Thursday, June 15, 2006

Gracias tanto, TDP

Amber Moon, Communications Director
Hector Nieto, Deputy Communications Director
Texas Democratic Party
707 Rio Grande Street
Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Amber and Hector:

Over the past few months, you have done tremendous work to bring the Texas Democratic Party and the surging Texas netroots community together.

Specifically, we want to commend you for the accommodations you provided at the recently completed Texas Democratic Party Convention in Fort Worth. From the front row seating to free wi-fi access, you gave us tremendous access to an excellent convention. Most importantly, you treated us with the same respect you gave to the traditional media.

The Texas blogging community may be an unconventional bunch. We don't write for major dailies, and we can't guarantee thousand-dollar checks. We do, however, work tirelessly -- as volunteers, as activists, as organizers, and as bloggers -- to fight for the candidates and the people of our Texas Democratic Party.

Thanks again for all the work you did helping make the 2006 TDP convention a success, and we are eager to continue working together to help move Texas forward.

Sincerely,
The Texas Progressive Democratic Webloggers

Rep. Aaron Pena
www.acapitolblog.blogspot.com

Sean-Paul Kelley
www.agonist.org

Anna
www.annatopia.com

Perry Dorrell
http://brainsandeggs.blogspot.com

Karl-Thomas Musselman, et al
www.burntorangereport.com

Vince Leibowitz
http://capitolannex.com

Nathan Nance
www.commonsensetx.com

Stace Medellin
dos-centavos.blogspot.com

wcnews and dembones
www.eyeonwilliamson.org

Greg Wythe
www.gregsopinion.com

Shannon & Ted McLaughlin
http://jobsanger.blogspot.com

Matt Glazer
www.justanothermatt.blogspot.com

Marc Gault
www.marcsmiscellany.blogspot.com

Trey McAtee
www.mcblogger.com

Martha Griffin
http://muse-musings.blogspot.com

Charles Kuffner
www.offthekuff.com/mt

M. Eddie Rodriguez
http://theredstate.typepad.com

Texas Kos
http://soapblox.net/texaskos

CC: Boyd Richie, Chairman, Texas Democratic Party
Ruben Hernandez, Executive Director, Texas Democratic Party

A lawsuit in Texas against electronic voting

From the Longview News-Journal:

Two Travis County voters, joined by Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General David Van Os and the Texas Civil Rights Project, filed a lawsuit in state district court Wednesday seeking to block the use of electronic voting machines that do not produce paper receipts.

The lawsuit claims that the paperless machines violate the public's right to a secure election and the purity of the ballot box under the Texas Constitution, according to a news release.

Darryl Primo, Gregg County's Precinct 2 commissioner, said he isn't surprised that someone is challenging electronic voting machines. He said he was the lone dissenting vote when commissioners purchased 160 machines in October using a $539,000 grant from the Help America to Vote Act.

Primo said he voted to purchase additional equipment to produce receipts that would allow for a voter audit trail.

"They voted not to do it. I wanted to do it; they voted not to do it," Primo said, "and it sits like a time bomb ticking away until the next time we have a contested election."

...

Primo pointed to the 1992 county judge election between Ken Walker and David Wright, when it took five recounts before Walker was declared the winner by fewer than 10 votes.

"Here's the issue, that the people I spoke with a year ago said that no matter how many safeguards were put into the design of these (electronic voting machines), there were vulnerabilities in the system," he said.

...


"When every voter cannot be sure that a machine recorded his or her vote the way he or she intended, democracy is not fulfilled," (Van Os) said. "These paperless machines are a direct threat to constitutional democracy. We must have paper ballots."


Much more you should read between the ellipses above. The Austin American-Statesman takes a more pessimistic slant (that is, for voters who want fair elections) :

The lawsuit argues that voters have no way of knowing whether the vote they cast is recorded or stored correctly by the eSlate system, which has been used in Travis County since 2002, and that electronic systems are prone to fraud and mistakes. The group wants an injunction to block use of the machines and cites government and media reports detailing problems with electronic voting in Texas and other states.

