Jefferson's Contract a TEXTBOOK example of why (most) guys should return for Senior Year

"And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the youths,
A young man devoid of understanding,"
Proverbs 7:7

It's official.  Malik Jefferson signed his first NFL contract this week.  Details (from overthecap.com):


That's it?!?

That contract is nothing for an athlete with Malik Jefferson's level of skill.  He should make significantly more than that.  He's that talented.

Instead, he's making less than $1 million per year (in a league where your career could end on any given play).  We've heard conflicting reports on how much of it is guaranteed (some say $0, some say only the $700k signing bonus, some say about half)...but the fact remains the contract isn't even fully guaranteed.  Pretty small payday.

Imagine, instead, a world where Malik returns for Senior year.  If he has a monster Senior season (the most likely outcome), he's a first round pick and gets paid accordingly.  Even if he only has a so-so year, he's still a likely second round pick.  Obviously, there's a chance he gets hurt.  But, given the contract he just signed, there wouldn't be a big difference between getting hurt in the NFL and getting hurt playing for the Longhorns.

Bottom Line: It's a damn shame for Malik, but this is a lesson that should be hammered into the head of every draft-eligible student-athlete from now until eternity....

Abbott Endorses Cloud in CD-27 SPECIAL ELECTION

"Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life."
Proverbs 4:23

We didn't realize election day was tomorrow:



Highlights:

• Cloud was county chair in Victoria county.

• Need a representative to advocate for the district post Hurricane Harvey.

• Takes shot at Farenthold: "Restore integrity to the office."

Bottom Line: A clean win for Cloud tomorrow would allow him to get a head start on shaking up the Texas Delegation before the re-enforcements arrive next year.

Texas' Congressional Delegation doing NOTHING as Holder plots next round of redistricting lawsuits

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Matthew 10:28

While we were making this point yesterday...guess who was in Dallas doing what:

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met Tuesday with Latino grassroots organization leaders in North Texas to offer political and financial support for their efforts to mobilize Latino voters in the coming years.

Holder stopped in Dallas to attend a roundtable discussion and offer the backing of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group formed in January 2017 that raised more than $10 million during its first six months of active fundraising.

The committee's focus around the country is on breaking the Republican Party's control on how congressional district maps are drawn.

Translation: Holder's helping all of the usual suspect groups, who call every redistricting map Texas ever passes racist, raise more money than ever heading into the 2020 census.  This means more (and more ridiculous) redistricting lawsuits than ever.  That's the present trajectory.

But it's completely preventable.  Congress has jurisdiction to shut this down.  Unfortunately, the Texas Republican delegation is silent.  Likewise the candidates.

Bottom Line:  This is an obvious and predicable mess.  It's completely preventable.  Unfortunately, Texas' Republican Congressional delegation doesn't have the will to prevent it.

On Redistricting, Paxton secures Temporary Reprieve from CONGRESSES. ONGOING. FAILURE....

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Matthew 10:28

First things first, some very good news:

Attorney General Ken Paxton today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ House and congressional redistricting maps, except with respect to one Texas House District (HD 90):

“I’m grateful that the U.S. Supreme Court restored the rule of law to the redistricting process. The court rightly recognized that the Constitution protects the right of Texans to draw their own legislative districts, and rejected the misguided efforts by unelected federal judges to wrest control of Texas elections from Texas voters,” Attorney General Paxton said. “This is a huge win for the Constitution, Texas, and the democratic process. Once again, Texans have the power to govern themselves.”

Last year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio invalidated two of Texas’ 36 congressional districts (27 and 35) and multiple state House districts. Attorney General Paxton appealed the rulings to the high court, which heard oral arguments in the case on April 24.

When the Supreme Court put the lower court decisions on hold last September, it meant that no changes to Texas’ redistricting maps would be made ahead of the midterm elections. Attorney General Paxton argued at the time that allowing maps to be redrawn would throw “the Texas election deadlines into chaos for the second time this decade.”

Awesome!  The ruling on redistricting was undeniably good.  Kudos to the Attorney General's office and Attorney General Paxton specifically.

But...this is temporary.

In 2020, we're going to do redistricting again.  And, when that happens, we should expect several more rounds of these types of lawsuits.  Unless, of course, Congress does its job.

As we have pointed out over and over and over and over again, CONGRESS.  HAS.  THE.  AUTHORITY.  TO.  PERMANENTLY.  SHUT.  DOWN.  THESE.  REDISTRICTING.  LAWSUITS.

But NOTHING from any of the Republicans in Texas' Congressional delegation; likewise, nothing from any candidates running for Congress.

Bottom Line: Ken Paxton, along with the entire Attorney General's office, deserves tremendous credit for this victory...but it sure would be nice if Congress would render these lawsuits obsolete.

"Sick Leave" Lawsuit: #atxcouncil's Pathetically Weak Case produces Surprisingly DECENT Rulings

"Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?!?"
Matthew 20:15

Late this afternoon, Travis County [Democrat] District Judge Tim Sulak predictably ruled against a temporary injunction of the city's of Austin's pending "sick leave" entitlement...but a couple of subsequent rulings were a gigantic rebuke to the city's case.

At issue were various motions by the respective parties to have "interveners" (ie. fancy lawyer term for third parties who join a lawsuit) removed from the case.   The plaintiffs (ie. TPPF and their clients) sought to have the "Workers Defense Project" removed as interveners in the case.  The Defendent (ie. the City) sought to have the Attorney General's office removed.  Judge Sulak granted the plaintiff's motion while denying the defense's.  In other words, a Liberal Democrat Judge in Travis County just ruled that Workers "Defense" Project could not proceed on the case, but that KEN PAXTON's office can.  You read that correctly.  That really happened.

It's impossible to overstate how HUGE Worker's "Defense" Project thrown off the case is.  For the (blessedly) uninformed, Worker's "Defense" Project are the socialist storm troopers who've been pushing this entitlement since Day 1.  They're also Greg Casar's former employer.  They're side by side with Casar in everything he does.  Today's ruling was a direct rebuke to Greg Casar!  And by a liberal Democrat Judge, no less! (But the Attorney General's office can stay....)

As for the rest of the case, it went as expected.  Judge Sulak denied the temporary injunction.  But in the process it exposed how bad the city's legal argument is.  The City is arguing that they passed a benefit mandate, not a wage mandate.  They're then arguing that the state law in question only applies to "wages."  Thus, there's no conflict with state law.  Even a non-lawyer can understand the hair-splitting stupidity of that argument.  The city lawyer even had to admit there was no case law to back up his claim the state didn't have authority to intervene.

It's also worth noting that the city seems determined to gaslight the financial impact of this ordinance upon the defendants.  At one point, the city's attorney called such expenses the "cost of doing business," not "injury."  He later made a bizarre analogy between the so-called "sick leave" entitlement and paying parking meters.  And that's on top of their various acts of gaslighting yesterday.

This case is headed to the 3rd Court of Appeals.  The exact details of how that will transpire remain to be seen.  Both sides have grounds to appeal aspects of today's rulings.

Bottom Line: Coming from a liberal Democrat judge in Travis County (Tim Sulak no less), today's rulings were better than expected.

TPPF Lawsuit Against #atxcouncil's "Sick Leave" entitlement has first hearing

"Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?"
Matthew 20:15

This afternoon, we attended the first hearing for the TPPF lawsuit against the City of Austin's so-called "sick leave" entitlement; two takeaways stand out.

The first is that Tim Sulak is the presiding judge.  Longer term readers will remember him from the 2013 Austin ISD bond lawsuit.  We stand by everything we said at the time and suggest his presence is all you need to know.

The second is that the City's strategy is going to be chubbing and misdirection.  With the ordinance scheduled to go into effect on October 1st, the city doesn't want to give an appeals court a chance to issue a temporary injunction.  So stall, stall, stall....

Today's hearing was supposed to cover the plaintiff's request for an injunction on the ordinance.  That didn't stop the city from wasting an hour trying to get other issues considered in front of the injunction.  During this discussion, the city's attorney claimed that businesses aren't suffering harm because the ordinance hasn't gone into effect yet.  That level of arrogance and ignorance was the hallmark of the city's performance.

Ellen Troxclair was the first plaintiff's witness for the injunction.  Troxclair explained the lack of Austin-specific data accessible to council during it's deliberation.  She also pointed out that council didn't have the final ordinance language available until the day of adoption.  On cross-examination, the city's attorney attempted to gaslight Troxclair by asking her a bunch of irrelevant questions about her opinion of sick leave as an employee benefit.

The second plaintiff witness was Douglas Rigdon, who runs the Strickland Christian School in South Austin.  The Strickland school is one of the plaintiffs in the suit.  Strickland is significantly less expensive than the average private school (max tuition = $5kish).  Strickland's low tuition business model would fall apart if the city's ordinance were to go into effect.  Ridden suggested Strickland might have to eliminate teacher bonuses, or lower cash salaries for teachers, to comply.  Higher tuition is given.  The city's attorneys responded by belittling Rigdon's business model, belittling tuition increases, and suggesting Strickland borrow money to cover the costs of the ordinance.

Bottom Line: We'll get into the meat of the legal arguments tomorrow, but a very revealing day today.

#TXLEGE: A primer on the WRETCHED Practice Known as Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

With abolishing taxpayer funded lobbying now an official RPT legislative priority, this 2017 primer from TPPF begins to illustrate the extent of the problem:

2017 11 PolicyBrief TaxpayerFundedLobbying–CEP DeVore by texaspolicy on Scribd

Bottom Line: Honestly, the TPPF paper understates the extent of the problem, but it's a good place to start.

SCOTX's ruling in bag ban case a FANTASTIC sign for case against #atxcouncil's "Sick Leave" Entitlement

"You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous."
Deuteronomy 16:19

Obviously, the Texas Supreme Court ruled this morning against the City of Laredo in the bag ban case.  That's a good thing on it's own.  But it's also a very encouraging sign for the lawsuit against the City of Austin's so-called "sick leave" entitlement.

In his opinion, Chief Justice Hecht wrote:

 The Texas Constitution states that city ordinances cannot conflict with state law.  The Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (“the Act”) provides that “[a] local government . . . may not adopt an ordinance . . . to . . . prohibit or restrict, for solid waste management purposes, the sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorized by state law”.

The opinion proceeds to give a detailed accounting of the legal issues involved before concluding that the Laredo ordinance clearly violates the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

As it relates to the Austin lawsuit, today's ruling strongly suggest that the court has the appetite to strike local ordinances that conflict with state law.  The Austin ordinance is an obvious violation of the Texas Minimum Wage act.  This should be a no-brainer ruling.

Also notable that today's ruling was unanimous.

Bottom Line: Positive development on multiple fronts....

#atxcouncil: Casar's so-called "Freedom City" plan isn't a big deal (Republican hysteria notwithstanding)

"He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears."
Proverbs 26:17

Last week, while we were at convention, council passed a largely symbolic measure:

Amid the controversy over sanctuary cities, Austin this month took its fight against strict immigration law enforcement a step further by declaring itself to be the first “freedom city” in Texas. City Council members unanimously passed two resolutions last week that will restrict police attempts to question immigrants about their status and curtail arrests for nonviolent crimes.

