You know we need them.
- Click here for the page.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
For 6/1/22
The Weaker Party: The Social Studies TEKS - Kindergarten.
The Weaker Party: An overview of public policy.
Avalon Project: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents.
Avalon Project: U.S. Constitution.
From the Texas Slavery Project: "Translation of the General Law of Colonization, No. 72," August 18, 1824.
From the Tarlton Law Library: 1876 Constitution.
From the Texas Legislature Online: Texas Constitution.
The Weaker Party: An overview of public policy.
Avalon Project: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents.
Avalon Project: U.S. Constitution.
From the Texas Slavery Project: "Translation of the General Law of Colonization, No. 72," August 18, 1824.
From the Tarlton Law Library: 1876 Constitution.
From the Texas Legislature Online: Texas Constitution.
From the TSHA: Special Tax Districts
For 2306 - mostly - and our look at small local governments.
- Click here for the entry
Special tax districts are those units of local government, exclusive of the county and incorporated municipality, which have separate governing bodies, independent, in general, of other local governments, with power to provide some governmental or quasi-governmental service and to raise revenue by taxation, special assessment, or charges for services. Soil conservation districts are not properly classified as local government units, as they do not raise their own revenue. With the exception of school districts, historically most special districts have as their constitutional basis two amendments to the Constitution of 1876: (1) Article III, section 52 (1904), allowing the formation of special districts that could incur indebtedness up to one-fourth of the assessed property valuation, and (2) the conservation amendment, Article XVI, section 59 (1917), allowing the establishment of conservation and reclamation districts with no limit as to amount of debt or taxation.
By 1994 a considerable number of special districts had been established for junior or community colleges. Forty-nine districts operated sixty-seven colleges in Texas, and the method had become the fastest growing style of post-secondary education. Not fully state supported, they are paid for in part by local taxes. About 17 percent of revenues come from local taxes, 61 percent from state appropriations, 15 percent from tuition and fees, and the remainder from federal aid and miscellaneous sources.
Other special districts include
- over 900 water and utility districts
- 326 housing authorities
- 210 soil and water conservation districts
- 86 hospital districts
- 46 hospital authorities
- 10 rural fire prevention districts
- 8 mosquito control districts
- 8 health districts
- 5 noxious weed control districts
- 3 three urban renewal agencies
- 3 wind erosion conservation districts
- one waste disposal authority
- and one ground water subsidence district.
Emergency medical and jail districts may also be established by counties.
Municipal utility districts have been established by developers and have aroused criticism. Some claim that the structure manipulates the indebtedness so that unsuspecting home buyers end up with the financial burden.
From the Texas Tribune: Analysis: History suggests attention on gun policy will fade well before the November elections
For our link at the public attention cycle.
- Click here for the article.
From the Texas Tribune: Decades after Texas took part of its historic farm, a family fights again to save its land from a highway expansion
An example of eminent domain, as well as racial discrimination in Texas.
- Click here for the entire article.
TxDOT plans to add more lanes to the highway that already abuts the Alexander Farm and Cemetery. But this time around, Alexander-Kasparik is determined to see a different outcome. Her fight isn’t only about keeping the private property intact. It’s about preserving one of America’s remaining Black-owned farms — and the legacy of her ancestors who founded the farm while enslaved and defied the odds to keep it in the family across several generations.
The widening project is still in the planning stages, making it unknown how much, if any, of the Alexander Farm will be needed to support the added concrete. The agency is noncommittal on what it may want, despite Alexander-Kasparik asking for specifics for years.
If the road intrudes on the land or cemetery any farther, it could overtake the entrance to the cemetery and demolish two of the farm’s three houses, by Alexander-Kasparik’s estimation.
Territorial History of the USA: Every Month for 400 Years
I'd like you to start by watching this brief video below. It shows the development of governing institutions in the United States - including Texas. The principle story is effectively over by the 1850s when the United States government completes its acquisition of the territory that becomes the lower 48 states. The story the video tells is how these land claims are turned into governing entities, primarily counties.
