We're gonna "Cowboy Up" with data

Last night the Houston Democratic Forum hosted Dr. Richard Murray, who discussed (along with his son Keir, who also blogs) the creation of the Texas Research Foundation, a progressive think tank to "assist in gathering and disseminating academically sound data on important state issues, and making these findings widely known to business, civic, and community leaders as well as the general public."

In other words, get our message out.

Dr. Murray's expertise is polling, and the state of Texas is woefully underrepresented relative to the quantity (and quality) of polling data of its electorate. Typically the conglomerated media will commission a poll close to the election in order to fill 45 seconds on their 10 pm newscasts and create a week's worth of buzz, and of course the parties fund their own (read biased) pollsters, but again only sporadically and the results are issued mostly when it's favorable to their candidates. So one of Murray's goals for the foundation is to conduct a quarterly statewide poll on issues as well as politicians, one that is academically sound and uses transparent methodology. And as it relates to good news or bad news for Democratic candidates, let the chips fall wherever.

Marguerite has posted here in greater detail (she must've had a recorder, bless her heart).

This is all still in the formative stages, so if you would care to assist in building something like this from the foundation up (no pun) -- and I'm not just talking about donating money but helping to conduct research and "disseminate data", fellow bloggers -- then visit the Foundation's (also still rudimentary) website above.

Hubert Vo and Carole Strayhorn

Local blogmeisters Kuff and Evan have scored with Texas Monthly passkeys (which won't last more than a few days) on two of the more fascinating political stories currently playing out in Deep-In-The-Hearta.

The election of Hubert Vo, the Vietnamese-American and Democrat who toppled Talmadge Heflin in the ferociously contested statehouse race last year, portends a favorable trend:

The fortunes of the Democratic Party seemed bright on a warm evening this spring, when four hundred Vo supporters gathered at a Vietnamese restaurant downtown for a belated appreciation dinner. Chinese American city council candidate Mark Lee worked the room, as did Jay Aiyer, an Indian American city-council-at-large candidate. Against a red-white-and-blue backdrop, students from Alief high schools performed folk dances; girls in sparkling headdresses sashayed to Bollywood songs, and teenagers in white peasant skirts stomped to mariachi music. Vo’s campaign staff was as multicultural as the crowd: His Latino direct-mail consultant was there, as were his African American treasurer, his Pakistani American media consultant, and his folksy Anglo attorney (“We’d like to thank all y’all,” Larry Veselka said to the crowd with a tip of his white Stetson). Vo rose toward the end of the evening to sound the themes of his campaign and thank the audience. His 81-year-old father, who sat a few feet away, beamed. “I will not let you down,” Vo told the crowd to sustained applause. One of the last speakers of the night was Gordon Quan, the city councilman who is considering challenging DeLay. “Hubert provides hope that we can take back this state,” Quan said with a broad grin. “Look around this room. This is Texas.”

... and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the GOP state controller who has pissed off Rick Perry and David Dewhurst and Tom Craddick with her tight-fisted management of the state's budget (that's a good thing) will likely run for higher office:

“Hogwash on Perry having the base locked up,” she said, interrupting my speculations. “They’re believing their own news releases. I do not mind rough-and-tumble. Texans are ashamed of what is going on now in their state.”

But hasn’t she been reduced to seeking contributions from trial lawyers?

“Hogwash on trial lawyers,” she said.

“When are you going to announce?” I asked, trying not to sound too eager for the answer.

She stared at me. “We view ourselves on the eve of battle,” she said. “We are nerved for the contest and must conquer or perish.” I should have recognized it, but I didn’t. Sam Houston, before San Jacinto.

If you want the skinny on the latest in Texas politics on both sides of the aisle (and keep in mind that what happens here is transferred nationwide shortly after) then go pay those two links at the top a visit and read the entire articles.

Begun, the filibuster wars have

There's a lot of Star Wars jabbering out there so I'd better throw in my dos centavos before the buzzmoment fades.

I put one of my favorite quotes up there in the header. I also like "Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes," which is OBK's retort to Anakin/Vader, who gets the Bushesque "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." Of course it might be more appropriate to say "Only the Sith (plural is vital) impose false balance on absolutes". Fair and balanced, someone said.

But the only Darth Vader-IS-The-New-World-Order analogy I'm really comfortable with is that Emperor Palpatine is supposed to be Dick Cheney. On second thought, maybe he's Karl Rove. I have trouble telling those method actors apart sometimes.

One thing's for sure: by this time next week, George Lucas will have deposed Michael Moore as the conservatives' pop culture whipping boy. The Voice of the Left (to be despised).

Which begs the question; whatever happened to Ward Churchill?

This is what I get for paying attention to what's going on with our democracy, I suppose

The Houston Independent Media Center liveblogged multiple arrests and police violence at the Halliburton shareholders' meeting in downtown Houston this morning.

Here are photos.

Here's video (RealPlayer).

I couldn't stand listening to the GOP Senators guillotine the filibuster any longer, so I switched over to the local newscast (ABC-13 "Eyewitless News") to see what they might report.

Their last three stories were -- no kidding -- hurricane season preparation, the new "Star Wars" movie opening, and a family of ducklings washed down a storm drain.

I can't get back to work fast enough.