They Have No Shame

"Outnumbered and surrounded, 200 brave men stood their ground against Santa Anna’s Army for 13 days. All were aware that this would be the battle of their lifetimes, a struggle against impossible odds, yet they decided Texas Liberty was a cause important enough to die for. Colonel William B. Travis drew a line in the ground and said that any man willing to stay and fight for Texas should cross over the line. All, but one did.

Today, once again, the line has been drawn. You have a choice to cross over and defend Texas from unfair taxation, or accept the huge tax burden that accompanies the Liberal Democrat’s outrageous spending plan."

This is a direct quote from the Texas Republican Party. This is appalling for a couple of different reasons.

First, those brave souls who crossed that line in the Alamo that day all died defending that sacred place. How dare the Republicans compare their pathetic attempts to get some signatures on a petition to the bravery of these Texas heroes!

Second, the anti-immigrant antics of the Texas Republican Party dishonors the memory of these brave Texans -- many of whom were Hispanic.

The leadership of the Texas Republican Party truly has no shame.

The Future ?

Political Cartoon is by Mike Keefe in The Denver Post.

Dead Politician Walking

The man pictured to the left is Rep. Joseph Cao (R-Louisiana). He is the first Vietnamese to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. He is also the least likely of any Republican to be re-elected in 2010.

That's because he represents the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana -- a district that is majority African-American and heavily Democratic. The district can normally be counted upon to elect a Democrat by a 25-30% margin (the district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+28). So how did Cao get elected?

He got elected because he was running against one of the crookedest politicians in America -- William Jefferson. Jefferson had already been arrested by the FBI for taking bribes (thousands of dollars were found hidden in his freezer) and he was awaiting trial. Jefferson was also arrogant and made no excuse or apology for his actions.

Even so, Cao barely eked out a victory. He got 49.55% of the vote to Jefferson's 46.82%. With these kind of numbers and his largely Democratic constituency, one might think Cao would be open to acting in a bipartisan manner in Congress.

He has even talked that way himself. About a month ago, he told the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, "Don't tell the Republicans, but I might be a closet Democrat." He also was believed to be seriously considering voting for both President Obama's stimulus package and his budget. But it looks like all of that was just talk.

Rep. Cao has voted the straight Republican party line -- including votes against the president's stimulus package and budget. That is not going to go down well with the voters in the 2nd district. There has already been an effort to get signatures on a recall petition (13,000 were gathered on the first day). However, there is no provision for recalling a federal elected official.

Cao has metaphorically put a gun to his political career and pulled the trigger. The voters of the 2nd district will remember these votes when they go to the polls next year, and Cao has to be the Republican least likely to be re-elected.

Cao had better make the most of this term in office, because that's all he's going to get.

A Frightening April Fool's Joke

Political Cartoon is by R.J. Matson in The New York Observer.

The Difference A Year Makes

From the website Seeds Of Doubt.

Chavez Would Accept Gitmo Detainees

To his credit, President Obama has declared that he's going to shut down Guantanamo Bay detention facility. But to do that, he needs to do something with the detainees being held there, and there are only two options -- convict them or release them. If we have evidence (that wasn't obtained or tainted by torture), then we should convict them and put them in a federal prison. The others should be released as soon as possible.

It's the ones that need to be released that pose a problem. Many of them cannot be sent back where they came from because they would probably be oppressed (such as the Uighars from China who have been declared not guilty of any crime). The problem is that no one, including our allies, have declared their willingness to accept these detainees. They can't be released until some country is willing to accept them.

Maybe that problem has been partially solved. While visiting Qatar the other day, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez (pictured above) said he would be willing to accept some Guantanamo detainees. He told Arabic TV, "We wouldn't have any problem in taking in human beings."

When asked about the offer, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said, "The United States has not received a formal offer through diplomatic channels to resettle detainees to Venezuela, and is not contemplating resettling detainees to Venezuela." All I have to say about that, is maybe they better start considering it and get some talks going through those diplomatic channels. I don't see anyone else making any offers.

Some are saying he's just trying to embarrass the United States, and others are saying he's just trying to get some publicity for himself. WHO CARES? I say take him up on his offer and give him as many as he'll take. If he'll actually take some off our hands, that's great. If he's just bluffing, then call him on it and he's the one who'll look bad.

We really can't afford to ignore any offer received. And so far, this is the only offer we've had. I realize many Americans don't like Chavez, but that's a poor reason to turn down any offer of help. Every day that Guantanamo stays open makes America look worse.

Consistency ?

Political Cartoon is by Daryl Cagle at msnbc.com.

Meeting The Queen

From right to left -- Michelle Obama, Queen Elizabeth, the man who accompanied Michelle Obama to Europe.

"A Pillar Of Integrity"

Last Fall, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was convicted of lying about receiving gifts and huge discounts on his home renovations. A few days later, he lost his bid for re-election in a very close election. Since that time, he has been waiting to learn what his sentence would be.

But yesterday, all of that changed. On orders from Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department has dropped all charges against Stevens, and has asked the trial judge to vacate the verdict. All of the media immediately began to talk about how Stevens was innocent and how he had been railroaded by the Justice Department. Personally, I don't know whether he's innocent or not. At this point, it really doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter because of the egregious errors committed by the Justice Department prosecutors. They were so far out of line that they could have convicted him regardless of whether he was innocent or guilty. It's a vivid portrait of just how far out of line the Justice Department had become under the Bush administration.

With the help and direction of Karl Rove, Bush turned the Justice Department into a group of administration "hit men". They put their loyalty to George Bush ahead of the Constitution and the rule of law. Career attorneys were fired and Bush loyalists were hired, and no one cared how many laws had to be broken or rules had to be bent to get the convictions they wanted.

By the Fall of 2008, it had gotten so bad they were even turning on their own. Once they targeted Stevens they hid evidence from the defense attorneys and who knows what else. It was a matter of getting a conviction at any cost.

When Eric Holder (pictured above) took over as Attorney General, he looked at the Stevens case and at the department Bush had left him, and he realized it stank to high heaven. He knew something had to be done, so he issued the order to drop the charges against Stevens.

Holder said, "I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial." He went on to say that from now on the Justice Department would insure ALL cases would be "handled fairly and consistent with its commitment to justice."

Stevens' attorney called Holder "a pillar of integrity". I believe he's right. Holder's action doesn't just give Stevens a bit of justice -- it sends a message to the entire Justice Department. A message that says the Constitution and rule of law are once again supreme, and all defendants will be treated fairly -- even those from another political party (or religion, race, sex, etc.).

Now that the dark years of the Bush administration are over, we can once again be proud of our Justice Department. It looks like President Obama chose the right man in Eric Holder.

Reviewing April Fools Jokes

Political Cartoon is by Bob Englehart in The Hartford Courant.

Good And Bad News For WTAMU

West Texas A and M University, known as WTAMU, is celebrating sort of a birthday. 100 years ago yesterday, the Texas Legislature passed a bill creating the university. The college then opened on September 20, 1910 with 152 students and 16 staff members in a single building that housed the administration and faculty offices, classrooms, laboratory and a library.

Today, it has a sprawling campus with over 7,000 students. It boasts 60 undergraduate-degree programs, 40 graduate-degree programs and a doctoral program. Happy birthday WTAMU! You are a wonderful asset to the Panhandle.

Unfortunately, the school also announced some bad news yesterday. The scheduled speaker for the Spring commencement was announced. It is Karl Rove. I wish I could put a positive spin on that, but I can't. It's just downright embarrassing!

There can't be a redder part of Texas than this area of the Panhandle.

NOTE - This is not an April Fool's joke. I wish it was, but it's not.

Just Say No

Political Cartoon is by R>J> Matson in The New York Observer.

Home Delivery Of Beer ?

Feel like getting a pizza and a six-pack of beer, but don't feel like leaving the house? Well, if you live in Amarillo, all you have to do is call the Pizza Hut on Coulter at Hillside. They'll be happy to deliver both to your front door (don't forget the tip).

Now you may be asking yourself, as I did, "Is home delivery of beer even legal in Texas?" It turns out that it is, according to the TABC -- as long as a couple of rules are followed. The delivery driver must be eighteen, the person who receives and pays for it must be twenty-one, and it can only be delivered to a "wet" city (a city where the sale of alcohol is permitted).

According to the marketing director of Pizza Hut, Ashlie Marquez, this is the only Pizza Hut in the country that is delivering beer. She said, "Right now, this is our only test store. We're going to see how it works and how the community in Amarillo responds to that service, and go from there."

I'm shocked that Amarillo is being used as the test city, but I'll bet it proves to be very successful. It probably won't be long before a lot of Pizza Huts are doing the same.

Without A Clue

Political Cartoon is by Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune.