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Texas Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 23, 2017 37 Comments
In February, California decided to ban state-funded travel to Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee after officials deemed laws in these states discriminate against the LGBT community. California has now added Texas, Alabama, South Dakota, and Kentucky to that list for the same reasons.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 06, 2017 16 Comments
While the 2018 Texas Senate race is slowly simmering on the backburner, fundraising and campaign efforts on the ground are in full swing. Beto O'Rourke, the young Democrat Congressman from El Paso has emerged as the only challenger to incumbent Sen. Cruz thus far. Thanks to social media, O'Rourke landed on the radar of one of Hollywood's most vocal left-wingers -- Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell proudly tweeted her support for O'Rourke and boasted giving the max contribution to his campaign.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 30, 2017 41 Comments
As emblems of the Confederacy all across the country are being dismantled, a Texas Antifa group has picked an odd target for their angst -- a well-loved statue of the Republic of Texas' first President, Sam Houston. Sam Houston was a badass if ever there was one. Not only was he an honorary Cherokee, but it took him a measly 18 minutes to defeat Mexican General Santa Anna, effectively ending the Texas Revolution and creating the greatest Republic that ever was.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 29, 2017 23 Comments
Today was the last day of the Texas legislative regular session. But before the typical closing ceremonies were held, a near brawl broke out between lawmakers. Stoked by anti-SB 4 protestors, Democrat and Republican lawmakers exchanged harsh words and a few shoves. Senate Bill 4 is the state's Sanctuary City bill, which would require local and campus law enforcement to comply with federal immigration communication laws, or be subject to civil and criminal penalties. Governor Abbott signed the bill into law earlier this month. At the center of the SB-4 conflict was Republican state Rep. Matt Rinaldi, who said he called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on protestors carrying "I am illegal and here to stay" placards. After being manhandled and harassed (Rinaldi claims), he responded to an alleged threat on his person by saying he would respond to any attempts on his life by shooting the offending Representative in self-defense.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 20, 2017 27 Comments
A federal court has thrown out a lawsuit against Irving, TX, and the local school district brought on by Ahmed "Clock Boy" Mohamed and his family after authorities arrested him in September 2015. From Fox News:
The lawsuit alleged that the city of Irving and Irving school district discriminated against Ahmed Mohamed at Irving MacArthur High School in September of 2015. Mohamed, a Muslim teenager who was 14 years old at the time, brought a homemade clock to school to show his engineering teacher. But an alarm on the clock went off in his English class and the teacher confiscated it. He was sent to the principal’s office.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on May 14, 2017 14 Comments
Hey, give Joy Reid credit. At least she didn't go full Hitler analogy . . . On her MSNBC show this morning, Reid claimed that a recently-adopted Texas immigration law sounds "almost like an apartheid-era law." To support her alarmist claim, Reid badly mischaracterized the law, suggesting that under it, "any person can be stopped for any reason and asked essentially [to] show their papers." Her ACLU guest seemingly agreed, saying, "that's right." But she added that immigration-status inquiries can be made "once a person is legally detained," thus debunking Reid's suggestion that a person could be stopped and asked "for any reason."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 09, 2017 19 Comments
On Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill to ban sanctuary cities in the state. The law “also requires police chiefs and sheriffs — under the threat of jail and removal of office — to comply with federal requests to hold criminal suspects for possible deportation.” Today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a "lawsuit in [the] U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas" that "names Travis County, the city of Austin and several local officials as defendants." Paxton wants "the court to uphold the constitutionality of the new law" and hopes it will help "avoid a multiplicity of suits in various forms."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 08, 2017 26 Comments
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill to effectively ban sanctuary cities in the state. Thing is, Abbott signed the bill on Facebook Live without giving any notice, which has left his critics with spinning heads. From Fox News:
Abbott took the unusual step of signing the bill on Facebook with no advanced public notice. He said Texas residents expect lawmakers to "keep us safe" and said similar laws have already been tested in federal court, where opponents have already been hinting the bill will be immediately challenged. "Let's face it, the reason why so many people come to America is because we are a nation of laws and Texas is doing its part to keep it that way," Abbott said.

