Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson, and Jim Gray on Progressive Radio Network

As you can see, the event is happening as I am posting. If you see this in time, listen live on Progressive Radio Network.

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Saving Our Democracy from Duopoly

THIS MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012, at 7pm (ET) / 4pm (PT):
A Blockbuster Radio Event on Saving Our Democracy from Duopoly

Featuring all three of the most popular third-party 2012 candidates, in a roundtable discussion about the deficiencies of our two-party system.

Presidential Candidates Jill Stein (Green Party) and Rocky Anderson (Justice Party), plus Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential Candidate Judge James Gray will join us LIVE in a conversation facilitated and moderated by Gary Null on The Progressive Commentary Hour — exclusively on The Progressive Radio Network.

Never before have these three been brought together in such a forum. Never before have third-party candidates had so much to agree on. We will ask them to join forces, to acknowledge their differences, but also to recognize how crucial it is in this time in American history to put up a united front against the partisan bickering and corporatocracy that rules Washington and erodes the people’s power.

Join us Monday, June 11, for this incredible event, spread the word to friends, send us your questions for the candidates, and let’s take back our democracy with the help of these remarkable minds.

I'll post some thoughts on the conversations at the conclusion.

Update: Still digesting all that I heard. If you'd like to listen for yourself, below is the embedded, archived recording of last night's program.

Rocky Anderson:

"American voters deserve to hear from more than two people and two parties. Over the past four years, for good reason, 2.5 million voters have left both the Republican and Democratic parties. They are fed up with the current system controlled by the .01%. Third party candidates have a great deal to say and they will not be muzzled by the corporate billions spent to buy the election."

"Fifty-four percent of voters say they want a new political party. We’re here."

Jill Stein:

One hundred and forty-six million people – that’s nearly one in every two Americans – are now living below or near the poverty level. The stress falls hardest on our most vulnerable and disadvantaged, with the majority of children, half of our elders, three quarters of Latinos, and two thirds of African Americans living in or near poverty.

Last year, one million Americans lost their health insurance, raising the numbers of the uninsured to almost 50 million of our people. Over 6 million Americans have lost their homes to foreclosure.

Overall, nearly 25 million Americans are unemployed or unable to find full time work. And even those who have jobs are struggling, because wages have been declining for American workers, and are now lower on average than in 1996. Household income has fallen faster since the official end of the recession than during the recession itself, because the so-called “recovery” is made up of mostly low-paying jobs.

While the economy is not working for the vast majority, it does work for a privileged few.

America’s creed is “With Liberty and Justice for All.” That is a creed of equality. But right now we are experiencing the worst economic inequality in our nation’s history. The gap between the very rich and the many poor has never been so great. The wealthiest 1% in America now own as much wealth as 90% of all Americans. Such inequality is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American.

Jim Gray:

I do not want to "legalize" anything. When you think of the legalization of drugs, think of aspirin. There are no restrictions on advertising, quantity, age of purchaser, or location of sale, and the price is set by the free market. What I wish to install is a system of the strictly regulated distribution of some of these drugs -- starting with marijuana. This would be similar to what we do now with tobacco and alcohol. And in order to keep the marijuana from being advertised, the government would have to own the product. Would there be problems? Of course, because as I said, no program is perfect.

But this system would be far, far, far better than what we are doing now. In fact, anything would be better than what we are doing now.

(Some contend that) people will no longer need to commit crimes in order to pay for their drug use. That is silly. But that crime would be greatly reduced. Look at the results in Portugal, where they decriminalized the use of all drugs back in 2001. In 2009 Glenn Greenwald of the CATO Institute published a report about the results and he observed that overall drug usage became slightly lower, but problem drug usage was reduced by about half.

Now that the government was no longer spending such large amounts of money on the investigation, prosecution, and incarceration of drug-addicted people, they had much more money to use for drug treatment. So those treatment programs were funded. This is seen as a truly effective program, and is one we should not only study, we should emulate. [...]

And if we followed the experience of Holland, where all drugs were decriminalized several decades ago, after 6 to 12 to maybe 18 months, probably usage would decrease as well. The Minister of Health of Holland held a news conference numbers of years ago and said that their country, where anyone 16 years of age or older can go to a coffee house and get marijuana, they only have half the marijuana usage per capita as we do in the United States -- even for teenagers!! And then he went on to explain why by saying that "We have succeeded in making pot boring." Of course, we glamorize it in our country by having it illegal, and by having an incredible profit margin to sell it to us, our neighbors and our children. We must learn from Holland's experience.

The Weekly post-conventions Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is back from the state conventions and focused on the fall as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff reminds you that your voter registration status is in the hands of a bureaucrat who might mistake you for someone else.

 BossKitty at TruthHugger knows why politicians always hire professional marketers. Americans have been conditioned to react predictably, and marketers know how to sway the voter and consumer. That's why America is Pavlov’s Dog.

The James Cargas campaign sunk to a new low over the weekend with an e-mail to precinct chairs criticizing a single mother's primary voting record. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs reminds voters of Congressional District 7 that there's a corporate Democrat and a community Democrat running for the Democratic nomination, and which one represents the party in November should be a very easy choice, no matter where on the spectrum you fall.  

WCNews at Eye on Williamson says it's time for Democrats to change tactics and advocate for the poor, working and middle classes again. There is nothing left to lose.

Neil at Texas Liberal posted about 2012 Juneteenth observances and celebrations in Galveston, Houston and College Station. This post also has Juneteenth history links. Juneteenth 2012 is on Tuesday, June 19.

Texas Dems elect a Latino chair; Rs add guest worker program to platform

Which really tells you everything you need to know about the two major parties.

Gilberto Hinojosa, the  state Democratic Party’s newly elected chairman, is a 59-year-old Brownsville attorney and former Cameron County judge. He’s the first Latino party chairman.

I congratulate Judge Hinojosa on his election. But as I have written previously, Texas Dems had a choice between a progressive Latina or a Boyd Richie-endorsed conserva-Latino, and they went with the latter.

In the article above, there are some disturbing cut-and-pastes in the comments from "San Benito"; they are not unattributed but there is was a comment linking to a blog article that also provides an opinion about the incident in question, a fraudulent vote-counting maneuver a play-for-pay scheme in South Texas during Hinojosa's tenure involving state distict judge Abel Limas, Hinojosa, and Rep. Rene Oliveira. I don't want to repeat the allegations here; they're just too iffy to consider seriously without complete sourcing. *ed. note: strike-throughs made on 6/16/12 to reflect update below.

[Sidebar: See, we bloggers can write a lot of things about a lot of people, but IMO if you're anonymous (even though a recent Texas Supreme Court decision on a local libel case upheld it as First Amendment privilege) and if you don't cite your sources -- a standard higher than most corporate media reaches these days -- then you are just not as credible as you can be.]

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Update: Citation and details of the judicial corruption trial of Limas Ray Marchan here. Here also is the account of the alleged vote-counting fraud involving Hinojosa, which was conflated in the strike-through above. Full post on these developments is here.

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It's a shame that there are dark clouds swirling around Hinojosa even as he assumes office. I would not have supported him based on Richie's endorsement alone. I believe that Boyd Richie was a proven failed leader of the party for too long, and I welcomed the regime change. I had -- though diminished with this rumor, still have --  a small amount of hope that Hinojosa can follow through on reforming the Texas Democratic Party such that it can win a statewide election in this cycle.

That's probably still too much to hope for. Twenty-fourteen, perhaps?

So I'll move on from that to point out that the Republicans thought they did something clever with their party platform.

Late Friday night, Texas Republicans approved an unprecedented change to their official party platform: a call for a national guest-worker program.

The more moderate language is a welcoming gesture to Hispanics who have avoided the GOP because of what they view as its hardline position on immigration issues.

"It takes away a tool that Democrats have used for years to drive a wedge between conservative Hispanics and Republicans," said TexasGOPvote.com's Bob Price, who is also a delegate at the Republican Party's state convention.

Ah, no it isn't and no it doesn't. And I am once again disillusioned by the new corporate-sponsored media's attempt to portray this as a "welcoming gesture". And let's please shut up the right-wing clamoring that economic refugees are a problem at all. If there is any problem (I remain convinced that immigrant labor and their tax contributions are a boon to the US economy) it's the fault of the businesses -- excuse me, "job creators" -- that hire them.

Oh, the Rethugs have raw milk and motherhood planks also. Don't ask me to explain it. Ask them.

Meanwhile, the Texas Democratic Party wrote a platform that includes marriage equality, repeal of the death penalty, and decriminalization of marijuana. (The party's website still has 2010's platform as of this posting but did send an e-mail with all of the details. By the time you click this link tomorrow it may be there). Update: Here's the .pdf.

Now that's what progress looks like.

You may recall that when the old-guard SDEC failed to pass similar resolutions for the May 29th primary ballot, that was the last straw for me. And a party platform that now includes them as well as young fresh blood on the SDEC are both good signs, but let's not kid ouselves. In the words of a former Tea Party warrior/darling:

“Clearly these people feel strongly about (the party platform),” said convention-goer and former gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina, noting delegates’ late-night meeting. “And yet most of our candidates never even bother to read the thing.”

That's pretty much how I feel. The platforms don't match the power of the wind generated from the discussions in the process of writing them.

But hey, glacial progress is still progress. Some people see it as a glacier calving an iceberg and then rolling over, creating a tsunami. Far be it from me to disparage that feeling.

Finally, I look forward to a blog post from Mean Rachel after reading this...

Attending her first Democratic state convention, social media enthusiast Rachel Farris of Austin was less than impressed. Farris, 28, whose blog is called “Mean Rachel,” said the best thing the party could do as far as she was concerned is start over. Farris stood toward the back of the convention hall, while on the stage in the distance U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler spoke to a distracted crowd. Sadler, a respected former legislator, hasn’t held office since 2003.

“In social media, everyone has found their own personality,” Farris said. “The Democratic Party needs to find its personality. We need leadership. We need people who are willing to take risks. I’m an agitator, so I think it’s time for a change.”

Longtime party activist Deece Eckstein, also of Austin, didn’t disagree with Farris. “Now the brand is completely dinged,” he said. “We’re Edsels. We need to come out with a Ford Mustang. I don’t think it’s going to be a person. It’s going to be an idea.”

Too bad for the Castro twins.

Who's the real Democrat, indeed

A precinct chair in CD-07 sent me a copy of the following -- well, there's just no other word for it -- unhinged response from the James Cargas campaign, drafted and distributed sometime during this past weekend's state party convention.

It's simply an uncareful and overly emotional answer to this post, if you needed background. Rather than respond to my account of the dirty, underhanded espionage his campaign performed on the Lissa Squiers campaign, he instead sent out the following:

Lissa Squiers has never voted in a Democratic Primary until this May after she suddenly decided to be a Democratic candidate.  NGP VAN, the Democratic Party’s voter database, shows that James Cargas voted in the four out of the last five Democratic Parties; Squiers’ record is void of any participation in primary elections (this year being the only exception) during the past ten years, the period of data retained in NGP VAN.  (Copies of Squiers and Cargas’ NGP VAN voting records are attached)

“To call yourself a Democrat at minimum means you publically declare yourself a Democrat when you vote in the party’s primary,” said James Cargas, candidate for the democratic nomination for 7th Congressional District. “Calling yourself a staunch Democrat means you care deeply about good candidates advancing and ultimately winning elections,” he continued, “it means you have to show up and vote for them.”

In light of her lack of tangible Democratic credentials, it is shameful that Squiers has been questioning Cargas’ three decades of Democratic roots.

“For thirty years, I have fought and defended democratic values,” James Cargas said.  “If working in the Clinton Administration, and on the campaigns of every Democratic nominee for President since I was 18 isn’t democratic enough, I don’t know what constitutes being a Democrat!”  Cargas was a paid campaign staffer for Gore2000 in DC, Iowa and Texas.  More recently, he was invited to work for then Sen. Barack Obama in Canal Winchester, Ohio, as suburb of Columbus, in the 2008 election.

Further telling is her deep association with the Green Party, including Perry Dorrell, a self-described Green Party Delegate, activist and blogger, and who also serves her campaign as communications director.Squires was not a delegate to this weekend's Democratic State Convention in Houston.  Cargas was a delegate from Senate District 13.

In addition to her voting record and claim to be a stauch Democrat, Lissa Squiers has made numerous other misrepresentations about herself, James Cargas, and candidate Cargas’ wife throughout this campaign.  The Democratic Party and the electorate deserve better leadership.  They deserve James Cargas.

-- First, I will let Ms. Squiers address his "concerns" about her voting history. She can speak for herself in that regard. As has been the pattern, it's nothing James Cargas' campaign in their most feverish of dreams can understand or relate to. She will do that in a response of her own sent to the same people who received the above. I will point you to this statement detailing her full-time involvement in volunteer efforts on behalf of children's education, women's rights, and equality issues during and following the years she spent raising her children.

-- I find it out-loud laughable that Cargas brags about being a "paid campaign staffer for Gore2000". Is there anything you won't do for money, sir?

