#atxcouncil: Casar goes full CoronaBro over today's UT Football Game

"His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity."
Psalm 10:7

LOL:


Not much to say.

Not really surpising either.

Still.

(Don't you dare suggest it's about control).

Bottom Line: Homeless encampments are totally cool and pose no COVID risk...but heaven forbid you have an event in a large outdoor venue with abundant protocols.

Williams' ad tells you everything about how #atxcouncil's "Police Defunding" must poll

"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time."
Colossians 4:5

Powerful:

Before we comment, we must make on thing **VERY** clear: Congress has NO jurisdiction here. However much Roger Williams might disapprove of council's decision, he can't actually do anything. Still.

For this ad to run at all speaks VOLUMES about how police defunding polls.

Hint: It ain't popular.

Bottom Line: While the tenth amendment reigns supreme on the policy side, you can infer a lot about the politics of the issue based on this ad.

"You're going to be disappointed": An open letter to Peter Rex about Austin Texas

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
Ezekiel 3:17

Dear Mr. Rex,

I read, with great interest, your Wall St. Journal op-ed "I’m Leaving Seattle for Texas So My Employees Can Be Free." You sound like me a decade ago. The only difference is that I moved to Austin from New York City, not Seattle.

Allow me to break some news you need to hear: If perceived differences in public policy are your primary reason for relocation to Austin, you're going to be disappointed. VERY disappointed. It's not 2006 anymore. Dazed and Confused was a quarter century ago.

I understand the urge to flee the Seattle city council. Unfortunately, Austin's city council is no better. Where Seattle has Kshama Sawant and her allies, Austin has Greg Casar. Austin today is Seattle five years ago.

And the trend lines are, unfortunately, identical.

Allow me to illustrate: In 2019, the Austin city council passed an ordinance to encourage camping by the homeless. Homelessness predictably skyrocketed. Sound familiar?!?

Unfortunately, homeless encampments are just the most tangible, visible, manifestation of misgovernance in Austin. They're hardly alone. Over the past decade, Austin has been a laboratory in how to NOT run a city.

Off the top of my head, within recent memory Austin has seen:

• The Uber debacle.

• The assault on short-term rentals.

• Entitlement programs at the municipal level...funded by employers.

• Multiple attempts at rewriting our land use development code that, while laudable in intent, have descended into lawless farce in practice.

• A coordinated assault on the integrity of police chief Brian Manley, the only remotely competent official in the entire city government.

But at least they got their boondoggle soccer stadium...and they want to spend $10 Billion on some trains.

Again, you're from Seattle, does any of this sound familiar?!?

-------

But a ha, you say, Texas is a Republican state. And surely the Republicans at the state level will protect me from Democrats at the local level!!!  Right?!?

LOL.

The only difference between the Travis County Democrats and the Texas GOP is that the former will stab you in the front.

When you observe it up close, you will rapidly discover that the Texas legislature is a uniquely wretched collection of cowards, drunks, imbeciles, and perverts. Far too many Texas legislators are more interested in sexually harassing young women than in protecting entrepreneurs and taxpayers. To be fair, there are also plenty of run of the mill financial criminals. Carlos Uresti was all of the above.

The Texas to which you think you are moving is a figment of the collective imaginations of Fox News, Political consultants, and the self-serving politicians who hire them.

Speaking of self-serving politicians, Governor Greg Abbott is worthless and weak.  He has no core convictions beyond Dave Carney's tracking poll. There is a lot that could be said on this topic, although the fact that Greg Abbott put a lobbyist named Mike Toomey in charge of Texas' COVID policy encapsulates it all.

While Greg Abbott's poll driven COVID dithering brought his fecklessness into public view, it's hardly the only example. When Austin passed the afore mentioned homeless camping ordinance, Greg Abbott vowed swift and decisive action. Unfortunately, by Greg Abbott's standards, swift and decisive action means nothing more than running his mouth on Fox News. Greg Abbott could have called a special legislative session to override the Austin ordinance. But Greg Abbott didn't. And Greg Abbott won't. Because Greg Abbott is worthless and weak.

If you're looking for a visual manifestation of Greg Abbott's callow failure, check out the intersection of Burnet Rd. and U.S. Hwy 183...and understand that the state of Texas has 100% jurisdiction over this right of way:

Burnet and 183 - Aweek ago vs. Today.

