The problem? Well, only this year did I realize this was a “pattern.” Every two years, a couple of months before the election, Siteground starts complaining that my “database is too big,” and sends me some idiotic graph that alleges I am using 500,000 times more resources than ANY OTHER SITEGROUND WEBSITE (yeah right) and, somehow, all of that traffic seems to have come like magic on a Sunday night at 11:00 p.m.

I realized this was a pattern this year. They complain that I get too much traffic for a shared host (yeah, right). The only thing Siteground forgot was that February was the highest traffic month in HISTORY for this blog and Texas political blogs in general because of the Presidential Primary. Somehow, I was able to handle upwards of 12,000 to 20,000 hits per day in February, but now–like magic–2,000 hits per day is too many. According to the useless graphs from Siteground claiming I have “too many visitors,” it appears that other sites on the same shared server as me get a grand total of 500 hits a day combined.

This, in short, is why when you click on the URL of any post on this blog, you get a big fat “404.” Siteground alleges this is to protect their poor, pussified servers because I get SO MUCH TRAFFIC!

The bottom line here is that, back in 2006, Siteground figured out this was a political blog and that traffic increased around election time–but not to unmanagable levels. So, they have decided that, since it’s a political blog with ads on it, they can try to convince a tech-idiot like me that I need a $99 per month hosting plan every October.

It hasn’t worked before, and it’s not working this time. As Rick Perry said to the TV journalist, “Adios, MoFo.” When our contract is up here, we’re gone.

This week, we mark 232 years since our nation declared its independence and launched the greatest experiment in democracy the world has ever known.

That experiment continues to illuminate. The Founders were revolutionaries – and we should always think of them so – who designed our government to be an institution answerable to the American people. Our government works because regular men and women stand for election among their peers who, by their vote, grant the ultimate consent to be governed. No matter the great change that has taken place since 1776, our government was designed to survive “politics” because American citizens are able to control their own course.

The mood is revolutionary again because - for the first time in over fifty years - whoever is elected President will be “new” to the White House. Not since Eisenhower’s 1952 election over Stevenson have we witnessed a campaign without the President or his Vice President seeking the office. And since no incumbent is defending the past four years, the 2008 election cycle is about demanding an honest assessment of our condition and finding a new way forward. We’ll find that way forward by voting our conscience.

I take my kids to vote with me because the citizen’s act of voting is the trademark American experience. I’m asking you today to take stock of your vital role as a Texan and an American, and reflect on your commitment to making our democracy work. We’ll have an opportunity to vote in November 2008 in a life changing election for several offices, and each of us has a duty to cast an informed vote. We’ll be voting for office holders who decide matters vital to our family’s well being. While the politicians and special interests hope for minimal scrutiny from the public, and they expect most people to be “tuned out” until just before the November 4, cycle, it’s July 4 and we have four months until election-day. We have the opportunity to learn who the candidates are, study their issues and ask questions. We can afford to be casually indifferent about a few things in life, but casting an educated vote is a vital civic challenge we ought to accept given what’s at stake: the robustness of our economy, the quality of our foreign relations, and – clearly the most important issue - our domestic investment in our next generation’s health, education and welfare. Today’s vote determines our future. We love our children and grandchildren; let’s remember that when we vote.

Amid the many family picnics, fireworks displays, and community parades, let’s take a moment to reflect on the enormity of our American experience and consider the heroes and generations whose shoulders we stand upon. Our commitment this Independence Day is to participate and defend the democratic ideal committed to us by the Founders and the Americans who followed.

Joe Jaworski served as Galveston Mayor Pro-tem and is currently running for the Texas Senate in District 11.

By Joe Jaworski

Forty-five years ago this month, Alabama Governor George Wallace infamously stood in the schoolhouse door to try to stop a generation of students from attending classes.

Five years ago this month, Texas political leaders essentially did the same thing when they pushed through a deregulation bill that sent tuition rates at the state’s public colleges and universities skyrocketing — pricing a generation of otherwise eligible Texas students out of a college education.

Let’s reopen the doors of higher education by making college affordable again for the Texas families who foot the bills for our higher education system.

Tuition has predictably soared since it was deregulated in 2003, climbing by at least 112 percent, according to the state’s own figures. Meanwhile, the state’s share of funding at our flagship university (and my alma mater) is down to just 17 percent. And young families like mine, who had the opportunity to lock in the future cost of college tuition and fees for our first child through the popular Texas Tomorrow Fund, no longer have that same option for our second child. Tuition deregulation killed that, too.

What Texas politicians did in 2003 made no economic sense then. It makes even less today, when a college degree is worth $1.3 million more in lifetime earnings than a high school diploma, according to a recent Commerce Department report. Why would politicians want to limit the earning potential of good tax-paying citizens?

College tuition hikes aren’t the only thing putting the squeeze on Texas families, either. Gasoline is at record highs, utility costs are up an average of 56 percent since 2000, and windstorm insurance is soaring out of reach for small businesses along the Gulf. The ongoing mortgage crisis threatens first-time homebuyers, and even Texans who can still afford their homes are paying more than twice the national average to insure them. Not to mention the fact that 5.5 million Texans can’t afford health care for their families even though they have jobs. More than 1.5 million children have no health insurance at all — more than in any other state.

It’s time to give Texas families a tax cut they can use. The Legislature in January should consider a moratorium on tuition and fee increases to make college more affordable while giving parents and students trying to budget college costs more predictability. Families blessed with great wealth don’t have to worry about college costs, while poor families still have at least a few needs-based funding options available to them. But the rest of us — working families who work hard and play by the rules — are getting squeezed.

Higher education is a shared responsibility between state government and Texas families who value our fine public colleges and universities. China, India, Brazil, South Korea, and other emerging economies are boosting their investments in higher education because they have decided this is the time to train the next generation of our global competitors. Political leaders in Texas — which would be the eleventh strongest economy on earth if we were a sovereign nation — should be moving us in the same direction.

Joe Jaworski is a candidate for the Texas Senate in Senate District 11.

On Monday, President George W. Bush declared “Child Health Day,” saying that the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) “should be reauthorized” because of its “important role… in helping poor children stay healthy.”

On Wednesday, the President vetoed the reauthorization of the SCHIP bill, which would have expanded health insurance to four million mostly lower-income children of working parents, saying “I believe in private medicine, not the federal government running the health care system.”

On the fourth day, Mr. Bush rested — safe in the knowledge that he can turn to his government-run health care plan in case he gets a crick in his neck from talking out of both sides of his mouth at once.

My opponent, Mike McCaul, voted against SCHIP last week and applauded the presidential veto this week. What kind of politician turns his back on the children of the taxpayers who fund his own health insurance? A politician whose values are upside down.

We need a change in Washington — now.

Houston Aug 1, 2006 : Opponent fails on her chosen issues.
After a return speech to the Executive Roundtable, I spoke to people all day, by phone and in person. With school activities starting, and folks returning from vacation, more calls get through, and we are able to connect and schedule.  The feeling among people I visit is upbeat for change, with sincere concern for the direction our leaders have taken this state and country.

1.  Opponent’s failures in immigration and transportation.

My opponent announced last year that immigration and transportation were her priorities. She has failed Texans in the areas on which she’s asked us to focus. Texas’ junior senator recently attacked my opponent’s immigration stance, further evidence of dissension in her party. She proposes to spend billions more of our taxpayer dollars on new, wacky immigration schemes, including “self deportation” and risky centers in foreign lands, built by private companies at public expense, with the kind of cost overruns we now see revealed in the news. When the KKK announced a Rally on immigration, I condemned the Klan’s hateful activities and domestic terroism. She still has not been able to bring herself to do so. Perhaps she will decide after her colleagues tell her it is safe, just as she delayed condemning lynching until her colleagues signed on to the anti-lynching resolution. Her excuse: she was too busy to sponsor such a thing. We exposed the fluffier and lighter resolutions she took time to sponsor.

Folks are well aware that my opponent couldn’t garner support for her anti-Texas stance on transporation or on tolling, and they are aware of her acceptance of special interest funds promoting the land grabbing, double taxing, community ruining Trans Texas Corridor. Her own party and the Texas Democratic Party both oppose the Trans Texas Corridor, which represents a huge waste of over a quarter of a trillion of our tax payer dollars. We’ve added a section to the issues chart on this scheme, and my opponent’s vote for tolling projects in last year’s transportation bill, which gave massive preferences to Alaska, and harmed Texas, leaving us a net donor to the rest of the country of Texas gas tax dollars, as we rank 49th in the US in per capita transportation spending. Her failure to pass her wright amendment bill, failing both sides, has made headlines, together with her attacks on the Justice Department, which pointed out the anti trust violations in her proposal.  She has not been able to convince her own party’s senators on key committees to work to support her legislative attempts.

2. Opponent’s failure with the economy.

My opponent’s third priority was the economy. She has sold out this economy, and mortgaged our children’s futures, as she consistently votes for waste of our taxpayer dollars and for corrupt legislative schemes. We see inflation at higher than predicted levels, and her claimed leadership over the four largest deficits in history as she rejects “pay as you go” spending, and as Texas suffers the most

3. Opponent’s contract with America: term limits and balancing the budget. Her time has come and gone, and she should now return to her broken Contract with America promise to balance the buget and limit herself to term terms. (She has served two plus a portion of another).

We’ve been asked to post her language of term limitation, so that voters can evaluate her trustworthiness:

The Dallas Morning News, May 22, 1993

Ms. Hutchison said, “I believe our founding fathers were right in maintaining that we should have citizen legislators, people who work for a living, who live with the taxes, who live with the mandates, who go to Washington and do service and come back to live with the laws that they passed.’

Hotline’s January 14, 1993 issue:

Treas. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) and Rep. Jack Fields (R-08) “barn-stormed” across TX “preaching fiscal conservatism and declaring their candidacies” for the special election to replace Bentsen. Both made stops “in the state’s major media markets of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.” Fields
“pledged, and asked his opponents to do the same, to limit future government service to two terms.” Hutchison agreed to sign such a pledge.

November 9, 1994 Austin American Statesman:

Hutchison said her re-election was a mandate for her to return to Washington to fight for a balanced budget amendment, tax breaks for homemakers, fewer
regulations for small business owners, a strong national defense, and term limitations.

“I’ve always said that I would serve no more than two full terms. This may be my last term or I could run for one more. But no more after that. I firmly believe in term limitations and I plan to adhere to that,” Hutchison said.

Back in 1995, she co-sponsored   a term-limits
  constitutional amendment bill.
She did the same thing in 1997, when she she
  co-spoonsored a bill by then-Sen.
John Ashcroft which would have created a constitutional amendment limiting the terms of senators and members of the U.S. House.

4. Latest polling data. We’ve been asked to post the latest polling data available:

“The Wall Street Journal reports the Zogby poll in July.  Radnofsky  leads among moderates 50.2 to 39.4

Hutchison has sunk overall to 52 percent, with Radnofsky rising to 37 percent. Last month Radnofsky was barely ahead among moderates 43% to 41.5%, but this month Radnofsky
surged ahead 50.2% to 39.4%. Radnofsky gained in every party category.

Radnofsky gained in every religious category, and is ahead in ‘Large City’ and shaved the gap in ‘Suburbs’ from 26 points to 11 points. She holds steady among ‘Rural’ voters.”

BAR

East Texas Counts, May 25 2006
6 cities in just 18 hours.

Madisonville: we drove to Madisonville for a packed breakfast meeting with  press, with teachers, doctors, chamber of commerce, businessmen, veterans, lawyers and every Madisonville walk of life represented at the handsome Baker House on East Main.

Elkhart: thanks to Sharon Davis, candidate for State Representative and dedicated teacher and Principal Moon, I toured Elkart Elementary School and the Head Start program, meeting great teachers and hundreds of students. This school  is operating efficiently and to the great benefit of the schoolchildren of East Texas. The cuts in Head Start are a mistake. The testing of special ed children (whose teachers recommend against testing to failure) is  a mistake. No Child Left Behind and the Republican administration have deserted children.

The cynical votes by my opponent can best be desribed as anti-education, anti-Head Start, anti-vocational. We’ve added to our issues chart on the website the need for social sciences research and added to the list of outrageous postions taken by Sen. Hutchison: opposition to social sciences research and funding. We issued a press release today on the issue.

Palestine: We enjoyed a huge, packed crowd of supporters and press for a lunch meeting of Anderson County Democrats and County chair. I enjoyed the articulate Palestine mayor and so many local officals and candidates who are energized by the massive resurgence in the Democratic Party. Activists like the Davises make a difference. Media coverage from papers like the Palestine News Herald and the Madisonville Meteor demonstrates that East Texas Cares, as well as counts. We’ll proceed to Athens today, preceded by a front page article in the Athens Daily Review.

When I spoke in tribute to Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, whose Senate seat I seek, I met a lovely older woman and life long Democrat  who shared the same great grandmother as the admirable public servant, and we spoke of Sen. Bentsen’s  service in World War II (including 50 missions and a Distinguished Flying Cross). Her great grandmother lost her first husband in the Civil War, and married again. That’s how the two contemporaries came to share the same great-grandmother.

I predict Sen. Hutchison will shortly leave her home in Virginia to make a guest appearance in East Texas. She’ll want some photo opportunities (with no questions or debate).

Tyler: We visited Democratic headquarters for a  press conference and meeting with supporters. Thanks to thousands of people and county parties like the Smith County Dems, the distribution of our million flyers proceeds smoothly with an active base ready and willing to help. Here’s the brilliant coverage in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, a comprehensive look at the political change, and issues including veterans, health care, education and abortion.

The media also reported the debate issue, and the general public are beginning to recognize that Senator Hutchison is avoiding a debate. We’ve seen increasing calls, in small towns as well as big cities, for a debate on the issues. By way of example: the Lampassas media coverage, which we’ve been watching,  is a harbinger of things to come, with conservatives  understanding that Democrats in control is a viable alternative to the complete mess created in Texas by the senior senator on down.

Athens:  What a wonderful reception in a most exciting vibrant city center! The courthouse square was rocking with activity, and the large democratic headquarters was packed. This was a handsome rally, with a receptive, generous crowd who cares about the issues. As occurs so frequently here in this region, preachers and teachers are turning out in force. They want change. Thanks to Ray Smith for a special event in Athens.

Longview: This late evening fundraiser was relaxed and special. Here are friends who’ve been helping for two years, and ready to do more. As with each stop, field folks are poised to distribute flyers, and Juneau Embry has taken ten thousand for a quick distribution before another drop soon. Vik Verma, a major voice on the internet and in the print media, has articulately  set out issues here for some time, and hosted with our generous friends the Eimermens a wonderful well attended at their beuatiful home. We’ll enjoy an evening with supporters before proceeding to Tyler, Athens, Corsicana, Jacksonville and Marble Falls tomorrow. We are looking forward to intermediate short stops along the way, since you can’t drive east texas without stopping to admire the greenery, the lakes, and the wildlife. There’s a reason folks retire here in such massive numbers, and it’s the same reason so many people want to protect their region and conserve their environment.

BAR
www.radnofsky.com

NASA/Galveston Bay: Today and this evening I spent in the Galveston Bay area speaking to residents near NASA who are outraged at the price of gasoline and Sen. Hutchison’s ranking as the number one recipient of oil lobby money.

While oil companies announce record profits and Sen. Hutchison defends those profits, locals describe the impact of inadequate funding for disasters, inadequate funding for protecting our troops abroad, inadequate funding for border and homeland security and inadequate funding for NASA, including the budget cut of three billion dollars announced in reduced funding for science. The concerns extend beyond this area as we enter hurricane season: the  levees of South Texas, unrepaired since Hurricane Beulah in the mid 1960’s remain an area of concern.

These discussions  coincided with newspaper reports this past Tuesday, quoting NASA administrator Michael D. Griffin  that, due to lack of funds, space science must be sacrificed to help pay for sending humans into space. (NASA Chief Says Future Flights Will Force Cutbacks in Science, Washington Post, By WARREN E. LEARY Published: April 26, 2006)

The article explains that all programs at NASA have been affected by budget restrictions, according to the NASA administrator.  Folks who know agreed with the scientists in the article which continues “Many scientists have expressed outrage at the diversion of money, saying it
could mean grave harm to space science.”

Sen. Hutchison had no defense for the the massive cuts in science funding on her watch, labeling the diversion of funds from science to flight “a necessity.”. For more examples of her failures to bring adequate funding to Texas, please see the issues chart on the website www.radnofsky.com on the home page, first item under “Issues.” Texas ranks 51st among all states and the District of Columbia in bringing home the bacon.

This evening I met with local elected officials, including  a local mayor, who live in the same area where I grew up, as my father was a NASA employee. They care deeply about this coastal area and the cost of corruption and incompetence in FEMA administration was a highlight of the discussions, as well as failed administration policies.
They were not surprised to learn that Sen. Hutchison has rubberstamped the Bush administration 95.6 percent of the time, as so many people feel the Texas senator does not advocate for them.

Today, the cost of gasoline was a prime topic, as was Senator Hutchison’s opposition to fuel efficiency, which causes massive waste of gasoline. No one was surprised to learn that through  2006,  Senator Hutchison took $1,799,973 from oil companies since 1994. The same was true in 1994, when she ranked as the politician who accepted more oil donations than any other. She holds the same outrageous “number one” position today.

By State Rep. Donna Howard, TX-HD 48
[House site; Campaign site]

The Texas House this week voted for significant property tax relief for homeowners and small businesses.

The tax reform plan was a first step toward stabilizing our tax system and easing the burden on property taxpayers.  Now it’s time to take the second step — reversing the ratio of state-to-local funding for public education so that our schools can have the additional resources they demand and
our teachers the pay raise they deserve.

Immediately after the vote late Monday night, I wrote Gov. Rick Perry and asked him to open the agenda of the special legislative session to more resources for public schools.

In my letter, I pointed out that the state’s portion of public school funding is at its lowest point since WWII and projected to fall even further by next year, when the state will be picking up a mere 34 percent of the cost of public schools while local property taxpayers are forced to fund
the remaining 66 percent.

“Like other Texas homeowners, my family’s new property appraisals arrived last week, showing an increase of 23 percent over last year’s and 57 percent since 2001,” I wrote.  “These appraisals underscore the urgency of shifting more of the tax burden away from homeowners to the state.”

Positive change comes when we see the first step — and take it.  It’s up to state leaders now to see the second step — reversing the ratio of state-to-local funding for our public schools — so we can take that step, too.