So easy a caveman can...,well you know

When I woke up this morning (at 2, 3, 4, 5, and finally 6 AM) I was feeling achy, tired, and queasy. In the delirium of the early AM hours, I thought "do I have the flying pig disease?" But as the sun began to shine through the blinds, I was determined to recover fast so I could check out the "How Will You Vote" event facilitated by David Kobierowski, TCDP Precinct 262 Chair and all-around dedicated Dem.

Thankfully, some fresh air, time with my dogs, a couple of over-the-counter meds, and lots of liquids had me feelin' back to 85%.

Constitutional Amendments Decoded












Today's Public Affairs Forum of Austin and League of Women Voters Forum was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church (off of 47th and Burnet). It started at 11:30 and promptly ended at 12:30 --including 20 minutes of Q&A.

Senator Watson did a fantastic job of translating the propositions and fielding voters' questions. Rather than reinvent the wheel (and, because I'm still feeling under the weather), the following is an edited version of the descriptions from the last week's Watson Wire.

Proposition 1 would permit the Texas Legislature to let cities/counties acquire buffer areas next to military installations. *There're legal nuances to the way cities/counties can acquire such areas.

Proposition 2 makes it clear that Texans' homes can be appraised ONLY as a home. Right now a home could be valued as what it *could* be, say, if it could be turned into an office space -think gentrification.

Proposition 3 strengthens state oversight of a property appraisal board’s practices and procedures. Would reduce wide swinging variation.

Proposition 4 would use money we already have to help existing universities (e.g. University of Houston, Texas Tech, UT-Arlington, UT-El Paso, and others) become "tier-one" public research universities. UT and A&M are tier-one.

Want more info about this prop? The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) explains why the passage of Prop 4 is important for Texas -click brief.

And Proposition 5 allows adjoining appraisal districts or similar entities to consolidate their review board functions so they can be more efficient.

Proposition 6 would let the Veterans’ Land Board issue additional $ to help Texas veterans acquire land or get a mortgage loan.

Proposition 7 would clarify that members of the Texas State Guard (or similar groups) could hold civil offices such as justice of the peace or county commissioner.

Proposition 8 would clarify that the state can contribute money, property or other resources for a veteran’s hospital.

Most immediately, this would allow the state to help build a veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, as required by a law that took effect earlier this year.

Proposition 9 would strengthen the state’s open beaches law by putting it in the constitution and clarifying that the public has the unrestricted right to use, and get to and from, public beaches.

Proposition 10 would lengthen the term of emergency services district board members from two to four years.

Finally, Proposition 11 builds on a current law limiting the ability of the state, or any other jurisdiction, to condemn and acquire property for economic development purposes through the use of eminent domain.

If you're left scratching your head as to which way to vote on these propositions, there's an easy to digest Voter's Guide (PDF) prepared by the League of Women Voters. As for me, after today's event I'm confident that voting yes on these props is the right way to go.

Like to be extra prepared? Get a sneak peak of the ballot.

Soo...now what?
As the title of this blog implies, voting early is oh-so-easy!

From Blogger Pictures

Find a polling place by accessing this interactive search feature on the Secretary of State's website. Travis County has a list of all the early polling locations.

Do you have unanswered questions about voting? Visit Travis County's voter and November 3rd election Q&A page.

Hope you can make it out to an early polling place!

After Halloween, there's voting!

Some of you may know that I graduated in August from UT's Master of Science in Social Work program. I can't tell you what a relief it is to not have to squeeze life in between work, school, and internship responsibilities. My time is mine again, and it has been wonderful!! The thing is, though, that I enjoy procrastinating with my time...sometimes. :0)

Why do I bring this up? Well, Halloween and the November 3rd election are around the corner and I still haven't bought any candy, have no clue how I'm going to dec-out the garage for neighbors, and haven't posted anything about the Constitutional amendments that'll be on the ballot. (Okay, so, the last one may not be as fun as getting the garage "halloween-y" but it's probably more important.)

November 3rd Ballot?
Now if you're asking yourself, "November 3rd ballot, huh?" Then we're both lucky! Because the Secretary of State website has a sample ballot and a downloadable PDF of the amendments. Plus, I recently learned that our very own Senator Kirk Watson will be leading a "How Will You Vote" meeting on Sunday, October 18th from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. I'll be tweeting from there and snapping a few pix for the blog. Hope to see ya' out there!

I still have it on my list to devote a blog to the what's on the ballot. But tonight, as I get ready to fly out to Harlingen at 6:50 AM tomorrow for work, I am pooped and ready to hit the hay.

State Board of Education
Another topic for a future blog is Texas' education system. Specifically, the knuckle-headed approach that has been taken by the Rs on the State Board of Education. I'll be posting soon about what the board has been doing and which board candidates to keep an eye on.

Health Care Reform Made Simply? Kinda' Sorta' Maybe Not Entirely
And, what would a post from yours truly be without something about health care?

The Kaiser Family foundation has new Side-by-Side Comparison tools, including a breakdown of the health care reform proposals before Congress.

The Commonwealth Fund has created an interactive US map you can use to view state-specific rankings and results of their 2009 health system State-by-State Scorecard. Texas moved up from 48th place in 2008 to 46th. Check out their website for details on what goes into the scoring matrix.

'K, nighty-night.

We are Dems! September CEC meeting recap

September's County Executive Committee meeting for Travis County Democrats was anything but dispassionate! We had a handful of candidates attend, most stated their name and the seat they are running for, but two candidates stood out for me.

He's experienced, sharp, and deeply committed to bringing back nonpartisan justice, real equity based on law rather than bias, to the 3rd Court of Appeals. Click on the photo to the left to learn more about Mr. Kuhn and it'll become clear why he is the best person for the job!


Another Dem you may know from his very active democratic presence in Austin and Travis County, is John Lipscombe. He's running for County Court at Law #3. If you haven't met Mr. Lipscombe, now is the time to get to know more about this life-long democrat and his dedication to the criminal justice system.

There was also an energetic discourse that, when it comes down to the core issue, was about how precinct chairs can be inclusive of, learn from but not be distracted by those with whom disagreements arise. The take away for me was to know that I am among people who get fired up and give their all, not just to the party, but to their communities. Sometimes that passion fuels fiery tempers. And, though, disagreements may arise, it is our unwavering commitment to progressive democracy and social justice that seals our bond.


I think this mini-flyer, available at the meeting courtesy of Texas Democratic Party, captures why I'm proud to say, "We are Dems!"