Category: Election 2017

Green Thoughts on Alabama Special Election

14/12/2017

Is now an appropriate time to mention that write-ins probably cost Roy Moore the election?

Because you can't support voters having alternate choices only some of the time. pic.twitter.com/5qXTtTjpKW
— Green Party US □ (@GreenPartyUS) December 13, 2017

This is one of those posts that doesn't lend itself to coherent paragraphs or reduction to a single main idea. It's more of an Unordered List post, because I have such multi-faceted thoughts and feelings about what happened Tuesday in the state of Ala-fuckin'-bama. I'm referring, as you might guess, to the special election that Alabama held to fill the US Senate seat left vacant after the appointment of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions to the top spot in the Department of Justice (he typed while strenuously suppressing gales of laughter at seeing the words "Sessions" and "Justice" in the same sentence).

No, wait. Before giving you the bullets, I guess there is a two-part main point I'd like to make, which the bullets kind of undergird:

This election demonstrates why the United States as a nation needs third parties—or, at the very least, reforms to our political and media structures to make independent candidacies more viable.
This election hammered home for me how, in a two-dominant-party system such as ours, voting for a candidate based on that candidate's chances of winning perpetuates the duopoly.

5.77% Turnout and Why Our System Still Sucks

9/11/2017

ICYMI, we had some elections the other day, including right here in Texas.

More than 94 percent of registered voters in Texas apparently did miss it. How many of us never even knew about the election is a little harder to quantify, but I'd wild-guess that a majority did not.

Statewide, we were voting on seven amendments to the State Constitution, mostly on matters designed to be kept obscure and off most voters' personal radar. The voters approved all seven. Turnout rates for the various ballot questions ranged from 5.56 to 5.77 percent, so the IDK vote represented a substantial portion of those who did bother to vote.

At least there was some variation in the percentages voting Yes, so it doesn't look as if those who showed up just looked at the deliberately deceptive ballot language and said, "Yeah, whatevs." Perhaps some informed voters found resources that recommended against some of the propositions on the state ballot, and they voted accordingly.

"Election? What Election?" Texoblogosphere

17/10/2017

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that there's an election coming up in a few weeks (and early voting begins next week).

DBC reminds Harris County voters that they can find information on the 2017 election at the County Clerk's electoral website harrisvotes.org. The League of Women Voters, Texas, has its usual high-quality info about the seven proposed amendments to the state constitution, on which all Texas voters can have their say.

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Off the Kuff says that if giving a tax break to homeowners affected by natural disasters is a priority, the state should cover the cost of that tax break to counties and school districts.

SocraticGadfly looks at a couple of recent pieces by a business columnist at the Chronic, and wonders how many of them apply there and if that will ever be asked?

How about Texas Democrats ask Sylvester Turner to run for governor, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs helpfully suggested. (DBCsez: If you know Diddie, you know that he's half jesting, and half pleading for the state to transport Turner back to Austin where he can do some good.)

jobsanger posts eleven steps to a healthier (and fairer) US economy.

Grits for Breakfast knows that criticism of police unions is warranted, but disagrees with the proposed solutions.

Murray Polner at The Rag Blog shares a concise summary of his views on the Vietnam war, motivated by Ken Burns' documentary.

In the Texas Observer's Strangest State roundup, you can read about a cow in Kerrville that looks like KISS rocker Gene Simmons.

The Texas Energy Department's collation of news includes a reminder that Rick Perry is always good for a joke, especially when he's the butt of it.

Neil at All People Have Value attended the weekly Tuesday protest outside the Houston office of Senator John Cornyn. Senator Cornyn is doing a bad job. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

And the Lewisville Texan Journal shares the Mom of No's story about teaching the Son of Never Stops Eating how to speak up at a city council meeting.

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More Texas news and blog posts!

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex blog reports that over 6,000 inmates in the Texas Criminal Justice System pooled their commissary funds totaling nearly $54,000 and donated it to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

The Rivard Report shares Ross Ramsey (of the Texas Tribune)'s analysis of bathrooms, business interests, and ballots.

