Tag Archives: Texas Legislature

Locking the barn door

Posted on February 2, 2013 | Comments Off on Locking the barn door

Or, maybe, I should say the garage door. Anyhow, this move of the Newtown school district to put an armed guard in their devastated school is better late than never I suppose.

I was interested to see that the guard is called a “school resource officer,” which I suppose besides being typical government-speak is intended not to rattle the easily upset. And Barry’s magic wand order a few weeks ago talked about funding “school resource officers” which I didn’t understand at the time. So even King Putz is backing the NRA idea that he and his party decried. Whatever.

This will be a subject for the Texas Legislature this session which just opened here in Lefty town, the only such in Texas. I still think it would be simpler to a) remove those stupid “gun free zone” signs that are invitations to the deranged and b) train and arm a teacher or administrator to be the guard. But it’s good to hear something besides idiot arguments about disarming the law-abiding.

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Posted in Guns, Obamalot, Texana

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Guns on campus defeated

Posted on June 1, 2009 | Comments Off on Guns on campus defeated

Not surprisingly, commonsense has failed the Texas Lege, that notable bastion of insipidity, and the concealed-carry-on-campus bill that passed the Texas Senate never made it out of the House. It has officially failed for the session. Might be brought back. Might not. Wouldbe campus killers take note: You’re still good to go. Nobody will shoot back and, as always, the cops won’t get there in time to stop you.

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Posted in Texana

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Concealed carry on campus

Posted on May 21, 2009 | Comments Off on Concealed carry on campus

The Texas Senate has passed the bill, SB 1164. Now it’s up to the House, where passage is far more problematic because of more Democrat influence and a weak Speaker.

The Lege is due to work all weekend, in its usual biennial rush to do everything at the last minute, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, the usual suspects are frothing, but notice that the commenters there aren’t having any of the predictable anti-gun flapdoodle. I’m still in favor of the idea. I just doubt the Lege is capable of this much commonsense.

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Posted in Texana

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Guns on campus, etc.

Posted on April 1, 2009 | Comments Off on Guns on campus, etc.

The daily, which usually opposes wider gun privileges, is off to a good start on this Texas legislation to allow folks with training and concealed-carry permits to tote their guns to college campuses, businesses and even bars. Most of Big Media is predictably beating the drum against this latest Texas insanity, etc.

I favor the changes. Not that I don’t realize it could become messy in some situations. But as it stands now anyone, from crazed student to embittered ex-employee, knows his victims are almost certain to be unarmed. Because it’s the law. Take that certainty away and you very likely could stop some, if not all, of the periodic mass murders on campus, at work, even at church, which we’ve all become unnecessarily inured to. Relying on the police to arrive in time and do it all is the real insanity.

UPDATE:  Indeed, get this from report of the latest massacre: "Police heard no gunfire after they arrived but waited for about an hour before entering the building to make sure it was safe for officers." Makes you feel real protected, right? At best, your loved ones will get an "investigation" after your funeral.

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Posted in Texana

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Texas lege

Posted on February 8, 2008 | Comments Off on Texas lege

Texas has changed in many ways in the past thirty years, as the population has grown and grown, but some things haven’t changed at all. Such as the Legislature’s flaunting of its own rules, particularly on voting for bills and amendments. Lawmakers supposedly are forbidden to push the buttons of the voting machines for their absent colleagues, but they certainly do, as shown rather comically in this good video report from KEYETV Austin that’s making the angry-taxpayer email-forwarding rounds. What’s rules for thee and me ain’t no rules at all for them. Thank goodness they only meet every two years. Better would be every four years. Best of all would be never.

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Posted in Texana

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They left out the puppet shows

Posted on May 6, 2007 | Comments Off on They left out the puppet shows

Michael Wayne Martin was my favorite story of a Texas legislator gone bad. From performing religious puppet shows at churches in his hometown of Longview, he fell from grace in the early 1980s when he hired his brother to shoot at him to draw sympathy for his re-election campaign. Instead he was arrested by the Texas Rangers while hiding in one of the big stereo speakers he used for his shows. Later he admitted to perjury under a plea bargain and left state politics. Now he’s back, as just plain Wayne, running for city council in Bee Cave, southwest of Austin. The daily has this good piece on him, indicating that Mike is still not entirely out of the woods. Except they left out my favorite part: the puppet shows.

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Posted in Texana

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