Dobbs' head explodes; CNN anchor continues talking

Thanks, Andy:

Shortly after his statement about illegal Mexican laborers constructing a border fence, Dobbs’ head exploded, filling the screen with smoke and visibly startling (guest and fellow anchor Anderson) Cooper.

After Dobbs’ head burst into flames, his CNN cohort attempted to go to commercial, but Dobbs continued talking undaunted for another fifteen minutes.

Immediately after the broadcast, Dobbs was rushed to the Head Explosion Unit at George Washington University Hospital where the CNN anchor continued talking for an additional five hours before being administered general anesthesia.

“In all my years as a brain surgeon I have never seen someone with such serious head trauma continue speaking,” said chief of surgery Dr. Hiroshi Kyosuke. “It is almost as if Lou Dobbs’ mouth functions completely independently from his brain.”

*standing ovation*

Green Zone gang-rape: another KBR job hazard

Never Forget: what's always been the most important thing in this Crusade for Iraqi Democracy is safeguarding the freedoms of our brave American contractors who risk their lives every day to bring us $100 oil:

"These are the worst types of crimes that can happen to a citizen abroad," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, who wrote the letter with Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich. "I think there's going to be some movement by the Justice Department now that this is in the public domain."

Finding a patriot like Ted Poe waging war here (not quite like Charlie Wilson, but close) has to be the surprise of the season. Of course when the laws were being written absolving corporations of every single tort responsibility, he was on the front lines there too...

KBR lawyers have asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to dismiss the cases so they can be handled through the company's Employee Dispute Resolution Program. KBR and Halliburton employees sign contracts in which they agree to resolve disputes and claims against the company through an arbitrator.

The company picks the arbitrator. KBR has only won 80% of the arbitration claims filed against it.

You know, you'd think they could do better than that.

Update (12/13): Think Progress has more, including video of Poe on Lou Dobbs' program last night.

2007 Gold Star Texan: Molly Ivins

(Besides recognizing our Texan of the Year, the Texas Progressive Alliance acknowledges a number of others who contributed to Texas politics and furthered the progressive cause during 2007. Leading up to the TOY announcement on Friday, we bring you our TPA Gold Stars, one each day this week. Yesterday we awarded Denise Davis; Monday, Rick & Melissa Noriega. The Silver Stars, announced last week, are here.)

Molly Ivins

Had she been born in 1984 instead of 1944, Molly Ivins might have been a blogger. Instead she was an award-winning, best-selling journalist, columnist and author. A Texan, a progressive, a feminist, and a survivor, her passing earlier this year marked the end of an era for Lone Star liberals as well as those across the country who loved her fiery, populist brand. Ivins gave all progressives a prominent national voice.

In honoring someone as distinguished as the late, great Molly, sometimes it's best to do so in someone else's words. In this case, hers:

I used to say, having once been a card-carrying Sixties radical, that if I had to be called a liberal, I’d just as soon be the worst kind of liberal -- a bleeding heart. I wound up being a liberal because I was for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam and that’s what I got called. I missed the New Deal and McCarthyism and all that good business.

I’ve got more important things to worry about -- three-year-old kids getting raped and denied admission to a hospital because their mamas don’t have any money and things like that. I carry neither grief nor guilt for the many sins of liberals past and present: there’s too much to bleed over. And laugh over.

Indeed, Molly. For this and more, we name you a Texas Progressive Alliance 2007 Gold Star.

2007 Gold Star Texan: Denise Davis

(In addition to awarding its Texan of the Year, the Texas Progressive Alliance has chosen a number of others who have contributed to Texas politics and the progressive cause during 2007. Leading to the TOY announcement this Friday, we bring you our TPA Gold Stars, one each day through Thursday. Yesterday we recognized Rick & Melissa Noriega. Our Silver Stars, announced last week, may be found here.)



Denise Davis

Few stories this year enthralled the politically inclined among us like the ongoing turmoil in the Texas House. From the speaker's race at the onset of the 80th legislative session to Rep. Pat Haggerty's call for members who wanted to remove House Speaker Tom Craddick, to taking the keys to their voting machines and following him out of the chamber ... 2007 was a watershed moment in Texas political history. While there were many elected officials who deserve (and will receive) recognition and historical remembrance for the parts they played in the pageant of chaos that was the 80th Texas Legislature, one other individual -- who happens not to be an elected official -- also deserves to be recognized for the role she played in the unprecedented drama.

Denise Davis, the former parliamentarian of the Texas House, was never an uncontroversial figure. Throughout her tenure -- nearly three sessions -- Democrats privately criticized Davis for some of her rulings and believed her to be an unrepentant loyalist to Craddick. That changed at a moment approaching midnight on May 25, 2007, when Davis walked out of the parliamentarian's office and into the pages of history. Around 9 p.m. that evening, after House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam brought a motion to vacate the chair, which Craddick refused to recognize. The speaker then abruptly left the dais -- and subsequently the assembly -- in chaos, 'adjourned' until 11 p.m. What transpired in the interim remains murky, although one thing is clear: Davis and deputy parliamentarian Chris Griesel resigned, leading Craddick to appoint two cronies (former state reps. Ron Wilson and Terry Keel) to replace them. Davis departed Craddick's service rather than legitimize his dictatorial hold over the Texas House. It was a move that took great courage, because the full power of the speaker's office -- in attempts to silence her about what happened in those final hours -- was brought to bear upon her.

When the history of the 80th Legislature is written, among the legislators who will occupy the pages of the texts that comprise this story, there will be one other person whose role will be noted, and that is Denise Davis -- for her principle and bravery.

2007 Texan of the Year: Gold Stars

In addition to awarding one Texan of the Year (coming this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance chose to recognize a number of others who have contributed to Texas politics and the progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday).



Melissa and Rick Noriega

These two Houston Democrats could easily be called Texas' new political power couple. Melissa Noriega made news this year with her run for the Houston City Council seat, vacated by Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who had resigned to complete the last six weeks of former Congressman Tom DeLay's term in 2006. Through a special election, a runoff, and a general election battle to win the council seat for the full term, Melissa's progressive message endeared her to Houston voters, earned significant media recognition, and helped mark her as part of a new generation of progressive leaders with statewide potential. She had previously served as interim state legislator while her husband served his country in Afghanistan as a reservist and lieutenant colonel in the Texas National Guard.

Rick Noriega's story is also well known: as a veteran of the "War on Terror" and the coordinator for Houston's relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005, Rick generated buzz early in 2007 as a number of progressive netroots activists and traditional, offline Democrats created a movement to "draft" Noriega into the Democratic Party's race for US Senate. Rick answered the call and threw his hat into the ring to take on John Cornyn and the formidable Texas Republican machine in 2008, despite the fact that he could have easily won re-election to the Texas Legislature or even run for another office where the battle would have been easier. Instead, he had the courage to stand up for all Texans and declare "enough is enough".

True people-powered candidates, Rick and his wife Melissa have made significant personal sacrifices to serve the people of Texas. For this and many other reasons, the Texas Progressive Alliance is pleased to recognize Rick and Melissa Noriega among its 2007 Gold Stars.

The Weekly Wrangle

Time once again for the Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round-Up, compiled as it always is by Vince from Capitol Annex.

It appears that Texas state Sen. Craig Estes is considering an investigation into the egregious negligence and malpractice of the Texas Railroad Commission. However, as TXsharon at Bluedaze reminds us: It's no time to rest! Keep the pressure on with your letters, emails, faxes and calls.

Now that Williamson County's secret complaint has been dismissed, the Texas Fair Defense Project's class-action lawsuit on behalf of indigent defendants is back on track. Eye on Williamson's wcnews provides an update on the slowly progressing case in The Upside-Down World of Williamson County.

The Associated Republicans of Texas met, ate, belched and applauded the venom spewed from the mouth of Karl Rove at an appearance in Austin last week. Grab your can of disinfectant and click over to Brains and Eggs, where PDiddie has the (pooper) scoop.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme enjoyed this headline: "Where was Hutchison, Valley veterans ask". Why aren't all US veterans asking where all 'support the troop' Republicans have been?

John Coby at Bay Area Houston has his take on a Christmas poem -- T'was the Night Before Impeachment: T'was the night before impeachment it was cold, wet, and rainy, Not a creature was testifying, not even Dick Cheney. Impeachment resolutions were hung in the House for appearing, waiting for Conyers and Waxman, and a long-awaited hearing.

BossKitty at Bluebloggin is frustrated with Congress dropping the hate crime bill H.R. 1585 Hate Crime Bill Married To Iraqi War Funding - No Joke.

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the lies and errors in Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the groundbreaking voter ID case.

The Texas Cloverleaf calls out TxDOT for delaying DFW area construction projects even after receiving $3.197 billion from NTTA.

The Sunset Commission is taking a hard look at TXDOT and McBlogger thinks it's about time. Feel to send in your suggestions on how to fix the ailing agency.

One week into filing season, Off the Kuff reviews the filings he's waiting for.

The Texas Education Agency made national news after the forced resignation of Chris Comer, its science curriculum director, in the ever-swirling "intelligent design" controversy, reports North Texas Liberal's Texas Toad.

More Sunday Funnies

And another from the great Nick Anderson:

Sunday Funnies

Romney, Huckabee, McCain, Giuliani and more bloggerhea

-- Give Huckabee and McCain the up arrows and Romney and Giuliani the downs. Huckabee is finally catching some flak (over things like his phone call to God) after coasting all the way into December. Count Rudy out; he hasn't bottomed out yet from Sex on the City. Romney's JFK moment this week wasn't even that (a moment). Nobody else -- including Dr. No and Lazy Fred -- is going to be a factor.

If I had to hold my nose and pick one of these ultimate November losers today, it would be John McCain.

-- The latest Bush adminstration scandal involves the destruction of tapes. How Nixonian.

-- Blackwater's brother, the State Dept.'s inspector general, went on and resigned yesterday.

-- My neighborhood was voted one of America's top urban enclaves. Of course I knew this already.

-- The Republicans in Wharton county have decided to go back to paper ballots:

On whether computerized electronic voting machines are reliable and secure, the Republican leadership in Wharton County votes "no."

Precinct chairmen in the county southwest of Houston decided this week to return to using paper ballots in the March GOP primary for president, congressional seats and local races. ...

In the statewide election, businessman Jim Welch tried to vote at a fire station in Boling. Some of his votes on state constitutional amendments changed before his eyes, he said, and when election officials acknowledged the problem and offered to let him start over, he concluded the equipment was unreliable and declined. Welch later complained to county and party officials.

-- Auto loans are the next credit crisis.

-- Progressive blog readers are Satan worshippers, according to Bill O'Reilly. NBC's David Gregory blames blogs for the polarization in politics. These two fools simply don't understand that if they had simply performed as journalists, then there would have never been a need for a political blog in the first place.

"O'Reilly" and "journalist" in the same sentence. My mistake.

-- Lastly, Harvey Kronberg has noticed the power of the Texroots:

In perhaps another signal of the maturation of the netroots, QR notes that 24 Democratic candidates for the Texas House have already reported raising money through ActBlue, a national Web-based clearinghouse for Democratic campaign donations.

The fundraising leader so far is Brian Thompson, the all-but-declared challenger for Rep. Dawnna Dukes’ (D-Austin) seat in the House. He reports $4,800 in donations. While that’s not exactly a Bob Perryesque figure, it’s almost as much as the incumbent has in cash on hand on her last Ethics Commission report.

Dukes will obviously have the resources to vigorously defend her seat, but Thompson’s popularity fits an initial trend of challengers getting support from the netroots. After Thompson, the next three most successful online fundraisers are Sandra Rodriguez ($2,000), Dan Barrett ($1,674) and Sherrie Matula ($1,575).

Thompson and Rodriguez are primary challengers to Craddickrats Dawnna Dukes and Kino Flores. Barrett is in the runoff for Fort Worth's HD-97 (election day is December 10) and Matula will take on the ethically challenged John Davis in HD-129, in Pasadena.

Texas GOP lines up, pays big for more Rove lies

Longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove decried Democrats in general and Hillary Clinton in particular as big spenders and said President Bush's spirits are high at an Associated Republicans of Texas fundraising dinner Thursday.

When The Architect of a misadventure in Iraq deep into the trillions of dollars with still no end in sight calls anyone a "big spender", maybe it's time for the attendees to put on the waders. They put on their kneepads instead:

Among those attending were Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Comptroller Susan Combs, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones.

"Every time ... I see Karl, I bow just a little bit and call him 'his excellency,' " said Dewhurst.

Shame we don't live in a monarchy. Oh wait ...

"Karl was neither the man behind the curtain in as many things as he got credit for, nor is he to blame for all the things in the last couple of years he's been blamed for. He's a hard-working, smart political strategist. I would imagine he's so busy rewriting history these days that he may not have time to make any history with new candidates."

-- Democratic consultant Kelly Fero, getting it right for once

2007 Texan of the Year: Silver Stars

Since 2005, the Texas Progressive Alliance has named a "Texan of the Year" to give recognition to a worthy Texan who has made a significant contribution to the world of politics or the progressive cause.

For our third annual TOY Award, the TPA elected to not only fete one Texan -- the one who contributed the most to the progressive movement in 2007 -- but also recognize others whose contributions were important to the progressive cause and worthy of recognition.

The Texan of the Year will be announced on December 14. Between now and then, the Alliance will release its list of Texans who made contributions we believe also worthwhile. This begins today with the announcement of the TPA's Silver Stars (and next Monday, four additional "Gold Stars" will be named, followed by the TOY on Friday).

