A SNAFU in the Office of the Elections Administrator process?

November 28, 2020

A few months ago the Harris County Commissioners Court rushed through a process creating the Office of the Elections Administrator. Many activists, including myself, were not very happy about being called to provide input, taking their time to do so, just so they could immediately make the decision. From a previous post:

The Commissioners listened to our input then voted to approve the item regardless. Their minds were made up leaving us with many unanswered questions. Why were we left in the dark on this extremely important issue? Why was this being discussed in the middle of a historic election? Why was this being discussed during a raging pandemic killing Houstonians? Why didn’t the Commission reach out for comments from the public? Why were they not being transparent about the issue?

Since then an Elections Administrator, Isabel Longoria, has been appointed by the Commission. This selection has been praised by many in the community but Tuesday’s meeting might upend this. According to an update to the upcoming agenda for Tuesday’s meeting:

Request by the County Attorney for Executive Session to consult with the County Attorney concerning claims that the Office of the Elections Administrator was improperly established and for possible action upon return to Open Session including ratification of prior acts of Commissioners Court; creation of the Office of the Elections Administrator and/or authorization for litigation concerning such claims.

Most probably the Harris County Republican Party has their panties in a wad and has challenged the process that was rushed through. The item will be discussed during executive session.

Hopefully this rush to appoint was legal and we can move on to the next election cycle.

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Posted by johncoby

Socialists gain in the Democratic Congress

November 17, 2020

They are getting smarter.

Two years ago Justice Democrats, the socialist organization funded by Senator Sanders, endorsed 80 candidates across the country. From a previous post:

Out of 80 candidates endorsed by JD, only 7 won. 2 were incumbents in deep blue districts. 1 was unopposed.  4 were all in very blue districts wiping out their general election opponents. It’s not like they were endorsing in tough competitive states like Texas, although those that did, lost. All of them. One raised over a $1 Million and lost 70-30 in the primary.

This year they were smarter endorsing only 9 candidates in deep, deep, blue districts with somewhat better results. Three won in the general election. The rest lost in the general or the primary but the socialists ended up gaining in the House and it’s a blueprint for how to continue to win.

Candidate Position Result Percentage
Marie Newman IL-03 Won in general 53-46 Deep Blue
Cori Bush MO-01 Won in general 80-17 Deep Blue
Jamaal Bowman NY-16 Won in general 82-17 Deep Blue
Georgette Gomez CA-53 Lost in General 59-40 Deep Blue
Kara Eastman NE-02 Lost in General 50-46 Toss up
Alex Morse MA-01 Lost in primary 58-42 Deep Blue
Betsy Sweet ME-SN Lost in primary 71-22 Collins Seat
Morgan Harper OH-03 Lost in primary 68-31 Deep Blue
Jessica Cisneros TX-28 Lost in primary 57-39 Deep Blue

Locally the socialists attempted to win in District Attorney races with the Travis County DA flipping. Here in Harris County the Democrat, Kim Ogg easily won in the primary and in the general.

Look for the Justice Democrats to continue running under the “progressive” banner in deep, deep blue areas knocking off Democrats in the primary and easily winning in the general election.

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Posted by johncoby

Airline security questions Texas State Representative on flight to Pennsylvania

November 9, 2020

November 8, 2020 Houston, Texas. Texas State Representative Briscoe Cain was held and questioned when attempting to board a flight from Houston to Philadelphia. According to Homeland Security Officials Cain was held for over an hour prior to the flight. From a spokesman:

We were alerted to the issue by an anonymous posting on Facebook. The picture of Cain raises serious questions about the safety and liability of the airline and required immediate attention. A review of his twitter feed confirmed our suspicions. We held Cain for approximately 1 hour to verify his identification. He would have been released much sooner but we were unable to contact his mother to verify his age.

Homeland Security has strict protocols concerning a minor flying alone. Out of an abundance of caution we held Cain back until he could prove he wasn’t a 12 year old or acted like one.

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Posted by johncoby

Are we a nation of Assholes? or Americans? We decide today.

November 3, 2020

 

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Posted by johncoby

Why? Houston Firefighter Union President attending Super Spreader event

October 31, 2020

You have to wonder what the hell Patrick “Marty” Lancton the President of the Houston Firefighters Union is thinking.

The Harris County Republican Party is advertising a rally at the Bayou Event Center in Houston this Sunday. Lancton is one of the featured speakers. He might want to reconsider his participation. He should be reminded that the chair, Keith Nielsen, posted a racist meme after the killing of George Floyd. For this he lost his job as the Pasadena Planning Commissioner and many have asked him to resign including Congressman Crenshaw, Brady, McCaul, Lt Governor Patrick, and 149 members of the Executive Committee.

The event has attracted The Who’s Who of Who’s Dat including Miss Venezuela 1994. The lead attraction is a congressman from Galveston county. So far none of the other republicans running in the area are willing to share the stage or the meme with Nielsen.

You have to wonder what Lancton’s thought process is. He is the president of the firefighters union representing a diverse group of men and women in one of the most diverse cities in the country. He has no business associating with the chair who has this racist stain in his past.

I’ve asked for a comment from the Union’s Communications Director. 


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Posted by johncoby

As predicted, the Coronavirus is back. And it's not good.

October 30, 2020

The graphs speak for themselves. Unlike the other countries the United States never got the virus under control. Lead by Trump the country was hastily reopened. Kids and teachers went back to school and many did not take this as serious as the expects asked us to. So here we are. Europe is beginning to shut down again. Republicans here in the US will drive us into the ER rooms all the way till Jan 20. Yesterday the USA had a record 91,000 new cases with Texas leading the race again.

Go vote. 

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Posted by johncoby

Harris County Republican Party to host a COVID superspreader event

October 29, 2020

You got to be kidding me.

The Harris County Republican Party is holding a Get Out the Vote rally and concert this Sunday. Now to be fair I’ve been to a GOTV rally recently but it was outside and required social distancing and masks. I doubt the HCRP has any intentions of being safe, after all, the COVID pandemic is still a hoax to many of them.

The event is sponsored by Chris Daniel a candidate for Harris County Tax Collector but there is no record of his campaign paying for the venue. The event features republican candidates and elected officials of  The Who’s Who of Who’s Dat. This includes Congressman Randy Weber of Galveston County, a handful of House candidates, the President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association Marty Lancton, and Carmen Montiel Miss Venezuela. (seriously)

Missing in this field of COVID deniers are Wesley Hunt, candidate for CD7, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Kevin Brady, Republican House members, and Lt Governor Dan Patrick. No shows. So far. 

So if you are interested in attending a super spreader event you have one right here in Houston during another wave of COVID. By the way, yesterday the United States recorded a record breaking 81,000 new COVID cases with Texas leading the way with over 7100.

Have fun!

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Posted by johncoby

USAA members. Do you know about your "Subscriber Savings Account"?

October 28, 2020

Last year USAA increased by home insurance premium by 25% from $4000 to $5000. I had been a member of USAA for over 25 years. Obviously loyalty means nothing to USAA. This increase was enough to consider moving away and it came with a surprise.

If you decide to leave USAA insurance the balance of your “Subscriber Savings Account” is returned to you after 6 months. If you have been with them for as long as I have, 25+ years, that could be a significant chunk of change. In my case it is paying for a family trip to Italy with money to spare. (If we can ever get past this virus!)

If you are considering moving and getting much better rates, call them and ask what your balance is. It might help you make a decision. USAA may be competitive in other areas and their service has always been outstanding but it is not worth that much. Many people in the Clear Lake area has dumped USAA because their premiums are just so out of touch with the industry. It seems like all they want to cover is the areas that are safe. BTW. I moved from USAA last year. Saved $3000 a year with the SAME coverage. Moved my home insurance and auto insurance. GEICO was actually much cheaper. They will have to find someone else to donate to pay for their 18% bonuses to their employees.

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Posted by johncoby

How low can they go? The Harris County Republican Party

October 27, 2020

 

Picture from Living Blue in Texas

Yeow. What the living hell is going on with the Harris County Republican Party? 

There are strange things happening at the HCRP. Their chair posted a racist meme after the George Floyd killing. He lost his job at the Pasadena Planning Commission because of it. He was asked to resign by local Republicans including Congressmen Crenshaw, McCaul, Brady, and Lt Governor Dan Patrick. 149 Republican Chairs have called for his resignation. The Executive Committee also limited his spending power.

There is more. Or less. According to the Texas Ethics Commission the Party is broke. This time in 2016 the HCRP raised $450,000. Today they reported raising $12,000. In 2016 they had $350,000 8 days before the election. Now they have $11,000. Their Federal PAC has $1 Million but I do not see any of that money being spent to help the HCRP. Who is paying their rent?

And other tidbits. Here in the Bay Area the Bay Area Republican Women had a year round office. That has since closed, right before the election. Their record keeping with the Texas Ethics Commission is ripe for an ethics complaint and that might just get picked.

And now this. Fox26 out of Houston covered a press conference with the HCRP Chair and someone named Len Swanson the founding leader of some kind of militia. They had a 40 minute talkfest which included a prayer and the sounding of a horn. (I am not kidding) Living Blue in Texas has the entire conference on their blog. It’s like watching a really bad movie that you just can’t stop watching. I watched it. It was really, really, bad. I am sure Fox News wished they hadn’t covered it. See for yourself.

https://livingbluetx.com/2020/10/harris-county-republicans/

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Posted by johncoby

Who's your daddy? Candidate for Tx House 132 Mike Schofield

October 26, 2020

Mike Schofield raised a lot of money. Sort of.

Schofield is running for Texas House District 132 challenging State Representative Gina Calanni who beat him in 2018. Calanni has served honorably receiving the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle. Schofield has since resorted to a campaign of lies resulting in a cease and desist letter from the Calanni campaign. Schofield is using the trump method of trying to win.

One look at Schofield’s ethics reports shows he raised over $1 Million. Another look shows how padded his report is. Out of the $1 Million raised, $850,000 is from in-kind donations. This includes $488,000 from a Washington DC PAC called the Republican State Leadership Committee. $83,000 came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, $93,000 from Greg Abbott, and $123,000 from Republicans of Texas Fund.

Of the $176,000 he raised from individuals and PACs, $120,000 came from PACs. Only $56,000 came from human beings. 

There is so much money coming from special interest groups into Mike Schofield’s campaign it is not clear if he can even answer the question “Who’s your daddy?”.

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Posted by johncoby

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