Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Post-Memorial Day Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance weekly blog roundup comes a day later than usual due to some excessive celebrating. Here are the highlights:

WhosPlayin only had Random Thoughts this week, but guest blogger Calvin Tillman -- mayor of Dish, TX -- weighed in with his thoughts on the Stacked Deck being dealt by the Texas Railroad Commission and their bias towards the interests of the oil and gas companies.

At Left of College Station, Teddy reports on the recent increase in violence, the withdrawal of troops, and the possibility of what could happen in the war that has vanished from public debate: the fading war in Iraq.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says the Voter ID debacle demonstrates the differences between Republicans and Democrats.

Off the Kuff takes a look at a battle between cities and some legislators over red light cameras.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the great job his Democratic state representative in HD-52 is doing this session in Diana Maldonado's Legislation.

TXsharon asked you to help Close the Halliburton Loophole and it looks like it's working, but don't let up on the pressure yet. From Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS

New TPA member blog Castle Hills Democrats ran a satire piece by the blogger's good friend Melinda, poking fun at those who say they're Tired of Big Government.

Neil at Texas Liberal has been accepted as a member of the Academy of Political Science. Also, Neil finds that Houston's District H Council special election makes him ill.

This week, the Republican's sent out an email asking people to fight... for toll roads. McBlogger, predictably, thought their arguments were pretty weak.

Rick Carney, Gov. Suckseed's political consultant, likened efforts to broaden the appeal of the Texas Republican Party "becoming a whorehouse", and for some reason several of Kay Bailey's female supporters took offense. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs pops the corn and documents the atrocity.

Over at TexasKaos, TxSharon begs Congress to Close the Halliburton Loophole. She explains that the drilling industry is the only industry allowed to pump toxics into our water sources without special permission.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is totally pissed off that Republicans continue to take paranoid revenge on Democracy when it comes to serious legislation. They play dirty and spiteful games to get their pet projects injected into serious bills to help battered American retirees: Retiring Early In Self Defense Could Be A Mistake.

Leo Berman for Governor (LMAO)

Bad news for Rick Perry:

With plans to join the GOP primary with Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today he wil announce as a candidate for governor the week of July 4.

"I want to run for governor because there's one major problem in this state that no one seems to be addressing, and in of fact they are completely avoiding it, and that was quite evident in this legislative session as well, and that's the question of illegal aliens in Texas."

Go see the video from RG Ratcliffe at the Chron here.

Leo Berman is a big favorite of ours here in the Texas progressive blogosphere. This is the kind of excitement I was hoping for just last week.

I think Leo is probably good for about 15-20% of the primary vote, all of it coming out of Governor Suckseed's hide. Which makes Kay Bailey a prohibitive favorite, though it would still be fascinating to see a run-off between her and either one of Perry and Berman.

I better order another tractor trailer load of Orville Redenbacher right away.

It's Sotomayor for the Supreme Court

According to the AP, about 15 minutes ago:

Officials tell The Associated Press that President Barack Obama intends to nominate federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor (SUHN’-ya soh-toh-my-YOR’) as the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter if confirmed by the Senate. The officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because Obama has not yet announced his decision.

This choice pleases me, several million other Democrats (including most Latinos), and will likely spur Jon Kyl of Arizona to a filibuster.

Update: My humble O is that a flibuster would continue the electoral hari-kari the Republicans have been practicing for some time now. Kyl in particular would be at the tip of the spear in the Grand Canyon state, though he was just re-elected in 2006 with 79.3% of the vote. But that leaves his next re-election bid to come in 2012 -- when he's on the ballot underneath Barack Obama.

Monday, May 25, 2009

What Memorial Day really means


Paul Rieckhoff, of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America:

While people are lighting up their grills, or spending a day off at the beach, it's important to remember the real reason for today's holiday.

Today marks a solemn day of remembrance for the more than 1 million American heroes of all generations who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields, defending our country.

To me, Memorial Day means paying tribute to heroes like Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless bravery. In the mountains of Afghanistan, Lt. Murphy's team was discovered and assaulted by more than 30 Taliban fighters. The ensuing firefight left one member of the team dead, and the other three injured.

Murphy was mortally wounded as he fought his way to an unsheltered position where he could transmit a call for support. But he fought on, requesting immediate support for his team. He gave his life to save his comrades.

There are no words that can adequately express our debt to the men and women of all generations who have paid the ultimate price in service of our nation. But we should take the time to honor their sacrifice today, and every day of the year.


I spent some time in the cemetery yesterday, looking at the red, white and blue flowers, and the tiny American flags gracing the headstones. One I walked past was a veteran of the Spanish-American war. He had been born in 1869, and he passed in 1940. As I pondered his life, it occurred to me that he probably knew men who fought in the Civil War, maybe even at the Alamo. He fought in the army with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders and the charge up San Juan Hill. He may have avoided WWI, but lived through most of the Great Depression and perhaps read newspaper headlines (generated by that old war mongerer W.R. Hearst) about the rise of the German Reich. He witnessed the transformation of the American economy from agrarian to industrial, the birth of the automobile, the dawn of the petroleum age.

Say a word of thanks to a vet today, and pay some small tribute to their service and their life.