Archive for the ‘Texas’ Category
Tuesday, August 13th, 2013
“Travis County prosecutor charged with DWI.”
A prosecutor with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office was charged with driving while intoxicated after being involved in a traffic wreck over the weekend.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit released Monday, Brandon Grunewald, 33, was in a collision Sunday afternoon on the southbound MoPac Boulevard service road near Barton Skyway, Grunewald was driving a 2008 Land Rover. The other driver was in a Mini Cooper.
And what did his boss have to say?
Grunewald’s boss, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said she is reviewing his case
“It’s a first offense DWI and I don’t know what will happen until I have all the facts,” explained Lehmberg. “I have never terminated an employee for a first offense DWI and we have had employees with first offense DWI up and down the ranks.”
Indeed.
You know, I don’t think I’ve worked anywhere where “people up and down the chain of command” had “first-time” DWIs.
Sadly, Mr. Grunewald was not reported to have stamped his feet and implored the police to “Call Greg!”
(Hat tip: Blue Dot Blues.)
Tags:Austin, Brandon Grunewald, Crime, DWI, Rosemary Lehmberg, Texas, Travis County
Posted in Austin, Crime, Texas | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 12th, 2013
Today the Dallas Morning News has an article hand-wringing article on why white males have abandoned the Democratic Party. The title quote is from the middle of the piece, to which one can only reply “Well, duh.”
The piece makes the usual MSM-required mention of racism, and takes until the third-to-last paragraph to quote a Republican saying “The national Democratic Party moved sharply to the left.”
Ask yourself: What conservative Democrat of, say, 35 years ago, would back an agenda of trillion dollar deficits, illegal alien amnesty, gay marriage, and taxpayer funded abortions? Pretty much none, especially not in the rural areas Democrats used to dominate. It’s all-but-impossible to envision conservative Democratic stalwarts like Charlie Wilson or Allan Shivers back today’s Democratic Party. Add to the fact that liberals have ruthlessly purged Blue Dog Democrats from the party, and you realize that conservatives didn’t leave the Democratic Party; they were pushed out.
Tags:Blue Dog Democrats, Democratic Party, Democrats, Texas, Texas Democratic Party
Posted in Democrats, Texas | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 9th, 2013
Time for another quick roundup of statewide race news:
Even left-wing PolitiFact admits that Democrats are lying about Greg Abbott improperly moving funds.
They’re a lot tougher on Lt. Governor candidate Sen. Dan Patrick’s claims that funding for border security was cut in the latest budget.
The Texas Tribune looks at Abbott’s consultant spending.
Abbott, running for a statewide office, refuses to opine on national legislative tactics to defund ObamaCare. Stop the freaking presses!
The Washington Post offers up five facts about Abbott. For a change, they’re even accurate.
Abbot takes south Texas votes seriously.
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst shakes up his re-election team with new hires, including Ryan Hecker of FreedomWorks and Eliza Vielma (AKA Twitter’s @misslizaface) will be handling social media. Given how poorly Dewhurst performed in social media in the Senate race, that’s probably a good move.
Lt. Governor candidate and Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples takes a swing at Dewhurst’s leadership in a fundraising letter.
But Staples, like all three of Dewhurst’s challengers in the Lt. Governor’s race, endorsed Dewhurst over Ted Cruz in last year’s Senate runoff.
Patrick has a new ad out. He looks sleepy. He may need to consider ptosis surgery.
Attorney General candidate Dan Branch defends defense of marriage. Unlike Tom Leppert, Branch doesn’t seem to have played footsie with Dallas’ gay rights community, and indeed was an (unsuccessful) target for them to defeat in 2008.
Speaking of Branch, Facebook briefly yanked, then restored, one of his campaign videos. This one I think:
Which strikes me as well-produced, but pretty generic. Can’t see why any reasonable person would find it even remotely objectionable.
Sources tell me that Rep. Brandon Creighton gets into the Agricultural Commissioner’s race today.
And speaking of the Agricultural Commissioner’s race, Eric Opiela is evidently not only Joe Straus’ lawyer, but also managed (through some ill-advised emails) to hurt Republican redistricting efforts by making them easier to challenge in 2012.
On the Democratic side, Abortion Barbie inches closer to declaring her intention to lose to Abbott.