Without further ado, here are the 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Stars (in alphabetical order):

Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski. It has been said that persistence is as much a virtue as is patience. Inasmuch as that is so, it is also true that persistence pays off. In the case of Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski, persistence also saved thousands of Texas children from a certain hell at the Texas Youth Commission. Beginning in 2005, Burzynski investigated allegations of sexual misconduct in Texas' juvenile prison system. He was rebuffed by state authorities, local prosecutors, and even the United States Department of Justice. In spite of these roadblocks, Burzynski continued to press his case -- investigating, making noise, not letting go, and never taking 'no' for an answer. The end result? He broke open one of the largest criminal justice scandals in Texas history and brought forward a flood of legislative reforms. For this and more, the Texas Progressive Alliance is pleased to confer upon Ranger Brian Burzynski a 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Star.

Hank Gilbert. Though Gilbert's race for agriculture commissioner ended last November, he also persisted. During his 2006 campaign Gilbert promised Texans that -- win or lose -- he would continue to fight against toll roads, mandatory animal ID legislation, and international corporations that threatened the citizens of Texas. Gilbert organized a Texas Independence Day march on Austin. Working with farmers, ranchers, Democratic activists, and disillusioned landowners, he brought nearly 1,000 people to testify against the Trans-Texas Corridor at a session of the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security the day before the march. Thousands more Texans showed up the next day to join the public protest. Gilbert has been instrumental in forming a statewide umbrella organization of anti-toll road groups to continue the battle against toll-enabling legislation. As a director for Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, he continues to travel the state and nation speaking out against the takeover of taxpayer-funded infrastructure by private interests. For this and more, the Texas Progressive Alliance proudly names Hank Gilbert recipient of a 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Star.

Congressman Ciro Rodriguez. In 2006, Rodriguez was the "comeback kid" of Texas politics, winning a seat in Congress after a runoff about the time the Texan of the Year for 2006 was announced. This year, Rodriguez took office as part of the first Democratic Congress in nearly a generation and has served his San Antonio-based district honorably. His race is considered one of national Republicans' top targets, although Rodriguez's constituent services and his support from Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi will no doubt help him retain the district.

Texas Bloggers who made a difference. For the first time Texas bloggers determined that some of their own were worthy of special recognition for their work during 2007: John Cobarruvias (Bay Area Houston Blog); Vince Leibowitz (Capitol Annex); Edmundo "Xicano Power" Rocha (XicanoPwr); and Sharon Wilson (TxSharon of BlueDaze). A note on each blogger:

John Cobarruvias almost single-handedly changed the way Texas legislators use and report their campaign/officeholder expenses. Because he held their feet to the fire with his "Spending Campaign Cash" series, organizing a group of volunteers to file complaints against offending legislators and urging media to report on spending abuses, legislators have cleaned up their acts. The Texas Ethics Commission has issued written reminders to legislators about the very problems with reporting expenses that Cobarruvias uncovered.

Vince Leibowitz. As the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature ended in turmoil -- with parliamentarians resigning, legislators walking out, and two stooges of Tom Craddick on the dais as officers of the Texas House, Leibowitz decided that the full story of those final days wasn't being told and started digging. Through public information requests, he uncovered a sheaf of documents from Craddick's office that helped piece together exactly what happened in those final hours. No mainstream media outlet did better reporting, and Leibowitz's work broke new ground and proved that Craddick's actions were the premeditated acts of a Speaker on the brink.

Edmundo Rocha. Blending heavy-handed social critiques, local and national politics, and a heaping dose of common sense in his blog, Rocha tackles heavy topics like immigration, teenage pregnancy, racial and gender politics and backs it up with a unique style and spirit. With a loyal and unwavering audience (his Texan of the Year nomination, in fact, was suggested in the comments of a blog by one of Edmundo's readers), Rocha has rapidly become one of the state's most prominent Latino bloggers. No issue is too tough and none taboo for this blogger.

Sharon Wilson. Most Texans don't know what the Texas Railroad Commission is or does. In 2007, one Texas blogger changed that. Wilson's reporting on the injection well drilling in the Barnett Shale region and its impact on the water quality and the environment in Wise County and surrounding areas has been invaluable in bringing wider attention to the dangers this practice poses across the state. Wilson has nearly single-handedly stood up to large oil companies and made the companies and state agencies -- including the Texas Railroad Commission -- take notice. Relentless in her drive to educate the public and elected officials to the damage being done to the Texas environment, Wilson's investigative reporting and blogging is worthy of greater recognition.

Texas Legislative Study Group. The policy clearinghouse for progressives, the Texas Legislative Study Group is full of unsung heroes. Helping legislators keep up with the more than 50 bills that come up each day in the Texas House, the TLSG and its policy analysts could be considered the most important behind-the-scenes players in the legislative process when it comes to safeguarding progressive principles. Legislators carry their reports around on the House floor like bibles. Their arguments against the appropriations bill, some versions of Jessica's Law, and the Castle Doctrine were masterful. Also worthy of recognition is that the brilliant minds behind the work of the TLSG aren't aged policy veterans, but rather among the best minds of more recent generations, "Generation X" in particular. The men and women who toil at the TLSG are indeed those who will shape Texas public policy for generations to come.

TexBlog PAC. Started by just a handful of Texas progressive bloggers, TexBlog PAC has harnessed the energy of the online community. In a state with one of the largest netroots communities in America -- and the most vibrant progressive blogosphere, TexBlog PAC is poised to build on victories bloggers helped happen in 2004 and 2006. Having already raised over $10,000 in its initial months, the PAC will play a key role for Democrats as they take back the House in 2008.

David Van Os. Following his defeat in the 2006 Attorney General's race, Van Os made good on his promise to "keep fighting 'em on the ice." From aiding groups like TURF in their battle against the private takeover of government infrastructure, to helping workers who were intimidated when nooses started showing up in their workplace (securing the removal of both the noose and the supervisor), Van Os never stopped fighting for working Texans. In addition, from musicians to probation officers to non-profit employees, Van Os has continued his life's work on behalf of the union laborers of Texas.

State representative Mike Villarreal. In 2003, many were ready to write Villarreal's political obituary. Fast forward to 2007, and Villarreal has become one of the progressive leaders in the Texas House. Authoring legislation that would have created contribution limits for political candidates and an independent redistricting commission, Villarreal took a lead with these progressive issues. In addition, Villarreal led on GLBT rights by authoring HB 900, which would have provided protections from discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression for the GLBT community. These efforts, coupled with the compromise he sought to proffer when Republicans tried to take over the House and suspend the constitutional provision concerning the consideration of legislation early in the session, make Villarreal worthy of recognition.

Join us in expressing your thanks and congratulations to the Silver Stars of the Texas Progressive Alliance.

Diane Trautman for Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector

As with being a Texas public school administrator, and as with her 2006 statehouse run in the blood-red suburb of Kingwood, Dr. Trautman likes big challenges:

“My race for Tax Assessor-Collector will be about one thing—improving Harris County government,” Trautman explains. “We can be more efficient. We can be more responsive. We can be more transparent in the way we collect county taxes. And we can have a voter registration system that is fair and inclusive to all the citizens of Harris County."

That last sentence is going to be the most important accomplishment we can make in 2008 locally.

Paul Bettancourt, the incumbent TA/C (the post also serves as voter registrar in each Texas county) is one of the most dangerous Republicans in America. Not the county, not the state. The nation. He runs a sophisticated voter caging operation which is the envy of all who survey it. And only Republicans are allowed to survey it, trust me. It is cloaked in partisan secrecy, so much so that even the Harris County Democratic Party chairman, a wise constitutional lawyer himself, is reticent to challenge it -- or Bettancourt himself, for that matter.

Fortunately I have been able to pull back the shroud a bit, and will promise again a more detailed posting about this in the very near future.

But this is a post to congratulate and welcome his very formidable challenger, so on with her announcement:

I am passionate about providing a quality education in all of our public schools, and I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to play a role in educating our children–especially our political leaders. That is why, when our current Tax Assessor/Collector publicly campaigns against our schools in the recent school bond elections, I think he needs to be challenged. Instead of an incumbent who has spent the last decade using his county office as a partisan pulpit, we need someone who will focus on getting the job done for all the citizens of Harris County.

Additionally, I think that the public has had enough of recent ethics scandals in county offices, and that they are ready for some accountability and ethical leadership in county government, which will be a primary focus of my campaign. What is more, it is outrageous that Harris County, the third most populous county in the country, has one of the lowest voter registration rates. We must do better if we are to have a truly effective government and democracy. My campaign will be about modeling ethical and appropriate officeholder behavior, building a voter registration system that is fair, inclusive and works for all Harris County citizens, and running an efficient, transparent office for county taxpayers.

Bravo, Dr. Trautman. The battle is joined.

It's beginning to look a lot like the War on Christmas

If there's a "War on Christmas" anywhere but in the minds of conservatives like Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson, then Christmas appears to be winning. But if, as national intelligence estimates sometimes reveal -- up is down, war is peace, and the anti-Christmas forces actually are surging -- then the war in Iraq must be nothing short of total victory at this very moment.

Did you know that the John Birch Society fired the first shot in the War on Christmas in 1959? The enemies, then as now, were American department stores and the "Godless UN". And like their sworn foe Big Retail, the Religious Right doesn't even have the decency to wait until Thanksgiving to open the season -- in the conservatives' case, whining about what words people use to describe the December holidays.

For anyone who is genuinely offended because the newspaper ad from Target fails to include the word "Christmas" and the temporary clerk at Sears dares to say "Happy Holidays," I have some advice: this Christmas, ask Santa Claus to bring you a life.

Iran has no WMD program. That's why they must be bombed.

President Bush has stated that the national intelligence estimate indicating that Iran ceased its bid for nuclear viability in 2003 proves that we need to ratchet up more pressure on Iran.

That's right; because they stopped their weapons program, we must continue to threaten them with sanctions, leave "all options on the table", and so on.

After all, it's nothing but a vast left wing (and intelligence community) conspiracy that denies that World War III, instigated by a nuclear Iran, is imminent.

And naturally this dovetails precisely with the thinking of the saber-rattling, chest-beating, war mongering neoconservatives, Dick Cheney as usual leading the charge. Are you “formidable”, and do you have nuclear weapons? Then we don’t want to mess with you. But if you appear to be formidable and “evil”, but aren’t a threat -- real or imagined, to the US or your neighbors or anyone else -- then it is of the utmost importance to make sure that the weapons that aren’t being developed ... well, aren’t developed. Which is why the NIE confirms the reason why Iran must be attacked. ASAP.

Norman Podhoretz (he advises Rudy G) says so. John Bolton says so.

Update: Even though national security director Stephen Hadley and director of national intelligence Mike McConnell briefed senior administration officials on the NIE "beginning in July", Bush apparently knew nothing about it until Tuesday of this week (as he claimed in his press conference). Yet he mentioned it to Israeli prime minister Ehud Ohmert on Monday, November 26.

Why does anyone believe anything these people say any more? Even the locals, a rather Republican bunch, have stopped drinking the war Kool-Aid.

Larry Craig is still not gay

... no matter what those eight men claim, so stop saying that.

Dan Barrett for HD-97

From our press release: The Texas Progressive Alliance, a confederation of political blogs, bloggers, and online activists from across Texas, today announced its endorsement of Dan Barrett (D-Fort Worth) in the special election runoff in House District 97. "We believe that Dan Barrett will make an excellent addition to the growing numbers of Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives," said Vince Leibowitz, Chair of the Texas Progressive Alliance. "We are pleased to offer him our support," he continued. In early November, Barrett led a field of seven candidates vying for the seat vacated by retiring State Rep. Anna Mowery, a longtime ally of Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick.

"I believe the voters in House District 97 are ready for a change and will realize that Dan Barrett will be no rubber-stamp for Tom Craddick's regime and policies," said Charles Kuffner of Houston, the vice chair of the Alliance. This is the second year for the Alliance, which is made up of more than 50 bloggers representing more than 30 of the state's most widely read progressive political blogs, to endorse candidates through its TexRoots program. The TexRoots program helps bring blog readers and online activists to specific candidates and races where their funds can make an immediate difference. The Alliance endorsed three candidates for its TexRoots 2006 rollout during the mid-term elections including State Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi).

Prot for President

Or is it Keyser Sose'?

















Or perhaps you would prefer Gomer Pyle?











It seems obvious that Kevin Spacey is a raging socialist just to be seen talking with Hugo Chavez, so if it comes down to him or Huckabee, I'm voting red (and that ain't Republican). Chuck Norris can kiss my ass.

Texas Education Agency scorns evolution (and terminates anyone who sends e-mail about it)

TXsharon has compiled the blog posts from across the Texblogosphere and beyond regarding the dismissal of TEA science director Chris Comer, and the backstory is there in any of the links. I'll quote Steven D at Booman Tribune for the summary outrage:

If merely forwarding an email about an upcoming speaker on the issue of evolution versus "intelligent design" theory gets you shitcanned in Texas, imagine what would have happened if poor Ms. Comer had had the audacity to suggest that she herself accepted the validity of the theory of evolution? Tarred and feathered, or burned at the stake for heresy? You tell me.

And it's no surprise a Bush appointee was the person behind this outrageous decision. As the Austin-American Statesman declared in its editorial about this case, firing someone for even mentioning that intelligent design and/or creationism have "critics" smacks of Soviet-era purges. Or of the Catholic Church in the 17th century suppressing Galileo's writings about the science that supported the "theory" that the earth orbited the sun. In short, it's absurd.

Yet that is what the most extreme Christian conservatives would have us become: A nation of ignoramuses, blind to any truth other than that "revealed" by scripture as (presumably) interpreted by our designated "Spiritual Leaders." That teachers were fired in the early 20th century for teaching evolution was understandable, if incredibly shortsighted, bigoted and stupid. That we are still having these debates at the beginning of the 21st century with all we have learned since the Scopes Monkey trial boggles my imagination.

Cynthia McKinney, Green for President

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who quit the Democratic Party and announced her candidacy for president as a Green last month, will make a campaign appearance in Houston this week.

She will speak at the Robert Terry Library on the Texas Southern University campus, 3100 Cleburne (at Ennis), on Tuesday December 4 at 7 p.m., discussing her quest for peace, politics in Washington and her campaign for the 2008 Green Party nomination. Questions or more information can be requested of Don Cook at 713-705-5594.

McKinney will also "freeway blog" with local activists at the Montrose overpass to US 59 at 4:30 p.m. prior to her appearance at TSU later in the evening.

McKinney first achieved renown (in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11) as one of the few Congresspersons who publicly objected to the selection by the SCOTUS of George W Bush as president in December 2000, and was one of 31 in the House who similarly objected to the allotment of Ohio's electoral votes in 2004 to the incumbent. She has also expressed strong reservations about the federal government's role regarding the events of September 11th, 2001 (for example, the 9/11 Commission sealed all notes and transcripts of some 2,000 interviews, all forensic evidence, and both classified and non-classified documents used in compiling its final report until January 2, 2009). McKinney's interest in 9/11 relates specifically to what she expresses as her opposition to excessive government secrecy, which she challenged with numerous pieces of legislation while a member of Congress.

McKinney also chose to be an active participant in the select bipartisan committee to investigate the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina, despite the Democratic Party leadership's call for Democratic members to boycott the committee. She has been a longtime anti-war activist, dating back to her opposition to the Gulf War in 1991 (and continuing through to the current administration's misadventures in Iraq, and its enablers in Congress).

She made headlines when she had a dustup with a Capitol police officer in 2006, and later that year lost a second bid for re-election from her Atlanta district.

McKinney has been vilified from all angles, left and right.

Her Green Party presidential exploratory committee website is Run Cynthia Run.

Git along, little bloggies

Time for this week's edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance weekly blog round-up, wrangled as always by Vince from Capitol Annex.

As a special note, the TPA is preparing to announce the 2007 Texan of the Year. This year's process will be a little different than in years past: we have a full slate of Texas Silver Stars (Honorable Mentions), four runners-up (Texas Gold Stars) and of course a Texan of the Year. We'll begin by announcing the Texas Silver Stars on Friday, December 7. Then each day from December 10 through December 13 we'll announce a Gold Star, followed by the Texan of the Year on Friday, December 14. So be sure to check your favorite TPA blog starting this Friday to see the picks for Texans of the Year!

What happens when it rains and containers holding lethal chemicals overflow into creek beds? See How Are Injection Well and Gas Coupling Inspections Alike? for another example of RRC negligence that puts Texans at risk, brought to you by TXsharon at Bluedaze.

Refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left shares his memories of a loved one lost to AIDS in his World AIDS Day diary and podcast.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News observes the devolving of Texas Education.

Jaye at Winding Road asks "What if abortion is outlawed in a Republican administration?"

Xanthippas at Three Wise Men informs you that when it's the National Football League versus Big Cable, the only loser is you.

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the interim charges for committees of the Texas House in the 80th Legislature in three posts, as well as Tom Craddick's views on the charges.

The Texas GOP is gearing up a sophisticated voter suppression effort for the 2008 elections. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs forwards the Lone Star Project's comprehensive report.

The Texas Cloverleaf tells us that TxDOT can no longer plead poverty! It just received a Christmas gift of $3.197 Billion from NTTA for the rights to build the SH-121 toll road.

Hal at Half Empty reports that the Republican Party of Fort Bend County has taken a radical shift to the right as neoconservative evangelicals have taken over their leadership.

Lightseeker at Texas Kaos looks at the mess Texas Education Agency has become with TEA: We must remain neutral on junk science theory. This should be enough to make parents either vote or move to get their kids out of the Texas school system.

Matt Glazer at Burnt Orange Report talks about the Texas Internet Revolution and the good publicity TexBlog PAC has been getting recently.

Stunned about the tuition increases at UT Law? So was Closet Purist at McBlogger who takes a detailed look at how UT law compares to Harvard and Yale and asks, what do you get for the money?

You may have heard the right-wing echo chamber saying that the surge is working in Iraq, or that things are going better now. Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal gives us the real deal in "Some Perspective on the Surge."

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that federal rules allow ferry
security guards to sleep on the job. Republicans say they care about security, but prove they don't.

Off the Kuff exercises his privilege as a blogger to nitpick an article about the rise of the netroots in Texas.

Eye On Williamson takes a look at the retirement of his statehouse representative in Why We Won't Have Mike Krusee To Kick Around Anymore.

Undocumented persons are NOT a health care burden on the US

The University of Texas-Medical Branch is considering, in the words of the local xenophobes, "kicking illegals off the welfare rolls":

(UTMB) might stop offering cancer care to indigent, undocumented immigrants, a policy that would save money but run counter to the medical school's mission of treating the poor.

If the medical branch turns away undocumented immigrants, the Harris County Hospital District likely will see an increase in its patient load, said King Hillier, vice president of public policy and government relations of the district that operates Ben Taub General, Houston's largest public hospital.

Making health care a business decision -- the monetizing of American health -- is where we went off the rails many years ago. In SiCKO it was revealed, in a conversation between John Erlichman and Richard Nixon, that Edgar Kaiser (he of the nation's first HMO) had an idea both men were fond of : rationing healthcare for profit. Recall also that Michael Moore took a group of sick Ground Zero New Yorkers to Cuba, where they received treatment denied them in the United States.

But back to the point here, there simply needs to be more pushback on the lies constantly advanced by the Nativists:

Illegal Latino immigrants do not cause a drag on the U.S. health care system as some critics have contended and in fact get less care than Latinos in the country legally, researchers said on Monday.

Such immigrants tend not to have a regular doctor or other health-care provider yet do not visit emergency rooms -- often a last resort in such cases -- with any more frequency than Latinos born in the United States, according to the report from the University of California's School of Public Health.

Let's wait for the "California liberals/bias" shouting to stop.

Now then ...

About 8.4 million of the 10.3 million illegal aliens in the United States are Latino, of which 5.9 million are from Mexico, the report said.

Recall my previous posting regarding these numbers. With this kind of disparity who knows what the correct numbers/ratios actually are at this point? Continuing ...

"Low rates of use of health-care services by Mexican immigrants and similar trends among other Latinos do not support public concern about immigrants' overuse of the health care system," the researchers wrote.

"Undocumented individuals demonstrate less use of health care than U.S.-born citizens and have more negative experiences with the health care that they have received," they said.

Italic emphasis mine. What do you suppose that means? That the doctors understood their patients' situations and gave them less than the best care?

There is no way that "socialized medicine" could be any worse (based on the demonstrated delivery of health care in other countries, including Mexico).

No. way.

Sunday Funnies for brunch

Texas GOP voter suppression efforts gearing up for '08

The Lone Start Project again brings the disgusting news of the Texas Republicans' efforts to thwart the vote (bold emphasis is mine):

Academic studies, media reports and fact based voter analysis consistently demonstrate that systematic, widespread or frequent voter fraud in Texas, or anywhere else in the United States, simply does not exist. Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, however, has directed a State House committee to conduct an interim study on voter fraud with the clear intention of recommending legislation to limit the ability of thousands of eligible Texans to vote. (See the order here)

At the same time, former Tom DeLay aide and current Tom Craddick ally, John Colyandro, who remains under felony indictment for money laundering and other charges, has formed a "think tank" that is already using faulty data and illogical statistics to justify vote suppression tactics.

These most recent Texas Republican efforts to suppress voter turnout are consistent with Texas AG Greg Abbott's taxpayer-funded phony voter fraud enforcement unit that the Lone Star Project has exposed and reported on extensively here.

Why do Tom Craddick and other Texas Republican leaders want to spend taxpayer resources to examine a problem that doesn't exist? Clearly Craddick, Abbott and others are attempting to justify dramatic changes in Texas law and election practices, including voter photo ID requirements, senior mail ballot restrictions and voter roll purges, that will reduce overall voter turnout as demographic changes take place in Texas that are increasing the influence of minorities in Texas elections.

Go here to see the facts about GOP voter suppression and the indicted felon running the show.

Vince has more on this, including the interim charges by Speaker Craddick (a list of goals for the 81st legislative session, to begin in January 2009). I'll snip a piece:

2. Examine the prevalence of fraud in Texas elections, considering prosecution rates and measures for prevention. Study new laws in other states regarding voter identification, and recommend statutory changes necessary to ensure that only eligible voters can vote in Texas elections. Specifically study the Texas mail-in ballot system, the provisional voting system, and the various processes for purging voter lists of ineligible voters.

I won’t even go into the whole Voter ID argument here. I’ve already made it, and if you read this blog regularly, you can recite it six ways from Sunday. If you don’t read regularly, go here for an education on this topic. As for the mail-in ballot and purging stuff, that’ll be some interesting study, I’m sure. Leo Berman will no doubt have Karl Rove on speed dial. Of course, what the committee does with this will (be) subject to some debate. The committee’s “swing vote,” or alleged swing vote during the 80th Legislature, Kirk England of Grand Prairie, is now a Democrat. Of course, the worst vote of his career was his vote for voter ID in the 80th Legislature. If he doesn’t come around on Voter ID during the interim charge process, then…well, you know.

And I owe a relatively long, minutia-filled posting about the sophisticated voter caging operation in place in Harris County, managed by the Republican tax assessor/collector Paul Bettencourt. That's forthcoming.

Rudy's Sex on the City scandal

Now the photoshoppers are gettin' busy:

Sunday Funnies for breakfast

Oh what fun it is to ride

There was a dislocated thumb, an inaccurate news report, a hastily called press conference, a Mizzou meltdown, a Hokie revenge, a Sooner stunner, a Pitt uprising, a Les Miles redemption, a Mountaineer gag job and overwrought fan bases in all directions.

In the strangest college football season in years, the last day went according to the chaotic script.

Now it is anyone's guess what is next – which two flawed teams emerge from this flawed system to meet in the BCS title game Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

A two-loss team (LSU) is likely to play a team that hasn't played in two weeks(Ohio State). An unbeaten team (Hawaii) and a one-loss team (Kansas) apparently have no chance. A team that, according to ESPN, was about to lose its coach (LSU again) might leap from No. 7 into the big game. At least unless the No. 9 team (Oklahoma) doesn't leap them and everyone else. And the team that might be playing the best of them all right now (Virginia Tech) can't seem to get any consideration.

Confused? Try crunching numbers, predicting votes and calculating the absurd and it gets even worse.

This is the funnest college football season ever. Of course that also means that more people are tearing their hair out over it than ever.

And there will be much more screaming -- and whining -- in the month ahead, as the bowl decisions shake out.

Doing Dickens

The best street festival of the year going on this weekend in Galveston. It always puts me in the Christmas spirit (although slightly less so when the temperature is 80 degrees).

Back with the Funnies manana.

Immigration reality check

Only one-third of illegal immigrants are from Mexico; the majority are from Europe or Asia. Most did not enter the United States illegally; they are employees or students who overstayed their visas. They have the same income profile as the general population. They have better health and lower incarceration rates. They pay the same taxes you do and more. They do not receive "free" public education or any form of welfare. Overall, annual taxes paid by workers without documentation to all levels of government more than offset the cost of services received, generating a net annual surplus of $25 to $30 billion. Oh yes, one more thing: the Robert Rector/Heritage Foundation "study" is nearly thoroughly bogus.

Almost nothing you have read, heard, or been told by frothing conservatives about illegal immigration is accurate.

Source:

http://www.urban.org/publications/305184.html

It's a large document and requires some reading and thoughtful understanding, something conservatives are mostly incapable of or naturally loathe to do. That's the only "Immigration Problem" we have in this country: ignorance, xenophobia, and bigotry.

Update (12/2): Welcome Topix forum readers! Yes, you are conservative idiots. Yes, you.

Viva Evel

There are thousands of men in their forties mourning the original X-Gamer, who as boys spent many an afternoon building a ramp out of old plywood and jumping over a few boxes or other kids or clutter from the garage, some still holding somewhere in their personal archives an old metal lunchbox with him in that Captain-America jumpsuit:

Most people will remember Knievel for his storied jumps: crashing at the Caesars Palace fountain in 1968, the disastrous attempt to fly across the Snake River in a Skycycle in 1974, or nearly killing himself at London’s Wembley Stadium after clearing 13 buses in 1975. He’d show up drunk for many jumps — and ride like a champion.

I think many of us watched him jump -- particularly after that slow-motion rag-doll tumble he took in Vegas -- to see if this time he might kill himself. I vividly recall the hype leading up to that Snake River rocket ride, and when it fizzled out I thought to myself, this guy is nothing but a huckster. Before that I had considered him only an idiot.

He was seemingly fearless, driven to try stunts that were — admit it — astonishingly stupid and pointless. But as a P.T. Barnum-caliber showman, he made the outcome seem somehow relevant and made millions care about what happened to him. He had an amazing, unfathomable need to be a real-life superhero.

But what a price he paid, only to be proven a mere mortal, time and time again. Perhaps his mortality is what made his fans adore him so. He failed so many times, so spectacularly and so publicly, that he ended up instead the ultimate antihero.

He jumped 13 cars in the Astrodome in 1971, setting an attendance record for the time. Here's a video of it. I can still feel the anticipation: the wheelies past the line of cars, the way he would ride to the top of the ramp and rev the bike's engine before backing down and making the jump.

He was quite obviously the inspiration for the satirical Super Dave Osborne in the '80's and '90's. By that time Knievel had retired and withdrawn from public life, although he had recently sued, and then settled with -- two days before his death -- rapper Kanye West over his image in a video.

Even watching his son Robby duplicate his jumps in recent years was nostalgic. There was really no one like Evel Knievel. He wasn't one of my generation's heroes, but he certainly was one of its icons. And for the first time in many decades he's not feeling any pain, so that's got to be a comfort.

So long, Rudy

Is there any Republican politician out there who just has normal, run of the mill sexual relationships? Any one at all?

No gay airport bathroom propositions, no asking underaged congressional pages to email you their penis size, no secret visits to prostitutes in multiple states? No divorcing your cancer-stricken, hospitalized wife in order to better carry on an affair with someone else? No weird sex trysts overlooking the smoldering ruins of New York's ground zero, or billing your secret mayoral booty calls to the budgets of city agencies tasked with helping poor people? No meth-addicted gay sex while preaching about the horrors of gay sex? No calling your coworkers at night while masturbating, telling them how much you'd like to falafel them up in the shower? No shoving pictures of fetuses in people's faces, or taking their own daughters into "chastity vows", or pontificating about the dangers of man-on-dog relationships?

Seriously, is this why Republicans are always so obsessed with governing everybody else's sex life -- because it's simply inconceivable to them that any two people would have a healthy, non-messed-up relationship?

Last night's YouTube debate questions were prepared well in advance of the breaking scandal yet it slipped in anyway; Giuliani denied all. That's not going to go over well with a GOP base having nearly nothing in common with a thrice-divorced cross-dressing librul.

And so, with the mayor's blood in the water, they each went at each other hammer and tong in St.Petersburg last night. First Mitt and Rudy over immigration, then later McCain and Ron Paul over Iraq, and later on McCain and Romney over waterboarding, and several skirmishes in between that appeared to this observer to give Mike Huckabee a star turn. He did the best job of avoiding questions with laugh lines that I've seen. And I thought Fred Thompson and McCain did well enough in comparison to the other loons to warrant a second look by the indecisive GOP voter.

Romney and Huckabee stand to benefit the most from the fast-approaching conclusion of the Giuliani campaign. Maybe McCain, although he still has a deep hole to climb out of. Perhaps it opens the door a bit wider for Dr. No.

But those madcap libertarians are pretty unpredictable, so who really knows?

Julie Mason had the live-blog. As one commenter there noted: "Mars and the Stars and Bars. And not one question on health care."

Update: Who's Playin' (Norman Fell! Precisely!) and Texas Moratorium Network (Preach it, Huck!) have quick opinions and video snippets.

Remember that Democrat in CD-07?

A few years ago he was a Republican, last week he told us he was a Democrat, but today he's an independent. Here, you can read his press release for yourself:

"RADIO REBEL" TELLS DEMOCRATS "THANKS, BUT NO THANKS"

Truitt says he'll run as Independent Candidate for Congress


The ink was barely dry on his first press release when John Truitt issued a statement reversing its message, saying he will run for US Representative from the 7 th Congressional District in Houston as an Independent, not a Democrat.

"The Democrats I talked to were very helpful and supportive," says Truitt; "but I'm really more of an Independent who's pretty disgusted with the leaders of both the major parties. My supporters are just plain fed up with politicians who put their party's interest ahead of what's good for the country. We believe i t's time to put our country first and stop all the partisan bickering in Congress, particularly while we're at war. If I'm lucky enough to get elected as an Independent, I'll work with all parties to find smart, sensible solutions to the real problems our country faces today."

The official web site of the Truitt for Congress Committee is www.truittfortruth.com. It outlines his "7 Ways We Can Do Better If We Pull Together " and includes links to his plan for "swift, successful completion of our mission in Iraq", his resume and articles on various issues.

Truitt acknowledges he has no real organization and very little political experience, or money to fund a campaign. The business consultant and award-winning author says he does get a lot of support from a listening audience that grew during his four years on the air as CNN's "Radio Rebel" talk show host. He says his basic campaign strategy relies upon a lot of footwork on his own, plus the help of loyal listeners, friends, like-minded contributors, campaign workers and volunteers he hopes to recruit along the way.

Good luck with that, buddy.

Solidarity for striking writers

Thanks, HuffPo:

... 30 Rock's Tina Fey and Jack McBrayer, SNL's Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers, plus Sex and the City's Kristin Davis, The Office's Rashida Jones, The Player's Tim Robbins, The Color Purple's Danny Glover and Michael Emerson, aka the Creepy Guy from Lost. rallied in support of the writers, Oh, and special guest star John Edwards! "This is all about fairness, it's about opportunity, it's about making sure those who create the work that generates revenue actually gets to share in that revenue," said Edwards.

Some Texas electoral postpourri

-- Tonight's Texas Progressive Alliance conference call guest was Dan Barrett, the lone Democrat in a field of seven challengers in Fort Worth's HD-97. He was also the leader in votes tallied, and his challenger, Mark Shelton, is coming under harsh (and legal) scrutiny from other Republicans in the district for his negative robo-calling at the end of the campaign.

-- Last week Charles Kuffner, Muse, and I had lunch with CD-07 Democratic challenger John F. Truitt, who is taking on entrenched incumbent John Cumbersome. Truitt had a radio program in Houston and was a Republican before coming to the light. He's got an idea about getting our soldiers out of Iraq:

Americans have the right to know if the people of Iraq want our troops in their country before investing more blood and treasure. Today our troops are held hostage by partisan bickering in Washington and the Iraqi government’s inability to act. Bush and the Republicans are stuck with “stay the course” and the Democrats can’t come up with a plan that doesn’t require the President to retreat and admit his failures. If the Iraqi leaders won’t get their act together, then we should go over their heads directly to the Iraqi people. Instead of demanding timetables for withdrawal which are automatically subject to a Presidential veto along with “surrender” and “cut and run” derisions, Congress should insert language that requires the Iraq government to hold the following referendum within the next three to six months as part of any Iraq spending bill.

This would be a very astute diplomatic move by the American government. By asking the people of Iraq to decide when foreign troops leave their country instead of American politicians, we don’t seem so arrogant. We can prove to the world our good intentions as well as our faith in Iraq’s democracy by asking for a referendum on the presence of coalition forces as soon as possible. The ballot should read precisely as follows:

“US & Coalition Forces would like to redeploy our troops outside of Iraq (nearby for aid in emergencies) over the next six months unless you want us to remain. Respecting the democratic rights of the Iraqi people, we ask: Do you invite US and Coalition Military Forces to stay in Iraq as guests of the Iraqi people for another year to maintain security and help rebuild your country? Yes ____ No ____”

If as expected the people of Iraq vote “no”, we can leave as promised, showing confidence in the democracy we created and leave behind, as well as respect for the wishes of the Iraqis. Realistically, if the people don’t want us in their country we cannot be effective. Remaining thereafter would only increase the resistance, tensions and violence, while sending more of our troops home in flag-draped coffins. By letting the Iraqi people decide if they’re ready to handle their own security or not, coalition forces can either leave or stay with honor.

-- Via eight feet deep and KFDM, attorney Larry Hunter will take on HD-19 Michelin Man look-alike Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton for the right to represent three counties in Southeast Texas in the statehouse.

I have more than a passing personal interest in this one, as Hunter is from my hometown and his firm handles a few estate matters for my family. He's got a solid resume' of getting elected in the district and has some ability to self-fund as well as raise money from a thick list of contacts. The district is considerably more purple than many in suburban and rural Texas, and Hamilton under-performed the other Republicans on the ballot in 2006. Those circumstances make HD-19 ripe to flip in '08. Update: Kuff has more about Hunter and Hamilton in a post which leads with the news that toll road lover and on again/off again Craddick ally Mike Krusee won't run for re-election in Williamson County's HD-52 . Diana Maldonado has already declared for the Democratics.

-- Finally, if you're interested in attending the 2008 Democratic national convention as a delegate, then you need to attend the workshop this Saturday in Houston to understand what's required of you to qualify.

lib•er•tar•ian

n. 1. a person who believes in the doctrine of the freedom of the will
2. a person who believes in full individual freedom of thought, expression and action
3. a freewheeling rebel who hates wiretaps, loves Ron Paul and is redirecting politics

Some thoughtful reading in between your Cyber Monday work blahs and online shopping:

How to make sense of the Ron Paul revolution? What's behind the improbably successful (so far) presidential campaign of a 72-year-old 10-term Republican congressman from Texas who pines for the gold standard while drawing praise from another relic from the hyperinflationary 1970s, punk-rocker Johnny Rotten?

Establishment conservatives have played the Nazi card on Paul. So if they despise him, I suppose he can't be all bad. Though he is pretty nutty:

A former Libertarian Party presidential candidate, he has at various times called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, the CIA and several Cabinet-level agencies. A staunch opponent of abortion, he nonetheless believes that federal bans violate the more basic principle of delegating powers to the states. A proponent of a border wall with Mexico (nativist CNN host Lou Dobbs fawned over Paul earlier this year), he is the only GOP candidate to come out against any form of national I.D. card.

A pro-war Democrat actually challenged Paul in his 2006 Congressional re-election bid; that's how weird Texas gets sometimes. Anyway, the neoconservatives hate him ...

Republican pollster Frank Luntz has denounced Paul's supporters as "the equivalent of crabgrass . . . not the grass you want, and it spreads faster than the real stuff." And conservative syndicated columnist Mona Charen said out loud what many campaign reporters have no doubt been thinking all along: "He might make a dandy new leader for the Branch Davidians."

When conservatives feel comfortable mocking the victims gunned down by Clinton-era attorney general Janet Reno's FBI in Waco, TX in 1993, it suggests that a complacent and increasingly authoritarian establishment feels threatened.

There's even been speculation that he will join forces with Dennis Kucinich on an independent label. Fantasy for some and nothing more, IMHO.

Ron Paul is going to be a source of nearly constant amusement to me, I believe.

Trent Lott cuts and runs

Mississippi's other senator was widely rumored to be the one stepping down, but the former Senate majority leader beat Thad Cochran out the door:

No reason for Lott's resignation was given, but according to a congressional official, there is nothing amiss with Lott's health. The senator has "other opportunities" he plans to pursue, the official said, without elaborating. Lott was re-elected to a fourth Senate term in 2006.

Lott's colleagues elected him as the Senate's Republican whip last year, a redemption for the Mississippian after his ouster five years ago as the party's Senate leader over remarks he made at retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party in 2002. Lott had saluted the South Carolina senator with comments later interpreted as support for southern segregationist policies.

Lott also publicly broke with Bush after that incident, saying in his book Herding Cats that the president's rebuke was "devastating... booming and nasty."

So now what happens?

Mississippi's Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, will appoint Lott's replacement, who will serve until the 2008 elections, when voters will elect someone to serve out the balance of Lott's term, which runs through 2012. Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi, a former Lott aide who recently announced his retirement from the House, is widely seen as a potential successor. Pickering could not immediately be reached for comment.

Daily Kos has speculated about Democratic possibilities, including AG Mike Moore, whose name was mentioned before Cochran declared his intentions to run for re-election. An open seat makes this another chance for Senate Democratics seeking the 60-seat majority that overcomes presidential and Republican obstruction.

There's a small downside: MS would be a less expensive pickup opportunity than Texas, and some DSCC money that might come Rick Noriega's way could be redirected. But that's political fodder for another day. Today is to celebrate the departure of one more of a bad Lott of Republicans from the US Senate.

Update: DHinMI observes that it's all about the greed.

The DMN and the Alliance's Weekly Wrangle

As muse observes, the liberal Texblogosphere is getting more and more mainstream attention, and the article in today's Dallas News focuses on our little Alliance, next summer's Netroots Nation convention in Austin (see ad at right), our little PAC, and where we're headed with all of that. Having noted our growing prominence we can segue into this week's TPA Blog Round Up, compiled as always by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Dealing with recalled toys that contain lead is putting a damper on charities' holiday toy drive efforts. Muse discovers some charities are not accepting toys or are throwing donations away.

Despite the Dallas Morning News article claiming the Texas Railroad Commission is stepping up Barnett Shale inspections, an injection well in North Texas remains seriously out of compliance. TXsharon has pictures, history and solutions at Bluedaze.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston compiles an obvious list of who won't be President in 2009: Any GOP candidate. The Republicans must have worked overtime to find this bunch of losers. White. Old. Dull.

McBlogger takes a brief look at the concerns of a Republican Bexar county commissioner who doesn't realize the Republican Party of Texas is already known as the Tolling Party of Texas.

North Texas Liberal reports on President Bush's loss of an ally in prime minister John Howard of Australia, whose Liberal Party lost handily to the Labor opposition in Saturday's elections.

The Texas Cloverleaf visited Capitol Annex for Thanksgiving with a guest blog about Turkey, Football, and JFK. Oh my!

Off the Kuff looks at mass transit versus highways for dealing with traffic congestion.

Vince at Capitol Annex reprises his holiday tradition begun last year by reprising his Laws of Thanksgiving--with a 2007 update.

In "Giving Thanks for the Corporations", PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has a few choice words from David Van Os, Jeff Cohen, and John Edwards.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson notices the conspicuous absence of Rep. Mike Krusee since a rumor surfaced that he may be retiring in Where's Krusee?

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme notes Lyndon Johnson was right, but demographics are having the last laugh.