Bishop Robinson speaks in Houston next week

Gene Robinson, retired bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, will be speaking about religious freedom in America and how the Religious Right gets it wrong. Widely known for being the first openly gay priest to be consecrated a bishop in a major Christian denomination, Bishop Robinson’s election in 2003 was the source of significant controversy within the Episcopal Church. He has spoken out about the importance of maintaining separation between church and state.

The date is Thursday, October 3rd, and the topic is "My Country 'Tis of Thee: Religious Liberty in a Religiously Zealous Society".  Here's a preview.



Texas is one of the worst places in the United States when it comes to intolerance, and after November 2014, it's invariably going to get worse.

Given the caliber of political mind Texas Republicans seem intent on foisting off onto the rest of us, non-Texans might be curious as to what sorts of people they've tapped for state government of late. The simple answer is "more of the same," as the responses to an AP questionnaire on gay rights sent to GOP candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general revealed. Lt. Gov. Dewhurst sets the tone:

"Sadly, in a culture infected with political correctness, people of faith are targeted for defending their beliefs with no consideration of their First Amendment rights. I will continue to stand with my fellow Texans in defending our God-given, constitutionally protected freedoms."

Yes, yes. Why are we even talking about civil rights for gay Americans when people of faith are the real victims here. It's getting so you can't even show your love for Jesus by calling someone names and beating them up anymore.

And on and on like that.  Greg Abbott's challenger Tom Pauken and Greg Abbott's soulmate and AG hopeful Ken Paxton also are quoted at the link.  Let's finish with that.

We shall see if Texas demographics begin to reverse the tide of celebrated Republican dullardism that has turned state politicians into national laughingstocks. Republicans are highly devoted to making sure that doesn't happen, but I remain confident that at some point the party will elect someone to office who is so stone-cold stupid, such an obvious empty sack, such an impressive specimen of termite-riddled fencepost that the entire state shudders in embarrassment and begins to rethink their party lifestyle choice en masse. It would have to be someone meaner than Steve Stockman and dumber than Louie Gohmert and—well, I forget the third thing—but do not worry about that.

Somewhere in Texas there is a very drunk and bitter man sleeping it off under a church pew who fits all those requirements and then some. Get to it, Republicans. Find that final mean, stupid, godbothering anti-science crank who can out-crook and under-whelm all the rest of them. It is your destiny.

Bishop Robinson suggests a more tolerant approach to affecting change than I do, as you could have guessed.  Get your tickets here.

Why doesn't anybody want the Harris DA job? *Updated*

Update (1 pm): Surprise, surprise.

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That's the real question.

Devon Anderson, the widow of recently deceased Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson, is the local GOP leadership's choice to replace her late husband, the head of party said Monday.

"The person who would be the best to fill Mike's shoes, and they're big shoes to fill, would be his wife," said Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. "I'm hopeful that the governor will appoint her to carry on Mike's legacy. She's very, very qualified for the position."

Woodfill put his sentiments in a letter to Gov. Rick Perry who will appoint someone to fill the unexpired term of Mike Anderson, who lost his battle with cancer Aug. 31.

Woodfill said he is urging Devon Anderson to ask for the appointment, and said she is considering it.

So let's reset: the chair of the county's Republicans has asked the governor to appoint someone to be the district attorney who hasn't said she wants the job yet.

The slot has previously been offered around with no takers.

Rumors have it that Gov. Goodhair has shopped the position to various folks who have been prominent in the Harris County criminal (in)justice system but that no one has expressed any desire in serving as the temp. It looks like Belinda Hill will get the nod by default. But whatever's going to happen needs to happen fast because so long as no one's in charge confusion will continue to reign at 1201 Franklin.

Texpat with some more on that.

Reportedly, (acting DA) Belinda Hill is also interested in maintaining the office permanently. KTRK notes a list of four other candidates being discussed by local Republicans. Given that Perry makes the call, it is a foregone conclusion that a Republican will get the nod. The other names include Marc Carter, the judge of the 228th District Court ...

Jim Leitner, a key Lykos aide, and Rachel Palmer, both prosecutors, were other names mentioned. Palmer has some skeletons in her closet relating to being investigated for criminal wrongdoing and pleading the Fifth. Leitner was also involved in this controversy.

