How to Secede (Without Really Trying)

Why can't the White House let you secede? Because these
guys say so, that's why. (The Chase court)

A petition calling on the White House to allow the State of Texas to secede and form its own government has reached the threshold required for an official White House response. The "We the People" site on the White House's official webpage allows anyone to create a petition. If any petition receives 25,000 signatures within 30 days the White House has committed to respond.

Several states have similar petitions on the site, although none of the others, as the Texas Tribune pointed out, has a governor who hinted at secessionist statements in public. “When we came into the nation in 1845, we were a republic, we were a stand-alone nation,” Perry told a group of bloggers in 2009. “And one of the deals was, we can leave anytime we want. So we’re kind of thinking about that again.”

Beyond the funny gubernatorial gaffs and the rantings of on-line trolls what's the legal reality behind secession? If the White House wanted to grant the petitioners their wish (and let's face it, removing Texas' 38 electoral college votes from the process would pretty much guarantee the election of Democratic presidents for the foreseeable future) is there a process by which the Lone Star state could strike out on its own?

No.

No there is not.

In fact, the State of Texas once argued stridently that such a process did not exist:

Trailblazer Phyllis Frye is no Stranger to "Responding" to Out-Of-Town Bigots

The responses to "The Response" (Gov. Perry's rally at Reliant Stadium spearheaded by hate group the American Family Association) are already underway. The LGBT Texans Against Hate Rally in downtown Houston tonight was a rousing success and all over Houston people are buzzing about how they plan to welcome Perry and his extremist allies tomorrow.

One of the responses to "The Response" is the LGBT Trailblazers Luncheon hosted by the Democratic Party of Harris County. The Luncheon tomorrow morning will recognize Mayor Annise Parker, Houston City Council Member Sue Lovell, Judge Steven Kirkland, Judge John Paul Barnich, Judge Phyllis Frye, and Linda Morales for their contributions to the LGBT community and the world at large.

Frye, you may remember, became Texas' first out transgender judge (and only the third in the country) last November when she was appointed to the municipal bench by Mayor Parker, but her role as a prominent activist and community leader stretches back to the 1970s. Back then Houston had a "mask law" that allowed the police to arrest anyone whose attire didn't match the gender they were assigned at birth. The law was so strict that women were forbidden to wear pants that zipped up the front (which the police used to raid lesbian bars and round up patrons wearing blue jeans). Because of the mask law Frye risked arrest every time she left the house dressed as a woman.

Which makes this Jan 1978 from the now defunct Houston Post all the more amazing:

Provided courtesy of the Houston Transgender Archive, the article covers a rally held in response to Anita Bryant's appearance at the Farm Bureau Federation of America meeting in Houston. Bryant was a former beauty queen and singer who in 1977 formed the "Save Our Children" campaign in a successful effort to overturn a Boward County Florida ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The article reads "A surprise speaker was a transvestite [sic] named Phyllis who said he [sic] was braving arrest by appearing "cross-dressed" in public."

In 1981 Frye's efforts to repeal Houston's mask law paid off and the ordinance was taken off the books. Thirty years later the woman who risked arrest to speak against Anita Bryant's visit to Houston will be honored by the Democratic Party of Houston as a LGBT Trailblazer in an event specifically designed to rebuff another out-of-town visitor who has come to Houston to advocate for the oppression of the LGBT community: Rick Perry.

Tickets to the Trailblazers dinner are still available. More information is available HERE.

Responses to "The Response"

Gov. Perry's day of prayer and fasting "The Response" will kick off at Houston's Reliant Stadium this Saturday, August 6th. In addition to Perry and the American Family Association (a group identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group) "The Response" is sponsored by a rouge's gallery of far-right organizations. Right Wing Watch, a blog run by People for the American Way, has done a wonderful job of profiling some of the more outrageous claims of the event's sponsors, including one pastor who claims that Oprah is a harbinger of the antichrist and one who says that the Statue of Liberty is a demonic idol.

Be sure to check out the Dallas Voice this week for my story profiling the leaders of some of the "Response to 'The Response'" events planned in Houston. In the meantime here is a rundown of events around the state:

Houston
LGBT Texans Against Hate Rally
Friday, August 5, at 7:00 pm
Tranquility Park (400 Rusk St)
This is the official response planned by the Houston LGBT community. Organizers are encouraging people to bring signs for this outdoor rally. National press is expected so it is vital that as many people attend as possible.

