Copperas Cove Leader-Press (Copperas Cove, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 12, Ed. 1 Tuesday, November 12, 2013 Page: 4 of 12
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Proposed
constitutional
amendments
pass
AUSTIN - All nine proposed amendments to the
state constitution on the Nov. 5 election ballot passed.
Texas Secretary of State John Steen, the state’s chief
elections officer, on Nov. 6 commented that the 2013 con-
stitutional amendment election
“was our first statewide election
with a photo ID requirement in
place, and it was smooth, secure
and successful.”
The photo identification re-
quirement took effect following
a U.S. Supreme Court decision
in June on a Voting Rights Act
case that challenged the state
law over its potential negative
effects on voter turnout, particu-
larly among Texas’ black and
Latino voters, older Texans, ru-
ral Texans and Texans of lower
income.
On Election Day, Steen said
unofficial vote totals for Propo-
sition 1 indicate that 1,144,844
voters cast a ballot, a 66 percent
increase over the 2011 constitu-
tional amendment election in which 690,052 voters cast a
ballot.
Here are brief descriptions of each proposition:
Prop. 1, authorizing the Legislature to provide for the
creation of a homestead property tax exemption for the
surviving spouse of an armed forces member killed in ac-
tion.
Ed Sterling
Capital
Highlights
Prop. 2, repealing the State Medical Education Board
and the “obsolete” State Medical Education Fund.
Prop. 3, authorizing a political subdivision to extend
the number of days of an exemption from ad valorem tax-
ation that are already covered by an ad valorem tax ex-
emption.
Prop. 4, authorizing the Legislature to create an ad
valorem tax exemption on the residence homestead of a
partially disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a par-
tially disabled veteran if the residence homestead was do-
nated to the veteran by a charitable organization.
Prop. 5, authorizing the making of reverse mortgage
loans for the purchase of homestead property, and to
amend lender disclosures and other requirements in con-
nection with such loans.
Prop. 6, providing for the creation of the State Water
Implementation Fund and for the fund to be used in assist-
ing in the finance of priority projects in the state water
plan to ensure the availability of adequate water re-
sources.
Prop. 7, authorizing a home-rule municipality to pro-
vide in its charter the procedure to fill a vacancy on its
governing body for which the unexpired term is 12
months or less.
Prop. 8, repealing the article of the constitution relat-
ing to the creation of a hospital district in Hidalgo County.
Prop. 9, relating to expanding the types of sanctions
that may be assessed against a judge or justice following a
formal proceeding instituted by the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct.
AG sues over hiring rules
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Nov. 4 an-
nounced he had filed a lawsuit challenging guidelines is-
sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Com-
mission that “limit the ability of employers — including
the State of Texas and its agencies — from categorically
excluding convicted felons from employment,” he said.
Abbott said the hiring guidelines the EEOC adopted
in 2012 “prohibit Texas and its agencies from categorical-
ly excluding convicted felons for certain jobs.”
In the lawsuit, Abbott alleges the guidelines are un-
lawful because they overstep the federal agency’s statuto-
ry authority “and improperly bully the State and its agen-
cies into jeopardizing the safety of Texans.”
Abbott seeks a declaratory judgment that the state
and its agencies “are entitled to maintain and enforce state
laws and policies that absolutely bar convicted felons —
or a certain category of convicted felons — from govern-
ment employment; a declaration that the EEOC cannot en-
force its guidelines against the State of Texas — and an
injunction that bars the EEOC from issuing right-to-sue
letters to persons seeking to pursue this type of discrimi-
nation charge against the State of Texas or any of its agen-
cies; and a judgment holding unlawful and setting aside
the EEOC’s hiring guidelines.”
Unit issues identification
A Texas Department of Public Safety on Nov. 5 an-
nounced a mobile disaster unit has been deployed to cen-
tral Texas to issue replacement Texas driver licenses and
replacement Texas identification cards to victims who lost
those documents as a result of the severe storms and
flooding that recently impacted that area of the state.
Tax revenue increases
State Comptroller Susan Combs on Nov. 6 announced
state sales tax revenue in October was $2.14 billion, up
5.4 percent compared to October 2012.A A A
Combs said she would send cities, counties, transit
systems and special purpose taxing districts their Novem-
ber local sales tax allocations totaling $654.6 million, up 7
percent compared to November 2012.
Want To Write?
The Copperas Cove Leader-Press welcomes
letters to the editor.
Letters may be edited for style and grammar,
and must be signed and include a phone num-
ber for verification.
Send your letter to Letter to the Editor, Cop-
peras Cove Leader-Press, PO. Box 370, Cop-
peras Cove, Texas 76522, or drop it by 2210
East Highway 190, Suite 1, Copperas Cove.
Letters may also be e-mailed to
news@coveleaderpress.com
THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS BELIEVING THAT
SEPARATING THE FARM BILL WILL ALLOW
THE PARTS TO STAND ON THEIR OWN.
e re mean
One of my favorite books
from childhood begins like
this: “It was a dull autumn
day and Jill Pole was crying
behind the gym. She was cry-
ing because they had been
bullying her. This is not going
to be a school story, so I shall
say as little as possible about
Jill’s school, which is not a
pleasant subject.”
So opens The Silver
Chair by C.S. Lewis, pub-
lished 60 years ago. Suppos-
edly at Jill's school, the lead-
ers believed children should
be allowed to do what they
liked, and about 15 of them
liked nothing better than bul-
lying the others. Was it stopped?
No.
“Instead, the Head[master] said they
were interesting psychological cases and
sent for them and talked to them for hours.
And if you knew the right sort of things to
say to the Head, the main result was that
you became rather a favorite than other-
wise.”
So of course, bullying is nothing new.
Some seem to think this new wave of mean-
ness is something that's recently surfaced.
Why in the world are preteen girls growing
claws and fangs, despite their pretty faces
and big-girl clothing?
It's far more easier now to slash out
with words and cut. Our little digital natives
use the new technology to fling words like
darts at anyone they please. And
our big digital natives do the
same thing.
“Kids will be kids,” some
people say. And oh yes, they
most certainly will.
We've all heard of the
“pecking” order. Everyone
knows who's the coolest, the
best, the stars. If you stand out
in a bad way, of course the one
person you wish wouldn't notice
does, and they never let you, or
anyone else, forget it.
The world is filled with the
awkward, the tentative, the ones
who haven't quite figured things
out. People can take decades to
figure things out, and others
who see and focus on someone's
backwardness, well, the awkward
and tentative are fair game.
Fonner NFL player Eric Davis had this
to say on ESPN recently about the Jonathan
Martin bullying controversy in the Miami
Dolphins:
“Just like in life, in the locker room,
people treat you in the manner in which you
present yourself.”
The conversation surrounded the idea if
Martin invited the bullying he received from
team members. Yes, all agreed that some
first-year pranks and mild hazing occurs to
the new guys—for example, picking up the
tab one night out. However, Davis and the
others blamed Martin for bringing on some
of what followed, and inviting it.
We all know the one person in the of-
fice who's the backwards one. The one who
doesn't say quite the right thing, the one apt
to leave the rest room with toilet paper stuck
to their shoe, or the one who doesn't dress
quite as nicely as the others. People know.
And people say it doesn't matter. But it does.
Standup comics and snarky shows
make an art form out of belittling people,
picking out someone's worst moment and
magnifying it for everyone.
No wonder our children learn how to
turn their peers into shreds. Making fun of
someone else at their expense may earn
someone the title of a quick wit. So they
look for chances to prove how smart they
are by picking on another, to earn laughter
and attention.
And somewhere a line is crossed where
“kids will be kids” teasing transfonns into a
toxic reign of terror that can make the
sweetest kid with the brightest future ques-
tion their very existence.
Kindness and respect doesn't come nat-
urally to the self-centered. And the self-cen-
tered children listen to us, the adults, and
pay very close attention to how we talk to
and about people who don't quite measure
up to our expectations.
There's a perverse, heady feeling of
power that comes to those who bully, who
get caught up into making someone's life
miserable for no real reason. But is there a
reason to bully if someone “invites” it by
their demeanor? We must face it before we
can change it: sometimes, we're just plain
mean.
Lynette
Sowell
My front
porch
My, my, how we do ‘talk’ to each other
Man’s inhumanity to man
never ceases to amaze and dis-
gust me.
For decades, I have al-
lowed myself to be deluded in-
to thinking that this wonderful
country in which we live has
an abundance of tolerance,
grace and dignity and that
those traits manifest them-
selves most appropriately and
necessarily in the halls of gov-
ernment.
Nah.
Today we see some of our
leaders expressing themselves
in ways that are discouraging,
demoralizing and totally unac-
ceptable to a supposedly civi-
lized population.
Frankly, we Americans have allowed ex-
tremists to kidnap our national discourse and
to direct the tone of dialogue and debate to
the point of creating a volatile atmosphere.
Now, let’s stop right here and reiterate
something — civilized dissent and dialogue
are the correct and accepted manner of public
affairs debate in this country. And, the ballot
box is the ultimate arbiter for the conduct of
those affairs. Voting in Congress — after re-
sponsible, measured and infonned debate —
is the great American lesson in democracy
for the world.
It should not matter what political initial
is after your name — that wonderful U.S. at-
titude of fairness via one man, one vote
should direct our national discourse.
Unfortunately, that direction has been
derailed in the recent vitriolic
verbal upheaval over health care.
No matter where you stand
on this critical matter — made
perhaps much more controversial
than it should be — it has been
completely politicized and used
as a truncheon to batter the “oth-
er side” in any forum.
Let’s take one narrow seg-
ment of the overall prattling —
social networks on the Internet.
This is a good example of the
plethora of misconception, mis-
direction and misinfonnation as-
saulting the collective public
mind.
On several occasions, I have
written about the absolute lack of
conscience as to what is “printed” or pro-
duced on the worldwide web.
There are strict rules in the world of
newspapers, particularly in the community
segment of publishing, that prevent false-
hoods that seem to flood social media sites.
Often, it is “wannabe-writer-editor-pundit”
types that jump in the deep end of that Inter-
net pool without the lifejacket of truth and
validation. But, somehow their little water
wings, constantly inflated by anger-filled
bursts, keep them afloat.
One of the most heated debates in this
country in years is over the Affordable Care
Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
The two nametags have set off sizzling
exchanges between normally sensible, fair-
minded people.
One — ACA — is the official name of
the law enacted by Congress and upheld by
the U.S. Supreme Court. The other — Oba-
macare — began as a convenient name for
newspaper headline writers and for racists
who fan the flames every minute of every
day over our first President of African-
American descent, but has been adopted by
the President who said it grew on him. Per-
haps, those who first used it in disdain will
come to rue that decision should the ACA
become what it is intended to be.
Public opinion polls — none of which
are wholly conclusi ve nor scientifically un-
derpinned — indicate that the ACA gets
more approval than Obamacare. Yeah, they
are one and the same. But, we’ve overcome
racism in this country. Haven’t we?
One last jab at the world of word usage
to indicate the level, not only of confusion,
but of the potential for promoting divisive-
ness.
If you are designated as someone’s
“friend” on Facebook, you have access to
all they post on that website. If they don’t
like you, they can “unfriend” you, thus
eliminating your access to their “private”
postings.
Those terms probably offend Quakers.
Frankly, it cuts against my grain as well.
A newsman’s opinion is right here in
print, for all to see, to measure, weigh and
judge. And, to fire away, if you choose,
with your words enjoying the World Wide
Web’s mask of anonymity.
Willis Webb is a retired community
newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50
years experience. He can be reached by
email at wwebb 1937(cfatt.net.
Willis Webb
Webb’s
Threads
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Morris, David. Copperas Cove Leader-Press (Copperas Cove, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 12, Ed. 1 Tuesday, November 12, 2013, newspaper, November 12, 2013; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth629678/m1/4/?q=food+rule+for+unt+students&rotate=90: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .