Cold Enough For Ya?

Almost a foot of snow in Dallas. Three consecutive blizzards in Washington D.C. Coldest winter anyone can remember here in Houston. Snow in 49 of the 50 states at the same time. How about that global warming huh?

Ok, I've obviously been away for a while, and what better way to break the ice than to talk about the weather instead of, say, a political post.

This is NOT a political post.

I think I'm taking a more or less permanent break from that stuff. Not because I'm not interested or don't care, but rather that I'm a little disillusioned by the whole darn process. For the life of me I can't figure out how a political party that controls the presidency and both houses of Congress with substantial majorities can't seem to get anything done. I know, there's another team on the field too, but that team, when in a similar position during the last Presidential administration, were seemingly able to get any and everything that they desired pushed through Congress and into law. What has this group achieved after one year?

Well, basically nothing.

So rather than wallowing in the frustration that defines the healthcare debate, or complaining that we are still fighting the same series of never-ending wars, or the financial crisis, Iran's nukes, or anything else that I'd hoped would be dealt with in a different way with new leadership in Washington, I've decided that snow in the mid-Atlantic is a much more fascinating subject for the time being.

In other words, how's the weather?

When PAC's Attack

I was watching one of the Die Hard movies the other night, the second one I think that was set in an airport. The head honcho at the airport was none other than Fred Thompson, he of the recent failed Presidential bid. I couldn't help but to think what an amazing leader we missed out on by not electing this man President.

Ok, not really. The Republicans didn't even see fit to elevate him to the top of the ticket, and they're never wrong about that sort of thing.

Anyway, imagine my surprise to receive an email this morning from the FredPAC, Thompson's political action committee, lambasting the Obama administrations handling of the current situation in Iran.

I won't bore you with details but suffice it to say it was the same old refrain of "weak" in the face of a challenge, etc. without laying out a more effective strategy of his own.

Opposing for the sake of opposing, in other words.

What was conveniently not mentioned is that the U.S. has a less than stellar track record as far as Iran is concerned and virtually no influence in their internal affairs whatsoever. Not that it would matter if they had remembered to include those facts.

In my opinion the Obama team is handling this thing just right, so that no matter what emerges on the other side of this situation, the U.S. is still positioned to take on the challenging negotiations ahead in regard to their nuclear program and other issues. We currently have no idea how this thing is going to play out but I have a hell of a lot more confidence in the current administrations ability to handle it than I did in the prior administration. Or would have in a Thompson administration.

So FredPAC, if you deem someone withthis line of thinking as not worthy of receiving further emails from your fine organization, I understand. I hope you keep me on though. As the old Reader's Digest magazine proclaimed, "Laughter is the best medicine" and your email was the best laugh I had all day.

Pirates- Does Anbody Have A Plan?

There's been lots of talk about piracy in the news lately, what with a huge international naval flotilla patrolling the area to interdict it, and now the news that after scores of attacks on vessels from seemingly every country on earth, at long last the pirates have got around to attacking an American flagged ship. Unfortunately for them it looks like they attacked the wrong ship.

The pirates tried to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama on Wednesday, but Capt. Richard Phillips thwarted their takeover by telling his crew of about 20 to lock themselves in a room, the crew told stateside relatives. The crew later overpowered some of the pirates, but Phillips surrendered himself to the bandits to safeguard his crew, and at least four of the pirates fled with him to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said. It was the first such attack on American sailors in about 200 years.

Wow. That's one bold, selfless, bad-assed Captain. Or a sad, sorry lot of so-called pirates. Either way I'm glad that at least a small victory against such lawlessness has been won. But the war is still far from over because we (meaning U.S.) don't seem to have a strategy in place to deal with the broader issues of piracy in the Horn of Africa region. Sure, there are a hundred naval ships in the waters off Somalia, but even this massive military show of force hasn't slowed down the number of pirate attacks. Or as stated by Galrahn at the influential Information Dissemination naval blog:

...the naval power accumulated off the coast of Somalia includes the greatest collection of global naval power collected since the invasion of Iraq, and even with virtually every major navy in the world involved, the pirates are winning.

That site by the way is a fantastic resource if you're interested in international naval and maritime issues, but I digress. Strategy. Ours isn't working because apparently there's is nothing in that part of Somalia that a decent person can do that remotely comes close to paying the bills like being a pirate. Throw in the fact that there's no central government and thus no one to turn pirates in to even if they are caught, and you start to see the true scope of the problem. In other words, you can't solve the piracy problem at sea. It has to be dealt with on land and that means helping establish a stable, central government. Wait a minute, I seem to recall..., remember this?

