As regular readers of this blog know, I am passionate about democracy. I also consistently express concern about the state of our democracy. Super PACs have been around for the last 12 to 15 years but have become even more dominant since a ruling by the Supreme Court loosened the rules on their engagement. This […]
Continue reading →Local governments always deal with ethics. The base nature of these entities creates consistent opportunity for “grey areas” among their employees and for Elected Officials. Whether it is HISD, Harris County, City of Houston or any of our regional governments, the opportunities abound for corruption. This has been clearly demonstrated over the last few years […]
Continue reading →The County and the City have been in a spat over the application of the City of Houston’s drainage fee on Reliant Stadium. Discussions on this property have been ongoing for months. Most county property is exempt from paying the drainage fee but the Reliant Park property is considered income-producing. While it is a county […]
Continue reading →As the City of Houston stares down ever expanding pension obligations, many in the private sector show little sympathy. Most private sector employees have not had access to pensions for years. Even for those that have, the vesting standards have greatly increased and many are laid off just before qualifying. The private sector is dominated […]
Continue reading →Rick Santorum took advantage of the Tuesday night caucuses to trounce Romney and sail into second place in the delegate count. Santorum has been quietly plodding along with his campaign, speaking straight to targeted voters in targeted states. Last night, he swept all three state caucuses, gatherings. Both Colorado and Minnesota helped him to gain […]
Continue reading →The Mitt Romney machine is gaining power as he treks across the country and opponents fall by the wayside. Newt Gingrich is fighting desperately to hang in there but has finished a distant second in the last couple of major contests. Ron Paul, with his loyal band of supporters, seems to continue to stir the […]
Continue reading →Last night, the President of the United States gave his annual State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress and the nation. This annual ritual is something that is vital to our democracy. Whether individuals like the current President or they do not, we must all respect this annual exercise in our democratic system. […]
Continue reading →The first Southern Primary gave their votes to Newt Gingrich by a wide-margin. While some pundits began to speculate he might win as the election approached, most observers were stunned at the significant trouncing of Mitt Romney. It is beginning to look like a two-person race between Gingrich and Romney and it seems unclear who […]
Continue reading →Rick Perry, the Yell Leader, dropped his pom poms in the Presidential campaign on Thursday. There was a debate Thursday evening and many speculate that he just couldn’t face one more debate. The Yell Leader’s foray into national politics didn’t go as he expected. Having never lost a race in Texas, he was unprepared for […]
Continue reading →While the Republican Presidential candidates are trekking around South Carolina, some of their politics may have slipped into Houston’s City Hall this week. It only took the second City Council meeting of the year for tension to arise at the Council table. Chris Moran has this story in the Chronicle discussing the “dust up”. That […]
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