Tweet of the Day, This Is What A Ninth-Level Rogue Looks Like edition.

Wasn’t quite high-level enough to get away cleanly, but that’s a 9th level Rogue with the Thief archetype and expertise in Acrobatics, Stealth, and thieves’ tools. Unfortunately, she was definitely (at best) Neutral Evil, which is a turn-off for me, at least. I mean, sheesh, she should have just gone to jail; clearly the woman is capable of breaking out of there, too.

Interesting: GOP’s John Lujan wins Texas legislature special election.

The San Antonio district was a Democratic one, and heavily Latino, and John Lujan won it.  By the skin of his teeth, mind you.  This is why you always go and vote:

If it’s important enough to have an election, it’s important enough for you to vote in it. And there’s always going to be somebody who you don’t like who would very much like you to stay home. Always always always. It’s pretty much a physical law of the universe, in fact.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott sends a BLISTERING letter on sanctuary cities.

This letter (H/T: @brianmrosenthal) went out to Lupe Valdez, the (Democratic) Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. Sheriff Valdez made the news recently when she announced that her jurisdiction (which includes the City of Dallas) would not “comply with federal requests to detain immigrants in the country illegally if her office does not find them to be a significant public safety risk” (as the Houston Chronicle put it).  Governor Abbott’s response was remarkably straightforward:

Your refusal to fully participate in a federal law enforcement program intended to keep dangerous criminals off the streets leaves the State no choice but to take whatever actions are necessary to protect our fellow Texans. Policies like yours compel Texas to take action to protect Texans’ safety and to reduce the costs that those policies may impose on Texas taxpayers.

At a minimum, Texas must pass laws that prohibit any policy or action like yours that promotes sanctuary to people in this state illegally. The State must also enact laws that make it illegal for a Sheriff’s Department to not honor a federal immigration detainer request. Texas must also evaluate the extent to which local taxpayers should foot the bill for local decisions that increase costs for our health and education systems. Further, the State should consider amending the Tort Claims Act to ensure counties are fully financially responsible for the actions of any illegal immigrants who are released because the county’s Sheriff failed to honor an ICE detainer request.

Continue reading Texas Governor Greg Abbott sends a BLISTERING letter on sanctuary cities.

Texas subpoenas Planned Parenthood records from 2010 on.

Wonderful thing, a subpoena.

Texas health officials showed up at five Planned Parenthood facilities Thursday morning with subpoenas for patient and employee records, according to the clinics.

Officials with the inspector general’s office at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission went to two facilities in Houston as well as clinics in Dallas, San Antonio and Brownsville. The Brownsville center does not perform abortions.

…but the Brownsville center may have indulged in Medicaid fraud. Certainly the state of Texas thinks that the rest of Planned Parenthood may have indulged in Medicaid fraud.  And why would they think that?  Well, I don’t know: maybe it’s because back in 2013 Planned Parenthood got caught doing precisely that: Continue reading Texas subpoenas Planned Parenthood records from 2010 on.

A federal minimum wage should be anathema to anybody who likes local city life.

(Via Hot Air) I was struck by something when I read this: “Neither Obama nor Clinton has spoken critically of a $15-an-hour federal minimum. But recent comments from the candidate, and from officials in Obama’s administration, suggest Clinton and Obama may be worried that such a large increase could prove too much for some parts of the country to bear.” To wit, that this may be one situation where the Democratic establishment may not actually understand the motivations of its own liberal base. For that matter, possibly the liberal base doesn’t really actively understand said motivations either. Continue reading A federal minimum wage should be anathema to anybody who likes local city life.

Rick Perry: stop paying sanctuary cities to defy federal law.

Former Governor Rick Perry of Texas wants to hit ‘sanctuary cities’ where it hurts: smack dab in the middle of their federal funding.

“Today, I am proposing to pull funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program—or SCAAP—from sanctuary cities. States with sanctuary cities will lose a proportionate amount of their SCAAP funding as well. SCAAP funding will also be restricted to jurisdictions that actively participate in immigration law enforcement programs. Cities and counties with sanctuary policies in place will also be prohibited from applying for federal law enforcement or Department of Homeland Security grants. Federal taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the irresponsible behavior of these governments. Furthermore, the Justice Department should allow federal immigration officials, either through the executive branch or Congressional action, to have access to prisons and holding facilities in sanctuary cities and counties, so as to verify the immigration status of people in those facilities.”

Continue reading Rick Perry: stop paying sanctuary cities to defy federal law.

The (liberal) Austin, Texas City Council’s War on Barbecue.

(H/T Reason): Yikes.

If you live on the outskirts of Austin, your suburb might be the new target for barbecue joints looking to open in Travis County. That is if prospective restaurateurs see a new resolution from the Austin City Council as too onerous. It requires that barbecue smokers (and other wood-fired cooking devices) be placed at least 100 feet from adjacent residential property lines, or that they “mitigate the impact of smoke emissions” on their neighbors.

And, yeah, this is serious: Continue reading The (liberal) Austin, Texas City Council’s War on Barbecue.

Obama judicial appointee Mary Helen Murguia put Elton Simpson back on the street.

Let’s unpack this.

[FBI Director James] Comey said that [Elton] Simpson was first placed under FBI watch since 2006, when the agency first learned the Phoenix-area man wanted to join al-Shabab, the al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia. Simpson was ultimately indicted on terrorism charges and convicted, but due to questions over the government’s case, he never went to prison and was sentenced to probation. The FBI officially closed its case into Simpson last year.

As in, let’s look at the timeline. Continue reading Obama judicial appointee Mary Helen Murguia put Elton Simpson back on the street.