...So let me get this straight; the U.S. backs an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in order to bring peace and security to the region even though the Somalian Union of Islamic Courts had already pretty much done that.

...Regardless of the fact that the Islamicists had, through their earlier victory, ushered in the longest period of relative peace in Somalia since the late 1980's, the decision for regime change was made because hey, they're Islamic. Unfortunately for the Somalian people, that aforementioned period of peace only lasted for about 6 months.

Yep, that was your boy DP writing in April 2007 about our support of Ethiopian invasion induced peace and security, and the one size fits all approach to fighting terrorism. Here we are a couple of years later and Somalia is in worse shape than before and now the whole world is feeling the effects.

I truly hope the Captain of the Maersk Alabama makes it home safely. But I can't help but wonder what might have been, for us and the Somalis, if we had left well enough alone back then. With the attempted hijack of an American ship, I can only hope it influences our best and brightest to come up with a proper strategy to deal with the issue in all of its complexity.

Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round-Up

A day late and a dollar short (as usual) but...

It is Monday, and that means it is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up. Here is your round-up for April 6, 2009.

Neil at Texas Liberal writes about Off the Kuff takes a look.

Justin at AAA-Fund Blog writes about the Pew study indicating Asian American students in Fort Bend and Pasadena ISDs face some of the highest segregation rates in the nation.

At McBlogger, we take a look at Ag Commissioner Todd Staples' efforts to make people sick. Nice work, Todd!

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is thoroughly disgusted with the crony-loving Texas Supreme Court which is hereby officially renamed the Texas Cronies' Protection Agency. Workers and consumers beware!
Labor gets its own television talk show, as MSNBC prepares to introduce Ed Schultz as part of its evening progressive lineup. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the details.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson has a round up of The state of the stimulus money in Texas.

WhosPlayin's MexicoBob took time to poke fun at the Republican Tax Day Tea Parties, wondering what other necessary evils that Republicans might protest next.

Over at TexasKaos Libby Shaw updates us on Houston KBR corporation's onging legal problems. It seems they got paid and paid and paid to create electrical death traps for our troops. As one civilan expert put it , " It was horrible - some of the worst electrical work I have ever seen. Read the rest here:
Lawsuit Claims KBR Responsible for Deaths of US Troops in Iraq


BossKitty at TruthHugger was struck by a single line on the news describing an Austin man turned away from medical care for lack of insurance, then going on a violent rampage, No Insurance, Meds Denied, Tate Mayhem and Perryman Murder - Op Ed. On a lighter note, it is amusing to watch opponents to gay marriage wring their hands in despair every time a court reverses the ban, Gay Marriage Apocalypse - Really Now

Vince at Capitol Annex points out that Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) has decided that the Iowa Supreme Court gay marriage decision signals the end of American civilization.

Just So You Know...

Folks, I have it on good authority that the picture at left is of the Obama's arrival at the White House this afternoon for their meetings with the Bush family. Seeing that reminds me of how giddy I still am from election night and I can't wait for his team to get on with the business of governing the country. Yet I realize that a significant part of the electorate is not happy.

At all.

I mean the Black/White; Christian/Muslim, Socialist/Communist, Terrorist-sympathizer won, and I’m sure a lot of people are wondering how the hell that happened. Of course, a lot of those folks live here in Texas, which predictably fell into the McCain column on election night. But I’ve noticed something strange since then, and I wonder if any of you are experiencing the same thing. Right now I’m calling it the “If an election happens and I voted for the losing candidate(s), does it still count if I don’t talk about it?” syndrome.

I mean, this was the first time I’d ever come to work the day after a national election, and no one wanted to talk politics. Last Wednesday was a political dead zone around my office building, and dramatically different from the last national election. I could tell that some folks were upset about the results. I also know that a lot of people were very pleased with the outcome. While in conversation with like-minded people I’ve expressed my justifiable joy at Barack Obama’s victory and overwhelming pride at its historic significance. However I (and seemingly everyone else) basically tip-toed around the folks on the losing side of the election, and let them grieve in their own way. Well no more.

This post is my official notice that I’ve ended that policy and will from this point forward express my unbridled pride and optimism towards the incoming Obama administration every chance I get. I’ve been unhappy after elections too, yet it didn’t stop me from discussing the results with people who agreed or disagreed with me. In other words, I don’t really care if you’re over it or not, although I hope you are. You just can’t expect for the nearly 3.5 million of us in Texas who voted for the winning candidate to continue to spare your feelings.

I guess looking back it was predictable that something like the “If an election happens and I voted for the losing candidate(s), does it still count if I don’t talk about it?” syndrome would happen...

I remember a conversation I had in Nov. 2004 with a guy who worked in my building, let's just call him G.D. Now G.D. was a conservative. I mean to the core. The kind of person who would get all fired up listening to Hannity, Limbaugh, and Fox News and come to work looking for someone with an opposing point of view to argue with. Invariably, he’d find me and rattle off the talking points of the day, and I’d invariably rebut them. This went on practically every day for the 2 years we worked together in that building, and while I disagreed with his positions on just about everything, I definitely respected G.D. for his commitment to his opinions, and willingness to defend them in open debate.

After the 2004 election Bush was reelected and a Republican majority in Congress elected, and I made the point to G.D. that Bush and the Republicans were most likely going to overreach, and that it would come back to hurt them in future elections. He vehemently denied that would be the case, and laid out the argument that the Republicans were more in tune with the American people than Democrats/Liberals/Progressives. I simply said “wait and see.”

Well, the Republicans under G.W. Bush not only overreached, they did so seemingly as a matter of policy. So much so that a lot of us were/are suffering from outrage fatigue, making it impossible to stay angry at anything for too long because the next outrage is always right around the corner. You had to pace yourself in order to maintain your sanity during the Bush administration.

And lo and behold the last two election cycles have proven me right, with the 2006 Congressional elections flipping control of the House and Senate to the Democrats, and the last Tuesday’s results speak for themselves. The funny thing is that after the 2006 Congressional elections, G.D. stopped talking politics with me. Just like that. Cold turkey. Anything but politics. I thought it was strange at the time, and an isolated case. However with the overwhelming results from last Tuesday apparent, I recognize it for the serious ailment that it is, and that its effects are more widespread than previously thought.

Regardless, pretending there’s not a problem is not helpful to anyone, so I’m not going to do that. I just hope y’all get over it soon.

One Of These Days I'll Get It Together And Submit a Round-UP Post

Until then, please check out the following from folks who already have their stuff together.

It is the Monday after the election, and that means it is time for another Texas Progressive Alliance weekly blog round-up--but with a twist. In this edition, TPA member blogs bring you some of their best posts from the last year of election coverage. Enjoy this trip down memory lane, courtesy of the TPA.

Muse enjoyed all things Hillary leading up to the March 4th Texas Primary. There was the Hillary endorsement post that made her mom cry. A high point was the event where Muse fulfilled her lifelong dream to touch Bill Clinton. (Little did she know there would be a more up close and personal opportunity.) She got to see Hillary four times in person, including this event. Even her Prius got in the act: Prius Owners for Hillary!

BossKitty at TruthHugger is angry that Sarah Palin's nasty rhetoric has ignited hateful fallout, she let the white Supremacist Genie Out Of The Bottle, Thanks Sarah - There are still 'stone aged' creatures marching around calling themselves Christians, wearing NAZI paraphernalia! Woe be to anyone who would harm the first family of America! On a more personal note, BossKitty has ideas about what to do when you lose your job ... but, the most daunting agenda on our plate is that our New America Must Reduce It’s Seven Deadly Sins if we want to survive as a nation.

Brains and Eggs had the good, the bad, the ugly, and some TBD in a series of election postmortems, and then a little more of each. PDiddie wrapped last week with the finger-pointing and recriminations that marked the last throes of the McCain-Palin campaign, which included an luxury undergarment update.

It's been a tumultuous week for everyone, but at McBlogger it was remarkably calm. We're chalking it up to a change in prescription medications. First up was Donna Keel attacking Austin Interfaith. Then there was an attack on Diana Maldonado by her parish priest and, for us, that was enough religion for all week. The funniest thing we saw was a commercial shot by former celebrities going after Al Franken that made us want to move to Minnesota and vote for him. There was also some funny about people upset that they weren't getting help from the Federal Government, even though they didn't need it. Wrapping everything up was our final farewell to those who loved them some Austin Proposition 2.

Justin at AAA-Fund Blog covered the presidential primacaucus in Texas including Clinton’s sweep of Asian American surrogates and both candidates' Asian American outreach . Justin also scolded Hubert Vo, evaluated Noriega’s immigration plan, and was amazed that both Barack Obama and Sherrie Matula were "That Ones."

Off the Kuff has some early observations about what happened on Election Day, plus a look at turnout figures and statewide trends.

At Texas Kaos, the bitter and the sweet mix together as we look back on an amazing rollercoaster of an election season. While it looked like there was a contest for the U.S. Senate nomination, Boadicea put together Rick's answers for Democracy for Texas to paint a picture of the candidate, This is Rick Noriega-Texas Progressive Leader Covering the snark beat, our friend from the Soggy North, Fake Consultant, gave some pointers to a hockey mom thrust onto the national stageOn Dressing for Success, Part One, or, How Much is Armani, Anyway? and followed up with more helpful tips in On Dressing for Success, Part Two, Or, We Costume Palin… for 2/3 off! Lightseeker took a reasoned and sober look at a more serious element this election: Respecting Life, Making Hard Choices and finally makes the point that the Nov 4 vote was not an ending, but a beginning, Looking Now, Looking Forward.

Ah the memories at The Texas Cloverleaf during the 2008 election season. The candidates would make their case on WWE Monday Night Raw. We learned that McCain would lose early on, with our own Congressman Michael Burgess advising him on healthcare. We wished Governor Palin well on her first Grandparents Day. We learned Texas Republicans can't figure out education, much less spell it correctly. But we finally came out on top with Barack Obama, and some mixed Texas results. Here is to a classic 2008!

Vince Leibowitz of Capitol Annex focused a considerable amount of energy this cycle covering Texas Democrats' attempts to retake the Texas House of Representatives. From racist mailers and decitful TV ads in Dallas and Houston area House districts to the battle to unseat Texas' most ethically compromised legislator, down to catching Republicans telling blatant lies, this was a busy cycle in Texas. In the primary, he was one of a few Texas bloggers who supported Senator Hillary Clinton, and offered her this open letter when she left the race.

Neil at Texas Liberal offers up his post on early voting in Downtown Houston. The post tells what Democrats Neil enjoyed voting for and also has colorful pictures that will please the eye.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme debunks 10 Republican excuses.

In the 2008 primary and election, Jobsanger continued his penchant for supporting losing candidates by backing Bill Richardson, Rick Noriega, Sherrie Matula and Nancy Moffatt, before finally breaking through with a winner in Barack Obama.

What a long strange journey it has been for the Easter Lemming. Gary has started pushing for a poll-workers union after working the primary and then another election this Spring. He found out people read blogs about as much as newspapers! Guess who the Easter Lemming supported? And finally, he ended too tired to party but not too tired to blog with a special mention that MoveOn.Org is bigger and more important than the NRA in politics now.. And here is the rest of it.

Obama's Victory - My First Impressions

Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States. I still really don't know what to say.

Though I expected the Democrats to win and win big, I've got to say I was unprepared for the wave of emotion that flooded over me when the race was called for Barack Obama. Our little family just grabbed each other, hugged, and held on. Then we said a prayer of thanks to God for the blessing of the day, and of thanks to our ancestors for persevering through it all and making a day like yesterday possible. Another significant date has been added to the panopoly of sacred dates/events in the advancement of African-Americans up from slavery, joining the Emancipation Proclamation/Juneteenth; the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement (in the form of the Voting Rights Act of 1964); and now the election of the first person of African descent to the highest office in the land.

This is not simply a victory for Blacks, but rather an overwhelming victory for the American people. However based simply on my own history and experiences, at first glance I have to look at it from the perspective of being a Black man. I've been conversing with friends, family, and blog buddies since last night, and keep ending up in the same place. Namely, that just a few short years ago when I was coming up, we used to joke (in a serious way) that a Black person would never, ever become the President of the United States. There were just too many obstacles in the path of such a victory.

For example, there just aren't enough Black people in this country to elect a President. We only comprise 12-13% of the population, so on a good day, if all of us voted for the same candidate and could vote in the same state, we'd have trouble electing a governor in California or Texas by ourselves, let alone a President.

Then there's racial prejudice. In the world I grew up in in East Texas, it was quite clear to everybody that a color line existed and that major obstacles faced Blacks trying to advance in almost any endeavor. That same line existed, sometimes in more subtle fashion, pretty much everywhere else I've lived and worked. White folks simply would not vote for a Black candidate if a viable (read White) alternative was available. National level politics? A President? Yeah right, quit dreaming.

Yet here we are in 2008 and not only is an African-American the President-elect, his victory is due in very large measure to the millions of Whites who voted for him. Oh, I'm not leaving out Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others who formed part of the victory coalition, but the fact that Obama captured such a large percentage of the White vote is amazing and gratifying to me. I am proud that so many folks voted based upon their best interests instead of out of fear or ignorance. In so doing, the impetus has been provided for America to take another great leap ahead as a country.

In many ways this election validates our hopes in regard to America's future. I know when I've discussed issues of history and race with teenagers, a lot of times it's as if they have no idea what you're talking about, and their almost universal refrain is that "that was then and this is now. Things have changed." Apparently they are right. Our kids all get along until they're taught not to, and the youth vote in this election proved that beyond a doubt.

Now I haven't buried my head in the sand to the point where I think that the race issue in this country has finally been dealt with definitively. Maybe it never will be. Like Obama, pretty much all of us (especially Blacks and Whites) are mixed-race if you go back far enough and uncover some of the forgotten leaves in our family trees. We're from the same families in other words, and the problem is that historically one side of the family tree reaped the majority of the inheritance. That reality and other deep rooted issues can't be washed away based on the results of a single election.

But Barack Obama's candidacy exposed an essential truth that I hope is built upon in the coming years. That truth is that we Americans have a lot more in common than different. Our interests are the same. A lot of us even have the same names, and common ancestors. We all want to be able to provide for our families, for our kids to get a good education, and to be afforded the opportunity to live healthy and in security. The current administration and its policies has shown us all that we're in the same boat. High gas prices, unending wars, and organized theft from the national treasury affects us all, and we'll be paying the price for two G.W. Bush terms for years to come. Last night's victory is a great start towards that recovery, and a spingboard for a better future.

I sure hope so anyway, and I really wish some of those people who meant the most to me in my life could have lived to see it.

Us and Them - The Palin Narrative

I'm so far behind on my blogging it's a shame, but I think it's time to weigh in on Sarah Palin. The current prevailing narrative is that "she's one of us," and because of that, independents and many white women voters are trending towards McCain. Maybe, maybe not. I am more than a bit skeptical about the polls, particularly since this election has never really been classified as anything other than a dead heat by those national polling outfits. I find that a little bit hard to believe, or maybe they're just not polling anyone I know. Or anyone who only uses a cell phone. Or anyone who... well, you get the idea, back to Sarah Palin and "us."

You know, I can relate to having and raising kids, and that sometimes they do things that you've specifically beaten into their heads not to do. That's life, as are circuitous routes through college and other such nonsense. I also understand the genuine excitement that so many women are feeling to have a female candidate at the top of a major party ticket. But my question still is who is "us?"

Honestly, I don't know. What I do know, is I don't feel like I'm included in this "us" thing. That's reason enough to give me pause because if the main reason folks are supposedly moving towards the McCain/Palin ticket is due to her being one of "us," then that implies that she's not one of "them." Which now means we have figure out who "they" are, and for some strange reason, I suspect that "they" are "us."

Confused? Yeah, well me too. According to the prevailing narrative, I can only surmise that "they" are the folks in this country who aren't white, or white women. Which leaves one to wonder about all of the white women and men who support the Obama campaign. Where do they stand? I'll let y'all try and figure that out yourselves, because I honestly don't know.

What I do know is that "they" haven't leveraged their positions to get people fired for petty, vindictive reasons. "They," by and large haven't shot a moose for no good reason or have bears hanging on their wall. "They" don't try to ban books, and definitely don't sneer condescendingly at those who make it their life's work to help empower others.

You know, looking at it like that, I guess I'm cool with not being included among "us" because really, all I need to know about Sarah Palin is that she's running on the Republican ticket. And after 8 years of their "leadership" running this country into the ground, I'll be ecstatic to pull the lever for anything with a "D" after it's name.

To me, it's as simple as that, and everything else is just background noise and distractions. Or lipstick on a pig. Or whatever. What about you?

Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round-Up

Hey, better late than never, right? I have been kind of busy the past few days with an unwanted guest named Ike and cleaning up the mess he left behind. But enough with the excuses, here’s the latest edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round-Up.

This week, many bloggers in Houston and in the Gulf Coast region are without power and digging out from Hurricane Ike. We extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery not only to our member bloggers in these regions but to all citizens in the areas hit by Ike.

Why does Sarah Palin hate wolves? The Texas Cloverleaf clues us in.

Everybody knows that this year's wedge'em and hate'em issue is Hispanics immigration. CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme says Texas leads the way with banning rents in Farmers Branch, denying passports to citizens in the Valley and threatening document checks during an evacuation.

During the preparations for Hurricane Ike, Off the Kuff noted yet another lawsuit filed against Farmers Branch for its ongoing war against immigrants and apartment renters.

Sen. John Cornyn claims to be voting "Texas values" when he consistently rubber-stamps Bush in the U. S. Senate. Eye On Williamson asks, since when have torture, spying on Americans and misleading the country on matters of war and peace been Texas values?

PDiddie survived Ike almost exactly as he predicted.

BossKitty at TruthHugger wonders if disaster lessons recently learned, will be used as we watch Hurricane Ike Recovery, Texas Style

Colloquialisms are a wonderful rhetorical device to create an instant sense of commonality within the minds of the voting public. However, they can at times be misconstrued (right, Governor Swift?) which is why McBlogger took some time to offer Sen. Obama (The BEST!) a phrase he could use that can't possibly be interpreted as anything other than an attack on John McCain and his worthless ideas, proposals and suggestions.

North Texas Liberal examines in-depth the Palin pick, comparing and contrasting her with Obama's VP pick of Joe Biden, and dissecting the media's coverage of Sarah Palin.

jobsanger writes about how United States interference into Bolivia's internal affairs have gotten American ambassadors kicked out of two countries in South America, and how some politicians can't refuse even a bad photo op.

Vince at Capitol Annex notes that State Rep. Phil King (R-Waxahachie), chair of the House Regulated Industries Committee, is having a fund-raiser at the home of a lobbyist for telecom giant AT&T. King's committee just happens to regulate telecommunications in Texas.

Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up - August 11, 2008

It's Monday, and that means it's time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Weekly Round-Up. The weekly round-up is complied from submissions made by TPA member blogs. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

The Truth About Texas Republicans, a new blogger-powered website designed to expose the real truth about GOP Texas legislators looks at the stuff State Reps. Dwayne Bohac, Betty Brown, John Davis, Bill Zedler and State Sen. Mike Jackson don't want you to see.

refinish69 was happy to introduce a real progressive Democrat to the readers of Doing My Part For The Left a few weeks ago but has to wonder how to describe Mike Skelly: Democrat or Republican Lite?

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas State Teacher's Association lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency for giving public funds to private institutions.

Irony Alert: Mary McDaniels, Manager - Pipeline Safety, Texas Railroad Commission, who lied on camera about the Atmos Energy gas pipeline couplings, spoke in Ft Worth about pipeline safety, inspections and regulations, for Chesapeake Energy's Barnett Shale pipeline.TXsharon at Bluedaze.

Julie Pippert at MOMocrats asked, "Offshore drilling---whose issue is it anyway? The people's? Or the politician's?"

Women who enter the military know they may encounter danger along the way, just as their male counterparts do. Diarist Liberal Texas at Texas Kaos highlights an additional danger they face in Assault on Women in the Military, and calls on all of us to ensure that our fighting women are protected from sexual assault from the companions they should be able to trust.

WhosPlayin used to think John McCain was worthy of respect, even if wrong on issues. But mocking conservation and lying about Obama raising taxes show who John McCain really is.

jobsanger thinks Democrats should let Clinton's backers have their vote at the convention, and believes Barack Obama has a chance to win Texas this November.

Neil at Texas Liberal talks about AIDS and African Americans.

Due to purchase of McBlogger by a rival blogging firm, the regular writers are on strike. This week, we'd like to introduce you to a new McBlogger, Rose
Petal.

North Texas Liberal remarks on John McCain's anti-Obama ad comparing the Democratic nominee to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and also includes Hilton's response ad. Still waiting on Britney's energy policy...

Off the Kuff takes a look at The Queue behind KBH for her maybe-to-be-abandoned Senate seat.

YaGottaLoveIt of South Texas Chisme urges Barack Obama to have a fundraiser for money that stays in Texas while urging Hillary Clinton to campaign for Rick Noriega in South Texas.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Williamson County DA's unwillingness to test DNA evidence in a almost 30 year old unsolved murder, Lawsuit Filed Against County For New DNA, Fingerprint Tests.

Tropical Storm Edouard was more like a decent rainstorm, but that didn't stop the media -- old as well as new, including madcap reporter/Congressman John Culberson -- from building it up to a height it could no more sustain than its winds. PDiddie at has the roundup of the hyperventilating in Houston.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about the economy "Purses Tighten, Small Business Suffers, Families Budget"

nytexan at BlueBloggin points out, as the Gerogia Russia war continues and Bush plays with U.S. athletes at the Olympics, Could The U.S. Get Pulled Into Georgia�s War?

XicanoPwr discusses the immigration survey that was sent presidential candidates Obama and McCain put together by The Sanctuary, a web base grassroots community of pro-migrant, human rights, and civil-rights bloggers.

And here is the rest of it.

A Good, Swift, Kick In The...

I know, I know. Our blogging has been pretty infrequent as of late. I could offer up the usual excuses; busy, tired, brain lock, etc., but I won't. I think I've just been a little lazy for the past couple of weeks.

Wait a minute. Alright, it's full disclosure time. I actually received an email from Menopausal Mick, late of The Llama Ate My Flipflops. Mick basically told me that "Hey, some of us come here to your blog because we value your opinions. You kind of screw that up when you don't post for days at a time."

You know what Mick? You're right. Consider that kick in the a** duly received. And since you delivered it in such an eloquent manner, I'm going to include some excerpts from your email and my brief comments here in this post as a starting point towards catching up.

MM: What do you think about our fella (Barack Obama) voting for FISA? Are you going to do apost about that? I'm pretty steamed that he rolled over on this issue.

DP: Well, I think I will do a post on it, but for now, I think it's pretty sad that Obama and so many other Democrats rolled over on this issue. The rights of the individual have been sold down the river in support of corporate and so-called *national security* interests. I also think that the progressive folks might want to transition from the rock star adulation of the candidate and start holding his and other Democrats feet to fire as regards the party platform. There are only a couple of months left to shape the agenda.

MM: On another front, I understand why he's talking about faith based initiatives. He's used faith-based before with great success in Illinois. I still twinge at the blurring of separation of church and state but at least he's proposing an initiative that is all-inclusive of religious flavors.

DP: Agreed but I do think he's treading a thin line with the faith-based stuff. Some people looked at that whole Bush administration initiative as a good thing, but others of us saw it as a very effective way of splitting the Black community, and the Black vote. The Repubs only need a tiny percent of our votes to move into their column in order to win elections. Faith based initiatives effectively did that for them in the last couple of cycles by silencing many preachers who received the money. Besides, most religious conservatives are not voting for Obama no matter what, so why pander? His faith seems to stand on its own.

MM: OK, I guess what I'm asking is: Were we right about our fella or were we fooled into thinking he'd defend the constitution and put things back to a more constitutionally sound government? Whatcha think, DP? Am I gonna get my heart broken?

DP: I don't think Obama will be a disappointment, but I do think we're all gonna find out he doesn't walk on water, heal the sick, and feed the masses with a few loaves and fishes. He's a politician. I do think we all need to look at what the alternative to him is in this election. When I do that, I jump back on the bandwagon pretty quick.

MM: Oh! and what's up with Rev. Jackson? Don't you think he's mainly just jealous of what is obviously a crowning of the new guard. Obama doesn't fit anyone's stereotypical template. It appears to me that Jackson is both jealous of Obama's success and missing the spotlight.

DP: Regarding Jesse, the old saying goes that an old bull doesn't give anything up to the younger one. He has to take it. I think that's what's going on in this case. Not to mention a terminal case of stupid. I mean, how could you not know, as an "activist" that the microphone is most likely on when you appear on Fox News, apparently for this exact reason. Sheesh. My feeling is that Jesse and Obama will continue to make nice for the rest of this campaign season. But as soon as he hits the Oval Office, it's on again. We'll see how that pans out for the good Reverend. I for one am glad to see a Black, secular leader arise.

So how's that? I didn't hit everything (the New Yorker cover, etc.), but I'll catch up on the rest later.

Thanks a lot Mick for the wake up call and being a good friend. I know that removing yourself from political blogging has to be a painful experience. But you know you always have a home here. Maybe we'll make these public conversations a regular thing.

What do you think?

And here is the rest of it.

Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up

Round up time. Here are some posts you should've read last week from the Texas Progressive Alliance.

South Texas Chisme got what they were asking for - a spotlight on the Webb County Sheriff's race. BlackBox Voting's Bev Harris has asked for relevant auditable materials.

CouldBeTrue can hardly wait to find out what happened. WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the "rail-rage" that's hitting Central Texas, Rail, Rail, Rail - Do It Right, Not Fast.

President Bush hasn't seen Russian President Medvedev since his 'election' to the Russian Presidency. Last week, he had his first opportunity to look into his eyes. Check out McBlogger to see what he saw.

Lightseeker at Texas Kaos tells the chilling tale of Goodhair and the Fire at the Governor's Mansion. Governor Rick Perry didn't light the match, but decisions laid at his door certainly made things a lot easier for the arsonist who did.

The Texas Cloverleaf examines T. Boone Picken's Plan to save us from evil oil men and move forward with greener energy.

Texas Senators Cornfed and Bailey scored a perfect ten in synchronized flip-flopping on the Medicare bill last week, shortly after they and the rest of their Republicans exhibited mirror-image coordination on FISA. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the details.

BlueBloggin sees Maliki making the same mistakes as King George Iraq Hands Out Stimulus Money As Us Shifts Occupation.

BossKitty worries about the consequences of revaluing human life in America Dollar Value of American Life drops - Now What.

Vince at Capitol Annex notes that Senate Democrats have taken a strong stance on calling for reform of the Texas Department of Insurance, with one senator even calling for the Insurance Commissioner to be an elected official.

MeanRachel wonders when politics became unpatriotic on July 4th. Off the Kuff had a guest post from Rep. Pete Gallego about the HDCC and its efforts to reclaim the State House for the Democrats.

WhosPlayin was impressed that Ken Leach, candidate for U.S. Congress in CD 26 got good coverage in the Gainesville Register, even though his totally honest quote didn't pass the "smell" test.

jobsangertook a look at the lies being told in a McCain campaign ad in this post.

Nat-Wu of Three Wise Men ponders whether long-suffering American Indians could Bay Area Houston details the record $52,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission against State Senator Craig Estes.

Tony Chase Joins Team Obama

Team Obama just got stronger in Texas. Houston's Tony Chase has left the board of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank to devote more time to the Barack Obama campaign. From the Chronicle:

Saying he wanted to focus more attention on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Houston businessman Tony Chase announced his resignation today as deputy chairman and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

I've known Tony for years, and he's one of the most successful Black businessmen here in Houston. In the country in fact. He also teaches law at the University of Houston. But that's not the reason I'm happy he's joining the Obama campaign.

Instead, I'm more pleased because I know Tony's work as a philanthropist and his support of programs and efforts to bridge the technology gap and support technology education. The photo above was taken at an event last year where nearly 100 refurbished pc's (one guess who did the refurbishing) were distributed to low income individuals who completed a computer education course through a nonprofit effort that he founded.

In other words, while he has a knack for making a lot of money, it's not all about the money. His heart is in both worlds and I think those character aspects will serve the Obama campaign well.

Obama: Black Power! I'se runnin' for Pres-o-dent!

Did you know that Ralph Nader is running for president? Again. I didn't, but I do now. Just goes to show that no publicity is bad publicity, and Nader is proving it. He's all over the news for his asinine statements in an interview with the Rocky Mountain News.

"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader said. "Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson?

Where to even start. Well, how about pointing out the fact that Barack Obama is running for the position of the President of the United States. Last I heard, there were a lot more than just Black folks living here, and actually, the majority of people don't live in the ghetto. But wait there's more.

"He wants to show that he is not a threatening . . . another politically threatening African-American politician," Nader said. "He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up."

Don't worry Ralph, I've got the solution and I hope the Obama campaign is listening. I think that maybe Obama should incorporate something like this in his stump speech.

Sup? I'm Barack Obama and I'se runnin' for Pres-o-dent.

We gotsta do sumpin' bout payday loans and predatory lending, and sh*t. The interest on them muthaf*ckas is too high. I mean got damn. Don't even git me started on lead and asbestos and crime and all that ol' bullsh*t. Y'all know this county is f*cked up right now, and ima fix it. Nyahmean?

So git yo punk ass out and vote for me in November, else I'll f*ck you the f*ck up. Muthaf*ckas.

That should help him regain his street credibility, and be suitably threatening enough to white people, don't you think? If not, he can always throw a Black Power or two in for good measure.

Would that be Black enough for you Ralph?

Punch'em Back

This story gives me additional confidence in Barack Obama’s ability to withstand the withering attacks that are already starting to come, and demonstrate he has no intention of running a campaign remotely close to those run by recent Democratic standard bearers. From MSNBC.

Barack Obama said Tuesday that evangelical leader James Dobson was "making stuff up" when he accused the presumed Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible.

Dobson used his Focus on the Family radio program to highlight excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal.

…Obama said the speech made the argument that people of faith, like himself, "try to translate some of our concerns in a universal language so that we can have an open and vigorous debate rather than having religion divide us."

Obama added, "I think you'll see that he was just making stuff up, maybe for his own purposes."

Now that’s what I’m talking about. For years this type of religious bullying has been an integral part of national politics, and the typical Democratic response has been to offer some sort of mealy mouth response, or cower in fear. I’m glad that Obama is calling this out for what it is. Politics. And Obama is not the only one calling Dobson and his ilk on their nonsense.

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a Methodist pastor from Texas and longtime supporter of President Bush who has endorsed Obama, said Tuesday he belongs to a group of religious leaders who, working independently of Obama's campaign, launched a Web site to counter Dobson.

Caldwell said he has great respect for Dobson's advocacy for families, but said the criticism of Obama was "a bit over the top" and "crossed the line."

"There has been a call for a higher level of politics and politicking," Caldwell said. "So to attack at this level is inappropriate and I think unacceptable and we at least want to hold everybody accountable."

Over the top indeed, as it always is. That, by the way, is the same Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell who performed the nuptials for Jenna Bush a few weeks ago.

At any rate, I don’t expect this to be the end of attempts to portray Obama as the ultimate boogeyman; a Muslim- Radical Christian-Communist-Liberal and Black to boot.

I’m glad to see that the Obama campaign continues to not allow him to be painted as something he’s not. In so doing, the fear mongering so prevalent in recent campaigns just comes across looking like what it is; silly and ignorant.