The online life

I just can't get too worked up about this sort of thing.

Most young people know the basics of landing a job: Prepare a résumé, compile references and dress up for the interview.

But a handful of 20-somethings got a staunch reminder last month of a subtler job-hunting lesson -- that they need to polish their online profiles before entering the work force. A Houston TV station searched their Facebook pages, broadcasting some questionable photos and content.

A Lee High School teacher, for example, was photographed holding a sex toy. A Fonville Middle School teacher posted a photo album titled "TAKS Sucks Drinking Does NOT." A teacher at South Houston High School in the Pasadena district joked about his mostly Hispanic class's pronunciation of "mister."

The Pasadena teacher, who could not be reached for comment, resigned after the broadcast.

"He did this rather quickly, out of concern for his students," said Candace Ahlfinger, spokeswoman for the district. "That says a lot about the quality of the young man, a lot of positives."

Houston school district spokesman Terry Abbott said that, in most of these cases, the items were posted while the individuals were in college, before they became public school teachers. Still, he said, the teachers were upset and mortified that their online profiles were aired in public.

As a record number of Americans register on social networking sites like Facebook, these are issues that both employees and employers must increasingly handle.

Most companies acknowledge that employees have the right to express themselves -- and sometimes even encourage them to network online -- but also want them to avoid doing anything that might come back to haunt them.

Okay, look. There are plenty of photographs from 20-some years ago that show my college self doing stupid things, most of which involve beer. It's called being young and foolish, something which most of us are during those years. Maybe, just maybe, as these 20-something Facebookers become bosses and hiring managers and whatnot over time, there will be less of a stigma associated with having one's young-and-foolishness being noticed on the web, since by then we'll all live in glass houses and the standard response will be to shrug and say "hey, I was young once, too". I think the world will be a better place when that happens.

Maintenance window

I'm having some maintenance done on the site this evening, hopefully including an upgrade to Movable Type 4.12 and a new look with a few new features. As such, you may not be able to see much on this page overnight and into the morning. All should be up and running before noon tomorrow. Check back tomorrow and see what you think.

Holiday weekend link dump

Some links to get you through the weekend...

A look back at a time when the US knew how to make the US look good.

Don't cut your kid's hair. Pay for a real haircut, save yourself the angst.

Look out, Gay Talese! Screen shot here if needed.

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers", by the Ukelele Orchestra of Britain (via).

What does Obama believe in?

Conservapedia versus science. Science wins.

From the IOKIYAR files.

A good time was had by all at the Houston Votes event.

What do Congressional candidates think about science? I'm glad someone is asking.

Is voting behavior inherited? I don't know, but I love studies done on twins.

Help Darcy Burner. And as long as you're in that frame of mind, please consider helping Brian Beutler.

Can you drive 55?

I'm not sure if the country is emotionally ready to discuss this in a rational manner, but like it or not, it's out there.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.

Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.

[...]

Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year.

"Given the significant increase in the number of vehicles on America's highway system from 1974 to 2008, one could assume that the amount of fuel that could be conserved today is far greater," Warner wrote Bodman.

Warner asked the department to determine at what speeds vehicles would be most fuel efficient, how much fuel savings would be achieved, and whether it would be reasonable to assume there would be a reduction in prices at the pump if the speed limit were lowered.

There's no question that lower speed limits would conserve oil; whether that would lead to a reduction in the price of gasoline is less certain, since unlike 1974, the problem here is global demand, not supply. But it would assuredly make for sound public policy on many levels. Will anyone who has a re-election in their future get on board with Sen. Warner? My guess is he'll be a loner on this, but maybe I'll be surprised.

And for you kids who don't remember the 55 MPH era, here is what was its national anthem:

There's just so much awesomeness packed into that video, I can barely stand it. I must concede that lowering the speed limit would directly correlate with more Hagar-like driving, but that can be dealt with as needed. What's your opinion of Sen. Warner's proposal?

RIP, Jesse Helms

Former Senator Jesse Helms is dead.

Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.

He was 86.

[...]

In 1993, when then-President Clinton sought confirmation for an openly homosexual assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Helms registered his disgust. "I'm not going to put a lesbian in a position like that," he said in a newspaper interview at the time. "If you want to call me a bigot, fine."

[...]

He defeated former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt in 1990 and 1996 in racially tinged campaigns. In the first race, a Helms commercial showed a white fist crumbling up a job application, these words underneath: "You needed that job ... but they had to give it to a minority."

"The tension that he creates, the fear he creates in people, is how he's won campaigns," Gantt said several years later.

If you have nothing nice to say about someone, you shouldn't say anything. That's all I have to say.

Now that's a prank

I'd never heard of this before, but it's very cool.

t was probably the most ingenious student prank of all time.

In June 1958, Cambridge awoke to see a car perched at the apex of an inaccessible rooftop, looking as if it were driving across the skyline.

The spectacle made headlines around the world and left police, firefighters and civil defence units battling for nearly a week to hoist the vehicle back down before giving in and taking it to pieces with blowtorches.

The shadowy group of engineering students who executed the stunt were never identified and the mystery of how they did it has baffled successive undergraduates and provided fodder for countless tourist guides.

Now, 50 years on, the group have reunited to disclose their identities and reveal how they winched an Austin Seven to the top of the university's 70ft-high Senate House.

The photo of the car on the roof is so bizarre, it's like a Magritte painting. The schematic of how the pranksters got it up there are truly impressive. Check it out, and ask yourself why you never did anything that cool in college. Thanks to Dwight on Twitter for the link.

Boot this!

I like the sound of this.

While towing companies are regulated, booting companies are not. They may soon be, as officials craft an ordinance to regulate the practice.

"We've seen an increase in this kind of complaint since last summer," said Liliana Rambo, the city's director of parking management. "The booting operators came to Houston and found a wide-open market."

Premier Parking Enforcement Inc. entered the Houston market about 18 months ago. The Atlanta-based operator would be fine with regulation, said their lobbyist, Darryl Carter.

"It would make the business much easier because we would know what is expected," he said.

Carter said Premier is hired by parking lot owners to patrol their lots to enforce payment.

The lot owners would rather boot than tow because it's less "intrusive" for the customer, Carter said. Booting -- which involves the installation of a bulky metal device on a wheel to prevent an automobile from being driven -- can be resolved on site and results in less potential for damage than hauling a vehicle away. Premier charges $100 to remove its boots and guarantees it will remove a device within an hour of payment.

The proposed ordinance could limit removal fees to a maximum $100 and require boot company employees to wear photo identification.

The city also is considering rules for surface lots that do not use automated gates or issue receipts, Rambo said. Those lots are the ones that generate the most confusion and complaints, she explained.

The new rules still are being developed, but could include a requirement that lot owners post signs telling drivers how to pay for parking, the hours and days that booting is enforced, and the telephone numbers of the booting company and the police department.

One proposal would exempt lots from signage rules if they install receipt equipment and automated gates.

All of this sounds eminently reasonable to me. I occasionally park in self-serve lots, and I always have a twinge of doubt as I shove my bills into that tiny slot that I'll get credit for having paid. Of course, automated gates can be problematic, too. But basically, setting clearly understood rules, and encouraging parking lots to be more user-friendly, is all to the good.

The Experiment Continues to Illuminate

(The following is a guest post from Joe Jaworski.)

This week, we mark 232 years since our nation declared its independence and launched the greatest experiment in democracy the world has ever known.

That experiment continues to illuminate. The Founders were revolutionaries - and we should always think of them so - who designed our government to be an institution answerable to the American people. Our government works because regular men and women stand for election among their peers who, by their vote, grant the ultimate consent to be governed. No matter the great change that has taken place since 1776, our government was designed to survive "politics" because American citizens are able to control their own course.

The mood is revolutionary again because - for the first time in over fifty years - whoever is elected President will be "new" to the White House. Not since Eisenhower's 1952 election over Stevenson have we witnessed a campaign without the President or his Vice President seeking the office. And since no incumbent is defending the past four years, the 2008 election cycle is about demanding an honest assessment of our condition and finding a new way forward. We'll find that way forward by voting our conscience.

I take my kids to vote with me because the citizen's act of voting is the trademark American experience. I'm asking you today to take stock of your vital role as a Texan and an American, and reflect on your commitment to making our democracy work. We'll have an opportunity to vote in November 2008 in a life changing election for several offices, and each of us has a duty to cast an informed vote. We'll be voting for office holders who decide matters vital to our family's well being. While the politicians and special interests hope for minimal scrutiny from the public, and they expect most people to be "tuned out" until just before the November 4, cycle, it's July 4 and we have four months until election-day. We have the opportunity to learn who the candidates are, study their issues and ask questions. We can afford to be casually indifferent about a few things in life, but casting an educated vote is a vital civic challenge we ought to accept given what's at stake: the robustness of our economy, the quality of our foreign relations, and - clearly the most important issue - our domestic investment in our next generation's health, education and welfare. Today's vote determines our future. We love our children and grandchildren; let's remember that when we vote.

Amid the many family picnics, fireworks displays, and community parades, let's take a moment to reflect on the enormity of our American experience and consider the heroes and generations whose shoulders we stand upon. Our commitment this Independence Day is to participate and defend the democratic ideal committed to us by the Founders and the Americans who followed.

Joe Jaworski served as Galveston Mayor Pro-tem and is currently running for the Texas Senate in District 11.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Comer sues the TEA

Remember Chris Comer, the former director of science curriculum for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) who was forced to resign over a bogus controversy concerning intelligent design? According to the Observer blog, she has now filed a lawsuit against her former employer.

The suit alleges that Comer's termination violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. What's interesting is how the suit reaches that conclusion:

1) Creationism is a religious belief

2) The Establishment Clause forbids the teaching of religion (read: creationism) in public schools. [The suit makes liberal reference to Kitzmiller v. Dover, the landmark 2005 case in which a conservative Bush-appointed judge rejected the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.]

3) The Texas Education Agency has a tacit policy of "neutrality" on evolution vs. creationism.

4) The"neutrality" policy is in fact an endorsement of creationism - and religion - and is unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause.

5) Comer was fired for violating an unconstitutional policy.

Conclusion: "Comer's termination... violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution... because it has the purpose or effect of endorsing religion."

Yeah, that sounds like a big ol' can of worms being opened to me, too. The suit is here (PDF). Of potential interest is that the firm representing Comer is Patton Boggs, among whose attorneys are likely SD17 candidate Chris Bell. I don't think that has anything to do with anything, but I figured I'd mention it since I'm sure someone would have eventually. In any event, I can't wait to see how this one turns out. South Texas Chisme has more.

Deputies arrest plaintiff in suit against Sheriff's office

In late May, the Ibarra brothers and several other people filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff's Office, claiming that its deputies retaliated against people who filed complaints about them. Now one of those plaintiffs has been arrested by Sheriff's deputies.

A part-time Houston municipal court judge and law professor who is one of five citizens alleging intimidation and harassment in a lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff's Office was released from jail overnight after sheriff's deputies arrested her.

April Jill Walker is charged with evading arrest in a motor vehicle, a felony, said her attorney, Lloyd Kelley.

Walker posted $2,000 bail and was released from the Harris County Jail, according to court records.

The incident occurred Wednesday evening in her Spring-area neighborhood, culminating with Walker's arrest in her driveway.

"He (a deputy) slammed her to the ground and said 'I know who you are. You're the judge' and he used the 'n' word," said Kelley.

A Sheriff's Office spokesman did not return calls for comment.

Walker's two sons, 15 and 17, initially were detained by deputies along with several other teenagers about 8:30 p.m. in their Olde Oaks neighborhood. The teens were placed in the back of patrol cars. One eventually was released and one charged with trespassing, Kelley said.

At the time the boys were taken into custody, Walker went to the area and was told to leave, Kelley said. She then drove down the street to tell a neighbor that her son also was being detained.

When Walker tried to leave the area of her neighbor's home, a deputy "slammed the hood" of her car with his hand, Kelley said.

The deputy followed Walker as she drove home and arrested her after she pulled into her driveway, he said.

Neighbors reported the deputies were "high-fiving" each other, Kelley said.

That was the story that appeared on the front page of yesterday's Chron; here's the KTRK story as well. Today's version, at the same URL, has the deputies' version of events, and it's very different:

In contrast to allegations by April Jill Walker, sheriff's Capt. John Martin said the arresting deputies were not aware of her office or the fact that she is a plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing members of the Sheriff's Office of intimidation and harassment.

[...]

Martin said Thursday that Walker, who also teaches law at Texas Southern University, identified herself only as a lawyer during the incident and that the deputies did not know she is a judge or is suing the Sheriff's Office.

He said the Sheriff's Office will investigate the high-five allegation, but surmised that if it is true, the deputies may have been celebrating the peaceful end of a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood.

The incident began after Walker's sons, ages 15 and 17, were detained about 8:30 p.m. along with several other young people in the Olde Oaks neighborhood where they live.

Martin said a resident who had been asked to keep an eye on a neighbor's house while the neighbor was away reported that people were in the house.

Deputies came to the house and detained the group. Walker, who lives a short distance away, learned of the situation and drove to the house.

Martin said that Walker saw her two sons in the backseat of a patrol car, opened a door to talk with them and was warned by a deputy to step away from the car. The deputy told Walker that she was at the scene of an active investigation and could talk with her sons later, Martin said.

Walker left and returned several times, Martin said, before a deputy approached her car and told her to leave. He also told her that she was not wearing her safety belts, Martin said, but she backed out of the driveway and went through a stop sign at high speed while still in reverse.

After Walker shifted into drive and sped away, Sgt. J. Cook pursued with his emergency lights engaged, Martin said. He said Walker refused to stop and drove home at 50 to 60 mph.

When confronted in her driveway, Walker resisted before being arrested, Martin said.

He added that her sons and the others who were found in the house were charged with trespassing and possession of marijuana.

Walker said that, although no one in the group lives at that address, her sons are friends of the people who live there and frequently visit them.

And just in case that isn't enough, here's KTRK's latest entry, in which Walker disputes the deputies' version. All I can say at this point is good luck to the judge and jurors that get the task of sorting it all out.

UPDATE: And here's the latest Chron story, with more from Judge Walker.

RIP, Larry Harmon

Larry Harmon, who played Bozo the Clown for over 50 years, has died at the age of 83.

Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos.

"You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.

"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said.

Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, was the first Bozo the Clown, a character created by writer-producer Alan W. Livingston for a series of children's records in 1946. Livingston said he came up with the name Bozo after polling several people at Capitol Records.

[...]

The business -- combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances -- made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets.

"I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo.

The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation.

Bozo -- portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell -- was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made.

By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film.

I guess that means that the version of Bozo that I recall watching from my childhood featured some other dude as Bozo. Not that it really matters, I suppose, since whoever it was had been trained by the master himself. Rest in peace, Larry Harmon.

Brimer sues to boot Davis off the ballot

I thought we were done with ballot access battles. Looks like I was wrong.

State Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, filed a lawsuit today against Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Steve Maxwell, Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie and his Democratic opponent Wendy Davis.

The suit requests the court to "disqualify Davis from the November 2008 general election."

The suit follows the same line of argument as three Fort Worth firefighters charged back in January, when they alleged in a suit that Davis couldn't run for the state senate because she didn't officially step down from her seat on the Fort Worth City Council before filing her candidacy.

"In effect, Davis sought to become a candidate for the Legislature at the same time she continued to hold a 'lucrative office', exercise her duties and enjoy the benefits of office as a member of the City Council," the suit alleges.

State election law prohibits officeholders from running for the Legislature, but state law also requires resigning officeholders to hold their seats until their successors are sworn in, according to city of Fort Worth officials.

A three-judge panel in that case ruled that the firefighters didn't have standing to challenge Davis' eligibility, only a political opponent did.

We asked Brimer back in February whether he would file his own suit. He wouldn't say.

A copy of the suit is here (PDF) if any lawyers want to give it a look-see and offer an opinion; a timeline of events is here. Clearly, based on the original ruling, Brimer has a chance to win that the firefighters didn't, since he has standing. I also think it's pretty clear that the ethically-challenged Brimer is worried about losing this race, and is hoping to take out some insurance. I also think if he loses the court challenge he'll suffer some blowback. But since a win means a guaranteed re-election, it's easy to understand why he's taking this gambit. Over to you, Tarrant County District Court. In the meantime, you can listen to my interview with Davis.

UPDATE: The Texas Blue suggests that the ruling in the Bill Dingus lawsuit bodes well for Davis.

And now they arrest the bosses

I had wondered why the recent ICE raid at a rag plant didn't result in any charges being filed against the employers. Now I see that has happened.

This morning a U.S. magistrate in Houston is scheduled to preside over the initial court appearance of two owners and three managers of Action Rags USA. The eastside company, located in a sweltering factory near the Port of Houston, was the scene of one of Houston's largest immigration raids when 166 undocumented workers were detained June 25.

Federal charges were unsealed late Wednesday after agents arrested company owner Mabarik Kahlon, 45, and his partner and uncle, Rasheed Ahmed, 58. Also arrested Wednesday were manager Cirila Barron, 38, resource manager Valerie Rodriguez, 34, and warehouse supervisor Mayra Herrera-Gutierrez, 32. Ahmed, who has health problems, was freed on his own recognizance until today's court appearance. The rest remain in federal custody.

Barron and Herrera-Gutierrez are illegal immigrants from Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston.

The five are charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants, inducing illegal immigrants to come into the country, as well as illegal hiring practices including knowingly accepting false work documents.

''Immigration is a political issue and until it is solved politically, any employer is at risk," said David Gerger, a prominent Houston attorney who is representing the owners. ''But as far as this case goes, we will defend it in court and not in the press." Gerger represented former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow during his criminal case.

The arrests of the company leaders were applauded by those who favor tough enforcement of immigration laws.

''Employers who knowingly hire illegals need to face the consequences, and the consequences are prosecution," said U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble. ''Employers have been getting a pass way too long on hiring illegals and not being held accountable for it."

Well, if that's the approach you've chosen to take, it's better to arrest the employers as well as the employees, who after all wouldn't be there without those who hired them. But again, this is a stupid way of doing it. Make it easier for companies like Action Rags to legally import and hire foreign workers, and ensure those workers have a path to citizenship and the same rights and protections as native born workers, and a whole slew of problems go away. Why is this so hard?

A letter to the editor puts that same sentiment in a slightly different fashion:

Monday's Page One article, "ICE Raids often spare employers" quoted U.S. Reps. Ted Poe and John Culberson calling for the prosecution of employers hiring illegal aliens.

I have supported both congressmen in the past and consider them great allies on many different causes, but their comments reveal an alarming hostility to the folks who provide jobs in our city, state and nation. Employers must navigate the minefield of laws that govern the workplace. On one side, Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells them, "Don't hire any illegal aliens, or you might go to jail your-self!" On the other side, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission tells them, "Don't look at that ID too closely or we will sue you for discrimination." People forget that five years before ICE raided the Swift meatpacking plants, Swift had paid out a $200,000 settlement to the Department of Justice for scrutinizing its employment documents too closely.

Employers are caught in a Catch-22 created by our government's failure to solve the immigration problem. Poe and Culberson should spend more time trying to pass sensible immigration reform and less time bashing the folks who put food on the table for millions of people in this city and great state!

NORMAN E. ADAMS, Houston

There's a huge amount of room to make improvements here, and no good reason not to. What's holding things back is a strong and persistent belief among some vocal opponents of immigration that meeting the real needs of the employment market by increasing the number of visas available for both skilled and unskilled labor would be harmful to American culture. They're wrong, and we need to get past that attitude or we'll never solve this problem.

Finally, I recommend Council Member James Rodriguez's words on the initial ICE raid, which are quoted at Marc Campos' site. Well said.

AMA runs ad criticizing anti-Medicare vote

As we know, the Texas Medical Association recently rescinded its endorsement of Sen. John Cornyn after his vote against a Medicare-funding bill, HR6331. Now the American Medical Association is getting into the act.

Reflecting physicians' frustration with a group of senators that blocked action last week on legislation that would stop harsh Medicare physician payment cuts, the AMA began airing new TV and radio ads urging opponents of H.R. 6331 to put patients' access to care before insurance profits. The ads will run through this week's congressional recess, initially in Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. The ads can be viewed online.

"Congress had six months to effectively address harsh Medicare cuts that will harm seniors' access to care," said AMA President Nancy Nielsen, MD. "Despite broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives for legislation to stop the Medicare cuts, action was stymied by 39 senators."

Because the Senate failed to act, this year's Medicare cut of 10.6 percent will begin today -- and a full 60 percent of physicians say this cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat. Over 18 months the cuts will total more than 15 percent, while medical practice costs continue to increase. The AMA is asking the Senate to make good on bipartisan support for legislative action that would replace Medicare physician payment cuts with updates that better reflect increasing medical practice costs. Last week the House passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331) by an overwhelming vote of 355 to 59.

The new radio and television ads open with a reference to Independence Day then say: "there's no celebrating for the millions of Medicare patients -- seniors, the disabled and military families -- who will lose their access to health care. A group of U.S. senators voted to protect the powerful insurance companies' huge profits at the expense of Medicare patients' access to doctors."

"The AMA is activating a full-court press -- both advertising and grassroots -- in the states during the Independence Day recess," said Dr. Nielsen. "Over the month of June, more than 41,000 calls by patients and physicians have been made to Congress urging action through the AMA's grassroots hotline alone. Physicians and patients will be holding their senators' feet to the fire."

The ad, or at least the online version of the ad, doesn't mention any Senator by name, though one presumes it would be easy enough to alter the voice-over to tailor it for each particular state; they could also show a graphic with the appropriate Senator's name and phone number if they wanted to. More like this and the campaign funding gap between Cornyn and Rick Noriega will shrink a bit. If this winds up mobilizing doctors against Cornyn - by no means a sure thing, as they have not endorsed Noriega yet - that could cause him some problems. Link via BOR.

"Crazy ant" pesticide now available

Good to know.

Help may be on the way for Houston-area residents driven to wits' end by the relentless attack of crazy Rasberry ants, which have caused damage estimated at $30 million in Harris and six other Southeast Texas counties.

Acting on a request by the Texas Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a crisis exemption for use of fipronil (Termidor SC) on crazy ant infestations. The crisis exemption is in effect until the EPA rules on the state's request for a specific exemption so the pesticide could be used for three years.

Crazy Rasberry ants, called "crazy" because of their zigzag march and named after Tom Rasberry, the Pasadena exterminator who discovered them in 2002, now infest Harris, Brazoria, Galveston, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery and Wharton counties.

[...]

Jason Meyers, a Texas A&M University doctoral candidate who is considered an expert on the ants, said the poison likely will be an effective management tool of the pests but "not an end-all."

"It should be useful for individual homeowners," he said, "but it's not going to eradicate the ants from any area. Not by any means."

Just as well, given that these critters eat fire ants, who are the greater evil in just about any entomological equation.

Observer on Yanez

The Texas Observer has a nice bio of Supreme Court candidate Linda Yanez, who if elected this November would be the first Latina on the Texas Supreme Court. She's got an interesting life story that's worth your time to read, but I think the bit that most caught my eye was this:

A majority of the court has swung so far to the right that even some of its own judges have recoiled at recent rulings. On May 16, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of McAllen Medical Center in a long-running malpractice lawsuit. The hospital was asking the court for a writ of mandamus--a seldom-used judicial maneuver that allows the defendant to do an end run around the appeals process. Rather than wait for a decision in the lower courts before appealing, McAllen Medical Center asked the higher court to dismiss the case.

The 13th Court of Appeals, where Yañez sits, had already denied the hospital's request for mandamus. The Supreme Court approved it, saying the problems associated with medical malpractice lawsuits were too costly to be delayed with a trial.

The ruling is an extraordinary departure from precedent. So big, in fact, that it warranted a reply based on a cartoon fantasy. State Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright opened his dissenting opinion with lyrics from the theme song to the 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin.

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming ...
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you.

The dissent continued: "A whole new world in mandamus practice, hinted by opinions in the last few years, is here. The Court's heavy reliance on costs and delay to support its conclusion that the hospital has no adequate remedy by appeal marks a clear departure from the historical bounds of our mandamus jurisprudence."

Signaling that the decision could make it harder for plaintiffs to make lawsuits stick, the dissent continued: "Such cases should be the exception; they may now have become the rule."

Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and Justice Harriet O'Neill joined Wainwright in the dissent. Justice [Phil] Johnson signed on with the majority, in favor of the hospital.

Justices Jefferson and Wainwright are on the ballot this fall, along with Justice Johnson, who is Yanez's opponent. It'll be interesting to see if this ruling, and in particular Wainwright's sarcastic dissent, is a part of any campaign coverage we get of the Supreme Court races, or if any newspaper bases endorsement decisions in part on it. It's awfully hard for judicial races to break through into the news, even those at the top and even when there are known issues, but that kind of disagreement among ballotmates is an easy hook for a story line. Anyway, check it out.

A delay for you is an opportunity for someone else

I know that every cloud has a silver lining and all that, but somehow that thought isn't enough to cheer me up as I read this.

As fliers like Perez spend more time waiting in airports -- in part because of modern security requirements, and possibly in the future by planned flight cutbacks -- high-end stores are becoming more prevalent, said Steve Johnson of HMSHost, which runs Destinations.

The store in Terminal C includes a boutique called Occhaili da Sole that sells $685 Dior sunglasses for those who want ultra-stylish UV protection.

"(Travelers) are spending more time in airports, having more time to shop and more time to eat," Johnson said. "Pre-9/11, people kind of flew through airports."

So to speak.

Idle passengers have created opportunities for businesses like HMSHost, the biggest airport concessions operator in the country and one of nine at Intercontinental.

Retail consultant Jeff Green said that even though carriers are planning to run fewer flights to minimize record fuel costs, the reduced service also should cause more delays.

"People expect to spend longer in airports," Green said. "It is just an opportunity for retailers to catch that customer who has to wait."

[...]

Experts familiar with airport concessions, like Bruce Katz of Retail Focus, said the upscale trend is the future of airport concessions.

"High-end customers going through airports is definitely being reflected in retail," Katz said. "You have more fashion orientation than ever before."

How nice to know that as I am forced to kill time in the airport, at least I can spend more money on higher-end junk. Somehow, I just don't find that particularly comforting.

It's not a dead heat if someone is leading

I know the media loves a horse race and all, but this is pushing it.

With the dust having finally settled after the prolonged Democratic presidential primary, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama locked in a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House.

With just over four months remaining until voters weigh in at the polls, the new survey out Tuesday indicates Obama holds a narrow 5-point advantage among registered voters nationwide over the Arizona senator, 50 percent to 45 percent. That represents little change from a similar poll one month ago, when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee held a 46-43 percent edge over McCain.

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland notes Tuesday's survey confirms what a string of national polls released this month have shown: Obama holds a slight advantage over McCain, though not a big enough one to constitute a statistical lead.

"Every standard telephone poll taken in June has shown Obama ahead of McCain, with nearly all of them showing Obama's margin somewhere between three and six points," Holland said. "In most of them, that margin is not enough to give him a lead in a statistical sense, but it appears that June has been a good month for Obama."

[...]

The poll, conducted June 26-29, surveyed 906 registered voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Nate Silver points out one obvious problem. From the National Council on Public Polling's "20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results":

12. Who's on first?

Sampling error raises one of the thorniest problems in the presentation of poll results: For a horse-race poll, when is one candidate really ahead of the other?

Certainly, if the gap between the two candidates is less than the sampling error margin, you should not say that one candidate is ahead of the other. You can say the race is "close," the race is "roughly even," or there is "little difference between the candidates." But it should not be called a "dead heat" unless the candidates are tied with the same percentages. And it certainly is not a "statistical tie" unless both candidates have the same exact percentages.

And just as certainly, when the gap between the two candidates is equal to or more than twice the error margin - 6 percentage points in our example - and if there are only two candidates and no undecided voters, you can say with confidence that the poll says Candidate A is clearly leading Candidate B.

When the gap between the two candidates is more than the error margin but less than twice the error margin, you should say that Candidate A "is ahead," "has an advantage" or "holds an edge." The story should mention that there is a small possibility that Candidate B is ahead of Candidate A.

Emphasis added. Certainly makes for a different story that way, does it not? We see this all the time, and in all kinds of races, but given that Obama has held a consistent lead over McCain for several months now - as in, not a single recent national poll has shown McCain with a lead - it's particularly egregious to call this race a "dead heat"

One more point: Way back in 2004, Kevin Drum asked a couple of statisticians a question that really should be asked more frequently in all matters related to polling:

In fact, what we're really interested in is the probability that the difference is greater than zero -- in other words, that one candidate is genuinely ahead of the other. But this probability isn't a cutoff, it's a continuum: the bigger the lead, the more likely that someone is ahead and that the result isn't just a polling fluke. So instead of lazily reporting any result within the MOE as a "tie," which is statistically wrong anyway, it would be more informative to just go ahead and tell us how probable it is that a candidate is really ahead.

He goes on to provide an Excel spreadsheet that allows you to make that exact calculation. And guess what? Based on the CNN poll, the probability that Obama is actually ahead is almost 94%. Like I said, it sure looks different when reported that way, doesn't it?

(I also discussed this at Kuff's World.)

Why not just register as a lobbyist and be done with it?

Governor Perry makes like a vending machine: Money goes in, policy comes out.

Gov. Rick Perry's request for a waiver of federal corn-based ethanol production mandates was prompted by a March meeting he had with East Texas poultry producer Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim, who six days later gave $100,000 to the Republican Governors Association chaired by Perry.

In the three weeks following that donation, Perry's staff began preparing to submit the renewable fuel standards waiver request to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, according to 596 pages of records obtained from the governor's office by the Houston Chronicle under the Texas Public Information Act.

The donation, given March 31, also made it possible for Pilgrim to address nine Republican governors during a closed-door energy conference in Grapevine to explain his belief that ethanol production is driving up feed costs for poultry and livestock producers.

Perry aide Allison Castle said political donors get nothing but "good government" from Perry. She said he asked for the waiver because of ethanol's potential negative impact on livestock and poultry producers. Castle said Perry is scheduled to meet with EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson this month.

You have to admire the initiative, I'll say that much. If he were half as innovative in solving Texas' problems, people might actually be excited at the prospect of four mofo years. He'll make a great lobbyist some day, that's all I know.

The state of electronic voting in Texas

Dan Wallach, who is an expert on electronic voting machines and their security, sums it up succinctly:

Texas' [direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines] are simply vulnerable to and undefended against attacks.

That's the last sentence of a long post about his recent testimony (PDF) to the House Elections Committee and the response from the electronic voting machine trade organization, which as you may imagine did not agree with him. Read it for yourself and see what you think.

The sock puppet in the news

It's probably not a good idea to do stuff that makes your boss have to answer questions like these on camera.

I agree with Boadicea that Elise Hu asks a good question:

Is this kind of masquerade ethical when it comes to politics, if a paid staffer is anonymously writing about the very campaign for which he's paid?

And I agree with the answer: No. That's what this is about, the misrepresentation by David Beckwith of himself. How many times must people be outed as sock puppets before the message sinks in that this is both lame and stupid?

By the way, I love that the quote of Beckwith/Buck Smith shilling for a raise for himself has gotten prominent play in these stories. Politics aside, that captures the reason why this is a Bad Thing about as well as one can.

Court rules Dingus can be on the ballot

The last ballot access battle for 2008 that I am aware of has been resolved.

Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, will have a Democratic opponent this fall.

State District Judge Margaret Cooper ruled [Monday] afternoon that Bill Dingus, a former Midland City Council member, can appear on the ballot.

Questions had been raised whether Dingus had resigned from the council in time to be on the ballot.

See here for some background. Evan Smith would like you to know that he had nothing whatsoever to do with this.

Walle, WALL-E

Now this is what I call an unexpected bonanza.

Thanks to WALL-E, the endearing little robot that could, the political name game may have gotten a little bit easier for Armando Walle, the state representative candidate in District 140.

For much of his life, Walle has patiently offered the correct spelling of his family name -- pronounced Wally -- and explained the backstory on how he got his nontraditional, yet still very Hispanic surname.

"When I would get nametags, they would always misspell my name," said the 30-year-old North Houston Democrat, whose name was passed down from his Mexican-born father.

Before Disney came out with its computer-generated mass of metal, Walle used to hold up Mexican president Vincente Fox as an example.

"I'd tell people, 'He doesn't have a traditional Mexican name.' "

"Now," he added, "all I have to say is, 'It's like the movie.' "

[...]

After the March 3 primary, in which Walle defeated incumbent state Rep. Kevin Bailey, a huge billboard boasting WALL-E the movie went up on U.S. 59 north, near the real-life Walle's home.

Now, he said, people recognize the name all the time.

"Lately," he said, "it's been kinda crazy."

But in the good way, obviously. It's a nice thing to happen to a nice guy who will make a fine representative.

Virtual speed bumps

Um, okay.

Cathy Campbell did a double-take and tapped the brakes when she spotted what appeared to be a pointy-edged box lying in the road just ahead.

She got fooled.

It was a fake speed bump, a flat piece of blue, white and orange plastic that is designed to look like a 3-D pyramid from afar when applied to the pavement.

The optical illusion is one of the latest innovations being tested around the country to discourage speeding.

"It cautions you to slow down because you don't know what you are facing," Campbell said.

A smaller experiment two years ago in the Phoenix area found the faux speed bumps slowed traffic, at least temporarily. Now, in a much bigger test that began earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to find out if the markers can also reduce pedestrian accidents.

The fake bumps are being tested on a section of road in a business and residential area in Philadelphia's northeastern corner. But soon they will also be popping up -- or looking that way -- on 60 to 90 more streets where speeding is a problem.

The 3-D markings are appealing because, at $60 to $80 each, they cost a fraction of real speed bumps (which can run $1,000 to $1,500) and require little maintenance, said Richard Simon, deputy regional administrator for the highway safety administration.

On one of three streets tested in the Phoenix trial, the percentage of drivers who obeyed the 25 mph speed limit nearly doubled. But the effect wore off after a few months.

"Initially they were great," said the Phoenix Police traffic coordinator, Officer Terry Sills. "Until people found out what they were."

Well, we know that red light cameras can alter drivers' behavior for the better. The difference, of course, is that you know there's really a camera there. Once you realize the speed bump is just an illusion, why would seeing them make a difference in how you drive?

Learning from the experience in Arizona, authorities are adding a publicity campaign in Philadelphia to let drivers know that the phony speed bumps will be followed by very real police officers, said Richard Blomberg, a contractor in charge of the study.

Even after motorists adjust, the fake bumps will act like flashing lights in a school zone, reminding drivers they are in an area where they should not be speeding, he said.

"After awhile the novelty wears off, but not the conspicuous effect," Blomberg said.

You could probably get the same effect from just having the cops there, even only once in awhile. But whatever. If it's cheap enough and it works, I guess I don't see a problem.

"Staff error"

Once you've been shown to be a sock puppet, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that you've always been a sock puppet.

Yesterday, Burnt Orange Report unmasked prolific commenter "Buck Smith" as actually being Dave Beckwith, a Cornyn staffer who evidently splits his time between working in Cornyn's federal Senate office and on the Cornyn campaign. The Cornyn campaign has defended Beckwith, saying he is simply doing the same thing everyone else on blogs is doing, although having a legitimate reason for using a pseudonym is a bit different than using one because you are a paid political operative.

Beckwith, however, didn't just comment at one or two blogs (Burnt Orange Report and DailyKOS being two most people are aware of). In fact, he trolled sites belonging to mainstream media outlets, and sockpuppeted across nearly a dozen Texas-based and national blogs.

According to Vince's research, Beckwith/Buck Smith has been visiting blogs since 2005. Old habits die hard, apparently. One of the things he said in that latter thread certainly rings true:

Many political mistakes are blamed on staff error. But sometimes the fault lies with -- staff error.

That's certainly a concept with which he's familiar. I wonder, would shilling for a raise while using one's alter ego count as an error? Gotta admit, that does show initiative, so maybe not. More to come soon, I'm sure.

Steroids in the schools

In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring high school athletes be randomly tested for steroids. Turns out this isn't much of a problem.

Only two athletes tested positive for steroid use among some 10,000 Texas high school students tested this spring, raising doubts about whether state lawmakers will renew the $3 million-a-year project at current levels.

The testing company's preliminary results are based on an estimated 10,407 students who were tested since February, when state officials launched the random steroid-testing program mandated by state lawmakers. National Center for Drug Free Sport is expected to release a formal report later this summer.

Both supporters and critics of the testing program -- the largest among high schools in the country -- said the results validate their positions.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Monday he was pleased with the cursory results.

"I pushed this important legislation through the Legislature because I knew it would deter our young people from wrecking their bodies and putting their lives at risk by using illegal steroids," Dewhurst said. "And these test results clearly show the deterrent is working because young people know they can't use illegal steroids without getting caught."

But Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, one of seven state lawmakers to vote against the steroid-testing program, wants it abolished. There are 181 members in the Texas Legislature.

"This is one of those issues that sounds good but has no real impact except wasting taxpayer dollars," Patrick said. "I don't want to diminish the seriousness of steroids, but you can't take a sledgehammer to kill a gnat. Spending $1.5 million per kid is ludicrous."

I agree with Sen. Patrick. There's no possible way that this is a responsible use of public resources. I didn't pay attention to this issue last session, as there were so many other higher-priority matters, but I'll be watching it this time. Anyone who wants to argue in favor of renewing this program in 2009 is going to have to explain how it could be worth the cost.

As for Lt. Gov. Dewhurst's blithe assertion that the random tests must have served as a deterrent, how do we know anyone was using before this year? Maybe this was never a problem all along. And you have to admire Dewhurst's logic, which no doubt would have applied regardless of the outcome. If we have no steroid problem, the testing program works because it's a deterrent. If we did have a steroid problem, the testing program works because clearly we needed to know what kind of a problem we have. Nifty, isn't it?

Almost as nifty as this:

[Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, House sponsor for the steroid legislation,] did not flinch at the $1.5 million cost per positive test result, noting the price tag would be immaterial "if that's your kid."

And if we'd passed a $3 million bill to help kids pass the TAKS test but only 2 of the 10,000 kids it applied to did actually pass it, would it still be worth the $1.5 million cost per positive test result "if that's your kid"? I'm thinking the answer Rep. Flynn would give in that case would be "no".

State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, agreed that schools should ramp up educational warnings about steroid use. But she voted against the testing program last year and hopes it fizzles out in the next legislative session.

"I thought the whole concept was absolutely silly," she said. "We should focus on education ... The money needs to be better utilized in preparing our kids for Texas' global economy."

Somebody slap me, I'm agreeing with Dan Patrick and Debbie Riddle in the same blog post. I realize she's being completely insincere about the need to "focus on education", but I'm going to clip and save this quote for next year anyway, because I'm sure it'll come in handy at some point. Grits has more.

TexBlog PAC Endorses Sherrie Matula

Vince has the writeup on TexBlog PAC's endorsement of Sherrie Matula at last Thursday's fundraiser.

Matula's race represents one of those races that a lot of folks in the "bricks and mortar political establishment" may have underestimated in the early part of this year. However, this district is ripe for a flip. Matula laid the groundwork for this year's campaign with a respectable general election showing in 2006 and her "Apple Corps" team of volunteers and on-the-ground activists has worked very hard this year to register new voters, identify Democratic voters in the district, and conducting GOTV.

This race, however, is one where the Netroots have consistently seen the potential for defeating incumbent John Davis (a legislator who Texas Monthly appropriately deemed "furniture") and the value in Matula's traditional and online campaign operations.

Click over to read the rest. I've said before that Matula ran a great campaign in 2006 on a shoestring; this year, with much better funding, more experience, and a stronger Democratic trend overall, she is in a good position to win in a district that nobody would have pegged as competitive as recently as 2004, when Rep. Davis ran unopposed. You can help Sherrie and help us help her make that happen.

Why arrest the bosses when you can arrest the workers?

This is one of many reasons why the current crackdown on undocumented immigrants is such a sham.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are staging dramatic raids across the country that routinely seize hundreds of undocumented workers at their jobs -- and leave their employers free to work another day.

The appearance of separate justice that arose during federal authorities' surprise morning raid at Action Rags USA on Houston's east side fits a nationwide pattern.

Many of the 166 workers taken into custody on suspected immigration charges in Houston last week were paraded toward vans to be transported into detention. But immigration authorities spared company officials both immediate arrest and the embarrassing "perp walk" that exposed those arrested to news photographers.

"Once again the federal government has it backwards," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, a former state judge and prosecutor. "It is a waste of time if we don't go after the business owners who are knowingly hiring illegals.

"If we eliminate the illegal job opportunities, we can start to eliminate the problem."

No dount unwittingly, Rep. Poe has correctly identified the problem. Unfortunately, his preferred solution, which is to crack down even harder on places like Action Rags USA while hermetically sealing the southern border, is simultaneously cruel, unworkable, and hideously expensive. That's because this approach completely defies the laws of supply and demand. This is rather ironic, given the fealty that folks like Rep. Poe swear to free-market economic principles in just about every other context. I guess the immigration debate has its own logic, and the power to trump such things as needed. Which is too bad, because in principle, I agree with him: The problem is too many illegal job opportunities. It's just a shame he's incapable of taking the next step towards a solution that might actually work.

Bob Curl to retire at Rice

Rice University chemistry professor and Nobel Laureate Robert Curl is retiring from the classroom today.

Robert Curl never sought the limelight that accompanied the Nobel Prize in Chemistry he won a dozen years ago.

In his quiet way, Curl simply went on teaching, thinking, experimenting and riding his bicycle to Rice University.

Now, after 50 years at Rice, Curl plans to retire Tuesday. With a hint of a smile, Curl, 74, says he doesn't want to turn into "one of these people who hangs on so long that they have become a blithering idiot."

Curl shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Rice's Rick Smalley and a British scientist, Harold Kroto. They discovered a unique form of carbon in which 60 atoms are clustered neatly into a tiny, soccer-shaped ball. They christened their finding a buckyball -- or fullerene -- after Buckminster Fuller, whose geodesic designs the molecules resemble.

The discovery heralded the dawn of nanotechnology, the science of building very small materials with unique properties.

[...]

Like many leading scientists of his age, Curl's passion for research dates to a childhood Christmas, when his parents bought him a chemistry set. Soon, the 9-year-old was mixing chemicals, making gunpowder and blowing things up.

In one memorable event, some nitric acid boiled over onto his mother's porcelain stove, eating away the fine finish. His mother never forgave him, he said, but Curl was hooked on chemistry.

"It was not scientific at all," he said, "but it was sure fun."

In case you every wondered what the appeal of shows like "Mythbusters" is, that would be it in a nutshell.

Rice's current president, David Leebron, echoes the sentiment: "On top of all the achievement, Bob is one of the kindest and most generous people I know."

Those qualities made Curl a good mentor. He gave brilliant and not-as-brilliant graduate students the same attention and respect, colleagues said.

[...]

Curl and Smalley believed they could approximate the conditions of dying stars, which are rich in carbon, by using lasers to blast a chunk of graphite. At the time, graphite and diamonds were the two known forms of carbon. The scientists hoped to create the long carbon chains seen in interstellar space.

Instead, when they pored over the collected data, they found a blip that turned out to be a spectacular, third form of carbon.

"Our buckyball discovery was a complete piece of serendipity and totally unexpected," Curl said.

"It's kind of embarrassing. Reporters asked us, 'Tell us how you made this great discovery.' Well, it was a stroke of luck. The only credit you can claim is not ignoring your stroke of luck."

I never had Curl as a professor, since I was only a grad student at Rice, in the math department, but I know him through the tournament bridge scene, where he's been a fixture for longer than I have. I figure this means he'll have more time to play the game, which will be good for everyone. Best of luck in retirement, Professor!

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 30

It's Fourth of July week, and that means it's time for fireworks, barbecue, and some good blogging from the Texas Progressive Alliance. Click on to get a heaping plateful of the week's highlights.

Maybe PDiddie at Brains and Eggs was wrong about Obama and Texas. Decide for yourself.

Off the Kuff has one last belated interview from the state Dem convention, with CD32 candidate Eric Roberson.

There is a new email scandal in Harris County. XicanoPwr writes about the offensive emails discovered at the Harris County Sheriff's Office by a local media undercover investigation. One email has Osama bin Laden urging folks to vote Democratic. In another email, a top commander suggested that alligators should be put in the Rio Grande to cut down on illegal immigration.

Big Drunk at McBlogger points out, again, the flaws in the R's "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" strategy. Which really isn't hard to do since the R's don't exactly excel at critical thinking, are in love with fantasy and are (to a large extent) willfully ignorant.

refinish69 of Doing My Part For The Left is delighted to announce that the Texas Medical Association Rescinds their endorsement of Box Turtle and shares Rick Noriega's response to Big Bad John.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the cracks forming in the Texas GOP in A Cooling Off Period For The Texas GOP.

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas Supreme Court's recent opinion declaring, essentially, that if you are injured by a church, you are screwed, which stems from the case of--get this--an exorcism gone horribly wrong.

North Texas Liberal reports on the charge that John McCain and his wife Cindy have defaulted on four years of back taxes for their La Jolla, Calif. residence.

The Texas Cloverleaf helps expose the fact that oil companies are not drilling on 3/4 of the land they already lease, because it will cost them too much. Corporate greed, anyone?

Over at Texas Kaos, it is Kenneth Foster all over again, as it looks like Texas' law of parties is fixing to execute another man, Jeff Wood, who didn't kill anyone.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes John McCain shows his true colors by choosing Phil 'Enron' Gramm as a close associate.

NyTexan at BlueBloggin tell us how the Bush administration has hit the pinnacle of security chaos. We can rest easy now, knowing that we have outsourced the outsource; Department of Homeland Security Outsources National Security

Bay Area Houston writes about State Senator Kim Brimer keeping campaign cash for himself.