Islamists* attack Garland, TX Muhammad exhibit, are promptly shot down in the street like dogs.

Personally, I’m not overfond of being casually rude about a man’s religion – unless it’s a Greenie’s, of course** – but America is chock-full of things that I’m not overfond of, and my opinion is ultimately irrelevant about just about every single one of them. That’s one of the glorious things about America. We don’t have to care if your nose is bent out of shape over something.

Continue reading Islamists* attack Garland, TX Muhammad exhibit, are promptly shot down in the street like dogs.

Ted Cruz and the space progra… Geez, people, he’s a Senator from TEXAS.

OF COURSE HE’S GOING TO BE FOR THE GORAM SPACE PROGRAM.  JUST LIKE THE SENATORS FROM ALABAMA, CALIFORNIA, AND FLORIDA ARE*.

Sorry.  It amazes me that some people can’t seem to get an elementary fact like that through their heads. Although I suppose it’d be more accurate to say that they won’t let an elementary fact like that get through their heads.  Anyway, here’s Sen. Cruz on NASA:

Q. For the last three years NASA has been building the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. Do you support the continuation of these programs?

A. SLS and Orion are critical to our medium- and long-term ability to explore space, whether it is the moon, Mars or beyond. Absolutely I support them. At the same time, I am deeply concerned about our inability to reach low Earth orbit right now. We are entirely dependent upon the Russian Soyuz system. It is unacceptable from the perspective of space interest and also from national security interests. I have repeatedly inquired of this administration about its contingency plans if the Russians shut off the Soyuz. The answers have been altogether insufficient. America should have the capacity to get to the International Space Station without the assistance of the Russians. Americans should have the capacity to launch a rescue mission to the station – should that prove necessary – without being dependent. America should have the capacity to launch our critical satellites without needing to acquire Russian RD-180s (rocket engines).

Continue reading Ted Cruz and the space progra… Geez, people, he’s a Senator from TEXAS.

Federal court tosses Texan(!) hair-braiding regulations.

Well, I guess no place is perfect.

A federal judge has ruled as unconstitutional Texas laws regulating businesses that teach African hair braiding.

The judge in Austin ruled the regulations do not advance public health and safety or any other legitimate government interest.

Melissa Clouthier sums it up pretty well, here: Continue reading Federal court tosses Texan(!) hair-braiding regulations.

How the not-actually-mighty have fallen.

Well now.

I’m guessing that the consensus is ‘no:’

“[Wendy Davis] does well on TV. That’s a pretty well-tried path for people like her,” said Matt Bennett, former aide to President Bill Clinton and Al Gore and co-founder of the moderate Democratic group Third Way. “That is a path she might be happier on anyway. She of all people knows how tough it is to win in Texas.”

“She’s still a star in Democratic politics,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what Texas thinks of her.”

…By the way: that language above is how to poison the future political career of a problematic candidate on your own side.  It’s remarkably elegant, in its way. Not a single open insult in the excerpt; and yet you know that Bennett is providing Davis with the Kiss of Death.

Ach, well.

MSNBC: those Nazis in Texas with their driver’s license laws! (…Which are much like, erm, Maryland’s*.)

OK, let’s set the scene:

[Lynne] Messinger said she spoke to a clerk at the desk, and explained that she had a California driver’s license. She has houses in both California and Texas and goes back and forth between the two, but decided several years ago to switch her voting residency to Texas.

The clerk left for a few minutes, then told her to take a seat. At that point, Messinger said, a state trooper summoned her into his back office, saying he needed to speak to her. Once inside his office, Messinger said the trooper insisted on seeing all the documentation she had brought, and demanded to know where she lives and pays taxes. He even told her she could be jailed for driving with a California license.* It is illegal to drive in Texas on another state’s driver’s license 90 days after moving into the state.

Continue reading MSNBC: those Nazis in Texas with their driver’s license laws! (…Which are much like, erm, Maryland’s*.)

Expanding on that CSI comment.

I just wanted to add a little to this:

Not the bit about ‘No jury would convict;’ the bit about CSI. I think that thirty years ago, that guy would have been convicted of second degree murder, or possibly would have gotten to cop to a temporary insanity plea; because thirty years ago the fact that the guy had ammo of the same type as the bullet used in the homicide, but no gun* for that ammo, would have loomed larger than the fact that there was no powder residue on the guy’s hands or arms. Forensics is not actually magic, or a collection of Magic Plot Devices; if the guy knew what he was doing then he could have scrubbed the evidence, easy. If he did, that was apparently enough to let him go free. Continue reading Expanding on that CSI comment.

Rick Perry wanted to replace Rosemary Lehmberg with… another Austin Democrat.

This should shock nobody.

Gov. Rick Perry personally called a well-known Austin Democrat to discuss her interest in replacing Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg days before the public learned Perry was threatening to withhold state funding from Lehmberg’s office unless she resigned.

Austin defense attorney Mindy Montford, who previously ran as a Democratic candidate for state district judge and district attorney in Travis County, confirmed her conversation with Perry — which took place in early June 2013, to the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV on Sunday.

Continue reading Rick Perry wanted to replace Rosemary Lehmberg with… another Austin Democrat.

Rick Perry’s speech today lacked only a certain word* for pure ‘Democrats done messed up’ awesomeness.

Via Patterico comes a marvelous moment from Texas governor Rick Perry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSQIILTmRrI

Here’s a free-form translation: They say I used my authority as Governor to line-item-veto a part of the budget to get rid of a horrible, horrible district attorney. Danged straight I did this.  I said I was going to do this, and then I went and did this, and I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight because I did this to a drunk driver who blew a .239 on her BAC and then threatened the cops who arrested her booze-raddled carcass.  I get that this might be all right behavior by Austin voters’ standards, but it’s not for the rest of us, and by ‘us’ I mean America.  And I’d do it again, with a smile.  Because I want to be President, and Travis County Democrats just made it the tiniest bit easier for me to get the job.

Remarkably, I’m not really doing too much free-form translating there.  This was six minutes of political fun: a line in the sand, just the right amount of genuine anger, and absolutely no weaseling at all.  I don’t know if anybody’s told the Democratic party this, but that plays well in Peoria.  Also Des Moines, Boulder, Richmond, Miami, Reno, Concord, Lansing, Cincinatti, and even Madison…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*Those of you who remember 2012 – and Rick Perry’s doing much better now in terms of responding to hostile questions, huh? – will know the word that I am referring to.

Wendy Davis perilously close to a #DOOM call from… The Daily Beast.

(H/T: Hot Air Headlines) Seriously, if I wrote this people would tsk-tsk me as being a hyper-partisan.

As if things weren’t going badly enough for Wendy Davis, the Texas gubernatorial candidate got caught inflating her campaign’s finances this week by counting a Willie Nelson concert as a contribution.

Davis, the Texas Democrat best known for her 2013 filibuster against an anti-abortion bill, is facing an uphill battle to beat state attorney general Greg Abbott to lead the Lone Star State in November. Polls have Davis consistently trailing by 10-15% and the erstwhile Democratic rock star, who is already on her second campaign manager, seems to be on course for an early election night and a big MSNBC contract.

Admittedly, I am a hyper-partisan, but in this particular case I’d be also a pretty accurate one. If not downright ‘prophetic:’ Wendy Davis will make a great addition to the MSNBC lineup, for the stereotypical given value of ‘great.’ Continue reading Wendy Davis perilously close to a #DOOM call from… The Daily Beast.