Lawmaker Wants To Give Teachers The Right To Hang Ten Commandments In Texas Classrooms [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

A state lawmaker has introduced a bill to allow the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms, opening up a potential can of worms - or distraction, depending on who's asking.

The Star-Telegram, among others, is reporting that State Rep. Dan Flynn of Van wants to make sure that any Texas teacher who wants to display the Ten Commandments in his or her classroom may do so.

That’s why he filed House Bill 307 that says school officials — particularly school board trustees — cannot prevent copies of those commandments from being posted “in a prominent location” in classrooms.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Flynn. “If a teacher wants to put it in her classroom, she should be able to do it just as if she wanted to put up Halloween, Thanksgiving or any other decorations.

The paper reminds readers that " Public displays of the Ten Commandments have sparked legal battles in the past. And this one likely will too, if Texas lawmakers approve it during the upcoming legislative session that begins Jan. 8."

Is Beto Using Campaign Funds For Illegal "Caravan" Or Migrants Already In US? Cruz Doubles Down On #ProjectVeritas Video's Accusations [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

As the US Senate race narrows to a 49%/49% horse race, incumbent Ted Cruz has thrown down the gauntlet, asking challenger Beto O'Rourke to answer a couple of basic questions:

"Two basic Qs every reporter should ask Beto today:  (1) should the “caravan” be allowed to cross illegally into Texas?  (Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so?"

The tweet is in response to a video made by Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, whose latest undercover video appears to show O'Rourke staffers planning to use pre-paid campaign cards - paid for by donors - to buy materials for, and even transport, the Honduran migrants in the "caravan" making its way to storm the US border.

Beto's campaign fired back at the charges, saying, in an official statement, that staffers "took it upon themselves" to use campaign funds to donate supplies to an El Paso nonprofit and that the contributions - less than $300 total - will be "appropriately reported" to the Federal Election Commission.

Quotes from the video itself seem to indicate a cover-up of the funds and their intended use, such as - "Under the table just sort of do it," "Well, she doesn't know we used the prepaid card, but she doesn't need to know," and "we're going to give rides to some of the immigrants too."

The Dallas Morning News, whose editorial board endorsed O'Rourke, seemed to also demand some answers from him:

"Beto O’Rourke wants a promotion. He wants to go from the House to the Senate and go from representing a constituency of 743,000 in the 16th congressional district to the entire state of Texas and its 30 million residents.

“With days to go before the election and President Donald Trump along with Ted Cruz ramping up the immigration rhetoric, O’Rourke has managed to stake out an opposition stance without offering much detail of his own. It’s time he stepped up and delivered.”

Meanwhile, the 24-minute video (watch below) in which staffers joke with an undercover O'Keefe operative posing as a journalist that they are "hiding" the spending as other expenses, continues to be used as campaign fodder in this very, very tight race.

Joaquin Castro Floats Conspiracy Theory That Jared Kushner Orchestrated Khashoggi Murder [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

Well, maybe Joaquin Castro isn't going to run for president after all. Or maybe he just launched his campaign to win over the Hard Left in his party.

Castro told CNN that Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner had something to do with the murder of Jamal Khashogghi.

On CNN Friday, Castro claimed there was "reporting out there" that Jared Kushner may have some involvement in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. The member of the House intelligence committee said Trump’s son-in-law "delivered a hit list" to the Saudi crown prince, who is accused of ordering the murder the Washington Post journalist, who had been living in the US on a work visa after reporting critically on the Saudi royal family for several years.

The Saudi government only this weekend admitted that Khashoggi was killed in its Turkish consulate. They've yet to admit to the more grisly details, for which Turkey says they have evidence.

Various media outlets and the watchdog site Mediaite reported the exchange:

"Let me get to the point that I think is most disturbing right now,” he told anchor Poppy Harlow, when asked for his reaction to Khashoggi's murder. “The reporting that Jared Kushner may have, with U.S. Intelligence, delivered a hit list, an enemies list, to the crown prince, to MBS in Saudi Arabia and that the prince then may have acted on that and one of the people he took action against is Mr. Khashoggi. And if that’s the case…” 

Harlow immediately jumped in to say, “Just to be clear, congressman, we don’t have––I just want to be clear for our viewers, we do not have that reporting. I’m not sure where you’re getting that from.”

While Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, is close to the Saudi crown prince, no one has accused Kushner of any involvement, let alone orchestration, in the Khashoggi killing.

And he denies that he gave any such list to the Crown Prince, who runs the Saudi Kingdom for his elderly father, King Salman. There HAS BEEN, however, some reporting suggesting that he had supplied a list of dissidents to the prince last year, allegedly compiled by US intelligence services. Again, Kushner denies any such thing occurred.


Castro himself almost immediately tried to "walk back" the claim on twitter, after the Daily Beast rushed out a story on the CNN interview. Castro Tweeted:

To be clear, I did not intend to accuse @jaredkushner of orchestrating anything. Based on press reporting, I’m asking for Congress to open an investigation of whether any US Intelligence was shared with Saudi Arabia that led to political persecution or killing of #Khashoggi 

(The Daily Beast changed the headline of its original story after the "Walk-back" by Castro.)

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, joined by many conservative commentators, erupted on Twitter, going to bat for the boss's son-in-law:

.@JoaquinCastrotx’s allegation is an outrageous slanderous lie without a shred of proof, it’s reprehensible for a sitting Congressman and supposed “news” outlets to continue citing an article that used unnamed sources and was completely debunked.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro Tweeted:

 And I accuse Castro of eating baby elephants based on _______

And commentator Hugh Hewitt accused Castro of full-blown Trump Derangement Syndrome:

This has to be among the most irresponsible accusations ever leveled without a whit of evidence for it, one obviously reflecting full-blown TDS.

ANALYSIS:
Calling for in investigation into the thing he accused Kushner of is hardly an apology, or a clarification, of the original accusation, but a restating of the accusation. Some would say, even doubling down.

It's unclear whether this will play well with Democrats in the primaries if Castro does seek the nomination in 2020. After the DNA Disaster Elizabeth Warren put herself through this week, we know that even hard-core Democrats can turn on those who are considered "toxic" to their chances against Trump - whom they desperately want to beat in 2020.

Republicans would argue that Castro certainly has the "unsubstantiated accusation" concept down, honed by Democrats during the Kavanaugh hearings. And this is becoming a hugely popular tactic with which to attack Republicans.

What's clear is that whether there's any smoke to this fiery conspiracy theory, Castro has become a target for the Right, and a hero for some on the Left for calling Kushner out.

Police Confiscate "Vulgar" Homemade Political Sign On Lawn After Ag Commissioner Posts Picture [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

Police in Hamilton, Texas have apparently confiscated a sign from the lawn of a resident after Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller posted photos of it online.

The sign, featuring a Republican elephant's trunk provocatively extending up the skirt of a little girl, was homemade by resident Marion Stanford, who modeled it on a political cartoon appearing in the Washington Post in 2017, amid the controversy surrounding Roy Moore's US Senate campaign.

The sign stood among campaign signs for several Democratic candidates for office, including Beto O'Rourke, Congressional candidate Julie Oliver, and Miller's opponent, Kim Olson (which apparently is what set him off.)

But Miller had a different interpretation. "This is in Hamilton, Texas and is supposed to be Judge Kavanaugh's young daughter. Notice my opponent's sign in the background. The Democrat sleaze knows NO bounds!" he posted on Facebook earlier this week.

Stanford said she did create the sign after watching the Kavanaugh hearings, but denied the girl was meant to represent his daughter.

Those commenting on the post expressed outrage, one saying, "Does the town have decency laws, file a complaint with police!  Beyond Disgusting" others said the sign itself constituted a form of abuse against children. "Who ever did this should be put In prison! What kind of person
Would do this!"

Following the publicity, police showed up at her home, at the insistence of city officials, according to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.

The paper reports that "Some say she was told to remove the sign or it would be confiscated. City officials said police visited Stanford’s home and she asked them to take the sign."

Miller posted to Facebook again after the sign was removed, calling it "vulgar" and saying he was glad it had been removed.

O'Rourke Doubles Down On Denials That He Tried To Flee Drunk Driving Scene [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

Did U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke try to flee the scene of a drunk driving-related crash in 1998? The police report says he did. But he insists he didn't.

The U.S. Senate candidate doubled down Saturday, claiming again (as he did in his debate with rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, that he did not leave the scene the arrest, which happened near El Paso, and added a new claim, that a passenger inside his vehicle that night backs his story.

"I did not flee,” O’Rourke told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith during the 2018 Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. "The police report on this is wrong.”

He rejected September 1998 police reports that quoted an unnamed motorist as saying he stopped O’Rourke from fleeing the scene of a DUI crash on Interstate 10.

Appearing as the festival’s closing keynote speaker, O’Rourke said he recently contacted the female passenger to get her recollection of that evening. 

