Lonamania Strikes Back
After sheriff’s deputies forcibly hauled him out of a recent commissioners court meeting like the heel in a Battle Royale, former state representative Lon Burnam is calling for the removal of County Judge Tim O’Hare from his role as head of the commission. Burnam alleges official misconduct by O’Hare for booting speakers at meetings, Burnam included.
O’Hare’s office has dismissed the petition as political.
Commissioner Alisa Simmons, the Democratic nominee for county judge against O’Hare, supports Burnam’s stance. She feels O’Hare is abusing his office. A pastor also not allowed to speak during a commissioners meeting is also suing the county judge, and on the same day Burnam was carried off for grabbing the mic to continue saying his piece, O’Hare expelled another speaker, podcaster/activist E.J. Carrion, who had said “bullshit” twice and was arrested and charged later.
About O’Hare, Simmons said, “This is what happens when someone in power believes they are above the Constitution. Let’s bring accountability back to Tarrant County.”
Parton the Interruption
To be honest, I’ve never seen a bad mural in Fort Worth, and Dolly Parton’s wondrous likeness outside the Stagecoach Ballroom (2516 E Belknap St, Fort Worth, 817-831-2261) in Riverside is among the best of the best.
Muralist Juan Velazquez took his image from one of Dolly’s late-’70s photoshoots.
Parton died two weeks ago at age 80 from cancer.
In a statement, Parton’s camp said, “A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family.”
At Dolly’s request, donations can be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in lieu of flowers or other gifts. Follow @velazquez_art_ for more of his amazing work.
Pardon Our French … Please
Easily among the most annoying people in not only the great 817 but the whole state, Bo French saw an image of young Texas Longhorn fans in the stands cheering on their team last Saturday and decided to go full Nazi on social media because a lot of the faces were brown.
“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” posted the former Tarrant County GOP head alongside the image. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
French is the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commission, a powerful department that controls oil and gas, among other things. He’s up against Democrat Jon Rosenthal, who is not a Nazi.
“That’s the power Bo French wants,” Rosenthal said in a statement. “A man who attacks students over their skin color has no business being trusted to protect Texans.
Calling him out won’t keep him out of office. Beating him will.”
Even wet noddle and no friend of the left Sen. John Cornyn thought to go online and body Bo by posting, “This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism or look the other way while it becomes normalized? This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
No, Johnny. Sorry. Looking the other way is in the DNA of Republican pols, who have been looking the other way since 2016.
It’s clear that French has big dreams. His hope is to climb higher in government by speaking directly to the worst among us. He may not win any national seat, but as he keeps taking home local and perhaps statewide offices, he will drag the Texas GOP more rightward with every vile, racist, bigoted, sexist comment to come from his gaseous mouth. He’s a nominee for a state position. He must be doing something … right.
You can be MAGA and say you’re not racist, but when the polls open, you will be dutifully clicking the button for a party whose vice president recently said that before the adjudicated rapist, 34-count felon, and overall grifter occupied the White House, our country was “dirtier” and “poorer.”
The rot starts at the top. Vote accordingly.
Courtesy Instagram
Big Bend Landowners’ Lawsuit Pauses Border Wall Construction
In a rare admission of defeat, the White House said it is pausing construction of a border wall in Big Bend until after the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducts an “on-the-ground evaluation.”
This is the direct result of a lawsuit and constituents across the country fighting back — Big Bend is a massive tourist attraction, and if there’s a native or longtime Fort Worthian who hasn’t been, I haven’t met them.
Challenging the legal basis employed by the DHS to fast-track border wall and infrastructure construction across the Big Bend region, a coalition of Big Band landowners and the group Conserve Big Bend filed a federal lawsuit earlier this week focusing on a legal threshold in the nearly 30-year-old immigration statute: The DHS is allowed to waive laws to fast-track construction but only in areas of “high illegal entry,” which the coalition argues is not anywhere near Big Bend.
In their complaint, the coalition says that while Big Bend encompasses 517 miles, more than a quarter of the entire U.S./Mexico border, the sector has recorded the fewest apprehensions of any southwest area every year for the last 53.
“The government’s own official statistics tell the real story,” said Clara Bensen, board member with Conserve Big Bend and director of communications for the No Big Bend Wall initiative. “You cannot legally bypass the laws of this country by fabricating an emergency that does not exist. Declaring over 500 miles of steep cliff faces and perilously rugged desert an area of ‘high illegal entry’ is not just detached from reality. Under federal law, it is arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.”
The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor agree.
On MS NOW, Dem Gina Hinojosa said, “We are dealing with a system where [Gov. Greg Abbott] gives his donors $1 billion in no-bid contracts. This is their playbook, right? More and more taxpayer dollars to [Republican officials’] donors, and Texans get less and less. We are paying into a system — the federal government, the state government ― that is now working against us.”
Abbott is also against any border wall construction inside Big Bend National Park after receiving pushback from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers and constituents. The governor believes any physical barrier in Big Bend is an inefficient use of resources and that they can be better employed in other parts of the border.
In the lawsuit, the coalition asks the court to declare DHS’ “high illegal entry” designation unlawful and to vacate it and issue a preliminary and permanent injunction against construction.
“Our coalition includes 230 landowners across the region, more than 70 of whom were willing to serve as plaintiffs in the lawsuit being announced today,” said David Keller, a regional archaeologist, landowner, Conserve Big Bend board member, and plaintiff. “We have brought this extraordinary challenge because, for us, the Big Bend is not an empty place on a map. It is our home. This project can be stopped. It will be stopped. And, in fact, we are already stopping it.”
Joaquin Peña, an active Big Bend area farmer and landowner, said, “Farmers are the cornerstone to this country, so that’s why I’m here on behalf of every farmer who has been threatened by this injustice. If a wall goes up, we will be fenced out from using our pump to irrigate our crops, and then we lose our source of income. This place is a staple in my family’s history, and I refuse to just let it get taken away.”
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
