Texas Unites is back. Sorry.

I really don't know why anyone who genuinely cares about animal welfare pays to attend the Texas Unites conference. There's not a lot of uniting, if truth be told. I suppose it's another way to prove your self-worth if you've run out of options at home. And Austin is quite a pleasant place to escape the local St Patrick's Day Parade.

According to the conference brochure, you can play Bingo and schmooze with the other sycophants when you're not shelling out $200 for the Texas Unites workshops, plus up to $300 for your hotel room.  Add on a return flight on Southwest Airlines or a few tanks of gas, and you'll be out of pocket $800 to a grand if you're not careful.

Perhaps this wouldn't be such a wash if this year's Texas Unites wasn't so similar to the ones held in previous years. As usual, the HSUS - you know, those folks who are fine with Michael Vick owning a dog - is sending a few professional liars to Austin to drum up more retirement funds for their merry band of attorneys.  And there are the usual unemployed people who are jumping at the chance for a trip to Austin and an hour or two on a podium, pretending to be experts.  If you scroll through this year's brochure they're pretty easy to pick out.

Bastrop director out, volunteers back

From the KXAN television Web site:

Volunteers allowed back in at Bastrop animal shelter
BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) - Things may be looking up for the troubled Bastrop County Animal Center.

On Friday, county commissioners accepted the resignation of director Diane Mollaghan, who received her second DWI arrest after a crash a week ago.

They also invited back some 40 volunteers who were banished a month ago for criticizing conditions at the shelter.

Click here to go to the KXAN Web site and the rest of the story, together with a video.