The 24 Member "Texas Tax Reform Commission" Has Been Announced

Perry names 24 to tax panel. Here is the list of the 23 other members that will be joining charmain Sharp:

-- Truman Arnold of Texarkana is chairman of the board of Truman Arnold Companies, which is a privately-owned regional petroleum marketing company.

-- William Blaylock of Dallas is vice president and tax director at Texas Instruments.

-- A.J. Brune the Third of Midland is chief financial officer and executive vice president of Wagner and Brown, which is an independent oil and gas producer.

-- T. Randall Cain of San Antonio is a certified public accountant and managing partner of Ernst & Young's San Antonio office.

-- Alonzo Cantu of McAllen is president of Cantu Construction.

-- James Dannenbaum of Houston is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation.

-- Prentice L Gary of Dallas is managing partner of Carleton Residential Properties.

-- Wendy Lee Gramm of Helotes is founder of the regulatory studies program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia. The wife of former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm has been a member of the Texas A-and-M University System board of Regents since 2001.

-- Jodie Jiles of Houston has been in the municipal finance business for 20 years with various Wall Street, regional and minority firms. He currently serves as senior vice president with First Albany Capital.

-- Hunter Hunt of Dallas is senior vice president of Hunt Oil.

-- Woody Hunt of El Paso is chairman and chief executive officer of Hunt Building Company.

-- Kenneth Jastrow the Second of Austin is chairman and chief executive officer of Temple-Inland, which is an Austin-based company.

-- Victor Leal of Canyon is a small-businessman and owner of Leal's Restaurants, plus is the former mayor of Muleshoe.

-- Judith Lindquist of San Antonio is general counsel and corporate secretary of H-E-B grocery chain.

-- William McMinn of Houston is currently involved in various aspects of nanotechnologies and bio-pharmaceutical industry.

-- Ernest Morales of Devine is co-owner and general manager of Morales Feedlots.

-- Jan Newton of Austin is president of S-B-C Texas.

-- Dennis Patillo of Houston is chief executive officer of E-R-A Stephen Properties in Houston and president of Stewart Title in Victoria. He's chairman-elect of the Texas Association of Realtors.

-- John Roach of Fort Worth is currently Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Tandy Corporation, which is now Radio Shack.

-- Robert Rowling of Irving is the owner and chairman of T -R-T Holdings, which owns the Omni Hotels chain and Tana Exploration.

-- Ronald Steinhart of Dallas is a private investor who serves as a director of Prentiss Properties Trust.

-- Doctor David Teuscher of Beaumont is a partner and member of the board of directors of the Beaumont Bone & Joint Institute.

-- Howard Wolf of Austin is chairman of the board of Stewart & Stevenson Services and acting chairman of the Falcon Seaboard Companies.

It definitely looks like the foxes will be refroming the henhouse.

[UPDATE] Oh yeah, the committee members have also given $413,509.56 to Rick Perry since 2000, thanks Kuff.

Tom DeLay Admits Republicans Have Gone Off Course And Wants To Make Nice With Democrats

Greg's Opinion tells us of Tom DeLay's speech in the House yesterday, "Ongoing Victory" Stops "Going":

Even more mindboggling is that DeLay suddenly wants to hold hands with moderate Dems ... the very class of Democrats he has sought to rid the House of since 1994:

In his speech, DeLay tried to shame centrist Democrats, who often speak of the need for fiscal discipline, into supporting the budget cuts.

"Where are the moderate, accountable New Democrats who could help us restrain spending, reform antiquated federal programs and offset the costs of the looming Katrina recovery?" DeLay said. "Have the so-called 'Blue Dogs' now become the 'Red-Ink Dogs'? Have these responsible moderates really thrown in their lot with the Michael Moore, Howard Dean extreme?"

Rep. Chet Edwards, a moderate Democrat from Waco who sits on the House Budget Committee, said the Republicans have written the budget over the past five years without Democratic input. The result, he said, "has been the largest three deficits in American history, adding over $1 trillion to the national debt between 2003 and 2005."

He said he would welcome a bipartisan budget summit.

Sorry Charlie, er ... Tom. There's an absolute zero of trust that exists between you and us. For you to shed crocodille tears and ask "Where are the moderate, accountable New Democrats who could help us restrain spending ..." is the most asinine question you could ask considering that it was you who helped draw the map that took out Charlie Stenholm, Jim Turner, Max Sandlin, Nick Lampson, and Martin Frost. You guys have the majority and it was your hand-picked third choice of a Speaker that declared the House would operate under the whims of a "majority of the majority's" desires. Deal with it.

Here is what DeLay said six weeks ago, DeLay declares 'victory' in war on budget fat:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.
Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn't seem possible.
"My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet," the Texas Republican told reporters at his weekly briefing.
Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, "Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it down pretty good."

...

[The Republican response to Mr. DeLay's comments]"This is hardly a well-oiled machine," said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican. "There's a lot of fat to trim. ... I wonder if we've been serving in the same Congress."

Great analysis from Greg on why obviously no Democrat should fall for this, especially with an election coming up. House Republicans are in a big hole and their is no reason for Democrats to hand them a shovel. He links to a Chronicle article about it where DeLay says this:

"The time has come to set aside our intra-party differences, to rally around our core, unifying principles," DeLay said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "No more distractions; no more diversions. It's time for Republicans to be Republicans again and do what the American people know we are most capable of doing."

Right there DeLay is admitting that he and his party have been acting un-Republican. That should make Republicans mad that their leadership has been playing games with them for years now.

DeLay also has bigger problems. Apparently he's gotten an honest judge assigned to his case, Time for the daily salute to the new judge:

"I don't know how this case landed on me," said Priest, 64, of San Antonio. "I hope it's because someone told them I'd be fair."

Priest said he has no idea how long he might last as presiding judge.

"You'll have to ask the lawyers in the case to see if they find me objectionable," he said.

DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin of Houston, said his first motion before Priest will be to ask him to move the trial from Travis County to DeLay's home of Fort Bend County.

Here is the Washington Post article on what the Senate passed yesterday, Senate Passes Plan to Cut $35 Billion From Deficit. I believe this says it all:

It would shave payments to some farmers by 2.5 percent, while eliminating a major cotton support program and trimming agriculture conservation spending. A proposal to limit payments to rich farmers failed yesterday. The measure passed largely along party lines, with only two Democrats voting for it and five Republicans voting against it.

Gov. Perry's Latest Education Ruling By Fiat

While Gov. Perry's task force continues to do nothing. In am attempt to make it look like he's doing something he throws some scraps to a few teachers. This article, Teachers in high-achieving poor schools to get pay raise from the El Paso Times has reaction from some local teachers:

El Paso schools serve a large number of economically disadvantaged students and would probably stand to gain from Perry's program.

But local teachers said a better plan would be to raise teacher pay across the board. A recent study, which did not consider cost of living, ranked Texas teachers 30th in pay nationally.

Yolanda Nieto, who teaches first grade at Robert R. Rojas Elementary School, said rewarding teachers based on student performance doesn't consider the diverse and usually unevenly distributed challenges teachers face.

"Sometimes as hard as you work, it's just with the classes you seem to get, it does not work out the way you hope," she said.

Tate said that if standardized test scores are used as the basis for merit pay, the high-stakes nature of the exams will increase and could push some teachers to cheat.

"I don't think it's a good idea at all," she said.

I've heard this exact same thing from teachers. The incentive system for teachers based on standardized test results is not what a teacher's performance should be based on. Here is another problem from standardized testing, Some see TAKS as failing gifted kids:

Since President Bush's federal education law took hold of American schools five years ago, educators have been forced to focus on those students most likely to fall through the cracks.

So the casualties of emphasis on standardized testing may be the best and brightest students, advocates for high-achieving students say.

Keep in mind that Gov. Perry's latest executive order does nothing to address the issue of overall teacher pay in Texas being way too low. All it does is make him look like he's doing something and is it legal?

While some experts doubt whether the governor has authority to implement new education programs and state requirements on his own, no one has challenged his first order in court.

Teacher organizations, however, said Mr. Perry is on thin ice with his latest action.

"By dictating that the Texas Education Agency must create a merit pay plan for teachers, the governor has once against chosen to ignore the will of the Legislature and impose his whim on the public schools of Texas," said Donna New Haschke, president of the Texas State Teachers Association.

Here is what Chris Bell had to day, Statement by Chris Bell on Teacher Incentive Proposal:

"“All teachers need an incentive to stay in classrooms, whether they are in poor, rich or middle-class neighborhoods. Rick Perry has been ignoring a legitimate crisis in teacher retention for five years, and this gimmick would do little to address that. Six out of every 10 teachers quit the profession within the first five years on the job and consequently, we have more certified teachers no longer in the profession than we have in the classrooms. We canÂ’t treat teachers like glorified test monitors and pay them accordingly if we want to have any hope of keeping teachers in classrooms. We need to bring all teachers up to the national average, put them in charge of their own classrooms, and then we might see some different results."

Ohter reactions:
Statesman, Perry orders pay boost for some teachers (supposed liberal paper left out reaction from Democratic candidate for governor).
The Dallas Morning News, Perry creates merit pay plan for teachersb
Chronicle, Gov. Perry institutes teacher merit pay
Express News, Perry slots $10 million for teachers
Burnt Orange Report, Perry Issues Executive Order on Teacher Pay

Mary Beth Harrell In Round Rock On November 12th

Now that you know about Congressman Carter's photo-op on November 12th come see the future instead. Mary Beth Harrell will be at a meet and greet in Round Rock:

I'll also be in Round Rock on Nov. 12, at the home of Michael Barton, Vietnam Vet and Republican, who's hosting a neighborhood openhouse for me - so his friends and neighbors can meet. The openhouse will be from 3-4pm on Nov. 12 at 3707 Cheyenne in Round Rock.

Mr. Barton is spearheading the "Veterans for Harrell" group and website. His reasons for supporting my candidacy will be featured on the site's home page welcome. The site will also feature the photos and words of many veterans who support me. The website should be published by Nov. 10.

I'll link to that as soon as it's up, you can be sure.

She will be in Killeen for Veteran's Day the day before:

I'll be participating in the Killeen/Fort Hood Veteran's Day parade on Nov. 11 - riding in a float driven by my oldest active duty Army son who's deploying to Iraq before Christmas. My youngest son, also active duty Army, and my civilian daughter will carry my banner in the parade. I'm working on getting my husband, a retired Army warrant officer, on the float but it will take a lot more coaxing.

I encourage everyone to get to an event and meet Mary Beth Harrell to see what our future can be. She will also be at the WCDP Executive Committee Meeting in November.

For more information about this and other upcoming events in the Harrell campaign, check out her campaign website and sign up for updates at the bottom of the homepage MaryBethHarrellforCongress Or, sign up for the WCDP Newsletter for info on events for the various Democratic campaigns.

CANDIDATE SAYS INCUMBENT OWES VOTERS AN EXPLANATION

HARRELL TO CARTER: 'WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?'



Congressional candidate Mary Beth Harrell, the wife of a retired military officer and mother of two active-duty soldiers in the war on terrorism, today called on her opponent to publicly state where he stands on a controversial bid in the U.S. House to block a ban on state-sanctioned torture or explain why voters don't deserve to know.

"Which side are you on, Mr. Carter?" Harrell asked, noting that incumbent John Carter has refused repeated requests to reveal how he plans to vote on the measure, which would prohibit "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of prisoners in the custody of the U.S. military.

Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner-of-war, passed the amendment banning U.S.-sponsored torture as part of the huge defense authorization bill, currently pending in the U.S. House. A group of partisans led by indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is threatening to strip the McCain amendment from the House version of the bill.

Harrell has asked Carter to support the ban on the grounds that torture is both morally reprehensible and tactically ineffective.

"Mainstream experts know that torture doesn't work," Harrell said. "And mainstream Texans know that torture is wrong. We will never win the war against terrorists by becoming more like them while exposing our own captured troops to equal treatment or worse."

One of Harrell's own son is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq next month.

Harrell has publicly called on Carter to take a stand against efforts to strip the torture ban from the defense bill. She has also sent him a written request. Carter has not responded.

A successful attorney practicing exclusively in criminal law, Harrell said her get-tough record in the courtroom and additional work on behalf of taxpayers as a city prosecutor in Nolanville and interim prosecutor in Temple reflect the mainstream values of Central Texas families and small businesses.

In addition to her legal work, Harrell operates the non-profit St. Francis Animal Sanctuary with her husband, a reserve police officer and Vice-Chair of the Bell County Bail Bond Board. The Harrells recently opened a second shelter, Assisi Animal Refuge, and continue to work in cooperation with the Killeen Chamber of Commerce on a wide range of humane education programs in the area.

Congressman John Carter & Habitat For Humanity

Is John Carter starting to feel the heat? He's scheduled to be at a groundbreaking for the Congress Building America house in Round Rock on Saturday, November 12. He will use the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Round Rock event as a photo-op to try to show that he cares for the less fortunate. For him to be involved with Habitat for Humanity while he simultaneously goes along with the Republican plan to cut funding to the poor, the children, the elderly and the disabled -- the neediest among us -- in order to pay for the Katrina disaster makes little sense:

Unless the Ways and Means Committee is willing to ignore the reluctance of the House Republican leadership to secure savings from Medicare, the additional cuts that Committee imposes are likely to be made largely (or entirely) in programs that serve low-income families with children or low-income people who are elderly or have disabilities, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Supplemental Security Income program, and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. In addition, media accounts have reported that the Agriculture Committee is expected to take the bulk of its additional reductions out of the Food Stamp program.

I certainly do not want to discourage anyone from attending this event. Habitat for Humanity works for the greater good in the community. However, for Congressman Carter to try to show his "humanity" while he cuts funding to the neediest among us seems rather hypocritical.


For more information on the plight of the poor, check these two sites:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and OMB Watch.

Congressman Carter is a member of the Republican Study Group, the committee which is responsible for Operation Offset.

Random News

This is a pretty horrible statistic, 16% of Texas homes at risk of going hungry:

A higher percentage of households in Texas were at risk of going hungry over the past three years than in any other state, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Agriculture Department.

What in the world are our state leaders doing about that? In a state of 22 million people that's over 3 million people going hungry. There is no doubt this should not be happening in Texas!

Congressman John Carter Shopping Death, PATRIOT ACT DEVELOPING DECIDEDLY UN-AMERICAN TILT:

Rep. Carter's measure would allow prosecutors to empanel a second jury and argue for death if at least one person on the original jury voted for the death penalty. Thus, an 11-1 vote recommending life in prison instead of death could be rejected in order to empanel another jury to give the prosecutor one more chance to win a death sentence. This measure would do little to actually help fight terrorism. Yet it would undermine a feature that strengthens U.S. jurisprudence and makes our system an international model.

Under U.S. law, prosecutors must prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt; and federal juries must reach unanimous consensus on imposing the death penalty. If some jurors object to imposing death, it means the case for death wasn't demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt. After all, only jurors who support the death penalty are allowed to judge death cases.

And this guy was a judge before he went to Congress? Click here to make sure he's not in Congress anymore either. More on this from the Washington Post, Measure Would Alter Federal Death Penalty System. You have to love this quote:

Carter spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said the proposals are important because "the congressman believes capital punishment is a deterrent for all kinds of crimes, including terrorism."

I wouldn't steal any office supplies if I worked in that office.

Two on the latest in the Commissioners Court vs. Gary Griffin.

Constable's staff reduced by eight deputies

County mental health future uncertain

Why Are Politicians In Texas So Afraid To Openly And Honestly Debate A State Income Tax?

I want to do something here that every Republican and most Democrats are afraid of doing, talk about a state income tax. I am going to point out some articles that have appeared over the past few weeks. These articles have brought up the subject but remember, by and large, despite these articles, other than state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, nobody else, of either party, will speak about a state income tax in public. I know, Republicans will speak out against it anytime, anywhere. They will, but not in an honest debate with a proponent. They will be quoted in a newspaper article or in a speech but that's about it. They will say they're against it or say that it just won't pass. They won't say specifically what's wrong with it. In either case if they're against it or in the "it-won't-pass" crowd they just leave it at that. It's like they're scared to talk about an income tax. I think the reason Republicans are scared to talk about it is because they don't want to have to say why they're against a tax that is progressive, treats everyone the same, no matter how much money they earn, and could bring down property taxes by as much as 90%, and will put more money into our public schools. That's why I want to know why every elected representative, excluding two, in this state are against or won't speak out in favor of those things?

For Democrats it's a perceived fear of political suicide that is keeping them from talking about and income tax and I hope to point out that even that fear is coming to an end. The Republicans also fear that if people hear about and understand how an income tax would work the public may like it and be for it. As I mentioned above it's the progressive and fair part of an income tax that Republicans have a problem with. A progressive tax means, the more you earn the, the higher your tax rate. Does that sound fair? Well someone once said, "To whom much is given, much is expected" (Luke 12:48), and how could a Republican argue with that? We all know that Republicans are against that because making the tax structure fair in Texas means the wealthy will have to pay more.

I'll show you how a typical appearance by Sen. Shapleigh is covered in the media with an article that appeared two weeks ago in the Star-Telegram, Lawmaker urges state income tax. The article was about some appearances Sen. Shapleigh made in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He makes his case which is basically this:

Shapleigh said an income tax would reduce property taxes 90 percent because the state constitution requires that two-thirds of any income tax go into a property tax reduction.

He argued that would be a much fairer system than relying on sales and property taxes, which, he said, force people with low incomes to pay more in taxes over a year.

What usually follows is a long line of Republicans, right-wing think tank hacks and political analysts telling us why an income tax won't pass. They usually won't attack the substance of what Sen. Shapleigh says. (Political analysts are exempt from this criticism because that is what they do). In this case as in others we also get misinformation. I don't think Sen. Shapleigh feels he needs to answer the misinformation when it is supplied by the think tank hacks but when it comes from other elected officials he must and that is what happens in this LTE from Sen. Shapleigh, The case for a state income tax. I would encourage everyone to read his rebuttal to the misleading information put out by the Governor's and Speaker's office. Here is how he wraps it up:

We must continually fact-check myths about the state income tax, especially falsehoods perpetuated by those who benefit most from the current tax structure. If the governor told any group in the state that he had a plan to lower school property taxes 90 percent and increase education funding for schools so that they can hire motivated and certified teachers teaching a rigorous curriculum in state-of-the-art classrooms, and that his plan also would deliver net tax cuts to 70 percent of Texans, that governor would be the most popular in state history.

A state income tax does have popular support, with 55 percent of respondents showing support in a poll by the governor's own pollsters, Baselice & Associates.

It's time to openly and honestly discuss a state income tax for the future of our state and children.

The last line is the main point that needs to be made about a state income tax. Let's debate it, openly and honestly. But the political analysts are right too, the politicians in this state don't want to debate it because they perceive it to be a sure loser and/or political suicide. But is it political suicide and what do the people think? Well as Sen. Shapleigh pointed out, in the governor's own poll, 55% of the people said they are for it, Perry Pounded in the Polls:

The most intriguing responses in the Baselice poll came on revenue questions. Fully 69% oppose an increase in the sales tax rate – part of virtually every plan under consideration by the Lege – but 55% said they would support a "statewide education flat tax on income" dedicated to public education and deductible from federal income taxes.

And as Sen. Shapleigh says:

… most Texans are "ahead of the politicians" and favor an income tax when the benefits are explained to them.

I understand that Sen. Shapleigh and Rep. Rodriguez are doing this because they are in safe districts but that poll obviously shows that because of the fiscal mess we are in and with property taxes so out of control the people are willing to look at all the options, including a state income tax. But not the governor and John Sharp. It's back to the same old song and dance, business taxes, and it it ain't gonna work. It's been tried before - the last three legislative sessions - and it'll fail again. This is insanity defined - trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I guess what I hope is that this will start to signal to Democrats, or anyone else who might be for this, that it's not political suicide to talk about a personal income tax anymore. Especially with the way this state's tax structure is, and everything should truly be on the table including a state income tax. Am I starting to sound redundant, good.

For another back-and-forth on a Sen. Shapleigh appearance you can check out these two posts from The Jeffersonian, Oh How I Love Roddy Stinson and More Stinson. These two posts refer back to when Sen. Shapleigh made an appearance in San Antonio and how a right-wing San Antonio Express News columnist reacted to it. He first attacked the messenger and then when called on not saying anything about why an income tax is bad, by the readers of the paper, he went on to use the it will never pass defense, which is still a dodge.

The next sign that the income tax is not political suicide can be found here. Check out this quote from over the weekend from this article in the Houston Chronicle:

"Rather than have them tax my unrealized capital gains," he says, "I'd rather have them tax my income. Then the tax would be based on what I could actually pay."

That's from ".. a Republican precinct chairman and a skilled engineer who retired as a high-level executive with one of the big oil companies." This is another sign of how bad things have gotten in this state for the property tax. Even Republican precinct chair's can be swayed to vote for a state income tax.


A couple of more items.

Here is another article from today on Sen. Shapleigh's appearance in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Is a state levy on income a good idea? This article starts out talking about whether a state income tax is a good idea or not. But quickly devolves into arguing about Sen. Shapliegh's other idea of putting more money into education.

Check out Sen. Shapleigh's web site for more.

And also Texans for Tax Relief to see how an income tax may work for you.

An Excellent Argument Against Proposition 9

It's the unaccountability stupid!

Toll road backers' math doesn't add up:

We need to force the state to step back and look at this toll road mess that it created. This can be done by voters getting their state legislators to put a hold on any toll roads until the voters get their say.

What The Texas House of Representatives Will Be Doing This Interim

I've been meaning to post on this for a while and have finally gotten around to it. Last week Speaker Craddick released his agenda for the interim, Craddick issues interim agenda:

School vouchers, state spending limits, business taxes, election fraud, eminent domain, property taxes, stem-cell research.

As the subtitle of the article states this is a pretty good guide to what will be the next regular sessions agenda - that is if the Republicans are still have a majority. Full list here (.pdf).

I think the best part of this whole "interim charge" is the Speaker and his vendetta against who he perceives killed the school finance/property tax reform this year. Harvey Kronberg does the best job of describing this, Craddick: Limit local government from hiring lobbyists:

The Legislature dances to its own tune. Anyone that believes its primary concern is the citizens of Texas simply has not been paying attention. Its fundamental concern is to keep happy a simple majority of 600,000 Republican primary voters in a state of more than 22 million citizens.

So, some in leadership propose eliminating local control by prohibiting every other duly elected and appointed body in the state from using tax dollars to hire lobbyists to defend themselves from the Legislature. Those pesky lobbyists are apparently too effective in advocating on behalf of the other government entities.

When you can't win the argument out front, simply prevent the other side from speaking.

City councils, commissioners courts and school boards are much closer to the people than is the Legislature. Like the Legislature, these bodies have been vested with their authority by citizens voting in elections.

Were some of the proposals under consideration to pass, groups like insurance and homebuilders could continue to spend millions on lobbyists to protect and enhance their profits while school boards and city councils could spend nothing to represent and defend their voters.

Only about one in four Texans think the Legislature is doing a good job. No wonder some lawmakers want to shut down the argument.

Isn't it ironic when the Republicans want to blame the lobbyists for their loss?

More Analysis here:
Panel will re-examine slots
Legislature off, but watch the committees
Panel to examine financial aid
Craddick announces interim studies, via Texas ACLU
he Speaker of the House has released his list of interim charges to the House committees., via Texas District and County Attorney's Association (TDCAA).
Last two links via Grits For Breakfast


Some of my favorites that weren't mentioned previously:

• Civil Practices(#5)Evaluate the liability risk associated with privatization of child welfare services and assess the benefit of limiting civil liability for noneconomic damages against a non-profit organization involved in substitute care or case management services. More Privatization
  
• County Affairs(#2)Consider whether clarification or revision is needed to state statutes related to dormancy of office provisions and the abolition of local Constitutional offices. Attention John Bradley
  
• Local Government Ways And Means(#4)Study the impact of unfunded mandates by state and federal governments on cities. That should be interesting in light of their education plans
  
• Transportation(#3)Examine the transportation planning and coordination of land use, including planning for large transportation corridors. Large transportation corridors? Whatever could they be talking about?

Semantics: Democrat Or Democratic?

I came across this post in my travels through the blogosphere, 'Democrat' Vs. 'Democratic' - Republicans Manipulate Language, Media & Democrats Silent. I'm posting this not to be overly serious about this but just to point out some of the "little things" that have been done in the language, or framing, department by Republicans over the years:

There are a number of reasons rightwingers prefer to use 'Democrat' (as in "Democrat Party"): for one, the word ends in "RAT." And this isn't a rare occurrence; all Republicans are trained to say it. You'll never hear a Republican or rightwinger say Democratic Party, not even faux-moderates like John McCain.

So wouldn't it be nice to have a member of the press confront one of these Republicans with the following question:b>"Excuse me, ____ , did you just say the "Democrat Party," and if so why did you intentionally neglect to say Democratic Party?"

A big problem for Democrats is that they fail to appreciate the profound effect of these subtle word games. Luntzian linguistic tricks are a central part of the rightwing attack machine, and it's disturbing that Democrats and Pre$$titutes continue to let them slide.

I believe this explains best which word should be used, democrat/democratic:

Certain Republican members of Congress have played the childish game in recent years of referring to the opposition as the "“Democrat Party," hoping to imply that Democrats are not truly democratic. They succeed only in making themselves sound ignorant, and so will you if you imitate them. The name is "“Democratic Party."

So it's always Democratic when referring to the party, as in Williamson County Democratic Party. The reference above comes from here, Common Errors in English (It looks like an excellent reference), just click on List of Errors.

You can find more of the discussion here, Democrat vs. Democratic.

Today In School Finance

John Sharp, as OffTheKuff calls it, and his Committee Of One has only been meeting with editorial boards so far. Today he is in the Houston Chronicle, Chairman sees fix for school funding. What all this boils down to is...politics, what a shocker. The gist of this whole "task force" is that Gov. Perry appointed a Democrat to come up with a plan to raise taxes on businesses. Maybe he just couldn't find it in him to do it? In the article Sharp admits that property taxes can be lowered "...by trading new state taxes fro local property tax cuts". That's a tax shift from property tax payers to businesses. Didn't we just have 5 sessions over the last several years trying to do just that? Once again there is no mention of the part of the ruling on the need for more money to be put into schools. It is irresponsible for the governor and this task force not to be looking at how to put more money into education. That was the other part of Judge Dietz's ruling or does Gov. Perry already know that his judges are going to shoot down that part of the ruling? The two questions that needs to be answered by this task force are, (1) Who is going to pay more so that property taxes will be lowered, and (2) what form will they take?

While were on the topic of schools and task forces it appears that the "65% Ruse" task force still doesn't have a definition, you have to love this headline, Educators wrestle with how to count 65 percent. Rep. Grusendorf gives the task force some guidance though:

"Honestly, really, it should be a no-brainer," House Public Education Chairman Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington and a member of Neeley's 65 percent task force committee, said of the rule

But what does he know he's been trying to pass an education reform bill for 3 years now? This article wraps up by once again having a right-winger sum up what's wrong with school financing in Texas:

But Peggy Venable of Americans for Prosperity warned that threats of schools cutting counselors and nurses "are scare tactics." School administrators should be cutting the education bureaucracy, she said.

Remember the goal is to pitting teachers vs. administrators to break the union, she's just sticking to the plan.

At least the state is continuing to fund the schools while this game goes on, School payments made; ruling pending

October payments for school districts were sent out by the state on Tuesday, nearly a month after the Oct. 1 deadline set by a state judge to cut off payments if Texas' school finance system was not fixed by the Legislature.

National Media Turns to Mary Beth Harrell, Not John Carter

When the national media wanted a straightforward opinion about a judge at the center of the Tom DeLay scandal, they turned to local leader Mary Beth Harrell, not DeLay lieutenant John Carter. Retired Bell County judge set to decide DeLay motion:

Colleagues say the judge is too seasoned and independent to bow to the political pressure that might come from a high-profile case like DeLay’s.

“He’s not inclined to put up with a lot of courtroom theatrics because he’s heard it all. I’ve never known him to be much of a political animal,” said Mary Harrell, a Killeen criminal defense attorney.

Since his 1988 retirement, Duncan took senior judge status, which means he serves as a visiting judge in courts around the state. Since he doesn’t have to run for election, he “doesn’t have an ax to grind politically,” Harrell said.

Jockeying In HD 48

Greg's Opinion has a great post on the latest since Baxter announced he is resigning, HD48 Special Election Flash. There is some Democratic maneuvering but there is also the timing of this and the timing of coming(?) special election that makes this a little fishy:

One tangential thought that bears some reflection here ... why is Todd Baxter's resignation setting off what seems like a speedy, quick call for a Special Election when there's no sign of a legislative session between now and 2007? I mean, the folks in Houston's HD143 have been without a State Rep since, what? ... April or thereabouts. And that was when Rick Perry knew darned well he'd be calling a special session.

A quick special election would tend to help out the person with the most money on hand. Like Ben Bentzin, GOP PLAYS GAMES WITH ELECTION DATES TO GIVE EXTREMIST A HEAD START:

Bentzin is a Dellionaire who supports taking money out of public education to fund private-school vouchers at a time when figuring out how to finance public education is the top issue facing the Legislature.

Isn't that interesting?

Help "No Nonsense In November" in Williamson County

We have friends all over the state and Williamson County is certainly no different. We have discovered that many of our friends work during the week in Travis County and may be better suited for weekend projects that actually keep them in Williamson County. We have nearly 100 volunteers who have signed up to Volunteer in Williamson County and you are one of them.

We have a particular outreach project that involves leafletting key areas in the Cedar Park and Round Rock areas. Our lead volunteer on this effort is Mary Wells who, along with another good group is ready to shake things up in Williamson County. Even if all you have is two hours to give, we have a way for you to volunteer.

This is a special appeal to please call Mary and take a particular leafletting assignment. Our goal is to make sure voters understand that ALL KINDS of families are affected by this horrible language, not just gay families.

Mary Wells: 512- 259-4598

Thank you for all that you are doing!

Krusee VS. Costello On Proposition 9

Sal Costello at The Muckraker has the link to the News 8 story and video on the Proposition 9 debate between himself and Rep. Mike Krusee. Rep. Krusee says that it's better to have unaccountable RMA board members than accountable RMA board members. Here is his case:

"Whether it passes or doesn't pass, doesn't mean that roads will be built or not be built. All that it means is, if it passes, the roads that we build will be cheaper. If it doesn't, the roads may cost more," he [Rep. Krusee] said.

You see? The only reason to do this is to make the roads cheaper. Well not the tolls they'll still cost same it's just that the interest you pay on the debt will be less. Hang on I thought that was one of the reasons to build toll roads is so that we didn't have to finance our roads anymore? The tolls would pay for future roads. Also notice the wording first he says, "...will be built cheaper" and then changes his tune in the next sentence to "...may cost more". Well which is it? But anyway back to the corrupt, unaccountable, RMA board members making our roads cheaper. I would rather have people on these boards for shorter terms and know they can be gone in two years than have people on their for six-years, be unaccountable and be lining their pockets in the mean time. To me that makes the cost about even. What we gain in stability we give up in corruption and vice versa. Here is what Sal had to say:

"The comptroller came out with this report and showed that the Regional Mobility Authorities create double taxation without accountability. And that these folks are giving no-bid contracts to themselves and their friends. They shouldn't exist, let alone get six-year terms," [Sal] Costello said.

That's about right. As I stated before I would feel much better about four-year terms than six-year terms but in reality if a road has public buy-in and its what the people want there will be no problem getting financing for it. Rep. Krusee ends with an childish either way I get my toll roads statement:

"It doesn't matter if this thing passes or not. It's not going to do anything about toll roads," he said.

Then why did you propose it? I recommend watching the video because the contempt he shows doesn't come out in print.

Texas Media Bias

I woke up early this morning thinking about why none of the print media in this state, to use one of the President's new word, had opined yet about Sen. Hutchison for her perjury flip-flop over the weekend. As if on cue the print media in this state has finally begun to opine about her remarks, and today, finally, two of them are on the case. Now this may seem a little picky but the reason this came to mind was in relation to the way the media jumped on Chris Bell a couple of weeks ago when he made a minor mistake, that was quickly corrected, in his "Don't Mess With Ethics" speech. The media focused almost exclusively on the mistake and gave very little coverage to the substance of the speech. In contrast the print media in this state has taken it's sweet time in calling out Sen. Hutchison for her outrageous remarks on national TV.

It lead me to think about the treatment of Democrats in general in this state and why the media has focused very little on the governor's reactive approach to solving his self-proclaimed, number one priority - school finance/property tax reform. It's been over a month now since he appointed John Sharp to head a task force - to come up with yet another "broad-based business tax" solution to our problem - and nobody else has been named to join him. Chris Bell is pointing this out but where is the print media in this state on this? As the Bell campaign points out the governor has appointed quite a few people since announcing this task force:

Since Rick Perry has named John Sharp to the school tax panel, he's made a ton of other appointments:

* He'’s appointed 7 members to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.

* He'’s appointed 5 people to the Texas Medical Board.

* He'’s appointed 2 people to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation.

* And he'’s appointed people to the Texas Growth Fund Board of Directors, the 11th Court of Appeals, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, the Texas Small Business Industrial Development Corporation, and the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

Apparently, he'd rather play games on school finance than take the lead.

Gov. Perry is purportedly waiting for the court to rule before moving ahead, that's reactionary at it's best or worst depending on your point of view. As I pointed out Sunday, in the Statesman article, no Democrats were interviewed or quoted for that article.

One other thing I would like to point out is that a couple of years ago one of the best political columnists in the state, Dave McNeely, retired from the Statesman. At the time I didn't think much of it but soon after he left I came to miss his writing. But several months back I became aware of writings again. I'm not sure if he always planned on doing this or he just couldn't stand not being involved anymore, but I am glad he's back. Here is his latest, Chris Bell may tap into a nerve on ethics, Delay. He can be found weekly in the Abilene Reporter-News (Registration required, go to BugMeNot for login).

The reason this came to mind, and woke me this morning, is what I find to be a bias in the media in Texas towards the right/Republicans. It looks like a purposeful plan to minimize the negative and maximize the positive when it comes to Republicans and maximize the negative and minimize the positive when it comes to the Democrats. It also manifests itself in just a total omission of the Democratic point of view from the stories published in the print media in Texas. I believe this is one of the major hurdles Democrats in Texas must overcome and is one of the reasons this blog was started.

Anybody Want To Host A National Organizing Kickoff For The DNC 50 State Strategy?

To find out how go here, National Organizing Kickoff. From that link you can setup an event or find one in your area. If you set one up feel free to email me an email to let me know and I can post the information here.

Did Kay Bailey Hutchison Jump The Shark Yesterday?

If you're not familiar with the term you can find out all about it here, jumptheshark.com. It refers to a point in a TV series when that show, but in this case we will apply it to a politician, has reached it's climax and there's nowhere to go but down. That's what came to mind when I read this, What Happened to the Party of Lincoln?:

My question for today is: Why are contemporary Republicans so full of shit? And a follow-up...How did the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and General Eisenhower get taken over by such lying, thieving, self-serving scoundrels?

Good questions.

Here is Barbar Radnofsky's statement on what Sen. Hutchison said, Radnofsky to Hutchison: Resign if you tolerate perjury:

Texas Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Barbara Ann Radnofsky called on her Republican opponent to resign if she tolerates perjury. “No elected official should tolerate or excuse perjury. I call on Kay Bailey Hutchison to renounce perjury. She should resign if she tolerates it,” Radnofsky said.

On October 23, Kay Bailey Hutchison said in televised comments concerning the Plame investigation that, “I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn’t indict on the crime…”

More on her statement from Dailykos.

Early Voting Starts Today

Here's all the Ealy Voting Information you need for Williamson County.