Why is Texans for Lawsuit Reform Negotiating Public Education Legislation?

by: Katherine Haenschen

Fri May 24, 2013 at 04:53 PM CDT

Today, the Texas Tribune reported that the lawmakers working on the bill were joined by some very special, very sleazy guests: Texans for Lawsuit Reform!

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst; House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio; Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston; and Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, were among the elected officials present for the negotiations. The meeting also included staff from Gov. Rick Perry's office, and Texans for Education Reform lobbyists Mike Toomey, Dick Trabulsi and Florence Shapiro, a former senator who preceded Patrick in leading the upper chamber's education committee.

Texans for Education Reform is a group of folks from Texans for Lawsuit Reform who have decided to focus their efforts this session on promoting charter schools and school "choice."

TLR, as y'all well know, is also the group dedicated to the defeat of Democrats, both through their funding of predominantly Republican candidates. They also take a more round-about way of doing this through their lobbying and efforts to weaken the rights of citizens to seek justice in our civil courts, which is intended to hurt the financial success of trial lawyers, traditionally donors to Democratic candidates.

And what lobbyists did TLR -- excuse me, TER -- send to the Capitol? None other than Mike Toomey, Perry's former Chief of Staff and BFF and noted corporate lobbyist,; former State Senator Florence Shapiro, who left public service to chase big dollars as a lobbyist; and Dick Trabulsi, a founder of TLR and chairman of the group's PAC.

Right-wing pro-corporate lobbyists should not be writing our public education legislation. We need education policies that focus on educating all of our Texas children to succeed in a competitive 21st century economy.

I have my doubts about whether an organization dedicated to representing corporations' interests in dodging legitimate lawsuits should really be shaping public education policy. TLR erects barriers to justice for regular Texans who deserve their day in court. They aren't qualified to represent the best interests of the over 4.9 million students in our Texas public schools.

As long as Republicans are in charge of our state, we can expect this business to continue. While Democrats are fighting to restore $3.9 billion to public education, Republicans are letting corporate lobbyists shape our education policy. It stinks, and it's another reminder that it's high time we took back this state and let real leaders make the decisions.  

Legislature Looks Like It's Coming Back Tuesday For Special on Redistricting

by: Michael Li

Fri May 24, 2013 at 03:13 PM CDT

Wayne Slater from the Dallas Morning News has tweeted that two well-placed sources say that a special session on Texas redistricting will start Tuesday, immediately after sine die.

In the mean time, the Congressional Black Caucus has sent a letter to Gov. Perry expressing concerns about a special session over redistricting and telling Perry that any acceptable map needed to contain at least four African-American ability-to-elect districts.

Currently there are only three such districts (CD-9 and CD-18 in Harris County and CD-30 in Dallas County) where the African-American citizen voting age population is above or just barely shy of 50%.

In addition, CD-33 on the court's interim map has a Hispanic citizen voting age plurality (40%) but was won in 2012 by Congressman Marc Veasey in the Democratic primary largely on the strength of African-American turnout.

The letter also expressed support for Hispanic efforts "to be fully empowered within the Texas congressional plan."

Learn more below the jump.

8 Austin Redistricting Commissioners Selected

by: Michael Hurta

Fri May 24, 2013 at 02:00 PM CDT

Magdalena Blanco
Mariano Diaz-Miranda
Rachel Farris
William Hewitt
Carmen Llanes Pulido
Arthur Lopez
Anna Saenz
Maria Solis

Read more to find out what's next to mamke sure we have single member district elections November of next year.

Dems, GOP Vie For Latino Voters Via Education Issues in Texas

by: SaraChicaD

Fri May 24, 2013 at 00:13 AM CDT

Republicans and Democrats are pursuing Latino voters in Texas, but perhaps one of the most vivid illustrations of their different approaches is the way members of each party are creating education policy.

The majority of Texas students are Latino, the future of the state depends on Latinos, and yet Republicans in the state veered toward Arizona-style educational laws earlier this year. About the same time, Democrat and San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro - who has made education a priority in his city on several occasions - was re-elected to his third term as mayor earlier this month.

For Castro, education is not just important - it's fundamental. "I see it as the legacy of a city that will be the most prosperous brainpower city in the nation," he told Politic365.

The contrasts between Republicans and Democrats on education in Texas are pretty stark.

Find out how below the jump.  

Sri Srinivasan Going to D.C. Appeals Court, Perhaps U.S. Supreme Court

by: Edward Garris

Fri May 24, 2013 at 10:00 AM CDT

Score one for the Obama administration and a minor triumph of merit over cheap political gamesmanship.  The Washington Post is reporting that Sri Srinivasan, President Obama's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia - the most important appellate court in the land, save for the U.S. Supreme Court - has been confirmed to the bench by a 97-0 vote in the U.S. Senate.  This followed closely on the heels of the Senate Judiciary Committee recommending Srinivasan for confirmation with an 18-0 vote.  

To see how it happened and what's left, read below the jump.

Boy Scout Delegates Vote 61-38 to Allow Gay Scouts (But Not Adults)

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu May 23, 2013 at 06:20 PM CDT

The policy will become effective January 1, 2014. The National Committee additionally noted that because of the expansive process involved, it has "no plans to further review this matter."

"Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the organization's long-standing membership policy and its impact on Scouting's mission. This review created an outpouring of feedback from the Scouting family and the American public, from both those who agree with the current policy and those who support a change.

"Today, following this review, the most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting's history the approximate 1,400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America's National Council approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting. A change to the current membership policy for adult leaders was not under consideration; thus, the policy for adults remains in place. The BSA thanks all the national voting members who participated in this process and vote.

Read the full statement from BSA.

The public at large has been polled about this outcome.  

In the new poll, 63 percent of Americans support allowing gay scouts to join, and the public opposes the plan to continue to ban gay adults from Boy Scout leadership by a 56 to 39 percent margin. The results contrast with a USA Today/Gallup poll last year, where only 42 percent said openly gay adults should be able to serve as leaders.

Tom DeLay's Lawyer James Bopp Drafts Response to Boy Scout Policy on Homosexuality

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu May 23, 2013 at 04:05 PM CDT

Still, a good read either way. Check it out below the fold.  

Celebrate Passage of Fair Pay For Women, Castigate The Republicans Who Voted Against It

by: Katherine Haenschen

Thu May 23, 2013 at 01:54 PM CDT

This is a milestone and a significant achievement for State Representative Senfronia Thompson, who introduced HB 950, and Senator Wendy Davis, who have championed this issue.

Also deserving of thanks are the bill's additional authors in the State House, Democrats Nicole Collier and Carol Alvarado, and Republicans Sarah Davis and Jason Isaac. (Credit where due, y'all.)

This is a major economic issue for Texas: if working women are paid less than men for the same day's labor, then they're being denied the economic opportunity to fully participate in society that they've earned. If working mothers are shortchanged on their paychecks, it hurts the entire family -- and Texas school children have suffered enough at the hands of the Republican Legislature as it is.

However, the bill didn't pass unanimously in either chamber -- far from it. The Senate gave the bill a narrow 16-15 victory, and in the House the margin was 70-65 on second reading, 79-50 on third reading.

Click below the jump to find out which Republicans -- and which Republican women, for crying out loud -- don't think women deserve redress for pay discrimination in Texas.