Category Archives: Texas News

Ken Paxton Ignores First Rule of Holes

Leave a reply

The news just isn’t getting any better for embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton who now faces possible contempt charges over his refusal to follow the law of the land on same-sex marriage following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.  Paxton has put up roadblocks wherever possible to state recognition of same-sex marriage hoping no doubt to assuage to his Tea Party base in light of his other legal troubles.  Under the guidance of Paxton, the Texas Department of health has so far denied a terminally ill gay man a death certificate naming his legally wed spouse as his husband. AP reports on the brewing controversy in a federal court in San Antonio.

Judge Orlando Garcia ordered Paxton to appear in a San Antonio federal court next Wednesday after a Houston gay man was not provided an amended death certificate for his husband. The court order comes just two days after Paxton was booked on securities fraud charges.

The hearing is to determine whether Paxton and Kirk Cole, interim commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, should be held in contempt after potentially disobeying a July 7 court order barring the state from enforcing any laws “that prohibit or fail to recognize same-sex marriage,” according to the court order.

Garcia further ordered that state officials must provide an amended death certificate to John Stone-Hoskins of Conroe, who had filed court papers earlier Wednesday asking the judge to force Texas officials to place his name on the certificate for his husband, James Stone-Hoskins, who died in January. The two were married last year in New Mexico. 

He had argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on gay marriage in June means his name should be placed on his spouse’s death certificate. The ruling required all states to recognize same-sex marriages, even those performed elsewhere, and overturned any legal bans.

The certificate listed James Stone-Hoskins as single and referred to his husband as a “significant other.” In court papers John Stone-Hoskins says he’s facing a terminal illness and wants to settle his estate and have state records recognize his marriage. He added during a news conference Wednesday that he should be able to inherit his spouse’s estate but cannot because the certificate doesn’t list him as the surviving spouse. Complicating matters was that his husband didn’t have a will when he died, according to court papers.

“This is about every same sex couple that’s going through or could go through what I’m going through now,” he said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has said it’s reviewing the Supreme Court ruling to determine if changes must be made to death certificate documents.

“This involves taking a broad look at a variety of forms and vital records,” agency spokeswoman Carrie Williams said in a statement provided earlier to WFAA-TV in Dallas. “Our attorneys are working with the AG’s office on the analysis. We hope to finish the analysis in the coming weeks. Once we complete that analysis, we would make any necessary changes as soon as possible.”

 

Fifth Circuit Rules Texas Voter ID Law Violates Voting Rights Act

2 Replies

The Dallas Morning News reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that Texas’ voter ID act violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  The ruling, however, is narrow and neither a complete win nor loss for either side.  Red would support such a law if there was one iota of evidence that in-person voter fraud is a real problem.  Everyone who knows anything about elections in Texas knows the real hanky-panky occurs with the mail-in ballots and the current law does absolutely nothing  to prevent massive abuse in that regard.

The hard part of the ruling to swallow is the Fifth Circuit’s finding that the intent of the law was not to discriminate against minority voters.  Red understands that is tough fish to land, but come on . . . really?  Even in Texas, the GOP is scared because the angry old white men that are dying off are being replaced by young brown ones.  Gerrymandering will work for a while, but demographic destiny takes over at some point, and with the legacy that Patrick and Abbott are leaving, recruiting Hispanics and Blacks to the Grand Ol’ Party is going to be a tough sell. If they can cut minority voting by even a percent or two, then they might just hang on for a couple of more election cycles past their expiration date.

In an unanimous decision, a three-judge panel ruled that the controversial and Republican-backed measure violated Section 2 of the landmark civil rights law. The law has been part of a complicated legal battle for years.

But the victory was narrow win for opponents of the law. The judges also rejected a previous judge’s ruling that the law was passed with the intent to discriminate. The Fifth Circuit sent that portion of the lawsuit back to a U.S. district court.

The court wrote that, if the lower court finds in its review of the case that the voter ID Law only violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, it should find a solution that can still reduce the risk of in-person voter fraud and satisfy the legislative intent of the voter ID law.

