TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTexas Mutual Insurance Company pays out $225 million in dividends
WACO -- Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Co., which describes itself as the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, has distributed $225 million in dividends to 40,000 policyholders, including 442 in McLennan County.
Texas Mutual uses a formula based on premium size, loss ratio and company history to reward loyal policyholders “who share Texas Mutual’s commitment to preventing workplace accidents and helping injured workers get well and back on the job,” a news release said.
As part of this year’s distribution, it will send $2.7 million in dividends to more than 400 local businesses.
Wes Bailey, president of Bailey Insurance and Risk Management in Waco, applauded Texas Mutual’s approach, saying, “These dividends help support job growth and other company benefits,” and demonstrate the efforts of companies to control insurance costs.
Read more: http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/mikes_marketplace/texas-mutual-pays-out-million-in-dividends-to-mclennan-county/article_8aa9cb9e-566f-11e5-ae67-e3581275000a.html
[font color=330099]Apparently Texas Mutual needed some good press after the series of articles that I posted in this thread on Wednesday: [/font]
Justice for hire? Giant insurer pays government lawyers to pursue fraud charges
Giuliani talks 9/11, tort reform and leadership
CORPUS CHRISTI -- On the eve of the 14th anniversary of terrorist attacks Sept. 11, former New York Mayor Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani shared his most familiar memories with Coastal Bend residents.
"I know I will see the man who jumped out of the top of the building. I see him almost every day," Giuliani said to a group of mostly lawyers at the American Bank Center. "I know what will also come back is the heroism of the police officers and the firefighters."
Giuliani, revered for his leadership after the attacks and praised for cleaning New York City's crime-ridden streets in the 1990s, spoke Thursday at the Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse annual luncheon. Giuliani has long been a proponent for tougher laws on lawsuits and has praised Texas laws. Texas limits the amount of money a party can be awarded for pain and suffering.
During Giuliani's tenure as mayor, he said the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. paid out between $500 million and $600 million each year in damage claims. Outside of the hospital system, Giuliani told a story about a man who a jury awarded $4 million after he tripped on New York City streets and became paralyzed.
Read more: http://www.caller.com/news/local/giuliani-talks-911-tort-reform-and-leadership-1eb1bf3d-7de8-2104-e053-0100007f620f-326510661.html
Texas A&M professor among discoverers of new species of human relative
Texas A&M University professor Darryl de Ruiter was among an international group of scientists who announced Thursday morning they have discovered a new species of human relative in South Africa.
Remains of the new species -- named Homo naledi -- were discovered in September 2013 in a chamber of the Rising Star cave system about 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg.
Since then, the scientists have painstakingly uncovered more than 15 individual Homo naledi remains in just the "small area" they have been able to excavate, said de Ruiter, who is one of five project directors.
"That is literally just scratching the surface to find that many," de Ruiter said.
Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-a-m-professor-among-discoverers-of-new-species-of/article_9fd019a1-6ea7-5a17-9c7a-88fb4a8a0db4.html
Cross-posted in the Anthropology Group.
Texas A&M professor among discoverers of new species of human relative
Texas A&M University professor Darryl de Ruiter was among an international group of scientists who announced Thursday morning they have discovered a new species of human relative in South Africa.
Remains of the new species -- named Homo naledi -- were discovered in September 2013 in a chamber of the Rising Star cave system about 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg.
Since then, the scientists have painstakingly uncovered more than 15 individual Homo naledi remains in just the "small area" they have been able to excavate, said de Ruiter, who is one of five project directors.
"That is literally just scratching the surface to find that many," de Ruiter said.
Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-a-m-professor-among-discoverers-of-new-species-of/article_9fd019a1-6ea7-5a17-9c7a-88fb4a8a0db4.html
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
Comparing a gay Dallas judge’s refusal to do weddings to Kim Davis doesn’t work
There’s a meme floating around social media attempting to “expose” the hypocrisy of the left by equating Kim Davis’ actions to the actions by Dallas County 116th District Judge Tonya Parker. Parker said in 2012 she wouldn’t perform traditional marriages in Texas because gay marriage was banned.
