- Harbor Grace Colony: 1583.
- Roanoke Colony: 1585.
- Plymouth Company: 1606
- Popham Colony: 1606
- Virginia: 1607
- Cuper's Cove: 1610.
- Plymouth Colony: 1620 - 1691
- Bristol's Hope: 1618.
- New Netherland: 1621
- Nantasket (Hull): 1621
- Province of Maine: 1622.
- Cape Ann Colony: 1623.
- Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1629 / also 1641
- Province of New Hampshire: 1629
- Province of Maryland: 1632 - 1778
- Saybrook: 1635
- Providence Plantation: 1636
- Connecticut: 1636
- New Haven: 1637 - 1664
- New Sweden: 1638 - 1655
- Province of Carolina: 1683 - 1712
- Province of New Jersey: 1664
- Province of New York: 1664
- Province of East Jersey: 1674 - 1702
- Province of West Jersey: 1674 - 1702
- Province of Pennsylvania: 1681
- Dominion of New England: 1686 - 1689
- Province of Massachusetts Bay: 1691
- Delaware Colony: 1701
- North Carolina: 1712
- South Carolina: 1712
- Province of Georgia: 1732
Thursday, June 30, 2022
The Origins of Colonial America - Dates of establishment of colonies
From Wikipedia: Labor Rights
- Click here for the entry.
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influence working conditions in relations of employment. One of the most prominent is the right to freedom of association, otherwise known as the right to organize. Workers organized in trade unions exercise the right to collective bargaining to improve working conditions.
. . . Core labor standards
Identified by the ILO in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,[2] core labor standards are "widely recognized to be of particular importance".[3] They are universally applicable, regardless of whether the relevant conventions have been ratified, the level of development of a country or cultural values.[4] These standards are composed of qualitative, not quantitative standards and don't establish a particular level of working conditions, wages or health and safety standards.[2] They are not intended to undermine the comparative advantage that developing countries may hold. Core labor standards are important human rights and are recognized in widely ratified international human rights instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty with 193 parties, and the ICCPR with 160 parties.[5] They have been incorporated into different provisions that are related to labor in soft law instruments such as the UN's Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines, and the ILO MNE Declaration.[6]
- The core labor standards are:Freedom of association:[7] workers are able to join trade unions that are independent of government and employer influence;
- The right to collective bargaining:[8] workers may negotiate with employers collectively, as opposed to individually;
- The prohibition of all forms of forced labor:[9] includes security from prison labor and slavery, and prevents workers from being forced to work under duress;[10]
- Elimination of the worst forms of child labor:[11] implementing a minimum working age and certain working condition requirements for children;
- Non-discrimination in employment: equal pay for equal work.
Very few ILO member countries have ratified all of these conventions due to domestic constraints yet as these rights are also recognised in the UDHR, and form a part of customary international law they are committed to respect these rights. For a discussion on the incorporation of these core labor rights into the mechanisms of the World Trade Organization, see Labour standards in the World Trade Organization. There are many other issues outside of this core, in the UK employee rights includes the right to employment particulars, an itemised pay statement, a disciplinary process at which they have the right to be accompanied, daily breaks, rest breaks, paid holidays and more.
What is Labor Law?
From Wikipedia: Labor Laws:
From Wikipedia: United States labor law:
United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association".[3] Over the 20th century, federal law created minimum social and economic rights, and encouraged state laws to go beyond the minimum to favor employees.
Components of labor laws / Areas of conflict with business
1 - Contract and rights at work
- Scope of protection
- Contract of employment
- Wages and pay
- Working time and family care
- Pensions
- Health and safety
- Civil liberties
2 - Workplace participation
- Labor unions
- Collective bargaining
- Right to organize
- Collective action
- Right to vote at work
3 - Equality and discrimination
- Constitutional rights
- Equal treatment
- Equal impact and remedies
- Affirmative action
- Free movement and immigration
4 - Job security
- Termination and cause
- Economic layoffs
- Full employment
- Trade and international law
British
- Ordinance of Labourers 1349.
- Statute of Labourers 1351.
- Statute of Artificers 1562.
American
- Railway Labor Act of 1926.
- National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
- Employment Act of 1946.
From the U.S. Department of Labor: Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The Southern Manifesto, Massive Resistance and the Mansfield school desegregation incident
- Southern Manifesto:
The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places.[1] The manifesto was signed by 19 US Senators and 82 Representatives from the South. The signatories included the entire Congressional delegations from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, most of the members from Florida and North Carolina, and several members from Tennessee and Texas. All of them were from former Confederate states.[1] Ninety-nine were Democrats; two were Republicans.
The Manifesto was drafted to counter the landmark Supreme Court 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. School segregation laws were some of the most enduring and best-known of the Jim Crow laws that characterized the Southern United States at the time.[2]
"Massive resistance" to federal court orders requiring school integration was already being practiced across the South, and was not caused by the Manifesto. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas had worked behind the scenes to tone down the original harsh draft. The final version did not pledge to nullify the Brown decision nor did it support extralegal resistance to desegregation. Instead, it was mostly a states' rights attack against the judicial branch for overstepping its role.[3]
The Southern Manifesto accused the Supreme Court of "clear abuse of judicial power" and promised to use "all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation."[4] It suggested that the Tenth Amendment should limit the reach of the Supreme Court on such issues.[5] Senators led the opposition, with Strom Thurmond writing the initial draft and Richard Russell the final version.
- - Click here for the text.
- Massive Resistance:
Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly,[1] to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation, particularly after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954.[2] Many schools, and even an entire school system, were shut down in 1958 and 1959 in attempts to block integration, before both the Virginia Supreme Court and a special three-judge panel of Federal District judges from the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting at Norfolk, declared those policies unconstitutional.
Although most of the laws created to implement massive resistance were overturned by state and federal courts within a year, some aspects of the campaign against integrated public schools continued in Virginia for many more years.
- Mansfield school desegregation incident.
In 1955, the Mansfield Independent School District was segregated and still sent its black children to separate, run down facilities, despite the Brown v. Board of Education court decision in 1954. Three students brought a suit with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In Jackson v. Rawdon, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the students. In 1956, Mansfield ISD became the first school district in the state ordered by a federal court to desegregate. The school board approved the measure and allowed Mansfield High School to desegregate. Although other districts in Texas desegregated quietly that fall, the mayor and police chief of Mansfield did not approve of this measure. When school started on August 30, 1956, they joined over 300 whites in front of Mansfield High School. Their goal was to prevent the enrollment of the three black students. The town turned into complete turmoil as three black effigies were hanged as part of the demonstration.[1]
After the transfer of the Black students to Fort Worth, the demonstrations soon ended and order was restored. It was this success that in 1957 inspired Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus to attempt a similar ordeal in Little Rock, Arkansas. Later that year, Texas passed more segregation laws that delayed integration even further.
Facing the lack of federal funds, the Mansfield Independent School District quietly desegregated in 1965.[1] The decade long defiance of a federal school integration order was one of the longest in the nation during that period.
Timing of the various rebellions against the central Mexican state in the 1830s and 1840s
- Click here for a source.
1835: Zacatecas
1836: Texas
1836: Alta California
1837: New Mexico
1837: Sonora
1839: Tabasco
1839: Yucutan
1840: Republic of the Rio Grande
A Map of the United States of Mexico, 1846
Still claiming Texas as their own.
Helps explain the Mexican American War
From Wikipedia: Republic of the Rio Grande
An unsuccessful attempt at an independent at an independent republican following Santa Anna's attempt to consolidate power in Mexico.
- Click here for it.
On the 17 January 1840 a meeting was held at the Oreveña Ranch near Laredo.[7] A group of notables from the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas advocated for a rebellion seeking secession from Mexico and formation of their own federal republic with Laredo as the capital. However, those states' own congresses and governments never took any action to support the insurgents, and requested the help of the Central government in Mexico City to aid the local state armies.[8] Despite the lack of support from the state governments, the Republic of the Rio Grande was formed. The new Republic had an official newspaper: “Correo del Rio Bravo del Norte” and their state motto was Dios, Libertad y Convención (God, Liberty, and Convention).
In 1835, President Santa Anna revoked the Constitution of 1824 and began consolidating his power. In various parts of the country federalists revolted, and in May 1835 Santa Anna brutally crushed a revolt in Zacatecas.[31] The federalists, including Agustín Viesca, the governor of Coahuila y Tejas, were afraid that Santa Anna would march against Coahuila after subduing the rebels in Zacatecas, so they disbanded the state legislature on May 21, 1835, and authorized the governor to set up an office in a different part of the state. Viesca was arrested as he traveled to San Antonio. When Viesca escaped and reached Texas, no one recognized him as governor.[30] In October 1835, Santa Anna abolished all state governments, replacing them with administrative divisions from Mexico City.[32] Settlers in Texas revolted the same month, and, at the conclusion of the Texas Revolution in April 1836, Texas had become self-established as the independent Republic of Texas.
- Click here for Zacatecas Rebellion of 1835.
The Rebellion in Zacatecas of 1835 was part of the Mexican Federalist War between Mexican centralists and federalists during the first half of the nineteenth century during the administration of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Following the failure of the federal system, centralism gained ground and Congress amended the Constitution of 1824 to create a centralist republic, limiting the power of states and reducing the military.
These events led to a rebellion in Zacatecas. The governor himself, Francisco García Salinas, led an army of about four thousand men against the government. To end the rebels, President Santa Anna in person went to fight, leaving the presidency in charge of General Miguel Barragán.
García Salinas was defeated in the Battle of Zacatecas (1835). Santa Anna allowed his troops to loot the city, then, and as punishment for the rebellion, the state of Zacatecas lost part of its territory, which formed the state of Aguascalientes.[1][2]
This military action removed the final obstacles to centralism and led to the constitution of December 30, 1836, known as Siete Leyes, which limited the right to vote and removed the political and financial autonomy previously held by Mexican states.
- Armed opposition to the Central Republic.
The conservatives' attempt to impose a unitary state produced armed resistance in regions that had most favored federalism. Centralism generated severe political instability, armed uprisings and secessions: The rebellions in Zacatecas, Alta California, Sonora, New Mexico, the Texas Revolution, the separation of Tabasco, the independence of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas that formed the Republic of the Rio Grande, and finally the independence of the state of Yucatán.
The Mexican Federalist War (armed opposition to the central republic) involved series of armed conflicts and political machinations between the Centrists and the Federalists.[14] Superficially the war can be viewed as a conflict between rival generals,[15] however the Centrist position favored a presidency that reflected the viceregal tradition of Spanish colonial times.[16] and the Federalists supported republicanism and local self-government (which in some cases such as Texas led ultimately to secession from Mexico).[15] Centrists tended to draw support from the privileged classes including prominent members of the Roman Catholic Church and professional officers of the Mexican army. They were in favor of a strong, central government and Roman Catholicism as the established church.
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
From Vox: How America became a superpower, explained in 8 minutes
- Click here for it.
For 2306 - 6/29/22
- From Wikipedia: An act concerning Servants and Slaves.
- From Wikipedia: Slave Codes.
- Slavery Clauses in the U.S. Constitution.
- Missouri Compromise.
- From Wikipedia: Freedom suit.
- Dred Scott v Sandford.
- Abolitionism and Civil Rights.
- Texas Articles of Secession.
- Other Civil Rights Movements.
Sugar Cane . . . etc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Sugar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Land,_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Unit
Texan Emigration And Land Company
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/texan-emigration-and-land-company
https://txarchives.org/txglo/finding_aids/00049.xml
https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/annexation/part2/txland_and_emigration_1.html
https://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/collections/resource-page/Peters-Colony-Records.html
Sunday, June 26, 2022
How were the English Colonies financed?
- Click here.
These new colonies were funded in three different ways. In one plan, corporate colonies were established by joint stock companies. A joint stock company was a project in which people would invest shares of stock into building a new colony. Depending on the success of the colony, each investor would receive profit based on the shares he had bought. This investment was less risky than starting a colony from scratch, and each investor influenced how the colony was run. These investors often elected their own public officials. (An example of a joint stock company on another continent was the British East India Company.) Virginia was settled in this way.
Proprietary colonies were owned by a person or family who made laws and appointed officials as he or they pleased. Development was often a direct result of this ownership. Charles II granted William Penn the territory now known as Pennsylvania. Penn's new colony gave refuge to Quakers, a group of millennial Protestants who opposed the Church of England. (Quakers did not have ministers and did not hold to civil or religious inequality, making them a dangerous element in hierarchical societies.) Penn was an outspoken Quaker and had written many pamphlets defending the Quaker faith. He also invited settlers from other countries and other Protestant minorities, and even some Catholics.
