Democratic Convention

Well, the convention is starting this morning. I thought I would get there early, but evidently my idea of early is not early enough. I arrived within a couple of blocks of the Convention Center at 7:00am. It took me 50 minutes to travel the two blocks to the parking garage. I was lucky to get in there even after the wait. The declared the garage full and closed the gate after the car behind me got in.

So I actually got to the Convention Center about 8:00am. But then I got lost trying to find the press room and get my credentials. The person who designed that building would be great at building a maze, because that's what I felt like I was in.

But everything is fine now, as I am writing this from the press room in the Convention Center. As of now, it doesn't look like either Obama or Clinton will make it here to speak. The Clinton campaign is sending Chelsea Clinton to speak to the convention tonight. Obama is also sending a surrogate.

There is one interesting thing happening. It was looking like Boyd Richie was a shoo-in to be re-elected as party chairman. But yesterday, David Van Os announced that he is a candidate for the job. Van Os is very popular among Texas Progressives, so that could turn out to be a real race. Should be interesting.

Bloggers Caucus Was A Huge Success !

The Texas Progressive Alliance hosted their third Blogger's Caucus last night at the Cedar Door in downtown Austin. If everyone else had as good a time as I did (and I think they did), then it was once again a huge success.

It's called the Blogger's Caucus, but let's be honest -- it's just a huge party where bloggers and politicians meet in a laid-back atmosphere, do a little drinking and swap stories. If there's a better party at the State Democratic Convention, I certainly haven't found it.

I was honored to meet some of the best bloggers in the state. I regularly read these blogs, and it was nice to be able to finally put a face to the blogger names. My daughter took lots of pictures, and I will be posting many of them over the coming days and weeks.

Some of the blogs represented at the party -- Capitol Annex, McBlogger, Refinish 69, Panhandle Truth Squad, Bay Area Houston, Off The Kuff, Freida Bee, The Jade Gate, Boadicea, Texas Kaos, Whosplayin', musings, Mark of the Beast, Burnt Orange Report, Lubbock Left, and a couple of diarists from Daily Kos.

I'm sure I'm probably forgetting some blogs, and I apologize for it. But old Jobsanger got a wee bit tipsy -- OK, I was drunk. I'm sure I'll need a bottle of Ibuprofen to start the convention tomorrow. I knew it was time to leave when I heard my daughter threatening to "dry hump" State Rep. Lon Burnam (she got a bit drunk herself).

Suffice it to say, it was a great party. If you didn't make it this time, then I urge you not to miss the next one at the 2010 convention.

I've been hacked !

Evidently, someone has hacked into my hotmail account. They sent an e-mail to everyone on my contact list advertising laptop computers. I PROMISE YOU THAT I DID NOT SEND THAT E-MAIL!!!

I've changed the password, but do I need to do more? Should I delete the entire account and start over? I could use your advice, if you're a computer geek.

Dems Should Keep The "Texas Two-Step"

I arrived in Austin last night, and I'm really looking forward to the Texas Democratic Convention which will start Friday morning. This marks the seventh state convention I have attended, and promises to be one of the more exiciting ones. But there seems to be a movement afoot that I don't like.

There are those who want to change the way Texas apportions its delegates. Currently, Texas uses a combination of a primary and a caucus system. It has been commonly referred to as the Texas Two-Step.

The majority of the delegates are apportioned by the outcome of a statewide primary. Then on election night, a smaller group of delegates are picked by those who attend a party caucus at each precinct. The precinct delegates then go to a county or senatorial district convention and choose delegates to the state convention.

Some say the caucuses are unfair because there are those who cannot (or will not) attend. They point to the problems at some precincts and county conventions, and say it would be better to apportion all delegates by the results of the primary alone. I disagree.

These people are overlooking the valuable resource the caucus system has been to the state and local party. I have nothing against the primary part of the system. It gives those who only have time to vote a voice in the system.

But the caucus system does something even more valuable to the party. It identifies those who are willing to do even more for the party than just vote. It gives the party a way to identify and engage these people to help the party in other ways. This is especially important in a year like this one where many new people showed up at the caucuses. The caucuses help to build the party for this election, and elections in the future.

I am not speaking against the primary. It gives a large number of people a voice in the party's choice. I just believe the caucuses are too valuable for the party to abandon.

The problems experienced at some precincts and county conventions were not due to a flaw in the current system, but to a lack of leadership and training. They can be remedied without changing the system.

Currently, Texas has the best of both worlds. We should keep our system just as it is. The "Texas Two-Step" is good for both the people and the party. (Picture above is of a San Antonio precinct caucus.)

Burglar Makes A Bad Mistake

I must admit that I love stories about criminals who learn that crime doesn't pay. This is one of those stories -- about a burglar who had to learn the hard way.

Last Friday in Green Bay (Wisconsin), a burglar made a serious mistake. I'm sure the upscale home he broke into looked like it would be a good target, and rich with items to steal. There was just one problem -- the home belonged to Green Bay Packers player Noah Herron (pictured above), and he was home at the time.

When Herron heard glass breaking downstairs, he called police and told them someone was breaking into his home. But before police arrived, the burglar went upstairs and entered Herron's bedroom. That was when Herron whacked him with a bedpost that he had unscrewed from the bed.

The burglar had to be hospitalized, but will recover in time for his trial. Police arrested a second burglar right outside the house.

Herron was unharmed and will not face any charges. As police said, "Noah Herron used necessary, reasonable and justifiable force in protecting his life and property."

Personally, I wish this same fate could befall all would-be burglars who enter someone else's home to steal.

Obama Goes Over The Top !

I have never been prouder of the Democratic Party! Last night, Democrats gave Barack Obama more than enough delegates to make him the presumptive nominee of the party for president. He needed to have 2118 delegates, but finished the night with more than 2150 delegates (and will probably get a few more in the next couple of days). For the first time in the history of this country, a major political party has nominated a black man to be its standard-bearer and presidential nominee.

In his speech last night, Obama acknowledged his victory humbly and without much fanfare. Then he graciously spoke about his opponent, Hillary Clinton. He said, "Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight."

On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed in the speech made by Hillary Clinton. She did congratulate Obama on "the race he has run", but she did not even mention his victory. She also did not concede her defeat. Instead, she said it had been a long campaign and she would make no decision yet.

I don't understand. What decision is there to be made? She has lost. It's over. Surely she's not going to continue to try and hurt the party's nominee. Is she trying to decide whether she's a good enough Democrat to support and campaign for Obama?

Maybe she's going to try and force her way on to the ticket. I hope that's not it. That decision should belong to Barack Obama and no one else. If he chooses her, that's fine with me. If he doesn't, that's OK too. It is his choice alone.

Drunk American Plows Thru Racers

For the past few years, the Bush administration and the Republican Party have been trashing our neighbor to the south. They have treated Mexico as though it had some kind of disease they could pass on to Americans. The racist wall they are trying to build between our two countries is a big slap in the face to all the people of Mexico.

So we didn't need any more bad publicity -- but it looks like we've got it. The picture above shows a car crashing into the participants of a bicycle race in northern Mexico. At least one racer was killed and many more were injured. The collision happened about 15 minutes into the 21-mile race.

It goes without saying that this was a tragedy that should never have happened. And the driver of the car was a very drunk 28 year-old American citizen who lives in Brownsville. A modern version of the "Ugly American".

Maybe it's Mexico that needs the fence to keep Americans out.

Brigitte Bardot Convicted Of Racial Hatred

When I was a young man, Brigitte Bardot was considered one of the world's most beautiful women, and a true sex symbol. But as with most of us, time has not been kind to Ms. Bardot (as the pictures above show). But it is not her exterior appearance that is most disappointing.

It seems that the ex-movie star is a dyed-in-the-wool racist. That makes her truly ugly on the inside. Maybe she always was, and just hid it better as a young woman -- I don't know.

Yesterday, a French court convicted Ms. Bardot of "provoking discrimination and racial hatred". She was convicted for writing a letter and then making it public that said France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population (Muslims) that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts."

I had hoped this was a one time thing and she just "misspoke". Unfortunately, that is not the case. This is the fifth time a French court has convicted her of racial hatred.

This woman was once on top of the world. It is sad that she now prefers the gutter.

The Great Bo Diddley Has Died

One of the founding fathers of rock and roll has died. The legendary Bo Diddley passed away at his home in Florida at the age of 79. He died of a heart attack after suffering a stroke three months ago while touring.

He had a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys, was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. But he will always be remembered for his wonderful music. If you could sit still while he played, someone needed to check your pulse.

He was one of the great ones. I miss him already.

Small-Minded People Are Ruining America

This time it happened in Friendswood (between Galveston and Houston), but it could have happened nearly anywhere in this country. Because there are stupid and small-minded people everywhere. They have always existed, but somehow in America today, we have let them have the power to screw things up for all the rest of us.

In a Friendswood middle school, the principal tried to teach students some tolerance and respect. He invited two Muslim women to give a 30-minute presentation to his students. They didn't try to proselytize any of the students.

All they did was give a short talk about Muslim culture, dress, customs, food and religion. But a group of sickos are all upset that they weren't warned by the school district that this "offensive" presentation would be given so they could "protect" their children.

One mother said, "I'm not a prejudiced person...but Muslims, from what I know of the faith, don't want to be incorporated with Americans." All I can say is she IS prejudiced and knows next to nothing about Muslims. I have known several Muslims, and all of them were better Americans and more tolerant people than this nut.

This cretinous group has organized a letter writing campaign against the school's principal. Sadly, in the ridiculous climate created by the right-wing fundies in this country, they will probably succeed in getting the principal fired.

After all, that principal actually tried to educate rather than propagandize their children. To those parents, that's unforgiveable.

It's State Convention Time

Well, it's that time again. In just a few days, thousands of Texas Democrats will be gathering in Austin for that event held every other year -- the state convention. Now I know there are a lot of people out there who think politics is boring, but I'm certainly not one of them. I'm a political junkie.

And the convention is the biggest political party in the state. This will be my seventh state convention and I hope I get to go to many more. Someday, maybe I'll make it to the big show (the national convention), but until then the state convention will do just fine.

I'm not a delegate this year. I withdrew my name and let a new guy have that spot, but I will still be there. For the second time, the party has been nice enough to give me press credentials (doesn't say much about their standards, does it?). So I'll be there eating bad food, buying memorabilia, listening to speeches, typing second-rate posts and enjoying seeing old friends and adversaries.

Note that I said adversaries -- not enemies. Democrats may argue, get mad, and even curse each other, but we should never be enemies. The enemies are those elephant kissers and kool-aid drinkers living in those mansions across town. All Democrats must put aside our differences and come together to crush the Republicans this Fall.

One of the best parties this week will be the "bloggers caucus" on Thursday night at the Cedar Door at 201 Brazos Street. If you're going to be in Austin, you need to be at this party. There will be bloggers from across the state, politicians of every stripe, and hopefully lots of blog readers (both commenters and lurkers).

Two years ago in Fort Worth, this was a great party and a good time was had by all. I expect it will be even better this year, so come on by. Whether you're a reader, blogger or politician, I look forward to meeting you.

It's convention time in Austin. What could be better?

McCain Lies About Troop Level In Iraq

John McCain wants voters to believe he is a straight-talker, unlike other Republicans, and has even named his campaign bus the "Straight Talk Express". So it is particularly disappointing to see him tell a lie, and then refuse to admit it.

The other day, McCain told an audience that U.S. troops in Iraq are back down to pre-surge levels. When it was pointed out that it is simply not true, he got a little miffed and said the withdrawals are currently in the works and will be down to pre-surge levels by the end of July.

Unfortunately, that is not true either. There are some troops in the process of withdrawing, but even after these troops finish their withdrawal at the end of July, there will still be 10,000 more troops in Iraq than before Bush's troop surge.

Maybe this is why he doesn't seem to be bothered by over 4,000 American deaths in Iraq. After all, if he doesn't consider 10,000 troops to be of any significance, why should a mere 4,000 or so deaths be significant?

But this many troops are of great significance to McCain's Democratic opponent. Barack Obama has called for McCain to tell the truth. He says, "We all misspeak sometimes. I've done it myself. So on such a basic, factual error, you'd think that John McCain would just say 'Oh I misspoke, I made a mistake' and then move on. But he couldn't do that, he dug in."

Obama added, "Just like George Bush, John McCain is refusing to admit that he's made a mistake. And that's exactly the kind of leadership that has got us fighting for five years in a war that should have never been authorized. We don't need more leaders who can't admit they've made a mistake, even about something as fundamental as how many Americans are serving in harm's way."

It looks like the "straight-talker" is just like other Republican leaders. He's willing to say anything to get what he wants -- whether it's true or not. This is more evidence that he's just a Bush clone.

Florida And Michigan Get Their Delegates

The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee met on Saturday to try and settle the problem of Michigan and Florida. They wound up re-instating both delegations in full, but limited each delegate to only half a vote -- including their superdelegates.

Personally, I had no problem with banning both delegations for breaking party rules. But, in the interest of party unity, this is a compromise that I can live with.

The states have been punished for violating party rules, but will still get to participate in the convention. In addition, the Democratic Party in both states are happy with the decision and willing to work hard for Democratic candidates this Fall.

I am also proud of the way Barack Obama and his campaign acted regarding this situation. They worked hard to find a compromise that would let Michigan and Florida participate in the nominating process. In the spirit of party unity, Obama gave up 24 delegates of his lead (19 in Florida and 5 in Michigan) to make the compromise work.

After the new delegate votes are figured in, Obama now has a total of 2,050 delegates. He is only 68 delegates short of the 2,118 needed for nomination. He should easily have more than enough delegates by the end of this week.

It's been a long and hard-fought nomination contest, but now it's time to turn our attention to the Republican opponent. America needs Obama in the White House and a bunch of new Democrats in Congress.

Obama's Personal Decision

Today, it was announced that Barack Obama and his family have resigned their membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. The news media are treating this like it is an important news story, but I just don't see it that way.

A person's religion (or lack thereof) should be a personal matter, even if that person is a candidate for political office. To treat a person's membership in a church or a particular religion as a qualification or disqualification for them to be elected is simply a violation of the concept of freedom of religion.

We brag a lot about freedom of (or from) religion in this country. It's too bad we are so far from achieving it.