Stopping Devious Nuns From Voting

As near as I can follow the logic for needing to spend $2 million to require photo ID to vote in Texas, it has something to do with stopping devious nuns in Indiana from voting. At least, that's what I think the expert called in to testify on the bill's behalf said, according to this story in The Austin American-Statesman.

"Despite the criticism of the Texas bill, Jerry Bonnet, chief legal counsel for the Indiana secretary of state's office, testified that his state's voter ID law has not hampered turnout or prevented legal voters from casting ballots.

Van de Putte questioned Bonnet about reports that some Indiana nuns were not allowed to vote. One group of women from a convent, most in their 80s, were turned away because they did not have required photo IDs, she said. Bonnet said they refused to present valid IDs and hinted that the situation might have been a publicity stunt.

'So they were devious nuns?' Van de Putte asked.
'Yes,' Bonnet responded."

Oh, and that $2 million? Don't worry. The bill's author, Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) says federal money will cover that. You see, federal money is someone else's money. Texas legislators don't have to be good stewards of that.

By the way, the Texas bill won't even catch any 80 year old devious nuns in Texas. You see, there's an exception for people who are older than 70. How they prove they are older than 70 unless they show their photo ID is unexplained.

Vincent: A Life In Color

From 200905 Chicago

The things you learn via Twitter. Idly following suggestions, I came across this tweet:

jwag John Waggenspack
@EbertChicago 's best documentaries of 2010. I have only seen part of the Joan Rivers one. http://bit.ly/gtptlL

I followed the link and discovered I had seen five documentaries on Roger Ebert's list, including "the Joan Rivers one." And a couple more were already in my Netflix queue. That's cool. But what really caught my attention was Ebert's recommendation of "Vincent: A Life In Color."

"You have never heard of Vincent P. Falk, but if you’ve been near Marina City, you may have seen him. He’s the smiling, middle-aged man with a limitless variety of spectacular suits. He stands on the Michigan or Wabash avenue bridges, showing off his latest stupefying suit. He flashes the flamboyant lining, takes the coat off, spins it in great circles above his head, and then does his “spin move,” pivoting first left, then right, while whirling the coat in the air. Then he puts it on again and waves to the tourists on the boat, by now passing under the bridge."

What stopped me in my tracks was the photograph from the movie that accompanied the review. Hey, I thought, I've seen that man. I've taken his picture myself. Sure enough, reviewing my tourist snapshots from a trip to Chicago, I found him, standing on the Michigan Avenue bridge as my tour boat goes under. My photo is above. Serendipity.

Now if I can only get Netflix to carry the documentary so I can order it and watch.

Of Balanced Budgets and Bankruptcies

This was Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in December, extolling the fiscal responsibility of the states in comparison to the federal government:

"A balanced budget amendment is a good idea, but certainly not a new one. All but one of the 50 states already have some form of a balanced budget amendment in their state constitutions, and we can draw from the experience of the states in drafting an amendment appropriate for the federal government."
-- Senator John Cornyn, December 1, 2010

This was Senator Cornyn this week, explaining what he thinks is needed to rescue those same states:

"Senate Republican leaders said on Tuesday they were considering introducing legislation to allow financially stressed U.S. states to declare bankruptcy ... 'We're exploring that as a responsible option,' Senator John Cornyn, who sits on both the Budget and Finance committees, told reporters."
-- Reuters

After the jump, tying Cornyn's ideas together.

Giving Children a Chance at an Education Costs Money

"If we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they're born until the last job they take ... America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world."
-- President Barack Obama, January 25, 2011

Texas will be lucky if we don't dash expectations for every child over the next two years. The state legislature has proposed a budget that slashes expenditures on pre-kindergarten, elementary, secondary and college education. The impact on the Richardson school district (RISD) alone could be as high as $54 million.

Despite the gloomy news from Austin, locally the RISD is doing what it can to continue to provide the superior education that the RISD has been known for. That means, despite the pressure on funding for continuing operations coming from the state, the RISD is planning to continue investing in capital projects.

After the jump, news about the upcoming RISD bond election.

SOTU: Breaking the Back of this Recession

"These steps we've taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making."
-- President Barack Obama, January 25, 2011

What "breaking the back of this recession" looks like in graphic form: