Archive for the ‘Texas’ Category

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In Which I TweetFisk Wendy Davis’ Non-Denial Denials

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014

Didn’t plan on doing two Wendy Davis pieces in a row, but her latest stream of non-denial denial tweets offered up so many slow, lazy pitches straight over the plate I felt the urge to partake of batting practice:

Now a few more bonus tweets from other people:

(Hat tip: Legal Insurrection.)

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Posted in Democrats, Elections, Texas | No Comments »

Your Obligatory “Wendy Davis is a Damn Liar” Post

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

Everyone and their dog has already chimed in on Wendy Davis’ serial prevarications by now, but hey, it is my state.

WendyDavisSadDog

In the Dallas Morning News, political reporter Wayne Slater brought up examples of Davis’ campaign biography that don’t match up with the facts:

It is her biography — a divorced teenage mother living in a trailer who earned her way to Harvard and political achievement — that her team is using to attract voters and boost fundraising.

The basic elements of the narrative are true, but the full story of Davis’ life is more complicated, as often happens when public figures aim to define themselves. In the shorthand version that has developed, some facts have been blurred.

Davis was 21, not 19, when she was divorced. She lived only a few months in the family mobile home while separated from her husband before moving into an apartment with her daughter.

A single mother working two jobs, she met Jeff Davis, a lawyer 13 years older than her, married him and had a second daughter. He paid for her last two years at Texas Christian University and her time at Harvard Law School, and kept their two daughters while she was in Boston. When they divorced in 2005, he was granted parental custody, and the girls stayed with him. Wendy Davis was directed to pay child support.

In an extensive interview last week, Davis acknowledged some chronological errors and incomplete details in what she and her aides have said about her life.

“My language should be tighter,” she said. “I’m learning about using broader, looser language. I need to be more focused on the detail.”

Just try that “my language should be tighter” line if you ever get audited by the IRS.

Wendy Davis’ campaign biography leans heavily on her time as a single teenage mom. She was indeed all of those things, just not at the same time.

Other tidbits: When she ran for the Ft. Worth city council in 1996, she did it as a Republican and voted in GOP primaries.

Also, there’s that little bit about Davis leaving her husband the day after he paid off her Harvard loan. As one Twitter wag put it:

There are a few other tiny wrinkles to Davis’ life story. The fact her ex sought a restraining order to keep her from using illegal drugs while visiting her children is one. Another is the fact that she lied about some of the details of her life story under oath.

A few more Twitter observations on the latest Wendy Davis revelations:

It also doesn’t say much about her intelligence that she thought she could get away with these lies in the Internet era…

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Posted in Democrats, Elections, Texas | 1 Comment »

Wendy Davis Pulls in (Extends Pinky) One MILLION Dollars From Dr. Evil, er, Oliver

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

I’ve been going through Wendy Davis’ finance report. I hope to report some interesting tidbits, but the Statesman beat me to the punch on one of the most interesting, reporting Davis received a hefty (raises pinky) one million dollars from a doctor Carolyn Oliver.

I’m sure liberals who complaining about the corrupting influence of money in politics will be asking her to give that back any minute now.

(Checks watch)

Any minute now…

In the meantime, here’s the Washington Post and Will Franklin on why Wendy Davis’ fundraising numbers are considerably less impressive than they seem to be.

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Posted in Democrats, Elections, Texas | No Comments »

Vote-Buying and Suicide Over a School Board Election?

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Inexplicable goings-on down in the Valley:

“Donna school board President Alfredo Lugo hanged himself in his home on New Year’s Day, authorities confirmed Thursday.”

Donna ISD is located in the Rio Grande Valley between McAllen and Harlingen. Lugo’s reason?

“The motive for the suicide was not immediately clear, but it came shortly after federal authorities arrested three women accused of buying votes for school board candidates in the most recent Donna ISD election.”

A school board election? Really? It’s not exactly a small district, given it’s $150 million budget, but still. Why would you even rig a school board election?

Maybe for the graft? In 2011, six district officials were convicted “in a bribery scheme that that totaled more than $600,000” stretching back to at least 2002.

