Sunday, January 10, 2010

A big bag of postpourri

-- Harry Reid was racially insensitive.   Trent Lott was racist.  Not at all surprised that conservatives don't know the difference.

There is a BIG difference between praising a segregationist in public like Lott did, and Reid's making, in private, a racially insensitive comment while praising and welcoming the candidacy of the man who would go on to become the first African American President of the United States.

Reid's choice of words shows that when it comes to race and discussing African Americans, he is very unenlighted. THIS DOES NOT MEAN HE IS RACIST, it just means this guy, who it should be pointed out enthusiastically campaigned for Obama, has a long way to go when it comes to learning how to discuss race. His heart is most likely in the right place, his mouth and vocabulary? Not so much.

Lott on the other hand made a point to say that if Thurmond had been elected president in 1948 "we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years." Thurmond ran a presidential campaign on a segrationist platform in 1948 and on the campaign's plank remarked "all the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches."

When Michael Steele -- who recently came under criticism himself for using the phrase "honest injun" -- OR ANYONE ELSE advances the notion that there is any comparision between Reid's and Lott's comments, they show themselves either to be ignorant or worse; they show themselves as folks who will seek to exploit discussions of race as a launching pad to provoke racial division.

Update: Hal at Half Empty has more.

-- Visit my friend Michele's (yes, he's French) excellent blog Miss Welby.

-- If the Supreme Court rules in favor of corporations' political spending as free speech, then we will be one more giant leap down the road to American fascism.

If this vision becomes reality, businesses and other big-money players will spend billions either hyping their preferred candidates or running attack ads against elected officials who don't support their preferred agenda. Voters will be forced into a couch-potato role, mere viewers of the electoral spectacle bought and paid for by wealthy companies.

The Supreme Court's decision in the hotly anticipated campaign finance reform case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission -- which may be announced as early as Tuesday -- will show whether a majority of the Roberts court is buying their argument.

-- Dennis Hopper is dying of prostate cancer.

-- Kelly Fero's memorial service yesterday included this reading of Che Guevara's last letter to his children:

If one day you must read this letter, it will be because I am no longer with you. You practically will not remember me, and the smaller ones will not remember me at all.

Your father has been a man who acted on his beliefs and certainly has been faithful to his convictions.

Grow up as good revolutionaries. Study hard so that you can master technology, which allows us to master nature. Remember that the Revolution is what is important, and that each of us, alone, is nothing.

Above all, try always to be capable of feeling deeply any injustice committed against anyone, anywhere in the world. This is the most beautiful quality in a revolutionary.

Until forever, my children. I still hope to see you.

A big kiss and a big hug from Papa.

Hasta la Victoria Siempre.


-- Read this excerpt of John Heilemann's book about John and Elizabeth Edwards and the collapse of his 2008 presidential campaign, replete with the tales of Rielle Hunter, Elizabeth's cancer, and more behind the scenes. I didn't think I was capable of being shocked by this sordid episode any more, but this certainly did the trick.

-- The bra-color Facebook meme is tiresome already.

-- The most powerful man in American media and politics simultaneously is Roger Ailes.  No one disputes this. The question -- even among scions of Rupert Murdoch -- is whether, despite the enormous profits, this is a good thing.

-- The inventor of Gumby passed away. Art Clokey originally fashioned Gumby's crooked head after his deceased father's Conan O'Brien-styled hair swoop. Clokey was placed in an orphanage shortly after his father's death when his stepfather forced his mother to choose between them. He was adopted at age 11 and encouraged by his adoptive father to expand his artistic horizons.  As an adult he managed a little controversy as well.

-- When Mary Matalin and Dana Perino and Rudy Giuliani all claim that there were no terrorist attacks during George Bush's terms, that's not stupidity or even a mistake; that's premeditated.

Not only does the statement suggest Giuliani does not remember the devastating attack in his own city, it also omits the anthrax attacks and the attempted shoe bomber attack.

A day earlier, Giuliani falsely claimed that the shoe bomber attack occurred before September 11th.

Curiously, the Associated Press did a long write-up of Giuliani's Obama criticisms but omitted the startling mistake. George Stephanopoulos, who conducted the ABC interview, included the quote in a blog post but did not question it.

 This demonstrates again that Republicans are repeating lies as often as they can get away with in order that they become the "truth".

And when the media refuses to challenge them, then our democracy is failed.

Update: Harold Cook at Letters from Texas ...

In political messaging, one person misspeaking is a mistake. Two misspeaking is a concerted coordinated trend, and thinking, patriotic Americans should call them on their lies every time they attempt them. Those who seek to re-write this history only serve to so utterly mask the roots of our life-threatening challenges that they themselves put Americans at further grave risk.

And what of the so-called "reporters" interviewing these liars? Best I can tell from the video clips, neither Perino's or Guliani's false claims were at all challenged by their interviewers. Of course, Perino's interview was on FoxNews, which is to political news coverage what pro wrestling is to sports - it's not real, they just want you to think it is.

Sunday Funnies




Friday, January 08, 2010

Homophobe Wilson's ballot bid rejected *updates*

As regards this post. He listed his business address as his residence address, a violation of the mandatory provision of the Texas Election code. The letter to Wilson from HCDP chair Gerry Birnberg outlining the violation and the ineligibility is here. More responses as they are posted.

Updates:

Texas Election Code requires that a candidate's application for a place on the ballot include his or her residence address. Birnberg said that when he met with Wilson on Thursday, the candidate mentioned that he actually lives in a home on Lake Lane. Property tax records list the owner as Connie J. Wilson.

Wilson said he is separated from his wife and lives in an apartment at his business address. Wilson's voter registration lists his address on W. 34th.

Wilson said he will ask Birnberg to reverse his decision, and if Birnberg does not, he will contest it in court.


Birnberg insisted that election law gives him no discretion to make a judgment call. The language of the statute states that if the application does not meet requirements, the party must reject it. Had Wilson filed with a day or two to spare, Birnberg said, the party may have caught the error with time for Wilson to correct it before the deadline.

“It's his decision to file at the last minute that's the (cause) of the problem,” Birnberg said.

