The Texas Democratic Party won a major fight last Friday by forcing Leo Vasquez and the Harris County Voter Registration office to admit to using voter suppression tactics. Additionally, Rep. Scott Hochberg played a key role in unearthing the details about how the office was rejecting tens of thousands of voter registration ballots. (Read more about those details below the fold...)
TDP Chair Boyd Richie released the following statement about the settlement:
“From my first days as Chairman, the Texas Democratic Party has worked vigilantly in both the legal and legislative process to protect Texans’ right to participate fully in our democracy. The Texas Democratic Party will monitor the current Harris County Voter Registrar’s practices with that same vigilance to make sure the terms of this agreement are carried out properly.
“It’s a shame that the Texas Democratic Party has been forced to go to court time and again to do what our state and local officials should be doing – protect the right to vote. As a great Texas Democrat, President Lyndon B. Johnson said in 1965: ‘It is wrong--deadly wrong--to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country.’”
The lawsuit settled a number of lies that Vazquez, Paul Bettencourt, and other Harris County Republicans had been pushing for months. As the Lone Star Project explains:
Earlier this year, in a hostile and dishonest op-ed in the Houston Chronicle, Leo Vasquez, responded to Lone Star Project reports detailing corruption within his office by calling Texas Democratic Party legal action a ”nuisance lawsuit” with “no merit” and saying that the “partisan attacks” were led by the Lone Star Project. (Source: Houston Chronicle, 6/16/2009) However, Vasquez was forced to acknowledge in the settlement that the TDP lawsuit was based on facts that showed the Tax Assessor's office had engaged in improper behavior regarding the handling of voter registration applications and the handling of provisional ballots.
Vasquez would not have agreed to the settlement if he did not believe that there was a strong chance that he would lose the lawsuit and more corruption would be uncovered.
Here's a look at the lies Leo told -- and the truth he finally admitted in the lawsuit settlement:
Leo's Lie
The Facts
“It is also my highest priority and the goal of the employees of the tax office to register every eligible voter in Harris County.”
24.4% of those applying to register to vote in Harris County were denied registration in time to vote in the 2008 elections. (Source: TX Secretary of State and Harris County Voter Registrar)
“These attacks are nothing more than partisan witch hunts”
As part of a court settlement, Vasquez acknowledged widespread voter registration problems detailed by the Lone Star Project. Vasquez was forced to accept more than a dozen changes insisted upon by Democrats to protect the rights of Harris County voters. (Source: Houston Chronicle, 10/23/2009)
Commenting upon Ed Johnson, Vasquez said, “There is nothing illegal about this activity, and it has nothing to do with his [Johnson’s] official duties with the tax office.”
While refusing to fire Johnson outright, Vasquez has acknowledged the Johnson is unfit to serve as Associate Voter Registrar and has reassigned him within the Tax Office. (Source: Houston Chronicle, 8/1/2009)
Responding to the Lone Star Project’s call to fire Ed Johnson for working as a paid Republican campaign consultant while also on the County payroll, Vasquez said, “This assertion is preposterous …”
Vasquez acknowledged the obvious conflict of interest and, as part of the legal settlement, was forced to initiate a policy prohibiting outside work as a partisan political consultant. (Source: Vasquez Settlement, 10/23/2009)
I think everyone should congratulate the Texas Democratic Party for taking the lead on work that should have been done by Harris County elected officials -- but was not, for obviously corrupt reasons.
More on the history of this story below the fold...
(This is happening Wednesday morning. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Public Citizen is holding one of a series of national events in front of the Capitol in Austin on Wednesday about the upcoming Citizens United v. FEC case in the Supreme Court.
This will take place Sep 9th starting at 10:30 am on the South steps of the Texas Capitol (11th and Congress), to coincide with the Supreme Court hearing the Citizens United case, in which they have signaled they want to overturn a century-old principle that bans corporations from directly participating in campaigns.
Imagine it-- if corporations could openly support or oppose political candidates and give money to their elections!
We will need people to come who support clean elections and are tired of corporate influence in our politics. We will be holding two simultaneous rallies. One will be a Citizens Rally with homemade signs (feel free to bring your own) and another with people dressed in suits (led by your truly) representing the corporations, carrying stock signs saying "Corporations are People Too", "Why shouldn't I be able to buy a President?",
If interested or for more info, go to www.DontGetRolled.org or please email Andy Wilson awilson-at-citizen.org
Also read our full press statement from Public Citizen's New President, Rob Weissman here and after the jump
I dubbed 2007 the year of the bimbo because of the enormous amount of time dedicated on what was supposed to be news channels, and even our plain old nightly news to the saga of Anna Nicole Smith, the trials and tribulations of Paris Hilton, and the various on goings of Brittany Spears and Lindsay Lohan.
