John Fogerty at Fred Baron's

As I mentioned in a previous post, I attended the terrific holiday party hosted every year by Fred Baron and Lisa Blue in Dallas. About 1500 people attended and had a great time. The headlineers this year were Eric Burdon and the Animals and John Fogerty and his band. Terrific music, much appreciated by the guests.

Here's a picture of John Fogerty. You can see more of my pictures of the evening here.

Have You Ever Seen Dallas ... ?

I am in Dallas this morning, having attended Fred Baron and Lisa Blue's fabulous annual holiday party. Featured entertainment: Eric Burdon and the Animals, and John Fogerty and his band. More on that later.

Because it was in the 80s in Austin yesterday, I was dressed cool and casual and had the windows open on Sage the Explorer. Coming into the Metroplex, I hit a wall of cool air, the leading edge of the cool front that's now covering most of Texas. In about five minutes, the outside temperature dropped from 79 to 67! It's not often you experience a 12-degree swing in the temperature that quickly, and it was pretty cool.

Zod in 2008

Finally, a presidential candidate we can get behind ... or else! Check it out.

Bush vs. Reagan

Taegan Goddard's PoliticalWire today highlights a poll of likely Iowa caucus voters about the presidential candidates. But I was fascinated by a batch of questions and answers that had nothing to do (or maybe everything to do) with the 2008 elections. Here are the questions and the results (from 600 likely Republican caucus voters):

2. Do you see President George W. Bush as a conservative Republican in the mode of Ronald Reagan? (Republicans Only)

Yes 7%

No 74%

Undecided 19%

3. How important is it for the Republican presidential candidate to be a conservative Republican in the mode of Ronald Reagan: very important, somewhat important, not very important, not important, or undecided? (Republicans Only)

Very Important 51%

Somewhat Important 16%

Not Very Important 6%

Not Important 14%

Undecided 13%

Ronald Reagan is the closest thing to a Saint the modern GOP has, and so he's held up as the standard against which everyone else is measured. In this survey, 67% believe it's important to a GOP presidential candidate to be like Reagan. So, it's bad news for Bush that 74% of Republicans do not think Bush is a true Reaganaut.

Allow me, however, to offer a contrarian view, damning Bush with faint praise. I think Bush is more of a Reaganaut (Reaganut?) than Reagan was. Reagan described the USA as a "city on a hill," shining the beacon of liberty and democracy on the rest of the world, but Bush has been more aggressive in meddling in other countries' business in the name of democracy. (Of course, the old hypocrisies still assert themselves: we condemn and harass Hugo Chavez, who for all his faults -- and there are many -- is apparently freely-elected and popular, and can barely manage a "tsk, tsk" at Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf.)

Reagan rattled his saber relentlessly against the Red Menace -- and invaded Grenada. Bush followed through on his promise to strangle terrorism in its crib -- then missed it by a couple countries when he invaded Iraq. Reagan's tax cuts for the rich, justified by what one observer called "voodoo economics," were dwarfed by Bush's, as has the consequent damage to the budget and the balance of payments been dwarfed by the trillion dollar debt we've amassed in six years.

Reagan ran in 1980 as an ideologue, but governed in a more moderate fashion. Bush, whose 2000 campaign was notable for its "compassionate conservatism" and rejection of nation-building and international adventurism, ran as a moderate but has been the most ideological president of modern times (perhaps ever).

When GOPers sign their hosannas to Saint Ronald, are they admiring his hard-right ideological campaigning or his center-right pragmatic governing?

Brother Martin McMurtrey, 1921-2007

For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground

And tell sad stories of the death of kings

-- Shakespeare, Richard II

Brother Martin McMurtrey, S.M. died on Friday, November 9, in, as they say, "the 87th year of his life and the 69th year of his religious profession." I have always loved the solemn dignity of that formulation, and its elegance is very appropriate to "Brother Mac's" life.

The San Antonio Express-News did a nice article about him, but it barely scratched the surface of his impact on a whole generation of students. A fuller obituary is attached below, but it also fails to capture what a great spirit he was.

I love Martin McMurtrey. He was my English teacher my sophomore year at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio, where he taught for almost 50 years. In 1970, he pulled me and, I think, six other guys out of our usual English classes so that we could work with him on a special project -- writing an analysis of poverty in San Antonio and what we could do about it. It was one of the transforming experiences of my young life.

We met every day and did research, studying all kinds of reports and government documents. Gleaning the information from libraries, the city and the federal government was a huge learning experience. I remember how shocked I was to discover that San Antonio was the poorest major city in the United States (and, for all I know, still is). We wrote what I am sure is a very forgettable report -- but the experience of writing it still remains with and shapes me to this day.

But Brother Mac was not content to let that be the extent of our immersion in the learning process. He took all of us with him to St. Agnes Parish every week, where we taught religious education classes to impoverished schoolchildren. Like our report, I am sure the CCD lessons I taught were forgettable -- but McMurtrey's commitment to the poor and the eye-opening difference between my life and those kids' made a huge impression on me, then and now.

For fifty years, Martin McMurtrey was that kind of teacher and mentor, a transformational figure in the lives of thousands of future leaders.

Sometime in the early 1990s, I was talking to Jan Jarboe Russell, who followed a stint as a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News with a writing gig at Texas Monthly and a terrific book on Lady Bird Johnson. I was then working for Governor Ann Richards, but Jan and I had known each other since I was an organizer for COPS and MCA, two powerfully effective community organizations in San Antonio.

We were talking about growing up in San Antonio and she asked me about significant influences. I mentioned Brother Mac and how he'd broadened my worldview and sharpened my sense of social justice. She told me that, in previous conversations with both Henry Cisneros and Ernie Cortes (the founder of COPS and one of the most influential community organizers of the last half-century), they'd both mentioned Brother Mac as well.

It'd be a great story to talk with all the people whose lives he transformed.

The Difference Between the House and Senate, Part 387

Rummaging around on some other blogs brought me to the website of the Texas Heritage Alliance, a right-wing political organization masquerading as patriotic Christians. The Texas Heritage Alliance is the new nom de guerre of the Free Market Foundation and its affiliated FreePAC.

FreePAC had its fifteen minutes of infamy when, in 2002, is sent out a series of factually inaccurate, hateful mailers trying to sabotage the re-election chances of Republican elected officials like state Senators Bill Ratliff and Jeff Wentworth and state Representatives Brian McCall and (now Senator) Kip Averitt. Wentworth's mailer accused him of being "extremely liberal" because he'd voted for the hate-crimes legislation and was a supporter of gay rights. Wentworth, who voted against a hate crimes bill in 2001 and later authored the Defense of Marriage Act in 2003, was understandably outraged. After all, he may be a parking scofflaw, but he's no milquetoast liberal.

