Abbott kneecaps U.T. reform effort

"In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.  And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”  So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.  Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also."
2 Samuel 11:14-17

Well, THAT didn't take long:

Gov. Greg Abbott announced his nominees to fill upcoming vacancies on the University of Texas System board on Thursday, and in doing so, sent clear signals about his vision for those boards.

In an interview with the Tribune last week, Abbott was asked about two regents whose terms on the UT System board are almost over: Would his appointees more resemble Gene Powell, who served as the board's chairman during a particularly tumultuous time marked by tension with the University of Texas at Austin administration, or Steve Hicks, who was a vocal advocate of ceasing investigations into the flagship university that were contributing to that rift?

"I want people who are dedicated to the job who will focus on bringing excellence to the organization," Abbott responded. "I will give them marching orders about what I want them to achieve, and I expect them to achieve it without micromanaging."

That he was referring to the Hicks model became crystal clear on Thursday when Abbott re-appointed Hicks to the board. Powell and Bobby Stillwell, who was an ally of Hicks, will cycle off the board.

....

Abbott also appointed Sara Martinez Tucker and David Beck to the UT board.

First things first, Sarah Martinez Tucker served in the U.S. Department of Education during the administration of George W. Bush, which by itself tells you everything you need to know.

Next, Steve Hicks is the biggest apologist for Bill Powers on the current board.

But David Beck's nomination takes the cake:

In the last 14 years, he’s given to Texas Democrats, including Kirk Watson, Trey Martinez Fischer and Rodney Ellis

[Emphasis added]

That would be the same Trey Martinez Ferdinand Frank Fischer who was Joe Straus' designated hatchet man on the Wallace Hall impeachment committee.

Beck is also on the board of "Friends of the University" PAC, whose self description includes this gem:

The only criterion for receiving a donation from Friends of The University has been that the recipient shares our commitment to UT. In the early years the PAC supported staunch UT advocates such as Bob Bullock, John Montford, Bill Ratliff and David Sibley. More recently, it has supported top UT Austin allies like Joe Straus, Judith Zaffirini and Greg Abbott.

Because nothing screams Republican like Bob Bullock and Judy Zaffarini!!!

It gets better; from Page 10 of Abbott's own report issued in one of his final acts as A.G.:

In late 2000 or early 2001, the [U.T. Law School] Foundation President, David Beck appears to have sent or e-mailed a “proposal” to UT-Austin suggesting [former Law School] Dean [and current University President Bill] Powers receive a deferred compensation.

Bottom Line: The Texas Senate needs to kill these nominations.

-----

Update: It gets better, turns out Beck and Tucker both supported U.T.'s Affirmative Education program in 2013.

-----

Update II: Turns out Tucker is also a Common Core supporter.

-----

Update III: Again, even better; praise from Kirk Watson....

Post by Kirk Watson.