not feeling well today, so i’ll let others do the heavy lifting

just for the record, aura migraines really, really suck. when i get one, i get the whole thing: nausea, temporary blindness, photophobia, and phonophobia. yes, they are truly a joy (can ya feel the snark?). i’m recovering from one of those nasty things today so i don’t feel like writing much. however, there is some good stuff around the blogs today. here’s the hilights:

first, vince has been doing some great blogging on the TTRC proposals. you should just go read his whole page. it’s all good stuff.

sean-paul is all over the net neutrality fiasco. i’ve been meaning to blog about this, seeing as i work for one of the companies trying to push this crap, but i certainly don’t feel like it today. all i can muster is, “this is bad, mmmmkay?”

it’s not posted on their site yet, but david harris got a vetpac endorsement and a front page mention on dkos today.

pdiddie brings the snark, as does barbara radnovsky.

dos centavos is the latest, greatest addition to the texas progressive alliance. welcome!! it’s great to have a latino voice onboard. they’ve got an immigration action item posted that you should check out.

eye on williamson county has a spiffy new template & url – update your bookmarks.

matt has a guest post from congressional candidate john courage.

cincinnatus has a post up on the newest tuition hike increases in the UT system. yea, i’ll be ranting on that later, but for now, go read his post.

kuff on the governor’s race. indeed. and may i just say publicly that all your dems who are backing carole toomanynames are really, um, pissing me off.

oliver willis has a great picture of the student protests at dallas city hall yesterday.

the peoples’ republic of seabrook has another message for the government of south dakota.

pink dome reports on some blowback for one of leininger’s clones. LOL pd also has a great discussion going on about the immigration debate.

the red state is also blogging the new tax proposals. read the whole thing.

mike at rhetoric and rhythym defends jimmy carter and puts the smack down on mark harden.

fred at the truth serum blog is in washington and he is asking for some backup. go lend him a hand, will ya?

wyld card piles on eugene kelly. it’s just getting too easy, isn’t it?

and finally, the only thing i can muster enough intellectual capacity to discuss is the fact that we get a new LOST tonight. it’s a locke episode – sweet! i sincerely doubt that we’ll finally get the answer to why locke’s in a wheelchair, but i’m sure the writers are going to continue to play up his emerging dark side. msnbc posted an interesting article debating locke’s seemingly opposing and contradictory nature. personally, i say he’s good. i have always called him the zen master of craphole island (losties will get that, ok?). but obviously he’s been and continues to be tested by the challenges the castaways face, and ultimately who he becomes (good or evil) is entirely up to how he reacts to these challenges. he certainly has been leaning toward the evil side lately. at this point, i’m just wondering who’s going to have the pleasure of smoking henry gale (oh please let it be sayid), ’cause YOU KNOW he’s an other…

town hall w/lon burnham

press release:

State Rep. Lon Burnam invites you to

SPECIAL TOWN HALL MEETING

ON

OUR KIDS & IMMIGRATION

Who: Concerned Constituents, Community and School District Leaders

When: Thursday, March 30, 2006

Where: Texas Wesleyan School of Law

1515 Commerce Street

Amon G. Carter Lecture Hall

2nd Floor

Time: 7:00 P. M. to 9:00 P. M.

stereolab

in case anyone is interested, i’ve uploaded a batch of photos from last night’s stereolab concert here.

as usual, they put on a complex, interesting, and technically proficient show.

they also handled mary’s absense in a respectful and interesting way. during a few songs (ex: Cybele’s Reverie) they looped samples of mary’s vocals, and in others they replaced her voice with horns. it was quite well done.

my only complaint is this: the sound system at nokia live sucks big, hairy goat balls. in between songs you could actually hear feedback from a hot mic, and Lætitia’s volcals sounded completely garbled and fuzzy (not purposefully fuzzy) at times. there was too much bass, and the synths were mixed at horribly different levels. basically, i have the same complaint about nokia that i do of many venues in d/fw – instead of going for well mixed sound, they go for amps. after seeing that amazing sigur ros show at the bass a few weeks back, nokia sounded even worse by comparison. i am making a personal vow to NEVER go to a show there ever again. it’s just not worth it.

when a band like stereolab plays, you expect complexity. you expect precision. they are consummate musicians. and last night they played their hearts out and put on a show worthy of their reputation. but because of the shit sound system, the show was far less enjoyable than it should have been.

anyway, if you wanna check out the pictures, they’re here. i actually did get a few good shots. my favorite is this weird one (don’t worry, all the others i uploaded are in focus):

insanity

what a long day… but it’s finally over.

i really enjoyed working on the resolutions committee. it was fun, i met and and worked with some bright people, and i got some direct input in shaping what will be passed up to the state convention in a few months.

my abortion and gay rights resolutions passed without objection or discussion, which is a good feeling. but i don’t think that the activists who showed up today get the concept of framing. they basically demanded a resolution that specifically mentioned gay marriage, transgenders, bisexuals, and all sorts of other outdated, hot button language that the GOP can beat us over the head with. i basically gave up and didn’t fight it; that stuff will never make it into the state party platform. a large chunk of people still don’t “get” that (for ex) chris bell can’t go to armarillo and talk about gay marriage. it just won’t fly with democrats, much less the moderates we’re trying to peel off.

but hey, if they wanna shoot themselves in the foot by going all granular, fine, i won’t fight it. and yes, i will say “i told you so” when it’s all over and done with, and then maybe we’ll do it right next time around.

now yall know i support gay rights, but i also don’t want to lose elections because activists insist on including language that will get us punked.

but anyway. my only other gripe is that the campaign financing stuff didn’t pass. we had a couple of people whining about the proposal to limit contributions to $250. they claimed that their voices would be diminished by that limit. the point that i stupidly forgot to mention was that their voices already ARE diminished due to the influence of money in campaigns. that was my failing. i’ll do better next time.

in good news, tag green was not challenged for his leadership position. i’m glad that cooler heads prevailed.

and on the upside, both the monkey and i are going to be delegates to the state convention. w00t! so, not only will you tarrant county people have to put up with us for quite some time, but we can also officially start organising the blogger’s caucus.

I have a problem – an open letter to Geiger supporters – UPDATED

I am posting this as an open question to all Doreen Gieger supporters. First, let me say i finally had the opportunity to meet Doreen, and she struck me as a very nice lady with her heart in the right place. I think she is a fine woman who one day will make a great party officer. I also know that there are many fine people who supported Doreen’s efforts in her race as Party Chair. All of you whom I have met obviously care as much about this country as I do, and you all want change in this country as much as I do. You are passionate and thoughtful, and you are seeking leadership changes at all levels of the party. I do not disagree with that we have some institutional issues – obviously our donkey needs a swift kick in the ass in some respects.

But what I do not understand is why some of you insist on planning to oust good, hardworking people from their positions of leadership within the party. I will not mince words here; I am specifically talking about efforts to oust Tag Green. I know Tag, and while he may not have supported Doreen, you folks should recognise that Tag is a man of honorable intentions who wants nothing more than to help the Democratic Party to victory in November. Tag is someone with whom you have a lot in common. And I just can’t wrap my brain around the concept of burning him.

Make no mistake; I sympathise with your hurt feelings. I know what it feels like to be ignored by the party, to be brushed aside when you feel you have an issue to bring to the table about which you feel passionate. I am in complete and total agreement with you about the problems with electronic voting and wholeheartedly support your efforts to fight for verified voting. In fact I will stand alongside you and fight. But if these efforts to burn a good man are indeed underway, then you are seriously misdirecting your fire and shooting yourself in the foot. I would bet every cent I have that Tag supports verified voting. I would bet every cent that he is an ally on this issue. Yet you want him gone? Are you taking crazy pills?

This is exactly why the repubs keep kicking our asses. Because even when we have good people on our side, we burn them.

And I also must say one more thing to my Geiger-supporting friends. If you want any credibility, if you want to make any headway in your efforts to change how the party is run, you need to dump the wackos and begin building a coalition of reasonable people. Now I believe most of you ARE reasonable. But let me give you an example of the type of person you need to ditch if you want anyone to take you seriously: Jerry Lobdill. Yes, the time has come to call people out by name. This is what Jerry wrote about Art Brender:

You will notice that I have excised a number of names from the cc distribution list for this thread. I have done this because I see names of people who are Art Brender supporters on it and others I am not sure of. It is my opinion that those of us who feel that Art Brender, Karl Rove, Lee Atwater, and Donald Segretti are all peas in a pod need to stop broadcasting our discussions to those who support Brender.

There are some acts that irreparably destroy the trust and respect that is necessary for people to work together. Brender and his cronies have committed such acts. While it is necessary, for our own good, for us as individuals to “forgive” these people, that does not imply a requirement to forget the implications of their acts or to give them an opportunity to do further damage. Forgiveness is not for their benefit, but for ours.

We are not obligated to passively give evil people repeated opportunities to abuse us. We are obligated to stand up for what is right.

If Doreen has the ability so soon after Brender’s outrageous campaign to meet with him in an attempt to forge a united front against unverified voting, power to her. However, I think it risks sending an inappropriate message to her supporters during the last four months and to people who have not been close enough to see the outrages that we have seen. I would hope that this is a calculated strategy rather than an olive branch.

The Brenderites are saying that it is time to put the past behind us and unite against Republicans, who they describe as our common enemy. Nice try, but no cigar. To do this would be to say that an outrage has not been committed. Brender has shown himself to be as much our enemy as Karl Rove.

During the 2004 campaign we learned that it was not necessary to have the support of the County Chair in order to provide support to Kerry and Edwards. We have the same situation now. We can support deserving Democrats without soiling ourselves by association with Brenderites.

Just my $0.02.

Jerry

First, in the interest of full disclosure, I have had my own problems with Lobdill that stretch back to the early days of the Dean for Texas movement. Put simply, the working relationship started well, but quickly deteriorated. I make no bones about it: I think Jerry is a habitual line-crosser and I have a very difficult time working with him.

And this instance has proved it once again. First, no matter how you feel about Art, surely you Geiger folks don’t agree that he and Karl Rove and Lee Atwater were cast from the same mould. Do you? That comparison is disgusting and I call on you to denounce it immediately. And please don’t use Jerry’s “don’t let me reflect on the candidate” excuse, because it DOES reflect on you.

Second, Jerry says that “We are not obligated to passively give evil people repeated opportunities to abuse us”. Jerry’s right about the statement, but it is too bad that he once again smears Art (and by extension, his supporters) by calling him “EVIL”. Reality check time: Saddam Hussein is evil. Art Brender is NOT evil, and I am appalled that someone who supposedly wants Democrats to win would use such extreme rhetoric to describe someone who has put many years into Democratic party politics. I cannot find words strong enough (without cursing) to condemn Jerry’s statement. I suggest that Geiger supporters start the wordsmithing pronto, because this makes all of you look like extremists.

He then goes on to poo-poo the idea of Doreen reaching out to Art. I suppose Jerry would prefer perpetual war within the party. Is that what you want, Geiger supporters? For us to continue to fight amongst ourselves instead of fighting the Rethugs? This is a destructive idea – sowing the seeds of future losses and building more animosity between two camps of people who want the same thing: to WIN.

He then writes, “The Brenderites are saying that it is time to put the past behind us and unite against Republicans, who they describe as our common enemy. Nice try, but no cigar.” Once again Jerry shows his true agenda: to sow the seeds of hatred and bitterness. He is not interested in working together; he is interested in destroying what remains of the Democratic Party in Tarrant County.

And the hair-brained idea that working together sweeps the issues under the rug is simply preposterous! Why is it such a bad thing to work for victory while continuing whatever other efforts you may have going on which will help us get a much needed paper trail for the hart systems? What’s the matter, he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time?

And do you share Jerry’s belief that us “Brenderites” don’t care about verified voting? Please tell me you aren’t falling for that crap. Tell me, did yall go to Austin and attend the Election Committee hearings last Spring to fight for verified voting? Because I know for a fact that Jilliane and many of the other “Brenderites” DID go to Austin to fight for verified voting. They sure could have used some backup, you know.

I shudder to think that Jerry’s extreme views may be shared by the majority of Geiger supporters. Please tell me I am wrong. Please disavow this heated rhetoric and divisive behavior. Please take a vow to work together for victory in November. Please take a vow to continue to fight for verified voting WITH the “Brenderites”. Because if you don’t, and you endorse this vile filth spewed by the most extreme among you, then our party will be irreparably damaged and the Rethugs will continue to kick our asses for the forseeable future.

The choice is clear. Disavow this extremism or be marginalised. And if you choose the former, then let’s shut the door on this type of crap and work together for a Democratic victory in November.

update: i received an email tonight from a reliable source who assured me that over the course of today there has been a change of heart, and that tag green will not be challenged during tomorrow’s conventions. good, i personally feel this is a step in the right direction. i hope all those involved feel that particular issue is resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. i know tag will continue to fight for everyone in the TCDP.

as to the other issue, i suppose that will be resolved in time. or at least i hope so.

the choice resolution

i brainstormed about this one overnight and i think i’ve got a rough outline. i am torn between acknowledging the mixed feelings on the issue or simply writing a reaffirmation. i’m thinking that i need to include the part about a wide variety of views and opinions, but don’t know if that’ll cloud the issue. i want this resolution to include something about respecting differing points of view. the slashed wording means i’m still playing around with it.
Whereas the Democratic Party acknowledges and respects the diversity of opinions on the issue of abortion;

And whereas it has been statistically proven that abstinence-only education has failed to prevent unplanned pregnancies, failed to reduce the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases, and failed to reduce the number of abortion procedures;

And whereas the number of abortions were reduced during each year of the Clinton administration, and the number of abortions have increased during each year of the Bush administration;

And whereas the Democratic Party strives to create a society where abortions are rare, safe, and legal, and whereas we strive to find consensus on such a controversial issue;

And whereas the failure of Prohibition teaches us that ill-considered criminalization merely creates more criminals;
The Democratic Party proposes that the best way to reduce abortions is through prevention programs.

input, suggestions, revisions???
—————

Ok, I think I’ve got it where I want it:

Whereas the failure of Prohibition teaches us that ill-considered criminalization merely creates more criminals;

And whereas it has been statistically proven that abstinence-only education has failed to prevent unplanned pregnancies, failed to reduce the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases, and failed to reduce the number of abortion procedures;

And whereas the number of abortions was reduced during each year of the Clinton administration, and the number of abortions has increased during each year of the Bush administration;

And whereas the Democratic Party strives to create a society where every child is wanted and loved and abortions are rare, safe, and legal;

And whereas the Democratic Party acknowledges and respects the diversity of opinions on the issue of abortion;

And whereas we strive to find consensus on such a controversial issue;

The Democratic Party proposes that the best way to reduce abortions is the reinstatement of programs which have been proven to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

update on SD10 resolutions

well, i went to the LONGEST MEETING EVER last night. arrived ar 6:15 and didn’t get home until nearly 11. *ug* but i think it was worth it. it was a very interesting experience. i got to hang out and listen to some very informed people who had many different points of view (after all, we *are* democrats) try to come to a consensus on what resolutions to pass along to the senate district conventions this saturday. it was a great brainstorm session, and everyone seemed genuinely interested in crafting resolutions that will help us drive that wedge between the fundies and the conservatives in november, while not alienating our base. essentially it was just the type of thing that is interesting to me. we rewrote some on the spot, killed a few, and tabled some for a rewrite. so… here is what we passed, either “as written” or with an on the spot rewrite:

Banking/Bancruptcy
1. Enact legislation to reduce penalties charged by banks and credit card companies, reduce the number of days banks can hold funds, and disallow a person’s failure to make a single timely payment from affecting other accounts.
2. Remove requirements for counseling in bankruptcy cases.
3. Remove credit card debt from the “non-dischargeable debt” category

Border and Immigration
1. Enact legislation dealing with undocumented persons fairly.

Campaign Finance
1. Support a constitutional amendment providing for publicly financed campaigns and limiting individual campaign contributions to $250 per campaign while eliminating all organizational contributions.

Children
1. Fully fund Child Protective Services to ensure quality care for all children.

Consumers
1. Support federal mandates to label genetically modified foods.

Death with Dignity
1. Add death with dignity to the Patient’s Bill of Rights and enact legislation modeled after the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.

Education
1. Increase state funding for public education, increase personnel salaries, fully fund existing reforms and oppose any additional proposals that negatively impact students or employees.
2. Formally endorse a statewide safe schools policy that prohibits harassment based upon race, religion, ethnicity, physical appearance, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, ability or economic status.
3. Prohibit the use of publicly funded vouchers for private school tuition.

Environment
1. Strengthen and implement the Clean Air Act.

Ethics
1. Restore ethical leadership to the United States.
2. Upon conviction of a felony, an elected official shall immediately forfeit all retirement benefits connected to their office.

Health Care
1. Institute a universal, single payer, taxpayer financed system of healthcare covering the entire population in America. ***see notes
2. Enact a new Medicare Part D bill in Congress with new provisions addressing negotiation with drug companies regarding prices, among other concerns.

Judiciary
1. Create a non-partisan Judicial Nominating Commission to accept nominations, conduct interviews and propose candidates for each open seat for approval to Governor prior to placement on the ballot to run in non-partisan elections.

Juneteenth
1. Make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Minimum Wage
1. Raise the minimum wage from $5.15/hr to $8.25/hr.

Security
1. Forbid the operation of any American river/seaport by a foreign nation.

Redistricting
1. Create a bipartisan Redistricting Commission composed of equal numbers of citizens from each major party, licensed attorneys and retired lawmakers or jurists to conduct the process one time per decade using computational criteria that may not include incumbent protection or partisan performance.

Utility/Energy
1. Urge the Texas Legislature to support and encourage alternate energy sources such as wind power and solar energy as well as energy conservation.
2. Utility rates are too high and should reflect the true cost of energy. The Texas Democratic Party recommends re-regulation of the Texas utility industry.

Voting/Voter Confidence
1. All legislative votes with the exception of Local and Consent are to be recorded and made available to the general public.
2. All voting equipment used in Tarrant County must come equipped with a verifiable paper trail.

i’m sure you’ve noticed the absense of some of the hot-button issues, such as reproductive rights, civil liberties, and the war in Iraq. that’s because most of those resolutions – while agreed with in principal and intent – were tabled for rewrites. i’ve gotten copies of several rewritten versions of those resolutions, and here they are. keep in mind these have not been accepted yet by the full committee, but i’m sure the majority of them will be.

Terrorism/War in Iraq
1. Whereas our troops’ commitment to country must be matched by our own commitment to them; that the failure of the Republican leadership to provide adequate armor, supplies and stateside medical and family support is shameful; and that our country’s ability to sustain a strong defense depends first and foremost on our women and men in uniform; we call on Congress and the administration to fund these basic needs fully and without delay.
2. We call on the administration to provide an honest, complete and immediate account of our remaining objectives in Iraq, along with a rational plan and timeline for completing those objectives; and, absent such action from the administration, we call on Congress to withdraw the authorization to use force in Iraq.

Environment
1. Whereas Texan dependence on the automobile contributes to polluted air, urban sprawl, unprecedented traffic congestion, and an overall poorer quality of life, we support investment in commuter rail as a necessary step in preserving the best possible quality of life for all Texans as our cities continue to grow.

i’m charged with writing the resolutions on abortion and gay rights. here are a few drafts. for the gay rights issue, i am going to write a broad resolution. it’s designed to encompass supporting equal marriage, healthcare, inheritance, adoption, and family rights for our GLBT friends. but i *have* to leave out the hot-button phrasing, because remember, we are trying to drive a wedge between the fundies (who’ll never vote for us anyway) and the conservatives who value personal liberty and were offended by the whole terri schiavo fiasco. for the abortion resolution, i’m putting prevention first. with the exceptions of the far extremes on both right and left, i would think everyone in the middle would agree that we should be working towards a world where women don’t feel compelled to make that choice. but until we get there, we should support programs that put prevention first.

Equal Rights (aka GLBT issues)
1. Whereas the Democratic party values diversity and abhors discrimination based on minority status, and whereas such discrimination should never be enshrined in our Consitution, we reaffirm that every American citizen is entitled to equal rights under the law, and that no American citizen should ever be denied these inalienable rights due to their minority status.

i’m still working on the abortion one, as it’s a real toughie…

***note: there were quite a few objections to the phrase “entire population”. this resolution passed “as written” by only one vote. the rest of us wanted to change it to “covering all American citizens”.

update: there are more rewrites coming in:

Fiscal Responsibility
“The Democratic Party supports fiscal responsibility and progressive taxation, the elements that created the largest and most successful middle class in history; as such, we call on Congress to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, so that all Americans will not be exposed to the potentially devastating effects of unchecked
deficit spending.”

Death Penalty:
Texas Democrats support strong law enforcement and efforts that reduce crime like additional police on the streets, and after school activities; and since the death penalty has not been statistically proven to reduce crime;
and since the application of the death penalty is applied disproportionately and unfairly to men, the poor, and people of color; and since the death penalty is prohibitively expensive to litigate, and given that recent scientific advances have led to increasingly frequent instances of overturning wrongful death sentences for innocent defendants;
The Texas Democratic Party hereby resolves to proclaim an immediate moratorium on this heinous and irreversible punishment in the state of Texas.

Environment
Whereas, the Superfund program must be adequately funded to clean up all sites that pose risks to public health and the environment;
And since the “polluter pays” mechanism expired in 1995, polluters have enjoyed a $4 million a day tax break and Superfund’s reserves – at a high of $3.6 billion in 1995 – are now completely depleted;
Whereas, since 2004, Superfund has been funded 100% by taxpayers, compared to only 18% of funds coming from taxpayers in 1996. And whereas former Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton all collected and supported a reinstatement of “polluter pays” fees;
The Democratic Party supports reinstating these fees to shift the tax burden of paying to clean up sites from taxpayers back to polluting industries, while increasing funds available for other important environmental programs.

resolutions for SD10 convention

hey, just wanted to give everyone a heads up here. as i blogged a few days ago, i signed up to be part of the resolutions committee for my senate district convention. tonight i got a copy of the proposed resolutions we’ll be debating and possibly submitting to the state convention. i thought this would be of interest to my north texas readers, especially the voting section. feedback is both encouraged and welcome, as we’re meeting tomorrow night.

Draft Summary of
Resolutions submitted to the
Senatorial District 10 Convention
Resolutions / Platform Committee

Balance of Trade

1. Force a balance of trade with a system of import/export credits to be traded in

the open market. Submitted by Precinct 1076.
Banking / Bankruptcy

1. Enact legislation to reduce penalties and interest charged by banks and credit card companies, reduce the number of days banks can hold funds, and disallow a person’s failure to make a timely payment from affecting other accounts. Submitted by Precincts 1117 and 1435
2. Remove requirements for counseling in bankruptcy cases. Submitted by Precincts 1117 and 1435.
3. Remove credit card debt from the “non-dischargeable debt” category.

Submitted by Precincts1117 and 1435.
Borders and Immigration

1. Condemn HR 4437 passed by the House of Representatives in December; urge local governments and the Senate to defeat the bill, urge Senators Hutchinson and Cornyn to vote “no” on the measure and send copies of this resolution to elected officials in Congress. Submitted by Precincts 4096 and 4155.
2. Enact legislation proposed by Senators Kennedy and McCain dealing with undocumented aliens fairly by making their status legal. Submitted by Precincts 1377, 1339, 2307, 2280 and 2525.

Budget and Taxes

1. Balance the budget rather than run deficits. Submitted by Precinct 3558.
2. Freeze total federal spending immediately and until a balanced budget is attained. Submitted by Precinct 3331.
3. Reverse tax cuts for wealthy Americans and large corporations, restore social safety net programs for the disadvantaged and expend efforts to reverse the growth in military spending in order to create a balanced budget. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280, and 2307.

Campaign Finance

1. Support a constitutional amendment providing for publicly financed campaigns and limiting individual campaign contributions to $250 per cycle while eliminating all organizational contributions. Submitted by Precincts 1208, 2228, 3322, and 4060.

Child Protective Services

1. Fully fund Child Protective Services to ensure quality care for all children. Submitted by Precinct 3323.

Choice

1. The government shall be denied the ability to intervene in medical treatments, all medical records remain private and the government adequately fund universal family planning and gynecological services to all women needing government assistance. Submitted by Precincts 1117, 1435 and 3323.
2. The Democratic Party shall change the platform from pro-abortion to pro-life. Submitted by Precinct 1142.

Death Penalty

1. Abolish the death penalty and commute all current death sentences to “Life without Parole.” Submitted by Precinct 3322.

Death with Dignity

1. Add death with dignity to the Patient’s Bill of Rights and enact legislation modeled after the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. Submitted by Precinct 3322.

Education

1. Increase state funding for public education, increase personnel salaries, fully fund existing reforms and oppose any additional proposals that negatively impact students or employees. Submitted by Precincts 1088, 3323 and 3558.
2. The Texas Legislature must resolve public school finance issues before doing any other legislative business. Submitted by Precinct 1105.
3. Formally endorse a statewide safe schools policy that prohibits harassment based upon race, religion, ethnicity, physical appearance, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, ability or economic status. Submitted by Precincts 1300, 1435, 2181 and 4060.
4. Prohibit the use of publicly funded vouchers for private school tuition. Submitted by Precincts 1117, 1435 and 2055.
5. Dedicate more federal funding to schools with high minority enrollment including funds for after school programs, vocational-technical training and Americorps. Submitted by Precinct 3558.

Environment

1. Urge the Texas Legislature to limit the use of pesticides in our state. Submitted by Precinct 3323.
2. Request a feasibility study to plan a light rail line along or near I-20 connecting Fort Worth and Dallas. Submitted by Precinct 2318.
3. Strengthen and implement the Clean Air Act. Submitted by Precinct 3558.

Ethics

1. Restore ethical leadership to the United States. Submitted by Precinct 3558.

2. Any indicted member of Congress or federal official shall immediately be suspended from duty with full pay and upon conviction forfeit all retirement benefits connected to their office. Submitted by Precinct 2112.
Food Choice

1. Support federally mandated labeling of genetically modified food.
Freedom of Speech

1. Affirm that the first amendment rights do not include the right to insult and injure religious sensitivities. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280 and 2307.

Gender Equality

1. Repeal the amendment banning marriage between same gender couples, strengthen and enforce hate crimes laws, enact laws to give gays and lesbians rights to make medical decisions for partners, receive inheritances from partners, obtain insurance benefits from partners and adopt children and allow gay, lesbian and bisexual persons to serve in the US armed forces. Submitted by Precinct 1435.
2. Support passage of comprehensive legislation preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, education and public accommodations. Submitted by Precincts 1076, 1117, 1208, 1300, 1435, 1479, 2181 and 4060.
3. Oppose a federal marriage amendment to the US Constitution and support marriage for same-gender couples. Submitted by Precincts 1076, 1208, 1300, 1435, 2181 and 4060.
4. Endorse policies protecting same-gender parented families which do not restrict or eliminate lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender families’ foster care or adoption rights. Submitted by Precincts 1117, 1300, 1435, 2181 and 4060.

Health Care

1. Institute a universal, single payer, taxpayer financed system of healthcare covering the entire population in America. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 1479, 2280, 2307, 2525 and 3558.
2. Enact a new Medicare Part D bill in Congress with new provisions addressing negotiation with drug companies regarding prices, among other concerns. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280 and 2307.
3. Adequately fund public hospitals. Submitted by Precinct 3558.

Judicial

1. Create a non-partisan Judicial Nominating Commission to accept nominations, conduct interviews and propose candidates for each open seat for approval to Governor prior to placement on the ballot to run in non-partisan elections. Submitted by Precincts 2228, 3331 and 4060.
2. Justice of the Peace candidates shall be lawyers licensed to practice in the state of Texas. Submitted by Precinct 1066.

Juneteenth

1. Make Juneteenth a national holiday. Submitted by Precinct 1479.
Minimum Wage

1. Raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $8.25 per hour. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280, 2307 and 2525.
2. Make more jobs available that pay above the poverty line. Submitted by Precinct 3558.

Personal Liberties

1. Declare that rights of privacy, control of one’s own body, healthcare decisions, reproductive decisions, end of life decisions, financial decisions and legal status are central tenets of the Democratic party. Submitted by Precincts 3331 and 3322.

Ports

1. Forbid the operation of any American river/seaport by a foreign nation without congressional hearings and an explanation to the American people why such a move is necessary. Submitted by Precinct 1105.

Redistricting

1. Create a bipartisan Redistricting Commission composed of equal numbers of citizens from each major party, licensed attorneys and retired lawmakers or jurists to conduct the process one time per decade using computational criteria that may not include incumbent protection or partisan performance. Submitted by Precincts 1208, 2228 and 4060.
2. Adopt a fully computerized program for automatic redistricting based on objective criteria discounting incumbency protection utilizing a bipartisan commission whose members will rely on operative data from the US Census Bureau and from no other source, to be implemented one time per decade. Submitted by Precinct 4060.

Utility Regulation / Energy

1. Urge the Texas Legislature to support and encourage alternate energy sources such as wind power and solar energy as well as energy conservation. Submitted by Precinct 3323.
2. Utility rates are too high and should reflect the true cost of energy. Submitted by Precinct 2055.
3. Prohibit the issuance of permits for coal use in generating power until new rules for emission control are published by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Submitted by Precinct 1105.
4. Initiate a program to find new domestic energy generation systems, reduce energy demand and energy waste and enable energy independence as measured by net importation of energy sources. Submitted by Precincts 3322 and 3331.

Votes

1. All legislative votes with the exception of Local and Consent are to be recorded and made available to the general public. Submitted by Precincts 1208, 1300 and 4060.
2. Support a resolution to eliminate straight ticket voting. Submitted by Precinct 1076.
3. Situate all polling places in public buildings, eliminating churches as poll sites. Submitted by Precinct 3390.
4. Abolish the Electoral College. Submitted by Precinct 1208.

Voting Machines

1. All voting equipment used in Tarrant County must come equipped with a verifiable paper trail. Submitted by Precinct 1117.
2. Support legislation that guarantees Texans will vote only with a physical paper ballot for all perpetuity. Submitted by Precincts 1208, 1300, 2228 and 4060.

War in the Middle East

1. Withdraw American troops (Precinct 1117 objects to the word “immediately.”) Precinct 3331 suggests replacing them with those of a third party palatable to the Iraqi people while Precinct 3322 suggests a UN-appointed peacekeeping force. Submitted by Precincts 1105, 1117, 1339, 1377, 1435, 2280, 2307, 3322 and 3558.
2. Afford due process to all detainees in custody. Submitted by Precincts 1105, 1339, 1377, 2280, and 2307.
3. Engage in diplomatic relationships with all countries composed of Muslim majorities. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280, 2307 and 2525.
4. Respect, rather than punish, the duly elected government of Palestine. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280, and 2307.
5. Support democratically elected governments everywhere and fully engage them diplomatically. Submitted by Precincts 1339, 1377, 2280, 2307and 2525.
6. Strengthen institutions that foster the rule of international law and cooperation. Submitted by Precinct 3390.

Wiretapping

1. Enact legislation to prohibit any form of wiretapping without the proper legal warrant prior to commencing surveillance.

IL-06 Primary Today

one of the non-local races i’ve been keeping my eye on is the race to replace henry hyde in illinois’s 6th district. the primary is being held today, and the candidates are grassroots-backed christine cegelis and establishment-backed fighting dem tammy duckworth. this primary has been interesting because of the pie fight going on between the activists backing christine and the democratic party apparatus that’s backing tammy.

last time around, christine nearly unseated henry hyde, which made her the easy choice to run again this year. she’s done a ton of work reigniting the democratic base in that district. to make a long story short, a few months back, d-trip chairman rahm emanuel strong-armed tammy into the race against the wishes of the activists in IL-06. this was also around the time that he co-opted the fighting dems meme. personally, i tend to side with the activists who were/are pissed at rahm. i think what he did was crap and it’s indicative of a democratic party led by people who tend to ignore their base.

but all that being said, christine and tammy have tried to remain above the fray. from what i’ve read, they’ve both been gracious and have tried to run issues-based campaigns. although i do have a personal preference in this race, either of these fine women would be a vast improvement over philanderer henry hyde. my hope is that IL-06 has a much higher turnout than we had down here a few weeks back, and that the best candidate is chosen. either way, whomever wins will have my full support. i wish both christine and tammy luck today. go get ‘em, girls!

update: here is a diary on today’s illinois primaries, posted by a local. apparently parts of illinois were blanketed w/snow this morning, so that might effect turnout. i’ll link to any others i find. and please, if you find some that i miss, copy and paste them in the comments.

results update: this one’s gonna be a nailbiter, folks. with 231 of 526 precincts reporting (43%), duckworth is up by about 500 votes, currently holding at 43-40 over cegelis. the third candidate, lindy scott, is pulling about 16%. in good fighting dem news, it looks like john laesch is kicking butt in his primary. he’s currently up 65-34 with 85% of precincts reporting. i’m sure it was our endorsement that put him over the top – LOL results are posted and being updated with regularity by the chicago tribune here. and if you’re interested, there’s a massive illinois results liveblog thread over on the big orange blog.

more results:
U.S. House – District 6 – Dem Primary – Illinois 413 of 526 Precincts Reporting – 78.52%
Name Party Votes Pct
Duckworth , Tammy Dem 10,984 43.19
Cegelis , Christine Dem 10,389 40.85
Scott , Lindy Dem 4,061 15.97

no way am i going to make it long enough to see the end results tonight…. goodnight folks.

three years

(x-posted at dkos)

1096 days, 2525 coalition casualties, 16,653 wounded, 50,000+ civilian casualties, $250,000,000,000 blown, and for what?

“This will be no war – there will be a fairly brief and ruthless military intervention. It will be greeted by the majority of the Iraqi people as an emancipation. And I say, bring it on.” – right-wing bloviator Christopher Hitchens, 1/28/03 (thx paul)

“It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.” – Rumsfeld, 2/7/03

“I believe demolishing Hussein’s military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.” – Ken Adelmen in the WaPo, 2/13/02

“The Iraqi people understand what this crisis is about. Like the people of France in the 1940s, they view us as their hoped-for liberator.” – Wolfowitz, 3/11/03

“My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators…I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . (in) weeks rather than months.” – Cheney, 3/16/2003 (second source)<

“It’s not a civil war; it’s not a popular uprising. Most of Iraq is relatively stable.” – Bush, 4/13/04

“I’ve been very struck by the fact that when there’s been an attack of the kind that Zarqawi talked about, of Kurds, of Shia against Kurds, which he thought would cause civil war, or Sunnis against Shia, which he hoped to cause civil war, that instead, the Iraqi people have rallied to each other.” – Rice, 7/16/04

“A lot of people said you can’t possibly hold elections in January. Others said if you hold elections, there’ll be a civil war. None of that came to pass.” – Cheney, 6/23/05

“They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war.” – Bush, 6/28/05

“Recently, Zarqawi, the terrorist, the killer, has called for a total war on Shia Iraqis. His hope is to set off a civil war that will divide the country and derail its march to democracy.” – Bush, 9/22/05

“Well, let’s talk about — that’s an issue that for some time now people have been talking about, yet it has not happened, if you’re talking about the idea that civil war could break out.” – McClellan, 10/05/05

“Zarqawi and his supporters have failed to foment the civil war they so desperately want.” – Deputy NSA Crouch, 10/06/05

“You reject civil war when you build democratic institutions, and Iraqis are doing that with our help right now.” – Ambassador Satterfield, 11/18/05

“Oh, I know some fear the possibility that Iraq could break apart and fall into a civil war. I don’t believe these fears are justified.” – Bush, 12/12/05

“It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.” – Former Prime Minister Allawi, 3/18/06

“I think the former Prime Minister is correct. I think we’ve had a low grade civil war going on in Iraq for the last six months maybe the last year-our own generals have told me that privately George, so that’s a fact.” – Senator Chuck Hagel, 3/19/06

“…in 1967, I came back from Vietnam. There was an election in Vietnam right after that, and the president of the United States said, “This is it, we legitimized the government. From now on, the, the Vietnamese can take it with their own government.” We lost 38,000 people after that. When I look at that experience, then I look at the mistakes and the mishandling and the mischaracterizations in this war, I changed my mind. I said to myself, “There’s no, there’s no way—six years from now, we could still be there, lose a lot of troops.” The, the troops themselves don’t understand what their mission is, the people in the periphery say we ought to be out of there, we’ve lost international support. At some point, you have to change direction. What I’m saying is we need to redeploy our troops because they’re caught in a civil war.” – Rep. Murtha, 3/19/06

(with much gratitude to all the contributors to the townhouse list)