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.