January 31, 2008
Thank you, Free Market Foundation!
The Free Market Foundation, a group financed almost entirely by the same big businesses that have been bleeding Texans dry for years, has decided to take on the bipartisan Parent PAC. By talking about the TPA naming it's head, Carolyn Boyle, Texan Of The Year in 2006.
First, a word about the the FMF... some of their past hits include:
Of course, the TPA endorsed her because of her hard work not only to maintain the tradition of public education in Texas, but also because of her success in beating back the candidates the FMF loved. Our support for anything else is irrelevant to our endorsement of Boyles. So, we have to wonder if maybe the FMF is mad because we don't share their goal to kill public education in Texas. Oh well, sucks to be them.
One last thing... in FMF circles we are relatively unknown. The FMF has just pointed out all the member blogs of the TPA. We're not particularly fond of the FMF or their ilk and talk about their failures daily. And the FMF just pointed us out. Thanks, guys!
Posted by mcblogger at 02:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Texas in play?
Hal at Half Empty gives a some intellectual weight to a theory I've been telling people about for a while... that Texas, despite not being part of the Feb 5th mega-primary, may be THE primary for both the Republicans and Democratic candidates.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bring me the sparkly
Apparently there is a diamond the size of a star. Well, it's the remnant of a star... the carbonized core that has crystallized to diamond. It's only 50 LY away and I really want it.
Get it for me, will ya? I want it before that bitch Liz Taylor tries to make it into a ring.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dr. Patrick Johnson isn't so much for Democracy...
Apparently, he also thinks the country was founded a Christian Republic. Click here to see more of his delusional rant if you want some laughs.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 30, 2008
Really Sad
Following up on Mr. McBlogger’s earlier post, John Edwards drops out of race.
His departure makes you wonder what voters, especially democratic-leaning ones want from a candidate and the party.
Has a corporatist mindset so indoctrinated this country , that even Democratic voters can no longer grasp that the term “working-class” is honorable and defines common good. Has the credo, “Looking out for number one”, overtaken “We are all in this together”.
Though Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are hardly progressives, this Rolling Stones article takes both to task on their conservative nature, even though much more so on Clinton.
Even saying that at least they’re not as conservative as Republican candidates misses the point.
Posted by Captain Kroc at 08:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A final punch at Thompson
Just like Fred, this video is tired, old and LAME especially when you consider that the majority of it was ripped from one of those retarded Chuck Norris emails.
Good riddance, hillbilly dipshit. You're a lousy actor, a failure of a Senator and I'm sure a bad lay.
Posted by mcblogger at 05:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Art Hall and a real conflict of interest
Let me first state that despite his age and his lack of skill as a politico, I'm voting for Dale Henry for RR Commissioner. He knows the oil and gas industry from the ground up and will do an excellent job both for industry and consumers. The RR Commission regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas and we've had nothing but industry rubber stamps on it. It's time that we have someone there who'll actually do a good job for Texans and our environment.
That said, I didn't have much of problem with his opponent. Until now. Last night in Decatur, during a candidate forum, Art Hall was asked a direct question about a possible conflict of interest should he win. Specifically, he was asked if it was a conflict of interest for his wife to work for Valero Energy, one of the companies he would be regulating if elected. He stated that it wasn't and he knew it wasn't because he contacted Valero and asked them.
Wait... Art, you contacted Valero and asked them, the company you'd be regulating, if it was a conflict of interest? Hall is a bright guy so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it wasn't an issue of a lack of knowledge. So, then what was it? What is the explanation for contacting the wolf about whether or not it was OK to allow them to eat the sheep? Was it so easy to accept that her job (working on international issues for Valero) wouldn't be at risk should you vote the wrong way?
BUT, that's not all... the TTC is once again becoming a significant campaign issue and Art was asked directly about his support for tolls and the TTC. His response, to the say the least, was lacking. While the RRC won't have direct authority over privatizing our roads, it is a serious question for a candidate as it can show a willingness to privatize public assets at taxpayer expense. It's not clear where Hall stands on this and until it is, I'd feel a lot better not having him in office.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Shelly Whines... about 'liberal intolerance'
Oh, this is funny...
Now comes fascinating statistical evidence that the Left is indeed more hateful than the Right. Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks writes in the WSJ today about annual surveys that shed light on just how unhinged liberals really are:In 2004, the University of Michigan’s American National Election Studies (ANES) survey asked about 1,200 American adults to give their thermometer scores of various groups. People in this survey who called themselves “conservative” or “very conservative” did have a fairly low opinion of liberals — they gave them an average thermometer score of 39. The score that liberals give conservatives: 38. Looking only at people who said they are “extremely conservative” or “extremely liberal,” the right gave the left a score of 27; the left gives the right an icy 23. So much for the liberal tolerance edge.
WOW. A difference of one and a difference of four and suddenly, as if by magic, liberals are WAY more hateful that conservatives.
See, the problem with liberals is that they, on balance, tend to take attacks on little things, like the Constitution, very seriously. They tend to view those people as traitors and rightfully so. The question for Shelly is, why don't you?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Edwards and some R douchebag leave Presidential Race
Posted by mcblogger at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Frivolous Justice
First, let's just point out that every member of the Texas Supreme Court is a Republican. Second, lets remember that 'tort reform' was going to free up the courts and speed up decisions on cases. So, why is it taking so long (in some cases, YEARS) to get decisions out of the Court? Well, they're busy doing things... other than their jobs.