Despite the fact that our country was fighting two bloody wars and the death of such greats as Molly Ivins and Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson, one quarter to one half of the news on many nights and on many shows was wasted on the afore mentioned bimbos. 2009 is shaping up to be nearly as bad.
For the past two nights, the Rachel Maddow Show has been pre-empted to instead dedicate the full hour to Michael Jackson. Those "news" shows that haven't dedicated their entire show to Jackson, spent a quarter to a half of their time on story. Just as with the death of Anna Nicole Smith, we are getting a play by play on everything from the custody of the children to the location and details of the funeral and burial.
The coverage of Anna Nicole's death was over the top and excessive.
The coverage of Michael Jackson's death is turning out to be just as bad or possibly even worse.
Texas law prevents building on the public beach, but in the chaotic final hours of the legislative session state Rep. Wayne Christian helped craft an amendment that exempts an unlikely piece of land from existing law: his own beachfront property.
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Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has asked Gov. Rick Perry to veto the bill containing the amendment. The bill has not yet crossed the governor's desk, and he will not make a decision until he sees it, said Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger.
"I don't think building houses on the beach, with the waters of the Gulf beneath them, is a good idea or good public policy," Patterson said.
If the governor signs the bill, Patterson vowed that he would not enforce the amendment. "My option is just to say, 'Screw you, Wayne Christian,' because the Legislature didn't pass this, one guy passed this," he said. Patterson said the Legislature would have to impeach him if lawmakers wanted the provision enforced.
The amendment was approved Monday, the last day of the legislative session, as part of a bill extending homestead exemptions to homes destroyed by Hurricane Ike until they can be rebuilt.
The actual amendment was authored by Rep. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Mauriceville. According to Rep. Christian, who approved of the amendment, a grand total of 12 people (him and some of his neighbors) would be able to take advantage of this exception. Christian's original vacation house was swept away by Hurricane Ike and was assessed at over $185,000; now it's value is just $100. It's not like he's rebuilding his homestead- we're talking about a vacation house. An exception for rebuilding a vacation house for a state representative and 12 other people.
Do read the full story which details the specific carving out of the language done for the amendment to narrowly apply to Christian and his dozen friends as well as the multiple times the idea died, passed, was stripped out, and inserted into various bills during the session. It's quite the story.
I’ve heard it said that churches are supposed to make bad men good and good men better. Our campaign finance system seems to do the opposite: make good men bad and bad men worse (ie, Governors Richardson and Blagojevich, respectively). As far back as Socrates, outside observers have noticed the corruptive influence of money on public policy. Our public servants worshiping at the altar of campaign donations is sure path to hell for most of us. But the fact that we force them to do so by not providing a public financing system begs the question: Are we getting what we deserve?
As Richardson withdraws his name for consideration of being Commerce Secretary, more and more details are coming out about his ethical problems. Did he take campaign donations that changed his votes? Possibly, or at least there’s enough of an ethical cloud there that no one can know for sure.
A politician using his office to exploit Americans' fears about homeland security, radical Islam, and foreign intelligence. Sound familiar? We're not talking about George W. Bush this time, but instead Republican Congressman Michael McCaul. Since early July, McCaul has been misleading Americans about two young Pakistani-American boys who McCaul claimed were being "held in there against their will" at a international madrassa school, which McCaul says has Taliban ties in this FOX interview.
However, as CNN reported Sunday night, the media-hype surrounding McCaul's messianic quest to bring these children home is essentially just that: overblown hype about two children who were in fact not being held against their will and not being trained at a radical Islamic school at all.
Yesterday, Matt broke the story that David Beckwith, who worked for John Cornyn's campaign as well as his Senate office, had been posting anonymously on BOR under the name "Buck Smith" for almost 16 months.
Beckwith is no low level staffer, either. He has worked for Dan Quayle (when he was Vice-President), George W. Bush during his presidential campaign and David Dewhurst, just to name a few. Unfortunately for Beckwith, the list of his employers is nearly identical to the list of people who have fired him.
His long resume, however, did not keep him from making anonymous attacks on Rick Noriega while being employed by John Cornyn.
Of course, it is not illegal (although still very stupid and unethical) to do so while working for a campaign. However, it certainly is illegal to engage in this activity on the taxpayers' time.
Just a quick glance at the more than 80 comments that Beckwith wrote shows us that over 20 of them were during work hours (and we're being generous, giving him 9 to 5, while everyone knows that people in senate offices and campaigns routinely work longer hours).
How many of David Beckwith's 84 comments were written while he was being paid by taxpayers? How much electioneering did he engage in on federal computers?
These are questions that we all deserve answers to.
"We close at five." It took these four words for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller to deny a convicted killer's last appeal. On September 25, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to a Kansas inmate questioning the constitutionality of lethal injection, Michael Richard was scheduled to be executed. The attorneys for the Texas Defenders Service requested that the court clerk's office remain open 20 minutes after the 5 p.m. closing time because their computers had crashed. Keller shocked the world by closing the court's office at 5 p.m. on an execution day without even consulting any of the other judges of the court. As a result, a man was executed without being able to have the merits of his last appeal considered by the criminal justice system.
Today the Texas Supreme Court takes up an issue that goes to the heart of what it means to be a Texan: Are we accountable for the consequences of our behavior? Lord John Browne, former CEO of British Petroleum and his special interest peers say no. They argue that they are above the law-literally.
Specifically, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments to determine whether the former CEO of BP must travel from London, England to Austin, Texas to give a deposition to lawyers representing the families of those injured in the March 2005 explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas-- an explosion that killed 15 workers and seriously injured more than 170.
"When you go to work, you should get to come home in one piece," said Becky Moeller, president of the Texas AFL-CIO. "Are we as a state going to require that corporations take responsibility for getting workers to their homes and families safely? Or will we stand by as the Supreme Court continues to erect shields protecting corporate leaders from that accountability?"
Lord Browne argues that he should not have to answer questions about the decisions he made that contributed to the tragic deaths of 15 Texas workers and the injuries of hundreds more in the explosion at Texas City. But this is about much more than whether one man will have to answer a few questions. It's about accountability and responsibility.
"The decisions made by corporate CEO's in board rooms all around the world threaten the safety of communities right here in Texas," said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch. "Children on their way to school, families who breathe our air and drink our water, and small business owners who serve the plant and its workers all face a greater danger when CEOs are allowed to avoid accountability for the decisions they make."
And it's about the Texas Supreme Court receiving millions of dollars from special interests it then swaddles in blankets of immunity from civil prosecution for the harm they do to Texas workers and families. When wrongdoers are not held accountable, public safety and security is threatened.
Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, said that more than 175 corporations and CEOs have joined BP to fight against corporate accountability. "On any given day this court is teeming with conflicts of interest, but perhaps none greater than in the BP case. A review of the justices' campaign records shows they have taken $2 million from interests are that are arguing for BP," McDonald said.
Glenn Smith, Director of the Texas Progress Council (a group I contract with) and frequent writer here at BOR, sums the conflict up by saying:
"Glib sound bites and special-interest double-talk about our judicial system can no longer hide the agenda of some irresponsible corporate interests," said Glenn Smith, director of the Texas Progress Council. "That agenda is nothing less than the goal of permanent immunity from civil prosecution for negligent and willful practices that maim and kill."
Texas AFL-CIO President, Becky Moeller highlights the direct legal impact in an interview at Corporate Crime Report.
"Our regulatory system has failed," Moeller said. "Because of a long-standing budgetary starvation diet and warped priorities, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will do a preventive inspection of a Texas workplace on the order of once every 100 years unless a complaint is filed."
Texas has no state OSHA to pick up the slack.
"When someone dies, OSHA shows up and may impose fines that are for practical purposes regarded as a cost of doing business," Moeller said. "In the case of the BP explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued an objective report that took BP's management to task. But it was the civil justice system that invoked the most serious consequences for BP and laid bare the cold calculations BP made in trading worker safety for short-term profit."
Today we will see whether justice is blind or for sale to the highest bidder. Texas Progress Council has put together this video to tell the story for the ones that can't.
If you are as shocked as we were by the refusal of Judge Sharon Keller to accept an appeal 20 minutes after 5 PM by lawyers representing a man about to be executed, then sign on to this complaint. We will submit this complaint to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on October 30, 2007. In order for your name to count on the complaint for the submission, you must provide all the requested contact information, including your phone number and occupation.
We must also have your signature, so download the signature form PDF version , MS Word version and fax it to +15124028428 or mail it to Scott Cobb at 3616 Far West Blvd, Suite 117, Box 251, Austin, Texas 78731. If you would like to download a copy of the complaint for your records, click here
or mail it to Scott Cobb at 3616 Far West Blvd, Suite 117, Box 251, Austin, Texas 78731. If you would like to download a copy of the complaint for your records, 