I had some time to kill after I got into Providence today, and my hotel (thank you, Priceline!) which is located in a renovated Masonic temple, sits directly across from the Rhode Island State House, also known in Texas as "The Capitol."
So I wandered over to take some pictures and met a nice man from Connecticut taking photos as well.

It's much smaller than the Capitol, and much more stout looking. It's also rather gothic. Interestingly enough, the architects who won the design for the State House were McKim, Mead and White, the same people who designed Chicago's "White City" during the World's Fair. I'm reading The Devil in the White City right now, so there was a little coincidence.

Some interesting factoids about Rhode Island:

1. The first Afro-American regiment to fight for America made a gallant stand against the British in the Battle of Rhode Island.
2. Though second in command to George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, a Rhode Islander, is acknowledged by many historians as having been the most capable and significant General of the Revolutionary effort. Cornwallis feared Greene and his forces most. Greene ultimately defeated Cornwallis.
3. Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, established the first practical working model of Democracy after he was banished from Plymouth, Massachusetts because of his "extreme views" concerning freedom of speech and religion.
4. Rhode Island's official state name is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
5. Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government.
   

Roger Williams, the founder, was one of the first people to lobby for the separation of church and state. The front of the State House has his philosophy inscribed on it.

I happened to be on Sixth Street this afternoon and saw that the doors to the old Ivory Cat were open and that there were workers inside. So I wandered over, poked my head in the door, said "Hola!" and began chatting with them (in Spanish, for those of you who are too dense to understand what language I was speaking).

The Yassine's newest enterprise is going to be a Polynesian-African fusion-type bar, representing the Yassine brothers' West African heritage. The painters told me they thought it was going to be called "Maleiah" or something like that.



Directly on the right inside the door, where the IC's bar used to be is a large limestone facade with a high shelf. The open space over the men's heads will be covered and the second story will have a dance floor.

Kind of blurry but this picture is directly to the left of the front door and shows the main bar area. Perhaps the most eerie part is the giant face protruding from the wall, almost directly where the mirror behind piano used to be. There are also two giant tusks made of plaster that are on either side of the front door when you walk in -- the ivory irony was not lost on me.

I guess that's just part of the changing face of Austin, but I miss the mid-90's cheese of the IC. The sign is still up outside, hanging in open air like a relic from the dot-com boom -- kind of a bizarre juxtaposition with the bamboo window treatments on the outside of the front windows.

---

I'm shipping up to Boston to find my wooden leg tomorrow. Okay, first I'm going to Providence for my sister's graduation from medical school and engagement party, then I'm going to Boston to pay a visit to ChezMrhe and hopefully the rest of the MeanRachel.com readership! But be sure to check back, as I will have some scheduled posts while I'm gone.

A friend, veteran and Democrat, Matt Webster, is having a reception tomorrow for his solo show at Pump Project Art Complex in East Austin. He deployed to Iraq and used the photos he took while there to create paintings that display his observations of and objections to the war. The Chronicle recently did a write-up about his work as well.


The opening reception will be from 7pm-10pm tomorrow night and the paintings will be displayed in the gallery from May 24-June 15. He is donating 10% of his profits to Fisher House, which offers free housing and other domestic services for families of wounded soldiers when they are visiting their loved ones in military hospitals. The Fisher House works -- when I went to visit a friend, who developed a severe intestinal disease while in Baghdad and nearly died because of it, at Darnell Hospital at Ft. Hood, his family was staying for free at the Fisher House down the street for the 11 days he was in the ICU. They had nothing but good things to say about their experience.

If you're going to be in town this Memorial Day weekend, I encourage you to check the paintings out at the reception. I won't be able to make the reception, as I'll be headed to the great Ocean State, but I plan on viewing the show when I get back.

Over on The Texas Blue this week, Josh Berthume interviewed Larry Joe Doherty about his CD-10 bid against Bush rubber-stamp Congressman Mike McCaul. Berthume starts with a great question -- "So how'd you get started in politics?" -- which segues into Doherty's 37 years of malpractice law that allowed him to watch firsthand the unraveling of our Constitution as well as our civil rights, particularly for those who make up the misrepresented constituency of CD-10.

The interview highlights some of Doherty's comprehensive knowledge of and innate compassion for the environment. This to me has always been one of Doherty's major strong suits, since water and land conservation have been important to him since before they were an inconvenient truth.

Doherty also touches on the economic as well as societal factors of the quagmire in Iraq, and the travesty of the current CD-10 Congressman really hits home when McCaul's voting record comes into play.

After Berthume brings up McCaul's recent vote against the new GI Bill, H.R.5740, which would offer higher education assistance to 1.5 million servicemen and women, Doherty states he absolutely would have voted differently than McCaul. Doherty also has the opportunity to mention the fact that McCaul voting against veterans and active-duty armed forces personnel (and their families) is nothing new, and yet McCaul never hesitated to vote "for millions and millions of dollars necessary to put them in harms' way."

Click here to listen to the podcast, and once you're done listening, make a contribution to the Larry Joe Doherty for Congress campaign and help CD-10 turn blue in 2008.

Hey, um, Texas, we need to talk.

The next time you decide to drop $30 million on raiding a bunch of kids out of a polygamist compound, perhaps you ought to find out whether it's even legal in the first place, ferchrissakes.

That is all.

MR

Last night I attended the Texas Democratic Party Reception at The Belmont. Here are the highlights of what I dredged up:

The top patio of The Belmont in March: pleasant. The top patio of The Belmont in May: pressure-cooker.

KT's middle name is Geddis. Use it wisely, sparingly and with great respect.

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez doesn't have a Google alert set up for his name because "that's just vain." No, Representative, that's just good business.

LJD rolls with a posse at all times. McCaul should gather his minions.

Rep. Jim Dunnam believes that if you know the first measure of "Don't Stop Believing" on the keyboard, you can play the whole song.

Ed Martin drinks red wine and went to UofH for undergrad.

Mark Strama is working on new material.

Bonnie Cahill, a Hillary supporter, is running for National Delegate. Her husband said to me "Of course you don't support Hillary, you're not over 60."

Andy Brown is already growing into his politician shoes - when asked about the ill-fated historical reenactment at last week's event he responded, without hesitation, "What reenactment?"

Melody Dawson is running for National Delegate as an Obama supporter.

AustinNoKidding dba AustinChildfree dba Austin Cat & Internet Lovers will rue the day they came across my radar.

Hey Randi Shade,

I'm a little late on the congratulations committee for your big smackdown win against Jennifer Kim.
But it seems that your sign clean-up committee was too busy tossing back Lone Stars to pick up the campaign signs outside of Mills Elementary School in South Austin, which is where I go to my morning torture exercise hour.
Well, one of the signs fell over and has been sitting in the path of where we run for, like, a week. I finally got sick of running a mile and stepping around your face every morning, so I decided to do you a favor and pick up your sign. One of the people in my running group actually said (classic): "What election was that for?"

Anyway, I've got your sign in the back of my hail-damaged car (thankyouverymuch, Harold Cook). If you want it back, you know where to find me (read: A bar and/or any event where Mark Strama is telling his Ann Richards stories). I am holding it at a ransom of one margarita and one bowl of queso, Ms. Different Like Austin Because I Like Queso But I Don't Pick Up My Signs.

Toodles,
MR

Hey Hills. Congrats on your win in Kentucky last night. I saw a clip of it this morning on Morning Joe and this part stood out to me, as well as the rest of the media:

And that's why I'm going to keep making our case until we have a nominee, whoever she may be.

Sneaky, sneaky Hillary Clinton. I like how you slipped that 'she' in there. Wow. Squirrelly.

But must I be the one to tell you that when using the word "whoever," if it is the object of your sentence (as is the case here, as the actual subject is "she": "She may be ___________"). So, in conclusion, you are supposed to use the word "whomever." Got it?

This has been today's Free Grammar Lesson for Presidential Candidates, courtesy MeanRachel.

See, Mark Strama? You're not the only one I pick on about speeches.

MSNBC's "After Hours" show really stepped it up this week. They had a small football team of pundits, and one girl who looked like a hotter Janine Garofalo, but more annoying because she proclaimed "I have a graduate degree" on national (albeit after hours) television. You and half of America, Hot Janine. Don't let it go to your large-mouth bass head.

Anyway, Dan Abrams was celebrating his birthday, tie-less again, and Clinton won Kentucky by a wide margin; Obama won Oregon. Why this requires an after hours show to report, I haven't quite figured out. But Tucker Carlson was one of the commentators, and between him and Abrams it's like a hot pundit sandwich.

What I also haven't figured out is why I am awake at 1 AM and how I am going to wake up at 5 AM tomorrow...or today...or whatevs. Oh well. Stranger things have happened.

I leave you all with some soft-core Abrams porn: Dan Abrams reporting on Katrina wearing only a t-shirt (well, presumably he also had pants on but the camera is a harsh mistress)--maybe next week on After Hours he'll opt out of the sportcoat. A girl can dream.

Yesterday I went to Constable Bruce Elfant's 16th Annual Ice Cream Social. This was also my first ever ice cream social, but I have decided that anywhere they are serving ice cream and conversations with old people, I need to go to from now on. Gee whiz...what a wholesome blast that was. Afterwards, I felt like I should put on an apron, pop out some kids and resign my commission with AustinNoKidding.

Not that anyone aside from me really cares, but I thought I would report the results from the ice cream social. (Ed. Note: Okay, even I can't believe I just wrote that. What is this, Brenham?)

McBlogger's Caucus Crunch took 1st place (I voted for this based off of the fact that it was the only one that tasted like sarcasm)
Karen Huber's Peppermint (can't remember the name) took 2nd place.
Constable Elfant's Key Lime Pie took 3rd place (there's always next year, Constable!).

According to the Constable, they were able to raise over $5,000 for Do The Write Thing, a non-profit that teaches teens how to deal with violence by writing and doing other constructive activities (which would completely exclude blogging).

I was informed by Shirikins today of a group here in Austin specifically formed for people who don't have children: AustinNoKidding or AKN (although they are currently undergoing a name change and will soon become Austin Cat & Internet Lovers Austin Childfree.).

At first I thought it sounded like a great idea. Let's face it: I have a cat and spend a good portion of my time sitting at my computer and resetting my biological clock back to Pacific-Standard Time.

But after I poked around on the site a little bit, I found myself suddenly doubting anyone who needs to join a social group in order to have fun without kids around. Isn't that what bars are for? I mean, I've never been too keen on the idea of a small person growing inside of me, but if it comes down between that and becoming one of the AKN "Regulars," then I am discontinuing my progesterone effective immediately.

These guys also seem to be just a touch bitter about life. I know bitter; in fact, we used to date. But this would be the equivalent of me starting a club boycotting trust fund babies. It's just so tacky. From their FAQ page:

My children are grown/I have a step-child/I am a non-custodial parent. Can I still join?

No. Austin No Kidding is for people who have never been parents. People who chose never to have children, and people who cannot have children and do not wish to adopt, are welcome.
Members who later choose to have children leave the organization but are not ostracized or ridiculed for their choice. ANK exists because we believe in the right to make the your own choice..

Thirdly, I have some concerns when it comes to hanging out with anyone who uses their middle initial and their suffix on their internet bio. Overcompensate much? Case in point, Jerry D. Knowles II, who on the "Regulars" page is described as follows: "Loves to welcome newcomers to the group. His appearance tends to vary, so just look for a smiling short guy."

Yeah, because the leopard print muu-muu doesn't really stand out. No kidding.

*If the qualifications are the following, I think I should deserve to win the fittest:

1) Can walk from The Marq to The Ranch in heels in under seven minutes and hit all of the pedestrian crossings at exactly the right time, and not stand in line at either.
2) Can dodge an awkward situation with Rep. Mark Strama at an ice cream social, without letting his adorable child stun me and slow me down (that's a tough one).
3) Can type a blog entry on my phone using only my thumbs without accidentally sending it to my coworkers.

If you don't consider that enough to submit my name, then might I make a request that you vote for my friend/trainer/occasional drinking buddy (but don't tell anyone) Stephanie McDonald for Austin's Fittest Person in Austin Fit Magazine.

And, while you're at it, vote for Austin Adventure Bootcamp in Citysearch's Best Alternative Workout 2008 by clicking here. That would be swell. I keep thinking that if they win enough awards, maybe they'll (cough) lower the price.

So why does me having a letter to the editor in the Statesman against the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy (aka bullshit) make people immediately assume that I am?

And, b-t-dub, if I was gay I certainly wouldn't join the Army. Fifteen-month deployments? Mmm...no thanks. Been there, done that, bought the drinking problem.

Crazy storms last night here in Austin. My car got beat down by hail like Obama in West Virginia. Faaaaaabulous. I am apparently in the 10% minority on News 8's online poll. Anyone else feel the wrath?

I blame the Republicans for this.

Tonight I went to the goodbye party for Chris Elliott/welcome party for Andy Brown. I think Andy Brown really brings The Party to The Party, if you know what I'm saying, so I figured this was something worth paying $35 to attend. And because of that whole "donation" thing.

Oh, also because I think Garry Brown has sexy hamstrings.

Moving on. When I first walked up, I could hear a familiar voice coming across the loudspeakers and I asked my amigo, "Is Randi Shade speaking?" Turns out it was actually Jimmy LaFave singing one of his many songs that all start off sounding exactly the same as his big 2005 hit "Revival."

I was enjoying the sweet stylings of LaFave when suddenly the band burst into "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and costumed men sprung up from the bushes, marching in with flags and scrolls and I think even Elliot Naishtat. At first I thought it was a processional for Mark Strama's arrival, however it turns out it was just some sort of historical reenactment.

Yes, I said historical reenactment.


Reenactment of what, I haven't exactly figured out. I was too busy making snide remarks to anyone within earshot. Since when do you stop a party for a thirty-minute stage performance of...something? I think they read the Constitution or Eat, Pray, Love or something, but I'm not really sure. I do know it went on entirely too long and I think my friend from elementary school's dad was playing George Washington in it (so I'm totally sorry if you're reading this, but consider it karmic payback for the fact that you always had an American Girls doll and I never did).

The real kicker was when I glanced around just to observe other people's faces and saw poor Jimmy LaFave looking rejected, loitering by the cars by himself.


Being that I am classy like that, I went up to him and said "So I bet this is the first time you've shared a billing with John Adams?" LaFave turned out to be a pretty cool dude albeit completely baffled by what was going on (welcome to the Travis County Coordinated Campaign) and dare I say slightly miffed that he had to stand around through forty five minutes of Old English (and I'm not talking about malt liquor).

Finally our country's Founding Fathers 2.0 got off the stage and LaFave went back to plucking his guitar and I went back to observing. I was waiting for Kirk Watson to show up to speak, but by the time 9 PM rolled around and LaFave ended his set, Watson was nowhere in sight. Presumably he was home keeping track of Obama's accomplishments. Kirk Watson stood me up. But...Brian Pendleton was there, and so the $35 was totally worth it (TOLD YOU I'D DO IT!).

I was listening to/watching Morning Joe today while I was getting ready for work and they had Joe Leiberman on. The question came up about the gas tax holiday and Joe Lieberman, who has endorsed McCain, was left to defend McCain's "environmental policy."

Lieberman led with, and I quote:

"John McCain is against global warming."

Really? Hot damn! Now that I know that, I can go out and vote for him. We can just will it away as long as we are all against it.

Oh yeah, also: I was too young to vote in the 2000 election, but I feel like I need to say this. Why the HELL did you people allow a gas man to become President? Regular unleaded was at $3.75 today. When it hits $5, I am going to demand to work from home. Really, what were you people thinking?

Jenna Bush & Henry Hager Wedding Facts

Last night I went golfing. Okay, fine, it was bar golfing for K-lassy's birthday. Golf attire was required (hello argyle, have we met?), each bar was its own "hole" and there was some sort of scoring/par system that was quickly kicked to the rough so we could get to the business of bar hopping.

We fled The Ranch (as one person on the street said, "See you next winter!") because it was about a thousand degrees. Entirely outdoor bar in Texas? Good in theory, bad on delivery. When we got to Molotov, everyone already in there was lounging around, gasping like fish tossed back in water -- in this case, back in air conditioning.

Absolut Vodka was there promoting their new green effort, Absolut Global Cooling. You buy an Absolut drink or bottle, they give you some sort of promotional code and if you take the time to go online after your hangover wears off, they will donate $1 to one of their partner charities.

I say all of this not because I really think this is a good idea (I mean, I'm lucky if I get home from bars with my credit card and dignity, let alone a promotional code) but because they had a fantastic photobooth set up where you got to pick a statement supporting green efforts. But the statements were all so incredibly deviant, I finally decided to go with the one that said "I like saving the planet and I don't drive drunk." Take that, Mike Krusee.

This week is just now catching up with me. So let's review:

Congressman Mike McCaul is full of hot air. Here's someone whom I believe it's safe to say concurs. If you're interested in helping get a Democrat elected for CD-10 (or just like hearing me wax nostalgic about it), please submit Larry Joe Doherty's name to the Progressive Patriot Fund by clicking here. It takes, like, twenty three seconds to fill out. This can potentially help get LJD not only $5000 toward his campaign but some additional press.

Obama comes close, gets a win, but Hills hangs in there. Hilarious and offensive video about Hillary's downfall here. Just go. Thanks to FUBAR for the link.

My heart was warmed at Scholz's. And it wasn't just the Hefewiezen talking.

Today my May OPEN TAB came out. If you live in Austin, Houston or El Paso and are looking for somewhere to get drizunk at brizunch this weekend, check it out. June is piano bars. Rock on.

And...just a general musing to end this with. Ever since I saw Mini-KISS back in February, I cannot listen to a KISS song without immediately feeling nauseous. I'm curious if any other Austinites who attended this "show" have had the same after affects. I heard "Rock and Roll All Night" this evening on the radio and my flesh began crawling. I feel like I'm Kramer and Mini-KISS is my Mary Hart.

I guess that's what I get for going to see a midget KISS cover band. Payback's a minor midget bitch.

I'm all for keeping Austin (and Wimberley) weird, and Mayor Wynn reading lewd trivia group names at Mother Egan's, but I gotta say...Robin Cravey shirtless looking like Bill Murray is just pushing my limits. This photo in his campaign ad in the Austin Chronicle today made me want to simultaneously recant my vote and send back my lunch. No wonder the Chronicle endorsed Morrison.

I mean, who does he think he is? Certainly no Jennifer Gale.

Many times, over the last eight years, I have wanted to tear my hair out. Many times, over the last eight years, I have argued with Republicans. Many times, I have purged myself of news media because I cannot take another lie. Many times, I have mourned the death of my patriotism.

But tonight at the Democracy for Texas meeting at Scholz's, I sat listening to the 90-second speeches of a multitude of delegates running for a spot at the national convention, and felt suddenly peaceful. It was the greatest cross-section of American life, like those gray stones you splice open to reveal chunks of colored, faceted quartz within. I was dazzled by their stories and passions; reasons for believing and reasons for running; these men and women who were so driven purely by a philanthropic desire to be a part of something for the mere sake of it -- for truer reasons than could possibly be articulated in ninety seconds of animated, invigorated conversation.

It occurred to me, almost instantly, that these were perhaps the most genuine politicians I had ever seen. Not each individual but the group that they created, a swarming, excited mass of trueness to oneself. A single mother of two; a woman recently arrested for protesting in McCain's office; a man who declared himself a "young brown face"; a nervous girl who said Obama "had me at hello." All of these simple, unscripted reasons were so full of belief and integrity. These were the politicians that Americans should protect with everything we have.

I became so simultaneously captivated and overwhelmed that I looked around, trying to see if anyone else had goosebumps on their arms or stars in their eyes. As I craned my head around, I noticed that during the makeshift speeches, two of the cooks from the kitchen had come out to the porch at Scholz's and were watching in rapture. One was slowly winding a butcher's string between his hands, never taking his eyes off each delegate as they went up to speak. I had no idea whether they knew who these people were -- or even understood what they were saying -- but in their faces, I recognized my own. It was the face of someone listening, maybe not in words or phrases but at least in tones, to what they knew, without a shadow of a doubt, to be the truth.

And, my God, what a beautiful thing that is.

McZing!

It's all over but the mood swings, folks!

If you stayed up late enough to watch Hillary get declared the winner (and I mean really, who with an OBAMA license plate didn't?), and happened to be watching MSNBC, how about the little "After Hours" show they had going?

Man. Between the neon "After Hours" graphics, the keyboarder and drummer (let's hear some Piano Man!), the swirling Greco-Roman columns behind a tie-less Dan Abrams (hot) and that chick named Rachel who looked like Molly Ringwald (can you say "hangers-on?"), I felt like they were three superdelegates away from tossing up a stripper pole and poll dancing their way through the rest of the night. Club MSNBC was hoppin' more than the Boom Boom room at Union Park before the GSD&M layoffs! Party at Abrams' house!

Here's the good news (as most news is around my household at 12:43 AM): Hills is out. Or at least, so the wise ones say. Take heart, Hillary. I hear Club MSNBC's After Hours lounge is hiring cocktail waitresses.

In the latest "McCaul Minute" (plus or minus the cumulative amount of time Congressman Mike McCaul has spent thinking of his constituency for the month), I found this paragraph rather telling:

As with millions of Americans, I am shocked by the cost of filling up with gasoline. In Texas, the average cost of gasoline is $3.53 per gallon. A number of factors contribute to the soaring gas prices. Regardless of the reasons, working families are being hit hard by record prices at the pump.

