Constitutional Law

Cover Story: Federal Animal "Crush" Law Tested in Houston

In December 2012, two Houstonians became the first defendants charged under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010, which criminalizes the production and distribution of images of animal cruelty. Ashley Nicole Richards and Brent Wayne Justice were originally charged in Harris County Distric ... More >>

DOJ Eyes Will Be On the Ground in Harris, Fort Bend counties on Election Day

Voters in Harris and Fort Bend counties will get an extra treat on Election Day: Federal poll watchers. As a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (now 47 years old!), the federal government attempts to make sure every registered voter regardless of race, color "or membership in a minority langua ... More >>

Texas GOP Slapped Again: Now Judges Toss Voter ID Law

For the second time this week, federal judges have dealt setbacks to grand plans by Texas Republicans to suppress the minority vote protect the sanctity of the ballot. Tuesday a federal panel found the state's new redistricting maps to be biased; today another panel has ruled that the new voter ID ... More >>

Feds Toss Out Texas's Redistricting Maps: Biased Against Minorities, Panel Says

The Texas GOP's lengthy effort to create redistricting maps that federal judges say don't discriminate against minorities hit another snag today when a three-judge panel in D.C. threw out the latest plan. The judges said the proposed maps failed to meet fairness standards using various tests and an ... More >>

6 Songs for LBJ Day... One's About His Dick

Today is officially Lyndon Baines Johnson Day here in the state of Texas. The late 36th president's birthday was hallowed in his home state after he died in 1973 of a massive heart attack at the age of 64. He would have been 104 today. Johnson ascended to the presidency from the vice-presidency aft ... More >>

10 Best Modern Political Speeches

We'll be hearing a lot of great speeches this election season, but lets take a second to remember the true giants of political rhetoric. 10. Martin Luther King: I've Been to the Mountaintop King delivered this speech in Memphis, Tennessee the day before he was assassinated. After talking for a whi ... More >>

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The Nacirema Society

Where Were You in '65

Feds Block Texas's Voter ID Law: Unfair to Hispanics, They Say

Texas's strict new voter ID law, put in place by this past session's Tea Party legislature to stem the tidal wave of voter fraud that is actually not happening at all, has been blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice. The new law unfairly targets Hispanic voters, the feds said. "[T]he state has ... More >>

Dumb-Ass Arizona Law Keeps University of Houston-Published Books Out of Schools

Like the dreaded butterfly effect (the phenomenon, not the Ashton Kutcher movie, although that was pretty bad, too), a bizarre decision by an Arizona school official to shutter a Mexican-American studies class means kids won't be reading a few well-regarded books published by the University of Houst ... More >>

Remember Herney The Great's Diary of a Young Black Male?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​Herney the Great Diary of a Young Black Male (Self-released, 2011) Herney the Great is an occa ... More >>

“The Whole World Was Watching: Civil Rights Era Photographs from Edmund Carpenter and Adelaide de Menil”

Football Legend Eddie Robinson: A Biography Wasted

​Eddie Robinson was one of the greatest head coaches in the history of college football. He overcame the misfortune of being born a black man in the Deep South during the worst years of Jim Crow to produce at Grambling one of the great programs in all of football history. He won over 400 gam ... More >>

Freedom to Marry Marchers: No More Mr. Nice Gay

Photos by Bradley Basker​See pics from yesterday's "Big Gay Wedding," the largest and longest-running commitment ceremony in Houston, also organized by the Foundation for Family and Marriage Equality. Members of the Foundation for Family and Marriage Equality, along with a crowd of protesters ... More >>

Lesbian Teen Sues Kilgore School District For Outing, Harassing Her

Another gay student is allegedly bullied, this time at the hands of an East Texas softball coach. ​If two high school coaches lead a girl into an empty locker room and lock the door behind them, something bad can happen, and at Kilgore High School, according to a new lawsuit filed by the Texas Civ ... More >>

Cloaked Brutality

The feds bury border patrol abuses of immigrants, but what’s been unearthed reveals a culture of cruelty.

Where Are WikiLeaks' Media Friends? (UPDATED)

From Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media Holdings: Updated: Here is the link to the full story of the media's betrayal of WikiLeaks. Where are the First Amendment's establishment warriors as government-spooked businesses try to shut down Wikileaks? Hackers with computers, not h ... More >>

Texas Is Selling Your Baby's Blood Without Consent, Lawsuit Says

Lawsuit: Your baby's blood is secretly being sold to science. ​A lawsuit's been filed by lawyers at the Texas Civil Rights Project because, allegedly, for the last seven years, the state's Department of State Health Services has "deceptively and unlawfully sold, traded, bartered, and distributed b ... More >>

Judge Kevin Fine Back In The Spotlight With Death-Penalty Hearing

Kevin Fine will probably be watching his words this time​Harris County has long been known as the death-penalty capital of the United States, and the court system will be back in the spotlight this morning. Except this time it will be for the oddity of a judge who considers the death penalty, ... More >>

HISD On Title IX Complaint: "Nothing To Be Upset About"

As soon as HISD knows what it's doing wrong, it'll be sure to fix the problem. ​The Houston Independent School District held a press conference this afternoon to attempt to respond to allegations that the district doesn't give girl athletes the same opportunities as boy athletes. Trouble is, the d ... More >>

A Protest Playlist For The March On Washington Avenue

​Saturday marks the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the huge civil rights rally in Washington D.C. where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This rally is largely credited for helping to put enough pressure on Washington to pass the ... More >>

Randall Kallinen, Others Want The New Public Defender's Office Done Right

Hulk mad if budget small​More than a dozen local civil rights and justice advocacy groups banded together Wednesday in an attempt to ensure that the proposed Harris County public defender office gets done right.At a news conference, the organizations, which come together to form the Greater Housto ... More >>

Metro Responds To Our "Train Wreck" Article; We Respond To Their Response

Metro ain't happy with us​Last week's cover story didn't go over too well at Metro; maybe that's not too surprising since it was entitled "Train Wreck: How Metro and it's president Frank Wilson got so far off track."George Smalley, the agency's head of communications and marketing, responded ... More >>

BRWN BFLO Is Ballsy; Preemo's Concrete Dreams Passes the Time

"Illegal aliens come from all over the world, not just from the hole in the fence in San Diego." - George Lopez, "Corazon," on BRWN BFLO's self-titled album. ​Rocks Off gets lots of thank-you notes from readers showing their appreciation for giving Latino hip-hop a voice, though we find it odd. W ... More >>

(Very Possibly) Excerpts From The State Board Of Education's Curriculum Standards For The 2012-13 School Year

​There's been a whole lot of hooting and scorn from a nation who has watched as far-right-wingers have forced their odd, minority political views into Texas textbooks. There are some carping liberal complainers who think -- difficult as it may be to believe -- that Thomas Jefferson should be menti ... More >>

Amiri Baraka

With more than 50 years as an artist and activist, this writer continues to bring readers new work

32nd Annual Original Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade Celebration

Keeping the Dreamkeepers

Investigation Into HFD Scandal Conducted Improperly, Lawyer Says

​The case of the two women firefighters who claimed that over the summer they discovered sexist and racist slurs written on the walls of their fire station is heating up again. And this time it involves accusations about a judge, an assistant district attorney, and a potentially improper secretive ... More >>

Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Involving Alleged Spy Shot By HPD Officers

​In the court of law, it never really mattered whether Roland Carnaby was a spy, as he claimed just before police gunned him down along the highway following a high-speed chase. After all, his widow, Susan, was suing the City of Houston and a pair of its police officers in federal court for excess ... More >>

Feds Say Metro Has Violated Civil Rights Laws (Without Specifics)

We reported yesterday on things looking up for Metro, but today Hair Balls learned that our transit authority is violating the federal government's definition of civil rights. According to a letter dated April 27, the Federal Transit Administration conducted a Title VI Compliance Review of Metro ... More >>

GLBT Civil Rights Forum

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Life in 1860 Houston: the Civil War and Reconstruction

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MLK Day WonderWeek

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Fox Calls It For Obama. People Desperately Look Up How To Spell "Shadenfreude"

Bong Hits 4 Jesus

A Dispatch from the Streets of Houston

“Proper Listening”

Gregory Michael Carter tackles racism — on his own timeline

Amazing Height

As the Jim Crow Flies

Court art attracts heat but no media light

Judging Rory

Jurist Rory Olsen can put you in a mental institution and cost you hefty court fees. Critics wonder whether he can handle the job. Big deal -- he's a bottom-of-the-ballot Republican.

In the Hold

Plus: Rebuttal Witness, Doctoring the Ratings, Breeding Greed?

Left Return

Once burdened by debt and internal politics, a rejuvenated Texas ACLU is back mixing it up with those who dare to trample on the U. S. Constitution.

Rebmaster

Web designer George Kalas wanted to re-fight the Civil War. Instead, he started one in his own movement.

Rogue Elephant

Log Cabin Republicans want to be part of the GOP, which wants no part of them

The President's Analyst

Larry in Limbo

Is little guy Larry Duncan being made to suffer for the big guys' sins?

Price of Justice

A jury tags Harris County for hiring the killer behind the badge

Letters

Uncivil Liberties

The ACLU returns from the dead in Houston