Sunday, August 21, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Rick Perry's no good, very bad week
It's only been a week and a half since Governor Profit was praised to the heavens -- or at least to the inside of Reliant Stadium's roof -- and already Republicans of all stripes seem to be worn out with his Texas charm. Just look at this list of news stories in the days since last Saturday's Iowa straw poll:
The WSJ is just now discovering Rick Perry has a crony capitalist problem?! Maybe Rupert Murdoch's cellphone hackers were too busy with other people.
Just today, these items.
-- The governor's theory on the theory of evolution draws scorn in the Granite State.
-- Ron Paul laughingly declares that Perry "makes me look like a moderate", and then proceeds to dynamite his own premise by saying:
To wild applause from the assembled Paulites.
-- Perry can’t defend his claim to a woman in a cafe' that Social Security is unconstitutional because he’s ‘got a big mouthful’ of delicious New Hampshire popover. (Forget those nasty veggie corndogs; popovers are the shiznit.)
-- His spokesperson Ray Sullivan denies ever knowing that Perry, in fact, has said that Social Security was unconstitutional.
This on the heels of Karl Rove's broadsides, and the investment the governor made in a porn film distribution business, a story our very own Burnt Orange Report broke in 1995. (It's nice when the media finds what we've been writing for years, isn't it?)
Nothing about secession or Al Gore, but plenty about his record as a twenty-five-year career politician. Ben Sherman has some additional linkage on the governor's week from hell, and Katherine Haenschen notes that The Response attendees are being targeted for voter registration efforts. Additional proof that the prayer event wasn't a political rally, of course.
Next?
The cultural right was miffed that he didn't want to beat the shit out of brown kids, having signed the Texas version of the DREAM Act into law. The Wall Street right, thinking they had their guy, recoiled in horror as Perry boasted of beating the shit out of Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke if he made his way down to Texas.
Suddenly, that GOP establishment isn't looking too favorably on the Texan. The Bush crowd, still a dominant force in the Republican Party, has led the assault. Even the Wall Street Journal got in on the act, running this headline with apparently no intended irony: "Rick Perry's Crony Capitalism Problem".
The WSJ is just now discovering Rick Perry has a crony capitalist problem?! Maybe Rupert Murdoch's cellphone hackers were too busy with other people.
Just today, these items.
-- The governor's theory on the theory of evolution draws scorn in the Granite State.
-- Ron Paul laughingly declares that Perry "makes me look like a moderate", and then proceeds to dynamite his own premise by saying:
"I have never once said that Bernanke has committed treason. But I have suggested very strongly that the Federal Reserve system and all the members have been counterfeiters for a long time."
To wild applause from the assembled Paulites.
-- Perry can’t defend his claim to a woman in a cafe' that Social Security is unconstitutional because he’s ‘got a big mouthful’ of delicious New Hampshire popover. (Forget those nasty veggie corndogs; popovers are the shiznit.)
-- His spokesperson Ray Sullivan denies ever knowing that Perry, in fact, has said that Social Security was unconstitutional.
This on the heels of Karl Rove's broadsides, and the investment the governor made in a porn film distribution business, a story our very own Burnt Orange Report broke in 1995. (It's nice when the media finds what we've been writing for years, isn't it?)
Nothing about secession or Al Gore, but plenty about his record as a twenty-five-year career politician. Ben Sherman has some additional linkage on the governor's week from hell, and Katherine Haenschen notes that The Response attendees are being targeted for voter registration efforts. Additional proof that the prayer event wasn't a political rally, of course.
That kind of assault might ironically help Perry—one of his biggest liabilities is the perception that he's the establishment choice in a decidedly anti-establishment year—but it doesn't solve the problem of those DC and Wall Street Republicans looking for someone electable in the general election.
Now to be clear, that establishment would be happy enough with Mitt Romney. He's a hedge fund manager's wet dream, and party bosses who actually want to beat President Barack Obama in 2012 can point to polling showing Romney giving Obama the toughest challenge (by a long shot). But they all also know Romney ain't getting past the teabagger crowd. So who is that magic person who can win the nomination and still be electable nationally in the general?
Perry ain't it. They've obviously concluded that. Hence the rampant speculation today that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and anti-Medicare jihadist Rep. Paul Ryan might be exploring the race.
Next?
PerryforPresidentFML.com
Must share this news of Progress Texas' hard work. (If you're the sort that's had trouble understanding what Twitter is all about, this will help you get it: geek fighting for a new generation.)
==========
When it became clear months ago that Rick Perry was headed for a presidential run, Matt Glazer and Mark Corcoran at Progress Texas — no fans of Texas’ longest-serving governor — reacted to the news the way you might if, say, you found out you needed 10 fillings. Or your boss threw a can of SpaghettiOs at your head. Or your kids pulled your pants down at the circus.
“FML.”
At PerryForPresidentFML.com, the liberal activist group is gathering all the factoids they can find about the troubled state of Texas after a decade under Perry’s watch, and spitting them out on Twitter with the #PerryFML hashtag.
Since the weekend, as Rick Perry’s rising star carried @RickPerryFacts and TwitPics of the governor eating a corn dog along with it, #PerryFML has been swept up too.
The Perry facts in rotation include:
“We just did a shallow hit on what his record is — we wanted to make it something that’s easy to share,” said Glazer, the group’s executive director.
“We sort of expected it to be a very slow build,” Glazer said, but within days of Perry’s announcement that he’d launch a campaign, he said, they saw the hashtag take off. “What we expected to be a couple month-long process and really not be used till 2012, it started in 48 hours.”
Each day this week, Glazer said, they’ve maxed out the 1,500-tweet limit on the free Hashtracking account that let them follow the #PerryFML wave. Just based on those hits, though, Corcoran said they’re getting 1.8 million impressions.
========
Head on over and spread the wealth.
==========
When it became clear months ago that Rick Perry was headed for a presidential run, Matt Glazer and Mark Corcoran at Progress Texas — no fans of Texas’ longest-serving governor — reacted to the news the way you might if, say, you found out you needed 10 fillings. Or your boss threw a can of SpaghettiOs at your head. Or your kids pulled your pants down at the circus.
“FML.”
At PerryForPresidentFML.com, the liberal activist group is gathering all the factoids they can find about the troubled state of Texas after a decade under Perry’s watch, and spitting them out on Twitter with the #PerryFML hashtag.
Since the weekend, as Rick Perry’s rising star carried @RickPerryFacts and TwitPics of the governor eating a corn dog along with it, #PerryFML has been swept up too.
The Perry facts in rotation include:
Peter Wagner endorsed Perry’s “Response.” He advocates putting the gov’t under christian rule & burning statues of catholic saints #PerryFML
Rick Perry’s 2011 budget cut funding for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program #PerryFML http://ht.ly/5ZaqW
“We just did a shallow hit on what his record is — we wanted to make it something that’s easy to share,” said Glazer, the group’s executive director.
“We sort of expected it to be a very slow build,” Glazer said, but within days of Perry’s announcement that he’d launch a campaign, he said, they saw the hashtag take off. “What we expected to be a couple month-long process and really not be used till 2012, it started in 48 hours.”
Each day this week, Glazer said, they’ve maxed out the 1,500-tweet limit on the free Hashtracking account that let them follow the #PerryFML wave. Just based on those hits, though, Corcoran said they’re getting 1.8 million impressions.
========
Head on over and spread the wealth.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
TP less popular than atheists, Muslims
Everybody weirded out of the crazy eyed, spinning pictures? Yeah, me too.
Turns out the rest of the country is just as sick of these TeaBagging assholes as you and I are.
Well, nobody could have predicted that, now could they?
Another 'duh' moment.
Hellloooo. That's why we have all of these Wars going on -- the War on Women, the War on Poor People. Ah, but here comes the coup de gras ...
Look at that: the Tea Party is nothing more than a bunch of dirty fucking hippies who found religion -- and ultra-conservatism and bigotry and hate -- in their dotage.
To quote some of their miserable ilk: 'time for this bad experiment in government to come to an end'.
Turns out the rest of the country is just as sick of these TeaBagging assholes as you and I are.
Polls show that disapproval of the Tea Party is climbing. In April 2010, a New York Times/CBS News survey found that 18 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of it, 21 percent had a favorable opinion and 46 percent had not heard enough. Now, 14 months later, Tea Party supporters have slipped to 20 percent, while their opponents have more than doubled, to 40 percent.
Of course, politicians of all stripes are not faring well among the public these days. But in data we have recently collected, the Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists” and “Muslims.” Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right.
Well, nobody could have predicted that, now could they?
Our analysis casts doubt on the Tea Party’s “origin story.” Early on, Tea Partiers were often described as nonpartisan political neophytes. Actually, the Tea Party’s supporters today were highly partisan Republicans long before the Tea Party was born, and were more likely than others to have contacted government officials. In fact, past Republican affiliation is the single strongest predictor of Tea Party support today.
Another 'duh' moment.
So what do Tea Partiers have in common? They are overwhelmingly white, but even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do.
