For the second week in a row, state bloggers are writing about Congress's response to the nation's financial crisis. Others are recovering from Hurricane Ike, scrutinizing the Texas Youth Commission and watching the vice presidential debate of the millennium. And we've got the usual assortment of miscellaneous posts.
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Rescue Rangers
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's "yes" vote on the Wall Street bailout cost him the support [1] of TexasFred, despite receiving a personal appeal from campaign staff. But Memoirs From a Young Conservative, while personally opposed to the bailout, says, "I find it absolutely asinine [2] to completely drop the support of a candidate who is SIGNIFICANTLY AND WHOLLY more conservative and generally better than his biggest opponent" Rick Noriega.
Texas Kaos uses Cornyn's bailout vote as a starting point [3] from which to harangue him for an "unprincipled record of desertion from his obligation, as an elected U.S. lawmaker, to serve the people he has sworn to represent." And Cornyn defends himself in a letter [4] to Lone Star Times readers summing up why he voted for the bill.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who faces Democrat Larry Joe Doherty in November, dedicates an entire McCaul Minute newsletter [5] to explain why he opposed the bailout, via Travis Monitor. And here [6] are statements by U.S. Reps. Kevin Brady and Sheila Jackson Lee, who both voted for the bill — him both times, her the second — via the Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac. Neither faces serious opposition in the elections.
From online polling of Potomac readers: The economic aid package is a "bailout," not a "rescue" [7]; its passage was "inevitable" [8]; and, the plan "is riskier than doing nothing." [9]
PolicySpotlight pats U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling on the back [10] for rejecting the bailout plan, and also provides a primer on "Congressional Lexicon as used by the Media. [11]" Meanwhile, mean rachel likes [12] the way her congressman, Lloyd Doggett, voted (no).
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, parodies [13] the song "American Pie" in honor of the bailout plan. "Extraordinary!" raves Lone Star Times, which also provides a list [14] of some of the, um, more porcine sections of the now-450-plus page bill. So much for the War On Earmarks.
WhosPlayin says "thanks for nothing [15]" to U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess for voting "nay" on the bailout. Pondering Penguin supports the "aye" votes by the state's U.S. senators, saying, "Sometimes we have to go with our gut. [16]"
Houston Conservative says the bailout "sacrifices freedom for dependency [17]," while Sprittibee thinks the politicians in Washington could learn a lot about elementary economics from a story about peanut butter and pickle sandwiches [18].
Libertarian Republican credits Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr [19] with the U.S. House's rejection of the first version of the bailout bill (but doesn't link Barr to the passage of the second, bigger bill).
The late columnist Molly Ivins foresaw the current fiasco [20] a decade ago, says Texas Observer Blog. Meanwhile, A Keyboard and a .45 has a guest column on the bailout plan [21] from Internet entity The Ol' Grey Ghost, and Eye on Williamson presents evidence [22] that national economic problems are spreading to Texas.
And PoliSci@UST wins Headline of the Week award for an ominous post on the continued fiscal solvency of academia titled, "Higher Ed: The Next Financial Meltdown? [23]"
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Convalescing
Red Ink: Texas writes about problems with land-based telephone lines [24] following Hurricane Ike, and what utility companies should (be forced to) do about it. Plowing, Sowing and an Occasional Harvest takes pictures and gives an update [25] on post-storm recovery efforts. And Old Soldier spent his first full weekend off after the storm "knocking back a few cold ones [26]."
Here are "voter registration procedures for Hurricane Ike victims [27]" from Texas Cloverleaf. Meanwhile, Rhymes with Right recounts [28] the good (the community), the bad (the federal government) and the ugly (people who aren't needy ripping off emergency supplies) after Ike.
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Troubled Youth Commission
Grits for Breakfast highlights a section of the TYC Ombudsman's first report to state officials, saying the agency cut the number of Youth Care Investigators by more than half [29] in the summer of 2007, well after legislators stepped in to overhaul the agency. Legislators questioned [30] some other aspects of the Ombudsman's report, says Grits.
A Legislative Budget Board analyst explained [31] to a committee why the number of TYC inmates is expected to grow, despite a decline in juvenile crime, says Grits.
And Grits called up Senate Criminal Justice chair John Whitmire, D-Houston, to figure out exactly what he intends to do [32] about the TYC.
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Online Debate
An anonymous source told Postcards from the Lege, the Austin American-Statesman's blog, that Austinite Neal Spelce helped Palin [33] prepare for the debate.
"Palin rocked [34]," says UrbanGrounds, while RightWingSparkle says Palin won "hands down [35]."
"If I scored last night's debate on points, I'd give it to Joe Biden. But ... if I scored the debate on artistic impression [36], I'd say that Sarah Palin blew Biden out... " says Right Side of the Rainbow. However, according to Potomac's analysis of national polls, Biden won the debate [37]. Questions to chat participants at Potomac yielded similar results [38].
On the local level, neither state Rep. Charlie Geren nor U.S. Rep. Kay Granger showed up for a candidates' forum in Fort Worth, says the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex. Respective Democratic challengers Sheila Ford and Tracey Smith did attend.
PoliTex also reports on the first of several Senate District 10 forums [39] between incumbent Republican Kim Brimer, Democrat Wendy Davis and Libertarian [40] Richard A. Cross.
No public TV stations have been willing to air a Railroad Commission debate [41] between incumbent Republican Michael Williams and Democrat Mark Thompson, according to Postcards.
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Farrago
"It's official. Teachers are going to be RIF'd," says Dallas.Org in an open thread for teachers facing termination [42]. The Texas Conservative Coalition released its "Pledge with Texans [43]," says Travis Monitor. And file this post [44] by Lone Star Diary under peculiar. (But he gets his message across, we think.)
The Lone Star Project says Congressional District 22 candidate Pete Olson "may have committed voter fraud [45]" by registering and voting in Virginia and Connecticut concurrently. At Burnt Orange, a commenter says an oddity in Connecticut election law may clear him [46].
Half Empty posts video of a 30-minute speech [47] by retired Gen. Wesley Clark. Burnt Orange Report has begun compiling analyses of all competitive political races in Texas -- a project they call, creatively, the Burnt Orange Political Report [48] . And Railroad Commissioner candidate Thompson booked Austin band Spoon [49] for a mid-October fundraising gig on Sixth Street. KVUE's Political Junkie thinks that's "a pretty big deal."
Junkie spots a car plastered [50] with Obama bumper stickers. Tex Parte Blog was on the scene as Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke to the crowd at a Dallas Cowboys game and then checked out [51] the cheerleaders.
A group of four state legislators, who are also lawyers, might get five minutes [52] Oct. 16 to address the state Supreme Court about companies' liabilities for independent contractors, says Tex Parte Blog.
Finally, one of the latest victims of the self-immolating American newspaper industry — Julie Mason at the Houston Chronicle's Beltway Confidential — says goodbye [53] with a photographic homage to her muse.
This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links [54] page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey [55].