One of the new city resolutions requires officers who question immigrants about status to also say that their questions about immigration need not be answered. The other resolution directs police to avoid arrests for misdemeanors, including those for smoking marijuana, having drug paraphernalia, and taking part in petty theft — crimes that city data shows frequently end in arrests of black and Latino residents.

....

“Poor people of color in our city are over-punished and over-incarcerated,” said Greg Casar, an Austin City Councilman who pushed for the resolutions. “If people are being arrested less, we can also prevent people from being put in the deportation pipeline.”

“We found that black and Latino residents comprised 75% of discretionary arrests for driving with licenses invalid in the city even though they are 45% of the population of the city,” Casar said. “Black residents are seven times more likely to be arrested for low-level marijuana violations despite having comparable rates of usage of marijuana to white residents.”

Casar said the new rules could prevent up to 1,000 low-level arrests each year. Austin police arrest around 30,000 people a year.

The new policy has two parts: An immigration component and a marijuana component.

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On immigration: The new policy stays well within the legal constraints of SB 4.  All the policy requires is that, if an APD officer wants to pursue a line of questioning related to federal immigration issues, the officer has to inform the suspect that the suspect has the right to remain silent.  That's it.

Guess what?!?  Under the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Miranda v. Arizona, EVERY.  SINGLE.  PERSON. arrested in the United States is already informed of their right to remain silent.  All the City of Austin's new policy states is that, if an APD officer wants to pursue immigration related questioning, the suspect must be "Miranadized" twice.

That's it.

[Confession: As someone who locks wits with Greg Casar on a fairly regular basis, we're impressed with how he's trolling the intent SB 4 while staying well within SB 4's letter.]

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On marijuana: The new policy does nothing but discourage arrests for low level possession offenses (aka. decriminalization).

Well...guess who just endorsed marijuana decriminalization?!?

From the 2018 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas, Plank 107:

Civil Penalty: We support a change in the law to make it a civil, and not a criminal, offense for legal adults only to possess one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use, punishable by a fine of up to $100, but without jail time.

Soo...the City of Austin just adopted a policy that's consistent with the platform the Republican Party of Texas adopted last week.

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Nevertheless, hysteria:



You're joking, right?!?

The city's new policy may or may not be wise, but the notion that it's a threat to public safety is silly.

Austin Texas is one of the safest cities in the country.  Despite having the fifth largest population in Texas, we're #17 in crime.  The notion that "double-mirandizing" immigration suspects and de-prioritizing marijuana arrests will change that reality is, once again, silly.

But what do we know?!?  We only live in a 70% Hispanic neighborhood in East Austin....

Don't get us started on the ridiculous e-mails we've received.

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It's also worth pointing out that we vetted this proposal two weeks ago.  We didn't see anything (major) wrong with it then, and none of the silliness we've seen since then changes our mind.  But nice of the rest of y'all to belatedly figure out this was happening.

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Then there's the fact that, by reducing the number of arrests, the new policy might actually save money.

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Bottom Line: Priorities people.... 

#TXLEGE: Following Uresti resignation, Abbott announces QUICK Special Election to fill vacancy

"He who gathers in summer is a wise son;
He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame."
Proverbs 10:5

That didn't take long:

Gov. Greg Abbott has scheduled a July 31 special election to replace state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio.

Uresti announced his resignation Monday, four months after he was found guilty of 11 felonies. The resignation is effective Thursday.

The filing deadline for the special election is Monday, and early voting will start July 16, according to Abbott's proclamation. The document also outlines Abbott's reasoning for calling what is known as an emergency special election, noting Uresti's District 19 has been "without effective representation" for over a year due to his legal troubles and it is important to fill the seat as soon as possible.

....

At least two Democrats are already running to finish Uresti's term, which ends in 2021: former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego of Alpine and state Rep. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio. Pete Flores, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Uresti in 2016, has also announced a special election run.

Here's the thing: While this district is rooted in San Antonio, it extends WAY out into West Texas.  This is not friendly territory for the Democrat's positions on guns and babies.  In a special election, a disciplined Republican campaign can win.

[Note: There's a reason why, regardless of the degree to which he was a scumbag, Uresti tended to vote somewhat more conservative than other Democrats.]

Speaking of the Republican, meet Pete Flores:

Pete Flores is running for Texas Senate District 19, which is composed of all or parts of 17 counties running from Bexar west to Brewster and encompassing a long stretch of border with Mexico.

A former leader of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s statewide law enforcement division with strong ties to South and West Texas, Flores sees the Texas State Senate as another way he can serve the region.

“I would bring strong managerial, budgetary, governance and leadership experience to the Texas Senate having been responsible for $60-million budgets, managed more than two dozen field offices, and supervised more than 127 civilian employees and nearly 532 commissioned officers,” Flores said.

As Colonel Game Warden for Texas Parks and Wildlife, Flores built a strong reputation for implementing community-based law enforcement protocols and successfully coordinating law enforcement operations with local, state and federal law enforcement officials.

[Note: You can read the rest of Pete Flores' bio here.]

Bottom Line: In their current form, the Democrats are too liberal for this part of the state; it'll be interesting to see if the Republicans can capitalize.

The nastiest, most negative, campaign since Dewhurst

"A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies shall perish."
Proverbs 19:9

Before we leave the RPT convention, one final point deserves discussion: The noxious vindictiveness of Cindy Crocker Asche's campaign.

Asche's campaign was never about anything more than power for the sake of power.  There's an entrenched group that's been running this state for a long, long, time.  They're losing power.  They don't want to give it up.

Cindy Crocker Asche was their chosen vehicle.

Of course, you can't run a campaign on your desire to contain power within a small clique.  So they went with specious character attacks.  Securities fraud!  Accounting irregularities!  James Dickey fired incompetent people on staff!  It was a farce, and everyone knew it was a farce (some people played along with the farce for the sake of power).  Friday afternoon's stunt was merely the icing on the cake.

But, of course, we've seen this before.

In 2012 and 2014, everybody knew that David Dewhurst was interested in nothing more than power for the sake of power.  So Dewhurst was losing.  So Dewhurst attacked.  Ted Cruz is a Red Chinese Tire Manufacturer!  Dan Patrick spent time in a mental institution!  You know the results.  That Dewhurst got ripped off by his campaign consultants was the icing on the cake.

Bottom Line: Good riddance to both....

#RPTCon18: Upon further consideration, the adopted language on Plank 187 is dangerous

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

We said our piece about the sexual harassment plank on Saturday night.  We stand by EVERY.  SINGLE.  WORD. of that piece.  But, having had a few days to digest event, the language that was adopted is REALLY problematic.

To review:

Sexual Harassment: RPT supports a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment.

The problem with that statement is that it doesn't define the phrases "zero tolerance" or "sexual harassment."  It also doesn't contain the phrase "due process."  That's trouble.

The ironic thing is that the only objection raised during floor debate concerned bad Title IX investigations.  NEWSFLASH: Vague language like what the delegates actually approved is HOW YOU GET BAD TITLE IX INVESTIGATIONS.  Of course, our amendment would have fixed that....

The good news, of course, is that the RPT staff has sense.  They won't take that language to the places it could go.  But if you had language like that in the wrong hands....

Bottom Line: Stupid, unforced, error.

#RPTCon18: Final Legislative Priorities

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 12:34

The final legislative priorities have been posted.

It was an very interesting, intense process.  The debates were grueling.  The priorities didn't turn out exactly how this author would have written them, but within each item there are issues which this author supports very strongly.

Mostly, we're just happy our taxpayer-funded lobbying stuff sailed through with flying colors.

A note for future conventions: We really should have seven priorities instead of five.

Thank you to all the members of the committee.  We had some contentious discussions about details, but in a broad sense we were pulling in the same direction.  You only need to look at what happened with the platform to see how it could have gone differently.

An extra special, super-duper, THANK YOU to our fantastic committee chair Amy Clark.  Amy ran an open, fair, process that allowed all sides to be heard while still keeping us focused and on-task.  We look forward to the reunion next session.

Without further ado:

Final Report of the Permanent Legislative Priorities Committee by Cahnman on Scribd

#RPTCon18: A DEVASTATING end to an otherwise great Convention

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

[Note: You can read Olivia Messer's original 2013 piece in the Texas Observer here.  You can read her 2017 reports here and here.  You can read the Texas Tribune's reporting on the subject here.  You can read the Austin Chronicle's reporting on the subject here.]

We still can't believe that it happened.

Assuming it survived the vote by the delegates, we expect plank 187 of the 2018 Republican party of Texas platform to read:

Sexual Harassment: RPT supports a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment.

The good news: This is the first time in history the RPT platform has addressed it.

The bad news: It's a weak, toothless, unenforceable position.  It doesn't mention why the plank is in there in the first place.  It's the Texas Alliance for "Life" of sexual misconduct planks.

We moved to amend the plank to instead read:

Sexual Misconduct:  RPT supports a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual misconduct in the Texas Legislature.  We furthermore call upon the Legislature to create a credible system of due process to adjudicate complaints within two weeks.  In the event complaints are found to be valid, we call upon the legislature to create tangible penalties including, but not limited to, loss of committee chairmanship and dismissal.

Our amendment was designed to give teeth to the existing language.

Unfortunately, and inexplicably, the delegates voted it down.  It wasn't close.  Two thirds/one third.

[Note (11:48 pm): We're trying to edit this post to get it up before midnight...and we still can't believe we read that last paragraph.]
.
We don't get it.

The Texas Legislature is a disgusting cesspool.  Whatever the excesses of the national "hashtagMeToo" movement, the Texas Legislature is a legit case.  The Texas Legislature is Harvey Weinstein, not Aziz Ansari.

And, to be honest, some of the behavior we saw the past few days confirmed our worst fears.

We saw a Texas house Committee Chairman get into an elevator at one in the morning with a woman who wasn't his wife.  We saw another member of the Texas house at the hotel bar gettin' real grabby with any hot young thing that would move.  By themselves, neither is proof of anything...but let's just say that the circumstantial evidence is strong.

Also, this is not one of those "allegedly" cases.  We saw this with our own eyes.  We dare either of the legislators in question to sue this author.  We have witnesses.

[Note: We wanted to get video, but there was no way to film in a way that wouldn't have been obvious.]

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The worst part is that the objections during floor debate didn't make sense.

One person spoke against who he made vague comments about political correctness and lack of due process in Title IX investigations.

Here's the thing: WE.  LITERALLY.  INCLUDED.  THE.  PHRASE.  DUE.  PROCESS.  IN.  OUR.  AMENDMENT.  LANGUAGE.

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In hindsight, our biggest mistake was not taking the time to educate the delegates (we should have literally used the phrases "adultery" and "prostitution").  There was limited time to discuss platform amendments. We were trying to be a team player.  We were trying tosave time.  We assumed that if we mentioned Olivia Messer by name, delegates would take our word for it and do their own research later.

We all know what they say about the word "assume."

Our other mistake was not forcing a discussion on this topic in the legislative priorities committee.  To be honest, the taxpayer funded lobbying/union dues stuff was going so well that we didn't want to annoy the committee by asking for more.  We assumed we could get the language we wanted in the platform, and that that would be good enough.

Once again, everybody knows what they say about the word "assume."

[Note for future legislative priorities committees: If we had had seven legislative priorities to work with, instead of five, this author wouldn't have felt that pushing this issue would be perceived as selfish.]

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Note to this website's left-of-center readers: The real reason for today's result was the backlash to the national "hashtagMeToo" movement.  They went too far.  And, obviously, the results speak for themselves.

Imagine a world where the Republican Party of Texas adopts strong language condemning sexual misconduct by elected officials...and know that the only reason we're not currently living in that world is because an ambitious feminist blogger went after Aziz Ansari.

[Second note for this website's left-of-center readers: Even though RPT just face-planted on cleaning up the state legislature, given the cases of Joe Barton and Blake Farenthold, RPT still has the strongest record of ANY state level political party in the country at getting our own elected officials to leave office once the evidence becomes undeniable.]

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Note for this website's right-of-center readers: You don't understand the opportunity you just missed.

The saddest part is that we just re-read our blog post from the day Joe Barton left office.

-------

Republicans like to waste time holding pointless meetings about "millennial outreach."

News Flash MORONS:  THE.  AMENDMENT.  LANGUAGE.  WAS.  AN.  ACT.  OF. MILLENNIAL. OUTREACH.

And you just whiffed.

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Bottom LIne: A very small improvement on the status quo...but it could have been so much more.

#RPTCon18: How to ACTUALLY prevent school shootings

Ken Paxton Speaking

"Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
Nehemiah 4:18

We attended this afternoon's RPT convention event with Gun Owners of America concerning the Second Amendment and the recent round of so-called "school shootings."

The Texas house Freedom Caucus opened the discussion with a legislative update on Constitutional Carry.  The short version is that a lot of politics happened last session.  Matt Schafer also pointed out that firearms regulations are embedded all over Texas' various codes, so successfully eliminating them is more complicated than it looks.  Schaefer also pointed out that firearms restrictions leave women in bad relationships vulnerable to the whims of their partners.

Attorney General Paxton made the most interesting remarks.  Paxton discussed how Israel does school safety better than any other country.  During the 1970's following various "Palestinian" attacks on innocent schoolchildren, Israel implemented measures to assure competent armed guards are stationed at every school.  Israel also allows armed teachers in classrooms.  Following the implementation of these measure, Israel hasn't seen an active shooter event in a school setting in over 40 years.

We've been meaning to point out that General Paxton is the only person talking sense about school security for a few weeks; we're glad to have this opportunity.

Ted Cruz was scheduled to speak, but got stuck in D.C.  His father spoke in the Senator's stead.  Rafael Cruz explained how his experience in Cuba illustrates how an armed citizenry is necessary.  Rafael Cruz also pointed out that Switzerland requires it's population to be armed and that it hasn't been invaded in centuries.

Chip Roy was the final speaker.  Roy discussed his recent experience at his children's school during the Austin bombings.  Roy pointed out how the Southwest Austin bombing happened near the school.  During the next several days, parents fanned out near campus to protect the students.  Roy discussed how this is the proper response to safety threats AND how gun regulations wouldn't have made a difference in this situation.  Roy also pointed out that the odds of a child being killed in school are 1 in 614 million.  [Disclosure: Chip Roy and this author have mutual friends whose children attend the school in question.]

Bottom Line:  Informative event.

RPT Convention: Temporary Legislative Priorities Committee Report

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 12:34

[Note: We are EXTREMELY unlikely to support expanding the call in any form.]

[Note II: We will NOT be checking Facebook messages for the duration of today's committee hearing.]

We're currently sitting in the permanent legislative priorities committee, for informational purposes here is the report from the temporary committee:

REPORT_ Temporary Legislative Priorities Committee Report by Cahnman on Scribd

#TXLEGE: Why nothing ever changes in Government (in 3 pictures)

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

RPT Convention -- One of the interesting foibles of the San Antonio convention center is that, at the Westernmost entrance, there are a series of plaques celebrating former San Antonio City Council members who helped funnel taxpayer dollars into the convention center.

Check out the first:

Here's the second:

In other words, you have a current committee chairman in the Texas house and a Texas Senator who were both previous members of the San Antonio City Council when the city council worked to expand the convention center.

Bottom Line: There's nothing quite like seeing it with your own eyes....

Blake Farenthold: Gift that Keeps on Giving (Kinda Like Herpes)....

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

Oh good grief:

The Calhoun Port Authority hired a separate lawyer to handle the Texas Open Meetings Act violation lawsuit the Victoria Advocate filed against it.

The board voted 5 to 1 to hire Bill Cobb, of Austin, for $400 an hour, board member Tony Holladay said Thursday.

“It’s not cheap, but a lot of them were higher than that,” Holladay said about others considered, such as law firms Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP and Olson & Olson Attorneys at Law LLP. “We liked Mr. Cobb’s attitude and his presentation. We also liked where he’s been in the past, so we think he has good experience and will be well worth what it costs us to defend ourselves.”

The Advocate sued the Port on May 21, asserting Port officials broke the law when they failed to specifically write on the Port’s May 9 agenda they were considering hiring ex-Congressman Blake Farenthold as a lobbyist at an annual salary of $160,000. The lawsuit seeks to void his hiring.

....

Holladay said he thinks Farenthold can’t be an effective lobbyist after reneging on a promise to repay taxpayers the $84,000 he used to settle a sexual harassment complaint brought against him while in office.

But he also thinks the Advocate’s lawsuit is without merit and costing the taxpayers.

To this, John Griffin, the newspaper’s attorney, replied, “The taxpayers aren’t paying the newspaper’s lawyers; the taxpayers are paying Mr. Farenthold $160,000 a year, and they are paying the Port’s lawyers to claim the public had no right to know of his hiring.”

Seriously, do read the whole thing here.

Bottom Line: Talk about the confluence of taxpayer-funded lobbying and sexual harassment....

#TXLEGE: Our Legislative Priorities....

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Matthew 6:33

It's not a secret that this author is a member of the RPT convention's temporary legislative priorities committee.  It's also not a secret that we're sticking around Austin on Monday for the UT baseball game.  Given those conflicting realities, it makes sense to publish a blog post about why we sought the position.

Process Reforms.

Every legislative session, grassroots priorities get killed.  The reason why is that there's a deeply entrenched good ol' boy network at the Capitol.  The three process reforms we propose are the most important steps one can take to dismantle and eliminate that network.

• Eliminate ALL FORMS of taxpayer funded lobbying.
  
  The first amendment guarantees private citizens the right to petition their government; governmental entities hiring political hacks to undermine taxpayers perverts the founders intent.
  
  Taxpayer funded lobbying is compelled political speech.  Governmental entities should not be allowed to use their own citizens' money to undermine the afore mentioned citizens.  It's that simple.
  
  Therefore, the Texas Legislature needs to pass legislation prohibiting political subdivisions from hiring lobbyists or paying dues to anti-Taxpayer organizations such as (but not limited to) the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties, the Texas Association of School Administrators, or the Texas Association of School Boards.

• Abolish Collective Bargaining for ALL Employees of the State of Texas AND its Political Subdivisions.
  
  While taxpayer funded lobbying is the worst abomination, colluding against taxpayers isn't far behind.
  
  Whatever his other flaws, former Democrat president Franklin Roosevelt believed: "All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.”  This website agrees.
  
  Therefore this website calls upon the Texas Legislature to pass legislation that converts EVERY employee of the State of Texas and EVERY political subdivision to "at-will" status.

• Neutering ALL FORMS of Sexual Misconduct.
  
  Whatever the excesses of the national #MeToo movement, grotesque forms of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexual relations between legislators and lobbyists are a Harvey Weinstein style "open secret" in the Texas Legislature.
  
  Such behavior is wrong.
  
  Therefore, this website calls upon the Texas Legislature to pass legislation reigning in its own sexual misconduct.

Attorney General's Office puts U of H on Notice re: Kendal "White Women" Briles

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

[Note on Format: We don't have access to a scanner at the moment, so a photograph of the letter will have to do; click on the image to make it bigger if you have trouble reading.]

The Attorney General's office responds to our complaint about the University of Houston's stonewalling related to their new offensive coordinator:

Bottom Line: It's a shame it had to come to this...but they have until Thursday to respond.

Dickey Raises Interesting Point about Detailed Platform

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

[Note on Format: We didn't take notes at last night's event, so we're writing this post from memory; the statements to which we will be referring in this post should be interpreted as paraphrases, not direct quotes.]

We attended last night's Hill Country YR convention training:



The program was what one would expect.  It mostly covered logistics.  Essential information for rookies.  Good review for veterans.

But during his remarks, Chairman Dickey made an interesting point about the platform.  Dickey stated that one of his biggest surprises upon becoming chairman was that he actually liked having a detailed platform.  The reason why was that it meant he didn't have to guess at the will of the body when unexpected issues came up.

Dickey specifically cited a conversation he had with a reporter about NAFTA.  Dickey was able to look up the party's position on NAFTA and easily answer the reporter's question.  Had the NAFTA plank in the platform not existed, Dickey would have had to guess.

Dickey also pointed out the absurdity of complaining about having a couple hundred planks in the platform when there are over 6000 bills filed during a legislative session.

Bottom Line: We hadn't thought about that....

#atxcouncil: Latest Soccer Stadium Proposal Sucks As Badly as the Previous Ones....

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

[Note on Format: We're going to offer commentary on quotes from the Chronicle article immediately following the relevant section, rather than holding them to the end.]

The Austin Chronicle details the latest on the ongoing soccer stadium debacle:

Last Friday, city staff released its report declaring McKalla Place "viable" for a soccer stadium, and later that day, Precourt Sports Ventures released their plan to build what they call a "legacy asset" for the city. Although many Council members have been unable to delve into the city's 34-page report, let alone Precourt's 189-page proposal (they're a bit busy with a project called CodeNEXT), those who did comment didn't do so in committed fashion.

Leslie Pool, who represents District 7 where McKalla is located, tempered enthusiasm for the city's report, noting that staff only acknowledged the site's viability for a stadium. "What is suitable for the site may not be what is most desirable for the site," she said, while anticipating plenty of hay to be made of Precourt's offer. Her colleague Alison Alter shared that same view of the city's report: More analysis would be needed to determine if Precourt's proposal is in the best interest of the city.

Some of the information included in that proposal had been established: a projected $354 million in community benefits to the city over 25 years; the $200 million, 20,000-seat stadium, fully financed by PSV; and a plan to devote more than half of McKalla's acreage to "open and accessible space." The city report supported PSV's claims of an economic boom for the city: Third-party analysis firm Brailsford & Dunlavey forecast a $384 million boost in economic activity and $332 million in wages over a 20-year period. Travis County could gain another $474 million and $461 million, respectively.

