Houston Chronicle: Gov. Rick Perry signs tort reform bill into law

Would-be plaintiffs will have to think twice before filing frivolous lawsuits in Texas, now that a measure which levies fees on plaintiffs and allows meritless suits to be dismissed early in the process has been signed into law by the governor:

Perry designated the "loser pays" bill a top priority of the legislative session, saying Texas needs to crack down on junk lawsuits.

Some plaintiffs who sue and lose will be required to pay the court costs and attorney fees of those they are suing. The law also creates expedited civil actions for cases less than $100,000. It goes into effect Sept. 1.

Perry said the legislation "provides defendants and judges with a variety of tools to expedite justice for those deserving."

"Employers will spend less time in court and more time creating jobs," he said.

The law will encourage timely settlements by penalizing parties who turn down reasonable settlement offers to try to get more than they should.

Perry said the changes reduce the cost of litigation while still allowing legitimate cases to proceed. Supporters say the state's business climate will improve because the reforms will make Texas more attractive to employers looking to expand or relocate.

[More]

- JP

TX School District sued for allowing student-led graduation prayer

A secularist group which apparently doesn't understand the meaning of Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment has filed a lawsuit against a Texas school district because it allowed students to lead a prayer at their graduation ceremony:

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit against the Medina Valley Independent School District (near San Antonio) on Friday on behalf of a local family. The group is upset that the June 4 ceremony will include a student-led invocation and benediction. But according to the district, the two planned statements by students do not constitute official school positions and those students have a right to free speech.

“A disclaimer is printed in each graduation program that notes the content of each student speaker’s message is the private expression of the individual student and does not reflect the endorsement of the district,” school board president Roland Ruiz told the San Antonio Express.

Christa and Danny Schultz, the family behind the suit, and the Americans United group allege, however, that the school is breaking the law...

[...]

But the district isn’t backing down, according to Ruiz.

“It is sad that someone would choose the commencement exercises of the 50th anniversary of our school district as a forum for stirring political debate that threatens to needlessly cast a shadow of controversy over the pinnacle event of the class of 2011,” he said.

[More]

It is significant that the newly-formed Congress of our founders made it one of the first orders of business to appoint chaplains for the House and Senate. Nearly every session of the two chambers from day one have begun with a prayer.

Just sayin'...

- JP

Texas Music Break: 'Is anybody Going to San Antone'

Texas Tornados (2007)


- JP

Big fracking Texas shale boom could increase U.S. oil output

Houston-based New York Times correspondent Clifford Krauss writes of the shale oil boom in West Texas, where the fields have attracted an influx of oil field workers. Production has ramped up so rapidly that the roughnecks have taken up quarters in RV parks due to a housing and hotels in the area:

CATARINA, Tex. — Until last year, the 17-mile stretch of road between this forsaken South Texas village and the county seat of Carrizo Springs was a patchwork of derelict gasoline stations and rusting warehouses.

Now the region is in the hottest new oil play in the country, with giant oil terminals and sprawling RV parks replacing fields of mesquite. More than a dozen companies plan to drill up to 3,000 wells around here in the next 12 months.

The Texas field, known as the Eagle Ford, is just one of about 20 new onshore oil fields that advocates say could collectively increase the nation’s oil output by 25 percent within a decade — without the dangers of drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the delicate coastal areas off Alaska.

Krauss then goes on about the concerns of the environmental lobby because of the technique used to coax the oil out of the tightly packed layers of shale. Hydraulic fracturing -- aka "fracking" -- involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals into the rock to force the crude out of it. And it's the chemicals, mostly, that the greens object to, claiming that the compounds leach into the water table.

But at Just One Minute, Tom Maguire points out that groundwater contamination due to fracking is not settled science:

The risk to groundwater from fracking may be hypothetical rather than realized - Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA, made news with her disputed claim that she is "not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water".

FWIW, the risk from nuclear reactors is real yet unrealized, in this country at least.

Perhaps new technologies will settle the issue. Cavitation hydrovibration, a greener alternative to fracking, uses only water and none of the 200 chemicals employed in the fracking process has shown much promise when used to get natural gas out of shale rock. Crude oil, of course, is much heavier and stickier than methane gas and therefore easier to extract. But if some variation of this newer technology employing nontoxic chemicals can be adapted for shale oil extraction it would change the focus of the debate. But the greens would complain even if pure water were used. They won't be happy until we're paying over $10 a gallon for our gasoline.

As Tom says, Frack, Baby, Frack!

- JP

GOP lawmakers cheer as governor signs Voter ID bill

Gov. Rick Perry signed the voter identification bill into law Friday, saying, "This is what democracy is all about. "It's our duty to ensure that elections are fair, beyond reproach." Republicans have been pushing the measure for the past several legislative sessions:

Republicans say the law is necessary to prevent voter fraud and make elections fair. Democrats say it will do the exact opposite, by keeping minorities and the poor away from the ballots and boosting conservative voter margins.

[...]

The law would require voters to present a valid state or federal photo ID. A driver's license, personal ID card, military ID, passport or concealed handgun permit is acceptable.

Those expected to require new IDs are mostly people who have religious objections to having their picture taken or have lost their IDs in a natural disaster

Voters without IDs could cast provisional ballots but would have to show identification within six days for their votes to count. The state can issue free IDs to be used specifically for voting if someone doesn't have one of the accepted forms of identification.

"We just wanted to make sure that when someone steps into the voting booth, they are who they say they are," said Republican Sen. Troy Fraser, the Senate sponsor of the legislation.

The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, makes illegal voting a second-degree felony and attempted illegal voting a state jail felony.

[More]

- JP

Extortion: Feds threaten to ground Texas flights

The federal government has threatened to ground all commercial flights in and out of Texas over a state bill prohibiting unreasonable searched of at airports. Now the measure appears to be dead in the Texas Senate:

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, blamed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for caving in to federal officials by turning senators away from his bill. It’s very rare for a Republican to criticize such a powerful politician from his own party, but Patrick said he had never seen a bill derailed quite like this at the last minute.

[...]

The measure would have made it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch private parts under or through clothing.

The House recently approved the bill. The Senate was about to pass it until the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice told lawmakers to back off late Tuesday night.

In a letter to lawmakers, federal officials said they would have to cancel flights in and out of Texas airports, if the measure passed, because of security concerns.

We are reminded of the quotation attributed to Benjamin Franklin:

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

-JP

Don't mess with Israel

Ron Reale, a staff writer at Kevin Collins' Coach is Right blog, pulls no punches as he uses Texas as a metaphor for Israel:

If Barack Obama received a demand to return the State of Texas to Mexico he would immediately go to Mexico City bow deeply and apologetically and begin to make arrangements to meet this demand.