(But @GregAbbott_TX sez he wants to help w/ #AustinHomless)#TXLEGE #atxcouncil pic.twitter.com/Uw4bZartWD

— cahnman (@cahnman) February 7, 2020

In terms of grandiose rhetoric accompanied by meager results, Greg Abbott is the right-wing Bill DiBlasio.

The less said about Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and house speaker Dennis Bonnen, the better.

-------

There you have it.

That's not to say that everything is bad in Austin anno 2020. Longhorn baseball looks solid. One of these years, the football team is going to click.  Evil MoPac has his moments.

Then again, for one of the highlights to be a parody Twitter account that was founded to ridicule our leaders' inability to fix Austin's endemic traffic speaks volumes.

I wish I had better news to report. I really do. But that's reality. And that's what you're getting yourself into if you relocate here.

Consider yourself warned.

Sincerely, 

Adam Cahn

East Riverside

Austin, TX

P.S. Do feel free to forward this letter to Elon Musk and Joe Rogan.

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Casar recognizes he's unelectable (at least outside his council district)

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

Bullet dodged:

I've made my decision about running for office. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/5wten6NpLC

— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) May 4, 2020

Blah, blah, blah.

This can only mean one thing: Casar polled the district.

And the results weren't to his liking.

The results could have shown one of two things:

• Casar would lose the runoff to a Republican.
  
  or
  
  
• Casar wouldn't make the runoff.

The former is bad for the entire local Democrat machine.  The latter is bad for Casar's agenda.  Either way, the smart play is to avoid getting embarrassed.

Bottom Line:  He can do plenty of damage in his current position, but his political ceiling is very low.

#TXLEGE: Rodriguez might be least bad realistic possibility in SD-14

"Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

Hmm....

Proud to share that a diverse group of elected officials, community leaders, advocates, activists & business people have formed an exploratory committee on my behalf for the upcoming #SD14 special election, to be co-chaired by @DonnaHowardTX, @CeliaIsrael & @GinaForAustin #txlege pic.twitter.com/i7jIZVrWBz

— Eddie Rodriguez (@EddieforTexas) February 27, 2020

Wasn't expecting that.

For those who aren't aware, this author has been a constituent of Eddie Rodriguez's for most of the past decade.  As such, we've had the opportunity to interact with him (and his staff) on a number of occasions.  We've always found them to be professional and respectful.  Not to damn him with faint praise, but that's more than we can say for about half the legislature.

That's not to say we agree with him on many issues.  We don't.  Furthermore, as we already said, we think it's worth it for someone with whom we agree to take a shot .  That being said, the shot in question would be a very long one.

FWIW, Eddie Rodriguez sometimes tailgates next to this author's friends at UT football games.  That doesn't mean much.  But...well...what else do we have to go on?!?

Bottom Line: We could certainly do worse.

#atxcouncil, #TXLEGE: A Predictable Response to the Legislature's Incompetent Policymaking

"He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer."
Proverbs 18:9

From the department of completely unsurprising developments:

As Texas law enforcement grapples with how to determine whether a substance is marijuana after lawmakers legalized hemp last year, one city’s officials are putting forward their own solution: effectively decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot altogether.

The Austin City Council will vote on a proposal later this month that, if approved, would “virtually end arrests and fines” by city police for possession of personal amounts of cannabis, according to a summary and copy of the measure obtained by The Texas Tribune.

The resolution, raised by four progressive members of the 11-member council, would largely direct police to stop arresting people or issuing citations in low-level marijuana possession cases in which officers won’t be able to get lab reports to chemically distinguish between now-legal hemp and illegal marijuana. It also would forbid the city from spending funds or using its personnel to perform such tests.

There's a lot that can be said about the wisdom of this development.  It might or might not be a good idea.  But there's a more important question: What did you expect?!?

Because the die on this one was cast last summer, when the Legislature botched the hemp bill.

As we said last July:

Obviously, this story is amusing. The stoner jokes write themselves. Furthermore, the policy outcome is one this author has long supported.

That being said, there is a serious angle to this story: Legislative sloppiness.

While the hemp/marijuana slip up is humorous, the policymaking environment that enabled it is NOT.

The legislature routinely passes massive, complicated, bills without having a clue what they'll actually do. Sometimes those bills have real world consequences. Unfortunately, half-assed policymaking is a predictable consequence of the legislature's culture of entitlement.

[Note: Emphasis in original.]

When the legislature's half-assed policymaking creates a gigantic loophole in the law, it should surprise nobody when Greg Casar drives a Mack truck through it.

