Flounder, you are down close to Delay's district. What is the feel down there to the situation. This is purely a political question and I am not trying to get you in any trouble here. I just want to know what your neighbors are saying about it. Any info. you give will be anectdotal only and not related to your personal beliefs.
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Hey Flounder, Whats the Political Feel?
- Thread starter Econ101
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ECON WRITES ;
Flounder, you are down close to Delay's district. What is the feel down there to the situation and I am not trying to get you in any trouble here.
snip...
be anectdotal only and not related to your personal beliefs.
===========================
econ, i don't believe you :lol:
Feb. 28, 2006, 6:00AM
Justices to revisit remap
Court could toss out Texas' revised districts or uphold them
By PATTY REINERT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
RESOURCES
Congressional district map
QUESTIONS FOR THE COURT
•Should the Texas Legislature have been allowed to redistrict in 2003, instead of immediately following an every-10-years census, solely to benefit the Republican Party?
•Does the new map amount to excessive political gerrymandering in violation of the U.S. Constitution?
•Does the map violate federal law or the U.S. Constitution by diluting minority voting rights?
WASHINGTON - The Texas congressional redistricting war, which led Democratic lawmakers to flee Austin, infuriated many minority voters and spawned the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, returns to Washington this week as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether partisan map-drawing has gone too far.
On Wednesday, the high court will consider the validity of the state's bitterly contested 2003 congressional districts map, which state lawmakers redrew at DeLay's insistence and which cemented Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the last election.
By July, the justices will decide whether to uphold the map or throw it out, potentially forcing a do-over of the March primaries in Texas and boosting Democrats' chances of taking back the U.S. House in November.
Confused? Wait until Wednesday afternoon. In a special two-hour argument session, a newly reshaped high court is expected to ping-pong questions at lawyers on each side of the dispute. The justices' task is to dissect the finer points of four cases that challenge everything from the timing of the redistricting to the alleged dilution of minority voting strength to the inherently partisan nature of political gerrymandering to whether the court should even be deciding these matters.
Arguing against the map will be Washington lawyer Paul Smith, who represents congressional Democrats unseated in Texas after the redrawing, and Nina Perales, a San Antonio attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who represents Latino voters in South and West Texas. Those residents say their voting power has been weakened in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Defenders
Defending the map will be Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, aided by a Bush administration lawyer, Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Gregory Garre.
"This case is fundamentally about democracy," Cruz said last week. The 2003 redistricting, he said, simply made Texas' congressional delegation reflect Texas voters' preference for Republicans in statewide elections. It also created two additional districts where black and Latino voters could significantly influence the outcome of elections, he said.
"Every court that has considered the plaintiffs' claims has rejected them, and we're confident the U.S. Supreme Court will do the same," Cruz said.
Long process
But J. Gerald Hebert, who has argued against the new map in lower courts, called the 2003 redistricting "one of the most notorious partisan power grabs in the the history of our country, with the single-minded purpose of gaining partisan (Republican) advantage."
"It was an abuse of government power, and if the Supreme Court doesn't step in, there will literally be a festival of redistricting across the country" every time Democrats or Republicans take over a state legislature and get out their pencils, he said.
The 2003 map was approved after Democratic Texas lawmakers fled the state twice to halt the process by depriving Republicans of a quorum.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back for three special sessions before the plan passed.
Political appointees at the U.S. Justice Department, which must review Texas redistricting plans because of past discrimination against minority voters, approved the map over the objections of career lawyers in the department. The objectors had concluded that the map illegally undermined minority voting rights by reconfiguring districts in North Texas, resulting in blacks losing voting strength, and in South Texas, where Latino voters were disadvantaged.
A three-judge panel upheld the map after a trial in Austin in December 2003.
On its first trip to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, the justices returned the matter to Texas for reconsideration, and the result was the same. The plaintiffs again asked the high court to take the case.
DeLay, meanwhile, has been accused of illegally diverting funds to the campaigns of Republican candidates for the Texas statehouse in 2002. Once elected, those lawmakers redrew the state election map to favor the GOP and helped send six more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004. That brought the composition of the Texas delegation to the House to 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
The Sugar Land Republican was rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for some of his actions in the redistricting. He has denied any wrongdoing but was forced to step down from his leadership post last September after being indicted on money-laundering and conspiracy charges in Travis County.
Three Republicans are challenging DeLay in the March 7 GOP primary for his Houston-area seat. If he wins, as expected, he will face former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson in the fall. Lampson, a Beaumont Democrat who served four terms in Congress before being unseated thanks largely to the new map, changed his residence to run against DeLay.
Lawyers involved in the Supreme Court cases said DeLay's involvement in the Texas redistricting squabble, along with the Justice Department's questionable review of the Texas map, are in the background of this week's arguments.
But most said the justices likely will focus on the legal briefs filed in the four cases and on the specific questions before them.
May go back to Legislature
If map challengers win at the high court on any of those issues, it's unclear what happens next.
Smith and Hebert are seeking a return to the previous map.
Perales will argue to preserve the Latino-influenced district created in 2003, but redraw it so that it includes more Latinos in South Texas and fewer Anglo residents in the Hill Country.
If the justices do overturn the map, they could decide on a remedy or, more likely, leave the matter to a court in Texas, which in turn could send the matter back to the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.
[email protected].
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3689662.html
Feb. 1, 2006, 3:50PM
DeLay's defense fund in red
Congressman raised $590,000 last year but still owes hundreds of thousands more
By MICHAEL HEDGES
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
RESOURCES
TOM DELAY
• HOME: Sugar Land
• AGE: 58. April 8, 1947.
• EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Houston, 1970.
• EXPERIENCE: Owner, Albo Pest Control, 1973-84; Texas House, 1978-84; U.S. House, 1984-present; House majority whip, 1994-2002;
and House majority leader, 2002-2005.
• FAMILY: Wife, Christine; daughter, Danielle; and 1 grandchild.
CHRONICLE POLLS
*
• March 2005: Complete results of poll designed to discover whether any changes have occurred in constituents' support for Rep. DeLay since facing ethical and criminal investigations.
Video
*
• Controversial ad: Political TV announcement from the Public Campaign Action Fund that Houston-area stations declined to air.
• AP: DeLay steps down as majority leader (1/7)
• AP: DeLay's staff tried to help Abramoff (11/3)
• DeLay appears in Austin court (10/21)
• DeLay booked in Houston (10/20)
• Texas court issues warrant for DeLay (10/19)
Audio
*
• DeLay will run for re-election: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Lawmaker insists he's done nothing wrong: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Representative says he will be exonerated: Jan. 7, 2005 (AP)
TEXT
*
• DeLay to constituents: Announcing Jan 7 he will not attempt to regain the majority leader spot.
• Letter to House members: Jan. 7 announcement.
• Letter to Speaker of the House: Statement to Rep. Dennis Hastert upon DeLay's Jan. 7 announcement.
DOCUMENTS
*
• Court records, DeLay's casino letter and more
GRAPHICS
*
• The Abramoff connection: Diagram of links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay and former DeLay aides, Abramoff's Indian tribe clients and businesses and their contributions to dozens of lawmakers
• Map: DeLay's 22nd Congressional District
• Charge against Tom DeLay
• Swapping funds: How Tom DeLay and Roy Blunt swapped donations through PACs
interactive
*
• Donor's dollars: The jet-setting, luxury lifestyle of DeLay and his aides
• Investigation: Tom DeLay-Roy Blunt links
• Timeline: Key events in the investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff
• Investigation: Analyzing the link between casino gambling and donations by lobbyist Abramoff to various congressional figures
ON THE WEB
*
• TomDelay.com
• MajorityLeader.gov
• Official House site
• Texas Ethics Commission
• Federal Election Commission
• RonnieEarle.com
• Travis County District Attorney
• Dick DeGuerin
These free downloads may be required: Real Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader.
Video courtesy Associated Press.
WASHINGTON - Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay raised more money for his legal defense in 2005 than ever before but still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers, according to documents released Tuesday.
DeLay, fighting an indictment in Texas on charges of illegal fundraising while facing scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Washington for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, raised $181,851 between Oct. 1 and the end of the year. That amount brought the total raised for his legal defense fund in 2005 to $590,520 — significantly more than the $439,550 recorded in 2004.
But during 2005, DeLay's legal expenses topped $1 million, said Brent Perry, a Houston attorney who administers the fund.
"We paid out well over $500,000 in legal fees (in 2005)," he said. The payments would leave DeLay owing lawyers at least $500,000, a figure Perry said was probably low.
DeLay, of Sugar Land, raised $318,000 in the third quarter of 2005, during which he was indicted in Travis County. Perry said the falloff in the final three months should not be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm among donors.
"I have not experienced any reluctance to give," Perry said. "We've already taken in $100,000 in January, without any fundraising events."
As reported in required disclosures to the U.S. House, contributions to the fund in the fourth quarter trailed Republican DeLay's legal expenses for the same period, which came to $239,257.
Attorney Dick DeGuerin of Houston, who represents DeLay in the Travis County case, was paid $150,000 by the fund in the fourth quarter.
Robert McNair, oil and gas billionaire who owns the Houston Texans, gave the maximum $5,000 contribution in the final quarter of 2005, as did Robert J. Allison Jr., chairman emeritus of Anadarko Petroleum Company. Nina Hendee, co-owner of the Taste of Texas restaurant with her husband, Edd Hendee, a Houston conservative radio host, donated $5,000. Texas chicken entrepreneurs Lonnie A. Pilgrim and Lonnie Ken Pilgrim gave a combined $6,000, and the family's Pilgrim's Pride Corp. sent another $5,000.
Lobbyists are not allowed to contribute to the fund.
Perry noted that federal law restricts people, businesses and political committees to donating $5,000 each a year. Publicity about DeLay's legal troubles during the third quarter of the year prompted many of his friends and political allies to give the maximum contribution earlier in 2005, Perry said.
But Public Citizen, a Washington watchdog group that monitors money in politics, saw signs that Republican lawmakers were less supportive of DeLay than in the past.
Only 31 of 239 Republican House members donated to the legal fund through political committees, down from 44 who gave in 2004, Conor Kenny, a researcher for the group, pointed out.
"The fact that less than 15 percent of Republicans in the House contributed shows that many in (DeLay's) party want a break with the ethically challenged leadership of the party," Kenny said.
[email protected].
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3626670.html
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/
Flounder, you are down close to Delay's district. What is the feel down there to the situation and I am not trying to get you in any trouble here.
snip...
be anectdotal only and not related to your personal beliefs.
===========================
econ, i don't believe you :lol:
Feb. 28, 2006, 6:00AM
Justices to revisit remap
Court could toss out Texas' revised districts or uphold them
By PATTY REINERT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
RESOURCES
Congressional district map
QUESTIONS FOR THE COURT
•Should the Texas Legislature have been allowed to redistrict in 2003, instead of immediately following an every-10-years census, solely to benefit the Republican Party?
•Does the new map amount to excessive political gerrymandering in violation of the U.S. Constitution?
•Does the map violate federal law or the U.S. Constitution by diluting minority voting rights?
WASHINGTON - The Texas congressional redistricting war, which led Democratic lawmakers to flee Austin, infuriated many minority voters and spawned the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, returns to Washington this week as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether partisan map-drawing has gone too far.
On Wednesday, the high court will consider the validity of the state's bitterly contested 2003 congressional districts map, which state lawmakers redrew at DeLay's insistence and which cemented Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the last election.
By July, the justices will decide whether to uphold the map or throw it out, potentially forcing a do-over of the March primaries in Texas and boosting Democrats' chances of taking back the U.S. House in November.
Confused? Wait until Wednesday afternoon. In a special two-hour argument session, a newly reshaped high court is expected to ping-pong questions at lawyers on each side of the dispute. The justices' task is to dissect the finer points of four cases that challenge everything from the timing of the redistricting to the alleged dilution of minority voting strength to the inherently partisan nature of political gerrymandering to whether the court should even be deciding these matters.
Arguing against the map will be Washington lawyer Paul Smith, who represents congressional Democrats unseated in Texas after the redrawing, and Nina Perales, a San Antonio attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who represents Latino voters in South and West Texas. Those residents say their voting power has been weakened in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Defenders
Defending the map will be Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, aided by a Bush administration lawyer, Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Gregory Garre.
"This case is fundamentally about democracy," Cruz said last week. The 2003 redistricting, he said, simply made Texas' congressional delegation reflect Texas voters' preference for Republicans in statewide elections. It also created two additional districts where black and Latino voters could significantly influence the outcome of elections, he said.
"Every court that has considered the plaintiffs' claims has rejected them, and we're confident the U.S. Supreme Court will do the same," Cruz said.
Long process
But J. Gerald Hebert, who has argued against the new map in lower courts, called the 2003 redistricting "one of the most notorious partisan power grabs in the the history of our country, with the single-minded purpose of gaining partisan (Republican) advantage."
"It was an abuse of government power, and if the Supreme Court doesn't step in, there will literally be a festival of redistricting across the country" every time Democrats or Republicans take over a state legislature and get out their pencils, he said.
The 2003 map was approved after Democratic Texas lawmakers fled the state twice to halt the process by depriving Republicans of a quorum.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back for three special sessions before the plan passed.
Political appointees at the U.S. Justice Department, which must review Texas redistricting plans because of past discrimination against minority voters, approved the map over the objections of career lawyers in the department. The objectors had concluded that the map illegally undermined minority voting rights by reconfiguring districts in North Texas, resulting in blacks losing voting strength, and in South Texas, where Latino voters were disadvantaged.
A three-judge panel upheld the map after a trial in Austin in December 2003.
On its first trip to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, the justices returned the matter to Texas for reconsideration, and the result was the same. The plaintiffs again asked the high court to take the case.
DeLay, meanwhile, has been accused of illegally diverting funds to the campaigns of Republican candidates for the Texas statehouse in 2002. Once elected, those lawmakers redrew the state election map to favor the GOP and helped send six more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004. That brought the composition of the Texas delegation to the House to 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
The Sugar Land Republican was rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for some of his actions in the redistricting. He has denied any wrongdoing but was forced to step down from his leadership post last September after being indicted on money-laundering and conspiracy charges in Travis County.
Three Republicans are challenging DeLay in the March 7 GOP primary for his Houston-area seat. If he wins, as expected, he will face former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson in the fall. Lampson, a Beaumont Democrat who served four terms in Congress before being unseated thanks largely to the new map, changed his residence to run against DeLay.
Lawyers involved in the Supreme Court cases said DeLay's involvement in the Texas redistricting squabble, along with the Justice Department's questionable review of the Texas map, are in the background of this week's arguments.
But most said the justices likely will focus on the legal briefs filed in the four cases and on the specific questions before them.
May go back to Legislature
If map challengers win at the high court on any of those issues, it's unclear what happens next.
Smith and Hebert are seeking a return to the previous map.
Perales will argue to preserve the Latino-influenced district created in 2003, but redraw it so that it includes more Latinos in South Texas and fewer Anglo residents in the Hill Country.
If the justices do overturn the map, they could decide on a remedy or, more likely, leave the matter to a court in Texas, which in turn could send the matter back to the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.
[email protected].
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3689662.html
Feb. 1, 2006, 3:50PM
DeLay's defense fund in red
Congressman raised $590,000 last year but still owes hundreds of thousands more
By MICHAEL HEDGES
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
RESOURCES
TOM DELAY
• HOME: Sugar Land
• AGE: 58. April 8, 1947.
• EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Houston, 1970.
• EXPERIENCE: Owner, Albo Pest Control, 1973-84; Texas House, 1978-84; U.S. House, 1984-present; House majority whip, 1994-2002;
and House majority leader, 2002-2005.
• FAMILY: Wife, Christine; daughter, Danielle; and 1 grandchild.
CHRONICLE POLLS
*
• March 2005: Complete results of poll designed to discover whether any changes have occurred in constituents' support for Rep. DeLay since facing ethical and criminal investigations.
Video
*
• Controversial ad: Political TV announcement from the Public Campaign Action Fund that Houston-area stations declined to air.
