From David at Supreme Irony:

Much like what is happening to Tom DeLay in Washington, another Tom, Tom Craddick has ethics problems of his own. In response, Texas Republicans beat back the ethics bill in the Texas house right now.

This bill is more aimed at cleaning up elections, however the Speaker of the House, Tom Craddick, has done a lot of questionable fund raising. Craddick's campaign reportedly received funds from corporations, which is expressly prohibited under Texas law.

The move to try and get this ethics bill out of committee, headed by a Craddick loyalist, was executed by a Republican:

Rep. Tommy Merritt of Longview, who had been the target of attack ads funded by undisclosed corporate donors during his unsuccessful Texas Senate campaign last year, asked for the vote on bringing the ethics bill to the floor. The maverick Republican warned colleagues that if the measure didn't become law, they were all vulnerable to scurrilous attacks from anonymous sources.

However, much like the Republicans in Washington, the Republicans in Texas blamed it all on Democrats.

Democrats in Austin, have been doing a slightly better job communicating the issue than their counterparts in Washington:

Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said that he and others were only trying to support a popular bill and that he had tried to extend nothing but respect to Mr. Craddick.

"The highest priority of the session should be ethics," he said.

Supporter Fred Lewis, chairman of the watchdog group Campaigns for People, said after talking to aides, members, lobbyists and "seeing it myself," he believed Mr. Craddick used all the influence in his arsenal to stall the bill.

"Craddick's killing the bill," Mr. Lewis said. "He's trying to protect himself and his friends."

In Texas and throughout the country, Democrats need to be trying to tie Republicans down with the ethics changes. That Republicans are fighting against ethics regulations is something that Democrats everywhere can use.

Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

A West Texas school board just voted to add a Bible class to the public school curriculum. This curriculum was designed by this hilarious group. That group links to the "Creation Evidence Museum," which has this to say:

The Creation Evidence Museum is a non-profit educational museum chartered in Texas in 1984 for the purpose of researching and displaying scientific evidence for creation. As such the museum sponsors paleontological and archaeological excavations in addition to other extensive research projects. Dr. Carl Baugh, the museum’s Founder and Director, originally came to Glen Rose, Texas to critically examine claims of human and dinosaur co-habitation. He conducted extensive excavations along the Paluxy River, with appropriate permission of the landowners. These original excavations yielded human footprints among dinosaur footprints (see the Director’s doctoral dissertation).He then realized that a museum needed to be established in order to appropriately display this evidence, along with sustained excavations and other areas of scientific research for creation.

In other words...





=TRUE



But, "the program is concerned with education rather than indoctrination of students" and a crucial part of the mission is that "the world is watching to see if we will be motivated to impact our culture, to deal with the moral crises in our society, and reclaim our families and children."

That's reclaiming alright.
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Picked up from Declan McCullagh. As Richard Morrison said, all we have to do to beat Delay is let him talk enough.

DeLay blasts Justice Kennedy

Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Washington Post Link Here.

But, the administration has just decided not to include the rise in terror in the annual State Department report. Why?

"Last year was bad. This year is worse. They are deliberately trying to withhold data because it shows that as far as the war on terrorism internationally, we're losing," said Larry C. Johnson, a former senior State Department counterterrorism official,* who first revealed the decision not to publish the data.

Coming one day after the official WMD search turned up zilch, here is what the State Department report shows:

Overall, the number of what the U.S. government considers "significant" attacks grew to about 655 last year, up from the record of around 175 in 2003, according to congressional aides who were briefed on statistics covering incidents including the bloody school seizure in Russia and violence related to the disputed Indian territory of Kashmir.

Terrorist incidents in Iraq also dramatically increased, from 22 attacks to 198, or nine times the previous year's total -- a sensitive subset of the tally, given the Bush administration's assertion that the situation there had stabilized significantly after the U.S. handover of political authority to an interim Iraqi government last summer.

No matter what he says, George Bush pursues policies that endanger the United States. The Bush administration wants you to wave the flag and ignore facts, but some facts refuse to be suppressed.

And, Mr. Bush, we Texans are catching on.

*emphasis mine
[Corked Bats Blog]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Let's use this thread to link to items that catch Texas politicians lying about the "nuclear option" either by claiming that that is a Democratic term or by stating that the filibuster has never been used for judges before.

Anita caught Kay Bailey Hutchison saying the latter last night. We are waiting on a link. [Update: here is the line she used: "It is time for us to go back to 200 years of tradition." Reported by a conservative law group here.]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Bush and his friend, supporter, house-boy, DeLay are in Galveston today talking up dismantling Social Security and then

Bush raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he asked locals in Galveston, Texas:"Do you still have Splash Day?""Splash Day" is the annual "adult oriented enormous beach party" celebration on the Gulf Coast.

BUSH: Do you still have Splash Day?