More important, they were disproportionately social conservatives in 2006 — opposing abortion, for example — and still are today. Next to being a Republican, the strongest predictor of being a Tea Party supporter today was a desire, back in 2006, to see religion play a prominent role in politics. And Tea Partiers continue to hold these views: they seek “deeply religious” elected officials, approve of religious leaders’ engaging in politics and want religion brought into political debates. The Tea Party’s generals may say their overriding concern is a smaller government, but not their rank and file, who are more concerned about putting God in government.
Hellloooo. That's why we have all of these Wars going on -- the War on Women, the War on Poor People. Ah, but here comes the coup de gras ...
On everything but the size of government, Tea Party supporters are increasingly out of step with most Americans, even many Republicans. Indeed, at the opposite end of the ideological spectrum, today’s Tea Party parallels the anti-Vietnam War movement which rallied behind George S. McGovern in 1972. The McGovernite activists brought energy, but also stridency, to the Democratic Party — repelling moderate voters and damaging the Democratic brand for a generation. By embracing the Tea Party, Republicans risk repeating history.
Look at that: the Tea Party is nothing more than a bunch of dirty fucking hippies who found religion -- and ultra-conservatism and bigotry and hate -- in their dotage.
To quote some of their miserable ilk: 'time for this bad experiment in government to come to an end'.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Weekly Wrangle
The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes that the nation remembers Molly Ivins' words about Texas governors as it brings you this week's roundup.
Off the Kuff notes that the Voting Rights Act is squarely in the sight of Texas Republicans as they try to get their gerrymandered maps approved.
As Texas Governor Rick Perry (R - idiculous) officially enters the race for President, Letters From Texas presents Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Perry, But Were Afraid To Ask.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson warns that a Rick Perry presidential run should not be taken lightly, because if elected he would be Bush on Steroids.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that Rick Perry (r-Dominionist) is just a puppet for the true leaders of the slow moving mob of republican fanatics.
Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw gives us a quick summary of Good Hair's presidential creds in The Success of Rick Perry.
Do the King Street Patriots -- via the Texas Secretary of State -- intend to turn away veterans at the polls? It looks as if they do, and Open Source Dem at Brains and Eggs has the details.
Neil at Texas Liberal posted on Rick Perry's conflicted views about gay marriage. If you read pages 26 and 27 of the hardcover edition Rick Perry's book Fed Up!, you will see that his social conservatism and his extreme states' rights views are not compatible. Both Rick Perry's far-right backers and his centrist and liberal opponents should note this dramatic inconsistency.
McBlogger takes a look at S&P and finds them wanting.
Off the Kuff notes that the Voting Rights Act is squarely in the sight of Texas Republicans as they try to get their gerrymandered maps approved.
As Texas Governor Rick Perry (R - idiculous) officially enters the race for President, Letters From Texas presents Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Perry, But Were Afraid To Ask.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson warns that a Rick Perry presidential run should not be taken lightly, because if elected he would be Bush on Steroids.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that Rick Perry (r-Dominionist) is just a puppet for the true leaders of the slow moving mob of republican fanatics.
Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw gives us a quick summary of Good Hair's presidential creds in The Success of Rick Perry.
Do the King Street Patriots -- via the Texas Secretary of State -- intend to turn away veterans at the polls? It looks as if they do, and Open Source Dem at Brains and Eggs has the details.
Neil at Texas Liberal posted on Rick Perry's conflicted views about gay marriage. If you read pages 26 and 27 of the hardcover edition Rick Perry's book Fed Up!, you will see that his social conservatism and his extreme states' rights views are not compatible. Both Rick Perry's far-right backers and his centrist and liberal opponents should note this dramatic inconsistency.
McBlogger takes a look at S&P and finds them wanting.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Rick Perry ads through the years
Sadly, the cowboy hat and the assless chaps went by the wayside -- along with "the best schools in America"-- a long time ago.
Update: Now we know why the camera in the very first ad is positioned at belt-buckle level:
Those first, early ones remind me of Lyle here:
Update: Now we know why the camera in the very first ad is positioned at belt-buckle level:
I first met Rick Perry in 1985. He was a Democratic freshman state rep, straight off the ranch in Haskell, Texas. He wore his jeans so tight, and, umm, adjusted himself so often that my fellow young legislative aides and I used to call him Crotch.
Those first, early ones remind me of Lyle here:
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Ames to ... please?
Out of 16,892 straws drawn, Michele Bachmann won 4,823 (28.6%) to Ron Paul's 4,671 (27.7%). Tim Pawlenty, who had focused on a strong showing in the straw poll to rescue his struggling campaign, finished a distant third with 2,293 (13.6%) in a bruising setback. Bumping along behind the horses in the money, garnering in the high single digits percentage-wise, were Rick Santorum and Herman Cain.
Mitt Romney, who won this beauty contest four years ago, declined to defend his title and came in seventh with 3.3%. He trailed even a non-attending write-in candidate.
Yes. The front-runner for the national campaign lost to ...
Governor Prophet earned 718 write-ins and 4%, yet chose to make his long-anticipated entry to the GOP presidential primary from over a thousand miles away from Iowa -- in the cradle of American secession -- but at virtually the same moment the candidates in Ames began speaking.
Romney's brand of Republican moderation will play a little better in New Hampshire, but this is essentially a three-man, one-woman contest already.
Despite what The Grifter from Wasilla may interpret from the concurrent 'corn kernel' poll.
Separately, attendees voted in a corn kernel poll, which measures the support of each Republican by the number of kernels in their respective Mason jar. By late morning, the kernel level in Sarah Palin’s jar rose just above the best-known GOP candidates — even though the former Alaska governor has not declared her intentions yet for 2012.
"There is still plenty of room in that field for common-sense conservatives who have executive experience," Palin said during a fair visit. "Watching the debate not just last night but watching this whole process over the last year it certainly shows me that yeah, there is plenty of room for more people."
Yeah. Yeah!
Update: Ted with more. Oh, and Pawlenty gives up his seat in the clown car.
So long, T-Paw. We hardly knew ye.
Update II: Is Rick Perry man enough to gobble a corn dog, thereby rescuing Michele Bachmann from the vicious sexism leveled at her by the global online community?
Update III: Praise God.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Do the King Street Patriots intend to turn away veterans at the polls?
Open Source Dem recently made a presentation to Harris County Democrats about the challenges facing them with regard to the new election law requirements surrounding voter registration, voter ID, and the like. Here's a synopsis.
==========
There is one piece of news and three main messages to bring back from the Secretary of State’s 29th Annual Election Law Seminar in Austin.
The SoS reiterated for voter registrars and election officials that the voter ID requirement, which can be met with a vaguely-defined “military identity card”, does not include the photo ID issued to military veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA card is not issued by the US Department of Defense. The Veterans Administration -- now the Department of Veterans’ Affairs -- headed by General Shinseki is now a cabinet-level office, second in number of employees only to the DoD itself.
The VA card is a high-value and high-quality photo ID document linked to medical and military records. It is not a voting credential in its own right, since like any other military identification document, it may be issued to a non-citizen. Still, as a practical matter it is probably a better authentication document than a DPS-issued card. Of course buried in all of this voter ID business is nothing more or less than a constant demand that people who do not look like Republican voters produce arcane documents to prove again and again that they are not just eligible and registered to vote but that they are “qualified” to vote in in the eyes of hostile clerks who suspect, but cannot prove, they are not convicts or wards.
The VA card is reasonably “a United States military identification card that contains the person’s photograph that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation”, to quote the statute. As with other military identification cards, it does not expire except at death, but can be revoked. That is how much real understanding of authentication matters the legislature or the Governor’s office truly have: none. Revocation, expiration, what’s the difference? A lot!
But what the GOP, the Tea Party, and the King Street Patriots do understand is voter suppression.
Indeed, the VA card is the second most common form of photo ID after the Texas driver’s license (which does expire). The GOP is limiting access to the polls any and every way they can with no pushback from the Democratic echelons or branches of government. Is there a suffrage lobby or movement today? Evidently not.
So what do Texas Democrats really care about? A VA hospital in the Rio Grande valley? Or a statewide voter registration program for homeless veterans? Perhaps a full measure of dignity and recognition for all veterans presenting themselves to vote? Here’s a clue: Democrats will never benefit from the first two unless they can provide the third of these.
The VA is recognized in Texas election law as one of the two federal authorities for exempting a person from the photo ID requirement altogether, although it is inconceivable that an exempt veteran would not have a VA card. Catch 22. How much more military than that can you get?
What is not news is that the voter ID requirement has nothing to do with authenticating voters and all the world to do with levying costly economic and often impassable physical barriers to suffrage: a poll tax, in so much legal verbosity.
It is not clear what if any response the Democratic Party or the Obama administration will have to any of this. So far they have contributed to the legal verbosity and, of course, capitulated to the Secretary of State.
Update:
==========
There is one piece of news and three main messages to bring back from the Secretary of State’s 29th Annual Election Law Seminar in Austin.
