2013's final Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance bids farewell to 2013 and wishes everyone a happy and healthy 2014 as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff has stayed on top of the legal action in the Utah same sex marriage litigation and related matters.

Texpatriate picks Annise Parker as its 2013 Person of the Year.

DosCentavos gives us the last Thoughts on Viernes of 2013 which includes his Top 10 posts of 2013.

From the media's impression, it's pretty easy to think that all faith communities are against LGBT people and the struggle for equality. But in reality the religious debates are just as diverse as the ones going on elsewhere, with opinions changing just as rapidly as any other segment of society. Texas Leftist takes a look at one Houston church that is affecting this change while enlightening hearts and minds. As they would say: "traditional worship for contemporary people".

The Texas Education Agency totally ignores South Texas. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is outraged, but not surprised at Republican denial of education opportunities for Texas Hispanics.

There was some gay marriage news made at the end of 2013, and it had nothing to do with Duck Die Nasty, according to PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at All People Have Value took a walk on the Texas City Dike. Neil says that the TCD is a great place to get some thinking done. All People Have Value is a part of NeilAquino.com.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Laura Mayes sets a goal of spending more quality time with the children in her life.

Lone Star Q rounds up the top Texas LGBT stories for 2013.

Texas Redistricting collects some recent news stories relating to election law.

Grits for Breakfast reminds us that "Santa was in prison, and Jesus got the death penalty".

Greg calculates updated Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) totals for Harris County.

Andrea Grimes reports on a Texas law that is forcing a hospital and a family to keep a pregnant woman on life support against her stated wishes.

New Media Texas outlines the six steps to getting a job in politics.

Sunday Funnies

The Gay Marriage Headlines

-- First let's acknowledge that while the conservatives have won Duck Dynasty, the progressives won New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, New Hampshire, Hawaii, New Mexico... and Utah.

I suppose we can live with that record.  So while there are many fronts across the country in the War on Marriage Traditional Family Values Bigotry, let's see what developed in Houston over the past week.

-- Annise Parker busted two moves: she filed to transfer the lawsuit against her decree to provide benefits to same-sex spouses of city employees out of that family court...

City Attorney David Feldman filed a “Notice of Removal” on Friday saying the lawsuit belongs in U.S. district court instead of state court because it raises federal questions, including the guarantees of equal protection and due process under the U.S. Constitution. The notice of removal says (GOP Judge Lisa) Millard, who presides over the 310th State District Family Court, failed to notify Parker and the city before holding a hearing at 5 p.m. on Dec. 17 — the same day the lawsuit was filed — and issuing an order halting the benefits.

... and she asked her partner, Kathy Hubbard, to marry her next month.

The source, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Parker and Hubbard plan to wed in Palm Springs, Calif., in January. "I heard it from her own lips," the source said.

The mayor's wedding plans were reported earlier Friday by the website CultureMap.

Congrats to the happy couple.

-- Texpate notes that city employees have already filed suit over benefits they are paying for that the family court judge blocked.

KPRC reports that a local couple has sued the City of Houston after their full spousal benefits have been revoked. As the astute may recall, last month Mayor Parker announced that all legally married couples (includes those of the same-sex) could provide full spousal benefits from the City if one member of the couple worked for the municipality. Only three couples initially signed up for these benefits, including Noel Freeman (a City employee) and Brad Pritchett. Many will probably remember Freeman, the President of the Houston GLBT Caucus and previous candidate for the City Council, and Pritchett, an official with the Harris County Democratic Party. Shortly thereafter, officials with the Harris County GOP sued the City of Houston in attempt to enjoin the offering of these benefits; they were successful in obtaining a temporary restraining order to this effect until mid-January.

Here's the News2Houston video.



Charles has more on lawsuits and such.

-- The 1993 Houston Oilers, subjects of an NFL documentary and some more recent extended play in the Chronic, had at least two gay players.  Their teammates knew, and it wasn't a big deal.

See, acceptance and tolerance isn't something new and progressive.  It also isn't 'in anybody's face' or 'crammed down their throat'.

Greg Abbott is soooo going to hate it when this becomes an issue in the 2014 governor's race.

Regulators axe Texas super PAC that lived up to its name

Secretive Politics.

In a letter dated Dec. 4, the Federal Election Commission tells Secretive Politics that it faces "administrative termination" for what amounts to its refusal to file mandatory financial disclosures.

Since registering with the FEC in August 2012, Secretive Politics has lived up to its name. It's been incommunicado with federal regulators. Repeated calls and emails by the Center for Public Integrity to its only known official, treasurer June Walton, have likewise gone unreturned.

The super PAC also uses a "virtual office" in Sugar Land, Texas, a Houston suburb. There, operators charge clients $350 a month for a mailing address, live receptionist and access to a conference room — but no physical office space. Its listed website and email address don't work.

Sugar Land.  Home of Tom DeLay and Kesha Rodgers.  The most diverse MSA in the nation, on the verge of turning blue, is also the home of King Street Patriots and True the Vote founder Catherine Englebrecht.

It's unclear whether Secretive Politics has engaged in political activity. It may have been raising and spending money, flouting federal regulators all the while. Or, just as likely, it existed in name only — like several hundred effectively dormant super PACs that have materialized since 2010, when the Citizens United v. FEC and SpeechNow.org v. FEC federal court decisions gave rise to such political committees.

I'm sure it's nothing. They probably only wanted to gauge the swiftness and harshness of the regulatory response. "Secretive Politics" is likely just another conservative pile of crap in a cow pasture that sprouts psychedelic mushrooms after a hard rain.