Astonishing Coincidence Theatre!

A young man receives a felony conviction at age 19 in 1972. Twenty-four years later, he is hired by the Texas Youth Commission, despite the conviction, which he freely discloses. Twice he is recommended for a pardon by the Texas Board of Pardons & Paroles, though the Governor fails to act. On May1, 2007, newspaper reports reveal that this man, now 56, had complained to his supervisors about sexual abuse of male juvenile offenders at TYC facilities in West Texas as early as 2003, one or two years before officials are willing to acknowledge they received notice. On May 7, 2007, this man, Anthony Mikulastik, is fired by TYC, with the official reason being his felony conviction from thirty-five years ago. TYC officials insist the firing has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Mikulastik's whistle-blowing...

This has been another exciting episode of Astonishing Coincidence Theatre!

Speaker answers Barkman comments

Dear Editor:
Your paper recently published a column by Patrick Barkman titled "How not to fire US attorneys." The column's author falsely claimed that I "recently killed a provision to create a standing special prosecutor to investigate TYC (Texas Youth Commission) abuses." Three weeks ago, House Bill 472, a bill that would expand the jurisdiction of the special prosecution unit to include the prosecution of crimes committed in TYC facilities, was discovered to contain a technical error while being debated on the House floor. The bill was sent back to the House Corrections Committee, where is was amended and voted out again by the committee last week. it will likely be debated on the floor sometime later this month. Everyone realizes this is an important tool in addressing systemic problems at the TYC; however, it is equally important to insure that the legislation is drafted in a way that will provide the best outcome when prosecuting crimes that occur within the TYC. I anticipate House Bill 472 to pass the House. In light of the recent revelations of the abhorrent behavior at the Texas Youth Commission, it is my hope that this legislation will go toward helping to fix this broken agency.
Sincerely,
Tom Craddick
Speaker of the Texas House

UPDATE: Normally, I don't respond to fan mail, but this release from the Speaker's press-droid is so outrageously false that the very stones themselves cry out for an answer. During the debate in question, House Minority Leader Jim Dunnam offered an amendment to HB 472 that would've created a special prosecutor, not merely codified the ability of district and county attorneys to request one, as in the original language of the bill. The amendment was adopted 75-63 on a bipartisan vote. Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman) then raised a technical objection to the analysis of the bill and one paragraph that accidentally dropped a word or two. The Speaker could have overruled this minor and irrelevant point, but chose instead to sustain it. Thus, a bill that would've gone into effect back in late March still hasn't passed. This delay (and if the bill dies before the session ends, the death of the bill) can be laid, like a flaming bag of dog crap, at the feet of Speaker Tom Craddick.

Suffer the Little Children

The TYC Scandal just keeps getting uglier, with a riot by juvenile inmates at the San Saba facility; revelations that official documents were altered, apparently as part of a cover-up; evidence that Perry's new TYC chief, Ed Owens, is already experienced in covering up sex scandals from his time at TDCJ; an internal email that shows "Special Master" Jay Kimbrough has adopted the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against the Media; and some excellent research from the Blogosphere that shows that evidence of abuse was known as early as 2004. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee has unanimously (and self-righteously) passed a bill to fire the entire TYC Board, a measure only necessary because our alleged Governor lacks the huevos to do it himself. But on the other side of the Capitol Building, Rep. Jessica Farrar places the blame where it truly belongs: a Legislature that has abandoned its constitutional, moral and ethical duties.
Why do scandals like the TYC fiasco happen? Because the government of Texas doesn't give a fat rat's ass about children. Children don't vote; more importantly, they don't donate money to politicians. And evidently, the people of Texas approve of this, because we keep electing this same impotent gang of craven morons, year after year after year.

Greg Abbott's Priorities

Apparently, the Attorney General is more interested in harassing the elderly for partisan purposes than he is in protecting Texas children from sex predators in the TYC.