Berman Asks AG For Opinion On Teacher’s Union Payroll Deductions

State Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) is at it again. This time, he’s raising hell with teacher’s unions, claiming that their payroll deductions (allowed, mind you, by the Texas Legislature, are unlawful. From Berman’s hometown paper:

State Rep. Leo Berman has requested an attorney general’s opinion on whether it’s lawful for teachers unions to use payroll deductions to fund political campaigns.

The Tyler Republican and chairman of the House Elections Committee says it’s a direct challenge to the Texas State Teachers Association Political Action Committee, which tends to contribute to more Democrats than Republicans.

The payroll deductions are voluntary, but Berman says it takes state time and resources to administrate the deduction system - and that’s what he objects to.

“The Democrats have raised a lot of their money through the teachers’ unions,” Berman says. “So through using the payroll deduction process, they’re using state funds, state equipment and state time to raise political money. That doesn’t fit with Texas state law.”

It’s pretty clear that Berman’s request was more politically motivated than anything related to his duties as Chair of the House Elections Committee.

Typical with most idiocy that springs from Berman’s office, he gets quickly put in his place. Here is what TSTA’s Richard Kouri had to say about Berman’s idiocy:

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John Culberson Does The Earmark Dance

I’ve always thought the hullabaloo surrounding earmarks was at least a little over-blown, since one thing Congressmen are supposed to do is bring home the (legitimate) bacon for their constituents. I do, however, always find it amusing to see Republicans who complain about earmarks sponsoring earmarks and then trying to justify those earmarks when they happen to be something less than, say, a gym for a military instillation.

Case in point is Congressman John Culberson (R-Houston). Culberson co-sponsored, along with Congressman Mike McCaul (R-Austin) a nearly $300,000 earmark for the Houston Zoo. But, Culberson says he believes federal spending should be limited to things like national security. Via the Chron:

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Vote For Rick Noriega In The Progressive Patriots Fund PAC Poll (Last Day)

Please vote for State Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston), Texas Democrats’ U.S. Senate Candidate, in the Progressive Patriots Fund PAC Poll. It means a contribution of $5,000 to Noriega’s campaign.

Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up: March 24, 2008

It’s Monday, and that means it is time for the Texas Progressive Alliance weekly blog round-up. The round-up is compiled every week based upon voluntary submissions by TPA member bloggers.

Off the Kuff takes a look at the primary vote for Democratic candidates in Harris County by State Rep district.

Dwayne Bohac: A Study in Rovian Politics takes a look at an incumbent Republican Rove clone and his basic hypocracy. It uses his public utterances on “clean air” to host him on his own corporate petard.

The Texas Cloverleaf notes that TxDOT is handing out the awards, this time to Denton County Judge Mary Horn, for her “hard work” on building roads. But why do they note the projects that have never been completed?

CouldBeTrue notes that the Texas State Board of Education has ‘better’ things to do than represent Hispanic children.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News tells people Happy Easter! now suck it up. If that rant about economics goes more into hedonics than you ever wanted to know he also offers a link to explaining the credit crisis for kindergarteners.

Over at Doing My Part For The Left takes a look at the bigotry of homophobic Rep. Sally Kern of Oklahoma and wipes tears from his eyes as he reads a letter to Rep Sally Kern from a young man who knows what it is to lose a loved one.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson after reading through the headlines asks Should Texas Be Worried About The Economy?

Hal at Half Empty has a bone to pick with Bush’s Presidential Library committee. As planned on the SMU campus, not only will it cause the distruction of student housing and a strip mall, but the obliteration of a La Madeleine cafe boutique. Hal has an alternative suggestion.

For the Democratic primary runoff election (scheduled for April 8, with early voting commencing March 31) PDiddie at Brains and Eggs reiterates his endorsement of Dale Henry for Texas Railroad Commission and Larry Weiman for 80th Ciivl District Court of Harris County.

Vince at Capitol Annex notes that the federal government has asked the state to postpone the roll-out of the state’s new troubled food stamp eligibility screening computer program.

McBlogger at McBlogger take a look at the collapse of Bear Stearns and see that JP Morgan Chase may have created the deal of the century.

BossKitty at BlueBloggin reminds us that our war hungry vice president Dick Cheney is on the war path again; Cheney Stalks Middle East One More Time but the Saudi King is playing a different drum.

WhosPlayin talks about what it was like to work at the polls on Primary Election day.

Mindy Montford, Reb Wayne, And The Pro-Life Crowd

Evidently, our post earlier this week on Republican operative Reb Wayne being present at a Mindy Montford press conference has touched off some serious nerves in Austin.

Sources tell Capitol Annex that someone claiming to be from the Montford campaign is now calling Austin-area lawmakers such as Donna Howard, Valinda Bolton, and Mark Strama, and insuring them that Mindy Montford is as yellow-dog of a Democrat as they come and that she doesn’t have a clue who Reb Wayne is.

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Strange Stuff In Democratic Primary Judicial Race In Lamar County

In North East Texas, the runoff race for the Sixth Judicial District Court is getting quite heated.

In the runoff race for the court that serves Lamar, Red River and Fannin Counties, it has surfaced that one of the two candidates is accused of practicing as a psychologist without a license.

In a letter released this week to Capitol Annex, a Clarksville couple alleges that David Hamilton, who faces attorney David turner, claimed to be a psychologist and provided hypnosis treatments to the wife:

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Montford Endorsement Attended By GOP Consultants

Earlier this week, when Mindy Montford was endorsed by Rick Reed (who finished fourth in the field of four primary candidates for Travis County DA) a couple of interesting characters were attending the news conference on the steps of the Austin Police Association: Republican consultants Reb Wayne and Kevin Moomaw.

Wayne, of course, is close to Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Governor Dewhurst and has run GOP campaigns against Austin-area Democrats like Mark Strama. Moomaw, who now works for David Dewhurst and has previously served at the Republican Party of Texas, has worked countless GOP campaigns.

This comes as we hear that many Republicans in the Capitol have essentially stopped trying to pretend they aren’t involved in the Montford race. Several sources tell Capitol Annex that Wayne, in fact, was telling bystanders at the press conference that he intends to take out several Democrats this year, starting with Montford’s opponent Rosemary Lehmberg and ending with State Rep. Donna Howard in November.

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Federal officials Ask State To Postpone Rollout Of Food Stamp Computer System

Given everything that we’ve heard about horrors in food stamp application processing lately, this should come as no surprise:

Federal officials, alarmed that a Texas computer system has been tardy in processing more than half the food stamp applications it was assigned in December, have asked the state to postpone rollout of the system to more of the state.

“We are not convinced that a continued rollout of [the system] is warranted,” William Ludwig, Dallas regional administrator of the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service, wrote the state last week.

Mr. Ludwig said his agency wants the state to undertake “strong measures to improve timeliness and ensure customer service, including call center performance.”

Spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission said Monday that the state is trying to hire and retain more employees in its Office of Eligibility Services, which operates more than 300 field offices and assists four privately run call centers.

Ms. Goodman said the commission also will train more of its workers to use a Web-based computer system to sign up poor Texans for social programs. State officials say the system is still the best hope for the future, despite complaints that it is cumbersome to use.

Difficult to use and the best hope for the future! Sounds like an e-Slate voting machine.

Bible Bill Subject To AG’s Interpretation Now

The issue of whether or not Texas high schools must offer an elective bible class if 15 students make such a request has been handed off from the Texas Education Commission to the Attorney General’s Office:

Of course, there is debate among legislators who fought over the bill over whether or not the 15-student rule is mandatory or not:

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Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Blog Round-Up For March 17, 2008

It’s Monday, and that means it is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance’s weekly blog round-up. The round-up is compiled each week by the TPA based on submissions made by our member blogs and bloggers. This week’s round-up was compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

The leader of McBlogger’s crack legal team has an interesting take on Gov. Spitzer’s premium taste in hookers.

TXsharon at Bluedaze asks if Texas Railroad Commission malpractice like this will cost you your life or only your health.

WhosPlayin looks at plagiarism by a Republican candidate for city council: John Gorena, of Lewisville who lifted quite a bit of his website from a Democratic judicial candidate.

Off the Kuff takes a look at downballot voting in the Democratic Primary in Harris County.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shines a light on the latest Texas GOP voucher scam in HD-52, Education Matters.

Hal at Half Empty came across the latest production by the DSCC, and to his surprise and delight, found it was about (or going to be, eventually) our own senatorial candidate, Texas Democratic senatorial nominee Rick Noriega.

Good luck unemployed people of Texas. The Texas Cloverleaf exposes Governor 39%’s recent appointment of GOP idealogue and fellow blogger, Tom Pauken, as the new chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission.

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme shows how Republicans shaft Texas workers on behalf of their business cronies. Insurance companies are forced to reveal medical data on perspective employees and unemployment insurance premiums are cut to give companies a ‘tax break’.

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at a number of scorecards ranking Texas’ Congressional Delegation in which Texas’ Republicans score big, fat “F’s” when it comes to children, families, the middle class, the environment, working Americans, and more.

In “Bulletins from the front lines”, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs advances some of the challenges the forthcoming Senate District conventions will face, with the expected huge turnout expected to overrun facilities and organizers.

nytexan at BlueBloggin looks at the different delegate counts provided by the media and asks So You Think You Know The Delegate Count.

Refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left writes a Letter to Hillary.

Fake Consultant takes a shot at predicting a perfect VP for Obama at Texas Kaos.

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