February 09, 2010

An AWESOME day at the DMN

Kinky and Hank had an ed board interview at the DMN. As you can guess, fun was had by all...Here are some outtakes from a very flawed synopsis

Friedman balked when he arrived and heard Gilbert was attending. He said he had not been told of the joint session. Editorial board staff told him it was written in a letter he had received.

Not for nothing, but reading is Teh Cool. Letters, especially. Oh, but there's so much more...

His counterpart showed up half an hour late. This left Friedman time to talk about following the "Hightower model," throw in some jabs at Gov. Rick Perry and use his latest line, "putting the culture back in agriculture."

Gilbert said he was delayed because he was feeding his cattle enough to last the six days he would be on the road.

This would make Hank look bad except for the failure to mention one thing... the DMN moved up the meeting by 30 minutes. Oh, and he did call ahead.

This is the closest the two will come to a debate. Despite Gilbert's demands for one, Friedman's campaign says he doesn't have room in his schedule.

Oh, so that's the excuse this week? Last week, it was that Kinky thought no one cared. Which was really funny since four organizations across the state have asked for debates. Hank really likes the opportunity to show that, at least with him, you don't need additional help. Because he knows the job and the Department it heads.

"I would find an expert that had integrity and shut up and get out of the way to let him work," Friedman said.

Mook. We already have an asshat named Staples who has done that. We'd really rather elect someone who could just, you know, DO THE DAMN JOB. Oh, and what the reporter with the DMN left off was that the expert with integrity that Kinky would hire was Hank Gilbert. No shit. Again, why pay Kinky to do a job that Hank can do better?

Of course, the DMN released their endorsement of Kinky. Read it if you don't believe me. Here are some highlights...

Gilbert knows agriculture issues in vastly greater depth than Friedman, but he would lead Texas in the wrong direction in key areas. One is a move away from globalization and toward protectionism for farm products. He says he is not a big fan of crop subsidies, yet he thinks Congress caved to foreign nations that complained Washington was propping up U.S. producers too much.

Gilbert, 50, of Whitehouse, also opposes key parts of the state water plan. He would take the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir off the table as a possible water source for the burgeoning Dallas-Fort Worth area. He would bank on a less-certain strategy of shipping in water from other regions and building massive desalinization plants to purify brackish water.

Friedman, 65, of Austin, doesn't get into such details. He says he'd hire experts to hash out policy so he could concentrate on being a spokesman for family farms and kindness to animals. That's not a great model for the job, but a better one than Gilbert proposes.

Forget, for a moment, the mischaracterization of Hank's position on global trade (he's for FAIR not FREE trade... I think we can all agree that the effect of free trade has been detrimental on balance to this country as we've seen GDP go up and wage growth stagnate). The issue is Hank's opposition to impounding, under water, 72,000 acres of productive land in East Texas. And what the DMN failed to mention is that the water district that covers Dallas is the most wasteful in the state.

Hank's position, which he made clear, was to enhance conservation and begin building desalinization plants capable of producing the water that Texas needs. For one thing, desertification is becoming a problem in Texas and rainfall more and more erratic. In point of fact, reservoirs are just not going to cut it. We need a better solution and pressure exchange desalinization is very cheap and very easy. Who knows, maybe our good buddy on the Ed Board William McKenzie just hasn't been keeping up with changes in technology.

This is all extremely funny when you contrast this endorsement of Kinky with what they wrote in their endorsement of Todd Staples in 2006...

With 11 years in the Texas Legislature, GOP Sen. Todd Staples of Palestine knows Austin better than his Democratic opponent, Hank Gilbert, a knowledgeable and articulate rancher. Mr. Staples' familiarity with Austin makes him the better voice for Texas' farmers and ranchers. They deserve a commissioner who knows agriculture but can also navigate Austin.

I point this piece out because of one thing... navigating Austin. Hank learned how to do that as a private citizen and was instrumental in killing the TTC and road privatization, something Todd Staples supported. Which pissed the DMN off because they fell for the line that we absolutely had to have tolls, at least until Hank rolled out HIS transportation plan in the fall and showed that, no you don't have to have tolls.

But here's the part that really caught my eye...

Mr. Staples, 43, served on the Senate Natural Resources Committee, where he has helped set up groundwater districts to better manage aquifers. We'd like to see him actively overhaul the law that allows landowners to pump as much water as they like, but he's versed enough in water issues that he can help the state balance its growing water demands. By contrast, Mr. Gilbert seemed more skeptical about developing reservoirs that would help big cities like Dallas.

Mr. Gilbert, 46, also shuns the Trans-Texas Corridor, citing how much acreage it would take out of production. Mr. Staples is more realistic about the state needing to balance its transportation and agricultural demands.

He's got a better idea than reservoirs and, as in 2006, the DMN is turning a deaf ear. In 2006 they also said that Staples was more realistic on transportation issues and it turned out that no, Hank was the one who was right all along.

At least I'm not the only one puzzled by the endorsement...check here, here and here for starters. And check here for yet another endorsement of Hank.

Of course, what else should I expect from a paper that endorsed George W. Bush. Twice.

Yep, I'm working for Hank. And yes, the authors on McBlogger are unanimous in their support for him as well.

Posted by mcblogger at 01:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 08, 2010

Justice of the Douchebag

Ordinarily, I defend a person's right to run for office, no matter what. The nutjobs are usually nutty enough that they run for high-profile offices—Mayor, Governor, Senator, President—where you would expect candidates to have at least a little bit of name recognition. It makes the nutters easier to spot. The vetting process is sort of obvious when the minor players aren't invited to debates, aren't included in interviews or forum invitations, and generally have a campaign that doesn't focus on much more than "HEY, LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I also maintain that no one is owed their elected office. Incumbents should expect to be challenged at any time if they aren't doing their jobs, or do things that are Democratically Distasteful. I thought it was proper when Glen Maxey ran against Nelda Wells Spears for Tax Assessor/Collector. I thought it was proper for Brian Thompson to challenge Dawnna Dukes, and I'm supporting Amy Clark Meachum against Jan Patterson. I actually like that the Libertarians field candidates in every race, and I appreciate it when the Democratic candidates treat the Libertarians with respect. It speaks to our party's general attitude of "everybody is welcome."

That being said, Richard Glasheen is a douchebag.

Let me go into why I believe this. He's running at the bottom of the ballot, which gets precious little attention as it is. It makes it harder to spot the nutty. He's running against someone who is a stellar incumbent, and it's just sort of rude.

Herb Evans has been the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 5 since 2000. He's been an exemplary public servant, quietly going about his work and supporting Democratic causes all the while. He takes his job seriously, is effective, efficient, and a damned fine human being. I have watched him make impassioned speeches about the importance of voter registration (he is one of three people in Travis County outside of the TAC office who can deputize registrars). Even in the years when he had only Libertarian opposition, he campaigned for the office. He collects petition signatures in part to save himself some money in filing fees, but also because it lets him reach out to voters directly. This fall, he eschewed fundraising because the economy is down, and the other Democrats on the ballot needed the money more. I thought that was classy.

Then, on January 4th, Richard Glasheen filed to run against Herb in the March 2 primary. You are a douchebag when you walk in on the last day of filing, and your only questions are "What can I run for", and "Which race has the lowest filing fee?" Way to do some research. Way to make it look like you care about the office you're running for. Richard is not an attorney, and he does not need to be in order to qualify for Justice of the Peace. However, as the ONLY Justice Court that is entirely within the City of Austin, Precinct 5 has few cases that wouldn't benefit from having a trained legal mind behind the bench. Complex cases from the city, county, and state come through JP5, and someone who is a real estate broker by trade is going to have a massive learning curve ahead of him.

But Richard doesn't like lawyers. At all. He thinks that the Justice Courts have been taken over by lawyers, and that ordinary people need to take "The People's Court" back. Back from whom, exactly? Trained legal professionals who are invested in seeing that justice is done? Maybe that's not so bad, dude.

But what do I know, eh? I know I'm an ordinary person, and I'll be voting for Herb.

Posted by Mojito at 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Nugepocalypse: The Aftermath

Here's a short, somewhat snarky review of yesterday's Meeting of the Mindless in Houston town. The best part? That "Homescholers For Perry" sign doesn't look photoshopped at all.

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 02:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Is That Media Bias In Your Pocket...?

FoxNewsBot Chris Wallace getting excited about interviewing the Palinator.

IMUS: When she…when you interview her, will she be sitting on your lap? [laughter]

WALLACE: One can only hope. [laughter]

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 08:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 04, 2010

Good News, Everybody!

You know, I'd been feeling kind of down since Comrade Obama admitted we no longer have what it takes to go to the Moon. But this makes up for all that. USA! USA! USA!

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 08:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Nuge...

Three of the most repulsive human beings currently walking the Earth will be hanging out together this Sunday which can only mean one thing...

A 39% CAMPAIGN EVENT!

Noted racist homophobe Ted Nugent will be performing at a rally in support of Sarah Palin who will be there to support 39% who will be there to represent the pitiable. 39% has even decided that Nugent deserved the following praise...

“Not only is Ted one of our nation’s greatest performers, but his dedication to upholding our nation’s Second Amendment rights has been crucial to maintaining the freedom we are able to enjoy as Americans every day,” said Gov. Perry. “I look forward to Ted’s performance, and to the opportunity to join both him and Sarah Palin in sharing the success story Texas has achieved through our state’s unwavering commitment to conservative values based on the belief in limited government and individual freedom.”

First off, how fucked up is it that 39% said this AFTER Nuge had already agreed to perform? I mean, we've all heard the rumors but could this be proof positive that 39% likes to suck cock? Second, is there anyone, anywhere, who seriously thinks that Ted Nugent is somehow responsible for the fact that our Canadian overlords haven't descended from the frigid north to wreck havoc and force us to say 'aboot' instead of 'about'?

Put your hand down, 39%.

In other Republican campaign news, Marvin Hamlisch will be performing at a North Dallas Luby's for Sen. Hutchison and Britney Spears will be performing (You Drive Me) Crazy, in a continuous loop for two hours, at a Plano area fundraiser for Debra Medina. After, they'll hold a panel discussion entitled "If it ain't in thar, ya cain't do it : A primer for morons on the US Constitution".

Posted by mcblogger at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 03, 2010

Rep. Brady with the stupid...

It's always good that the Republican caucus gives even their c-team the chance to go out on the field. It's super big of them and, well, reminds us all that there's someone standing up for stupid in Congress.

Today, it was Representative Kevin Brady who was interviewed by Bloomberg and decided to throw President Obama, Democrats and their mutual puppetmasters, the ever evil Unions, for not creating jobs by not passing weak trade deals negotiated by the weakest of all possible weak sisters, President George W. Bush. In point of fact, any time you hear Kevin say something is good, do some research. Today, he thinks we should pass a trade agreement with South Korea, despite the fact that it opens US markets to their companies far more than it opens their markets to our companies.

Kevin thinks we should pass it anyway since it would give us access to their markets (which people smarter than Kevin say won't happen) and made some demonstrably false claim about the Europeans selling stuff in S Korea like it was going out of style. Which they really aren't. He completely glossed over the fact that S Korea has a long, rich history of dumping products from cars to memory chips in the United States, bankrupting our manufacturers, and engaging in the kind of currency manipulation that would make a money launderer blush.

Of course I'm not the only one saying this is a piss poor deal...

A high-ranking Korean official recently admitted to me that the conclusion of the free trade deal between the U.S. and Korea would not result in any significant increase in U.S. exports to Korea.

Some are warning that the recent conclusion of a free-trade deal between the European Union and Korea will put the U.S. at a disadvantage in the Korean market. I'm not very worried about this. The Europeans are unlikely to gain much benefit from the deal and I'd be willing to bet that Korean exports to the EU will climb much more rapidly than EU exports to Korea.

Kevin, bubba, boneheaded decisions like this will put this entire country in the crapper. You're so willing to score cheap political points, you'll sell out your own constituents to do it. That's pretty fucking shameful.

Of course, if you really meant what you said then you need to resign from Congress. You're clearly too goddamn stupid to be there and Americans can't afford to have you running around fucking up the economy which is what your opinions and ideas will do.

Posted by mcblogger at 04:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Democratic base vote and Kinky Friedman

Just a quick note... Yesterday on KRLD in Dallas, Kinky decided to hold forth on his views of the office he seeks, His Highness, Commissioner of Agriculture which is apparently not accountable to the Legislature or anyone else once elected. And can set up animal shelters (which another agency controls). And can dictate that Luby's must extend their dinner service to 10 pm, even if all their patrons are cleared out by 6:30.

The interview was little more than a careening mess with Friedman clearly not cognizant that the position really involves more than just name dropping and asking Hightower what he'd do. And, of course, it gave Friedman a chance to misrepresent the DMN for calling him the safe, sane choice (which they did, but only when it comes to driving habits. We think they should check that driving record... someone told me he too doesn't like wearing his seatbelt. And neither does Staples).

But what really got me what was him dropping out there that he'll increase Democratic vote by 7%, according to a good pollster. Which is cool except for one thing... now one knows how much of the Democratic electorate, made up of a large number of the same racial minorities Kinky has used for his insipid comedy routine for years, will decide to come out because he's on the ballot.

On the other side, is Hank Gilbert. He can actually say he's done what Kinky claims he can do. He pulled 7% over the Democratic base vote in 2006 and he's only gotten stronger with Independents and moderate Republicans since through his work to kill the TTC. And, as an added bonus, he doesn't anger the Democratic base.

But, let's look at the numbers. Kinky, in 2006, spent millions to poll 12%. Hank spent just over $100k and proved he could bring in Independent and Republican voters by exceeding the Democratic base vote by 7%. And he doesn't piss off people, like Kinky does.

So much for the case of Kinky bringing in Democratic voters in the general. What's abundantly clear is that every Democrat in a competitive race this year better keep their fingers crossed for Hank.

Posted by mcblogger at 12:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

KBH Circling the Drain?

BOR notes (as do many others) that Kay Bailey Hutchison is losing ground in her race to win the TexGOP goobernatorial nod from Governor For Life Rick Perry. Most interesting is that Senator Aging Barbie seems to be shedding likely voters to Calhounatic fruitcake Debra Medina, the sweetheart of the Ron Paul crowd. Guess it's a good thing Kay didn't quit her day job.

Especially lucky are Texas Democrats, since if KBH had resigned her US Senate seat Bill White would still be running against John Sharp and a potential cast of thousands to replace her and the leading contenders going into Monday's Democratic debate could well have been Farouk Shami and Kinky Friedman. While that matchup might not have been lacking in entertainment value, it would have been a gruesome scenario for the TDP, still struggling for relevance after a decade and a half in the statewide political wilderness. Probably not entertaining enough, though, for San Antonio TV station KSAT to have shown it live, bumping The Bachelor.

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 11:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 02, 2010

Aw Jeez

UT Jefe Bill "Leatherface" Powers sees shadow, decrees six more weeks of whining about demise of Cactus Cafe.

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Gee, Ken, you seem to have missed something

Ken Herman, being the remarkably astute commentator that he wants everyone to think he is, has come across something that is, well, truly shocking.

SOMETIMES CAMPAIGNS SAY MEAN


THINGS ABOUT THEIR OPPONENTS

(ESPECIALLY DURING PRIMARIES) AND

AFTER THEY KISS AND MAKE UP

I know this revelation may come as a shock to people who aren't over the age of 6, but to the rest of us it's kinda par for the course. Ken, being enterprising, made it the meat of an entire column. And even used a quote from yours truly. What he left out were some even juicier quotes from a guy who recently went to work for someone he spent time criticizing. So, in an effort to help Ken out, here's some of the funny...

“Jason Stanford, spokesman for Democrat Chris Bell's campaign, is not impressed – and he doesn't think voters are either. "I haven't heard anyone saying he'd be a great governor," he says. "I think that he's a funny candidate and a hell of an author, but no one comes up [to me] and says, 'If we could only get Kinky Friedman into the governor's office.'" GOP strategist Miller says that Friedman will certainly attract welcome extra attention to the race but agrees that he's facing an uphill battle. "Initially, my view was that Kinky Friedman [would be] treated with humor, and treated lightly, unless and until he gets traction," he says. And Friedman's unlikely to get any traction the way he's campaigning now, says Stanford. "He hasn't gone any farther than to say, 'Hey, look at this!'" he says. In short, he says, Friedman is long on one-liners and short on any meaningful policy positions. "The easy part is convincing people [that Perry has] done a bad job," he says. "Step two is that you've got to convince voters that you know how to do better. And no one is really expecting that from Kinky Friedman."” Austin Chronicle

So he was incompetent then, but now he's suddenly competent? Any chance that change, which only you perceive, is because he's now writing you a check?

Bell campaign consultant Jason Stanford shakes off his candidate's failed run against Perry, muddied as the field was by the populist independent campaigns of Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Stray­horn. "There was a pervasive confusion about that race, but the issue was simple: If Dem­o­crats had voted for the Dem­o­crat, Chris Bell would be the governor," he argued. Austin Chronicle

So Kinky's to blame for Bell's loss? Or the voters?

Ken doesn't get into any of that which, in my opinion, is far more interesting. He also doesn't ask why Kinky's acting like he's never asked Farouk for money, even after he took more than $1.3 million through 2009 from Farouk and his business partner. He does ask why Shami would care about the race for Commissioner of Agriculture since he's a hair magnate. I guess Ken missed that Shami owns three ranches where he grows produce (olives, for one) that's used in the CHI organic line. Maybe that's why he's got an interest in supporting a competent candidate this time around.

Life's full of entirely too much, well, crap. Why is it so surprising to some that even the deadliest of political enemies can forge alliances once they realize they actually have a lot in common? Just look at Bob Bullock vs. everyone else at one time or another.

Posted by mcblogger at 10:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

February 01, 2010

First Obama bombs the Moon, now he decides it isn't worth returning there

Interesting how he came to a different conclusion about Afghanistan.

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 04:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 31, 2010

Fun Fact

Annual salaries

General David Petraeus, Commander of the US Central Command @$250,000
Sean Hannity, Fox News resident clown $20,000,000

Contact Fox and ask why their two-bit entertainer makes more money than the man responsible for protecting Hannity's freedom to act like a buffoon.

Posted by Captain Kroc at 04:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

¿Quien es mas Loathsome?

The Beast's list of the Fifty Most Loathsome Americans of 2009 is out. Normally, this wouldn't count as a Texas story except look who snagged the coveted Number Five Spot. . .

5. Rick Perry

Charges: Perry is to justice what Jeff Dunham is to comedy. When the Texas Forensic Science Commission began reviewing the flawed ‘91 arson case against Cameron Todd Willingham, who was wrongly executed in 2004 for the murder of his three children, Perry responded by replacing 4 of the 9 Commission members with capital punishment enthusiasts to boost his electoral stock. He also riled his benighted base with the kind of secessionist rhetoric that would only seem hypocritical if Texas accepted federal stimulus money, which Perry decried, and hey, he only took $17 billion.

Exhibit A: “Texas is a unique place. When we came in the union in 1845 one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decide to do that.”

Sentence: Lethal injection.

Who could be even more (or slightly less) loathsome than Old Thirty-Nine Percent? Lookee here.

Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 04:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)