June 28, 2006

SCOTUS Redistricting Decision

From CNN:
U.S. Supreme Court overturns part of a Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Details below the fold

From MSNBC

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out part of a Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.

The fractured decision was a small victory for Democratic and minority groups who accused Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democratic incumbents out of office.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Hispanics do not have a chance to elect a candidate of their choosing under the plan.
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Republicans picked up six Texas congressional seats two years ago, and the court’s ruling does not seriously threaten those gains. Lawmakers, however, will have to adjust boundary lines to address the court’s concerns.

At issue was the shifting of 100,000 Hispanics out of a district represented by a Republican incumbent and into a new, oddly shaped district. Justices had been told that was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting rights.

Republicans had said the new map better reflected the voting patterns of the state and denied that minority voting rights were violated.

The map in question was steered through the Legislature by DeLay, who left Congress June 9 amid legal and ethical troubles, some stemming from the redistricting fight.

The new map gave Texas its first congressional delegation with a Republican majority since Reconstruction. The delegation has 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Under the previous boundaries, Democrats dominated 17-15.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 25, 2006

Lay and Skilling Convicted!

Jason Whitely's blog at http://www.beloblog.com/KHOU_Weather_Watch/archives/2006/05/jurors_reach_ve.html lists the counts:

The jury has reached a verdict in the criminal trials of former CEOs Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. Judge Sim Lake's case manager, Heather Carr, confirmed the news to KHOU-TV. The verdict will be read at 11:00am in Courtroom 9B. It will be blogged here.

11News Reporter Jason Whitely is in the overflow room at the federal courthouse awaiting the reading of the verdict. He is blogging it, adding a GUILTY or NOT GUILTY to the side of each count.

Refresh your browser to update this page until all counts have a verdict out to the right.


Jeffrey K. Skilling

Count 1 (Conspiracy) GUILTY
Count 2 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 14 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 16 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 17 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 18 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 19 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 20 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 22 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 23 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 24 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 25 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 26 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 31 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 32 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 34 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 35 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 36 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 42 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 43 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 44 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 45 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 46 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 47 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 48 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 49 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 50 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 51 (Insider Trading) GUILTY

Kenneth L. Lay

Count 1 (Conspiracy) GUILTY
Count 12 (Wire Fraud) GUILTY
Count 13 (Wire Fraud) GUILTY
Count 27 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 28 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 29 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY

Count 38 (Bank Fraud) GUILTY
Count 39 (False statements to banks) GUILTY
Count 40 (False statements to banks) GUILTY
Count 41 (False statements to banks) GUILTY

Posted by Lyn Wall at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 18, 2006

Diane Wilson of Code Pink Released from Jail

Unreasonable Woman Diane Wilson was released from jail today after serving more than 75 days of her 120 day sentence. The charges stemmed from a banner drop at a Dow Chemical factory. Wilson was arrested in Houston back in December after interrupting a speech being given by VP Dick Cheney. (indy media coverage: http://www.houston.indymedia.org/news/2005/12/46033.php)

Diane says she's delirous to be out of jail, and was humbled by the experience. (see her letter from a Texas jail here ) The time spent behind bars gave her the opportunity to reflect on situtations like Guantanamo Bay where inmates have no outside contact at all. The environmentalist and anti-war activist described herself as more committed then ever to the cause of social justice.

Despite what she's been through "I have no regrets" says Wilson. Diane confirmed she will return to Houston on Monday night to join peace mom Cindy Sheehan at her Tea Party outside the Bush's church. Diane will return to court on Tuesday morning charges of posession of a fake I.D., the same I.D. she used to infiltrate the DeLay Fundraiser.



More here:
Diane's daughter arrested:
http://www.houston.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/46904.php

Info on the Sheehan protest here:
http://www.houston.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/47382.php

Learn more and donate to Diane's legal fund here:
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2005/items/unreasonablewoman/fromjail

Posted by Lyn Wall at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 03, 2006

Abramoff Reaches Plea Deal

Not a good day for the Hammer.

CNN and MSNBC are reporting that Jack Abramoff has agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges. In case you've just crawled out from under a rock, Abramoff has close ties to Tom Delay and up to 20 other members of Congress may be involved.

Since Patrick Fitzgerald gave us Fitzmas, perhaps we should call this Abrakah?

And he has 3 challengers in the Republican primary.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 12, 2005

Supreme Court to Review Texas Redistricting

From AP:
Supreme Court to Review Texas Redistricting

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider the constitutionality of a Texas congressional map engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay that helped Republicans gain seats in Congress.

The 2003 boundaries helped Republicans win 21 of the state's 32 seats in Congress in the last election- up from 15. They were approved amid a nasty battle between Republican leaders and Democrats and minority groups in Texas.

The contentiousness also reached Washington, where the Justice Department approved the plan although staff lawyers concluded that it diluted minority voting rights. Because of historic discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes to ensure they don't undercut minority voting. more...


Posted by Lyn Wall at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 28, 2005

Melissa Taylor named Director of Party Administration

I am thrilled to report that Melissa Taylor has been appointed Director of Party Administration for the Harris County Democratic Party.

I've known Melissa since we both rode the bus to Crawford on the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq (March, 2004). She was *ahem* slightly active in Howard Dean's presidential campaign, was the volunteer coordinator for Richard Morrison's congressional run in 2004, and has recently served on the board of Democracy for Houston.

Congratulations, Melissa! Now let's get busy getting some Democrats elected in 2006!

Posted by Perry Dorrell at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

September 28, 2005

Tom Delay Indicted!!!!!

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/09/29trmpac.html

A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy, jeopardizing the Sugar Land Republican's leadership role as the second most powerful Texan in Washington, D.C.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

September 22, 2005

Huh? What's going on here?

I think I woke up in some bizarro universe this morning. I go into work and the whole dang school's locked up. This IS Thursday, isn't it? That's what my computer says. But when I turned on the radio this morning to public radio KUHF, they were playing the TV news from Channel 13, the ABC affiliate.

Damn those Republicans and their privatization of the entire non-profit sector!

Oh, but it gets weirder. My commute to work was really bizarre coz they shut down the freeway so people could, get this, drive on the wrong side of I-45! Man, that was inconvenient. Too bad, too. Because if there's some big holiday going on I wasn't aware of, I think it'd be fun to head on down to Galveston and enjoy the beach.

Dude, is there something going on that I'm missing?

Posted by Bucky at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 16, 2005

Mother, May I?

God, this is so BORING

Excuse my diversion into trivia and person attack, but I think this week's "potty break" moment at the UN anniversary hoe down was a little more instructive that the snickering Reuters photo suggests at first blush. The significance is not that the president can't hold his water. Most of yall humans encounter that same situation over the course of a business week. Nor is it that he writes a note about his plumbing needs to his top lieutenant at the time that the First Bladder is in need of relief.

The story is written on the ever pliable face of our commander in chief, which you can't see in the Reuters photo. But look at the montage from the AP photos. He's bored to tears long before he starts thinking about writing his name on some UN porcelain. When he finally writes the note, he's feeling so insecure--having spent the whole day listening to grown ups talk about grown up stuff--that he's phrasing his basic bodily needs in the form of a question.

Dude, don't you know if you need to go?

Finally, we get to Dr Rice sternly telling the guy whose finger wobbles on the nuclear button that he's just got to hold it until the speaker gets to a stopping point. I remember whenever I got fidgety in church as a kid, my mom used to get that same stern look on her face that Rice has on hers. Clearly this woman has had enough of her charge's fecklessness.

God, this is so BORING

Man, I would hate to be the president in the car on the ride back home from this meeting. She's really looking PO'd. No supper for you, mister, until you clean up Iraq!

Posted by Bucky at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 04, 2005

Five or six shot fatally in New Orleans

New Orleans police officer dealing with disasterApparently five or six persons (who were part of a group of about eight reportedly carrying guns) where shot and killed by New Orleans police along the Danziger Bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain. Latest reports (which may be still innacurate, of course--this is the second time I've updated this posting) suggest the gunmen were firing on contractors as they set out to work on the damaged levee north of New Orleans. Here's the Yahoo.com story, updated about fifteen minutes ago.

It was just two days ago when Governor Blanco said, expanding on President Bush's orders to troops deployed to New Orleans, that dealing with looters meant "shoot to kill." I've spoken personally with two survivors from the flooding in New Orleans this weekend and both express extreme admiration for the way in which police are handling this crisis. However Mayor Ray Nagin has said New Orleans police and firefighters are being pushed to the limite, two have been driven to suicide from the trauma, and as many as 200 have quit their jobs in dispair.

Posted by Bucky at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 30, 2005

"The city of New Orleans is devastated."

"We probably have 80 percent of our city under water; with some sections of our city, the water is as deep as 20 feet...

"Both airports are under water. The twin spans are destroyed. The yacht club is burned and destroyed."

-- New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, from an interview with WWL late last night

Mayor Nagin also said that it is possible that the highrise bridge in east New Orleans could be unstable. "All of Slidell, and most of Metairie is under water". Nagin also stated that "there was no clear path in and out of New Orleans," and that I-10 is under water.

CNN also quoted a spokesperson from the hospital associated with Tulane University in downtown, who said that they were moving all of the patients from the hospital due to water standing six feet deep in the first floor and rising at the rate of one inch every five minutes. She said white water was pouring down Canal Street (which would be from the breach in the levee at the 17th St. canal at Lake Ponchartrain).

Nagin: "An oil tanker has run aground and oil is leaking from it. Hundreds of 9th Ward residents have been rescued from the roofs of their homes. Undoubtedly hundreds of people throughout the city will have lost their lives."

Posted by Guest Blogger PDiddie at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 01, 2005

Breaking News: O'Connor to Retire From Supreme Court

WOW. From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring. ADVERTISEMENT [0]

O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor. There was no immediate word from the White House on who might be nominated to replace O'Connor.

It's been 11 years since the last opening on the court, one of the longest uninterrupted stretches in history. O'Connor's decision gives Bush his first opportunity to appoint a justice.

"This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure."...

Posted by Lyn Wall at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack