public campaign financing. “The real scandal is what is legal under our current political system.”

Old dog whistles have died

With Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, dog whistles to the racist and the religious Dominionists worked wonders. The sane people didn't hear them and the batsh*t crazy ate it up. Now, dog whistles aren't enough and many people see them anyway.

Still, Rick Perry may try some dog whistles for Hispanics while hoping the racist crowd doesn't pick up on any hint of respect or tolerance for brown people.

But don't necessarily expect to see Hernandez out in front of the Perry campaign this time. McCain's team wound up pushing Hernandez to the sidelines for fear he would make McCain sound too moderate on immigration. And Rick Perry's camp may well have the same fear.

In Rick Perry’s battle to prove his conservative bonafides, certain things are easy: he loves tax cuts for the wealthy and showing off his relationship with the big guy upstairs in crowded stadiums. But when it comes to immigration, Perry has always been a moderate.

Moderate, smoderate. Rick Perry loves cheap labor for his cronies. republicans have a problem balancing the needs of its racist base and those of their corporate masters.

republican establishment gets all snarky on its presidential field

As Politico puts it, "In shorthand: To many conservative elites, Rick Perry is a dope, Michele Bachmann is a joke, and Mitt Romney is a fraud."

Little Georgie Bush was all of those things, and yet the republican establishment loved him. Now that I think of it, 'dope, joke, fraud' Bush was the perfect republican. Oh, he did have an Ivy League education and royal republican ancestors. Does that what makes a 'dope, joke, fraud' legitimate?

Texas republicans cut medical residency programs

republicans don't care if you die. Just do it after you've worked yourself to death for low wages.

The 2011 legislative session was devastating for graduate medical programs in Texas. Despite strong opposition from organizations like the Texas Academy of Family Physicians and the Texas Medical Association, lawmakers severely cut funding for some residency programs at a time when demand for doctors in Texas is ever-growing.

What if 60% of the voters turned out in the Rio Grande Valley?

Democrats will win.

A new non-partisan, non-profit, group is about to launch an ambitious Get Out the Vote project – to get a 60 percent turnout in the 2012 presidential election in the Rio Grande Valley.

How ambitious is that? In the 2008 presidential election, Hidalgo County’s turnout was only 43 percent, Cameron County’s was 46 percent and Starr County’s was 35 percent.

“Yes, it is a very ambitious goal but we think we can achieve it,” said Eliza Alvarado, director of the Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas (AACT). “We are not trying to be stellar, not yet. We are just trying to be up to par with the rest of the state. We are just trying to catch up.”

I can dream about a large turn out.

Weslaco water plant is a disaster

Too bad republicans hate to use public money to build a public infrastructure to promote the public welfare.

The city's water treatment plant on Tuesday was declared an imminent threat to public health and safety.

The City Commission made the declaration in a meeting shortly after hearing a preliminary engineering report of the plant by CDM Inc., a utilities consulting firm.

Another indictment in the Abel Limas bribery scandal

Austin attorney Marc G. Rosenthal was released from federal custody Monday after pleading not guilty to a 13-count federal indictment that alleges a network of racketeering activity involving the manipulation of the federal and state court system.

Rosenthal, 49, was indicted in connection with the bribery scheme of former state District Judge Abel C. Limas.

More here.

Eggheads are running Perry's campaign

But given the interest in Rick Perry, the Texas governor and new Republican presidential candidate, the portion of “The Victory Lab” about Mr. Perry will be published on Tuesday as an electronic book, “Rick Perry and his Eggheads: Inside the Brainiest Political Operation in America.” Mr. Issenberg is previously the author of “The Sushi Economy.”

This isn't really surprising. Perry doesn't have to be smart to have smart advisers.

Cameron Commissioner's wife shouldn't be doing business with the county

A review by The Brownsville Herald of Cameron County contracts reveals ties between Pct. 2 Commissioner Ernie L. Hernandez Jr. and the county’s vending machine contract.

Such a tie could mean that Hernandez would be in violation of policy: “The County prohibits operation of machines on county property of which profits go to county employees or county elected officials.”

It's time for the TPA blog roundup

The Texas Progressive Alliance believes that all visitors are welcome in Texas as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff has one piece of advice for President Obama regarding Rick Perry's Presidential ambitions.

The already-existing field of Republican Presidential candidates, along with former Bush administration officials, and even the current occupants of the White House, reacted to Rick Perry's entry into the Presidential race, and Letters from Texas reacted to their reaction. The conclusion: they're all screwing this up.

Bay Area Houston says Fact checking Rick Perry is not for the ignorant.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is amazed that the always nuts Congressional rep Peter King wants Rick Perry to tone it down. No doubt that today's republican is looking to nominate the mayor of crazy town.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the horror that often times is the Williamson County justice and DA John Bradley. A man has spent 24 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, it truly is A tragic story.

From Iowa corn dog porn, to "gaps" in the theory of evolution, to passive-aggressive assaults on Ben Bernanke and from Karl Rove, Rick Perry had a no good, very bad first week on the national stage. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs documents the governor's gaffes, faux pas and self-administered gunshots to both cowboy-booted feet.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy continues the Rick Perry’s Texas series by looking at innocent executions, college denied, child poverty, and even a chart showing that despite Perry’s belief in the “free market” that Keynes has come to Texas.

Neil at Texas Liberal said this week that while circumstance matters, it is best not to let others construct your reality.

Bank of America exec vows to help Rick Perry out

We told you Rick Perry is a crony capitalist.

In what looked like a covert lobbying effort, a top Bank of America official brushed past Gov. Rick Perry (R) during a New Hampshire business breakfast on Wednesday, shook his hand and uttered the words, “Bank of America, we will help you out,” before walking away as if nothing had been said.

Check out the video. What could be better than an evangelical coated, corporate puppet.

If batsh*t crazy Peter King says you talk crazy, then WTF?

Peter King who spouts off crazy a** stuff every time he opens his mouth, is criticizing Rick Perry for the crazy stuff Perry spouts off.

“You can’t be calling Bernanke a traitor and you can’t be questioning whether or not Barack Obama loves America, that type of thing,” U.S. Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Politico. “I’ve been with Perry a few times, and I can see how he could project, again, if it’s done the right way. But no, if he continues this, he’ll have a tough time.”

Every republican wants to be the mayor of crazy town.

Rick Perry says he'd kill Medicare as we know it

What would it be like to live in a world where people die before they can get really old? Rick Perry would like to know.

Gov. Rick Perry, in New Hampshire on Thursday, told voters that the country should start "transitioning away" from its current Medicare program. But as Jon Greenberg of New Hampshire Public Radio Reports, Perry has said little about what his new program would look like.

We know what it would look like.

If you work for the city of Donna, you just took a 10% pay cut

City employees here face a financial challenge this month after the city implemented across-the-board salary cuts.

City Manager Oscar Ramirez sent out a memorandum Aug. 1 announcing a 10 percent pay cut — effective that same day — for all employees.

“It is at times like these that we must look to ourselves to make the tough decisions as responsible professionals,” the memo states. “We will be going through these hard times together and I can only stand with you as we look forward towards better times.”

Cameron County Comissioners protect pay of ELECTED officials

You other people? Too bad.

Cameron County Commissioners Court Thursday voted not to cut the salaries of elected officials, but whether the salaries of other county employees will be reduced remains undecided.

Commissioners Court voted 4 to 1 against slashing the salaries of elected officials by 10 percent, with County Judge Carlos H. Cascos casting the lone vote in favor.

Perry's going after Ron Paul's supporters

When Ron Paul beats Rick Perry in the Texas republican primary, that will right smart. Perry sees Paul as a formidable opponent and Ron Paul supporters a valuable prize.

Gov. Rick Perry sent the media into a feeding frenzy this week when he went hammer and tong after the U.S. Federal Reserve, but supporters of another Texan running for the White House heard something familiar: the message of Ron Paul.

“We agree with him, but let’s point out that he’s parroting what Ron Paul has been saying for years,” said Debra Medina, a Ron Paul acolyte who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against Perry in 2010. “He’s reading the economy and the monetary policy concerns and he’s mimicking Ron Paul.”

I suspect Ron Paul's supporters aren't that easily turned against Paul, but what if Perry is their only choice? Perry is going after every nutcase he can find - Paul supporters and Dominionists alike.

So many things wrong with this headline

'BP investigates new sheen in Gulf of Mexico'

For starters, BP IS INVOLVED IN ANOTHER GULF OIL SPILL? And, BP IS THE ONE INVESTIGATING? Sorry for shouting. I just can't help it.

Judge says no US laws broken if border patrol kills someone in Mexico

A judge in West Texas has dismissed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a 15-year-old Mexican boy killed by a Border Patrol agent.

