Recap: Day three of the Paxton Impeachment trial

September 8, 2023

This is boring me to tears.

The Texas Tribune has a great recap. Here are my snarky comments.

Once again the witnesses for the State were solid, right wing, “conservatives” and the Buzbee Bunch defending Paxton was grasping for straws on minute details hoping to give republican Senators a way to justify saying “I have my doubts”. His attorneys hammered the witnesses, unsuccessfully, on the letterhead that was used to fire an attorney that Paxton hired illegally to intervene in a suit his staff had warned Paxton not to get involved in.

They hammered one of the witnesses for not taking aside the “gentle, kind” Paxton prior to going to the FBI and telling him they were going to the FBI. Those who went to the FBI were later fired, or demoted. They left the office, sued Paxton, and was to receive a $3 Million settlement.

Most of the time I was left with the question “What is your point?”. The witnesses were solid. They gave Paxton multiple opportunities to remove himself from Nat Pauls dealings and lawsuits. He refused so they went to the FBI. Witnesses were hammered, unsuccessfully, about them going to the FBI without evidence of a crime yet they had been for days detailing their concerns. The FBI was to validate the complaint, determine if it has merit, and then investigate. The FBI will find the evidence, not the staff.

The defense is just trying to give republican senators an opportunity to let Paxton off the hook. Any little reason will do. Anything no matter how minute it is.


Recap: Day two of the Paxton Impeachment trial

September 7, 2023

This is just awful. BTW if you want to read a great recap of the day visit The Texas Tribune. Here is my snarky comments on the day.

Paxton is just so screwed. I watched a number of hours of the trial yesterday. I pushed through the cross examination by Tony Buzbee waiting for his spray on tan to start dripping down his face. It didn’t happen. Buzbee attempted to put doubt in the testimony of the witnesses. That also didn’t happen. So far the witnesses are solid, right wing, republican, “federalist”, witnesses. They are telling the story of Paxton being warned over and over again about using the office of the Attorney General to help a donor, Nate Paul which is illegal. Yet he continued to do so.

Lt Governor Dan Patrick, looking like a post turtle, did his best to act like a real judge or lawyer. It didn’t work. (A post turtle is a turtle on top of a fence post. He doesn’t know how he got there. He doesn’t know what to do there. And he doesn’t know how to get off.) It is just awkward. Team Buzbee seems like they never tried a criminal defense case before. Buzbee is a personal injury attorney and he too seems like a post turtle. He didn’t help Paxton with his cross examination. He referred to the witnesses by their first names attempting to get a rise out of them. It didn’t work. They were solid. He wasn’t. The only thing Buzbee did was make the witnesses testimony more credible.

This morning Buzbee will attempt to cross examine another witness. It’s not going to go well.

Day three coming up.


Thank you Bay Area Democratic Movement!

September 6, 2023

I’ve been on the Board of Bay Area Democratic Movement for 6 years. It’s been a pleasure!


Recap: Day one of the Paxton Impeachment trial

September 6, 2023

I got to admit….I didn’t watch all of it.

OMG. Some quick notes on what I did watch/listen to. Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee looks like an overly tanned Ken and he sounds like a civil attorney trying to act like a criminal defense attorney. He isn’t a criminal defense attorney. Even with my law degree from Facebook U I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two.

For instance they spent 10 minutes on an objection by Buzbee against evidence being presented that the Buzbee team introduced! Seriously. Team Buzbee provided the evidence. Team Harding was presenting this evidence to the jury (The Senate) and Buzbee was objecting to it. To compound this stupidity Lt Governor Patrick, who is presiding over the trial, let this stupidity continue for a full 10 minutes. Patrick isn’t a judge or a lawyer. His only experience is what he learned from Facebook U.

Buzbee on a number of instances objected to testimony on conversations between a witness and Paxton. My attorney friends says it was a case of Lawyering 101, a class Buzbee must have failed.

Only one witness was called. He talked about learning of Paxton’s involvement with Nate Paul (he is the guy Paxton illegally helped in a civil case), something he said was highly irregular for a sitting Attorney General to do. He met with Paxton and claimed Paxton agreed to not interface with Paul again, yet the very next day he did it again.

