Ra bless Texas!

I'd like to say 'Hail Satan!' just to piss off some Christians, but of course I don't believe he or Hell exists, either.

Texas atheists, breathe a sigh of relief. While it may not be easy for you to be elected to public office here if you fly the banner of secularism, the state Constitution won’t bar you from running.

The issue of religious preference and who is eligible to run for Texas political office was exhumed – again – this week after Austin City Council candidate Laura Pressley distributed a mailer claiming her opponent Gregorio “Greg” Casar was an atheist and therefore legally barred from holding public office in the Lone Star State.

“As someone who’s on record saying he doesn’t believe in God, Casar can’t legally represent North Austin’s District 4 on the City Council,” the Austin American Statesman reported Dec. 1.

Yep, that's what has always discouraged me from running, that's for sure.

Pressley referenced Article 1, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution, which states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.” (italics Lauren McGaughey's)

While the article indeed remains on the books in Texas – and several Southern states – it’s been proven time and time again to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“There’s no question is that it is void and unenforceable,” said Keith Werhan, the Ashton Phelps Chair of Constitutional Law at the Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans. University of Houston Professor Brandon Rottinghaus said such provisions provided a “post-reconstruction approach to making sure religion still had a place” in former Confederate states.

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution bars such religious litmus for those running for federal office, and the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated such provisions in state Constitutions in 1961. In Texas, the last time the article was discussed in the 1980s between Madalyn Murray O’Hair, a voter, and then-Attorney General Jim Maddox, according to Texas Monthly.

In a federal court agreement, Maddox said the article “is void and of no further effect in that it is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

Nice to be reminded that if this blogging thing doesn't work out that I can always fall back on a career of public service.

Hail Satan anyway!

Eric Garner joins Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Oscar Grant...

So it seems that even when there is videotape evidence, and even when a large black man cannot be seen as a threat to a police officer because he is on the ground in a chokehold, the grand jury still isn't going to indict the police officer for killing him.

The decision in Staten Island not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo threatened to add to the tensions that have simmered in the city since the July 17 death of Eric Garner -- a case that sparked outrage and drew comparisons to the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Jonathan Moore, an attorney for Garner's family, said he was told of the grand jury's decision.

"I am actually astonished based on the evidence of the video tape, and the medical examiner, that this grand jury at this time wouldn't indict for anything, is really just astonishing," Moore said.

'Astonishing' might not be the first word on the minds of many others this afternoon.

The grand jury could have considered a range of charges, from murder to a lesser offense such as reckless endangerment.

A video shot by an onlooker and widely viewed on the Internet showed the 43-year-old Garner telling a group of police officers to leave him alone as they tried to arrest him.

Pantaleo responded by wrapping his arm around Garner's neck in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy. The heavyset Garner, who had asthma, was heard repeatedly gasping, "I can't breathe!" A second video surfaced that showed police and paramedics appearing to make no effort to revive Garner while he lay motionless on the ground. He later died at a hospital.

The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide and found that a chokehold contributed to it. A forensic pathologist hired by Garner's family, Dr. Michael Baden, agreed with those findings, saying there was hemorrhaging on Garner's neck indicative of neck compressions.

As usual, the cops are making excuses.

Police union officials and Pantaleo's lawyer have argued that the officer used a takedown move taught by the police department, not a chokehold, because he was resisting arrest and that Garner's poor health was the main reason he died.

While details on the grand jurors were not disclosed, Staten Island is the most politically conservative of the city's five boroughs and home to many police and firefighters. The panel began hearing evidence in late September, including the video, autopsy results and testimony by Pantaleo.

Same old story, same old result.  A black man is dead under questionable circumstances at the hands of a white cop, and the mostly white criminal justice system failed the black man's family once more.

One more straw on the camel's back.  How many more can it take?

Black lives matter. #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/daGipq6Pbl

— Race Forward (@RaceForward) December 3, 2014

Update: More reactions.

Conservatives ask Rick Perry to halt execution of Scott Panetti

He's running for president, so I kinda doubt he hears this plea.

A group of conservative leaders is mounting a last-minute effort to stop Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) from executing inmate Scott Panetti, arguing that killing "one of the most seriously mentally ill prisoners on death row in the United States" would "undermine the public's faith in a fair and moral justice system."

[...]

Twenty-one conservative leaders have joined with mental health and death penalty reformers in opposing the execution, asking Perry in a recent letter to commute Panetti's sentence to life in prison. Signatories included former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, conservative activist Brent Bozell and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer.

[...]

(Yesterday) the (Texas Pardons and Parole) board unanimously voted against delaying Panetti's execution for 180 days and recommending to Perry that his sentence be commuted.

Perry's office did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the governor agreed with the board's decision or on whether he was considering a 30-day stay.

More than 93,000 people have signed an online petition asking Perry to grant Panetti clemency. He also has the support of his ex-wife and former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist, wrote in a recent Dallas Morning News op-ed that opposing Panetti's execution is a pro-life position.

"A fundamental tenet of the pro-life ethic is that all life has value and we are called to protect it, especially in its most vulnerable forms. A culture of life recognizes the value of those who are vulnerable and prioritizes safeguarding them," she wrote.

"By setting an execution date for Panetti, Texas is going entirely contrary to what we expect in a society that truly values life," Johnson added. "This proposed execution shows a troubling disregard toward the reality of mental illness and protecting those who suffer from it."

Mother Jones reporter Stephanie Mencimer noted that it's "unusual for conservative Christians to support a clemency petition like Panetti's."

If there was ever a time that the governor would be able to demonstrate some human qualities -- i.e., compassion, forgiveness, a conscience perhaps -- now is his chance.  But he's running for president, and Bill Clinton failed to take the right path at this crossroads in 1992, so I'm not expecting Rick Perry to do anything differently.

Update (12/3): Of course I wasn't expecting the Fifth Circuit to do anything at all, but they did. Here's Wonkette with the snark.

In a fit of temporary sanity, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a stay of execution for Scott Panetti... 

 

[...]

Now that the 5th Circuit has stepped in, Perry can continue to be silent on Panetti and keep hoping that taking a position one way or the other won’t hurt him with 2016 Republican primary voters. (We are joking, of course — Perry’s chances would only be hurt if he backed off from executing anyone, ever.)

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance has awakened from its Thanksgiving food coma long enough to bring you this week's roundup.  Now back to the turkey sandwiches, turkey casseroles, turkey enchiladas, etc.

Off the Kuff is cheering for the Texas same-sex marriage plaintiffs as they move for the stay of the ruling that threw out the ban on same-sex nuptials to be lifted.

Libby Shaw, of Texas Kaos and Daily Kos, is taking a few days off to spend quality time with family. I hope all of our readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Some helpful tips to avoid looking like a jackass with respect to the events in Ferguson, Missouri this past week were offered by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme disagrees with the GOP view that only rich, white, old men should vote.

Neil at All People Have Value attended the Michael Brown protest march in Houston this past week. The work of freedom is always up to each of us. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

The controversial decision in Ferguson sent shockwaves across the country, with many communities immediately engaging in protests. But as Texas Leftist discovered, the Houston protests may yield some substantive progress in the quest to outfit officers with body cameras. Plus, a new video highlight's HPD's work to tackle homelessness.

Texpatriate runs down some of the propsed changes to Houston's city charter.

Bay Area Houston wonders (not really) why we have race problems in America.

Dos Centavos published the entire fact sheet on the president's immigration executive action.

Bluedaze aggregated several days' worth of fracking bad news.

===================

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

The Rivard Report, with a clear view of what "bipartisanship" means these days, reminds us that it only takes a few generations to go from immigrant to hypocrite.

Trail Blazers discovers a blast from the Tom DeLay past, John Colyandro, among the advisers to Greg Abbott.

Socratic Gadfly calls out NY Sen. Chuck Schumer for his backbiting on Obamacare.

The Texas Observer has the story of the Terrell State Hospital's terrible conditions, and the state's even worse response to them: privatize it, using a company with a bad reputation.

Lone Star Ma has had it with the textbook adoption process.

Grits for Breakfast questions Republican funny math on border security funding.

Texans Together discusses hardship exemptions for the Affordable Care Act.

LGBTQ Insider explains another acronym for the spectrum.

And Fascist Dyke Motors relates her personal Twitter troll horror story.

Sunday Funnies

How to avoid being a jackass about Ferguson

Allan Uthman, in full.

One unpleasant side effect of the unrest in Ferguson MO, and now spreading across the country, is that a lot of white people are making giant asses of themselves on social media. Amazingly, none of them are racist, as they will tell you, but that’s how they’re coming across for some reason. For these people and those poor souls who care for them, here are a few pointers on how to avoid being a huge jackass. You’re welcome, America! Let’s start with an easy one:

• If you find yourself using the word “animals” in a non-zoological context, try punching yourself in the face repeatedly until the impulse subsides.

• If you think it makes sense to judge an entire community or race based on what a few people have done, please turn yourself in for your part in whatever recent crimes white people committed in your area.

• If you feel a desire to blame the media for the simple act of covering the story, because if they didn’t, then people wouldn’t be mad, because they wouldn’t know what happened, try to understand that this makes you a proponent of censorship and that if anyone needs to shut the hell up it’s you.

• If you find yourself repeating the details of the accused murderer’s story as if it were the definitive version of the events in question, you are probably stupid. Try to keep this in mind. Even racists know enough not to trust any random white guy with a clear motivation to lie.

• If you think this was an acquittal based on a thorough examination of evidence, please make an attempt to learn what a grand jury does and how it is not a trial. Also look up how many grand juries don’t indict. Never mind; I’ll tell you: like, none. Seriously, 11 out of 162,000.

• If you found Officer Wilson’s statement that he “felt like a 5-year-old holding on to Hulk Hogan” compelling, consider that Wilson is Brown’s height, nearly his weight, and that he is a goddamn trained police officer, and that you were subconsciously wondering why he didn’t just say “gorilla.”

• If you’re tempted to wonder aloud why the media didn’t cover some other shooting in which the victim was white and the assailant black, stop for a moment and remember that the shooter WAS NOT A COP and there is therefore no equivalence. Also, please don’t mention that whites didn’t riot over the OJ Simpson verdict, because OJ Simpson is arguably the first black guy who ever got away with murder and again, there is no equivalence there, you idiot. Then also try to recognize that it is you who is putting the situation in terms of race and only race. Then shut up.

• If you were led to believe erroneous reports that wildly exaggerated Officer Wilson’s injuries, and yet still rely on the same sources of information that just lied to you, you need to acknowledge that you’re not primarily interested in the truth. But then again, why would you start being honest with yourself now?

Prosecutorial misconduct certainly; most likely corruption.  A police officer without the courage or even the decency necessary for the job, now a millionaire as a result of his fame in conservative circles.  There's more than enough wrong with this fresh stain on America's moral conscience to last for a generation.

But we know it's just going to keep on happening.  Until they can be convinced to stop it.

What do you suppose it will take to do that?

Turkey Toons