If the state of Texas doesn't like it, the Governor can call a special session.

Cuz' this is their own damn fault.

Like it or not.

Bottom Line: The State of Texas could fix this legal loophole in 30 minutes if there was political will to do so.  There isn't.  Like it or not, Casar's action has all the legal justification it needs.

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: The Cynical Politics of Homelessness

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1

This is depressing:

Crystal Brimm said she was gone all of 20 minutes.

That's all the time it took for the Texas Department of Transportation to clean the encampment where she lives under U.S. Highway 290 and Ben White Boulevard on Wednesday, after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered homeless people to be removed from state overpasses in Austin. Abbott has spent months railing against Austin and its local leaders, accusing them of worsening what he calls a dangerous homelessness crisis by relaxing camping ordinances.

About 10 people returned to that area of the overpass, down from 30 before TxDOT arrived, Brimm said as she sat in a lawn chair Thursday outside the blue camping tent she shares with her husband.

"Everybody else packed up and ran like cockroaches," she said.

As Brimm pondered her future living situation, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office unveiled his plan to provide temporary living space for Austin’s homeless — a five-acre plot of land off State Highway 183 near Montopolis Drive.

The soon-to-be campground is a large expanse of concrete surrounded by a manufactured home factory and forest. It's about five miles away from the Texas Capitol, in a clearing adjacent to the historically low-income Montopolis neighborhood, across from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Slow motion train wreck continues to fester.

Lovely.

Unfortunately, it's not in any politician's interest to solve this issue:

• From Steve Adler and Greg Casar's perspective, it's an excuse to shovel ever increasing sums into the homelessness-industrial complex.

• From Greg Abbott's perspective, it's the campaign issue that keeps on giving.

The worst part is, it'll probably work (for both sides).

The homeless are pawns.

The rest of us are collateral damage.

Wonderful.

Bottom Line: We love to be proven wrong, but we won't be.

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Casar calls Abbott's bluff (again)

"Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?"
Psalm 94:8

Greg Casar is the guest on the Nation magazine's latest podcast:

There’s a smarter way of doing politics emerging in this country, one that recognizes that every elected position has the potential to serve as a platform for transformational change. This is especially true at the city council level. City councilors govern at the intersection of grassroots engagement and public policy. If they get it right, they can can have ripple effects on local, state, and even national policies.

Few of the thousands of city council members in communities across this country know this better than Austin City Council member Greg Casar. Casar came to Austin as an activist and quickly realized the potential of the city council to address economic, social, and racial justice issues. Casar ran for—and won—a seat on the Austin council at age 25—becoming the youngest council member in the city’s history.

....

As a local elected official, Cesar has led groundbreaking struggles on behalf of worker rights, immigrant rights, and economic justice. Austin has taken the lead on issues like paid sick leave and fair hiring practices. And Casar and his activist allies have succeeded in defending much of the progress they have achieved from threats of preemption by a Republican-controlled state government.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

If you've been following Casar, then the full podcast doesn't contain a ton of new information.  Casar's strategies and tactics are obvious to anyone paying attention.  If you're new to the topic, however, the full podcast is worth your half hour.

That being said, the section on the legislature is priceless.  Casar ridicules the legislature for being completely dickless backing down in the face of the left's "organizing."  While Casar doesn't say so explicitly, special derision on this topic must go to a governor more interested in running his mouth on twitter than actually doing anything.

Bottom Line: Maybe Abbott will buy him a chicken sandwich....

-------

Full podcast:

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: "Abortion access" workaround illustrates POINTLESS STUPIDITY of original lege bill

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."
Romans 12:9

Of course they did:

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council members were joined by advocates at City Hall Monday afternoon when they announced their proactive budget measure to protect residents’ access to abortion services.

Last week, four city council members announced they planned to support up to $150,000 of city money being used to support transportation, childcare and counseling for women seeking abortions.

Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza attended alongside council members Greg Casar, Leslie Pool and Paige Ellis, who were joined by representatives of several abortion rights advocate groups, including the Lilith Fund and Fund Texas Choice.

Under the budget, local tax dollars would help pay for services like rides to and from a clinic. Under Texas law, it is illegal for local tax dollars to directly support abortion providers, so city council members say their decision aims to work around the barriers put in place.

Is anyone surprised?!?

Because if you are, you've been living under a rock.

