It appears that Mr. Follow-the-Rules Ted Cruz is only in America because his Dad bribed some guy.

How ’bout them apples?

In a report Thursday on NPR about how Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) father shaped his vision on immigration, his father, Rafael Bienvenido Cruz, an immigrant from Cuba, said that while he “came to this country legally,” he basically bribed an official to get to the United States.

“A friend of the family — a lawyer friend of my father basically bribed a Batista official to stamp my passport with an exit permit,” the elder Cruz said.

So surely, armed with this information, Cruz will go stand on the border with his hand out.

Thanks to Carol for the heads up.

Yeah, Louie Gohmert.

When asked about where he stands on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Louie didn’t know what that was.

Then, when it was explained to him as protecting “LGBT workers from being fired due to their sexual orientation,” Louie had a faux-shocked response …

GOHMERT: Who wants to go talking about sexual orientation when they’re working? Good grief.

Louie!  Exactly!  All you do is talk about sexual orientation.  At work.  A hundred times a day.  If you can’t get the words “gay agenda” and “Jesus hates you” into a paragraph, you have to call Sarah Palin for pointers.

Good Grief, indeed.

Thanks to Irene for the heads up!

Okay, he’s decided to decide and even tell us.

Perry said he would make a decision to run again for governor before July 1. “Later in the year, if there’s more expansive plans than that we’ll announce at the appropriate time.”

Most calendar watchers are expecting an announcement Thursday, June 27 or Friday, June 28.

Madam Swami Juanita predicts that Perry will not run for Governor, leaving that door open for someone even worse – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, an enormous bully and hypocrite.

Madam Swami Juanita also predicts that Rick Perry will run for President on Texas taxpayer money while he continues to serve as Governor, costing us in travel and security alone about 2,000 teachers, 50 repaired major bridges, health insurance for 1.5 million Texans, the world class status of the University of Texas, enough pocket change to fill the Santa Elena canyon.

Okay, sit down because I know this is going to shock you.

The guy who had that whole Pray Away The Gay thing?  John Paulk, who used to be the chairman of Exodus, a group that helped you stopped being gay by praying – well, turns out, he’s gay forever and ever.

“For the better part of 10 years, I was an advocate and spokesman for what’s known as the ‘ex-gay movement,’ where we declared that sexual orientation could be changed through a close-knit relationship with God, intensive therapy and strong determination,” Paulk said. “At the time, I truly believed that it would happen. And while many things in my life did change as a Christian, my sexual orientation did not.”

He added: “Today, I do not consider myself ‘ex-gay,’ and I no longer support or promote the movement. Please allow me to be clear: I do not believe that reparative therapy changes sexual orientation; in fact, it does great harm to many people.”

John, I suspect there is no danger in me being the first to say I told you so.  I’ll just take a number and stand in line.

Until people realize that fundamental Christians will feed your butt to the lions just to entertain themselves, much harm will continue to be done in the name of Sweet Jesus.

Gay is not something that was invented to piss off God.  I could pray all day everyday not to be short but that ain’t gonna work either.

Thanks to everybody for the heads up.

I want you people from foreign states to know that we are celebrating Juneteenth today.

Ashton Villa today

Although Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was signed on September 22, 1862, word did not get to Texas until June 18th of the following year when General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston to take possession of the State of Texas for the union.

The following day, June 19th, General Granger stood on the balcony of Ashton Villa and read aloud —

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

June 18th and 19th became Juneteenth.  It is cause for much celebration in Texas.

Happy Juneteenth!