TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTexas County Clerk: Gov. Abbott ‘Hung Us Out To Dry,’ But ‘God Will Not Acknowledge These Marriages’
In a hilarious email sent in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, a Texas county clerk wrote that GOP Gov. Greg Abbott threw local officials under the bus by forcing them to choose between being sued and issuing licenses to same-sex couples.
In what she described as a “vent,” Shelby County Clerk Jennifer Fountain (above) wrote in the email to a statewide list that one resident told her she was taking the county “to the fires of hell” by issuing licenses to same-sex couples. Shelby County is in far East Texas, on the Louisiana border.
Abbott, who vigorously defended the state’s marriage ban, sent a vague letter to the heads of state agencies after the ruling requesting that they protect religious liberties, and Attorney General Ken Paxton later issued an opinion suggesting county clerks could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds, but likely would be sued.
Greg_Abbott_by_Gage_Skidmore“Why didn’t our governor stand up and say, ‘The State of Texas WILL NOT ISSUE marriage licenses. If you want to sue, sue the state,'” Fountain wrote. “Instead, he hung us all out to dry, threw us under the bus.”
Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2015/07/texas-county-clerk-gov-greg-abbott-hung-us-dry-god-will-not-acknowledge-marriages/
[font color=330099]This county clerk is stupid to ever believe that a Republican elected official ever gave a crap about an individual besides themself.[/font]
1959 crash nuclear secret for decades
Buried deep underground on Barksdale Air Force Base’s East Reservation is a dark secret.
It’s earth from a Bossier Parish cotton field and scraps of wreckage from a transport that crashed on takeoff 56 years ago Monday, killing none of the seven men on board but burning beyond repair their giant C-124 Globemaster II and its cargo.
“I remember the day it went down,” recalled Ralph Lecroy, a former Bossier City resident, now living in Alabama, who later joined the Air Force and four years later served as a loadmaster on C-124s. “All of Bossier City was concerned.”
That’s because the airplane carried what people were told — at the time — was an unarmed nuclear weapon.
Read more: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/community/2015/07/02/crash-nuclear-secret-decades/29582107/
Cross-posted in the Louisiana Group.
1959 crash nuclear secret for decades
Buried deep underground on Barksdale Air Force Base’s East Reservation is a dark secret.
It’s earth from a Bossier Parish cotton field and scraps of wreckage from a transport that crashed on takeoff 56 years ago Monday, killing none of the seven men on board but burning beyond repair their giant C-124 Globemaster II and its cargo.
“I remember the day it went down,” recalled Ralph Lecroy, a former Bossier City resident, now living in Alabama, who later joined the Air Force and four years later served as a loadmaster on C-124s. “All of Bossier City was concerned.”
That’s because the airplane carried what people were told — at the time — was an unarmed nuclear weapon.
Read more: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/community/2015/07/02/crash-nuclear-secret-decades/29582107/
Cross-posted in the Good Reads forum.
Texas Democrats scrapping 'Two-Step' presidential primary
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas' Democratic presidential primary is set to shift to allocating delegates based solely on voting results, after national party leaders rejected the state's traditional "Two-Step" method that had also included post-election caucuses.
America's second most populous state votes March 1 as part of the 2016 presidential election's "Super Tuesday."
While the exact state tallies may still vary, Texas is expected to have more than 250 Democratic delegates, making it the largest electoral prize of the 12 states planning to vote that day. Only California and New York have more potential delegates, but neither are scheduled to hold "Super Tuesday" primaries.
In previous cycles, two-thirds of Texas' Democratic presidential delegates were awarded among candidates based on primary results. The rest were selected by caucuses held later.
Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2015-07-01/texas-democrats-scrapping-two-step-presidential-primary#.VZTPxUYT91M
Cross-posted in the General Discussion: Primaries forum.
Texas Democrats scrapping 'Two-Step' presidential primary
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas' Democratic presidential primary is set to shift to allocating delegates based solely on voting results, after national party leaders rejected the state's traditional "Two-Step" method that had also included post-election caucuses.
America's second most populous state votes March 1 as part of the 2016 presidential election's "Super Tuesday."
While the exact state tallies may still vary, Texas is expected to have more than 250 Democratic delegates, making it the largest electoral prize of the 12 states planning to vote that day. Only California and New York have more potential delegates, but neither are scheduled to hold "Super Tuesday" primaries.
In previous cycles, two-thirds of Texas' Democratic presidential delegates were awarded among candidates based on primary results. The rest were selected by caucuses held later.
Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2015-07-01/texas-democrats-scrapping-two-step-presidential-primary#.VZTPxUYT91M
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
'I was scared to death': Teen chained up with dead chicken around neck tells story
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Handcuffed and shackled to a block of steel, the young boy would brace himself when he heard footsteps outside his bedroom door. He knew that once the grown-ups entered, the abuse would begin.
For years, he was whipped with belts, his face was burned with electrical wires and his fingers were broken with pliers — all to "teach him a lesson." The abusers, who have since pleaded guilty, were his legal guardian — a supervisor with the Department of Social Services in Union County, North Carolina — and her longtime boyfriend, an emergency room nurse.
The abuse ended in November 2013 after police discovered the boy in handcuffs, chained to the front porch of the house with a dead chicken hung around his neck.
When police entered the roach-infested house "covered with urine and animal feces," they found something else: four other children, ages 7 to 14, who had been adopted by the couple over the years. They were removed and placed in protective custody.
Read more: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/07/i_was_scared_to_death_teen_cha.html#incart_most-comments
The show must go on: Miss USA contestants keeping positive attitudes despite massive fallout
Despite Miss USA losing all of its scheduled musical performers and another judge on Wednesday, contestants are refusing to let the controversy ruin their pageant experience.
In fact, they spent the night rock climbing at BREC’s Extreme Sports Park.
“We’re gonna present the same pageant as we would if we were on TV,” said Miss New Mexico Alexis Duprey. “It’s a little bit of a letdown, I’m not gonna lie, but we’re dealing with the cards that we’re dealt with.”
On a day when Miss Universe owner and presidential candidate Donald Trump and the Miss USA organization were dealt several blows, the Miss USA contestants talked up Baton Rouge and said the pageant experience — even if it does not air on NBC — is worth the years they spent competing for their state crowns to get them here. Rather than commenting on Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants bringing drugs, crime and rapists into the United States, the contestants said they want to remain focused on the pageant.
Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/12806892-123/the-show-must-go-on
5th Circuit Court tells Louisiana to recognize same-sex marriages; Jindal administration still balks
A Federal appeals court, unsurprisingly, ruled Wednesday that Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi must allow and recognize same-sex marriages in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday legalizing the practice nationwide.
But while Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration previously had said it was waiting on that 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling before recognizing same-sex marriages, top state officials dug in their heels Wednesday and said they wouldn’t change course until a district court orders them to do so.
That only widens the gap between the administration and the reality on the ground across the state. Clerks or other officials in nearly all parishes have now said they will issue licenses to same-sex couples, even as Jindal administration officials continue to tell state agencies to hold off on accepting them as valid.
The administration’s delay in accepting the Supreme Court’s ruling may be behind another point of conflict that cropped up on Wednesday as members of newly married same-sex couples seeking to change the name on their driver’s licenses to reflect their union found their efforts thwarted by the Office of Motor Vehicles.
Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/12803694-123/drivers-license-name-change-new (Baton Rouge Advocate)
New Mexico governor denounces Trump’s comments
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez denounced GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Mexican immigrants and called his comments “horrible.”
After a news conference Wednesday on new state laws aimed at protecting abused children, the nation’s only Latina governor said she strongly disagreed with Trump’s comments that have drawn criticism across the country. Macy’s, for example, said in a statement the retailer is disappointed and distressed by Trump’s remarks, and it would no longer carry a Trump line of clothing for men.
“I think those are horrible things to say about anyone or any culture … anyone of any ethnicity,” said Martinez, a Republican. “I mean, that is uncalled for … completely.”
Martinez said she hadn’t been keeping up with Trump, but she expressed shock after learning about comments he made during his presidential campaign announcement.
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-governor-denounces-trump-s-comments/article_6a9a0f42-cb4e-5ebd-b472-59c589d96c90.html
Santa Fe cardiologist indicted on charges of fraud
A federal grand jury has indicted a Santa Fe cardiologist on 24 counts of health care fraud and wire fraud, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Dr. Roy G. Heilbron, 51, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Albuquerque and was released on his own recognizance, according to U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez and Special Agent Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.
The indictment alleges Heilbron, whose medical license expired Wednesday, hatched a scheme to defraud Medicare and other health care benefit programs between January 2010 and May 2011 by submitting false and fraudulent claims.
Prosecutors allege he defrauded the government’s medical insurance system for seniors by, among other actions, performing unnecessary tests on new patients and submitting false diagnoses to justify the tests on insurance claims.
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-cardiologist-indicted-on-charges-of-fraud/article_9d3244c8-2049-11e5-ba86-cbfdfaaa4a0b.html
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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: 112,623
