Precinct 4 Commissioner Race Added To Collin Co. Fall Ballot

The Collin County Commissioners' Court approves the annual budget and all county expenditures, sets the county property tax rates, approves the tax roll and determines public works policy such as building programs and conducting elections. The court appoints most non-elected department heads and standing committees and represents the county in state and regional matters. Members of the court also serve as Trustees of the Collin County Health Care Foundation, Collin County Housing Finance Corporation, and the Collin County Substance Abuse Foundation.

The July 2008 death of long time Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Hatchell opened up a vacancy for the remaining 2 years of his commissioner's term. The Precinct 4 Commissioner's office position will be added to the appropriate "ballot styles" by the Collin County Elections Office for the 2008 General Election. The Precinct 4 Commissioner's District falls generally in the south western portion of Collin County. People who live in that district will see that race as one of their ballot position choices for the General Election this fall. (See Precinct 4 Commissioner's District Map PDF.)

In the interim, former GOP county chair Kathy Ward was last month appointed to fill the Precinct 4 Commissioner's office until the November election. Ms. Ward has also been named by the Republican Party of Collin County to stand for election to that office in the General Election to fill the remaining 2 years Hatchell's term.

It was announced at the July 26th monthly "4th Saturday" meeting of the Democratic Party of Collin County (DPCC) that long time Plano Attorney Jean Power was filling with the County Elections Department to form a campaign committee to run as the Democratic candidate for the Precinct 4 Commissioner's District. Ms. Power made a few brief remarks at the DPCC "4th Saturday" meeting expressing her strong desire to serve her community as the Precinct 4 Commissioner.

Ms. Power also gave DPCC members attending the DPCC 4th Saturday meeting a brief summary of her professional background and community service. Ms. Power is the Managing Partner of Power Family Law and has practiced family law in Plano for 18 years. She is a former president of the Plano Bar Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the Rape Crises Center of Collin County and the All Saints Catholic School Advisory Committee. She is also a former president of the Collin County Social Services Association. Ms. Power received her law degree from Texas Tech in 1989.

Visit Jean Power's Collin County Precinct 4 Commissioner's Court website for more information.
Related link:Collin County Commissioners Court Democratic Candidates

Largest Asian-American PAC Endorses Obama

On Saturday the largest Asian-American political action committee, the 80-20 Initiative, formally endorsed Sen. Obama for president. They decided on the endorsement after a day-long convention and discussion among 33 delegates of various ethnicities, ages and party affiliations. The delegates represent a national, nonpartisan organization of 700,000 supporters.

GOP Senior Senator Ted Stevens Indicted On 7 Criminal Counts!

GOP Senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Indicted On 7 Criminal Charge (Huffington Post) - Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator and a major figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in services from an oil services company that helped renovate his home.

The first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, Stevens has been dogged by an investigation into his home renovation project in Alaska and his dealings with wealthy oil contractors.

TPM Election Central is reporting that Liddy Dole is dumping $10,000 in donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens leadership PAC. Burnt Orange Report is reporting that John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison also accepted donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens leadership PAC.

How Senator Ted Stevens' Alaska house re-do became a federal indictment against Senator Stevens - Reported in the McClatchy Newspaper on Saturday, August 2, 2008

Obama Taps Rep. Emanuel for Debate Negotiations

TheHill.com reports, "Barack Obama’s presidential campaign agreed to three debates against rival John McCain this fall and announced that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) will handle the Illinois senator's negotiations. In a letter to the Presidential Commission on Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote that Obama will participate in three debates, and his running mate will participate in one vice presidential debate. Emanuel will take the lead on negotiating the specifics of the debates on behalf of the Obama campaign."

McCain The Low-Road Warrior

Mudslinging will damage McCain’s brand—but it may be the only way he can win, begins an article in the The New York Magazine. Here are a couple of excerpts from the New York Magazine article:

"With the week long string of attacks uncorked by the Arizona senator and his people during Obama’s trip abroad and in its aftermath—some brutal, some mocking, but all personal and focused on Obama’s character—we now have an inkling of just how deep in the mud McCain and his people are willing to wallow in order to win in November: right up to their Republican eyeballs. As countless fact-checkers and tsk-tskers have maintained, the broadsides were a blend of distortion, innuendo, and outright slander. But that doesn’t mean they (and their inevitable successors) won’t prove effective. The strategy behind all this isn’t hard to discern: Drive up Obama’s negatives and render him unacceptable to pivotal voting blocs. Thus the depiction of him as too young, too feckless, and too pampered to be president. "

The New York Magazine is worth a read. Go to the New York Magazine article here:

Is the low road working for McCain? According to recent Quinnipiac polls taken in swing-states since McCain shifted to a harshly negative low-road posture, he has gained ground on Obama in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

By the end of last week Obama had started to toughen his rhetoric too, and so had his campaign. But now it's time for Obama go on the hard offense, to batter McCain for his gaffes and incoherence, hammer him for his flip-flops, highlight how his maverick status is a thing of fiction, and turn him into a combination of Bush and Grandpa Simpson.

There is also an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune. In this Tribune article Ed Rollins, a longtime Republican strategist, said McCain sometimes appears frustrated and angry when he talks about Obama, especially when complaining that the press does not treat him fairly. "John needs to be the deliberate, experienced veteran and not the grumpy old man," Rollins said. "If he's the grumpy old man, angry that the media is not in love with him anymore because they're in love with Barack Obama, that's not going to play well with the public." Go to the Chicago Tribune article here:

On ABC's Sunday "This Week" program, longtime Washington hand David Gergen took umbrage with John McCain's recent attack ads, charging that the Senator was using coded messaging to paint Barack Obama as "outside the mainstream" and "uppity." - Read more at Huffington Post

Then there are a couple of postings from AmericaBlog that points out why the Swift Boat type attack may not work in this election year. Go to the AmericaBlog positings here and here.

U.S. Senate Candidate Rick Noriega Latest Polling Info

Rasmussen's latest polling information on the U.S. Sentate race in Texas between incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R) and Texas State Legislator Rick Noriega (D) shows that, despite a serious fundraising disadvantage, Rick Noriega remains competitive with John Cornyn for the Texas U.S. Senate seat:

The latest Rasmussen Report telephone survey in the Lone Star State finds Republican Incumbent John Cornyn leading Democratic State Legislator Rick Noriega 47% to 37%. When “leaners” are included, Cornyn leads 50% to 39%. The incumbent senator is viewed favorably by 55% of voters and unfavorably by 31%. Noriega’s numbers are 45% favorable and 33% unfavorable. July marks the second straight month that support for the incumbent has dropped below 50%. Last month, Cornyn had a 48% to 35% lead. Incumbents who poll below 50% are generally considered vulnerable. Cornyn polled better in early June, when he led the democrat 52% to 35%. Though Cornyn’s lead has decreased this month, his numbers among unaffiliated voters have improved. The Republican now leads 41% to 24% among those voters. Support from his own party fell slightly this month, from 85% to 81%. On the other side of the aisle, Noreiga is now backed by 79% of Democrats, up from 68% last month. The Republican now leads by fourteen percentage points among men and seven points among women, representing little change from last month.

Noriega's struggle, as it has been throughout his campaign for the Texas U.S. Senate seat, is to raise enough money to buy radio and TV spots to make himself more widely known to voters across Texas, which, as we know, is a very big state.

Cornyn's campaign is flush with money. Among his contributors, according to the Burnt Orange Report, John Cornyn has accepted donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Steven's leadership PAC.

For two months running Cornyn has polled below 50% while more than half of Republican voters now believe that their Republican leaders, who have controlled America's direction for eight years, have taken the country down the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June, according to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters. On top of those facts, add that Senator Obama's presidential polling numbers are also within competitive striking distance in Texas and there's clearly an opening for Noreiga, if he can pull together the campaign contributions to stay competitive.

On the topic of campaign contributions -- The Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) recently endorsed Texas State Legislator Rick Noriega for the office of U.S. Senate. TDWCC membership voted to make a $1000 contribution to Noriega's campaign coffers on July 23, 2008. The picture at left shows Stephen Sargent accepting the $1000 contribution from Barb Walters, TDWCC President, on behalf of Rick Noriega's campaign on July 28 at the organization's monthly membership meeting.

Rick Noriega will speak at the Democatic Party of Collin County's Ann Richard's Dinner and fundraiser at the Heritage Ranch Country Club in McKinney, TX on August 16, 2008.

Texas Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega has served in the Texas House of Representatives and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard. Noriega was deployed to Afghanistan for one year and served as deputy garrison commander of the KMTC training facility in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Watch Noriega's YouTube videos displayed in the right sidebar of this blog page and watch the video below to get to know him a little!!

Candidate for U.S. Senate,
Texas State Representative,
Military Veteran of War, and
Lieutenant Colonel - Texas Army National Guard

Judge Jim Jordan for Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court

Those hard at work to get Democrats elected in Texas will urge you to vote “down ballot.” Said another way, “please continue selecting Democratic Candidate ballot choices all the way down to the end of the ballot” after you have selected your Presidential choice at the top of the ballot.

It is important to study all the candidates and make an informed decision from your Presidential Candidate choice all the way down to whichever candidate is named last on the ballot.

Casting your vote to elect Judge Jim Jordan as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is an example of how to bring about change in Texas.

Judge Jordan believes, “A judge wears a black robe -- not a red or blue robe.”

Here are three things Judge Jordan wants to address:

1. Fix the current, growing, backlog in the Texas courts

We need to demand that the court release statistics on backlogged cases by judge. In 2000 there were 102 cases pending; in 2007, there were 177!

Although each justice is obligated do his or her own part to work to reduce the backlog and to timely work on the matters assigned to them, the Chief Justice is uniquely positioned, as the leader of the court, to use peer pressure and bring appropriate and effective procedures to bear on the backlog problem. The fact that the public awareness of the backlog has spurred recent activity by the court demonstrates that transparency and pressure can have a beneficial effect.

2. Stop the bias in favor of insurance and corporate parties.

Judge Jordan states that “decisions should be based upon the law and the constitution, not upon the justices’ political views or to advance a personal agenda.”

The legal community has noticed this trend, and recent studies have confirmed it. Professor David Anderson of the University of Texas School of Law wrote an article last year (“Judicial Tort Reform in Texas”) where he concluded based upon empirical data gathered for the years 2005 and 2006 and upon an analysis of the court’s opinions during this time that the court was serving a political ideology. His study found that the Supreme Court has been in favor of business and insurance defendants more that 85% of the time and that jury verdicts overturned by the court had all been in favor of the plaintiffs. While I believe it is dangerous to determine the quality of a justice by keeping a keep score card of who wins and who looses, these numbers are overwhelming.

3. Remove the selection of judges from partisan politics

The influence of politics and money in the selection and retention of judges is harmful to a fair judicial system. Partisan political elections on a November ballot where judicial candidates raise money almost exclusively from attorneys and parties who appear in their court erode trust in our judicial system. However, we can start making a difference now by making sure that when the Governor appoints a judge to complete the term of a resigning judge, the nominee goes through a rigorous public examination to ensure we select judges with the proper qualifications, experience and judicial temperament, rather than for their ability to help the party in power.

Visit Judge Jordan's website for more information, including his answers to a Dallas Morning News questionnaire.

Watch as Judge Jim Johnson Speaks at the 2008 Texas Democratic Convention


The Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) recently endorsed Judge Jim Jordan for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. TDWCC membership voted to make a $1000 contribution to Jordan's campaign coffers on July 23, 2008. The picture at left shows Judge Jim Jordan with Barb Walters, TDWCC President, on July 28 at the organization's monthly membership meeting where he received the TDWCC's $1000 contribution.

You can review Judge Jordan’s responses to the position questionnaire submitted to him by the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) and discover why the TDWCC endorses him for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Judge Jordan’s qualifications and experience are above reproach:

Judicial Experience:

• Judge 160th District Court; former judge 44th District Court.
  

Leadership experience:

• Elected by 39 fellow District Court Judges as the Local Administrative District Judge of Dallas County, Texas; Former President, Garland Bar Association.

Legal Experience:

• Board Certified Civil Trial since 1984; Served two terms District 6A Texas Bar Grievance Committee; Teacher of trial advocacy trial skills at SMU and LSU law schools and at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Why Are You A Democrat in 2008?

Howard Dean, DNC Chairman, has announced a "Why Are You A Democrat in 2008" video contest for the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month. One of our very own Frisco Democratic Meetup Group members, Amy Manuel, created a music video for the Democratic National Convention Contest. Watch Howard Dean's video announcement of the contest and then watch Amy's most excellent music video that she created with the help of Lightning Bear Productions. Way to go Amy and good luck!!

The Commander In Chief Test - A Little Fun, Episode 1

Let's Quit Calling It A War On Terror!

Something I hope all Democratic candidates will do with more forethought is to change the issues language of the campaign. Democrats are sometimes too quick to respond to Republican rhetoric with a negative, rather than a thoughtfully crafted positively worded position statement.

I know it works -- remember in the 1970s when the "pro-life" movement tried to co-opt Americans into believing that if liberals were for abortions and family planning it meant liberals were "anti-life?" Thoughtful Democrats successfully coined the phrase "pro-choice" and since that phrase coinage progressives have been able to accurately refer to Republicans as "anti-choice." Consider the difference in the images brought to mind.

Words do matter! Consider a recent report from the nonpartisan Rand Corp. political think tank that flatly states, "The U.S. Should Rethink 'War On Terrorism' Strategy to Deal with Resurgent Al Qaida."

In looking at how other terrorist groups have ended, the RAND study found that most terrorist groups end either because they join the political process, or because local police and intelligence efforts arrest or kill key members. Police and intelligence agencies, rather than the military, should be the tip of the spear against al Qaida in most of the world, and the United States should abandon the use of the phrase "war on terrorism," the RAND researchers concluded.

"The United States also should avoid the use of the term, 'war on terror,' and replace it with the term 'counter terrorism.' Nearly every U.S. ally, including the United Kingdom and Australia, has stopped using 'war on terror,' and it's more than a mere matter of semantics," says Seth Jones, the RAND study lead author and a political scientist at RAND.

The study contends the Bush Administration committed a fundamental error in strategic thinking by portraying the conflict with al-Qaeda as a "war on terrorism." The phrase falsely suggests that there can be a battlefield solution to terrorists, and symbolically conveys warrior status on terrorists.

"The term we use to describe our strategy toward terrorists is important, because it affects what kinds of forces you use," Jones said. "Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests that there is no battlefield solution to terrorism."

"The United States has the necessary instruments to defeat al Qaida, it just needs to shift its strategy [and policy phrasing] and keep in mind that terrorist groups are not eradicated overnight," Jones said.

The RAND study, "How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qaida," can be found at www.rand.org. The report was prepared by the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center that does research for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands and other defense agencies.

If Democrats want some lessons on crafting the correct political messages, read George Lakoff's book, Don't Think of an Elephant.

McCain Charge Against Obama Lacks Evidence: Washington Post

McCain Charge Against Obama Lacks Evidence (Washington Post) - For four days, Sen. John McCain and his allies have accused Sen. Barack Obama of snubbing wounded soldiers by canceling a visit to a military hospital because he could not take reporters with him, despite no evidence that the charge is true.

The McCain Campaign then launched additional attack ads mocking Senator Obama as a self-important celebrity along the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. From The Huffington Post, "In the end, the ad may tell voters as much about McCain as it does the Illinois Democrat. It was not too long ago that McCain's campaign released a memo -- authored by Rick Davis -- saying it was "critical" to "run a respectful campaign focused on the issues," no matter which the Democratic nominee emerged. Since then, the presumptive Republican nominee has launched attacks on Obama's patriotism, has blamed his opponent for high gas prices, and has accused him of willfully snubbing the troops."

Senator Obama has directly responded to McCain's multiple attack ads saying, "You know, I don't pay attention to John McCain's ads, although I do notice he doesn't seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me... You need to ask John McCain what he's for and not just what he's against."

Here is Senator Obama's video response to the McCain Campaign's "Low Road" political attacks:

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Home Prices Tumbled By The Steepest Rate Ever In May

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index dropped by 15.8 percent in May compared with a year ago, a record decline since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 16.9 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history.

Below is the price changes for Dallas:

	October 2007 Level	October/September Change (%)	September/August Change (%)	1-Year Change (%)
Dallas	121.61	1.0%	1.1%	-3.1%
Composite-10	181.48	-1.0%	-1.5%	-16.9%
Composite-20	168.54	-0.9%	-1.3%	-15.8%

Standard & Poor’s Press Release PDF