TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalJoe Biden's a decent guy. The left should treat him decently
Imagine Joe Biden is the Democratic presidential nominee and during the general election campaign, he calls Vice President Mike Pence “a decent guy.”
How many votes could a graceful throw-away phrase about a Republican opponent and ideological foe yield on Election Day — for the Democratic ticket? Even if we agree Pence has done little in his public life to warrant the dictionary definition of decent — worthy, kind, obliging, generous — might it be worth it for Democrats to choke on principle and win those swing votes?
Biden’s strength lies in his potential appeal as a general election candidate. But first he has to get through a Democratic primary, which is shifting more sharply to the left with every news cycle. Right now, the party is being driven by the politics of newly elected US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and actress-turned-activist Cynthia Nixon. Whether they turn out to be saviors who help Democrats win the White House, or Thelma and Louise, who take the party over the cliff, is the great unknown. But with Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris in the back seat, the goal is to squeeze centrists like Biden off the 2020 road.
That’s why Biden swiftly backed down after offhandedly saying something semi-nice about Pence. While speaking in Omaha, Biden brought up Pence’s appearance at last month’s Munich Security Conference, when the vice president offered greetings from President Trump and elicited no applause from world leaders in the audience. In recounting the moment, Biden said that “a guy who’s a decent guy, our vice president . . . stood before this group of allies and leaders and said, ‘I’m here on behalf of President Trump,’ and there was dead silence. Dead silence.” With that, he was trying to bury the Trump administration, not praise it.
Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2019/03/04/joe-biden-decent-guy-the-left-should-treat-him-decently/Eq829xmx6pctKErHzVWGeL/story.html
How did Canada's Justin Trudeau go from 'sunny ways' to political scandal?
Four years ago, Justin Trudeau rose to Canada’s highest office as the second-youngest prime minister in the country’s history, promising “sunny ways” and a new era of honest government, equal representation and liberalism.
Now, Trudeau is entangled in a scandal involving allegations that his office pressured his justice minister to settle a criminal case against a major corporation accused of corrupt practices on three continents — including paying millions in bribes to Libyan officials during the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
As of Monday, two members of Trudeau’s Cabinet have resigned, as has his top political adviser. The ethics commissioner for Canada’s Parliament has opened an investigation, and several opposition party members have called for the police or an independent inquiry to take on the case.
In seven months, Trudeau faces an election. How did he get here, and what’s going on?
Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2019/03/05/how-did-canada-justin-trudeau-from-sunny-ways-political-scandal/63vhMrMX6ko38WLwQNA7sL/story.html
Both sides brace for battle over 'red flag' law today in House
CONCORD — The House will hold a public hearing today on a “red flag” law, which would allow family members and law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis when there is evidence they pose a risk of harming themselves or others.
Second Amendment advocates argue that the so-called “extreme risk protection orders” the law would enable diminish due process and have the potential for abuse.
The N.H. Firearms Coalition is protesting the fact that the hearing has been moved to Representatives’ Hall, where firearms are banned.
The hearing on HB 687 was moved from Room 204 in the Legislative Office Building to Representatives’ Hall, which is now designated by House rule as a gun-free zone.
Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/both-sides-brace-for-battle-over-red-flag-law-today/article_ed375c77-964c-5254-9807-98500b3a2849.html?block_id=664688
Southern Vermont College says it will close this summer
Another small liberal arts college in Vermont will close its doors for good this summer.
Southern Vermont College president David Evans announced Monday that the school would shut down at the end of the year. He cited declining enrollments, financial pressures, and a recent decision by the New England Commission of Higher Education, the school’s regional accreditor.
“We have done as much as we feel we could have done to turn things around in terms of enrollment and to turn things around in terms of philanthropy,” Evans said. “But we’ve just sort of run out of runway.”
In late January, NECHE notified the school that it was worried about the school’s financial viability, and that SVC would need to show accreditors why it shouldn’t be placed on probation or have its accreditation withdrawn entirely.
Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2019/03/04/southern-vermont-college-says-will-close-summer/
Lawmaker wants to redesign Maine's state flag
AUGUSTA — Rep. Janice Cooper thinks it’s time to freshen up Maine’s state flag, and to do so she is leaning on the one of the banner’s first incarnations.
Cooper, a Yarmouth Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that would see the state lower its current flag, which features the state seal on a field of blue, and raise a new version that depicts a lone pine tree and a blue star on a field of light yellow. The design was adopted as the state flag in 1901 but in 1909 it was retired in favor of the current flag.
The state seal on the current flag includes a pine tree with a bull moose resting beneath it and a star, representing the North Star, above it with the state’s Latin motto, “Dirigo,” in gold letters on a red sash. The pine tree is flanked by a fisherman and farmer, representing the state’s connection to agriculture and the sea. The word “Maine,” in white letters on a light blue sash, stretches out below the seal.
