Tag Archives: Texas lawmakers

State news

We'll see about character among lawmakers

I think I heard it first from then-U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, an Oklahoma Republican, who I’m sure didn’t coin the phrase that noted that you measure someone’s character by “what he does when no one’s looking.”

Still, Watts’s assessment rang true when I heard him say it and it will ring true likely forever.

Thus, the American Phoenix Foundation is set to release hidden-camera video of Texas lawmakers behaving when they think no one is looking.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/disrupt-narrative

APF has made a name for itself exposing misbehavior among elected public officials. It’s a conservative group. Its aim is to reveal how our elected reps conduct themselves. It’s gone after liberal politicians and those associated with liberal causes, such as ACORN.

The leaders of AFP assure us, though, that they’re going to expose conservative lawmakers saying certain things in public but doing entirely different things in private.

Umm, we’ll see about that.

 

 

military news

Purple Hearts for Fort Hood victims? Yes

Do you want a more graphic demonstration of how the war against international terrorism has changed the rules of engagement?

Try this: Texas lawmakers are gathering at Fort Hood this morning to present 40 Purple Hearts to active-duty service personnel who were wounded in a 2009 shooting on the sprawling Army post.

http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/09/fort-hood-victims-be-awarded-purple-heart-medals/

Army Major Nidal Hasan was convicted of murdering 13 people in the Nov. 5, 2009 rampage and has been sentenced to death for his crime.

This is a deserving honor for the individuals wounded in the attack. Given that the international war on terror — and Hasan clearly committed a terrorist act when he opened fire at Fort Hood — has redefined the “battlefield,” the individuals deserve the Purple Hearts.

As the Texas Tribune reported: “Federal authorities initially classified the incident as workplace violence, and victims and their supporters spent years trying to convince the government to call the act terrorism so they could qualify for the Purple Heart and benefits that come with it. Hasan has said he planned the attack as a way of protecting Muslim insurgents abroad.”

Several Texas officials plan to attend the ceremony this morning. One of them, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — an announced Republican presidential candidate — calls the award long overdue. “This attack was a clear act of radical Islamic terrorism, conducted on American soil — the original decision to designate it ‘workplace violence’ and deny these honors was a betrayal of the sacrifice of each of the victims,” Cruz said in a statement. “We can never undo the events of that day, but we can properly honor the courageous patriots who protect our nation and remain forever grateful for them.”

The government today will do the right thing by honoring those who wounded by Nidal Hasan.