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Posts Tagged ‘Rick Perry’

News Roundup for June 27, 2011

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , , on June 27, 2011 |

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready to say “Sine Die” for the second time as it brings you this week’s roundup.

The Congressional map got its final legislative approval, and Off the Kuff analyzes the new districts.

This week WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the (in)action at The Lege. Quorums were broken and tempers flared, This week’s Political wrap-up, GOP laziness was the theme.

Bay Area Houston thinks the Texas Tea Party is calling for an immigration raid on homebuilder Bob Perry for his roll in killing their sanctuary bill.

This week, McBlogger tells us exactly why a federal debt default isn’t a good thing.

Rick Perry’s ‘aids’ (sic) are preparing to respond to the ‘crusted-over rumors’ of the governor’s alleged homosexual liasons. Chief ‘aid’ (sic) Dave Carney emphasizes that Perry is the ‘most tested’ candidate on the Republican side. Seriously, that’s what Politico wrote. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has a screen shot.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme sees republican hate meets the greed of Rick Perry crony, Bob Perry. Greed wins.

Libby Shaw gives us the skinny: Rachel Maddow Debunks Rick Perry’s “Texas Miracle” Myth . Check it out at TexasKaos.

Public Citizen’s TexasVox shows us that while Houston implements water restrictions to deal with this global warming-enhanced drought, San Antonio is trying to do something about it by retiring their coal plant and making heavy investments in solar.

Neil at Texas Liberal compiled a Fourth of July reading list. As fun as it might be to blow off your fingers as you set off fireworks in violation of drought-mandated brushfire rules, it is even more fun to learn about your past. If you allow others to define your history—as, for example, we have allowed crazies to take over the symbolism of the Boston Tea Party—such folks will most likely use this power to also screw up your future.

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News Roundup for June 13, 2011

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , on June 13, 2011 |

The Texas Progressive Alliance is wishing — not praying — for rain as it brings you the week’s roundup of the best blog posts from last week.  (Note from Citizen Andy: I am praying for rain, and also hoping everyone heading to Netroots Nation this week from Texas has an amazing time. I think when you all leave the state at once our collective state IQ goes down a half point.)

At McBlogger, Cap’n Kroc discussed the ridiculous plan for Formula 1 racing in Austin and the possibility that it could help us extract better redistricting terms from the Lege. He also points out that that Rick Perry needs to come out of the closet and be himself. It’s a blockbuster post that you have to read to believe.

Congressional redistricting moved its way through the Senate and into the House last week, and Off the Kuff took a look at the numbers for the proposed new districts.

Libby Shaw provides the update on Governor Rooster Perry’s run for POTUS. Come check out what the national audience has in store for a Perry campaign at TexasKaos.

With all the talk last week about how Sarah Palin misinterpreted Paul Revere’s ride, Neil at Texas Liberal offered up a post about the actual event. You need to learn history for yourself. If you let others define your past, they will use that power to screw up your future.

Ryan at TexasVox gives us a double dose of bad news about opposition to the possible tar sands pipeline coming to Texas and the numerous spills they’ve had already.

Letters From Texas presented the case against Rick Perry for President.

The Republican Party of Texas can’t figure out whether to shit or go blind over “sanctuary cities”. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs collects the evidence.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that the ‘new’ GOP is the same old bad joke if Rick Perry is the best candidate they have to offer.

NOTE: TexasVox and Public Citizen do not endorse all the positions taken by other members of the Texas Progressive Bloggers Alliance, but we are happy to share their thoughts.

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Texas forges ahead into the 20th Century

Posted in Efficiency, tagged , , on June 13, 2011 |

But here in TexasLast week, Public Citizen, the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, Texas League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote to Governor Rick Perry urging him to veto House Bill 2510, “An Act relating to exempting the intrastate manufacture of certain incandescent light bulbs from federal regulation.”  

House Bill 2510 asserts that light bulbs manufactured in Texas and offered for sale and use within Texas are exempt from federal legislation requiring improved light bulb efficiency.  The environmental groups urged the Governor to veto this Bill for several reasons.

  1. This Bill is futile because it sets out conditions that almost certainly cannot be met.  Under the Bill, all of the specialized components used to make incandescent light bulbs must be made in Texas. But there is no evidence that light bulbs could be cost-effectively made from materials located in Texas.  Indeed, tungsten, a critical component of incandescent bulbs is not mined in Texas.  Earlier this year, Governor Brewer of Arizona vetoed a similar light bulb bill passed by the Arizona legislature because she recognized that the conditions of the bill could not be met.
  2. Even if the Bill were not futile as a practical matter, it will not achieve the outcome claimed since the Bill is expressly preempted by federal law and contrary to the numerous decisions of the Supreme Court. 
  3. This Bill sends the wrong signal about the direction that Texas’s economy is heading.  This Bill tells the world that Texas is moving backward, embracing the out-dated technologies of the Nineteenth Century. 