The SoS reiterated for voter registrars and election officials that the voter ID requirement, which can be met with a vaguely-defined “military identity card”, does not include the photo ID issued to military veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA card is not issued by the US Department of Defense. The Veterans Administration -- now the Department of Veterans’ Affairs -- headed by General Shinseki is now a cabinet-level office, second in number of employees only to the DoD itself.
The VA card is a high-value and high-quality photo ID document linked to medical and military records. It is not a voting credential in its own right, since like any other military identification document, it may be issued to a non-citizen. Still, as a practical matter it is probably a better authentication document than a DPS-issued card. Of course buried in all of this voter ID business is nothing more or less than a constant demand that people who do not look like Republican voters produce arcane documents to prove again and again that they are not just eligible and registered to vote but that they are “qualified” to vote in in the eyes of hostile clerks who suspect, but cannot prove, they are not convicts or wards.
The VA card is reasonably “a United States military identification card that contains the person’s photograph that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation”, to quote the statute. As with other military identification cards, it does not expire except at death, but can be revoked. That is how much real understanding of authentication matters the legislature or the Governor’s office truly have: none. Revocation, expiration, what’s the difference? A lot!
But what the GOP, the Tea Party, and the King Street Patriots do understand is voter suppression.
Indeed, the VA card is the second most common form of photo ID after the Texas driver’s license (which does expire). The GOP is limiting access to the polls any and every way they can with no pushback from the Democratic echelons or branches of government. Is there a suffrage lobby or movement today? Evidently not.
So what do Texas Democrats really care about? A VA hospital in the Rio Grande valley? Or a statewide voter registration program for homeless veterans? Perhaps a full measure of dignity and recognition for all veterans presenting themselves to vote? Here’s a clue: Democrats will never benefit from the first two unless they can provide the third of these.
The VA is recognized in Texas election law as one of the two federal authorities for exempting a person from the photo ID requirement altogether, although it is inconceivable that an exempt veteran would not have a VA card. Catch 22. How much more military than that can you get?
What is not news is that the voter ID requirement has nothing to do with authenticating voters and all the world to do with levying costly economic and often impassable physical barriers to suffrage: a poll tax, in so much legal verbosity.
It is not clear what if any response the Democratic Party or the Obama administration will have to any of this. So far they have contributed to the legal verbosity and, of course, capitulated to the Secretary of State.
Update:
State Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) and Charlie Jones of Texas Democratic Veterans will host a press conference to discuss the Texas Secretary of State’s interpretation of the GOP-backed voter ID bill (SB 14) to bar the VA benefit card as an acceptable form of military ID. The press conference will take place Friday, August 12, 2011, at VFW Post #76, 10 Tenth Street, San Antonio TX.
Republicans square off in Iowa debate tonight
Here's the advance from Chris Cillizza. Jon Huntsman will be the new face in the first GOP face-off since June. No Rick Perry in Ames -- despite his attempt to upstage the event -- and no Palin.
Romney's "Corporations are people, too" gaffe is liable to hurt him. If not among the other oligarchs on the stage, then with conservatives and independents who aren't so inclined to feel empathy for the INCs and the LLCs and the PCs and so on. Surely there are some of those somewhere ...
The debate will be showing everywhere you care (or don't) to watch on your teevee -- or online -- this evening.
Update: More from The Ticket ...
The star of the show is likely to be Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who's been riding a wave of momentum since her strong performance in the June debate in New Hampshire. Polling shows Bachmann running strong in Iowa and she is the favorite to win Saturday's Ames Straw Poll.
Bachmann's rise over the past two months ensures she will be on the receiving end of barbs from her rivals as they seek to slow her progress. How she handles the slings and arrows will be a major storyline to watch.
The other person to keep an eye on is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney enters the debate as the frontrunner for the nomination. But he won't be competing in the straw poll over the weekend and is de-emphasizing the Iowa caucuses in his plans to win the nomination. Expect the other people on stage to mock Romney's on-again, off-again plans in the state.
The Iowa caucuses are still months away, but debates are rare moments when voters pay attention long enough to compare and contrast. Any winner in this one gets media and money.
Romney's "Corporations are people, too" gaffe is liable to hurt him. If not among the other oligarchs on the stage, then with conservatives and independents who aren't so inclined to feel empathy for the INCs and the LLCs and the PCs and so on. Surely there are some of those somewhere ...
The debate will be showing everywhere you care (or don't) to watch on your teevee -- or online -- this evening.
Update: More from The Ticket ...
Tomorrow, Sarah Palin, who is flirting with her own White House bid, will revive her bus tour in Iowa, visiting the state fair in Des Moines, and threatening to upstage other GOP hopefuls in the state. On Saturday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will officially declare his intentions to run for president in South Carolina--a speech that happens to be scheduled on the same day as the Ames straw poll.
A week from now, we will likely know more about the make-up of the so-far volatile GOP field. Can Rommey hold on to his position as frontrunner? Is Perry the savior many GOP voters are looking for? Can Pawlenty gain enough momentum to save his lackluster campaign? Will Ron Paul be taken seriously? And can Huntsman and Newt Gingrich—two candidates whose campaigns have fallen short of expectations—survive? Is Palin even running?
Here's a quick look at what's at stake for some of the leading GOP contenders ...
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
One of the reasons I objected to The Response
Because I also know first-hand how filled with love many Christians are.
The Fox News Facebook page got over 8,000 death threats posted on its wall after the communications director for the group American Atheists, Blair Scott, appeared on the network’s “America Live” discussing the group’s lawsuit hoping to stop the erection of a crucifix at the World Trade Center Memorial.
The admins of Fox’s Facebook page worked furiously to delete the hateful posts, but not before the atheist blogger behind One Man’s Blog managed to capture screenshots, some of which we’ve reproduced below.
Organizers of the 9/11 museum feel that the cross, which is a symbol of hope for many, should have a place at the memorial. And then there are those other folks who passionately disagree with Scott’s group and who are behaving in a manner that is contrary to their religion fundamentals.
Christians are up in arms about Blair’s television appearance and have waged an all-out war against his possibly blocking the memorial’s plans. Reportedly, by the time Blair returned to his office, his voicemail was full to capacity with threat messages from Christians who were seething with hatred.
Monday, August 08, 2011
2011 vs. 1980
Eric Berger, SciGuy:
I spent June through August 1980, my last summer before graduating from Lamar University, as a laborer at the Mobil (now Exxon Mobil, of course) refinery in Beaumont. Two things I remember ...
1. Just as Eric's chart above indicates, it was 100 degrees or more nearly every day in July (August was strangely cooler). I was assigned to the coking unit and they took the furnaces down for a maintenance turnaround. We would crawl into them, clean them out for a few minutes, and then come out. It was about 115-120 even after those giant ovens had cooled overnight, and exiting them into the one-hundred-degree air outside felt like opening the freezer door in your face -- an instant but brief blast of coolness.
2. Just before I was about to leave the plant for the fall semester, Hurricane Allen swirled into the Gulf and rapidly strengthened to a Category 5. That hurricane was so big that the radar pictures showed him filling the entire Gulf of Mexico. We spent a couple of days scrambling all over that coker pulling down hoses and buckets and mallets and wrenches and anything else that could conceivably become a projectile in a gale-force wind.
(If you haven't already read the Wiki link above, Allen eventually went in just north of Brownsville and took a straight shot at Big Bend before petering out.)
That was the hottest, dirtiest, meanest, nastiest summer of my life. But this one's coming close to it.
I’m running out of superlatives to describe this summer’s heat, so this week I’m going to focus in on 100-degree days, especially after the run of them we’ve had to start August. So far every day this month has reached the century mark.
All told this summer we’ve had eighteen 100-degree days. That’s more than three times the normal for a Houston summer, which is five. But it’s not the most.
The city’s record for most 100-degree days came in 1980, with 32. The following table shows how our 100-degree days each month stack up. We’re already seventh this year with just one-quarter of the month gone.
.
Rank June July August September 1. 10 (1902) 18 (1980) 14 (1993) 5 (2000) 2. 8 (1980) 13 (1998) 10 (1999) 4 (1995) 3. 7 (2011) 10 (2000) 9 (1902) 3 2005) 4. 7 (2009) 7 (1909) 8 (1998) 2 (1909) 5. 4 (1906) 5 (1978) 8 (1962) 2 (1907) 6. 2 (1998) 4 (2011) 8 (1907) 1 (1985) 7. 2 (1934) 4 (2009) 7 (2011) 1 (1980) 8. 2 (1930) 4 (1995) 7 (1951) None 9. 2 (1911) 4 (1986) 7 (1909) None 10. 1 (2006) 4 (1969) 6 (2009) None
Interestingly there’s never been a 100-degree day in Houston in May, although it did hit 99 degrees in 1996.
I spent June through August 1980, my last summer before graduating from Lamar University, as a laborer at the Mobil (now Exxon Mobil, of course) refinery in Beaumont. Two things I remember ...
