Wikipedia, Reddit go dark in solidarity against SOPA

Wednesday January 18th may be the only day my website will get more traffic than Wikipedia but let this post show my solidarity against the Stop Online Piracy Act. For more on what that is view this LA Times story. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-internet-shutdown-20120118,0,5284397.story Just know this is a good time to start paying attention. Its a great […]

Rick Perry Agrees to ‘Conversation’ on Fracking in Texas

Its a pretty safe bet from a Texan’s point of view that fracking has a promising future in our state. The practice has, as Governor Perry states, “been used for years” in Texas. Its also clear judging by recent news stories and a controversial study by the EPA that the federal government has every intention […]

Texas Redistricting and The Silent Minority

I have been following the Texas redistricting lawsuit quite closely and I’m appalled every time I read a new article by a national publication that doesn’t contain a quote from an elected official who occupies an African-American opportunity district. The general public would naturally believe that because the Democratic Party is arguing the case for the Voting […]

Is Rick Perry Gay? New Book by Gay Former Colleague Seeks Answer

Head Figure Head: The Search for the Hidden Life of Rick Perry is a book released today by Glen Maxey a former openly gay Texas Legislator from Austin who served with Rick Perry in the Texas House. I first met Glen when he was a state Rep. and my father’s desk mate (also a state […]

Ron Paul can upset Newt but what about the Iowa Caucus?

It only takes one click to “get the picture” of the current state of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign: www.RickPerry.com. Yep, its that bad. Even his own state’s Republican Congressional delegation have failed to endorse him. On the other hand there’s the owner of Rick Perry.com who happens to be another politician from Texas with the initials […]

In Austin, Small Business is Big Business -everyday

On November 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on ‘Small Business Saturday’…one purchase, one purchase is all it takes. -From American Express’ ‘Small Business Saturday’ campaign Americans, especially Austinites, have an affinity for entrepreneurs and the character small businesses bring to the community, which is why it is no surprise that one of […]

What Referendum? How America voted on Constitutional Amendments Nov. 8th 2011

There may be a few political and cultural insights we can take away from odd-yeared elections but in many cases the news media looks for a referendum in each decision made by the public. I would argue that extremely low turnouts and awkwardly-worded Amendments can not be seen as an accurate bellwether for future elections in […]

Herman Cain: Teflon Pizza Don or Mr. Magoo of GOP

I have been wanting to move past “politics of the day” to discuss what I think are more relevant issues in the bigger picture but I continue to be fascinated by Herman Cain and what his story means to the 2012 race. The more media declares his candidacy over the better he does with the […]

Is Herman Cain’s loss Rick Perry’s gain?

UPDATE 11/3/2011 4pm: A new Rasmussen poll taken after the leak of sexual allegations shows Herman Cain actually taking the lead over Romney. Rick Perry doubles his numbers to 8% while Bachmann, Huntsman and Santorum bottom out. It appears Perry drew his support from the later candidates and Cain seems to be holding his own. Its […]

Herman Cain Denies Sexual Harassment but can he Dodge the Character Assassination attempt?

Herman Cain has had a long week of plateauing and catching strange looks for his recent campaign ads, but the latest news of possible sexual harassment hush money will be a true test of his campaign’s Teflon coating. I wondered how long it would take for the media, who have been infatuated with the “unexplained” rise of Herman […]

Stars and Bars and Battle-scars

It has already been widely reported, but Rick Perry has come out against the Confederate battle flag being placed on Texas license plates stating, “We don’t need to be opening up old wounds.” This is a departure from an earlier statement released by his staff that indicated, “The governor believes this is a decision for […]

Infographic: Wagering on war: comparing Iraq and Libya

iraqlibya, a photo by Joe the Pleb on Flickr. An infographic showing the difference in costs to the US of the Iraq invasion and strikes against Libya. The costs of deposing a dictator.

Why Herman Cain may be Able even without money

Herman Cain was right when he said Black Walnut is “not the flavor of the week.” In fact everytime Republican primary voters get a taste they come back for more. For the political junkie who is used to watching the Republican party consistantly nominate the establishment candidate there are some very interesting dynamics going on here. […]

Rush Limbaugh said it first.

I could not help but comment on the above headline. It was displayed prominently by Drudge post-debate. What’s interesting is earlier in the day on his radio program Rush Limbaugh  said, “So their objective at CNN is going to be to make every one of these people look like an absolute wacko nutcase fruitcake.” So Anderson Cooper will […]

GOP candidates on Occupy Wall Street

The GOP field on Occupy Wall Street: Mitt Romney -“I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare,” Rick Perry – 1.) “We understand the frustration with the Obama economy, but the protests don’t make sense or help create jobs.” 2.) “You know Liberals are now pointing the finger of blame at successful employers under the guise of […]

Occupy Wall Street: Too Big To Fail?

The combination of Occupy Wall Street and Social media may mark the end of the invisible hand. With the rise of crowd sourcing and location-based services it could be that the consumer actually solves the economic crisis. It would mean a paradigm shift from the losing battle of employee vs employer to “the customer is […]

What Herman Cain and Occupy Wall Street have in common

There is an irony in the media trying to marginalize both Herman Cain and the Occupy Wall Street movement. They are both “the little guy” in their respective scenarios being picked on by the establishment.  Cain may not be their most obvious champion but he would be smart to be more sympathetic tho their grievance.  Saying things like, “Don’t blame Wall Street, […]

Anita Perry: Window to Camp Perry?

Anita Perry could give strong insight into the unpreparedness of Rick Perry’s Presidential campaign.  Recently she spoke in South Carolina in an emotional monologue about the relationship with her husband, their life in small town Texas and answering God’s call to run for President. She expressed her dismay of the attacks by the media and his GOP […]

Herman Cain: Cracking the Black Walnut

The takeaway:  Voters are expressing what they want in a candidate more than their actual support for Herman Cain or his 9-9-9 plan. Talk to a political hack and he is likely to tell you Herman Cain is not a ‘serious’ candidate. Poll Republican primary voters and you get a different answer. Pundits and even the other candidates […]

Rick Perry …Not in Texas Anymore

If Rick Perry wants to separate himself from the field and make this a two-man race, his window is closing. He brilliantly crafted the timing of his entry to maximize his own buzz against the “weak” front-runner status of Romney but since stumbling out of the blocks his campaign has been in free fall. The […]