Video: Planned Parenthood's Holocaust Apologist

Proof that Planned Parenthood is evil. In the abortion debate, you have those who believe that life begins at conception vs. those who believe life begins after the mother and child are separated at birth. The pro-death abortionists have officially run headlong into the buzz saw of a reality that they are committing crimes on par with - or worse than - those committed by the Nazis.

This video provides the proof.

Her name is Alisa LaPolt Snow and she is a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood in Florida. In this video, she is answering questions from Florida legislators who seek to determine what Planned Parenthood's position is on the murder of infants that takes place after babies are born alive, following a botched abortion. Using Planned Parenthood's own logic, once the baby is separated from the mother, it is a living, breathing human being. Here is where the entire pro-choice argument falls apart.

If LaPolt says the baby should not be murdered at that point, Planned Parenthood is on the hook for committing an untold number of murders. If she says the murder can proceed, the entire premise that life begins outside the womb is demonstrably false.

Watch as LaPolt defends the murder of the most innocent of people.

Via Weekly Standard:



After seeing that, check this out from a "former" abortion provider (h/t Mitch):

Video: Michigan Union members coming unglued

The situation in Michigan is beginning to dominate the news cycle. The State House is in the process of approving right-to-work legislation and the unions are not happy. Of course, what do thugs on the left do when they're not happy? Well, they curse and assault people. First up is this video of Steven Crowder getting physically attacked by union members who can't overcome their own cognitive dissonance.

We may be watching the 2011 Union debate in Wisconsin ratcheted up a notch in Michigan in 2013.

Via Before it's News:



Check this guy out. Yes, that would be considered a far-away look in his eyes.

When sanity becomes a distant memory.

Via WZ:

Video: Best Political Meltdown ever?

This guy's name is State Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) and he's fed up. Relative to the meltdown, it really doesn't matter all that much why he explodes on the House floor but it's about a bill that is going to raise property taxes on his constituents to deal with the state's pension crisis while Chicago residents skate. As you can see, he's lashing out at the majority party in general and the Speaker in particular.

The reason? His constituents are likely giving him more than an earful back at his district and he wants them to know that he's with them but the Democrats are preventing him from doing what those who elected him to office want him to do. I think this is part theatrics for those constituents but it also comes across as raw emotion.

Frankly, if we had more of this, C-SPAN's ratings would definitely go up.

Via Political Wire, h/t Hot Air:

Is Arizona State Legislature suffering from John Boehner syndrome?

Do you remember when news broke earlier this year that Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley were going to get support at the Arizona state level with respect to the Fast and Furious investigation? Yeah, well, not only has the deadline for the legislature to provide its findings come and gone but there hasn't been ONE SINGLE PUBLIC MEETING on the topic.

Via ABC 15 in Phoenix:

The special state committee, created in January to investigate the controversial ATF Fast and Furious case, will not meet its March 30, 2012 deadline to provide its findings about the controversial case to the governor.

According to Rey Torres, the Director of Communications for the Arizona House of Representatives, the Ad Hoc Committee on Operation Fast and Furious has not yet held a meeting and currently has no meeting scheduled. 

The group was formed to investigate the factual background of the flawed Fast and Furious case , in which ATF agents admitted to allowing straw buyers to obtain weapons and distribute them to known criminals.

Torres said it is unlikely that a meeting will be scheduled before the legislative session is finished sometime next month.

Additionally, there is new information on one of the Fast and Furious guns recovered at a crime scene in Maricopa County two years ago. This news report focuses on the apprehension of a suspect driving a stolen vehicle that was carrying an AK-47 connected to Fast and Furious. The criminal actually pointed a separate gun at the police officer who was chasing him but it's easy to imagine a scenario whereby the driver of the stolen vehicle could have fatally shot a police officer.



h/t Sipsey Street

Video Outrage: Illegal Aliens ID themselves as such while disrupting North Carolina legislature

Wanna know how insanely lax our immigration enforcement is? Look no further than North Carolina. At a State Assembly meeting, illegal aliens donned orange shirts that said, "Undocumented and Unafraid" and disrupted the state's legislative business.

In a sane world, such people would be hiding out of fear that they would be deported but in the Obama world, there is no such fear. According one report, none of these people were subsequently deported, which is what should have happened.

As for the mantra on their t-shirts, it apparently hasn't dawned on these illegal aliens that the reason they are so "unafraid" is because they know they can get away with it. If they're so courageous, why don't they go to their home countries and protest their government on issues that cause them to leave in the first place?

It would be a whole lot easier to have compassion for these people if they weren't so arrogant, rude, and disrespectful to the country that is giving them a better life.

How about a dose of humility, whackos?

Via Breitbart:

Houston, TX: Eagle Forum taking on Fethullah Gulen Charter schools

Perhaps the most dangerous Islamist in America - Fethullah Gulen - has watched as Harmony charter schools - modeled after his teachings - have sprung up all over the world, many in the United States. One particular hotbed for those schools is Houston, TX.

Vice President of Texas' Eagle Forum, MerryLynn Gerstenschlager is calling for legislation that will require all charter schools to be operated by U.S. citizens exclusively.

Via Houston Chronicle:

With 36 campuses, Harmony has become the state’s largest charter school system.

“Thousands of American children are becoming sympathetic to the Turkish way of life,” MerryLynn Gerstenschlager told the House Public Education Committee last week.

She is vice president of the Eagle Forum, which is concerned about the influence of Turkish billionaire Fethullah Gulen, whom she cast as the driving force behind Harmony schools.

Gulen lives in Pennsylvania but controls Turkey TV stations and newspapers, Gerstenschlager told the committee. She also views him as someone who desires to turn Turkish government into an Islamist system.

“If Gulen’s control can reach across the seas to Turkey, how much easier would it be for him to ask allegiance from the impressionable children educated in Turkish charter schools within our borders?” she asked.

Amazingly, state lawmakers seem to be oblivious to this very real threat.

House Public Education Committee members did not share the Eagle Forum’s concerns about Harmony charter schools.

Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston, says she has “a large Turkish community in my district and several Harmony schools in my district. I think they are fabulous. I don’t think they teach religion.”

It ain't just Democrats who don't get it:

Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, told Gerstenschlager the Harmony charter school in his district is immensely popular.

“They are lining up trying to get into that school. Parents are thrilled. I am just not hearing anyone saying that there’s some problem in the school related to the issues you are talking about,” the physician-lawmaker told her.

 She repeated her standard refrain: “They are learning Turkish culture, and I believe these impressionable young children will become sympathetic to Turkey.”

A simple search of Fethullah Gulen will reveal why these schools are so dangerous. Yet, politicians are out to lunch on the issue. Last year, the Texas state legislature passed a resolution, without objection, that honored Gulen.

Read it all.

h/t DG

Appeals Court Upholds Texas Ultrasound Law

In a classic example of how left-wing, activist judges attempt to legislate from the bench, federal district Judge Sam Sparks issued an injunction on Texas' Sonogram Law just two days before it was supposed to take effect. The law requires abortuaries to give pregnant women the option of viewing an ultrasound before going through with the abortion.

As if that wasn't absurd enough, the Texas state law was being challenged by an entity from another state - New York. That state's Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) sought the injunction that Sparks ultimately granted.

Now, thanks to a federal appeals court, Judge Sparks has essentially been told to go pound sand.

Via LifeNews:

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is pro-life, quickly filed an appeal on the same day that the lower court released the injunction with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Last Tuesday, a federal three-judge panel heard arguments to determine whether to lift the injunction. The panel was critical of the grounds for the injunction and Jonathan Mitchell, Solicitor General, argued for the law before the panel.  Mitchell explained that the level of scrutiny and the arguments used to rule the law as unconstitutional — and thus block the law from going into effect — were misapplied and needed to be overturned.

Chief Judge Edith Jones, of the three-judge panel, asked pro-abortion attorneys how medical sonogram imaging, and a factual description of that image could be viewed as radical or against the health of women.

Today, the court ruled the state can enforce the law and said Judge Sparks was wrong to rule that abortion practitioners would likely win their case in court.

Why would a federal judge in Texas rule against a law passed by his state because of objections from an entity in another state that has NO business telling Texas how to run its state?

When Newt talks about holding Judges accountable, Sam Sparks is a perfect example.

The degree to which Sparks and CRR were willing to go reveals something else too. Pro-abortionists know the law will lead to less abortions.

Sparks did with this bill what federal Judge Susan Bolton did to Arizona's immigration law (SB 1070), likely for the same reason. Fear that it would work and that the insane leftist agenda would take a hit.

h/t Weasel Zippers

Breaking: Illegal Aliens to Flee Alabama in Droves

The good news is that Alabama can now implement the most important parts of its tough immigration law. The bad news is it's not a border state. Last year, Arizona passed SB 1070, only to have the toughest aspects of its immigration law struck down by a federal judge. In Texas, a tough sanctuary cities bill died in the legislature, in part, because two wealthy businessmen - grocery store magnate Charles Butt and developer Bob Perry - threatened to withhold campaign contributions to the Republican Party. Alabama passed what should have been passed in Texas and US District Judge Sharon Blackburn did what US District Judge Susan Bolton should have done relative to Arizona's law; she allowed the key parts to remain in effect.

Via POLITICO:

A federal judge gave a green light for Alabama to enforce some of the most controversial parts of its toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, ruling that certain measures do not violate federal law.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn ruled that Alabama can enforce the law’s requirements for schools to verify students’ immigration status and for police to determine citizenship and status of those they stop, detain or arrest. Police are allowed to arrest anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant during a routine traffic stop, under the law.

In a 115-page opinion, Blackburn wrote that “the United States has not met the requirements for a preliminary injunction” for several of the measures the Justice Department had argued violated the Constitution and usurped the federal government’s authority to set immigration policy.

But Blackburn granted the Obama administration’s request to block certain portions of the law until she makes a final ruling. Those sections include provisions making it a crime to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant, or for an illegal immigrant to look for or perform work. Blackburn also blocked parts of the law that would allow discrimination lawsuits against companies that hire illegal immigrants when they discharge or fail to hire a U.S. citizen and forbid employers from claiming as business tax deductions wages paid to illegal immigrants.

Once again, the Obama administration comes down on the side of defending illegal behavior. In the minds of Eric Holder's Justice Department, it's apparently not a crime to harbor an illegal alien. Uh, Mr. Holder, it's called being an accomplice.

All things being equal, this is good news.

h/t Weasel ZIppers

Texas Abortion Law: Another Federal Judge Mysteriously Does Obama's Bidding

Just yesterday, I posted that another Federal judge struck down another state's immigration law - in Alabama. The immigration laws in Arizona, Utah, Georgia, and Indiana suffered similar fates. Now, we can throw Texas into the mix as a state that has seen one of its laws struck down by a Federal judge. Though it's not an immigration law, it's just as politically charged; it's a Sonogram Law. In essence, the law required doctors (abortionists) to perform a sonogram before performing an abortion. Coincidentally, just before the law was to take effect, Judge Sam Sparks pulled the rug out.

Wait until you see the logic behind the decision; it has to do with the first amendment.

Via the AP:

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key provisions of Texas' new law requiring a doctor to perform a sonogram before an abortion, ruling the measure violates the free speech rights of both doctors and patients.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks upheld the requirement that sonograms be performed, but struck down the provisions requiring doctors to describe the images to their patients and requiring women to hear the descriptions.

The law made exceptions for women who were willing to sign statements saying they were pregnant as a result of rape or incest or that their fetus had an irreversible abnormality. Sparks questioned whether the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature was trying to "permanently brand" women who are victims of sexual assault.

The law — one of dozens of anti-abortion measures that advanced through state capitals across the United States this year — takes effect Thursday. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights had sued to block it.

Keep reading because Sparks even argues that forcing doctors to perform sonograms forces them to push an ideological agenda with which they may not agree.

