John Davis, You Have Smog!

I have been reading with interest, Kuffner's reporting on Texas government officials claiming that Houston will not be able to get in compliance with EPA clean air standards by the 2010 deadline they set for our area. The Texas Commission for Environmntal Quality is making a lot of excuses for why the deadline cannot be met and claims the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area can get in compliance by 2018. The TCEQ does not seem to have the will or the guts to recommend regulations for transportation or industrial emissions, tossing the regulatory responsibilities to the Texas legislature. The TCEQ apparently has a lot in common with the Texas Ethics Commission who also cannot say "boo" without shuttling obvious decisions back over to the lege. In the Baytown Sun, Sabrina Strawn, executive director for the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention, has a different opinion: Strawn said TCEQ already has legislative authority to implement stricter controls, and there may be growing sentiment around the state for even more authority. She said she expected the Texas Legislature to consider bills next session that would “fully fund” the Texas Emissions Reduction Program, which she said wasn’t fully funded when the Legislature created it. State Senator Rodney Ellis has already filed a bill that would require Texas to adopt California's strict emission standards on new vehicles. Federal law does not allow states to adopt their own emission standards separate from the ones mandated by the federal government, but adopting California's stricter emission standards is allowed. Bravo to Ellis for jumping right on this. What does this have to do with Representative John Davis, R-Clear Lake? In his debate with his opponent, Democrat Sherrie Matula, Davis was asked, "what legislation have you introduced or will you introduce regarding the environment?" The audience got to submit questions and this was my question. Thank God somebody asked it because we got a decidedly anti-environmental answer that begs the point, "you get the government you deserve." I previously reported on his answer and you can see his response in its entirety in the YouTube clip of the debate below: 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. I would be surprised if Sabrina Strawn and the citizens of Clear Lake get the help they need on this EPA compliance issue from Representative Davis. There is some work that needs to be done with him to get him up to speed with the science, the data and the importance of the health of the citizens in the community he represents. UPDATE: Mark Strama filed a bill today, similar to Ellis', requiring Texas to adopt the California emissions standards, starting with 2009 models.

Swooning Over Al Gore

Oh, my gosh. I want this man to be my husband. GQ has an interview up with Al Gore and - sigh! - here is my favorite part: What kind of freedom do you feel now that you didn’t feel when you were running?

You know my all time favorite Onion headline—you read The Onion?—sometime in the summer of 2001, the lead story on the front page had a picture of Tipper and me, and the headline was, “Gores Enjoying Best Sex of Their Lives.” And she said, “How did they know?”

Do you have any advice on keeping a marriage together? I think basically Tipper is the key to it.

Really? Yeah. Love is such a complicated force, I don’t have the words to speak intelligently about it. I don’t even want to try to universalize what feels true to me, because everybody’s different and—

Yeah, but you know what? A lot of people are real different. You’re devoted. People look at you two and you never wonder if there’s anything stupid going on. What is it about you two? Well, I think that communicating clearly, and making intelligent decisions about the time that you set aside for one another, not time with you and your spouse and the entire family. That’s also very important, but it doesn’t count in that category of time you need for the relationship itself. Communicating clearly, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually. That’s just really important. And if you need help, get help.

Have you been to therapy? We went in the aftermath of our son’s accident. We had family therapy. And you know, Tipper has a graduate degree in psychology, and she has had a fairly intensive psychiatric practice for 40 years—with one patient. I’m seriously not joking when I say the secret is mostly her. She’s just an amazing partner in life.

What’s the last really romantic thing you did for her? I made her an iTunes list that communicated things that are important.

What was on it? That’s too personal.

This man cannot possibly exist! Has anyone ever met Al Gore? Is he a real man or a just a computerized movie image? On to matters of national importance: So if you decide to run, do you think we would see the Al Gore from the movie? Or the Al Gore from 2000?

Well, I don’t plan to run. I don’t plan to run. And I don’t expect to run.

How many times a day does somebody ask you this? Well, I’m doing a lot of interviews and it’s on the list of questions. For every one of them. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that people think enough of me still in that world to ask that question. It’s true that I haven’t, uh, gotten to the point where I am willing to completely rule it out for all time. But, that is really more a matter of the internal shifting of gears. I’m not making plans to run again.

But you’re not ruling it out? Uh… no. [smiles]

Run, Al, run!

There is a lot more great stuff in this interview, so I recommend reading the whole thing. He is funny. VERY funny! And, what he has to say about Iraq is interesting (see Al Gore get angry!). The George Bush lines he gets off are hysterical. This, for instance:

What’s the nicest thing you can say about George Bush?

He made a terrific appointment of Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Ok, Is there a second best thing? I can’t think of another one, actually.

Also, there is a lot on Inconvenient Truth, but the stuff about him and Tipper - I'm crazy about him for that!

Clearing Up Confusion About TAKS

The big news out of the Texas Legislature yesterday was that maybe there would be an end to TAKS with it being replaced by end of course exams in the upper grades. Well, end of course exams as an alternative to the 11th grade exit TAKS test are already in place. The Houston Chronicle, reported yesterday that Senate Education Chair, Florence Shapiro (R-Plano), had this to say: Shapiro is among those who believe the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test "has worn out its welcome," particularly for high school and middle school grades. She will push for "end-of-course" exams for the upper grades. Surely Senator Shapiro is aware that Governor Perry signed executive order RP53 on December 16, 2005 stating: NOW THEREFORE, I, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, do hereby order the following: The development of a series of voluntary end-of-course assessments in Science, Mathematics, and other subjects, currently assessed by the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, to measure student performance; and provide for a potential alternative to the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Prior to this executive order (and more on executive orders in general in a minute), all Texas high school students had to pass the 11th grade exit test in order to graduate. There are four subject areas covered on the exit TAKS - English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Math. The 11th graders in the 2003-2004 school year were the first class required to pass the exit test in order to get a diploma. As with all TAKS tests, the standards for passing have been increasing each year (usually the State Board of Education sets a three year phase in period for each TAKS test, until the final passing standard is met), with the final recommended passing standards being implemented this school year. The passing rate for each subject area on the exit test is a little different, varying from 50.9% to 58.9% of the questions correct. The science exit test is the one I know best. It has 65 questions, covering the nature of science, biology and integrated physics and chemistry TEKS objectives. The main gripe about the science exit test is that students take this in the spring of their 11th grade year when many of them haven't taken Biology since the 9th grade. Many high school students in Texas don't take the Integrated Physics and Chemistry course at all. Granted, those students most likely took Chemistry in 10th grade and Physics in 11th grade, but you see the problem. Eleventh grade science teachers, no matter which science they are teaching, are having to review three science subjects with their students. Imagine the challenge with low performing students. Back to Perry's executive order creating voluntary end of course tests to replace the 11th grade exit test. The Texas consitution gives the governor the power to issue executive orders which have the power of law. According to the governor's website: Executive orders are normally used by the Governor to set policy within the state executive branch and to create executive boards, commissions, or task forces. Well, a long list of Perry's executive orders can be found at that link and some of them don't fit that definition. Perry's use of executive orders regarding education law was one of the things that concerned me most about the 2006 election. Any time Perry creates an executive order dealing with education, he is circumventing the legislative process and the oversight of the State Board of Education. Many education leaders were concerned about re-electing a governor who has no problem changing Texas education code with the stroke of a pen. What is meant by these end of course tests being "voluntary" is that school districts have the choice to opt out of administering the 11th grade exit TAKS, instead giving a state designed test at the end of a course year. For science, the end of course tests will be in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The tests are being developed and field testing for the Biology end of course test will happen April 23-May 18, 2007 and will be adminstered online only. It will be available for full implementation in 2008. Information about Algebra I, Geometry, Chemistry, Physics and U.S. History can be found at this link. All tests will be implemented by Spring 2009. Again, I wonder why Shapiro is bringing up end of course exams as if it is a new idea. Perhaps she was not fully quoted and is saying that she thinks these tests should be required and not voluntary? I know that many science teachers welcome the opportunity to have end of course exams rather than the 11th grade exit test. They feel their students will have increased chance for success if they take a test on a subject area during the year they are studying that subject. In 2006, only around 70% of all students passed the science and math exit tests, with the passing rate being much lower for minority students and limited English language students. With No Child Left Behind being federally mandated, high stakes testing is not going away any time soon, no matter what the Texas Legislature wants to do. And the end of course exams will be just as high stakes as the 11th grade exit TAKS test. The state is spending a whole lot of money right now developing these tests and whether or not they do anything to improve student learning is anyone's guess.

Attention Lobbyists! Give To Your Favorite Texas Legislator Before It's Too Late

Looking through the campaign finance reports of certain, uh, "favorite" Texas legislators, it becomes pretty obvious there is a donating frenzy that goes on in November and December right before the start of every legislative session. There is a law that prohibits state elected officials from receiving campaign donations during and immediately preceding and following a legislative session. The cutoff date for donations is fast approaching: December 10th. The San Antonio Express-News covers the race that is on for legislators to pile the cash as high as they can with dollars from special interest groups right before the start of the session. The whole thing is shamelessly purposeful, with legislators holding fundraisers for lobbyists, some combining the big time fun of - surprise! - hunting, while holding their hands out for the big bucks. Examples from the SA Express-News article: A partial schedule for this week alone includes three simultaneous fundraisers Tuesday evening at the Austin Club for Reps. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, and Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, and Rep.-elect Borris Miles, D-Houston.

There are three more at the Austin Club on Wednesday night and six at various locations in downtown Austin on Thursday.

One is for Rep.-elect John Zerwas, a Republican from Fort Bend County who hasn't yet served a day in the Legislature but had the chutzpah to include on his invitation the drawing of a train engine and the message: "Choo-Choo ... It's not too late!"

In other words, contributors who previously ignored Zerwas or maybe gave to an opponent still have time to jump on his "late train" and make amends. He can't promise them anything, of course, but the bigger their donations, the more likely he will remember them if they come calling for something during the session.

Gov. Rick Perry will have a fundraiser in Austin on Dec. 7, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is trying to retire more than $8 million in debt from his last two races and prepare for a campaign for governor in 2010, will have one Dec. 6.

Many legislators hold fundraisers in their districts, and some pair them with golf outings or hunting trips.

Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, is hosting a pheasant hunt at the top of the Panhandle from Dec. 1 to 3. The invitation lists several "hunting options," topping out at the $2,000 "platinum hunt," which promises to be "extra special."

Now, before any smart aleck asks who would want to even go to Dumas, much less pay money to go there, consider the attraction Swinford holds for many lobbyists and their clients.

He heads the important House State Affairs Committee and, unless Speaker Tom Craddick is dethroned, likely will keep his post — and its life-or-death influence over major pieces of legislation.

Zerwas' district is partly in Fort Bend County, so I am well aware of this character. Although he is in a very Republican district and ended up winning with 63% of the vote, he felt threatened enough by his challenger, Democrat Dorothy Bottos, that he spent $450,000 on his campaign to ensure his win. So, yeah, I guess he got himself up to Austin real quick with his hand out and his goofy "get on the gravy train" message so that he can fill up those campaign coffers for two years from now when the next scary Democrat goes after him. Wink, wink, though. While legislators are busy making lobbyists think they are buying influence on votes, many of them have a need to rake that cash in now, so they can continue their luxury car leases, private airplane jaunts around their districts and expensive Austin condo rentals. Well, and there are the season tickets to professional sporting events that have to paid for, also.

Sekula Gibbs: Spelling Doesn't Count

Well, I didn't realize that voters were going to be able to spell Shelley's name in such imaginative ways and have their vote count. I really didn't. I know that state law says that voter intent is all that matters when making a decision on whether a write-in spelling counts or not, but good grief. Shelley could have conducted her voter education campaign on the e-slate in a completely different way, with commercials showing voters spinning and clicking anything that came to mind with a "S" or "G". "Just Dial In Whatever The Hell You Want" should have been on every piece of Shelley campaign literature. From the Houston Press, here some of the spellings that were accepted in Fort Bend (naturally), where the accepted list of names for Shelley was 28 pages long: Voters cast their write-in ballots for, among others: Kelly Segula Gibbs, Snelly Gibbr, Schikulla Gibbs, Sheila Gibbs, Shelly Schulla Gibbs, Shelly Gibkula and, by someone who obviously never wanted the joy of using the machine to end, ShelleySkulaGibbsssss.

The name "Sekula" was spelled as Sektula, Sukla, Sequila, Sedoko and Sedoka (by puzzle fans?), Meklua, Sekluda and Shecola.

One voter couldn't be bothered, just putting in SSG. (It counted.) Another, for some reason, entered Sekula Smith.

Another voter entered "Shelle Sekula Fibbs," which might have been a hidden political message. I really want to know if "The Pink One" or "Congresswoman Barbie" were accepted as legitimate votes for Shelley, because I certainly believe that anyone who wrote those in were fully intending to vote for her. Wonkette is having fun with the best version of Shelley's name that counted.

Sugar Land, Prison Land

So, Mayor Dave Wallace and the developer of the Telfair subdivision think it's a great idea to incorporate a prison building into the master planned community. This seems sad and desperate to me. In Sugar Land, a building built in 1939 is considered historic and a landmark? It's a PRISON building, for God's sake. The developer wants to use it for a cultural center, lofts, a museum, retail or for some other commercial use. We still have a state prison in Sugar Land and Telfair is being built on former prison land. I remember a time when people hesitated to buy in New Territory or Pecan Grove because it was too close to the prison. Now it's chic to live in a community with a prison building as a focal point? Mayor Dave helps us understand: The structure was at one time the center of a small complex that included guard towers, sheds and barns.

Now prospective house buyers tour model homes where prisoners once parked tractors or picked cotton.

City officials are glad the new neighborhood will retain a piece of the area's history.

"We need to preserve that history and we need to be able to reflect on how that shaped our community," said Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace.

The only prison I am interested in people associating Sugar Land with is the one that Tom DeLay will be sent to. Maybe they can name this Telfair prison landmark after him, so that Delay connection to Sugar Land will live on for future generations.

Houston Press' Turkey Of The Year: Shelley Sekula Gibbs!

Shelley is such an easy target. I'm a little tired of TX-22 being such an easy target, but that should be over soon. From the Houston Press:

Turkey of the Year: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs

Whatever happened to that bright-eyed, noble widow of a beloved Houston anchorman who we first met as Shelley Sekula Rodriguez?

She's now Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, leading the fight to "secure our borders without amnesty," running the nation's goofiest write-in campaign and promising to solve a whole slew of problems in the two weeks she will serve in Congress.

The "slew of problems" she promised to fix didn't, at the time, include massive heaps of mocking national publicity following a staff walkout on her first day of work, but we're sure she can adjust. Her decision to demand an investigation into the departed staffers showed a keen ability to keep the story in front of the public when it otherwise would have died. It's nice to know she's keeping up the 22nd District's worldwide rep for nuttiness.

When Sekula-Gibbs first got elected to the city council in 2001 -- running on a platform that wasn't so much "Get rid of the Mexicans!" as it was "You used to watch my husband on TV!" -- no one expected a whole lot. She seemed to be in the quiet, go-along mode of most city council members.

Before long, though, council members and the folks attending meetings learned differently. It was a rare subject that Sekula-Gibbs did not feel the need to orate upon, usually with a heavy emphasis on the fact that she's a doctor. (And usually not with a heavy emphasis that she is a dermatologist, which isn't exactly the kind of doctor they make TV shows about.)

Juanita got a Happy Thanksgiving email from Shelley. Apparently, Congresswoman Barbie has decided she can't fix the war in Iraq before Christmas, so she's concentrating only on immigration reform, improvements to Medicaid and fiscal responsibility. I can hardly wait to see the congressional wrap-up email in December where she tells us what she accomplished on these weighty issues. Pretty much, the story of her short term as a congresswoman is going to read, "Clear Lake Nutcase Never Had A Clue." Sugar Land cannot be blamed for this one and we are not taking one for the team.

I Saw A Giant Bean Today

Here's the thing. It's really called "Cloud Gate" and it's in downtown Chicago in Millenium Park. But, definitely, it looks like a giant bean. A giant bean thing. And, it's VERY cool. It's like a giant liquid mercury looking sculpture. From there, shopping on the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue is just steps away. Well, a lot of steps away, but not a problem on a beautiful day in Chicago. I saw a guy in a Santa suit playing a sax on Michigan Ave. and apparently my friend Ellen knows him! You can go inside/under the giant bean and when you look up, this is what you see:

Field Day

While I spent Thanksgiving Day in one of America's most vibrant, beautiful cities, Baghdad experienced the worst day of civilian casualties since the U.S. began the bombing of Iraq in March 2003. At least 144 people died with 206 wounded. This was Sunni vs. Shiite, pushing Iraq closer to full blown civil war. Car bombs, mortars and missles resulted in hospitals overflowing with victims, bodies littering the streets, charred cars and smoke-filled chaos. Happy Thanksgiving, world, from the United States of America. Chicago skyline from the Field Museum: The magnificent Field Museum: Sue is at the Field, along with an amazing permanent exhibit on the entire geologic and evolutionary history of the world. Definitely, modern man is just a speck in time, a small part of the earth's story. No violence on the streets of Chicago. A wonderful night out with family and good food: Iraq, Thanksgiving Day: And, on Thanksgiving Day, Bush made calls to 10 members of the U.S. armed forces. I am not impressed.

Happy Thanksgiving From Chicago!

I'm thankful to be in Chicago with the family for Thanksgiving. Our hotel is gorgeous. This makes me happy. The big Chicago Thanksgiving Day parade went right past our hotel. Well, that was easy! The food here is great, as always. I love eating out here. New to me - and absolutely fantastic - was the Russian Tea Time last night. Our waiter said the Russians are known for hearty meals. No kidding. It's practically right across the street from the Art Institute. Today, we are going to the Field Museum to see the King Tut exhibit that is traveling around the country. Tonight, our Thanksgiving dinner will be at Mike Ditka's restaurant. It's supposed to have really good food, plus it will keep the teenage son happy. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends and readers!

Will Nick Lampson Lead On Ethics Reform?

I read with interest a Washington Post article describing how House Democrats are planning a series of votes on ethics reform in January. They recognize that one reason they won, and won big, is that voters are sick and tired of the corruption that passes for business as usual in Washington. The plan is to bring ethics issues, such as gifts from lobbyists, transparency regarding earmarks and budget controls, to the House floor piece by piece for debate and voting. From the Post article: The procedure would be as much about solidifying Democratic power as it would be about changing the rules of the House. Freshmen Democrats, many of them representing Republican-leaning districts, would take ownership of components that would resonate most with their voters, Democratic leaders said. For example, a conservative "Blue Dog" would get to present the budget-balancing rule. Amendments aimed at reducing the influence of lobbyists would go to swing-district Democrats who campaigned on ethics themes. One is Mitchell, who unseated Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) in large part by stressing Hayworth's links to Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist. The others are Zack Space (Ohio), who took the Republican-leaning district of convicted former representative Robert W. Ney, and Michael A. Arcuri (N.Y.), who ran on corruption themes to take the district vacated by retiring Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R). I found this interesting: The House would also vote on whether to reinstate budget rules, known as pay-as-you-go, or "paygo," requiring that any new spending or tax cuts be offset by equal spending cuts or tax increases. The logical freshman Congressman to bring this to the House floor is Nick Lampson. He campaigned EXTENSIVELY on this issue starting way back in May. I made many a phone call to potential Lampson voters talking to them about Nick's stand on fiscal discipline, particularly this "paygo" method of dealing with the federal budget. Nick talked about the importance of this at volunteer meetings, community gatherings and house parties. I'd really like to see my congressman, who ran against the corruption of Tom DeLay, play a major part in the upcoming ethics reform legislation.

Shelley Scores $27,534 While Everyone Points and Laughs

Maybe all of yall already know this, but Holiday Barbie, R-Clear Lake, will get $13,767 per month for her two months of representing us with so much hilarity in Congress. Someone asked me if she would be eligible for a Congressional pension. No. That kind of money for two months of (non) work? The joke may be on us. The special election to fill her Houston City Council seat may run the city $2 million, according to Mayor Bill White. I actually think that will be money well spent. She needs to resign her Council seat, so we can get on with spending that money.

Political Experts Pile On About Sekula Gibbs' "Mortal Wounds"

People are coming out of the woodwork to say bad things about Shelley. Political experts, even. It's sorta like saying bad things of the dead. The Houston Chronicle has a whole story on this and here are the quotable quotes (as always, muse commentary in pink): "She has mortally damaged herself for '08," said Bill Miller, an Austin media consultant who works for clients in both parties. "She has embarrassed herself. She has embarrassed Republicans (and that is saying a lot). She's done a first-class job of ruining any prospective chance she had of winning that race." Said Fort Bend County GOP Chairman Gary Gillen: "When it comes time for 2008, the negative publicity won't be beneficial for her." (oops! Sorry, not a political expert. My bad.) "It's the talk of the political village," said University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray. "She's become this kind of wacky sideshow." "She in fact has weakened her chances," said Allen Blakemore, a political consultant close to Harris County Tax Assessor-Collecter Paul Bettencourt, who is considering entering the GOP primary. But Blakemore contends Sekula-Gibbs already stood little chance of winning a primary dominated by conservative voters, considering her record on the Houston City Council, where she was not seen as a conservative. (hello! No kidding. Pro-choice Shelley, remember?)

Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, a possible Republican contender in 2008, said the turmoil in Sekula-Gibbs' office could turn off voters.

"Any time you have a situation such as a mass resignation, any time you have a situation of investigations ... it creates so much noise in the system that it takes away from the ability to govern," he said. (Investigations? Pot, meet kettle.) Sekula-Gibbs acknowledged she can be a demanding boss but not an unreasonable one. "We were in a roll-up-your-sleeves, hit-the-ground-running, let's-work-together team approach, and we had such a short period of time to do it in," she said. The aides, she said, might have been unprepared for the pace after five months of working without a boss following DeLay's resignation. Sekula-Gibbs said she had no inkling the aides would walk out Tuesday during a reception in her office suite. "Whatever they were thinking, they didn't express it to me," she said. (Steve Stockman, you just lost your "Congressman Clueless" title. Hand over the trophy.) Gary Polland, a former Harris County Republican chairman, said the congresswoman's staff woes have "trampled" what had been the feel-good political story of a candidate who performed better than expected against the difficulties of a write-in candidacy. All she had to do, Polland said, was serve out her two-month term without fanfare and she would begin the race in 2008 as a former congresswoman. (Bay Area Houston said the same thing - first - although he didn't predict a win in 08.) "Now she's going to be tainted with this story for her entire time in Congress," Polland said. "And if she decides to run in two years, the story will be, 'That's right, Shelley was in Congress for six weeks and ran off all of DeLay's staff." (No, sweetie, the story will be that she was batshit crazy.)

Now We Know What Work Shelley's Staff "Deleted"

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is admitting that she understands hard discs were scrubbed in her office before she, uh, "took over". Read the part of the Houston Chronicle article below that tells EXACTLY what she is accusing them of deleting: An investigation was opened Friday morning, said Salley Collins, a spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee, which oversees the chief administrative office. She said she did not know how long the investigation would take.

David James, who was DeLay's chief of staff and who ran the office DeLay resigned in June, has denied that records were destroyed improperly.

He said he and his colleagues provided Sekula-Gibbs with an electronic or hard copy, or both, of all of their work.

Sekula-Gibbs said that wasn't true.

"Their computers were blank. Blank," she said. "I'm talking about the material that I asked them to work on from the time they were hired."

Sekula-Gibbs said she had asked the aides to work on illegal immigration legislation and the 700 miles of fence to be built on the U.S.-Mexico border. They also were asked to research material on Ellington Field, NASA and Medicare, the congresswoman said.

Shelley. Here's the thing. They didn't do any of the work you asked them to do. That's why their computers are blank. Because they know something you apparently don't know. Congress is not going to deal with your little fence issue or ANY of your other concerns. This is all becoming VERY clear as to why they walked out, all seven of them, five in DC and two in Stafford. They very quickly realized they were dealing someone who is unreasonable and incompetent. It's probably a good thing the people of TX-22 are getting a test run on Shelley, because we don't need to deal with this ever again. She is the lamest of the lame ducks, a fact known to everyone but her. Fly back to Clear Lake Shelley. Now!

Shelley Sekula Gibbs' Bangs Talk To Fox 26 About Shame And Suspicion

The woman is seriously disturbed. Click on the picture above to hear her tell the Fox reporter in her MOST concerned "I'm fighting for the people of TX-22" voice (with accompanying collapsed facial expressions) about those horrible, nasty, unprofessional DeLay staffers who have brought SHAME and SUSPICION on "The District." I wonder if she gets this worked up over a bad case of acne.

Shelley Sekula Gibbs Launches Filegate Investigation

And, we are only at day four of the lame duck session. She's abandoned her plans to "solve the Iraq war" and the illegal immigration crisis. Instead she's working hard for the citizens of TX-22 to solve a problem of her own making, and is launching an investigation into the files that were perhaps deleted by the staff that walked out on her when she threw a hissy fit just 24 hours into her "tenure" as our congresswoman for the winter season. The Houston Chronicle has this to say: The aides' departure left her Wednesday with a Washington staff of two former Houston City Council aides, an intern on loan from Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, and a congressional aide.

It was unclear what Sekula-Gibbs could accomplish without an experienced congressional staff. House officials have asked her and all other lawmakers whose terms are expiring to vacate their office space by Dec. 1, she said. Afterward, she said, she will have an unspecified work space with a computer and a telephone.

I have a suggestion. Can she do this out of her bedroom in Clear Lake?

And this:

Roll Call also claimed that Sekula-Gibbs was upset that President Bush and Vice President Cheney did not attend a reception in her office Tuesday. "It's just rumor, rumor, rumor," Sekula-Gibbs said. (If you say it three times, that's like clicking your heels three times and next thing you know, you'll be back in Clear Lake.) Her chief of staff and former council aide, Lisa Dimond, who has worked with the interim congresswoman for more than two years, said her boss is wonderful to work for.

"She is a doctor and she has wonderful people skills," Dimond said of the dermatologist.

Lampson, heading into the Texas Democrats' weekly lunch in the House speaker's dining room, said he and Sekula-Gibbs had talked after the Nov. 7 election and pledged a smooth transition. I'm sorry, but Shelly is just not known for her people skills. Thank you Rick Perry for this complete waste of time, space, activity, money and everything else that goes along with this pink implosion. Without the sudden need for a special election, we could have cruised to January when our real Congressman, Nick Lampson took over for us.

One State Rep Fills Up His Truck With Campaign Cash Day After Day After Day

As you know, we've been examining John Davis' (Republican, HD-129) Campaign Finance Reports, and as a result of four complaints that have been filed against him, he's amended many of them. Unfortunately, as we have looked at these amended reports, we now know why he originally itemized so many expenses in large chunks simply as "American Express." More on that in a minute. It's against Texas Ethics Commission rules to list expenses that way. If you charge items on a credit card, that doesn't matter to the TEC. All they care about is that you list the payee, the amount of the expense and the purpose of the payment. Putting the payee as "American Express" is the same thing as putting the payee as "dollar bills". If you use your American Express at Chevron, you put Chevron as the payee. More on Chevron in a minute. Davis documented $13,390.49 as American Express expenses in his original January 2005 report which covered 7/1/2004 through 12/31/2004. He was actually able to only justify $10,167.46 of that as campaign expenses in his amended report, in effect admitting that $3223.03 of the original total was for personal use and is now owed back to his campaign. He revealed that a good deal of those American Express charges were for gasoline. Some of that gasoline was actually bought during a previous reporting period and was documented incorrectly. $1762.56 was spent on gas during the reporting period, all documented as "gasoline for intra-state legislative travel" and nearly all of it was bought in the Clear Lake area, during an election season when Davis ran unopposed (and, when there was no legislative business in Austin.) And, here is the interesting thing. Once, Davis filled up twice on the same day. One time, he filled up three days in a row. Twice, he filled up two days in a row. Often, beyond this, gas is bought every four days or so. It seems pretty obvious why all this time he was putting all of this under one lump sum "American Express" item. Once distributed, it's mostly gasoline (fill-ups at very frequent intervals) and restaurants in the Clear Lake area, itemized as campaign business meetings and intra-state legislative travel. There is some out of town legislative travel, also. The other amended reports don't look any better. I recommend doing a search on the TEC website and checking out the Campaign Finance Reports for your state representative and senator. Not only is it a good idea to see what they are spending their campaign cash on, but find out who is funding their expenditures.

