Who ACTUALLY VOTED EARLY in Texas' Republican Primary: Final Report

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

Derek Ryan released his final report on Saturday, the biggest conclusion:

So, how many people are going to end up voting? That's been the million dollar question lately. Well, if early voting ends up being 50% of the total votes cast, turnout will likely be around 2.7 million. While it isn't likely, if early voting ends up being 60% of the total turnout, the number ends up being around 2.2 million. I'm going to go with 2.5 million as my final guess. (I'm sure I'll hear from many of you if I end up being way off.)

Read the full report below:

Early Voting Analysis Report Day 11

Who's ACTUALLY Voting in Texas' Republican Primary?!?

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

Derek Ryan of Ryan Data and Research has collected some fascinating data about who's actually turned out thus far through early voting, some highlights:

• In past Republican Primaries, through seven days of early voting, 22.5% of the total votes have typically been cast. Based on that percentage, that would mean total turnout this year would surpass 2.3 million (turnout was 1.4M in 2012 and 2008).

• 22.6% of the votes cast during early voting are from voters who have not voted in a Republican Primary between 2008 and 2014. This voting block is almost the same size as voters who have voted in all four of the last four Republican Primaries (24.3%)

Read the full report (through yesterday) below:

FEB 2k16 Early Voting Analysis Day 7

A Surprisingly Realistic Strategy for Marijuana Legalization

"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8

This week's San Antonio Current documents the maturation of the pro-pot legalization movement in Texas:

“So many of our legislators have been tough on crime and for them to start thinking outside of that, you have to think about sales,” Fazio said of her strategy. “We have to paint a picture and tell the story of how it looks when adult business owners are providing the product for the market where there’s a demand for it, the different aspects of the business and the economic incentives to want to do this.”

As for providing a glimpse of the economic incentive of legalized marijuana, Fazio wants people to look west. “Absolutely, there’s that economic incentive,” Fazio said, referring to Colorado’s tax revenue from marijuana. “But of course, in Texas, we like to say we are fiscally conservative and that money should be kept in the hands of people. Colorado’s tax rate is over 35 percent on recreational marijuana and it’s a significant rate of taxation.” According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, there’s a 10 percent sales tax on marijuana products that is coupled with a preexisting 2.9 percent state sales tax, plus local jurisdiction taxes and a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale marijuana. In Denver, according to a November 6, 2013, story in the Denver Post, those factors equate to a 29 percent tax on retail marijuana sales. In May 2014, the state collected a little more than $5.7 million in taxes, licenses and fees. So far for the year, nearly $34.9 million in pot tax dollars have poured into the state’s coffers, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.

That’s a lot of money, and Fazio would like to see Texas stick to its idealogical guns and avoid such a heavy tax burden. “I’d really love Republicans to see that using limited government ... can set an example for what minimal regulation and taxation can do for business owners and the economy,” Fazio said of allowing legal marijuana businesses in Texas.

It seems that some Texas Republicans are ready to start talking, though they might still be drowned out by louder, more established voices. The Texas Republican Party’s 2014 Temporary Platform Committee report included pro-medicinal marijuana language in its Healthcare and Nutritional Supplements section. “We support the rights of all adults to their choice of nutritional products and alternative health care ... We urge the Texas Legislature to allow, encourage and facilitate the study at our Texas medical schools [concerning] the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis,” the draft report stated. In the first minority report, several committee members recommended changing the wording of that platform to read as “We believe that Texans should have legal access to medical cannabis as a controlled narcotic prescribed by a physician.” But another minority report recommended removing all language about medical marijuana from the party platform for the 84th Legislature. In the final version of the party’s platform, all language about cannabis had been removed from the health care and nutrition section.

Yet even Governor Rick Perry seems to have warmed to changing the marijuana laws in Texas. Back in January during a panel on drug policy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Perry said that states should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to marijuana legalization.

“As the governor of the second-largest state in the country, what I can do is start us on policies that can start us on the road towards decriminalization,” Perry said, while demurring from discussing full legalization.

Fazio said Perry’s statements have loosened up conservative legislators and given them the green light to have a conversation about marijuana policy in Texas. “It’s OK to start talking about how we can reform our laws to better serve the people of Texas and I appreciate that he got pressed on the issue and that he didn’t avoid it,” Fazio said. “It’s great that the conversation is being had about reforming laws to make society better in a very significant way. Prohibition of alcohol was so negative, and that was [for] 13 years. We’ve seen decades of horrible marijuana prohibition and now we get to right that wrong.”

Will Texas legalize by 2019?

It’s these shifting attitudes throughout the nation and even within conservatives in Texas that prompts the Marijuana Policy Project to lobby hard on every aspect of marijuana legalization.

“What we see across the country is a sweeping change where people are finally putting it into policy. The fact is, prohibition has failed and we need to repeal it. Texas is not going to be the last state that legalizes marijuana,” Fazio said. “The goal is to have full legalization by 2019, with an open legal market that is similar to alcohol.” Fazio said.

The Marijuana Policy Project will lobby to introduce three bills in 2015 that would legalize medical marijuana, decriminalize pot by setting civil penalties with no opportunity for jail time, or—of course—fully legalize marijuana for recreational use and state regulation, Fazio said.