“I reached out to the passenger who was in the car that I was driving — who also does not appear in the police report, among other factual errors — somebody that I’ve not spoken to in more than 15 years, and asked her recollection of that evening,” O’Rourke said. “She said, ‘No, we were in the median of the road. We did not try to flee. I don’t know that there was anywhere we could have gone.’”

Univ. Of Texas Investigating Allegation State Senator Texted Pic of Genitals to Grad Student [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

The Austin American-Statesman is reporting the explosive allegation that state Sen. Charles Schwertner sent a sexually explicit image and text message to a graduate student he met at an on-campus event this summer. The University of Texas is investigating the allegations, which the paper received from three unnamed sources.

The student allegedly met Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican and a UT alumnus, at an on-campus event to which Schwertner was invited, and told him she was interested in working at the Legislature, according to two of the officials.

The paper reports:

After the event, they allegedly exchanged messages on the networking site LinkedIn before moving to text messaging. 

During an otherwise professional exchange on networking and career advice, Schwertner abruptly wrote, “I just really want to f—- you,” and sent her an image that appeared to be a picture of his genitals that was taken in the shower, according to a UT official who has seen the exchange and the photo.

Schwertner campaign spokesman Tom Holloway issued a statement denying the allegations.

“The Senator is eager to cooperate with the University of Texas and hopes to make clear he played no part in the behavior described," wrote Holloway.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

Politically, Sen. Schwertner's district is solidly in the red, Republican column and he is probably in no danger of being defeated by his Democratic opponent, Meg Walsh.

However, it's less well known that he has aspirations to one day become lieutenant governor. Those hopes will be significantly affected if these allegations are proven to be true.

The immediate effect of the allegations alone will need to give Democrats yet another talking point to bolster their claim that Republicans are corrupt. This can only help the "Blue Wave" November narrative

Washington Post Says Beto O'Rourke Lying About Trying To Leave Scene of DWI Accident; Gives His Debate Claim "Four Pinocchios" [#TXPOLITICS 24/7]

The Washington Post took an in-depth look at the claim that US Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke that  he never tried to flee the scene of a DWI in 1998. Police reports indicate that he did, in fact, leave, says the paper.

During a Sept. 21 debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), O’Rourke was asked pointblank about a drunk-driving incident when he was 26 years old: Did he try to leave the scene of the accident? The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News had recently obtained the police reports of the incident and reported he had done so, stopped only by a bystander. But he replied, in what it called a "well-rehearsed answer":

"I did not try to leave the scene of the accident, though driving drunk, which I did, is a terrible mistake for which there is no excuse or justification or defense, and I will not try to provide one."

The Post took on his claims (though clearly seeking an excuse to justify his obfuscation:)

O’Rourke was so drunk that he could barely get out of the car without falling, so perhaps he would not have gotten far – or he was simply confused. Perhaps in his memory, O’Rourke believes he did not try to leave. But, given his [blood alcohol level] at the time of the accident, O’Rourke’s memory 20 years after the fact is not nearly as credible as the police reports written just hours after the accident.

O’Rourke could have dodged the question during the debate or he could have said his memory is not clear from that night. Instead, he chose to dispute the factual record. We also believe in second chances and O’Rourke should revise his answer if given another opportunity. In the meantime, he earns Four Pinocchios.

It's worth noting that the DWI charges were dismissed after O’Rourke, whose father had been a local judge, completed a court-approved diversion program.

For whatever reason, whether his internal polling shows that him revealing that "leaving the scene" would be a fact voters couldn't forgive, or whether he really doesn't remember, he's not being truthful with Texas voters.

 

Lupe's Lost A Gun - Gubernatorial Candidate, Former Dallas Co. Sheriff, Misplaced Gun Loaned To Her By Dept. [#TXPolitics 24/7]

"Janey's Got a Gun," Aerosmith wailed in their 1989 hit song, but Lupe? Well, Lupe has misplaced hers.

That would be gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez, former Sheriff of Dallas County, who has reportedly lost a gun issued to her in 2011.

Authorities are trying to determine how it disappeared, and it's a safe bet that her campaign is currently in meltdown mode.

The Star-Telegram reports that Valdez was issued a Beretta 9mm pistol on Oct. 3, 2011, as a loaner from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Range masters gun range inventory to carry as her on-duty weapon.

Valdez was lent the firearm after her personal gun, which happened to the same model gun as the loaner, “sustained a malfunction,” the police report stated. It is likely that the weapon, valued at $649, could have been stolen or misplaced during Valdez’s transition, the police report stated.

