Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Whoa – Republican DA Candidate Mike Anderson hanging with Democrat anti-Semite?

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What the heck?

Out on the campaign trail with owner of Farouk Systems, Farouk Shami, a friend and supporter of the campaign

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Mike, are you kidding me? Friend and supporter of the campaign? Here is Shami with Neil Aquino, who blogs as the Texas Liberal:

And here is what Neil wrote about that scarf:

The problem is what the scarf says. On one side it says “Palestine” and on the other side it says “Jerusalem is ours.”

I read that scarf and I thought to myself—”Isn’t this race difficult enough for you already?”

Yeah, isn’t November going to be difficult enough for all Harris County Republicans without the guy at the top of the ticket palling around with a  Jew-hating, anti-Israel, 9/11 Truther?

Good grief.

But hey, look at the bright side! It reminded me of this video:

It’s amazing that Republicans win anything.

Sen. John Cornyn pushes SAFER Act through committee

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Texas Sen. John Cornyn continues to do work of the people.

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator – Texas
For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Judiciary Committee Approves Sen. Cornyn’s Bipartisan SAFER Act

Bill Seeks To Eliminate Massive National Rape Kit Backlog

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former Texas Attorney General, today released the following statement upon his bipartisan Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act being reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

“Today we took a large step toward ensuring justice for victims of sexual assault.  I’m encouraged by the bipartisan support the SAFER Act received in the Judiciary Committee and look forward to a vote on the Senate floor.”

Sen. Cornyn’s SAFER Act will audit and reduce the backlog of untested rape in the possession of law enforcement agencies across the country, which experts have pegged as high as 400,000. Endorsed by key national victims’ rights groups, this deficit-neutral bill will provide funding for state and local governments to conduct audits of untested DNA evidence and create a national registry to help track and prioritize untested rape kits.

A one pager with further information on the SAFER Act is attached. Click here to view.

Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees.  He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

CONTACT: Megan Mitchell, (202) 224-0704

This is not an insignificant achievement. Sen. Cornyn has worked on this legislation for months and finally succeeded at getting it out of committee.

It is going to be awesome after the Republicans take control of the Senate in November and Sen. Cornyn gets the leadership post he and the voters deserve. The entire country will benefit under his conservative leadership.

King Street Patriots host all-party Harris County Candidate Meet-Greet

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Fun stuff coming up Sept. 24th and October 1st. The King Street Patriots, holding firm to the original vision of a non-political party affiliated tea party, will be hosting two candidate meet-greets for ALL candidates on the Harris County ballot in November.

The first one, this coming Monday, Sept. 24th, will be for all non-judicial candidates. For those of you in Pasadena (or Shoreacres), this means stuff like Texas Senator, Railroad Commission, District Attorney, County Attorney, Constable, Tax Assessor/Collector, etc. Don’t think for a minute that tea party groups only support Republicans because that is not true. If you are on the ballot, you owe it to yourself to come and meet some very fine people.

The second one will be held Monday, October 1st and it will be for judicial candidates only. There are a ton of people running for judge in Harris County – and they don’t all belong to the Republican Party. Again, if you are on the ballot, you owe it to yourself to come and meet some very fine people.

Formal invitations will be sent to all candidates of the Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the Republican Party. I’ll create a list of those invited and post it in a day or two.

So mark your calendars and I’ll see you there!

 

Gambling in Texas: Let Texans Decide!

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That is the name of the latest group trying to pressure state officials into allowing us to vote on legalizing gambling. This was in the Inbox this morning:

Dear Friend/Neighbor,

We are excited to announce the official launch of Let Texans Decide! Our campaign is a coalition of state business leaders, horsemen, community organizations, and Texas citizens committed to passing legislation at the Texas Capitol that will put expanded gaming on the ballot for the voters of Texas to decide.

We are already building momentum for our effort, and are pleased to announce that the esteemed, John T. Montford, will be leading a public affairs campaign to allow Texans the opportunity to vote on the expansion of gaming. Sen. Montford’s service as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and success as an elected District Attorney propelled him to serve in the state senate for 14 years where he was regularly recognized as one of the “Top 10 Best Legislators.”  He then served as Chancellor at Texas Tech in Lubbock, and is a successful Texas businessman. The Texas Tribune has just published an excellent interview with him about his new role where he talks about why this issue is so important to him and Texas. Watch the video or read the transcript HERE.An overwhelming majority of Texas voters, regardless of political party or geographic region, agree that we are smart enough to decide this issue ourselves.  Texas was founded on a simple principle: Texans ought to decide the fate of Texas. Our state was founded by men and women who exhibited fierce independence and rejected the idea of a nanny state where government decided for individuals what they can best decide for themselves.Let’s face facts. Texans are already gambling in large numbers. Unfortunately, we are forced to travel across state borders to spend our entertainment dollars.  Each year, $2.5 billion – $1 billion in Oklahoma alone! – leaves Texas and ends up creating jobs and paying for schools, firefighters and other infrastructure in our neighboring states.  But don’t just take our word for it, you can see with your own eyes! Check out this map showing how our neighboring states have surrounded us with gaming facilities so they can keep our money flowing into their states. Fellow Texans, we are getting fleeced by our neighbors! It’s time to bring that money home.

