In the spirit of spooks, here's a cartoon. Even if you disagree with the message, it's pretty damn funny to see Condi Rice fly by on a broom.

SWM likes walks in the rain, looking for the right kind of girl. No pro-choice feminists need apply.

I don't know why we had to find this out from another website, but apparently a young Republican whippersnapper in Grand Prairie is running for Congress. This by itself isn't news, but the fact that he tried to sell dates for campaign dollars is [WorldNetDaily]. From the article:

"They say the young candidates bring in fresh ideas, and I figured why not, I'm single, and I need quite a bit of money to meet my goals for this campaign against Mr. Barton," Dauben said in his original release. "A date with a congressional candidate at $25 is nothing compared to what major corporations wine and dine their pet politicians with."

Too, too funny. If you're interested, here's Mr. Dauben's "official" website and his MySpace page.

He has since stopped the offer. Sorry, ladies!

Alito seems like a nice guy. On CNN American Morning they had a liberal friend of his saying that he's a pleasant and thoughtful human being. His friend said that he thought he should be on the court, but he expressed reservations about his conservatism. We can always hope that his strong conservatism will not express itself on the court, but that seems pointless.

Before his nomination, the SCOTUS blog thought he would be picked and posted an analysis on his past decision history which is illuminating.

Some think that we should just accept this nomination, but as a pro-choice female, I sincerely hope that the liberal politicians will put up a fight. Then when we have to kiss our abortion rights goodbye, at least we'll look back and recall that we fought for them. *sigh*

Happy Halloween! There go our hopes for a minority Supreme Court candidate! All we can say is there better be a fight with this one from the left.

Cause The Onion will totally fuck you up.

Senator Trent Lott said that blogs consider him their 'first pelt' and it took me a while to even figure out what the hell he was talking about. Then I remembered that he was a racist and blogs called him on it and he was disgraced and shamed. Y'all remember that? Anyway, he says because of that he'll never read blogs. That means we can say whatever we want to about Trent Lott and he'll never know!!

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn says a lot of staff read the blogs. The Republicans apparently set up a blogger conference thingy on Capitol Hill recently and gave access to elected officials for half a day. We're wondering when Rick Perry will invite us to the pink dome and when Strayhorn will beg us for coverage by inviting us to the hideous building that is the State Comptroller's office. Even Trent Lott knows blogs aren't going away.

Here's our plea to elected officials in Texas: Blogs are just as capable of coming to your press conference and tickling your ass with a feather for a good quote as anybody that works at the Statesman...and we've had a lot more experience. xo, PD

Senator KBH left herself wide-open with her mind-boggling remarks on Meet the Press last week. Candidate Barbara Radnofsky takes the opportunity to giver her an upper cut and body blow with a press release. Radnofsky reminds us in plain language, "Lying to a grand jury is a crime."

Then Radnofsky told us that KBH likes it rough. We believe her, we saw the nipple rings.

The Bush Administration did tell the truth when they said this is a sad day for America. For all the posturing, the political spinning of this story there is a truth that will be discovered. Comparisons to the indictments against Bill Clinton are far-fetched, at best. Lying under oath about a consensual adulterous affair is no comparison to a politically motivated revenge and violating the trust that CIA employees put in their government to provide a life of service to their country. Technically, the case is made this was a breach of national security. I can go with that. But, at the heart of the matter is the disregard for the rule of law in destroying careers of those that speak the truth or dare to challenge the government.

Our country is built on checks on balances for just this reason. Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson were punished for telling the truth, just as Bunnatine (Bunny) Greenhouse who built a career at the Pentagon was destroyed by objecting to no-bid contracts in Iraq.

I wouldn't say the 'Left' is celebrating; I would say that Americans know the truth is the thing. The ability to trust and respect our government is what's important. Corruption, greed and blatant disregard for anything other than a stringent political ideaological agenda is what really ruins careers in the long run.

My grandmother always told us "The truth will set you free." I believe that. I have to for the sake of all of us.

DeLay is asserting that "We are witnessing the criminalization of conservative politics." [USAToday] Because conservatives like Rove, Frist and DeLay are so squeaky clean. Rrrrrrrright.

So, it's a weekend filled with Halloween parties. PinkDome always has a problem with a costume because there is a strong lazy streak in putting together anything too elaborate and there's also a strong desire not to look like a goofball ass. Because, in case you did not know it, you won't get laid if you look like a schmuck in your costume.

That being said, what should we dress up as this year? Any good ideas?

The Minutemen are along the border, we guess. We haven't seen much coverage and haven't had any emails from you in South Texas about rednecks with guns so we haven't thought much more about it lately. That's why we're glad Rep. Pena has a blog. Reading Rep. Pena's blog is a good way to keep up with what the hell is happening in South Texas. It also gives us a chance to give him kudos for keeping up with the blogging even though the Lege is not in session.

In an article posted on NYTimes.com just a bit ago, they are reporting that Libby will be indicted tomorrow. In case you don't have a user ID to view the article, it also states that the prosecutor may ask the grand jury to extend its term to continue an investigation of Karl Rove. The Times is reporting the Rove will not be indicted tomorrow.

[CNN]

This is a twofer. The headline from the CNN story is, "What Doomed Her Nomination?" So, you can either caption this photo or provide us with the mile-long list of things that doomed her nomination. We'll get you started:
*Lack of qualifications (To quote John Edwards, "Being George Bush's attorney doesn't qualify you for the Supreme Court")
*What the hell does she stand for?
*Lesbian?
*Fashion Disaster! Those bangs alone are reason for disqualification!

Your turn!

This video is too freakin' funny not to share: Presidential Speechalist. If you recognize the speechalist, that's because he's played by Andy Dick.

[BoingBoing]

Andy Brown this morning at Cipollina, the trendy Clarksville Cafe. (Trendy, mainly, because I'm a regular)

Are a few words we'd use to describe the Bush Administration. I must admit, all of the activity going on in Washington has made Texas politics seem almost lame by comparison. A rare thing, indeed. Today, the White House reversed it's decision to lift the Davis-Bacon Act (The one that says contractors can pay below the prevailing wage to rebuild after the hurricanes) and Bush has urged Congress to push forward on cuts in an out-of-control budget.

With the Miers withdrawal and wide-speculation of impending indictments we've stopped watching the ABC series, "Commander in Chief" because this is the most fascinating show we've seen in a while.

If Dubya asked us for our recommendation for the Supreme Court, we'd say draft Prado. Right now there is no way that he would choose someone so moderate (and dare we say, perfect for the position!). He's gonna try to please his conservative detractors. We just wanted to say that in a perfect world, Prado would be the best pick. He's moderate, Republicans like him, and he's a minority!

But in a perfect world, we wouldn't still be in Iraq, Dubya wouldn't be in power, and we wouldn't have bigots putting ridiculous amendments up to vote. And we would all be very rich, and live in gingerbread houses by a chocolate stream!

First the Astros lose . . .

[Yahoo!]

Then we find out that Harriet Miers has withdrawn. Honestly, we are of two minds about this. Part of us knows that she was just not qualified at all, but part of us is very wary of who Dubya will pick next. Priscilla Owen, NOOOOOOO!!!!!

This is what I'd give you.

[via 2 Political Junkies]

The FDA is taking public comments on emergency contraception until November 1. If you agree with us about the need for emergency birth control (especially in cases of rape and sexual assault), let the FDA know.

Go here for more information and a link to the FDA comment form.

Now that Baxter is out of the race for HD-48 here in Austin, there's rumors afloat that Kelly White may be rethinking her candidacy. She had been behind Donna Howard as her campaign treasurer, but is floating the idea of running. Texas Weekly is also reporting "you might also believe that the Democrat with the best combination of name identification, grassroots support and money would have the best chance. And since she ran before, you might pick White to bear the standard, even though she's endorsed Howard and told friends and supporters in emails that Howard would make a better representative than she would." Kelly, if you are the candidate, can we come along when you toilet paper Bentzin's house?

Incidentally, a trip to www.DonnaHoward.com takes you to a self-described "Psychic Animal Communicator" and "Psychic Ghost Communicator". Maybe she could shed some light on when Perry's gonna call the special election, and which D is gonna take on Bentzin. I couldn't fina anything for Kathy Rider, but Andy Brown's site is all fancy looking, check it out at www.VoteAndy.com. Also, did you know he was at the John Edwards' speech? Why didn't you stop by & chat up us bloggers in the back Andy?

I know, you're thinking, how PD? How in the hell does this troll of a man continue to amaze you when you've never seen anything but an example of a flaw in the gene pool where he is concerned? Well, here's his statement on the phone campaign that was started to educate voters of the vague language in Prop. 2

I'm going to highlight some of the text below:
"The folks who produced this recording have laid all integrity aside," Rep. Warren Chisum (R - Pampa) said. "The language for Proposition 2 has been reviewed by the legislature and some of the state's top attorneys. This is a scare tactic orchestrated by individuals who are willing to do anything to make sure Proposition 2 is unsuccessful in the polls. I am appalled that people would take advantage of others by disseminating this type of widespread deceit."

Ok, Now let's change a few words and we'll use this as the official PinkDome press release! You can copy and paste and create your own! It'll be like Mad Libs.

"The folks who produced this proposed amendment have laid all integrity aside," Pinkdome said. "The language for Proposition 2 was never reviewed by the Attorney General's office as requested by several legislators. This is a scare tactic orchestrated by Republicans who are willing to do anything to make sure they draw out votes in the next election of a far-right idealogue base that has no interest in protecting the civil rights of Texans. I am appalled that people would take advantage of others by disseminating this type of widespread deceit."

Your turn!

Well, we know next Saturday they'll be here in Austin. The KKK will be performing and all-white production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Austin City Hall and now we know Frau Tina Benkiser of the Texas Republican Party will be in Arlington on Thursday to light their very own burning cross in the parking lot of the Cornerstone Baptist Church.

I don't understand why these two groups have to hold separate events.

Too harsh? The picture of the hooded KKK member in the same sentence with the Texas Republican Party? Nope. You lay down with dogs and you get up with fleas. Republicans...you're covered in fleas.

Rumor has it that indictments will be announced tomorrow [HuffPo]. We're just passing that on. . . so do with it what you will.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn is still yelling about the $1.2 billion dollars she has lying around in her office. She tried calling for a special to give it to Katrina victims, she tried calling for a special to give it to Rita victims, she's now trying to chop it up and use it for property tax relief. Perry's response? Eh. Seriously, this lady can't even give money away and can barely grab a headline. Does anyone even still remember that there's a Republican primary coming up? The only headlines of hers that I've seen recently are how her campaign manager is doing campaign work from his state office. Great press lady, even if it is all ok, there's still the appearance of impropriety.

We don't really understand the point of this CNN Poll: Poll: Bush would lose an election if held this year. Sha! Big surprise! No one wants to vote for him now. . . it's like that Ted Rall strip.

Riddle me this - has there been a President since Ike who hasn't gotten in some sort of trouble in his second term?

So were these two separated at birth or what? As I'm guessing you heard from PD, BOR, and ITPT - John Edwards was on the University of Texas campus yesterday to talk to students about Opportunity Rocks, an organization devoted to fighting poverty. (also check out this guy, he was very nice to us, I can't figure out why, because we're assholes). Sadly, there were no free drinks. However, there was a former vice-presidential candidate willing to talk to bloggers after the speech.

Edwards' big thing was harping on Bobby Kennedy, how he inspired college kids to go out and be the catalyst for change. Then he tried to do the same thing. (Note the pic, I think there was a reason he kept coming back to ol' Bobby K). It was a great message and all, so go out & end poverty.

There were a couple points made afterwards about reframing the moral debate. Edwards mentioned how time is wasted by those on the other side of the aisle on divisive moral issues (sidenote: GO VOTE NOW AGAINST PROP 2). Poverty is one of those things that reaches across geographical, racial & income lines as a concern, and it is a message that should be carried on. Quote "The world wants us to lead & fill the void of moral leadership."

-In regards to Harriet Miers: She sucks, we don't know anything about her, and being Bush's lawyer doesn't qualify you for a post on the Supreme Court.
-In regards to John Roberts: he voted for him in 2001 for DC circuit court judge but would have voted against him for Chief Justice. There's a big difference between the circuit court and the Supreme Court.
-Labor law reforms and housing vouchers were touched on. After Katrina forced us to see poor people, we should work to enact change. Concentrating impovershed ethnic groups together can only result in disaster, and we can work to change this as we rebuild New Orleans.
-Raise minimum wage to $7.50
-Pink Lady asked about presidential aspirations in '08. Typical non-committal answer. Oh well, you gotta ask.
-Great handshake, I think I went back a few times just to shake his hand some more.
-He drinks Diet Sprite Remix. Ick.

For the first time a poll says that over 50% of Americans now believe the war in Iraq is wrong and 66% say the President is doing a poor job. As the administration is in a tailspin over everything from eroding support to the budget crisis to the Harriet Miers nomination, conservatives are pulling every last ditch effort out of the woodwork to call the Dems a party without an agenda or with no plan.

Ask me, I've got a plan. The wheels are falling off, folks.

We have an unconfirmed report the State Capitol was evacuated due to a fire alarm/bomb threat or something. Our tipster suggests that maybe Tom DeLay walked in and everyone just fled the building in fear of being photographed with him or something. Let us know what you heard.

My radio alarm clock awakened me with the news that Rick Perry believes Ronnie Earle, the Travis County District Attorney, is an 'overzealous prosecutor' and that Tom DeLay should be able to remain as Majority Leader of the House. So, what it means to me is that Rick Perry thinks those pesky rules that say if you're indicted you have to resign from a leadership position are not applicable to his friends.

Rick is reading from the same script that KBH read from on Meet the Press this week. The GOP talking points are apparently from 'upside down world' and we look forward to the next round!

When the US death toll hits 2,000 in Iraq, there will be peace marches throughout the nation. You can go here to see where marches will be in your area. We note this because as of right now, the death toll is 1,999. Sadly, 2,000 doesn't seem that far off.

Americans are getting stupider. Let's blame it on Fox News and Pat Robertson: CBS on AOL: Majority of Americans Reject Theory of Evolution. Of course, as always, we take these polls with a grain of salt. Because polls suck.

It should be fun for the whole family! The city has reserved the Austin City Hall's south plaza on Lavaca and Cesar Chavez from 1-3 pm on Saturday, November 5. We're just kidding, of course, about the picnic lunch. Our advice is for you to stay away from downtown on November 5. Remember the riots in Ohio just recently at the last KKK rally?

We'll probably just watch the results on CNN later that afternoon. The Klan is coming to town to endorse Proposition 2. That's awesome. I, personally, appreciate the Ku Klux Klan coming out in favor of this amendment because it makes everything I've ever said about Warren Chisum, Robert Talton, Todd Staples and that ass-fuck Shackleford true.

And believe me, folks, it is not an accident that right below this post is a tribute to a great American Rosa Parks. Shame on Austin for giving the KKK a permit. This isn't free speech, it's hate speech to incite a goddamn riot about 8 blocks from my friggin house is what it is.

Rosa Parks passed away at the age of 92. When I think of her, I think of courage of convictions and bravery and patriotism and the ultimate in standing up for what is right. As a country, we owe her a debt and as a heroine of the civil rights movement and we owe her our thanks.

Rosa Parks helped publicize an injustice in a dramatic way. Through courage and strength. I can't help but think our nation needs more people like Rosa Parks and we are sorely missing them.

Goodbye and May God Have Blessings on Her Soul.

Senator Edwards wants to encourage the youth of America to become 'loud and ferocious' in fighting poverty in America. Ironically, Senator Edwards is about as ferocious as a piece of milquetoast. His speech to the friendly crowd of wide-eyed students was informative, but not inspiring. Mr. Edwards could be commended for his 'college tour' to light the spark of activism in students. But, I'll let other blogs do that.

John Edwards is a likable fella, but he just didn't light a fire under my ass. I guess the same could be said about the American voters in the last election. I did take a lot of notes during his 'special time with bloggers' after his speech, but it was because he was sitting right in front of me and I didn't want to seem like a dick. Rawhide was there, he'll probably tell you what the speech and movement is all about. His hair did look good, though. Beats Rick Perry's hair by a factor of ten. And speaking of Rick Perry, when will he ever give 'special time with bloggers' cause I know I would have a few good questions, mofo.

**UPDATE** Ok, maybe I was a little hard on Senator Edwards. I was in a foul mood yesterday and perhaps that clouded my awe at his altruism and efforts to bring the fight against poverty in America to a discussion among college students. Mea Culpa. Senator Edwards was informative, and his speech made some points that were off the scale in terms of being obvious. He declared that the fight for poverty was the new moral issue of our day and it was up to us to expect moral leaders, regardless of party, to fight this fight.

All of those are things I can agree with him on. I stand by my post that he's just not a dynamic speaker, he's endearing and likable...but not dynamic.

So, do something. Fight poverty. Volunteer. Edwards is right, Hurricane Katrina brought the ugly face of poverty to our television sets. And we all know if we see it on television, it must be true.

Better?

This is what we were hoping for last week. Thanks, Fake Delay Mugshot.com, for making wishes come true!

As a regular voter (yes, even in city and amendment elections, I'm crazy that way), I depend on the League of Women Voters Voter's Guide (pdf). It is always non-partisan, un-biased and informative. Of course we are biased and will say vote NO on Prop. 2. But look to the voter's guide for everything else.

It's gay day on the blogs today. Early voting starts today and the blogs are all reminding us that Proposition 2 is on the ballot. BOR has a rundown of every major state newspaper's opposition to Prop. 2 and In The Pink Texas has a hilarious paid actor endorsement for Prop. 2 for our amusement.

You can view all 9 proposed Constitutional Amendments here. It's important to familiarize yourself with them and to participate in the vote. (HAHA, that made us laugh) As far as telling you what we endorse and don't here's our simple guide:

Vote No. Not only on Prop. 2, which you should vote no on unless you want us to compare you to an idiot like Warren Chisum or Robert Talton, but vote no on all of these proposed amendments. The Texas constitution (should I have capitalized that "c"?) is a convaluted document that requires a little re-working so that these amendments aren't necessary in the first place.

We would have read these already. We're still getting over the weekend, so here are some links for you to check out:

Texas Observer: Bench Play: Harriet Miers and the troubled Texas Lottery - by Molly Ivins. See our earlier post.

KBH a flip-flopper? Say it ain't so, Joe! Think Progress: Hutchison Flip-Flops on Importance of Perjury. Added note: Someone should tell the staffer answering the phones last week that their boss' name is NOT "Hutchinson".

R. J. Reynolds hearts Tom DeLay. He flew down to Houston on their corporate jet. Niiiice.

Last night I watched her 'perform' on Meet The Press and she was wearing the most God-awful blue suit. This suit had silver hoops on the breast pockets and now my brain is forever burned with an image of KBH with nipple rings.

I think Senator Hutchison owns about four different suits and that's it. I've seen her in blue, red, white and black. Every one of them looks like they came from Talbot's. Someone should indict her on a serious fashion charge.

Click here to see the Scandalvision chart that details WTF is going on in the Bush administration. Thanks to the commenter for sending it. I printed it out.

A Texas Monthly preview led me to a story on Boys State. When I did this, it was called Youth Lege and yes, I still have my t-shirt. The interview with three McCallum students and their experience at Boys State made me at once proud of the youth of Texas and so ashamed of the youth of Texas I felt sick. Three of the boys interviewed decided to go home and discussed their reasons. Intolerance across the board seems to be the overwhelming reason.

This excerpt is what made me sad for our youth:

That night, after the lights went out, one of the boys' roommates, whom he described as tall, blond, wealthy, athletic, and proudly homophobic, confessed, "I hate fags." He was thinking about going to UT, he said, until he heard that Texas had a lot of gay students. And that wasn't the only group he focused his anger on. In his pickup, he said, he kept a baseball bat filled with lead. "When people ask me what that bat's for, I tell them it's my can crusher," he said. "For Afri-cans and Mexi-cans."

Which is worse: the Triumph the comic insult/attack dog ad ("It's not a crime to be a conservative") or this really lame "laundromat" ad? I wanted to like it, guys, really I did. But I could have made a better ad and I have no clue how to use Photoshop.

Burning bodies of Taliban soldiers? Dude, I know war is hell and all but what in the hell?

PHOTO REMOVED

Wow, we're shocked! SHOCKED we tell you that a Virginia company paid $440,000 in bribes and kickbacks in the United Nations Oil for Food program and the money wound up with Saddam and his family. So, nope...this whole oil business is not just as seedy and bloody as we thought it was. Turns out we were wrong to even question the altruistic humanitarian campaign and the big oil companies. Shame on us. (This now ends irony. Feel free to be irony-free in the comments)

Did Tom DeLay have plastic surgery that went awry?

An 82-year old woman received a recruitment letter from the Marines telling her the military "is in need of your service." We know the military is not meeting its recruitment goals, but we didn't know it was this bad.

Personally, this letter tells me two things: 1.) The military has some sort of incompetence going on and 2.) Recruitment must be be more dire than we have been lead to believe.

I'm trying to think what my own grandmother, if she were alive today, would do if 'called to serve' by the Marines. She would probably require all the young men's uniforms to be hemmed and taken in where they were ill-fitting and give tons of hugs and lead prayer groups. My grandmother could lead us out of Iraq with an unqualified victory in no time flat, she was the awesomest.

What's up with politicians winning money from gambling? First Kinky Friedman wins $45,000 by playing slots in Louisiana. Now U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) won $850,000 from the Powerball. Shouldn't political bloggers get some of that luck? Time for a PinkDome Vegas trip to see where our luck stands.

DeLay's mugshot on TSG: He looks too damn happy. If you're too lazy to go to TSG, here it is.

Tom DeLay is probably going to avoid the 'perp walk' when he may or may not appear in Austin regarding his indictment. (Forgive the syntax, I'm hungover) But, if anyone can get us a photo of Tom Delay at the Travis County Courthouse we'll give you a prize.

First Prize: Tom DeLay in handcuffs gets $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant
Second Prize: Tom DeLay with his coat or hands over his face surrounded by police, etc. gets a $25 gift certificate
Third Prize: Tom DeLay having sexual relations with a farm animal gets you the keys to my car.

Happy photo hunting shutterbugs!

We'll miss his God-awful hair and carb face. Now let's all jump on the Andy Brown bandwagon.

I would have posted this a lot earlier, but I'm hungover. (D'uh)

We'll be making an appearance at the Best of Austin party this evening If you're one of the 'Best' be sure to spot us and for the love of Pete, feel us up!

Should they oppose Proposition 2 on the November Ballot or not? Click here to help them decide that "D'uh, they should totally oppose Prop. 2."

In other Gay Marriage news, the HRC says watch out for tomorrow when the Federal Marriage Amendment is back on the schedule:
TOMORROW, Thursday, October 20th, Senator Brownback (R-KS) will preside over the second Senate subcommittee hearing this year to address marriage between same-sex couples. Today, we'd like you to send a strong message to your Senator who sits on the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution and will be attending tomorrow's hearing.

It's routine and all, but we still wanted to point out that an arrest warrant has been issued for DeLay.

Don't forget: It's not a crime to be conservative! It's a crime to violate state election laws.

Senator Frank Madla "emphatically" declared that he's gonna try and stick around for another session while trying to dispel rumors that he'll retire. Taken from his press release:

"Madla said that rumors have been floating in Capitol circles lately that he will retire are unfounded, 'Capitol rumors on their best day are more wrong than right. In my case, they are completely wrong.'"

Funny, back in May I heard a rumor that you'd grow some balls and vote against HJR 6. I see your theory holds strong. I also heard a rumor that you'll win in your primary. We'll see how that one pans out.

We got quite a few of you interested in the job we heard about through the grapevine. So, to that end we'd like to put the call out one more time for folks that are hiring. If you have any open positions and would like some incredibly talented people (our readers) to apply, drop us an email with the job posting or post it yourself in our forums under our new forum "Job Listings"

In light of the current poll numbers we thought we'd offer Mr. Bush an opportunity to sit with us, his supervisor, and go over some of the items we feel need to be discussed. We've decided to do this prior to his regularly scheduled 360 review here at PinkDome and hopefully we'll put him on a corrective action plan or he may be subject to termination.

"Now, Mr. Bush we know that the last time we spoke you received 'meets goals' almost across the board here from the American Public. The only area we had a 'needs improvement' was with the Iraq War. As your manager, we decided to give you a warning on that issue and simply mark it in your file.

You're back meeting with me today because of recent complaints regarding your performance. I'm afraid I have to let you know we have marked you with a 'needs improvement' across this board this time, Mr. Bush. These types of 360 feedbacks can lead to termination and we need to put you on an action plan for correction if you want to keep this job."

Out of a possible 100, you've scored 39 in confidence among your constituents. This is not the kind of service level we at the United States of America strive to provide our customers, clients and Board of Directors. While you have fumbled several recent major projects I've given to you, not once have you asked me for help or admitted any shortcomings. I hope I don't have to remind you that asking for help is not a sign of weakness and only helps you grow as a leader."

Let's leave this meeting today with a new attitude. I'd like to see marked improvement and a renewed commitment to the United States of America, Inc. If not, the next time we speak it will be me asking you to clear out your desk and you'll be escorted from the building. We don't have to make this into a negative, let's build from here."

Remember, if you need anything please come to me and I'll do what I can to remove obstacles and help you with decisions. I'm not going to tell you to change your mind on Harriet Miers, but you've got to start making some smarter choices if you want to keep this job."

That's all, you can sign this form acknowledging receipt of this discussion and then you can go back to your desk."

According to the Paris News it is. Well, two wrongs don't make a right. The Paris school district is proposing a four day school week to cut back on fuel expenses for school buses. This move would also dock cafeteria workers pay, and subsequently cut down on food costs. So, to save on gas money we can cut people's wages. Cutting people's wages means they have less money to spend on things like, oh..I don't know...food, maybe? Anyone got an hourly rate on a cafeteria worker's pay scale handy? Plus, how many children in this district rely on the subsidized food programs. (I'm talking out of my ass because I don't even know if those programs still exist)

Oh, and then we have to consider those working parents. Single parents, even. What the hell are they supposed to do with their little rugrat terrors running amok on a Friday with no school?

These genius ideas are killing us today. I propose we create internment camps for children under the age of 16 on Fridays and those over the age of 16 can receive special work permits and be forced into the labor pool in the district.

I'm full of the brilliance today y'all. (It's cause I've started drinking early...oh, and these people are idiots)

Are the following statements referring to new hunting regulations in National Parks? New rules for fish and wildlife along the Mississippi River? Or...are they referring to how we should treat humans seeking a better life and wanting to contribute to the American economy?

Chertoff also pledged to end the "catch and release" policy
"Return every single [redacted] -- no exceptions," Chertoff said

I say we catch each illegal immigrant, put them to work in our sewer systems and road construction crews during the height of summer here in Texas and then pay them $1.12 per day to complete the work. Once the work is completed we could bus them all back below the border under armed guards and pick up a new batch. After all, they're just Mexicans, right? They aren't real people trying to survive, find a better life, contribute to our economy and get jobs. Right? Right?

Mayor Bobby Hill of Bartlett has been asked to resign. One council member said, "There are just so many questions flying around regarding his integrity that I don't feel he can do the best job for the city," Grant said.

If questioning the integrity of politicians meant we should ask them to resign there wouldn't be anybody left!

P.S. I have no idea where Bartlett is and I don't really give a shit, I just thought this was funny.

PinkDome knows of a marketing/admin position open. If you're an out of work staffer email us for more details. The position may require some travel and is Austin based. We will reply with a job description.

"The surprising thing about all of us is we actually know Harriet Miers," said former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hill after his meeting with Bush. "I hope that still counts for something somewhere."

If the Texas Supreme Court ever said they were going to endorse me for dogcatcher I'd file a defammation suit against them. If this is the best she can do, we're all in trouble.

We have found out some things about Harriet. Such as, she's an evangelical! Focus on the Family loves her (YIPES) and apparently knows some double-secret information about her (Double Yipes) and what else, oh...she sleeps around.

Mayor Will Wynn of Austin released a statement regarding the controversial Proposition 2 coming up on the November 8 ballot. Here's a snippet, the rest after the jump.

And, to me, one of the great cultural characteristics of Texas is that, here, we mind our own business. In Texas, there’s more than enough room for a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions. We may not like something that someone else is doing, but unless it’s really hurting somebody, we just go our own way and let it be. I like this aspect of Texas culture a lot—a whole lot, in fact. I think it comes with being such a big and wide-open state, and I think that it, more than almost any other mindset, defines what it is to be Texan. So, let’s just not get into the habit of taking our opinions and trying to turn them into the laws of the land, particularly constitutional amendments: every time we let this happen, we lose a big part of what it is to be of and from the Great State of Texas.

It's nice to live in Austin where we can count on some semblance of sanity on rare ocassions.

Continue Reading

Austin ISD approved a $519.5 million bond program last year and has started building new schools. They are currently in the nomination process for possible names for these new schools. Random names and topics have been thrown out there as possible names for the schools, ranging from Ted Nugent to Troy Aikman to Cool School. Hell, someone even suggested ABC Pleasant to be named after the alphabet. C'mon, Ted Nugent, the alphabet...they've got nothing on us. Reeling off our Best Of Austin Awards from last week, I suggest someone throw out the name PinkDome Elementary. I mean, all the bitching we did about school finance over the last 10 months should qualify us for something, right? Right?

We've seen the "Ronnie Earle sucks!" ad more than a couple of times, and all we can think of when we see it is how much that dog looks like Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Perhaps the smoke coming out of the dog's mouth brings to mind Triumph's ever-present cigar, or perhaps the coloring is just similar enough . . . Either way, it's hard to take an ad seriously when all that comes to mind is Triumph adding, "For me to poop on!"

Example: "It's not a crime to be a conservative. . .for me to poop on!"

Corruption in the current Bush administration is simply getting too convoluted to keep track off without some sort of visual aid. We have to extend this corruption, through the Bush administration into Congress and then on down to Texas and without a flow chart, I'm afraid we're all just getting quite lost.

Inside the White House we have:
David Safavian, the Bush administration's former chief procurement official indicted; and the withdrawal of President Bush's nomination of Timothy Flanigan, a onetime associate of Abramoff, to be the No. 2 official at the Justice Department.

Then we have Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, being supboened before the grand jury in relation to the Valerie Plame case. It is widely speculated in Washington that one or both will be indicted in the next few weeks. If so, the next questions will surely be what did the president know, and when did he know it. These two people are extremely close to the seats of power and we can reason they acted with the thrust of a decision by someone.

Any discussion of corruption in the White House would be remiss if we did not mention the famous 'No Bid Contracts' for Halliburton! You know, the ones the FBI are currently investigating? The ones that the Department of Defense official responsible for auditing and monitoring contracts says Halliburton received and violated with excessive charges and little oversight are illegal. This courageous longtime employee at the Pentagon was recently demoted and last I heard she may be losing her job, too.

Now let's wander out of the White House and down to Congress.
Here's where we step in a big pile of Tom DeLay. The egregious violations of everything from campaign finance to arm-twisting to accepting bribes in the form of golf trips are mind-boggling to say the least. His backroom manipulations of the Texas state legislature (a bunch of rubes if there ever has been) to gerrymander the congressional district was out and out political power hungry plays at their worst. So much so, that news comes in so fast of his misdeeds we can't keep up with how deep this particular shit goes.

Then there is our beloved Doctor Frist. You know the moron that diagnosed a brain dead woman as alive and communicative with the sole aid of a tv screen? Yeah, that one. Now it looks like he's also being investigated for some trading fraud. You know selling your family company's stock just days before it's going to plummet because it's going to miss earnings targets. (Uhm, that's called illegal, y'all)

So, there are the facts I can figure out this Sunday morning. I'd love to see a nice color coded chart we could all print out and put on our walls and keep up with what's next. I think someone should make it into a board game. First one to get a conviction wins. First one to get an impeachment gets a blow job.

The City of Dallas spent $4,000 lobbying themselves. It's this kind of fuckedupness we'd expect to see on the national level so we give kudos to the sheer audacity of the Dallas City Council for taking their queus from the propoganda spewing administration and wasting money on things like printing flyers for the 'verified response' initiative.

Ah, another reason for us to hate on Dallas. Awesome.

Update--Sorry Chuck, it was late on a Friday afternoon. Y'all go check out his blog. When he's not posting photos of Jessica Alba's camel toe he's talking about stuff. ;)

We know you've all been thinking it as you read his comments, we just thought we'd say it. Normally, we'd say we love all our readers but we have a sneaking suspicion that Governor Perry is using this alias, "wonk," to comment here. So, this is a way we can call the governor and this commenter an asshole all at the same time.

A tipster forwarded us this email that's been passed around in support of the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage. I don't even know where to begin with this one. This guy is a complete moron. The full text is available after the jump, but here's a few excerpts. Go ahead & send this asshole an email & tear him a new one, let him know that heteros can raise goldfish too.

"Vote FOR Proposition 2 and defend Marriage and Biological Normality in Texas and the USA."

"It is extremely important to tell everyone that Marriage is about One man and One woman raising CHILDREN. This is something that homosexuals don't do. Homosexuals raise goldfish, cats and dogs, not the NEXT GENERATION OF
PEOPLE."

"Marriage is about ONE man and ONE woman raising CHILDREN 95% of the time. And the other 5% of the time
marriage is ONE man and ONE woman taking care of each other. Heterosexuality is implicit in marriage. It amazes me in the year 2005 we are even talking about the concept of so-called "gay" marriage, a fantasy that does not
exist, just like the moon is not made of green cheese."

"Marriage is about a man and a woman raising children, not 2 gay roommates in a sexually dysfunctional relationship raising a goldfish or a dog. Do you try to teach your children good values or your goldfish?
Heterosexual couples change their baby's diapers several times a day and read to them, but gays just tell their cat to go to the litter box and feed their cats food scraped off the floor of a slaughterhouse."

""Gay" marriage is a fantasy that does not exist no matter what left-wing activist judges say. Furthermore, so is gay adoption of kids. Probably less than 1 in 175 gay "couples" want to adopt any children. That is why they are "gay," because they do not want to raise children."

Read full text.

To start your day off right, read here about just a little more shady dealings on Tom Delay's part. Turns out the FEC cited ARMPAC for spending too much corporate money. Ah, let the good times roll. It's getting so it's hard to follow all the money that was pumped through Delay's hands

The White House and the Department of Defense put on a little skit yesterday in a teleconference with troops in Iraq. Apparently, they rehearsed the performance. So, instead of a conversation with the troops as it was billed it turned out to be a nationally televised bit of war propoganda. Complete with such doozy of lies from the president like, "You have tremendous support here at home."

Support for the war (completely different than supporting our troops) is less than 40% among Americans and Mr. Bush's own approval ratings are continuing a nosedive. Lying to the troops, lying to the American people and lying to yourself is all about to catch up with you, douchebag.

We don't like to brag (oh, who are we kidding?!), but we were honored with Best Political Blog and tied with BOR for Best Local Blogger for the Austin Chronicle's Best of Austin 2005 Reader's Poll.

We love you guys!

We knew it was bad, but this is terrible; only 2 percent of African-Americans approve of the crappy job Bush is doing. [Think Progress] Of course, this is from a poll, and there is a margin of error. While we don't think much of polls, a lot of people swear by them. Obviously some administrations depend on them.

Oh Condi, Condi . . .

[AFP on Yahoo! Photos]

"In lieu of flowers, please send acerbic letters to Republicans."

[from BoingBoing]

TPM warns that we will soon be seeing "Ronnie Earle sucks" ads here in Austin (before they spread out nationwide). What's the point? You want us to walk up to him in Texas French Bread and say, "Dude, Ronnie! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

It just seems idiotic. It ain't gonna take any attention away from your buddy DeLay, Free Enterprise Fund! P. S. Your site looks like a neighborhood church's website - and that's not a good thing.

Unless it's heterosexual missionary style, that is. Texas is one of 8 states that has banned the sale of a new vibrator called Elexa. This handy ring sized vibrator can't even be ordered online in our state. Their web site claims:

the Elexa Vibrating Ring can increase the pleasure and excitement for both partners. Keeping an honest dialogue going, sharing your desires and sensations, can keep you in tune and in touch with each other's feelings.

Anyone brave enough to illegally import one of these vibrating rings into our state and write a product review will receive a gift certificate for online porn courtesy of PinkDome.

What's the buzzing sound? Oh, sorry y'all I gotta go take care of some bidness now.

But we're still muddy on the Miers issue.

Pro: She helped set up (and fund) a lecture series at SMU that brought such feminists as Gloria Steinem out to talk [Chron. of Higher Ed.].

Con: Bush is now saying that her "religion" is one of the reasons he chose her [CNN]. Oh, and apparently other nominees the administration had in mind didn't want the job. HA HA HA.

Pro: She seems like a nice broad.

Con: She thought that Bush was "the best governor ever" [CNN]. Like, totally, for sure.

So we're still on the fence, but leaning ever so close to being against this pick.

Kinky Friedman emceed the 3rd Annual Regular Jo Fashion Show at Jo's Coffeehouse in Austin on October 8. Kinky MC'd while models walked down the cat walk with dogs that are up for adoption. Uhn...ok.

Use your mouse to move George through the maze. Minutes of fun!

Although he isn't majority leader anymore, DeLay keeps getting asked for advise and counsel [NYTimes]:

" . . . he remains the go-to guy for many House Republicans. They say he is virtually indispensable as the party faces the daunting prospect of delivering $50 billion or more in spending cuts as well as an immigration measure in the coming weeks.
..................
But the continuing strong presence of Mr. DeLay presents House Republicans with a quandary.

Though he has the political muscle and inside knowledge to maneuver difficult legislation in a dicey political climate, he is also is operating under the liability of the criminal charges. Some Republicans acknowledge that their work could be tainted by any perception that Mr. DeLay commands the House from the sidelines while awaiting a resolution of the charges.

Has anyone seen this new UNICEF campaign in France Belgium to teach children the horrors of war?

Smurfette is left for dead! Gargomel is gonna be sooo happy.

Our thought? Dude, that's fucked up.

Congressman Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, was arrested for DUI in South Dakota over the weekend. Ok, drinking and driving we get. Being in South Dakota? That...we'll never understand.

Are you a friend of the Bush Family? Are you a big Republican contributor? If so, you're lucky day is here. Visit cronyjobs.com to apply now for a position with the croniest administration since the days of the Teapot Dome Scandal!

This bit from The Sunday Times teaches us that:

a) Irish journalists think Bush is absurd
b) American journalists aren't aggressive enough
c) Dubya doesn't like to be interrupted when on a spiel
d) all of the above

Someone tipped us to this story in the wee small hours of the morning: State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, was detained for allegedly trying to carry a handgun onto a plane at Miller International Airport in McAllen [Houston Chron]. Whoops. If we were more awake, we'd post some witty remark.

Yeah, it's Columbus Day so there's not much action today. Through our regular blog reads, we happened upon this article in the NYTimes about day-laborers in Austin and Home Depot's thorny relationship with them. How ironic that people continue to hire day-laborers, but at the same time, don't like to be reminded of their existence. You can't have it both ways! Choice quotes:

In Austin, some homeowners and businesses say Home Depot should not foist its problems upon others by chasing the workers away, saying that the company should set aside part of its property for the laborers so that the daily tango between contractors and workers does not snarl the sidewalks and streets.

"I don't see what people are so bothered about - they're just looking for work," said Sabina Traviño, a child care worker who lives three blocks from the store. "It's better to look for work than to rob or make trouble. There are bigger problems in the neighborhood, like drugs and prostitution."
.........................
Julien Ross, coordinator of the Central Texas Immigrant Workers' Rights Center, said Home Depot should "create a safe and dignified space adjacent to its store" at St. John's Avenue.

"This will not eliminate all the problems, but it will go far to minimize them," Mr. Ross said.

Robert Flocke, a spokesman for the Travis County Health and Human Services Department, which oversees Austin, said that creating a special workers' site at that Home Depot would be unnecessary because there is already a county-run day laborers' hiring hall a mile away. But many workers shun that site because they say not enough contractors go there.

As if Karl Rove wasn't in enough trouble, now he's gone and told James Dobson something about Ms. Miers: something that Dobson says he "probably shouldn't know." We infer that it is something to the effect that Miers is strongly opposed to abortion. Now the judicial committee wants Mr. Dobson to testify as to just what he was told about Ms. Miers.

Oh, and Ms. Miers went to two church services yesterday. Those darn Episcopalians just ignored her, but she got recognized at her fundy group:

When Cornerstone minister Ron Key called attention to her presence, the 150 worshippers gave her a standing ovation, their claps echoing through the hotel ballroom that temporarily houses the church's weekly services.

Senator Troy Fraser's son was arrested in Austin and told the arresting office he'd give him $1,000 if he let him go. Seeing that didn't work, the senator's son upped it to $10,000 to let him go. When all else failed he said the favorite line of those politically connected when they get caught, "You'll be sorry."

We are sorry. Sorry that no matter how many politically connected and celebrity related folks get stinking drunk on Sixth Street in Austin and embarrassed by the media they never learn that the Austin Police Department doesn't give a shit who you are. PinkDome says, if you're wasted on Sixth Street in Austin either keep a low profile or at the very least do not resist arrest. Otherwise we'll be laughing at your drunk sorry pathetic ass all over our blog.

P.S. I'm totally drunk right now in Philadelphia and somehow I made it back to my hotel without getting arrested once.

P.P.S. I know I spelled arrested like five different ways in this post. Get over it. A.) I'm drunk. B.) How the hell am I supposed to know how to spell that word? I've never been arrested. Losers.

A tipster just sent us a link to this article: Washington Times: DeLay accuses Earle of taking corporate funds. We'd detail more about the article, but as the paper is controlled by the Moonies, we think it not a very legitimate news source.

We do agree with our tipster, who says, "I can't help myself. I'm not a violent person, and I really don't hate President Bush or Sen. Frist. I don't think Ann Coulter is the devil. Misguided, racist, and ignorant, of course. But I actually want to punch Tom DeLay in his stupid ass face. OOOH! I'm so angry, I'm going to go home and bite my pillow."

Post title note: The quote's from Waiting for Guffman (filmed in Lockhart!).

We're just getting around to reading our headlines from the NYTimes, so we just saw this story: San Antonio Proudly Lines Up Behind the Military Recruiter. Apparently, San Antonio has been a successful recruiting market for all of the military branches. It is the top city for recruiting, beating out Oklahoma City and St. Louis.

The article is informative, but is it accurate in the portrayal of San Antonio? There is only the smallest mention of anti-war fervor in the city:

This city has its critics of the war in Iraq and its angry mothers who try to shame recruiters into going home. More than anything, though, it has a powerful patriotism and a deep respect for the military life.
. . . . . .
This summer, Sergeant Davis said, two mothers paid a call on his recruiting office to denounce the war and the recruiters' efforts. Still, for many people here, the war's needs outweigh political opposition, fear and ambivalence. Many said they believed that those who oppose recruitment are ignorant about the value that military service holds for the individual and the country.

What do you think?

Cartoon by Bob Englehart, Hartford Courant

Too funny. Well, really more sad than funny at this point.

update: Looks like Bush's speech yesterday didn't do much to help his ratings . . .

OK, so if Ronnie Earle has indicted your boss, then you go to every extreme to smear him in the media. If he has just let your boss off the hook, then you kiss his ass in the media. Craddick's lawyer, Roy Minton, in today's Express News described a phone call he says he got from Earle last week: "He called me ... and said, 'It's good news.' I said, 'What's ya got, Buddy?' And he said, 'We're not going to indict Craddick.'"

Now we all mutter a collective "DAMN". Is it too much to ask to take Craddick with them? I'm gonna go find a star to wish on.

Just as a sidenote, Roy Minton, the lawyer for Craddick & the Texas Association of Business, also represented the two guys who sexually assaulted and beat up a gay man in Austin last year. This story is despicable, and these guys need to get locked up for a lot longer. Minton's quote regarding the case: "Their lawyer, Roy Minton, said his clients did not sexually assault their victim and only beat him up after he made an advance toward Gay's younger brother." Uggh. There's a saying in Spanish that goes "Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres", or "Tell me who you hang around with, and I'll tell you who you are." I'll let you infer who this guy is based on the scum he's been hanging around.

Remember Carole Keeton Strayhorn? How those hurricanes damn near wiped her off the map? Well she's still hollering, although I dont know who all is listening. The Startlegram ran a quickie about how she's calling for a special session to deliver money to hurricane victims. In case you've blinked and missed the few headlines she's managed to grab, she's been saying the same thing since Katrina hit. I think it's time to grab a new story Grandma, maybe you'll have better luck getting a headline.

That's the bumper sticker that uber-conservative Texas Supreme Court Justice and past Harrient Miers beau has hanging up in his office. I don't know if I've heard a truer statement.

The Statesman is reporting today how 2,900 state workers are going to be laid off by next May. The best part? The State sent them an email to let them know. Now that is cold. Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Shouldn't you be giving them a hug or something as you kick them in the balls?

All of this comes on the heels of the state auditor's report that privatizing our state business just doesn't save us money.

On another note, Senators Barrientos & Shapleigh have called on the Lite Gov to create a Special Joint Interim Committee to point out just how bad Wohglemuth screwed up our HHSC system in 2003. Here's a bit from their press release:

"In anticipation of an unsatisfactory outcome, I (Barrientos) wrote the Commission in February 2004 asking that they reconsider the push to privatize payroll and human resources, and was assured in a response that 'as good stewards of taxpayer dollars' the Commission would 'carefully establish their criteria' and 'focus on performance and accountability'," wrote Barrientos. "In light of the Commission's response, I find the results of the State Auditor's report particularly disappointing."
[...]
A committee to oversee the privatizations called for by House Bill 2292 in the 78th Regular Session met during the interim between the 78th and 79th sessions, issued a report which was not signed by all members, and has not met subsequently.

So let's see...they told us $45 million dollars in savings - they were wrong. They said they'd be good stewards of taxpayer dollars - they gave the contract to Convergys, a firm that seriously screwed things up in Florida. They said they'd focus on performance & accountability - their final report wasn't even signed by all the members of the committee & they haven't bothered to meet again to see how messed up their bill was.

The full press release after the jump.

PD is out of town and we're doing our best, y'all.

- Radar Online has heard that the investigation into Frist and his shady stock trade is being led by his own party, mainly because he has spoken in his own voice (instead of that of the GOP and Dubya) regarding stem cell research and Katrina: "the fact that the investigation was spearheaded by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Bush's legal crony, and SEC Chairman (and former Republican congressman) Chris Cox, has observers on both sides of the aisle wondering if it's an effort to kneecap the senator before he can announce his 2008 presidential bid." Very interesting.

- After reading the article in the WaPo re: Rove's voting registration (we sorta posted on it in September), a woman in Kerr County has asked her district attorney to investigate whether Rove's registration is legitimate or not. Rove has friends everywhere, so who knows if this will come to anything.

- The Catholic Church is going to let gay men become priests. As long as they have been celibate for three years and aren't too flaming. We exaggerate slightly. But still no female priests! Another reason Bluebonnet will never be Catholic.

Apparently our great Senator Cornyn likes torture. The Senate approved McCain's anti-torture bill 90-9, and Cornyn was one of the nine who voted against it. Isn't that just dandy?

Random links you should check out:

- AAS: St. Andrew's parents split over ending of short story. A twelth-grade English class at Austin's St. Andrews Episcopal School is reading Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" (the film version starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall is coming your way soon). A donor thought that they shouldn't, and the school gave him his $3 million back. Good for them!

- Can you be an environmentalist Evangelical Christian? Apparently so. Richard Cizik is setting up an environmental movement ("creation care") using a pro-life stance.

- Think Progress: Hitting the Media's Glass Ceiling compares the ways the media has described Supreme Court nominees Roberts and Miers. Here's an example:

ROBERTS: "Exceptional intellect. Exceptional temperament. A conservative judicial philosophy." (LA Times, 7/25/05)

MIERS: "She makes a wonderful sweet potato pie. Many marshmallows." (AP, 10/3/05)

Things we should note:

1) We don't condone censorship.
2) We also don't condone bad fashion.

This is why we have mixed feelings about this story of a woman getting kicked off a Southwest flight for wearing a tacky t-shirt*. Part of us feels like she should be free to wear whatever clothes she wants, and fly wherever she wants. But part of us feel like . . . um, it's a tacky t-shirt. Basically we are undecided on this particular situation. We will continue to fly Southwest, because by golly, we are cheap and so are their flights.

*We think it's tacky because we didn't think of it first, honestly. =)

Washington is all abuzz about imminent indictments in the Valerie Plame case. Word is 22 indictments are on the way, including Karl Rove. Uhm, when is it ok to start comparing this administration to the Nixon administration as far as corruption and such? Just wondering. . .

That a certain Republican candidate for HD 50 has been seen around town wearing a hat at all times and showed up to a Policeman's Benevolent Ball wearing a top hat that he would not remove throughout the night. Speculation says new hair transplant is the reason. We all know to get elected you gotta have good hair!

Would hair transplants be taxable under that provision to tax plastic surgery? Hmm, I mean if we're taxing fake boobs we should tax fake hair, too.

Thanks to feministing.com, we read that last night the Senate unanimously reathorized the Violence Against Women Act. It's about damn time.

From the statement made by the National Network to End Domestic Violence:

Now that VAWA has passed in the House and Senate, the two chambers will meet to work out differences in their respective pieces of legislation. Most notably, the House version only contains criminal and civil justice provisions, while the Senate bill contains more comprehensive provisions addressing prevention, crisis and advocacy services, and housing protections. Rosenthal says she is confident that the bill's conferees will work towards a final version of VAWA that contains comprehensive programs to meet the needs of survivors.

[CNN]

That could be the headline if President Bush gets his way. At a press conference yesterday, he suggested the idea of using the military to quarantine an area where the 'bird flu' outbreak was, should one occur. Nothing like a little panic-inducing statement from the President to send people into a tizzy!

First, we hate to bring this up but we thought Republicans were for 'limited government' and 'state's rights' not Federal intervention at every turn. But, Mr. Bush is advocating taking more and more authority away from those pesky local and state governments. His delusion the Feds can do anything better than...well, anybody, is amazing.

Sure, the possibility of a pandemic of the avian flu is a little doomsday'ish in its possible scenarious. Sure, we need to have some sort of action plan. But the day the United States Military comes and shuts down the Austin airport, closed and roadblocked all roads out of the city and enforces a curfew while riding around in Humvees and machine guns is the day we are going to have serious problem around here. I'm just sayin' is all.

We posted last week on an audit that says that the new Health & Human Services Commission will only save Texans $1.1 million, as opposed to the $45 million dollars it was originally estimated to save. Turns out the commission doesn't agree with the state auditors, so they had the number removed from the final report. Say what? You can do that? How did that conversation go? "Hey, that number makes us look bad & we don't like it, so don't publish it."

Because the commission disagreed with the auditors' preliminary analysis that only $1.1 million would be saved, the figure was dropped from the auditors' final report, released Tuesday.

Know what's even better? The commission then makes up their own number...yes the same people who were off by $43.9 million the first time around then made up their next number & had it included in the report.

The only cost-saving figure in the report was another estimate from the commission itself, which revised potential savings to $32.7 million over five years.

Seriously, whatever happened to an independent audit? Someone over at HHSC has the state auditor by the balls, cuz they just painted this report to make them look pretty. They wiped out 12 different agencies, gave all the power to the commissioner & the governor, privatized a lot of aspects of HHSC, & then made up their own numbers for the fictional savings to the state. Bravo, just when we thought it couldnt get any better, they do this.

SA Express Story

Technically, schools shouldn't be open right now. The ruling from Judge Dietz last year said that schools needed a fix by October 1 or else they would be shut down. Then there's the loopholes. Since that order is on appeal, schools won't be shut down. So much for images of children locked out of their schools on the evening news to rally legislators back into session. So what do we do now? Well we wait around for the Supreme Court to get off its ass & tell us what to do. Which it should have done already. What's going on? Where's the ruling? We want another special so we can make fun of you guys. C'mon, you know you miss us too.

The Galveston County Dems sent me a copy of their newsletter. A true vision of MS Word "Publishing A Newsletter" guidelines from the MS Office Template. Seriously, so "Our Town" I thought it was adorable.

Anyway, they have launched a web site called DemocratsWin and after I spit my morning coffee out over the keyboard I decided I would pass the link on to you. Democrats win! Such a good laugh so early in the morning. Thanks, Galveston.

Then here's the rumor they included in their super sleek MS Office Template Newsletter:

The rumors are strong around the state that Ted B. Lyon will seek the Democratic Party¹s nomination for Governor in 2006.

A very successful 57-year old Dallas trial lawyer, Lyon has a very distinguished career of public service. The former police officer served four years as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and eleven years in the Texas Senate. His legislative career earned him numerous honors for his successful efforts in behalf of consumers, education, the environment, and law enforcement. Ted Lyon is a progressive who will come to the Texas Governor’s office with all of the necessary qualities that are lacking in the last two who held that office.

He has the ‘know how’ to win and to govern effectively. Texas could benefit by a man like Ted Lyon in the Governor’s office.

Forgot to do this one on Sunday, but Rep. Bob Hunter from Abilene is leaving the House to settle down back home.

Hunter, known to many as "Smilin' Bob" for his genial manner, announced on Sunday the 79th Legislature would be his last to represent House District 71. He was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and intends to focus on fighting the disease. Hunter will also assist in the centennial celebration of his beloved Abilene Christian University.

QR has a running list of wannabe's for Hunter's seat. He's one rural R that will be missed. We wish you the best Rep. Hunter.

We got an e-mail from MoveOn's PAC today asking for more information on Harriet Miers. While we aren't necessarily digging deep for more information, they sure are. These are the questions they want answers to:

- What policies did she advocate for on the Dallas City Council?
- What was her record at the head of the scandal-ridden Texas Lottery Commission?
- What cases did she take on while working as a corporate lawyer in private practice, and what positions did she fight for?
- What has she written or said in and outside of her law practice about her views on constitutional issues like privacy, the "commerce clause" or equal protection?
- White House Council Alberto Gonzales played a pivotal role in softening America's stance on torture. What positions has Harriet Miers advocated for in the same role?
- Has she ever publicly distanced herself from George W. Bush?
- What are her views on environmental protections, corporate crime, and the right to choose?
- What else should the public know about Harriet Miers?

update: Molly Ivins has a pretty good idea about who Harriet Miers is and it doesn't look good.

Damn the Spam! Comments back open.

Here's an example of good judgement:

This is a story from the October 21, 2001 Houston Chronicle. In the late 1990s two guys, a former pro football player named Russell Erxleben and Brian Stearns, ran a $40 million + ponzi scheme involving hundreds of people, bilking them out of tens of thousands of dollars a piece. The secret to the sheer magnitude of their scheme is that rather than keeping their money in a bank, they kept it in Locke, Liddell and Sapp's trust fund. They then convinced potential "investors" that the money was safe because it was locked up in this big law firm's trust fund. To close the deal, they told them that one Harriet Miers was a partner there and that she worked for the governor. Locke Liddell knew what was going on, kept quiet about it and ended up getting sued and having to settle for more than $30 million in the affair. At the time Miers was a managing partner, meaning she was on watch when this scandal went down.

[BOR]

Ex-Judge Roy Moore is running for Governor of Alabama. We don't want to think about the campaign ads the people of that state will be subjected to. Can you imagine? "God speaks through Roy Moore" vs. "Jesus loves Gov. Bob Riley." Yiiiikes.

Short version: GTECH pays Ben Barnes to get a contract with the state. Barnes uses his knowledge of a rumor to secure contract while Miers is on the Lottery's commision. Then, in 1998, Miers, who had been tied up in the Bush regime for years, is paid $19,000 to "investigate" these very same rumors. Wonder why she fired Linares for being tainted with rumors, but she didn't have an investigation on her own shady dealings.

Long version: So an earlier post made reference to the fact that Harriet Miers had a bit to do with quashing rumors about Bush's securing a post in the National Guard. Now there is another bit to further tie her into that role. As governor, Bush appointed Miers to a six year term to the Texas Lottery Commission. During her tenure, news surfaced that the lottery director, Nora Linares, had a boyfriend that had been employed as a consultant for GTECH, the lottery's main contractor. Miers then fired Linares, saying she couldn't be an effective leader because she'd been so damaged by the scandal. Linares filed suit against the commission but later dropped that lawsuit and instead sued GTECH. An agreement ending the dispute with the commission exonerating Linares.

Even Charles Soechting found his way in to the story. As Linares' lawyer he said that Miers took an unnecessarily hard-nose approach by refusing to let her exit gracefully by resigning. His quote: "I learned from Harriet that someone can be stone cold and at the same time act like they care," he told Texas Lawyer in 2003.

Now the fun stuff:

The commission fired Linares' replacement, Lawrence Littwin, in October 1997, four months after he was hired. Littwin's dismissal came amid a decline in sales, but the commission wouldn't say why he was fired. He had ruffled feathers for ordering lottery security officers to research campaign finance records of 30 current and former state officials.

Littwin claimed GTECH used its political influence to have him fired. Miers denied the accusation.

Littwin's lawyers suggested that former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, who was a lobbyist for GTECH until January 1997, helped the company keep its state contract to run the lottery in exchange for keeping silent about how he had helped Bush get into the National Guard in the late 1960s.

Full AP story here.

We've had to close comments on all posts for a little bit today as we're under attack from spam monsters. But, we encourage you to discuss in the forums. Thanks.

Yeah, it's a lame post title. This article on FEMA and how it sent trucks with ice on unnecessary tours of the country is not so lame, though: NYTimes: Stumbling Storm-Aid Effort Put Tons of Ice on Trips to Nowhere.

It is ironic that this is one case where FEMA overprepared instead of the underprepared way they dealt with the rest of Hurricane Katrina. Your tax dollars at work . . . be sure to read the part where it talks about how much extra money it cost for the trucker's extra mileage and the daily storage cost. Yowza.

So there's this whole online hubub about Harriet Miers giving money to Al Gore & Lloyd Bentsen back in the 80s. Drudge has RNC chairman Ed Gillespie saying that she was a 'conservative' democrat who later became a republican...Although I don't really think anyone is gonna be questioning her loyalty to Bush. Back on July 17, 2000 NewsWeek ran a piece on Bush's (lack of) National Guard Duty and said this...

The Bushies' concern began while he was running for a second term as governor. A hard-nosed Dallas lawyer named Harriet Miers was retained to investigate the issue; state records show Miers was paid $19,000 by the Bush gubernatorial campaign. She and other aides quickly identified a problem--rumors that Bush had help from his father in getting into the National Guard back in 1968. Ben Barnes, a prominent Texas Democrat and a former speaker of the House in the state legislature, told friends he used his influence to get George W a guard slot after receiving a request from Houston oilman Sid Adger. Barnes said Adger told him he was calling on behalf of the elder George Bush, then a Texas congressman. Both Bushes deny seeking any help from Barnes or Adger, who has since passed away. Concerned that Barnes might go public with his allegations, the Bush campaign sent Don Evans, a friend of W's, to hear Barnes's story. Barnes acknowledged that he hadn't actually spoken directly to Bush Sr. and had no documents to back up his story. As the Bush campaign saw it, that let both Bushes off the hook. And the National Guard question seemed under control.

Since we have heard next to nothing about the woman Bush has tapped to fill the vacant SC position, we googled her name, hoping to find some juicy tidbits. Sad to say, there isn't much.

- Wonkette has a Harriet Miers section.

- TalkLeft thinks better of her than Alberto Gonzales.

- Bush quotes, "She can fillet better than Mrs. Paul" in this DMN profile from March.

We have gleaned that she prefers to keep a low profile. And, yeah, she's single.

President Bush nominated Harriet Miers for the SCOTUS.

Harriet has never been a judge and is now nominated to the highest bench in the land. That's the kind of promotion I'd like. From mailroom to CEO, it's the American Dream!