July 19, 2014

After 25-year fight, ex-Dallas CEO with $231 million beef gets his day in court

Joel Prince/Staff Photographer
“If I had it to do over again, I’d never have done business with the U.S. Postal Service,” William Moore said in a 2011 profile.

WASHINGTON — A case the government fought to keep out of court for 25 years is finally in the hands of a federal jury, after closing arguments Friday by lawyers for a former Dallas CEO who says five former postal employees owe him $231 million for conspiring to have him indicted.

He says the 1988 indictment was part of a vendetta by their bosses at the U.S. Postal Service.

The indictment cut short a high-flying corporate career for Bill Moore, then the CEO of Recognition Equipment Inc. and a young executive with growing national prominence, his attorney told six women and three men on the jury Friday.

“It’s like a Major League Baseball player drafted out of high school and signed for the big leagues, only to have his legs broken and his career taken away from him,” lawyer Paul Pohl said.

A lawyer for the postal employees — four inspectors and the estate of a former polygraph technician — told the jury that what Moore needs most is “humility.”

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20140718-after-25-year-fight-ex-dallas-ceo-with-231-million-beef-gets-his-day-in-court.ece .

July 19, 2014

Is Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott stalling in same-sex marriage case?

It’s been five months since a federal judge struck down Texas’ bans on same-sex marriage.

But Attorney General Greg Abbott says he needs more time to file a brief appealing U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia’s February decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court.

Abbott’s brief was initially due to the 5th Circuit on July 9, but his office has now requested — and received — two extensions. The brief is now due July 28, according to court records.

“Applicants do not seek this extension for purposes of delay, but rather so that appellate counsel Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell has sufficient time to prepare a brief that is thorough, accurate, and helpful to the Court,” Abbott’s office wrote in a July 15 motion requesting the second extension of 10 days. “The issue in this case, the constitutionality of Texas’ same-sex marriage laws, is important and complex. The additional time would allow Mr. Mitchell to give this case the attention that it deserves. Besides this case, Mr. Mitchell also has obligations with respect to other multiple lawsuits including challenges to Texas’ voter ID laws, redistricting, an upcoming bench trial concerning Texas’ abortion laws, and a United States Supreme Court capital case undergoing merits briefing. Even with the previous seven-day extension, appellants are still within the court’s usual limit of forty days.”

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/abbotts-office-receives-another-extension/ .

[font color=green]His time must be at a premium since he is busy suing Obama and the federal government these days.[/font]

July 18, 2014

One person shows up to Lubbock protest on undocumented immigrants

A lone protester stood on a North Lubbock overpass to object to any notion of granting undocumented immigrants amnesty in the United States.

“If I, as an American citizen, have to obey the laws of the United States of America, so should anyone who comes into this country,” said Gayle Ferguson of Slaton. “If you are here illegal, you are a criminal and therefore that is why I am against giving them amnesty.”

Ferguson found out about the protest through political activist group Protect Texas’ Facebook page, but was disappointed by the turnout.

She and an opponent of the protest, Councilman Victor Hernandez, were the only two to make it.

“I think there are many people like me who have never (protested) before and they don’t like to get in people’s faces,” Ferguson said. “I think it takes a little bit of courage to come out here whenever you’re not usually a confrontational person.”

More at http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-07-18/1-person-shows-lubbock-protest-undocumented-immigrants#comment-342317 .

[font color=green]BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! [/font]

July 18, 2014

Fort Worth Mortuary Manager Faces Abuse of a Corpse Charges

Operators of the Fort Worth Funeral Home where police say eight unrefrigerated bodies — including two infants — were removed in varying stages of decay are expected to face abuse of a corpse charges according to a police source.

The Johnson Family Mortuary is run by twin brothers Dondre and Derrick Johnson, according to its website. State records show Dondre Johnson’s wife, Rachel, also was a manager.

All three have denied doing anything wrong.

Johnson Family Mortuary has been under police investigation since eight decaying bodies were found there on Tuesday.

Rachel Johnson was arrested Friday, she faces seven counts of abuse of a corpse.

More at http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Three-Johnson-Family-Mortuary-Operators-Charged-With-Abuse-of-a-Corpse-267675581.html .

[font color=green]Time for the Johnson family to write some big checks to Perry and Abbott. A similar story to this occurred in the late 90s while Bush was governor. The family that owned the mortuaries made a five-figure contribution to the Bush campaign for governor and the director of the Texas Funeral Services Commission was replaced. For context:[/font]
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/1999-07-09/522331/

July 18, 2014

Rare ocelot found dead on highway

An endangered ocelot, one of only a handful left in the United States, was struck and killed last week on state Highway 100.

