Senate Republicans put the GOP first, not issues that matter (Austin American Statesman)

Forget the $9.1 billion drop in projected state revenues and the state’s slowing economy.

Never mind the scandals in the Texas Youth Commission and state schools for Texans with mental retardation. Or that the Texas Department of Transportation made a $1 billion budget error, and not in the state’s favor.

No, for Republicans in the Texas Senate, the most important crisis facing the State of Texas is: voter fraud. That’s the first issue the Senate GOP majority addressed Wednesday

Callie had the best reaction to this odd ad from Big Bad John: Why is he impersonating Ansel Adams?

Noriega goofs words to

First, irritation (Letters, Houston Chronicle)

All of the hoopla about the comments of Pastor Jeremiah Wright recalls the old adage that the truth will set you free

Rich Connelly notes in the Houston Press that license renewals are about to become FUN in Texas:

The federal Real ID act requires everyone renewing a license after May 11, 2008, to present a passport or birth certificate and a valid Social Security card. (After doing it once, you can then go back to online renewals.)

That’s 16 million Texans who will have to be processed over a five-year period.

“It’s going to be a little slice of heaven,” Mange says.

For the first year alone, DPS is budgeting $160 million for increased personnel, extended office hours and possibly new locations to handle the crush.

States can opt out of the Real ID program — there are bills before the legislature calling for Texas to do so — but then those states are considered “non-compliant” by the feds. And that means you wouldn’t be able to use your driver’s license to board a plane or get in any federal building.

Some dozen states have already opted out. The hope among some folks is that if enough states do so, the feds will have to adjust their plans.

If that doesn’t happen, though, you can look forward to waiting with millions of your fellow Texans as a state bureaucracy tries to handle a flood of new transactions in an untested process.

I feel safer, don’t you?

Especially since a library card and social security card can be used as forms of identification to get on plane.

Yep. Definitely safer.

Asininity.

Many license plate frames illegal: Court ruling gives police power to stop cars with partially obscured plates (Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman)

Texans who unintentionally cover even a small portion of their car’s license plate can be stopped by police, ticketed and perhaps arrested for the offense, the state’s highest criminal court ruled Wednesday.

The 8-1 decision left three Court of Criminal Appeals judges holding their noses

Troopers say man distracted by sign causes fatal wreck in Conroe (KTRK-13 News)

Troopers say a sign for low gas prices may have resulted in a deadly crash.

State troopers say they have not ticketed the woman’s husband who caused the crash.

Troopers say Johnny Hohensee, 75, made a quick left turn in his Ford Escort towards the gas station. Another car heading the opposite direction crashed into the Escort, killing Linda Hohensee, 64.

“The driver stated that he was distracted with the sign at the gas station on the quick stop,” said Trooper Chris Perkins with the Department of Public Safety.

Hmm, it’s going to be hard to blame this one on Sudden Acceleration Syndrome.

I wonder why the guy wasn’t ticketed?

Marketing firm tries to help Galveston shed its ‘dirty’ image (Associated Press)

One of Texas’ best-known but equally disparaged beach towns is trying to figure out how to promote itself to outsiders while acknowledging that the town and its beaches are dirty and largely unappealing.

Galvestonians and tourists alike repeatedly cited “dirty beaches” and the town’s “unclean feel” during recent interviews conducted by a marketing firm hired to help boost Galveston’s image.

“Your beach is most known, but neither visitors or residents think highly of it,” says the report, commissioned by Galveston’s top tourism promoters. “Flaunt the uniqueness of your island. Your beaches and island are not dirty– they are colored with stories, history and culture.”

That’s among the advice contained in the $76,000 promotion report commissioned by the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees, which is responsible for overseeing tourism promotion on the island. Officials plan to spend another $24,000 designing and distributing print ads and billboards promoting Galveston around the state of Texas and to targeted cities around the United States and Canada.

Maybe they should spend some of their money on… cleaning the beaches (and town)?

Running errands around Montrose/Upper Kirby yesterday, I saw several of those Kinky Friedman “My governor is a Jewish Cowboy” bumper stickers.

The thought struck me that I missed a great Cafe Press opportunity to have a little fun at Gov. Perry’s expense with this bumper sticker: “My governor is an Aggie yell leader.”

Ah well.