At a time when the Texas Supreme Court's backlog has reached record levels, Justice Paul Green spent a recent workday driving to Corpus Christi to speak to a group of appeals lawyers."It's 40 (degrees) and raining," Green said Friday from his cell phone. "Yes, I've got stuff to do at the office, but some of us like to do this."
Green, who wrote the fewest opinions — four — of the nine justices on the high court during the 2007 fiscal year, said it's important to get out of the office and talk about the court's work.
"If all of a sudden I said, I'll just stay in my chambers and work on opinions, I don't think people would like that," said Green, adding that he has a "bunch of cases" that are ready to be issued.
Uhm... I bet the people waiting on decisions WOULD LIKE IT VERY MUCH. You might remember, Green is one of the Justices facing ethics issues. Why not deal with the backlog, Paul. Then fix your ethics reports and pay your fines if there are any assessed. THEN you can go on your little speaking engagements.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 29, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
Another week, another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog Round-Up. This week's edition is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex, with thanks to Charles from Off The Kuff for assistance.
Off the Kuff looks at the woes of the Harris County GOP and what it may mean in November.
North Texas will have one less class II commercial injection well pumping toxic soup underground. Reported by TXsharon on Bluedaze.
TXDOT has dug itself into quite a hole by using your money to lobby for the TTC and to pay for an advertising campaign to sell the wildly unpopular TTC to the citizens of Texas. McBlogger at McBlogger has the details and a great video.
Hal at Half Empty got his TI-83 out and ran the numbers on the Presidential Primaries. Conclusion? Texas has a chance to crown a king (or queen).
WhosPlayin? looks at the case of a teen brought up on charges for "huffing" hand sanitizer and is frustrated at the lack of discretion caused by "zero-tolerance" policies.
The action plan for Monday's FISA-with-telecom-immunity legislation is contained in PDid's post at Brains and Eggs. Don't strain your dialing finger, and don't forget to
call Senators Corndog and Hutch. It's a waste of time, yes, but they still need to hear from us.
NYTexan at BlueBloggin explains who Voters, Pledged Delegates and Super Delegates are and how they influence the democratic party nomination at the convention.
Are you a MOTO? If not, you will be after reading State Sen. Kirk Watson's guest blog this week at Capitol Annex.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Help wanted
Dawnna Dukes is having problems getting volunteers. So, she's turned to Craigs List. While this is about as big a deal as how Ina Garten makes a tart tartine (with plums! OMG!), the funny is in the reaction from the Dukes campaign to questions about it. Well, that and the fact that an eight term incumbent can't find blockwalkers. I'm sure there's some way for some one to blame Glen Maxey for that.
In other Dukes news, someone has finally filed an ethics complaint against Dawnna over those credit card charges. According to Copelin over at the Statesman, Dukes has STILL not committed to correcting the reports prior to the primary. Watch them get filed on March 4th.
Finally, a little late but still relevant, Brian Thompson nailed the UDEMS/CAD endorsement over the weekend. Overwhelmingly. Please go help him today!
Posted by mcblogger at 01:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
HD48 Republicans... in love with CradDICK?
Rep. Donna Howard is facing two Republicans who are vying to get beaten by her in November. One has out and out said he'd support CradDICK for Speaker, the other won't say one way or the other. More than likely, either will be taking money from CradDICK in the general.
Folks in HD 48 have a real choice...A Representative who actually, you know, represents them or one who more than likely will represent CradDICK. And Alan Sager who is supporting Pam Waggoner in the race. Remember Alan?
Posted by mcblogger at 12:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The supply side fallacy
Once more, the real world results of supply side economics are deficits and economic recession. Period. The Republicans have been talking about the declining deficits. However, they aren't declining anymore. Even before the fiscal 'stimulus' package is added on, the deficit was expected to hit around $250 bn this year.
Even without the stimulus package, the Congressional Budget Office is forecasting the deficit for 2008 will jump to $219 billion, up from last year's $163 billion. And CBO said its new estimate did not include still unapproved outlays for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which will probably push the deficit to around $250 billion.
Which makes Bush's whining about less than 1% of the Federal budget (earmarks) less than genuine given that it's mostly his off the charts military spending that is driving up the federal deficit. Not the projects that Members of Congress put in the federal budget to do something for their districts.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 28, 2008
FISA Telecom Amnesty goes down in flames
Good work, Democrats. Thank you for standing up for the Constitution.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Be Prepared
It wouldn't be a State of the Union address without a drinking game, would it? And while getting shitfaced, why not keep score with this handy SOTU Bingo card?
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 03:02 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
FISA SHOWDOWN ALERT
The FISA bill is headed for a cloture vote in about 40 minutes in the Senate. Greenwald has a story up about it and FDL is going to be liveblogging it. We won't because we have day jobs. However, we will be making calls to Senators about it from our personal phones. You should as well!
Posted by mcblogger at 02:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Calling Bullshit : The Statesman loves 'GOTCHA!' reporting
Here's a fun story... during a recent Ed Board meeting at the Statesman, the Board spent a large part of the meeting talking not about what the candidate would do if elected to the office for which they were running. No, they talked only about the candidate's personal life. The candidate was Glen Maxey who, in 2000, approached DA Earle for help with his then partner, Brian Eager. Eager was and is mentally ill and suffered from hallucinations combined with addiction problems. When he was arrested for a DWI as well as cocaine possession and faced jail time, Maxey went to Earle to explain that Eager was mentally ill and asked if there were any special treatment programs available through TDC. The DA, according to Maxey, didn't know anything about treatment for the mentally ill and went ahead with the prosecution, securing what they had requested... 5 years probation and 1 day of jail time. Eager received no treatment and was subsequently arrested and jailed again in 2003. Maxey and Eager have since split up and Maxey says he did not ask for 'special treatment' for Eager, other than about treatment programs for the mentally ill. Earle's recollection does not contradict this account since asking about treatment programs was, apparently to him, asking for a lesser punishment than his office was seeking.
Now, it's well known the Statesman hates them some Glen so they aren't exactly an unbiased source. To be honest, I'm not really sure why the Statesman even endorses candidates since few people, if any, pay attention to them. As a sign of how seriously you should take them, Hank Gilbert who ran for Agriculture Commission was appalled that during HIS meeting with the board, Arnold Garcia appeared to fall asleep while Gilbert was discussing alternative energy crops, cane ethanol and how it could reshape Texas Agriculture and help us to kick the foreign oil habit. Todd Staples, his opponent, was a big fan of toll roads. The Statesman endorsed Staples.
All that aside, are there any of us who can say we wouldn't ask for something similar for a loved one if we knew the DA? How much respect would you have for someone who didn't? For me, the answer is 'not much'. Despite the Statesman's sledgehammer attempt to paint Maxey as a politico demanding special treatment, all it really does is show that the man actually cares enough about people to try and get them help. I can't think of any better quality for candidate who, if elected, will have the power to foreclose on people.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Writer's Strike...
You know, I've been ready for the writer's strike to end for weeks now and still the evil producers let it continue, hoping to bend the writers to their will and regardless of the impact on us. What's it all over? Digital rights and royalties. See, whenever media is sold or distributed over the internet, producers, actors and directors get a cut. Notice that the people who actually write the script are left out of that. Yeah, doesn't seem fair to me, either. So, I'm all about letting the writers have what they want.
Here's my plea. If there's anyone out there with connections in the WGA, please ask them specifically which producers are dragging this out. Then we'll boycott anything they have done or will do in the future unless. they. cave.
It's bad enough that this has returned American Gladiators to television, now (according to Barfly) it's also cost me the rest of the season of 30 Rock. The only show I actually watch on network TV. Needless to say, I'm pissed and want to do anything I can to make a producer's life miserable.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 27, 2008
More on Escobar's opponent
There's been a pretty lively discussion overt at BOR regarding Republicans running in the Democratic Primary. We talked about a specific race earlier today, that of Rep. Juan Escobar who's fighting off a challenge from Tara Rios Ybarra. Not only did she find the time in 2006 to donate $1,000 to the campaign of the douche who ran against Judge Hinojosa, she also had a spare moment to pose for a pic with him... and 39%.
Know your primary candidates, folks!
Posted by mcblogger at 02:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 26, 2008
There Will Be Blood
Okay, we get it. Oilmen are ruthless. Who knew?
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 09:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AFL-CIO endorses Grant
Matt at BOR has the post up...very good news for Dan!
In other Grant related news, it appears that Dan did have a role in the Kerry campaign in 2004. Which puts a lie to the rumors circulating around to the contrary.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 25, 2008
Loving the news Edwards video
Posted by mcblogger at 03:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Telecom immunity again?
That's right, kids! Much like that horrible casserole your mother LOVED making as a child, telecom immunity is back. This time, the shriveled little troll Harry Reid has joined with Cracker McConnell to shove this through...Greenwald has the text of their convo on the floor yesterday...
We have to finish FISA this week. Everyone should be aware of that point. We have to finish it this week. I know there are important trips people want to take. We have the very important economic conference in Davos that Democrats and Republicans alike would like to go to.I say, unless we finish the bill Thursday -- and we will not be able to get to it until tomorrow night-- unless we finish the bill on Thursday, then we are going to have to continue working this week until we finish this bill. We have to finish this bill. It is not fair to the House to jam them so that they have 1 day to act on this legislation.
If we finish it this week, I have spoken to the Speaker today and they will work to complete this matter next week. It would be to everyone's advantage if we had more time to do this.
I respect what the Republican leader has said, but everyone here should understand all weekend activities have to be put on hold until we finish this bill. Now, it is possible we could finish it fairly quickly. We are going to work from the Intelligence bill, and if amendments are offered that people don't like, I would suggest they move to table those amendments. Because if people think they are going to talk this to death, we are going to be in here all night. This is not something we are going to have a silent filibuster on. If someone wants to filibuster this bill, they are going to do it in the openness of the Senate.
No, no... that wasn't McConnell. That was OUR Majority Leader, Harry Reid. Makes you feel good to have a Democrat in the Senate who's working so hard to make the President's life easy. Who else but Harry Reid would take
so seriously?
We at McBlogger would like to take a moment to thank Senators Dodd, Feingold and Kennedy for standing up to the little old man from Nevada.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Have some fun... take a survey!
Tinafish and the TX GOP have decided to do a survey to find out what's really important to voters...
We are pleased to share with you today our next set of questions related to foreign policy. I'm certain that you are frightened like me at the thought of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama making these important decisions.Remember that the results of these surveys will be provided directly to each presidential candidate. We want your voice to be heard right now even as the candidates are in other states.
Click here to take their little survey.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
TOLLS : BUSTED!
Here's a bit of fun... at the TTC-69 Townhall in Hempstead, Hank Gilbert filmed Texas Transportation Commissioner Houghton ADMITTING to using taxpayer funds to lobby for the TTC in violation of state law. In this clip, Houghton admits to hiring a lobbyist in DC to lobby for more highway money for Texas.
He's right about that number. The problem is, we've been sending majority R delegations to Washington for years and getting nothing in return. See, that's what members of Congress from this state are supposed to do... get transportation dollars flowing in.
Way to go TURF and fantastic job to Hank Gilbert for leading this fight. For those of you who don't know, one of Hank's promises during the election was to stay on top of the TTC and tolling whether he won the election or not.
Good to see at least one guy who ran for office is keeping his promises. God knows Staples isn't.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Am I the only one...
...who wants to see this?
Posted by mcblogger at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Senator Watson talks to YOU
Note from McBlogger: State Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) was kind enough to write a guest blog for the Texas Progressive Alliance as we continue to push our TexRoots 2008 Slate of Candidates. Texas Progressive Alliance Blogs are publishing this guest blog today. We have a special place in our heart for this piece... click here to find out why. While we do get irritated with our Senator from Travis County from time to time, we do love him to death.
A few months back, a certain progressive blogger took note of a piece I had published. This writer responded with an entry that was mostly complementary – I'd guess we agree about 90 percent of the time. But then, after hitting a point I thought was pretty inarguable, the writer called me a "MOTO."
Most of you who read Texas' great progressive blogs probably know what a "MOTO" is. I, on the other hand, had to turn to my 18-year-old son (and pop culture crutch) Preston, who steered me to something called urbandictionary.com. There, I finally learned the truth:
I am, it seems, a "Master Of The Obvious".
It was kind of a frustrating revelation, partly because it's true. But if I've learned anything at all in my year as a State Senator, it's that what's so obvious to me (and to acronym-wielding bloggers) seems downright foreign to so many others – particularly the Republican leadership in the Texas Capitol.
Here are just a few MOTO moments from the past few months:
•It's wrong for a governor to use a 39 percent mandate to rig state agencies in ways that benefit corporate contributors, privatize public roads, and ignore the real health and educational needs of this state.
•It's wrong for a lieutenant governor to wage a partisan campaign to ram through a voter screening bill that targets Hispanics and the elderly. It's worse to force a very ill senator set up a sick bed outside the Senate Chamber simply to block such a terrible, discriminatory proposal.
•It's wrong for a speaker of the House to stand before a body of democratically elected officials who gave him his office, and then declare he has absolute power to ignore them.
•It's wrong for Supreme Court justices to stretch campaign finance laws, or to ignore law and precedent in rulings that protect political contributors, or to take advantage of a politicized criminal justice process.
•And it's very wrong for a high court judge to slam shut the doors of justice as early as possible, even when it means sending a man to his death.
All pretty obvious, right? Well, not to the people who've run this state for all these years. And that's where we all have work to do.
We are right. We are anxious to do great things for Texas, to restore opportunity, and to create reasons to hope for a better future.
But we can't just know that. We can't just talk to ourselves.
We can't assume it's obvious.
We must make it apparent to anyone who cares about this state and where it's headed, and we must remind them of the most obvious statement of all: Texans cannot trust the Republican leadership.
I'm talking about the political bosses, bullies, ideologues and figure heads that control the agenda, bury the opposition, and block any bill that runs counter to their dogma.
I'm talking about the folks who are more interested in taking irresponsible pledges than in solving Texas' challenges, who will deny the most verifiable fact if it doesn't conform to their ideology, and who will embrace every budget trick before they level with Texans about what people are worth to them.
I'm talking about the select group that's denied children health care at any cost, that's allowed our colleges and universities to become overcrowded, underfunded and inadequate, that's watched our highways deteriorate while forcing Texans to choose between crushing traffic and private toll roads, and that's denied and deferred environmental problems, leaving our children to fix them.
Here's what's most obvious: only the Democratic Party will bring about the positive changes that Texans need and demand.
That means we have to do all we can this year -- we must make it obvious -- that the people of Texas must challenge the so-called absolute power of the Republican leadership. Once we make MOTOs out of everyone, Texas will elect strong Democrats in 2008.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Perry's staff is in some hot water
Remember that guy who filed all those requests for emails from the Governor's office? Well, the first batch is in and they are a hoot.
One e-mail from former Secretary of State Jack Rains sparked a heated discussion about the possibility that former state Rep. Ron Wilson, D-Houston, could be appointed by Perry to a high-level state post, such as the Texas Department of Public Safety oversight commission or the University of Texas Board of Regents."I cannot imagine a worse Republican appointment," Rains wrote Perry's office Nov. 2. "I would hope every Republican will urge the governor to never consider this racist for any office."
Wilson is black. Last May, he briefly served as House deputy parliamentarian under Republican Speaker Tom Craddick.
After receiving a copy of the e-mail, Perry's appointments secretary, Ken Anderson, wrote back that Rains, a veteran power broker in Texas Republican circles, had been drinking when he wrote the message.
"Ron might be called many things, but racist is NOT one of them," Anderson wrote. "Jack must have written that late in the afternoon after coming back from one of his long liquid lunches."
Rains told the Star-Telegram he wanted an apology from Anderson.
"I don't know Mr. Anderson. I don't drink at lunch, and he doesn't know me very well or he wouldn't say something stupid like that. You may quote me on that," Rains said.
In one series of e-mail exchanges, aides passed around a news article about state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.
In the Texas Weekly article, one of Zaffirini's opponents, former Webb County Judge Louis Bruni, calls the longtime senator an "evil, vindictive, mean woman."
"Can you believe this quote?" Kathy Walt, Perry's deputy chief of staff, wrote in an e-mail to fellow top aides.
"Truth can be mean," Black responded.
Zaffirini called Black's comments "outrageous" and suggested he was angry that she helped lead a successful drive to restore millions of dollars in community college funding that Perry had vetoed last year.
Black declined to discuss the specifics of the exchanges or to say whether apologies would be forthcoming.
Let's see... you managed to call a member of your own party who was appointed by 39% to be Secretary of State no less, a drunk. Then you try to float the idea of appointing Ron Wilson to something which is, in and of itself, the sign of a VERY disturbed intellect. Then you call a State Senator an "evil, vindictive, mean woman".
Nice work, y'all!
Posted by mcblogger at 12:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 24, 2008
Huckabee Wins Presidency
Fighting off avatars of monstrous flying beasts, an army of Pee Wee Herman clones, and a zombified Gypsy Rose Lee, Hope, Arkansas’ favorite dominionist wins the Second Life presidential race.
The outcome was still in doubt until Mike Huckabee beat back a late surge by Lee Mercer, who in typical fashion was confused by the results and started giving a victory speech, only to be stopped when an irate Al Sharpton tasered him.
Said Sharpton, “Good Lord, the man was setting back the civil rights movement 50 years, and was spouting more nonsense than me on my best days.”
The president-elect, who had been trailing Ron Paul early until the residents in this bizarre world figured out that Paul was even crazier than them, was holding his victory celebration in the five million square foot super mega-church built by San Antonio’s own dominionist, John Hagee.
His Vice-President running mate, resurrected poltergeist James Stockdale, was nowhere to be seen, but word filtered to Huckabee that Stockdale was still in mortal combat with Dungeon and Dragons aficionado Clement Manor.
Several months ago, Manor had tried to use the Paralytic Poison from Astral Stalker to force Huckabee to deplete his SL teleporting skills. In some quirk of cosmic dustup, the strategy interfaced with Second Life’s operating system, pulling the deceased Stockdale, whose afterlife was spent sailing his yacht with Playboy bunnies in a very calm and peaceful Gulf of Tonkin, through a dimensional rift. Needless to say, Stockdale was livid, and swore vengeance on Manor.
In his first speech since winning, Huckabee, who declared that his ulterior motive for winning was to cause an apocalyptic ending to Second Life, was cheered by all out-worlders who have grown increasingly hostile to this wasteful human endeavor.
Not to be outdone, a revived Mercer, said, “Scrumpdelicious attribution from protective regulate the giving of enforcement of exact moment of equivalent regarding federal autobiography through certification…..”
He was then vaporized.
Michael Bloomberg, along with running mate Mary Carey, had created a parallel candidacy with the slogan, “Bi-partisan and unity for bi-partisan and unity sake with emphasis on bi-partisan and unity… oh, and change too.”
However, the liaisons of community standards for SL invoked the “Big Six” rule on Carey who on campaign stops would clap twice and say “Strap-on, strap-off”, and then proceed to demonstrate the act. A bit of a rile developed from a great number of male residences who had marked hard core porn as their number one interest during the SL login process.
Posted by Captain Kroc at 08:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
A fine candidate for President
As The Mayor said, if Time Cube were a human being, it would be this guy. And he's running for President.
Why don't the crazies ever file to run as a Republican? Oh... wait. Forgot about him.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Juan Escobar has an opponent with CradDICK connections
Well, it would appear that Juan Escobar's opponent is being helped by none other than Joe Garcia, the Republican Leininger lobbyist who is actively supporting Mindy Montford in the Democratic Primary. I met Mindy last night (Burberry shirt, Mindy) at UDems and honestly found her to be an intelligent person who would make a great DA. Anywhere BUT Travis County.
The unique nature of the Travis County DA's office makes this an important post in statewide politics. I'm sure there's no quid pro quo between her and her R supporters. However, politics is all about perception and the perception is damn hard to shake. Especially when you have a major supporter and contributor pushing hard to take out a good member of the Democratic Caucus in the House.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New sense of bipartisanship in DC dies
The WaPo has an article up about the rush to get a stimulus package through and the partisan 'cease-fire' that is even now beginning to break. The money quote on the economy comes from some minor R douche...
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) fired back, blaming the nation's economic ills on the Democratic-controlled Congress. "One year into a liberal Democrat majority in Congress, surprise, surprise, the economy is struggling," he said. "You don't need to apply liberal principles and policies on an economic slowdown that is being driven by liberal policies on Capitol Hill."