Wentworth, Ratliff and the others condemned FreePAC and its hateful tactics -- Ratliff called their mailers "political pornography" -- and the uproar forced FreePAC to go underground for a while. The discredited organization resurfaced as the Heritage Alliance, explained founder Richard Ford, "to signify a unified effort of economic and social conservatives passing those values onto future generations."

Anyway, the Heritage Alliance has a Legislators' Scorecard on its website, ranking all 150 House members and 31 Senators according to their votes on conservative issues like supporting Tom Craddick for Speaker (RV1) and placing "In God We Trust" above the dais in the House Chamber (RV16). In all, there are 67 House votes and 53 Senate votes analyzed to produce a ranking.

I think it's interesting that the Senators' scores are more clustered than the House members'. While House scores range from a low of 3 (Paul Moreno) to a high of 96 (Jodie Laubenberg), the Senate scores range only from a low of 40 (Eliot Shapleigh) to a high of 79 (Robert Nichols). In other words, the Senate is less extreme in the swing of its members' views than the House.

Interesting question: why are four of the five most conservative members of the House (Laubenberg, Brown, Crabb, Harper-Brown, and Riddle) women?

Cat Got Your Tongue?

If you're like me, you love lively, robust political discourse. And what's modern American political discourse without the occasional ad hominem attack? In fact, longtime political combatants come to enjoy a little name-calling in the service of their patriotism and worldview. Bob Novak, for example, liked being called "the Prince of Darkness" so much that he gave that title to his autobiography. He probably didn't like the title Jon Stewart bestowed on him -- Douchebag of Liberty -- as much.

In any case, sometimes words fail me when, in the heat of battle, I try to rip off a good insult. Thanks goodness there's the Conservative Insult Generator, guaranteed to help you put together a snarky little comment in no time flat. Try it, it's fun!

For the more conservative connoisseur, there's the Liberal Insult Generator too. Act now and get both in time for Thanksgiving! What a wonderful way to liven up those boring Thanksgiving dinner conversations.

Ron Paul and Guy Fawkes

It's fun to watch Ron Paul's supporters act as if the $4.3 million dollars he raised IN ONE DAY makes him a serious presidential candidate. Raising that much money, period, much less in one day, is a very impressive accomplishment, but Ron Paul is still a fringe candidate, and no amount of money is going to make him a serious one.

What's interesting about the $4.3 million is the energy behind which it was raised. Although Paul's campaign played along, the drive was organized by outsiders, led by Trevor Lyman, a music promoter and Paul enthuiast who created a web site, www.thisNovember5th.com. It was Lyman's idea to tie the fundraising effort into Guy Fawkes Day, celebrated every November 5th in England.

Fawkes, a mercenary who participated in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate King James I by blowing up the Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605, is the model for the protagonist in the graphic novel and movie "V for Vendetta." Using clips from the movie and the English schoolyard refrain "Remember, remember the 5th of November," Lyman's Web site spread the word.

So Ron Paul is tapping into the anti-government, throw-the-bums-out mood of many disaffected Americans. Whether they show up to vote or not is a live question -- remember, these are much the same people that Kinky Friedman was counting on to make him Governor of Texas -- but even if they do, Paul has gotten to broaden his message and appeal quite a bit to be taken seriously by the voters.

Molly Ivins on W in 2000

I has the pleasure of attending the tribute to Molly Ivins at the Texas Book Festival last weekend. It was nice, as tributes go, but neither as rollicking or profane as Molly would have preferred, possibly because it was held in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church. Needless to say, there was almost no alcohol consumed at the tribute, which begs the question of whether it was really a tribute at all. Scholz's Biergarten always was, and always will be, a more appropriate venue for celebrating the rich melange of humor, insight and passion that was Molly's take on Texas and national politics.

In any case, ruminating on Molly led me to the Time Magazine Man of the Year issue for 2000. The honoree was none other than George W. Bush -- a distinction I'm sure they'd like to get back. He may get an award 90-some years for now for Fuck-Up of the Century.

The Time magazine coverage includes an essay by Molly which good-heartedly proposes that we should give W a break and wish him well as he begins his presidency. Says Miz Molly, echoing what many of us believed at the time:

I frankly don't expect much from him; neither do you; and that's the best thing he has going for him. If he so much as clears a matchbox, we'll all fall back in wonder. Think how pleasantly surprised we're going to be when we discover George W. is, as he has been all his life, sort of adequate. Not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but he'll do.

This was the Conventional Wisdom at the time: W would be an OK President, just as he'd been as OK Governor -- certainly not a visionary, not particularly attuned to the daily lives of Texans or the nuances of policy, but not a clueless Neanderthal like Bill Clements. In short, he'd be like his Dad -- someone we'd have fond memories of, if we could remember him at all.

Of course, Bush turned out to be one of the most momentous Presidents of our times, for better or worse. I frankly thinks it's for worse, but I'll let history be the judge of that.

Molly must be laughing as she thinks about how W suckered all of us and our bigotry of low expectations.

Mikal Watts Leaves U.S. Senate Race, Clears Field For ... Me

Mikal Watts withdrew from the U.S. Senate race this morning, as I knew he would. As much as I tried to keep it a closely-guarded secret, loose talk about my potential candidacy had spread a little too far. Watts knew -- as any reasonably astute observer of Texas politics would know -- that with me in the race, the over-40, balding white professional male candidate profile was sewn up. Voters don't want to choose between over-40, balding white professional males for Senate any more than they want to choose between Arby's and Burger King when they're ordering pizza.

Watts, by the way, steadfastly insists that he's 39 years old. Yeah, right.

Texas voters, of course, will be even more pained having to choose between an empty-headed sycophant who looks like he got sent over from Central Casting and an Afghan war veteran whose biggest leadership challenger to date has been organizing emergency food, water and shelter for over 7,000 Katrina evacuees. Please -- like we all haven't had relatives drop in unexpectedly!

For that reason, I am announcing the formation of an exploratory committee -- actually, a couple guys who'll meet at the Putt-Putt on Lamar and then have a pitcher of beer at the old gas station across the way -- to determine whether I should take the next step in running for the U.S. Senate, to wit, calling someone to ask what the next step would actually be. Keep posted for further thrilling developments.

In the meantime, here's Mikal Watts' (Who? See how quickly we forget?) statement:

"For the last five months I have been exploring a race for the United States Senate because I believe that our junior senator, John Cornyn, has let Texas down and is more concerned with his cronies and friends in Washington than with what's best for Texas.
"After spending the last several months putting everything into this campaign, I have seen the toll this effort has taken on my young children. For these reasons, my wife and I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 2008. I was brought up to believe that public service is a noble endeavor and I will continue to be involved at some level in the future. However, I realize that my time now should be devoted to serving my children so they may grow up in a healthy environment with both parents at home to meet their needs.
"The reasons for creating my exploratory committee still exist. As I have criss-crossed the state and met and talked with tens of thousands of good Texans, it is evident how much the people of Texas want and need a Senator who will fight every day for their interests and not the special interests. We need to elect a new Senator in Texas and I will personally do everything possible to support the Democratic nominee.
"It is hard to express the gratitude I feel for all the support my family and I have received as we have pursued this effort. I know that our vision for the future of Texas is one that all of our friends and supporters share. It's been one of the greatest blessings of my life for their faith in me, and for all of their hard work over the past months. While the decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate has been a difficult one, I know that it is the right one for my family at this time."

Rick Perry Admits He's a Cogitator

Rick Perry 'fessed up this morning: "For the last six months, I have cogitated." This from a man who has consistently opposed gay rights, going so far as to oppose even civil unions. The apple has not fallen far from the Paint Creek, Texas, tree.

The object of his cogitating? Rudy Giuliani, whom he endorsed for President this morning. The fact that Giuliani favors gay rights (9/11) and gun control (9/11) did not deter Texas's Only Governor from endorsing the thrice-married Giuliani (9/11). In fact, Perry sent around some talking points to accompany the press conference call that defended Giuliani's position on some of these hot-button issues. According to Ross Ramsey:

A talking points memo sent to Perry friendlies addresses differences between the candidate and the governor on four big issues: abortion, gay marriage and gays in general, gun control, and immigration. Perry's answers, in order: "Good people can disagree on this issue"; "...we, too, are called to love everyone even if we may disagree on issues like this one"; "Mayor Giuliani makes a distinction between what may work in New York City versus the rest of America"; and "Mayor Giuliani understands that you cannot have homeland security without border security."

Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic thinks this is Perry's audition to get on the GOP ticket as a vice-presidential candidate. Something to think about, in spite of Perry's denials (including today, per Elise Hu: "I have a really really good job and I love my job. In fact I just moved out of the mansion and I'm not looking to move again," Perry said.)

Perry fits the conventional wisdom of a ticket-balancer: Rudy's northeasters, he's southwestern; Rudy was a mayor, he's a governor (and Americans love governors -- four of our last five Presidents had been governors); Rudy's soft on God, guns and gays, but no one accuses Perry of that. Well, not seriously.

On the other hand, Texas is a reliably red state for Presidential politics in which Perry won re-election with only 39 percent of the vote a year ago. His last legislative session was a train wreck, with Republican lawmakers sabotaging his initiatives on Gardasil, TXU and toll roads. He finished the session by vetoing $154 million in needed funding for community colleges and getting himself named to Texas Monthly's Ten Worst list. Things have only gotten better over the summer because everyone went home.

Perry and his new BFF Rudy Giuliani are heading to Iowa today to stump for Giuliani's candidacy. I wonder how Rudy will dress for the occasion.

Pick Your President

The SELECT-A-CANDIDATE quiz was initially developed by the folks at Minnesota Public Radio and is now online courtesy of WQAD in Moline, Illinois, home of John Deere tractors.

Take the quiz and let us know how you do!

I LOVE this song!

Not sure I am going to buy an iPod Nano, though. I'll probably buy the CD, though.

HAAM Benefits Austin Musicians

Soaking up the good vibes at the Great Austin Music Medicine Show at Threadgill's with the amazing Barbara K.

Last night, I went to a benefit for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, or HAAM. Actually, it would have been hard NOT to go to a HAAM benefit last night, since half the businesses in town seemed to be supporting HAAM by donating five percent of their gross receipts to the effort. The other half were hosting HAAM concerts with great artists like Abi Tapia, Tony Campise, and Vallejo.

I attended the Great Austin Music Medicine Show at Threadgill's World Headquarters on Riverside. The show included performances by Greezy Wheels, Maryann Price, Ghosts and Sparrows (featuring Barbara K), Idgy Vaughn, and others. Ghosts and Sparrow's music was, as always, sublime, and Idgy brought down the house with her ode to a departed (!?!) boyfriend, "Dragging the River." (Unfortunately, the links to the mp3 may be dead.)

The good news is, the HAAM Benefit Day raised money for a really good cause. The better news is, you can still contribute to HAAM -- and to the collaborative culture of a city where you can stumble on to great music on any given day -- by going here.

Where Do They Find These People?

Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, has decided that the greatest threat to our national security and, indeed, the American Way of Life is: trash.

In an interview with the Associated Press published yesterday, he announced yet another justification for the hare-brained border fence scheme into which the Bush Administration wants to pour somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 billion dollars. Nice neighborhood.

This time, it's personal. "Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I've seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas," Chertoff said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment."

Numero Uno: He's seen pictures? What, he's never been here? Geez.

Numero Dos-O: Michael Chertoff is from New Eff-ing Jersey. He's got a lot of nerve complaining about something as innocuous as human waste and discarded bottles. If he thinks that's "the worst thing you can do to the environment," he is seriously off his rocker. His "homeland" is one of the world's most polluted inhabited areas. Yet, in what would ordinarily pass for a distinguished career as a U.S. Attorney, including a stint as head of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, Chertoff never acted against environmental crooks.

The problem is, with no one seriously believing the fence is going to keep anyone out and even reactionary border governors like Rick Perry ridiculing the very idea, Chertoff and the Administration have to keep a straight face and issue new rationales for the border fence on what seems to be virtually a monthly basis.

Remind you of any wars we're fighting? And seriously, where do they find dumbasses like Chertoff?

A Perfect Austin Evening

Great band, crappy picture.

When you hear that Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World, you probably think of a night at the Continental Club, or Emo's, or any of a couple dozen other venues -- packed with people, the music loud and intense and danceable, a firehose of sounds and images blasting you.

But sometime live music is a babbling brook on a moonlit evening, filling the air with just enough sparkle and rhythm to make magic. And so, last night in the "yard" of a coffeehouse under a just-past-full moon, a dozen friends and I listened to great music in what was essentially a private party.

It was the perfect arena for my mood. I was feeling pensive and quiet after a long, hard week. I went to the Irie Bean coffeehouse on South Lamar to meet up with my friend Laura and some others. Shanna, Karen and Danien were there, and so were new acquaintances like Callie, Dan, Amy, Elise and Emily. I even took some pictures, which I will post soon.

The music was wonderful. Ghosts and Sparrows is Barbara K, Richard Bowden and John Jordan. They are all great musicians, and each song turned into a jam, with Barbara on guitar, John on bass and Richard on violin alternately adding great licks and sublime texture to the music. They were accompanied occasionally by Thom the World Poet, whose meditations on Life Its Ownself were perfectly framed by their music.

A perfect Austin evening.

UPDATE 9/30/07: More pictures from Irie Bean here.

We buried my mom today.

In the shade of an outdoor chapel, with a breeze blowing through the pecan trees, the air sunstruck and clear and warm. It was a perfect day. The ceremony was at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, where my dad is already buried. It was a chance for the armed forces of the United States to pay their last respects, in a ceremony rich in symbol and elegant in execution.

Two soldiers in dress uniforms held the United States flag as an honor guard fired a 21-gun salute. Then the flag was folded in a ritual as precise and symbolic as any liturgy: thirteen folds in honor of the original thirteen colonies, until the flag has become a deep blue triangle with stars. Then, after an achingly slow and solemn salute from the other members of the flag detail, its commander came in front of me, knelt on one knee and presented the flag to the family:

On behalf of the President and a grateful nation, it is my privilege to present this flag to you as a symbol of the faithful and dedicated service your loved one gave to her country.

And then it was the Church's turn. A dear family friend and priest led a simple but beautiful service, blessing the hallowed ground in which Mom would be laid and then praying for her.

May the angels lead you into Paradise.
May the martyrs greet you on your way
and lead you into the Holy City, Jerusalem.
And with Lazarus, who once was poor,
may you have riches of eternal life.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.
May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

John Cornyn, Pot; Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly, Kettles

Yesterday and today, the Border Trade Alliance is hosting its annual convention. The BTA exists for the commendable purpose of "address[ing] key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America" and "advocat[ing] on behalf of policies and initiatives designed to improve border affairs and trade relations among the three nations."

Although it is the Border Trade Alliance, the conference is being held in Austin. Not exactly a border town, but then the bars stay open later here than they do in Eagle Pass. Not as late as in Matamoros, though.

Maybe they held it in Austin so that their keynote speaker, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, (Jerk-TX) could attend. Nope, apparently not, since he participated by videoconference. Personally, I'd have rather watched a Sopranos re-run during the luncheon.

In response to a question from BTA President Maria Luisa O'Connell, Cornyn opined that "I have not seen the United States relationship with Mexico at such a low ebb during my adult life and I think it’s a dangerous situation.”

Let's let Steve Taylor's Rio Grande Guardian pick up the story:

Cornyn made his comments via teleconference in response to a question from Maria Luisa O’Connell, the BTA president. O’Connell said she was concerned that decisions in Washington, D.C., were being based on fear and ignorance, not facts.
“My concern is that the border is going to be seen as a scapegoat by politicians and the media. Everything is going to be, ‘let’s hold it at the border because that’s what is going to solve the problems of the country,’” O’Connell said.
O’Connell said media personalities like Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly had made a career out of bashing the border and she asked Cornyn what strategies could be developed to counter it.

When I read this, I said to myself, "Self, this is obviously a set-up. When it comes to demagoguing immigration and border security, John Cornyn takes a back seat to no one." But Cornyn, pirouetting like that Michael Flatley-Riverdance guy, answered with what appeared to be a straight face:

Cornyn responded that a lot of work needed to be done.
“I think we just have to not give in to some of the fear and demagoguery that unfortunately seems to creep into our discussions about our relationship, not just Mexico but with other countries around the world,” Cornyn said. “We have to listen to the facts and not give in to fear.”

It's probably a good thing I was not there. I'd have laughed so hard I'd have to be ejected from the place. To their credit, members of the BTA were having none of it, and point-blank accused him of being anti-immigrant. Read the rest of the story to see what happened.

Mom's Cows

My mom spent the last three months of her life in a nursing home in LaVernia, a little town just outside of San Antonio. My sister, brother-in-law and niece live there, and so it made sense for her to be there, and my kin out there did a wonderful job of caring for her.

In the evenings, they'd take her for a little stroll around the property. One evening Mom spied some cattle in the field next door to the nursing home, and in no time had befriended and named them. From left to right, they are Pico, Frances and Julie.

For most of the summer, we'd take a little walk in the evening and call the cows over to the fence, where my mom would talk to them and we'd feed them some grass or hay. It's a tribute to the way my mom lived that some cows became part of the extended family.

Life is so beautiful sometimes.

Nancy Eckstein, 1917 - 2007

My mother passed away on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, three months shy of her 90th birthday. She died comfortably and at peace, surrounded by her family. She had an amazing life, and was an amazing woman -- smart, curious, warm, compassionate, and irreverent.

May she rest in peace.

There's Much To Do in Texas

Senator Kirk Watson's video summary of all the issues he's working on.

Bexar County Moves Forward on "Voter Fraud" Investigation

The San Antonio Express-News has an update today about an ongoing investigation into allegations of voter fraud. This is one of those cases that depends on a chain of circumstance and reasoning that often does not hold together.

According to the story, the investigation was set in motion after Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen cross-checked voter lists against a list of people who'd declined jury duty summons on the ground they were not citizens. Apparently, she found 330 people who claimed non-citizenship but were registered to vote. Apparently, 41 of those people had actually voted in elections going back to 2001.

People who receive jury summons must fill out a juror questionnaire (a sample can be found here) that, among other things, asks if the recipient is a U.S. citizen. After filling out the questionnaire, the potential juror must sign it, stating that "I CERTIFY THAT ALL ANSWERS ARE TRUE AND CORRECT."

If the potential juror indicates he or she is not a U.S. citizen, s/he is disqualified. Obviously, no one can legally claim to be a non-citizen as a ruse for getting out of jury duty, but some citizens probably do.

On voter registration applications, the first question is "Are you a U.S. citizen?" The registrant must sign the application after acknowledging that "giving false information to procure a voter registration is perjury, and a crime under state and federal law."

When, in the hope of proving "voter fraud" exists, eager county administrators double-check jury summons responses against voter files, they may get inconsistent answers. At a minimum, the person who's registered to vote and then declined jury duty on citizenship grounds is lying on at least one of the forms. The question of whether voter fraud exists, however, is more complicated, since they must prove the voter is a non-citizen who actually voted.

While it looks sexy to say 330 registered voters said they were non-citizens in order to escape jury duty, much more needs to be shown to prove intentional "voter fraud." That's why, in spite of the hullabaloo to the contrary, relatively few of these cases have been prosecuted.

Colin Powell Interview in GQ

I just read Walter Isaacson's interview with Colin Powell in the new GQ magazine. It is very good, thoughtful reading. We need to get Colin Powell off the bench.

Matthew Dowd on the Petraeus/Crocker Show

I've watched some of the congressional testimony by Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus the last couple days. I have been impressed with their coolness and resolute professionalism as they try their best to put a positive spin on a terrible situation. At times, they reminded me of surgeons, holding out hope to a family even as they describe the cancer that is killing one of its members.