We need your help. There is no better time than now to encourage your legislator to allow Texans an opportunity to exercise their vote on gaming.  This is about our freedom to choose. Texans have always believed in the freedom of the individual, uninhibited by government. Visit our new website and sign our online petition.  Don’t forget to check out their Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest gaming news!
 
 
PM Texas, LLC
7575 N. Sam Houston Parkway W
Houston, TX 77604

It so happens that I made a stop in Biloxi, MS last week while on vacation. Huge casinos were attracting thousands of visitors. I noted license plates from Mississippi (obviously), Louisiana (strange?), Alabama, Florida, Illinois (yep), Missouri (yep), and ahem, Texas. Lots and lots of Texas plates. Spending dollars that might have been spent in Texas.

I admit that I’m not a fan of gambling personally. I spent about $20 in slot machines, went up, went down, got even, got bored, cashed out and left. So Mississippi didn’t make any money off of me – well, except that hotel room and some mighty fine barbecue at The Shed. I bet Texas hotels and restaurants could have used that revenue.

But while I don’t particularly like gambling, I think it is ridiculous that Texas doesn’t have local option gambling. If the residents of Galveston or Kemah or Austin or any other city want to allow gambling and deal with the positives and negatives of it, they should be able to bring it up for a vote. In other words, let Texans decide. I disagree with “Let Texans Decide” in one area – don’t let them pick winners and losers by setting up zones or restricting gambling to certain areas. Have a constitutional amendment that allows for local option gambling, then have local elections on the specific types of gambling allowed in communities.

So I say, Let Texans Decide! It is waaaaay past time.

Clear Lake Area Republicans Meeting tonight!

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Join us at tonight’s Clear Lake Area Republicans monthly meeting!

Please join the Clear Lake Area Republicans this coming, Tuesday, September 18, for our regular September meeting, as we discuss our local plan for the November election. Joining us to discuss the national, state and local mobilzation and gotv efforts will be Dr. Robin Armstrong, our state RNC Committeeman; a representative of Victory 2012; our new Harris County SD 11 Chair, Travis Bryan; representatives of the Bay Area Republican Women, San Jacinto Republican Women, and the Clear Lake Tea Party; and Yvonne Dewey, the Chair of the Brazoria County Republican Party. Please plan to come and learn how you can be involved in the final push toward election day to get our GOP candidates elected.

As always, our social time will begin with refreshments at 6:30 p.m., and our program will begin at 7:00 p.m. We meet in the Second floor courtroom of the Harris County Courthouse Annex at 16603 Buccaneer in Clear Lake, between and behind the intersections of Diana and Bay Area Boulevard, and El Camino and Bay Area Boulevard (behind the Freeman Library).


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San Jacinto Republican Women open Pasadena Victory 2012 office

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As Harris County Judge Ed Emmett noted in his remarks yesterday, Southeast Harris County has become a hotbed of Republican activism. A great example of this activism is the San Jacinto Republican Women’s Club and their growth the past couple of years. There was a great turnout last night as the SJRW opened their Victory 2012 office on Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena.

Judge Emmett highlighted the campaigns of David Pineda and Robert Talton. On Pineda, Emmett reflected on his own first run for state rep and the similarities – he was also 28 years old, his campaign also centered on knocking on doors (in Emmett’s case, 19,404, not that anyone counted), and he was also given no chance to win. Well, win he did, and with the help of volunteers at the SJRW phone bank, so will David Pineda.

I was happy to see the Judge introduce Robert Talton and discuss how important that race is to all Harris County citizens. As I have said, Talton fears no one and will really help in the effort to clean up Harris County government. I, along with the King Street Patriots, tried very hard to set up a debate between Mr. Talton and the current County Attorney, Vince Ryan. Ryan’s campaign would have no part of it – apparently, they don’t want citizens to see the stark contrasts between the two men. There are a lot of important races on the ballot but if you haven’t found a candidate to work for, please contact Mr. Talton’s office and volunteer and donate.

Judge Emmett’s parting words were about the importance of voting all the way down the ballot to be certain that all Republican candidates win. He didn’t mention it but the best way to do this is to vote straight Republican. I know that some of you don’t like straight ticket voting but it is the single best way for Republicans to win. Estimates are that this year’s straight ticket percentage will be around 70{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} – we need Republican voters to win that battle. Look, if you have a cousin or brother-in-law that you just have to vote for and they are Democratic, no problem – vote the straight R ticket at the top of the ballot, then scroll to Cousin Vinny’s name and vote for him. It isn’t difficult and will insure that down ballot Republicans win their races.

It is awesome to see the enthusiasm so high 50 days out – let’s keep it going and win in November!