Presidential Proclamation -- Honoring the Victims of the Explosion in West, Texas

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HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE EXPLOSION IN WEST, TEXAS

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

     As a mark of respect for the memory of those who perished in the explosion in West, Texas, on April 17, 2013, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds and at all military facilities and naval stations of the Federal Government in the State of Texas on April 25, 2013.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

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President Obama travels to Waco, Texas to speak at a memorial service for those lost and injured in the deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in nearby West, Texas.

President and Mrs. Obama joined all the former living Presidents -- and four previous First Ladies -- for the event in Dallas, Texas.

Shaun Donovan and Cecilia Munoz highlight the impact of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative.

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President Obama Signs Texas Emergency Declaration

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For Immediate Release April 22, 2013 President Obama Signs Texas Emergency Declaration

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Texas and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from an explosion beginning on April 17, 2013, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in McLennan County.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding. 

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Kevin L. Hannes as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. 

Blog posts on this issue April 22, 2013 6:34 PM EDTCelebrate National Park Week!

National Park Week celebrates and gives back to our country’s great natural and cultural landscapes.

April 22, 2013 5:57 PM EDTYoung Scientists and Innovators Amaze President Obama at the White House Science Fair

100 students from more than 40 states were at the White House for an all-day, hands-on celebration of the power and potential of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

April 20, 2013 1:10 PM EDTWatch Live: 2013 White House Science Fair

President Obama hosts the 3rd Annual White House Science Fair and celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.

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Statement from the President on the Explosion in West, Texas

Statement from the President on the Explosion in West, Texas | The White House Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map The White House. President Barack Obama Get Email UpdatesContact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts 2012: A Year in Photos

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Browse White House visitor logs

Issues Civil Rights It Gets Better Defense End of Iraq War Disabilities Economy Jobs Reform and Fiscal Responsibility Strengthening the Middle Class Support for Business Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Refinancing Rural Service Seniors & Social Security Snapshots Creating Jobs Health Care Small Business PreK-12 Education Rural Taxes Tax Receipt The Buffett Rule Technology Urban Policy Veterans Joining Forces Violence Prevention Women Now Is The Time

To do something about gun violence

Immigration Reform

Creating an Immigration System for the 21st Century

The Administration We the People

Create and Sign Petitions Now

President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden Being Biden Audio Series First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet White House Staff Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco Counselor to the President Peter Rouse Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House White House On the Go

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For Immediate Release April 18, 2013 Statement from the President on the Explosion in West, Texas

Today our prayers go out to the people of West, Texas in the aftermath of last night’s deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant.   A tight-knit community has been shaken, and good, hard-working people have lost their lives.  I want to thank the first responders who worked tirelessly through the night to contain the situation and treat the wounded.  My Administration, through FEMA and other agencies, is in close contact with our state and local partners on the ground to make sure there are no unmet needs as search and rescue and response operations continue.  West is a town that many Texans hold near and dear to their hearts, and as residents continue to respond to this tragedy, they will have the support of the American people.

Blog posts on this issue April 18, 2013 12:29 PM EDTIn the Face of Evil, Boston Has Shown that Americans Will Lift Up What Is Good

President Obama speaks at in interfaith service dedicated to those who were gravely wounded or killed at the Boston Marathon bombing.

April 18, 2013 10:15 AM EDTWatch Live: President Obama Addresses Healing Service in Boston

President Obama will deliver remarks this morning at Healing Our City: An Interfaith Service which is dedicated to those who were gravely wounded or killed in Monday’s bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

April 18, 2013 9:57 AM EDTCourage, Strength, Resilience: Women Fight AIDS

The Kaiser Foundation hosts an event for the launch of EMPOWERED, Alicia Keys' new campaign to help end the HIV/AIDs epidemic.

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Texas A&M Student Body President Vetoes Bill To Defund LGBT Center

Student Body President John Claybrook

John Claybrook, Student Body President at Texas A&M University, has vetoed a bill passed by the student senate that would allow students to opt out of funding campus services if they have religious objections. Until it was revised at Wednesday night’s meeting, the bill specifically targeted the university’s GLBT Resource Center. Claybrook explained his veto in an open letter:

After much research and deliberation, I have confidently decided to veto S.B. 65-70, The Religious Funding Exemption bill. Even without the wording that specified particular groups that would be affected in the final version of this bill, the sentiment towards the bill has not changed and has caused great harm to our reputation as a student body and to the students feeling disenfranchised by the bill. [...]

Although much adjusted in its final form, the good accomplished through this bill pales in comparison to the damage done. The damage must stop today. Texas A&M students represent our core value of respect exceptionally and I’m very proud of the family at this university. Now, more than ever, is the time to show great resolve and come together, treating each other like the family that we are.

Claybrook pointed out that in addition to the bill’s negative sentiment, students do not currently have the ability to opt-out of student fees, so clarifying a process to do so “serves no purpose.”

The bill’s sponsor, Chris Woolsey, conceded, “it’s just how the democratic process works.” The senate may consider a veto override when it meets again on April 17, but the bill did not garner the two-thirds votes that would require.

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Texas Lawmaker Withdraws Amendment To Punish Universities For Offering LGBT Support

University LGBT resource centers in Texas may be safe for now. Thursday night, state Rep. Bill Zedler (R) withdrew his amendment to the appropriations bill that would have cut funding for any public universities that provided support service for LGBT students. Zedler did not explain his decision to withdraw, but his actions mirror those of Rep. Wayne Christian (R) who proposed then withdrew a similar measure in 2011.

Zedler’s bill not-so-subtly suggested that homosexuality directly causes disease:

An institution of higher education may not use money appropriated to the institution under this Act, or any property or facility of the institution funded by appropriations under this Act, to support, promote, or encourage any behavior that would lead to high risk behavior for AIDS, HIV, Hepatitis B, or any sexually transmitted disease.

Though Zedler’s amendment is not advancing, efforts are still underway to undermine the support for LGBT students, particularly at Texas A&M University, where students are attempting to opt-out of funding the campus’s center on religious grounds.

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Even Texas’ Conservative AG Supports Required DNA Testing In Capital Cases

Even in death row cases, criminal defendants have no right to test potentially exonerating DNA evidence. In a move to prevent wrongful convictions in the state with the highest number of both executions and DNA exonerations, a Texas legislator is proposing a measure to require prosecutors to test available DNA evidence before seeking the death penalty. The bill’s chances of success were significantly bolstered with the unlikely support of one of the state’s most prominent and conservative legal figures: Attorney General Greg Abbott. The Dallas Observer’s Eric Nicholson reports on the move, in an aptly titled post, “Greg Abbott Backs DNA-Testing Bill, Continues Unprecedented Streak of Reasonableness”:

“There’s no reason to test these items more than a decade after the crime was committed,” Abbott said Tuesday at a news conference alongside the bill’s author, Rodney Ellis, a Houston Democrat. “We shouldn’t live with suspense. The family of the victim shouldn’t have to through this time after time after time in order to get certainty.”

Abbott is careful to frame his support for Ellis’ bill mainly as an effort to help victims’ families, but it comes, of course, in the wake of an embarrassingly high number of overturned convictions. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 53 prisoners have been freed by DNA evidence, two of whom were serving on death row.

Nicholson points out that Abbott may also support the bill as a means of strengthening support for the death penalty, which Ellis also supports. There are ever-growing reasons to believe that the death penalty is not a good idea in any case. But Texas, home to one-third of the entire country’s executions, should at the very least test defendants’ DNA before seeking to take their lives. And they should do more. Earlier this month, the chief justice of the state’s supreme court once again called for a commission to investigate all wrongful convictions, many with defendants who could have benefited from DNA testing whether or not they faced the death penalty, and many more in which DNA evidence was never available to begin with.

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Faith Leaders Pray For Restored Access To Women’s Health Resources In Texas

Faith leaders in Texas pray to restore women's health resources

Over the past year, Texas officials have attacked women’s health resources from all angles — slashing funding from family planning programs, cutting off funds to the Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state, and attempting to shut down dozens of abortion clinics. Those decisions have jeopardized thousands of low-income women’s access to affordable health care, and faith leaders are praying for Texas to reverse its course.

Religious leaders in Texas joined together last week to emphasize that women’s health is a religious issue. Jewish and Christian leaders prayed for increased access to preventative health services, like family planning programs and birth control, in a state that has become increasingly hostile to women’s health care:

Gathered in the rotunda of the Texas Capitol Extension, leaders from Christian and Jewish faiths voiced frustration with funding for women’s health care services. Their prayer included a plea to state lawmakers to restore the $73 million cut from family planning services during 2011 and to make contraception more readily available to low-income women.

“For us this is part of our faith commitment that cares for all of God’s creation, all of God’s people,” said Larry Bethune, pastor of University Baptist Church in Austin. “Particularly for the stability of families and for the care of women and their health.”

“We believe that women should have and families should have the opportunity to make choices about when they’re going to have children and how many children they’re going to have,” said Bethune. “Women need to have access to health care, to good counsel and to clinics that can provide that health care before, during and after pregnancy.”

The faith leaders criticized Texas officials for targeting Planned Parenthood in their ongoing crusade against abortion — a crusade that has had far-reaching implications for the poor women in the state who must now search for new doctors. Planned Parenthood is the state’s largest health care provider for low-income women, but Texas Republicans have been so focused on cutting ties with the national organization that they have forced the closure of dozens of unaffiliated health clinics and have ultimately eliminated $30 million in federal funding for women’s health services.

“I think the abortion issue, it’s just part of a continuing culture war,” Rabbi Neal Katz told a local ABC News affiliate. “But I do believe that it’s a distraction from the issue that we’re trying to focus on, which is women having access to good health care, to family planning, to birth control.”

Despite the Religious Right’s attempt to use abortion as a wedge issue, reproductive rights are not actually incompatible with faith communities. Most religious groups support women’s right to legal abortion services under Roe v. Wade, and many people of faith — including Catholics and evangelicals — support expanding women’s access to birth control.

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Texas Bill Would Dramatically Loosen Gun Training Requirements

Fearing tighter gun violence prevention, Texans have bought guns in droves since the Sandy Hook tragedy. To accommodate the frenzy, state Rep. Dan Flynn introduced a bill to cut down the training required of concealed carry permit holders from 10 hours to just four.

Flynn claimed there would be no difference between the two classes. WFAA reports:

“You spend a lot of time taking breaks, you spend a lot of time hearing stories,” Flynn said. “A lot of people who try to get their license, they have to take a day off of work, or they have to take a whole Saturday to go do this where, four hours, range time, you can do the same thing and it accomplishes it.”

Naturally, shooting instructors call the change unsafe. “It takes me four hours just to go through one segment, which is the lawful use of deadly force,” Travis Bond, a National Rifle Association member who runs a firearm training academy, said. “There’s no way you can teach people what they need to know.”

Currently, the 10-hour class covers at least four required topics — “use of force; non violent dispute resolution; handgun use; and safe and proper storage of handguns and ammunition” — according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. It is far more likely the shorter class would omit material more substantial than water cooler breaks, especially when Texas’ neighboring states all require between 8-15 hours of training.

Gun accidents may make up a smaller portion of firearm deaths than homicides and suicides, but adding more poorly trained gun owners to the mix does not help a state where roughly 500,000 hold concealed gun permits.

Texas lawmakers will also consider a second bill that capitalizes on the increased demand for guns. This one would create a tax-free holiday for guns and ammunition on “Texas Independence Day.”

(HT: Raw Story)

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Maine, Texas GOP Consider Requiring High Schools To Teach Gun Classes

In middle of the national debate on preventing gun violence, Republican lawmakers in Texas and Maine want gun classes added to public schools. Modeled after a National Rifle Association school program for children, similar proposals that claim to enhance “gun safety” have also popped up in South Carolina and Missouri.

According to the Texas bill sponsor, Rep. James White (R), kids are “resilient” enough to handle guns, which he says are no more dangerous than weightlifting or auto mechanics:

“Education, foremost, as stated in our Constitution, is about teaching our people their rights and responsibilities as a free people,” said White, who emphasizes that the most important component of the class would be teaching students the history and importance of the Second Amendment.

You could go to any high school today and you’ll see them engaging in many what we would consider probably dangerous activities: Welding, auto mechanic, weight lifting, playing sports. So our students are not these little fragile beings. They’re very knowledgeable, they’re very resilient and they can handle this.”

Meanwhile, a bill under consideration in Maine — which has drawn support from Gov. Paul LePage (R) — would add an optional gun safety course, potentially paid for by the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program.” The Maine bill sponsor Rep. Paul Davis (R) claimed this course would manage to prevent domestic violence, by giving would-be victims firearms training. “In these situations, these victims [of domestic violence-related slayings] did everything the law provided,” Davis said. “I have to wonder if they knew anything about guns. I don’t think they did. However, if they did and they wanted to protect themselves, what would have happened?”

Instead of offering NRA-sponsored classes at schools, the ultimate way to protect kids from gun violence is to simply not have a gun lying around. According to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, over 86 percent of firearm deaths of children occur at home. Guns in households increase the risk of suicides and homicides, while anecdotal evidence shows how armed guards and armed teachers could go very wrong.

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Texas Congressman Invites Ted Nugent, Who Threatened The President’s Life, To The State Of The Union

Congressman Steve Stockman (R-TX) has announced that he would be bringing musician and conservative loudmouth Ted Nugent to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“I am excited to have a patriot like Ted Nugent joining me in the House Chamber to hear from President Obama,” Stockman said on his congressional website on Monday.

Traditionally, State of the Union attendees are given the opportunity to invite distinguished guests or prominent constituents to sit in during the President’s remarks. And while past honorees include war heroes and selfless public servants, Stockman has instead invited someone who has threatened the President and Democratic officials:

Nugent called President Obama a criminal and denounced his “vile, evil America-hating administration” which is “wiping its ass with the Constitution.” Taking it a step further, he said that “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

Following his remarks last April at a National Rifle Association annual convention, the Secret Service brought in Nugent for questioning.

Ted Nugent responded to the swift condemnation of his invitation to the State of the Union address via Twitter on Monday afternoon:

well well well, there will be a freedom addicted all American uppity Motown guitarplayer facing the POTUS at the SOTU addresss tomoro-lovely

— Ted Nugent (@TedNugent) February 11, 2013

ThinkProgress reached out to the Secret Service for a reaction, but they responded with a simple “no comment.”

Nugent spoke with the New York Times on Monday to reassure people he would be unarmed while inside the House chambers:

In interview, Ted Nugent tells the NYT he won’t be carrying a gun with him to State of the Union. “I’ve got to demilitarize before I go.”

— Jeremy W. Peters (@jwpetersNYT) February 11, 2013

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Shooting Reported In Texas

Shots were fired inside an office building that houses Concordia University in Grand Prairie, Texas on Tuesday afternoon and police have “ordered those inside to lock their doors and stay where they are.” At least one person was “removed from the building and taken by ambulance to a hospital.”

Police are now looking for the suspect who opened fire.

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Sen. Cruz to Rahm Emanuel: Keep your 'anti-gun crusade' out of Texas

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) to stay away from Texas when it comes to gun reform.

Cruz sent a letter to Emanuel and the heads of two banks and two gun manufacturing companies on Tuesday in response to a call by Emanuel, President Obama's former chief of staff, for the banks to stop lending to the gun makers.

"Your continued anti-gun crusade may well cause some to wonder if the interests of the citizens of Chicago are being sacrificed in pursuit of a partisan agenda," Cruz writes. "Regardless, directing your attack at legitimate firearms manufacturers undermines the Second Amendment rights of millions of Texans. In the future, I would ask that you might keep your efforts to diminish the Bill of Rights north of the Red River."

On Thursday Emanuel wrote to the top executives of Bank of America and TD Bank, respectively, urging them to stop lending to gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. In Cruz's response, the junior senator from Texas urges the bank CEOs to come to Texas.

"Both of your companies do considerable business in the City of Chicago, and you may be understandably concerned that there are risks to refusing to comply with the demands of a politician who has earned the nickname, 'The Godfather,' " Cruz writes to the bank chiefs. "In Texas, we have a more modest view of government.

"We do not accept the notion that government officials should behave as bullies, trying to harass or pressure private companies into enlisting in a political lobbying campaign. And we subscribe to the notion, quaint in some quarters, that private companies don't work for elected officials; elected officials work for private citizens.

"In light of the reception you have received in the Windy City, please know that Texas would certainly welcome more of your business and jobs you create," Cruz adds.

And to the gun manufacturers, Cruz offers to introduce their companies to banks in Texas.

"Should Mayor Emanuel's bullying campaign prove successful, I am confident that there are numerous financial institutions in Texas that would be eager to earn your business. And in the event that it might prove helpful, I would be happy to introduce you to their leaders," he writes.

Emanuel has recently been active in pushing stricter gun laws, both in his hometown and at the federal level. He recently appeared at a panel at the Center for American Progress alongside Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on a House task-force for reducing gun violence, to discuss passing new gun restrictions.

Read Cruz's letter below:
Cruz letter to Emanuel, bank chiefs

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Texas Republicans Call For More Guns In Schools Following Shooting At Lone Star College

On Tuesday afternoon, the nation experienced its 49th school shooting since the Columbine massacre in 1999, when an altercation between two individuals set off at least five gunshots at Lone Star College in north Houston, Texas, injuring both parties and a nearby janitor caught in the crossfire. The college and the surrounding schools went into lockdown as police secured the area, chasing one of the suspects involved in the incident into a wooded area behind the school. Both men suffered gun shot wounds and are now in custody.

Texas is one of 49 states with a concealed carry law, permitting licensed individuals to carry firearms within the state, and lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow college students and staff with concealed weapon permits to carry firearms on school grounds. Firearms are currently prohibited at Lone Star.

Now, top Republican lawmakers — including Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Tim Poe — are using Tuesday’s incident to call for more weapons on campus. KTRK’s Ted Oberg has the report:

OBERG: Governor Perry said this afternoon his thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, but that anyone licensed and who has training on how to carry a weapon should be able to carry that weapon anywhere within the state and [that he would] indeed review the bill that’s been filed quickly. …. We talked to Ted Poe from the north Houston area, who said students today were defenseless on that campus.

POE: It brings to focus the fact that many schools and universities and students have — are defenseless at the schools and places of higher education and this seems to show that.

Watch it:

Five days ago, Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R) and 13 other Republican authors introduced a measure that would prohibit higher ed institutions from imposing “bans or penalties on students who are licensed to carry a concealed handgun.” Schools could prohibit firearms at college sporting events, however. A similar bill failed to pass last year.

Lone Star already employs armed police officers and unarmed security guards.

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Texas Attorney General Invites New York Gun Owners To Move To Texas

On Tuesday, New York became the first state to pass gun legislation in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December. The measures include bans on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 7 bullets, and a requirement that gun owners in homes with mentally ill people must properly lock up their firearms.

Though these new laws are immensely popular among New York voters, Texas attorney general Greg Abbott (R) has extended an open invitation to any New Yorkers who feel threatened by the new gun violence protection measure. Abbott launched an Internet ad campaign targeting New Yorkers shortly after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) signed the law.

The provocative web ads, paid for with Abbott campaign funds, will appear as a pop-up on screens on a variety of media web sites, including that of The New York Times, for those accessing the sites in Manhattan and Albany.

“Is Gov. Cuomo looking to take your guns? Sick of the media outing law abiding gun owns? Are you a lawful NY gun owner seeking lower taxes?” reads one of two pop-up ads.

A second reads: “Wanted: Law abiding New York gun owns looking for lower taxes and greater opportunity.”

Click on either and you are directed to a Facebook second amendment petition page with the greeting: “You’ll fit right in here in Texas!”

The Facebook page boasts that New Yorkers who move to Texas will be able “to keep more of what you earn and use some of that extra money to buy more ammo.”

Abbott’s campaign may not attract many New York defectors. A new poll found that 73 percent of New York voters supported the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. A full 91 percent support stricter penalties on purchasing illegal guns or using guns on school property. Even New York’s Republican state senators supported the new laws, passing it by a margin of 43 to 18.

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Retiring Texas senator tweets 'best wishes' to new Sen. Cruz

By Alicia M. Cohn - 01/04/13 04:34 PM ET

A changing of the guard happened Friday in tweets exchanged by Texas’s newest senator, Ted Cruz (R), and the outgoing lawmaker he replaces.

Greatly appreciated and many thanks for your service. “@kaybaileyhutch: Best wishes on your first full day representing Texas! @tedcruz”

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 4, 2013

Tea Party favorite Cruz takes the seat filled by Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

Cruz used social media extensively during his campaign, and Cruz’s social media presence is still flourishing post-election on Twitter and Facebook.

Although not all new members have official Twitter accounts yet, the 113th Congress could be the most socially networked yet. One returning member, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), didn't want to be left out, and announced Friday he is joining Twitter for the first time.

I'm kicking off the #113Congress by joining twitter. It's good to be back doing the people's work.

— Rep. Andy Harris, MD (@RepAndyHarrisMD) January 4, 2013

Harris was one of the few congressional holdouts of the 112th Congress when it came to Twitter, but he has been active on Facebook.

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University of Texas law student leads the way in 3-D printable gun technology

Demands for stricter restrictions on gun sales are all the rage right now in light of the Connecticut elementary school massacre. However, a law student at the University of Texas says new technology will soon change the regulatory landscape dramatically, and possibly make such regulation futile.

The student, Cody Wilson, is among the leaders of Defense Distributed, home of the wiki weapon project. The goal of the collaborative, nonprofit project is simple: to create freely available plans that you can download from the Internet and produce a gun using a 3-D printer.

YouTube video at printablegun.com shows Wilson’s group test firing a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle, reports KVUE, Austin’s ABC affiliate. An AR-15 was among the weapons Adam Lanza used in the Sandy Hook shooting.

According to Wilson, 24, the group used a 3-D printer to print a plastic lower receiver. The piece was then attached to the rest of a real gun. In a test that was unverified by any independent observers, the plastic piece broke, but not before the gun fired six live rounds.

“What I’m doing is showing people, okay, this is something that can be done right now with this technology, and we’re changing this in the software, and we’re making modifications and customizations and testing with different rounds and different guns, but what we make won’t look like a plastic AR-15,” Wilson told WVUE. “What we make will just be the gun at its most essential, something that just is a firearm practically speaking.”

The legality of printable 3-D guns is not clear. (RELATED: Democratic congressman urges renewal of plastic gun ban)

Democratic New York Rep. Steve Israel doesn’t want to take any chances, though, according to WVUE. Israel has called for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, which is set to expire in December 2013.

As Slate notes, the Act makes it illegal to “manufacture, sell, ship, deliver” or “possess” firearms that garden-variety metal detectors or x-ray machines can’t detect. A renewed act would presumably cover guns manufactured with 3-D printed gun parts, which are plastic.

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Cleaning Up the GOP Moves to Texas

Late last evening came word that House Republicans intend to keep parts of Obamacare. Even if the United States Supreme Court throws the whole law out, House Republicans intend to resurrect portions of Obamacare. House Republicans publicly say the story is wrong. I’ve talked to several House Republicans who tell me the story is actually on the money and the Republicans now denying it are really playing at semantics.

These House Republicans tell me these denials about the accuracy of the story are equivalent to the House GOP semantically arguing it was living up to its Pledge to Nowhere requirement for $100 billion in cuts that actually amounted to something like $34 billion. Conservatives in the House of Representatives tell me explicitly to go with Politico on this and be very wary of the House GOP Leadership when it comes to repeal.

It is a sad time for the Republican Party. The base must treat its leaders as if they are Soviets — trust but verify their statements. And lately, it is harder and harder to verify their statements. The work of the Tea Party must continue or within a decade I honestly do not believe the GOP will be one political party.

In both Indiana and Nebraska, the Tea Party has continued to make gains. People have flat out rejected the establishment favorites for U.S. Senate – Dick Lugar and Jon Bruning, respectively – in favor of candidates who offer a challenge to the status quo.

Will Texans prove what they’re made of and do the same?

I love Texas. But let’s face it – the Texas congressional delegation is mediocre at best and leaves much to be desired.

Now, Texas has the chance to get it right – by sending Ted Cruz to the U.S. Senate. But will they? Maybe. But we have a lot to do and the Republican Primary in Texas is only 2 weeks from today.

But the payoff would be worth it – this is Texas for crying out loud. We’ve been given the opportunity to replace long time thorn in our side, Kay Bailey Hutchison, with an actual honest-to-goodness conservative. Ted Cruz is that conservative. David Dewhurst is not.

The first step is to prevent Dewhurst from getting to 50% on May 29th so that there is a head-to-head run-off between Dewhurst and Cruz in July.

The good news is that last week, Sarah Palin endorsed Cruz – adding to an already impressive list of solid conservatives like Jim DeMint, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Ed Meese, Mark Levin, the Club for Growth, the Madison Project, Gun Owners of America, RedState, and numerous others. These are not “DC insiders” as Dewhurst would have you believe, but strong conservatives who are fighting hard against the status quo and who know that Ted will join with them rather than the establishment.

Given Dewhurst’s rather paltry and almost embarrassing list of endorsements, it was not surprising that his response was to up the ante on spending – increasing his own ad buys, while his SuperPac launched another $1 million ad buy in Houston targeting Ted directly. In fact, while Dewhurst has spent just over $5 million on positive ads about himself – he or his SuperPacs have spent over $4 million on ads specifically going after Ted.

Why? It’s pretty simple – Dewhurst has been polling below 50% consistently despite having statewide name ID for over almost 15 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to throw around. And, he simply has no conservative record to run on. In fact, he would like people to ignore his record of proposed tax increases, higher spending and general incompetence as Lt. Governor. So, they are focusing on lies and distortions about Ted’s record.

The lies are extraordinary and should be ignored. The biggest lie – and one that sadly gained some traction – is that Ted is a “trial lawyer” who represented a Chinese company against an American company, and thus harmed American manufacturing jobs. This is facially absurd. Ted is an appellate lawyer – as Dewhurst well knows because Ted was the Solicitor General for the State of Texas, often fighting for the people of Texas in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. But even more, Ted represented one side of a dispute between two businesses – and the guy Dewhurst claims is an American manufacturer moved his business to China years ago.

The truth is simple. Everyone – and I mean absolutely everyone – in Austin who follows politics knows that David Dewhurst is a squishy moderate. They know he has been a major impediment – along with Joe Straus – to moving conservative reforms. They know he is boring and entirely unpersuasive. They know he is hiding behind the overall record of Governor Perry, who sadly is the lone conservative of any note who has supported Dewhurst… entirely out of loyalty to the man who has served as his Lt. Governor for some 12 years (in other words, don’t make anything of that support).

Meanwhile, Ted has a track record of fighting for conservatism. He has fought against ceding U.S. sovereignty to some unaccountable, leftist World Court… he has fought for religious freedom by successfully defending the placement of the 10 Commandments on the Texas Capitol grounds… and countless other efforts as a lawyer and a fighter for conservative principles.

Most importantly – Ted has sent a clear signal that he will work with conservatives in Washington to fight the establishment. Dewhurst not only will join the establishment – he is the establishment personified.

Texans have a chance to actually do something to change the direction of this country. They should do it, or perhaps we should stop looking to Texas as a leader of conservatism…

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Snatching Defeat From The Jaws of Victory: Texas Primary Update

My first introduction to politics was at 10 years old, volunteering with my parents on a State House campaign. What hooked me on political involvement was that we lost by 12 votes on a re-count and I knew that even at 10 years old I could have found 13 more votes if I’d have worked harder. 

The promise I’ve made myself in every election cycle since is that no matter what capacity I was working in, I would give everything I’ve got and that win or lose, I would know there wasn’t anything else I could have done to send my candidate to victory.

For the last three years I’ve been working full-time in conservative grassroots politics, training activists, identifying and equipping candidates. That’s been my universe and Texas has been at the center of it. During that time I’ve had the privilege of training and interacting with thousands of TEA Partiers and conservative activists who wan’t to move our state and country in the right direction.

Hundreds of thousands of conservatives across Texas have dedicated millions of man hours to get conservative candidates on the ballot for state office and volunteering for conservative causes during that time. All of this work now stands in peril.

After three years of preparation for this battle, the volunteer showing, financial contributions and effort from Texans for these state level races is frankly pathetic.

I’ve discussed this problem with TEA Party leaders, candidates and outside observers and it’s clear that the perception isn’t some figment of my imagination. The fact is that after three years of demanding conservative candidates and promising that they’d charge into fire to get them elected, Texas conservatives are on the verge of wasting a unprecedented opportunity.

Some of this is due to behind the scenes disputes and friction between big egos. Resurgent apathy and frustration with Federal level politics also plays a role. Neither of these are acceptable reasons to stand on the side lines.

We can argue about hurt feelings after we win. Until then, nobody on the left cares and we’ll accomplish nothing.

The Texas Primary Election is less than 2 months away. May 29 is D-day. There will only be about 10 competitive state house races in November but there are more than 60 state house primary elections in play on May 29! In some we’re playing defense (as with James White and David Simpson) but in most races we’re playing offense and have got strong conservatives on the ballot who have stepped up to our call of the last three years.

In the face of these incredible opportunities, we’re about to do what establishmentarians have said would happen all along!

If Texans don’t step up and make a statement on May 29th then much of the last three years will have been wasted effort. The preconceived notions of liberals within the Republican party will have been confirmed and we will have sent a generation of conservative candidates to be used as cannon fodder.

The primary election is really the only time that the vote of conservative Texans matters. We will vote in November for a Republican President & Senator, only a few US House seats will be competitive (if that) and the state legislatures will only have a handful of seats in play.

I’m confident that if I asked any group of conservatives or TEA partiers whether they would give their life for their country that every hand would raise. However, if I followed that up by asking for commitments to spend two hours block-walking or phone banking for conservative candidates, the hands would rapidly fall.

We’re not being asked to die for our country, risk our sacred honor, or even give up much of our modest fortunes. What we’re being asked to do, and what we must do to win, is commit to dedicating a few hours of our time between now and May 29th for a conservative candidate near us.

No number of hours spent in October will make up for a missed opportunity this May. There will be no chance for redemption.

The beauty of our situation is that it doesn’t require some Herculean effort to make a difference. A few hours of your time spent volunteering for a campaign, talking to your friends, registering voters or driving people to the polls could determine the outcome of these state and local races.

If you’re a conservative who wants to impact Texas’ future then now is your chance. It’s time to take action!

For a list of State House and Senate campaigns you can volunteer for, go to the Texas Action candidate database. 

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