From Politico: How McConnell outfoxed Ted Cruz

There have been several articles recently about how Cruz has been contained in the Senate.

- Click here for this one.

Ted Cruz called out Mitch McConnell seven times by name on Monday night. Afterward, the Senate majority leader barely uttered a word about his chief Republican adversary.
Asked about Cruz’s diatribe on the Senate floor, during which the Texas Republican suggested McConnell is a puppet for Democratic leaders and a foe of conservatives, McConnell couldn’t conceal his smile on Tuesday.

“I have tried very hard to stay out of the presidential race, and I think that’s probably a good rule for me,” he said with a chuckle.

McConnell may not like to talk about Cruz, but he and his leadership lieutenants have quietly and methodically worked to isolate the conservative senator and minimize his effect on the critical fall spending debate. The end result, in spite of Cruz’s invective toward Republican leaders, is music to McConnell’s ears: no government shutdown.

“We had to be prepared,” said John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Senate Republican. “He’s running for national office. He’s got a different endgame than we do. There are things we have to do here. We’ve got to fund the government every year.”

From the Economist: Regicidal Republicans - The party faithful are keen to decapitate politicians with experience of politics

The author tries to put his finger on what's motivating the Republican base (or the Tea Party wing anyway) to take out their leaders. The insurrection against Boehner - and current one against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - are the latest examples.

This is the latest on an emerging theme - the "experts" have no idea what's going on right now.

- Click here for the article.

The concluding paragraph:

Republican primary voters are not in a revolutionary mood, then, but a regicidal one. They think their rulers are corrupt, inept and mendacious, if not actually treasonous. But they are at the same time ready to swoon before new rulers promising to fix America in an instant. The key credential required to earn that trust is a lack of experience. Will those outsiders disappoint their followers in their turn, triggering a still deeper loss of public trust? Probably. This is going to be a bumpy year.

Here's the secret to Boehner's success - as it were.

From Roll Call: McCarthy Raises Campaign Cash, But He's No Boehner.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is one of the strongest campaign fundraisers in his conference, but he still can't hold a candle to outgoing SpeakerJohn A. Boehner, say Republicans mulling McCarthy as Boehner's successor.

Boehner’s fundraising operation was so extensive and successful — he donated tens of millions to his colleagues and candidates via multiple campaign committees and PACs — that his departure will leave a massive hole in Republican Party and GOP candidate coffers.

McCarthy is a Boehner protégé who has emulated the speaker’s fundraising practices — something that gives him a huge leg up in the contest to replace Boehner.

The only other House Republican considered in McCarthy’s league as a political money rainmaker is House Ways and Means Chairman Paul D. Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate who chairs a fundraising arm of the Republican National Committee known as the Presidential Trust. Ryan has taken himself out of the running for the speakership.

McCarthy has netted $13.1 million for his campaign committee and his personal leadership PAC since the beginning of 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks political money. In the 2014 election cycle, a lucrative McCarthy joint fundraising committee known as the McCarthy Victory Fund pulled in $4.2 million.

But in that same election cycle, Boehner’s joint fundraising committee netted eight times that amount, with $35.4 million in receipts for the 2014 midterms alone. The Boehner for Speaker joint fundraising committee — a type of campaign account that raises large contributions and divvies them up amongst smaller committees — collected more than $71 million during Boehner’s tenure as speaker, CRP data show.

“The political operation that Speaker Boehner put together, I think, is unmatched, unparalleled,” said Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. “He just raises a phenomenally large sum of money for members of the House and for candidates, and it remains to be seen what the future of the organization will be.”

From The Texas Legislative Council: Analyses of Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Let's start talking about the proposed amendments in class.

- Click here for the document.

From the Texas Tribune: Analysis: Dancing With Those Who Brung Ya

Here's a great comparison between what it takes to be a good Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature as opposed to the U.S. Congress - especially if you have a divided majority. Straus was better able to control the Tea Party than Boehner.

- Click here for it.

Splitting the majority party in the House of Representatives leaves a potential speaker with two routes to the top. Lawmakers did it one way in Texas and another way in Washington, D.C. Right now, the Texas way seems to function better. In the Texas House, Joe Straus, a Republican, built a ruling coalition that included the Democrats and limited the power of the Tea Party Republicans. In the U.S. House, John Boehner, also a Republican, made his coalition out of the Republicans alone, shutting out the Democrats and empowering the Tea Party conservatives.

The 2010 elections were a turning point for both leaders. That election gave Republicans a majority in the U.S. House and Boehner, until then the minority leader, became speaker. Two years earlier, Straus ascended to the speakership by banding fewer than two dozen Republicans with most of the Democrats in an almost evenly divided House.

After the 2010 elections, he could have ditched the Democrats and relied on a large Republican majority to stay in office — that’s what Boehner did — but he stuck with one of the oldest rules in politics: Dance with who brung ya.

Boehner’s coalition has been the much more volatile of the two. U.S. House Democrats are largely shut out — the decisions are made in the Republican Conference, which then attempts to stick together as a ruling bloc. The strength of the most vocal conservatives is increased in the conference.

The Straus coalition, while still conservative, frustrates the loudest and most doctrinaire of the Republicans, giving the Democrats some power and shutting out the far right. Those movement conservatives are just as rambunctious as their federal cousins, but they’re outsiders instead of insiders.

It’s not a perfect comparison. Straus operates in a government with 100 percent Republican leadership. Boehner has to deal with a Democrat in the White House. But Straus has had a longer tenure and had more legislative success than his federal counterpart, in part because he has had more success managing his potential antagonists.

For a bit more on the topic: Analysis: The Hard Way to Win a Speaker's Race.

More about those cuts to reimbursements for child therapy

This the subject of week 6's 2306 written assignment and I posted on it previously.

- Click here for it.

Remember that I want some consideration of how this case illustrates the checks and balances in Texas. Here are a variety of links that I'll add to as I find more.

- Official Website: The Honorable Tim Sulak.
- BallotPedia: Tim Sulak.
- Texas Tribune: State Didn't Study Budget Cuts for Children's Therapy.
- Tribpedia: Health and Human Services Commission.
- Official Website: Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

This appears to be a website devoted to the topic:

- My Therapy Rehab.

About the race to replace Boehner

A second option for this week's written assignment for GOVT 2305 is to look at the impact the resignation of John Boehner - who became speaker because he was the leader of the House Republicans. His resignation from Congress was also his resignation from that leadership position. Some background might be in order - the section on parties and committees in Congress covers this as well.

For a look at whose who in party leadership and in what the House Republican Conference is, click here:

- Wikipedia: Party Leaders in the United States house of Representatives.
- House: Leadership.
- Wikipedia: House Republican Conference.
- House: House Republicans.

Here is, roughly, a rank ordering of leaders in the House Majority

1 - The Speaker of the House
2 - The Majority Leader (Kevin McCarthy)
3 - The Majority Whip (Steve Scalise)
4 - Republican Conference Chairman (Cathy McMorris Rodgers)
5 - Republican Policy Committee Chairman. (Luke Messer)
6 - The National Republican Congressional Committee. (Greg Walden)

Now that the top has been - or is about to be - vacated, there will be a struggle to move up. The question will be whether this will be a smooth process where people go up a notch, or whether there will be a power struggle, especially among those members of the more conservative wing of the party who want to increase their influence over policy.

Here are some random readings about what's up as of now - as of tomorrow all this will be dated.

- Politico: Resignation triggers all-out leadership scramble.
- NYT: Candidates in Play for Republican Leadership.
- Politico: Paul Ryan endorses Tom Price over Steve Scalise for House majority leader.
- Huffington Post: Months After White Supremacy Scandal, Steve Scalise May Become House Majority Leader.
- CNN: Majority leader race: Price gets support, McMorris Rodgers declines bid.
- Politico: McMorris Rodgers urges GOP to pull together.
- IndyStar: Tully: GOP ‘Hail Marys’ aren’t enough, Rep. Messer says.
- Roll Call: Leadership Roundup: Scalise Is in; New Talk of a Trey Gowdy Bid.

From the Washington Post: 5 reasons why being Speaker of the House ain’t what it used to be

The rules in Congress have changed dramatically in recent years, so it might be unfair to compare Speaker Boehner with his predecessors. The author argues that the institutional powers that allowed previous speakers to control the House don't exist anymore.

- Click here for the article.

Here's a list of what's changed:

1. Earmarking ban.

2. Politics/ideology trumps loyalty. 

3. More paths to power.

4. The weakening of political parties.

5. Job uncertainty.

From the Intercept: Lobbyists Mourn House Speaker John Boehner's Departure

Not everyone is happy to see Boehner go:

- Click here for the article.

House Speaker John Boehner’s surprise resignation on Friday was reason to celebrate for members of his own caucus who often complained that he let corporate lobbyists exercise undue influence over Congress.

But for lobbyists, Boehner’s announcement was a reason to mourn.

“We are grateful for Speaker Boehner’s leadership in so many areas,” saidChip

Bowling, the chief lobbyist for the corn growers industry. “Speaker Boehner’s departure will leave a hole, to be sure,” said John Engler, a lobbyist who represents the chief executive officers of major American corporations.

Other lobbyists used social media to express grief and salute Boehner’s tenure as Speaker of the House.

. . . Lobbyists enjoy access to establishment politicians of both major parties. But Boehner leaves behind a career that is marked by a particularly extreme coziness with K Street.

He was once caught handing out tobacco industry campaign checks on the House floor before a vote on tobacco legislation.

In 2009, Boehner slowed down House proceedings to allegedly attend the “Boehner Beach Party,” an annual event hosted by lobbyists. Before he became Speaker, Boehner served as the House GOP contact for regular meetings with lobbyists and convened a weekly meeting with lobbyists called the “Thursday Group.”

And for a period of time, Boehner rented a Capitol Hill apartment from a lobbyist.
As he raised millions from corporate political action committees, Boehner encouraged lobbyists to have a direct influence over the policy process. Under Speaker Boehner, the reverse revolving door became a blur, with more and more corporate lobbyists hired to manage the day-to-day business of key congressional committees and to serve as senior staff.

Boehner at one point called on bank lobbyists to be more aggressive when dealing with congressional staff, declaring: “Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you.”

This makes you think he'll land on his feet.

Was this the greatest Speaker of the US House?

Meet Henry Clay.

Do not even think about comparing him to the Grinch.

How good a speaker was John Boehner?

I've yet to make up my mind, but a simple search turns up a lot of articles claiming he was pretty bad. If you are one of my 2305 students and you want to take that option, read through a few. Democrats wont say much nice about him, and neither will more conservative elements of the House Republican Conference, but that's likely more a function of their policy preferences rather than how Boehner was able to manage the institution itself.

I'll add more viewpoints soon - but here's a start:

- Freedom Works: Boehner's Ten Worst Moments as Speaker.
- Forward Progressives: John Boehner Will Go Down As One of the Worst House Speakers in History.
- The Week: How one Tea Partier learned to love John Boehner.
- NYT: Boehner, American Hero.
- The New Yorker: The Pointless Cowardice of John Boehner.
- Fox: Give Boehner a break: GOP Speaker brings real leadership to 114th Congress.
- Fox: Boehner resigns: The one thing you must understand about the Speaker's decision.

I'll add more - it'll be helpful to gather an objective list of the pros and cons of his speakership before making a judgement. In case you are interested, here is a completely unreliable ranking of the top 25 speakers in American history.

- The top 25 from Rankopedia.

It has Henry Clay at the top of the list, he's worth a look.

Week 6's written assignments

In case you haven't checked them out yet, here they are:

2305

Here's a last minute change in topic - last week John Boehner, the Speaker of the House announced that he was not only resigning as speaker, but from Congress in general. I posted a few things recently about insurrections against him among Republicans in the House - he was hardly conservative enough for them. Nevertheless he had his proponents.

I want you to read up a bit on the fallout from the resignation and address one of the following:

1 - How effective a speaker was he? Where might he rank among past speakers?2 - Who is likely to replace him? How will this shakeup affect the power structure among Republicans in the House?3 - What impact is this likely to have on the performance of the 114th Congress? Think especially of the small range of issues that are now on the front burner: for example, passing appropriations bills.

I'll post a few items on the blog to help you find a few things - but do what you can on your own. Just select one of these.

150 words at a minimum as always.

2306

I've posted a few items related to recent efforts by interest groups to use the Texas courts to undo cuts to mental health care spending made by the legislature to programs for poor and disadvantaged children.

- Click here for a recent article.

Since this story touches on the nature of checks and balances in the state - and since that was a topic we've touched on recently in class - I want you to read up on the issue and describe it fully. Look at what each of the different branches of government are doing regarding the cuts and detail how each is impacting - if not negating - what the others are doing.

Be as descriptive as you can - I'll post a few more article on this subject on the blog.

150 words at a bare minimum.

From Politico: Supreme Court may hear Texas abortion case

Something for 2305 students as the quizzes for the judiciary open up today - and the Supreme Court convenes next week.

For 2306 students, another area of conflict between Texas and the national government.

- Click here for the story.

Supreme Court justices will meet behind closed doors Monday to start the process of deciding which cases to take up this term, with all eyes on a challenge to a Texas abortion law that could roil the presidential race just months before voters go to the polls.

The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, centers on a series of far-reaching restrictions on Texas abortion providers and clinics, which led to the closure of about half of the state’s abortion facilities. It promises to be the most significant abortion case in at least two decades, and could inject divisive social issues into the presidential race at a key moment.

If the justices hear the case after their term officially begins Oct. 5, they are expected to focus on two of the most significant restrictions in the Texas law — that abortion providers must have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and that abortions be performed in facilities that meet the same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Many other states — mostly red states where opposition to abortion is strong — have also imposed such restrictions.

Supporters say such laws ensure that women terminating pregnancies will get safe, quality care. But abortion rights advocates say that the regulations are unnecessarily onerous, often forcing clinic closures and that they are designed to restrict abortion, not make it safer.

John Boehner announces plans to resign from Congress at the end of October

In 2305 we discussed internal attempts within the House Republican Conference to remove him as Speaker. He wasn't conservative enough according to some of its members. He's done them - apparently - a favor by stepping down.

