We're in that wonderful three-day (for most of us) work week leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday and -- for the hard core shoppers -- Cyber Monday.  And all is right with the world, isn't it?.  Well, not so much.  Our Congressional Super Committee, charged with coming up with a budget proposal to remove $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit over the next ten years, remains hostage to the Republicans who want to place the burden everywhere except with those who are making the most money.  Americans whose incomes are measured in six- and seven-digits and business who enjoy more "welfare" in the form of tax breaks and exemptions than any single mother waiting in line for WIC authorization, are sheltered by the Republicans from making sacrifices to attain a balanced budget.  Why?  Because their contributions can now fund political campaigns in unlimited quantities.  They have been freed from any constraint or inconvenience when it comes to buying an election.  So it is in the best interest of lawmakers who wish to retain their seats to keep their sugar daddies happy.  That means continuing the failed policies of the Republican administrations all the way back to Ronald Reagan.  That means leaving the top one percent of the population and the wealthiest corporations (who are not required to use their resources to create jobs in America) free to continue amassing wealth while creating additional burdens on those least able to afford it.  The Democratic members of the Super Committee have continued their efforts to defend Social Security and Medicare, as well as the idea of fairness in taxation.  To those brave Democrats, we say Thank You.  To the Republicans who are intent on protecting the concentration of wealth in the top 1% of the country, we say, Happy Thanksgiving, turkeys.

After serving 25 years in the Texas Prison System, Michael Morton has been released pending the final results of DNA tests expected to prove he did not kill his wife.  John Bradley, former head of the Texas Forensic Science Commission and a Rick Perry appointee, has recently been the DA in charge of Mr. Morton's case and in that position has tried for six years to block the DNA tests that could exonerate Morton.  Mr. Bradley now says he had "good faith" reasons to oppose the DNA tests.  Good faith???  Suppression of evidence that could prove one man innocent and potentially lead to the discovery and possible conviction of the person actually responsible is "good faith?"  Under Mr. Bradley's leadership, he consistently worked against the Commission's goal of "Justice through Science."  In John Bradley's world, good faith must mean winning at any cost, even the cost of a man's life. He proved that in the Cameron Todd Willingham case (Mr. Willingham was executed in 2004) by delaying for 19 months the findings that the science used to convict Mr. Willingham of killing his three young daughters was seriously flawed.  John Bradley's political patron, Governor Rick Perry, cooperated with Mr. Bradley by blocking the testimony of Craig Beyler, the expert hired by the Commission to investigate the Willingham case.  With so much emphasis on our economic situation in recent years, we cannot lose sight of other priorities.  Shouldn't fairness and transparency in our justice system warrant scrutiny?  Isn't a man's life and freedom worth our "good faith"  efforts?

It's that time of year again.  The annual Johnson-Rayburn-Richards dinner is Saturday, October 22, at the Bayou City Events Center, 9401 Knight Road.  This year's theme is "Faces of Victory: Making Lives Better for All, Not Just the Privileged Few."  That theme is especially poignant this year as the economic crisis drags on.  The Republicans would have you believe that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs designed as society's safety net are the core problem.  The dyanic duo of  Bachmann-Palin would have you believe that cutting corporate taxes to zero would be an instant fix.  Of course, we all trust Pfizer, Merck, H-P, and Ford to repatriate jobs if they get a zero tax rate, right?  Well, not so much.  According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) the 2005 tax holiday, which allowed those same companies to repatriate $71.8 billion, ended up with a loss of over 65,000 domestic jobs.  The companies who benefited directly from the tax holiday held mass layoffs almost immediately.  But of course, the shareholders of the companies did well.  (See NBER paper at this link: http://www.nber.org/papers/w15023).  If we don't stand up for the vast majority of Americans who are not shareholders of multinataional corporations, who will?  If we don't speak up for what's right, and fair, who will?  Democrats, let's do the work to make lives better for all -- aren't we in that "all" designation?  If your budget will allow, please buy your tickets now for the JRR Dinner (see the Harris County Democratic Party's website: http://www.hcdp.org/get-involved/jrr2011/  for tickets) and commit yourself to work for the election of Democratic candidates this year.

