Politex

Ron Paul debates Obama impersonator on Fox Business Network

Texas Congressman Ron Paul has enjoyed a recent boom in press attention while launching an exploratory committee to consider another run for President.

The Lake Jackson Republican has also been a regular on cable TV news shows. Last night, Paul took part in a presidential debate on John Stossel's show on Fox Business Network. Paul's opponent? Reggie Brown, a Barack Obama impersonator. According to Stossel, Brown recited direct quotes from Obama throughout the mock debate.

(Video courtesy of Media Matters)

-Aman Batheja

Lane's longhorn logo

FORT WORTH -- Mayoral candidate Jim Lane kicked up a small dust storm in Cowtown by using one of his favorite symbols -- the outline of a longhorn -- on his campaign materials.

Apparently a handful of calls were made to the city, asking why Lane's campaign was using the city's  logo.

"We explained to them that he's not using the logo as we trademarked it," city spokesman Jason Lamers said.

The city trademarked the words "Fort Worth" above the image of a brown longhorn's head. Lane's campaign is using just the image of a longhorn's head.

Lane and city officials both say he contacted the city attorney's office to determine what the city had trademarked and registered before distributing any campaign materials using the longhorn.

"What Mr. Lane is using is not what we would consider an unauthorized use of our logo," Lamers said.

Lane, who as a councilman long pushed for the use of the longhorn's image (often referred to as "Molly")  on city stationary, decals and other city materials, said he's proud of the city's heritage and wanted to include it in his campaign.

"If we lose sight of the fact that our western heritage is what Fort Worth is all about, then we will just be another large city growing by leaps and bounds," Lane said. "That longhorn says best what Fort Worth is all about.

“The only comments I’ve heard are, ‘Gosh, Jim. That’s really neat and I’m glad you’re promoting the city of Fort Worth with your campaign.’”

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Berman still has "questions" about Obama birth certificate

President Barack Obama released a copy of his long-form birth certificate this morning in hopes of quelling critics like Donald Trump who question whether the president was actually born in Hawaii.

State Rep. Leo Berman remains skeptical. Interviewed on the floor of the Texas House Wednesday morning, the Tyler Republican said he was pleased that Obama released the document.

"What I'm saying is I just have some questions," Berman said. "I'm not doubting that it's a truthful birth certificate but my questions still hold."

Various news outlets and organizations have investigated the matter and found that all evidence points to Obama having been born in Hawaii, including PolitiFact and Factcheck.org.

Berman, a former Arlington Mayor Pro Tem, has been outspoken in continuing to question Obama's citizenship. Berman learned about today's release of Obama's long-form birth certificate when a radio station called him for his thoughts on the matter. He quickly went online to print out the document and take a closer look.

His first thought was why Obama had waited so long to release it.

"I found that suspicious," Berman said.

Berman doesn't think the certificate released by the White House looks nearly 50 years old. He also has questions about the doctor who delivered Obama and whether the hospital listed on Obama's birth certificate, Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital, can fully confirm that Obama was born there. 

Along with a print-out of today's White House blog post, Berman also had with him on the floor of the Texas House another document: a purported copy of Obama's Kenyan birth certificate.

"It has all the information on it. it just came to me in the mail," Berman said. He declined to say who sent the document to him though other versions have popped up online, only to be debunked as fakes. 

Berman has filed a bill that would require presidential candidates to provide a birth certificate to the Texas Secretary of State to get on the ballot in Texas. He acknowledged the bill is "going nowhere" but also conceded that Obama would likely be able to comply with his bill by offering the document he released today.

"I hope it's the real certificate and I hope that it has proved its point and we can stop talking about whether he was born in the United States," Berman said.

-Aman Batheja

Former President Bush rides across the desert with wounded veterans

I'm 49 years old and there are days when my body feels much older, even though I try hard to stay in shape with lots of cycling and mountain biking. 

And then there's former President George W. Bush, who turns 65 in July and is in the midst of a three-day, 100k mountain bike ride across Big Bend National Park in west Texas.

The former president, who lives in Dallas, is hosting wounded war veterans in the Warrior 100, which ends Wednesday.

