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Republicans Vote to Fast Track Keystone XL & White House Pushes Back, Some

Joe Deshotel — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:33:32 GMT

On Tuesday, the White House released a statement declaring that a bill, H.R. 3, by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) to fast track a portion of the Keystone XL pipeline through the state of Nebraska, would be vetoed by the President. The measure will likely pass the Republican controlled house. The announcement doesn't focus on the politics but instead on process, claiming that the, "bill is unnecessary because the Department of State is working diligently to complete the permit decision process for the Keystone XL pipeline".

According to the statement, H.R. 3, would,

"(1) declare that a Presidential Permit is not required for the Keystone XL crude oil, cross-border pipeline, including the Nebraska reroute evaluated by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality;
(2) deem that the final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Department of State on August 26, 2011, satisfies all National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act requirements; and,
(3) deem that Secretary of the Interior actions satisfy Endangered Species Act
requirements enabling the needed right-of-way."

In a talking points memo obtained by the Huffington Post, Organizing For America is reaffirms its position in support of the President's, stating that, "OFA supports and respects the process as it is currently underway." The organization prefers to work on changing the conversation on climate change and clean energy more generally.

That seems to be smart at least politically, because according to Pew, 2/3s of Americans want to see the pipeline built, and that is up from a Gallup poll taken last year. The political problem with the pipeline, even though it is expected to only create 35 permanent jobs and most of the oil will be shipped overseas, is that it fits neatly into the narrative about "Middle East" energy independence. In reality it only delays how soon the USA itself will be energy independent.

The President promised an "all of the above" approach to energy, so instead of making his stand in tar sands he's going to let the process unfold. Having the lengthy permitting process and opportunity to veto its subjugation from executive approval, allows him to show his diligence to the environmental community and gives them more time to organize against the pipeline. Some groups like Bold Nebraska are organizing at the county level around property and water rights issues and there is a film, "Above All Else", being made about the landowner who did a tree-sit on his property in Texas.

OFA says that it will, "work with local communities to switch to clean energy and promote the transition to renewable energy in cities and states nationwide.", "expose climate deniers as extreme and dangerous," and probably most important, "ask those in the middle, 'what's your plan?'." The 3rd part is crucial, and until the answer is no longer "build the pipeline", the most you will likely hear from the Administration until the next phase of permitting is mum.

Craft Beer Closer to Tapping Its Full Potential In Texas

Joe Deshotel — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:56:56 GMT

Last Friday at the beginning of Craft Beer Week the Texas House tentatively passed the long awaited 5 pack of beer bills that would allow small brewers, brew pubs and their growing number of enthusiasts to enjoy a bit more shelf space in retail stores and higher caps on production.

The bipartisan Senate bills, SB 515-518, sponsored by Eltife (R-Tyler) and co authored by Watson (D-Austin) received unanimous support from their originating body before being sent to the House where so far they have been passed on 2nd reading with little or no debate. Bills must pass a 3rd reading of both chambers before being sent to the Governor's desk. Perry could still veto the bill, but his signature is not required for it to become law, and the fact that the bill passed both chambers with better than 2/3s support means the measures would go into effect immediately. For a breakdown of what each bill would effectively do for brewers check out my earlier post.

The bills may be making their way through the process now but only because the hard work and negotiating has gone on behind the scenes for over a decade, as small brewers have battled the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas over changes to the industries "3 tier" system. The WBDT have fought against the concept of allowing brewers to self distribute, but in concession from the brewers the package of bills also included, SB 639, restrictions on "reach back pricing". That entails the brewers charging retailers or distributors based on how much those entities sell their product to consumers.

Cheers to Republican Senators Carona and Eltife, Democratic Senators Watson and Van De Putte, and all the stakeholders in the Beer Working Group who have helped to tap the full potential of this creative and growing industry.

Dubiously Named "Campus Carry" & "School Marshal" Bills Coming Up In Texas Senate

Joe Deshotel — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:44:45 GMT

The national advocacy organization for responsible gun ownership, Mom's Demand Action, along with their Texas chapters are calling state Senators today urging them to vote no on two bills to liberalize the presence of guns at educational institutions -- HB 972 "Campus Carry" and HB 1009 the "Protection of Texas Children Act". Such bills are knee jerk reaction to the national dialogue about guns in America, and are more about Texas Republicans digging their spurs into the ground to defend the state's reputation as the last frontier for true conservatism than they are about protecting students.

First, House Bill 972 referred to as "Campus Carry" is a misnomer. It implies that under current law campuses can not chose to allow licensed concealed handgun owners to carry their weapons on campus, which is not true. Currently each institution of higher education can vote to allow guns to be carried on campus, but this legislation, which is on today's intent calendar in the Texas Senate, would reverse that policy forcing campus' to vote to opt out each year.

Similar legislation has failed in past sessions, but as guns become the new rage for the right and Republicans in Texas run out of taxes and social programs to cut, the measure for true conservatism seems to be how ubiquitous one can make guns in society. This is a litmus test by design and not by demand...

Click the jump for the latest twist in this story...
Last year the Princeton Review ranked Texas A&M University the most conservative college student body in the nation, and contrary to what "conservatives" in the legislature have been arguing, students at A&M voted twice to keep the ban of guns on campus -- recently by 57%.

The other bill HB 1008 "Protection of Texas Children Act", has also been pushed with a dubious description. Proponents of the bill slated for public hearing today upon adjournment (apparently at Dan Patrick's desk) claim that the program would be modeled after the Federal Air Marshal Program. However the so called, "School Marshals" would not have near the training of actual law enforcement officials. According to Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:

"Federal Air Marshals receive 155 hours of firearms training as part of a full 16-week program; the armed volunteers created by HB 1009 would receive only 80 hours of firearms training. Entrance into the Federal Air Marshal Program requires at least 4 years of previous law enforcement experience, while the "school marshals" created by HB 1009 would only be required to procure a concealed handgun license."

This session through the timing of political opportunity has seen more than it's share of bad gun legislation. It's not that Texas wasn't a gun friendly state before but this "gun show" is necessary to further the politically acceptable tenets of secession, a disdain for the federal government and a "from my cold dead hands" mentality about the changing politics of our nation -- remember the Alamo?

Poll: GOP in Texas Faces Major Hurdles In Recruiting Hispanics

Joe Deshotel — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:35:36 GMT

The original post said Adriana Maestas wrote for National Latina Institute of Reproductive Health, she is a writer for Politics365. The post has been corrected.

Ronald Reagan said, "Hispanics are already Republican. They just don't know it yet.", and apparently they still haven't learned in Texas. For Republicans trying to connect with Hispanics there seems to be only bad news, and now a new poll suggests it's reflective of an actual disconnect Hispanics feel with the GOP. For the survey PAC+ interviewed 2,685 randomly selected registered Hispanic voters in Texas counties with the highest number of Latino eligible voters: Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant, El Paso and Harris. The findings give support to a major part of Democrats plan to take back Texas -- register and turnout Latino voters. According to pollster Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega, "Latino voters make up 43% of the 'Texas Blue' vote,".

Republicans most straightforward pitch to Hispanics has been to try and co-identify as "conservative" and play up shared family values. It appears that whatever assumptions about shared values Republicans made were incorrect. When asked, "When it comes to social issues -- such as religion, abortion and same-sex marriage -- which party do you generally think does the best job of representing your views? Democrats or Republicans?", 58% said Democrats and only 24% identified with Republicans. This backs up other recent polls that show Hispanics by large margins support a woman's right to end her pregnancy. Adriana Maestas, Latina writer for Politics365, gave an early warning to Republicans over their "conventional wisdom" on Hispanics and social issues prior to the 2012 election when she said, "...if the GOP continues to reach out to Latino voters based on the perceived social agenda. These kinds of messages may not be well received this election year." She was correct as 58% of those survey by PAC+ supported Obama and only 24% supported Romney.

On economic issues, "like jobs, the economy, and immigration", Hispanics still identified most with Democrats at 57%. One of the most successful tools Republicans have used is recruiting Hispanic candidates. A majority of respondents said they were more likely to vote for a candidate because they were "Hispanic", with 44% saying they would be much more likely. Senator Ted Cruz accordingly got 32% of the Hispanic vote, but 21% of those surveyed actually thought he was a Democrat. Recruits or not, Republicans' hardline positions on issues like immigration and voter ID laws are likely to blunt any gains from individual candidates. A whopping 71% believe that "discrimination against Latinos" is a problem in the United States, with 36% saying it was a "big" problem. When asked about "voter suppression", 59% said if they knew it was happening it would make them more likely to vote.

For full results click the jump...
Click Here for the full poll results...

RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Resigns Over "Intolerance", Becomes Democrat

Joe Deshotel — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:12:11 GMT

The Republican National Committee's Director of Hispanic Outreach for Florida, Pablo Pantoja, has quit his post and registered as a Democrat. In his letter of resignation he cited the recent anti-immigrant study by the Heritage Foundation and the general "culture of intolerance surrounding the Republican Party today". The study itself has been making headlines because language it contains is eerily similar to one of its authors' college dissertations that concluded, "no one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites".

The entire study is predicated on the idea that allowing our current immigrant population to become citizens would create an unsustainable burden on current taxpayers. To the contrary, Texas' own Republican Comptroller found, undocumented immigrants are an actual net positive on the economy -- and we have the nation's 2nd largest immigrant population! Her offices study concluded in 2006 that, "The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion."

At this point the Heritage Foundation has distanced itself from the study's controversial author, who has now "resigned", but the damage is done. Right-wing commentators on every form of media have used the cynical study to hide their anti-immigrant bias behind the veil of fiscal responsibility. What it is really about for immigrants is the opportunity to fully express their basic human rights, the freedom to own a home, raise a family or start a business, and now what should be a more important concern for Republicans - the right to vote.

Keystone XL: Pipelines, Property Rights And The Film Making Sense Of It All

Joe Deshotel — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:03:22 GMT

The final construction of the Keystone XL pipeline carrying Canadian tar sands to the US has been back burner issue for progressives and conservatives alike with periodic twists, turns and spills. The consistent delay of its approval by the Obama Administration, or more specifically the State Department has pushed the stalemate into year 3, but in many ways it is still a victory for environmentalists and advocates of clean American energy. As recently as last week Vice President Joe Biden expressed his opposition, while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ramped up his new FWD.us lobby group to promote its construction.

I was first introduced to TransCanada and their plans to pump bitumen from the Boreal forests of Alberta, Canada to my own backyard in Port Arthur, Texas for refinement in 2010. The Sierra Club contacted me about getting local citizens to testify at public hearings. All of a sudden my home county was caught in the middle of international energy policy. It was not a case as simple as progressives against and conservatives for it, there are legitimate landowner rights at issue here.

That's where the filmmakers of Above All Else come in. They have been following the unfolding story of Keystone XL through the experiences of Texas landowners, most notably David Daniel. Daniel started a tree-sit on his property which resulted in the Canadian company rerouting the pipeline around his land. I spoke with the Director and Producer John Fiege, whose films have been featured from Austin Film Festival to Cannes, about the overwhelming amount of data and and numbers of angles to approach the subject. I expressed my interest in covering the issue more but such a daunting task has led me down more rabbit holes than it has produced cohesive and informative but digestible articles. He agreed and said that was a large part of why he chose to tell the story of this group of landowners. The films website describes the film as follows:

Learn more about the film with a link to footage after the jump...

"ABOVE ALL ELSE is an intimate portrait of a group of landowners and activists in East Texas who tried to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is slated to carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Through their journeys, the film tells the story of how the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline has affected the larger fight against climate change. The film's characters risk financial ruin, their personal safety, and their relationships with the people they hold most dear. Their stories become both an exploration of the human spirit and a window into how social change happens in America."

You can read a great indepth interview with John about "Above All Else" just published at Truthout. The film is in its final production stages but needs help to get it completed. You can help by supporting their kickstarter, but do it now, there are only 6 days left!

Randy Weber & Speaker Boehner Represent China Bondholders Not American Middle Class

Joe Deshotel — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:00:00 GMT

The Republican Congress is at it again, casting votes that hurt average working families struggling to maintain their middle class status. If simply working harder or longer hours is what led to success in this country our middle class would be as strong as ever, but instead many are being crippled by slow economic growth, increasing wealth disparity and a Congress always for sale to the highest bidder. Following the lead of Speaker Boehner, Houston Congressman Randy Weber has been complicit in ensuring the deconstruction of America's middle class by putting Chinese bondholders over working families and decreasing what protections those working still have.

Weber voted for a Republican bill coyly titled, "Working Families Flexibility Act" that should have been more aptly called the, "Pay Working Families Less Act," because it undermines the 40 hour work, and makes it harder for workers to take advantage of the vacation days they earned. Instead of voting to increase the minimum wage, promoting fair pay, or ensuring fair scheduling practices, the purveyors of so called family values are doing just the opposite. According to the nonpartisan National Partnership for Women and Families, "The mis-named Act will mean a pay cut for workers without any guaranteed flexibility or time off" and also, "erodes the basic guarantees of the Fair Labor Standards Act: fair pay for overtime work and time off from work."

These policies promote the type of working conditions one might expect in countries who have lower standards for human rights, like China, and it may be no coincidence.

More below the jump...
Weber and Congressional Republicans also support paying China before our troops or elderly, because well promises we made to foreign communist governments are clearly more important than the one's we made to our own citizens. If anyone should get preferential treatment or be exempt from having earned entitlements furloughed it should be those who build our country to its current stature on the world stage and those who still fight to keep us there.

When the Bloomberg news organization asked Speaker Boehner to clarify if the vote is really meant to pay China first Speaker Boehner did not deny the allegations. "Listen. Those who have loaned us money, like in any other proceeding, if you will, court proceeding, the bondholders usually get paid first. Same thing here," When asked about the possible political ramifications he answered, "No. Not at all...I just think it's another tool that we can use to help impress upon the administration. If it comes to the point where they don't have enough money to pay all the bills, here is some order that we think is sound."

There you have it folks, sound political and fiscal policy from the top member of Congress. I know many Republicans make no distinguishment between people and corporations, but these actions are truly hurtful to real Texans who work hard to barely makes ends meet while politicians with excellent government pay and benefits brag about Texas leading in minimum wage job creation.

President Obama in Austin, Texas Talking Middle Class Jobs And Education

Joe Deshotel — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:26:02 GMT

President Obama was in Austin Thursday to kick off his nationwide "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour", where he visited Manor New Tech High School and Applied Materials promoting tech jobs and his plan for a, "one-time $1 billion investment to create a network of 15 manufacturing institutes across the country."

His overall theme was that working together we can reignite the true engine of America's economic growth: a rising, thriving, middle class.

To achieve this he said would require three things: making America a magnet for good jobs; helping people earn the education and develop the skills to do those jobs; and ensuring that people who are working hard are able to achieve a decent living.

As part of his visit he also issued an executive order, "to make government-held data more accessible to the public and to entrepreneurs and others as fuel for innovation and economic growth."

"Corporate profits are at an alltime high, but thats not good enough, we have to make sure that middle-class wages are also going up, because most families haven't seen their take home pay rise for years now...There are a lot of reasons for us to feel optimistic about where we are going as a country, especially after all of the tough times we have been through the last several years. That should encourage us to roll up our sleeves and work even harder, and work together to take on the challenges that are holding back parts of our economy."

Governor Perry and Senator Ted Cruz haven't missed the opportunity to have a field day mocking the President over job creation and promoting their pro-business-at-any-cost "Texas model", in advance of his visit. Perry went as far as "greeting" President Obama at the airport with a letter and said that, "If the president is serious about creating jobs in this country, then Texas is the blueprint."

Close but no cigar Governor, according to the White House the President is here, "Showcasing the Innovative Spirit of Austin as a Model for the Rest of the Country". Our Republican state leaders continue to promote the Texas mirage that low taxes, low services, and low regulation alone are the fuel for our economic success, but the White House sees something very different and so do the facts.

Not only does Texas rank near the bottom on important statistics relating to quality of life, income and savings, but the areas in our state that lead in job creation also happen to be the bluest. Cities like Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas constantly top the growth and job markets for the US and all 4 of their respective counties rejected Rick Perry as Governor in 2010. According to Forbes Texas also has two top 10 cities for green jobs, Houston and Dallas.

More below the jump!
At Manor Tech High School the President opened his remarks by thanking his hosts and reminding all that it is Teacher Appreciation Week and, "they don't do it for the money." He told the cheering crowd, "I chose Austin mostly because I love Austin, but also because there are some terrific things going on in this area."

The President then addressed the Manor Tech student body about the challenges faced by young people who are in increasing need of good primary, high school and secondary education to keep up with a fast developing world. He also spoke about his initiative to bring high quality pre-kindergarten to all children, citing that every dollar spent on early childhood education "equals $7 dollars we save down the road because of increased graduation rates" and rising incomes.

He cited with the creation of 6 million jobs over the last few years that the US has its lowest level of unemployment since 2008, but thats still not enough. "Now we have got to create even more good middle class jobs, and we have got to do it faster so that by the time you guys graduate from college the job market is strong."

The President's next stop was at Applied Materials, a high-tech company that has helped Austin become a nation leader in chip manufacturing and related well-paying jobs. He toured the facility and spoke to workers about the exacting science that goes into all the electronic devices used around the world. According to the CEO almost every tech device on the market uses some technology that was developed by Applied Materials.

The President said, "We want the next revolution in manufacturing to be in America." He reiterated that we should help our workers get the training to compete, and they no job in America should go unfilled because workers don't have the skills they need. He spoke about achieving innovation through targeted investment and expanded educational opportunities including keeping college affordable and not saddling young people with debt. He used StormPulse, a start-up company at Austin's Capital Factory, as an example of how his new executive order making government data more accessible can be used by entrepreneurs to create jobs from good ideas.

"We don't want government to do everything for us but it does have a role to play in infrastructure and basic research", he said, concluding, "That's what I want to keep promoting as President of the United States of America -- thank you, God bless you."

Poll: Texas Border Hispanics Take Personal Offense To Education Cuts

Joe Deshotel — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Texas Republicans may have reduced their ethnically tinged rhetoric and overtly anti-Hispanic legislation this session, but a new poll shows that border Hispanics are taking equal offense to cuts in Public Education. The survey conducted by Latino Decisions and released by the Texas State Teachers Association, interviewed 400 Latinos in 3 major Hispanic populations centers along the Texas-Mexico border: El Paso, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley.

The results found that 67% of respondents were aware of the cuts made in 2011, and the specific local consequences most commonly identified were fewer teachers, crowded schools and cuts to after-school and extracurricular programs. Using the Rainy Day Fund to restore the funding was supported by 75%. According to Sylvia Manzano, senior analyst at Latino Decisions not a single positive outcome from the cuts was cited. "The question was open-ended, but no one mentioned lower taxes, spending efficiencies, or any local condition that might justify the action," she said.

The survey revealed strong personal connections between the Latino communities and their local public schools with over 82% participating in school-sponsored public events. Texas has a Hispanic population of 9,533,000 (38%), 69% which are native-born, 77% have or have had children in the public school system and 48% of all Texas students K-12 are Hispanic.

The concern by Hispanic parents extends beyond primary education. The survey showed that over 90% would prefered to see their child receive a college degree than vocational training, and 85% say it is more important for their child to attend college, than it is to secure a full time job.

Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the population, and it is easy to sympathize with their frustration of watching the state legislature defund education when it is so integrally tied to the next generation's chances at success. Those frustrations will continue to manifest into electoral power as the state's demographics shift. In 2012 there were 3 House Republicans who were replaced by Hispanic Democrats, and by 2016 Texas will have an additional 900,000 newly eligible Hispanic voters.

May Day Rally For Immigration Reform Draws Thousands Of Supports & Some Critics

Joe Deshotel — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:55:13 GMT

The SEIU, a labor organization representing the service industry, participated in a immigration reform rally with thousands of supporters in Houston in conjunction with May Day. The event, in advance of this week's discussion over a Senate immigration bill, was part of a nationwide push for reforming immigration policies that includes a path to citizenship.

"The drumbeat for common sense immigration reform is only getting louder," said Eliseo Medina, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer. "Today, as we raise our voices and our American flags in honor of all working families, we march and rally throughout the country to make sure we mark 2013 as the year our government passed an immigration bill worthy of our highest national values."

Not everyone rolled out the welcome matt. Houston blogger for Big Jolly Politics called it a, "rally for illegal immigration" and said, "I'd suggest that instead of arrogantly flaunting our laws, perhaps your organizers could set up a day to clean the park...You'd be amazed at what that would do for your reputation." He blame them for our closing schools and even connected them to cartel violence, "...it is but a short jump to attributing the violence of drug cartels to all illegal immigrants - after all, if you are arrogant enough to flaunt the fact that you are breaking one law, it is easy to conclude that you have no respect for any authority."
Just weeks ago another rally was held in Houston to urge our US Senators John Cornyn and especially Ted Cruz, who is the son on a Cuban Immigrant, to "take action in the best interest of our state's economy, security and values." According to the SEIU protesters sent more than 7,6oo letters sent to Cruz' office in support of a path to citizenship.

The call for reform has been heard by the Texas Congressional delegation and especially Pete Gallego, who representing the longest stretch of Texas-Mexico borders understands the social and national security implications of passing immigration reform. Make sure to send your support for a bill that honors family and dignity for everyone who lives and works within our borders.