Imagine if a racist terrorist group, let’s call it “La Raza” just for fun, decided to complain to the UN saying Texas is occupying Mexican lands Texans won in a war, and demanded Texans be erased from he map and America be forced to revert to he pre 1846 border with Mexico and stop building homes in Texas. Imagine the racist terrorist group, “La Raza”, decided San Antonio is Mexico’s capital, and the Alamo is Mexican property.

Now imagine the UN agrees with Mexico, and demands Americans stop building homes in Texas. To fill out the picture, imagine Vladimir Putin echoes Mexico’s demands and acts in a threatening manner to make his point.

Would there be one American that would not go to Texas and start building homes, to say to the world, “^$%*# yourselves, this is our land, won in a war, and we will never give it up, or let anyone else control our movements here.

The message is clear: Don't mess with Israel!

Texas: Unparalleled Job Growth Over Past Decade

The Lone Star State leads the other 49 in job growth, adding 732,800 new private-sector jobs over the past decade. If that doesn't sound like a lot of jobs for a ten-year period, consider that it's over eight times more jobs than second place Arizona's 90,200 added jobs. The job growth reflects an economic boom unparalleled in any other part of the country, according to the Austin Business Journal:

The inventory of private-sector jobs in Texas increased by 732,800 between April 2001 and the same month this year, according to an On Numbers analysis of new federal employment data. The analysis is by G. Scott Thomas for The Business Journals, the national online news affiliate of the Austin Business Journal.

No other state registered an increase of more than 100,000 private-sector jobs during the decade. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia posted any gains at all.

[...]

Texas avoided the real estate bust that decimated the economies of several large Sunbelt states, including California and Florida, during the 2008-2010 recession. It consequently was positioned for a faster takeoff once the national economy began improving, allowing it to create 251,700 new jobs in the past year alone.

The runners-up to Texas in private-sector growth were Arizona and Utah, which added 90,200 and 90,000 jobs respectively, during the decade from 2001 to 2011.

[More]

California's loss was Texas' gain, and then some. The Golden State suffered the biggest decline of the past decade, with 623,700 fewer private sector jobs last month than it had a decade ago. Michigan fared almost as poorly, with a 10-year loss of 619,200 positions.

- JP

UT/Trib Poll: Palin 12%, Gingrich 11%, Huckabee 10%

According to a new statewide poll, Sarah Palin leads all of her potential rivals as the top choice for the GOP presidential nomination in the Lone Star State. The survey, which was conducted by The University of Texas and the Texas Tribune the week of May the 11th, was taken just before former governors Mike Huckabee and Mitch Daniels, along with real estate Mogul Donald Trump, removed themselves from contention. The poll also preceded missteps by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and businessman Herman Cain, as both stumbled coming out of the starting gate.

Results of the survey show that Gov. Palin led the field at 12 percent, followed closely by Gingrich at 11 percent, and Huckabee with 10 percent. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota were in a tie for fourth place at 7 percent each, followed Donald Trump at 6 percent; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty with 4 percent; former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at 3 percent. Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana and former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah were at the back of the pack, tied at 1 percent apiece.

The poll also found that Texas is still a "red" state, with only 30 percent of all registered voters saying that they would cast ballots to re-elect President Obama, while 48 percent would vote for the Republican candidate in the presidential race. Obama remains unpopular in Texas, as his job approval rating is only 35 percent, while a majority -- 55 percent -- disapprove of the job he's doing. Of the latter group, 46 percent strongly disapprove of his job performance. Gov. Rick Perry's job approval rating is balanced, with 41 percent giving him positive marks and 42 percent are negative about his performance. The Texas Legislature fares somewhat worse than the governor, with 35 percent approval and 38 disapproval.

According to the survey, true independents are not a very large demographic in Texas, as most registered voters associate themselves with one of the two major political parties. But when it come to the contest for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison, many voters, including half of Texas' Republicans and a solid majority of Democrats, are still undecided.

Most Texas voters see both the state and the nation as being on the wrong track. A significant percentage of Texans say they are economically worse off than they were a year ago. Lone Star State voters are evenly divided about the state of the economy, with 48 percent saying Texas' economy has worsened and 49 percent saying the same about the national economy.

This latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll is an internet survey of 800 registered voters, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.46 percent. The Republican primary questions have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.98 percent.

h/t: M. Joseph Sheppard

- JP

It's not a bug; it's a feature...

Meet the San Antonio Zoo's newest attraction -- a really BIG bug. The strange critter is an elephant beetle, just the right size for Texas. The bodacious bug is just the second of its kind to find a home in a U.S. zoo:


Horticulture curator Martin Feather and a colleague from the St. Louis zoo captured two male specimens of the Megasoma elephas in their native rainforest habitat of Costa Rica. No, they don't bite the hand that feeds them. Elephant beetles prefer a diet of fruit and tree sap.

- JP

Texas jobless rate drops to 8 percent

The San Marcos Daily Herald reports that Texas' jobless rate has dipped to 8 percent:

The Texas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 8.0 percent for April, down from 8.1 percent in March, and from 8.2 percent a year ago.

April was the third consecutive month that the Texas unemployment rate decreased, as it remained below the U.S. unemployment rate for April of 9.0 percent.

Texas total nonfarm employment was up by 32,900 jobs in April for a total gain of 254,400 jobs from a year ago.

Employment in trade, transportation, and utilities increased by 17,900 jobs in April for a total of 48,700 positions added over the year; education and health services employment rose by 11,300 jobs in April for a total of 49,000 jobs added this year and an annual job growth rate of 3.6 percent.

Professional and business services employers added 8,000 jobs in April. April also was this industry’s third consecutive month of jobs added.

The lowest unemployment numbers in the state were reported by Midland (4.4 percent) and Amarillo (5.2 percent), where production in the West Texas oil fields is on the rise. Bryan and College Station are also enjoying a low jobless rate (5.7 percent) thanks to a construction boom in the area.

- JP

Texas Music Break: 'China Grove'

Doobie Brothers (2009)


- JP

Trans Texas Corridor, we hardly knew ye (fortunately)

The Trans Texas Corridor is, at long last, dead. We consider it a mercy killing:

The Senate unanimously passed a bill that strikes from state law any language, reference and authority once connected to the massive highway envisioned to slice a swath through Texas.

The same measure already has passed the House. There are some minor differences that still need to be reconciled, but the bill is expected to go to Gov. Rick Perry, who will have to decide whether to join in the final rites for his once-prized project.

[...]

The highway corridor to parallel Interstate 35 had been a signature issue for Perry, but it was doomed after angry citizens rebelled against the private contracts, the massive proposed taking of private land and what was seen as arrogance by state transportation officials.

All that remains of the doomed "highway from hell" is a provision that would allow 85 mph speed limits on certain highways that were designed and built to handle the higher speeds.

- JP

Leon Wolf: Budget-cutting, Texas style

Leon Wolf notes that Texas has made actual cuts to its budget for the first time in 50 years:

Via the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Texas Legislature has reached a deal for the upcoming fiscal which actually cuts government spending. This is not a reduction in the rate of growth, it is not a cut based on a proposed budget, it is not a series of accounting gimmicks, the State of Texas will actually spend less money next fiscal year than it did last year.

[...]

Let us hope that John Boehner is paying attention - this is the kind of leadership the American people expect from Congress. Not budget gimmicks, not reductions in the rate of the Federal Government’s growth, but some evidence that the government is actually spending less from year to year. And while liberals and go-along-get-along Republicans claim that actual cuts to government spending will create economic disaster, the experience in Texas proves the exact opposite, as Texas remains the strongest state in the country in terms of economic growth.

[More]

Once again, The Great State of Texas demonstrates how to git 'er done.

- JP

No real evidence Rick Perry is considering a 2012 run

There's a reason why it's called "silly season." Every four years, an epidemic of White House Fever breaks out inside the beltway and makes its way to the nation's media centers, the distribution points for infecting the rest of the country. For those of us in flyover country, it's like a UFO flap, where numerous sightings of a reality series called "Pundits Gone Wild" are being reported.

Case in point: the current "Rick Perry for President" buzz. All it took to lift this rocket off the pad were a few favorable mentions of the Texas governor in the conservative press (see here, here, and here), and the next thing you hear is "Draft Perry" chatter:

DALLAS — He’s not on the ballot for 2012, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry strongly impressed a gathering of top Republican officials here Tuesday, with many high-ranking GOP officials saying the governor would be their top choice if he entered the presidential race.

“I would love to see a movement to draft Rick for the nomination if that’s the only way we can get him to run,” said Republican National Committee general counsel Bill Crocker after Mr. Perry delivered a luncheon address that had several hundred party officials attentive throughout.

“The comments I got after his speech made it clear I am not alone,” Mr. Crocker said at the meeting of GOP state chairmen and other RNC members.

Interviews with more than two dozen people after Mr. Perry spoke produced a highly unusual degree of consensus about the third-term governor’s potential prospects as a candidate.

The Perry for President buzz is spreading like - ahem - wildfire, fueled in part by a Democrat/Media Complex narrative that the current field of GOP presidential contenders is a "weak" crop. Even PJ Tatler Brian Preston has bought in to it. Next, I suppose, we will hear that Gov. Perry is "considering" a White House run. Oh, wait, that balloon has already gone up:

A Texas pol who is close to Perry has been telling a few key strategists that the nation's longest-serving governor sees a vacuum and is waiting to be summoned into the race. This source believes that could happen by late summer. Without fellow Southerners Haley Barbour or Mike Huckabee in the race -- and with Newt Gingrich's early troubles raising further doubts about the current lineup -- there could be a glaring niche for Perry to fill.

According to another well-connected Republican, at least one Perry confidant has been very quietly making inquiries about the political terrain in the nation's first voting state of Iowa. A third Perry associate, RCP has learned, has been heralding a small contingent of Iowans with the time-tested line that is often used by would-be candidates who are leaving their options open: "Keep your powder dry."

Perry's aides have long made it clear that the tough-talking Texan, who succeeded George W. Bush in Austin in 2000, would not seriously entertain the idea of mounting a White House run before the state's legislative session finishes at the end of this month. That date is now less than two weeks away, and the 2012 presidential field remains fluid.

The Perry chatter has been so discreet that nearly a dozen early-state GOP operatives and consultants contacted by RCP hadn't heard a word about it. But they are unfazed that the buzz exists.

The problem with balloons, though, is they they inevitably get deflated and return to ground. Most of the Perry for President buzz seems to be coming out of Dallas. Cooler heads seem to prevail in Austin, according to NRO's Kevin Williamson:

There’s been a bit of buzz about the possibility of Texas governor Rick Perry getting into the 2012 presidential race, mostly because he’s been making some phone calls to Iowa. Perry says that the Iowa outreach is part of his work as head of the Republican Governors Association, and, as much as I’d like to see him in the race, I think that’s probably (almost) all there is to it (at the moment). If Perry starts showing up at truck stops in New Hampshire on a regular basis, I’ll reconsider.

The main piece of evidence against a nascent Perry candidacy is the presence of Dave Carney, his chief political adviser, in the Gingrich campaign. It’s unlikely that Carney would be working on somebody else’s campaign, with Perry’s blessings, if Perry were getting serious about a 2012 run. For what it is worth, I have not found one knowledgeable person in Austin who thinks that Perry is serious about running for president.

RedState.com's Erick Erickson is of the opinion that the only way to get Perry into the 2012 contest would be as a foil to Mitch Daniels' presidential ambitions:

Perry is not running, but if Daniels does get in as seems certain and conservative angst runs high, I also believe that Perry could be drafted.

Conservatives would have to mount a massive, rapid, and high volume effort to get him in. I think such an outpouring of support and requests would draw Perry in. But, to do so, it’d have to be after Daniels and with continued displeasure with the field by conservatives.

One of the sticking points has always been whether the country was ready for another guy from Texas so soon after Bush. With Texas’s economy flourishing and the national economy still imploding, I think the country could get ready for another guy from Texas really quick.

Daniels is running. How conservatives react once Daniels makes it official could have an impact on Perry if conservatives target him for a draft effort.

If Perry does allow himself to be persuaded to chase the bandwagons to the White House along with the other big dogs, it would be the biggest flip-flop since John Kerry voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it. After all, Perry stated in May:

"I've made my decision. If I really believe in the 10th amendment, then being a governor of a state is where the action is."

Asked during a GOP gubernatorial debate on Jan. 29 whether he would serve his full four-year term if re-elected, Perry answered that he would "absolutely" as long as the Lord lets him live that long:

"If your intent here is to question where I would want to go any better than being the governor of the state of Texas, that place hasn't been made yet," Perry said.

The Lone Star State is one of the remaining places where a man's word is his bond. Those who break that bond get branded as "all hat and no cattle," which in Texas is worse than calling a man a horse thief. Houston Chronicle Washington bureau chief Rick Dunham says there's no concrete evidence to confirm Perry is considering a run:

"Gov. Perry has repeatedly said he is not running for president, and that has not changed," said Mark Miner, the governor's spokesman.

