July 31, 2014

Cattle expert Temple Grandin to speak at Texas A&M summer commencement

Internationally renowned animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin will deliver Texas A&M's summer commencement convocation on Aug. 14.

The Colorado State University professor, who will also receive an honorary doctoral degree during the morning graduation ceremony the following day, is known for her work in designing facilities to handle livestock and developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry.

"Dr. Grandin is an exceptional individual in every positive sense of the term, and a person for whom I have long had great admiration -- for both her pioneering work in various aspects of animal science and for all that she has accomplished in overcoming autism and sharing her experiences in a variety of highly effective ways," Interim University President Mark Hussey said in a statement. "We are greatly honored that she has accepted our invitation to serve as our commencement convocation speaker next month and to receive an honorary doctorate."

Grandin's other accomplishments include 10 books and various academic and industry awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the The National Cattlemen's Beef Association. She was also inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, inspired an HBO movie starring Claire Danes and was listed as one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2010.

More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/cattle-expert-temple-grandin-to-speak-at-texas-a-m/article_53757884-7102-5bcd-936c-f4d9027472df.html .

July 31, 2014

Texas doctor with Ebola turns down serum

Dr. Kent Brantly, the Texas doctor who contracted the Ebola virus in West Africa, turned down an experimental serum and asked that it instead by given to another sick mission worker, a post Thursday on the Samaritan’s Purse website says.

Samaritan’s Purse is the organization that employs Brantly and that has been serving as a source of updates on the doctor, who performed his residency at JPS Hospital in Fort Worth.

“Yesterday, an experimental serum arrived in the country, but there was only enough for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse in the website posting. “However, Dr. Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care. The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life.”

Brantly and Writebol, a hygienist working at the same hospital, are in stable but grave condition. Brantly took a “slight turn for the worse overnight,” according to the website.

More at http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/07/31/6010018/texas-doctor-with-ebola-turns.html .

July 31, 2014

As Republican Leaders Meet In Dallas, Protesters Rally Outside (ALEC Convention)

Protesters outside the Dallas Anatole opposing the meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Bill Zeeble KERA News

Some of the nation’s most powerful Republican politicians are in Dallas this week for the annual convention of the American Legislative Exchange Council – known as ALEC. There was action inside and protests outside.

The American Legislative Exchange Council has been around a long time. The Dallas meeting is its 41st annual gathering, and exemplifies a kind of button-down conservatism. That’s reflected in its core values repeated a lot: free markets, limited government, and federalism – another way of saying state’s rights.

ALEC creates legislation it hopes states adopt. It helped with the Stand Your Ground laws that garnered bad publicity after George Zimmerman killed Treyvon Martin and used the law for his defense. ALEC helped write failed ordinances Farmers Branch passed trying to keep illegal immigrants from renting there.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus welcomed ALEC attendees at today's luncheon. He’s glad the non-profit no longer pushes immigrant renter rules.

More at http://kut.org/post/republican-leaders-meet-dallas-protesters-rally-outside .

July 31, 2014

Jury awards parents $27 million in College Station McDonald's negligence lawsuit

A Brazos County jury awarded a $27 million verdict Wednesday in a negligence lawsuit against McDonald’s filed by the parents of two Blinn College students who died in 2012.

The parents of Denton James Ward, 18, of Flower Mound, and Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs were suing McDonald’s on claims the fast-food corporation’s lack of security led to the death of their children, both of whom were pronounced dead shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2012, after they were in a car accident after leaving the University Drive McDonald’s.

When the accident occurred, Crisp and Ward, along with Tanner Giesen, 19, were being driven in Ward’s vehicle by their friend, Samantha Bean, 20, who was attempting to get Ward and Giesen to the hospital after they’d been severely beaten by a group of men at the McDonald’s across from Texas A&M, according to testimony.

The vehicle was struck by another vehicle when Bean, who had been drinking but was never criminally charged, ran a red light at Holleman Drive.

More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/jury-awards-parents-million-in-mcdonald-s-negligence-lawsuit/article_df73eb82-1827-11e4-ad0c-001a4bcf887a.html .

BRYAN – A Brazos County jury awarded a $27 million verdict in a civil lawsuit against McDonald’s following the 2012 deaths of two Blinn College students.

Denton James Ward, 18, of Flower Mound, and Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs were killed when they ran a red light at Texas and Holleman Drive. They were on their way to the hospital after being beaten by a mob at the McDonald’s on University Drive.