They also reminded me of two guys standing waist-deep in a septic tank, grimly shoveling sh*t and explaining how they hoped they could shovel it out faster than new crap was coming in. They preferred not to speculate about what was wrong with the tank or how it got that way; their job was to shovel it out. They did not know how long it would take or how much it would cost, but they did believe the level of waste was going down slightly.

Which begs the question: how long should they shovel before we give up on the mess?

Do we have a moral obligation to leave Iraq better off than we found it? Certainly Colin Powell was right when he told George Bush the Pottery Barn Rule: "If you break it, you buy it." If it turns out that's not Pottery Barn's rule after all -- it isn't -- does that mean we can abandon Iraq to the ethnic, sectarian and criminal bedlam we've unleashed?

On the other hand, we cannot remain there indefinitely. The American people simply will not tolerate it. Repatriated Texan Matthew Dowd has written an elegant and thoughtful essay for the Huffington Post in which he lays out the mood of the populace:

1. In the public's mind, the Iraq War was a mistake, and continuing the status quo is simply continuing on with a mistake...
2. The public does not see withdrawal from Iraq as a signal America doesn't support the troops...
3. The public is waiting for leaders from both political parties to stand up to the president and say enough is enough...
4. The war in Iraq is now seen exclusively as a foreign policy concern, and the American public no longer supports the initiative as part of national security...

(Hat tip to Evan Smith at State of Mine for the Dowd link and the cogent summary.)

The most interesting moment in Petraeus' testimony may have been when he was asked by Senate lion John Warner (R-VA) whether he thought our strategy in Iraq was making American safer. At first, he dodged the question and then, according to Slate's Fred Kaplan:

Warner repeated his unanswered question: "Does that make America safer?"
Petraeus said, "I don't know, actually. … I have not stepped back. … I have tried to focus on what I think a commander is supposed to do, which is to determine the best recommendations to achieve the objectives of the policy for which his mission is desired."

Kudos to Petraeus for being intellectually honest -- he didn't try the old "we're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here" canard (a self-discipline I wish Texas junior Senator and Bush-enabler John Cornyn would imitate). But you know he's gotta be wishing he'd never been asked that one.

It seems clear now that the next President -- whatever his or her party -- will inherit the War on Iraq and the Bush Quagmire.

Ann Richards Bridge Over Lady Bird Lake

It used to be the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake. But Austin has some new heroes these days, and today the City of Austin formally renamed the bridge after the late, great Ann Richards. It's a nice tribute to Richards, who died on September 13 of last year, evoking her famous March to the Capitol when she led several thousand people across the bridge and up Congress Avenue to her inauguration as Governor of Texas in 1991.

Her ascendancy heralded a New Texas, although George Bush stalled out its momentum and Rick Perry has gone after it hammer and tong. Her greatest accomplishment may have been the diversity of her appointments to state boards and commissions, and the fact that even charter members of the Good Ol' Boys Club like Bush and Perry feel compelled to remind the people of Texas how diverse they've been in their appointments.

Her great legacy, however, will be a new generation of Texas leaders, some of whom are just starting out at the new Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. If they can bottle Ann Richards and pour her into those kids, look out, world!

Daybreak in the Hill Country

I am spending the Labor Day weekend out in the Hill Country near Mountain Home, at my favorite place on earth. I got here yesterday afternoon and had dinner at the fabulous Cowboy Steakhouse in Kerrville. Dinner was great, even though my friend (and restaurant owner) Lorrie Ferris was not there.

I went to sleep last night with a cloudy sky and a milky full moon trying to peek through the haze. This morning dawned slow and sweet, with the air cool and damp and a light haze over the hills in the distance. This was the view from the porch of my cabin.

Today's agenda: a hike with Xena, some reading and relaxing, and an hour or two spent in the swimming hole.

Abu Gonzales Is Gone

Here's the first paragraph of the AP story on Alberto Gonzales' resignation:

WASHINGTON - Alberto Gonzales, the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, announced his resignation Monday, driven from office after a wrenching standoff with congressional critics over his honesty and competence.

Why did they have to mention that he was "the nation's first Hispanic attorney general?" If Abu's entire contribution to history is that he was the first Hispanic attorney general, that's not much to show for all the opportunities he was given.





Unfortunately, history will probably not be that kind to him. Let me suggest several other formulations that would be just as accurate:

• "the most incompetent attorney general in the nation's history"


• "the only attorney general to ever put forth a so-called rationale for condoning torture"


• "whose memory was like a sieve"


• "as-yet-unindicted for his assault upon then-Attorney General John Ashcroft while Ashcroft was in a near-coma"


• "after completing losing the respect of the 100,000 Justice Department employees, the Congress, the media and the American people"

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Al.

Micheal Deaver and the Presidential Advance Manual

It was interesting to note the juxtaposition last weekend of stories about the passing of former Reagan aide Michael Deaver, who was credited with creating fabulous visuals for the President's public appearances, and the release of a "Presidential Advance Manual" detailing ways to manage, not only the media's, but also the President's experience of a presidential event.

The manual deals with a lot of presidential security and communications issues -- at least, its multiple redacted pages suggest so. But the goodies we do get to read include:

• VIP seating -- the good seats "behind the podium or in the area between the stage and the main camera platform" -- is to be restricted to "members of the State Party [we need not ask which party], Local Officials, the Host of the Event, or other groups extremely supportive of the Administration." (emphasis in original)
• "Preventing Demonstrators" -- That's right, demonstrators must be prevented. Preferably, the advance team should work with the Secret Service to get local law enforcement to create a protest area, "preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route." Is Luckenbach far enough away for you?
• If by some misfortune demonstrators actually make it into the event, the advance team should have "rally squads" at the ready. "The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform." In short, they're to throw themselves on top of the protest 'grenade.' God forbid the media should learn of any opposition to the Great Leader's policies!

Did Michael Deaver create this monster? Maybe not, but he was probably one of its many fathers. The idea that a presidential visit to, say, a factory has anything to do with a) the President actually learning something from the visit, or 2) the citizens (who, after all, pay for all this folderol) actually seeing and interacting with their President is ludicrous to the people who write and execute these procedures. All the world's a stage, said the Bard, and all us Americans merely props.

Texas Dodges Hurricane Dean

It looks like Hurricane Dean -- which blew through the Yucatan today -- will completely miss Texas.

Hurricane Dean Swinging Further South

Hurricane Dean seems to be swinging even further southward, aiming itself towards central, not northern, Mexico. Compare yesterday's storm track. That's good news for Texas, although hardly for Mexico.

Hurricane Dean May Miss Texas?

For several days now, folks have been preparing for Hurricane Dean to barrel through Texas like a drunken cowboy in an F-150 pickup truck. But the latest prognostications from the National Hurricane Center have Dean continuing on a straighter course that takes it over the Yucatan, then across the Gulf into northern Mexico. It looks like we'll be spared its brunt in Texas, unless it slices right after it hits the Mayan Riviera.

It can still do a lot of damage, with plenty parts of South Texas already soaked with this year's much-higher-than-average rains. And, of course, the damage it inflicts on Mexican will also place demands on Texans and Texas, notwithstanding the Nativists' idea that Mexico is another planet.

For your graphical enjoyment:

Friday Night Writes

Paul Burka has two terrific posts tonight on his BurkaBlog. Burka is the Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly and one of the best political reports in the state -- or, for my money, the nation.

The first is on Tom Craddick's name ID and favorable/unfavorable ratings. Burka shares some numbers he heard from a Republican political consultant, which I in turn share with you:

1. Craddick's name ID is "higher than any speaker of the modern era," which means starting with Billy Clayton. I'm a little surprised to know that anybody bothered to measure the speaker's name ID before Craddick.
2. Among Republican primary voters, Craddick's favorable/unfavorable is 2 to 1 negative.
3. Among independent voters, Craddick's favorable/unfavorable is 6 to 1 negative.
4. Among Democrats, Craddick's favorable/unfavorable is 10 to 1 negative.

The last number, while not that surprising, may be the most interesting. Among Democratic primary voters, Tom Craddick's name is toxic. I am sure each of the Craddick Ds (there are about 15 of them) has a sane, rational case for having supported Craddick in the past, but they may never get to make it. Any candidate contemplating a run against a Craddick D just has to send around a picture of Craddick and said Craddick D getting all kissy-face, and it may all be over but the crying.

As Harvey Kronberg said last March, "the Craddick Democrats have to come away from this session with something meaningful and it may boil down to a handful of issues. ... It's a fascinating political game. The Craddick Democrats need a significant win or some won't be coming back in two years. As go their fortunes, so go those of Craddick." Will the Craddick Ds be able to make the case that their district is better off for their having supported Craddick?

The second is a well-written, thoughtful analysis of Karl Rove's impact on our politics titled "Requiem for a Heavyweight." It is fascinating reading. Go to the BurkaBlog and scroll down.

In Other News On The Legal Front ...

Go here to read my post about yesterday's ruling in the Texas Democratic Party's lawsuit alleging that the eSlate touch-screen voting machine inaccurately counts certain straight-party ticket votes.

Bad machine!

Diebold Dissolves, Re-Forms

Diebold Election Systems manufactures voting systems, both optical scan and touch-screen, that have been the subject of much criticism. The North Canton, Ohio-based company is the largest manufacturer of touch-screen voting systems. It has been plagued from the beginning by criticisms of the integrity of both its management and its voting machines.

In 2003, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell sent out a fundraising letter for Bush/Cheney '04 in which he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president." In the resulting kerfuffle, O'Dell was forced to eat generous helpings of crow and Diebold was forced to amend its corporate ethics policy to prohibit senior management from engaging in partisan political activity. Now, I am a big believer in freedom of speech, especially political speech, but one has to be careful about the appearance of impropriety when one makes impolitic statements like that.


More problematic than that was the fact that Diebold's machines are just not very secure. In 2004, the folks at Black Box Voting produced a video of a chimp named Baxter hacking into a Diebold machine and erasing the vote results. To the best of my knowledge, Baxter (above) was never prosecuted for monkeying around with the machines. Sorry, I could not resist.

In 2006, the Huffington Post showed how to hack a Diebold machine with a Phillips head screwdriver and a small flash drive like you have on your keyring -- and leave no trace behind.

This summer, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen exhaustively examined several voting system technologies, including Diebold's, and de-certified Diebold's, subject to the company making multiple changes to its system hardware, software, and handling protocols.

Apparently, enough was finally enough, and today Diebold announced that it is spinning off its election systems division from the rest of the company, and creating a new entity called Premier Elections Solutions. Diebold also manufactures ATM machines and security systems, apparently decided -- aided by a precipitous drop in it stock value over the last month -- to get rid of the voting systems part of the brand.

What does all this mean? Of course, changing the name on the product does not increase the quality or the security of that product. So the burden will still be on Premier to show it can make technologically sound and secure machines that can be used in elections without a loss of public confidence in the integrity of the elected officials who purchased those machines.

In Texas, where Diebold systems are used in seven counties, including El Paso (#6 in size) and Collin (#8), questions remain about the integrity of their systems. Add to those new questions about the quality of service and tech support we can expect during this corporate reorganization -- and how long those issues will last.

Ingram Will Never Be The Same

I like Ingram. In fact, I like it a lot. It's a little town, nestled in a beautiful part of the Texas Hill Country just west of Kerrville and about two hours from Austin. It is close to one of my favorite places on earth, and so I visit Ingram and its environs several times a year.

In the old days, you used to be able to store your deer at Bernhard's Ingram Meat Locker (motto: "You Can't Beat Our Meat") or go dam-sliding on Ingram Dam. In recent years, the tourist trade has become more important, and now there's the Old Ingram Loop with it rustic furniture, antiques and tschotchke stores.

Life is bucolic out there. You swim or tube in the Guadalupe River all day. In the evenings, you dress up a little and have dinner at Richard and Lorrie Ferris's Cowboy Steakhouse in Kerrville, which is one of our state's best-kept secrets. After dinner, you drive out to Stonehenge II and look at the stars in the middle of a big field.

Now I hear that Karl Rove is coming home to Texas, and specifically, Ingram, where he used to, and maybe still does, own the River Oaks Lodge, which is on as pretty a stretch of the Guadalupe River as you'll ever see.

I'm not sure I see him in the role of guestmaster, though. He's a little too wound up for that. I don't imagine he'll be spending much time there, at least at first -- he's too much of a cash cow for the Republicans right now. I do hope he gets some time out there, though -- maybe he'll get some perspective on the vicious pettiness of his partisanship.

Welcome back, Karl. Behave yourself.

Sunset At The Oasis

There's a reason they call the Oasis "The Sunset Capital of Texas." I took these pictures of a lovely Texas sunset the other evening.

WTF Is Going On In China?

I have a MySpace page. It's part of my attempt to be cool and relevant -- like commenting on In The Pink Texas, only not as funny. Or relevant. I really have not paid much attention to MySpace -- the friends I know on there can communicate better with me by picking up the phone than by sending me an email through MySpace -- but I am still down with the whole social networking thing.

Recently, though, I have become aware of a serious problem that has, it seems to me, national security implications. It turns out there are a lot of young, 20-something American girls who may be being held against their will in ... China.

I deduce this from the fact that I constantly receive offers to become "friends" on MySpace from 20-something girls who give their location as "China." These are not Chinese women, mind you -- to all appearances, they are healthy American girls who, for some strange reason, are in China. And by "healthy American girls," I mean "strippers," for that is what they all look like.

Take, for example, Florence, who is pictured on the left. She's 26 years old and, as you can see, lovely. In her profile, Florence tells us that she's "new to the area and want[s] to know where to go and what's fun." She continues, "Its a little overwhelming at first but I love it," which is a wonderful attitude to have about being in a foreign land like China. Apparently, her sole creature comfort in China is a digital camera. She loves to take pictures and, even more, to have her picture taken. In fact, she's so homesick that she's posted some pictures on another site, where could see her in all her glory for the mere price of admission.

Or take Eunice. I assume that Eunice is one of the girls on the left, but I cannot tell which one because Eunice prefers to keep the mystery alive. Eunice, and presumably her friends, are in China, where they may be held against their will. Perhaps that is why Eunice does not wish to say which one she is, for fear of repercussions. Like Florence, though, Eunice has a camera and is eager to share many pictures of herself for a nominal monthly fee.

My question is this: Is the State Department on top of this? Are these people in China against their will? Is there a burgeoning strip club industry in China that is absorbing our surplus strippers? What are the tariffs on tarts?

And most important, why does everyone think that Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, the inventors of MySpace, are the smartest guys since Ben Franklin and Tom Edison? Don't we all have at least eight reasons to hate MySpace?

Steve Earle's "City of Immigrants"

Steve Earle, who is a fantastic and profound songwriter, has a new album coming out on September 25. "Washington Square Serenade" is his first album since moving to New York City from Nashville, and it will be filled with sounds and flavors from his new environment. If "City of Immigrants" is any indication, the album will be thought-provoking and entertaining.

Get a listen to "City of Immigrants" on Steve's MySpace page.

California SoS De-Certifies Voting Machines

Last week, I wrote about the study ordered by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, taking the various voting systems in use in California and examining their security. She examined both DRE and optical scan systems manufactured by Diebold, ES&S. Hart Intercivic and Sequoioa, and determined that all had weaknesses in their security which, unless addressed, could allow hackers to alter vote totals, violate the privacy of individual voters and delete audit trails, all without being detected during or afterwards.

On August 3, she dropped the hammer. She kicked one verdor out and gave the others 45 days to improve the security of both their source code and their handling protocols for the technology. Her order affects voting technologies made by Diebold, ED&S and Hart InterCivic which are ubiquitous in Texas.

Let's look at the vendors and their products:

ES&S
ES&S is, as Mont Python would say, "right out." They refused to participate in the Secretary of State's review, and she basically put them out of business in California. She de-certified their InkaVote optical scan system. ES&S also has other voting technology products, including the AutoMARK voter assistance terminal and precinct- and county-level optical scan counting machines which were not reviewed. Many Texas counties use those machines.

Diebold
She de-certified and conditionally re-certified the Diebold AccuVote-TSX DRE system and AccuVote-OS optical scan system. Re-certification is conditioned upon improved software security design as well as protocols for handling the machines and their codes. The AccuVote-TSX DRE system is currently used in Hale, Jackson, Lee, Sherman and Wilson counties; the AccuVote-OS optical scan system is currently used in Collin, El Paso, Guadalupe, Sherman, and Wilson counties.

Hart InterCivic
She de-certified and conditionally re-certified System 6.2.1 of Hart InterCivic's voting technology suite. This includes the eSlate DRE system, the eScan optical scan system and the Ballot Now optical scan system. Re-certification is conditioned upon improved software security design as well as protocols for handling the machines and their codes. Additionally, Hart InterCivic withdrew its System 6.1. Hart InterCivic's systems are ubiquitous in Texas.

Sequoia
She de-certified and conditionally re-certified the Sequoia AVC Edge DRE system and the Sequoia Optech Insight optical scan system. As with the others, re-certification is conditioned upon improved software security design as well as protocols for handling the machines and their codes. Sequoia's products are not used in Texas.

Bowen's actions, of course, cause quite a stir. Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo has called for a review of voting systems in that state. But no word yet from our Secretary of State.

Kinky For Sale, Again

Kinky Friedman has a book about to come out and is promoting a new line of cigars, so of course he's announced for Governor again.

Well, not exactly, since that would be a one-day story and Kinky, if nothing else, is a master of milking as much media out of as little substance as anyone I know. So instead, he's speculating that he might run for Governor in 2010, this time as a Democrat.

"I'm open to running," Friedman said Wednesday before cautioning that he won't settle plans until after the 2008 elections. "Had I run as a Democrat last time, I think (Gov.) Rick Perry would already be (out of office as) a lobbyist for a cigar company," he said.

Kinky memorably ran for Governor in 2006, coming in fourth of five candidates with 12.4 percent of the vote. His campaign started out slow and then flizzled out altogether, plagued by its candidate's inability to disguise that he really didn't want the job. CMT even did a TV series, Go Kinky, which intercut scenes of Kinky schmoozing with the likes of Willie Nelson and Dwight Yoakum with scenes of Kinky, visibly bored, sabotaging his campaign staff's efforts to get him to focus on the issues, man, the issues. It lasted two episodes before CMT lost interest.

At the end, Kinky's campaign devolved into a platform for him to sell an action figure of himself (right). He must have a bunch of them left in the warehouse if he's running for Governor again.

BARRY BONDS #756 HOME RUN BREAKS HANK AARON'S RECORD 8/07/07

Clip from the Giants-Nationals game where Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run.

Barry Bonds Hits No. 756!

We still do not know everything about Bonds' use of steroids and how that affected his pursuit of the record, but by any standard it is an astounding achievement.

'Twas nice that Hank Aaron had a videotaped congratulatory message for Bonds. Also nice that Bonds' godfather, Willie Mays, who defined the San Francisco Giants franchise for so long and so well, was there for the moment.

Texas Sunset

We had a nice family get-together in LaVernia last night. We took my mother out to dinner at the Italian restaurant there. I would not have known LaVernia had an Eye-talian restaurant, but it was actually pretty good. As we took her home, I snapped a picture of this lovely sunset.

UPDATE: L.A. Reporter Suspended Over Affair

The L. A. Times reports that Telemundo reporter and anchor Mirthala Salinas, who has admitted to have an (ongoing?) affair with Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, has been suspended for two months without pay by her station. In addition, three of her supervisors were disciplined for their bad judgment in handling her situation.

Salinas began her affair with Villlaraigosa sometime in 2005, while she covered the political beat for Telemundo's Los Angeles affiliate, KVEA-TV Channel 52. Of course, much of what she covered involved the Mayor. Last fall, she told her supervisors at the station about the affair. They took her off the political beat and made her one of the station's anchors.

It was in that role that she announced, in June, that Villaraigosa and his wife Corina were divorcing. That straw broke the camel's back.

Salinas's story was paired with that of Chicago TV reporter Amy Jacobson, who was filmed by the backyard pool of a man suspected of murdering his wife -- a story Jacobson was "covering." The confluence of events prompted Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz to write about "bikini journalism" earlier this summer.

It's 10:00 P.M. -- Do You Know Where Your Voting Machine Is?

For years, Texas has been embroiled in a controversy over electronic voting systems, with the partisans generally dividing into three camps:

1. Electronic voting technologies are from the pit of hell and we need to return to hand-counted paper ballots for all elections;
2. Electronic voting technologies create risks of tampering with elections and invading voters' privacy; and
3. "What are those other two groups complaining about?"

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conducted an exhaustive review of voting machine security this summer, including systems used in many Texas counties. As Houston Chronicle political writer Kristen Mack points out in a column today, that makes the review relevant to Texas. Mack summarizes the review, conducted by researchers at the University of California system, well: "[A]bsent tighter [security] procedures, hackers could alter vote totals, violate the privacy of individual voters and delete audit trails" on even the most sophisticated systems.

The key phrase, obviously, is "absent tighter security procedures." The federal Election Assistance Commission and the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State's office have issued guidelines for how to improve voting system security. Although many counties -- notably Travis -- have well-established election security protocols, most counties do not.

During the last legislative session, Senator Royce West and Representative Rafael Anchia introduced bills to mandate basic voting system security procedures in each county. Neither bill got anywhere, even with the support of county elections administrators and clean voting advocates. But, as the California study shows, standardized security procedures are necessary to protect the integrity of elections, no matter how well designed the voting systems may be.

Bowen began the "top-to-bottom" review of election systems in May, saying "California voters are entitled to have their votes counted exactly as they were cast." University of California researchers divided into teams to review documents and studies associated with each voting system, examine the computer source code each machine relies on, and even a "penetration attack" to see if the system’s security could be compromised. Their reports are available here, but here's the highlight reel:

Diebold systems, used in two of Texas' largest counties (#6 El Paso and #8 Collin) are plagues by "serious design flaws that have led directly to specific vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit to affect election outcomes. These vulnerabilities include:

• Vulnerability to malicious software. The Diebold software contains vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to install malicious software on voting machines or on the election management system. Malicious software could cause votes to be recorded incorrectly or to be miscounted, possibly altering election results. It could also prevent voting machines from accepting votes, potentially causing long lines or disenfranchising voters.
• Susceptibility to viruses. The Diebold system is susceptible to computer viruses that propagate from voting machine to voting machine and between voting machines and the election management system. A virus could allow an attacker who only had access to a few machines or memory cards, or possibly to only one, to spread malicious software to most, if not all, of a county’s voting machines. Thus, large-scale election fraud in the Diebold system does not necessarily require physical access to a large number of voting machines.
• Failure to protect ballot secrecy. Both the electronic and paper records of the Diebold AV-TSX contain enough information to compromise the secrecy of the ballot. The AV-TSX records votes in the order in which they are cast, and it records the time that each vote is cast. As a result, it is possible for election workers who have access to the electronic or paper records and who have observed the order in which individuals have cast their ballots to discover how those individuals voted. Moreover, even if this vulnerability is never exploited, the fact that the AV-TSX makes it possible for officials to determine how individuals voted may be detrimental to voter confidence and participation.
• Vulnerability to malicious insiders. The Diebold system lacks adequate controls to ensure that county workers with access to the GEMS central election management system do not exceed their authority. Anyone with access to a county’s GEMS server could tamper with ballot definitions or election results and could also introduce malicious software into the GEMS server itself or into the county’s voting machines.

The Hart Intercivic systems, including the eSlate machines used in five of Texas' biggest counties (#1 Harris, #3 Tarrant, #5 Travis, #9 Denton and #10 Fort Bend) are also vulnerable to attack. Their biggest problem is that the machines are all linked together under the assumption that every individual machine is secure. This can cause problems:

Unsecured network interfaces. Network interfaces in the Hart system are not secured against direct attack. Voters can connect to unsecured network links in a polling place to subvert eSlates, as well as to eavesdrop on cast votes and to inject new votes. Poll workers can connect to JBCs or eScans over the management interfaces and perform back-office functions such as modifying the device software. The impact of this is that a malicious voter could potentially take over one or more eSlates in a precinct and a malicious poll worker could potentially take over all the devices in a precinct. The subverted machines could then be used to produce any results of the attacker’s choice, regardless of voter input. We emphasize that these are not bugs in the Hart software, but rather features intentionally designed into the system which can be used in a fashion for which they were never intended.
Vulnerability to malicious inputs. Because networked devices may be connected to other, potentially malicious devices, they must be prepared to accept robustly any input provided by such devices. The Hart software routinely fails to check the correctness of inputs from other components, and then proceeds to use those inputs in unsafe ways. The most damaging example of this is that SERVO, which is used to back up and verify the correctness of polling place devices can itself be compromised from those same devices. This implies that an attacker could subvert a single polling place device, through it subvert SERVO, and then use SERVO to reprogram every polling place device in the county. Although we have tested some individual components of this attack, we did not have time to confirm it in an end-to-end test.
No or insecure use of cryptography. The standard method for securing network communication of the type in use in the Hart system is to use a cryptographic security protocol. However, we found a notable lack of such techniques in Hart’s system. Instead, communications between devices generally happen in the clear, making attack far easier. Cryptography is used for MBBs, but the key management involves a single county-wide symmetric key that, if revealed, would allow an attacker to forge ballot information and election results. This key is stored insecurely in vulnerable polling-place devices, with the result that compromise of a single polling place device enables an attacker to forge election MBBs carrying election results for any device in the county.
Failure to protect ballot secrecy. Hart’s system fails to adequately protect ballot secrecy. A poll worker or election official with access to the raw ballot records can reconstruct the order in which those votes were cast. Combined with information about the order in which voters cast their votes, this can be used to reconstruct how each voter voted. In the case of the DRE, it is also possible to reconstruct, for each vote, the order in which the votes were authorized. Combined with information about the order in which voters were authorized, this can likewise be used to reconstruct how each voter voted. Furthermore, a voter who has temporary access to an eSlate device can extract and reconstruct all the votes cast on that device up to that point in time. He may be able to similarly reconstruct all votes cast on any other eSlate connected to the same JBC.

ES&S, which manufactures the systems used in three of Texas' largest counties (#2 Dallas, #4 Bexar and #7 Hidalgo) refused to participate in the review, denying the Secretary of State access to its source codes. In response, Bowen moved to gather escrowed copies (as required by ES&S's certification) of the source codes for review.

The study also examined the accessibility of each of the voting systems. Such accessibility is required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and by state laws. The study concluded that "[a]lthough each of the tested voting systems included some accessibility accommodations, none met the accessibility requirements of current law and none performed satisfactorily in test voting by persons with a range of disabilities and alternate language needs."