First of all, "filling up with gasoline?" Are you eating gas now? You're missing a noun in there. Secondly, that last sentence makes no sense. Fire your communications director, Congressman. "Working families" (we could say "all families" but let's move on) are being hit hard by record prices at the pump precisely because of the reasons that you are so quick to disregard. And since when is it acceptable to glaze over the actual issues that are causing these prices to go up? These "working families" would probably rather have their Congressman address those very "factors" rather than once again hearing the usual "drive slower" and "carpool" suggestions that McCaul segues into.

And how about those "working families." Do you mean the ones who work in labor and industry, Congressman McCaul? Because it seems to me that in the very same hot minute that it took you to compose your newsletter, you also voted against the Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Act (H.R. 5522) which your colleagues (at least on the D side) voted for in a 247 to 165 vote.

This act would, as McCaul mentions in his Minute, "require [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's] OSHA to issue an Interim Final Rule (IFR) within 90 days of enactment, which covers every facility 'in which combustible dust presents a hazard.'"

McCaul goes on to say that he opposes the "preemptive legislation" because:

"OHSA should complete its investigation first and also because an expedited interim standard is unrealistic, confusing and creates a one-size-fits all standard, which ultimately fits no one, making workplaces more unsafe."

Hm. Okay. However, on the March press release announcing this bill being introduced, it states:

In 2006, following a series of fatal combustible dust explosions, the [US Chemical Safety Board] CSB conducted a major study of combustible dust hazards. It identified 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers, injured 718 others, and extensively damaged industrial facilities. Nearly a quarter of the explosions occurred in the food industry, including several at sugar plants.

Seems like if the CSB has had enough time to review 25 years' worth of dust incidents, it might be time to act. Another sentence from the press release points out something McCaul failed to mention in the minute he took to review what he's been up to:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has the authority to issue such a rule without Congress passing new legislation, but the agency has failed to act despite the fact that the dangers of combustible dust have been well known for years.

Congressman McCaul, you should be worried. You should be worried and ashamed. You are a Congressman who preaches about "working families" paying more at the pumps but you choose to disregard the reasons why. You endanger these same "working families" in their workplace and then try to convince them that you did this because the safety measures are too "confusing" and "preemptive." Too bad for you that these "working families" are the ones who are going to be voting for someone with their best interests in mind in the fall. Your opponent Larry Joe Doherty isn't afraid to get to the root of the "reasons" why gas prices are soaring and isn't daunted by "confusing" safety standards that might be unpopular with your Republican cronies.

It's never too soon to start planning for your retirement, Congressman. In fact, you're more than a minute late.

Last January, I wrote about Barbaro's death. Sadly, I repeat what I said.

Bodies break down for different reasons. We trip and fall because we are fragile human beings with delicate egos and capacities for love and endurance. Barbaro was a huge, breathing machine of efficiency and strength. He ran because it was what he was bred to do - but there was nothing romantic about his desire to run. He was kept in a stall, and turned out in a paddock for a few hours a day. His legs were always wrapped and he was constantly being groomed, poked, prodded, and pushed around. The only time he was given room to move was when he was doing his job - and this is when he found himself doing what he was born to do. His mental strength manifested itself in his shattered leg -- his stamina physically no longer could withstand the agony. He fell victim to the horse industry.

There will be many Barbaros.

And, from what I hear about Big Brown's pre-existing conditions (bad hooves; quarter cracks), he could be just as vulnerable. Let's hope he does not meet the same fate.

I might be late to the party on this, but I attempted to go to "www.txdemocrats.com" today, instead of the usual Texas Democrats website, which is "www.txdemocrats.ORG."

It appears that whomever purchased the original domain for the TDP wasn't interested in paying an additional $9.95 a year to protect the rest of their domains (must have been when Tony Sanchez was running). The URL "www.txdemocrats.com" redirects to the Republican Party of Texas website.

Oh, snap!

Well-played my red-bellied, oil-mongering friends. I can't think of any other reason for them to do that other than just to piss off Democrat bloggers like myself. But, honestly, Democrat blogger I may be, I can still appreciate a good redirect war.

Dude.

Wait, guys, wait. By that I mean "George W. Bush is the Best President Ever, as long as you don't compare him to any other president, or have a moral code, or mind being stuck in a civil war, et. al." You get my drift. I should have been more specific.

From the AP:

White House admits fault on 'Mission Accomplished' banner

"President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said `mission accomplished' for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. "And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year."