Finally, royal colonies were under the direct control of the King, who appointed a Royal Governor. The resulting settlement was not always identical to England. For example, England had broken with Catholicism during the reign of Henry the Eighth, and the Old Faith was seen not only as religious heresy but the prelude to domination by other countries. Yet Maryland's grant of toleration of Catholics was granted as a boon from the British Crown. In 1634, Lord Baltimore appointed George Calvert of England to settle a narrow strip of land north of Virginia and south of Pennsylvania as a Catholic colony via a royal charter. Fifteen years later, in 1649, he signed the Act of Toleration, which proclaimed religious freedom for its colonists. Despite the original charter, Protestants later became the majority faith. After Lord Baltimore's death several years later, Margaret Brent, the wife of an esteemed landowner in Maryland, executed his will as governor of the colony. She defied gender roles in the colonies by being the first woman of non-royal heritage to govern an English colony.
From ScotusBlog: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
- Click here for the entry.
Holding: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey are overruled; the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.
From ScotusBlog: Nance v. Ward
- Click here for the entry.
Holding: Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is the procedural vehicle appropriate for a prisoner’s method-of-execution claim even if an order granting the relief requested would necessitate a change in state law.
From ScotusBlog: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen
- Click here for the entry.
Holding: New York’s proper-cause requirement for obtaining an unrestricted license to carry a concealed firearm violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
From ScotusBlog: Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
- Click here for it.
Holding: The speaker of the North Carolina State House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the North Carolina State Senate are entitled to intervene in this litigation challenging North Carolina’s voter-ID law.
__________
From Ballotpedia: Voter ID in North Carolina.
North Carolina does not require voters to present identification while voting.[1] In 2018, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring voters to present identification while voting and compelling the North Carolina State Legislature to develop those requirements. In Dec. 2018, the legislature approved Senate Bill 824 (SB 824) establishing those requirements. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vetoed the bill. The legislature overrode Cooper's veto on Dec. 19, 2018. Both the constitutional amendment and SB 824 became the subject of lawsuits—in federal courts and in state courts—which remain ongoing. Click here to learn more.
__________
From Ballotpedia: Voter ID laws by state.
As of April 2021, 35 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 21 states required voters to present photo identification at the polls; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.[2][3]
The map below displays only those states that require already-registered voters to present identification at the polls on election day as states requiring identification.[4] Federal law requires a new registrant to provide either a driver's license number or the last four digits of his or her Social Security number at the time of registration. Many states that require identification allow voters to cast provisional ballots if they do not have requisite identification. Please see the table below the map for more details and follow the links provided for each state for more information.
__________
Click here for the website of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. A multi-racial group of activists answered ”The Call” for a national conference in response to a vicious episode of white racist violence against Black people in Mr. Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Illinois. The racist attack came 10 years after the prototype of such attacks, the ugly racist coup d’etat in Wilmington, N.C. in 1898. The Wilmington terrorism had been condoned and covered over by racist histories, and no one was brought to justice for it. This set the stage, throughout the next decade for similar attacks across the South. When these pogroms reached Lincoln’s hometown, it sparked enough outrage among some white progressives to put out a call to action which said, in part:
“We call upon all the believers in democracy to join in a national conference for the discussion of present evils, the voicing of protests, and the renewal of the struggle for civil and political liberty.”
Many distinguished leaders responded to this Call, including Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, and William English Walling. With many years of hard work, they and hundreds of thousands of other members have built the NAACP into the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States.
__________
From Wikipedia: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has seven months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the FRCP. The Court's modifications to the rules are usually based upon recommendations from the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's internal policy-making body.
Although federal courts are required to apply the substantive law of the states as rules of decision in cases where state law is in question, the federal courts almost always use the FRCP as their rules of civil procedure. States may determine their own rules, which apply in state courts, although 35 of the 50 states have adopted rules that are based on the FRCP.
From ScotusBlog: Shoop v. Twyford
- Click here for it.
Holding: A transportation order that allows a prisoner to search for new evidence — in this case an order compelling the state to transport Raymond Twyford to a medical facility for neurological testing — is not “necessary or appropriate in aid of” a federal court’s adjudication of a habeas corpus action when the prisoner has not shown that the desired evidence would be admissible in connection with a particular claim for relief.
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 5-4, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts on June 21, 2022. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Sotomayor and Kagan joined. Justice Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion.
__________
From Wikipedia: The All Writs Act.
The All Writs Act is a United States federal statute, codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1651, which authorizes the United States federal courts to "issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law."
The act in its original form was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789. The current form of the act was first passed in 1911[1] and the act has been amended several times since then,[2] but it has not changed significantly in substance since 1789.
___________
From Wikipedia: The Judiciary Act of 1789.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, 1 Stat. 73) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States.[2][3][4][5][6] Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution prescribed that the "judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and such inferior Courts" as Congress saw fit to establish. It made no provision for the composition or procedures of any of the courts, leaving this to Congress to decide.[7]
The existence of a separate federal judiciary had been controversial during the debates over the ratification of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists had denounced the judicial power as a potential instrument of national tyranny. Indeed, of the ten amendments that eventually became the Bill of Rights, five (the fourth through the eighth) dealt primarily with judicial proceedings. Even after ratification, some opponents of a strong judiciary urged that the federal court system be limited to a Supreme Court and perhaps local admiralty judges. Congress, however, decided to establish a system of federal trial courts with broader jurisdiction, thereby creating an arm for enforcement of national laws within each state.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Federal Funding for K-12
- US Department of Education: The Federal Role in Education.
- For FutureEd: What Congressional Funding Means for K-12 Schools.
- Public School Review: An Overview of the Funding of Public Schools.
- ASHA: Overview of Funding for Pre-K–12 Education.
- TEA: Finance and Grants.
- Education Data Initiative: U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouging
https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/court-strikes-down-maines-ban-on-using-public-funds-at-religious-schools/
https://gov.texas.gov/organization/osfr
https://www.txprobation.com/contact/texas-probation-submissions/
https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/what-does-the-duty-to-intervene-really-mean/
https://www.quora.com/Why-dont-US-schools-have-bullet-proof-doors-to-stop-shooters-they-can-just-take-the-money-from-the-football-budget
https://www.asralertsystems.com/school-safety-funding
https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/legal-duties-and-liabilities.aspx
https://texasgop.org/priorities/
https://www.4safecbd.org/home-old-jan202022
https://www.boeing.com/defense/kc-46a-pegasus-tanker/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
From TXDot: A Field Guide to Gas Stations in Texas
A companion to the document related to charging stations.
- Click here for it.
From the Texas Ttibune: Locks on 340,000 exterior school doors across Texas will be checked as part of Uvalde shooting response
File this under policy formulation.
- Click here for the article.
For our look at the media
- Propaganda.
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented.[1] Propaganda can be found in news and journalism, government, advertising, entertainment, education, and activism[2] and is often associated with material which is prepared by governments as part of war efforts, political campaigns, health campaigns, revolutionaries, big businesses, ultra-religious organizations, the media, and certain individuals such as soapboxers.
- Public Relations.
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to affect their public perception. Public relations (PR) and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, whereas publicity is not controlled and contributed by external parties.[1] Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment.[2] The exposure mostly is media-based. This differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications. Public relations aims to create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also known as earned media, rather than paying for marketing or advertising also known as paid media. But in the early 21st century, advertising is also a part of broader PR activities.
- Opinion Leaders.
Opinion leadership is leadership by an active media user who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users. Typically opinion leaders are held in high esteem by those who accept their opinions. Opinion leadership comes from the theory of two-step flow of communication propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz.[1] Significant developers of the theory have been Robert K. Merton, C. Wright Mills and Bernard Berelson.[2] This theory is one of several models that try to explain the diffusion of innovations, ideas, or commercial products.
- Social Media.
Social media are interactive digital channels that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks.[1][2] While challenges to the definition of social media arise[3][4] due to the variety of stand-alone and built-in social media services currently available, there are some common features:[2]
User-generated content—such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through all online interactions—is the lifeblood of social media.[2][5]
The term "social" in regard to media suggests that platforms are user-centric and enable communal activity. As such, social media can be viewed as online facilitators or enhancers of human networks—webs of individuals who enhance social connectivity.
From Wikipedia: Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
- Click here for the entry.
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the right of lawyers to advertise their services.[1] In holding that lawyer advertising was commercial speech entitled to protection under the First Amendment (incorporated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment), the Court upset the tradition against advertising by lawyers, rejecting it as an antiquated rule of etiquette.
Short term rentals
https://communityimpact.com/houston/pearland-friendswood/government/2022/05/26/short-term-rental-owners-in-pearland-could-soon-pay-175-fee-for-operating-permit/
http://www.jpatricksuttonlaw.com/blog/files/category-short-term-rentals.html
From Roll Call: Grant funding becomes sticking point in gun negotiations
https://rollcall.com/2022/06/17/grant-funding-becomes-sticking-point-in-gun-negotiations/
Monday, June 20, 2022
From the US EPA: Petroleum Brownfields
The infrastructure bill allocates some money to deal with these small polluted areas. They're everywhere.
- EPA: Petroleum Brownfields.
- EPA: EPA Announces City of Houston to Receive $600,000 in Brownfields Assessment Funding.
- City of Houston: Brownfields Redevelopment Program.
- Houston, Texas Brownfields Sites.
- Houston Public Works: MSDs and Brownfields.
- Houston Land Bank: Brownfields Program.
- TCEQ: Brownfields Site Assessments Program.
- Wikipedia: Brownfield land.
From the Texas Tribune: Texas plans to place charging stations for electric cars every 50 miles on most interstates
All funding from the federal government, but the governor seems anxious to take credit for this.
- Click here for the article.
Texas is planning to add enough electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state to support 1 million electric vehicles with dozens of new stations to allow for easier long-distance travel.
The plan is to have charging stations every 50 miles along most non-business interstate routes.
In most other areas in the state, there will be charging stations within 70 miles, according to the plan. Each station is designed to have multiple stalls so there will likely be one available whenever someone stops to charge.
The chargers will be high-powered at 150kW, able to bring most electric vehicles from 10% to 80% in about half an hour, according to the report.
The funding is coming from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed last year, which is estimated to allocate about $408 million over five years to Texas for the purpose of expanding its electric vehicle charging network. No funds from the state budget will be used. Nationally, the goal is to create a network of 500,000 convenient and reliable electric vehicle chargers by 2030. In total from the infrastructure act, Texas is expected to receive about $35.44 billion over five years for roads, bridges, pipes, ports, broadband access and other projects.
For our look at taxation: Income tax
- What is an income?
- What is a tax?
- What is an income tax?
- What is taxable income?
- What is a tax deduction?
https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/hava/hava_act.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help_America_Vote_Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_registration_in_the_United_States
https://vote.gov/
https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/2022/ind2022.shtml
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.437.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Highway_(Charleston_to_Boston)
https://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/c.php?g=801151&p=5725484
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_legal_studies
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/20/texas-electric-vehicle-charging-stations/
https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/get-involved/statewide/EV%20Charging%20Plan/TexasElectricVehicleChargingPlan.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1866-texas-black-codes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_League_of_the_United_States
https://www.leaf.ca/news/the-law-of-consent-in-sexual-assault/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Maria_Wingfield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_dependence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Negro
https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/colonial-origins-of-the-american-constitution
Sunday, June 19, 2022
For 2306. From the Texas Legislative Reference Library: Texas legislative sessions and years
For our look at the Texas Legislature.
- Click here for it.
For 2305. From Congress.gov: Most Viewed Bills
Let's see what national legislation people are focused on.
- Click here for it.
From Wikipedia: Water supply and sanitation in the United States
Building off the story about Odessa below:
- Click here for the entry.
Water supply and sanitation in the United States involves a number of issues including water scarcity, pollution, a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from combined sewer overflows.[9][10] Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water.[2] As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates, PFAS and pharmaceutical substances, but generally drinking water quality in the U.S. is good.
Most Americans are served by publicly owned water and sewer utilities. Public water systems, which serve more than 25 customers or 15 service connections, are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).[11] Eleven percent of Americans receive water from private (so-called "investor-owned") utilities. In rural areas, cooperatives often provide drinking water. Finally, over 13 million households are served by their own wells.[12][13] The accessibility of water not only depends on geographical location, but on the communities that belong to those regions.[14] Of the millions who lack access to clean water, the majority are low-income minority individuals. Wastewater systems are also regulated by EPA and state governments under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Public utilities commissions or public service commissions regulate tariffs charged by private utilities. In some states they also regulate tariffs by public utilities. EPA also provides funding to utilities through state revolving funds.
- How Development of America's Water Infrastructure Has Lurched Through History.
- TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
From Wikipedia: Party Platforms
These, more or less, give us an idea of the goals of party activists.
- Click here for the entry.
