Texas Governor Abbott Thinks He Is Doing A Profound Job Protecting Property Rights

Looking at the group photo, above, does that not look like a group of men up to no good?

The men standing behind the man with a pen in his hand look like henchmen forcing the signer to sign something.

The thing the signer is signing is HB40.

That would make the signer the new governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.

I do not know who the henchmen are standing behind Abbott sporting evil grins and multiple chins.

Maybe they are oil and gas industry lobbyists, pleased with themselves for having managed to get the Texas legislators, whom they control, to pass a bill taking away the right of a Texas town to have a say about what the oil and gas industry does in their town.

Denton was the Texas town which pushed the gas drillers too far by voting to put an end to the poking of holes in their town's ground, followed by fracking.

Denton had experienced some of the results of sloppy gas driller's operations, which have resulted in gas fires, explosions, leaks, noise pollution and earthquakes in various locations in Texas.

When Abbott signed the bill he said that local regulations threatened gas production.

And that the new law did a “profound job of protecting property rights.”

Recently dozens of Arlington residents were forced to evacuate their homes due to a poisonous leak leaking from an Arlington fracking operation.

It seems the latest Texas governor does not think any Texans, other than gas drillers, have any profound right to protect their own property rights by voting to not allow gas drillers to operate close enough to do them and their property harm.

When was the last time Texas elected a governor who did not end up being a national embarrassment? Was it Ann Richards?