Weems captures DMN endorsement

The Dallas News got it completely wrong in the agriculture commissioner's race (after all, they endorsed Kinky in the March primary, so what could you expect?) but they got it right in the railroad commissioner's contest.

Seldom do we run into a first-time candidate for any office and wonder why that person hasn't already been elected to the job. But that's how impressed this newspaper is with Democrat Jeff Weems, who is seeking election to the Texas Railroad Commission.

The 52-year-old Houston attorney would be ready on Day One to make a significant contribution, which is why we strongly recommend him for the three-member panel.

His understanding of the industry shows. He can talk chapter and verse about energy issues, which the oddly named Railroad Commission oversees. And he is a sharp contrast to some candidates who shoot for the commission on their way to a higher post.

This newspaper also supports Weems because of the balanced view he articulates. He understands the importance of oil and gas production to the state's economy and, for example, doesn't favor a moratorium on Barnett Shale natural gas production.

We also agree with him that the Railroad Commission can't leave a void for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to fill when it comes to monitoring the practices of natural gas extraction. As an example, he wants producers to tell the commission what chemicals are in the fluids they use to unlock the gas from the Barnett Shale geological formation. Those trade secrets would be sealed but would still allow the commission to know, for environmental reasons, what goes into the hydraulic fracturing that companies use to extract the gas.

Weems wants the commission to be more aggressive in lobbying the Legislature about its goals. We particularly like his idea of limiting fundraising for this quasi-judicial post to selected times during a commissioner's six-year term. He would curtail fundraising shortly after a commissioner's election until essentially the member's next election cycle.

These are just some of the many examples of Weems' smart and thoughtful views. His opponent, Republican David Porter of Midland, filled out our questionnaire, but the 54-year-old CPA neither showed up for an interview alongside Weems nor returned a call seeking a phone interview. Roger Gary is running as a Libertarian, and Art Browning is running as a Green Party candidate.

Weems and Porter are competing for an open seat, so voters would be well-served to take the time to distinguish between these candidates and dig deeper than sound bites. Weems clearly has the qualifications – and then some – to bring common-sense leadership to this influential commission.

Weems' Republican challenger really is just as weird and unqualified as the DMN discovered. Weems is the only sensible choice for the Texas Railroad Commission.

Update: The Houston Chronic follows suit.

Can you pick out the gay soldier?

Antediluvian

I always appreciate a piece of writing that sends me to the dictionary.

extremely primitive or outmoded <an antediluvian prejudice>

... Rachel Maddow has it exactly right. It was confirmed today for all to see. The Republicans absolutely will not allow a vote to get rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We know why. Here's an example from what passes for a U.S. Senator in Georgia:

[The armed forces should] exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create unacceptable risk to the armed forces' high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion. In my opinion, the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would very likely create an unacceptable risk to those high standards. [It will lead to] alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art. If we change this rule of 'Don't Ask, Dont Tell,' what are we going to do with these other rules?

The homophobic Senate dinosaurs like Chambliss who cling to these pathetic antediluvian views are, as Maddow so perfectly showed, out of step with the majority of rank-and-file Democrats, Independents and Republicans, who all want an end to this harmful policy that endangers our national security, ruins careers and violates civil rights of Americans as surely as the segregated military of 1948 and earlier violated civil rights.

Yes, DADT endangers our national security by -- among other reasons --  expelling Arabic-speaking specialists from the ranks of the service.

Who's anti-American now? Who's not supporting the troops now? And the best objection the Republican senators can come up with is "we didn't get to add all of our amendments"?!?

That year, President Harry Truman, having been prodded into action by the vicious 1946 murder of two African-American veterans and their wives in Monroe, Georgia -- the last public lynching in the country --  chose to desegregate the military by executive order instead of waiting for legislation from Congress.

Even as the Pentagon works on its study of a possible change in Don't Ask, Don't Tell, it discharges gays and lesbians, including men and women for whom the military is a career, as part of its continuing witch-hunt. This will continue until somebody commands it to stop. There is a commander who can do that, a man who now sits where Harry Truman once did, a man who has said repeatedly in the clearest possible language that he opposes DADT and wants to see it ended.

After the Senate's inaction today, Maddow said:

The White House could decide right now -- tonight -- to stop implementation of this policy pending the military's review.  The right wants a culture war against gay people?  In 2010, that's a war anti-gay politicians lose and pro-civil rights politicians win.

Does the White House leave that on the table and walk away?  Or do they try to win?  Do they do well politically by doing what they say is right for the country?  Do they do it?  What happens next?

This would constitute no end run around the military's review of DADT. It would not violate the separation of powers. It would merely do the right thing until Congress makes it official: stopping the discharge of women and men who have signed up to serve our country by wearing the uniforms of our armed forces. Men and women with talent and skills and millions of dollars in specialized training who willingly risk their lives in the name of America. Some call such people patriots. Not, of course, chickenhawks like Saxby Chambliss, who launched his Senate career with cowardly disses of another patriot, Max Cleland.

Republicans proved once again Tuesday that they have no intention of working with their counterparts across the aisle. They do not believe, as Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike McMullen believes, as President Obama believes, and as most of the American people believe, that civil rights should apply to everyone equally. And they never will. Eventually, they will lose their retrograde attempts to keep the old rules and their twisted prejudices in place. In the meantime, the President has the authority to end a discharge policy that weakens national security and divides people between those who have full civil rights and those who do not. It's the right decision.

All of your Republican senators -- and the two so-called Democrats from Arkansas (Harry Reid voted 'no' so that he may recall the vote later) -- voted in favor of denying the military funding authorization, against the DREAM Act, against DADT -- because they (falsely) claimed they weren't allowed to participate to their fullest happiness in a procedural matter involving the legislation.

All. of the Republicans. in the Senate.

You want more of this? Vote Republican.

Hampton gets DMN endorsement

Newspaper endorsements aren't this blog's usual beat, but this appellate court race will get few opportunities to make news between now and November. This recommendation is also significant for the fact that the Dallas News continues to endorse a 100% Republican state Supreme Court.

Among his other many outstanding qualifications, Keith Hampton is -- according to Scott Cobb -- the attorney who persuaded Rick Perry to commute the capital punishment of Kenneth Foster.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has developed a reputation as a court that turns its back on verdicts that need a second or third look.

It's easy to see why. Seven of the nine judges have backgrounds as prosecutors, and the presiding judge once campaigned as "pro-prosecutor." Court-watchers recite a list of marquee cases of failed justice. The court's tilt is a concern, considering that Texas leads the nation in executions and has far more DNA-proven miscarriages of justice than any other state.

The Nov. 2 election for Place 6 on the court is an opportunity for a rebalancing. Austin defense attorney Keith Hampton, running against veteran Judge Michael Keasler, has the legal credentials and a perspective now missing on the court: If elected, he would be the only member to have involvement in a capital murder case from indictment all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hampton, 49, a Democrat, has pushed for important legal reforms in Austin as legislative director for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. One effort led to a law giving juries the option of life without parole for murderers. An unsuccessful effort last year would have improved police photo lineups – an overdue reform in light of widespread cases of documented witness misidentification.

I posted this in June...

Without any Democrats on the CCA for the past twelve years, the ideological spectrum of the Court has shifted dramatically to the right. One Republican judge on the Court, Lawrence Meyers, recently toured newspaper editorial boards promoting the state’s fairness, prompting Dallas Morning News Editor Michael Landauer to write, “Try not to laugh.” (Source: Dallas Morning News, June 2009). Scott Henson, an award-winning blogger who writes for the non-partisan criminal justice site Grits for Breakfast, wrote the following about the political nature of the CCA:

There is no liberal wing on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. There’s a conservative wing, to which Judge Johnson belongs, and a more or less totalitarian wing, in which Keasler and Meyers reside along with Presiding Judge Sharon Keller. (Source: Grits for Breakfast, June 2009)

The “totalitarian wing” of the Court has a well-documented and thoroughly perplexing history of unprofessional actions. From the “sleeping lawyer” case in October 2000, to investigations into the judicial conduct of Sharon Keller in 2007, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is in desperate need of professional, accountable judges on its bench.

Here's Hampton in his own words:



Let's get Hampton on the bench.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone has a pleasant fall equinox as it brings you this week's roundup.

This week on Left of College Station Teddy analyzes the positions Chet Edwards and Bill Flores take on American foreign policy, and looks at the polls as the primaries end and the general election begins. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that Texas remains 6th in the nation as poverty levels soar. What are Republicans doing about it? Defunding education and health care, two of the most important pillars of success for Texans.

It's been a terrible week for Todd Staples. McBlogger notes that it's rare for the failure of a public official to be so glaringly obvious. It's exceedingly rare for the coverup of that failure to be bungled quite so badly. Then again, it's not often that said public official is facing Hank Gilbert.

Off the Kuff commented on the proposal to create an elections administrator in Harris County.

Both Rick Perry and Todd Staples committed their own comedies of errors, preserved forever on video. See PDiddie's Brains and Eggs and LYAO.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson highlights the less-than-truthful attack of Diana Maldonado's opponents in Maldonado fires back over debate flap.

At TexasKaos, lightseeker takes on the overblown conventional wisdom of a Republican landslide in November. Give a read: Self-fulfilling Prophecy and Midterms.

Neil at Texas Liberal used a picture he took this week of an unattended lifeguard station in Galveston to show how the Tea Party/Republican Party would govern America.

Sunday Funnies (Call Some Conservative Who Cares edition)

LWV's I-Day Houston, with 150 candidates and 2 debates

The League of Women Voters' Infrastructure Day is tomorrow afternoon, with townhall meetings and more than one hundred fifty candidates -- D's, R's, L's, and G's -- on the Harris County November ballot meeting and greeting the attendees, followed that evening by two debates. Details below from the press release, and at their site.

============

The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area and the American Society of Civil Engineers are set to host two debates, a candidate meet-and-greet, and infrastructure townhall meetings during the Infrastructure Day Houston (I-Day) event at the George R. Brown Convention Center (Entrance C, 3rd Floor) on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010.  The first of two debates will begin at 6:00 pm.  Candidate meet-and-greet opportunities and infrastructure townhall meetings will begin as early as at 3:00 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

The League is hosting and facilitating two debates for the offices of the Harris County Judge and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.  Elisabeth MacNamara, National President of the League of Women Voters of the United States, is introducing the candidates.  Laurie Johnson, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, is moderating the debates.  The Tax Assessor-Collector debate with Don Sumners and Diane Trautman is from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.  The County Judge Debate with Ed Emmett and Gordon Quan is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Prior to the debates, the candidate meet-and-greet and the infrastructure-related townhall meetings will run from 3:00 to 5:30 pm.  Voters will be able to meet over 150 candidates running for public office in Harris County for the election being held on November 2, 2010.  The townhall meetings will focus on topics including: Transportation, Energy, Ports and Airports, and Storm and Waste Water.  Experts, including Dr. John Lienhard, host of the Engines of Our Ingenuity program on National Public Radio, will lead the discussions and information sessions.

Free t-shirts will be given at the door for the first 100 attendees.

===============

Town Hall Meetings on Infrastructure

Co-sponsored with American Society of Civil Engineers
Talk about problems and solutions with experts, such as Dr. John Lienhard,
host of The Engines of Our Ingenuity
Session One: 3:00–4:00 pm
1a. Transportation
1b. Energy
Session Two: 4:30–5:30 pm
2a. Storm & Waste Water
2b. Ports & Airports

Candidate Meet and Greet

Brought to you by the League of Women Voters
of the Houston Area Education Fund
Talk to candidates seeking federal, state, and county offices. Ask them why they deserve your vote.
Open to the public at 3:00–5:30 pm

Candidate Debates

Co-sponsored with KUHF and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
See the candidates for Tax Assessor and County Judge debate live.

HARRIS COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR
Don Sumners and Diane Trautman: 6pm–7 pm

HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE
Ed Emmett and Gordon Quan: 7 pm–8 pm

Not-quite-Indian-summer postpourri

It's still too early, since nobody's leaves down here are turning.

-- Rick Perry is hosting a sausage fest. No, really. "Assorted Wild Game Sausages" are one of the items on the men-only menu. I'm guessing there won't be cocktail weenies. But I wouldn't be surprised if Bilderburgers with a side of minced poor people is an option.

-- Remember the $1 million donation to the Republican Governors' Association made by FOX News' parent, News Corp.? They finally deigned to allow Media Matters to respond with an ad on their network. It will air tonight during Bill O'Reilly's show.

-- The organization formerly known as Renew Houston  (they still go by that name, but their .org domain now redirects to VoteFORProp1.com) released news about a survey showing their charter amendment on Harris County's November ballot is favored by about 60% of likely voters.

In the new poll, which was conducted from September 6–9, 61 percent of voters said they would vote for the measure after hearing the question that will appear on the November ballot. After learning about the costs of the measure, voters continued their strong support, with 58 percent voting for the measure and 31 percent voting against it.

On the same day, KHOU released news about a survey showing 53% against, 42% in favor.

A majority of Houston voters do not support a $5 monthly fee to improve the city’s drainage and streets, according to an 11 News/KUHF-Houston Public Radio poll released Monday.

Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement conducted the poll, which surveyed 500 registered voters in the city of Houston earlier this month. It had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. ...

When asked whether they would "allow the city of Houston to charge each household a $5 monthly fee to maintain and improve Houston’s drainage and streets," just 42 percent of respondents said they favored the idea.

Fifty-three percent said they opposed it and just five percent were undecided or refused to answer.

Which poll do you believe?

"(I)t all depends on how you ask the question," said Keith Wade, a consultant for (Renew Houston).

-- Speaking of re-names, "high fructose corn syrup" now wants to be called "corn sugar".

-- Boeing is dismantling the facility which housed the construction of B-17s and B-29s and B-52s during WWII at its sprawling plant in Seattle. The massive assembly line was staffed by thousands of workers, almost half of them female, and the term "Rosie the Riveter" was coined for them. Some great old photos and a video at the link.

-- The last Boy Scout camp in Southeast Texas -- the one I went to for half a dozen summers was sold long ago to logging interests -- is going to have a wood waste facility built right next door. All in the name of economic progress.

-- Speaking of Southeast Texas, my alma mater won its first home football game in 21 years, the week after narrowly losing their first game in 21 years (on the road at McNeese State). There were a few hours of tailgating before kickoff, and a promenade to the stadium of players, coaches, band, mascot, cheerleaders, and fans.

Perry and Staples create comedies of errors *with video updates*

Rick Perry's first TV ad failed to secure the permission of two of the businesses that appeared in it. And they would not have given their support if the campaign had asked, because they don't support the governor's re-election.

"I didn't know he was going to use our store in an ad. No, I don't support Governor Perry or his views."
--Peg McCoy, owner of Farm to Market Grocery in South Austin

Phillip Martin: Did you know they were going to be using your store in a television ad?

Max Berendt (owner of Austin's Avenue Barber Shop): Not at all, no.

PM: Did you sign any paper work saying that it’s okay for them to use this in an ad?

MB: Absolutely not.

PM: Do you support Governor Perry at all?

MB: I do not.

Even the Wall Street Journal has reported on the story. This is just a classic fuck-up on the part of the Perry campaign (read: dunderhead Mark Miner).

Not quite as historical as having "Rick Perry, Commissioner of Agriculture" inspection stickers on a Tyler gas pump, however. Those are 1997 vintage, by the way. And that's not even the best of it.

The regional inspector from the Texas Department of Agriculture, having been alerted by Todd Staples -- who was obviously paying attention to Hank Gilbert's press conference during their joint appearance at the DMN editorial board interview last Friday, when Gilbert announced he would have a presser today to video the 13-year-old-stickers -- showed up to inspect the pumps during Gilbert's press conference.





Update:



And KYTX CBS-19, in Tyler, with this report (video at link):

Are you getting your money's worth at the gas pump?

Well, the Democratic contender for agricultural commissioner says ‘no.'

He says nearly half of Smith County gas stations are out of date on inspections, and that could be affecting you when you fill up.

Hank Gilbert cited 16 different gas stations in Tyler, and 10 in Smith County he says are out of date for inspections, and he's not blaming the owners.

Before you fill up, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner says you should take a look at the sticker next to the pump.

"Across the street from us is a gas station with inspection stickers from July 1997," says Gilbert.

And more still from KETK, the NBC affiliate (with even better video).

How is it that a plurality of Texas voters can continue to support this kind of Republican ignorance? Oh wait; I answered my own question.

OSD: A fine piece of work

Open Source Dem ("OSD" in the header) sent this along last week for posting here. Be warned; he's a bit pessimistic.

=================

This joint project discounts the very possibility in Texas of what Bill Galston calls a "wave" election, like 1994 or 2002. I truly wish I could discount that dreary prospect, instead of praying for intervention by von Blücher or Obama.

Curiously, I think that logistics is more important in politics and even war than strategy. But I do not think that pimp-consultants fathom either. Even half-baked poseurs like Newt Gingrich or Dick Armey can stomp all our mercenaries.

Both state party establishments are artifacts today of the bipartisan concession-tending that dominates (i) Congressional campaign committees out of DC, (ii) the state legislature in Austin, and (iii) local government in cities other than Austin. These, today, are artifacts of what James K. Galbraith calls the Predator State. It is funny how we can be so self-aware yet robotically stupid. We can proclaim republican democracy but practice only collusive bargaining.

Austin is a lovely theme park propped up by the River Authorities, the legislative extraction industry, and of course the University plantations, not a cosmopolitan city like Bexar, a national hub like Dallas, much less a world-class city like Houston-Galveston. In any case, neither Texas party does "waves". Those sweep into Texas from other states despite the reactionary liberals and “left behind” conservatives in Austin.

Still, this may not be a wave election. We just do not know yet. Even if it is, the particulars of local races detailed in this meticulous report by the younger Martin will still have a marginal effect.

All I can add is ...

1. The Frost/Baron/Angle (2005) plan to Turn Texas Blue and thereby to control redistricting is probably dead -- no pun intended and all apologies to those who survive Fred -- even under the best of circumstances. (That Obama thing? Never happened. John Edwards was elected President, Hilary Clinton Vice-President.)

The reason is, simply, that to do anything that radical the TDP has to be competitive rather than collaborative and innovative rather than emulative. That is not rocket science, but it is not the Grisham novel we still live in here, either.

2.  Two of the Houston statehouse races, HDs 133 (Thibaut vs. Murphy a third time, one win apiece) and 138 (Dwayne Bohac vs. Kendra Yarbrough Camarena) are very tight, as concisely described in the scholarly triumph mentioned above, with one exception: both will likely be influenced decisively by a charter amendment on the City of Houston ballot involving roads and drainage, also a new tax. This has both bi-partisan opposition (populist) and non-partisan support (establishment).

Since the GOP is able to raise money as the ruling party in Harris County and run as the opposition party in the City -- leaving Democrats looking hapless and clueless -- the net effect of right-wing activism and left-wing neutralism may be to knock off the Democratic incumbent and challenger.

3. The catastrophic fire which destroyed the DRE voting plant is like "weather", including "fog", in battle. It adversely affects both sides. In government, the GOP has a recovery plan and the Democrats support it. The most prominent feature of that plan is not doing anything -- like extending hours or days -- that might help Bill White.

The effect of the fire, in all events, is to make the election process very complex technically and confusing logistically.

With their superior mobilization technology and anti-tax pseudo-populism, the GOP may be able to better exploit the fire in Harris County. In any case, the effective vote-suppression campaign they run out of the Tax Office is still intact. So between those two advantages, they may be able to keep the already dismal political participation rate here low, thereby sinking Bill White statewide and sweeping the county.

But I wish it were not so.