Nick Lampson, Dragon Slayer

In this New York Times article, it's noted that current Democratic House Members informed the incoming Democratic House Members about how the pecking order works among them - the dragon slayers are the ones who took down the great big Republican targets. And so . . . Nick Lampson, a former Democratic congressman who won Mr. DeLay’s seat for a full term and was therefore considered a dragon slayer, was wandering the halls as a freshman again. “They’re treating me like a rock star,” Mr. Lampson said. “I get hugged by everybody.” I just LOVE this stuff!

It's Sinking In; Nick Is My Congressman!

Photo Evidence! Hey, I was pretty excited to read this in the Houston Chronicle today: He also is taking full advantage of his status as a returning veteran. He was able to select a sought-after office suite with a view of the Capitol. The kids and I will have to go to DC and visit him in his office and see that view. :) I visited Tom DeLay's office once when the kids and I were in DC. Totally by accident. I think I may have told this story on the blog once before, but I'll tell it again. DeLay was the Majority Whip and we stumbled upon his office because it was in a very prominent place in a public area. I basically said, "hey, look kids, that's our congressman's office . . . " and as I was about to tell them how awful he was, a staffer opened the door and heard me talking and exclaimed, "oh, you must be from Sugar Land!!" This was pre-re-districting. She swept us inside and gave us the grand tour. There were bull whips ALL OVER THE PLACE. Just absolutely everywhere. Particularly in Tom's office on the walls. The kids were young - elementary school aged - and they were completely freaked out. It really has taken me awhile to fully realize that the DeLay era in 22 is over. It helps to get reports and photos out of Washington that the good guy really is there, is attending orientation, picking out his office and voting for House leadership tomorrow. I can get used to this.

Uh-Oh, I Think The Washington Post Is Making Fun Of Shelley!

Oh, my. It didn't take long for the Post to catch on that they have the silliest Congresswoman ever in their midst for just a few short weeks and they better start in on her quick. They followed her around on Monday, her swearing-in day, and they caught her doing and saying the goofiest things. I think they tried to make this a serious news piece, but it kind of degenerates into SNL. Read the whole thing, but here are some of the best parts. My comments are in pink. WP in bold. It will be hard to tell as it goes on because the Post writer starts to sound like muse. :)

"I'm working hard to accomplish the things I'm working for," she said yesterday. "For tax cuts. For immigration reform. To make sure we have a good solution for the war in Iraq."

All that? In a few weeks? (Someone tell Shelley to get over herself. She won't "solve" the war in Iraq, nor will she teach W how to speak English in six weeks. Botox the entire Congressional delegation? Perhaps.)

"If there's a way to do it, I'll do it," she said, smiling beneath her bright blond hair. "I'll deal with the leadership to get as much done as possible."

On Monday evening, just before she took the oath of office, Sekula-Gibbs held her first congressional news conference in her new office, which is DeLay's old office. Wearing a blue pantsuit with a fuchsia blouse and a string of pearls, she quickly proved that she has mastered the art of the well-worn political bromide.

She said: "I'm proud that the people of the 22nd Congressional District honored me with their votes."

She said: "I'm blessed by God. This really is a gift from God."

She said: "I'm looking forward to rolling up my (pink) sleeves and getting as much done as I can accomplish."

(OK, I made up the pink sleeves part, but still, we have photo evidence of the pink swearing-in outfit!)

. . . after being sworn in, she addressed her distinguished colleagues: "I look forward to getting to know each of you and working on the initiatives that will help strengthen our country."

Getting to know all 434 of them? That's a lot to do in a few weeks. (But, they will want to know her! And, she has danishes in her office!)

In the next hour, Sekula-Gibbs cast three votes. The first was on a bill to "suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendment" to something called the Trail of Tears Study Act. She stuck her brand-new voting card into a machine and voted yes. Then she looked up at the big screen behind the House speaker's desk and saw a little green light appear next to her name. (damn! not pink! someone make it pink!)

It was a courageous vote for Sekula-Gibbbs. If she ever runs for office again, that vote could inspire a vicious attack ad. It's not hard to imagine it: The worst photo ever taken of Sekula-Gibbs appears on the TV screen and an ominous voice says, " She voted to suspend the rules of Congress . . . " (Don't put this past the DCCC . . . )

When the voting ended, Sekula-Gibbs rose to make the first official motion of her congressional career: "Mr. Speaker," she said, "I move that the House now adjourn." (Houston City Council members, does sound familiar? Shelley wanting attention?)

The motion carried, and she stepped out into the Speaker's Lobby, where reporters were poised to ask her how it felt. (Asking, "was it good for you?")

"It was very exciting," she said.

How did she feel, asked a reporter from the Houston Chronicle, when Democrats came over to greet her? (Did any of their skin problems gross you out?)

"I welcome that," she said. "I welcome bipartisan support."

Amazing! In one short night in Congress, Sekula-Gibbs had already done most of the things that our elected representatives do. She'd held a news conference, she'd voted, she'd endorsed bipartisanship, and she'd pledged to "work with my colleagues." To experience the full gamut of congressional life, about all she needed now was a committee meeting and a breakfast meeting.

Alas, she hadn't been assigned to any committees yet. But yesterday she did hold a breakfast meeting in her office for constituents. Her staff provided Danish pastries and a Dunkin' Donuts Box o' Joe.

By then, she'd been in office for 15 hours. A reporter asked, "Have you been corrupted by power yet?"

"No, I haven't," she said. And she burst out laughing. (No, but my staff has walked out on me, so I've already pissed off the little people. Does that count?)

But only for a moment. A second later, she was serious again. "It's been a rewarding experience," she said, "and I'm looking forward to making a difference and providing a solid voice for conservative values."

I hardly know what to say except that Washington is really getting to know the true Shelley. I mean, this really is her. Full of herself and over reaching. Has she resigned her City Council seat? Probably not. She most likely thinks she can "solve the Iraq war" while at the same time claiming to solve all the City's problems (you know, the ones she makes up) back home. We are three days into this lame duck session with Shelley and so far it has been non-stop entertainment. For us and our friends inside the Beltway.

Shelley Watch Day 3: Shelley Looks For New Staff

I wake up this morning to exclamation points in my inbox from Vince at Capitol Annex. Seems that all of Shelley's Congressional staff has walked out on her. At first, this sounded wildly funny, because, you know, we've all heard the rumors about hard she is to get along with on Houston City Council and this just has to make you giggle. But, then I read the Raw Story article on this a little closer and realized this was Tom DeLay's "old" constituent services staff who stayed on through the transistion, manning the office when Tom cut and run on us, so that we here in TX-22 could have some Congress type stuff done for us (I don't know what I am talking about - questions answered?? House tour tickets?) while being abandoned in regards to representation. Who is going to want to work for this woman for six weeks? And, even more to the point, will these people know what they are doing? Should we call in periodically and find out? Her Washington, DC office number is: 202-225-5951.

Shelley Watch Day 2: Shelley Decorates

Vince over at Capitol Annex alerts us that Shelley wants to spruce up Tom DeLays old office at 242 Cannon. From The Hill: The congresswoman’s spokesman, Josh Shultz, says the office is fully functioning, despite its short half-life. “If you walked in, you wouldn’t think it was different than any other,” he says. But it is a little bare. DeLay decked the office out with all kinds of Texas memorabilia, including flags. After he resigned, the clerk of the House cleared out all the décor for the incoming member, just as they usually do when a member leaves. “We’re hoping to jazz it up a little,” Shultz says, referring to its, ahem, minimalist look. I am suggesting she jazz things up with "lame" ducks, beer barrels, pink "crap" (you know, pink junk all over the place) and of course polka Muzak.

Breaking! Shelley Wears Pink For Her Appearance On House Floor Tonight

A Washington insider dropped me a comment just a few moments ago, revealing that Shelley Sekula Gibbs wore a pink top with a black suit for her appearance on the House floor tonight. This was the night of her swearing-in ceremony and I really think Shelley did not want to disappoint her consituents (well, me). Remember, tomorrow morning, it's coffee and danishes at 8:30 a.m. in her/DeLay's office, 242 Cannon.

A Hair Raising Day For Shelley

What happened? Obviously, Shelley brought her curling iron to Congress Camp, but did they have an electrical surge and she fried her hair? Did she take take some of those funky, jaggedy scrapbook scissors to her bangs?? OK, I'm going to say this and yall pretend I didn't say this. Put your fingers in your ears and if I ever hear you say I said this, I'll swear I didn't say it, but here it goes. Remember when I told you I saw her standing out on the street every night during early voting at my polling location just a couple of blocks from my house? One night, I called my friend in Clear Lake (I was in hysterics, my God, it was day 186 of early voting and I was at the Had Enough stage) and told him to come and GET HER and take her back to Clear Lake. I digress. Anyway, there she was night after night there on the street. Just a-waving to the cars. Waving her Vote Twice sign. And, I have to say, her hair was NOTICEABLY pretty. As in, I noticed it. I thought to myself, "my God, girl has paid for a high priced hair dresser!" The hair was looking GREAT. Not that I told anyone that at the time. Didn't want to sway any persuadable voters. It was all straight and no weird bang action. And, now here we go. No strange pink clothes, but she has flip-flopped back to the pre-election hair-do. What's next? The return of pro-choice Shelley? Sanctuary City Shelley?

