Catching Up, Striking Down, and Piping it Out

OK, perhaps "Progress" was a poor choice, considering how little I've made lately - at least on this little start-up. I'd say sue me, but we've had something called 'tort reform' in Texas lo these last 4 years, so it wouldn't really be worth your trouble, and you can't squeeze blood from a rock anyways.

But things have been a-happenin', that's for sure. When you head off to the hills of northwest Arkansas in August, all manner of strange things can go down. For instance, Rick Perry went to talk to Hispanic business leaders, began making oddly excited hand gestures, and called his once-beloved border wall idea "nonsense" - then sent in the Texas Rangers to lock things down, just in case the faithful got the wrong idea. Joke's on him, since the Rangers just dropped three straight to the A's and played themselves out of playoff contention.

Meanwhile, a no-bullshit Democrat with a pulse named Hank Gilbert threw his cowboy hat in the ring for Governor and started firing some real shots at Rick and Senator Sparkle Pony. Some of you may recall Hank ran for Agriculture Commissioner back in 2006 against generic Republican Todd Staples, and managed to out-poll every other Democratic executive candidate by 4 points statewide (nearly 42%), despite being outspent 6-1 by his opponent and unsupported by his own state party.
Since then he's been leading the rural rebellion against the Trans-Texas Corridor and the toll road lobby catered to by Perry and deposed House Speaker Tom Craddick (among others). I like what Hank is putting down so far, so I gave him a few bucks - ya'll should do the same and spread the word, if for no other reason than to send a message to the Tom Schieffers of the world that we're not just gonna roll over for some non-threatening rich boys so they can go joy-riding in the Democratic brand and wrap it around a telephone pole like they did back in 2002.

As for our fair county, we finally got the gift we'd been waiting months for: RAIN. Real rain. Three solid days of it came last week, conveniently enough just after most of the hay harvest, or what their was of it. Local farmers and ranchers did not appreciate Mother Nature's cruel sense of humor. After being one of the driest counties in Texas for the last year and a half, we even got wet enough to get the burn ban lifted, and brush pile cookouts started up from Shady Grove down to Rosanky. Small comfort, since we're still well below our yearly average, and the damage has been done. Estimates of dry-land crop losses this season are running as high as 80%, and the Governor's disaster declaration should have been made months before it was. County Judge McDonald declared a local disaster and requested assistance from the state back in February. The Goodhaired Guv pled poverty and half-heartedly punted to the Feds, then finally declared a state of emergency for Bastrop (and 166 other counties) in late July. Declaring a crisis but not actually taking steps to fund recovery - how's that for leadership and looking out for your constituents? Perhaps that's why he only pulled 30% and finished behind Chris Bell in Bastrop County in 2006.