For the free iTunes, silly! [HuffPo]

We like our iTunes, but not that much. Of course, with the Army having their lowest recruitment since 1979, they are doing all they can.

We have posted before on the Violence Against Women Act. This act is set to expire today, unless the Senate votes on it. It's not looking very hopeful. Here is the text of the email we just got:

We need your help TODAY . Senate Majority Leader Frist is considering not allowing the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization to be voted on by the Senate. We can't let that happen. Please call Senator Frist right now and urge him to allow the Act to be voted on by all Senators.

:: Call his office now: 202-224-3344

What to say when you call:

"I'm calling to urge Senator Frist to allow the Violence Against Women Act (Senate Bill 1197) to go to the Senate floor for a vote. This is extremely important to me and to my state. Please, do not let VAWA expire. VAWA works: Since VAWA, rates of domestic violence incidents have dropped by almost 50% and incidents of rape are down by 60%. I am one of hundreds of thousands of people in this country who are watching, and expecting him to support passage of this important legislation. Thank you for your time."

As you know, the Violence Against Women Act funds all the services that help women and families of domestic violence. From rape crisis hotlines to shelters to violence prevention programs that support the victims of domestic violence - the Violence Against Women Act is the single most important source of funding. It literally saves lives.

[source: AP]

All the bloggers get the same tips when someone wants to get a word out.

Here it is:
"high level sources at the TDP tell us" prominent Galveston attorney and former Galveston County Democratic Chair Tony Buzbee is moving closer to running for Lieutenant Governor in 2006.

Find it hard to keep all of Dubya's silly nicknames straight? Well, this list should help you out.

Question: Is Tony Blair a big Fleetwood Mac fan?

Over in Cali, Schwarzenegger went ahead & vetoed Califonia's bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Surprised?

Back in Texas, I was wandering around the Capitol yesterday evening, so I figured I'd enjoy the weather & stop off at the Vigil being held. KT over at BOR has some nice pics from the event.

If anyone is around the UT campus in an hour or so, stop off & see our best friend, Rep. Warren Chisum, author of HJR 6/Prop 2, defend this nonsense bill.

Discussion with Rep. Warren Chisum
Friday, September 30th, 12:30 pm
Jeffers Moot Court Rm, Law School 3.140

Author of Amendment #2, Rep. Chisum will square off with NNN campaign representative Anne Wynne and our very own CAAI Chair, Marti Bier! Please come support our side during this sure to be lively and professional exchange.

Remember HB 2292 from back in 2003? This bill was muscled through session without alot of scrutiny, and there were a lot of unanswered questions. It ordered a huge consolidation of Health & Human Services agencies that put a large amount of centralized power in the hands of the HHSC & the governor. Agency boards are replaced with advisory boards, they have no power to set rules, and many different areas are privatized.
According to the H.B. 2292 Transition Plan, all of this

"sets expectations for significant improvement in the cost effectiveness of health and human services agency operations in order to generate substantial, measurable, and sustainable savings."

"The audit, a draft of which was obtained by the Express-News, said a substantial amount of the projected savings evaporated after "errors and complete data" were considered."

Another fun bit? Turns out the commission counted federal matching dollars in its savings plan - federal funds that we aren't elegible for because of all of the privatization that went on.

Check out the Center for Public Policies Priorities statement on the whole deal. It'll be interesting to see what the audit says next week. Kuff, Jeffersonian, & Red State have more coverage.

The Austin Chronicle has an excellent look at No Child Left Behind and its effect on Austin schools. Most specifically, Anderson High, as that is where a large number of transfer students from low-performing schools are heading. Here's a taste:

It all boils down to whether NCLB's remedies - the five-stage school improvement plan of which the least prepared schools in AISD are in Stage Two - can really fix our struggling schools, or whether they simply set schools up to fail. NCLB critics argue that the law poses school improvement as primarily an issue of management, emphasizing the replacement of teachers, curriculum, and principals, rather than as an issue of resources, such as hiring more teachers to devote more individual time to each student. Others argue that money isn't everything.

So whaddya do if you're a down-on-his-luck, convicted felon from East Texas with outstanding warrants? Well you make up a story about losing family in New Orleans and use a fake name to apply for federal assistance for Katrina victims.

From AAS: "Walter Ray Stall, 43, of Palestine was arrested Tuesday after telling a Tyler television station that his wife and 3-year-old son drowned as he tried to herd them into the attic of their New Orleans home.
[...]
Stall, who claimed he swam to the Superdome and hitchhiked to Texas, said he had received money and gifts and was living with a volunteer."

So how did this genius get busted? Turns out his entire family lives in Tyler & they all saw him on T.V. telling his fake sob story.

"[Smith County Lt. Craig] Shelton said Stall might have gotten away it if he had not agreed to a live televised interview in an area where his family lives."

Genius, pure genius.

A state district judge has ordered a 17-year-old drug offender barred from sex

Note to self: Don't become a drug offender.

Yesterday Michael Crichton spoke in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about "the facts" of climate change. We like Jurassic Park as much as the next guy (well, honestly, we don't even like it that much), but how does writing science-fiction books on climate change make you an expert? At least Sen. Jim Jeffords was seeing sense:

Mr. Chairman, given the profound human suffering and ecological damage along the Gulf Coast, why are we having a hearing that features a fiction writer as our key witness? Some may accuse me, as a policy maker, of falling into the exact policy trap that Mr. Crichton’s book critiques -- being too focused on the consequences of the recent large scale natural disasters and our nation’s policy response to them.

