May 8, 2015

Ted Cruz's Father Suggests He'll Die Fighting Same-Sex Marriage, Which Will 'Destroy America': VIDEO

Ted Cruz's whacko father is at it again.

Rafael Cruz, a preacher from Lewisville, Texas, addressed a Republican group in Alvin, Texas, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on same-sex marriage last week, according to Right Wing Watch:

Rafael Cruz went on to say that same-sex marriage will lead to pastors being forced to perform gay weddings, even though that would violate the First Amendment and has never happened in any state where it's legal. He also said America is at a crossroads and Christians must choose between obeying God and obeying government.

The question is, if you're seeking to pass laws banning same-sex marriage, aren't you ultimately advocating that people obey government? If you're going to obey God, why even bother with the government part? Why not just take up arms and "die fighting"? Better yet, just hurry up and die.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2015/05/rafael-cruz-suggests-hell-die-fighting-same-sex-marriage-which-will-destroy-america.html

May 8, 2015

Ben & Jerry's: New Texas flavors, truck tour has 'absolutely nothing to do' with Blue Bell

With summer bearing down on the Lone Star State, Texans are in a weird spot when it comes to ice cream.

Ben & Jerry's, a Vermont-based corporation, is hoping to seize on the Texas heat and its ice cream-loving residents with a four city tour that will give out free tastes of two new "Texas-churned" flavors Bar-B-Que Peach and Bourbon Pecan Pie.

The "Texas Truck Tour" will hit Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio from May 9 to August 14 and ask residents to "tweet the truck, taste the flavors" and pick their favorite flavor, which will end up in pints on grocery store shelves by the end of the year, according to a news release.

The tour will be in San Antonio from July 23 to August 14. San Antonians can tweet @BenJerrysTexas to invite the truck to their community, workplace or event. The truck will provide free samples of both flavors and ask tasters to vote on their favorite flavors.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Ben-Jerry-s-New-Texas-flavors-truck-tour-has-6251135.php

May 8, 2015

SMU’s Bush Presidential Library evacuated for an hour Friday following bomb threat

Update at 1:15 p.m.: Hannah Abney, director of communications at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, says in a prepared statement that the center was evacuated after a staff member “discovered a bomb threat written on the wall of a bathroom in the facility.”

Says Abney, “In accordance with safety protocol and procedure, the building was evacuated. SMU and University Park police and fire personnel responded to the scene, searched the facility, and delivered the all clear. The Bush Center has reopened and resumed normal operations.”

Original post at 12:47 p.m.: The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was evacuated for an hour this morning due to an unspecified threat, according to SMU officials.

Kim Cobb, the university’s director of media relations, says the library was evacuated at 11:30. She’s not sure why, but Cobb says a statement is due shortly from the facility.

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/bush-presidential-library-at-smu-for-an-hour-friday-morning-following-unspecified-threat.html/

May 8, 2015

New Mexico’s commuter rail line faces financial burdens

When launched in 2006, a New Mexico commuter rail line that would connect Albuquerque and Santa Fe was hailed by supporters as a progressive step toward taking people out of cars and putting them on the train.

But as impressive a feat as it was for a poor state’s huge foray into mass public transit, it comes at a price: The train earned $2.8 million last fiscal year in fares from more than a million riders but cost $28.4 million to operate. And even bigger amounts of red ink are looming over the horizon.

Now the question of whether the huge state investment in the 97-mile commuter rail system is worth it will be visited anew after state lawmakers asked the New Mexico Department of Transportation to conduct a study on the long-term finances of the line. The study will look at everything from future costs and debt obligations to examining whether the state should sell the Rail Runner and replace it with a bus service.

The finances surrounding the Rail Runner have created a divide in New Mexico. To some, the price tag makes no sense, especially considering relatively low ridership numbers and little congestion on the roads. Others, pointing out large price tags for road projects, suggest it’s an asset worth keeping.

Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/581203/news/nms-rail-runner-faces-financial-burdens.html

May 8, 2015

House raises $664M; members say it will save higher ed; probably 'the single largest tax hike day'

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana House members may not have saved the day with $664 million in new revenue passed Thursday, but the lawmakers believe they may have saved higher education from a doomsday cut.

“This give us what we need for higher education and part of what we need for health care,” said Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Fannin, R-Jonesboro. “We’ve gotten to second base; now we’ll just need a couple of singles in the Senate to bring us home.”

Fannin needed the new revenue to incorporate into the budget when he sends out House Bill 1 on Monday. “This gives us something to work with,” he said.

House leadership had hoped to raise almost $940 million when the day began but lost momentum and decided to pull state Rep. Jay Morris’ bill that would remove 1 cent of the sales tax exemption for special interest groups.

Read more: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2015/05/07/house-raises-members-say-will-save-higher-ed/70972676/

Supporters of the state’s colleges and universities came up as big winners Thursday when the House approved a series of changes in the state’s tax laws that would raise $664 million next year.

Thursday events also left clear losers, at least for now: the public health care system, including the state’s hospitals that are now managed by private companies.

In all, lawmakers approved 11 tax measures, and House leaders said afterward that they would direct all of the new money on Monday to the state’s higher education institutions to keep them from having to suffer any of the budget cuts that have been feared for next year.

But because the House failed as planned to raise another $273 million through changes to the state’s tax law, someone will be shortchanged, and that someone will be the state’s public health care system.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/12309199-123/louisiana-house-considers-tax-bills

May 8, 2015

Pamela Geller now has bulletproof vest, but no regrets about anti-Islam art show

Pamela Geller is interviewed at The Associated Press, Thursday, May 7, 2015 in New York. Geller is one of the nation's most outspoken critics of Islamic extremism, taking the hard-edge view that such extremism sprouts not from fringe elements but the tenets of the religion itself. (AP/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK — Does Pamela Geller regret organizing the Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that ended in gunfire?

No, she says confidently. In fact, she says, she probably saved lives by hosting the event and plans to have more just like it, with one difference: Next time, she'll be wearing a bulletproof vest.

"I will continue to speak in defense of freedom until the day I die," Geller said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press, as a grim-looking personal security guard hovered nearby. "It's just that simple. It's not even a choice. It's a calling."

Here's are five things to know about Geller as she pursues her calling:

1. She has stepped up personal security amid threats: Geller has always hired armed security personnel to protect the scores of events she has spearheaded across the nation in recent years to decry Islamic extremism.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/05/pamela_geller_no_apology_for_a.html

ETA: There is a video interview with Geller, Sean Hannity and an imam at the link.

May 8, 2015

Senate Votes to Increase Funding for ‘Godless,’ ‘Socialistic’ Pre-K

After about an hour of debate, the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would modestly increase funding for pre-K programs. House Bill 4, a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, passed on a 25-6 vote, with a handful of GOP senators voting no.

That group included Konni Burton (R-Fort Worth), Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay), Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), Don Huffines (R-Dallas), Van Taylor (R-Plano) and Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe).

HB 4, by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Houston), would provide $130 million in grants to school districts that adopt new standards for curriculum and teacher qualifications. The pre-K expansion, although well below funding levels as recently as 2011, had drawn the ire of tea party leaders appointed to a grassroots advisory board by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. In April, the activists branded pre-K “godless” and “socialistic” in an impassioned letter to the Senate.

On Thursday, Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), the bill’s Senate sponsor, took pains to frame the measure in terms of accountability rather than increased funding.

Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/senate-votes-to-increase-pre-k-funding/

May 8, 2015

Leaning tower of Belton

Workers demolish the S. Davis Street water tank Thursday in Belton. Officials expect it will take Hunter Demolition, a water tower removal company, up to four days to disassemble and remove the tower. The 150,000 gallon tank was built in 1979 and was taken out of service several years ago.

May 8, 2015

Oil in North Dakota derailment was treated to cut volatility

Source: AP

BISMARCK, N.D. — A shipment of oil involved in an explosive train derailment in North Dakota had been treated to reduce its volatility — a move that state officials suggested could have reduced the severity of the accident but won't prevent others from occurring.

Hess Corporation spokesman John Roper said the oil complied with a state order requiring propane, butane and other volatile gases to be stripped out of crude before it's transported. That conditioning process lowers the vapor pressure of the oil, reducing the chances of an explosive ignition during a crash.

Despite the treatment of the crude in Wednesday's accident, six cars carrying a combined 180,000 gallons of oil caught fire in the derailment 2 miles from the town of small Heimdal in central North Dakota. The town was evacuated but no one was hurt.

Investigators on Thursday recovered wheel fragments from the scene. Those will be sent to a government laboratory for analysis, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway. A defective tank car wheel is suspected to have played a role in another oil train accident, in Galena, Illinois, on March 10.

Read more: http://www.mrt.com/business/oil/article_f739f2c0-f508-11e4-bc73-6384c509ab38.html

May 8, 2015

Panola County official under scrutiny after social media post

CARTHAGE — A Panola County commissioner's Facebook post about how race is treated in the country has garnered attention from outside East Texas.

Pct. 2 Commissioner John Gradberg created a post this past week in reaction to the rioting in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died while being transported in a police van after he was arrested.

Gradberg's Facebook post said that people of color have their own colleges, special days and organizations, which is something a white person would not be allowed to do without being labeled racist.

"I have no problem with any other race," Gradberg said. "I copied and pasted a text a friend sent me (into a Facebook post). ... It makes a great point in showing the inequality in how races can handle things."

Read more: http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/may/05/official-under-scrutiny/

[font color=green]Wait, didn't I just post a story similar to this earlier on DU? Yes, I did-uh-huh.

Will they ever learn? Don't post racist **** on Facebook![/font]