A Decade to be Ashamed of

Jan 1, 2000 - Dec 31 2009.What a disaster of a decade. Sure we can look at some of the good things that happened over the last ten years, but it will never overshadow some of the worst events of the decade including:

Iraq. We invaded a country based upon fabricated intelligence. It has cost our country nearly a trillion dollars and the respect of the entire world. We lost over 4300 American soldiers and wounded over 31,000. And yet not one single person was held accountable for the biggest mistake in our country's history. Worst of all, we as a country, did nothing to demand accountability.

Afghanistan. After the worst attack on American soil, we started, then abandoned the war in Afghanistan in order to invade the wrong country. And now we are suffering for the mistake. And again, we have held no one accountable.

Enron. A disaster that affected so many families, some losing their lives, some losing their retirement. And yet we as a country did nothing to prevent this from happening again. And then it happened again.

Banks, Wallstreet, and Mortage failures. You would have thought the horrible Enron experience would have helped us prevent another massive failure, unfortunately, that didn't happen. The financial crisis of the late 2009 devastated the country. Many families lost their homes and their financial stability. And our country was on the brink of another depression.

Katrina. Our country watched the botched evacuation of an entire city while some were patting each other on their back for a "heck of a job". An agency that was once a strong, sound entity became the perfect example of a breakdown of a starved government entity coupled with incompetent management. It was an embarrassment to our nation.

Torture. We saw our country stoop to the level of terrorist by supporting and condoning the torture of prisoners of war in violation of the Geneva Convention and in violation of our own Constitution. And yet only the lower level members of the military were held accountable. It was one of the darkest moments of our entire history.

Illegal Wiretapping. Through a leak to the media, we found that our own government was illegally spying on American citizens and had initiated an illegal surveillance program, once again in violation of the Constitution of the United States. And yet we condoned it and held no one accountable.

Yep. It was a pretty bad decade. Let's not forget it. Let's learn from it. Happy New Years! It can only get better!

Nominations for Worst Texas Commission of the Decade. The TEC

Previous Nominations:
Texas Residential Construction Commission
Texas Department of Insurance

The Texas Ethic Commission, created in 1991, is responsible for enforcing ethics laws, and like the TDI and the TRCC should be in line to receive the Worst Texas Commission of the Decade. It is unfortunate because just when the TEC begins to get tough and levies the largest fine in its history against Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, it dismisses a complaint against State Senator Jane Nelson for spending $200,000 of her donors money on a condo.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Over the last few years the TEC has issued record fines, has issued alerts on the proper way to file reports, and has created detailed limits on what can be purchased with their donors money. But let's give credit where credit is due. The only reason the TEC has done anything proactive is because a small group of volunteers across Texas audited two years of campaign reports, filed valid complaints, and documented the complaints in the media and blogs. This is the only reason the TEC has taken any action whatsoever.

The Audits
A report titled Don't Mess with Ethics identified over $3 million in undisclosed expenditures by 95 Legislators as well as spending their donors money to buy condos, memberships to exclusive golf courses, and paying family members for personal services. This small group of volunteers did the job  the 37 employees of the $2 Million/year TEC should have done.

Because of this audit, the violations have stopped. Hiding campaign expenditures behind credit cards has been reduced from nearly $1 Million to a few thousand dollars. Condo purchases have stopped. Personal use of donors money has stopped. Since this audit other organizations have taken over as watchdogs of financial reports.

TEC hasn't done enough
According the the TEC 2010 budget, over $500,000 a year is spent on enforcement while only a fraction ($40,000) is spent on education and prevention of ethics violations. This is probably self serving. If the ethics complaints would stop because the ethics violations were prevented, what would they do with the staff and their $500,000 salaries?

This is where the TEC has failed. As part of the audit the TEC was provided a list of common sense methods to prevent the ethics violations, therefore preventing an investigation and public embarrassment of the elected officials, but the TEC has refused to act on them. They can levy hefty fines on the individual instead of on the campaign, but they don't. They can invest in filing software that performs automatic audits of a campaign report much like Turbo Tax does, but they haven't. They can perform a simple audit much like the group of citizens did, but they won't.

To make matters worse, a bill to reform the Commission was defeated in 2009, but a bill to actually protect elected officials from ethics complaints was signed into law. Go figure.

They Deserve the Nomination
Because of this and the recent dismissal of the complaint against State Senator Jane Nelson  the TEC is qualified to be nominated as the Worst Texas Commission of the Decade. Look for a detailed post about Senator Nelson's situation in 2010.

BREAKING: Alberto Gonzales to Lead Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl

Lubbock Texas. Former Attorney General of the United States and  professor at Texas Tech University has been chosen to take over the coaching position of Mike Leach for the football team's Alamo Bowl appearance.

Effective immediately Alberto Gonzales will be reassigned to the position of Head Coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Gonzales leaves a highly paid and prestigious position of Professor of Ethics in Government.

When asked to comment on who the Raiders would be playing in the Alamo Bowl on Jan 2, Gonzales responded with "I don't recall". When asked when he was informed of the transfer, Gonzales again responded with "I don't recall".

Gonzales was scheduled for a press conference earlier in the day, but  was unable to recall the time of the conference and eventually missed it. The Alamo Bowl kickoff is sometime on Saturday.

Nominations for Worst Texas Commission of the Decade. The TDI

Previous Nominations:
Texas Residential Construction Commission

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) otherwise known as the Texas Department of Insurance Companies has got to be one of the finalists for Worst Commission of the Decade. In just 6 short years the TDI allowed home insurance rates to become the highest in the nation, although there was a bit of good news today:

AUSTIN – Texas has slipped to No. 2 in average homeowners' insurance premiums, a new national study has found. 

It found that the average annual premium in Texas for the most common homeowner policy was $1,448 a year, 76 percent higher than the national average of $822.

In 2002 a number of candidates for public office, including Gov Rick Perry made the rising cost of insurance a campaign issue, promising relief for homeowners across the state. In face here is what he said in a press release:

"To make sure Texas consumers are protected, I am asking the Attorney General to investigate the market conduct and marketing practices of our state's biggest homeowner’s insurance companies," Perry continued. "I’m concerned that the big insurance companies may be misleading Texas families about the changes in homeowner’s coverage and costs. I’m concerned that in this changing market, insurance companies are not providing consumers with the honest facts they need and deserve."

In the end, our premiums are now the highest in the nation. We have less coverage, insurance companies are pulling out of the high risk areas, and the TDI hasn't done a %$#damn thing to stop the abuse.

And for this, they deserve the Nomination for Texas Worst Commission of the Decade.

Nominations for Worst Texas Commission of the Decade. The TRCC

Texas has a slew of Commissions to semi-regulate and provide oversight to various industries in Texas, but some of them are about as worthless as a blind cat in a house full of mice. Here are my nominations for the Worst Texas Commission of the decade. Feel free to add your own in the comment section.