-- It is false -- not just wildly exaggerative but downright wrong -- that Squiers has a "deep association" with the Green Party. The only semi-Green she knows is me. And as for me being bluish-green, this is ground I've covered several times, beginning here. Now to be clear, Cargas is fairly pointing out Ms. Squiers' associations; I have quite obviously done the same with his. He may be right that there are Houston-area Democrats who don't like Greens, or even *gasp* don't care much for me. It has long been my experience that Democrats dislike Republicans a whole lot more. And as I have noted time and time again, his campaign is full of them.

-- I am NOT Ms. Squiers' communications director. That statement is abjectly false. There is no one who has this title in her campaign. She has NO paid staff. As I have said repeatedly, I am a volunteer activist. That would be volunteer as in "unpaid".

Speaking of being paid (again), the Cargas campaign raised about $28,000 -- mostly from people who have the letters "CEO", or "M.D." or the words "energy consultant" as employment descriptions -- and spent about $13,000, according to their 4/15/12 FEC filing, as compared to Squiers' approximate $1000. She in fact raised and spent about 30 cents a vote compared to his approximate $20/vote.  His campaign expenditures, hilariously enough, include the purchase of an I-Pad ... and I-Pad accessories. Really. Go look at page 30, the last page (and page 18 for the accessories).

We don't need to be reminded that the Cargas campaign plays fast and loose with the numbers, do we? So whom would you trust more when it came to making decisions about the federal budget?

-- The "numerous misrepresentations" part is just another echo of Hector Carreno's previous missives. They keep saying things of this nature without providing any correcting narrative.

That's because everything I have written is 100% accurate, and they know it. If anything I wrote -- or more to the point, that someone else wrote that I linked to -- was even slightly false or misrepresentative... well, Cargas is an attorney. He ought to be able to know what to do about that.

But all I keep hearing is this "she's saying mean things about me" whining. If I ever do meet James Cargas, the first thing I'm going to say to him is: "Man up, buddy. Pull up your big boy Underoos and grow some tolerance for a contested primary."

If James Cargas wants to pick a fight with a woman, that's his business. It's not very professional or even manly business, but it does reveal another unsavory side of his character.

If James Cargas wants to pick a fight with me, we can certainly have one.

James Cargas isn't worthy of one single Democratic vote in CD-07, IMO. He is in fact the worst Democratic candidate I have researched in a very long time. From his slimy business associations with quasi-Republicans to his disgusting personal conduct toward Ms. Squiers in pursuit of the nomination, Cargas consistently reveals himself as a greedy, contemptuous one-percenter. That's Republican behavior personified, folks, and that's what I'm referring to when I call him a Republican. Voting history and campaign work notwithstanding, he's the Democratic equivalent of Smokey Joe Barton.

There are several reasons why Cargas finished behind Ms. Squiers on May 29th, and the one good thing about the above communication is that he seems to be helpfully reminding potential runoff voters of a few of those reasons. He's simply embarrassed that despite his superior stature, fundraising, consultants -- indeed, his Romney-esque exceptionalism -- he's losing to a woman who's not just out-working his campaign all by herself but is the better Democrat in the contest.

I will say again to Mr. Cargas: renounce your campaign operative's subterfuge, return the documents he acquired under the false pretense of supporting the Squiers campaign, disavow these repulsive tactics, and pledge yourself to run an open, honest and fair campaign on the issues.

I further declare that if Cargas cannot comply with the above -- and if he somehow manages to win the runoff -- that you, dear reader, can be goddamned certain I will throw my support to the Green candidate, Lance Findley, in the fall. And I'll spend every day from the end of July to the beginning of November reminding every single Democrat, Green, and independent in the district that Cargas is completely unworthy of being elected to Congress.

James Cargas is nothing more than John Culberson Lite.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Or Bethany's either, for that matter. Click on all the links I have posted, read for yourself, and draw your own conclusions. Please.

Sunday post-convention Funnies

Crumbling from internal strife, TXGOP continues to wage jihad

Republican delegates to the state party convention in Fort Worth continued for a second day Friday to tussle among themselves over the direction of their party. Some booed the name of Mitt Romney, their presumptive presidential nominee, and a sizable number of convention-goers walked out on House Speaker Joe Straus.

The moves highlighted tension between traditional conservatives and tea party or movement conservatives, even as the GOP celebrated its Texas dominance, legislative accomplishments and unified front against President Barack Obama.

Nearly 300 miles to the southeast, Democrats at the George R. Brown Convention Center spent Friday attending caucus gatherings and tending to party business, but many kept an ear half-cocked to what was happening in Cow Town. To those of a certain age, it brought back memories of their party struggles during the so-called McGovern era, when true believers worked to purge the party of its moderate elements.

“The problem for Republicans, the challenge for them is that they are losing control over their own folks,” San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said. “They have no control over their party right now. They have no control over their base.”

Although Castro professed to prefer “level-headedness all around” among elected officials of all stripes, he maintained that Republicans were leaving their constituents behind – to Democrats’ benefit.

“They’re leaving everyone behind,” he said. “They’re leaving the business community behind, that knows you have to invest in brain power to be a competitive 21st-century Texas. … And, of course, they’re leaving women behind and Hispanics behind and everyone else. It’s not a question of wishing them to be more extreme; we wish for the exact opposite. It’s a comment on the consequence of what they’re doing that I don’t believe they fully realize.” 

What's kinda fascinating about this to me is that I feel precisely the polar opposite from Speaker Straus -- who for a Republican surprisingly makes sense on an occasional basis --  with respect to what's going on the TDP (which is why I can't be a MOT any more.) Today Dems will either elect a progressive woman to chair of the state party or a conservative male. Same in CD-07. Same in other races in other places around the state. I advocated for the only progressive running in the US Senate primary; Democrats instead nominated a Blue Dog from East Texas and a 79-year-old man with a familiar last name who had run as a Republican previously.

Even if you take into consideration that the people in the article are talking about George McGovern forty years ago in this context (and recall that gave us Richard Nixon, a RINO by today's standards), no sane person could consider the developments to date in the Texas Democratic Party as 'moving to the left'. That will be the subject of tomorrow's post, however.

Straus had a tougher audience at the convention, where Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, has set up a booth and is handing out stickers touting his plans to challenge Straus for House leadership in 2013. The speaker got applause, but there also were some calls of “oust Straus” during his speech, and there was a walkout by a large number of convention-goers who left the arena individually but gathered outside to chant “Oust Straus.”

“We’re upset that Straus is not a conservative, and he’s not by any means our candidate,” said delegate John R. Marler of Georgetown. “He has granted to Democrats key committee positions that should never have gone to anybody but Republicans.”

Asked about the boos for others before his own speech, Straus said, “I think it’s disappointing when our party’s leaders or even those who are contenders to be party leaders are booed, but there are no flags for unsportsmanlike conduct at political conventions.” 

Straus got elected -- by Democrats and not-extremist Republicans -- because he was the lesser of two evils running for speaker. It will be the same in 2013. He then hands out committee chairmanships to the opposition, just as every single other Speaker has in the history of Texas.

Try as they like, TeaBaggers cannot, will not ever have total control. They have too much as it is.



Yes, November cannot come soon enough so that these RWNJs get their sacs sails trimmed back a good bit.

It works for me that they don't see it, don't get it.

Democrats: what to see, do, eat and drink while you're here

First, let's begin with what's in close proximity to the Hilton Americas/Geore R. Brown Convention Center, where everything convention-related is happening.

The Grove is the closest restaurant and bar to you outside of the hotel. It's part of Discovery Green, where lots of things will be happening also.  I like The Grove because it's both casual and upscale at the same time. It will probably be crowded with Democrats all weekend, so don't expect to have a quiet conversation. Have the shaved prosciutto with almonds and fruit and a glass of cabernet or a mojito (or something drier and more bitter if you prefer). The Lake House has the inexpensive hamburger and hot dog options with the same fabulous views of the park, just a lot more screaming children.

Two blocks away is downtown's vertical mall, Houston Pavilions. You have everything you could want here; shopping, upscale dining, a food court with Mexican, barbecue, Asian and all the rest, and some great clubs -- House of Blues, Scott Gertner's, Pete's Dueling Pianos. You can even go bowling if you want to.

More, you say? Head a few blocks further northwest to Main, where the light rail is. There you'll find Mia Bella Trattorria, one of the best Italian places in the city -- "try the veal". There's one in the Pavilions we haven't been to, and one on the light rail line we have.  Great brunch, great ambiance. And for some alternative entertainment, wander into Dean's Credit Clothing. This a stone's throw from where we're having the Bloggers Caucus. Lots of places in-between the two.

Need some groceries? Go into Georgia's or the Phoenicia. Both are awesome just to sit and have coffee or a light bite.

If that's not enough, jump the southbound train about four or five stops to the Ensemble/HCC station for some country/Cajun chow at Natachee's Supper and Punch, and browse the cool shops between there and the Continental Club. This is about as close to Austin's SoCo as Houston comes these days. Julia's is really the only thing in that two blocks that's upscale, and the food is marvelous. Someone with a lot of Cuban influences works in the kitchen there; they have that whole Latin/Caribbean fusion thing going on.

Keep in mind that if you feel like closing down the Continental -- or anything else -- the light rail may have stopped by then (it usually quits around 1 am) and you'll have to cab it home. If you catch the train but still can't manage the six blocks back to your bed, call Yellow Cab while you're riding the rail back north to Main St. Station so they're waiting for you when you get there. A six-block cab ride will cost you about $5 -- or maybe $6 or $7 with a nice tip for the driver.

Have fun and stay safe.

Stein captures Green presidential nomination

(Ed. note: As you know if you've clicked in here before, there's more to my political involvement this go-round than just being Blue.)

Dr. Jill Stein became the US Green Party's presidential nominee this week, getting enough national delegates to earn the right to challenge Barack Obama and M$tt R-money. Oh, and Gary "Toke" Johnson.

With 182 delegates required to win the nomination, and 194 delegates now in hand, Stein will go into the Green Party convention in Baltimore, July 12-15, with a clear majority of delegates. She has won over 66% of all delegates allocated, and 27 of 29 Green Party primaries, with the next nearest candidate, Roseanne Barr, at 22%.

Stein, a medical doctor who once ran against Mitt Romney for Governor of Massachusetts, is proposing a Green New Deal for America that will create 25 million jobs, end unemployment, and transition our country to a green economy. Her proposals will also guarantee public higher education and Medicare for all, break up the big banks, and end corporate domination of elections.

"Voters will not be forced to choose between two servants of Wall Street in the upcoming election,” said Stein. “Now we know there will be a third candidate on the ballot who is a genuine champion of working people."

See, that's kind of what the Democrats believe in as well, without all of the wars, drone assassinations, corporate sponsorships, and crapping on labor.

Here is Stein's "Green New Deal" speech, and the written version.



For those of you unable or unwilling to watch anything but a movie or read that much text, here is Stein's more informal campaign video "The Revolution in 8 Minutes":



Stein is coming to Texas and will be speaking this weekend at the Texas Green Party's state convention outside San Antonio. There will be a livestream link to that convention's happenings Saturday and Sunday; Stein is scheduled to speak about 1:55 Saturday afternoon.

Honestly, I'd rather be there than here in Houston but my health won't allow it. I'm going to make the best of what I have and can do; there's still a few Democrats I can heartily support.

More from Socratic Gadfly.

Related posts:

Texas Greens post 56 candidates for state and local offices

Greens likely to remain ballot-qualified in Texas after 2012

James Cargas: one-trick pony

It pains me to write this, and not because of the support I've given to the Lissa Squiers for Congress effort: this past week her campaign was infiltrated by a low-level operative of her opponent's campaign.

After the general election results produced a first-place showing for Squiers in the CD-07 primary contest, she sent out a request for volunteer help through the Carl Whitmarsh listserv; much the same as the Cargas campaign has requested, through the same distribution list,  helpers to stuff "gimme" bags today -- this very afternoon -- for Democratic conventioneers coming to Houston this weekend. Of the half-dozen or so people who attended the Squiers meeting last Sunday, only one person was unknown to the others present. This person barely participated in the free-ranging discussion before hurriedly departing... before the work of addressing postcards began.

He left with a written agenda for the Squiers campaign's strategy for the runoff.

Once I Googled this person's name later that evening, I discovered a LinkedIn profile that contained a resume' listing as a volunteer in the CD-07 campaign, with no candidate's name listed. But that wasn't so much the revealing part. It was the contacts listed there as being a "who's who" of declared Cargas supporters. So then I went to Facebook and searched and found on his profile a 'like' for the Cargas campaign on May 31. No mention either place, needless to say, of support for Lissa Squiers.

(Don't bother changing it now, pal; I have screenshots. You're busted.)

Some of the Squiers supporters present even suspected, based on observations of his body language, that this spy surreptitiously recorded the conversation about Squiers' plans for the runoff.

What the Cargas campaign should do at this point -- if they have any ethical standards whatsoever --  is step forward and publicly disavow this person's "reconnaissance". They should suspend this individual's involvement in their campaign, and they should demand that the plant turn over to the Squiers campaign all the documents he left the meeting with and any recording, if in fact there is one.

Personally speaking, if I needed another reason to disavow the politics of Blue Dog Democrats, I just got it.

Political dirty tricks of this kind really should be reserved for the Republicans, not Democrats. But we already know that the Cargas campaign is being managed by quasi-Republicans, if not actual ones that just can't admit it. Or would rather keep it disguised.

We already know that James Cargas is being managed by Hector Carreno and we know that Cargas, Carreno, and Emil Pena have been business partners in a variety of interests for a long time. We know that Carreno was one of the driving forces ten years ago behind PowerSol Energy Marketers, an outfit referred to by Tim Fleck of the Houston Press as "Little Enron". We know that Pena was involved with the actual Enron as one of their lobbyists. (Pena in fact reported "up to $300,000 in income in 1999 from six clients led by Enron".)

And we also remember a time when Hector Carreno drew the attention of our local legal authorities with respect to his involvement in political campaigns. Republican political campaigns, like the one belonging to Orlando Sanchez.

We know that PowerSol changed its name to Illumina Energy in 2007, and we know that Carreno replaced Cargas as the company's lobbyist ("power marketer"), but that the company's address and phone numbers did not change. Cargas meanwhile went to work for the city of Houston, advising city officials on the bulk purchase of electricity and other power sources.

You don't seriously wonder who Cargas advised them to buy power from, do you?

We know that Cargas was the treasurer of the Emil Pena Interests PAC; in fact as late as 2006 was still signing as treasurer even though the name listed for treasurer was Pena's. We know that Pena's self-named PAC has made a fairly consistent habit over the years of working both sides of the political street. We know that prior to Cargas' tenure as treasurer, the so-called "Stealth PAC" (page 7) had a treasurer named Richard Bianchi, the current Aransas County attorney and former district judge in Harris County who notoriously switched parties after getting elected.

We know that Emil Pena created Generation Power in 2000, with Bianchi in charge of regulatory compliance and Cargas as general counsel.

We know that 2450 Louisiana in downtown Houston is the address of all of the following: the James Cargas campaign, the Upper Kirby Coalition PAC, and the Oilpatch Democrats, among others. We know that despite their advanced degrees and professional experience that these men are spectacularly poor with numbers. Fairly simple numbers.

It's a tangled web they weave when their purpose is to deceive, but the facts can easily be fleshed out. It's almost as if these guys don't really understand how the Internet is capable of revealing all of their situational ethics, all their past history, all their dirty tricks.

James Cargas isn't just a shill and a puppet for energy interests, with his puppet masters being Emil Pena and Hector Carreno. He is, in fact, a one-trick pony, and that one trick is always pretty dirty.
If you're like Bethany, and you're all into corrupt, dirty-tricking Republicans pretending to be Democrats, then you've got your man. Cargas is however not just a one-trick pony but a straw man as well; a stooge for the primary players. Look behind the curtain.

And if you would rather have a community Democrat and not a corporate one; if you want someone who has poured herself out working for children and women and equality issues instead of oil and gas and assorted other power interests and the fat consulting fees that come with them; if you want to vote for a progressive Democrat instead of one being completely controlled by pseudo-Republican horse trainers teaching a pony how to do one (dirty) trick really well... then you've got your woman.

Once again, it really is as simple as that.

Bloggers Caucus at TDP Friday June 8

The best party of the entire convention.

As part of a longer entertainment options post -- probably coming on Thursday morning -- let's begin by saying if you aren't brave enough to be driving around H-Town, then you need to be taking the light rail. You don't want to sit around the Hilton or the GRB all day and all night, trust me. This is the nation's fourth largest city and THE most culturally diverse. It's also still just a great big old Texas town with lots of interesting things to see and do. Get out and get around it, for Pete's sake.

Never mind the previous version of this post, and don't go to W. Main like it says on this flyer; Club Curve is 410 Main Street, directly across from the Preston Street train station (southbound). Here's the map:


View Larger Map

From the Hilton Americas and the GRB, walk about six or seven blocks northwest, up Dallas Street, and then turn northeast (right) at Main and ride the train up one stop or just hoof it the remaining seven blocks. Or you can cab it. There might even be a pedi-cab if you're lucky. Parking downtown can be expensive and problematic so I would avoid that, especially if you're an out-of-towner.

Hope to see you there. I'm not a night owl any longer so don't show up at midnight expecting to meet the biggest, baddest asshole in the Texas progressive blogosphere.

Houston progressive activist events ahead of the Dem convention

-- Today at 4 pm: Justice for Janitors continues their civil disobedience for living wages.

Janitors in Houston continue to earn far less than their union counterparts in other cities, and many still have just four hours of work a night, the same as before the union came on the scene. They're hoping to raise their wage and increase their hours in negotiating a new contract to replace the existing one, which expires Thursday.

SEIU spokeswoman Paloma Martinez blames the lack of progress on "anti-worker sentiment" in Houston's business community, especially against low-wage workers.

-- Move to Amend's David Cobb is barnstorming Texas this week, with appearances in Kingwood this evening, in Houston at the AFL-CIO hall Wednesday night, in Corpus on Thursday night, and kicking off the Texas Green Party's state convention near San Antonio on Friday night.

Move to Amend is the movement to nullify Citizens United via constitutional amendment.

-- Conventioneers: Bring your umbrellas.

-- The Democratic convention's best party of the year, the Bloggers Caucus, is set for Friday evening. More details as they are available.

-- But there are some other good parties to go to, beginning Thursday.Two big ones Friday, here and here.

I'll also be compiling a list of restaurants and bars within walking -- or train -- distance of the Hilton Americas and the GRB downtown, along with my personal recommendations, at the TXD2012 Tumblr blog.

The Weekly Pre-Convention Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready to get conventional as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff has his and others' reactions to the election results from last week.  

BossKitty at TruthHugger is ashamed that America's leaders find it expedient to hand the reins of public education over to corporate interests. Education is designed to show us what is already known, and guide us to discover what we need to know. But that interferes with the bottom line: Climate Change: America's Leaders Paid To Mislead.

After relocating from early March to late May, the 2012 Texas primary elections finally took place. WCNews at Eye on Williamson posted this statewide primary analysis.

Poor Seamus the dog was NOT the only car-roof victim of Mitt Romney's abuse that terrible day in 1983, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has video from the archives of the New Hampshire State Police that prove it.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to know John Cornyn is trying to pass off the funding of basic infrastructure from the Feds to the counties. Nice trick, you rapist enabler, you.

At TexasKaos, Lightseeker reports on two "drive me crazy" outcomes now that the primary electoral smoke has cleared. There is A Conversation We Need to Have about the once and future fate of the Texas Democratic Party and by extension all progressive efforts here in the state.  

