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Texas Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on January 05, 2017 25 Comments
As soon as Yahoo's Bianna Golodryga said she didn't want to "turn political," you knew that was precisely what she was about to do. But when Golodryga proceeded to criticize the Texas open-carry law this morning, you might be surprised that it was Meredith Vieira who—excuse the expression—shot her down. Vieira was a guest on Morning Joe to discuss a documentary, for which she served as executive producer, about the University of Texas Tower shootings in 1966, in which Charles Whitman shot 49 people, killing 16. The gun-control shoe was bound to drop, and after her "not to turn political," Golodryga launched into a criticism of the new Texas open-carry law, fretting that it could prevent UT from attracting "students and the top talent in teaching for fear of this law." Retorted Vieira: "It's interesting. On that day, the students were allowed to carry on campus and the police relied on them. One of the police -- they didn't have SWAT teams back then and they didn't have the equipment either to get to somebody who was up in the tower. So they were asking students: does anybody have a shotgun? The police themselves didn't have shotguns. And the students helped them."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2017 102 Comments
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.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 16, 2016 19 Comments
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.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 13, 2016 22 Comments
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.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 10, 2016 15 Comments
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:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 21, 2016 26 Comments
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.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 24, 2016 40 Comments
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.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 21, 2016 12 Comments
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."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 19, 2016 10 Comments
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."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 20, 2016 0 Comments

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...

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