Thursday, May 06, 2010

Hearst shuffles Beaumont publishers again

After just three years the soon-to-be-former Beaumont Enterprise publisher is moving on to an undisclosed 'other business opportunity'. The new man in charge is from the Houston Chronicle.

As part of a larger restructuring of Hearst newspapers in Texas, Bill Offill, executive vice president of sales and marketing at the Houston Chronicle, will succeed John E. Newhouse II as publisher of The Beaumont Enterprise. ...

As executive vice president, Offill has overseen the Chronicle's advertising sales, circulation and marketing divisions since 2004. He joined the Houston Chronicle in 1987 as an advertising sales account executive and later held key leadership positions, including advertising director and vice president of circulation.

Offill is one of the big winners in the mass shakeout the Chronicle itself experienced just over a year ago. His roots in circulation and advertising should provide some sorely needed expertise to the Enterprise, which continues to hemorrhage readership and, correspondingly, advertisers.

I've spent time in Beaumont recently working with some new clients and attended the Better Business Bureau's Torch Awards banquet just this past Tuesday evening. While all of the television stations and their on-air personalities were represented, along with a few radio stations, the newspaper was conspicuously absent -- no attendees, no sponsorships.

Heavy community involvement and activism was one of the hallmarks of the tenure of previous Enterprise publishers Aubrey Webb and George Irish (both of whom I once worked with; I have blogged here and here about that). I was more than surprised that there was nobody at an event of this profile. Even if the top man had plans to leave the paper, it seems odd that a business editor or reporter would not have attended or covered it. This link looks like a reprint of the press release.

Here's hoping the reorganization of the six Texas Hearst papers -- besides Houston and Beaumont, they include the Express-News in San Antonio, the Reporter-Telegram in Midland, the Daily Herald in Plainview, and the Morning Times in Laredo -- is a success.

Now if she will explain how Dirty Sanchez relates to immigration reform

Right-wing nutbag Melissa Clouthier tried to be outraged about the TeaBaggers being outraged about being called TeaBaggers.

She failed. Massively. This link is completely unsafe for work.

This one from the Houston Press is mostly OK, though. No excerpting; just go read it and LYAO. Or weep, as the case may be. Hat tip to Kuff for the link, and more and ever more hilarious comments at Wonkette.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Perry v. White over the air

Bill White is running ads in Houston (possibly elsewhere):



And this is the Perry campaign's response:



About the only thing they did right was getting that response out roughly 24 hours after the White ad.

This kind of attack this early in the campaign season says one just thing: Rick Perry is a man running scared.

He's seeing the polls tightening up; he's reading the articles about how White is going after his base (not the TeaBaggers, the country-clubbers), seeing Republican elected officials endorsing White and so on.

So despite the Newsweek cover story two weeks ago and the lingering speculation fueling a potential presidential bid in 2012; despite showing up and feeding his ego with Glenn Beck in Tyler and the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington; despite the millions of dollars of free media he's earned in the last week for shooting a coyote, pandering to Texas Hispanics and jabbing the 'Baggers by not supporting AZ-style immigration law, not to mention declaring the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to be an act of God -- that's all just in the past seven days -- Rick Perry remains a terrified little man. Terrified of losing his twenty-plus year government paycheck; frightened of snakes and coyotes when he jogs, afraid that he might be revealed as a drugstore cowboy.

Which at least helps us understand why, despite having several armed Texas Rangers as bodyguards, he carries a handgun with a laser sight and loaded with hollow points when he goes out for a run in suburban Austin.

Because he runs scared. Not just of snakes and coyotes. Of everything.

Hat tip to Todd Hill at Burnt Orange for the DMN links, and to Quorum Report for the campaign videos.

Update: Elise Hu at the Texas Tribune notes the use of Yao Ming in Perry's ad in a weirdly inappropriate way. As it turns out the Perry campaign thought it would be hilarious to make fun of how short White is ... when he's standing next to Yao.

Monday, May 03, 2010

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is enjoying the May flowers as we bring you this week's blog roundup.

The Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project is A BIG BUNCH OF MEANIES according to a major industry publication. OGAP is so mean for "setting up shop in Texas" and requiring that industry Drill-Right Texas. And, TXsharon is really, really mean on her blog Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Off the Kuff had a discussion of the city of Houston's term limits, which are currently under review.

In a first for WhosPlayin, a local school board trustee is compelled to admit he lied about his criminal record before the "liberal blogger" can write about it, based on act of investigating it.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to point out that border violence precipitated by poor drug policy has nothing to do with immigration reform. Think about it. Don't let the fear mongers fool you.

Adam at Three Wise Men gives us the skinny on the upcoming midterms.

Governor MoFo had a decent media week: his two-month-old shooting of a coyote went national, and he pandered effectively to Texas Hispanics. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs summarizes the manipulations in "Rick Perry's not bad, pretty good week".

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the possibility of the Arizona immigration law coming to Texas in 2011.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about one small way he maintains his faith in democracy despite all the dumb things taking place in daily life.

In a week full of immigration policy debates and talk of killing coyotes, Barfly at McBlogger chose to look at something far more troubling.

Bay Area Houston found Rick Perry's official campaign song; Macho Man by the Village People.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson wrote about Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's double standard on spending taxpayer money in Please don't Dew us like this.

Libby Shaw discovers the true prototype for Governor Perry's governing style: Beavis and Butthead. As she tells it: "Rick Perry has as much compassion and empathy for his constituents as would Beavis and Butt-Head." She wonders: "...why does Rick Perry have serious problems with outreach programs, whether local, state or federal, all of which attempt to throw lifelines to those who are in a desperate struggle, be it a financial burden, crippling health care costs, or top quality educational benefits for public schools? Check it all out at TexasKaos.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Houstons Sports Museum re-opens (yes, inside the Finger's)

This collection of sports memories is really special.

The Houston Sports Museum, a favorite of local fans since the 1960s, is once more open for reminiscing on the site of Buff Stadium, Houston's pre-Astros minor league baseball stadium, inside the reopened Finger Furniture store on the Gulf Freeway.

After disappearing from view as the Finger family reorganized its business in the wake of third-generation CEO Bobby Finger's death in 2007, the museum returned with a soft opening in March and in more formal fashion with the furniture store's relaunch last month.

Fans can again assume a batting stance alongside a plaque in the floor marking the site of home plate at Buff Stadium, the home of Houston minor league teams from 1928 until 1961. And, once renovations are completed, they can again view a statue of ex-Rice baseball coach Dickie Kerr, the stand-up southpaw of the 1919 Black Sox.



The heart of the collection was assembled by Sammy Finger, Rodney Finger's grandfather, during the heyday of the Buffs as a St. Louis Cardinals farm team. It was augmented through the years by items representing the Colt .45s and Astros plus other Houston sports franchises, but baseball still accounts for the majority of the items inside its glass display cases. ...

New additions include a 1980s-vintage video history of the Buffs and the museum, narrated by former Colts/Astros announcer Gene Elston, and a display tracing the Finger family's sponsorship of the Buffs, Colts and Astros.

Sunday "How's that Drill Baby Drill workin' out for ya?" Funnies

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Mayweather - Mosley, the Derby and Houston weekend festivals

-- Sugar Shane and Floyd Jr. hook it up in the ring tonight. Mayweather has a big chip on his shoulder for being called out by Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach (and everybody else, for that matter). I think Mayweather will silence the critics and again stoke the dream match.

-- The Kentucky Derby will go off this afternoon in the mud, scrambling the odds and creating another opportunity for a huge underdog to pop at a nice price. Currently I'm considering Super Saver (with Calvin BoRail aboard), Devil May Care (Todd Pletcher's filly), Mission Impazible (I'm heavy on the Pletcher horses), along with the favorite Lookin' at Lucky in something exotic and boxy. Strong consideration will be given to Ice Box and Awesome Act and Noble's Promise, the best mudder in the field and at long odds for -- among other reasons -- he's recently recovered from a lung infection. More from Joe Drape's Rail blog if you are so inclined. Update: My 4-2 exacta, a $2 investment, paid $152.40.

-- The Polish Festival in near west Houston and the Dragon Boat Festival at Allen's Landing downtown promise fun with a little cultural exchange.

-- The Frenetic Theater has Projected.2010 happening tonight. Described as a "series of performance-based art and art-based performance", it looks like fun, too. More on this weekend's local art gallery scene from Houstonist (and a hat tip for this portion of the entry).

Friday, April 30, 2010

Rick Perry's not bad, pretty good week

Shoots a coyote, the TeaBaggers scream with glee. Throws a sop to the Tejanos, they all scream in agony.

Arizona's tough new illegal immigration enforcement law would not be right for Texas, Gov. Rick Perry said on Thursday, upholding the state's long-held tradition of rejecting harsh anti-immigrant policies. ...

“I fully recognize and support a state's right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas,” Perry said in a written statement.

“For example, some aspects of the law turn law enforcement officers into immigration officials by requiring them to determine immigration status during any lawful contact with a suspected alien, taking them away from their existing law enforcement duties, which are critical to keeping citizens safe.”

If the comments at Chron.com ever mean anything in the grand scheme -- certainly a debatable proposition -- then Rick Perry has just lost the election.

Though Texas is ruled by conservative Republicans, top GOP leaders from former Texas Gov. George W. Bush to Perry have rejected harsh and punitive immigration policies.

Both Leo Berman and Debbie Riddle (watch the video here and note that almost a third of the Texas House is Latino, thus any bill like this faces far more difficult odds) plan to introduce Arizona-like legislation when the Texas Lege next convenes in January 2011. The governor is signaling a more moderate direction ... which riles the TeaBaggers to no end.

“We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals,” Bush said in his 2007 State of the Union address. “We need to resolve the status of the immigrants that are already in our country without animosity and without amnesty.”

Perry took heat during this year's Republican primary for backing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, saying in a debate that the students are on a path to citizenship.

“Texas has a rich history with Mexico, our largest trading partner, and we share more than 1,200 miles of border, more than any other state,” Perry said Thursday. “As the debate on immigration reform intensifies, the focus must remain on border security and the federal government's failure to adequately protect our borders.

“Securing our border is a federal responsibility, but it is a Texas problem, and it must be addressed before comprehensive immigration reform is discussed.”

This stance is truly much more about homebuilder Bob Perry's campaign contributions to the governor than anything else. Perry Homes needs a large supply of cheap workers to keep building those crappy suburban tract houses, no matter what he says publicly (note that linked op-ed calling for immigration reform by Dallas business leaders is almost four years old).

Let's begin and end with this: no matter how much they squall, the TeaBaggers will never desert Rick Perry, even if there were a reasonable (by their standards, not mine) Libertarian option on the ballot. And that's why this is such an effective strategy by the governor: he undercuts a much-needed base of support Bill White must have to defeat him, at no actual political risk to himself.

Governor MoFo has had a good week playing his futures options. Meanwhile, has anybody seen a response from the White campaign yet? Me neither. Update: Stace has and blogged his response, with which I completely agree. More updates: I simply missed the White campaign's responses, which the Texas Tribune noted here and here.

Kuffner has more of the angles regarding the coyote affair. And Rachel was deliciously mean in her aggre-posting.

Last update: This is a good one ...

"I go over to Memorial Park and I have seen coyotes," the Democratic nominee for governor said during a campaign stop in Grand Prairie. "As soon as they see me, they run away."

Perry, of course, had a different experience. In February a coyote made the mistake of eyeballing Perry and his dog. The governor sent him to coyote heaven. So should Perry have been afraid of a scrawny little coyote?

"To me, I don't tend to be afraid of coyotes," White said.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Privatize the oil profits, socialize the cleanup

President Barack Obama pledged an all-out response Thursday to the massive oil spill now expected to reach the Gulf Coast within a day and dispatched top officials to the region to help coordinate defenses against the potential environmental disaster.

After exploding last week and killing eleven workers and spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico for a week, Deepwater Horizon's owner BP -- the former British Petroleum Company, known to you perhaps by their lovely green and yellow logo -- begged the federal government to help them clean up their mess.

It's much worse than they have been saying. In fact it's so bad that they are setting fire to oil on the water.

At the White House, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara said, "We are being very aggressive and we are prepared for the worst case." Federal officials announced inspections would begin immediately of all oil rigs in the Gulf and subpoena powers would be used in the gathering investigation. But the priority was to support the oil company BP PLC in employing booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants and controlled burns to fight the oil surging from the seabed.

Why is it that corporations always turn to the federal government for help when they screw things up really badly?

Brice-O'Hara said officials expected the leading edge of the spill to reach the Mississippi Delta sometime on Friday. Workers were racing from six staging areas to deploy more booms to try to hold off the slick and protect sea life and fragile wetlands. Winds and sea conditions Thursday prevented another controlled burn of the kind tried successfully a day earlier with a small test section of the slick.

Top Homeland Security, Interior and Environmental Protection Agency officials were going to the region. Officials emphasized at a White House briefing that all costs of the defense and recovery will ultimately fall on the industry, not taxpayers.

That's encouraging to hear, but for some reason I still kinda doubt it. BP has to be one of the unluckiest companies around. Their refineries explode almost regularly, so maybe their offshore rigs are just following suit. Enough about their incompetence, though.

Obama spoke Thursday with five Gulf state governors from Florida to Texas.

The administration declared the spill to be one of national significance, a designation that eases the transfer of personnel and equipment to the region from all parts of the country.

So the president called and spoke with Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour (MS), Bob Riley (AL) and Charlie Crist -- all Republicans; most of them TeaBaggers but one definite TeaBaggee  --and pledged federal assistance in the cleanup.

Do you suppose any of them said, "no thanks, Mr. President"? "We don't need your socialist help"? 

Do you suppose the Texas governor confronted the US president about that target? Or bragged about blasting that coyote? Or reiterated his desire to secede from the Union, maybe?

When summer settles in and the hurricanes start to swirl and the Gulf Coast governors are forced -- like the rest of us -- to dread the annual onslaught from the sea, will they come crying to Uncle Sam for help if one of their cities gets washed away?

One thing they can certainly count on: the president won't just be flying overhead looking out the window.

Update: John Coby with more.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Stop Rick Perry before he kills again

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a message for wily coyotes out there: Don't mess with my dog.

Perry says he needed just one shot from his laser-sighted pistol to take down a coyote that was menacing his dog during an early morning jog in an undeveloped area near Austin.

Perry told The Associated Press he sometimes carries his pistol, loaded with hollow-pointed bullets, when he jogs on trails because he's scared of snakes — and that he'd seen coyotes in that area.

When the coyote came out of the brush toward his daughter's labrador retriever puppy on a February jog, he charged it and shot it with his .380 Ruger pistol.

"Don't attack my dog or you might get shot ... if you're a coyote," Perry said.

Hollow points and a laser sight on a .38 caliber pistol, apparently worn while jogging. To protect himself -- allegedly -- against snakes and his dog from a coyote.

I'm sure this is because his detail of bodyguards (several similarly-heavily-armed Texas Rangers) just don't afford him enough protection from the crazed Austin liberal with a gun, or the adoring throngs of conservatives that might bum-rush him Justin Bieber-style while he's outside the gates of the $9000-a-month mansion we're all paying for him to live in.

And I just thought he was afraid to debate Bill White.

This man is the biggest coward alive.

Updates: And plenty of 'em. Juanita Jean ...

The creepy news is that he carries the Rugar (sic) because ‘he is afraid of snakes.’  Whoa!  Why should he fear his own species?”


“To make matters worse,” she grins, “I am a little old lady.  I admit that I arm myself against snakes when I’m out walking.  With a damn stick.  It’s a dead stick.  And it’s not even loaded.  And I’m a girl.”

“And to make matters even worse than worse, his hollow bullet Rugar (sic) is laser sighted.  What’s he do?  Shoot at PowerPoint presentations he doesn’t like?”

-- Douchebag Robbie had another orgasm dreaming about pulling Rick's trigger.

-- The AP report notes that Governor MoFo (you really have to click on this link and watch the techno mashup) was without his security detail. Still seems overly cautious to carry a .380 on a run, if for nothing else the chafe factor.

Them again, if you're so afraid of a snake that you have to carry a high caliber handgun with a laser sight and hollow points, then maybe you don't have anything to get chafed.