State Troopers Fail To Bring Democrats Back

Yahoo News - AP -- The missing Democratic lawmakers spent Monday in a hotel conference room, where large sheets of paper taped to the walls were used as makeshift chalkboards and long tables were filled with laptop computers, stacks of papers and notebooks.

They said they discussed school financing, homeowners insurance and other issues and planned to resume the work sessions Tuesday.

The Texas House cannot convene without at least 100 of the 150 members present, and 58 of the 62 Democrats were absent Monday.

The troopers have no legal authority to arrest them since they are outside Texas; the Democrats declined to return.


More Bushisms Here from Slate

"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will."—Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

"What is life choices about?"—Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2003


The Texas Observer on the New House -- "Get Over It, We Won" and reality be damned.

Berman said. "But please give us credit for knowing how to represent our districts. My district is absolutely different from your district. In my district, we have very few people who are on Medicaid or who need care."

Really? A visit to the comptroller’s website indicates that Berman’s district is in one of the counties most dependent on public assistance in the state. Smith County, which covers Berman’s entire District 6 (and a sliver of Republican Tommy Merritt’s District 7) received more than $439 million in state funds for its 178,000 residents in 2001. That’s $2,515 per resident. While precise data by district is not available, by comparison, Harris County got $2,150 per resident in state funds. Ms. Davis’ Dallas County received $2,049 per resident. More than a third of Smith County’s state funding went toward public-assistance programs, which translates to $873 per resident, more per capita public assistance than went to Harris County ($727 per resident) or Dallas County ($695 per resident). Cuts in funding for Smith County will inevitably harm the areas Berman represents.

It also might surprise Berman to learn that the percentage of Smith County residents enrolled in Medicaid is among the highest in the state.

"We have control now," Berman said. "Get a life. Get used to it."