• Anyone who believes "economic activity" forecasts 20 years out is a fool.

But PSV also provided insight into how they hope to structure a deal: The city would retain ownership of McKalla Place, infrastructure surrounding the stadium, and the stadium itself once construction is completed; and the city will be responsible for "all site preparation, remediation and off-site infrastructure," raising the eyebrows of those council members. The city report found that roughly $15.9 million in infrastructure costs would be required to improve water transmission systems and transit ($13 million for a new rail station). PSV President Dave Greeley said the language is "part of a broader conversation with the city," and that according to the reports they had reviewed, further remediation on-site would be unlikely.

With city ownership of the land and stadium, PSV would be exempt from paying property taxes – no small handout at a time when rising taxes are the central focus of some residents. But PSV wouldn't be getting the lot for free – rather, via a 20-year lease at $1 per year, the "most amusing" aspect of the proposal, said Pool. PSV would have the option to renew the lease for three more 20-year terms, at that cush fixed rate.

• So the city takes all of the risk on the deal while the team pays no property taxes...got it.
• To say nothing of the fact that the city is so bad at maintenance that giving them ownership will make the asset depreciate faster.

One benefit that did receive more attention, however, was a partnership with Foundation Communities to provide affordable housing throughout the city. An initial $500,000 investment from PSV would go toward building the Waters Park Studio development near McKalla, and another $4.3 million would be invested into the nonprofit over 25 years.

• Obviously, this website doesn't support that sort of expansion of subsidized housing in the first place, but even so $4.3 million over 25 years is just cheap. 

Two such options manifested Tuesday night, when representatives for Capella Capital Partners and Whitfield-Chen presented ideas to a Gracywoods Neighborhood Association meeting. Capella already owns three acres next to McKalla Place, which they plan to use for an 11-story office building and 22-story "downtown style" residential building with about 285 units sold at market rate. Four years ago, the group entered negotiations with the city to buy or lease the McKalla lot, which they'd transform into a mixed-use development with six acres of green space, four or five multifamily residential buildings (units affordable and market rate), retail, and a spot for a new rail station, paid for by the developer. Managing partner Neil Francois said in 2016 that the city had appraised the McKalla site at $29 million. By comparison, city staff's more recent report valued the property at $9.6 million. Pool, who attended the meeting, was shocked at the discrepancy, and said she would look into why the two appraisals were so different.

• So, they're trying to muscle out a privately financed mixed use project in-favor of a heavily subsidized one?!?  Got it....
• And, to do so, they're now lying about the value of the land. 

Read the whole thing here.

Bottom Line: You don't even need to look into the details on this one, what they're telling us is bad enough....

The Contrast between Southwestern Seminary and Baylor is Striking

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

[Disclosure: This author's Pastor is a Southwestern alum.]

We've been keeping an eye on the situation at Southwestern seminary.  Because of the above disclosure, combined with bandwidth limitations, we've been taking a wait and see approach.  But last Thursday's statement speaks for itself:

Statement by Kevin Ueckert, Chairman of the Board of Trustees

By Kevin Ueckert on Jun 1, 2018

Based on a number of follow-up questions I have received this week, I am providing this additional statement related to our May 30, 2018 statement. The unanimous decision by the Executive Committee to immediately terminate Dr. Paige Patterson was prayerfully considered and warranted.  

We confirmed this week through a student record, made available to me with permission, that an allegation of rape was indeed made by a female student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003. This information contradicts a statement previously provided by Dr. Patterson in response to a direct question by a Board member regarding the incident referenced in our May 30 statement. The 2003 rape allegation was never reported to local law enforcement. SWBTS will not release the student record to the public without additional appropriate permissions. 

In addition, as previously disclosed, a female student at SWBTS reported to Dr. Patterson that she had been raped in 2015.  Police were notified of that report. But in connection with that allegation of rape, Dr. Patterson sent an email (the contents of which were shared with the Board on May 22) to the Chief of Campus Security in which Dr. Patterson discussed meeting with the student alone so that he could “break her down” and that he preferred no officials be present. The attitude expressed by Dr. Patterson in that email is antithetical to the core values of our faith and to SWBTS. Moreover, the correlation between what has been reported and also revealed in the student record regarding the 2003 allegation at Southeastern and the contents of this email are undeniable.

Further, SWBTS received a request from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary requesting the return of any documents taken by Dr. Patterson upon his departure from Southeastern. Counsel for SWBTS, Michael Anderson, immediately reached out to counsel for Dr. Patterson, Shelby Sharpe, on May 25 and made inquiry regarding the documents. Mr. Sharpe advised Mr. Anderson that Dr. Patterson only took documents from Southeastern that belonged to him. Yet, independent of that request, following the May 30 Executive Committee meeting, SWBTS located Southeastern documents on the SWBTS campus and began taking steps to preserve them.  Mr. Anderson is in contact with George Harvey, counsel for Southeastern, and is working with Mr. Harvey regarding Southeastern’s request for the return of its documents. 

The morning after the May 30 Executive Committee meeting, Mr. Sharp provided a few documents he reportedly obtained from Dr. Patterson. The documents clearly dealt with Dr. Patterson’s tenure at Southeastern and should have been previously provided in response to Mr. Anderson’s May 25 request. Shortly after these documents were provided, the wife of Dr. Patterson’s Chief of Staff published a blog and attached these documents without the permission of the students referenced in the documents or appropriate leadership from SEBTS or SWBTS. I believe this was inappropriate and unethical. Regardless, the additional documents do not alter the decision of the Executive Committee.

Ultimately, the decision of the Executive Committee to immediately terminate Dr. Patterson was clear and unanimous. 

