Actual Climate Scientists Rap
As the grownups duke it out in Washington, kids take action with visible results, proving they may be more capable than adults in fighting man-made climate change.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Fighting Climate Change Through Innovative Initiatives
Actual Climate Scientists Rap
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Plano City Council Place 7 Runoff Election - June 18, 2011
Plano voters reelected two incumbents and elected one newcomer to the Plano City Council in the May 14, 2011 election, while a fourth race for Place 7 will be decided in a runoff election on Saturday June 18th. Early voting starts Monday June 6th. All Plano City residents registered to vote in Collin Co. may vote in this election.
Pat Miner, André Davidson and Jim Duggan were clear winners, but Greg Myer and Pat Gallagher will head into a June 18 runoff election for Council Place 7, since no Place 7 candidate received 50 percent of the votes.
Myer, an information technology project manager, drew 40.3 percent of the vote and Gallagher, a retired executive and Addison police officer, received 36.7 percent. Myer, who ran unsuccessfully for the position in 2008, knocked on thousands of doors and was bolstered by an endorsement from the influential Collin County Association of Realtors. Gallagher, a virtual unknown in Plano politics before this year, did surprisingly well. The third person in the Place 7 race, Mark Greer, a businessman who has been active in civic affairs, ran a distant third with 23 percent of the vote.
Early voting for the Saturday June 18th runoff election between Gallagher and Myer for Council Place 7 is scheduled to run from Monday June 6th through Tuesday June 14th.
Sun Mon 6/6
8am-5pmTue 6/7
8am-5pmWed 6/8
8am-5pmThur 6/9
8am-7pmFri 6/10
8am-5pmSat 6/11
8am-5pmSun Mon 6/13
7am-7pmTue 6/14
7am-7pmWed Thur Fri Sat 6/18
7am-7pm
The usual early voting locations around the City of Plano will be open. The major exception is that Davis Library rather than Christ United Methodist Church will be the substitute location for Carpenter Rec Center, since the Rec Ctr remains close for renovation until Aug. 2011.
Full location information and sample ballots for the June 18th special election will be posted on the Collin Co. Elections website a few days after Plano holds the "Drawing for Ballot Placement" on Thursday May 19, 2011.
League of Women Voters of Plano/Collin County Voters Guide - Plano City Council
Early Voting Locations for McKinney and Plano City Runoff Elections Collin County Elections
(Main Early Voting Location)2010 Redbud Blvd, Suite 102 McKinney Christopher A. Parr Library 6200 Windhaven Pkwy. Plano Collin College - Central Park Campus 2200 W University Dr McKinney Collin College - Spring Creek Campus 2800 East Spring Creek Plano Haggard Library 2501 Coit Rd Plano Harrington Library 1501 18th Street Plano Maribelle M. Davis Library 7501-B Independence Parkway Plano McKinney Fire Station #5 6600 W. Virginia Parkway McKinney McKinney Performing Arts Center 111 N. Tennessee St McKinney Plano ISD Administration Center 2700 West 15th Street Plano
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Collin Co. Election Results - May 14, 2011
May 14, 2011 Combined Election Day & Early Ballots - Accumulated Totals:
Did you know that the 2010 US Census reported a voting age population of 557,664 persons in Collin Co? Did you further know that the Collin County Elections Registrar reported 439,740 Registered Voters in Collin Co for the May 14, 2011 local elections? If every one of those 557,664 voting age persons are US Citizens, which they likely are not, there are 117,924 possible Collin Co voters who are not registered to vote. That makes the county's voter registration rate close to 80 percent. That registration rate may be closer to 90% depending on how may of those non-registered voting age people are not US Citizens and therefore not qualified to vote. The problem in Collin Co is not registering new voters - it is more about figuring out how to get already registered voters out to vote.
| Registered Voters 439,740 - Votes Cast 35,917 (8.17%) | Num. Precinct Reporting 100% |
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Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Survey Report: With the economy still struggling and the nation involved in multiple military operations overseas, the public's political mood is fractious. In this environment, many political attitudes have become more doctrinaire at both ends of the ideological spectrum, a polarization that reflects the current atmosphere in Washington.
Yet at the same time, a growing number of Americans are choosing not to identify with either political party, and the center of the political spectrum is increasingly diverse. Rather than being moderate, many of these independents hold extremely strong ideological positions on issues such as the role of government, immigration, the environment and social issues. But they combine these views in ways that defy liberal or conservative orthodoxy.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Osama Bin Laden Dead, Pres. Obama Announces
Huffington Post: Osama Bin Laden is dead, President Obama announced Sunday night, in a televised address to the nation. His death was the result of a U.S. operation launched today in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden was tracked by U.S. intelligence agencies to a mansion in an affluent neighborhood 35 miles north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. After a firefight, a small team of American forces killed bin Laden and took possession of his body, the president said.
President Obama announces that Osama bin Laden has been killed.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON OSAMA BIN LADEN - 11:35 P.M. EDT
President Obama Skewers Trump At The Correspondents' Dinner
President Barack Obama had some fun with would-be Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Saturday after taking weeks of Trump's birther attacks. "No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than 'the Donald,'" Obama said, referring to Trump's claims the same day that he was responsible for solving the issue.
With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star's presidential ambitions, joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama's birthplace.
Trump chuckled at some of the earlier jokes, but was seemingly less amused as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Pres. Obama left off. "Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising," said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. "I just assumed he was running as a joke." Trump stared icily at Meyers as he continued to criticize the real estate tycoon.
Pres. Obama Speaking
Seth Meyers Speaking
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Texas House Approves A Redistricting Plan
 House Districts in Denton, Collin, Tarrant, Dallas and Rockwall Co. Click to go to District Viewer map.
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With so many seats to protect, GOP leaders couldn’t draw enough safe House districts to protect all their incumbents in the next election, in 2012.
The map was approved on a 92-52 vote after a marathon debate that dragged into the wee morning hours Thursday.
Republicans rode a conservative wave in the 2010 elections to a lopsided 101-49 majority in the 150-member House -- a super majority so big that they can conduct business even if Democrats don’t show up.
That didn’t stop Democratic lawmakers from trying to derail the map Wednesday on procedural grounds, to no avail.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie released the statement on the passage of the State House redistricting map bill, HB 150:
The House redistricting plan is neither fair nor legal because it denies representation for Latinos, African Americans and Asian Americans who were responsible for 89% of Texas population growth in the past decade. This blatantly partisan Republican map actually reduced the number of districts that provide minority voters the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice while shredding communities for partisan gain.More details:
The same Republican majority that insists on a state budget that will cut educational opportunity, force seniors from nursing homes and eliminate over 300,000 Texas jobs drew districts that would deny voters the opportunity to elect representatives who will stand up for our priorities. Texas Democrats and our Democratic elected officials will demand a fair and legal map that provides representation for all Texans, and we will take whatever actions necessary to ensure that any redistricting plan ultimately enacted complies with the Voting Rights Act.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Trump Leading The GOP In Race-Baiting Fear-Mongering
Donald Trump, the rich kid turned real estate tycoon turned bankrupt failure turned TV reality show host, spent several weeks trumpeting to anyone who would listen—including a surprising number of corporate media outlets—that President Barack Obama had failed to answer questions about his citizenship.
And when Trump started talking, Fox News was there to amplify him. The network vastly increased its coverage of birther rumors, devoting nearly two and a half hours to the nonsense, in recent weeks. On other networks Trump's "birther" claims, like those made in an interview with "Today" co-host Meredith Vieira, went largely unchallenged. CNN's Anderson Cooper, refuted Trump on-air during a two-day invalidation of the "birther" myth, but CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry asked about Obama's birth certificate during Tuesday's press briefing. Whether giving Trump a pass or disputing his claims, the corporate media willingly kept the story alive by frequently giving Trump their air time and press space.
Today President Obama responded by releasing his long-form birth certificate making a short statement - at left.
Donald Trump answered President Obama's long-form birth certificate release from New Hampshire today by claiming credit for forcing Obama to release his "long form" birth certificate, and declared that the President should "get off his basketball court" and focus on gas prices.
Trump then repeated his new claim that Obama was an underachieving unqualified student who was admitted to the Ivy League universities only through affirmative action. Trump offered no proof for his claim but said he would continue to press the matter as he has the legitimacy of the president's birth certificate.
In GOP politics, attacking racial minorities as the underachieving beneficiaries of affirmative action is a very old move. Sen. Jesse Helms produced the most notorious example, an ad against his black opponent, Harvey Grant, which blasted affirmative action for taking jobs from deserving white people and giving them to minorities.
Let's not pretend for a moment that questioning President Obama's birth certificate or qualifications to attend Ivy League universities isn't steeped in racism. The New Yorker's editor-in-chief and the author of an acclaimed book about Obama's background, published an unusually blunt critique of Trump's "race-baiting" on Wednesday afternoon:
The New Yorker: The one radical thing about Barack Obama is his race, his name. Of course, there is nothing innately radical about being black or having Hussein as middle name; what is radical is that he has those attributes and is sitting in the Oval Office. And even now, more than two years after the fact, this is deeply disturbing to many people, and, at the same time, the easiest way to arouse visceral opposition to him.Additional:
Let’s be even plainer: to do what Trump has done (and he is only the latest and loudest and most spectacularly hirsute) is a conscious form of race-baiting, of fear-mongering. And if that makes Donald Trump proud, then what does that say for him?
Texas Leads Nation In Households Ditching Their Landline Phones
In a contest between the traditional landline and the cellphone the cellphone is winning nationwide. People in the US are ditching their landlines to save money and/or because those phones are becoming superfluous. By June of 2010 Texas had the third highest rate (32.5%) in the nation of households ditching their landline phones in favor of a mobile-only lifestyle. Texas also leads in the adoption of smart phones and mobile Internet access. In some metro areas of Texas, such as Dallas County, up to 62% of households can be reached only by calling a mobile phone.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) last week released its latest state by state breakdown on the "Wireless Substitution" trend. As of June, 2010 26.6% of US households were wireless only, meaning there was no landline in the house. In some states the numbers were higher than the average and some lower.
Rhode Island and New Jersey had the lowest rates of wireless substitution households at 12.8 percent, while Arkansas had the highest at 35.2 percent and Texas had the third highest household rate at 32.5 percent. The data suggest that economics are the primary driver of the decision to abandon the landline - lower income areas are going cell-only faster than more affluent areas.
CDC wireless surveys are also finding increasing percentages of so-called "cellphone-mostly" households. Cellphone-mostly households are households that do have a land line, but that line is used for FAX, security systems or other and it is rarely or never used to receive incoming calls. The January-June 2010 CDC survey found that 16% of households nationwide that do have a landline receive all or nearly all of their calls on a cellphone. This means that in order to reach 43 per cent of U.S. households as of June 2010, the only practical way to call their cellphone. If this additional statistic is added the number of cell-only households jumps dramatically in some states.
In Texas, 32.5% of all households are wireless only. But the "wireless mostly" number is 20.3% according to the CDC. Combine those numbers and almost 53% of Texas households rely primarily or exclusively on mobile phones. In several states the combined figure approaches or exceeds 50% of the population:Metro areas often have even higher cell-only adoption rates than the state as a whole. In Texas, 43.2% of households in Dallas County are wireless only. But the "wireless mostly" number is 17.7% according to the CDC. Combine those numbers and almost 61% of Dallas County households rely primarily or exclusively on mobile phones. The combined figure approaches or exceeds 50% of the population in most metro areas of Texas:
- Texas: 52.8%
- Arkansas: 50.9%
- Mississippi: 49.8%
- Arizona: 48.1%
- Nebraska: 47.3%
- Dallas County: Cell-Only (43.2%) + Cell-Mostly (17.7%) = 61.9%
- Bexar County: Cell-Only (29.1%) + Cell-Mostly (17.7%) = 46.8%
- El Paso County: Cell-Only (32.8%) + Cell-Mostly (14.8%) = 47.6%
- Harris County: Cell-Only (32.4%) + Cell-Mostly (22.1%) = 54.5%
The increasing prevalence of cell phone coverage in the U.S., and the consequent increase in the number of people who use their cell phone in place of a landline, makes it difficult to reach target populations by phone for pollsters, political organizations or political candidates.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Plano ISD Council of PTAs Starts Education Funding Petition
The Plano ISD Council of PTAs is circulating an education funding petition for signatures. The Council plans to hand deliver the signed petition to the local offices of Representatives Van Taylor, Jerry Madden and Jodie Laubenberg next Thursday. Annette Maule, Legislative Chair for Plano ISD Council of PTAs, says the Council is extending an open invitation to all who would like to join in the hand delivery of the petition. Click here to sign the petition. (Annette Maule can be contacted at legislative@planopta.org)
Click here to sign the petition.To The Honorable Members of the Texas House of Representatives:
We, the voters of Texas, strongly believe that the future of our great state depends on the investment we make today in education. We call on our elected officials in the House of Representatives to take the following urgent actions in support of Texas public education:
- Support new revenue source dedicated to education spending.
- Close business tax loopholes to finance education as promised in Spring 2006 Special Session.
- Find permanent solution to education funding.
- Use Economic Stabilization Fund to fully fund education at current biennium level.
We urge you to support the efforts Texas Senate has made to finance public education by actively sourcing new revenues. Education is the most important investment the great state of Texas will ever make, now and forever.
Sincerely,
The Voters of Texas
Monday, April 25, 2011
The GOP Bait And Switch On Social Security And Medicare
The Republican Party endorsed Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) sharply conservative 2012 budget bill when all but four Republicans in the U.S. House voted for and passed the bill before the Easter recess.
Breaking a promise Republicans made during the 2010 mid-term election to "protect Social Security and Medicare" Ryan's budget bill deeply cuts Medicare funding and replaces with a private insurance premium voucher program. 
(DCCC Video - Broken Promises left and Constituents Erupt Over House Republicans Voting to End Medicare)
Ryan's Republican budget eliminates Medicare, as it exists today, and guts Medicaid as well as the rest of the government. The budget also gives additional huge tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires plus further big corporate taxpayer handouts to pharma, insurance and petrochemical industries.
The Republican budget explodes deficit spend in the near term and doesn't actually balance revenues and spending until the year 2040.
Collin County's Republican Congressional representatives Sam Johnson, Tx-3rd and Ralph Hall, Tx-4th voted for Ryan's bill.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Billionaires' Tea Party
| The Billionaires' Tea Party - Trailer |
But is this truly a populist uprising or one of the greatest feats of propaganda ever seen?
Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham sets out answer this question, finding that behind the movement’s rhetoric of ‘freedom’ versus ‘socialism’ lies a highly co-ordinated network of shadow groups, funded by the likes of billionaire ideologues Charles and David Koch. The video is a NEW DOCUMENTARY tracing how the billionaire Koch brothers are funding the TEA Party movement to create a privatized America.
Are the Tea Party protestors really just pawns in a plan to replace government with a privatized corporate government America? Watch the video and decide for yourself.
Friday, April 15, 2011
New TDP Ad On The GOP Price Tag
The Texas Democratic Party released a new video with the following statement: "When it comes to the state budget, Republican politics are running roughshod over Texans’ priorities. Watch our new video and get the Democratic take on what’s most important."
President Obama's Deficit Speech
President Obama's speech, as prepared for delivery:
"What we've been debating here in Washington for the last few weeks will affect your lives in ways that are potentially profound. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. Its about the kind of future we want. It's about the kind of country we believe in. And that's what I want to talk about today.
"From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government.
"But there has always been another thread running throughout our history – a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire industries. Each of us has benefited from these investments, and we are a more prosperous country as a result.
Friday, April 8, 2011
House Considers Accounting Maneuver To Slightly Ease School Funding Crisis
The Texas Democratic Party released new video details on HB 1, the state budget bill passed by the Texas House on Sunday.
HB 1 codifies a draconian $164.5 billion 2011-13 budget that cuts $23 billion from 2009-13 spending levels. HB 1 slashes public school spending by nearly $8 billion and cuts Medicaid spending by more than $4 billion.
The deficit was created when 2006 legislative session lawmakers cut state revenue by giving deep business tax cuts.
Upon passage of the HB 1 Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio released a statement that says in part, "Eighty thousand kids are not going to get their scholarships and grant money because of this bill. Forty-three thousand people are going to get kicked out of nursing homes or denied nursing home entrance because of this bill..."
Lawmakers in the Texas Senate have been working on their own version of the budget, but the Senate version cuts only $13 billion from current spending levels to mitigate the cuts to public education and Medicaid. Senate budget-writers propose adding $10 billion state-related revenue through new and increased fees.
Thursday morning State Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, introduced two bills to the House Appropriations Committee that could add several million dollars to the public schools budget over the next two years. These bills providing for some accounting maneuvers to more easily shift money around a couple of state agencies responsible for public school funding:
HB 2646 proposes allowing the School Land Board to transfer at least half of the net revenue it collects from a land trust it oversees to the Available School Fund (ASF), an endowment that puts money directly into public schools in Texas. Orr said that pot of money has risen to more than $2.5 billion in market value and contains more than $1 billion in cash. If that trend continues, the fund could supply the state with an additional $500 million in the next biennium.
HB 2646 requires companion legislation (HJR 109) to put a constitutional amendment on the November 8, 2011 ballot that would allow the General Land Office to distribute revenue directly to the ASF.
The School Land Board (SLB) was established in 1939 by the 46th Legislature to manage the sale and leasing of public lands that fund the Permanent School Fund. The Permanent School Fund (PSF) was established in the state Constitution of 1876, the current charter of Texas law, to fund public eduction using revenues generated from Texas' land and mineral resources. The SLB’s responsibilities include approving land sales, trades and exchanges, and the purchase of land for the PSF. In addition to this, the SLB issues permits, leases and easements for uses of state-owned submerged land. The SLB is just one of nine boards and councils chaired by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. As chairman of nine boards or councils, the Land Commissioner oversees matters that range from state lands and coastal issues to veterans affairs.
The General Land Office of Texas (GLO) manages state lands and mineral right properties, including oil and gas production leases on more than 20 million acres of state land. State lands and mineral right properties include the beaches, bays, estuaries and other submerged lands out to 10.3 miles in the Gulf of Mexico, institutional acreage, grazing lands in West Texas and timber lands in East Texas. Revenue and royalties are distributed to school districts on a per-pupil basis, helping to offset local school property taxes.
The Available School Fund is made up of the money set aside by the state from current or annual revenues for the support of the public school system. There are two major revenue sources for the fund: earnings from the Permanent School Fund managed by the School Land Board and 25 percent of fuel tax receipts. The fund does not receive annual appropriations by the legislature from other general state revenue sources.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Texas Republicans In Dust-Up Over Redistricting
Politico: A bitter, behind-the-scenes fight has broken out among Texas Republicans over redistricting, pitting Rep. Lamar Smith against longtime colleague Rep. Joe Barton.
The dispute is over the makeup of four new congressional districts for the Lone Star State, and centers on the racial balance — including the controversial issue of “bleaching,” or including more white voters in a district — of the new political map for Texas.
GOP Rep. Lamar Smith has taken the position that Hispanic population growth in Texas means that two of Texas' four new U.S. House districts should be majority-minority. Smith has been working with Dem Rep. Henry Cuellar to create a map that includes the new majority-minority districts. This has infuriated fellow Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who insists that at least three if not all four of the new district be drawn (gerrymandered) to favor non-minority Republicans.Read more at Politico »
Politico's sources indicate Gov. Perry's alleged plan is to skip Department of Justice pre-clearance and go directly to federal court, perhaps hoping for a friendly conservative panel backed by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court. The piece also reports that proposed maps have been circulated among Republicans, but of course, no one's sharing any copies.
For full details on the 2010 Texas Census and redistricting for Texas and Collin Co. read: Redistricting : U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2010 County Level Counts
Monday, April 4, 2011
President Obama Announces Reelection Bid
It's official: President Barack Obama today announced he will run for reelection in 2012.
The President's 2012 campaign used his 2008 campaign's contact lists to distribute an email and a text message to his 2008 supporters with his announcement. (announcement video left)
By filing papers with the Federal Election Commission, the president can begin fundraising for his 2012 operation.
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