Bush Snubs Local Republican Candidates While In Sugar Land

Seems that even our war mongering President knows when the battle is lost in Fort Bend County. We wondered why he was coming here to Sugar Land to shore up support for Silly Sekula and not to Clear Lake. Was it to prop up the local Republican candidates for county offices out here? The Repubs are on record as running scared. So, we wondered. But, no, the local Republican candidates weren't even INTRODUCED! I guess he got the memo that the Democrats running for county office are a hell of a lot more qualifed than their Republican opponents. For example: Albert Hollan, running for 28th District Judge Albert is Board Certified in Civil Trial and Personal Injury Law. His opponent is not. Albert is AV-rated, the highest rating one can receive from his peers. His opponent is not. Albert has never been publicly censured for misconduct. His opponent HAS been publicly censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct which is only one step less than removal from office. Rudy Velasquez, running for County Court at Law #1 Rudy served as an Assistant District Attorney in Fort Bend County for four years. For the past 11 years, he has served has a Senior Assistant Attorney for the City of Houston. Rudy has 22 years experience in the courtroom in civil litigation, juvenile and probate practice, federal litigation, as well as criminal trial practice. His opponent has NO trial experience. Veronica Torres, running for District Clerk Veronica has years of experience as a senior legal process specials under Diane Wilson in the County Clerk's office. Her opponent has no managerial experience and has mislead the public about having a degree from an American accredited university. Her opponent violated ethical standards by taking a questionable campaign contribution, creating a conflict of interest involving a criminal investigation being conducted by her husband in the District Attorney's office. Neeta Sane, running for Fort Bend County Treasurer Neeta is an expert in financial technology. She runs her own business, developing software for banks, specializing in payment processing and fraud prevention. She holds two Master's degress. Her opponent is an insurance salesman who flaunts his "good ole boy" relationship with the local Republican Party leadership. Get out and vote early this week through Friday at ANY early voting location, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Next Tuesday, November 7th., the polls are also open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A list of early voting sites in Fort Bend County is here. Election day voting locations for Fort Bend County are here. Remember, when you vote early, you can vote at any location. When you vote on election day, you can only vote at your assigned polling location. I included the photo from yesterday's event so that you could see that Silly Shelley wore pink!

My First Time
I was in college. It was even better than I thought it would be. It didn't hurt. The guy wasn't cute, but oh, well. I've never forgotten it.

Bush Has A New Write-In Strategy For Shelley

Forget the e-slate! Bush told the crowd to "bring your pencil to the polls" to write in Shelley's name when he was in Sugar Land today. After all of her singing the silly "Roll Out the Barrel" song, the spinning around on the commercial where her name magically appears faster than fast on the e-slate (and she spins around also), the pushing the materials on people, peeing at my polling place where she commits the Class C misdemeanor, showing up at the Matula-Davis debate and throwing a fit with the high school students and all the rest. It comes down to this. W screwing with the voters heads on how to Write Her In! Yeah, people, bring those pencils and stab away at those e-slates! Also, tell me if this makes any sense: "I know I could have given you an easier name and next time I'll think about that," Sekula-Gibbs told the crowd as they waited for the president. Now, I am not one to make fun of Shelley's many marriages, but what is she suggesting? That in 2008, she will have divorced Gibbs and she will be Shelley Sekula-X? WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT? What is she ever talking about??? Someone please tell me!!

John Davis Says CHIP Is A "Wonderful Thing!"
The Houston Chronicle last Friday endorsed John Davis in the HD-129 race over his opponent, Sherrie Matula, saying this: "he (Davis) subsequently worked to restore full services to CHIP. Davis also acknowledges that the private company has underperformed, is liable for financial penalties and must swiftly correct its shortcomings." My gripe was that Davis had a chance to tell the approximately 100 people in attendance at the debate with Sherrie Matula last Wednesday night exactly that and he didn't. Why didn't he tell us that he had "worked to restore full services to CHIP" (whatever services means to him)? Why didn't he go off on Accenture which is the Bermuda-based private company that has mismanaged the administration of the CHIP program and let us know that he thinks they are liable for penalties for the hell they have caused working families with sick children? Instead, he praised the CHIP program and I have proof. The whole debate was videotaped and here is a clip of Davis talking about CHIP. Not only does he praise the way CHIP works ("It's a great tool!"), but he also proudly points out that you can't have too many vehicles and qualify for CHIP. Give me a break. This from a guy who spends $142 per week of his campaign cash on gas for his truck. John Davis is the budget and oversight chair of Human Services which oversees CHIP. He is the right hand man of Perry and Craddick on CHIP and is doing their bidding. When you hear Garnet Coleman talking about the permanent wall on CHIP and the problem with the asset tests, think "John Davis", because he is intimately tied into the whole CHIP problem. John Davis is known as a nice guy within his district, but some of us do not think it is nice what has happened with the CHIP program and we think it is time to send a message to Perry, Craddick and Davis in the voting booth. The candidate in HD-129 who really cares about and understands children is Sherrie Matula and she can be part of the CHIP solution starting Nov. 8th.

No Way! More Ethics Charges Filed On John Davis?

Bay Area Houston reports that a third round of ethics charges have been filed against State Representative John Davis over his Campaign Finance Reports. I know for sure that the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) is requiring him to respond to the first two charges. We haven't seen a public response to the problems pointed out in the charges, mind you, and we probably won't until after the election. The most fascinating thing I learned from reading Bay Area Houston is that apparently Davis has been reading THIS blog - musings - and saw my post on the problems with his October 10th TEC filing where he listed a whole bunch of expenses on the same date, like a bunch of gas charges in different cities, that couldn't have possibly been correct. He was obviously reporting the date he paid his American Express bill, NOT the date the expenses incurred (which is what the TEC rules require.) Sigh. So, I pointed that out on my blog. And, guess what! Davis has already filed an amended return to that Oct. 10th filing! And, guess what! His amended return is incorrect! Good grief. He took those 7/3/06 expenses and since the software wouldn't let him back date them past 7/1/06 (the start date of the reporting period), he just made note to the side of when the expense occured. ??? No, no, no. He actually needed to go back and amend the PREVIOUS filing. You know. Put the expenses in the correct reporting period. This is REALLY NOT THAT DIFFICULT. It should especially not be that hard for a legislator who is on Appropriations and is the chair of budget and oversight for Human Services. I really don't understand why a blogger keeps having to point this simple stuff out to a powerful state legislator. I had a candidate show me a big, hefty instruction book for how to fill out TEC filings just last night. You know what? I don't even need to see that. I figured this stuff out by reading the Cash On Hand instructions on the TEC website. Anyone who fills out an expense report at their job can figure this out. And, while I'm at it, when is John Davis going to explain why he needs to spend $142 on gas per week on campaign business? While the legislature is not in session? Maybe this is typical of a state legistlator, but really, I have not seen this on anyone else's TEC July-Sept. 2006 filing. And, yes. I looked.

The Houston Chronicle Takes The Easy Way Out

In response to the Viewpoints/Outlook Column in the Houston Chronicle today where they printed a "sampling" of comments about their candidate endorsements, a friend of mine sent them the following email:

"I think the Chronicle is trying to dodge printing citizens' letters due to their poor choice of candidates that they endorsed. The emails sent to the Houston Chronicle may never be published. This is a way out for them not to embarrass themselves and let the publics' voices be heard."

My guess is that the Chronicle is getting a barrage of emails countering their endorsements. I certainly don't mind sharing mine with you in response to their nonsensical endorsement of John Davis for HD-129 since I am absolutely positive they won't publish it: "I am at a loss to understand your endorsement of John Davis in the HD-129 race. You seem to base your endorsement solely on his promise to fully fund CHIP when I have not seen any evidence that he will do so. He had a chance to talk about his position on CHIP during his debate with his opponent, Sherrie Matula, on Wednesday night and he spoke with great pride about the new CHIP assets test that keeps people with "too many vehicles, too many cars" off of the program. At no point did he mention fully funding the program and that was certainly a good venue for him to do so. He did forcefully assert his position that he was against any new legislation on clean air because he does not believe the Bay Area has a pollution problem. Davis is on record as being pro-voucher and thinks that the 44% increase in college tuition that Texas has seen is not out of line." I've blogged about how Davis fooled the Chronicle editorial board about CHIP. The Chronicle positioned Davis as a single issue candidate when really he is a multi-issue candidate and he is wrong on all of the issues. John Davis needs to clean up his Texas Ethics Commission reports, clean up his act on the environment, clean up the health care mess he's made for working families and clean up the education debacle in Texas. But, he's already had eight years to do all this and he hasn't done any of it! As a matter of fact, in 2003 when so much crucial legislation was being cast on CHIP, Texas Monthly voted John Davis as "furniture" because he basically was invisible. This is a guy that is on Appropriations, and not only that, is the chair of budget and oversight on Human Services which oversees CHIP! We have FURNITURE overseeing budget on CHIP!! It is past time for a change in HD-129. Vote now, vote early, vote on November 7th. Just be sure and vote for Sherrie Matula and send the furniture home to Clear Lake.

Shelley! Please, Please Keep Calling David!

I don't even answer my landline phone because I don't really want to hear all of the begging and pleading from all of the candidates, but thank God David not only answers the phone, but has his handy dandy tape recorder at the ready! He's captured TWO of Shelley Sekula-Gibbs phone calls on tape and not only recorded them, but has hysterically given the caller some good old Fort Bend Democrat hell. On the first call, he was real super puzzled why the push poll acted like Shelley was on the real honest to God ballot with Nick Lampson and hey, what about that Smither guy that really is on the ballot? Listen to that phone call here. I'm glad I waited to share these with you because the second one has become more humorous. Juanita has posted both of these on her site, but just today she posted the 2.0 version of the second one. Mark upgraded the second call by adding some Muzak - "I Just Called To Say I Loved You" - during the long pauses where the poor caller was dumbfounded by David's probing questions. Listen to the vote twice for Shelley rhetoric and David's puzzlement over WHY he would want to vote for Shelley in the first place here. For the most entertaining thing ever, please go vote on the e-slate and try and figure out how in the world you would do a write in even if you wanted to. But, don't. Just vote straight Democratic. Get your vote in for Chris, Nick, Albert, Rudy, Veronica and Neeta that way and you'll be done. But, pity the poor fools who have to figure out the vote twice business.

Matula-Davis Debate: CHIP

The Houston Chronicle inexplicably endorsed John Davis today, the Republican incumbent in HD-129 based solely on his position on CHIP. The Chronicle claims "While Davis at first defended cuts in the Children's Health Insurance Program and the hiring of a private company to determine eligibility for state health services, he subsequently worked to restore full services to CHIP. Davis also acknowledges that the private company has underperformed, is liable for financial penalties and must swiftly correct its shortcomings."

Really?

Why didn't Davis tell us about this during the debate? When Sherrie Matula challenged him about CHIP, saying that 235,000 children have been dropped from the rolls in the past 3-4 years, he responded that he is proud that the eligibility rules have been tightened so that people with too many cars and expensive vehicles can't qualify. How very Reagan-esque of him. This is the Rick Perry answer also: He doesn't mince words when asked about matters such as Children's Health Insurance Program rules that count assets such as autos in deciding eligibility.

"If someone thinks that their car is more important than their kids, we're going to try to teach them a little personal responsibility here," said Perry.

The new CHIP assets test has built a permanent wall preventing thousands of Texas children from receiving health care, according to state representative Garnet Coleman, D-Houston. The "permanent wall" built in 2003 created restrictive requirements -- including a new "assets test," a more frequent enrollment process, an enrollment fee, the elimination of certain deductions, and more -- that made it harder for families to stay on CHIP and made it difficult for any new family to enroll in CHIP. Much has been made of Governor Perry's awarding an $899 million contract to Accenture to allow them to, among other things, take over processing CHIP applications. However, prior to Accenture taking over, more than 184,000 children had already lost their CHIP coverage since the Republican policies were enacted in September 2003. Today, 200,000 fewer children are enrolled in CHIP than in September 2003. "It's campaign season, and they want to create an illusion that everything is okay," Rep. Coleman said. "But numbers don't lie. In the last year alone, the state has allowed almost $400 million in state funds appropriated for CHIP & Medicaid to go unspent. That extra money -- which is now just sitting in the state's bank account -- would have easily covered every Texas child that lost CHIP coverage since May 2002." "The only reason Texas has more uninsured children than any other state in the country is because Governor Perry and the Republican leadership don't consider our children's health a priority." John Davis is a key part of that Republican leadership on CHIP. He is the chairman of budget and oversight on the Human Services Committee which oversees CHIP. In July of this year, Davis wrote a letter to the state commissioner of Health and Human Services that was signed by 29 other House Republican members praising Accenture, which adminsters CHIP, and has been widely criticized for its inefficiencies. Davis has also gone on record praising Martha Wong for supporting the CHIP's assets tests and the Accenture contract. No where have I seen John Davis back track and work to restore full funding on CHIP. Just the opposite. When given the chance to talk about CHIP during his debate with Matula on Wednesday night, he was very proud of the huge cutbacks in the enrollment of children in the plan. He very specifically said this was a good thing because people with nice cars should not be on CHIP. How Davis fooled the Chronicle editorial board, I do not know. You can voice your opinion and ask the Chronicle this question by emailing them at viewpoints@chron.com.

Matula and Davis Debate: Clean Air

I attendend the entertaining debate between Sherrie Matula and John Davis, both running for state representative in House District 129, on Wednesday night at the University of Houston Clear Lake. Congratulations to the students of the Clear Lake High School Debate Club for putting on such a well run, informative event. One of the first things I learned about John Davis was that he attended Baylor University the exact same years I did! John, why aren't you in any of my four yearbooks?! I digress. Davis has been the incumbent in HD-129 since 1998, with his main legislative accomplishments seemingly in his early years, by his own account. He thinks the main issues facing the district are immigration and border control, as well as property taxes and appraisals. Sherrie Matula taught school in the district for 25 years, served two terms on the Clear Creek ISD school board and has been an activist and legistlative lobbyist during her professional career. Sherrie believes the most critical issue facing the district is education. The audience got to submit questions ahead of time and my question about the environment was asked to the candidates! What legislation have you introduced or will you introduce regarding the environment? Matula thinks the five amendments for clean air that Mayor White supported, that were defeated in the Texas legislature (Davis voted against them) should be brought up again. She noted some of the toxic chemicals that are polluting the air, that we are in a crisis situation and that we should do something now. Davis has been named one of the "Toxic 20" because of his votes against clean air legislation while representing a district with detected levels of chemical emissions high enough to endanger public health. His response at the debate, " I guess, what do you do about it?" He said that in the 60's and 70's you could see it and smell it (the pollution) in the air. Now you don't. (I have news for Davis. I could smell the pollution in the air in Clear Lake as I came down I-45 South on my way to UH Clear Lake for the debate.) He says there is no need for more and more regulation. We are on the right track. We don't need to over regulate industry. We'll end up with no economy, no jobs. We have a good balance now. We need no new legislation on the environment or on clean air. Davis' argument makes no sense to me because the air pollution problem in Houston is well documented. We have one of the worst air pollution problems in the country. There's a clear choice in the HD-129 race when it comes to clean air.

Albert, Rudy, Veronica and Neeta - I Just Voted For You!

Albert Hollan, Rudy Velasquez, Veronica Torres, Neeta Sane - my dear friends! I just had the pleasure of voting for all of you. I can't tell you how happy it made me, after all of these many months of campaigning, to see the little highlighted box by your names on the e-slate machine! I voted straight Democratic (of course), but I went through all of the pages (twice!) so that I could see each of your names on the ballot with my vote for you highlighted. And, there they were. I had such a huge smile on my face as I backed away from the ballot booth that people had to wonder what exactly happened between me and that e-slate. You are all such terrific candidates and such fine people. It was an honor and a privilege to cast my vote for each of you tonight. And, I'm not done. My GOTV efforts for you start tomorrow!

Albert Hollan for District Judge, 268th District Court

Rudy Velasquez for Judge of County Court at Law#1, Fort Bend County

Veronica Torres for District Clerk, Fort Bend County

Neeta Sane for Fort Bend County Treasurer

All of you are going to bring huge amounts of experience, integrity and talent to Fort Bend County government!

WOW! A Huge Shelley Rally in Fort Bend!

A HUGE crowd of a whole THIRTY people turned out at my early voting location yesterday in Fort Bend to rally with Shelley over her e-slate write-in campaign. My God, people, she might win! She's obviously got the Fort Bend vote nailed down. Quick! Donate more money to Nick! He might need it to overcome this enormous support for the Republican challenger on the ballot . . . oh, she's not on the ballot? Right. But, you could have fooled me with all of the DCCC and Lampson ads on TV and the mailers attacking her and giving her name ID as if she is the Republican challenger on the ballot against Nick. Well, she doesn't have a chance in hell. But, you can sing her campaign song along with me! They sang it at the gigantic rally yesterday!

Roll out the barrel! We'll drink our selves silly with Shelley! Roll out the Barrel! We'll let her pretend she's going to win! Roll out the Barrel! As long as she gives us free beer! Roll out the barrel! Her political career's coming to an end!

You know, Shelley has changed our TX-22 catch phrase of "pass the popcorn" to "pass me another cold one."

Republican Fear Tactic: Women in Power

I'm just about sick to death of Republicans throwing up the spectre of a Nancy Pelosi led House as The Worst Scenario In The World. The subtext is: She's a Woman! She's Shrill! She's from San Francisco and Loves Gays! The latest along these lines is something I just read warning disaffected Republicans that if they allow Democrats to take over the House, that's just one step closer to a Hillary presidency and there is nothing, NOTHING worse than that. Because, she's a WOMAN, she's SHRILL, she's not a PUFFY WHITE MAN! Get over yourselves, boys. Especially puffy, white boys. Especially short boys with short boy complexes. Especially whimpy boys. Especially boys with enormous egos and small other parts.

Why TX-22's Special Election Candidates Are Truly Special

Democrats in TX-22, we get to vote in the special election to determine who our congressperson will be be from now until January. Governor Perry deemed this to be very important all of a sudden, so let's take this seriously and make this go our way. We've been without congressional representation since April and to fill this urgent need here at the end of the year we have some very "special" choices on the e-slate. Now, let's be clear. If none of these stand-out candidates gets a majority, there will be a run-off. The winner will take office sometime in December and will serve our congressional district for about two weeks prior to Nick Lampson taking office. So, it's imperative that we choose Shelley's run-off opponent wisely. Here are our very special contestants: Behind door #1, in the pink outfit, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Her claim to specialness (besides wardrobe malfunction), is that she has a unique "Beer Barrel Polka" campaign song. Sing along with Shelley! Be a singing embarrassment to the U.S. Congress! Don Richardson is so special that he is practically a secret. Shhh! Is he a busisnessman? Retired military? We'll never tell! Bob Smither. OK. He'll write me a comment, again, but I swear, IN MY PRESENCE, he said to Nick, "I'm sorry I'm running against you." That's pretty special, no? I'm the eyewitness on this one. Back in May. Steve Stockman. Oh, Lord. Congressman Clueless. The MUSE ENDORSED CHOICE in the special election. Looney toons. Seriously, we want Shelley to have to spend her money in the run-off against him. For real. Giannbicego Hoa Tran. Mark's got the whole nutty story on her. Here's her stance on immigration: "My plans in 1 month to give 20 millions SS# Card will increase billions dollars (Federal/State) Taxes in every year to use that money to build Jobs in Mexico, Mexican people can go back home to work next with their family2. Who are Substance Abuse victims Please don't care gun please volunteer to contact President Bush for Nutrition treatment program for prevention Brain diseases." Yeah. Special. Would you agree that all of these candidates are special as in "they are sadly unqualified, odd and insignificant and we are southern so we don't want to say that so we'll say "special"?" But, still, we get to vote for one of them on the e-slate, so let's huddle, rub our hands together gleefully, do a high five and get to it!

Why I Have Been For Chris Bell From The Beginning

I met Chris Bell about two years ago at my workplace in Houston. He was there for a political reception. Not in his honor, but he and Alison were there. Some of the Bentsen family were there also. I was delighted to be invited to be a host of my institution, but to be honest with you, I was mostly excited to meet the other politicians in attendance, as I had very little clue who the Bells were. I just had some vague remembrance about Chris' mayoral race. Hey, I live in Sugar Land and I'm a busy working mom! I mean really, I can only take so much in and at one point, I was not as much into local politics as I am now. But, my goodness, I was so taken with Chris and Alison! They were so nice and so alarmingly NORMAL. Really, I immediately thought there was no way this was a political couple and I could so see them in my own circle of friends. They were both so smart, witty, friendly and well, affectionate with each other in that cute couple sort of way. Genuine would describe what I saw in them that night. In my mind, I immediately thought that if Chris ever ran for political office again in Houston or anywhere, I would support him with dollars or time. I was thrilled when he announced for governor. Just absolutely thrilled. I went to Chris' primary watch party here in Houston and re-introduced myself to him and told him where I met him. He immediately remembered that event and was so warm and friendly with me. He was like a kid that night, so excited to win such a huge percentage of Harris County. I told him I was sending him a check, which I did, and I have continued to support his campaign. I got a note from Chris recently telling me he was glad to see me at a recent event. I have such strong feelings about why it is critical for Chris Bell to be our next governor and why we have to get Rick Perry out of Austin. Chris is on the right side of every issue - education, health care, immigration, stem cell research - to name a few. Don't believe what you read about Rick Perry - that he is strong on the border. Please. That's a joke. That he did the best he could with the legislative session on education. That is pathetic. That is so sad it moves me to tears. If we don't take this opportunity to get Chris Bell elected - a skilled political leader, a person knowledgeable on education issues, a person willing to move Texas forward, a person who cares about children and about Texans - then we deserve the Texas we will get with another four years with Rick Perry. And, I am not willing to live through another four years of heartache that will set us up for many more years of eduational and financial ruin. Make this easy on all of us. Vote for Chris Bell by voting straight ticket Democrat. Vote early. Vote tomorrow.

Blogging From U of U

I'm blogging from the campus of the University of Utah, where I have kept my political ear to the ground and learned that Karl Rove attended but did not graduate from here (nor from anywhere, apparently.) He pulled his first political dirty trick here in Salt Lake City (from Wikipedia): In the fall of 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Illinois State Treasurer, and stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead. Rove then printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing," and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally (Dixon eventually won the election). This incident has been cited by many as the first of Rove's political dirty tricks. Rove's role would not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it.".^[4] Speaking of Rove, I get back to Sugar Land just in time to ignore Bush's visit to my town. His visit is really no big deal, as we are used to having once powerful, but now vilified, Republican men jetting around Fort Bend County. We are just hoping George picks up Tom Delay, stuffs him in a seat in Air Force One and hauls him outta our city for good. I noticed that the Chronicle endorsed Nick Lampson today. I thought the Ted Poe endorsement on the same page was sort of ironic. As we go into early voting tomorrow, you really have to look back and congratulate Nick for getting into this race when it was a race between him and the most powerful member of Congress. There have been a lot of twists and turns during this election season and I am glad it's finally time for me to make it easy on the e-slate and vote straight ticket Democrat. Well, that and cast my super secret vote in the special election - the vote that will make it more likely that Shelley will be in a run-off. Read the funniest blog post you may ever read in your entire life here. It's a clue to one of the options for Shelley's run-off opponent.

Matula on Matula

Sherrie Matula, running for state representative in House District 129, draws clear distinctions between herself and her opponent in this week's Bay Area Citizen. "This district encompasses four school districts that need the Texas legislature's help," Matula says. "In Austin, I've witnessed an all-out effort to dismantle public education through false reforms and un-funded mandates. My opponent, John Davis, has a miserable voting record for public education. I am drawing a line in the sand, just as Travis did at the Alamo, for those who want to preserve public education in Texas." "The economic stability of our community and our property values are primarily dependent on our public schools," Matula says. Elected to school board back in 1989, Matula put her principles where her mouth was. She left her teaching job in Clear Creek to run for school board. She got elected and served for four years on the Clear Creek Board of Trustees. Matula credits her father with getting her interested in politics. "When I was a junior in high school, my dad took me to a precinct convention to show me the political process. Then, when I could vote, I went through the entire proces from voting, to precinct convention, to county convention, and finally to the state convention. I also actively campaigned for certain candidates. I've been participating ever since." Matula's also interested in cleaning up the Houston region's environment, especially air pollution. "John Davis voted against key legislation involving air and water quality in our community three times, and was absent on other important votes," said Matula. As far as her opponent is concerned, Matula had this to say. "John is very personable and an easy person to talk to. However, he has not been listening to his constituents for at least the last four years on many issues, including education." Matula adds "I also am very personable, and easy to talk to, but, more importantly, I listen. When I say I am going to do something, I mean it. I will actually commit to follow through. People who know me will tell you that I am honest, sincere, and I will not be influenced by anyone other than my local community. I will work tirelessly, actually talk to you about issues while in the district or in Austin, and actually represent the voters." Matula says there are three top distinctions between herself and her opponent. "First, I would be the first woman ever elected to this seat," said Matula. "I am the 18-year soccer mom who looks out for the interests of children{ first and foremost." Matula says that secondly, she's lived in the district since 1974, has been very active in the community "for years and years, and I will have the time to devote to my district, since I am retiring in May of 2006. "Third, and most important, said Matula, "I am not connected to any agenda. The current speaker of the house, Craddick, has his own agenda that he is forcing all connected with him to follow. This agenda is not our community's agenda. "John Davis is very connected to Craddick. I am not. I have no allegiance to anyone except the children of our state and my local community." There's Sherrie in the middle of the photo with members of the Parent PAC board, from whom she received an endorsement! UPDATE: Don't miss Davis on Davis on Bay Area Houston!

Plan To Early Vote Starting Monday!

Early voting starts this coming Monday, October 23rd and runs through November 3rd. If I were you, I'd pull out your hard copy calendar, your treo, your Outlook calendar or whatever and compare it to this schedule and start figuring out when you are going to get to your early voting location. I wish I could tell you that you could go to the polls 7 a.m to 7 p.m. all during early voting, but NO! I don't know about other counties, but if you live in Fort Bend, don't plan on going before work next week. Don't even think for one second that all of the early voting locations in Fort Bend County have the same schedule. Monday-Friday next week, some locations are open 8-5 and others 10-7. Don't think you can vote all next weekend at all locations (UH Cinco Ranch location is closed on Sunday). Here's when you CAN voted 7-7 at all early voting locations in Fort Bend County: Saturday, October 28th and October 30th-November 3rd. Here are your Fort Bend County early voting locations: Fort Bend County Rosenberg Annex Building Missouri City Community Center Garcia Middle School Fulshear Precinct 3 Office Building Hightower High School Chasewood Clubhouse First Colony Conference Center (muse location!) Old Needville Fire House University of Houston at Cinco Rancy Again, go here to see all the details - the addresses for these locations and the complete schedule at each place. Make it easy and do yourself a favor - vote a straight Democratic ticket.

Why I Do Not Subscribe To The Houston Chronicle, Part Two

Part One: They endorsed Bush in 2004. Part Two: This. Dumb and Dumber. Flip and Flop. Do and Little.

Tuesday With Shelley

I can only take so much Shelley hilarity in one day and then it starts to feel like someone is making some of this up. First thing this morning, we learn that her campaign finance chair, gazillionaire Bob Perry, has not given her any money. Then, a friend alerts me that Shelley wrote her very own letter to the editor to a local newspaper. Shelley had lots to say about how super amazing and wonderful she is! You know, you just don't do that. You have your press secretary request that your SUPPORTERS do that for you. That's gauche. This reminds me of the low-rent, tacky car flyering incident. How the mighty have fallen. I mean, good grief! This was Tom DeLay's congressional seat for a million years and now the Republican candidate is a write-in, is flyering cars and can't get one of her extended fifth generation family members to write a perky LTE. To round out the Tuesday Shelley-fest, I was sent this, this whatever it is. An ad, a web video, whatever. Please watch it and tell me if: a. the color of her shirt looks familiar. b. she makes "WRITE ME IN" sound like a deviant sex act. c. her campaign song at the end makes you want to slap her. Yes, yes and yes, right? I knew it. Me, too.

John Davis Kicks Off His Campaign - Four Days Before Early Voting!

You can't make this stuff up. State Rep. John Davis, Republican incumbent in HD-129, decides to KICK OFF his campaign FOUR days before early voting. With a fish fry. Call that number on that sign. Yeah, that's his home number.

LAME.

Maybe he doesn't know when to kick off a campaign. He's never had an opponent in 8 years. Hell, maybe he's going to all of a sudden have a website! A headquarters! For some big time fun, catch the John Davis campaign ending debate with Sherrie Matula on October 25th. 6:30-8:30. UH Clear Lake.

Silly Sekula Gets Her Heart Broken By Bob Perry

Not only has she not received the promised $3 million from the RNC, but she can't even get Bob Perry to show her any love. The Houston Chronicle reports that Home Builder to the Swift Boaters, Bob Perry (he built my house, damn it!), has poured $8 million dollars into national GOP congressional races, hoping against hope that Americans "Want More Misery" instead of have "Had Enough." He's totally ignoring Shelley, though. That's sorta sad when you think about it. If anyone has money to just literally throw away and not miss it, it's definitely Builder Bob. So, what is Swift Kick in the Ass Perry up to? He's the only donor, at $2 million, to a new 527 called Honesty on Issues (also known as We'll Destroy You With Lies). They've already distributed most of that to GOP congressional candidates around the country. Sue Walden is the president of this group. She's real special. She raised money for Tom DeLay and was an advisor to Ken Lay. Now, here is something else interesting. Bob Perry is Shelley's finance chairman. But, he's not listed on her FEC filing as giving any money to her. Not him or any of his PACs. Perhaps this is why Shelley, with her not-so-well-financed-vote-twice-for-me campaign is resorting to flyering cars outside of community events where she is not welcome.

Shane Sklar Endorsed By Victoria Advocate

Saying "Dr. No" (incumbent Ron Paul) is a joke in Washington, the Victoria Advocate endorsed Shane Sklar for Congress in TX-14 today. Fabulous exerpts include: Retiring (Ron Paul) from Congress for a third - and final - time is long overdue. Fortunately, voters in the 14th District have an intelligent, articulate, energetic, native Texan alternative to represent them in the House.

Shane Sklar was born in Victoria into a multigeneration Texas ranching family. Although he is only 30, the Edna resident has an impressive record of effective service in both the public and private sectors.

He has worked as a senior aide for U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, a moderate Democrat whom Sklar looks to as a role model.

Sklar also looks to former U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm as a role model. Until the Tom DeLay-orchestrated congressional redistricting of Texas forced Stenholm out of the House, the West Texan was the most respected congressional expert on agriculture. He also worked relentlessly and often effectively to build bipartisan coalitions on issues affecting the nation's agricultural heartland.

A younger version of Stenholm would be a much more effective representative for the 14th Congressional District, where ranching remains a foundation of the economy.

That is a key reason Sklar won the endorsement of the Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND political action committee.

Sklar knows the cattle business not just from growing up in it, but also from his service as the executive director of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas. During his four years in that job, he doubled the association's membership.

The young Democrat is as sensibly moderate as the Republican incumbent is wackily libertarian. Because of that, Sklar garnered endorsements from organizations across the ideological spectrum, from the conservative National Rifle Association to liberal teachers and other unions.

Economic development, agriculture, national security, health, energy, ethics and fiscal responsibility are issues Sklar believes are important. He knows, as his opponent does not, that reflexive no votes are not the right way to address these issues, either on a regional basis for the 14th District or on a national basis for the country as a whole.

More important, the young Edna rancher has demonstrated that he has the ability to think through issues carefully and making sensible, informed decisions that would benefit this part of Texas in concrete ways.

The 14th Congressional District needs to be represented by a real leader, not an ineffective ideologue.

Voters should bring Ron Paul home for the last time and send Shane Sklar to Congress to provide that much-needed real leadership.

Shane! Fort Bend County agrees!

High School Students To Hold Matula-Davis Debate for HD-129

Ooh, I just got this press release. Can't wait! Did you know that one reason Sherrie Matula decided to run against John Davis was because she wiped the floor with him in a debate last year on education? Oh, man. This is going to be fun. I'll be there. With the muse camera. Cross your fingers that Davis is wearing boots. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE High School Students to Hold Debate for State House District 129 Contact: Rohmteen Mokhtari Phone: (281)-221-3665 rohmteen@gmail.com Houston, Texas – October 16h, 2006 -- Students for Political Debate, an independent student group in the Clear Lake area, is set to host a debate between Representative John Davis and Sherrie Matula in the District 129 congressional race on Wednesday October 25, 2006. The event will be take place in the auditorium of The University of Houston Clear Lake. The auditorium is located on the second floor of the Bayou Building, maps and directions are available at uhcl.edu. There will be a "meet the candidates" session from 6:30-7:00 PM before the debate. The actual debate will start at 7:00 and will end at 8:30. The audience will be allowed to submit questions before the debate. This debate format will allow voters to determine the issues which are important to them. Students for Political Debate is a group of high School students committed to providing the public with the opportunity to hear from the candidates vying to represent them. "It is wonderful, high school students are getting involved with the politics that will affect their schools, their community, and their future. As a former teacher, I am honored to accept the invitation and look forward to the event." said Sherrie Matula. "I am very proud of these students for taking the leadership to organize this event. It is very important that the citizens of Clear Lake hear the issues." said Rep. John Davis.

Chris Bell Says John Davis Not The Only One "Wong" On CHIP
Perfect timing on this great, new Chris Bell video. He nails Rick Perry on CHIP.

State Rep. John Davis Is "Wong" on CHIP

In a letter endorsing Republican Martha Wong's voting record on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), State Rep. John Davis, the Republican incumbent in HD-129, says this: "In 2003, . . . We made responsible decisions . . . tightening the enrollment process to ensure programs served the truly needy. (we created) an assets test and shorten(ed) the period of continuous eligibility preserved the CHIP program so it could be a safety net for truly eligible families. Most people would agree that CHIP benefits should go to truly needy Texas only, not a family with one adult and one child with three vehicles exceeding $50,000 in total value, a family with $160,000 in IRAs, or families driving current year luxury cars, but this is exactly the kind of waste and abuse that was discovered when the assets test was implemented. This kind of abuse had to go. (muse comment: How very Reaganesque of Davis) Furthermore, the move currently underway to allow more Texans to apply for benefits through a call center will improve convenience for applicants and bring greater efficiency. . . . this new model will give all applicants more options in applying and tracking their application." Wow. Davis is responisble for the current way the CHIP program is administered becasue he chairs budget and oversight of the Human Services committee, the committee that oversees CHIP. But, how disconnected from reality is this guy? In today's Houston Chronicle we learn about a 13-year old boy who suffers from advanced kidney cancer and was dropped from CHIP for FOUR months due to the bureaucratic nightmare that is the CHIP program. I apologize for the length of this, but really, you need to read all of this: Some legislators and child advocates say Devante's case exemplifies many of the problems getting coverage for qualified children. ------ Devante's insurance problems started while he was undergoing treatment for Stage 4 cancer at Texas Children's Hospital earlier this year. His mother, Tamika Scott, knew the Medicaid coverage for Devante and his two younger brothers was set to expire April 30. In Texas, families are required to renew their Medicaid and CHIP coverage every six months. Scott submitted the paperwork two months before the April deadline, but officials say it sat unprocessed for six weeks because of a staffing shortage. When someone finally looked at it, the worker determined Scott made too much money for Medicaid and instead qualified for CHIP, a program for the working poor. The application was forwarded to Texas Access Alliance, a private contractor that was put in charge of CHIP enrollment last year. Scott said she tried tracking her application, but it was lost in the system. Repeated calls and multiple faxes got her nowhere. As the deadline passed, Scott realized her critically ill boy was without insurance coverage. "I did everything I possibly could," Scott said. "I would literally get off the phone in tears, crying because they frustrated me so much."

Texas Children's Hospital continued treating Devante. But Scott said the young boy's health was deteriorating, and the clinical trials the doctors enrolled him in weren't working. His cancer was getting worse.

In July, she contacted the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which offered a promising treatment option but couldn't admit the boy without insurance. When she finally heard from Texas Access Alliance, she was told his coverage wouldn't start until Sept. 1.

In August, Scott's mother sent a letter to (Sylvester) Turner's legislative office. His chief of staff, Alison Brock, made a call to the Health and Human Services Commission.

Brock's call stirred some action. ----- Stephanie Goodman, spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, acknowledges that the state dropped the ball in Devante's case, but she said the mistakes that caused him to lose coverage are being corrected.

I don't think CHIP is something Rep. John Davis should be acting like he is proud of. He knows good and well that around 300,000 children were dropped from CHIP after the Texas Legislature voted for the inefficient Bermuda-based Accenture (Texas Access Alliance). Davis is on record earlier this year praising Accenture and the work they have done in registering and maintaining CHIP enrollment. His opponent in the District 129 House race is Sherrie Matula, a 25 year clasroom teacher. Matula believes that the state must fully fund the CHIP program and go back to staffed service centers. She says the Bermuda-based Accenture contract should be terminated immediately before a child dies due to red tape and that we must consider our children our most valuable resource and treat them accordingly. While there are a whole host of reasons to support Sherrie Matula, getting John Davis out of the legislature and off of Human Services, is certainly a step in the right direction with this CHIP mess.

State Rep. John Davis Feeds His Campaign!

For someone who is not really running a campaign to keep his HD-129 seat out there in the Clear Lake area (no headquarters, no mailers, few signs, no website), John Davis sure is having a lot of campaign meetings at restaurants! Perhaps to plan his October 19th Campaign Kick-Off Fish Fry? Naturally, he has the same date posting problem on his Texas Ethics Commission October filing as he did with the gas - a bunch of meals supposedly eaten on the same day. Sigh. Attention candidates! Hire me to do you TEC filings. I have the many, many mysteries (wink) of those all figured out. All of these were described as "campaign business meeting" on his latest TEC filing. for 7/3/06: Carrabbas 11590 Research Boulevard Austin $130.83 El Dorado Mexican Restaurant 1962 El Dorado Boulevard Houston $53.30 Red Lobster 888 W. Bay Area Boulevard Webster $61.01 Samurai Japanese Steakhouse 133 W. Bay Area Boulevard Webster $97.11 for 7/29/06: Talqueria Del Sol 8114 Park Place Houston $28.86 for 8/1/2006: Buckhorn Exchange 1000 Osage Street Denver $472.83 Carrabbas 502 W. Bay Area Boulevard Webster $64.61 Gringo's Mexican Restaurant 2202 Broadway Street Pearland $57.84 Samurai Japanese Steakhouse 133 W. Bay Area Boulevard Webster $85.58 Serrano's Symphony Restaurant 111 Red River Street Austin $54.44 for 8/2/06 Dakota's Steakhouse 600 N. Akard Street Dallas $80 for 8/26/06: Carrabbas 502 W. Bay Area Boulevard Webster $111.60 TOTAL $1298.01 Hey, I'm just like John! I ate at Carrabba's today! Unlike John Davis, it wasn't a "campaign meeting" and I don't have campaign cash, so I had to put it on my very own personal Visa card.

State Rep. John Davis Has Gas. Lots Of Gas.

I've looked over John Davis' October Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) filing very thoroughly and I found something interesting. Seeing that he reported buying gas eight times on July 3rd got me to thinking. How many times did he buy gas during the 13-week reporting period (July, August, September)?

Would you believe John Davis bought gas 26 times with campaign cash over 13 weeks?

Yeah. Twice a week. It's all there. See for yourself. The total dollar amount for the gas for the reporting period was $1845. An average of $71 per gas station visit.

Which makes $142 in gas per week.

I've seen his truck. It's just a regular pick up truck. And, remember, the legislature was not in session during those three months. Some of those gas stations were in the Texas Hill Country (Granite Shoals, Cedar Creek, Brady). I'm not even including the $696 at the Chevron on Bee Caves Road in Austin on August 1st. I'm just talking about gas at gas stations. I'm just saying this seems strange.

Paul Begala In Fort Bend This Friday!

Fort Bend Democrats and

The Fort Bend County Democratic Party invite you to enjoy dinner and An Evening with Paul Begala White House Advisor to President Bill Clinton Star of CNN’s Crossfire Stafford native and graduate of Dulles High School

Friday, October 20 6:30 – 9:30 p.m Quail Valley Country Club 2880 La Quinta Drive, Missouri City

Ticket levels: Host for $1,000. Host includes 10 dinner tickets, recognition in the printed program, and an autographed copy of Mr. Begala’s book, “Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future” Sponsor for $500. Sponsor includes 5 dinner tickets, recognition in the printed program, and a copy of Mr. Begala’s book. Contributor for $250. Contributor includes 3 dinner tickets, recognition in the printed program, and a copy of Mr. Begala’s book. or, tickets at $60 each to attend the event. NOTE: tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. No tickets will be sold at the door. You must either purchase tickets at the headquarters at 4800 Avenue H (US 90A) in Rosenberg or make a reservation by calling JoAnn at 281-341-5489 by Wednesday, October 18th. Please make checks payable to: Fort Bend Democrats www.fortbenddemocrats.org 4800 Avenue H Rosenberg 281-238-900

State Rep. John Davis' Latest Campaign Finance Report - Still Ethically Challenged

I'm shaking my head. And, now I'm holding my head in my hands. How, how, HOW can the guy who is the chair of budget and oversight on the Human Services committee in the Texas Legislature NOT be able to fill in an accurate Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) Campaign Finance Report? At first glance, his October 10th filing made me smile. Ahh, he learned something! He picked up on some of my easy "John Davis' Tips for Filing". I felt a moment of pride. I mean, my God, the man filled out a schedule G! Where he documented his reimbursements to himself from campaign cash. AND, get this, he documented his American Express expenses correctly! Oh, . . . upon closer inspection, maybe not. How is it that on July 3, 2006 (three days into the reporting period) he spent: $73.29 at a Chevron in Cedar Creek, Texas (documented as "travel") $75.61 at an Exxon Mobil in Webster (travel) FOUR stops at a Shell Oil on Space Center Blvd. - $75, $75, $75 and $58.79 (travel) $73.24 at a Valero in Clear Lake (travel) $72.28 at an Angel's Grocery in LaPorte (travel) Yeah, ALL on July 3rd. Go see for yourself. Oh, and wait! More travel on 7/3/06. A Southwest Airlines flight costing $234.10 After you get over the "Oh, My God!" moment, you may start wondering if these American Express expenses were PAID on his credit card bill on July 3rd, not actually all CHARGED on July 3rd. Two problems. Deep Throat called the Texas Ethics Commission and they told him that oh, indeed you are supposed to report the day you bought the goods and services, not the day you paid off your credit card. They are very clear about this. And, the second problem? If he paid off his credit card on July 3rd, 2006, this means those expensed incurred during the PREVIOUS reporting period which ended June 30th. Now, Davis does have a treasurer. Read about her pro-choice confusion here. That must really bug Davis. You don't think that's all I found on his TEC filing, do you? I'm just getting started. Check back for more on this continuing saga, John Davis starring in LOST. Maybe his excuse is that he is a tailie?

