LinkSwarm for May 18, 2011

May 18th, 2011
  • The French are incensed that French elites are not above American law. And who could possibly believe that prison was so primative? “‘There are numerous very heavy barred doors that make a noise each time they are opened or closed,’ French lawyer Gerald Lefcourt told the paper. Worse still, he said, ‘The food is terrible.'”
  • Iconblog doesn’t think Perry is running for President, not least because most of his campaign team has signed on with Gingrich.
  • NRO’s Kevin D. Williamson says much the same thing.
  • Redistricting may get rid of Lloyd Doggett by making his district a majority Hispanic district based in San Antonio.
  • LinkSwarm for May 17, 2011

    May 17th, 2011
  • Conceding defeat graciously, Wisconsin Democrat style: “Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your families will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks.”
  • The Madison Project endorses Ted Cruz. “All things being equal between Ted Cruz and Michael Williams, we have chosen to endorse Ted Cruz for his ability to raise the kind of money it takes to win a primary like the one in Texas.”
  • What if the federal budget was a single family’s budget?
  • Rick Perry considering a Presidential run?
  • Election Tdibits for Monday, May 16, 2011

    May 16th, 2011

    I’m having some computer issues, so expect blogging to be light for the next few days.

  • Trump decides not to run.
  • Tom Leppert bashes the IMF. Just because I doubt Mr. Leppert’s conservative bonafides doesn’t mean he’s wrong.
  • Speaking of Leppert, he’s put up a No Amnesty petition. The Race to Replace Kay Baily Hutchison is not impressed: “Tom Leppert governed as a Liberal and wants Republicans to believe he is a conservative.”
  • Round Rock ISD School Board Elections Tomorrow

    May 13th, 2011

    Those of you in RRISD should be aware that school board elections are tomorrow, Saturday, May 14. A list of voting locations can be found here.

    Holly Hansen, who follows RRISD far closer than I, has endorsed Brian Sellers and David Dziadziola.

    If you’re a homeowner like me, RRISD takes a good amount of taxes from you every year, which is reason enough to vote if you’re eligible…

    Texas Senate Race Updates for May 12, 2011

    May 12th, 2011

    A smattering of senate race updates:

  • Iconblog is not impressed with Ricardo Sanchez’s declaration of candidacy: “Repeating standard Democratic talking points word-for-word in Texas is not a winning strategy. Sanchez completely missed an opportunity to explain his candidacy—he just defined himself as a standard-issue Democratic candidate running on the same things consultants write all over the nation.” Plus an inside joke from The Wire.
  • Politico’s David Catanese thinks Sanchez is a good choice that will still lose: “No matter who the GOP nominates, it’s likely that in 10 months, the Republican will still be the odds on favorite over Sanchez.”
  • Report on Elizabeth Ames Jones’ testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on fracking.
  • Tom Leppert’s statement on Obama’s latest Illegal Alien Amnesty speech. You’ve got to give the Leppert campaign credit; they’re doing the damnedest to make the most liberal candidate in the Republican field sound like the most conservative…
  • Texas Senate Race Update: Ricardo Sanchez to Run

    May 11th, 2011

    Various news outlets are reporting that former U.S. general Ricardo Sanchez will be announcing his Senate run today.

    I’m linking to the USA Today story of Catalina Camia because, unlike her journalistic brethren, she actually noted that Sean Hubbard was already running. It’s nice to know that at least one member of the MSM is, in fact, capable of using Google.

    As for Hubbard, well, I hope he enjoyed his time as de facto Democratic front-runner, since it ends today…

    2012 Election Tidbits for May 11, 2011

    May 11th, 2011

    A few 2012 election tidbits, on the Senate race and others.

  • Since I dinged them over inaccuracies in their reporting on the Texas Senate race, it seems only fair to praise Ryan Murphy and Matt Stiles for this nifty interactive map of Q1 fundraising by incumbent Texas congressmen.
  • 2011 hasn’t been kind to Elizabeth Ames Jones thus far, but today she’ll be talking to the U.S. congress about fracking. And not the Battlestar Galactica kind.
  • Roger Williams sets up a separate website to slam Obama’s job on the economy and boost his own chances. This strikes me as a good move, but I think the site is a little lite on content right now; a splash page and a video are a nice start, but he should have links to more information for each of his four subheads. There’s plenty of ammunition for the charge that Obama has screwed up the economy, and the more he can put up there, the more likely voters are to consider Roger Williams’ campaign.
  • Speaking of Obama, he was in Texas yesterday to raise money and pander to the amnesty crowd, but was too busy to look at the areas of the state ravaged by wildfire.
  • Newt Gingrich will run for President. Gingrich would make an excellent Presidential contender…in 1996. Today, with Gingrich already pulling sellout moves like pandering to the ethanol lobby, I see no reason to believe he would be the best choice for President.
  • Texas To (Further) Outlaw Cockfighting

    May 10th, 2011

    The Right Side of Austin reports that HB 1043 will further outlaw cockfighting by closing several loopholes in the law.

    The news gives me the excuse to post a video of the greatest song ever written about cockfighting, Tom Russell’s “Gallo del Cielo”:

    Here Comes the Flood

    May 10th, 2011

    Randall Munroe, the guy who does XKCD has an interesting post up on the possibility that the current Mississippi flood may overwhelm the Old River Control Structure that keeps the river from shifting course to the Atchafalaya, as I discussed last week.

    And continuing the Peter Gabriel kick from my other blog, here’s a young Peter Gabriel doing “Here Comes the Flood” on the Kate Bush Christmas Special circa 1979:

    In other news, there was a Kate Bush Christmas Special…

    (Hat tip: Dwight.)

    Tom Leppert And ACORN

    May 9th, 2011

    Matt S. Dowling has a post up up claiming that not only was Tom Leppert playing footsie with the SEIU, but he also sought the endorsement of everyone’s favorite pimp assistance agency, ACORN.

    Unfortunately, he hasn’t actually provided the links to the evidence. When I pressed him on the issue in comments, he said “You ask and you shall receive….on Wednesday.”

    Well, I like things sooner rather than later, and I wonder if he was hinting at this video showing Leppert hobnobbing with ACORN. Here’s the embedded MySpace version of it (I know, in the age of YouTube that’s like asking you to listen to a Victrola, but that’s the format it’s in):


    Tom Leppert Supports ACORN for Dallas Mayor

    bird | Myspace Video

    The video, with a date of June 1, 2007, looks like it was put together an ACORN/Hispanic outreach video for Leppert’s mayoral campaign. (Don’t ask me why they put the sepia-tone wash over everything.) And here’s a screen capture of the pledge it shows Leppert signing:

    Assuming the date is accurate, and there’s no funny stuff in the video editing, it does indeed show that Leppert sought ACORN’s endorsement, and pledged to support some of their initiatives.

    How damaging will this be to Leppert’s campaign? I don’t know. So much RINO baggage has tumbled out of Leppert’s closet that I don’t know how much more damage another skeleton can inflict.

    I do look forwarding to checking in with Dowling on Wednesday to see what he’s dug up…