SOTU:STFU

As I tuned into the State of the Union address this evening, I had flashbacks of SOTU's past because George W. has been reciting the same old lines for the past seven years. And still, half of the chamber decided to rise and applaud several times during the speech in a sad display of pandering to the one guy that most Republicans are running from this election year. W, it would have been nice if you had just told the networks to play any of the SOTU speeches from 2001 - 2007 so that I may have better used my time watching Project Runway or the Oprah shows I've been recording all year.

You would think that being anywhere near George W. Bush is an icky place to be, but don't tell that to hometown Reps. Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee or to Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California. What's the big freaking deal about shaking 43's hand on TV? Even Laredoan Henry Cuellar figured out that planting a smooch on the Prez - or letting him squeeze your squishy, puffy cheeks - doesn't provide for the best Photo Op in an election year. I didn't see Rep. Cuellar in the reception line tonight greeting Bush as he entered the House chamber, but I saw Sheila & Al and I guess that's the point.

I'm very glad that my congressman doesn't seek the spotlight and prefers to elevate his profile legislatively by providing for the people of his district. He also offered his own SOTU response that could only be viewed if you're a NASA scientist and pretty good at positioning satellite dishes and beaming lasers into outer space. I'm looking for the transcript and will update this post if and when I find it.

On another SOTU note, congratulations to Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio for her outstanding national role in delivering the Democratic response en espanol. Senator Van de Putte is the immediate past president of the National Conference of State Legislators and will serve as Co-Chair of the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.

Update: Statement from Congressman Gene Green, TX-29

WASHINGTON, DC – President Bush’s State of the Union address was nowhere near a home run, and I don’t know if it would be a single. He didn’t bring any new ideas to the table with Congress, instead suggesting policies that have been talked about for decades but never worked. We need more than medical savings accounts and minor tax deductions to remedy America’s ills.

Surprisingly, the President virtually ignored the economy, devoting only a couple of paragraphs to it. The economy may not be a sexy subject, but we need to get ahead of a potential downturn before it’s too late. We are capable of walking and chewing at the same time – while accomplishing our mission in Iraq, we have to make sure we have a growing economy, too. Managing meaty domestic policy is the hard part of government but the consequences for ignoring it are serious.

Sunday Football blogging

I'm getting kind of misty-eyed at the thought of this being the second to the last Sunday Football blogging post of the season. Today is championship day. It's the last big game before the Big Game, also known as the Super Bowl. I apologize in advance if I interrupt the game by knocking on your door to ask you something kind of important. I'm out going door-to- door asking people to vote to re-elect Jessica Farrar to the Texas House. This is election time and we can prove that our community does care about things like consumer rights, clean air & water and health care by voting in the March 4th primaries.

There is no blockwalking on Super Bowl Sunday, but there is a Special Edition of Sunday Football blogging to look forward to. I'll try real hard all week to think of something good to blog about.

The weather outside is frightful...

...But it's not nearly as ugly as the way Republicans are melting down here in Harris County. I've been thinking all day about how DA Chuck Rosenthal came to the decision not to prosecute Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina or his wife, Francisca Medina, for torching their house, destroying a neighbor's home and causing extensive damage to two other homes. It seems to me that this decision comes straight out of the Republican Party of Texas and Rosenthal was eager to oblige the (order? recommendation? they asked nicely?) to not prosecute.

This brings to mind an e-mail smear campaign aimed at the probable Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate - State Rep. Rick Noriega, that is currently being waged by the RPT.

It would be nice if the Dems were so inclined to inform Texans just how the GOP operates when they control most of the elected offices. The cover-ups and various scandals in the Houston area alone are embarrassing for Republicans. I say we spread the wealth and paint every Texas Republican with the dirty paint brush that is Chuck Rosenthal. Or Judge Pat Shelton. Or Justice David Medina. Or Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole. Or Sherriff Tommy Thomas.

Austin politics. If I may.

I started blogging in late 2007 after months of being cajoled into being the designated chismosa in our political family. I received lots of encouragement from some of the best in the biz, and even from some of our favorite elected officials. There are lots of blogs out there that mirror the isolated worlds of so-called progressive bloggers. I prefer to identify them as boys, the boys who think they know it all and who are devious enough to censor opposing viewpoints instead of addressing them on their little bitch-ass blog.

But because they are boys, they are given instant credibility. They are linked to the major market newspapers and some even staff legislators in their spare time. Of course, I'm talking about a certain little shit-colored blog based out of Austin and the boys on that blog who think it's okay to target Democratic women of color to further their ambitious political aspirations.

Let's back up for a moment and remember that Interstate 35 has historically been the boundary segregating African Americans and Latinos in East Austin from the rest of the city. Austin likes to pretend that it is some type of liberal utopia, but in reality, Austin is very much a white city that resists the creation of public policy that would, in theory, increase the numbers of African Americans and Latinos in local government. Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez has led the recent push for the creation of single-member council districts that would mirror the various communities in Austin.

Sounds like a great idea, right? Not so fast. The Austin political establishment, i.e., the white folks, don't particularly like this idea because "Austin is diverse and we all get along and what's the big deal, anyway?" Translation: It's past dark and you're on the wrong side of 35.

There have been incidents of racial violence in the past couple of years, calling attention to the underlying tensions between communities in Austin who all seek to hold onto and expand on whatever political clout they've gathered.

And now, two Democratic women of color are being targeted this primary season in the most cynical of campaigns. Nelda Wells Spears is the veteran Tax Assessor - Collector being pestered by Glen Maxey, and Rep. Dawnna Dukes is being challenged by some guy named Brian Thompson. Yeah, she's a Craddick D, but hey dumbass, Craddick loyalists are dropping like flies, and you better have something else up your sleeve because you're an outsider.

You are part of the problem, buddy, not the solution.

What's the problem? Dawnna Dukes was born in that District, has represented it for much of her adult life and delivers for her constituents. The people of East Austin are being encroached upon through gentrification and higher property taxes. They have little political clout to exercise and yet, two gay white men are seeking to eliminate two African American Democratic women from their communities.

I understand all's fair in love, war & politics, and anyone eligible has the right to file for elected office - and primaries are how we pick our standard bearers in the Party. But let's put it all on the table and call it what it is. Austin is not as liberal or as inclusive as its "progressive" residents want to believe. Glen Maxey and Brian Thompson are not seeking to increase the participation of people of color in the electoral process. If they did, then neither would be successful in his primary bid for office.

Oh. Wait...

Sunday football blogging

My pinche landlord is a Colts fan. So, instead of fixing the water heater, he's sitting on his azz watching the game and I am being forced to boil water so that I can wash up. Ridonkulous.

Back by popular demand

As unlikely as it may seem, I have readers. Two of them!! They are my spiritual madrinas, even though I'm older than one of them. Still, these two North Siders (by way of Stella Link/Odessa/SanAnto/Oak Forest) are community leaders in every sense and I can't wait for them to give me feedback on the blog.