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: You have to be a baby boomer to know what I'm talking about.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I'm not saying whether I came or not on Splash Day. I'm just saying, Do you have Splash Day?

(LAUGHTER)

Bush was evidently unaware "Splash Day" is now a gay and lesbian event on the beaches.

While the above exchange was in today's Drudge Report, it hasn't been in the Houston Chronicle which did report that Tom DeLay was with Bush in Galveston basking in presidential approval.

[Originally posted at Winding Road]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Greetings everyone. Feel free to post away as long as it is about Texas conservatives--what they are saying or what they are doing--in your town or nationwide.

If you have a blog, send me an email and I will give you a link at the side.

GaremkoReport-at-yahoo-dot-com.

Note to Republican politicians:



Please Defend this Man!



(CNN)
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

I just got back form the Texas Capitol. The bad news is that the GOP dominated Texas House approved sending a constitutional amendment to voters this fall defining marriage as between one man and one woman and banning even civil unions by a vote of 101 to 29, with 100 votes required to pass.

The good news is that the Democrats who spoke in the debate forcefully and energetically called the amendment bigoted, hateful and discriminatory.

I was proud of those who spoke out, especially representatives Rafael Anchia of Dallas, Jessica Farrar of Houston and Mark Strama of Austin. It was clear that the theocrats could pass whatever they wanted, and these folk could have simply gone silent without any political risk, especially Rep. Strama who is from a close district. But they did not.

Please consider writing a note of encouragement to these three as well as to Senfronia Thompson, Elliott Naishtat, Lon Burnam, Garnet Coleman, Mike Villarreal and others who stood against the bigotry and called it what it was on the House floor.

The resolution must still go to the State Senate, which is not as committed to taking up the matter as the House was, and is not, although dominated by the Republicans, as conservative and reactionary as the State House.

I met or spoke privately with Farrar, Anchia and Strama before the vote, and I was impressed by the fervor with which they addressed the problems of the gay community. These folk are our friends, and they did fight for us, even though it was certain they would lose. I am proud of them and the work they are doing.

The expressions of solidarity with gay and lesbian Texans by the Democrats so dominated the actual debate that, despite the final vote, I left the Capitol feeling more affirmed and respected by my allies than trashed by my enemies. Over and over again a Democrat rose to denounce the Amendment as discriminatory, hateful or bigoted, and to affirm the need to equally protect all Texas citizens under the law and Constitution.
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

The right wing conservatives (that is, the religious extremists) are pushing the state legislatures (including Texas) to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions they morally object to. The main focus is to allow them to refuse to sell “Morning After” birth control drugs when the patient provides a valid prescription.

John Belisarius at The Emerging Democratic Majority has a lengthy discussion of the Elitism involved in this effort. The conscience clause may be reasonable for an MD, DO or Registered Nurse, but a pharmacist is not in such a critical position. He or she is really no different from a clerk selling cigarettes or alcohol to customers.

Pharmacists […]do not personally select medications, prescribe them or administer them. They dispense them in accordance with a doctor's instructions. Drug store pharmacists may have more specialized education and greater responsibilities then other retail salespeople, but when they package and sell a customer a product they personally consider ethically objectionable their individual moral involvement and responsibility - which is what we are talking about here -- is in absolutely no way greater or more direct then that of a ordinary convenience store cashier who sells condoms of which he or she morally disapproves or a supermarket, gas station or 7-11 cashier who sells cigarettes that he or she personally considers addictive and poisonous and therefore deeply immoral on ethical and religious grounds.

We license MD’s and DO’s to make the decisions regarding what medications a patient will take. We license Pharmacists to obtain or formulate, warehouse, package, dispense, and ensure the reliability of the medications the physicians have prescribed. That is a very technical and important job, but the pharmacist is NOT licensed to refuse the orders of a physician. The pharmacist is a member of the medical team and is not the leader. He can advise the physician, he can report a physician for malpractice, but he cannot countermand him.

One pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for a child's ritalin. A number have refused to fill prescriptions for birth control pills. A pharmacist in Denton, TX refused to fill a prescription for a day-after pill for a woman who had been raped.

I do tax returns for people through one of the larger chains. The refund anticipation loans cost up to 780% (annualized per year) for a loan that gets them the refund perhaps two or three weeks before the IRS would get it to them. I find such usury to be immoral. My choice is to perform the job or to quit. The customers came to get their taxes done, not to listen to me tell them how they are being ripped off (they are – big time.)

The pharmacists have the same choice I have. They can do their job – all of it – or they can quit and find other work if their morality won’t let them function as they are expected to. If they really want to make the decisions regarding what medications people will be prescribed, then they should go to Medical School and become physicians.

[Cross-posted from Politics Plus Stuff by Richard Brewer.]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Max Kelly has the scoop via Daily Kos:

Texas House Rep. Frank Corte wants doctor's [sic] to lie to women. At least, that's the conclusion I've drawn after reading Texas House Bill 1469:

the physician who is to perform the abortion or the referring physician informs the woman [of] the particular medical risks associated with the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including ... the possibility of increased risk of breast cancer following an induced abortion...

Of course, this has been debunked for a while now. Though, it doesn't seem like all this "science" stuff and "facts" really matter, since it's out of committee now.

Rep. Corte is the same guy pushing through a "pharmacist's right to refuse service" bill. And there's no clause that requires the refusing pharmacist to refer the patient to someone else.

And just to add another jab, you'll notice in his bio that he received the Texas Christian Coalition "Friend of the Family Award". A group with extremely strong ties to Tom DeLay. I wonder if Corte has made any trips recently....

Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

Two really big stories that I originally missed in the Dallas Morning News today. The first is a profile of a small town, Fabens,TX, in which the only pharmacy in town will not allow patients to buy prescriptions because it would conflict with radical religious ideas. The second is an article which shows that the radical right, no longer content with arguments about abortion, is expanding its war against human sexuality to include limiting access to contraception. Regarding renegade pharmacists, the Morning News cites other cases of such behavior in Texas over the last few years:

On the other side are reproductive-rights groups pushing for access to the drugs. And there are others concerned that pharmacists might refuse to dispense a wide range of prescribed medicine, not just birth control. Last year, a Dallas pharmacist refused to fill a child's prescription for Ritalin.

"There's a lot more to this than just a reproductive issue," said Julee Lacey, who was denied a birth control prescription by a North Richland Hills pharmacist in March 2004.

The month before, a Denton pharmacist denied emergency contraceptive to a rape victim.

In that case, the pharmacist and two co-workers were fired for violating policies of the store (an Eckerds, which is now owned by another company).

A RAPE VICTIM! But the radical right wing has decided that these actions are appropriate and they are sponsoring legislation in Texas and nationwide to allow it to continue:

The incident has inspired bills in several states meant to shield pharmacists from losing their jobs if they refuse to prescribe emergency contraception.

The radical fringe conservatives currently in control in Austin have been particularly busy on this front over the last 3 years:

2001 – The Legislature mandates that those 17 and younger receive permission from parents before obtaining prescription birth control.

2002 – Federal grant money is made available to school districts solely for sex education that is based on abstinence only. Contraception cannot be mentioned.

2003 – The Legislature cuts $13 million from Planned Parenthood's 75 health clinics because it operates seven privately funded clinics offering abortion services. Litigation has prevented the funding cut.

2004 – The State Board of Education removes language on contraception from health textbooks in favor of language that says abstinence is the only method to prevent pregnancy and disease.

2005 – The Senate passes two measures aimed at Planned Parenthood, diverting $2.5 million to organizations that promote childbirth in crisis pregnancies and $11 million to clinics without abortion affiliates.

2005 – Several bills are still pending to allow pharmacists to refuse filling prescriptions for the "morning-after" contraceptive pill on conscientious grounds.

It is important for people to be aware that this is a particular set of actions that directly and negatively impacts those loyal, rural, "values voters" that the GOP claims to protect:

There are 6,093 licensed pharmacies in Texas and mail-order options, but it's a big state with 199 towns that have only one drug store. And those often have only one pharmacist.

"If somebody wants to get emergency contraception filled and they go to the one pharmacy and are refused, she then has to go 30 to 50 miles to the next town and just hope she can get the prescription filled in the time frame she has left," said Tony R. Thornton, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Association of LubbockInc. "Not everyone has transportation, you know."

The problem can be further exacerbated because many stores, including national chains, don't offer all forms of birth control. The morning-after pill is frequently not offered.


Large retailers

Wal-Mart Inc., one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical chains, doesn't stock it and there are 10 towns in Texas in which Wal-Mart is the only pharmacy.

"We do not carry emergency contraceptives, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jacquie Young. "It's based on business factors. We have to refer our customers to another pharmacy in the community that can help them in a timely manner just as we do other drugs we do stock."

Ms. Young declined to say what went into the decision not to sell emergency contraceptive or whether the retailer could make money on the drug.

"It's not political or moral. We carry over 100,000 products every day, and our merchandising teams decide what we carry," she said.

National chains deciding against carrying a drug exacerbates the problem of accessibility for women who need it within a short time frame, said Ms. Hays.

"The pro-life movement has been very smart about pressuring corporations," she said. "If you pressure Wal-Mart out of the business and you take the money [away] from Planned Parenthood, many poor women will have no access to contraception, and they won't have access to emergency contraception."

So there you have it. The right wing is slowly forcing a regime of repression that will most impact the free choice and freedom of the very people it claims to represent.

[Originally posted at Corked Bats Blog.]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

A very small Fort Bend newspaper covered a late March Tom DeLay speech to the Sugar Land Rotary Club in which he ranted about "judicial activism" and boasted about the introduction of a bill to split the Ninth Circuit Court (San Fransisco) in two and force it to meet in Guam. He also let the cat out of the bag and said explicitly that "we are after them," meaning the courts, and that it would be appropriate for Congress to "uncreate" courts to combat "judicial activism."

"We have (sic) unaccountable, out of control judiciary. We are after them," DeLay said.

"The Constitution gives us (Congress) the responsibility to create courts. If we can create them, we can uncreate them," he said.

DeLay made a special mention of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court in California, that is in favor of taking God out of the Pledge of Allegiance and said the House adopted a bill to break that court into two and make the (sic) meet in Guam.

DeLay also made a bizzare, comic book super-villain-esque taunt to his critics: "The more they attack, the stronger I get."

Bwahahahahahaha!

The rest is here.

[Originally reported at Corked Bats Blog.]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

The Dallas Morning News reported that Eric Thode, Chairman of the Fort Bend County GOP, recently forwarded an email from the DeLay campaign to a list of 2000 Houston Republicans. The email is described here. The story also indicates that Republicans do not intend to back down on DeLay, but rather are preparing for battle.

Though not noted in the Dallas Morning News Article, Mr. Thode was a Director of Public Relations for Enron from 1999 until 2003.

According to Tom DeLay: "Eric Thode is the best County Chairman Fort Bend County has ever had."

Two peas in a pod!

[Originally reported at Corked Bats Blog.]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

The Texas Legislature is in session! Hold your wallet and hide your daughters! Don't let them find your books! They have torches!

And this Legislature belongs to the religious fundamentalist Republicans! It's worse than most!

State Rep. Charlie Howard, (R-Sugar Land - also Represented in the US Congress by Tom DeLay), wants to inflict his House Bill 220 on the students in Texas. The news is here in the April 23rd Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

"By R.A. Dyer
Star-Telegram Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Biblical creationism could be taught side by side with evolution in science textbooks under legislation pending in the Texas House, according to the bill's sponsor.

State Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, said his House Bill 220 would give the elected State Board of Education more control over the content of school textbooks. Students should get information about creationism if they are being taught about evolution, and he said his legislation could lead the way.

"I don't believe in evolution -- I believe in creation," he said. "Some of our books right now only teach evolution, [but] if you're going to teach one, you ought to teach both."

The Houston-area lawmaker also said the State Board of Education, a Republican-controlled body with strong representation by social conservatives, should have the discretion to remove evolution segments from science textbooks."

This was the problem that existed prior to the change in the law in 1995. The Creationists were causing Texas students to be taught from textbooks that had no mention of Evolution.

The argument Representative Howard is that he doesn't believe in Evolution and that if Evolution is taught in science classes, Creationism should also be taught along side it.

OK. On his first point, his belief in Creationism, alien abduction, a flat Earth, Next Wednesdays' lottery number or anything else has nothing to do with what should be taught in science classes. Science classes are established to teach students about the subject of science.

The curriculum in science classes should consist of facts, theory and the forms of scientific thought. Representative Howard seems to be addressing a sense of fairness when he thinks that if the theory of Evolution is taught in science classes, then Creationism should also be taught alongside it. This is apparently because both Evolution and creationism seem to answer the same question - Where did different species come from?

What is missing is that Creationism is not science, it is not scientific, and it teaches a form of magic rather than scientific thought. Creationism does not come from a study of the facts of the various species. It is not a scientific theory because it cannot be phrased as a hypothesis that guides the search for facts that will prove it untrue.

The fact that Creationism undermines scientific forms of thought is its most significant failing - as part of a science class. Inherent in the idea of Creationism is that the human mind cannot comprehend how species were differentiated because that is something done by God.

So Creationism not only does not fit in science classes as a viable "alternative theory", it is in fact destructive to efforts to teach students how to think scientifically. So Representative Howard's argument fails on both counts.

I am not going to say that a "scientist" who believes in Creationism cannot contribute to the advancement of science, but I am certain that no Creationist has ever built a major research program on Creationism that led to any form of major scientific advancement at all.

A scientist who believes in Creationism is like a one-armed handball player. He may not be totally useless on the court, but with his disability he will never be a ranking player of the game. Do we want to try to train a generation of crippled scientists because Representative Howard does not "believe in Evolution?"

Creationism is already widely taught in the fundamentalist churches here in Texas. They don't allow Evolution as an alternate "religious" teaching. Representative Howard's effort to shoe-horn it into science classes where it does not belong really needs to be rejected.


[Cross Posted from Politics Plus Stuff by Richard Brewer]
Rabid conservatism defeats itself!

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Rabid conservatism defeats itself!