As Congress gets ready to approve hurricane aid money, governor Abbot sends a message to the Texas delegation: get a spine! We’ll hear why the governors so angry over the hurricane relief package set to a vote in the house. Plus, why lots of folks in hard hit Victoria are feeling left high and dry by relief efforts so far. And a win for opponents of solitary confinement in Texas and why some say it doesn’t go far enough. Plus outside a rural Texas town perhaps best known for kolaches: the first legal cannabis dispensary in the Lone Star state… not quite like those in California. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Law
Texas Standard: September 19, 2017
Looking for bipartisanship? Look in the direction of the Pentagon. Lawmakers take a big step toward a massive boost for the US military, we’ll have the latest. Also, President Trump makes his first foray into the UN club he once made fun of. What’s his message, and what does it tell us about the relevance of the United Nations? And quick: name the last president who really delivered on his campaign promises. A Texas scholar says modern presidents are doomed to failure because of what the office has become, we’ll explore. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 8, 2017
As Irma bears down on a Harvey hit US, our neighbors to the south prepare for their own dual front disaster, we’ll explore. Also, it’s been more than 2 years since the waco biker shootout, and so far not a single conviction. How much did police know about the likelihood of violence that day, and why didn’t they intervene? Documents obtained by the Texas Standard shed new light on those questions, and we’ll talk with our investigative reporter. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 3, 2017
Salacious emails from a former Baylor University regent about victims of sexual assaults spark outrage. We’ll explore how they tie in. Also special courts for cops: a new law on the books creates diversion programs for first responders. Why counties are hesitant to set them up. Also the cochineal, a small Spanish insect and the source of the red dye in many foods we eat, the makeup we use and the focus of a new Texas art exhibit. And faced with a 19% unemployment rate, some Spaniards are looking for ways to boost their resume. Those stories and so much today on the Texas Standard:
Gerrymandering
A federal court ruled recently that Texas lawmakers were intentionally discriminatory when it came to drawing congressional maps. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: April 11, 2017
A federal judge declares the Texas Voter ID law discriminatory. We’ll explore what this means as a practical matter, and what happens next. Also as Texas celebrates a raft of Pulitzer nods, one of the worlds oldest news organizations launches a new salvo in the war against fake news. We’ll hear all about it. And you’ve heard of one armed bandits, but in south Texas police worry about 8-liners holding up an entire local economy. Plus salad days for storage containers: as grocers look for ways to market veggies fresher than farm grown. For real? All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 4, 2017
A high school tradition, just boys being boys? Police say it was sexual assault and now the Texas Rangers are asking questions. We’ll explore the details. Also in the movies, when Mr. Smith went to Washington he used a Senate rule and it made him hero. As real-life Senators prepare to revoke the filibuster, what’s the real history? And baggage fees, extra charges for window seats, but you’ll never guess what’s really padding airlines bottom lines these days. Here’s a hint: it may be padding your wallet too. Also as umpires shout play ball across the country, a reminder of a league of our own. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Statewide Ban
The Texas legislature is considering a statewide ban on texting while driving. That was the inspiration for this week’s Typewriter Rodeo poem for the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: March 21, 2017
Were they targeting the Texas capitol after all? Sworn testimony claims immigration officials wanted retribution, we’ll explore. Also after grilling the FBI director on Russian ties to Donald Trump, congressman Joaquin Castro tells us whether he sees evidence of collusion. Also …She might be the youngest unofficial lobbyist in Texas: her mission: convincing lawmakers to change a law she believes, sends innocent people to death row. We’ll hear her story. And this month’s reading recommendation from the editor in chief of Kirkus: a book the author doesn’t doesn’t want you to love. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 21, 2017
Before the highest court in the land: the case of the killing of a teenager at the border, and the question where do we draw the line? Plus first came the Tea Party, then complaints about RINO’s-republicans in name only. As Trump opponents adopt the tea party strategy, a call for the fall of the Dinos? And new numbers on support for the legalization of cannabis in the lone star state. As attitudes change, why does the resistance refuse to go up in smoke? Plus Texas schools turning down federal food money so they can hang on to aid for academics. But if students are too hungry to work, then what? All that and more on the national news show of Texas:
Texas Standard: January 26, 2017
Taking the 10th: once a favorite of the Tea Party movement, now embraced by supporters of sanctuary cities? We’ll explore. Also once dubbed the death penalty capitol, Texas also leads the nation in exonerations. What that means for the future of capitol punishment. And a so-called good samaritan with a gun intervenes in a San Antonio Mall robbery. With more than a million Texans licensed to carry, what are the rules of engagement? And what’s in your wallet? With the rise of the smartphone, the Statesman’s digital guru asks, what’s a wallet? Plus the Battle of Dime Box, Texas…our expert says its the pits. Check your watches, its Texas Standard time:
Texas Standard: January 3, 2017
As members of congress return to Washington, Texas lawmakers get ready to return to austin. The road ahead reconsidered today. Also when police use deadly force against an unarmed suspect, what happens next? A new investigation in Houston suggests very little. We’ll have details of a new investigative report. And Texas wine versus Texas cotton? A decision by the EPA could pit the two against each other, we’ll hear why. And Sinatra versus Sinatra in a Texas courtroom: the issue? Love and marriage. And bitcoin is ballooning, or is that a bubble getting ready to burst? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 10, 2016
Back to New Orleans-Texas’ Voter Id Law, ruled unconstitutional, gets another hearing in the 5th circuit. Also the State of Texas is fighting an order to fundamentally overhaul Child Protective Services…but CPS employees protest that Texas should give in. We’ll hear why. And If at birth you don’t succeed…an irreverent Texas-based comedian talks about living with cerebral palsy and making lemonade out of wheelchairs. Superbugs in the water and trip tips for spring break…oh we’re just getting started ya’ll it’s the national news show of Texas:
What You Might Not Know About the Texas Constitution
If you want to hold public office in Texas, you have to believe in God. You cannot serve even as dog catcher – if it’s an elected office, you must believe in God.
Given the long history we have had of con artists, and scofflaws, carpetbaggers, and white-collar criminals holding public office around the state, this may seem hard to believe.
But it is right there in the Texas constitution. Plain as day.
Section 4 of the Texas Bill of Rights says that if you wish to hold elected office in Texas you must “acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”
There is no requirement respecting any specific religion. Nothing says a person has to be Baptist or Catholic or Mormon, but it is clear, “No atheists need apply.”
And this would presumably rule out agnostics, too, since they are eternal doubters and could not, with confidence, say that they believe in a Supreme Being. This is just one of the unusual dimensions of the Texas Constitution that few people know about.
Texas protects individual rights more than most states.
In Texas, credit card companies cannot garnish your wages to collect on a bad debt.
Texas is exceptionally protective of debtors in bankruptcy cases, too – especially if you actually own anything worth losing.
If your house is paid for – even if it’s worth $2 million – you get to keep it. If your house sits on 200 acres in the country, you get to keep that. If you have a big, bad, fully decked out pick-up, and it’s paid for, you get to keep it.
Finally, you get to keep two firearms. I don’t know why. I suppose to help you protect your property from pesky bill collectors.
Most Texans seem to believe that Texas has a constitutional right to secede from the U.S. when it feels like it.
It does not. This is a myth.
However, Texas does have the right to divide itself into two, three, four or five states. The only advantage would be to give us 10 senators instead of two.
I don’t know what advantage that would be, since eight more senators would be about as useful as a bucket of water to a drowning man.
But Texas would not be Texas if it were divided. Such plans have actually been discussed.
According to the Handbook of Texas, one plan wanted to divide the state along the Colorado River, with the new territory south and west to be called Lincoln and the part north and east to be called Texas.
Another plan proposed dividing us into three states. These would be called Jefferson, Texas, and Matagorda.
None of these plans ever made it out of committee. I suppose the legislators knew that had the good people of Texas gotten wind of it, they would have gotten a long Texas rope, and strung them up from a live oak.
W.F. Strong is a Fulbright Scholar and professor of Culture and Communication at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. At Public Radio 88 FM in Harlingen, Texas, he’s the resident expert on Texas literature, Texas legends, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Whataburger (with cheese) and mesquite smoked brisket.
June 16, 2015
Disaster recovery teams are activated and millions brace for more rain and Bill takes aim on Texas. We’re on top of the big story today as a tropical storm makes landfall…sparking concerns of flooding from Corpus to Houston, Austin and Northeast Texas… Also The Supreme Court decides not to second guess a North Carolina abortion law…and why some think that could affect abortion laws in Texas. And, Is the cycle of boom and bust —busted? Why oil and gas may no longer be a distinguishing factor in the story of the Texas economy.