TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalVideo of Paxton jail booking may remain confidential
Footage of Attorney General Ken Paxton getting booked into the Collin County jail may be withheld from the public, his office ruled this month.
Yes, Paxton’s office — which makes determinations about contested open-records requests — also decided whether the Texas Public Information Act applied to his booking video.
In this case, the decision came from Kenny Moreland, an assistant attorney general in the Open Records Division.
The Dallas Morning News and four others asked the Collin County Sheriff’s Office for the video footage. County officials told the attorney general’s office that releasing the video recordings to the public would allow people to develop ways to skirt the security cameras or jeopardize the safety and security of the jail.
Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/video-of-paxton-jail-booking-may-remain-confidential.html/
New undercover video accuses TX doc of violating partial-birth abortion ban, medical experts disagre
Source: Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN–A new video released by the anti-abortion group targeting Planned Parenthood shows a Texas doctor discussing the methods she uses to perform later term abortions. The video said the procedure she describes violates the national partial-birth abortion ban, but medical experts disagree.
The Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group that posed as a tissue procurement company to secure meetings with Planned Parenthood officials across the country, released its latest undercover video on Tuesday. This one takes place at a medical conference in October 2014 and features Dr. Amna Dermish, a Planned Parenthood abortion provider in Austin.
The videos are heavily edited, and an independent study found that even the “full footage” videos released by the group contain edits.
In the “full footage” version of the encounter between the undercover cameraman and Dermish, she is asked to describe the abortion method she used on two recent abortions performed after 18 weeks of pregnancy and the conditions of the fetuses.
Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/new-undercover-video-accuses-tx-doc-of-violating-partial-birth-abortion-ban-medical-experts-disagree.html/
Live From New York: Ted Cruz?
For American politics, Saturday Night Live is more than a comedy show. Presidential candidates jump at the opportunity of hosting or appearing the program, a pulpit that has evolved into an opportunity for candidates to reach and connect with the voting public. After all, “likeability” is an important criterion on a politician’s rubric.
For the last several decades the show has become a pit stop for presidential campaign trails. It’s an opportunity for politicians to show their personable side rather typical politicking, or to mend their public image.
Hillary Clinton lead off the round of featured candidates when she appeared earlier this month. On Nov. 7 the contentious ratings-generator Donald Trump is scheduled to follow.
And during a C-SPAN interview on Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz expressed his eagerness at such an opportunity for himself. After fielding a dozen questions from callers, where he hammered on typical talking points, C-SPAN anchor Steve Scully asked one question that drew the Internet’s attention.
Read more: http://www.mrt.com/blogs/news_blogs/article_e115aac2-7c2e-11e5-9c5c-075e62d94c9e.html
Arizona sheriff confronted with recurring retaliation claims (Arpaio)
Source: AP
PHOENIX (AP) — Weeks after a court-ordered overhaul of his office, an Arizona sheriff with a reputation for retaliation received a fax that critics say proves he was secretly investigating a judge who ruled against him in a racial profiling case.
The 2013 fax from an informant was written as a timeline of key developments in the profiling case: It cited the judge's assignment to the case, claimed federal authorities were wiretapping the phone of one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's aides, and suggested both happened shortly after the U.S. Justice Department allegedly called the judge.
Arpaio's office went on to spend $250,000 investigating, despite questions about the informant's credibility. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow characterized the investigation as an attempt to construct a "bogus conspiracy theory" to discredit him.
The six-term sheriff has been accused in the past of investigating judges at odds with him. But recent court hearings that examined the fax marked the boldest public attempt to confront Arpaio on the recurring retaliation allegation.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-sheriff-confronted-recurring-retaliation-claims-060510020.html
Pat Robertson: Gay Marriage is Not Legal Even if the Supreme Court Says It Is
Pat Robertson told his 700 Club viewers today that gay marriage is not legal no matter what the Supreme Court says.
A viewer of Robertson’s show was very angry about a “blasphemous” letter he had seen in a local paper claiming that Romans 13:1-4 supports the SCOTUS Obergefell ruling because it says that “government is from God, therefore everyone must submit to the government. Even Christians!”
Robertson reassured the Christian bigot, Right Wing Watch reports:
“In the legal system, party A sues party B over marriage, ‘I want to get married to them,’ and the court says, ‘Okay, you can get married.’ That doesn’t mean that I’ve got to get married to homosexuals, it doesn’t mean that you have to nor does it mean that it’s the law of the land. Congress didn’t pass any law. Your state legislature didn’t pass a law. So you’re not under anything, it’s a decision of the court having to do with a couple of people. Now they would like to make it bigger than that but, in terms of the Constitution, it isn’t.”
Watch:
http://www.towleroad.com/2015/10/pat-robertson-gay-marriage-is-not-legal/
UT to Supreme Court: We Need Affirmative Action
The University of Texas at Austin needs to consider race in admissions if it wants a diverse, representative student body, the school told the U.S. Supreme Court 0n Monday in a 70-page brief filed in advance of oral arguments in the case Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin.
The nation's high court will hear arguments in the case, which could bring an end to affirmative action at UT-Austin, this December.
The school was sued in 2008 by Abigail Fisher, who argued she was denied admission to UT-Austin because she is white. Her case has already reached the Supreme Court once. In that iteration, the court upheld the use of affirmative action nationwide but asked a lower court to scrutinize UT-Austin's policy. The lower court upheld the school's use of race in admissions, and the Supreme Court now is reviewing that ruling.
In Monday’s brief, UT-Austin cites its troubled racial history, noting that a black student wasn’t admitted to the school until 1950. The school also stresses that race is still an issue on campus today. This year, the school noted, UT-Austin became embroiled in a debate about the future of an on-campus statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The statue was eventually removed from its prominent location and will be housed in a U.S. history center instead.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/10/26/ut-supreme-court-we-need-affirmative-action/
Court sides with transgender widow in fight over estate
WHARTON, Texas (AP) — A state appeals court has reaffirmed its earlier decision to validate the marriage of a transgender widow seeking the estate of her firefighter husband who died battling a blaze.
The ruling Friday by the 13th Texas Court of Appeals sent the case of Nikki Araguz Loyd back to a Wharton County judge who originally voided the marriage because Texas did not recognize same-sex marriage. Kent Rutter, an attorney for Loyd, said Monday that ruling meant Loyd was not entitled to Thomas Araguz's estate.
Rutter says the appeals court had ruled early last year in Loyd's favor — determining she was a woman at the time of her marriage — but had to issue another ruling this month after an appeal sent to the Texas Supreme Court was not heard.
The U.S. Supreme Court has since legalized gay marriages.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-sides-with-transgender-widow-in-fight-over-6591513.php
Mr. Conservative will make his official candidacy announcement Thursday
Donald May will make his official announcement for Texas’ 19th U.S. Congressional District at 11 a.m. Thursday inside the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, located at 17
The Republican, who said he was going to run whether or not U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, opted to retire, was the first candidate to file.
May ran against Neugebauer in the 2014 primary, receiving almost 24 percent of the vote. He is a retired surgeon and was raised on a family farm, which he and his wife still operate. He has also written blogs on the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s website for more than a decade under the name “Mr. Conservative.”
May was a major in the United States Air Force, taught at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and serves on the board of the Lubbock International Cultural Center. He was the first place delegate for the Texas 19th Congressional District to both the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota and the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2015-10-26/donald-may-will-make-his-official-candidacy-announcement-thursday#comment-384647
[font color=330099]Too bad that six other Republicans and one Democrat have announced that they will also be running for the House seat and nearly all of them are more qualified than him. Another grifter that rails against socialism but has been suckling from the government teat his entire life.[/font]
Texas principal backs off religious talk after atheist complaints
Complaints from an atheist group pushed a North Texas high school principal to abandon leadership in a campus religious organization.
Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation alleged the practice violated Constitutional principles of separation of church and state when a public official encouraged students to pursue religious convictions while serving in his official capacity. In a press release, it said a principal had been "encouraging students to be proactive and make their daily walk with Christ a priority."
Controversy erupted in September when parents observed Prosper High School principal Greg Wright speak to students about how his Christian faith inspires him and what prayer means in his daily life, reported KXAS in Dallas. A parent complainant, Janie Oyakawa, said the principal's participation would alienate non-Christian students.
She filed a complaint to the FFRF—an organization that had made Texas headlines before for challenging religious expressions in public institutions. In 2015, it filed complaints against an East Texas school districts for daily Bible readings with morning announcements, and later against a North Texas police department for printing "In God We Trust" on fleet vehicles.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Texas-high-school-atheist-christian-church-and-6591201.php
Follow-up: San Antonio judge appointed to handle suit to remove Dallas DA Susan Hawk
The Supreme Court of Texas on Monday appointed Judge David Peeples of San Antonio to preside over the lawsuit to remove Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk from office.
Peeples, who presides over the state’s fourth administrative judicial region, was appointed to take the case after two local judges recused themselves.
The petition to oust Hawk, filed by fired prosecutor Cindy Stormer, argues that Hawk should be removed for incompetency and official misconduct, in part because of her recent battle with severe depression.
Peeples will have the power to stop the case from going forward or allow it to go to a jury trial. Stormer’s attorneys seek to uncover Hawk’s medical records if the case goes to trial.
Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/san-antonio-judge-appointed-to-handle-suit-to-remove-dallas-da-susan-hawk.html/
Earlier threads:
Friends, colleagues say Dallas County DA Susan Hawk spent time in drug rehab March 27. 2015
Dallas County DA absent for three weeks; addiction rumors start swirling August 23, 2015
Dallas Democrats: DA Susan Hawk ‘needs to do her job or resign’ August 24, 2015
Dallas County DA Susan Hawk takes leave to battle depression August 25, 2015
Dallas County DA Susan Hawk is at Texas facility for depression treatment August 26, 2015
Dallas County DA Hawk battled paranoia, had ‘break with reality,’ friend says August 27, 2015
Update: Dallas DA may remain out of office longer than announced September 15, 2015
Dallas County DA Susan Hawk fends off allegations of financial misconduct September 20, 2015
Fired Dallas prosecutor levels more accusations about Dallas County DA Hawk’s behavior September 22, 2015
Follow-up: Dallas County DA Susan Hawk faced suicidal thoughts, wanted to resign October 4, 2015
Fired employee files petition to remove Dallas DA Susan Hawk from office October 13, 2015
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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