TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalIs This the Best Rick Perry Photo of All Time?
This morning, Texas Governor Rick Perry tweeted a photo encapsulating what is no doubt a very special approach to international relations. The picture largely speaks for itself, but let's ponder some of the major questions.
* Did Mr. Seko come to the meeting wearing a baseball glove?
* Did he think Governor Perry was some sort of representative of the Texas Rangers?
* How do you shake hands with someone wearing a baseball glove? We ask because Rick Perry desperately needs to know the optimum approach. This approach is clearly not working.
* Where are they standing? Is that wallpaper or a house?
* Whose idea was it to put Rick Perry's head directly in front of a very small painting depicting a scene that is basically the opposite of Texas?
* Is Rick Perry just trolling all of us? Is it working because I'm writing this?
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/09/rick_perry_photo_japan_baseball.php
[font color=green]The first one to post the BEST Rick Perry photo will be lauded by the DU community.[/font]
West Texas Sheriff prepped for ISIS fight
Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter offered candid remarks to CNN on Friday regarding the militant group ISIS, stating his office is prepared for terrorist cells attempting to cross the border into Texas.
When CNN anchor Don Lemon asked what message Painter wants conveyed to the terrorist group, he firmly stated, “If they rear their ugly head, we’ll send them to hell.”
Painter previously spoke with a Midland TV station regarding ISIS, and he said CNN likely contacted him in response to that story.
The sheriff said he received an alert bulletin that ISIS — Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — may have formed a terrorist cell in or near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a Mexican border city across from El Paso. He said the alert warned law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for such activity.
Read more: http://www.mrt.com/news/article_782d7b46-3636-11e4-8758-001a4bcf887a.html
As a descendent of a clan of slave owners
By Dr. Brian CarrCliven Bundy, the Arizona rancher who is refusing the pay to use government land to graze his cattle is the modern face of those citizens who question if slavery is bad. He stated, “And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”
So, tomorrow on one election day, and again in November, we watch as the modern-day traders in human flesh and misery sit back and enjoy the fruits of the hard labor of those who are enslaved to them. They attend dedications to statues in our city for those who are wrongfully convicted. They shrug their shoulders and wave the flag as those most vulnerable are drained of life. The whip is raised to punish any who question their morality and compassion.
Slavery remains in our country and is even uglier than what my family knew.
The complete article is at http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2014-09-08/descendent-clan-slave-owners#.VA5zaWPuPoE . Cross-posted in the Good Reads forum.
As a descendent of a clan of slave owners
By Dr. Brian CarrCliven Bundy, the Arizona rancher who is refusing the pay to use government land to graze his cattle is the modern face of those citizens who question if slavery is bad. He stated, “And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”
So, tomorrow on one election day, and again in November, we watch as the modern-day traders in human flesh and misery sit back and enjoy the fruits of the hard labor of those who are enslaved to them. They attend dedications to statues in our city for those who are wrongfully convicted. They shrug their shoulders and wave the flag as those most vulnerable are drained of life. The whip is raised to punish any who question their morality and compassion.
Slavery remains in our country and is even uglier than what my family knew.
The complete article is at http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2014-09-08/descendent-clan-slave-owners#.VA5zaWPuPoE . Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
Let's Fix Our Broken Property Tax System by Comptroller Candidate Mike Collier
No one really likes taxes, but that's what it takes to invest in our future here in Texas. Our Texas government functions, for better or for worse, with this marriage of property and taxes. Our property tax system generates over $40 billion per year for schools, roads, police, and fire protection -- all things Texans rely on in some form or fashion.
So the reality is we need tax systems, even complex ones like the property tax system. And since it's a complex tax system, we owe it to ourselves to make sure it is at the very least working properly and producing a fair outcome.
For many years, our elected leaders in Austin have ignored the pleas of ordinary homeowners and small business to fix our broken property tax system and restore confidence that it is fair for everyone, including them. That's why it's time Texans hire a Watchdog to serve as Comptroller. Texans need to know they have someone in Austin fighting for their rights as taxpayers for a property tax system that works properly and is fair for everyone, including homeowners and small businesses.
I recently announced seven policy initiatives which I will pursue if I am honored to serve as Comptroller, and first of these is property tax reform. The Republicans have said they want to get rid of the property tax, but that's a terrible idea. It would cause our sales taxes to increase to 20% (at least), and it would take away local control of our school districts, cities, counties and so forth.
Read more: http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15662/lets-fix-our-broken-property-tax-system
The New Prosperity Gospel at the Americans For Prosperity Convention
The hundred or so conservative activists convened in the ballroom of Dallas’ Omni hotel are in for a real treat: A sneak-peek of the last chapter of the troubled trilogy adaptation of Ayn Rand’s law-library length magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged.
The trilogy—part of a years-long effort to create a Rand revival that started just after Obama’s inauguration—has had a rough go. The first two chapters were commercial failures that seemed to encapsulate a recent feature of American political life—the blustering revival of reactionary forces and their as-yet failure to turn rage and disgust into electoral or cultural success. The third was reduced to finding funds on Kickstarter—a bit like looking for change in your parents’ couch. But at this screening, on the eve of Americans For Prosperity’s national convention in Dallas in late August, it feels, for just a few moments, as if the movement might finally be waking up.
On screen, John Galt, champion for the job-creating class, is tied and tortured by his statist captors in the position of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross. Rescued by Dagny Taggart and spirited to a waiting helicopter, the two watch society collapse around them. Stock footage of cities losing electricity cycles on screen. As the Makers escape, the great collectives of the Takers, layabouts and leeches enters a death spiral.
“It’s the end,” says Taggart. “No,” says Galt. “It’s the beginning.” Cut to the Statue of Liberty, which remains lit. Fin.
Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/americans-for-prosperity-gospel/
Davis knocks Abbott over ad video shot by his state-paid videographer
AUSTIN — Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign recently used video shot by his office’s state-paid videographer in a political ad, a practice for which the Republican has been criticized in the past.
The short ad posted online in July features footage of Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte saying Abbott has “been phenomenal in his leadership” as attorney general to combat human trafficking. The video is from a November 2008 news conference in which Van de Putte and Abbott released a report showing that Texas needed to strengthen state laws to deal with human trafficking.
It is relatively common for campaigns to use footage shot by state-paid videographers in the normal course of state business, but some political activists believe it is questionable for a state official to use footage shot by that official’s own office to further his or her political career.
The campaign of Abbott’s opponent, Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, notified the Houston Chronicle about the video Monday, saying that “despite being criticized for using state resources for his campaign in 2006, Abbott is doing the same thing in 2014.”
Read more: http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/09/davis-knocks-abbott-over-ad-video-shot-by-his-state-paid-videographer/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Railroad Commissioner Targets a Russian Threat
The Railroad Commission of Texas is talking an awful lot about Russia this summer.
Commissioner David Porter on Monday become the second of the state's three oil and gas regulators to raise concerns that Russia, looking to bolster its share of the global natural gas market, is waging a misinformation campaign against hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the method of blasting apart shale to free up oil and natural gas.
Russia is the world’s second-leading natural gas producer, behind the U.S., and Texas is responsible for about one-third of U.S. output. Porter says that Gazprom — Russia's state-controlled natural gas company — is partnering with U.S.-based public relations firms to spread unsupported propaganda about the environmental and health risks of the practice of fracking.
Moscow's "apparent strategy includes funding anti-hydraulic fracturing environmental organizations, placing misinformation in the public, and even mass media propaganda — namely their assistance with the distribution of Gasland, an incredibly deceitful film about hydraulic fracturing in America,” Porter wrote in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. The effort "has already resulted in the ban of hydraulic fracturing in many EU countries, and now, they have their sights set on the U.S.”
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2014/09/08/railroad-commissioner-fears-russian-threat/
Greg Abbott Asks If Wendy Davis Book Tour Illegal
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott's campaign manager is requesting a ruling from the Texas Ethics Commission on whether Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis' book deal and tour are illegal corporate campaign contributions.
In the three page letter sent Monday morning, Abbott campaign manager Wayne Hamilton argues the book is tied to her campaign. Corporate campaign contributions are illegal in Texas elections.
"The book will be serving as a promotion of the issues the candidate has been highlighting over the course of the campaign," Hamilton wrote in his letter. "Because of the proximity of the book's publishing and the election, the candidate will be using political funds on voter contact at the same time the publisher is using corporate funds to promote the book."
Davis spokesman Zac Petkanas said the Davis campaign was careful to follow every legal guideline.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2014/09/08/greg-abbott-asks-if-wendy-davis-book-tour-illegal/
Rick Perry’s lawyers file second request for case dismissal
Attorneys for Gov. Rick Perry, indicted last month on charges related to his veto threat of money for the Travis County District Attorney’s office, have filed another request for a judge to throw out the case.
The motion to dismiss the indictment filed Monday makes many of the same claims as a previously filed writ of habeas corpus and largely cites “Constitutional grounds.”
The petitions contend the “Texas Constitution imposes no limits on the governor’s right and duty to veto; he exercises unbounded discretion in exercising his veto power, subject only to the Legislature’s right to override that veto,” among many other claims.
They also contend that the prosecution threatens to violate Constitutional separation of powers and said that Perry, in vetoing the money, was acting in his legislative capacity.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/rick-perrys-lawyers-file-second-request-for-case-d/nhH7k/
Profile Information
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: 112,089