The Lewisville Texan Journal finds itself agreeing with Republican Congressman Michael Burgess's bipartisan bill to increase healthcare pricing transparency, but warns that the move will only help up to a point; using existing hospital price data from Texas, they show how difficult it can be to comparison shop healthcare facilities.

Neil at Texas Liberal -- who has not forgotten that the Texas forced sonogram law is state-mandated rape --wrote about the multiple meanings of the Houston Ship Channel.

Sunday Funnies (state conventions week edition)

"Mitt Romney won the Texas Republican primary last night, crossing the crucial 1,144 delegate threshold. What a story! He came from never being behind to clinch the Republican nomination. They said it could be done, and against no odds he achieved the possible!"

-- Stephen Colbert

"Mitt Romney has begun vetting his vice presidential candidates. This is a tough thing because they want to appeal to the Republican base. They want a strong conservative there, but someone who will not upstage Mitt Romney. So the search is on for a strong conservative in a coma."

-- Bill Maher

The Democrats are headed to Houston, named for the Texas giant who led his ragged army on a strategic retreat eastward until finally engaging the enemy at San Jacinto and achieving glorious victory. Bereft of a statewide office holder for nearly two decades, the party still is in its Runaway Scrape phase.

The Republicans are convening in Fort Worth, these days a happy blend of traditional cowboy sensibilities and big-city culture that seems mighty comfortable to suit-and-boots-wearing politicians of the GOP persuasion. Fort Worth is thriving, and so is the party.

What Republican 'thriving' really looks like.

Seamus wasn't the only abuse victim on Romney's car roof that day

And this dash cam video from the New Hampshire State Police's 1983 archives proves it.

Range Resources judge loses primary

Here in Harris County, we have seen what happens when the wealthy try to buy themselves a judge: they win. In Parker County, they take care of business the old-fashioned way: the voters turn him out at the polls.

A Parker County judge who, in the midst of an environmental case, bragged in campaign literature that he had forced the EPA to turn tail lost his Republican primary battle Tuesday.

State District Judge Trey Loftin's next challenge will be to stay on the bench as the case involving gas drilling proceeds.

Steven Lipsky and his wife, Shyla, who sued Range Resources, filed a court motion Tuesday to disqualify or recuse Loftin. The motion says Loftin released campaign mailers urging his re-election on the basis of "rulings he had made against the Lipskys."

The motion further argues that Loftin believed that the outcome of the case would affect his re-election and "thus, the campaign mailers show that Judge Loftin believes that he had a direct financial and personal interest in the outcome of the proceeding, which requires his disqualification."

On Tuesday, he lost to Weatherford attorney Craig Towson, who captured 52 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns. Towson, who could not be reached for comment, previously said a judge shouldn't "ever comment about a case pending in his court."

Yes, you are correct; I did blog about this last week.

I like it when the wheels of justice grind a little faster than usual. Don't you?

Late last night (and more musings about election results)

-- Glitches push final tally into early morning hours:

There were a few problems coming up with a final tally on Tuesday’s election because of a political party oversight and mostly technical difficulties, pushing the night’s last count to at least 2 a.m. Wednesday.

After a few early-evening hiccups that led to the first results posting 90 minutes after polls closed Tuesday, midnight-hour issues emerged.

First, the Republican primary in precinct 256 had its results stored on a corrupt card, which meant workers had to pull results from another database or, as a last resort, from each e-Ballot station.

An unidentified Democratic precinct had a faulty machine, creating the need to merge results from more machines than planned to arrive at a final total.

Then around 11 p.m., Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart revealed that 1,500 to 2,000 mail ballots that had arrived since Friday still had not been processed.

As well, there’s the possibility that some of the tightest races may turn when ballots from active-duty service members arrive since they have an additional five days past the election for their votes to show up and be counted. Provisional ballots also take a few days to process.

So, there’s a huge asterisk on the Harris County results at this point early Wednesday.

It’s been a rough night.

Yes, and Stan Stanart is an incompetent fool. As you will recall, I observed this process a handful of times during Beverly Kaufman's tenure. She always had EV results posted within one minute of 7 p.m., and she always had enough ballots counted for the local network affiliates to call all but the closest races by their 10 p.m. newscasts.

Unless Stanart fired all the people who used to work for Kaufman (doubtful), the real evidence here is that the brand-new Harris County Clerk doesn't know how to run an election that ran on autopilot in the years before he was elected.

We could have had Ann Harris Bennett in that slot, who in November will challenge the guy who knocked off incumbent Don Sumners last night. Ignore the ramblings of Gadfly Bettencourt in that link.

-- It was a good night for the slate mailers and Super PACs last night. And a bad one for some of Joe Straus' henchmen (aka the 'moderates' in the Texas House).

(E)lection night results brought bad news for some key Straus lieutenants in the Texas House, including Rep. Rob Eissler, R-the Woodlands, chairman of the House Education Committee. Eissler, who lost to challenger Steve Toth, may have suffered from complacency as his campaign latest finance reports showed an unspent balance of $650,000.

In North Texas, Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Irving, another Straus chairman, also fell to a tea party challenger, Giovanni Capriglione. And in East Texas, Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton, another Straus ally paired in a redrawn district with an incumbent, lost to Rep. James White.

All the defeated incumbents were targeted by Empower Texans, a conservative group which spent close to $120,000 trying to defeat Straus by portraying him as too moderate to lead the Texas House. Financed by Midland oilman Tim Dunn, the group was behind the 2011 effort to oust Straus from the Speaker’s office.

There will be more Mucus involved in the Speaker's race in the run-up to January 2013 and the opening day of the Texas Lege, but my early guess is that the Democrats provide Straus enough cover to get re-elected.

-- Ted Cruz wants five debates with David Dewhurst between now and the runoff on July 31. And Paul Sadler wants in on them, too.

First of all, nobody wants to be tortured with a debate every two weeks between these two conservatives. Not even the most hardcore TeaBagger could stand it.

Secondly, Sadler himself only got 35% of the vote in a 4-way race, so his runoff opponent Grady Yarbrough should be included if Sadler gets in. That by itself is a travesty, as the Austin Statesman notes...

Yarbrough is a perennial candidate who has run as a Democrat and a Republican in previous elections.

Yarbrough has barely any online presence, yet he ran second in the Democratic statewide primary for the US Senate. Apparently the Mensas who voted for him thought he was Ralph.

And unless this a one-party red state like Communist China, the debates should include the Green, David Collins, and the Libertarians -- all six of them. (Unless you want to hold off on the debates until they elect one of the six at their state convention, the second week of June.)

-- Lissa Squiers led wire-to-wire, finishing with 40% of the Democratic vote in CD-07. James Cargas trailed with 34, and Phillip Andrews had 24.

The absolute best results of the evening, IMHO.

-- Highs and lows locally: Lane Lewis prevailed but Steven Kirkland did not. Two bright spots in Texas House races: Lon Burnham won, Leo Berman lost.

-- I'm not going to give a damn so hard about the DA race in Harris County it will be profound.

-- These Twitter compilations must stop. If I want to read a Twitter feed, I'll go to Twitter.

More as always from the Godfather.

EV totals: First impressions

After a delay of nearly one hour past poll closing, the Harris County Clerk managed to post some of the early-vote (EV) tallies from the Texas primary held today, and here's some first impressions of the races I have previously focused on.

-- Paul Sadler appears to be headed to a runoff with one of the two African American candidates in the race for Democratic nominee to the US Senate. Sean Hubbard is trailing in 4th statewide, and fairly badly. On the Repub side, David Dewhurst will be in a runoff with Ted Cruz. There will be blood.

-- In CD-07, Lissa Squiers has a small lead over James Cargas. Phillip Andrews is well back in third. This race will go to a July runoff.

-- In the contest for 215th District Court, Judge Steven Kirkland is losing by a 2-1 margin to the libelous Elaine Palmer.

-- The voters of Harris County weren't fooled by Keryl Douglas, however; she is losing to Lane Lewis for Democratic Party County Chair by a margin of about 55-45.

In other races of note...

-- In the GOP race for Harris Co. District Attorney, Judge Mike Anderson is trouncing incumbent Pat Lykos. And on the Democratic side, buffoon Lloyd Oliver leads Zach Fertitta.

-- Harris County tax assessor/collector TeaBaggin' Don Sumners is getting turned out by the Republicans in his race against Mike Sullivan, also by a 2-1 margin.

-- Supreme Court Justice David Medina is leading in his 3-way primary battle, but with just 39%.

-- Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, Beto O'Rourke leads incumbent Congressman Silvestre Reyes in the Dem primary. A true upset in the making.

-- At the HouChron's live-blog, the odious Texas Sparkle reports that several Republican Texas House committee chairs are losing their races: Tuffy Hamilton, Vickie Truitt, Sid Miller, Chuck Hopson, and Rob Eissler. 

-- All three state referenda on the Democratic ballot are passing handily; casino gambling by the smallest margin at 73%.

-- Romney has clinched, Obama appears to be avoiding a primary embarrassment.

Again, these are mostly EV totals only; as of 9 p.m. the Harris County Clerk's office has barely counted any votes cast today. Having worked this beat previously, I can say this has all the earmarks of a major malfunction.

We'll find if I am right or wrong about that in a few days. You can go follow the results on into the night elsewhere; I have a big day tomorrow and won't be back here until early in the morning.

Update: I should have guessed. Clerk Stanart blames the Democrats for the "technical difficulties".

What a POS.

Election Day Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance says "on to the runoffs!" as it brings you this holiday week and election day roundup.

Off the Kuff looked at the latest strange poll results from UT and the Texas Trib.

This week WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the continuing right-wing assault on public education in Texas.

The endorsement of the three previous Democrats who lost to John Culberson is hardly a worthy vote of confidence, but that didn't deter one candidate in CD-07, who went on to suggest that he would win the November contest by 51.3%. That spin, however, was topped by his estimate of 73% of fewer than one hundred people in a straw poll at a barbecue suggesting "overwhelming" support. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs reminds you that if a Congressional candidate exaggerates this wildly in May, he just doesn't deserve to be on the ballot in November.

Lightseeker explores what the triumph of Republican fear mongering and pandering means to our poitical futures here in Texas and throughout the nation. Check out Sobering Thoughts on Our Political Future over at TexasKaos.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme applauds the efforts of AACT Now in getting out the vote. Please continue through November.

Ten things you should know about the demographics of Texas

Via Vanessa Cardenas and Angela Maria Kelley at the Center for American Progress (and provided to me via Facebook by Mini Timmaraju, who will be speaking at the TDP's state convention in Houston in a couple of weeks). Republished here in whole.

=============

1. Communities of color are driving population growth in Texas. Texas is one of five states in the country where people of color make up the majority of the population. Between 2000 and 2009 Hispanic population growth accounted for 63.1 percent of all growth in the state. Texas’s black and Asian populations — 2.8 million people and 850,000 people, respectively — were the third largest in the country in 2010.

2. The majority of children in Texas are children of color. For children under age 5 in the state, children of color outnumbered non-Hispanic white children 2.2-to-1 in 2011. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, in 2009, 64 percent of the state’s children were of color.

3. Houston is the most racially and ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the country. According to a report from Rice University, the percentage of Latinos in the region increased dramatically from 20.8 percent in 1990 to more than one-third at 35.5 percent in 2010. This thriving racial and ethnic diversity places Houston at the head of the state’s rapid demographic changes.

4. Nearly a third of immigrants in Texas are naturalized — meaning they are eligible to vote. In 2010 immigrants comprised 16.4 percent of the state’s total population. That year there were 1.3 million naturalized U.S. citizens in Texas, approximately 32 percent of immigrants in the state.

5. Voters of color make up a growing portion of the Texas electorate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos accounted for 20.1 percent of Texas voters in the 2008 elections. African Americans and Asians comprised 14.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, of the state’s voters that same year.

6. Even more Latinos are eligible to vote but are currently unregistered. According to the political opinion research group Latino Decisions, there are 2.1 million unregistered Latino voters in Texas in 2012. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are an additional 880,000 legal permanent residents (green card holders) in Texas who are eligible to naturalize and vote for the first time. Put together, this means Texas has close to an extra 3 million potential voters this fall.

7. The Department of Justice blocked a Texas voter ID law that threatened to disenfranchise Hispanics. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, far fewer non-Hispanic voters — 4.3 percent, compared with 6.3 percent of Latino voters — lack a proper photo ID, which voters would have been required to show under the law. Texas’s own state data listed 174,866 registered Latino voters without an ID.

8. Communities of color add billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to Texas’s economy through entrepreneurship and spending. The purchasing power of Latinos in Texas increased more than 400 percent from 1990 to 2010, reaching a total of $176.3 billion. Asian buying power increased by more than 650 percent in the same period to a total of $34.4 billion. And in 2007 Texas’s nearly 450,000 Latino-owned businesses had close to 400,000 employees, and sales and receipts of $61.9 billion.

9. Immigrants are essential to the economy as workers. In 2010 immigrants comprised 20.9 percent of Texas’s workforce. As of 2007, 21 percent of Houston’s total economic output and 16 percent of Dallas’s economic output was derived from immigrants.

10. Immigrants contribute to the state economy through state and local taxes. In 2010, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants in Texas paid $1.6 billion in state and local taxes.

Ripoffs at Texas gas pumps

And we're not talking about the price per gallon.

State inspectors have found hundreds of gas stations in the greater Houston area -- 350 or more -- that likely stiffed motorists because of poorly performing pumps.

Data from the Texas Department of Agriculture shows about one in five inspected stores or stations had least one pump, sometimes more, that failed to meet standards, according to analysis by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. In the greater San Antonio area, 99 of 509 inspected stores were operating at least one malfunctioning pump.

The cost to consumers may be nominal, as little as 3 cents, or as much as $3 per fill-up -- depending on the problems.

Yes, we have had long discussions here about this topic previously. In 2010, Democratic ag commish candidate Hank Gilbert found gas pump stickers in Tyler with Rick Perry's name on them, which meant they hadn't been inspected since 1997.

But to refresh: the regulatory body responsible for gas pumps in Texas is Weights and Measures, overseen by the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Todd Staples. Before him, that title was held by Susan Combs, another powerfully unqualified statewide office-holder. And before her... Rick Perry.

Weak regulations, shoddy compliance, lax oversight... all weighted in favor of Big Business. Where have we heard that before?

Oh, but the responsibility for enforcement of the law lies with some other incompetent Republican. Can you guess who?

The office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has responsibility for suing gas station owners who intentionally defraud motorists. Over the past five years, the Attorney General's Office has filed one such lawsuit. That case followed inspections of Sunmart gas stations in July 2008. The investigation revealed that 58 percent of the company's Texas gas pumps were shortchanging customers. The Attorney General's Office sued Sunmart's owner, Petroleum Wholesale LP, and a Harris County jury ordered the company to pay $30 million in restitution to customers, penalties and fees to the state. The verdict was later thrown out on a procedural issue. Court records indicate the case is on appeal.

At least 900 Houston-area customers complained to the state during the one-year period. Stuart, the man who stopped at the Shell station near Washington and Studemont, was one of them, prompted by his surprise the day his Jeep Grand Cherokee took nearly 20 gallons of gas.

Let's be fair; AG Abbott has been pretty busy with a few other things. But not anything that might happen in 2014. No sirree.

For every conservative who has complained about weak regulations, shoddy compliance, and lax enforcement with respect to Ill Eagles: where's your outrage now? You're getting ripped off nearly every time you fill up your tank, and all you're doing is bitching about Obama.

How much more evidence do you need that Republicans just don't know how to govern? There hasn't been a Democrat elected to statewide office for 18 years in Texas, and yet conservatives still want to blame them for everything that's wrong with this state.

Hell, Republicans march in lockstep to the polls to give the most incompetent among themselves a PROMOTION.

Who is the bigger bunch of stooges -- Republican elected officials or the people who keep on voting for them?

Monday Funnies (a shout-out to Keryl Douglas and Elaine Palmer)

And especially those who would fall for their BS.

We honor all of the brave men and women this Memorial Day who gave their lives for our freedom... to eat everything in sight.

Sherwin Williams for President.

Wage theft in the city of millionaires

Stace has blogged extensively about this previously; here's The Nation picking it up now.

For two years running Houston has added more millionaires to its population than any other city in the United States. Near-millionaires are enjoying some nice upward mobility, especially those involved in the oil and gas industry.

Low-wage workers, on the other hand, aren’t faring too well in the city. In fact, a recent report from Houston Interfaith Worker Justice (HIWJ) estimates that low-wage workers lose $753.2 million annually due to wage theft. Wage theft can occur in many ways, including: workers being denied the minimum wage or overtime pay; stolen tips; illegal deductions from paychecks; people being forced to work off the clock; or workers getting misclassified as independent contractors so they aren’t entitled to overtime or benefits.

“We’re not talking about a worker here or a worker there, it’s something that has a lot of ripple effects,” says José Eduardo Sanchez, campaign organizer with HIWJ. “It impacts families, communities and local economies.”

Although there are laws on the books against wage theft, there are problems with understaffing, enforcement, and jurisdiction disputes in institutions like the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the courts.

When companies don't pay their workers, that's stealing. Unless the companies are going out of business, it's criminal and should be prosecuted.

Mayor Annise Parker has expressed some empathy for the plight of the victims even as she has clarified that it is the state of Texas which has jurisdiction to address the issue.

The city’s Legal Department initially analyzed the proposal and said that wage theft is addressed by state statute. But Mayor Annise Parker’s office contacted HIWJ to express her interest. HIWJ is now working with her administration on policy proposals that would create a process for a fair hearing and link wage theft violations to the suspension and revocation of city licenses, permits and contracts. Other options to collect additional damages from employers are being explored as well.

Sanchez says the mayor’s action was “surprising” given the initial response from the city.

“But now it’s a matter of holding the politicians accountable and really pushing for enforceable aspects of this legislation,” says Sanchez. “Because there’s an easy way for this to become one of those good policies on paper—nice sentiment, nice words—but not enforceable.”

A little late for some of you, but something to consider if you're casting your ballot on Tuesday.

-- Who cares more about the companies and their owners and managers who steal from their employees than they do about the victims of wage theft?

-- Who cares about the real victims of wage theft: the families? The single parent households and the children who go to bed hungry every night? That conservative crap about "they shouldn't have had children if they couldn't afford them" no longer washes because the Republicans in Austin, as we know, are now cutting off funding for birth control, along with women's wellness exams and cancer screenings.

There's some statistics at the Nation link at the top for the United States if you scroll down a ways. Here's a few.

US poverty (less than $22,314 for a family of four): 46 million people, 15.1 percent of population.

Children in poverty: 16.4 million, 22 percent of all children, including 40 percent of African-American children and 37 percent of Latino children.

Number of poor children receiving cash aid: one in five.

Poverty rate for people in female-headed families: 42 percent.

Poverty rate for children under age 5 in female-headed families: 59 percent.

Single mothers with incomes under $25,000: 50 percent.

Single mothers working: 67 percent.

 But here's the one that really jumped out at me:

Americans with no income other than food stamps: 6 million, 2 percent of population.

You know for certain which side the Republicans are on, and it won't ever be the working poor. But what about the Democrats? Some of them are for "free markets, entrepreneurship, and liberalized trade", which should be an easy enough dog whistle to decipher. Or just look at their record, as contrasted with their challenger's.

This isn't brain surgery, folks. You can vote for a 100% plutocracy party, or one that's roughly 50%. (You can also vote for neither one.) As always -- and as my friend Neil likes to say frequently -- it's up to you.

Memorial Day Funnies