Sunday Funnies

Scott Prouty's "47%" video blackballed by Kossacks

So if you watched "The Ed Show" last night, you saw the bartender who recorded Mitt Romney's loose lips that sank his own ship. It was a Hall-of-Fame moment in populist political activism.

Prouty, a Midwest native, took his Canon camera to the fundraiser, thinking Romney might pose for photos with the event staff. Instead, he captured Romney speaking about "the 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

The bartender said in a series of embargoed phone and in-person interviews with The Huffington Post that he decided to make the video public and posted clips online, hoping they would go viral.

There's more at this HuffPo link about Prouty, who is about as unlikely a progressive patriot as we are likely to get in the Social Media Golden Age. He could have made an enormous amount of money long ago (still might, hope he does), but he was motivated by things other than that after he left the Boca Raton fundraiser that mid-May, 2012 evening. The timeline of how the momentum was slow to build is here. But the most interesting thing to me is that the denizens of the alleged progressive community Daily Kos got Prouty blocked after just a few snips of his video were uploaded to the site.

"There was some pushback from people you wouldn't expect to push back," he told The Huffington Post. "To be banned from Daily Kos -- I had been a longtime reader. ... That was maybe the biggest surprise."

His profile is still accessible on Daily Kos, but individual items have been taken down.

The man said that other Daily Kos community members accused him of posting fake videos and didn't believe his protestations to the contrary. "They later apologized. Kos chastised the community," the man said.

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas explained in an email to HuffPost that the filmmaker had "posted 6-second clips of audio, without offering any proof or further authentication. The Daily Kos community is hyper-sensitive to people trying to play them for fools, and his claims weren't borne out by the audio clips he was posting." (The clips can be found here.)

That is one big black eye for the Great Orange Satan. Some Kos diarists still seem to be insistent on killing the messenger in order to feel righteous about having stifled the message and thus protected the website's, ah, reputation.

I have a lot of appreciation for what DK does generally, but this episode highlights one of the worst things about online fora ('communities', they prefer): this incestuous tendency to refuse, even blackball, those who don't buy into the groupthink. It's why I have moved to reading them to see what's being disseminated and not what's being discussed -- same as with places like Democratic Underground, and even the Chron.com comments underneath the stories there. I sill like to play in those sandboxes, but spend a lot less time there than I used to. It had the end result of simply being a massive waste of time and effort.

It's not just that those opportunities for self-expression can result in a reader losing faith in the human race (they can); it's that they are no longer populated by people with whom you want to have a conversation, civil or otherwise. There's some wheat there, but you have to wade through too much chaff to get to it. If you have more than 1000 people in your Twitter or Facebook feed, you know what I'm talking about: too many rants, too many comedians, too much bragging about what's being seen, done, and eaten; too many prayers and prayer solicitations... you get the idea. And culling the narcissists and publicity hounds is not enough. You have to defuse the urge in yourself to follow the herd in "building your brand".

So now I just concentrate on my little shop here and if people want to read what I write, fine. I'm well off the beaten path anyway and certainly not everybody's cup of tea. The problem, as Prouty has learned, is that even when you know you've got something newsworthy, it's difficult to get noticed.

"It was harder than you imagine to get the story out there," (Prouty) said.

Maybe this is a good thing for the left: some self-vetting. We have always been less likely to advance things like "Friends of Hamas", for example.

Anyway, the moral of the story remains 'be careful about what you read on the Internet'. Even here. ;^)

Pontificating

To pontificate is to talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner. To pontificate properly, you need to be a know-it-all with very strong opinions and the urge to share them.

I obviously fit the bill.

As the Cardinals go on techno-lockdown to pick from amongst themselves a leader to guide the Church away from the shoals of misfortune, bad judgment, and pertinacious thinking that brought them to this moment in history, I have to say that I will be marginally encouraged if they choose a non-European (but not an American. That would demonstrate more enabling behavior, IMO).

Try out the Pontifficator here, before we get the holy smoke. I couldn't find this guy among the photos, spring break or otherwise. And I'm thinking this guy deserves to win on the strength of his headgear alone.

Update (3/13/13): Habemus Papam Franciscum.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is a little groggy and stumbling in the dark as it springs forward to bring you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff wrapped up his analysis of 2012 election returns versus 2008 returns with a look at the Congressional districts, and a suggestion for where Democrats should look next.

The prognosis for Medicaid expansion in Texas -- after a huge rally at the Capitol and many committee meetings and statements from legislators -- still appears to be guarded, observes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.  

WCNews at Eye on Williamson believes there's no other conclusion to be drawn from SCOTX Justice Wallace Jefferson's State of the Judiciary speech this week: The Texas justice system is broken.

From McBlogger's Please God, Make It Stop! file comes Kinky Friedman 2014.

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme notes that John Cornyn, one of 22 Republican men in the Senate who voted against the Violence Against Women Act, is now claiming credit. Cornyn was one of 30 Senate Republican men who voted against the Franken anti-rape amendment in 2010. What a prince Cornyn is.

Neil at Texas Liberal is in Los Angeles this week. Neil posted a picture of a Los Angeles police helicopter flying over Santa Monica Beach as the sun sets. This type of surveillance is far more picturesque than a drone hovering over you snapping pictures.

=======================

And here are some posts of interest from other blogs around Texas.

Better Texas Blog reminds us that Texas' public pensions are on sound financial footing.

Texas Leftist thinks the "Arkansas option" for Medicaid expansion isn't a good idea for Texas.

Socratic Gadfly notes that legislators tend to vastly overestimate how conservative their districts are.

The Great God Pan Is Dead reports that small press and independent comics are alive and well in Texas.

Burnt Orange Report says that if the Lege truly did give the people what they wanted, they'd restore funding to public education.

Juanita minces no words about Rick Perry.

Letters From Texas uses the math to remind us that John Cornyn is a fool.

The Rev. Beth Ellen Cooper writes about being lectured on morality by a couple of legislative staffers.

Mean Green Cougar Red has a few thoughts on Dubai becoming a hub for international air travel.

Texas Redistricting maps out what might happen to Texas' legislative districts after SCOTUS rules on the Voting Rights Act.

When In Session celebrates the bill filing deadline.

Lone Star Ma commemorates International Women's Day.

And while it doesn't have anything to do with politics, good beer news is always welcome.

Sunday Funnies

Two and a half candidates for mayor

I'll be having lunch today with the incumbent. The Chronic covered the challenger's announcement earlier this week (but put the story behind the paywall)...

Former Houston City Attorney Ben Hall formally launched his mayoral campaign against incumbent Annise Parker Wednesday night, decrying the burden of taxes and fees he said are driving city residents to the suburbs, and saying Houston's mayor must have a grander vision.

Mike Morris has a pretty good summary of the state of play today.

"A mayor must do more than simply balance a budget," he said. "A mayor must do more than simply dream of ways to tax and penalize residents. We need more than just a manager, we need a leader. And we need more than just a leader, we need a leader with vision, someone who sees a way out of this morass. You can continue the strangulation hold on the taxpayers and residents, or we can choose a different way forward … by opening up the city to the international marketplace."

Parker said Hall seemed to be describing "an alternative universe." Parker said she has led the city through a deep recession without raising taxes, and said the major fee imposed under her watch was a voter-approved drainage fee. As for international efforts, Parker said, the city recently has added direct flights to Turkey and China.

"I don't think I've ever heard any political candidate, but most especially a candidate for mayor, imply that it wasn't important to have a balanced budget," Parker said. "He clearly sees a different city than I see. The city of Houston is one of the best cities in America to live and work and raise a family. It is a magnet for the best and brightest from all over the world, and it continues to get better as we pull out of the recession. I see a city of growth and optimism."

Hall, who holds a law degree from Harvard University and master of divinity and doctoral degrees from Duke University, entered the 2009 mayor's race, but withdrew and supported Gene Locke, who lost to Parker in a runoff. Hall also considered running in 2011, when Parker narrowly missed a runoff against a group of unknowns, leading some to speculate she would be likely to draw a challenger this year.

Hall might have been a stronger candidate than Locke in '09, and could very well have prevailed in '11 when Mayor Parker was most vulnerable. Parker is riding the wave of the Houston economic tsunami, however, and has improved her standing in just about every measure. I agree with Bethel Nathan....

Hall has no moment of historic import going for him, Nathan explains.

“What’s the cry going to be? ‘Elect one of us?’” Nathan asked. “We already elected one of us,” Lee Brown, who served as mayor from 1998 to 2003.

[...]

“There’s nothing emotional that’s driving me to turn out in mass numbers for Ben Hall,” Nathan said. “The only thing Ben Hall does is take African-American votes from Annise Parker and make it possible for a white conservative” to win.

... and Mustafa Tameez.

"There's not a case to be made that she's an awful mayor and that if she was around for two more years it would be detrimental to Houston's future. The Houston economy has done well, there have been no major scandals and, for the most part, Houstonians like Annise Parker."

The last line of that Chron article mentions the 'half' candidate.

One other candidate has filed a campaign treasurer form indicating he may run: Green Party candidate Don Cook, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2009 and 2011.

I'll append this post later with any developments from our luncheon today.

Update: Greg adds...

The bigger, tactical mistake is Hall attempting to recreate the “Pincer Strategy” that didn’t work terribly well for it’s (sic) original practitioner, Gene Locke. There’s a big difference between winning broad Anglo GOP support and having a GOP consultant along with a fringe Republican Kubosh brother by your side at one of the way-too-many announcements of your candidacy.

Well, Hall can always hire Marc Campos.

Update: Since I have been a laggard at attending these, it was great to see so many new (to me) faces; Wayne from Texas Leftist and Stephanie TexansChick among others. And Ben Mendez, Rogene Calvert, Jenifer Rene Pool, and Lissa Squiers were just a few of the aspiring politicos. Here's some pics.

The prospects for Medicaid expansion in Texas

After yesterday's first-hand experience, I would have to say that the prognosis is guarded. Here's what happened the day before yesterday's lunchtime march and rally at the Capitol.

The House GOP Caucus met in a closed door session Monday in which they decided overwhelmingly to reject Medicaid expansion as proposed under the Affordable Care Act. After a meeting that sounded a bit like a pep rally –- with lots of cheering happening behind the closed doors –- Caucus Chairman Rep. Brandon Creighton emerged to say they would stand with Gov. Perry and hold the line on Medicaid expansion.

So into the valley of death rode the six hundred thousand some number in between.

Keep in mind that there are Republicans in key positions in the Lege who appear to be looking for a way toward -- and not away from -- Medicaid expansion. It's just those efforts might be a Trojan Horse in order to deflect the criticism from their intransigence.

Some leaders, including State Senator Tommy Williams, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have insisted that the state needs flexibility to administer a “Texas solution,” like requiring co-pays and deductibles for Medicaid recipients and enrollment in private or employer plans if available. 

Slicing more skin off the necks of poor people to throw into the game is, frankly, a non-starter. They have already given enough of their lives -- children, seniors, and those below the poverty threshold. We are already at the blood-out-of-a-turnip stage in Texas.

-- Many working, low-income Texans aren't offered healthcare coverage through their jobs, and many more simply don't get paid enough to purchase it. (Forget for a moment the unemployed, the underemployed, and the under-self-employed.) These are the crisis situations: people who put off doctor visits because they cannot afford them, and then go to the emergency room when their health takes a turn for the worse.

-- Large majorities of Texans polled say they want Texas to accept the federal dollars for Medicaid.

-- Then there are the personal stories. For example: my father, 86 84, who had a good job all his working life and then a comfortable retirement, is at medium-to-end-stage dementia and has essentially outlived his assets. So it's humiliating enough for seniors like him who find themselves at the prospect of spending the very end of their lives on the government dole (when they are even capable of understanding that). But because health care providers are refusing new Medicaid patients -- in large part because the state pays its Medicaid bills very slowly -- people like him are falling straight from middle class all the way through the shredded safety net.

And people like him have no advocates. My dad can't write a letter or an e-mail; can't make a phone call, can't go to a townhall meeting to speak to his state rep, can't march at a rally. You know what's even worse about his situation, though? If he lived in Arizona, or New Jersey, or Florida, he would be getting covered. Because their conservative governors can see the benefits of expanding Medicaid. Not our governor, though.

I find empathy, however, to be somewhat fungible among Texas Republicans. So a straight appeal to the financials is what we are left with, and it's a good thing those arguments are pretty solid.

-- Medicaid expansion is free to Texas for the first three years, and after that pays the state at a 9:1 ratio. The net expense for Texas over ten years is $15 billion, and for that investment the state receives $90 billion in federal revenue.

-- It's our tax dollars we are getting back. We have already paid for it, and if Rick Perry remains obstinate about not taking it, then the money will just go elsewhere. This is some powerful stupid even for the governor, folks.

-- The annual Medicaid funds are enough to cover an additional 13,839 nurses and 5,131 family doctors in Harris County alone. Almost a billion dollars -- $935.25 million to be precise -- is greater Houston's share of the pie. And -- this is for the conservatives, now -- additional savings can be recognized from reduced property-tax-supported spending on the uninsured for emergency care, mental health, public health, and so on. (These numbers come from CPPP's Anne Dunkleburg. I'll add some links to this post later.)

So after the rally we targeted a few of those Republicans who have a lick of sense and a somewhat open mind; one was Rep. John Zerwas of Fort Bend County, who sits on the House Appropriations committee and serves as chair of the Health and Human Services subcommittee. His aide, Cameron Cocke, met with our group of six and indicated that the representative sees that Medicaid expansion is "something that is eventually going to have to happen". We shared our personal stories, made a call to action, left behind some of the research, and all felt that the messages we delivered were heard.

Wish I could say the same for Speaker Straus, who has a phalanx of policy advisors and gatekeepers in a separate sprawling office on the first floor of the Capitol (the old Purchasing Agent's office). We did not meet with anyone except the women guarding the front, and were only able to secure the card of the Speaker's policy analyst for healthcare issues, Jennifer Deegan. At least it wasn't the waste of time that some of our group endured at the hands of Sarah Davis' staff, though. Dozens of other legislators got visits from the hundreds of activists who made the day trip from Houston, Dallas, and elsewhere.

So while Medicaid expansion remains viable as of this posting, I am -- a word I am using a lot lately, made up specially for occasions like these -- skeptimistic that the Lege will do much about it in this session unless Rick Perry's fever breaks. The pressure is working, however; they are getting deluged with calls, letters and e-mail from both sides of the issue (so they say).

Kicking the can down the road would be more than a little unfortunate for millions of Texans, some of whom will probably die as a result of this recalcitrance. This is your state government in action -- or better expressed, inaction.

Kuffner, Stace, EOW, Juanita Jean, and of course Progress Texas all have more to say on the subject. Update: And also the Texas Observer.

The clock is ticking. The federal government will only provide its generous 100 percent match (later shrinking to 90 percent) through 2016. It’s late in the game for Texas to draft an entirely new waiver application and program, and Perry already rejected setting up a state exchange like the one Arkansas will use.

We could know a whole lot more about where Texas is heading later this week. House Appropriations Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) announced today that his committee will discuss Medicaid expansion Friday.

Update (3/7): This qualifies as both discouraging and a example of the disgraceful lack of leadership on this issue. I don't believe that is unintentional, either.

In an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Straus said he and other Republicans have made it clear they oppose expansion of Medicaid as the program now stands.

“But I think it's time that we said more than that. It's time that we put forth a good-faith effort to find a Texas solution,” he said.

“We need to move beyond the word 'no' to something that the administration might entertain,” Straus said. “There are no winners if nothing is agreed to. We have a very large state, a significant population of uninsured people ... and I think it could be an opportune time to put some proposals on the table that could be supported by Texas leadership.”

Yes, Texas cries out for leadership. It's a crying-ass shame we can't expect any from the governor or the House speaker. These grandiose remarks consist of nothing but excusing failure in advance. Prove me wrong, Mr. Speaker.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is grateful that the word "blizzard" is not part of its usual vernacular as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff looks at how the 2012 election results differed from 2008 in State Senate and SBOE districts.

DosCentavos' Fidencio Leija reports on the work of HOPE in the End of Course testing debate.

There is a troll hiding in plain sight on the United States Supreme Court, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs says it's going to take a lot of willpower not to feed it.

Over at TexasKaos, Lightseeker reports on the charter school money grab, aided by the usual suspect. Check it out - Charter Schools Make Play for Huge Increase in Public Funding.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to know that a couple of our Supreme Court Justices don't appreciate racism. Lets hope that number rises to at least five for the Voting Rights Act.

The problem for our state's "leaders" is that they've been telling us for so long that we have a spending problem, they have no answer when it becomes obvious that we don't have a spending problem. That's why WCNews at Eye on Williamson says we have a lack of spending problem in Texas.

Neil at Texas Liberal did not post so much this past week. However, Neil remains at work on a new website to be published this April to be called NeilAquino.com. This website will have a photo essay extolling the intellectual virtues of everyday life , a metaphorical history of existence, some poems and a blog about the 2013 City of Houston elections. For the TPA round-up this week, Neil has submitted a popular Texas Liberal post about the famous Dogs Playing Poker paintings.

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And here are some more interesting posts from Texas blogs.

See creationism opponent Zack Kopplin on the Bill Moyers show, via Creationist Vouchers.

Brewed and Never Battered and Open The Taps give an update on the legislative effort to improve the lot of Texas microbreweries and brewpubs.

Texas Watch sets the record straight on lawsuit "reform".

Texas Vox has an update on litigation against the Keystone XL Southern Segment.

Burnt Orange Report discusses whether we are in the waning period of a short golden age of African American influence over the city of Austin.

Texpatriate acknowledges the candidate who just won't go away, whose name rhymes with Stinky Peedman.

Jason Stanford points out what a fraidy cat Bill Hammond is.

Nonsequiteuse examines the criticism of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer.

Lone Star Ma celebrates the fact that the teen birth rate in the US is at an all-time low.

And The Lunch Tray asks if the dairy industry is using school kids as a Trojan horse to change artificial sweetener labeling rules.

Post-mortem on SD-6

-- Charles notes that the new senator from the 6th won't be sworn in next week, after all.

Now here’s the bad news:

Harris County has 10 days to canvass the results after Saturday’s contest, and Gov. Rick Perry’s office of has an additional four days. The winner cannot take her oath until the governor’s canvass, which means the victor will not be able to file any bills after taking office.

Cripes. After all this time, we still have to wait another two weeks for SD06 to be represented. If Sen.-elect Garcia were able to file bills, I’d recommend that her first would be to amend the special election procedure to allow for an immediate swearing in when a special election to fill a vacancy occurs during a session and there’s no question of a recount or other challenge to the election to fill that vacancy. I mean seriously, in a just world Garcia would be sworn in on Monday. Maybe one of her colleagues-to-be can file this legislation on her behalf, or perhaps Rep. Alvarado can do it as a gesture of letting bygones be bygones.

You think that was just a coincidence? You don't think that the governor got some advice on how to proceed with the scheduling from some loyal flacks in the Texas AG's office, do you?

Update:

Though the formal March 8 deadline for filing bills will have passed when Garcia is sworn in, (Democratic political consultant Harold) Cook said, professional courtesy would allow her to introduce legislation. 

-- Harvey:

IN WHAT BECOMES ANOTHER PROXY WAR, MOSTYN AND UNIONS TRUMP TLR AND ALLIES IN SD6 SPECIAL ELECTION BATTLE  

Gallegos family endorsed Alvarado but union base backed Garcia 
 
Texans for Lawsuit Reform took another trouncing tonight as former county commissioner Sylvia Garcia beat former Rep. Carol Alvarado in tonight’s run-off election for Senate District 6.

First: Alvarado is a current state representative, not a former one. TLR was the largest contributor to the Alvarado campaign by far, at $184,000, but Garcia got more than 2.5 times that much from Steve Mostyn and his activist network, Texas Organizing Project; nearly $475,000 in monetary and in-kind contributions. In some respects it is difficult to see this as a good thing (unless you are a bright blue partisan, of course).

-- Poor Campos. Another vivid demonstration of him not knowing how to win, and not getting things done. Clue to him: you can't take GOP money, GOP operatives, and GOP electeds and win in a predominantly Democratic district. I suppose you can make some pretty good commissions, however.

Why would any Democrat running for office hire him at this point unless they intended to use the same strategy -- attract Republican support to try to win a swing seat -- for example, on Houston city council? Try to keep this guy's M.O. in mind in the future, Democrats (those of you from the Democratic wing of the party, that is).

--  On the other hand, much of this effort on the part of Alvarado and the Republicans and Democrats who supported her has to be considered an investment in the future. She is 45 and remains a state representative in a safe district. She can hold that seat for the next 20 years or longer... when she will be the same age as Garcia.

Garcia is either 66 years old if you trust the Chronicle, or 62 by her own disclosure. How long does she realistically remain a state senator beyond this term (4 years) and the next one? By then she will be at least 70. Do you know how many septuagenarians there currently are in the Texas Senate? That would be none.

So whenever it might be that Sylvia Garcia is no longer a state senator -- and not far in the future it will be -- who is it that has not just the inside track, but obviously first claim?

Nice to know everything's all taken care of, isn't it?

Sunday Funnies (Racial Entitlement edition)

SD-6 results *updated*

The conclusion of the sliming is at hand.

County Clerk Stan Stanart had the early vote/absentee total posted at 7:02, and they show Sylvia Garcia with a small lead.

Garcia  5101 votes, 53.42 %

Alvarado 4448 votes, 46.58%

It might be a half hour or longer before we get some tallies that reflect votes cast today. We'll update here as the night goes on.

Update (8:14 p.m.): Garcia adds another 309 votes to her lead.

Garcia 5911 votes, 54.43%

Alvarado 4949 votes, 45.57%

Update II (8:45 p.m.):  Garcia has a 1400 vote lead with 45% of precincts in.

Garcia 6816 votes, 55.78%

Alvarado 5404 votes, 44.22%

Update III (9:11 p.m.): Garcia's lead narrows slightly, to 1317 votes. 68% of precincts have reported. I don't think that Alvarado can close the gap fast enough.

Garcia 8106 votes 54.42%

Alvarado 6789 votes, 45.78%

Last Update (9:35 p.m.): With 95% of precincts counted, Sylvia Garcia will defeat Carol Alvarado and be sworn in as state Senator of the 6th District of Texas next week.

Garcia 9250 votes, 53.07%

Alvarado 8180 votes, 46.93%

A troll on the Supreme Court

Probably more than one, but let's just deal with the worst one for the moment.

Maddow said that Scalia apparently thinks voting is now a “racial entitlement,” but he only says things like this because he’s a “troll” and loves to hear his comments elicit gasps.

Yes, that's exactly it. It's as if Glenn Beck is on the bench. Because that's where Scalia gets his talking points.

But feeding the troll is a bad idea also. Giving this pig-eyed sack of shit the publicity he seeks only serves to make his trollishness worse. Supreme Court Justices are, however, more difficult to ignore than Sean Hannity.

This is also not the right approach. A single SCOTUS justice has been impeached in the history of the Republic: Samuel Chase, who was acquitted by large margins on all counts. And the charges against him had to do with "intemperate, inflammatory" remarks and not misconduct, the standard by which legal action against judges was established by this precedent. Read that link and you will see many similarities, and not just to Scalia.

No, like Ann Coulter and Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz, I'm just going to place Antonin Scalia on 'ignore' and recognize that what he is saying and doing should serve as motivation to those who do not want to have a Republican president nominate a Supreme Court justice for a long, long, time.

And to make that happen, the best investment of one's time and energy is to encourage as many minority voter registrations as they possibly can. On a daily basis, everywhere one is and everywhere one goes. As far as I am concerned, it is the one thing everyone can do that will make the biggest difference in the fastest amount of time.