I also want to reiterate what SWBTS Interim President Dr. Jeffrey Bingham said earlier this week.  SWBTS denounces all abusive behavior, any behavior that enables abuse, any failure to protect the abused, and any failure to safeguard those who are vulnerable to abuse. 

In this difficult situation, the Executive Committee based its decision on the current performance of the president and did not allow the legacy of Dr. Patterson or the #MeToo pressure to steer the outcome. We did not react; rather, we decisively exercised our responsibility based on the Seminary’s biblically informed core values and integrity.

I join Dr. Bingham in his call for the SWBTS community to join the Body of Christ in praying for healing for all individuals affected by abuse.

In other words, having discovered an awful situation, they seem to be handling it as well as you can.

Consider the following:

• Promptness -- The first sign that something might be seriously wrong came in early May.  The situation was resolved within a month.  Furthermore, once the really damning stuff came to light on May 22, decisive action happened quickly.
  
  Taking the time to fairly determine facts does not need to drag out for months or years.

• Openness -- The statement above is a concise statement of what the senior leadership of the institution knew and when they knew it.
  
  Moving forward, in the event other bad information comes to light, we hope to see this type of transparency continue.
  
  But, so far at least, no stonewalling.

• Professionalism -- Say what you will about the awfulness of the original situation, but they're facing it head on.

• Lack of Denial -- This line from a Washington Post story stands out:
  

  "Patterson was [Danny] Akin’s preaching professor, and they worked together for nine years, Akin said, adding that he had admired Patterson for decades.
  
  “This is a man I love. Do I think he gave horrible, horrible counsel? I absolutely do,” Akin said, referring to Patterson’s 2000 comments.
  
  [Disclosure: Danny Akin has preached at this author's Church.]

   Again, once the evidence started to pile up, they faced it.
  

Meanwhile, at another Baptist institution 100 miles south, the festering sore continues to ooze:

Parrish Cobb was once one of the highest-rated defensive recruits to ever sign with Baylor, only Cobb's family wanted nothing to do with the football program once Art Briles was fired in Waco.

Everybody wanted the four-star recruit, who, in 2015, was named the Super Centex Defensive Player of the Year by the Waco Tribune-Herald after he led Waco La Vega to its first state title.

He was going to a big-time college program with his eyes on the league.

On Monday, Cobb was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Waco for aggravated robbery in the holdup of a Baylor student at gunpoint. Prosecutors dropped two other robbery charges against Cobb, who also has another armed robbery charge in Norman last year.

But here's the kicker:

Cobb signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Briles at Baylor. When Baylor fired Briles in May of that year, Cobb's parents passionately pleaded with Baylor officials and coaches to let their son out of his NLI.

Cobb's father would wait outside McLane Stadium to talk to Baylor administrators to press the issue.

The process lasted several weeks before Baylor released Cobb, who then signed with Oklahoma.

So, Cobb signed with Baylor (even though we knew by February 2016 that there was really bad stuff going on) as long as Briles was coach.  When Briles was gone, Cobb was out.  It makes one wonder what Briles and his staff told Cobb during recruiting.  Especially considering this.

On the bright side, at least he didn't rape anyone.

But what stands out is that, six years later, the bad news continues to drip out.

Bottom Line: Same denomination.  Similar situations.  The responses could not be more different.

-------

UPDATE: When it rains, it pours:

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas' highest criminal appeals court has reinstated the 2015 sexual assault conviction of a former Baylor University football player whose case ignited a scandal that engulfed the nation's largest Baptist school.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Wednesday that a lower court erred by overturning the conviction of Sam Ukwuachu based on text messages between the victim and a friend that had not been allowed in trial.

Cruz's ASTONISHINGLY Good Numbers with African Americans and Hispanics

"Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
John 11:43

Late last week, a poll came out in the U.S. Senate race that confirmed what everyone who isn't a national media reporter or a resident of East Austin already knows: Ted Cruz will beat Beto by a comfortable margin.

That's such an obvious conclusion that we didn't give the poll much thought until we belatedly saw this analysis from National Review:

Poll: Cruz Leads Beto O’Rourke among Hispanic Voters in Texas Senate Race

From the article:

The poll, which found that Cruz leads O’Rourke 46 to 44 percent among Hispanics, is a troubling sign for O’Rourke, who has tailored his campaign around his advocacy for racial minorities.

 That's pretty impressive, but what we saw next made our jaw drop:

O’Rourke, who currently represents El Paso as a member of the House, does however maintain a significant advantage among black voters, leading Cruz 70 percent to 15 percent.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

Keep in mind: Republicans typically get about 7% of the African-American vote; Cruz has doubled that here.

Obviously, all the usual caveats about "it's just one poll" apply, but it's nevertheless interesting.

If Republicans could get 20% of the African-American vote, it blows up the Democrat coalition in a way that makes it impossible for them to ever win again; this poll suggests Cruz might be getting close.

Bottom Line: It's too soon to draw conclusions, but if this trend continues it would be a monumental development....

Travis County Democrats pass ODDLY SPECIFIC sexual harrassment/assault Resolution

"Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly."
2 Samuel 13:19

A source e-mails:

36 Tcdp Resolution Condeming Sexual Harassment and Abuse Within the Party by Cahnman on Scribd

We have no idea what this is referencing, but it sounds bad.

It also suggests there might be a bigger story here.

If anyone knows anything specific, feel free to e-mail us at cahnman@hotmail.com; anonymity obviously guaranteed.

[Note: Please don't send us a Facebook message.  We rarely check them.  They sometimes go into our spam folder.]

Bottom Line: Not cool....