• AP: DeLay steps down as majority leader (1/7)
• AP: DeLay's staff tried to help Abramoff (11/3)
• DeLay appears in Austin court (10/21)
• DeLay booked in Houston (10/20)
• Texas court issues warrant for DeLay (10/19)
Audio
*
• DeLay will run for re-election: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Lawmaker insists he's done nothing wrong: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Representative says he will be exonerated: Jan. 7, 2005 (AP)
TEXT
*
• DeLay to constituents: Announcing Jan 7 he will not attempt to regain the majority leader spot.
• Letter to House members: Jan. 7 announcement.
• Letter to Speaker of the House: Statement to Rep. Dennis Hastert upon DeLay's Jan. 7 announcement.
DOCUMENTS
*
• Court records, DeLay's casino letter and more
GRAPHICS
*
• The Abramoff connection: Diagram of links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay and former DeLay aides, Abramoff's Indian tribe clients and businesses and their contributions to dozens of lawmakers
• Map: DeLay's 22nd Congressional District
• Charge against Tom DeLay
• Swapping funds: How Tom DeLay and Roy Blunt swapped donations through PACs
interactive
*
• Donor's dollars: The jet-setting, luxury lifestyle of DeLay and his aides
• Investigation: Tom DeLay-Roy Blunt links
• Timeline: Key events in the investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff
• Investigation: Analyzing the link between casino gambling and donations by lobbyist Abramoff to various congressional figures
ON THE WEB
*
• TomDelay.com
• MajorityLeader.gov
• Official House site
• Texas Ethics Commission
• Federal Election Commission
• RonnieEarle.com
• Travis County District Attorney
• Dick DeGuerin
These free downloads may be required: Real Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader.
Video courtesy Associated Press.
WASHINGTON - Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay raised more money for his legal defense in 2005 than ever before but still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers, according to documents released Tuesday.
DeLay, fighting an indictment in Texas on charges of illegal fundraising while facing scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Washington for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, raised $181,851 between Oct. 1 and the end of the year. That amount brought the total raised for his legal defense fund in 2005 to $590,520 — significantly more than the $439,550 recorded in 2004.
But during 2005, DeLay's legal expenses topped $1 million, said Brent Perry, a Houston attorney who administers the fund.
"We paid out well over $500,000 in legal fees (in 2005)," he said. The payments would leave DeLay owing lawyers at least $500,000, a figure Perry said was probably low.
DeLay, of Sugar Land, raised $318,000 in the third quarter of 2005, during which he was indicted in Travis County. Perry said the falloff in the final three months should not be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm among donors.
"I have not experienced any reluctance to give," Perry said. "We've already taken in $100,000 in January, without any fundraising events."
As reported in required disclosures to the U.S. House, contributions to the fund in the fourth quarter trailed Republican DeLay's legal expenses for the same period, which came to $239,257.
Attorney Dick DeGuerin of Houston, who represents DeLay in the Travis County case, was paid $150,000 by the fund in the fourth quarter.
Robert McNair, oil and gas billionaire who owns the Houston Texans, gave the maximum $5,000 contribution in the final quarter of 2005, as did Robert J. Allison Jr., chairman emeritus of Anadarko Petroleum Company. Nina Hendee, co-owner of the Taste of Texas restaurant with her husband, Edd Hendee, a Houston conservative radio host, donated $5,000. Texas chicken entrepreneurs Lonnie A. Pilgrim and Lonnie Ken Pilgrim gave a combined $6,000, and the family's Pilgrim's Pride Corp. sent another $5,000.
Lobbyists are not allowed to contribute to the fund.
Perry noted that federal law restricts people, businesses and political committees to donating $5,000 each a year. Publicity about DeLay's legal troubles during the third quarter of the year prompted many of his friends and political allies to give the maximum contribution earlier in 2005, Perry said.
But Public Citizen, a Washington watchdog group that monitors money in politics, saw signs that Republican lawmakers were less supportive of DeLay than in the past.
Only 31 of 239 Republican House members donated to the legal fund through political committees, down from 44 who gave in 2004, Conor Kenny, a researcher for the group, pointed out.
"The fact that less than 15 percent of Republicans in the House contributed shows that many in (DeLay's) party want a break with the ethically challenged leadership of the party," Kenny said.
[email protected].
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3626670.html
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/
There was a TX state legislator, Poe, was his last name, don't recall the first name, on C-SPAN this morning talking about the re-drawing of TX Congressional districts map which flounder introduced in this post.
It was pretty clear that the fact that Republicans got 60% of the vote in the PREVIOUS districting system in the 2002 election was the motivating factor for the redistricting.
The Republicans saw it as correting the 150 years of control by Democrats.
The claim was made that the minority districts were very well "managed" to keep them controlled by the party, and to dilute possible Republican inhabited areas by placing them so as to be small areas within strongly Democrat districts.
Mr. Poe said the people doing the re-configuration of the districts followed the laws and Constitution of the state as to who did the work and all other aspects of the process.
Obviously, the TX Democrat party is incensed at the loss of their political stranglehold on the state which they have held since the end of the War Between the States. Just as obviously, if the last census AND the results of the 2000 election showed that Republicans had made gains, it is long over-due to allow the districts to reflect those gains. A caller who identified himself as a Black man in TX stated that minorities now have MORE power than they did under the Democrats who never shared any power with them and as the Republicans have done.
It will be especially interesting to me to hear how the case goes in the Supreme Court as I had the privilege of meeting Gregory Garre and his wife. He was the attorney for the Defendants in the Beef Checkoff case when it was heard before the Supreme Court. He is quite young, I'm guessing under forty, and very capable and excited about upholding the laws and the Constitution of this country. He, at that time, had presented nearly a dozen cases before the Court, and his clients prevailed in all but one of them. His wife did much of the research on the Beef Checkoff case, and she was acclaimed to us by other attorneys as brilliant, consciencious, and dedicated to our law and Constitution.
