The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that early voting locations are open until 7 p.m. each day, until the conclusion of EV on Friday. Here are this week's blog highlights.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is amazed that anger is directed toward the Internal Revenue Service when Americans elect the very people who make the laws IRS enforces. Joe Stack targeted the wrong end of this chain. Taxpayers get end up owing money because they do not understand the laws their representatives make. Tax and Defiance: Short Sighted Protester Joe Stack.
In times of depleting incomes, Republican Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack brags about his $2.3 million tax-funded soap box derby track, at Bay Area Houston.
Two Steps Forward One Step Back for Tainted Texas Air at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.
This week at Left of College Station, Teddy reflects on the next 40 days of protest that are taking place at Planned Parenthood and reviews a performance of the Vagina Monologues at Texas A&M. Also, a look at the poll numbers in the campaign to be the next governor of Texas, and a review of the week in headlines.
The Conservative Politicians Against Compromise convention picked an old-school nutjob as the presidential nominee in 2012, notes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans hate education so much? Why make community colleges unaffordable?
In Lewisville, the school district has revoked consent for a community organization use their parking lots to gather signatures for a petition drive on the weekend, reports WhosPlayin'.
In what will come as a massive surprise, McBlogger endorses Hank Gilbert. Find out why here.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that even without the severe decrease in sales tax receipts, Texas would still be facing a budget crisis: Understanding the budget and Texas' structural deficit.
Off the Kuff notes the humor of our Attorney General suing to protect the sanctity of divorce.
Libby Shaw at TexasKaos does the accountability analysis on the GOP stimulus hypocrites. See her scorecard here: TX U.S. House Members Join Senators in GOP Hall of Hypocritical Shame.
If Citizen Sarah had a nickel for every time she's put out a statement saying something along the lines of :Governor Perry is blowing hot air about climate change" she could probably buy something really fancy, like a Mexican Coke in a glass bottle. See Texas Vox for more details.
The Texas Cloverleaf reports from frigid New Jersey and wants everyone to know that the Garden State -- and others -- has not fallen into GOP hands.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Ron Paul for President (LMAO)
The Conservative Politicians Against Change convention picked a throwback lunatic as their nominee in 2012.
Dr. No would be the PERFECT candidate for the Party of No, n'est ce pas?
Personally, I think it was the coveted Bruno endorsement that put him over the top.
You really get the notion that none of Paul's staff has explained to him what "teabagging" means. And hey, that's a good thing.
Update:
Rep. Ron Paul won the most support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in an unofficial straw poll of conservative activists attending an annual conference.
A libertarian from Texas who has railed against spending and the Federal Reserve, Paul won the Saturday contest at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 31 percent backing. He has sought the presidential nomination in the past and attracted a following among a segment of voters frustrated with Washington.
Participants cheered as their favored candidates' names were announced. Some members of the audience cheered while others booed loudly when event organizers announced Paul as the winner.
Paul spoke at the conference along with potential presidential candidates former Gov. Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, of Minnesota. Romney won second with 22 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came in third with 7 percent and Pawlenty finished with 6 percent.
Fewer than a quarter of the 10,000 attendees participated in the balloting, an unscientific sampling that only offers bragging rights.
Dr. No would be the PERFECT candidate for the Party of No, n'est ce pas?
Personally, I think it was the coveted Bruno endorsement that put him over the top.
You really get the notion that none of Paul's staff has explained to him what "teabagging" means. And hey, that's a good thing.
Update:
“He’s missing a rudder or something,” Juanita opines. “He starts off sounding like a normal human person, but then he wanders off into very strange lonely places. He starts saying stuff like ‘no taxes, freedom, hate the IRS, it’s MY money, personal freedom, group freedom, pickle relish, your granny’s undies, trig function, War of 1812, soft socks…..’ and all the teabaggers in the room think to themselves, ‘he’s not nuts; he’s just deep and smarter than me’ because they are accustomed to being the dumbest person in the room.”
Friday, February 19, 2010
Pitchers and catchers reported today
... in Kissimmee and elsewhere. WOO HOO
Hair Balls share eleven things to ponder regarding the Astros as they open spring training.
When I lived in Florida in 1992, I went to about a half a dozen different games -- St. Pete (then it was the Cardinals), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Clearwater (Phillies). When I moved back to Texas in '93 -- and my mother still owned her condo in Clearwater -- I went back a couple of times in March for a few days, catching the Yankees in Tampa and the Phillies in their then-brand-new Grapefruit League home. Also jumped over to Osceola County Stadium one afternoon and saw the 'Stros.
There is positively nothing finer than a spring training game in Florida during the first week of March. You can watch the seagulls circle lazily overhead while ballplayers jog in the outfield during the game (they don't do that in late March, when position battles and roster cuts get serious). I haven't made it down in quite a few years but believe me, it's always on my mind. Go here if you want to see what's going on. Or here. Or here. Or here.
Hair Balls share eleven things to ponder regarding the Astros as they open spring training.
When I lived in Florida in 1992, I went to about a half a dozen different games -- St. Pete (then it was the Cardinals), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Clearwater (Phillies). When I moved back to Texas in '93 -- and my mother still owned her condo in Clearwater -- I went back a couple of times in March for a few days, catching the Yankees in Tampa and the Phillies in their then-brand-new Grapefruit League home. Also jumped over to Osceola County Stadium one afternoon and saw the 'Stros.
There is positively nothing finer than a spring training game in Florida during the first week of March. You can watch the seagulls circle lazily overhead while ballplayers jog in the outfield during the game (they don't do that in late March, when position battles and roster cuts get serious). I haven't made it down in quite a few years but believe me, it's always on my mind. Go here if you want to see what's going on. Or here. Or here. Or here.
Who besides me wishes ...
... that Joseph Stack had been in therapy for the past month, and Tiger Woods had flown a light plane into a building?
-- More TeaBaggers conferencing this week in Washington. Last year that conclave produced hilarious video of an obese Rush Limbaugh bouncing up and down like a circus elephant. This year so far, only TelePrompter hypocrisy.
-- The History Channel will air a "documentary" on the Kennedy family that will allegedly focus on any variety of family peccadilloes. The producer, Joel Surnow ...
-- "The Flintstones" is not a documentary, but far too many of our neighbors think it is ...
-- Roger Ebert, the film critic who was the co-host of a popular movie review show some time ago, is finally reaching the end of the line in his long battle with oral cancer. He writes a moving essay about dying in this month's Esquire. Warning: clicking the link reveals an unsettling photo of Ebert's physical appearance as a result of his many surgeries.
-- Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, and Todd Staples rolled out their opposition to climate change this past week, and were greeted with the appropriate scorn and derision.
-- The BAE truck facility in Sealy finally did lose, after appealing the decision to the Pentagon, their federal contract this week. Thousands of Texas jobs will be lost as a result.
-- Doug Fieger, The Knack's lead singer, passed this week. I played that album until the diamond needle cut all the way through to the other side of the record. 'My Sharona' was a huge song in the '80's at my fraternity parties.
-- Early voting continues in Texas this weekend. The turnout in Harris County has been massive.
-- More TeaBaggers conferencing this week in Washington. Last year that conclave produced hilarious video of an obese Rush Limbaugh bouncing up and down like a circus elephant. This year so far, only TelePrompter hypocrisy.
-- The History Channel will air a "documentary" on the Kennedy family that will allegedly focus on any variety of family peccadilloes. The producer, Joel Surnow ...
... smokes cigars with Rush Limbaugh, can "hardly think" of Ronald Reagan without "breaking into tears," and believed that "America [was] in its glory days" under President Bush.
-- "The Flintstones" is not a documentary, but far too many of our neighbors think it is ...
Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
-- Roger Ebert, the film critic who was the co-host of a popular movie review show some time ago, is finally reaching the end of the line in his long battle with oral cancer. He writes a moving essay about dying in this month's Esquire. Warning: clicking the link reveals an unsettling photo of Ebert's physical appearance as a result of his many surgeries.
-- Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, and Todd Staples rolled out their opposition to climate change this past week, and were greeted with the appropriate scorn and derision.
-- The BAE truck facility in Sealy finally did lose, after appealing the decision to the Pentagon, their federal contract this week. Thousands of Texas jobs will be lost as a result.
-- Doug Fieger, The Knack's lead singer, passed this week. I played that album until the diamond needle cut all the way through to the other side of the record. 'My Sharona' was a huge song in the '80's at my fraternity parties.
-- Early voting continues in Texas this weekend. The turnout in Harris County has been massive.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Shami campaign staffers resign
Farouk Shami's campaign has imploded in the past few days. First there was an internal e-mail sent to media (including me) revealing inner turmoil over who was responsible for communications, and now this ...
More from Vince Leibowitz ...
Leibowitz and Ray, you may recall, had earlier replaced Jason Stanford, who ran Chris Bell's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and is now working for Kinky Friedman.
Bill White ought to be able to cruise to a run-off-free win in the primary and look forward to taking on Rick Perry in November (whether or not the governor clears the primary without a run-off).
Update: More from TrailBlazers and Texas Politics, including this ...
Several top campaign aides to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami resigned today, said Charlie Ray, who had been the campaign’s press secretary.
Five staff members stepped down, including Ray, campaign director Vince Leibowitz, and communications director Kelly Love Johnson, Ray said.
The resignations come a day after the campaign’s internal chaos spilled into public when a bizarre e-mail exchange was, apparently inadvertently, sent to reporters.
On Tuesday, Ray and Shami gave out conflicting information about the roles of aides David Diaz and Jessica Gutierrez, both of whom had been sending out press releases on behalf of the campaign. Ray said that neither were authorized to speak for the campaign, but Shami said late Tuesday night that both had permission to give such statements.
More from Vince Leibowitz ...
“Clearly, (Shami) will not accept political strategy from the people who are there to provide it,” Leibowitz said.
Leibowitz and Ray, you may recall, had earlier replaced Jason Stanford, who ran Chris Bell's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and is now working for Kinky Friedman.
Bill White ought to be able to cruise to a run-off-free win in the primary and look forward to taking on Rick Perry in November (whether or not the governor clears the primary without a run-off).
Update: More from TrailBlazers and Texas Politics, including this ...
"Too many cooks in the kitchen," Ray said today.
Ray said it made it too difficult to "manage the message" when the campaign staff and staff from Shami's hair care company were both doing messaging.
Leibowitz said there was a difference over whether the professional campaign staff was going to run the show or Shami's corporate staff.
"You can see who won," Leibowitz said.
Abbott: Divorce is only between a man and a woman
The hypocrisy is strong with this one.
The United States Constitution says you're wrong, "General" Abbott.
Article IV, Section 1: "Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof."
There's also the common-law marriages that are recognized Texas courts, under § 2.401 of the Texas Family Code:
But I'm no lawyer; surely this has been previously argued and a conservative judge has tossed it (you go do the FindLaw; I'm already tired of Googling this morning). Abbott has tried to to stop gay people from divorcing before and is still appealing the previous case...
There are states where people can legally marry their first cousins -- such as Texas -- and there are states which do not, and those states still recognize those unions. "Moral objection" out the window.
But-but-but Article I, Sec. 32 of the Texas Constitution says marriage can only be between one man and one woman. And it was approved by 76% of Texas voters in 2005. (What that tells you, incidentally, is that a whole lot of Texas Democrats voted in favor of it. Just so you know.)
That, as you may recall, was challenged recently by both Dallas civil court Judge Tena Callahan and the presumptive Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General, Barbara Radnofsky. As I mentioned here, this matter of Texas voters codifying discrimination into the state constitution is ripe for legal challenge.
Just a cursory review of the case law exposes the attorney general of Texas as a rank hypocrite and willing tool of the social ultraconservatives.
Greg Abbott is nothing more than Pat Robertson with a law degree, and he only uses his legal education if he can con the Talibaptists and other Christianists in Texas into believing that he fights the Good Lord's battles here on Earth.
Attorney General Greg Abbott is trying to halt the divorce of two women in Austin on grounds their Massachusetts marriage is not recognized in Texas.
A Travis County state district judge on Feb. 10 granted a divorce in court to Sabina Daly, 41, of San Antonio, and Angelique Naylor, 39, of Austin. Abbott's aides went to court the following day to block the divorce before the written decree was entered.“A divorce is an ending or a termination of a valid legal marriage,” Abbott said Tuesday. “In this instance there was no valid legal marriage recognized by the state of Texas. Texas can't have a faulty precedent on the books that validates an illegal law.”
The United States Constitution says you're wrong, "General" Abbott.
Article IV, Section 1: "Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof."
There's also the common-law marriages that are recognized Texas courts, under § 2.401 of the Texas Family Code:
(A)n informal marriage can be established either by declaration (registering at the county courthouse without having a ceremony), or by meeting a 3-prong test showing evidence of (1) an agreement to be married; (2) cohabitation in Texas; and (3) representation to others that the parties are married. A 1995 update adds an evidentiary presumption that there was no marriage if no suit for proof of marriage is filed within two years of the date the parties separated and ceased living together.
But I'm no lawyer; surely this has been previously argued and a conservative judge has tossed it (you go do the FindLaw; I'm already tired of Googling this morning). Abbott has tried to to stop gay people from divorcing before and is still appealing the previous case...
It was not the first time Abbott's office has sought to halt a same-sex divorce. He intervened last October in a Dallas case when two men were granted a divorce.
Luther said in that case Abbott intervened before the divorce was decreed in open court. The judge in that case rejected Abbott's arguments and the state has appealed to try to overturn the divorce.
There are states where people can legally marry their first cousins -- such as Texas -- and there are states which do not, and those states still recognize those unions. "Moral objection" out the window.
But-but-but Article I, Sec. 32 of the Texas Constitution says marriage can only be between one man and one woman. And it was approved by 76% of Texas voters in 2005. (What that tells you, incidentally, is that a whole lot of Texas Democrats voted in favor of it. Just so you know.)
That, as you may recall, was challenged recently by both Dallas civil court Judge Tena Callahan and the presumptive Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General, Barbara Radnofsky. As I mentioned here, this matter of Texas voters codifying discrimination into the state constitution is ripe for legal challenge.
Just a cursory review of the case law exposes the attorney general of Texas as a rank hypocrite and willing tool of the social ultraconservatives.
Greg Abbott is nothing more than Pat Robertson with a law degree, and he only uses his legal education if he can con the Talibaptists and other Christianists in Texas into believing that he fights the Good Lord's battles here on Earth.
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