I need to do something! How do I get involved?

August 12, 2022

Electricity prices, property taxes, housing costs, college tuition, and home insurance are out the roof in Texas. Gun violence is out of control. Texas ranks 45th in education. Women’s rights have been slashed and you are telling yourself “I need to do something!“. Well you have about 2 months to do something to correct the direction of our State. It’s up to you to get involved. This is how.

Volunteer with a campaign. Find a campaign to work on. Sign up. Volunteer.

Volunteer with our clubs. The Bay Area Democratic Movement, Bay Area New Democrats, and the Bay Area Association of Democratic Women has opened a joint headquarters and will be campaigning for all of our Democrats across the Bay Area including Beto, Lina Hidalgo, and Adrian Garcia. We are located on the corner of Diana and Bay Area Blvd. 1215 Bay Area Blvd. We are open 11-6 Monday – Saturday. Closed Sunday. (Times will change as we get closer to the election.) We will be a one stop shop for signs, phone banking, block walking, rallies, and more. Sign up here to get periodic news on our HQ. Our phone number is 346-384-0387.

Phonebank. Phonebanking will be conducted throughout the day and evening. We will be calling voters in our own neighborhood. Our phonebook system is easy to use and does not require your personal cell phone! We will provide training. Again, join our newsletter to keep informed of when we will have training.

Block Walk/Literature drop. We will have our own door hanger available to leave at a door advocating for all of our candidates. Volunteer to work your own neighborhood. We will train you. It’s easy and great exercise.

Put a sign in your yard. Come by the HQ and get a sign for your candidate. (Donations greatly appreciated!) Show your support and enthusiasm for changing our State. Signs will be available soon. We will also be putting out signs in the district. If you have a business or property we can get a large sign for you. Once again, sign up here to learn when we get Beto signs!

Donate money. If you can’t talk, or walk, then donate! Our headquarters would greatly appreciate a donation to our HQ! The money will be used for rent, utilities, phonebanking, and literature. Donate to the HQ here.

Get involved! After 30 years of republican rule we have an excellent chance of a lifetime to finally put our state on the right track. DO SOMETHING! NOW!

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Posted by johncoby

BREAKING: Texas DPS to leave 1025 school districts open to assault!

August 11, 2022
From The Austin Chronicle

You simply cannot make this up.

According to Click2Houston, Texas DPS will provide 30 officers to campuses throughout Uvalde ISD.

“As a new school year begins, we must ensure students, parents, and all dedicated school personnel can look forward to new opportunities to learn and grow. Texas will keep working to provide all available support and resources to the Uvalde community as they continue to heal.” — Greg Abbot

So 1 school district out of 1026 districts in Texas are now going to have extended police protection leaving 1025 districts open for assault, a total of 8723 schools. Once again Abbott is using a distraction in order to protect his gun buddies just like he did after the Santa Fe shooting.

After the Santa Fe shooting Governor Abbott and Lt Governor Dan Patrick promised metal detectors at the High School, again after the fact, after 8 kids were killed. Metal detectors at 1 out of 8724 school in Texas did not solve the problem as was the case in Uvalde. These are nothing but knee jerk reactions to distract from the real problem of easy access to military style weapons leading to 8 mass shootings in Texas alone.

This is Greg Abbott. He loves guns more than your kids lives.

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Blast from the past: The Texas Ethics Commission

August 10, 2022
KHOU Reports

Back in 2009 KHOU did a story about the research a few activists performed concerning how elected officials spent their donors money, specifically hiding expenses behind a credit card. You can watch it here.

NOTE: In this story I made some comments about the Texas Ethics Commission which I do not agree with today. I have gained a much better respect for the Commission, especially the staff, and appreciate what they do.

In 2009 a small group of us looked at every State Representative and State Senator expenditure reports, about 180 of them. We found many were hiding purchases behind credit cards. The rules of the Ethics Commission are clear, report who gave you money and what you bought using their money. We found elected officials spending their donors money on personal items hidden behind a credit card. Converting campaign donations to personal use is against the law. It’s called “stealing”. We eventually filed about 60 ethics complaints with only 2 rejected.

Of the 58 accepted by the Commission, one resulted in the largest fine in the history of the Commission, $75,000. Many resulted in fines and requirements that the official return the money they stole from their donors. The Commission also required a new form to be filled out to identify every purchase made with a credit card. I hope this new form requirement was based upon the research we performed.

We eventually published a report called Don’t Mess With Ethics documenting what we had found. You can read that report here. Enjoy!

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Local Representative attends extreme white wing event

August 9, 2022
Dennis Paul
State Representative Dennis Paul

This is disturbing.

Local State Representative Dennis Paul attended a meeting at the Hampton inn in Webster, Texas, by the “True Texas Project” an organization labeled as an extremist anti-government group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the Houston Chronicle this group was banned from a local church:

Leaders of Webster Presbyterian Church, where astronaut Buzz Aldrin is a “ruling elder,” banned far-right political group True Texas Project from holding events in their meeting spaces and removed the group’s events from its calendar last week, according to texts and emails obtained by Chron. Houston Chronicle July 22, 2022

The all white attendees listened to Paul and State Senator Paul Bettencourt talk about “Igniting the spirit of the original Texians”. Who are the Texians? “Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas.” Wikipedia. Just an FYI for you white wing history deniers:

Mexico invited white people to come and settle in what later became Texas. All they asked was for them to learn the language and become citizens. Instead they decided to steal the land, with 200 military idiots picking a fight with 1500 well armed Mexican soldiers in San Antonio. They were killed and their bodies burned.

According to True Texas’ website, “We believe in Constitutional government, national sovereignty, fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility, and rule of law.” Paul is an election denier. He doesn’t believe Biden is the duly elected President. He doesn’t take personal responsibility for the COVID response disaster leading to the death of his own friends or the 19 children killed in Uvalde because of easy access to assault weapons. And “the rule of law” is nothing but a punch line to him and his party.

True Texas is mainly funded by the billionaires identified by CNN in “Deep in the Pockets of Texas”, Timothy Dunn, and Defend Texas Liberty PAC funded by Dunn and Wilks. Their top donors Include:

Empower Texans PAC25,000.00
Defend Texas Liberty PAC24,731.97
Defend Texas Liberty PAC21,000.00
Dunn ,Timothy18,000.00
Dunn ,Timothy13,000.00
Middleton ,Mayes13,000.00
Saulsbury ,Dick12,000.00
Empower Texans4,000.00
Texans for Dan Patrick3,000.00
Mason  ,David2,400.00
Mason  ,David2,085.00
Empower Texans2,000.00
Mason  ,David2,000.00
Patrick ,Dan 2,000.00

Why Dennis Paul would attend such as extremist organization says a lot about him. Maybe Paul can arrange a meeting space for them at his own church, St Bernadettes.

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Election for the Chair of the Texas Democratic Party coming up!

July 16, 2022

This ought to be fun.

We have 3 candidates to choose from, our current Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, Kim Olson, and Carroll Robinson. I’ve heard all three speak at various events and I have my personal choice. Here is what I think the atmosphere is like in the convention.

Most everyone I have asked have good words for Chairman Hinojosa but follow it with a big but……we need to do something different. Hinojosa is running on his record but the other two are running on his record also. Hinojosa has been the chair for 10 years now and quite frankly I have to agree with the opposition. Our state has moved backwards on all fronts and we stalled in 2020. 

Lots of folks wearing pink Kim Olson shirts. Lots of women are supporting her. Robinson has a small showing. Hinojosa has a supporters but seem to be subdued. We will see what shakes out when the the sign waving starts.

Hinojosa has some interesting endorsements including one from an unknown PAC called Future Generations. Never heard of them but I received a text endorsing Hinojosa. FG was created recently, raised only $66,000 and seems to be endorsing far lefties across the county and Hinojosa, which I do not consider a far lefty. Not sure why they would pick a State Chair race to endorse.

Olson has received an endorsement from the Texas Progressive Caucus. I know very little about them.

Vote is later today.

Who’s is Future Generations PAC?

 

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Kim Olson for Texas Democratic Party Chair

July 6, 2022

Sometimes a change is necessary. That time is now.

I remember voting for Gilberto Hinojosa many years ago. He was a great choice then and did a great job for many years but it is time for the party to move on and do something different. As with every issue facing our state whether it is gun safety, immigration, civil rights, women rights, etc, etc, we are not moving in the right direction. It is time to do something different.

Kim Olson is running for the Chair of the Texas Democratic Party. Kim’s resume is outstanding. Take a minute to review it here. She has been involved in the party for many years, running for Texas Agriculture Commission and Congress, and advocating for Democratic issues. (See her video here. It’s a good one.) Running for office requires raising money. Running the Party also requires raising money as well as enthusiasm.  I am confident she has the ability to raise money for the party. Kim is tough, battle tested. Unlike many who have run for office and lost, Kim is still here, still working to make our Party and our State better. 

We should all thank Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa for his years of service to the Democratic Party. He has served our Party honorably. Kim is up for election on Saturday. I believe the Party will be represented well by Kim Olson if elected.

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Guide to the Texas Democratic Convention in Dallas July 14-16

July 6, 2022

The Texas Democratic Convention will take place  in Dallas from Thursday-Saturday July 14-16. Here is a quick guide for those attending:

Do not sign any petitions. When you check in and during the convention you will be asked to sign petition for various resolutions. Do yourself a favor Don’t sign them. If a group gets enough signatures from each of their Senate District their resolution must be brought to the floor for a vote. Sometimes this could amount to a very long, drawn out, worthless vote. If the resolution they are pushing have merit they should have pushed them through the resolution committees of the Senate Conventions. Many of the fringe groups have done this in the past.

