Texas Supreme Court Boots Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO)

The ordinance (.pdf) would have prohibited "any type of discrimination based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy," which are defined as "protected characteristics in city employment, city services, city contracting practices, housing, public accommodations, and private employment": in short, most basic human rights for city employees and contractors, city residents, residents in city public housing, public accommodations (i.e., businesses already obligated to be available to any member of the public who requires their goods and services) and employees of private companies over which the city has jurisdiction. (IANAL; please do not rely on this list, which is for explanatory purposes only, in any legal matters!)

The most frequent objection among opponents comes from people who dislike the ordinance's explicit protection of the rights of LGBTQ people. Heaven forfend that gay people should receive the least shred of human rights from their government, but Dog help them if they fail to pay their taxes. [/sarcasm]

Only in Texas, I hear you murmur (or shout), but I'll bet you a dollar that Texas is only the first among a number of states to void such city ordinances.

Houston has until Aug. 24 to repeal the ordinance or else place it on the November ballot for citizen approval. Again I hear you muttering, that approval will never happen, but I'm not so sure of that; Houston is, or at least has been, the most or second most politically Democratic (cap-D) city in Texas for many years, and it is my perception that all this anti-rights bullcrap is coming from our very Republican state supreme court, not the population at large, certainly not Houston's population.

This invalidation is yet more proof that the Texas Supreme Court, an elected body, is a virtually wholly partisan Republican entity. And to think it used to be the 'publicans who whined about "agenda-based adjudication" ...

---

AFTERTHOUGHT: I meant to say that it is a really bad sign when any government in a supposedly free and open society institutes laws which specifically remove people's rights rather than protecting them. (Right-wing readers: don't bother giving me that BS about "freedom of religion" ... no matter how many Bible-thumpers proclaim it, genuine "freedom of religion" is NOT equivalent to "freedom to force other people to behave in accordance with your religion." All our nation's founders turn in their graves every time someone asserts that.)

Texas Makes The TPM Front Page

... and not for any good reasons, you may be sure:

• ‘Texas Burger Chain Bans Open Carry, People Freak Out’



Does this appeal to you?

There is a Whataburger across the street from my beloved Star Pizza, and the Whataburger muthaf^<kers are forever arranging to tow cars from their lot, believing that their occupants are Star customers. There are signs all over the front door and lobby of Star warning people not to park there, but people in a hurry for great pizza don't always read very carefully. Besides, AFAIK, the Whataburger muthaf^<kers do not serve veggie burgers; Burger King and the few remaining indy burger joints do.

• ‘GOP Texas Judge Will Only Marry Gay Couples If They Sign Form Saying He’d Rather Not’



Judge
DePiazza

I look forward to the first LGBTQ pair who refuse to sign, then sue the judge for violating a Supreme Court order. Aside to the TPM hed editor: it's "... marry gay couples only if..." not "... only marry gay couples if...," the ghost of my mother advises you.

• ‘The Military Exercise That Drove Texas Insane Is Finally Here’

Not true! Texas was insane centuries before those exercises...

---

"God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong..." Yes, that's from the official Texas state song, "Texas, Our Texas." And I'll bet you thought it was "The Eyes of Texas," which it's not, unless they've changed it since my childhood.

This has been a PSA (Pretty Stupid Announcement)...

Ah! Another Spring In South Texas, And Everyone Is Breathing Mexico...

Agricultural burn, 2013

You may think I neglected to finish that last phrase, and should have said something like "breathing Mexico's Spring air." You wouldn't be wrong, but that rendering wouldn't tell the real story. Here's an excerpt from a forecast page on TCEQ's air quality site, a page that changes daily but not greatly at this time of year (you may skim; detailed reading is not necessary):

Monday 03/31/14
Smoke and haze from Mexico and Central America should return to South Texas this afternoon and evening and could raise the daily PM2.5 AQI into the "Moderate" range in the Brownsville-McAllen area. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range.

Tuesday 04/01/14
Smoke and haze from Mexico and Central America should continue in South Texas and should spread northward into Central Texas and southeastern portions of West Texas. The daily PM2.5 AQI could reach "Moderate" levels over most of the area along and south of a line from Port Lavaca to Temple to Abilene to Sanderson. Winds should be strong enough to generate blowing dust in parts of far West Texas and the Panhandle but the duration and intensity are not likely to be enough to raise the daily PM10 AQI beyond the "Good" range. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range.

Wednesday 04/02/14 Outlook
Smoke and haze from Mexico and Central America should cover South, Central, and North Central Texas, mainly along and west of a line from Port Lavaca to Bonham and along and east of a line from Del Rio to San Angelo to Abilene to Wichita Falls. The daily PM2.5 AQI could reach "Moderate" levels over most of this area. Winds should be strong enough to generate blowing dust in parts of far West Texas and the Panhandle which could raise the daily PM10 AQI into the "Moderate" range in the El Paso area but elsewhere the duration and intensity are not likely to be enough to raise the daily PM10 AQI beyond the "Good" range. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range.

Thursday 04/03/14 Outlook
Smoke and haze from Mexico and Central America should cover most of the eastern half of the state in the morning and could raise the daily PM2.5 AQI to "Moderate" levels over much of this area, mainly along and east of a line from Laredo to Kerrville to Mineral Wells to Gainesville. A cold front should push the smoke out of most of Central and North Central Texas by the evening. Winds should be strong enough to generate blowing dust in parts of far West Texas and the Panhandle and blowing dust could raise the daily PM10 AQI into the "Moderate" range in the El Paso and Lubbock areas. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and lower incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range.

I probably should have made that blockquote soot-colored...

As KHOU-TV Channel 11 summarized it in the Spring of 2013,

HOUSTON -- The smoke and haze in the Houston area is coming from agricultural burning in Mexico, according to KHOU 11 News Chief Meteorologist.

The air has reached unhealthy levels for sensitive people in Pasadena, Deer Park and southeast Houston. ,,,

...

Then KHOU offers "... a fire [sic] of the Mexican fires and smoke." I don't think I really need one; the air is already bringing me more than I want. But if you click through to the Navy map, you'll see that in varying degrees the air in most of the US is affected. There's no preventing it; Mexican farmers have been clearing land this way for at least all of my life.

Gov. Goodhair Goes Nuts With Vetoes

Look what I can do
with my veto pen!

In a post-regular-session veto frenzy, Gov. Perry (R-TX) axed 26 bills from the regular session and several line items (yes, the Texas Guv can do that). Notable are line items providing funding for Travis County (i.e., Austin) public corruption investigations and prosecutions, and the Lilly Ledbetter act aimed at providing equal pay for equivalent work by women. (In Texas in 2012, women earned 85.6% of men's wages on average... earning Texas a fairly high rank nationally, but considering the difference ought to be zero, it's still hard to justify.) Other Perry vetoes included women's health and women's rights bills, as well as several education funding bills.

None of this will cost Perry politically. He and his wealthy handlers have a veritable lock on the Governor's Office. Don't expect any inroads to be made against corruption anytime soon.

Removed From Blogroll

Secession or expulsion? Neither!

The Hoffman Post (The Drudge Retort) has been removed from the blogroll. Active efforts to remove Texas from the Union are unwelcome on the YDDV. Hoffman of course has a right to say whatever he wants on his own blog, but I will not assist him in promoting an expulsionist agenda. In fairness, I also refuse to promote the secessionist views of insane Texans such as Governor Perry.

Whatever problem America faces, fragmenting the Union is no part of any rational solution. It is, in fact, a terrible idea. Believe in it if you will, but please take it somewhere else.