August 20, 2013

Elisa Chan defends anti-gay remarks as free speech

Councilwoman Elisa Chan said Tuesday in her first public remarks since news broke last week about her homophobic comments that “political correctness will not win the day” as she stood by what she said.

Chan's office notified the media 30 minutes before the 11 a.m. press conference. The media briefing room had as many Chan supporters in it as reporters and TV crews. She was applauded upon her entrance.

The councilwoman said she stands by her beliefs and alleges that her recorded comments were taken out of context; she also said she has an expectation of being able to be safe and free to express her personal opinions during those meetings.

Chan said she would “not change my own values of beliefs for political gain or survival.”

More at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Elisa-Chan-defends-anti-gay-remarks-as-free-speech-4745674.php

Cross-posted in Texas Group.

[font color=green]Thanks for the confirmation that you are ignorant and a homophobe.[/font]

August 20, 2013

Elisa Chan defends anti-gay remarks as free speech

Councilwoman Elisa Chan said Tuesday in her first public remarks since news broke last week about her homophobic comments that “political correctness will not win the day” as she stood by what she said.

Chan's office notified the media 30 minutes before the 11 a.m. press conference. The media briefing room had as many Chan supporters in it as reporters and TV crews. She was applauded upon her entrance.

The councilwoman said she stands by her beliefs and alleges that her recorded comments were taken out of context; she also said she has an expectation of being able to be safe and free to express her personal opinions during those meetings.

Chan said she would “not change my own values of beliefs for political gain or survival.”

More at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Elisa-Chan-defends-anti-gay-remarks-as-free-speech-4745674.php

Cross-posted in LGBT Group.

[font color=green]Thanks for the confirmation that you are ignorant and a homophobe.[/font]

August 20, 2013

San Antonio Councilwoman Chan’s locked-down Facebook page blows up with comments

***UPDATE***

After the original post below went live on mySA.com’s SA Politics blog, District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s Facebook page was pulled down from the social media site completely.

**************

We’re not sure how long Facebook users have been blocked from posting directly to District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s page or messaging the councilwoman, but those functions are definitely disabled now.

It hasn’t stopped hacked-off posters from making sure their voices are heard: They’re responding to posts, no matter the original topic, with their $0.02 on her homophobic comments that have flamed across the Internet since Express-News columnist Brian Chasnoff first revealed her true feelings.

-snap-

Meanwhile, in another corner of Facebook, George Takei — a former Star Trek star turned powerhouse LGBT activist — took Chan to task.

He wrote: “It’s always disappointing when Asian Americans in leadership positions fall short. Personally, I find this woman’s actions repugnant. San Antonio, it’s time to dump your trash and make sure the likes of Elisa Chan are never reelected.

More at http://blog.mysanantonio.com/politics/2013/08/chans-locked-down-facebook-page-blows-up-with-comments/ .

Cross-posted in Texas Group.

August 20, 2013

San Antonio Councilwoman Chan’s locked-down Facebook page blows up with comments

***UPDATE***

After the original post below went live on mySA.com’s SA Politics blog, District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s Facebook page was pulled down from the social media site completely.

**************

We’re not sure how long Facebook users have been blocked from posting directly to District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s page or messaging the councilwoman, but those functions are definitely disabled now.

It hasn’t stopped hacked-off posters from making sure their voices are heard: They’re responding to posts, no matter the original topic, with their $0.02 on her homophobic comments that have flamed across the Internet since Express-News columnist Brian Chasnoff first revealed her true feelings.

-snap-

Meanwhile, in another corner of Facebook, George Takei — a former Star Trek star turned powerhouse LGBT activist — took Chan to task.

He wrote: “It’s always disappointing when Asian Americans in leadership positions fall short. Personally, I find this woman’s actions repugnant. San Antonio, it’s time to dump your trash and make sure the likes of Elisa Chan are never reelected.

More at http://blog.mysanantonio.com/politics/2013/08/chans-locked-down-facebook-page-blows-up-with-comments/ .

Cross-posted in LGBT Group.

August 20, 2013

Southern Dallas charter school fails city fire, building inspections, won’t open in time for classes

A Mountain Creek area charter school today failed city safety inspections and will not be ready to open to its more than 750 students for the scheduled first day of classes tomorrow, officials said.

