Painting the Texas House Blue in 2008

(I posted this at Off the Kuff today and am reposting here for my readers who may not be regulars at OTK. I'm talking to you, TODYEH and the woman you live with!) What am I looking forward to in 2008? Taking back the Texas State House! I'm ready to have a legislature that cares about kitchen table issues - those things that make me wonder if it's possible for families to have any forward progress in their financial situation - the cost of electricity, insurance, higher education and health care, to name some of the biggies. The Republican leadership's focus on TAX CUTS! TAX CUTS! TAX CUTS! are just starving the baby. Texans are being starved slowly of all of our infrastructure and ability to get ahead sort of like a frog in a boiling pot of water doesn't realize he's cooked until it is too late. Not to mention we are being literally choked by the quality of air in the state. The purposeful neglect of our environment and park system is appalling. All this can change when we elect talented, reasonable, fiscally responsible law makers who care about Texas - our beautiful state and diverse families. It wouldn't be an end of year post without an End of Quarter mention. Yeah, today is the last day to contribute to campaigns and have it show up on the end of year financial report. I took a look around ActBlue today to see who is leading the online fundraising there. Here are the top ActBlue Texas House candidates by total fundraising: 1. HD-46 Challenger Brian Thompson: 88 donations, $10,095 2. HD-129 Challenger Sherrie Matula: 24 donations, $3010 3. HD-36 Challenger Sandra Rodriguez: 11 donations, $2200 4. HD-138 Challenger Virginia McDavid: 21 donations, $1885 5. HD-97 INCUMBENT Dan Barrett: 44 donations, $1684 Thompson and Rodriguez are challenging Craddick Ds (wave goodbye to Dukes and Flores). Barrett recently won a special election against an opponent who made a campaign issue of his pledge to vote for Craddick. Matula and McDavid are both challenging incumbent Republicans. Matula's opponent, 5-term Republican incumbernt John Davis, has drawn a primary challenger, mostly due to Republican disgust over his ethics problems. It's not too late to help one of these worthy House candidates - or others equally worthy - by tossing some New Year's Eve change their way. ActBlue link for the whole list: here. This our time. Time to Turn Texas Blue.

Happy TPA New Year!

2007 was a great year for the Texas Progressive Alliance and its many member blogs and bloggers.

In recognition of the excellent work done by our many bloggers we're treating you to a special New Year's edition of the TPA round-up!

So, without further ado, here is your "Best of 2007" from the many bloggers of the Texas Progressive Alliance. Eye on Williamson has been one of the state's leading blogs when it comes to covering toll road issues and State Representative Mike Krusee's career. EOW's top posts of 2007 included: Eye on Williamson on toll roads, The "New Way Forward" On Tolls, the coming demise of Mike Krusee in Krusee's Influence And Credibility Are Gone, Time For HD-52 To Start Over and a post on the ongoing battle between the citizens and the county government over a new landfill contract, The Landill, TCEQ Hearing & More Gattis Shenanigans . The most popular posts from The Texas Blue in our first year included: Our running coverage of the 2008 Senate race. We kicked everything off with one of our inaugural pieces analyzing Cornyn's potential vulnerability in '08, in a piece picked up by the Washington Post. We then broke the code on Kos' "mystery candidate," revealing that it was Rep. Rick Noriega that Kos had in mind with his draft movement, and interviewed the Representative shortly before he declared his official candidacy. And we published some of the first information examining Mikal Watts' candidacy in what became the most read story on the Blue this year; In what also became one of our most-read pieces, we analyzed the role of money in statewide Texas campaigns, looking at the efforts taken by the statewide campaign of David Van Os to illustrate the need for money in politics, the proper role of a nascent state party organization, and the limits on the effectiveness of a political message that come from the inability to effectively spread that message due to the lack of funds to reach large numbers of Texans efficiently. This article led to a dialog with David Van Os, and to an interview with him shortly afterward where he voices his side of the issue; And finally, though two interviews have been mentioned already, our "Who's Blue" audio interview series also includes a number of other fascinating figures in Democratic politics, both statewide and across the nation. Some of the more notable interviews have been with four-star Army General and 2004 presidential candidate Wesley Clark, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and current presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

John Coby of Bay Area Houston documents what a team of anonymous citizens have accomplished to expose the Texas Ethics Commission as incompetent in the series Spending Campaign Cash. Their work uncovered $3million in undisclosed expenditures by Texas Legislators. The Series. KHOU in Houston featured their work in late December with their report Activist: State's campaign finance oversight out-of-focus. Easter Lemming Liberal News's topics covered this past year include Pasadena politics, the Joe Horn shooting and our national So-Called-Liberal-Media. News items covered by TXsharon on Bluedaze: An attempt to shame a Texas Granny who received the Peacemaker of the year award. The depletion of and pollution of our water due to the irresponsible and shocking use by the oil and gas industry including an explanation of Groundwater Conservation Districts and how they can help that was published in two Texas newspapers and the attempt by oil and gas to sabotage the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. The failure of the Texas Railroad Commission to protect Texans. The protection money breakdown paid to Texas Railroad Commissioners by the oil and gas industry. WhosPlayin's favorite posts of 2007 were all about ideas: Universal Health Care - You're Soaking In It in which he explains that we're already paying for universal health care. Why Democrats Oppose "Voter ID" Bills - an explanation for our conservative friends. Lastly, Fiscal Progressivism - Fiscal Conservatism with a Broader View. Hal at Half Empty hemmed and hawed. How to decide which three of this year's postings merited special recognition? Then it dawned on him to mention the three postings about three singular events that he attended and posted photos about. Priceless! In reverse chronological order: The Fort Bend Democrats Have a Booth at the Fair. Then a summer fundraiser featuring TDP Chairman Boyd Richie. And last February The Fort Bend Democrats held a Love Fest for Rick and Melissa Noriega. Off the Kuff submits his top posts of 2007: David Dewhurst and Voter ID. Property Tax Cuts Uber Alles, the mantra of the 80th Lege, and Drafting Rick Noriega for Senate. BlueBloggin', another new blog to the TPA in 2007, submits their best of 2007: nytexan pens an op-ed on The Christian March Against America; BossKitty has a poignant OpEd: All Answers Are Selfish And Shallow; and nytexan discusses how Mexico Get Texas Land Through Border Fence Refinish69, at Doing My Part For The Left, takes a look back at the year and is still disgusted with Hypocrites, Toe Tapping Senators, and Knee Pad Presidents. While looking back at the year, who can forget Ann Coulter proving what a witch(usually spelled with a capital B) she is. Refinish69 also looks at Gay Pride and World AIDS Day again to explain some history about himself and the continuing need for Gay Voters to speak out. One of Grand Moff Texan's too rare diaries is always a special delight for us at Texas Kaos. But a standout diary inspired by the ignorance of the beltway punditry really broke down Why We Blog, Or Broderism in my Rear-View Mirror. Read it, and be inspired as we kick off into the 2008 election cycle. As the wilder-than-usual Texas Legislative session came to a close, Boadicea highlighted a few particular items of interest in Personal Courage, Political Vendettas, and an Unexpected Outbreak of Spine. With his usual sharp eye and incisive writing, Krazypuppy noted the REAL importance of the Larry Craig scandal in Why Another GOP Sex Scandal Matters-It's Not the Queers, Either. It's been a wild year at McBlogger. We've heard about 39%'s trip to meet the Bilderburgers. We've also had exclusive one on one interviews with the Democratic candidates. We've also taken time out to call on some of our friends to be quiet. Because they're being a pain in the ass. This year McBlogger turned two and like all two year olds you can expect tantrums mixed with an even larger dose of mischief. Like all children, though, you'll want to kill us but won't be able to because killing kids is wrong (so, so very wrong). You'll also find us precocious and irresistibly cute. We at The North Texas Liberal had some trouble deciding on which posts were our absolute favorites of 2007! But we decided on a few standouts that seemed worthy of mentioning for a second time. First, a series on Shaquanda Cotton. Cotton is a fifteen-year-old African American girl from Paris, Texas. She was sentenced to up to seven years at the TYC for pushing a hall monitor at her school (the same judge that sentenced her gave a white girl that was convicted of burning down the family home to probation). Our coverage of Cotton garnered the attention of someone at the Lamar County DA's office who used some recycled talking points to trash Cotton and her mother. Despite all of this, after the mainstream media broke Cotton's story, she became a candidate for early release. By the end of March, it was official that she would be released from the TYC, and in April we showed a video of her reunion with her mother. Cotton has returned to school and wants to study to become a lawyer so she can fight future injustices. We continued our global warming coverage with our Planet Purgatory series, parts One and Two. In May, we heard that the global warming tipping point could be in only ten years' time. NASA scientist James Hansen, a tireless environment advocate who testified about global warming