A 12-Year Old Muses On The Governor's Debate

The daughter had to (got to) watch the governor's debate in her speech and theatre class today. Her comments: Ricky Perry (yeah, she called him that!) was soooooo boring! And, his hair looks like PLASTIC. Gross! Like a Ken doll. Kinky: He's a hick! I liked his definition of politics. He's kind of gross. I couldn't believe he said it was OK to smoke cigars! Strayhorn: She kept saying, "in a Strayhorn administration, in a Strayhorn administration." I kept wanting her to STOP THAT!" And, she moved her hands around too much. Chris Bell: He kept saying "when I'm governor" over and over again. The whole class cheered when he talked about how bad the TAKS test is! When her teacher asked them to write down who they would vote for, she wrote: I guess Chris Bell because my mom is a Democrat. She's a cool girl. :)

Clear Lake Not Impressed With Shelley

I keep getting reports from the other side of TX-22 that Shelley is not exactly receiving a warm welcome at Clear Lake events. Most of these have been second or third hand reports. Finally, a first person account! A friend of mine was at the Clear Creek Area Retired Teachers meeting today where Shelley spoke. Shelley arrived dressed in a bright glowing orange outfit. Her little talk started out OK, but she got strident. Why get strident with retired teachers, unless you are passionately talking about improving their retirement benefits? This is not part of Shelley's stump speech, so I can only imagine how she came across. During the question and answer session, two people told Shelley she had dropped them off of Medicaire. Oops! Shelley is REAL big on how she accepts Medicare patients. She was asked about immigration and this was when the mumbling in the crowd started. Come on, Shelley. Your stance on immigration is not going to go over real super big with people who have taught children of immigrants and really care about them. Shelley high-tailed it out of there as soon as she could. Why did she even show up at this event? This was not her kind of voter. I wonder if she gave her little vote twice for Shelley speech? Is she still singing her "Roll Out the Barrell" campaign song? I love this photo of Shelley. Instead of spending the promised $3 million dollars hand over fist on big time mailers and TV time, she's flyering cars.

Women Don't Care About Kinky
Um, Kinky Friedman, that is. Kinky in general, yes. Kinky Freidman, no. He comes right out and says he is too old for women to care about him. And, too gross. And, too vague, too unimportant, too unimpressive and too ridiculous. For starters.

Shelley Gibbs Rants On Immigration and Non-Existent Sanctuary City
Come on. Mayor Bill white says we are not a "sanctuary city." Shelley is making this up. Blah, blah, blah - that's the recap of this video. That and she's not wearing pink OR the ever present tan pansuit.

Capitol Inside Declares HD-129 A Sleeper Race

Sherrie Matula is not sleeping, that is for sure. She has a website, headquarters, a ton of signs, a real campaign, a gazillion endorsements, the whole nine yards. John Davis, her opponent, has . . . some signs. Not a whole lot of signs, mind you. Oh, and he has ethics charges filed against him. Here's this from Capitol Inside. Note that John Davis is now being described (everywhere, take my word for it) as a person with problems with his campaign spending. Capitol Inside October 9, 2006 Potential Backlash Gives Sleeper Candidates Better Shot at Upsets By Mike Hailey Several Texas House challengers whose campaigns have been largely ignored outside their districts are starting to pop up on radar screens amid an anti-incumbent fever that appears to be sweeping the state and the nation this fall. The potential backlash against the GOP from the congressional page scandal, Iraq, ethics investigations and homegrown Texas issues like toll roads and vouchers has elevated some Democratic state House challengers from the ranks of candidates who appeared to have no hopes for upsets to sleepers who are still longshots but not out of the running like once thought to be. Experts at the national level estimate that Democrats could pick up as many as 30 seats in Congress - twice the amount needed to reclaim majority control - and some GOP strategists are worried that their party could lose a handful of state House seats or more amid the fallout. Victories by sleeper candidates would be gravy on top of that. The list of potential sleepers in Texas House races includes Democrats Diane Trautman of Kingwood, Sherrie Matula of Houston, Phillip Shinoda of Dallas and Karen Felthauser of Round Rock. Several more sleeper campaigns are starting to percolate in other parts of the state as well. Diane Trautman (D) Joe Crabb Sherrie Matula (D) John Davis Phillip Shinoda (D) Will Hartnett Karen Felthauser (D) Mike Krusee Sharon Cade Davis (D) Byron Cook Scott Cornuaud (D) Dan Flynn Mark McDavid (D) Dwayne Bohac Ernie Casbeer (D) Sid Miller Ted Kenyon (R) David Leibowitz Sylvia Spivey (R) Scott Hochberg Will Pryor (D) Pete Sessions Shane Sklar (D) Ron Paul Mary Beth Harrell (D) John Carter John Courage (D) Lamar Smith Shinoda and Matula received a boost last week when they were endorsed by the Texas Parent PAC, which had a successful debut earlier this year with primary victories on both sides of the aisle including several key upsets. Matula - a retired teacher and former school board member - is challenging Republican State Rep. John Davis of Houston in HD 129 in southeast Harris County. A longtime Democratic activist, Matula is a member of the Texas State Teachers Association board and a Clear Lake Area Symphony Society member who's in line to be president. Matula had raised about one-third as much money as Davis and had less than half as much cash on hand at the end of June. But Matula's fundraising fortunes could take a turn for the better if she can continue to rally education interests and others behind her campaign in the final four weeks of the race. Matula is pushing ethics reform amid questions that have been raised about Davis' campaign spending. But HD 129 - like the districts represented by Hartnett and Crabb - has a substantial Republican majority that will be difficult for a Democratic contender to overcome. Go, Sherrie! We all need you in the Texas Legislature.

Texas Bloggers Respond To The John Davis Ethics Story

There's a Texas blogswarm going on over State Rep. John Davis' ethics violations. KHOU, Ch. 11 Houston, aired a story on Saturday and now the blogosphere responds. From Pink Dome: an awesome photo shop of the scandal along with a reminder of how Davis is following in Tom DeLay's footsteps. Brains and Eggs: comments that Davis is inept at best, criminally negligent at worst. Texas Kaos: thanks the citizen who filed the complaints with the TEC. Bay Area Houston: wonders how Davis is going to fix his reimbursement problem to the TEC's satisfaction and reminds us that the latest round of Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Finance Reports are due tomorrow. Off the Kuff: reminds you to support Sherrie Matula! Update! Texas Truth Serum: gives credit where credit is due and has the awesome Sherrie Matula logo at the end of the post! Capitol Annex: gives me some blogger love and reminds us about the boots! The trip to the boot store was the BEST! The Red State: last week he asks John Davis to define "personal enrichment". Can we say "$100,000"?

KHOU Exposes State Rep. John Davis' Ethics Violations

Lee McGuire, political reporter at Ch. 11 News Houston, did a segment yesterday on the Texas Ethics Commission investigation of State Representative John Davis for possible campaign finance violations. McGuire is asking what happened to nearly $100,000 in campaign donations. He tracked Davis' campaign finance reports for the past six years. McGuire comments that unlike most members of the Texas House, Davis is unusually vague about what happens to much of his campaign cash. Texas Ethics Commission rules are clear. If you report an expenditure, you have to give an explanation of what that money was spent on. He found this example:

$5490 in miscellaneous expenses with no explanation

McGuire found

$48,734 in American Express charges with no explanation as to what the card actually purchased.

A citizen discovered these violations and sent in an official complaint to the Texas Ethics Commission. The TEC sent Davis a letter announcing an investigation, asking him to supply copies of the American Express bills in questions. Davis says he is complying. In Davis' campaign finance reports, McGuire found John Davis paying John Davis reimbursements for out of pocket expenses. The ethics rules are clear. If a candidate reimburses himself from campaign cash, he has to explain what he spent the money on and why he deserves to be reimbursed for that. Davis does not do that. McGuire discovered that

over six years, Davis reports $50,135 in out of pocket reimbursement with no explanation.

Davis did not want to go on camera, but on phone, he told McGuire, "I made a mistake, and we'll get it corrected. It's incumbent on me to know what the rules are." He says all of the expenses are for legitimate campaign or legislative purposes. Candidates can be fined if they fail to properly report campaign finance information, according to an attorney for the Texas Ethics Commission. Under the statute of limitations, the TEC can only investigate the past two years of financial reports. Sherrie Matula, Davis' opponent in the HD-129 race was interviewed on camera for this story. She emphasized that the Clear Lake area is ready for real community representation. She is the person who will do that. In July 2003, Texas Monthly declared John Davis "furniture", saying "the term "furniture" describes members who, by virtue of their indifference or inactivity, were indistinguishable from their desks, chairs, and spittoons." Davis, a Republican, has represented the Clear Lake area for 8 years. My past blog posts, with documentation of much of what McGuire uncovered on Davis' ethics violations can be found here, here, here and here. I was not the person who sent in the complaint to the TEC, but bravo to the person who did. UPDATE: KHOU has the story up on their website, with video!

Mofo's Blind Gelect

I wish the Governor's debate was a reality TV show and that we'd get to see a new episode every Friday from now until the election. This was WAY, way, way more entertaining than the goofy reality TV shows the networks cook up. Some of my favorite moments: Rick Perry (mofo) sternly telling us (mofo) that it is always wrong (mofo) to make inappropriate comments (mofo) when running for governor (mofo) of our great state. You know, like Kinky. And there was the moment when he said "blind gelect" instead of "blind neglect." I was at a watch party and everyone stopped throwing nerf balls at Governor Blow Dry's hairdo long enough to ask, "what in the hell is gelect?" Granny Carole not knowing a damn thing. That about sums up her performance. "In a Strayhorn administration we will ignore the President of Mexico (whoever he is) and we'll provide 14 zillion years of unemployment compensation." She should have just started breaking out in song, "the answer my friend is blowing in the wind" when it was clear she didn't know the answer to those two questions. Kinky. What to say. At one point we all asked, "is he at the same debate as everyone else?" This is when he made the comment about everyone picking on him when absolutely no one was doing that. And, am I the only one, or did anyone else notice he kept making Chris Bell's case for him? At the end of the debate, several of us wondered out loud whose vote is he trying to get exactly? Not anyone who uses the internet, that's for sure. I'll give him this, he is the only one who recognized that one hour as a reality TV show. He kept trying to convince us he was based in reality. Really? Chris Bell. My hero! 1836!!! He so rocks. My God, he was so smart, so polished, so funny, so friendly. He wiped the floor with those three Republicans.

LOST Premiere Episode: Recap

"It doesn't matter who he is, it just matters who you're not." She said that about JACK?!! She's nuts.

Ladies and Gentlemen! The Official Sherrie Matula Parent PAC Endorsement!

For your reading pleasure, great things about my favorite TX legislative candidate!! For Release on October 5, 2006 Contact: Carolyn Boyle, 512-470-1215 TEXAS PARENT PAC ENDORSES SHERRIE MATULA FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 129 Parents, grandparents, and parents-to-be say Matula is the best candidate to support high-quality public schools. (HOUSTON) – The bipartisan Texas Parent PAC today announced its endorsement of Sherrie Matula for state representative in House District 129, which covers south Houston, Clear Lake-NASA community, cities of Seabrook and Webster, and the surrounding area. "Sherrie Matula will have an immediate impact in the Texas House of Representatives, because she is experienced, energetic, and totally committed to representing the people of her district,” said Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. of Houston, a Texas Parent PAC Board member. “The families of H.D. 129 need better representation, and it is time for a change at the Capitol.” Texas Parent PAC was created by parents who joined together to elect strong and effective legislative leaders who will stand up for children and parents and strengthen neighborhood schools. In addition, a broad base of individuals and business leaders is supporting this bipartisan grassroots campaign effort. “Unlike her opponent, Sherrie Matula represents the mainstream views and interests of parents and children, taxpayers and businesses,” said Carolyn Boyle, Texas Parent PAC chair. “Bay Area families deserve an independent representative who will consistently stand up for their needs rather than a lawmaker who bends to the will of political leaders.” Matula is the only candidate in this race who has taken a stand to oppose siphoning money from public schools to fund private school tuition vouchers. “In 2005, incumbent John Davis spoke on the House floor in support of a tax-funded program for low-income and Spanish-speaking Houston students to attend private academies,” Rodriguez said. “Davis was irresponsible in pushing a voucher scheme that could have taken away $200 million from Houston public schools.” The voucher program Davis supported was defeated. Texas Parent PAC leaders said Matula has a wealth of experience and leadership ability that will allow her to hit the ground running at the state Capitol in January. Matula will use her leadership and collaboration skills to solve problems affecting families, including escalating property taxes, traffic congestion, neighborhood and port security, and skyrocketing insurance and utility bills. As a fiscal conservative, she will work to balance Texas fiscal operations and attract new businesses. Matula moved to the Bay Area after graduating from the University of Houston in 1974. For 25 years she taught in the Clear Creek and Pasadena school districts. She was elected to two terms on the Clear Creek ISD school board, gaining experience in budget management, constituent service, and public policy decision-making. Throughout her career Matula has been recognized for exemplary teaching and leadership skills, including multiple nominations for Who’s Who of America’s Teachers, National Honor Roll of Educators, and Disney Teacher of the Year. Parents and teachers honored her with a Lifetime PTA Award in 1988. Matula has been a strong advocate for public education as a board member of the Texas State Teachers Association and as a citizen lobbyist for children and schools at the Texas legislature since 1978. She has been very active in her community for over 30 years, including being a charter member of St. Bernadette’s Church, board member and president-elect of the Clear Lake Symphony, as well as a board member of her community association, Bay Area New Democrats, and Clear Lake High School choir, soccer, and youth basketball associations. Mark and Sherrie Matula have been married for 33 years, and they have two daughters who both graduated from Texas A&M with degrees in mechanical engineering. Texas Parent PAC is endorsing a small and select number of Republican and Democratic legislative candidates statewide. The PAC describes its endorsed candidates as “men and women of integrity, open and responsive to parents, actively involved in their communities, and committed to investing in public education to achieve economic prosperity in Texas.” Parents are encouraged to volunteer in the Sherrie Matula campaign, to donate money and in-kind services, and to vote and bring friends to the polls during the October 23-November 3 early voting period and on the November 7 election day. For more information on Texas Parent PAC, visit www.txparentpac.com. For more information on Sherrie Matula and her campaign, call 281-480-5257 or visit www.sherriematula.com. Political Advertising, Texas Parent PAC Staley Gray, Treasurer P.O. Box 303010 Austin, Texas 78703-0051 www.txparentpac.com

Roll Out Dick Cheney!

We'll have a barrell of fun! Roll out Dick Cheney Hey, did he bring his big gun?

Yawn. I barely got through the Chronicle article on Dick Cheney's luncheon fundraiser for Silly Sekula-Gibbs. Sounds like it was pretty boring. Shelley certainly looks bored out of her mind. She was probably trying to do David Wallace math in her head. She SAID she raised $200,000, but there were 200 people there who paid $500 a piece. Let's see 200 x 500 = $100,000. Well, if she was doing Wallace math, she'd claim she raised $500,000. Remember when he claimed to have $1 million raised for his DeLay wannabe congressional race? And, he'd only really raised around $200,000? Factor of five, Shelley. Maybe she isn't bored, but irritated instead. I mean this is not exactly a stirring endorsement from Cheney, "It will be a fine Congress if we have members like Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Vote twice for Shelley." Who uses the word "fine" as a superlative? Maybe if he said, "that's a fine dog in that photo with you", that would be a sensical use of the word. Or, maybe she just wanted to whisper sweet nothings to her buddy Tom DeLay who had this to say, "There is a significant group in the district that are Tom DeLay supporters, and I want to make sure they know I support her," DeLay said. "Everyone thinks a write-in candidacy is difficult, but write-ins can happen in the right climate and CD 22 is the right climate.'' As someone who has actually been talking to voters in 22 since APRIL, I suggest you whisper to Tom, "stay the HELL away from the voters in this district." There are a lot of people not so fond of DeLay and wonder exactly WHEN he is going to move to Virginia. I think the climate DeLay was talking about is the "when we have an icestorm in Texas in July" climate.

Hastert Blames It On Democrats

---Hastert sought to blame Democrats for leaking sexually explicit computer instant messages between Foley and former pages from 2003.

"We have a story to tell, and the Democrats have -- in my view have -- put this thing forward to try to block us from telling the story. They're trying to put us on defense," Hastert said. (msnbc.com)

Hastert needs to go. Hey, Hastert! Some of us are a little more child-centric than you are and we don't see this as a politcal game of "he started it! no, HE started it! I'm going to tell mom. You aren't fair!" We actually GET that this is about illegal, abusive relationships between a U.S. Freaking Congresscriminal and CHILDREN. Good grief! Hastert knew about this stuff and he didn't do anything worth a damn about it. Thank goodness someone brought it to the media so Foley would have to GO AWAY and STOP. Does Hastert have children? I do. Honestly. This is ridiculous. From what I've read, the emails were leaked by a Republican. That's according to ABC news. And, others were given to ABC by pages. Yeah, Hastert. This is all about putting you on the defense. This needs to proceed quickly to Hastert going away, just like Mark Foley.

More Ethics Charges Filed Against State Rep. John Davis

No, it's not me filing the complaints against John Davis, the Republican incumbent in House District 129. But, I sure am supportive of the person who has stepped up to do this. The latest complaints cover two issues: the boots that I've made infamous and the reimbursements to others without documentation. Read the complaint here, here, here, here and here. Examples from Davis' Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Finance Reports of the problem with the lack of documentation on reimbursements to others can be found here and here. I'm telling you, it doesn't seem that hard to me to create an accurate Campaign Finance Report. I basically do it all the time at work with my expense reports. I can only imagine the hell there would be to pay if I filled in my report with an American Express bill reimbursable to me with no explanation of what that expense was for (yeah, they'd assume at work it was for Banana Republic). Or, if I turned in a receipt for a pair of Jimmy Choo's and expected my place of work to reimburse me. GIVE ME A BREAK. I've said it before, reading the Cash on Hand instructions from the Texas Ethics Commission reads like "How to Do the Opposite of What John Davis Does. Have you heard about Sherrie Matula's Parent PAC endorsement? She's running against John Davis in HD-129. Congratulations on this very prestigious and important endorsement, Sherrie!

Sherrie Matula Gets Parent PAC Endorsement

I am happy to announce that Sherrie Matula, running for State Representative in HD-129, has been endorsed by Parent PAC. The official annoucement is not until Thursday, but I got the OK to leak the news today. Parent PAC is a political action committee consistenting of parents, grandparents and parents-to-be who believe that the current Texas Legislature shortchanges students by failing to adequately fund public schools. They endorse candidates who will consistently vote in the best interest of children. Their endorsements are based on a candidate's positions on school finance, vouchers, excessive testing, local control and government mandates. They couldn't have chosen a better candidate to endorse than Sherrie Matula. Sherrie taught in public schools for 25 years (Clear Creek ISD and Pasadena ISD), served on the Clear Creek ISD school board for two terms, has been very involved with teacher professional organizations and has been a long time activist for community and education issues. I've spent many years in education at many different levels and in different types of educational institutions. I have never met a classroom teacher that has the depth and breadth of knowledge that Sherrie has in effective teaching practices as well as education policy and legislation. She's simply phenomenal and the whole state will benefit from having her in the Texas legislature. We have officially adopted her in Fort Bend as the legislative candidate we most want to see in Austin. We've donated our time and money to her campaign. We've Had Enough of legislators who have gone from "do-nothing" to doing harm to our educational system in Texas. To hear from Sherrie, listen to an interview with Kuffner here and read an e-interview with Sherrie at Capitol Annex.

Mark Foley Quotable Quotes

A friend of mine called me this weekend to tell me about the breaking story of Mark Foley's inappropriate and illegal emails and IMs to congressional pages. The first thing out of my mouth, "the Mark Foley who was on the attack during the Clinton impeachment?" Muse has a long memory. This was the guy who was soooooo concerned about our children - "what will we tell the children?" He was SO alarmed that kids would see the transripts of Clinton's grand jury testimony. Pot, meet kettle. Beyond the infamous, "what will we tell the children" quote there are others. Here's what I have been able to dig up: "It's vile," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach. "It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction." (speaking of Clinton) That was "just sad," Foley said. "It's unbelievable that he could behave so carelessly in that setting." (referring to Clinton's behavior in the Oval Office) "I have said repeatedly that in this country we track library books better than we do sex offenders." (yeah, well you got tracked down, Foley) "Pointing fingers, trying to catch each other in scandal does not bring honor to this House." (this was earlier this year - knowing he was going to get caught eventually?) "The Adam Walsh Act is the most comprehensive piece of child protection legislation this Congress has ever considered. The bill creates, among other things, new State and Federal regulations, community notification requirements, as well as new Federal criminal penalties for sex offenders." (he co-sponsored this and other laws under which he will most likely be charged) In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in 2005, Foley said: "Sex offenders are not petty criminals. They prey on our children like animals and will continue to do it unless stopped. We need to change the way we track these pedophiles. ... It has often been noted that a society can be judged on how it best treats it children. We have a moral responsibility to do everything in our power to protect our kids from these animals. This bill will turn the tables and make prey out of these predators. Failing to act on this measure is just playing Russian roulette with our children's lives." (what else is there to say?) Legislating, he told National Public Radio on June 29, "is not necessarily just trying to brand people or create a scarlet letter or subject them to unnecessary ridicule, but it's really to set a bar and a standard by which they then decide, 'I better get help professionally,' 'I better go and see how I can deal with this problem,' or, 'I should absolutely avoid contact with young people in order to ensure I don't fall into this very serious problem.' " (great advice, if the person will take it . . .)

Fort Bend Dems at Johnson Rayburn Dinner

Eleven Fort Bend Democrats enjoyed an absolutely marvelous time at the Harris County Democrats' Johnson Rayburn dinner last night. Highlights for me included the video tribute to Ann Richards, introduction of my favorite candidates (Sherrie Matula! Farhan Shamsi!), Russ Feingold's speech and Chris Bell's even more funny than usual speech. We all cheered for Feingold even before he got started. Gosh, how could we help but give that guy a bunch of standing ovations? He voted against the war in Iraq and against the Patriot Act. All of his concerns are my concerns - the increasing power of the executive grant (he says that is one of the intentional goals of the Bush administration), education, health care, the economy . . . He just went on from there to include every single hot button issue that makes me mad at this Republican administration. Chris Bell? Fantastic. I'm one of the original Chris Bell fans ("cough" mcblogger) and even I was more impressed than usual with Chris. Houston loves this guy and we showed him the love. He's also not afraid to talk about important issues that the Republicans are either ignoring or spinning in a nonsensical way - health care, education and stem cell research to name a few. Hank Gilbert was hilarous as the auctioneer. Remind me not to cough, smile, nod or answer any of his questions while he is auctioneering. I could get myself in $2000 worth of trouble. He told us we needed to get off of our ass, so that we can put the Republicans on their ass in November! No problem, Hank! Best of all, I enjoyed sharing a table with my Fort Bend Democrats friends. We all stood up and cheered over all of the same issues. We really are united in our beliefs about what is right for America and we have all Had Enough. We even giggled over the same humorous parts (er, maybe they weren't supposed to be humorous?) of some of the presentations. I wouldn't advise crossing this band of Democrats. We are single minded in our dedication to turn Fort Bend blue. We are all very loyal to each other and we don't suffer fools gladly. Hal has a complete account of our good time, and Stace also gives a great report! I counted five bloggers at this event and I was happy to run into Stace right at the end.

Mark Foley Is One Of Those Sickos

Watch this video and hear Mark Foley say, "If I were one of these sickos, I'd be nervous about having America's Next Wanted on my trail." Also, he says he believes when you violate a child, you give up your civil liberties. DNA sample, please, Mr. Foley! He repeats the line about how we track missing library books better than we track child predators. I guess he thought that would keep him from being discovered. John Walsh practically slobers all over Foley, thanking him for his leadership on a new law co-sponsored by him that is supposed to protect children from the likes of Foley. I guess the co-chair of the Caucus for Missing and Exploited Children fooled a lot of people.

Foley Uses His Expertise As Co-Chair Of Committee

Juanita got me to thinking. Generally, I don't think of Republicans putting people into important government positions based on their areas of expertise. Can we spell cronyism boys and girls? It's the old "you give me lots of campaign cash, I'll give put you in charge of rebuilding Iraq" type of thing. Or Rick Perry putting someone on the Texas Supreme court with no judicial experience. So, it's sort of a shock to realize the Republicans got it right, for once. They put a child predator as co-chair of the Caucus for Missing and Exploited Children. Not only that, but Mark Foley has authored legislation - and is proud of it - that will be the very laws that will brand him a pedophile and send him to jail. From the U.S. House website: WASHINGTON - Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), Co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, applauded Senate passage of legislation he authored and introduced overhauling our nation’s sex offender registration and notification laws. “For too long our nation has tracked library books better than it has sex offenders. That day is coming to an end,” said Foley. “Senator Hatch and Leader Frist have been resolute in keeping this legislation on track. We are closing loopholes that sex offenders and pedophiles have used to prey on children.” The law is The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The loophole I would like to see closed is the one that permits Republican House leadership to hide information about pedophiles in their midst for nearly a year. They are tracking hefty campaign contributions better than they have sex offenders.

Ron Paul Voted Against Laws To Stop Online Predators Of Children

Ron Paul, the Libertarian incumbent in TX-14, voted on three separate occasions against laws that would stop online predators from creating, buying or selling pornography. Ron Paul's awful voting record never ceases to surprise me. In the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, these votes seem particularly troubling. He voted against the: Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act Child Obscenity Act and Pornography Prevention Act Children's Internet Protection Act Ron Paul's reason for voting against the acts to protect children? His Libertarian philosophy made him (not) do it. You can read about what Libertarians believe here, but the gist of it is this: Libertarians generally define liberty as the freedom to do whatever one wishes up to the point that one's behavior begins to interfere with or endanger another's person or property. Somebody explain to me how Ron Paul's Libertarian philosophy caused him to not vote for laws that clearly are all about an individual predator interfering with and endangering children via the internet? Why in the world would anyone in TX-14 vote to continue to keep Ron Paul in Congress where he can vote against more laws to protect children? There is a clear alternative and that is Shane Sklar. Shane is going to vote for laws that make sense for his district. In Shane's own words: Our current congressman’s record is one of rhetoric, not results. Many of his views about government and Texas are dramatically out of the mainstream and fly in the face of what most of us believe. Shane Sklar is the true family values candidate in this race. I've heard Shane speak on several occassions. He is pro-family and pro-education. His district encompasses part of Fort Bend County and we want the Democratic Congressman trifecta of Green, Lampson and Sklar.