Really?

Who mixes fireworks with birthday candles?

They are kidding, aren't they?

Officials say fireworks that may have been accidently mixed up with birthday candles exploded and injured a 13-year-old girl and her parents in their Maryland home.

Who knew Texas couldn't slap sex offender status on just anyone it wanted to?

After getting slapped by a state appeals court, the Texas parole board has started removing the sex offender status or holding hearings for parolees who have never been convicted of a sex crime.

WTF?

Sierra Club worried about South Texas wind farm expansion

An environmental group outlined concerns Wednesday on how proposed offshore wind farms, poised to become the first in the Texas, might negatively affect wildlife.

Baryonyx Corp. wants to install 200 wind turbines each in three areas off the South Texas coast, one of which is planned for the Coastal Bend.

Rick Perry is vying with Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul for Mayor of Crazy Town

Perry started out talking about jobs. Something sane people want. Soon Perry veered off into saying military doesn't respect the President (that's actually treason territory), then threatening the Fed chair.

Does the Perry team think that the entire US has gone batsh*t crazy? Or, is Rick Perry too used to crazy town talk?

Valley school districts figure out a tax plan to get more from the state

School districts across Texas have turned their eyes and ears toward the Rio Grande Valley, where a complex tax maneuver could prove a saving grace for trustees grappling with deep state budget cuts.

But if Valley school systems win voter approval for the so-called tax swap — and if enough other districts follow their lead — the easing of their financial woes could come at a substantial cost to Texas taxpayers in 2013.

Corpus Christi City council schedule may force John Marez to resign

"I'll tell you, if this is the schedule, I will have to resign," [John] Marez said. "I cannot commit that much personal time and leave from work. I can't. I don't have it."

Mayor Joe Adame says the position is that of a public servant, and says taking time off is part of it. Marez shot back. "You're a business owner, Joe. I'm taking my personal leave, from the state. I'm using vacation time from the state," Marez said.

Want a career at Walmart?

Walmart has 450 job openings in Corpus Christi. These are Rick Perry's kind of jobs. Want to be a store greeter?

Here's some faint praise.

Any big-box retailer adding its presence to an area can have negative impacts such as closing locally owned shops that may pay higher wages, said Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi economist Jim Lee.

“Given our skill levels in South Texas, I think it has more a positive impact than a negative impact,” Lee said.

Here's a stupid headline

'Perry's Widespread Appeal In Texas'

WTF??? Perry barely won his previous gubernatorial run with 39% of the vote. Does that sound like Texas likes him?

Politico wonders if Rick Perry has crossed lines in his fundraising

Interesting article.  Is Federal campaign finance law Perry's Achilles's heel?

Adding to the problem, these allies say, is that Perry has never had to raise money under the intense national media scrutiny of a presidential campaign or the more restrictive federal rules — and they question whether some of his early fundraising efforts were fully vetted for compliance with those rules, let alone perceptions.

“They haven’t paid attention to appearances here because the appearances don’t hurt him here. We’re the wild west of campaign money,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group that publishes detailed studies on state campaign funding. A report released last month chronicled Perry’s reliance on 200 super-rich mega-donors during his fundraising juggernaut gubernatorial campaigns, while earlier analyses made the case that Perry’s administration has done favors for major donors. “All his [Texas] opponents have accused Perry of being a pay-to-play governor, but that seems to roll off his back here in Texas.”

Ask Tom DeLay if fundraising laws can bite.

A vote for any republican is a vote to end Medicare and Social Security

There is no doubt after the nearly unanimous vote for the Paul Ryan budget. The new attack on Social Security may go to the Bush, 'corporations are people' stacked Supreme Court. You should be scared. I am.

[Rick] Perry not only argued that Social Security is bad policy but also questioned whether Congress ever had the power to enact it. He argued that the Taxing and Spending Clause allows Congress to levy taxes and spend money only in limited areas. He said he doubted that when the founders gave Congress this power they were "thinking about a federally operated program of pensions."

The idea that Social Security is unconstitutional has long had a following on the far right, and other elected officials have made a similar case. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a fellow Republican presidential candidate, has also argued that Congress did not have the power to enact Social Security and that the constitutional law on this point "has been mistaught in our schools" for a long time. But if Perry's candidacy takes off, the attack on Social Security could reach new levels of prominence.

That d*mn fence is as bad as all that

The republicans hate brown people so much it clouds their meager ability to reason.