Here's some detail:

- Roll Call: Boehner Stuns Colleagues With Resignation Announcement.
- 538: John Boehner Had A Good Run.
- Vox: Speaker John Boehner to resign from Congress.
- Roll Call: Potential Successors to Boehner in Ohio.
- Roll Call: K Street Crushed, Conservatives Elated over Boehner Departure.
- The Hill: McCarthy seen as favorite to succeed Boehner.

From Vox: Political scientists think "the party" will stop Trump. They shouldn't be so sure.

The author takes on the "party decides" theory of candidate selection.

- Click here for the article.

So far the normal rules do not apply - at least on the Republican side - but maybe among Democrats also.

About those joint meetings of Congress

One happened today - Pope Francis spoke before Congress for about an hour. He's the fourth foreign leader to speak before a joint meeting of Congress - since he's the head of Vatican City he's considered to be both a religious and political leader.

The House website provides background:

- Foreign Leaders & Dignitaries Who Have Addressed the U.S. Congress.

And - of course - Wikipedia has a list of all joint meeting and sessions of Congress since day one.

- Click here for it.

As well as information about the event.

- Click here for that.

So this happened today in Congress . . .

For past posts related to the 2016 budget . . .

. . . click here.

From the Texas Tribune: Analysis: When "We" Doesn't Include You

Here's a look at the close relationships that can develop between regulatory agencies and the industries they seek to regulate.

In this case it is the Texas Railroad Commission and the oil and gas industry.

- Click here for the story.

What happens when an elected official says “we” is that we think they’re talking about us — the people who elected them. Sometimes, that’s right. In fact, it’s right most of the time.

Not at the Texas Railroad Commission. It’s a three-person state commission elected by Texas voters and seemingly owned and operated by the oil and gas industry it regulates. Go hear one of their speeches at an industry conference sometime and listen for this: Do they call it “your industry” when talking to oil and gas people, or do they call it “our industry.” A recent sampling suggests the latter.

The latest chapter in the remarkably consistent history of the Railroad Commission is about a letter from Chairman David Porter to the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC is suffering from a case of regulatory constipation, as reported by The Texas Tribune’s Jim Malewitz, that is blocking some oil and gas companies from getting their hands on some wireless frequencies that would help them monitor their pipelines.

The companies want the FCC to free the frequencies, which are licensed to an unrelated outfit that has encountered bankruptcy and other legal challenges. One of them wrote a letter and got Porter to put it on Railroad Commission of Texas letterhead and sign it himself. This is all documented in emails, which are surely the greatest thing ever invented for lawyers and others who want to piece a story together after the fact.

Porter’s chief of staff, Caleb Troxclair, traded messages last month with Justin Stegall, a Houston intermediary for Enbridge, one of the companies hoping to get its hands on those wireless frequencies. The company’s Washington, D.C., lawyers drafted a letter that he forwarded to Porter’s office with some suggestions about adding some language of their own.

Troxclair wrote back a couple of days later, saying Porter had agreed to send it. Two days later, he sent along a version on state letterhead that was added to the FCC’s files by the lawyers in Washington.
None of this cost taxpayers much money. There was a little staff time involved, but it’s not like anyone on the state payroll had to write his or her own letter or anything.

For 2305 today

Another hodge-podge related to the 2016 campaign:


- An Embarrassment of Riches. The author looks at the consequences of the increased amount of money spend on the campaign - especially on Republicans - and wonders if it has led to fragmentation and a further weakening of party organizations. He suggests, ironically, that increased spending on the Republican side might actually benefit Democrats.


- The GOP Is Killing Itself. This was written by a Republican commentator - Peter Wehner - who is concerned about how the party is being impacted by the "outsider" candidates, especially Trump and Carson, who may be positioning the party too far outside the mainstream to win general elections.


- Why Republicans are starting to panic, in 1 paragraph. The author provides comment on the article listed above. Here is the paragraph from it he refers to:

The message being sent to voters is this: The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable with the changing (and inevitable) demographic nature of our nation. The GOP is longing to return to the past and is fearful of the future. It is a party that is characterized by resentments and grievances, by distress and dismay, by the belief that America is irredeemably corrupt and past the point of no return. “The American dream is dead,” in the emphatic words of Mr. Trump.

He provides data that shows that the Republican Party is increasingly becoming the "white" party just about the time that the share of the electorate that is Anglo is declining. He joins the previous author - along with many other commentators - in wondering how the party can win national elections as a result.


- Walker's campaign manager unloads. Here's a great opportunity to look - after the fact - at the operations inside a presidential campaign - a failed one to be sure, but those are just as good as the successful ones for a look at how elections are won and lost. The campaign manager was a man named Rick Wiley - click here for info on him.

Here's a juicy part of the story - due to poor performance on the national state, funds just dried up:

By Wiley’s telling, the end came fast. “June and July, up through that first debate, were good, fundraising-wise — really good,” he said. "Hitting your numbers. And we thought maybe we could even project [that] outward, like tick our numbers up a little bit. And then the [Aug. 6] Cleveland debate happened. ... The press corps wrote that he didn't help himself but didn't hurt himself. But the didn't-help-himself narrative took over. And fundraising started to go down.”

The problems snowballed, all self-inflicted. “The week after the debate, our events fell a little bit flat,” Wiley said. “And so then we roll into the Iowa State Fair, and the ‘birthright citizenship’ [gaffe] came up. And that was another one where the donors were like, ‘What's going on over there?’”

After five weeks, it was clear: Madison, we have a problem. “It culminated with a trip through Texas, the three days leading up to Labor Day weekend, where ... we're supposed to raise half a mil and we brought in $184K,” Wiley said. “That, coupled with we were in the mail with [a] mailing to our donors, and that was the first time that [an internal] file had lost money. ... So, at that point, we can say, ‘OK, we have a huge revenue problem.’”

- What Happens To All That SuperPAC Money When A Candidate Drops Out? Apparently there is no law stating what must happen to it, but the money that went to the SuperPACs that backed Rick Perry has gone back to the donors.


- Scott Walker, Rick Perry show limits of super PACs: Turns out, billionaires can’t buy the White House. Perhaps all that concerns over SuperPACs and the influence of money on the presidential campaign were overstated.

His [Scott Walker's] withdrawal from the GOP primary ― like that of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry earlier this month ― highlights the limitations of the new strain of megadonor-subsidized presidential politics. Big-money outside groups devoted to the two failed candidates combined to raise more than $43 million through the end of June. But when they began looking for ways to spend the bounty to boost their respective candidates’ flagging poll numbers, their efforts were complicated by tricky election laws, quirky debate qualification rules and the unpredictable rise of Donald Trump as the GOP primary leader.

From the Texas Tribune: Judge Temporarily Halts Cuts to Children's Therapy

Checking and balancing in Texas. Notice the reference to ambiguous language in the state budget.

- Click here for the story.

Deep cuts to a therapy program for poor and disabled children will not take effect Oct. 1, a state district judge ruled Tuesday afternoon — the second such delay in recent weeks.

