Texas Activism

[bookman]

Thought I'd post this here...

Help Shine a Light on the Investigation of Craddick and DeLay!

Knock off Ron Wilson!

Support Alma A. Allen


Well, thanks to the efforts of CleanUpTexasPolitics.com and others, the corrupt practices Tom DeLay and Tom Craddick used to steal 18 state rep races in 2002 are finally starting to get the attention they deserve.

On Monday, the New York Times reported that a Travis County grand jury is focusing on DeLay's political action committee, Texans For a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) because of the illegal corporate contributions is raised and funneled to right-wing state House candidates. This was a serious violation of state law. A felony, as a matter of fact.

Then, the Austin American-Statesman followed up with reports detailing how Craddick, a candidate for House Speaker at the time, violated state law by passing out TRMPAC checks to his favored candidates. That's illegal, too -- thanks in part to a state law to prohibit Speaker candidates from buying votes that Craddick himself voted for three decades ago! Read all about Craddick and his Cartel's continuing controversy of corruption. Today the Statesman editorial board called for an investigation of Craddick.

Now, I know a lot of rumors are swirling around about Gov. Rick Perry's personal life. But no one has ever questioned his faithfulness to the Texas Association of Business (TAB), which also happens to be under investigation for possible criminal violations of state campaign finance laws. Rick Casey wrote a compelling column in the Houston Chronicle about Perry's failure to listen to the Dallas, Austin, and Houston Chambers of Commerce when they advocate for more school funding.

Nope, one Rick points out about the other, Perry's gonna dance with the ones who brung him -- TAB. After all, they pay Perry's tab. And if they say we don't need more money for Texas schools, that's the end of the debate, as far as Perry's concerned. After all, as the other Rick notes in his Houston Chronicle column, "TAB bought the Legislature fair and square with $1.9 million in corporate funds."

And the Dallas Morning News is reporting that TRMPAC sent the Republican National Committee $190,000 in CORPORATE CASH and the RNC two weeks later the RNC funnelled that money back to 7 Texas State House Races. Fred Lewis, director of the citizens interest group CleanUpTexasPolitics.com, wonders why a Texas-based group trying to elect state legislators would suddenly send $190,000 to Washington, unless it knew it couldn't donate it to races itself.

The implications of all this are wide-ranging:

1) DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority used corporate money to illegally influence 22 state rep campaigns in 2002. They won 18 of them. This got DeLay the majority in the Texas House that passed his ultra-partisan redistricting bill.
2) Craddick personally delivered TRMPAC checks to 14 candidates, in direct violation of state law. This got Craddick the Speakership he needed to help DeLay ram redistricting through.
3) DeLay plans to use the new partisan map to knock off at least five sitting Democratic congressmen. If he succeeds, he will have used illegal corporate cash to steal the Texas House and, then, steal a majority of the U.S. Congress for a decade to come.

Campaigns for People/CleanUpTexasPolitics.com has done heroic work in helping bring these scandals to the attention of the media. They've also got a video online with former State Rep. Ann Kitchen describing how corporate money was used against her.

Please help by supporting the effort to CleanUpTexasPolitics This is as important as any political candidate you can give to this cycle.

And while we're at it. Democratic turncoat and Craddick pal Rep. Ron Wilson has a very qualified primary challenger, National Association of State Boards of Education President Alma A. Allen. Please help her so the people of her district can have a real Democrat representing them in Austin. Her site can accept online contributions via credit card at http://www.almaaallen.com If you're sick of sell out Democrats, help a real Dem fight back!

[sonias]

1. thanks bookman!

I couldn't agree with you more. Let's take off the gloves in Texas and fight back. Write letters to your local papers and show your disgust for these repuke corrupt practices.

Sonia

[reprehensor]

2. Le bump. n/t

[Elanor]

3. help!

I just read the Austin-American Statesman's article about my new Perry-mandered district. Eight of the worst Republicans known to mankind, no Democratic candidate AT ALL.

What can I do? Anyone else in this situation? I'm thinking (1) I could start a write-in campaign, but how to get the word out in a district that stretches from Austin to Houston and (2) I could contact the people at Prairie View A&M, who appear to be in my district, and ask what their plans are (if I knew how to find the student dems or greens or, heck, anything but republicans), (3) I hear that with a paltry 45,000 people who don't vote in the primary will sign a petition, we can get a 3rd party candidate on the ballot, so maybe I could try that, or (4) I can move to Canada.