===============
But at least he gets his filing fee back. Don't spend it all in one race.
===============
Assuming Wilson does not file a suit to contest this, it means County Commissioner Jerry Eversole gets a much-undeserved free pass in this year’s election. It also means the Democratic slate isn’t polluted by Wilson’s rancid presence, which is the greater good. May this be the last time I ever have to type the name “Dave Wilson” into a blog post.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

More on Dave Wilson and other GOP ballot chicanery

Chris Moran at the Chron:

Conservative anti-gay activist Dave Wilson will be on the March 2 primary ballot for Harris County Precinct 4 commissioner as a Democrat.

Wilson — who once hosted a fund-raiser for Republican incumbent Jerry Eversole — believes Eversole will resign his seat as a result of a corruption investigation by the FBI, and he wants voters, not the county Republican Party or county judge, to pick his successor.

County election records indicate that Wilson, 63, has voted in eight GOP primary and runoff elections since 1995, but never in a Democratic election.

Dude actually sent a ringer to sign in and file for him. Since most candidates -- such as myself -- fill out the form and have it notarized at party headquarters, Wilson would have had to prepare and notarize his form elsewhere and have his impersonator provide it.

Harris County Democratic Party Gerry Birnberg accused Wilson and the Republican Party of fraud. Not only is Wilson not a Democrat, Birnberg said, but the candidate sent a representative who signed in as Wilson and allowed himself to be introduced as Wilson to a roomful of applauding Democrats.

Birnberg said he did not realize when Wilson's representative filed his candidacy papers that it was the same Wilson who sent out 35,000 fliers in November opposing Annise Parker for mayor, in part, because of her sexual orientation.

“We would have recruited a placeholder so we could keep this charlatan out of the race,” Birnberg said.

He said local Republicans should be ashamed to “stoop to such fraudulent chicanery.”

Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill said, “We had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

But that's not what Wilson says, Jared, so one of you is lying.

Wilson said he did not decide until minutes before Monday's 6 p.m. filing deadline which primary to enter. He reported to the Republican headquarters, where he found Koenning and former City Council member Toni Lawrence, both of whom said last year they would run for the seat if Eversole retired.

If Lawrence or Koenning had filed in the Republican primary, Wilson said, he would have joined the race to prevent a scenario in which Eversole resigned to move aside for Koenning or Lawrence.

Meanwhile, Wilson dispatched his treasurer to Democratic Party headquarters. Just minutes before the deadline, after determining that no one else was filing as a Republican, Wilson instructed his treasurer to enter him in the Democratic primary.

So this isn't the only louse on the ballot -- and I don't refer just to the legal, Republican ones either.

Birnberg said he also asked two state agencies whether he could prevent lawyer Lloyd Oliver from running as a Democratic candidate for judge. Oliver is under indictment for illegal solicitation of clients by a lawyer. He is running for judge of Harris County Criminal Court No. 3, the bench vacated by Republican Judge Don Jackson, who was convicted last month of a misdemeanor charge of official oppression. Lawyer Judith Snively also has filed for the Democratic nomination.

Having been informed by the secretary of state's office and the Commission on Judicial Conduct that the indictment did not disqualify Oliver's candidacy, Birnberg said he will seek a resolution from the county party's executive committee authorizing him to inform voters of Oliver's “criminal circumstances.”

That meeting is Thursday evening, and I'll be in attendance.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Underpants of mass destruction

The seemingly organic self-generating terror of, by, and for the Republican Party only pauses momentarily when they need to wail about "Obamunism".

Have you ever seen a bigger bunch of pants-crapping cowards in your life?


Candidate filing odds and ends

-- Star Locke, who ran in the Repulican primary against Rick Perry four years ago, is running in the Democratic primary this year. For governor. As Texas Cloverleaf notes ...

I would direct you to his website, but my antivirus software says it has a trojan. So, bad move. But you may remember Star as one of the also rans against Rick Perry in the 2006 GOP primary. Among Star's fun ideas is taxing abortion clinics and soda. If he can't stick you for killing a fetus, well he will get ya for drinking that Coke!

-- Dave Wilson, the nasty homophobe last heard from during the Houston mayoral campaign, has turned coat and filed to run against ethics-tarred Jerry Eversole for Harris County commissioner. Update: Muse's note declaring it was not this Dave Wilson is no longer posted, and many other sources confirm that it is that Dave Wilson.

-- 1st Court of Appeals Justice Jim Sharp and Bill Moody, the Democrats' top vote-getter in 2006, both filed for separate places on the Texas Supreme Court.  They're two of the good guys.

-- Wayne Slater says that the Metroplex is ground zero for Democratic efforts to reclaim the Texas House:

The Democrats recruited Jamie Dorris against Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland; and Dallas businessman John Wellik, an executive at United Surgical Partners Inc., against Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas.

Dallas County GOP Chairman Jonathan Neerman countered by pitting retired Marine Capt. Kenneth Sheets against Rep. Allen Vaught, D-Dallas; and businessman Rodney Anderson against Rep. Kirk England, D-Grand Prairie.

In November, there will be eight contested House races in Dallas County. Other targeted incumbents include Democrats Carol Kent and Robert Miklos, and Republicans Linda Harper-Brown and Dan Branch. Throw in the contested Democratic gains in Tarrant County (seats now held by Chris Turner and Paula Pierson), and the DFW area becomes home to by far the most high-profile House races of any region.

Aman Batheja at Poli-Tex is less impressed with the number of Democratic challengers on the Tarrant County ballot.

-- Kuffner, as always, has more and better.

Monday, January 04, 2010

Ellen Cohen's opponent

... talks like a TeaBagger:

“The last year has shown us that the incumbent representative’s party is on a spending spree unprecedented in American history.” (West University attorney Sarah) Davis said. “Her party is trying to gain control of the Texas House. We must not let that happen.”

I'm sure Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are her idols.There's a lot more out of focus than just her photograph (at the link).

Update (because I wanted to add this): No mention of "the incumbent representative"'s record or what Davis would do if elected, no mention of the HD 134 electorate or how she might offer something different, just a generalized Beck-styled rant at Washington (read: Obama) and a "stop the liberal infidels" call to arms. Bill White notes:

“I don't think this race is going to be about one party or who said what to whom in Washington. It's going to be about where we want to go with public education, cutting the dropout rate, reducing barriers to higher education, plans for long-term mobility funding for our state, insurance rates that have skyrocketed along with our utility bills.”