Uhm, Mike... the D's haven't been able to pass large parts of the economic plan that might have saved the citizens of this country because Bush keeps vetoing the legislation they've worked so hard on and you keep voting to sustain those vetoes. The economy HAS been struggling for years because the foolish ideologically driven policies of you and your party. If I were you, Mike, I would remember a piece of sage advice we've all heard from time to time : Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
According to several sources, the 'stimulus' package has the support it needs to go to the President. However, it's all smoke and mirrors. It'll be June before a taxpayer sees a check and those business tax cuts will be used for dividends, not job creation. The only difference between now and what the Republicans did in 2001 and 2003 is that the Democrats were intimately involved this time. Nice work, boys and girls. You all fail Econ101.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In other news...
Commission member Ted Houghton of El Paso was blunt about Perry’s influence.“This is the governor’s program. If we go in and try to scrap some piece of his program, I think we’re going to have hell to pay with our boss, and that’s the governor,” Houghton said. “He was elected by the citizens, not us. We are an extension of what he believes.” (SAEN)
And here I was stupidly thinking y'all were serving the citizens of Texas, not the narrow interests of 39% and his campaign contributors. So much for the whole 'being a good public servant' thing. Now there are rumors about a replacement for Williamson being shoved down 39%'s throat that will make a lot of Democrats VERY happy.
But due to the support several of its members showed for Craddick during the unsuccessful challenge by Jim Pitts and later in the session, they have been tagged as Craddick Ds. Strother, who is also Dukes' campaign spokesman, called it "comparable to using a slur, whether it be a racial or sexual. It's a lowbrow way." Since no Democrat was running for speaker, he said, "The difference between Pitts and Craddick is different right-wingers blocking legislation." Still, several other members of the group have since distanced themselves; District 45's Patrick Rose went from seconding Craddick's speaker nomination at the opening of the last session to disavowing him on the floor by sine die.
So, now we're racists for not liking Dawnna. Oh hell, Colin. Why not make something else up about the differences between Pitts and CradDICK? The reality is, Pitt's would have been a much weaker Speaker than CradDICK and would have been forced by the Democrats to, for instance, fully fund CHIP. Thanks to Dawnna and the other members of the Iscariot Caucus, we got CradDICK again.
It's also worth noting that she affirmed she may still support CradDICK...
Even now, she says, she would not rule out backing Craddick as speaker again next session.
That should come as no surprise... after all, you never know when a client might need some help in the way of state taxpayer largess.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Roundin' up the TPA
It's time for another weekly roundup of Texas Progressive Alliance blogs. This week's roundup is brought to you by Steve at WhosPlayin while Vince recovers from his wild weekend of covering the AFL-CIO Convention
WhosPlayin takes a look at a spoof website that has turned a Denton County Commissioner's race ugly.
John Coby cautions Houston City Council about Houstonians for Responsible Growth.
BossKitty at Bluebloggin points out how Dick Cheney show his loyalty toward the people who are suppose to take a bullet for him; Secret Service Takes The Fall - Cheney Not To Be Inconvenienced
A report of the SDEC meeting posted by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs drew a response from several quarters.
McBlogger looks at Rep Dawnna Dukes' conflict of interest in helping the film industry and wonders if she's truly non-committal in the Speaker's race.
On The Texas Blue, contributing writer David Gurney takes a look at the short-lived influence of the Baby Boomer era on politics in The Downhill Run.
Off the Kuff says it's time for C.O. Bradford to start speaking out about the various messes Chuck Rosenthal has created at the Harris County DA's office.
The Texas Cloverleaf informs everyone about the TTC Townhall 2.0 hearings have begun. If you care where TTC 69 is going, you best attend for your voice to be heard.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson points out that Democrat Diana Maldonado Out-Raises All Candidates In HD-52 and shows the problem with one-party government in ACLU Shames WCCC - Free Speech Under Attack.
Stace at Dos Centavos analyzes the Latino vote for Hillary in Nevada.
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News still can't believe what has happened to what was once Houston's premiere radio news source. The new Republican Propaganda Radio Network had Rush Limbaugh calling a spade a spade with expertise with using hoes. Gary provides alternatives for your radio listening and a contact link to KTRH 740 AM.
CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme answers the question 'What does 'immigration' mean as an issue?'
Posted by mcblogger at 09:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 23, 2008
Big news on the the TURF front
This isn't good...as part of the discovery process in TURF's lawsuit against TXDOT, they've uncovered massive payments and retainers to lobbyists who were used to 'sell' toll roads to elected officials. Just to clarify, taxpayer dollars are being used to lobby elected officials to support something that taxpayers don't want. Check out the link for the names and amounts.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
HD 52 Candidates in Review
EOW has a great piece up with help from the AAS beaking down the R candidates in HD 52. The one that will probably oppose Maldonado is Daniel, the Krusee clone. He loves him some tolls which will go over big with the toll loving people in HD 52.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Loving Jennifer
Ok, kids... local politics time. Councilmember Jennifer Kim is running for re-election this May. We've talked about some of her antics before but over the last year or so, she's become the kind of councilmember that many of us who supported Margot Clarke hoped she'd be. Yeah, she's had some pretty big PR gaffes but that's only because she doesn't have my head on her shoulders. Will's had them as well and I think many will remember Lee Leffingwell's captivating performance at DFT during the fight over the ballot propositions in 2006.
Needless to say, our electeds at the muni level are human. Like the rest of us. Which means they screw up just like you and me. Sometimes to embarrassing effect.
Beyond that though, Kim's stood up for Austinites time and time again. Her opponent, Randi Shade, seems like a reasonable and decent person. That being said she has a stink on her that won't go away. It's the same one that's starting to emanate from Will, that of tolls and overbuilding luxury condos downtown.
If I'm elected, I'll work to solve our traffic problems, keep our air and water clean, keep Austin affordable for middle-class families, deliver reliable and efficient city services, and restore the community's trust and confidence in City Council Place 3. We can do better, and with your help we will.
This all sounds great, but it's the SOS we get every cycle from candidates. 'Solve our traffic problems'? How'd you like to do that without money from the Lege? Keep Austin affordable for middle class families? OK, what part? Maybe plant all the middle class folks in the outlying areas while the Council and city staff work diligently to Manhattanize central (and no, this isn't an 'anti-density' rant... this is an anti-stratification rant, OK M1EK?).
None of this is to say Randi's a bad person. However, it's pretty clear that she's fallen in with people that have convinced her they have the right answer. The same folks who have proven political poison for many. I'm talking about the Chamber and the people who control endorsements for the service unions. It isn't really the firefighters who endorsed Randi. It's the people who finance those organizations. The same folks also endorsed Cid Galindo. We talked about him here. He's also managed to raise $7,350 in contributions from just 22 people. Impressive isn't it? He says the donations are from a 'broad spectrum of Austinites'. I don't know about you, but I'd like to see any 22 people who could be called a 'broad spectrum of Austinites'.
Shade and Galindo, while I'm sure they're nice people, as candidates are nothing more than the same old bullshit piled a little higher.
And I'm goddamn tired of seeing tall piles of bullshit.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:14 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
January 22, 2008
Ol' Scrotum Face Calls It Quits
Fred Thompson, who for some inexplicable reason was once considered a leading contender for the GOP Presidential nomination, ended his quest for the White House today. Well, "quest" might actually be too purposeful a term. What Fred (described as "dumb as hell" by Richard Nixon) did was more akin to wandering from room to room looking for... oh, damn. "Honey! what was I looking for again?"
Jeri, Thompson's trophy wife. expressed relief that the campaign was finally over and that now hubby no longer had an excuse to put off cleaning out the garage.
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 06:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A Fundraiser for Mindy
There's a fundraiser for Mindy Montford next week... here are the deets:
Dear fellow friends: You are cordially invited to join Chuck Mains and Joe Garcia for a fundraising event for the election of
Mindy Montford Candidate for Travis County District Attorney
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Ringside at Sullivan's 300 Colorado Street
Cash Bar
Thank you for your consideration.
My problems with this...
Chuck Mains is a member of Senator Eltife's (R - Tyler) staff.
You know, I wasn't so much for this 'the Republicans are trying to sneak one in one us' paranoia going around, but now I'm all about it. Which is why I'm pointing you to this link from Vince.
Finally... am I the only one who has a problem with a DA named 'Mindy'? It's like a sheriff named 'Pickles'. Mindy, thrilled you got away from the monomaniacal McCracken. However, you're too close to some people who need to STAY THE FUCK OUT OF THIS RACE. Oh, and if anyone goes to the fundraiser, please let me know. I'll meet you for drinks later to debrief. And I'LL BUY.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Giuliani the vengeful dick
Bet you money someone in the Giuliani campaign gets fired for not killing this story in the NYT about Giuliani's tenure as Mayor of NYC. Let's just say he left a lot of bodies in his wake...
In August 1997, James Schillaci, a rough-hewn chauffeur from the Bronx, dialed Mayor Giuliani’s radio program on WABC-AM to complain about a red-light sting run by the police near the Bronx Zoo. When the call yielded no results, Mr. Schillaci turned to The Daily News, which then ran a photo of the red light and this front page headline: “GOTCHA!”
That morning, police officers appeared on Mr. Schillaci’s doorstep. What are you going to do, Mr. Schillaci asked, arrest me? He was joking, but the officers were not.
They slapped on handcuffs and took him to court on a 13-year-old traffic warrant. A judge threw out the charge. A police spokeswoman later read Mr. Schillaci’s decades-old criminal rap sheet to a reporter for The Daily News, a move of questionable legality because the state restricts how such information is released. She said, falsely, that he had been convicted of sodomy.
Then Mr. Giuliani took up the cudgel.
“Mr. Schillaci was posing as an altruistic whistle-blower,” the mayor told reporters at the time. “Maybe he’s dishonest enough to lie about police officers.”
Mr. Schillaci suffered an emotional breakdown, was briefly hospitalized and later received a $290,000 legal settlement from the city. “It really damaged me,” said Mr. Schillaci, now 60, massaging his face with thick hands. “I thought I was doing something good for once, my civic duty and all. Then he steps on me.”
Mr. Giuliani was a pugilist in a city of political brawlers. But far more than his predecessors, historians and politicians say, his toughness edged toward ruthlessnessand became a defining aspect of his mayoralty. One result: New York City spent at least $7 million in settling civil rights lawsuits and paying retaliatory damages during the Giuliani years.
After AIDS activists with Housing Works loudly challenged the mayor, city officials sabotaged the group’s application for a federal housing grant. A caseworker who spoke of missteps in the death of a child was fired. After unidentified city workers complained of pressure to hand contracts to Giuliani-favored organizations, investigators examined not the charges but the identity of the leakers.
“There were constant loyalty tests: ‘Will you shoot your brother?’ ” said Marilyn Gelber, who served as environmental commissioner under Mr. Giuliani. “People were marked for destruction for disloyal jokes.”
Mr. Giuliani paid careful attention to the art of political payback. When former Mayors Edward I. Koch and David N. Dinkins spoke publicly of Mr. Giuliani’s foibles, mayoral aides removed their official portraits from the ceremonial Blue Room at City Hall. Mr. Koch, who wrote a book titled “Giuliani: Nasty Man,” shrugs.
“David Dinkins and I are lucky that Rudy didn’t cast our portraits onto a bonfire along with the First Amendment, which he enjoyed violating daily,” Mr. Koch said in a recent interview.
Oh, yes... it gets better. Apparently, when Mayor 9/11 was contemplating a run against Hillary for Senate, Giuliani couldn't stand the thought of his successor being a political enemy. So, he spent millions on a campaign to alter the city charter that voters soundly rejected, 3-1. Read the whole article to find out just a few of the many things Mayor 9/11 did to enemies, real and perceived. The man made Nixon look perfectly forgiving and magnanimous.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Oscars noms are out
Via the NYT
“No Country For Old Men,” about the ruthless aftermath of a botched drug deal, and “There Will Be Blood,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a scheming oil man in an epic about American capitalism, took the lead in the Oscar race with eight nominations each, including best picture and best director.Meanwhile, “Michael Clayton,” a throwback thriller to the 1970s, starring George Clooney as a corporate fixer, received seven nominations, including nods for best picture, best actor (Mr. Clooney) and best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton). “Atonement,” the adaptation of Ian McEwan’s time-shifting, betrayal-filled novel, also captured seven nominations, including for best picture and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan).
I've no intention to see the dreary Atonement, but have seen Michael Clayton (loved it) and No Country For Old Men (excellent film). Have anyone seen There Will Be Blood yet?
Posted by mcblogger at 10:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Oh Really, TinaFish? You're this dumb?
The TXGOP sent out an email yesterday asserting that Rick Noriega 'accused Teachers of being in the cheap seats'. Seriously. What TinaFish didn't pick up on is that Lt. Col. Noriega was talking specifically about Ray McMurrey who has spent an inordinate amount of time in his campaign, and in his speech to the AFL-CIO convo on Saturday, basically trying (unsuccessfully) to tear down Noriega. Here's the quote which TinaFish included in VERY small print:
"It's easy to talk from the cheap seats when you haven't been in the trenches for a long time fighting for Texas families," Noriega said. (Kelly Shannon, “Noriega, McMurrey make cases to labor activists,” AP, January 19, 2008)
Go read the article and Vince's summary on Noriega's speech (which received a standing ovation, natch). The reality is that while Ray's been doing an admirable job teaching kids in his school, he hasn't been fighting some of the battles that Noriega's fought in the Texas House against Republicans like TinaFish. Battles to increase Teacher pay, for example.
All this brings to mind, though, just how bad Republicans like Noriega's eventual opponent Senator John Cornyn have been for Texas teachers. Here's one and here's another. Then there was this about Republicans trying to destroy the pensions that Teachers have been promised. Here's something about keeping Teachers from Social Security income they deserve. If memory serves, Senator John Cornyn actually voted for this along with the other Republicans in Congress from Texas.
I'd link more (there are eight pages of them over the last two years) but I think you understand as well as I do that the real people who want to keep Texas Teacher's in the 'cheap seats' are the Republicans. They've certainly been doing a good job of it so far.
Sorry to break this to you, TinaFish, but Cornyn's going to be running against Lt. Col. Noriega. And he's going to kick Senator John Cornyn's ass.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:02 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Bush proposes plan, markets react badly
It's not all that surprising, given how stupid Bush's plan is, that the futures on all the major indices are way down right now ahead of tomorrow's trading. Overnight, oil closed around $88 which is great but a definite sign that markets are counting on recession. And joblessness. Which Bush's plan will do nothing to fix.
The reality is that giving myself a tax cut isn't going to do anything other than exacerbate the trade deficit. If one really wanted to jump in and save the economy, implementing the cap gains tax increase we've talked about would be a great first step in stabilizing prices and cutting of rampant speculation, without inefficient price controls. Then, increase taxes dramatically on corporations that have a wide disparity between those at the lowest end of the wage pool and those at the top. Sure, it'll cut corporate tax income a little, but it will more than make up for it with an increase in real wages (and the taxes paid on wages) and spur a consumer led economic boom.
Finally, any program that involves deficits MUST be used for things here. Build schools. Build roads. All of that puts real money into the economy and produces things we desperately need to keep the economy going.
But Republicans won't be interested in that. The only thing they seem to be good at is collapsing the economy.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 21, 2008
Happy MLK Day 2008, Y'all!
First off, for all of you who don't have to work, I'm really envious. Working for an evil, capitalist bank is not so much fun on holidays. When you have to work. Phillip Martin over at BOR has a video up of Dr. King's 'I have a dream...' speech. It's well worth watching if for no other reason than just to see how far we've come... and how far we have to go.
On a sad note, DON'T use the day we set aside to remember Dr. King as a damn fundraising effort. It's tacky as hell. Nice job, Team Spears. One last thing, as for 'special agenda's', we all know what you're talking about. Oh, and don't worry about the mess, we're sending someone new to clean it up.
Posted by mcblogger at 03:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack