Last week, this lovely story came out pertaining to a Texas lawmaker who believes that illegal immigration is just an awful, awful menace.... unless of course, the "illegals" stay in their lane and stick to performing menial household duties for rich white folks. Then, she sees no problem, and would even grant exemptions to the penalties for hiring undocumented immigrants to people employ them as household servants.
Texas has long been a hotbed of controversy on immigration issues. And a proposed immigration bill in the Texas state House is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows. The bill would make hiring an "unauthorized alien" a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine, unless that is, they are hired to do household chores.
Yes, under the House Bill 2012 introduced by a tea party favorite state Rep. Debbie Riddle -- who's been saying for some time that she'd like to see Texas institute an Arizona-style immigration law -- hiring an undocumented maid, caretaker, lawn worker or any type of house worker would be allowed. Why? As Texas state Rep. Aaron Pena, also a Republican, told CNN, without the exemption, "a large segment of the Texas population" would wind up in prison if the bill became law.
"When it comes to household employees or yard workers it is extremely common for Texans to hire people who are likely undocumented workers," Pena told the news giant. "It is so common it is overlooked." SOURCE
The following story is about man who, under Texas State law SHOULD BE receiving monetary compensation for his time spent is prison after a wrongful conviction. Supposedly a "courtroom technicality" has caused him to be ineligible for compensation. I believe that this was no mere "technicality", that this was a deliberate attempt on the part of the (in)justice system to deny this man the money he is due.
A courtroom technicality has cost a wrongly convicted Texas man the compensation that would otherwise be due him for the 18 years he'd served in Texas prison--14 of which he spent on Death Row.
Anthony Graves would have received $1.4 million in compensation if only the words "actual innocence" had been included in the judge's order that secured Graves's release from prison. The Comptroller's office decided the omission means Graves gets zero dollars, writes Harvey Rice at the Houston Chronicle, even though the prosecutor, judge, and defense all agreed at trial he is innocent.
So how did this happen? Cory Session, a Texas Innocence Project policy director and one of the architects of the 2009 Tim Cole compensation law for exonerated prisoners, tells The Lookout that the Brenham prosecutor's office decided to dismiss the murder charges they originally filed against Graves, instead of retrying him all over again and finding him innocent. The compensation law provides $80,000 per year in prison only to claimants explicitly found innocent in a retrial or who are granted a pardon. Neither status now applies to Graves.
Session says he has no idea why the Brenham prosectors neglected to explicitly say in the court order that Graves was innocent. By simply dropping the charges, prosecutors could always retry Graves for the same crime if new evidence surfaced. Double Jeopardy rules would not apply, because the original charges against him have effectively disappeared. Source
I do not believe that the prosecutor was unaware of the consequences for Mr. Graves of his decision to simply drop the charges against this man instead of finding him innocent in court. This was a convoluted way of punishing Mr. Graves for being the victim of injustice. It is a way of extending his punishment EVEN AFTER he has been found innocent.
Do you remember when over the summer, Texas governor Rick Perry threatened state secession? I don’t think anyone thought anything of it then; at the time, the right seemed particularly occupied with yelling out anything that seemed to express their extreme displeasure in the “Washington establishment” and the new socialist direction in which the country was heading, no matter how ridiculous it was or how ridiculous it made them seem.
Perhaps it was just coincidental that the face of the “Washington establishment” and the man leading that headlong charge into socialism just happened to be a black face, the first of its kind.
So by the time the secession talk came up, I wasn’t all that surprised; by that time I had seen and heard it all. But what really caused me to raise an eyebrow was when the secessionist movement actually began to catch on. A sizable portion of Texans actually supported secession or either could not make up their mind, and some fools even began to campaign on the secessionist platform.
And whatever reasons Texans might give for supporting secession, the first few lines from the Texas Secede! Websiteseems to imply that the president at least figures in the desire to leave the union:
“Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States…” (note that it does notstate…subject to the President of the United States…”…)
Now, I cannot insinuate race is a factor here because nowhere on this site can I find racist language, so I’ll resist making that charge. Let’s just say that Texans are somewhat intimidated by the change in American society and culture, no matter how minute, that is suggested by President Obama’s election.
However, if the secessionist movement does not gain ground, Texans have found an alternate means of affecting the historical trajectory of the nation; they’ll just rewrite history. Last week the conservative heavy Texas State Board of Education voted to transform the Texas social studies and economics textbooks into purveyors of conservative ideals and principals.
Ok, wait, holdup. I know you're probably thinking something is wrong with me. Yes, I realize that the title of this post has thrown you for a loop. Uh huh, yeah, how in the hell can RiPPa support the Lone Star state seceding from the union that is, the United States of America? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you're also thinking either I'm sick or was held down in some backroom by a few of the right-wing republican loons who are all now suddenly trolling this blog. But listen, you guys know that I love this country enough to criticize it as James Baldwin says. And yes, with that said, there is no way I would be about running off and forming my own country. So you know there has to be something to me supporting secession, right?
Ok, check it:
Did you watch that clip? Did it teach you anything? No, this has nothing to do with Barack and Michelle's 26 aides living off of tax payer dollars in the White House. Nor is it even about this great nation being lead down a path of destruction by a presumed racist but intellectually inferior Black man; truth be told, in this country we're all stupid and we have a hard time supporting anyone for president who is Black not a C-student. So why do I support secession? Because this is about crazy gun loving, gun totting, red-blood pumping idiots who live among us.
You see, the way I see it, these people in the clip above are just that. And, since they say everything is bigger in Texas. I can only imagine just how many of them are currently breathing good American air. These are people who should be all stranded on an Island with Gilligan somewhere. But since that's not gonna happen I say go ahead and give them their own country. See, what's gonna happen is that the rest of patriotic fools who supported America George Bush when billions were being spent at war, are all gonna pack up and move to the nation of Texas faster than Jed Clampett got to Beverly Hills. And for America (you know the rest of us?), that would be a great thing.
Yeah, forget a pending bloodbath or pissing on the tree of liberty. Just go ahead and make it legal for them to do just that. And right after it's done? We build a fence and keep their silly asses out. Yeah, how's that for handling the border problem problem with idiots in this country. I mean, what would the country have to lose? The Dallas Cowboys? Hell, if you believe in that they’re America's team, then I guess it's safe to say that America is all about losing, and that’s not good for our image. Oh you say we'll lose oil? Lose that good ole Texas tea? We import more oil than we produce domestically anyway, and besides there's always Alaska and all the oil Sarah Palin didn’t steal.
So yeah, give them their own country; give us the peace of mind of not having to live among loons. Trust me; this would be a win win situation. Besides, I think it would be fun watching White people sneak into America just like the Mexicans whom they despise very much. At the end of the day they’ll need us more than we need them, and there is something comical about picturing White ex-patriots selling oranges under a freeway. I think this is just the action that will give president Obama’s approval rating, a much needed boost, and revive beloved Texan George Bush's role as Lord of the Flies, and that folks, is a good thing.
“He who warned uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” -- Sarah Palin on Paul Revere