I’m going to have to watch the cross examination. This witness was pretty good. Clearly he was concerned about the integrity of the Office as well as Paxton’s actions.


Texas Trump Republicans will let Paxton off the hook

September 5, 2023

Count on it.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial starts today. The trial will be televised and all Texans will have the opportunity to see the evidence against Paxton but they won’t. Most don’t care. Neither do the Republicans in the Senate.

If you haven’t been paying attention, their leader, Donald Trump, attempted to black mail the leader of Ukraine. Then he instigated a riot on the United States Capitol. He was impeached twice yet the republicans let him off the hook. Twice. If you think Texas Republicans in the Senate is going to vote to remove Paxton you really haven’t been paying attention.

This isn’t a criminal trial, that will come later. This is a trial to determine if Paxton is honorable enough to hold the office of top attorney. “Honorable” means nothing to republicans. Absolutely nothing. Evidence that will be provided will show Paxton had an affair and shared privileged information with a friend, Nate Paul, who moved his mistress to Austin. He hired an unqualified attorney from Houston, a referral from Nate Paul, to investigate a non-profit who was in litigation with Paul. That attorney issued 29 subpoenas and identified himself as a “Special Prosecutor”. Paxton’s staff squashed the subpoenas and ended the contract with the attorney.

The fact that he had an affair, compromised his position as lead attorney, and lied about it to his wife, a fellow Senator, would have been enough for Republicans to throw his rotten ass out the door. But that was prior to Trump. That was when Republicans actually were “conservative”, honorable, and moral.

Today the Republican Party leaders are just a bunch of low life, lying, cheating, stealing, adulterer sympathizer, excuse making, rotten bunch of fucking bastards. They will let Paxton off.

Count on it. You can watch the Republican Party crap itself live on the Senate website.


Fox 26 Houston airs Rumor Central. Will fire reporter.

September 4, 2023

This isn’t journalism.

Fox 26 aired a piece by Greg Groogan about a”rumor” that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was going to resign. Needless to say it was a baseless rumor started by an undisclosed individual. Usually TV station management would refuse to air a story based upon baseless rumors. If not any idiot journalist would have a great story every single day.

Groogan has a history of pissing on a campfire. He seems to enjoy it. Maybe someone ought to air a story based upon baseless rumors from a very reputable source: Fox 26 will fire Greg Groogan for his story about a baseless rumor. How is that for journalism? Maybe I can take over for Greg.

Dear Greg. Do better.


Alexandra Mealer. Whining like Trump over non-existant election fraud

August 31, 2023

In non legal terms, give it a rest Mealer.

Mealer lost her election to Judge Lina Hidalgo by over 18,000 votes. So they had a recount and she still lost. So she sued claiming some voting locations ran out of paper ballots. According to the Houston Chronicles investigation that wasn’t completely true and even if it was she couldn’t make up the difference. So she did what Trump did. She sued.

Now even her attorneys think she is full of shit. And she is. Along with her suit there are over 20 suits filed against judicial candidates claiming the lack of paper ballots skewed the election. The first went to trial last month and it didn’t go very well for the republicans. So Mealer is now claiming that over 32,000 ballots were incorrectly counted. (They weren’t and the Judge dismissed her stupidity)

It’s bullshit. Completely bullshit. Even her former attorneys are calling bullshit. From the Houston Chronicle:

Alvarez criticized Mealer’s decision to add claims about election fraud to her petition, saying that was not part of the deal they made when Mealer hired her firm: “She also specifically told us she did not want to litigate ballot fraud or election fraud, or anything resembling the Trump litigation because it would be embarrassing to her in her professional life.” 

Yeah. She already embarrassed herself by losing after out spending Hidalgo 4 to 1. Give it a rest Mealer.


More about Texas Majority PAC

August 31, 2023

George Soros’ heart is in the right place but…..

I attended a presentation by the Texas Majority PAC, a newly formed PAC in Texas funded entirely by George Soros (yes, that George Soros). I asked some questions that were never answered and probably for good reasons. TMP claims to have ran the “State wide” campaign in 2022. This isn’t exactly true. The individuals with TMP worked for the Beto for Governor campaign. They ran his state wide race and not the campaigns for other state wide candidates. TMP also had/has nothing to do with the Texas Democratic Party.

So with this in mind I am cautious about their motives. As stated earlier TMP raised $850,000 all from the Democracy PAC II, a PAC funded solely by George Soros with $175 Million. They have spent over $600,000 mostly on consulting and polling. They claim they are performing research on what it will take to win a state wide race. You can’t fault anyone for this type of activity. Texas has become the most white wing, racist, extremist state in the US. We need all the help we can get.

I’m hoping that this organization doesn’t turn out being just another arm of the Socialist movement running “Democratic Socialists” in the Democratic Party looking for easy pick offs in deep blue areas like Austin. (Socialists have already won in Travis County) It’s disturbing to read that the leader of TMP worked on campaigns to “defund the police” among other issues. Not one Democrat supports this stupidity. Not one. Listing this on your resume will make bloggers think twice about your organization.

On one hand you have to thank Soros for paying attention and paying the salaries of those who are helping Texas right itself (or un-right). On the other you have to be careful of who they will be funding.


Who the f*ck is Vivek Ramaswamy?

August 31, 2023

He is a very dangerous individual.

Vivek Rmaswamy is running for President in the Republican Party. He is a perfect candidate to represent those who continue to associate with the party. He is a liar. He is politically ignorant. He is politically dangerous. He is a conspiracy theorist. He is ignorant of foreign policy. He is a white supremacist sympathizer. He is a fast talking loud mouth. He is a hypocrite. He is a perfect republican. He is Donald Trump Part II, only worse.

Besides that according to Wikipedia Ramaswamy is:

  • He is a NRA nut
  • He is an Indian Hindu
  • Raised in Ohio
  • Graduated from Harvard
  • Graduated from Yale Law School
  • Founder of Campus Ventures Network
  • Libertarian
  • (LOL) received a fellowship from the Soros Fellowship for New Americans
  • Would support Trump even if convicted for multiple felonies by a jury
  • Called the LGBTQ movement a cult
  • Would fire 75% of all government employees and dismantle all civil service protections
  • Would abolish the Dept of Education, FBI, IRS, and the FDA
  • Raise the voting age to 25
  • Would abolish Juneteenth holiday
  • Would defund Ukraine support
  • Denies climate change, claims it is a hoax
  • He is a vegetarian

He is worse than Trump but talks in a way that an idiot can understand him, which is the Republican base.


Bringing the hate to the state. Republican National Cult comes to Houston

August 28, 2023

Houston won the Republican National Cult Convention in 2028 and we all will be losers for it.

Every white supremacist, every racist, every white wing extremist, gun toting, truck driving, MAGAt and those who tolerate or support them will be in Houston for the 2028 Republican Convention. Elected officials of the Texas Republican Party must be giddy to have their hate for Black, Mexicans, Jews, Muslims, teachers, police, Gays, Asian Americans, and others on full display in one of the most diverse cities in the country.

Hate will be on display in Houston for a full week bringing millions of dollars to vendors working hard to stuff the racists with food, drinks, and pleasure. Hate will be on display with the appearance of the leaders of their hatred, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordon, Matt Gaetz, and others. The RNC will not be hiding their hate, they will be promoting their hate. It sells. It motivates. It is who they are.

According to the Houston Chronicle:

“As the nation’s most diverse and inclusive city, we believe Houston represents the future of the United States, and our aspirations for the country,” said Michael Heckman, the president and CEO of Houston First Corp., the city’s convention arm. “We’re excited to show off these attributes and our hospitality. We do it every day, and we look forward to doing it again in 2028.”

Yes, we are diverse and inclusive. I guess that means we have to include the racist cult of the RNC.


Bay Area Houston

Hard hitting political commentary always full of wit in Houston Texas.

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