Under the House Rules the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics has the authority to investigate misuse of state funds as well as police the ethics of individual House members. Today, the Austin American-Statesman's Mike Ward published a story on how some former legislators are classified as "full-time" on the payroll of current legislators but are only making a few hundred dollars a month. Full-time employees accrue credits in the state's retirement system. A link to the Statesman story is posted here.
An issue taking center stage as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton furiously campaign before Tuesday's primaries is the gasoline tax. Clinton has proposed suspending the 18-cents a gallon federal gas tax for the summer with the revenue made up by a windfall profits tax on oil companies. Obama has called the proposal a gimmick designed to pander to lower-income voters. He says economists have called the idea counter-productive.
In a statement released to the Dallas Blog, Rev. Andrew J. Weaver made it clear he is continuing to campaign to block SMU's decision to lease land for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Here is his statement in full:
Bishop says vote to refer petition to stop Bush complex at SMU is "merely procedural"
Dr. Brad Roter, a physician, authorized Timothy Garon, 56, to use marijuana to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C. The doctor requested Timothy smoke pot to alleviate nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite.
In 1998, the use of medical marijuana was authorized under a Washington state law approved by voters.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton meet in the last big primary day Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana, but if all goes as expected, the Demo game still won't be over. Analyst James Carville told Newsweek that Clinton has got to "shock" the system and that means winning both Indiana and N.C. Likewise, Obama needs to win both states to shut down the competition and show he hasn't been irreparably damaged by recent campaign misfires.
A Conservative member of Parliament, Boris Johnson, a floppy-haired media celebrity, transformed himself from a shambling and amusing figure of fun into a dynamic political force. On Friday, Mr. Johnson was elected the mayor of London.
Demonstrators planning protests or parades at the Democratic National Convention filed a lawsuit against the City of Denver and the Secret Service. The A.C.L.U. accuses those government entities of threatening against the expression of free speech. The complainants contend that tight security rules have not been enforced.
Texas is the leading death penalty state with its execution docket quickly filling up in Huntsville Death Row.
According to the New York Times, “less than three weeks after a United States Supreme Court ruling ended a seven-month moratorium on lethal injections, at least 14 execution dates have been set in six states between May 6 and October.”
A TV rivalry is playing out when Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will sit on Sunday morning interviews on competing networks. Mr. Obama will appear with Tim Russert on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” while George Stephanopolous of ABC’s “This Week” will interview Mrs. Clinton. The two programs will be broadcast at the same time.
City Councilwoman Elba Garcia is analyzing Commissioners District 4 for a potential run. The district currently is represented by Republican Kenneth Mayfield. But Dallas County turned blue in the last election and District 4 is growing more Hispanic, as Mercedes Olivera points out in her DMN column today. District 4 became Republican during the county's GOP trend, which included a migration to such suburbs as Duncanville and DeSoto. The district, however, also includes parts of Oak Cliff, Grand Prairie, West Dallas and Irving, and even the more conservative areas of DeSoto and Duncanville are being repopulated. Garcia is examining the district's voting patterns. If she runs, Garcia would have to move two blocks to live in the district. If elected, she would become the first Hispanic member of the commissioners court.