For more detail and info I've compiled a list of links that provide more information about the gradual process of acquiring the land that eventually becomes the 50 states.
These are roughly in order.
- Native American Tribes and Nations: A History.
- Spanish Empire.
- French Colonization of the Americas.
- British America.
- The London (or Virginia) Company.
- The First Virginia Charter 1606.
- Jamestown Settlement.
- American Indian Wars.
- Thirteen Colonies.
- French and Indian War.
- American Revolutionary War.
- Northwest Territory.
- Southwest Territory.
- Mississippi Territory.
- Alabama Territory.
- Louisiana Purchase.
- Oregon Territory.
For more detail and info I've compiled a list of links that provide more information about the gradual process of acquiring the land that eventually becomes the 50 states.
These are roughly in order.
- Native American Tribes and Nations: A History.
- Spanish Empire.
- French Colonization of the Americas.
- British America.
- The London (or Virginia) Company.
- The First Virginia Charter 1606.
- Jamestown Settlement.
- American Indian Wars.
- Thirteen Colonies.
- French and Indian War.
- American Revolutionary War.
- Northwest Territory.
- Southwest Territory.
- Mississippi Territory.
- Alabama Territory.
- Louisiana Purchase.
- Oregon Territory.
- Adams–Onís Treaty.
- Texas Revolution.
- Mexican–American War.
- Treaties of Velasco.
- Mexican Cession.
- Gadsden Purchase.
- Alaska Purchase.
- Territory of Hawaii.
___________
- 3 Overseas Expansion.
- 1898: Birth of an Overseas Empire.
- The Post World War II Boom: How America Got Into Gear.
- The Jefferson Grid.
- Westward Expansion (1801-1861).
- Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America.
- Fifteen takeaways from our new report measuring US and Chinese global influence.
- Texas Revolution.
- Mexican–American War.
- Treaties of Velasco.
- Mexican Cession.
- Gadsden Purchase.
- Alaska Purchase.
- Territory of Hawaii.
___________
- 3 Overseas Expansion.
- 1898: Birth of an Overseas Empire.
- The Post World War II Boom: How America Got Into Gear.
- The Jefferson Grid.
- Westward Expansion (1801-1861).
- Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America.
- Fifteen takeaways from our new report measuring US and Chinese global influence.
Monday, May 30, 2022
Links to a variety of sources related to copyright
https://www.copyright.gov/title17/title17.pdf
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei
https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
https://librarycopyright.net/resources/digitalslider/index.html
https://guides.library.cornell.edu/copyright/publicdomain
https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/
https://www.unesco.org/en/communication-information/open-solutions/open-educational-resources
https://www.justia.com/intellectual-property/copyright/fair-use/transformative-use/
https://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse/index.php
https://www.lib.umn.edu/services/copyright/use
http://www.knowyourcopyrights.org/
Thursday, May 26, 2022
A little more for the GOVT 2306 M3 written assignment
All of these pertain to Texas v White.
- Oyez.
- Wikipedia.
- Britannica.
- JSTOR.
For your essay assignment - GOVT 2306
THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1. BILL OF RIGHTS
That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare:
Sec. 1. FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.
(Feb. 15, 1876.)
Sec. 2. INHERENT POLITICAL POWER; REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.
Feel free to read more. Click here for the entire document.
ARTICLE 1. BILL OF RIGHTS
That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare:
Sec. 1. FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.
(Feb. 15, 1876.)
Sec. 2. INHERENT POLITICAL POWER; REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.
Feel free to read more. Click here for the entire document.
Galveston County Commissioners Precint 3 - Before and After
https://communityimpact.com/houston/bay-area/government/2021/12/22/redistricting-shifts-voting-populations-demographics-in-bay-area/
https://galvcountymaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ffb008277ace4c6b9d9f82c1838ee8a0
https://nation.lk/online/a-gop-power-grab-shatters-30-years-of-political-progress-for-black-voters-in-galveston-county-177999.html
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2021/11/15/413375/galveston-county-officials-approve-controversial-redistricting-plan/
From the Texas Tribune: A GOP power grab shatters 30 years of political progress for Black voters in Galveston County
Are we seeing a reemergence of racial restrictions on representation?
