Category: Texas

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Politics Texas

Rick Perry Admits To Making A Major “Mistake” in Texas

Rick Perry wants to be president of the United States, and in order for that to happen, he must not only gain the votes of independents, but also the votes of the Religious conservative base. That’s why last Saturday Perry led a “Prayer Session”, pandering to this sect. Turns out though, that there was more pandering needed to win over the this group, so admitting that he made a major mistake in Texas, was as good a place as any to start.

The mistake Perry is now regretting, was a mandate he set up in 2007, requiring all sixth grade girls in Texas to get the HPV vaccine. HPV –  Human Papillomavirus – is the cause of, among other things, cervical cancer. Although this decision to have girls be vaccinated seemed like a good idea, conservatives have been getting down on Perry for making this decision. They claim this mandate is “too much government involvement.” At the time of his decision, Perry explained it this way;

“I understand some of the concern some of my good friends have about requiring this vaccine, which is why parents can opt out if they so choose. But I refuse to look a young woman in the eye 10 years from now who suffers from this form of cancer and tell her we could have stopped it, but we didn’t.”

“Others may focus on the cause of this cancer, but I am going to stay focused on the cure. And if I err, I’m going to err on the side of protecting life.”

That was his decision in 2007. The issue even followed him up to the 2010 Texas election, when his Republican primary rival Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said this in an interview;

“[Perry] mandates 12-year-old girls to be vaccinated with an executive order for heaven’s sakes. “Didn’t even ask; didn’t even ask for an expert opinion; didn’t even ask the legislature for their approval. That is dictatorial.”

Now, realizing he’s on the national stage, Perry feels the need to flip-flop and explained his decision as “a mistake.” This is his new position, as he explained Saturday in New Hampshire;

“The fact of the matter is, I didn’t do my research well enough to understand that we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry.”

It should also be noted that the drug Perry was mandating for the HPV vaccine, was made by Merck. Perry’s former chief of staff was a top lobbyist in Texas for Merck.

Call him a flip-flopper, call him a panderer. Just don’t call him a man of conviction.

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Politics Republican Texas

Rick Perry’s Texas Has A $25 Billion Budget Shortfall

So far, so good. Rick Perry just announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, so the main stream media is falling all over him, praising his “job creation skills” in Texas, his “rigid good looks,” his “Texas slang,” the ease at which he collects massive donations, and his “Bush mannerisms.”

And although these “traits” in themselves may be considered a plus by some, they have no bearings on his actual governing and presidential capabilities. Take for example this story that is, so far, ignored by the media; Rick Perry’s Texas has a projected budget shortfall of over $25 billion over the next two years.

This month the state’s part-time legislature goes back into session, and the state is starting at potentially a $25 billion deficit on a two-year budget of around $95 billion. That’s enormous. And there’s not much fat to cut. The whole budget is basically education and healthcare spending. Cutting everything else wouldn’t do the trick. And though raising this kind of money would be easy on an economy of $1.2 trillion, the new GOP mega-majority in Congress is firmly against raising any revenue.

So the bi-ennial legislature, which convenes this month, faces some hard cuts. Some in the Texas GDP have advocated dropping Medicaid altogether to save money.

Yep. Cutting education and dropping medicaid to save money… that’s the Republican way!

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Abortion Featured Republican Texas

The Republican War Against Women Continues in Texas

A Law requiring doctors to take a sonogram of a fetus before performing an abortion, goes into effect as soon as Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas signs the bill. It passed both the Texas House and Senate, and promise to be one of the most anti-abortion measures yet.

The framer of the bill – a man who could never understand the pain and reasoning behind the decision to have an abortion – Republican Representative Sid Miller from Stephenville, admits to the far-reaching intent of the bill, telling reporters; “this will be one of the strongest pieces of sonogram legislation in the nation.” He also predicted that the bill would “save numerous unborn lives.”

According to reporting from the New York Times;

“The bill requires a doctor to conduct a sonogram at least 24 hours before an abortion and to give the woman the opportunity to see the results and hear the heartbeat of the fetus. Though the woman can choose not to view the images and hear the heartbeat, the doctor must describe what the sonogram shows, including the existence of legs, arms and internal organs.”

Opponents of the bill say that this is just another attempt by “get-the-government-out-of-our-lives” Republicans to control the most intimate and personal decision an individual may make.

Other states have already begun or passed similar measures. A recent count reveals that since Republicans took over the House of Representatives in January, Republican controlled states all over this country have engaged on an all out assault against women, bringing some 916 bills against a women’s reproductive rights.

The promise by John Boehner, the Republican House Speaker to make “jobs jobs jobs” their number one priority has fallen on deaf ears, as the conservative ideology of “small government” apparently does not include their control over a woman’s right to choose.

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Birthers Birthers CNN Texas United States

Anderson Cooper Shoots Down Another Dumb Birther

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Another marvelous example of a reporter/journalist “keeping them honest.”

Anderson Cooper of CNN‘s 360 has done this before, and is doing it again. He has brought another elected official on his show, and given him a chance to explain his position, or sink trying.

On the program, stamped November 30th, Mr. Cooper brought Texas State Representative, Leo Berman to discuss a bill that Mr. Berman said is needed because “we have a president that the American people don’t know whether he was born in Kenya or some other place.”

The conversation immediately goes into the reasons why Mr. Berman, an elected Representative in Texas believes the President is not a citizen of the United States. And like other times when false views are presented on his show, Anderson Cooper brought the facts and totally shows how dumb this Berman character and his birther believes really are.

Other so-called journalists should take a page from Mr. Anderson and his interview skills. News agencies are more concerned these days with ratings, rather than point out when their guest are wrong on basic issues.

Enjoy the smack down below.

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