A message posted to the Harmony School of Nature website minutes ago blames “ongoing fire system construction and inspection” and says the first day is postponed until Monday.

But Interim Assistant City Manager Theresa O’Donnell said the problems at the school at 8120 West Camp Wisdom Road are so extensive that it could easily take a month to make the proper repairs.

“That building is not safe for children to occupy,” O’Donnell said.

More at http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/southern-dallas-charter-school-fails-city-fire-building-inspections-wont-open-in-time-for-classes-tomorrow.html/ .

August 20, 2013

In split vote, Dallas County commissioners agree to sue Texas Gov. Rick Perry over voter ID

Democratic Dallas County commissioners narrowly agreed this afternoon to join a lawsuit against Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry over state efforts to enforce a controversial voter identification law.

Democratic Commissioner Elba Garcia stepped out of the partisan fray inextricably linked to the national debate on voter ID laws and joined Republican colleague Mike Cantrell in voting against the move. County Judge Clay Jenkins and commissioners Theresa Daniel and John Wiley Price, all Democrats, votes for the measure.

Supporters of suing, including District Attorney Craig Watkins, said the move is an attempt to protect voters’ rights. An estimated 220,000 county voters lack the identification the law would require.

Cantrell, the lone Republican commissioner, accused his colleagues of using county funds to push a partisan agenda. Garcia criticized the lack of detailed information on what joining the suit will cost.

Source: http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/in-split-vote-dallas-county-commissioners-agree-to-sue-perry-over-voter-id.html/

August 20, 2013

Manziels put College Station-area home on sale

Some say Johnny Manziel is counting down the days to his exit from College Station, but his parents are definitely planning a move.

The Manziels have been trying for months to sell their home in the 3300 block of Altura Court in Bryan. The home, which is minutes from campus, is listed by Lone Star Realty for $379,000. Michelle Manziel, Johnny's mother, is the listed realtor for the home.

-snip-

The home features four bedrooms and three bathrooms in more than 2,800 square feet of living space. It also comes with an antler chandelier and a separate study.

According to Realtor.com, the Manziels purchased the home in June 2011 to allow them to be closer to Johnny as he started his college career.

More at http://www.chron.com/homes/article/Manziels-put-College-Station-area-home-on-sale-4746135.php?cmpid=hpfc .

August 20, 2013

Waco pastor makes controversial decision to ban hair weaves

A Waco pastor has ignited a firestorm of controversy for admonishing his church's leadership staff not to wear hair weaves.

"Our black women are getting weaves trying to be something and someone they are not. Be real with yourself is all I'm saying," Pastor A.J. Aamir told America Preachers online.

Wearing hair weaves, he told his leadership at Resurrecting Faith Church, creates a "false image" that is associated with women who have low self-esteem.

Aamir, 39, leads a congregation whose average age is 22, according to America Preachers. He told the publication that he was raised in a strict household by his parents, who are members of the Islamic faith.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Waco-pastor-makes-controversial-decision-to-ban-4746330.php?cmpid=hpts .

[font color=green]I predict that the pastor will be preaching to a smaller congregation next Sunday.[/font]

August 20, 2013

Hightower Report: Ken the Sex Cop for Governor

[font color=green]Excuse me for invading your state group, but I thought that ya'll might get a kick out of the following article from the Hightower Report.[/font]

As they say, politics makes strange bedfellows. Take Anthony Weiner. Please!

But the twisted tweeter of New York City politics is hardly alone in the strange world of oversexed campaigns – and at least he wasn't trying to put his strangeness into law, like Ken Cuccinelli is doing. Ken, the far right-wing attorney general of Virginia, is now running for governor. But it turns out that he really wants to be Virginia's top sex cop, patrolling people's bedrooms.

That state's official tourist slogan brags that "Virginia Is For Lovers." But not if they're into anything icky, snaps Cuccinelli, who's pushing hard to reinstate a "Crimes Against Nature Law," which was declared unconstitutional by a 2003 Supreme Court ruling.

Ken loved that law because it banned sex that he finds unnatural, which apparently is everything beyond "doing it" in the missionary position. In particular, the law declared that it's a "crime against nature" (and the state), "If any person carnally knows ... any male or female person ... by or with the mouth." Yes, that's a ban on oral sex. Even by consenting adults, including married adults, in the privacy of their own bedrooms! Cuccinelli, who masquerades as a small government conservative, finds that icky – and, by God, he wants his personal hang-up enshrined in law and enforced by government agents.

More at http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2013-08-16/hightower-report-ken-the-sex-cop-for-governor/ .

[font color=green]At the end of the article was this posted comment:

I must give Cucc some credit. He really has young voters interested in politics. My soon to be 18 yr old son and all his eligible friends can't wait to vote against the man who is trying to ban bj's.
[/font]

August 20, 2013

My Early Christmas List

By Dr. Brian Carr
President, Behavioral Health Associates, Lubbock, Texas, 1991-Present
Chairman, City of Lubbock Board of Health, 2013
Submitted on August 20, 2013 - 8:17am

I have benefited in the presence of mental health issues over my 27 years of private practice as a psychologist. Depression is the “common cold” of life and I have shared sorrow and joy as people find their pathway to a better place.

However with other instances of dysfunctional thought process the person is their own worst enemy. Such delusional disorders can rise to the point where they harbor fanatical commitment to a belief system that is completely lacking in reason or reality.

Such is the case of those on the Extreme Right.

Now I am not talking about many in the Republican Party who have chosen to avoid confronting those in their midst that have hijacked their political party. Those are people who are conservative but reasonable…prepared to seek solutions and compromise over harmful “all or nothing” campaigns that are a disservice to our country.

Sometimes you have to let the person go forth and bring action to their dysfunctional beliefs. Like a person who is struggling with alcoholism or drug abuse they must “hit rock bottom” so that a moment of clarity can occur. Then, and only then, can one appeal to them to find another way.

In this effort to advance to solutions I offer this “wish list” for the Extreme Right. I believe it helpful for the country to showcase the level of delusional fantasy that their leaders profess. I am hopeful that:

1. Senator Ted Cruz will be successful in shutting down the federal government in the fall. When this last happened in 1995 it created havoc among the Republican Party and led to a second term for President Clinton.

2. Governor Perry will continue to operate with a heavy hand that favors his cronies and moves operational debt and responsibility onto municipalities across Texas. Don’t like your property tax now, just wait until Lubbock has to pay to maintain ALL of the roads running across our region.

3. That Congressman Neugebauer will successfully strip food stamps bare and ban from any public assistance those in need so that we as a community will see exactly how our charities and churches are overwhelmed by the demand.

4. Back to Senator Cruz (a person whose actions provide an endless source of references) I hope that he will continue to defend himself regarding “birther” questions. Perhaps Donald Trump will adopt him and share hair grooming tips.

5. That the Republican leadership in Austin will ramp up their war on women and minorities. Can you name things that are less regulated in Texas than a woman’s uterus? See (1) college tuition, (2) gun shows, (3) bottled water, (4) texting while driving, and (5) fertilizer plants that explode.

6. That efforts to suppress the vote in Texas (already at the bottom of voting percentage) will wipe out early voting and require photo ID and correct color of ink. People hate being able to vote early and this I’m sure will be greeted with warmth when no longer available.

7. That the talking heads will continue to shout out their paranoia and fear of Obamacare and how we each will be implanted with a crystal in our hand that, at the age of sixty, will start to glow and we will have to board a train for a EPA camp in New Mexico where we will be given a last meal of Soyent Green and then electrocuted while being videotaped for pay per view.

8. That those who post comments (or blogs) about how bad the president is…or his false birth certificate…or his brain implant from the Muslim Brotherhood…or how he wants to crossbreed your children with farm animals will get some idiot in Washington to start impeachment proceedings against him. That would be my most favorite gift.

I know it is still several months until Christmas but it never hurts to start early.

TAGS:

LubbockOnline Blog
Abbott likes to sue and lose millions
Angry Old White Doctor Guys are delightful
Christmas is grand
crazy
death is cost containment
Everyone hates early voting
Lubbock
make all the roads in Lubbock tollways
Perry stares in the mirror for hours
stakes out on an ant bed might help
Ted Cruz is my hero
Texas
we need the reason of judge head now
Women and children are chattel

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2013-08-20/my-early-christmas-list

Cross-posted in Texas Group.