Rick Perry vs World

08 May 2010

While I was away...

We had some domain name problems this past week, but we're back and committed* to the blog, with the domain name safely registered under our corporate KW Internet Domination moniker.

While we were away, Rick Perry went out jogging with his dog. A coyote came out of the brush and was afixin' to attack his pup. Now, because every good Texan goes jogging with a sidearm, the Guv pulled out his pistol and shot the coyote. As modern campaigns go, the opposition couldn't hold back from trying to turn anything into a negative, suggesting that the Governor had violated the law.

This doesn't seem like a 50%+1 strategy to me, as most Texans don't mind a governor who shoots a wild animal when threatened...and if it's illegal, we're probably likely to think the law should be changed. It turned out not to be illegal anyway, but then Bill White went and commented that he's "not afraid of coyotes" with the insinuation that Perry is a wimp. That's also a surprising strategy, as very few people are going to look at Bill White and Rick Perry mug shots and go "wow, that Bill White is just so masculine in comparison to that other guy." Not to be outdone, Rick Perry slyly intimated that that maybe Bill White is just too ugly for the coyote.

And people say politics is boring.

Meanwhile, Bill White picked up the not-a-secret endorsement of Grand Prairie Mayor Charlie England at about the same time he was putting an campaign ad up in Houston that...talked about his record as mayor of Houston. England isn't seen as terribly much of a harbinger, as he's hardly seen as the most loyal Republican, and is in fact the father of Arlen Specter style party switcher Kirk England. In response, Perry released a support list of elected mostly-Democrats from South Texas. In counter-response, the Bill White campaign released their own list of Democrats in South Texas.

Were we supposed to be impressed that a Democrat can win support in a monolithically Democratic area?

* Or at least as committed as normal, which is to say: only when the mood strikes.

Posted by Evan @ 05/08/10 05:40 PM | Comments (0)

Weekend Shorts

1. Joe Straus fundraising for Dripping Springs Democrat Patrick Rose.

2. Oh noes! Rick Perry used an ad of Bill White with Yao Ming. The Texas Tribune and KPRC are apparently offended, and KPRC gets the AJ Durrani, from the local Asian Democrats club to say that the ad is "ethnic fear mongering that is putting a chill on the local community." O RLY? That's the stupidest thing I've heard this week, especially since Durrani also admits that Yao is a "community hero." That racist Rick Perry campaign, using photos of their opponent with popular and beloved community heroes. Sometimes Democratic activists really do see racism in every inkblot.

I hate to let the cat out of the bag and say the most obvious thing in the world*, but the photo is in the ad because Bill White looks silly and tiny next to Yao Ming...just like 85% of the other photos in the ad.

3. Texas will be testing ground for IBM's system to use GPS to reduce accidents:

ehicle-to-vehicle technology would give cars standard communication by combining a system similar to Wi-Fi with the global positioning system. Drivers would be warned in short advance of an impending collision, sudden lane change, or if the car in front of them is suddenly braking hard. An estimated 76 percent of crashes involving unimpaired drivers could potentially be prevented using the technology, according to DOT statistics.

The programs will include road sensors and predictive analytics for determining future traffic patterns. While the ability to provide real-time traffic information already exists for some cars and GPS devices, they generally cannot predict future traffic. The predictive analytics transportation tools will allow transportation managers and drivers to make decisions and changes as much as an hour in advance

4. Bill White puts his first campaign ad on the air...in Houston only?

5. Harriet O'Neill is resigning from the Texas Supreme Court.

6. Stewart Powell wrote up KBH's dealings on behalf of NASA, which was interesting, but what struck me was:

Even though she serves in the minority party, Hutchison has outsized influence on Capitol Hill. The reason: She tends to avoid the red-meat rhetoric that discourages Democrats from joining her and would preclude the White House from working with her on compromises.

This is a huge reason why Hutchison foundered in the primary. When she started saying that she wanted to stay in the Senate to fight for Republican issues, it called her credibility into question on something fundamental to her long-established image.

7. If I was a Democrat, I'd be hopping mad that the DSCC is currently spending $300k to promote Arlen Specter against a solid Democrat.

*Apparently not obvious to the media?

