Sunday Funnies

Playoff football

I don't think they realize that they have already lost (and it was the Super Bowl).

Time for a new coach, and a new quarterback, and training for next season.

Wilson off the ballot, Sylvia in big trouble

-- Homophobe Dave Wilson is disallowed from being a Democratic candidate, and we're all appreciative of that.

The 14th Court of Appeals in Houston has denied a request for a place on the March Democratic primary ballot from a would-be challenger to Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole.

Sign company owner Dave Wilson sought to run for the Democratic nomination for commissioner. Because no other Republican or Democratic candidates filed to run, Wilson would have faced Eversole in November. ...

Wilson filed a writ of mandamus last week seeking to be placed on the ballot. The appeals panel denied his petition late Wednesday. Wilson said he has not given up and intends to file an appeal with a state district court today.

“I'm disappointed, but not surprised, that the 14th Court of Appeals has made a political ruling rather than one based on the law,” Wilson said, speculating that the court's motive is to protect Republican office seekers.

Allen Blakemore, a political consultant for Eversole, said of the court's decision, “It means that the commissioner is re-elected and excited about that and excited to dispense with politics and get back to the business of roads and bridges and parks and libraries and all of the business of Precinct 4.”

The only larger schmucks in this matter are Eversole and his attorney Blakemore, whom we're still stuck with.

--Meanwhile over in Chambers County, Judge Jimmy Sylvia -- apparently by enjoining his son Jimbo in an employment fraud that is Sopranos-worthy -- is in big trouble for allegedly bilking FEMA out of a boatload of taxpayer money. Wayne Dolcefino (via Bay Area H-Town) did the deed:



Read these two previous entries about my meeting with Sylvia in 2006. It appears there's going to be some music to face for the county judge and his son in this matter. FWIW Sylvia was a Democrat for many years but switched to the GOP in 2007 -- just like some other exurban Texas county officials -- in order to hang onto his job.

-- Update: John links to Dolcefino's second nightly newcast explaining how the scandal is spreading to other Chambers County officials. And here is part three.

SCOTUS removes campaign spending limits on corporations

You know, it's been a really shitty week for justice and democracy.

In a stunning reversal of the nation's federal campaign finance laws, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that as an exercise of free speech, corporations, labor unions and other groups can directly spend on political campaigns.

Siding with filmmakers of "Hillary: The Movie", who were challenged by the Federal Election Commission on their sources of cash to pay for the film, the court overturned a 20-year-old ruling that banned corporate and labor money. The decision threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.

The justices also struck down part of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that barred union- and corporate-paid issue ads in the closing days of election campaigns.

Because, after all, corporations are people too, and they need First Amendment protection like any other living, breathing person.

The ruling is sure to send a jolt to political campaigns throughout the country that are gearing up for the 2010 midterm elections. It will also impact the 2012 presidential race and federal elections to come. ...

It also undercuts recent congressional legislation mandating tighter controls on political donations that had restricted the flow of corporate dollars into the political system.

Some other opinions of the ruling:

The ruling marks the boldest step yet for Roberts and fellow George W. Bush appointee Alito, who previously had shied away from explicitly reversing precedents. The majority overturned a 1990 Supreme Court decision that said corporations can be barred from using general treasury funds to pay for campaign advertisements.

-- BusinessWeek

Today’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC abolishes the previously settled distinction between corporate and individual expenditures in American elections and would appear to apply to state and local elections as well as Federal ones given that the Court recognizes such a First Amendment right. This is literally an earth shattering change in the lay of the land in campaign finance, and it will have ramifications in every way imaginable for the foreseeable future.

-- emptywheel at firedoglake

If you like Congressional gridlock and insider politics, then you'll love this decision. If you think the lobbyists for the banks, insurance firms, and oil companies need more power, you'll love this decision. But if you value fairness, democracy and the free speech of ordinary citizens, this is a disaster. It is an immoral decision that puts the Roberts' Court on the side of Wall Street and the big money lobbyists against the interests of Main Street America.

-- Nick Nyhart of Public Citizen

Update: Olbermann spells it out.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Killer Keller skates

Because "public humiliation" is punishment enough for her.

A special master has concluded that Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller doesn't deserve to be removed from office or even given “further reprimand beyond the public humiliation she has surely suffered” for her conduct in a death row inmate's failed effort to file a last-minute appeal before his execution. San Antonio-based District Judge David Berchelmann Jr., serving as special master in the case of alleged judicial misconduct, wrote that the Texas Defender Service in representing Michael Richard “bears the bulk of fault for what occurred on September 25, 2007.”

Unbe-fucking-lievable. Here's her attorney:

"Judge Keller takes to heart the advice that she should strive to be more collegial and that the Court's internal communications should improve," (attorney Chip) Babcock's statement said.

'More collegial'.

Grits:

Interesting to note that "public humiliation" is a substitute for an official reprimand when a judge engages in behavior that's "not exemplary of a public servant" and considered "highly questionable." ... Judge Berchelmann's recommendation will now go to the full Commission on Judicial Conduct who will decide whether to dismiss charges, reprimand Keller, or recommend her removal from office.

And Elise Hu:

The timing of (death row defendant Michael) Richard's last-minute appeal was especially key in this case. He was set to be executed the same day the U.S. Supreme Court stayed all executions in the country after it decided to hear Baze v. Rees, which questioned whether lethal injection constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The SCJC review says Richard's execution would have likely been stayed too, but his lawyers had to exhaust the lethal injection argument in state courts first. The claim was never presented to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which Keller leads, after a series of miscommunications between her court and lawyers from the defender service. A key miscommunication had to do with the message about the early closing time.

I gotta say I'm speechless. A compilation from the StandDown Texas Project for the history of this case is here and my previous postings are here.

Updates:  More astounded reactions. Othniel ...

Equality under the Law?
Due Process for all?
Not in Texas. More process than is due to and superior standing under the law is accorded to Chief Judge Keller than to litigants before her.  Apparently those who dare approach her Court seeking Justice enjoy neither equality nor due process.  She cannot be bothered to keep open the Court House door after 5:00 p.m., even though a defendant's life hang in the balance.

WSJ Law Blog (the most conservative source I would ever post):

Well, we weren’t entirely sure that Sharon Keller, the presiding judge the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, was going to get in big trouble over the events of Sept. 25, 2007.

But we hardly expected that the special master presiding over the judicial misconduct charges against Keller would blame another party for the unfortunate series of events. Or that the master, San Antonio-based judge David Berchelmann Jr., would express sympathy for Keller.

Texas Cloverleaf:

Ethics in Texas is never really ethical, and this case is no different. Judge Sharon Keller closed her office promptly at 5pm and allowed a man to be executed, rather than accepting the appeal. ...

Republican judges saving Republican judges. Ahhhh the ethics of Texas. Way to go, impartial judiciary.

Reactions to Massachusetts

Yeah, it sucks that we lost our 60th vote, but really, what did 60 get us last year? It empowered Joe Lieberman, gave cover to Blanche Lincoln, provided excuses to Harry Reid, and gave a free pass to Max Baucus.

Now we don't have 60. And like the Republican Senate of the 2000s, if Democrats want to get anything done, they'll have to do it via reconciliation.

Given last year's track record in the Senate, it certainly can't make the Senate any less effective.

-- Markos

If “Scozzafava’d” (having a candidate endorse the other Party’s candidate) is still a verb in the political lexicon, then I believe “Coakley’d” (taking victory for granted while your opponent campaigns his heart out) should be a verb as well. The conclusion I’m coming to is that Coakley may have been a fine public official, but she was a terrible candidate. Brown’s campaign made all the right moves to take advantage of this special election situation. Meanwhile, Coakley gaffed it up and stayed inside where it was warm (19 events compared to Brown’s 66 events ...)

The lesson for progressives: work hard and don’t take anything for granted. The lesson for elected Democrats: when you have a mandate from the people, use it or lose it.

The silver lining (beyond the fact that Joe Lieberman is joyfully irrelevant once again) is that Texas Democrats don’t take anything for granted.

-- "Coakley'd", from Lubbock Left

The best part of the Democratic loss in Massachusetts is that the pitiful Senate health care bill will now probably die the ugly death it deserves. The only chance it has to survive is for the House progressives to knuckle under and accept the Senate bill as it is, and I don't think they'll do that. At least, I hope they don't.

If they do give up and accept the terribly flawed Senate bill, then the Democrats will suffer in the November elections, and they'll richly deserve it. The American people put the Democrats in power to affect real change in this country, and so far the Democrats have failed to deliver on that promise.

-- Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger

For the sake of our country, I hope this turn of events serves as a wake-up call to President Obama and his advisors. Barack Obama did not win the presidency by calling out for caution and incrementalism. We all know this. He won the presidential election because he inspired a significant winning margin of voters with his bold calls for hope and change. Yet for Obama's first year in office his message to the populist base that gave him a mandate was, "Don't expect too much". The audacious, ringing cry "Yes we can!" turned into the cautious admonition, "No we can't".

-- David Van Os

It’s no secret that the voter unrest is driven by D.C.’s failure to understand the breadth and depth of the nation’s economic anxiety. Some pundits want to say the Massachusetts outcome was anti-health care reform. But that’s not it. The problem is reform hasn’t passed, it doesn’t go far enough. Combined with the perception that bankers and other Wall Street malefactors are getting off easy, the public wants to know why they are left outside on the ledge while the culprits enjoy martinis and big, plump-cushioned, comfortable chairs.

Looking at this from Texas, it’s good news that most Texas Democrats don’t suffer from East Coast smugness. They are, by and large, men and women of the people. Politics is personal, and individual needs and opportunities matter. This is the direction national Democrats should take. Screw the big powerful lobbyists. Get out on Main Street, listen to folk. Lead, but understand who you are leading.

-- Glenn Smith at Dog Canyon

Update: The last word from Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mass Backwards
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Run-offs in the primaries for Texas governor

Both of them, in my always-humble O. First, about the Pukes:

The appearance in last week's statewide televised debate evidently helped Republican activist Debra Medina the most and won her a spot in the upcoming Jan. 29 debate hosted by Belo.

An new Rasmussen Reports survey shows Medina with 12 percent support among 831 likely GOP primary voters surveyed Sunday. Medina had only 4 percent support in a survey by the company in November.

Perry continues to lead with 43 percent support and Hutchison was at 33 percent, with 11 percent undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. In the November poll, Perry led 46 percent to 35 percent.

Kay Bailey needs to get to 35% and Funky Cold Medina to 16 -- which is the more likely of the two scenarios -- and voila: Rick Perry will have to beat Kay again in a run-off in April.

For the Dems, let's go to Burnt Orange for the opinion of Dr. Richard Murray's take, who's working locally for ABC-13 ...

Bill White starting out with the most name identification is of course an advantage but Farouk Shami has been advertising statewide for the last month to the tune of what I can tell is about $2.5-3.0 million over $3.5 million dollars. White hasn't spent money on TV ads to date and it's unclear when or if that will happen prior to March 2nd's primary. I'm a little curious how effective Shami's ads in December will be for a March primary but considering he's probably going to be on air all the way through the next month and a half, that could solve the problem of people forgetting your name/brand if they aren't reminded about it. Of course, if he got himself listed on the ballot as Farouk "CHI IRON" Shami he'd win the name id game in a pinch. Alas...

Read it all but note this from Dr. Murray at the end:

Taken together, Bill White is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee for governor this year. There is some question as to whether he can get 50% plus against six opponents, thus avoiding an April runoff with Farouk Shami (I think he will get a majority).

Dr. Murray goes on to speculate about the possibility of Shami stalking for Governor MoFo, even quoting John Whitmire in the plot.  I rarely disagree with the good professor and I only occasionally question the Dean of the Texas Senate, but that is complete balderdash.

Anyway, and as I posted on the BOR thread, I'll take Dr. Murray's bet. In 2006, Felix Alvarado's sister -- who had no prior elective experience -- became the Democratic nominee for lt. governor, finishing ahead of an Anglo who had been a state representative and an appeals court judge. She led in the primary election (which included another Hispanic political novice, Adrian DeLeon) and she won the run-off handily.

That's right; four years ago Ben Z. Grant, the only non-Latino in the race for lite gov, got less than 40% of the three-way vote in a race in which more Democrats voted than in the contests higher on the ballot: US Senator (Radnofsky v. Kelly) and governor (Bell v. Gammage).

I think Aguado and Alvarado can draw at least 30% of the primary vote between them, so I'll say the March 2nd numbers look something like this:

White 40%
Shami 20%
Alvarado 18%
Aguado 12%
Dear, Glenn, and Locke together 10%

I believe it's entirely possible that Felix Alvarado and not Farouk Shami makes it into a run-off with White; more likely, in fact than White getting 50%.

*And like Dr. Murray (I'm guessing), I reserve the right to revise this prediction as we draw closer to Election Day, now about six weeks away.

Whatever happens today in Massachusetts ...

... Democrats have only themselves to blame.

I would give a slice of humble pie topped with a schmear of greasy blame to each of the following:

-- Martha Coakley, for running one of the most lackadaisical campaigns ever seen. For a once-popular elected official, she's made one mistake after the other, the most glaring one calling Curt Schilling "a Yankees fan".

-- Harry Reid, who allowed every Blue Dog (and a few Republicans) to pee their little bit into the smelly hash made of healthcare insurance reform. When you're elected by the people on the basis of "universal health care" and then can't even manage to make a public insurance option palatable to the Lords of the Senate, you're as weak as rainwater.

-- and Barack Obama, to hit Rahm Emanuel in the face with, for driving the White House's hand in the mostly-hands-off process and performing his classic "Let's Shit All Over Our Base" number once again.

I got off this bus a few weeks back.  I am more than happy to let the bill die. And it looks to me like the country needs to go through another few years of Republicans' "governmental reform" before we wise up.  Again.

And on the off chance that Coakley somehow manages to pull it out, I hope everyone is paying attention to who did the last-minute phonebanking and blockwalking and all the other GOTV efforts.

Clue to Rahm: it isn't the goddamn independents.  And  a vise grip to conservatives: it won't be ACORN either, you morons.

Update: Jonathan Alter of Newsweek -- damned liberal media -- obviously doesn't get it either. But Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post does.

Update II, post-Election Day: Howard Fineman adds his list, on which we agree about the top three and then he veers way off the rails. Read a blog besides your own once in awhile, pal.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes you a happy MLK Day as it brings you this week's blog highlights.

Off the Kuff takes a look at some demographic trends in the Houston area.

Something STINKS about TCEQ's recent Fort Worth air study. Considering that the Barnett Shale has a staggering asthma rate of 25% compared to 7.1% statewide, TXsharon thinks it's time for an intervention in Texas. Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme, along with every other progressive, knows why Democrats are having a hard time. Even the Tea Party activists know that our country should not be run by corporate lobbyists.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson discusses the importance of the elections this year: 2010 races loom large for 2011 legislative redistricting.

Mary Peters loves her some private toll roads, which is understandable since her income depends on stupid people at TXDOT selling off our roads. McBlogger, understandably, has a problem with the fact that taxpayers have to get screwed for Mary and her masters to make money.

A few of PDiddie's friends around the state are taking a crack at public office this year. See who they are at Brains and Eggs.

Bay Area Houston notices what they didn't talk about at the Republican debates.

Neil at Texas Liberal updated his Martin Luther King reading & reference list for 2010. This list is the best such resource on the web.

MUD? FWSD? WTF? Developer welfare comes back into the light in Denton County, at the Texas Cloverleaf.

Remembering MLK today

And not with a sale or a day off.

By 1967, the Rev. Martin Luther King had become his country's most prominent opponent of the Vietnam War and a staunch critic of overall U.S. foreign policy, which he deemed militaristic. In his "Beyond Vietnam" speech delivered at New York's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967 -- a year to the day before he was murdered -- King called the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today."

TIME magazine called the speech "demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi," and the Washington Post declared that King had "diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people."

Part 2 can be seen here as well as the full text of the speech. Here is a short excerpt:

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. ... A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, 'This is not just.' It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of South America and say, 'This is not just.' The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.

"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Hat tip to the Texas Climate Emergency Campaign.

Farouk Shami in the news

Full disclosure: Not only is Shami a paid sponsor of this blog but Vince Leibowitz, my good friend and chair of the Texas Progressive Alliance, also serves as Shami's campaign director and senior strategist.

Shami's religious views and economic plans made news this past week. First, Corrie MacLaggan at the Statesman:

When Farouk Shami's gubernatorial campaign officials were asked in November what his religion is, they said he is Quaker.

But on Monday, other campaign officials said he is not.

Rick Casey at the Chron:

Farouk Shami, the Houston hair care magnate running for governor, wants you to know that he is not a Muslim.

He also wants you to know that he is not a Quaker.

One more thing he wants you to know: The Texas media, possibly out of “something darker and racially motivated,” is engaging in a disservice to Texas Democrats by promoting a “media sideshow surrounding Shami's religious beliefs.”

Aman Batheja at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Because of the wealthy Houston businessman’s origin, as soon as he announced his candidacy a rumor started that he is Muslim.

His campaign initially told reporters that Shami is a Quaker but appeared to backtrack this week.

On Tuesday, members of Shami’s campaign staff suggested that recent questions from the news media about his religion were racially motivated.

"Apparently, if you’re not lily white, some people will require you to pass a religious test in order to run for office in this country," campaign director Vince Leibowitz said.

K-T Musselman at Burnt Orange Report:

Earlier this week, I posted on an (sic) disappointing attack made by one of the minor Democratic gubernatorial candidates on Farouk Shami's faith. A number of other Texas media outlets wrote about some confusion and apparent backtracking by Shami as to whether he was Quaker, Muslim, or none of the above. ... I was a little disappointed at first that the release addressing the issue didn't answer the question which was raised as to what the actual response should be to attacks on Shami's faith- simply, what does he identify as?

Shami's statement on his religious beliefs:

I was born in the land of Abraham, believing in Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, and believing in one God. I grew up with members of my family and friends practicing multiple faiths: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I was also educated at a Quaker school. All of these things contributes to my relationship with God. To say simply ‘I'm a Muslim’ or ‘I'm a Quaker’ is to ignore major parts of my faith. I know it seems complicated that I do not have a pat answer to questions about what religion I am, but without my exposure to many different cultures and religious beliefs I wouldn't be the person I am today.

Although I'm not a member of any specific religious tradition, I do begin every day with prayer and meditation and have a strong personal relationship with God. I respect those who practice all faiths because I believe God gave us life to help one another, the poor, the sick and the oppressed. It is through God we can achieve peace, freedom and bring justice to the world. As Governor, I know, with God's help and guidance, I will be able to help every Texan have access to the American Dream just like I did—a good job, access to healthcare, and an excellent education for their children. That's why I feel called to run for office."

Glad that's all cleared up.

Shami's unconventional economic proposal is to build factories in hard-pressed Texas cities to construct solar panels to be placed on homes, free of charge.  Costs would be recouped by selling the generated electricity back to the power company, and once paid for, the panels then donated to the homeowner. A hundred thousand jobs would be created under this plan, presumably by the construction of the factories and then the factory and installer jobs themselves, along with -- again I would guess -- ancillary jobs from the investment, suppliers and so forth. From KHOU:

“I'm hoping within the first two years I will create a minimum of 100,000 jobs or I will resign and I am thinking I will give the state $10 million,” Shami said. “What do you think of that?”

Rice University and 11 News Political Expert Bob Stein had a different view.

“I think it will probably come off looking more like a gimmick than serious public policy,” he said. ...

Voter Scott Nethery said he wasn’t buying it right away.

“My first initial thoughts would be: unrealistic,” he said.

University of Houston Economist Barton Smith agreed. He called it “a stretch technologically” because solar panels are so expensive.

“(It is) something the private sector could not possibly do on its own given the current technology,” he said.

Shami also suggested this past week in a campaign appearance in El Paso that undocumented immigrants be granted amnesty in exchange for revealing criminal gangsters to law enforcement:

"We cannot continue to treat all undocumented workers as criminals. We must narrowly target the gangs that threaten our safety and to do that, undocumented workers must become our allies. Furthermore, we must give them incentives, beyond making their community safer, to come forward. That's why I want to work with the federal government to give legal status to anyone who contributes to the capture of gang members."

Lastly, Shami's transportation policy reveals him as favoring the end of both the Tran-Texas Corridor as well as the use of eminent domain "abuse". He proposes increases in the state gasoline tax to pay for his suggestions -- making him a rarity among candidates.

Update: What's sacred to Texas voters is the truth.

Friends running for office

-- Rachel Barrios-Van Os, for Bexar County Clerk. Yes, she's related to one of my very favorite dudes. One of her primary opponents is former Bexar County Democratic Party chair Carla Vela, who does not use e-mail ("it's too complicated") and noticed just last month that $200,000 was missing from the county party''s treasury.

... Vela struggled to explain how she only learned two days ago that Adams had been draining money from the party's primary account for 13 months.

That's despite County Auditor Tommy Tompkins' public complaints in August that the party had bounced a $100,000 check to the county for 2008 primary expenses.

At that time, Vela insisted the problem simply was a bank error. She said Wednesday that Adams told her “the bank gave us the wrong account number” when Compass Bank took over Laredo National Bank in 2008. She added that Tompkins never formally notified her that the check had bounced.

Tompkins disputed both of those points Wednesday.

“The check was bounced because there were insufficient funds to cover that $100,000, not because of a closed or wrong account,” he said. “I find it hard to believe that (Vela) is saying she just now found out about it when she had an e-mail I sent her back in July.”

Barrios-Van Os is hosting a meet-and-greet over dinner next week in San Antonio.

-- Jefferson County assistant auditor Keith Hawkes, for county treasurer.  Keith is a fraternity brother from college and has a compelling life story. This article in the Beaumont Enterprise online mentions six races in Jefferson County that will be decided on the Democratic ticket.

-- And Jody Crump, Orange County's first Republican and a childhood friend of my younger brother, challenges long-time Democratic incumbent Precinct 4 Commissioner Beamon Minton -- whose daughters also attended grade school with me.

-- No connection to me except through Southeast Texas: Hardin County officials who switched parties -- Democratic to Republican -- late last year also have several challengers:

Hardin County Democrats who filed for office Monday include Russell Wright for county judge; Sharon Overstreet for county treasurer; Chris Barnes and Thomas Tyler Jr. for Precinct 1 justice of the peace; and Valerie Stewart for Precinct 6 justice of the peace.

Hardin County is worth watching closely regarding the success of the TeaBagger phenomenon in suburban/exurban/rural Texas.