More human beings would die alone in remote deserts. Endangered species would be pushed to the brink.

These were the fears that led humanitarians, environmentalists, and border residents to object to the walls along the U.S.-Mexico border called for by the Secure Fence Act of 2006. With 650 miles built, this summer has brought news that these fears are tragically coming true.

The journey taken by migrant men, women and children who set out across the U.S.-Mexico border has always been risky. But border walls have rerouted migrants away from the safety of urban areas and forced them to walk for greater distances over treacherous mountains and through searing deserts. All too easily they can become fatigued, dehydrated, and unable to go on. In too many cases, they die alone in remote areas.

This month an Arizona Daily Star analysis found that migrants today are almost three times more likely to die on their journey than people who crossed in 2006, the year before the walls began to go up. In fact, the rate of death—the number of deaths per 100,000 Border Patrol apprehensions—continues to increase even as fewer people are making the trek across the border.

Corrupt former El Paso officials get 6 years

Doesn't sound like much.

U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo said he wanted to send a message to the community during a sentencing hearing for former County Judge Luther Jones and former District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez.

As a result, he sentenced both Monday to six years in prison, ignoring their requests for leniency.

Montalvo said he hopes those "engaged or thinking about engaging in corrupt activities" recognize the message that if they are caught and convicted, they will go to prison.

Rick Perry is no Fred Thompson

Every time I hear someone one say Perry may be another Fred Thompson, I cringe.  Thompson was an inexperienced, lazy campaigner.  Perry is neither.  The Corpus Christi Caller Times knows better than to underestimate Perry.

He has never lost an election. Luck is among the reasons. Dumb luck is not. He has an instinct for knowing voters' hearts and minds before they and his opponents do.

Rick Perry, the vehicle to bring America under Christian Reconstructionist control

The Christian Reconstructionists tend to be skeptical of Pentecostalism, with its magic, prophesies, speaking in tongues, and wild ecstasies. Certainly, there are overlaps between the traditions—Oral Roberts, where Bachmann studied with Eidsmoe, was a Pentecostal school. But it’s only recently that one group of Pentecostals, the New Apostolic Reformation, has created its own distinct Dominionist movement. And members see Perry as their ticket to power.

“The New Apostles talk about taking dominion over American society in pastoral terms,” wrote Wilder in the Texas Observer. “They refer to the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society: family, religion, arts and entertainment, media, government, education, and business. These are the nerve centers of society that God (or his people) must control.” He quotes a sermon from Tom Schlueter, New Apostolic pastor close to Perry. “We’re going to infiltrate [the government], not run from it. I know why God’s doing what he’s doing ... He’s just simply saying, ‘Tom I’ve given you authority in a governmental authority, and I need you to infiltrate the governmental mountain.”

How is this going to work with Perry's corporate cronyism? Is he only controlled by Dominionist business interests? Or, can anyone play? When in conflict, who would Perry pick? I think Perry is first and foremost for Perry. Can anyone be sure once Perry is committed, Perry is really committed?

Batsh*t crazy people get newspapers to highlight light bulbs

This is the top headline in on the Victoria Advocate home page 'Pro: Compact fluorescent bulbs save money'

The crazies will pick just any fight they can. Particularly if that fight requires you to purchase more energy or to ignore climate change. I just wonder why anyone else who isn't completely batsh*t crazy goes along with their tune.

It's the TPA blog roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes that the nation remembers Molly Ivins' words about Texas governors as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff notes that the Voting Rights Act is squarely in the sight of Texas Republicans as they try to get their gerrymandered maps approved.

As Texas Governor Rick Perry (R - idiculous) officially enters the race for President, Letters From Texas presents Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Perry, But Were Afraid To Ask.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson warns that a Rick Perry presidential run should not be taken lightly, because if elected he would be Bush on Steroids.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that Rick Perry, (r-Dominionist), is just a puppet for the true leaders of the slow moving mob of republican fanatics.

Over at TexasKaos , Libby Shaw gives us a quick summary of Good Hair's presidential creds in The Success of Rick Perry.

Do the King Street Patriots -- via the Texas Secretary of State -- intend to turn away veterans at the polls? It looks as if they do, and Open Source Dem at Brains and Eggs has the details.

Neil at Texas Liberal posted on Rick Perry's conflicted views about gay marriage. If you read pages 26 and 27 of the hardcover edition Rick Perry's book Fed Up!, you will see that his social conservatism and his extreme states' rights views are not compatible. Both Rick Perry's far-right backers and his centrist and liberal opponents should note this dramatic inconsistency.

McBlogger takes a look at S&P and finds them wanting.

republicans are like a slow moving mob

I keep trying to understand how people can act so completely outside of their interests. Many on Medicare and Social Security are voting for people who will kill both programs as soon as they can. Such voters have a mob mentality with puppet masters pointing at the shiny object over here. Facts don't exist. Look! They all follow like a mob. Only this mob is moving slowly, surely and continuously over the years.

When Mitt Romney said corporations were people, he inadvertently helped make another point. People acting for the benefit of corporations do not act like people on their own. I remember my management class case studies pointing out that individuals will fudge on test results to please their bosses. Other decisions can be made that wouldn't happen, if an individual was acting outside of a corporate environment with all of its pressures.

So, who is in charge? Corporate funded mobs.

Group seeking 'world's end' pick Perry as the correct candidate

Rick Perry and his cronies are driving Texas into the ground.

Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show to discuss the New Apostolic Reformation, a evangelical Christian group that sees Texas Gov. Rick Perry as their chance to overtake the U.S. government.

Wilder previously reported that members of the religious movement told Gov. Perry that Texas was “The Prophet State,” which would to lead the United States into godly government, with the governor playing a special part.

Here's a headline meant to make you throw up

'Dewhurst: Perry Called to "Lead in Dark Hours"'

I guess Perry is running as a religious figure - Prophet Perry. Maybe, Perry should ask Warren Jeffs how that religious figure business is working out.

Another day, another prisoner in the Limas bribery case

Harlingen attorney Jose Martin "Joe" Valle pleaded guilty today to a one-count criminal information charging him with abetting extortion by former State District Judge Abel C. Limas.

Some happy thoughts about what happened in Wisconsin

Sure, there are bad thoughts to be had. Like people actually voted to return those clowns. But, there are better thoughts. republicans LOST two seats in their districts. Now Walker can't take the senate for granted.

But, there is an even happier aspects to the recall elections. Progressives said no to bullies and put up a great fight. Progressives spent capital building a grassroots infrastructure and tested it out. republicans used up their money. That money is gone. The progressive infrastructure will get stronger and better. Progressives spent capital and got more back. They just spent it.

Is Rick Perry batsh*t crazy enough for the Tea Party?

Rick Perry has been widely touted as a Republican presidential candidate who could appeal Tea Party voters, but some in the anti-tax movement wonder if his record as Texas governor stacks up to his rhetoric.

Just how batsh*t crazy do you have to be?

Rick Perry starts his 'official' campaign with a gimmick

Sounds like a typical republican to me. Sort of announcing in South Carolina on the day of the Iowa straw poll is just another dirty trick. Except now it is main stream to perform dirty tricks. Oh, how nice. Or, not. Want to know what passes for a republican these days? Power, thuggery, greed, dishonesty and tricks. And, everyone thinks that is so cute and clever. It's not.

Gulf wind farms help in this heat

The purchase will help move CPS toward its goal of 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020.

Duke Energy Renewables, a unit of Duke Energy based in Charlotte, N.C, plans to build and manage the wind farm about 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Willacy County.

The agreement's timing, though coincidental, comes as high temperatures and high energy demand have stressed the state's power grid, which has received a much-needed boost from Gulf Coast-generated wind power.

Will Texas go for a 'No Child Left Behind' waiver?

That would be funny, if Texas gives the finger to the Bush initiative. Texas republicans, like republicans everywhere, want to privatize basic public services so that the poor will get poorer and the rich will get richer. Privatizing the schools is of particular importance, because in addition to making money for their cronies, schools can indoctrinate our children in Tea Party crazy.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott will not decide whether to seek the waiver until reviewing the requirements attached to it, Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman said. Details on the requirements aren’t yet known. The U.S. Department of Education is scheduled to release that information in September.

Amarillo Independent School District Superintendent Rod Schroder said he would prefer to eliminate the federal accountability system and strictly use the state’s system instead. He said he believes the state accountability program is stronger because it evaluates schools in more grade levels and academic subjects.

Another player in the Abel Limas bribery saga bits the dust

A South Texas bail bondsman charged with bribing a former state district judge has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting extortion.