Posted by Evan @ 05/08/10 05:00 PM | Comments (1)

27 April 2010

Just in case you were feeling safer from terrorists...

This is pretty far afield, but a Russian company has put together a video showing a cruise missile system that fits into the standard 40 foot shipping container, and thus is easily transported by boat, rail or truck. Now any tyrant can move missile systems around without attrracting attention.

As my friend says, "feel safer?" According to Reuters, the missiles are for real, and only costs $10 to $20 million.

Posted by Evan @ 04/27/10 07:15 PM | Comments (0)

Is an in-law a parent?

Morgan Smith:

Texans for Public Justice says $20,100 the Fort Worth district court judge received from her mother-in-law, Norma J. Talley appears to flout the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act's $5,000 cap on individual campaign contributions and "may have shaped the outcome of the race for the Place 3 open seat." The law excludes immediate family members — defined as children, parents, siblings, grandchildren and grandparents — as well as bank loans from the limits imposed by the act.

Such a shocking ethics violation! Little ticky tacky technical violations of an increasingly byzantine system of campaign finance rules.

Posted by Evan @ 04/27/10 04:01 PM | Comments (0)

Leppert still running for Senate?

Hat tip to the DMN's City Hall blog, where Rudolph Bush noticed that Tom Leppert appears to be gearing up for a 2012 race by launching a new website.

It doesn't look like it is aimed at another mayoral race, nor does this Youtube video. It has a fairly social media-heavy front page, which is ok, but maybe you don't want to make a social-media heavy front page that highlights that you only have 35 supporters? Yikes. And that you've only tweeted once?

Posted by Evan @ 04/27/10 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

26 April 2010

Why Bill White's dropout attack is unlikely to work

From Terrence Stutz's DMN article:

A report from Texas A&M University last year projected that the dropout rate for the class of 2012 will range between 12.2 percent and 22.2 percent. And the U.S. Department of Education, in a report last year, said Texas had a graduation rate of 72.5 percent.

That was below the national average, 73.4 percent, but better than California, Florida and New York.

So, measured against its peers, Texas outperforms. That's usually a good sign.

Meanwhile, while Rick Perry has been governor, Texas has significantly trended downward in the dropout rate used by Bill White in his attack. Texas drop out rate declining

Finally, Texas received praise on many fronts by the bipartisan National Governors Association in October 2009.

As teacher and principal incentive pay programs begin to take hold in states such as Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas, states should provide financial bonuses not only for increasing student achievement, but also for decreasing dropout rates.

...

One approach governors can take is to speak about the importance of high school graduation in their state-of-the-state address. Several governors did exactly this in 2009. For example, Texas Governor Rick Perry highlighted the collective goal of ensuring that "every student graduates from Texas high schools."

...

To ensure that state investments in dropout prevention strategies are effective, states should target their investments using data and support evaluations of their efforts. For example, Texas launched a 9th-grade transition program in 2009 to provide 8th graders identified as being at risk of dropping out with summer programming followed by increased monitoring and support at the start of 9th grade. The state is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the program through an external, third party. This evaluation will inform the state’s policymakers as they decide whether and how to move forward with the program.

...

States can also offer new sources of funding to schools and districts focused on dropout recovery. In 2008, the Texas Education Agency created a Dropout Recovery Pilot Program, making it one of the first statewide efforts to focus specifically on recovering out-of-school youth. The pilot program provides eligible entities with grants to identify and recruit students who have dropped out of Texas public schools. School districts, nonprofit education organizations, and education service centers are eligible to apply for grant funds. The entities receive financial incentives up to $2,000 per student above base state funding, including $250 for each interim student achievement benchmark met, such as earning enough credits to advance to the next grade level. Grantees receive $1,000 for each student who earns a high school diploma, obtains a GED plus college credit, or gains advanced technical credit.

...

The goal of all high schools is to prepare students for college and careers. Unfortunately, many current high schools are not meeting this goal. To meet the challenge of college and career readiness, states are supporting models that create a direct bridge from high school to postsecondary study. States such as Indiana, North Carolina, and Texas have obtained private financing to create rigorous high school models that focus on college preparedness. The Texas High School Project has created 91 new schools in high-need districts statewide, with an emphasis on urban areas and the Texas-Mexico border. In 2008, more than half of the schools received accountability rankings of "Exemplary" or "Recognized" -- the two highest ratings given by the state.

Posted by Evan @ 04/26/10 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

Rick Perry in Newsweek, surrounded by Evan

I've had the Newsweek stories open in my browser for the last week or so, but haven't really felt like there was much to comment on. Here's a blip from the accompanying interview:

ES:You've been in public office for more than 25 years, and you are the longest-serving governor in the history of the state. Yet you've managed to run for the last few months as an outsider.
Rick Perry: I disagree that I paint myself as somehow outside. Now, I did run a campaign as us—Texas—versus Washington. Washington is the center of bad public policy in most people's opinion and has been for some time—not just in this current administration, though this administration is carrying it to new levels. Do you want Texas to be run the way it has been run, with a Texas-centric philosophy, or do you want this person from Washington, D.C., to come down here and use Washington-style policies and philosophies? I think the people sent a pretty strong message.

ES: A couple of different times in this conversation, you've alluded to having to battle problems that predated the Obama administration. I can't help but notice that you have a bust of Ronald Reagan, whom you consider to be a great president, over your shoulder. I don't see a bust anywhere of George W. Bush.
Rick Perry: Um, I don't know whether George's gotten any busts done yet.

So now, I, Evan, am commenting on Evan's interview that accompanies Evan's cover story. It's an Evan world out there.

Posted by Evan @ 04/26/10 09:57 PM | Comments (0)

Clearing out open tabs in my browser

* The Senate GOP created an ad-hoc 'counsel' position so that Kay Bailey Hutchison -- a member of the GOP leadership before she decided to run for Senate -- is back on the leadership team.

* Meanwhile, KBH is promising to get funding for the DFW Trinity River project.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison promised Wednesday to secure federal funds for the Trinity River projects in Dallas and Fort Worth and to see the massive redevelopments through to completion.

"Nothing great ever happens easily. This is not easy," she said. "But it is so important to the development of our two cities that I'm not at all giving up."

Both Trinity projects rely heavily on earmarks, and Hutchison told business leaders from the Dallas Regional Chamber and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce that she will use earmarks, among other methods, to ensure both projects receive the money they need.

Hypothetical: if Hutchison were to decide to run for re-election in 2012, would these help or hurt her get re-elected? KBH put $1.2 billion in earmarks into the 2010 federal budget. Keep in mind that she would get more of a test in the primary than in the general.

* Peggy Fikac profiles Debra Medina and gets her on record saying she plans to run for office again. Here's a prediction: she won't win.

* The AP headline, "Perry still courting right at Glenn Beck event."

* Finally, Senator Hutchison gave the response to Obama's radio address last week. If you are so inclined:

Posted by Evan @ 04/26/10 09:00 PM | Comments (0)

25 April 2010

In only a year?

Paul Burka:

Remember that comment Perry made a week or so ago, when Obama talked about adding jobs at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but remained mum about the Johnson Space Center in Houston? Perry said that Obama had "put a target on Texas's back." One hardly expects Obama to love a state that he failed to carry in 2008 by 43.68% to 55.45%...

This is an interesting comment to me, because Obama rose to fame by saying things like "there are no blue states and red states, only the United States."

We've apparently arrived at the point in a year where it's expected that Obama punishes states that didn't give him their electoral votes? That was fast.

Posted by Evan @ 04/25/10 01:50 PM | Comments (0)

24 April 2010

If Rick Perry were running for president...

I have a question for the Rick-Perry-is-running-for-President-I-can-feel-it-no-matter-what-the-facts-say! crowd, and I'm serious: if Rick Perry were really running for president, would he be appearing with Glenn Beck?

Posted by Evan @ 04/24/10 12:20 AM | Comments (0)

[Previous 10 Entries] [Next 10 Entries]

SITE MENU

+ Rick Perry vs World
+ About Me

+ Archives

+ Email:
perryvsworld* at *gmail dot com

ADVERTISING

SYNDICATION

DISCLAIMER

Rick Perry vs. World is powered by Nucleus.

Site design and Nucleus customization by Kevin Whited.