July 3, 2015

El Paso Chihuahuas rally in ninth to beat Fresno Grizzlies

The Fresno Grizzlies' pitching staff lived on the edge all night long Thursday night against the El Paso Chihuahuas.

The Chihuahuas finally broke through in the ninth, rallying for three runs to edge the Grizzlies 6-5 on Benji Gonzalez's game-winning RBI single in front of 9,231 fans at Southwest University Park.

Entering the ninth, El Paso had 11 hits and loaded the bases three times but had just the three runs.

But in the final inning, the Chihuahuas had four hits and two walks off reliever and losing pitcher, Jose Veras. First baseman Jason Hagerty delivered the first RBI single to cut the lead to 5-4, then catcher Rocky Gale singled on a hard shot that bounced of Veras to shortstop Jonathan Villar that brought in a run to set up Gonzalez' heroics. Hagerty scored the winning run.

Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_28427898/chihuahuas-rally-three-ninth-win

July 3, 2015

Follow-up: Ex-Galveston judge arrested, charged with online harassment

Photo By Galveston County Sheriffs Office
Former county Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy was arrested in Galveston and his bail was set at $600,000.


GALVESTON – A former state judge from Galveston County forced from office in 2013 was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of online harassment for allegedly placing fake online ads indicating two former girlfriends were available for sex-for-hire, according to authorities and court documents.

Former County Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy was arrested in Galveston and his bail set at $600,000, said Col. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.

The investigation was launched by the Harris County Sheriff's Office, but a spokesman for that agency was unavailable for comment. Dupuy filled out a form requesting that an attorney be appointed for him as well as a pauper's oath showing that he cannot afford an attorney. The forms show that he claimed an income of $1,000 per week as an attorney but had a zero balance in his banking and savings accounts.

A search warrant affidavit served last week by Harris County deputies at Dupuy's home in League City alleged that the former judge put up the fake online ads.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/article/Former-Galveston-judge-arrested-on-Internet-6363961.php

Earlier threads:
Indicted Galveston judge arrested again Aug 2013
Judge Dupuy (Galveston) faces more allegations Jun 2013
Galveston Judge Christopher Dupuy indicted again and arrested again Jun 2013
Galveston judge suspended by state after arrest May 2013
Galveston judge may 'hurt or kill someone,' fellow judge says (updated 5/22/13) Feb 2013

July 3, 2015

“Granting Rights to Perverts:” Texans Still Homophobic Despite Marriage Equality

For most of us (especially here in the progressive blogosphere), the mood since last week’s Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage has been jubilant. Gay couples’ joy has been infectious as we’ve celebrated their civil rights.

Sure, Texas politicians have been reacting negatively–from Ken Paxton’s legal antics to the Dixiecrat-adjacent reactions of much of the Republican party–but it can be easy to write those off as the tantrums of people grasping for relevance (especially when we’re caught up in our own exuberant celebrations.)

However, Texas politicians aren’t the only ones reacting with hate. Plenty of everyday Texans are responding to the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling with homophobic vitriol. One need only look at the online reactions to news about marriage equality to see how hateful some Texans can be.

East Texas has, unsurprisingly, been the worst of the bunch. When the ruling came out, several East Texas counties still refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Commenters on news stories out of East Texas have reflected that same attitude. Take, for example, this commenter calling gay people “perverts” when the Tyler, TX Fox affiliate announced the ruling:

Read more: http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/30343/granting-rights-to-perverts-texans-still-homophobic-despite-marriage-equality

July 3, 2015

Carjacking suspect escapes during Wayland Baptist University-Albuquerque search

Kevin Folse, 30. (MDC)

A carjacking suspect escaped from police during an hours-long search that shut down a northeast Albuquerque university Thursday afternoon, according to a department spokesman.

Officer Tanner Tixier said Kevin Folse, 30, ran inside one of the buildings on the Wayland Baptist University campus near San Pedro and Indian School NE after he allegedly carjacked someone earlier in the day.

The university was quickly put on lockdown and some people in the building were evacuated, Tixier said.

Officers called in the SWAT team, who searched the building, but Folse wasn’t inside, he said.

Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/607093/news/police-search-for-carjacking-suspect-near-ne-abq-university.html

July 3, 2015

Five barges break loose on Mississippi River near Gramercy; two containing caustic soda sink

Source: Baton Rouge Advocate

Two of the five barges that broke loose on the Mississippi River on Thursday afternoon in St. James Parish have sunk and contain hazardous caustic soda, the St. James Parish sheriff said.

Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said deputies have told municipalities with drinking water intakes on the river to monitor water from the river in case the caustic soda has made it downstream.

The other three barges that broke free have been contained and are under control, Martin said, though one has capsized.

Martin said he did not know what is in the other three barges.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/12813216-123/mississippi-river-bridge-near-gramercy

July 2, 2015

Attorneys to sue Hood County after clerk refused to issue marriage license to same-sex couple

The Hood County Clerk’s Office did not issue Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton a marriage license today.

“So we’ll be filing a lawsuit first thing Monday morning,” says Jan Soifer, one of their attorneys. “That’s the plan.”

Soifer says she was told the same thing we were: Hood County doesn’t have the proper forms from the state. More than 200 other counties in Texas do, and they are available online for county clerks who need them immediately.

“I did ask the clerk if a man and a woman walked in here with their money to get a license if they could get one, and she said yes,” says Soifer. “I asked her, ‘Why can’t my clients?’ She said it’s because they don’t have the right form.”

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/attorneys-to-sue-hood-county-if-clerk-doesnt-issue-marriage-license-to-same-sex-couple-today.html/

July 2, 2015

Ted Cruz says embattled AG Ken Paxton should get a “fair” shake from grand jury

Ted Cruz said Thursday that he hoped Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would get a “fair” and “appropriate” proceeding in what could lead to a felony indictment.

“Ken Paxton is a good man,” Cruz said before signing copies (see photo above) of his new book, “A Time For Truth,” at a Costco in Arlington. “I trust that the judicial and the criminal law system will proceed fairly and appropriately to investigate any allegations of criminal violations.”

A special prosecutor said Wednesday that he’ll ask a Collin County grand jury to indict Paxton on first-degree felony charges of violating state securities law.

Ken Schaffer, a Houston lawyer, said a Texas Rangers investigation of Paxton revealed that the attorney general broke laws beyond what he admitted to last year, when he was fined $1,000 by the State Securities Board.

Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/ted-cruz-says-embattled-ag-ken-paxton-should-get-a-fair-shake-from-grand-jury.html/

July 2, 2015

Gay Marriage Ruling Offers Hope to Transgender Widow

Five years ago this Friday, Capt. Thomas Araguz III of the Wharton Volunteer Fire Department died fighting a massive blaze at an egg farm in Boling.

Araguz’s wife, Nikki Araguz Loyd, was on a business trip and learned of her husband’s death from another firefighter’s wife on social media. When Araguz Loyd returned to Wharton—60 miles southwest of Houston—on the morning of July 4, 2010, Thomas Araguz’s family prevented her from seeing her stepchildren.

A day after Thomas Araguz’s funeral, his mother—Simona Longoria—filed a lawsuit against Araguz Loyd, seeking to deny her firefighter death benefits. The lawsuit, which was later joined by Thomas Araguz’s first wife, Heather Delgado, alleged that because Araguz Loyd, who’s transgender, was born male, the couple’s 2008 marriage was void under Texas’ same-sex marriage bans.

The case, Delgado v. Araguz, vaulted Araguz Loyd into the national spotlight, and led to a lengthy court battle that has invoked both transgender rights and marriage equality. The case is currently on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. However, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, Araguz Loyd hopes it will soon be decided in her favor.

Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/gay-marriage-ruling-offers-hope-to-transgender-widow/

[font color=330099]I take back my earlier statements when I moved here that "nothing never happens in Wharton."[/font]

July 2, 2015

36 dead, 19 missing, over 100 rescued as ferry capsizes in Philippines

Source: AP

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine coast guard says 36 people have died and 19 are missing after an inter-island ferry capsized in the central Philippines.

Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo says 118 people have been rescued in Ormoc city on central Leyte island, where the ferry capsized Thursday.


Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/world/article26034877.html

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Short article, no more at link.

July 2, 2015

Socialism 2015 Conference begins today in Chicago

Speakers this year include:
★ Ali Abunimah ★ Phillip Agnew ★ David Barsamian ★ Jack Bloom ★ Antonis Davanellos ★ Anand Gopal ★ Suzan Shown Harjo ★ Craig Hodges ★ Monica James ★ Remi Kanazi ★ Rania Khalek ★ Erica Violet Lee ★ Chris Maisano ★ Steven Salaita ★ Ahmed Shawki ★ Sharon Smith ★ Bhaskar Sunkara ★ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ★ Sherry Wolf ★ Gary Younge ★ Dave Zirin ★ and over a hundred others ★

Some of the meetings you’ll find this year include:
★ From Black Lives Matter to Black liberation ★ Marxism and democracy ★ The relevance of Lenin ★ Slavery and the origins of racism ★ SYRIZA’s victory and the future of the Left ★ Families of police brutality victims speak out ★ Hands up, Don’t test: Standardized testing and the struggle for Black education ★ The Russian Revolution: The Bolsheviks come to power ★ Capitalism and policing ★ Addicted to oil: Why capitalism won’t abandon fossil fuels ★ Why are abortion rights under attack? ★ Women in the Civil Rights Movement ★ Understanding the crisis in the Middle East ★ $15 and a union ★ The fight for queer and trans liberation ★ The future socialist society ★ The rise of Podemos ★ Mexico after Ayotzinapa ★ Zionism and Palestinian liberation ★ Teamster Rebellion: How socialists organized the 1934 strike ★ Labor, racism, and climate justice ★ Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution ★ Postmodernism, identity politics, and solidarity ★ Capitalism and disability ★



http://www.socialismconference.org/