It's been a long time coming (since 1993 to be exact) that the repeal of this discriminatory policy, originally intended to end discrimination, will finally become a reality.  Tomorrow, Sept. 20, 2011, after approval from President Obama and the Joint Chiefs of Staff two months ago, we will complete the mandatory waiting period and any American who wishes to serve his/her country may do so openly without regard to sexual orientation.  The irony is that gay, lesbian, and bixsexual Americans have ALWAYS served in the military.  They have trained, worked, fought, and died for America.  We talk about basic human rights and we villify countries who don't honor our version of such rights, but until today -- make that, tomorrow -- we have fallen short of granting an extremely basic right to tens of thousands of present, former, and future soldiers: the right to serve without having to hide who they are.  Tomorrow is not the end of the road, however.  It's the beginning.  We still need to repeal the DOMA, which witholds spousal benefits from same-sex partners in the military.  Gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers still may not have equal access to housing, legal services, and relocation of their families.  And transgendered Americans are still on the outside.  But progress is progress and we have much to celebrate.  September 21, 2011 will be the first day of the "rest of the story."

According to a report in the NY Times, President Obama is expected to announce a tax plan proposal tomorrow that will call for high-income earners to pay the same percentage in income tax as middle-income Americans, eliminating loop holes and lower rates for investment gains.  Of course the Republicans are continuing in their role as the "Party of No" and accusing the President of instigating class warfare.  While they work to protect affluent individuals and businesses, they ignore the fact that cutting benefits to low-income Americans is in itself a tax increase.  Balancing the budget on the backs of those can least afford it is most certainly class warfare at its most insidious.  Democrats, let's stand with the President and make our voices heard.  Businesses and wealthy individuals should have as much responsibility to pay their fair share as everyone below them on the income ladder.

If you want to read more about the early reports on the proposed plan, here is the link to the NY times article:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/obama-tax-plan-would-ask-more-of-millionaires.html

It's hard to think of the election approaching since the temperature is still topping 100 way too often, but October 11 is the last day to get new voters on the rolls before the November election.  Early voting starts October 24 and runs through November 4.  Election day is November 8.  This year, more than ever before, we need to get out the vote.  If you are not already a volunteer voter registrar, you can still become certified.  More information is available at the Voter Registrar's site.

This afternoon a grass fire became a wildfire in George Bush park near Alief.  It's been burning for six hours already.  Although it is not near any homes, the destruction in the park will be massive.  And with no rain in the forecast for too many more days, it may continue to burn and smolder for a while.  Looking at it and smelling the smoke and ash make me think about the drought of activity from the Congress over the past two years and the scorched earth policy of the Tea Party members.  When President Obama asked for $4 trillion in deficit reduction, they burned the bridges to the American people by refusing to negotiate and insisting on protecting tax loopholes for the wealthiest individuals and businesses.  Even when the country's credit rating was at risk, they fanned the flames of divisiveness and extreme partisanship.  While they label themselves as political novices and Washington outsiders, the truth is that they're political pariahs and outside of the American mainstream.  Their brand of oppression and obstructive politics through intimidation and exclusiveness must be extinguished by a rain of Democracy.  It's time we as Democrats speak up and build a fire break between average Americans and those who would burn the hopes and dreams of "we the people."

There's nowhere you can go today without seeing some sort of retrospective, memorial, or story about the carnage of September 11, 2001.  I can't watch that gut wrenching video footage of the planes hitting the building any more.  Even after all this time, it's still too heartbreaking.  I'm glad that time is passing and the the world hasn't stopped, which was what it felt like on that horrible day ten years ago.  But there's really no way to regain all we lost.  The feeling of openness and casual ease with which we moved around this country, the belief that we were invincible, and the luxury of thinking it would always be that way -- those are things we lost irrevocably along with the lives of thousands of victims.  Every time you do something as trivial as taking your shoes off at the airport, you think about it all over again.  But, time has passed and we're still here.  We don't have all the freedoms we had before that day, but democracy has survived and thrived.  Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Bahrain are all starting to feel the groundswell of democracy.  It's a long hard road, but it's a force that won't be denied and can't be destroyed by attacks on innocent people.  Never forget, never give up, never stop working.  It's worth the cost.