Texas Politics: Never a Dull Moment
Category: Politics...
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 02:44 PM [GMT-6]

The state legislature has finally – finally! – ended its latest session, having expended vast amounts of energy to provide the utmost in entertainment for the benefit of the voters of Texas, and the Texas Insider has a tidy compilation of the winners and losers from the session. My favorites:

[Winner] GOD – "In God We Trust" now is etched above the House and Senate rostrums. The words "under God" were inserted into the state pledge of allegiance. Bibles can't be confiscated for debt, but they can be taught in high school. Restrictions on religious expression in schools were lifted. He must have a great lobby team.
[Winner] THE CURE – The commitment is huge, and so is the ambition: $3 billion over 10 years to find a cure for cancer. Sure, it's a moon shot, but so was the moon shot, and that was run from Texas, too.
[Loser] BLIND SALAMANDER – The governor rejected this translucent swimmer from becoming the official state amphibian. He said a salamander from Hays County cannot represent the whole state. The little guy also had another problem: His champion, Rep. Dennis Bonnen, led the effort to repeal the governor's HPV vaccine order.
[Loser] SMOKERS – Taxed both socially and financially, they finally caught a break – yes, a cigarette break. A statewide smoking ban prohibiting people from lighting up in most public places got stubbed out. Yes, technically you were a winner, but since it's still legal to nag, we're putting you in the loser column.

I didn't realize that our proud state had no Official Amphibian. I guess Dan Rather doesn't count.

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Comments

I didn't realize that any state had a state amphibian. This has all kinds of potential! ;-)

Posted by: gwynne at May 29, 2007 05:04 PM

I nominate Speaker Craddick! (snark, snark) :-)

Posted by: Jeff at May 29, 2007 05:54 PM

I nominate the horned toad for the official amphibian. (Ok, well, I know the official scientific name is horn* toad, but I'm trying to be mindful of the spam blocker. ) :)

Posted by: Denise at May 29, 2007 10:06 PM

Wait a minute! The h*rn* toad is a lizard not an amphibian. Sorry, my bad.

Posted by: Denise at May 29, 2007 10:07 PM

Denise, I was getting ready to correct your zoological faux pas when your retraction appeared. I figured that anyone with Godzilla on her redirect page would surely know a lizard when she saw one. ;-)

Posted by: Eric at May 29, 2007 10:11 PM

It's not original with me, and I don't recall where it originated, but I've always thought this quote was appropriate:
"The Texas Constitution stipulates the Legislature shall meet for 140 days every two years. Maybe it would be better if it met two days every 140 years."

Posted by: Darrell Ward at May 30, 2007 06:42 AM

Darrell, I sometimes think that having a Midlander as the Speaker of the House tends to magnify all aspects of the legislature's activities, and especially when that position is at the center of such "interesting" controversies.

Posted by: Eric at May 30, 2007 07:58 AM

.... Dan Rather.... Ha Ha!!!!

Posted by: shannon at May 31, 2007 12:42 PM
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