Go Ahead and Mess With Texas; It's Run by Pussies

As a couple of commenters noted yesterday, the chief Senate sponsor of the Texas bill targeting TSA groping of airline passengers has withdrawn the measure, saying support quickly dwindled after the feds threatened to create a no-fly zone over the Lone Star State. Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) blamed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the state Senate, for stirring up opposition to the bill, which the state House approved a few weeks ago, by citing the federal threat to shut down Texas airports. Patrick said the 30 or so votes he had when he introduced the bill had shrunk to about a dozen by yesterday afternoon. "There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history," he mournfully told The Texas Tribune, "where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of Texans."