The male ocelot was found dead July 9 along the concrete traffic barrier between Laguna Vista and Los Fresnos.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the endangered cat’s injuries were consistent with being hit by a car.

The ocelot was one of 12 that officials were monitoring and only five breeding male cats at the refuge.

More at http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/rare-ocelot-found-dead-on-highway/article_8b69d0de-0e30-11e4-b9dd-0017a43b2370.html . (McAllen Monitor)

July 18, 2014

Confederate memorial in Bellmead vandalized again

A Confederate memorial site on Interstate 35 was vandalized Friday night, with its flagpole toppled and battle flag stolen, said Charles Oliver, commander of the Waco chapter of Sons of Conderate Veterans.

It was the fourth such incident in the same number of years, Oliver said.

The memorial, which opened in March 2010, is next door to the Days Inn hotel on the west side of the interstate in Bellmead.

The monument is fenced in by metal bars. The memorial includes a stone slab, benches and a Confederate flag to honor soldiers who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

-snip-

“We know what we’re doing is right,” he said.

More at http://www.wacotrib.com/news/greater_waco/bellmead/confederate-memorial-in-bellmead-vandalized-again/article_fc4dad56-17b6-5a6b-9efa-5cbf4658393b.html.

[font color=green]Uh-huh.[/font]

July 18, 2014

Gov. Perry security on Palau trip cost nearly $50,000

AUSTIN – Taxpayers are footing a bill topping $48,000 for the security detail that accompanied Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, on a spring trip to the Pacific island nation of Palau

Perry traveled to the Republic of Palau in April to help search for World War II military members who were missing in action there. The expedition was filmed for a documentary by the BentProp Project, which searches for the missing and prisoners of war from that era.

When Perry’s office announced the trip, it said no tax dollars would pay for his or his wife’s travel or accommodations. His office said the BentStar Project, which helps fund the BentProp Project, covered their travel costs. The company filming the documentary, Pursuit Productions, covered accommodations.

Taxpayers, however, picked up the tab for the security detail. The state pays for security on all Perry’s travels, even though his direct costs are usually picked up by his campaign or other means, such as the interests associated with BentProp in this case.

More at http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/07/gov-perry-security-on-palau-trip-cost-nearly-50000/?cmpid=rrpolitics .

July 18, 2014

Former member of State Board of Dental Examiners pleads guilty to recording female employee

Former Bryan dentist Bill Birdwell was sentenced Thursday to four years of probation and 21 days in jail after pleading guilty to improper visual recording.

Birdwell, 67, was arrested in May after a female employee in his dental office reportedly found a camcorder in the bathroom when she went to in to change, according to a police report.

The camera was discovered in Birdwell’s personal “cubby,” which each employee was assigned, and was set up so that it was capturing her reflection in a large mirror, according to the report.

When questioned by police, Birdwell initially denied any wrongdoing before admitting he had set the camera up to record the employee. He told police it was his second time to film the woman, which was consistent with the number of videos that officers reported finding on the device, according to the report.

More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/former-bryan-dentist-bill-birdwell-pleads-guilty-to-recording-female/article_98df6b70-0dc2-11e4-8a8d-0019bb2963f4.html .

Related thread:
Bryan dentist expected to resign from State Board of Dental Examiners for filming female employee
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107818252

July 18, 2014

Detentions of migrant kids at Texas-Mexico border drop, Border Patrol says

Source: AP

McALLEN — The U.S. Border Patrol has detained fewer unaccompanied children entering South Texas illegally in the past 10 days, agency officials said Thursday.

In recent months, the Border Patrol’s facilities in South Texas have been overwhelmed by a surge in the number of children entering the country without their parents. More than 57,000 children have been arrested since October, more than double the number compared to a year earlier.

The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector Chief Kevin Oaks made the comment about declining child arrests following a media tour of a new processing facility for them in McAllen. The 55,000-square-foot converted warehouse is scheduled to open Friday and temporarily house as many as 1,000 children until they can be turned over to the Health and Human Services Department and sent to shelters.

“We arrested 80 juveniles yesterday, so within the last 10 days we’ve seen a decrease in the number of juveniles arrested,” Oaks said. Later, Roel Rodriguez, the agent who will head the new processing facility, said that daily arrest tally was down from 200 to 300 unaccompanied children at the surge’s height.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20140717-detentions-of-migrant-kids-at-texas-mexico-border-drop-border-patrol-says.ece

July 18, 2014

Purr special request, the Purrsday Papurr Shortage Thread