Ah, I remember the good ol' days when I used to get hate mail that entertained me. But, it seems like the creative writing skills of those that are so incensed about something I write has really gone downhill lately. But, I will put this latest email up for consideration.

Behold, in all its glory.

To: Pinkdome
From: WeathandJoy

Shame on you for your nasty words about Kennedy!
If you took time to listen to him on Sunday mornings
you wouldn't make comments like these!

THERE IS A HEAVEN TO GAIN AND A HELL TO SHUN
AND I PRAY THAT YOU WILL CHOOSE TO GO TO HEAVEN
BEFORE IT'S TO LATE!!!!

I FEEL SORRY FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU, FOR 'JESUS' IS
COMING BACK, WHETHER YOU WANT TO BELIEVE IT
OR NOT! AND YOU WILL STAND BEFORE HIM ON JUDGEMENT
DAY AND GIVE AN ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR WICKED DEEDS
YOU HAVE COMMITTED!!!

All the Christians will go to Heaven, and all the Sinners will be thrown
into the lake of fire!!! We will then see how COCKY you will be!!!

You had better get right with GOD before its to late for you!!!

JESUS IS LORD!!! Try reading your Bible, starting at Matthew* *

42 Chihuahua's and one Great Dane -- that ought to be a dog extravaganza exceeding Michael Vick's expectations! "She just wants her babies back" Wonder what kind of prodigy she sells at the Wal-Mart parking lot on Saturdays!

Superintendent Chalmers and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson, both boring and I bet Chalmers has a hot young wife.

Ok, after we took at look at that hideous Linda Harper-Brown web site we found Diane Patrick's hideosity. So...that does it. We're on the hunt. Send us the links to legislative web sites and we're going to do site evaluations on all the ones we receive.

We'll give awards for the best legislative website. (If you'd like to sponsor an award, let me know) and we'll give awards for the worst crap ever put on the Internet, too.

Here's a few examples of 'good' sites:
Speaker Tom Craddick

Here's a few more bad ones:
Patrick Rose (Your photos are not sized correctly, and the page width is not dynamic)
Garnet Coleman (Yipes! That header will give me nightmares...and those colors! Ugh)

According to the FWST, some Ron Paul supporters are saying that the Fort Worth presidential straw poll was rigged. Yeah, freaking weirdos, the Republicans rigged the poll so that it sucked! I think these Ron Paul supporters are a little crazy but there is a Youtube video of the supporters trying to get in but denied. (wasted 5 minutes of my life)

This is a quote from one of the crazies:

"This Poll has all the earmarks of a Fascist Regime and a staged event to discredit only one man. Ron Paul," said one deranged Texan.

Hey Y'all. I'm a little hungover this morning and regretting that I made out with my ex last night, how are you? Let's just move on and see what's up in the papers for a Friday. Here we go, the first story that catches my attention is a Judge Strikes Down Part of the Patriot Act. That's great, because I think it's a little far-reaching and nosy anyway.

Oh here's a potentially funny story...that Davy Crockett letter that sold for $490k? It may be a fake. HAHA! Oh this is rich, the Pope decries the collapse of marriages. Uhm, it's got to be because of the gays. (YouTube video). I'll never understand how homosexuals ruin your marriage. Oh wait, I take that back. When I was dating that married man I think that could have possibly ruined his marriage. Oh well, next topic!

The feature story in this week's Austin Chronicle is an interesting tale of government incompetency and stereotypes. Check it out and give props to a friend of mine for a feature story. That rocks, yo.

Alright. I've finished my coffee and I better take a shower and get ready for work. I take it back, too. I don't regret making out with my ex last night. It was hot and I'm very good at the kissing.

Have a good Friday everybody. I'll check in later with what dufus decides to make a press announcement on a Friday afternoon thinking we won't see it!

xo,
Pinkdome

Planned Parenthood is opening a new clinic in Aurora, Illinois and have met with more protesters than usual. They've set up a site where you can ask them to tie a ribbon on a tree out front showing your support for women's rights. It's free. Just go do it and shut up.

Just for a laugh.

Or would that be a splash? BurkaBlog reports that she may or may not have recruited an opponent to Kirk England. The denials are vague. If you're gonna go ahead and recruit someone to run against an incumbent you sure as hell better have your ducks in a row because we all know what vicious bitches are in the Capitol. They'll swarm around and take you down just for the hell of it!

Maybe her new Chief of Staff will fill us in if we ask nicely.

The GOP debates were apparently on TV. I wouldn't know because watching that crap would totally make me lose my buzz. Here's part of an exchange between Hucka-hillbilly and RuPaul with my asides.

