Monday, March 9, 2009

Last Chance Reminder

On March 12, Planned Parenthood of North Texas will gather volunteers in Austin for a Lobby Day, to ask State Representatives to support "Education Works!" legislation. Volunteer TODAY! No experience is necessary. (More...)

On March 10, the Texas Freedom Network will gather volunteers in Austin for a Lobby Day, to ask State Representatives to support "Sound Science Education" legislation. Volunteer TODAY! No experience is necessary. (More...)

Frank Schaeffer: GOP Is Anti-American

A former leader of the Christian Right has issued a truly scathing and blistering critique to the Republican Party, calling them "anti-American" and a "fifth column" in the country for their efforts to "sabotage" national economic recovery.

Frank Schaeffer, whose evangelical parents were a driving force behind the formation of the Christian Right movement in the 1970s and 1980s, criticizes the Religious Right, the very movement, that he helped to found, for being anti-American by hoping the country fails "in order to prove they were right about America's 'moral decline,'" in a blog posting on The Huffington Post and in an interview with CNN's D.L. Hughley.

Calling Republicans "arsonists" who are trying to burn down the country, Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back, said conservatives have no right to criticize President Obama for trying to clean up the mess that their party has created.

CNN has the full transcript here.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Texas Jobless Rate Shoots To 6.4% In Jan

As Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) continues to threaten to reject millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, Texas lost 75,800 payroll jobs in January, the highest level yet in the current recession, as the dramatic weakening of the global economy slammed Texas.

The jobless rate rose to 6.4 percent from a revised 5.6 percent in December and 4.4 percent in January 2008, the Texas Workforce Commission said Thursday.

Texas employers began cutting jobs in November as the U.S economy’s dive intensified. January was the state’s third consecutive month with job losses. It shed 7,600 jobs in November and 16,200 in December, revised data shows.

Read more in The Dallas Morning News

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

One In Five Mortgages Under Water, Plus 697,000 Jobs Lost In February

Reuters - U.S. private sector job losses accelerated in February, according to a report by ADP Employer Services that suggests hefty employment declines are on the way in the government's payrolls report due on Friday. (more...)

Washington Post - One in five U.S. homeowners who have mortgages-- or about 8.3 million people -- owed more on their homes at the end of 2008 than their homes were worth, according to data released today by First American CoreLogic. (more...)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

People Are Not The Only Ones Who Suffer When The Family Home Is Foreclosed

According to data from Foreclosure Listing Service (FLS) Inc., foreclosure postings filed for auction at North Texas' four primary county courthouses — Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton — reached an all-time high during the first quarter of 2009. (Although the first quarter will technically end on March 31, foreclosure auction filings must be filed at the courthouse the previous month before the auctions take effect.)

FLS statistics show that 13,259 foreclosure auction postings were filed at Dallas-Fort Worth area courthouses by the end of February in advance of the "first quarter 2009 foreclosure auction," a record high according to FLS. And, for the upcoming month of March alone, FLS data shows an additional 4,276 foreclosure postings will likely be filed.

Family pets across the U.S. and North Texas are finding hardship in this economic crunch too. Dog and cat surrenders to municipal pounds, and rescue organizations are on the increase. If you have a little extra space in your heart and your house, please consider adopting one of these economic refugees. Here are just of few of the German Shepherd Dogs turned over to the Good Shepherd Rescue Organization of North Texas.


Charlie
Charlie is a handsome black and tan German Shepherd believed to be about 5 years old. He is another victim of the economic crunch. His family tearfully gave him up as they prepared to move back with family.

Good Shepherd Rescue of North Texas

katerbug@mindspring.com



Cici
CiCi is a victim of the economic times - her family needs to sell their house and relocate and can't take her with them. Cici is another calm, affectionate girl who easily adapts to new situations. So far we know she gets along well with other dogs, rides well in the car, is housebroken and she knows a few commands. She was also a favorite at the vet's!

Good Shepherd Rescue of North Texas

katerbug@mindspring.com



Uno
Uno is another victim of the economic times - her family must sell their house and they can't take her with them. Uno is a 10 month old huge silly pup that needs someone to spend time with him and give him the attention he needs and deserve.

Good Shepherd Rescue of North Texas

katerbug@mindspring.com


Sapphire
Sapphire is a 2-3 year old white German Shepherd female. Her former owner went to jail and Sapphire wound up in the shelter.

We are impressed with Sapphire's gentle nature and good manners. She is a delightful dog. She hopped right up into the car and rode "shotgun" all the way home.

Good Shepherd Rescue of North Texas

katerbug@mindspring.com



Maximus
Poor Max was left at the shelter by his family because they couldn't keep him. He is very depressed due to the sudden loss of his home and family.

Good Shepherd Rescue of North Texas

katerbug@mindspring.com


x

Who’s the Republican Party’s REAL Leader?



‘Democrat Party’ Doesn’t Exist.

ThinkProgress.Org
During today’s House Budget Committee hearing, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) repeatedly referenced the “Democrat Party” while questioning Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag. Immediately following Hensarling’s time, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) took him to task for using the purposefully-disparaging moniker, reminding him that no such party exists:
I’d like to begin by saying to my colleague from Texas that there isn’t a single member on this side of the aisle that belongs to the “Democrat Party.” We belong to the Democratic Party. So the party you were referring to doesn’t even exist. And I would just appreciate the courtesy when you’re referring to our party, if you’re referring to the Democratic Party, to refer to it as such.
Watch the video...

Next time and every time you here someone call the Democratic Party the “Democrat Party” please take them to task just like Rep. Kaptur!

Texas Freedom Network Lobby Day

Fast on the heels of their groundbreaking report on the lack of medically accurate sex education in Texas Schools, Texas Freedom Network will be visiting legislators on Lobby Day, March 10, 2009.

TFN will address for key issues to Standing up for Science (participants choose one area to be trained in and lobby on behalf of):
  • Sex education
  • Stem cell research
  • Evolution and science curriculum/structure and power of the State Board of Education
  • Youth advocacy and sex education (a specially designed track for youth advocates or those interested in mobilizing youth on this issue)
A schedule and sign up information is accessible on TFN's website. No experience lobbying is necessary, as they will provide all the training you need to stand up for science in Texas schools.

Pres. Bush Considered Suspending 1st Amendment Freedom-Of-The-Press Rights

Extraordinary Measures
By Michael Isikoff | Newsweek
Mar 2, 2009
A new memo shows just how far the Bush administration considered going in fighting the war on terror.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the Justice Department [in a memo co-written by John Yoo, Office of Legal Counsel deputy attorney general] secretly gave the green light for the U.S. military to attack apartment buildings and office complexes inside the United States, deploy high-tech surveillance against U.S. citizens and potentially suspend First Amendment freedom-of-the-press rights. . .

--- Click here for REST OF STORY AT THE NEWSWEEK!... ---

When What's Good For America Is Bad For The GOP

This posting at AmericaBlog.com is a good companion article for the "Principled" GOP Opposition article posted in this blog yesterday. When a government program that's good for America is bad for the GOP, the GOP will expend every effort to oppose and kill the program.
Bill Kristol’s 1993 Memo Calling For GOP To Block Health Care Reform
By John Aravosis (DC) · 3/02/2009 08:00:00 PM ET · AmericaBlog Link

Greg Sargeant over at The Plum Line has gotten his hands on a memo Bill Kristol wrote to his party in 1993, urging them to oppose Bill Clinton's health care plan because - well - it might work. And then all the newly healthy people might like government and see that it could actually do something good for them. Ben Smith summarizes the long memo:
The memo warns that a successful Clinton plan could badly damage the GOP by improving Americans' relationship with government, and makes the case for total, uncompromising opposition based on what would become the "Harry and Louise" campaign, focused on the damage the changes could do to citizens' relationships with their doctors.
The only way that the plan would improve America's relationship with government would be if it worked. Think about that.

The GOP ultimately opposed major legislation that would have benefited every American because the legislation might have actually worked. You don't just see parallels to today's Republican party, [you see GOP conservatives] doing exactly the same thing [in opposing Obama's programs.]

The GOP is terrified that Obama's agenda, from the stimulus plan to health care reform, might actually work [for the American people.] Then Americans would see that - surprise - government can work for the people. . .
Government programs seen to work for people would render the very "small government" foundation of the conservative movement as quicksand sinking many Republican candidates standing for election.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Al Franken A Step Closer To MN Senator Al Franken

Norm Coleman's lawyers today rested their case in the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount trial between Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Coleman. Franken holds a 225-vote lead certified during the recount, and has gained some votes during the trial that the three-judge panel ruled should be counted.

Franken's attorneys' have been reluctant to speculate on how long they will need to present their case, but it's not expected to be as long as the five-week Coleman case. At a party fundraiser Saturday, Franken said that he expected the trial to last for another two to three weeks.

Franken gave his first national media interview since November to Air America's Mark Green.

Listen to a segment of Franken's Air America interview.

The "Principled" GOP Opposition To Obama's Efforts To Save The Economy

Cable news pundits and big-name newspaper columnists are pushing a general consensus that Republicans are simply returning to their "core conservative principles" in their near-unanimous opposition to President Barack Obama.

Main stream pundits and columnists accept Republicans' claim that they are motivated by "principled ideological consistency" in opposing Obama’s “big government” solutions to America’s economic troubles, not by a political strategy to derail Obama’s presidency and legislative agenda into failure.

Republicans argue that they have worked hard for 30 years to "free capitalism and individual liberty" by deregulating the financial system, deregulating and dismantling government safety oversight of the nation's food production and distribution system, and cutting taxes for big corporate business and they don't want to see all that hard work undone by President Obama's "big government" programs.

Conservative Republicans claim they are ideologically opposed to Obama's programs because they will "return" America to “big government” socialism eliminated by the Reagan and the reinforcing Gingrich, Delay and Bush conservative government revolutions. In making this claim they seek to ignore that the conservative path to liberate "capitalism and individual liberty" has brought the nation in near economic collapse.

This is what Rush Limbaugh was saying in his CPAC speech as he defended his remarks about wanting Obama to fail. Limbaugh said, "Conservatism is what it is forever ... This notion that I want the president to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got. What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?"

Rush Limbaugh is saying the same thing as every other conservative Republican, only with a little less "principled" ideological window dressing. If Obama and Congressional Democrats successfully promote economic recovery by reversing Republican "small government" momentum, it will prove wrong, for a second time in 80 years, the conservative "small government" argument that government can not and must not play any roll to protect the interests of the American people or ensure a honest fair and level playing field for American business and finance. Why would Republicans want that to succeed? It would render the very foundation of the conservative movement as quicksand sinking many Republican candidates standing for election.

Limbaugh is accurately stating the strongly held conservative Republican belief that their definition of "capitalism and individual liberty" would be destroyed if President Obama succeeds in restoring government oversight to the financial and banking system to guard against future home mortgage and other banking system malfeasance, made possible by Republican deregulation and lack of regulatory oversight by the Bush Administration.
That "capitalism and individual liberty would be destroyed" if Obama restores some government oversight to the nation's food production and distribution system to guard against companies knowingly distributing salmonella contaminated food products, such as the Peanut Corporation of America did in distributing its salmonella contaminated peanut butter for years, causing critical illness in thousands and the deaths of hundreds of adults and children.

That "capitalism and individual liberty would be destroyed" if Obama restores some taxes on those earning more than $250,000/yr to begin to pay off the massive debt run up by the combination of fiscally unbalanced Republican tax cuts and irresponsible deficit spending by President Bush and Republican controlled congresses.
In accepting the argument that Republicans are simply returning to conservative principles to oppose President Obama, pundits and columnists benignly accept the underlying GOP message. The message that the GOP, like the U.S. economy, is in crisis not because conservative ideological applied to operational governance leads to massive government failures, rather the GOP and U.S. economy are in crisis because Republicans were not conservative enough in their governance; that "capitalism and individual liberties" were not freed enough because George Bush and his Republican dominated congresses didn't cut taxes enough and didn't deregulate and turn away from regulatory oversight enough.

Pundits and columnists have so far failed to observe that if tax cuts, deregulation and small government are the best stimulus for the economy, as conservatives claim, then the economy should already be racing, given the massive deregulation and trillions of dollars in tax cuts President Bush and Republicans have given the nation over the past eight years. Pundits are not asking conservatives to explain this disconnect. . .

Pundits and columnists, so far, have failed to press conservatives, who continue to advocate deregulation and tax cuts as they oppose Obama's economic agenda, to explain why the economy is in crisis after years of massive Republican deregulation, tax cutting and deficit spending. No, instead, media pundits, like Judy Woodruff, are using anti-Obama Republican "socialist tax and spend" talking points to press Democrats to defend Obama's efforts to save the American economy.

Despite the “conventional wisdom” offer by main stream pundits and columnists that Republicans are "simply" returning to their "core conservative principles," there is a growing sense across the United States that the real reason Republicans are trying to obstruct Obama is not a "principled conservative ideological consistency," but political opportunism; that Republicans want the President to fail so GOP candidates can succeed at the polls in 2010 and 2012.

One of the most telling indications that Republicans are persuading only their base, and main stream pundits and columnists, of their "principled" stand is a recent NYT/CBS News poll asking, “Do you think [Republicans] oppose [Obama's economic recovery plan] mostly because they thought it would be bad for the economy or mostly for political reasons?”

Sixty-three percent of respondents cited “political reasons” and only 29 percent believed the principled conservative stance that Obama's economic recovery plan is “not good for the economy.” This two-to-one margin suggests that the Republicans are suffering from a serious credibility gap. Too bad for America that they are not suffering from a serious credibility gap with Cable news pundits and big-name newspaper columnists, including the Dallas Morning News Newspaper.

Changing 30 years of bad policy is hard work, which can't be undermined by Democrats

This is such critical advice for all Democrats that we are cross posting this item from AmericaBlog.com:

By Joe Sudbay (DC) · 3/02/2009 08:51:00 AM ET · AmericaBlog Link

We're entering a critical phase in the effort to pass Obama's budget and to enact his overall agenda. Most progressive are pretty damn happy with the new direction for our nation. It represents the change our nation desperately needs. But, apparently (and not surprisingly), there are some Democrats on the Hill who are nervous. Pathetic.

Here's a tip for any "senior Democratic aide" who deigns to speak to the press. Don't use GOP talking points! Yesterday's Washington Post had an article about Obama's budget, which quoted a "senior Democratic aide" calling Obama's budget a "tax and spend budget":
"Folks are a little skittish. It's asking a lot," a senior Democratic aide said. "This is a tax-and-spend budget the likes of which we haven't seen in years."
That aide is an idiot. There is so much in that one blurb. Did the RNC write that, because it sounds like it. Real folks in America are beyond "skittish." They're really scared. Obama is using his political capital to save the country. It'd be nice if senior Democratic aides and the people for whom they work on Capitol Hill would do the same thing instead of whining to the Washington Post. People in America are experiencing actual pain. It's not "asking a lot" to fix the crisis. It's expected. That's your job. (Note that you haven't heard anything about pay cuts or furloughs or losing health benefits or massive layoffs for people who work on the Hill. They're in a recession-proof bubble.)

I've been saying for a long time that the biggest problem Obama is going to have is Democrats. Too many Democratic members, Democratic staffers, Democratic consultants, Democratic-leaning interest groups and lobbyists who are Democrats want to preserve the status quo -- and don't get what's going on in the country. Change is a scary concept.

That's why Jane Hamsher is on to something. When we find out who is blocking the agenda, we have to name names whether they are members, staffers or lobbyists. Jane has a post at Huffington calling out the people undermining the pending mortgage legislation: "Mortgage Write-Downs: Why Does Ellen Tauscher Value Banks Over Constituents? Ask Adam Pase." Tauscher is one of those painful centrist Democrats (who is quite wealthy herself.) She has taken the lead on undoing the legislation to allow judges to reduce mortgage payments, which Chris Bowers explains in more detail here. This is vintage Tauscher and, as Jane explains, Mr. Pase is one of her staffers:
Tauscher's office also said she hasn't met with any bankers or lobbyists on the matter, and that may well be true. She doesn't have to. Adam Pase, the executive director of the New Democrat Coalition which Tauscher chairs, works directly out of her office.

Pase is is a former lobbyist for the Twenty First Century Group, whose client, the Coalition for Fair & Affordable Lending, is an astroturf group, financed by the banking industry, that lobbied on behalf of. . . you guessed it. . . sub-prime lenders.
We're all probably going to have to do a lot of these kinds of posts over the next weeks and months. Naming names may be the only way to shame some of these people into doing the right thing -- that would be what their constituents expect. That is, after all, their job.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

GDP Contracts 6.2% In 4Q08: Most Since 1982 Under Pres. Reagan

U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at a 6.2% annual pace in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1982, the Commerce Department said Friday.
The Washington Post: The prospects for an economic recovery by year's end dimmed yesterday, as government data showed that the economy contracted at the end of 2008 by the fastest pace in a quarter-century. The worse-than-expected data fueled doubts about whether the Obama administration had adequately sized up the challenges it faces in trying to pull the country out of recession.
The sharp drop in the U.S. economy at the end of 2008 was much worse than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The Commerce Department said the seasonally adjusted gross domestic product dropped by 6.2 percent, compared to an initial estimate of a 3.8 percent drop. That marks the worst decline since the first quarter of 1982 when the country saw a 6.4 percent drop.

Last month the Commerce Department estimated fourth-quarter GDP dropped 3.8%. Friday’s 2.4 percentage-point revision was almost five times as large as the average adjustment. “Most of the major components contributed to the much larger decrease in real GDP in the fourth quarter than in the third... The largest contributors were a downturn in exports and a much larger decrease in equipment and software,” according to the Commerce Department.

Global trade, which contributed a 0.1% gain in the advance report, actually subtracted half a percentage point from growth last quarter, indicative of the global nature of the current financial crisis.

Exports of goods and services decreased 23.6% in the fourth quarter, compared with a 3% increase in the third. Imports of goods and services decreased 16%. Spending on equipment and software dropped 29% - the most since 1958 - and business investment plunged 21%.

“We’d held out a slim ray of hope that it might surprise to the upside based on the better trade balance,” Boris Schlossberg, Director of Currency Research at GFT Forex, told Reuters. “But it’s just doom all over. There’s nothing good to take away from this report. The only thing is there’s no good news on the other side of the Atlantic, either.”

Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the economy, fell at a 4.3% annual pace, the steepest decline in nearly three decades.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week issued a dismal outlook for this year, conceding that the economy is undergoing a “severe contraction.” Still, he remained optimistic that the situation will turn around. “If actions taken by the administration, the Congress and the Federal Reserve are successful in restoring some measure of financial stability,” Bernanke said, “there is a reasonable prospect that the current recession will end in 2009 and that 2010 will be a year of recovery.”

With Such Dire Economic News It Is Clear That If Obama's Economic Programs Fail, America Fails!

Yet, Rush Limbaugh says he hopes President Obama fails. Rush Limbaugh was supposed to deliver a 20-minute speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was carried live, commercial-free, on CNN and Fox News. His speech ended up lasting for 1 1/2 hours, before the right-wing audience that cheered him like a hero.

In his speech, Rush Limbaugh, now the titular leader of the conservative movement, defended his controversial comments that he hopes President Obama fails and said, One thing we can all do is stop assuming that the way to beat them [Democrats] is with new better policy ideas. HuffingtonPost - WATCH: Limbaugh Emphisize: Of Course I Want Obama To Fail. Republicans are wary of new ideas:
...it worries them to have [new] ideas, because ideas have edges, and they’re not totally formed, and you’ve got to prove them, and they sound strange because they’re new, and if it’s new how do you know it’s any good, because, after all, it’s new and you’ve never heard it before...
Sam Stein reports on a CPAC straw poll that suggests they all want Pres. Obama to fail:
More than 1,700 people cast ballots in the 2009 CPAC poll, 57 percent of who were between the ages 18 and 25. Of the respondents, 95 percent said they disapproved of the job that President Obama was doing, only four percent approved. Meanwhile, 70 percent approved of the [party of NO] job Republicans in Congress were doing, 29 percent said they disapproved.
The two Congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives that represent Collin County residents, Sam Johnson (R) and Ralph Hall (R) and both Texas’ Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) and John Cornyn (R) voted against President Obama’s economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry too waged a weeks long aggressive campaign and co-wrote an op-ed piece with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford opposing the stimulus bill. Several days after Pres. Obama signed the Reinvestment Act into law Gov. Perry grudgingly informed the White House that he'll accept "some" of the money, leaving the door open to not taking all of the money allocated to Texas. Gov. Perry is considering rejecting part of the money because he, and presumably other Texas conservative Republicans, do not want to accept money that would fund social programs, like unemployment insurance, to which they are opposed.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Pres. Obama's Weekly Address Feb. 28, 2009


Keeping Promises

In the Weekly Address this morning, President Obama explains how the budget he sent to Congress will fulfill the promises he made as a candidate. On fiscal responsibility, a fair tax code, a clean energy economy, real health care reform, and education, this budget sets out a new vision for our country.

But having put his priorities on paper and having stood behind them, the President recognizes that there are those who will fight against change every step of the way.

--- Click here for TEXT OF THE ADDRESS AT THE WHITE HOUSE BLOG:!... ---

Ailing G.O.P. Risks Losing a Generation

New York Times
By MARJORIE CONNELLY
Published: February 28, 2009
Republicans have their work cut out for them. Americans identifying themselves as Democrats outnumber those who say they are Republicans by 10 percentage points, the largest gap in party identification in 24 years, according to a year-by-year averaged trends analysis of all national party identifications surveys conducted by The New York Times and CBS News from 1976 theough the end of 2009.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY AT THE NEW YORK TIMES!... ---

Fight Looms Over Voter Photo ID Bill In Texas Legislature

According to The Houston Chronicle Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, has alerted senators he plans to bring up the Voter photo ID bill before a special Senate committee on March 10 to obtain approval of the 16 senators required to bring it to the Senate floor for debate and a vote. The Voter photo ID bill could pass in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 19-12 majority, as soon as March 16.

If the bill passes in the Senate, as it likely will, the Texas House is the only opportunity left for Democrats to mount a fight to block the measure. But, it will be a tough fight!

With the Texas House made up of 74 Democrats and 76 Republicans, after the 2008 election, the Voter ID bill will face a tougher fight in the Texas House this year than it did in 2007 when it passed the House, but failed to pass the Senate. That said, Speaker of the House, Joe Straus (R), will likely allow the voter ID bill to go the House floor for debate and an eventual vote, given his comment to reporters on Friday, 16 January 2009, that he favors Voter Photo Identification:
Straus, who voted for the Voter ID House bill in 2007, stated he thinks another examination of whether photo IDs are needed to combat voter fraud is appropriate. He said he does not yet know whether there are sufficient votes in the House to pass a bill.
The Texas Senate on Wednesday, 14 January 2009, voted 18-13, along party lines, to exempt voter identification legislation from the longstanding “Two-Thirds” Rule. The two-thirds rule requires that 21 senators must support a measure before it can be brought to the floor for debate and a vote. The vote was to exempt any bill brought forward in the Texas Senate that would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls before being allowed to vote.

Under the change, voter ID legislation can be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor with the approval of only 16 senators, not the 21 required under the customary two-thirds rule. (This is the vote now scheduled for March 10.)Democrats could have blocked voter ID legislation under the usual two-thirds rule — as they did two years ago when debate over voter photo ID in the 2007 legislative session paralyzed the State Senate for weeks before the bill was finally rejected.

While Texas proponents of voter ID legislation argue that it's needed to combat voter fraud, there is no evidence that the type of fraud that these requirements address has occurred at any point since records have been kept.

Voter Fraud is the claim that large groups of people knowingly and willingly give false information to establish voter eligibility, and knowingly and willingly vote illegally or participate in a conspiracy to encourage illegal voting by others.

Any claim that voter fraud is rampant in Texas is false.

While there is no actual evidence of voter fraud, many studies, such as conducted by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, find that U.S. citizens of Latino, Asian American and African American heritage are less likely to vote as a result of increasingly restrictive voter ID requirements.

Each of the groups listed in the Eagleton study tend to vote for Democratic candidates and are a growing percentage of Texas voters. The success of Democratic voter registration drives among these Texas groups in 2008 threatens to tip the balance of power away from the Republicans. As the tide of Democratic voters continues to grow across Texas, voter ID legislation would be an effective way for Republicans to hold back the tide.

The Voter ID bill introduced in the House during the 2007 legislative session (HB 218) passed by a vote of 76 to 69 when the House was made up of 69 Democrats and 81 Republicans. Two Republicans, who returned for the 81st legislative session, voted against HR 218 in 2007. The voter ID bill introduced in the Senate during the 2007 legislative session was successfully blocked from advancing in the Senate by Senate Democrats.

Straus, who is consider to be a somewhat more moderate conservative, took over the Speaker's Chair from hard right-winger Tom Craddick for the 2009 legislative session with the support of every Democrat in the Texas House. So far, Straus has not shown much appreciation to House Democrats for putting him in the Speaker's Chair and the he'll likely give no exception for the voter ID bill.

Locate your Collin County legislative district representatives in the House and Senate District here. Your Texas Legislative House and Senate District Numbers can be found on your Voter Registration Card. Check your voter registration card information online here.

TX Sen. Cornyn May Be Pushing Senate To 60 Dem Votes

Kentucky GOP Senator Jim Bunning is increasingly angry that the GOP senatorial committee has appearently recruited someone to run against him in the 2010 GOP primary. In a conference call with reporters this week, Bunning lashed out at Texas Senator John Cornyn, the Texan who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which recruits and supports Republicans to run for the Senate.

Senator Cornyn confirmed Monday, in an interview with The Washington Post, that some Republicans wanted Bunning to retire, but added that "as long as he says he is running I will be supportive of him." Bunning said in the conference call with reporters, "I don't believe anything John Cornyn says. . . I've had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate. He either doesn't understand English or he doesn't understand a direct 'I'm going to run,' which I said to him in the cloakroom of our chamber when he asked me."

In recent weeks, Senate Republican leaders have all but declared open war on Senator Bunning. Minority Leader (and fellow Kentucky senator) Mitch McConnell and others reportedly believe Bunning is likely to lose his reelection race in 2010, and so are trying to nudge him into retirement by sending signals that the party establishment will not back him. According to a story in the HuffingtonPost, Bunning reportedly has said privately that, "if he is hindered in raising money for his re-election campaign he is ready with a response that would be politically devastating for Senate Republicans: his [immediate] resignation."

The implication is that Bunning would allow Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, to appoint his replacement -- a move that could give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block Republican filibusters in the Senate.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Backlash On Gov. Perry's Rejection Of Federal Stimulus Money

As Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) continues to threaten to reject millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, there is growing anger among the unemployed over being handed conservative ideology rather than a stimulus generated job or an unemployment insurance check.

Gov. Perry joins with the Republican governors of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alaska and Idaho in extending to unemployed workers conservative ideology that government has no role to help them rather than a helping hand.

From the NYTimes:
For people like Henry Kight, 59, of Austin, Tex., the possibility that the money might be turned down is a deeply personal issue.
Mr. Kight, who worked for more than three decades as an engineering technician, discovered in September that because of complex state rules, he was not eligible for unemployment insurance after losing a job at a major electronics manufacturer in Texas.

Mr. Kight and other unemployed workers said they were incensed to learn they were living in one of a handful of states — many of them among the poorest in the nation — that might not provide the expanded benefits. [Unemployment regulations in these states, involving such matters as the length of a person’s work history or reason for leaving a job often disqualify newly unemployed workers from receiving benefits.]

Currently, when considering a person’s work history, most states do not include wages earned in just the current or preceding quarter. Instead, they look to see what the person earned in the four quarters before that, which can often hurt low-wage workers, people facing a second or third successive layoff and people just entering or returning to the work force.

In Mr. Kight’s case, he was unemployed for the second half of 2007, after being downsized from an earlier job at a different electronics manufacturer. As a result, when he applied for unemployment benefits after the secon layoff, he did not have enough immediate work history to qualify.

“I have worked for so many years, a total of probably 30 years, contributing to the support system that helps people when they get in a tough spot like I’m in,” Mr. Kight said. “I haven’t needed it too much in the past, but I sure could use it right now.”

About 40 percent of applicants who are now disqualified from receiving benefits because they do not earn enough would qualify if states offered an alternative base period, according to the National Employment Law Project.

“It just seems unreasonable,” Mr. Kight said, “that when people probably need the help the most, that because of partisan activity, or partisan feelings, against the current new administration, that [Gov.] Perry is willing to sacrifice the lives of so many Texans that have been out of work in the last year.”

He was referring to Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has said he may decline the extra money rather than change state policy.

“I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the funding has dried up,” Mr. Perry wrote in a letter to Mr. Obama last week.
It is not clear why participating in the expanded unemployment insurance program would result in "ongoing expenditures." The recovery package will fund state unemployment for approximately three years, at which point Texas could — if it chose to do so — return to the more restrictive unemployment regulations. And, if the job stimulus successfully helps to put people back to work, then fewer workers will be unemployed and needing assistance.