The TexTrib also was first with the news that a federal judge ruled Greg Abbott violated the First Amendment when he ordered a mock Nativity scene removed from the Capitol two years ago.

Bonddad's most recent thought for Sunday regards the rule of gerontocracy.

Chris Ladd at Political Orphans asserts that Democrats will no more recognize—or effectively oppose--the rise of their own Trump than Republicans did.

Elizabeth Lewis at Burkablog believes we are misdiagnosing the cause of gun violence.

Better Texas Blog dives into the latest revenue estimate from the state's comptroller, Glenn Hegar.

The TSTA Blog laments the lack of role models at the top of our government.

Therese Odell at Foolish Watcher gamely explains what the First Amendment is.

Grant Brisbee at SB Nation isn't a Texan, but he truly gets what the Astros mean to the city of Houston at this moment.

And Harry Hamid has a tale about mutatis mutandis (if you need to look up the meaning, here you go).

May Day Prog Blogs

2/5/2017

It pleases me to note that my entry from Sunday received a mention in Texas Progressive Alliance's latest weekly link-fest. There is also a link to fellow KTRU alumnus Scott Hochberg's repeat of last fall's call to vote Yes on Houston ISD's Proposition 1. Before the November election, local sources of conventional wisdom were urging a No vote, but they weren't listening to former State Rep. Hochberg, whose public school finance wonkery has few (if any) equals. Early voting for HISD residents ends today; actual election day is Saturday 6 May.

Ben Franklin and a friend hold up the "No More Sacrifice Zones" banner for TEJAS at the People's Climate March, 29 April 2017.

Off the Kuff takes a very early look at potential Congressional races for 2018.

SocraticGadfly offers his reflections on the career and trial of "Our Man Downtown," John Wiley Price.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that Republican hatred of democracy and people marches on in Texas.

Democrats keep looking for excuses to kick people out from under their tent, and the evidence was everywhere PDiddie at Brains and Eggs looked over the past couple of weeks. There aren't enough Marches, Resistances, and Revolutions to overcome so much squabbling, backbiting, and infighting. In similar vein, Captain Kroc at McBlogger wants to see the two factions battle it out.

jobsanger cites the Economic Policy Institute in detailing the damage Trump has already done to workers in his first 100 days.

MOMocrats writes about Trump's hundred days in terms of the end of Obama Nation. (This is NOT a play on words.)

The Lewisville Texan Journal posts an op-ed from The Mom of No about the low bar she set—and barely cleared—for Easter.

And Txsharon at Bluedaze tells a true fracking story in eight lines of poetry.

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The publisher of the Austin Monitor, Michael Kanin, has been named the new publisher of the Texas Observer. Congratulations!

Jonathan Tilove at First Reading wraps up his coverage of Alex Jones' child custody suit by noting the post-trial press conference where Jones berated the media, Trump-style.

DBC Green Blog was a little disappointed in the Climate March but has greater expectations for today's May Day rallies.

Scott Braddock reports on the school voucher astroturfing story.

Robert Rivard makes a case for changing the timing and frequency of San Antonio's elections.

Michael Li rounds up and summarizes the remaining disputes over the Texas Congressional map.

Therese Odell recoils in horror from the transcript of the AP interview with Trump.

Sandra Thompson follows the money that is opposed to bail reform.

Former Rep. Scott Hochberg explains why he is voting Yes on the HISD recapture referendum.

Somervell County Salon has a good laugh with Stephen Colbert about the red button on Trump's desk that summons a butler bringing a Coke.

Ty Clevenger at Lawflog sees the Booger (Robertson) County Mafia growing nervous again.

And Right Wing Watch documented US Rep. Randy Weber's tearful apology to God (sic) for the American sins of pregnancy termination, prayer in public schools, and marriage equality...but not slavery, or the atrocities inflicted on First People, or even the excesses of corporate greed or war. What a f'n guy.

Green Thoughts on Alabama Special Election

5.77% Turnout and Why Our System Still Sucks

"Election? What Election?" Texoblogosphere

May Day Prog Blogs

DBC Sez...

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