TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalPerry offers Ebola advice to New York officials
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry is trying to make sure New York does not make the same mistakes as Texas in dealing with its first confirmed case of Ebola.
Perry’s office said he has called New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to share the initial findings of his infectious disease task force and urge them to ensure that proper protocols are followed by hospitals and those monitoring potential contacts.
Of course, Texas struggled in both of those areas after a 42-year-old Liberian man showed up at a Dallas hospital last month. A undetermined “breach in protocol” led two nurses to contract the deadly disease from the man before he died, sparking a panic. Both nurses were declared free of the virus this week, and one of them, Nina Pham, met with President Barack Obama on Friday.
Like in Texas, New York’s case is a man who recently came to the United States from West Africa. Unlike in Texas, it is an American doctor who was there to treat Ebola patients.
Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-politics/2014/10/perry-offers-ebola-advice-to-new-york-officials/
Bomb hoax forces evacuation of UT Health Science Center campus (San Antonio)
SAN ANTONIO — Police are searching for a suspect responsible for a bomb threat Friday that forced the evacuation of the University of Texas Health Science Center's dental school for a couple of hours.
Multiple threats were written in lipstick on the wall of a bathroom and other locations. According to a photo submitted by a reader, one of the notes said, “Keep out u will die.”
University Police Department Chief Michael Parks said his office started getting calls around 4 p.m. from people concerned about the handwritten notes. The messages indicated there might be a bomb in a nearby stairwell.
At just after 5 p.m., the following message was sent from the Health Science Center's Twitter account: “Threat :: Please quickly and safely leave the Long Campus until further notice. We will provide updates when available.”
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Police-investigate-campus-bomb-threat-5845966.php
Ted Cruz Busted by Fact-Checking Site for Lying About Obama’s Surgeon General Nominee
Republicans opposing someone who President Obama has nominated for any number of positions is nothing new. In fact, Republicans opposing nearly anything and everything the president does is nothing new. It’s essentially been the motto of the GOP since he was elected in 2008.
And when it comes to lying about the president, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has made quite the career out of it. In fact, he seems to be basing his entire push toward his obvious 2016 presidential run on being “anti-Obama.” And he knows it doesn’t really matter if what he’s saying is factual or not, as long as tea party conservatives like what they’re hearing. Because it’s like I’ve said countless times before, when it comes to conservatives, “facts” are more often than not determined by what they want to hear instead of what’s actually factual.
Well, recently Ted Cruz tried to claim that the reason why we don’t have a Surgeon General is because President Obama chose to select an anti-gun activist, Dr. Vivek Murthy, instead of someone with a background in health care or medicine.
Again, Dr. Vivek Murthy is the challenged appointee.
Politifact rated Cruz’s claim as False.
Read more: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/ted-cruz-busted-fact-checking-site-lying-obama-surgeon-general-nominee/
Lubbock Hillside Christian Canyon pastor arrested on prostitution charge
A local church leader was arrested on a charge related to prostitution about 3:15 p.m. Thursday at an Amarillo motel, according to Potter County Sheriff’s Office records.
Cameron Tate Reeves, 34, was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers at Motel 6, 2032 Paramount Blvd.
Reeves is a pastor for Hillside Christian Church’s Canyon campus, where he has served since 2009, according to the church’s website.
Amarillo Globe-News files show Reeves previously worked for Family Support Services as a counselor for foster children who have aged out of the system. He has not worked for the agency for at least 10 years, said Joette Campbell, director of human resources for Family Support Services.
Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-10-24/hillside-christian-canyon-pastor-arrested-prostitution-charge#.VEr3XRbuPoE
[font color=green]The devil made him do it.[/font] 
Texas lesbian widow is plaintiff in Lambda Legal suit against Social Security Administration
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit today (Wednesday, Oct. 22) against the Social Security Administration on behalf of Kathy Murphy of Austin and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, claiming that the SSA’s decision to deny spousal benefits to Murphy after the death of her wife violates the U.S. Constitution. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in United States v. Windsor, in which the court struck down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal recognition to legally married same-sex couples, Lambda Legal attorneys argue that “SSA cannot perpetuate the same kind of discrimination now and leave lesbian and gay spouses without the financial protections of social security as they age,” according to a press statement the organization released this afternoon.
Murphy, 62, and Sara Barker had been together 30 years when they were legally married in Massachusetts in 2010, although they lived in Texas, a non-marriage-equality state. Barker died of cancer in March, 2012 at age 62. But because they lived in Texas, which does not legally recognize their marriage, SSA has refused to legally recognize their marriage, denying Murphy the spousal survivor benefits Barker had earned during her lifetime of work.
Following the SCOTUS ruling in the Windsor case last year, President Obama ordered the U.S. Attorney General’s office to work with other federal agencies and officials to implement the Windsor decision. In implementing that decision, the Department of Justice and most federal agencies depended on the law where a couple’s marriage took place — the “place of celebration” to determine whether the marriage was legal, rather then place where they lived. Under that standard, Murphy’s and Barker’s marriage should be legally recognized by the federal government.
Murphy applied to the SSA for surviving spouse benefits last year after the Windsor decision. But in June of this year, with Murphy’s application for benefits still pending, the Department of Justice announced that the SSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs viewed themselves as being prohibited by statute from using the “place of celebration” rule for certain programs, including the surviving spouse benefits program.
Read more: http://www.dallasvoice.com/texas-lesbian-widow-plaintiff-lambda-legal-suit-social-security-administration-10182946.html
Separate story: http://www.lonestarq.com/meet-the-new-edie-windsor/
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
Texas lesbian widow is plaintiff in Lambda Legal suit against Social Security Administration
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit today (Wednesday, Oct. 22) against the Social Security Administration on behalf of Kathy Murphy of Austin and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, claiming that the SSA’s decision to deny spousal benefits to Murphy after the death of her wife violates the U.S. Constitution. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in United States v. Windsor, in which the court struck down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal recognition to legally married same-sex couples, Lambda Legal attorneys argue that “SSA cannot perpetuate the same kind of discrimination now and leave lesbian and gay spouses without the financial protections of social security as they age,” according to a press statement the organization released this afternoon.