During session, our state 'leaders' touted SB 22 as a major pro-life victory:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed legislation that prohibits cities and counties from doing business with abortion providers. The bill, which takes effect Sept. 1, specifically prevents local governments from entering into reduced tax and lease agreements with such organizations. It also prevents cities and counties from "advocacy or lobbying on behalf of the interests of an abortion provider or affiliate."

It does not impact hospitals or doctor's offices that perform fewer than 50 abortions per year.

Clinics that could be impacted include the Planned Parenthood in East Austin, which signed a 20-year lease with the city for $1 per month.

 Blah, blah, blah.

For council to find a cleverly lawyered way to technically comply with the letter of the law, while gutting its spirit, was completely predictable.  That they did so is a textbook illustration of why that bill was always a waste of time.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is a dullard, a liar, or a twit.

Imagine what could have happened if the lege had taken advantage of the opportunity to pass bills that actually did something.

(But send money....)

Bottom Line:  Council's action are awful.  Duh.  They're also completely predictable considering the incentives the lege created.  Spare us the phony outrage.

#atxcouncil: If the Austin Police Association is serious, NOW is the time to Recall Casar

"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time."
Colossians 4:5

By now, we assume you've seen the Facebook post heard round the state:

Note: APA doesn't allow embedding from their FB page, so a screenshot will have to suffice.

The Facebook post has got us thinking....

One of the worst kept secrets at City Hall is that APA has wanted to launch a recall campaign against Greg Casar for several years.  The history is complicated, but it created the current reality.  The Austin Police Association hates Greg Casar's guts and have wanted him out of office for several years.

Well, NOW's their chance....

APA will never have a cleaner shot at Casar.  He stepped in it with this homelessness ordinance.  APA has manpower to pull it off.

Bottom Line: The current situation sucks.  But it does create opportunity.  Those who are in a position to take advantage of said opportunity ought to do so.

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Abbott needs to call a Special Session or SHUT UP re: New Homelessness Ordinance

"A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back."
Proverbs 29:11

Soo...this happened:

Abbott has zero credibility on this topic.  Like it or not, Greg Abbott allowed the so-called "sick leave" entitlement to stand.  If Greg Abbott wants his credibility back, he needs to call a special session.

The ironic thing is that Abbott now has all the grounds he needs.  While he recently said he wouldn't call a special, nobody anticipated this homelessness ordinance.  If Abbott were to call a special session now, the public would support him.

Because, right now, Steve Adler and Greg Casar are laughing at him:


via GIPHY


Bottom Line: There's a reason why nobody takes Governor Chick-fil-a McFoxNews seriously....

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Abbott makes EMPTY THREAT re: New Homelessness Ordinance

"A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back."
Proverbs 29:11

We've yet to discuss the city's new homelessness ordinance, but SOMEONE decided he wanted to mouth off about it on Twitter:

If Austin— or any other Texas city—permits camping on city streets it will be yet another local ordinance the State of Texas will override.

At some point cities must start putting public safety & common sense first.

There are far better solutions for the homeless & citizens. https://t.co/xYezoovVCg

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 24, 2019

Is this a joke?!?

We just went through a legislative session.  The state just failed to override the city's (much more dangerous) "sick leave" entitlement.  Yet we're supposed to believe the state is suddenly going to grow a pair.

LOL.

We explained on Twitter:

#TXLEGE: Considering your failure on these so-called "sick leave" ordinances, you might not want to talk shit on this topic @GregAbbott_TX.... https://t.co/1STR7jgs7S

— cahnman (@cahnman) June 24, 2019

Steve Adler and Greg Casar are laughing at Greg Abbott right now.

Bottom Line: Only a fool would trust the Texas Legislature to override the homelessness ordinance any more than they overrode the (far more dangerous) "sick leave" entitlement....

#TXLEGE: Senate State Affairs VOTES OUT session's most underrated bill

"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

[Note: The hearing can be viewed here; our testimony is exactly at the two hour mark.]

Earlier this morning, we testified in favor SB 15: Relating to the regulation by a municipality or county of certain employment benefits and policies.  This is the broad based employment law preemption bill.  We had originally intended to write about the hearing.  But, apparently, they've already voted it out:

AUSTIN– Today, the Senate Committee on State Affairs voted 5-1 to pass Senate Bill 15, the Consistent Employment Regulations Act, on to the full Senate.

“With the passage of this bill out of committee, Texans are one step closer to a freer, more competitive economy that will benefit everyone," said Think Local Liberty's Shelby Sterling. "Texas lawmakers are right to move swiftly on this important piece of legislation.”

So, yeah.  There you have it.  The bill's moving faster than we anticipated.

As for our testimony: We discussed how, from a macro perspective, the state of Texas tends to do well.  The biggest (and, honestly, the only real) threat to the state's economy comes from the unrestricted growth of government at the local level.  We tend to hear a lot about this in terms of (property) taxes and spending, but this employment law stuff is a different side of the same coin.  These sorts of ordinances are like weeds, eventually they will strangle Texas' economic dynamism.

Another point: The opposition, led by Greg Casar, repeatedly claimed the City of Austin's so-called 'stakeholder processes' while passing these ordinances was "open" and "inclusive."  Poppycock.  Anyone who dissented during that process remembers the bullying and the intimidation.  You can learn about what happened to an iconic restaurateur (and civil rights legend) here.  You can learn about Council members' Ellen Troxclair's and Ora Houston's experience here.

Bottom Line: The Senate state affairs committee just took a MAJOR step to ensure Texas' long-term prosperity and they deserve A LOT of kudos!!!

SCOTX validates Pressley's concerns

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."
1 Corinthians 16:13

SCOTX released its ruling in Laura Pressley's election challenge:

SCOTX Ruling in Laura Press... by on Scribd

You should read the whole thing for yourself; the TL,DR version is that the Supreme Court said Pressley raised very valid questions in her election challenge, but that they whole thing is so far in the past that they're not going to do anything about it.

It's similar to the ruling in the Wallace Hall case: validate the argument, then hide behind a technicality.

Non-lawyer opinion: SCOTX's reasoning seems less farcical here than the Hall case.  The term of the seat for which the election contest was originally filed really did expire two years ago.  Refer all your other questions to lawyers.

Casar and his buddies will spin this as a win.  But it's not.  Their macro-strategy is to smear people asking difficult questions as lunatics.  And SCOTX did them no favors there.

Bottom Line: Not everything we wanted, but it's a useful building block....

#atxcouncil: Frank Ward's Great Austin Holiday Adventure

"In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:6

From Frank Ward's Campaign:



Highlights:

• Greg Casar - "I just don't think that we are in the business of reducing congestion."

• Ann Kitchen - "That's not really our goal, to get rid of congestion."
• Note: It's not in the video, but in the original audio Jimmy Flannigan agrees with Kitchen.

• Ward - "Reducing congestion is not really their goal, you have got to be kidding me."

• Ward - "We have to do something about this traffic."

Bottom Line: Vote for Frank Ward if you value dissent and intellectual diversity.  Early voting runs through tonight (Friday) at 7pm.  Election Day Tuesday.

#atxcouncil, #TribFest 18: Casar admits he's a socialist

"Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?"
Ecclesiastes 7:13

It's not a surprise but, at least to this author's knowledge, it's the first time he's admitted it publicly.

This morning, at the Texas Tribune festival, Greg Casar called himself a "proud member" of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Casar's comment came in response to a question from Paul Workman during a panel discussion of the City of Austin's municipal "sick leave" entitlement.  Workman asked Casar, point blank, if he was a socialist.  Casar momentarily hemmed and hawed, before biting the bullet and giving the answer detailed above.

Like we said: It's not like this is a surprise, but it is the first time (at least to our knowledge) he's admitted it publicly.

Otherwise, the panel was what you'd expect.  Rob Henneke of TPPF explained the difference between individual choice and government force.  Some form of sick leave probably is a good idea for many employers and many employees.  But "many" is not the same thing as all.  Government forcing what's good for many onto all is tyranny.  As Henneke said, "[I]t's not the roles of cities to regulate anything and everything."  Amen.

One comment stood out: Ann Beeson of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a left-leaning Austin based think tank, said that the fact that many employers already offered this specific benefit meant that all employers should be forced into this policy.  Obviously, big businesses using the force of government to impose mandatory costs on its smaller competitors is called economic protectionism.  We don't know if Beeson's neglect of this point was due to ignorance or malice.  Neither is acceptible.

Bottom Line: At least he's being honest....

#TXSEN: Random Thoughts on Cruz and Bobby Francis' first "debate"

"Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes;
But by a man of understanding and knowledge
Right will be prolonged."
Proverbs 28:2

We don't feel like organizing them into a long-form write up, but some thoughts:

• This debate was very similar to the immigration debate between Dan Patrick and Julian Castro in 2014.  Like Castro, Bobby Francis came out strong.  He was high energy (more on that below).  Like Patrick, Cruz took some time to get going.  But, also like Patrick, by the fifteen minute mark, Cruz was firmly in control and he never relinquished it.

• Also like Castro: By the end of the debate, Bobby Francis was reduced to spouting the same three talking points.

• Speaking of Bobby Francis: Was he on amphetamines?!?  Whatever the reason, his initial burst of energy turned into a bizarre type of hyperactivity.  What was up with his hands?!?

• Immigration: Cruz supports securing the border and coming up with a more rational system of legal.  Bobby Francis' for straight-up amnesty.  You do realize this is Texas...right?!?

• The only thing stupider than discussing the NFL protests in the first place was Bobby Francis comparing them to Selma.

• Health Care: It's not a secret that we wish Cruz would discuss this topic more.  Cruz listed good principles, though we still wish he would put together his own comprehensive plan.  Bobby Francis, by contrast, supports socialized medicine.  This isn't close.

• Bobby Francis drinking game: Drink every time he says...
• "I visited every county in Texas."
• "I want to work with Trump when I can, and oppose him when I must."
• "Republicans, Democrats, Independents coming together...."

• #2A: Cruz badly exposed Bobby Francis ignorance about firearms.  Bobby Francis called AR-15's "weapons of war."  It only takes 10 seconds on Wikipedia.
  
  That being said, when Bobby Francis says "I support the second amendment," he's lying.  PERIOD.  END OF STORY.

• Criminal Justice: This was the most interesting section of the debate.  It's not a secret that this author's views on criminal justice don't line up neatly with any faction.  That being said, Cruz was absolutely correct when he pointed out that hateful, over the top, anti-police rhetoric leads to things like the Dallas shooting.  Bobby Francis' obsession with turing everything into a racial issue was sad.

•  That being said, there was one person who liked Bobby Francis' constant obsession with race:

Best thing from @BetoORourke tonight that you dont see from enough politicians: his consistent condemnation of anti-black racism in this country.

— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) September 22, 2018

• Bobby Francis denigrates prayer.  Wow.  Just wow.

• Economy: 'Bout dadgum time they got to this.  Cruz strong in discussing how we need to continue path of deregulation [Note: More of this please!!!] and tax relief/simplification.  Bobby Francis' overzealously delivers stale talking points about "tax cuts for the rich" even though...you know...the rich like high taxes.

• An hour long debate on "domestic issues" and...NOT.  A.  SINGLE.  DAMN.  QUESTION...about Federal SPENDING!!!

Bottom Line:  What you'd expect.  Contrast speaks for itself.  This is Texas.

"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.

#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.

-------

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.]

-------

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.

-------

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.

-------

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.

-------

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

-------

Bottom Line: Priorities people.... 

TPPF leads lawsuit to rescue Austinites from #atxcouncil's MANDATORY "Sick Leave" Entitlement....

"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

Back in February, during our testimony against council's "sick leave" entitlement, we called the ordinance "a hot mess"; we didn't realize just how hot of a mess it actually was.

This morning, TPPF filed a lawsuit on behalf of several trade associations challenging both the statutory and (Texas) constitutional authorization of the city's ordinance.

TPPF's primarily argues that the city ordinance violates the Texas Minimum Wage act.  Specifically, the city ordinance violates how state law defines "hours worked."  The relevant state law also has provisions dealing with sick leave specifically.  We're not a lawyer, but this strikes us as a slam dunk.

Here's the hilarious part: The "hours worked" provision is a direct result of how Greg Casar drafted the ordinance.  Had Casar actually listened to some of his critics during the drafting process, he could have avoided this grounds.  Major-league unforced error on Casar's part.

Besides the state law violation, TPPF also argues that the Texas constitutions' "equal protection" and "lawful search and seizures" clauses.  On equal protection grounds, the ordinance exempts certain union employees.  On lawful search and seizures, the city is arbitrarily claiming enforcement powers without judicial oversight or due process (very similarly to what they did on the short-term rental ordinance).  This was another dumb, unforced, error on Casar's part.

TPPF will be seeking a temporary injunction to block implementation of the ordinance; the hearing is likely to be on May 29th.

Bottom Line: The legislature remains likely to knock out this ordinance.  But the lawsuit is a good back-up plan.  That the lawsuit is a direct result of the heavy-handed arrogance shown throughout the drafting process makes it that much more deserved....

-------

TPPF PSL Lawsuit Filed by Cahnman on Scribd