Posted by Taryn O'Neill on May 06, 2017 16 Comments
On Thursday, May 4, 2017, the Texas legislature passed a resolution calling for a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The resolution (SJR2), having a total of 72 co-authors, was passed 217 to 213 as nearly 250 supporters watched from the Gallery. The resolution comes after the Senate passed its own version on February 28, making the Lone Star State the 11th state to call for a convention as outlined in Article V of the Constitution. As Legal Insurrection has explained, Article V details two procedures for amending the U.S. Constitution. The first and most familiar way requires that congress write and propose an amendment that is subsequently sent to the 50 states for ratification. The second process for proposing and passing amendments, however, requires that two-thirds of the state legislatures submit applications for a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments. 

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 04, 2017 15 Comments
The Texas legislature passed a bill Wednesday, banning sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State. Senate Bill 4 requires state law enforcement, including campus cops, to comply with federal immigration law and prohibits municipalities from creating policies or regulations that circumvent established federal laws. The bill specifically prohibits discrimination and allows the state to levy civil penalties on non-compliant entities. After the House approved changes made in the Senate, Senate Bill 4 heads to Governor Abbott's desk. "Banning sanctuary cities is about stopping officials who have sworn to enforce the law from helping people who commit terrible crimes evade immigration detainers. Senate Bill 4 protects all Texans though uniform application of the law without prejudice," said state Sen. Perry.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 03, 2017 12 Comments
The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a well-financed international movement launched at the anti-Semitic 2001 Durban conference. The BDS movement falsely is portrayed as having launched as a 2005 grassroots call from Palestinian civil society. In fact, as I have proven, BDS  traces its roots back to the anti-Jewish Arab boycotts of the 1920s and 1930s, and is a variation on the Arab League boycott that reached its zenith in the 1970s, The REAL history of the BDS movement. The BDS movement seeks to slam university doors in the faces of Israelis, to prevent cultural exchanges, and to harm Israel economically through economic boycotts.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 02, 2017 7 Comments
San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro announced Monday he will not challenge Sen. Cruz in the upcoming Senate race. Castro has been pushing off his public announcement since February. As of last week, he was reportedly undecided.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 24, 2017 6 Comments
Will Rep. Joaquin Castro toss his hat into the upcoming Texas Senate race? Castro first said in February he'd make his announcement in eight weeks, then said he'd it would be the end of April, only to recently move his self-imposed deadline to "a few more weeks" reports the Texas Tribune. Should Castro jump in, he'd first have to beat fellow Democratic Congressman, Beto O'Rourke, who declared his candidacy at the end of March, before squaring off against Sen. Ted Cruz.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 19, 2017 8 Comments
Beto O'Rourke, Democratic Congressman from El Paso announced his Senate candidacy just a few weeks ago. He has an impressive $500K in the bank, an amount that pales in comparison to Cruz's $5 million. O'Rourke had a successful first quarter, raising just over $200k. Not bad for a little known Congressman, but he has a long way to go if he wants to catch up with Cruz, who raised $1.7 million in that same timeframe.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 11, 2017 41 Comments
A federal judge has again rejected the 2011 Texas voter ID law, stating that the legislators meant to discriminate against minority voters. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos made this same ruling in 2014, which forced an appeal. The Fifth Circuit issued a stay against the order. The Supreme Court stepped in and allowed Texas to use the voter ID law. But last July the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans asked the judge "to re-examine the decision" since the judges found that "some of the evidence used by the judge wasn't relevant." The two sides reached a deal for the 2016 election, which allowed a voter to "sign a declaration swearing that he or she has had a reasonable difficulty that prevented obtaining one of the accepted forms of photo identification."
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