6.30.2015

Look At Who Is About To Become The Most Famous Texas County Clerk In History


She just issued this statement on the Hood County's website.

Girl, you have no idea of the media storm that is headed your way. She'll be busy because there is "no hiding":


And speaking of marriage, her husband ran for office. He has personal convictions as well: 



at 10:40 AM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • The County Clerk for Hood County had national attention brought upon herself yesterday when she announced she would not issue same sex marriage licenses for religious reasons. Her name: Katie Lang. Please pronounce that name. If you now have "Constant Cravings" in your head and are overcome with a sense of irony, congratulations. 
  • A Lubbock Justice of the Peace says that if he has to choose between marrying gays or marrying no one, he will choose no one.  That's either a strong religious stance or a brilliant way of reducing his work load at the same pay grade.
  • Hey, I dog radio talk show host Mark Davis all the time but he had a segment yesterday where he debated Sally Kohn and the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling. It was everything talk radio should be: Smart, respectful, left hooks, right hooks, and funny. (I had never heard Kohn before, but she was fantastic.) 
  • Davis is promoting a Libertarian theory of marriage: Keep the government out of it. Marry who you want and government's only role is to record that contract like they would a deed. I like the idea but feel like there are a million problems with it that I haven't thought about. I guess that theory would also make polygamy legal but, then again, it was good enough for Abraham, Isaac. King David, and King Solomon (who may be the leader in the clubhouse with 700 wives.)
  • Sports: (1) One month ago I wrote "Everyone can calm down about Joey Gallo. It is one game." He is now batting .218 and, with 87 at bats, he has struck out a remarkable 43 times. (2) Vegas has placed the odds of TCU winning a national championship at 9 to 1 and has already set the line on the Texas game where the Frogs are a 21 point favorite. 
  • Chris Christie joins the Republican field for president today. This is going to be like a good old fashioned cage match at the Sportatorium with bodies flying everywhere.
  • Bristol Palin: “This pregnancy was actually planned. Everyone knows I wanted more kids, to have a bigger family. Believing I was heading that way, I got ahead of myself.”  And you thought Supreme Court opinions were difficult to decipher. 
  • This morning in Dallas: A car gets destroyed in a wreck and ends up a couple of feet from a house which would not have taken the impact well. 

at 8:44 AM

6.29.2015

Trivia: Name This 1980ish Rock Star Who Was On True Detective Last Night



Answer.

I've always wanted to know the name of the girl Jessie was dating.
at 5:00 PM

Supreme Court Continues To Launch Bombs


Calm down. It's just a temporary stay until they review the case.
at 3:16 PM

Monday Afternoon Sing-a-Long Time






at 2:54 PM

More Gay News: Dateline Denton County

Link.

I'm guessing we haven't had a Wise County application yet. Am I wrong?
at 1:18 PM

Addison: Video Guy Might Be A Jerk, But He's Correct



It's legal to film the police in public. And a person cannot be detained unless there is a reasonable suspicion to "suggest that something of an apparently criminal nature is afoot". (It's a bizarre standard but it is not met in this case.)  Finally, unless you are being legally detained, you don't have to identify yourself to the police officer.

More.
at 12:46 PM

Water Hose vs. Gay Pride Demonstrator: Who Ya Got?




at 10:52 AM

Heard About This Over The Weekend But Hadn't Seen It





A freak inferno at a Taiwanese water park left 516 people injured Saturday as terrified revelers scrambled for their lives from the fast-moving flames, officials said.

Amateur video shot at the Formosa Water Park indicates the fire erupted as organizers of the “Color Play Asia” event sprayed a colored powder on the crowd of about 1,000 dancers. More.
at 8:58 AM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts





  • What a week: Gay marriage is legal. Obamacare lives. The confederate flag comes down. I wonder what Sarah Palin thinks about her rant from five years ago:  "How's that hopey, changey thing working out for ya?' 
  • I've dogged Tarrant County DA Sharen Wilson to no end, but I'll give her huge credit for not interfering with the county clerk immediately issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Friday. In fact, she instructed the clerk to issue the licenses to all people who "qualified" shortly after the decision. 
  • With that decision by the Supreme Court, the U.S. leads the way on gay marriage. That's true until you realize we are the 23rd county to do so and even that freedom loving Mexico beat us to it by one week. 
  • What are the chances of some people flying their U.S. flag upside down on the Fourth of July in protest? I'd put the odds at strong to quite strong. 
  • Ted Cruz has not taken this well. On Friday he said it was “some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history.” (Think about that for a second. 9/11. Pearl Harbor. Gay marriage?) But he went further: “I am proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would subject each and every justice of the United States Supreme Court to periodic judicial retention elections,"
  • Do they still have debutante balls? (I actually dated a girl once who was "honored" at one when she was a teenager. I'm as confused by that concept now as I was then.)
  • I saw that Dez Bryant played in a celebrity softball/baseball game and did a backflip in the outfield. Dude! Think about that ACL and Achilles tendon! Since Bryant hasn't signed off on the Cowboys' franchise tag yet, the team could have withdrawn it if he had ended up in an ambulance. Once he agrees, it's guaranteed. The guy is a great player but a dumb one.  
  • For some reason I wondered this weekend what ever happened to Patty Duke. That's a truly random thought. Turns out she's alive and well and actually appeared on an episode of Glee a couple of years ago.
  • Joel Osteen was heckled during a sermon this weekend by members of  The Church of Wells. That name rang a bell with me. Quick research revealed this bullet point of mine from March of last year: "Fascinating story in last month's Texas Monthly. Basically a couple of ex-Baylor students take the Bible very literally and form what may or may not be a cult in Wells, Texas. In fact, that's the subtitle: 'When is a church a cult?' It's a fine line.'"
  • I'm now in the painting phase of the Backstop Project. Full testing has not yet occurred since the Pitcher In The House was in a softball tournament. 
  • Bullet point for an audience of one who shares my enjoyment of Supreme Court oral arguments: Listen or read this one regarding "prolonged detention" during a traffic stop and the use of a drug dog during a traffic stop. The lawyer for the defendant is beyond inept. Scalia went after him but then simply gave up because it was too easy.  But the lawyer did win the case because, as it almost always true, the facts ruled.






at 8:39 AM

6.28.2015

Texas AG Ken Paxton Is Now The Leader Of the Confederacy Of Dunces



That is mind blowing.  The opinion of Ken Paxton is that County Clerks can defy the law and even encourages them to do so. The clerks might get sued, but he tells them he has a bunch of (nutcase) lawyers to back them up. Interesting. They will work for free and cannot be associated with his AG's office. Notice that he does not mention who pays the judgment once they certainly lose.

Judge Judy is smarter than Paxton. The Supreme Court makes a decision and it becomes the law of the land. It's a simple concept, and it's called "the rule of law". It is our foundation which has us accept and follow decisions from Brown vs. Board of Education to Bush vs. Gore. 

Let's flashback to earlier this year when the Texas strongmen thought that the President had violated the Constitution:


This may be the most embarrassing moment in Texas history.  It is the modern day equivalent of George Wallace standing in front of the schoolhouse door. I knew Idiocracy was coming, I just didn't expect Texas government to be leading the way

Edit: Great find by Bud Kennedy - A 1983 Texas AG opinion regarding whether a Justice of the Peace can refuse to marry interracial couples.



at 6:56 PM

Supply Rocket To Space Station Explodes This Morning


Video

Followed by an incredible tweet from:


at 10:08 AM

6.26.2015

And The Day Ends

at 9:12 PM

Now That's Some Leadership Right There: "Gimme Money"


at 1:50 PM

So Let's Check In On Texas County Clerks In Light Of Supreme Court Ruling



The only reports of feet dragging:


Denton County Clerk Juli Luke said she would not issue a marriage license to a same sex couple until she heard from the DA.  She was somehow confused because now our "state law contradicts with federal law". The DA (and I love this) told her it was her call. She now isn't issuing them because she needs "changes" from her "vendor".  Hmmm.

In Williamson County, the clerk won't issue them because the County Attorney is reviewing the decision. (Maybe he is a slow reader.) 

Collin County is still waiting for legal advice.  

So we have Denton, Williamson, and Collin? You kind of expect that. Harris County is a holdout and that's a huge surprise. The County Attorney told the County Clerk to comply with law and is now seeking a court order to force his to so. The village is getting restless down there.  Edit: Harris County will now issue licenses at 3:00 p.m. 

Dallas, Tarrant and Travis counties are full speed ahead. Even McLennan County didn't bat an eye. 
at 1:10 PM

Exactly What Does Our Governor Mean?




The Supreme Court says there is a constitutional right that requires state governments to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. I agree it was a long and complicated opinion, and this constitutional law stuff is hard, but someone explained it this way:


at 10:26 AM

Oh, My!



And, it looks like I am once again a legal genius. I call your attention to this Random Thought from April 29th:

Kennedy wrote the opinion released today and check out how he ended it: Dignity.

But we must interrupt this historic moment for comedy:


at 9:05 AM

Baby News


Flashback from 2011:

Flashback to January of this year:

Edit: Baylor Too commenter pointed out that he couldn't find proof that she said that. As I quickly put this post together, I questioned it myself and put half the quote in Google this morning along with "Palin" and a ton of headlines came up about her being crazy at CPAC. I thought that was good enough.  But upon further review, I'm not sure she said it. It's certainly something she would say, but it's certainly not fair to attribute the quote to her if she actually didn't say it.
at 8:51 AM
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