“Procedurally I'm not making a determination that these acts are valid or invalid,” said State District Judge Tim Sulak in his announcement that he would grant a temporary injunction to prevent the state from slashing payments to therapists. But he said he made his ruling in part because he’d been convinced the cuts could jeopardize the health of children receiving the therapy services.

It marked the first decision in a series of legal challenges filed by therapy providers and families of children with disabilities, who seek to prove that by slashing payments to therapists, the state will cause as many as 60,000 children to lose access to those services. The idea is that the low pay will force providers to drop out of the program.

State lawmakers this year ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to reduce funding for therapy services by roughly $350 million in state and federal funds over two years. Those savings would primarily come from reductions in the rates paid to therapists by Medicaid, the public insurance program for the poor and disabled — in some cases by about 20 or 25 percent.

But that seemingly simple goal to reduce payments has been complicated by some ambiguous language in the state budget, which directs the health commission to consider “access to care” when applying the cuts. Families of children who need the services say the speech, physical and occupational therapy covered by Medicaid can be life-saving — by helping kids learn to nurse, walk and speak, for example — and that the state is poised to limit access by forcing providers to drop out of the program.

From the Atlantic: The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet.

A nice concise description of who is running, why, who supports them and whether they can win.

- Click here for it.

I offer this in case you are still hunting around for a paper topic - 2305 students. Here's an example of what you'll find:

Jeb Bush

Who is he? The brother and son of presidents, he served two terms as governor of Florida, from 1999 to 2007.

Is he running? Yes, as of June 15.

Who wants him to run? Establishment Republicans;George W. Bush; major Wall Street donors.

Can he win the nomination? Soon after Bush entered the race, predictions of a Bush-Clinton rematch of 1992 were common. Now, it’s hard to say. Clinton has stumbled, and so has Bush. He now lags well behind Trump, and has hit some fundraising turbulence (ironically caused, it seems, by his early prowess). Trump continues to treat Bush as his main rival, saving his most vicious attacks for Bush. There’s an amorphous expectation that once Trump’s bubble bursts, Bush will regain some altitude. But no one knows exactly how that would work, or how it will happen. Bush remains more moderate than much of the Republican primary electorate (especially on immigration—as the Trump boom has highlighted), his name remains a double-edged sword, and he just doesn’t look all that comfortable or joyous on the trail.

A look inside Walker's campaign

This helps explain what went wrong for a candidate some had high hopes for.

- From Politico: The emergency meeting that led Walker to quit: The governor left his closest supporters in the dark, even his biggest financial backers.

It’s almost always bad news when a candidate’s spouse calls an emergency meeting.

But that’s what happened late last week when Scott Walker’s wife, Tonette, and his campaign chairman, Mike Grebe, reached out to a small number of longtime Walker aides and summoned them to the governor’s mansion on Monday morning.

The topic was obvious: the future of Walker’s struggling presidential campaign.

Walker had just limped out of a disappointing second presidential debate. The governor had spent weeks preparing for the showdown, knowing his political life depended on it. He’d practiced giving punchier answers and making sure to use up all his allotted time.

But the reviews had been brutal. Donors were grousing, and money was drying up. It was a painful turn for Walker, who had quickly vaulted to the top of the Iowa polls, powered by a fiery January speech in Des Moines, only to drop precipitously in the summer amid Donald Trump’s rise. He had gone from front-runner to also-ran in a matter of months.

So on Monday morning, the group of advisers — including veteran Walker hands John Hiller, Bill Eisner, Ed Goeas, and Jim Villa — huddled with Scott and Tonette Walker. The top of the agenda, according to campaign sources: polling and fundraising. And the numbers were bad.

Shortly after the meeting wrapped, Walker arrived at his decision: He was out. It was a shocking and sudden move that blindsided many of Walker’s closest allies, threw the power of super PACs into doubt and opened opportunities for rivals to pick up patrons, staff, and supporters.

From the Washington Post: Political parties go after million-dollar donors in wake of looser rules

More on the current state of money in the 2016 campaign. Parties are trying to catch up with SuperPACs.

- Click here for the story. 

The national political parties are urging wealthy backers to give them 10 times more money than was allowed in the last presidential election, taking advantage of looser restrictions to pursue ­million-dollar donors with zeal.

Under the new plans, which have not been disclosed publicly, the top donation tier for the Republican National Committee has soared to $1.34 million per couple this election cycle. Democratic contributors, meanwhile, are being hit up for even more — about $1.6 million per couple — to support the party’s convention and a separate joint fundraising effort between the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign.

In return, elite donors are being promised perks such as exclusive retreats with top party leaders, VIP treatment at the nominating conventions and special dinners organized by contribution rank at this month’s RNC finance committee gala.

The new donor packages mark the latest major erosion of campaign finance limits and are reminiscent of the 1990s, when the parties were flush with huge “soft money” contributions from rich backers and corporations. The new push also further elevates the uber-wealthy at a time when independent big-money groups known as super PACs are dominating the 2016 presidential race.

From the Hill: GOP wants budget talks with Obama — not Pelosi and Reid

- Click here for the article.

Republicans want President Obama as a negotiating partner when it comes to budget talks, something Democrats are determined to avoid. With a little more than a week to prevent a government shutdown, the GOP thinks the talks should be between them and Obama since they now have control of the House and Senate.

Losing the Senate in last year’s midterm elections should force Obama to deal with them, they say. Democrats, however, are determined to keep a seat at the table — in part because they think they’ll drive a tougher bargain than Obama, whose past efforts to make deals with Republicans unnerves Capitol Hill liberals.

In this case, Obama seems likely to go along with congressional Democrats — especially after bruising fights over trade policy and the Iran nuclear deal. But Democrats are leaving nothing to chance.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met with Obama at the White House on Thursday. At the end of the meeting, Pelosi and Reid spoke to reporters and said all agreed on their strategy moving forward. And on Monday, the White House stated its desire for Republicans to negotiate with congressional Democrats.

Scott Walker bows out of presidential race

He joins Rick Perry on the sidelines.

For analysis:

National Journal: 5 Takeaways From Scott Walker’s Withdrawal.
National Journal: Scott Walker’s Tragedy of Timing.

In Congress right now

From the Hill:

- Senate Democrats block 20-week abortion ban in 54-42 vote.

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The measure failed to advance in a 54-42 vote, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed.

Democratic Sens. Robert Casey, Jr. (Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), who all oppose abortion rights, joined Republicans in voting to advance the bill. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Mark Kirk (Ill.), who support abortion rights, voted against it.

The vote comes amid a roiling debate over Planned Parenthood funding that could lead to a government shutdown on Oct. 1. Republican leaders are hoping the vote on the 20-week abortion ban, which comes the same day that Pope Francis arrives in Washington, will help give members a chance to register their anti-abortion views without running the risk of a government shutdown.

The measure would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk. The ban after 20 weeks is based on the idea that a fetus can feel pain at that point in its development, something that remains a matter of fierce debate.

Click here for detail on H.R.36 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

From the Bureau of Land Management: The Manual of Surveying Instructions

I was surfing around looking for info to add to the stories about the Texas General Land Office and came across the following sentence in the TSHA's page on the office:

Texas is the only public-land state with complete control over its public lands and over the proceeds resulting from the administration and sale of lands.

