Early Voting Wrangle

EV in person starting today and through the 29th at hundreds of locations around the state. Mary Benton has all the information you need for Harris County. And the Texas Progressive Alliance is fired up and ready to vote as it brings you this week's blog roundup.

Off the Kuff has interviews with Linda Chavez-Thompson and Barbara Radnofsky.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks breathing benzene, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants is bad. Why doesn't the TCEQ agree?

The Texas Cloverleaf posts on Blog Action Day about clean water in the Barnett shale.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson points our that there a still many unanswered questions regarding Gov. Perry and a special favor for a mega donor, The drip, drip, drip continues for Perry's mega-donor problem.

The King Street Patriot extremists are breaking the law again in Harris County. A lot more voter suppression and intimidation is in store from these thugs. Brains and Eggs has the details, including the link to the video of TeaBaggin' Jim Murphy (he's going to lose to Kristi Thibaut again) doing the honors.

Neil at Texas Liberal can't imagine that the people of Houston might wish to get rid of red light cameras. Our roads in Houston are already filled with drunks and crazies. Why would we want to make things even worse by making it easier to run red lights and get away with it? Neil urges folks in Houston to vote Yes on Prop. 3 and help keep our streets somewhat less bloody than they might otherwise become.

Intrepid Intern Ali Rawaf and Campaign Finance Curmudgeon Andy Wilson team up at TexasVox to remind you that early voting starts today, Monday, Oct 18, by giving you the sobering truth of who exactly is financing our Congressional midterm campaigns and what special favors they will want if you let their chosen candidates get into office. This is the first in a series -- keep an eye on TexasVox in the next two weeks for more in-depth looks at who's financing the Texas Governor's race, races for Ag Commissioner and Railroad Commissioner, and the Third Court of Appeals-- and maybe others.

Late Sunday Funnies

Medina arson grand jurors want to speak out

Four grand jurors are seeking the Harris County district attorney's protection so that they can go public with evidence they heard when they decided to indict a Texas Supreme Court Justice and his wife on arson charges.

The lawsuit, filed in criminal court after hours Friday, seeks Pat Lykos' protection from prosecution if four of the 12 jurors go public with evidence heard in the 2008 case against David and Francisca Medina. The arson charges were later dismissed.

It's a last-ditch legal effort by the grand jurors, who have previously filed lawsuits in civil and appellate court. The appellate court didn't have jurisdiction over criminal law requiring secrecy of grand jury testimony and evidence, said attorney Jeffrey Dorrell, one of the grand jurors who filed the lawsuit.

Background articles from the Chron:

Indictments tossed against Texas Supreme Court justice, wife (1/18/08)

Judge blisters Harris County DA over Medina case -- says Rosenthal's error nullified the grand jury's work (1/23/08)

DA (Lykos) drops fire charges against justice's wife (8/28/09)

Grand juror not happy Medina case dismissed -- says jury should have heard about the fire at home of justice and his wife, who could have been indicted (8/29/09)

Some of the grand jurors who heard the case have been fighting to speak openly about evidence since (former district attorney Chuck) Rosenthal dismissed the indictments in January 2008, creating a storm of controversy.

The four grand jurors who filed the suit in criminal court — Dan Hall, Steven Howell, Jeffrey Dorrell and foreman Robert Ryan — claim disclosing evidence in the case is their defense against defamatory attacks made by David Medina's attorney.

"Plaintiffs seek a declaration that they have both the right and the privilege to disclose evidence showing they were not a 'runaway grand jury' when they indicted Texas Supreme Court Justice David M. Medina for evidence tampering," the suit reads.

Grand juror Dorrell sees criminal court as the last hope to speak openly about evidence without fear of being prosecuted.

If they aren't granted that protection, Dorrell said, he hasn't ruled out facing consequences that could potentially include a 30-day jail sentence.

"I'd have to think about it, but I'd consider it," he said.

The comments on this article might be the best part. Two examples:

Geesh, let’s get the truth about these hypocrite repubs out. It’s not like they were executed for an arson they didn’t commit.

... and ...

I like Pat, but, she is sure looking like a one term DA. In fact she will most probably cause us to have a Democrat DA next election.

Barbara Billingsley 1915 - 2010

Barbara Billingsley, who gained supermom status for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys in "Leave it to Beaver," died Saturday. She was 94.

Billingsley, who had suffered from a rheumatoid disease, died at her home in Santa Monica, said family spokeswoman Judy Twersky.

When the show debuted in 1957, Jerry Mathers, who played Beaver, was 9, and Tony Dow, who portrayed Wally, was 12. Billingsley's character, the perfect stay-at-home 1950s mom, was always there to gently but firmly nurture both through the ups and downs of childhood.

I grew up a "Beaver" watcher, but what I will always remember Billingsley for is this:

Sunday Funnies

"Somebody threw a book at President Obama. If you're trying to scare a president by throwing a book at him, you're one president too late."

"I feel bad for the Chilean miners. They were down there in the dark so long. I mean, my God, it's like the Tea Party." -- David Letterman

Senate: 52-48 House: holds slightly for Dems

That's as of today, as of this data from the NYT. Senate here, House here. The Times thinks that Marco Rubio of FL, Rand Paul of KY, and Joe Miller of AK will be the three TeaBaggers added to the Senate. Two of those three states, you might be already aware, have GOP primary losers (Lisa Murkowski and Charlie Crist) running as third-party candidates which are siphoning off Democratic votes.

Of the Texas Congressional tilts, Chet Edwards is likely a goner, but Ciro Rodriguez hangs on.

Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com is slightly more pessimistic about the House; his calculations drive out a 227-208 Republican majority.

Electoral-vote.com similarly shows 51-48 and one tie -- Nevada -- in the Senate (without the Rassmublican effect); the House also in a knot at 202 D, 204 R, 29 too close to call. I've added the daily-updated link in the right hand column.

So if you're a political junkie and tire of the corporate media/teevee talking head bullshit, bookmark these and look at them daily as they track the races.

Loren Jackson, Ann Harris Bennett, and Diane Trautman

The Houston Chronic got most of the rest of their endorsements way, way wrong, but these they got right.

District Clerk: The duties of this office include summoning jurors for the district and county criminal courts, maintaining court records, preparing daily court dockets and receiving child support payments.

The choice for voters in this contest is easy. Democratic incumbent Loren Jackson has done an excellent job upgrading the electronic capabilities of the office and making it more efficient and user-friendly. On his first day in office, Jackson created an express window lawyers had long sought so they could quickly file papers and return to the courts. 

He has also expanded the online availability of court documents, and if the Texas Supreme Court approves, Jackson plans to open a free e-filing portal allowing lawsuits to be filed electronically. (He) says it will save litigants filing fees, cut down on printing, processing and storage costs, and reduce the number of trips lawyers must make to the courthouse. 

Jackson's efforts have won him overwhelming support in the legal community. On the Houston Bar Association Preference Poll, members chose Jackson over his opponent by 1,270 to 200. Voters should follow their lead.

County Clerk: In this contest to replace retiring incumbent Beverly Kaufman, the Chronicle endorses Ann Harris Bennett, a veteran of more than 14 years' service as a district court coordinator.

The duties of the county clerk include administering county, state and Houston municipal elections as well as maintaining records for county courts and Commissioners Court. The office also issues marriage certificates and records deeds, birth and death certificates and assumed names, wills and probate documents.

Bennett opposes turning over the election functions of the office to an appointed election administrator as advocated by some county officials. She supports eventually converting to voting machines that provide a paper record that can be used for recounts. Bennett also promises to work closely with District Clerk Loren Jackson to upgrade the technology and efficiency of the clerk's office.

County Tax Assessor-Collector: In this contest to fill the unexpired term of Republican Paul Bettencourt, who resigned shortly after his election in 2008, the Chronicle endorses the Democrat who narrowly lost to him, Diane Trautman. The incumbent appointed by Commissioners Court, Leo Vasquez, lost to a challenger in the GOP primary.

The duties of this office include collecting more than $5 billion in taxes annually for 66 taxing entities, selling license plates and vehicle titles, and maintaining county voter rolls.

A former bank lending and trust manager, Trautman now teaches ethics and management to graduate students at Stephen F. Austin University. She pledges to restore non-partisan leadership to a service position too often used in the past to promote the political views of the occupant.

There's really no comparison between these three and their GOP counterparts. They comprise the very worst of extremist, TeaBagging ideology and would only exacerbate lingering problems.