Aside from the fact that an organization from one state (New York) can successfully sue another state (Texas) over the legality of its own laws is absurd, it's mighty interesting how Federal judges across the land continue to do the bidding of this president when it comes to state legislatures.

h/t Weasel Zippers

Another Federal Judge Blocks Another State's Immigration Law

After the state of Arizona passed its anti-illegal immigration bill, SB 1070 last year, Federal judge Susan Bolton blocked its full implementation by de-fanging the law's most important components. The law has wallowed in limbo ever since. When the state of Oklahoma passed a ballot measure last year that banned the implementation of Sharia law, a Federal judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange issued a permanent injunction that prevented its implementation, despited voters' support for the measure by 70%. Now, another Federal judge has decided to put a halt on another state's immigration law.

Via the AP:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of Alabama's new law cracking down on illegal immigration, ruling Monday that she needed more time to decide whether the law opposed by the Obama administration, church leaders and immigrant-rights groups is constitutional.

The brief order by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Blackburn means the law - which opponents and supporters alike have called the toughest in the nation - won't take effect as scheduled on Thursday. The ruling was cheered both by Republican leaders who were pleased the judge didn't gut the law and by opponents who compare it to old Jim Crow-era statutes against racial integration.

Blackburn didn't address whether the law is constitutional, and she could still let all or parts of the law take effect later. Instead, she said she needed more time to consider lawsuits filed by the Justice Department, private groups and individuals that claim the state is overstepping its bounds.

The judge said she will issue a longer ruling by Sept. 28, and her temporary order will remain in effect until the day after. She heard arguments from the Justice Department and others during a daylong hearing last week.

Similar laws have been passed in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia. Federal judges already have blocked all or parts of the laws in those states.

As the Federal government continues to magically find judges all over the country to do their bidding, shouldn't it call into question the allegiance of these judges? From the Declaration of Independence:

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

It'd really be nice to see governors across the country unite against this type of tyranny.

h/t Free Republic

Psssst. Scott Walker's Cuts in Wisconsin are Working

At this point, anyone on the left that continues to attack Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is one of two things: a lemming or someone so completely prideful that they're unwilling to admit the truth. Walker's plan is working. The public sector is being forced to balance its books in Wisconsin and it is doing so successfully. The best part? There was no substantial cut in services. In fact, some schools have actually - are you sitting down - decided to look at meritocracy and paying teachers based on performance in order to make up the difference.

Christian Schneider at NRO has more. Check out the reaction of Walker's Democrat opponent in the last election, Tom Barrett, who is also Milwaukee's mayor:

Recently, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that under Walker’s plan to require greater health-care and pension contributions from government employees, the City of Milwaukee actually comes out $11 million ahead — contravening Mayor Tom Barrett’s March prediction that Walker’s budget “just makes our structural deficit explode.” Barrett, who lost to Walker in the 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, refuses to give the governor any credit for helping him balance his city’s books, instead complaining that Walker’s plan to curb collective bargaining went too far.

How about that meritocracy idea?

Yet many governments are putting the collective-bargaining rollback to good use. In suburban Milwaukee, the Brown Deer school district is implementing a plan to allow performance pay for its best teachers. “No Wisconsin public-school district has ever had the opportunity in any of our lifetimes to even think about these things,” said Brown Deer Public Schools finance director Emily Koczela in an interview with a local television station. “We’re looking at understanding what effective teaching is, how to measure it in the children’s point of view, and how to reward teachers that consistently turn in a performance that’s better than the norm,” added Koczela.

One of the arguments against Obamacare and health insurance reform was that we should allow open markets across state lines. Here is that idea being applied to a school district. Go figure, making insurance companies compete for business.

In Appleton, the collective-bargaining reforms allowed the school district there to save $3 million by bidding for health care on the open market. Previously, the district had been required to purchase health insurance from WEA Trust, which is affiliated with the state’s largest teachers’ union. When the Appleton School District put their health-insurance contract up for bid, WEA Trust magically lowered their rates, saying they would match any competitor’s price — a sign they had been fleecing local taxpayers for years.

As Schneider points out, this is all being done through the right kind of 'shared sacrifice.'

Read it all.

Video: Must-See Report on Wisconsin Recall Elections

MacIver Institute was on the ground in Wisconsin throughout the day yesterday and captured some interesting video. Of particular interest to everyone should be the amount of money spent by outside Democrat groups to garner the votes necessary to win three of the six recall elections, which would have given the Democrats control of the Wisconsin state senate. As it is, Democrats lost that battle by one vote, only winning two. Another interesting get on this video was the filming of 'Get Out the Vote' (GOTV) van drivers who stood over the shoulders of passengers they brought to the polls. The best / worst part? The 'We Are Wisconsin' observers are from Washington, D.C. and Virginia.



h/t Verum Serum, which is also reporting that Democrats are already crying foul, saying that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, tampered with the votes.

Shameless doesn't even BEGIN to describe these whackos.

Video: Showdown between NJ Governor and Senate President

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie must be doing something right because the Senate president, Democrat Stephen Sweeney came unglued over the Governor's budget cuts. In New Jersey, the Governor has the right to line-item vetoes and Christie apparently used that pen in a major way. The contention between Republicans and Democrats started when Christie wanted everyone to work on one budget (his) but the Democrats wanted to submit their own. It went downhill for the Democrats from there. NJ.com posted an article on the exchange and the liberal bias is obvious as the writer refers to Republicans who support Christie as 'bobbleheads.'

Via NJ.com:

Senate President Stephen Sweeney went to bed furious Thursday night after reviewing the governor’s line-item veto of the state budget.

He woke up Friday morning even angrier.

"This is all about him being a bully and a punk," he said in an interview Friday.
"I wanted to punch him in his head."

Sweeney had just risked his political neck to support the governor’s pension and health reform, and his reward was a slap across the face. The governor’s budget was a brusque rejection of every Democratic move, and Sweeney couldn’t even get an audience with the governor to discuss it.

"You know who he reminds me of?" Sweeney says. "Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ the mean old bastard who screws everybody."

Sweeney continued using macabre metaphors:

"Listen, you can punch me in the face and knock me down, do what you want," Sweeney says. "But don’t be vindictive and punish innocent people. These people didn’t do anything to him. It’s like a bank robber taking hostages. And now he’s starting to shoot people.

"I liken it to being spoiled. He was angry because he wanted a mutual budget. But do you hurt people because of that? Do you take $8 million in AIDS funding away? Legal services is drowning as it is, and you take away another $5 million? I’m just so angry that he hurt people like this to prove a point. He is a cruel man."

Below are two short videos, with Snipits of Sweeney's bitter diatribe followed by Christie explaining the budget.

CLICK HERE to see the entire exchange between Sweeney and reporters; it's worth watching.



Here is Christie talking about the budget in general terms.



h/t GWP

Texas' TSA 'Anti-Groping' Bill Passes Both Houses

Last week, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) pledged he wouldn't allow the anti-groping bill to come to the floor for a vote and that it was nothing more than a 'publicity stunt.' Today, the bill has been slightly re-worded and has passed both the House and Senate. As the special legislative session is scheduled to come to an end, both Houses need to reconcile their respective versions of the bill. Perhaps adding to the urgency was the fact that a State Rep. and Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) were victims of TSA sexual assault.

The 95 year-old woman who had to remove her adult diaper may have put this one over the top.

Via Reuters:

Legislation to make enhanced airport security pat-downs a crime if they involve touching a passenger's "private" areas was approved by the Texas House and Senate on Monday.

The moves came just days after the measure appeared dead when the House speaker called the provisions "unenforceable" and "an embarrassment to the state of Texas."

By passing the bill, the "Texas Legislature is not only telling the (Transportation Security Administration) to change their policies - we're telling the Obama Administration that we will not be intimidated and we will vigorously defend our Constitutional rights," Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, said in a statement.

The two chambers passed similar measures as the special legislative session's conclusion on Wednesday approaches.

Straus' about face on this very welcome news and should serve as a testament to a very engaged Texas public.

Texas Tribune has more.

Sanctuary Cities Bill and TSA anti-Groping Bill may Both be Dead in Texas

First up, the Sanctuary Cities Bill (SB 9 and HB 9) in Texas. It looked like a tough immigration bill was set to sail through Texas' special legislative session after Gov. Rick Perry put it on the agenda. With Republican majorities in both houses, odds were much better than not, that the bill would end up on Perry's desk. Then two of Texas' richest men stepped in - Charles Butt and Bob Perry - and threatened to withhold future contributions to the Republican Party if the bill passed.

Via Houston Chronicle:

AUSTIN — As two of Texas' most politically-involved business leaders emerged as opponents, a bill banning "sanctuary cities" lost crucial momentum Friday, raising the possibility the measure will be killed or substantially weakened before the special session of the Texas Legislature ends Wednesday.

HillCo Partners' lobby team, led by Neal T. "Buddy" Jones, is working on behalf of Houston home builder Bob Perry and San Antonio grocery store magnate Charles Butt to alter a proposal that would permit law enforcement officers to inquire about the immigration status of people they detain, Jones' partner Bill Miller confirmed.

Miller declined to detail the changes Jones hopes to make in the legislation, saying only that they have "given language to members" to consider including in the proposal, which would carry financial penalties for cities that prohibit law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status.

The opposition of the business leaders demonstrates a schism in the Republican Party on the issue, designated a priority by Gov. Rick Perry. Bob Perry, no relation to the governor, is a prolific Republican contributor who has given $2.5 million to the governor's campaign coffers since 2001. HEB CEO Butt has made substantial contributions to members of both parties.

Friday, the House State Affairs Committee canceled hearings scheduled to pass the bill for the second day in a row, due to a lack of a quorum, as exhausted lawmakers returned home to tend to their businesses and families. A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, but House leaders did not rule out that a meeting could be called during the weekend if enough lawmakers return to Austin.

As if that wasn't enough, House Speaker (RINO) has called the TSA anti-groping bill a 'publicity stunt,' which indicates an unwillingness on his part to push the bill forward.

AUSTIN — House Speaker Joe Straus on Friday called an “anti-groping” bill favored by Gov. Rick Perry a “publicity stunt” and said he would not allow it to come up for a vote as written.

The legislation, which would criminalize invasive airport security pat-downs, would turn Texas “into a laughingstock,” said Straus, R-San Antonio, after abruptly adjourning the House for lack of a quorum for the second time this week.

Straus said the bill is so seriously flawed he does not think lawmakers will approve the measure before the special session ends Wednesday.

“The bill, without some serious revisions, appears to me to be nothing more than an ill-advised publicity stunt,” he said. “It’s unenforceable, ill-advised and misdirected to uniformed security personnel, not where appropriately it should be aimed, which is in Washington to the bosses of these people.”

Perry, who is contemplating a run for the Republican nomination for president, placed the measure on the special agenda Monday. He and some of his legislative allies view the security checks by the Transportation Security Administration as unreasonable.

The bill, as drafted, would make it a crime of official oppression if federal employees perform a search that involves touching a person’s private parts without probable cause to believe the person has committed an offense.

Both of these developments should outrage conservative voters who are watching establishment-style politics torpedo two critical bills they demand get passed. This goes to demonstrate that when Republicans lose seats, it's because they're too liberal, not because they're too conservative.

More at Texas Tribune

Ruh Roh: Is Texas Headed for Another Special Session?

At the end of the Texas legislature's regular session over Memorial Day weekend, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) filibustered a school finance bill that could not be left unresolved. Governor Rick Perry had to call a Special Session, which is limited to 30 days according to the Constitution. In a special session, the Governor calls the shots; he determines what gets put on the agenda. Consequently, there are several bills on the agenda that Wendy Davis' party thought were dead. A tough immigration bill is one of them - SB 9. There are others, including SB 8, which is roiling teachers.

However, with just about one week left in the special session, there seems to be quite the bottleneck involving several bills, several of which are similar to the one Davis filibustered in that they cannot be left unresolved. Texas is now looking at the possibility of another special session if these bills don't get passed.

Via Texas Tribune:

With the special session constitutionally limited to 30 days, lawmakers have just a week left to resolve the bills on the call — and a lot of loose ends to wrap up.

Gov. Rick Perry has sole discretion over the special session agenda — and he's put a variety of topics on it, from sanctuary cities and health reform to, as late as this week, an anti-groping bill aimed at the Transportation Security Administration.

So far, legislators have produced a mixed bag of results. Three weeks in, some bills are headed to the governor's desk. Others have only cleared one chamber. A few are headed to conference committee, where lawmakers will negotiate the differences. And one major unresolved bill threatens to push the House and Senate into yet another special session.

The Sanctuary Cities bill is huge for Texas. It's basically another way to implement the law passed in Arizona last year with less legal exposure. It was all but dead before Wendy Davis shot her party in the foot. Odds of passage are very good at this point. Texas Tribune has an excellent and detailed rundown of all the bills being debated in this special session. The lengthy list is what has people wondering about another special session.

HERE is the rundown.

Showdown! Rick Perry puts TSA 'no-grope' Bill on Agenda

This is huge and sets the stage for a big showdown between the Feds and the State of Texas. During Texas' regular legislative session, HB 1937 unanimously passed the House but was defeated in the Senate, not with a vote but with a letter of intimidation from the Feds. The Senate withdrew the bill and the regular session ended. Ah, but hold on. That regular session ended without passage of a bill that could not be left unresolved. Why? Because a Democrat Senator named Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) filibustered the bill.

Perry was forced to call a special session, where he has far more power. In special session, the governor has sole responsibility for putting bills on the agenda and simple majorities are all that's needed - no filibuster can stop passage of a bill. In addition to Perry putting SB 9 - a tough sanctuary cities bill - on the agenda recently, he has now put the TSA no-groping bill on the agenda as well.

Via the Houston Chronicle:

Gov. Rick Perry announced he had added legislation that would make it illegal for TSA agents to engage in “intrusive touching” at airports security checkpoints without probable cause to the list of items for the legislature to consider during the special session.

The measure had previously failed to pass in the Texas Senate after the Justice Department wrote a scathing memo against the bill that threatened legal action against the state and the bill became enmeshed in Senate politics.

There are questions about what affect the legislation might have since airport security is a federal matter.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was accused of lobbying against the bill in May said he was “pleased” by Perry’s decision.

“I’m very pleased that Governor Perry agreed to add this legislation to his Special Session call,” Dewhurst said. “Addressing unreasonable and unlawful searches of innocent travelers by some TSA employees is an issue that affects all Texans who use air travel, and it should not wait until next Session.”

Perry is being assailed by many in the conservative movement for his RINO streak. I must say, I've been one of them but he is making some bold moves in this special session that should please the state's rights crowd.

Read it all.

Texas Sanctuary City Bill Getting closer to Passage

Texas State Senate bill SB 9 would make it illegal for municipalities to enact policies that prevent police officers from checking on the immigration status of individuals who raise suspicions about whether they're in the country legally. Aside from the fact that the Democrats have only themselves to blame for this bill coming to the floor in a special session caused by a Democrat filibuster, the teeth in the bill are starting to show. Municipalities who fail to comply face the prospect of losing state funds.

Via Texas Tribune:

The legislation, by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, prevents cities, counties and other governmental entities from adopting policies that prevent law enforcement officers or other employees from inquiring into the immigration status of a person arrested or lawfully detained. Authorities can subsequently report individuals to federal immigration officials if they are thought to be in the country illegally.

If Senate Bill 9 passes both chambers of the Texas Legislature — which could happen as early as next week — communities that prohibit such immigration screenings would lose state grant money. But how much is uncertain.

The controversial bill is a huge win for those who support immigration enforcement but the Democrats have only themselves to blame for its passage. State senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) filibustered a school spending bill that could not be left unresolved. The regular session ended, Perry had to call a special session, and SB 9 is likely to pass. Sometimes pride and partisanship bites you in the behind.

The bill is mired in controversy. Republicans say Texans need to know who is living within the state, especially when a bloody cartel-fueled drug war rages just south of the state’s border and the federal government refuses to secure it. Others, mainly Democrats and minorities, claim the legislation is nothing more than chest-thumping conservative xenophobia.

Under the proposed legislation, local law enforcement would be required to assist federal immigration officers in certain investigations and allow them access to municipal and county jails for enforcement activities. A provision of the bill would allow any citizen to file a complaint against a government entity if it is believed to have violated the sanctuary cities law.

