The New Face of the Republican Party of Texas

Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.

The Houston Chronicle and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others, are reporting that Talmadge Heflin is the new executive director of the Texas Republican Party.

Heflin is a 22-year veteran of the House and, in 2003, chaired the Appropriations Committee. He has his name and fingerprints on the budget that cut over 150,000 children from the CHIP rolls, reneged on the state's promise to help pay for its teachers' health insurance, and gutted funding for a wide variety of other necessary programs.

The voters of his district showed their appreciation in 2004 by kicking him out in a race against political novice Hubert Vo. That's right: a 22-year incumbent in a Republican district lost to a first-time candidate in an election where George Bush's name was above his on the ballot.

The 2004 race was close -- the final margin was 33 votes. In 2006, Heflin called for a rematch against Vo, and this time lost by 10 percentage points. Ladies and gentlemen, the voters have spoken!

Since leaving office, Heflin flirted with (read: begged Perry to help him get) the job of director of the Texas Lottery Commission and then became a "visiting fellow at the Center for Fiscal Policy Studies at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank." In other words, he needs the job.

Take a look at that picture. Is that a poster boy for what is wrong with the Republican Party in Texas, or what?

Lady Bird Lake

The Austin City Council today formally renamed Town Lake as Lady Bird Lake, in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, who passed away July 11 at the age of 94.

It's very fitting, and wonderful tribute to the former First Lady. As several news outlets have reported -- including this video from Veronica Castelo at News 8 Austin -- Lady Bird played the key role in transforming what had been little more than an open sewer running through downtown into a beautiful lake, with its accompanying hike-and-bike trail that is one of Austin's crown jewels.

Thanks, Lady Bird.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Once upon a time, I cherished the hot, sunny summers we have in Texas. As I got older, though, the heat and humidity began to wear me down, so that I entered middle age as a fan of cooler summers. I even decided I liked it raining.

Well, enough is enough. This has been the wettest summer of my memory. And, according to KVUE News, the rainy weather -- including more "rain bombs" such as have struck Gainesville, Marble Falls, and D'Hanis this summer -- will continue into the fall.

The average rainfall for Austin for an entire year is around 32 inches. We have recorded over 34 inches already in 2007, at basically the midway point. Yeesh.

Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock

Terrific writing and inspired performances. The best surprise is Alec Baldwin, who brings wonderful comic timing and deadpan delivery to his role as a network executive. Here's a sample of Alec clips from one episode.

If you have not seen this show, you definitely need to set aside a Thursday evening for it.

Goodbye, Lady Bird

I got up this morning and went down to Town Lake to see Lady Bird Johnson's funeral cortege and pay my last respects to her. It was nice -- on a hillside just north of where MoPac crosses Town Lake, a group of about 50 or 60 people gathered, chatting quietly in the warm sun while they waited, then respectfully standing as the cortege went by. Many held Texas or U.S. flags and waved them in final salute. A few called out farewells. Someone in one of the family limousines stuck her hand out a tinted glass window and waved back.

Farewell, Lady Bird. I'll come see you at the ranch when everything's settled down.

Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007

Sleeping With The Enemy

In the days of Woodward and Bernstein, journalists got to the top of their profession by getting the story – interviewing their subjects, exhaustively researching public and private document, and poring over records. Nowadays, journalists are getting the story by getting on top of their subjects.

Last week, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles confirmed that he and Mirthala Salinas, a local Telemundo reporter, had been having an affair for some time.

When the affair began, Salinas was covering Villaraigosa as a city hall reporter, but was reassigned by the station after she told them about the affair. As one of the station’s anchors, however, she was the one to announce that Villaraigosa and his wife were divorcing last month, without admitting her homewrecking role. That breach of journalistic etiquette is what caused the Los Angeles Daily News to break the affair story. It also forced Telemundo to place her on leave while it investigates the story.

Now Villaraigosa is being accused of another affair, this time with a city planning commissioner, who’s vehemently denied it. "I don't believe that the details of my personal life are relevant to my job as mayor," said Villaraigosa to reporters, adding, “Hey, anyone wanna go to the shot bar with me?”

Meanwhile, in our nation’s heartland, Chicagoans agonized over the disappearance of Lisa Stebic, who was last seen by her husband on the night of April 30. Over time, of course, suspicions began to center on Lisa’s husband, Craig, who was in the middle of divorcing her. Chicago’s TV stations fed the story with daily reports of search-and-rescue efforts, including efforts by divers to search local retention ponds. But Channel 2 reporter Amy Jacobson went the extra mile: she was videotaped hanging out by the Stebics’ pool in a bikini. When a rival station aired the video, her station fired her. Jacobson told the Chicago Sun-Times, “I'm crushed. I can't lie to you. I'm devastated." Warned by her superiors at the station to protect herself, she avers that she wore SPF 30 sunscreen “and reapplied each time I got out of the water.”

Lively Earth

I'm watching the Live Earth concerts around the world, which are visible on NBC, CNBC and Bravo. Live Earth is a series of "concerts for a climate in crisis" and all the concerts occurred to day in eight cities on six continents: New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hamburg.

Hey -- why do the Europeans and the Asians get two concerts apiece? Also, if the organizers are so big on protecting the environment, why are they disrespecting the penguins by ignoring Antarctica?

For all I know, the concerts are on some other channels as well, but I am having fun surfing the three channels. My timing's been good, so I've gotten to see Kanye West singing with Sting, and then doing his own set, which actually was earlier in the day. Ahhh, the miracles of television and remote controls ...

Speaking of Sting, he's still got it. He put on a great set. So does Madonna, who wrote a new song ("Hey You") for the concerts and also did a fabulous set.

By the way, what's up with MTV? This kind of thing used to be their bailiwick. In fact, they used to be the only people who did this kind of stuff. While CNBC was bumping Larry Kudlow reruns to air the concerts from 'round the world, MTV was running a Real World Las Vegas reunion. With silliness like that becoming its signature product, is MTV becoming irrelevant?

Hott 4 Hillary -- The Video

Hott for Hillary!

Hot on the stiletto heels of Amber Lee Ettinger's "I Got a Crush .. on Obama" video comes one from Taryn Southern called "Hott For Hillary." I am told there are others out there in post-production now. Here's a sample of titles and lyrics:

"I Wanna Go With You, Joe" about Joe Biden:


I know your chances of being elected

Are vanishing into thin air

But I can't wait to run my fingers

Through those sexy plugs in your hair.


"You and Me and She Makes Three" about Dennis Kucinich:


I don't think you can win, your views are just too freaky

But you wife's so hot, I want to try something sneaky

Before I pledge to Edwards, or to Obama give my troth,

Ask your wife to join us so I can do you both.


"I'll Be Your Miss, Chris" about Chris Dodd:


You are such a living legend in the halls of state

Still, I think your current race will meet an ugly fate

At night in Sigma Kappa house, my friends think it's odd

That I still have a crush on that man named Dodd.

Happy Independence Day!

This is it. The Declaration of Independence. For my two cents, the greatest -- and most daring -- political document ever written. We should read it every now and then -- and now is as good a time as any. Here's the text.

It's also good to hear the words of the Declaration proclaimed, as NPR has done every Fourth of July for almost two decades now. For most of those years, I have listened to that reading, pride in my heart and tears in my eyes. The audio is not up yet, but it probably will be by the time you read this.

Happy 4th of July, America!

Burka: Staring at the Crystal Balls of Rick Perry's Future

In a post called "Perry's Plans (Purported)," Paul Burka discusses in his Burkablog various scenarios in which Rick Perry does not serve out his full term as Governor. One is that Perry becomes the GOP nominee for Vice President in 2008, although it's daily becoming more of a mystery why anyone would want that gig. Imagine the Titanic in those last, tragic hours. Imagine the confusion, panic and terror on the deck as the mighty ship goes down. Now imagine you're going through all that holding a bucket of warm spit.

Burka then spins another scenario, which he suggests may even have been discussed between Perry and Lite Guv David Dewhurst:

[Another] theory is that Perry would step down after the 2009 session, giving himself the opportunity to make oodles of money in the private sector for a year or so, and then seek appointment to the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison (another potential GOP nominee for vice-president), who, it is widely presumed, will run for governor in 2010. Dewhurst would owe Perry a big favor for stepping down and allowing him to face Hutchison as the incumbent. There are two potential monkey wrenches in this scenario, assuming that there is even a grain of truth beyond the conversation between Perry and Dewhurst: (1) Hutchison could squash the whole thing by not resigning her seat (her term doesn't expire until January 2013), giving Dewhurst no vacancy to fill; (2) If she does resign, Perry would have to win a special election to serve the remainder of her term, and he might not want to have to face the voters again.

There's another problem with this theory: Why would Rick Perry want to be a United States Senator?

I mean, everyone wants to be a Senator, yes, but why would Perry? He's been both a legislator and an executive, and he clearly likes being an executive more.

A man of his, ahem, modest intellectual, consensus-building, speechifying and debating talents would disappear in the Senate. (QUICK: Name a Senator from Wyoming. C'mon, just one -- you got two to choose from.)

Perry will have been Governor of the second largest state in the Union for longer than anyone else; why would he want to be a lowly U.S. Senator?

Fear And Loathing In Kennebunkport

Try as I may, I just cannot get very exercised about Bush the Commuter letting Scooter Libby off the hook. I mean, really, is anyone surprised? This was not about jurisprudential considerations in sentencing guidelines. It was not about whether White House aides would give unfettered advice if they thought they could go to jail for it. It was not about whether there was an underlying crime and, if so, how serious it was. I know lots has been, and will be, written about all these facets of the Fascinating Case of I. Lewis Libby. But none of it matters.

In the end, this was about the fact that Laura Bush would never -- and I mean never -- be able to show her face at a Washington social gathering or Dallas country club if Scooter did one day of hard time while her hubby could do anything about it.

I remember, when Ken Lay was indicted after causing the meltdown of Enron and the personal financial ruin of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans, betting my friend Ross Ramsey that Kenny Boy would not spend one night in jail. Not one. Ross thought I was a fool and gladly took the bet. We bet a steak dinner, and I'll remind him to pay up one of these days.

On Countdown tonight, Keith Olbermann called for Bush and Cheney to resign. Whatever. Those guys don't give a damn what anyone else says, does or thinks. This is beyond the smug arrogance of thinking that people in the "reality-based community" were out of touch. Back in 2004, they understood -- or at least paid lip service to the notion -- that they had to win the hearts and minds of the American people on vital issues like the necessity for the war in Iraq, the danger posed by Iran, the wisdom of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, privatizing Social Security, etc. But that's all gone now. They really just don't care.

My prediction: it will get worse and worse until the whole Administration slides into the Septic Tank of History on January 20, 2009.

Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence -- What Did You Expect?

This evening, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's 30-month prison sentence for four counts of perjury. The proclamation was issued late in the afternoon on a day when Washington was already half-empty, with people taking a long Fourth of July holiday.

The precipitation factor, according to Bush: the failure of Scooter's efforts to remain out of jail indefinitely while his high-priced lawyers launched prolonged appeals of his conviction. "With the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent," Bush said, "I believe it is now important to react to that decision."

I'm sure the image of Paris Hilton (or was it her mom?) hyperventilating and crying like a baby after one night in jail was enough to weaken the resolve of even the toughest law-and-order Republicans, at least when it came to one of their own. Members of their "set" simply do not go to prison and suffer the associated indignities, and I am sure the pressure on Bush grew intolerable.

Several reactions:

1. What, you're surprised?

2. Ironic Bush Statement # 37,868: "If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of." He said what he meant, and he meant what he said.

3. Patrick Fitzgerald, in his statement reacting to Bush's decision, defended the sentence, which Bush had termed "excessive:"

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as “excessive.” The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

But not, apparently, when the President is getting ready to commute a sentence for a loyal functionary.

4. The Democratic and, more broadly, progressive frothing at the mouth seems predictable. What's may be interesting in the next few days is the reaction from the hard-core conservative Libby-lovers who think Bush is a pussy for not granting an outright pardon. Anyone want to lay odds on what Bush does in the last month of his presidency?

While Walking In The Park One Day

I had a friend in from out of town this weekend. I showed her around Austin, including breakfast at Las Manitas on Sunday morning and a walking tour of the Capitol.

Later, we drove out to Lake Travis and stopped for lunch at the Iguana Grill. While we were there, a thunderstorm swept over the lake. It was beautiful to see the lake so full and the greenery so lush out there.

My friend is very interested in Eastern religion and mysticism, and practices yoga as both a physical and spirital discipline. We had some lively conversations about Eastern and Western religious traditions.

So, back in Austin, we decided to go by the Botanical Garden at Zilker Park. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Good karma. We arrived there at about the same time as a wonderful ceremony welcoming Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj to Austin. Shree Maharajji, as he is known to his followers, is a jagadguru, a "guru to the world" who embodies in his person and teachings the greatest wisdom and insight of this age and time. In his Hindu spiritual tradition, he is one of five jagadgurus over the last 5,000 years. Unlike his predecessors, who confined their ministry ("parishat") to the Indian subcontinent, he believes his teachings should be proclaimed to the world and, specifically, within the United States. To that end, he directed his disciple, H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, to establish a temple within the United States. In 1990, Shree Swamiji, as he is known, founded Barsana Dham in the hills outside of Austin (on the way to the Salt Lick). Barsana Dham is the largest Hindu temple in the United States.

The event -- which I suppose would be comparable (to a Catholic) to a visit from the Pope and St. Francis of Assisi rolled into one -- had a wonderful, relaxed quality about it. At one point, an organizer invited anyone who wanted his or her picture taken with Shree Maharajji to join him in a flower garden. He serenely put up with it all.

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj sits under an oak tree in the Botanical Gardens at Zilker Park as his devotees gather at his feet.

H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, Shree Maharajji's disciple and the founder of the Barsana Dham temple in Austin, sits near his master at the Botanical Gardens.