Does supporting legislation that could force seniors in our state to pay more than double for their health care make one a "guardian of seniors"? Pete Sessions and his 60-Plus Association friends must think we're stupid enough to believe that.
by alaprst | Daily Kos
23 May 2011
I do not find funny Pete Sessions' latest claim to be a guardian of senior citizens' interest.
The same Pete Sessions who seemingly couldn't say enough good things about the financially and morally irresponsible Ryan bill he so enthusiastically supports, now wants folks to think he is something he has shown clearly that he isn't.
The same Pete Sessions who voted to gut Medicare in favor of a voucher system that will cost seniors well more than twice what they currently pay for traditional Medicare, is now showing a picture on his taxpayer-supported web site claiming to be a "guardian of seniors' rights." If he is a guardian of seniors' rights, Al Capone was the greatest champion of law and order of all time.
Does he really think seniors (or seniors-to-be like me) think we're going to fall for his con and then claim that the shady "60-plus association" represents seniors? If he really thinks so, he really must think we're dumber than first graders.
LINK
Monday, May 23, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Texas moves closer to expanding radioactive waste dump
by Kate Galbraith and Jay Root | 17 May 2011
texastribune.org
The House gave preliminary approval today to a bill that will give a politically-connected operator broad authority to set the rates it charges for radioactive waste imported into Texas for disposal.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, passed the House 108 to 36 after more than an hour of floor debate. It smooths the way for the company to accept low-level radioactive waste from several dozen states in addition to Texas and Vermont, which already have an agreement to use the West Texas site.
"Fundamentally what it represents is the biggest pork-barrel project in history," said State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who said that Texas was effectively establishing a monopoly with potentially unlimited profits.
LINK
texastribune.org
The House gave preliminary approval today to a bill that will give a politically-connected operator broad authority to set the rates it charges for radioactive waste imported into Texas for disposal.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, passed the House 108 to 36 after more than an hour of floor debate. It smooths the way for the company to accept low-level radioactive waste from several dozen states in addition to Texas and Vermont, which already have an agreement to use the West Texas site.
"Fundamentally what it represents is the biggest pork-barrel project in history," said State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who said that Texas was effectively establishing a monopoly with potentially unlimited profits.
LINK
Monday, May 16, 2011
Texas: “the national laboratory for bad government”
Looks like the Tea Party are going to find out if their policies work in Texas.
Pretty radical stuff, no increase in revenue and a 25% cut in the State budget, I suggest all Americans keep an eye on Texas
• Spending cuts to public schools, already among the nation’s most poorly funded, could mean some 100,000 teacher layoffs, pre-K programs decimated and schools closed
• Huge cuts to Medicaid could push an estimated 60,000 senior citizens out of their nursing homes.
Bill Hobby, the former lieutenant governor, was marveling at the extremes to which the Texas Republicans have gone. “There’s an evil mutant gene in the Republican Party,” Hobby said. “I don’t know if there’s any cure for it. I guess you can only hope the disease runs its course before it kills the patient.”
LINK
Pretty radical stuff, no increase in revenue and a 25% cut in the State budget, I suggest all Americans keep an eye on Texas
• Spending cuts to public schools, already among the nation’s most poorly funded, could mean some 100,000 teacher layoffs, pre-K programs decimated and schools closed
• Huge cuts to Medicaid could push an estimated 60,000 senior citizens out of their nursing homes.
Bill Hobby, the former lieutenant governor, was marveling at the extremes to which the Texas Republicans have gone. “There’s an evil mutant gene in the Republican Party,” Hobby said. “I don’t know if there’s any cure for it. I guess you can only hope the disease runs its course before it kills the patient.”
LINK
Texas to layoff 100,000 teachers while giving millions to Formula One Racing
Texas plans to slash education budgets and layoff almost 100,000 teachers, all while agreeing to pay $25 million per year through 2022 to Formula One auto racing.
LINK
LINK
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice
Canadian researchers find a simple cure for cancer, but major pharmaceutical companies are not interested.
Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there is a little ripple in the news or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate, which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects.
