Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of November 26, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.

CJStumpf, Flickr
CJStumpf, Flickr
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1. Back to Work

Vacation time is over and now it's time to get back to work. It was nice being away for a week and getting to spend some time with family. We all need some time to recharge and during the holidays, that's when I seem to recharge the most. Being off the air and around family and friends does that.

One of the more interesting questions I get from listeners is if I ever run out of things to talk about. The answer is of course, no. While many people out there will be focused on Christmas over the next few weeks, I will be focusing on Texas and local issues. We have another legislative session coming up and a Speaker's Race that may or may not be an actual race. We already have Texas politicians getting ready to run for 2014 which could bring up a lot of drama.

In the next legislative session, we are likely to see bills that address water, smoking, texting, and property rights. Immigration, sanctuary cities, and the "Texas Dream Act" will all be brought up as well.

Locally, it's all about spending. The City Council wants to hire people for jobs that some say need to be staffed while others say no. There is still the issue of City Council members spending tax payer money on frivolous items and it is something we should be focusing on. And of course, there is still that texting while driving issue the council wants to do something about.

Don't worry though, national issues will still be discussed but as you can tell, this isn't a slow time of year. There is much to discuss between now and Christmas so let's get back to work.

2. Gay Marriage (link)

The Supreme Court will go behind closed doors this week and will decide whether or not to rule on gay marriage. Is the time right to issue a ruling? The justices will think about it this week.

For justices, the issue is not just what to decide, but when to decide it. In times past, the court has been faulted for waiting too long or moving too quickly to recognize constitutional rights.

The justices did not strike down state bans on interracial marriage until 1967, 13 years after they had declared racial segregation unconstitutional. Yet in response to the growing women's rights movement, the court in 1973 struck down all the state laws restricting abortion, triggering a national "right to life" movement and drawing criticism even from some supporters that the Roe vs. Wade ruling had gone too far too fast.

Now, the justices must decide whether to hear an appeal from the defenders of California's Proposition 8, the 2008 voter initiative that limited marriage to a man and a woman.

 

At the same session Friday, the court will sift through several appeals to decide whether legally married gay couples have a right to equal benefits under federal law. Appeals courts in Boston and New York have struck down the part of the Defense of Marriage Act that denies such a right, and the justices are almost certain to take up a case to resolve that question.

The Proposition 8 case, known as Hollingsworth vs. Perry, presents justices with the more profound "right to marry" question.

Opinion polls now show a majority of Americans favor marriage equality, and support for it has been growing about 4% per year. On Nov. 6, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage, bringing the total to nine states.

Does the shift in public opinion suggest the court should uphold gay marriage now, or wait for more states, perhaps a majority, to legalize it?

Defenders of Proposition 8 say their case "raises the profoundly important question of whether the ancient and vital institution of marriage should be fundamentally redefined," and in this instance, by federal judges.

I have no problem with the Supreme Court weighing in on this issue right now. I see no reason why they shouldn't. What do you think?

3. Black Friday (link)

What is it about Black Friday that makes people go completely nuts? I don't take part in Black Friday mainly because my time is worth more than standing in line and having to dodge punches for $100 bucks off a TV. Sure, maybe I miss out on some great deals but I'm okay with that. The nightmare of Black Friday is enough for me to stay away and possibly get ready for Cyber Monday. The Daily Caller has a nice write-up on the Black Friday mayhem.

Two people were shot in Florida, a handgun was brandished in Texas, and a Target store in Colorado was used for some high-risk target practice on Friday — unrelated events that might appear wholly unremarkable, save for the fact that they occurred on what is traditionally the most hyped, busy, deadly, and apocalyptic shopping day of the year.

The untamed mayhem began on Friday afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida when local news reported that two people, a black male and a black female, were shot in a Wal-Mart parking lot in an apparent dispute over a parking space. The suspect is still at large.

“Everybody started trying to find a place to hide,” said one customer.

 

Meanwhile, police ruled that a shopper in San Antonio, Texas who pulled a gun on another individual in a mall parking lot had used justified force. 

“We don’t see this very often,” police spokesman Matthew Porter said, adding that the man who brandished the gun was legitimately in fear for his life. “He was within his rights.”

Witnesses told police the man produced his semi-automatic handgun after being punched. Managers suspended shopping at the nearby Sears department store for only 10 minutes, before letting customers back in.

But a Target store in Aurora, Colo. closed for the whole day after a man wearing a ski mask bizarrely and brazenly stormed into the pharmacy at approximately 6 p.m., fired a round into the ceiling and darted off suddenly.

“For someone to come in here and do this … it didn’t even seem like they were trying to steal anything,” one Target employee told FOX-31. “They just caused as much panic as they could.”

Other Top Stories:

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.


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