I was curious about what the the term public land state referred to and the following link to the Bureau of Land Management's manual of surveying instructions popped up.

- Click here for it.

It doesn't mention Texas, but it does provide thumbnail info about how the lands for 30 state were acquired and where the official records related to the land acquisition are held. Here are a few samples related to Texas:

Colorado. Acquired largely under the Louisiana Purchase in 1808, but including additional land, title to which was quieted through treaty with Spain, in 1819, with other lands annexed with Texas in 1845, and lands ceded by Mexico in 1848; admitted into the Union August 1, 1876 (18 Stat. 474; 19 Stat. 665); records in the State Office of the Bureau of Land Management in Denver.

New Mexico. Included in the lands annexed with Texas in 1845, with lands ceded by Mexico in 1848, and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853; admitted into the Union January 6, 1912 (36 Stat. 557, 37 Stat. 1723); records in the State Office of the Bureau of Land Management at Santa Fe.

Wyoming. Included with lands acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, with lands annexed with Texas in 1845, with lands included in the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846, and with lands ceded by Mexico in 1848; admitted into the Union July 10, 1890 (26 Stat. 222); records in the State Office of the Bureau of Land Management at Cheyenne.

For a link to the entire document click here.

For the Bureau of Land Management click here.

And here's the BLM's Wikipedia Page.

In a previous post I pointed out that the national government owns all of the land in red below:

From the previous Land Commissioner: Reform the Land Office" Give it a reboot? Really?

Time to break out the popcorn.

Jerry Patterson, the man who George P. Bush replaced as land commissioner, takes issue with Bush's moves and claims about how he ran the agency. It worth a read.

- Click here for the article.

What is the General Land Office?

The previous story mentioned the office, so here's background on it. As with other aspects of Texas' political and governing history, we can begin with info from the Texas State Historical Association.

- TSHA: General Land Office.

The General Land Office was established on December 22, 1836, by the First Congress of the Republic of Texas. John P. Borden, the first commissioner, opened the office in Houston on October 1, 1837. He was enjoined by law to "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas." The Constitution of the Republic of Texas honored all grants made by Spain and Mexico that were deemed valid by the republic; later, the state followed suit. The commissioner assembled from the archives of the former governments a record of valid land grants and translated them. The Spanish archives section of the Land Office is the depository of records of 4,200 Spanish and Mexican land grants. Valid Spanish and Mexican grants cover 26,280,000 acres within the present boundaries of Texas. Some of these grants have received special confirmation by the state legislature, but most of them stand on the original titles from the governments of Spain and Mexico. Borden moved the land archives from Houston to Austin in 1839.

Here's some neat trivia. The first commissioner was the brother of Gail Borden - who later invented a process for condensing milk. Perhaps you drink his milk today. John and Gail were both surveyors and helped lay out both Galveston and Houston. A useful skill if one is to be land commissioner.

For more info and related topics:

- TGLO: History of the Texas General Land Office.
- TGLO: History and Archives.
- TSHA: Land Appropriations for Education.
- TSHA: Tidelands Controversy.
- TSHA: Veteran's Land Board Scandal.

The Texas Fiscal Siz-Up also contains an overview of the TGLO. You can find it by clicking below and looking through pages 431-439.

- Click here for the link.

The head of the General Land Office faces criticism over staff turnover

The new land commissioner - a member of Texas' plural executive - has been criticized for job performance since he took office earlier this year. This adds to the list. The Austin American-Statesmen sets the story up.

- George P. Bush trims more than 100 jobs from Texas land office.

At least 111 state workers have been fired, retired or have quit the Texas General Land Office — about 17 percent of the agency’s workforce — under the leadership of George P. Bush, whose so-called reboot has drawn criticism from his predecessor, who says the agency is suffering under “a purge.”

Bush, who was elected last November to his first public office, said this week that he’s fulfilling his campaign promise to make theGeneral Land Office more efficient.
“I campaigned as a fiscal conservative with proven experience in the private sector seeking to make government more efficient and responsive,” he told the American-Statesman, adding he’s taking a “surgical approach to reforming the agency.”

. . . But Dennis Ku, a former manager in the office’s disaster recovery unit, said many employees were shocked when they were told they no longer had jobs before being escorted out of the building by security.

. . . Ku said he’s worried the agency will languish because “they’ve gotten rid of the kind of institutional knowledge that’s been there a long time.” “If you look at who the leadership is at the GLO now, they’re mostly under 40,” Ku said. “They’re more enamored with Twitter and that stuff than actually doing a good job of running the agency.”

The San Antonio Express-News points out that the new hires are connected to the new commissioner's family and political supporters:

- Bush runs Land Office with campaigners, family friends.

Less than a year after being elected to lead the oldest state agency in Texas, Land Commissioner George P. Bush has dramatically remade the General Land Office by ousting a majority of its longtime leaders and replacing many of them with people with ties to his campaign and family.

Eleven of the top 18 officials on the agency’s organizational chart a year ago have been fired, forced out or quit, and more could leave soon under an ongoing overhaul that Bush has described as a “reboot.”

In their place, Bush has given top jobs to two of his law school classmates, two relatives of members of two Bush presidential administrations and at least three other people with ties to the family or other political leaders.

In all, Bush has hired at least 29 people who worked on his campaign or have political connections, according to a review of personnel records. The agency did not advertise any of the openings publicly.

State law requires all agencies considering external candidates for a job to post the opening with the Texas Workforce Commission. Newly elected statewide officials often ignore the requirement for some core positions — Attorney General Ken Paxton and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller already have been publicly criticized for it this year — but Bush’s hiring differs because of how far-reaching it has been, with the hires ranging from a temporary transition director to five campaign veterans hired permanently for the new position of “regional outreach coordinator.”

Houston Chronicle: Active role in father's campaign taking George P. Bush away from day job.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has been out of the state or otherwise off of work nearly half of the time since his father entered the GOP race for president, records show, raising questions about whether the scion is fulfilling his pledge to remain focused on his first elected office.

Personal time - both related to the presidential race and for other reasons - took the commissioner away for the equivalent of 23 of the first 50 work days after father Jeb Bush announced his bid on June 15, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of records obtained under the Public Information Act. The total includes 15 full days off and dozens of smaller chunks of time off on other work days that add up to eight more days.

It is impossible to tell exactly how much of the time off was spent campaigning, because the commissioner's official calendar does not say what he did in those hours. Social media posts indicate he spent a significant amount of it on the trail, however, speaking at his father's announcement in Florida, publicly stumping for him in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, headlining a fundraiser in Texas and attending a campaign staff retreat in Maine.

The  Texas Tribune: Bush: Time Spent on Father's Campaign "Nominal"

Land Commissioner George P. Bush on Sunday night rejected the suggestion that his involvement in his father's presidential campaign has significantly cut into his official duties, saying the amount of time he has spent stumping for his dad has been "nominal."

