What she said: Kill the Texas Ethics Commission

Muse has a great point, one that should be taken seriously:

The TEC has an annual budget of over $2 million with 37 full time equivalent employees. 

I say throw it on the fire, and get rid of this toothless, ridiculous, tax payer wasting agency once and for all. No one will miss it, except for attorneys who make a killing off of defending their clients in front of the Ethics Commission (hello, Ed Shack.) 

37 full time employees and how many times have they sent a complaint to the Texas Attorney Generals office or the Travis County District Attorney's office? Zero. This commission over the last 10 years has served as an elected official protection agency and nothing else.

A prime example is  Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole who used over $160,000 of his donor's money for personal items. This toothless agency fined him $70,000, which can be paid with his donor's money. They required him to return only $40,000 of the $160,000 in question due to their self imposed 2 year statute of limitations. And now that the TEC has made a settlement with Eversole (what they do with all complaints) the District Attorney will not touch it.


This is a worthless agency. It needs to go to help pay off the republican created $25 Billion deficit. (Along with the Texas Department of Insurance, 2000+ employees and $2 Billion budget and the TCEQ)

Stealing campaign cash: Larry Taylor

State Representative Larry Taylor might be lucky. The State has been controlled by the republican party for over a decade and they have little interest in ethics reform or ethics violations. According to a complaint filed with the Travis County District Attorney, Taylor has been stealing from the tax payers by filing for travel reimbursement from the Comptroller's Office. But this travel was paid for by his campaign account, The Coalition To Elect Larry Taylor. 

This is called "double dipping" and if anyone besides an elected official in Texas did it, it would be considered a felony. Lucky for Taylor his republican buddies will protect him and he has a great excuse. According to the San Antonio Express Taylor claims to have paid his campaign back, even showing copies of checks for Dec of 2008. 

But the Express says his account is still $30,000 light. Taylor also has an excuse for this claiming that campaign reports are never accurate and that reimbursements to the campaign are optional, which is correct, but pretty damn stupid for any elected official to do. Funny, his account has recorded a number of these "optional" credits to the account in the past.

A tally of all Taylor's political contributions and expenses since arriving in the Legislature in 2003 shows a cash-on-hand balance that is roughly $30,000 less than it would be had all the travel reimbursements been repaid, Palmer said.

This complaint was filed by Dave Palmer of California. He couldn't file with the Ethics Commission because the republican House and Senate passed a bill forbidding complaints from outside of Texas. Instead he filed with the District Attorney's office. This is a better move since the TEC will never, and has never, taken action against anyone stealing money from taxpayers or their donors.

Losing Taylor would be a huge loss for the people he represents, the Insurance Industry. Palmer's complete complaint to the District Attorney can be found here.

November 15, 2010

Hon. Rosemary Lehmberg

Travis County District Attorney

Re: State Rep. Larry Taylor Double-Billing for $31,952.27

Dear Mr. Ms. Lehmberg:

Please consider this an official complaint that I’m filing against state Rep. Larry Taylor. My review of Rep. Taylor’s campaign expenses along with records of payments he received from the Texas State Comptroller indicates that he received identical payments for the same travel-related expenses on multiple occasions-including 90 air fares.

The teabagging of State Rep Larry Taylor

State Representative Larry Taylor, the Insurance salesman who heads the Insurance Committee in the Texas House, isn't conservative enough for the local teabags:

The Clear Lake Tea Party is not just “wishing” for a change in the Speakership. They are taking action by staging a protest rally at Rep. Larry Taylor’s office.
Taylor has a good conservative rating of 87% by Young Conservatives of Texas, but he is a Republican who appears to lack the courage to do what the conservative voters in his district demand: a conservative Speaker of the House.

That being the ultra right wing Warren Chisum. It is not enough for these loney tune teabags to have an overwhelming majority in both houses and the ability to pass whatever they want including "loser pays" tort reform which will end civil litigation in the state. They have enough to vote in vouchers for rich kids and massive cuts to education. And let's not forget about the voter ID bill that will fix a problem that doesn't exist.

But, no. The baggers want more including control of the local republican party. There has been an ongoing spat with the Chair, John LeCour. Recently they claimed he has stopped someone from running for precinct chair:

We have an intelligent, attractive young woman who has been trying to become a precinct chair for months.  Apparently John has changed his rules, once again.  She now has to pass an interview with HIM!  Now wait, that's not the best part, he insists that the interview will be conducted within HER HOME!!!!!!  Tell me there isn't something wrong with that one!?!?!

Precinct chairs are elected positions. You only need to fill out a form available from the County. There is more unrest in the party, but that is something for later.

Back to Larry. Look for Taylor to get teabagged in the 2012 primary. It will be fun to watch.

The Hammer gets Nailed!

Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle nails Tom DeLay:

Turkey day weekend wrapup

Wow. What a long weekend:

Tom DeLay. The day before Thanksgiving 12 jurors offered up the biggest turkey of the decade and found Tom DeLay guilty of money laundering and conspiracy. This wasn't a split decision. It was a unanimous vote on two separate counts. DeLay was found guilty of funneling corporate money to Texas campaigns which is illegal in Texas. If DeLay doesn't like the laws in Texas, he should have changed them before he broke them.

Texas Aggies. And the Aggies went to 9-3 coming off their victory over Nebraska and defeating the Longhorns in Austin. It was a great game and fun to watch. Aggies almost gave it away giving the Longhorns 2 minutes to tie the game. But...it didn't happen.

Boise State. We had a projector outside watching Boise State in the cold with a great bonfire and lots of beer. We left the game early with Boise in control only to find out later that Boise lost and dropped out of the top 4. It was a fun night at the cabin!

Great weekend. All around it was a great weekend. Hopefully DeLay will spend the rest of his rotten life in jail.

Dear Judge: Make Tom DeLay my bitch.

Let's hope the judge who will sentence DeLay will do the right thing and put the hammer in the slammer for a long long time.

Stuffing a turkey: Argentina James

It just doesn't get any better than this. Argentina James is leaving as the Port of Houston Authority public affairs director. From the Houston Chronicle:

"Her re-entry into the world of private enterprise will be considerably softened by the Port Authority's generosity: a $30,000 lump sum payment, $20,000 for health insurance over the next year, and $330,000 in monthly payments through July 2012. That money is for "public affairs consulting services as requested," according to the terms of a contract signed last month."

Or does it? While many are wondering how they can afford to put a bird on the table during these hard economic times, James attended the Houston City Council meeting and spoke in favor of the republican candidate for Port Commissioner who approved her bloated severance package. Here is what she "really" said:

snif snif. I support Longoria because she stands with the little people, like me. How could I afford a new Mercedes without the generous severance package? How can I afford health care for the next two years? How can I afford lavish trips on cruise ships, but not from the Port of Houston because that part of the Port is closed? Huh?

With a $380,000 severance package, someone is getting stuffed this year for Thanksgiving.

For the rest of you, have a safe holiday!

Hiding Campaign Cash: Jeff Wentworth

Nanci Wilson, an investigative reporter from KXAN Austin, nailed State Senator Jeff Wentworth for hiding  assets from his personal financial statements and she has a warning for others in her report "Ethics violations run rampant":

Former Texas state Rep. Kino Flores was convicted of eleven criminal charges stemming from his failure to disclose certain information on his personal financial statement.

He faces prison time for omitting required information on his annual report to the Texas Ethics Commission, and will be sentenced next month - and other legislators should take note.

Unlike using money from your campaign account for condo purchases (Brimer, Nelson, Truitt) or for personal items such as antique western books, art, or cattle (Jerry Eversole) hiding assets comes with very hefty fines and as Nanci stated, possible jail time. And unlike reviewing online reports to catch Jerry and his gang, there is a substantial amount of research required to find this missing information.

The article notes that Wentworth forgot to list and listed incorrectly:

• a $400 gift certificate from Capra and Cavelli given to him by members of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee at the end of the 2009 legislative session.
• the lease of a Lexus automobile
• he is a trustee of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio – an organization that’s received more than $45,000 dollars from Wentworth’s campaign
• some business ventures on his last few reports. He and some partners formed All-American Residential Protection, according to records.
• He didn’t disclose the business, nor his partnership, in Plains Title LLC.
• Most recently, he failed to list a company called Patriot Family .
• Lawmakers are also required to report activities of their spouses. Wentworth claims his wife is on the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation and the Bexar County Hidalgo Foundation. We checked. She’s not.
• He says she’s president of the Children’s Fund of San Antonio , but that organization appears to no longer exist.
• he claims to be on the board of directors of the 12th Man Foundation at Texas A & M. According to their website and tax filings, he’s not .

Wentworth was unavailable for comment. Imagine that. Good job Nanci!

Breaking News: Bristol Palin wins DWTS!

Bristol Palin will be named the winner of Dancing With The Starts tomorrow night. It is going to happen no matter how bad she dances. Get over it. This is the new America.

DWTS, just like our recent elections, is not about talent, the ability to dance, or the ability to govern. It is a popularity contest. It is about winning and nothing else and the teabaggers have mastered nothing else. They are lined up waiting to cast their vote to sweep in the 19 year old unwed mother, that can't dance, into victory lame.

This is the new teabag America. The land of social promotion. As with her mother, Bristol isn't going to win because of her talent. She is going to win because of who she is. She is a Palin. If her name was Smith, Consuelo, or Dejawanda, she would have been voted off on week 2. But she is Palin. And her teabag buddies are going to see to it that she wins.

So cheer for 2nd place, the real winner, and deal with it.

Shocking News! Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan is two faced!

Oh holy mother of pearl! What drama unfolded at City Hall last week where Mike Sullivan flipped his vote for Port Commissioner. From Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle:

Mayor Parker had the votes for Corgey, though barely. But Republicans and business interests, apparently led by Republican heavyweight and former Port chairman Ned Holmes, who showed up for the vote, mounted a strong campaign.  

Key vote switched

The morning of the vote, Councilman Mike Sullivan, who had committed to  Parker's choice, called her office to say he was switching to Longoria.

Imagine that! Mike Sullivan not keeping his word? And Labor is surprised at this? Really? Folks, this is Mike freaking Sullivan! Being two faced, a flip flopper, a fish flopping on the hardwood floor, is his strong point! Saying one thing then doing another is Mike's forte! Look they don't call Mike "Flipper" at City Hall for nothing. I'm guess I'm more shocked that Labor is shocked about this.
Casey's article is a good read. Sullivan goes on to say that he was just representing his constituents. Yea. Right. I am sure his constituents in Kingwood were putting the pressure on Mike about a position they didn't know about, care about, or even want to know about. Bottom like, is that Mike made his signature move.

And Labor lost. Next time, convince Mike to vote against your pick. In the end you will win.

Jerry Eversole and the IRS

Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole the Harris County king of ethics violations is under the eye of the FBI and according to Rick Casey we should see an indictment or nothing coming real soon:

It has been two years since County Commissioner Jerry Eversole told a Houston Chronicle reporter he expected to be indicted by the feds. Now it appears the indictment will come within the next two weeks.

This FBI investigation and the Texas Ethics Commission violations got me to thinking about all of the free money Eversole received by using his campaign donations for personal items such as antique western chaps and much, much more. The TEC fined him for only 2 years of these expenditures for about $40,000 which he eventually repaid to his campaign. But according my calculations he actually spent over $162,000 on personal items.

That is $162,000 of tax free money. Surely Eversole reported this free money on his tax returns. Anyone under the strong ethical standards of Judge Ed Emmett (gag) would report this free money as all fine patriotic Americans do.

Surely.

How to balance the budget? Kill the TCEQ

Besides the now defunct Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), and the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is probably one of the most worthless Commissions in Texas. It reminds me of the joke:

A doctor saw a patient for hemorrhoids and prescribed suppositories. A week later he saw him and asked "How did that medicine work?". The patient replied "The good those damn pills did me, I might as well just stuck them up my ass!"