State Senator Rodney Ellis: Rich Man, Poor Man

I found these two recent blog posts on Democratic state senator Rodney Ellis astounding. I became interested in him lately for a couple of reasons. He's one of the Harris County unopposed incumbents with low voter turnout, which didn't exactly help turn Harris County blue. And then, Channel 2 in Houston did a three-part series on area state representatives and senators who use their campaign cash in questionable ways. Come to find out, Ellis, who has been unopposed the entire 16 years he's been in office, uses his campaign cash to lease a Cadillac Escalade and to pay $2800 a month for his Austin apartment. He also used campaign cash to pay for African art for his legislative office, paying $2400 just to ship the art from Africa to the United States. You can view that Channel 2 report here. So, about those blog posts. Bay Area Houston blogged about Ellis' outrageous expenditures. He points out that Ellis has $1.5 million cash on hand which is quite a war chest for a sitting senator who has run unopposed for 16 years and does seemingly very little to get out the vote in Harris County. You can take a look at Ellis' Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Finance Reports for yourself right here. They are all online. And then I read a post on Capitol Annex about how Ellis has filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session to increase the minimum wage in Texas. “A decent minimum wage increase would benefit Texas in many ways. It would bring self-sufficiency to some families who work multiple jobs and allow them to reduce or eliminate reliance on public benefits. It would spread the buying power in our economy. Most importantly, it would bring a greater measure of dignity to all who contribute to our state’s productivity,” Senator Ellis said. I'm happy that our Democratic senator from Houston is sponsoring this bill, but the lavish lifestyle his elected office allows him to live, gives me pause for thought amidst the good work he is trying to accomplish for the people of the state of Texas.

The Shock Of The New: Getting A Response From Your Congressman In TX-22!

Nick Lampson kept saying he'd listen to us, and I've seen him on his blackberry a million times, but still, I AM NOT USED TO MY CONGRESSMAN RESPONDING TO ME! Pardon me, while I check with hell to see if it's frozen over. Yeah, it's a little frosty over there on St. Anne's in Sweetwater at Tom DeLay's house here in Sugar Land, so . . . Well, now that doesn't explain things at all. Nick is just keeping his promise. I sent Congressman Lampson an email with my opinion on the vote on the House leadership (incoming Congressmen get to vote) and he sent me back a quick reply, letting me know who he is meeting with me this week and letting me know he would take my opinion into serious consideration. Thank you, Nick Lampson!

Quack Twice For Shelley!

Confusion reigns on the blog! Commenters seem to think that Congress is not is session and that Congresswoman Shelley will have nothing to do. Or that she will be Congresswoman for a week. NOT TRUE. Pay attention! The lame duck session of Congress begins Monday. Hello! This why she is being sworn in tomorrow. They have 9 spending bills to pass for the fiscal year that began in October (yall would have learned this from Nick at the house parties if yall had been paying attention. Just saying.) I'm positive this is why Shelley wanted to get up there to DC faster than fast so that she could participate in the Republican spendfest prior to the Christmas break. They also have some important tax relief legislation that they better get to and quick and not tie it to some ridiculous Republican nonsense. They are gonna do the Gates hearings after Thanksgiving. Ooh, ooh, ooh. And, there is a House Ethics Committee Report due on Mark Foley. One. Last. Nail. In. The. Coffin. And, LET'S FOCUS. All I really care about are sightings of Shelley in pink outfits. So, let's review. The lame duck session of Congress starts tomorrow. It lasts until sometime before Christmas. Get your cameras ready.

Shelley Sekula Goob Goes To Congress Camp

Here's where Shelley is doing Congress Camp for a few weeks before our Nick moves in with the real nice furniture and the fancy drapes. Yes, this is Tom DeLay's old office in the Canon building in DC, so you know where you can send Shelley a care package. You know, cookies, magazines, stuff like that. She's got her big fluffy pink sleeping bag and her CDs and her cell phone, so she is pretty well set. Seriously, go ahead and address your care package to Shelley Sekula Goob. That was apparently one of the names that was written in on the e-slate. I think Nick and Shelley might pass each other in the Halls of Congress this week. Shelley gets sworn in tomorrow for her short, short stay, and my understanding is that Nick is there right now with the other new members of Congress for orientation. Cool! District 22 wasn't represented for most of the year and now we've got double coverage!

Vote Twice! For Nick and Shane!

Hal at Half Empty has a great post about our brand new Elections Administrator in Fort Bend County, J.R. Perez, which reminds me of something I may or may not have heard about a person who may or may not have had the opportunity to vote for both Nick Lampson AND Shane Sklar. This voter MAY live in TX-22 or TX-14. You see his/her ballot MAY have allowed him/her to vote for both congressional candidates. According to Perez: “What we find hard to explain to the voter is that they must call any omissions to the judge before they cast the ballot. We can cancel that ballot and give them the correct ballot style. But after they cast the ballot, there is no going back, regardless of whose error it is.” I'm guessing this "rule" applies to anything else the voter finds amiss on their ballot, so if this supposed person found themselves voting for both Shane and Nick for Congress and pressing "Cast Ballot", then I guess after that, it was too late to do anything about it and both votes counted? And, I guess everyone at that ballot box got to vote that way in this "pretend" scenario somewhere in Fort Bend County? Don't you just love electronic voting? I really could just be making this up to mess with you. Who knows?! Poor Perez had this to say: “If I make it through this election, I may be revising whether I’ll stay in this position." I'm sure my little story doesn't help.

Shelley Goes To Washington

Somebody please go and take a picture and send it to me. Yall know I want a scoop on what she is wearing. If it's the pink suit, I want to be the first to know. Email that photo to me real fast from your camera phone at museblogger@gmail.com. Come on, Republicans! Humor me! Do we think she'll make everyone sing the Vote Twice song on the way over to the Capitol? Oh, I hope so!

Adios, GOP.
I think "vaya con Dios" is being way overly generous, but Democrats are nice that way.

John Davis Admits Using Campaign Cash For Personal Use!

Including THE BOOTS! There's more, too, but he's admitting he used campaign cash for the boots and he's returned the cash for those boots to his campaign. More on those $1500 boots below, for those who don't know what I'm talking about. It took a couple of bloggers looking at the Campaign Finance Reports of State Representative John Davis, Republican, HD-129, to discover all sorts of things that didn't look right. A total of four complaints have been filed against him to date and the Texas Ethics Commission has agreed to investigate three of them. We are wating on a response to the fourth one which was filed about a week before the election. We discovered that Davis had over $100,000 in undocumented expenses going back over three years, which looked suspiciously like he was using campaign cash for personal use. Ch. 2 in Houston is doing a series of reports on Houston area state representatives and senators using campaign cash for personal use. They wanted to talk to Davis about his undocumented expenses, but he wouldn't talk on camera. You can view the Ch. 2 report here. KHOU has also done a story on Davis' undocumented expenses which can be viewed here. On November 6th, two days before the election, Davis filed numerous amended reports, including an amended report for January 1, 2006-July 31, 2006. On the cover sheet he notes, "Certain 'American Express' and other expenses have been deleted and returned to the campaign account." About $6000 from the original report from the same dates (view here) appear to be missing from this amended report, meaning that Davis admits he spent $6000 in campaign cash for personal use, which he has now returned to the campaign. Note that on 5/29/06, in his original report, he spent over $1500 on boots at Jesse's boots in South Houston. He calls it Jersey's boots, but I did a little detective work and found out the real name of the place and went and took a few photos. Cool place, by the way. I called Davis out on those boots on my blog. And, what do you know? Those boots don't appear on his amended report on 11/06/06. Apparently the money for those boots is part of the $6000 he paid back to his campaign. So, I was right. Those $1500 boots were for personal use, not for his campaign. Let me just say this. There are problems on this amended report. And, he filed additional amended reports back to 2005. More on all that later. Also, there are MANY officeholders who have similar offenses on their campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission. Including Democrats. More on that later, also. For now, I'm going to put on my favorite pair of boots and savor this moment.

Let Me Explain A Couple Of Things To DeLay and Bush In Simple Terms

To DeLay: Shelley got slightly more votes in the special election than Nick got in the general election because the Democrats wanted her to have to resign her Houston City Council seat. Let me break it down for you. Democrats got to vote in the "special". Did that EVER dawn on you? So, BUNCHES of Dems voted for her in that election. Hey, now she has to resign her Council seat. And, we get to run a Dem for her unexpired term in a special election in May. Bonus for us! So, please shut up about that. I mean, really. Stop. Bush: Sigh. In your press conference today, you said you had to act like the Texas Secretary of State and come down here to Sugar Land and educate voters about taking a pencil into the voting booth to write in Shelley's name in the general election. Someone really needs to pull you aside and have a little chat with you about electronic voting. We've gone from hanging chads to the e-slate. WAKE UP!!

Lampson Victory! Speaker Pelosi! Rumsfeld OUT! Bush Is An Ass!

I love this photo of Nick and Sally Smith from last night (to the right in the photo). I've seen Sally with her laptop many, times. Sally ran a great field campaign for Nick. Nick at his victory party! It's a bright day, full of sunshine here today in TX-22, literally and figuratively. Speaker Pelosi! Why did it take this long for Rumsfeld to go? Bush is still talking about a victory in Iraq? Bush made an ass of himself at his press conference today calling the Democratic Party the Democrat Party. Someone tell Bush that DeLay is an indicted felon and is no longer in Congress.

Nick Lampson Wins in TX-22!!!

The dark days of Republican representation in my district are OVER! Nick joins a whole slew of new Democratic representatives in a Pelosi-led Congress! Nick,thanks for coming out to our Fort Bend Democratic Headquarters tonight so that we could celebrate with you!

Nick Lampson At Fort Bend Democrats HQ On Election Night

Nick Lampson visited our Fort Bend Democrats Headquarters in Rosenberg tonight to kick off our election night party! He was here with his wife, Susan. Nick was in a great mood and we were thrilled he chose to start the night with us. GEO TV, the largest Pakistani satellite TV provider, did an interview with Nick at our headquarters. Bobby Refaie, Al Green's field director, and Khalid Ali, Al Green's South Asian GOTV Specialist, were also in attendance. Nick left us to head over to Clear Lake for his big celebration at the Nassau Hilton. Hi to all of our Clear Lake friends, including Sherrie Matula!!

Don't Know Where To Vote? Fort Bend and Harris County Voters - Look Here!

It's very common for voters not to know where to go vote on election day. Remember, on the day of the regular election, you MUST go to your assigned polling location. It's on your voter registration card, but if you don't have that you can look it up online! It's easy and quick. Fort Bend voters, go to fortbendvotes.com (click on it and you'll go right to it). You'll be able to find the address of your polling location, if you know it, OR you can actually do a search for a copy of your voter registration card and print one out! The Harris County Democratic Party has a great website for voters with all sorts of tools. It has interactive maps of all of the polling locations, so it makes getting to your voting location extremely easy. Also, please don't hesitate to call us at the Fort Bend Democrats Headquarters at 281-938-2006. We will have MANY friendly volunteers there all day long who will be glad to look up your voting location for you, talk you through how to get there and answer any of your questions. Also, call us if you notice any voting irregularities - if you have any difficulties voting, if any of the election officials hassle you about voting of if you notice anything unusual at the polls. We'll tell you how to report it. Just be sure and Get Out and Vote!!! Our Fort Bend Democrats Headquarters are located at 4800 Ave. H (Hwy 90A) in Rosenberg. Stop by if you want to help today, or after 7 pm, if you want to come to our victory party!

Sherrie Matula's Contract With The People of District 129

If elected on Tuesday, Sherrie Matula is promising that there will be a new day in Texas House District 129, one with real representation with two-way communication between Austin and the district she serves. Following is Sherrie's contract with her constituents: I put forth today before you, the citizens of House District 129, my pledge to do every thing within my poser to uphold this contract. Your vote will validate my contract as your state representative.

• Monthly town hall meetings in the district during the legislative session beginning January 2007 through May 2007.
• Establish a citizen's advisory panel in the community that I can consult with to study the effect of proposed legislation on our community.
• Personally answer e-mail messages instead of cutting off the service. Note: My home phone number and my personal e-mail address are on my campaign literature.
• When not in session, my work with you, the citizens will begin. I will meet with community members, discuss issues, and work with our congressional representative in Washington and our city councils to make sure we form a working coalition on behalf of the community.
• I will hold town hall meetings when legislation is implemented to monitor the effect on our community. My local office will be staffed and accessible to you.

Represent means: "to speak or act for by duly conferred authority, as a legislator for her constituents." You confer that authority by your vote so I can speak or act on your behalf. I take that authority as a sacred trust when I go to Austin in January 2007 to "represent" you.

Five Time Elected Fort Bend Republican District Clerk Says Vote For Veronica Torres

Democrat Veronica Torres, candidate for Fort Bend County District Clerk, has been endorsed by Glory Hopkins. She is a Republican who held the office for the past five terms. In her endorsement letter, Glory Hopkins says: After thoughtful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes party loyalty asks too much. I have been a steadfast and faithful Republican for my entire adult life, and have been elected District Clerk for 20 years as a Republican. However, in the upcoming election I have decided to put my county and the continued integrity of the office of District Clerk above politics. Veronica Torres is the most qualified candidate for District Clerk. She is the only candidate who has taken the time to speak with me and my staff, expressing concern about the on-going efficiency of this office and the basic knowledge needed to lead it in the coming years. I , like many others, trust her. Veronica is the one who has been honest and open about her background with the public. I believe that with her education, experience, and ethics she will serve the public trust. I strongly ask you to vote for Veronica Torres for District Clerk.

Andy Meyers Pulls A Sign Switch And The Money Keeps Pouring In For Democrats

I think we scared poor Andy Meyers. Like I promised, I took the muse camera on my way over to the Fort Bend Democrats Headquarters to do GOTV today and look what I found. Ooh, scary! Andy switched out the Want More Illegals sign to one that threatens you with higher taxes if you vote Democratic (because you are too stupid to realize you are not going to have to pay for the President's war with higher taxes with a Republican Congress). We've been talking to Republicans and their biggest fear is the debt the current Republican administration is building up for our children. I think this higher taxes scare tactic has just about played out. The signs are out in front of the Fort Bend Republican Headquarters. Note the Smither sign that is still on the ground. And the t-posts. Remember, when we first took pictures, there were no t-posts. Then, t-posts mysteriously appeared. Oh, PLEASE, Andy. Like you didn't take down Smither's sign, use his t-posts, got caught, then snuck some new t-posts in during the dead of night and carefully placed them on the ground. Cute. The Fort Bend Democrats have been raking in the cash over this. Our goal is to raise $2800, the, same amount of money Andy paid for his big, shiny signs. And, guess what? We are about half way there! Had Enough of this foolishness? We think we are going to wake up to more of this tomorrow on election day, so help us get more of our Had Enough signs up tonight and tomorrow. Donate here!! I wonder what sign Andy will run against us tomorrow. Maybe, Want to Lower the National Debt? Vote Democratic!

W Called David! And, David Hollered At Him!

Listen to this! Our fearless leader, Bush himself, called David and, as usual, David had his tape recorder on, and David let the President have it. Oh, my goodness. He pretty much tells him in plain language he is NOT voting for Shelley twice, not even once, and he gives a darn good pitch for why Nick is right for our District. Go, Nick! Yea, David! Juanita and I are a little concerned about David's battery supply for his tape recorder, so we are raising funds to keep him in business.

Shelley, I Am About To Go Out With The Muse Camera And I Do Not Want To See This

See, I live in a different part of the district than Juanita and I'm about to leave muse colony in just a few minutes and I really don't want to have to see this on my way to do GOTV. If I do, I have the muse camera with me and I'll be sure to get my friends to post photos on their blogs. This is behavior unbecoming of a U.S. Congressperson. For those of you that don't live in these parts, the sign that is covered up belongs to Democrat Veronica Torres, running for Fort Bend County District Clerk. Coincidentally, her opponent is cozying up to slimeball Andy Meyers.

Fort Bend Republicans Use Vote Suppression Tactic

Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers kept good on his promise to put up "Encourage Terrorists Vote Democrat" signs in Fort Bend County yesterday. This one is on a busy street so that everyone can see it, including our large Muslim population. Don't kid yourself, folks. One of my Pakistani friends is very offended. This is not funny. Why haven't Andy Meyers' fellow Republicans spoken out publicly against these race-baiting, vote suppressing signs? Why is this sign next to one of Annie Elliott's signs? She's running against Democrat Veronica Torres who recently won the endorsement of the conservative Herald Coaster. Does Meyers think this will help Elliott? Is the Fort Bend Republican Party THAT desperate? (Yes.) Why aren't the Fort Bend County Commissioners speaking out against it, particularly our one elected Democrat Commissioner, Grady Prestage? Here's our Commissioners Court below with Andy Meyers on the back row at the far right and Grady Prestage on the front row at the far left (ha! far right/far left!). Rest assured, the Fort Bend County Democrats are redoubling our efforts to Get Out the Vote today and tomorrow. Want to join us? Shoot me an email at museblogger@gmail.com and I'll tell you how you can get involved. Or, call our headquarters at 281-238-9006 today or tomorrow. A whole bunch of local Democrats are taking the day off work tomorrow to help us get out the vote and send Andy Meyers a message. We are having a lot of fun and you will too! There are a number of things you can do to help out! Oh, it looks like some of out Had Enough? signs made their way over to keep Andy's signs company. If you'd like to have your name on some of our Had Enough? signs, we can make that happen. Andy claims he has 75 of his signs and if you'd like to personalize one ours for him, I'll do that for you today at our headquarters. Order one here. Juanita will take care of the order. I'll put your name on it with the sharpie and take a photo with the muse camera. Don or Hal will be sure the sign goes up out in the county and poor Andy Meyers won't know what hit him. See, look below. Just substitute your name for Ellen's! Ellen, you are so cool, by the way! .

When You Think "CHIP Debacle", Think "John Davis"

I saw this headline at chron.com - Children's health coverage primary issue in Texas race - and I thought, finally, the mainstream media catches on that CHIP has been driving the debate been John Davis and Sherrie Matula. But, no, it was more rehashing about the problem with CHIP at the level of the governor's race, which is not inappropriate. So, it's up to the bloggers, again, to point out that John Davis, chair of the Human Services sub-committee and Perry yes-man on CHIP, is on record as praising Accenture, the wildly inefficient administrator of the CHIP program. He somehow fooled the Chronicle editorial board into thinking he would fully restore "services" to CHIP (whatever he means by "services) when just a few weeks later, he did not not say anything like that when he had the chance at his debate with Matula. On the contrary, he bragged about what a wonderful thing CHIP is and about the assets test being great. CHIP debacle, John Davis; CHIP debacle, John Davis; CHIP debacle, John Davis; CHIP debacle, John Davis; CHIP debacle, John Davis . . .

Shelley Goes To Hell

I got a tip from a reader! Tom at Lake Jackson Democrat caught Shelley in a spelling error. On her website she promises to: Elliminate Frivilous Law Suits and Provide Affordable Health Insurance Would that be frivolous? As in "of little weight or importance"? Or, "lacking in seriousness"? You know, like her drunken vote twice song and write-in campaign? I don't think "frivilous" would count as a vote for Shelley on the e-slate, but hey, it's worth a try. That election judge up there at the First Colony Conference Center might just let that count as a Shelley vote. She's been reported to Grammar Hell, by the way.

Ugly In Pink

Ugliness out in Clear Lake. Ugliness out in Fort Bend. Why hasn't the Pink One spoken out against this bad behavior? Too busy hanging out with puffy white guys at the Bay Oaks Country Club in Clear Lake and at the Commissioner's Court in Fort Bend County?

Bell On Wheels Comes To Fort Bend!

Or, as one of my friends said today, we are calling ourselves Fort Bell County! We do love Chris Bell here in Fort Bend. He helped us open our Democratic headquarters back in April and we were honored to be part of the Bell on Wheels tour during these final days of the campaign. Gosh, this was an exciting event. It's hard to describe how much fun we had, so I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking! While we waited for the Bell bus to arrive, I took this photo of our Democratic Headquarters, considerably cuted up by a young Democratic activitist. We got word that the bus was on Hwy 59 and headed our way, so a bunch of us went outside and started waving Bell signs. We got lots of encouraging honks from passing motorists! What a thrill when we saw Bell on Wheels! Isnt' this just the best looking bus?!! Our next governor!! Obviously, we gave him a warm welcome! There were a lot of cheers, sign waving, shouting, etc. the whole time he spoke. He talked about everything that is important - education, health care, CHIP (take THAT John Davis! I wish you had been there Sherrie!) - and at one point I got teary. It just gets to me what a mess our state is in, and we need Chris Bell to be our governor so badly. I turned around and saw that my friend Bev was choked up, also! Did I mention that Chris was relaxed, funny and yet very serious about the issues? What a great, great time we had! Food! Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks - Chris , Alison and their two boys stayed and had lunch with us. They are both so great. They took pictures with everyone, signed autographs and paid special attention to the kids that were there. This is a terrific family. A bunch of us stayed late at our headquarters today working hard to turn over every last possible vote in Fort Bend County (Fort Bell County) for Chris. A big thank you to Chris Bell and his wonderful, professional staff for coming to see us!

Why Albert Hollan Is The Better Choice For Judge Of The 268th District Court

We were reminded this week that Albert Hollan's opponent, long time Judge Brady Elliott, is soft on child predators, having sentenced former right wing radio host Jon Matthews to probation, after he exposed himself to a child. Watch last night's KHOU story about that here. I was struck by how Elliott's excuse for the lenient sentence was that he just rubber stamped the prosecutor's recommendation. It's time for Elliott to go. Hollan is Board Certified in Civil Trial and Personal Injury Law. Elliott is not. Hollan is AV-rated, the highest rating one can receive from his peers. Elliott is not. Hollan has never been publicly censured for misconduct. Elliott HAS been publicly censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct which is only one step less than removal from office. The early voting period ended today. Regular voting is next Tuesday, November 7th, and the polls are open 7 a.m to 7 p.m. Election day polling locations can be found here.

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs Is Obsessed With My Voting Location

She is out there right now standing on the street corner. Dressed in black. Holding up a vote twice for Shelley sign. She was out there last night. Why is she so obsessed with this First Colony location? This is the place where she just had to go in and pee. Why can't the people in Clear Lake keep her out there? Is there a catch and release program where she can be caught before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, be held out in Clear Lake all day, and then released after 7 p.m.? I would prefer to not see her on the street corner on Austin Parkway on November 7th. Clear Lake, help us out. We've Had Enough of Shelley. Oh, and I had my senses assualted right before the Shelley sighting with that horrible, drunken campaign song of hers on the radio. Good God, that is an awful mess and it ends with her chirpy, masochistic, "Write Me In, damnit!" demand.

Texas Secretary of State To Send Poll Watchers To Fort Bend County For Nov. 7th Election

I guess he heard about Shelley peeing at my voting location (pictured below) and he's Had Enough. I know I've heard my fill about voting irregularities during early voting. This will free up our volunteers who were scheduled to poll watch to do GOTV activities.

Signs Marking Freedom And A New Day In Clear Lake

Just as the Jews marked their homes with sacrificial blood to spare themselves the wrath of God during the first Passover, Sherrie Matula signs in Clear Lake were helpfully marked last night to indicate that Clear Lake citizens will be freed from Republican representation in the Texas Legislature on November 7th, as long as they vote for the right candidate. A great big thank you to the Christian Right for this clear message on who that candidate is. Remember, the way this works, if your sign is marked in red spray paint, your candidate is blessed and your vote means you are spared God's wrath. Vote for Matula and vote for freedom.

Don't Let Hate Speech Keep You From Voting

Greg Aydt, a Harris County Precinct Chair and Shelley Sekula-Gibbs supporter, has said some VERY nasty things about Muslims on his website. Farhan Shamsi, running for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 3 in Fort Bend County is fighting back with a mailer that went to 4000 Muslim households in Fort Bend County this week. Farhan has the enthusiastic support of the Houston area Asian community. I have witnessed this support time and time again, including Gordon Quan's support this week. Getting to know this fine candidate has been a highlight for me this election season. One would hope that Gibbs would openly denounce Aydt's hate speech along with Andy Meyers vote suppression sign campaign linking voting Democratic with supporting terrorists. As every Pakistani American knows, that sort of message on a sign DOES and WILL suppress votes. White people and people who are not recent immigrants to this country have a serious lack of understanding in this post 9-11 world, of the fear there is surrounding signing your name on a check that you give to a political organization or on the sign-in sheet at the elections table. This sort of hateful speech MUST stop and I call on all Republican leaders to call for a halt to this. I am particulary concerned why there isn't an outcry from Republican candidates and Republican leadership about the illegals and terrorists signs that are supposed to go up all over Fort Bend county this weekend. Someone explain that to our diverse Fort Bend County community.

Andy Meyers Does A Piss Poor Tom DeLay Impression

Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers obviously didn't get the memo that the cool kids are distancing themselves from indicted felon Tom DeLay. When I watched the Ch. 13 news story last night where Meyers was lovingly fondling his big ole humongous signs linking voting Democratic with illegal immigrants and terrorists, it dawned on me that he was doing a poor prancing and preening imitation of our former congressman. Since the beginning of the appalling sign episode, Andy hasn't been able to keep his mouth shut. A friend of mine sent him an email and Andy just had to whip out his best typing finger and send this back to him: At least get you facts straight. The sign was placed at an Early Voting Site, which happens to be a Middle School. The other sign says "Encourage Terrorist Vote Democrat". No where in those signs is Hispanic or Asian mentioned, so I have to assume that you are simply projecting your own prejudices into what you read. An "Illegal" is not Hispanic, Black, White, or Asian they are persons who have an illegal resident status in this country. A "terrorist" is not an Asian or any other particular ethnicity, he is a bad guy who employs terror tactics to get what he wants. The messages in the signs reflect the position, vote, or proposed legislation by the Democrat Leadership. If you have a problem with the messages you need to take that up with your Party's leadership. Andy Meyers Maybe I should get a civil rights attorney to call up Commissioner Meyers and explain a few things to him.

Watch The Sordid John Davis Fish Fry Tale Here!

Fox 26 did an expose on State Representative John Davis' Fish Fry Campaign Event that ended up being an environmental problem for the City of Pasadena. Click on the container full of fish grease below for the complete Fox 26 report. Hey! Look who else was there. I bet you a dollar her shirt was pink. Someone told me that shorter woman in the middle is some sort of environmental activist person. Can someone confirm that for me? Who else is in this photo? Hey, you know what else? I heard Shelley made everyone sing her Beer Barrel Polka campaign song! Seriously. I'm not making that up. They danced the polka all the way to the bathroom and flushed that fish grease right down the toilet. OK, I did make that part up.

I Confess. I Poured John Davis' Fish Fry Grease Down The Toilet.

John Davis had a campaign kick off event on October 19 and oh, my God, he got caught clogging up a lift station in Pasadena with the fish fry grease. It was such a problem that the event location kept his deposit. Fox 26 did an expose on this environmental disaster tonight with the reporter and Davis' opponent, Sherrie Matula, peering down into the bowels of the lift station. It was discovered that the grease was poured . . . down the TOILET. Doesn't everyone's mamma teach them that this is JUST NOT DONE? So, who exactly did this? John Davis threw up his hands and tossed the blame the caterers way (sort of). The caterers threw up their hands and threw the blame Matula's way (sort of). OK, everyone. I confess. I saw the fish fry sign by the side of I-45 and Clear Lake City Blvd. I thought it would be real super fun to sneak into the event and siphon away all that fish fry grease (for a whole 30 people) and haul it off to the toilet and give it a big flush. Oh, wait. You remember I was in Salt Lake City that night? Damn, those nasty blogger records. A minor detail. I had Deep Throat do it for me. Yeah, that's what happened. John Davis really helped us out with our Grease Down the Toilet Caper with his anti-environmental rhetoric at the debate with Matula. How fun to see the YouTube of that on the Fox 26 report! Seriously, catch the real story here. It's pretty close to my fish tale. Hopefully, Fox 26 will have the story up on their website soon. You know how it is with the mainstream media. It takes them awhile to catch up with the blogosphere.

Had Enough Signs In Honor Of Andy "Suppress The Hispanic Vote" Meyers

Andy Meyers, I could have told you this would happen. As soon as I heard that you opened your mouth and said that your sign campaign to suppress the Hispanic and Asian vote in Fort Bend County was due to your alarm over our Had Enough signs I just KNEW the orders for signs in your honor would come pouring in. Well, here's one of them.

Calling For The Resignation Of Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers

Fort Bend County Commissioner Precinct 3, Andy Meyers, has admitted to paying $2800 for signs saying "Want More Illegals? Vote Democrat" and another one saying that a vote for Democrats is a vote for the terrorists. The illegals sign was put up at Garcia Middle School in Fort Bend ISD. It was taken down by the principal. A local Republican is arguing over in the comments section at Fort Bend Now over whether the principal had the right to take that down, if you can imagine that. Think about what it must have been like for the diverse student body at Garcia Middle School to have seen that sign on their school property. Andy Meyers represents the worst of the far right, Christian Coalition, cronyism faction of the Fort Bend Republican Party and that is saying a lot. He is vociferously defending his actions in the media and it is just plain scary. Our county is mostly governed by white men (who are, shall I say, "older") with hate-mongering, racist attitudes, yet is 23% hispanic, 21% african american and 15% asian. Meyers claims his $2800 bought him 25-30 signs which means he was ripped off by his sign company or he is hiding the fact that he has a whole lot more signs to go up at our over 100 polling locations in Fort Bend County on Monday night prior to election day on Tuesday. We are on to you, Andy Meyers. While Meyers is not up for re-election until 2008, I encourage you to ask for his resignation now. His contact information is below. Commissioner W. A. “Andy” Meyers (281) 494-1199 (Office) (281) 242-9060 (Fax) 1809 Eldridge Road Sugar Land, Texas 77478 meyersan@co.fort-bend.tx.us Perhaps you would like to contact the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) LULAC District 8 Office 5207 Airline Drive, Sutie #102 Houston, TX 77002 Phone: 713-695-5980 Fax: 713-697-1012 Email: d8mgr@lulac.org

John Davis Is Happy With Your Electricity Bill. Are You?

I don't know if I ever pointed this out, but State Representative John Davis had no responses in the recently released Houston Chronicle Voter's Guide. But, I got a tip today that his responses had been "found". Probably Davis found the time to fill out his form and finally send it into the Chronicle, but whatever. It's good news for us because now we know his position on electricity: 1. Electricity: Deregulation is working well in Texas. In the Houston area, customers can choose from over 41 different electric offers and to save up to 22 percent off their bills by switching. Recent announcements by Reliant and TXU demonstrate that the retail market is working and large retail electric providers are responding by lowering their prices. The Legislature can take steps to increase customer education helping customers learn how to choose, while highlighting that reliability will not be affected by switching. Next, I support Governor Perry in calling for the reinstatement of the System Benefit Fund. This program provided a minimum 10 percent discount for low-income Texans, but its dollars were raided during the last session even though consumers continue to pay for the program with every electric bill. Continuing to encourage new generation capacity will be necessary. The Legislature must continue to foster an environment that encourages investment in the new power plants and infrastructure Texans need to ensure continued reliability and to bring down the wholesale power prices. Let's ponder the first statement, "Deregulation is working well in Texas." Ahh, yes. It's working so well at my home in Sugar Land that my electric bill has soared astronomically. I keep wondering what in the hell has happened to my home over the last several years. Has my energy saver air conditioner gone haywire? Has the insulation in my attic disappeared into thin air? Did a hole in the ozone open up RIGHT ABOVE MY HOUSE? I'll ignore sentence number two which has some grammar problems that I'm sure Sherrie Matula could correct. And, GOOD GOD, Perry is going to reinstate the System Benefit Fund. And, John Davis (sob! how sweet!) supports this. This gets to be so tiresome, all of this election season "I think I'll lurch into action and act like a Democrat and lend a helping hand to all mankind" Republican bullshit. Back in the heat of the summer, Chris Bell called Rick Perry out on that, remember? And, now that it is November (wait, I'm running out of kleenex, give me a minute), they want to help the poor people of Texas. Probably so that they can have electricity to watch the Rick Perry attack ads on TV. This is so typical of John Davis. He caused the CHIP problem and now he is mysteriously and secretively in favor of restoring full funding. I don't believe it and neither should you. Over and over again, you will hear John Davis and the Republicans talk about fixing a problem that they caused as if they wonder how in the world we got ourselves in this mess. Or, like electricity deregulation, they will praise a system they created that no thinking person is happy with. Had Enough?

Chris Bell In Fort Bend Saturday Nov. 4th 11 a.m To Noon!

The Bells on Wheels bus tour arrives at the Fort Bend Democrats headquarters this Saturday, November 4th, 11 a.m. to noon, for a big GOTV rally with free hamburgers, chips and drinks for everyone! This is a fitting way to get us to the winning finish line of this campaign season as Bell helped us open our campaign headquarters way back on April 8th. Chris gave a rousing speech sprinkled with his usual self deprecating humor and sharp stick in the eye pokes at Republicans to a huge crowd that spilled out into the parking lot. We are expecting a similar crowd, so come early! We are located at 4800 Ave. H in Rosenberg, otherwise known as Hwy. 90 to Sugar Landers. Nick Lampson will be at this event, as well as our Fort Bend County Democratic candidates, Albert Hollan, Rudy Velasquez, Veronica Torres, Farhan Shamsi and Neeta Sane.

Voting Irregularities In Fort Bend County

I spent the day at the Fort Bend Democrats headquarters today and I got an earful about voting irregularities at early voting locations. They all had to do with poll workers and election judges over zealously explaining the write-in process to voters. One person called the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Democratic Party in front of me. She had already reported her list of problems to Lampson campaign staff. My understanding of election law is that election workers can explain things IF ASKED. That's not what is happening. Election workers are volunteering things to voters about how to cast a write-in vote. I just got a hold of the affidavit that was filed by Jane Matcha, the poll watcher who observed Shelley Sekula-Gibbs come into the Fort Bend Conference Center early voting location last week to use the bathroom, introduce herself to election officials, acquaint herself with our e-slate machines, and greet bridge players, as well as voters. Please note the incident that I hadn't heard about until I read the affidavit - that the election judge made a big point about how the "Demo" signs for the machines were OK with him as long as they didn't say "crat" on them. Bastard. Way to run a fair election right here in my own neighborhood. Click on the images of the affidavit below to make them larger. Then click some more to make them larger still.

Gordon Quan: Someone Who Makes Sense On Immigration

After a day when so much shit hit the fan on immigration, it was nice to attend a great dinner event in honor of Gordon Quan, former Houston City Council member. Quan is an attorney who practices immigration law. It was a relief to be in a crowd of around 300 like minded people who you have to hope are in favor of fair, humane treatment of immigrants to our country. We learned that Quan's family escaped Communist China when he was three years old, his parents leaving behind most of their possessions and financial investments. They made a short stop in San Antonio before arriving in Houston where Quan has been ever since. He graduated from Milby High School and the University of Texas where he got a B.A. in History. He taught at E.O. Smith Jr. High and then went on to get his J.D. at South Texas Law College. In 1999, Quan won a run off election for an at large Houston City Council position to become the first Asian American to win a Houston city elected office. We learned that Chris Bell called him grandpa when he was on Council. Was it because of his age? Because he would nod off? Not sure. There were a lot of jokes at Quan's expense tonight! This was a wonderful event here near the end of a tense political season. As always, Gordon was all smiles and there was a lot of laughter. Thanks to my good friend Farhan Shamsi for inviting me. Farhan will be a great JP in Precinct 3 in Fort Bend County. I enjoyed sharing a meal with his family and friends. And, for the second night this week I had dinner with Hal and Don and that was definitely a good thing. Don says if we keep this up, he's claiming me and Hal as dependents on his 2006 tax return.

The Republicans In Fort Bend County Launch A Dirty Sign War

Wah, Wah, Wah. Cry me a damn river. The Republicans in Fort Bend County don't like our Had Enough signs that are all over the place, so they are fighting back with their own two man sign war and one of the players is Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers. YES, that Andy Meyers of Nooky's Erotic Bakery fame. He's the guy who was so super offended by the billboards advertising penis and boob cakes (yum). That sure was such a delicious twist on Had Enough. Like most Republicans, Meyers probably wasn't getting enough and had to go off on the rest of us who were highly entertained by the Nooky bakery billboards. So, about the sign war. Juanita has been all over the "Want More Illegals? Vote Democrat" signs that went up in the county this week. It was real super obvious that James Pressler, a Fort Bend Republican consultant, put them up and that the Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair, Gary Gillen, wasn't going to denounce them. But, who paid for those awful, race-baiting signs? You can't pull a fast one on Juanita. She checked Andy Meyers' eight day out Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Finance Report and sure enough, she found out that Meyers gave Pressler $2800 to pay for a whole slew of those signs. It gets better. Bob Dunn, of Fort Bend Now, confronted Meyers about the signs. Here's what the puffy white man had to say for himself: “They (Democrats) can bitch if they want,” Meyers said of the Democrats, “but what are they going to do – complain about my free speech rights? “Let them scream, and explain themselves,” he (Meyers) said of Democrats. Meyers said he has 25 or 30 signs. A few that say “Want Higher Taxes? Vote Democrat” were erected, however, the others probably won’t be put up, because he doesn’t have the time, and because of a few complaints. The Fort Bend Democratic response is this: “How dare he claim that we support terrorism?” (Don) Bankston said of Meyers. “We have working in our campaign a Gulf War veteran, a veteran of the Vietnam war and a veteran of the Korean War. My son went to Saudi Arabia and fought terrorism. We’re the ones out there fighting in wars that his commander in chief dreams up.” You better believe there will be a "few" more complaints and a "few" more photos if we see any more of these signs. Count on it.

Tom DeLay: "I Haven't Had No Ethical Problems"

Right. And, he ain't goin' to jail neither. Yeah, DeLay said that about his ethical, uh, lapses. And he said it just like that. On Hannity and Colmes. Thanks to Juanita and her beauty shop customers for the catch. Watch and listen here. How we have missed you on the blog, Tom! Thanks for this!