Brazoria County Democrats
Pearland, Texas
In The News
T’was the Night Before Inauguration
By John Cobarruvias
BayAreaHouston.blogspot.com
T'was the night before inauguration and what to my dismay
The market was tanking, I lost my 401K!
The stocks were hung, in downfall they stuck
While Bush did nothing, a truly lame duck
The republicans were nestled, their heads in the sand
With visions of defeat of the republican brand.
And Cheney with his gun, his heart a pace
Looking for someone, to shoot in the face.
When out on the house floor, there came such a clatter
I sprang to the internets to find what’s the matter.
Away to my screen I ran with a flash
Hoping the market, didn’t crash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Showed me someone I needed to know.
When what to my eyes, I paused, with a comma
But a vision of hope, It was Barack Obama!
With excitement and conviction in each of his steps
I wondered what he and his elves, would do next.
More rapid than eagles his appointments they came
And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name.
Now Emanuel! Now, Dashle! Now Richardson and Biden!
On, Clinton, On Napolitano, and Gates, no sense in hidin’!
To fix the economy, our reputation and more.
And to stop the killing of this unnecessary war.
As Obama stood still, the republicans they trembled
Remembering 8 years of a disaster they had assembled.
They’ve broken our banks, and doubled our debt.
They scared us to death with weapons of threats.
They squandered a surplus, They started a war.
They shredded our constitution, littered on the floor.
They attack our unions, our immigrants and those who are gay.
They claim to be Christians, yet on the sick they prey.
We may never recover from this hole they dug.
But we will climb to the top with a American tug.
The republican party have destroyed all that matters
They deserve nothing more but to hold the damn ladder.
But his voice did change, along with a smile.
Thinking of the bills that soon would be filed.
Protect those who are old and young alike
Restore our honor and our military might.
Protect our planet, and clean our air.
While creating a surplus we can leave to our heirs
Fix our economy, and health care for all.
And honor those who fought, and those who fall.
Obama sprang to his feet, to his team he gave a shout.
The challenges seem impossible, hard work needed no doubt
But I heard him exclaim ere he talked and ran.
Hey! It’s not just a slogan, YES WE CAN!
By John Cobarruvias
BayAreaHouston.blogspot.com
T'was the night before inauguration and what to my dismay
The market was tanking, I lost my 401K!
The stocks were hung, in downfall they stuck
While Bush did nothing, a truly lame duck
The republicans were nestled, their heads in the sand
With visions of defeat of the republican brand.
And Cheney with his gun, his heart a pace
Looking for someone, to shoot in the face.
When out on the house floor, there came such a clatter
I sprang to the internets to find what’s the matter.
Away to my screen I ran with a flash
Hoping the market, didn’t crash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Showed me someone I needed to know.
When what to my eyes, I paused, with a comma
But a vision of hope, It was Barack Obama!
With excitement and conviction in each of his steps
I wondered what he and his elves, would do next.
More rapid than eagles his appointments they came
And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name.
Now Emanuel! Now, Dashle! Now Richardson and Biden!
On, Clinton, On Napolitano, and Gates, no sense in hidin’!
To fix the economy, our reputation and more.
And to stop the killing of this unnecessary war.
As Obama stood still, the republicans they trembled
Remembering 8 years of a disaster they had assembled.
They’ve broken our banks, and doubled our debt.
They scared us to death with weapons of threats.
They squandered a surplus, They started a war.
They shredded our constitution, littered on the floor.
They attack our unions, our immigrants and those who are gay.
They claim to be Christians, yet on the sick they prey.
We may never recover from this hole they dug.
But we will climb to the top with a American tug.
The republican party have destroyed all that matters
They deserve nothing more but to hold the damn ladder.
But his voice did change, along with a smile.
Thinking of the bills that soon would be filed.
Protect those who are old and young alike
Restore our honor and our military might.
Protect our planet, and clean our air.
While creating a surplus we can leave to our heirs
Fix our economy, and health care for all.
And honor those who fought, and those who fall.
Obama sprang to his feet, to his team he gave a shout.
The challenges seem impossible, hard work needed no doubt
But I heard him exclaim ere he talked and ran.
Hey! It’s not just a slogan, YES WE CAN!
--------
Have a great Holiday everyone.
There is hope in the White House!
Have a great Holiday everyone.
There is hope in the White House!
On the cover
The Castaways
Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston's North Side, an historic African-American community. Four of the area's six housing projects have been condemned and many residents have lost everything. Will the community be rebuilt or will it suffer the same fate as New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward after Katrina? The storm was bad. The aftermath may be worse. By Forrest Wilder.
Full story.
Contact: Julia Austin at austin@texasobserver.org or 512-477-0746.
How Does it Feel?
by Mike Malloy
I have a question for all those working-class Democrats -- especially the ones employed directly or indirectly by the U.S. auto industry -- who in the 80s became so-called "Reagan Democrats" and voted Republican for the next 20 years. The question is this: Given the "fuck you" attitude being contemptuously displayed by Senate Republicans where it concerns a rescue plan for your industry, your job, your life, how do you feel now about your abandonment of the Democratic Party?
Huh? Got an answer? Nothing deep. Just a quick sentence or two would do. I mean, how does it feel to have spent all those years voting your bigotry and your willful political ignorance and your sheep-like need to be manipulated by the thugs who infest right-wing talk radio, and now that your whole life is collapsing because of the policies of these Republicans (who never gave a shit about you anyway) you get to watch and listen as they kick you and your family to the curb and say, naw, we don't think the "taxpayers" wanna bail out the auto industry; we don't care if another three or four million more families head for the homeless shelters and food stamp offices.
Seriously. I'm just curious. Because, you know, there were a whole clutch of us on the near left (we were called liberals) who warned about this happening; who screamed and beat our fists on the floor for years and said to our fellow Democrats -- don't be fooled, don't buy the lies, stay in the Democratic Party, fight for your rights, your families, your jobs. If the Democratic Party needs reforming, stay and do it. Don't get sucked into the abyss created by Republicans who want to see you and your kids and your spouses and your dreams shredded, ripped to pieces by their insatiable greed and their hot-blooded insistence on turning this country hard right, neofascist, ugly, divided.
And, so, here we are today, right? While you are being eaten alive with anxiety and fear and uncertainty about the immediate future, a bunch of these slimy, stinking Republicans are refusing to allocate a miserable 15 billion -- the cost of a few of weeks of death and destruction in Iraq -- in an attempt put together by those Democrats you willingly abandoned in the 80s to save your industry. Arrogant bottom-feeders like Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, sounding like he had a mouthful of grits and boiled owl shit, tells the press, naw, he ain't goin' along with no bail-out plan cuz then whut? Those boys'll jest be back with their hands out next March and our beloved taxpayers ain't gonna go fer this.
Jesus god. How do you do it? How do you support these right-wing vermin election after election? How many times do they have to bleed you dry before you realize their game? What are you getting in return? Laws that stop the queers from getting married? Bullshit talk about the sanctity of marriage? Phony-ass tax cuts that never, ever benefit you? The right to stop a woman from getting an abortion if she feels it's necessary? What in god's name is it?
Well, never mind. Don't answer. Don't waste the energy you're going to need in figuring out how you're going to survive in an economy that was designed in the Reagan years to utterly bankrupt every single social safety net put in place over the last 75 years. They're nearly all gone now. Soon to be completely useless. Bankrupt. Empty. So . . . how does it feel? Are you satisfied? Happy? Feel like your team won?
Just asking.
More unemployed workers----> less money to spend ------->more foreclosures -----> more local businesses go under (car dealers, gas stations, auto suppliers, auto mechanics, pizza parlors, etc.) -----.> more communities destroyed ------> etc., while the bankers are given taxpayer dollars for spas, golden parachutes, etc. WhereTF!! is your outrage on this??! Give the auto industry the loan they're asking for, and tie it to some strings for change--unlike was done with the free money bailout given to the financial industry. If the auto industry is not saved then the Bushitters will have achieved their goal of totally destroying the middle class! There is still some $$$$$$left that has not yet been given to the financial industry--use it for the auto industry, and add to it to selectively help a few other key industustries. Congress should do what it always does: Establish a Commission to study and come up with guidelines for these kinds of situations 'cause they're gonna keep comin' up for a long while. Why can't the banks that have been "saved" be required to make the loans to the auto industry, and some other industries that are floundering? "It's JOBS!! that drive the economy, Stupid!!" ...... author unknown
http://digg. com/political_ opinion/How_ Does_it_Feel_ 2
Carl Whitmarsh
Democrat till the last pup barks
Houston, Harris County - 15, Texas
from one of my all time favorite films - 1962's "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford Blanche: You wouldn't be able to do these awful things to me if I weren't still in this chair. Baby Jane: But you *are*, Blanche! You *are* in that chair!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItEE6lS39fw
by Mike Malloy
I have a question for all those working-class Democrats -- especially the ones employed directly or indirectly by the U.S. auto industry -- who in the 80s became so-called "Reagan Democrats" and voted Republican for the next 20 years. The question is this: Given the "fuck you" attitude being contemptuously displayed by Senate Republicans where it concerns a rescue plan for your industry, your job, your life, how do you feel now about your abandonment of the Democratic Party?
Huh? Got an answer? Nothing deep. Just a quick sentence or two would do. I mean, how does it feel to have spent all those years voting your bigotry and your willful political ignorance and your sheep-like need to be manipulated by the thugs who infest right-wing talk radio, and now that your whole life is collapsing because of the policies of these Republicans (who never gave a shit about you anyway) you get to watch and listen as they kick you and your family to the curb and say, naw, we don't think the "taxpayers" wanna bail out the auto industry; we don't care if another three or four million more families head for the homeless shelters and food stamp offices.
Seriously. I'm just curious. Because, you know, there were a whole clutch of us on the near left (we were called liberals) who warned about this happening; who screamed and beat our fists on the floor for years and said to our fellow Democrats -- don't be fooled, don't buy the lies, stay in the Democratic Party, fight for your rights, your families, your jobs. If the Democratic Party needs reforming, stay and do it. Don't get sucked into the abyss created by Republicans who want to see you and your kids and your spouses and your dreams shredded, ripped to pieces by their insatiable greed and their hot-blooded insistence on turning this country hard right, neofascist, ugly, divided.
And, so, here we are today, right? While you are being eaten alive with anxiety and fear and uncertainty about the immediate future, a bunch of these slimy, stinking Republicans are refusing to allocate a miserable 15 billion -- the cost of a few of weeks of death and destruction in Iraq -- in an attempt put together by those Democrats you willingly abandoned in the 80s to save your industry. Arrogant bottom-feeders like Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, sounding like he had a mouthful of grits and boiled owl shit, tells the press, naw, he ain't goin' along with no bail-out plan cuz then whut? Those boys'll jest be back with their hands out next March and our beloved taxpayers ain't gonna go fer this.
Jesus god. How do you do it? How do you support these right-wing vermin election after election? How many times do they have to bleed you dry before you realize their game? What are you getting in return? Laws that stop the queers from getting married? Bullshit talk about the sanctity of marriage? Phony-ass tax cuts that never, ever benefit you? The right to stop a woman from getting an abortion if she feels it's necessary? What in god's name is it?
Well, never mind. Don't answer. Don't waste the energy you're going to need in figuring out how you're going to survive in an economy that was designed in the Reagan years to utterly bankrupt every single social safety net put in place over the last 75 years. They're nearly all gone now. Soon to be completely useless. Bankrupt. Empty. So . . . how does it feel? Are you satisfied? Happy? Feel like your team won?
Just asking.
More unemployed workers----> less money to spend ------->more foreclosures -----> more local businesses go under (car dealers, gas stations, auto suppliers, auto mechanics, pizza parlors, etc.) -----.> more communities destroyed ------> etc., while the bankers are given taxpayer dollars for spas, golden parachutes, etc. WhereTF!! is your outrage on this??! Give the auto industry the loan they're asking for, and tie it to some strings for change--unlike was done with the free money bailout given to the financial industry. If the auto industry is not saved then the Bushitters will have achieved their goal of totally destroying the middle class! There is still some $$$$$$left that has not yet been given to the financial industry--use it for the auto industry, and add to it to selectively help a few other key industustries. Congress should do what it always does: Establish a Commission to study and come up with guidelines for these kinds of situations 'cause they're gonna keep comin' up for a long while. Why can't the banks that have been "saved" be required to make the loans to the auto industry, and some other industries that are floundering? "It's JOBS!! that drive the economy, Stupid!!" ...... author unknown
http://digg. com/political_ opinion/How_ Does_it_Feel_ 2
***************
Carl Whitmarsh
Democrat till the last pup barks
Houston, Harris County - 15, Texas
from one of my all time favorite films - 1962's "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford Blanche: You wouldn't be able to do these awful things to me if I weren't still in this chair. Baby Jane: But you *are*, Blanche! You *are* in that chair!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItEE6lS39fw
Editorial - AS LOVING COUNTY GOES
Contrary to The New York Times' claim in a recent news analysis that the South remains a Republican bastion, Bob Moser looks at the numbers and sees breathtaking gains for Southern Democrats.
Full story.
Contrary to The New York Times' claim in a recent news analysis that the South remains a Republican bastion, Bob Moser looks at the numbers and sees breathtaking gains for Southern Democrats.
Full story.
Political intelligence
A Change in the Pecking Order
Will his company's bankruptcy curtail chicken magnate Bo Pilgrim's political clout?
Blowing Smoke
Rick Perry says the EPA's proposed new limits on greenhouse gases will ruin Texas businesses.
The Inside Track
A state lawmaker jockeying for a horse racing license also sits on the Texas House committee that oversees state revenue on which the Racing Commission feeds.
On Second Thought
The economic downturn has government officials thinking twice about going forward with large privatized projects like the Trans-Texas Corridor. full story
FEATURE- ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS?
Texans are paying the highest rates for homeowners insurance in the nation -- six years after an insurance crisis led Gov. Rick Perry and numerous state leaders to promise lower rates that never came. Meanwhile, insurance companies have enjoyed record profits. Dave Mann explores how the politically connected insurance industry pulled it off, and why, with a changing political environment, the 2009 legislative session may see genuine reform. full story
BOOKS & THE CULTURE - A QUIET LIFE, BUT NOT DESPERATE
David Theis reviews August Evening, a film by Chris Eska, and finds a treasure of luminous acting, a compelling story, and fine editing and cinematography.
Full story.
BOOKS & THE CULTURE - slow train to freedom
In Slavery by Another Name, Douglas Blackmon argues, passionately and convincingly, that blacks in the former Confederacy saw their freedom so constrained in the decades after the Civil War that they were not free in any meaningful way. By Todd Moye. Full story
AFTERWORD - JUNKYARD JIM
Dave Richards remembers his friend and colleague Jim Mattox as restless, combative and irrepressible, and as the best Texas attorney general in recent memory. Full story
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