photos by Marco Torres

Local turntablist DJ Remix takes a stern yet light-hearted approach against the Westboro Baptist Church

In the world of protestors, there are the revolutionary type (Arab Spring) and the pacifist/sit-in type (Occupy Wall Street), and then you have the bat-shit crazy, inappropriate, and downright horrible type. The notorious Westboro Baptist Church falls under that last category. The hateful yet exceptionally well organized group travels the country to protest military funerals, the U.S. government, Jewish people, and most prominently, homosexuals.

Several members were in town yesterday to protest the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention taking place at the George R. Brown. Although their name includes the term "Baptist", Westboro is not affiliated with either the Baptist World Alliance or the Southern Baptist Convention.

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Tonight, on a very special legislative session....

Governor Rick Perry has added abortion regulation and mandatory sentencing for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder to the state legislature's special session agenda.

"The horrors of the national late-term abortion industry are continuing to come to light, one atrocity at a time," Perry stated in a press release, perhaps referring to Houston doctor Douglas Karpen.

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Will TDCJ close the jails these groups want closed? Stay tuned...

A coalition of anti-private-prison groups is claiming victory for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's plans to close two privately run detention centers in the wake of a $97 million budget cut.

Grassroots Leadership, along with the ACLU of Texas, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and other groups had pushed for the closure of Dallas's Dawson State Jail and the Mineral Wells pre-parole transfer facility, both run by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America.

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We like our shark fin soup with a dash of salt -- it helps mask the overpowering flavor of douche.

Hair Balls is scratching our head over Republican Senator Larry Taylor's recent flip-flop on a bill that would effectively ban the already federally prohibited practice of "shark finning" in Texas waters -- i.e., catching a shark, cutting off its fin for use in a very expensive soup and then tossing it back in the water, where it dies an agonizing death.

Taylor, whose district covers parts of Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties, first introduced the bill, would would prohibit the sale, trade, purchase and transportation of shark fins in Texas.. But after fellow Republican Senator Troy Fraser came out against it, Taylor followed suit. Yep, he reversed his position on his own bill, and it died in committee.

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Illustration by Al Cameron

Did Hotze miss his true musical calling?

We were stoked to hear that Republican activist Steven Hotze -- a physician who once extolled the virtues of 19th century snake oil such as colloidal silver and who belongs to a hardcore Christian sect that believes doctors shouldn't provide medical services on the Sabbath -- had recorded some anti-Obamacare jams.

His auto-tuned voice drops science along the lines of "Texas should be free again, it should be an independent nation" over a spare but pulsating piano-bass-and-drum track that strikes us as something you might hear in Hell's waiting room.

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Photo by Joshua Justice.

Be honest -- you didn't even know they had anything other than beer in Shiner.

In these highly charged political times. it's easy to forget that for the most part, the average American is fairly apathetic when it comes to politics. Oh, there may be causes he or she cares about and politicians he or she despises, but when it comes to actually going out and voting...well, that just sounds like a lot of work.

Last Saturday elections were held across our great state, and for the most part they were fairly quiet and uneventful affairs. Some people won, others lost and a few are getting ready for runoff elections.

It was your typical election night, or at least it would have been if not for the towns of Shiner and Lytle, which decided to spice things up and see which community could have a more absurd school board election result.

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OMG, a political candidate eats food -- don't vote for her!

Houston City Council District I candidate Graci Garces is calling for opponent Ben Mendez's apology after Mendez -- or someone with his campaign -- allegedly e-mail-blasted a photo of....um, Garces enjoying a meal at a restaurant.

"I was appalled that Ben Mendez and his campaign would distribute a photo of me that is intended to bully, harass and discriminate," Garces explained in her statement.

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Good enough for Obama, not for Proof Patio & Bar.

Planned Parenthood's quarterly "Cocktails For A Cause" get-together last Tuesday had some extra star power -- Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student famously called a slut by Rush Limbaugh for daring to speak her mind. What the event didn't have was a venue, after the bar that had agreed to host it mysteriously backed out at the last minute.

The trendy Proof Patio & Bar, above the even trendier Reef restaurant in Midtown, initially said it would love to host the usually low-key event. (Hey, 100 people on a Tuesday night -- why not?)

But the day before the event, Proof management called Planned Parenthood and backed out.

See Also:
- Rick Perry's War On Planned Parenthood Suffers Setback (Updated)
- In Midst of Komen Ruckus, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Has Rare Leadership Change
- Planned Parenthood: Punched in the Uterus by Misguided Texas Senate

"It was a logistical issue," a manager murmured when Hair Balls called.

Logistical issue? You're a bar, it's Tuesday so you'll probably be dead without the event, there's 40 acres of parking across the street, the weather was nice so the patio would be usable. So what, you were out of tonic water?

Some people couldn't help wondering if the presence of protesters -- even the small number that may show up for such a PP event -- scared off management of Proof or one of the nearby places.

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A gay-rights group is trying to draw attention by shutting down a key Austin intersection this rush hour.

GetEQUAL TX is sitting in the intersection, protesting the lack of legislative movement on an antidiscrimination bill.

"We've already called these senators, petitioned them and had conversations with them to explain why this bill is important," said Tiffani Bishop of GetEQUAL TX. "We are down to 19 days left in the session and they still haven't moved on this bill."

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I got a message for your FEMA Camps, Mr. President.

Sometimes, silence truly is deafening. Rick Perry spends an awful lot of time engaging anyone who will listen around the country on why they ought to move to Texas. It's good for business. We got lots o' guns. We let you live the way you want to live. We don't have no dad-gum income taxes. We're just right simple folk who want your money and your business.

He'll also offer his opinions on Medicare, personal freedom, religion and, especially, guns. He'll talk about that stuff until he's blue in the face...or in his case red, given his political leanings. But when it comes to President Obama's visit to Texas this week, mum's the word. Well, not exactly. Perry deferred to his spokesperson on this one. In the case of Obama, he'd rather speak softly and carry a big AR-15.

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