[Thanks to Gristmill]

added note: This is post 1001 for us. Whoo hoo!

After lunch we couldn't help but stop at the newspaper rack outside and take photos with our mobile phone of the headlines in the rack. Just thought we'd post them. Funny, not one headline screaming "Tom DeLay Is A Dickhead." Guess the print media has a ways to go to catch up to PinkDome.

MyWay: Senate Confirms Roberts As Chief Justice

"[Y]ou could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down"

Personally, we think aborting old white men would be a much better alternative.

Oh Yeah, That!

*Comments closed* Take it to the forums if you want to talk about ass-fucking.

There it is - the Sugar Land exterminator has been indicted on conspiracy. Check out the story. No amount of appearances with Elvis impersonators & hurricane victims can save him now. That seat is looking a lot more palatable for Dems right about now.

Also - looks like Craddick, Hammond, Wooley, & Delisi may have gotten off, but...
"Theoretically, prosecutors could ask another grand jury to consider charges between now and the Nov. 2 anniversary of the 2002 election, when a three-year statute of limitations expires. "

Delay isn't the only rockstar from Texas in D.C. - Texas is actually chock full of amazing Congressmen. Take Joe Barton for example. As chair of the Energy & Commerce Committee, he is using the hurricanes to introduce new legislation that would weaken environmental regulation on refineries while opening up areas to drilling. A couple problems? These suggestions were shot down already by Congress, remember that huge energy bill a little ways back? None of this stuff made it in to the bill. But now he supposedly has the votes to get it out of committee.

From the AAS:
"The Barton measure included easing air pollution control rules on refineries, setting shorter deadlines for issuing refinery permits and a government-funded "risk insurance" program to shield companies against lengthy regulatory delays in refinery construction. And it would give the federal government greater say in siting refineries and pipelines.

A companion measure, being put together by the House Resources Committee, called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil development and would clear the way for states to allow oil or gas drilling in their coastal waters, including areas under a federal drilling ban. States would get half of the revenue from new lease sales."

My favorite quote? "We cannot stop hurricanes but we can mitigate some of the adverse impacts." Yeah, this coming from one of the 11 guys who voted against the huge aid package for Katrina victims.

The grand jury's term on the TRMPAC case apparently concludes today. First person to tip Pinkdome to any new indictments will receive Tiff's Treats cookies. Hook a blog up, yo!

Andy Smith is seeking to defeat Bill Keffer in HD 107 up in Dallas. If elected, Smith would be the first openly gay Rep in the Texas House. School finance, property taxes, and campaign finance are some of his pet peeves. Check out his website at http://www.electandysmith.com/

Also, it looks like someone else is heeding Rep. Bob Griggs' call to have experienced educators & administrators run for office: Dr. Bill Skinner of Grapevine is challenging Rep. Vicki Truitt in the GOP primary. He has taught in Houston for 15 years, and also served as a school assistant principal and principal before retiring as the business manager for the Keller Independent School District.

According to the Texas Observer and the DMN the DPS is screaming like a stuck pig about having to release the videotapes of the meetings to track down the Dems that fled the state during the redistricting fiasco about school vouchers.

The DPS claims it jeopardizes security at the Capitol. Really we think they don't want us to see the big orgy and silver trays full of cocaine and booze that line the hallways.

Tom DeLay may be in the crosshairs on the ever-expanding gay for pay TRMPAC scandal. From bug man to Congressional money-launderer. Not bad, not bad at all.

From a tipster:

Just before Hurricane Katrina hit the Texas and Louisiana coasts, this chart was made available to local and state officials as instruction on how to request assistance from the Department of Defense. No Joke. This is a real DoD chart designed to "assist" local officials.

Check out this flow chart. (PDF) Download file

"We saw it did not go flawlessly" [AAS]

President Jimmy Carter once donned a sweater in an address to the nation on the importance of conserving energy. It was one more thing that created the laughinstock that was a significant part of his failed policies. Today, President Bush had the gall to step up to the microphone and ask us to not make any unnecessary trips or perhaps to car pool.

You're kidding me right? This is from the man that's got motorcardes and airplanes taking him across the country for photo opps, got us into an un-winnable war and seen the deficits grow higher than in recent memory. His failed policies and inept leadership continue to astound me.

You want us to really stop driving, Mr. President? Or do you really just want the poor people to stop driving to the polls on election day?

Mass transit, indeed. This president is so out of touch he actually thinks we'll believe he gives a flying shit about energy and oil and et cetera if he asks us to conserve. We bet you a liquid dollar he'll demand oil drilling in every pristine part of Alaska and wherever else he can rape the environment. And nuclear plants? Really? I love a nuclear plant and all, but when was the last time we ever built one? Three Mile Island anyone?

How about incentivizing the car manufacturers to produce more hybrids, better fuel economy cars, introducing more renewable energy sources and creating funding for better mass transit?

Talking out of your ass doesn't mean we think you know what you're talking about, even if it does sound a lot smarter than when you talk from your mouth.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn has been so quiet lately. Did they whole fake audit thing take the wind out of her sails? We've called her press office twice to ask a simple question and got nary a reply.

