David Barton Wins Million Dollar Defamation Lawsuit

"[R]ejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer"
Romans 12:12

Good for Barton:

David Barton is the founder of WallBuilders; he is is one of the foremost experts on early American history and has tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era (http://www.wallbuilders.com/abtbiodb.asp).

Mr. Barton and other history experts helped the SBOE to produce the most fact-based, patriotic curriculum standards in the entire United States. For instance, as part of the TEKS, Texas students are required to spend a week every year (K-12) studying the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. The TEKS standards emphasize American exceptionalism while presenting a balanced view of history. Many American heroes and heroines of character and of color were added to the new Social Studies TEKS.

For his trouble, David Barton was vilified by the leftwing media and such organizations as Texas Freedom Network.

....

During the years that Ken Mercer has served on the SBOE, he has had a number of “questionable” challengers. Among them are Judy A. Jennings and Rebecca E. Bell-Metereau.

While these women were running against Mercer, they leaned heavily on Texas Freedom Network to provide them with campaign rhetoric; and they worked with Scott Garrison, a political consultant, to produce a campaign video. In it, they tried to discredit Ken Mercer by blasting David Barton and WallBuilders as being white supremacists.

Guess what…David Barton/WallBuilders has sued Jennings/Metereau for defamation of character. David Barton/WallBuilders won, and now Jennings/Metereau have to pay him and his WallBuilders $1,000,000! How is that for justice served?

I suspect the next move for Jennings/Metereau may be to counter-sue Texas Freedom Network/Scott Garrison for providing bogus information about David Barton/WallBuilders.

David Barton is anything but a white supremacist. He and other patriots just like him are battling to preserve America’s rich Judeo-Christian heritage so that this and the next generation will be willing to give their lives to preserve it.

....

It is very encouraging to know that “open season” on conservatives has its limits. Good for David Barton/WallBuilders!

Texas Senate Nominees rebuke Texas Ethics Commission

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

Good for them (letter on page 2 of SCRIBD document):

Republican Senate Nominees Warn Texas Ethics Commission Over Potential Abuse of Their Rule Making Authority...

Dirty Little Details of Americans with STD's

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24

ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – While the national media focus on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the patient in Dallas, the CDC is reminding Americans that sexually transmitted diseases are an ongoing but hidden epidemic.

In the United States, nearly 20 million cases of new STD infections are reported each year, reports Live Science. Since infections can persist for a long time, and because some victims are not even aware they have a disease and can easily spread it to others.

Based on data from 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the eight most common sexually transmitted diseases are: chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B virus (HBV), genital herpes, HIV, human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis and trichomoniasis.

About 50.5 million current infections are in men while 59.5 million are in women, for a total of 110 million Americans with STDs at any given time.

Fifty percent of new infections occur in young people from ages 15-24 and gonorrhea is the most commonly reported STD in that age group.

Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported STD in the United States.

The most commonly reported infection is chlamydia. But since many who are infected don’t show symptoms, the number could be far higher than the 1.4 million in 2012, a rate of 457 cases per 100,000 people.

New infections with HIV and hepatitis B occur in less than 50,000 people each year.

New cases of STDs cost nearly $16 billion a year in direct medical costs, according to the CDC

Yah, not sure what else to say....

Texas Republicans and Hispanics: Tim Carney chooses a poor metric

"For the needy shall not always be forgotten;
The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever."
Psalm 9:18

Tim Carney of the Washington Examiner is a friend and former colleague.  Today, he wrote a perceptive column about the lack of action in GOP efforts to woo Hispanic voters.  Unfortunately, he also included this line about efforts in Texas:

Texas, for instance, has nine majority-Hispanic [U.S. House] districts (all held by Democrats) and the Democrat is running without a Republican opponent in four of them. In four other races a minor GOP candidate is running with no support from the National Republican Congressional Committee in the form of contributions or independent expenditures, according to a review of data gathered by the Center for Responsive Politics. Only in the 23rd District — a sprawling, rural border district — is the GOP playing, backing Will Hurd.

