Houston Democrats - Action Alerts

ABC Television Network	Abc.com. (There is a “contact us” button at the bottom of the web page.)
All Star Construction	13110 T.C. Jester Blvd. Houston, TX 77038
Amazing Siding	Amazing Siding Corp. 13940 Bammel N. Houston, Suite 304 Houston,TX77066
Arid Extra Dry	Church and Dwight Co, Consumer Relations, 469 N. Harrison Strt., Princeton NJ, 08543-5297
Blue Bell Ice Cream	Blue Bell Creameries 1101 S. Horton Brenham, TX 77833
Boston Market	Boston Market Corporation, 14103 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401
Brinkman Roofing	Brinkman Roofing5050 Timber Creek Drive Houston, Texas 77017
Discover Business Card
Gallery Furniture
Home Depot
Insure.com
Just Brakes
Lay's Potato Chips
Match.com
Net Zero
Quicken Loan
Similian Eye Drops
Smart Balance
Thunderbolt Transmission
Wachovia

Want to help us keep tabs on the professional liars and demagogues in the right wing, Hate Radio universe?

If you have a few minutes each week to help out, we sure can use you!

In the Houston area, the radio station that plays host to Limbaugh, Savage/Weiner, and Hannity is AM 950. We need volunteers to listen to this station, and when they make a hate-filled statement about Democrats or others, jot it down verbatim, along with the date, approximate time, and the identity of the person making the statement. After that, keep listening for a few minutes to see who is paying them that day by advertising on their program. Jot that information down too. After that, email everything to us at this web site.

We will post the best examples of their hate-filled diatribes on this site, along with a running list of the companies who are, in effect, paying them to say such things.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 16, 2006

Sign President Clinton's 60th Birthday Card

President Clinton celebrates his 60th birthday on Saturday, August 19th. As you may remember, we commemorated his birthday last year by surprising him with an online card signed by tens of thousands of people. Many of you even took the extra step of making a contribution to the Clinton Foundation, a gift he greatly appreciated because those gifts go to fund our life-saving work around the world.

President Clinton was deeply touched by this tremendous outpouring of goodwill. For this 60th birthday, we'd like to surprise him once again with messages and support from even more people.

You can send your birthday greeting to President Clinton by visiting:

http://www.ClintonFoundation.org/birthday

The past year has been very exciting for President Clinton and everyone at the Clinton Foundation. We have continued making progress in the global fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic by bringing treatment to more than 400,000 people, including children and those living in rural areas. Through the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, we are taking concrete action to reverse the deadly trend of childhood obesity in America, including a landmark beverage agreement that will affect at least 35 million students by providing healthier drink options for children in our schools. We are also working to make a difference in the battle to reverse the effects of climate change through the Clinton Climate Initiative; convening leaders from around the world to take action on critical issues through the Clinton Global Initiative; empowering urban small businesses in the United States; and much more.

President Clinton has dedicated his life to public service, and he continues to take on many critical new challenges through the Clinton Foundation. Show your support for his important efforts by signing his birthday card and considering a donation to the ongoing work of the Foundation.

Sign President Clinton's card by visiting:

http://www.ClintonFoundation.org/birthday

We will collect all of your e-cards on President Clinton's birthday, present them to him and take photos so you can see it, and even post some of them on our website. Last year's cards and contributions meant so much to him, and I know your support for the Clinton Foundation will make his 60th birthday even more special.

Please join us in wishing President Clinton a happy 60th birthday by visiting:

http://www.ClintonFoundation.org/birthday

Posted by Lyn Wall at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 17, 2006

EFF Launches New Animation - Stop Hollywood's Corruptibles!

In 2006 the entertainment industry asked the government to give it incredible new powers -- the broadcast flag, digital radio restrictions, and control over all analog-to-digital devices.

But in the future, those super powers will become the Corruptibles, three villains that invade your home, break your devices, and stop legitimate uses. EFF has launched a new Flash animation today that features exclusive, breaking news footage from the future.

Remember, the Corruptibles aren't real, but the powers that they represent could be. Don't let the entertainment industry try this at home. Find out more about the proposed laws and write your representatives now.

You can also watch The Corruptibles on EFF's MySpace page, Google Video, and YouTube. And if you like it, Digg it.

Posted by Aimee Mobley Turney at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 16, 2006

Security Breaches for 'Sleepover' Voting Machines Used in Busby/Bilbray Race Invalidated, Decertified Their Use in the Election!

Harris County election judges have possession of Hart InterCivic eSlate System Judge's Booth Controllers (JBCs) for up to 72 hours before elections.

Support your Judicial Candidates and James G. Pierre, candidate for Harris County Clerk.

Go to Original
BradBlog.com

Wednesday 14 June 2006

The electronic Diebold voting systems used in the special run-off election last week for California's 50th U.S. House district were effectively 'decertified' and invalidated for use in the election after massive security breaches in the storage of those systems were sanctioned by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, The BRAD BLOG can now conclude.

Based on the review of several different very specific state and federal requirements, laws and provisions, the unsecured overnight storage of Diebold voting machines and their memory cards in poll workers houses, cars and garages in the days and weeks prior to the closely watched election between Republican Brian Bilbray and Democrat Francine Busby violated several federal and state provisions which, if not followed, would revoke the certification of use for the voting systems in any California election.

In the wake of discussions yesterday with SD County Registrar Mikel Haas, who admitted to The BRAD BLOG that storage in poll workers' cars could not be considered secure, it has now become clear that several violations of certified provisions of use for Diebold voting machines - which have been found and confirmed in the past several months to be highly tamperable by dozens of methods and by the company's own admissions - occurred in last week's race...

When it was discovered last December, after a security examination of Diebold optical scan systems in Leon County, FL, that both op-scan and touch-screen systems made by Diebold could be hacked via their memory cards - due to the presence of so-called "interpreted code" which is banned by federal voting systems standards - both federal and California officials instituted new security requirements concerning their use in elections. The violation of those requirements, as has clearly occurred in the CA-50 race, would effectively nullify their certification for use in the state of California.

Adding fuel to the concerns of the incredibly cavalier statements about the security issues related to this matter by Registrar Haas (read on below) is the fact that just last week, two different elections in an Iowa Republican primary revealed that the popular incumbents - who had both apparently "lost" their races after paper ballots were optically-scanned - had in fact won their races after a subsequent manual hand-count revealed the scanners were programmed incorrectly. Those revelations, along with the details of CA-50 that we have been reporting here, have led non-partisan election watchdog organization VoteTrustUSA to join us in demanding that SD County prove their reported results are accurate by carrying out a full manual hand-count of all paper ballots and "paper trails" in the race.

The National Association of State Elections Directors (NASED) the national body responsible for qualifying voting systems for use on the federal level, issued a warning about the severe tamperability of memory cards back on March 22nd, 2006, after the issue came to light during the December Leon County tests which revealed that exploitation of this vulnerability could be used to flip an election on a Diebold optical scan system. If exploited, the tampering would not be visible to vote tabulation witnesses and no trace of the hack would be left behind save for counting the paper ballots themselves for accuracy.

In another examination by computer security professionals in Emery County, Utah in March, it was discovered that Diebold's touch-screen systems could have their entire election software, operating system and even computer firmware ("BIOS") overwritten in less than two minutes time - no password necessary - should a sing malicious user have unfettered phyiscal access to the system. Such access could then affect every voting machine used across the entire county.

The result of all of this would be that if there had been malicious tampering with these voting systems, no amount of observations of the tabulation would reveal the tampering that had occured inside the machines. Unfortunately, candidate Francine Busby's own statement in regard to this matter, seems to reveal that she is wholly unaware of the incidiousness and invisibility of the points in question here and, as we'll show, the fact that the voting machines, as used in her own election, were in clear violation of the law.

As a blood sample taken at a crime scene and then stored in someone's garage for a week before delivery to the crime lab would be considered "contaminated" on its face - even if there had been no actual tampering to the sample - so must the world's most easily-hackable voting machines be considered as contaminated when such a massive breach of security in the chain of custody has taken place such as sending machines home, unprotected, with poll workers.

In light of the recently discovered concerns about the Diebold systems, the security memo issued by NASED in regard to the vulnerability of the memory cards, states requirements for use of these systems which are quite clear [emphasis ours]:

1. Throughout the life of the voting system, the election official shall maintain control of all memory cards and keep a perpetual chain of custody record for all of the memory cards used with the system. Programmed memory cards shall be stored securely at all times with logged accesses and transfers.

Failure to comply with this addendum negates the voting system's status as a NASED-qualified voting system.

Since NASED-qualification is just one of the many conditions for certification of use of voting machines in California, the failure described above would decertify the systems concurrently on both the federal and California state levels.

As well, the so-called "conditional certification" of Diebold touch-screen systems in California, as issued by Sec. of State Bruce McPherson on February 17th, 2006 also speaks to the memory cards issues. It spells out quite clearly that the "additional security measures" in regard to those memory cards are "conditions for use in the state of California."

If violated, the systems would no longer be approved for use here. Says McPherson's certification:

Any breach of control over a memory card shall require that its contents be zeroed, in the presence of two election officials, before it can be used again.

While speaking with Haas yesterday, he confirmed once again that indeed both Diebold touch-screen and optical-scan systems, containing their programmed memory cards, were sent home with poll workers in the days and weeks prior to the election.

When asked if storage in garages or cars could be considered as "secure," the SD County Registar responded directly: "No. If kept in the car it would not be considered secure. We would advise them not to do that. No."

And yet, The BRAD BLOG has received, and reported on, several correspondences from nearly half a dozen poll workers who have admitted that they did precisely that.

After reading the special NASED and CA requirements to Haas, and asking him for comment on whether he would therefore confirm that sending these voting machines home with poll workers had nullified their certification for use in the election, he quickly changed his tune.

So I challenged him: "But you admitted that storage in cars could not be considered as 'stored securely at all times,' as the NASED requirements demand," I said.

"No, I didn't," he said.

"Yes, you did," I replied. And after reading back to him his exact quote, he wished to modify his statement to say instead that storage in cars "may be secure, but it's not the most secure."

There are further provisions in California state Elections Code (EC 19251) which require that all voting systems not just be certified by NASED before approval for use in CA, but that they also meet all federal Voting Systems Standards. According to that statute, systems may only be certified if "The system has been both certified by Federal Authorites and meets or exceeds the voluntary standards set by the Federal Election Commission."

But Section 1, paragraph 4.2.2 [WORD] of the FEC Voting System Standards of 2002 specifically ban certification for machines which contain the type of "interpreted code" which Diebold has now been forced to admit is present in all of their electronic voting machines.

"Self-modifying, dynamically loaded, or interpreted code is prohibited" says the pertinent part of those standards which should have been reason enough, upon discovery, for all Diebold systems to have their federal certification immediately revoked by NASED and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

After initially hiding the code from federal testers, Diebold officials were forced to admit in a letter to the CA Sec. of State, that their voting machines do contain that type of code, making them easily tamperable by hackers who might gain a short time of unsupervised physical access to the machines.

"As part of contemplating the AccuBasic changes to the various voting system components," the Diebold letter admits, "we have internally discussed changes to include removing the interpreters and interpreted code."

We could go on. CA Election Code section 19205 states that the secretary of state must declare in his/her certification that the system being certified is "safe from fraud or manipulation." McPherson was unable to make that declaration in Diebold's touch-screen certification, unlike he has done in certification for other California-qualified voting systems.

When McPherson signed the so-called "conditional certification" for these system, he issued a press release crowing about the security requirements which must be met for use of the Diebold system in the state. (The very security requirements which seem to now have been violated in the CA-50 race.)

The press release quoted Haas himself saying:

"I appreciate Secretary McPherson's leadership in establishing what must be the most comprehensive and rigorous certification process in the nation. To comply with new federal and state laws regarding elections, we need a new and different set of tools and Secretary McPherson made sure we got those tools."

While stating appreciation for those "tools" it seems, based on Haas' actions in carrying out last week's CA-50 election and my subsequent conversations with him yesterday, that he's not all that concerned about actually using those "tools" in his elections.

Without getting too much further into the weeds on this issue for the moment, I'll just mention that Haas confirmed the touch-screen systems themselves were sent out without plastic security seal tape over either the power switch or the secondary external PCMCIA slot. That security breach alone would allow a would-be hacker to completely overwrite the entire system in less than two minutes with any software of their liking - with no password necessary - as revealed by the recent Emery County, UT analysis. (That full report, slightly redacted for security sake, has been published here by BlackBoxVoting.org). We've previously discussed the implications of that report in some detail in relation to the now-questionable CA-50 election.

But not to fear! When I asked Haas if that vulnerability alone might give him reason to be concerned about the integrity of the voting systems he then used in last week's election, he rejected the suggestion.

Since a PCMCIA card can be inserted with the necesssary files into that unsealed slot and the power button turned on (all that's needed to overwrite the software) doesn't that vulnerability trouble you, I asked him.

"I don't know.... I think it's highly improbable," he said.

"Improbable?" I wondered. "I'm not asking if it's probable or not, but if it's possible ..."

His reply blew me away: "I don't think so, because you'd have to want to commit a felony, which knocks out most of our poll workers."

(Pausing here for effect to let you think about that.)

When I mentioned several cases were poll workers recently have been indicted for election fraud, he stated he was unaware of any such cases. I pointed him towards three officials recently indicted in Cuyahoga County, OH and explained the situation to him. He was unphased and seemingly uninterested.

"I'm sure they could stick something in the system ... Whether it's detectable or not, I'm pretty sure that it is. But again, you're tampering with election equipment, so it seems unlikely."

As well, Haas refused to recognize that there are millions, and perhaps billions of dollars, riding on such elections. If you were a poll worker who had a few machines in your garage (and it takes just one to potentially invalidate and/or flip the entire system for an entire county) and you were told, "Hey, why don't you leave your garage door open for a half hour and go get some lunch - could be a million dollars in it for ya." Would you take such an offer?

After explaining how the optical-scan systems can be so easily flipped, without a trace left behind except for actually counting the paper-ballots, Haas flippantly replied, "It's a good thing we're not gonna use optical scan anymore." A cavalier reference to San Diego County's plans to go "all touch-screen" for this November's general election.

His responses during our conversation alone are enough for any sane citizen who gives a damn about democracy to declare "No Confidence" in any election run under such conditions by Registrar of Voters, Mikel Haas.

You can now share your feelings about that with him, and Busby both, via this petition calling for a full manual hand-count of the ballots and paper trails in the CA-50 race.

Posted by Aimee Mobley Turney at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 05, 2006

Al Gore at the Progressive Forum Wednesday night

Al Gore will be speaking at the Progressive Forum at Hobby Center Wednesdat night - June 7. It should be a great event - you can purchase tickets here: http://www.progressiveforumhouston.org/.

You can help HCDP by passing out flyers encouraging Houston's progressive community to get active in our party. Download and print the flyer at http://www.hcdp.org/AlGore.pdf and distribute copies at the forum. There are four flyers to a page.

See you there!

Posted by Lyn Wall at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 25, 2006

Urge Sheila Jackson-Lee to support Net Neutrality

Reportedly, Sheila Jackson-Lee is undecided about her vote on the Net Neutrality bill which is essential to keeping access to the internet fair and unrestricted.

Urge Sheila Jackson Lee to support the bipartisan Sensenbrenner-Conyers Net Neutrality bill (HR 5417) in the Judiciary Committee on Thursday -- and to support it without amendment. Saying without amendment is key.

Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas 18th)
(202) 225-3816 phone
(202) 225-3317 Fax

Posted by Lyn Wall at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 10, 2006

One Million Flyers

Barbara Ann Radnofsky is launching a statewide distribution campaign. More details below.

Radnofsky Newsletter

We are passing out one million flyers that will increase name recognition, profile Barbara Ann's health care proposals, and draw attention to Kay Bailey's record on energy waste, foreign energy dependence, and soaring gas prices.

If you would like to volunteeer for local distribution, or if you know someone in another part of the state who can do the same, please contact the distribution coordinator.

The campaign will be active throughout the summer, so there will be plenty of field work.

Donate online

Have a fundraising party

Posted by Jon Boyd at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 07, 2006

In Defense of Life, Land and Culture

Indigineous Resistance to Oil Extraction in the Amazon

Hear from Leaders from the Rainforests of Peru and Ecuador:

Domingo Ankuash (Shuar from Ecuador),
Andres Sandi (Achuar from Peru), and
Jose Gualinga (Kichwa from Sarayaku)

Join them in Challenging Oil Drilling Plans by ConocoPhillips

Date: Monday, May 8
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Location: The Artery, 5401 Jackson @ Prospect
(entrance on Prospect)

Hear Amazonian leaders speak about their 10 year resistance to oil extraction on their ancestral territories, and

See the World Premiere of "Conoco at the Crossroads," a film by Amazon Watch.

$5 donation requested at the door but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

ConocoPhillips Annual Shareholder Meeting

Date: Wednesday, May 10
Time: 9:00 am
Location: Omni Houston Hotel Westside, 13210 Katy Freeway

The Shuar, Achuar, and Kichwa number close to 100,000 people and inhabit some of Ecuador and Peru’s last vestiges of unprotected, pristine rainforest, having fought for decades to keep oil, mining, and logging out of their territory. However, Houston-based Burlington Resources holds interests in three oil concessions—known as block 23 and 24 in Ecuador, and lot 104 in Peru—which total roughly 2 million acres and fall entirely on Shuar, Achuar. and Kichwa traditional homelands. Faced with the unwavering opposition of the indigenous groups since 2000, Burlington employed one of the Amazon’s most aggressive divide and conquer campaigns in hopes of manufacturing consent and moving forward with the project. The presence and pressure of the company has created a dangerous atmosphere of conflict and tension. On March 31, 2006, ConocoPhillips, also based in Houston, completed its acquisition of Burlington, making it the third largest U.S. oil and gas company. ConocoPhillips will celebrate a year of record profits and its new purchase at its annual shareholder meeting in Houston, Wednesday May 10.

Please come HEAR the stories of Shuar, Achuar, and Kichwa efforts to defend their lives, land and culture in the face of oil extraction.

JOIN them in exposing the controversy and calling on ConocoPhillips to respect their rights and abandon the project.

More information on the Sarayacu community
More information on OXY's drilling on Achuar's land in Peru
More information on The Artery
More information on the Shuar and Achuar from the Pachamama Alliance

ConocoPhillips PAC Summary

ConocoPhillips spent $5,098,084 lobbying the Congress and the Executive branches in 2005

Texas Ethics Commission
Federal Election Commission

Posted by Aimee Mobley Turney at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 28, 2006

Sheila Jackson Lee Arrested at Sudan Protest

Congress Members Arrested at Sudan Protest

Photo by Brian Steidle

By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writer

Five Congress members were willingly arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs Friday in protest of the Sudanese government's role in atrocities in the Darfur region.

"The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest.

Four other Democratic Congress members — James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia — were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine.

"We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said.

Dozens of demonstrators carried signs, some reading "Stop the slaughter" and "Women of Darfur suffer multiple gang rapes," in front of the embassy Friday morning.

The protesters cheered as the Congress members and others were cuffed, hands behind their backs, with plastic ties and quietly led to a white police van by U.S. Secret Service uniformed officers.

The arrests were expected. Lantos' office issued a news release about them in advance.

The protesters called on the Sudanese government to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur and allow humanitarian relief organizations full access to victims.

The three-year-old conflict between rebels and government-backed militias has left at least 180,000 people dead, mostly from war-related hunger and disease, and some 2 million homeless.

President Bush has voiced support for a stronger international presence in Darfur, and the United States has authorized more than $300 million for victims of the violence and to support peace talks.

Rallies against the violence in Darfur are planned in more than a dozen U.S. cities this weekend, including on Washington's National Mall on Sunday.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Invisible Children, Inc. is dedicated to providing financial resources to invisible children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change. On April 29th in more than 130 cities across the country, thousands will participate in The Global Night Commute to put an end to child abduction, the need for night commuting, and war in northern Uganda. APRIL 29 EVENT DETAILS: Download the PDF for event details and instructions. EVENT LOCATION: Rice University Intramural fields 6 & 7, 6100 Main St. 77005.

For more information, please visit www.invisiblechildren.com.

Creative Visions' The Name Campaign seeks to end the conflict in Northern Uganda through awareness. They have collected the names of thousands of children abducted by Kony and have imprinted each one on a distinctive silver dogtag with a green band. All profits from the sale of the tags go to programs that support the children of Northern Uganda.

For more information, please visit www.creativevisions.org.

The International Rescue Committee is a global leader in emergency relief and advocacy for those uprooted or affected by conflict and oppression. The IRC is providing help to thousands of uprooted people fleeing ongoing violence in Darfur, Sudan. The conflict has driven more than 2 million people from their homes and into overcrowded camps, and as many as 400,000 people are now dead or have disappeared from Darfur.

In addition, the IRC works in all four conflict-affected regions of Uganda aiding victims of violence and providing assistance to the most needy. A total of 5 million people are estimated to benefit from the IRC's programs in Uganda.

For more information on the IRC, please visit www.theirc.org.

800-224-2084

The Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to raise public awareness and to mobilize an effective unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of 2 million people in the Darfur region. The Rally to Stop Genocide will take place in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2006. It will feature leading voices in the effort to stop genocide in Darfur.

Darfur Rally in Austin, TX
Date: April 30, 2006
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: South steps of the Capitol building
112 East 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701

For more information on the Rally to Stop Genocide and more, please visit www.savedarfur.org.

The Genocide Intervention Network envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. Its current mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide.

For more information, please visit www.genocideintervention.net.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty.

For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org.

For two decades, the Acholi people of Northern Uganda have been caught in a civil war between a rebel group whose main objective is inhumane terror and a government whose military response has often increased misery and suffering. Over one and a half million people have been displaced into camps and over 25,000 children have been abducted to be used as soldiers and sex slaves. And yet through it all, every day across Acholi-land something remarkable happens. Against a backdrop of dismal statistics, miniscule opportunity and unpredictable terror, in a part of Uganda forgotten by the world, children who have never known peace, face the day as if to live this way is normal, as if they still believe in the future. These children are the embodiment of resilience and hope. This film is the story of Uganda, her stolen children, and the fight to be free.

Uganda Rising is a Mindset Media Production. It will world premiere at HotDocs International Film Festival, May 4th, in Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit www.ugandarising.com.

800-4-UNICEF

Contributions to UNICEF's emergency relief efforts can help provide education, health care, nutrition, protection, clean water and sanitation to the children and women affected by the Pakistani earthquake disaster.

Get connected to a woman in need through Zainab Salbi's organization. The goal of Women for Women International is to take women from victim to survivor to active citizen. With the Emergency Response Fund, Women for Women International can move quickly to help women in post-conflict societies.

For more information, please visit www.womenforwomen.org.

Posted by Aimee Mobley Turney at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

March 15, 2006

Take the Rita Evacuation Survey

Transtar wants to hear from you, and I'm just guessing you have something to say about the Rita evacuation. It's a short survey: http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/ritasurvey/.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 12, 2006

Urgent Message from Democracy Now - Help Save Public Access TV

Cable TV and the major telecom companies, while competing for your business, are united in trying to do away with local public access television and the right of cities and towns to negotiate fair deals with these companies. These multi-year deals, called franchises, are the basis of the PEG system - the Public, Educational and Government channels that these cable/telecom companies must provide to cities where they do business.

Companies like Verizon, AT&T (formerly SBC Global), Comcast and Time Warner hope to hike their profits while at the same time doing away with any public interest or pubic access obligations to the cities and towns where the operate.

Choose a link below and follow the simple instructions -

the deadline for comments is end of day Monday February 13!

An important FCC proceeding is underway that could well impact the future for community access media.

Please take a few moments now and make public comments - and ask every supporter you know to please join our cause.

Keep Community Media Local!

For cable access organizations, producers and access supporters there are three excellent sites available to choose from:

Access organizations = http://www.alliancecm.org

Access producers & friends = http://mnn.org/saveaccess/nprmhowto.html

General public & other allies = http://www.freepress.net/fcc/comment.php?d=05-311

And for inspiration, here's word from Jeff Chester at Center for Digital Democracy standing up and speaking out! - http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/FCCfiling.html

Posted by Lyn Wall at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 20, 2006

Tell Rick Perry to Stop Funneling Our Tax Dollars to DeLay/Abramoff Cronies

This week the Houston Chronicle reported that Texas taxpayers have been funding exorbitant lobbying contracts for two Tom DeLay-Jack Abramoff cronies, Drew Maloney and Todd Boulanger. Here's what their editorial on 1/19 said:

“Together, the two deals will hand the pair of lobbyists more than $1 million in taxpayer funds by the end of next year, needlessly embroiling the state in the Washington lobbying scandal.”

The Longview News-Journal echoed:

“The more important question raised by (Rep. Jim) Dunnam is why Texas lawmakers ever thought it was necessary to appropriate more than $1 million for lobbyist contracts when the state — at the time of the decision — had a president, two powerful senators, (and) the House Majority Leader…to represent the state's interests in Washington.”

And the Fort Worth Star-Telegram made it three newspapers on the same day, publishing more of Rep. Jim Dunnam's comments:

"Governor Perry should not continue to waste huge sums of taxpayer money to fund the unnecessary lobby contract of [someone] who is directly involved in the unseemly activities of Tom DeLay."

So who are these two men at the center of this controversy, Drew Maloney and Todd Boulanger?

Before Rick Perry hired Maloney's Federalist Group for $180,000 a year to lobby the US Congress for the state of Texas, Maloney had given only $250 in campaign contributions. After Maloney was hired by Perry, he contributed over $75,000 to Republican candidates, committees and PACs, including Tom DeLay’s TRMPAC. This hardly seems like a coincidence.

Todd Boulanger has a close business and personal relationship with Jack Abramoff. Boulanger shared lobby contracts with Abramoff, worked with him at the same firms and even served on the board of the Capitol Athletic Foundation, Abramoff’s sham charity. Texas taxpayers should not pay $15,000 per month to someone with direct business ties to a lobbyist who has pled guilty to federal corruption charges

“Boulanger was a member of Abramoff's lobbying team during the time it defrauded Indian tribe clients out of millions.” (Houston Chronicle, 1/19/06)

Contact Governor Rick Perry and tell him to do the right thing and cancel the needless contracts he awarded to two Tom DeLay-Jack Abramoff cronies. Texas taxpayers deserve better than this.

To reach Governor Perry:
Call 1-800-252-9600
This is the Citizen Opinion Hotline. You may leave a recorded message -- unless the 'mailbox is full'.

E-mail Perry at:

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/#contactinfo

Posted by Perry Dorrell at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 01, 2006

Urgent! District 24 Democratic Candidate needs your help to get on the ballot!

Don't let Marchant run unopposed in district 24. Time is of the essence. Please help if you can.

As of this morning, Gary has raised $1500 toward the filing fee of $3125, which leaves $1625. The other option of gathering 500 signatures has proven to be very hard and frustrating work. Well meaning people volunteer to help and then don't follow through. Of the 70 signatures gathered yesterday in a 10-hour marathon session, nearly 1/2 proved to be invalid. So far, we have 200 valid signatures, 95% of which Gary collected by going door to door.

If Gary does not gain ballot access, Marchant will be most like be running unopposed as we are not aware of anyone else vying for district 24. Marchant is a staunch George W. Bush supporter and worked with him when he was governor of Texas. Marchant has said, "the two of them agree on social and fiscal policy 99 percent of the time". We are all hoping that Democrats make some in-roads into our current one party rule in 2006. There is no chance of that happening if Republicans are given a free ride.

Gary works full time as a computer programmer and I am an accountant for a small business. In addition to this, we also run a 501(C)3 Animal Rescue Organization. Gary and I are both passionate about Democratic values and desperately want to make sure that we have a choice when we go to vote for our congressional representative next November. If only 160 people could find it in their hearts to donate $10, we would have that choice. Come on Texans - we have to start somewhere and if ever there was a time when change is possible, it is in 2006.

No matter how much, your donation is very much needed and appreciated. Please go to this link in order to make a donation. The filing deadline is at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

Gary R Page for Congress

Thank you,

Carol Ann Mielke Page

Posted by Lyn Wall at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 20, 2005

Sign John Conyers's Letter to the President Calling for Investigation and Censure

Letter Advising President of Censure
and
Steps to Begin Special Committee Investigation

The full announcement from Conyers is below the fold. Go here to sign on to the letter

Stand with Congressman Conyers