Politex

Blurb from Bush for novel: "Looks like a great read!"

As president, George W. Bush was relentlessly mocked by comedians as being not the brightest bulb in the box.

A new advertisement for a suspense novel featuring a blurb from Bush seems almost as if it's trying to play in to that same line of jokes.

The full-page ad for Mike Evans' GameChanger ran in the Star-Telegram and other newspapers this week. Evans is an evangelist from Colleyville who founded the Jerusalem Prayer Team, a pro-Israel group. His novel imagines a series of terrorist attacks bringing the United States to a standstill. The cover depicts the U.S. Capitol Building topped with a star and crescent, traditional symbols of Islam.

The ad prominently featured the following quote: 

“LOOKS LIKE A GREAT READ!” – President George W. Bush

So did the former Texas governor really offer those five words as a blurb?

Requests for comment from a spokesman for Bush this week were not returned. Someone from Evans’ office explained in an email that the quote came from “a personal letter.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Aman Batheja

Dan Barrett kicks off mayoral campaign

Former state Rep. Dan Barrett formally kicked off his campaign to become mayor of Fort Worth with an announcement Friday at the Lake Como Park swimming pool, which was closed all of last year because of the city's budget constraints.

"This neighborhood pool was closed all last year, and the plan is for it to remain closed this summer," Barrett said. "Balancing the budget on the backs of working families and their children is not right for Fort Worth.

"We need a new way."

Six of the city's pools - Como, Hillside, Kellis, Marine, Sycamore and Sylvania - were closed all of last summer. The Forest Park pool remained open until August when it became unsafe because of maintenance issues.

City officials contracted with the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth to allow residents to swim at four of its facilities through Aug. 21. That was done at a cost of $7,000 to the city.

"Closing city swimming pools and libraries while proposing helipads and giving millions in tax breaks to corporations is not the right way for Fort Worth."

Plans to build a heliport to enhance access for Super Bowl week were scrapped when city officials and the property owner became bogged down in lease details. Two libraries slated for closure remained open when the city found funds to keep the Ridglea and Meadowbrook branches open through September.

The city is exploring the possibility of contracting out library services to private enterprise.

- John Henry

 

Perry says oil could jump to $200 or $300 a barrel

Gov. Rick Perry said today that the price of a barrel of oil could jump as high as $300 if conditions in countries in the Middle East continue to deteriorate.

Perry is in Washington, D.C. speaking at events including a National Governors Association meeting. At a briefing that included some bloggers, Perry was asked about the price of oil hitting $100 a barrel this week, according to Shopfloor, a blog run by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Perry took the opportunity to criticize the Obama administration for blocking drilling in the Gulf Coast after the BP oil spill. He then spoke about where the price of oil might be headed:

You said hundred-plus-dollar-a-barrel oil. Yes. That’s today. It certainly could go to $200 or even $300 a barrel if the situations in the Middle East – which are Libya, into Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen all of those countries – if we’re to see continued deterioration of peaceful conducting of business in the drilling and transportation of oil...I don’t think it’s out of the reach of possibility to see oil even twice or three times what it is today –- devastating to the world economy.

Forecasts of oil someday reaching $200 a barrel have come before but predictions of $300 are more rare. Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, said whether the price of oil spikes in the near future will depend on whether Saudi Arabia remains stable.

"Oil prediction crsytal balls are hazy," Bullock said. "When you throw in revolutions, they become more hazy."

Bullock said $200 a barrel for oil is "possible but not likely." Oil reaching $300 a barrel is not realistic, he said.

"I don't necessarily see that within the realm of possibility because at some point you've got a demand effect," Bullock said. "People stop driving. The economy slows down and the price goes down."

Also in the interview, Perry talked up other energy sources including wind and nuclear but repeated his disdain for corn-based ethanol.

"I am an all-of-the-above energy advocate with the notable exceptions of corn-based ethanol, one of the great political scams, economic scams, of the 20th century," Perry said, according to audio posted on Shopfloor.org.

-Aman Batheja

How will concealed-carry college bill affect student housing?

As Texas lawmakers seem poised to pass a bill allowing concealed handguns on public college campuses, the potential consequences of the measure are drawing more scrutiny.

Along with questions about how the classroom environment will be impacted, there is also some concern about how giving college students and professors the right to carry guns will mesh with other areas of college life, including student housing.

Star-Telegram reporter Alex Branch addressed the issue in a story today and found that schools such as the University of North Texas are already preparing for how to handle the mix of firearms and student dorms. As Branch reports: 

Elizabeth With, UNT vice president of student affairs, said the legislation gives schools the authority to make some rules, such as requiring weapon storage and letting students choose not to live with a roommate with a concealed handgun."However, [guns] would not have a positive effect on student life," she said.

Daniel Crocker, Southwest regional director for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said that "dorms are a nonissue that some people want to blow up into a big issue" and that most people must be 21 in Texas to get a concealed-handgun permit.

"People who live on campus are your freshmen or sophomores," Crocker said. "People with concealed-handgun permits are your faculty, your staff, your older students and grad students. They don't live on campus."

University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa appears to disagree with Crocker. In a letter sent to Gov. Rick Perry yesterday, Cigarroa notes some concerns about the bill's impact, including student housing.

"...The high density of campus housing - which includes both persons of age and persons too young to secure a concealed handgun license - raises issues of how licensed individuals will be able to secure their weapons when not carried on the individual's person."

-Aman Batheja

Danny Scarth files for re-election

Mayor Pro Tem Danny Scarth on Thursday filed for re-election to his seat on the Fort Worth City Council.

Scarth, who is seeking a third full term as representative of District 4, is the last of incumbent council members seeking re-election to formally file for the May 14 election. District 7 Councilman Carter Burdette is not seeking re-election.

"We've made a great deal of progress, but there are so many projects we've started: Gateway Park, Woodhaven redevelopment and, of course, roads and transportation.

"I feel an obligation to see them through."

District 4 includes east and northeast Fort Worth, stretching from Eastchase Parkway and Interstate 30 to North Tarrant Parkway and I-35W.

Lupe Arriola has filed to challenge Scarth. The matchup represents a rematch of the 2009 election when Arriola lost in her bid to unseat the incumbent.

Scarth made his announcement on the same day that former state Rep. Dan Barrett said he would run for mayor, joining former Council members Cathy Hirt and Jim Lane and Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Betsy Price in the race to replace Mike Moncrief.

Moncrief announced earlier this month that he would not seek a fifth term in office.

Scarth, who will turn 50 on Sunday, won a special election in 2006 to finish out the term of Becky Haskin, who resigned to run for Justice of the Peace. He won re-election in 2007 and 2009.

- John Henry

Former State Rep. Dan Barrett running for Fort Worth Mayor

Democrat Dan Barrett, a lawyer and former state representative, is planning to file as a candidate for Mayor of Fort Worth.

"I think its time for a new direction," Barrett said. "The other candidates in the race to me represent business as usual. I think we need new vision and I think I’m the person for the job."

Barrett, a lawyer with Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, & Elam, served in the Texas House from December 2007 to January 2009, representing District 97. The district covers southwest Fort Worth, Benbrook and Edgecliff Village.

Barrett won a seat in the House in a special election to finish out a term for Republican Anna Mowery, who resigned. Barrett was the only Democrat in a seven-way race. He lost his bid for a full-term in 2008 to Republican Mark Shelton.

Barrett said he plans to make a formal announcement about his candidacy on Friday.

Former City Council members Cathy Hirt and Jim Lane and Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Betsy Price are also running for the job.

-Aman Batheja

Seems like a good time for a primer on amending the U.S. Constitution (Updated)

The Texas Senate is currently debating a measure aimed at amending the U.S. Constitution. 

Proposals for two different amendments are gaining support in more than a dozen state capitols around the country. One would require the federal government to pass a balanced budget with few exceptions. The other would permit the repeal of any federal law by vote of two-thirds of state legislatures. 

Since November, Texas lawmakers have filed at least six resolutions for a balanced budget amendment and three for a repeal amendment. Two other resolutions urge amendments on both topics and on ones creating congressional term limits, a cap on the national debt and a presidential line-item veto.

The balanced budget amendment appears to have stronger interest among Republican leaders in Texas. That's the measure proposed by state Sens. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, and Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, that the Senate is debating right now. 

So how do you go about amending the U.S. Constitution? There are two ways and the approach endorsed by Ogden and Shapiro is drawing concerns from both Democrats and some conservative groups.

Both ways to add an amendment are spelled out in a single sentence that comprises Article V. The two methods end with the same requirement: a minimum 38 states must ratify the amendment. The difference is the path to get to that final step and that’s sparking a passionate, though admittedly arcane, debate.

The simpler way is for two-thirds of both chambers of Congress to approve the amendment. The other route is a constitutional convention, a national meeting to consider amendments that must be called if 34 states ask for one. None of the 27 amendments currently in the Constitution were approved via a constitutional convention. Yet that’s the approach Republicans are pursuing in most of the resolutions filed in Austin.

Convention proponents predict the threat of a convention should be enough to get Congress to act. But if that ploy doesn't work, the Constitution provides little guidance on how a convention would be set up, prompting fears of a free-for-all. Amendments on any topic could be called, critics warn.

“You know this democracy stuff is pretty dangerous,” Ogden quipped in a recent interview. He noted that his resolution states that it is automatically rescinded if any other topic but a balanced budget amendment comes up. 

But others argue that no one knows if that language could stop a convention once it started.

“This is an unknown area,” said Sanford Levinson, a constitutional law expert at the University of Texas-Austin. “I think that many academics would say that a convention has basically unlimited jurisdiction, so it couldn’t be limited to a single topic.” 

UPDATE: The senate passed Ogden's resolution 24-7. 

-Aman Batheja

Burnam calls legislative session "most racist" in 25 years

Thousands of people were in the Texas Capitol today protesting controversial immigration bills being considered by state lawmakers.

The crowd marched from Austin's Waterloo Park to the Capitol, chanting "Si se puede!" ("Yes we can!"), according to several news reports.

Protesters were especially concerned about bills similar to one recently passed in Arizona becoming law in Texas. Lawmakers in support of such measures say they are needed to curb illegal immigration.

Zahira Torres, an Austin-based reporter for the El Paso Times covering the event, tweeted this quote from state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who addressed the crowd: "You are here to say no to the most racist session of the Texas legislature in a quarter of a century."

-Aman Batheja

Despite contractual 'Gasland' viewing, Dish Mayor thinks he's got a buyer

Calvin Tillman expects to soon be known as the former mayor of Dish.

The persistent drilling critic believes he’s close to finalizing a sale of his house. He plans to move his family out of the tiny Denton town by early next month, he said.

Dish sits near several large compressor stations that process natural gas from the Barnett Shale.

Tillman said he included in the sale contract that the buyer had to watch “Gasland” before the deal closed. The film, nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary, is critical of the impact of natural gas drilling and devotes about 10 minutes to the Barnett Shale, including some time on Tillman and Dish.

“And I thought surely after they watched ‘Gasland,’ they won’t buy it but that didn’t deter them,” Tillman said.

Tillman put his house on the market last year after his family began experiencing symptoms such as nose bleeds that he believed were due to nearby drilling-related operations. He is losing money on the sale, he said. He eventually plans to relocate to Aubrey. The town was chosen in part because he expects it will remain outside of the Barnett Shale’s active drilling region.

Tillman’s term as mayor expires in May. He said the Town Council will decide how to handle his departure once he officially informs them that he is no longer a Dish resident.

-Aman Batheja

Barbara Nash, Madam Speaker - at least for a little bit

  Less than seven weeks after becoming a freshman member of the state House of Representatives, Barbara Nash ascended to the most powerful post in the chamber on Monday - even though her brush with power lasted less than an hour.  House members are frequently given the opportunity to serve as speaker for a day, and Nash had her turn Monday as she clutched a gavel and stood behind the speaker's dias to preside over a brief procession of routine House business.

    "It isn't that difficult," she said afterward.  "You say the same things over and over."

-- Dave Montgomery