The Texas Democratic Party has a load of information at their website, TexasDemocraticConvention.com. It has a schedule of events and the rules of the convention as well as other information. Take some time to read it.

Go to the Kickoff receptions. The kickoff is a great way to meet your elected officials, donate to the party, and have fun. It is always a good party for the party. The kickoff is at the host hotel on Thursday evening. Find tickets here.

Find hospitality suites. Many elected officials and organizations will have hospitality suites throughout the event. Organizations like Annie’s List, Texas Freedom Network, Young Democrats, etc are just a few that will most probably have a party. This is again a great way to meet like minded people on specific issues. And they are usually a lot of fun!

Visit the vendors. Once they are open find a plastic cover for your convention credentials. The vendors will have t-shirts, stickers, and other political merchandise. Many organizations will have a booth with information about their specific issue. Find an issue you are concerned about. Sign up to keep informed.

Attend your Senate District Caucus. At this time delegates will vote for SDEC chairs and positions for the various committees. You should have been contacted by those who are running by now.

Attend a caucus. There will be a caucus for a number of organizations including the Hispanic Caucus, Young Democrats, and specific issues caucus. Pick one and attend. Unfortunately they only schedule a couple of hours for these meetings and most of the time is spent listening to candidates. 


Attend a training session. Your delegate package will have a detailed schedule with training sessions usually on Saturday morning. Pick one or more.


Do not feed the fringe groups. In the past the fringe group was the LaRouche people. I did not see them at the last convention. But if there is a new fringe, just leave them alone. They tend to be like lost, cute puppies. Once you talk to them you will end up taking them home. And feeding them. These fringe groups are the cult of the Democratic Party. Do yourself a favor and just leave them alone.

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Local republican national committee member votes on RNC resolution censuring Cheney

February 7, 2022

The republican national committee is composed of 3 members from each state, 2 elected committee members and the chair of the State party. Robin Armstrong is one of the committee members from Texas. Robin lives in Friendswood. From the RNC:

Robin Armstrong was elected as the National Committeeman from Texas in June of 2012. He is a politician and physician who served as vice chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2006-2010. Mr. Armstrong has a B.S. in microbiology from Texas A&M University and an M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. 

The resolution censured Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Congressman Adam Kinzinger for participating in the Jan 6 Committee investigating the Jan 6 riot at the capitol that led to the deaths of a number of police officers and 2 rioters, along with millions in damages. Robin voted on the language claiming the riot was  “legitimate political discourse”. From the resolution:

WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes,

The full resolution can be read below. 

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WTH is wrong with Texans?

February 3, 2022

You’re freezing your butt off. You’re paying a tax for the electrical grid upgrade that was supposed to have happened in 2003. You’re paying high electricity prices due to deregulation in 2003. You’re paying outrageous home insurance prices due to the failure of insurance deregulation in 2003. You’re paying some of the highest property taxes in the country. You’re paying high college and trade school prices ever since Abbot and company deregulated college tuition in 2003. 

And over 75,000 of friends, family, and fellow Texans have died from COVID partially due to Abbott’s politicizing of COVID.

Yet you’re still voting for him? WTH is wrong with you?

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Raising Campaign Cash: Lee Merritt for Texas Attorney General

January 19, 2022

Lot’s of socialist money being poured into this campaign. 

The socialists of America has figured out a way to infiltrate the Democratic Party by running in deep, deep, deep, blue districts such as in Hays County (Austin). They pick and choose just a few candidates unlike what they did back in 2016 when they adopted the “Run Everywhere, Lose Everywhere” approach. From an early post:

Out of 80 candidates endorsed by , 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.

It looks like they have picked Lee Merritt to run in Texas for AG. Texas is far from being deep, deep, blue. It’s a possible swing state if that. In his latest report Merritt raised a total of $404,615 which is pretty good for a primary. $185,333 are unitemized. More on that later.

Of the remaining 2146 donations of $219,281 that were itemized, only $70,085, 31%, were from Texans. $149,196, 69%, came from out of state donors. $60,751 came from donors from California. $22,298 came from Real Justice PAC a socialist Organization based out of California. Real Justice raised $25,880 with $21,445 coming from cash donations, which is hard to believe. I’ve written about Real Justice before:

According to the Texas Ethics Commission Real Justice PAC has raised $298,050 with $200,000 coming from one individual, Cari Tuna from San Fransisco. Only $10,200 came from Texans, and only $600 came from Harris County.

About that $185,333. Merritt listed unitemized contributions of $185,333. According to the Texas Ethics Commission all donations over $90 must be reported as well as all donations submitted electronically. So this $185,333 must be donations of $90 or less and in cash. That is a lot of cash.



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