- Click here for the article.
Miles inland from Galveston’s beaches and colorful vacation homes, a group of Black men dribble and jump on a covered basketball court, aiming for a chain-link net.
Until last year, the park sat at the heart of Galveston County’s Precinct 3 — the most diverse of the four precincts that choose the commissioners court, which governs the county along with the county judge. Precinct 3 was the lone seat in which Black and Hispanic voters, who make up about 38% of the county’s population, made up the majority of the electorate.
The precinct sliced the middle of coastal Galveston County, stretching from the small city of Dickinson on the county’s northern end through residential areas of Texas City and down to the eastern end of Galveston Island. Its residents included medical professionals and staff drawn in by The University of Texas Medical Branch, petrochemical workers that operate a large cluster of refineries and commuter employees of the nearby NASA Johnson Space Center.
The area stood as an exemplar of Black political power and progress. For 30 years, Black voters — with support from Hispanics — had amassed enough political clout to decide the county commissioner for Precinct 3, propelling Black leaders onto a majority white county commissioners court. They worked to gain stronger footholds in local governments, elevating Black people into city halls across the precinct. Two years ago, they reached a milestone, electing Texas City’s first Black mayor and a city commission on which people of color are the majority.
National Defense Strategy
https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/National-Defense-Strategy/
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2980584/dod-transmits-2022-national-defense-strategy/
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/04/13/as-biden-administrations-defense-budget-and-national-defense-strategy-emerge-concerns-abound/
https://www.cnas.org/the-next-defense-strategy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/21/us-geopolitics-security-strategy-war-russia-ukraine-china-indo-pacific-europe/
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
From Wikipedia: Public Works
I'm on a roll
- Click here for the entry.
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings (municipal buildings, schools, and hospitals), transport infrastructure (roads, railroads, bridges, pipelines, canals, ports, and airports), public spaces (public squares, parks, and beaches), public services (water supply and treatment, sewage treatment, electrical grid, and dams), and other, usually long-term, physical assets and facilities. Though often interchangeable with public infrastructure and public capital, public works does not necessarily carry an economic component, thereby being a broader term.
Here's a list of the separate categories:
municipal buildings
schools
hospitals
transport infrastructure
roads
railroads
bridges
pipelines
canals,
ports
airports
public spaces
public squares
parks
beaches
water supply
treatment
sewage treatment
electrical grid
dams
It's national public works week!
I had no idea this was a thing until I saw it on Twitter a moment ago.
May 15-21
Local governments especially are focused on the provision of public works - so why not spend a day or two focused on it?
It is promoted by the American Public Works Association - an interest group - which describes itself as follows:
- Click here for the page.
As a comprehensive public works resource, APWA continues in its rich tradition of making a difference both on an individual and professional level. APWA is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that prides itself on its ability to provide varied educational and networking opportunities that help public works personnel grow in their professionalism and improve the quality of life in the communities they serve.
This is what they do:
- Click here for that page.
The APWA Government Affairs team advocates for the importance of investing in transportation infrastructure, water and waste water infrastructure, public utilities, emergency response services, and the many basic needs essential to every thriving community. Stay informed on important advocacy issues and learn how to make your voice heard in government policy-making decisions.
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
From the Texas Tribune: West Texas rancher pours $2 million into Sarah Stogner’s underdog campaign for statewide oil and gas board seat
For our look at the impact of money in Texas politics - in addition to clarifying how much of a democracy we actually are.
This should help us understand the continuing political power of ranchers in the state, and the degree to which their interests are served by the Texas Railroad Commission.
- Click here for the article.
A West Texas rancher who has battled the Railroad Commission over abandoned oil wells on her property has poured $2 million into a dark-horse challenger for a seat on the commission, Sarah Stogner, as she looks to pull off a major upset in the May 24 Republican primary runoff.
Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin where Stogner currently lives, revealed to The Texas Tribune that she has provided the seven-figure funding to Stogner, saying it will be disclosed on a campaign finance report that is expected to be released Tuesday. The money is helping bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks before Stogner faces the commission’s chair, Wayne Christian, in the runoff.
“I am not a political person. I don't really care about politics,” Watt said in a statement. “But when an old Chevron oil well blew out radioactive brine water into my drinking water aquifer, ruining my ranch and forcing me to sell my entire cattle herd, the Railroad Commission teamed up with Chevron to work against me.
“I’m tired of fake conservatives like Wayne Christian trampling on Texans’ private property rights, while lining their pockets with poorly disguised bribes,” Watt added.
Stogner and Watt are friends. Stogner said they connected last year on Twitter and then Watt hired her as a lawyer. Stogner has been living on Watt’s ranch in Crane County after going through a marital separation.
Stogner said Watt approached her in recent weeks and said she had done some polling — unbeknownst to Stogner — that showed she had a shot in the runoff. It was a dilemma for Stogner, who had been self-funding her campaign and proudly swearing off donations. But she said Watt eventually convinced her to “get your ego out of the way” and accept the money to have a good chance to win.
I thought the following words and phrases relate to textbook info:
- Railroad Commission
- $2 million into a dark-horse challenger for a seat on the commission
- May 24 Republican primary runoff.
- oil and gas attorney
- Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin
- disclosed on a campaign finance report
- bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks
- the commission’s chair, Wayne Christian
- Chevron oil well
- Railroad Commission teamed up with Chevron
- fake conservatives like Wayne Christian
- private property rights
- poorly disguised bribes
- she had done some polling that showed she had a shot in the runoff
- self-funding her campaign and proudly swearing off donations
- not taking money from the industry I’m going to regulate
- the commission . . . regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas
- Christian as too cozy with the industry
- Christian’s campaign . . . calling her a Democrat trying to fool GOP voters
- “not a straight-ticket voter.”
- the biggest checks that Gov. Greg Abbott — a fundraising powerhouse — tends to receive are $1 million each.
- TV ads
- “the liberal anti-oil politicians — and the woke corporations bankrolling them.” The 30-second spot concludes by billing her as a “tough conservative mama.”
- abandoned wells
- Stogner has argued Chevron has not done enough to remedy the situation and the Railroad Commission, which is notoriously close to the industry, is not holding the company accountable by enforcing existing laws.
Monday, May 16, 2022
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Friday, May 6, 2022
substantive due process
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantive_due_process
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xiv/clauses/701
https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2480&context=lawreview
https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/free-speech-under-attack-book-bans-and-academic-censorship
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/budget_fy2023.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_swine_flu_outbreak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Philadelphia_Legionnaires%27_disease_outbreak
https://www.congress.gov/most-viewed-bills
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/SB00004F.pdf
https://www.texas-demographics.com/counties_by_population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Medical_Center#History
file:///C:/Users/kjefferies/Downloads/96-1774.pdf
file:///C:/Users/kjefferies/Downloads/96-571.pdf
https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/sources.php
https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/
https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/topics/
https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2017/august/local.php
https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2018/november/by-article.php
https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/grants.php
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info#:~:text=Customs%20Duty%20is%20a%20tariff,and%20out%20of%20the%20country.
http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/DocID/PDF/1527.pdf
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/kellogg
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/25/list-of-sanctions-on-russia-after-invasion
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/filing/adjustments-and-deductions/are-political-contributions-tax-deductible/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_awareness
https://www.brettpritchardlaw.com/blog/2021/july/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-plea-bargaining-in/#:~:text=Typically%2C%20the%20prosecutor%20and%20the,is%20essentially%20admitting%20their%20guilty.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/russia-at-war/russian-money-hidden-offshore-dark-money-ukraine-sanctions/
Recapture
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/31/texas-robin-hood-recapture-villain-texas-fix-school-finance/
https://www.mrt.com/news/politics/article/Gov-Abbott-dodges-recapture-question-in-Odessa-16918890.php
https://texasscorecard.com/local/which-texans-paid-the-biggest-robin-hood-tax-in-2018/
https://www.txsc.org/recapture-takes-nearly-3-billion-from-local-schools/
https://www.kut.org/education/2022-02-11/austin-isd-paid-hundreds-of-millions-more-than-other-districts-in-texas-recapture-program
Unipolarity? Bipolarity? Multipolarity?
