"Cruz, a Tea Party favorite, wins Texas Senate primary" by Jennifer Steinhauer | New York Times, August 02, 2012
Why has my printed paper given me the byline of Erik Eckholm?
WASHINGTON —Ted Cruz, the 41-year-old Sarah Palin-blessed upstart, virtually assured the latest Tea Party candidate a seat in the chamber next year.
And he will not be alone when it comes to those backed by the movement that propelled Republicans to control of the House in 2010.
Among 17 contested Senate races and in Texas, more than half a dozen of the Republican candidates — or those currently running ahead in their primaries — are Tea Party-embraced.
The infusion of new conservative blood could alter the complexion of the Senate, increasing the sorts of conflicts between moderates and far-right Republicans disinclined toward compromise that have characterized the House for two years.
From Indiana — where Richard E. Mourdock recently toppled the veteran Republican Senator Richard G. Lugar — to Wisconsin — where two Tea Party candidates are slowly unmooring the Republican front-runner, former Governor Tommy Thompson — to Nebraska — where Deb Fischer surprisingly beat out a more established Republican candidate — Tea Party-backed contenders are surging.
This whole piece looks like a waste of time looking back. Muordock f***ed up on rape, Thompson and Fischer has been busy beating up Chuck Hagel.
In Missouri, three Republicans are fighting to portray themselves as the candidate most strongly aligned with Tea Party values.
Akin. 'nuff said.
Even if Democrats maintain control, newcomers like Cruz are likely to quickly coalesce with veteran conservatives such as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and freshmen like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, enlarging the ranks of members who stand well to the right of their party’s central platform.
DeMint just retired to run the Heritage Foundation, and Rand Paul is not Ron Paul.
As a result, the group could also present the sort of added aggravations for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, that befell the House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio as he sought to draft difficult deals with Democrats and the White House at a time of a complex fiscal mess.
Should Republicans gain control of the Senate — as they have a fair shot of doing — McConnell could find himself having to balance the demands of Republicans such as Cruz against those of remaining centrists like Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
But those concerns will come later as conservatives were busy Wednesday celebrating the triumph of Cruz.
‘‘This all proves what we’ve said all along,’’ said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, ‘‘that the Tea Party movement is here to stay. I am actually surprised that people are surprised that Ted Cruz won.
“I’ve only been home for three days of the last month, and I talk to people from all walks of life and they still want government out of our lives.’’
The Tea Party’s sinewy stamina among Senate candidates is the corollary trend of the moderate congressional members fleeing the scene, best represented by this week’s surprise retirement of Representative Steven C. LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, who announced his decision through a flame of recriminations about partisanship, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, who left her party in a tough spot.
Some are already sensing a shift in the attitude of the Senate leadership.
‘‘I notice that Mitch McConnell is speaking at a Tea Party rally soon,’’ Mourdock said in an interview Wednesday. Mourdock campaigned with Cruz, who told him, he said, that he had taken his inspiration from Mourdock’s insurgent campaign in Indiana.
‘‘Just the fact that the Republican leadership is willing to reach out to those folks is important,’’ Mourdock said. ‘‘If that kind of coalition comes together, on Day 1 it will be if not a literal majority a real large majority, and I think on Day 1 we will jump right into the frying pan.’’
If McConnell, who will attend a Tea Party rally in Kentucky with Paul, feels any sense of discontent anticipating a conference with many more Pauls, he has not expressed it.
Related: The Mole in Ron Paul's Campaign
“I am very impressed with Ted Cruz and will do everything I can to help elect him in November,’’ he said.
The dynamic was not lost on Democrats.
“I think it’s more of their problem than ours,’’ said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Democrats involved in campaigns further insist that Tea Party candidates will be disadvantaged among the much-coveted independent voters come November.
“The Tea Party positions and Tea Party policies and Tea Party agenda is going to be a huge vulnerability,’’ said Matt Canter, who is a spokesman for the DSCC.
Still held the House.
--more--"
I didn't want that for you, readers. I wanted you to know who is the real Ted Cruz:
And he will not be alone when it comes to those backed by the movement that propelled Republicans to control of the House in 2010.
