TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTed Cruz Thinks Employers Should Be Allowed To Deny Their Employees Paid Family Leave
Republican presidential candidate and current Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was asked by a member of the work/family policy organization Make It Work about paid family leave at the Iowa State Fair. In response, he said that while he values paid leave, he doesn’t support any requirement that companies actually offer it to workers.
“I think maternity leave and paternity leave are wonderful things. I support them personally,” he said in remarks released in video on Friday. “But I don’t think the federal government should be in the business of mandating them.”
Yet without a mandate, more than 70 percent of employers offer no paid maternity leave and more than 80 percent don’t offer paid paternity leave. That leaves 88 percent of the workforce without paid family leave if they have a new child.
Some companies have recently made news for offering generous paid leave benefits, like the year of unlimited leave introduced at Netflix. Other tech companies have beefed up their leave policies. But those benefits mostly flow to high-income, white-collar workers. The less someone makes, the less likely they are to get paid family leave from work. Just 5 percent of the lowest-paid workers get paid maternity or paternity leave, while 21 percent of the highest paid can count on it.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/09/02/3697995/ted-cruz-family-leave/
[font color=330088]Ted Cruz--moving us forward to the 18th century![/font] 
Fox News anchor sues Hasbro over toy hamster with her name
FILE - In this April 28, 2015, file photo, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner poses for a photo on the set in New York. Harris sued toymaker Hasbro Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, in federal court in New Jersey for more than $5 million over a toy that shares her name. Harris' suit claims Hasbro wrongfully appropriated her name and persona with its plastic "Harris Faulkner" hamster. Photo: Richard Drew, AP / AP
Photo: Richard Drew, AP
This June 23, 2015 photo released by the Hogan Lovells law firm shows toys from Hasbro's "Littlest Pet Shop" line in New York, including characters named Benson Detwyler and Harris Faulkner. Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner sued Hasbro Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, in federal court in New Jersey for more than $5 million over the toy that shares her name. Harris' suit claims Hasbro wrongfully appropriated her name and persona with its plastic "Harris Faulkner" hamster. (Patsy Wilson/Hogan Lovells via AP Photo)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — An anchor for Fox News is suing Hasbro for more than $5 million over a toy hamster that shares her name — and possibly even her resemblance.
Harris Faulkner sued Hasbro this week over its plastic Harris Faulkner hamster, sold as part of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company's popular Littlest Pet Shop line. She says the toy wrongfully appropriates her name and persona, harms her professional credibility as a journalist and is an insult.
"Hasbro's portrayal of Faulkner as a rodent is demeaning and insulting," says the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.
Faulkner has been at Fox News for a decade. She hosts the daytime show "Outnumbered" and anchors a Sunday evening newscast.
-snip-
Faulkner is seeking $5 million in damages and attorney fees, plus any profits the company made on the toy.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Fox-News-anchor-sues-Hasbro-over-toy-hamster-with-6480548.php#photo-8570783
[font color=330099]I wonder if Harris Faulkner is one of the people that promote lawsuit reform? Hasbro apparently has trademarked the name so this could be interesting...[/font]
GOP Rep. Drew Springer: Have your chromosomes checked so you will know which bathroom to pee in
Hilarious exchanges on the Twitter feeds for Lone Star Q Twitter and GOP Rep. Drew Springer from Muenster, Texas:
[font color=blue]Lone Star Q ?@lsqnews 2h2 hours ago
Lone Star Q retweeted Drew Springer
Rep. @DrewSpringer doesn't think transgender kids should be allowed to pee at school #txlege #LGBT
Lone Star Q added,[/font]
Drew Springer @DrewSpringer
I filled an amend. 2 budget 2 protect our daughters from this self ID attack. http://www.youngcons.com/missouri-students-walk-out-of-class-in-protest-of-transgender-locker-rooms/ … I was shut down by Austin Rep #txledge
6 retweets 2 favorites
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Drew Springer
?@DrewSpringer
@lsqnews your {sic} a liar. Pee where your chromosomes tell you to.
Retweets
3
Favorite
1
Austin Springer
Papa Hambrick
Cat Fanatic
Lone Star Q
12:27 PM - 2 Sep 2015
[font color=blue]RT: OK, but we hope our chromosomes are better at spelling than you or we might get confused [/font] 
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[font color=blue] Lone Star Q ?@lsqnews 50m50 minutes ago
@DrewSpringer Requiring that all 26 million Texans undergo chromosome testing to use public restrooms doesn't sound like small government
https://twitter.com/DrewSpringer/status/639157707493261312 [/fomt]
Source: http://www.lonestarq.com/
Judge cancels contempt hearing for Ken Paxton over gay marriage ruling
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton can cross at least one uncomfortable court appearance off his schedule.
A federal judge ordered late Tuesday the cancellation of a contempt hearing that had been scheduled next week for Paxton. The court had previously said the attorney general was resisting enforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling.
The point of contention was that the state was not allowing the names of gay couples on birth and death certificates, along with other vital documents. Faced with legal pressure, the state moved in mid-August to provide those forms to same-sex couples.
And U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia wrote on late Tuesday that the state is now fully complying with “the Supreme Court’s … opinion recognizing same-sex marriage.”
Though that decision marks something of a win for Paxton, the attorney general’s first assistant bristled at the notion that it was even necessary.
Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/09/judge-cancels-contempt-hearing-for-ken-paxton-over-gay-marriage-ruling.html/
[font color=330099]I don't believe that the cancellation of the contempt hearing should be considered as a win for Paxton. He was forced to comply with a Supreme Court decision and he did not get to have his way about denying rights to same-sex couples. It sure seems like a loss from my perspective.[/font]
UK government pursuing vicious anti-immigrant response to migrant crisis
The Conservative government in the UK has stepped up its offensive against immigrants, with Home Secretary Theresa May stating in a Sunday Times op-ed column that net migration into the country is “far too high”.
Britain can not cope with an additional 330,000 people, she said, adding, “Net migration at that volume is simply unsustainable. It puts pressure on infrastructure, such as housing and transport—and public services, such as schools and hospitals.”
May’s comments came the horrific death toll of desperate refugees fleeing war zones in the Middle East and Africa continues to rise. Thousands have perished, drowning in the Mediterranean Sea or asphyxiating in the back of lorries.
In a statement that contravenes Britain’s obligations under international law to accept refugees and asylum seekers, May said that the only migrants who should be allowed to stay in Britain are those from the Europe Union who have a job already lined up.
Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/02/migr-s02.html
Cruz again blames Obama in deputy's killing
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz again blamed President Barack Obama for last week's killing of a Harris County sheriff's deputy, saying Tuesday that violence against law enforcement is a "direct manifestation" of his administration's vilification of police.
Cruz's condemnation of increased police scrutiny echoes that of the Harris County Sheriff, who similarly placed Deputy Darren Goforth's slaying in the context of nationwide rhetoric about police violence.
"The violence we're seeing directed at law enforcement is a direct manifestation of the harsh rhetoric and the vilification of police officers – of law enforcement – that sadly has come all the way from the top," Cruz told reporters following a luncheon address to the Greater Houston Partnership, the region's chamber of commerce. "The president has a powerful bully pulpit, and that bully pulpit is not used to stand with the men and women of law enforcement."
No motive has been ascribed to the ambush of Goforth as he pumped gas in northwest Harris County last Friday.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/politics/us/article/Cruz-again-blames-Obama-in-deputy-s-killing-6479039.php
Mass anti-government rallies in Malaysia
Large anti-government protests took place in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and provincial centres over last weekend demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak despite a government ban. While the police estimated the crowd in the capital at 35,000, organisers from the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) put the numbers at 200,000 on Saturday, swelling to 300,000 on Sunday.
Whatever the exact figures, the protests are the largest since the mass opposition rallies that followed the 2013 national elections in which Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and its allies retained power despite failing to secure 50 percent of the vote. Bersih, a grouping of non-government organisations associated with the opposition People’s Alliance (PR), was formed to demand electoral reform and an end to the present electoral gerrymander.
Najib is currently embroiled in a scandal involving the heavily indebted state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investment fund from which nearly $US700 million allegedly found its way into the prime minister’s personal accounts and was used to finance UMNO’s 2013 election campaign. Najib has rejected demands that he stand aside, claiming the money came from a private Middle Eastern donor and was being held for UMNO.
The government allowed the rally to go ahead despite last week declaring it illegal, banning the wearing of signature Bersih yellow t-shirts and blocking websites supporting the rally. In 2011 and 2012 police violently attacked Bersih rallies. Police interference and arrests at last weekend’s protests, known as Bersih 4.0, appear to have been limited.
Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/01/mala-s01.html
That Sinking Feeling
Is indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton a political aberration or a symptom of a larger sickness?On a muggy summer night outside the fortress-like Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church in North Texas, Valerie Herrington, a member of the McKinney Tea Party, wants the world to know she’s made up her mind about Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal difficulties, which seem, at the moment, to be multiplying. “There’s nothing to it,” she says disgustedly. “It’s a witch hunt.” How does she figure? “I know Ken Paxton. He’s a good man. And I also know that there’s witch hunts going on in Austin. So I know it’s a witch hunt.” With that, she ambles off into the darkness.
Earlier that day, July 28, a grand jury at the nearby Collin County Courthouse had added two first-degree felony charges to a third-degree felony charge issued against Paxton earlier in July. The three sealed indictments alleged that Paxton committed securities fraud and failed to register as an investment advisor. On Aug. 3, the indictments became public, and Paxton was booked at the courthouse, slipping in and out of a back entrance via black SUV. He had marked a new milestone in his audacious career as a public servant, becoming the third of the last five Texas attorneys general to be indicted on criminal charges. He now faces the possibility of conviction and disbarment. Given the dearth of support he’s received from his fellow statewide officials, he may be pressured to resign before his first term is up in 2018. Over the last few months, the headlines have been growing more ominous for Paxton, and talk in Austin has turned to whom Governor Greg Abbott might appoint to replace him. Regardless of what happens, he’s still poised to become the first of the Texas tea party heroes to fall from grace.
McKinney’s proudest son is in serious peril, and the questions raised by his case implicate local officials and prominent citizens of Collin County. But inside Cottonwood Creek, the attention of the McKinney Tea Party is on distant horizons. Standing in front of Sunday school ephemera and a tropical beach backdrop made from brightly colored paper, a doctor gives a presentation on the evils of marijuana. Later, a square-jawed candidate for sheriff rises to speak about his 2014 trip to the Rio Grande Valley, showing the crowd videos of helicopter, boat and car chases while members of the audience ask incredulously why authorities aren’t using more lethal force.
Tea party activists like these helped turn Paxton from a middle-of-the-pack state representative into an up-and-comer with a magic touch whose rise to statewide office seemed almost foreordained. They are citizens who claim to loathe dishonesty, corruption and business-as-usual politics above all else, and their loyalty to Paxton insulated him as his moneymaking schemes grew more and more audacious and his public persona became less and less sincere. Paxton learned early how to earn and keep their respect, allying with their favored groups and adopting their dogma as his own. The respect of the tea party faithful has sustained him and, despite the indictments, the love many feel for him is undimmed.
Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/how-does-texas-end-up-with-ken-paxton/
Yes, We Need a HERO: Houstonians Unite to Save the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance
The November ballot fight over the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) could go either way, according to the manager of the campaign in support of the law.
But Richard Carlbom, of Houston Unites, said he’s optimistic that a majority of the voters will say “Yes” to HERO on November 3, upholding the city’s ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and 13 other characteristics.
A coalition of progressive groups—led by the ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas, Freedom For All Americans, the Human Rights Campaign, the NAACP Houston Branch, and the Texas Freedom Network—launched Houston Unites in mid-August, shortly after the City Council placed HERO on the ballot in response to a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court.
“This is going to be a really, really, really hard campaign,” said Carlbom, a veteran organizer who led the successful effort to defeat a same-sex marriage ban in Minnesota in 2012. “Either side could win. Where I place my confidence is that Houstonians will understand what’s at stake, will break through the horrible garbage that the other side is going to spew at them, and really have a fruitful conversation about the values of this city.
Read more: http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2015/09/yes-we-need-a-hero-houstonians-unite-to-save-the-houston-equal-rights-ordinance/
FBI opens civil rights investigation into fatal on-camera shooting of San Antonio man
Source: San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO — The FBI said Tuesday afternoon it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of a man by two Bexar County Sheriff's deputies, which was captured on cellphone video.
"We coordinate our investigation to ensure that we are not interfering with (BSCO's) investigation," said FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee. "They have been extremely cooperative and transparent."
Gilbert Flores, 41, was shot by deputies Robert Sanchez and Greg Vasquez on Aug. 28 in his front yard at a Northwest Side neighborhood. A video of the incident appears to show Flores' hands raised just before the deputies opened fire, however, Flores' left hand is obstructed by a utility pole.
Authorities have not said whether Flores had a weapon in his hand at the time of the shooting and have refused to provide a written report of the incident, pending a full investigation. The Sheriff's Office has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Everything-we-know-about-the-on-camera-killing-of-6478222.php
Edited to correct link.
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ETA: It is now being reported by one of the dispatchers that the man threatened "suicide by cop" during the incident.
http://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Recording-deputy-shooting-San-Antonio-video-6478986.php
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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
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