Court Of Criminal Appeals Declines To Give Rehearing In DeLay Case

by: Vince Leibowitz

Wed Sep 26, 2007 at 10:49 AM CDT

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has denied the Travis County District Attorney's motion for a re-hearing in Tom DeLay's case.

Travis County DA Ronnie Earle asked for the rehearing after the CCA declined to reinstate a conspiracy charge against Delay which had been previously tossed out by a trial court.

Republican Senator Resigns Why Hasn't The President of The Texas Stonewall Caucus Done the Same

by: refinish69

Sat Sep 01, 2007 at 00:05 PM CDT

Operation Continuing Hypocrisy:Another Repug Sex Scandal

by: colin

Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 00:10 PM CDT

You should know a little more about Sen. Craig:

* Co-Chair of the Romney campaign in Idaho.
* Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
* Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
* Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
* Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
* Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
* Supported Idaho's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (11/2006)

The fun stuff after the jump.

Public hearing on Health Care Mesquite Texas

by: redneckdemocrat

Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:20 AM CDT

Dallas Fort Worth Concerned Citizens Panel ? 2504 W. Park Row Suite B5 Box 128 Pantego, Tx. 76013 ? dfwccp@gmail.com
Approved  For  Immediate Release:
DFW CCP is pleased to anounce that the National Nurses Organizing Committee Has excepted the invitations to bring testimony about safe ratios at Texas Hospitals. California Nurses Association has excepted the  DFW CCP invitation to testify on how the ratios work in California. DFWCCP is also announcing that the three wrongfully fired RNs from Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite have agreed to testify on ratios and why DRMCM was unsafe in the ICU that night. We have received several letters of written testimony from area RNs who are scared to testify in public for fear of retaliation and being  “Group One” or  “Black Balled” from nursing at the bedside here in Dallas Fort Worth. DFWCCP is announcing along with the NNOC and California Nurses Association have singed a Binding Protection from Anti –Retaliation Agreement and will work with the DFWCCP if any medical professional testifies on theses issues and is retaliated for their testimony to help protect them and help with the investigation.
Are Dallas and Fort Worth Hospitals Safe?

Is Profit Placed Before Care?

Does Your Hospital Have Safe Ratios?

If you can not answer all three of these questions then you and your family need to come to the public hearing on safe nurse to patient ratios. Dallas Fort Worth Concerned Citizens Panel is holding an open public hearing on the issues of safe nurse to patient ratios to answer the three questions above and to openly discuss this issue.
The organizations invited to provide testimony are The Texas Hospital Association, Dallas County Hospital Board, Tarrant County Hospital Board, Dallas Regional Health Center Mesquite, National Nurses Organizing Committee, RNs, and Both Dallas and Tarrant County Commissioners Courts. The National Nurses Organizing Committee and several area RNs have accepted the invitation to testify and will testify at this hearing on safe-patient ratios. It is important for citizens to show up and hear the testimony and why our hospitals are unsafe. Citizens are welcome to submit testimony on problems they or their family has had at hospitals.

Come hear why RNs are in constant threat of termination for simply standing up on behalf of their patients in the name of providing the best quality care.

The Hearing will convene at 10 am on Aug. 15th 2007 at 1527 North Galloway Drive in Mesquite, Texas at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center. The Panel will take testimony from 10am-1pm at the latest and the will deliberate for until around 2 pm and render an opinion. During panel deliberations, Registered Nurses and NNOC Representatives will take questions and comments in a town-hall style public forum. This will be an excellent opportunity for the public, Nurses, and the NNOC to examine ways in which we can make sure that patients get the optimal care that they deserve.

Vice Chair Harriet Irby DFW Citizens Panel

Dallas Fort Worth Concerned Citizens Panel ? 2504 W. Park Row Suite B5 Box 128 Pantego, Tx. 76013 ? dfwccp@gmail.com
Monday, July 30, 2007
Texas Hospital Association
6225 East Highway 290
Austin, TX 78723
Dallas Regional Medical Center
Attention: Chief Nursing Executive
1011 N. Galloway Avenue
Mesquite, TX 75149

Richard Stephens NNOC DFW
1728 Ridgeview Drive
Arlington, TX. 76012

Joe Schuman NNOC/C.N.A.
2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA. 94612

Ed Bruno NNOC/C.N.A.
2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA. 94612

Dallas County Hospital Board
  411 Elm Street
Dallas, TX. 75202

Dallas County Commissioners Court
411 Elm Street
Dallas, TX. 75202

Tarrant County Hospital Board
1500 South Main Street
Fort Worth, TX. 76104

Tarrant County Commissioners Court
100 East Weatherford Street
Fort Worth, TX. 76196

Dear Invitees:

The Dallas Fort Worth Concerned Citizens Panel will be hosting a public hearing and discussion on Nurse-to-patient ratios and patient advocacy in our hospitals. The latter issues have been receiving greater attention in our communities, as well as in healthcare policy circles. That said, we would like to get your perspective on these issues.

Toward that end, we cordially invite you or your designee to join us at the hearing and present your position on ratios and patient advocacy. We feel that a productive hearing only helps to raise the discourse in our nation’s ongoing healthcare dialogue. It also uniquely positions the Metroplex as one of the first regions in Texas and beyond to bring attention to the issues in an open, public forum.

The hearing will take place on Wednesday, August 15th from 10am-2pm at the Mesquite Arts Center Rehearsal Hall, 1527 North Galloway Avenue. Please RSVP before Wednesday, August 15th.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the email or physical addresses above.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Harriet Irby

____________________________________________,
  Vice Chair, Dallas Fort Worth Concerned Citizens Panel

Texas Stonewall Caucus Leaders or What?

by: refinish69

Sat Aug 11, 2007 at 06:26 PM CDT

cross posted at Texas Kaos, Booman Tribune, Doing My Part For The Left, Daily Kos, Burnt Orange Report

Keel's Conflict of Interest

by: Matt Glazer

Fri Jul 13, 2007 at 10:18 AM CDT

According to the press release issued by the Speaker’s Office on Friday, June 29:

“Today, Speaker Tom Craddick (Midland) announced Terry Keel will permanently fill the position of House Parliamentarian. Mr. Keel had been appointed by Speaker Craddick on May 25th and has continued to perform the duties of the office on a part-time basis.”

While the press release validates many of my initial points, it also creates even more disturbing questions (like why the Speaker’s Office waited until late one Friday afternoon to drop this bomb – ala President Bush announcing the “commuting” of Scooter Libby’s 30-month prison sentence in a similar Friday afternoon media dump).  Not exactly the pomp and circumstance of a Rose Garden press conference heralding a monumental and significant policy achievement.

If Mr. Keel was by Speaker Craddick’s side for the final days of session, and on June 29 he gets named the permanent Parliamentarian, what was Mr. Keel doing between May 28 and June 29?

We have obtained documents from Speaker Craddick’s office that prove Keel was working for Speaker Craddick on or before May 30, 2007.  Most Capitol staffers know that a form gets filled out for their ID Card – it’s appropriately named the ID Card Request Form.  On May 30, 2007, Steve Adrian (the head of the House Business Office – and a fine, decent, professional public servant) requested an ID Card for Terry Keel, for the Office of Speaker Tom Craddick.  The form indicates that Keel was to be given “Building Access”, “Walk-In Purchasing/Supply Privileges”, and “Fax/Photocopy Usage Privileges”.  The form is signed “Per Steve Adrian” and dated “5/30/07”. 

Terry Keel was given an ID Card after session ended – almost a full month later the Speaker announces late on a Friday afternoon that he has been hired full-time.  There are not a lot of “non-employees” walking around the Capitol who have house ID cards granting them the access to the building and the ability to buy supplies and make copies, at taxpayer expense no less.

Way more below the fold...

Ted Poe Lies to the FEC

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Jul 11, 2007 at 11:45 AM CDT

…from his first year in office alleges multiple violations of campaign law, including the misstatement of cash on hand by $90,000 as well as inadequate identification of 40 percent of his donors.

[…]

The violations were documented from when Poe was elected in November 2003 from the redrawn CD 2 through the end of 2004. Poe’s campaign committee, Poe For Congress, reported cash on hand of $148,657 by the end of 2004 when an examination of bank records showed that the committee only had $57,800, according to the report.

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) could take action as early as tomorrow. The FEC could move on the citation, which would lead to “enforcement action” against the Congressman and brother Virgil Poe who is also his treasurer.

It is hard to say this was a modest accounting error.  Again from QR:

The vast majority of the discrepancy was due to both the underreporting of money coming into the campaign account and the underreporting of campaign committee expenditures in 2004. The report states that the committee did not report $84,397 in individual contributions and underreported contributions from PACs by $15,115.

Meanwhile, his campaign committee did not report $316,621 in expenses. That total was partially offset by $71,738 in expenses that were double reported and another $43,800 in expenses that were reported but could not be verified in bank records.

Another $15,000 in expenses was entered as $1,500 while the audit couldn’t account for a final $29,443. In total, Poe For Congress reported the receipt of $1.57 million and $1.5 million in expenses in 2004. The audit revealed that the committee actually received $1.67 million and spent $1.69 million.

This is more of the same from Republican elected officials. These Enron style games and perjury on government documents should not be tolerated by anyone.  Poe should be held accountable for his actions just like any other elected official.

Court of Criminal Appeals Wants Criminals to Destroy Evidence

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 08:30 PM CDT

Travis County DA Ronnie Earle sent the following statement around after the ruling.

Today a sharply divided Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that individuals can be involved in an ongoing conspiracy to commit certain felony crimes and their conspiracy is perfectly legal

Criminal conspiracy means three things. It means a person intends to commit a felony. It means that the person agrees that he or his co-conspirators will engage in conduct would constitute the crime. And it means one of them performs some act in pursuit of the crime.

Under the rationale of today’s majority opinion, the Legislature has blessed these criminal conspiracies as long as the felony they agree to commit is not in the Penal Code. There are many felony crimes that are contained in parts of the law other than the Penal Code.

Of course, it is illegal for them to actually commit the crime, but they can legally conspire to do it all they want.

This is a tortured result.

The public policy considerations surrounding this decision are larger than this one case. Criminal conspiracy prosecutions allow for the prevention of crime before it occurs. Under the Court’s opinion today, law enforcement is powerless to intercept certain felonies before they are actually committed.

For example, under the Court’s opinion, it is legal for people to:

• agree to falsify records related to pollution of our water because that felony crime is in the Water Code.


• agree to conceal and destroy bank records because that felony crime is in the Finance Code.


• agree to generate unlawful oil and gas “waste” because that felony crime is in the Natural Resources Code.
• agree to lie on motor vehicle tax forms because that felony crime is in the Tax Code.


• agree to tamper with vehicle serial numbers because that felony crime is in the Transportation Code.
• These crimes are felonies; they are just contained in different books.

Because of the important policy considerations involved in protecting the public from felony criminal conspiracies of all kinds, we will seek a rehearing of this matter before the Court.

Phil King's Doctor of the Day Registered Sex Offender

by: Matt Glazer

Fri Jun 22, 2007 at 10:17 AM CDT

April 21, 2006. Rep. Phil King of Weatherford gave Dr. Tallant a glowing introduction, “It's my pleasure today to introduce Dr. Tallant …They are fine friends and great citizens from Parker County…I will also tell you that he is a retired flight surgeon with the United States Air Force who served his country well and is going to serve us today.”

April 21st was the first time Phil King (R- Weatherford) allowed a registered sex offender to serve the Texas House as Doctor of the Day.  During the 80th legislature, King asked for his friend to come back to Austin. 

CBS 11, in Dallas, did some digging and found some scary information.

Dr. Tallant is listed on the sex offender registry posted on the website of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was indicted on 19 counts of sexual performance by a child in 1996, according to Hays County court records.
The victim was a 17-year-old female patient. Dr. Tallant was a 64-year-old divorcee at the time and ran a family practice in San Marcos. He pleaded guilty to a second degree felony and was sentenced to ten years on probation.

You can tell a lot about a persons character by the friends they keep.  For the full story watch the video at CBS 11.

The Craddicktator's moments of shame!

by: persiancowboy

Mon May 28, 2007 at 11:03 AM CDT