The State of Texas: Feb. 13, 2014

Cute of the Day

Say hello to Dumbo Duncan. He’s the newest and cutest addition to the Houston Zoo. He was born a healthy 385 pounds:

Daily Roundup

One Way Or Another — Texas will find a way to execute you, gosh darn it. Last year Texas began running low on its all-in-one deadly potion, pentobarbital, and the TDCJ infamously had trouble securing new drugs for lethal injections. And now, the “Texas Department of Criminal Justice says it is exploring the use of alternate drugs in executions,” according to KUT. The NPR affiliate confirmed through a Public Information Act request that the TDCJ possesses the same drug combo used last month in a controversial execution in Ohio, where the death row inmate “gasped and struggled for at least 14 minutes before dying.” An official for TDCJ told KUT that the department “continues to explore all options including the continued use of pentobarbital or an alternate drug(s) in the lethal injection process.” It seems pretty clearly to be cruel and unusual, though forcing TDCJ to be so, er, creative may show just how inhumane state-sanctioned killings really are.

Cruz’n For Another Bruisin’— Ted Cruz’s recent talking points shift to energy policy may have just been a red heron. The Texas senator turned back to the budget beat Wednesday, telling reporters that “under no circumstance will I agree to the Senate’s raising the debt ceiling with just 50 votes. I intend to object and force a 60-vote threshold.” By “force,” Cruz means only that he’ll encourage all Republicans to hold the line. Dems, with a bare majority of 55, just needs five additional votes from across the aisle to make the senator’s objections moot. As Politico notes, however, Cruz “indicated he won’t delay the vote as D.C. awaits a snowstorm.” So if anyone was hoping for story hour(s) with The Cat In The Hat or Horton Hears a Who!, you might have to wait until Cruz’s next filibuster.

To Catfish A Thief — Things got a bit weird in the City of Ate yesterday. According to the Dallas Observer, a man entered Ronnie’s Catfish & More restaurant, ordered something that was specifically less than $6 then held the place up. Only problem was, the cashier couldn’t open the drawer, so the assailant took everything in the tip jar—all three dollars. Around that same time, his order was ready, so he apparently, “took it and left, pausing outside Essence Beauty Mart to try the locked door, then heading east.” The burglar is now full of delicious catfish and, incidentally, at-large. Video footage suggests that he “”appeared to be under the influence of drugs.” This whole incident is a bit shameful. That is, it’s something you would expect from Florida.

Standing Away From Wendy — If there was ever a moment when Wendy Davis’s opponents could sympathize with her, it might be now. On Tuesday, the gubernatorial candidate told the Dallas Morning News that she would have, provided a few tragic exceptions, supported a ban on abortions after twenty weeks (as would most Texans). This unleashed a frenzy of backlash against the state senator who made her national splash based on a filibuster against a package of abortion-related legislation that included the twenty-week ban. MSNBC wrote that it “represent[s] Davis falling into a trap set for her by abortion opponents,” which can now, while splitting hairs, accuse her of “flip-flopping.” Meanwhile, the national Davis fan club lost it on Twitter—the word “betrayed” seemed to be trending among a certain set. Before you go debating and parsing Davis’s words with friends, family, and other drunks at the bar, be sure to read Texas Monthly senior editor Erica Grieder’s quick take on the dust-up. Grieder breaks down Davis’s statements in a way that won’t make your head explode, no matter which side you stand on.