The good the TCEQ has done this state...... With a $25 Billion deficit looming over our heads, killing the TCEQ would save $700 Million in taxes and cut over 2900 State employees from the payroll. This isn't rocket science folks. Even Texas Monthly made the suggestion to kill the TCEQ drawing a response from the Chariman.

The TCEQ is like a misplaced suppository, by design. It works to protect the very polluters we want protection from. It is like the TRCC which was created to protect the home building industry from taking responsibility for defects in new home construction. It is like the TDI which makes excuses for the insurance industry when they raise rates. It is like the TEC which provides legal firewalls for elected officials who steal money from their campaign funds.

For all the good the TCEQ has done for this state we might as well just stuck them up our ass. But don't look to the republican controlled House to do anything about it. Their donors like the protection the TCEQ provides.

Texas is #1 again in insurance rates!

This is getting old, but everyone needs to get their big panties on cuz it ain't going to get any better. From the Houston Chronicle:

Texas homeowners paid the highest insurance premiums in the country, according to data released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Texans paid an average $1,460 a year for the most common homeowner policy sold nationwide, the association reported this week, based on data from 2008.

Florida ranked second, at $1,390. The national average was $791.

Yep, almost twice the average. Of course, the insurance industry of Texas disagrees. Imagine that. They attend hearings in Austin claiming that rates have actually gone down! And their Representative Larry Taylor claims rates are only higher on the coast, like in Dallas. (seriously)

Well, at least we are #1 at something. Congrats!

Then they came for Joe Straus

They came first for the Muslims,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim.

Then they came for the Hispanics,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't Hispanic.

Then they came for the Blacks,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't black.

Then they came for the poor,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't poor.

Then they came for the hungry,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't hungry.

Then they came for the elderly,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't elderly.

Note to Texas Speaker of the House: In the words of your own party leader, the Christian of all Christians, Dick Cheney: Go *&^% Yourself. Seriously. You are actually whining about your party coming after you because you are a Jew? Are you kidding us?

Where were you when your party declared war on Muslims in the United States?
Where were you when your party called Hispanics cockroaches?
Where were you when your party called our President the "magic negro"?
Where were you when your party made massive cuts to children's health insurance?
Where were you when your party called for massive cuts to help those who lost their jobs?
Where were you when your party called for massive cuts to help feed the hungry?

You were missing in action, missing in compassion, and missing in intelligence. Yet now you are asking for civility from those rabid, right wing, hate mongers of your own republican party because they are coming after you for being a Jew?

“Our country was founded on the rock of religious freedom and the Judeo-Christian values of the dignity and worth of every individual. At its core, America believes in the freedom of every individual to worship as his or her conscience dictates, and it would be most unfortunate for anyone to suggest someone is more or less qualified for public office based on his or her faith,” he stated.

I really mean it. GFY. This is your party. You deserve every single bit of hatred they bestow upon you. Join the club. Join me when I am insulted by the stupidity of Debbie Riddle. Join the poor, the weak, the elderly, the Blacks, the Muslims, and the Jews as your own hate filled party, the republican party, comes after you and your family.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

You got that right.

Message to Joe Straus: Never misunderestimate the power of ignorance

Dear Speaker,

You need a TV (tee-vee). You've seen them before. They show non stop coverage of something interesting. Earlier this month they were showing the Democratic Party getting their ass kicked by the Teabag Party because they misunderestimated the power of ignorance. If you had one of these fancy ee-lectronic gizmos, you might be able to avoid the same mistakes, but it looks like you wont because these same ignorant *&^%s are now coming after you.

The members of the TP have begun a hard right campaign against you as Speaker of the House focusing on the fact that you are not one of them, a Christian. Your response? From the Jewish Hearld Voice:

“Our country was founded on the rock of religious freedom and the Judeo-Christian values of the dignity and worth of every individual. At its core, America believes in the freedom of every individual to worship as his or her conscience dictates, and it would be most unfortunate for anyone to suggest someone is more or less qualified for public office based on his or her faith,” he stated.

Idiot. You think that talking sense to these people is going to work? You think that "freedom to worship" means anything to these far right wing Christian hypocrites? You think that Judeo-Christian values mean anything to State Representative Joe Driver or Linda-Harper-Brown-Benz-Rodham? Do you NOT watch TeeVee? Haven't you heard of the attack on the "Victory Mosque" by your own party? Don't you *&^%ing know that the gop is the White Christian party with their Lord Jesus Christ as their savior?

Seriously, Mr.Speaker. Grab your big boy panties and your sword and impale those that oppose you. Cut them off at the knees. Destroy those that oppose you. Attack their faith. Attack their so-called "Christian" values. And when you win, punish those that voted against you. Anything less and your Christian republican buddies will think of you as weak and unfit to lead.

Trust me. I've seen it on TV.

Dude! Where's my health care?

And this is what you got for voting for teabaggers. From Talking Points Memo:

Maryland physician Andy Harris (R) just soundly defeated Frank Kratovil, one of the most endangered Democrats on Capitol Hill going into the November election. And he did it in large part by railing against 'Obamacare' and pledging to repeal Health Care Reform. But when he showed on Capitol Hill today for an orientation for incoming members of Congress and their staffs, he had a different question: Where's my government health care?

Much like my Congressman, Pete Olson, this douche yapped his mouth off about health care reform but is very happy holding his hand out for Government provided health care for himself and his entire family. Both of these douches have the opportunity to buy into a private insurance company, one of those they supported, but instead they opt for a block of Government cheese the size of a car battery.

These guys make hypocrites look bad.

Quitting and whining about Prop 1

Paul Bettencourt is a quitter. Not a Sarah Palin quitter who quit as Governor of Alaska to make a boatload of money from teabagging, but a quitter who quit after just 2 weeks on the job as Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector. Now Bettencourt has become a whiner after losing on Proposition 1. KHOU has the story:




Dude, you lost on Prop 1. Your teabagging buddies voted for Prop 1. Your republican buddies on City Council led the fight on Prop 1. Your republican buddies who will make millions off this sponsored Prop 1. What are you whining about? You claim you are fighting for the people but you should have fought 4 years ago instead of quitting.

Bettencourt should consider merging his new found jobs of quitting and whining and should just quit whining.

Yee-Haa! It is roundup time!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is beginning to feel the holiday spirit as it brings you this weeks' blog roundup.

Off the Kuff discusses the issue of Latino turnout in the wake of last Tuesday's elections.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy takes in the landscape after the storm and presents a way forward for Texas Democrats. Left of College Station also begins the Texas Legislature Watch by looking at the bills that Representative Fred Brown has pre-filed. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

Letters From Texas explained a fundamental truth to state Senator Dan Patrick: democracy is about more than two wolves and one sheep voting on what's for dinner.

Killing medicaid and CHIP along with Grandma and the kids will devastate the Texas economy. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why the evil Heritage Foundation wants to hurt the Texas economy.

Mean Rachel wondered when the Democratic Party decided to become the I Can't Believe It's Not Republican Party.

Bay Area Houston says the GOP is giving poor Hispanic kids the bird.

Over at TexasKaos, libby shaw gives her take on "Fixing the Federal Deficit" or rather how NOT to do it while distracting a nation. Check it out : Fixing the Federal Deficit.

Neil at Texas Liberal says that where there is smoke you will not inherently find fire. Yet the smoke alone may be enough to do a great deal of damage.

This week at McBlogger, Captain Kroc takes a look at one of the newest members of the Texas Legislature.

Harris County GOP to give the bird to poor Hispanics

Kuff at Off the Kuff has a very well written post about the Hispanic turnout and a number of intelligent folks provided some long winded ideas about how to reach out to these Hispanic voters. Personally I think the Harris County GOP has the right idea, just give them the bird like they did last year:

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. 

Now THAT is easy. And cheap. They have a captive audience all sitting in the gym waiting for a cheap $5 frozen bird so they can bring it home to their parents. And they have the J.R. Harris Elementary Principal willing to open the doors to the GOP to give the bird to her kids. Who could possibly be against getting the bird from the GOP?