Speaker Craddick was asked about the injunction that takes effect October 1 stating that the Comptroller would have to stop cutting checks to the school districts. This was in response to whether or not a.) the Supremes are going to make a decision this week and b.) if the Lege will come back and address it or not.

We called Grandma's office twice to ask if the injunction really mattered since the case was what you could consider to be 'under appeal' and if there was a statement about the impending deadline.

*crickets chirping* Strayhorn must be licking her wounds at all the press Perry is getting for being the Father of Texas right now. Poor thing.

Those nasty gals Rita and Katrina haven't kept us from hearing about that Mr. "I believe in Intelligent Design, but I'm still a Social Darwinist" Frist and his stock problems. Whether or not he really knew that the family stock was going downhill when he sold it (Hello, Martha?), we think this is a bit too shady for a possible Presidential candidate. The SEC Chief himself has to recuse himself from the investigation because he donated money to Frist's re-election campaign.

We don't have a high opinion of Frist, but since the whole "stem cells are okay" thing, we were getting to where we could stand him a little more. But if he gets away with this, no way. There was talk of him being a candidate for 2008, but we don't think that will happen if this continues to blow up in his face.

As we understand, the last day to register to vote in the November 8 ballot is October 11. If you are not already registered, get your ass in gear.

Prop. 2, the One Man, One Woman, One Donkey amendment will be on the ballot. So far, it looks like the Houston Chronicle is the only newspaper to come out (no pun intended) against Prop. 2. [BOR]

A recent report by the Federal Reserve paints a dangerous picture of Americans living beyond their means. At no time in history have we had so much collective debt. The report concludes that Americans have no savings and no cushion. A dangerous situation in the event of, say, a natural disaster that forces you out of your home and city and job for three weeks and counting.

Here's where we tell you that you are brainwashed. And yet, if you asked many Americans, they'd say life's prospects have never looked brighter.

That's right, prospects never looked brighter. The budget deficits are skyrocketing. We're in a cluster-fuck war, the gulf coast is obliterated and will cost billions to rebuild, you're living on your credit cards and employers are laying off staff, and the list keeps growing.

In Texas, we can't pay for schools or give teachers a decent wage. No one has the balls to say the whole property tax thing isn't working and businesses aren't paying taxes and Perry is jumping around on Hurricanes like a dog in heat to fuck every bit of good publicity out of them as he can. "Look at me...I care deeply about Texans, and NEW Texans!"

America reminds us of Patty Hearst right now and we're embarrassed to see you in that stupid beret.

Someone needs to slap some of you people.

"Rick, George already did this photo opp. Find your own, lazy bitch." Karl Rove told me when he saw this.
[AAS]

We've been pretty slack this week (read: drunk) so we've missed a few things. We'll start by clearing out our inbox and then we'll go look at the newspapers to see if anything interesting catches our eye.

David Van Os gets an endorsement from Jim Hightower.

Bill Clinton will be in our very own State Capitol to open the Texas Book Festival. We got an email that was all about wristbands that you have to have or you can't even breathe the same air as Bill. Well, sending off a letter to request one seems like too much effort so fuck that, we'll catch a clip on the news. Better yet, W. Gardner Selby...you get a wristand and write something clever about it.

TexPIRG released their annual report card on legislative performance. We love how black and white the scores are: Voted FOR the public interest or Voted AGAINST the public interest. Myra Crownover and Sid Miller are the two worst on the list. Check it out to see how your Rep. scores.

Dumbest Press Announcement of the Week: "Legislative Process to Come Alive as Senator Van de Putte Visits Local Schools"

This media advisory was one we never quite figured out. If Senator Van de Putte brought hordes of cash she smuggled across the border to give to the schools then maybe this would have made the news. Otherwise we think statewide elected officials ought to be kept a 3 mile radius from any school property...you know, like they make drug dealers, pedophiles and anyone with a gun stay away.

We don't have much to post today. We're secretly relieved that Rita is headed east of Austin. Sorry about y'all that are going to have a crappy time of it this weekend. But, with two bottles of Dom Perignon in the house we're looking forward to the weekend.

We could write some smart-assy things about the John Roberts confirmations, or even remark on Carole Keeton Strayhorn calling for a special session to address the burden on the state's budget because of the evacuees and disaster stuff or we could write about the Supremes expecting a decision on school finance in the next couple of weeks but we'll wait until Monday.

In the meantime, hit up the forums to discuss amongst yourself. Change "Katrina" to "Rita" and there's a forum for you or any of the others you can start your own threads.

Cheers, and so long Port Arthur or Beaumont or wherever.

Mark Fiore takes on Karl Rove and his reconstruction plan.

Putting Karl Rove in charge of the reconstruction effort in the Gulf States seems like such a sad joke.

Remember Pastor Wiley Bennet in Tyler? The one that put the sign up that claimed because New Orleans was wicked was the cause of them being blown off the map? Well, as Hurricane Rita moves a little East of Austin now I am using all bit of self-restraint to not call Pastor Bennet and ask him what did Tyler do to deserve this storm?

Maybe it's got ignorant zealots and God is a little pissed about it or something. My self-restraint doesn't mean you have to practice it as well. His phone number is in the link. Just make sure you tell us what he says. Cause that would be hilarious!

Common Dreams: Take the Liberal Media Quiz! Here's a sample question for ya:

5. In a typical half-hour television newscast, how many minutes of actual news to you receive (excluding commercials, sports, cross-promotion, celebrity fluff, weather and anchor pontification)?

4 minutes = 190 points
14 minutes = 3 points
24 minutes = -76 points

If you haven't seen Kinky's new ad, you don't know what you're missing.

Oh, and he won that poll yesterday.

PD Adds: Endorse a candidate? Bwahahaha. Please, you'd have to buy our endorsement just like everyone else.

A rubber company in China has begun marketing condoms under the brand names Clinton and Lewinsky, apparently seeking to exploit the White House affair that led to the impeachment of America's 42nd president. [AAS]

First, our reaction is...ew

Second, isn't this old news? And furthermore, the whole Monica Lewinsky thing was about blow jobs. Are people using condoms for blow jobs now?

Freaked out much? Well, I've never been through a hurricane, but today Rep. Pena posted on his memory of being hit by Hurricane Beulah many years ago.

Current forecast eye path for Rita from accuweather.com (if you feel the desire to be reminded)

We doubt that Rita will leave us with a Katrina-like mess, but what do we know? We're not meteorologists. We just hope all our loyal readers get through it alright and that the die-hards out at ACL don't get too wet.

Determined not to be caught with his pants down (again) Governor Perry has recalled Texas National Guard troops to Texas in preparation for Hurrican Rita.

Honestly, we're thinking of chucking this whole political blog idea and becoming full time Hurricane bloggers. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Give us a break already.

(You are all welcome for the visual of Governor Perry with his pants down while you're still having morning coffee. xo)

Ever wonder what the Special Assistant to the Director, Honorary Chairs and Awards, Office of Presidential Correspondence makes every year? Now you can thanks to the National Journal with an exhaustive list of Bush Administration staffers and their compensation.

Mainly, we love the creative job titles. In lieu of a real salary we'll give you an extra long title! So Republican.

In today's SA Express-News poll, you can vote for who you'd elect for Gov if elections were held today. Kinky's results are a little old, but as of 2:58pm, he's a-winnin'. Chris Bell's coming up second, and "someone else" is in last place.

[via Onegoodmove]

I love this response. The FEC has filed suit against the Club for Growth. A pro-Republican fundraising machine that spent over $21 million dollars in the last presidential election. The FEC claims they should register as a political committee. The club's president responds with, "outrageous" and the suit is a "bizarre interpretation of the club's mission..."

Oh, that made me laugh. So if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's a lying pack of Republican soft-money campaign finance law cheats.

The first indictment of a Bush Administration official is now on the chalkboard. David Safavian, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration and Abramoff lobbying associate, is charged with making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation. [AAS]

Since nothing else good is coming out of the pink dome, we think this is the best idea yet.

Q: I am planning a wedding in 2006. My fiance and I would love to get married at the Capitol.

Is this possible? If so, who do we need to contact to make arrangements?

Answer after the jump.

Someone tipped us to an article in the Houston Chronicle from this weekend regarding the Texas Restoration Project, a "non-partisan" group that seems to be serving as a get-out-the-vote front for Perry. Very shady.

Texas Restoration Project, which organized the voter-registration drive, says the effort is an attempt to bring morality to government by empowering Christian voters, regardless of party. But critics say the Texas Restoration Project is nothing more than an adjunct of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign.
. . .
"We will have Citizenship Sundays that are intended and designed to encourage the voters then registered to turn out and vote and to vote as Christians, to vote not on the basis of their party affiliation or their economic status or their ethnic background but as Christians," White said.

Rick Perry is trying to go the "Compassionate" (read: hypocrital) Conservative route that his buddy Dubya paved. I would say that this group sounds an awful lot like a PAC, but nothing I find has stated that the group has donated money to Perry's campaign. But its members have. These are the same people who put on the forum where preachers blamed Katrina on the gays.

If God is actually speaking to these idiots, we hope they get some hearing aids.

update: We actually posted on this group when they were forming. We haven't forgotten them! We will continue to keep an eye on them. . .

Warren Chisum (idiot) claims that Glen Maxey is going to bus in homos to vote against Proposition 2 in November. Maxey says Warren is smoking crack.

For a measure that doesn't have SBC versus Time Warner this looks like it will be fun.

For the record we don't think Warren Chisum is smoking crack. We just think he was dropped on his head a few too many times. That, or his boyfriend beats him.

Streaking politicians! In New Zealand a politician promised to streak through town if his opponent won. Saying he won't break a campaign promise he'll be nekkid and swinging in the open breeze of the streets of New Zealand.

Can you come up with any politicians in Texas that wouldn't make you run screaming for an acid eye wash if you saw them running at you naked?

"If you start down that road, where do you stop? Do you have multiple partners?" state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, asked in a debate on Proposition 2, the gay marriage ban, one of nine constitutional amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot. [Chron]

That's pretty much all we have to say about Warren Chisum.

To go with my earlier Hear no evil post, I find out that Brown had such "difficulty" dealing with the LA gov that he communicated with her husband instead. What the?!? How much more patriarchal can we get?

So let's get this straight: women in power may be asked for bathroom breaks, but can't be dealt with in emergency situations? Arrgh.

Thanks to Gristmill for the pointer.

Hoy es Diez y Seis de Septiembre, Mexican Independence Day.

The president's speech tonight interrupted my day of suffering through a massive champagne hangover. His broad plans for recovery and claim that the rebuilding effort will be the biggest in the history of the world worked on me for about 15 minutes and then my pickled brain went, "Wait a minute. Who the hell is gonna pay for all this shit?"

