QUIXOTE

Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chair Dolly Elizondo has been urged to run against State Rep. Aaron Peña.

2011-07-16T15:04:00.002-05:00

Democrats to avoid 'bloody' primary battle in fight to dislodge Peña
15 July 2011
Steve Taylor

MISSION, July 15 - Leading Democrats looking to challenge Republican state Rep. Aaron Peña in the reconfigured House District 41 seat will not fight each other in a “bloody” primary election.

Instead, they will reach a backroom deal within the next few weeks in order to promote one prominent candidate that the party can get behind, says Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chair Dolly Elizondo.

Elizondo has expressed interest in running for the District 41 seat, as has former Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chair R.D. “Bobby” Guerra. Elizondo said she and Guerra are in discussions.

“Our strategy is to have one candidate run,” Elizondo said, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. “We are very united as a party. We do have people that want to run, myself included, Bobby Guerra, and possibly another young lawyer. We are in constant communication. We are not going to have a bloody primary where we have four Democrats running for that one position.”

Elizondo said that to have a highly competitive primary race next March would sap campaign dollars that need to be conserved for the general election fight against Peña in November 2012.

Elizondo said the Hidalgo County Democratic Party would likely hold a news conference before the end of July to announce the “consensus” candidate.

District 41 has undergone a radical remake following redistricting. The Republican-dominated Legislature redrew the boundary lines to take in a lot more Republican precincts. The McAllen-based district now includes much of Mission and southwest Edinburg. In short, the more affluent parts of the greater McAllen area.

One affluent part of McAllen the district does not include is a tiny stretch around Dove Avenue and 2nd Street where state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, the District 41 incumbent, lives. Republicans wanted to remove Gonzales from her district so that Peña would not be “paired” with her. Peña’s home was drawn into District 41 to maximize his chances of re-election.

Analysts say the district is a swing seat that could go Republican or Democrat. A Republican has never been elected into office in Hidalgo County. Although a Republican now, Peña was elected into office last November as a Democrat. He switched parties soon after the GOP’s landslide victory.

Last week, Gonzales said she would not seek re-election in District 41 and might seek to run in the heavily Democratic District 40 seat that Peña currently holds. That district, too, has been drastically redrawn. Gonzales said she would not run against Peña not because she did not believe she could defeat him but because such a race was bound to get ugly.

The new districts have still to be pre-cleared by the Department of Justice. The civil rights division of that agency must check to see if the Voting Rights Act, which protects the interests of minority voters, has been violated.

Elizondo said she and other Democrats are hopeful the DoJ will strike down the Republican-drawn map because this would mean Gonzales staying on as the McAllen representative. However, she said Democrats have to plan on the basis that the new map will be used at the next election.

“We are hoping the Department of Justice strikes down the Republican map. It will be a great loss for McAllen to lose Veronica. She is a leader of this community, of the Rio Grande Valley. She is very accessible and has never been self-serving,” Elizondo said.

Elizondo said Guerra would be a strong candidate in District 41, as would she.

“Bobby has a lot of support. He has visibility. He is well known and liked. There are people urging me to run, too. I broke the record, being the first female Hidalgo County Democratic Party chair. But, you will not see Bobby and I run against each other. You will see a united front. We will pick the best candidate to win,” Elizondo said.

Although Guerra and Elizondo will not run against each other in a primary race, Elizondo was quick to stress that she did not want to circumvent the democratic process.

“I do not want to step on anyone’s hopes or dreams of running. That is not what the Democratic Party does. Anyone can run. However, amongst those of us who have been in elected office, we will reach an agreement. We are getting together with the party leaders now the legislative session is over and the money brokers. They are the ones that are going to help fund this. We will use our funds wisely,” Elizondo said.

Elizondo acknowledged that the way the boundary lines have been drawn for District 41 gives Peña a chance of success. She said she realizes Republicans from across the state will pour money into his campaign in order to achieve a beachhead for the GOP in the Valley.

“We know Hidalgo County has a bull’s eye on it for the Republicans. They will pour money into this race. But, money is not everything. At the end of the day, it is whether the constituents believe in the candidate, whether they trust the candidate, whether they believe you when you say you are going to fight for them,” Elizondo said.

Asked what might be a winning strategy for Democrats against Peña, Elizondo spoke about trust and character.

“Everyone in the Valley, from all strands of life, knows what Aaron did to this community. He turned his back on the people who elected him and he turned his back on what is best for this region. The Valley lost a Texas House seat because of him. He did not stand up and fight for us,” Elizondo said.

“I can respect Aaron more if he were to say, the Republican Party now reflects my values. This is who I am. But he didn’t. He said the Democratic Party drove him out. He always plays the victim. He needs to be bigger than that.”

Elizondo added that the Hidalgo County Democratic Party has two political action committees that the public can give money to. One is a general purpose PAC called Keep Hidalgo Blue. The other is a single purpose PAC called The Committee to Defeat Aaron Peña.

Elizondo promised that whomever the Democratic candidate is, he or she would run a spirited campaign. “We know the Republicans are going to pour money into this race to save Aaron. But we are ready to knock on every door. We are going to have the best grassroots plan,” she said.

© Copyright of the Rio Grande Guardian, www.riograndeguardian.com. Publisher: Steve Taylor.

Thank You For Honoring Pedro Cano

2010-05-19T14:28:00.001-05:00

Thank you all so much for joining us in honoring the memory and the family of Private Pedro Cano.

Last Speech of Cuauhtemoc

2010-02-28T09:54:00.003-06:00

Last Speech of Tlatoani Cuauhtemoc, August 12, 1521

"Our Sun has gone down. Our Sun has been lost from view and has left us in complete darkness. But we know it will return again that it will rise again to light us anew. But while it is there in the Mansion of Silence Let's join together, let's embrace each other and in the very center of our being hide all that our hearts love and we know is the Great Treasure. Let us hide our Temples our schools, our sacred soccer game our youth centers our houses of flowery song so that only our streets remain. Our homes will enclose us until our New Sun rises. Most honorable fathers and most honorable mothers, may you never forget to guide your young ones teach your children, while you live how good it has been and will be. Until now our beloved Anahuac sheltered and protected our destinies that our ancestors and our parents enthusiastically received and seeded in our being. Now we will instruct our children how to be good. They will raise themselves up and gain strength and as goodness make real their great destiny in this, our beloved mother Anahuac."

Save the Date: Campaign Fundraiser

2010-02-19T16:01:00.002-06:00

Rep. Peña Joins National, State and Local Organizations Calling for Complete Census Count

2010-02-12T11:46:00.003-06:00

Austin - State Representative Aaron Peña has joined a group of community organizations from across the state and nation in calling for a comprehensive and complete census count. MALDEF in collaboration with grassroots partners has formed the Texas Latino Complete Count Committee in order to reach the hardest to count communities. Representative Peña joined the group at a press conference in Austin recently to announce the initiative.

"My community of Hidalgo County is ranked number eleven in the country for the number of people living in hard to count areas and we are number two in the percentage of people living in hard to count areas," said Rep. Peña. " It is so important that Texas has a statewide strategy for an accurate and complete census count. We have just received a briefing in the House Committee on Redistricting and Texas has a chance of a minimum of three new congressional seats with a good count but a shot at four new congressman with a great count."

Texas has the second highest hard-to-count areas in the country. Populations in these areas include children and residents who are low-income, lack a high school diploma, are limited English proficient, live in multi-family homes, receive public assistance, and/or are highly mobile. The 2000 Census left an estimated 373,567 people in Texas uncounted. As a result, Texas missed out on approximately $2,913 in federal funds per person – a total loss of over $1 billion over the last decade. This decade, due to population growth, Texas is expected to gain three or four congressional seats in the next redistricting cycle. The difference of one congressional seat for Texas means billions of dollars for our communities. An accurate Census count will give Texas a greater share of the over $400 billion distributed annually to communities across the country for important programs such as school construction, early childhood programs, services to the elderly, job training and infrastructure development. These are funds that Texas needs to create more jobs, build good schools and provide important services for our community.

"An accurate and comprehensive count in the Rio Grande Valley will play a pivotal role in whether or not Texas gains four new congressman," said Rep. Peña. "More importantly a great count for South Texas can mean that one of those new seats will be created in our community. With the continued growth of our population and the expansion of our economy we can not afford to miss out this redistricting cycle.

Partners in the Texas Latino Complete Count Committee include: LULAC, SVREP, WCVI, TACHE, MATT, AFL-CIO, HACU, IDRA, Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, Texas Media Empowerment Project, Southwest Workers Union, the Rio Grande Guardian, TABE, and the University Leadership Initiative.

Today's Ribbon Cutting

2010-02-02T23:38:00.001-06:00

Rep. Peña: Remembering 2009

2009-12-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

2009-12-26T11:48:00.004-06:00

2009-12-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

Wishing You An Enjoyable Christmas

2009-12-10T00:01:00.001-06:00

Enjoy the Holidays and be Safe

2009-12-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

My Cowboy Hat is in the Ring

2009-12-06T22:05:00.004-06:00

"My hat's in the ring. The fight is on and I'm stripped to the buff." - Teddy Roosevelt, 1912

To throw my hat in the ring is an American phrase which means to enter a competition, especially to announce your representation for a political post. The phrase originated way back in the early 19th century. The 'ring' pertains to the 'boxing ring. This was probably necessitated by the crowds and noise at such events; you'd be missed if you simply tried to shout out a challenge or push your way through the crowd and into the ring.

"Throwing your hat in the ring" is a way of announcing that you are ready to take on anybody from the crowd. The first use of the phrase was reportedly in the year 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt declared his intent to confront William Howard Taft for the battle of the US presidency. Since then, the phrase "throw my hat in the ring" has caught on.

Well on Friday we made it official by filing. We made our official announcement at "The Boxing Gym" in the Hidalgo County Square in Edinburg, Texas.

The gym is just down the street from our office and we thought it would be fitting to highlight an Edinburg business while at the same time having a little fun with President Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote. It of course comes out of boxing history so the location seemed appropriate.

My thanks to Victor Garza who sent me this photo.

If ...

2009-11-20T15:29:00.005-06:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And which is more; you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Reception Honoring Rep. Peña October 27

2009-10-05T11:46:00.002-05:00

Finishing the Veterans' March to San Antonio

2009-03-19T17:41:00.003-05:00

The Texas House stands adjourned until 2:00 p.m., Monday, March 23rd, 2009 so I am off to join those hardcore veterans from the Valley on their 250 mile march to San Antonio.

The good news from the capitol is that I believe we are making good progress in moving the medical school legislation that may serve to compliment the Veterans' Hospital in the Valley. Today I joined other key members in the House to refine our strategy to get the bill moving. I am expecting our legislation to be moving out of committee soon.

As to our loyal group of dedicated veteran marchers, they are at last word on the edges of San Antonio hoping to have their final trek to the VA Hospital in San Antonio sometime tomorrow.

I will be marching with our comrades in action tomorrow as they reach this final part of this journey. Hopefully our ultimate goal will not be as treacherous.

Here are photos from today.

A Letter From Hillary Clinton

2008-08-06T20:35:00.004-05:00

Time for Some Campaignin'

2008-07-16T00:27:00.001-05:00

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

A Big Check For The Boy's & Girl's of The Community

2008-06-27T23:29:00.002-05:00

At today's groundbreaking for the new Boy's & Girl's Club I for the first time announced that I was able to secure a state appropriation of $750,000 for the park and green space that surrounds the Boys and Girls Club of Edinburg. The new 32,700 square foot complex is called El Portal del Norte facility.

Eddie Saenz Booed at Young Democrats Debate

2008-02-29T20:41:00.002-06:00

Eddie Saenz Caught

2008-02-25T15:38:00.001-06:00

Rep. Peña Casts His Vote Early in Elsa

2008-02-19T14:15:00.000-06:00

In the early morning when the polls opened at 7, Rep. Peña was spotted coming out of the Elsa City Hall. I snapped this photo. I asked him why he chose to vote in Elsa instead of his home town of Edinburg, he said that he did it for his grandparents. "My grandparents came to this country from Mexico and settled in the farming community of Elsa. My grandmother became a citizen and first voted here. I honor their memory and their dreams for a better life with this campaign and this small gesture."

Early voting numbers reached the 5,000 level.

Rep. Peña Fighting For Our Future

2008-02-14T15:07:00.002-06:00

Rep. Peña Fighting For Our Future

2008-02-14T14:49:00.000-06:00

2008-01-25T16:46:00.000-06:00

The Voter Id Bill Vote

2007-11-30T12:06:00.000-06:00

Spin and deception - the Eddie Saenz campaign can't seem to get enough of it. Here is the official record on our vote on the Voter Id Bill.

Newspaper Forced To Retract Lie From Eddie Saenz Campaign

2007-11-21T10:59:00.000-06:00

The Eddie Saenz campaign's website mentions that they thought no one was paying attention and so they may have felt free to issue yet another lie on an unsuspecting public. Making false and libelous statements is a dangerous activity for most people and so when a Valley newspaper was deceived into carrying an unfiltered press statement from the Saenz campaign they may have hoped that Saenz would follow the law and good common sense.

Today, after being confronted with the public record and the indisputable truth, the Edinburg Review Newspaper, on their front page, was forced to retract a lie perpetuated by Eddie Saenz and his campaign.

When on this blog, I pointed out the lie that was being peddled by Eddie Saenz via his consultant Kelly Fero, rather than issue an apology they responded on their Internet site by calling our objection "wild-eyed accusations" and further stated it was without "evidence".

In what must be a humiliating confession for any newspaper the Edinburg Review today laid out the "evidence" contained in the public record that clearly indicate Mr. Saenz and his consultant were lying in their statement that appeared in their newspaper. Discredit was not only once again brought on Saenz but unfortunately was brought on our hometown paper.

Sadly from what we have seen from Mr. Saenz and his campaign I won't hold my breath waiting for an apology. I would expect however that he and his consultant issue an apology to the general public for their inexcusable behavior in running a campaign that is beneath the good people of South Texas.

Our saving grace is that the Thanksgiving holiday begins tomorrow and perhaps the public may get a rest from the perpetual mudslinging from our opponent. That would surely be good reason to give thanks. We shall see ...

More Spins and Lies From the Eddie Saenz Campaign

2007-11-20T12:05:00.000-06:00

The Eddie Saenz Campaign and their supporters continue their lies and deceptions this morning with a post about the ongoing troubles in the Edcouch-Elsa school board.

In a post entitled, "When Corruption Hits One Of Aaron Pena's Supporters. Aaron Remains Quiet" the false accusation is made that an embattled Edcouch-Elsa school board member charged with family violence and drug possession is on the Representative's campaign.

It is clear from campaign material and public photographs in local newspapers that the embattled school board member, Manuel Hernandez Jr., is associated with the Eddie Saenz campaign. This should clear the record and again confirm that our political opponent will do or say anything to win.

Successful Kickoff Launches Rep. Peña Re-Election Bid

2007-11-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

In an overwhelming show of confidence hundreds of supporters, elected officials and community leaders from across the Rio Grande Valley joined together this past week to kick-off State Representative Aaron Peña's re-election campaign. The community rally was held at the ECHO Hotel in Edinburg. The excitement and energy of the large crowd was helped by the positive tone of the evening.

"I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support from family, friends and my community," said Representative Peña. "All the hard work that has gone into the last three sessions is being noticed. These successes include adding over a hundred thousand children to the CHIP program and securing $40 million for a new fine arts center at University of Texas Pan American. I will not be complacent when there is so much work still left to do. We must continue to invest in our public schools, our teachers and our universities. I look forward to continue serving this district with honor and integrity."

Master of Ceremonies for the evening celebration was Elsa native Dr. Frank Guajardo, founder of the Llano Grande Center. Edinburg Mayor Pro-Tem Alma Garza gave the official welcome to the attendees. She was followed by State Representative Veronica Gonzales who had warm words for her friend and colleague. The two primary speakers for the evening were Former President of the University of Texas Pan American Dr. Miguel Nevarez and Elsa native and VFW District 18 Commander Felix Rodriguez. Both gave rousing speeches about the representative's character, service and successes.

Dr. Nevarez spoke about Representative Peña's experience and credited him for standing strong and delivering for his district. As the former UTPA President noted, Peña was successful in securing millions of dollars for important projects in his district including $3 million for a substance abuse treatment center, $5 million for the Regional Academic Health Center, $45 million for a regional DPS center as well as countless other projects. He was an author of legislation that created the newly opened $26 million Wellness Center at the University of Texas Pan American and authored legislation that helped to provide $3 billion in funding for cancer research. One of the representative's proudest accomplishments was the "13th" check he helped secure for retired educators and two pay increases for active teachers. Nevarez reminded the audience and the larger community that Peña's seniority and strong negotiating abilities necessitated his re-election.

"Without a doubt we had some big victories this session," said Representative Peña. "I am proud of my record of service. I remain committed to serving this community and will not allow special agendas and partisan bickering to divert my efforts."

Commander Rodriguez complemented the statements by Dr. Nevarez by affirming Representative Peña's commitment to his community and his strength of character. Rodriguez reminisced about the march that a group of veterans from South Texas took to San Antonio in order to highlight the need for a VA hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. He let the audience know that the representative joined them on every step of the 250-mile trek. It was that effort and determination that impressed Commander Rodriguez. The march to San Antonio along with a lot of hard work by many is now leading to better access to healthcare for our veterans. Commander Rodriguez told the audience that it was imperative that Representative Peña be returned to Austin so that he can fulfill his mission to organize federal, state and local leaders to pull their resources and establish a four-year medical school to complement a full-fledged VA hospital in South Texas.

"The future for South Texas is bright," said Representative Peña. "The hopes and dreams of our parents and grandparents are finally being realized. Our children's future is limited only by our imaginations and their initiative. As our community's economic, social and political progress continues to move forward we must reject the outdated failed politics of the past. Public service is not about inspiring hate or driving people apart. It's about bringing people together and inspiring the best in all of us."

In aspiring towards a brighter future the representative championed the efforts of leaders from the district who are seeking to reject the public corruption burdening the citizens of the community and the progress achieved. The Rio Grande Guardian has a story on this issue.

Peña was first elected to the Texas House in 2002 and is seeking re-election to a 4th term. During his tenure he has been recognized as a top negotiator and one of the most powerful Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives. District 40 covers northern Hidalgo County, which includes the communities of Edinburg , Edcouch, Elsa, La Joya, and Sullivan City. He is Chairman of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Elected officials and political leaders in attendance at the reception included: State Representative Ryan Guillen; State Representative Veronica Gonzales; State Representative Armando Martinez; former Edinburg State Representative Cullen Looney; Treasurer of the Texas Democratic Party and Deputy Political Director of Hillary Clinton for Texas, Victor Garza,; Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra; District Judge Ricardo Rodriguez; Judge Maxine Longoria Nash; Justice of the Peace Charlie Espinoza; Constable Andy Rios; Edinburg Mayor Pro-Tem Alma Garza; Edinburg City Commissioner Gene Espinoza; Edinburg City Commissioner Noe Garza; Edinburg City Commissioner Gus Garcia; Edinburg School Board President Carmen Gonzales; Monte Alto School Board Member Raul Valdez; Sullivan City Commissioner Oscar Salinas; Sullivan City Commissioner Rosendo Benavidez; Municipal Judge Terry Palacios; Municipal Judge Luis Singleterry; Pharr Economic Development Corporation Board Member Adrienne Garza; Candidate for District Judge Israel Ramon, Jr.; Candidate for District Judge Jesse Contreras; Candidate for Constable Eddie Guerra; Candidate for Constable Ronny Perez; Former Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia; President of Bee Club, Jesus Flores; Daco Club leader, Eloy Garza; Former Bee Club President, Irma Rodriguez; retired Judge Johnny Dominguez; retired Judge Dario Martinez and former Edinburg Chamber Presidents Byron Lewis and Mitch Roberts.

Capitol Annex has the story.

Putting Up More Signs In The Delta

2007-10-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

Alright folks we got some additional signs in. Some of you have been asking for them and we are ready to bring them to you. I spent my Sunday in the Delta area putting some of them up. My son Aaron and my uncle Romeo helped me with the digging. Please give us a call if you would like one in your yard or business.

Campaign Kick-Off November 8th

2007-10-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

A Wonderful Day Recognizing Sgt. Barrientes

2007-09-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

This morning after hearing a very interesting sermon on trustworthiness and our purpose on earth, I had the opportunity to travel with Rep. Pena to a dedication event for Sgt. Francisco Barrientes in Edinburg, Texas.

