enlarge

Really. Via the New York Times:

Thousands of other inmates in the Texas prison system have been eating fewer meals since April after officials stopped serving lunch on the weekends in some prisons as a way to cut food-service costs. About 23,000 inmates in 36 prisons are eating two meals a day on Saturdays and Sundays instead of three. A meal the system calls brunch is usually served between 5 and 7 a.m., followed by dinner between 4 and 6:30 p.m.

The meal reductions are part of an effort to trim $2.8 million in food-related expenses from the 2011 fiscal year budget of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the state prison agency. Other cuts the agency has made to its food service include replacing carton milk with powdered milk and using sliced bread instead of hamburger and hot dog buns.

Prison administrators said that the cuts were made in response to the state’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in 2011, and that the weekend lunches were eliminated in consultation with the agency’s health officials and dietitians. Michelle Lyons, an agency spokeswoman, said that inmates with health problems who have been prescribed a therapeutic diet continue to receive three meals per day.

Prison riots can start over something as trivial as a stolen toothbrush, or yes, food. This is why most prisons have decent food and make sure inmates get three square meals a day. So I guess in Texas' case, they're prepared to just shoot first and ask questions later, since riots don't appear to be on their list of concerns.

Continue reading »

The caricature of a parody of a made up know-nothing cowboy politician, Rick Perry is SURGING! Yes! There are Republican primary voters who are telling pollsters they'd vote for him!

From Reuters:

Thirty-three percent said they would vote for Perry, versus 20 percent for Romney. Bachmann had 16 percent support. The rest of the field was in single digits, with Gingrich at 8 percent, Paul and Cain at 6 percent, Santorum at 4 percent and Huntsman with 3 percent.

But wait, remember back in April when Donald Trump was the front-runner? Mediaite reported:

Trump polled at 26% in the survey, trailed by Mau-mauer Mike Huckabee with 17%, and recently-announced mainstream darling Mitt Romney with 15%. In a few short weeks, Trump has managed to completely eclipse former media fulcrum Sarah Palin, who is polling at just 8%, still better than Minnesotans Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, who got 4% each.

So there's basically a third of Republicans that like ANYBODY who's new to the race. They hate the field so much at this point they just subscribe to the GOP Flavor of the Month. Who is it this minute? The Governor of the state with the highest rate of minimum wage jobs in the nation. You know, the one that's number one in executions and dead last in high school graduates.

Nate Silver said it best the day Perry announced:

enlarge

Credit: Twitter

The funny thing is that in all these dramatic polls - Romney is the steady one. It maybe the first time in his political career he's been consistent.

Asked the biggest difference between himself and George W. Bush, Texas governor and new Republican White House front runner Rick Perry answered, "I went to Texas A&M. He went to Yale." Which isn't far from the truth. After all, their pronouncements on policies and personal beliefs are eerily similar. And when it comes to donning the executioner's hood in the death penalty mecca that is Texas, Rick Perry and George W. Bush are almost indistinguishable.

As the Washington Post documented, Governor Perry is America's reigning death penalty champion, exceeding the body count of his predecessor in Austin:

In his nearly 11 years as the state's chief executive, Perry, now running for the Republican presidential nomination, has overseen more executions than any governor in modern history: 234 and counting. That's more than the combined total in the next two states -- Oklahoma and Virginia -- since the death penalty was restored 35 years ago.

Perry's apparent enthusiasm for Texas' popular death penalty process doesn't end there:

He vetoed a bill that would have spared the mentally retarded, and sharply criticized a Supreme Court ruling that juveniles were not eligible for the death penalty. He has found during his tenure only one inmate on Texas's crowded death row he thought should receive the lesser sentence of life in prison.

If this all sounds hauntingly familiar, it should. During the 2000 campaign, Americans were introduced to another Texas governor who was unapologetic about condemning his state's residents to death.

George W. Bush carried out 152 executions during his days as Governor of Texas, sparing only one death row inmate after his routine 15 minute clemency review. Even those similarly adopting Jesus as their favorite philosopher could expect no leniency from Bush. When his allies on the religious right pressured him to spare murderess turned jailhouse born-again Christian Karla Faye Tucker, Governor Bush displayed his trademark resolve - and compassion. As Time recounted in 1999:

Tucker Carlson of Talk magazine described the smirk Bush wore as he mimicked convicted murderer turned Christian Karla Faye Tucker begging, "Please don't kill me," something she never actually did.

Bush's seeming bloodlust towards criminal defendants almost derailed his 2000 presidential campaign. During his second debate against Al Gore in October 2000, Bush was asked about his position on hate crimes laws in the wake of the brutal dragging death of African-American James Byrd in his home state of Texas. His disturbing response - accompanied by a sickening grin - produced gasps among the audience:

"The three men who murdered James Byrd, guess what's going to happen to them? They're going to be put to death. A jury found them guilty. It's going to be hard to punish them any worse after they get put to death."

Even the tone-deaf Bush sensed he had crossed the line. In the third debate, he wisely retreated, acknowledging he was "not proud" of Texas' number one ranking in executions.

Continue reading »

enlarge

So will Texans still chant the right-wing "no such thing as global warming" mantra, or will they finally wise up and start demanding their officials do something to save what's left of our ability to survive on the planet? Oh, and grow crops, too:

Electricity officials in heatwave-hit Texas have warned of impending rolling blackouts from power shortages as the U.S. state struggles to cope with the relentless scorching temperatures.

Texans have turned to air conditioners in huge numbers in a bid to beat one of the hottest summers on record in America's second most populous state.

But bosses for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) say the soaring power demand in the face of the brutal heatwave has left the state one power plant shut-down away from rolling blackouts.

Temperatures in Texas are currently topping 100F (37.8C) and have been soaring for well over a month. Record highs have also been recorded this week in nearby states Oklahoma and Arkansas as the relentless heatwave spreads across southern America.

In Forth Smith and Little Rock, Arkansas, the mercury hit 115F on Wednesday.

ERCOT, which runs the power grid for most of Texas, cut power to some large industrial users after electricity demand hit three consecutive records this week alone. The grid operator now faces rolling blackouts similar to those which hit Texas during a bitter cold snap in February.

In Dallas, Texas, a pensioner died from 'heat-related' causes after her air conditioning unit was stolen from her house.

Power usage in ERCOT reached its highest level ever on Wednesday at 68,294 megawatts, almost four per cent over last year's peak.

The Texas grid faces at least one more day of extreme stress before temperatures cool slightly over the weekend.

enlarge

FollowtheMoney.org:

An examination of campaign donations made by ALEC corporate members dating back to the 1990 election cycle shows that they contributed $12.2 million to state-level candidates who were ALEC members, with 98.4 percent of that money going to incumbent and winning candidates, many of whom could vote on proposed legislation. Additional analysis reveals that $11.9 million of the $12.2 million went to Republicans. Click here to download the database.

Over the seven (10 for some states) election cycles covered in a donor-data analysis by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, ALEC corporate members contributed $516.2 million to state-level politics: $202.1 million to state-level candidates, $228.3 million to high-dollar ballot-measure campaigns, and $85.8 million to state political party committees.

Half a billion dollars. A serious relationship. It seems ALEC is not afraid of commitment.

According to Texas Watchdog, one of the biggest beneficiaries of ALEC members' largesse was Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Because of the council leak, the Institute for Money in State Politics was able to link specific corporate money with specific legislators and issues. Of the $516.2 million given over the past 20 years, corporate donors spent $228.3 million on campaigns in support of issues on ballots in various states. Another $202.1 million went to candidates and $85.8 million went to almost exclusively Republican state committees.

Perry was, by far, the most popular donor target in Texas. Former Republican House Speaker and Exchange Council member, Tom Craddick, got $878,000 from corporate council members.

Other leaders were: State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, $315,000; Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, $163,000; and Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, $124,000.

So let's see. Texas has a draconian tort reform law, is a oil welfare state, and is in the process of privatizing and destroying its public education system.

AlterNet:

In this, Perry is absolutely, 100 percent correct. He slashed taxes to the bone, handing out credits to his political cronies like they were candy. He decried the evils of Big Government while hypocritically using federal stimulus funds to help close Texas' budget gap in the short term, and now he's using the state's longer term fiscal disaster – one of his own creation – as a premise for destroying an already threadbare social safety net serving the neediest Texans. As a result of these policies, plus immigration and other external factors, his state's added a lot of low-paying poverty jobs without decent benefits. He's added very little in the way of “prosperity.”

In the final analysis, Texas is indeed a shining example of conservative governance, as well as an almost perfect model for winning the race to the bottom.

Thanks for that, ALEC. And now Rick Perry is about to be unleashed on the nation. At least we have Texas as a harbinger of things to come.

DOWNLOADS: (593)

PLAYS: (1897)

Embed

Here's a guy who said secession should be an option for states as recently as November of 2010, who thinks states should be in charge of Social Security and Medicare, and has balanced the Texas state budget with federal funds while refusing to take federal funds. Yep. that's Texas Governor Rick Perry, current head of the Republican Governors' Association, and wingnut extraordinaire.

This valiant break-up-the-federal-government hardcore states rights guy is now considering some new options, like...running for President in 2012?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday he will consider a run for the Republican presidential nomination.

"I'm going to think about it" after the Texas legislative session ends on Monday, Perry told reporters in Austin after a bill signing. Perry added, "But I think about a lot of things."

Perry's remarks come on the heels of a Fox News interview this week in which he admitted that he is "tempted" to run for president.

"Oh, I can't say I'm not tempted, but the fact is this is something I don't want to do," Perry said.

For all of our sakes, let's hope he doesn't want to do it so much he drops the idea altogether. Though I confess this much: It would be very entertaining to watch Perry, Bachmann and Sarah Palin "debate".

I read an interview yesterday with one of the women who had an abortion at the horrible clinic that was shut down in Philadelphia. She said she'd tried to go to one of the well-known, respectable clinics -- but she was scared off by the protesters. She went to the criminally-negligent clinic because someone told her there wouldn't be any protesters.

Women who are under the stress of an unwanted pregnancy have enough trouble just getting past the logistics (money, insurance, state waiting periods, etc.). To add the emotional coercion and financial demand of forcing them to undergo a sonogram -- well, that's just plain mean. As I keep reminding people, abortion is still legal in America, and a woman's reason for choosing one is her own damned business. She shouldn't have to jump through these hoops to exercise her right to the procedure:

Gov. Rick Perry has fast-tracked legislation that requires physicians to show women a sonogram before they have an abortion.

Perry this weekend added the issue to his list of emergency items, giving lawmakers the ability to consider such bills in the first 30 days of the session.

“When you consider the magnitude of the decision to have an abortion, ensuring that the patient understands what’s truly at stake seems a small step to take,” Perry said in a statement.'<]/strong> “When someone has all the information, the right choice – the choice of life – becomes clear. Now our legislature can take fast action on this important bill because we all know when it comes to saving lives, every second counts.”

The list of emergency item this session has now grown to five. Other emergency items that Perry has set include establishing tougher eminent domain laws, abolishing sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants, requiring voters to present a photo identification at the polls and calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require the federal government to have a balanced budget.

The state faces a budget shortfall of between $15 and $27 billion. Critics have questioned the governor's selection of such emergency items at a time when public education, higher education and health care are facing deep cuts.

DOWNLOADS: (318)

PLAYS: (3226)

Embed

You know, I've been warning that there may be some serious unpleasantness ahead if the Tea Partiers find their planned takeover of the government falls short come the day after Election Day.

It seems a Republican congressional candidate and Tea Partier (and frequent Glenn Beck guest) agrees with me:

GOP congressional candidate Stephen Broden says violent overthrow of government is 'on the table'

WASHINGTON – Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership.

In a rambling exchange during a TV interview, Broden, a South Dallas pastor, said a violent uprising "is not the first option," but it is "on the table." That drew a quick denunciation from the head of the Dallas County GOP, who called the remarks "inappropriate."

Broden, a first-time candidate, is challenging veteran incumbent Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson in Dallas' heavily Democratic 30th Congressional District. Johnson's campaign declined to comment on Broden.

In the interview, Brad Watson, political reporter for WFAA-TV (Channel 8), asked Broden about a tea party event last year in Fort Worth in which he described the nation's government as tyrannical.

"We have a constitutional remedy," Broden said then. "And the Framers say if that don't work, revolution."

Watson asked if his definition of revolution included violent overthrow of the government. In a prolonged back-and-forth, Broden at first declined to explicitly address insurrection, saying the first way to deal with a repressive government is to "alter it or abolish it."

"If the government is not producing the results or has become destructive to the ends of our liberties, we have a right to get rid of that government and to get rid of it by any means necessary," Broden said, adding the nation was founded on a violent revolt against Britain's King George III.

Watson asked if violence would be an option in 2010, under the current government.

"The option is on the table. I don't think that we should remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms," Broden said, without elaborating. "However, it is not the first option."

Here's the original WFAA piece.

Let's not forget, of course, that Broden is a pal of Glenn Beck's and frequent guest on his show. Here he is in an earlier Beck appearance:

Continue reading »

• 10:58 p.m. ET

Points Scoring: The Scorer's Table unenthusiastically reports this bout as going to Senator John Kerry by 12 rounds to 4, with 5 rounds even. On individual points, Senator Kerry is awarded a net total of 19 points, and President Bush a net of 2, having undermined his own effort with no less than eight points subtracted, three of them in a disastrous 12th Round in which the President had to be told time was up, answered a question with, in essence, 'all of the above,' and stumbled by inadvertently criticizing himself by claiming the borders of Texas were tighter than they'd been when he was Governor there. He also lost points for having twice invoked the 2000 election, and for once having given back at least a minute of time when the question hadn't really been answered.

Via TPM, a good question: When we hear about states in financial crisis, how come the Republicans never mention Texas?

But there's one state, which is fairly high up on the list of troubled states that nobody is talking about, and there's a reason for it.

The state is Texas.

This month the state's part-time legislature goes back into session, and the state is starting at potentially a $25 billion deficit on a two-year budget of around $95 billion. That's enormous. And there's not much fat to cut. The whole budget is basically education and healthcare spending. Cutting everything else wouldn't do the trick. And though raising this kind of money would be easy on an economy of $1.2 trillion, the new GOP mega-majority in Congress is firmly against raising any revenue.

So the bi-ennial legislature, which convenes this month, faces some hard cuts. Some in the Texas GDP have advocated dropping Medicaid altogether to save money.

So why haven't we heard more about Texas, one of the most important economy's in America? Well, it's because it doesn't fit the script. It's a pro-business, lean-spending, no-union state. You can't fit it into a nice storyline, so it's ignored.

But if you want to make comparisons between US states and ailing European countries, think of Texas as being like America's Ireland. Ireland was once praised as a model for economic growth: conservatives loved it for its pro-business, anti-tax, low-spending strategy, and hailed it as the way forward for all of Europe. Then it blew up.

This is the sleeper state budget crisis of 2011, and it will be praised for doing great, right up until the moment before it blows up.