Among 17 contested Senate races and in Texas, more than half a dozen of the Republican candidates — or those currently running ahead in their primaries — are Tea Party-embraced.
The infusion of new conservative blood could alter the complexion of the Senate, increasing the sorts of conflicts between moderates and far-right Republicans disinclined toward compromise that have characterized the House for two years.
From Indiana — where Richard E. Mourdock recently toppled the veteran Republican Senator Richard G. Lugar — to Wisconsin — where two Tea Party candidates are slowly unmooring the Republican front-runner, former Governor Tommy Thompson — to Nebraska — where Deb Fischer surprisingly beat out a more established Republican candidate — Tea Party-backed contenders are surging.
This whole piece looks like a waste of time looking back. Muordock f***ed up on rape, Thompson and Fischer has been busy beating up Chuck Hagel.
In Missouri, three Republicans are fighting to portray themselves as the candidate most strongly aligned with Tea Party values.
Akin. 'nuff said.
Even if Democrats maintain control, newcomers like Cruz are likely to quickly coalesce with veteran conservatives such as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and freshmen like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, enlarging the ranks of members who stand well to the right of their party’s central platform.
DeMint just retired to run the Heritage Foundation, and Rand Paul is not Ron Paul.
As a result, the group could also present the sort of added aggravations for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, that befell the House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio as he sought to draft difficult deals with Democrats and the White House at a time of a complex fiscal mess.
Should Republicans gain control of the Senate — as they have a fair shot of doing — McConnell could find himself having to balance the demands of Republicans such as Cruz against those of remaining centrists like Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
But those concerns will come later as conservatives were busy Wednesday celebrating the triumph of Cruz.
‘‘This all proves what we’ve said all along,’’ said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, ‘‘that the Tea Party movement is here to stay. I am actually surprised that people are surprised that Ted Cruz won.
“I’ve only been home for three days of the last month, and I talk to people from all walks of life and they still want government out of our lives.’’
The Tea Party’s sinewy stamina among Senate candidates is the corollary trend of the moderate congressional members fleeing the scene, best represented by this week’s surprise retirement of Representative Steven C. LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, who announced his decision through a flame of recriminations about partisanship, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, who left her party in a tough spot.
Some are already sensing a shift in the attitude of the Senate leadership.
‘‘I notice that Mitch McConnell is speaking at a Tea Party rally soon,’’ Mourdock said in an interview Wednesday. Mourdock campaigned with Cruz, who told him, he said, that he had taken his inspiration from Mourdock’s insurgent campaign in Indiana.
‘‘Just the fact that the Republican leadership is willing to reach out to those folks is important,’’ Mourdock said. ‘‘If that kind of coalition comes together, on Day 1 it will be if not a literal majority a real large majority, and I think on Day 1 we will jump right into the frying pan.’’
If McConnell, who will attend a Tea Party rally in Kentucky with Paul, feels any sense of discontent anticipating a conference with many more Pauls, he has not expressed it.
Related: The Mole in Ron Paul's Campaign
“I am very impressed with Ted Cruz and will do everything I can to help elect him in November,’’ he said.
The dynamic was not lost on Democrats.
“I think it’s more of their problem than ours,’’ said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Democrats involved in campaigns further insist that Tea Party candidates will be disadvantaged among the much-coveted independent voters come November.
“The Tea Party positions and Tea Party policies and Tea Party agenda is going to be a huge vulnerability,’’ said Matt Canter, who is a spokesman for the DSCC.
Still held the House.
--more--"
I didn't want that for you, readers. I wanted you to know who is the real Ted Cruz:
"Texan is Tea Party’s newest star" by Erik Eckholm New York Times / August 2, 2012
Few may have imagined Ted Cruz, 41, in his newest role, as the Tea Party favorite and Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas, trading verbal orchids with the likes of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. Cruz earned the nomination Tuesday in a runoff election after more than a year of sweaty street campaigning.
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Some friend.
Cruz’s victory in November is all but assured in this heavily Republican state and marks a shift to the right in the already conservative party here. Political elders and experts who have watched him during his time here as state solicitor general and on the campaign trail predict that he will be an intellectual force in Congress on behalf of constitutional limits on federal power. He is expected to join Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and other Tea Party icons as an uncompromising irritant of mainstream Republicans and Democrats alike.
It helps, of course, that Mr. Cruz has the smooth good looks and practiced speech of a television host and is able to channel his knowledge into sound bites.
“He has the potential to be a national figure,” said Mark P. Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, noting Mr. Cruz’s intellect and oratorical skills.
“He’ll be a senator from the second-largest state in the nation,” Mr. Jones said, “and he’s very good on television, a perfectly designed politician for today’s 24-hour news cycle.”
Speaking to the Values Voters Summit in Washington in October, Mr. Cruz drew a standing ovation as he repeated the themes of the political and religious right, sometimes sounding more ideologue than intellectual. He called President Obama the country’s “most radical president,” railed against the “gay rights agenda” and warned against new threats to “religious liberty.” Within days, National Review anointed him “the next great conservative hope.”
On Tuesday, as he greeted supporters in sweltering heat outside a polling station, Mr. Cruz and his wife, Heidi, were picture-perfect, not a wrinkle on their clothes nor a hair out of place.
Mr. Cruz said that his first dive into electoral politics had left him feeling “invigorated and inspired.”
“Every day, I come home with a spring in my step,” he said to the wildly enthusiastic group of grass-roots volunteers and to the cameras. “We’ve got to work together to stop the Obama agenda and take this country back.”
Rafael Edward Cruz was born on Dec. 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta, where his parents worked in the oil business.
Mr. Cruz’s parents are central to the personal narrative he tells, how he got so devoted to his conservative brand of freedom. His father, also Rafael, now a Baptist pastor, fled Cuba in 1957 with $100 sewn into his underwear and worked his way through the University of Texas. His mother, Eleanor, was the first in her family to finish college, at Rice, and ran an energy company. They returned to Texas when he was a child, and he graduated from a Baptist high school in Houston.
His father told him as a child, Mr. Cruz often says, that “if we lose our freedom here, where do we go?”
--more--"
This post is already taking longer than I thought.
"Texas will soon open a stretch of highway with the highest speed limit in the country, 85-miles-per-hour, giving eager drivers a chance to rip through a trip between two of the state’s largest metropolitan areas."
Is that really a good idea?
Hayden is ‘‘kind of catatonic’’ and not ready to be interviewed, Brockett said. ‘‘He’s just very much in shock.’’
Doug Fletcher, a Dallas attorney representing Smith Industries, said Hayden is an Army reservist who has been driving for the company for two years.
--more--"
Is that really a good idea?
"Massive pileup shuts I-10 in Texas; two dead" Associated Press, November 23, 2012
BEAUMONT, Texas — Two people died and more than 80 were hurt Thursday when at least 140 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a pileup that left trucks twisted on top of one another and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the miles of wreckage.
The collision occurred in foggy conditions at about 8:45 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.
Jefferson County sheriff’s Deputy Rod Carroll said in a news release that 80 to 90 people had been taken to area hospitals with 10 to 12 in serious to critical condition.
A crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to other accidents. There were multiple crashes on the other side, as well.
Carroll said the fog was so thick that deputies did not immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.
‘‘It is catastrophic,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve got cars on top of cars.’’
I-10’s eastbound lanes were reopened Thursday night after more than eight hours.
Trooper Stephanie Davis of the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV that two people in a sport utility vehicle died after the crash.
Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help.
‘‘Other travelers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured,’’ he said.
--more--"
A scene from "Castaway?"
The collision occurred in foggy conditions at about 8:45 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.
Jefferson County sheriff’s Deputy Rod Carroll said in a news release that 80 to 90 people had been taken to area hospitals with 10 to 12 in serious to critical condition.
A crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to other accidents. There were multiple crashes on the other side, as well.
Carroll said the fog was so thick that deputies did not immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.
‘‘It is catastrophic,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve got cars on top of cars.’’
I-10’s eastbound lanes were reopened Thursday night after more than eight hours.
Trooper Stephanie Davis of the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV that two people in a sport utility vehicle died after the crash.
Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help.
‘‘Other travelers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured,’’ he said.
--more--"
A scene from "Castaway?"
Well, that will slow down the parade:
4 dead, 17 hurt when train hits Texas vets parade
A freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 17 others as the float crossed a West Texas railroad crossing on its way to an honorary banquet, authorities said."
4 dead, 17 hurt when train hits Texas vets parade
A freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 17 others as the float crossed a West Texas railroad crossing on its way to an honorary banquet, authorities said."
"Texas parade honoring war heroes ends in tragedy" by Juan Carlos Llorca | Associated Press, November 17, 2012
MIDLAND, Texas — Cheered on by a flag-waving crowd, a parade float filled with wounded veterans and their spouses was inching across a railroad track when the crossing gates began to lower and a freight train that seemed to come out of nowhere was suddenly bearing down on them, its horn blaring.
Some of those seated on the float jumped off in wide-eyed terror just moments before the train — traveling at more than 60 miles per hour — crashed into the flatbed truck with a low whoosh and a thunderous crack.
Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — including an Army sergeant who apparently sacrificed his life to save his wife — were killed Thursday afternoon, and 16 people were injured in a scene of both tragedy and heroism....
Locals were struggling to cope with a tragedy at the start of what was supposed to be a three-day weekend of banquets, deer hunting, and shopping in appreciation of the veterans’ sacrifice.
‘‘It’s just a very tragic and sad thing,’’ said Michael McKinney of Show of Support, the local charity that organizes the annual event and invited the two dozen veterans. ‘‘It’s difficult when you’re trying to do something really good and something tragic occurs.’’
--more--"
MIDLAND, Texas — Cheered on by a flag-waving crowd, a parade float filled with wounded veterans and their spouses was inching across a railroad track when the crossing gates began to lower and a freight train that seemed to come out of nowhere was suddenly bearing down on them, its horn blaring.
Some of those seated on the float jumped off in wide-eyed terror just moments before the train — traveling at more than 60 miles per hour — crashed into the flatbed truck with a low whoosh and a thunderous crack.
Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — including an Army sergeant who apparently sacrificed his life to save his wife — were killed Thursday afternoon, and 16 people were injured in a scene of both tragedy and heroism....
Locals were struggling to cope with a tragedy at the start of what was supposed to be a three-day weekend of banquets, deer hunting, and shopping in appreciation of the veterans’ sacrifice.
‘‘It’s just a very tragic and sad thing,’’ said Michael McKinney of Show of Support, the local charity that organizes the annual event and invited the two dozen veterans. ‘‘It’s difficult when you’re trying to do something really good and something tragic occurs.’’
--more--"
"Float in Texas train crash that killed veterans was donated" Associated Press, November 19, 2012
MIDLAND, Texas — The truck that was used as a parade float involved a horrific train crash in West Texas that killed four US military veterans was donated for the event, organizers said Sunday.
Investigators say the truck began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and lights were flashing.
It was the second of two parade floats filled with wounded war veterans. The first float had cleared the tracks when the accident happened.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a timetable of the accident Saturday, based on information from cameras and data recorders....
--more--"
Investigators say the truck began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and lights were flashing.
It was the second of two parade floats filled with wounded war veterans. The first float had cleared the tracks when the accident happened.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a timetable of the accident Saturday, based on information from cameras and data recorders....
--more--"
"Driver in Texas parade crash is an Army veteran" by Betsy Blaney | Associated Press, November 21, 2012
MIDLAND, Texas — A 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving a parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast-approaching train, an attorney said Tuesday....
Investigators say the float began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and the crossing lights were flashing....
Dale Andrew Hayden, who has a military career spanning more than three decades, works as a truck driver for Smith Industries, an oilfield services company. Brockett said the company placed Hayden on medical leave.
Investigators say the float began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and the crossing lights were flashing....
Dale Andrew Hayden, who has a military career spanning more than three decades, works as a truck driver for Smith Industries, an oilfield services company. Brockett said the company placed Hayden on medical leave.
Doug Fletcher, a Dallas attorney representing Smith Industries, said Hayden is an Army reservist who has been driving for the company for two years.
--more--"
No charges in fatal float accident
A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict the driver of a float involved in a train collision that killed four US military veterans in a West Texas parade.
I suppose they figure he has suffered enough.
A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict the driver of a float involved in a train collision that killed four US military veterans in a West Texas parade.
I suppose they figure he has suffered enough.
Time to head over to the church for services:
"A North Texas pastor was killed Monday by an attacker who rammed a car into a church wall, chased the pastor, and beat him with an electric guitar, police said."
"A North Texas pastor was killed Monday by an attacker who rammed a car into a church wall, chased the pastor, and beat him with an electric guitar, police said."
"Widow says man who killed Texas pastor was mentally ill" Associated Press, November 01, 2012
FOREST HILL, Texas — The man who rammed his car into a church then beat the pastor to death with an electric guitar apparently suffered from a mental illness, his widow said....
Police used a stun gun on Derrick Anthony Birdow, who was later found unresponsive in a patrol car and pronounced dead at a hospital....
Another American "dies" in police custody.
Another American "dies" in police custody.
Earlier Tuesday, Derrick Birdow’s older brother told the Associated Press that he drove from his San Antonio home last weekend because he was worried about Birdow’s increasingly bizarre behavior in the past week. Glen Birdow said his younger brother was saying people were trying to kill him and that someone had stuck a needle in his arm....
I used to dismiss such talk, but after more than six long years of blogging who knows?
I used to dismiss such talk, but after more than six long years of blogging who knows?
--more--"
Officer, bystander die during traffic stop
A traffic stop turned into a fatal shooting on Christmas Eve when a gunman killed a police officer and bystander in the parking lot of a body shop, police said.The confrontation followed a chase that began shortly before 9 a.m. when the suspect sped off in his car rather than pull over as an officer had requested, Houston police spokesman John Cannon said."
Maybe you should stay off the roads in Texas.
"Man in Texas sex assault case gets 99 years" by Juan A. Lozano | Associated Press, August 31, 2012
LIBERTY, Texas — Jurors sentenced a man convicted of taking part in the repeated sexual assault of a middle school student to 99 years in prison on Thursday.
Eric McGowen was not in court when jurors found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a child or later when they returned with the sentence.
The 20-year-old had been free on bail and he skipped out during a break in proceedings Wednesday, the first day of testimony.
The judge issued an arrest warrant for McGowen Wednesday and allowed testimony to resume Thursday.
Jurors returned with the guilty verdict after deliberating for about 20 minutes. Then, after brief court proceedings on his punishment, they decided his sentence in less than 30 minutes.
--more--"
"Man who fled Texas trial is caught" by Juan A. Lozano | Associated Press, September 12, 2012
Officer, bystander die during traffic stop
A traffic stop turned into a fatal shooting on Christmas Eve when a gunman killed a police officer and bystander in the parking lot of a body shop, police said.The confrontation followed a chase that began shortly before 9 a.m. when the suspect sped off in his car rather than pull over as an officer had requested, Houston police spokesman John Cannon said."
Maybe you should stay off the roads in Texas.
"Man in Texas sex assault case gets 99 years" by Juan A. Lozano | Associated Press, August 31, 2012
LIBERTY, Texas — Jurors sentenced a man convicted of taking part in the repeated sexual assault of a middle school student to 99 years in prison on Thursday.
Eric McGowen was not in court when jurors found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a child or later when they returned with the sentence.
The 20-year-old had been free on bail and he skipped out during a break in proceedings Wednesday, the first day of testimony.
The judge issued an arrest warrant for McGowen Wednesday and allowed testimony to resume Thursday.
Jurors returned with the guilty verdict after deliberating for about 20 minutes. Then, after brief court proceedings on his punishment, they decided his sentence in less than 30 minutes.
--more--"
"Man who fled Texas trial is caught" by Juan A. Lozano | Associated Press, September 12, 2012
HOUSTON — A man who fled his trial a day before being convicted and sentenced in the repeated group sexual assault of an 11-year-old Southeast Texas girl was captured Tuesday after being a fugitive for nearly two weeks, authorities said.
Eric McGowen, 20, was arrested after being found in an apartment in northeast Houston, said Alfredo Perez, a spokesman for the Marshals Service. Information provided to the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force led officials to McGowen, Perez said.
The fugitive was apparently caught by surprise when authorities entered the apartment and arrested him, said Captain Steve Greene, a spokesman for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
Task force members turned McGowen over to Texas Rangers, who took him back to Liberty County, where he was convicted, Perez said. By Tuesday afternoon, McGowen was in the Liberty County jail, Greene said. Six law enforcement agencies had coordinated the search for McGowen.
Both Greene and Perez declined to release further details about what led authorities to the apartment or with whom McGowen had been staying.
???????
--more--"
Maybe I can catch a flight out:
Eric McGowen, 20, was arrested after being found in an apartment in northeast Houston, said Alfredo Perez, a spokesman for the Marshals Service. Information provided to the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force led officials to McGowen, Perez said.
The fugitive was apparently caught by surprise when authorities entered the apartment and arrested him, said Captain Steve Greene, a spokesman for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
Task force members turned McGowen over to Texas Rangers, who took him back to Liberty County, where he was convicted, Perez said. By Tuesday afternoon, McGowen was in the Liberty County jail, Greene said. Six law enforcement agencies had coordinated the search for McGowen.
Both Greene and Perez declined to release further details about what led authorities to the apartment or with whom McGowen had been staying.
???????
--more--"
Maybe I can catch a flight out:
"JetBlue pilot who disrupted flight free to go home" by Betsy Blaney | Associated Press, November 10, 2012
AMARILLO, Texas — A JetBlue Airways captain who ran through the cabin of a cross-country flight yelling about religion and terrorists was prohibited Friday from flying or keeping his pilot’s license, and now faces what could be the difficult task of finding work after being released from a prison medical facility.
Clayton Osbon was released more than seven months after a March flight from New York to Las Vegas during which passengers said the 49-year-old pilot left the cockpit and ran through the cabin yelling about Jesus and Al Qaeda.
Related: Courting Texas Readers
I'm trying.
The flight was diverted and safely landed in Amarillo.
Osbon was charged with interference with a flight crew. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a forensic neuropsychologist testified in a short, unpublicized trial that Osbon had a ‘‘brief psychotic disorder’’ brought on by lack of sleep.
WTF?
Osbon remains a JetBlue employee on inactive duty, but conditions set Friday by US District Judge Mary Lou Robinson say he is not allowed on board any domestic or international flight without permission from the judge or his probation officer and he must forego his license.
The conditions also say he must find regular work, unless his probation officer approves schooling or training instead.
--more--"
AMARILLO, Texas — A JetBlue Airways captain who ran through the cabin of a cross-country flight yelling about religion and terrorists was prohibited Friday from flying or keeping his pilot’s license, and now faces what could be the difficult task of finding work after being released from a prison medical facility.
Clayton Osbon was released more than seven months after a March flight from New York to Las Vegas during which passengers said the 49-year-old pilot left the cockpit and ran through the cabin yelling about Jesus and Al Qaeda.
Related: Courting Texas Readers
I'm trying.
The flight was diverted and safely landed in Amarillo.
Osbon was charged with interference with a flight crew. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a forensic neuropsychologist testified in a short, unpublicized trial that Osbon had a ‘‘brief psychotic disorder’’ brought on by lack of sleep.
WTF?
Osbon remains a JetBlue employee on inactive duty, but conditions set Friday by US District Judge Mary Lou Robinson say he is not allowed on board any domestic or international flight without permission from the judge or his probation officer and he must forego his license.
The conditions also say he must find regular work, unless his probation officer approves schooling or training instead.
--more--"
Also see:
Divorce rate in Texas oil town is soaring amid drought
Six children hurt after gas can explodes in Texas
Divorce rate in Texas oil town is soaring amid drought
Six children hurt after gas can explodes in Texas
