Last Sunday's Funnies

(What were you talking about last week, while I was away?)

Our lion

We loved him as a brother, and as a father, and as a son. From his parents, and from his older brothers and sisters -- Joe and Kathleen and Jack -- he received an inspiration which he passed on to all of us. He gave us strength in time of trouble, wisdom in time of uncertainty, and sharing in time of happiness. He will always be by our side.

Love is not an easy feeling to put into words. Nor is loyalty, or trust, or joy. But he was all of these. He loved life completely and he lived it intensely.

A few years back, Robert Kennedy wrote some words about his own father which expresses the way we in his family felt about him. He said of what his father meant to him, and I quote: "What it really all adds up to is love -- not love as it is described with such facility in popular magazines, but the kind of love that is affection and respect, order and encouragement, and support. Our awareness of this was an incalculable source of strength, and because real love is something unselfish and involves sacrifice and giving, we could not help but profit from it." And he continued, "Beneath it all, he has tried to engender a social conscience. There were wrongs which needed attention. There were people who were poor and needed help. And we have a responsibility to them and to this country. Through no virtues and accomplishments of our own, we have been fortunate enough to be born in the United States under the most comfortable conditions. We, therefore, have a responsibility to others who are less well off."

-- Sen. Edward Kennedy, eulogizing his brother in 1968

The Weekly Wrangle

(OK, so I didn't log in for six days. It was glorious, I tell you.)

Check out the best from the blogs of the Texas Progressive Alliance from last week, brought to you this week by refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left.

WhosPlayin took a look at the Daisetta sinkhole and wonders what part the saltwater disposal well on the site exceeding its licensed capacity might have played.

Boadicea of Texas Kaos has a clue for hapless Congresscritter John Culberson, who had his ass handed to him on the floor of the House this week: Memo to Cubby-Read the Bill BEFORE You Speak.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme joins the chorus criticizing the border patrol's plan to use hurricane evacuation as a means to find undocumented residents.

Refinish69 has a little talk with progressives over at Doing My Part For The Left about how tomorrow never comes.

Not all of the countywide offices up for election in Harris County this year are high profile, but some of them should be more prominent on the public's radar. Off the Kuff takes a look at one such office with his early overview of the County Attorney race.

In response to the Mainstream Media's declaration (or whitewash) that the March 29 county and senate district caucuses were perfect, Vince at Capitol Annex says otherwise in the first of several pieces that looks at individual challenges to the conventions.

$422 Million. That is what most oil companies settle out of court for with Dallas super law firm Baron & Budd this past week. But the Texas Cloverleaf asks why is Exxon the lone holdout to want to go to trial in an election year?

Harry Balczak over at McBlogger takes look at a new website that's really nailed Chris Matthews and Tim 'Gotcha' Russert.

North Texas Liberal's Texas Toad explores the GOP's tarnished brand.[Also, please note that NTL has a new home: northtexasliberal.org.]

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on Speaker Tom Craddick giving up his number one job, protecting members of the Texas House in Lots Of Smoke, Little Fire, But Lots Of Ire.

In a New Mexico state of mind

Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque above, in reverse chronological order of how we'll be seeing them (once again). I'll be in and and out before we return to Houston next week, so don't be a stranger.

Name one, Culberson

John Culberson (R-TX): ...it contains provisions that have nothing to do with our troop's survival and safety in the field. To burden our troops with pork, with tax increases, with special provisions that have nothing to do with the war, adds to, I think, the obvious misuse of the process and I urge members to vote against the pork and support our troops.

David Obey (D-WI): I yield myself 30 seconds...I'd like the gentleman from Texas to point out a single piece of member pork in this bill.

Culberson: Does the gentleman yield?

Obey: Yes.

Culberson: Mr., Mr. Chairman, there's a number of un-un-unnecessary provisions in this...

Obey: Name one.

Culberson: Well, why are we separating out, sir, why aren't we just passing...

Obey: (nearly yelling) Name one.

Culberson: Why are we...

Obey: (yelling, finger pointing) Can you name one or can't you? The fact is there is not a single piece of member pork in this bill. You ought to...

(pounding gavel, "time expired")

Culberson: (inaudible)...why are we passing provisions in this bill with tax increases?

(pounding gavel)

"The gentlemen will cease their conversation. The time of 30 seconds has expired. All members are asked to address their remarks through the chair."

Obey: I yield myself one additional minute....and through the chair, I would invite the member to name a specific piece of congressional pork in this bill. He cannot because there is none. He's at least had enough time to read the bill to know that.

Everybody who has been represented by Culberson for the past few years knows that he doesn't read anything except the GOP Talking Points for the Day.

Let's please replace this worthless gasbag with a real Congressman.

John Edwards, and the coup de grace for unity

In a little over one hour from now John Edwards will arrive in Grand Rapids, MI and endorse Barack Obama for president.

Few endorsements were more sought after by both candidates:

Both Obama and Clinton immediately asked Edwards for his endorsement, but he stayed mum for more than four months. A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Obama also signed on to Edwards' poverty initiative, which was a major cause for Edwards in his campaign and since he left. When he made his decision, Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers because he wanted to make sure that he personally talked to Clinton to give her the news, said the person close to him.

How much longer now before all of us together, as one, begin to focus on November?

And will Edwards be the keynote speaker at the Texas Democratic Party state convention at the beginning of June?

Bush has made sacrifices because of the war

He doesn't play golf any more.

For the first time, Bush revealed a personal way in which he has tried to acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers and their families.

“I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

Bush said he made that decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization’s high commissioner for human rights.

“I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life,” he said. “I was playing golf — I think I was in central Texas — and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, ‘It's just not worth it anymore to do.’"

Please don't be confused: sport fishing from the family yacht at Kennebunkport is acceptable. Throwing out the first pitch at baseball games is acceptable. Starring in comedy routines that trivialize the lies you told which led to the deaths of 4,000 American soldiers is acceptable.

Playing golf crosses the line and is NOT acceptable.

Update: And it turns out that Bush couldn't even tell the truth about this, neither when he quit playing nor why. Absolutely despicable.

Ron Paul quietly planning revolt at GOP convention

Is Rush Limbloat talking about this?

Virtually all the nation's political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.

But in the meantime, quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in St. Paul at the beginning of September.

Paul's presidential candidacy has been correctly dismissed all along in terms of winning the nomination. He was even excluded as irrelevant by Fox News from a nationally-televised GOP debate in New Hampshire.

But what's been largely overlooked is Paul's candidacy as a reflection of a powerful lingering dissatisfaction with the Arizona senator among the party's most conservative conservatives. As anticipated a month ago in The Ticket, that situation could be exacerbated by today's expected announcement from former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia for the Libertarian Party's presidential nod, a slot held by Paul in 1988.

McSame has a Nader problem. Times two.

Just take a look at recent Republican primary results, largely overlooked because McCain locked up the necessary 1,191 delegates long ago. In Indiana, McCain got 77% of the recent Republican primary vote, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who've each long ago quit and endorsed McCain, still got 10% and 5% respectively, while Paul took 8%.

On the same May 6 in North Carolina, McCain received less than three-quarters of Republican votes (74%), while Huckabee got 12%, Paul 7% and Alan Keyes and No Preference took a total of 7%.

Pennsylvania was even slightly worse for the GOP's presumptive nominee, who got only 73% to a combined 27% for Paul (16%) and Huckabee (11%).

As Politico.com's Jonathan Martin noted recently, at least some of these results are temporary protest votes in meaningless primaries built on lingering affection for Huckabee and suspicion of McCain.

You know, this strikes me as kind of a big deal. A little more from the source:

The last three months Paul's forces, who donated $34.5 million to his White House effort and upwards of one million total votes, have, as The Ticket has noted, been fighting a series of guerrilla battles with party establishment officials at county and state conventions from Washington and Missouri to Maine and Mississippi. Their goal: to take control of local committees, boost their delegate totals and influence platform debates.

So some questions, besides the one that leads above ...

-- How long before we a whole lot more about this? The corporate media loves intrigue, after all.

-- Suppose a talk show host on Air America or Pacifica were to start something called Operation Chaos and urge their listeners to vote Paul, and then threaten to start a riot at the Republican convention. Do you think they'd get away with it scot-free without the FBI showing up at the studio with leg irons, the way Rush did? I somehow doubt it very much.

-- Y'all let me know if you see or hear anything Faux about it, willya?

The Weekly Wrangle

It's Monday, and that means it's time to show some love for the best posts from the members of the Texas Progressive Alliance for the preceding week. Check out the best that the Alliance has to offer, brought to you this week by refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left.


McBlogger has some advice for state convention delegates aspiring to a seat on the floor in Denver.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says all the fuss over 'wrongful' health care benefits in Brownsville, Corpus Christi and the Texas House is misplaced. Universal health care makes that problem disappear!

John Coby at Bay Area Houston reported on Bob Perry's attempted take over of a local city water authority in order to develop a golf course. The developers lose big in Clear Lake.

Off the Kuff continues his series of countywide race previews with a look at the race for Harris County Tax Assessor.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at right wing blowhards on tour, coming to a local amphitheater near you.

Doing My Part for The Left is thrilled that another poll Shows Rick Noriega just 4 points behind Senator Box Turtle.

WhosPlayin notes that along with many more Republicans, Michael Burgess (TX-26) voted AGAINST supporting Mothers Day.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson has the latest on Rick Noriega's run for the US Senate with this post: Republican machine grinding for Cornyn.

The sinkhole in Liberty County catches PDiddie's attention -- not literally, thankfully -- and he blogs about it at Brains and Eggs in "Rural Texas finally collapses from GOP 'Leadership' ".

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex ponders the civil liberties thicket that Texas AG Greg Abbott could wander into if he allows the Texas Lottery Commission to use the electronic strip on Texas driver's licenses to verify the age of gamblers at lottery vending machines.

nytexan at BlueBloggin points out the racism In the Secret Service and wonders how can they perform their jobs when supervisors write and send racist emails to one another regarding interracial sex, killing Jessie Jackson and his wife, and ridiculing African-American slang.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News talked to a friend of his that received a GOP push poll against local Democratic judges in "GOP running ccared in Harris County". He also wondered if this picture is of a Pasadena neighbor who can't spell.

Lightseeker takes a look at What Rick Perry Promised, What the Republicans Delivered over at Texas Kaos.



Don't forget to check out all the Texas Progressive Alliance blogs, too:

B & B
Bay Area Houston
Blue 19th

Blue Bloggin
Bluedaze
Brains & Eggs
Burnt Orange Report
Capitol Annex
Common Sense
Doing My Part For The Left
Dos Centavos
Easter Lemming Liberal News
Eye on Williamson
Feet To Fire
Grassroots News U Can Use

Half Empty
In The Pink Texas
Marc's Miscellany
McBlogger
MindSpeak
Musings

North Texas Liberal
Off The Kuff
Para Justicia y Libertad
People's Republic of Seabrook
South Texas Chisme
StoutDemBlog

Texas Kaos
Texas Truth Serum
The Agonist
The Caucus Blog
The Jeffersonian
The Red State

The Texas Blue
The Texas Clover Leaf
Three Wise Men
Who's Playin'?
Winding Road in Urban Area

Sunday Evening Funnies (With Deepest Condolences...)

... to my friends Vince, Stace, and Martha, who need to take their fingers out of their ears and stop singing "tra-la-la-la-la, I can't hear you". Come on, ya'll; even Greg woke up and smelled the coffee some time ago.

And now, on with the toons ...