Last September, Public Policy Polling, which polls for the Democratic Party and other progressive organizations on a private basis, conducted a three-day poll of 860 Texas voters. According to the data it published, 41 percent of voters polled strongly supported full marijuana legalization in Texas and 24 percent were strongly opposed. Seventeen percent of voters somewhat supported full legalization and 14 percent were somewhat opposed. As for legal medicinal marijuana in the Lone Star State, 58 percent of voters supported it and 31 percent were opposed. The largest percentage of Texas voters supported decriminalization with 61 percent siding with the notion and 30 percent of voters opposing decriminalization. The 860 voters included 42 percent who registered as Republicans, 35 percent who registered as Democrats and 23 percent who registered as independents or other. Karli Christine Duran, founder and Executive Director of the San Antonio chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), thinks attitudes toward marijuana are rapidly evolving.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added.]

....

And support for medical marijuana is starting to come from unlikely places. According to Fazio, who attended a veterans conference in mid-July, military veterans are increasingly claiming publicly that medicinal marijuana treats Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which afflicts many men and women returning home from war.

This brings out other veterans and veteran advocates searching for alternatives to addictive pharmaceutical opiates for sufferers of chronic mental and physical distress. Those interested in service member suicide prevention are also looking to marijuana’s possible psychotropic benefits.

According to the Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, Israeli doctor Raphael Mechoulam’s research on mice has shown that marijuana may reduce the association between stimuli like loud noises or stress and traumatic situations in veterans suffering from PTSD. Mechoulam discovered the psychoactive compound in marijuana, along with other breakthroughs related to cannabis throughout his career. And in a recent Texas Monthly article, William Martin, a Harry and Hazel Chavanne senior fellow in Religion and Public Policy and director of the Drug Policy Program for Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, interviewed numerous Texas military veterans who said marijuana not only treated their PTSD symptoms, it changed their quality of life for the better—despite their fear of arrest.

....

[Prohibition] “causes too many people doing no harm to acquire a permanent label as a criminal; it costs too much in arrests, jail, probation and other expenses; it provides an illegal and profitable market to Mexican and other criminal drug trafficking operations; it corrupts various levels of the justice system; and it doesn’t work. How’s that for starters,” William Martin wrote via email when asked if there is anything wrong with current marijuana policy in the Lone Star state.

Fazio and Duran concur. “Law enforcement is one of our biggest opponents and it has a lot to do with the funding they get for enforcing drug laws. It’s the culture. Law enforcement has it engrained in them that they have to go after this,” Fazio said. “There’s that strong Texas culture of being tough on crime. The reality is repealing prohibition would allow us to use limited resources effectively in serving victims of real crimes and protecting people.” Duran added that the arrest, prosecution and incarceration of people accused of possession of small amounts of marijuana contribute to jail overcrowding and at a significant cost to taxpayers. “Once prosecution starts and you go through the court and all that stuff, you’re tacking on thousands more,” Duran said of the cost to taxpayers when prosecuting marijuana misdemeanors.

While acknowledging that marijuana is a psychoactive drug that can have negative effects, particularly with heavy use, Martin doesn’t think that’s enough of a reason for Texas’ current draconian marijuana laws. “It is far less dangerous, personally and socially, than alcohol. There is simply no convincing justification for treating its use as a crime,”

 Read the whole thing here.

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Some thoughts:

• This plan addresses the biggest challenge regarding legalization: Using it as a smokescreen for tax increases; while this website strongly supports marijuana legalization, we oppose new taxes even more strongly.

• 2019 [aka. Abbott's second term] is a realistic timeline that won't impede higher priority economic legislation in the coming two sessions.

• We had no idea medical marijuana was showing progress for vets with PTSD...muy bueno!!!

Revised Numbers: Texas economy better than thought, California worse....

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

NICE:

The BEA revised California’s real GDP growth downward from 2009 to 2011 in each of three years by a cumulative 2.6 percent, the third-largest negative revision in the nation.

In other words, California’s economy shrank an additional 2.6 percent before it grew 3.5 percent.

So, in the past five years California’s real GDP contracted 0.3 percent, one of ten states where economic activity was less in 2012 than it was in 2008.

By contrast, the BEA revised Texas’ growth upward by 0.5 percent from 2009 to 2011.

Texas’ newly revised real GDP growth from 2009 to 2012 was 13 percent.

From 2009 to 2012, California’s share of the U.S. economy shrank from 13.1 percent to 12.9 percent while Texas’ portion of the American economy increased from 8.2 percent to 9 percent.

Some critics might contend that Texas’ economic boom is wholly due to the revitalization of the Lone Star State’s oil and gas fields through fracking. However, if the entire mining sector is removed from the calculations, Texas’ economy would have still grown at a faster pace than California’s from 2009 to 2012. Further, California has about two-thirds of the nation’s proven shale oil reserves in the vast Monterey Shale formation—that the Golden State makes the political choice not to allow the extraction of this underground wealth can’t be held against Texas.

Read the whole thing here.

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Update (6/20): TPPF informs us that this is actually a year old piece that came out in June 2013; our bad.

178 Years Ago Today

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter."
2 Thessalonians 2:15

An AWESOME letter on the Battle of San Jacinto from TPPF's Brook Rollins, reprinted in full:

Juan Seguin had more reason than most to be discouraged.

As a youth, Seguin's father had traveled from the dangerous Texas frontier to the capital at Mexico City, and helped draft the liberal Mexican Constitution of 1824. Ten years later, as a man of 28, he saw that hopeful charter of relative liberty repealed by the dictator Santa Anna, and replaced with an autocratic order that offended his values as a free man. The next year, he was on the battlefield with the rebelling Texians, casting his lot with the Anglo settlers. They were newcomers versus the native-born Tejano and his deep San Antonio roots — but they fought for liberty, and that was enough.

Juan Seguin, a man of charisma and means, soon found himself in the embattled Alamo. His name entered the roll of heroes, but he was not among the dead. In the fortress’s final desperate days, he was entrusted with the last appeal from William Barret Travis — “Victory or Death!” — and so when the garrison fell, he was in central Texas, trying to scrape together what men he could for Sam Houston and the Alamo’s relief. Then he joined Houston on the Runaway Scrape, as the Texians uprooted themselves before the victorious dictator’s armies, and fled north and east from Santa Anna’s vengeance.

This was Juan Seguin’s life and experience on the morning of April 21st, 1836. He had seen his father’s work for liberty eradicated. He had seen his own life as a free citizen ended. He had seen his comrades in arms exterminated. He had seen his native land, his Texas, conquered and despoiled. He had seen a great flight of an entire nation. And he himself had fled with them.

On that morning, one hundred seventy-eight years ago today, that was what Juan Seguin knew. A lifetime of fighting for liberty — and losing. And he was with an army of Texians with largely the same experience. There were no rational grounds for hope. There were no reasonable expectations of victory. There were no decent prospects for Texas. “Victory or Death” was, by any calculation, now “Death or Exile.”

On that evening, one hundred seventy-eight years ago today, Juan Seguin knew something radically different. He and his Tejanos, shouting “Recuerden el Alamo!” had joined Houston’s Texians in one last desperate charge — and won. On that field at San Jacinto, whose fight we remember now, it was one last expression of bravery, one last exertion of courage, one last show of will, one last gesture of defiance that transformed defeat into victory. Juan Seguin woke up that morning a beaten man in a beaten cause. He slept that night a free citizen of the Republic of Texas.

And when Santa Anna’s garrison yielded the ruins of the Alamo a few weeks later, it was Juan Seguin who accepted the surrender.

On this 178th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, we remember Juan Seguin and the band of brave Texians who won a nation on a small field against long odds. His name is one among many whom we rightly recall as having secured the liberty that is our birthright as Texans today: Houston, Rusk, Burleson, Lamar, Smith, and so many others. As a battle, it was significant beyond its scope. Visitors to the San Jacinto Monument today can read the historical consequences inscribed upon the stone:

"Measured by its results, San Jacinto was one of the decisive battles of the world. The freedom of Texas from Mexico won here led to annexation and to the Mexican-American War, resulting in the acquisition by the United States of the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Almost one-third of the present area of the American Nation, nearly a million square miles of territory, changed sovereignty.”

That’s one way to measure it. But to assess San Jacinto from a political or even a historical standpoint is to miss its true significance. The Battle of San Jacinto, in the end, is not an episode of history for history’s sake. The story of Juan Seguin and his fellow Texians and Tejanos illustrate its true significance: it was a culminating moment in the hearts of men who burned for liberty, for themselves and for those they loved. They fought, and lost, and fought, and lost again — until they won.

If we understand San Jacinto, then, it is not a memorial of what we did yesterday. It is an instruction on what we should do today. We, the inheritors of Texas, if we are Texans, "worthy of all they had been and meant,” must look backward to their relentless endurance and steadfast heroism — and see our future.

Sincerely,

Brooke L. Rollins 

President and CEO

Obama Attempting Texas Land Grab

"Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;"
Proverbs 22:22

Yikes and Gadzooks:



Highlights:

• "Since 1803 when the Louisiana Purchase was completed, there has been a controversy over the boundary between Oklahoma and Texas. The boundary is supposed to be the vegetation line on the south side of the Red River. But the River has moved over time. The problem is the definition of that boundary line- Oklahoma and Texas each use different semantics to define it. And the BLM is finding ways to use the disputed words to give them the ability to seize the land."

• "Land that has been in the families of ranchers is to be seized as “public lands” that would be subject to fees or blocked off entirely from rancher’s use. Or in some cases, moving the boundary line over to Oklahoma, where Texas ranchers can lose their rights to the lands that they have owned for more than a century. The BLM had open meetings back in January to “take input” from the public …but they are moving forward with their plan to seize the land anyway. There was likely never any intention of actually listening to the rancher’s stand."

• Open grazing of cattle has always been a common law right in America. It is time for the American people to rise up against the theft of private lands and property by a government that is out of control. Ranchers have contact Texas  Representative Mac Thornberry for assistance. We will monitor this situation as it progresses.

Texas Surpasses California (yet again!)

From Tuesday's Dallas Morning-News:

WASHINGTON–Texas is tops for tech exports, a new report says.

Companies in Texas making semiconductors, telecommunications devices, computers, and other items shipped more than $45 billion in products to other countries in 2012, according to a report by the TechAmerica Foundation, a lobbying and advocacy firm representing the technology industries. That’s a $3 billion rise from 2011.

Tech from Texas most often goes to Mexico– companies in the state shipped $22 billion south of the border in 2012. All that trade supported 331,000 jobs in Texas, the report said, also the most of any state. Texas has 22 percent of the nation’s technology manufacturing jobs.

“Texas is really happy to have this kind of emphasis put on its tech industry,” said Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, who appeared today at a news conference at the Capitol announcing the report with Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. “It’s an incredible accomplishment to be the No. 1 state in the country.”

This is the first year that Texas topped California in tech exports. California exports were worth $44.8 billion in 2012, down nearly 3 percent from the previous year.

Matthew Kazmierczak, vice president of the foundation, attributed the shift to rising manufacturing costs in California and Texas’ business-friendly atmosphere.

He said tech companies in California are focusing more on product design, in part because the state’s higher labor costs makes manufacturing less competitive.

“Texas has done a very good job at making themselves an attractive location for manufacturing,” he said. He noted the dynamic isn’t just about interstate competition; Texas is also competitive with other countries that have traditionally attracted manufacturing.

Gov. Rick Perry touts Texas’ business-friendly approach to regulations and taxes, and its relatively low cost of living, in trying to lure companies from California and other states, for which he has taken some flack.

Read the whole thing here.

(h/t Austinist)

North Texas clinic accepts Bitcoin

Well this is certainly interesting:

One Texas health clinic is accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment.

At Rapid med Urgent Care Center at Highland Village in North Texas, patients can pay using Bitcon's digital dollars in addition to cash or credit cards.

....

Coindesk reports that many medical patients choose Bitcoin because they chose to keep their health visits a secret and want to ensure patient to doctor confidentiality.

The website explains that using Bitcoin is safer than using a credit card and makes people less susceptible to identity theft.

'With Bitcoin, there is no credit card number that some malicious actor can collect in order to impersonate you. In fact, it is even possible to send a payment without revealing your identity, almost just like with physical money. You should however take note that some effort can be required to protect your privacy,' says the site.

Bitcoin is not 100 per cent anonymous and can be linked to a person's identity when they convert Bitcoin to currency. However, for keeping health information between a patient and a doctor, Bitcoin is a useful tool.

Read the whole thing here.

CBS Dallas has more here.

How to Fund Infrastructure Responsibly

Last week, discussing the current Texas budget, Chuck DeVore illustrated how Medicaid is "crowding out roads."  DeVore touched on a deeper truth than we realized at the time.  It won't be easy politically, but there's a simple solution to Texas' infrastruture funding challenges.

Cut Medicaid to fund roads and bridges.

Medicaid is a festering public policy abomination.  It abuses our most vulnerable.  It creates worse health outcomes.  It bankrupts doctors.  Left unchecked, even without expansion, it will bankrupt the state of Texas.

Unlike socialized medicine, responsibly funded infrastructure is a legitimate function of government.  The challenge is how to fund infrastructure responsibly.  A $24 billion budget item that injures its recipients is a good place to start.

Obama will obviously complain, but so what?!?  When Obama attempts to hold us hostage with our own money, we should tell him to pound sand.  Who says Texas needs to participate in Medicaid in the first place?!?

Medicaid is also the primary source for intergovernmental transfer payments from the Feds; downsizing Texas' Medicaid program will reduce our exposure to Washington.

As a growing state, Texas has legitimate infrastructure challenges.  Medicaid, simultaneously, is consuming an ever-growing share of state funds that could pay for infrastructure.  Politically, this won't be easy to pass, but the substance of this solution is simple.

Once again, Texas has strongest economy in America!!!

The Houston Chronicle, quoting Forbes:

As the country's economy continues to gather momentum, three Texas cities - including Houston - stand out as strong economies for Americans in 2014.

Forbes, along with the Praxis Strategy Group, looked at the United States' top 52 metropolitan areas to see how each ranked in its economic strength for the New Year. Factors included job growth, median household income growth and the current unemployment rate.

Houston found its place at No. 4, with Austin grabbing the No. 1 spot and San Antonio at No. 2. Austin has the lowest unemployment rate of the three (5.4 percent), and rose just above Houston's job growth and GDP growth. All cities show promise for families and workers in 2014.

The original Forbes piece had formatting issues that make it impossible to quote on this blog, but you can read the whole thing here.

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On a related note, imagine how much more we could supercharge our economy if we were to elect a legislature committed to structural fiscal reforms next year!!!

How Miranda Lambert's Hometown Outsmarted Wisconsin Atheists

"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Genesis 50:20

Last night, a friend told us about this story out of Lindale, TX; re-printed (with permission) in full from Seven Spheres news:

School District Defies Lawsuit Threats to Perform “In God We Trust” the Musical 

By Patrick Butler, Seven Spheres News 

710 Words 

LINDALE, Texas – In defiance of lawsuit threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an estimated 2,200 people turned out Wednesday night in Lindale, Texas, to view the Lindale Independent School District’s 5th Grade musical "In God We Trust." 

The Lindale High School's performing arts center was filled to its capacity of about 1,300 people said event organizers, and overflow rooms were set up in the school gymnasium and cafeteria. 

U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attended the event to “show his support” as did civic representatives and staffers including Jason Wright of Senator Ted Cruz's office and Texas State Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Dist. 5). The mayor of Lindale, and other local elected officials, joined a standing-room-only capacity crowd to see the musical. 

“We also have an overflow room of 200 filled to capacity,” said the Rev. Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, to the cheering audience, “and another overflow room of 700 also filled to capacity. Those who can't fit in the rooms are out on the lawn, listening to an audio-only,” feed from the auditorium. 

Buck said he was “overwhelmed” by the community support for “In God We Trust,” as did the play's co-authors, Chris and Dian Machen of Plano, Texas, located on the outskirts of Dallas, about 90 miles west of Lindale. The couple came to Lindale when they heard the Freedom From Religion Foundation had threatened to sue the Lindale School District if the play was performed as a school function. 

“The number of people here tonight is far beyond what a play like this would normally attract,” said Machen. “Because of what they [Freedom From Religion Foundation] have done, more people than ever are seeing this play.” 

While the words of the songs originated with the Machens, the spoken elements of the play were, for the most part, direct quotes from America's Founding Fathers affirming the role of God in the formation of the country. 

The recitations by the Founding Fathers were re-enacted by fifth grade class members, often in period costume. Direct quotes affirming the role of religion in America from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and William Bradford (governor of Plymouth Plantation in the 1600's), were recited without elaboration or interpretation, allowing the writers to speak for themselves. 

Fifth-grader Francisco Mata delivered Bradford's observation that, “A vessel, called the Mayflower, delivered us in pursuit of a new country. To declare our faith, we travelled under a sail inscribed with the words, 'In God We Trust.’” 

The “separation of church and state” controversy was met with Thomas Jefferson's own words taken from the letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, recited by fifth-grader Colton Beeler to heavy applause: “I believe with you,” wrote Jefferson, “that religion is a matter that lies only between man and God. The people have voted that no law controls the decisions of churches in America. It is not that the state should be separate from religion, but that religion should be separate from the state.” 

A consortium of churches in Lindale, including First Baptist Church of Lindale that spearheaded the event, rented the high school’s performing arts center for the evening and staffed the venue. That enabled the fifth grade class at E.J. Moss Elementary school to present their play, which had been stopped when the Freedom From Religion Foundation out of Wisconsin threatened a lawsuit just two days before the scheduled event. 

Gohmert spoke afterwards congratulating the children, parents and community supporters.
"Don't you just love Lindale, Texas?" Gohmert said, to a cheering crowd. 

To the class he said, “I've been in the presence of presidents of our country. I've been in the presence of prime ministers and queens. There is nowhere I'd rather be tonight than right here in Lindale with you.” 

Gohmert quoted Benjamin Franklin, too. 

“Franklin also said, 'God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground, is it possible an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that unless God builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.'” 

Turning to the class on stage he said, “You have shown this, exemplified this, to us tonight in such a wonderful way.”

 Kudos also to Congressman Louie Gohmert and Texas State Rep Bryan Hughes, two perennial favorites of Cahnman's Musings!!!

Government Kidnapping Children ... in TEXAS?!?

In researching our piece on Texas' 'social services' bureaucracy, we also discovered this astonishing case:



Highlights:

• There was no accusation of wrongdoing; she had removed the children from the unsafe situation.

• "In fear of losing HER job" the CPS worker had to come take the kids.

• No consent, Mom was in rehab, no court order.

• Forcibly Medicating the kids.

• Kids were in CPS custody 11 months.

Texas Homeschool Coalition has more:

On December 4, 2009, a CPS caseworker forced her way into Theresa Allen’s home and removed Theresa’s grandchildren, without accusation and without court order, in order to protect her position after missing the investigation deadline for Theresa’s case. Theresa called the CPS program director in a desperate attempt to discover what was going on. She was informed that “pulling rank” in CPS was not acceptable and that they were about to “show her what happens” when people cross CPS. 

Theresa Allen waded into an 11-month financial nightmare as she fought to regain possession of her grandchildren from the rogue department. CPS battled fiercely to discredit Theresa and threatened that they would adopt her grandchildren out to strangers so that she would “never see them again.” 

After nearly a year of litigation, and not even so much as an allegation of abuse against Theresa, CPS lost the case, and Theresa’s grandchildren were returned to her. THSC has since continued the battle by filing suit against the CPS workers, who not only lied to the court and illegally removed Theresa’s grandchildren from her home but are all still employed by CPS today.

Why people move to Texas

Fresh off of Governor Perry's presentation yesterday, the BBC backs him up; from the article "10 reasons why so many people are moving to Texas":

1. Jobs

"I don't think people go for the weather or topography," says Joel Kotkin, professor of urban development at Chapman University in Orange, California. "The main reason people go is for employment. It's pretty simple.

Continue reading the main story

"The unconventional oil and gas boom has helped turn Texas into an economic juggernaut, particularly world energy capital Houston, but growth has also been strong in tech, manufacturing and business services."

Critics have questioned whether the "Texas miracle" is a myth, based on cheap labour and poor regulation.

But Kotkin says Texas has plenty of high-wage, blue-collar jobs and jobs for university graduates, although people looking for very high-wage jobs would probably head to Seattle, San Francisco and New York.

Four of the top 10 metropolitan areas for job growth in 2013 are in Texas, according to Kotkin's website, New Geography.

Texas also has a huge military presence, which grew as defence spending increased in the decade after 9/11. Many retired Texans first came to the state as service personnel.

2. It's cheaperOnce employed, it's hugely important that your pay cheque goes as far as possible, says Kotkin.Continue reading the main story 

"New York, LA and the [San Francisco] Bay Area are too expensive for most people to live, but Houston has the highest 'effective' pay cheque in the country." 

Kotkin came to this conclusion after looking at the average incomes in the country's 51 largest metro areas, and adjusting them for the cost of living. His results put three Texan areas in the top 10. 

Houston is top because of the region's relatively low cost of living, including consumer prices, utilities and transport costs and, most importantly, housing prices, he says. 

"The ratio of the median home price to median annual household income in Houston is only 2.9. In San Francisco, it's 6.7.

"In New York, San Francisco and LA, if you're blue-collar you will be renting forever and struggling to make ends meet. But people in Texas have a better shot at getting some of the things associated with middle-class life." 

3. HomesLand is cheaper than elsewhere and the process of land acquisition very efficient, says Dr Ali Anari, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. 

"From the time of getting a building permit right through to the construction of homes, Texas is much quicker than other states. 

"There is an abundant supply of land and fewer regulations and more friendly government, generally a much better business attitude here than other states."

This flexibility, plus strict lending rules, helped to shield the state from the recent housing market crash. 

4. Low taxContinue reading the main story
Texas is one of only seven states where residents pay no personal state income tax, says Kay Bell, contributing tax editor at Bankrate and Texan native. 

The state has a disproportionate take from property taxes, which has become a big complaint among homeowners, she adds. But overall, only five states had a lower individual tax burden than Texas, according to Tax Foundation research.

There are also tax incentives for businesses and this week legislators cut more than $1bn off proposed business taxes. 

 8. Fewer rules

Continue reading the main story

"Texas is liberal in the classic sense, it's laissez-faire, so there's a lack of regulations," says Grieder, and this can apply to the obvious (business regulations) or the less obvious (city rules). 

"The classic social contract is - we're not going to do a ton to help you but we're not going to get in your way. That's not 100% true of the state but there's that strand in the state." 

Mortgage lending is an obvious exception. But there has been strong opposition to banning texting while driving and a proposed tax on soda.
And Governor Rick Perry is poised to sign off the strongest email privacy laws in the US, which would require state law enforcement agencies to get a warrant before accessing emails.

 Read the whole thing here.

Texas vs. California: Case Closed

The economic contrast between Texas and California is an old theme at Cahnman's Musings.  This afternoon, we were pleased to attend the Texas Public Policy Foundation's "Competition and the States: Texas vs. California" which unveiled their new paper "How Big Government Hurts the Economy: Texas vs. California."  Former Reagan Economic Adviser Art Laffer and Governor Perry Spoke.

Going first, Art Laffer rattled off an astonishing list of statistics from the TPPF paper (which he co-authored):

• One fifth of all Americans live in Texas or California.

• California has the highest REAL poverty rate in America.
• Adjusted for cost of living and government benefits.

• California's tax rate on marginal economic activity is approximately 65% higher than Texas, but tax revenue is only 25% higher.

• Just the fees (without building a thing) for a single family home are between $75,000 and $100,000 in California.

• One mile of highway construction costs $265,000 in California compared to $88,000 in Texas; despite this, Texas ranks 23rd nationally in road conditions, while California is dead last.

• Of the 5 "mega-states" (CA, NY, TX, IL, and FL), California has the lowest test scores, Texas is (by far) the highest.

• California has 74% more welfare case workers than Texas.

Speaking next, Governor Perry had the best in-person performance we've seen from him in at least a year.  Governor Perry spoke with moving passion about economic growth and the "two competing visions in America."  9 of the 10 states that lead in job creation have Republican governors.  That economic growth enables people to live the lives they see fit.  In the competition with California: "The discussion is over.  The debate is over.  The proof is in.  Texas wins!!!"

In reading the paper, a number of other statistics stand out:

• "California has swung from being one of the biggest net in-migration destination states in the nation to being one of the biggest exodus states." (4)

• "Texas has the fourth lowest percent of population on welfare....while California has the highest percentage of its population on welfare" (4) [Emphasis ours]

• "Texas ranks third fastest in employment growth in the nation while California ranks 42nd." (4)

• "Public welfare employees in California make over $56,000 per year to Texas' $37,000 per anum -- a 52 percent premium." (5)

Another major contrast is the attitude towards energy development and resource recovery.  California has similar amounts of oil and gas reserves as Texas.  The difference is that Texas uses our God-given resources, while California lets the crony-capitalists in the "green energy" racket set their energy policy.

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The most amusing part of the afternoon was an intense men's room conversation on local government debt we witnessed between Texas State Reps Steve Toth and Bill Zedler.  Speaking from the urinal, Representative Toth told Cahnman's Musings, on the subject of local government debt:

"Size matters...and you can quote me on that!"

Consider it done Steve Toth.

Punking Battleground Texas AND Obamacare (Part 1)

BOOM:



Highlights:

• Enroll America encouraging people to lie on Obamacare applications.

• Enroll America sharing information with Battleground Texas.

• The long term goal is to get people on Welfare and voting Democrat.

Readers are welcome to speculate about our relationship to this investigation....:)

Update: Ken Paxton reacts.

Obama Supporting Leftist Running for Mayor in Dubya's Hometown

Alarming read from Empower Texans:

The Democrats have a new tactic to advance their radical ideology: target non-partisan races. Municipal elections in Texas are non-partisan and traditionally experience single digit voter-turnout. Low turnout and the lack of party identification make voters less likely to screen candidates on the basis of political philosophy or ideology. As a result, many of these elections field some of the most ardent left-wing candidates to assume elected office in our conservative state.

…. 

Out west, in Midland, Democratic activist John James is building his resume; running for Mayor of the Tall City after having served two terms on the Midland City Council. According to his rhetoric and campaign literature, James is branding himself as a “Strong Fiscal Conservative” hoping that voters in Midland assume he is a conservative Republican. He has said himself that, “partisanship doesn’t matter in a non-partisan election” and as such has refused to publicly reveal any partisan leanings. 