A political party platform, party program, or party manifesto is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues. A component of a political platform is often called a plank – the opinions and viewpoints about an individual topic, as held by a party, person, or organization. The word plank depicts a component of an overall political platform, as a metaphorical reference to a basic stage made of boards or planks of wood. The metaphor can return to its literal origin when public speaking or debates are actually held upon a physical platform.
From Britannica: Political Convention
Tis the season.
- Click here for the article.
political convention, meeting of delegates of a political party at the local, state, provincial, or national level to select candidates for office and to decide party policy. As representative organs of political parties, party conventions—or party conferences as they are commonly called in Europe—also may elect executive committees of the parties and adopt rules governing the party’s organization. In practice they also act as rallies for the election campaigns that follow.
Three stories regarding the Texas Republican Convention
It's in Houston this year.
All from the Texas Tribune.
- Fed up and fired up: Texas Republicans meet in a climate of mistrust, conspiracy and victimhood.
The Republican Party of Texas has controlled every lever of state government since 2003, and notched major victories last year on voting, redistricting, abortion, school curriculums and other long-held priorities. Delegates at the party’s convention this week expressed confidence that their party will retake at least the U.S. House this November, and said the end of abortion in Texas is all but settled.
Above all, attendees said they were fed up. Fed up with elections they believe are rife with fraud. Fed up with their own politicians — including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, whom they rebuked for taking part in bipartisan talks on gun legislation — for being open to compromise with Democrats. Fed up with the persecution of Christians with traditional values. Fed up with a credulous mainstream media that spouts liberal talking points and disdains anyone who disagrees as racists or bigots. Fed up with undocumented immigrants, even those fleeing war and poverty, for taking advantage of public benefits. Fed up with the education of their children, especially on matters of history and race. Fed up with experts, starting with Dr. Alfred Kinsey, who they said are “sexualizing” students before they’ve hit puberty.
- Texas GOP platform calls for ban on teaching “sexual matters,” while requiring students to learn about “dignity of the preborn human”
The Texas Republican Party on Saturday voted on two new party platform planks aimed at barring the teaching of sex and sexuality in schools while simultaneously calling on Texas schools to teach the “dignity of the preborn human” and that life begins at fertilization.
One policy proposal called on state lawmakers to prohibit the “teaching, exposure, and/or discussion of sexual matters (mechanics, feelings, orientation or ‘gender identity’ issues),” as well as remove related books or materials from schools.
- Texas Republican Convention calls Biden win illegitimate and rebukes Cornyn over gun talks.
The actions capped a convention that highlighted how adamantly opposed the party’s most active and vocal members are to compromising with Democrats or moderating on social positions, even as the state has grown more diverse and Republicans’ margins in statewide elections have shrunk slightly in recent years.
Votes on the platform were collected at the end of the party's three-day convention in which party activists moved to add multiple items to the official Texas GOP platform. As the convention closed, two separate sets of ballots — one allowing delegates to choose eight of 15 legislative priorities and another allowing delegates to vote on the 275 platform planks — were gathered. Those will now need to be tallied and certified in Austin, but it is rare for a plank to be rejected, according to party spokesperson James Wesolek.
. . . The new platform would call for:
Requiring Texas students “to learn about the humanity of the preborn child,” including teaching that life begins at fertilization and requiring students to listen to live ultrasounds of gestating fetuses.
Amending the Texas Constitution to remove the Legislature’s power “to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.”
Treating homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice,” language that was not included in the 2018 or 2020 party platforms.
Deeming gender identity disorder “a genuine and extremely rare mental health condition,” requiring official documents to adhere to “biological gender,” and allowing civil penalties and monetary compensation to “de-transitioners” who have received gender-affirming surgery, which the platform calls a form of medical malpractice.
Changing the U.S. Constitution to cement the number of Supreme Court justices at nine and repeal the 16th Amendment of 1913, which created the federal income tax.
Ensuring “freedom to travel” by opposing Biden’s Clean Energy Plan and “California-style, anti-driver policies,” including efforts to turn traffic lanes over for use by pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit.
Declaring “all businesses and jobs as essential and a fundamental right,” a response to COVID-19 mandates by Texas cities that required customers to wear masks and limited business hours.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, and guaranteeing the right to use alternatives to cash, including cryptocurrencies.
