Joe Straus' local ISD superintendent is current president of Texas Association of School Administrators....

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

For those who've never heard of them, the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) are a taxpayer-funded lobbying group for the socialized education bureaucracy.  A few years ago, they were involved in some very serious shenanigans.  In the process of examining their priorities for the current legislative session, we noticed something very interesting on their "Note from Our President" page:

LOL, Alamo Heights.  Now who, pray tell, is the state representative from Alamo Heights?!?  O.K. fine, we tipped it off in the headline, but still:

In addition to serving as Speaker, he represents Texas House District 121, which includes the Bexar County communities of Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills, and northeast San Antonio.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added.]

The funniest part is that, while HD-121 includes parts of 5 ISD's, Alamo Heights ISD is where Joe actually lives.

Bottom Line: With school choice receiving an unprecedented push this session, this has to be one of the most flagrant acts of political sucking up we've ever seen (it's also a sign of fear).

#TXLEGE minimum wage theatrics lays foundation for late session shenanigans....

"Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
But counselors of peace have joy."
Proverbs 12:20

Good grief; they do this EVERY session.

Last week, the Democrats in the House (ie. Joe Straus' base) held a press conference alongside organized labor to agitate in favor of a higher minimum wage:

“The minimum wage needs to rise significantly. Raising the minimum wage will give more Texas families a fair shot at realizing their dreams. On the other hand, paying full-time workers a wage that keeps them mired in poverty is wrong and should not be the Texas way,” Patrick said at a news conference that included workers earning poverty wages and lawmakers seeking to raise the wage.

“We are asking the Legislature to act now. To help them, we are also asking Texans who agree that the minimum wage needs to rise to sign our petition at www.RaisetheWageTexas.org and let lawmakers know that Texans believe a full day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

....

“The state labor federation comes here every two years asking for fundamental decency for the hundreds of thousands of Texans at or near the minimum wage level,” Patrick said. “We are in good company, but not only with the working people, lawmakers and allies in this room. The people of Texas have expressed strongly in polling that they want the Legislature to raise the minimum wage.”

[Author's Note: The Patrick to which this press release refers is the Texas AFL-CIO president, not the Lieutenant Governor.]

Of course, this isn't about the minimum wage (it never is); it's about the clock.

Every session, the House Democrats make a push on the minimum wage.  Every session, under Joe Straus' leadership, this push moves "farther than expected."  Then, all of a sudden, we just 'happen' to find ourselves discussing the minimum wage as the clock runs out in May.

Last session, former Rep. Ferdinand "Trey Martinez" Fischer carried HJR 26: "Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing an increased minimum wage."  The bill eventually died in a party line floor vote, but not until they wasted 3 hours on the final day to pass bills debating the minimum wage.  Indeed, the fact this made it to the floor in the first place is revealing.

[Author's Note: The fact that they did this as a constitutional amendment (ie. where you need 100 votes) instead of as a regular bill (ie. where you need 76 votes) further illustrates the degree to which this was only ever intended as a time wasting measure.]

Bottom Line: And the more things change....

City of Austin forced to defend subsidies for Union Activity

"Treasures of wickedness profit nothing,
But righteousness delivers from death."
Proverbs 10:2

"Associated Business Leave" is a practice that allows union members to pursue union business on their employer's dime.  The City of Austin's current collective bargaining agreement with the Austin Firefighters Association (ie. the Firefighters Union) permits this activity.  Last September, two local activists with assistance from TPPF (later joined by Attorney General Paxton's office) sued to end this practice based on the argument that it violates the Texas Constitution.

This afternoon, we attended a in Travis County District Court (yeah, we know, but you've got to start somewhere) on a motion by the firefighters union and the city to dismiss the case.

The plaintiffs argue this channels taxpayer resources into a private entity.  To use simpler language, its a subsidy.  This violates the 'gift clause' of the Texas constitution.

The head of the firefighters union testified that, as a current firefighter, he receives a salary from the city of Austin instead of being paid from union dues.  Despite being paid by taxpayers, most of the time he works out of the union offices.  Furthermore, he testified that approximately 30% of his time is spent in direct lobbying activity, although there's no specific record of how he spends his time.

The city and union countered by arguing that striking the "associated business leave" provision would threaten the freedom of association of union members.  But nobody is objecting to the union engaging in typical union activity, they're objecting to subsidizing it.  If the relevant provision were struck, the union would still be able to engage in all of the activity in which they're currently engaged, they'd just have to pay for it out of member dues.

To be honest, we found the city/union argument in favor of the subsidy to be incoherent.  Apparently, there's a 'public interest' exception to the gift clause and the city/union argued that there was a public interest in "avoiding labor strife."  To put it mildly, this argument seems to be a loophole through which you could drive a Mack truck.

Bottom Line: The judge will rule on the motion by February 16...but it's Travis County.  Assuming what everyone knows will happen materializes, the Third Court of Appeals will then correct the Travis County District Judge and return the case back to the local level for a trial on the merits.  This could take awhile.

Beth van Duyne gets the last laugh!!! :D

"Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
1 Peter 5:9

This is just all sorts of awesome:

Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne is being dismissed from a crumbling defamation lawsuit brought by the father of Ahmed Mohamed, the MacArthur High student who was detained by police in 2015 when a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb.

Attorneys for the teen's father, Mohamed Mohamed, agreed to dismiss Van Duyne from the suit, according to a news release issued Friday from the city of Irving.

The development comes days after District Judge Maricela Moore dismissed Glenn Beck and his network TheBlaze, as well as the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank, and executive vice president Jim Hanson.

That being said, anyone who reads this website on a regular basis knows the issues we really care about, and we think it's pretty cool that Irving was able to accomplish this in spite of all the stupid 'clock boy' related nonsense:

If your goal for 2017 is to find a high-paying job in an affordable city, you may want to start your search in Texas or North Carolina. Each state boasts two of the best U.S. cities for job seekers, according to a new study.

NerdWallet found the top 10 cities for job seekers by identifying the places where Americans will find work opportunities and also stretch their paychecks. The study of the 100 largest cities in America factored in federal data on unemployment rates and workforce growth, as well as median earnings and rent costs.

....

9. Irving, Texas.

 Read the whole thing here and here.

Revelation 21:1-8 -- ALL Things New!!!

All Things Made New
"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:1-8

Pastor Danny Forshee.  Great Hills Baptist Church.  November 8, 2015:

All Things New - Dr. Danny Forshee - November 8, 2015 from Great Hills Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Highlights:

• No more sea -- The connotation of destruction.

• One last call of the Word of God.

• In Heaven there is no sin or temptation.

• More than anything, we see Jesus; He is Heaven.

• Sometimes we just have to wait until Heaven until we understand.

• You will either go to Heaven or you won't; every soul ever created will either spend eternity with God in Heaven or you WILL spend eternity in hell.

• Anything that usurps the rightful place of God is an idol.

Tevin Mack and Vince Young's misconduct latest example of UT's failing Status Quo....

"Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar."
Psalm 138:6

UPDATE: While we're on the subject of embarrassing news that came out of the UT athletic department this past week, we can't believe we overlooked this one in writing the original post:

On Wednesday, former Baylor Bears staffer Casey Horny announced his return to the Texas Longhorns as a special teams quality control assistant, but while his reunion with head coach Tom Herman provided further evidence of Herman’s commitment to alignment, it also raised serious concerns.

....

Horny still publicly supported Briles even though Pepper Hamilton’s Findings of Fact concluded that Briles and his staff helped foster a culture failed to “identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence.”

Even though extensive reporting by ESPN and other outlets helped reveal the depths of the issues at Baylor, which included an alleged gang rape by football players that the school said Briles knew about, but did not report.

-----

ORIGINAL POST: On the heels of Wallace Hall's SCOTX hearing, two stories worth considering; first from the 7-9 (1-3 in the Big-12) men's basketball program:

Texas sophomore guard Tevin Mack has been suspended indefinitely for violation of team rules according to a Texas release. “We have a set of standards that we expect people in our program to adhere to,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “Tevin has failed to reach them.”

