June 27, 2014

Dem Chair Hinojosa suggests `reparative therapy’ for tea party “crazies”

DALLAS —

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said Friday that the Democratic State Convention will offer Texas voters a stark and reassuring alternative to the Republican “crazies” who held their convention in Fort Worth earlier this month. He suggested that Democrats meeting at the Dallas Convention Center Friday and Saturday may want to consider adding a “reparative therapy plank for tea party Republicans.”

“We live in the year 2014,” said Hinojosa, a year that he suggested did not comport with the thinking behind a plank adopted by the Republican State Convention endorsing “reparative therapy” as a way to help people out of homosexuality, a plank that has even draw criticism from GOP State Party Chairman Steve Munisteri.

But Hinojosa, speaking to the convention’s Asian Caucus, said what he characterized as the Republican Party’s throwback approach on homosexuality was of a piece with the rest of the platform on issues from abortion rights to global warming to its call for reducing spending on education at all levels.

He said that when Texans see the candidates showcased at the Democratic convention and “compare them to the crazies running on the Republican side,” they will see there is “no comparison.”

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/dem-chair-hinojosa-suggests-reparative-therapy-for/ngThr/ .

June 27, 2014

Mental Health Furriday

Observation.


Analysis.


Diagnosis.


Admission.

Anutha purrtinent Furriday katblog curtsy uv TexasTowelie. I'ze wil chek n latr, butt niaou itz tiem tu c mai medicat purrvider.

kthxbai! hi:

June 27, 2014

When It Comes to Undocumented Minors, Texas Republicans Aren't Just Wrong - They're Causing Harm

Since the exponential influx of unaccompanied undocumented children hit the national news, Texas Republicans from Congress to the Texas State House have been heading to the border in droves and offering their two cents on the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Though it is absolutely critical that we come to a solution for these children and their families, the rhetoric being used by Texas Republicans makes two things abundantly clear: that their dogged opposition to undocumented immigration and continued persistence in attacking Obama come first before the safety of these children, and that they have very little to no understanding of how immigration flows actually work.

As reported by the Texas Tribune and the New York Times, these immigrant children are not flooding the country to get access to "magnets," as these Republicans would have voters believe.

Tens of thousands of young people are fleeing their homes and putting themselves in highly vulnerable and dangerous positions to travel across Central America, and they are not doing this because of any legislation passed by the Obama administration. They are fleeing terrifying violence.

More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15374/when-it-comes-to-undocumented-minors-texas-republicans-arent-just-wrong-theyre-causing-harm .

June 27, 2014

Follow-up: Justin Lookadoo, Who Says "Dateable Girls Shut Up," Arrested in Puke-Stained Car

For better: Justin Lookadoo, former juvenile probation officer, has stirred up an audience with such dating advice as “girls need to shut up” and let boys do more of the talking, or that boys are naturally “dangerous and adventurous” while girls are “soft and gentle.”


For worse: Dateable guys know how to post bail.

Remember Justin Lookadoo?

Unfair Park forgives you if you don't. We've done our best to purge the esteemed The Dateable Rules author from our memories as well.

Here's a primer: Lookadoo is the uber-douche Richardson High School invited to give their students "faith-based" dating advice like, "Be mysterious. Dateable girls know how to shut up," and "Let him lead. God made guys as leaders. Dateable girls get that and let him do guy things. ... Which means they don't ask him out!!!" At a school-sponsored and allegedly "optional" assembly.

The guy is basically rape culture anthropomorphized, given frosted tips and sprinkled with Bible dust. And the day Lookadoo had on Tuesday is proof that there is some, if not enough, justice in the world.

According to a report from Evansville, Indiana's, WFIE, Lookadoo failed to show up for a speaking engagement at an Evansville's Teen Power Camp because he had been booked into the county jail.

More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/06/jusitn_lookadoo_arrest.php


Related thread:
Richardson High ‘dating expert’ gets schooled by students
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107813421

[font color=green]This schmuck spoke at my high school in George West.

Based upon the comments in the Dallas Observer, it looks like Mr. Lookadoo has fallen upon some difficult times.[/font]

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

June 27, 2014

Follow-up: Justin Lookadoo, Who Says "Dateable Girls Shut Up," Arrested in Puke-Stained Car

For better: Justin Lookadoo, former juvenile probation officer, has stirred up an audience with such dating advice as “girls need to shut up” and let boys do more of the talking, or that boys are naturally “dangerous and adventurous” while girls are “soft and gentle.”


For worse: Dateable guys know how to post bail.

Remember Justin Lookadoo?

Unfair Park forgives you if you don't. We've done our best to purge the esteemed The Dateable Rules author from our memories as well.

Here's a primer: Lookadoo is the uber-douche Richardson High School invited to give their students "faith-based" dating advice like, "Be mysterious. Dateable girls know how to shut up," and "Let him lead. God made guys as leaders. Dateable girls get that and let him do guy things. ... Which means they don't ask him out!!!" At a school-sponsored and allegedly "optional" assembly.

The guy is basically rape culture anthropomorphized, given frosted tips and sprinkled with Bible dust. And the day Lookadoo had on Tuesday is proof that there is some, if not enough, justice in the world.

According to a report from Evansville, Indiana's, WFIE, Lookadoo failed to show up for a speaking engagement at an Evansville's Teen Power Camp because he had been booked into the county jail.

More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/06/jusitn_lookadoo_arrest.php


Related thread:
Richardson High ‘dating expert’ gets schooled by students
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107813421

[font color=green]This schmuck spoke at my high school in George West.

Based upon the comments in the Dallas Observer, it looks like Mr. Lookadoo has fallen upon some difficult times.[/font]

Cross-posted in the Feminists Group.

June 27, 2014

AP and Politico call Wendy Davis 'defiant'

Because as a woman she should shut up, know her place and bow to male privilege? WTF?

Wendy Davis' tone defiant again as Democrats meet

Wendy Davis defiant as campaign grinds on

The Politico headline reads as if Wendy Davis has no right to even campaign for office. Of course, Politico is a subsidiary of the republican propaganda machine.

AP has been a proud member of the republican talking points group for ages.

http://stxc.blogspot.com/2014/06/ap-and-politico-call-wendy-davis-defiant.html

June 27, 2014

Star Trek star, Ambassador tout gay rights

NEW YORK — U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and "Star Trek" star Zachary Quinto joined forces Thursday to promote gay rights while commemorating the 45th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots.

"Without the relentless pressure exerted by this movement over 45 years since then, we would surely be in a different place today as a nation," Power said. "But the struggle sparked at Stonewall is far from over."

The Stonewall Inn riots are credited with launching the modern gay rights movement and more than 100 people attended the event at the Roosevelt House at Hunter College, one of many throughout June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month.

Power, Quinto and LGBT activists Bill Bahlman and Alyx Steadman noted progress in gay rights issues, pointing to 19 states that have legalized gay marriage and the large number of openly gay military members.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-06-26/star-trek-star-us-ambassador-tout-gay-rights#.U6z_lLFCz2Q .

June 27, 2014

Evacuations in Hillsboro reportedly follow concerns about grain silo fire

Hillsboro, Texas -- Some Hillsboro residents have been asked to evacuate the area around Church and Matthew streets following reports of smoke and fire at a grain silo.

Reports indicate that the fire is under control.

More details to come.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140626-breaking-evacuations-in-hillsboro-reportedly-follow-concerns-about-grain-silo-fire.ece

June 27, 2014

Three dozen people in Katy sent to hospital due to floor collapse

Katy, Texas -- A floor collapsed under a large crowd of people gathered for a religious event Thursday at a suburban Houston home, sending three dozen people to hospitals, though most suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

The collapse occurred while as many as 125 people gathered for the event in a residential neighborhood in Katy, just west of Houston. People were in an apartment above a detached garage when the floor gave way, though it wasn't immediately clear how many people were inside at the time, West I-10 Fire Department spokesman Tim Thomas said.

He said 36 people were taken to hospitals, mostly with minor injuries, though three people suffered "urgent" but not critical injuries, he said.

More than a dozen ambulances rushed to the scene shortly after the collapse was reported around 1 p.m. A few people were trapped when the floor above the garage "pancaked in," though emergency crews were able to pull victims from the building, Houston Fire Department Capt. Ruy Lozano said.

More at http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Several-Injured-in-Houston-Roof-Collapse--264785071.html .

June 27, 2014

Michael Quinn Sullivan Goes Mute--Refuses to Testify after TEC Subpoena

Michael Quinn Sullivan, the conservative power broker who’s the subject of a long-running investigation by the Texas Ethics Commission, had his day in court yesterday. The commission, looking into allegations that Sullivan acted as an unregistered lobbyist, issued a subpoena to compel Sullivan to testify at a lengthy formal hearing Wednesday. And Sullivan refused.

For some time, Sullivan, who functions as the overseer for an endless stream of “dark money” emanating from Midland oilman Tim Dunn, has responded to the commission’s inquiry with an increasingly surreal attitude of legal nihilism. The charges against him are illegitimate because the Ethics Commission itself is illegitimate. Any laws restricting the activities of lobbyists, those paid to influence legislators, are illegitimate. It’s a bit like Bernie Madoff telling his judge that money is simply a social construct.

With an Abbie Hoffman-esque sense of showmanship, he’s tried to turn a standard ethics complaint into a David-and-Goliath battle. MQS’ allies have even christened his cause with a hashtag, #TXspeechfight, as in, free speech. If he’s forced to register as a lobbyist, he says, so will every Texan visiting their state rep to ask about, say, their local water board. It’s nonsense, but it’s succeeded in riling the troops.

MQS has compared the Ethics Commission to Nazis, and sent out email blasts from his organizations slamming the commissioners as the jackbooted thugs of the Establishment. In closing arguments yesterday, his lawyer, former state Rep. Joe Nixon, wandered the room telling the crowd that “today is a day we stand on a wall between tyranny and freedom.”

More at http://www.texasobserver.org/michael-quinn-sullivan-goes-mute/ .