In fact, the opposite is true.  Texas has several companies researching, designing and manufacturing the most advanced LED lighting.  Just this past February the governor sought to move Texas forward by awarding an Emerging Technology Fund grant to an advanced LED lighting company.   This is the right direction for Texas.  But if the Governor doesn’t veto House Bill 2510 and it goes into effect, we will signal that Texas is embracing the past rather than the future.

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State Senator Attempts to Get Rid of His Own Amendment

Posted in Campaign Finance, Good Government, Texas Legislature, tagged , , , , on June 10, 2011 |

Texas State Senator Mike Jackson added an amendment to the ethics bill (HB 1616) only 48 hours before the regular session ended and seems to be regretting that decision.  Now he wants Gov. Rick Perry to veto his own legislation. 

The amendment was written so that candidates would have been able to expunge from their record any complaint if the candidate could prove it was a mistake in good faith.  According to the bill, candidates would have 14 business days after a complaint was filed to “fix” their reports without penalty so long as there was no “intent to mislead or to misrepresent the information contained in the report.”

However, there was no limitation on how large of a donation could be dismissed and the bill would have the unintended consequence of allowing a candidate to hide a pattern of misreporting potentially embarrassing donations by claiming they were an accounting or typographical error or misunderstanding of reporting requirements.  The bill would also remove the incentives to accurately report campaign contributions and expenditures as well as reduce the Texas Ethics Commission’s revenue from fines.

If Jackson does not get a veto from Perry, he has placed an amendment on to the special session’s Fiscal Matters Senate bill (SB 1) to repeal his earlier amendment.  Although SB 1 is controversial in many respects, the new amendment is a bright spot for proponents of campaign finance reform. The amendment would have been destructive to the campaign process and allowed candidates a loophole in which to exploit. Campaign finance laws need to be reformed but not in this way. Sen. Jackson did well to fix his mistake with his amendment in the special session and should be recognized for owning up to it.

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Pray for rain, pray for no radioactive waste transport accidents

Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste, tagged , , , , , on April 25, 2011 |

In spite of, Governor Rick Perry’s designation of this past Easter weekend as official days of prayer for rain, Texas is expected to break its yearly record for the number of acres burned by wildfires, with officials warning that today through Wednesday would see a high risk of fresh blazes.

2006 set the previous record of acres burned in one entire year at 1.94 million. So far this year, the figure is 1.84 million, and we’re just in April.  We’ve still got summer and a lot of the fire season left.

Meanwhile, a state report has found that many of the Texas counties that endured the worst damage from this month’s wildfires received only a small portion of the more than $128 million the state awarded to volunteer fire departments over about a decade for training and equipment.

According to the State Firemen’s & Fire Marshals’ Association, there are 1,042 volunteer departments in Texas with about 28,000 firefighters and these make up the first line of defense for many of the counties that have been battling wildfires recently.

The sunset commission’s analysis, which was released in January and is currently being considered by the Texas Legislature, found counties with a low risk for wildfires had received a greater share of the $128 million handed out through the Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program than many of those with the highest risk.  Specifically, 59 of the 74 counties determined to have a high risk for wildfires got less than $1 million in grant money for their volunteer fire departments from 2001 through 2009.

Three of the high-risk counties that received less than $1 million — Tom Green, Andrews and Palo Pinto — have been significantly affected by the current fires.

Andrews County is home to WCS’s hazardous waste dump, that could soon be open to “low-level” radioactive waste coming into the state from all over the country.  In addition to radioactive waste disposed of at the site, thousands of truckloads of radioactive waste could be traversing the Texas countryside over roads in counties prone to wildfire.  If an accident happens while our first responders are working to the point of exhaustion at local wildfires, I shudder to think about the consequences to the folks near an accident and the liability to the state.  I think the Governor needs to expand the parameters of his call to prayer.

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Fact check :( Examining Gov. Rick Perry’s take on the state and its budget by the DMN

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , on February 10, 2011 |

The Dallas Morning News took a look at Governor Rick Perry‘s State of the State address and folks around the state had some interesting thoughts on the veracity of his statements.  Click here to read the story.

For those who didn’t watch Governor Rick Perry‘s State of the State address, we have provided the text of his prepared remarks. (NOTE: Gov. Perry frequently deviates from prepared text.)   Or you can watch it below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/D_XtuWREyao&rel=0&hl=en]

If you did watch or after you read the speech, we’d really like to get your thoughts on, what some have termed, a view of Texas that is part of an alternate reality.

  Governor Rick Perry – State of the State 2011 (more…)

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Texas News Roundup for Feb 6, 2011

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , , , on February 7, 2011 |

The Texas Progressive Alliance is hoping for a swift and player-friendly resolution to the NFL labor situation as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Bay Area Houston submits a press release from Rick Perry: TX Gov Rick Perry puts the Chupacabra on emergency legislation.

Off the Kuff conducted an interview with Houston City Attorney David Feldman to discuss the upcoming Council redistricting process.

Harold at Letters From Texas poked fun at the Texas weather on both Wednesday and Friday.

While the Big Gas Mafia is pumping diesel fuel into the ground in the name of national security and energy independence, they have been quietly planning to ship a bunch of it to China. TXsharon wants you to think about who profits and who pays for this so-called “clean energy.”

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes privatizing essential services promotes profits not the general welfare. The Corpus Christi Caller Times pretends (or not) to be all stupid about the rolling blackouts.

Texans came to the shivering realization last week that the energy capital of the world can’t keep its lights on. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs provides the reveal.

How bad is the disaster that Perry wrought? Libby Shaw spells it out over at TexasKaos . See Governor Rick Perry Lays a $30 Billion Rotten Egg on Texas.

Eye On Williamson informs us that GOP Williamson County Congressman John Carter wants to increase the amount of mercury in our air, Rep. Carter wants to increase corporate profits by harming nature.

It’s always good to know that someone is sticking up for the stupid and belligerently ignorant. McBlogger offers his thanks to Speaker Boehner for being that someone.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote last week on the release—after many months—of the video tape of a number of Houston police officers beating up 15 year old Chad Holley. The public has a right to see this video. Houston’s political leaders should be less concerned about Houston’s image and the unlikely prospect of civil disorder, and more concerned with high rates of poverty in Houston that help drive young people to crime.

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Texas News Roundup Jan 31, 2011

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2011 |

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready to retire the phrase “blue norther” for another year as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

Off the Kuff took an early look at fundraising for 2011 city of Houston elections.

The Big Gas Mafia says it’s impossible but hydraulic fracturing causes gas to migrate threatening life…AGAIN. TXsharon puts 2 and 2 together at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Bay Area Houston has a press release from Rick Perry titled Rick Perry Asks Republican Voters to Quit Their State Jobs. (more…)

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Dumping on Texas for Fun and Profit

Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Nuclear, Radioactive Waste, tagged , , , on January 21, 2011 |

SPECIAL GUEST COLUMN FROM JIM HIGHTOWER
Originally posted at http://www.jimhightower.com/

Thank you, California. And you, too, Florida, Maine, Missouri, and the 32 other states that intend to send a very special gift to Texas – namely, their radioactive waste. Now there’s a gift that truly keeps on giving!

Of course, Texas asked for it. Well, actually, only two Texans. They had the clout to open a private radioactive waste dump in our state. First approved in 2003, the 1,300 acre site, which endangers fresh water aquifers that supply water to thousands of people in West Texas, was originally meant to take waste from just two states. But now – thanks to this pair of insistent Texans – the dump is being opened to 36 more states! (more…)

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Harold Simmons: the political contributor who keeps on giving

Posted in Campaign Finance, Nuclear, Radioactive Waste, tagged , , , , , on January 20, 2011 |

In December Texans for Public Justice reported that Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons had contributed $620,000 to Governor Rick Perry.  TPJ’s publication Lobby Watch questioned how Perry’s appointees could objectively regulate Simmons’ nuclear ambitions. That question looms larger after Simmons gave Perry another $500,000 this in 2010. Having given him a total of $1,120,000, Simmons now ranks as the governor’s No. 2 individual donor.1

And now, Harold Simmons, is the largest benefactor for the new Railroad Commissioner, David Porter.  According to the report filed yesterday with the Texas Ethics Commission, which covered the period from late October until the fundraising moratorium triggered by the 2011 legislative session, Porter’s largest single donation came from Harold Simmons, the owner of Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, who delivered a check for $25,000 to Porter on Oct. 27. . . .and another check for $25,000 the same day.    Simmons also made contributions to Porter in June to the tune of  $10,000, according to Ethics Commission reports.