[...]

But with Perry's political pluses come some potential minuses. While he is a household name in Texas, he is not as well-known nationally and has fared poorly in early GOP straw polls. He finished 11th, behind winner Ron Paul, in a Tea Party Patriots online straw poll this spring. And he placed fourth in a Rasmussen Reports poll of dark-horse possibilities with 7 percent.

[...]

Some Texans close to Perry say he is hoping to be a kingmaker in the 2012 presidential campaign and has been sought out by candidates eager for his support.

While he says he's not running for president, one Perry friend says, "he's going to be available for dating."

Our view is that until the GOP's field of candidates shakes out a little more and some of those sitting on the sidelines toss their hats into the ring, the Rick Perry for President babble will persist. The chatterati hate to let go of their own narratives.

- JP

Battle to de-fund Planned Parenthood rages on in Texas

Life News Editor, founder and CEO Steven Ertelt has been following the continuing battle in Texas to de-fund Planned Parenthood's abortion business by diverting $61.7 million in family planning funds away from the agency and towards other more legitimate programs:

In April, the Texas House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted eight different amendments to redirect the funding and it was careful not to move additional family planning funds, leaving $104 million untouched in family planning required for complete compliance with federal spending mandates. More than 300 non-abortion agencies across the state qualify to provide family planning services and they do not do abortions or refer for them.

The move makes it so House Bill 1 could be the most pro-life budget Texas legislators have ever passed, but Elizabeth Graham, the director of Texas Right to Life, says the effort could be in jeopardy.

“Some legislators on the budget conference committee want to restore a huge revenue stream to the abortion industry,” Graham told LifeNews in an email. “Our sources in the Legislature told Texas Right to Life that efforts were underway to restore the $61.7 million to family planning that was removed by overwhelming majorities in the State House. However, due to immediate pushback by our Pro-Life elected representatives, the conference committee last night left the final amount for family planning programs pending.”

She is urging pro-life advocates to contact members of the House Bill 1 Conference Committee and urge them to keep both the Williams Senate rider and the House family planning cuts in the state budget.

[More]

Texans who believe in the sanctity of life can contact state lawmakers online to urge de-funding of Planned Parenthood. Contact information is here.

- JP

Financial Times: Dallas and Destiny

The recovery promised us by the Obama Administration and its cheerleaders, otherwise known as the media establishment, has been slow to materialize. But the "crane boom" in Dallas is a sign that Texas' economy is on the move again. The financial Times' Robin Harding has the story:

Crane counting is an economic indicator that works anywhere. At the height of the 2005-06 boom you could see 11 of them from the windows of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In the recession that followed, they all vanished.

Look out at downtown Dallas today and you will count six cranes. There is a recovery under way in this city at the heart of Texas, at the heart of America.

William Noakes is a partner in Ockleshaw, Noakes & Stares, a Dallas-based consultancy that helps big retailers to design their shops. After three years in the doldrums, he says, the mood of the US retail market has changed. “I think people are now willing to open the purse strings and retailers are saying, ‘We have to reinvest’,” says Mr Noakes.

Yet the sunnier mood in Dallas does not chime with recent economic data for the US as a whole. Almost two years after the end of the recession, it is as if Texas is in a normal recovery while the overall economy has a speed limit built in...

[...]

Across the US, the bruises left by the financial crisis are fading, but not fast, making it hard to expect the kind of growth acceleration that would let the whole country enjoy the recovery that is emerging in Texas.

Texans like to argue that there is another factor that sets them apart: a native sense of optimism and entrepreneurship, aided by low levels of state tax and regulation. Texas, they say, has been faster to regain confidence and start investing. “I’m optimistic – I’m a Texan, I’m an American,” says Philip Montgomery, a Dallas-based property developer who says that his sector is “trending back up modestly”. Both parts of Mr Montgomery’s identity are important, as they suggest the US as a whole can regain its vigour once it shakes off the speed limit that is holding it back.

[More]

We submit that "speed limit" holding back the economy beyond Texas' borders are the familiar failed liberal policies of the past which Beltway Democrats and Vichy Republicans refuse to shake off: tax, borrow and spend. A group of California governmentals recently made news when they visited Texas to get an up close look at how it should be done. We suggest that similar junkets be taken by politicians from the District of Columbia to the Lone Star State. They might just learn something about economic freedom despite themselves.

- JP

In-N-Out Burger comes to Texas; madness ensues

In-N-Out Burger, a California chain, opened its first two fast food restaurants on Texas soil last week in the Dallas suburbs of Allen and Frisco. In what may be the understatement of the week, the Houston Chronicle said the openings "created quite the stir in North Texas":


-JP

Smile! Your kids are on Calorie Camera

Big Brother is watching what your kids eat:

That's the idea behind a $2 million project being unveiled Wednesday in the lunchroom of a San Antonio elementary school. Health officials say high-tech cameras in the cafeteria will begin photographing what foods children pile onto their trays — and later capture what they don't finish eating.

Digital imaging analysis of the snapshots will then calculate how many calories each student scarfed down. Officials say the technology is so advanced it will correctly identify a half-eaten pear on a tray.

At a time when the national debt calculator is adding zeroes fast enough to give you vertigo, the Obama Administration's U.S. Department of Agriculture thinks it's a really good idea to spend a couple of million of your hard-earned dollars on this Orwellian brain flatulence. Because, ya' know, leftists just don't trust parents to raise their own children.

Had enough of that hope and change yet?

- JP

Texas Music Break: 'Luckenbach, Texas'

Waylon Jennings (1995)


- JP

Texas lawmakers tighten Internet tax laws (Updated)

Texas legislators passed a bill Friday that toughens the rules for Internet retailers, requiring online retailers with a warehouse or distribution center in Texas to collect state sales taxes:

Senators voted 30-1... to pass House Bill 2403, a measure that originated with Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton. The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Perry.

With its vote, the Senate joined the House in siding with state Comptroller Susan Combs in her push to force Amazon.com and other online retailers to collect taxes on sales made to Texans.

The company has consistently opposed collecting tax on its online sales, which has angered state governments and traditional retailers. Combs has said Texas loses $600 million a year in uncollected tax revenue on online sales.

The issue has been a political hot button in the state since Combs’ office last year sent Amazon a notice that it owes $269 million in uncollected sales taxes, citing the company’s distribution center in Irving.

The bill does not address the practice of using online retailers’ agreements with Texas-based affiliate marketers to establish physical presence in the Lone Star State.

Update: Commentary at Big Government here

- JP

Insult to injury: Feds burn Texas while Obama campaigns

While Bungler-in-Chief Obama was in El Paso "getting in their faces" (i.e., of Republicans) at a stage-managed campaign event, the incompetents of his administration's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) were doing their best imitation of Jim Carrey's "Fire Marshall Bill" character in North Texas. As the Plainview Herald reported, a BATF training exercise went awry, and the resulting wildfire scorched another 150 acres of the drought-devastated Texas panhandle. The blazes have been extinguished, but the Herald's editor writes that the federal fiasco is far from over:

Motley County Attorney Tom Edwards said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms could face charges for violating the county's burn ban after their actions started a fire that scorched an estimated 150 acres in the northwest part of that county on Tuesday.

Edwards called the incident ironic and inexcusable.

"We have the federal government that has just refused aid to the state of Texas for all our fire damage throughout the state, and then here comes federal agents who start another fire," Edwards told KCBD-TV.

Jim Luera, resident agent in charge for the BATF in Lubbock, took full responsibility for the fire after his agency detonated explosives that touched off a grass fire that quickly got out of hand. It took close to six hours for firefighters from five area volunteer departments - Motley County, Floydada, Turkey, Roaring Springs and Flomot - plus heavy equipment from the Texas Department of Transportation to extinguish the fire.

BATF's resident agent in Lubbock say the Bureau will will reimburse landowners who were affected by the blazes for their losses. Don't expect any heads to roll over this SNAFU. Any charges that may or may not get filed would be for violation of the county's burn ban, which is just a Class C misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is a $500 fine.

At the American Thinker Blog, Phil Boehmke comments:

At a time when the ATF and Eric Holder’s DOJ are embroiled in controversy stemming from their “Gun Runner” and “Fast and Furious” campaigns which have increased the flow of firearms across the border into Mexico, it seems the height of incompetence to intentionally detonate explosives in a region which has already suffered from a series of devastating wildfires. What could the ATF possibly have been thinking?

Perhaps when the ATF conducts its next training exercise they should check with the White House to make sure that all necessary precautions are taken. I’m thinking if they were to build a moat around the site it could contain the damage and prevent the destruction of private property.

The Obama Administration continues to demonstrate that competent governance is way above the pay grade of everyone from the president on down to local BATF flunkies. You would think that especially after the recent wildfires did so much damage to the Lone Star State that someone would have checked with the county just to make sure that a burn ban wasn't in effect.

But this is the same administration, remember, that gave a safety award to Transocean, Inc., the company which was partially responsible for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. While we're not by any stretch of the imagination Bush cheerleaders, it should be noted that the administration which preceded all that Hope and Change cited Deep Water Horizon six times for safety violations. Yet Team Obama bestowed an award for safety on it. We hesitate to ask what else can possibly go wrong before the voters send the community organizer back to The Windy City.

- JP

Brian Preston: Herman Cain storms Texas

Brian Preston at the PJ Tatler reports on Herman Cain's stump stop in Texas' fourth-largest city:

GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain (GA) swung through Austin, Texas today fresh from his strong performance in the presidential debate in South Carolina a week ago. He spoke during breakfast to a capacity crowd from the Austin Economic Club. Cain’s speech ran about 25 minutes. He used no notes, and the closest teleprompter was a couple of blocks away at one of the local TV studios.

Mr. Cain speaks from memory and from his heart, so as he is quick to point out, he never delivers quite the same speech twice. The themes and issues will be consistent from speech to speech, but Cain’s is not a stump speech. The speech he delivered in Austin was equal parts CEO business lecture, motivational address, political stemwinder and Baptist sermon with jokes and personal anecdotes peppered throughout.

Cain hit all of the major issues, coming out strong for border security in this border state (“Instead of suing Arizona, they should have gotten a prize!”), hammering away at liberal politicians and policies (“The problem with liberals is, they can’t handle the facts!”), race (“I am black, but I happen to be an American first.”) and his conservatism (“I escaped the Democrat plantation and I’m not going back.”) Cain closed with a simple call to what makes him an optimist, and what makes him believe he can win, as well as what he tells his grandkids when they ask for his advice: “Believe in God, believe in yourself, and believe in the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.”

Preston says Cain's audience gave him "an enthusiastic standing ovation."

h/t: Enthusiastic standing Cain supporter Stacy McCain (but we passionate Palin proponents won't hold that against him because Stacy has stood up to defend her time and time again, even when he didn't have to).

- JP

Rush Limbaugh: Why Obama Denied Texas Aid

The talk show host explains to a caller from Mineral Wells why the president did not give Texas the disaster declaration Gov. Perry requested to make the Lone State State eligible for emergency aid during or after the wildfires:

CALLER: Why did Obama deny emergency aid to Texas during the wildfires?

RUSH: It's a red state.

CALLER: Well, I know, but still the state's on fire.

RUSH: Why did Obama sue Arizona?

CALLER: Isn't that gonna hurt him politically?

RUSH: No! He figures Texas isn't gonna vote for him anyway. Texas didn't vote for him. This is punishment. This is how politicians like Obama work.

CALLER: But wouldn't other states look at that and say, "Hey, if he's not gonna help them, why should we support him?"

RUSH: No. It's the other way around: Next time you support him and he'll help you when you have a disaster.

CALLER: Okay, so he was just playing sides?

RUSH: Total!

CALLER: Okay.

RUSH: Total! It's not just... (snorts) Look, this is punishment. The state of Texas also happens to be where Bush lives. The state of Texas did not vote for Obama. There are plenty of other states that did, and they're gonna get the money first. It's no more complicated than that. Obama is president of Obama! I'm surprised anyone would have this question. Could somebody point to me one thing he's done for the country at large? Isn't everything Obama's done harmful to the country, one way or the other? He's got his crony capitalist buddies that he helps out, but the country? Is the country better off economically because of Obama? Is our foreign policy better off? By the way, new policy in Libya. Guess what? Remember when Obama said in his original announcement it'd last days? Nope! Now there's no end. We are there until somebody (not us) gets Khadafy. Just announced. The real question is: Why are you surprised that he's sticking it to Texas? He's sticking it to everybody else, every chance he gets -- and I mean that. I'm not trying to be extreme with it.

Background: Perry, Cornyn, Hutchison blast Obama for denying Texas wildfire aid request

- JP

TX House to TSA: Don't Mess with Traveling Texans

The Texas House told the TSA to keep its hands to itself Thursday night, approving a bill that would make it a crime for public servants to inappropriately touch travelers during airport security pat-downs:

The measure makes it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person” including through clothing.

It also prohibits searches “that would be offensive to a reasonable person.”

The bill’s chief sponsor is Republican Rep. David Simpson, who said, “this has to do with dignity and travel, and prohibiting indecent, groping searches.”

He believes it will keep Transportation Security Administration officials from treating travelers like criminals, though the measure may be superseded by federal law.

Debate on the measure was passionate but brief, and the House passed the bill with little opposition.

- JP

Gov. Perry recruiting in Vernon, California

Rick Perry is hunting in California, and his quarry is located in the community of businesses in the small industrial city of Vernon. The L.A. Times reports:

Perry has sent dozens of emails to some of Vernon's approximately 1,800 employers, telling them that a bill backed by California Assembly Speaker John Perez could eliminate many of the tax and operating-cost advantages they enjoy in the manufacturing enclave southeast of Los Angeles.

"As the state of California continues to support legislation that causes undue burden and taxation on companies doing business in the Los Angeles area, I invite you to consider your future in America's new land of opportunity: the state of Texas," Perry wrote.

"If California doesn't want your business, Texas does."

He noted that Texas "has no personal income tax, and there's no interest in getting one."

Perez's bill would strip Vernon of its city charter because of what he has called an "unprecedented pattern of corruption" in the city of fewer than 100 residents, which has been controlled for the last century by a small group of family members and their allies.

Business executives in Vernon, who have been waging a battle against the powerful Democratic speaker from Los Angeles, say they just might be interested in what Texas has to offer.

No doubt governmentals out there on the left coast are fed up with Texas wooing so many of its former corporate taxpayers to move to Texas. The Lone Star State's recruiter-in-chief better check the expiration date on his hunting license and make sure that California Business Season is open for hunting, lest they jail him out there for poaching.

- JP

A long drought is finally broken

Residents in the Brian-College Station area of the Brazos River Valley woke up to the sweet music of thunder Thursday morning. With the thunder, a significant amount of rain is still falling.

If you think that the mere fact that it is raining is hardly anything worth writing about, consider that prior to the latest change in the weather:

-- Measurable rain has not fallen in Bryan / College Station since March 14th.

-- The last decent rain we saw in Brazos County, and most of the area for that matter, was back on January 16th with 0.70" of rain measured in the rain gauge.

Even before that meager amount of precipitation, the drought here was bad -- so bad that in many of the area's churches, prayers for rain have been offered every Sunday for more than a year now. While North Texas has received an abundance of rain, those of us just 170 miles to the south have wondered why successive storms have passed by just to the north of us only to dump countless buckets of rain on the Metroplex.

So Brazos County's farmers and ranchers finally have something to smile about. Those of us who suffer from allergies are just as happy, as the rain has knocked the ever-present pollen out of the air, and we can breathe freely again, thank the good Lord.

Sometimes even the simplest things which we usually take for granted can be great blessings when we have been deprived of them.

- JP

Texas House Passes Sanctuary Cities Bill

Late Tuesday night the Texas House passed a controversial "sanctuary cities" bill, which would prohibit governmental entities or special districts from preventing law enforcement officers to ask persons lawfully detained or arrested if they are in the country legally. Non-compliant entities could face the loss of state funds:

The measure was passed on a 100 to 47 vote just before midnight.

Opponents of the legislation, proposed by state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, fear it will lead to racial profiling and harassment of legal residents and citizens. Proponents of HB 12, which was declared an "emergency" item by Gov. Rick Perry, say it is a necessary tool to free up law enforcement to better identify those in the country illegally, including criminals.

[...]

“When you cast this vote, I hope you realize that 9 million Hispanics will take it personally,” said state Rep. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, referring to the legal Hispanic population in Texas.

But supporters say it is not an Arizona-type law, which requires that police enforcers ask about immigration status. Instead, it is about discretion, they argue, and only grants police officers the right to inquire if they choose. They also point to the escalating violence in drug-war ravaged Mexico as a reason the bill needs to be implemented. Legal residents, citizens and non-criminals should have no reason to fear the law, Republicans say.

“My skin is brown. I am Hispanic, and I am not afraid of House Bill 12," said state Rep. Jose Aliseda, R-Beeville, a member of the inaugural class of the Hispanic Republic Conference.

Officers would have to witness a crime or have reason to believe someone was involved in a crime before they are allowed to inquire about the status.

The measure now moves to third reading in the House.

- JP

Obama in Texas: All Hat, No Cattle

President John Kennedy inspired millions of Americans to public service when he urged them in 1960 to,"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Half a century later, President Obama, in full campaign mode , was all hat and no cattle when he visited El Paso and Austin Tuesday. But the president did not tell Texans what he could do for them. He seemed to be more interested in what Texas could do, not for the country, but for him. Sadly, Barack Obama has clearly demonstrated that he is no John Kennedy.

Obama has refused to issue a disaster declaration for the Lone Star State in the wake of the devastating wildfires that burned more than two million acres of our land, destroyed more than 400 of our homes and took the lives of two of our brave firefighters. While cold to the notion of helping wildfire-weary Texans, Obama in El Paso was all about helping the Democrat Party in a rousing pro-amnesty stump speech about immigration reform in which The Great Uniter mocked Republicans and pandered to illegal aliens. Later in Austin, it was all about wealthy Texas Democrats helping Obama, as the president's fundraiser took in $2 million for his 2012 campaign. Heck of a deal for Obama. He wouldn't cough up a dime to help scorched Texans, but he took his $2 million and ran.

Meanwhile, East Texans expressed their opinions about Obama's idea of immigration reform:


h/t: The Blaze

- JP

TX Senate Approves Guns on Campus for CC Permit Holders

The Daily Texan via the Ay-Pee reports that the Texas Senate Monday approved allowing concealed handgun license holders to carry weapons into public college buildings and classrooms:

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, had been unable to muster the votes he needed under Senate rules to pass the issue as its own bill after the measure met stiff resistance from higher education officials, notably from within the University of Texas system.

The measure seemed all but assured easy passage when the legislative session began in January. The Senate had passed a similar bill in 2009 and about 90 lawmakers in the 150-member House had signed on in support this year. But the bill stalled on its first three votes in the Senate and took some maneuvering by Wentworth to get it through.

Supporters hope Monday’s vote will help shove the measure past a roadblock in the House, where a similar bill has been stuck without a vote in that chamber with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.

“Campus carry has more momentum than a runaway freight train,” said W. Scott Lewis of Students for Concealed Carry, a nationwide group backing the measure.

The Senate’s 12 Democrats had mostly worked as a block to stop the measure but were powerless to stop it on Monday when all it took was a simple majority in the 31-member chamber to get it added to the spending bill as an amendment.

It almost goes without saying that the campus firearms measure quickly became one of the most controversial issues of the legislative session.

Meanwhile, Gun Owners of America is tracking a bill to allow Texans who hold concealed carry permits to also carry openly which is moving slowly but surely through the Texas legislature. HB 2756 recently passed out of the Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety in the Texas House and now heads to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.

- JP

Texas Music Break: 'Texas Flood'

Stevie Ray Vaughan (1983)


- JP

Williams: Welcome to Texas, Mr. President

Today President Obama will be visiting El Paso to push for amnesty for illegal immigrants and Austin to raise money from wealthy Texas Democrats for his reelection campaign. Via Jim Geraghty's Campaign Spot, Roger Williams, one of the Republicans in the contest for Kay Bailey Hutchison's U.S. Senate seat, welcomes the president to the Lone Star State by pointing to the nation's decline under Obamanomics in this ad:


Related: Governor Perry Declines to Be Obama’s Prop for El Paso Stump Speech

- JP

State Senate Okays Voter ID Bill

Mike Ward at The American Statesman reports that the Texas Senate has passed the Voter ID bill, which would authorize the state police to issue election identification cards to voters who have no other form of ID:

The final version of Senate Bill 14 was approved 19-12, along party lines, with Republicans voting in the majority.

Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said the bill is designed to thwart voter fraud. Several final tweaks were made in the legislation earlier passed by the Senate and House, but Fraser said none were substantive.

Fraser said the new election-only ID will look much the same as a state identification card “but it will say state election identification.”

Republicans have been calling for the new law, saying it was needed to stop a growing problem with voter fraud, while Democrats have claimed that the change would make it harder for many Texas voters who have no photo ID to cast their ballots.

- JP

Texas House passes ‘loser pays’ tort reform

It was a wild weekend -- or at least a storming Saturday -- in the Texas House, according to Brian Preston at Pajamas Media:

The past couple of weeks, airwaves around the state capital in Austin have been saturated with TV ads decrying an “assault” on liberties. The “assault” was actually a strong tort reform bill that discourages frivolous lawsuits by making plaintiffs pay defendant’s expenses if they lose a lawsuit. The ads were paid for by the Mostyn law firm out of Houston. That name might be familiar to PJM readers and has certainly become familiar to everyone who watches Texas politics. Over the past couple of years, trial lawyer Steve Mostyn has reaped millions from lawsuits in the aftermath of hurricanes (and mold lawsuits prior to that), lawsuits that all but emptied the state’s windstorm insurance fund. Mostyn has used some of those millions to set himself up as a Texas version of George Soros, funding a “shadow party” on behalf of far left Democrats all over the state. His latest ad campaign defended the status quo, in which there is no early opt out for frivolous lawsuits in Texas, and which allows trial lawyers to sue on contingency knowing that the worst that can happen to them is they won’t collect; meanwhile, those they sue will be out expenses for defending themselves. That environment encourages frivolous lawsuits, and has made lawyers like Mostyn and fellow Democrat Jim Dunnam very wealthy men. And, it has made insurance more and more expensive for everyday Texans.

Well, the GOP controlled Texas House handed Mostyn and the trial lawyers a major defeat on Saturday. They moved forward on HB 274, which would create a “loser pays” tort system similar to the one already prevalent in Britain. The purpose is to choke off frivolous lawsuits by making contingency fee trial lawyers themselves subject to expense recovery if they lose a case, improving the legal and employment climate in the state according to Gov. Rick Perry. Given the importance of trial lawyers to the Texas Democratic Party, the House session was every bit as contentious as might be expected, but at least the Democrats didn’t run off to Oklahoma this time.

More details from the AP here.

- JP

Look Who's Hiring

Reporters who cover financial issues probably now have a function key programmed for the word "unexpectedly" to save keystrokes because it's found in nearly every bad news report on the economy - and there has been no shortage of those in the past three years. Reuters reported today (emphasis mine):

New U.S. claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly rose last week to touch their highest level in eight months, pushed up by factors ranging from spring break layoffs to the introduction of an emergency benefits program, a government report showed on Thursday.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the highest since mid-August, the Labor Department said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dropping to 410,000. The prior weeks figure was revised up to 431,000 from the previously reported 429,000.

The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, a better measure of underlying trends, increased 22,250 to 431,250, the highest since November.

The data falls outside the survey period for the governments closely watched employment report for April, which will be released on Friday. Nonfarm payrolls will be reported up 186,000 for last month, according to a Reuters survey, after rising by 216,000 in March—which was the most in 10 months.

Economists are blaming high food and gasoline prices for putting the damper on Q1 economic growth. But not all HR managers are dozing at their desks like some air traffic controllers at their radar screens on the graveyard shift. According to Fuel Fix, there is one corner of the economy which is busy signing up workers, as the same high oil prices that are putting the hurt on other sectors have energy-related companies launching new projects from Texas to Iraq:

On the hunt for talent are major oil companies as well as lesser-known engineering firms, in a sweeping effort that recalls previous boom cycles and is likely to bring more jobs to Houston.

“We’re definitely back in heavy growth mode,” said Billy Stein, recruiting manager for Aker Solutions, a Norwegian engineering and construction company with offices in Houston.

Stein is one of many industry recruiters who converged on Houston this week for the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference, which concludes today at Reliant Park. Attracting more than 70,000 engineers and other technical professionals, the event is tailor-made for companies looking to fill vacant positions — and recruiters came ready.

BP had a lounge-like recruiting center set up in Reliant Stadium. Chevron Corp. hosted applicants at the Hotel Icon downtown. Others, including Saudi Aramco, had recruiting managers at booths on the show floor and were prepared to interview job candidates on the spot.

The renewed interest in hiring comes after some lean years for the industry, marked by recession, downsizing and cautious predictions of the future. When oil prices plummeted from the record highs of 2008 and energy demand stalled with the recession, Shell, BP and other oil majors cut thousands of jobs. Oil field services companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton and other support companies responded by making deep cuts of their own.

BP’s deadly Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico last year dealt the industry yet another blow by bringing most deep-water drilling activity to a halt in the U.S. offshore basin.

But in recent months, optimism began returning to the industry, as oil prices gave companies confidence to green-light new projects, such as massive offshore installations in the Gulf that can put thousands to work.

Those in the energy field are no strangers to the boom and bust cycle and are exercising due caution by being more cost conscious and applying a heavy dose of realism to the salary setting process. But with the unemployment rate just under 9 percent and a robustly competitive job market, they have no shortage of quality potential new hires to choose from.

Nearly 12,500 new vacancies were posted in March, a number which is 60 percent higher than at this time last year. More job seekers are letting their keyboards do their walking, as online applications have doubled. It's all good news for engineering and geology graduates. Texas A&M's Class of 2011 is finding a much more receptive employment environment -- one in which their resumes are far more likely to actually be reviewed rather than filed away and forgotten -- than last year's crop of graduates faced.

Now if only the Obama Administration would remove the bans on its no-drill zones and cut away some of the red tape... Yes, it's just a dream, but it's one in which the use of the word "unexpectedly" would be appreciated for a change. As in "Acme Production Company's request to drill a new well in the Gulf of Mexico was unexpectedly approved today..."

- JP

Texas Senate Approves Ultrasound Bill

Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com notes the Texas State Senate's initial approval of a bill that would allow women considering an abortion to see an ultrasound of their unborn child beforehand. Pro-life legislators hope the measure will help reduce the number of abortions performed in the Lone Star State:

After nearly two hours of debate, the Senate passed the bill on second reading on a 21-10 vote and all hostile, pro-abortion amendments by Sens. Wendy Davis, Jose Rodriguez, and Leticia Van de Putte were defeated. The legislative chamber still needs to give the measure final approval on third reading, but that is expected to take place with a similar or identical vote.

Sen. Dan Patrick is the sponsor of HB 15, which gets its final vote Tuesday and will then head back to the House for a confirmation vote before going to pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to sign it into law.

During the debate, the biggest point of contention was whether women should be allowed to see the ultrasound 24 hours before the abortion so they have time to reflect on the information and images showing the development of their unborn child. Without the reflection time, legislators were concerned abortion businesses may rush women into abortions they may not otherwise want if given time for consideration.

Sen. Patrick says 80,000 abortions are performed in Texas every year.

- JP

FEMA to Texas: It's your problem, deal with it

According to NBC DFW (KXAS-TV), The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is refusing to give Texas any more federal disaster assistance, saying the Lone Star State has already received enough help from the federal government in the wake of devastating wildfires that burned acreage in all but two Texas counties:

Late Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry criticized the White House after learning that his April 16 request for a federal major disaster declaration and additional help had been rejected. Wildfires since November have blackened at least 2.2 million acres and damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes across the state, the governor said.

The federal government has already provided Texas with grants for response activities, FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen told The Associated Press in a statement.

"FEMA has been in close contact with the state since the fires occurred, and based on the information they provided, it was determined that there was not a need for additional support at this time," Racusen said. "Over the past few months, FEMA has awarded over 20 fire management grants to the state, which provide targeted funding to help with firefighting efforts, including 16 in April alone."

FEMA will continue to work closely with the state and local emergency management officials, Racusen said.

Perry said the state will consider all its options, including an appeal. FEMA says Texas has 30 days to appeal.

Related: 'Responsibility to Protect'.... Everyone except Texans

- JP

Texas Music Break: 'T for Texas'

by Van Morrison (1977)


- JP

Oh no, he didn't!

Some social media neophytes seem to have to learn the hard way that their tweets can come back to bite them. Such was the case with Lufkin’s city planner, who resigned last week "after being confronted by city officials about comments he had made on Twitter about the city and region," according to City Manager Paul Parker via the Lufkin Daily News:

Trent Cantrell last month posted the message “Lufkin is an armpit. I know (...) I have to live here temporarily” on the social networking website. Months earlier he posted, “Hello there. Just waiting for the heat to leave for good. Of course, Deep East Texas will still be a (expletive) hole.” Another comment he had posted: “It’s hard to plan for a city that doesn’t want any planning, conservation, or regulation of the built environment of any kind.”

Cantrell, a 39-year-old Dallas native, had been an employee with the city since April 2009. He apparently removed the posts Wednesday morning, after The Lufkin Daily News sought comment from city officials about the posts. Cantrell did not return a request for comment left in his office, and his Lufkin home phone number is unlisted.

Parker said Thursday that Cantrell’s behavior put the city in a bad light.

“We don’t want anyone to reflect negatively on the city of Lufkin. We don’t tolerate that,” he said.

While the city does have a general social media policy in its handbook, Parker said it is likely the policy will be revisited due to this situation.

Some big city slickers just can't seem to find happiness in a smaller venue, unlike your editor, who found Houston too big for its britches and rather enjoys the good life here in the Brazos Valley. But I digress...

The search is on in Lufkin for an assistant city planner who can keep some opinions to himself or herself, or at least have the good sense not to tweet them in front of God and everybody. The job app form is here.

- JP

Perry joins coastal governors’ energy coalition

Rick Perry is joining governors from Alaska and Gulf Coast states Tuesday in an effort to get coastal state governors more involved in decisions about energy production offshore, according to a post at the Chron's Texas on the Potomac:

The push for a new Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition is led by four governors who know a little something about oil and gas production offshore: Perry, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Sean Parnell of Alaska and Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

In an invitation to other coastal state governors, the foursome said they hoped the coalition would “foster an appropriate dialogue between the coastal states and the administration” about offshore drilling. The group would give the governors a vehicle to lobby for expanded drilling offshore.

“All federal decisions regarding exploration and production must be made in consultation with affected states,” the four governors said. “In recent months, however, the federal government has taken sweeping actions regarding offshore oil and gas activities with little consultation with the states.”

And too often, they say, those decisions have conflicted with the states’ best interests.

- JP

Houston Republicans want the EPA to stop messing with Texas

Texas on the Potomac reports that a quartet of U.S. Congressmen representing the Lone Star State -- Reps. Ted Poe, Pete Olson, Kevin Brady and Joe Barton -- all members of the congressional EPA Task Force, are on the same chapter and verse after visiting the Houston Ship Channel. They want the Environmental Protection Agency to understand that its regulations are killing jobs and hurting Texas’ economy. The state is already a leader in improved energy production, so the four want EPA to stop messing with Texas:

The congressmen visited the area to study local efforts to improve air quality and the environment.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave demonstrations of high tech, mobile air quality testing equipment that’s used to track and measure progress of improved air quality. Industry leaders also briefed the members on how “EPA regulations have destroyed jobs and business in Texas.”

“The EPA is punishing Texas for not giving in to their demands. Instead of making an example out of Texas, perhaps the EPA should use Texas as an example,” said Poe, R-Humble. “Texas has simultaneously improved its environment and economy. Our state is dedicated to finding cleaner energy alternatives, but we also know that we need to utilize our known sources of energy effectively and safely.”

For reactions from the other three Texas lawmakers, keep reading here.

- JP