Tags:2014 Attorney General's Race, 2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, Border Controls, Brandon Creighton, Dan Branch, Dan Patrick, David Dewhurst, Elections, Eliza Vielma, Eric Opiela, Greg Abbott, Joe Straus, Media Watch, Republicans, Ryan Hecker, Texas, Todd Staples, video, Wendy Davis
Posted in Border Control, Elections, Media Watch, Republicans, Texas, video | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013
I don’t cover the gun scene nearly as much as I should, but there are several stories percolating throughout the gun community this week I thought were worth taking a look at:
In Virginia: More guns, less crime.
Want to read the gun-grabbers messaging playbook? Here it is. Additional commentary from Shall Not Be Questioned and The Gunmag.
This week in Astroturf liberal groups pretending they’re gun groups: The American Rifle and Pistol Association, The Sporting Rifle Association of America, and the American Hunters and Shooters Association.
Alphecca: “If Zimmerman had been pulled over in NY, NJ, MD, CA, or almost anywhere other than the great state of Texas, he’d be in jail on some trumped-up charges. Fortunately, it was Texas.”
Translating anti-gun gibberish into plain English. (Also via Alphecca.)
Maryland joins the parade of stupid (and unconstitutional) gun law states.
When a criminal assailant is beating your brains out, it’s no time to fret over being better armed. (Hat tip: Stuff from Hsoi.)
Borepatch covers a session on the Defense Distributed Liberator pistol at DEFCON.
Reporter talks to people firing AR-15s, forgets to write usual anti-gun claptrap. “It’s just a tool.”
Tags:AR-15, Astroturf, DEFCON, Defense Distributed, Democrats, George Zimmerman Trial, Guns, Marylnd, Texas, Virginia
Posted in Democrats, Guns, Texas | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 6th, 2013
Still catching up, so enjoy your complimentary LinkSwarm and beverage (minus the beverage):
No, the IRS did not target liberal groups like they targeted conservatives.
The scary truth about state and local debt.
The U.S. government has $70 trillion in unfunded liabilities. I don’t happen to agree with everything in that assessment (a situation in which the FDIC would actually have to make good on all $7 trillion in deposit guarantees would pretty much be tantamount to the complete collapse of civilization), but the rest is scary enough.
Powerline’s John Hindraker wonders what the Benghazi cover-up is really about. I still think the secret CIA interrogation center that David Petraeus’ mistress Paula Broadwell claims was there is a strong possibility.
Thanks to ObamaCare, insurance premiums will increase in most states.
How liberals managed to turn wealthy Connecticut into just another broke Blue State.
Obama’s Nixonian scandals just keep churning.
The Black Hole in China’s shadow banks
Washington Post to be sold to Jeff Bezos. But he wasn’t stupid enough to take over existing pension liabilities. Bezos seems to be a liberal, but isn’t an overly active donor for a billionaire.
“Coming this fall on Cinemax: Leathers and Slutbag! They both got nailed by the same slimeball, and now they’re out for justice! Democratic politician not paying you your promised hush money? Call Leathers & Slutbag!”
Tawana Brawley finally starts paying for her 1987 rape hoax.
Liberal race-hustler Rep. Charlie Rangel takes time out of his busy schedule of defrauding the American taxpayer to suggest Tea Partiers are the “same group” who fought for segregation during the Civil Rights movement. Hey, Rep. Rangel, you know what the name of the group that fought for segregation was? The Democratic Party.
Attorney general Greg Abbott nails Texas Planned Parenthood for Medicaid fraud In fact, it was $4.3 million worth of fraud. More from Holly Hansen.
More show trails in Turkey.
Advocates of “green” energy cronyism seem to have found some Tea Party patsies.
On the differences between Austin and Texas.
Ace of Spades offers up an epic takedown of movie critic Andrew O’Hehir. “The man masturbates stupid and ejaculates embarrassment.”
And then does the same on Amanda Marcotte’s theory that men men hate sex and only use it to procreate.
Liberals get firebrand Twitter Gulag Defense Network founder Todd Kincannon’s Twitter account suspended. For all of two days.
Heh:
Tags:abortion, Amanda Marcotte, Benghazi, Budget, Charlie Rangel, China, cronyism, Greg Abbott, Holly Hansen, Jeff Bezos, LinkSwarm, Media Watch, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Planned Parenthood, Powerline, Tea Party, Todd Kincannon, Turkey, Washington Post
Posted in Budget, Media Watch, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, August 5th, 2013
In the better-late-than-never-reporting department, last week State Senator Ken Paxton made his run for attorney general official. Paxton is probably most famous for running against Rep. Joe Straus for Speaker of the House back when he was a state Rep.
