Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of July 17, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or with the radioPup App.

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1. LP&L Bills Shock and Anger Customers

If someone really wanted to, they could organize a protest outside of LP&L's offices and I really think many people would show up. Just about everyone in Lubbock has had the same reaction to their LP&L bill this month. Anger, horror, and more anger.

Back in May the Electric Utility Board decided it was time to increase rates even though a consulting firm, hired by LP&L, told the board that they wouldn't need to raise rates until October. Still, the EUB and the Lubbock City Council voted to raise rates on June 1... not in October. The council voted for a 9.7% rate increase which LP&L claimed would raise most bills by $7-$10 per month. The only person who voted against the increase was Mayor Glen Robertson.

Yesterday on my show Mayor Robertson said that the decision in May is now hitting home and angering peopling throughout Lubbock. Instead of a 9.7% increase though, many people I have spoken with have seen their bills double or triple.

And get ready because this was just the first of four planned increases for LP&L.

What does your bill look like? Did it only go up a few dollars or did your LP&L bill double... or more?

2. Holder Wants to Review Stand Your Ground Laws (link)

Those who want to be able to defend yourself, your home, your car... Eric Holder wants to review laws that allow you to do that.

Attorney General Eric Holder waded deeper into the controversy over the George Zimmerman case and verdict on Tuesday, suggesting a national review of "stand-your-ground" laws during a speech before the annual NAACP convention in Orlando.

The NAACP is at the forefront of the effort to pressure the Justice Department to bring federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. Holder confirmed on Monday that his department is reviewing that possibility, citing his personal concerns about the case.

He went a step further on Tuesday, weighing in for the first time on controversial state-level laws on self-defense.

"Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation's attention, it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods," Holder said.

The comments were a reference to so-called "stand-your-ground" laws, which in Florida and other states allow people to use deadly force if they think their life is being threatened.

The role that law played in the Zimmerman shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is a matter of dispute.

But Holder suggested the laws encourage confrontation, saying there "has always been" a legal defense for using deadly force when retreat is not an option.

"But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely," Holder said. "By allowing -- and perhaps encouraging -- violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety."

He called for a "hard look" at the laws. The crowd applauded as he said "we must stand our ground."

I wonder when Eric Holder thinks someone has the right to defend themselves. Surely, having your head slammed against the sidewalk is justification for force but not according to this Attorney General.

3. White House Backing Away From Trayvon? (link)

Politics may cause the White House to back away from the Trayvon news.

The White House’s press secretary strongly signaled Tuesday that President Barack Obama will back out of the George Zimmerman controversy, amid peaceful outcry and a handful of violent protests that could damage his chance of winning back the House in 2014.

“The president does believe we should have an ongoing conversation about [race] in our communities and churches and in the public square,” Carney said, pointedly excluding a White House role.

Instead of the talking about the shooting controversy — in which a Florida jury of six women acquitted the Hispanic neighborhood-watch volunteer of murder charges — Carney tried to shift the subject to the president’s economic policies.

Don't be fooled. While the White House may back away publicly, I still believe that they are working behind the scenes to fan the flames. This is a great distraction for them. Keep your eyes open.

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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