Swine flu in Houston

At the hopsitals:

Swine flu arrived in Houston Wednesday as a Fort Bend County teenage girl became the first local resident confirmed to have the disease and a 2-year-old Mexico City boy who fell ill in Brownsville and was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital became the disease’s first U.S. death.

At schools:

The Houston Independent School District has two “probable” but unconfirmed cases of swine flu, one involving a 9-year-old girl from Harvard Elementary and the other a 14-year-old girl at Hamilton Middle School, a district official said late Wednesday.

The schools will be closed until further notice from the health department, according to district spokesman Norm Uhl, who said the district will hold a news conference this morning on the situation.

And at the office:

As news was quickly swirling about the growing swine flu epidemic, Andy Bogle assembled his 15 employees Monday morning and gave them a refresher about frequent hand washing, liberal use of hand sanitizers and staying home if they have flu-like symptoms.

“We don’t want any heros,” said Bogle, whose company rents and sells surveying and positioning equipment for offshore oil and gas exploration and production. ...

Similar meetings, memos and e-mail reminders have popped up all over Houston and beyond in the past few days, reminding employees how to avoid the flu and what do if they get sick.

At the same time, companies are reviewing their disaster emergency plans in case a massive number of employees must stay at home.

...

It’s the same provisions put in place during the big spike in gasoline prices last summer, she said. “We want to remind employees that it is available.”

The firm is also suggesting that client-company employees should consider rescheduling their travel if have to go Mexico which seems to be source of the new strain of flu, she said.

Companies need to focus on how to handle wide-spread employee absences, said Christopher Falkenberg, president of Insite Security in New York.

He estimated as many as 40 percent of employees could either call in sick, not be able to come into the office or travel in the event of any quarantines.

Companies should think about how they’ll keep going if a pandemic develops, said Falkenberg, a former special agent for the U.S. Secret Service. One thing they shouldn’t do is install a lot of computer hardware, he said. The key is to identify how the business will operate.

If the company depends on traveling sales associates, perhaps product samples can be shipped instead of hand-carried and demonstrations done through video equipment. Or maybe a company can do three-dimensional, online modeling or hire local sales representatives for face-to-face meetings.

Fulbright & Jaworski had a dry-run three years ago when it made elaborate preparations during the Avian bird flu scare. Those plans were fine-tuned by a succession of natural disasters.

The hurricanes have been useful for planning, said Jane Williams, chief human resources officer, who put together an ad hoc child care center after Hurricane Ike so parents could get back to work. The older teenagers were even pressed into duty: the law firm hired them to help the professional child care workers entertain the younger children.

So the hurricane last summer and even the flooding last week were trial runs for a flu outbreak.

I've been suffering from severe vertigo for over a week and have been in to the office twice in ten days, and now to try and struggle in only to be greeted with a nice case of this ...

Update: Here's some CDC linkage. Get your updates straight from the source.

Specter of defeat

Not exactly a profile in courage:

Veteran Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched parties Tuesday with a suddenness that seemed to stun the Senate, a moderate's defection that pushed Democrats to within a vote of the 60 needed to overcome filibusters and enact President Barack Obama's top legislative priorities.

Specter, 79 and seeking a sixth term in 2010, conceded bluntly that his chances of winning a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year were bleak in a party grown increasingly conservative. But he cast his decision as one of principle, rather than fueled by political ambition as spurned GOP leaders alleged.

"I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party," he said at a news conference. He added, "I am not prepared to have my 29 year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."

The GOP tried to put on a brave face, but their own fear was apparent...

Not long after Specter met privately with Republican senators to explain his decision, the party's leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, said the switch posed a "threat to the country." The issue, he said, "really relates to ... whether or not in the United States of America our people want the majority party to have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or balance."

I'm just not that into another Joe Lieberman lobbing rotten tomatoes from inside the tent instead of outside, especially one considered a 'friend of labor' who is is still refusing to reconsider his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.

Let's primary Specter with a real Democrat and see what happens.

And this turd-stirring by Burka is laughable. We don't want any Kay Bailey over here either.

Rush Limbaugh blamed for swine flu outbreak

My caption: "I'm so effing high right now ..."

Update: Digby has a more professional rejoinder ...

If you are a conservative you can't believe that something like an epidemic or a pandemic could even exist or you would have to grant that the necessity for public health is a government function. Indeed, you even have to grant that a pandemic requires that people are going to be forced to behave in ways that explicitly define their own personal survival with the common good.

Rush is right to be a little bit nervous about this, though. Public health crises tend to focus the public on the usefulness of things like science, international cooperation, government coordination. You know, the sort of thing that liberals think are necessary. Something like that simply doesn't fit into the conservative worldview. They see all problems and challenges in schoolyard terms of good guys and bad guys. This kind of challenge (like global warming) falls outside the paradigm by which they organize their world. Pandemics, like hurricanes, can't be dealt with by using tough talk and threats.

Two noteworthy hearings in the Lege today

The first is "Killer" Keller's impeachment inquiry. From Trailblazers via Grits:

Sharon Keller, the chief justice of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, could soon face impeachment proceedings - there's a resolution under review by the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee to consider impeachment for "gross negligence of duty ... with willful disregard for human life." Keller's court hears appeals in capitol murder cases, and she refused to keep her office open past 5 p.m. to accept an appeals filing hours before an execution in 2007. The committee hearing begins upon final adjournment of the House.

The second is our blogger bill. Vince has the details:

On Monday, the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee will hold a public hearing on a bill which will give Texas bloggers and citizen journalists some much-needed protections under Texas law.

The committee will take public testimony on House Bill 4237 by State Rep. Aaron Pena (D-Edinburg).

This bill gives bloggers and citizen journalists the same protections that the mainstream media has when it comes to covering matters of "public concern," such as legislative proceedings, school board meetings, and the actions of state officials.

Under current law, commonly known as the "Privileged Matters Clause" of the Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code (Sec. 73.002), coverage by the mainstream media of matters of "public concern" such as those listed above cannot be used as grounds for a libel action.

Texas bloggers and citizen journalists, however, do not have similar protections. In theory, if a politician or officeholder wanted to cause a blog a great deal of problems, he or she could file a libel or slander lawsuit over writings discussing a matter of "public concern." It would then be up to the court system--after, no doubt, significant expense for the blogger or citizen journalist--to determine whether or not the "Privileged Matters Clause" applies to bloggers.

Texas bloggers have been fortunate in that no one has been forced to be a test case for this yet. Rep. Pena's bill ensures that no Texas blogger or citizen journalist ever will. It gives us the same protections as the mainstream media in this regard.

Texas bloggers and citizen journalists have pushed for "Privileged Matters" protection since 2006.

The fight for "Privileged Matters" protection was triggered after State Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Keller) filed HB 129 in late 2006. Truitt's bill was a broadly-worded bill which would have essentially subjected every blog and citizen journalist in Texas to frivolous lawsuits.

Truitt said the bill was designed to allow people legal recourse if someone knowingly publishes information about them online that could lead to identity theft.

However, her bill was poorly drafted and opened bloggers and citizen journalists to frivolous lawsuits.

Truitt ultimately pulled the bill after Republican and Democratic bloggers (as well as party-neutral bloggers) raised outcry significant enough for the mainstream media to notice.

After Truitt announced she had screwed up on the bill, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorialized that bloggers and citizen journalists needed "Privileged Matters" protections, which I first wrote about a couple of days after Truitt's bill was filed:

The law specifically protects "a newspaper or other periodical" from being sued for libel when reporting on things that happen in a court of law, the proceedings of a government body or meetings dealing with public issues.

The protection also extends to "reasonable and fair comment on or criticism of an official act of a public official or other matter of public concern for general information."

One way to look at it is that the Star-Telegram is specifically protected by state law when it criticizes Truitt for her official acts, but Internet bloggers are not. That's not good.

We're both doing the same thing, and we both deserve the same protection for fair reporting and comment.

During the days before the 2007 session, with the controversy over the election for House Speaker and other concerns, it was difficult to find legislators willing to introduce legislation to give bloggers and citizen journalists "Privileged Matters" protections, and the issue was ultimately laid to rest after Truitt pulled her bill with the intent of trying again for the legislation this session.

This session, State Rep. Aaron Pena (D-Edinburg) was asked to carry the legislation and agreed to do so. Pena is himself a blogger and understands the technology and the legal issues at play for bloggers.

If you are in Austin today, make your voice heard.

Update: Muse has a Twitter feed posted.

The Weekly Wrangle

Another Monday, and time for the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round up.

The Senate this past week passed a bill to reform the state's unemployment insurance laws in a way that would allow us to accept up to $600 million in stimulus funds, despite Governor Perry's resistance. Off the Kuff has the details.

YaGottaLoveIt of South Texas Chisme says a voter ID bill is needed to eliminate ghost voting in the Texas House of Representatives. Why don't the Republicans try it out there first?

Neil at Texas Liberal offers up information on swine flu and provides tips on proper handwashing.

AAA-Fund Blog has audio from the recent national call with Ramey Ko and Hubert Vo about voting rights in Texas and around the nation.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson has the latest on transportation issues in the lege: This week's transportation action in the legislature.

This week McBlogger took some time out his busy schedule to do something unusual -- criticize someone. Specifically Karl Rove who thinks teabaggin' is just awesome and the beginning of the Republican Party's return to electoral relevance. McBlogger, as you can imagine, has a different opinion.

John Culberson nosed out Joe Barton for the first "Douchebag of the Week" award presented by Brains and Eggs. It was a close contest with Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, and the Texas House Republicans all competing fiercely for the coveted prize. Better luck next week, jerks.

BossKitty at TruthHugger sees big problems addressing the pandemic hysteria because workers cannot risk staying home sick. Because health insurance has become such an exclusive club any medical emergency, like a contagious outbreak, can become a pandemic crisis. FLU PANDEMIC - Stay Home or Go To Work Sick?

Todd Hill at Burnt Orange Report writes about how John Cornyn admits that the KBH seat is winnable for Democrats. This revelation from Big Bad John comes after we learn that Bill White and John Sharp had the largest 1Q fundraising totals for any non-incumbent Senate candidate in the country.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw gathers the shameful record of Republican buffoonery into a sad and funny report he calls " Texas Republican Jackasses Continue to Bring Shame to Texas ". You don't want to miss this one. With videos!

Vince at Capitol Annex notes that Congressman Joe Barton (R-Ennis) got dissed by Al Gore on global warming.

Culberson edges Barton for "Douchebag of the Week"

By virtue of continuing the secessionist crazy talk, my very own Congressbum John Culberson is awarded the inaugural "Douchebag of the Week".



He edged out his butthole buddy Joe Barton, who took a peculiar and smug satisfaction in asking Energy Secretary David Chu -- a Nobel laureate -- "where the oil in Alaska came from", apparently to make a completely obtuse point about global warming.



Yes, it was a very close contest, but Cumbersome earned the victory solely on the basis of having home field advantage.

That "five states" business is hypothesized in detail by Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. Here's his map:



Now I see El Norte electing two Democratic Senators, as well as one each from Gulfland and New Texas, a scenario that would leave the same 60-40 split that currently exists provide a net gain of two more Republicans in the US Senate. That must be the "six rock-ribbed conservatives" he refers to.

But I'm trying to apply some rationale to an ultraconservative fantasy, which is surely a fool's errand. So I will stop that.

Congratulations, Mr. Culberson. Can you make it two championships in row, like the Green Bay Packers?

Sunday Funnies

"Vice President Cheney is a man who frightens easily."

A dozen other spot-on observations from Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Ret.), who was Colin Powell's chief of staff.

Eugene Robinson (the recent Pulitzer winner) also observed that there are just three questions regarding this sad chapter of American history: is torture moral, is it effective, and is it legal. And a fourth I would add: what are we going to do about it if the answer to the first three are 'no'.

Probably the saddest observation of Wilkerson's was that "there is neither the political will nor the skill" in the current administration to follow through on that last.

Enhanced Prevarication Techniques

I'll have something to say about l'affaire torture soon, but this will do for now...

More on GOP revolution

Or is that devolution. It's certainly a resistance to evolution. Whatever we call their mental illness, they're looking for something to cling to besides their religion and their guns, and secession may be it:

Gov. Rick Perry’s highly energized appearance at Tea Parties around the State of Texas (last week) has dramatically improved his visibility across Texas and the nation. Coupled with an aggressive courting of conservatives which included the endorsement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Perry has quite simply been tearing it up.

All this has the possibility to leave Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison behind in the dust in the one area where she can easily claim credentials as conservative as Perry: fiscal responsibility.

The polls have shown Hutchison running strong. But Perry’s got a head of steam and has seized the limelight. And he’s just staked his claim to a mad-as-hell constituency – just the kind that he needs for the primary to pull off the win.

The author of that opinion is a former KBH campaign operative, and I agree completely with his premise: that the Texas GOP primary voters are the most extreme of the right-wing to be found anywhere, they don't like Kay Bailey a lot, and they will likely boost Governor MoFo to victory in next spring's gubernatorial elections.

Which sort of defeats the premise for avoiding running against Kay Bailey for governor, doesn't it? I'm looking at you, Mr. Sharp and Mr. White. Let me not digress, though ...

The result is that Perry has seized the momentum and is on fire with a large section of the Republican Party base, not just in Texas, but nationally. And it will be the wing of the party most important in the primary.

That would of course be the Sarah Palin/Alaska Indendence Party wing of the party nationally. The secessionist, creationist, tea-baggin', anti-immigrant, anti-pretty much everything you can think of wing. Except for guns and Bibles.

So a few questions:

-- Despite the quite obvious impossibility of secession, how would the GOP ever win another presidential election if Texas actually did secede?

-- When are the Texas Republicans going to turn in their American flag pins? And summon home their sons and daughters serving in the armed forces? And stop singing along with Lee Greenwood? And chanting "USA, USA" at sporting events?

-- What should national GOP "moderates" -- like Arlen Specter, Kay Bailey, and Joe Lieberman -- do? Form a Neo-Whig Party, perhaps?

To be fair to our ignorant next-door neighbors, though, it's not just Texas that wants out of the Union. It's just Texas that has the worst, most extreme leaders in charge who want to. Or pretend to want to, in order to tap into the latest faux outrage and get re-elected.

You know, once upon a time the Republican Party stood firm against secession. A Republican president led a civil war against secessionist states to maintain the sovereignty and integrity of the Union.

And that war was won, at the cost of thousands of lives.

Be a damn shame if we have to fight that out all over again. I suspect the South would lose once more.

Texas GOP takes "Douchebag" lead

"Douchebag of the Week" honors for the day go to the Republicans in the state House:

After Gov. Rick Perry's recent comments about some Texans talking secession from the union made national news, legislators are considering issuing a "cease and desist" order to the federal government.

"This state prefers, to the greatest extent possible, to control our own destiny," said Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, one of several members co-sponsoring the measure. "We prefer that federal government limit the amount of federal mandates it forces upon the people of Texas."

House Concurrent Resolution 50, which claims sovereignty for Texas under the U.S. Constitution's 10th Amendment, was one of several proposals to go before the House State Affairs Committee late Tuesday.

Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, filed the bill, saying that more than a dozen states have proposed similar efforts amid concern that the federal government may be overstepping its boundaries.

"From restrictions on gun and ammunition sales, to freedom-of-choice issues, to the Real ID Act, the federal government is passing laws that limit a state's ability to govern itself," Creighton has said. "Texas simply wants to send the message that we want to govern ourselves and decide for ourselves how our money is to be spent."

Under this resolution, the 81st Legislature "hereby claim[s] sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."

"This serve[s] as notice and demand to the federal government ... to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers."

Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, also signed on as a co-sponsor.

"Texans should have the right for their representatives in Austin to decide what is best for Texas," Shelton said.

This nonsense would be utterly unbelievable, if it weren't for the lunacy already demonstrated by Governor Suckseed.

Let's be clear what this "cease and desist" nonsense is all about: it's neo-secessionism.

They aren't outright calling for Texas to secede. Rather, they are claiming that state governments have the right to nullify the laws of the U.S. government.

These 'neo-secessionists' know that accepting the principle of nullification as a right held by all states would destroy the entire Union. It's not that hard to understand -- if you allow individual states to pick and choose which laws to follow and ignore, you have effectively destroyed the union binding them together.

So while they may claim to oppose secession, by supporting nullification, they are effectively supporting the dissolution of the United States of America, not just the secession of one state. And that's an even more extreme position.

God, deliver us from these fools. And hurry the hell up.

Happy Earth Day