2008 November Newsletter

11/18/2008
The Mechanics of Politics
By Brian Golden
“When political news breaks; placard it!”

U.S. Senate; the election isn’t over just yet…

There are three U.S. Senate seats yet to be decided; Georgia, Minnesota and Alaska.
These three states are either in a runoff or in a recount. This is important. If all three states send a democratic Senator to Washington it will be the first time in almost thirty years that the democrats will have a filibuster proof 60 vote majority in the Senate. (58 to 40 with independents Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Joe Lieberman (CN) caucusing with the democrats) A filibuster is where the opposition/minority party can talk, talk and talk some more, on the senate floor effectively preventing a vote and thus the passage of any new legislation before the Senate. If incumbent republican Senators Ted Stevens of Alaska, Norm Coleman of MN and Saxby Chambliss of GA lose in their recount or runoff, the democrats will have the coveted sixty vote majority to defeat a republican filibuster and pretty-much pass any legislation they want. Your fingers are crossed if you’re a democrat; you’re biting your nails if you’re republican.
Confirmation of Supreme Court Justices by the Senate is another reason why these three seats are of import. A solid democratic majority in the Senate would more than likely confirm soundly left of center judges to the highest court in the land. The nominees that President Obama will bring before the Senate to replace the likely retiring left-leaning justices Ginsberg and Stevens, middle-of-the-road Kennedy, as well as the right leaning 72 year old Scalia, should he decide to retire, could tip the Robert’s court 6 to 3 towards the left. Depending on your politics this is great news or the end of civilization as we know it.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!" –
Will Rogers

U.S. House of Representatives
5 out of 435 undecided

There is a recount between Representative Don Young (R) and challenger Ethan Berkowitz (D) in Alaska. California’s 4th district democrat Charlie Brown is trailing Republican Tom Craddick by about a thousand votes with 40,000 still outstanding. In Ohio, Steve Stivers (R) is up by 393 to Mary Jo Kilroy (D) with 20,000 votes still uncounted. Louisiana’s 2nd and 4th district are voting December 6th because of hurricane Gustav. William Jefferson (D) is expected to win over Anh Cao (R); and Paul Carmouche (D) is up against republican John Fleming Jr. If the democrats win they should have a 259 to 156 majority in the house.




“Politics is just show business for ugly people.” - Jay Leno

Texas 81st Legislature
Early Bills before the house and Senate

On November 10th the early filing for legislative bills began in Austin. For the sake of this newsletter I have made a list of ten that caught my interest. As far as I can tell, there are none that have a direct impact on our local, union or industry, but again these are the early bills; There are some hot-button issues that are before the legislature this session but before you become enraged or get your hopes-up, remember School House Rock and “it’s only a bill” By way of comparison, last session; 6190 bills were introduced, 1481 passed, and 51 were vetoed by Gov. Perry.

Here are 10 of note:
HB 129 by State Rep. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio): This bill would make it a law that the Texas Insurance Commissioner be elected as opposed to appointed. This has consumer protection written all over it...this is a good bill)
HJR 19 (House Joint Resolution) by State Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin): This would change the Texas Constitution to create a non-partisan redistricting committee. Sounds good as long as it remains non-partisan.
SB 220 by Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville): Would prevent portions of non-toll roads from becoming toll roads. Who wouldn’t support this?
SB 245 by State Sen. Elliot Shapleigh (D- El Paso): Mandates significant testing and security of some electronic voting machines. This bill doesn’t go far enough with oversight, but it is a step in the right direction. This issue needs to be addressed nationally.
HB 20 by State Rep. David Leibowitz (D-San Antonio): this bill would exempt college text books from sales tax. That’s good; maybe a $20 savings on a $240 dollar book that will be obsolete next semester will pay the cover charge for the keg party at Delta house.
SB 105 by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D- McAllen): a bill that imposes a college tuition freeze. Good luck with that Chuy...Whatever UT wants, UT gets.
HB 49 by State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball): This bill would require local police (Yes… Barney, not the INS) to arrest and detain anyone that can not produce documentation of citizenship. The charge…? …Trespassing. “Papels por favor, documentación?” How do you say “papers please” in German?
HB 50 by State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball): No more in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. I agree, but isn’t that effectively turning our state’s Universities and Colleges into agents of the INS… How... no, why is this even being discussed at the state level? Immigration is a federal problem, not Judy’s at the Dean’s office
HB 91 by State Rep. Dan Flynn (R Van): Bans state agencies from printing any public documents in Spanish. Yo no se, esta la ley? Donde estas me derechos civeles? HB 36 and SB 182, by State Rep. Frank Corte (D-San Antonio) and State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston): Under current informed consent laws both of these bills would require physicians to show women seeking abortions in Texas ultra sound images of the fetus before the procedure. No comment