In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Bush echoed his office's aggressive pushback throughout the day on a Houston Chronicle story that concluded he "has been out of the state or otherwise off of work nearly half of the time since his father entered the GOP race for president." The newspaper reported that Bush was away for the equivalent of 23 of the first 50 workdays after his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, launched his 2016 campaign.

"I'm extremely disappointed by the findings," Bush said. "The evidence will strongly show that I've put my heart and soul into this position."

Government Disservice: Overcoming Washington Dysfunction to Improve Congressional Stewardship of the Executive Branch

The Partnership for Public Service analyzes the various ways that government can become dysfunctional and offers solutions for them.

- Click here for the report.

Bullet point items can be found on pages 2 and 3.

From the Texas Tribune: Lawyers, Scientists Try to Unravel Thorny New DNA Standard

We chewed on this story on 2306 today. Criminal justice reform has been topical in Texas for most of the year.

- Click here for the article.

Texas prosecutors left a meeting Friday without the precise roadmap they were looking for when it comes to navigating the more conservative DNA standards used by crime labs in Texas and nationwide.

But they didn't leave the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences empty-handed, they said. “It would have been nice to see more answers," Inger Chandler, chief of the conviction integrity unit in the Harris County district attorney's office. "As lawyers, we tend to see things in black and white, and we're learning there's a lot of gray."

Chandler was one of many prosecutors who attended a Texas Forensic Science Commission meeting on how past and future cases could be affected by a new standard in analyzing data involving "mixed DNA." That type of DNA refers to when more than one person's DNA is found on evidence.

While there's no proof that the new standard — adopted by the Texas Department of Public Safety crime labs and other labs used by DA's offices — would exclude a defendant, the new protocol could reduce the likelihood that an individual's DNA is the only source of genetic material left at a crime scene.

. . . "One of the problems was DNA was called the gold standard," Bruce Budowle, director of the University of Texas Health Science Center's Institute of Applied Genetics, said. "Big mistake."

DNA analysis provides answers, but there has to be rigorous interpretation of DNA results, the experts said.

Crime labs have recently adopted the new “mixed DNA” standard. The DPS switched to it on Aug. 10. The move has prompted prosecutors like Chandler to resend evidence in pending cases to the lab to have the data analyzed using the new standard. In Houston's Harris County, that's about 500 pending cases where DNA evidence will be introduced at trial.

The mention of a conviction integrity unit stood out to me. I've never heard of such a thing.

Here is a white paper on the subject:

- Conviction Integrity Units:Vanguard of Criminal Justice Reform.

Laws passed so far by the 114th Congress

Here are two sources:

- Wikipedia (of course)
- Thomas.

One of the points we'll make in class this week is that very few bills spend time in committee. It might be interesting to open these up and see what laws did and did not get reported out of a committee.

What is an Acela Republican?

I've never heard of Acela Republicans before. You learn something new everyday don't you?

Apparently "Acela" refers to the Acela Express, an Amtrak line that runs from Boston to Washington DC. This is a more liberal part of the country, meaning that Republicans there are more liberal than Republicans in other parts of the country - especially here in Texas. Republicans from that part of the country tend to be derided as inauthentic, or of being a RINO.

From what I can tell, the phrase may stand today for what the term Rockefeller Republican stood for a few decades ago.

- From the Federalist: A Field Guide To Acela Republicans.

- From Ricochet: The Acela Republican.

Who is the Acela Republican?

The Acela Republican is as comfortable in the green rooms of MSNBC as he is at a green energy conference. The Acela Republican isn’t one of those horrible Tea Party yahoos who comes from somewhere other than a big, coastal metropolis. The Acela Republican is softer, smoother, and less confrontational…unless he’s taking on his own party.

Then, he’s a ferocious scold. “Taking on his own party” is the passport of the Acela Republican to hundreds of stories about how he—and only he—can save the GOP. He talks about bringing people together, working with the other party, getting things done for everyone, regardless of politics…if only his own backward, hick, red-state, cousin-kissing bumpkin party will see the light.

Right now of course, it’s Governor Chris Christie. In 2012, it was Jon Huntsman. Most famous of all, of course, was John McCain. They’re not entirely new, but in an age of rising conservatism, the Acela Republican is just the kind of candidate America’s media class pretend they could almost possibly contemplate thinking of voting for in the general election. The Acela Republican is the one Republican who shares their contempt for the GOP broadly, and modern conservatism specifically.

Local House Reps Olson and Weber are on the following committees and subcommittees

Presumably both members choose these committees because they touch in issues that are important to the local constituency. We'll review these in class.

Randy Weber

House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy
- Member, Subcommittee on the Environment and the Economy

House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Member, Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa
- Member, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Pete Olson

House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Vice Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Power
- Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade
- Member, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

From Gallup: Trust in U.S. Judicial Branch Sinks to New Low of 53%

But it still beats the legislative and executive branches.

- Click here for the article.

Americans have consistently had more trust in the judiciary than in the other two government branches, but trust in all three has trended downward in an era of widespread dissatisfaction with government. As recently as six years ago, the first year of the Obama administration, 76% said they trusted the judicial branch, 61% said they trusted the executive branch and 45% said they trusted the legislative branch.

The author notes that the decline has been mostly among Republicans.

The decline in trust in the judicial branch likely stems from the Supreme Court's controversial decisions this year to legalize same-sex marriage and uphold a key provision of the Affordable Care Act allowing Americans to purchase subsidized health insurance through federally run marketplaces.

Democrats cheered those decisions while Republicans criticized them. As a result, the Supreme Court's job approval rating among Republicansplummeted to 18% in July, shortly after the high court's term ended.

From Congress.Gov: The Ten Most-Viewed Bills as of the week of September 13th

They keep a running tally - here's what's topical now:

1. H.R.213 [114th] Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2015
2. S.615 [114th] Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015
3. H.J.Res.61 [114th] Hire More Heroes Act of 2015
4. H.R.1191 [114th] Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015
5. H.R.1599 [114th] Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015
6. H.R.2802 [114th] First Amendment Defense Act
7. S.Amdt.2640 to H.J.Res.61 [114th] Senate Amendment to Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 8. H.R.2646 [114th] Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015
9. H.R.1735 [114th] National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
10. H.R.1786 [114th] James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act

From Congress.Gov: The Legislative Process

The Library of Congress has a series of videos - nine in total - that detail the legislative process.

- Click here for it.

Enjoy - you'll learn more from them than from me.

And they have this handy graphic:

Plan Houston unveiled

A possible glimpse into Houston's future was unveiled yesterday before the city council.

The city is traditionally resistant to planning, but who know what might happen now?

- Click here for the document presented to city council.
- planhouston.org.
- City of Houston: General Plan.

For 2306 today

- Houston Chronicle: In a first, Texas court recognizes same-sex common law marriage.

A Travis County woman has won her long battle to be acknowledged as her deceased partner's legal spouse, marking the first time in Texas a same-sex common-law marriage has been recognized in a court ruling. Attorney General Ken Paxton is mulling whether to challenge the marriage's legality, however, a move the woman's lawyer calls unnecessary, illegal and offensive.

- Star-Telegram: Let’s be honest about the cost of a watered-downeducation. 