Family, Faith and Freedom
Friday, August 5, at 7:00 pm
Mount Ararat Baptist Church (5801 W Montgomery Rd)
Sponsored by the ACLU and Texas this event directly conflicts with the LGBT community response. The focus of the event is concerns that "The Response" violates the seperation of church and state.

Protest of Texas Gov. Perry/AFA's Prayer/Hate Event
Saturday, August 6 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Corner of Kirby Dr and McNee Rd
This is protest is outside of the site of "The Response." Organizers warn that the weather is expected to be very hot and encourage participants to bring sunscreen and plenty of water.

LGBT Trailblazer's Brunch
Saturday, August 6, at 9:30 am
Hyatt Regency Hotel (1200 Louisiana St)
Organized by the Harris County Democratic Party, this event honors LGBT people who have made contributions to the community and the world at large. Honorees include Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Houston City Council Member Sue Lovell, Judge Steven Kirkland, Judge John Paul Barnich, Judge Phyllis Frye and Linda Morales. Tickets are $50 and are available at the door or at www.HCDP.org

Inclusive Interfaith Prayer Meeting
Saturday, August 6 at 2:00 pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston (5200 Fannin St)
This queer inclusive event features clergy from Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Unitarian, Christian and Pagan faith traditions, and specifically includes a time to celebrate Atheists and Agnostics. The Gay Men's Chorus of Houston will perform.


Dallas
Repentance Means "Go Another Way" Rally
Thursday, August 4, at 5:00 pm
Pegasus Plaza (Main at Akard)
Sponsored by the Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance, this rally is designed to draw attention to the alliance's open letter to Gov. Perry.

Protest Gov. Rick Perry's Inappropriate and Hateful Prayer Rally & the AFA
Saturday, August 6, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Dallas City Hall (1500 Marilla)

Austin
Rick Perry: Bad For Texas, Worse For Our Nation
Saturday, August 6th
March starts at Victory Grill at 10:30 am (1104 E 11 st)
Rally in State Capitol Rotunda begins at 12:00 pm (1100 Congress Ave)
Organized by the Travis County Democratic Party "this rally will highlight Governor Perry’s failed record in Texas on public education, human services, environmental policy and many other important issues. His Enron style accounting plunged our state into its largest budget shortfall in history and we must expose this to the nation."

College Station
Counter Protest "Pray the Hate Away" - B/CS Carpool to Houston
Saturday, August 6th at 8:00 am
Parking lot of Kroger on Longmire and Rock Prairie (3535 Longmire Drive)
The Pride Community Center has organized a carpool to Houston to participate in the counter protest outside of Reliant Stadium. If you need a ride, or are able to drive one of the cars please e-mail info@pridecc.org

Twitter
Professor David Dow, of the University of Houston Law School, will be live blogging "The Response" from inside Reliant Stadium. You can follow him @drdow

If you are on Twitter and attending any of the responses to "The Response" the hashtag #noAFA is being used for the conversation. The Young Democrats of America , LGBTQ Caucus (@YDALGBTQ), is also hosting a twitter conversation using the hashtag #thanksgoverner in response to "The Response."

If you are aware of other events in Texas please let me know and I will happily add them to the list.

Governor Signs Three LGBT-Related Bills

Governor Rick Perry has signed three bills dealing with issues important to the LGBT community: HB 1942, HB 1386 and HB 2229. All three bills were passed during the Legislature's 81st regular session.

HB 1942, by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), is designed to address bullying in Texas Public Schools. The bill allows schools to include information on preventing bullying to be included in staff development training and permits school administrators to transfer bullies to different campuses or classes than their victims (under current code only the victim may be transferred). It requires the State Board of education to include information on "awareness, prevention, identification, self-defense in response to, and resolution of and intervention in bullying and harassment" in the curriculum developed for health classes in public schools. It also requires school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies that protect people who report bullying and contain clear policies on how accusations of bullying will be addressed and creates a standard definition of bullying in the education code. (The definition of bullying created by HB 1942 is extremely narrow: in order to qualify as bullying the behavior must take place on a school campus, at a school sponsored event or in a school owned vehicle; it must physically harm another student or that student's property or threaten to do so; it must also be "severe, persistent, and pervasive;" "exploit an imbalance of power" and disrupt the educational environment.) HB 1942 does not acknowledge in any way the existence of queer students or that they are particularly targeted for bullying.