MRJ
MRJ
It was pretty clear that the fact that Republicans got 60% of the vote in the PREVIOUS districting system in the 2002 election was the motivating factor for the redistricting.
The Republicans saw it as correting the 150 years of control by Democrats.
The claim was made that the minority districts were very well "managed" to keep them controlled by the party, and to dilute possible Republican inhabited areas by placing them so as to be small areas within strongly Democrat districts.
Mr. Poe said the people doing the re-configuration of the districts followed the laws and Constitution of the state as to who did the work and all other aspects of the process.
Obviously, the TX Democrat party is incensed at the loss of their political stranglehold on the state which they have held since the end of the War Between the States. Just as obviously, if the last census AND the results of the 2000 election showed that Republicans had made gains, it is long over-due to allow the districts to reflect those gains. A caller who identified himself as a Black man in TX stated that minorities now have MORE power than they did under the Democrats who never shared any power with them and as the Republicans have done.
It will be especially interesting to me to hear how the case goes in the Supreme Court as I had the privilege of meeting Gregory Garre and his wife. He was the attorney for the Defendants in the Beef Checkoff case when it was heard before the Supreme Court. He is quite young, I'm guessing under forty, and very capable and excited about upholding the laws and the Constitution of this country. He, at that time, had presented nearly a dozen cases before the Court, and his clients prevailed in all but one of them. His wife did much of the research on the Beef Checkoff case, and she was acclaimed to us by other attorneys as brilliant, consciencious, and dedicated to our law and Constitution.
MRJ
MRJ
March 1, 2006, 10:45PM
Redistricting's fate may hinge on whether new map is biased
Though it isn't clear how the top court will rule, its key centrist voter expresses concern
By PATTY REINERT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - U.S. Supreme Court justices reviewing the bitterly disputed Texas congressional district lines appeared reluctant Wednesday to throw out the Republican-friendly map on the grounds that political gerrymandering had gone too far.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is expected to provide the pivotal vote on the matter as a court centrist, made clear the map could be rejected for another reason: Some districts redrawn by the Texas Legislature in 2003 may violate the federal Voting Rights Act by discriminating against minority voters.
In particular, Kennedy said he was concerned that Republican state lawmakers removed 100,000 Latino voters from the 23rd District in South Texas and made sure it remained 50.9 percent Latino to "make it look good."
"It seems to me that's an affront and an insult," he said.
Chief Justice John Roberts asked what percentage of minority voters would be sufficient to deem the district mostly minority.
"What's the magic number?" he asked.
The high court's decision, expected by July, could affect this year's elections in Texas and help decide control of the U.S. House in November. The election boundary changes swing six House seats in Texas to the GOP.
It also could determine whether state lawmakers nationwide will be allowed to redraw election maps whenever they wish, giving the advantage to whichever party is in power.
Most states redraw their maps soon after a Census and leave them in place for 10 years. But the justices seemed reluctant to insist on that timetable.
Engineered by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, the Texas map passed after three special sessions of the Legislature, outraging Democratic state lawmakers who had tried to thwart it by fleeing Austin twice — once to Oklahoma, once to New Mexico.
It also led to the indictment of DeLay and his loss of the position of House majority leader. He is accused in Travis County of illegally funneling money to Republican state House candidates who, once in power in Austin, redrew the map, cementing GOP control of the U.S. House.
The Texas delegation has 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Power grab?
Washington attorney Paul Smith and San Antonio lawyer Nina Perales, who represent Democrats unseated in the redistricting, as well as some minority voters told the justices that the redrawn map was a deplorable partisan power grab that violated the Constitution and federal law.
"The only reason it was considered, let alone passed, was to help one political party get more seats than another," Smith argued.
"Wow! That's a surprise," Justice Antonin Scalia quipped sarcastically.
"Legislatures redraw the map all the time for political reasons," he added.
That practice is legal, he said, and to suggest that partisan motives can be removed from the inherently political process of drawing election maps "is ridiculous."
Other justices, including Kennedy and David Souter, appeared to agree.
"It is impossible, maybe undesirable, to take partisanship out of the political process," Souter said.
Kennedy has said there may be cases in which gerrymandering of districts is so blatant that it warrants court intervention. But Wednesday, he said he feared that limiting state legislatures' ability to redistrict would make it more difficult for lawmakers to correct past excessive gerrymandering by the opposing party.
"It seems very dangerous for this court to take away that control mechanism," he said.
Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, aided by a lawyer with the Bush administration, said a correction is exactly what took place in Texas: Republican lawmakers redrew a map that had been gerrymandered to favor Democrats.
The map that resulted in the election of more Republican members of Congress simply proves that it more accurately reflects current statewide voting preferences in Texas, Cruz said.
President Bush won 61 percent of the vote in Texas in 2004 and all statewide officeholders are Republicans.
Texans in attendance
The two-hour court session drew more than a dozen Texas congressional members. Among them were Houston Democratic Reps. Gene Green and Sheila Jackson Lee and Republican Reps. John Culberson of Houston, Ted Poe of Humble and Kevin Brady of The Woodlands.
Thanks in part to redistricting, Poe defeated Democratic incumbent Nick Lampson, who now is seeking DeLay's seat.
After the arguments, in which the justices asked whether challengers of the map need courts to get involved in redistricting, Jackson Lee said, "The answer is, yes we do, when the legislature is partisan, biased and corrupt."
If the state of Texas wins the cases, the new map would remain. If the challengers win, the justices could throw out the map or order the redrawing of some districts.
Boundary changes could force a do-over of the Texas primaries scheduled for Tuesday. The state could adopt a previous map or the Legislature could start from scratch on yet another new map.
[email protected].
March 1, 2006, 10:03PM
DA wants records on trip DeLay took with Abramoff
Associated Press
RESOURCES
reuters
TOM DELAY
• HOME: Sugar Land
• AGE: 58. April 8, 1947.
• EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Houston, 1970.
• EXPERIENCE: Owner, Albo Pest Control, 1973-84; Texas House, 1978-84; U.S. House, 1984-present; House majority whip, 1994-2002;
and House majority leader, 2002-2005.
• FAMILY: Wife, Christine; daughter, Danielle; and 1 grandchild.
CHRONICLE POLLS
• March 2005: Complete results of poll designed to discover whether any changes have occurred in constituents' support for Rep. DeLay since facing ethical and criminal investigations.
Video
• Controversial ad: Political TV announcement from the Public Campaign Action Fund that Houston-area stations declined to air.
• AP: DeLay steps down as majority leader (1/7)
• AP: DeLay's staff tried to help Abramoff (11/3)
• DeLay appears in Austin court (10/21)
• DeLay booked in Houston (10/20)
• Texas court issues warrant for DeLay (10/19)
Audio
• DeLay will run for re-election: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Lawmaker insists he's done nothing wrong: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Representative says he will be exonerated: Jan. 7, 2005 (AP)
TEXT
• DeLay to constituents: Announcing Jan 7 he will not attempt to regain the majority leader spot.
• Letter to House members: Jan. 7 announcement.
• Letter to Speaker of the House: Statement to Rep. Dennis Hastert upon DeLay's Jan. 7 announcement.
DOCUMENTS
• Court records, DeLay's casino letter and more
GRAPHICS
• The Abramoff connection: Diagram of links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay and former DeLay aides, Abramoff's Indian tribe clients and businesses and their contributions to dozens of lawmakers
• Map: DeLay's 22nd Congressional District
• Charge against Tom DeLay
• Swapping funds: How Tom DeLay and Roy Blunt swapped donations through PACs
interactive
• Donor's dollars: The jet-setting, luxury lifestyle of DeLay and his aides
• Investigation: Tom DeLay-Roy Blunt links
• Timeline: Key events in the investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff
• Investigation: Analyzing the link between casino gambling and donations by lobbyist Abramoff to various congressional figures
ON THE WEB
• TomDelay.com
• MajorityLeader.gov
• Official House site
• Texas Ethics Commission
• Federal Election Commission
• RonnieEarle.com
• Travis County District Attorney
• Dick DeGuerin
These free downloads may be required: Real Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader.
Video courtesy Associated Press.
AUSTIN - Prosecutors pursuing conspiracy and money-laundering charges against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay have asked a travel agency to turn over records on a European trip he took in 2000 with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The subpoena issued Wednesday by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle seeks documents on travel services bought by Abramoff for himself, DeLay, DeLay's wife, a former DeLay aide-turned-lobbyist and two others.
The subpoena includes statements from Abramoff's credit card showing he paid the travel agency nearly $40,000 for the group's airfare for the trip to England and Scotland. It is against House rules for a lobbyist to put a congressman's expenses on his credit card.
DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, was traveling and could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Newspaper reports say much of the money for the junket — which included playing golf at an exclusive Scotland course — was paid by two of Abramoff's clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc. They sent checks to a third group, the National Center for Public Policy Research.
DeLay has said he did not know Abramoff or his clients paid for the travel.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3695215.html
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's booking mug, taken Oct. 20, 2005, in Houston.
: HCSO
Jan. 13, 2006, 1:20PM
Documents relating to Tom DeLay
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
• Controversial letter: Rep. Tom DeLay demands closure of a casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in this Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
• Motion: State's motion to recuse Judge B.B. Schraub. 11/3
• Letter: From DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin to Travis County DA Ronnie Earle 10/17
• Motion: For speedy trial 10/17
• Motion: To quash and dismiss Count 1 10/17
• Motion: To quash and dismiss Count 2 10/17
• Motion: For severance 10/17
• Letter: From DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin to DA Ronnie Earle 10/11
• Subpoena: For DA Ronnie Earle 10/11
• Brief: In support of motion to quash indictment 10/11
• Motion: Defendant's motion to quash indictment on basis of prosecutorial misconduct 10/7
• Re-indictment: Texas v. Colyandro, et al 10/3
• Indictment: Texas v. Colyandro, et al 9/28
Redistricting's fate may hinge on whether new map is biased
Though it isn't clear how the top court will rule, its key centrist voter expresses concern
By PATTY REINERT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - U.S. Supreme Court justices reviewing the bitterly disputed Texas congressional district lines appeared reluctant Wednesday to throw out the Republican-friendly map on the grounds that political gerrymandering had gone too far.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is expected to provide the pivotal vote on the matter as a court centrist, made clear the map could be rejected for another reason: Some districts redrawn by the Texas Legislature in 2003 may violate the federal Voting Rights Act by discriminating against minority voters.
In particular, Kennedy said he was concerned that Republican state lawmakers removed 100,000 Latino voters from the 23rd District in South Texas and made sure it remained 50.9 percent Latino to "make it look good."
"It seems to me that's an affront and an insult," he said.
Chief Justice John Roberts asked what percentage of minority voters would be sufficient to deem the district mostly minority.
"What's the magic number?" he asked.
The high court's decision, expected by July, could affect this year's elections in Texas and help decide control of the U.S. House in November. The election boundary changes swing six House seats in Texas to the GOP.
It also could determine whether state lawmakers nationwide will be allowed to redraw election maps whenever they wish, giving the advantage to whichever party is in power.
Most states redraw their maps soon after a Census and leave them in place for 10 years. But the justices seemed reluctant to insist on that timetable.
Engineered by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, the Texas map passed after three special sessions of the Legislature, outraging Democratic state lawmakers who had tried to thwart it by fleeing Austin twice — once to Oklahoma, once to New Mexico.
It also led to the indictment of DeLay and his loss of the position of House majority leader. He is accused in Travis County of illegally funneling money to Republican state House candidates who, once in power in Austin, redrew the map, cementing GOP control of the U.S. House.
The Texas delegation has 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Power grab?
Washington attorney Paul Smith and San Antonio lawyer Nina Perales, who represent Democrats unseated in the redistricting, as well as some minority voters told the justices that the redrawn map was a deplorable partisan power grab that violated the Constitution and federal law.
"The only reason it was considered, let alone passed, was to help one political party get more seats than another," Smith argued.
"Wow! That's a surprise," Justice Antonin Scalia quipped sarcastically.
"Legislatures redraw the map all the time for political reasons," he added.
That practice is legal, he said, and to suggest that partisan motives can be removed from the inherently political process of drawing election maps "is ridiculous."
Other justices, including Kennedy and David Souter, appeared to agree.
"It is impossible, maybe undesirable, to take partisanship out of the political process," Souter said.
Kennedy has said there may be cases in which gerrymandering of districts is so blatant that it warrants court intervention. But Wednesday, he said he feared that limiting state legislatures' ability to redistrict would make it more difficult for lawmakers to correct past excessive gerrymandering by the opposing party.
"It seems very dangerous for this court to take away that control mechanism," he said.
Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, aided by a lawyer with the Bush administration, said a correction is exactly what took place in Texas: Republican lawmakers redrew a map that had been gerrymandered to favor Democrats.
The map that resulted in the election of more Republican members of Congress simply proves that it more accurately reflects current statewide voting preferences in Texas, Cruz said.
President Bush won 61 percent of the vote in Texas in 2004 and all statewide officeholders are Republicans.
Texans in attendance
The two-hour court session drew more than a dozen Texas congressional members. Among them were Houston Democratic Reps. Gene Green and Sheila Jackson Lee and Republican Reps. John Culberson of Houston, Ted Poe of Humble and Kevin Brady of The Woodlands.
Thanks in part to redistricting, Poe defeated Democratic incumbent Nick Lampson, who now is seeking DeLay's seat.
After the arguments, in which the justices asked whether challengers of the map need courts to get involved in redistricting, Jackson Lee said, "The answer is, yes we do, when the legislature is partisan, biased and corrupt."
If the state of Texas wins the cases, the new map would remain. If the challengers win, the justices could throw out the map or order the redrawing of some districts.
Boundary changes could force a do-over of the Texas primaries scheduled for Tuesday. The state could adopt a previous map or the Legislature could start from scratch on yet another new map.
[email protected].
March 1, 2006, 10:03PM
DA wants records on trip DeLay took with Abramoff
Associated Press
RESOURCES
reuters
TOM DELAY
• HOME: Sugar Land
• AGE: 58. April 8, 1947.
• EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Houston, 1970.
• EXPERIENCE: Owner, Albo Pest Control, 1973-84; Texas House, 1978-84; U.S. House, 1984-present; House majority whip, 1994-2002;
and House majority leader, 2002-2005.
• FAMILY: Wife, Christine; daughter, Danielle; and 1 grandchild.
CHRONICLE POLLS
• March 2005: Complete results of poll designed to discover whether any changes have occurred in constituents' support for Rep. DeLay since facing ethical and criminal investigations.
Video
• Controversial ad: Political TV announcement from the Public Campaign Action Fund that Houston-area stations declined to air.
• AP: DeLay steps down as majority leader (1/7)
• AP: DeLay's staff tried to help Abramoff (11/3)
• DeLay appears in Austin court (10/21)
• DeLay booked in Houston (10/20)
• Texas court issues warrant for DeLay (10/19)
Audio
• DeLay will run for re-election: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Lawmaker insists he's done nothing wrong: Jan. 7, 2005 (CNN)
• Representative says he will be exonerated: Jan. 7, 2005 (AP)
TEXT
• DeLay to constituents: Announcing Jan 7 he will not attempt to regain the majority leader spot.
• Letter to House members: Jan. 7 announcement.
• Letter to Speaker of the House: Statement to Rep. Dennis Hastert upon DeLay's Jan. 7 announcement.
DOCUMENTS
• Court records, DeLay's casino letter and more
GRAPHICS
• The Abramoff connection: Diagram of links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay and former DeLay aides, Abramoff's Indian tribe clients and businesses and their contributions to dozens of lawmakers
• Map: DeLay's 22nd Congressional District
• Charge against Tom DeLay
• Swapping funds: How Tom DeLay and Roy Blunt swapped donations through PACs
interactive
• Donor's dollars: The jet-setting, luxury lifestyle of DeLay and his aides
• Investigation: Tom DeLay-Roy Blunt links
• Timeline: Key events in the investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff
• Investigation: Analyzing the link between casino gambling and donations by lobbyist Abramoff to various congressional figures
ON THE WEB
• TomDelay.com
• MajorityLeader.gov
• Official House site
• Texas Ethics Commission
• Federal Election Commission
• RonnieEarle.com
• Travis County District Attorney
• Dick DeGuerin
These free downloads may be required: Real Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader.
Video courtesy Associated Press.
AUSTIN - Prosecutors pursuing conspiracy and money-laundering charges against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay have asked a travel agency to turn over records on a European trip he took in 2000 with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The subpoena issued Wednesday by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle seeks documents on travel services bought by Abramoff for himself, DeLay, DeLay's wife, a former DeLay aide-turned-lobbyist and two others.
The subpoena includes statements from Abramoff's credit card showing he paid the travel agency nearly $40,000 for the group's airfare for the trip to England and Scotland. It is against House rules for a lobbyist to put a congressman's expenses on his credit card.
DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, was traveling and could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Newspaper reports say much of the money for the junket — which included playing golf at an exclusive Scotland course — was paid by two of Abramoff's clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc. They sent checks to a third group, the National Center for Public Policy Research.
DeLay has said he did not know Abramoff or his clients paid for the travel.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3695215.html
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's booking mug, taken Oct. 20, 2005, in Houston.
: HCSO
Jan. 13, 2006, 1:20PM
Documents relating to Tom DeLay
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
• Controversial letter: Rep. Tom DeLay demands closure of a casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in this Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
• Motion: State's motion to recuse Judge B.B. Schraub. 11/3
• Letter: From DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin to Travis County DA Ronnie Earle 10/17
• Motion: For speedy trial 10/17
• Motion: To quash and dismiss Count 1 10/17
• Motion: To quash and dismiss Count 2 10/17
• Motion: For severance 10/17
• Letter: From DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin to DA Ronnie Earle 10/11
• Subpoena: For DA Ronnie Earle 10/11
• Brief: In support of motion to quash indictment 10/11
• Motion: Defendant's motion to quash indictment on basis of prosecutorial misconduct 10/7
• Re-indictment: Texas v. Colyandro, et al 10/3
• Indictment: Texas v. Colyandro, et al 9/28
A
Anonymous
Guest
Nobody can waste more perfectly good band space than flounder with his/her loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong posts of absolutely nothing.
TRY TO SUMMARIZE FOR ONCE!
COPY/PASTE WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS RELEVANT AND DELETE THE REST.
Sheeeeesh!
~SH~
TRY TO SUMMARIZE FOR ONCE!
COPY/PASTE WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS RELEVANT AND DELETE THE REST.
Sheeeeesh!
~SH~
Sandhusker
Well-known member
And is there any way that you can post in crayon or finger paints? SH would feel more comfortable with a media he uses at home. :lol: :wink:
SH wrote;
> Nobody can waste more perfectly good band space than flounder
when you start paying for the band space, i will then consider. also, some want the data, not my opinion. if it is too long for your brain to comprehend, just don't read it. :lol: :lol: :lol:
tss
> Nobody can waste more perfectly good band space than flounder
when you start paying for the band space, i will then consider. also, some want the data, not my opinion. if it is too long for your brain to comprehend, just don't read it. :lol: :lol: :lol:
tss
Mike
Well-known member
Flounder, I'm gonna get in the "Middle" ground of this.
By shortening your posts I think you would have more reading them. Not being critical, but I tend to pass them over at times myself.
The main thing that bothers me is the left to right scrolling involved in reading your posts.
Just a suggestion because we are zipping in here for just a few minutes to read them a few times per day.
By shortening your posts I think you would have more reading them. Not being critical, but I tend to pass them over at times myself.
The main thing that bothers me is the left to right scrolling involved in reading your posts.
Just a suggestion because we are zipping in here for just a few minutes to read them a few times per day.
Mike wrote;
Flounder, I'm gonna get in the "Middle" ground of this.
By shortening your posts I think you would have more reading them. Not being critical, but I tend to pass them over at times myself.
The main thing that bothers me is the left to right scrolling involved in reading your posts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
alright, i am gonna work on shortening, but if you want the source of the data, you have to take the skrolling, cause i cannot change the length of the URLs, and that is what is making the skroll problem most of the time.
but sometimes when i just post in this box without url the text seems to go off to the right, and i do not know why. ... burning daylight now with this BSe. and about the long post here about delay et al, hell i just posted a newspaper article from here cause i thought old econ was interested, and i has a subs. to the chron. i was wasting time with that BS anyway....... later.....tss
Flounder, I'm gonna get in the "Middle" ground of this.
By shortening your posts I think you would have more reading them. Not being critical, but I tend to pass them over at times myself.
The main thing that bothers me is the left to right scrolling involved in reading your posts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
alright, i am gonna work on shortening, but if you want the source of the data, you have to take the skrolling, cause i cannot change the length of the URLs, and that is what is making the skroll problem most of the time.
but sometimes when i just post in this box without url the text seems to go off to the right, and i do not know why. ... burning daylight now with this BSe. and about the long post here about delay et al, hell i just posted a newspaper article from here cause i thought old econ was interested, and i has a subs. to the chron. i was wasting time with that BS anyway....... later.....tss
ok. now i am really confused, i did not post a url and the damn text went off the page again? so, basically, all i am doing is typing in this box and the format is running. so i will next time write in an email and then copy and paste from the email and see if that helps. this bothers me as well, but don't now how to correct it..................
Flounder, I have had the same problem. It has to do with the margins on the site or something. Maybe the site operators can fix these problems with a little programming so we can argue the real points instead of messing with these type of issues. I am going to post this question.
