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Texas Tag

I remember traveling to Texas when I was in private practice, meeting a lawyer who was investigating a possible investment fraud case who wanted me to get involved. I'm pretty sure it was in San Antonio. What I remember most about the trip was the lawyer's "truck," or as we say in more refined circles, pickup truck. It was yuge. I don't recall the specifications on it, but I'm guessing it had as many cylinders as could be had, had a full backseat with its own doors, and was yuge (but I repeat myself). Pretty sure I needed a ladder to get into the vehicle, though my memory might be a little hazy on that part. The other things I remember is that while we were driving, it began to hail. Not hail like we have in the Northeast. Hail the size of f-ing golf balls. He quickly headed for a parking area under an apartment building, and we waited it out.

Republican elector Chris Suprun caused a ruckus when he announced he would not vote for President-elect Donald Trump even though Trump won the state in the November election. But is it all a publicity stunt? WFAA investigated Suprun's past and found numerous inconsistencies such as lying about working as a 9/11 first responder at the Pentagon:
"He claimed to be a first responder with the Manassas Park [Virginia] Fire Department on September 11, 2001 and personally told us stories 'I was fighting fire that day at the Pentagon.’ No, I was on a medic unit that day at the Pentagon and you make a phone call to Manassas Park and you find out that he wasn't even employed there until October 2001,” said a first responder who knows Suprun and only agreed to speak about him if his identity was concealed. The City of Manassas Park confirmed to WFAA that it hired Suprun on October 10, 2001, one month after the 9/11 attacks.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his Secretary of Energy. Perry served as agriculture commissioner in Texas before he became governor in 2000. His term ended in 2015. He ran for president in 2012 and 2016.

Remember Julián Castro? I can forgive you if you don't and didn't. Castro was the former Mayor of San Antonio who was groomed to be the next rising star in the Democratic orbit. His stint as mayor, however, was not much of a base upon which to launch a national trajectory. As I noted in May 2014, Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio had less responsibility than Mayor Sarah Palin of Wasilla:

Recently, there has been one bright spot for me remaining a California resident: The sheer entertainment value offered by the dramatic response of our leading politicians to President-elect Trump. For example, our state's representatives are lining up to work actively against our new President. The apparent goal is to make California to Trump what Texas was to Obama.
In the early morning hours after Donald Trump became president-elect of the United States, California Senate leader Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon were on the phone grappling with what comes next.

There is a possibility that Texas, a state typically owned by Republicans, could turn blue next month since Donald Trump only leads Hillary Clinton by three points. However, Clinton only leads Trump by three points in Florida. From CBS News:
The poll numbers show voters’ frustration about the dialogue in the race – and what may amount to a wasted opportunity for both. Sixty-nine percent feel Donald Trump is talking about things that he, himself cares about, while fewer, 46 percent say he’s talking about issues they care about. Clinton has much the same gap.

Russian officials asked three states if they could attend polling stations during the Nov. 8 election while Kremlin propaganda sites like Russia Today reported that Russia's Central Elections Commission even asked the State Department for permission to watch the polls. The State denied a request even came through:
"Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false," Toner said, noting that allowing foreign observers is up to individual states. Russian officials could have participated in an observer delegation through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Toner added, but declined to do so, making their new complaints "nothing more than a PR stunt."

In May, Texas and 12 other states filed suit against the Obama administration when it issued a transgendered bathroom policy across the nation in public schools. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor put a freeze on the policy in August when he found the "administration did not follow proper procedures for notice and comment in issuing the guidelines." Well, today, Judge O'Connor rejected the "administration's request to narrow a nationwide injunction banning enforcement" of the policy." He made a few changes to his original ruling, but now the Department of Education cannot "bring new cases enforcing transgender students' access" to these "intimate facilities."

As we've blogged previously, Governor Perry is on this season of 'Dancing With the Stars'. So far, he's doing alright; hasn't been cut. In his latest DWTS appearance, Perry and his partner danced to the themes song from Green Acres. And here's a little taste: May...

When Senator Cornyn ran for re-election in 2014 he received a bevy of endorsements, but one was missing -- that of Texas' Junior Senator Cruz. Cornyn easily won the primary and went on to win the general election handily, maintaining his status as the number two ranking Senate Republican. On CNN Thursday, Cornyn indicated he has zero plans to endorse his Senate companion. Sure, it's only 2016, but Cornyn's numerous attempts to bring Cruz into the fold were repeatedly rebuffed. Their relationship was further strained when Cornyn killed a would-be Cruz filibuster over the debt ceiling.