Is the United States the only power that matters?
- Our Elites Need to Recognize that America’s ‘Unipolar Moment’ is Over.
- The Ukraine War Doesn’t Change Everything.
- "The unipolar world has come to an end": Medvedev.
- The Cold War Never Ended.
- The Flawed Logic Behind the Theory of Absolute Unipolarity.
- Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World's Sole Superpower.
- Putin May Yet Be a Master Strategist | Insight.
- Russia-Ukraine war: Is multipolarity the cause of crisis?
The U.S. Navy and the Expansion of Global Commerce
Some reading debating the relationship between the two:
- https://www.fpri.org/article/2010/09/defending-u-s-maritime-commerce-in-peacetime-from-1794-to-today/
- https://defense360.csis.org/bad-idea-assuming-trade-depends-on-the-navy/
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/sea-power-us-navy-and-foreign-policy
- https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/11/04/to-expand-the-navy-isnt-enough-we-need-a-bigger-commercial-fleet/
- https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/overstretched-can-us-navy-protect-commerce-iran-191294
From Wikipedia: State Capacity
A good addition to a discussion of public policy - what is a particular governing system capable of doing?
- Click here for the article.
State capacity is the ability of a government to accomplish policy goals, either generally or in reference to specific aims. A state that lacks capacity is defined as a fragile state or, in a more extreme case, a failed state. Higher state capacity has been strongly linked to long-term economic development, as state capacity can establish law and order, private property rights, and external defense, as well as support development by establishing a competitive market, transportation infrastructure, and mass education.
State capacity may involve an expansion of the state's information-gathering abilities. In processes of state-building, states began implementing a regular and reliable census, the regular release of statistical yearbooks, and civil and population registers, as well as establishing a government agency tasked with processing statistical information.
Mark Dincecco distinguishes between state capacity (the state's ability to accomplish its intended actions) and "effective statehood" (the political arrangements that enable the state to best accomplish its intended actions).[1] He argues that fiscal centralization and institutional impartiality are key to effective statehood.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
First Draft of Dobbs v Jackson
- Click here for it.
For more on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, click here.
Monday, May 2, 2022
From the Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott redirects $500 million from other agencies to fund border security mission through end of fiscal year
For our look at the Texas Budget.
- Click here for the article.
Relevant terms.
- Operation Lone Star.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he is moving another $500 million to fund Operation Lone Star, his border security initiative at the Texas-Mexico border. The move comes three weeks after state military officials said the multibillion-dollar operation was in need of an infusion of cash to keep it afloat through the end of the fiscal year.
In a letter to the agencies, Abbott said that “this transfer will not affect any agency or program function.” The governor's office did not answer whether the agencies would be reimbursed later or would see budget cuts, and instead referred questions back to Abbott's original announcement.
Operation Lone Star’s price tag for taxpayers is upwards of $2 billion a year. State officials already transferred another $480 million from other agencies in January to keep the operation running through the spring.
From Roll Call: FDA proposes ban on menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars
https://ap.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/economics/essays/us-banking-system-origin-development-and-regulation
https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/julyaugust-2005/trans-texas-corridor
https://everytexan.org/images/EO_2014_ACSPovertyIncome_Charts.pdf
https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/05/boston-violated-first-amendment-when-it-rejected-christian-flag-court-unanimously-rules/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Texas_Corridor
https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/04/court-splits-4-4-on-what-it-means-to-use-a-locomotive/
https://www.convenience.org/About-NACS/
https://www.convenience.org/getattachment/About-NACS/nacs-60th-anniversary.pdf?lang=en-US