The problem with the meme is it’s based on a flawed premise. Here’s what the Texas Family Code says about wedding ceremony officiants.
(1) a licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest;
(2) a Jewish rabbi;
(3) a person who is an officer of a religious organization and who is authorized by the organization to conduct a marriage ceremony;
(4) a justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of criminal appeals, justice of the courts of appeals, judge of the district, county, and probate courts, judge of the county courts at law, judge of the courts of domestic relations, judge of the juvenile courts, retired justice or judge of those courts, justice of the peace, retired justice of the peace, judge of a municipal court, retired judge of a municipal court, or judge or magistrate of a federal court of this state; and
(5) a retired judge or magistrate of a federal court of this state.
Read more: http://hotair.com/archives/2015/09/09/comparing-a-gay-dallas-judges-refusal-to-do-weddings-to-kim-davis-doesnt-work/
Audit: Scant Proof of Event Fund's Tax Impact
For more than a decade, Texas has dangled tens of millions of dollars in incentives to entice events like Formula 1 racing, cutting horse competitions, the Super Bowl and Final Four college basketball to the state.
But money from the Major Events Trust Fund — long run by the state comptroller but recently moved to Gov. Greg Abbott's office — has been spent on things it probably shouldn't, and no one's done a great job of testing whether the state gets a good return on its investment, a new audit has found.
The audit released Thursday by State Auditor John Keel, examined performance of the Major Events Trust Fund from its inception in fiscal 2010 through January 2015. The fund uses incremental tax receipts — the extra sales, beverage and hotel occupancy taxes presumably generated when people flock to Texas for an event — to pay some of the expenses of putting on a car race, basketball game or whatever the event might be.
Keel's audit examined seven major events picked from among the biggest, most expensive or highest profile hosted by the state. The events include the 2011 Super Bowl XLV, the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 National Cutting Horse Association Triple Crown, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Formula One United States Grand Prix and the 2013 NBA All Star Game.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/09/10/major-events-trust-fund-audit-reveals-improvement-/
Examiners: Company Not To Blame For North Texas Quakes
he Texas Railroad Commission appears poised to clear a second oilfield company of responsibility for a series of earthquakes that rattled two North Texas towns — despite research suggesting otherwise.
In a preliminary report issued Thursday, two agency hearing examiners concluded that evidence “does not support” a finding that a wastewater disposal well drilled by Houston-based EnerVest contributed to the burst of seismic activity that riled up residents in Reno and Azle from late 2013 through early 2014.
It follows a nearly identical report absolving another disposal well operator, ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy, of ties to the quakes.
More than two-dozen mini earthquakes during that period shook towns atop the gas-rich Barnett Shale, and put pressure on regulators to address concerns that oil and gas activities — namely disposal wells, deep resting places for liquid oil and gas waste —triggered those and other temblors across the state.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/09/10/examiners-company-not-blame-north-texas-quakes/
South Korean man gets 12 years for slashing US ambassador
Source: AP
SEOUL, South Korea --- A Seoul court on Friday handed a 12-year prison sentence to a South Korean man who slashed and seriously injured the U.S. ambassador during a March forum.
Kim Ki-jong was convicted of attempted murder, assaulting a foreign envoy and obstruction, according to Seoul Central District Court spokesman Joon Young Maeng.
Both Kim and the prosecution have one week to determine whether to appeal, Maeng said. Prosecutors had previously asked for a 15-year prison term.
Kim slashed Mark Lippert during a breakfast forum in Seoul, leaving deep gashes on the envoy's face and arm. Lippert was treated for five days at a Seoul hospital.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/world/article34826619.html
America’s Mud Wrestling Championships Versus the Real Issues We Face
[font color=330099]Note to forum hosts: Since this thread mentions both Republican and Democratic primary candidates I believe that it does fall under the umbrella of the General Discussion forum rather than the General Discussion: Primaries forum.[/font]
By Carol Morgan
We’re not even close to elections and the GOP campaigns are becoming weirder every day; each of the Republican candidates behaving like a five year old vying for attention. Nothing is sacred, out of bounds, or taboo.
I fully expect one of them to moon a television camera soon.
Trump continues to be Trump-like; claiming to support Syrians and then, taking it back, peppering his rhetoric with “big, really big” and “awesome”, and the latest in His-Crassness’ antics: “Look at that face!” remark, referring to Carly Fiorina.
Bobby Jindal took up the baton today (only to remind us that he’s still running), using the Trump-technique of Twitter insults. Even Sarah Palin became involved saying everyone should speak “American”. And then like a hive of killer bees, they all descended upon Washington (in celebration of Congress’ first day back) to attack the Iran Deal (as if their opinion matters).
Mike Huckabee uses Kim Davis, the 2015 version of Joe the Plumber, to score points with hard-Right evangelicals by his dramatic declaration of “If you have to put someone in jail, let me go,” knowing damn well that Sydney Carton’s sacrifice for Lucie Manette was merely a Dickensian plot in A Tale of Two Cities.
Ted Cruz was hoping he could use Davis as his personal official photo-op for God, but he was physically prevented from doing so by one of Huckabee’s staffers. His photobomb-technique of riding the coattails of other candidates was stymied. Oh what might have been!
Cruz isn't worried. His biggest campaign draw will take place when he negotiates Government Shutdown 2.0 later this month. That will give him plenty of airtime from lazy corporate media journalists who report only the 5-W’s, while ignoring the underlying issues behind them.
It’s not enough that their millionaire donors cough up big bucks for airtime; there’s needs to be a big dramatic moment akin to a Cecil B. DeMille epic with a twist of Mel Brooks to accompany it. It makes me wonder if the GOP carefully choreographed this rivalry for Americans’ leisure time enjoyment. They know that Americans won’t pay attention if the campaign is a thoughtful exercise in governance.
It kind of explains why people are continuously frustrated with those they elect. These people are no longer entertaining when they are forced to get down to the act of policy making and governing.
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate on the Left or Right who continues to be doggedly focused on the issues of this election and not on the cult of personality and reality show drama. He’s shamelessly chastised the press for their lack of focus on the issues. When NBC's Andrea Mitchell tried to get Sanders to attack Hillary Clinton, he didn’t take the bait. This is not a food fight in the middle school cafeteria. Too bad others don’t understand that.
None of us needs to listen to what the GOP campaigns are saying. Most of the candidates are present or former office holders, have a business record or at the very least, a brag-bio of their past life. All Americans need to do is examine how each of these individuals governed or ran a business. Their record and reputation precedes any of their claims and is far more telling than mud wrestling or eating worms.
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Carol Morgan is a career/college counselor, a freelance writer, and former Democratic candidate for the Texas House. She is the award-winning author of two books: Of Tapestry, Time and Tears and Liberal in Lubbock. Email Carol at elizabethcmorgan@sbcglobal.net , follow her on Twitter and on Facebook or visit her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org
http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/carol-morgan/2015-09-10/america%E2%80%99s-mud-wrestling-championships-versus-real-issues#.VfJlF5cT_RY
Permission granted to post this piece in its entirety.
Ken Paxton hires 2 longtime lawyers
Complying with a court-ordered deadline, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday named the legal team that will defend him against charges that he violated state securities laws in business dealings in 2011 and 2012.
Paxton’s defense will be led by Dan Cogdell, a 33-year Houston attorney who has built a national reputation as an effective criminal defense lawyer in securities law and other white-collar cases.
Terri Moore of Fort Worth spent 18 years as a prosecutor, twice ran for office as a Democrat.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/ken-paxton-hires-2-longtime-lawyers/nncKR/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,063
