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March 9th, 2009:

What you can do today to fight against the Voter ID bill

Mar 9th, 2009
by Greg Wythe.
2 comments

Via email from State Sen. Mario Gallegos:

This Tuesday, March 10, 2009, the Senate Committee of the Whole will conduct a hearing on proposed photo Voter Identification (SB 362 by Fraser) legislation in the Texas Senate Chamber. On behalf of all Texans, your testimony is vital to blocking unnecessary Voter ID legislation. Please come to Austin to voice your opinion.

Here is what we are hearing regarding the specific schedule that day:

9 a.m. – Hearing will begin with invited testimony

Midday – Hearing resumes with public testimony (anyone can sign up to testify) after the daily Senate session

There is no justification for Voter ID, this legislation only address in person voter fraud – a problem which is virtually non-existent. Despite spending millions on a 2005-2006 Voter Fraud crusade, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott did not find or prosecute one case of Voter Impersonation.

Currently, voters can participate in an election by presenting their voter registration card. The Voter ID proposal would require voters to produce an official ID along with their voter registration card in order to cast their vote. This legislation will create a bureaucratic nightmare for voting that will affect the elderly and minority communities across this state.

In fact, after Indiana passed their Voter ID legislation, twelve elderly nuns were denied access to the poles, because they did not have a valid photo ID. Make no mistake this legislation is aimed at all of us.

As you may recall two years ago I risked my life and went against doctor’s orders to block unnecessary partisan legislation, this is how important this issue is to me and to all Texans. This time I am asking you to come to Austin and fight along side me. In order to protect our fundamental right to vote we need everyone to attend this important hearing.

How to testify:

How can YOU be a part of preserving your civic duty to vote? According to the Senate Rules all you have to do in order to testify, is show up and fill out a witness affirmation card. If you want to register your opposition to the bill, but not testify, then just check on the card where it says “does not wish to testify,” and your name will be added to the record as having opposed the legislation, without offering testimony. Unfortunately, there is no way to sign up in advance.

Thank you and see you on March 10th!

If you cannot attend the hearing you can still help the fight against Senate Bill 362 by Fraser:

Call your State Senator

Write a letter to local newspaper

Spread the word to your friends and family

Thank you for your support,

Mario Gallegos, Jr.
Texas Senator
District 6

Remember, Voter ID is the single most important issue facing Texas today, according to the Republican Party, which will have plenty of its own representation (scroll down) at the hearing. We all need to tell them how wrong they are.

Sen. Rodney Ellis is also on this:

When the Texas legislature should be serving the public by addressing the serious issues facing our state today–access to health care, improving education, addressing the serious issues facing our state’s economy– Republicans have chosen to focus on a partisan attempt to deny many the right to vote. Voter identification is a bitterly partisan issue, one that some in the Texas Senate knew would never be heard unless they changed the rules. On the second day of the 81st legislative session, they did just that.

I recently wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the U.S. Department of Justice to review this bill to ensure that Texas is complying with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act requires Texas, and several other states, to pre-clear any election procedure that may affect minority voters. The Voter Suppression bill will do nothing to ensure the integrity of our election process. It will only serve to suppress thousands of minority and elderly voters from exercising their rights as American citizens.

We need your help. The Voter Suppression bill is coming to the Senate floor to be voted on by the Committee of the Whole Senate on Tuesday, March 10 at 9am. I encourage you to participate in the democratic process that some are trying to suppress by signing up to testify at the Texas Capitol in Austin Tuesday morning.

If you are willing to testify please come to the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, March 10 or email Dallas Jones at [email protected]. Please include your:

* Full Name
* Mailing Address
* Email Address
* Contact Phone Number

Thank you for your attention regarding this pressing issue facing our state.

Sincerely,

Senator Rodney Ellis

email: [email protected]
web: http://www.rodneyellis.com

So there you have it. Please do whatever you can to help. Stace and BOR have more.

What you can do today to fight against the Voter ID bill

Mar 9th, 2009
by Charles Kuffner.
Comments are off for this post

Via email from State Sen. Mario Gallegos:

This Tuesday, March 10, 2009, the Senate Committee of the Whole will conduct a hearing on proposed photo Voter Identification (SB 362 by Fraser) legislation in the Texas Senate Chamber. On behalf of all Texans, your testimony is vital to blocking unnecessary Voter ID legislation. Please come to Austin to voice your opinion.

Here is what we are hearing regarding the specific schedule that day:

9 a.m. – Hearing will begin with invited testimony

Midday – Hearing resumes with public testimony (anyone can sign up to testify) after the daily Senate session

There is no justification for Voter ID, this legislation only address in person voter fraud – a problem which is virtually non-existent. Despite spending millions on a 2005-2006 Voter Fraud crusade, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott did not find or prosecute one case of Voter Impersonation.

Currently, voters can participate in an election by presenting their voter registration card. The Voter ID proposal would require voters to produce an official ID along with their voter registration card in order to cast their vote. This legislation will create a bureaucratic nightmare for voting that will affect the elderly and minority communities across this state.

In fact, after Indiana passed their Voter ID legislation, twelve elderly nuns were denied access to the poles, because they did not have a valid photo ID. Make no mistake this legislation is aimed at all of us.

As you may recall two years ago I risked my life and went against doctor’s orders to block unnecessary partisan legislation, this is how important this issue is to me and to all Texans. This time I am asking you to come to Austin and fight along side me. In order to protect our fundamental right to vote we need everyone to attend this important hearing.

How to testify:

How can YOU be a part of preserving your civic duty to vote? According to the Senate Rules all you have to do in order to testify, is show up and fill out a witness affirmation card. If you want to register your opposition to the bill, but not testify, then just check on the card where it says “does not wish to testify,” and your name will be added to the record as having opposed the legislation, without offering testimony. Unfortunately, there is no way to sign up in advance.

Thank you and see you on March 10th!

If you cannot attend the hearing you can still help the fight against Senate Bill 362 by Fraser:

Call your State Senator

Write a letter to local newspaper

Spread the word to your friends and family

Thank you for your support,

Mario Gallegos, Jr.
Texas Senator
District 6

Remember, Voter ID is the single most important issue facing Texas today, according to the Republican Party, which will have plenty of its own representation (scroll down) at the hearing. We all need to tell them how wrong they are.

Sen. Rodney Ellis is also on this:

When the Texas legislature should be serving the public by addressing the serious issues facing our state today–access to health care, improving education, addressing the serious issues facing our state’s economy– Republicans have chosen to focus on a partisan attempt to deny many the right to vote. Voter identification is a bitterly partisan issue, one that some in the Texas Senate knew would never be heard unless they changed the rules. On the second day of the 81st legislative session, they did just that.

I recently wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the U.S. Department of Justice to review this bill to ensure that Texas is complying with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act requires Texas, and several other states, to pre-clear any election procedure that may affect minority voters. The Voter Suppression bill will do nothing to ensure the integrity of our election process. It will only serve to suppress thousands of minority and elderly voters from exercising their rights as American citizens.

We need your help. The Voter Suppression bill is coming to the Senate floor to be voted on by the Committee of the Whole Senate on Tuesday, March 10 at 9am. I encourage you to participate in the democratic process that some are trying to suppress by signing up to testify at the Texas Capitol in Austin Tuesday morning.

If you are willing to testify please come to the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, March 10 or email Dallas Jones at [email protected]. Please include your:

* Full Name
* Mailing Address
* Email Address
* Contact Phone Number

Thank you for your attention regarding this pressing issue facing our state.

Sincerely,

Senator Rodney Ellis

email: [email protected]
web: http://www.rodneyellis.com

So there you have it. Please do whatever you can to help. Stace and BOR have more.

Safe Passing Act in the Senate

Mar 9th, 2009
by Greg Wythe.
Comments are off for this post

I’ve blogged before about SB488, the “Safe Passing Bill”. Via email from Jon Boyd of the CTC, I’m told that the bill will be heard by the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security this week. Bike Texas has the details.

What’s happening now.

The 2009 Safe Passing Act, Senate Bill SB 488 will be heard by the Texas State Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security on Wednesday morning, March 11, 2009 in Hearing Room E1.016 in the Capitol Extension.

The bill includes the “3-feet clearance” provision for cars passing cyclists. It has also been expanded to address right and left hooks and harassment for a range of “vulnerable road users” including pedestrians, persons in wheelchairs, utility workers, motorcyclists and others on the road or roadside not in a protective steel vehicle shell.

What you can do to help.

Below are the Senators on the Transportation Committee, with their party affiliation and general district areas.

Supporting SB 488

John Carona, (chair and bill co-author) R-Dallas, Dist. 16
Kirk Watson, (vice-chair) D-Austin, Dist. 14
Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, Dist. 10
Rodney Ellis, (bill co-author) D-Houston, Dist. 13
Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, Dist. 29
Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, Dist. 25

Uncertain on Support for SB 488

Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Dist. 3
Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Dist. 17
Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, Dist. 8

Click here to identify the Texas State Senator who represents you.

* If you are represented by a State Senator who serves on the Transportation Committee, please call or email your Senator by Tuesday to ask for their “Yes” vote. If they already support SB 488, thank them. If they are uncertain on SB 488, urge them to vote “Yes”. Communication should be direct and frank but should always be respectful. If you are not a constituent of any of these Senators, please do not contact their offices because it creates additional unnecessary staff work. They naturally place much higher value on contact from constituents.

* If you live in the Austin area or can easily travel to Austin, come to the hearing at 8:00 a.m. (More details are below.) Please wear business attire including coat and tie for men. Even if you do not have a Senator on the committee who represents you, your presence is very important.

See this CTC forum thread or click the link to Bike Texas for more. I know I’ve got readers in these Senate districts, so if this is of interest to you, please contact your Senator and ask for his or her support on SB488.

Safe Passing Act in the Senate

Mar 9th, 2009
by Charles Kuffner.
Comments are off for this post

I’ve blogged before about SB488, the “Safe Passing Bill”. Via email from Jon Boyd of the CTC, I’m told that the bill will be heard by the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security this week. Bike Texas has the details.

What’s happening now.

The 2009 Safe Passing Act, Senate Bill SB 488 will be heard by the Texas State Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security on Wednesday morning, March 11, 2009 in Hearing Room E1.016 in the Capitol Extension.

The bill includes the “3-feet clearance” provision for cars passing cyclists. It has also been expanded to address right and left hooks and harassment for a range of “vulnerable road users” including pedestrians, persons in wheelchairs, utility workers, motorcyclists and others on the road or roadside not in a protective steel vehicle shell.

What you can do to help.

Below are the Senators on the Transportation Committee, with their party affiliation and general district areas.

Supporting SB 488

John Carona, (chair and bill co-author) R-Dallas, Dist. 16
Kirk Watson, (vice-chair) D-Austin, Dist. 14
Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, Dist. 10
Rodney Ellis, (bill co-author) D-Houston, Dist. 13
Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, Dist. 29
Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, Dist. 25

Uncertain on Support for SB 488

Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Dist. 3
Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Dist. 17
Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, Dist. 8

Click here to identify the Texas State Senator who represents you.

* If you are represented by a State Senator who serves on the Transportation Committee, please call or email your Senator by Tuesday to ask for their “Yes” vote. If they already support SB 488, thank them. If they are uncertain on SB 488, urge them to vote “Yes”. Communication should be direct and frank but should always be respectful. If you are not a constituent of any of these Senators, please do not contact their offices because it creates additional unnecessary staff work. They naturally place much higher value on contact from constituents.

* If you live in the Austin area or can easily travel to Austin, come to the hearing at 8:00 a.m. (More details are below.) Please wear business attire including coat and tie for men. Even if you do not have a Senator on the committee who represents you, your presence is very important.

See this CTC forum thread or click the link to Bike Texas for more. I know I’ve got readers in these Senate districts, so if this is of interest to you, please contact your Senator and ask for his or her support on SB488.

Two stories about gambling

Mar 9th, 2009
by Charles Kuffner.
Comments are off for this post

The Chron’s David Barron talks to some experts about putting slot machines at horse tracks, which is one of several major proposals to expand gambling in Texas this legislative session.

William Eadington, an economics professor at the University of Nevada and director of the university’s Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, questions the accepted wisdom in racing circles that video slots are a magic bullet for racing.

“The official argument is that this is a way to save racing and increase purses, which will attract better horses,” Eadington said. “The only thing wrong with that is that it hasn’t really held up.

“Racing continues to be in decline. If you look at handle and on-track attendance and net revenue after payment of purses — any of the standard measures — it has been stagnant for 20 years.”

While track operators stand to benefit financially from state licenses for video slots, granting such licenses during an economic downturn and limiting the field to racetrack owners cuts into potential state tax benefits by eliminating the large casino operators as competing bidders, Eadington said.

“Most of the major companies, with a couple of exceptions, are in no position to be bidding on casino licenses. They have no money for capital commitments,” Eadington said. “In that sense, this is not a great time to be putting things out for bid. You foreclose the option of doing something better if and when the economy gets going again.”

Difficult times for the resort casino industry, of course, make this a perfect time for racetracks to seek state legislation that would grandfather them in as video slot operators.

“It’s all political,” the economist said. “What (the tracks) would like is an environment that preserves the possibility of long-term excess profits. If they can have exclusivity in slots in urban areas, they are potentially very profitable.”

Nice to hear a little balance to all the rah-rah stuff the gambling industry puts out every time we go through this. I feel like it should have run on the front page, rather than the front page of the sports section, but I’ll take what I can get.

Meanwhile, John Nova Lomax has a cover story in the Press about the history of casino gambling in Galveston and the debate today about bringing it back as a means to revitalize the place post-Ike. I think this is the key bit:

You can see arguments for and against casinos before your eyes. Both major Lake Charles casinos sport huge parking lots — which begs the question of where they could fit in Galveston.

Those lots are also jam-packed with cars with Texas license plates. When you couple that with all the signs touting the many shuttles offering dirt cheap transport from nine pickup points in Houston to the casinos, you realize the magnitude of the cash drain over the Sabine.

Both the Isle of Capri and L’Auberge du Lac are vast complexes that rise mirage-like out of acres of concrete in the middle of nowhere. Each offers in-house restaurants, shops, clubs and lodging, and that underscores one of [gambling opponent Harris] Kempner’s main anti-casino contentions — that [Allen] Flores and the Strand merchants are fooling themselves if they think casinos will bring them customers. Even in the old days, he says, the Balinese Room knew well how to lock down the junket trade. “When the casinos wanted to attract banquets, they undercut,” he says. “They could afford to do that because they can make food, drink, shelter and entertainment a loss leader, and they will do it again.”

That’s been the Atlantic City experience, and I tend to think it would be Galveston’s, or any other place’s that got casinos, as well. Lomax does a good job of presenting multiple perspectives on the issue, so check it out.

Two stories about gambling

Mar 9th, 2009
by Greg Wythe.
Comments are off for this post

The Chron’s David Barron talks to some experts about putting slot machines at horse tracks, which is one of several major proposals to expand gambling in Texas this legislative session.

William Eadington, an economics professor at the University of Nevada and director of the university’s Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, questions the accepted wisdom in racing circles that video slots are a magic bullet for racing.

“The official argument is that this is a way to save racing and increase purses, which will attract better horses,” Eadington said. “The only thing wrong with that is that it hasn’t really held up.

“Racing continues to be in decline. If you look at handle and on-track attendance and net revenue after payment of purses — any of the standard measures — it has been stagnant for 20 years.”

While track operators stand to benefit financially from state licenses for video slots, granting such licenses during an economic downturn and limiting the field to racetrack owners cuts into potential state tax benefits by eliminating the large casino operators as competing bidders, Eadington said.

“Most of the major companies, with a couple of exceptions, are in no position to be bidding on casino licenses. They have no money for capital commitments,” Eadington said. “In that sense, this is not a great time to be putting things out for bid. You foreclose the option of doing something better if and when the economy gets going again.”

Difficult times for the resort casino industry, of course, make this a perfect time for racetracks to seek state legislation that would grandfather them in as video slot operators.

“It’s all political,” the economist said. “What (the tracks) would like is an environment that preserves the possibility of long-term excess profits. If they can have exclusivity in slots in urban areas, they are potentially very profitable.”

Nice to hear a little balance to all the rah-rah stuff the gambling industry puts out every time we go through this. I feel like it should have run on the front page, rather than the front page of the sports section, but I’ll take what I can get.

Meanwhile, John Nova Lomax has a cover story in the Press about the history of casino gambling in Galveston and the debate today about bringing it back as a means to revitalize the place post-Ike. I think this is the key bit:

You can see arguments for and against casinos before your eyes. Both major Lake Charles casinos sport huge parking lots — which begs the question of where they could fit in Galveston.

Those lots are also jam-packed with cars with Texas license plates. When you couple that with all the signs touting the many shuttles offering dirt cheap transport from nine pickup points in Houston to the casinos, you realize the magnitude of the cash drain over the Sabine.

Both the Isle of Capri and L’Auberge du Lac are vast complexes that rise mirage-like out of acres of concrete in the middle of nowhere. Each offers in-house restaurants, shops, clubs and lodging, and that underscores one of [gambling opponent Harris] Kempner’s main anti-casino contentions — that [Allen] Flores and the Strand merchants are fooling themselves if they think casinos will bring them customers. Even in the old days, he says, the Balinese Room knew well how to lock down the junket trade. “When the casinos wanted to attract banquets, they undercut,” he says. “They could afford to do that because they can make food, drink, shelter and entertainment a loss leader, and they will do it again.”

That’s been the Atlantic City experience, and I tend to think it would be Galveston’s, or any other place’s that got casinos, as well. Lomax does a good job of presenting multiple perspectives on the issue, so check it out.

Kinky says he’s getting ready to run

Mar 9th, 2009
by Greg Wythe.
4 comments

Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby:

Friedman told me today he’ll decide by the end of this month whether to start an exploratory committee–a step enabling him to raise money for a bid.

“It’s time to win,” Friedman said. “If I were to win the Democratic nomination, I have the best chance of winning” against Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who are expected to face off in the 2010 GOP primary.

“I’m the only (prospective candidate) since Ann Richards who can excite the grass roots,” Friedman said. “If we run a generic Democrat, we’re going to get beat again.” Richards was governor from 1991 to 1995.

I asked him if he’d place Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, the former ambassador, in the generic category; Schieffer started his Democratic gubernatorial committee on Monday. Friedman said he doesn’t know Schieffer.

So what’s he depending on before starting his committee?

“Mostly my conscience,” Friedman said, and “mostly if I can bring about the betterment of Texas.” Also, “can I win where I don’t think the others can?”

Unprompted, Friedman outlined a prospective campaign platform.

He envisions a “no-kill” Texas with executions banned. He vows to give every schoolteacher a $3,000 raise the day he takes office. He said he’d seek to repeal the revamped business franchise tax, perhaps replacing it with a state personal income tax or the legalization of casino gaming.

Hailing President Obama’s success at the polls, Friedman said he’d similarly count on small donations to give him liftoff while he tests his support across rural Texas where residents, he said, have been ignored by Democrats for years.

“We’re very close” to getting started, he said. “We just have to pull the trigger.”

Whatever. I think he’ll find there’s a lot less excitement – and money – available to him this time around, but who knows. At least this time we’ll hopefully be done with this by March.

Kinky says he’s getting ready to run

Mar 9th, 2009
by Charles Kuffner.
Comments are off for this post

Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby:

Friedman told me today he’ll decide by the end of this month whether to start an exploratory committee—a step enabling him to raise money for a bid.

“It’s time to win,” Friedman said. “If I were to win the Democratic nomination, I have the best chance of winning” against Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who are expected to face off in the 2010 GOP primary.

“I’m the only (prospective candidate) since Ann Richards who can excite the grass roots,” Friedman said. “If we run a generic Democrat, we’re going to get beat again.” Richards was governor from 1991 to 1995.

I asked him if he’d place Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, the former ambassador, in the generic category; Schieffer started his Democratic gubernatorial committee on Monday. Friedman said he doesn’t know Schieffer.

So what’s he depending on before starting his committee?

“Mostly my conscience,” Friedman said, and “mostly if I can bring about the betterment of Texas.” Also, “can I win where I don’t think the others can?”

Unprompted, Friedman outlined a prospective campaign platform.

He envisions a “no-kill” Texas with executions banned. He vows to give every schoolteacher a $3,000 raise the day he takes office. He said he’d seek to repeal the revamped business franchise tax, perhaps replacing it with a state personal income tax or the legalization of casino gaming.

Hailing President Obama’s success at the polls, Friedman said he’d similarly count on small donations to give him liftoff while he tests his support across rural Texas where residents, he said, have been ignored by Democrats for years.

“We’re very close” to getting started, he said. “We just have to pull the trigger.”

Whatever. I think he’ll find there’s a lot less excitement – and money – available to him this time around, but who knows. At least this time we’ll hopefully be done with this by March.