The last name mentioned by the KTRK article is Ted Poe. Being a Congressman with unbelievable job security, and being a mere 65 years of age, I cannot understand why Poe would consider leaving Capitol Hill for this job.

Yeah, Poe already turned it down almost three weeks ago.  Nobody who works this beat regularly -- Grits for Breakfast, Big Jolly -- seems to have anything recent to say about it.  Grits last had Anderson's obit in August, while Jolly's last post, also three weeks ago, puts him on record as opposing Hill.  Not a word from uber-lobbyist (literally, he's Uber's lobbyist) Robert Miller except the usual nothing.  With baseball season nearly over, Marc Campos is now providing movie reviews.  Riveting.

So why isn't anybody talking about why nobody except Belinda Hill wants the job?  Seems to be a lot of insiders on lockdown about whatever is developing down at the county courthouse.

Or maybe they're in the dark, like the rest of us.

Update: Paul Kennedy, this morning.

Why doesn't anyone want the job? It's the highest profile county-wide post in Harris County -- aside from being county judge when a hurricane strikes. It will give whoever accepts it a big leg-up in the special election. You get to be the top law enforcement agent in the largest county in Texas. What could beat that?

Well, I guess there's the issue of managing an office with well over 200 attorneys plus staff. Then there's that whole "tough on crime" thing that doesn't take into account that it costs a bunch of money to lock folks up in jail. And then there's the state of the Harris County Jail -- it's full to the gills with folks who can't make bond.

As we can see by the grease fire that is the DWI pre-trial intervention program, it's not enough to make promises and speak in sound bites on the campaign trail. In order to make things work it takes attention to detail and an office that "buys into" a program. The PTI program was cobbled out of Pat Lykos' illegal DIVERT scheme without much thought as to how it would be implemented.

On second thought, maybe it's no wonder no one wants the job.

KHOU poll is more bad news for Hall

Annise Parker's challenger can only hope that his supporters have been seriously undersampled.

Annise Parker seems headed for a runoff in her campaign to keep her job, but she commands more than twice as many supporters as her leading challenger in a newly released poll commissioned by KHOU 11 News and KUHF – Houston Public Radio.

Still, just six weeks before Election Day, roughly half of all surveyed voters either didn’t know or wouldn’t say how they’re going to vote.

Parker leads the pack of candidates at 34 percent, with former city attorney Ben Hall at 14 percent. About 48 percent of voters are classified as undecided, indicating the incumbent mayor will have to fight to keep the post to which she was narrowly re-elected two years ago.

“I don’t see the mayor losing this race,” said Bob Stein, the KHOU political analyst who conducted the survey. “I’m not certain she’ll win it in the general election, like she did in 2011. But the mayor, who tends to get high marks as a mayor, simply doesn’t get what I’d call great public support as a candidate.”

Stein has it right.  It's possible that Hall can shore himself up a little in the next seven weeks, but only enough to force the mayor into a runoff.  More Stein...

“(Hall) expects to bring out a large number of African-American voters and win 80, 90 percent of that. Doesn’t seem to be working. Turnout may be a little bit higher among African-American voters, but he’s only winning 29 percent of the African-American vote, to the mayor’s 24 percent.”

Meanwhile, Parker garners 27 percent of Anglo Republican voters’ support compared to Hall’s 11 percent.

The biggest surprise in this polling is that the mayor is getting the Republican votes, and she isn't losing the black votes by enough to make a difference.  Actually it's not that surprising; Hall is just a terrible candidate with an even worse campaign.  And  'delusional' isn't helping.

"These numbers show what we hear every day: Ms. Parker's tenure has been repudiated by the people of Houston and she will not be re-elected as the next mayor," (Hall campaign spokesperson Julie Smekalina) said. "As Houstonians are beginning to see the vision Ben Hall has set forth, they are rallying behind his ideas for the city's future. The grass-roots momentum that we see supporting Ben's candidacy is growing and will secure his election as mayor."

You have to be on LSD to see that.   I'll go out on a very thin limb and say that a runoff is still possible.  But with numbers like these for the campaign operatives to spin, it's growing unlikely for Ben Hall.

If you're one of that 48% who haven't decided whom to vote for, go out to one of the forums on this schedule and see what the candidates have to say.

Mike Morris at the HouChron, KUHF (which conducted the poll with the TV station), Dos Centavos and Texpatriate also weigh in.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is thoroughly enjoying some Republican slapstick comedy as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff implores Sen. Leticia Van de Putte to run for lieutenant governor.  One look at the group vying for the GOP nomination shows how much Democrats need her on their ticket.

Eye On Williamson is having some technical difficulties, and hopes to be back next week.

Texas Leftist takes an early look at Annise Parker's political legacy as mayor of Houston, and why lacking a third term isn't the only reason it seems incomplete.  Also, we remember some wisdom from Ann Richards on why Texas Democrats are different.

Once PDiddie at Brains and Eggs declared this year's municipal election season in Houston "the most boring ever", things started to pick up a bit.

Horwitz at Texpatriate discusses the controversy that has arisen in a Houston city council election after one leading candidate allegedly made some unspeakably offensive comments.

Over at TexasKaos, Libby Shaw explains that cravenness hasn't gone out of style, no sir. Check out More of the Same. Cruel, Crazy and Craven.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

John Coby has some advice for David Dewhurst.

The Great God Pan Is Dead showcases an excellent graphical guide to the insurance exchanges.

Better Texas Blog covers young adults and the insurance marketplace.

Texas Living Waters Project calls out Lite Guv candidate Jerry Patterson for his ignorant remarks about endangered species.

Nonesequiteuse has an action item for everyone who believes in reproductive justice.

Prairie Weather examines the link between Obamacare and ego.

TFN Insider reminds us why Don McLeroy should never be allowed near a textbook.

Sunday Funnies

"If you define 'mass shootings' as four or more people getting shot at one time, we've had nearly 250 so far this year. We've only had 260 days! Our mass shooting average is 96 percent. Our mass shooting scores shouldn't be that much higher than our math and science scores. There have been more mass-shooting days than Jewish holidays---and there are a shitload of Jewish holidays."

-- Jon Stewart

Paula Deen was a big butterball of emotion today during her first public appearance since settling the racial discrimination lawsuit that destroyed her career ... and we've got the pics.

Paula appeared in Houston, Texas for the Metro Cooking and Entertainment Show to mark her return ... and got choked up after receiving a standing ovation when she hit the stage.

The 66-year old chef told the crowd she had been wanting her return to take place in Texas all along ... and was just shedding tears of joy.

Down-ballot Democratic prospects, updated

Kolten Parker at the HouChron, behind the paywall, makes the case I made a month ago that everything blue for 2014 hinges on that certain someone.  And also reminds us that even state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte's presumptive bid for lieutenant governor depends on what Wendy does.

But he also names a few new (to me) names as potential statewides.

State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, said he is considering a run for attorney general.

"Politics is about timing," Uresti said. "And I certainly think it's the right time for the Democratic Party, and for myself as well."

Other candidates being courted by Democrats to make the leap are state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who has more than $1 million in his campaign account, state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas and state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin. None returned calls for comment.

Uresti does not stand for re-election to the state senate until 2016.  But West and Watson -- like Davis herself -- are up in 2014, which is to say that they must relinquish thier seats to run for higher office.  The same, of course, for Rep. Anchia (because the House terms are two years).

I am still hoping Sen. Rodney Ellis will run for something -- perhaps against John Cornyn? -- as he does not have to run for re-election in 2014, has the ability to fund a campaign himself, and brings much-needed diversity to the ticket.

So add those names to the 'definitely maybe' category.  Besides the potential team of Davis and VDP at the top, Texas Democrats today have two declareds: Houston businessman Mike Collier running for state comptroller, and former El Paso mayor John Cook standing for GLO.

Anybody know anything else?  A juicy rumor, perhaps?

Update: Go read Socratic Gadfly's observations in the comments -- and an expanded version at his shop -- about West, and by extension, Ellis.  As Texpate reminds, Raffi Anchia stated in June that he was focusing on re-election to the House (and not a Dallas mayoral bid).  So the list of rumored candidate prospects is still barely enough to qualify as a decent rumor.

Ted Cruz, Tom DeLay, and rapper M.I.A.

-- Here's Why Ted Cruz's Plan To Defund Obamacare Was Always Doomed.

The House bill that continues funding for the government is expected to pass on Friday. It will go to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will face two potential filibusters of the legislation.

One is on the vote to begin debate — which is not likely to produce a fight. The language will enter the Senate with the House language, so there's no reason for conservatives in the Senate to vote against opening debate on the bill.

The key procedural movement will come next. A Democratic Senate aide said that it's likely Democrats will introduce an amendment to strip the House language defunding Obamacare after the vote to end debate occurs. Because of Senate rules, they can do so by a simple majority vote.

That makes the second cloture vote the one to watch. That's when Cruz, along with Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), can argue that voting to end debate will enable Reid to get rid of the House language that defunds Obamacare — "which is true," the Democratic aide said.

Here's why that's a problem: Reid needs 60 votes to end debate. He can count on all 52 Democrats (including himself), as well as the Senate's two Independents, to vote to end debate and strip the language defunding Obamacare.

That means he needs only six Republicans to vote to end debate. And 14 Senate Republicans have already expressed their dismay with the strategy — mostly because doing so involves the possibility of shutting down the government.

Even the cartoonists have grown tired of lampooing Cruz, when there are others just like him (only lacking some of his talent at bombast).

For his part, "Poop" has already worn out his welcome in Washington, and in less than a year.  You have to admit that's quite an accomplishment.

The truth is that defunding Obamacare -- just like ending abortion -- is a fundraising mechanism for the GOP.  They use the issue to fleece conservatives who have more money than sense.  It's always been this way.

There are Republicans who are starting to see through Cruz, they're just not the poor saps who sent him to DC in the first place.  These folks who vote in the Texas Republican primary are probably not redeemable at this point after so many errors in judgment (Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, David Dewhurst, Dan Patrick,John Culberson, Louie Gohmert, Steve Stockman, blahblahblah).

We have to stop allowing deranged, delusional people create the reality that the rest of us have to live in.  How's Battleground Texas coming along, anyway?

-- La Cucaracha takes a victory lap.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, reveling in victory Thursday against Texas prosecutors in a money-laundering case, said his political career is over but he’s eager to return to the courthouse.

If he can find a lawyer “with a backbone,” DeLay said, he’ll considering suing the Travis County district attorney for the eight-year legal clash that ended with an appeals court tossing his conviction.

“I cannot take this laying down. For the welfare of the people that serve in the future, I can’t just let this go,” he said.

The threat was vintage DeLay.

Let's allow him to get comfortable, then let's squash his guts all over the floor.  Again.

-- The NFL wages war on another halftime performer, and she's fighting back.

On Feb. 5, 2012, nearly 167 million TV viewers tuned in to Super Bowl XLVI to watch a matchup between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Besides the football action, what had people talking that day was a halftime performance by M.I.A. and, specifically, how she extended her middle finger during a performance of "Give Me All Your Luvin' " while mouthing, "I don't give a shit."

But the NFL did care. One month after the performance, the league initiated legal proceedings against the English-Sri Lankan rapper-singer. In a March 13, 2012, filing at the American Arbitration Association, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the league demanded $1.5 million from M.I.A. for allegedly breaching her performance contract and tarnishing its goodwill and reputation.

In the 18 months since, the 38-year-old M.I.A. (born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) has been waging a secret legal war with the NFL over what happened at Super Bowl XLVI. Last week, league lawyers continued their push to have her deemed liable for her actions on summary judgment before moving to a trial for damages.

This is not going over too well with M.I.A, best known for her catchy agitpop music including the hit song "Paper Planes," which includes the repeated sound of gunfire. She's also used her fame to spotlight human rights abuses in her war-torn South Asian homeland. Now her lawyer Howard King tells THR that his client plans to launch a public war on the mega-powerful football league.

Moneyshot, from her barrister...

"Of course, the NFL's claimed reputation for wholesomeness is hilarious," King tells THR, "in light of the weekly felonies committed by its stars, the bounties placed by coaches on opposing players, the homophobic and racist comments uttered by its players, the complete disregard for the health of players and the premature deaths that have resulted from same, and the raping of public entities ready to sacrifice public funds to attract teams."

What, you forgot the NFL was a big bunch of socialists?