A public hearing on Cooper’s proposal will be held Monday before the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee. Maine is not alone in considering a flag redesign, as other states, including Utah, are also contemplating retiring theirs. Critics dismiss flags that are built around a state’s seal as “S.O.B.s” – for seals on a bedsheet. They prefer designs that are sleeker, simpler and memorable.
Read more: https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/03/04/lawmaker-wants-to-redesign-maines-state-flag/
Maine bill limiting teachers' political speech in classrooms fails
AUGUSTA — A Maine Republican’s bill that sought to ban teachers from discussing political or ideological advocacy with students has been unanimously rejected by a legislative committee.
Rep. Lawrence Lockman’s bill sought to limit the types of classroom discussions teachers can facilitate and would have barred teachers from “endorsing, supporting, or opposing” court cases and presidential actions. The Bangor Daily News reports the bill faced strong opposition and was rejected Thursday by members of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.
Republican Rep. Gary Drinkwater says Lockman’s bill was an overreach and any issues about classroom discussions can be handled at a local level.
Republican Rep. Heidi Sampson says the Maine School Management Association has agreed to send letters to school boards about discussing sensitive topics in classrooms.
Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2019/03/01/maine-bill-banning-teachers-political-speech-in-classrooms-fails/
Gay teen shunned by parents starts college fund for others
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida teen who raised tens of thousands of dollars for college after his parents ostracized him for being gay now wants to pay it forward.
Seth Owen's story was widely shared after his biology teacher took to the crowdfunding site GoFundMe that raised $140,000. He also got a $25,000 check on Ellen DeGeneres' TV talk show.
Georgetown University offered the Jacksonville valedictorian a full-ride scholarship, and he told WTLV he used the windfall to start a nonprofit group to help other teenagers in similar circumstances.
The organization Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation will be awarding three scholarships this summer.
Owen's parents kicked him out a year ago following disagreements over his sexuality and an ultimatum: attend their Southern Baptist church or leave.
https://www.lmtonline.com/news/education/article/Gay-teen-shunned-by-parents-starts-college-fund-13660431.php
(no more at link)
If Democrats take a nap, Abbott's nominee for secretary of state will come back to life
AUSTIN — From now until May 27, Democrats in the Texas Senate must be both on their toes and in their seats.
All 12 Senate Democrats are on record as saying they'll vote to reject David Whitley, Gov. Greg Abbott's nominee for Texas Secretary of State, because of his admittedly mistake-ridden rollout of a plan to remove the names of noncitizens from the state's voter rolls.
That's enough to deny Whitley the two-thirds majority of the Republican-dominated 31-member Senate he needs to keep the job he started Dec. 17. But that didn't stop the Senate Nominations Committee from voting along party lines to send his name to the full Senate for consideration.
That's because Whitley could still win confirmation if three Democrats are absent from the Senate at the same time. The Texas Constitution says it takes two-thirds of the senators present to confirm a governor's appointee.
Read more: https://www.reporternews.com/story/news/columnists/john-moritz/2019/03/03/david-whitley-still-hopes-confirmed-texas-secretary-state/3028182002/
Jury finds ex-Baylor football player not guilty of rape
A Central Texas jury on Thursday found a former Baylor University football player not guilty of raping another student in 2016, the latest case linked to a scandal that rocked the nation's largest Baptist university and led to the departure of several top leaders.
The McLennan County jury deliberated about two hours in Waco before acquitting Shawn Oakman of sexual assault.
The woman who says she was raped testified earlier that she'd been drinking and was intoxicated when Oakman assaulted her. She said she told Oakman that she wanted to leave his duplex that night but he wouldn't allow it.
Oakman's attorney told jurors that the two wanted to be together that night and that they had consensual sex.
Read more: https://tylerpaper.com/news/texas/jury-finds-ex-baylor-football-player-not-guilty-of-rape/article_ae1d4fae-3c32-11e9-a8a7-cf960eb1aec1.html
Heartbeat bill could outlaw abortion six weeks into pregnancy
The Texas heartbeat bill that would outlaw abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected is gaining traction in the Texas legislature. Within a week of being filed on Feb. 7, House Bill 1500 had 39 co-sponsors. By Tuesday, it had 52.
“The Texas heartbeat bill ensures that unborn children exhibiting a heartbeat are protected from the cruel practice of abortion,” said Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, in a statement to The Daily Texan. “Put simply, if the heartbeat is detected, the baby is protected.”
Versions of the heartbeat bill have been filed every session since 2013, and while the bill hasn’t been assigned to committee, Cain said this year is more promising.
“2019 is the year of the heartbeat bill,” Cain said. “Eleven states have filed heartbeat bills in 2019. I’m humbled to see the growing wave of support this and other heartbeat bills are receiving across our state and nation.”
Read more: http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/02/26/heartbeat-bill-could-outlaw-abortion-six-weeks-into-pregnancy
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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
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