Travis County has embraced the technology, switching to electronic voting for everything but absentee ballots. The federal government required Texas to put at least one electronic voting machine in each precinct by Jan. 1 so people with disabilities can easily vote.

DeBeauvoir and a spokesman for Williams, along with the founder of the Austin company that created eSlate, all rejected the claim that paper ballots are necessary for a fair and secure election.

"I am not a lawyer but I kind of doubt that there is much of an argument," said DeBeauvoir, whose office runs elections in Travis County. "I believe that the system is accurate and secure the way it is."

David Hart, the founder of Hart InterCivic, said that more than 400 jurisdictions nationwide use the company's eSlate system, which uses tablet-size screens on which votes are cast with dials and buttons.

He said the system, which is not connected to the Internet, stores ballot information in three electronic places. In Travis County, it captures images of each ballot so electronic or manual recounts can be conducted.

"The eSlate system has got a lot of security built into it," he said.


The difference in opinion presented in these two stories could illustrate the divide between rural Texas and the state's capital city: Austin is where Hart Intercivic -- the company that supplies the eSlates used to cast ballots in Travis County as well as the rest of Texas -- is headquartered. And the state Capitol, where the corrupt Republicans who authorized this purchase gather biennially, is right up the road from the AAS building.

The company seems to have been a small, only-slightly-imbalanced player in the political contributions game (.pdf file) but maybe there's an embedded special interest in there somewhere.

You think?

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

More TDP photos

The Van Os-mobile.

Anna of Annatopia, who organized our Blogger's Caucus at the Flying Saucer, the most successful social event of the convention.

David Van Os and his women: from left daughters, Kay Cee, Leya, and Maya, wife Rachel.

Hank Gilbert and family.

Blogger's Alley inside the convention center.

I, The Media.

Fred Head's statement on public education.

Thanks to TomTech of Daily Kos for these. Here's more.

Why Rove wasn't indicted

Seth Abramson, a criminal attorney who writes the outstanding Suburban Ectstasies blog, has the brain candy. It's an easy three-step explanation showing how prosecutorial trial strategy, and not Rove's innocence, was the reason "Turd Blossom" escaped federal prosecution, but let's skip right to the smackdown:

Conclusion. Any competent lawyer will tell you that Rove got off on Perjury/Obstruction of Justice charges because the case against Scooter Libby was infinitesimally stronger than the case against Rove, and thus Fitzgerald went with the stronger prosecution over the weaker. (For the analysis of an incompetent attorney, see here). This doesn't mean that Rove is innocent, of course. In fact, it doesn't even mean Fitzgerald thinks he couldn't convict Rove. It means only this: that if Fitzgerald thinks he has a 95% or greater chance of convicting Libby, he must, therefore, think that he has a 94% or less chance of convicting Rove. So, it's simple trial strategy at work here, not anything the Porcine Wonder did. Don't let the media mislead you into thinking the lack of a Rove indictment means the case against him was weak. It wasn't. It isn't. It never will be. Which is why Rove will lose his shirt in the civil suit that's coming down the line any day now.


Perhaps I'll save that bottle of bubbly I was chilling for Fitzmas after all ...

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Images from the TDP Convention

Yours truly with Senator Barbara Ann Radnofsky.

The Texas Progressive Alliance (well, most of it, anyway).

Bloggers' Caucus at the Flying Saucer. I'm in the middle of this mix, talking to David Van Os.

Hoping BAR doesn't fall (and I have to catch her).

The back of my head. Oh, and Jim Huebner and Mrs. Diddie also.

The next President of the United States.

All images stolen from Anna. Vince has more.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Look at all the live-blogging!

Hey, there's Brian, whom I must've wowed, because I didn't make his list and Kuff -- but he sucks, and Anna, who doesn't suck whatsoever, and over there standing on the rickety bar stool yelling is Vince. He appears to be having the proverbial good time by all. Everyone. Everybody's good time is also being had by Vince.

And hey! I see Muses and Ladies in Pink (no wait, that's not her after all, and it's not Alison Bell either, who was smashing -- particularly her curly coiffure) and some of the fellows from Burnt Orange. Last night I ran into Trey, who had to remind me he wasn't his sister (and then reminded everyone that he sometimes IS a little bitch).

The DU crowd numbered twenty-plus and took over the back of the Flying Saucer. I was stuck mostly up front, playing spotter to Barbara, who jumped up on the sofa arm to say a few words. Picture me catching the next Senator from the Great State falling into my arms as she tumbled backward. It didn't happen, and I wasn't hoping it would, but it would have made a great picture ...

Then Mrs. Diddie and I wrapped the evening at Crystal Ballroom 'C', where J- Lee and J. Goodwille (he's third from the top) and the rest of the exceptionally hip were jammin'.

I have only a small headache.

Friday, June 09, 2006

The Fort Worth Hilton

... which serves as the Texas Democratic Party's convention hotel (and where I am writing this) was formerly the Hotel Texas, the place where President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady slept the night of November 21st, 1963. The next morning, after a speech in the hotel's ballroom and a press conference directly in front of the hotel, the president's motorcade departed for a short flight to Love Field in Dallas, taking with it the final moments of a more innocent America.

In the side foyer of the hotel is a photographic recollection of this bit of history. More on the convention events later.

P.S. : I have a first-edition copy of An Inconvenient Truth, signed by the book's author Al Gore, donated to our statewide candidates as a silent auction item. If you're reading this and attending the convention, come by and place a bid on it.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

RIP, Mary Kay Merriman

Mary Kay Merriman, Democratic activist, League of Women Voters member, and wife of Progressive Populist Caucus chair emeritus Stan Merriman, passed away suddenly yesterday.

David Van Os posted these remarks:

The fact that we are going to have a wide open, democratic election for state party chair is in large part a result of Stan Merriman's labors over the past 4 years to re-democratize the Texas Democratic Party. The fact that the Progressive Populist Caucus meeting is going to draw huge interest and will have heavy impact is a direct result of Stan's labors over the past 4 years in building the Caucus. The fact that the State Party Platform of 2004 was one of the most progressive in the history of the Texas Democratic Party is a direct result of Stan's labors. The fact that the 2006 platform will no doubt continue the same spirit is likewise a result of Stan's work. The fact that the face of the Texas Democratic Party in Convention this week will reflect a much more grassroots oriented party than it did 4 years ago is likewise a direct result of Stan's ceaseless labors, much of which are unknown to most but are undeniable to those who know.


Stan Merriman has been one of the most committed progressives that I have ever known. My family's thoughts and prayers go to him now at a time of incalculable loss.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Texas property insurers want another big raise

My friend John Cobarruvias, the blog-prietor of Bay Area Houston and president of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, submitted this editorial on State Farm's homeowners insurance rate increase:

It is beyond belief that the State Farm Mutual Insurance company has filed with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) to raise homeowner's rates as much as 39% across the state. This request will be the first challenge for the new TDI Commissioner Mike Geeslin and the leadership of Texas, and they need to stand up for the consumers and show State Farm the door.

In 2002 Texas had the highest homeowner's insurance rates in the nation. After the massive insurance reforms proposed during the 2003 legislative session, rates are now twice the national average and Texas again has among the highest rates in the nation, second only to Louisiana. If that isn't bad enough, deductibles are much higher and coverage such as foundation, water, sewer and mold is now optional, at an additional cost.

The promised reforms of the 2003 session were a complete and total failure of the leadership of the state. Then- insurance commissioner Jose Montemayor -- now CEO of an insurance investment outfit -- caved in to every request of the industry. After conducting hearings on toxic mold, he removed mold coverage without any reduction in rates or any worthwhile measures to prevent the cause of mold contamination. He allowed the use of credit scoring, giving the industry the right to increase rates based upon an owner's credit history. And he authorized the use of HO-A policies, which made foundation, water, and sewer damage insurable only as additional expensive policy riders. And yet not one single penny of rate reduction was realized by homeowners.

The Texas Legislature, led by Governor Rick Perry, wasn't much help either. They failed to protect homeowners by passing business-friendly legislation that provided absolutely no rate relief for consumers. The Texas Attorney General at the time, John Cornyn, filed lawsuits against the insurance companies questioning changes in their rates, but the suits were frivolous because Cornyn never intended to -- and never did -- follow through on the charges filed against the insurance industry. The present Attorney General, Greg Abbott, has also done nothing to defend Texas consumers.

The insurance industry, the TDI, the attorney general's office, and the state legislature has provided a steady stream of excuses to homeowners while rates have doubled and tripled and coverage has been slashed. And now State Farm wants to raise rates as much as 39%.

It is clear the current Texas political leadership has absolutely no interest in protecting consumers. The property tax relief passed in the recent special session will be offset by the out-of-control increases in property insurance, all while the insurers have enjoyed record profits. And the insurance industry has now found another excuse, "reinsurance"; the insurance purchased by insurance companies to protect themselves. Never over the last 4 years has reinsurance been used by Texas insurers. This is a sure sign that in the face of windfall profits, the industry is grasping for excuses to justify additional rate increases.

As in 2002, and as if on cue, insurance companies will file excessive rate increases right before the 2006 elections. Our elected officials will again have a chance to file frivolous lawsuits and make empty promises on the campaign trail, giving lip service to 'lower rates'.

Governor Perry, Attorney General Abbott, and Insurance Commissioner Geeslin should stand up for the consumers and show State Farm the door, or the voters in Texas should show them the door in November.


John will be hosting a consumer caucus on the Texas Residential Construction Commission -- what Chris Bell called "a case study in corruption" -- next Saturday at the Texas Democratic Party Convention in Fort Worth.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Texas GOP's Festival of Hate

The anger and hatred spewing out of the mouths of the Texas Republicans, gathered in San Antonio this weekend for their biannual state convention, once again manages to reach astounding proportions.

Just when we thought we couldn't be appalled any more ...

Party chair Tina Benkiser kicked off the convention by telling delegates that immigrants should learn English and embrace American values and that "amnesty" for illegal immigrants "is simply another word for surrender."


Houston Chronicle

"Unfortunately, that (undocumented immigration) has given way to multi-culturalism and hyphenated Americans and people whose loyalty is to a different flag," (Benkiser) said.


San Antonio Express

(Gov. Rick) Perry's director of homeland security, Steve McCraw, described the influx of illegal immigrants as a "tsunami" that could include "an army of jihadists."


More from some of the GOP delegates, concerned about the rage:

"I don't like the rhetoric," said Reggie Gonzales, of Houston, state chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. "Being a proud American of Mexican descent, I don't like the overtones."


"I was a strong supporter of Perry until this last (legislative) session. I felt like he stabbed conservatives in the back," (delegate Andy) Pittman said. "I don't think he realizes right now that he's got the grass-roots upset."


Previous three quotations from here. I salute Rick Perry and the Texas Republicans for their cluelessness in continuing to pave the way for their vainglorious defeat in November.

As we move toward the Texas Democratic Party convention weekend in Fort Worth on June 8-10, posting here will be even lighter than usual. In my capacity as statewide coordinator for the Van Os campaign and in addition to serving as a delegate and being requested to run for the platform committee from my Senate district (a post I'm likely to decline based on my workload as political hack/blogmeister), I'll probably have some live-blogging from the floor and the various caucii, as well as some of the social/political events.

Our biggest news ought to be a rather interesting contest shaping up for state party Chair between Boyd Richie, Glen Maxey, Charlie Urbina-Jones and Lakesha Rogers. I can promise you that we'll be much more positive and upbeat than our counterparts in spite of the current Republican-induced state of our state.

Update (6/6/06): I've been wanting to type 666 for about a week now ... Vince Leibowitz applies more smackdown, as does Stace Medellin and John Coby and Trey McBlogger . And John Cornyn's Box Turtle at In the Pink Texas.