I love a parade!

Today I'm going downtown for the Art Car Parade (here's a pic of a car I like) and I have not one but TWO invitations to march (walk, actually; it's been decades since I marched) -- one is with the Global Awareness puppetistas, who are in town for the Halliburton shareholders protest next week, and also with the local chapter of DFA and "Spanky". Following that we will proceed to the "Save America Without DeLay Family Fun Festival", sponsored by the afore-mentioned Democracy for Houston and featuring not only fun, food, games, and carnival rides but some workshops and speeches by Richard Morrison, Chris Bell, Lou Dubose and others.

But I didn't want to let the weekend pass without commenting on last Thursday's Tom DeLay Benefit Gala/Salute to Imperialism held in Washington. Then I found that northstar had already said it all:

There is a lesson to be learned in the Tom DeLay saga. It’s probably not a lesson that you’re going to want to pass along to your children, but it’s one that the Medicis, were they to be alive today, would be proud of.

What’s the lesson? Clearly, when it comes to crime and ethical lapses, bigger is better. If you’re caught robbing the corner gas station, you’re going to do some hard time. If you’re caught taking bribes, breaking campaign financing laws, and/or shredding the House of Representatives ethics rules, (they) call you “The Hammer” and throw $250-per-plate dinners in your honor. Get caught with your hand in the till, and you’re going to get fired. Buy the loyalty of virtually every Republican member of Congress, and you could get away with buggering Bill Frist’s pet goat.

Yes, Conservatives LOVE Tom DeLay, which, I suppose, only goes to show how craven, self-absorbed, and thoroughly ethically-challenged these folks truly are. If you a Conservative True Believer, the only thing that really matters is the collection and maintenance of political power, because without political power you’re just another cranky dissident whining about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Thursday night’s DeLay tribute dinner may have brought a smile to DeLay’s face and an extra bounce to his step, but those of us who didn’t spend $250 to eat filet mignon and salmon should take heed. These folks care nothing about this country and the greater good. What they care about is staying on top of the political heap and forcing their narrow, fear-based agenda on the rest of us. The rest are mere details.

And DeLay has the cojones and the chutzpah to accuse Democrats of having no class? Good God, man…when’s the last time this demagogue took a good look in the mirror??

*applause*

He did forget to mention the tiny candy hammers served as dessert, though...

Texas political bloggers and Chris Bell

were all on the same phone line tonight.

I've blogged previously here (and linked to this) about Bell and the governor's race, and tonight's call disclosed no blockbusters. Here are the highlights:

-- July is the deadline for his decision to formally enter the gubernatorial tilt; among a few other reasons, that's when his wife Alison will complete her chemotherapy.

-- Bell thinks it will take anywhere from $10 to $20 million to wage the contest.

-- he hears the same names as the rest of us do bandied about as possible competitors in the Democratic primary (Tony Sanchez, John Sharp). Whether they enter the race or not figures to break along the lines of Kay Bailey Hutchison's decision to run against Rick Perry on the GOP side. (Both of those men probably have no appetite for a potential general campaign against her given their track records in elections past, so if she makes up her mind to go, you could expect them not to. That's my opinion, not Chris Bell's.)

-- Bell "will take seriously" a Kinky Friedman candidacy and believes that overall it would be a good thing. The Kinkster "if nothing else will get people laughing at Rick Perry; but it's that sad laughter; the kind you laugh when you know something's broken".

-- the hiring of Joe Trippi (and EchoDitto) reflects Bell's interest in cultivating the netroots, and that includes reaching younger Texans. That's reflected in his website, the podcasts, and tonight's conference call with the Lone Star blogosphere. Continuing in a familiar Trippi trend, Bell has scheduled House Parties for Sunday, June 12 -- the date celebrating the one-year anniversary of Bell's ethics complaint filed against Tom DeLay.

Expect more blogging on future conference calls with Bell and other Democratic candidates.

Update: Sean at The Agonist and Nate at Common Sense have their live postings up.

Pastor Rick Scarborough of Pearland, TX

(Haven't we read about other prominent members of this southern suburb of Houston before?)

A post I made at HoustonDemocrats.com and cross-posted at Come and Take It! has all the details about this "Patriot Pastor" leading the Christian Soldiers Onward (marching as to war) against the godless, evil filibuster.

Go read it, and then gird your loins for battle.

The military's manpower shortfalls

are putting pressure on some recruiters to, uh, get creative:

"Hey Chris, this is Sgt. Kelt with the Army man. I think we got disconnected. Okay, I know you were on your cell probably and just had a bad connection or something like that. I know you didn't hang up on me. Anyway, by federal law you got an appointment with me at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Greenspoint Mall, okay? That's the Greenspoint Mall Army Recruiting Station at 2 o'clock. You fail to appear and we'll have a warrant. Okay? So give me a call back."

That was a local example. Here's more from the NYT:

Interviews with more than two dozen recruiters in 10 states hint at the extent of their concern, if not the exact scope of the transgressions. Several spoke of concealing mental-health histories and police records. They described falsified documents, wallet-size cheat sheets slipped to applicants before the military's aptitude test and commanding officers who look the other way. And they voiced doubts about the quality of some troops destined for the front lines.

The recruiters insisted on anonymity to avoid being disciplined, but their accounts were consistent, and the specifics were verified in several cases by documents and interviews with military officials and applicants' families.

Yesterday, the issue drew national attention as CBS News reported that a high-school student outside Denver recorded two recruiters as they advised him how to cheat. The student, David McSwane, said one recruiter had told him how to create a diploma from a nonexistent school, while the other had helped him buy a product to cleanse traces of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms from his body. The Army said the recruiters had been suspended while it investigated.

Today the US Army called for a nationwide stand-down on May 20 of all recruiting efforts.

To have every recruiter across America review Army recruiting policies and standards.

Kos has an opinion on why this sort of thing is going on, and it has to do with the culture of lies and cowardice fostered by this President. And his administration.

So when I see things like this, I want to scream.

Not to beat a dead horse (off)

...but I'm still amazed at the missing reaction from the Talibaptists over the First Lady's equine masturbation jokes at the Correspondents Dinner last week.

What are they telling the children?

Personally it sounded like those rascals over at The White House had gotten ahold of her schtick and applied some edit. Oh wait, they did:

THE FIRST LADY: Oh please. Not that old thing again. I just threw up my tequila in my mouth a little. (Weapons of) Mass (Destruction)? I think he got confused when all those Mexican hookers in Tijuana took one look at that thing and said they wished there were "mas." Ladies and gentlemen, we are after all talking about a grown man who still pulls his pants and tighty-whiteys down to his ankles just so he can find his little boy business every time he uses a urinal. (Laughter.)

Boy it sure was difficult

being a Houston sports fan this past weekend.

The Rockets finally gave up on advancing in the NBA playoffs in spectacular fashion, losing to the Dallas Mavericks by 40 points Saturday night. That set a an NBA record for futility in Game 7s. At times this past season the Rockets were a thrill to watch (when their cobbled-together components jelled, such as in Game 6 when they punished the Mavs). At times I just cringed. Maybe a junkyard dog with three-point range, in the body of a 6-10 power forward, will show up in the free agent pool over the summer.

And the Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves 16-0 Sunday afternoon, running their road losing streak to 11 games. Former Astro Mike Hampton applied the beatdown, throwing a two-hitter and hitting a home run.

(Rocket Clemens outdueled AJ Burnett last night for some payback, but the 'Stros really need to start hitting. Berkman's returned so perhaps we'll see some improvement.)

It was more fun watching -- and then reading -- the post-mortem on the "Worst" Kentucky Derby ever.