The GOP will also continue their tradition of giving out free bikes (made in China and donated by a local sports store) to kids of J.R. Harris Elementary School who pass the TAKS test. Again, it is cheap and has full support of the Principal.

What do the Democrats do besides fight for their rights to vote, their rights to the courts, their rights to a good education, their rights to live without being harassed because of their skin color or their language? Nothing. No bikes. No freebies. No ducks. No birds. They should be ashamed of themselves.

UPDATE: This year State Representative Debbie Riddle will be giving the bird to the kids, but she will require a photo ID and proof of citizenship. She will also give any family an extra bird for identifying every illegal immigrant child in the school.

Take Advantage of Our Veteran's Day!

For many in this country, watching a parade, waving a flag, or buying a "Support the Troops" magnet made in China is enough to satisfy their patriotic needs.

Many who have access to a microphone will use today's celebration of our veterans to maintain their ratings, pump up their party, and satisfy their own needs claiming to support the troops. Instead of picking up a gun and fighting to become a veteran themselves, they will just pick up a microphone and shoot their mouth off, pumping their fist in the air supporting a war for others to fight in.

Over the last 10 years we haven't been kind to our veterans. We have created more veterans, than we should have by starting a never ending war in Afghanistan and an unnecessary war in Iraq. So on this Veterans Day let's pledge to really support our troops by:

• Demanding an end to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Demanding an investigation into who sent us to an unnecessary war in Iraq
• Demanding a just cause the next time we invade a country and send kids to war
• Dropping the microphone and signing up with the Marines, Army, Air Force, or Navy
• Adequately funding our medical services to those returning from war with fewer body parts
• Adequately funding our medical services to those returning from war with mental health problems
• Helping the homeless veterans find adequate shelter and food

So, go to the parade, wave your flag, shoot your mouth off, and make yourself feel better. It is all most of you are capable of doing.

Well said.

Thanks Nancy for the pic!

My party was in charge of homeland security on 911.
My party was responsible for an unnecessary war costing one trillion dollars.
My party increased our debt by five trillion dollars.
My party left you with a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit.
My party was responsible for the wall street failure.
My party was responsible for the wall street bailout.
My party was responsible for the massive recession.
My party was responsible for outing a CIA agent.
My party was responsible for illegal wire taps.
My party was responsible for using torture techniques just like the terrorists.
My party was responsible for making the US the laughing stock of the world.

And you blamed it on the black guy.
Thank you.

Bill would make builders felons for hiring or supervising illegal workers

Now this is what I am talking about:

A house bill in Texas would make hiring illegal workers for new home construction a felony by anyone associated with the hiring, supervision, or providing payment for services to illegal workers.

State Representative Debbie "I hate Mexicans" Riddle has filed legislation targeting the other end of the spectrum, our teachers and schools. HB 22 would require schools to compile and report information on the immigration status of their students, as if they didn't have anything better to do.

But, if Riddle and the tea bagging racists want to play this game with a handful of razor blades, then lets play. Let's find out which Texas home builders are building fine American homes with these illegal workers they hate. And let's see how many of these builders are donating to the republican party just so they can continue doing so.

Let's recruit the Minute Men and the King Street Teabaggers to stand guard around the new homes being built by Bob Perry and David Weekley, making sure that illegal workers never lay a hammer on any homes built by these fine American patriots. Let's make sure that Bob Perry and David Weekley are free of illegal workers and of contractors who hire them.

And let's stick it to the home builders who bring illegal workers to America, giving away jobs, and forcing true Americans into the unemployment line. I think I will call Debbie Riddle's and Senator Dan Patrick's office tomorrow to help file this bill.

Never underestimate the power of ignorance

If there was a lesson for the first two years of the Obama Administration it would be: "Never underestimate the power of ignorance". Ignorance in this country sent our US Soldiers to an necessary war, cost the taxpayers $1Trillion, sent 4500 of them to their grave, and maimed over 27,000 others. But yell "SOCIALISM!" and these horrible facts and lives are lost.

The voters of this country are not interested in facts. It is easier to believe a cute talking point than taking a few minutes of your time to determine the real issue and the facts. The republican party knows it, thrives on it and have mastered it. They have the talking points, they have the corporate money, and they have their free media.

Harris County District Clerk
The Democrats on the other hand attempt to treat voters with respect presenting facts and running on providing good government, saving tax dollars, improving services to the county, and being respected by both sides of the aisle. Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson is a prime example. Jackson, who really did provide good government, saved tax dollars, improved services, and was highly respected by both sides of the aisle, was replaced with a no-name scientologist who financed his campaign with a loan from his mommy and was swept in on the wave of ignorance.

SOCIALISM!
Voters don't care about good government. They care about voting against SOCIALIZED MEDICINE and stopping the VICTORY MOSQUE, and TAKING MY COUNTRY BACK! and MEXICANS ARE COMING TO EAT MY CHILDREN! And any other simple minded talking point created by the republican machine, such as....

Rocket scientists.
After the election the ignorance continued with the myth about Obama's trip to India costing $200Million a day. Even so-called intelligent people working at NASA, people who have degrees from Texas University (OK, that might be a good excuse for ignorance)  believed this incredible stupidity, was willing to spread the myth, but wasn't willing to do simple math and prove it wrong. But facts, and lives, are lost with the incredible power and ease of ignorance.

What's next?
The answer to ignorance is ignorantly simple. Until the Democrats get their own radio stations, their own corporate backing, and their own simple minded message, they will continue to lose. So will the ignorant, but they are too ignorant to know any better.

Our battle cry for the next two years

From Rage Against the Machine:

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

How long? Not long, cause what you reap is what you sow

They shoot horses don't they?

People died to give us the right to vote. Today our members of the armed forces fight to protect our freedoms and our right to vote. Yet the republican party thinks it is cute, fun, and their god given right to encroach on this right, to intimidate voters, to hover over them, to attempt to suppress their rights as American citizens.

As I said about Judge Ed Emmett, the Texas Democratic Party stated:

"The silence of every Republican leader in the face of this assault on democracy speaks volumes and further proves that these are not the actions of a rogue Tea Party group but rather the execution of a plan formulated by Republican operatives to help Republican candidates by suppressing minority turnout.”

This is disgusting. It is un-American. These people are nothing short of trash. And if some *&^damn idiot would exercise their own *&^damn right to the 2nd Amendment in defense of their freedom, these teabagging, tuck tail, republicans would only have themselves to blame.

Don't stoop to the level these racist terrorist thugs. Do what is right:

If you witness any of this illegal activity at the polls, try to get the name of the “poll watcher” who engaged in it and if they’re too afraid to give it to you, record a physical description. Then fill out an Election Incident Report Form or email headquarters (hcdp@hcdp.org) a complete description of what happened, and please include your name and telephone number so we can get in touch with you to ask more questions if we have to. If you don’t have access to email, call us at 713-802-0085, but our telephone lines are so busy right now, we’d really much prefer an email if you can do so.

After the election I hope every teabagger, every republican, every poll watcher that was involved in this filthy un-American plot ends up crappin' their shorts holding a subpoena from the Department of Justice in their filthy hands.

Judge Emmett quiet as a scared mouse

I really don't want to hear another word about how great Harris County Judge Ed Emmett is. How he reaches across the aisle to work with both parties. What a load of crap.

With unprecedented reports of voter intimidation in the Hispanic and Black communities, Judge Ed Emmett, the highest republican official in Harris County, hides like a scared mouse afraid of his own teabaggers. Every other elected official has called upon the Department of Justice to intervene. They have called upon everyone to abide by the rules and the law when it comes to voting. And the Harris County Attorney has issued stern warnings about voter intimidation.

All while Judge Emmett hunkers down, hiding behind the skirts of the teabaggers.

The perfect sign of the times

From the Keep Fear Alive rally. Take a look at the top 100 signs from the Keep Fear Alive rally from buzzfeed.com. It's a great laugh. Here is one that sums up the entire political season: