Texas bloggers are holding court on a judicial race and other legal matters. They're also firing salvos at a young Congressional hopeful, continuing the play-by-play for the U.S. Senate race and posting on goings-on in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. And we've got a musical medley of miscellany.
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Court of Public Opinion
"Too many Texans no longer expect to receive justice in Texas courts. I am running for this Court because that has to change," says Judge Susan Criss on Burnt Orange Report. Criss faces Linda Yañez in the Democratic Primary for Place 8 on the Texas Supreme Court, now held by Republican Phil Johnson. Later, Burnt Orange opines that either Yañez or Criss should withdraw from the Place 8 race and instead challenge one of the other Republicans on the ballot — Dale Wainwright for Place 7, or Wallace Jefferson for Chief Justice.
The Capitol Crowd profiles attorney Derek Seal, and Burnt Orange interviews "the Texas Justice guy" — Larry Joe Doherty, a Democratic candidate for CD-10.
Dos Centavos says First Court of Appeals candidate Jim Sharp, a Democrat, "was a hit at the Latino Book and Family Festival" in Houston. In an unrelated matter, the majority of Grits for Breakfast readers want marijuana legalized, according to a poll. And here are some Grits statistics on arrests made in Texas in 2006.
The Texas Youth Commission will soon be taken to court, predicts Grits, as a result of the troubled agency's decision not to release 19-and-20-year-old inmates. If you do end up in court, here's one guy you don't want to face, says Grits (hint: It's his dad). And here's a Grits post on a Dallas County judge who he thinks overstepped his authority.
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Welcome to the Blogosphere
Republican Alan Steinberg, a 25-year-old Republican candidate for Congressional District 22, says his very first campaign speech, to fellow Houston-area Aggies, was "a great success." Muse draws attention to the "pictures of cute girls" on Steinberg's MySpace page, labeling him an "overachiever." Off the Kuff says Steinberg has "a fairly accomplished resume." PinkDome, meanwhile, calls Steinberg a "douche." [Ed. note: Politics ain't beanbag.]
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The Senate Men Project
A contributor to Brains and Eggs suggests that Mikal Watts abandon his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and run instead for chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. Burnt Orange says the recent endorsement of Democrat Rick Noriega by Votevets.org is a big deal because of the promise of Dallas-area veterans campaigning on Noriega's behalf. Sure, Watts has money. But "Where's the beef?" asks Half Empty, who sums up the results of a recent Internet poll for Noriega here.
Kuff relays the results of a DailyKos poll giving baseline numbers on the Senate race. In a nutshell, 40 percent of likely voters support Republican incumbent John Cornyn; 35 percent want him gone; and, 15 percent could go either way.
The title of this Burnt Orange post says it all: "Mikal Watts will win. Noriega won't. 2 Big Reasons. Enjoy." Another blog, The Red State, has broken from the pro-Noriega blogmob to endorse Watts. On the other side of the blue side of the aisle, here are some reasons why Texas Kaos supports Noriega, and here are some t-shirts for sale.
Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, has a video of Noriega connecting with his online base, while Walker Report has still photographs of a Noriega fundraiser in San Antonio.
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Big D (and FW, btw)
Capitol Annex crunches the numbers for House District 112, which will be up for grabs due to the retirement of Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, concluding "a flip of this district, while not impossible, isn't a total impossibility."
Burnt Orange exposes Fort Worth City Council candidate Chris Turner as a parser of words (note: there's a flow chart), while Texas Blue goes "On the Record" with Theresa Daniel, former state Representative candidate and now SD-16 committeewoman for the Texas Democratic Party. Here's an interview by Blue with brand new Democratic state Rep. Kirk England, D-Grand Prairie.
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Countdown
A Whole New World: Here's what the earth might look like in 250 million years, via Mike Falick's Blog.
Iran (So Far Away): Gov. Rick Perry's order for state retirement systems to stop doing business with those who are doing business with Iran could lead to a special session, says Capitol Annex.
I Shot the Sheriff: Secretary of State Phil Wilson named a deputy, Coby Shorter III, according to Capitol Crowd.
Moneytalks: TxDOT is not broke, contrary to recent media reports, says McBlogger. Muckraker concurs, and hawks some t-shirts.
Perry's got a Brand-New Pad: Comments on the Governor's new home in (well, near) Austin, from Burnt Orange and Texas Observer Blog.
Red House: The newest South Texas Republican newsletter is out, via Walker.
Sgt. Pepper Spray's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Texas Youth Commission rescinded its new policy on pepper spray after being sued, says Grits here and here.
Taxman (or -woman): The sexiest Democratic Primary race is for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector, says Chronic, the Austin Chronicle's blog.
"Take me to the River": Observer channels the Talking Heads for the title of this item on endangered Texas rivers.
The Gambler: If it's good enough for the Teachers' Retirement System, then why isn't investing in casinos good enough for the rest of the state? wonders Observer.
Today was a Good Day: Nuclear power might be back in vogue for Texas, much to the chagrin of Observer.
This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria and finds Austin's climate pleasantly arid. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.
