Burnt Orange Report

Cuellar Extends Lead to 201 Votes

By Byron LaMasters

After concluding recounts in Hays and Bexar Counties today, Henry Cuellar picked up a few more votes. The San Antonio Express-News reports:

Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar has picked up one vote in this afternoon's Hays County recount after gaining another three votes this morning during a Bexar County tally in the bitter congressional District 28 race.

The gains have boosted his lead over incumbent U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez to 201 votes.

The Bexar County recount, which took about three hours, involved only the mail-in and provisional ballots, not the touchscreen voting results, which comprise the vast majority of votes cast, elections officials said.

There are two small counties left to conclude their recounts, and it's likely barring any irregularities that Cuellar's lead will hold up. Rodriguez is now moving forward with plans to file a lawsuit to officially contest the election results.

Two final counties, Comal and Guadalupe, will have recounts Thursday in the 11-county procedure.

Earlier in the day, a visibly angry Rodriguez reiterated his concerns over Tuesday's recounts in Zapata and Webb counties, which shattered his original post-primary lead of 145 votes.

"Something is happening and it's not correct and it's not appropriate," Rodriguez said at a morning news conference.

Rodriguez, a four-term incumbent from San Antonio, is planning to file a lawsuit Friday to contest the recount results, which his attorney "totally inexplicable and fraudulent."

I'm not sure when the election results need to be certified by, but right now it looks pretty good for Henry Cuellar.

Dallas County Democratic Leaders Endorse Lupe Valdez in Sheriff Run-off

By Byron LaMasters

I don't have a horse in this race, but it looks as if much of the Democratic establishment in Dallas is lining up behind Lupe Valdez in the run-off for the Democratic nomination for Dallas County Sheriff. The Dallas Morning News reports:

Several prominent Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, have endorsed Lupe Valdez's candidacy for Dallas County sheriff, campaign officials said Tuesday.

Ms. Valdez faces Jim Foster in an April 13 runoff. Ms. Valdez and Mr. Foster led a field of four candidates in this month's Democratic primary, but neither won a majority.

State Sen. Royce West, state Rep. Yvonne Davis and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price also are supporting Ms. Valdez, campaign officials said. The campaign scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. today at the Frank Crowley Criminal Courts Building to introduce its new supporters.

[...]

Mr. Foster, a former Dallas County deputy constable, outpolled Ms. Valdez in many precincts in southern Dallas that have a majority of black voters, election results show.

Ms. Valdez won many of the precincts in North Dallas, the northern suburbs, East Dallas and north Oak Cliff. Those precincts are majority white or Hispanic.

Ms. Valdez said she did not do as well in black neighborhoods because "Mr. Foster spent a lot of time advertising and calling to that area, while financially I could not afford it."

Mr. Price said he would campaign with Ms. Valdez and predicted that she would win.

Mr. Foster "spent all his time and effort in southern Dallas," Mr. Price said. "She did not have the wherewithal to get her message out. We know we can help her."

I'm betting on Valdez to win this one. Both Valdez and Foster would be decent candidates, but Valdez looks to be the most experienced candidate with 28 years in law enforcement, including stints as a special agent at the Customs Service and with the Department of Homeland Security. Foster benefited in the primary, because of his extensive campaigning in the south Dallas precincts where turnout was high due to an major GOTV opperation by County Commissioner John Wiley Price (who easily fended off two challengers). In fact, one study suggested that African Americans made up 49% of the Dallas County Democratic Primary vote:

Black voters helped boost Jim Foster into a Democratic runoff for sheriff.

But his opponent, Lupe Valdez, was first with white and Hispanic voters.

So who has the edge for the April 13 runoff?

Dr. Dan Weiser, a political consultant and mathematician, says Ms. Valdez could be in the best position.

That's because black voters who supported Mr. Foster might not return to the polls next month, particularly because many of them were drawn to the March 9 primary by the caustic race for Dallas County Commissioners Court between incumbent John Wiley Price and Judge Charles Rose .

"Foster has a good campaign, but I don't think he can bring people out who don't want to come out," Mr. Weiser said.

[...]

A study prepared by Mr. Weiser shows that in the Democratic primary, blacks constituted 49 percent of the overall vote. Anglos were second with 42 percent, and Hispanics had 9 percent.

Mr. Foster, who is Anglo, got 42 percent of the black vote, followed by the 36 percent received by Sam Allen, who is black. Ms. Valdez received 15 percent of the black vote.

But Ms. Valdez fared better among Anglos, carrying 47 percent of their vote. Mr. Foster got 19 percent.

And Ms. Valdez got the biggest share of the Hispanic vote as well, with 46 percent. Eighteen percent of Hispanic voters went for Mr. Foster.

Overall, the race was a near dead heat, with Ms. Valdez getting 31 percent of the vote and Mr. Foster getting 30 percent.

"Because she finished first with Anglos and Hispanics," Mr. Weiser said, "it gives her an advantage."

Now with Valdez's endorsement of several prominent African-American elected officials, she looks to be in a perfect position. Anyway, if I were registered in Dallas County, she'd probably have my vote, but regardless, I would encourage Dallas Democrats to learn about both candidates and vote in the run-off on April 13th. Either of our candidates will be better than the current sheriff (Jim Bowles) who was indicted for misusing campaign funds.

Lupe Valdez Website.

Jim Foster Website.

Man charged with offering beer for vote

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Off the Beaten Path News is reporting what is a sad personification of politics and education today. I call it the Buy a kid beer for a vote against raising his property taxes for the kid's education plan.

A man tried to buy a vote with a 12-pack of beer, according to police in northern Kentucky. Edward Lucas offered the beer to an 18-year-old student at Ludlow High School in exchange for a no vote on a proposed increase in school property taxes, Ludlow police officer James Tucker said in an affidavit.

Lucas was charged Friday with making or receiving expenditures for vote, a class D felony that can land him in prison for one to five years. Lucas, 40, denied the charge.

"I don't know the boy, and that's not exactly what was said," Lucas said.

"I said, 'I hope it doesn't go through and if it doesn't, I'm going to have a big beer party.'"

Lucas was arrested Friday and released on bond Saturday. Police dispute his version of the exchange, but declined to give specifics. The tax increase was on the ballot Tuesday and lost. It would have generated about $75,000 a year for school construction projects.

Is the WH Trying to Out Richard Clarke?

By Andrew Dobbs

You may have noticed that in the last two days all of the coverage of Dick Clarke has included vague references to his "personal life." Wolf Blitzer, according to Atrios, said that "there are some weird aspects in his life as well," I saw Joe Scarborough make a reference to how Clarke "has no personal life"- a claim that seems both impossible for him to know and completely irrelevant to any discussion of his claims, and others are making some curious references to his "personal life" as well. Clarke is in his 50s and has never been married. The implication, it seems, is that Richard Clarke is gay.

Clarke may very well be gay- I have no idea, the WH seems to think so and they'd be the ones to know. Wonkette says that there are some questions being raised among media types by the White House of a more explicit nature. Of course, this has absolutely no bearing on whether or not he's telling the truth or whether or not this president ignored the threat of al Qaeda, but you can believe that the WH will use it to distract the media from these important issues and you can believe that they will eat it up.

Bush should know that those in glass houses ought not throw stones- there are plenty of gay Republicans in positions of authority and they don't want to start this little game. If being a homosexual makes you unqualified to serve in government, we'll see if a few GOP congressmen/cabinet officials/governors want to resign after we even the score a little. I know that might be a sleazy thing to do, but if Bush wants to play character assasination, we can play right back with him. Say what you will about Clarke- believe him or not- but let's keep this on the issues.

The Facts on Kerry's Tax Plan

By Byron LaMasters

The Media Fund has a good new ad that clearly lays out the differences between George W. Bush and John Kerry on taxes. It's what the Kerry campaign should have been doing a week ago, and its much more effective than the current Kerry ad.

Of course, the Bush campaign is accusing the Kerry campaign of illegally colaborating with MoveOn.org and The Media Fund. The Guardian reports:

President Bush's campaign and the GOP on Wednesday accused the campaign of Democrat John Kerry of illegally coordinating political ads and get-out-the-vote activities with anti-Bush groups and donors including billionaire George Soros.

The Bush campaign and the Republican National Committee said they would file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Kerry and pro-Kerry groups of violating a campaign law that broadly bans the use of ``soft money'' - corporate, union and unlimited individual donations - to influence federal elections.

In a highly unusual move, the Bush campaign and RNC plan to ask the FEC to dismiss the complaint immediately so they can file a federal lawsuit to block the activities and force the groups to pay for presidential ads and get-out-the-vote drives with limited donations from individuals rather than soft money. Usually complainants pursue FEC action before going to court, but it can take months or even years for the commission to resolve complaints.

[...]

The GOP cited at least three factors it says prove coordination: links between people involved in some of the soft money groups and the Kerry campaign during the same election cycle; the timing of media buys in the same states and media markets; and TV stations receiving a Media Fund ad on Kerry's economic plan before Kerry publicly released the economic plan.

``I'd call it slanderous nonsense - the typical Republican politics of intimidation,'' said Media Fund spokesman Jim Jordan, a former Kerry campaign manager who is among those named in the complaint. He said the Media Fund ad on Kerry's economic positions mentioned only what Kerry has been saying publicly for months.

Wes Boyd, president of MoveOn, said in a statement: ``We do not coordinate with the Kerry campaign. These charges are baseless and irresponsible.''

The 527s are following the rules. Neither the MoveOn.org or The Media Fund ads are advocating the election or the defeat of any candidate, nor are they coordinating with the John Kerry campaign. At least, that's my understanding of the current law.

Recounts Give Cuellar Lead over Rodriguez

By Byron LaMasters

Holy Shit!

In a dramatic turnaround certain to add to the lore of South Texas politics, Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar first took a 197-vote lead over U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez after recounts in Webb and Zapata counties Tuesday.

Then, just a few hours later, state Democratic Party officials said the final recount tally in Webb County showed 115 more votes than there were ballots cast. A re-recount won't be done until Sunday, officials said.

Meanwhile, Bexar and Hays will have their recounts today, and Comal and Guadalupe will conduct theirs Thursday.

The drama began Tuesday, when recount results in Zapata for Congressional District 28 showed 237 new votes for Cuellar, which came from a controversial batch of 304 ballots previously uncounted.

He then gained 177 votes in his home county of Webb.

Rodriguez, a San Antonio native, picked up only 67 votes in Zapata and none in Webb.

His 145-vote lead from election day had grown to 150 Monday, according to partial results in the 11-county district.

Rodriguez's camp is already planning a lawsuit.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years and I've never seen 300 or so ballots appear suddenly," said Rodriguez attorney Buck Wood, a former elections director for the Texas secretary of state's office.

"To tell you that I'm suspicious and baffled is an understatement."

Something looks fishy to me. There were 115 more votes than ballots cast in Webb County. 300 ballots appeared out of nowhere in Zapata County. I'm not typically a conspiracy theorist, but I do find it odd that the two strongest counties for Henry Cuellar have significant irregularities (not to mention that Zapata County didn't report their returns until the day after the election). So is their fraud going on in south Texas?

The San Antonio Express-News goes on:

"There will be a shadow over the election almost no matter which one comes ahead now," said Jerry Polinard, a political scientist at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.

It was unclear late Tuesday what the problem was in Webb, but in Zapata, a tabulation error apparently missed 304 early votes, said Zapata Democratic Party Chairman Teo Garza.

Contrary to rumors that new ballots were discovered, Garza stressed that the 304 votes had been counted, but weren't properly recorded.

"There's no funny business going on," said Garza, who's running his first election as party chairman.

Nevertheless, alarms went off in the Rodriguez camp and around South Texas, which has a marbled history of corruption including the infamous Box 13 that catapulted Lyndon B. Johnson to a slim victory in the 1948 U.S. Senate race.

"There's no doubt that there's some fraud going on, some illegal activities," said Rodriguez, a four-term congressman from San Antonio.

I still have my fingers crossed that Rodriguez will pull this out, but regardless of who wins, there will certainly be a cloud of uncertainty over the result.

FOX News Bias in DeLay Reporting

By Byron LaMasters

Vince Leibowitz nails them over at the Yellow Dog Blog. Here's how FOX News characterized the investigation of Tom DeLay's activities by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle:

Austin District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a fierce partisan Democrat with political ambitions, is currently investigating two PACs; one was DeLay's brainchild and he continues to sit on the advisory board.

If FOX News would have done their research, as Vince did, they would have learned that Ronnie Earle has investigated more Democrats than Republicans as D.A., that Ronnie Earle is the "Travis County D.A.", not the "Austin D.A.". Finally, Ronnie Earle has been the Travis County District Attorney since 1976. It's hard to understand how someone who has been District Attorney for nearly 30 years could be considered someone with larger political ambitions. It seems to me as if Ronnie Earle is happy with the job that he has (if you can think of a better reason why he's had the same job for 28 years, let me know, but its hard to spin it in any way as political ambition).

Update: In the latest DeLay news today, the Houston Chronicle writes that reports that he expects to be indicted are incorrect:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Tuesday downplayed reports that he is preparing, politically and financially, for an indictment in Texas on charges that he broke state campaign finance laws.

"If the law is the standard in the state of Texas, then we have no problems and we don't anticipate a problem," DeLay, R-Sugar Land, said emphatically during a news conference in Washington.

"I have not been notified that I am being investigated; I have not been subpoenaed," he said.

Targets of grand jury investigations aren't always notified, however.

David Van Os Kicks Off Campaign

By Byron LaMasters

Last night, David Van Os officially kicked off his campaign for Texas Supreme Court. Van Os is one of our few statewide candidates this year, so I'm looking forward to helping his campaign, as it's one of the few races at the top of the ticket. His campaign website reports on the event:

Tonight, David Van Os formally kicked off his campaign to put a Democrat on the Texas Supreme Court. As is typical with events involving David Van Os, the CWA Union Hall in San Antonio was packed with people from every walk of life, Democrats of every size, shape, color, religion, political experience, career field, family background, education level, financial status - in other words, a diverse cross section of Texas.

After a warm welcome by the union president and a rousing introduction by State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, herself a genuine hero of the Democratic Party and a leader of the fight against Tom DeLay's power-grab, and a cordial letter from State Chair Charles Soechting, the podium was turned over to the next Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, David Van Os.

David, who is rapidly becoming known across the state for his mesmerizing oratory, delivered a blistering attack on the "gang of Right-wing Pinstriped Thugs who are trying to take over every branch of government and defeat our treasured system of checks and balances." He described how our Supreme Court, the last refuge for the rights of the people to be upheld, has instead, been turned into a private club for former (and present) Corporate lawyers, who overwhelmingly and consistently take the side of large insurance companies and big corporations against consumers, individuals and small businesses. He noted that they don't even bother to sign their outrageous opinions, some of which overturn even constitutional protections which have stood for over a century.

This is a race that every Democrat should be intensely interested in, generously contributing to, and actively campaigning for. When David is elected and takes his seat on the Court, the people will start to regain their voice in this most important venue. He might still be outnumbered for a while when it comes time to vote, but the people will start to have a voice in the proceedings, a dissenting opinion to bring to light the legal fallacies of their one-sided decisions, and the secret, backroom dealings will not be so secret any more.

You can donate to the Van Os campaign, here.

Temporary Changes

By Byron LaMasters

It's taken me longer than usual to load BOR the past few days, so I've made some temporary changes on the right-hand sidebar deleted some images (the Marriage Equality and Beat Bush images) and the general blogroll from blogrolling.com. Hopefully that will speed things up to a reasonable speed for now.

Listen to The O'Franken Factor Now!

By Byron LaMasters

Al Franken is live on Air America Radio. You can't get it on the radio in Texas, yet, but check out the live stream on the Internet.

NRCC Fundraiser Falsely Labels Two Countries as Harboring Terrorists

By Byron LaMasters

Here's another example of Republicans exploiting Americans fear of terrorism for the sake of winning elections (or in this case, raising money). A National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser labeled the Phillippines and Thailand as nations that "harbor and aid terrorists". However, neither nation is on the State Department list of nations that sponsor terror, and in fact, the state department praised both nations in 2002 for working to combat the global war on terror. Still, even when given this information, the NRCC spokesman refused to apology. This is outrageous. The Republican Party is attempting to solicit donations by scaring their donors into falsely believing that countries that the State Department has praised for their contribution to fighting terrorism are actually counties that "harbor and aid terrorists". The AP reports:

A voter survey tied to a Republican effort to raise money for House candidates mislabels Thailand and the Philippines as countries that "harbor and aid terrorists," say officials from both governments.

A question on the National Republican Congressional Committee's "Ask America 2004 Nationwide Policy Survey" asks: "Should America broaden the war on terrorism into other countries that harbor and aid terrorists such as Thailand, Syria, Somalia, the Philippines, etc.?"

[...]

Officials from both nations say the question came as a surprise since the Bush administration has praised their countries for their roles in the anti-terror war.

"It doesn't accurately describe the view of the Bush administration," Patricia Paez, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Embassy, said Friday. Her office sent a letter to the GOP campaign committee complaining about the question.

Paez noted that the Philippines sent troops to Iraq to assist in peacekeeping efforts. "We have, in fact, contributed a lot to the war on terror," she said.

Chirachai Punkrasin, deputy chief of mission at the Royal Thai Embassy, called the question misleading. "I don't think we are knowingly harboring known terrorists," he said.

NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said the question was based on information from the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank based in New York. "I think the question probably could have been vetted better," he said.

The council's Sharon Otterman did not agree with the question's wording. She said the group's Web site identifies the Philippines as a "haven" for terrorism, "but it doesn't mean the state is helping the terrorist groups."

The council did not identify Thailand as either a state sponsor or a haven for terrorism.

He THINKS the question probably could have been vetted better? Ya think?!?! Is that the latest way Republicans explain outright lies? The article continues:

Neither the Philippines nor Thailand is on the State Department's list of terror-sponsoring nations, and both have faced problems with Muslim extremist groups.

In fact, a 2002 State Department report lauded both countries for working closely with other nations in the global war on terror and for strengthening counterterrorist measures.

[...]

Meanwhile, Paez noted that President Bush, during a trip to the Philippines last year, praised President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's anti-terror efforts. Her country has faced problems with the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf.

It's hard to believe that this was just an honest mistake. You would think that a major GOP fundraising letter would be overlooked by someone who knows their facts, but then again, who knows. Was this simply an accident, or is the National Republican Congressional Committee using scare tactics on its own backers to make them believe that terrorism is more widespread than it acctually is, and pushing them into making a (larger) contribution?

The Howard Stern Voting Block

By Byron LaMasters

We hear so much about the "soccer moms" and the "Office Park" or "NASCAR" dads. What about the 8.5 million fans of Howard Stern? Perhaps the "indecent" and "pervert" vote? Hmm... or something like that?

Well, Howard Stern - a previous supporter of Republicans George Pataki and Christie Whitman is now furious with President Bush over the new FCC regulations, and he has an audience of 8.5 million of mostly swing voters or non-voters that listen to him. Might this have an impact in November? It's up in the air, but the Dallas Morning News reports on that possibility:

No longer content with simply rocking the boat, Howard Stern is aiming to rock the vote.

"You've got to vote Bush out to send a message as a Howard Stern fan," he tells his listeners.

Here's what you had to say about Howard Stern's anti-Bush campaign
Republicans have dismissed Mr. Stern's recent political tirades, deeming his Bush bashing as inconsequential as the flatulence jokes that precede it. But media experts caution against underestimating the self-proclaimed "King of All Media."

Talk radio heavyweights Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are preaching to the converted, they said. Mr. Stern has 8.5 million potential swing voters tuned in, and his loyal listeners have shown a willingness to do stunts far more outlandish than going to the polls at the shock jock's urging.

[...]

Matthew Felling, media director for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, said the New York radio host is as clever as he is crass. And, he said, if Mr. Stern keeps up his anti-Bush drumbeat, he could have a greater impact on the presidential election than independent candidate Ralph Nader.

"The average talk show listener is extremely suggestible – they will do a lot for their radio afternoon or drive-time buddy," Mr. Felling said.

Mr. Stern is counting on his fans to feel insulted by what he says is a GOP-led effort to muzzle him.

So far, listeners have responded with a flood of supportive phone calls, online petitions and Web sites trying to "Save Howard." In Dallas, where the show is broadcast from 6 to 11 a.m. on KLLI-FM (105.3), Stern fans have been calling in at a clip of a couple hundred per day.

Once a vocal backer of Mr. Bush's decision to go to war, Mr. Stern shifted gears several weeks ago and took aim at the leader he now calls a "Jesus freak."

Then, when Clear Channel Communications announced that it was dropping The Howard Stern Show from six of its stations and Congress began considering increasing fines for indecency, Mr. Stern launched a full-on assault on those who would rein in his raunch.

Day after day, hour after hour, he rails against Republicans and what he perceives as their attempt to make radio broadcasts bland.

"It's going to be one sickeningly sweet America," Mr. Stern said last week. "All of the shows will be filled with people who got kicked off Survivor."

Now, in the midst of broadcasting bodily functions and exhorting his guests to remove their underwear, Mr. Stern will segue from strippers to the one thing that offends him: President Bush's policies.

"He's his own jihad," Mr. Stern said. "He's as bad as these maniacs in Palestine."

The outburst ends as quickly as it began, and Mr. Stern returns his listeners to their regularly scheduled programming – in this case, a contest to determine who can pass gas the longest.

By adding just a sprinkle of partisan politics to his usual titillating fare, Mr. Stern keeps his listeners coming back – and gives them something to think about, Mr. Felling said.

"If he tosses in less than an hour of political talk, it will be that teaspoon of medicine along with all that sugar going down," he said. "The strippers will always be there. That's the beautiful thing about Howard Stern. He will not beat this horse to death."

This is not Mr. Stern's first foray into politics. He backed the gubernatorial bids of Republicans George Pataki and Christie Whitman (she thanked him by naming a rest stop for him).

But Mr. Stern, who is heard on 35 stations nationwide, has never brought this level of commitment to a cause. His Web site (www.howardstern.com) includes reams of information explaining how to register to vote, contact a congressman or write the Federal Communications Commission.

So what, you might say. Will Howard Stern's listeners actually vote? And if they do, would they vote for John Kerry? How is Howard Stern's political message any different from the conservative political shows that dominate the airwaves? Michael Harrison makes an important point:

The fact that Mr. Stern's fans aren't seeking political rhetoric could be the very reason they listen to his anti-Republican riffs, said Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of the industry magazine Talkers.

"When every day you're doing politics, and you have an agenda, people expect it," he said. "It doesn't have as much influence as a trusted person who is so moved to speak out that he breaks his own format."

Mr. Stern offers only faint praise for Democrat John Kerry but says that the Massachusetts senator must be better than the status quo. "My audience is the swing vote," he told his listeners Friday.

Mr. Harrison said the pointed criticism is bound to raise doubts about the commander-in-chief among some listeners.

"Stern's change of position on George W. Bush is one of the most significant political developments in talk radio," Mr. Harrison said.

It will be interesting to see if John Kerry does anything to court Howard Stern voters. I seriously doubt that he would overtly court them, as there would surely be a backlash, but some sort of courting of Stern's listeners covertly or through surrogates could prove effective. Any thoughts? Or can anyone think of what the Howard Stern swing voter should be called?

And for those of you who believe that the FCC is getting carried away with broadcast regulations and fines for "indecency", check out Stop FCC.com for more information.

150 Protest Baylor Policies in Waco

By Byron LaMasters

It'll take awhile for Baylor to come around. After all, only in 1996 was the ban on dancing on campus lifted. Still, it's good to see progress:

Some of Baylor University's own called for their school to change its ways Saturday, challenging the Baptist campus to end what they say is discrimination against homosexuals.

About 150 protesters comprised of current and former Baylor students held signs, waved rainbow flags and sported school colors at Heritage Square in downtown Waco, not far from the 14,000-student campus.

"Welcome to the 21st century, Baylor," said Tim Salladay, a Dallas businessman and 1978 Baylor graduate. "The time has come."

Attendees were galvanized by the story of Matt Bass, a Baylor seminary student whose scholarship was revoked last year after he revealed to friends he is a homosexual. The issue also arose last month when the administration condemned an editorial in the student newspaper that supported gay marriage.

During the rally, many poked fun at Baylor for being reluctant to change old habits. More than one compared the issue to civil rights and interracial marriage. Salladay cited Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr.'s lifting of a ban on campus dancing in 1996.

Dancing was once considered an anathema to conservative Baptists.

"We say to Dr. Sloan, no more dancing around the issue of equality," Salladay said.

[...]

For their part, Baylor's administrators didn't comment on the rally, releasing only a statement from the school's university student policies and procedures.

"Christian churches across the ages and around the world have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm," according to the statement. "Temptations to deviate from this norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior. It is thus expected that Baylor students will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching."

During Saturday's rally, Bass, 25, rejected the notion that Christians are all of one mind on the issue. He accused Baylor of becoming a religiously dogmatic university that rejects academic freedom and discourse. Instead, the school scares students into submission, he said.

"You equip us with the tools to think for ourselves responsibly, then you punish us for using those tools," he said.

"I only hope you'll change your ways before you kill both the university and the university student," Bass added.

Good job. It can't be easy to speak out at a place like Baylor, but the folks who do have a lot of courage. It doesn't take much courage to be openly gay, or speak at a Pride Rally, or organize a Marriage Equality Rally, or wear an HRC sticker at an event, or write that you're gay on your blog when you live here in Austin (or even back in Dallas for that matter). Sure, there are people that will have a problem with it, but I never worried about getting kicked out of school or being a victim of violence because of it. For these activists at Baylor, however, that's not the case. I have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for their efforts, and if there is anything that I can do to help them, I'd be delighted to do so.

Apologies for Yesterday

By Byron LaMasters

I just wanted to briefly apologize for the problems accessing BOR yesterday. Our service provider, Dreamhost had a "major distributed denial of service attack (DDOS) aimed at one of [their] main routers". Personally, I had difficulty accessing BOR most of the day yesterday (along with Off the Kuff and Yellow Dog Blog which are also hosted by Dreamhost). Anyway, this is the first time that there's been a problem with Dreamhost for more than an hour or two, and they've assured us that they are doing everything in their power to prevent such problems from occuring in the future. So cross your fingers, and lets hope everything will run smoothly for awhile.

Honor the Texas Flag (or not)

By Jim Dallas

As you may know, the last legislature passed a law mandating public school students say a pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag every morning.

Back at Ball High, where I've been subbing a lot, all the requisite posters and flags are up (although most teachers seem to be putting up tiny 4 inch-by-6 inch flags, since there's not enough money to get really good state flags). But there doesn't seem much enthusiasm for the pledge.

This morning, for example, I was able to encourage about half of my class to say the Pledge of Allegiance for the US flag, but just about everyone just plain ignored the Pledge to the Texas Flag.

On one level, I'd bemoan the lack of civic pride. But I'm also inclined to get snarky about having a state flag pledge. Maybe the appropriate response really is "who cares?"

Microtargetting Voters -- Good idea, fad, or both?

By Jim Dallas

Newsweek last week ran a story about the increased use of market research to target individual voters, with the prerequisite "Karl Rove is god" ("Wizard of Oz" might be more appropriate appelation for Mr. Rove).

True, the Republicans still have a huge lead on us when it comes to micro-targetting voters, but we're catching up with Demzilla (we hope).

Additionally, I tend to suspect that the law of diminishing returns applies here; just because the Republicans know which color underwear you're wearing right now doesn't mean that information is going to win them your vote; and if they're going to spend money on that, then let them (because at some point, a marginal increase in information on a voter is just going to be a wasted investment).

All this talk all boils down to making an educated guess about your neighbors values so that you can most effectively persuade them. For the El Cheapo candidate (e.g. a justice of the peace candidate in Podunk), a totally free service like Claritas's ZIP Code search -- or census records, tax assessments, and voting histories -- ought to get them half way there. While computers and market segmentation databases are going to be very helpful, they're simply an extension of what campaigns ought to be doing -- effectively -- anyway.

(I suppose it's worth noting that the free stuff I suggested only allows an assessment of your audience in the aggregate; it can tell you about a neighborhood, but not about one particular neighbor. That's true, of course, and that's why all this new stuff can't be ignored. But nor will it improve a campaign's effectiveness by orders of magnitude, in my humble opinion.)

On the other hand, the road to victory is paved with the skulls of backwards-thinking pols who failed to get with the times. See for example the folks who pooh-poohed scientific polling or television or helicopters in the 40s and 50s -- and then got beat (sure, Lyndon Johnson may or may not have cheated in 1948, but by embracing "high-tech", Johnson was able to essentially tie Coke Stevenson, who was at the time probably the most popular politician in Texas).

Thanks to Kevin Drum for noting Claritas's site on Washington Monthly.

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC: The "you are where you live" meme came up in Drum's defense of David Brooks, who was attacked by Philadelphia Magazine's Sasha Issenberg for "not checking his facts." Umm, and I could say the same thing about Issenberg, who claims that "one of Goodwin's strongest markets has been deep-Red McAllen, Texas."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. McAllen might be geographically located in Texas, but every Texan knows that McAllen isn't really part of the sociopolitical construct of Texas, by which I mean George W. Bush's cowboy fan club (nor is Austin, nor San Antonio, nor Galveston, really, by that standard).

More to the point -- shouldn't Lyndon Johnson's biographer (that's who Doris Kearns Goodwin is) get lots of readers in South Texas, where some of LBJ's more infamous exploits occurred (see earlier reference to 1948 Senate Race)? I mean, duh.

OH. According to Issenberg, Galveston is part of "Red America," despite having a political culture somewhere to the left of Philadelphia's. ("Blue Americans have heard so much about Red America, and they've always wanted to see it. But Blue Americans don't take vacations to places like Galveston and Dubuque," Issenberg claims.)

Just look at the numbers -- McAllen's Hidalgo County went for Gore 61-38, which is about the same result tallied in "uber-blue" Montgomery County, Maryland, which went for Gore by a margin of 63-34. Galveston County, as a whole, is deeply "purple"; but the city of Galveston itself went for Gore.

The whole Philly Mag piece is a laugh riot. Obviously, Sasha Issenberg doesn't know anything about Texas, or Texans, and I'm starting to think that I don't want people like that in my state, anyway.

Once you scale up the "red/blue" hypothesis to geopolitical units the size of states, it starts to lose all meaning and sociological accuracy (as the post I made a while back about Starbucks in Vermont ought to indicate).

Bill O'Reilly is a Racist

By Andrew Dobbs

I don't like to throw the word "racist" around a whole lot- I think that people on the left over use it. I doubt that very many Republicans are actual racists, in fact, I would say that in all of the US Congress, maybe 5 or 6 of them could be considered straight up racists and we have a couple of our own I'm sure. I think that there is danger in using that word frivolously, but even worse is to ignore real ignorance and hate when you see it. It seems as though Mr. Bill O'Reilly might be an honest-to-god racist.

From Atrios:

O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In THE FACTOR "Follow-Up" Segment tonight, we've been following the various demographic shifts throughout America, and now the Census Bureau estimates, by the year 2050, white Americans will make up less than 50 percent of the population. How will that change the USA?

Joining us now from Washington is Dr. William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. Here in the studio, John McManus, the editor in chief of "American Demographics" magazine.

So I guess this is being driven by Hispanics, right, with all the illegal immigration, millions of people coming in here and the higher birth rate among Hispanics in America. That's what's driving this?

JOHN MCMANUS, "AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHICS": The Hispanic population is the greatest increase that we'll see over the time period that we're talking about. Illegal immigration is a portion of the story, but it's the increase in -- rapid increase in immigration and birth rate in people of Hispanic origin that we'll see.

O'REILLY: All right. Because black birth rate is fairly stable, right?

MCMANUS: Proportionately, black birth rate and increases in their population will level out and be less significant in growth in that time period. I think Bill will be able to address the numbers better than I can, but...

O'REILLY: OK. And how about Asian? What's the situation with that?

MCMANUS: Asian -- we're going to see a 213 percent increase, according to the Census Bureau projection, and so that will be a very rapid increase of the percentage of their population in the U.S. as well.

O'REILLY: All right. Now, Doctor, the Census Bureau really doesn't tell us how this is going to affect the country. Do you have any theories on it?

WILLIAM FREY, PH.D., BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, I really think what's happening is going to be this phasing out or fading out of the white baby boom population. It is a 50-year time period we're talking about...

O'REILLY: Yes. We'll all be dead. Thank God, right?

Now, I don't have the rest of the transcript, so O'Reilly might just be waxing at how he hopes he dies sometime soon (and I'm sure there are some out there who would join him in that sentiment), but it seems pretty clear that O'Reilly is spouting off some pretty harsh anti-immigrant, anti-minority sentiment. I don't know if O'Reilly really is a white supremecist or if he's just an idiot, but fact of the matter is, this stuff is out there and we need to see some outrage at this sort of ignorance.

Funny Mondays

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

This weeks edition is more slight of hand humor. As in, no knee-slapping but some politcal ideological bitch slapping.

To start with, the report from the Statesman last Saturday on the Friday Rally at the Capitol for Marriage Equality. The Austin Coalition for Marriage Equality website is now up and running, check it out.

And I'm sure our rally down here in Texas wasn't what made Former Governor/Wrestler Jesse Ventura speak up, but it's part of the movement at large. His comments...

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura threw his feather boa into the gay marriage ring Monday, calling it a "cop out" for Massachusetts lawmakers to send a constitutional ban to voters. "We have a representative-style government. Represent your people and vote and stand by what you believe in," said Ventura, who as a professional wrestler was known for his flamboyant costumes. "Civil rights issues should not be put on the ballot."

Currently a fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, Ventura appeared at the Statehouse alongside State Auditor Joseph DeNucci, a former boxer.

"We're two tough guys here to show support for a basic human right," DeNucci said.

Clad in jeans and sneakers and wearing a full beard and a shaggy ring of hair, Ventura asked, "How is my marriage under attack if two gays or lesbians down the street want to make a lifelong commitment to themselves?"

Ventura, a one-term governor elected on the Reform Party ticket, added: "Love is bigger than government. Think about that."

In the extended part of this entry, Funny Monday's Actually gets funny with a bit I found that will make you smirk at Right-wing hypopcracy on Homosexuals being the big threat to the sanctity of marriage.

Food for thought

Ronald Reagan - divorced the mother of two of his children to marry Nancy Reagan who bore him a daughter only 7 months after the marriage.

Bob Dole - divorced the mother of his child, who had nursed him through the long recovery from his war wounds.

Newt Gingrich - divorced his wife who was dying of cancer.

Dick Armey - House Majority Leader - divorced

Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas - divorced

Gov. John Engler of Michigan - divorced

Former Gov. Pete Wilson of California - divorced

George Will - divorced

Sen. Lauch Faircloth - divorced

Rush Limbaugh - Rush and his current wife Marta have six marriages and four divorces between them.

Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia - Barr, not yet 50 years old, has been married three times. Barr had the audacity to author and push the "Defense of Marriage Act." The current joke making the rounds on Capitol Hill is "Bob Barr...WHICH marriage are you defending?"

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York - divorced

Sen. John Warner of Virginia - divorced (once married to Liz Taylor)

Gov. George Allen of Virginia - divorced

Henry Kissinger - divorced

Rep. Helen Chenoweth of Idaho - divorced

Sen. John McCain of Arizona - divorced

Rep. John Kasich of Ohio - divorced

Rep. Susan Molinari of New York - Republican National Convention Keynote Speaker - divorced

And on and on....

Don't worry about homosexuals destroying the institution of marriage. The Christian Republicans are doing a fine job without anyone's help!

Tom DeLay Expects to be Indicted

By Byron LaMasters

I missed this on Friday, but the Houston Chronicle reported:

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay apparently is preparing for the possibility that a Travis County grand jury may indict him on charges of violating state campaign finance laws.

DeLay, R-Sugar Land, told a group of Houston supporters earlier this month he may need to raise more money for a legal defense fund.

[...]

DeLay and a committee he founded, Texans for a Republican Majority, are the subject of a grand jury investigation being led by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat. The investigation focuses on whether TRM spent corporate money to influence the 2002 state House races in violation of Texas law.

[...]

DeLay and an aide in a March 8 private meeting at the Omni Houston Hotel talked to Houston supporters about the possible need to pay for a legal defense in connection with the grand jury investigation, according to two people who attended the meeting.

The meeting at the Omni was part of a regular event DeLay holds every three months for supporters called the "Congressional Quarterly Luncheon." The two people interviewed by the Chronicle spoke on condition of anonymity.

DeLay talked about the grand jury investigation only after being asked about it by one of the 40 to 50 people in attendance, sources told the Chronicle.

DeLay talked briefly about a legal defense and then had an unidentified aide discuss the possible need for raising money for a legal defense fund.

One of those interviewed quoted DeLay as saying, "I fully anticipate being indicted."

Off the Kuff has some more on the story for those of you inclined to find out more. If DeLay is indicted, there's a chance that CD 22 could emerge as a possible pick-up for Democrats. Sure, it's a long-shot, but stranger things have happened. Richard Morrison is the Democratic nominee in District 22 and you can check out his (infrequently updated) blog or make a contribution if you wish.

Finally! A Candidate in Georgia...

By Byron LaMasters

It took long enough, but it finally looks as if Democrats will be fielding a decent candidate in Georgia: U.S. Rep. Denise Majette. Majette, if you will remember defeated former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic primary two years ago, and (I think) is one of the more conservative members of the Congressional Black Caucus. In fact, she was elected, in part, because of cross-over Independent and Republican votes in the primary. She seems like the kind of candidate that has a chance to win statewide. The Atlanta Constitution Journal reports:

U.S. Rep. Denise Majette confirmed today that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Zell Miller. Majette conceded it is late to dive into a statewide race. But she said she felt moved to run as a counter to GOP messages she finds extreme. "The Republicans keep trotting out their right-wing rhetoric on God, guns and gays in an attempt to divide the electorate and distract from the serious problems they're not addressing," she told reporters.

[...]

Democratic leaders say Majette, who rose from obscurity to defeat 10-year incumbent Cynthia McKinney in 2002, has not sought wide party support or consulted them about seeking higher office.

Former state Rep. Billy McKinney, father of Cynthia, was on hand for today's announcement.

McKinney said Majette's decision to leave her seat to run for the Senate does not mean his daughter is a shoo-in to win back her old congressional seat. He said the race is "wide open."

"With the Democrats and the Republicans working hard against us it'll be a tough race," he said.

Asked by a reporter if Cynthia McKinney would support Majette's Senate bid, McKinney responded "Hell no. You've got to be crazy."

Since Miller announced his retirement, Majette was one of several names mentioned to run for his seat, but hers did not make the short list that the party has been discussing in recent weeks.

Until now, all signs indicated that Majette was preparing for a highly anticipated rematch against McKinney, whom Majette defeated with stunning ease in the 2002 Democratic primary. McKinney, Georgia's first African-American woman in Congress, declared her candidacy Saturday.

McKinney would be smart to count her blessings. While I'd prefer to see someone else hold that congressional seat, McKinney has a decent shot at winning it back (now that it will be open), but if she antagonizes Majette's supporters, it will be more difficult. As for the Senate race, it's still the Republicans best pick-up opportunity, but it's no longer a sure thing.

A few weeks ago From the Roots (DSCC blog) posted an entry saying that, "We are hearing some good news in GA so stay tuned on that front. A great candidate could emerge soon. So stay tuned... ". Is Majette the "good news" they were referring to then? I think that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the Lt. Governor, the Attorney General or the Secretary of State (all three are Democrats) would have been a better candidate, but Majette could be interesting. We'll see soon.

Dean, Edwards, Kucinich, Clark and Kerry Texas Campaigns Reach a Deal

By Byron LaMasters

Here's what leaders of the campaigns of the Texas campaigns of Dean, Edwards, Kucinich, Clark and Kerry agreed on last Thursday:

We’ve agreed to the following concepts: - All of us are agreed that we want a unified state convention for John Kerry in Texas. That will be achieved by all of us signing in for Kerry at State. - Democrats who were in the campaigns of any of the nine candidates still would like to go to the National Convention and all should feel free to run for Kerry delegates or for the nine Edwards seats allocated by the primary. To do so, you will have to file an application as a Kerry or Edwards national delegate. Applications will be posted on the Texas Democratic Party website beginning late April. - In all dealings at the State convention, no person will be prohibited or discouraged from being a party officer candidate or National Delegate because of which campaign they originally supported. - The various campaign leaders will all have input on naming some of the At-Large delegates. There will be people who originally supported Dean (or the others) considered and elected by the Nominations Committee to be Kerry At-Large National Delegates.

Sounds good to me. We're united. Off the Kuff has some more insight into the Democratic unity that we're seeing in Texas and across the country. Frankly, I'm amazed. I'm amazed how eager every single Democratic Presidential candidate (with the exception of Kucinich, for now) has been to help John Kerry get elected. Howard Dean endosed Kerry and sent out an email fundraising pitch for him. Dick Gephardt is campaigning with Kerry in Missouri this weekend. Wes Clark is using his contacts and email lists to raise money for Kerry. Joe Lieberman and Bob Graham will campaign for Kerry in Florida. John Edwards has introduced John Kerry to his fundraising contacts and is raising money for Kerry himself. Even Al Sharpton has embraced John Kerry, and Dennis Kucinich has promised to support John Kerry by the convention. We're united.

Tuition Up 24% at UNT

By Byron LaMasters

If you needed further proof that Tom Craddick is an enemy of higher education, check out this story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Tuition at the University of North Texas will increase by 24 percent next school year, in large part to cover state budget cuts in the face of rising enrollment costs.

UNT regents voted 7-2 Friday to increase undergraduate tuition to $123 per semester credit hour -- a $24 per-hour increase. A full-time Texas student taking 15 credit hours will pay $1,845 a semester, up from $1,485 this school year.

Costs for room and board will also rise at the Denton campus.

The state no longer provides funding based on enrollment, so public universities are turning to students to make up the difference -- an option provided last year when the state Legislature deregulated tuition at state schools.

[...]

The University of Texas at Austin raised tuition and fees 26 percent from fall 2003 to fall 2004. Charges at UT-El Paso increased 28 percent. Most resident undergraduates at the University of Texas at Arlington will see a 17.5 percent tuition increase from fall 2003.

[...]

Student leaders, unhappy about the news, intend to study the effect of the increase on students. Plans are to give a report to regents this summer, said Jesse Davis, 20, president-elect of the UNT student body.

Some students will probably enroll at community colleges to save money or drop out of the university, Davis said.

The increase in cost of higher education at Texas universities is outrageous. No new taxes was a joke. Tom Craddick and the Republicans in this state have raised taxes on students and middle class families by an extraordinary amount through tuition deregulation. Other students aren't so lucky. For students that can't afford to pay more, many are forced to drop out of school or enroll in community colleges. I hope that this serves as a wake up call for students to get involved. Regardless, we'll be sure to remind students here at UT who raised their tuition rates come November.

Glen Lewis to Join the GOP?

By Byron LaMasters

Not yet, but he's been invited.

State Rep. Glenn Lewis, a lifelong Fort Worth Democrat who was beaten in the March 9 primary by first-time candidate Marc Veasey, has been approached by Republican leaders who want him to jump to the GOP.

Lewis, whom Veasey accused of being too friendly with powerful Republicans, said he will not move to the GOP "at this point." But he did not rule out doing so later if there are not dramatic changes in the local and state leadership of the Democratic Party.

Lewis, who is black and a lawyer, said there are too many "Anglo lawyers" making the decisions for Texas Democrats. But it's black and Hispanic voters who keep the party afloat, he contended.

The nine-year House member said that since his defeat he has received calls from Republicans including Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Rep. Joe Barton, local GOP Chairwoman Pat Carlson and Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, one of the highest-ranking African-Americans in state government. Lewis said he has also been contacted by "some of my Democratic colleagues in the House."

Sounds like sour grapes to me. Lewis signed on as an early Craddick supporter and waffled on redistricting (before ultimately voting against it), and his choices had consequences. Lewis won a committee chairmanship, but he also lost renomination.

Travis County Delegates

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Just a note, I was told this morning that Dean won 27% of the delegates to the state convention in Travis County.

In Gillespie County, officially, Kerry got 3 delegate and Edwards 1 (me, don't ask). But of the 8 delegates and alternates from Gillespie County, 5 had been tagged as Dean from the campaign this past year.

Clarke: Bring It On

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

The Republicans fear Clarke's testimony. So of course the best solution is to assisinate his character and claim that he lied, even if you don't have proof. Of course, Bust is used to lying without proof, but that is beside the point.

So Republicans wanted to push to declassify some of Clarke's past testimony in hopes that he lied. But Clarke isn't backing down as being reported...

Richard Clarke, the former chief counterterrorism adviser at the White House, who has criticized the Bush administration’s preparedness for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that he “would welcome” the attempt by leading Republicans to declassify his two-year-old testimony before Congress.

Clarke also said Rice’s private testimony before the commission should be declassified, as well as e-mails, memos and all other correspondence between Rice and Clarke.

“Let’s declassify everything,” Clarke said to NBC's Tim Russert, moderator of the program.

He also accused the administration of waging a “campaign to destroy me professionally and personally,” and called on the White House to “raise the level of discourse.”

Clarke also fired back at the administration by reading Bush’s response to his resignation letter.

Noting it was in the president’s handwriting, Clarke said the letter read that he would “be missed. You served our nation with distinction and honor,” and had “left a positive mark on our government.”

“He thinks I served with distinction and honor,” Clarke said, while “the rest of his staff is out there to destroy me.”

Bring. It. On.

Rolling Back Protections

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Joe Trippi's Change for America has the lowdown and there is no need to duplicate an already well put together point.

PS. I'll post on the Gillespie County Democratic Convention tomorrow, with pictures! But just to let y'all know, I have been elected a full voting delegate to the State Convention.

Texas Congressional Outlook

By Byron LaMasters

On primary day, I wrote a very hastily put together Texas Congressional Preview. One thing that I would like to do over the next week is write a "Texas Congressional Outlook" that would be modeled after the Senate Outlook on Daily Kos. I think that it would useful for a lot of people as Texas has arguably more contested congressional elections than any other state. I'll be examining national news sources (National Journal, RollCall, Congressional Quarterly, etc. - I don't have subscriptions, but I've received some information via emails), and local news sources and newspapers on the 32 congressional districts and elections in the state of Texas. I hope that this project will help people in Texas and across the country understand the dynamics of the congressional campaigns that will heat up across the state over the coming months.

Anyway, if you'd like to help in any way, email me or comment on this thread. Thanks.

Republicans for Nader

By Byron LaMasters

The Republicans wanted Ralph Nader to run. They want him to be well funded. They want him to be able to take his message to America. Does anyone wonder why?

The Dallas Morning News reports:

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is getting a little help from his friends – and from George W. Bush's friends.

Nearly 10 percent of the Nader contributors who have given him at least $250 each have a history of supporting the Republican president, national GOP candidates or the party, according to computer-assisted review of financial records by The Dallas Morning News.

[...]

More than 24 Nader contributors of $250 or more – about 10 percent of his total – are otherwise reliable GOP donors, The News review found.

Mr. Paulucci, the creator of Chun King and Jeno's Pizza Rolls, donated $2,000 in February to Mr. Nader.

The Florida frozen-food executive is a prolific contributor to the GOP, giving more than $150,000 to the Republican Party and national candidates since 2000.

Is there any better proof that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush?

Update: Didn't notice it earlier, but Kos is on the story as well. He observes that it is likely that the 10% figure climbs as the campaign moves on as Nader taps out his personal network of supporters. I'm quite inclined to agree.

Deny Bush's Loan and Help MoveOn.org

By Byron LaMasters

I'm sure that most of you all saw this already, but click here to stand up to the irresponsible spending of the Bush administration, and help MoveOn.org at the same time.

Longhorns Lose

By Byron LaMasters

Well shit.

Oh well.

Over 1000 Attend Travis County Democratic Convention

By Byron LaMasters

I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout today at the Travis County Democratic Convention. There were just over 1000 delegates from Senate District 14 (Barrientos) and about 200 from the portion of Senate District 25 (Wentworth) in Travis County. Registration was a bit of a fiasco (not enough space, unorganized lines, etc.), but it all worked out. The main events were speeches by most of the elected officials in Travis County and the other candidates on the county ticket.

Senator Barrientos spoke relatively early into the convention. He received a warm reception, and gave a fiery speech to the convention, but there were many in the audience still upset with his endorsement of Leticia Hinojosa against Lloyd Doggett. Doggett spoke later, and he was greeted to the room by a minute-long standing ovation by the delegates. Later in the day, State Reps. Rodriguez, Naishtat and Dukes spoke as well.

We also broke up into precinct caucuses to elect delegates to the state convention. I was elected as an Alternate to the state convention. Our precinct had eleven delegates to the county convention today, and we were allotted two delegates and two alternates to the state convention. For those four spots, there were six of us running. The six of us were all given a chance to introduce ourselves, and then the five people not running had an opportunity to ask us questions. Of course, the one question worked to my disadvantage. One person asked if anyone had been a delegate to the state convention in the past, and I was the only one who had (I was a delegate to the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso in 2002). Next the eleven of us cast four votes (which we could divide however we wished). I was in a tie for the third most votes (8), so we were the alternates while the two top vote getters (who won 10 and 9 votes, respectively) won the two delegate spots. I'm happy to have the opportunity to go to convention, and there's a good chance that I'll be a delegate anyway, since there are always a good number of delegates who are unable to make the convention.

The end of the convention dragged on through dozens of resolutions. At first, it went smoothly, and most of the delegates were in agreement on things like supporting labor rights, women's rights, choice, gay rights, affirmative action, etc. There was more controversy with two resolutions that passed narrowly (which I opposed). The first was a resolution calling for a 15% cut in military spending (among other things) and the second was a resolution calling for the United States to withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO. At this point in the convention, about two-thirds of the delegates had left, and the Kucinich delegates (about 10% of the original total) were speaking out for their resolutions. I disagree with them on those two issues, but if voting on these resolutions is what some people need to be able to vote for John Kerry and the Democratic ticket this fall, then it all works out. No one pays attention to resolutions passed by a county convention anyway.

Anyway, it was good to run into a lot of friends, and meet some people who have read BOR at the convention. Anyone have any other thoughts on the Travis County convention? Anyone else attend their county (or senate district) convention today?

Update: More accounts of the convention are here and here.

Gay Rights Rally in Waco Tomorrow Protesting Baylor Policy

By Byron LaMasters

This ought to be interesting. The Waco Tribune-Herald reports:

Organizers of a gay rights rally in downtown Waco Saturday say they expect 1,000 demonstrators to voice their criticism of Baylor University for its treatment of gay students.

A group calling itself United4Change will protest the university's policies at 11 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Square. It is led by Matt Bass, a former Truett Seminary student who had to drop out of school after his scholarship was withdrawn when he admitted to officials he supported homosexual marriage.

Bass, 24, who stayed in Waco after withdrawing from school to help bring attention to issues facing gay students, said he hopes for a large turnout for the rally to "help administrators understand the effects of discrimination."

Baylor officials, when asked for comment, responded only with a written statement affirming t he student code of conduct, which informs students of the university's stance on human sexuality issues and communicates expectations for how students conduct themselves on or off campus.

"Baylor University welcomes all students into a safe and supportive environment in which to discuss and learn about a variety of issues, including those of human sexuality," the policy states. "The university affirms the biblical understanding of sexuality as a gift from God. Christian churches across the ages and around the world have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm.

"Temptations to deviate from this norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior. It is thus expected that Baylor students will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching."

United4Change, a group of Baylor students, alumni and friends in the greater community, believes that "discrimination against students and faculty based on real or perceived sexual orientation and identity is unjust and inherently violent towards all," Bass said.

As an institution of higher learning, Baylor has an obligation to end ignorance, yet it continues to infringe on academic freedom, constitutional free speech, and basic human and civil rights, he added. The group seeks equality on campus and a nondiscrimination clause in university policies. Many Baylor alumni from throughout the country have sent either e-mails of support or indicated they are coming to the rally, he said.

Recently, the Baylor student paper endorsed gay marriage which received much critisism from the Baylor administration. It's almost amusing to watch if it wasn't so serious. It's outrageous that a closeted gay student lost his scholarship at Baylor after being asked about his sexual orientation by the administration because he had confided in a pastor (who proceded to violate his trust with the student, and go tell the administration).

Two Rallies Set

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

I want to let everyone know about two important rallies in Texas in the next two days concerning Marriage Rights and Equality at Universities in Texas.

The First is the "Dont Outlaw Love" Rally set for today at 4:30 in front of the State Capitol Building in support of equal marriage rights and recognition here in Austin. The event is actually being organized by High School students and is one of the projects being coordinated by the Austin Coalition for Marriage Equaltiy (whose new website will be up soon and I will link to when it is). The group will listen to speakers, rally, and the march on over to good old Governor Perry's Mansion in case he wants to join in on the lovefest.

The second big event is taking place in Waco tomorrow in reponse to Baylor University's treatment of gay students.

Organizers of a gay rights rally in downtown Waco Saturday say they expect 1,000 demonstrators to voice their criticism of Baylor University for its treatment of gay students. A group calling itself United4Change will protest the university's policies at 11 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Square. It is led by Matt Bass, a former Truett Seminary student who had to drop out of school after his scholarship was withdrawn when he admitted to officials he supported homosexual marriage.

Bass, 24, who stayed in Waco after