Honestly, Joe Wilson was the best thing that happened last night.

Well, that and Eric Cant'or Twittering on his Blackberry, and Louie Gohmert holding up his signs, and the booing, hissing, laughter and general town-halling going on by the GOP during last night's joint session address. His Democratic opponent has raised nearly OVER $100,000 -- $40,000 in the first hour after Wilson screamed "lie" at the President.

Lord Charles Boustany -- thrice sued for medical malpractice, a "death-panel" advocate and former Birther -- managed a less-than-tepid response. The best that can be said for him is that he wasn't foaming at the mouth as he delivered his remarks (unlike many of his colleagues).

This behavior does nothing but vindicate Van Jones's original opinion of the Republicans.

Immediate polling reaction is pretty favorable for health care reform. Oh well, August was good for the GOP ... while it lasted.

Pastrami King for Lt. Governor

*heavy sigh* This is what happens when you have a weak state party chairman ...

As proprietor of the venerable Katz's Deli and Bar on Austin's West Sixth Street, Marc Katz has prospered by dishing up Reuben sandwiches, hot pastrami, Kahuna Burgers and Yankee pot roast to a Texas clientele pehaps more accustomed to barbecue and Tex-Mex.

Now the 62-year-old self-anointed Pastrami King is cooking up plans for a big career change by seeking the number two post in state government. Katz said he is running as a Democrat for lieutenant governor, a post now held by Republican David Dewhurst. Dewhurst has been widely mentioned a possible appointee to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Rick Perry's leading Republican challenger in the 2010 governor's race. Hutchison has said that she will resign the Senate later this fall.

Katz has previously run for Austin mayor, a contest in which he garnered about a hundred votes. You'd think there were more stoners eating his sandwiches at 3 a.m. on any given Sunday in Austin than that, but there you go.

Rachel brings it meaner.

The irony is making me ill

The Labor Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone has a happy Labor Day, and notes that it won't be any work at all to read this week's roundup of blog highlights.

ExxonMobil! Free Mrs. Burns!

Like TXsharon, Elizabeth Burns is a reluctant activist forced into action by the horrendous environmental abuses she witnesses on her own ranch. Her videos have exposed reckless drilling practices by Exxon Mobil that endanger human health and safety, harm wildlife and spoil air, soil and water. XOM has gagged Mrs. Burns claiming that she is revealing "trade secrets."

Neil at Texas Liberal made note of elections in Japan. These elections have moved Japan to the left and possibly changed Japanese politics for years to come.

Off the Kuff discusses the latest entrants into the Texas Governor's race.

Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger takes a look at the BARACKNOPHOBIA gripping a small minority of the people in some parts of Texas.

The Texas Cloverleaf announces its intention to not run for Governor.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why SMU is still supporting a Bush policy institute. Isn't that like the Larry, Moe and Curly institute of higher learning?

Felix Alvarado's problems managing his checking account are a precursor of bigger troubles ahead for Texas Democrats in 2010, reports PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson posts about the latest craziness from the crackpots in our country: More fake outrage from right wing astroturf.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw helps out understanding the latest right wing meltdown in The Right Wing Goes Ballistic Again . If their unhinged outrage leaves you scratching your head, check it out!

WhosPlayin readers divided their time between rallying for health insurance reform and standing up to the Lewisville ISD's silly decision to BLOCK the President's speech from its classrooms.

Today would be a good day

... to thank your neighborhood socialist for their positive contributions to workers' rights in America.



Music by Utah Phillips.

The only thing we have to fear is smear itself

Another Brick in the Wall

We don't need no education.

We don't need no thought control.

No dark sarcasm in the classroom.

Obama leave them kids alone.

Hey! Obama! Leave them kids alone!

All in all it's just another brick in the wall.

All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

(Muchisimas Gracias to Silly Rabbit -- and Pink Floyd, of course.)

Sunday First-Run Funnies

Felix Alvarado's trouble understanding banking

Dave Montgomery at the Startle-Gram's excellent PoliTex blog (emphasis is mine):

Democratic gubernatorial contender Felix Alvarado of Fort Worth issued a press release today to address questions about a bounced $3,750 filing fee check that forced him to withdraw as a candidate when he attempted an earlier run for governor in 2006.

"I paid the filing fee with a personal check, even though I knew that my checking account did not have that amount," said Alvarado, who lives in Fort Worth and teaches at a Dallas high school. "I honestly and sincerely thought that I could deposit the money the following morning. When I discovered that I could not, I thought of my options, borrow the money or withdraw from the race."

Alvarado said he notified the Democratic Party that he was withdrawing because the check would not clear. He said he later began getting calls from the media "about the 'bounced check' that had caused my name to be removed from the ballot.

"I accepted full responsibility for my action then as I do now," he said. Alvarado noted that he has filed again to run for governor and is prepared to "guarantee" that his name will stay on the ballot.

There's so much that is so wrong with this public statement, but let's just focus on the matter of the complexities associated with maintaining a proper balance in one's checking account: "borrow the money"? Why would you need to "borrow the money" if it was your stated intention to "deposit the money the following morning"?

There's more going on with this explanation than mere garden-variety ignorance, I'm afraid.

And this fellow will probably make the runoff for governor solely because of his surname. On the other hand, this man certainly won't.

The Democratic National Committee is meeting in Austin next weekend, presumably to make some kind of show about Texas "being in play" in 2010. Not at that rate it's going, it's not. And if Steve Bates is any indication, then the national Dems are going to have more to worry about than Texas not "being in play".

But back to our troubles in Deep-In-The-Hearta, which are actually more severe than Mr. Alvarado's issues with his checking account. Now here comes my rant: everyone keeps me telling me that Boyd Richie is doing a bang-up job. He has posted his praise-laden and extensive bio, though not so much for other officers of the party -- a year now after they were elected. Furthermore, every time I ask for examples, I am directed at something pretty nebulous, like "grassroots organizing" or "database management".

Without a full slate of statewide candidates, Texas can be written off not just for another election cycle but for another decade, as 2011 redistricting occurs under the purview of the Legislative Redistriciting Board -- comprised of the speaker of the Texas House, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the commissioner of the general land office, and the comptroller of public accounts. There are currently two declared Democrats for those offices: Barbara Radnofsky for Texas attorney general and Bill Burton for GLO commissioner. The only thing currently working in Democrats' favor is that the plan will have to be pre-cleared by a Democratic Department of Justice -- for the first time since 1965. (Dave McNeely has a good explanation here of how all the moving pieces come together.)

Then again, maybe it's Boyd's strategy to keep litigating until 2020. That ought to make Chad Dunn feel comfortable.

Laboring some Postpourri

-- The Billionaires for Wealthcare turned out at a town hall in California.

-- Have you seen the People of Wal-Mart? These are your neighbors; the ones who watch Glenn Beck, want Texas to secede, are holding their kids out of school next week.

-- This is what democratic freedom of speech looks like. Even for the teabaggers, birthers, deathers, and Tenthers. Especially for them.

Oh, and please stop scaring Joe Klein...

Could I just say that the intensity of this getting pretty scary... and dangerous? We are heading toward a cliff and the usual brakes of civil discourse are not working. Indeed, the Republicans have the pedal to the metal -- rushing us toward a tragedy far greater than the California health care forum finger-biting (incident). I'm usually not one to panic or be overly worried about the state of our country -- even when we do awful things like invade Iraq and torture people, we usually right our course before long -- but I have a sinking feeling about where we're headed now. I hope I'm wrong.

-- The race Pete Laney actually needs to be in is for lieutenant governor.

-- Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket is not a bug-fuck-crazy conservative:

Troops challenging the legitimacy of President Barack Obama as commander-in-chief -- including at least one who is fighting deployment -- should take heed: Gunnery Sgt. Hartman wants to know your "major malfunction."

R. Lee Ermey, the Marine-turned-actor whose role as drill instructor Gunny Hartman in the late Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" has all but placed the Vietnam veteran in the pantheon of Marine heroes alongside "Chesty" Puller, Smedley Butler and Dan Daly, isn't buying anyone's political objector status.

"I haven't heard about those guys," Ermey told Military.com during an Aug. 21 interview. "If I do run across them though, trust me, I'll square them away."

-- Bill Moyers is absolutely correct.

"The Democratic Party has become like the Republican Party; deeply influenced by corporate money. I think Rahm Emanuel, who's a clever politician, understands that the money for Obama's re-election will come primarily from the health industry, the drug industry and Wall Street. He is a corporate Democrat who is determined that there won't be something in this legislation -- if we get it -- that will turn off those powerful interests..."

"You really have, essentially-- except for the progressives on the left of the Democratic Party-- two corporate parties who, in their own way and in their own time, serving the interests of basically a narrow set of economic interests."

And nowhere is this more true than in Texas.

On the holiday weekend observed originally to honor working men and women, it would be nice to for everybody to acknowledge that most of the brainwashing being accomplished on the poor rubes who continually vote against their own economic self-interest is being practiced by the various denizens of FOX News.

To be fair to FOX, as well as all of the Republicans who have distinguished themselves with their words and actions this week, they do have a principled objection to healthcare reform based largely on the fact that a black man was elected president ten months ago.

If you happen not to be a bug-fuck-crazy conservative, then please stop watching those douchebags. Do it for your country.