BREAKING: Idiotpathic seizure

Only Tuesday and already it's a lousy week to be a Republican

-- Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure while on vacation. He likely has epilepsy.

-- Alaska Senator Ted Stevens -- he of the Bridge to Nowhere and "the Internet is a series of tubes" fame -- had his house raided by agents of the FBI and the IRS yesterday.

Lazy Fred Thompson hit less than two-thirds of his fundraising goal for the month of June, which further disillusions Republican prospects for retaining the White House in 2008:

But many Republicans have turned queasy as Thompson has ousted part of his original brain trust and repeatedly delayed his official announcement, which is now planned for shortly after Labor Day, in the first two weeks of September.

Some are already saying a prospective Thompson run is a flop. “I just don’t see it anymore,” said a key Republican who had been extremely enthusiastic about a Thompson candidacy. "That number is really underwhelming. There were indications it could be double that. They've been saying that people were waiting for Fred, and the money was going to pour in. He looks like he's already losing momentum."

-- And an impeachment resolution was introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives.

All that and we still await a flash from Louisiana Senator Diaper Vitter, who last week suggested to his colleagues that they should "rebrand" the Republican party as fiscal conservatives. (This must be out of concern for the lost libertarian faction.)

There's really no schadenfruede in any of this news, frankly. Illness, legal woes, another politician's campaign and career collapsing ...

Good luck the rest of this week, Republicans. Maybe things will get better, though with Talmadge Heflin now at the helm in Texas, I wouldn't count on it.

Tooling around the Tex-o-sphere

(I liked the Texas Kaos header so much I appropriated it along with this week's round-up.) It's Monday and that means it's time for another Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round-Up. This week's round-up is brought to you by Vince at Capitol Annex. Diarist Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos has had enough, and she shares the letter she wrote Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn in Tell Me That Our Elected U.S. Lawmakers Do Not Embrace a W. Monarchy.

Could Be True ponders the often asked question (by the Right): "Why Post-Election Information in Spanish" at South Texas Chisme. Capitol Annex reveals a letter House Speaker Tom Craddick sent to former Parliamentarian Denise Davis telling her to keep her mouth shut about her time as parliamentarian. Texas public education just took another hit, thanks to Governor Perry, according to a post by TXSharon at Bluedaze. Perry appointed Dr. Don McLeroy as chair of the Texas State Board of Education. McLeroy is infamous for his radical fundamentalist views. This is especially bad because textbooks are up for review this year. Hal at Half Empty ponders early endorsements in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in An Endorsement Is Worth Watt Price? Matt at Stop Cornyn lets us know that John Kerry has announced a contest to Remove Republican Roadblocks (like John Cornyn). Karl-Thomas at Burnt Orange Report tells us about Town Lake being named after Lady Bird Johnson. Muse at Musings has the invitation to LTC Rick Noriega's change of command ceremony at the Alamo on August 4th. Noriega will take command of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, which can trace its history back to the Republic of Texas. The event is open to the public. Thought we were done with Accenture and HHSC privatization? Charles at Off the Kuff says think again. Stace at Dos Centavos tells us about a Pew study which finds Latino political participation is not matching up to Latino population growth. Will demographic changes be enough to put Democrats over the top? Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News points to a peer-reviewed study that shows illegal immigrants are not criminals -- they go to jail at an amazinging low one-fifth the rate of current citizens. Perhaps we should promote immigration to reduce the crime rate in the United States? Dembones at Eye On Williamson County posts on the similarities between the latest right-wing talking points on Iraq and the change in rhetoric by Rep. John Carter (R-Round Rock) on bringing troops home from Iraq in John Carter Heeds Grover Norquist's Talking Points. John C. at Bay Area Houston, in Raising Campaign Cash 2007 from Bob Perry says that during early 2007 Bob Perry didn't get close to his record contributions last year, which totaled $4.5 million. In 2007 he has donated $471,000, with $250,000 going to Texans for Lawsuit Reform. HillCo PAC, another fine anti-consumer organization, received $50,000 and Lt. Governor Dewhurst received $25,000. Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal tells us that Carrollton attorney Karen Guerra is set to run as a Democrat for the 16th District Court in 2008. And, don't forget about these other Texas Progressive Alliance Members: Three Wise Men, In The Pink Texas, Marc's Miscellany, Common Sense, The Agonist, People's Republic of Seabrook, McBlogger, B and B, Feet To The Fire, and Who's Playin'.

"Mmarrvin Zindlerrrr, Eyewitness News", 1921 - 2007

There will still be slime in the ice machines, but there won't be any more Friday rat and roach reports from the King.

Though he was proudest of his work championing "the little guy" and helping secure medical care for needy children, he was best known for stories he did a mere seven months after starting the job in 1973 that led to the closing of the state's best-known "bawdy house," as Zindler called it — a notorious La Grange brothel known as the Chicken Ranch.

The reports not only won him national notoriety but also a public thrashing by Fayette County Sheriff T.J. Flournoy, a Chicken House partisan, who broke two of Zindler's ribs and snatched his toupee, reportedly waving it in the air as if it were a prized enemy scalp.

Texas author Larry L. King wrote an article about it for Playboy magazine in 1974, which was turned into a long-running Broadway musical four years later and became a kitschy 1982 movie starring Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise.

And this (a lesson perhaps for the rest of Houston's Republicans):

Zindler became involved in Democratic Party politics, serving as a delegate one year at the state Democratic convention where a conservative delegate slugged him after Zindler had made disparaging comments about the conservative wing of the party in a speech.

Zindler went on to work in the senatorial campaign of Lyndon Johnson and in other Democratic campaigns before switching to the Republican Party, where he continued to espouse liberal notions such as national health insurance.

A wealthy man -- a Republican -- born into a wealthy family, who cared deeply about the little guy. Who supported health care reform.

Where are any more of those left?