September 14, 2011 by legitgov ShareThis Rick Perry and HPV vaccine-maker have deep financial ties 13 Sep 2011 Rick Perry’s gubernatorial campaigns have received nearly $30,000 from Merck since 2000, most of that before he issued his vaccine mandate, which was overturned by the Texas legislature. In 2007, Perry became the first governor in the [...]
Tag: Texas
September 14, 2011
June 30, 2011
June 30, 2011
Texas town pulls the plug on police department
Attention gun-toting Texas natives: if you were looking to go a’looting, your time is now! City Council members in Alto, Texas, a town of around 1,200, have voted to abolish the city’s police department for at least six months as the community considers if they will be able to afford the force into 2012. As [...]
June 24, 2011
2 House Members Want to End Federal Ban on Pot
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House members have introduced a bill that would remove marijuana from the list of federal controlled substances and cede to the states enforcement of laws governing pot. The legislation would eliminate marijuana-specific penalties under federal law, but would maintain a ban on transporting marijuana across state lines. It would allow individuals [...]
June 23, 2011
Bipartisan Bill Pushes for Pot Legalization
The unlikely duo of Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas are cosponsoring a bill to end the federal criminalization of marijuana, reports Reason.com. A press release from the marijuana Policy Project describes it as “bi-partisan legislation … ending the federal war on marijuana and letting states legalize, regulate, [...]
June 23, 2011
June 23, 2011
Giffords Has Memoir Deal, Kelly Retires from NASA
NEW YORK — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, and her astronaut husband Mark Kelly are working on a memoir together. Kelly also announced on Tuesday his retirement from the Navy and NASA. The book, currently untitled, will be an intimate chronicle of everything from their careers and [...]
June 22, 2011
Bank Deal May Give States Loan Writedown Options
States may have options for how to use any money from a nationwide foreclosure settlement with U.S. banks, including applying funds toward principal reductions for borrowers, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said. Including those choices may broaden support for any deal among the attorneys general who oppose requiring banks to fund principal writedowns, Olens said [...]
June 21, 2011
21-year-old Californian Wins Miss USA Crown
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 21-year-old auburn-haired California girl has won the Miss USA crown in Las Vegas and will represent the nation in this year’s Miss Universe pageant. Alyssa Campanella of Los Angeles topped a field of 51 beauty queens to take the title Sunday night at the Planet Hollywood Resort Casino. Campanella won [...]
June 14, 2011
Texas Teachers May Get Student Criminal Histories
DALLAS — Texas is close to enacting a law that would provide teachers with more detailed information about the criminal histories of students in their classrooms. Texas already provides some background information about students but the new law would turn over details of crimes and arrests that most states keep confidential. Juvenile experts complain the [...]
June 12, 2011
June 11, 2011
June 11, 2011
Huge AZ Wildfire Spreads, Health Conditions Worsen
SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — Smoke from a massive wildfire in eastern Arizona that has claimed more than 30 homes and forced nearly 10,000 people to flee has officials worried about serious health impacts to residents and firefighters as tiny particles of soot in the air reached “astronomical” levels. “It was off the charts,” Mark Shaffer [...]
June 9, 2011
Florida’s Scott Still Spurns Fed Aid in Healthcare Fight
Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida has rejected $19 million in federal aid so far as part of his challenge to the national healthcare overhaul. And he is holding off on creating a statewide insurance-coverage exchange the new law mandates, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Scott’s approach differs sharply from that of other plaintiffs in [...]