With all due respect to Tim, he's looking at the wrong place on the ballot.  Texas Republican efforts to recruit Hispanic candidates are happening much closer to home.  Given the restrictive nature of Federal campaign finance laws, U.S. House races will be one of the last places these efforts bear fruit.

For example, Hispanic Republicans of Texas is a group founded by George P. Bush (*) in 2009.  They've currently endorsed almost 30 candidates.  Most of these candidates are running for county level executive and judicial positions in heavily Democrat counties.  The highest level of government they're endorsing this cycle is State Rep.  The group intends to start with city council, county, and school board candidates.

Meanwhile, at the top of the ticket, Greg Abbott has made the biggest outreach effort in the Rio Grande Valley of any Republican candidate ever:

But this year, Republican nominee Greg Abbott, the state’s attorney general, has set out to break [George W.] Bush’s record by making the rapidly growing Hispanic vote — and the Rio Grande Valley — central to his campaign. The day after Abbott announced his candidacy in San Antonio, he was in McAllen, on the Mexican border. He has visited the area 14 times during the campaign, most recently for his first debate with the Democratic candidate, state Sen. Wendy Davis.

He has also aired six Spanish-language TV ads, including one featuring his Latina mother-in-law that premiered during the Mexico-Brazil World Cup match in June. (“His values are our values. Faith, family and honesty,” his sister-in-law Rosie Phalen says in the ad.)

....

The situation has surprised locals who are accustomed to being a sideshow in big elections.

“This is the first time in my memory . . . that we’ve had the interest of the politicians,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, who has endorsed Abbott and whose office is nonpartisan. “For years, the Democrats kind of took our county for granted, and the Republicans didn’t think they’d make any inroads.”

....

But [Wendy] Davis also has vulnerability among Hispanics. Republicans have seized on her position on abortion to paint her as anti-family. She surprised many people by losing several border counties in the primary — including Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy in the Rio Grande Valley — to an obscure 71-year-old Corpus Christi judge named Reynaldo “Ray” Madrigal, who barely campaigned.

Republicans concede way too much territory to Democrats.  Often the areas they concede overlap with majority Hispanic areas.  Tim was right to make this point.  But he's off the mark in Texas.  Texas Republicans are actively recruiting and running Hispanic candidates in Hispanic areas.  But these movements need to bubble up from the local level.  Federal races are the last place this will materialize.

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* Yeah, we know, but HRT does good work even if some of these candidates will need primary challenges in a few years.

Cosmo Magazine Juxtaposes Masturbation and Wendy Davis

"Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. 34 And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” 35 So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel"
2 Kings 9:33

Worth 1000 words:

#GAMEOVER: Travis County Voter Registration data reveals Battleground Texas' failure

"Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;"
2 Kings 9:33-36

According to the Tax Office's website, as of the close of voter registration yesterday, there are just under 650,000 registered voters in Travis County:

Compare that number to the 635,000 (and change) Travis County had in 2012:

In other words, between election 2012 and voter registration cut-off day 2014, Travis County added 14,685 registered voters.

Next, consider population growth in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas of the county.

According to census bureau data, Travis County's population was 1.096 million in 2012 and 1.21 million in 2013; data for 2014 is not yet available.

Using reasonable extrapolation for 2014 (year to date), this suggests that Travis County has about 40,000 new residents in the past two years.

Against 14,685 new voters.

That means the number of registered voters increased by 2.3% while the population at large increased by (approximately) 3.6%.

Battleground Texas' strategy always required them to run up the scoreboard in Travis County.  This is one of their strongest counties in the state.  They haven't made a dent.

Bottom Line: Voter registration in Travis County has failed to keep pace with population growth, let alone the increase Battleground Texas would need to "change Texas turnout."

#GameOver

Wendy Davis praises Joe Straus

"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:1

No comment necessary:

Asked in her interview with the Editorial Board how she would avoid the gridlock of Washington if elected governor, Davis pointed to the leadership of House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican, as a model she would emulate.

“Speaker Straus has shown that he runs his House in a way that creates a climate of a competition of ideas, a welcome climate for that, and a respect for varying perspectives, until people are able to come to a table and find a place that they can agree,” Davis said.

Yeah....