Many So-Called “Emergency” Measures Declared By Governor Perry/TPA Blogger Round-Up

To distract Texans from the massive cuts ahead due to the Republican-caused budget deficit, Governor Rick Perry has declared a number of “emergency” subjects for the upcoming Texas Legislative session to consider.

This emergency status allows topics deemed of great importance by the Governor to be rushed to the front of the regular legislative calendar. The Texas political blog Capitol Annex has more details on emergency declarations by the Governor.

Governor Perry’s emergency topics so far are–

* Legislation that will allow state government to force women seeking a Constitutionally legal abortion to have a sonogram and to hear an audio of the heartbeat of the fetus. It is not known at this time what other medical procedures the State of Texas will force citizens to undergo.  Nor is it known if Texas will demand that law enforcement officers witness these procedures so they report back to the state that the law is being followed.

* Ending so-called Sanctuary City practices that allow local governments the discretion to check or not check the immigration status of people they stop or arrest. This proposed usurpation of local authority will expand the power of the state by allowing law enforcement to check the papers of any person who might be, in the eyes of the state, in the U.S. illegally. It is not clear how this determination will be made by government, or if this change will lead to police checkpoints where U.S. citizens will be stopped and asked to prove they are here lawfully.

* A bill that will call upon the federal government to balance the budget each year. Do you think this non-binding legislation is more important than the fact that Texas is first in the nation in the percentage of people without health insurance?

* A voter ID bill. Conservatives are obsessed with the notion that people of color are casting fraudulent votes. Yet there are very few cases of voter fraud in our state. In any case, why is this an emergency? What elections are scheduled between now and the end of the legislative session?

* Property rights legislation to deal with alleged eminent domain abuse.  It is hard to imagine that after all the years of Republican control of Texas government, that property rights are not yet secure. What has Rick Perry been doing all this time? I thought protecting private property was a big deal to Republicans.

These are the “emergencies” at hand in Texas. They have nothing to do with the education, health care, or the economy. They have plenty to do with appeasing the most extreme far-right elements in Texas and with distracting Texans from the real issues. In the case of the sonogram bill, what is involved is an intrusion by the state into the doctor-patient relationship.

None of these things will be of value when the school your kids attend takes massive funding cuts because of the pending budget cuts, or when you cannnot afford college, or when you are sick and cannot afford treatment.

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This being Sunday, below you will find the latest Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. TPA bloggers will be covering the upcoming legislative session in great detail. Please visit TPA blogs each chance you get.

The round-up–

Off the Kuff wrote about Governor Perry’s sanctuary scam and what it says about his priorities.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that Perry and his merry band of republicans play to the Tea Party and corporate polluters while the EPAstarts doing its job.

Lightseeker over at TexasKaos offers some ideas on how you can become a civility warrior, starting today. Hint: think leading with good values and standing up for what you want among your friends and colleagues. Check out: How to inject civility when Uncle Joe Starts channeling Glen Beck.

This week, McBlogger takes a look at No Labels.

Letters From Texas published a powerful guest editorial from Jeff Rotkoff, on the issue of tea partiers’ claims that America is a tyrant state.

Bay Area Houston has a perfect picture of Palin, but not for children.

At Capitol Annex, Vince takes a look at the potential contenders for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat now that her retirement has thrown the doors wide open for the 2012 primary.

After a two-part investigation last year on one town’s air quality problems,WhosPlayin was happy to report that the town of Flower Mound is increasing the scope and frequency of its air quality monitoring program as complaints continue by neighbors of natural gas facilities. A Lewisville neighborhood group facing gas well development in residential neighborhoods quickly followed suit, announcing increased testing and testing for sulfur compounds.

On the scene for the 82nd legislative session’s opening day, PDiddiemanaged to defy the Capitol’s tech support department with laptop connectivity issues, and then quickly ran his Android’s battery down Tweeting. Still, he managed a Brains and Eggs post about the day 24 hours after the fact.

TXsharon catches the Big Gas Mafia telling the truth. Gas does migrate up from the formation and it does so in a big way. Read about it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

After reading a Texas tea party blogger who had just attended a Tea Party meeting, Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the Tea Party vision of America. Will English-only require a federal language bereaucracy? Will deportation of all undocumented persons mean government raids in our homes? Does the Ten Commandments posted at every public building mean that Christianity can’t thrive without government support? Will repeal of healthcare reform allow insurance companies to once again cancel the policies of people who get sick?

TexasVox reviews the showdown over greenhouse gas permits at an EPA public meeting in Dallas. Over 100 local residents showed up to support the EPA and the Clean Air Act, demanding action on climate change because Rick Perry and TCEQ refuse to follow federal law.

George at The Texas Blue had been taking some time off post-election… but the reaction to events in Arizona finally pissed him off enough to write. (And just in time for the new legislative session!)