The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance was up early this morning to watch Curiosity stick its landing on Mars, and salutes NASA for its outstanding job as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff rounded up the Republican and Democratic primary runoff results.  

BossKitty at TruthHugger was on a roll this week. Always disgusted at the deliberate distractions from urgent issues by political campaigns, the contempt red-lined in Candidate State of Denial: Why Can't They Buy Rain?, and Bitter Governors Screw 6 Million People out of health insurance. BossKitty also mourns the passing of a past co-worker named Sally Ride.

Local property tax elections are the result of state leaders shirking their duty and passing the buck to local ISD's. WCNews at Eye on Williamson posts that the plan to defund public education continues.

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart choked again last Tuesday night trying to count election results, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs doesn't believe any excuse the man makes at this point.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants everyone to know that Henry Cuellar is a rat.

Over at TexasKaos, lightseeker rags on about Poisonous Hypocrisy and Those Who Practice It. Rick Perry and Reagan and Palin have more in common than people know.

Neil at Texas Liberal posted that the very first historical marker at the San Jacinto Battlefield Park just outside Houston -- where Texas Independence was won -- notes the gift of cannons from the people of Cincinnati. Full self-reliance is a myth... most especially in Texas.

Sunday Funnies

David Dewhurst reportedly spent "a little less" than $20 million dollars of his personal wealth on his losing US Senate race.

City attorney Feldman, Mayor Parker want closed council meetings

The mayor and city attorney are floating the idea of shutting the public out of some City Council discussions.

Houston is unusual, perhaps even unique, among Texas cities in requiring that its council always meet in public.

On Thursday, City Attorney David Feldman unveiled a proposal to authorize closed-session discussions of hirings and firings, lawsuits, real estate transactions and other matters allowed by the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Because the idea would require a change to a 70-year-old provision in the city charter, it would need voter approval. Mayor Annise Parker is considering asking the council next week to place it on the November ballot. 

The political tone-deafness of our mayor no longer surprises me. That Feldman is obviously a big fan of George Orwell does.

"Contrary to what some might say, and that is that this is a move away from transparency, I believe that just the opposite is true," Feldman told members of the Council Committee on Ethics, Elections and Council Governance. "We are oftentimes -- this administration, any administration of this city -- accused of bringing matters to council as a fait accompli. The primary reason that that's the case is that we can't have an executive session like everybody else in the state of Texas to discuss these things before they're placed on the agenda for action." 

He simply doesn't get how stupid that sounds, and Mayor Parker, finger cautiously in the wind, chose to send Feldman out to the gun range for target practice. As the target.

The mayor has no formal position, but through Feldman presented the proposal to get feedback before deciding whether to place it on next week's council agenda, spokeswoman Janice Evans said.

A few council members are tactfully attempting to explain it to them. Well, maybe not so tactfully.

"I think our system works fine, and I've seen it work fine. I believe that we'll lose a lot of good will in the community if we move to try to put this on the ballot," (CM James) Rodriguez said. "I believe in transparency. I believe that we need to hash out our issues in the public and work with the public and to have their confidence and trust that we're going to be open and upfront with issues."

CM Costello clarifies, at least from an electoral point of view.

The mayor already has proposed five ballot propositions that would ask voters to approve $410 million in borrowing for parks, public safety, libraries, affordable housing and other purposes.

Councilman Stephen Costello said he supports the closed-session option, but now is not the time to put it before voters.

"You incite an emotion that you really don't want the voters to have as they walk into the ballot box," Costello said. "What we want is voters going in and approving our bond issue, and I'd rather just have the bond issue there up for a vote, or, if we're going to make some charter amendments, make them noncontroversial." 

Costello gets it. I would hope that every single Democrat on the ballot in Harris County would call the mayor's office and suggest that she not torpedo their November prospects by waving any more red flags in front of TeaBaggers.They have too much animosity in their blood stream as it is.

If you favor this, Mayor Parker, then revisit it in 2013 -- an election year when YOU will be on the ballot -- so that voters can hold you accountable for it. That would be the politically courageous thing to do.

Which, thankfully, is why it won't happen.

Update (8-6-12): *BOOM* ... *thud*

The mayor apparently will not seek voter approval of a proposition that would have allowed Council to go into closed session to discuss real estate transactions, litigation and personnel matters. Council will, therefore, continue to follow city law that requires that all portions of its meetings be open to the public.

City Attorney David Feldman presented a proposed ballot measure to a council committee on Thursday. Several council members opposed it as either bad policy or bad timing because it would have gone on the same ballot as five proposed city bond measures totaling $410 million.

Jerk chicken

Homophobes turned out in droves to support free speech hate on the gay at Chick-fil-A yesterday.

The conversations waiting in a long line at a Houston Chick-fil-A were unusually political Wednesday.

Patrons -jammed into the popular Houston chicken restaurant in Sawyer Heights - said people were asking each other about whether they shared the chain president's views on same-sex marriage or were just hungry. 

To demonstrate what a loser this effort is, even David Dewhurst jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to make some last minute hay.

How'd that work out for ya, Dewfucked?

This isn't about Archie Bunker Dan Cathy's free speech rights, nor is it remotely about Obama or "libruls".  It is the same thing it is always about: right and wrong. And I'm not referring to the Biblical version, either.

Chick-fil-A has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay efforts and causes. They even contributed $25,000 to Tony Perkins' Family Research Council -- you may remember Perkins was an active participant in Rick Perry's Prayerpalooza last summer -- which was used to lobby Congress members to not block approval (see, that's different than 'support') of a Ugandan "Kill the Gays" bill.

Chick-fil-A blew goats long before this clever Cathy marketing scheme to shear conservative sheep came together. I'm only talking about their lousy food. Their closed-on-Sunday policy never bothered this atheist.

No, these people -- the owners and corporate executives, not the minimum wage workers, straight or gay -- have made their Christian conservatism a hallmark of their business right from the get-go, to only the mildest of public rebuke. They saw a business opportunity, and like most greedy corporations, took full advantage of it.

But guess what? There's a counterpoint on the schedule for Friday.

Opponents of the company's stance are planning "Kiss Mor Chiks" for Friday, when they are encouraging people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kiss each other. Houston, which elected the country's first openly gay mayor in a major metropolitan area, is considered a somewhat progressive town, said Houston GLBT Political Caucus president Noel Freman.

"I think there are certain aspects that have gotten away from what it was about in the beginning," Freeman said. "There is a lot of momentum in favor of same-sex marriage. It has been in the news a lot in general. When Chick-fil-A goes out and makes this position public, it's going to grab people's attention."

He said Dan Cathy has given money to anti-gay marriage groups that support taking away marriage licenses for people who are already married. Regardless, he said his group is asking same-sex marriage supporters to be respectful of the Chick-fil-A businesses, particularly because the franchise owner may not agree with the corporate stance.

"If people support same-sex marriage, then I think they shouldn't give their money to efforts to impose a federal ban on it," Freeman said. 

Did you catch that word 'respect'? That's what this is all about. Oh, and freedom also. Freedom to marry the person you love.

I'll let Colonel Sanders have the last word.

"When it comes to the subjugation of marriage rights, I reckon I'm a bit more progressive than my pals down at Chick-fil-A" ... "Yup, let it be known that Colonel Sanders loves the gays. Hell, I might even be gay."

"I know what you're thinking as you're snuggling up there with your bear, 'How do I know you're not just gibberin' this jab to win more of my gay business? Well, you don't." ...

"But if you have to pick one chicken chain, why not pick us? I know their service is better, but we got those bowls."