“It’s a 100-kilometer ride in the desert, and it’s not a leisurely ride,” Bush told Jamie Bate of Singletrack.com. “It’s a ride to herald people who were dealt a severe blow and said, ‘I’m not going to let it tear me down.’ ”

Bate writes that the ride is the first event for the Bush Presidential Center’s Social Enterprise Initiative.

 

UPDATE: According to Twitter, President Bush and the war veterans welcomed a special guest for Wednesday's ride:

 -- Kathy Vetter, editor

 

Puppy mill bill passes House as critic warns of "dog Gestapo"

Texas would begin regulating large-scale dog breeders in order to root out so-called puppy mills under a measure approved in the House today.

The bill passed 95-44 but only after critics insisted the bill would put unreasonable burdens on good breeders while doing nothing to stop bad actors from continuing to operate.

"It really establishes, and I don't mean to be funny, a dog Gestapo," said state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview. 

The bill from state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, would classify dog and cat breeders who have 11 or more unspayed female animals as "commercial breeders" and require that they be licensed by the state and undergo regular inspections and criminal background checks.

"This is not enforcing anything more than the humane treatment of animals and the protection of the consumer," Thompson said.

For weeks, the bill has drawn fierce debate among many of the state’s breeders and various animal rights groups, with some breeders alleging a conspiracy by groups like PETA to shut down every breeder in the country, one state at a time.

Several opponents of the bill stood in the House’s gallery area sporting stickers that read, "Responsible Pet Breeders Say No to HB 1451."

Animal rights groups like the ASPCA say the bill will make it easier for state and local officials to pursue and shut down inhumane breeders and allow licensed breeders to promote themselves as meeting the state’s standards. 

Simpson and other critics said the state’s animal cruelty laws are already sufficient to go after puppy mills.

Bad breeders "are not going to come and volunteer themselves to be licensed and registered or pay a fee," Simpson said.

-Aman Batheja

 

 

 

 

Granger comes up winner in mayoral candidates' poll

During a candidates forum Monday at The Potter’s House of Fort Worth, an interrogator with an inquisitive mind wanted to know: Who, Fort Worth mayoral candidates, is the mayor you most admired?

If you’re keeping score ...

Kay Granger (1991-95)         21/2

Kenneth Barr (1996-2003)   1

Hugh Parmer (1977-79)       1

Bob Bolen (1982-91)            1/2

A sampling:

Dan Barrett: Hugh Parmer, who “celebrated diversity in this city” and stood up for all people.

Cathy Hirt: Kay Granger for her “solid vision” of a safe city with a sound economy and neighborhoods.

Jim Lane: Kenneth Barr because his experience had prepared him well to be mayor and “built on the great platforms of his predecessors.”

Betsy Price: Granger and Bob Bolen, statesmen who “exemplified the business mind-set.”

Nicholas Zebrun: Granger for her ability to gather consensus.

- John Henry

Texas House extends prohibition on funeral protests

With no debate, the Texas House unanmiously passed a bill today restricting certain protests with one particular group in mind: the Westboro Baptist Church.

The Topeka, Kan.-based group has gained national noteriety for protesting at a wide range of events, most notably military funerals. The tiny but outspoken group's members claims that U.S. military deaths are god's punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the church's right to continue protesting at military funerals.

Texas already forbids protests within 1,000 feet of a funeral during the hour before or after a funeral service. The radius was increased from 500 feet back in 2007 solely as an effort to deter the Westboro Baptist Church. This afternoon, the Texas House passed House Bill 718, which would extend the time period in which protesting near a funeral is prohibited to three hours before and after the service.

Though the bill would apply to all funerals, bill sponsor Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Houston, made the actual intent clear when he told members the bill would bar "individuals from picketing at our heroes' funerals."

The bill still has to pass in the Senate.

The church has protested at least twice in Tarrant County in the last year. In July, about a dozen Westboro members protested at two area churches and drew more than 100 counter-protesters, many waiving irreverent signs. In February, a few Westboro members showed up with signs at the Super Bowl.  

-Aman Batheja

Fort Worth semifinalist for Freedom Award

The city of Fort Worth has been selected a semifinalist for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.

The award is presented to employers who best meet the criteria of supporting their Guard and Reserve employees "through a variety of formal and informal intiatives, including providing the difference between military and civilian salary during deployments, continuation of full benefits, sending care packages and supporting the families of employees" who have been deployed a news release stated.

Fort Worth is among 148 chosen out of more than 4,000 nominations. Rabalais I&E Constructors of Corpus Christi and Dell Inc. of Round Rock were the other companies from Texas selected.

A national review board will narrow the group of 148 to 30 finalists in May. Ultimately, 15 will receive the 2011 Freedom Award in early summer. A national selection board comprised of senior defense officials, business leaders and prior awardees will choose the winners.

The first Freedom Award was presented in 1996.

- John Henry

Hutchison's former campaign web guru again draws controversy

Back in 2009, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial campaign received some unfavorable attention for its unorthodox Internet strategy thanks to Ravi Singh.

The CEO of Election Mall had sold the campaign technology related to its promotional efforts with search engines. A reporter with the Austin-American Statesman found 2,200 hidden phrases on a Hutchison campaign site including "rick perry gay." That led to accusations that Hutchison's campaign was trying to artificially boost its rankings with search engines as well as trying to spread rumors about Perry.

Hutchison's campaign eventually fired Election Mall but Singh has continued to find work around the world. He found himself in the spotlight again this weekend, after Politico.com published a story looking at whether Singh's has been falsely claiming that he was key to Barack Obama's Internet strategy.

He has been called the man “responsible for the Internet campaign of Barack Obama,” in Poland, the “election guru” of Obama and Clinton” in India, “el guru tecnologico de Obama” in Colombia, and “homme qui a géré la campagne d’Obama sur Internet” in France. 

There’s just one major thing wrong with this international portrait of Web wizardry — Singh never worked for Obama. 

...Yet his appearances in a half-dozen countries have been accompanied by remarkably similar publicity campaigns announcing the arrival of “Obama’s guru,” even if Singh himself is not quoted directly in local media accounts claiming the role.

...After POLITICO began asking international reporters and politicians about Singh’s claims, Singh emailed to apologize for the confusion. He also removed the YouTube video from his public account, and blamed its misleading title on a staffer. 

“Although our cutting-edge technology has been used by over 1,500 campaigns on a national, state, and local level, we have not consulted for the Obama presidential campaign and apologize for any misperception that would indicate otherwise,” he said in the email, adding that none of the company’s promotional material identifies him as an Obama adviser.

The full Politico.com piece is worth a read. You can check it out here. 

-Aman Batheja

Texas Forest Service warned about dangers of underfunding

Like most parts of state government, the Texas Forest Service is bracing for budget cuts. What distinguishes the Forest Service is that the agency is also helping battle one of the worst spate of wildfires Texas has seen in decades.

As we reported this morning, the Texas House and Senate have proposed budgets that would slash funding for the agency's Wildfire and Emergency Program by more than 30 percent. Most of the cuts would translate into fewer grants for volunteer fire departments to buy new equipment, according to Robby DeWitt, the agency's associate finance director. 

Texas is one of the few states that relies primarily on volunteer fire departments to protect rural areas from wildfires.

DeWitt stressed that the agency would make sure the cuts don't impact training of firefighters.

The Forest Service finds itself in a very different situation compared to 2008, when it was warning lawmakers that it was underfunded and that wildfires around the state were getting bigger and more destructive as a result. The Legislature responded by boosting the agency's funding in 2009 by more than $15 million.

Now lawmakers are planning to cut the agency's budget to close to its 2008 level.

That warning from three years ago came in a routine Legislative Appropriations Request that agencies file prior to each legislative session. The entire request is 102 pages but we've embedded the key pages below and highlighted some interesting passages regarding the agency's request.

Yesterday, Gov. Rick Perry called on Texans to spend the next three days praying for rain to address the wildfires. We asked Perry's office for the governor's thoughts on the future of the Forest Service's funding.

"We’re still working through the budget process, but the governor is committed to continuing to work with lawmakers in the House and Senate to craft a budget that prioritizes essential services, including public safety, without raising taxes," spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said.

Texas Forest Service warns about wildfire threat caused by underfunding

(Photo credit: Rodger Mallison/Star-Telegram)

-Aman Batheja