Paxton also touted numerous endorsements of Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Institute, Cathie Adams of the Texas Eagle Forum, Peggy Venable of Americans for Prosperity, state Reps. Tony Dale, Bryan Hughes, Jodie Laubenberg, Scott Turner, Giovanni Capriglione, Jeff Leach of Plano, Scott Sanford, Van Taylor (who’s already announced a bid to replace Paxton in the Senate) and Bill Zedler.
One tiny snag: Paxton initially touted the endorsement of Empower Texans’ Michael Quinn Sullivan. Only problem: Sullivan hadn’t endorsed him. Oops.
Rep. Dan Branch and Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman are already in the race.
Tags:2014 Attorney General's Race, 2014 Election, Ken Paxton, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Republicans, Texas, Tony Dale
Posted in Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 31st, 2013
Travis McCormick notes that exactly one year ago, Ted Cruz beat David Dewhurst in the 2012 Republican Senate runoff. (He also demolished a number of myths in the process.) And pretty much every day Ted Cruz has been in Washington, he’s confirmed that Texas voters made the right decision.
Can anyone imagine Dewhurst leading the fight against illegal alien amnesty? Or schooling Dianne Feinstein on gun control? (I can imagine Dewhurst voting against gun control, but not leading the fight against it.) Or holding the feet of other Republicans to the fire on conservative principles? (As I said then, “We sent Cruz to Washington to shame Republicans into acting like Republicans.”)
No wonder Cruz is getting buzz as a 2016 Presidential candidate. I don’t see anyone else better on the horizon…
Tags:2012 Election, David Dewhurst, Elections, Republicans, runoff, Ted Cruz, Texas, Texas Senate Race, Travis McCormick
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
Still getting up to speed, so expect these updates to be a bit random for, oh, the next five weeks or so.
Abbott: The Obama Administration’s Voting Rights Act lawsuit is purely political.
The administration’s approach reveals the Democrats‘ fear that Republican candidates were making inroads with Hispanic voters. Democrats could never “turn Texas blue” if that trend continued, so they got the courts to draw district lines that guarantee Democratic victory in predominantly Hispanic areas.
Instead of allowing the Voting Rights Act to work in a way the Constitution allows, the Obama administration is sowing racial divide to score cheap political points. The president is using the legal system as a sword to wage partisan battles rather than a shield to protect voting rights. This overreaching action undermines the Voting Rights Act and the rule of law. Texas will not tolerate it. So far, neither will the Supreme Court.
Abbot also appeared on Lou Dobbs to discuss voter ID:
He also appeared on the Mike Huckabee show:
And the Mike Gallagher Show:
And Trey Ware’s show on KTSA:
Huckabee, who last endorsed David Dewhurst in the Senate race, endorses Dan Patrick in the Lt. Governor’s race. I’m sure the endorsement had nothing to do with Huckabee’s son doing work for a consulting firm hired by Patrick…
Former state Rep. Ray Keller is running for the Railroad Commission.
Interview with Barry Smitherman
The Houston Chronicle tackles the Lt. Governor’s race by…comparing Twitter statistics for Jerry Patterson and Dan Patrick. I feel dumber merely by having linked to that.
Texas Sparkle endorses Todd Staples for Lt. Governor.
Eric Opiela is running for Agricultural Commissioner. I sort of like his ad featuring a Prius-driving EPA official:
Malachi Boyuls is running for the railroad commission. You don’t see many Malachis in public office these days…
Democrat Mike Mjetland is considering running for Governor.
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, Barry Smitherman, Dan Patrick, Elections, EPA, Eric Opiela, Greg Abbott, Jerry Patterson, Malachi Boyuls, Mike Huckabee, Mike Mjetland, Ray Keller, Republicans, Texas, Todd Staples, video, Voter ID
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas, video | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 26th, 2013
A little bird has been telling me a few tidbits about the Attorney General’s race, namely:
Ken Paxton is indeed going to run for AG, and will announce his run next week. You might think this is deep insider knowledge, but given this Facebook posting by Paxton…eh, not so much.
By contrast, the manifest lack of enthusiasm for Dan Branch’s Attorney General run among Texas conservatives is palpable. And when the Dallas Morning News labels you “a close confidant of House Speaker Joe Straus,” you’re already starting off on the wrong foot to win over conservative activists.
Tags:2014 Attorney General's Race, 2014 Election, Dan Branch, Elections, Joe Straus, Ken Paxton, Republicans, Texas
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »