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The Texas Blue
Advancing Progressive Ideas

Karl Lynch's blog

A Very Green Holiday

I wish that everyone turned green, and I don’t mean green like the Grinch. I mean green as in striving for a sustainable future. I mean environmentally conscious and active.

Fortis Benefits v. Vanessa Cantu and Ford Motor Company

The Texas Supreme Court just held that the “made whole” doctrine must yield to an insurance company’s right to contractual subrogation under the terms of the insurance policy. To call this opinion anti-consumer would be an understatement of biblical proportions.

What does this mean? You, as a Texas citizen, are severely limited in your ability to recover in a personal injury claim.

Bill Tracker: HR 2428 – Bioenergy

Richard Branson is powering trains in England on biodiesel. Daryl Hannah drives a souped-up biodiesel El Camino muscle car. However, absent a high level of eccentricity and money, most drivers are not using biodiesel to get to work.

Bill Tracker: HR 804 – Stealth Lobbying

Congressman Lloyd Doggett (TX – 25) introduced this bill to eliminate reporting loopholes in our national defense against lobby abuse. The bill targets “stealth lobbying” and it was recently passed by the House.

Bill Tracker: Switching Gears

Now that the Texas Legislature has completed its session, it is time to slightly alter our Bill Tracker format.

Bill Tracker: HB 54 – The Beatles Bass Player’s Reunion Solo Tour

Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma is billing Creedence Clearwater Revival. Axl Rose performs Guns 'N' Roses songs without Slash. Mark Wahlberg’s tribute band to Steel Dragon sold out at the processing plant. Apparently, this is a runaway problem — musicians are duping the masses into going to "fake" concerts thinking they are going to get the real thing.

Bill Tracker: HB 38 – Immigration Reform or Licensing Reform?

The passage of the immigration bill in the U.S Senate yesterday sparked a lively debate about amnesty and citizenship. Our federal lawmakers worked for several months behind closed doors to hammer out a collective bill on undocumented immigrants in the United States. The thrust of the compromise was centered on the question, “What do we do with illegal aliens that are already living in the United States?”

Bill Tracker: SB 159 – The Public Defender

Denton County does not have a public defender system. Many have argued that our system of providing indigent criminal representation is superior to a public defender system.

Bill Tracker: SB 1416 – Limits to Controversy

To file a case in federal court, a potential litigant must meet what is called the amount in controversy. Basically, if your case is not worth a minimum of $75,000, then you can’t make a federal case out of your problems. There are, of course, many exceptions.

Bill Tracker: HB 2238 & SB 1066 Texas Education Data System

When I worked for the Arizona Department of Economic Security back in the day, I was tasked with finding out how people within the department communicated with one another. What I found out was that there were no guidelines for purchasing computers and no standards for compatibility. Each division within the department operated on its own LAN with its own software. It was so varied that the Director, my boss, could not send a department-wide email because it would not reach everyone.

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