Their parents claim the deaths could have been avoided if McDonald’s had hired security guards to prevent the fights that had happened regularly over the past year.

“We hope this verdict sends a powerful message to McDonald’s and other companies that protecting customers is more important than late-night revenue,” says attorney Chris Hamilton. “The night these two kids died, this was a dangerous location, and McDonald’s knew it. Yet they did nothing to prevent their senseless deaths.”

Additional reporting at http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Jury-Awards-27-Million-In-McDonalds-Lawsuit-Over-Teens-Deaths-269278801.html .

July 31, 2014

The Rick Perry Collection

Drawings by Ann Telnaes/The Washington Post

The “2016 presidential aspirations” look:



The “retro pre-abortion rights” look:



The “searching for immigrant children” look:



The “intelligent design” look:



The “Oops I can’t remember” look:



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/07/28/the-rick-perry-collection/

July 31, 2014

Complete Victory or Death

By Dr. Brian Carr

This afternoon the US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to sue President Barack Obama for allegedly exceeding his constitutional powers.

The 225-201 vote along party lines means House lawyers will now draft legal documents to launch a lawsuit.

While I do not think that this action is a wise use of our tax dollars I do believe that this further display of poor judgment, if not outright insanity, is beneficial to our political process.

The benefit comes in that this action will further tear apart the Republican Party, damaging their ability to field effective candidates.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2014-07-30/complete-victory-or-death#.U9m1-7FCz2Q .

July 31, 2014

House Republicans would block Obama from curbing immigrant deportations

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders say the House will vote to block President Barack Obama from extending relief from deportation to any more immigrants here illegally.

The move is aimed at winning over skeptical conservatives to support an emergency spending bill for the immigration crisis on the border.

To get conservative votes for that legislation, House Republican leaders have agreed to a second vote on a measure to keep Obama from expanding an existing program granting work permits to immigrants brought here illegally as children.

The two votes will be held Thursday as Congress wraps up its work before heading out for a five-week recess.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/washington/20140730-house-republicans-would-block-obama-from-curbing-immigrant-deportations.ece .

July 31, 2014

I suggest that we test them on Republicans instead.

They are far from being human or higher primates.

July 30, 2014

Why a Tanker of Kurdish Oil is Stranded by the Galveston Coast

Tensions between the government of Iraq and Kurds in the northern part of the country have once again reached a boiling point. Now, Baghdad is cutting off payments to Kurdistan, because of a controversy involving a tanker off the coast of Texas.

The semiautonomous region of Kurdistan has successfully exported several shipments of oil this year. Baghdad opposed those exports, claiming that the oil belongs to the Iraqi people, and the use of its natural resources should be decided by the central government. Most recently, Baghdad successfully filed for a court order to keep one million barrels of crude oil from being unloaded in Galveston.

The Texas Standard's David Brown recently spoke with Terry Wade, Houston Bureau Chief for Reuters about how the tanker came to be there in the first place.

&quot Kurdistan) wants to be able to independently export crude, because they need the money to finance their own ambitions to create an independent state," Wade explains. "The U.S.'s position is that the oil belongs to all Iraqis, and Kurdish independence might be bad for Iraq as a whole."

More at http://kut.org/post/why-tanker-kurdish-oil-stranded-galveston-coast .

July 30, 2014

How Austin Turned a Dead Department Store Into a Community College

At ACC's new campus, workers cut a 170-foot-long skylight in what was once a J.C. Penney department store. Natural light formerly came through only two front doors.
Audrey McGlinchy/KUT

To Veronica Escobedo, it resembled a fancy hotel – not quite a college campus.

But the first-year radiology student said the stylish and comfortable furniture, much of it still wrapped in plastic, would encourage her to stay on Austin Community College’s new campus between classes.

“There are bigger areas to actually study with people,” Escobedo said. “Most of the time I found myself studying with people off campus. The design and architecture make it really feel like a home.”

Wednesday, ACC led students through the college’s new Highland campus, covering 200,000 square feet once occupied by a J.C. Penney. After purchasing vacant parcels of the Highland Mall, the college acquired all of the mall space in 2012.

More at http://kut.org/post/how-austin-turned-dead-department-store-community-college .

[font color=green]The campus is located near one of the stops for Austin Metro train line.[/font]