Billions in Red Ink to deal with, and you have jackwads like Kolkhorst...The Republicans ought to ship her to Wisconsin.

Bill Calls for Illegals to Be Dumped at Offices of Congressmen

Says all illegal immigrants should be ‘taken to the office of a US Senator or Congressman and left there’

A measure filed by State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) would allow any law enforcement agency that has custody of an illegal immigrant to take the illegal to 'the office of a U.S. Senator or Representative' and leave them there.

The measure also allows county sheriff's deputies or city police officers to 'request an agent or employee of the United States Senator or United States Representative to sign a document acknowledging the release or discharge of the illegal immigrant at the senator's or representative's office.

The measure covers individuals who are 'not a citizen or national of the United States' and who is 'unlawfully present in the United States.'

The measure doesn't specify what the Senator or Congressman is supposed to do with the illegal immigrant, but calls on the law enforcement agency to 'maintain a record of each illegal immigrant released or discharged who is not transferred to the custody of the Untied States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.'

Illegal immigration has emerged as a top priority of the Republican super-majority in the Texas Legislature, and this is just one of several dozen bills introduced in Austin to deny jobs, housing, and government benefits to illegals.

Kolkhorst has already introduced a measure which would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants.

Several thousand people are expected to descend on the state capitol today to denounce the measures, and to call on the federal government, not the states, to handle matters related to immigration.

http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/sec...le=8203908

Hey I know Lois. She was an assistant SID at TCU when I first got to Rice decades ago. She quit working in the sports information office not too long after that and got into politics. While I don't agree with her politics, she was a nice lady. I"m pretty sure she's related also to Gary Kolkhorst (and Chris of Rice baseball fame).

Pick a random Texas House Committee to watch . . you'll think you're on the Comedy Channel.

With a few notable exceptions, e.g., Will Hartnett-R, Dallas and P. Gallego, D-Alpine, it's pretty depressing small beer.

Leo Berman (R-Tyler) according to this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27t....html?_r=1

Mr. Berman began the session on a wave of national attention for writing a bill that would require future presidential hopefuls to submit their birth certificate to the Texas secretary of state. He acknowledged that it was inspired by his misgivings about President Obama, who Mr. Berman believes was born in Kenya. As a longtime board member of the historically black Texas College, Mr. Berman dismissed accusations that this or any of his bills are motivated by race.

“I’m just a person who wants to see fact,” he said.

Though the Obama campaign produced a certificate of live birth from Hawaii, Mr. Berman was not swayed. “The latest rumor I hear, and I don’t know if this is true or not,” he said, “is that he’s used about 25 different Social Security numbers.”

Mr. Berman said he got his information from e-mail and online video clips. “YouTubes are infallible,” he said.

(02-24-2011 11:10 PM)ausowl Wrote:  Pick a random Texas House Committee to watch . . you'll think you're on the Comedy Channel.

With a few notable exceptions, e.g., Will Hartnett-R, Dallas and P. Gallego, D-Alpine, it's pretty depressing small beer.

Scott Hochberg (D-Houston, Will Rice Class of '75) is outstanding.

(02-28-2011 05:21 PM)Old Sammy Wrote:  Scott Hochberg (D-Houston, Will Rice Class of '75) is outstanding.

I met Rep. Hochberg on Wednesday evening at a Rice function in Austin. I've heard good things from people who know him, but this is the first time I had met him in person. He impressed me tremendously. In his conversation with me and others, he seemed to combine obvious intellectual grasp with political keenness and considerable tact -- not a very common combination. Of course, I would like to think that those qualities are inherent in having an MEE from Rice, as he does, but I'm afraid I can't make that boast

A small anecdote: Rep. Hochberg quipped that his district in Houston is the most densely populated one in the state, and the representative he sits next two (or perhaps offices next to - I don't recall exactly) has the least densely populated district, so that between the two of them their districts are almost exactly average.

His brother, Will Rice '79 if I'm not mistaken:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/bio_hochberg.html

OT- but another noncomedic politician became president 150 years ago today:

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html

Rep. Hochberg is often at Rice baseball games, or at least the ones I'm able to go to. And he's often on his own, so if you want a chance to chat baseball with him for a while, it's always a good opportunity.

(03-04-2011 12:24 PM)JSA Wrote:  OT- but another noncomedic politician became president 150 years ago today:

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html

The link is to Lincoln's first inaugural address, and it is fascinating. Among other things, he has a strong defense of the duty of political minorities to acquiesce to lawful majorities. And he also argues that important Constitutional questions should be hashed out in the political arena, not delegated entirely to the Supreme Court:

Quote:I do not forget the position assumed by some that constitutional questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that such decisions must be binding in any case upon the parties to a suit as to the object of that suit, while they are also entitled to very high respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments of the Government....At the same time, the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.

Wow.

