A nasty head cold derailed yesterday’s news and views roundup, but we’re turning the corner today:
- Houston’s drainage fee campaign largely funded by engineers (Gabe Gutierrez, KHOU-11 News)
The headline did not add, one of whom deserves a good opponent in his next Council race. - METRO, Proposition 1, and Competing Costs (Houston’s Clear Thinkers)
Tom Kirkendall raises a variation of the question we have raised for many years: Can Houston’s tax base continue to support expensive “trinket” propositions that have won voter support (such as light rail and stadiums), or is there a limit to what taxpayers will bear?Here’s another point to consider — in many ways, the METRO Rail referendum was ideal from a conservative perspective in its specificity (of routes, funding, etc). And STILL, METRO managed to evade its responsibility to follow those specification to the letter. Prop 1, on the other hand, is an open-ended gargantuan tax increase coming on the heels of the massive water-rate increases already enacted, with no specific plans to reduce flooding. It is the worst sort of proposition from a conservative perspective, and deserves to be defeated.
- Keeping up with 70 judge races requires a lot of homework (Brian Rogers, Houston Chronicle)
For those still deciding, both Murray Newman and Unca Darrell have posted recommendations for these races. - Suburbs Dominate Huge Early Voting Turnout in Harris County (Big Jolly Politics)
- An Unscientific Take of Day 1 (Camposcommunications’s Blog)
- It's Kick a Teabagger Day! King Street Patriots up first (Bay Area Houston)
And so the election cycle winds down with threats of violence against pollwatchers (not to mention vulgarities from Houston’s Sexiest Blogger*). Way to keep it classy in a down election cycle for the Left, guys! - Citizen watchdogs (World Mag)
A different take on the King Street Patriots than Matt Angle’s choreographed progressive attack effort that emerged yesterday. - Bringing the Texas Tea Party to a full boil (David Benzion, Big Jolly Politics)
An analysis of the limitations and potential of the Texas tea party movement that is particularly informative in light of the Left’s attacks on the same yesterday. - New GOP Billboard Targets Black Voters (On the Beat with Mary Benton)
[I]n this year of the angry Tea Party, talk of taking “back our country” and Rush Limbaugh calling President Obama a jack###, most African-Americans I know are offended and turned off by the GOP.
I’m sure she didn’t know anyone who voted for Nixon, either! *laugh* Seriously, this is a representative of the Texas political media? Wow.
- Why I'd Rather Eat Halal Food (Including Campbell's Soup) (Eating Our Words)
Thankfully, Jews no longer suffer the same stigma, ostracization and discrimination on a massive scale as they once did. Unfortunately, that mindset has now shifted toward Muslim targets.
Ah yes, it’s good to know that global anti-Semitism is a problem of the past, and Western civilization’s battle against the barbarism of radical Islam is overstated (no doubt by the meanies who listen to KTRH!). *eyeroll* It’s a shame the insipid political commentary overshadowed some interesting points about food handling, but then again, such amateurism is pretty much the standard at Village Voice Houston these days.
- Cameron Waldner is Houston's go-to guy for volunteerism (Bradley Olson, Houston Chronicle)
The Chron excels at this sort of rah-rah journalism (glowing profiles of Houston’s power players). The public would probably benefit from more watchdog journalism and less glorification of the newspaper’s sources, however. - Houston Chronicle Editorial Board Drops All Pretense, Endorses Democrats, Ignores Republicans (Big Jolly Politics)
- The Power of Principles (Live Oaks)
- Texas stimulus opponents later sought stimulus funds for their districts (Mark Lisheron, Texas Watchdog)
Quite a number of Republican “stimulus” opponents feature in this story, which sort of blows up millionaire progressive bully Steve Mostyn’s unfounded legal assertion that Texas Watchdog is merely a Republican party press outlet. As noted here, though, the “model” is often all about the accusation (justified or not).
* Hat tip to Slampo.