1. Just as Eric's chart above indicates, it was 100 degrees or more nearly every day in July (August was strangely cooler). I was assigned to the coking unit and they took the furnaces down for a maintenance turnaround. We would crawl into them, clean them out for a few minutes, and then come out. It was about 115-120 even after those giant ovens had cooled overnight, and exiting them into the one-hundred-degree air outside felt like opening the freezer door in your face -- an instant but brief blast of coolness.
2. Just before I was about to leave the plant for the fall semester, Hurricane Allen swirled into the Gulf and rapidly strengthened to a Category 5. That hurricane was so big that the radar pictures showed him filling the entire Gulf of Mexico. We spent a couple of days scrambling all over that coker pulling down hoses and buckets and mallets and wrenches and anything else that could conceivably become a projectile in a gale-force wind.
(If you haven't already read the Wiki link above, Allen eventually went in just north of Brownsville and took a straight shot at Big Bend before petering out.)
That was the hottest, dirtiest, meanest, nastiest summer of my life. But this one's coming close to it.
The Weekly Wrangle
The Response blew into Houston, raised the temperature a few more insufferable degrees, and left quickly without spending any money or delivering any rain. The Texas Progressive Alliance, meanwhile, is praying for a cool snap and drought relief as it brings you this week's roundup.
There's still redistricting going on, as Harris County tries to redraw its county commissioners' precincts. So far, the main thing they've done is attract a lawsuit from Latinos who say they have retrogressed the one Latino opportunity district. Off the Kuff has the scoop.
The Response had better than expected attendance, a very diverse crowd, and the event's sponsors made a sincere effort to have the event be all about one man (not the governor of Texas). Having praised it, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs then proceeded to rip it. Wide open.
Our economy is in bad shape and is unlikely to get better any time soon. WCNews at Eye On Williamson tells us the reason why: The politics of the economy are upside down.
Prior to The Response, Letters From Texas predicted the response to the response to The Response.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is disgusted with the republican campaign to destroy the middle class, kick the poor to kingdom come and abandon the elderly.
This week Left of College Station began Rick Perry's Texas project, telling the truth about the governor's record in Texas. From Perry's scores on climate change to the fact that the Texas economic miracle was really a stimulus miracle.
Lightseeker offers his take on Why Democrats Lose Texas Elections. Hint: It's NOT because we are too Liberal! See the whole analysis at TexasKaos.
This week at McBlogger, Harry offers forth from the Book of Balczak his take on Prayerapalooza.
There's still redistricting going on, as Harris County tries to redraw its county commissioners' precincts. So far, the main thing they've done is attract a lawsuit from Latinos who say they have retrogressed the one Latino opportunity district. Off the Kuff has the scoop.
The Response had better than expected attendance, a very diverse crowd, and the event's sponsors made a sincere effort to have the event be all about one man (not the governor of Texas). Having praised it, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs then proceeded to rip it. Wide open.
Our economy is in bad shape and is unlikely to get better any time soon. WCNews at Eye On Williamson tells us the reason why: The politics of the economy are upside down.
Prior to The Response, Letters From Texas predicted the response to the response to The Response.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is disgusted with the republican campaign to destroy the middle class, kick the poor to kingdom come and abandon the elderly.
This week Left of College Station began Rick Perry's Texas project, telling the truth about the governor's record in Texas. From Perry's scores on climate change to the fact that the Texas economic miracle was really a stimulus miracle.
Lightseeker offers his take on Why Democrats Lose Texas Elections. Hint: It's NOT because we are too Liberal! See the whole analysis at TexasKaos.
This week at McBlogger, Harry offers forth from the Book of Balczak his take on Prayerapalooza.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Sunday Funnies
Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
-- Epicurus
The scene inside and outside Reliant
Let's say some nice things first.
I believe the crowd was closer to 30,000 than any other number. I was on the floor of the stadium, to the left front of the stage and ahead of the soundboard but three rows back in the second seating section, by 8:25 yesterday morning.
The crowd was not only much larger than projected but also very diverse. I expected mostly white, middle-aged, and well-fed but there were many younger people of all creeds. In front of me was a row of high school -- or maybe college-age -- kids: one skinny tall red-headed Caucasian with a scruffy little beard, next to a shorter and even thinner black guy, next to a girl of Indio-Pakistani descent, next to her African-American girl friend, with two more of their Latina friends behind them.
They all not only held hands with God and prayed and sang at the top of their lungs but also bounced and pogo'd throughout the musical accompaniment, which occupied much of the time leading up to about 10 a.m.
In my row and those behind me were nearly all middle-aged and senior white people, but there was also a Hispanic family wearing Texans jerseys, having walked over after that morning's team practice across the street. Two guys, one woman -- all of them no more than late '20's, two little guys about 10 or so. The kids were munching from a big tub of popcorn, and the aroma was as sinful as it always is. I saw a senior Asian couple walking slowly arm in arm. Nearly no wheelchairs or walkers and no scooters (mobility-challenged people might have had a special section that I didn't see, higher up). But very few coming in, maybe because Reliant is so damned difficult for them to access -- long, sloping ramps or escalators being the primary entry.
The Responders were just as demographically mixed as any game at the ballpark I've been to, any street festival or outdoor concert in Houston. There were plenty of southern Baptist conventioneers by appearance, to be sure. Many obvious, ah, rural folk. But many Latinos and many African Americans also, of all ages.
OK then; to the play-by-play.
My intention was to get with the protestors outside early and then go into the stadium later in the morning, but the group I was looking for was nowhere in sight around 8 a.m., so I parked at the Holiday Inn due north of Reliant and ambled south across the vast asphalt expanse toward the giant dome. There's a VIP parking area to the immediate north of the arena, and as I walked past it headed for the south side gates I saw a bomb-sniffing dog and his handler sniffing out the cars there. I'm certain that detail isn't part of the normal stadium security even on an NFL Sunday, and I wondered who was paying for it. That was my first Tweet of the day.
As I came around to the south end there were ten or fifteen queues for bag checks and light patdowns, same as on game days. I lined up and took off my backpack for inspection, observing the stout little man in a grey polyester suit ahead of me as he was instructed to throw away his snacks -- a package of cinnamon rolls on a tin tray -- and his bottle of water. At his feet, under the table, were about 20 more abandoned water bottles.
I unzipped the compartments of my backpack, which contained sunblock, two frozen plastic bottles of water, some beef jerky, peanut butter crackers, a Luna bar, my diabetes and Meneire's meds, a notebook and some pens. I lifted it to the table and said, as the guard peeked in: "I have my Bible, my diabetes medication, a notebook, some pens ..."
He said, "you're good; go ahead". And so on I went.
As I made my way down to the floor there was a Christian rock band playing. A heavily U2-influenced one. Everything they played sounded like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to me. But let's be kind and say that Christian rock music and its associated production values have come a long, long way just in the past few years. (One favorite artist from my youth -- Mark Farner of Grand Funk -- saw the light and crossed over years ago, but I was never, ever into the Strypers and the Jars of Clay and the like. And those are old farts compared to Switchfoot and Five Iron Frenzy. Anyway ...)
Up in front of the stage they had cleared out some seating and created ... you guessed it, a Christian mosh pit. And some of the people coming out of there were white, middle-aged, and profusely sweaty. There was a little bit more than the predictable swaying and arm-waving going on. A little more, not a lot.
A prayer, a song, then a slow-dance version of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling down the vineyards where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.
Glory glory hallelujah!
Glory glory hallelujah!
Glory glory hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Everybody sing along!
Another band -- a folk instrumentalist dead-ringer for Glen Maxey (if Glen still had shoulder-length hair that was salt-and-pepper) and a soloist singing some old revival hymn, a prayer, another song, a truly great gospel choir of at least 60 African Americans, then an introduction of the co-sponsors by Richard Land: the Dobsons, Tony Perkins, the others ...
Around ten o'clock Luis Cataldo, the director of The Response, came out and opened the show. He took complete control of the assembly, by this time at least ten and maybe fifteen thousand, with his opening remarks. Paraphrasing from my hastily scribbled notes ...
So much for the fasting. For some. More on that in a moment. Cataldo likewise and deservedly praised the diversity of the assembly and went on:
I cannot emphasize this point enough: Cataldo took total control of the crowd. He confronted their biases and their anxiety, and asked -- no, instructed -- them to lay off that burden. And I think his directions mostly took hold, as well.
Or something like that. Thoughts of the highway to hell's pavement came to mind often.
The only time things got offensively political was when a stream of teenagers came forward and screamed out prayers for "God's intervention in stopping abortion in America". I wondered if their interpretation of 'God's intervention' includes clinic bombings and doctor assassinations. No, I really do wonder about that. Because I fear that it does.
Rick Perry was scheduled for 11:20 a.m. I left the arena floor around 10:45, my toxicity meter redlining, my phone battery waning and my back teeth floating. As I made my way out I stopped and talked to my fellow Demoncrat Erik Vidor, who was setting up his video camera in front of the soundboard. Knowing there would be plenty of opportunities later to see the Prophet's remarks, I headed up to the concourse, took a piss and then walked outside to find MY people. My Chosen Ones.
Where there was no one in place responding to The Response at 8 a.m. there were now around a couple of hundred, with signs and hats and costumes and songs and chants. There was a large group -- 60 to 75 -- at the front door, in the shade of the towering Reliant structure on the west side facing Kirby Drive at Murworth, and several more gatherings along Kirby all the way down toward 610, collecting under the shade of the small oaks there in numbers of a dozen or so each.
I joined the shady siders and stayed until about 12:30, retiring to break my own fast with a Satan Sandwich, a side socialism salad, and an independent progressive ale at the Sports Page, the bar inside the Holiday Inn, before returning home and streaming The Response's video while joining the Twitter feed. (#theresponse)
More coverage:
More photos from the Houston Chronicle
More photos of protestors from thanks_imjustlurking's Photobucket album
I believe the crowd was closer to 30,000 than any other number. I was on the floor of the stadium, to the left front of the stage and ahead of the soundboard but three rows back in the second seating section, by 8:25 yesterday morning.
In my row and those behind me were nearly all middle-aged and senior white people, but there was also a Hispanic family wearing Texans jerseys, having walked over after that morning's team practice across the street. Two guys, one woman -- all of them no more than late '20's, two little guys about 10 or so. The kids were munching from a big tub of popcorn, and the aroma was as sinful as it always is. I saw a senior Asian couple walking slowly arm in arm. Nearly no wheelchairs or walkers and no scooters (mobility-challenged people might have had a special section that I didn't see, higher up). But very few coming in, maybe because Reliant is so damned difficult for them to access -- long, sloping ramps or escalators being the primary entry.
The Responders were just as demographically mixed as any game at the ballpark I've been to, any street festival or outdoor concert in Houston. There were plenty of southern Baptist conventioneers by appearance, to be sure. Many obvious, ah, rural folk. But many Latinos and many African Americans also, of all ages.
OK then; to the play-by-play.
My intention was to get with the protestors outside early and then go into the stadium later in the morning, but the group I was looking for was nowhere in sight around 8 a.m., so I parked at the Holiday Inn due north of Reliant and ambled south across the vast asphalt expanse toward the giant dome. There's a VIP parking area to the immediate north of the arena, and as I walked past it headed for the south side gates I saw a bomb-sniffing dog and his handler sniffing out the cars there. I'm certain that detail isn't part of the normal stadium security even on an NFL Sunday, and I wondered who was paying for it. That was my first Tweet of the day.
As I came around to the south end there were ten or fifteen queues for bag checks and light patdowns, same as on game days. I lined up and took off my backpack for inspection, observing the stout little man in a grey polyester suit ahead of me as he was instructed to throw away his snacks -- a package of cinnamon rolls on a tin tray -- and his bottle of water. At his feet, under the table, were about 20 more abandoned water bottles.
I unzipped the compartments of my backpack, which contained sunblock, two frozen plastic bottles of water, some beef jerky, peanut butter crackers, a Luna bar, my diabetes and Meneire's meds, a notebook and some pens. I lifted it to the table and said, as the guard peeked in: "I have my Bible, my diabetes medication, a notebook, some pens ..."
He said, "you're good; go ahead". And so on I went.
As I made my way down to the floor there was a Christian rock band playing. A heavily U2-influenced one. Everything they played sounded like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to me. But let's be kind and say that Christian rock music and its associated production values have come a long, long way just in the past few years. (One favorite artist from my youth -- Mark Farner of Grand Funk -- saw the light and crossed over years ago, but I was never, ever into the Strypers and the Jars of Clay and the like. And those are old farts compared to Switchfoot and Five Iron Frenzy. Anyway ...)
Up in front of the stage they had cleared out some seating and created ... you guessed it, a Christian mosh pit. And some of the people coming out of there were white, middle-aged, and profusely sweaty. There was a little bit more than the predictable swaying and arm-waving going on. A little more, not a lot.
A prayer, a song, then a slow-dance version of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling down the vineyards where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.
Glory glory hallelujah!
Glory glory hallelujah!
Glory glory hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Everybody sing along!
Another band -- a folk instrumentalist dead-ringer for Glen Maxey (if Glen still had shoulder-length hair that was salt-and-pepper) and a soloist singing some old revival hymn, a prayer, another song, a truly great gospel choir of at least 60 African Americans, then an introduction of the co-sponsors by Richard Land: the Dobsons, Tony Perkins, the others ...
Around ten o'clock Luis Cataldo, the director of The Response, came out and opened the show. He took complete control of the assembly, by this time at least ten and maybe fifteen thousand, with his opening remarks. Paraphrasing from my hastily scribbled notes ...
"This day is for one person. ONE man." (No, he was not referring to the governor of Texas.) "Today will be a day of fasting and prayer, a gathering unto God as the body of Christ to worship, repent, and pray for America. May Jesus' name be lifted above every other name today in Reliant Stadium."
So much for the fasting. For some. More on that in a moment. Cataldo likewise and deservedly praised the diversity of the assembly and went on:
"We will have a Spanish translator shortly, but she is stuck in traffic. Now when she arrives, you'll hear our speakers in English and her Spanish translation immediately following. It will sound a little confusing at first, but after awhile it won't bother you and then you won't even notice it. As you look around, you may see people doing something and you'll ask yourself: 'what are they doing? Why are they doing that? Should I be doing that?' Don't worry about that. Just worship and pray in your own way and don't be concerned with what others are doing."
"Some people are fasting and some are not, for whatever reason. Some people will be praying and singing out loud and some won't. Some will be raising their hands to God and some won't. When we break into small groups later to share our prayers with each other, if you don't have a prayer or can't think of one then say 'Amen', or 'ditto', or 'what he said'. We want you -- the Lord wants you -- to be a participant today, not a spectator. You are standing before God on behalf of America; He wants to hear your voice. But don't worry about what others are doing or how they are doing it. Give grace to God in your own way and allow everyone else the freedom to do the same."
I cannot emphasize this point enough: Cataldo took total control of the crowd. He confronted their biases and their anxiety, and asked -- no, instructed -- them to lay off that burden. And I think his directions mostly took hold, as well.
"We're not selling any merchandise here today. There's no offering being collected. There are no signs or banners, there's no one denomination authorizing or being featured by our guest speakers or musical groups.
"This day is to worship God in spirit and truth, to come together as a diverse body with sincerity, wholeheartedness, and repentance. We believe that America is in a state of crisis. Not just politically, financially or morally, but because we are a nation that has not honored God in our successes nor humbly called on Him in our struggles. According to the Bible, the answer to a nation in such crisis is to gather in humility and ask God to intervene.
"Today is a historic day of people from across the nation to pray and fast for America."
Or something like that. Thoughts of the highway to hell's pavement came to mind often.
The only time things got offensively political was when a stream of teenagers came forward and screamed out prayers for "God's intervention in stopping abortion in America". I wondered if their interpretation of 'God's intervention' includes clinic bombings and doctor assassinations. No, I really do wonder about that. Because I fear that it does.
Rick Perry was scheduled for 11:20 a.m. I left the arena floor around 10:45, my toxicity meter redlining, my phone battery waning and my back teeth floating. As I made my way out I stopped and talked to my fellow Demoncrat Erik Vidor, who was setting up his video camera in front of the soundboard. Knowing there would be plenty of opportunities later to see the Prophet's remarks, I headed up to the concourse, took a piss and then walked outside to find MY people. My Chosen Ones.
I joined the shady siders and stayed until about 12:30, retiring to break my own fast with a Satan Sandwich, a side socialism salad, and an independent progressive ale at the Sports Page, the bar inside the Holiday Inn, before returning home and streaming The Response's video while joining the Twitter feed. (#theresponse)
More coverage:
More photos from the Houston Chronicle
More photos of protestors from thanks_imjustlurking's Photobucket album
God's Response to Rick Perry
Kate Shellnutt's Believe It or Not live-blog of The Response
Rick Perry ain't whistlin' Dixie ... or is he? (YouTube)
Tens of thousands of Houstonians turn out for back-to-school help
A good seven miles from Gov. Rick Perry's much-anticipated prayer rally, an even larger crowd of Houstonians gathered in preparation for another sacred event: the first day of school.
Some families camped out for hours to gain admittance into Houston's first-ever, citywide back-to-school event at George R. Brown Convention Center, where free backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, haircut vouchers, immunizations and fresh produce were provided.
Others were turned away.
(The article originally contained crowd estimates of 100,000 but that has now been edited out.)
Friday, August 05, 2011
A bit more Response
The ADL's David Furlow presented "Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Origins of Religious Freedom" at the Jewish Community Center here last Tuesday evening.
And one more, a classic scene from Blazing Saddles, that exemplifies everything the Christians assembling in Reliant tomorrow and their TeaBagger brethren represent.
And one more, a classic scene from Blazing Saddles, that exemplifies everything the Christians assembling in Reliant tomorrow and their TeaBagger brethren represent.
Countdown to Prayerpalooza
The governor will give brief remarks, read scripture and offer a prayer in the middle of the seven-hour-long program, said Eric Bearse, spokesman for the event, called The Response.
Even the pandering is bigger in Texas.
Alice Patterson is the Texas state coordinator for The Response. And while The Response is explicitly a nonpartisan event, that hasn't kept Patterson from arguing that the Democratic Party is "an invisible network of evil." Hey, that could mean anything!
Controlled by demons! Demoncrats! It all makes sense now.
"They're intolerant, they're hateful, they're vile, they're spiteful," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said of gay rights activists in April. "They're not the enemy. The enemy is simply using them as pawns. They are held captive by the enemy." Perkins, whose FRC was recently labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its anti-gay rhetoric, has been named as a co-chair of The Response and will speak at the event. Bryan Fischer, the American Family Association's issues director, has taken things even further:
So Hitler himself was an active homosexual. And some people wonder, didn't the Germans, didn't the Nazis, persecute homosexuals? And it is true they did; they persecuted effeminate homosexuals. But Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders, but that homosexual soldiers basically had no limits and the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict on whomever Hitler sent them after. So he surrounded himself, virtually all of the Stormtroopers, the Brownshirts, were male homosexuals.
All of which is false.
The AFA, which is co-sponsoring the event, recently launched a boycott of the popular Fox television program Glee because it is "glamorizing homosexual behavior."
But it's not just gay people and Democrats they hate; it's grizzly bears and killer whales and the Statue of Liberty and the Sun Goddess.
The recently emerging perception today, PrayerMania Eve, is that all of this attention being paid to Perry, his Response -- and particularly the vicious criticism he has endured -- is drawing legions of sympathetic Christians, previously turned off by the governor's public piety, to rise up and rally to his defense.
Yes, now the spin is that he's being persecuted for his religious beliefs, just like That Other Prophet, and he must be Saved.
I suppose if the Christian Soldiers rallying tomorrow in the football stadium can produce Perry to meet his critics face to face, then perhaps the cross, the nails, and the angry mob could be produced to give them what they want.
A martyr.
FAA goes back to work, no thanks to Congress
Not much to add to Loren Steffy here:
The GOP is still whining that"card check" The Employee Free Choice Act legislation they continue to stall and obstruct is part of the problem, but that is -- as usual -- false, and a straw man argument.
The Tea Party's full-court assault on the rights of all Americans that aren't white and wealthy is slowing destroying this great nation.
Slow, hell. It's been pretty rapid from my POV.
The 13-day shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration appears to have ended yesterday in a patchwork compromise, and although President Obama praised congressional leaders for “working together,” they really aren’t. It’s Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that deserves credit for breaking the stalemate.
As I wrote earlier, long-term FAA funding has been mired in a political debate over issues unrelated to agency funding. One pertains to how airlines unionize, and the other to federal subsidies for rural air service. Republicans in the House slipped the rural air provision into the emergency funding bill, and Democrats in the Senate refused to accept it. It was, in the words of Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a “procedural hand grenade.”
As I said earlier, rural air subsidies are definitely ripe for review, but they are always a political hot potato because no lawmaker wants to vote to eliminate subsidies in his or her own district. In other words, this isn’t the sort of measure that should be determining funding for the agency that oversees the entire commercial aviation infrastructure for the country. But as they did on the debt ceiling debacle, lawmakers gave politics precedence over national interest.
Relief came only after LaHood determined that he has the authority to waive the subsidy cuts, which essentially postpones them until Congress returns from vacation. That enables the Senate to approve the emergency funding by unanimous consent later this morning. But it’s important to realize that Congress did nothing to reach this temporary compromise. If the administration hadn’t intervened, 4,000 FAA workers would remain on furlough and thousands more private-sector construction jobs, including many here in Houston, would remain in limbo.
In the meantime, the shutdown has cost the government some $350 million in lost aviation taxes while lawmakers squabble over $16.5 million worth of route subsidies.
Once again, Congress has attempted to disguise dysfunction and delay as compromise. Lawmakers have resolved nothing, and taxpayers and the FAA will get to endure all this again when Congress returns from vacation.
The GOP is still whining that
The Tea Party's full-court assault on the rights of all Americans that aren't white and wealthy is slowing destroying this great nation.
Slow, hell. It's been pretty rapid from my POV.
Thursday, August 04, 2011
The response to 'The Response': not what Perry was hoping for
Maybe God has overlooked telling the governor a few details about his big tent prayer meetin'.
And though it won't be nearly as crazy as next week's Jets-Texans preseason opener, there will be a good crowd inside and outside Reliant on Saturday.
Yeah, he'll be hiding somewhere in a luxury suite with the other bigoted bigwigs, maybe counting the collection plates, but this old-time revival is now less about Rick Perry and more about the mess he's made for himself.
Besides the upwards-of-10,000 prayers and fasters, there will be several hundred, maybe a couple thousand real Americans lining Kirby demonstrating the First Amendment rights that the American Family Association believes belong only to them.
HPD and the county sheriff's department are mobilizing for potential confrontation and security purposes, which means a lot of those horse cops, the ones that like to "accidentally" trample people. I'm certain the governor's own security detail -- you know, the one we pay for but the state refuses to disclose the costs of -- has been increased. Media trucks from all over the nation will be creating their own traffic jam. And if any Christians want to sneak a snack before, or break their fast after, they'll encounter some of those evil "Anti-Christians" celebrating their day of Debauchery and Gluttony in the area's restaurants.
If you're out and about down there, count on seeing a lot of screaming back and forth and maybe some shoving. These New Age Bible-thumpers have more hate, fear, and loathing than even a lot of TeaBaggers. I wonder if any of the Christians will get so angry they pull their guns out.
And it would be interesting if any of the old-school hookers decide to work South Main on Saturday, too. Some people say that those Holy Rollers really like to get their freak on when God isn't looking.
Good times. Here's a list of other responses to The Response:
LGBT Texans Against Hate will hold a rally in downtown Houston's Tranquility Park (406 Rusk St) from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday. The keynote speaker is Rep. Garnet Coleman. The rally will also include participation from Equality Texas, Healing Out Loud, Houston GLBT Community Center, Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, Out & Equal, and Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.
The ACLU of Texas and Americans United for Separation of Church and State will host "Family, Faith and Freedom" at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church (5801 W Montgomery Rd) from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Friday. Keynote speakers will include the Rev. William Lawson, founding pastor of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. The event will also include participation from the Indo-American Political Action Committee for Greater Houston, Humanists of Houston, and Congregation Beth Yeshurun.
The Harris County Democratic Party is hosting a Trailblazers Brunch honoring GLBT elected officials and activists in Houston at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (1200 Louisiana St) on Saturday morning. The honorees include Mayor Annise Parker, Councilmember Sue Lovell, Judge Steven Kirkland, Judge Phyllis Frye, Judge Paul Barnich (posthumously), and activist Linda Morales. More information and tickets.
The Travis County Democratic Party is hosting a march and rally named "Rick Perry: Bad For Texas, Worse for Our Nation". The march begins at 10:30 a.m. at the historic Victory Grill (1101 E. 11th St, Austin) and the rally begins at noon in the Capitol rotunda. More information.
And here's just a snapshot of the coverage it's already generated. The Anti-Defamation League, joined by numerous Houston area clergy and community leaders, issued the following statement:
The American Independent: "Amid outrage in his home state, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback appears to be skipping out on the upcoming controversial all-day prayer event hosted by Gov. Rick Perry and the American Family Association. While Perry invited all 49 other governors to attend the Houston rally, Brownback stood as the only state leader who accepted. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that since June Brownback’s office 'has been quiet on the subject,' and would not confirm his plans, saying only that the governor would be on vacation when the event takes place this weekend."
The New York Times reports on the negative affect 'The Response' is having on Perry's presidential aspirations: "Since he set up the event scheduled for Saturday, however, Perry has become the most talked-about almost-candidate in the 2012 Republican presidential field. But with only 8,000 RSVPs for a stadium that seats 71,500 people, virtually no politicians planning to attend, and a slate of organizers who hold out-of-mainstream views on religious freedom, gay rights and even Adolf Hitler, the event has become a potentially risky gamble if Perry is serious about running for the White House."
Right Wing Watch: "The event is being held at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, which can seat 86,000 people, so obviously organizers had pretty grand plans for this event. A spokesperson for the stadium said they were expecting 30,000-35,0000 to attend ... but with only a few days to go, the number of confirmed attendees stands at about one-tenth of the stadium's capacity."
And CNN: "It's likely not the response Rick Perry was expecting."
Lastly, Texas Monthly's Paul Burka opines on the political consequences of 'The Response': "This could have had a much different ending. Perry could have made the event nondenominational. He could have invited people and clergy of all faiths. But he elected to make it exclusionary -– and not just exclusionary, but reflective of preachers who have expressed some of the most extreme religious views in Christiandom."
More to come.
And though it won't be nearly as crazy as next week's Jets-Texans preseason opener, there will be a good crowd inside and outside Reliant on Saturday.
Two days before several thousand Christians are scheduled to stream into Reliant Stadium for a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of the nation, organizers still are not releasing the full lineup of program participants and the man who initiated the event seems to be backing away from a prominent role.
When Gov. Rick Perry announced "The Response," in tandem with some of the nation's most conservative preachers and organizations, the accompanying spotlight seemed tailor-made for a presidential candidate-in-waiting, particularly a Republican candidate who must negotiate GOP primaries and caucuses dominated by Religious Right voters.
More recently, however, the spotlight has shifted to the extreme views of those affiliated with the event, including the American Family Association and a contingent of religious leaders with far-right political ties. The governor's role seems to have shifted.
Yeah, he'll be hiding somewhere in a luxury suite with the other bigoted bigwigs, maybe counting the collection plates, but this old-time revival is now less about Rick Perry and more about the mess he's made for himself.
"It is unusual to not announce a final lineup of speakers for an event," said Kent Shaffer, a marketing consultant with ChurchRelevance.com, in an e-mail. "It could be spiritually intentional to keep the focus on prayer. It could be politically intentional to avoid media controversy."
With only one other governor — Sam Brownback of Kansas - tentatively scheduled to attend and with approximately 8,000 RSVPs for a stadium that holds 71,000 people, the event is "much less than the Perry people intended it to be and much more than they intended it to be," said SMU political scientist Cal Jillson.
It is much more, he said, because the outsized attention the event has attracted raises the question of whether a politician "who's so pitch-perfect for Texas is ready for prime time on a national scale."
Perry sent an invitation to all the nation's governors, members of Congress, the Obama administration and the Texas Legislature, among others. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and House Speaker Joe Straus, who is Jewish, have declined. Last week Perry himself said facetiously that maybe he will be ushering Saturday and perhaps will have no official role.
The Mississippi-based American Family Association is paying for the event. The group condemns homosexuality, opposes abortion rights and argues the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom applies only to Christians. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the organization a hate group for spreading misinformation about homosexuals.
The group's notoriety and Perry's association with it, along with his focus on social and religious issues, run the risk of marginalizing a presidential run, Jillson said.
"He can get through this comfortably enough, and sometime between the event and the Iowa straw poll announce for president, but there's a real chance for things to take a dive," Jillson said.
Besides the upwards-of-10,000 prayers and fasters, there will be several hundred, maybe a couple thousand real Americans lining Kirby demonstrating the First Amendment rights that the American Family Association believes belong only to them.
HPD and the county sheriff's department are mobilizing for potential confrontation and security purposes, which means a lot of those horse cops, the ones that like to "accidentally" trample people. I'm certain the governor's own security detail -- you know, the one we pay for but the state refuses to disclose the costs of -- has been increased. Media trucks from all over the nation will be creating their own traffic jam. And if any Christians want to sneak a snack before, or break their fast after, they'll encounter some of those evil "Anti-Christians" celebrating their day of Debauchery and Gluttony in the area's restaurants.
If you're out and about down there, count on seeing a lot of screaming back and forth and maybe some shoving. These New Age Bible-thumpers have more hate, fear, and loathing than even a lot of TeaBaggers. I wonder if any of the Christians will get so angry they pull their guns out.
And it would be interesting if any of the old-school hookers decide to work South Main on Saturday, too. Some people say that those Holy Rollers really like to get their freak on when God isn't looking.
Good times. Here's a list of other responses to The Response:
LGBT Texans Against Hate will hold a rally in downtown Houston's Tranquility Park (406 Rusk St) from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday. The keynote speaker is Rep. Garnet Coleman. The rally will also include participation from Equality Texas, Healing Out Loud, Houston GLBT Community Center, Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, Out & Equal, and Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.
The ACLU of Texas and Americans United for Separation of Church and State will host "Family, Faith and Freedom" at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church (5801 W Montgomery Rd) from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Friday. Keynote speakers will include the Rev. William Lawson, founding pastor of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. The event will also include participation from the Indo-American Political Action Committee for Greater Houston, Humanists of Houston, and Congregation Beth Yeshurun.
The Harris County Democratic Party is hosting a Trailblazers Brunch honoring GLBT elected officials and activists in Houston at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (1200 Louisiana St) on Saturday morning. The honorees include Mayor Annise Parker, Councilmember Sue Lovell, Judge Steven Kirkland, Judge Phyllis Frye, Judge Paul Barnich (posthumously), and activist Linda Morales. More information and tickets.
The Travis County Democratic Party is hosting a march and rally named "Rick Perry: Bad For Texas, Worse for Our Nation". The march begins at 10:30 a.m. at the historic Victory Grill (1101 E. 11th St, Austin) and the rally begins at noon in the Capitol rotunda. More information.
And here's just a snapshot of the coverage it's already generated. The Anti-Defamation League, joined by numerous Houston area clergy and community leaders, issued the following statement:
"One of Houston's greatest strengths is its religious diversity. As part of the Anti-Defamation League's Coalition for Mutual Respect, we are keenly sensitive to the fact that Houstonians may pray differently or not pray at all. We cherish the fact that we can pray freely in our own way, because our founding fathers wisely envisioned and provided for a nation grounded in the principle of separation of church and state. This freedom from government imposed religion allows all religions to flourish in our democratic society. It is with this thought in mind that we express our concern that Governor Rick Perry has called for a full day of exclusionary prayer on August 6, 2011. This religious event is not open to all faiths, as its statement of beliefs does not represent religious diversity."
The American Independent: "Amid outrage in his home state, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback appears to be skipping out on the upcoming controversial all-day prayer event hosted by Gov. Rick Perry and the American Family Association. While Perry invited all 49 other governors to attend the Houston rally, Brownback stood as the only state leader who accepted. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that since June Brownback’s office 'has been quiet on the subject,' and would not confirm his plans, saying only that the governor would be on vacation when the event takes place this weekend."
The New York Times reports on the negative affect 'The Response' is having on Perry's presidential aspirations: "Since he set up the event scheduled for Saturday, however, Perry has become the most talked-about almost-candidate in the 2012 Republican presidential field. But with only 8,000 RSVPs for a stadium that seats 71,500 people, virtually no politicians planning to attend, and a slate of organizers who hold out-of-mainstream views on religious freedom, gay rights and even Adolf Hitler, the event has become a potentially risky gamble if Perry is serious about running for the White House."
Right Wing Watch: "The event is being held at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, which can seat 86,000 people, so obviously organizers had pretty grand plans for this event. A spokesperson for the stadium said they were expecting 30,000-35,0000 to attend ... but with only a few days to go, the number of confirmed attendees stands at about one-tenth of the stadium's capacity."
And CNN: "It's likely not the response Rick Perry was expecting."
Lastly, Texas Monthly's Paul Burka opines on the political consequences of 'The Response': "This could have had a much different ending. Perry could have made the event nondenominational. He could have invited people and clergy of all faiths. But he elected to make it exclusionary -– and not just exclusionary, but reflective of preachers who have expressed some of the most extreme religious views in Christiandom."
More to come.
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Objections -- and protests -- grow louder as Perry's "Response" draws nigh
Three days before The Response, the Reliant Stadium prayer event Gov. Rick Perry initiated two months ago, the response has been spirited among those objecting to the governor's participation.
On Tuesday, more than 50 Houston-area religious and community leaders disseminated a signed statement drafted by the Anti-Defamation League expressing "deep concern" about a prayer rally "not open to all faiths," while the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and related organizations announced a Friday rally at Tranquility Park to protest the event. The groups that represent gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals accused the American Family Association and other sponsors of the prayer event of hatred toward the GLBT community.
The ADL statement followed a June letter from the Houston Clergy Council that criticized the governor for excluding non-Christians, partnering with an anti-gay group and blurring boundaries between church and state.
"Governor Perry has a constitutional duty to treat all Texans equally, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity," the ADL statement reads. "His official involvement with The Response, at minimum, violates the spirit of that duty."
Signatories include Rabbi Samuel E. Karff, rabbi emeritus of congregation Beth Israel; Shaikh Omar Inshanally, head clergy of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston; the Rev. Lisa Hunt, rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church; and Rev. William A. Lawson, pastor emeritus of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.
Seems to be quite a few actual Christians among those not joining the governor and the Tealiban inside Reliant.
"We strongly believe this statement, signed by so many of our most respected religious and community leaders, reflects the feelings of many Texans who are concerned that Governor Perry is overstepping his bounds in supporting an exclusionary sectarian religious event," Martin B. Cominsky, ADL southwest regional director, said in a news release.
Lawson also will be the keynote speaker at a "family, faith and freedom" event on Friday at the Mount Ararat Baptist Church. The event is sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
This man lives in a $10,000-a-month mansion paid for by struggling Texas taxpayers, shoots starving animals while he jogs, and lives his hypocritical Christianism in full view.
All but the most foolish among this flock knows that Rick Perry is going straight to the deepest and hottest pit of hell. I just wish he weren't taking all of the rest of Texas with him as he goes.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Fold like a cheap lawn chair Funnies, aka Pirates of the Tea-rribean
"I think some of our members may have thought the default issue was a hostage you might take a chance at shooting. Most of us didn't think that. What we did learn is this -- it's a hostage that's worth ransoming."
-- Mitch McConnell, quoted in the Washington Post, on the debt ceiling negotiations
Monday, August 01, 2011
The Weakly Democratic Capitulation Wrangle
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like you to know that it has never held -- and would never hold -- the full faith and credit of the United States hostage as it brings you this week's roundup.
Off the Kuff says that Texas Democrats need to think about future races when contemplating retirements and open seat opportunities in 2012.
As President Obama asked the nation to call their representatives in Congress to air their views on the so-called debt ceiling crisis, so phoned the nation. And John Culberson finally heard from those in his district whose views have gone unrepresented during his tenure. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs contributed to the conversation. Whether Culberson actually listened is an open question.
While blasting Obama's plan for NASA, John at Bay Area Houston observed that Governor Perry stayed silent about the tea party's $1.6B cut to NASA funding.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson shared his notes on how the GOP's budget tricks and cuts will hurt our economy: Diversions & Austerity -- the Texas GOP two-step.
At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw asks So, who is Rick Perry? And answers: he is a chameleon with an unlimited appetite for power and the limelight. Check out the details.
Neil at Texas Liberal marked five years of writing the blog. Thanks to everybody who has read Texas Liberal over the years.
Dos Centavos is back with a guest post by Dr. Rey Guerra regarding Harris County redistricting and the Latino commissioner's seat. There's one more public hearing on Monday, so, make your voices heard!
Off the Kuff says that Texas Democrats need to think about future races when contemplating retirements and open seat opportunities in 2012.
As President Obama asked the nation to call their representatives in Congress to air their views on the so-called debt ceiling crisis, so phoned the nation. And John Culberson finally heard from those in his district whose views have gone unrepresented during his tenure. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs contributed to the conversation. Whether Culberson actually listened is an open question.
While blasting Obama's plan for NASA, John at Bay Area Houston observed that Governor Perry stayed silent about the tea party's $1.6B cut to NASA funding.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson shared his notes on how the GOP's budget tricks and cuts will hurt our economy: Diversions & Austerity -- the Texas GOP two-step.
At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw asks So, who is Rick Perry? And answers: he is a chameleon with an unlimited appetite for power and the limelight. Check out the details.
Neil at Texas Liberal marked five years of writing the blog. Thanks to everybody who has read Texas Liberal over the years.
Dos Centavos is back with a guest post by Dr. Rey Guerra regarding Harris County redistricting and the Latino commissioner's seat. There's one more public hearing on Monday, so, make your voices heard!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Colorado straw poll this weekend will test early strength of GOP field
Gov. Rick Perry’s name won’t appear on the key Iowa straw poll ballot next month, but he’ll face a test of his strength among Western conservatives this weekend in Denver.
Organizers of the Western Conservative Summit have put Perry on a straw poll ballot along with other major announced and unannounced candidates. Perry is one of two keynote speakers at the event. White House Republican hopeful Rick Santorum, who recently criticized Perry for saying gay marriage policies should be decided by states, is the other one. GOP presidential contender Herman Cain is also scheduled to make an appearance in Denver.
Frothy Mixture has in fact already leveled a withering broadside at Governor Prophet in his speech last night. Santorum's campaign is circling the drain, and he's probably done unless he makes a mark here and in Iowa in a couple of weeks.
More than 900 people who paid to attend the event will get to cast votes in the straw poll, with the results expected to be announced Sunday. All the announced major candidates will appear on the ballot, as will Perry and other possible candidates such as Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin and John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
So it's a full cattle call. But what about "Difficulty Breathing" Christie? And Pataki? I mean, if they're going to put John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani on there, why don't they just put Ronald Reagan on the "ballot" (.pdf) while they're at it?
Because this is a pay-to-play event for what appears to be evangelical Colorado Republicans, the TeaBag Factor is solid. Still I expect to see Jon Huntsman, as the closest thing to a favorite son, do better than he has yet shown. Then again, his recent criticism of Republicans on the issues of the environment and climate change might very well have finished him off.
I'll call the top four Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Huntsman. The headlines on Sunday in that case will be all about Goodhair besting Crazytown. And if Perry should come in first on the strength of a powerful keynote speech, he'll bask in media glory all the way to Monday.
And the Perry Train will be rolling.
Update: Derailed. But extra pepperoni for everyone in America!
Here is the order of finish:
Cain — 48 percent, 246 votes
Perry –13 percent, 67 votes
Santorum — 10 percent, 50 votes
Mitt Romney — 10 percent, 49 votes
Michele Bachmann — 9 percent, 44 votes
John Bolton — 4 percent, 20 votes
Ron Paul — 2 percent, 12 votes
Tim Pawlenty — 1 percent, 7 votes
Sarah Palin — 1 percent, 5 votes
Newt Gingrich — 1 percent, 3 votes
Thaddeus McCotter — 0 percent, 2 votes
Jon Huntsman — 0 percent, 1 vote
Gary Johnson — 0 percent, 1 vote
Paul Ryan -– 0 percent, 1 vote
Rudy Giuliani — 0 percent, 0 votes
Friday, July 29, 2011
Harvey Kronberg carves open the rotten fruit
Just the teasers from his "Daily Buzz" today:
I stopped laughing at the GOP's dysfunction once it became apparent that they were asking for Jesus' input on how to vote on the debt ceiling. I interrupt Harvey to give you Dana Milbank at the WaPo:
As bad as that is, this smells even worse.
Greg Abbott once again plays Tom Hagen to Rick Perry's Vito Corleone.
And this is the guy who wants to be the next governor or lieutenant governor. And only the fortuitous calamity of Rick Perry being elected president and David Dewhurst being elected senator in 2012 will stop him, too.
God Bless Texas (with fewer conservatives, please).
WILL THE TEA PARTY BE THE NEXT ELECTION ALBATROSS
List of constituencies angry with intransigent Congress grows
"Well, apparently they can’t govern," a rueful Republican business lobbyist told me after the Tea Party dominated House Republican Caucus rejected a once in a generation budget compromise: three dollars cut for every dollar raised.
A Democratic consultant angry at President Obama described the compromise as: "…we surrendered and they wouldn’t accept it.”
Another business lobbyist who lives and breathes polling reported a Republican Campaign Congressional Committee source worrying that GOP House numbers are worse than during Terry Schiavo and that the RCCC will not have the dollars to defend a hundred seats.
I stopped laughing at the GOP's dysfunction once it became apparent that they were asking for Jesus' input on how to vote on the debt ceiling. I interrupt Harvey to give you Dana Milbank at the WaPo:
With the nation just days from a default, the chamber is at the mercy of a handful of people who believe they are on a mission from God.
“Where’s the chapel?” Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) asked as he emerged from an arm-twisting session with Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday night. The freshman lawmaker explained that he wanted to “go to the divine source.”
In a room off the Capitol Rotunda, Scott joined a prayer session with fellow South Carolinian lawmakers. “I hope the Lord. . . gives men wisdom when they desperately need it,” Scott explained.
As it happens, the Lord gave Scott the wisdom to oppose Boehner. “I think divine inspiration already happened,” Scott said. “I was a ‘lean no’ and now I’m a ‘no.’” And he’s not much worried about default, saying: “I hope the Lord blesses our nation in a way that is measurable.”
The Lord will surely bless the nation with higher interest rates, if not outright economic collapse, in a default.
As bad as that is, this smells even worse.
AG OPINION TAKES WILLINGHAM CASE OFF THE TABLE FOR FORENSICS SCIENCE COMMISSION
Whether or not there was bad science will never be resolved
From the Attorney General's Opinion:
"Although the Forensic Science Commission may conduct investigations of incidents that occurred before September 1, 2005, the law that created the Commission prohibits the FSC from considering evidence that was tested or offered into evidence prior to that date. The Forensic Science Commission's investigative authority is limited to those laboratories, facilities, or entities that were accredited by the Department of Public Safety at the time the forensic analyses took place. The FSC may not investigate fields of forensic analysis expressly excluded from the statutory definition of "forensic analysis." Forensic analysis that is neither expressly included nor excluded by the Act or DPS rule, but that falls under the generic definition of "forensic analysis" found in section 38.35(a)(4), is generally subject to FSC investigation, assuming all other statutory requirements are satisfied."
Greg Abbott once again plays Tom Hagen to Rick Perry's Vito Corleone.
And this is the guy who wants to be the next governor or lieutenant governor. And only the fortuitous calamity of Rick Perry being elected president and David Dewhurst being elected senator in 2012 will stop him, too.
God Bless Texas (with fewer conservatives, please).
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