As a result, most Midland voters are unaware of James’ multiple Democratic credentials. Over the last 12 years, James donated over $10,000 to Democratic candidates or organizations. From 2004-2008, James served on the State Democratic Executive Committee. James supported John Kerry in his bid for President against Midland’s favorite son, George W. Bush. James is also quoted by the Midland Reporter-Telegram, in reference to a Democratic victory in neighboring Ector County, that, “I’m convinced that Texas is going to get back into the ‘Blue’ column one race at a time.” 

Perhaps Mr. James views his Mayoral race as the catalyst in this process? Beyond question, James’ victory would be portrayed as a victory for Democrats. Imagine the headline: “Democratic activist wins Mayoral seat in Bush’s hometown.” This is a major strategic play on behalf of the effort to Turn Texas Blue. 

…. 

Candidates who claim conservative values and defend past service to the Democratic Party have some serious explaining to do to principled conservative voters.  

 Read the whole thing here.

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Concerned Readers Can Lobby the Midland Reporter-Telegram:
@MidlandsPulse

Dallas Brewery uses Pun; Feminazi's throw Tantrum

Recently, the Deep Ellum Brewery introduced their "Dallas Blonde Ale."  Dallas Blonde is a comparatively easy to drink hoppy brew.  Given their self-proclaimed drinkability advantage, Deep Ellum chose "Goes Down Easy" as the Dallas Blonde's slogan:

What does it mean to be a Dallas Blonde? Sounds like a

loaded question. So load it up we did, with citrusy and floral American hops, Pale, Vienna and Wheat malts. Yielding a delicately balanced, and shimmering golden ale.

To us, it just goes down easy. 

[Author's note: "Sounds like a loaded question" is defensive; if Cahnman's Musings were in charge of Dallas Blonde's marketing campaign we would have called it "hoppy with a taste for Tony Romo."]

On cue, enter the Burnt Orange Report:

Deep Ellum's Dallas Blonde May "Go Down Easy," But Rape Culture Never Does

by: Genevieve Cato

Fri Oct 11, 2013 at 03:00 PM CDT

Dallas-based Deep Ellum Brewery revealed a new promotional van for their Dallas Blonde Ale on facebook this past week.
The eye-catching hot pink van sports the logo for their blonde ale with the assurance that this blonde "goes down easy." This is not the first time this tired, sexist pun has been used to sell alcohol and it probably won't be the last.

But, shouldn't we expect more of our local Texas breweries than to rely on rape culture to sell their beer?

[Emphasis Added]

 Plus this follow up post:

But, the point of the concept of rape culture is to examine the parts of our culture that play in to the continuing incidence of sexual assault. One aspect of this is the reinforcement of men's entitlement to women's bodies and their attention. Whether it is Belvedere saying that their vodka is better than women because it "always goes down easy," a bar in Brooklyn proclaiming that all beer is better than women for the same reason, or a Texan craft brewery attempting to sell you their blonde ale by asserting that at least this blonde will "go down easy," we are all supposed to be in on this little inside joke. When those pesky ladies exercise their right not to want to engage in sexual activity, at least you can count on your beer.

....

The attitude I encountered in this response and others was incredibly familiar. "Some" women, Reitz and Reardon acknowledge, might be "offended" by this playful marketing ploy. If it is only "some" women who are simply "offended," as opposed to craft beer consumers expressing a specific, well-founded critique of the decisions made by the brewery in marketing their product, then it is much easier to dismiss.

When the bloggers over at Bitch Beer brought up the objectification of women in advertising by craft breweries, the response to their detailed and well-researched argument was not much better. Lady beer drinkers just need to lighten up, OK?

Cahnman's Musings does not find the slogan "goes down easy" clever or funny, but since it gave the feminists a hot flash, we encourage readers to support Deep Ellum Brewery....

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Cahnman's Musings encourages readers to tweet support to the following organizations:

• Deep Ellum Brewing Company:@deepellumbrewco

• ABC affiliate WFAA: @wfaachannel8

• Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News: @WayneSlater

• Glenn Beck: @glennbeck

• Greta van Sustren of Fox News: @gretawire

One Texas Clinic Sidesteps Obamacare

One silver lining/unintended consequence of Obamacare is that, by making third-party payment even more cumbersome, stories like this might become more common:



Highlights:

• It's a cash-only clinic.

• Not accepting govt. or insurance payment dramatically reduces overhead.

• Transparent pricing.

• 19% of Texas physicians no longer accept insurance.

• Bundling procedures instead of billing line-by-line.

If John Cornyn were at the Alamo

We couldn't resist:

Cornyn: Bi-National Pressure is the best way to defeat Santa Anna

On October 2, 1835, I was a bit player in the Battle of Gonzales (I argued the 'Come and Take It' Flag was too confrontational).

In the months since, I have given lip service to numerous plans to expel the Mexican Army from Texas.

Last week, General Santa Anna crossed the Rio Grande.  The Texas congress subsequently relocated to Washington on the Brazos while continuing to talk about independence.  I supported this tactic.

This isn't a retreat that I hope to obfuscate with rhetorical bluster.  This is a unique and rare opportunity to defeat Santa Anna with a simple majority of all troops on the battlefield.  That means Santa Anna can lose, at most, four brigades from his Army and still succeed in suppressing the Texas revolution.  If Santa Anna loses five, Texas is free.  I want to have that battle.

In my view, fighting to the death at the Alamo is not the best way to defeat Santa Anna.  The only thing it would guarantee is traffic jams in San Antonio, for which the European press would make fun of us.

History has taught us that Texians would unduly shoulder the blame in such a scenario.  This would weaken our party, hurt us at the polls, and remove us even further from our goal of removing Santa Anna.

A polite but firm letter, on the other hand, would force vulnerable border county Mexican commanders to either double down on Santa Anna or move to oppose him.  We need to convince five to take the latter approach.

In my view, sending a joint Texian and Mexican letter is better than sending no letter at all.

It's no secret that centralized government in Mexico is crumbling of its own weight.  The fact that Texas is still debating it six months after the Battle of Gonzales is a testament to how ill-conceived, unpopular, and damaging it is.

Examples of it's failures abound: inflation is rampant, jobs are scarce, people are having trouble getting the bare essentials of life.  All this and centralized control hasn't even been fully implemented yet.

Second chances in life are rare.  For the Mexican commanders who voted for Santa Anna in 1833, this is their second chance.

With the benefit of hindsight and pressure from the Texian people, they now have the opportunity to recant their support with dignity.

And for those Mexicans who insist on riding this train wreck of a law over the cliff, they will have to stand in front of their neighbors and explain why it is worth further degrading our economy.  Texians are united against Santa Anna.  In drafting this letter, we must be united in pressuring our Mexican colleagues to stop listening to President Santa Anna's 1833 campaign rhetoric and start listening to their neighbors.

If they truly do this -- if they sign on along with us -- then I have no doubt that a polite but firm letter to Santa Anna will succeed as well.

Truth about Local Government Debt in Texas

Over at City Journal, Steve Malanga has a fantastic primer on local government debt in Texas:

While Texas’s state government debt is relatively modest—just $40 billion, or $1,577 per resident—local government debt is more than four times higher: $192 billion. That’s $7,505 per capita, according to Combs’s report—the second-highest sum in the nation, behind only New York’s municipalities and far ahead of third-place California’s. Over the last decade, moreover, local debt has increased 144 percent, much faster than the rate of population increase plus inflation.

Some of this debt stems from voters’ willingness to spend their prosperity on municipal-finance baubles, bangles, and beads. In Texas, that means huge expenditures by local school districts on athletic facilities. When I attended a legislative conference in Texas last summer, the talk was all about the $60 million high school stadium just opening in Allen, a Dallas suburb of 83,000 residents. The 18,000-seat facility, which boasts a massive, high-definition TV screen, was built with funds from a $119 million bond offering in a state where high school football is a consuming passion.

....

Not surprisingly, debt owed by public school districts constitutes the biggest chunk of the state’s soaring local obligations. Over the last decade, it has increased 155 percent, even as the state’s student population has grown just 21 percent. And the fastest-growing part of Texas school budgets is debt service, which has gone up by 126 percent in ten years, to $5.5 billion. Payments on debt now constitute 10 percent of school spending, up from 7 percent a decade ago.

Debt is also growing rapidly among the state’s 81 retirement systems for local-government workers. Not only are these systems poorly funded; it isn’t even clear how much some owe, since they haven’t disclosed the financial information necessary to verify their financial position, even to state oversight officials. After an extensive survey of municipal pension systems, Combs determined that none of the local plans was fully funded and that only 19 percent had 80 percent of the funds on hand to meet future obligations.

....

Facing this growing debt load, some state officials are urging reform. Combs worries that residents don’t understand how much debt is piling up. She advocates greater transparency and has proposed that ballot initiatives seeking voter approval for new debt include comprehensive information about the obligations that government already owes. She has also pushed for laws limiting government uses of the types of debt that don’t require voter approval. [Emphasis Ours]

 In a separate piece, Malanga details common shenanigans:

As in Cook County, so many different levels of government in Texas can issue debt that taxpayers, bewildered by the complexity of it all, let overlapping districts keep on borrowing. As an example, Combs describes how the residents of a single Houston block must repay debt incurred by the county, the city, the city’s school district, and Houston Community College, among other entities. “I went to dozens of town hall meetings around the state, and when I asked, not a single member of the public knew just how much people in their towns were on the hook for,” she says.

Texas, like New York, amassed all this debt by pushing the limits of the law. Though taxpayers must approve most government borrowing, Texas provides an exception for localities that need to issue debt quickly: a “certificate of obligation,” borrowing that doesn’t require approval unless 5 percent or more of local voters petition to have a say on it (a rare occurrence, since most don’t even know that they have that power). Since 2005, Texas localities have issued nearly $13 billion worth of these certificates, often for dubious ends. In 2010, for instance, Fort Worth borrowed nearly $35 million through certificates of obligation to build a facility for horse shows.

Texas school districts have made use of another controversial financing technique: capital appreciation bonds. Used to finance construction, these bonds defer interest payments, often for decades. The extension saves the borrower from spending on repayment right now, but it burdens a future generation with significantly higher costs. Some capital appreciation bonds wind up costing a municipality ten times what it originally borrowed. From 2007 through 2011 alone, research by the Texas legislature shows, the state’s municipalities and school districts issued 700 of these bonds, raising $2.3 billion—but with a price tag of $23 billion in future interest payments. To build new schools, one fast-growing school district, Leander, has accumulated $773 million in outstanding debt through capital appreciation bonds. [Emphasis Ours]

 Both pieces are worth reading, here and here.

(h/t American Spectator)