in texas, “gop” stands for “john birch society”.

the texas gop just held their convention on june 11th and 12th.  according to the houston chronicle, immigration was a top priority.  (~surprise~)

also on the platform?

• Calling for repeal of the Real ID Act, which “creates an unconstitutional and privacy-inhibiting national ID card.

• Banning the use of red light cameras.

• Making American English the official language of Texas and the United States.

really?  american english the “official language”?  hrmmm.  TEXAS GOP LAUNCHES YOUTUBE HISPANIC RECRUITING... in spanish. 

• Creating a felony offense for anyone who performs a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple.

the same people who say the gov’t has no right to tell a church what it can or can’t do, when it comes to performing gay marriages, want the gov’t to tell churches what they can or can’t do, when it comes to performing gay marriages.  got it.

• Passing legislation requiring a sonogram for each pregnant woman seeking an abortion.

• Opposing legislation allowing stem cell research involving the creation of killing of human embryos for medical research.

again, they want the gov’t to be involved in our medical care, while simultaneously decrying the gov’t's involvement in healthcare.  see below.

• Urging Congress to “repeal and reject the national healthcare takeover, also known as ‘ObamaCare.’ ”

the national healthcare TAKEOVER.  which involves no actual taking over.  and very little “national” anything.

• Calling for the immediate transition to a system of private pensions and gradually phasing out the Social Security tax.

because that was so successful for texas teachers: Texas teachers fund losses will reverberate for years

• Calling for the repeal of the state lottery and opposing any further legalization of any type of gambling.

• Protecting the right to access raw milk directly from the farmer.

the raw milk debate is reminiscent of the anti-vaccination debate, among others.  we apparently forget why we start doing certain things.  pasteurization kills off tuberculosis, typhoid, and salmonella, among other pathogens.  the benefits far outweigh any negatives.  i suppose if people want to expose themselves to bacteria-laden milk, it’s their choice, though.

• Opposing automatic college admissions rules, such as the top 10 percent rule.

(too many of those minorities must be getting into the colleges again.  shhhh….  it has nothing to do with race.  why, some of their bestfriends are undereducated minorities.)

• Calling for the repeal of the No Child Left Behind law and the U.S. Department of Education.

• Removing the tenure system for Texas state colleges and universities.

i’m actually with them on repealing NCLB, but mainly, their purpose is just to attack public education and dismantle it in whatever way they can.

• Opposing all bailouts of businesses.

• Recommending a national sales tax to replace all other federal taxes.

• Calling on the Legislature to repeal the revised franchised tax.

unless said businesses have done something terrible, like…oh, say…bp.  then they want the us gov’t to play nicey-nice and quit being mean to those big businesses.  or like… when the economy tanked and the bush admin and congress were all about bailing out big business.  then, IT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

• Urging the Legislature to require Voter ID.

again, it has nothing to do with race - they just want to make sure that those hispanics that are voting aren’t actually “illegal”, because, really, they think they all are. (just listen to the anti-immigration folks.)

• Urging Congress to evict the United Nations from the United States to rescind U.S. membership.

clearly, a large contingent of east texas rednecksjohn birchers showed up to the texas gop convention.  in fact, the entire platform sounds like something straight out of a john birch society pamphlet, which isn’t surprising considering their co-sponsorship of CPAC this year.  as the texas republicans and their tea party compatriots continue to move further and further to the right, it would be rather nice to see a swell of democrat party investment into the state.  something to counter the loonies.  but based on previous experience, i don’t see that happening any time soon.

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Tagged as: texas,politics,txgopareracistneanderthals June 17, 2010 @ 03:56 pm

ed brayton on rachel maddow show

ed brayton, from dispatches from the culture wars was on the rachel maddow show to discuss bart stupak, abortion, c street and “the family”:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

good job, ed!

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Tagged as: politics March 05, 2010 @ 12:05 am

burgers and fries and cherry pies, or what this post has none of…

between holidays, painting, work on the house, mom’s retirement, and a somewhat bizarre back problem (my entire lower back feels sunburned-ish, only… there’s nothing there. pinched nerve? fibromyalgia? spinal tumor? meanness workin’ its way out of me? i haz a pain in my sawdust, whichever it is!), i’ve been horribly, terribly remiss about blogging as of late.  i keep bookmarking things, thinking, “oh, i need to post that”... then i don’t.  so now i am…  *prepare for onslaught*...

first, leonard pitts speaks out for the poor:

If he’d said it of Jews, he would still be apologizing.

If he’d said it of blacks, he’d be on BET, begging absolution.

If he’d said it of women, the National Organization for Women would have his carcass turning slowly on a spit over an open flame.

But he said it of the poor, so he got away with it.

``He’’ is South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer, running for governor on the GOP ticket. Speaking of those who receive public assistance, he recently told an audience, ``My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.’‘

You read that right. The would-be governor of one of the poorest states there is likens the poor to stray animals.

i love leonard pitts.  i’ve followed his column for years.  on this, he’s definitely spot on, “the monied interests in this country have somehow been able to con the poor into doing just that, fighting tooth and nail when they ought to be standing shoulder to shoulder”.

move to amend “we the corporations” - in response to the citizen’s united ruling, they want to amend the constitution to “Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.”  amen!

pick locks like a pro! - just in case you need to *fight the man* by breaking into his locker…

the period table… of typefaces - or by leaving him a fancy note…

play.house - the music from House, M.D. - via rollickster - so you’ve something to listen to while confronting the monied interests that would *keep us down*

cats 4 gold - via this guy, simply put your cat in an envelope… just in case you want to *fight the power* on their terms

follow me tattoo socks - you can’t stage a revolution without followers!

how to make olive penguins - because *every* revolution needs snacks…

and, finally, the “support the troops” phrase has irked me as an empty, meaningless bit of patriotism that gets waved around without any real action behind it. 

make it meaningful. - via vencedor, ye wow raid leader extraordinaire.

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Tagged as: politics,links,poverty,thekitchensink,abitofeverything January 31, 2010 @ 11:12 am

“the story of cap and trade”

from the story of stuff (also well worth watching) comes “the story of cap and trade”:

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

this reminds me…

i once worked for a company who built refineries / chemical plants.  the engineers would talk about “toxic waste pools” that poisoned the wildlife around the plants / refineries over in the middle east - wild dogs who “went crazy” from drinking from the pools, bedouin who’d have to be paid for cattle that died after drinking from the pools, etc.  i was taken aback by their nonchalance.  they just thought it was funny.  when questioned why such a thing would be allowed, that it was harmful to the environment, they said “but that’s over there, not over here” and they were *serious*. because.  you know.  we don’t all share one atmosphere and one earth.  “over there” can’t get all mingled up with “over here”.  thank god for those invisible barricades, borders.  :|

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Tagged as: politics,videos December 10, 2009 @ 07:12 am

the disingenuity of the gene locke campaign and others…

honestly, i’ve not been real excited by the mayoral election this year.  i believe either annise parker or gene locke are equally qualified.  either would be fine.  i don’t suspect that either of them will be as good as bill white has been, but that’s okay.  i think bill white was just ~exceptionally good~.  hard to top that.

but now… the houston chronicle has recently reported on anti-gay attacks forthcoming in the houston mayoral election:

A cluster of socially conservative Houstonians is planning a campaign to discourage voters from choosing City Controller Annise Parker in the December mayoral runoff because she is a lesbian, according to multiple ministers and conservatives involved in the effort.

The group is motivated by concerns about a “gay takeover” of City Hall, given that two other candidates in the five remaining City Council races are also openly gay, as well as national interest driven by the possibility that Houston could become the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay woman.

Another primary concern is that Parker or other elected officials would seek to overturn a 2001 city charter amendment that prohibits the city from providing benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees.

i was hoping we’d not see much of this, but that was just wishful thinking on my part, i guess.  what’s troubling is…

Parker’s opponent, former City Attorney Gene Locke, strongly distanced himself from a previous anti-gay attack against her that ultimately proved to have been a hoax. But he has made recent efforts to court some of the staunch social conservatives who are either actively planning on attacking Parker’s sexuality or strongly considering it.

He appeared at the Pastor Council’s annual gala last Friday and was encouraged several times by State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, a featured speaker, to stand for conservative values.

Locke has also met with and sought the endorsement of Dr. Steven Hotze, a longtime local kingmaker in conservative politics and author of the Straight Slate in 1985, a coterie of eight City Council candidates he recruited who ran on an anti-gay platform.

Continue Reading...

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Tagged as: texas,politics,houston,mayor,elections2009 November 15, 2009 @ 11:59 am