Category Archives: Texas News

Is it Just Red, or Does this Kid Looked Stoned

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This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. U.S. authorities said the Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense, was in custody in Mexico, weeks after he and his mother disappeared. (Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP) Photo: AP / Jalisco state prosecutor's office

Red is not normally one to pick on teens, but occasionally there is a worthy subject.  In this case, it’s notorious “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch who fled to Mexico with his possibly even more irresponsible mother Tonya Couch.  Both were captured in Puerto Vallarta  earlier this week.  Couch will likely face a maximum of 4 months in jail for parole violations despite having killed 4 and critically injuring another in a drunk driving episode when he was 16.  Couch’s attorneys claimed that his privileged upbringing somehow made the youth less responsible for his egregious acts.  An unrepentant Couch and his mother apparently staged a “going away” party before they fled to Mexico in the face of Couch going away for parole violations.

The Candidates are Set

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Charles Kuffner at Off the Kuff does his usual excellent job of detailing the candidates for the Democratic and Republican primaries in March – so Red doesn’t have to.

Red’s only beef is CK’s snark about Jim Sharp.  JS has had some issues off the court – as they say – but as a judge he did an admirable job of balancing the competing interests and reaching well-reasoned and fair results.  Especially as the only Democrat among the 18 court of appeals judges sitting in Houston.  He must have sympathized with George Goebel when he said, “Did you ever feel like the world is a tuxedo and you’re a pair of brown shoes?”

“I Fart in Your General Direction”

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The counter protest to the Mock Mass Shooting staged across from UT-Austin seems to have drawn more interest than the main event.   Time has the poop.

About 100 people with flatulence noise makers marched against a mock mass shooting Saturday at the University of Texas to divert attention away from pro-gun demonstrators.

The group took to the streets of Austin with machines that make fart sounds in their counter “mass farting” protest, the Houston Chronicle reports. Their march was in response to guns rights groups’ plans to stage a fake mass shooting at the school, complete with fake blood.

“This is about a choice between fear and a little bit of good humor,” organizer and UT alumnus Andrew Dobbs told the crowd, according to the Chronicle. “We are in a scary time right now and lots of scary things are happening and some people want us to be more afraid.”

Old Uncle Fear, the best weapon that the right-wing has in this country.

 

Greg Abbott Wastes More of Your Money

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Texas will be forking over more than $2.7 million to draw in WrestleMania next year.  This absurd waste of taxpayer dollars stands in direct contrast to Abbott’s campaign pledge regarding the use of such funds. Apparently, that notion flew out the window once Abbott got his hands on Events Trust Fund.  The Texas Tribune has the full story.

Gov. Greg Abbott has agreed to spend up to $2.7 million in taxpayer funds to bring the barrage of blood, sweat and spandex that is WrestleMania to Texas next year.

During his 2014 campaign for governor, Abbott expressed discomfort with such taxpayer-funded economic incentives, saying he wanted to get government “out of the business of picking winners and losers.” 

But last week, his office signed off on the award from the state’s Events Trust Fund, state records show, one of 20 such awards approved since September. That’s when the governor’s office took the reins of a few incentive programs designed to strengthen Texas’ hand in vying for large sporting events and conferences from the state comptroller’s office.

Interstate 14?

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Newly designated Interstate 14 will stretch from the South Carolina/Georgia border all the way to I-10 in West Texas.  The super highway will largely follow the route of U.S. 190 through Texas.  Texas cities to be linked by the new Interstate will include Menard, Brady, San Saba,  Lampasas, Temple/Belton/Killeen, Hearne, College Station/Bryan,  North Zulch, Madisonville, Livingston, Woodville and Jasper.

Texans Take Hard Line on Muslims

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NPR reports that anti-Muslim fervor is picking up in Texas.  The epicenter of the confrontation appears to be in the Metroplex and Irving in particular.

Just last week, the Texas Rebel Knights, a white supremacist group associated with the Ku Klux Klan, announced they too want to protest at the Irving mosque, though the date keeps changing.

The Islamic Center of Irving is a domed arabesque building in the middle of an Irving residential suburb; its religious leader, Imam Zia Sheik, says his mosque finds itself in a tough place these days.

“On the one hand, we have to try to maintain good relationships with everyone, and to show the Islamic hospitality and good manners,” he says. “But when you have these kinds of rallies and protests on your doorstep it becomes difficult to do that.”

The large and thriving Muslim population in the Dallas area lives and works in an environment that’s growing more hostile toward their religion. Note a recent sermon delivered by the Rev. Robert Jeffress — pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, one of the largest, most influential members of the Southern Baptist Convention — on the Sunday after the ISIS attacks in Paris.

“Make no mistake about it,” he said from the pulpit in downtown Dallas, “Islam is just not another way to approach God. Islam is a false religion and it is inspired by Satan himself.”

At the end of the sermon, Jeffress received a standing ovation.

When in doubt, always fall back on Satan and make sure you are aligned with the Klan.

Texas GOP Leaders Take a Step Back from Crazy

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State GOP leaders have denied GOP primary voters a chance to decide if they favor secession from the USA.   The Tea Party wing had requested that the GOP put the following  question on the primary ballot in March:

“If the Federal Government continues to disregard the Constitution and the sovereignty of the State of Texas, the State of Texas should reassert its prior status as an independent nation.”

The State Republican Executive Committee rejected the proposal which would have been a non-binding referendum.

The defeat was not unexpected, as the saner powers-that-be did not want this to become an issue in November’s election.   The SREC clearly disagreed with Tanya Robertson, the SREC member who introduced the proposal and argued that the measure would have been “harmless,” allowing voters to register an “opinion only.” She also suggested the ballot language would have helped “get out the vote” among some Texas Republicans who have been sitting out recent elections. “The goal of these is to take a thermometer of how Texans feels about an issue, and what better issue for Texans to do that with?” she asked.

Indeed, what better way?  Red thinks it is unfortunate  that the rest of Texas will be denied an opportunity to see exactly how crazy the Republican base in Texas really is.

 

Texas Takes Step Back in Syrian Refugee Litigation

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Texas will no longer seek a temporary restraining order preventing resettlement of Syrian refugees scheduled for next week in Dallas and Houston.  Texas is apparently going forward with a request for a preliminary injunction, but that will come too late to stop the current refugees from joining their families in Texas.  The step backwards by Texas came after the Justice Department and the ACLU filed lengthy briefs on behalf of the embattled relief agency establishing that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission sought “unwarranted veto power over individual federal refugee resettlement decisions.”

The Dallas Morning News has the full scoop.

Texas Sues the Federal Government to Stop Syrian Refugee Resettlement

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Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) has authorized the Texas Dep’t of Health and Human Services to sue the US, Sec. of State John Kerry and others to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees into Texas.  The suit seeks to immediately stop any such resettlement efforts and claims, as legally required, that Texas will suffer irreparable harm if a couple of Syrian families (who already have relatives in Texas) are placed in the Dallas area.  The suit quotes the FBI Director and others who have expressed some concerns about the ability to vet the Syrian refugees who are applying for status in the U.S.  The suit also quotes the Director National Intelligence as saying, “We don’t put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees.”

Whether those concerns create the prospect of irreparable harm (a required showing for the temporary relief sought) is perhaps questionable.  What is not questionable is the complete and total authority of the federal government over immigration including matters relating to resettlement of refugees.  There is no likelihood of success on the merits (another required showing to obtain temporary relief) here because Texas cannot and will never have any authority over immigration matters.

This lawsuit is a complete waste of time and taxpayer resources and clearly does nothing other than to burnish Abbott’s already glowing Tea Party credentials.  The Dallas Morning News has the petition filed by the State for your reading pleasure.

Non-Profit Defies Bogus Order from Gov. Abbott

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The fight over the right to resettle Syrian refugees in Texas is heating up.  Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) previously declared that Texas will not accept Syrian refugees despite having no authority whatsoever over the matter and in apparent violation of legal protections against discrimination based on national origin or religion.  Abbott then threatened non-profits who are doing the hard work of creating conditions for a better life in the U.S. for these refugees with legal action if they did not kowtow to his demands.  Well, at least one such non-profit is fighting back against Abbott’s baseless blustering.  The Texas Tribune has the details.

The New York-based International Rescue Committee said in a Monday letter to Texas health and human services chief Chris Traylor that its Dallas affiliate would continue to provide resettlement assistance to all refugees “who have been admitted lawfully to the United States.”

The nonprofit had received a letter earlier on Monday from Traylor urging the International Rescue Committee’s Dallas branch to discontinue resettling Syrian refugees or risk losing its state contract “and other legal action.” The International Rescue Committee — one of about 20 nonprofits that have a state contract to resettle refugees in Texas — had previously informed the state that it would resettle two families in the Dallas area in early December. Both families have relatives in North Texas, the nonprofit said.

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement last week warned Abbott and other governors that they do not have the power to reject Syrian refugees, telling them they would be breaking the law if they denied benefits or services to refugees based on their country of origin or religion. States that defy the law could face suspension or termination of their refugee resettlement programs, according to a letter signed by Robert Carey, director of the office.

Abbott has insisted he has the legal authority to refuse to accept Syrian refugees, citing a specific part of federal law requiring resettlement nonprofits to work “in close cooperation and advance consultation” with the state.

Abbott is a well-versed constitutional lawyer who should know better than to put forth absurd claims of authority  based on statutory language that does not actually give the state any power to control the resettlement of refugees.  But that wouldn’t play well with his Tea Party base – now would it?