Some postpourri, happy and sad

-- This morning the mayor of the fourth largest US city formally took office. Charles, John, Martha and Neil were all in attendance. Wish I could have been there for the history.

-- Kelly Fero passed away suddenly today. He had consulted many Democratic candidates; John Sharp, Tony Sanchez, Jim Mattox and others. In recent years however he was mostly one of the go-to people when the corporate media needed a quote about some Democratic political development. Ross Ramsey at the Texas Tribune has more.

-- RG Ratcliffe has listed the statewides (including the Republicans) so I don't have to update this.

-- Hector Uribe and Jerry Patterson are already exchanging pleasantries. After Uribe filed to challenge the incumbent Land Commissioner, Patterson responded:

"Hector's a friend and fellow actor. We were both in the recent movie ‘The Alamo’, filmed near Austin, albeit on different sides in the conflict (actually Hector had a real part, I was just an extra). When Hector surrendered at San Jacinto, I should have shot him when I had the chance... "

As an afterthought he added, "I hope folks understand then we were just acting, now it's a real war."

And then Uribe rejoined:

"Jerry is a friend and quite a good actor. I was happy that he and I escaped the fantasy battles without a bruise. However, I am concerned that he seems to be reliving his part. I’m his opponent not his enemy, and he can put his gun away.

When he was reported as saying that he was desperately looking for an opponent I took pity on him and finally decided to make his day. Although I suspect I’m not quite the E-Harmony candy-date that he was dreaming of.

I’m sorry I can’t accept his proposal that we go on a stroll along our eroding beaches on some smog obscured moonlit night to discuss public policy. I think those talks ought to be held at a series of public, televised and internet forums.

Texans, Jerry and I will be the better for it.

SJL catches a primary challenge

...from Houston city councilman Jarvis Johnson. Martha and John did the Q&A at HCDP HQ earlier this afternoon (in fact a few minutes before I arrived to file for my precinct's chairmanship).

Frankly I think this is mostly symbolic; Johnson can't realistically think he can unseat Jackson, but he and his faction apparently want to send a message. Many SD-13 and CD-22 African American Democrats still hold a grudge over Sheila's endorsement of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton two years ago.

It should be fun to watch but I think Sheila is safe.  She will, however,  do well to take the challenge seriously and get to work on mending fences.

Update: More in detail from Texas on the Potomac, including news about Ron Paul's four GOP primary challengers and Michael McCaul's one. Ted Ankrum, who carried the Democratic flag against McCaul in 2006, will re-challenge McCaul as well.

Hector Uribe for Land Commissioner

Harvey Kronberg breaks it:

Former state Senator Hector Uribe filed to be a Democratic candidate for Texas Land Commissioner today. Uribe returns to state politics after a 14 year hiatus, when he was the Democratic nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner.

“The current Republican leadership is short-sighted. For example, I believe that Texans want our state leaders to help address the real threats to our environment, but many of our current state leaders continue to minimize the importance of having clean water to drink and clean air to breathe,” Uribe said.

Though Campos will find something to complain about, there will be no more excuses for low Hispanic turnout in the March primary. More from Burnt Orange.

Chavez-Thompson to file for lt. governor today

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a national leader within the AFL-CIO and the Democratic Party, plans to enter the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, according to a source familiar with her plans.

She is expected to file today at state Democratic Party headquarters.

Former Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle and Austin deli owner Marc Katz are also seeking the Democratic nomination. The Republican nominee will probably be incumbent David Dewhurst.

Chavez-Thompson, a former AFL-CIO executive vice president, can tap a national network of organizing and fundraising contacts.

This is now easily the most exciting primary race on the ballot (all apologies to Rick v. Kay and Kinky v. Hank).  With Ronnie Earle collecting the progressive populist bloc, Thompson the Hispanics and labor, and Marc Katz the ... uh ... Jewish deli faction, this contest will shape up as a critical display of Democratic constituent stress testing. My humble O is that with either Thompson or Earle, Democrats don't lose.  Dewhurst has money but no respect among state Senators nor the TeaBag faction, which will dictate terms to the GOP this cycle.

First Wrangle of the New Decade

(...If you happen to be a zero-based indexing sort of person -- thanks to Charles K for the mathematics terminology.) The Texas Progressive Alliance is still somewhat amazed to be living in the year we make contact, and we hope we're all still going strong when Odyssey Three rolls around.

Texas has most drilling and the worst regulation. And the state made national news this week in the ProPublica investigative report and they used pictures provided by TXsharon at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

WhosPlayin reports that the Lewisville city council is once again considering the question of whether to participate in 287(g) and force its vendors to use E-Verify to check for work eligibility.

BossKitty at TruthHugger found a poignant editorial on al-Jazeera: Weary Soldiers At Risk, They Know This. Why do foreign correspondents have more in-depth observations than America's own corporate media which follows the money and toes the line for sponsors' political perks that promise "scoops"?

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks all kids should be given free, nutritious school meals. Just do it.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson discusses another worthless GOP plan for transportation in Texas: Kay's transportation plan is a clunker.

The Texas Cloverleaf questions whether or not a Houston city councilman-elect knows the difference between a campaign website and city resources.

Off the Kuff called out some political gamesmanship over the murder rate in Harris County.

Last week Teddy reviewed the best of the Left of College Station, and looks at the year ahead at Left of College Station. This week LoCS will begin coverage of the 2010 campaign season in the Brazos Valley, and report on human trafficking in Houston.

Candidate filings, including Gordon Quan for Harris County Judge and a list of the statewides, appears in PDiddie's post at Brains and Eggs.

Bay Area Houston hopes the next decade will be better than the last.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog covered Gordon Quan's campaign kickoff, including the full video of Quan's speech.

LibbyShaw puts together the latest throw downs exposing GOP hypocrisy and lies. Check it out at Texas Kaos: Rachel Maddow Busts Republicans for Cowardice, Hypocrisy and Lies.

At McBlogger, Mayor McSleaze noted with some interest that Marc Katz filed for Lt. Governor. Some, but not much. More important to him was a really nasty prairie dog attack.