The Texas Residential Construction Commission. Created in 2003, the TRCC (trick) was to provide consumer protection for new home buyers with construction defects. In 2009 the Texas Comptrollers Office and the Texas Sunset Commission  called for the abolishment of the TRCC. Their reports stated, the Commission is nothing more than a “builder protection agency” with “fundamental flaws that do more harm than good”. It was abolished just 6 years later. 

The Commission was severely flawed from the day the bill that created it was filed. The flaws included:

•  The bill (HB730) that created the TRCC was written by the Vice President of Bob Perry Homes, John Krugh.
• Krugh was appointed to the Commission after HB730 passed.
  
• The bill was filed by State Representative Allan Ritter who owns a lumber company and is a member of the Texas Association of Builders.
• After 6 years only 31 builders applied for the Texas Star Builder program, a program created by the builders, out ot over 28,000 homebuilders.
• The TRCC was to register qualified individuals to act as arbitrators in home defect cases. After 6 years only 5 arbitrators were registered.
• The Commissions budget grew to $10 million a year in 2007 with 80 employees.
• After 6 years only 12% of all claims actually helped the consumer.
  

I wrote a paper about the TRCC for a conference in California that was held just a week before it was abolished.  If you are interested, the paper can be downloaded here. The paper defines why the short lived TRCC should be named the Worst Texas Commission of the Decade.

Up next:
Texas Ethics Commission.
Texas Department of Insurance.
Texas Environmental Control and Quality.

"Hunker down" is a Slogan Not a Solution

Former City Council Member Gordon Quan announced his candidacy for Harris County Judge today stating "Hunkering down is not a solution" referring to Judge Emmetts commercials calling for people to "hunker down" during hurricane Ike.

The slogan is simple minded and effective but for those looking for the end of the good old boy system, and the start of transparency and ethics in our government, it is nothing but a slogan. Good for Quan to point this out.

Martha at Musings has a real great post on the event including the following:

But, he had me at this: "Hunker down is not a solution, it's a slogan." I loved that! How true. Ed Emmet's "hunker down" thing means what? Quan is exactly right, it's a slogan. And Emmett can ignore that and keep using it or explain what that has to do with effective county governance. For example, does it mean hunker down and stay the course and re-elect ethically challenged Jerry Eversole to Commissioner's Court? Emmet's given his blessing on that. I guess that's a hunker down situation, encouraging voters to re-elect a guy who got a $75,000 fine from the Texas Ethics Commission, and could still be indicted. Hunker down with Eversole and Emmett!

A Christmas Miracle For Commissioner Jerry Eversole

What the hell does it take for an elected official to get fired in Harris County?

Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole received a Christmas miracle from the Public Integrity Division of the Harris County District Attorney's office. According to a letter from Assistant DA Terese Buess (more on her later), the DA's office will not be investigating Eversole for spending $162,000 of his donors' money on personal items such as cattle, (yes, cattle) antique western books, antique western art, antique western wear, and much much more. (pdf here)

Background
Eversole's record of expenditures, first uncovered by Wayne Dolcefino of KTRK, is by far the worst example of violating public integrity in the history of the Texas Ethics Commission. The TEC levied a fine of $75,000 and required Eversole refund $41,357.10 to his campaign. In Harris County, theft of over $1500, is a felony, at least for the rest of us. Obviously some elected officials are not like us.

Just a reminder, the $75,000 fine, although a record fine for the TEC, was paid with Eversole's donors' money, not his own. And the $41,000+ he had to refund is just a fraction of the $160,000+ that was identified in the TEC complaint.

No Ethics. No Integrity.

Eversole claimed he donated many of the personal items to charity, but only after being caught. It is like a bank robber giving back what he stole and paying a fine with the very same money he stole. If this is the type of integrity the PID is providing to the citizens of Harris County, maybe they should just dissolve the entire division.

The TEC's fine and slap on Eversole's wrist is an embarrassment. A $75,000 fine will not stop public officials from breaking the law when the fine can be paid with their donors' money. The TEC could have and should have levied this fine on Eversole himself, not his campaign.

And, lets not leave out Judge Emmett who encouraged Eversole to run for re-election instead of demanding his resignation. Seriously, what does an elected official have to do?

Public Integrity Division
Just an FYI. Local bloggers broke the story about Houston City Councilman-elect Al Hoang's  numerous violations in his campaign report, his dual homestead exemption, and that he probably was not a legal resident for the office he won. Terese Buess, who wrote the letter above, was quoted by the Houston Chronicle:

Terese Buess, chief of the Harris County district attorney's public integrity division, declined to comment about Hoang. She said her office, which has investigated public officials' residency questions in the past, does not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation until charges or an indictment is filed.

If the PID refuses to investigate a county commissioner spending $160,000 of his donors money for a cow and personal items, what do you think are the chances they will investigate a city council member?

Probably zero to none.

A GOP "Bubba" Wanted for Murder

You just can't make this stuff up. Read to the last line. From the Houston Chronicle:

The suspect was identified by police as Stevie R. Walder Jr., 31, who also goes by “Bubba.”

Bishop said Walder, who has a lengthy criminal history in Liberty County, is believed to be a member of a white supremacist group.

Walder is described as 6 feet 2, about 250 pounds, with a shaved head.

He has many tattoos, including a skull on the left side of his neck, a Nazi SS symbol on the right side of his neck and tear drop under his right eye.

He is known to drive a green Chevy truck with Texas plate AB1-7183. He also drives a 1998 dark green Dodge pickup with an extended cab, Texas plate 92L-RW3, and has a Republican Party sticker on the back window.

Let's hope they catch him.

Christmas Gifts for Texas Politicians

Have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday! Here is a list of gift recommendations for our Texas politicians:

• Kay Bailey Hutchison. A miracle. She is going to need it because Rick Perry is going to kick her moderate ass all over Texas.
• Rick Perry. A life. After working for the government his entire adult life he will receive a pension of $125,000/year and will be able to cash in on his favors with a job in the private sector.
• Farouk Shami. A Democratic voting record.
• Kinky Freidman. A voting record.
• Hank Gilbert. A laser beam to focus on his own campaign.
• Annise Parker. A new office in Houston. (early Christmas gift)
  
• Bill White. A new office in Austin.
  
• Roy Morales. A clue.
• Gene Locke. A do-over.
• Harris County Republican Party. Jared Woodfill. They really deserve this guy.
• Teabaggers. A copy of the Constitution and the ability to read it.
  
• Sarah Palin. Nomination by the teabagger party for President and someone dumb enough to ruin their political career as her running mate.
• Jerry Eversole. A book titled "How to buy a cow, antique western chaps, books, and art, western guns and more with your donors money, and not get caught doing it."
• Leo Vasquez. Another appointment after Nov 2010.
• Paul Bettencourt. A subpoena so he can finally confess to why he quit.
• Judge Ed Emmitt. Ethics reform to prevent another Jerry Eversole.
  
• Kids and their families. Health care for all.

Have a great holiday and see you next week.

Harris County gop Gives Hispanic Kids the Bird

Leave it to the republicans. led by Jared Woodfill, to reach out to Hispanic kids with a frozen 20 lb turkey.

On Friday, December 18, 2009 your Harris County Republican Party continued our tradition of donating holiday turkeys to economically disadvantaged families at our adopted school, J.R. Harris Elementary.  JR Harris is a Title I school that is 95% Hispanic.

95% Hispanic! HISPANIC I TELL YOU! Yep. The Harris County gop makes a point out of the fact that this school is Hispanic. This is how they "reach out" to Hispanics by giving them the bird while asking for proof of citizenship and requiring them to speak in English before getting the turkey feast.

Instead of giving Hispanic kids the bird, how about giving their teachers a decent salary not based upon gimmicks? Or solving the drop out rate in the Hispanic community? How about stop demonizing their parent's language or their country of origin? How about fighting to provide these kids access to health care?

No. Instead the gop gives them the bird. It is all they really know how to do and will break their arms slapping themselves on the back:

The smiles on the faces of these families made me proud to be a part of such a worthwhile effort, especially during this, the Christmas Season.

 Now show me a picture ID before you get this frickin turkey.

Rape by Arbitration is Over for KBR

Thanks to Senator Al Franken of Minnesota for filing and working to pass the anti-rape amendment to the defense bill.

Franken's amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act prohibits companies from using employment contracts to bar litigation over sexual assault or discrimination.

Of course our Senator, John Cornyn, voted against it saying: 

Arbitration is a private justice system. It is held in secret, away from media attention, exactly what rape victims want. Rape victims prefer to be left alone. They do not want to air their "dirty laundry" especially in front of a jury in public. Instead, as with arbitration, they just want it to be private and their own little secret.

Of course, that isn't really what Cornyn said. In fact he hasn't said a thing. Nothing. Silence. He just doesn't want anyone to know he is actually supporting those responsible for rape, and the rape of the 7th Amendment of the Constitution.

I guess that is his own little secret.

A Republican in Democratic Judicial Clothing

It must be a sign of the times.

Jim Peacock is a "Democratic" candidate for judge in Harris County. Since 1992 he hasn't missed a single primary election, unlike Farouk Shami who has missed them all. Unfortunately for Peacock, he missed every Democratic primary since he has been voting in the Republican Primaries.

With Bill White on the ballot, republicans are going to find it hard to run in the general election, so at least one has jumped the republican sinking ship, Jim Peacock. I find the Peacock to be a strange bird. It fans out its  feathers to look larger and to distract its attackers, much like Jim is trying to do.

Jim Peacock is a personal injury trial lawyer and you know how much republicans hate trial lawyers. And he is running around in Democratic circles trying to come off as a Democrat. Unfortunately it is not working very well.

Whatever his reasons to dump the republican party, he does not deserve the nod in this primary. Tanner Garth, a very well qualified attorney, a true Democrat, and one who ran in the Democratic primary in 2006 deserves the vote.

Peacock should know better. He is more than welcome in the party, but he has to pay his dues before getting the benefits.

Harris County GOP Insanity

Albert Einstein once said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Harris County GOP is about to do the same thing by re-electing Jared Woodfill as their chair and expecting to win in 2010. Their insanity goes hand in hand with hilarity.

The Harris County GOP lost 22 of 26 of their judicial positions in 2008 and with Bill White at the top of the ticket for Governor could possibly lose the rest in 2010. They lost the Sheriff, County Attorney, and County District Clerk positions with more to follow in 2010. Kaufman's County Clerk seat is open and Leo Vasquez Tax Assessor seat might as well be. You have to give the precinct chairs credit for wanting to keep Jared. Maybe they are looking for a scape goat or they have seen the writing on the wall. A royal butt kicking is coming and they need a big butt for protection. They might just want to go to Jared's.

Re-electing Woodfill would be fine with me. He has become a lightning rod for stupidity  instelike losing $10,000 in donations, the "Give a Mexican a Bike" program and his facination with Sarah Palin instead of John McCain. It all makes for a fun filled election.

But leave it up to a bunch of republican  Einsteins and they will re-elect Jared.

Kay Bailey's Whataburger Commercial

Kay Bailey Hutchison's commercial sures sounds alot like the guy on the Whataburger commercial for breakfast taquitos. It would have been better if it was a commercial about toast. Cuz she is toast in the primary against Perry.

Suprise! Texas Tort Reform Didn't Work!

Texas is truly the proving ground of bad legislation. Case in point, medical malpractice tort reform. In 2003 the republican led House and Senate passed massive tort reform requiring a vote by the citizens of Texas to limit the awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. This constitutional amendment passed by a very slim margin. Texans were very eager to give up their rights in exchange for lower health insurance rates, more access to medical resources, and higher quality health care. Unfortunately according to a study by Public Citizen:

• The percentage of uninsured people in Texas has increased, remaining the highest in the country with a quarter of Texans now uninsured;
• The cost of health insurance in the state has more than doubled;
• The cost of health care in Texas (measured by per patient Medicare reimbursements) has increased at nearly double the national average; and
• Spending increases for diagnostic testing (measured by per patient Medicare reimbursements) have far exceeded the national average.

Well, shit! How the hell did that happen?  Did our insurance industry lie to us? Did their front groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform lie to us? Did our elected officials who passed this massive legislation lie to us? The answers are probably yes, yes, and yes. And we as a state fell for it. And as the report states:

The only improvement shown by the data is a decline in doctors’ liability insurance premiums. But the reported 27 percent decrease in those premiums is dwarfed by the 67 percent reduction in malpractice payments, suggesting that liability insurance companies have pocketed most of the gains. The Texas data provide no evidence that patients or taxpayers have shared in the windfall at all.

Yep. We got played.

Leo Vasquez Playing Politics in City Hall

Harris County Tax Assessor Collector, Leo Vasquez, appointed to the office after his predecessor, Paul Bettencourt quit, tried to play hardball politics in front of City Council on Tuesday. (See Ch13 Video)

Vasquez read an amatuerish letter from his office to Mayor White demanding he sign an agreement between his office and the City for tax collection services. According to Vasquez office, the current agreement was out of date, signed in 1995 and did not accurately reflect the cost of the services. On the surface this demand sounds like a reasonable request. But...as Mayor White said in his well written response:

I agree with the point you make about the execution of the agreement, and I would have agreed to this had you simply phoned me.

So instead of making a simple phone call, Leo took the opportunity to grandstand, sent out an unprofessional press release, and confronted him at a public meeting. White called it a "low point" in the city/county relationship. I agree.

Vasquez needs to remember, Mayor Bill White was elected by the citizens of Houston three different times, while he was appointed only because Bettencourt quit.

Come back and play politics when you become a politician. Until then, focus on your own job.

Clear Lake Voted for Parker

Thanks to Greg for this information. Out of 12 precincts in the Clear Lake area, Parker won 12 of 12 with 3133 to 1951 votes. Roughly 62% Parker to 38% Locke. Here is the breakdown:

PCT	Name	Parker	Locke
92	Middlebrook	361	205
306	Bay Forest	324	133
391	Univ Green	177	89
473	Oakbrook	327	196
568	Bay Glen	353	278
699	Pineloch	225	169
718	North Pt	414	308
721	Middlebrook	298	168
724	Middlebrook	74	36
728	Camino S	125	51
732	Camino S	213	125
744	Middle Grn	198	170
746	Univ Green	44	23
		3133	1951

What a Kinky Idiot

Kinky is like a slice of buttered bread in a New York diner. He is toast with Bill White in the race for Governor. So what does he do? On "behalf of the Democratic Party" he challenges Hank Gilbert, a true Democrat, for Agriculture Commission. What a kinky idiot.

While Hank Gilbert was traveling across the state in 2006 running hard for AG Commissioner, what was Kinky doing besides screwing up the race for Governor and giving us 4 more years of Perry? Where was Kinky for the last twenty years in Democratic politics? Where was he during the last legislation session while Hank was walking the halls of the Texas Capitol working to kill the Texas Trans Corridor?

Kinky is not a Democrat. Like Shami he doesn't have a Democratic voting record, or a voting record for that matter. He has done nothing for the Democratic Party. While many of us have worked our asses off during very difficult times, Kinky has selling crappy books to idiots willing to shell out $9.99 and tax.

He doesn't deserve to run as a Democrat and he doesn't deserve a vote from a Democrat. He only deserves a vote from a Klingon look alike, Jesse Ventura.

Well what do we do now?

Now that the race for Houston Mayor is over, what is next for bloggers and political junkies?

Parker takes over as Mayor on Jan 1st. The inauguration will be held soon afterward. Jolanda Jones retained her seat. Maybe she will sit next to her buddy, Mike Sullivan. Mike appointed himself to Grandstander in Chief while his running mate, Christie, failed to defeat Jolanda.

Sue Lovell also retained her seat. Good for her! Next year might make for some fun blogging on the city level.

The race for Governor begins with the Democratic primary to be held early March. Perry and Hutchinson will battle it out for second place honors. That should be a fun primary to watch. Hutchinson, the moderate, will not get the support from the looney Sarah Palin right. Look for Palin to come to Texas with Perry in tow. And look for the Dick to be towing Hutchinson.

Kinky Freidman the wanna be Democrat has made the mistake of challenging Hank Gilbert for Texas Agriculture Commission. Stupid idea, but then again that is Kinky. Stupid.

So what do we do now? Nothing until Jan. Andnothing is good.

Locke's Lessons Learned

Well Annise spoke candidly in her first press conference:

“Mr. Locke was a rookie candidate and he made a lot of rookie mistakes,” Parker said, noting that her staff has remained pretty much intact over the last seven campaigns, while the Locke camp suffered several upheavals.

Besides the change of staff, future  candidates could benefit from the lessons learned from Locke's campaign. Such as:

Don't get caught playing both sides. If you are going to play both sides of the aisle, don't get caught doing it. With the internet and the bloggers looking for something to nitpick about, keeping a secret meeting secret is not going to work. Locke's team got caught seeking the endorsement of Steve Hotze. Because of this it was impossible to denounce the endorsement when he got it.

Don't get caught pandering. A candidate must learn the fine art of pandering without looking like they are pandering. It is tough to do. For a rookie, it is best just not to do it.

Don't break the law. City crews had to pick up over 1000 illegally placed signs on the highways in Houston. If you can't follow the law, how can you be elected as a public official? Locke's signs were everywhere and illegally placed. If there was a run down abandoned building, there was a sign there.

Be careful of your own bloggers. If you are going to promise coalitions make sure your bloggers don't spill the beans, making it look like you are excluding others from the coalition. Bloggers would jump on this. (and did)

 What's the message? One of the early problems with Locke was his lack of a message. Annise was "The only one", Brown had "The blueprint", Morales had "No Clue". What was Locke's message? Late in the campaign he had "Houston can't be a great city, if it's not a safe city". I thought this was good, but that wasn't the most important issue on the minds of voters and it came too late.

I am sure other monday morning political quarterbacks have other ideas they would like to share.

At Annise Parker's Victory Party

Huge crowd. Lots of positive attitude. The place is full. Everyone is having fun. Of course the local media is here in force and lots of bloggers.

We are up at this point by 52 to 48 points and we expect the difference to grow in our favor. Everyone is excited. We except a win tonight.

BTW. Parking is packed!

Congratulations to CCISD VEX Robot Team!!!!

The VEX Robotics Team of CCISD has advanced to the National finals in April in Dallas Texas! Congratulations to all of the kids participating. What a great accomplishment! More tomorrow, with pictures and video. Very very cool!

At Annise Parker's Headquarters

Lots of activity here at Annise Parker's campaign HQ. CH2 and CH13 are here for interviews. Volunteers are streaming in. Lots of folks expected at the lunch break. Well, time to go block walking! Come on by and join the fun!

What's the Deal Making with Locke?

The Houston Chronicle claims Lock is a deal maker in city politics. Wheeling and dealing in smoke filled back rooms is just what the city needs. It worked for Lee Brown didn't it? And Mayor Lanier. Right? So what is wrong with a little deal making like all politicians do? Here are some deals I believe are in the works:

Tejano Democrats. This is my favorite. After receiving the endorsement by the TDs it was leaked by the President of the TDs that Locke had promised a "black/brown" coalition. If elected, what would Locke do with this coalition? You got to wonder. I also wonder why the TDs haven't rescinded their endorsement after his immigrant bashing TV ads.

Hotze. Ouch. Nothing like getting caught with your pants down on a cold winter night with a cold northern wind. The deal he made with Hotze for his endorsement will probably bite him on his bare butt on Dec 12. Double ouch!

Houston Police Officers Union. Locke has resorted to politicizing the death of a police officer. It's pretty sad. You don't have to be a candidate for Mayor to realize we need more police on the streets, Einstein. Locke wants to put 2 men to ever car, increase patrols, and hand out gold wrapped chocolate candy to kids on the street. Unfortunately it aint going to happen without more money and more money is not coming. Locke probably has promised the HPOU more than his mouth can offer. With no money.

Hispanic Community. Locke has been silent lately about the Hispanic library and the new soccer stadium. Unfortunately, the City is in no position to spend any more money on the soccer stadium than what has been spent already. And although a Hispanic museum would be a great addition to the Museum District, how do we pay for it while trying to put 2 men to every police car? And who says the Hispanic Community has a lock (pun) on the sport of soccer anyway?

His lawfirm. This is a big one. His law firm, or his former law firm, could come out handsomely with a Locke win. Charging $650/hour who wouldn't be happy?

What other back room deals are being made by Team Locke? Hopefully we will never know.

Has Locke Lost Control of his Campaign?

Muse has a very interesting post about Locke losing control of his campaign because of his interview on KHOU TV. Locke claims he knew nothing about his finance chair, Ned Holmes, $20,000 donation to finance the Steven Hotze hate mailer. According to his interview Locke was "disappointed" in Ned Holmes. See for yourself:






As Muse pointed out, Ned Holmes is Locke's go to man for money. Your campaign does nothing without money. Your campaign is dead without money. Your campaign is over without money. And I think Locke's campaign is over. Literally.

Locke doesn't need to be anything more than "disappointed" that his right hand man funnelled $20,000 into the mailer. His campaign is over. Ned is not needed anymore. Locke could try to look good and fire him, but with just days before the election, who cares. The money was raised. The money was spent. And Ned either coordinated with Locke on his own personal donations in his support, or he just made a fool out of Locke.

As Muse claims, one thing is clear. Locke has lost control of his campaign. It is going to make for a very strange election party.

NASA's First Urban Legend is Born

And you wonder why NASA can't get back to the Moon......

Tedd Petruna a contractor supporting NASA at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL where Astronauts train underwater) sent an email about how he saved the United States from a terrorist attack by 11 Muslims in a plane from Atlanta to Houston.

His email which can be read here, claims:

At that exact moment, all 11 of them [Muslims] got up and started to walk the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say "I got your back." I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said "you WILL go sit down or you Will be thrown from this plane!" As I "led" him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said, "You WILL do the same!" He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go. As I escorted him forward the plane doors open and 3 TSA agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige actually.

 Petruna got what he wanted. His email made the rounds on Fox News (News for Dumb Faux) and right wing conservative blogs until they found out it wasn't exactly true. In fact:

And even better, the "hero" who wrote the email wasn't even in Atlanta when the events happened. He was supposed to be, but missed his connecting flight. (The airline debunks the email in great detail here.)

On the NASA global directory a Theodore Petruna is listed an employee of Raytheon and his email adventure thwarting a Jihad is now debunked on Snopes. We should be so proud.

Judge Ed Emmett in Bed with Locke and Hotze

Nick Anderson's political cartoon hit the big toe with a hammer. Lots of explaining to do.

Not only was Locke found to have sought hatemonger Steve Hotze's endorsement, but the Chair of his Finance Committee, Ned Holmes, and another member donated $40,000 to his PAC (71% of all donations). Just a day later it was disclosed Harris County Judge Ed Emmett donated $20,000 to the Hate PAC.

Dannenbaum, unlike Holmes, has been a regular contributor in recent years, giving a total of $50,000 in 2008 and 2009. Another recent contributor of note is Harris County Judge Ed Emmett's campaign fund, which gave $20,000 to the PAC on Dec. 4, 2008.

Holmes in an attempt to hide his sudden revelation claims he has always been a supporter of Hotze which begs the question why Locke was involved with Holmes in the first place. Unfortunately Holmes doesn't have a history of donating.

Reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, however, show that prior to his Nov. 24 contribution of $20,000, Holmes had donated to the PAC only once in the past eight years. He made a $2,000 contribution on April 20, 2000. Holmes denied to Olson that his most recent contribution was connected to the mail piece.

Oops. There is a lot of explaining to do by Locke, Holmes, and now Emmett. People expected better from Emmett. If he has the need to donate $20,000 to a known hate monger then maybe he shouldn't be representing Harris County. Very disappointing.

Texas Ethics Commission Finally Talking Ethics

The Texas Ethics Commission has taken a baby step towards fixing their $2 Million/year Commission that is suppose to oversee ethics laws. It is not much of a step, but one in the right direction. From the Texas Tribune:

The commission adopted new rules last week that, beginning this summer, will require anyone running for office to use 19 defined subject categories to describe any goods, services or other things of value purchased by their campaigns.

No more will Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole be able to buy a cow with his donors money and list it as "Public Relations".  No more will State Representative John Davis use his donors money to buy a pair of $1500 cowboy boots and list it as "Miscellaneous". And no more will Senator Jane Nelson be able to give her donors money to her husband to buy a condo and list is as "lease".

This change in the rules might stop some illegal spending but there is much more the Ethics Commission can do. In 2007 a small group of citizens poured through hundreds of ethics reports and found over $3 Million in spending violations the TEC had overlooked for years. Because of the work of these individuals these violations have almost been eliminated. (almost)

The TEC was provided a detailed report  titled "Don't Mess With Ethics" on these violations and were provided suggestions on how to prevent the violations instead of spending tax dollars on investigating and then rolling over by issuing a slap on the wrist. These suggestions include:

Audit the Commission. Because of the complete failure of the TEC, the Legislature should consider requesting a complete audit of the Commission by the Texas Comptroller. The errors in this report were very easy to find. Why were these violations not discovered by the TEC and why have they allowed these violations to continue? The TEC is full of loopholes in the reporting process and the complaint process and is in need of a complete audit by an independent organization.

Fines Should Paid from Personal Funds. The TEC has decided that fines for ethics violations can be paid from campaign funds. This should stop immediately. If an elected official is fined for ethics violations, they should be held accountable and they should take responsibility for the violations. The fines should be paid directly out of their own personal funds and not from campaign contributions.

Require repayment to the campaign. If an elected official is caught converting campaign money to personal use, they should be required to pay the amount back to the campaign from their own personal funds. Currently it is up to the TEC to demand payment. Some have been allowed to keep tens of thousands of dollars of their campaign money they used for personal use.

Require Training. The TEC should require mandatory training by filers and treasurers to prevent the obvious errors such as those in this report.

Create a Citizen’s Commission. The Legislature should allow participation by a citizen group. This group could perform simple audits of incoming financial reports to prevent obvious errors.

Expand the TEC Authority to Perform Audits. The TEC cannot audit a candidate or elected official based on input from a citizen or organization. Instead a citizen must file a complaint, and it must be filed correctly, with little if any help from the TEC. This should be changed. If a citizen has concerns, the TEC should be able to perform a quick audit to catch the violation early and allow it to be corrected.

Perform Periodic Audits. The Commission should audit all incoming financial reports in January and June. This audit should be brief, looking for obvious errors in reporting. The filer should correct any obvious errors, with automatic penalties enforced.

Perform Automated Auditing. The TEC software for candidates and officeholders should have an audit function to catch possible errors and alert the candidate or the treasurer of the possibility of errors. Turbo Tax has this capability in their product for submitting IRS statements. From a technical perspective, this is a very simple thing to do.

Complaints Should be Public Record. Currently all complaints filed against an elected official for ethics violations are hidden from public scrutiny unless the complainant or official releases the information. The complaints should be made public and available for review on the TEC website.

Anonymous Complaints. If a citizen takes the time to correctly file a complaint and the complaint has merit, the TEC should take over the complaint removing the complainant from any adverse affects. The TEC should act like a District Attorney’s office where they take over a complaint.

Assess Automatic Fines. Fines when assessed against a filer should not be modified or reduced by the Commissioners. These types of fines for late filing or errors detailed in this report should be automatic. These fines should not be negotiable.

Enforce Fines. Many times fines are reduced by the Commissioners. There should be automatic fines for obvious errors such as the ones identified in this report. And based on the severity of the violations, additional fines should be assessed. The Commission should not reduce the automatic fines.

Website Modifications. The TEC website should be redesigned to give the average citizen a chance to review easily the expenditures and contributions of a candidate or office holder. Since all reports must be provided in electronic form, it should be easy to  access and easy to create reports.

Limit Use of Credit Cards. It is obvious from this report, with nearly $1 million in incorrectly reported credit card expenditures, that credit card usage is being abused. Either this situation should caught by early audits, or the use of credit cards for purchases should be banned.

End Car Leasing and Purchasing. Because of the possible abuse of leasing and purchasing cars, the TEC should immediately disallow the practice. Elected officials are provided a very generous reimbursement for the use of their personal automobile. If elected officials believe they need a BMW or Cadillac for Legislative purposes, they can buy the car themselves with their own money and be reimbursed for their mileage.

Mileage Reimbursement. If elected officials want to be reimbursed for mileage, they should be required to file a log of their mileage, as is required when filing with the IRS or for their place of employment.

Prohibit Payments to Relatives. There is a loophole in the law regarding renting from a family member for housing in Austin. Elected officials require housing during the legislative session and are allowed to use campaign funds for this purpose. If the officials use their campaign cash for rent, then they should not be allowed to pay this rent to a family member or relative.

Limit purchasing of entertainment event tickets. The Commission should look at the purchase of entertainment tickets very closely. To the average citizen, purchasing $15,000 for season tickets to a professional sporting event is not for “constituent entertainment”. Common sense tells this is for personal entertainment only.

Paul Bettencourt to Receive Sarah Palin Award

The Harris County republican Party will hold their annual Christmas Party next week and will be giving out the first annual Sarah Palin award:

We are proud to announce that former Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Paul Bettencourt will be our first recipient of the Sarah Palin award for quitting on the job. Bettencourt took only 2 weeks after winning re-election to walk off the job much like Sarah Palin. "It took me years to do what Bettencourt did in just 2 week. Does he deserve this award? You betcha!" said Palin who is a late cancellation for the event.

The reception will begin with an all inclusive prayer to their party chairman, our Lord Jesus Christ, given by State Senator Dan Patrick, followed by lots of American food, booze, boobs and festive Christmas carols. Video cameras will not be allowed.

Non American religious folks are always invited to our big tent except Muslims, Jews, some Catholics and all  Hispanics. Photo ID will be required for admittance.

Merry Christmas!

Locke's Loose Lips: Hotze endorsement

Oops. It looks like Locke not only sought Hotze's endorsement, he bought Hotze's endorsement!

During the last debate Locke refused to denounce the Hotze endorsement (probably because he sought the endorsement) and then was outraged, OUTRAGED, I tell you, that Parker would insinuate he had anything to do with the endorsement.

Well, just a day later, low (real low) and behold, two members of Gene Locke's campaign, Ned Holmes, Locke's Finance Chairman, gave $20,000 to the Hotze PAC and Finance Committee member Jim Dannenbaum also gave $20,000 to Hotze’s PAC.This is $40,000 of the $56,000 total  raised by Steven Hotze hate monger PAC from just 3 individuals and $6000 from Texans for Lower Taxes.

Over 71% of all Hotze's donations came from Locke's campaign staff. And you wonder why Locke would not denounce the endorsement? These donations may not be against the law, but it surely is against common sense. Did Locke think he could get away with this?

Locke is so busted.

Blue Cross Federal Health Insurance Raising Rates 12.3%

Federal employees and members of Congress will receive a hefty 12.3% increase in their premiums this year along with a 25% increase in their co-pays. Federal employees and Congress Members will now pay about $360/month for the standard family plan while the taxpayers pick up the rest of the tab of $750/month.

For the basic option the cost is $216/$650.

Paying just $360/month for a very high quality policy, it is no wonder Congress is not interested in health care reform. Why should they when the taxpayer is picking up more than 70% of their monthly rates? And the teabaggers, most probably don't have insurance are supporting them. Suckers.

But hey, it's their money!

Farouk Shami is not a Democrat

Just like Kinky Friedman, Farouk Shami is running as a Democrat for Governor, and like Kinky, he is not a Democrat.

Elise Hu of the Texas Tribune reviewed the voting record of Shami noting he has not voted in a Democratic primary and missed the vote for Democratic Barack Obama a vote every Democrat made sure to make. Shami didn't. According to his campaign staff this was nothing but a mistake in book keeping by the County. (Uh-huh)

Shami voted in the 1996, 2002 and 2004 general elections, according to Montgomery County Elections Administrator Carol Gaultney, but skipped the 2006 and 2008 general elections, missing chances to vote for Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman (to whom he donated $24,400) and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who Shami has called his inspiration. "

Bill White on the other hand was the former Chair of the Texas Democratic Party has a clear record in the general election and Democratic Primary.

By contrast to Shami, the latest entrant into the Democratic primary for governor, Houston Mayor Bill White, boasts a nearly 100% record when it comes to showing up at the polls for primary and general elections. White's voting history shows he hasn't missed a single general election since before 1992 and has cast a ballot in every Democratic primary but one. White has never voted in a Republican primary.

Shami and Kinky are just alike. Neither are Democrats and neither have a chance to win in this election. No matter how much you say you are a Democrat or how much money you spend claiming you are, the record is very clear.

Team Noriega Endorses Bill White for Governor

The entire Austin City Council has also endorsed White.

Electing a Governor is not about friendship, it is about leadership. Bill White is my friend,  but more importantly, he is what Texas needs today–a true leader.

I have served with, and for, many a real leader. Whether in a war zone, in the legislature, in business, Or even in our neighborhood, we know it when we see it, don’t we? Leadership is not about being a peacock when things are good, but rather leadership is about the actions and character of a person in the face of adversity.

I had just returned home from my year-long tour in Afghanistan when Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. Methodically, decisively the leadership qualities of Bill White went to work.  He called and asked me to help support his great  team at the George R. Brown Convention Center as busloads of cold, wet evacuees arrived.  It was an honor to once again serve fellow Americans, and our great city of Houston.

Even more, I respected Bill as the great leader he is, that morning  during this crisis that he was asked to address the congregation at Second Baptist Church.  I don’t know when I had ever been more proud as a Texan and Houstonian.

Bill White talked about Houston as an example, that Biblical “City on the Hill;” that “light that guided the way”.  Bill said that it was our moral responsibility and yes, our calling, to be our “brothers keeper.”

To me, true leaders serve.  At a time in our state that when we are at the bottom of almost every social metric–the least educated, least insured, lowest wage earners; the highest dropouts, highest teen pregnancy rate, most polluters,  just to name a few…it is time Texans demanded true leadership; especially in these critical times.

As a fourth generation Texan, I want my family to support a candidate who can  make a difference, for a better future for my children, for all our children. Someone who can lead Texas toward her full potential.

Bill White is that candidate.That time is now.

That’s why I ask you to join Melissa and me, and our family, together, in supporting my friend, Bill White, our next governor of the great state of Texas.

Sign of Locke's Campaign

According to the Texas Ethics Commissio:

§ 255.007. Notice Requirement on Political Advertising Signs

(a) The following notice must be written on each political advertising sign:

"NOTICE: IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW (CHAPTERS 392 AND 393, TRANSPORTATION CODE), TO PLACE THIS SIGN IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OF A HIGHWAY."

According to the Texas Transportation Code this is a Class C Misdemeanor. Someone ought to alert the Locke campaign.

Locke's Loose Lips: On Promises for Endorsements

During the last debate Locke insinuated that Annise Parker promised a payback to Peter Brown for his endorsement in the race. Locke also claimed he never promised anything to get an endorsement. Unfortunately that isn't exactly true.

Just after the endorsement of Locke (by a slim 2 vote margin) by the Tejano Democrats, the President of the club leaked the following:

Tejano Dems received a strong commitment from Gene to renew the black/brown coalition from the 1980's that was formed by Congressman Mickey Leland, Attorney Frumencio Reyes, Jr., candidate Locke and many others who saw the need for the disenfranchised and overlooked to stand together and improve the political conditions of people of color in Houston.

Oops. What more has he promised for endorsements? For Hotze? For HPOU?

Raising Campaign Cash from Homebuilders: Gene Locke

You have to wonder what Locke has promised the home building industry if he is elected.

From his Dec 4th report he recieved $38,000 from various home builders including $10,000 from Bob Perry and his wife, $10,000 from David Weekley, and $10,000 from the Greater Houston Builders Association PAC.

Perry and Weekley were the master minds of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a front group from the home building and insurance industry. Through this group they were able to influence elections and change the laws to provide protection from lawsuits leaving the consumer out of luck when it comes to a home defect.

Whatever he promised to the builders surely can't be good for the consumer or neighborhoods.

US Chamber of Commerce Supports Privatized Rape

The US Chamber of Commerce is another one of those organizations that claim to be helping consumers and Americans by supporting the use of mandatory binding arbitration clauses even in rape cases. What I didn't know before was that if you are raped overseas and have an arbitration clause, you cannot pursue criminal charges against those responsible. From Public Citizen:

By now, you’ve probably heard about the story of Jamie Leigh Jones. In 2005, she was working for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq when she was gang-raped by coworkers. Four years later, Jamie is still being denied justice.

Jamie can’t pursue justice in criminal court because the rape took place overseas, and a forced arbitration clause in her contract takes away her right to file a lawsuit in the U.S. Big corporations, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have worked for years to prevent workers from suing their employers in almost any circumstance, even sexual assault, by inserting forced arbitration language into their contracts. No one should ever be forced into arbitration just by taking a job.

 Privatized justice. Privatized rape.

Mayor Bill White to run against Perry

Dig it.

Live Blogging: Houston Pastor A Time to Speak

OK. I have had enough. Boring. Nothing really said except to stop the gays from winning. Nothing more. Real boring stuff. Now for prayer. "Oh Lord help us strike down these gay people and protect those of us who are without sin including those of us who spread hate, or who cheat on their wives, steal from the church, or have sex with hookers. In your name we pray."



01:16
If they fail, Houston will get bombed off the earth (pharaprase) Claims that christians cannot get jobs. Jim Jackson is excited about beating the gays. Book of Revelation...people who are going to hell...cowards, gays, pastors who hate. Sam Rodriguez. Hispanic pastors gathering to pray against this.

01:10
Chris Clark. A no show also. Claims that the nation is moving towards the bible at an amazing pace. Really? Blah blah blah. Uh-oh here comes the marriage crap. Lou Engle. Another no show. Steve Riggle from grace community church. Riggle wanted to build a 250 cross on the property but the Baptist beat them to it. Will unite in prayer to defeat the gays. Rick Scarbough speaking again. blah blah blah. Talking about England rising up against the gays. Claims they passed homophobia laws. (Cant believe that)

01:05
David Welsh is now on. There is no hope for America if pastors don't work together for a christian nation (except for Senator Vitter) Early voting is up 50% over Nov 3? (I dont think so) Claims that the difference is in the God vote. Encouraging pastors to take a 7 step plan. 1 Voter guide into hands of godly people. 2 Senior pastor must make the case at the pulpit. 3 Put it up on power point slides and voter information table at the church. 4 Use church vans. 5 Go to the bar and have a 6 pack. 6 Send out emails 7 use technology with robocalls to bug the living shit out of people. In closing.....thanks all of the out of State help. How did we get here? Claims that every city council race has a gay activist. (Not true) We are godly men and must train more godly men.

01:00
Jim Jackson is now on. Praise the Lord and stop the gays! Pastor of United Methodist Church in Houston. Aint saying much. Claims that diabolical forces are working against christian. Claims no one was discussing moral issues on the mayors race. blah blah blah. This is really boring. No one is saying anything of any matter. (including me!) Pray for those who fight the gays.

12:55
Had to tend to the fire. Got pork ribs smoking. This guy is still on. Jim Jackson another no show. Sam Rodriguez National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council. Sam tells the pastors in Houston to create a multi race effort to stop the gays. He has a picture of him and Huckabee. Egads! Now they are talking immigration reform. Stop the gays and immigrants. Now on to planned parenthood. Stand up for righteousness and justice (except for those who have been caught porking someone they shouldnt be).

12:46
Says the church is being intimidated to be silent. Bishop McKinney not online. David Barton online of wallbuilders. Hum? Mexico? Blah blah blah. Aint saying nothing but reciting bible phrases. This is boring. Claims God told us to take care of our government until he gets back. (?) blah blah blah.

12:44
Someone named Rick Scarbough(?) of Vision America. He helped fight against the hate crime bill. Truly an anti-gay conference of Pastors. No telling who is on this webinar. Claims this is a national race(?). Claims to have sent out 80,000 emails against Annise. Encourage men of God to use influence to support the bible and faith and principle. Call to action. Stop the gays!!!1

12:40
Steve Riggle wants to take the pulpit and say "personally want to endorse.....". The IRS would not approve this. Of course his lawyers are saying otherwise. That would be and IRS red flag. So if Riggle does this, the IRS will be on his ass. Now Riggle is talking about abortion. He is crossing the line on endorsing. OOPS lost the legal guy.

12:30
Christian Pastors are online to discuss how to affect the election and to stop Annise Parker from winning the election because she is gay.

Pastors are talking about how to stay within the law. Cant give money to candidates. Cant endorse. But can invite candidates to speak.

The Republican in the Race for Mayor has Surfaced. Sorta

It was just a matter of time for candidate Gene Locke to attempt to surface as the republican in the race, not as a candidate with "conservative values" but as one who has lost his own base. A door hanger in Clear Lake, obviously directed towards those with a republican voting record, touts his republicanism with statements like

"Endorsed by Leading Republicans" and "Prominent Houston Republicans are joining our Police Officers and Firefighters in endorsing Gene Locke for Mayor:"

Unfortunately Locke was exposed by former candidate Roy Morales in a recent mailer to his supporters. Instead of providing answers to the questions that most Houstonians are concerned about, Locke just didn't respond. And as been stated before Gene scored a D by the Conservative Review. Parker received a B and Morales an A. The mailer can be seen here.(Thanks David)

His list of republican supporters lacks Steven Hotze and includes hot shots like home builder David Weekley, Honorable Ned Holmes, and our own City Councilman Mike Sullivan. You can only imagine what he promised the home builders, the Port of Houston, or Sullivan if he wins. (Hum, prominent republican State Representative Davis is missing from this list of endorsements.)

Locke should have learned a long time ago,in the race for Mayor of Houston  it's not who you know, it's what you know.

Locke's Loose Lips: On Diversity

A day after the Tejano Democrats and the Houston Black American Democrats issued a press release claiming Gene Locle's opponent lacked diversity in her hiring practices, bloggers disclose that her office is 71% minority and now the Houston Chronicle claims  Gene Locke's lawyer firm lacked diversity in their hiring practices,

A January 2007 report compiled by four minority attorney organizations shows that Andrews Kurth, the law firm in which Gene Locke is a partner, scored a "D" under a formula the groups developed to assess minority representation in 21 of Houston's largest law firms.

Oops. Locke's spokesman had this to say about the press release:

Kimberly Devlin, a senior strategist for Locke, said his campaign didn't issue the statement criticizing Parker and would have no comment on the law firm diversity report.

 Someone call an ambulance cuz someone got run over by a bus.

If your house is on fire, make sure you have proof of citizenship

According to the Houston Chronicle the Salvation Army and the Houston Fire Department were distributing toys to kids if they can prove immigration status.

Two Houston charities that require proof of citizenship or legal residency before registering families for holiday toy drives said Tuesday their intentions have been misunderstood.

Executive Assistant Fire Chief Rick Flanagan said people won't be turned away from a Dec. 23 giveaway even if they can't provide proof of their immigration status.

Well Merry Frickin Christmas. What do you want to bet that the ones targeted for this incredible display of Christianity are those of color? What's next for the Salvation Army? Clubbing people as they put their money in the red bucket?

And as for the Houston Fire Department if your house is on fire, make sure you have proof of citizenship or else you may be out of luck. (only if you are of color)

The HPD leadership should be ashamed of themselves. I am sure the vast majority of fire fighters do not support this incredible stupidity.

The Race for Mayor is now about Race

Leave it to Team Locke to use race in his attacks against his opponent. Locke loves playing both sides claiming to take the high road and not use divisive tactics and yet he uses divisive tactics and sleeps with those who use hate and race against their opponents. This time it is brought to you by the Tejano Democrats:

Houston, TX—The Harris County Tejano Democrats (HCTD) and the Houston Black American Democrats (HBAD) today criticized mayoral candidate Annise Parker for her dismal record of hiring minorities in senior level positions in the Office of the City Controller.

As Mary Benton of CH2 pointed out, this is the first time Parker's hiring practices have been questioned, not just during the campaign, but during her entire six years in office.  Where have Locke and the Tejano Democrats been for the last six years?

Clearly the Tejanos have a lot on the line. Gene Locke promised the Tejano Democrats to divide the city by creating a black/brown coalition, (see Race for Houston Mayor is Not About Race) possibly to lock out others from city contracts or elections. It was wrong when this coalition was leaked by the President of the Tejanos after their endorsement of Locke. It is wrong today.

And it is wrong for Locke to be condoning this by the leadership of the Tejano Democrats. Don't expect Locke to denounce this divisiveness. He is endorsing it.

So much for running an honorable campaign.

Locke's Loose Lips

As with the President of the Houston Police Officers Union, Gary Blankinship, you just can't trust Gene Locke with the truth. Here is a bit of fact checking on Locke's performance last night. Look for more of "Locke's Loose Lips" in the future.


"I am not a lobbyist. I've never been a lobbyist." and ""Being a lobbyist means you have to go and register. There is a big difference between the two. I hope Ms. Parker recognizes that." As other bloggers and the Houston Press have pointed out, the Texas Ethics Commission has a record of him being registered as a (you guessed it!) lobbyist. Oops.


Parker's misleading claim about the police endorsement. As Parker clearly stated, she has the endorsement of 3 law enforcement organizations and was endorsed by the HPOU when on City Council. Locke on the other hand has the endorsement of the HPOU, not the entire 5000 members of the Houston Police force as he has claimed in his commercial. This is not the first time for Locke to say this.


About working with other law enforcement organizations. It was surprising that Locke wanted the Houston Police to work together with Metro police, Harris County Sheriffs and other law enforcement organizations. It was surprising because that is what Annise Parker has been saying all along! It's almost as if Locke stole her idea. This was part of Annise's "dismantle the police force" comment which Locke took out of context. In fact.....

Dismantling the police force. You have to be pretty ignorant to believe a candidate would want to dismantle the police force. Her comment was about shaking up the Police Force to think out of the box, like maybe......hum.......working with other law enforcement organizations, an idea that Locke has recently stole for himself.


As I have said before:

You can expect Locke to distort the truth, after all he is running for office, but it is a sad day when you can't trust the HPOU. Luckily the HPOU's actions do not reflect the actions of those on the street serving the public. Locke is making promises to our police officers our checkbook can't keep.

Republicans have no right to talk about military defense

The last thing this country needs is an opinion from the republican party on how to win the war in Afghanistan.

These are the same guys who tucked tail in Afghanistan and ran to Iraq leaving a mess for another President to clean up.

These are the same guys who invaded the wrong country and cracked jokes about not finding weapons of mass destruction while American soldiers were losing their lives.

These are the same guys who had Bin Laden cornered then gave the order to let him go.

These are the same guys who are great at defense spending for their buddies, but have no idea how to defend our nation.

So for all you war monger, dumbass, cut and run, republicans, when it comes to finishing the war you started, do the country a favor and shut the fuck up.

F(*&ing  idiots.

Caught between a Locke and a hard race

The silence from the Locke campaign is deafening. The hate monger Steven Hotze's mail piece endorsing Locke was sent out just after Thanksgiving and Locke has refused to reject the endorsement. Unfortunately he is stuck between a rock and a hard race, because he sought the endorsement.

Locke in a statement in the Houston Chronicle claims otherwise:

Locke, who met with Hotze and sought his support prior to the Nov. 3 city election, said he was refraining from “divisive campaigning” and asked his supporters to follow his lead.

What  else could he say after he sought the endorsement of this man and then got it? If he rejects the endorsement he will piss off the voters he was seeking. If he accepts the endorsement he will piss off the other voters he was seeking. Tough choice for Locke. This is what happens when you play both sides and get caught.

You have to wonder did Hotze screen any candidates, send out a questionnaire, or conduct personal interviews like other legitimate organizations do? Did anyone else but Locke seek this man's endorsement with a personal interview? Did anyone besides Al Hoang, Burke and Locke accept it?

As the old saying goes, if you sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas. If you like fleas, vote for Locke.