TPA weekly round-up

The Texas Progressive Alliance congratulates the Packers and the Steelers as it brings you this week's roundup.

WhosPlayin helped organize a cleanup for an historic African American cemetery dating back to about 1845 that had been the target of litterbugs and illegal dumpers. Respect for the dead, and respect for the land are still values that people from left and right can agree on.

Off the Kuff analyzed the initial Republican budget proposal and the utter havoc it would wreak on the state.

TXsharon reported on two important developments on hydraulic fracturing: 1) the EPA is confident gas in Parker County water wells is from Barnett Shale, and 2) the media took a lie about the EPA and regulating diesel fuel and repeated it without fact checking.

At Letters From Texas, Harold points out that Rick Perry keeps calling things "emergencies" that aren't, and continues to ignore emergencies that are.

Capitol Annex takes a look at a study showing that Texas gets an "F" when it comes to reporting outbreaks of food-borne illness and wonders why the media wasn't paying attention last year when candidates were making an issue of food safety in Texas.

There's a muddy, grunting scrum developing among the Republicans coveting the US Senate seat Kay Bailey is vacating, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs posts an update at a safe distance from the bottom of the pile.

Exactly why does Governor Perry want to insist that you can cut spending and maintain services? McBlogger's pretty sure it's a case of cognitive dissonance.

Libby Shaw gets it dead right whem she tells Goodhair to Man Up Governor Perry. Of course he won't. He has already double-downed on completing the demoliiton of Texas public education according to everything coming out about the new state budget.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans hate people so very much.

TexasVox welcomes guest blogger Jim Hightower as part of a one-two punch on the nuclear waste dump in West Texas: Hightower's Dumping on Texas for Fun and Profit and an expose of Harold Simmons' last minute contributions to Texas politicians in 2010.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote on the massive budget deficit in Texas. In this fine post, Neil offers up the view that Republican mismanagement of Texas is not the only reason for the shortfall. Neil also cites poor citizenship by the many Texans who don't want to pay taxes in a state with no income tax, but who at the same time kick up a fuss when government services they use are cut.