Monthly Archives: August 2014

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics, Politics, Texas Politics

Texoblogosphere: Week of August 11th

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The Texas Progressive Alliance is glad to live in an age where we can zap political ads on TV if we want to as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff wonders why AG Greg Abbott didn’t just have his own lawyers testify in the latest lawsuit against HB2 given how much they coached their witnesses.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos is very disturbed to learn Greg Abbott”s rulings and decisions demonstrate a pattern of his support for abusers vs. their victims. Corporate Marionette Greg Abbott Seems to Enjoy Punishing Victims.

Glenn Hager, Tea Party candidate for Texas Comptroller, was caught in the act. Bay Area Houston has the video.

After being told all summer that “nobody pays attention until Labor Day”, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs had to wonder if we had suddenly jumped ahead a month on the calendar.

What’s this about voter fraud? CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants all of the reality-based people to know that voter id does nothing to stop fraudulent absentee ballot procedures.

Texas Leftist shares the truth about Medicaid expansion. Right now, Texas taxpayers are subsidizing healthcare benefits for other states, while millions of our people suffer without health insurance. Also make sure to check out Wayne’s guest column in CultureMap discussing the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Texas Watch points you to a resource to tell how safe your hospital is.

LGBTQ Insider calls the 2014 elections “imperative” for the LGBT community.

Juanita finds a bad use of ta tas.

TransGriot and HOUEquality have news roundups on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and the so far failed effort to put an item on the ballot to repeal it.

Lone Star Q lists the 63 Texas legislators that signed on to the Texas Conservative Coalition brief in the same sex marriage appeal, in which they drag out more insulting and discredited arguments to support those made by AG Greg Abbott.

Grits for Breakfast still thinks the Driver Responsibility surcharge should be scrapped.

Lone Star Ma celebrated World Breastfeeding Week.

SciGuy showed us what happens when a spaceship gets close to a comet.

The Highwayman and Unfair Park examine the link between poverty and fatal auto/pedestrian accidents.

 

(photo credit:  Focus- Fort Worth Photography)

Fort Worth skyline

Texas Politics

Mike Collier Hammers Glenn Hegar on Education Cuts

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Long dismissed as an easy win for the GOP, the Texas Comptroller’s race is starting to heat up faster than August.  Here’s the story from the Dallas Morning News…

Democratic comptroller nominee Mike Collier says GOP rival Glenn Hegar bragged to a tea party interviewer last year that he was proud of the Legislature’s 2011 budget cuts to public schools.

Collier, who released a video Friday to back up his claims, said it’s “embarrassing and unacceptable” that Hegar “takes pride in cutting education.”

“Hegar does not share our values, and he poses a profound threat to something Texans have held dear since our founding, … a great educational system,” said Collier, a Houston businessman.

Hegar spokesman David White called Collier’s 40-second Web video “a distortion.”

Though Hegar, a state senator from Katy, joined other Republicans in approving $5.4 billion in cuts to schools in the 2011 Legislature, he “believes in adequately funding our education system,” White said.

The clash comes less than 90 days before the election as each tries to gain an edge in the race for the low-profile job as comptroller, the state’s chief financial officer.

The Montgomery County Tea Party posted video of its interview with Hegar on its website late last year. At the time, Hegar faced three other Republicans for the party’s nomination to succeed Susan Combs, who is stepping down.

The new video is the latest move in an aggressive campaign by Collier, evidenced by a slew of television ad buys and an impressive social media presence.  The Houston businessman has attacked Hegar on his plan to explode sales taxes and a lack of qualifications to even be Comptroller.  Collier has also made several calls to debate Hegar, and even started an online petition to rally the cause, but as yet, Hegar has refused to schedule any debates.

Mike Collier is proving that he has what it takes to win the 2014 election, and more Texas Democrats need to follow suit.  Though some candidates may not have a personal fortune to spend on TV ads, there are other ways to run an aggressive campaign and make lots of noise.  Half the battle in this state is just to get enough name ID to voters so they’ll even know to look for you on the ballot.  Mike “the watchdog” Collier is doing a fantastic job at that as well.  For those hoping that a Democrat will break Texas’ “grand ole ceiling” and get elected statewide this year, the Comptroller’s race is one to watch.  If Collier can building momentum and force Hegar on to the debate stage, he may well win in November.

See Bay Area Houston for more.

Equality, Texas Politics

Texas GOP Lawmakers Link Same-Sex Marriage to Incest, Pedophilia

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As most of America continues to move forward with marriage equality, many in the Texas GOP insist on holding the Lone Star State back with antiquated, harmful falsehoods.  Here’s the story from the Huffington Post…

In support of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s efforts to reinstate the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, more than 60 Texas lawmakers signed an amicus brief Monday arguing that recognition of gay marriage could lead to the legalization of incest, pedophilia and polygamy.

Filed with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 63 members of the Texas Conservative Coalition, the state legislature’s conservative caucus, advanced the notion that legalizing same-sex marriage could provide legal justification for the recognition of various moral taboos, including incest and pedophilia.

“The district court broadened the definition of the ‘existing right to marry’ as one that includes the right of people to ‘select the partners of their choosing’ for marriage, without regard to sex,” the brief contends. “If the right to select ‘partners of their choosing’ is the criterion used to invoke marriage as a fundamental right, then marriage restrictions on age, polygamy, and consanguinity are also ripe for challenge.”

As first reported by Lone Star Q, signatories include the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Dan Patrick, Texas House Speaker Pro Tempore Dennis Bonnen (R) and state Sen. Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for attorney general.

Also thanks to Lone Star Q‘s fantastic work, you can find the names of all 63 lawmakers that supported Greg Abbott’s flawed document, as well as information on how to Tweet them with your opinion of their decision.

By now in Texas, it is to be expected that such a move would receive harsh criticism from Democrats.  But Greg Abbott and his insider club are also getting some major push back from members of the GOP.  Take this statement from the Republican Liberty Caucus…

Sixty-three Texas Republican elected officials and candidates have signed on to an amicus brief in the case of DeLeon vs. Perry. Their choice to do this may offer short term political advantages but it is not in the long tem best interests of the party.

The brief stands in defense of Texas’ prohibition on same sex marriage, listing various questionable claims about the dangers of same sex marriage including an argument based on the slippery slope fallacy claiming that it will lead to the legalization of bestiality, incest, pedophilia and polygamy.

The Republican Liberty Caucus opposes using this issue as a campaign tactic. It will embarrass the party and the temporary gain in partisan voters is not worth the ultimate loss in party membership and support in the general election. It is the wrong position to take for party that believes in liberty and equality under the law.

The Republican Party needs to take a position on this issue based on reason and the best interests of the public. The best course for the protection of religious liberty and individual rights is to advocate the removal of marriage from the control of the state.

While it’s good to see that these shameful beliefs are not held by the whole of the Texas Republican Party, the thought of having Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick in the state’s top elected offices is especially scary after seeing this brief.  Anyone that cares about Marriage Equality or just stands for the truth should remember this in November. As they have proven here, a vote for Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton or any of these other legislators is a vote spread harmful, malicious lies about the LGBT community. 

(photo credit: the Texas Tribune)

Texas Politics

Arkansas Sees Huge ACA Benefits, Texas Pays

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Texas’ neighbor to the Northeast has seen some big benefits from the Affordable Care Act, and more specifically the state’s uniquely crafted Private Option Expansion.  Here’s the story from Andy Davis of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette…

Arkansas had a bigger drop this year in the percentage of its adult residents who lack insurance than any other state, a survey released Tuesday found.

The survey by Gallup Inc. found that 12.4 percent of Arkansas adults lacked insurance as of mid year this year, a drop of 10.1 percentage points compared with 22.5 percent who lacked insurance last year.

As a result, the state went from having the second-highest rate of uninsured adults in the country, ahead of only Texas, to being tied with New Hampshire at No. 22 in the percentage of adults who reported having insurance.

[…]

In a statement, Gov. Mike Beebe noted that the Gallup survey indicates the number of uninsured adults in the state fell by 45 percent.

“When we worked with the Arkansas Legislature to pass the Private Option, we said it would make Arkansas a national leader for innovative health-care solutions, and this report proves that to be true,” Beebe said. “Even though not everyone was happy with the circumstances surrounding the Affordable Care Act in our state, we showed that we could find a bipartisan path to make the best of the situation and help our people.”

