Politex

Election officials hoping swine flu doesn't impact May 9 elections (updated)

Tarrant County Elections Administrator Steve Raborn says the county has received verbal confirmation that Fort Worth public schools will be available as polling places for the May 9 election as planned.

Earlier in the day, Raborn said it was unclear if all the schools would be available, as the Fort Worth ISD closed all classes through at least May 8 due to swine flu concerns.

Out of the county’s 204 polling places, 53 are at Fort Worth ISD buildings, he said.

Raborn said his staff was trying to be ready for anything since no one knows how swine flu might be affecting the area next week.

“We could be dealing with private facilities that decide that we can’t use their places,” Raborn said. “We have to prepare for that as a possibility too.”

If any polling places aren’t available on May 9, Raborn said the likely plan would be to find alternate locations or consolidate at the polling places that were still available.

-Aman Batheja

Swine flu outbreak + recent secession talk = Rick Perry gets mocked

With much of the Swine Flu epidemic zeroing in on Texas, it was inevitable that there would be some mocking and teasing from critics of Gov. Perry's recent secession remarks.

Consider some of the comments on Twitter including this one: "Let's let Texas secede. Then we'll have had zero US swine flu deaths."

And here's a new video from comedy site headzup.tv parodying Perry's swine flu response:

-Aman Batheja

Curry eulogized as the anti-politician

More than 700 people were in attendance at First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth Wednesday for long-serving Tarrant County District Attorney Tim Curry's memorial service.

Those who eulogized Curry all touched on his inconspicuous nature, an unexpected quality for someone who never lost an election over 36 years.

“He didn’t want to make headlines. He wanted to make us safe,” said US Rep. Kay Granger.

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said Curry’s humility was a large part of what earned him such respect.

“He wasn’t interested in throwing his weight around the room,” Moncrief said. “He wouldn’t introduce himself as Tim Curry, District Attorney of Tarrant County. He would simply say ‘Tim Curry with the DA’s office.’ That said volumes to me.”

Joe Shannon, a close friend of Curry's and an Assistant District Attorney, said many teased Curry about his efforts to keep out of the public eye.

"His comfort area was in the office doing his job,” Shannon said. “And I told him one time he was the only political candidate I had ever supported who ran for office in secret.

“And he looked at me with a straight face and he said, ‘Well, it’s worked so far.’”

More on the memorial service here.

-Aman Batheja

Watch Tim Curry's memorial service live online

Tarrant County DA Tim Curry's memorial service will be streamed live online today.

Curry died early Friday after 36 years as Tarrant County District Attorney. A host of local elected officials are expected to attend today's memorial service.

The First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth will stream the service live on its web site, starting at  2 p.m. Click here to watch.

-Aman Batheja

Two candidates make Specter defection about Texas

Two local Republicans vying to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Senate are arguing that yesterday's defection by Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democratic Party should impact how their race plays out.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams of Arlington noted the news on Twitter yesterday: "The Specter move makes it all the more important to elect a consistent, courageous conservative to the Senate. A game changer."

Singing a similar tune, Roger Williams (no relation) sent out a statement that began, "Senator Specter's decision is a victory of politics over principle. This reminds all Texans that when we select our next Senator, it should be someone who is motivated by and grounded in a solid conservative philosophy."

Williams continued: "Today is a sad day for America. A liberal president now has a filibuster proof majority. This will be bad for our economy, dangerous for our national security and destructive to our values."

-Aman Batheja

And now for something completely different...

Jay Leno, who has been spoofing on the possibility of Texas seceding from the Union lately (along with much of Congress), took time to mock the Star-Telegram in his Headlines segment last night. (And yes, that is Van Cliburn in the middle of the bottom photo)

Enjoy.

-Aman Batheja

Moonlighting judge

A bleary-eyed State District Scott Wisch was guzzling down a little more coffee than usual Tuesday morning as he started a felony murder trial in his 372nd District Court. That's because he had barely an hour of sleep after driving in from Austin where he testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence.

Wisch (pictured at left from a 2006 trial) was interested in a bill that could change the way district courts are assigned general or specialized duties. Because the committee also was considering Rep. Lon Burnam's proposal to impeach Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller, Wisch didn't get his turn until 1:15 a.m. _ nearly seven hours into what turned out to be a nearly 9-hour hearing. 

"You should appreciate the fact that your Legislature is working hard," Wisch told his waiting jurors. "But I wish they could have called me at 6:30 p.m. instead of 1:15 a.m."

-Martha Deller

Specter shocker: Bad for John Cornyn

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's stunning decision to switch from the GOP to the Democratic Party is a body blow to Sen. John Cornyn, who is the chairman of the Senate Republican re-election committee.

Cornyn, who leaned on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to stay this year to ensure Democrats didn't reach a filibuster-proof 60 majority, is now looking at a Senate with 60 Democrats. There are 58 Democrats -- with Specter it will be 59 -- and analysts anticipate that the disputed Minnesota race will end with Democrat Al Franken being seated. Franken won the latest legal round and leads former Sen. Norm Coleman by 312 votes.

Specter (above), up for re-election in 2010 for his 6th term, was facing a conservative opponent in the GOP primary. According to Specter, he decided to switch when polls showed him behind.

Cornyn, who had written a letter to Keystone Republicans last month supporting Specter, was blunt in reacting to the switch: “Senator Specter’s decision today represents the height of political self-preservation. While this presents a short-term disappointment, voters next year will have a clear choice to cast their ballots for a potentially unbridled Democrat super-majority versus the system of checks-and-balances that Americans deserve.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee said Specter made his move "in the face of a seemingly insurmountable bid for re-election next year."

-- Maria Recio

Perry draws 1,200 for anti-Obama event

GARLAND -- Gov. Rick Perry opened a radio station forum called "Obama: The First 100 Days" Monday by saying the event is "not about whether you like President Obama."

Perry said he and a panel of conservative talk radio hosts would stick to discussing "the first 100 days of his policy decisions."

A scattered crowd of 1,200 radio listeners (see photo) filled about one-third of a Garland school events center for the $20-a-seat forum, sponsored in part by a carpet cleaning company.

Perry opened by saying he hopes to "preserve our liberties while Washington carves them away one by one."

The event, "Obama: The First 100 Days," is a promotion for KSKY/660 AM, a small Dallas religious station ranked No. 43 in the market.

UPDATE: Austin American-Statesman reporter Ken Herman has posted a video, above.

--Bud Kennedy

Perry rally's host questions whether Obama is a citizen

Dallas activist Vicki Middleton and her LifeandLiberty.org Web site are co-sponsors of the "Obama: The First 100 Days" rally hosted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry Monday night in Garland.

But on her "radio minute" show Monday, Middleton -- the wife of a former ARCO oil executive -- questioned whether Obama is even a citizen of the U.S.

Although Hawaii's Republican officials have said Obama's birth certificate is authentic -- and although his birth was reported at the time in birth listings in the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper -- some activists have continued to ask for more proof.

(Middleton's commentary airs during the morning on KSKY/660 AM. The audio was not posted by midday Monday on her Web site.)

Middleton's organization is co-sponsoring the "town hall" rally along with a local carpet-cleaning company.

It's a promotion for KSKY, the No. 43-ranked radio station in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, which also promoted some of the recent "Tea Party" rallies.

KSKY personality Dwayne Horner, who promoted some Tea Party rally Web sites, described Perry as "kind of the ringleader" for the event.  

--Bud Kennedy