HB 1386, by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), addresses the epidemic of teen suicide. The bill requires the State Department of Health to annually compile a list of programs and resources designed to address teen suicide. That list must then be made available to school districts which may, but are not required to, implement programs they feel are appropriate for their districts. Programs on the Department of Health's list must provide resources to assist in identifying youth at risk for suicide, and provide resources for addressing that risk. The training provided by the programs must be created for both teachers and other school staff that regularly interact with students such as law enforcement professionals and school nurses. HB 1386 does not acknowledge that LGBT youth are at particular risk of suicide.

HB 2229, also by Coleman, makes permanent the state's HIV Medication Advisory Committee. Texas has a program that assists low-income HIV-positive people with obtaining medication. The Advisory Committee is made up of health professionals and current or former clients of the program and provides on-the-ground advice on how the program should be run. The committee was previously formed by the Department of State Health Services. Since its existence was only created by agency rule the head of the agency, Commissioner Dr. David Lakey, was able to dissolve the committee earlier this year. After public outcry the committee was reformed. HB 2229 insures that only the legislature, and not the agency commissioner, has the power to dissolve the committee in the future.

It's heartening that Perry choose to sign these bills. Under the Texas Constitution the governor has 30 days after a bill is passed to either sign or veto a bill, if he does not sign the bill it becomes law anyway without his signature. There was never any indication from the Governor's office that he might veto these bills, but he still had the option of letting them become law without his signature, providing him political cover if he felt his support of the bills might become a liability. Perry's signature shows how noncontroversial these bills are. It also shows how mainstream issues like bullying and HIV prevention are if they are not connected to the queer community. While the passage of these three bills is a victory, the absence of any mention in them to LGBT people is a reminder that support for the community is still political poison in Texas.

Day 1: Again

The Texas State Constitution Article 4 Sec. 8(a) allows the Governor to call a special session of the legislature in "extraordinary occasions," even allowing him to convene it away from the capitol in cases of enemy occupation or plague. In recent years, rather than respond to emergent catastrophe, special sessions have been used to deal with legislation that simply wasn't gotten around to during the regular 140 session (or to draw highly partisan congressional redistricting maps).

Although the Legislature yesterday adjourned "Sine Die," Latin for "without a day" or "we don't know when we'll be back," everyone knew that the special session would start today. Last night Governor Rick Perry made that official by Proclamation 16212, calling the Legislature back for a special session. During special sessions legislation is limited to the issues for which the Governor called the session and Perry choose two issues he'd like to see completed: the "fiscal matters" bill which compliments the budget and details appropriations for public schools and universities and a series of bills related to "health care costs containment" and "Medicare services" which cut access to health care services for low-income people and attempt to bypass provisions of Health Care reform legislation passed by the United States Legislature last year. Perry can add issues to this list later in the special session and is expected to, at the very least, add two additional items: the renewal of the Texas Windstorm Insurance program and congressional redistricting.

Because all legislation during this special session will be limited to those provisions bills that died this session that are unrelated can not be brought back up. For instance SB 723 the anti-trans marriage bill is unrelated to any of the topics for which the special session was called and is therefor non-germane, conversely HB 604 the proposal to finally strike Texas' unconstitutional "homosexual conduct" law is also out of bounds.

There are two amendments which were offered to HB 1 on the House floor which could potentially find new life during the special session. The first, by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), would have prevented public schools that receive state funds from discriminating on the basis of a long list of attributes that included sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The second, by Wayne Christian (R-Center) would have required Texas Universities that use state funds for campus LGBT resource centers to equally fund "family and traditional values centers." Because both amendments deal state funds spent on public education both could be attached to legislation considered during the special session.

The rules are different during a special session, mostly in that the process moves much more quickly. Layout rules that require committees to give five days notice before public hearings, for instance, are gone; as is the Senate's practice of using the intent calendar to require 2/3 of Senators to agree to debate bills. Special sessions move quickly and the queer community will need to pay careful attention to be sure we're not run over.

Day 140: Sine Die

Today is the 140th and final day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House will reconvene at 10 am, the Senate at 10:30 am.

A wave of developments over the weekend make a special session all but guaranteed. Late Saturday night news broke that the closed-door negotiations on renewing the Texas Windstorm Insurance program had broken down. TWI is the insurer of last resort for people living in areas prone to hurricanes that are unable to obtain insurance through private companies. The program is set to expire this year. If TWI is not renewed many homeowners along the coast will not be able to obtain windstorm insurance.

The House approved the compromise version of HB 1, the state budget, on Saturday, the Senate on Sunday, but SB 1811, a fiscal matters bill that complements the budget went down in the most spectacular fashion Sunday night. SB 1811 became a vehicle for a number of other fiscal matters bills that died in the House, including one that determines funding formulas for public education, perhaps the single most controversial topic of the session. Republican lawmakers have pushed a school funding formula that cuts current public education spending by 4 billion, while preserving tax breaks for industry. Democratic lawmakers have fought hard to restore education funding but their reduced numbers in both chambers have proved impediments.

Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) filibustered SB 1811 until late Sunday night, effectively killing the bill. Davis is a first term Senator who won a historically Republican district on the strength of the "Obama Surge" in the 2008 election. Legislative districts are redrawn every 10 years in response to the census, making 2011 a redistricting year. Senate Republicans have redrawn Davis' district to cut her out of her district, making her re-election unlikely. With nothing to lose Davis choose to spend what might be her last legislative session fighting for children, killing SB 1811 and ensuring a special session. (Technically a 4/5 majority of the Senate (or 25 Senators) could revive SB 1811 today, but that is unlikely.)

The Texas Constitution allows the Governor to call a special session to allow the Legislature to address emergent issues, or to consider business not completed during their regular 140 day session. Any special session is limited to the issues for which it was called, so if Governor Perry calls back the legislature to consider TWI and public education funding, those are the only things they will be able to consider.

While forcing school finance to be decided in a special session is a good thing for Texas' students in general, it puts queer students at public universities at risk. Wayne Christian (R-Center) has tried to amend multiple bills to prevent Texas universities from having GLBT resource centers. He was originally successful in amending HB 1, the state budget, but his amendment was removed by the Senate. If a special session is called to consider public education funding, which seems likely, he will have another opportunity to offer his amendments, and another opportunity to deprive queer college students of a much needed resource.

When the House and Senate Adjourn today they will do so "Sine Die," a Latin phrase meaning "without a day." In Texan it's pronounced "Sigh-nee Dye-ee," and means that the date for the 82nd legislature to reconvene is unknown. Perry can set the special session to begin pretty much whenever he wants, including tomorrow. It is likely that he will announce the official date today, shortly after the final adjournment of both Houses.

Day 113: Anti-Bullying Bill on House Floor, Take 2

Today is the 113th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature, except for in the House where it's still technically the 112th day for a little while longer... no really. The House "recessed" just after 7 pm last night and will return today at 10 am, since they did not adjourn at the end of the day yesterday they will still, technically, be on the 112th legislative day and will still be working on the list of bills to be considered that day. The Senate will reconvene at 11 am.

On the list of bills to be considered in the House on the 112th day is the "super" anti-bullying bill HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington). The bill is an amalgamation of ideas from several anti-bullying bills heard in the House Public Education Committee. It's the only major House anti-bullying bill to make it out of committee this session. This next Monday, May 9th - the 119th day of session, is the last day for House committees to vote out House bills, and even then bills of this nature must be voted on by the entire House before midnight on May 12th in order to advance. With the clock ticking HB 1942 may be our last, and best, chance of real anti-bullying reform. Please contact your House member and tell them to support HB 1942. Equality Texas has set up an easy-to-use e-mail form that takes less than a minute HERE.

The nifty trick about the House still being on the 112th day this morning is that it will let them take both the 2nd and 3rd reading vote on HB 1942 on the same calendar day. The Texas constitution requires that bills be "read" on three different days in the House. "Read" means that the bill number and a short description, called the bill caption are read aloud and then, depending on whether it's 1st, 2nd or 3rd reading a different action is taken. After 1st reading the bill is referred to a committee which then holds public hearings and makes a recommendation to the entire House of the bill. After second reading the bill can be debated by the entire House, amended by a majority vote, and then voted on. If the bill passes 2nd reading it's then read a 3rd time and can be debated, amended by a 2/3 vote and voted on again (after which it's sent to the Senate for consideration in the case of House bills or the Governor for signing in the case of most Senate bills). Since HB 1942 is to be considered on 2nd reading on the 112th legislative day the House can pass it, adjourn, reconvene and then pass it on 3rd reading on the same day.

As I mentioned last Friday in my weekly column on the Dallas Voice's Instant Tea Blog, the Senate was expected to start debate this week on HB 1, the appropriations bill that will govern the state's budget for the next two years. It's looking, however, like that might not happen. The bill is on the Senate's "intent calendar," a fast-track list of bills that require a 2/3 vote of the Senate to be brought up for debate (more info on how the intent calendar works from LQ's Day 107 post), but the capitol scuttlebutt says that Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), who is carrying the bill in the Senate, doesn't have the required 21 votes to bring it up.

The budget touches every aspect of state government. Among the host of concerning issues in the current version of the budget are the underfunding of Texas' HIV medication assistance program and an amendment added by Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) designed to reduce funding for campus LGBT resource centers and reappropriate those funds for "Family and Traditional Values Centers" (although it seems that the amendment might have been so poorly written that it will not have its intended effect).

If the Senate does not bring up the bill in time for it to pass out of the legislature before the looming end-of-session deadline on May 30th, Governor Perry will be forced to call a "special session." The governor has broad discretion to call all legislators back to Austin to conduct pressing business that arises between the regular sessions held for 140 days in the spring of odd-numbered years. The lack of a state budget, which would precipitate the complete shutdown of state government this fall, definitely qualifies as pressing.

A special session to approve the budget has advantages and disadvantages. If the budget show down comes to this the legislature will be forced to start at square one on the budget, meaning that things like the Christian amendment would be removed, but also meaning that hard-fought funding for the state's HIV medication assistance program (however inadequate to meet the rising rate of infection in Texas) would also be removed. A special session would mean that LGBT activists would have the interim period between the regular and special sessions to further lobby lawmakers, but it also means that the budget would be crafted under the unique rules governing special sessions, which allow the legislature to work much more quickly and make it more difficult to monitor legislation and inform the public of any actions, good or bad, that take place.

The only sure prediction in the legislature is its unpredictability. With only 27 days left in the regular session people on all sides of the political spectrum are carefully watching the Senate in an attempt to discern the next move.

Day 30: The Governor's Earth Moving Equipment

Today is the 30th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House reconvenes as 10:00 am, the Senate at 11:00 am.

Yesterday's "State of the State" address by Gov. Rick Perry was a pro forma "government is bad, regulation is bad, business is good" diatribe. If you can stomach reading the full text it is available HERE. In an irony no doubt lost on the man who has repeatedly tried to prevent queer people from talking about their relationships in public, Perry opened by thanking his wife Anita. He then went on to praise the Boy Scouts for making him who he is, so now we know who to blame.

Perry blamed the states 27 billion dollar budget crisis on everyone but the Republican controlled legislature who passes the budget, including: President Obama, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, the Environmental Protection Agency and illegal immigrants. All this while asking for more money for his personal "economic development" funds. State Rep. Jessica Farrar, president of the House Democratic Caucus, summed it up nicely "The first rule to being in a hole is stop digging. Perry traded his shovel for a backhoe,"

Still no movement on any of the bills we're watching. The Senate Education Committee (which has the Senate version of anti-bullying legislation) has not scheduled a hearing this week. The House still does not have committee assignments (no committee assignments = no committee hearings = no legislation) . A capitol staffer told me that the rumor mill has suggested that Speaker Joe Straus (who makes committee assignments) is waiting until the final report from the House Election Contest Select Committee to issue assignments.

The Select Committee was appointed to report on the contested election of Rep. Donna Howard (D-Travis County) in House District 48. Howard's opponent, Dan Neal, has been challenging her election (which was won by a narrow 16 votes), since November - charging that ballots where improperly counted. Howard has maintained her narrow lead after every recount. The report from the Select Committee is expected on Friday. If the rumors about the reason for Staus's tardy assignments are true, that means it may be next week before we have committee assignments.

Day 29: The State of the State is a State of Mind

Today is the 29th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House will reconvene at 10:00 am before welcoming the Senate for a joint session in the House chambers at 10:30. At 11 am Governor Rick Perry will deliver his "State of the State" address to the joint session.

Perry will likely sing another 12 verses of his favorite Hymn: "Texas is Awesome, Texas is Perfect, What's That You Say About Massive Unemployment, Crumbling Infrastructure and Pitiful Education, I Can't Hear You LALALALALA". This despite a biting Los Angeles Times article that disproves the rosy picture of the economy Perry has been painting for years, the impending closure of Pre-K programs and the proposal that the Texas Penal system stop feeding its prisoners so much to save money.

Expect a few dropped in code words about "family values" and "crumbling morals". Perry's speech writers are too savvy to give him any overt gay bashing, but they know to keep the base happy by slipping in a few covert digs.

You can watch the speech live at http://www.gov.texas.gov/

Day 14: But It's An Emergency!

Today is the 14th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House and Senate will both reconvene at 1:30. The Senate is expected to begin debate on voter suppression legislation today. The House will likely adopt its rules either today or tomorrow.

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You know those audio recordings of 911 calls that go viral every few months? The ones where someone calls because McDonalds is out of McNuggets, or because they need a ride to the liquor store and are too drunk to drive? Gov. Rick Perry is pulling the legislative equivalent of that.

The Governor has the power to declare emergency items that the legislature must take up more quickly than other legislative priorities. The intention of giving the governor that power is to allow the state to respond quickly to emergent issues - things like natural disasters or war breaking out. Gov. Petty has decided that he instead wants to use his gubernatorial 911 line to push partisan GOP priorities to the front of the line.

So far the Governor's list of "emergencies" includes:

• Eminent domain reform
• Forcing municipal law enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants
• Balancing the federal budget
• Voter suppression legislation requiring photo identification at the polls
• Requiring women considering termination of a pregnancy to view sonograms of the fetus

Each and every one is a long-standing and controversial issue, but are any of them an emergency? Texas is facing a 25 billion dollar state budget shortfall and the Governor wants the legislature to focus on the federal budget? We have the highest rate of uninsured residents among the 50 states, but the governor wants us to spend money to show pregnant women sonograms? (Not the ones who plan to have a baby mind you (they have to pay for their own prenatal care), just the ones who don't want to be pregnant.)

Perry keeps calling 911 to complain about the things he wants-right-now, as, I'm sure, the McDonalds lady who called about the McNuggets wanted-them-right-now, but neither are emergencies.

These are issues most people have strong opinions about. Some of us really want to see Perry's priorities go into effect, some of us don't, but by placing them at the front of the legislative line the Governor has delaying action on every other issue before the legislature, including things like efforts to curb bullying, ending insurance and job discrimination, and removing "homosexual conduct" from the criminal code.

Perry needs to learn that sometimes you can't get McNuggets when you want them, and stop wasting the 911 operator's time.

Day 8: Get Out of the Way! The Budget's Coming Through!

Today is the 8th day of the 82nd Texas Legislature and lawmakers are back in Austin after the 3 day weekend. The House will reconvene at 9:30 am and the Senate at 11:00 am.

Right now everything is waiting on rules adoption. The Texas constitution outlines how the House and Senate are to do their business, but both bodies have broad discretion to decide the specifics of how they operate. Since the rules lay out the committee structure without them there are no committees, without committees there are no committee chairs and without committee chairs there are no committee hearings. Until the rules are adopted everything else is in a holding pattern.

Most of the rules debate will be hashed out behind closed doors. Bits and pieces are leaking out but we won't know what either the House or Senate rules will look like until they are formally introduced on the floors. The capitol scuttlebutt says that some of the freshman Republicans in the House are frustrated by the rule making process so there may be an ill-advised attempt to make major alterations on the floor, which will be fun to watch but won't do anything to help the advancement of legislation important to the queer community.

Quorum Report says that Jim Pitts, who last session served as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, will file the appropriations bill today. Pitts is widely expected to retain his chairmanship, if so he will be overseeing the first step in adopting the State's two year budget (thus he receives the honor of filing it). Passing a budget is the only requirement the State Constitution places on the legislature.

The budget is their only job, and this year it's a doozy! Texas has a projected budget deficit for the next two years of as much as $25 million dollars. Last session Governor Perry jury rigged a balance budget by using stimulus funds designed to improve public schools to instead cover general budget provisions. No such funds are forthcoming this session. The concern is that the Republican majority will again rob eduction by forcing massive cuts in public schools and universities. Texas ranks 43rd out of 50 states in high school graduation rates. Our schools are already woefully underfunded. Compromising the quality of education may balance the budget in the short run but will lead to massive economic hardship as another generation of high school drop-outs enters the workforce.

The budget process should be watched carefully, not only will effect every aspect of every state agency but since it's the only bill that has to pass it's a prime target for amendment. Last session Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) managed to amend the budget to include a nondiscrimination policy for Texas Public Schools that included sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (it was later removed). Almost anything, good or bad, can get tacked onto the budget somewhere, as the session speeds up thing will start happening very quickly, hopefully our allies in the legislature are watching.

Today is also inauguration day for Governor Rick Perry. A joint session of the House and Senate affirmed the results of November's election last week - making them official. Perry will take the oath of office today and then attend the inauguration ball this evening (tickets are still available if you're into that sort of thing).

Perry on Job Growth: Do'h!

There's an old episode of the Simpsons where, after one bear wonders into town, Homer overreacts and starts a bear patrol to protect his fellow Springfieldians. He's convinced of the success of the success of the patrol because of the lack of bears in town.

Lisa, spotting the fallacy of his logic, tries to convince him that the presence of the bear patrol is unrelated to the absence of bears:

Lisa: “By your logic, I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away.”
Homer: “Hmm; how does it work?”
Lisa: “It doesn’t work; it’s just a stupid rock!”
Homer: “Uh-huh.”
Lisa: “… but I don’t see any tigers around, do you?”

Homer considers her argument for a moment and replies: “Lisa, I want to buy your rock…”

Why am I talking about Homer Simpson? Because Texas Governor Rick Perry did a pretty good impression of him in an interview with the Texas Tribune, published today:

"We’re creating more jobs than any other state in the nation. … Would you rather live in a state like this, or in a state where a man can marry a man?"

So in Perry's mind, Marriage Equality --> Horrific Economic Collapse? (This is almost as insane as the Prop 8 proponents' Marriage Equality --> Bad Table Manners' argument (Line 18, page 88 of the ruling, no really, check it out)).

The fancy Latin term for this Lunacy is cum hoc ergo propter hoc ("with this, therefore because of this"), basically "if two things occur together, then one must be caused by the other".

When the Governor of our state can't see the insanity of an argument that your average 12 year old (or inordinately bright (and bright yellow) 8 year old) can, we're in trouble.

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Update: Be sure to check out the Rick Perry Dilemma Generator! All the logic and intellect of the Governor of Texas, with just the click of a button!

Hotze: Gov. Perry cancelled Tarleton State Gay Themed Play

The FW Weekly must have its Google alerts set very carefully because they caught one hell of a post on a GOP Blog. The post on TexasGOPVote.com contains a thank you letter from Houston bigot provocateur Steven Hotze. In the letter Hotze says:

“We also owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Perry for his behind the scenes work to stop the play at Tarleton State. Ray Sullivan, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, was notified of the play on Thursday and after discussing it with the Governor, the necessary steps were taken to ensure that its performance was canceled.”

Hotze's talking about the cancellation of the gay themed play "Corpus Christi" at Tarleton State University last month. If you haven’t been following the story, a Tarleton State University (which is part of the Texas A&M system) theater major choose to produce the play, by Texas Native Terrence McNally, as part of a class assignment. Corpus Christi tells the story of a modern day gay man whose life closely parallels that of Jesus Christ.



You may remember Hotze from the anti-gay flyers he distributed around Houston during Annise Parker’s campaign, or you may remember him from his successful efforts in the 80’s to repeal Houston’s anti-discrimination ordinance. In Houston political circles his endorsement is considered the kiss of death. Let’s hope he’ll hang around Perry’s neck through November.