Black skimmers missing from JFK Causeway

The area around the causeway, one of the birds' favorite nesting grounds, has grown into a popular fishing spot, which may have agitated the birds and caused them to leave, said Beth Wilson, communications manager for the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program.

Give Blake Farenthold the finger. Don't speed on South Padre Island

Sea Turtle Inc. released 3,104 sea turtle hatchlings this summer and workers there hope that number will increase.

But that may not happen if the speed limit at Padre Island National Seashore is raised, the turtle conservationists said.

Jeff George, Sea Turtle Inc.’s curator, said he hopes the beach’s existing 15 mph speed will remain in effect.

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold has attached an amendment to House Bill HR 2584 to raise the speed limit to 25 mph for at least part of the year at the Padre Island National Seashore, which stretches from Mansfield Cut north to Corpus Christi.

republicans hate the environment and are definitely NOT pro life.

It's time for the roundup!

Having been raptured in May, the Texas Progressive Alliance was ready for The Response as it brings you this week's roundup.

There's still redistricting going on, as Harris County tries to redraw its County Commissioners precincts. So far, the main thing they've done is attract a lawsuit from Latinos who say they have retrogressed the one Latino opportunity district. Off the Kuff has the scoop.

The Response had better than expected attendance, a very diverse crowd, and the event's sponsors made a sincere effort to have the event be all about one man (not the governor of Texas). Having praised it, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs then proceeded to rip it. Wide open.

Our economy is in bad shape and is unlikely to get better any time soon. WCNews at Eye On Williamson tells us the reason why, The politics of the economy are upside down.

Prior to The Response, Letters From Texas predicted the response to the response to The Response.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is disgusted with the republican campaign to destroy the middle class, kick the poor to kingdom come and abandon the elderly.

This week Left of College Station began Rick Perry’s Texas project – telling the truth about Rick Perry’s record in Texas. From Perry’s record on climate change to the truth that the Texas economic miracle was really a stimulus miracle.

Lightseeker offers his take on Why Democrats Lose Texas Elections. Hint, Its NOT because we are too Liberal! See the whole analysis at TexasKaos.

This week at McBlogger, Harry offers forth from the Book of Balczak his take on Prayerapalooza.

Thanks to Kay Bailey Hutchison for FAA deal

She's going to be gone soon, so no political price to pay, perhaps. What does it take to get a sane republican?

In the impasse over funding the Federal Aviation Administration, which had idled more than 4,000 FAA employees and 70,000 construction workers for nearly two weeks, only one Republican sided with the Democrats: Texas' Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Who are the republicans and why didn't the Hounds of Baskerville bark?

In olden times, republicans were the party of the greedy corporate b*st*rds. Nixon brought in the racists and Reagan brought in the theocrats. In George 'little boy' Bush's day, the neocons ruled the roost. What a mix. Greedy corporate b*st*rds, racists, theocrats and neocons.

Seems like the neocons and the greedy corporate b*st*rds took it in the shorts with the evil debt ceiling deal. Apparently, the current republican party is run by ignorant, racist, theocrats.

I fully expected the greedy corporate b*st*rds to reign in the batsh*t crazy crowd in Congress, but the gcbs were very late to the party. I want to know why they didn't bark.

A victory for Gay-Straight Alliance in Nueces County

Flour Bluff ISD approves Gay-Straight Alliance for at least a year

Flour Bluff ISD trustees agreed in a split vote Thursday night to allow a controversial Gay-Straight Alliance group to remain at the high school for at least another year.

More on this story here.

republicans create pure misery for seniors

What happens if you're Grandma and the government starts talking about how they are going to deprive you of food, medicine, shelter and health care? What happens if you're 80 years old and not too spry anymore? All those payments to Social Security and Medicare you made were spent on Bush's wars.

republicans have created this misery for seniors and military retirees alike. Promises were made to people who served this country. But, to republicans, the only contracts that are legitimate and enforceable are those for multimillion dollar golden parachute contracts for failed CEOs.

The next round of misery has been teed up by the debt ceiling vote pushed by the republicans and Barack Obama. More uncertainty and misery wanting to see if Grandma and military retirees are pushed off the cliff.

Who are the people that voted for these sadists?

Texas doesn't protect against bad doctors

Hey, that's the free market system.  If people die after going to a doctor, then others will stop going.  That's how republicans think the market should work.  Let people die first.  Make people investigate, but hide as much data as you can.

A local man who had back surgery is speaking out after learning his doctor is on trial, accused of botching a procedure in another state.

Oh, and if you want to sue? Too bad. republicans took away your right to justice.

Greg Abbott has Rick Perry's back

Justice and duty to the people of Texas be d*mned! Abbott doesn't want Rick Perry to be embarrassed. Too late for that.

Even the most ardent supporters of the death penalty want to be sure that the condemned deserve their sentence. If a conviction can be proved wrongful, it should be — not just to prevent a pending execution, but to clear the names of the mistakenly executed and to learn how not to repeat such grievous errors.

How far such efforts should go is a matter of continuing debate. But they should go farther than the limit placed on them Friday by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The attorney general decided that the Texas Forensic Science Commission can't examine forensic testing that predates the commission's 2005 inception.

That includes two arson investigations that helped send Cameron Todd Willingham to his execution for the 1991 house fire that killed his three children. The Willingham case was first. Three professional reviews of the arson investigations found fault with them — which doesn't prove Willingham innocent as he proclaimed he was, to his death in 2004.

Don't forget Rick Perry gave Texas the overtly religious State Board of Education

The SBOE humiliated Texas and damaged our textbooks.

On evolution, Perry noted that he is skeptical of the theory, and, accordingly, he appointed an evolutionary skeptic to chair the Texas State Board of Education. This too puts him on the opposite side of most young Americans. In 2006, Gallup reported that 43 percent – under half – of 18 to 29 year olds believed that God created humans in their present form and evolution played no part in the development of man.

Let's repeat this often. Rick Perry appoints religious whackos to lead the SBOE. Do you want your kids to be educated so that they can compete for good jobs or do you want them to wallow in a religious cult?

You mean to tell me Limas is JUST NOW surrendering his law license?

Former 404th state District Judge Abel C. Limas lost his license to practice law, while he has had his sentencing on a federal conviction of racketeering reset for later this year.

Former state Rep. Jim Solis, convicted of aiding in Limas’ extortion scheme also won’t be sentenced any time soon, the federal court record reflects. Solis is still licensed to practice law. The status of possible action regarding his license could not be immediately ascertained.

For now, Limas is not permitted to practice law any longer. He graduated in May 1984 from Texas Southern University and was licensed to practice law Nov. 7, 1986. He resigned his license this summer in lieu of disciplinary action initiated by the State Bar of Texas, the public record reflects.

Why is Solis still able to practice? Why aren't they in jail?

A guess as to why Rick Perry is having a hard time getting Wall Street backing

On paper, Rick Perry is the perfect puppet.  I'll bet Bob Perry can give references.  You know Wall Street loves a good puppet.  Then, there's the 'let's pray away our problems with gay bashers' rally.  A perfect blend of puppet with a religious wrapping.  What could be wrong?  Why won't Wall Street bring buckets of cash?

What if, and I'm just saying 'What if', once upon a time Rick Perry got paid well to do a job and then did the opposite? What if, sometimes, or just one big time, Rick Perry didn't stay loyal? Just a guess.  I've been wondering.

What is the only good thing to come out of this debt deal?

Every single Democrat in the US should know by now that Barack Obama is a snake and all of the republicans are terrorists willing to take the faith and credit of the US government hostage to further their goal of destroying our way of life.

Disgraced former Hidalgo commissioner may face more criminal charges

When authorities arrested Sylvia Handy on a six-count federal indictment in 2009, they said the charges would be the “tip of the iceberg” for the then-Hidalgo County Precinct 1 commissioner.

The rest of the broken glacier surfaced Monday, when Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño came forward with new charges against the convicted former commissioner and nine others tangled in a scheme that allegedly took at least $70,000 from the county’s coffers.

The most serious of the new felony charges against Handy and three others — engaging in organized criminal activity — carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

republicans hit the poor while they're down

republicans are trying to kill the middle class and make them poor, too.

In a vote split along party lines, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has moved forward a bill that has generated strong opposition from minority groups, some in the education sector, and at least one Rio Grande Valley congressman.

The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide states and local school districts with maximum flexibility in how they use federal funds. The purpose is for local officials to have the ability to design flexible programs that use federal funds to support student achievement for all students.

The passage of the bill through committee was met with heavy resistance from minority groups, such as LULAC and the National Council of La Raza as well as U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, who labeled it as "an attack on civil rights of minority and low-income students."

Brown and poor? Then republicans really want to hurt you.

The republicans in the Texas legislature double teamed on the poor students trying to get ahead.

Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes is warning that the Legislature's reduction in funding for the state's main financial aid program could threaten its viability as an incentive for low-income students to attend college.

Lawmakers cut the Texas Grant program by about 9 percent for the next two years despite surging enrollment. As a result, only about 30 percent, or 33,100, of the 110,000 incoming students who meet academic and financial eligibility requirements are expected to receive the grant during the 2012-13 biennium, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The rich get richer and the poor get a kick in the teeth.

Here's a headline that shows what republicans do

'How the Legislature burned the elderly'

Humm. Do they mean the republicans in the US congress that keep voting to kill Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid? Or, our local, Texas thugs?

One of the costs of balancing the budget was to redirect the revenue from dedicated electric bill fees meant to help elderly and low income Texans pay their electric bills. The Dallas Morning News reported that the state has taken in $130 million this fiscal year from the fees and has used only $28 million of it to help the poor and elderly. The rest is going toward the budget.

republicans have no decency. None.  Ken Lay was the perfect republican.  All greed and no heart.

IBWC audit shows surprises

Federal audits of the multi-million contracts that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission has with two contractors brought several findings, including their failure to verify that employees on the projects were eligible to work in the United States.

Dirty judge Kent misses out on furlough from prison

Federal officials reversed their decision to allow former U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Kent, a disgraced former jurist sentenced to prison for obstruction of justice, to be released on furlough this week to attend a family wedding in Houston, his attorneys said.

...

Neither of his victims, two female federal court employees, received advance notification of his furlough to Houston in an apparent violation of Bureau of Prison policy.

More about the disgusting career of Judge Kent.

Company exec assures his product won't harm environment

Who do you trust least? I'd say first any republican. Next comes almost any politician. And, third would have to be company officials.

Migratory birds, sea turtles, jobs and aesthetics were among the issues raised Tuesday night at a presentation by an executive at the company planning to build wind farms off the South Texas coast — including South Padre Island.

Mark Leyland, senior vice president of offshore wind projects for Baryonyx Corporation, discussed details of the company’s proposal, speaking for about an hour before taking questions from the audience, which comprised several dozen residents — many curious, many concerned — assembled in a large classroom at the International Technology, Education and Commerce Center. The event was moderated by John Cook, a communications professor from the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

Houston Chronicle headline nails it

'Debt deal brings relief to Wall Street'

Congressional leaders and Obama make Wall Street happy at the expense of Grandma, working people and the poor. But, that's how our political system works today. The republican thugs want us to be serfs to corporations. So be it.

The big guys are funding Rick Perry

You know that Governor 39% doesn't have the support of regular people.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry raised nearly $103 million in campaign contributions from his first inauguration as governor in 2001 through 2010, according to a published report.

Almost half of that money has been given by 204 "mega-donors" of $100,000 or more, according to Texans for Public Justice, a state campaign finance watchdog.

I don't know why Wall Street doesn't like Perry. He's just their kind of guy. All for the cronies and just too bad about you.

It's hard to be a Democrat

It's hard to be a Democrat when Democrats like Barack Obama act like republicans. I am sick that Obama put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the GOP chopping block. Meanwhile, the republicans go further into crazy town.

Obama doesn't even come close to my definition of a Democrat.

It's time for the TPA blog roundup!

The Texas Progressive Alliane would like you to know that it has never held the full faith and credit of the United States hostage as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff says that Texas Democrats need to think about future races when contemplating retirements and open seat opportunities in 2012.

As President Obama asked the nation to call their representatives in Congress to air their views on the so-called debt ceiling crisis, so phoned the nation. And John Culberson finally heard from those in his district whose views have gone unrepresented during his tenure. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs contributed to the conversation. Whether Culberson actually listened is an open question.

While blasting Obama's plan for NASA, Gov Perry silent about tea party's $1.6B cut to NASA funding.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson on how the GOP's budget tricks and cuts will hurt our economy, Diversions & Austerity - the Texas GOP two-step.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw asks So, who is Rick Perry? and answers - he is a chameleon with an unlimited appetite for the limelight and power. Check out the details.

Neil at Texas Liberal marked five years of writing the blog. Thanks to everybody who has read Texas Liberal over the years.

Dos Centavos is back with a guest post by Dr. Rey Guerra regarding Harris County redistricting and the Latino Commissioner's seat. There's one more public hearing on Monday, so, make your voices heard!