Hucka-Hillbilly: "We bought it because we broke it." (I say we should get one hell of a refund, because that shithole was way broke before we even looked at it!)
RuPaul: "The American people didn't go in. A few people advising this administration, a small number of people called the neoconservatives, hijacked our foreign policy. They are responsible, not the American people." (D'uh. But, the rest of the people in Congress fell in line like sheep so we blame all of them. You all suck donkey dick and we won't forget it. Blaming neoconservatives is so convenient.)
Hucka-Hillbilly:"Congressman, we are one nation. We can't be divided. We have to be one nation under God. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country." (Sometimes I would gladly secede if you would let me. I simply don't want to be a part of the stupidity that reigns supreme from the White House all the way down to the city council.)
RuPaul: "When we make a mistake, it is the obligation of the people — through their representatives — to correct the mistake, not continue the mistake. (The problem is, you dumbass, is that some people still don't think we made a mistake. These are the people I'd like to hit upside the head with a two-by-four.)

Can you believe these two actually engaged in this conversation without ever once making a point? This administration lied to the American people and Congress completely abdicated their obligation of checks and balances and the American people ate the propaganda up with a goddamn spoon. Now that people have stopped drinking the Kool-Aid we need some candidates with the balls to call the White House and the Congress on their actions and demand results.

Ike proved you could do nothing and be president. For Kennedy, charisma (and Jackie) was enough. For LBJ, “aw shucks, let me screw you” worked. Nixon proved you didn’t have to have charisma (or say "aw shucks"); he could screw you without it. Then Carter’s smile and pledge to never lie covered for his incompetence. Reagan finally proved you didn't need to be a president; you just needed to act like a President – as long as Nancy consulted with the astrologist.

Dana Carville said it all about Bush I. Clinton proved you didn’t have to keep it in your pants to be president and Bush II proved you didn’t even have to have it in your pants to be president. Fred Thompson vs. Hillary? Law & Order vs. Desperate Housewives! An insane road until November ’08!

Get me some popcorn and ice cold beer. This is gonna be a good one.

The Texas Historical Commission paid $490,000 for a letter written by Davy Crockett. That's $399,999 (bad math, my bad) $489,999 more than anyone will ever pay for a letter written by Rick Perry.

In the letter, the frontiersman-turned-congressman from Tennessee wrote that Texas is the "garden spot of the world." He said it was "the best land and the best prospect for health." Clearly, he did not have psychic powers.

Greetings! I am a Texas resident for over 30 years with a passion for education, desiring a caring government (who stays out of our personal business), and a belief that we -- the voters -- can actually make changes happen. And... a healthy disrespect for the establishment, to which I belong.

Pinkdome says: Y'all make BrooksBeast feel welcome and give a little respect for those Brooks Brothers suit-wearing types that do what they do so we don't have to! Keep a lookout for the new folks that are going to start writing stuff and email them if you think they would give a shit.

Then there's the other aspect of Kress’ personality that education groups and lobbyists often mention. Kress often is perceived as inflexible and out of touch with the day-to-day details of school operations.

Robert Scott's name isn't being mentioned as much as I would think as a permanent replacement over at the TEA. Maybe he's just not ambitious enough. You know, maybe he actually thinks about policy and how to improve education. If that's true we all know he's doomed.

I received this announcement for the hearing Wednesday at 9:00 a.m.:

State Representatives Abel Herrero and Solomon Ortiz, Jr. will conduct a Legislative Study Group hearing to take public testimony on issues related to the Corpus Christi State School. State agency officials, advocates, community members, state school employees, clients and their families are all invited to testify at the hearing. To arrange to testify at the hearing, please contact Rep. Herrero's office at (361) 882-2277 or Rep. Ortiz's office at (361) 991-0047.

If you were there fill us in. But only if someone farted or something good happened.

Fred Thompson appeared on Jay Leno last night to finally announce his official candidacy for president. Yay. At least people at the GLO will know why Jerry Patterson keeps giggling like a school girl and skipping down the halls of the office.

By the way, what's all the talk of Thompson being handsome. I mean, really?

Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-OH) was found dead in his apartment in Washington, D.C. Foul play is not expected. Gillmor was a solid Republican vote in the craziest of Republican states, Ohio.

The Rev. James D. Kennedy also passed away. He was the pastor of one of those fake megachurch things in Florida. Kennedy left such ignorant gems as this one as his legacy:

Another newsletter item featured a photograph of very young children under the headline, "SEX WITH CHILDREN? HOMOSEXUALS SAY YES!" The newsletter went on to assert that "Adult sex with children has been a crucial component of the homosexual movement all along."

From the AAS:
Ex-parliamentarian at law firm

Former House Parliamentarian Denise Davis, at the heart of the flap to replace Speaker Tom Craddick in May, is joining the Austin office of the Baker Botts law firm.

Davis resigned during the final 72 hours of the legislative session after Craddick refused to recognize motions to remove him from office. She did not comment on Craddick's actions, but the speaker's critics viewed her resignation as a sign that his own parliamentarian did not agree with his interpretation of House rules. Her practice will focus on legislative policy and procedure.

Andy Brown has decided to run for Chair of the Travis County Democratic Party. I'm so glad he gets to use that logo for something again, because I love it.

Am I right that you don't vote for the TCDP Chair until March? I can't even plan out what I'm doing next week, but I'll put it in my Microsoft Outlook Calendar as a reminder.

I was channel surfing when I saw part of the Glen "douchebag" Beck show last night. He reminded me of this slow kid at my elementary school that when you tried to argue with him he would just stick his fingers in his ears and just babble really loud. That kid was really annoying and so is Beck. It isn't Beck's fault. It's that network news stations are forced to fill the airwaves with people that yell at you all the time just to fill time. They should totally give me my own show. I can shout down people better than anybody!

Ol' Wide Stance himself, Sen. Larry Craig, is apparently rethinking his resignation, the AP is reporting:

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

"It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign," said Sidney Smith, Craig's spokesman, in Idaho's capital.

"We're still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign September 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we're able to stay in the fight -- and stay in the Senate."

Sen. Craig asked that I use that analogy.

A man in Waukesha, Wisconsin woke up the next day in a front yard without his pants after a night at a bar. Sounds like a typical Sunday morning for me but the interesting thing for this dude was that he had $41,093 in cashier's checks in one of his pant pockets.

The words of wisdom from the partier: "I woke up cold not knowing where the heck I was, and I didn't realize it at first because I still had my shoes and socks on," he said. "When I got up, I realized, my God, I don't have any pants." (Chron)

Good thing is that he got the money and pants back.

I'm sure Pinkdome woke up in some random yard on vacation. Just jealous.

Some crazy dude (some might call him a genius) won the Big Tex Choice Award for his Texas Fried Cookie Dough. The competition introduces foods that will be at the State Fair. Check out the article it made me feel fat just reading it. (I will have to try it at the fair though) DMN

The City of Austin is asking the public to assess downtown. Will they ever learn? Austin is a city of NIMBY's and hippies, and the political naive. They're gonna say they want rainbows and butterflies on every streetcorner and, of course, the legalization of marijuana.

What does Austin need to ensure growth and urban vitality? Here are a few things:
1.) Austin has got to do something to encourage business to return downtown, additionally infrastructure to support the new residents will be key. You cannot have a successful downtown with retail and restaurants and one big ass grocery store on Sixth street that costs an arm and a leg.

2.) Homeless. The aggressive homeless in this town has got to be addressed. I am not saying shut down shelters or bus them to Waco, but you've got to curb the panhandling that makes people feel uncomfortable.

3.) Violence in downtown. That shit has got to stop. If it's college kids fighting each other on Sixth street or gang bangers creeping into the city center, do something about it. Now.

4.) Speeding in downtown. Downtown is a pedestrian friendly zone. Speeding, drunk drivers and general wrecklessness with automobiles has got to stop with serious police attention.

5.) More mix of residential development. You cannot have diversity with every condo costing $300k or higher. Some people make around $50k a year. We both know that makes them poor and all, but still they ought to be able to live downtown. So get on it.

6.) Real public transportation, not this bullshit rail system to nowhere. How in the hell is a train to Leander going to help me get from 1st Street to the Capitol for a meeting?

7.) Finally, stop listening to the wingnuts. Not every single opinion has to be right and you don't have to compromise on every singe thing. That's how you wind up like San Francisco. A clusterfuck of city government.

Y'all can add your own!

I hope y'all all had a great Labor Day break. Just enough to give you the eight hours of sleep you wish you got all the time. I am coming back to Austin a toasty brown and barely hungover. I didn't lose my pants once the entire vacation, but in retrospect, visiting that nude beach was a bad idea. I made everyone else feel bad about themselves.

I think that fact that it was a one emergency room trip for the whole group of us is a big accomplishment in the maturity of my vacations. Next year's goal will be just one urgent care clinic visit and then I'll finally feel like a grown up.

That visit to the emergency room would have never happened if Senator Craig didn't have such a wide stance. That fucker totally knocked a friend of mine off his balance!

The Republican poll was held in Fort Worth this past weekend and some random dude named Hunter won. Ok the dude is a Congressman from California, Duncan Hunter. Anyways many of the papers wanted to say that it sucked but instead they said "low-turnout event that lacked the top-tier presidential candidates" Chron

Here is how it went down

1. Hunter 41% (534 votes)
2. Thompson 21% (266 votes)
3. Ron Paul 17% (217 votes)
4. Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
5. Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
6. Mitt Romney (61 votes)
7. John McCain (8 votes)

8 sympathy votes for Grandpa McCain. The Republican campaigns won't get exciting unless they get Chuck Norris to run.