Tag: 2008 News & News Blog
200 Executions and Counting: Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Cruel Death Tally
Published on June 2, 2009 by AlterNet.
By Liliana Segura / Alternet
At roughly 6 p.m. tonight, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will make history when he presides over the 200th execution of his tenure. It's a chilling achievement, one that dwarfs that of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who famously signed off on 152 (with a little help from his friend, then-legal counsel Alberto Gonzales).
Prisoners Riot, Set Fire at Kinney County Detention Center
The Kinney County Detention Center in Bracketville remained in full lockdown yesterday after a Friday night riot, reports the Del Rio News Herald. According to a press release from the Kinney County Sheriff's Office, 30 prisoners refused to return to their cells from an indoor recreation area, and instead set fire to mattresses and clothing.
Grits on Rick Perry's Immigration Policy
Grits for Breakfast has a good, long post arguing that Gov. Perry's immigration policy has more to do with pandering to right-wing xenophobes than it has to do with anything else. A taste:
Cornyn, Hutchison Still Voting Republican
Straight out of our "water is wet" department, Capitol Annex reports that Republican Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison continue to vote, well, Republican:
T. Don Hutto Contract Renewed
Ignoring public outcry and reports of awful conditions, Williamson County officials voted yesterday to renew the contract for the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, which is located in Taylor. The Hutto facility is a 512-bed, for-profit private prison where immigrant families are held while awaiting deportation or other outcomes to their immigration cases.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Sues Over E-Verify Expansion
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is suing the federal government over the legality of requiring federal contractors and sub-contractors to use the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) E-Verify system, arguing that the program is illegal under federal law. Bowing to pressure from the xenophobic right, the Bush administration mandated that federal contractors must use the E-Verify system, which requires contractors to run background checks of employees against a federal database.
Galveston Police Kidnap and Assault 12-Year-Old Girl
If you live in Galveston, when four men jump out of an unmarked van and tell you to get in, then you better go quietly. They might turn out to be cops who will call you a prostitute, assault you, and charge you with resisting arrest.
Recession Hits Mexican Immigrants
A number of sources report that immigrants from Mexico are being pinched by the current U.S. economic recession.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that U.S. workers are crowding out immigrant laborers:
Rights Group Accuses U.S. of Failing to Protect Latinos
"A civil rights legal advocacy group, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, filed an unusual international petition Thursday accusing the United States of failing to adequately protect Latinos living within its borders, regardless of citizenship," the New York Times reported Dec. 18. The claim was filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an OAS organ charged with investigating human rights complaints. From the article:
Machine-Gun Shoots Let Children Attend
Gun use is a touchy subject. On the one hand, the state clearly has a monopoly on violence (or at least a near-monopoly), and there's something to be said for Ward Churchill's argument that leftists need to demystify guns. On the other hand, it's pretty disturbing that some machine-gun shoots are letting children attend.
Getting By In Texas: Family Budget Estimator
Income, poverty, and cost-of-living measures from the federal government are generally a load of crap. So, what does it really take to get by in Texas?
Rodney Reed Denied New Trial; Protest on Monday!
Press release from the Austin chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty:
Reed’s Supporters Plan Protest for Monday, December 22, 2008, 5:30 p.m. at the Capitol in Austin, 11th and Congress.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief in the case of Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed on Wednesday, as his family members and supporters decried the ruling.
Edcouch-Elsa ISD Fires 200 Employees
Two hundred employees of the Edcouch-Elsa school district received pink slips as early Christmas presents yesterday, representing 20 percent of EEISD's personnel, according to The Monitor in McAllen. On Tuesday, the paper reported that the school district faces a 10 million dollar financial shortfall, and that the firings would address about 5 million of it.
State of Working Texans, 2008
Texas workers face "rising costs of living, staggering debt burdens, and stagnant wages," according to the Center for Public Policy Priorities' State of Working Texas 2008 report. "With jobs and profits harder to come by, Texas will need to respond to the immediate challenges posed by an impending global recession while crafting a more sustainable economic development strategy that equally considers the economic needs of companies and working families."