“Simply reverting to the system in place before SB 14’s passage would not fully respect these policy choices — it would allow voters to cast ballots after presenting less secure forms of identification like utility bills, bank statements, or paychecks,” the court wrote in a 49-page opinion.

Texas could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or the state also could ask the full 5th Circuit to review the case. But now, a fight over what exactly the complicated ruling means is more imminent.

Cruz, JEB!!!!$$$$$?, Paul In – Perry Out

Leave a reply

Three of the four GOP presidential candidates with ties to Texas made the cut for Fox News first national debate on Thursday.  Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas), JEB!!!!$$$$$?, and Sen. Rand Paul (TP – Curly Top) are in but former Governor Rick Perry is on the outside looking in.  Perry who, to his credit, has relentlessly attacked Donald Trump as a sideshow act, tried to make the best of his situation claiming that “One debate won’t make or break a candidate.”  Perry seems to have forgotten that one debate and one moment in one debate (“Oops”) broke his candidacy in 2012.  But in reality, Perry is getting more press out of missing the Fox debate than he likely could have generated from a scintillating performance – and how likely was that?

You Just Can’t Make this Stuff Up

1 Reply

Sen. Ted Cruz (TP- Texas) apparently is feeling the need to jumpstart his campaign in first out of the box Iowa.  So what better way than to combine a popular pork product and assault weapons.  In a recently released video, Cruz is shown frying bacon by wrapping it around the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle.  The video was produced by IJ Review a conservative media outlet that also produced the classic “How To Destroy Your Cell Phone with Lindsey Graham.”  In the video, Cruz claims this is how we fry bacon in Texas.  After wrapping a strips of bacon around the barrel and covering them in foil, Cruz competently fires the weapon until the grease starts to drip onto the floor of the indoor rifle range.  Taking a small bite, Cruz remarks, “Mmm, machine-gun bacon.”

First, in Texas, we fry our bacon in a cast iron skillet until crispy.  Second, our mothers taught us to not make a greasy mess at an indoor rifle range.  Third, our fathers taught us to not defile our weapons by using them for unintended purposes. Fourth, we take gun safety seriously. Fifth, we enjoy the great outdoors and practice shooting there whenever possible.  Sixth, we don’t like stupid stunts that pander to the lowest common denominator. Seventh, Red is not going to dignify this nonsense by posting a link to the video.

If only he had used Canadian bacon.

Ken Paxton Indicted and Friendless?

1 Reply

Attorney General Ken Paxton has been indicted on felony charges related to securities fraud.  Many commentators are wondering where are the GOP office holders and hordes of Tea Party loyalists coming to Paxton’s defense.  Noted Paxton supporters such as Sen. Ted Cruz (TP – Texas) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are nowhere to be heard or seen in defense of Paxton.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News speculates on what the indictment and possible conviction means for Paxton’s political future.

What is different for Paxton is that there is no case to be made that he is a victim of dirty politics, said Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson.

“Even when you are offering a political defense, you have to keep one foot on the base — you have to make claims that are rooted in some plausibility,” Jillson said.

Paxton’s case was heard in Collin County “which is a red, red, red belt of Texas conservatism,” Jillson said, and the evidence was obtained by the Texas Rangers. The charges stem from investment deals with business partners who are under investigation by state and federal authorities, he said.

Paxton, once a small-town lawyer, already has been shown in news reports to have become involved with land flips and about 30 businesses once he got into the Legislature, Jillson said.

“It’s complicated and delicate for an attorney general, more so than for a governor or a senator, because you are the top elected legal official in the state,” Jillson said. “As the top legal officer, to find yourself under felony indictment is beyond awkward.”

Paxton can remain in office while under indictment. If he were convicted of a felony, his law license would automatically be suspended and he would be unable to serve.

Gov. Greg Abbott would name a replacement, who would face confirmation by the Senate.

During the legal fight, it is likely Paxton will keep a low political profile but try to make as many professional appearances as possible to deflect attention from his legal problems and reinforce the idea that he is tending to state business, Miller said.

Attacking the process is unlikely to help him either legally or politically, he said.

“It’s all courtroom,” Miller said. “Game on.”

Jade Helm 15 Update, Cont.

Leave a reply

Well Red was down in Old Mexico (as Red, Sr. used to call it) this week.  Flying in a  Bombadier (why on God’s green earth are US airlines flying French planes much less one with the word “Bomb” in it is beyond Red), Red was unable to discern any notable change in regions of South Texas (one of the last bastions of the Lone Star Democrats) from 30,000 feet.  So apparently not only are the jack-booted thugs of the Feds reasonably sneaky, they are good at camouflage (a word Red always thought sounded suspiciously French) as well.   And while in Mexico, Red failed to see any hordes of illegal (or soon to be illegal) immigrants rushing to the Rio Grande.  In fact, everyone looked pretty damn occupied going about their business – which of course only made Red more suspicious.  But the illegals (thinking back to Red, Sr. again, Red wonders exactly what he would now call them since other terms have disappeared from the common parlance) are probably getting some training from the aforementioned JBT’s who may be using them to divert our attention away from the bigger issues of Obama coming in to round up our women, children and most importantly guns under the guise of a “Training Exercise.”  Anyhow, Red will stay closer to home this weekend and keep his ear to the ground while reaching for the stars (thank you Casey Kasem).

Vigilantly yours,

Red

Wigglers in the Water

Leave a reply

Residents of a small Texas town woke up to discover that water coming out of their taps was contaminated by tiny red worms.  Red for one is totally grossed out.   The Houston Chronicle has more.

 No one seems to know how worms got in the tap water, but residents in Old River-Winfree, a town of about 1,400 people 25 miles east of Houston, are drinking from bottles this week.

On Monday evening, the first residents of the Woodlands Acres Subdivision showed up at city offices with containers full of water and small red worms they say came out of their faucets, sprinklers and shower heads. Three days and dozens of reports later, Mayor Joe Landry said, “people are not taking chances.”

Landry’s office has been using city money to buy bottled water to hand out to residents. When he spoke by phone with the Houston Chronicle, he had just returned from the nearby Dollar General to restock the water supply. City officials have handed out at least a thousand bottles, he said.

He also opened three men’s and three women’s shower facilities in the city office for any resident to use.

Landry said representatives of J&S Water, the town’s private water utility, have told him that the company had an electrical problem and its chlorinator stopped working. J&S did not respond to inquiries from the Chronicle.

“We’re hoping for an update as to where we need to go with the situation from here,” he said. “We’re hoping for directives. Right now we don’t have any answers.”

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials planned to visit the town to test water safety and try to identify a solution.

“We’ll be working with the city to identify where the breach occurred and how to fix the breach and flush the system,” agency spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said.

Pistol Packing Pastor Pops Prowler

Leave a reply
KTRK reports on an early morning shooting at a Baytown Church.  Pastor Benny Holmes has apparently shot an intruder.
Baytown police responded to a shooting at the Church of New Beginnings. Police say the pastor armed himself and shot an intruder. KTRK Photo. Police say Pastor Benny Holmes was at the church sometime after 6:00am this morning when he a heard a man trying to break into the building. Homles then armed himself and shot the intruder.
The intruder was then rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital via Life Flight. His condition is unknown.
Pastor Holmes made national headlines last year for taking down a suspected package thief in his front yard. At the time, he said pointing his 45mm pistol at the grandmother was the only way he would get her to feel the fear of God.

Speed on Brother, Hell Aint Half Full (of Texans) Yet.

1 Reply

Texas is the best place to speed in the US.  Anyone who has recently driven on the racetrack that is I-10 between Houston and San Antonio can testify to that fact.  Red was doing 85 in the right line recently and cars were blowing by in the left lane at speeds up to an estimated 105 mph. And why not drive like the proverbial bat released from Hades?  According to WOAI – the consequences of speeding are much less in Texas than in the rest of the country.  Red would argue that the chances of actually getting a speeding ticket in Texas are slim.  The DPS has been stretched to thin by Gov. Abbott (TP-Texas) sending them on a fool’s errand on the Texas border. Trying to enforce Texas law is weak tea compared to grandstanding on immigration issues.

Texas has by far the most lenient speeding laws in the country, according to a study by WalletHub.com.  WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales says they measures a number of factors, from that the posted speed limit is, to how strict the penalties are for people who have been apprehended.

 One example, Gonzales says, is at what point the minor offense of ‘speeding’ gets kicked up to the far more series offense of ‘reckless driving.’   For example, in Virginia, driving more than 20mph over the speed limit is automatically considered to be ‘Reckless Driving,’ and a motorist can get up to three months in jail for the first offense.  She says Texas is one of the few states where speeding is never considered reckless driving, no matter how fast you’re going.

 “Texas has no limits, so it is unclear what is reckless driving to the police officer who pulled you over,” she said.

 Almost every other state considered a third offense of speeding over a certain amount to be reckless driving, but Texas doesn’t.

  “There is no minimum jail time for the first or the second offense, and there is no license suspension on the records, either.”

Gonzales says Texas is also one of a handful of states without an ‘absolute’ conviction for going over the speed limit.  In most states, a radar reading of 10 miles over will be adjudicated guilty by a judge, but in Texas, a motorist can argue that there were extenuating circumstances, like the motorist was passing a vehicle or trying to avoid an accident.

Texas also gets high marks for outlawing cameras to register a motorist’s speed and automatically send a ticket, about a third of the states allow that.  Texas also does not have additional penalties allowing an officer or a judge to bump a routine speeding arrest up to ‘aggressive driving.’

Texas also caps the fine for speeding to $200.  In many states, the fine can be $1,000 or more.  In Virginia, for example, the fine for speeding can be $2,000, in Washington state its $5,000.  Texas also does not allow license suspension for speeding.  The aforementioned Virginia allows a motorist’s license to be suspended for up to 3 months for a first offense.

 And, to top things off, Texas has hundreds of miles of I-10 and I-20 in west Texas where the speed limit is 80 mph, and a stretch of State Highway 130 with a posted 85 mile speed limit, the highest in the Western Hemisphere.

Photo from http://www.autoblog.com

Ted Cruz on How to Lose Friends and Fail to Influence People

Leave a reply

Salon has the complete breakdown on Sen. Ted Cruz’s (TP-Texas) implosion on the Senate floor.  In the aftermath of calling Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Droopy Dawg – Kentucky) a liar, things proceeded to get ugly – or more accurately uglier.  Cruz’s support in the Senate is apparently down to 3 other true believers.

All Ted Cruz wanted to do was abuse his position in the Senate to grandstand on issues that would help bolster his faltering bid for the White House, but his decision to call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a “flat-out” liar on Friday had dire consequences for the Texas senator, whose Republican colleagues turned their back on him when he tried to perform a simple roll call on Sunday.

As Politico’s Manu Raju and Burgess Everett report, McConnell’s decision to move ahead with an effort to extend the Export-Import bank’s charter by attaching it to a highway bill infuriated Cruz, who characterized the procedural move as a “flat-out lie” in direct contradiction with how McConnell assured Republican senators the bank would be handled.

That he said that isn’t the issue — that he said it on the Senate floor, which has rules governing how senators address each other, is. “I think it was a violation of the rules,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said. “It’s not how you treat a colleague regardless of how you feel.”

Maine’s Susan Collins (R) agreed, saying that “I know emotions run high on issues in the Senate, and those are the times when I think we have to take special care to abide by the rules of the Senate, particularly Rule 19, which is very clear that no senator is to impugn the integrity of another senator.”

As you might imagine, Cruz did not agree, claiming that his anger was justified because “in the entire course of this debate neither the majority leader nor any other senator has denied that he looked me in the eye and he looked every other Republican senator in the eye, and he flat-out said [there was] no deal on the Export-Import bank.”

Cruz, his Republican colleagues said Friday, was wrong on that account too. Fellow GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham took what could be considered a cheap shot, saying that “unless you have been completely missing in action, you’d know this day was coming. I did a press release and floor statement. I think he’s going down a road very few senators go.”

His decision to do led him to a place where very few senators end up — standing on the Senate floor Sunday looking for the 16 senators required to hold a roll-call vote and only finding three supporters. Raju and Everett report that as this simple procedural vote failed, McConnell craned his neck and stared the junior senator from Texas down.

Or, as Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander (R) put it, “you learn that in kindergarten — you learn to work well together and play by the rules. Another thing you learn in kindergarten is to respect one another.”