Kay Bailey dithers on being with Dick next week

The woman just has not made a promise she can keep. Never made a commitment she hasn't waffled on.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said in Galveston today that she hasn’t yet determined whether she’ll be able to make a Tuesday appearance and fundraiser in Houston with former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The full Senate’s first major procedural vote on health-care legislation could come Tuesday.

Hutchison has made the fight against health care the main rationale behind her decision not to resign from the Senate before her March primary against Gov. Rick Perry. At the same time, the Cheney appearance is one of the most important events of her campaign.

“We’re working on it,” Hutchison said this morning in her first interview since her campaign announced she would not resign the Senate seat before the primary. “That’s going to be a tough situation. But again, I’ll make the judgment call.”

No you won't, Kay. Next Tuesday morning, you'll take your makeup out of the refridgerator, spackle your mug, hand your purse to one of the boys whose sole job is to carry it for you, adjust your wretched-looking coiffure, prance over to the Capitol, hope a TV reporter asks you for a comment, then hang out all day in your office waiting for something to happen, someone to call you. A purse boy will bring you a salad for lunch and you'll make a few phone calls to your lickspittles here -- just to be meddlesome and overbearing -- who are organizing the Dick event.

You'll get the post-event cash wrangle report by phone on your way home, have a martini and pass out at ten p.m. (Eastern time).

This is how you get Dick's help without having to pose for a picture with him. That, naturally, might help maintain the "Democratic cross-over vote" sham you hold as your last fading hope for defeating the worst governor in the history of the state of Texas.

Good luck with both the vote and the fund-raiser, you loser.

Gene Locke plays the hate card

I told you he wasn't a Democrat.

A cluster of socially conservative Houstonians is planning a campaign to discourage voters from choosing City Controller Annise Parker in the December mayoral runoff because she is a lesbian, according to multiple ministers and conservatives involved in the effort.

The group is motivated by concerns about a “gay takeover” of City Hall, given that two other candidates in the five remaining City Council races are also openly gay, as well as national interest driven by the possibility that Houston could become the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay woman.

Another primary concern is that Parker or other elected officials would seek to overturn a 2001 city charter amendment that prohibits the city from providing benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees.

"The bottom line is that we didn't pick the battle, she did, when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign,” said Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, numbering more than 200 senior pastors in the Greater Houston area. “National gay and lesbian activists see this as a historic opportunity. The reality is that's because they're promoting an agenda which we believe to be contrary to the concerns of the community and destructive to the family.”

So at this point you may be wondering, what does a good Democrat (sic) like Gene Locke have to do with this slime?

(Locke) strongly distanced himself from a previous anti-gay attack against her that ultimately proved to have been a hoax. But he has made recent efforts to court some of the staunch social conservatives who are either actively planning on attacking Parker's sexuality or strongly considering it.

He appeared at the Pastor Council's annual gala last Friday and was encouraged several times by State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, a featured speaker, to stand for conservative values.

Locke has also met with and sought the endorsement of Dr. Steven Hotze, a longtime local kingmaker in conservative politics and author of the Straight Slate in 1985, a coterie of eight City Council candidates he recruited who ran on an anti-gay platform. ...

Republican consultant Allen Blakemore, a longtime Hotze associate who spoke on his behalf, said he is considering mailing out a slate of endorsed runoff candidates, and Parker's sexuality is a “key factor” in his decision.

Ah, the exquisite stench emanating from Harris County's freak right: Stephen Hotze, Dan Patrick, Allen Blakemore. And all of their minions. Did I forget to mention Paul Bettencourt? Although he thinks Locke isn't coming out forcefully enough against gay rights.

Former Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Paul Bettencourt, another Republican close to Hotze, said that if Locke wishes to unite a strong African-American base with social conservatives, they will need his assurance that he will not seek to overturn the charter amendment.

Responding to the same debate question as Parker last month, Locke said same-sex benefits allow governments and businesses “a competitive advantage” and said he “would favor that,” although it would not be the first thing on his plate.

“That's not going to motivate us to come out and vote for somebody,” Bettencourt said of social conservatives. “You cannot get the positive good conservative turnout if you're trying to undo charter amendments. It's a line drawn in the sand. You just can't have it both ways.”

Kuffner and Muse have more to say about this development. Locke's campaign is also doing something funny with Democratic precinct chairs' e-mail addresses, which is a far cry from gay-baiting the electorate but in keeping with a organization so desperate to win that they will do whatever it takes -- lie, cheat, steal, misinform, obfuscate, smear, and fear-monger.

Epic fail.

Crazy talk good for ten points in the past month

Secession, "Willingham was a monster", Washington DC is a disaster, we have a senator who is AWOL, Ill Eagles, blah blah blah.

And he's added ten points to his polling in the past thirty days among GOP primary voters.


Who is it that's drinking Kool-Aid?

Schechter announces for Harris County Clerk

From her press release ...

Sue Smith Schechter today officially announced her plans to run as a candidate for the position of Harris County Clerk in the Democratic Primary in 2010.

...

Schechter, an attorney, has been involved in politics for more than 20 years. She has served in the Texas House of Representatives representing District 134 (1991-1995), managed multiple campaigns for Democratic candidates running for various positions and also has served as Harris County Democratic Party Chair (1998-2003). Schechter is also an active participant in the non-profit community, taking leadership roles on various board and organization initiatives.

...

Among Schechter’s supporters are Congressman Al Green, State Representatives Alma Allen, Ellen Cohen, Garnet Coleman, Harold Dutton, Kristi Thibaut and Sylvester Turner; former State Representatives Rick Noriega and Sissy Farenthold, former Texas Democratic Party Chair Molly Beth Malcolm, former Harris County Democratic Party Chair David Mincberg, HISD Trustee Carol Mims Galloway, Houston City Councilmember Ronald C. Green and former Councilmembers Ada Edwards and Gordon Quan, Rev. William Lawson, Ambassador Arthur Schechter, Roland Garcia, Bobby Singh, Gerald Womack and many more.

As Kuffner notes, Sue Lovell, recently believed to be the leading Democratic contender for the job, is hamstrung in a December run-off for her city council seat and can no longer be considered the favorite after all the heavy hitters that have now lined up for Schechter. It's also not good news for another Chosen One with no name recognition he hasn't "earned" on his own.

Kay Bailey now says she'll sit tight until after primary

From Quorum Report this afternoon, Kay Bailey has announced she will not resign from the Senate until after the March 2010 primary.

In a written statement, KBH said: "These issues are too important to leave the fight to a newly appointed freshman senator“A newly appointed senator would be selected in the midst of a political storm. And will need on-the-job training in the midst of a crisis.”

“I know that keeping my Senate responsibilities while running for governor may not be the best thing for my campaign,” Hutchison said. “Some have told me that for the sake of political expedience I should quit the Senate now to focus on winning the primary. To them I say, perhaps it's time we elect a governor who puts a little less priority on what is politically expedient.”

Governor Perry's campaign responded, "We appreciate that Senator Hutchison has taken the governor's advice and finally decided to make a decision to stay in Washington. Hopefully this will allow her to be a full-time senator for the people of Texas."

Exactly one month ago, when she was asked if she intended to stay through the primary, she said: ""Well, a lot of people are suggesting that. That’s not what I want to do. That’s not what I intend to do but... right now I want to just see what comes next. ..."

RG Ratcliffe excerpts remarks she plans to give in Galveston tomorrow:

I am more determined than ever to become the 48th Governor of the great state of Texas. But at the same time I must put what's best for my campaign aside and do what is best for our state. That is why I must stay in the Senate while running for the Republican nomination for Governor.

Assuming the senator means what she says this time, all the players lined up behind her are now frozen in place. That should also squelch the rumors of people switching races ...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's announcement that she will retain her Senate seat through next March's GOP primary led to renewed speculation that Houston Mayor Bill White would drop his own Senate bid to jump into the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

But White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said that will not happen.

"A resignation in March would still mean a May special election, and Bill is running for the United States Senate," Bacon said.

Update: More from the TexTrib...

"She will resign the Senate when the cap-and-trade and health care debates are over," said spokesman Joe Pounder. He said she will resign at that point even if she loses the primary for governor. Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate have said they think the debate on health care will come in January.

The filing deadline for next year's elections is January 4. Waiting until after that date effectively forces everyone else on the ballot to run as if the dominoes won't fall.

Rasmussen confirms Tribune's GOP polling: Perry leads 46-35

Evan Smith would have to be feeling quite a bit better after seeing this:

Rasmussen Reports this morning is reporting a new poll showing Gov. Rick Perry leading U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison 46 percent to 35 percent in the Texas GOP primary for governor. Activist Debra Medina had 4 percent support.

Perry led Hutchison by 10 percentage points in a July Rasmussen survey, but he held only a 40 percent to 38 percent lead in September shortly after Hutchison's formal announcement for governor.

You may recall that the Texas Tribune released a similar result on Election Day that many people questioned, including myself. More from RG Ratcliffe ...

One of the more interesting factoids in the poll is that by a margin of 60 percent to 26 percent, primary voters believe Hutchison should stay in the Senate while she challenges Perry.

Despite having an important vote next week scheduled the same day as her big endorsement event with Deadeye Dick here next week, I believe sitting tight in the Senate would be the course of action a self-indulgent self-preservationist such as Kay Bailey would prudently take. After a caveat about interpreting polls results, more again from Ratcliffe ...

Hutchison's campaign has not fully engaged Perry so far. While she has been campaigning in Texas, she has only fitfully done things to get free coverage from the state's news media. Instead, she has concentrated on appearing on cable television shows that reinforces the idea that she is a Washington insider.

Is that a failing reflected by his lead, or did she demonstrate in September that when she does engage and gets state media attention that she can quickly close the gap? If the latter is the case, then the strategy of putting the race off until the final two months makes some sense.

Also, all three polls have had Perry at 46 percent support or less. Is that his ceiling? Most of the time, an incumbent with re-elect numbers below 50 percent is viewed as vulnerable.

Spot on with all of that. Here we are mid-November and still no indication from KBH when she will "come home" and begin working on earning her 'promotion', and her gubernatorial prospects continue to head south . I believe she's got until Christmas to get it turned around or give it up.

Whatever she decides, Perry remains in control of his destiny. And comments like these in Midland may even be helping him with the freak-right base who votes in Republican primaries here.

Sweet Lou preps a run for Prez

My wife laughs every time I call him that; he has set off my gaydar for years. I think he's just a bitter old queen. Anyway, he fancies himself as a Ross Perot or Pat Buchanan ...

According to these sources, Dobbs has increasingly been feeling the pressure from CNN head Jonathan Klein. The longtime CNN anchor has increasingly become a controversial flashpoint for the network, as he argues against illegal immigration and for the idea that Barack Obama might not be a legitimate citizen of the United States. His increasingly angry conservative/independent leanings stand out in stark contrast to the cable news network's more centrist approach.

As tension between Dobbs and Klein has increased over the past few months, Dobbs reportedly began seriously considering a run for political office in either 2010 or 2012. He had been rumored last year to have been considering a run for governor of New Jersey (where he is a resident). But according to sources, that was never a serious consideration.

But Dobbs apparently now feels that a run for president -- perhaps as an independent -- is a real possibility. And associates expect that in the upcoming weeks Dobbs will making a number of speeches in front of friendly crowds, in an effort to judge the public's reaction to his political ambitions. "It's not that he sees himself as a politician," says one associate. "But he honestly believes that this is his time, that he has something constructive to contribute to the political discourse."

When Dobbs annouced his departure on Wednesday's show, he told viewers that "Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving."

One source I spoke with moments ago noted that while Dobbs might not be publicly committing himself to a political career, he is certainly giving it strong consideration. "He sees himself as having the same effect as a Pat Buchanan or a Ross Perot," said the source. "He sees himself as a populist and this is the time when America needs a rabble rouser from outside the normal political circles."

America needs another rabble rouser like America needs another war.

So Long, Lou

Don't let the door hitcha where the Good Lord splitcha.

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said.

A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.

Just watched his cut-and-run declaration on his program. He's no doubt headed to FOX.

Well known for his political positions, Mr. Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable news arena. The CNN employees said Wednesday that they did not know if Mr. Dobbs was moving to another network.

Mr. Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, in September. At the time Mr. Dobbs was viewed as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox spokesperson said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”

His increasingly shrill, bitter, angry, paranoid ramblings will fit right in, probably in some time slot around the Beck/O'Reilly/Hannity bloc.

Mr. Dobbs has been with CNN since its founding, save for a two-year stint at a Web site called Space.com. He has evolved over the years from a straight-laced business anchor to an outspoken commentator who rails against illegal immigration and taxpayer bailouts, among other subjects.

Lately, though, he has saved most of his opinions for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, his bosses were forced to call it a “dead issue.”

More recently, Mr. Dobbs’ views on immigration provoked a protest by Hispanic groups. Members of the groups complained that CNN was allowing Mr. Dobbs “to spread lies and misinformation about us each night.”

Last month the New Jersey State Police were called to Mr. Dobbs home to investigate a report of gunfire. Mr. Dobbs suggested that his family had been singled out because of his views on illegal immigration and border security.

His departure leaves CNN, trying desperately to straddle the political fence, steadily losing audience with no viable replacement in sight.

Update: It's John King.

CNN announced Thursday that John King, the Sunday morning host best known for his magic wall, is taking over the 7 p.m. slot left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Lou Dobbs.

The decision, described by network sources, amounts to a doubling down on straight news. King, a former Associated Press writer, is known for his reporting and neutral approach to politics, while Dobbs has grown increasingly opinionated in recent years, especially on such issues as his opposition to illegal immigration.

Vets Day toons

A sadder Veterans' Day today

The slain soldiers at Fort Hood add a greater degree of self-reflection on the sacrifice our veterans make today.



An Army major trained in psychiatry -- a counselor to wounded veterans returning from battle -- who didn't want to deploy to the battle zone instead turned his weapons on his fellow soldiers.



The tragedy won't ever make any sense, and particularly so if it gets attributed merely to religious motivation or racial profiling or military superiors missing the clues.



As a nation, we must do better at taking care of our soldiers.

With the marking this week of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it might be wise to note that event occurred without shots being fired between combatants. Would that we see future conflicts evolve from bullets and bombs to the will of peaceful people declaring the end themselves.

A brief history of how we came to celebrate this day:

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

And the commemoration taking place this morning in Washington:

A patriotic ceremony honoring America’s military members and Veterans is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. in Arlington National Cemetery. A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknowns, followed by a ceremony in the Memorial Amphitheater, adjacent to the Tomb. The event will commence with a prelude concert by the United States Air Force Concert Band & Singing Sergeants at 10:30 a.m., inside the amphitheater.

And locally:

The 11th Annual Houston Salutes American Heroes Veterans Day Commemoration and Parade will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in downtown Houston. The Houston VA National Cemetery, in conjunction with the City of Houston, is proud to continue the tradition of honoring the brave men and women who have risked their lives for our great nation. This year’s theme is “Answering the Call to Defend Freedom.”

A Commemoration Ceremony will take place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Hermann Square in front of City Hall, downtown Houston, 901 Bagby Street. A Parade of Heroes will follow at 11:45 a.m. and begin at Smith and Texas, proceed down Smith to Lamar, right on Lamar and conclude at Bagby Street.

This year, the ceremony keynote speaker is U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Five Candis Martin. Chief Martin is an Iraq War veteran, having served in theater from August 2005 to July 2006, where she was appointed as the Theatre Property Book Officer, and was accountable for the largest property book in the history of the Army. Today, she is assigned as the Quartermaster Proponent Warrant Officer in the Office of the Quartermaster General, at Fort Lee, Virginia. Chief Martin has been awarded the Bronze Star Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. She is married to Sergeant Major (Retired) Edmund Martin and they have four children. Their son, Tom, a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, was killed in Iraq in October 2007.

Here's a listing of other Veterans' Day events around Texas today.

Say thanks to a veteran today, for their service and their sacrifice.

A conservative in Maine gives thanks

He may be a Democrat, he may be a Republican, but he is certainly a conservative.

Responses from Evan Smith and Miya Shay

I posted about the Texas Tribune's wacky poll last week, and had a conversation with Tribune CEO Evan Smith yesterday afternoon prompted by it.

First, a correction: Farouk Shami was not included in their list of Democratic gubernatorial candidates, as I wrote. The candidates they DID poll included Kinky Friedman, Tom Schieffer, Felix Alvarado, Mark Thompson (who withdrew from the race and endorsed Hank Gilbert as the poll was concluding) and Ronnie Earle, who has still not declared for it.

Smith indicated to me that he retains confidence in the polling outfit, in fact that they will do additional polling for the Tribune in 2010. He also trusts the methodology of polling via internet, as compared for example to polling via telephone. He was quick to say that he did not trust it more, just that it was worthy of his trust. Here is an excerpt containing the Trib's explanation:

There is a lot of interest in our use of the internet for polling. There is a deep discussion of our method in the attached methodology section, and similar discussions for all the polls in the polling section at the Texas Politics website. For those who want to dig still deeper into the underlying statistical methods, the founder of the polling firm we use, Doug Rivers, has been a central figure in developing the matched random sampling methods for use over the internet, and weighed in on some of the issues being discussed in this post at Pollster.com in September. If you’re interested, you can trace the discussion backward and forward from this post, and get a detailed explanation of why the matched random sampling method is different from opt-in polls.

Smith also said, without my having to ask, that leaving Gilbert off the poll was "a f***up". He's certainly right about that.

And he is still confident in the poll's results, despite having instructed the pollsters to go back and re-poll the 266 respondents who indicated they would 'definitely' or 'probably' be voting in the Democratic primary to ask them if they would vote for Gilbert.

I am not. There is no alternate reality in which Mark Thompson could have gotten ten times the number of supporters than Gilbert did. At best, the poll's result had been compromised by the omission-and-then-late-addition of Gilbert's name. As well, including Farouk Shami as a polling option would have been as reasonable as including Ronnie Earle. With all of those errors and omissions, and especially since Thompson has now withdrawn (he was reported to be considering it even as the poll was concluding), I find the Democratic portion of the Texas Tribune's poll to be simply invalid.

My last question for Smith was relative to Rick Perry's twelve-point lead over Kay Bailey, and I offered a premise (which Smith did not necessarily agree with): could his poll's higher numbers for the governor possibly reflect a coalescing of the conservative base specifically in reaction to October's news surrounding the Todd Willingham case? Smith would not grant that but did note that Perry is very probably stronger with the prototypical GOP primary voter. I agree with that much.

The Trib won't conduct another poll until after the first of the year, according to Smith, so my humble O is that we will have to look elsewhere for some indications about how the governor's race is shaping up.

And Miya Shay posted the following to me at my Facebook wall in response to this post:

Hey Perry, I read your blog about my blog..Thanks for commenting! I just wanted you to know that i wasn't impressed or complimenting Kaufman. If you read the blog, I was simply stating a fact that her tactic may be effective. It doesn't mean I support it or oppose it.. I am just being realistic. thanks

Sorry, Miya. That won't wash.

Not too long ago (perhaps before you were born, I don't know) the media's role was that of watchdog for the public against the powerful. The media won Pulitzers for that work when they did it relentlessly and well. When elected officials breach their public trust and attempt to corrupt the process -- in fact the free choice -- of the voters then it is, or used to be, the media's job to call them out about it. Not simply observe it, and certainly not to marvel at it.

Maybe some other member of the local media will choose that role, since you appear unwilling to take it on.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a happy Election Day last week, and is already looking forward to the next one. Here are this week's highlights.

TXsharon continues to report from a backyard in the Barnett Shale. Despite all the local and national press on drilling related toxins, carcinogens and neurotoxins in our air, Aruba Petroleum Refuses a Simple Step to Improve Barnett Shale Air and thereby recklessly and willfully endangers public health and safety. Read it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

refinish69 announces his endorsement for the Democratic nominee for Texas governor at Doing My Part For The Left. The progressive choice has to be Hank Gilbert with his policy issues and especially his strong stance on GLBT issues. Hank Gilbert for Texas Governor was the only choice refinish69 could make.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog has a thorough take on the results of election day in Houston.

The Texas Cloverleaf provides an election night roundup of some of D-FW's races you never heard of, and some national ones you have.

If you dislike Rep. Dennis Kucinich as much as Mayor McSleaze, there's probably something right with you.

quizas of South Texas Chisme notes that Galveston medical facilities are among those not notifying about rules for the poor, while CouldBeTrue notes South Texas Democrats join Republicans in shafting poor women. Shame on them.

BossKitty at TruthHugger Let me "dis" the local Austin TV news media who gets around to breaking the health care reform bill news TWO and a half hours later. Hooray for the House, but Austin just lives in a bubble.

Over at BlueBloggin, nytexan takes a long look at another disgusting practice of our medical insurance industry: We Have One Twisted Health System, Living Organ Donors Beware. The organ donor's family is never charged for donating. The family is charged for the cost of all final efforts to save your life, and those costs are sometimes misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation. Surprise for organ donors: unexpected medical bills. An Austin man who gave a kidney to co-worker is one of many who have faced health complications and billing problems.

Bay Area Houston says Hispanics, the largest voting block in Texas, are not voting.

WhosPlayin learned of an illegal meeting of Lewisville ISD trustees this past Thursday and Friday, and has video of trustees mentioning this blogger when discussing whether to implement video recording of trustee meetings.

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at an interesting story about Judge Sharon Keller that was eclipsed by the tragedy at Fort Hood.

Off the Kuff has six questions for the runoffs in Houston.

Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman toes the ethical line with her active promotion of an assistant for her job, and the local media thinks that's just fine. Get the details in PDiddie's Brains and Eggs.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw has news for John Cornyn and Pete Sessions about the Republican Resurgence. As she notes:

I wouldn't gloat too much, boys. Your job in Washington just got a lot harder. Meanwhile back here at home -- in case you boys forgot that Houston is the largest city in Texas -- three progressive Democrats and one Republican ran for mayor. The Republican dude and the old white guy with boatloads of bucks lost. The run-off race is between a gay woman and an African American male.

See the rest here: I have news for John Cornyn and Pete Sessions

WCNews at Eye On Williamson reports on the local toll authority's latest shenanigans: CTRMA to jack up tolls on 183-A, add automatic annual increases.

Neil at Texas Liberal bought Thanksgiving cards drawn by a young person with cancer who is being treated at Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The design Neil bought is both bleak and hopeful.

There was much rejoicing this week at Texas Vox and among the environmental community at large when it was announced that Dr. Al Armendariz was named new Region 6 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. A Texas EPA administrator that "embodies the "Principles for Environmental Leadership and Real Change"? You better believe it.

FOX News election night coverage

Sunday Funnies

Kaufman's apprentice gets boost for Clerk

I speculated previously about two people working for Beverly Kaufman who might be line up to run for her position in 2010 but Miya Shay found the true teacher's pet:

When (Kaufman) announced her retirement, I assumed there would be a jockeying of candidates from both Democrats and Republicans. On the Dem side, several names have been bantered about, including Sue Schechter. On the Republican side, while there have been talk of several semi-notables, the main guy is shaping up to be Kevin Mauzy. Who is he? Mauzy has been Kaufman's chief deputy for years, and Kaufman quickly endorsed him as HER choice.

As previously blogged, I spent many late election evenings in the Harris County Clerk's ballot cave over the past couple of years, and not only did I never meet Mauzy, I never even heard of him before this. But let's allow Miya to continue ...

Yesterday, while covering Prof. Barton Smith's bi-annual chat about the Houston economy, I ran into Kaufman and Mauzy at the luncheon.

"Are you trying to get Mauzy in front of the TV cameras so he'll have an advantage?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious what I'm trying to do?" Kaufman answered with a big grin. "It's called earned media, it's very important."

We chatted a bit more about Kaufman's plan. Basically, during the run-up to the November election, she tried to hand over every on camera media request to Mauzy. she (sic) plans to continue doing that as we get closer to the December run-off. The idea is to give Mauzy free TV exposure, and valuable name ID. In addition, since most of the questions asked by the media are mundane, uncontroversial clerk stuff, it's easy to sound like you know what's going on.

Basically, Kaufman's trying to give Mauzy the "air of incumbency" without being an incumbent or an elected official. This is not illegal, and it just might work. Think about every media outlet that will need an interview or a quote about voter turnout or polling hours between now and next March. If Mauzy's the one giving the information, then that's an advantage his opponents can't buy. It will help stave off Republican contenders, and force Democratic challengers into an even more uphill battle.

Let's pause for a moment here.

The Harris County Clerk, the person responsible for administering elections in the nation's third most populous county, is -- once again -- using her office to influence voter opinion to her choice, this time for the person who would succeed her. And Shay, a hard-working member of the ABC affiliate in Houston covering the political beat, is favorably impressed by this?

If you wanted an example of political corruption enabled by a compliant corporate media, you would be hard-pressed to find a better one.

Read the comments and you'll note that a GOP precinct chair isn't too fond of the idea, either. Then again Mr. Large has been in the news over his, ah, issues with other Republican candidates also.

Bachmann Teabagger Overdrive

Brad Friedman (he coined the header used here) and Richard Blair link to the photo at yesterday's latest protest against health care, where this poster appeared ...



The red lettering in the photo reads: "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany – 1945". Pasted over a stack of concentration camp corpses.

House Republican leadership in attendance at the rally where this poster was displayed, near the front and center of the stage, included John Boehner -- who mistook the Declaration of Independence for the Constitution -- and Eric Cantor, who also happens to be Jewish.

How much is too much?

That wacky Texas Tribune poll

The one with Rick Perry ahead of Kay Bailey 42-30? Not just obviously flawed, not simply bogus, but a whiff of deception on the part of the Texas political sphere's shiny new model.

First of all, Polling Point simply doesn't have the chops to to perform this research. They are a sign-up-and-vote-online outfit. Even Zogby has more credibility. If the Tribbers were going to spend tens of thousands of their dollars on a poll, they should have picked one with a better methodology, or at least a more visible reputation.

Secondly, while PP had Ronnie Earle and Farouk Shami as Democratic choices for governor -- officially neither one is in the race, until Tuesday that is for Shami -- Hank Gilbert was not, at least for most of the "polling period". That's just incompetent. Gilbert has had ten times the online and offline visibility of both Earle and Shami combined. Gilbert has been on a statewide ballot before, in fact was the state's second-highest Democratic vote collector in 2006.

Someone at the Tribune must have known all this, and just flat-out blew it. Or God forbid, something worse.

Third, Wayne Slater and Glenn Smith and even Paul Burka have all questioned the poll's veracity. Burka's slow, but when even he gets it...

Fourth, Evan Smith is purportedly aggressively defensive about the poll. Protests and methinking and all that.

So with that many black marks against it, why run with it (besides the obvious, which is that they spent thousands of dollars on it)?

It's a shame the Texas Tribune opened with such a stinkbomb. They need to hold themselves to a higher standard than this going forward. If it's accurate that some of those folks writing over there are pulling down 90K, they suddenly have a lot farther distance to go to earn it.

RG Ratcliffe excerpts Kay Bailey's response. This is probably the last time I will ever agree with her.

Ed. note: The Texas Tribune poll did not include Shami as a candidate. I regret the error.

Two outta three ain't bad for the Right

But they still lost a seat in Congress they had held for over a hundred years:

President Barack Obama's decision in June to appoint a Republican congressman to a Pentagon post has paid dividends in November now that Democrats have gained the House seat by capitalizing on a split between moderates and conservatives in the GOP.

Lawyer and retired Air Force Capt. Bill Owens won the special election Tuesday in northern New York in which the Republican candidate withdrew over the weekend under pressure from the party's right wing and GOP heavyweights endorsed the Conservative Party nominee.

The teabaggers stepped up to the pump and promptly spilled gasoline all over the shoes.

With 92 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, Owens defeated businessman Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, 49 percent to 45 percent, after a boost from unified labor efforts in the last days of the campaign.

The GOP had represented the region for more than a century. Republican John McHugh vacated the seat to become Army secretary.

Owens thanked one-time opponent Dierdre Scozzafava, a moderate Republican who exited the race Saturday after Republicans criticized her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage and Hoffman surged past her in the polls. Scozzafava, an assemblywoman in the state legislature, picked up 6 percent of the vote herself.

The race received national attention, with some calling it a referendum on Obama and others saying it could help Republicans focus their message to attract more people to the party.

Owens defeated Hoffman despite a voter registration edge of 45,000 for Republicans and big-name endorsements for Hoffman from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson and others.

Creigh Deeds and Jon Corzine were damaged goods. Deeds was woefully incompetent, losing to McDonnell a second time (the VA attorney general race in 2005 was the first) and Corzine, who was also in the US Senate before the governor's office, had worn out his welcome with New Jerseyites. He had job approval ratings in the 30s. Both men should have lost.

But NY-23 was where the GOP Palintologists wanted to stake their claim, and they choked. That won't be what you hear on teevee today, though. You'll hear a whole lot of "referendum on Obama" bullshit.

Damned liberal media.

Three point two million down the drain

All that money and he barely outdrew Roy Morales.

The unpredictable and unorthodox race for Houston mayor narrowed Tuesday to a choice between a veteran City Hall insider trying to become Houston's first openly gay leader and a former civil rights activist hoping to become only the second African-American to run the nation's fourth-largest city.

City Controller Annise Parker and former City Attorney Gene Locke, the two candidates originally predicted by many to prevail at the race's outset, face each other in a Dec. 12 runoff.

Roy. Freaking. Morales.

(T)he big surprise of the night was the strong showing by Roy Morales, the race's only conservative. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who ran with virtually no money and no endorsements compared to his opponents, placed only a few percentage points behind City Councilman Peter Brown, who poured more than $3.2 million of his family fortune into his candidacy.

All of the teevee ads, all of the forests of dead trees who sacrificed their lives for his direct mail pieces, and all of Marc Campos' bleating about it came to naught.

The old axiom about choosing between a real Republican and a pretend one is only partly true in this case -- more people still chose Brown, but barely. Both his and Morales' endorsement will be sought (read: pandered to) over the next five weeks. Let's watch how hard Gene Locke runs to the right in the run-off. Will Beverly Kaufman endorse him a second time?

Meanwhile in the city council races, a pretend Democrat -- Stephen Costello -- did get into a run-off with a real one -- Karen Derr. A couple of incumbents, Sue Lovell and Jo Jones, will have to fight to keep their jobs next month. CO Bradford resurrects his political career after losing the very close Harris County DA race in 2008 with an outright win in Peter Brown's vacated council seat. And the controller's contest heads to a runoff with Ronald Green and MJ Khan barely eliminating Pam Holm.

Two Progressive Coalition candidates, Deb Shafto and Don Cook, managed double-digit vote percentages but missed the run-off.

More fun still to come, and if you want more excruciating detail, Kuffner and Muse and Wythe are where you want to be.

Ten things to watch tonight in the returns

My poll duty completed, I'll excerpt and link this from Richard Dunham in the Chron's DC bureau regarding election results this evening. (It leans a little too much to the right, but -- as we always do in Houston, a blue city inside a purple county in the middle of a red state -- we'll roll with it.) Let's start with #5, #6, and #7, since they are locally relevant ...

5. Breakthroughs for gays and lesbians?
Gay and lesbian groups are looking closely at elections in Houston and Maine. In Houston, City Controller Annise Parker is trying to win a spot in a mayoral runoff. If elected, she would become the first out-of-the-closet lesbian to run a major American city. In Maine, voters will decide whether to overturn the legislature's endorsement of same-sex marriage. Note: Gay marriage has been defeated in every single statewide election thus far. Will today be any different?

I predict 'yes, today will'.

6. Will Houston elect a City Council member as its mayor?

It's been 41 years since a former councilman was elected mayor. Remember Jim McConn? So while Peter Brown leads in the polls and has deep pockets, history is not on his side.

7. What will happen to the supporters of Houston's third- and fourth-place finishers?

Only two candidates in Houston's race to replace outgoing Mayor Bill White can make a runoff, and the losers' supporters could play a pivotal role in the runoff. Roy Morales is the only conservative Republican in the race and, if he loses today, his supporters could be decisive in a close race. Likewise, Gene Locke or Peter Brown's African- American backers or Annise Parker's community activists could tip the balance.

My prediction, like Muse's, is Parker and Brown in a run-off, with the Locke and Morales endorsements as high up in the air as tonight's finish.

1. Can the GOP “sweep” the Big Three races of the day?

Those are the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races and the special U.S. House election in upstate New York. Virginia's a gimme. State Attorney General Bob McDonnell is headed toward a landslide win — despite Obama's fairly high approval ratings in the Old Dominion. New Jersey is a toss-up. And the Republican has actually dropped out of New York's 23rd District race (and endorsed the Democrat). GOP hopes are pinned to the candidacy of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman. If conservatives are charged up and beat the Dems in all three of these races, you can't help but call it a very bad day for Obama.

Two out of three -- Virginia and New York, but not New Jersey -- will still be interpreted as 'not bad' for the Repubes.

Rest here.

Election Day Wrangle

The day before, anyway. The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you to -- wherever in Texas (or elsewhere) you happen to be -- get out and vote tomorrow. Here are this week's highlights.

Aruba Petroleum is drilling a Barnett Shale gas well in the backyard of Tim and Christine. Their property was taken, its value diminished, they were threatened and now Aruba Petroleum spilled toxic drilling waste a few feet from where their daughter plays. Another tale (with video) about the victims of the Shale on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Justin at Asian-American Action Fund Blog has a roundup of the Houston city elections and proposed Texas constitutional amendments.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the high cost of low turnout elections by examining Denton County. $25 a vote, anyone?

This week at McBlogger, we took a look at Hank Gilbert's plan to Get Texas Moving Again.

Big news from San Antonio, where with just days before City Council was to vote to move forward with the South Texas Nuclear Project expansion, officials suddenly announced that the cost estimate for the project had ballooned by up to $4 billion! Find out more from Citizen Sarah over at Texas Vox.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Texas' GOP leadership that thinks our state's economy is just fine: Dunnam hammers Perry, Dewhurst -- GOP needs to face rality on economy in Texas. They'll be singing a different tune when they're out of work in 2011.

TEXPAC, the Texas Medical Association's political action committee, hosted a forum where all six declared US Senate candidates -- John Sharp, Bill White, Elizabeth Ames Jones, Florence Shapiro, Michael Williams, and Roger Williams -- made an appearance. See the videos posted by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston wonders: What does it take for a Republican to resign?

Off the Kuff takes a look at how Houston's mayoral candidates are spending their money.

At WhosPlayin, Trace makes his case for why we need to talk to Iran.

Mean Rachel wonders why Texas Democratic statewide candidates have electile dysfunction.

At TexasKaos, liberaltexan brings us up to date on Republican efforts to "fight liberalism" on the A&M campus, and it ain't pretty. Check it out : Young, Conservative, and Intolerant.

At WhosPlayin, Trace makes his case for why we need to talk to Iran.

Mean Rachel wonders why Texas Democratic statewide candidates have Electile Dysfunction.

At TexasKaos, liberaltexan brings us up to date on Republican efforts to "fight liberalism" on the A&M campus, and it ain't pretty. Check it out : Young, Conservative, and Intolerant.

This week Teddy at Left of College Station writes about the young, conservative, and intolerant Texas A&M Chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas and about the lies and misinformation that the Coalition for Life gives to women in front of Planned Parenthood. Check out the videos posted from President Obama's visit to Texas A&M including an interview with a Texas A&M student, a rant from a member of the Texas Minuteman, and highlights from the anti-Obama protest.

Sunday Funnies

Some good news for newspapers

Via Socratic Gadfly, there remain some optimists among industry observers.

Each time another report surfaces about the decline of newspapers, I feel like a death-row inmate counting the warden's footsteps.

The latest echo of doom arrived a few days ago: U.S. newspaper circulation dropped 10 percent from April through September, compared with the same period last year. The largest decrease recorded thus far, the decline was attributed to the usual -- advertising and readership lost to the Web. Industrywide, ad revenue, which constitutes newspapers' main source of income, is on track to drop $20 billion by 2010. Even so, most newspapers remain profitable, and circulation is astoundingly good, all things considered.

That's the delightful view of Alex Jones -- fourth-generation member of a newspaper-owning family, Pulitzer Prize-winning media critic and now author of "Losing the News." In his book, Jones, who also heads Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, manages to combine a dispassionate look at the news business with a page-turning story of traditional journalism's highs and lows.

A first-chapter excerpt is here and a lengthier Google Book preview is here. In my read it has a little more fear-mongering and a little less causality: corporate ownership -- specifically 30 per cent profit margins.

His nightmare scenario is that current trends eventually could produce "a yawning disparity in accurate knowledge just as there is in wealth," he writes in the book. "We could be heading for a well-informed class at the top and a broad populace awash in opinion, spin, and propaganda."

Traditional news organizations, especially newspapers, provide what Jones calls the "iron core" of information. Some new media, including Web sites and nonprofits, produce some news and investigative journalism, but traditional media outlets produce the bulk. The reason is that journalism is expensive. Thus far, only traditional media have the money and institutional wherewithal to withstand boycotts or to fight First Amendment battles. Unknown is how some of the newer journalism entities will respond when, inevitably, they are challenged.

Jones doesn't shy away from charges that the media are biased, but he insists that "the media" are not monolithic. Reporters and editors are human and make mistakes, but they also are bound by standards. Accountability matters. Jones, meanwhile, stakes great faith in Americans' ability to distinguish between entertainment centered on public issues and traditional journalism.

He predicts that newspapers will develop new business models and survive. And though every news organization will have alternate methods of delivery, including the Web, each entity should remain true to its "authentic self."

Web culture -- fast, irreverent, crude and subjective -- is one kind of creature. Traditional media are different and should stick to what they historically have done best. Crucial to survival will be a renewed commitment to community, to corporate citizenship and social responsibility, and above all, to quality.

Anyway, having subscribed to a dead-tree version of the Houston Chronicle this past week after several years away, I think I will pay to read all of Alex Jones' book. Hopefully some newspaper managers do the same.

The White (Haunted) House

Two thousand children rang the bell at 1600 Pennsylvania last night:

Dressed as superheroes, pirates, fairies and skeletons, the kids came in with their parents from Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., and lined up on the orange-lit White House driveway. ...

Mrs. Obama wore furry cat ears and a leopard-patterned top. Obama said the kids looked adorable, as well as his wife, "a very nice looking Catwoman."

This just cracks me up. We saw trick-or-treaters of all ages all over West U last night, on the way home from our sushi feast in the Village.

By early afternoon, a big, stuffed, black spider was dangling in a web of string from the top of the portico, and pumpkins had sprouted up around the columns. The White House will be lit orange for the occasion, and three giants pumpkins — about 1,000 pounds each — will be on the grounds.

The loot is just part of the treat for the kids, ages 6 to 14. Roaming the North Lawn were fairies, bubble makers, wandering trees, Star Wars characters, theater actors and artists and a “skeleton band.”

Here are more pictures.

Trick or Treat

Fox "News": Opinio-tainment

Continuing the theme of the previous post, Jon Stewart surgically eviscerates Fox Not-the-News:



More here (if you really think you need it).

Nothing to eat here

Dick and Kay

This ought to really sway that all-important Democratic cross-over vote.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a longtime acquaintance and supporter of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, will be in Houston on Nov. 17 to formally endorse her in the race for governor against fellow Republican Gov. Rick Perry. ...

... Cheney knew Hutchison and her husband, Ray, while he lived in Dallas as the chief executive officer of the oil-field service company Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, and when he became George W. Bush's vice presidential running mate.

“I am so pleased,” Hutchison said Wednesday. “I respect the former vice president so much. We've worked together. He knows my record as a conservative in the Senate.”

Just don't think this helps her all that much. Judging solely by the comments, it appears to be backfiring.

With all of his own disastrous campaign twists, I still believe Rick Perry wins this primary.

Why is Peter Brown pouting?

He's stinking-ass wealthy and he's ahead in the polls for mayor of Houston (but only because he's stinking-ass wealthy). So why does he look so unhappy?

Seriously.

Hank Gilbert's "Scoop" and more postpourri

-- My choice for Texas Governor has established a rapid response site for the jumble of news associated with the half-dozen or so Texas gubernatorial candidates. Don't miss the hilarious mugshots of Tom Schieffer and Farouk Shami (who is a dead ringer for Cesar Romero). Update: Ask Kay Bailey's Magic 8 Ball a question.

-- Glenn Smith has been doing some excellent writing over at his new place, but my favorites have been his reminiscences about H-Town back in the day. Here's a bit about Telephone Road, and here's one about Brays Bayou.

-- Passings I should have blogged about: William Wayne Justice, William Safire, Soupy Sales.

Justice was as powerful a liberal lion for us in Texas as Ted Kennedy was for the country. His loss is deeply felt, and recalls a time when the disadvantaged actually had a shot in the legal system. Grits is good. So is Harold Cook.

I loved Safire's column "On Language", little else he said or did. But he was civil, and a gentleman, something conservatives these days gravely lack. As a result I thought this was a little harsh. Serves to remind me that I am hardly the most severe.

And I was a little too young to enjoy the highlights of Soupy Sales' career, but he was a very special comedian. Pee Wee Herman in particular stole a lot from Soupy. This is a nice remembrance, written almost fifteen years ago.

-- Also missed Vic Mizzy, who wrote the theme songs to "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres". Great epitaph: "Two snaps got me a mansion in Bel Air"

-- In the wake of last weekend's March to Stop Executions in Texas, this report says that ending the death penalty could save the United States millions of dollars.

-- Saturday was also the International Day of Climate Action.

-- Two excellent book excerpts: this one has the play-by-play of the 1980 New Hampshire Republican primary debate where Reagan bellowed "I paid for this microphone!" Riveting. And this one is a previously undiscovered Vonnegut.

-- Will Texas opt out of the public option? Signs point to 'no'.

US Senate Candidates Forum

Very little mudslinging, a good bit of humor, and plenty of respect for physicians marked the first forum for all six prospective candidates for the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Texas. Hosted by the Texas Medical Association’s political action committee, TEXPAC, and moderated by former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, the forum gave the four men and two women the chance to share their views on health system reform, Washington politics, and other key issues. The race will be to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is expected to resign soon to campaign full-time for governor. All six candidates who have filed campaign committees with the Federal Election Commission participated in the event.

• WHAT: 2010 U.S. Senate candidates’ forum
• WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, 7 pm
• WHERE: Westin Stonebriar Hotel, 1549 Legacy Dr., Frisco, Texas

Each candidate was asked to present his or her qualifications and positions on health care reform and other key federal issues of interest to Texas voters. The six candidates who participated were:

• Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones
• State Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano)
• Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp
• Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams
• Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams
• Houston Mayor Bill White

TEXPAC speaks on behalf of more than 44,000 Texas physicians and medical students, and nearly 8,000 alliance members. Organized in 1962, TEXPAC is one of the oldest political action committees in Texas. TEXPAC also is one of the largest bipartisan PACs in the state and ranks first in size among other state medical association PACs.

Go to the link for video in thirteen short segments of the entire forum. Part 13 (at the top) picks up with some jokes by John Sharp.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for the start of the World Series, and it presents to you its weekly highlight reel as we await the first pitch.

quizas of South Texas Chisme wonders about the US detaining a Mexican human rights activist.

WWJD on Carter Avenue? TXsharon wants to know if Chesapeake Energy or anyone in Fort Worth government has stopped to consider the answer to that question. Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Bay Area Houston wonders if the Hispanic community will dump their endorsement of Gene Locke.

WhosPlayin lost a fight with the Lewisville ISD, whose board voted unanimously to define media as print and broadcast only and give itself permission to shut out bloggers (includes video of meeting).

Not sure how to green up your life? Lucky for you, there's a whole series of tips to that topic at Texas Vox, the Voice of Public Citizen in Texas. This week's suggestion: Start a compost pile! Even in your freezer ...

The Texas Cloverleaf picks up on the "pay to play" system, alive and well with Rick Perry and the TABC.

Problems for the Democrats in 2010? Harry Balczak at McBlogger uncovers something that says that's exactly where we're headed.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson posts on Rep. John Carter's latest hypocrisy: Carter's income disclosure problem spoils GOP tactic.

Progressive Coalition candidates for Houston city council (and a Socialist running for mayor) are the subject of PDiddie's post at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at Texas Liberal also suggested that voters in Houston consider the Progressive Coalition candidates running for Houston's city council. It is hard to see how voting for Democrats year-after-year in city elections has been of great benefit to the people of Houston.

Over at Texas Kaos, libby shaw provides a public service by providing a Republican hypocrisy scorecard. Check out her Texas GOP Hall of Hypocrites. You can't tell the hyprocrites without a program. Wait, you can. Almost. If there is an "R" beside their names, the odds are better than even ...

Off the Kuff notes that a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit between Democrats and the Harris County tax assessor's office over allegations of voter suppression.

Sunday Funnies

The Progressive Coalition slate

Neil and Charles have both posted about the three Green Party Houston council candidates running as the Progressive Coalition. I was unable to attend their events here this past weekend -- a fundraiser on Friday and a film screening of Robert Greenwald's "Rethinking Afghanistan" on Saturday, both hosted by 2008 Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney.

(l-r) Don Cook, Deborah Shafto, and Alfred Molison

It's notable that Houston has an active community of liberals and progressives that refuse to be aligned with the corporate conservatives that too often represent the Democratic party.

So if you are also one of those, consider supporting these candidates with your vote (and volunteer support and pocketbook, if you can manage it). Note that while Cook and Shafto are on the ballot, Molison is a write-in candidate, and there are specific instructions for how to do that in e-Slate (.pdf, page 2 of 4).

Houston also has a Socialist Party mayoral candidate, Amanda Ullman. Though I am a strong supporter of Annise Parker, it would have been valuable to Ms. Ullman's alternative campaign -- as Neil has also noted -- to have at least put up a website.

I'll follow with interest these candidates' vote tally.