And then there is his memorably poetic close:

Quote:We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

(03-04-2011 12:24 PM)JSA Wrote:  OT- but another noncomedic politician became president 150 years ago today

I think I know what you mean by noncomedic -- i.e., the events of his presidency were noncomedic -- but actually Lincoln was renowned for his jokes and "story-telling" abilities.

Many editorial cartoons of that era actually criticized him for being not serious enough about the events going on around him.

(03-05-2011 12:39 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-04-2011 12:24 PM)JSA Wrote:  OT- but another noncomedic politician became president 150 years ago today

I think I know what you mean by noncomedic -- i.e., the events of his presidency were noncomedic -- but actually Lincoln was renowned for his jokes and "story-telling" abilities.

Many editorial cartoons of that era actually criticized him for being not serious enough about the events going on around him.

Good Point. I thought of that after I posted.

That's why I pull my hair out and cuss Republicans. You have a Super-Majority and you waste you time on this BS.

Oh I like the fact that they propose to classify "synthetic marijuana" as a Category 1 Controlled Substance at the same time there is a proposal to make possession of less than an ounce "real marijuana" a Class C Misdemeanor.

The Republicans have a prime opportunity to cut the size, scope and intrusion of State Government into everyone's life, and they waste their time on all sorts of social-conservative garbage.

(03-06-2011 09:27 PM)WMD Owl Wrote:  That's why I pull my hair out and cuss Republicans. You have a Super-Majority and you waste you time on this BS.
Oh I like the fact that they propose to classify "synthetic marijuana" as a Category 1 Controlled Substance at the same time there is a proposal to make possession of less than an ounce "real marijuana" a Class C Misdemeanor.
The Republicans have a prime opportunity to cut the size, scope and intrusion of State Government into everyone's life, and they waste their time on all sorts of social-conservative garbage.

Same thing at the federal level. We're $14 trillion in debt, and running a trillion and a half further in the hole a year--and they're arguing with the democrats over whether to cut $4 billion or $61 billion. Yeah, that'll make a big difference. Right.

In the end, I think they're not really interested in cutting the size, scope, and intrusion of government--just shaping it for their own ends instead of the other guys'. That has to change--or we're hosed.

(03-06-2011 09:27 PM)WMD Owl Wrote:  That's why I pull my hair out and cuss Republicans. You have a Super-Majority and you waste you time on this BS.

So, don't vote for them, then.

(03-07-2011 03:17 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(03-06-2011 09:27 PM)WMD Owl Wrote:  The Republicans have a prime opportunity to cut the size, scope and intrusion of State Government into everyone's life, and they waste their time on all sorts of social-conservative garbage.

Same thing at the federal level.

Not exactly the same thing. GOP in Texas holds all the aces. Not so in D.C.

Quote:We're $14 trillion in debt, and running a trillion and a half further in the hole a year--and they're arguing with the democrats over whether to cut $4 billion or $61 billion. Yeah, that'll make a big difference. Right.

The fact that Obama + Democrats were (until about 5 minutes ago) arguing In Opposition to even these small, symbolic cuts demonstrates more clearly than anything I could say what the Republicans up against. Plus the overwhelming majority of the academic/media class doing everything it can -- which is a lot -- to undermine them.

Quote:In the end, I think they're not really interested in cutting the size, scope, and intrusion of government--just shaping it for their own ends instead of the other guys'. That has to change--or we're hosed.

That could apply to the American people as a whole just as much as the Republican Party. In fact, even more so, IMHO. We -- as a nation -- have now had about 75 years' experience with the concept of an "activist" government, claiming an infinite mandate to "solve" all our "problems" (with both the "problems" and the "solutions" essentially defined by the activists). This concept, though not unanimously accepted by the American people, has still not been decisively rejected by them, either. Until (and unless) it is, arguing about cuts of 1% or one-half-of-1% is probably about as good as its going to get.

(03-07-2011 03:17 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  We're $14 trillion in debt, and running a trillion and a half further in the hole a year--and they're arguing with the democrats over whether to cut $4 billion or $61 billion. Yeah, that'll make a big difference. Right.

Well, the Democrats have drawn their line in the sand. $6b in "cuts", not a nickel more.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011...k-for-gop/

With that in mind, let's review a basic fact about American politics: On a national basis, the individual voter has three practical options: (I) Vote Democrat, (II) Vote Republican, or (III) Abstain. Anything other than (I) or (II) is functionally equivalent to (III).

(03-07-2011 11:20 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-07-2011 03:17 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  We're $14 trillion in debt, and running a trillion and a half further in the hole a year--and they're arguing with the democrats over whether to cut $4 billion or $61 billion. Yeah, that'll make a big difference. Right.

Well, the Democrats have drawn their line in the sand. $6b in "cuts", not a nickel more.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011...k-for-gop/

I think it's time to shut the puppy down and let the chips fall where they may.