before the Congress back in the 1980s, explains the tipping point theory... the point of no return. But he also believes in prevention rather than adaptation. If you missed this one, check out the post... if you're concerned at all about the environment, you'll want to read it. We continued our global warming coverage with our Planet Purgatory series, parts One and Two. Lastly, we gave Sen. John Cornyn the credit he deserved when he finally stood right side of an issue. Despite a year of flops and fabrications, he said he would support seasonal workers through the H2-B visa program. But despite the efforts of Maryland Democrat Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the fix wasn't finalized before Congress broke for the winter holidays, leaving thousands of small business owners out in the cold this holiday season. When we spoke face-to-face with a legislative expert at Cornyn's DC office, we were told that the Texas senator would like to see comprehensive immigration reform and wouldn't lobby for the H2-B visas, though he supported seasonal workers, because he didn't want to piecemeal a fix for the immigration problem. So even though he stood with his constituents on the right side of the issue, in the end he let them down again. Edmundo Rocha of Para Justicia y Libertad reports about two protests against the prison industrial complex used here in Texas to detain undocumented immigrants--the HoustonProcessing Center in Houston and the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, TX. Prior to those reports, he reported on the suicide of David Ritcheson of Spring, TX, the Latino teen who was brutally beaten, tortured, and sodomized with a plastic pole by two white racist teenagers, David Henry Tuck and Keith Robert Turner. Marc G., of Marc's Miscellany, analyzed Tom Craddick's preposterous claim that the speaker of the house can only be removed by impeachment. Marc also discussed Gov. Perry's controversial decision to veto the health insurance appropriation for community college employees. Israel Behar-Ojalvo, PDiddie's father-in-law, passed away in March and Brains and Eggs had a post with photos in tribute. The Texas Youth Commission remains the worst scandal in Texas history, and that was apparent in April of last year. And in the matter of a few hours just before Labor Day, Alberto Gonzales, Phil Garner, and Tim Purpura all lost their jobs. Good riddance to a big bunch of losers. More like this in 2008, sure to come. 2007 was a heck of a year for Capitol Annex. Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex is most proud of his ground-breaking coverage of the saga surrounding the insurgency in the Texas House and Speaker Craddick's power grab, including Terry Keel's Troubling Memo (a smoking gun, for sure), and the saga surrounding the resignation of parliamentarian Denise Davis, which earned him a mention in (among other publications), Texas Lawyer. Coverage of the 80th Texas Legislature was also a major event for Capitol Annex, including a mind-numbing Liveblogging of debate on the General Appropriations Act, and a special video: Jodie Laubenberg Is Screaming. It has been another exciting year at DosCentavos. I've tried to go over some of my better postings of the year and came up with three. DosCentavos wrote about his expectations for the 2007Lege Session. Beyond La Politica, we also know DosCentavos enjoys writing reviews on the latest releases in the Tejano and Mexican American music genre. This year, he received the honor of being asked by Los Lobos to rate their most recent release, The Town and The City. Finally, during the last Lege session, some Senators attempted to take up the debate on legalizing gambling to pay for education. DC tells us a few realities about higher education funding in the process. Musings started the year concerned about science education in Texas (see: Warren Chisum, R-Dark Ages) and ended the year with some commentary about her friend, Chris Comer, being fired as Director of Science at the Texas Education Agency over her stand on evolution. In between it was all about Melissa and Rick Noriega. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes a church in El Paso falls victim to manipulation by a right wing cadre bent on world domination. CouldBeTrue then wonders what would have happened in a perfect Republican world when the Minnesota bridge collapsed. South Texas Chisme covers the wedge'em and hate'em campaign,, also known as Republican immigration strategy. Hispanics have taken note. The Texas Cloverleaf, another blog new to the TPA this year, was a submission hold performed by professional wrestler Dean Malenko, which tied up his opponent's legs, much like a clover. We are designed to be one of those lefty progressive Democratic type political blogs. We live in North Texas, so expect a lot of DFW area stuff. But, we like the rest of the state, sometimes. Maybe even America. But don't push us! Politics is like a Texas Cloverleaf. It takes you in different directions, and ultimately will make you tap out! The series we are most proud of since forming in the summer of 2007 was the continued exposure of the outright lies and misleading statements coming from the pro-toll road crowd in Dallas during the Trinity Vote effort. Even though the referendum failed, we feel we did our part to help Dallas voters make an informed decision. Read the series here, here, here, here and here.

Best wishes for a happy 2008 from the Texas Progressive Alliance.

My Left Ear

It' s hard not to have a lurid fascination with Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal's public display of emails with his secretary. This would be the secretary (whose right ear he wants to kiss, according to one email) who makes a top salary, has free use of a County car (county gas provided) and can take off work at will. This would be the secretary whom he admits having an affair with 20 years ago. But, the emails that were uncovered were written recently - this year - on County computers. It will be a curious thing to see how the Republicans deal with this - they who claim the moral high ground, who claim to have some special insider status with Christ on "values" issues. Never mind they aren't welcoming the stranger among us or taking care of the least, the last and the lost. You know, those other "what would Jesus do" issues. I have no problem with Democrats absolutely nailing Rosenthal and the hypocritical Harris County Republican Party on this moral lapse. They've wasted our time for years focusing on "moral values" instead of things that matter - all of the kitchen table "affordability" issues such as health care, higher education, electricity, insurance, etc. Not to mention a healthy environment, parks, roads, infrastructure . . . I could go on and on. And I have. And I will continue to do so. The real issue with Rosenthal is more about his ethical and possibly legal lapses. He's favoring a subordinate (who he has slept with) with car/gas/salary/time off perks? The Rs will endorse his re-election? So, pointing fingers and pointing out their moral and ethical failures - it's about time. Thanks Rosenthal for giving us the opportunity. Oh, and yeah, I would want my sugar daddy boss teasing me with emails about kissing me on my LEFT ear. This girl blogger is all about the Left.

Jan. 14: TX-22 Candidate Forum in Rosenberg

What: TX-22 Candidate forum, free and open to the public

When: January 14, 6 pm

Where: Rosenberg Civic and Convention Center, 3825 Hwy. 36, Rosenberg

Hosted by: The Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Department

Who has rsvp'd already?

Dean Hrbacek of Sugar LandRobert Brian Klock of Nassau Bay (dude, get a website, or at least one I can find) John Manlove of Pasadena (yuk - he's 3-D-ing his way right off his website and into my personal space) Pete Olson of Sugar Land (Anchors Aweigh!) Ryan Rowley of Houston (shaving is not an option!) Shelley Sekula- Gibbs of Houston (with the special web feature, "Shelley's Travels . . . ") Jim Squier of Sugar Land Alan Steinberg of Sugar Land (except that he has dropped out of the race) Robert Talton of Houston

WHO ARE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE? (The Chron has some clues.) Last time we had the seven dwarfs and this time it looks like we are fielding a middle school softball team (Shelley demanded pink uniforms).

There will be opening remarks by each candidate and then pre-determined questions will be asked. The press release says that "time will be meticulously kept by off duty members of the Rosenberg Police Department." The police presence is necessary in case any bloggers with hidden microphones, decoder rings or invisible ink start getting rowdy.

I Thought Tom Tancredo Dropped Out A Long Time Ago

Not so. He dropped out of the race for President today. It dawned on him that the newly hot multi-candidate race for the R nomination did not involve him. McCain has risen from the dead, but not Tancredo. Tom Tancredo always sounds like a wrestler name or something to me. Tom Tancreeeeedoeeee. He immediately endorsed Mitt Romney who promised him he'd go all bat shit crazy on Islamist terrorists, start building a border fence with his bare hands - tomorrow - and will air a commercial that states his FIRM, brand spanking new anti-abortion stand (run it backwards and you hear Romney saying "I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-choice."). Romney asked if the anti-abortion commercial should feature pregnant illegal immigrants (brown!) and Tancredo shouted, "No! We don't need no more illegals!" They did the secret presidential candidate handshake and parted ways. Tancredo. Dude. Mitt Romney. Flip-flopper. You got punked.

Spending Campaign Cash: KHOU and johncoby

Congrats to my blogger friend johncoby who was featured in a KHOU story last night about the worthless Texas Ethics Commission. John has almost single handedly reformed the expense side of campaign finance reports. Lawmakers seem to have caught on that if they don't disclose their credit card expenses, don't report their reimbursements correctly, or use their campaign cash for personal use, John will find out and make sure a complaint is filed against them. He does this for free while the Texas Ethics Commission has a $2 million budget used mostly for nabbing late filers. I'm proud to have played a part in this effort. Hey, I made the boots famous! And, those gasoline expenses aren't happening anymore (see: Ed Shack). Anyway, congrats John for some well deserved media attention on your efforts to reform ethics in Texas.

"John Culbertson Never Met A Problem He Couldn't Make Worse"

I love that quote from Michael Skelly, the Democrat who is running against Culbertson in TX-7. I just watched his video and that is the money quote: The Chron article states that this wind energy executive plans on putting a lot of his own money into the race. Culbertson had this to say about Skelly's remarks, "pretty standard boilerplate (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi liberal Democratic spin." Who knew Culbertson was such a comedian? Oooh, I'm scared. Skelly sounds like the ideal CD7 candidate. That's a congressional race begging for a sharp, business-minded candidate with the ability to spend the money it will take to win.

What A Ride! A Message From Coach Hulme - And Muse

I echo Coach Hulme's comments. Thank you Clements Rangers for an amazing football season. I kind of dragged myself to each game in the beginning of the season to see the halftime show - and then left the game early. That is, until I missed the end of one of the come from behind games, then I became a true believer and caught Ranger fever.

My family is in agreement that while the Katy game was a heart breaker, it was the most fun we had all season. To be in the stands when the Rangers took the field, when the band came into the stands loud and proud from the concession level, to see our side of the stands packed with fans wearing blue . . . wow!

Here's Coach Hulme's message to his players:

A message from Coach Hulme Sunday, December 09, 2007 To All, WOW, what an amazing ride we just went on. It is hard to believe it is over. Time flies by. I know it is as disappointing to all of you as it is to us, the coaches. But, one game does not define a season. We had a tremendous season with unbelievable moments. Starting with the first game, I knew it was going to be magical. Ending the regular season 10-0, something that had never been done at Clements, was awesome. Winning our first play-off game and then winning a thriller against West Brook. Topped off with a great win against Stratford. We ran into an extremely good team in Katy, I expect them to win it all. I was very proud of how our boys played on Saturday. The ending was disappointing but the ride was not. I want to thank each and every one of you for the fantastic support throughout the season and the wonderful job you have done in raising such fine young men. It certainly makes our jobs as coaches easier. Thank you again for the wonderful memories and the opportunity to work with your boys! See you at the banquet. Coach Jeff Hulme

Click here to see all the records the 2007 Rangers set this year. Congratulations!

Melissa And Rick Noriega Recognized By Texas Bloggers As Gold Star Award Winners

This year, in addition to recognizing its Texan of the Year (which will come this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday). Rick and Melissa Noriega. These two Houston Democrats could easily be called Texas' new Political Power Couple. Melissa Noriega made news early this year with her run for the Houston City Council seat vacated by Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who resigned the seat to assume the last six weeks of former Congressman Tom DeLay's term in 2006. Through a special election, a runoff, and a general election battle to win the seat for a full term, Melissa Noriega's progressive message endeared her to Houston voters, earned her statewide media recognition, and helped mark her as part of a new generation of progressive leaders with statewide potential. Rick Noriega's story is one that is also well known. A veteran of the "War on Terror," Rick Noriega started generating buzz early in 2007 as a number of progressive Netroots activists and bricks-and-mortar Democratic activists created a movement to "draft" Noriega into the Democratic Party's race for United States Senate. Rick Noriega answered the call to service and threw his hat into the ring to take on John Cornyn and the Texas Republican machine in the 2008 election in spite of the fact that he could have easily won reelection to his seat in the Texas Legislature or even run for another office where the fight would have been small to none. Instead, he had the courage to stand up for all Texans and say enough is enough. A true people-powered candidate, Rick Noriega, along with Melissa Noriega, have both made significant sacrifices to serve the people of Texas. For this and many other reasons, the Texas Progressive Alliance is pleased to recognize Rick and Melissa Noriega among its 2007 Gold Stars.

300+ Women Political Bloggers

And, I'm on the list! Huffington Post wrote about it here and here, in the context of progressive political women. Catherine Morgan, founder of The Political Voices of Women (the blog where you'll find the list), has this to say about her blog:

This is a blog answering the question, “Where are all the women political bloggers?” Well, the answer is…They are here. It began simply as my response to a New York Times article on the lack of women political bloggers.

What started as a list of 100 women bloggers grew to 200, and then I decided to take a leap of faith and start a blog as a spin-off to the list. Now the blog and the list have taken on a life of their own, and each day they are growing and changing, mostly due to contributions of other women bloggers.

Women will play a powerful role in this upcoming election, and people (as well as MSM and campaigns) are finally recognizing that. For this reason, I believe that our [blogging] voices will begin to be heard and taken more seriously than ever before. I also hope that many more women will begin to use “the power of the political blog”, and join in on this unfolding conversation.

The New York Times article is an interesting read. Yay, girl bloggers!

ActBlue Doing Good Things For Texas House Candidates

Quorum Report (subscription required) looked into online fundraising by Democratic House candidates. Here's what they discovered about challengers:

In perhaps another signal of the maturation of the netroots, QR notes that 24 Democratic candidates for the Texas House have already reported raising money through ActBlue, a national Web-based clearinghouse for Democratic campaign donations.

The fundraising leader so far is Brian Thompson, the all-but-declared challenger for Rep. Dawnna Dukes’ (D-Austin) seat in the House. He reports $4,800 in donations. While that’s not exactly a Bob Perryesque figure, it’s almost as much as the incumbent has in cash on hand on her last Ethics Commission report.

Dukes will obviously have the resources to vigorously defend her seat, but Thompson’s popularity fits an initial trend of challengers getting support from the netroots. After Thompson, the next three most successful online fundraisers are Sandra Rodriguez ($2,000), Dan Barrett ($1,674) and Sherrie Matula ($1,575).

Rodriguez is challenging Craddick D Kino Flores while Matula is seeking to unseat Republican John Davis. Barrett is vying in a runoff to replace retired Republican Rep. Anna Mowery. In addition, Virginia McDavid, who is challenging Republican Rep. Dwayne Bohac, has received $1,500 in online donations.,

Sherrie Matula's latest ActBlue total is $1825. Check her ActBlue page out here!

Bloggers Roll Out Texan Of The Year Awards

Since 2005, the Texas Progressive Alliance has named a "Texan of the Year" to give recognition to one worthy Texan who has made a significant contribution to the world of politics or the progressive cause. For our Third Annual Texan of the Year Awards, the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to not only name a Texan of the Year--the Texan or Texans who contributed the most to the cause of the Progressive movement in 2007--but also recognize other Texans whose contributions were also important to the Progressive cause and worthy of recognition. The Texan of the Year will be announced next Friday, December 14. Between now and then, the Texas Progressive Alliance will announce its list of Texans whose contributions to the progressive cause it believed worthy of special recognition. This begins today, with the announcement of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Silver Stars. Starting Monday, four additional "Gold Stars" will be announced followed by the TOY on Friday. Without further ado, here are the 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Stars (in alphabetical order): Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski. It has been said that persistence is as much a virtue as patience. Inasmuch as that is so, it is also true that persistence pays off. In the case of Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski, persistence also saved thousands of Texas children from a certain Hell at the Texas Youth Commission. For nearly two years, starting in 2005, Burzynski investigated allegations of sexual misconduct in Texas' juvenile prison system. He was rebuffed by state authorities, local prosecutors, and even the United States Department of Justice. In spite of these rebuffs, Burzynski continued to push his case--investigating, making noise, not letting go, and never taking 'no' for an answer. The end result? It broke open one of the largest criminal justice scandals in the history of Texas and brought forward a flood of legislative reforms, and victims. For this and more, the Texas Progressive Alliance is pleased to confer upon Ranger Brian Burzynski a 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Star. Hank Gilbert. When Hank Gilbert's race for agriculture commissioner ended last November, he kept on going. During his 2006 campaign, Gilbert promised Texans that--win or lose--he wouldcontinue to fight against toll roads, mandatory animal ID legislation, and international corporations that threatened the citizens of Texas. Gilbert organized a Texas Independence Day March on Austin. Working with farmers, ranchers, Democratic activists, and disillusioned landowners, brought nearly 1,000 Texans to Austin to testify against the Trans Texas Corridor at a session of the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security the day before the march. Thousands more Texans showed up the next day to continue the fight. Gilbert has been instrumental in forming a statewide umbrella organization of anti-toll groups to continue the fight against toll-enabling legislation. As a director for Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, he continues to travel the state and nation speaking out against the takeover of taxpayer funded infrastructure by private interests. For this and more, the Texas Progressive Alliance proudly names Hank Gilbert recipient of a 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance Silver Star. Congressman Ciro Rodriguez. In 2006, Ciro Rodriguez was the "come back kid" of Texas Politics, winning a seat in congress after a runoff about the time the Texan of the Year for 2006 was announced. This year, Rodriguez took office as part of the first Democratic congress in nearly a generation, and has served his San Antonio-based district honorably. His race is considered one of national Republicans' top targets, although Rodriguez's constituent services and his support from Democratic Leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will no doubt help him retain the district. Texas Bloggers Who Made A Difference. This year, for the first time, Texas Bloggers determined that some of their own were worthy of special recognition for their work during 2007: John Cobarruvias (Bay Area Houston Blog); Vince Leibowitz (Capitol Annex); Edmundo "Xicano Power" Roca (XicanoPwr); and Sharon Wilson (TxSharon of BlueDaze). A note on each blogger:

John Cobarruvias has almost single handedly changed the way Texas legislators use and report their campaign/officeholder expenses. Because he has held their feet to the fire through his Spending Campaign Cash series, organizing a group of volunteers to file complaints against offending legislators and urging media to report on spending abuses, legislators have cleaned up their acts. The Texas Ethics Commission has issued written reminders to legislators about the very problems with reporting expenses that Cobarruvias uncovered. Vince Leibowitz. As the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature ended in turmoil--with parliamentarians resigning, a walk-out, and two stooges of House Speaker Tom Craddick on the dais as officers of the Texas House, Leibowitz decided that the whole story of those final days wasn't being told and started digging. Through public information requests, he uncovered a sheaf of documents from House Speaker Tom Craddick's office that helped piece together exactly what happened in those final hours. No main-stream media outlet had dug into this, and Leibowitz's work broke new ground and proved that House Speaker Tom Craddick's actions were the premeditated acts of a Speaker on the edge. Edmundo Rocha. Blending lends heavy-handed social critiques, local and national politics, and a heaping dose of common sense in his blog, Edmundo Rocha tackles heavy topics like imigration, teenage pregnancy, racial and gender politics, and backs up everything with a sense of style and spirit. With a loyal and unwavering audience (his Texan of the Year nomination, in fact, was suggested in the comments of a blog by one of Edmundo's readers), Rocha has rapidly become one of the state's most prominent Latino bloggers. No issue is too tough, and none taboo for this blogger. Sharon Wilson. Most Texans don't know what the Texas Railroad Commission is or does. In 2007, one Texas blogger changed that: Sharon Wilson. Wilson's reporting on the injection well drilling in the Barnett Shale region and its impact on the water quality and the environment in Wise County and surrounding areas has been exceedingly important to bringing wider attention to the dangers this practice poses across the state. Wilson has nearly single-handedly stood up to large oil companies and made the companies and state agencies--including the Texas Railroad Commission--take notice. Relentless in her drive to educate the public and elected officials to the damage being done to the Texas environment, Wilson's investigative reporting and blogging is worthy of recognition.

Texas Legislative Study Group. The policy clearinhouse for Progressives, the Texas Legislative Study Group is full of unsung heroes. Policy analysts who help Legislators keep up with the more than 50 bills that come up a day in the Texas House, the Texas Legislative Study Group and its policy analysts could perhaps be considered the most important behind-the-scenes players in the legislative process when it comes to safeguarding progressive principles. Legislators carry their reports around on the House floor like bibles. Their arguments against the Appropriations Bill, some versions of Jessica Law, and the Castle Doctrine were masterful. Also important to note is that the brilliant minds behind the work of the LSG aren't aged policy veterans, but rather among the best Texas minds of more recent generations, "Generation X" in particular. The men and women who daily toil at the LSG are indeed the men and women who will shape Texas public policy for generations into the future.

TexBlog PAC. Started by just a handful of Texas progressive bloggers, TexBlog PAC has harnessed the energy of the online community. In a state with one of the largest netroots communities in America--and the most vibrant progressive blogosphere, TexBlog PAC is poised to build on victories bloggers helped happen in 2004 and 2006. Having already raised over $10,000 in its initial months, the PAC will play a key role for Democrats as we try to take back the House in 2008.

David Van Os. Following his defeat in the 2006 Attorney General's race, Van Os made good on his promise to "keep fighting 'em on ice." From helping groups like TURF in their fight against the private takeover of government infrastructure to helping workers who were intimidated when nooses started showing up in their workplace (securing the removal of both the noose and the supervisor), Van Os hasn't stopped fighting for working Texans. In addition, from musicians to probation officers to non-profit workers, Van Os has continued his life's work on behalf of the working men and women of Texas.

State Representative Mike Villarreal. In 2003, many were ready to write Mike Villarreal's political obituary. Fast forward to 2007, and Villarreal has become one of the Progressive leaders in the Texas House of Representatives. Authoring legislation that would have made created contribution limits for political candidates and an independent redistricting commission, Villarreal took a lead with these progressive issues. In addition, Villarreal took a lead on GLBT rights by authoring HB 900, which would have provided protections from discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression for the GLBT community. This, coupled with the compromise he sought to proffer when Republicans tried to take over the House and suspend the constitutional provision concerning the consideration of legislation early in the session, make Villarreal worthy of recognition.

It Gets Worse

42 Katy, 0 Clements at end of third.

But muse's award winning tubas continue to steal the show, spelling
out RANGERS.

Well At Least The Band Rocks!

Live from the game. Clements losing 35-0 at the half. We got nothing. Nada. Except for the band who brought their A game!

Why are the election day returns for the Houston City Council runoffs not up at harrisvotes.com?

In earlies you got Jolanda, Wanda Adams and Sullivan leading.

Chris Comer In Her Own Words

Chris Comer, who was fired from her job as Science Director at the Texas Education Agency for not towing the Agency line on staying neutral on evolution, conducted an interview with Ira Flatow on Science Friday. You can hear that here. Chris is someone I have worked with professionally and I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for her. It's interesting and horrifying to hear her talk about what happened to her. It's also ominous what this politicizing of science at TEA bodes for the Science TEKS rewrite next year. First off, I'm really proud that she has come forward to tell her story and continue the work she has done to protect the integrity of science education in Texas. It's typical for her to be a warrior in this area. But, it's mind boggling how TEA treated her. We have real problems folks. That TEA thinks they have to stay neutral on evolution - which is the underlying theory of all of the biological sciences - raises too many questions to even sort out. I hate to even bring this up for fear that TEA will go into hyperdrive, but Advanced Placement Biology, which is taught in many Texas high schools, is largely an evolutionary biology course from start to finish. The podcast is worth a listen. I think you will find parts of it surprising.

Let's Get A Little Bit Rowdy!

The City of Sugar Land honored the 13-0 Clements Rangers football team with a pep rally at Town Square on Thursday.

Hundreds of supporters were there - my guess is 600 - cheering the team on to victory Saturday against the undefeated Katy Tigers in the state 5-A quarterfinal game. It's going to be a tough game, but with the way the Rangers are playing, you gotta believe that this is winnable. 7 pm, Saturday, Rice Stadium! WEAR BLUE!


The cheerleaders, dance team, football players, coaches and band were there. News 2 Houston sent a helicopter to cover the event!

Muse's award for best band section at the pep rally goes to: the tubas!

Texas Prep XTRA says this game is one of five to watch in the nation this weekend! Go to Ranger Football Fans for more press on this game and a ton of photos (Chris Lenoir, Chris Lenoir and more Chris Lenoir - 1800 yards, 28 touchdowns!)

Coach Hulme had this to say in an article in the Katy Times:

“Katy's 13-0 and we're 13-0, so they're doing something right and we must be doing something right,” Hulme said.

“The media has been coming to practice and telling our kids that they've been flying under the radar, but how can you be flying under the radar when there's TV stations out here every day?

“We expect to have another great week of practice and are looking forward to a great game on Saturday night.”

Well said.

HUCKABEE/CHRIST ’08

Huckabee Chooses Jesus as Running Mate Move to Shore Up Evangelical Base Des Moines, Iowa December 3, 2007 (AP) In a bold move that could dramatically alter the playing field of the 2008 G.O.P. presidential race, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee today named Jesus Christ as his vice-presidential running mate. Governor Huckabee has made an increasing number of comments about his relationship with Jesus in recent debates, but few Republican insiders expected him to announce that he was anointing Christ as his vice-presidential pick. “This could be huge for Huckabee,” said Stenson Partridge, a veteran G.O.P. consultant. “Among Republican voters, Jesus Christ is even more popular than Ronald Reagan.” The Reverend Pat Robertson, a supporter of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, said he was “blindsided” by the news of Huckabee’s decision: “I talked to Jesus last night and He didn’t mention anything about it.” At a raucous Huckabee rally in Davenport, Iowa today, supporters of the former Arkansas governor could be seen holding signs reading “HUCKABEE/CHRIST ’08.” It is “highly unorthodox” for a presidential candidate to select a vice presidential running mate who is a prominent figure in the Holy Bible, says Davis Logsdon, dean of the School of Divinity at the University of Minnesota. But according to Mr. Logsdon, if the Huckabee-Christ ticket makes it all the way to the White House, it could be historic in more ways than one: “If Huckabee is elected and then something happens to him while in office, we would be looking at our first Jewish president.”

Clements Rangers Have All The Luck!

Yay, Coach Hulme! Clements Rangers head Coach Jeff Hulme won Coach of the Year award tonight at the Touchdown Club. Go Rangers! Coach Hulme deserves this, coaching the Rangers to a 13-0 record (so far). Video of Coach Hulme accepting the award is here.

We are in the state playoffs quarterfinals against Katy on Saturday at 7 pm at Rice Stadium! Go Blue! It's about time our coach got some recognition!

The Rangers beat Stratford last Saturday in a game that featured the seemingly 10-foot tall, 400-lb. Andrew Luck at quarterback on the opposing side. Whenever he ran with the ball - even at the end of the game - Clements defenders seemed to mostly just bounce off of him. Is he made of teflon? NASA engineers want to know.

Fortunately, Clements quarterback Derek Carr and running back Chris Lenoir combined for a stellar offensive game last Saturday. The Rangers were never behind.

See you at the pep rally at Sugar Land Town Square tomorrow at 5:30! Wear blue to the game!

"I Do Not LIke It When I Am Ordered To Be Festive"

You gotta love The Closer, and particularly Kyra Sedgwick's character, Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson. She uttered that line on Monday's episode after her real estate agent told her she had to quickly decorate her house for the holidays, because he was bringing a potential buyer over. I have a terrible time getting into the festive mood every year. This started after I managed to give birth to two children during the month before Christmas. There's a lot of gift buying going on, plus party planning - not related to Christmas. And, like my kids said, can someone PLEASE stop all of the Christmas music everywhere you go? Used to be that Christmas music was something special you looked forward to. Now it seems like a lot of noise. Not being a Scrooge, this is just my reality! And, apparently Brenda Johnson feels the same way. :)