- Rep. John Davis, an "influential Republican lawmaker", is working with Dems to get more children enrolled in CHIP and has introduced HB 2049 [News8Austin].
- Yes, it's wonderful that TXU might not build all the proposed 11 coal plants because of their planned buyout. However, two of the three plants that will still be built (most likely) will affect Austin's air quality/our highway funding. So our state and city will be paying for the savings that TXU/new energy company will be making. Seems like a bad deal to me, both environmentally and financially.
- The Dallas Morning News takes a look at the "protect your castle" bills being proposed in the lege. Also known as "feel free to shoot random people in your house as long as you have a good story" laws.
The best part of the story:
. . . when he checked the books, he found a provision inserted in state law in 1973 that says Texans have a duty to retreat without using excessive force."That doesn't sound very Texan to me," Mr. Wentworth said.
- As for Al Gore's supposed ginormous energy usage at his Tennessee home, don't believe the hype.
In other Gore-related news, The New Yorker seems to want him to run for Prez again.
- While ex-Fed chief Greenspan says we're headed for recession sometime this year, current Fed chief Bernanke says, "Everything's all right, yes, everything's fine. . ."* after the craziness in the stock market yesterday.
*not a direct quote.
Wonk, that doesn't surprise me in the least.
my fav line in the story...
Mr. Driver said. That way, he added, any law-abiding person "doesn't have to go down a mental checklist of what they can and can't do" before firing a weapon.
Well heck no, we wouldn't want anyone to have to THINK before they fire a gun.
The Senate committee passed it out of committee unanimously despite the fact that DA's from across the state showed up to testify about what a bad bill it is.
I hate to say it but Wonk is right.
Read the bill folks:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/SB00378I.htm
The meat of the bill removes the right of interlopers or their families to file civil suits if said interloper is injured or killed while criminally trespassing, and the use of force was reasonable. "Reasonable use of force" has simply been extended such that a victim needn't attempt to escape their home first.
It has always been allowed to use force against an interloper, but before it was necessary that one attempt to escape, lest they be sued in civil court by none other than their criminal assailant.
This is a good bill, and DOES NOT give somebody "Carte Blanche" to kill other people in their home, despite some of the press.
I'm posting under an assumed name to prevent reprisals. So there.
Assault with a deadly CareBear. Sweet.
"Everything's all right, yes, everything's fine. . ."*
I gotta admire anyone who can work a Jesus Christ Superstar quote into a discussion of Federal Reserve policy.
Escape- to get into a firing position to effect maximum lethality while mitigating damage to your property, or getting the gun out of its hiding place.
It still won't stop DA's from prosecuting people who defend themselves for murder. I defended a guy who even retreated, a textbook case of self-defense, and we STILL had to go thru a trial. It was the first acquittal in a murder trial in my county in 30-35 years. Before that case, I believed the rhetoric about Texas being the "self defense capital of the world." Now I know better.
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BB I guess you prefer to use a carebear if someone broke into your home. I prefer my .38