I have to admit I have been admiring Palin's taste in clothing, especially the red leather jacket she wore the other day. Thanks to recent news reports now I know why I've been paying attention to her wardrobe. Palin's outfits have been created by the finest designers in the world of haute couture. Sigh. Guess I'd better forget about ever owning that red leather jacket unless I can find a knock off at Chico's.
Sarah sure has exquisite taste in clothes. Price seems to be no limit when someone else is footing the bill. And like "Joe the Plumber" who is not a plumber, Palin does not like to pay her fair share of taxes, either.
Another grim lesson I have learned from Republicans who are running for office is that when they demonize something or something or attack someone for doing something they should not be doing, chances are the Republican is doing the very thing they are hyperventilating about.
Lately Sarah Palin has been stomping across the so-called red parts of America in her $600 a pop high heels and $12,000. suits while attacking Barack Obama whom she calls a socialist b/c he wants to redistribute the wealth. Duh, isn't that what taxes are supposed to do? Never mind.
According to Palin, Obama wants to steal money from the small business owners like Joe the Plumber who is not a plumber, nor does he own a business, and give it to other Americans who are very likely fake or anti-American.
The truth of the matter is Sarah Palin is the real socialist. Aside from the $150K wardrobe handout, as the governor of oil rich Alaska Sarah taxes the oil companies and transfers the revenues to her and the people of Alaska.
I just noticed that PBS and YouTube are trying an experiment this year regarding the voting experience. They are asking people to document their voting experience and post it on YouTube. It's called "Video Your Vote" and could prove revolutionary in what happens at the polls. The results of this could be game-changing if this election becomes controversial or tight, both of which I doubt will happen this year.
There are certain restrictions based on the state you live in and are documented at the Citizen Media Law Project. For instance Texas law does not allow recording of images within 100 feet of the voting station. However if there are irregularities happening outside the polling place such as people walking in with campaign material or activities happening within the buffer zone these could be documented and posted.
It's a method to provide more transparency to the process in this day and age of Web 2.0.
After a few weeks of a fairly quiet blog, the recently voted down bailout bill has finally reawakened the sleeping giant and actually spawned a few fights.
While there are very spirited differences and passionate arguments on both sides, there are some important facts to consider as we approach the arrival and vote on the "new and improved" bailout bill.
Keep in mind that the defeated bill did absolutely nothing to improve the fundamental issues in our economy. And, in all honesty, would have exacerbated our long term economic problems by adding to the national debt requiring additional debt service and missed opportunities to invest in our infrastructure and our future.
It was literally a bailout...not the broad-based economic recovery plan that we need to get the economy back on the right track.
Had this bad deal passed, we would be ANOTHER $1 trillion in debt and not have changed the game...just bailed out 5 companies whose leadership took $3 billion over the last 5 years while running them into the ground.
What happens on Wall Street impacts us on Main Street, but Wall Street created this problem and Wall Street profited from this problem.
I don't remember a bailout bill for Pets.com, GovWorks.com, and every other failed dot com. Investors abandoned common sense and established business practices and lost a lot of folks a lot of money. The market corrected, the bad actors were dealt with and our economy moved on. We need more of the same.
Republicans in the Texas Legislature are all about touting their values and campaign slogans, like "Faith, Family, and Freedom." But, the real story is often much farther from the truth.
Today, a new website, Texas Republicans: The True Story, has launched to highlight some of the worst GOP incumbents in the Texas Legislature. In "honor" of the first five incumbents featured on the site, we've got a quick quiz for you. Let's see if you can match the incumbents we're featuring with their records before visiting the site:
Just got a really great email from Texas Democrat Garry Mauro advocating for Rick Noriega's campaign for US Senate.
Most of us will remember that Garry served with distinction earning election 4 times to Land Commissioner.
As Land Commissioner Garry Mauro placed a top priority on getting Democrats elected up and down the ballot and was well known for loaning his appearance, campaign organization and plane to any Dem that needed any of it.
Garry is also one of only 2 people I'm aware of to have a plate named after him at Guero's (the other being President Bill Clinton)...so that tells you everything you need to know about his cultural impact on Texas.
Garry makes a great case for Noriega, why he can win, why it is important, and what we can do about it TODAY.
I encourage you to read more after the jump and to support Rick Noriega in whatever way you can.
As the last quarter of the Democratic primary season inexorably and mercifully ticks down, state by state, things look bleak for the Clinton campaign.
By any objective measure -- number of delegates, states won, popular vote -- Barack Obama is ahead. And that lead will widen after our state Democratic convention, and the media finally figures out what BOR has been saying since the primary - Obama won Texas.
It's as if the San Diego Chargers, behind in the fourth quarter of last year's AFC Championship, asserted that even though they were loosing to the Patriots, they were the best team to beat the New York Giants in the Superbowl.
And given the Chargers' inability to score, their strategy would have been to appeal to the league bigwigs and referees on the field to award them the Lamar Hunt trophy - even though the Patriots, by any objective measure, won the game.
Hillary Clinton's campaign got to the red zone last night, but but couldn't punch it in and had to settle for a field goal.
All that's left is some sort of Hail Mary (Ickes' "October Surprise"?) and working the refs. Last week, assuming a big win in Indiana, I was strongly convinced working the refs just might work.
Now her legacy will determined by how sportsmanlike she is, as Obama runs out the clock.
I went to see Stop-Loss tonight with my wife. Stop-Loss is about a personnel policy used by the military and directed by the President, that equates to a back door draft. Stop-Loss is just what it sounds like, a policy put in place to stop the loss of military service members due to attrition. According to the film, since 9/11 81,000 service members have been stop lossed.
Tomorrow marks the next step in our presidential nominee selection process. The question of who our next nominee will be is still up in the air. One question we can answer for certain, however, is that no matter who our candidate(s) are, we must come together and support all Democratic candidates in November.
81,000 service members have been stop lossed. As far as I am concerned, the blood of any of these people that were sent back to the desert and killed lies directly on the hands of George W. Bush and his failure to manage our American military force, however, military mismanagement is just one issue of many. The ability for us to bring about real change runs parallel with our ability to elect a Democratic majority. Only through a Democratic majority can we: bring an end to the war in Iraq, finally take care of our children and schools, establish universally accessible health care, and so on.
A Democratic majority with a Democratic president - necessities for change and progress - anything else will continue the abuse of our brave service members. Anything else will fail to honor those who have sacrificed so much for us all.
By Faith Chatham - March 2, 2008 Crossposted from Texas Campaign 2008 Tarrant County was Clinton Country Saturday when Senator Hillary Clinton arrived at the Fort Worth Stockyard. The crowd has been estimated between 10,000 to 14,000.
Young, old, healthy, frail, all races stood in line for hours to be screened and admitted to the rally area on Exchange Avenue near the Stockyard's Hotel. Secret Service and the Fort Worth Police Department controlled access. Swat team snipers were positioned on all the roof tops. Attendees, including the handicapped, entered behind Billy Bob's, through the cattle walks and allies before they were screened to enter the rally grounds. Organizers grossly underestimated the size of the crowd. Most attendees never got close enough to see Senator Clinton, yet the enthusiasm was not dampened by the long wait.
Accompanied by Henry Ciscernos and the Mayor of Los Angeles, with former Speaker Jim Wright in attendence, Senator Clinton charmed the crowd with her warmth, straight talking and deep comprehension of what truly challenges us. She speaks straight to the people. Her stump speech is not littered with slogans or platitudes. She doesn't place herself on some loftier plane than the people. She has poise and confidence which comes from years of hard work and preparation and service.
Photo by Lydia Foster - used by permission. Copyright 2008
ENDORSEMENT OF VALINDA HATHCOX
FOR U.S. CONGRESS, DISTRICT 4
by Maria Luisa Alvarado
The people of Texas and America will gain exceptional representation in Washington D.C. from VaLinda Hathcox as the next United States Representative for District 4 of Texas. Let me explain. I believe my campaign experience in 2006 afforded me an opportunity to get to know the heart of other candidates on the campaign trail. As candidate for Texas Land Commissioner, VaLinda Hathcox was an inspiration to me in that the truth to her was not to be compromised for popularity. The people and the land of Texas are vast in diversity but for the most part they are solid and true. That is the character of VaLinda Hathcox, and is the desperate need in Congress.
However, it is not enough to rely solely on the character that our elected officials take to our Nation's Capitol. VaLinda Hathcox takes to Washington D.C. a proven record of public service as an attorney in the defense and protection of health services for the poor, as well as administration of legal judgments and education on tax matters. There is much work ahead to restore this nation that her hands?on experience on solving issues will be an advantage for us all.
Here is the latest in a string of Democratic club endorsements from Austin. CCYD is a reborn group of enthusiastic young Democrats in Austin. Their president is Kim Hokanson, and here are the results:
Constable, Precinct 1: Willie Joe Madison
Constable, Precinct 2: Paul Labuda
Constable, Precinct 3: Richard McCain
Constable, Precinct 4: Maria Conchola
County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Karen Huber
Travis County Democratic Party Chair: Andy Brown
Travis County Tax Assessor/Collector: Glen Maxey
Travis County District Attorney: Rosemary Lehmberg (following a runoff with Gary Cobb)
County Court-at-Law-8: John Lipscombe
98th District Court: Andy Hathcock
353rd District Court: Scott Ozmun
427th District Court: Jim Coronado
Texas House of Representatives, HD-46: Brian Thompson (Unanimously)
US House of Representatives, CD-10: Dan Grant
Texas Supreme Court Place 7: Sam Houston
Texas Supreme Court Place 8: Susan Criss (following a runoff with Linda Yanez)