Also of note: former Donna schools Superintendent Andres Martinez was awarded $1.2 million in damages in 2009:

“Martinez, who served as the Donna school district’s chief administrator during part of 2001, sued the district and several of its then school board trustees, alleging they had conspired to illegally fire him because he refused to hire, promote or give raises to political operatives who supported the majority faction on the board.”

Donna also has a long-standing issue with the drug trade. Related? Maybe, maybe not.

Something stinks down in the Valley, and it’s not Mexican cheese. Attorney General Greg Abbott and/or the Texas State Board of Education (I’m unclear who would have the responsibility) might want to consider launching a full audit of the district to see just where the money has been going…

(Hat tip: Prairie Pundit.)

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, Texas | 5 Comments »

Flash Mob Loots Convienance Store in Bryan, Texas

Sunday, January 12th, 2014

Another week, another flash mob of teenagers looting a store, this time in Bryan, Texas.

Once again, the video suggests that it’s an overwhelmingly (though not exclusively) black crowd.

You would think self-preservation would dissuade them from trying to rob someplace that obviously has video cameras…

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Posted in Crime, Texas, video | 1 Comment »

Ted Cruz at TPPF

Friday, January 10th, 2014

I couldn’t attend this year’s Texas Public Policy Foundation legislative orientation session, but for those who couldn’t make it, here’s Ted Cruz’s Friday speech.

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Posted in Texas, video | No Comments »

Hot Stuff

Friday, January 10th, 2014

A couple of days ago I mentioned that hot sauce maker Sriracha had been temprarily shut down due to more stringent California regulations.

Now the followup: In good news for pho restaurants everywhere, Huy Fong Foods announced that Sriracha shipments will resume by the end of the month.

Moreover, Texas Republican state representative Jason Villalba has invited them to come on over to Texas.

Villalba, who has been in office for a little under a year, happens to be a Sriracha fan, but he’s looking to move the company for more than personal reasons. He notes in his letter that in Texas there are no personal or corporate state income taxes and a plentiful non-union labor pool. He also mentions that Forbes Magazine named Texas the best climate in the country to grow a business.

“The great state of Texas would welcome you and your employees with open arms if you would consider moving…” reads the letter. “…Texas could provide you with exactly what you need to continue to grow, build and maximize the opportunities of Huy Fong Foods.”

Houston Democratic state rep Gene Wu has also invited them over as well.

No word on whether they’re considering moving or not, but plenty of California businesses have already relocated from California’s failing blue state model to Texas’ booming economy, so it’s certainly possible…

(Hat tip: Instapundit.)

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Posted in Regulation, Texas | No Comments »

Travis County Ending Gun Shows at the Expo Center?

Thursday, January 9th, 2014

So it appears:

Travis County won’t be hosting a gun show in its Exposition Center after this month, after county commissioners did not renew a lease for the controversial event.

“Controversial” in the sense that “liberals don’t like it.”

Saxet Gun Shows has been hosting the nearly-monthly show at the Expo Center since 2010 and had been negotiating a new contract for eight shows from March to January 2015, but got nowhere as county officials wanted the company to require background checks for all firearm sales. The company refused to require background checks for all transactions, and neither side has budged in the weeks of discussions, officials said.

(Hat tip: Dwight.)

Does this count as a violation of the preemption clause of Section 229 of the Texas local government code, which states:

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 43.002 of this code and Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, a municipality may not adopt regulations relating to:

(1) the transfer, private ownership, keeping, transportation, licensing, or registration of firearms, ammunition, or firearm supplies

I am not a lawyer, so I don’t want to hazard guess. It certainly seems less clear-cut than when they tried to ban gun shows outright. I did send off a tweet to Texas Attorney General (and 2014 gubernatorial favorite) Greg Abbott to ask his opinion…

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Posted in Austin, Guns, Texas | No Comments »

Texas vs. California Update for January 8, 2013

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

Time for another look at the respective fortunes of the nation’s two biggest states:

  • Between 1992 and 2010, California lost $45.27 billion in income while Texas gained $24.94B. (Hat tip: Moe Lane.)
  • That’s one of the many reasons Texas has a $2.6 billion budget surplus.
  • California’s Attorney General imposes some strange language choices on a proposed pension reform initiative.
  • California Governor Jerry Brown to shift money from a green “cap and trade” fund to the high speed rail boondoggle. “Brown, et al., apparently believe that diverting cap-and-trade fees into the bullet train may buy enough time to move some dirt and lay some track, with the hope that once construction begins, it will create a moral/political commitment to complete the project. But the proposed diversion is more likely to be dumping more money into a bottomless rathole.”
  • Remember: Spending money on green boondoggles means less is available for paying for luxuries like heating classrooms in winter.
  • Desert Hot Springs inches closer to bankruptcy. They’ve already eliminated their fire department, owe $4 million from last year, and are expected to run out of money in April.
  • How the California city of Pacific Grove broke the law and ignored voter wishes to accumulate massive pension debts. “Pacific Grove now has a new unfunded pension deficit of about $45 million, in addition to the $20 million in pension bonds. The deficit grows at 7.5% per year (about $3.2 million compounding).” A neat trick for a city whose entire budget is around $12 million a year. The first in what promises to be a 7 part series.
  • Orange County employees enjoy a whole bunch of plush benefits.
  • There’s a movement afoot in California to replace seniority with performance for determining teacher layoffs. Another group wants to make it easier to fire sex offenders. Naturally teacher’s unions are opposing both. (Hat tip: TPPF.)
  • California declares war on hot sauce maker Sriracha.
  • Is California’s 10 day gun waiting period unconstitutional? (Hat tip: Shall Not Be Questioned.)
  • Restaurant chain Mimi’s Cafe relocates their headquarters from California to Texas.
  • There’s a lot of talk (not yet confirmed) that Vista Equity Partners is planning to move Active Network, Websense, and Omnitracs to Texas.
  • Evidently Los Angeles can no longer support a WNBA team. (Hat tip: Dwight.)
  • Allied Van Lines confirmed that Texas remained the number one destination for relocation in 2013.
  • 14 things non-Texans don’t understand.

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    Posted in Budget, Democrats, Texas, unions, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | 1 Comment »

    Magpul Moving Headquarters to Texas

    Friday, January 3rd, 2014

    When firearm magazine manufacturer Magpul announced they were leaving Colorado over knee-jerk magazine capacity legislation (funny how outlawing their perfectly legal product will sour a company on a state), most thought that Texas was a long-shot for them to relocate to, with Wyoming being a more likely destination.

    They were half right.

    Magpul is indeed relocating it’s manufacturing and distribution to Cheyenne, Wyoming, but they’re relocating their headquarters to Texas.

    According to the official press release:

    Magpul is moving its corporate headquarters to Texas. Three North Central Texas sites are under final consideration, and the transition to the Texas headquarters will begin as soon as the facility is selected. The Texas relocation is being accomplished with support from Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

    Man, what an idiot Rick Perry is! All he does is keep bringing jobs to the state!

    Perry has earned the right to crow a bit:

    “In Texas, we understand that freedom breeds prosperity, which is why we’ve built our economy around principles that allow employers to innovate, keep more of what they earn and create jobs,” Gov. Perry said. “I’m proud that Magpul is the latest employer to join the ranks of companies that call Texas home.”

    “Excessive government regulation undermines a culture based on personal responsibility and creates a detrimental business environment,” Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick said. “Texas supports personal freedoms and our company will thrive in that environment.”

    Gov. Perry has reached out to more than 30 firearm manufacturers in states across the country that are considering restricting sales and manufacturing in the industry. Magpul cited the Lone Star State’s business-friendly environment, predictable regulations and consistent respect for the Second Amendment as key elements in its decision to relocate.

    Ted Cruz offers up a friendly Texas welcome as well:

    This follows Bold Ideas/Colt Competition moving moving to Texas from Oregon,

    All is proceeding as I have foreseen.

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    Posted in Guns, Texas | No Comments »

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