Listen to the gecko...

Islamic terrorists might have crossed borders, Perry says

WASHINGTON - A defiant Gov. Rick Perry warned Thursday that individuals associated with terrorist forces in Iraq might already have crossed into the United States over an unsecured border with Mexico.

Speaking at a forum on immigration (The Heritage Foundation), Perry pressed for a more aggressive military response to the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria group while raising the potential of another attack on U.S. soil.

"I think there is obviously great concern that because of the condition of the border, from the standpoint of it not being secure and us not knowing who is penetrating across, that individuals from ISIS or other terrorist states could be," Perry said in response to a question. "And I think there's a very real possibility that they have already used that."

Perry added he had "no clear evidence" of entry by ISIS forces but cited murders, rapes and violent crimes committed by people crossing the border illegally.

Read more and watch video: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Islamic-terrorists-may-be-crossing-borders-Perry-5704240.php

Judge warns against Perry grand jury threats

A state district judge in Austin said Thursday that she intends to protect members of the grand jury that indicted Gov. Rick Perry from any threats — veiled or direct — from the governor or anyone else.

Judge Julie Kocurek of the 390th District Court, a Democrat, said Perry’s Saturday statement, issued a day after the indictment, could be construed as a threat and possible violation of the law. Kocurek, as the administrative presiding judge of all criminal courts in the county, said that “no one is above the law,” and the public needs to know that grand jurors are legally protected from any threat.

“I have a duty to make sure that our members of the grand jury are protected,” Kocurek said. “I am defending the integrity of our grand jury system.”

The judge said that Perry might have made a veiled threat when he said: “I am confident we will ultimately prevail, that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is, and that those responsible will be held to account.”

Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/judge-warns-against-perry-grand-jury-threats/ng6zb/

[font color=green]That might have to add a second degree felony to the charges against The Indicted One since he also is obviously stupid.[/font]

90-year-old former representative running for Texas Senate

Former Rep. Delwin Jones served 30 years in the Texas House of Representatives during two stints — the first eight as a Democrat and the last 22 as a Republican, Jones, whom Rep. Charles Perry ousted in the 2010 Republican primary, hopes to return to Austin — now as a member of the Texas Senate. And he is counting on his legislative experience to win the District 28 seat Texas Tech Chancellor Robert Duncan held for 18 years.

“I believe that my years of legislative service, my farming experience, my business experience, and my conservative philosophy make me the best qualified person to represent Senate District 28,” Jones, R-Lubbock, said when he announced his candidacy.

“We can ill afford to lose the important conservative clout we have always had in Austin,” he said. “During my 30 years of service as a state representative, I provided legislation that created such invaluable assets as the Texas Tech University Medical School, University Medical Center Teaching Hospital, Texas Tech School of Law, Texas Tech Board of Regents, International Center for Arid & Semi-Arid Land, and Original Boll Weevil Eradication Program for Texas.”

-snip-

Jones, who turned 90 in April and was already the oldest state legislator when (Charles) Perry ousted him four years ago, is also a potential candidate in House District 83, the district he used to represent.

Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/election/2014-08-20/jones-stopping-border-invasion-maintaining-local-control-over-water-among#comment-345474

[font color=green]The GOP, electing old fossils since...[/font]

Aid group: US doctor who had Ebola has recovered

ATLANTA — At least one of the two American aid workers who were infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Africa has recovered and was to be discharged Thursday from an Atlanta hospital, a spokeswoman for the aid group he was working for said.

Alison Geist, a spokeswoman for Samaritan's Purse, told The Associated Press she did not know the exact time Dr. Kent Brantly would be released but confirmed it would happen Thursday.

Emory University Hospital planned to hold a news conference Thursday morning to discuss both patients' discharge. Brantly will speak but won't take questions, according to a news release. Emory spokeswoman Holly Korschun did not give further details on either patient, citing privacy concerns.

Franklin Graham, president of North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse, said in a statement that the group was celebrating Brantly's recovery. He has been in the hospital's isolation unit for nearly three weeks.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/08/21/6057701/hospital-to-discuss-discharge.html

Perry Grand Juror Reportedly Attended Democratic Convention And Attended Speech Of Witness

There is an interesting story out of Texas in the Perry controversy that raises the difference between grand juries and petit juries. One of the grand jurors, Rho Chalmers, who indicted Governor Rick Perry turned out to be a delegate to the Texas Democratic Party convention who not only actively participated in the convention during her service but actually took a picture with a Democratic state representative who appeared as a witness before her jury.

The rules on conflicts are more relaxed for grand jurors due to the larger number of members and the fact that their decisions are only to indict rather than to convict. However, Chalmers’ political work during the pendency of the case raises question of whether a recusal or at least a notice should be required of members. I am not saying that she acted out of political animus. I am perfectly willing to accept her insistence that it was “not a political decision” for her to vote to indict. Yet, the appearance could not be worse in such a case and the question is whether the issue was raised with the special prosecutor, San Antonio lawyer Michael McCrum.

News reports state that Chalmers attended the Democratic convention and commented on its proceedings while the grand jury proceedings were occurring. She was also photographed with Democratic state Sen. Kirk Watson, a witness. It is not known if she discussed the matter with him.

The grand jury was selected in April, 2014 and did not conclude until last week. Yet, on June 27, 2014, Chalmers shared a photo of the Watson event on a community Facebook page stating, “Senator Kirk Watson telling the story of the Wendy Davis fillibuster (sic).”

Read more: http://jonathanturley.org/2014/08/21/perry-grand-juror-reportedly-attended-democratic-convention-and-attended-speech-of-witness-during-the-grand-jury-proceedings/

Inspirational Story: Abernathy Teacher of the Year sees deafness as motivation, not obstacle

ABERNATHY — Keri Moore’s most-used phrase as a child was, “I can do it myself.”

It didn’t matter that she was born deaf.

Now a math teacher at Abernathy Middle School and the district’s newest Teacher of the Year, Moore wants her students to live by that philosophy too, she said in an interview Monday.

When Moore was 2 years old, a doctor said she would never function in the hearing world, Moore’s parents, Raymond and Martha Sue Lusk, said in a written statement.

Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/education/2014-08-20/abernathy-teacher-year-sees-deafness-motivation-not-obstacle#comment-345466

BREAKING: Perry's legal team says PIU lead investigator found no wrongdoing regarding CPRIT

Updated: In a news conference this morning, attorneys for Gov. Rick Perry rejected allegations that Perry attempted to obstruct an on-going investigation into the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas last year when he vetoed money to the Travis County district attorney’s office.

The attorneys said they had obtained a sworn affidavit from the former lead investigator for the CPRIT investigation, and that the former investigator, Chris Walling, said neither Perry nor any Perry appointee was targeted in the investigation.

“The CPRIT issue is a red herring the Democrats are trying to make float upstream, and it doesn’t work,” said Perry attorney Ben Ginsberg of Washington, D.C.

The investigation by the district attorney’s Public Integrity Unit led to the indictment last year of a former ranking CPRIT official. That case is pending.

See Twitter comments at http://www.statesman.com/news/perry-legal-team-major-announcement-082114/ .

My Home Town: Racial tensions on the rise

Davis recounts past efforts to aid survivors of rape

ODESSA, TEXAS -- With less than three months before election day, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis made a second campaign stop in Odessa to compare her past efforts to curb sexual assault with past decisions of her opponent, Republican candidate Greg Abbott.

Davis spoke at a press conference at the Odessa Crisis Center, focusing on past legislation she worked on that helped reduce the 18,500 backlogged and untested rape test kits, provide more funding for the testing, ensure sexual assault survivors can be treated at almost every hospital emergency room in Texas and set standards for avoiding future backlogs.

“It’s not easy to pass a landmark bill across the aisle in the state of Texas, but Wendy has done it three times,” said Karen Hildebrand, the executive director of Odessa Crisis Center who introduced Davis at the press conference. “I am so proud that she fought for these laws to help sexual assault survivors in Texas.”

Davis’ visit in Odessa was part of the new direction her campaign has take since releasing on Aug. 7 a television advertisement that directly attacks Abbott. The one-minute ad explains how Abbott -- when he was on the Texas Supreme Court -- sided with a vacuum cleaner distributor rather than a rape survivor in a case involving a salesman and a mother in Seguin.

More at http://www.mrt.com/top_stories/article_5e79e298-281c-11e4-8a0a-0019bb2963f4.html .