ChronicBile: We have no idea what we're talking about, so we'll just make fools of ourselves.....

In addition, the Chronicle endorses Rep. John Culberson, the District 7 incumbent who is seeking a third term in Congress. Culberson has proved himself an effective legislator. He wants to curb illegal immigration and balance the federal budget.

Culberson promises to do a better job of securing transit funds for Houston, and the Chronicle hopes he will act on his word.

There is no Democratic challenger in this west Houston district, so winning the Republican primary is tantamount to winning the November general election.

Friday Baby Blogging

CD02 Watch

Ted Poe, Andrew Fastuca, Mark Henry, Clint Moore, John Nickel and Andrew Bolton.

Chances are you don't recognize most of those U.S. House candidate names, even if you live in their Congressional district -- District 2.

The Communists' Take on Texas

If disastrous trends in Texas portend bad developments in the rest of the nation, as they have since George W. Bush became governor, then Americans should prepare to fight if we want to save public education. Texas schools, like others throughout the nation, are afflicted. The proposed cures being peddled by the GOP, though, are considerably worse than any illness.

Having already rigged the November elections in Texas through redistricting, the state's right-wing legislative majority awaits the March 9 primary elections, in which incumbent officeholders will hide their intentions for the much-delayed special session on school finance. Rampant speculation on their "remedies" is nourished by almost daily "smoke and mirrors" pronouncements from Republican Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick.

Bears Repeating

Storing some code here....

Rob Booth Withdraws from Race

Jost Rocks

CD09 Watch: Seen Your Video

Up in Austin, Republican legislators drew the new 9th Congressional District to fulfill requirements in the federal Voting Rights Act.

As a result, African-American voters should dominate at the polls next month. But when the March 9 primary comes around, the voters will have to decide which Democratic candidate will best represent them -- regardless of skin color.

Go buy the album!

Once known as half of the songwriting duo that formed the core of Squeeze, Chris Difford has released his debut solo album. Originally released in late 2002 in the U.K. on the A label, 'I Didn't Get Where I Am' was issued Tuesday in the U.S. by the New York-based independent label DRT.

Bump

CD10 Watch: $2.34 Million? I'll be the cat!

Houston mortgage company owner Ben Streusand, media-blitzing his way through his first political race, has loaned his campaign $2.34 million, including $1 million reported Friday.

Michael McCaul of Austin, a former federal prosecutor, has loaned his campaign $647,000. McCaul is the son-in-law of Lowry Mays of San Antonio, chairman and chief executive officer of Clear Channel Communications Inc., a dominant media conglomerate.

Dave Phillips of Houston, a lawyer who loaned his campaign $152,000 through the end of last year, will soon report an additional infusion of personal cash, according to campaign manager Cheryl Rowell.

And former state District Judge John Devine of Houston reported loaning his campaign $63,000 through December.

CD09: Meet the Candidate Coffee

The "Hyphen" Makes A World of Difference

First lady-wannabe Teresa Heinz Kerry sometimes describes herself as an "African American," even though she grew up amidst segregated privilege in colonial Mozambique.......

"African-hyphen-American belongs to blacks," Heinz Kerry's spokesman told reporters, insisting that it was proper for his boss to call herself African American as long as no hyphen was used or intended.

CD09 Watch: I Take It Back

On the Republican side, Hassan, who canvasses the district daily to meet people, describes himself as 'a regular guy' who knows rewards come from hard work.

'I am a winner just to be on the ballot as an immigrant,' said Hassan, who came to America in 1980 and became a U.S. citizen four years later. 'I can discuss immigration problems because I know what immigrants go through.'

He said he gets upset when people are broken down according to skin color or ethnicity and that everyone should be considered an equal.

'I am just American, plain American,' he said.

Cook on House Seats in Texas

In the House, perhaps a dozen districts now count as very competitive. For Democrats, redistricting by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature put five incumbents in peril: Max Sandlin (TX-01), Nick Lampson (TX-02), Chet Edwards (TX-17), Martin Frost (TX-32), and Charles Stenholm (TX-19). Insiders see Sandlin as the most vulnerable. Frost and Stenholm will each face a Republican incumbent in a heavily Republican district. Frost is pitted against Pete Sessions, and Stenholm against freshman Randy Neugebauer.

CD10 Watch: FWD - An Opportunity to Meet John Devine

But I don't want to live downtown!

The need to coordinate light rail and development grew more pressing last November, when Houston's voters approved a 72-mile expansion of the rail system.

As the nation's only large city without a zoning ordinance, Houston has limited tools with which to shape development.

City planning director Robert Litke said his department is working on an ordinance that could create incentives for transit-oriented development along rail corridors.

He said the city also has begun working with neighborhood coalitions to consider how to plan development along the rail corridors.

JP51 Watch: That's one vote down

City Councilman Mark Goldberg won't be able to vote for himself next month in his Republican primary race for justice of the peace.

Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt, the county's voter registrar, said that Goldberg failed to make a timely change of address on his voter registration form.

Goldberg, sworn in for a third term on council last month, is running against incumbent Russ Ridgway for Harris County Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, Place 1. Bettencourt said that on Dec. 31, two days before the candidate filing deadline, Goldberg filed online with the Texas Department of Public Safety for a change of address on his driver's license. The new address put him within Precinct 5's boundaries.

At the same time he changed his driver's license address, Bettencourt said, Goldberg sought five applications for a change of address on his voter registration.

But Bettencourt said he cannot find evidence that Goldberg returned any of the applications to the tax assessor-collector's office.

'The bottom line is, he won't be able to vote for himself,' Bettencourt said.

CD09 Watch: The Mountain of White Bread

The Houston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has complained about advertising U.S. Rep. Chris Bell is doing in his Democratic Party primary race against former Justice of the Peace Al Green.

Yolanda Smith, the branch's executive director, issued a statement last week saying that Bell's radio advertising and mail-outs 'are misleading.'

Smith said her office has received complaints that the advertisements suggest that the NAACP is supporting Bell.

The NAACP does not formally endorse political candidates.

Bell said his advertising never makes such a claim.

It states that Bell received an 'A' rating from the annual NAACP Legislative Report.

CD02 Watch: My Kind of Reporter

By Ken Fountain

The newly drawn 2nd Congressional District of Texas winds from the Louisiana border in Jefferson County through much of Liberty County and into northern Harris County. Created during last year's bitterly fought redistricting battle in the Texas Legislature, it may prove to have one of the most interesting Texas congressional races this election season.

In Harris County, the district juts south to include the central third of Baytown before terminating in La Porte. Of Baytown's approximately 12,205 active voters (those whose current addresses are on file with the county clerk's office), 52.4 percent reside within the 2nd District. The remaining 47.6 percent reside within the 29th District, whose Democratic incumbent, U.S. Rep. Gene Green, will run unchallenged in November.

Big! Big! Big!

In an Adams Morgan bar as silent as a church, with women crowded onto red velvet sofas and sitting cross-legged on the floor, a dozen TV screens were tuned into the final "Sex and the City" episode, and fan Karyn Hillenbrand was yelling at character Carrie Bradshaw.

"No," she hissed as the star of "Sex" promised her debonair boyfriend that she would give up a book party held in her honor to accompany him to his art showing. "No. No. No."

Throughout the bar, the cry echoed: "No!" "Ewww!"

Everyone was rooting against artist Aleksandr Petrovsky and in favor of Big, Carrie's six-year, off-and-on flame, and the question of the night was: Would this final episode of HBO's six-season, Sunday-night tradition finally pair off Carrie with Petrovsky, in Paris, or would she choose independence, New York and her dear, dear friends. Pre-show thinking was that there was no way she'd wind up with the artist, so when she seemed to be uncharacteristically giving up herself for him, the crowd recoiled.

Happy Birthday George Washington!!

CD09 Watch: The Rs

Endorsements

Now Hear This

Feel the Love...

The Fort Bend County Republican Party is poised for a major showdown between the party chair Eric Thode and his critics.