I think the giving levels of Harold Simmons warrant watching, especially given the fact that much of his business is regulated by state agencies, and his predilection for spending money late in the election cycle (such as a gift of half a million dollars to Texans for Lawsuit Reform- a notorious tort reform super-PAC), a trick employed by Karl Rove to escape campaign finance scrutiny until an election is looooong over.

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Texas and EPA: Going to battle over waste water permits now?

Posted in TCEQ, tagged , , , , , on December 3, 2010 |

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has publically demanded that Texas immediately take steps to reissue Clean Water Act permits to some 80 facilities that have been operating without the necessary paperwork.

Not pleased with what they felt was a decision to, ” jump the gun prematurely with this notice,” the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality quickly put out a statement saying it had been cooperating with the EPA to resolve the problems, and already had two proposals on the table.

The EPA and Texas/TCEQ/Gov. Perry  have been locked in battle for some time now that has moved from a dispute over environmental issues into an ugly all out war over state rights with Gov. Rick Perry using the dispute during the election cycle as an example of the federal government and the administration’s meddling in what he believes are state affairs.

This newest dispute is over water discharge permits. The EPA says many of the facilities in question have had their paperwork delayed due to concerns raised by the EPA  regarding the toxicity of the discharges and that their move to ask Texas to resolve the issue stems from their concern that, in some cases, the expired permits are allowing facilities to discharge toxic waste.

The EPA’s regional director, Al Armendariz, shot back, “We are taking a stand for clean water. The streams, lakes and bayous of our great state deserve to be protected from chemicals, bacteria and toxic metals. Our children and future generations should be able to swim and fish anywhere in the state without worries about pollution.”

Let’s see how many lawsuits Texas will file over this one.

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TPA News Roundup for Oct 11, 2010

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , , , on October 11, 2010 |

Hey folks, TexasVox got reinvited to the TPA Roundup, so we’re pleased to bring you the news from around the Texas blogosphere.  We’re incredibly happy to be rubbing shoulders with some of the best bloggers in the state .. nah, country.  Please to enjoy.

The Texas Progressive Alliance is imagining a world in which John Lennon lived to see his 70th birthday as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff published interviews with Democratic candidates Jeff Weems, Hector Uribe, and Hank Gilbert.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is disgusted again. This is a very serious election. America is the deer in the headlights and appears to be frozen. So, the last thing I want to hear is “its a TRUCK”! This election is all spin and conspiracy, not that previous elections haven’t been. But this one is critical because even hinting at rolling back what forward motion has been achieved. Israel is sliding, America is sliding and the radicals are ready. This is NOT the choice American’s should face.

Mathew Dowd, a Bushbot, longs for the glory days of the Bush presidency and envisions Rick Perry as president. That sound you hear is CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme retching uncontrollably.

Bay Area Houston says during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Americans are truly a sick bunch of people.

nytexan at BlueBloggin is beyond irritation at the continual hypocrisy of Congress and Republican policy of NO. Coburn and Brown Take Pay Raise and Say No To Federal Employees. It’s stunning that the US Congress can continue to give themselves pay raises every years and then claim that federal employees are overpaid. Tom Coburn believes “We need to expect more, and we need to pay less.”

The Texas governor is apparently going to finish the 2010 campaign much the way he started it: remaining cowardly, and trying to get re-elected based solely on his good looks.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts (again) on the failure of our states leadership, Public school finance continues to be a problem.

WhosPlayin writes about why it is so important for Texans to log on to www.donatelifetexas.com and check the status of their organ donor registration, and sign up if they are not already.

Neil at Texas Liberal attended the Governor’s race debate on the topic of education that was held in Houston. All the candidates were there except incumbent Rick Perry.

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Perry Banks on Texas Politics through Appointments

Posted in Campaign Finance, Global Warming, Good Government, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2010 |

If you didn’t think the Governor race in Texas can get any crazier, you were mistaken. Texans for Public Justice released a report today which shows the Governor receives contributions from his political appointees. (This we knew, but in these amounts?) According to the report, Perry’s campaign has received more than 17 million dollars in contributions from his appointees and their spouses since 2001. These contributions come from entities like the A&M Board of Regents to the Texas Tax Reform Commission.

Perry’s hands are in every government agency in the state. His appointees rank from commissioners of big agencies like the PUC or the TCEQ to smaller ones like the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority. The report points out that almost a quarter of his appointees have given money to his campaign fund. This is not the first time news about Perry’s shakedown of his appointees come out, in 2005, the Houston Chronicle published a story about Perry collecting 5 million dollar from his appointees. The contributions averaged about 18 thousand dollars but if you look at the chart below (From TPJ) , you can see that the governor received hundred of thousands of dollars from some appointees.

This explains Perry’s fierce defense of his appointees when something bad floats to surface and it also explains how he has been the longest-serving governor in Texas. In a country that prides itself on a check-and-balance type of government, those kind of reports and numbers should be staggering to people.

For fairness sake, many would say Bill White is just the same, he also receives contributions from his political appointees. According a Texas Tribune article, they are right, but the scale is entirely different.  Since White started being in public life in the 90’s, he has collected about 2 million dollars. This is on a much lower scale than the 17 million dollars Perry received in less than ten years, and the fact that this 17 million represents between one-quarter to one-fifth of the money raised by Perry.

It is dangerous to our state that our governor is banking on the shaping of policy in Texas. But here in Public Citizen, we always say, “the only thing that beats organized money is organized people, ” so it is our turn to look at the facts, learn about the issues, and reject the status quo of money having an undue influence in politics.  We call on all candidates for public office to support REAL reform of our campaign finance system, including bans on raising unlimited money from appointees and especially by moving to a system of public financing for all offices.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Bill White Talks Solar, Clean Energy Jobs

Posted in Energy, green jobs, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , , on September 29, 2010 |

Finally, energy is now moving to the center of the debate in the governor race. Bill White announced yesterday his energy plan. For a while, the democratic candidate’s position on energy was a bit blurry but yesterday White set the record straight. He is in for green energy.

While the current governor has wasted state resources on fighting the EPA and the Federal government on behalf of big business, White thinks the state should focus more on green energy, especially from solar. White said that just like Texas had a good experience with wind energy in the past decade, it can exceed in the field of solar energy.

White emphasizes that green energy can create many jobs and help boost the Texas economy. The jobs can range from construction,  and panel installation, research, to jobs in education and training and maintenance jobs so even in the long run, there will be jobs.

Texas can remain the energy capital of the world if we lead in new energy development. That’s why we must educate Texans for high-demand, high-paying clean energy jobs, promote job growth in construction and manufacturing, and invest in science and technology research,” said Bill White, yesterday in Lubbock.

In addition to promoting renewable energy, White outlined a plan to establish a residential energy efficiency program and another to retrofit government buildings to be more energy-conservative. The democratic candidates also encouraged Texans to be conservative with their use of energy, “Texans know that the cheapest kilowatt of power is the one you don’t use. Texas families and businesses, as well as the government, can save money with energy efficiency measures,”

We believe investing in green energy will not only enhance the quality of our environment, it will bring more money into our economy, and it will create more jobs for Texans.  Sounds like we have one candidate with an energy plan.  Governor Perry, yours please?

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Texas sends Hot-headed letter to EPA on CO2: partisan political ploy at its worst

Posted in Global Warming, TCEQ, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2010 |

At a time when in much of the US we are facing the most significant heat waves in decades, global temperature averages have shown 2010 to be the hottest year ever in recorded history, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Climactic Data Center just released its most comprehensive report on climate change which may as well have been called “It’s Real and It’s Here: NOW!”, and droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires are causing Armageddon-like conditions around Moscow, causing even the global warming denying Russian government to capitulate to the scientific consensus…..  Even with all of that, it would seem like an odd time for the state of Texas to send a shot across the EPA’s bow, insulting them and goading them into a fight over Texas carbon emissions and the Clean Air Act.

But yet they have.

Monday August 2nd the state of Texas sent a letter to the EPA (original can be downloaded here) informing them that we would no longer be complying with the Clean Air Act, specifically provisions relating to the regulation of greenhouse gases.  This letter signed by Attorney General Greg Abbott and TCEQ Commissioner Bryan Shaw is full of bluster and short on reasoned legal arguments with any real merit.

Famous painting of Ukrainian Cossacks writing a triumphant and bawdy letter to the Turkish Sultan after the Cossacks defeated his army

What it really remind me of is one of my favorite paintings, Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану or, Zaprozhe Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan by Ilya Repin.  (For comparison’s sake, I would highly recommend following that link to read the text of the Cossack’s letter– it has language saltier than anything else I’ve heard this side of South Park)  I just can’t help think of the unabashed joy that must’ve coursed through the veins of the Atty General and TCEQ Commissioner as they drafted this, using phrases like (more…)

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