Amy Webb, an Arkansas Department of Human Services spokesman, said in an email, “The Private Option is the reason Arkansas is at the top of the list.

“We can’t say exactly how many enrollees were uninsured before, but we know these people are the working poor, and it’s likely many couldn’t afford insurance or it wasn’t offered to them.”

She noted that Texas, which did not expand Medicaid, had the highest rate of adults who lacked insurance in the country last year and as of mid year this year, although the rate fell from 27 percent of adults last year to 24 percent this year.

As discussed previously, that 3 percent drop is due in large part to more people just discussing healthcare during so many heated Obamacare battles.  But as Arkansas has proven, so much more is left to be done to help the people of Texas.  Literally millions of people are being denied access to healthcare because of short-sighted decisions from a few Republican lawmakers in Austin.

Here’s the part that the Democrat-Gazette doesn’t share… the money being used to provide healthcare for Arkansans comes from Texas taxpayers.  We send our money to Washington so it can get invested in other states, while our citizens live in constant fear of a health crisis. Here’s more from the Commonwealth Fund…

The 20 states choosing not to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act are forgoing billions of dollars in federal funds, while residents in their states are contributing to the cost of the expansions in other states, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study.

After taking into account federal taxes paid by state residents, states with the highest net losses include Texas, which will see a net loss of $9.2 billion in 2022; Florida, which will lose $5 billion; Georgia, which will lose $2.9 billion, and Virginia, which will lose $2.8 billion.

Even now on Abbott’s website, he remains fully committed to destroying the law, while offering no alternative solution for how to help the 6 million Texans lacking any insurance options.  Instead, he and other Texas Republicans claim that the Obamacare money is some sort of “gimmick” by the Federal government.  They say there is no way that the deal offered by the Obama administration would actually last, and that it will somehow leave states on the hook for healthcare costs later.

What they keep forgetting to mention?  Texas is on the hook for healthcare costs now. Hospitals in the Lone Star state are already burdened with $5 billion dollars annually in uncompensated care, a cost that is passed on to all Texans via higher insurance premiums. Given that the state is currently in the midst of an historic population boom (led by low-wage, no-insurance jobs), we can expect those costs to keep going UP.

Meanwhile in Arkansas, preliminary numbers show a 24 percent decrease of uninsured patients at the emergency room, with a 2 percent decrease of overall ER visits.

Thankfully this November, we have a clear choice. A vote for Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte is a vote to support healthcare expansion in the state, and to reclaim tax dollars that we are sending elsewhere.  Arkansas found a bi-partisan, common sense solution that is saving lives today.  Instead of paying for their prosperity, isn’t it time for Texas to do the same?

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics

Texas Leftist Published in Houston CultureMap!

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As the decision over the HERO petition jostles through the courts, a new debate has arisen in media… should the ordinance be subject to a vote of the people?  Yesterday Clifford Pugh, Editor-in-Chief at CultureMap Houston, penned a response saying that Houstonians should be able to vote on the measure.  Knowing that I disagree, Mr. Pugh allowed me to write an opposing view on the subject.  Check out the excerpt below…

One must admit that “Let the people vote” is a nice-sounding argument. Voting, at least in contemporary democracy, is the way we choose our representatives in government, and it is often the way we choose how to allocate public money for certain uses. In recent years Houstonians have weighed in on the fate of the Astrodome, the usefulness of red light cameras, funds to rebuild city infrastructure and whole host of other topics.

These are issues that deserve a vote.

But the Astrodome, beloved or hated as it may be, is not a person. It wasn’t guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It doesn’t think, it doesn’t feel, and it doesn’t become disenfranchised. These are experiences that belong solely to people, and under the Constitution of the United States of America, people have rights above and beyond subjection of public opinion…

For more, head on over to CultureMap.  Be share to comment on the article and share with your friends!

Houston, Houston Politics

Houston City Council Passes Vehicles-For-Hire Amendments

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After a long and heated battle, Uber and Lyft can finally operate legally in Houston.  Here’s the story from Doug Begley of the Houston Chronicle…

It took 16 months, but Houston officials Wednesday finally found acceptable regulations to corral the changing paid ride industry.

By a 10-5 vote, with two council members absent, City Council approved new paid ride rules, amending the existing Chapter 46 that covers everything from taxis and limos to jitneys and airport shuttles. The changes open up Houston, legally, to new entrants like Uber and Lyft that use smartphone apps to connect willing drivers with interested riders, using the driver’s personal car.

This was a very public, brutal battle waged on both sides, and as such for the “losing side” in Council chambers, emotions were high.  After the vote, one cab driver even took his operator license, threw it on the floor and stomped on it right over the city seal.  Clearly many in the taxi industry are upset and fearful of how to make their living in the city’s new transport landscape.  But there were some silver linings.

Noah M. Horwitz, public relations consultant for Yellow Cab, released this statement on the newly- amended Chapter 46…

“We’re pleased with the comprehensive reforms that passed today at City Hall. While we did not get all that we wanted, neither did our opponents. And most of the new reforms, such as strenuous insurance and drug testing requirements, benefit the consumer most of all.

Furthermore, the biggest barrier to competition between the cab companies and Uber/Lyft has been removed. Now that taxis can variably price in a similar manner to Uber/Lyft, we can effectively compete with them on financial grounds while still providing a superior service.”

With fares now on an equal playing field, all TNCs can compete for Houston business fairly. At the end of the day, this point is a compromise that should be acceptable to all.

Council admitted that there are still many issues to work out regarding rides for people with disabilities. But rather than delay legislation any further, They chose to create a Disability Task Force set to report and discuss problems as they arise. The group will meet within a year, compile any concerns and bring them back before Council. In the mean time, all TNCs are required to diversify their fleet so that a larger share of vehicles will be available to disabled riders. This is a large step forward for all Houstonians because it increases choice and competition for affected persons, while lessening the burden of services like METRO Lift and Harris County Transit.

Like any major change, there are going to be hurt feelings and uncertainty while new regulations get implemented. But Houston has never been a city driven by fear and complacency. With a new, modernized Chapter 46 in hand, the Bayou City is finally read to hit the road again.

Houston Politics

Leticia Van de Putte Releases ‘Texas First’ Jobs Plan

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Unlike her Republican counterpart, the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor is actually talking about jobs.
This week, State Senator and statewide office hopeful Leticia Van de Putte unveiled the Texas First jobs plan— a comprehensive plan to ensure that Texas not only continues the growth of today, but builds a better economic future for tomorrow. As the Burnt Orange Report noted, she also unveiled the plan in her own special way… at Houston’s St. Arnold’s brewery.  Here’s an excerpt from the plan…
Leticia understands that Texas needs to invest in roads, water, and public education to ensure a prosperous future for Texas businesses and workers. She sees the possibilities that our state’s lush natural resources provide and knows that our economy will remain strong if we foster trade with our neighbors. Leticia understands that with a strong business climate and a quality workforce, businesses will continue to bring jobs to Texas.
Over the past year, every major industry expanded in Texas. These industries created 371,000 jobsbetween June 2013 and June 2014. Leticia is committed to placing Texas in the best position to keep industries like “mining and logging” and “transportation and utilities” strong, while also attracting the industries of the future. Leticia knows that under her leadership, the state has great potential to expand jobs in the biomedical and technology industries of Texas.
Leticia believes that an educated and skilled workforce is crucial to attracting new jobs and ensuring they are filled by Texans. Leticia knows that in order for Texas to prosper, it must prepare students for jobs that may not yet exist, as well as those that have a long history in this state. Currently, there is agrowing need in Texas for healthcare professionals and teachers, as well as mechanics and computersupport specialist. No matter what the industry, Leticia is committed to prepare Texans to take on any job of the future.
Leticia believes that growing a smart economy requires a pro-business environment that stimulates rather than stifles business growth. She understands that Texas needs to balance keeping taxes low and fair while also investing in job creation. She recognizes that Texas needs a system of predictable regulations so that we can continue to attract businesses from across the country and the world.
Even as the current border situation has dominated the news cycle, Van de Putte has managed to not only give clear, reasoned strategy of how to best handle that situation, but to also move her campaign forward with plans such as this one.  While Dan Patrick mires himself in harmful anti-immigrant, anti-Texan rhetoric, Van de Putte is proving that it is possible to lead by example in the Lieutenant Governor’s race.  As a champion of the booming craft beer industry and other small businesses, Van de Putte has shown that she has a firm and relevant understanding of how today’s Texas economy works.