LEAVE ALL CHILDREN BEHIND. HARD-CORE REPUBLICAN FASCISTS HOPE THEY ALL JUST DIE IN IRAQ

If you studied the results of the new Suvery U.S.A. polling data you probably noticed that the one state where Bush's approval ratings have actually risen-- while falling dramatically nationally and catastrophically in states in EVERY region of the country-- was Texas. I don't want to get into a Texas-bashing session; and I won't. I don't know how many of the pathetic little fascist monkeys parading around Crawford in defense of their Chimp-in-Chief, chanting "We don't care" about Casey Sheehan's death in Iraq and his mother's grief here are actually Texans. But I will say that the Republican Party of Texas is as far to the right as you can be without be indicted for treason. Elements of the Texas GOP would have been too extreme for Hitler or Mussolini. That said, even this report from Austin's Channel 8 News shocked me. It's a story about a young marine back from Iraq, having served in the military for over 8 years. And it's a story about how the GOP-controlled Texas government views their obligations to him (and everyone else who needs a helping hand).


Allison Toepperwein wrote this story under the title: MARINE DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR TEXAS IN-STATE TUITION.


Former Marine Carl Basham remembers his two tours in Iraq like yesterday.

"Three mortars every single night that were landing within a couple feet of your living area. Pretty scary," he said.

Basham, now home with his parents, wants to start a new life with a quality education.

When he enrolled at Austin's Community College to become a paramedic, they told him he'd have to pay out-of-state tuition, because of his time in the military.

"I've tried my hardest, I've served my country for 8 1/2 glorious years. I enjoyed it, I would never look back and hate it, but this is how I get treated when I'm done," Basham said.

When Basham was a junior in high school, he and his parents moved from Waco to Louisiana. He joined the military from there. But after a year, his parents moved back to Texas. They've lived in Austin ever since.

"Any time that a student leaves the state of Texas, moves into another state, resides in that state, enters into the military in that new state, and claims that new state as their permanent home, then they loose their Texas residency," ACC spokesperson Veronica Obregon said.

Basham disputes that.

"After me being in the military for a year, coming from Louisiana, my parents moved back into Texas, making me an automatic resident, because I'm still their dependent," Basham said.

"We've explored every option for him. And we are still willing to work with him, if he can provide any evidence that shows that he is a Texas resident," Obregon said.

His drivers license, voter registration and the Austin American-Statesman say Basham is a Texas resident.

ACC says Basham would have the same problems if he went to any other public school in the state of Texas.

"We don't make the laws. The legislature makes the laws. We only adhere to them," Obregon said.

And the Texas Education Coordinating Board agrees with the ACC.

"Born in Texas, raised in Texas, gonna die in Texas, but I might not be a resident," Basham said.