Typical communist (Democrat) tactic. Demagogue as xenophobes, those who want their sovereignty protected.

More at Texas Tribune.

Video: TSA Now Groping Texas State Officials

The State of Texas is still in the midst of its special session and HB 1937, which passed unanimously in the House, failed in the Senate when the Feds threatened that such a law would lead to Texas becoming a 'no fly zone.' The bill would make it a crime for TSA agents to overstep their bounds with respect to pat downs. Now that the Texas legislature is in special session, passage of the bill has come down to being contingent on Gov. Rick Perry putting it on the agenda.

Making matters even more interesting is the fact that two state officials - Barry Smitherman, Chairman of the Public Utility Commission and Barbara Nash, a state rep. - have their own personal horror stories to tell.

Via the New American:

High-ranking Texas officials groped by agents with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are sounding off about the scandal in the press, adding more pressure on state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry to resurrect a bill criminalizing the invasive measures without probable cause. In May, it appeared likely that the Texas anti-groping legislation would succeed. After unanimously sailing through the state House of Representatives, the bill was on its way to passage in the Texas Senate. Originally it had more than enough support to pass.

Then the feds intervened. U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy sent a thinly veiled warning to lawmakers and senior officials: If the TSA was no longer permitted to violate the Fourth Amendment rights of passengers and the courts refused to block the legislation, the federal government would basically create a "no-fly zone" in Texas.

The State Senate backed down. But the battle is still not over. In fact, it may be just getting started. After two Texas officials described their recent experiences with the TSA on local television, calls for state action are growing even louder.

This short news report from Austin's Fox affiliate says it all:



Interestingly, the bill has already passed through committee for a House vote, which was unanimous the first time around. Not only that but Republican senator Dan Patrick is saying that there are enough votes to pass there as well. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst is also encouraging Perry to put the bill on the agenda.

The Lt. Governor is on board this time, too. State Sen. Dan Patrick also re-introduced the bill into the Senate. And this time, he says there are enough votes to pass it.

Now the fate of the bill rests with Gov. Perry. In Texas, only legislation that is called up by the Governor can be voted on during the special legislative session. So, a broad coalition of liberty-minded organizations is mobilizing to make sure that happens.

Once again, Perry is being faced with a political decision that he cannot wiggle out of. Passage of this bill is all but guaranteed by him putting it on the agenda. In light of that reality, this video should be shown to him by every member of the Texas legislature. It is from April 9, 2009 - during the rise of the Tea Party. Perry made some very bold statements and his refusal to put HB 1937 on the agenda will have meant this press conference was a big fat lie.

Rick Perry getting Resistance from the Right on Sanctuary Cities Crackdown?

This can't be, can it? Texas governor, to the delight of conservatives who want to crack down on sanctuary cities put tough legislation on the agenda for the current special legislative session, which was brought about by a Democrat who filibustered a bill that could not be left unresolved. It was a huge win for conservatives who want a law similar to Arizona's SB 1070 with just enough nuance to possibly fly under the radar. Apparently a GOP group is chiding Perry for putting the legislation on the proverbial docket.

Via the Texas Tribune:

A series of email exchanges between Republican Party boosters and the office of Gov. Rick Perry indicate some conservatives believe passing the contentious “sanctuary cities” bill may cripple efforts to recruit more Hispanics to their ranks.

The correspondence signals a potential rift between Perry, who appears intent on addressing immigration issues during the current special session, and some of the party’s backers as rumors surrounding a possible Perry presidential run continue to swirl.

“At the end of the day you should understand that Hispanic voters will not support a party that wants to deport their mother and father,” Norman Adams, the co-founder of Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy and a member of Texas GOP Vote, a conservative website, wrote to Ray Sullivan, Perry’s chief of staff. The messages are part of an email exchange that began June 2 and were obtained by the Tribune.

Frankly, Norman Adams has no business calling himself a Republican. A law that prohibits municipalities from implementing policies that prevent police officers from checking on the immigration status of individuals they stop for unrelated reasons is beyond 'sensible,' especially when those officers have every reason to suspect that the person they stop - who has no driver's license and can't speak english - might be an illegal alien.

Read it all.