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The Texas Constitution

Fun facts about the document that guides the laws of the Lone Star State.

John C. Moritz/USA TODAY NETWORK

AUSTINPop quiz Question 1: What do Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas have in common when it comes to politics? Answer: All have gone Republican in every presidential election this century.

Question 2: Pull Texas out of the mix, and then what do they have in common? Answer: They are all currentlyrun by Democratic governors. That's something Texas has not been able claim in almost 28 years. In fact, Democratshaven't won any statewide elections in that long, and there have been about 100 of them during that time.

By way of illustration, an online site for lottery players puts the odds of someone matchingthree of the six numbers in a Lotto Texas drawing at about 1 in 75. The payout for hitting three of six is a modest $3. But it stillmeans a Texas Democrat has a better chance of winning at least part of the Lotto jackpot than getting elected statewide.

So why can Democrats win at least sometimes in red states but not in Texas? There's not a one-size-fits-all answer, but there are some clues. And, like the Lotto analogy, evidence suggests that a little luck is often involved.

Let's look at Kentucky. It's home to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, arguably the most powerful Republican currentlyholding elective office. And it's arguably even redder than Texas. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 30 percentage points in 2016and crushed Joe Biden by 32 points four years later.

But between those blowouts, along came Democrat Andy Beshear. In 2019, one of the nation's few odd-year state elections, Beshear challenged Trump-backed Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Beshear had come out for expanded Medicaid for economically distressed families and sided with public school teachers, whom Bevin had targeted as "selfish" and "ignorant."

More: MORITZ: 2022 is almost here, so now's time to start paying attention to midterm elections

Beshear, then the state attorney general, whose father had served as Kentucky governor, benefited from voters being turned off by Bevin's sometimes pugnacious behavior.He also ran into a bit of luck. Bevin's vote tally was just a hair'sbreadth below 50%, and pundits said the 2% pulled by the Libertarian candidate was enough to vanquish the Republican incumbent.

Louisiana elected Democrat John Bel Edwards governor in 2015, toward the end of Barack Obama's presidency. Recall that the Obama era midterm and off-year elections were brutal for Democrats, especially in the South. But Bel Edwards, who happensto share the same last name as Louisiana political legend Edwin Edwards (there goes that luck thing again), stuck to bread-and-butter issues as a way of not getting intertwined with his state's antipathy toward Obama.

Bel Edwards, who is not related to Edwin Edwards,was reelected in 2019. It didn't hurt that he is a gun rights advocate and anti-abortion in heavily Catholic Louisiana. And he campaigned heavily and turned outthe vote among Black Louisianans. The racewas close, but a win is a win. And the next year, Trump took Louisiana by a comfortable 60-40 ratio.

More: MORITZ: How unfamous people with famous names have fared in Texas politics over the years

Kansas is so Republican that no Democrat has carried the state in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But in 2018, a good year for Democrats nationally, Laura Kelly pushed back against Trump's hard line on immigration and vowed to expand Medicaid. Kelly also aggressively courted Republican moderates who were uncomfortable with both Trump and former Gov. Sam Brownback.

So what does all this mean for Texas in 2022, not only in the governor's race but down the ballot as well? The easy, and perhaps flip, answer for Democrats is to pray for a long overdue change of luck. The harder, and so farunattainable, answer is tofind some way to make your own luck.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.comand follow him on Twitter@JohnnieMo.

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MORITZ: Democrats win in other red states, but in Texas, they're unable to crack the code - Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick| Press-Citizen opinion writers

The start of a new year is a time to think about beginnings and purposes.

Take the U.S. Constitution: it sets out our national purposes, the resolutions for our shared government, in its preamble. Part of the preamble, to provide for the general welfare, deserves special consideration this year.

The Constitution replaced the failed Articles of Confederation, which foundered upon the Tragedy of the Commons. The tragedy occurs when everyone has access to and motivation to exploit a resource, but no one has the responsibility to maintain it. That resource is then depleted or spoiled for everyone, like an over-fished lake.

The Articles had no mechanism for putting the common good over state-level interests. The Constitution created a strong central government with an obligation to the general welfare of we the people, while leaving states and local governments to look out for local interests.

And it worked. Our national commitment to the general welfare mostly managed our internal competitions, while our federalist structure encouraged local initiative and problem-solving.

Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured America in the 1830s to learn why our revolution flourished while Frances had failed, believed our strength lay in our ability to come together at all levels to solve problems democratically: As soon as several of the inhabitants of the United States have conceived a sentiment or an idea that they want to produce in the world, they seek each other out; and when they have found each other, they unite.

That commitment to the common good recovered even from the Civil War and was reinforced by our common experiences during the Great Depression and World War II. President John Kennedy famously captured Americas commitment to the common good, despite the Red Scare, desegregation and other contentious issues of the moment: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

But starting around Kennedys death, we entered into a decline in both trust in each other and trust in government. Commentators from conservative David Brooks to liberal Matthew Yglesias have written about this decline in trust and how, correspondingly, civic participation suffers.

Factors from the media to partisan rancor to Americas wars have contributed to this loss. But these declines also line up with the rise of libertarian philosophy, which at its best amounts to live and let live, and at its worst becomes screw you, Ive got mine.

We have increasingly seen more of the latter than the former. As this selfish and isolationist philosophy has permeated our social fabric, weve seen social involvement erode along with our commitment to the general welfare. Prominent examples include our decreased communal willingness to pay for family assistance, educationand public health.

In short, the decline in our commitment to the general welfare is linked to our loss of faith in our common good and our common goodness. We believe we can renew that commitment and that faith by building up local communities.

And there is good news. President Donald Trumps election spurred many to consider the state of our institutions and to act. Civic participation has increased: established groups have gained new members and new energy, and new groups have formed to encourage political engagement, mutual aidand neighborhood engagement.

Meanwhile, concern for the consequences of inequality and skepticism of the libertarian ideal are rising even among the business leaders we would expect to most benefit from them.

Our country faces a conflict between selfishness and distrust on the one hand, and civic and community spirit on the other. Its consequences are profound, impacting our health, our children, and our planet.

As de Tocqueville warned, America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

For our part, we will recommit ourselves to civic participation and furthering the general welfare in 2022. We ask you to join us.

Writers Group members Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa City. And biannual time changes must be abolished.

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Opinion: Let's make 2022 the year civic participation, and looking out for the common good, returns - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Stephanie Piro| Special to Foster's

ROCHESTER - We hope everyone enjoyed the holidays.Dont forget, the library will be closed Monday, Jan. 17in observation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

If you are looking for something to do in the winter weeks to come, why not include the library in your to-do list? Whatever your interests, we have you covered! From magazines to DVDs and everything in between, including great downloadable resources, all you need is an active library card. No card, and live in Rochester? Just bring in your photo ID and a recent proof of address (recent mail, car registration, lease, etc.) or if you are a property owner, we can look you up on the Town tax rolls, and we will sign you up for a card.

For out-of-towners who would like to use our resources, we have two options for you to join the library. A $30 will give a 6-month membership and $60 will give a year membership to you and everyone in your household.

The library is excited to offer a new program for local writers. The purpose of this writing group is for people to have a designated time and space to work on their projects individually surrounded by others for moral support. The session will run for two hours with a fifteen-minute break for people to socialize if they wish and the library will provide light refreshments. The group facilitator, Madeline, ran a similar group at a library in Washington State with great success.Join us Thursday, Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Rose Room (2nd floor of the library). Call Abby, our Programming Librarian, at 603-335-7550 with any questions.

Main Desk Librarian (and syndicated cartoonist) Stephanie, and Main Desk LibrarianKarylhave created a series of weekly animated videos recommending book, DVD and other titles available at the library. Enjoy our animated suggestions for titles to start the New Year! See them on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

This week RPL librarianAmyshares a recent favorite: Although I am not a huge nonfiction reader, 'A Libertarian Walks into a Bear' was recommended to me and I found myself engrossed in the story immediately. It is a thoughtfully written chronicling of a political experiment in Grafton, N.H., by the Free Town Project starting in 2004. The author,Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, is a reporter for the Valley News in Hanover, N.H.He also includes the history of Grafton in an effort to explain why Grafton was the town of interest. Whether you remember John Babiarz running for governor of N.H. or not, this book will have you hooked on his story and all of the other characters as well as the decisions that were made in an effort to be free.I enjoyed every minute of this book. I appreciate Hongoltz-Hetling's writing style.He broke up the information into chunks and delved into why the town was plagued with fires, bears, and terrible roads with humor and wit.I give it five stars!

We are always happy when Kait has some new recommendations. You may not know it, but RPL LibrarianKaitis a Queen of social media and book blogging and her Instagram has many followers. Her recommendations for this week are: Happy 2022!

I would like to share the 22 YA books publishing in the first half of 2022 that Im most excited about! From a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer book to a queer marching band story and everything in between, I hope you will find something to enjoy from this list. Happy reading! (Publication dates are listed after the titles):

When You Get the Chanceby Emma Lord (1-4);The Storytellerby Kathryn Williams (1-11);In Every Generationby Kendare Blake (1-25);Fire Becomes Herby Rosiee Thor (2-1);Mirror Girlsby Kelly McWilliams (2-1);No Filter and Other Liesby Crystal Maldonado (2-1);A Million to Oneby Adiba Jaigirdar (2-15);The Chandler Legaciesby Abdi Nazemian (2-15);Bright Ruined Thingsby Samantha Cohoe (2-15);The One True Me and Youby Remi K. England (3-1);This Golden Stateby Marit Weisenberg (3-1);One For Allby Lillie Lainoff (3-8);Forward Marchby Skye Quinlan (3-8);Alice Austen Lived Hereby Alex Gino (4-5);Message Not Foundby Dante Medema (3-29);Does My Body Offend You?by Maria Cuevas (4-5);Scouts Honorby Lily Anderson (4-5);Queen of the Tilesby Hanna Alkaf (4-19);Why Would I Lie?by Adi Rule (5-1);I Kissed Shara Wheelerby Casey McQuiston (5-3);See You Yesterdayby Rachel Lynn Solomon (5-3);You, Me, and Our Heartstringsby Melissa See (5-31)

For more book lists like these and other bookish fun, follow Kait Plus Books atkaitplusbooks.comor @kaitplusbooks on social media! (Most of Kaits list recommendations can be found in the library. Some are available on the Libby app.)

Cold and flu season protocols: Cold and flu season, as well as COVID-19, is upon us. If anyone in your family comes down with COVID-19, contact us for help with items you may not be able to return on time. Call us at 603-335-7549 or 603-332-1428 with any questions. While we love to share our books, we do not want to share germs! Please remember that if you or your child is too sick to go to work or school, you are too sick to visit the library.

Winter Story Time: Winter Story Times are almost full! Call us at 603-3357549 or come to the library to check for space availability. The programs are free and begin the week of Jan. 10 and will run for six weeks.They will start in our meeting room and will last about 20 minutes. We will share three to four books alternating with finger plays, songs, and movement, and then follow that with a 30-minute Stay & Play in the Childrens Room.This time will be for children to participate in unstructured play and socialize, while adults will have an opportunity to meet other families in our community.

We respectfully request that accompanying adults wear masks during Story Time.

Collage Rainbow ~Take It & Make It Craft: Families can pick up a kit beginning Saturday, Jan. 8 through Saturday, Jan. 15 or until they are gone. Pick up times are during library open hours only. The kits will be inside the Childrens Room entryway. (One kit per child please).

Main Floor: Beatlemania: Whether or not you watched the Get Back documentary series on Disney+, or are a new or old Beatle fan, we have a fab display filled with books, DVDs and CDs of all your favorite songs. Check out a few and have your own Beatle festival.

Are you a local artist interested in exhibiting your work at the Rochester Public Library? We would love to hear from you! Please email a short bio with images of your work to RPLReference@rochesternh.net

Having problems with a new smartphone or tablet? Want help setting up Libby or hoopla so you can read or listen to free ebooks and audiobooks? Emerging Technology SpecialistJessicais here to help you if you need it! Give us a call to make an appointment at 603-332-1428 or RPLReference@rochesternh.net.

Contacting RPL: Visit the Librarys website: https://rpl.lib.nh.us/; Email the reference librarian Rplreference@rochesternh.net. Message us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rplnh/ or https://www.facebook.com/RPLChildrensRoom

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Take in the winter activities at the Rochester library - Foster's Daily Democrat

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) Election season is right around the corner and Thursday candidates in state and local elections can begin collecting signatures.

Illinois candidates running for federal, state, and county elected positions have until March to get enough signatures in order to see their name on the ballot for their respective political party ahead of Junes primary election.

Illinois primary election season officially started Thursday for candidates. At the McLean County Clerks Office, candidates could pick their petition packets up in person or online.

You can download these ahead of time, but the only problem is for candidates is you dont want to start getting your signatures on petitions until today (Thursday), said McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael.

Candidates from the Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian parties started their process for the June primaries in hopes of making it all the way to the general election in the fall.

What youre doing is youre selecting the candidates that will represent each party in November for the general election, said Executive Director of Peoria County Election Commission, Tom Bride.

This year the primary election was pushed until June 28th due to a delay in the states redistricting of state and federal seats. Bride said that also shortened the amount of time candidates have to get their required amount of signatures.

Typically theres 90 days to collect the signatures, this year theres only 60 days so the actual signature requirement was reduced by one-third, too, Bride said.

County clerks and local election commissions handle the petitions and election process for county leaders and local races. In McLean and other counties. sheriffs, clerks and county board members will all appear on the primary ballots.

We have 10 districts and we have two representatives in each district, so all 20 of those because of the redistricting and remapping. They all have to run this time. Usually, its staggered; one year 10 run and two years later the other 10 run, Michael said.

Michael said in June voters will see federal and state lawmakers running for positions in primary battles as well. Those petitions are handled by their respective election commissions.

The deadline to file most petitions for Illinois is March 7 and the final day to turn them in is March 14 by 5 p.m.

Visit link:
Thursday marks beginning of election petition signatures for candidates - CIProud.com

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Powder Springs, GA, Jan. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- viaNewMediaWire--CBMJ Inc. (OTC:CBMJ) Conservative Broadcast Media & Journalism Announced that Quarter over Quarter Revenue increased by 68% from $785K in 2020 to $1.32M in Q-4 of 2021.

The Companys full year revenue came in at $4.44M which is an 82% increase over 2020 revenue of $2.43M.

Product sales through e-commerce including Flag & Cross, Patriot Depot, Coffee and Cigar Sales accounted for 75% of total sales. The other 25% came from Consulting Services, Database Email sales and rentals and Media Services.

"One of our goals in 2021 was to drive Revenue which was accomplished with organic growth along with the acquisition of Patriot Depot in June 2021. Although sales were strong, we did not achieve our net income goals in 2021 due to inventory adjustments, added shipping costs, advertising censorship from big tech and managing the integration of the two businesses. With the hiring of Hanford Jordan as CEO of CBMJs subsidiaries DeDonato Enterprises/Patriot Depot, which was announced yesterday, we expect to rectify those issues and achieve both sales and earnings goals in 2022. The goal in 2022 is to achieve 10% earnings bottom line as a percentage of sales," stated CBMJs CEO Mark Schaftlein.

Correction: Yesterdays press release from CBMJ announcingHanford Jordan as being hired asCEO of its subsidiaries DeDonato Enterprises/Patriot Depot stated in error that prior he had been an auditor with KPMC. Is should have stated that prior he had been an auditor with KPMG International Limited, a British-Dutch multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.

About DeDonato Enterprises:DeDonato Enterprises, L.L.C. is a Digital Marketing Agency based in Metro-Atlanta that specializes in reaching a conservative/libertarian/religious audience. DeDonato was acquired by CBMJ in October of 2020.

About Patriot Depot:Patriot Depot is an online retailer that distributes and sells Conservative and Christian themed supplies, apparel, pins, flags, patriotic gifts, glasses, novelties, books, DVDs and more.Patriot Depot was acquired by CBMJ mid-2021.

About CBMJ:(CBMJ) Conservative Broadcast Media and Journalism is a Digital Marketing Company based in Metro-Atlanta that specializes in reaching a conservative/libertarian/religious audience. Among other assets, CBMJ operates numerous social media accounts across several platforms with over 2 million followers, owns an active database of over 20 million opt-in email subscribers, and publishes a network of 47 monetized political/news websites generating 10 million page views per month. Some of the marquis sites includewww.flagandcross.com,www.patriotdepot.comandwww.militarygradecoffee.com. The Company also maintains one of the largest collections of historical documents on the web athttp://constitution.com/.

In addition, CBMJ operates a brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Hiram, GA, and e-commerce websites includingwww.thrashercoffee.com/,www.valloranicigars.com, and an e-commerce portal at their primary sitewww.store.flagandcross.com/. CBMJ now also distributes the increasingly popular TV, radio, and social media segment "The Schaftlein Report" hosted by economic analyst, political commentator, and CBMJs CEO Mark Schaftlein.https://schaftleinreport.com/

Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters disclosed atwww.otcmarkets.com. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially.

Mark Schaftlein

877-704-6773

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CBMJ Grows Q-4 Revenue by 68% Quarter over Quarter and Annual Revenues Grow 82% Year over Year in 2021 - StreetInsider.com