Once again the Texas Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of our school finance system, and, once again, school districts are hoping for a lot more money. My issue is not with spending more money on education if that is what is needed. My issue deals with how the plaintiffs have undermined the very goal they say is what merits increased education spending: college readiness.

Note that the author of this op-ed is Bill Hammond the CEO of the Texas Association of Business.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/other-voices/article35498820.html#storylink=cpy

- Texas Tribune: Experts: Expect Early 2016 School Finance Ruling.

Earlier this month, the Texas Supreme Court heard hours of arguments in the latest challenge of the way the state funds its public schools. Now, the big questions — other than exactly how the high court will rule — are when the court will rule and whether the decision will require the Legislature to come back to Austin to craft a fix before the 2017 regular legislative session.

Given past rulings and politics — three justices on the nine-member, all-Republican court are up for re-election next year — the consensus among experts and insiders is that a decision will come early next year and likely will require a 2016 special legislative session because it will favor, at least in part, the 600 school districts suing the state. That could mean that a school finance fix is in place before the next school year.

- Houston Chronicle: Challenges loom as Houston grows.

Houston is poised to change and grow rapidly in the coming years, as already is apparent from the sea of cranes building everything from downtown high-rises to mixed-use projects inside the 610 Loop to swaths of new housing near the Grand Parkway in the region's outlying areas. Projections show Houston's population outpacing Chicago's to become the third-largest city in the U.S. in the next decade.

During this time, the region will be forced to grapple with its slipping reputation as an affordable city, increasing congestion, income inequality and a lack of long-term planning, a panel of local housing experts said in Houston Wednesday at Zillow's Housing Roadmap to 2016 event, a national tour exploring issues Americans face in their neighborhoods and communities.

- Texas Tribune: Rate of Poverty Dips in Texas, But Some Metro Areas See Rise.

The share of Texans living in poverty continued to dip slightly in 2014, according to census figures released Thursday. But poverty is prevalent in many parts of the state, with the share of poor people rising in several metropolitan areas.

Estimates from the 2014 American Community Survey show that the percentage of poor Texas residents declined in 2014 — dropping to 17.2 percent from 17.5 percent in 2013 — as part of a gradual drop in poverty in the state in recent years. But the share of poor Texans in 11 of the state’s 25 metropolitan areas surpassed the state’s overall share of poor residents.

- TribTalk: Austin's lawsuit is an abuse of the property tax code.

Guess what turns 228 today?

Reposted from July 15: How will the nuclear deal be handled in Congress?

Because its relevant again:

- Click here for the previous entry - but its copied below so why bother?

According to the process established in S.615 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.

- Click here for it.

The companion bill in the House was H.R.1191 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.

- Click here for that one.

The Guardian describes the process here - or what we can expect from it. Much seems up in the air.

Some highlights:

Can Congress delay the deal?

Yes. Under the terms of an oversight process agreed between US lawmakers and the White House in April, the president has to present all the details to Congress within five days of striking a deal. This must include a report from the secretary of state on how Iranian compliance will be verified.

The Senate and House of Representatives then have 60 days to scrutinise the deal and hold hearings, during which time the president cannot begin lifting sanctions onIran. Obama may also then have to wait another 10-12 days before actually starting this crucial part of the process. In total, it could be up to eight weeks after the back-slapping in Vienna before anything can get going.

Can Congress block the deal?

In theory. Towards the end of the 60-day review period, both the House and Senate will probably vote on a resolution of approval or disapproval. The exact mechanism is unclear, but this is likely to require a simple majority in both chambers to pass – ie 51 of the 100 senators and 218 of the 435 representatives. Since many Republicans are opposed to the deal and currently command a majority in both House and Senate, it is quite possible that a joint disapproval resolution would pass.

The catch is that the president can veto any attempt to make such a resolution enforceable – and on Tuesday in his statement on the deal he vowed to do so. To override a presidential veto requires a second vote to be passed with a two-thirds majority in both chambers: a high hurdle that would have to include at least 42 Democrats in the House and a dozen Democratic senators – probably more, if some Republicans chose to back the administration.

In other words, Obama can stick to his deal as long as he persuades at least one-third of one chamber of Congress to vote with him over the course of the four votes. Conversely, his opponents have to persuade a significant number of Democrats to stand up against their president on the most important foreign policy question of his administration – four times in a row.

From House.Gov: Origins & Development: From the Constitution to the Modern House

As I'm rewriting my power points I'll incorporate some of this - if not most of this - information in them. The website of the U.S. House of Representatives walks through the development of the U.S. House beginning with the ratification of the Constitution.

- Click here for the page.

It contains a variety of sections related to the parts of the Constitution that affect the design of the chamber. These are especially topic given current events:

- Speaker of the House. Since there's a move underway in the House Republican Conference to unseat John Boehner.

- Power of the Purse. Since the fiscal year is almost over and appropriations bills still need to be passed.

- Investigations and Oversight. Since its habitual for Congress to investigate every aspect of the activities of the president when one different parties control each branch.

Why I Hate Taylor Swift - Rant of the Day

Notice the seamless quality of this work of art. A stream of consciousness masterpiece.

I am sick and tired of hearing about Taylor Swift on the Internet. Everywhere I go, peopleconstantly sing her praises and talk about how amazing and wonderful she is. She stood up forpoor indie artists! She gives to charity! She poops rainbow and glitter! I am tired of hearingabout her and I think that she is the exact opposite of what everyone thinks she is. She is actuallya fraud. She has absolutely no performing talent at all. She cannot sing. Her vocal range ismediocre at best, and she always sings off key. She certainly cannot dance. Her songwritingskills are very poor. Almost all of her songs are about boys and getting her heart broken, andthey sound as if they were written by a six year old. She has dated every man in Hollywood, andher relationships end quicker than Kim Kardashian's marriages (probably because she is a stage-five clinger). After breaking up, she vindictively trashes her exes in her music, and has the nerveto claim herself as the victim. Unlike many of her fans' claims, she does not care very muchabout them. She threatened to sue many of her fans on Etsy because they were selling homemadeitems with her name on them. She even threatened to sue her former guitar teacher when headvertised that he used to teach her on his website. Taylor Swift controls every aspect of herimage so that other people cannot profit off of her in any way. She even tried to trademarkcertain phrases such as "this sick beat" so that other people cannot use them to sell theirproducts! Her greediness knows no bounds. She made a big deal about Spotify's business modelbecause she felt she wasn't making enough money off of their streaming service (she made $6mil before she removed her entire catalog off of the website), then she shamed Apple intoconforming to her will under the guise of "sticking up for other artists" (even though Applepromised to pay artists a larger share of the profits if they agreed to the free three-month trialprogram, and Apple could be sued for violating anti-trust laws by paying artists out of pocket).She is also very fake and manipulative. She collects "friends" like they are stamps, so that shecan show them off to the world and let everyone know how powerful and popular she is. Someof her so-called friends are not even respectable people (Lena Dunham is a child molester,Selena Gomez is stuck-up and rude and also sucks at singing, and Calvin Harris is a racist, sexist,cheating, douchey a-hole). Also, Taylor Swift is not a feminist, no matter how many times sheclaims that she is. She has a history of slut-shaming women in her music (even though she hasdated an army of men), and recently put out her most angry song yet, Bad Blood, in which shegleefully disses another female artist (who actually did nothing wrong; those backup dancersoriginally belonged to Katy Perry, perhaps she is angry about something else? *cough, cough,John Mayer*). Yes, she does give to charity, but her random acts of kindness usually seem morelike a bad publicity stunt than a move that is genuinely meant to make a difference in other'slives. She once donated $4 mil to the Country Music Hall of Fame (a cause that benefits her; theinstitution initially had no idea what to do with such a large donation), but then gave a meager$1,989 to a fan that was drowning in student debt. That amount hardly pays for a semester'sworth of tuition in most four-year universities, and is equivalent to the title given to her newalbum, 1989 (obviously to promote the album). She often likes to publicize things that she doesfor her fans. Her Youtube channel has videos of her attending a fan's bridal shower, sendingrandom fans Christmas gifts, and secretly inviting her fans to her houses. These videos probablyearned her enormous sums of money, and gave her a lot of free publicity, making her seem like akind, generous person. Lastly, she is highly self-absorbed (her least attractive quality). Hernarcissism is evident on her Tumblr page, where she likes tons of posts that praise her and saythat she is an amazing person, etc. She makes these likes public, so that other people will see them. On her friend's birthday, she posted a photo on Instagram in which the friend was standingfar in the background, with her hunky boyfriend standing right in front of the camera. Obviouslyher goal was to show off her new boyfriend, not to honor her friend on her birthday. Often times,in the photos that she posts of herself with her famous friends, she is right in the center, whereshe is meant to be the center of attention. Her Twitter response to Nicki Minaj's criticism of themusic industry showed how highly she thought of herself, and the gall that she had to "offer"Nicki Minaj a place with her onstage was unbelievable.That basically sums up my rant about Taylor Swift. I am seriously disturbed that parentsthink that she is a good role model for their children and that she is considered to be a good, ortalented person. If the devil were real, I'd say her name is Taylor Swift.

This reminds me of a few articles I read recently about the current state of song writing and recording. It's no big surprise, but a bit depressing anyway.

- Music.Mic: One Country Is Responsible For America's Biggest Pop Songs.
- The New Yorker: The Song Machine.
- The Atlantic: Hit Charade.

From Vox: The revolt against John Boehner: Worst. Plan. Ever.

Vox thinks the effort to oust John Boehner from the Speakers chair is unrealistic. They do so by laying out the plan that conservative Republicans have developed to get the job done. It's a good opportunity for 2305 students to look inside the workings of the institution:

The rebels' plan

- Offer a resolution to vacate the speaker's chair (fire the speaker).- Claim that the resolution is "privileged" and thus must come to a vote.*- Pass the resolution with a majority of all 188 Democrats and 29-plus Republicans- Nominate a new Republican speaker within the Republican Conference.- Elect the new Republican candidate with a united Republican vote on the House floor.- Watch with glee as the new speaker forces the Senate and president to agree to the Liberty Caucus agenda, beginning with defunding Planned Parenthood.

- Click here for a look at the likelihood that this plan would work.

Random items for 2306 today

A smorgasbord:

Texas Tribune: In Texas, Making Presidential Ballot Won't Be Hard.

The Texas GOP's State Republican Executive Committee has decided that candidates have to pony up just $5,000 — or produce 300 signatures from registered voters in each of 15 of Texas' 36 congressional districts — to qualify.

That means Texas should be a hotly contested March 1 primary for GOP candidates who survive February's early state primary and caucus contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — that is, if the candidate or his or her aligned super PAC can afford the sky-high TV advertising rates needed to play in giant Texas.

Texas Tribune: Nationalist Group Wants TX Secession on Primary Ballot.

Texas already seceded once — in 1861, by popular vote in a statewide election. But the Texas Nationalist Movement wants a repeat a century and a half later, and thinks the March GOP primary is the place to start.

The Nederland-based Texas independence group is circulating a petition aimed at getting a non-binding vote onto the GOP primary ballot over whether "the state of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation."

Their goal? 75,000 signatures from registered voters by Dec. 1 — more than the 66,894 the Texas Secretary of State's office says the group needs to get the language on the ballot.

The Corpus Christi Caller: Comptroller estimates close despite weak oil.

Despite volatility in oil prices, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's predictions for the amount of money the state government will have in 2017 appear to be holding close to reality.

Hegar's forecast was issued in January, just before the 84th legislative session. The comptroller's revenue forecast is used by lawmakers to set the state budget for two years.

Last week, with the end of the fiscal year, all the budget funds' revenue was only 0.2 percent less than expected, finishing the year at $109.5 billion instead of $109.7 billion, according to a release.

My Statesman: Court should level the playing field for charter schools.

We agree with the overall conclusion of the recent editorial about the school finance litigation before the state Supreme Court. But we take issue with the specifics regarding public charter schools and facilities funding. The inclusion of charters in the legal discourse is historic, as no previous suit on this thorny issue has contemplated the constitutionality of public charter school funding. Public charter schools didn’t exist when the early suits were filed claiming Texas under funds its schools.

The Texas Constitution makes it clear the state legislature must establish and provide for an “efficient system of public free schools.” Today, and for the past 20 years, that system includes both traditional and public charter schools. Although the paper contends — as the lower court ruled — that charters are somehow an exclusive creation of the legislature, the fact is both types of public schools are subject to state oversight and funding.

My Statesman: Commentary: Licensing often serves to limit competition and choice.

An average college student in Texas lacking funds needs a quick haircut. Fortunately for him, a friend offers to cut his hair for $5, a fraction of the cost of a barber. The student accepts his friend’s offer and all was well, except one thing: By this transaction, his friend was in violation of state law since he did not possess a barber’s license in the state of Texas.

Occupational licenses may not seem like a hot topic, but with 29 percent of all jobs in the United States now requiring some form of license, the time has come to take a long and hard look at the heavy costs of these licenses on the economy and Texans.

Supporters of occupational licensing claim that they are necessary to safeguard the quality of licensed services, hold practitioners to safety standards, and prevent unethical and dangerous practices. The evidence, however, paints a different picture; licensing laws act more as a form of protectionism for those in licensed professions while blocking access to jobs, stifling job creation, and hindering technological development and access to information. Similarly, increasing technology and market advances are making governmental regulation of occupations increasingly obsolete.

My Statesman: Hays County asks if gun-ban policy is legal.

Hays County officials have asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine whether a new state law upends the county’s policy of denying weapons in a county building that includes courtrooms, prosecutors’ offices and the grand jury room.

State law has long prohibited the public from carrying weapons onto “the premises” of courtrooms or offices used by court officials.

But Senate Bill 273, which went into effect Sept. 1, also created stiff financial penalties for governments that improperly ban guns from areas where it is legal for those with a handgun license to carry a weapon. Fines for a first offense range from $1,000 to $1,500, with subsequent offenses topping out at $10,500.

The problem, Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau told Paxton, is that the three-story Hays County Government Center in San Marcos includes court-related offices where guns are banned as well as places where guns would typically be allowed, such as the tax assessor-collector’s office and the elections office.