Texas Politics

1. Perry’s education numbers don’t always add up
   Gov. Rick Perry needs to check his math, says the Texas State Teachers Association. The governor contends the state is spending about $10,000 per student, which he believes is enough for public education. “His figures are about as bad as his educational policies,” says Clay Robison, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association. Robison cited [...]
2. Eagle Forum takes on Harmony charter schools
   The Texas chapter of the Eagle Forum wants state lawmakers to pass legislation requiring all charter school operators to be U.S. citizens.  With 36 campuses, Harmony has become the state’s largest charter school system.   “Thousands of American children are becoming sympathetic to the Turkish way of life,” MerryLynn Gerstenschlager told the House Public Education Committee [...]
3. A Bircher lunch bunch in Houston
   Texans old enough to remember the highway billboards urging in stark red letters on a white background “Get US Out of UN” might be wondering what became of the Communist-hating, conspiracy-mongering organization behind the message. I can tell you. The Houston chapter of the John Birch Society — “Do they still exist?” a number of [...]
4. Cruz disputes Politifact’s “Pants on Fire” rating
   U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz has found himself in a tug-of-war with the Austin American-Statesman’s edition of Politifact after the fact-checking project handed Cruz a “Pants on Fire” rating for a claim Cruz made accusing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst of supporting a state income tax. In a January Senate debate, Cruz said Dewhurst had promoted [...]
5. Gov. Perry asks if he can put presidential dollars into (possibly a Super) PAC
   Gov. Rick Perry, who suspended his presidential campaign Jan. 19, is asking the Federal Election Commission whether he can put leftover money into a political action committee – possibly a Super PAC. As another alternative, he asked the FEC in a letter dated Feb. 13 and released Thursday whether he can put the money into [...]
6. Sadler to Dewhurst: ‘work or resign’
    Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst should “get to work or resign,” says Paul Sadler, former House Public Education chairman, who believes state lawmakers need to come back to the state Capitol to work on school funding in a special legislative session.  Dewhurst is running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate; Sadler is running  for [...]
7. Texas property owners, activists sound alarm on Keystone XL
   Landowners and property-rights advocates are calling for legislative hearings over the state’s property-condemnation process, voicing complaints about TransCanada’s continuing efforts to acquire land for the Keystone XL pipeline project. Several activists accused the company of using the eminent domain process “to bully landowners and condemn private property.” A company spokesman said it strives for a [...]
8. Texas Democrats urge Perry to call special (school funding) session
   The Texas Democratic Party has joined several others groups in calling on Gov. Rick Perry to call a special legislative session for lawmakers to deal with school funding. Democrats blame Republican for public education budget cuts resulting in  11 Dallas schools closing and  thousands of teachers laid off statewide –  with more expected. The cuts also [...]
9. Santorum: today Obama, tomorrow the blade
   “When you marginalize faith in America, when you remove the pillar of God-given rights, then what’s left is the French Revolution,” Rick Santorum told an overflow crowd of supporters in Plano on Wednesday night. What’s left, he said, is the guillotine. I felt my throat tighten at the prospect, although the former Pennsylvania senator, riding [...]
10. Texas Supreme Court again rejects business-tax challenge
    The Texas Supreme Court turned back another challenge to the state business tax, saying the companies that brought the lawsuit didn’t meet legal requirements for filing such a case. A challenge under the tax code only can be brought if a company has paid taxes under protest or asked the state for a refund, according [...]