Texas Proud

Yesterday was the anniversary of my governor,  Rick Perry's entry into the presidential race. An embarrassment like this on a national stage, would hopefully fade in everyone's memory.  But much like his campaign he continues to demonstrate his stupidity on a regular basis, campaign or not.  Still, the "rise and fall" are worth a look....

Careful What You Ask For

A small neighbor north of the Republican bastion of Conroe, Texas is a little upset over the possibility of National Oilwell Varco’s proposed test well being drilled in their back yard.....


Claiming their dreams are irreparably dashed because of National Oilwell Varco’s proposed test well, the residents living on Northwood Drive in north Conroe vented their frustration to the City Council Thursday night.
Although NOV has cleared the 52-acre site adjacent to Northwood Drive, the council had a public hearing at City Hall on the company’s application for a drilling permit. NOV officials contend their well is only for research and development and will not conduct any hydraulic fracturing underground.

The residents were nevertheless skeptical regarding the the effect of the well on their home values.  I wonder how many of these type of bumper stickers exist in the area...

Texas Kills Tonight

Marvin Wilson was executed tonight at 6PM about 18 miles from willis.  Wilson was convicted of murder and in his trial in 1992 his defense didn't site the possibility of his retardation as it may have portrayed him as more dangerous and a better candidate for the death penalty.

Wilson has an IQ of 61which could mean he was mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty per a Supreme Court Ruling in 2002.  However, because his attorney missing a filing deadline, his appeal was denied and he was killed tonight.

Look, I've condensed all this beyond measure.  I'm pretty sure that Wilson committed the crime and was convicted back in 1992.  What bothers me is that in a state (Texas) that is predominantly "pro life" (forced sonograms, defunding "Planned Parenthood", etc,) why would one not overturn every stone to stop state sponsored killing of an individual who, at least, may be mentally retarded?

For willis, I will never be part of any jury that has a possibility of delivering a death penalty.  It's not so much that I don't think that the heinous acts of some don't deserve to be killed (or worse - how about forced Limbaugh/O'Rielly/Hannity via implants), and I'd like to be the dude that pulls the switch.  However, when any individual can be removed from death row or exonerated due to subsequent events it indicates the original process that established the penalty was invalid. The process to arrive at a death penalty isn't infallible and therefore a life sentence versus killing the wrong person, or a person in error is inexcusable for any state...

.......so says willis, for what's it's worth

Advise For My Congressman

Mr Brady,
If you ever find yourself in a quandary about the right thing to do, a good rule of thumb is often available from your colleague, Louie Gohmert (R...of course, TX1).....just do something other than what Louie does and you should be okay.  Louie stepping into the pool with Bachman should be enough evidence of the value of this theory.... 

Gohmert appeared on The Dennis Miller Show radio program Tuesday, where he said "it's obvious that [McCain] didn't even read the letter because of what he accused Michele and us of making these horrible allegations. There were five letters and there were many things that are stated that are facts in each letter, and I wish some of these numbnuts would go out and read the letter before they make these horrible allegations about the horrible accusations we're making."

 My congressman is Kevin Brady (R...of course, TX8) and does enough dumb shit on his own.  Even though I doubt this will mean much to him, I'm just trying to be helpful.

Okay, Weiner's Gone Now.......

........a loss of a very talented individual that never hesitated to say what needed to be said in congress.  I will miss him but he was an idiot beyond politics and rendered himself useless in the causes he held dear.  His next trial is in his marriage and I hope that isn't another 24 hrs a day news cycle event.

Sooooo, how come Vitter is still in office?

30 Day Reprieve Upsets "Kill" Schedule

Texas Justice Dept Photo; Cleve Foster

Mr Foster (pictured) was scheduled to be executed this evening in Texas and got a 30 day reprieve from the US Supreme Court to allow time for a review on specifics of the case against him.  A reprieve for different reasons was sought in Texas but denied at all levels and apparently not considered in the reprieve from the SCOTUS.

The reprieve from Texas wasn't about guilt or innocence but about a change in the execution procedure to substitute pentobarbital for sodium thiopental as it is no longer produced in the US.  Apparently the change was made without consulting Pharmaceutical or medical professions in order to meet the scheduled execution date (today).

Mr Foster is bad guy.  He's probably guilty of the murder he was convicted of (although there is some doubt....read the first link) but that doesn't excuse hustling this thing just to meet a damn schedule!  Now that there's a 30 day stop because of the SCOTUS ruling,  I wonder if the Texas Dept of Justice will use it to review their "kill" method?

One Hundred Years After, Something You Need to Know

Friday, March 25th marks the 100th anniversary of the "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire" where 146 people, 129 women and 17 men, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants 16 to 23 years old, either leaped or burned to death as a result of a fire when their escape was blocked by locked doors on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the Asch Building.  The scene was horrific;

One Saturday afternoon in March of that year — March 25, to be precise — I was sitting at one of the reading tables in the old Astor Library... It was a raw, unpleasant day and the comfortable reading room seemed a delightful place to spend the remaining few hours until the library closed. I was deeply engrossed in my book when I became aware of fire engines racing past the building. By this time I was sufficiently Americanized to be fascinated by the sound of fire engines. Along with several others in the library, I ran out to see what was happening, and followed crowds of people to the scene of the fire. A few blocks away, the Asch Building at the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street was ablaze. When we arrived at the scene, the police had thrown up a cordon around the area and the firemen were helplessly fighting the blaze. The eighth, ninth, and tenth stories of the building were now an enormous roaring cornice of flames.
Word had spread through the East Side, by some magic of terror, that the plant of the Triangle Waist Company was on fire and that several hundred workers were trapped. Horrified and helpless, the crowds — I among them — looked up at the burning building, saw girl after girl appear at the reddened windows, pause for a terrified moment, and then leap to the pavement below, to land as mangled, bloody pulp. This went on for what seemed a ghastly eternity. Occasionally a girl who had hesitated too long was licked by pursuing flames and, screaming with clothing and hair ablaze, plunged like a living torch to the street. Life nets held by the firemen were torn by the impact of the falling bodies.
The emotions of the crowd were indescribable. Women were hysterical, scores fainted; men wept as, in paroxysms of frenzy, they hurled themselves against the police lines.

LABOR UNIONS:  We needed them then and need them now.

In the Triangle Factory tragedy, locked doors blocking exits were an effort to stop union organizers.  In the aftermath of this event the International Ladies Garments Workers Union (ILGWU) was formed as was the American society of Safety Engineers, which later precipitated OSHA.  If you think unions aren't important because you aren't in one, then think again.  Unions gave all labor, union or not, advantages like the 40 hour work week, health and retirement benefits, and safer working conditions.  Unions provide labor a collective voice that is not otherwise available to counter unfair labor practices by management.  Without this voice, labor is reduced to the odd solo voice in the wind and carries little or no weight against unfair practices which even in today's working environment can create an environment for accidents and loss of life.  The cost for unfair/unsafe labor practice, at home or abroad, is something we all pay one way or another....for some, as those in the Triangle Factory, it's life or death.  Something to keep in mind in light of recent events in Minnesota.

H/Tip to Tengrain and Blue Gal