As I arrived to the event with the Rep. I was enlightened to see many happy faces enter the Sgt. Francisco Barrientes Middle School gym that was soon to be filled by faculty, students, family, and close members of the community. Among those that were present were Sgt. Barrientes family members.

As Rep. Pena made his way through the crowds to the front of the gym he would get stopped by caring members of the community just so that they can say “Hi Rep. nice to see you here today.”

I gathered myself to one corner that allowed me to view the entire audience and the stage where all the invited speakers sat with the Honoree, Sgt. Francisco Barrientes. As I looked to the stage at Mr. Barrientes sitting next to Rep. Pena, it was a wonderful view for me. These two individuals share something very important; the ability to serve those that they love and having the passion to do it. Mr. Barrientes’s dedication over the years is an inspiration to me and it is notable that not many of those kinds of individuals exist.

This event was so remarkable to capture not only by a photo camera but also through my own personal experience. As Rep. Pena gave his speech to the audience and Sgt. Barrientes sat peacefully in his chair looking into the crowed, I could see that everyone was interested in what was being read on the Proclamation Rep. Pena wrote for Sgt. Barrientes. At one point I could feel a tear trying to escape my eye.

At the end of the dedication ceremony, I can truly understand why Rep. Pena is deeply respected within his community. It is Rep. Pena’s ability to reminisce on the days that he once walked the halls of the middle school when he was a young boy many years ago with those who were present. This same school that was just recently named after a Vietnam War Veteran, who like Rep. Pena, is also a well-respected individual that devoted his abilities and talents to the community many years ago to this day.

After a very beautiful morning and afternoon I have to say I could not have asked for a better and beautiful day with Rep. Pena, Sgt. Barrientes, and everyone present at the dedication ceremony recognizing the efforts of one individual and his impact on the way we live our lives.

We Have An Opponent

2007-09-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

The Monitor has the first story of the campaign season. You can find it below.

Saenz challenging Peña to a rematch for House seat

Elizabeth Pierson Hernandez
September 17, 2007 - 9:51PM

Eddie Saenz
Age: 47
Occupation: Engineer
Education: bachelor’s degree, University of Texas at Austin
Family: Married, one child

Aaron Peña
Age: 48
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: bachelor’s degree, University of Texas at Austin; law degree, Texas Southern University
Family: Married, five children (one deceased)

AUSTIN — Eddie Saenz and state Rep. Aaron Peña appear to be heading for Round 2.

Saenz, an engineer, has filed the necessary paperwork with the state to begin raising money for a campaign rematch against Peña for House District 40 in the March Democratic primary.

Peña, who has held the seat since 2003, faced a challenge in 2004 from Saenz, who came up short with 35 percent of the vote. Peña ran unopposed in 2006.

Now Saenz said it’s time to try again. He said Peña has not listened to local leaders in his Hidalgo County district. He also questioned Peña’s dedication to the overwhelmingly Democratic district, citing Peña’s decision to align himself earlier this year with Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick.

“He’s betrayed the district by being a staunch Craddick supporter,” Saenz said.

Saenz wouldn’t rule out voting for a Republican speaker himself, if elected, but said he would vote for someone more moderate than Craddick.

Peña said he worked with Craddick to deliver what his district thought was important, including more money for the Regional Academic Health Center, expanded eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, increased funding at the University of Texas-Pan American, an increase in teacher pay and trying to get a veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley.

“What Mr. Saenz is suggesting, that he be a back-bencher bomb-thrower, is not going to advance the interests of the Valley,” Peña said.

Peña said he is a lifelong Democrat and remains so, citing his position as director of South Texas outreach for the Hillary Clinton for president campaign.

Saenz and Peña will fight for a district that is the largest by land mass in Hidalgo County, taking in the north and westernmost parts of the county. It includes most of Edinburg and all of Edcouch, Elsa, La Villa, La Joya and Sullivan City.

Peña is a lawyer who decided to run for office after his 16-year-old son died of a drug overdose in 2001. He accomplished his major goal earlier this year when the Legislature dedicated $3 million to build a drug-treatment center in Edinburg, he said.

He called the session “probably the best” in the Valley’s history.

“We have a successful track record of success that is measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.

If re-elected, he wants to work to establish a full medical school in the Valley, which would help attract federal and state funds for a veterans hospital, he said.

Saenz said Peña has ignored parts of the district such as Edcouch, Elsa and La Joya. If elected, he would look for ways to create jobs by building health clinics, community college branches or whatever local leaders determine necessary, not just in Edinburg but across the district, he said.

“Being involved as an engineer is being involved in construction,” Saenz said. “We need to create this sort of activity in other areas of the district as well,” he said.

He also wants to continue expanding CHIP to include more families with a higher income than the program currently allows, he said.

Saenz, 47, is a graduate of McAllen High School and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He runs an engineering firm, J.E. Saenz & Associates.

Local leaders from Edinburg and other cities came to Saenz asking him to run, Saenz said. Peña’s alliance with Craddick and other factors mean it’s a different climate in the district, he said.

In the 2004 campaign, Saenz said, Peña harped on a lawsuit against Saenz by the city of Edinburg alleging Saenz, a frequent government contractor, owed the city money. He was later cleared of wrongdoing, he said.

“We just feel that the dynamics have changed and I just feel that I’m not going to be beat up with the city like last time,” he said.

Peña said he would challenge Saenz to run a clean campaign, saying Saenz has already used untoward campaign tactics.

“Eddie’s been running since he lost in 2004, and they’ve started with dirty whisper campaigns, unregistered blogs that attack my family, and lies and misrepresentations that are told to the community,” Peña said.

Peña would not say what those unregistered blogs were.

Others may yet join the race. The deadline to register for the primary is Jan. 2. The election is March 4.
____

Elizabeth Pierson Hernandez covers the state capital for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Austin and can be reached at (512) 323-0622.

Thank you all for your words of support

2007-09-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

I was reading the Capitol Annex the other day and I was surprised to see such positive comments on the blog regarding Rep. Pena's re-election. It is true he has been a champion for his constituents as one commentator wrote.

I have seen many of the new infrastructures within The University of Texas-Pan American and glad to say that without hard work from Rep. along with the other Valley delegation we would not see such improvements on our local University.

Aside from that Rep. Pena has been very productive during his terms and I believe we can all see that and count oh him once again in 2009.

This is my first post as a volunteer for the Representative's re-election. I hope to have other posts as the campaign advances.

Barbecue and Politics, a South Texas Tradition

2007-09-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

Was invited to the Edcouch-Elsa community, often times called the "Delta area" for a little barbecue and some politics. Before the Dallas Cowboy football game we talked politics and passed out and put up a number of 4 x 8 campaign signs to a few supporters who heard the signs were in.

A full blown "Pachanga," in it's traditional sense it was not, but a pachanga's mixture of food, politics and strategic coordination were all there. For the uninitiated an old-fashioned "pachanga" is a social gathering that traces it's origins to a more segregated time in our history in South Texas where people:

"usually spanning two or thee generations, gather in the country to talk (politics), informally organize, drink, eat and listen to and play music."

Today instead of music there was football and unlike social gatherings of the past (pre-1990's) women were present. This tradition does have some connections to boss-rule and social segregation, but with the times and the involvement of younger generations things are changing. The negative connotations associated with the phrase "pachanga politics" comes from the excesses injected into the tradition by the lazy and greedy who saw the attendees as a means to an end rather than as individuals deserving of respect. A good read and a thorough analysis of pachangas in South Texas is made in a fine University of Texas Press book by Margaret Dorsey. It is called "Pachangas: Borderlands Music, U.S. Politics, and Transnational Marketing." I recommend it.

I made sure that I passed by my grandparents house to put a sign on their fence. I did it for sentimental reasons. They both died several years ago but their move to this small farming community from Mexico is the very reason I hold the position of state representative. They were poor in finances but rich in a wealth of friends. Their small wood frame house where my first-cousin, Homer Pena, still lives is a testament to the journey many a family have made from poverty to the mainstream of our society.

I'll visit with you later about a similar political gathering by the Rio Grande river in the La Joya community on the opposite side of my district.

Peña 2008 Re-Election Campaign Signs Are In

2007-09-08T18:45:00.001-05:00

The signs for the Peña 2008 Re-Election Campaign are in. Many of you from the district have been asking when we would start putting them up. Well our candidate didn't wait long after the traditional campaign start date (Labor Day) to begin. Friday afternoon the representative, his son Anthony and nephew Andre put the campaign's first signs up. Many more were delivered to different parts of the district and are available for display. Taking a cue from the successful session the representative enjoyed, "Strength and Experience" highlights the focus of Peña's re-election efforts. These are certainly essential elements if a candidate is going to deliver for his district as Peña did this session. We invite all locals to stop by and pick up their campaign signs to show their support for Aaron.

Representative Peña Announces Re-Election Bid

2007-09-07T14:16:00.001-05:00

This is a copy of a posting that appeared on A Capitol Blog. We are all very excited about the campaign.

Serving the Community I Love

The campaign season begins. In a democracy it is a necessary and good thing to have your work as an elected official reviewed by the people you serve. I have proudly served this community for the past six years. With the blessings of my neighbors, it is my intention to continue that service. I therefore place my name and legislative service before the community for consideration in the upcoming election.

By all accounts the previous legislative session, was for the Rio Grande Valley, by far one of the best in our history. Our community continues it's phenomenal growth and yet more is still to come. I am pleased we successfully accomplished the primary legislative directive given to me by city leaders, that being garnering the $5 Million dollars for the (RAHC) Regional Academic Health and Science Center. This center will certainly compliment our drive to bring a full fledged four year medical school to the Valley which in turn will compliment the VA Medical Hospital Center many of us have been fighting for. One related item that brings me great peace is to have obtained funding for a $3 million substance abuse treatment center in Hidalgo County that will fill an unmet need.

Next to the Regional Academic Health and Science Center is one of our office's early legislative achievements, the $26 Million Dollar UTPA Wellness Center. Along with a 13% increase in state spending for our local university and the $40 Million Dollar Fine Arts Center to be constructed I am more than satisfied with the success we have seen. Yet more is still to come.

Our Valley's Museum of South Texas History will see a $1.5 Million Dollar Will Looney Memorial Park that will compliment the growing museum which tells the rich history of our people. That success comes from the hard work our legislative office delivered in fighting for that funding through the tough appropriation process. That park will more than compliment the $156 Million Dollars delivered to our larger community to fund local and state parks for the enjoyment of our families and our children.

As for our children, one of the greatest successes of this legislative session was the $63 Million Dollar growth we brought to the (CHIP) Children's Health Insurance Program. I had the pleasure to be one of the key joint authors of House Bill 109 which is expected to add another 130,000 children to the program. Now our doctors and hospitals can deliver more health care to children in our community.

In our public schools we heard the concerns of parents and teachers; and, we passed legislation phasing out the TAKS test. We continue to make progress in raising the pay of our public school teachers by adding another increase to the $2000 pay raise we provided last session. Fulfilling a promise I made to local retired teachers, retirees can see a one-time supplemental "13th check". We additionally succeeded in eliminating shortfalls to the teachers' pension fund.

For our economic prosperity, the Rio Grande Valley Legislative Delegation delivered on numerous important local projects. The state budget includes $50 million for two regional DPS facilities, and a total of over $4.5 million for local parks and nature centers. We provided some property tax relief for the elderly and disabled, and we also set aside revenue for future tax cuts.

On a more personal note, the sacrifices of South Texas soldiers continue to inspire a nation. I had the honor of authoring and passing legislation awarding the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, the state's highest recognition, to one of our local heroes. Freddy Gonzalez becomes the first soldier from the Valley to receive this honor.

In the last few days I was pleased to assist Edinburg's Housing Authority in receiving a grant that will benefit the elderly in our community to have affordable housing. 168 affordable housing units will soon be available to them.

With each session the voice of this community grows and yet the best is yet to come. I committed myself years ago to the service of this community. And although others may seek to cloud my intentions, make no mistake I am seeking re-election to the Texas House of Representatives.

I hope this post makes matters clear. I welcome all challengers.

The Impossible Dream

2007-02-04T00:21:00.000-06:00

Bolton to Leave United Nations Post

2006-12-04T09:42:00.000-06:00

The White House has announced another change atop their leadership team. John Bolton, the ambassador to the UN, will resign once his temporary recess appointment expires. With Democrats now in control of the US Senate, Bolton saw no chance of receiving confirmation.

The New York Times has the story.

A Hispanic Republican Party Chairman?

2006-11-15T12:25:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to appeal to Hispanic voters, President Bush is backing Mel Martinez to head the RNC. According to the LA Times article, the Latino vote dropped from 40% to 30% during this last mid-term election. While many hispanics like the President, they are not so pleased with the anti-immigration message pounded out by hard-core conservatives in Congress.

Mel Martinez, a Cuban immigrant, is at odds with hard-core conservatives on the immigration issue. Martinez supports a guest worker program like President Bush proposed. If you recall, that program did not get any traction in the Republican controlled Congress. In fact, instead of immigration reform, they put out a law calling for 700 miles of fence along the U. S. - Mexico border.

Republicans Pointing Fingers

2006-11-09T12:01:00.000-06:00

There was some expectation that Democrats would win one of the houses of Congress in this election cycle. Taking both houses of Congress was a bit of a suprise to the country. Here is an article from the Washington Post about the resulting turmoil in the Republican Party after their stunning loss.

Republicans' Angry Factions Point Fingers At Each Other

The Fight for Congress

2006-11-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

This year's Congressional elections are particularly exciting for the Democratic National Committee. There is a real possibility that the party may gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Presently, Republicans run both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, making it difficult for Democrats to push any agenda forward.

Recent articles in the Washington Post and the New York Times, just as two examples, point out how close the races are. In the Senate, there is a possibility of regaining majority. However, our best chances are in regaining the House of Representatives where some Democrat challengers have a big enough lead that the real possibility is in sight.

Folks, this is going to be a nail-biter. It brings us to the next point, which is to stress the importance to go out and vote. As election day draws near, it appears that the margins are getting smaller and smaller. Your vote is needed to make the possibility of a Democratic win in Congress a reality.

Bush Signs Border Fence Bill

2006-10-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Here is a story from the AP about Bush signing the Border Fence bill:

President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration.

''Unfortunately the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise,'' Bush said at a signing ceremony.

Click here for more.

The South Texas Ranch Where Politicians Roam

2006-02-19T10:43:00.000-06:00

More than a century before it became the scene of a vice presidential hunting accident, this humble stretch of property had connections to another gun incident.

On a manhunt in 1877, a hard-bitten Texas ranger named John B. Armstrong captured the notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin after what the officer later described in a telegram back home as a "lively shooting" aboard a train in Florida. The capture made a hero of Mr. Armstrong, who bought a 50,000-acre plot from the owners of an old Spanish land grant using, according to one account, the $4,000 reward from the capture of the notorious gunman. When Mr. Armstrong died there in 1913, the land passed down to his heirs and soon was known by the family name.

Vice President Cheney's mishap on the property last weekend drew the curtain back on a place that has become a quiet destination for the powerful, rivaling Hyannisport, Kennebunkport and the Hamptons as a setting where important relationships have been nurtured. The rise of the Armstrong Ranch, and its even larger and more famous neighbor next door, the King Ranch, is as much a story of the rise of the Republican party in Texas, and George W. Bush as it is about the Armstrong family itself.

Over the last five decades, the Republican pilgrimage to the Armstrong Ranch has become a familiar ritual, dating back to the 1950's, when John Armstrong's descendant Tobin and his wife, Anne, first became active in Republican politics, putting them at the center of a small circle in a time when most Texans were still yellow dog Democrats. The South Texas property became a meeting place for rising political figures.

Now their children — including their daughter Katharine, who called her local newspaper to disclose the vice president's shooting of Harry M. Whittington — have inherited the perch. And even though Tobin Armstrong died at age 82 last year, invitations to the Armstrong Ranch remain sacred in Republican circles in the state — and are almost sure to remain so in the days ahead despite the site's recent infamy.

"When you say, 'I've been hunting with the Armstrongs,' or 'I've been down on the Armstrong Ranch,' that implies a certain level of status and insiderness," said Harvey Kronberg, the editor of The Quorum Report, the statewide political news publication. "The ranch itself is kind of a rite of passage for Texas Republicans. You go pay homage."

And many have paid their respects over the years — the Bushes and the Cheneys, Karl Rove, James A. Baker III, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, have all been cited as participating in hunting trips or other social functions at the Armstrong Ranch. Mr. Cheney, in his one interview after the accident, made certain to note that Mr. Rove has also hunted there, declaring that both he and Mr. Rove are "good friends of the Armstrongs."

"If it could ever be said that a man could walk with kings yet keep the common touch, it was Tobin Armstrong," Mr. Cheney said at the funeral, according to the accounts at the time. The first lady, Laura Bush, also attended; three years earlier, when the British queen mother died, Anne and Tobin Armstrong accompanied Mrs. Bush as part of the United States delegation.

Ranches and power have gone hand in hand in Texas political history. The state's huge ranches — particularly the biggest, the South Texas ones — were patterned closely on the patron culture of the great Spanish ranches, with a landowner acting as almost a local sovereign, controlling the lives of the workers in his charge and deferred to in social and cultural matters, large and small.

The political power of the Texas ranches persisted into the 20th century. Representative Richard Kleberg came from the family that owned the King Ranch and was a powerhouse in Congress in the 1930's and 40's.

In the late 40's, opponents of young Lyndon B. Johnson accused him of stealing a United States Senate election by using the South Texas political bosses who were controlled by the ranch owners, something that Johnson always denied.

"Back in the '40's, Lyndon Johnson could still steal a Senate election in South Texas with the help of the big patrons," said Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

"But what happened is, in the late 60's and early 70's, is the feds came in and threw some people in handcuffs, along with some of the bosses of those South Texas counties, and it cleaned up a lot," he said. "But you notice, even today, you can still call the local sheriff and say, 'We've had an accident out on the ranch, not to worry, it's under control,' and the sheriff says, 'Yes ma'am, I'll drive out in the morning and we'll piece this thing together.' There's still a deference to the ranch owners that would astound most Americans."

If, in recent decades, the Armstrongs have been more politically connected than the other big, old ranch families, this is due in part to their personalities and to their overriding passion for transforming the Republican Party into a political force in Texas. But it is also because — unlike the Armstrong Ranch, which continued to be a family-run enterprise — many of the other big ranches, including the King Ranch, diversified into agribusiness conglomerates.

The Armstrongs derived their initial influence simply by being there: They were as close to aristocracy as the state had ever known, and became more so in 1944, when Tobin's brother married into the King family, whose adjacent ranch added even more wealth and prominence to the family.

Tobin Armstrong, who spent 48 years as the head of a prominent cattle industry association, married his wife, Anne, in 1950, and the pair spent the next five decades financing Republican candidates and serving in Republican administrations.

Mr. Armstrong had close ties to then Gov. Bill Clements, the first Republican to win the Texas Statehouse since Reconstruction — and whose campaign in 1978 was worked on by a young political operative named Karl Rove. When Mr. Rove opened his direct-mail consulting firm, Karl Rove & Company, beginning his career, it was with financial support from Mr. Armstrong.

By many accounts Mrs. Armstrong, the matriarch, was as much of a driving force in politics as her husband. A New Orleans native, from a wealthy family of her own, she was named counselor to President Richard Nixon. President Gerald Ford, for whom Mr. Cheney served as chief of staff, appointed her United States ambassador to Britain in 1976. In more recent years, she served on the boards of American Express and Halliburton, the energy company of which Mr. Cheney was chief executive before becoming vice president.

The family's relationship with George W. Bush is equally apparent: When he was governor of Texas, Mr. Bush appointed Mrs. Armstrong as a regent of Texas A & M, and made her daughter Katharine a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission; she later became the chairwoman. She also became a lobbyist, and her clients include Mr. Baker's law firm, Baker Botts. Lobbying records show that Ms. Armstrong made at least $760,000 lobbying for clients in Washington in 2004 and 2005, and at least $300,000 working for four separate clients in Texas during that same period.

In the 2000 presidential cycle, both Katharine Armstrong and her parents were listed as Bush campaign "pioneers," fund-raisers who attracted $100,000 in donations for the Republican team.

As the family's influence rose, "going down to the Armstrong Ranch" became a phrase heard in Republican and Bush administration circles, conjuring up images of party luminaries gathering, as they did last weekend, for intimate weekends away.

"These are the deep pocket people, and that's the ancient tradition of the region," said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of political science at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's just the way big money operators wield influence."

Mr. Buchanan added: "Here in Texas they just happen to use ranches. Up on the East Coast they use boats."

This peak into the South Texas political culture of the South Texas ranch country was brought to you via the New York Times.

Vice President Dick Cheney Shoots Texas Millionaire

2006-02-12T19:01:00.000-06:00

By LYNN BREZOSKY / Associated Press

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital on Sunday, according to Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.

The incident occurred Saturday at a ranch in south Texas where the vice president and two companions were hunting quail. It was not reported publicly by the vice president's office for nearly 24 hours, and then only after the incident was reported locally by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Katharine Armstrong, the ranch's owner, said Sunday that Cheney was using a 28-guage shotgun and that Whittington was about 30 yards away when he was hit in the cheek, neck and chest.

The rest of the AP story here.

Republican Speaks Up, Leading Others to Challenge Wiretaps

2006-02-12T18:55:00.000-06:00

When Representative Heather A. Wilson broke ranks with President Bush on Tuesday to declare her "serious concerns" about domestic eavesdropping, she gave voice to what some fellow Republicans were thinking, if not saying.

Attention in N.S.A. Debate Turns to Telecom Industry (February 11, 2006) Now they are speaking up — and growing louder.

In interviews over several days, Congressional Republicans have expressed growing doubts about the National Security Agency program to intercept international communications inside the United States without court warrants. A growing number of Republicans say the program appears to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the 1978 law that created a court to oversee such surveillance, and are calling for revamping the FISA law.

Ms. Wilson and at least six other Republican lawmakers are openly skeptical about Mr. Bush's assertion that he has the inherent authority to order the wiretaps and that Congress gave him the power to do so when it authorized him to use military force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The White House, in a turnabout, briefed the full House and Senate Intelligence Committee on the program this week, after Ms. Wilson, chairwoman of the subcommittee that oversees the N.S.A., had called for a full-scale Congressional investigation. But some Republicans say that is not enough.

The rest of the story.

Army Effort to Enlist Hispanics Draws Recruits, and Criticism

2006-02-09T13:41:00.000-06:00

Lizette Alvarez
NY Times

As Sgt. First Class Gavino Barron, dressed in a crisp Army uniform, trawls the Wal-Mart here for recruits, past stacks of pillows and towers of detergent, he is zeroing-in on one of the Army's "special missions": to increase the number of Hispanic enlisted soldiers.

He approaches a couple of sheepish looking teenage boys in the automotive aisle and seamlessly slides into Spanish, letting loose his pitch: "Have you ever thought about joining the Army?" "Did you know you can get up to $40,000 in bonuses?" "I'm from Mexico, too. Michoacán."

In Denver and other cities where the Hispanic population is growing, recruiting Latinos has become one of the Army's top priorities. From 2001 to 2005, the number of Latino enlistments in the Army rose 26 percent, and in the military as a whole, the increase was 18 percent.

The increase comes at a time when the Army is struggling to recruit new soldiers and when the enlistment of African-Americans, a group particularly disillusioned with the war in Iraq, has dropped off sharply, to 14.5 percent from 22.3 percent over the past four years.

Here is the rest of the story.

Bush Education Panel Exploring Standardized Tests for Colleges

2006-02-09T13:38:00.000-06:00

A higher education commission named by the Bush administration is examining whether standardized testing should be expanded into universities and colleges to prove that students are learning and to allow easier comparisons on quality.

Charles Miller, a business executive who is the commission's chairman, wrote in a memorandum recently to the 18 other members that he saw a developing consensus over the need for more accountability in higher education.

"What is clearly lacking is a nationwide system for comparative performance purposes, using standard formats," Mr. Miller wrote, adding that student learning was a main component that should be measured.

Mr. Miller was head of the Regents of the University of Texas a few years ago when they directed the university's nine campuses to use standardized tests to prove students were learning. He points to the test being tried there and to two other testing initiatives as evidence that assessment of writing, analytical skills and critical thinking is possible.

Here is the rest of the story from the NY Times.

Boehner Wins Majority Leader Race Replacing DeLay

2006-02-02T13:49:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — Representative John Boehner, an eight-term Congressman from far west Ohio, defeated Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri today in a stunning upset to succeed Tom DeLay as the House Republican majority leader.

Mr. Boehner received 122 votes to 109 for Mr. Blunt in a runoff made necessary by an inconclusive first ballot. The victory for Mr. Boehner signaled that many House Republicans are uneasy about the lobbying scandals that threaten to tar some of their party colleagues and wanted far more change than Mr. Blunt seemed to promise.

The first ballot ended inconclusively, with Mr. Blunt earning 110 votes, Mr. Boehner 79 and Representative John Shadegg of Arizona 40. Representative Jim Ryun of Kansas, the world-class miler of the 1960's, got two votes.

Mr. Shadegg and Mr. Ryun, who had not been an announced candidate for the post, then withdrew, leaving Mr. Boehner and Mr. Blunt to battle for a majority. There are 231 Republicans in the House, so 116 votes were needed for victory.

The rest of the NY Times story is here.

FOX News: Bush Reinforces State of the Union Ideals in the Heartland

2006-02-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

Here is a different perspective on President Bush's State of the Union. FOX News' point of view is certainly different from that of Ms. Sheehan. Just trying to be "Fair and Balanced."

Cindy Sheehan in Her Own Words

2006-02-01T14:39:00.000-06:00

Cindy Sheehan in her own words.

The Nation: Watch For Misdirection in Bush's State of The Union

2006-01-31T15:17:00.001-06:00

This president has used his yearly speeches to misstate intelligence data in order to deceive the Congress and the American people about supposed threats to national security, as Bush did in his 2003 address. And he has repeatedly used State of the Union addresses to foster the false impression that misnamed programs -- such as the so-called "Patriot" and "No Child Left Behind" acts -- are actually designed to protect and serve the American people. Tonight, the president will deliver the second State of the Union address of a second term gone awry.

The Nation magazine has the remainder of the story.

Slate: What's Wrong With the President's State of The Union Address

2006-01-31T15:06:00.000-06:00

Slate magazine has an interesting take on the ritual State of the Union Speech.

Sweeping Anti-abortion Laws Proposed

2006-01-31T14:23:00.000-06:00

Legislators in at least five states are proposing bold anti-abortion measures as the Bush administration reshapes the U.S. Supreme Court. With the goal of challenging the Roe vs. Wade ruling that ensured a woman's right to an abortion, lawmakers in Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota and Tennessee propose banning all abortions except when the woman's life is in danger, Stateline.org reported. If enacted, legal experts said the laws would be the first absolute abortion bans since the landmark 1973 ruling.

Alito Sworn In As Newest Supreme Court Justice

2006-01-31T14:14:00.000-06:00

Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. was sworn in as the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice on Tuesday after being confirmed by the Senate in one of the most partisan victories in modern history.

Alito was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court building across from the Capitol at about 12:40 p.m. eastern standard time.

State of the Union: Bush Scaling Down his Agenda

2006-01-31T13:48:00.000-06:00

George W. Bush will give his fifth annual State of the Union message tonight. Independent voters have been leaving the president and this will probably his most important audience. Many Americans including these independents feel the nation was heading in the right direction with poll numbers well below 50 percent

Recently the White House has telegraphed the major elements of this year's speech: an initiative to make healthcare more affordable, ideas to reduce US dependence on foreign energy, a call to extend tax cuts. The defining issues of Mr. Bush's presidency - the Iraq war and larger war on terror - will also occupy center stage.

With the presiden'ts support waning, he is forced to scale down his agenda. The Christian Science Monitor has the story.

Coretta Scott King Wife of Civil Rights Leader Dies

2006-01-31T08:02:00.000-06:00

Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78.

The rest of the Washington Post story.

Black History Museum to Be Built in D.C.

2006-01-30T20:26:00.000-06:00

February is Black History Month and it is therefore appropriate that here on the eve of the month comes the announcement of the Black History Museum in Washington D.C.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be built on the National Mall near the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Institution said Monday.

The National Mall features monuments to presidents and several museums that are part of the Smithsonian.

Here is the story on the museum.

State of The Union Speech 2006 Seen as Crucial for Bush

2006-01-30T20:08:00.000-06:00

tomorrow's State of the Union Speech by president George Bush is critical, experts say, as Bush tries to bolster his own popularity as poll numbers continue to drop. The president will try to boost the fortunes of a Republican Party tainted by scandal, grappling with soaring budget deficits and consumed by the war in Iraq.

A preview of the importance of the speech here.

Sen. Obama Criticizes Filibuster Tactic

2006-01-29T20:35:00.000-06:00

I am going to inject my personal observations with regards to this story. I don't know what the national Democratic Party or the Democratic senators sitting on the the judiciary committee are thinking with regards to the filibuster issue on the Alito nomination. I must congratulate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill for the courage to step forward and be the voice of reason.

The AP story says Senator Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., predicted on Sunday that an effort to try to block a final vote on Alito would fail on Monday. That would clear the way for Senate approval Tuesday of the federal appeals court judge picked to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Democrats fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and other issues.

"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

The shortcomings of the Democratic party in recent years is that they have decided to simply speak to the rank and file and have forsaken simple persuasion.

Good job Senator!

Democrats in 2 Southern States Push Bills on Bible Study

2006-01-26T22:11:00.000-06:00

Democrats in Georgia and Alabama, borrowing an idea usually advanced by conservative Republicans, are promoting Bible classes in the public schools. Their Republican opponents are in turn denouncing them as "pharisees," a favorite term of liberals for politicians who exploit religion.

Democrats in both states have introduced bills authorizing school districts to teach courses modeled after a new textbook, "The Bible and Its Influence." It was produced by the nonpartisan, ecumenical Bible Literacy Project and provides an assessment of the Bible's impact on history, literature and art that is academic and detached, if largely laudatory.

The Democrats who introduced the bills said they hoped to compete with Republicans for conservative Christian voters. "Rather than sitting back on our heels and then being knocked in our face, we are going to respond in a thoughtful way," said Kasim Reed, a Georgia state senator from Atlanta and one of the sponsors of the bill. "We are not going to give away the South anymore because we are unwilling to talk about our faith."

The rest of the New York Times story.

Republicans in the House of Representatives Need a New Leader and a New Image

2006-01-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

The former majority leader, Tom DeLay, stepped down after he was indicted in a Texas fundraising case and linked to crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

So where is the GOP seeking this fresh face and new start? With two lawmakers - Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Boehner of Ohio - who have cozy relations with lobbyists and a penchant for accepting perks from corporate friends.

A third candidate for majority leader, John Shadegg of Arizona, is less enmeshed with the lobbying establishment and high-powered fundraising. That's one reason he's given virtually no chance of winning. Politicians who don't raise big money and spread it around to colleagues don't often find themselves in line to be congressional leaders.

We don't presume to tell House Republicans which of their colleagues to pick when they vote next Thursday, but the public has a big stake in the outcome. The majority leader, second only to the House speaker on the leadership ladder, has a key role in setting Congress' agenda. DeLay, for example, was the driving force behind the impeachment of President Clinton.

The leadership race demonstrates how Congress' corrupt culture extends beyond DeLay and Abramoff.

The rest of the article.

Leading Publication Shut Down In China

2006-01-25T16:32:00.000-06:00

BEIJING, Jan. 24 -- China's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday suspended one of the premier publications in Chinese journalism, escalating a campaign to rein in the state media, part of the government's toughest crackdown on freedom of expression here in more than a decade.

The decision to shut down Freezing Point, a four-page weekly feature section of the state-run China Youth Daily that often tested the censors and challenged the party line, came less than a month after the authorities replaced the top editors of another daring newspaper, the Beijing News.

More.

Los Angeles' Villaraigosa to Give Dems State of Union Response

2006-01-25T16:27:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will give the Spanish-language response to President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, Democratic congressional leaders announced.

Villaraigosa has been seen as a rising Democratic star since his election in May as the first Hispanic in 133 years to lead Los Angeles, the country's second-largest city. He will deliver his remarks from his Los Angeles office, said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"Mayor Villaraigosa is working hard to increase economic opportunity and provide affordable and quality education for the people of Los Angeles," Reid and Pelosi said in a joint statement Wednesday. "As the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in more than a century, we are proud to have his diverse voice within the party."

More.

The Life of a Human Smuggler

2006-01-25T16:21:00.000-06:00

By Richard Marosi
LA Times Staff Writer

January 25, 2006

TIJUANA — The Mexican gang of human smugglers, hiding behind the wobbly fence of a drab town house, prepare the car for the latest run across the border.

Two young men wipe down the dusty windshield and check the brake lights while three migrants wait silently inside the house.

Finally, the driver arrives, an American who puffs nervously on a cheap cigarette and calls himself Trent. Accompanying Trent is Felix, the heavyset smuggling boss.

"Venganse!" — "Let's get going!" — a gang member yells. One by one, the migrants get in the trunk, twisting to fit inside. The one woman hesitates. She crosses herself. She steps in.

Curled beside one another, the migrants look up at the gang member.

"It won't be long, 20 minutes," he promises. "Don't move," he adds, slamming the lid shut. Within minutes, Trent drives the car into a sea of traffic inching toward the row of U.S. inspection booths at the border.

Here is the rest of the story.

A Chzech Toke on Freedom

2006-01-25T16:10:00.000-06:00

By Jeffrey Fleishman
LA Times Staff Writer

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The man with the dancing eyebrows and the blurry tattoo stands in the chilled night and opens the barred gate to his apartment. A dog sleeps on the bed; a snapping turtle floats inside a glass coffee table. A fan hums and a hot light glows in the bathroom, where 11 marijuana plants ripple like a tiny field against the porcelain.

Sit, says J.X. Dolezal, a kind of Czech version of the late Hunter S. Thompson who has written the books "How to Take Drugs" and "Stoned County." He opens a box. There's a sprinkle across paper, a nimble roll of the fingers, a lick, a match strike, a curl of smoke — and a smile.

"Do you mind?" says Dolezal, his face slightly obscured as he exhales. "Excuse me if I don't offer you any. This marijuana's often too strong for my visitors. I had to resuscitate one guy for almost an hour once. You know, a higher percentage of people here grow their own marijuana than probably anywhere. It's typically Czech: a do-it-yourself nation."

The Czechs do like their weed. A 2005 report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction found that 22% of Czechs between 16 and 34 had smoked marijuana at least once during the previous year, the highest percentage in the European Union. The nation's cannabis culture is imbued with the whimsical ethos of the hippie movement: guys growing dope in fields, on balconies and in bathrooms, and sharing with friends.

The rest of the story is here.

Minutemen Not Welcome in Orange County Parade

2006-01-25T15:58:00.000-06:00

By Jennifer Delson
Times Staff Writer

The Minuteman Project citizen patrol, known for its skirmishes over illegal immigration, is now in a skirmish over a Laguna Beach parade.

At issue is the 40th annual Patriots Day parade, a homespun event put on by a nonprofit group in Laguna.

The Minuteman Project applied this month to participate in the March 4 event through downtown Laguna but was rejected by parade organizers, who cited the 25-year-old parade bylaws that say, "No religious or political entries shall be permitted."

The Minuteman entry "is obviously a political entry," said Charles J. Quilter II, vice president of the Patriots Day Parade Assn. "This isn't that kind of event. It's got Brownies and Boy Scouts and Friends of the Library."

Click here for the rest of the story from the LA Times.

US Supreme Court Opens Campaign Law to Challenges

2006-01-24T15:50:00.000-06:00

By Linda Greenhouse
NY Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 - The Supreme Court, ruling on Monday in an important campaign finance case, opened the door to a new round of legal challenges to the limits Congress placed four years ago on election advertisements paid for by corporations and broadcast during the weeks before federal elections.

The court's opinion was surprising, coming only six days after the argument. It was unsigned, barely two pages long and unanimous.

It may, however, have considerable impact, given that two years ago the court itself appeared to foreclose further challenges to the "electioneering communications" part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The court upheld the law, usually called McCain-Feingold after its Senate sponsors, in a 5-to-4 decision that considered multiple free-speech challenges to the statute "on its face" rather than in particular applications.

The court ruled on Monday that both the government and a special three-judge Federal District Court here had misinterpreted its earlier decision as foreclosing future challenges to the advertising restrictions as they applied to particular advertisements or corporate sponsors.

More at the NY Times.

Poll: Public Uneasy With GOP Leadership

2006-01-22T10:35:00.000-06:00

By WILL LESTER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Dissatisfied with the nation's direction, Americans are leaning toward wanting a change in which political party leads Congress — preferring that Democrats take control, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Democrats are favored over Republicans 49 percent to 36 percent.

The polling came as disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to tax evasion, fraud and corruption charges and agreed to aid a federal investigation of members of Congress and other government officials.

President Bush's job approval remains low — 40 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll, with only one-third saying the country is headed in the right direction. Bush also remains low on his handling of Iraq, where violence against Iraqis and U.S. troops has been surging.

"I just don't like the direction our country is going in," said Steve Brown, a political independent from Olympia, Wash. "I think a balance of power would be beneficial right now."

Republicans are watching the situation unfold with some nervousness.

The rest of the story.

Republicans Worried About Party Faithful

2006-01-22T02:04:00.000-06:00

Cisneros Home Town Paper Agrees: Independent Counsel Excessive

2006-01-20T16:29:00.000-06:00

The San Antonio Express News has also taken the position that the Cisneros probe was a waste of money and time.

Independent counsel David Barrett's absurdly long investigation into matters that started with Henry Cisneros' payments to a lover came to an end with the release of a final report Thursday.

Barrett should have thrown in the towel several years and millions of dollars earlier. In all, he spent more than 10 years and $22 million on the case, as the Express-News reported.

Barrett's parting shot includes acerbic complaints that high-ranking officials in the IRS and the Department of Justice — during the Clinton administration — thwarted his probe and mishandled evidence that suggested Cisneros underreported taxable income in the early 1990s.

Read on.

Cisneros Investigation Officially Over, I Think

2006-01-20T16:14:00.000-06:00

The New York Times agrees with most people that the 10-year, 21 million dollar investigation of Henry Cisneros was a disappointed excess in abuse of power and not by Cisneros or the Clintons but the independent counsel.

The checkered history of independent counsel investigations of high-profile officials ended with a 746-page thud yesterday. After 10 years, some $21 million and a great deal of cheerleading from the Republican majority in the House, the investigation of Henry Cisneros, the former housing secretary, is finally over.

Mr. Cisneros admitted long, long ago to lying about payments to a former mistress when he accepted a cabinet post in the Clinton administration. He paid a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor more than six years ago. But critics accused the Clinton administration of a cover-up and demanded an independent search for the truth. Reasonable people differed on whether that was necessary, but no one expected a grinding, decade-long quest to find a bigger, more interesting crime.

Here is the rest of theNY Times editorial.

Lawmakers May Have To Pay For Their Own Travel

2006-01-18T21:29:00.000-06:00

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), seeking to distance his party from the lobbying scandal that has enveloped Congress, on Tuesday proposed putting an end to one of the most popular perks on Capitol Hill — travel paid for by private groups.

He also wants to double the amount of time that a former lawmaker or senior staffer must wait before lobbying Congress, and put strict limits on gifts that lawmakers may accept.

If the proposals became law, they would significantly change the way business is done on Capitol Hill. Senate Republicans on Tuesday announced their own emerging package of lobbying and ethics reforms that included a travel ban.

"I know that fact-finding trips are important," Hastert said. But such travel, which sometimes takes lawmakers to luxurious resorts and exotic locales, "has been abused by some, and I believe we need to put an end to it," he said.

Every year, trade organizations, think tanks and other groups spend millions of dollars funding trips — whether they be one-day workshops in congressional districts or weeklong travel abroad.

The story.

Obama Backs Clinton's Criticism of GOP

2006-01-18T20:39:00.000-06:00

The AP reports that Sen. Barack Obama and other black Democrats are defending Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's description of the House of Representatives as a "plantation." Today the presnt day First lady, Laura Bush says that the former First lady, Clinton's remark was "ridiculous."

Senator Clinton, a potential presidential candidate for 2008, did not retreat from the "plantation" remark, telling reporters the term accurately describes the "top-down" way the GOP runs Congress.

Obama said Wednesday he felt her choice of words referred to a "consolidation of power" in Washington that squeezes out the voters.

The Illinois senator told a tv reporter he believed that Clinton was merely expressing concern that special interests play such a large role in writing legislation that "the ordinary voter and even members of Congress who aren't in the majority party don't have much input."

"There's been a consolidation of power by the Republican Congress and this White House in which, if you are the ordinary voter, you don't have access," Obama said. "That should be a source of concern for all of us."

The story.

Democrats Assail Republican 'Culture of Corruption'

2006-01-18T20:24:00.000-06:00

Congressional Democrats today laid out a plan to change what they called a Republican "culture of corruption" in Washington, trying to secure a political advantage even as they wrestle with ethics charges against their own lawmakers.

Democratic leaders from the House and Senate endorsed a set of proposals that closely mirror Republican plans unveiled this week to tighten regulations on lobbyists in the wake of the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal. But in a sign that an ethical "arms race" may be developing, the Democratic plans go further than the Republicans' proposals.

Rather than limiting the value of a gift to $20, as House Republicans are considering, the Democrats would prohibit all gifts from lobbyists. And the Democrats take direct aim at some of the legislative practices that have taken root in the last 10 years of Republican rule in Congress. They vowed to end the K Street Project, under which Republicans in Congress pressure lobbying organizations to hire only Republican staff and contribute only to Republican candidates.

The Washington Post story.

Let's Accept the Fault Line Between Faith and Science

2006-01-16T21:13:00.001-06:00

Edward O. Wilson lays out an opinion piece regarding the perennial culture war between science and fundamentalist Christianity.

He notes that the the debate about evolution seems insoluble. The reason, he argues, is because it is insoluble.

China Beat Columbus To America, Maybe

2006-01-16T20:33:00.000-06:00

Look closely at this map. You may be looking at a Chinese map showing America. The Chinese map however pre-dates Columbus' discovery of America.

The story that follows talks about the history and intrigue about the map and the ongoing debate over who discovered America.

In Asia, English is Useful but Mandarin is Rising

2006-01-16T20:21:00.000-06:00

A second story on the rise of China and the Mandarin language.

The Next Big Must Learn Language: Chinese

2006-01-16T19:21:00.000-06:00

The number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French. But one report shows that precollegiate enrollment nearly quadrupled between 1992 and 2002.

The story.

States Take On Border Issues

2006-01-16T09:02:00.000-06:00

In the first six months of last year, states considered about 300 immigration-related bills and passed 36 of them, the National Conference of State Legislatures said. States increasing are passing immigration-related bills because they sense Congress will not act fast enough.

The Los Angeles Times has a good story regarding how states are addressing this issue.

Martin Luther King: "I Have A Dream"

2006-01-16T00:51:00.000-06:00

Martin Luther King was the moral conscience of our country at a time when some still failed to follow the fundamental principles of basic human dignity contained in our constitution and that we claimed to live by.

Click here to listen to his "I Have A Dream" speech.

The speech was given on August 28, 1963 in Washington, DC, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The speech is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Still Seeking a Fair Vote

2006-01-15T23:57:00.000-06:00

By Nick Kotz

Forty-one years ago, on Jan. 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson placed a phone call to congratulate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on his 36th birthday -- but mainly to strategize about how they could win a monumental victory for equal rights. King was in Selma, Ala., where he had just launched a dramatic campaign to show how African Americans in the Deep South were being denied the right to vote. He had chosen Selma because of that city's notorious success in blocking its black residents from the polls. Those who dared to attempt to register risked their lives. They endured bloody beatings, lost their jobs, saw their homes and churches bombed. Some were brutally murdered.

"There is not going to be anything, Doctor, as effective as all [black citizens] voting," the president told King in that birthday call. "That will give you a message that all the eloquence in the world won't bring, because the candidate or elected official will be coming to you then, instead of you calling him."

"You're exactly right about that," King replied. "It is so important to get Negroes registered to vote in large numbers. It would be this coalition of the Negro vote and the moderate white vote that would really make the New South."

After a brilliant political campaign orchestrated by the president and the preacher, Congress passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The law swept away the most brazen tactics used to keep minorities from the polls. Millions of black citizens surged onto voter registration rolls throughout the South. The ballot power of those new voters -- combined with the 1964 Civil Rights Act's prohibition against segregation and employment discrimination -- ushered in the hopeful beginnings of the kind of New South that King and Johnson had envisioned.

Civility replaced official repression and terrorism. Hundreds of blacks won public office at all levels, including in Congress, where Artur Davis, a Harvard-educated lawyer, now represents the Alabama district that includes Selma. A growing black and Hispanic middle class has prospered in the South and Southwest.

But despite the enormous gains, old problems persist. The winds of Hurricane Katrina blew away the veil shielding complacent eyes from the desperate poverty of the blacks in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward. And a Texas congressional redistricting dispute now before the Supreme Court has cast a spotlight on the lengths to which politicians will go for narrow partisan advantage -- even disenfranchising minority voters.

Masterminding the controversial redistricting plan approved in 2003, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay shuffled thousands of African American and Hispanic voters between Texas congressional districts like pawns on a chessboard. With mathematical efficiency, DeLay redrew voting district boundaries to ensure that Republicans would gain five additional House seats. His goal: to further cement his own power and Republican control of the House of Representatives.

In Dallas and Austin, Republicans won new congressional seats after the DeLay map broke up large concentrations of urban black and Hispanic Democratic voters, then scattered them thinly throughout other Republican-dominated districts -- many extending into rural areas far from the voters' homes. These maneuvers violated standard redistricting principles, such as trying to maintain geographically compact districts and respecting county and city boundaries.

Gerrymandering for partisan advantage is almost as old as the nation itself. But the Voting Rights Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, forbids state and local governments from creating districts that clearly reduce the ability of minority voters to elect "candidates of their choice." Civil rights organizations that have appealed the Texas redistricting contend that it violates the 1965 law, stripping away the ability of tens of thousands of minority voters to elect candidates of their choice.

A large majority of black and Hispanic voters regularly favor Democratic candidates. Therefore, Republican politicians, particularly in Southern and Southwestern states, have used redistricting to break the minorities' power to help elect Democrats. Democrats, in turn, have sought to manipulate the minority voter pool to elect as many from their party as possible -- both minority and white candidates. Caught in this crossfire, black and Hispanic Democrats at times have made tacit "devil's bargains" with their Republican foes, in which they ensure at least some victories for themselves in districts with heavy minority populations. These "pragmatic" Democrats also ensure Republican victories in heavily white districts.

The Supreme Court has the opportunity to reaffirm and clarify the central purposes of the Voting Rights Act. And Congress can and should honor King's memory by renewing important parts of the voting rights law that otherwise will expire next year, thus advancing his ideal of a more representative democracy.

Chile Elects First Woman President

2006-01-15T23:36:00.000-06:00

Alright Americans of these United States do you feel a little embarrassed that the United States has not been able to achieve what a male dominated South American country was able to achieve by the election of Michelle Bachelet.

Michelle Bachelet, a physician who was elected Sunday as president of Chile is an agnostic, and guitar-strumming child of the 60's who spent part of her childhood in the United States.

Perhaps this is an omen of things to come.

The story.

My Lai Massacre Savior Dies - US Hero And Moral Example

2006-01-15T17:52:00.000-06:00

"These people were looking at me for help and there was no way I could turn my back on them,"

Thompson,1998 AP interview.

We lost an American hero earlier this month. Sad thing is, in life Hugh Thompson never was quite recognized as a hero. Rather he was scorned by some of the same people he served with.

Hugh Thompson, was an Army helicopter pilot who, with his two younger crew mates, was on a mission to draw enemy fire over the Vietnamese village of My Lai in March, 1968.

Hovering over a paddy field, they watched a platoon of American soldiers led by Lt. William Calley, deliberately shoot unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mainly women and children, cowering in muddy ditches. Thompson landed his craft and appealed to the soldiers, and to Calley, to stop the killings.

Here is the full story that is worth reading.

This good soul will not be forgotten. His heroism is a shining example of the rare individual who does the right thing despite the pressures that are placed upon them. More and more people quietly honor Mr. Thompson for his courageous actions back in 1968.

This author wanted to honor his memory with a brief mention on this new journal and encourage younger Americans to learn about a good spirit that in difficult times made so many of us proud.

Cesca: Bush's Secret Smear Campaign Against Murtha And Other Servicemen

2006-01-15T17:13:00.000-06:00

Isn't it awesome that Republican Party operatives can get away with smearing the patriotism and service records of one combat veteran after another, all the while painting themselves as the more patriotic, pro-military faction? It's the perfect illustration of how the Bush/Cheney/Rove era has fostered an atmosphere of non-reality-based deception and propaganda.

Politics over all else.

This weekend, the swift-boating of John Murtha's service record began in an article which questions, amongst other things, Murtha's Purple Heart commendations. I would link to the ridiculous GOP propaganda "news" source which posted the first volley, but refuse to dignify their legitimacy. The same goes for the popular right-wing blog that dittos these claims. Suffice to say, the article fits perfectly into the template used against other combat veterans who at one time opposed the president and his policies.

And pundits dare to ask, "Why don't the congressional Democrats stand up?" The answer to this question is remarkably simple. If the patriotism and service records of Max Cleland and John Murtha are fair game, how can any non-veteran Democrats possibly stand up without suffering a far more brutal fate?

Meanwhile, the Republicans will continue to be labeled the party of patriotism, the military, and national security. For the life of me, I can't figure this one out.

They've completely bungled and botched the first large-scale war since Vietnam. They bungled, botched, and have since all but ignored the first major national disaster since 9/11. As a matter of course, they engage in covert plots to take down "unfriendlies" who have served meritoriously while very few of the GOP power players have ever served in a combat zone. They refuse to properly equip the soldiers serving in Iraq, leading to casualty figures close to -- if not beyond -- the 20,000 mark.

Furthermore, if it's not clear to you right now, it will be soon: they will scapegoat the military commanders and soldiers fighting the Iraq War just as shamelessly as they have the others. President Bush, via the calculated strategy of his Round Table, likes to say from the comfort of his bubble that he's leaving military decisions up to the commanders on the ground. Clearly and conveniently, this allows him to dodge accountability, which can easily be shifted to those soldiers. Abu Ghraib and Al-Qaqaa, for example -- both of which were blamed, not on policies of the administration, but on the soldiers on the ground.

Sure, the "all-new and all-responsible for 2006" George W. Bush will say publicly that he's responsible for the decision to go to war, but that's obviously where his responsibility ends. Everything that goes wrong and has gone wrong isn't truly his fault, of course. Even if he were to miraculously take a hit for a specific mistake, we all know from past experience that any admission by the president would be tempered and diluted with some sort of underground swift-boating of a political opponent.

Like John Murtha.

Republican operatives like to say that by criticizing the president and his policies, progressives and Democrats are denigrating the troops and undermining the war. But ask yourself, what undermines the war and the military more severely: dissecting the president, or literally dissecting combat soldiers and veterans? I would suggest that an administration which inadequately supplies soldiers currently in a war zone, and a party whose underground operatives routinely besmirch the records of combat veterans are, in fact, doing far more to damage the war effort and the military than any amount of negativity directed toward President Bush.

Every American, regardless of political affiliation, should be ashamed of what's being done to Murtha and others like him -- ordinary Republicans and military families especially, whose votes and support are being subverted by their leaders for heartless and immoral political points.

And those constituents who don't mind these kinds of tactics should be asked point-blank: is this how you prefer to debate Iraq? George W. Bush said in another staged and pre-screened town hall meeting last week that he welcomes a debate on the issues surrounding the war and his administration. But the swift-boating of John Murtha, preceded by the president's hilariously artificial town hall meeting, proves that Bush has no such intention. Instead, the party and movement of which he's the leader would rather assassinate the character of another decorated combat veteran.

The only thing more outrageous than the swift-boating of John Murtha is that "the party of patriotism, the military, and national security" continues to be taken seriously.

by Bob Cesca, Huffington Post

Virginia Governor Finds New Middle Ground in Death Penalty Debate

2006-01-13T23:43:00.000-06:00

Vampire Seeks Job As Minnesota Governor

2006-01-13T18:27:00.000-06:00

Minnesota voters, may have elected a former professional wrestler as their governor eight years ago, if one man, I mean self-proclaimed vampire has his way, Minnesota may have a more unique officeholder.

"Politics is a cut-throat business," said Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, who said he plans to announce his bid for governor Friday on the ticket of the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party.

"I'm a satanist who doesn't hate Jesus," Sharkey told Reuters. "I just hate God the Father."

However, he claims to respect all religions and if elected, will post "everything from the Ten Commandments to the Wicca Reed" in government buildings.

The story.

Sam Alito America And Ours

2006-01-12T22:19:00.000-06:00

By Maggie Gallagher

The most moving part of Sam Alito's Senate testimony Monday was about his immigrant father: "He grew up in poverty. Although he graduated at the top of his high school class, he had no money for college. And he was set to work in a factory, but at the last minute, a kind person in the Trenton area arranged for him to receive a $50 scholarship." It was enough to buy tuition at a local college and "one used suit."

It was enough to change a man's life.

Sam Alito called his dad's story "typical." Sam Alito's America is a place full of opportunity, where human lives can be changed by "hard work and perseverance" but also by generosity, the "power of a small good deed."

By the time Alito got to Princeton in the late '60s, he saw another view of America. "I saw some very smart people and very privileged people behaving irresponsibly, and I couldn't help making a contrast between some of the worst of what I saw on the campus and the good sense and the decency of the people back in my own community."

Thus was a conservative jurist born.

By the time Sam Alito got to Yale law school, something else had begun to change: the role of the university in creating class mobility. "Meritocracy" was originally used by Ivies as an excuse to erect barriers to academically gifted Jews. By the early '60s, elite colleges had sought to transform themselves into engines of meritocracy, places where intellectually gifted kids could be plucked from obscurity and launched toward achievement. Yale was a leader of that educational movement, says Jerome Karabel in a new book, "The Chosen."

Increasingly, however, the cherished ideal of education as an engine of class mobility is going head to head with the ideal of education as a meritocracy based on academic ability.

According to an essay in the current issue of Yale alumni magazine, only 3 percent of students at highly selective colleges come from families in the bottom economic quartile. Just 15 percent of Yale students now benefit from a new initiative designed to help students whose families earn less than $60,000 (or, a little above the U.S. household median). Meanwhile, two-thirds of all students who score at least 1300 on SATs come from the top quartile of family income, while just 3 percent come from the bottom quartile.

As America gets better at making sure nothing gets in the way of ability, a new fixed class of privilege may be emerging: a cognitive elite. Here's my theory: America's past success at creating a culture of opportunity (including women) means that America has gotten very good at identifying those with cognitive ability and funneling them toward elite institutions. There, they meet, marry each other and reproduce powerful social advantages for their children through at least three mechanism: genes, human capital and moral capital. Children born to, say, two Yale grads are more likely to be born with cognitive ability, and to have parents who can educate them informally and also encourage successful habits (from doing homework to intellectual curiosity).

Meanwhile, smart, disciplined, focused, poor 18-year-olds like Sam Alito's dad, whose lives can be transformed by $50 (or even full local college tuition), are still out there, but they are surely harder to find these days. The new barriers to success among poor children (fatherlessness, neighborhood chaos, poor schools, rampant substance abuse and a distracting sexual culture) are not the type that college admission officers can do much about.

Which is no excuse for the rest of us who live in Sam Alito's America to give up trying. I bet Alito's dad used to say, like mine did: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

(Readers may reach Maggie Gallagher at MaggieBox2004@yahoo.com.)

Alito Likely To Be Confirmed As Justice

2006-01-12T22:08:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post story.

GOP Contest Guided By Lessons Of Battles Past

2006-01-12T21:57:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post story.

Delay Participates in Meeting To Chose His Successor

2006-01-12T15:05:00.000-06:00

The Dallas Morning News carries the story of a meeting of Texas GOP House members meeting in Dallas to help chose a successor to the fallen House Majority Leader.

Guess who participates with them? None other than the man who got this country in the corruption scandal -- Tom Delay.

My favorite line from the story comes from one of the congressmen at the meeting: "To find somebody who has no ties to K Street, who's never taken a dollar from anybody ... can we find anybody in our conference that's like that? Not likely."

Trying to find an honest man in Washington politics is getting tougher and tougher, isn't it boys!

Bill Day Cartoon: NSA

2006-01-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

NSA Employee Reveals Himself As Whistleblower Who Reported "Illegal" Domestic Spying

2006-01-11T13:06:00.000-06:00

Russell Tice, a longtime employee at the National Security Agency, has revealed himself to be the whistleblower the agency wants to keep quiet. Tice told the New York Times about abuses at the NSA and forced the President to reveal what many consider to be illegal activity.

I don't know about you guys but I have serious reservations about this administration's domestic spying program. The simple task of asking a court for permission, even if after the fact, seems to be a simple step, this administration avoids, that might protect us from government abuses.

President Bush has admitted that he gave orders that allowed the NSA to eavesdrop on a small number of Americans without the usual requisite warrants.

Tice disagrees. He says the number of Americans subject to eavesdropping by the NSA could be in the millions.

I sure hope the feds leave Mr. Tice alone. The story seems to indicate they are already doing a number on him, questioning his mental stability. That sort of thing was common in the old Soviet Union and has no place in the USA.

Next thing we will hear is that an IRS audit in the works. Nothing surprises me anymore with this administration.

I applaud Mr. Tice for coming forward and hope improvements can be made. We will monitor how this government continues to treat Mr. Tice. I hope you do the same.

The full story from ABC News.

House Leaders Consider Prohibition On Lobby Paid Travel

2006-01-11T12:55:00.000-06:00

House Republicans, seeking to recover their standing with voters in the wake of a lobbying scandal, are considering a total ban on privately funded congressional trips, the lawmaker leading the reform effort said Wednesday.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., said GOP leaders were "seriously considering" the need to eliminate all privately financed travel. "That would be a very strong statement. We want to be bold," said Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee.

The rest of the story.

Recall Petition Filed Against Louisiana Governor Blanco

2006-01-10T15:52:00.000-06:00

Faulting governor Blanco for failing to adequately respond to hurricane Katrina a Louisiana woman has filed a petition to remove governor Blanco from her seat.

Iraq Veterans Return Home And Run For Office As Democrats

2006-01-10T15:29:00.000-06:00

The Atlantic Monthly runs the story of the number of Iraq veterans who have returned home only to run for office as Democrats.

Gov. Mark Warner For President?

2006-01-10T01:16:00.000-06:00

A very close friend who worked for Virginia governor Mark Warner has suggested that I assist in the effort to have Gov. Warner elected president. I am impressed with this Democrat who was able to maintain high popularity numbers in a southern conservatives state.

I would invite you to give Gov. Warner a look as he is a strong contender to Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic primary building up to the next national elections.

Here is the Washington Post story.

More And More Mexican Women Willing To Risk All To Enter US

2006-01-10T00:52:00.000-06:00

The New York Times tells the heart-wrenching struggles of Mexican women who are willing to risk, safety, family and their homeland in search of a better life for their families by seeking employment in the United States.

Regardless of your position on immigration the NY Times story describes a growing choice of hardship and pain by some Mexican women who cross illegally in search of work.

Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals Turns Delay Down

2006-01-09T16:32:00.000-06:00

The state's highest criminal court on Monday denied Rep. Tom DeLay's request for a dismissal of the money laundering charges against him.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the requests with no written order two days after he announced he was not seeking to return as House majority leader. DeLay previously was forced to relinquish the Republican leadership post on a temporary basis due to the indictment brought against him.

The Dallas Morning News features the AP story.

Bush Spokesman Goes Out on a Limb: He's for Mom

2006-01-09T01:26:00.000-06:00

Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, is reported to have asked the president for guidence on the Texas governor's race. "I asked him for his guidance about what he wanted me to say about the Texas governor's race."

As everyone in Texas knows, Mr. McClellan's mother, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state's comptroller, had announced that she would run as an independent in 2006 against the Republican incumbent, Gov. Rick Perry.

McCellan account of the president's response is as follows: "The president will support the Republican nominee, and I think it's pretty clear the Republican nominee will be his friend Rick Perry," Mr. McClellan said.

As for his mother, Mr. McClellan said, "My mother cares deeply about Texas, and she has my full support."

The story.

Miner Leaves An Hour By Hour Report Before He Died

2006-01-09T00:21:00.000-06:00

The AP story of how one of the miners involved in the recent accident left an hour by hour report before he died.