She resigned her position with the Sheriff's Office in May, when she began running for governor - the first openly gay candidate to do so.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

Of course, Valdez is facing political fallout from the loss of the weapon, and her failure to report it in a timely manner - and from some unlikely sources.

The Dallas News editorialized, "Not having a clear accounting for this gun sends the wrong signal to law enforcement officers and the public about the seriousness of losing a weapon. Ultimately, this is a matter of whom we trust to carry a gun on the public's behalf."

In Bombshell Announcement, #Austin Mayor Pulls Plug On #CodeNext, Controversial, Multi-Year Rewrite Of Land Development Code [#TXPolitics 24/7]

Austin Mayor Steve Adler has called for the city to "cease" the CodeNext process, the controversial overhaul of the city's land development code that began in early 2017.

In a letter posted Wednesday afternoon to the City Council message board, Adler cited the growing divisiveness and a "poisoned process" to rewrite Austin's land-use development code.

The code, which was championed by Adler, has seen numerous delays, and much pushback from the community. The rewrite is over budget and has cost taxpayers at least $8.5 million in fees to contracted consultants, mostly to California-based Opticos Design Inc., reports the Austin Business Journal.

Divisions and rancorous debate raged over CodeNext's plans to envision many neighborhoods as more dense, which opponents argued would destroy their character.

San Antonio City Officials: #Alamo Cenotaph Will Be Moved From Site; "Obscures Views" [#TXPolitics 24/7]

San Antonio officials have decided that a historic monument near the Alamo must be relocated as part of the $450 million plan to redevelop the Alamo. The move is guaranteed to stir passions.

News 4 San Antonio reports that City Councilman Roberto Trevino say the Cenotaph monument doesn't fit on-site and obscures views. He says the city isn't considering leaving the 60-foot in its current location.

The monument was erected in celebration of the centenary of the battle, and bears the names of those known to have fought there on the Texas side.

Relocating the structure has been the most vocally opposed issue in the plan proposed in 2014 by the city, Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush, and the nonprofit Alamo Endowment. Most of the plan includes maintenance and infrastructure improvements.

Residents and historians and citizens throughout the state have raised alarm bells about the removal of he statue, which commemorates the  Alamo defenders killed in the 1836 battle. Legend says that some the burned remains of the bodies of those killed in the siege were buried on the site of the cenotaph. A 1940 newspaper article says many of the defenders died on the spot.

Residents have raised concerns about the road closures required during a move. Historians and others have raised the logistical challenges of moving the structure without destroying it, due to its age and fragility. The proposed move has prompted protests from citizens and historical advocacy groups.

During the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration, the state of Texas provided $100,000 for the monument, commissioned from local sculptor Pompeo Coppini. San Antonio mayor Maury Maverick held a dedication ceremony on November 11, 1940. (See Wikipedia article.)

The shaft rises sixty feet from its base and is forty feet long and twelve feet wide. The monument was erected in grey Georgia marble and pink Texas granite. It was entitled The Spirit of Sacrifice and incorporates images of the Alamo garrison leaders and 187 names of Alamo defenders known at the time it was constructed.

Donald Trump, Jr. Pulls Out Of NY Fundraiser For George P. Bush After Dad Jeb's Criticism Of Immigration Policy [TXPolitics 24/7 blog]

Donald Trump, Jr. won't participate in a campaign fundraiser for Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush as Bush's father, Jeb Bush, continued to criticize the Trump policy on family separation, reports Axios and CNN.

A source told Axios that the younger Bush was warned by the younger Trump in recent weeks that he would not be able to publicly support him if Bush's father, Jeb Bush - a 2016 primary campaign opponent of Donald Trump,  continued to criticize the president.

In a tweet Monday, Jeb Bush said, "Children shouldn't be used as a negotiating tool. @realDonaldTrump should end this heartless policy and Congress should get an immigration deal done that provides for asylum reform, border security and a path to citizenship for Dreamers."

The fundraiser was scheduled for New York on June 25.

Photos: Axios

George P. Bush Booed As He Speaks To #TXGOP Convention; Takes Heat For Handling Of #Alamo [TXPolitics 24/7 blog]

Controversial Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush was met with hisses and boos as he took the stage at the state GOP Convention Friday in San Antonio.

His "reimagining" of the Alamo, located just steps from the convention site, has made him a lightning rod among many Republicans gathered for the week-long event.

The Dallas Morning News reports that delegates hissed, booed and some cried out "Remember the Alamo" as he spoke about the restoration efforts. In response, Bush pushed back, saying, "Despite the 'fake news' you may have been reading in the liberal media, we've been busy saving and strengthening the Alamo for generations to come."

