Do you use your powers for good, or for awesome

Strange Things Germans Do With Alcohol

2005-02-24T17:59:32Z

Weinschorle (Sauer)

1 part each chilled cheap wine and sparkling mineral water. Serve in large wine glass.

Weinschorle (Suss)

1 part each chilled cheap wine and Sprite. Serve in large wine glass.

Spezi

1 part each beer and Coke. Serve in pint glass with twist of lemon.

Radler

1 part each beer and lemonade. Serve in pint glass.

Adopt a Killer D

2003-05-15T15:15:13Z

Here's a list of the 53 brave souls who told DeLay to shove it. Email them congratulatory notes. I think Jim Dunnam (D-Waco), the caucus leader, has a full inbox, but there are plenty of other worthies for you to choose from. Perhaps Craig Eiland of Galveston, whose premature twins were "visited" in the neonatal ICU by law enforcement even after everyone knew the Killer Ds were in Ardmore, for starters.

Remember San Jacinto!

2003-05-14T16:41:27Z

I'm expecting a phonecall any time now from my mom asking how I'm enduring the embarrassment the Texas House Democrats have caused the state. Honestly, I've never had so much state pride in my life. When my friend from Manhattan thinks "this is just about the coolest thing ever," well, it's got to have some effect on how Democrats around the country see themselves and their party. Who would have thought that the rebirth of the Democratic Party would take place in W's backyard? I'm mighty proud, in both the common and the Texan sense of the word.

The Killer D's are so called in homage to the 1979 Killer Bees, another group of refusenik Texas state legislators who just said "no" to a Republican who wanted to tinker with the voting process; in this case, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's attempt to grant John Connally's request that the primary election rules be changed so that people could vote for him in the Republican presidential primary even if they voted in the Democratic state primary. Send your congratulations to these Killer D's at holidayinnardmore@yahoo.com

And it seems like most of the big newspapers around the state share my sentiments that this is was a very legitimate action on the part of the representatives:

The Houston Chronicle's Op/Ed page

The Waco Tribune's main page with a main headline of "Leader of the pack" referring to their congressman, and head of the House Democrats, Jim Dunnam

Funny cartoon by Bill DeOre that originally ran in the Dallas Morning News

And, to wrap up, a quote from Pete Laney of Hale Center, former Texas House Speaker who was a Bush supporter in 2000 and is now a Killer D:

"Our speaker has been able to do something I couldn't do in 10 years - unify the Democrats."

2004 Presidential Savings Club

2003-05-12T19:06:09Z

My friend Charles over at We're Left, They're Wrong makes the unpleasant, but very valid, point that the current Democratic primary situation is causing the candidates to blow their war chests on each other, rather than saving up for the general election, so, therefore, a money primary is not the complete evil it sounds like. Okay, so it's pretty evil that money does matter so much in political campaigns, but it is what it is right now, and I would rather have an acceptable Democrat capable of raising sufficient funds, say, Kerry or Edwards, going up against Dubya's hundreds of millions than Dean if he's not going to be able to raise the money.

That said, I'm still giving $25/month to Dean's campaign. I think that those of us donating this way should also pledge to sock back an equal amount to donate during the general election, to whoever gets the nomination, in addition to what we were planning on giving. It'd be quite a dent; 15 months till the Democratic primary times $25 means $375 extra.

And that could be the basis of an interesting money primary. Maybe fashion it after a straw poll.

Gross... but grosser.

2003-04-30T19:22:05Z

From the Yahoo MarylandForDean list: Michael Tomasky brings up the point that although it is correct to castigate Sen. Rick Santorum about those awful comments and other Republicans for not disagreeing with him, we should be screaming louder about the Republican Party's decision to hold their convention in NYC right around September 11.

Don't Hate Priscilla Owen's Judicial Activism on Reproductive Rights...

2003-04-25T17:53:48Z

Hate her corporate activism on the bench. (article by Lou Dubose in the Texas Observer)

Not that hating her judicial activism on reproductive rights is not a completely valid stance, but it's not the primary reason she should not be a federal judge.

Newt Gingrich scares me.

2003-04-22T17:00:38Z

Then again, he's done that for several years. Today, in the Washington Post, is an article about the State-Defense rivalry and Gingrich's belief that the State Dept. needs a cleaning out, because they are not toeing the party line and allowing the Dept. of Defense to direct foreign policy. "Gingrich acknowledged that Powell has rebuilt morale at the State Department. But, he said, 'he rebuilt the morale of people who don't believe in what George Bush believes in and try to undermine what Bush believes in.' " That's special.

Onward, Christian Soldiers...

2003-04-15T14:34:36Z

Uggg, they're at it again. Some Southern Baptists and other evangelicals, though, not all; as noted in the article, many Southern Baptist missionaries currently in the field are not happy with their leaders' attacks on Islam and Muhammad and calls to Christianize Iraq, as they (rightly) sense that it both endangers them and their families and undermines their work.
Also, the article discusses the trouble and resentment this is causing for native Christian communities in the Middle East. Their existence seems to have been overlooked by many of those calling for proselytizing the Iraqis.
Reminds me of why I changed churches.

Could you at least pretend religious diversity is a good thing?

2003-04-09T17:05:13Z

In today's Washington Post, an article about Secretary of Education Rob Paige's comments about the importance of schools teaching Christian values. There are so many ways he could have backed out of this a bit: "The vacuum of moral values is hurting schools, and I said 'Christian' because that is the belief system with which I am most familiar and I apologize for offending those with other beliefs" or "Christian values came to my mind first as that's the faith that means so much to me personally, but that's not to say that other faiths cannot provide children with a firm foundation" or "I said Christian values, but meant the values of love, generousity and responsibility."

But no, he clarified that he really meant that there must be a single religious value system in schools in order for them to improve. " 'The reason that Christian schools and Christian universities are growing is a result of a strong value system,' he said. 'In a religious environment the value system is set. That's not the case in a public school where there are so many different kids with different kinds of values.' "

Blech.

"Invitations" is a dirty word.

2003-04-08T14:00:04Z

Uggg... finally got to bed around 4am last night after fighting Kinko's upload system and trying to get a Kinko's employee who had a clue as to what was going on. This morning, more of the same; things didn't get straightened out until I was halfway out of Baltimore. And I thought getting the invitations printed was the easy part of planning my parents' party. At least I'm not addressing them.

beltwaybandita @ 2003-04-07T15:19:00

2003-04-07T19:14:13Z

Muchas gracias to my chica snafuuu for the LJ account!