4 is looking damned tempting tonight.

[GOPisEvil]

4. I'm a District 10-er (for now)

I'm moving to District 25 when my lease is up (well, I'm going to try). Nothing I can do in the primary, but for November...I still think Gus Garcia should have run. :-(

Canada looks better and better, doesn't it?

[Elanor]

5. primary

Are you going to vote in the primary? Maybe we should start a petition drive to run a third-party candidate, just to give people a choice.

[GOPisEvil]

6. There are some local races in the primary I want to vote in.

I'll probably vote early tomorrow.

[Elanor]

7. write in

I called the TX Democratic Party. They say there's a UT professor who's considering a write-in candidacy, BUT didn't have his name.

Of course, that's no help for a primary, just a heads-up.

[GOPisEvil]

8. Hmm...Interesting. He'd have to quit his job, though.

I'm a state employee and would have considered running, if not for the fact that I like eating and having a roof over my head.

[sonias]

9. More Texas activism - Travis and Texas level too

Verified voting and BBV is of course a topic most of us on DU are very familiar with. Some of us here in Travis (Austin) are working on moving the verified voting issue here locally in Travis but also on the state level.

We have two major action items to take on. If you live in Austin (Travis) we have a letter writing campaign we have kicked off to the decision makers to force them to move towards verified paper ballots as part of e-voting systems. Secondly if you live anywhere in Texas we are writing our Secretary of State (Geoffrey Conner; yes that one) to force them to open up the certification meeting they are planning in May, 2004. Vendors meet with the secretary of state and get certified for use in Texas at these meetings. So far these meetings have been held behind close doors in defiance of the open meetings act.

These meetings must be open to the public and we have to get the Sec. of State to move towards requiring vendors to use verifiable paper ballots.

The local group which is a coalition of various sponsors like ACLU, EFF and Campaigns for People does not have these letters on their web site yet. Their web site is in the process of going live. Their URL for future use is http://safevoting.org

So for now I asked them to send me the letters which they passed out at a recent meeting. I then turned these into pdf files and posted them myself. Please download them, personalize them and send them in. They are located here http://hyperweb.com/sonia

Also if you live in Austin we need more volunteers to help us get out some letters to precinct chairs on this issue before the primary election. If you can make it we are meeting at the ACLU offices on Wednesday night 2/25 at 6;30 pm
ACLU of Texas office
1210 Rosewood
Austin, TX 78702
Take 11th St. 0.4 miles east of I-35. Keep left when 11th and
Rosewood intersection.

Sonia

[Zan_of_Texas]

10. speaking of BBV -- this is for those in Houston -- forum Wed.

Wednesday there will be an outstanding forum on our voting processes. Experts working independently around the country have found the new electronic voting machines to be fatally flawed with security holes. Rigging votes could be accomplished by a teenager in a garage, or by a select few who work inside the companies who manufacture the machines, and the fraud would likely would escape detection, because the machines currently lack a meaningful ability to recount votes.

A Snickers bar at a convenience store has more effective deterrent against theft than our votes do right now.

Find out the facts!

If your elected representatives aren't representing you, maybe it's because you didn't elect them!

Zan


On Wednesday, February 25 at 4 pm on the Rice Campus, David Dill, professor of computer science at Stanford University and activist in the drive for better security in electronic voting, will be speaking on the battle for accountable voting systems.

Following Dr. Dill's talk, a panel will discuss the topic further. On the panel will be Bob Stein, dean of social sciences and Dan Wallach, assistant professor of computer science, both from Rice, Adina Levin of Electronic Frontier Foundation Austin, and Scott Hochberg, state representative for district 137. Also, Bill Stotesbery will represent the vendor for Harris (and Travis) County, Hart InterCivic.

Prof. Dan Wallach was on the first team of scientists in the country to independently analyze software for an electronic voting machine (Diebold). In their report, they identify "stunning flaws" that began to be found within the first hour of examining the program. Prof. David Dill's website on voting can be found at www.verifiedvoting.org

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25
4:00 PM
Duncan Hall -- McMurtry Auditorium
Rice University

DIRECTIONS: http://www.rice.edu/maps/bwmap.pdf
QUESTIONS: 713-348-4636

[sonias]

11. Zan love that slogan "Paper Ballots Not Vapor Ballots"

I think we'll use that. Good luck in Houston and keep us posted on your actions.

Sonia

[Adam D]

12. Texas

There's no open door to anybody more than the Democrats and Republicans.