The legacy of Tom DeLay's Congress.

More on Morrison, TX-22, and the rising Democratic tide

I promised a post a while back on the subject of the "birth tax", which Richard Morrison brought up in our conference call earlier this month; the cartoon above explains the concept as well as any words I could use.

This continuing assault on the middle class in favor of the moneyed class is what defines the GOP today. This fiduciary deconstruction of the working class American -- another example is the freshly-signed bankruptcy legislation -- will be the lasting legacy of Tom DeLay's Republican Congress.

Unless they can be stopped.

It's no surprise, then, that Democrats are lining up to knock off King Cockroach, and likewise that the GOP is looking high and low for someone to run against him in the primary, so worried are they about the image of their Majority Leader going down in flames.

Candidly, though, there's no good reason why Richard Morrison and Nick Lampson and Gordon Quan should beat each other up for the right to defeat La Cucaracha Grande. (Every Democrat in the country ought to be running against Tom DeLay -- tied around the neck of his GOP opponent -- anyway.)

Lampson's motivation is that part of the old 2nd Congressional District he represented -- an area surrounding NASA -- was redistricted into the current 22nd, so he has a little name recognition and some base of support -- certainly a few folks living there who've cast a ballot with his name on it before. Quan is a popular but term-limited Houston city councilman who senses the rise of the Asian-American Democratic bloc in southeast Texas, acknowledged in Hubert Vo's recent statehouse victory over Talmadge Heflin.

But neither Lampson nor Quan actually live in the 22nd District, and that fact could work hard against them in a general election. DeLay -- or some other Republican -- could paint them as a "carpetbagger". One thing the disenchanted conservatives in Sugar Land won't do is vote for a Democrat they perceive is an opportunistic outsider.

My idea is that Lampson ought to consider running for Congress in the 14th (Ron Paul is retiring, allegedly, and that district also overlaps some of Lampson's old one in Galveston County) and Gordon Quan should challenge John Culberson in the 7th -- where Quan's residence lies. Three good strong campaigns against two significantly weakened GOP opponents and one open seat -- potentially a three-seat switch for the Dems -- would go a long way toward nullifying the DeLay-engineered 2004 gerrymandering.

That would be a good start toward taking our country back -- wouldn't it?

Woody working on dinner...

I'll get back to the GOPranos in a moment...

...but I wanted to post about my week, since I've been offline most of it.

Tuesday morning I drove up to east Texas to visit my father and stepmother at their vacation place at Lake Sam Rayburn. We played golf (Robert Trent Jones-designed course) but the most relaxing part of the two days was simply being out of the rat race. I had brought along my laptop on the chance that Rayburn Country had moved into the 21st century, but no dice. Oh, I could've plugged in and dialed up, but as those of us who've been on the Web's autobahn for a few years know, that's the surfing equivalent of the circus clown riding a tricycle. Not only are you barely getting anywhere, you're not enjoying the ride much either. So I imposed a blackout for two days, and loved it.

But it was the wildlife I enjoyed the most.

I saw a murder of crows harrassing a squirrel. On the ground. They hopped and flapped after him as he ran away -- not as fast he could have, either -- which led me to believe this was an exercise without much intensity on either side. Some kind of game they were playing with each other, or a way to pass the time.

I saw black squirrels (jet black; black as a cat) bounding along the fairway and the side of the road. They flirted with the grey squirrels and fox squirrels with no obvious discrimination practiced by either party. As cats and dogs might do, or even people, mostly.

And a large pileated woodpecker -- that's the one that would remind you of Woody Woodpecker; red crown, black face, black body with white neck and stripes -- clutching sideways to a porch railing, hammering away. During the middle of the morning, with people in the house watching and with us walking by less than fifty feet away. Which struck me as either brazen or desperate. And this bird didn't look hungry, though I knew he was searching for a tasty bug in the wood. He was nearly three feet long from tip to top, and well aware of our presence.

On my return to Houston I stopped in at the Alabama-Coushatta reservation. They are doing quite well since their casino in neighboring Louisiana opened a few years ago. Lots of new buildings; a museum and entertainment hall for visitors, a multi-purpose center for tribe members, a spanking-new convenience store on the highway, and an obviously thriving tribal economy. I intend to return for the pow-wow in the fall, when the dancers perform.

And yesterday I spent the day in a legal research project, examining a racial discrimination lawsuit against a large corporation (remaining details of which I am restricted by confidentiality agreement to reveal) . Suffice it to say that it was most interesting.

So I'll have my nose back on the grindstone soon enough. Right now I'm going to Google up an image of a woodpecker. BRB...

Update (already!) : After my own nature post, it was nice to see this in the Chronic this morning. There's pictures of koalas and prairie chickens on the front page of the paper (at the moment) .

Bidge and the Splendid Splinter

As they reach the end of their stellar careers, conversations about whether Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell deserve Hall of Fame induction have been had on sports talk radio, in fine drinking establishments (and not-so-fine ones as well), and in places like this for some time.

Banjo Jones details the latest milestone reached by the Astros' sparkplug:

If Craig Biggio gets hit and killed by a bus after the game today in Cincinnati, he can go to his reward satisfied that he tied Ted Williams at #63 on the Major League Baseball all-time career hit list.

Biggio likely would have tied the record at home in Houston since Astros manager Phil Garner gave him the day off today, but Biggio was called on to pinch hit in the 7th inning and delivered a single. (That) gives him 2,654 base hits, which he's gathered during a 17-year career that likely will continue a year or two after this season. Williams played 19 seasons.

The fact Biggio started out as a catcher, moved to second base, then moved to the outfield and now has returned to second base only adds to his impressive hitting resume'.

Other names you might recognize on the all-time hit list that are within Biggio's reach are: Nellie Fox (who ended his career with Houston), 2,663 hits; Luis Aparicio, 2,677; Billy Williams, 2,711; Rusty Staub (who started his career with Houston), 2716; Lou Gehrig, 2,721, and Babe Ruth, 2,873.

He ought to be voted in on the first ballot.

Enron's "Smartest Guys"

are headed both for the courthouse and the cineplex this week.

Charles Kuffner has a take on the movie, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" , which is having its Houston (and New York) debut this Friday.

And voir dire begins today in the trial of five former Enron Broadband officials. It's considered an opening act to the Big Show -- Lay and Skilling, center ring -- potentially on later this year.

I knew a handful of fellas who worked for Enron and Duke Energy and El Paso Energy during the go-go-days. They weren't the smartest guys in some rooms, but they most certainly thought they were, and that hubris made them the most arrogant guys in any room.

Very reminiscent of another group of megalomaniacs...