This drug doesn’t require a patent, so anyone can employ it widely and cheaply compared to the costly cancer drugs produced by major pharmaceutical companies.
LINK
Friday, March 18, 2011
10 Newspapers That Do It Right
www.editorandpublisher.com
E&P Exclusive: An in-depth look at the newspapers that are boosting circulation, driving Web traffic, expanding local coverage, and giving their readers what they want.
LINK
E&P Exclusive: An in-depth look at the newspapers that are boosting circulation, driving Web traffic, expanding local coverage, and giving their readers what they want.
LINK
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Motoring Out of the American Century
ED WALLACE | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
25 Feb 2011
"In 1980, the top 1 percent of this country's earners owned 9 percent of its assets; 30 years later they've increased that ownership to 24 percent. And yet, if anything in the media's discussion of our economic problems today can be summed... up quickly, it's this: Government employees are greedy, and our economic woes today are the result of that greed.
"Why would someone like me, who deals primarily with our automotive and energy industries, get so caught up in the struggling average American's well-being? Selfishness and intelligence: My economic well-being is directly linked to the success of our middle class. For without a healthy middle class, car sales suffer, as does the purchase of energy and ultimately the overall economy. After all, in most years consumerism controls 70 percent of our GDP."
Read it here.
25 Feb 2011
"In 1980, the top 1 percent of this country's earners owned 9 percent of its assets; 30 years later they've increased that ownership to 24 percent. And yet, if anything in the media's discussion of our economic problems today can be summed... up quickly, it's this: Government employees are greedy, and our economic woes today are the result of that greed.
"Why would someone like me, who deals primarily with our automotive and energy industries, get so caught up in the struggling average American's well-being? Selfishness and intelligence: My economic well-being is directly linked to the success of our middle class. For without a healthy middle class, car sales suffer, as does the purchase of energy and ultimately the overall economy. After all, in most years consumerism controls 70 percent of our GDP."
Read it here.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Texan Members of Congress Should Give Up Their Own Government Health Care Plan
Libby Shaw | TEXAS KAOS
20 Feb 2011
How come ordinary Texans should not be entitled to the same benefits as Senators Hutchison, Cornyn, and in my case, U.S. non Representative Culberson? After all we are the ones who pay your generous six figure salaries.
As usual the Republican sound of silence on this issue is deafening.
LINK
20 Feb 2011
How come ordinary Texans should not be entitled to the same benefits as Senators Hutchison, Cornyn, and in my case, U.S. non Representative Culberson? After all we are the ones who pay your generous six figure salaries.
As usual the Republican sound of silence on this issue is deafening.
LINK
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Child Poverty Hits 25 Percent In Texas, But Governor Perry Still Proposing Deep Cuts
After spending the last few years lecturing the country about how his supposedly “prudent fiscal decisions” stood in stark contrast to fiscal policy at the federal level, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) is being forced to grapple with a huge hole in his own state’s budget.
Read it here.
Read it here.
Monday, February 07, 2011
In West Texas, a Town's Fate Tied to Its School
Morgan Smith | Texas Tribune
7 February 2011
"But for Marathon’s ranchers, artists (trendy Marfa is 60 miles away), a growing number of retired baby boomers and the occasional political celebrity, the school’s fate is critical to the survival of this remote town known for its blend of the frontier and funky. Now a new foundation... to help support the school, offers fresh hope for the area. And if what is happening here is successful, it could serve as a model for rural towns scattered across Texas looking to shield their way of life from the death knell of school closings."
Read it here.
7 February 2011
"But for Marathon’s ranchers, artists (trendy Marfa is 60 miles away), a growing number of retired baby boomers and the occasional political celebrity, the school’s fate is critical to the survival of this remote town known for its blend of the frontier and funky. Now a new foundation... to help support the school, offers fresh hope for the area. And if what is happening here is successful, it could serve as a model for rural towns scattered across Texas looking to shield their way of life from the death knell of school closings."
Read it here.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thousands in one Senate district would have to drive 137 miles for Voter ID
"The advocates of Voter ID will hail its passage as a victory for the electoral process, but that declaration will hide a menacing truth. It's really nothing more than a cynical attempt to win elections through statute, bypassing the polling booth and the will of all the people."
Read it here.
Read it here.
Texas Governor Rick Perry Urges Republican Voters to Abandon Public Schools
Rick Perry: "I really don't see why high schools should have to teach college level courses like calculus, economics, physics, chemistry or biology. Not all children go to college anyway. Texas has plenty of on the job training programs that teach skills and trades. Oil field workers need to know how to operate machines that extract oil. They don't need calculus to do their job."
Read it here.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Changing Face of Texas: Population Projections and Implications
D'Ann Petersen and Laila Assanie
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
October 2005
Rich natural resources, abundant land, a central location within the United States and a business-friendly environment have long attracted both immigrants and U.S. natives to Texas. As a result, the state’s population is faster growing, younger and more diverse than the nation’s.
These rapid demographic changes present challenges for the future. As the state’s baby boomer population ages, more demands will be placed on housing, health care and social services. Hispanics, already a dominant force in Texas, are expected to become the majority population group by 2020. The significant increase in this population (both immigrant and native) has far-reaching implications for education, housing and the labor force. The key issue facing Texas will be to reduce the economic and educational disparities prevalent among the state’s ethnic groups as the population continues to grow and evolve.
This article looks at population growth and demographic changes of recent decades. Then, with projections from the Texas State Data Center, we examine some sectors of the economy that will be challenged by these demographic forces in the coming decades.
LINK
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
October 2005
Rich natural resources, abundant land, a central location within the United States and a business-friendly environment have long attracted both immigrants and U.S. natives to Texas. As a result, the state’s population is faster growing, younger and more diverse than the nation’s.
These rapid demographic changes present challenges for the future. As the state’s baby boomer population ages, more demands will be placed on housing, health care and social services. Hispanics, already a dominant force in Texas, are expected to become the majority population group by 2020. The significant increase in this population (both immigrant and native) has far-reaching implications for education, housing and the labor force. The key issue facing Texas will be to reduce the economic and educational disparities prevalent among the state’s ethnic groups as the population continues to grow and evolve.
This article looks at population growth and demographic changes of recent decades. Then, with projections from the Texas State Data Center, we examine some sectors of the economy that will be challenged by these demographic forces in the coming decades.
LINK
Friday, December 10, 2010
Does Texas' Future Add Up?
The state struggles with an education crisis, income inequality and a growing generation gap.
by Melissa del Bosque | Texas Observer
9 Dec 2010
If state leaders don’t change course now, they’ll face a host of problems later: lower wages, a greater need for social services and a decline in the quality of living for Texans.
Read it here...
by Melissa del Bosque | Texas Observer
9 Dec 2010
If state leaders don’t change course now, they’ll face a host of problems later: lower wages, a greater need for social services and a decline in the quality of living for Texans.
Read it here...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Texas would lose $15 billion in federal funds if it opted out of Medicaid, study finds
By Dave Montgomery
Friday, Dec. 03, 2010
AUSTIN - State policymakers were warned Friday that Texas would face the loss of $15 billion in federal matching funds and would see an additional 2.6 million residents added to the ranks of the uninsured if the state opted out of the federal Medicaid program.
The findings by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission are designed to guide legislators as they examine the rising cost of Medicaid while grappling with a state budget shortfall that could exceed $20 billion.
Gov. Rick Perry and leading conservative lawmakers have suggested that Texas could fashion a less expensive and more efficient state-run healthcare program by freeing itself from burdensome Medicaid requirements.
But Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, who sponsored a 2009 law that required the agency's study, said the potential downsides outlined in the report essentially rule out withdrawal from Medicaid. He said the state should concentrate on trying to press for changes in federal policy to improve the Medicaid program and give Texas a bigger proportional share of Medicaid funds.
"I don't think [opting out] of Medicaid is really viable," said the Houston-area physician. "If you dropped out today, the human and economic consequences are pretty immediate."
LINK
Friday, Dec. 03, 2010
AUSTIN - State policymakers were warned Friday that Texas would face the loss of $15 billion in federal matching funds and would see an additional 2.6 million residents added to the ranks of the uninsured if the state opted out of the federal Medicaid program.
The findings by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission are designed to guide legislators as they examine the rising cost of Medicaid while grappling with a state budget shortfall that could exceed $20 billion.
Gov. Rick Perry and leading conservative lawmakers have suggested that Texas could fashion a less expensive and more efficient state-run healthcare program by freeing itself from burdensome Medicaid requirements.
But Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, who sponsored a 2009 law that required the agency's study, said the potential downsides outlined in the report essentially rule out withdrawal from Medicaid. He said the state should concentrate on trying to press for changes in federal policy to improve the Medicaid program and give Texas a bigger proportional share of Medicaid funds.
"I don't think [opting out] of Medicaid is really viable," said the Houston-area physician. "If you dropped out today, the human and economic consequences are pretty immediate."
LINK
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Legal Experts Question Willie Nelson Pot Bust
Texas personality (and perennial gubernatorial candidate) Kinky Friedman also believes agents overstepped their boundaries. "The real crime here is that it occurred in a county that is one of the headquarters of the Zetas," he says, referring to the growing Mexican criminal drug cartel. "These guys don't have bigger fish to fry? The Zetas are taking over their county and they're busting Willie Nelson. That shows a real lack of priorities.""
LINK
LINK
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tom DeLay found guilty on money laundering, faces from five years to life in prison
Austin American-Statesman
24 Nov 2010
DeLay was found guilty of conspiring to launder $190,000 of corporate contributions through the Republican National Committee to seven candidates for the Texas House. This wasn't just a state issue, however. DeLay had sought GOP control of the Texas legislature in order to redraw the Congressional district map to the GOP's advantage. When Republicans took control of the state legislature, they redrew the congressional district map under DeLay's direction, leading to a net gain of 12 seats in the U.S. House for the GOP in the 2004 elections.
LINK
24 Nov 2010
DeLay was found guilty of conspiring to launder $190,000 of corporate contributions through the Republican National Committee to seven candidates for the Texas House. This wasn't just a state issue, however. DeLay had sought GOP control of the Texas legislature in order to redraw the Congressional district map to the GOP's advantage. When Republicans took control of the state legislature, they redrew the congressional district map under DeLay's direction, leading to a net gain of 12 seats in the U.S. House for the GOP in the 2004 elections.
LINK
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tea Party members to Texas Hispanic Congressmen: 'Why don’t you go back to Mexico?'
by Lefty Coaster | Daily Kos
Nov 09, 2010
A group of Tea Party activists in Washington D.C. recently told two Hispanic Texas border congressmen to "Go back to Mexico" as they were on their way to vote on the House floor.
Read it here:
Nov 09, 2010
A group of Tea Party activists in Washington D.C. recently told two Hispanic Texas border congressmen to "Go back to Mexico" as they were on their way to vote on the House floor.
Read it here:
Most-Pesticide-Laden Fruits and Veggies List Under Attack
By Kiera Butler | Nov. 8, 2010
You know the Environmental Working Group's super-helpful list of the most-pesticide-laden fruits and veggies? Well, there's a Big Ag lobby group called the Alliance for Food and Farming that's trying to debunk it. And the USDA just gave the lobbyists $180,000 to aid their smear campaign, The Atlantic reports.
Read it here:
You know the Environmental Working Group's super-helpful list of the most-pesticide-laden fruits and veggies? Well, there's a Big Ag lobby group called the Alliance for Food and Farming that's trying to debunk it. And the USDA just gave the lobbyists $180,000 to aid their smear campaign, The Atlantic reports.
Read it here:
Monday, November 08, 2010
Texas GOP leaders want to secede from Medicare, Social Security
by Susan Gardner | Daily Kos
8 Nov 2010
Ah, the smell of Texas Tea Talk early in the morning. If at once you don't secede, try, try again. Only this time, it's one crazy-ass brand of very selective secession, it appears. Somehow I doubt the state really wants to rid itself of say, the Border Patrol, or the right to be protected by the Defense Department, or all the federal dollars going into the Houston Space Center.
Read it here:
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