His management of the Alamo, considered sacred ground in Texas, has come under fire by many conservatives. The News reports that after he took office in 2015, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas were removed from overseeing the Alamo and replaced by nonprofits that Bush's General Land Office controls.

Land Commissioner @georgepbush is getting boos here at the @TexasGOP convention by critics of his treatment of the Alamo.
He just told the crowd to not believe the reporting on that issue. This was their response. #txlege #rptcon18 #rpt2018 pic.twitter.com/GUYFgZ3Isv

— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) June 15, 2018

#Texas Leads Nation In Removing #Confederate Memorials, Says Southern Poverty Law Center Report [TX Politics 24/7 blog]

Children of the Confederacy plaque in the State House in Austin

A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center says Texas leads the way in removing Confederate memorials, including statues - 31 in the past three years.

The survey identified 110 Confederate symbols removed since the Charleston massacre, including 47 monuments and four flags, and name changes for 37 schools, seven parks, three buildings and seven roads. Among them was the Confederate battle flag that had flown at the South Carolina State House grounds in Columbia for 54 years.

Confederate memorial outside the state Capitol building
in Austin.

Texas led the way (31), followed by Virginia (14), Florida (9), Tennessee (8), Georgia (6), Maryland (6), North Carolina (5) and Oklahoma (5). Eighty-two removals were in former Confederate states.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says it has undertaken an effort to catalog the symbols "in an effort to assist the efforts of local communities to re-examine these symbols," which the group categorizes as promoting "revisionist history."

The report, "Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy," identified 1,728 Confederate monuments, place names and other symbols still in public spaces, both in the South and across the nation.

Last September, House Speaker Joe Strauss (R - San Antonio) spearheaded an effort to remove a plaque from the State House in Austin placed there in 1959 by the Children of the Confederacy.

Rep. Eric Johnson (D - Dallas) has long argued for the plaque's removal. Straus, who is not seeking re-election this year, called the plaque offensive and misleading.

Cruz Campaign Hits O'Rourke With "Hypocrisy" Charge Over Mother's Tax Conviction [TX Politics 24/7 blog]

The campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz has issued a blistering statement Wednesday accusing Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke of hypocrisy over his call for local businesses to pay taxes on sales made across state lines.

In the statement, Cruz campaign spokeswoman Emily Miller notes that O'Rourke's mother, with whom he frequently campaigns, pled guilty in 2010 and was fined $500,000 after an El Paso furniture store she owned hid interstate sales from the IRS.

The release in full:

Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke said in an interview published Tuesday that he wants to force businesses — such as a “local furniture store” — to collect taxes for sales made across state lines. His plan would add layers of government compliance costs to local businesses and require business owners in Texas to collect sales tax for other states.

It is an interesting policy position given his family history of breaking tax laws while running a furniture store in El Paso.

“Rep. Beto O’Rourke has been campaigning on ethics in government, but he’s been hiding his mother’s conviction for tax fraud, his personal stake in her furniture company and his profiting from the company,” said Cruz campaign spokeswoman Emily Miller. “Texans deserve elected officials with strong values and ethics.”

Charlotte’s Furniture, a company that was controlled by Rep. O’Rourke’s mother, Melissa, was convicted of tax fraud. On behalf of her company, she pled guilty in 2010 to making a series of cash deposits of just under $10,000 — designed to avoid IRS scrutiny. (The structuring law she violated was originally designed to help stop drug-related money laundering operations.)

Melissa O’Rourke was sentenced to pay a fine of $500,000. Suspiciously, parts of her case are sealed by the court.

Rep. O’Rourke was financially connected to this criminal activity by more than just family relationship. Rep. O’Rourke and Melissa co-own the shopping center where Charlotte’s Inc. resided. In 2012, Melissa gave her son what congressional records indicate was a $1 million to $5 million stake in the property.

Also, just one day before the court’s judgment, Melissa transferred the Imperial Arms Apartments from her husband’s estate to Rep. O’Rourke’s company, Imperial Arms LLC.

Rep. O'’Rourke has been praising his mother, who campaigns with him, but he doesn’t tell Texas voters about her business’s criminal activity. His recent statements advocating that local businesses become tax collection agents for every state in the nation stand in stark contrast to his mother’s history of tax evasion.

Note that Melissa O'Rourke has donated over $10,000 to her son Rep. O’Rourke’s campaigns.

Pictured: Beto O'Rourke and his mother Mellissa, in February. (Photo: Wall Street Journal)