Murphy, 62, and Sara Barker had been together 30 years when they were legally married in Massachusetts in 2010, although they lived in Texas, a non-marriage-equality state. Barker died of cancer in March, 2012 at age 62. But because they lived in Texas, which does not legally recognize their marriage, SSA has refused to legally recognize their marriage, denying Murphy the spousal survivor benefits Barker had earned during her lifetime of work.
Following the SCOTUS ruling in the Windsor case last year, President Obama ordered the U.S. Attorney General’s office to work with other federal agencies and officials to implement the Windsor decision. In implementing that decision, the Department of Justice and most federal agencies depended on the law where a couple’s marriage took place — the “place of celebration” to determine whether the marriage was legal, rather then place where they lived. Under that standard, Murphy’s and Barker’s marriage should be legally recognized by the federal government.
Murphy applied to the SSA for surviving spouse benefits last year after the Windsor decision. But in June of this year, with Murphy’s application for benefits still pending, the Department of Justice announced that the SSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs viewed themselves as being prohibited by statute from using the “place of celebration” rule for certain programs, including the surviving spouse benefits program.
Read more: http://www.dallasvoice.com/texas-lesbian-widow-plaintiff-lambda-legal-suit-social-security-administration-10182946.html
Separate story: http://www.lonestarq.com/meet-the-new-edie-windsor/
Cross-posted in the LGBT Group.
DPS won’t allow Mayor Annise Parker’s daughter to take driver’s test because she has two moms
A few weeks back I wrote about a woman who was refused a Texas driver’s license because she had changed her name through a same-sex marriage in California.
Turns out the Texas Department of Public Safety won’t honor name changes obtained through same-sex marriages in other states, based on the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment.
Now, it appears the DPS also won’t allow the children of same-sex couples to take a driver’s test if both of their parents names are listed on their birth certificate. It doesn’t even matter if one of their parents is the mayor of Houston.
Here’s Mayor Annise Parker’s tweet from Thursday night:
Daughter needs drivers test. Has all docs, some in MomA name, some MomK, but w/ birth cert showing both. DPS says can only be from 1 mom!-A
Read more: http://www.lonestarq.com/dps-wont-allow-mayor-annise-parkers-daughter-to-take-drivers-test-because-she-has-two-moms/
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
Lambda Legal sues TDCJ for failing to protect transgender inmate from violence, sexual assault
When transgender inmate Passion Star appealed to Texas prison officials to protect her from a gang member who said he owned her, they responded by moving her even closer to the inmate.
The next morning, the gang member attacked Star, calling her a “snitching faggot,” and slashed her face eight times with a razor, according to Lambda Legal. Even after the attack, prison officials refused to move Star, who identifies as female, to protect her from violence in the general population.
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of Star on Thursday, accusing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of deliberate indifference to threats of sexual assault and violence against Ms. Star in TDCJ’s male facilities, according to a news release.
“Somebody, somehow, needs to shed light on what is taking place here in Texas prisons,” Star said in a written statement. “TDCJ officials get away with so much and disregard so many legitimate threats to people’s safety. It needs to stop somewhere. I fight for my life every day in here. Safety from rape and assault is not a privilege; it’s a right. I hope that this lawsuit will help make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Read more: http://www.lonestarq.com/lambda-legal-sues-texas-prisons-sexual-abuse-violence-transgender-inmate/
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
Lambda Legal sues TDCJ for failing to protect transgender inmate from violence, sexual assault
When transgender inmate Passion Star appealed to Texas prison officials to protect her from a gang member who said he owned her, they responded by moving her even closer to the inmate.
The next morning, the gang member attacked Star, calling her a “snitching faggot,” and slashed her face eight times with a razor, according to Lambda Legal. Even after the attack, prison officials refused to move Star, who identifies as female, to protect her from violence in the general population.
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of Star on Thursday, accusing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of deliberate indifference to threats of sexual assault and violence against Ms. Star in TDCJ’s male facilities, according to a news release.
“Somebody, somehow, needs to shed light on what is taking place here in Texas prisons,” Star said in a written statement. “TDCJ officials get away with so much and disregard so many legitimate threats to people’s safety. It needs to stop somewhere. I fight for my life every day in here. Safety from rape and assault is not a privilege; it’s a right. I hope that this lawsuit will help make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Read more: http://www.lonestarq.com/lambda-legal-sues-texas-prisons-sexual-abuse-violence-transgender-inmate/
Cross-posted in the LGBT Group.
DPS won’t allow Mayor Annise Parker’s daughter to take driver’s test because she has two moms
A few weeks back I wrote about a woman who was refused a Texas driver’s license because she had changed her name through a same-sex marriage in California.
Turns out the Texas Department of Public Safety won’t honor name changes obtained through same-sex marriages in other states, based on the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment.
Now, it appears the DPS also won’t allow the children of same-sex couples to take a driver’s test if both of their parents names are listed on their birth certificate. It doesn’t even matter if one of their parents is the mayor of Houston.
Here’s Mayor Annise Parker’s tweet from Thursday night:
Daughter needs drivers test. Has all docs, some in MomA name, some MomK, but w/ birth cert showing both. DPS says can only be from 1 mom!-A
Read more: http://www.lonestarq.com/dps-wont-allow-mayor-annise-parkers-daughter-to-take-drivers-test-because-she-has-two-moms/
Cross-posted in the LGBT Group.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,151