Mack, along with sophomore Kerwin Roach Jr. was suspended for their exhibition game against Angelo State and opener against Incarnate Word, also for violation of team rules.

Mack leads Texas in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game to go with nearly five rebounds and a team high 31 minutes. Mack was held to nine points to go with nine rebounds in Wednesday’s loss to TCU. Texas dropped to 7-9 and 1-3 in Big 12 play.

It gets better; check out the latest from the guy who scored that touchdown...over a decade ago:

Former Texas football star Vince Young pleaded no contest in a Travis County court on Thursday and was sentenced to 18 months probation for his 2016 DWI arrest, court records show.

Young, 33, resolved the case three days after he missed a court appearance on Monday because his attorney said the national championship-winning quarterback was feeling sick. Thursday’s appearance was added to the court docket at the last minute.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added...and while we can't prove it, we are comfortable speculating that Young missed that court appearance because he was hungover.]

Young was fined $300 and ordered by Judge Elisabeth Earle to complete 60 hours of community service. He is to attend a drunk driving class and install a device in his vehicle that won’t start if it detects alcohol on his breath. He’s ordered to keep the device for nine months.

Police say Young admitted to drinking three or four beers on the evening of Jan. 24, 2016 when they pulled him over on the North Interstate 35 service road for driving erratically. According to the affidavit, Young had a strong odor of alcohol and slurred speech.

He struggled to complete a field sobriety test and lost balance during instructions. He refused a breathalyzer; his blood-alcohol concentration came back 0.246 — three times the legal limit — according to the county attorney’s office.

As a point of comparison, former District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg's BAC during her arrest was .239.

Late last month, we pointed out that "corrupt institutional mismanagement that has plagued the past decade has finally bled into the athletic department" and this week's announcements continue that trend.

Guys, the status quo just isn't working.

You might not want to discuss the "forgivable loan" slush fund.  You might not want to discuss the $215 million accounting scandal.  You might not want to discuss the tax hike for the Med school.  You might not want to discuss the secret admissions program.  You might not want to discuss the land grab in Houston.  You might not want to discuss the tuition hike.  You might not want to discuss the $17 million toxic waste dump purchase in El Paso (And while we're on the topic of "dump....").

But the athletic department is now in total meltdown.  This week's disciplinary incidents continue that trend.  Yet you fail to acknowledge the completely obvious reality staring you in the face....

Bottom Line: We're nowhere near rock bottom.

Charlie Geren CAVES on a Major Issue!!!

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass."
Psalm 37:7

Whoa, whoa, whoa...wait a second...WHAT?!?

Ethics reform went down the tubes in Texas a couple of years ago when Republican leaders deadlocked over a proposal to end the “dark money” loophole, which has been used by GOP and Democratic activists alike to cloak the source of their political donations.

Rep. Charlie Geren, the powerful Fort Worth Republican pushing ethics reform in the Texas House this year, is determined not to let that happen again.

Though he supports closing the dark money loophole himself, Geren said he fears the proposal could be used as a poison pill to kill off a broader package of bills — everything from taking lucrative pensions away from legislator-felons to disclosing all the lobbyist wining and dining that remains unreported.

“We got tangled up in a fight over dark money, and that killed the bill,” Geren told The Texas Tribune Thursday. “We’re going to have some single-shot bills that address individual issues, and you’re not going to be able to decorate them like a Christmas tree with other subjects.”

It's impossible to overstate the significance of Charlie Geren backing down on this issue; for years, attacking so-called "dark money" (ie. anonymous political speech) has been the tip of the spear in Team Straus' jihad against Michael Quinn Sullivan.

In 2013, Geren sponsored SB 346, which would have encouraged the same type of actions as those taken by the Obama administration's IRS at the state level.  Thankfully, in one the single best actions of his final term, then Governor Rick Perry vetoed it.  In 2015, it led to the confrontation on the ethics bill described above.

In 2017, it appears Geren won't even push the issue anywhere with leverage.

This issue used to be his baby...and now he's not even going to push it?!?

Bottom Line: We will certainly take it....