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Texas AG: ‘In God We Trust’ Decals on Cop Cars Constitutional

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There’s nothing wrong with stickers or decals featuring the phrase “In God We Trust” on police vehicles, the Lonestar state’s top cop assured lawmakers.

Attorney General Ken Paxton weighed in on the matter on Nov. 4 with a letter to two Republican state senators who asked if police departments were inviting legal trouble by including the phrase on patrol cars. Pointing to precedent in a series of court cases, Paxton noted challenges to “In God We Trust” on money, police vehicles and goverment property haven’t been successful.

“Displaying ‘In God We Trust’ on police vehicles is a passive use of a motto steeped in our nation’s history that does not coerce Citizen approval or participation,” Paxton wrote to the state senators. “A law enforcement department’s decision to display the national motto on its vehicles is consistent with that history. Thus, a court is likely to conclude that a law enforcement department’s display of ‘In God We Trust’ on its patrol vehicles is permissible under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

Slapping the phrase on police vehicles has become a contentious issue in recent months, with more than 60 police departments — most of them in the south and midwest — approving decals or stickers on patrol cars, according to the National Constitution Center, a Philadelphia-based non-profit dedicated to civic education.

In each case, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has challenged the use of the phrase on government-owned vehicles. The Wisconsin-based group advocates for separation of church and state in all matters, and has said the phrase amounts to “phony pandering” to the nation’s religious demographic, especially in socially conservative states. “In God We Trust” became the national motto in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law, a move that also made the phrase mandatory on American currency. (Read more from “Texas AG: ‘In God We Trust’ Decals on Cop Cars Constitutional” HERE)

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Here’s Why Planned Parenthood Is Suing Texas

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Planned Parenthood and 10 of its patients sued the state of Texas on Monday to block officials from cutting off Medicaid funds, calling the state’s actions political and part of a long-term pattern of denying reproductive healthcare to women.

“Women in Texas today have fewer rights than they did when I was growing up, and less access to healthcare,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards told reporters when announcing the lawsuit. “This time, they’re targeting some of the most vulnerable Texans — women who already have the least access to healthcare in the country.”

Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott announced in October that state health officials were kicking Planned Parenthood and its affiliates out of the Medicaid program, which pays for procedures such as cancer screenings, birth control and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

In a statement at the time, Abbott said the state was acting in response to a series of antiabortion videos, which accused Planned Parenthood of profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood denies the allegations, and more than half a dozen state investigations have cleared the organization of wrongdoing.

“The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas, and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end,” Abbott said at the time. “As such, ending the Medicaid participation of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state of Texas is another step in providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable — the unborn.” (Read more from “Here’s Why Planned Parenthood Is Suing Texas” HERE)

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Something Very Strange Is Taking Place off the Coast of Galveston, TX

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Having exposed the world yesterday to the 2-mile long line of tankers-full’o’crude heading from Iraq to the US, several weeks after reporting that China has run out of oil storage space we can now confirm that the global crude “in transit” glut is becoming gargantuan and is starting to have adverse consequences on the price of oil.

While the crude oil tanker backlog in Houston reaches an almost unprecedented 39 (with combined capacity of 28.4 million barrels), as The FT reports that from China to the Gulf of Mexico, the growing flotilla of stationary supertankers is evidence that the oil price crash may still have further to run, as more than 100m barrels of crude oil and heavy fuels are being held on ships at sea (as the year-long supply glut fills up available storage on land). The storage problems are so severe in fact, that traders asking ships to go slow, and that is where we see something very strange occurring off the coast near Galveston, TX.

FT reports that “the amount of oil at sea is at least double the levels of earlier this year and is equivalent to more than a day of global oil supply. The numbers of vessels has been compiled by the Financial Times from satellite tracking data and industry sources” . . .

And unlike the last oil price collapse during the financial crisis only half of the oil held on the water has been put there specifically by traders looking to cash in by storing the fuel until prices recover. Instead, sky-high supertanker rates have prevented them from putting more oil into so-called floating storage, shutting off one of the safety valves that could prevent oil prices from falling further. (Read more from “Something Very Strange Is Taking Place off the Coast of Galveston, TX” HERE)

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Conservatives Post Huge Election Victories in Ohio, Texas

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Ohio Voters Reject Legal Pot

By WLWT. Ohio voters rejected a first-of-its-kind proposal Tuesday that would have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, following an expensive campaign, a legal fight over its ballot wording and an investigation into the proposal’s petition signatures . . .

The measure known as Issue 3 on Tuesday’s ballot would have allowed adults 21 and older to use, purchase or grow certain amounts of marijuana and made cannabis available for medical uses in the same vote, a unique approach nationally . . .

Issue 2 targeted the system of 10 marijuana-growing sites that would have been created by the pot legalization question known as Issue 3 on the ballot. Issue 3 was defeated, avoiding a court challenge as to which issue would have trumped the other.

A few precincts in southwest Ohio’s Hamilton County reported problems getting voters their ballots because of poll workers’ unfamiliarity with a new electronic check-in system being used for the first time.

The marijuana legalization campaign, ResponsibleOhio, sought the extension, citing those problems. (Read more from “Ohio Voters Reject Legal Pot” HERE)

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Houston Equal Rights Ordinance Fails by Wide Margin

By Katherine Driessen. Houston’s controversial equal rights ordinance failed by a wide margin Tuesday, with voters opting to repeal the law that offered broad non-discrimination protections, according to incomplete and unofficial returns.

The hotly contested election has spurred national attention, drawing comment from the White House and the state’s top officials. Largely conservative opponents of the law allege that it would allow men dressed as women, including sexual predators, to enter women’s restrooms. Supporters of the law, including Mayor Annise Parker, argue that it extends an important local recourse for a range of protected classes to respond to discrimination.

Supporters released a written statement Tuesday night: “We are disappointed with today’s outcome, but our work to secure nondiscrimination protections for all hard-working Houstonians will continue. No one should have to live with the specter of discrimination hanging over them. Everyone should have the freedom to work hard, earn a decent living and provide for themselves and their families.”

The ordinance bans discrimination based not just on gender identity and sexual orientation, but also 13 classes already protected under federal law: sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status. (Read more from “Houston Equal Rights Ordinance Fails by Wide Margin” HERE)

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Texas Family Arrested for Vandalizing Own Truck With Racial Message

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BlackLivesMatter-1A Texas family has been arrested for painting profanities and racially charged slogans on their pickup truck and falsely claiming others had done so, police said on Monday.

Scott Lattin, 45, was arrested last week, and his wife, Cindy, and their son Jason, 18, were taken into custody on Monday. All three are suspected of making a false police report, said police in Whitney, northwest of Waco.

Scott Lattin told officers his truck was tagged with “Black Lives Matter” and profanities earlier this month while it was parked in his driveway, police said. Lattin claimed the graffiti was in response to pro-police logos he had put on the vehicle, police said.

Whitney Police Chief Chris Bentley said Lattin’s initial report stated only the outside of the truck was damaged, with no damage to the inside.

A GoFundMe account set up to help the Lattin family repair the damages received nearly $6,000 in donations. Many donors saw the family as victims for their support of police, who have faced criticism after a series of incidents nationwide where officers have fatally shot unarmed black men. (Read more from “Texas Family Arrested for Vandalizing Own Truck With Racial Message” HERE)

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Texas Nationalists Reportedly Try to Get Secession Question Onto GOP Primary Ballot

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balloA group calling for Texas to secede from the United States and become an independent nation has launched an effort to get a question about independence onto next year’s Republican presidential primary ballot.

The Texas Tribune reports that the Texas Nationalist Movement has begun circulating a petition with the goal of getting 75,000 signatures by December 1, over 8,000 more than what the Texas Secretary of State’s office requires to put the question on the ballot.

The vote on whether Texas “should reassert its status as an independent nation”, in the words of the petition, would be non-binding and the state Republican party has already distanced itself from the group.

“Historically the executive committee of the Republican Party has chosen what goes on this,” spokesman Aaron Whitehead told the Tribune, “and it’s party preference that it stays that way.”

Texas was a Republic for nine years after gaining independence from Mexico before it was admitted to the Union in 1845. The state voted to secede in 1861 to join the Confederate States of America prior to the Civil War. Scholars told the Tribune that under the auspices of an 1869 Supreme Court ruling, Texas would not be able to secede from the U.S. again even if voters gave the go-ahead. (Read more from “Texas Nationalists Reportedly Try to Get Secession Question Onto GOP Primary Ballot” HERE)

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Some Texas Counties Are Making a Bold Move That Has the Mexican Gov’t Furious

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shutterstock_310715399-913x512As outspoken Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to lead the charge for a swift and decisive response to America’s illegal immigration problem, some Texas officials are trying to take one aspect of that issue into their own hands.

Reports indicate several county registrars across the state have been refusing to accept identification cards issued by the Mexican Consulate, noting the inherent unreliability of such documentation.

According to the Texas Tribune, the Mexican government filed an amicus brief last week on behalf of several illegal immigrant families who claim their children were unfairly denied a birth certificate. The Texas Department of State Health Services was named in an associated lawsuit after reportedly telling states that were accepting the identification cards – known as matricula – to stop.

Two Texas civil rights groups filed the suit, which has since been revised to include additional families and a third activist organization. The children represented in the suit, lawyers claim, have had their constitutional rights violated. Jennifer Harbury, a lawyer representing the Mexican families, asserted that state officials “have to take something” when presented with ostensibly valid identification. (Read more from “Some Texas Counties Are Making a Bold Move That Has the Mexican Gov’t Furious” HERE)

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Video Shows Man With ‘Hands in the Air’ Being Shot by Police

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Authorities in Texas are examining two videos recorded by bystanders that show sheriff’s deputies in Bexar County, Texas, shooting and killing a man.

One four-minute video has been made public by a San Antonio television station that acquired it from the man who recorded it Friday. It is shot from a distance and it appears Gilbert Flores has at least one hand in the air (the other cannot be seen) when he is shot.

The other video has not been released by police. Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas LaHood told CNN the video is “a better view to make an assessment on what happened. It is a closer view and a better angle.”

The incident comes at a time when law enforcement officers are under scrutiny for how and when they resort to lethal force. The killings of several individuals by police over the past year have heightened tensions with the communities they serve, especially among minorities.

Michael Thomas said the scrutiny of officer-involved shootings is the reason he recorded the first video on his cell phone from the driver’s seat of his car. (Read more from “Video Shows Man With ‘Hands in the Air’ Being Shot by Police” HERE)

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Obama Finally Breaks His Silence on Slain Texas Cop, but Ignores Something Huge

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shutterstock_165732764-913x512The increasingly violent tone of national rhetoric that a Texas sheriff recognized as a contributing factor in the murder of one of his deputies was left unaddressed in a White House statement regarding last Friday’s murder of Deputy Darren Goforth.

President Obama’s Monday night statement expressed official regrets at the incident.

“Targeting police officers is completely unacceptable – an affront to civilized society,” the statement said. “As I said in my State of the Union Address, we’ve got to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the door at the end of his shift.

“That comfort has been taken from Mrs. Goforth,” the statement continued. “So we must offer her our comfort – and continue to stand up for the safety of police officers wherever they serve.”

The statement did not address the wider context of the shooting, as America debates the degree to which the Black Lives Matter movement is serving as an instigator for violence. Other voices have done so.

Joseph Evans, Jr., the former vice chairman and executive director of the Jefferson County, TX, Republican Party, released a video that called for a level of reaction Obama did not take. (Read more from “Obama Finally Breaks His Silence on Slain Texas Cop, but Ignores Something Huge” HERE)

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Armed Black Panthers to Texas Cops: ‘We Will Start Creeping up on You in Darkness’

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Indexed-Finger-on-AR3-640x480Armed Black Panther members marched in front of the Waller County jail and shouted, “You’re gonna stop doing what you’re doing, or we will start creeping up on you in the darkness.”

The statement was made just two weeks prior to the assassination of a Harris County deputy sheriff.

Shannon Miles, a black male, allegedly came “creeping up” behind Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth in the darkness on the night of August 28. While Goforth stood at a convenience store pumping gas into his patrol vehicle, Miles allegedly raised a pistol and shot him dead . . .

Not part of a chant, the march leader, wearing the rank of colonel, shouted directly to Harris County mounted deputies through a megaphone. “You think we’re not pissed off a bunch about y’all killing our sisters? You think it’s okay? [We’re] the wrong n***ers to mess with. You’re gonna stop doing what you’re doing, or we will start creeping up on you in the darkness.”

The rally, also covered by Breitbart Texas, took place at the Waller County Jail where inmate Sandra Bland took her own life by hanging herself with a trash bag after her arrest following a traffic stop in the town of Prairie View. She was accused of an illegal lane change and assaulting a police officer. After being left in jail by her family for three days, Bland hung herself. (Read more from “Armed Black Panthers to Texas Cops: ‘We Will Start Creeping up on You in Darkness'” HERE)

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