Not every far-right proposal was advanced. The party chair, Matt Rinaldi, ruled that a motion to defend the due process rights of those who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and to “reject the narrative” that the riot was an insurrection was out of order and could not be voted on.
. . . Party platforms are mission statements rather than legal doctrines and, in Texas, they have long reflected the opinions of the most activist wings of the parties. Republican elected officials are not bound to adhere to the platform, and party activists at times have expressed frustration that some parts of their platform and legislative priorities have not become law, despite complete Republican control of the state Legislature.
From the Texas Tribune: Tens of thousands of people in Odessa have endured nearly 48 hours without water to drink, wash or flush toilets
Providing water is one of the basic functions of local government, aging infrastructure can make that difficult.
- Click here for the article.
. . . According to Odessa Mayor Javier Joven, the break occurred at 6 p.m. Monday near Tom Green Avenue between 42nd and San Jacinto streets. While maintenance crews were able to repair the break late Tuesday night, officials said the city’s water system needed another 12-14 hours to fully restart and be deemed safe for the community. That process started around 5 a.m Wednesday.
Temperatures in Odessa have been close to 100 degrees since Friday and reached a high of 106 on Sunday. Forecasts show it will stay like that the rest of the week, which has residents hoping the water is back on soon.
. . . During a news conference Tuesday, Tom Kerr, the city’s utilities director, said the line that broke is about 60 years old.
“Aging water systems are common throughout the country,” Kerr said. “It’s often difficult for municipalities to be able to afford to manage those systems as they age. That’s the situation we find ourselves in.”
From Wikipedia: Brooks Brothers riot
- Click here for the entry.
The Brooks Brothers riot was a demonstration at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on November 22, 2000, during a recount of votes made during the 2000 United States presidential election, with the goal of shutting down the recount. After demonstrations and acts of violence, local officials shut down the recount early.
. . . Hundreds of people, including many Republican staffers,[3][7] descended upon South Florida to protest the state's recounts.[7] The demonstration was organized by these operatives, sometimes referred to as the "Brooks Brothers Brigade",[8] to oppose the recount of ballots during the Florida election recount. The official canvassers, to speed up the process and meet their deadline, moved the counting process into a new room, and members of the media were restricted to a distance of 25 feet away.
Republicans objected to this change of plans. John E. Sweeney of New York, nicknamed "Congressman Kick-Ass" by President Bush for his work in Florida,[9] set the incident in motion[10] by telling an aide to 'stop them'[1][5] and to "Shut it down."[1][5] The demonstration turned violent and, according to The New York Times, "several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order." Democratic National Committee aide Luis Rosero claimed to be kicked and punched outside of Leahy's office.[11] Within two hours after the event, the canvassing board unanimously voted to shut down the count, in part due to perceptions that the process was not open or fair, and in part because the court-mandated deadline had become impossible to meet, due to the interference.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Some stories about political dirty tricks
- A short history of campaign dirty tricks before Twitter and Facebook.
- Roger Stone: a master of the political dirty trick.
- What are Some Examples of Dirty Politics?
- 16 worst political dirty tricks.
- The Complete History of Dirty Politics: A Q&A on Anything for a Vote.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
From the Bureau of Economic Analysis: U.S. Economy at a Glance
- Click here for the analysis.
- Wikipedia: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States and its various units—states, cities/towns/townships/villages/counties, and metropolitan areas. They also provide information about personal income, corporate profits, and government spending in their National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs).
BEA has about 500 employees and an annual budget of approximately $101 million.
- Wikipedia: Department of Commerce.
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision making, and helping to set industrial standards. Its main purpose is to create jobs, promote economic growth, encourage sustainable development and block harmful trade practices of other nations.[3] It is headed by the Secretary of Commerce, who reports directly to the President of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The Department of Commerce is headquartered in the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, DC.
- Wikipedia: Executive Agencies.
The United States federal executive departments are the principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but (the United States being a presidential system) they are led by a head of government who is also the head of state. The executive departments are the administrative arms of the president of the United States. There are currently 15 executive departments.
- Wikipedia: Independent agencies of the United States government.
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President.[1]: 6
In a narrower sense, the term refers only to those independent agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch, have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited. Established through separate statutes passed by the Congress, each respective statutory grant of authority defines the goals the agency must work towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, over which it may have the power of rulemaking. These agency rules (or regulations), when in force, have the power of federal law.