Jonathan D. Blundell

Texas Comptroller and independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn released information last week found during her investigation into possible Medicaid prescription drug fraud and abuse about the deaths, poisonings, rapes and pregnancies of children in the state’s foster care system.
“In April 2004 I said I would give our forgotten children in foster care something they need – a voice,” Strayhorn said. “I have been and I will continue to be their voice. This Governor’s Health and Human Services Commission continues to stonewall my investigation and this Governor continues to hide the truth.”
According to Strayhorn, she urged Gov. Rick Perry to create a Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team in October 2004.
“Now it is June 2006,” Strayhorn said. “Gov. Perry’s failure to act is unconscionable.”
Strayhorn found, from information provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, in FY 2003, 30 foster children died in our state’s care; in FY 2004, 38 foster children died; and in FY 2005, 48 foster children died.
Data shows that while the number of foster children in the state’s care increased 24 percent from 26,133 in FY 2003 to 32,474 in FY 2005, the number of deaths increased 60 percent.
“If you compare the number of deaths of children in our state’s population to the number of deaths in our state’s foster care system, a child is four times more likely to die in our state’s foster care system,” Strayhorn said.
Perry’s campaign said Strayhorn was simply exploiting child tragedies for political gain.
“In 2005 the Texas legislature passed, and Gov. Perry signed, SB 6 which provided comprehensive reform to the Child Protective Services (CPS) agency and addressed the concerns outlined by experts and even Carole Strayhorn’s own 2004 report,” Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Robert Black said. “With her support evaporating, her poll numbers dropping and her campaign stagnating, Carole Strayhorn seems desperate to change the subject and is sadly not above exploiting child tragedies to do it. What a despicable thing to do.”

After the secretary of state certified petitions for independent gubernatorial candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Strayhorn last week, Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign suggested that the voters in the state have abandoned Strayhorn.
Friedman’s campaign delivered 170,258 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office on May 11. Of those, 81 percent or 137,154 signatures were considered valid.
Strayhorn’s campaign submitted 222,514 signatures of which 49 percent or 108,512 were valid.
“Carole Strayhorn has gotten caught trying to pull another fast one on the people of Texas,” Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Robert Black said. “First she tried to say she had 101 boxes of signatures when in fact she only had 12, and now we know that more than half of the signatures she turned in were not even valid. It is obvious that her shrill act is wearing thin with Texans because now even Kinky Friedman has more support than Carole Strayhorn. After abandoning two political parties and two philosophies for her own political ambition, it appears Texans have had enough and have abandoned Carole Strayhorn.”

According to Kinky’s website, his poll numbers are still on the rise:

The polls around Texas continue to reflect the mood of the state–and everyone’s in the mood for Kinky. Check out these Texas Monthly and KRLD-Dallas/Fort Worth (below) polls, which show our candidate in the lead with very healthy margins.
Also, a new SurveyUSA poll of likely voters also shows Kinky gaining 5 percent, while Gov. Perry drops a few percentage points.
Last but not least, the Kinkster stares out from the cover of the latest issue of Texas Monthly dressed as Uncle Sam, challenging one and all: “I want YOU to say ‘adios mo-fo!'”
Amen.

From Chris Bell’s blog:

Holy freaking cow. You guys are incredible. Not only have you knocked out our $25,000 online fundraising drive with more than 24 hours left to go, and not only have you pushed Chris Bell back up into second place in the Map Changer contest, but you just reached an important milestone in the growth of the Texas netroots:
This afternoon, your online donations pushed our total online receipts over the $200,000 mark. Since the beginning of this campaign, Chris Bell has now raised $208,907.59 over ChrisBell.com. This is an incredible accomplishment that shows how your donations can add up to rival the biggest checks that anyone gets.

Also from e-mail:

“Raising $200,000 in small donations over the internet shows why Chris Bell can win this race,” Stanford said. “He’s got the support of the Texas Democratic Party, the endorsement of the Texas AFL-CIO, and the most successful online fundraising campaign in Texas political history. Texans are giving their dollars over the Internet because they want change in Texas, and Chris Bell is going to give it to them.”

From e-mail:

I have some important news to report; we have reached our goal of one million postcards calling on President Bush to take stronger action on behalf of the suffering people of Darfur!
In a ceremony this morning at the U.S. Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) became the 999,999th and one-millionth postcard signers!
That means we now have one million postcards to deliver to President Bush urging action in Darfur. We reached this historic moment thanks to efforts by you – and hundreds of thousands of activists like you – and hundreds of organizations across the country.
While we’ve achieved this major milestone, the Darfur genocide is not yet over and so our work is not yet done. To help truly make a difference, your support right now is crucial.
“>Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution today to help us continue our efforts on behalf of the people of Darfur.
Millions in Darfur have already been displaced from their homes, with little hope of returning. They suffer in squalid refugee camps with little protection or hope for the future.
And hundreds of thousands have already died at the hands of a genocidal regime while every day more are killed.
President Bush has a critical role to play in stopping the Darfur genocide. His involvement was key in getting a signed peace agreement – an important first step.
But to truly stop the genocide in Darfur we must:

Deploy a UN peacekeeping force; and

Appoint an American envoy to be sure U.S. actions reflect the urgency of the crisis

Help the Save Darfur Coalition keep the story of Darfur in the news and on the minds of President Bush and members of Congress.
As always, your support is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
David Rubenstein
Save Darfur Coalition

A group of Texas clergy members has organized to ask politicians to “respect our faith.”

Over the past several election cycles, political leaders have increased their efforts to drag our churches into partisan politics to score political points. Sadly, examples of their efforts are becoming common place during campaign seasons.

In 2004, the Republican National Committee asked churches to turn over their membership rolls.

A pastor in North Carolina expelled congregants who supported John Kerry for President.

A pastor in Florida, after hosting Democratic elected officials, saw nothing wrong with turning a worship service into a political rally.

In 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry used a Fort Worth church as a backdrop for a bill signing;

A group called the “Texas Restoration Project” is using hundreds of thousands of dollars from secret sources to organize pastors to support selected Republican candidates.
Activities such as these represent a threat to the integrity of our religious institutions. Our houses of worship should not be used for political rallies or photo-ops for politicians trying to win votes.
In response to this troubling trend, the Texas Faith Network is launching the Respect Our Faith campaign. This campaign seeks to establish and promote ethical standards that can guide both religious leaders’ involvement in electoral politics and political leaders’ involvement with religious communities.

There’s a pledge for clergy and laypeople to agree to on their website.