Neil at Texas Liberal selected his wife as person of the decade and named his blog as blog of the decade.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Sunday Funnies





Blaming Obama for eight years of Bush

When G.W.Bush  took office, we had a balanced budget.  When he left -- we didn’t.
When G.W.Bush took office the unemployment rate was 5%.  When he left -- it was 8.7%
The government bailout of Wall Street that has given us trillions of dollars in debt was supported and signed into law by President G.W. Bush.

With a current approval rating of 51%, more Americans support Obama than did President Bush. Yet there is not the same sense of offense for Bush that there seems to be for Obama.

Bush was initially elected under a cloud of controversy without winning the popular vote. He left office with an approval rating of just 22% - among the lowest in history. His citizenship was never questioned. He was not called a socialist, and no member of congress shouted at him during a Joint Session Address -- calling him a liar ...

The Radical Right has become the Raucous, Ranting Right. Their foaming, deranged grumblings continue to take center stage on the Sunday morning Talking Heads. From Dick Cheney and Glenn Beck all the way to Joe Lieberman (who a week ago seemed to suggest that the United States invade or bomb Yemen), conservatives fan the flames of every single fear they can find: from terrorism to racism to socialism to hoarding gold.

They are emboldened by the ever-louder screams of of the TeaBagging fringe even further to their right; wailing about "taking their country back" translates into carrying loaded guns to town hall meetings, which manifests itself in Congressmen making no secret of stalling or stopping legislation in order to take down the president.

I have my own disagreements with the president's policies, but putting Republicans back in charge of anything would be the worst possible outcome -- for the county, for the state, for the country.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009's Final Funnies


Year-end compilation

I was going to do a post that included all the icons we lost during the past year, with other items I saved to include like the best smartphones available in the US and the ten best tech toys of 2009 and the best of the Astros' decade and the top five online stories of the year, but this is really the most valuable information everyone needs going forward: The Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling.

Thank God that decade is over.  Happy 2010.

More airport follies






Annise Parker is TPA's "Texan of the Year"

With the election of Annise Parker as mayor of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States signaled that they pay more attention to qualifications than to sexual orientation.  This news reverberated around the globe and brought positive attention to the city of Houston and the state of Texas. National Democratic groups took note of a more progressive Houston than they assumed, and the talk and speculation turned to the possibilities of Texas turning blue sooner rather than later.

The Parker win was no accident. She put together a talented campaign team that ran on the strength of the grassroots rather than City Hall insiders. Key Houston-area progressive bloggers aligned themselves with Parker and were embraced by the campaign. Blogs became an effective messaging strategy, emphasizing Parker’s qualifications and her opponent’s weaknesses.

In the runoff, several third parties -- including one longtime right-wing operative who endorsed Parker's opponent -- launched a series of homophobic attacks against her, but they failed to do her any serious damage because voters recognized her distinguished service as a member of Council and City Controller and valued her experience and financial acumen.

Voters knew who she was and what she was about because she had always been open and honest about it, and that was more important than anything some agitator could say.

For her historic victory, for making the rest of the world re-evaluate its opinion of Texas, and for running a truly modern grassroots campaign, the Texas Progressive Alliance is proud to name Houston's Mayor-Elect Annise Parker its Texan of the Year for 2009.

“Gold Star Texans” for 2009

Ramey Ko: Ko is an attorney and activist in Austin. He should be best known for his work in Asian Americans for Obama, but Republican stupidity assured us he will be best known as "the guy who held his cool while on the receiving end of a massive dose of both ignorance and racism from Betty Brown." With extreme professionalism, he tried to help Brown understand why it would behoove her that voting rights for Asian Texans (and all Texans) not fall prey to bureaucratic errors creating name mismatches. Brown's ignorance/racism and Ko's cool reasonableness drew worldwide media attention. Watch the video of their exchange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9hdVUzMeDw

Calvin Tillman: Tillman is mayor of a tiny town at the epicenter of the Barnett Shale. Several industry giants seized DISH land and installed a several huge compressor stations and processing plants right next to neighborhoods. They built a crisscross of pipelines all through the town and on private property. He has taken a hard line with industry, crafting a strategy to get the most bang for his press releases.

Tillman and the DISH City Council spent 10% of their yearly budget for a private ambient air study. This is the first such study where the results were made public so that all citizens in the Barnett Shale area might benefit. The levels of toxins were amazingly high, and many DISH residents are seriously ill, but they are poor and do not have health insurance. Tillman worked with TDSHS and finally got them to agree to test DISH residents. This is the first time a state agency has tested residents for drilling toxins. Tillman travels to other areas and speaks about these issues. He has offered to speak and assist others and refuses any compensation for travel or time.

Tillman is largely responsible for TCEQ's revised policy in response to Barnett Shale air emissions. He is also a blogger.

State Rep. Elliott Naishtat and his Capitol staff: While he may not be a native Texan, the work that Naishtat has done for the state of Texas earns him a spot on the Texans of the Year List for 2009. Even with voter ID legislation putting a choke-hold on progress, Naishtat and his Capitol staff worked diligently to pass more legislation than any other member of the House during the 81st session.  The Representative from Queens, who just completed his 10th session, has consistently proven himself to be an advocate for the sick and elderly, passing legislation that will create the Legislative Committee on Aging and ensuring Texas receives $15.2 million in Violence Against Women Act grants.  We would be remiss in acknowledging Elliott Naishtat -- as he is always quick to remind people -- without also recognizing his longtime staffers (Dorothy Browne, Nancy Walker and Judy Dale) who work tirelessly behind the scenes to help make Texas a better, safer place to live.

Texas Watchdog: Texas Watchdog (http://www.texaswatchdog.org/) had a role in breaking stories in the just-completed Houston city elections. Though their work can at times be controversial, we welcome another online news organization to the Texas media landscape with our nomination of the group.

Hank Gilbert: For his continuing work to defeat infrastructure privatization schemes and working with Democrats and more than a few Republicans, Gilbert helped put a stop to CDA's this past session and handed Governor Perry and Commissioner Todd Staples a rare defeat.

Limbaugh dies of heart attack

Not really -- at least not yet -- but because this post has been out there on the Tubes (and has been linked elsewhere) I woke up this morning to ten times the usual traffic to the blog.

The man has lost 90 pounds since March using the Quick Loss system. That's probable cause. Although he also told the hospital he was on pain medication for an ailing back ... while previously seen golfing on his Hawaiian vacation.

Too bad he's not recovering in the same hospital that Obama was born in. That would be the karmic payback of the decade. They could have served him a copy of the birth certificate as an enema.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Quan in (and other candidate filings)

-- Martha and John (why, it's almost as if they're the same person!) have posts up about Gordon Quan's entry to the race for Harris County judge. I am not as enthusiastic as I was before I learned that Quan endorsed two Republicans -- MJ Khan and Stephen Costello -- in the recently-concluded Houston municipal elections. But my cooling to his candidacy makes him no less a force against "Hunker Down" Ed. Charles has more.

-- Grits has some of the state's judicial filings. Democrats are still short on candidates for Texas Supreme Court and the regional Courts of Appeals, as well as Congressional challengers.

-- So far the statewide executive ballot for Texas Democrats in March looks like this:

Governor: Bill White, Farouk Shami, Bill Dear, Alma Aguado, Felix Rodriguez

Lt. Governor: Ronnie Earle, Marc Katz

Attorney General: Barbara Ann Radnofsky

Comptroller of Public Accounts:

Commissioner of Agriculture: Kinky Friedman, Hank Gilbert

Commissioner of the General Land Office: Bill Burton of Athens

Chief Justice, 1st Court of Appeals: Morris Overstreet of Houston

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 5 - Unexpired Term: Wally Kronzer of Houston

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 9: Tim Riley of Houston

Justice, 1st Court of Appeals, Place 8: Unexpired Term: Robert Ray of Houston

Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 4: Kurt Kuhn of Austin

Justice, 4th Court of Appeals, Place 2: Unexpired Term: Rebeca C. Martinez of San Antonio

Justice, 5th Court of Appeals, Place 12 - Unexpired Term: Lawrence J. Praeger of Dallas

Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 9: Blake Bailey of Tyler

(These are candidate filings as posted at the TDP's website as of today.)

Did I miss anybody? The deadline is next Monday.

Monday, December 28, 2009

The year's last Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank everyone for reading us all year. As we post the last roundup for 2009 and look forward to the statewide election season in 2010, we hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants everyone to be afraid of drug cartels buying our politicians. We've all seen what money and power did to health care reform. Imagine all that drug money buying power here. It's time to legalize drugs and take away the profit.

You can't make this stuff up; at Bay Area Houston: GOP "Bubba" white supremacist wanted for murder.

Barnett Shale communities can breathe easier after a victory last week, when TCEQ issued a new emission policy following the release of Texas OGAP's study: Shale Gas Threatens Human Health. Read the report and view documents that the TCEQ will use to record odor complaints and take necessary enforcement action.

WhosPlayin picked up on the TCEQ policy change and also weighed in on strange comments by a Flower Mound councilman explaining his vote not to impose an oil and gas moratorium. Speaking of city councils, Lewisville has a teabagger councilman who wants to turn down a $913,000 stimulus grant from the federal government.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the potential for a contested party chair race in Dallas County. And it's among the Democrats.

Xanthippas at Three Wise Men on Robert George, the conservative Christian "big thinker" who dresses up old prejudices in new rationales.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog is terribly excited that Gordon Quan is running for Harris County Judge.

Off the Kuff writes about Harris County board of education trustee Michael Wolfe, the silliest officeholder in Harris County.

Escalation in Afghanistan, a healthcare reform bill lacking a public option, and another climate change bust in Copenhagen has left a lot of Obama believers stranded at the intersection of Hope and Change. PDiddie has stepped off the bus; read why at Brains and Eggs.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the GOP property tax swap that has fixed nothing: The Texas GOP and the state budget.

Neil at Texas Liberal said that all of us in life seek the 60 votes of hope and kindness to defeat the filibusters of despair and anger. The Senate of life is always session so that we can rustle up the needed votes.

Pete Sessions hearts Allen Stanford

Just hours after federal agents charged banker Allen Stanford with fleecing investors of $7 billion, the disgraced financier received a message from one of Congress' most powerful members, Pete Sessions.

“I love you and believe in you,” said the e-mail sent on Feb. 17. “If you want my ear/voice — e-mail,” it said, signed “Pete.”

The message from the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee represents one of the many ties between members of Congress and the indicted banker that have caught the attention of federal agents.

I don't know about you, but the mental image of Stanford with his tongue in Sessions' ear makes me more than the usual nauseous.

Agents are examining campaign dollars, as well as lavish Caribbean trips funded by Stanford for politicians and their spouses, feting them with lobster dinners and caviar.

The money Stanford gave Sessions and other lawmakers was stolen from his clients while he carried out what prosecutors now say was one of the nation's largest Ponzi schemes.

Sessions, 54, a longtime House member from Dallas who met with Stanford during two trips to the Caribbean, did not respond to interview requests.

Supporters say the lawmaker, who received $44,375 from Stanford and his staff, was not assigned to any of the committees with oversight over Stanford's bank and brokerages.

Sessions is one of Congress' biggest clod-hoppers. He consistently finds himself in the news over idiotic statements. But it's fair to note that this is a bipartisan issue. Besides Republicans including former Rep. John Sweeney of New York and convict Bob Ney of Ohio, the list includes current Ways and Means chair Charlie Rangel (whose name also pops up in seemingly every single ethics investigation) as well as Sen. Ben Blue Ass Dog Nelson ... the one from Florida. They both donated contributions from Stanford to "charities".

In addition, Caribbean Caucus member and former Rep. Max Sandlin of Texas -- who became a lobbyist for damage control experts Fleishmann-Hillard after Tom DeLay's redistriciting knocked him out of Congress -- married another Congresscritter, Stephanie Herseth of North Dakota.

There's also this:

In late 2001, Stanford confronted another threat: A bill allowing state and federal regulators to share details about fraud cases — which would have brought Stanford's brokerages under closer scrutiny — landed in the Senate Banking Committee.

Though the Senate was now controlled by Democrats, Stanford was prepared: He had given $500,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2002 — his largest-ever contribution.

“I told him that the Democrats were going to take over, and he needed to make friends with them,” recalled his lobbyist Ben Barnes, once Texas' lieutenant governor.

Stanford also doled out $100,000 to a national lobbying group to fight the measure.

The bill, which sparked sweeping opposition from brokerages and insurers, never made it to a vote.

How is it that Ben Barnes is always mixed up in every single Texas scandal?

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

One more grinchy post

What's costing the president are three things: a laissez faire style of leadership that appears weak and removed to everyday Americans, a failure to articulate and defend any coherent ideological position on virtually anything, and a widespread perception that he cares more about special interests like bank, credit card, oil and coal, and health and pharmaceutical companies than he does about the people they are shafting.

Consider the president's leadership style, which has now become clear: deliver a moving speech, move on, and when push comes to shove, leave it to others to decide what to do if there's a conflict, because if there's a conflict, he doesn't want to be anywhere near it.

Health care is a paradigm case. When the president went to speak to the Democrats last week on Capitol Hill, he exhorted them to pass the bill. According to reports, though, he didn't mention the two issues in the way of doing that, the efforts of Senators like Ben Nelson to use this as an opportunity to turn back the clock on abortion by 25 years, and the efforts of conservative and industry-owned Democrats to eliminate any competition for the insurance companies that pay their campaign bills. He simply ignored both controversies and exhorted.


In the vacuum left by the president's inaction, troglodytes like Nelson and Joe Lieberman and Olympia Snowe and Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln took turns rushing in to fill it.


Leadership means heading into the eye of the storm and bringing the vessel of state home safely, not going as far inland as you can because it's uncomfortable on the high seas. This president has a particular aversion to battling back gusting winds from his starboard side (the right, for the nautically challenged) and tends to give in to them. He just can't tolerate conflict, and the result is that he refuses to lead.


The man is just weak. Period.

We have seen the same pattern of pretty speeches followed by empty exhortations on issue after issue. The president has, on more than one occasion, gone to Wall Street or called in its titans (who have often just ignored him and failed to show up) to exhort them to be nice to the people they're foreclosing at record rates, yet he has done virtually nothing for those people. His key program for preventing foreclosures is helping 4 percent of those "lucky" enough to get into it, not the 75 percent he promised, and many of the others are having their homes auctioned out from right under them because of some provisions in the fine print. One in four homeowners is under water and one in six is in danger of foreclosure. Why we're giving money to banks instead of two-year loans -- using the model of student loans -- to homeowners to pay their mortgages (on which they don't have to pay interest or principal for two years, while requiring their banks to renegotiate their interest rates in return for saving the banks from "toxic assets") is something the average person doesn't understand. And frankly, I don't understand it, either. I thought I voted Democratic in the last election.

Same with the credit card companies. Great speech about the fine print. Then the rates tripled.

Obama has trashed himself -- and by extension, the campaigns of other Democrats down the ballot in 2010 -- with the base of Democratic activists who do the heavy lifting: the ones who bank the phones, walk the blocks, knock on the doors.

Using the healthcare reform bill as the lodestone, we have a) weak-tea legislation that the insurance companies are hailing; b) that doesn't accomplish real reform for most Americans -- even though it does for many of the most impoverished; c) resulting in the Republicans' caterwauling to kill the bill intermingled with the Left's identical cries ... for obviously different reasons. But the telling moment was once the Democrats announced they had finally secured 60 votes, the healthcare stocks hit a 52-week high.

But-but-but he won the Nobel peace prize...

What's the mood of other key Democratic constituencies? Gay people -- after their concerns about same-sex marriage and DADT got dissed -- got off the Obama bus long ago. Women? Let's see: we're moving fifty years into the past on reproductive freedom, the insurance companies together with the physicians are sending conflicting messages on health issues like mammograms...

Issues? The same thing that happened/is concluding in the Senate and the Congress happened in Copenhagen last week: a bunch of important people quarreled back and forth about a critical matter and ultimately decided to do ... barely something. Cap-and-trade legislation is on the docket first thing after the New Year. How do you think that's going to go? How about alternative energy? Financial re-regulation?

If the trend continues Obama will give a stirring speech and then leave the particulars to someone else, whose job will be to mash the sausage into something tasteless and slightly disgusting but which we all get to eat a spoonful of.

Not the recipe for re-election of anyone who share his views -- whatever they actually happen to be.

Merry Christmas, every one.

Update: McBlogMan feels the same as me.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Winter Solstice

Not that anyone needs to remind the snowed-in people on the Eastern seaboard, but today is the first day of winter, known as the winter solstice. ...

The bleak news: It's the shortest day of the year, meaning the earth's tilt is at 23.5 degrees. As LiveScience puts it, the top half of the earth will spin on its axis away from the sun. Most of us will experience daylight for only about nine short hours. But it gets worse: The weather will actually get colder. Without sunlight to warm the ocean, temperatures will continue to drop. There is a bright side: From here on out, minute by minute, each day gets a little bit longer. In other words: Countdown to summer. The summer solstice falls around June 21, marking the longest day of the year. Take that, winter. ...

As the Dscriber blog tells it, the winter solstice has been marked since the pre-Christian days about 4,500 years ago. The word "solstice" comes from the Latin "sun stands still," and the rock monument Stonehenge is believed to be one of the ancient sites for the winter ritual. The Guardian reports that archeologists have dug up what looks like the remains of a really big barbeque that could have been a winter solstice fete, shedding more light on the purpose of the mysterious stone structure. But as National Geographic points out, celebrations of the solstice soon got switched out for Christmas, once the Christian religion spread to the West.

Although the dark days of winter are upon us, it could be so much darker. If you happen to reside in the North Pole (Santa and reindeers, we're looking at you), you haven't seen the light of day since early October. And, sorry to say, you won't until March.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Pre-Christmas Wrangle

Only three (and maybe one-half) shopping days left before Christmas. Have you finished reading the Texas Progressive Alliance's highlights from the blogs?

As the deadline to file for a place on the 2010 March primary ballot drew near, there was lots of activity on the Democratic side: Kinky Friedman followed Hank Gilbert over to the race for agriculture commissioner, Linda Chavez-Thompson was rumored to be running for lt. governor, and, late on Friday, Ronnie Earle dropped his name in the hat for that same post. There's more on all this news from PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

BARNETT SHALE GAS THREATENS HUMAN HEALTH ! TXsharon posted the final results of the DISH, TX health survey at Bluedaze.

WhosPlayin broke the story about a former Republican county commissioner who got arrested this week for shoplifting a vacuum cleaner.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why some men in power (here, here, here, here and here) think that abusing women and children is their right? Why does Senator Cornyn choose to enable rapists?

Over at Bay Area Houston, John Coby is bored and thinks Kay Bailey Hutchison's commercial sounds like a Whataburger commercial.

Looking for ways to green up your life? Start by making some thoughtful changes to the way you spend your holiday, and check out Texas Vox' Green Up Your Life: Holiday Edition for tips and tricks!

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the fifth anniversary of the terrible Indian Ocean tsunami, in Five Years Since Terrible Indian Ocean Tsunamia --People Are Recovering. While many are still suffering from the impact of this killer wave, there are also many who are recovering and getting back their lives.

The folks over at McBlogger are desperate for your help! Find out how you can do them a solid when you help get a planet named for the blog!

Xanthippas at Three Wise Men covers the utter failure of tort "reform" in Texas (with a h/t to John Coby.)

The Texas Cloverleaf highlights the charge against the Denton County district attorney's office of racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson writes on the fact that elected Texas Republicans still have no sensible ideas about how to pay for roads in the post Dewhurst and transportation funding.

Off the Kuff took a look at precinct data in the Houston mayoral runoff.

lightseeker has a question for you over at TexasKaos: Is Arnold's California a harbinger of our nations' future? Check out his analysis in Deadlock, facts , partisans --Is California a foretaste of 0ur collective future?

XicanoPwr reports that anti-immigration grinches are wanting to replace dreams of success with a lumps of coal by filing a lawsuit challenging Texas' DREAM Act, the statute that allows undocumented students to pay in-state rates, provided they meet certain criteria. Their grinch-like behavior would rather punish these extremely vulnerable students for the sins of their undocumented parents instead of rewarding them for wanting to contribute to our society by making college tuition a bit more affordable, since they already are ineligible for financial aid.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog is excited that Houston has one of the first hospital Asian care units in the nation.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Ronnie Earle for Lt. Governor *updates*

Harvey Kronberg, about three hours ago...

FORMER TRAVIS COUNTY D.A. RONNIE EARLE FILES TO RUN FOR LT GOVERNOR

No details. More here as I find them elsewhere. A blockbuster of a development, to be certain. Earle is highly prized by Texas progressives as the kind of candidate we would seek anywhere on the ballot, and has been rumored previously for both governor and attorney general. His filing for the state's #2 job fills a vacancy on the ballot and injects more excitement into an already-enthusiastic 2010 campaign. Should Linda Chavez-Thompson also contest the primary, then Democrats would have choices to make for three executive offices -- governor, lt. governor, and agriculture commissioner.

The Texas Tribune:

Earle filed with the Texas Democratic Party late Friday evening. So far, he is the only lite gov candidate to do so.

(He) served as Travis County DA from from 1976 until his retirement at the end of 2008, made national headlines in 2005 when he filed campaign finance fraud charges against U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Austin American-Statesman's Postcards blog:

Earle brings a higher profile than the other potential candidates after a career of noteworthy and notorious prosecutions that drew attention far beyond Travis County, including the still-pending case against GOP powerhouse Tom DeLay.

FWST's PoliTex:

With no advance notice, Earle quietly filed his paperwork at state Democratic headquarters late Friday. He said he plans a formal announcement after the holidays, when he will spell out his campaign themes.

Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has filed for re-election. Austin deli owner Marc Katz has also announced for the post as a Democrat.

Earle took a wait-until-later approach when asked his views on Dewhurst's performance in the job. But he hinted at his likely plan of attack by saying, "The idea of government by a few doesn't sit well with me."

DMN's Trail Blazers:

Ronnie Earle's entry into the 2010 election sweepstakes recalls his legal clash more than a decade against Kay Bailey Hutchison - and her political guru, Karl Rove. Rove was Hutchison's political adviser in 1993 when a grand jury under Earle's direction indicted her. Earle was the Travis County district attorney at the time. Hutchison was accused of using her state treasury office for partisan politics, but she was acquitted amid a full-court press by Hutchison's legal and political team. Hutchison. When a judge during pre-trial hearings ruled that some evidence against her couldn't be admitted, Earle gave up before going to trial. Hutchison was declared innocent.


Rove took an active part in the pretrial proceedings. He directed Karen Hughes - then executive director of the Texas Republican Party - to denounce Earle daily. Hutchison spokesman David Beckwith - at Rove's direction - trumpeted the message that Earle was a politically motivated prosecutor.

(Above: Rove & Beckwith at the time working on Team Hutchison).

And Rove took the stand during a pretrial hearing to paint Earle as a publicity hound. Rove accused Earle - falsely - of notifying the media in advance to maximize publicity of a raid on the treasurer's office by investigators. Rove said he was told by a newspaper reporter that Earle gave advance notice of the raid. In fact, the reporter learned of the raid the same way others in the press corps did - from Hutchison employees once the raid was already underway.

At any event, Rove's an informal Hutchison adviser in her gubernatorial bid. There's a possibility that that Earle and Hutchison could both find themselves on the ballot next November. If both won, it would mean Republican Gov. Hutchison would be working with Democratic Lt. Gov. Earle as presiding officer in the Senate.

A Cajun Pre-Christmas

Leaving this morning for Baton Rouge, Breaux Bridge, and Lafayette through early next week. Posting sporadic.

Also visiting Shangri La today.

Update:



The Heronry Blind had only some black cormorants to see, working on their spring nests. It's a little too soon for any nesters. We'll come back in the spring for some better birding.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lt. Governor


Hat tip to Phillip, here's Jason Embry.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, is leaning toward running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat, according to multiple sources familiar with her plans.

The San Antonio resident, born and raised in the Lubbock area, is now executive vice president emerita of the labor organization and is also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She was also a super-delegate during the 2008 presidential primary.

From her bio on the national Democratic Party Web site: “A native of Lubbock, Texas, Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation American of Mexican descent. Upon her retirement, she celebrated 40 years of experience in the labor movement, beginning in 1967 with her first work for the Laborers’ local union in Lubbock. She went on to serve in a variety of posts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in San Antonio, Texas, and became an international vice president in 1988, a post she held until 1996. She also served from 1986 to 1996 as a national vice president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, AFL-CIO. In 1993, Chavez-Thompson was elected and served a two-year term as one of 31 vice presidents on the Executive Council of the national AFL-CIO.”

Among Democrats who know about her plans, there is already considerable excitement about a Chavez-Thompson bid. The thinking goes that her personal story — she quit school in the ninth grade so she could start working and earn money for her family — creates a contrast with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the wealthy Republican incumbent. (Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Dewhurst wasn’t born into wealth). And as someone who has risen to the top of the national labor movement and the top of the national Democratic Party, Chavez-Thompson has a myriad of contacts within the party from whom she can raise money. Plus, she is well-known in the San Antonio area.

Not much to add to that. She would present a formidable opponent to the blue-blooded Dewhurst -- or Greg Abbott, if Dewhurst eventually becomes the appointed US Senator.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Summing up the Senate debate on health care reform


If Harry Reid can't bring himself to use reconciliation and restore some of the real reform measures that have been stripped out, then it's time to kill the bill. We'll do it all over again in 2010 after we elect some real Democrats.

(It might be that the quickest way to kill it is to support it as strongly as possible -- if you believe Chris Bowers -- but I can't go there.)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Monday, December 14, 2009

Kinky follows Gilbert to Ag Commish

Let's start with the TexTrib's report. Skip the obvious and scroll down to this:

(Kinky's campaign consultant Colin) Strother says while Friedman did consider the land commissioner post, he felt the agriculture commissioner job was "the best fit". Friedman spent the past week getting advice from his friend, former Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower.

"I've got a pretty detailed plan of action that we'll be rolling out later in the week," Friedman said. "From forming a statewide public defenders' office and setting a goal of at least one animal rescue facility in each county, to restoring our depleted woodlands and promoting a greater role for local producers in school cafeterias, we're going to shake things up and show folks what the office can be if you have someone there who actually cares about the job."

"He's really energetic and excited about it," said Strother. "[He's excited about] the great diversity of things it can do for rural Texas - from economic development, to land and soil conservation... The first thing he wants to do is get an animal rescue facility in every county in Texas. Biofuels and animal rescue were the clinchers."

Friedman says he'll officially file on Tuesday...

That's probably the biggest disappointment here; that Jim Hightower gave him this nudge.

There were hints over the weekend. Kinky had his visits with Farouk Shami and Bill White, and let this slip to the Conroe Courier (hat tip to The MoCo Report) ...

Friedman said he (had) discussed running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner with former commissioner Jim Hightower, singer Willie Nelson and Bill White.

“What I learned is that as agriculture commissioner there was almost nothing I couldn’t do that I couldn’t do as governor,” Friedman said.

Friedman would have been better served by his advisers -- not to mention his own brain -- had he entered any other contest besides the one with the best progressive and the highest Democratic vote-getter in 2006.

I think I could have voted for him if he had chosen Land Commissioner. But not now.

Update: Reactions from Muse, McBlogger, Trail Blazers, Texas Politics, and Poli-Tex. And also Hank Gilbert himself ...

“Since exploring a race for governor, Kinky has had a cigar promotion tour, a book promotion tour and a documentary released about his last run all in an attempt to promote his publishing and business interests. He doesn’t care about running for office for the sake of helping people. He’s looking for the best and most cost-efficient way of building name recognition to sell his products and himself. He’s figured out that an entertainer running for office can generate earned media to help boost his book sales and sell tickets to his shows,” he continued.

“Texas needs bold, common-sense leadership at the Texas Department of Agriculture in order to address the many issues facing consumers, family farms, food producers, and the other industries regulated by the agency. All of these issues directly effect the citizens of this state on a daily basis. People don’t need someone more concerned about self-promotion than selfless public service,” Gilbert said.

Sealy's Army truck plant gets second chance

I find this bizarre, frankly.

The federal government today overturned the Army's decision to shift billions of dollars in combat truck production from Texas to Wisconsin after 17 years, raising hopes that as many 10,000 jobs can be saved at the BAE Systems plant in Sealy and surrounding suppliers.

The decision by the contract appeal division of Congress' watchdog Government Accountability Office set aside the Army's decision last August to hand the potential $2.6 billion five year contract to Oshkosh Corp., a 92-year-old firm in Wisconsin that bid roughly 10 percent below the bid submitted by BAE Systems.

Lots has been posted on this, focusing on the failure of Texas Republican officials -- in particular Michael McCaul -- to see it coming.

Michael R. Golden, GAO's managing associate general counsel for procurement law, announced that his agency had “sustained or upheld the protests” lodged by BAE Systems and Navistar, rivals for the contract that had been awarded to Oshkosh Corp. “The Army's evaluation (of the contract proposals) was flawed with regard to the evaluation of Oshkosh's proposal.”

Golden said GAO recommended that the Army “make a new selection decision.”

The official added: “We also recommended that if at the conclusion of the re-evaluation Oshkosh is not found to offer the best value, the agency should terminate Oshkosh's contract for the convenience of the government.”

Emphasis above is mine.

The Sealy-based subsidiary of British-owned BAE Systems had been hoping the GAO would reopen the contract for a second round of competitive bidding after Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp., won the first phase of a projected $2.6 billion deal to produce 23,000 trucks and trailers over the next five years.

Oshkosh bid roughly 10 percent below the BAE Systems' subsidiary, helping the 92-year-old northern truck manufacturer to win an initial contract to produce 2,568 trucks for $281 million.

...

The Army decision to shift combat truck construction from Texas to Wisconsin was a huge blow to BAE Systems and Texas alike, after the Sealy-based operation produced more than 50,000 2.5-ton and 5-ton utility trucks for the Army for the last 17 years. Company and local officials say as many as 10,000 direct and indirect jobs could be at risk in and around Sealy if the Army were permitted to stick with the decision announced last August to move the contract to Wisconsin starting next October.

So... should we be happy that the jobs in Sealy might be saved, or unhappy that as taxpayers we're going to be paying 10% more? Or will we pay more? Is the GAO simply doing what any group of good beancounters does: leveraging its authority to ratchet down the price? Let's hope that particular outcome will also be good for the Army and our soldiers -- if the new (lower) bid doesn't compromise on reliability and/or safety.

Somewhere in Washington a big ol' political fight is erupting, with the main event between the Wisconsin and Texas Congressional delegations. Pop some corn.

Update: More on the news and more on the credit-taking for the save by our GOP from Stewart Powell at the Chron. Hal at Half Empty also has a take.