The long simmering feud between the two sections has turned into an open warfare with Thode actively seeking to oust his critics in the upcoming precinct chair elections. The precinct chair elections have become more heated than the other elective offices in the county. Notable among the precinct elections is Precinct 3009 in Sugar Creek where Teresa Raia is pitted against Carole Hutchens.
The campaign has taken an ugly turn with both sides claiming the support of State Sen. Kyle Janek and Janek, in turn, stating that he is not taking sides on this race. First, Raia sent a mailer in which Janek's name appeared among supporters.

Carr Should've Blogged

Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert today discharged Officer Doug Carr, the officer allegedly caught on tape berating an African-American cabdriver during a traffic stop.

'As Metro employees and as police officers we have to show respect to all people,' Lambert said in a statement announcing the dismissal. 'We have a commitment to service, a commitment to our profession and a commitment to earning and keeping the public trust.

'This is a serious violation of those commitments. I feel this action is proper and in the best interests of the department, the profession and the community.'

Carr had been restricted to desk duty after cabdriver Amanuel Hadis, a naturalized citizen from Ethiopa, filed the complaint last week. In the complaint, Hadis claims he recorded a tirade by Carr during a Feb. 9 traffic stop. The voice on the tape says, 'We don't need your kind here. You can go back to where you come from if you don't want to abide by our laws.'

Secede!

People think Atlanta is our future, but that's just near-term. I saw the long view a few weeks ago in Houston.
Houston has one loop about six miles from downtown, a second loop about 15 miles out, and they're talking about building a third loop that would be three times longer than Charlotte's outerbelt.

You won't be surprised to learn that none of this has given Houston drivers a smooth morning commute.

Instead it's all the craziness of Charlotte traffic, squared. Total automotive gridlock one minute, the last lap at Daytona the next. Don't change lanes until you've updated your last will and testament.

We have all this to look forward to. If we don't get turned into roadkill first.

So here's my solution: Stop.

Put all those road crews to work filling potholes and painting stripes. Use the construction money to feed the hungry and help people find jobs. The state could even -- here's a concept -- give some of the cash back to the taxpayers.

Voters Guide News

• Missile Defense----------------------- Hassan = Opposed ------------Molina = Strongly Favors


• Sexual Orientation Protection----- Hassan = Favors ---------------Molina = Opposed


• Human Cloning----------------------- Hassan = Favors ---------------Molina = Strongly Opposed


• Gun Waiting Period------------------ Hassan = Favors ---------------Molina = Opposed


• Replace Tax Code-------------------- Hassan = Undecided ----------Molina = Strongly Favors


• School Choice------------------------- Hassan = Undecided ----------Molina = Strongly Favors


• Federal Marriage Ammendment--- Hassan = Undecided ----------Molina = Strongly Favors


• Rolling Back Tax Cuts--------------- Hassan = Undecided -----------Molina = Opposed

Memo to HRC

Cheryl Jacques, national president and executive director of the Human Rights Campaign will be the keynote speaker at HRC’s Houston Gala Saturday, March 20 at the Inter-Continental Houston Hotel.

[snip]

In a year when gay marriage is being debated at national, state and local levels, the theme of the gala is “The Garden of Even.”

The gala moved to the InterContinental Houston Hotel because the event has steadily increased in size from year to year. Organizers said in spite of more space this year, the event is certain to sell out.

In addition to Jacques, other speakers will include Mitchell Katine, a Houston attorney who helped bring the Lawrence versus Texas case to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Rep. Chris Bell and Houston City Controller Annise Parker.

The Problem: Courting Moderates at the Expense of your Base

"If there is a rerun of 2000, when an estimated 6 million fewer evangelical Christians voted than in the pivotal year of 1994, then the Bush ticket will be in trouble, especially if there is no [Ralph] Nader alternative to draw Democratic votes away from the Democratic candidate,"

Religious right leaders say their constituents aren't likely to defect to the Democrats.

"What is at issue here is, will our folks be AWOL when it comes time for the election because they are just not energized and motivated?" said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. "Social conservatives coalesce around strong leadership. That's what motivates and energizes them. And on their core issues, the leadership from the White House is not there right now."

American Family Association founder Don Wildmon said the president "has already upset the economic conservatives, and I know the problem he is having with evangelicals. ... There is a major problem there."

Song of the Day: Parents by Chris Difford

oh how they danced
oh how they cried
they got so many dreams
silence is ours
each image that fades
returns like a moon
my children look on
as I'm looking back
they see in my eyes
oh how he dances
oh he cries
he's got so many dreams in his eyes

We're number two....

Updated Report Also Touts City's Success at Uncorking a Previously Ranked Chokepoint; Congress Urged to Fund Improvements That Save Lives, Cut Air Pollution and Reduce Delays

WASHINGTON, DC - As Congressional debate continues on long-overdue highway legislation needed to fund road and bridge improvement projects, a new report is sparking added urgency by ranking the nation's worst highway bottlenecks, including two in the Houston metropolitan area.

The report, an update of a study originally conducted in 1999, now ranks the I-610 West Loop/I-10 interchange as America's second-worst traffic bottleneck -- up from a #15 ranking in 1999 -- blaming the site for more than 25 million hours of traffic delay each year. It also identifies the I-45/US-59 interchange as the #20 ranked bottleneck in the country. Besides highlighting severe delays, the update specifically quantifies how these and other traffic chokepoints burden the public with degraded safety, worsened air quality and wasted fuel consumption.

The rich are different....

WASHINGTON - John Edwards and John Kerry are trying to appeal to the common man with their populist notions and messages on the campaign trail, but the two multi-millionaires don't live like most Americans.

The top Democratic presidential hopefuls both own mansions in tony Georgetown, the Washington, D.C., neighborhood known for its prime real estate and high-end fashion boutiques.

On one historic cobblestone street lives Edwards, whose 184-year-old, 13-room home is valued at $3.8 million. About a block away is the residence where Kerry lives, a 104-year-old, four-story home with 23 rooms that is conservatively estimated to be worth $4.3 million.

It's the count that counts....

WASHINGTON - The ever-changing number of delegates that a Democratic presidential candidate needs to secure the party's nomination has changed again.

The number again stands at 2,162 delegates - up from 2,161 - after Democrat Ben Chandler won a special election Tuesday for a U.S. House seat in Kentucky.

It also boosts the number of total delegate votes at the party's convention in Boston this summer to 4,322, also up one. A candidate needs a simple majority of the total delegate votes to win the nomination.

Currently, John Kerry leads the delegate race with 613, more than triple John Edwards' tally of 192. Al Sharpton has 16 and Dennis Kucinich two.

Stop it! You're killing me!

Marketplace of Ideas

Attending a meeting of the Houston Chronicle's editorial board might seem like torture to some, but apparently there are a lot of masochists out there.

River Oaks Elementary had its annual fund-raising auction recently, and item 7097 was a chance to meet with the Chron's editorial board. 'This is a coveted thing by potential politicians, corporations and non-profits,' the item read.

James Campbell, the paper's ombudsman and a River Oaks parent, was the donor. He ombudsmanly assures us auction winners won't get a guaranteed endorsement of their position.

But it doesn't sound like they receive much else: 'All the winner gets,' Campbell says, 'is a chance to sit in on a Chronicle editorial board meeting of their choosing and listen to the discussion.' (Be still our hearts -- the drama, the palpable tension as the board decides whether this is the week to heartily endorse rail again or instead just heartily endorse NASA. Again.)

The winning bid was $350, by someone we couldn't reach. But we hope they get their money's worth.

CD02 Watch

President Bush's proposed immigration policy was a target Wednesday during a forum of Republican candidates for the 2nd Congressional District, who said the plan is too lax on illegal immigrants in Texas.

The comments ranged from dismissal of the Bush plan by Houston police officer John Nickell to guarded criticism from former Judge Ted Poe, who said the United State should beef up efforts to improve the economy in Mexico to keep workers in that country.

But none of the six Republican candidates in the March 9 primary for the newly drawn district supported the party's president on the issue.

CD02 Watch

By: TRISH JONES, Advocate Staff WriterFebruary 17, 2004

Cleveland will host some of the biggest names in state politics this Thursday night, as a bipartisan open candidate forum is expected to attract candidates running for federal, state and county offices.
Sponsored by the Liberty County News, part of the Cleveland Advocate group of newspapers, the Open Candidate Forum will be held at the Family Life Center of First Baptist Church, 400 West Hanson in Cleveland. A gumbo supper, catered by Pappy's BBQ of Dayton, will be served at 5:30 p.m. for $6 per plate. Candidates will be on hand at that time to mingle with citizens on an informal basis. The actual forum will begin at 6:15 p.m. with candidate introductions, platform statements, and questions asked by a seated panel and audience members.

One of the most-watched races in the state of Texas - that of the newly redistricted 2nd Congressional District contest for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives - has pulled in six Republican candidates and one Democrat, and all seven candidates have stated their intention to attend the Cleveland forum.

Storm in the West

The Fort Bend County Republican Party has had minor hiccups in the past, but the fight for the control of the party has never been so contentious.

Though Thode had raised the ire of a section of the party in the past by endorsing some candidates in the primaries, and has worked even against the incumbents, no one has challenged his authority seriously.

That's an order!

• The MP checkpoint is not an Imperial Stormtrooper roadblock, so I should not tell them "You don't need to see my identification, these are not the droids you are looking for."
• The proper response to a chemical weapon attack is not ‘Tell my chain of command what I really think about them, and then poke holes in their masks.'
• Claymore mines are not filled with yummy candy, and it is wrong to tell new soldiers that they are.

Score One for the Good Guys

I'm Torn

SAN ANTONIO -- A tornado of media coverage has descended on the race for Texas's 20th Congressional District, training its full might and fury on a divorced San Antonio marriage counselor with no staff, no experience in electoral politics and a campaign war chest of $150.

'I do everything myself,' said Becky Whetstone, who has declared her candidacy as an independent aiming to unseat Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, the Democratic incumbent who happens to be her ex-husband.

Hi There Sailor

President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation is now sailing the Arkhangelsk SSBN (Strategic Submarine Ballistic Nuclear).

The Russian leader flew over to Murmansk February 16, with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov meeting Putin at the airport. Ivanov told the Commander-In-Chief that the North fleet's elements, as well as those of the Strategic Missile Force and the Space Force, were ready to conduct the strategic headquarters exercise's active phase.

[snip]

The Commander-In-Chief will stay aboard the Arkhangelsk until noon February 16, observing the North fleet exercise; the Arkhangelsk is also involved in this headquarters exercise.

The Arkhangelsk ranks among other third-generation heavy-duty Mk 941 Akula (Shark)-class SSBN-s (NATO reporting name, Typhoon).

He then entered another tent, which contained submarine-crew rations, i.e. juices, fresh vegetables, fruits, wine, eggs, dairy products, caviar, Caspian roach, as well as canned meat and fish.

Jon Matthews Update: February 2004

• Jon Matthews' case number is 39007 and his case is being heard in the 268th District Court in Fort Bend County.


• Fort Bend County does not have criminal court case info online.


• You can get criminal court case info from a public computer in Room 100 of the Fort Bend County Courthouse in Richmond.


• Jon Matthews did have some kind of court date on Feb. 2, but we're not quite clear on what happened. It may have just been getting an extension, because he is now set for "pre-trial" on April 5. I assume this means when the court will hear pre-trial motions.

CD31 Watch

Wes Riddle, a retired Army officer with degrees from West Point and Oxford, says the Republican primary for District 31 Congressman is a two-man race between himself and current Congressman John Carter, but he doesn’t view his opponent as an incumbent in the traditional sense.

“How many of you voted for him last time?” he asked a gathering at the home of Ben and Nellie Baty in Stephenville Saturday afternoon.

After the Texas Legislature finalized redistricting last year, the 31st District which Carter represents was spun almost 180 degrees. The district had extended from Williamson County to Houston; now it goes from Williamson County to Erath County.

“He’s the incumbent for the old District 31,” Riddle said. “I have a lot of nerve, but I wouldn’t have the nerve to advertise for ‘re-election’ in this new district. Nobody in Texas or America inherits a position. I see this as akin to an open race for a new position.”

Told You So!

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Struggling Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean revealed Monday that national campaign chairman Steve Grossman has departed, but the former Vermont governor would not disclose the circumstances surrounding the change.

Song of the Day: What Would Brian Boitano Do?

So what would Brian Boitano do
If he were here today,
I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do.

The Zoning That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Houston, like many cities, is changing fast, and not just because of the Super Bowl. By 2025, low to moderate income Hispanics will be the majority in a city swelled to two million people, according to Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg.

At the same time, Houston, because of its laissez-faire, free market traditions, is the only major American city that has no real zoning. And so, to help it nonetheless devise some sort of plan for the expected influx of immigrants, it has hired the Washington, D.C. architect and writer Roger Lewis.

Everyone agrees that they shouldn't ghetto-ize immigrants in 'projects,' said Lewis. But in Houston, zoning is considered a 'communist conspiracy,' he said.

'Instead of the 'Z' word they use the 'D' word density implementing density where it makes sense, around transit stops,' he said. The first leg of a light rail line was constructed to link downtown with the football stadium. Lewis hopes it will act as a catalyst 'to do the right thing.'

Some of these folks I'll allow back...

Close to 3,000 of those visitors were journalists, so the Houston Business Journal asked a collection of visiting media for their impressions of the city. The hope was that these media types, sometimes known to be cynical and straightforward, would provide a good indication as to how the city really performed.

Running for Spoiler the Hard Way

NADER ON VERGE OF FOURTH RUN?

According to close associates of former Green Party Presidential nominee Ralph Nader, he is leaning heavily in favor of announcing his Independent candidacy in the coming days. Nader plans to make his decision -- one way or the other -- within the next two weeks. Nader had suggested in interviews that he would not run in 2004 if either Kucinich or Dean won the Democratic nomination, as he believed they had adopted views somewhat similar to his own. With those two now out of contention, Nader is ready to make a fourth White House run. Nader ran as a Democrat in the 1992 NH primary, as a Green in 1996 and 2000, and now plans to run as an Independent in 2004. Without running under the Green banner, Nader will have no automatic ballot status anywhere. Instead, he'll have to create an organization that pays filing fees and/or collects enough valid signatures in each state to secure a spot on the ballot.

Gimme or Else

WASHINGTON -- Congress has overwhelmingly voted to close a loophole that has let thousands of Texas educators collect both a teacher pension and Social Security spousal benefits by working as little as one day as a clerk or janitor.

The bill cleared the House 402-19 on Wednesday. Eighteen votes against it came from Texas lawmakers, most of them Democrats.

The measure, which passed the Senate by voice vote Dec. 9, was designed to crack down on fraud by people who manage the affairs of Social Security beneficiaries unable to keep track of their own finances.

The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.

Teachers' groups and Democrats in Texas' congressional delegation said the move cuts off widows from benefits that their husbands earned in the private sector. They predicted a wave of retirements before the change takes effect this summer.

It Seems Like Everything's Gone Wrong Since Canada Came Along

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's government on Friday condemned a show by U.S. late-night television host Conan O'Brien that insulted people in French-speaking Quebec and seemed to suggest everyone in the province was homosexual.

Link for the Lefties

You can't handle the truth!

Vouchers: Scaring Whites with Minority Influx???

• What is conspicuous by its absence?? There is absolutely NO mention of concern for the students (or parents). None...Zip...Nada...
  
  
• The concern is about the teachers' unions losing power & influence.
  
  
• I would hardly call New Jersey, Washington D.C. & Milwaukee bastions of the 'Hard Right'. In fact how many conservative politicians hold office there?
  
  
• I think the author needs some racial sensitivity training...... "Rich, white masters", Rod Paige as a "Sugar Daddy", "Whites fear minority Influx".....