Y'all discuss in the forums or the comments.

This NYTimes article makes a frightening statement about what lies ahead for New Orleans:

Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort, which reaches across many agencies of government and includes the direct involvement of Alphonso R. Jackson, secretary of housing and urban development.

Bush's note yesterday to Condi. [Yahoo: Reuters]

Scholars doing some research shit have just found an important document about gays in the military. Looks like, even though the Pentagon says the discharging of gays from the military drops off significantly during times of war or crisis that it is just random fluctuations in their fervent attempt to de-gay the military. Well, WHOOPS looks like that is all a big fat cock-sucking lie. The document instructs commanders that if a unit is about to be deployed or is deployed, any gays should not be discharged.

Looks like the Pentagon has been caught down on it's knees next to the glory hole.

So really what the military says is "Ok faggots and lesbians, when we need to you kill and shit it's ok that you're that way. But as soon as we get back and all we are so going to act like we don't know you."

A couple more indictments were handed out today, this time to real, live persons. John Colyandro and Jim Ellis got some more felony charges slapped on them, showing that this thing is far from over.

From the AAS:
"The grand jury re-indicted political consultants John Colyandro and Jim Ellis on first-degree felony charges that the two laundered a $190,000 corporate check into campaign donations during the 2002 elections. It added lesser felony charges of unlawfully making a contribution to a political party and criminal conspiracy involving the $190,000 transaction."

"Ellis, who runs DeLay's Washington-based Americans for a Republican Majority, negotiated an exchange of corporate money for campaign donations with Terry Nelson, the deputy chief of staff with the Republican National Committee, according to the indictments. Two weeks after the corporate check arrived in Washington, an arm of the RNC sent the same amount in campaign donations to seven Texas legislative candidates."

The DA's press release after the jump.

Rep. Elliot Naishtat is staying out of the race for Barrientos' Senate seat, leaving it open for Watson...he gives his reasons below, as well as demonstrating his ability to use commas excessively...

"At a time when effective leadership in the House regarding health, human services and issues that affect vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities, is more important than ever, I am not willing to enter into a costly, divisive Democratic primary race against my friend Kirk Watson, and risk not being in the Legislature at all," he said in a statement.

That's one really long sentence.

Kirk Watson, former Mayor of Austin, attorney and mediator, kicked off his campaign for State Senate District 14 today with a strong list of endorsements.

"I am passionate about Texas and Senate District 14 and am proud to run and serve this district," said Watson. "I look forward to continuing to hear the concerns of Central Texans and discussing solutions for our future."

Full release after the jump.

[CNN]

We were invited but couldn't be bothered to attend a conference call with Senator Edward Kennedy and some others from the People for the American Way to discuss the John Roberts confirmation hearings. You can read synopsis of the call here.

So far we find all of this incredibly boring. Roberts will ultimately be confirmed no matter what gnashing of teeth the Dems engage in as it relates to his record. Wonkette seems convinced he's an ass-fucker with dreamy blue eyes.

So far we're really only interested to see who'll be nominated next. That is where we think the real fun will be.

News of tomorrow: Investigation of what went wrong in New Orleans

More evidence that Bush has no clue what's going on. Gee, maybe at least your advisors could warn you that one of your staff has resigned. Are they proficient with the internets? Looking at the time on the live feed (around 3:30 EST) and looking at the time on the AP breaking news story (about 2:52 EST), one would think that his chief of staff could at least have let him know what's up before taking questions from the press. Lord knows, Shrub has no idea what's going on under his own administration. We all know he doesn't read the newspapers.

Sidenote: Dubya is the worst riffer. Ever.

Texas opened its arms to welcome evacuees. Fourteen days later there is a collective, "Oh shit, what have we done!" mentality as KBH asks the government to cut red tape and get us some federal money.

Meanwhile, six of the seven headlines on Governor Perry's web site are pathetic attempts at trying to create a scandal on fundraising tied to Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

There is one accurate headline there, "Perry capitalizes on Katrina"

Sure did Rick, sure did.

President Bush has signed an executive order to allow contractors rebuilding the Gulf Coast to pay 'below the prevailing wage.' WTF? So, just when people need jobs and would take them to rebuild their community and their lives, President Bush once again shows his disdain for the poor by allowing contractors to pay below the prevailing wage in the region.

Now, we've been to the Gulf Coast. The wages there are already probably the lowest in the country so how much lower can they get? Maybe contractors can pay these people in chicken feed. After all, they've already been treated like animals left to die in their own filth.

Just thought we'd point it out.

Just when Gov. Mofo was starting to look a little better in our eyes, we can see clearly now. . . this past week he spoke at a couple of events where lovely fundy preachers mused on whether Katrina was Jeebus' punishment for homosexuality. I love that my preacher in church can speak against such blasphemy (my term for it, not my preacher's), but my Governor won't say nay. From AAS:

Gubernatorial spokesman Robert Black, contacted Friday, said: "The governor does not agree with that. But far be it for the governor to try to divine the will of the Almighty."

A lawyer has been fired from the Texas Secretary of State's office for discussing Karl Rove with a WaPo reporter. From the AP:

While Reyes said she didn't know she was talking to a reporter, she said the press policy doesn't bar her from speaking with the media.

"The policy allows us to talk to members of the media," she told the Post. "The policy says if it's a controversial issue or a special issue, it needs to be forwarded on to someone else. Just talking to the media doesn't violate it, as I read it. ... Karl Rove didn't come up. It wasn't something you could classify as controversial."

Remember that ever blissful night back in May when we stayed up late & watched legislators spank Craddick/Grusendorf on vouchers? It was one of the first times that a bipartisan group of legislators showed they could screw the leadership right back. Senfronia nearly ripped the mike right out of its podium that night. Hell, a lot of those R's that sided with D's on vouchers ultimately teamed up to kill that ugly HB 2 during the Specials. That being said, after the dust settled, stories started surfacing about some hardcore arm twisting & threats that were made. Anywho, QR is reporting that the Texas Observer is using an open records request to try & get ahold of the security video tapes from the back hall on that night. Wouldn't it be great to see what's on those tapes? The Attorney General sided with the Observer & said that the DPS should release the tapes. DPS is citing the Homeland Security Act & has gotten Akim Gump to help them keep the tapes. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

To remind yourself of that fun night check out Pena's liveblog & the Observer's Revenge of the Rural R's.

"A fragile coalition of lawmakers cobbled together to support an anti-gay marriage amendment is falling apart" AP

You gotta love it when a news story starts off like that. Massachusetts lawmakers have been trying to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state. However, after a recent poll of legislators, it seems they don't have the votes to pass the bill. If passed, voters would ultimately decide what happens, but for the time being it doesn't seem like that bill will see the light of day.

Tom DeLay, our most favorite Majority Leader EVER, stopped by the Reliant Park area Friday morning. His question for the evacuee children: "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" Yeah, I imagine these children are just having the time of their lives, wondering if their relatives are alive, where their grandmother is, when they will get to go home, why their mom is crying so much, etc. It is obviously just like camp!

Give me a break.

We're updating our links and clearing out some of the blogs that have disappeared. Two we've added are: Chris Bell's Blog and The Blue State. The Blue State is a blog based out of Seattle, Washington and we received the nicest request ever to add it to our list.

If you know of blogs we're missing that are must reads, email us or leave them in the comments so we can keep up. Thanks!

The Chief Justice predicts a ruling on school finance in a couple of weeks and we've heard that yet another special session may be in the works before the third week of October as a result.

As a country we are focused on the tragedy that has erased much of the beautiful gulf coast. A place I know intimately and am heartsick by the news, the families scattered across the country and the ensuing incompetence of our government.

But today, I'm turning an eye towards NYC. On September 11, 2001 I was at Port City Java in Charleston, South Carolina when someone came in and said a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. We ran to our house to see what the hell someone was talking about. What we saw shook me to my core. The frantic calls to my brother that lived there were not getting through and my horror and shock would not let my brain understand how something like this was happening.

Can you remember how you were before 9/11? Can you remember not being able to imagine anything like that ever happening in America? Can you remember that it would be impossible to imagine NYC without the World Trade Centers rising above the skyline?

New York has come back, they are survivors. That is something they have in common with the gulf coast. In New York, we had somewhere to focus our rage. Osama Bin Laden. I can still work out scenarios of what I'd like to do if I could get my hands on him. The violent fantasies strangely can still bring me comfort.

I finally got hold of my brother, he was safe and walking out of the city when I got him on the phone. I've been back to New York many times in the last four years. It's more special to me now than it's ever been.

I just thought we could take a break from Katrina and share maybe our most favorite memories about New York. Sort of our own "I love you, New York" collection.

A picture speaks a thousand words, right?

[Myway]

I realize this picture is a few months old, but still . . . in case you haven't heard already, Brownie has been taken off Hurricane duty. I think they worded it "relieved" of Katrina duty. Sounds like one step closer to firing to us!

YouthLaunch, an Austin-based non-profit dedicated to teaching young people the power of community service, is organizing area non-profits and local bands to host a benefit concert for hurricane relief. The event will take place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 10 in Republic Square Park. One hundred percent of the money raised from attendees will be donated to the Central Texas Red Cross.

More after the jump.

The SF Gate lets Bush have it. We share it with you:

Let's say it outright. The truest measure of any president, of any leader, is how well he takes care of his own people. And Bush, well, Bush has done a simply spectacular job of taking care of exactly his own people -- the wealthy, the corporate, the extreme religious right, his core base of supporters -- while happily and fiercely ignoring, restricting, condemning, destroying the rest. Are you educated or progressive or liberal or alternative-minded or sexually open or homosexual or anti-war? This means you. Are you dirt poor and belong to a minority and don't drive an SUV and contribute six figures per annum to the RNC and maybe live in a flooded swamp in the Louisiana bayou? This means you, squared. Sucker.

Here, then, is the new American motto, as reimagined by BushCo: Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and we'll let them die in a filthy and decrepit storm-ravaged American football stadium while our president languishes on vacation and ponders his oil futures and fondly remembers his good ol' days of getting drunk at Mardi Gras before going AWOL from the military. God bless America.

AAS: Four indictments issued against TAB; one against TRMPAC:

The Texas Association of Business and Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee have been indicted on charges of illegally using corporate money to help Republicans win control of the Texas Legislature in 2002.

The indictments, released publicly this morning, include 128 counts against the business group and two against the political action committee, which was created by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

Apparently this article from the DMN is getting passed around the progressive blogs today. When I first saw it linked on the HuffPo, I thought, hmm, big surprise:

Gov. Rick Perry, in hurricane relief tours around the state, in news releases and on his official state Web site, has urged Texans to contribute to three groups: the Red Cross, Salvation Army and the OneStar Foundation.

The last of those is a volunteer-coordinating effort founded by Mr. Perry. His prominent promotion of his own foundation has prompted some to question whether the governor is trying to benefit politically from the outpouring of sympathy and good works in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

I have nothing against the Onestar Foundation. In fact, I have worked with them in the past. Perry's throwing support their way, as far as hurricane volunteering and donations goes, doesn't seem that shady to me. Considering all the other crap that is going on right now, this doesn't seem like a big deal. What do you think?

This Is Not Over has posted a poignant rant on Bush and his lack of compassion in regards to Katrina's devastation:

Let's give him the benefit of the doubt that he was being prevented from acting by bureaucracy and the sheer magnitude of the situation. Where are the stories of how he was in his office freaking the fuck out because there were tens of thousands of Americans trapped without food and water? Where's the story of how he ripped a strip off of somebody, demanding to know what the holy hell the holdup is getting water and food to those people?

I want to hear about how he was demanding that extraordinary steps be taken. I want to hear about how he sent his lawyers into a room -- he had four days, you know -- and demanded that they come back in an hour with a plan for him to send the Marines into New Orleans with 100 trucks of food and water, posse comitatus or not. I want to hear that he was panicked. Because I was panicked. Everyone I know was panicked. Everyone I know was gnashing their teeth with helpless rage because they couldn't get in a car, drive down there, and drive a load of homeless Louisiana residents back home with them for soup and a goddamn hot bath. I want to hear that he acted at some point out of genuine despondency about the fact that citizens of the country he is supposed to be running were being starved and dehydrated in a hellish, fetid prison.

Also, the Texas Library Association is collecting donations towards the Gulf-area libraries affected by Katrina, as well as for those libraries housing evacuees.

The pastor of Woodland Hills Baptist Church has a sign out front that says, "The Big Easy is the Modern Day Sodom and Gomorrah." An evacuee confronted the pastor and he says that New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and New York are evil cities full of what we can only guess are intelligent people with brains enough not to live in Tyler.

You can watch the video of a KLTV news clip here.

You can also call Wiley Bennet, the pastor there at 903-581-2333 and tell him that perhaps Tyler is the Modern Day Sodom and Gomorrah.

The evacuee confronted Pastor Bennet and said she wasn't saying he was evil. We don't have such restraint. We loudly say he is evil.

After looking through a couple press releases from the Governor & the Comptroller, we can see that Katrina evacuees can be exempt from paying hotel/motel taxes. After reading the dueling press releases, I'm not quite sure who is exempting Texans from the tax, they are both claiming credit. Strayhorn says she's waiving the tax & Perry says he's got an Executive Order suspending it. Who's right here?

Enter today's Startlegram:
The release said that people displaced from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama "need only show proof of residency from their home states when checking into hotels and motels in Texas and notify the hotel or motel they intend to stay for at least 30 days for the 6 percent state hotel/motel tax to be exempted."

You see, state law exempts everyone from the hotel/motel tax so long as they stay for at least 30 consecutive days and there is no interruption of payment for the period. That's a state law passed by the Legislature in 1981 and amended in 1991."

Perry's release says he issued an executive order, but I can't find it online. Can anyone else? At the very least Perry can thank Strayhorn's campaign people for another good idea.

After watching the Barrientos press conference we have come to one conclusion...if you turn the volume up REALLY loud you can tell that he's telling talking. Ears straining, he's running over his accomplishments...yadda, yadda, yadda...decades in the Lege, hundreds of bill sponsored, thanking staff, loving constituents, and he's retiring. Now they cut even more audio, now there's static...I guess that's what happens when a Senator has a press conference in the Speaker's Committee Room. Even when they're leaving the House wants to kick them on the way out.

The California Assembly approved same-sex marriage in the state by a thin margin. "It's always a dilemma whether to follow or lead. This is one of those times history is looking to us to lead," said Assemblyman Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana. we posted that quote because wouldn't it be totally awesome if someone from Texas (you know, the state bigger than France) had the balls to uhm....shuffle feet, look down at ground....LEAD!

We had the hardest time with this post. The judicial pay raise is sitting on Perry's desk. Should he sign it or not? (That's not a question of IF he will or not)

We like judges. Mostly. It's lawyers that chap our ass. Plus, there's the whole thing about judicial pay raises being tied to legislative pensions. That burns us up, too.

Then there's poor Judge Bill Bosworth of Cleburne. He was appointed as a judge and he's only making $108,000 a year. The man is living in such squalor he doesn't know if he can continue to make the sacrifice of being a judge much longer.

Frankly, we don't give a shit either way. Are the Judges doing a good job? I mean, we know Perry has a tendency to appoint people with zero experience to such low level judgeships as the Texas Supreme Court. But it's just hard to feel sorry for a judge. It's that whole 'civic duty' thing our parents instilled in us. Goddamn them. They taught us about the rewards of public service and they never mentioned a huge salary. That's why we told people that asked us to run for office to fuck off.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R) will be in Travis County for "Town Hall" meetings this Saturday.

We love these. They are such great opportunities for our congresspeople to 'reconnect' with the district they barely recognize anymore. It's nice to welcome them back every once in a while.

Did any of y'all ever watch "Frank's Place"? Since I've only slightly been to New Orleans, watching that show and listening to jazz are my very limited connections with the city (I'm not counting the time I ate pizza in the NO airport). Every time someone references the song "Do You know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?", I think of that show and the culture it celebrated.

Okay, that was a tangent. Earlier today Debra forwarded me to this story in the NY Times about how the White House is planning on spinning this storm (and their late reaction to it).

I also found this great blog written by a NO exile in Houston. Here's a sample:

The chorus coming from the left wing -- "At least George Bush will get his comeuppance," -- is grossly premature. People are dying. Control your glee. On the other hand, the right-wing chorus that this is a "natural disaster" or an "act of God," and that government is immune from criticism, is insane. Preparation of levees, preparation of FEMA, the speed and uneven distribution of resources to evacuees -- these are all the domain of the government.

The Times-Picayune has a letter to Bush which is a must-read.

Who said what? Answers after the jump.

"And so many of the people in the arena [Houston Astrodome] here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.)"

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It's all about vaginas in Austin for September! The UT-Austin campus will host a panel discussion this evening at 6 p.m. featuring Sarah Weddington. (Details after the jump)I don't think there is an open bar.

Saturday, September 10 is the "Consent To Rock" concert and fundraiser. The event is planned for Emo's in Austin and is sponsored by Jane's Due Process and NARAL Pro Choice Texas.

So dust off the vagina and celebrate women's reproductive rights. (While you still have them)

We're around today, but recovering from a weekend. Visit the forums and post your comments on Katrina, John Roberts being nominated as the Chief, the Governor requesting disaster assistance as Texas fills up, and what else?

Chief Justice William Rehnquist died at his home last night. The last time there were two vacancies on the SCOTUS at the same time was 1971. We'll be watching to see who's in the wings.

The chief justice has been the leader of five conservatives, sometimes called "the Rehnquist five," who generally advocate limited federal government interference.

HA! I was right! Strayhorn announced today a $1.2 Billion surplus in the budget and asked the governor to call a 3-day Special Session for Disaster Relief as tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees pour into Texas.

In addition the Comptroller's office announced a waiver on the statewide occupancy tax on hotels for those survivors of Katrina making their way to Texas.

Your ball, Perry.

And P.S. Texas totally rocks with how we're stepping up to the plate.

Mike Lavigne, Texas Democratic Party Chief of Staff, announced his resignation today.

News8Austin has a list of community drives for Katrina refugees. Goodwill will be accepting donations of clothing and sundry items all month for the refugees. There are also plenty of other opportunities for us here in Austin to help out.

TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley sent a letter to school districts to get them ready for the influx of students that we'll be seeing in the coming months. Basically, she's making it possible for schools to buy more textbooks, feed more students, and increase funding for individual district. Interesting note from today as well, Perry's 65% propaganda plan from last week has been postponed indefinitely (good riddance). Neeley said:

"Due to the huge student enrollment projected in Texas schools caused by the total devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi, by Hurricane Katrina, I am canceling the 65% Task Force meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, 2005 at the Texas Education Agency."

Well, while we weren't necessarily expecting this, at least we've got a good system in place to adequately fund public schools? Right? Right?

The Mayor of New Orleans says, "Get off your asses" and we agree. This is not a partisan or political issue, it's a Federal Government failure issue. What if this had been a terrorist attack on the levees of New Orleans?

Get those people out of there. They are dying in the streets by now.

And Governor Perry, can Texas really accept 100,000 refugees? What's the impact on our economy? And can our schools absorb these children? Should there be some emergency legislation or can Perry just 'executive order' his way through all these things?

ugh.

And his federal tax returns show it. What's sad is that Kinky lost more in gambling than I (and a lot of other Texans) will make this year. C'est la vie!

[thanks to Bookslut]

Rep. Jim Solis joins the growing chorus of legislators announcing their retirement. We'd expect a few more after the marathon that's been the last two regulars filled with special after special that accomplished...well, not much. [via QR]

Hurricane Katrina has devastated thousands of lives. Today, we're announcing a coordinated effort by the liberal/progressive blogosphere to help the victims of the devastation. Together, we're going to raise $1 million for the American Red Cross - and prove that the liberal blogosphere can help our fellow citizens in need.

Of course, we invite all progressive bloggers to participate in our community-wide campaign - both BlogAds subscribers and non-subscribers. Get the HTML to post the ads on your own blog or website.

This effort is a combined effort of four organizations:

• The Liberal Blog Advertising Network who are donating their ad space.
  
• MandateMedia.com - producing the creative and organizing the campaign.
  
• BlogAds.com - donating their advertising infrastructure to deploy the ads.
  
• DropCash.com - providing the mechanism for tracking our progress.

All of the proceeds will be sent to the Red Cross. Donations are being tracked by Drop Cash. Transactions are secured through Paypal. You can be certain that your contribution will be secure, for a good cause, and people will know it came from the liberal blogosphere.

Thank you. Together, we can do this.

PinkDome

President Bush, Tuesday, August 30...Fiddling while Rome Burns? Read the post at Boing Boing.

BB updates: Check out this awesome piece in the Guardian about memories of New Orleans and how our Prez is dealing (or not dealing) with the situation.